Dedication (Nina / BlueSlime)

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Lynette considers their options a bit, before agreeing about leaving these two on their own. "We could still think about an idea how to get rid of these weapons, it'll be at least a delay in their operation."

Before the pair can leave, the oni man's voice calls out to them, strong and charismatic. "What are you two doing? I expect a good explanation, or there will be trouble." he says, not ceasing his work for one bit.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina paled and put a hand over her mouth to keep from squeaking in fright. She looked to Lynette, then to the oni, then back to Lynette?

"Run Lynette, you've got to escape..." She said in an intense whisper. "I'll just slow you down."

Gripping her blade tight, she did not yet unsheathe it. Instead she stepped out of her hiding place and, perhaps in a fit of madness, approached the oni with the strange girl on his shoulders.

"Ah... an explanation, is that what you really wanted?" she asked.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Lynette nods, giving Nina a quick hug before dashing away. "Don't get captured now, I'll never live it down if you do.." are her parting words.

The oni's gaze turns towards her as Nina comes out from her hiding spot. "Your friend ran away? A cowardly move if you asked me.." he says, still hammering away. The girl seems as disinterested as ever towards the intruder, flipping up a page as she focuses on reading her book. "Yes, that's what I said. An explanation, I'd like one."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"A tactically sound move, and at my behest. I am sure you can appreciate that. Do not be so quick to judge her. She has quite the zeal for a fight when duty does not prevent it."

Nina braved a smile and put herself in the light.

"As for an explanation, that's quite simple. Easy, really." She hoped her circumlocution was giving Lynette the necessary moments to make good her escape. She knew that mere ogres couldn't stop the assassin, only that demoness or possibly this Oni might give her pause, and while one was asleep and the other talking to Nina, it meant Lynette would have a clear path back to the desert, and to the mansion.

"We're here to look at your army. And your weapons. And anything else you might have brought with you through the portal at the Kitsune's request. We wanted to know what we will have to deal with when we set to the task of defending ourselves from you. And on a personal note, I think it's sort of silly attacking us. Even if you succeeded, your numbers would be reduced, and a relief force would eventually come and sweep you away. Why the bloodshed for no gain?"

Nina stayed her distance, and wondered it the oni would at least do her the courtesy of turning his head to face her. She wasn't sure that she wanted him to... such a course of action might indicate that it had heard enough and was going to attack. She wanted to keep him talking. He was clearly confident in himself, enough to not even feel the need to glance sideways at her. Nina didn't expect to take him on in a fight. Not by herself at least, but she would do her best if it came to blows. Perhaps though, even amongst these eastern oni, their might be some way to chatter her way out of this mess, or at least out of being captured.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Hmmm, you're making a honorable sacrifice? That's noble of you..." the oni man says, not letting Nina's words interrupt his work. "My army? From me? Now don't get me confused with the blues, I'm just a smith. Not sure what those weak-minded half-breeds intend to do, but I'm not having a part in it. Well, with the exception of making them some durable blades to swing about. They can have their barbaric fun without me. I just make them weapons at the request of my sisterkin"

The girl still doesn't pay attention to the surroundings, fixated in her reading while swaying about on the red man's shoulder as his hammer rises and falls, working another large blade into shape.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"You talk about honor, so I must assume you understand the concept." Nina spoke slowly, testing out her words carefully. "What do you find honorable about making weapons that will aid the barbaric half-breeds, as you call them, in hunting down, raping and enslaving a peaceful town that has not asked for war?"

"And why does your sisterkin wish you to help them in such a manner?"

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Speak like you normally would, I can understand you well enough. It's not like I'm one of those simple-minded blues." the oni replies, stopping only to dip the blade he is working in a nearby watersource. Casting a quick look along the lenght of the half-done sword, he shakes his head before moving on to re-heating it.

"Our deal is a simple one. They provide the two of us with food and shelter in exchange for the weapons I make. What they do afterwards with my blades is none of my business. The two of us are in a hostile area, there's no guaranties I'll be able to keep us safe. Humans seem such a prejudiced lot for the most part, not many of them can reason when faced with the sight of me carrying Patch here on my shoulder. They seem to think that I'm some sort of kidnapping monster, when the truth couldn't be farther away from their shallow ways of thinking." the red man continues, stopping for a quick moment to pet the little girl's head.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Hmm? Ah, no, I was speaking slowly for my own sake, not for yours. Lynette is quick. I think she must be clear of the caves by now. So I'll talk normally, if you wish it."

Nina took her hand off her blade and took two more steps towards the oni smith.

"As for your explanation, forgive me for being rude, but any smith that cares about his craft and his own honor should also care about how his weapons and tools are being used. To arm barbaric thugs and rampaging rapist slavers... it's deplorable, and any self-respecting man or oni shouldn't be apart of it. And your own stereotyping of us humans has failed you, since if all you wanted was food and shelter, I know of a woman who could easily give you both- assuming you truly aren't here to cause trouble. My mistress has a habit of taking in outsiders who show merit. Of course, her generosity would end if we're overrun by a bunch of blue-skinned marauders armed to the teeth."

Nina wandered over to one of the piles and inspected the quality of the armaments. The oni was producing in bulk, so she didn't expect much, and it wasn't like she was an expert when it came to weapon inspection, so really it was more to appear as aloof to him as he was being aloof to her.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Upon hearing the possibility of another place to settle in, the man stops hammering the blade he was working on. "Really? My honor is really secondary to another, far more important goal. This girl's healthy growth is the only thing really important to me" the oni explains, adjusting his round glasses. "I've never encountered a human other than her who didn't attack me or run away in fear. If such a place is really there, I'm quite ready to abandon this wastehole of a cave. This is not a place where Patch should be hanging around in, given the bad company roaming about."

Nina's faux inspection does not go unseen from the oni. "You don't seem to quite know where too look, but yes, this is quantity over quality work. Can't make the arms well enough in such short time"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina swished her green hair as she turned to face the bespectacled oni, her interest grabbed by this newly revealed information.

"If you can help me dispose of some or all of these weapons before your hosts wake up, I'll see that you and Patch get a place to stay, so long as you agree not to bring harm or trouble to my Lady or those who dwell under her protection. I agree with you, this isn't the place for her to be growing up. She belongs in a place where she can study and make friends."

Nina made no comment about her impromptu inspection. It had been an idle thing, a distraction really. She waited on the oni's answer.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Upon hearing Nina's hint at a possible new place to be at, the oni's fanged face forms into a grin of sorts. "As long as Patch gets what is good for her, I'll go along with whatever is requested. She is everything to me."

Throwing down the half-finished blade and the tools used in making it, the oni moves away from the forge to grab a sizeable chest from the nearby corner. Pulling it along the ground next to the entrance of the makeshift forge, he lowers his considerable form to one knee and lets the girl on his shoulder briefly sit down on the chest. "Patch, we're finally getting to a decent place to live in." he tells the girl, who glances towards him briefly. Moving back towards the racks nearest to the forge, the oni grabs the bottom of one "Stay back, I don't want you getting hit with something." he says, waiting a little bit before almost flipping the heavy shelving unit on the fires of the forge. After creating a whole lot of mess, the oni comes back to them. Offering his huge hand to the little girl, the oni carries her a bit before hoisting the chest on another shoulder before letting the girl sit down on her usual spot on the other. "That should cause them enough trouble, lead the way." the red man says to Nina, his mirrorred glasses staring intently in her direction.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Deal made then," Nina said once the Oni was done. "Follow me."

She led the oni and the child riding on his shoulder back down the passages she had come through, trying to be silent as she headed towards the exit. She feared that Iliana might be mad at her for promising sanctuary to this oni and this mystery child. But she was confident that she had made the best decision she could have at the time. They had scouted the army successfully, and destroyed most of their weapons, that alone was worth something.

If and when they reached open desert and the night sky, Nina would turn to the oni.

"My name is Nina, by the way. To get to my lady's estate, we must travel about a day's journey through the sand. We should travel by night as far as we can go, as the sun will sap our energy and I only have a very small amount of food in my pack. While we travel, would you tell me how it was that you came to be this young girl's guardian?"

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

The oni seems reluctant to share much info about himself or the young girl, but opens up after a while. "My name is Jashi. The girl is Patch, like you no doubt heard me mention a few times back there. Our combined story is not too long, only some four years in lenght. I used to reside in the oni lands, among the lesser oni, the ones not too different from the blues. After one particularly heated argument with a group of them, I was nearly beaten to death because they didn't agree with my more peaceful position. They had me smacked down to the ground, but before they finish me off, an intense light blinded me. When I could see again, there was nothing but a few red smears suggesting that there ever was other oni there. And Patch was there, her small eyes piercing into the very dephts of my being. It was then that I realized she had somehow spared my life by eradicating the lessers from existence. I do not know how she did it, but it was Patch alright. After that moment, we've been together since she wouldn't leave me alone. We hardly talk, but I can feel Patch's desires in my head when she needs something. I've never understood a word about her books either, they are in a completely alien language" he explains as the miles go by

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina looked at Patch curiously.

"Well, that seems reasonable enough, Jashi. But how do you know her name is Patch? Or did she tell you?" She smiled and let out a small half-laugh. "And Patch, feel free to enter the conversation any time you get to a break in your book. I feel a bit awkward talking about you in the third person right in front of you."

Nina plodded on across the desert, back in the direction Lynette had taken her on the way to the caves.

"Anyways, I think that's quite some power she has. I wouldn't wish to be on the wrong end of it. So what sorts of things does she ask a big guy like you to do for her?"

Nina was happy to continue to ask little questions throughout the night to pass the time, and if ever Jashi inquired about her, she would freely tell him anything that was not confidential between her and those in her lady's house. She would turn the conversation to smithing and Jashi's hobbies and likes and dislikes and why he had turned to a peaceful philosophy. Hopefully by the time dawn came, they would be close to home.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Seemingly over his initial mistrust, Jashi is more open after a few hours of travel along the dunes. "It's one of the few things she's ever said to me. That's how I know. Her desires are few, the basic eating and drinking. But Patch doesn't seem to sleep, and eats much more sparsely than other humans I've seen.." the oni answers Nina's question.

When Patch is addressed, the bookwormish girl is still quite uncaring about the surroundings. She does give a short glance in Nina's direction however, and the green-haired girl was not sure if she wanted to lock gazes with her again. The little girl had a stare that would scare the Grim Reaper himself away, it was as if her eyes dug into Nina's mind and teared every hidden nook and cranny inside her memories open for the small girl to witness.

Jashi's explanation about his outlook on life was nothing groundbreaking, the red man thought saw conflict as an unnecessary brutal way of settling things. He originally didn't want to have anything to do with war and such, but had a natural talent with forging iron into weapons.

After a few hours spent wandering, the rather unlikely trio is within sight of the town Nina was familiar with.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina pondered a little about Patch. By this point she now doubted that the girl was human, or if she was, then she must be possessed by something that was not. All little girls her age required sleep, and more food than Jashi indicated he'd been feeding her. And no girl had such a soul-scorching stare either. It was something uncanny, and disturbing.

"Ah, that is the town up ahead. My mistress' estate is not much further. No doubt the captain of the guard will be on alert. I'll probably have some explaining to do about you two... so I guess, no sudden movements until I can sort everything out. Everyone in the town is tense because of the ogres, so it's important that I let them know you're not our enemy so no one gets hurt."

As they drew nearer to the town, Nina raised her hands in a casual wave, just in case Captain Ridley or one of his subordinates was peering at them through the spyglass. She wanted to give off the impression that, yes, she was aware there was a giant red oni behind her, and no, she wasn't alarmed by that fact.

She would bypass the town if possible and head straight for Iliana's estate.

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

"Alright, I'll do as you say." Jashi says as they approach the town outskirts, not wanting to cause any trouble. They were under surveilance as Nina had suspected, with four archers appearing on the windows of the buildings at the edge of the town. Ridley himself is nearby as well, coming forward to greet the oni with his axe held firmly in his grip. "Stay back Miss, we'll deal with this guy!" the captain says as he advances towards them in an alarming speed.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina pulled her sword and leveled it at Ridley while placing her body directly in front of Jashi, even though her small frame would hardly cover his looming form from all the arrows. It was the gesture that was important.

"Stop! Both of them are under my protection! They are not to be harmed!"

She took a defensive stance, and kept her blade low. She did not really want to hurt Ridley.

"This oni is Jashi, he has aided us greatly by sabotaging the enemy weapon stores. I have given him my word that he will find shelter with us - I won't have you attacking him, understand? Now put your weapons down... he's been traveling with me for over a day, I'm not in trouble. You should have seen that by now."

 

[Guan Yu]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Ridley stops his semi-charge once Nina interferes. Casting looks at both her and Jashi in turns, the guard captain eventually returns his axe back to the straps on his back. "Well that's a surprise, though it wasn't me looking at you." the bearish man tells her, signalling the archers to ease up. "If what you say is true, then you're free to enter. If something bad happens, I'm holding you personally responsible for it, got it?" he finishes, backing away to return to the post he was at previously, allowing the trio entry to the city.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nina (BlueSlime)

Nina nodded and led Jashi and Patch by the man on the way into the town.

"It will be okay, Ridley. And thank you for your willingness to come to my rescue."

Nina hoped to come to the estate gates soon. She longed to see more familiar faces, and find out exactly how Iliana would take the news of Nina promising lodging to an oni and a 14-year old sorcerer girl of unknown origins.

"I expected Ridley and the town guard to be wary of you," Nina said to her traveling companions once they were further down the street, "Hopefully we'll have an easier time of things at the estate."

Nina smiled and headed towards home.