just outside Karakura [open]

The sun was high and bright overhead. The wind was strong that day but still it was starting to get really hot as the sun rose to the middle of the sky. Yet the thick forest around her stopped the wind, and the foliage slowed the wind until it was dead. In front of her kneeling figure was a dead deer. A large, stray, dog lied dead not far away. Its death sentence clear on its crushed in face. The dear had a large gash on its throat.

In Moya’s hand was a thick stick. The bark was rough against her soft skin, and had cut her once already. The smell of death surrounded her but it didn’t seem to bother her as she touched the stiffening body with the stick. She wondered if it was stiff warm and she reached a hand and pet a clean patch of fur on its flank. Sure enough it was cold as stone.

The dragon egg charm burned against her skin trying to remind her that she shouldn’t be doing this. She could easily ignore Tatsu do to her disconnected mind. As he was mentally connected to her true self, the mask could easily block out his scolding words. Her mind was to focused on the dead creature before her anyway.

Moya lazily stood and stepped over the small deer. Finding her way in front of the dog, she bent down and examined the face. It hardly looked like the face of a dog anymore and it made her laugh. Just a little and she quickly apologized to dead dog.

The feeling of being in nature normally was calming for people, but this wasn't the case for Arawn. Try as he might he couldn't shake the feeling as if someone was watching him as he made his way through the forest. It was to be expected when being so close to Karakura town. The place was a hot bed of activity. The number of incidents in the city outnumbered many larger cites. It was amazing that there wasn't more patrols placed in the city. But having too many people was just as bad as having too few. There were more spiritual aware humans in the city. With added patrols more sightings of the shinigami might occur. The main point of their work as shinigami was to keep the battle between hollows and shinigami secret. Panic would ensue if their activities were known by the general public. For this reason some shinigami used gigai. A false body to hide their spiritual nature from those with the ability to see them. Currently Arawn wore such a contraption. For all intents and purposes he looked human. Actually the face body he wore like a suit was indeed crafted to look exactly like Arawn in his shinigami form. It was creepy, but he tolerated it. The reason for his trek through the forest was to find a place to train. He thought it would be a decent enough area. Still the creepy feeling he got while moving around would probably hamper his training. Even with the gigai muffling his spiritual power and sense his hairs stood up on his neck.
"I shouldn't have came here." he muttered aloud. "I'd leave if I could find my way out."

Moya raised her head from the nasty site. The smell of sulfur thick in the air. The decomposing was slowed by the shade but it was still rotting flesh. The splatter brains of the dog leaking out wasn't much help either. Yet this wasn't what made that sticky filling crawl up her throat, and a turning in her stomach beginning to turn into a raging storm at sea. It was the feeling of another person. Somewhere int he forest. Maybe she was imagining things, maybe she had heard something. Whatever it was, something in her mind went from "oh look dead things!" To the setting "I'm not alone."

It must have been a feeling similar to a person in a zombie movie exaimaing the body of a dead human, and then hearing the shambling steps of the undead coming for them. Really the smell of the dead around her must not be helping her over reactive imagination. Than more serious thought began popping up in her mind. What if it was a shinigami, a hollow, or a quincy? At those thoughts she did her best to seal away anything that might tip her off as anything but a human with a strange love for dead things.

Her dainty fingers tightened around the rough bark of the stick. It snapped between her fingers and she threw the broken pieces at a tree making a loud thud. She crouched down and picked out the few splinters she got before turning back to the dead dog. With another stick she softly probed at one of it's ears. She lifted it up and it flopped back down as dead as the body it belonged to.


Moya innocently cocked her head to the side as if she was confused to what it was. The truth was she just wondered how the two creatures managed to kill each other. She wondered if that was what even happened. Her eyes glossed over lost in thought. Moya bit her bottom lip thoughtful drawing a small amount of blood.

The journey through the woods continued without much incident. After awhile Arawn felt it best to sit and take a break. He let the small back pack fall off his shoulder and leaned himself against a tree. This place was nothing like the last forest he had visited. Despite the warm welcome he had received from the strange man, he thought to look at other wooded areas. While this one didn't have any strange samurai living in them, the chill he felt on the back of his neck didn't make this place much better.
"Perhaps I'll stick with the last place." Arawn said as he fished his canteen out of his bag. Twisting off the cap he brought his lips to container and took a long drink. Even though he was in a gigai he felt tired from the long walk. The sweat had grown into a large dark patch on his clothing. Sitting there on the forest floor he felt somewhat relaxed and let his mind drift. Creepy feeling aside it was abit relaxing place to be. The silence was broken by a loud thump due east. This sudden sound made Arawn jump up and grab at his waist. There was no sword attached at his hip. His hand grabbed only empty air. Arawn stood there staring in the direction the noise had originated from. A part of him wanted to investigate the disturbance, the other half wanted to walk away. The mental tug-o-war lasted for no more than two minutes. In the end his curiosity won out and Arawn moved in the direction the noise had sounded. Digging into his right pocket he pulled out the soul candy and palmed it. If things go hairy he could pop it into his mouth and become a shinigami. In this strange twisted forest there was little doubt hollows might lurk. As he moved closer he thought he caught sight of something in the distance. Was it a figure?
"Hello?" he shouted out tentatively.

Moya pushed her senses from her body. Listening around her to, even though her attention seemed mostly on the dog. When she heard footsteps coming from behind her, a small lurching came from her stomach and she quickly pulled a hand over her mouth. Her stick falling half in and half out of a puddle of blood. She picked up the dry end and stood up. She turned as she head a voice call out, "Hello." She opened her mouth to reply but instead began shifting side to side. Afraid of who this figure was. You could never really be sure in this town. She put on her most innocent face and waited silently, and restlessly as he became nearer.

The stick in her hand dripped blood onto the grass below, and her if her heart beat, it would have been heard for miles around. She was holding down the blood and bile in her stomach. She had nice breakfast before going out to walk, she didn't want to loose it now.

His eyes had not been playing tricks on him after all. The moment he had spoken the shape moved. If it had been an animal the noise would have spooked it. Instead the figure had remained still and stood up. Relief washed over him as he could barely make out that indeed it was a person. The whitish clothing almost gave them a ghostly appearance. In such a strange wooded area Arawn didn't doubt such sightings were commonplace. He laughed at himself. Here he was a ghost in his own right wearing a false body, and yet he was afraid of seeing ghost in the haunted forest. It was silly when he said it like that. Even as he thought about these things he moved closer to the person. As he did new questions leaped at him. Why were they in the woods? He would of course ask them, but he'd best be subtle. Another question came to mind as he got a better look at the figure. It was difficult to say, but it definitely looked like a young child or a very short adult. While he hoped for the latter, he was leaning towards the former. An adult usually didn't carry themselves like that. Even more disturbing was the dead body he set his eyes upon. Had the person killed the animal?
"Hello." he said again this time not shouting the greeting. "Funny meeting someone way out here." Arawn chuckled nerviously as he got a better look at the person. It was a young looking woman. The guess of being the child wasn't completely wrong. He noted the blood stained stick in her hand. Perhaps she did kill the beast, but the body didn't look too fresh. It couldn't have been recent. There was a dead dear not too far away from the deceased dog. What exactly had happened here. Slowly, as smoothly as possible, Arawn slipped the soul candy into his jean pocket. He had a feeling he wouldn't be needing it.

"H-hello." Moya managed to stutter the words out of her tight throat. She looked up at him, eyes innocent and round with fear. Closer up she still couldn't tell the feeling he gave off, but that was what you get for not being near people for a long time. she suppressed a cough and it came up in a strange way and she dropped the stick covering her mouth and the coughing soon stopped. Moya looked up at him her bangs falling in front of her red eyes and she took a step back. clenching her arms to her stomach as she leaned side to side restlessly. Begging her stomach to calm down. This man scared her for reasons she didn't know. As a bount she had plenty to be afraid of. If he turned out out to be a shinigami she could be screwed. So Moya tried to look as sweet and innocent as she could. A little awkward smile on her face. it was barely a twitch at the corner of her lips though. A tiny head poke out over her shoulder. Revealing the cat that had been hiding in her hood. Coco gave a little meow moving her head to the side. Than the little cat hid back inside the hood curling up. The soft purring vibrations against her back helped calm her down and her shifting slowed, and the feeling in her stomach began to calm down. Moya couldn't look him in the eyes. She kind of just looked right through him. Everything around her seemed to go dead. The breeze stopped and the sun was covered by a thick cloud. it was still very hot out, but inside she felt cold. Moya was cold of course seeing as how she was practically dead herself, so she had a low body temperature. She found herself curious if she could hear the man's heartbeat, or how warm his skin was?

Well this is awkward. Arawn thought as he stood before the young girl. He had a battery of questions, but was afraid he'd scare her off just by saying anything else. The way she swayed to and fro as she blankly looked at him was hardly encouraging. There was sudden motion as the girl's hood moved and a newcomer joined their gathering. A cat? Why would the girl be traveling around with a cat in her hood? Trying not to think about it Arawn instead focused on gaining some information from the young girl. He had followed the lead of his curiosity to approach her. Might as well follow through on it.
"That's a nice cat you have there." Arawn said softly, but still kept his distance. Truth be told he was tempted to try and touch the feline. In life he did have a cat and enjoy it's company. "What's the little guy's name?" he asked the question with complete sincerity. Arawn really did wonder what the cat's name was. Although when he thought about it in doing so it might help the girl relax abit. If it helped move the conversation along, who was he to complain? Still his mind wondered why and how the girl came into the forest. This place wasn't safe for such a young person. It was possible she was here with someone. If so maybe they could help him find his way clear.

Moya's awkward smile became a true smile at his curiosity about her cat. "Her name is Coco." She offered happily. "We go everywhere together, she's my best friend." a light glinted in her bright red eyes. She was always happy to show of her sweet little kitten. Coco was a small bundle of fury energy, that was just to adorable not to love. Even in this dark forest surrounded by the smell of sulfur, the cat was so innocent and kind. Loving even a monster like her. Moya wished she could have that kind of innocence. to be able to be loved by anyone with just one look, and a cute little meow. To be a furry little ball of love, sleeping in the sun. Yes that would make her life a lot more simple. Instead she had to worry where her next meal was coming from, if she had enough money to fix the house, and take care of Coco. She had to worry about where she would travel next, and worst, what was after her. Moya stood still her arms relaxing but not falling to her side. Even for being so much older than she looks, she was still a child inside. For a few seconds she could imagine what it was like to be a normal human. Just for a second, but it was nice. To be able to feel normal was a small bliss for the strange girl. "My name is Moya, I work as a physic just outside of karakura town. What's your name?" Moya was polite and and a shy tone in her voice, but none the less she still looked very happy.

It would seem the shift of focus was agreeable to the young woman as well. Almost instantly her demeanor changed. Coco she said with her face gleaming with new energy. A moment ago he was thinking she was about to run away, now she seemed more calm. The cat was more than likely something she treasured greatly. She claimed to go everywhere with it. Perhaps neglectful parents or lack of friends. It wasn't any of his business, but again it was his curiosity running wild. Rather than dig deeper, he decided to let the girl control the pace of the conversation. Moya was her name. Short and simple it fit her in a strange way. Coco and Moya. Two best friends out on an adventure in the strange woods. He tried not to smile from the cute little picture he envisioned.
"I'm Arawn." he said evenly, there was no reason to lie to the girl. Not like she could check up on it either way. Being honest didn't hurt him in any way. "I was looking for a spot to camp, but it seems this forest isn't someplace I want to stay." he looked around the trees. The feeling strange feeling he had here wasn't a place he could relax in. "Problem is I'm now abit lost, do you happen to know the way out of here?" It seemed an honest enough request. It was possible that Moya was native to this area. She could probably lead him out of here. If Arawn wanted to he could just jump from his gigai and leave, but he'd have to retrieve the false body or wait for it to leave by itself. With that in mind he might as well just find his way out.

Camping out in a forest wasn't Moya's idea of fun. Than again when you read about strange demons and monsters living out here it made sense not wanting to. Moya nodded happily. " Yea there's a path not to far from here that leads out of here. It's a deer path though so it's kind of surrounded by lots of brush." Moya explained pointed farther back east. It was a narrow winding path but it would lead them out. It was the best way to get out of here if you didn't know your way around. After that she would be able to direct him in the direction back to town so he could get out of the country area. She had no reason to go there, but she didn't want him to get lost. she was pretty glad he hadn't asked anything about the dead creatures behind her. The more normal she seemed right now the better. Moya jumped a little as a pair of tiny paws were placed on her shoulder. The little kitten climbed up back paws on her shoulder, and leaning on her head. The little kitten rested her chin on Moya's hair and let out a little meow. She reached her hand up and pet the top of Coco's head. Riding on her shoulders was another one of the kitten's favorite things to do. Tatsu in his charm form burned against her skin warning her. Moya couldn't see anything wrong, but she understood that she should watch him closer. She needed to look like a normal teenage girl.

Ask and you shall receive. Arawn thought excitedly. He had expected more verbal maneuvering, but it seemed Moya was more than willing to tell him what he wanted to hear. Not only that, but it seemed she was more than willing to guide him as well. Not too shabby at all This too was also welcome. Unfortunately Arawn had a poor sense of direction at times. It was during those situations that he would use the phone to direct himself. Alas he had forgotten to pack it in when heading on this journey. What made this current situation ever worse what that in addition to his terrible navigation sense, there was his abysmal spiritual detection. Once again he depended on his phone for such matters. This said much for the strange woods that he felt something even while in a gigai. That itself was sign that things were not right for him to stay there. Chances were if he did camp there he'd be attacked by some foul spiritual beast. With that in mind the fact Moya was willing to guide him out of the woods was also reassuring. If the young girl stayed chances were she too could be attacked. How many poor souls had the twisted woods consumed? Arawn wondered silently as he moved towards where the girl had pointed. The sooner they leave the better. Hopefully they hadn't gained any unwanted attention just by standing there together. A group of people would no doubt be more appetizing than a single target. As they walked he kept looking around just in case some hollow decided to ambush them on their way.
"So how long have you been in Karakura?" he asked to take his mind off thought of being attacked at any second. "You seem to know your way around, I figure you come here often." The woods was an odd place for a young lady to play. If she came here without being attacked perhaps his paranoia was unfounded. Still it was better to be cautious. He didn't like the feeling the woods gave him. It was wise that the girl avoid coming here. Not coming alone didn't matter, the place felt dangerous.

Moya began walking over the shaded little path. She stepped over the thorns and pushed away he branches in her path. How long have I been here? Oh it's bad enough I let him know my real name! What am I thinking! Moya get your head in the game, you can't expose yourself like this. You have lived over three hundred years you are smarter than this. Besides I can't really go ahead and say 'Oh well I've been about here for fifty year, you know munching on ghost and stuff. You see I'm a bount and i do that stuff! I'm also three and tweenty-eight years old!' Yea let's not go there okay moya just make up a story! Improvise! in her weakened state of mind Tatsu quickly broke in and gave her a story. You've been living here since you were nine. your parents were abusive if he asks, and you uncle pays for your house okay? Moya figured that was perfect. "I've been living here since I was eight." Moya replied a light smile on her face. She pushed the a large push out of her way exposing the path. Branches above wrapped and laced together to form a cover blocking out the sun and making it rather dark as she stepped in. Coco reached a paw up and patted at a dragonfly that raced past, but quickly settled as not to fall off.

"Eight years? You must be quite the woodsman." Arawn chuckled. Woodsman or is the proper term woodswoman? He debated the word silently to himself, but decided it wasn't important enough to continue thinking about. If she had survived eight years in this area she might be at low risk of attack. Low risk, but not necessarily safe. Hollows attacked their families first; according to the textbooks. After that anyone is fair game if they have even a smidgen of spiritual power for the hollows to feed on. In most cases they go for those with higher energy first. But once again that's all by textbook. If a hollow got hungry anyone and anything would be fair game for their savage appetite. The fact she has survived alone could be attributed to luck or the fact the woods were in fact safe. A deep growl quickly dispelled thought.

He looked about, but there was nothing to be seen. Even though he couldn't see anything he was dead certain that the sound had originated from behind them. Arawn slowed his pace so that he was now behind Moya as they moved through the brush. He wanted to run taking the girl with him, but that might be a bad move. Instead he tried to keep the conversation going as he scanned the area.
"Your uncle you say? What does he do for a living?" he asked as his hand slid back int his pocket and thumbed the soul candy.

Moya tried not to twitch as she heard the growl. That was her competition, and a creature she should kill. She fought the urge and replied calmly. "My uncle is a lawyer." She replied. Moya reached under her jacket and secretly took Tatsu from his chain. She slid her hands into her jacket pocket and closed her fist tight around the warm charm. Her bright red eyes flickered around. This forest was her grocery store and now somebody was on her territory. She fought back a growl at that thought. She hated when hollows came into her territory, her hunting grounds. Can't they stick to their own?

Moya looked over her shoulder a fake smile on her face. She wondered if he heard it too. "So why'd you want to go camping here? Most people like to stay away from this forest." Moya watched him from over the shoulder. She knew the narrow path by heart and she wanted to watch him for abnormal signs.

The grow came again, but this time it sounded much closer. Arawn stopped in his tracks and peered back into the shadowed woods. Running would be the normal reaction in the face of such imminent danger, but he had a responsibility to protect the young girl. Getting her to safety was the priority, he didn't want to alarm her. Thinking fast he concocted a plan that might work.
"Moya," he said evenly as he set his pack on the ground. "You go on ahead, I need to use the bathroom. " Arawn jerked his hands back toward the bushes. It seemed like a simple enough plan. By saying he was using the bathroom the young girl would undoubtedly give him some privacy. He would transfer out of gigai under cover and send have the have the artificial soul pill lead the girl away from the ensuing battle. He clutched the soul pill in his pocket. Not waiting for the girl to respond he dug into his backpack and pulled out a roll of toilet paper. With the dashed back the way they had came and moved into the thick underbrush. Occasionally he would look back to see if Moya was following him at the same time to make sure the girl couldn't see him. Not that it mattered, but for some reason he didn't want to startle the girl with a sudden change in personality. The artificial souls were almost mechanical in their mannerisms. He could no longer see Moya when he looked back his view blocked by a wall of greenery and trees. Arawn pulled the pill from his pocket. Another growl froze his hand halfway to his mouth. He looked up just as a blur crashed into him and sent hims spinning to the ground.

Arawn could feel the weight on creature as the beast rolled with him. It was hard to ignore the claws trying to dig deep into his body. As he back hit the ground he brought up his legs and kicked with all the strength he could muster. The leverage was enough to send the creature one way and him the other. Arawn rolled for another few feet then came to a stop. The air was nearly knocked from him by the tackle, but he managed to rise from the ground to look at his attacker.

Spoiler:

The creature had recovered from the tumble quicker than Arawn had. It now was perched on a tree truck observing the human that had the gull to kick him. The hollow gave a hiss of rage at the strange human. Arawn's hand reached for his sword that wasn't there. Reflexes. A good one, but useless when in a gigai. It was then he realized that he had dropped the soul pill during their roll on the ground. The chances of him finding the pill were slim. He could try exiting the body without the pill; it was possible, but too time consuming. It was doubtful that the creature would wait for him to do so. As if on cue the monster's body began to wavier. Arawn blinked thinking something was wrong with his eyes. Unfortunately it wasn't so, the creature faded from sight as if he was a hallucination. The only proof that the creature was still there was the second hiss, and then a thump. Since he wasn't laying on his back being cut by the razor claws he could only guess the hollow had jumped from the tree. With it being invisible it was impossible to know where the monster would attack next.
High above Arawn the monster crept along the thick tree branches. The whistling wind shook the trees enough to hide his movements. Without so much as a sound it made it's way around Arawn to attack from behind.

Moya watched him run off. She stood perfectly still, listening intently. Letting her senses drift from her body out into the world. Picking up sounds, she heard more growling. Something was far from right. She didn't know if she should do anything. Moya shook her head and slipped through the branches to a tall tree. When she was up far enough she took the charm from her pocket and threw it up into the air. "Zeige Dich," Moya whispered throwing the charm into the air. In a swirl of black the the large dragon appeared. Moya slipped down letting the dragon fly up into the air. She slipped back onto the path and started in Arawan's direction at a dead run. Her eyes scanning high above. She focused on her senses trying to spot the damned hollow on her territory. She couldn't see it, but she could hear it. Silently slipped from the arching branches behind a tree. Behind her Arawan her, and she had no idea if he was clueless or not. Moya grabbed a big rock and threw it upwards into the tree she hoped the hollow was in. Praying she hit she ducked back behind the tree.

The basketball sized rock went sailing through the air and slammed into the tree. The invisible beast was narrowly missed by the sudden projectile. It hissed in rage and looked for the source of the assault, but only saw the man below. But it could sense the other presence behind the man standing below it. Arawn was bewildered by the appearance of the rock. He looked behind himself and lunged. The creature had no doubt thrown the small boulder as a distraction. Unfortunately it had failed. Knowing that If he hesitated he would miss he could die Arawn attacked. He moved forward and landed a flying kick directly into the tree. Even though the gigai restricted his power significantly he could muster more than enough power to topple the towering oak. His foot impacted and broke the bark on the trunk. The force of the kick caused the tree to shake before it fell backwards from the mighty strike. The tall tree fell straight towards the hiding Moya. With the recoil from his kick Arawn fell back from the now broken tree to see if he had been successful.

"Damn it!" he grunted. There was no doubt he had missed his target. The feel of wood as he hit was proof enough. He had broke the tree in half for nothing. The creature was still somewhere. Perhaps the throwing of the rock was the read distraction. Hiding in the branches high above the creature was stunned by the man's performance. It had felt some measure of power from the man, but it hadn't expected this much. Still as luck would have it, the man now had his back it as he examined the broken tree. The hollow climbed down the tree like a squirrel. When it had descended far enough down the wide trunk it then pounced. It tackled Arawn once again it's claws tearing his clothes as his mouth tried to bite off his head. The creature was at least three feet longer than Arawn as it grappled him to the ground. Instinctively the poor shiningami had raised his hand and fought to keep the hidden attacker at bay as the rolled on the ground. Blindly he sought the creature's neck to push it way as it forced him on his back. The flurry of scratches had already dyed his tattered shirt crimson. The hollow instead bit down on the probing arm and Arawn screamed.
"Hado #3: Crimson Strike" Arawn grunted as he placed his left hand on creature's head. There was a flash of red light as the spell came to life. It was the monster's turn to scream as it jumped away from Arawn. The front of it's head was smoking where the kido had hit it. The hollow was no longer invisible, the damage it had sustained being enough to break the concentration needed to keep from sight.

Moya closed her eyes. Opening her mind, it didn't take long for her to be able to break the mask away and suddenly she felt the need to see the hollow's blood fall to the floor. She opened her red eyes and with a scramble Coco ran into the woods. The falling tree was easy to dodge as Moya moved to hide herself beside another tree. Watching the hidden creature attack the man. Watching his shirt become soaked with his own blood gave her a sick kick. She licked her lips as she watched Arawan being torn into. She didn't hear the words he spoke, but the red flash of light gave it away. He was a shinigami, but that didn't matter as the hollow's form became visible. A quick shadow passing over the sun told her Tatsu was ready to attack. With a smirk Moya ran out and aimed a swift kick at the hollow's head with her chunky boots. "Now Tatsu, "She yelled loud enough for the large dragon to hear above. Moya jumped away from the hollow.


A large quick black blur came barreling down at the hollow. The blur was much larger than the hollow and with a sickly screech dove straight into the spot where the hollow should be. A cloud of dirt puffed into the air from the dragon dive bombing down. Moya coughed and took a few steps back form the strength of the wind. Than let her senses try to spot the hollow.

He heard the shout and couldn't believe his ears. Was that Moya? What was she doing here? A shadow covered the field as a whistling whistling sound filled his ears. The black dragon's dive bomb attack struck the ground with a thunderous crash. The ground shook and the trees swayed as the aftershock traveled through the ground. They were the lucky ones. Arawn was knocked backwards into the air by the sudden explosion as the dragon swooped down upon it's prey. His skyward trip was cut short as he hit a tree and fell back down to the earth. Stiffly the leaned against the tree to observe the scene before him. The smoke from the crash had cleared up just enough for him to get a good view. A huge black dragon was before him.
"I have to be dreaming..." he whispered as a pain raced up his side. The gigai had protected him somewhat, but the damage was still there. He wondered if the claw marks he had on his body were reflected in his true form. Spiritual bodies could affect things in the physical world as well as spiritual beings. Hollows were spiritual entities so their ability to cause destruction was limitless. Physical matter and spiritual matter were vulnerable. The pain he felt was real enough.

As the dust in the air settled further the hollow was not were the massive dragon had struck. Instead the creature's long tail sat there flopping about to an fro. Apparently it's tail worked much like a gecko's; it fell off to distract the enemy while it go safely away. The only difference was that the gecko's tail wasn't armored making it's trashing more dangerous. The end of the whip like tail hit a tree and tore it in half, another spasm and it cut a line in the earth. With each twitch it swung in a new direction. There was a hiss each time it cut through the air. It was then that Arawn noted the other end of the energetic tail. A yellow liquid was coming out, as the tail jerked about this liquid was flung everywhere. Arawn was unlucky enough for it to hit close to his present location. On contact with the grass the blood began to eat away at the ground.
"Well that's not good." Arawn tried his best to move behind the tree and avoid the shower of acidic blood.

Moya hissed as she realized the attack had not hit the hollow. Now it's tail was flinging yellow blood everywhere. It had clear acid properties just like Tatsu's blood. She had no idea what to do with the tail. Moya hoped that the thick scales protected Tatsu from the the blood. Moya quickly searched the surrounding area with her eyes. "Bastard! Coming onto my hunting grounds who does he think he is. He should stick to that damn desert of his." Moya hissed as she looked.

Moya dodged the flinging blood, just as Tatsu began trying to freeze it by turning his black fire to freezing temperatures. "Tatsu, make use of that tongue of yours." Moya called to him. After the fire left his mouth Tatsu raised his head backing away from the tail. High pitched sound came from the dragon. It was too high for even a dog to here, and it was unlikely the shinigami could hear it. It was sure to hurt the ears of anyone near by. Moya prayed this would work, as it so often had not before. If it did, and the hollow was near, it would go into a trance and drop it's cover.

From his hiding spot Arawn watched as the tail flailed about. With ease it cut down more trees as it whipped to and fro. Those trees not cut down were instead hit by the acid that left deep scars in the tree's bark. The dragon put an end to the clever diversionary tactic with a wave of black flames. Arawn lost sight of the offending appendage as the dark fire engulfed it. Within seconds of exposure to the large ebony beast's breath the tail was finished. When the fire stopped was when Arawn saw what had really happened to it. Rather than burning the tail to cinders it had frozen it solid.Icy flames? Quite the contradiction. Arawn thought as he hid himself from sight once again. At first Arawn had been concerned for Moya's safety, but after hearing her shouts knew she was in league with the large reptile. Now he was more concerned with his own safety. She had uttered a command and the dragon now complied. A shrill sound came from the large black beast. Arawn held his hands over his ears in an attempt to block it out. It was useless the sounds permeated ever fiber of his being. Wincing in pain he forced himself to his feet and towards the trail that he had left. After the repeated tumbles with the hollow he was in no shape to deal with the girl and her dragon. While it was possible she wouldn't harm him, he wasn't about to take that chance. Staggering he pushed himself into a forward and moved swiftly as he legs could carry him away from the battleground.

Less of a run and more like a jog he moved through the trees. Each step brought a small wave of pain from his open wounds. He should stay still, but he knew it had to keep moving. Pushing through the bushes Arawn spotted the broken branches from his previous passage. In seconds he saw his backpack where he had dropped it. Hopefully the hollow would keep the two occupied long enough for him to make his escape. There was howl in the distance. It seemed even further away than before. Perhaps the hollow was doing the same as he; getting as far as possible away from the black dragon and it's master. Without slowing down he scooped up the backpack. Silently Arawn wished he hadn't dropped his artificial soul pill. It would be much faster to move as a shinigami. With a grunt he forced himself faster and moved along the path back to civilization.

Moya could not hear the hollow, other than a loud howl. Could not see it, and had no idea where it was. "Tatsu search from the sky, when you find it...kill it on sight." She commanded concealing away her personality and following the path of broken twigs and branches as Tatsu leaped into the sky to search for his pray. It wasn't hard to find her way back to the path. It wasn't hard to catch up with him either. "You're not going to reveal my hiding place are you?" She asked timidly a few steps behind him. She wanted to make sure she was safe. Just then Coco came running from the woods and leaped into Moya's arms. She cradled him to her chest and watched the man. She was almost positive of what he was, but she was still confused.

Well that was plenty pointless. Arawn thought as the voice came from behind him. Being injured he couldn't summon even half of his spiritual power, and the gigai hampered his mobility. The chances of him getting away were slim, but he was willing to take that chance. Sometimes taking a long shot pays off, but not in this case. He froze not moving an inch. It was if he thought staying still would make her go away. Of course that wasn't going to happen. She was alone; the dragon could be fighting the hollow. He didn't know where the black beast had come from, but she had to have some way for summoning it. Last time it had crashed down from the sky. It was possible that the creature was circling above them. He would have to play it cool.

Ever so slowly he let the backpack drop to the ground. Arawn tried to think of a way out of this situation. She didn't seem hostile, but things could change.
"I'm just trying to get out of these woods, what you do is your business." He peeked over his shoulder at the seeming young and innocent girl. Appearances can be deceiving. He said to himself as he raised his hands as if he was being held at gunpoint. The irony of that statement wasn't lost on him. "I leave, you never see me again."

"I don't have to see you directly again to be in danger. I just want to know if you'll keep my presence here a secret. I don't want any trouble from your kind. I haven't done anything wrong." She didn't know any longer what her place was in the world, she just wanted to stay safe. Look out for herself. Than maybe one day she could find her place and fall in love. This person standing in front of her was endangering her though. That tiny green pill she had seen gave it away plain as day. She was scared and fidgeting. She knew it wouldn't be long until she began coughing. It only took a few minutes and the violent coughing began, soon followed by her falling over and black blood spilling from her mouth. Fear overcame her and her body began shaking. Just because Moya had lived on this earth for a long time, didn't mean that she wasn't still a child at heart.