RP:Storm Overdose
Part of the Chasing Lightning Arc
Frozen Trees
Satoshi might be slightly singed. Slightly being an arguable term considering the kit is streaked in soot from head to toe, with wisps of smoke regularly drifting off her person. Yet she seems perfectly at ease, despite charbroiled status and the fact that she's seated in the center of a clearing, directly beneath a violent gathering of storm clouds. Bruise black and roiling, the thunderheads roar with regular frequency and flicker with bright flashes of violet and blue from the lightning being brewed within. All this Satoshi watches from where she sits, the amber flecks of her eyes reflecting each dance of light above, watching, waiting, and calculating.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Whoever's shouting must either be nearby...or simply have one very loud mouth. Or perhaps both. If the sudden snapping of tree branches and the tinkling of falling icicles is any indication, it's definitely both. With a great thud a leather-and-chain clad body slams onto the snow-covered ground. A few moments later another figure descends from the sky, but this one is far more controlled than the so ungraciously deposited one, and laughter flows freely from the strange redhead. "Ow," the first body manages to grumble irritably, hefting herself out of her miniscule crater to glare at the winged man. "You're such a bastard, Ayra-...Oh, hi there." Metallic blue eyes blink at the sight of Satoshi sitting there. That turns Ayras' attention away from Aidan, and though his mirth becomes checked he still wears his trademark smirk. "Queen," he says with a tip of his head.
If she's surprised by the dual sudden appearances, Satoshi doesn't show it outwardly, almost lazily turning her head to blink at the woman that's crashed nearby. Scorched whiskers twitch, taking in the stranger's aura briefly before Ayras catches her attention. For a long moment Satoshi simply stares at the man. Numerous changes have happened to him--and her, all things considered--since the last time she'd seen him, along with the fact that she'd written him off for dead more than once. She might have to change his nickname to "Roach" at this rate. Still, these musings are kept in the kit's mind, only a slight raising of eyebrows offered at the sight of replicated wing and arm. At least one of them has managed to create a replacement that actually works, it'd seem. After a time, the foxkin looks away to turn her gaze back to the skies, muttering, "I'm going to get my money back from that shaman. He said his technique would summon lightning, not lightning-addicted birdmen." A smirk follows. "Hullo, Hamlet."
Aidan stares confusedly at both kit and birdman, ginger brow knitting together. "Wha-" "Oi, Aidan, this is Satoshi, Queen of Frostmaw." That has the poor elf blinking a few times. A queen who acts like this? If the monarch is any indication of the town, perhaps Frostmaw should be renamed Crazy Town. As she peels herself off the ground Ayras is moving over to stand nearby to Satoshi, his own gaze lifting to the heavens and the roiling storm. "Why are you trying to summon lightning?" he asks as he watches that very element arc up underneath the cloud...and back into the cloud. "And how is you sitting here supposed to attract lightning? I thought you were the Ice Queen, not a living lightning rod."
Satoshi salutes Aidan without taking her eyes off the clouds above. Not much longer now before the storm has grown and will begin lashing out at the ground. This isn't the first time she's been given an odd look when introduced as Frostmaw's queen. The magus takes a certain pride in not being like typical royalty--it's part of why she has drinking contests in the city's tavern with the giants, among other less than dignified things. To Ayras she says quietly, thoughtfully, "I'm not trying to be a living lightning rod, but this is at least allowing me to get its attention. For this." Lifting her good hand, she reveals a large chunk of amber resting in her palm, tiny arcs of electricity dancing within its core. "I paid good money to a rain-caller to help me invite a snowless storm in, just so I could try to capture some of its... staticy offspring~. I've missed a few times, but I'm getting the hang of it. I don't think I'll need much more after this round." Thank Aramoth. Her poor hair has seen better days, really.
Aidan sees something interesting. Lightning swirling around in amber? That certainly peaks the rogue's interest. Of course, stealing from royalty is likely not a good idea. At least not when that very royalty is sitting right there in front of you. There's even the vocal complaint of "Drat" at the lost opportunity. Ayras, however, just starts to laugh again. "Does it have to be you holding the amber?" Oh the grin Ayras flashes Satoshi as his metal wings spread, electricity coursing from fake feather to fake feather. "I daresay I have enough of a...shocking personality to attract a few bolts, don't you think?" Of course, Ayras just wouldn't be Ayras if he doesn't pick on the kit, and so he goes about plucking a few scorched hairs with his flesh-and-blood hand. "Not to mention, you look like hell. Even Aidan over there wouldn't bed you looking like this." "HEY!" Oooooh, Ayras is so going to pay for that jibe.
Satoshi, in response to Ayras' taunt, mutters something low and nearly inaudible. The poor vampire will find the soles of his boots frozen to the ground at this point, as the kit rises to her own feet, gives a flip of soot-stained hair, and steps toward him to tickle the underside of his chin with a claw. "And yet, I still have looks to spare compared to you~." A lopsided smirk accompanies the counter retort before she deftly slips around the swordsman, pacing back and forth behind him while peering closely at his wings. A stray finger traces the edge of one of the metallic feathers, drawing a faint grating keen from the contact of metal and ice."Shocking personality -and- sporting more metal than a fledgeling knight at a jousting tournament, really. I do believe you're the very definition of a storm's perfect mate~. Up for dancing with lightning then, Hamlet?"
Poor Ayras, he tries to spin about to keep Satoshi in view but, lo' and behold, thanks to Satoshi's spell he can't. Strangely, that just makes him chuckle. "It looks like I wouldn't have much of a choice even if I didn't," he says, craning to look over his shoulder to spot the far smaller woman, and even then he doesn't succeed. Aidan, for her part though, has the sense of mind to put some distance between herself and the pair of crazies. "But sure, why not," Ayras says in the end with a shrug. "I could use a bit of a refresher." A refresher? Just what does he mean by...Oh hell. Yet more space is put between Aidan and her metal-winged companion, going so far as to hide in the trees.
Whatever she intended to say is lost beneath the sudden roar of thunder that's rapidly followed by an earsplitting crack of lightning, the brilliantly purple arc of light creating a bridge from clouds to ground directly where Ayras stands. ...And where Satoshi's been standing, poking at his wings. The blast is enough to send the kit skidding across ice and snow, and even past the first trees lining the clearing where she comes to a smoking halt feet from Aidan. "...Ow," is coughed weakly as the foxkin blinks owlishly at the branches above, trying to clear the stars from her eyes. A moment more is spent in this stunned state before she bolts upright with a yelp, her hand flailing out in front of her as it opens, releasing a ball of blindingly bright light--the amber stone, aglow with the most recently devoured lightning. Where it had been held in Satoshi's grip is a burnt patch, the fabric of her glove seared away and fur charred to leave an angry ring of blistered flesh. "Double ow..."
The bright flash sets Aidan to hissing, an arm thrown up to cover her eyes from the blinding effect. It's not until she hears the first 'ow' from the Frost Queen that she lowers the arm, her head swiveling over to regard the woman curiously. Talk about bad luck. Electrocution via poking. A look of concern even crosses the woman's face, though that may be more due to the fact that someone might blame her for the Queen's state if they find out she was nearby. Ayras, on the underhand, just stands there laughing, guffawing in fact, at the sight of Satoshi. How the hell is he still standing? Probably because most of the electricity that he got from the zap is coursing over his metal limbs, crackling rather loudly. He does make his way over to the downed queen eventually, though, holding out a hand - the flesh and blood hand - to help the kit to her feet. "You never learn, do you?" he says with intertwined chuckles. Aidan isn't listening, though. "Guys?" she calls, squinting as she tries to get a good look in the distance. Ayras is too busy chuckling to respond. "Hey, Mister Lightning Rod Moron!" Well, that got his attention. "What's that?" A finger extends to mark what she spotted, some sort of four-legged thing a bit of a ways off but getting closer. Fast.
"If you hadn't been distracting me, it wouldn't have happened at all!" The kit's snappish words are fueled more by injured pride than actual injury, although the searing pain in her palm is certainly enough to press her questionable temper. Shoving said hand into the snows to soothe the burn, Satoshi's scowl flicks from Ayras to the amber stone, still glowing and melting the snow around it, to leave it lying in a steaming puddle. Her expression darkens at the sight. "That... shouldn't have charged it so much..." In fact, the stone should have hardly changed at all. The magus had chosen it specifically for its ability to absorb and store electrical energy in vast quantities. It had been struck by full-forced lightning numerous times and had never reacted like this, which means... "...this isn't an entirely natural storm." In the same instant Satoshi voices this thought, Aidan has yelled her insult at Ayras and pointed, causing the kit to look in the indicated direction. Approaching at an alarming rate is indeed a large, four-legged creature. From a distance, it looks vaguely horse-like, although it could just as well be a large goat or stocky deer from the angles of its anatomy. Yet the unusual thing about it is the fact that its hooves do not touch the ground, instead landing upon the air just above the snow and producing a sharp click-clack sound--akin to the crackle of electricity--with each step. A hide of off-white is slashed through with jagged stripes of navy and royal blue, along with a few arcs of dark purple, while a thick white mane billows about its head, matching tufts fluttering from the backs of its legs and off the end of its long, thin tail. Once the creature has drawn close enough, Satoshi recognizes it, namely by the threads of lightning that snap and pop around its body like a stormy aura, as well as by the distinct horn jutting from its forward, a jagged affair that might have once been like a unicorn but now more closely resembles a gnarled branch--or lightning bolt. while watching the beast charge forward, Satoshi quietly answers Aidan, "Storm Dancer. Lightning Caller. A kirin." In a matter of seconds the Kirin reaches the trio and slows to a canter, and finally a halt, black hooves clicking lightly despite making contact with nothing but air. Deep red eyes regard the vampires and the Kirin snorts, white mist pluming around its face from the exhaled breath. Satoshi wrinkles her nose against the heavy scent of ozone.
Curiosity creases Aidan's face at the sight of the kirin and Satoshi's description of it, her hands edging towards her newly acquired scimitars. Lightning Caller? Ayras is bad enough on that aspect. Speaking of that flighty bastard, he's just as jubilant as ever, even excited to see such a creature. "Now that's what I call a horse!" Naturally, he's the first one to approach it, his metal hand reaching out to pat the equine creature on the snout. The Kirin, however, doesn't seem to approve of this, bucking and lashing with those gravity-defying hooves, another round of lightning streaking from sky to ground right at Ayras. This time, however, the metal-winged man is far from happy with the zap, a growl escaping his throat. "Now that just wasn't -nice-!" The final word is emphasized with the expulsion of lightning right back at the creature. But really, who expected that to work? It just pisses the kirin off more, its head thrashing around like the deadly weapon it is with that horn at the end of it. Aidan's seen enough. The Sons snap into her hands and forward the rogue rushes. Once, again, again, again, again, on and on blades cut through paths only recently emptied by its twin, the horse-thing making good on being able to backstep away from the onslaught. Pity Aidan never thought about all that metal she's wearing, though. At least, not in time. Even as she's leaping to get on the thing's back it dawns on her, and it's possibly good that the crackling is so loud so close to the beast because the language that comes from her lips is far from lady-like. On the plus side, there's now a pair of scimitar stuck in the kirin's back. On the down side, Aidan's pulling a Satoshi and flying into a bunch of trees to land smoking and sizzling on the ground. "Ow." That seems to be the theme of the day.
As Aidan gives a repeat performance of Satoshi's earlier static flight, the kit can't help a small wince of sympathy. This, however, does not stop her from voicing a wry comment to Ayras when the Kirin begins bucking wildly in protest to the blades embedded in its back. "Is she related to you or something?" Deftly she ducks a stark white bolt unleashed by the beast's horn and makes a hasty shuffle backwards as its thrashing begins to cover more territory. The Kirin's cries are mind-numbing, not from volume but by the way they travel through the air, potent and electrified, a sound that shocks the nerve-endings of those unfortunate enough to hear it to leave them with a pins and needles sensation. "Because no one else but your kin could royally anger a normally peaceful and benevolent creature in ten seconds flat!" Another bolt is discharged by the Kirin, this one sent streaking for where Aidan landed, while its hindlegs are lifted to kick out at the air in Ayras' general vicinity. While the swords are certainly painful to the beast, it is more elemental than animal, and thus will not suffer fatal injury from the twin blades. Still, it's been many years since it has tasted pain, and longer still since any soul has dared inflict harm upon it. A violent reaction is only natural.
"No relation what so ever," Ayras growls as he backs off a few steps, the outer side of his metal arm starting to open up, metal shifting around both on the outside and within. Of course, the fact that Ayras is backing off doesn't mean a peeved beast with a pair of weapons stuck in its back is going to let off. "Now listen here, you! Beha-" Hoof to the face. Seems like something finally found out how to shut Ayras up. Aidan's finally collecting herself, rolling behind some tightly packed trees with a groan. Just in time, too, as lightning explodes the ground right where she was laying that split moment ago. That reminds her. She's still wearing metal. A quick glance down has her cursing. If she removes the chainmail, she'll be exposed like a whore in a brothel. If she leaves it on, she'll be prone to electrocution. Why can't beasts ever just roll over and die? She hears quite the noise while she's sitting there debating whether to remove the mail or not, head slinking around a trunk to risk a peek. Yup. Now she sees why there was a noise. Ayras just stabbed at the kirin. Right in the butt cheek. That's gotta feel unpleasant.
Satoshi is infinitely amused despite the dangers of the situation. Or perhaps because of. Either way, the kit is laughing with delight as she dances at a distance from the Kirin's side, for the most part safe from immediate attack, and thus allowing her to throw quips in Ayras' face--hey, at least they won't leave hoofmarks. "Oooh. Not related. I gotcha," hint hint, wink wink. And then a blank stare when Ayras decides the Kirin needs to be further perforated. Three seconds of silence follows before all hell breaks loose. With a screech that puts teeth on edge and sends static arcing across all metal surfaces, the Kirin rears up on its hind legs and begins flailing with its front hooves. Each swing of a leg is followed by a fork of lightning striking from the storm above to blast the ground in a haphazard circle around the beast. Likewise in response to the Kirin's anger, the thunderclouds begin to darken to an ugly black as they bunch closer, slowly swirling together like a skyborne whirlpool. Thunder screams with each clash of cloud fronts, lightning dances in purples, whites, and blues among the spiral lines, and a storm's distinctive central eye begins to form, situated directly above the Kirin. Spotting this, Satoshi's ears fold back and fur stands on end--from displeasure and latent electricity in the air both. "Really, I know she was skilled enough to piss it off quickly, but did you -really- have to try and outdo her?!"
Aidan might well have told Satoshi off for hinting there's any sort of romantic interest between herself and Ayras. It's just insulting, that is! But she's afraid that to say anything would be to draw the kirin's attention to her, and Ayras has seen to it that the creature is fixated on him. Unfortunately, that fixation still leaves Aidan with a dilemma. She's still half covered in metal, after all, when that lightning starts dancing across anything made of such substance. That does it. Crispy-crittered, hair ruined, and just about as pissed off at Ayras as the Kirin is, Aidan's modesty flies out the window. "No good mother-" the words trail into incoherence as she strips herself of her chainmail. "If that thing doesn't kill him, I will." Again she crouches behind the trees, watching for her chance as Ayras and the Kirin have their storm-forming dance. Unfortunately, Ayras doesn't see the seriousness in this whole ordeal. "You know I don't like being second best when I can avoid it," he says in that cocky way of his, no matter that his face has a large imprint of a hoof covering his face. Ayras actually seems to be happy about the brewing storm if his laughter is anything to judge by. "That's right, Donkey-Face, give me more to work with!" Wow, Ayras really is a lightning addict, isn't he? He swats with his sword again and again, most times with the flat of the blade and clearly meaning only to further incite the kirin, but other times with the edge to cut into the horse-thing's flanks. Honestly, Aidan can't really ask for more of a distraction. With the wind howling in her ears and electricity crackling like mad, she bolts from behind her cover to once again hop on the equine's back. Burnt hands grip tightly to the embedded scimitars, wrenching them forward to leave a pair of gaping wounds on the insides of either shoulder blade, ripping them out with all the strength she can muster. Wait. Scimitars. In hands...Damn it all. Metal. Aidan should invest in frequent flier miles.
Satoshi might be slightly tempted to take Aidan under her figurative wing, teach her the art of dodging the worst of lightning's bite. After all, you don't marry a storm-blooded revenant like Kasyr and hire a lightning-addict like Ayras without learning a thing or two about how to best handle the energy-rich element. Still, such lessons would take time, far more time than is available between Aidan's foolhardy attempt at horse-back riding a Kirin, and her renewed flight across the clearing. "Cripes. You don't pick them for brains, do ya, Hamlet?" A grin filled with gleaming fangs is offered, the kit seeming relatively unbothered by the tempest brewing. Likely because she's enveloped herself with that misty cloak of hers, and fed it a fair portion of magic to turn it frigid--and thus, not of a material lightning can easily grab or travel through. What does get past the icy barrier is greeted with dead flesh that's accustomed to shock therapy, and fur that glistens with hints of static. It's not to say Satoshi is unharmed--she obtained a number of fresh scorchmarks and her whiskers are a small agony from the electrified air, but she's certainly better equipped to not be in as poor shape as Aidan. That is, at least until the storm's eye has finished forming and the enraged Kirin rears up once more, lifting its head high to present its horn to the heavens. A blinding flash of light envelopes the area along with a deafening boom as a monstrous arc of lightning strikes the beast. Electricity floods the area in a burning wave that pulses out from where the Kirin stands, melting snow, scorching earth, searing trees, and... Sven only knows to the trio of vampires. For Satoshi, it's a few moments before her overloaded senses reboot and a number of blinks before the stars are gone from her eyes, allowing her to discover she's draped over a branch halfway up an evergreen. The stink of boiled sap, fried needles, and singed hair assaults her nose, almost making the iron-stomached kit gag. Ears ringing--and possibly bleeding, if that's liquid she feels spilling onto her hair--Satoshi twists in place, trying to catch a glimpse of what's taking place in the clearing...
If her head wasn't already spinning, she'd have words for Satoshi. Many words. And maybe a few sharp, pointy things. As it is, she's currently on the ground groaning while Ayras is having his jubilant stand-off with the kirin. But really, just how much electricity can Ayras sustain? How much before even his stores say 'that's too much'? Well, the kirin sure seems intent on finding out. Aidan, though, doesn't get to find out for a while. After that huge blast, she's out cold. But Ayras, is he still awake? Hell, where -is- Ayras? Did he get vaporized? But wait, what's that sound? It sounds like a scream. A very pissed off scream. And it's getting louder. Does the kirin have friends that Ayras somehow peeved? Why no, not at all! It's Hollow's favorite redhead (or so he'd like to believe in his self-centered world)! And boy is he mad, flying as fast as he can to...body slam the kirin? Really Ayras, that's the best you could come up with? A body slam? Oh, hi there big metal blade sticking out of the kirin's back, didn't see you there. It's probably a good thing vampires aren't queasy around blood, as much of it as there is pooling up around the horse-thing and Mr. Electric.
With ears damaged by the prior blast, all that Satoshi can hear of Ayras' shouted charge is a raspy white noise over the ringing. But this coupled with a whisker-turning increase in the air's tension is enough to alert her to the impending collision of lightning-wielder and storm-beast. The impact and subsequent discharge of combating energies is felt up from the three's roots and deep in her bones by the foxkin, causing her to instinctively curl inward while willing her snowcloak into a harder shell, thus creating a smaller, less conductive target. And thus serving as protection when, seconds later, her tree branch shudders, screeches, and promptly cracks off from the trunk, sending foliage and fox crashing to earth. At least she's back on the ground. Battered, bloodied, bruised, and sporting splinters in unpleasant places, but intact. ...And mad. So very, very mad. While the Kirin is thrashing to and fro in protest to the newest lightning rod implanted in its body, Satoshi is stalking forward through the trees, drawn--and maddened--by the scent of blood. Small she might be, but in her building wrath, the kit is far from cute or friendly seeming. Suddenly sharp angles transform her face from kit to animal, gleaming fangs bared in a feral snarl while the amber shards of her eyes glow with abyssal light, bleaching out the blue to complete the image of a predator on the prowl. But what possibly stands out the most is her right arm. Normally dormant and useless, the frost-hewn prosthetic is outstretched from her side, the glove that typically masks its appearance hanging in ribbons from the veritable forest of icy spikes jutting from it. The hand as well has been transformed, delicate fingers now sporting foot-length blades of ice poised in preparation. What once was dead has been given life anew by the Storm Dancer's element, it'd seem. Every spasm from the Kirin sends blood and sparks flying in all directions, but both glance off the vampire's glacial aura as if it were glass. Not yet aware of the approaching foxkin, the Kirin screams its rage and thrusts at Ayras' chest with its horn, determined to impale the man and send further jolts of electricity coursing through his veins. In the same instant Satoshi reaches the scorched, snow-free battleground and swipes out at the beast with the intention of shoving all five elongated claws through its neck... but over a year without using the limb, and a lack of feeling in it, causes her to overshoot her aim and instead put Ayras in her line of sights. Poor Hamlet, double attacked by two angry beasties.
Poor, poor Ayras, stuck there with his sword in the kirin and both a horn and brand spanking new claws coming at him. Which is worse, being unceremoniously penetrated or sliced to ribbons? Well, considering he's already lost a few limbs, he opts for the impalement. Forward he thrusts himself, a brutal scream ripping from him as the pain rushes through his body. Ironically, Satoshi seems to have just gotten revenge for a past deed of Ayras'; he's now got a few inches missing from his hair. Of course, now he has the problem of being stuck on a rather uncomfortable horn. Damn it all.
Blood. Despite the lack of sensation of ripping into flesh, the initial scent tugs a cruel smirk upon Satoshi's lips. That is, until her nose has had a chance to investigate the source. Vampire blood. Rage ebbs from the kit's eyes as she blinks, trying to locate where she went wrong, why she felt nothing upon contact, why she smells -vampire- blood. ... "Oh." She'd missed, apparently. It's going to take some getting used to, not having any feeling in her arm. But that can wait until later, as she hurriedly pieces together the few moments she'd been lost in mindless wrath. She'd missed the Kirin, and thankfully missed Ayras, but the Kirin hadn't missed him. All right. Easy enough. ...Except the part where two feet of electrified horn is buried in Ayras' chest. Even the Kirin seems slightly taken aback. being a relatively peaceful creature, fighting is a rarity for it, and successfully impaling something on its horn is rarer still. But now it has a full grown vampire there, and the beast isn't quite sure what to do about that. Well, aside from the obvious. With a yelp Satoshi dives away from the two after spotting the horse's muscles bunch and hearing its fur crackle, seconds before another burst of lightning arcs between clouds and Kirin. Clearly, it hopes to blast Ayras right off its horn, and finish the fellow off before he can stick another sword in its hide.
A pair of lightning throwers flinging electricity at each other like monkeys throwing poo. When will they ever learn? For the normally docile kirin, probably not very soon. But Ayras, he's been stuck underground for months defending himself. His tactics evolve faster. In this case, it turns out that his arms move to encircle the beast's neck. What, so he's gone from attacking to hugging? No, not quite. His muscles visibly bunch as he tightens his grip on the equine creature until finally, with a twist driven by his vampiric strength, there sounds a loud snap. For a moment the kirin stands there, clearly stunned, but after a few seconds its legs give out and it falls to the ground, complete with a still-impaled Ayras. Oh the agony that floods through him. It is, perhaps, the only time Satoshi will ever hear Ayras cry out like a helpless beast in a trap.
Spitting snow after her haphazard dive, Satoshi climbs to her feet while anxiously running her hand through hair and over tails to dispel the clinging static. The sight that greets her once the current batch of stars fades is shocking, pardon the pun. She'd heard nothing of the Kirin's neck being snapped, or even Ayras' roars of pain, what with her ears still thick with blood. But there the two lie, one dead and the other injured, both radiating a field of electrical energy. Carefully Satoshi paces around them, examining as best she can from a distance, when her boot knocks against something. Looking down, the kit spots the amber stone she'd held earlier, the translucent object still glowing with the captured lightning. With a glance between stone and bodies, the magus begins forming an idea that culminates with her kicking the amber, sending it sailing toward where Ayras is sprawled, to land between himself and the dead beast. You'd think someone had set off a fireworks display in that instant, what with the sudden bursts of light everywhere exploding, sparkles of varying colors flying, tiny bolts of lightning dancing, and more Snap, Crackle, Pops than a bowl of talkative cereal--or angry Pikachus, take your pick. Satoshi takes shelter behind her coat sleeve but when the display subsides, she's right there beside Ayras, peering down almost anxiously at the wounded man. "Y'know... I could probably fix that, if you don't mind some frostbite while it regenerates..." Satoshi's healing isn't powerful, nor is it pretty. Without permission, the kit takes hold of his shoulders--gently with the left, accidently too tight with the right--and begins easing him backwards to remove himself from the Kirin's horn, with frequent complaints about his weight made throughout the exercise.
Ayras winces as the kit's ice hand clenches down on his shoulder, just as a fit of coughing overtakes him as he's pulled off the Kirin's horn, the blood filling his lungs and his body purging it. Thank the gods he doesn't need to breath to survive. He does manage to look up at Satoshi between coughs, though, teeth gritted as he practically snarls "Do it." Well damn. Ayras really must be hurt to risk Satoshi's healing hands. He braces himself for the coming discomfort of dead flesh knitting together from less-than-perfect healing, or, perhaps just as likely, more injuries from that newly animated hand of the Queen's. "Just don't ugly up my pretty face, huh?" he jests with a cough and a wry, if weak, grin. Hm. Just how many hamlets are going to die tonight?
Ayras' jest serves to bolster nerves unsettled by the prospect of delving into an unfamiliar art. Although Satoshi hasn't killed anyone with her healing yet, she's come damn close, and not a single one can truthfully say it was a painless experience. Thankfully, Ayras is a vampire. They've proven to be a degree more durable against the frigid treatment, she's found. And so, biting her lip to smother a shuddering laugh, the kit leans him back against the snows and sets to work. It begins with a song, as all her weavings do, the melody of a lullaby as light as the fingers probing about Ayras' wound, and as soothing as the dusting of snowflakes that dapple torn and scorched flesh. But all too soon delicacy ends. A twist in the lyrics and the surrounding snows respond, rising up from the grounds in a transparent wave before plunging down upon the swordsman. As the frigid waters wash over him, they begin to freeze anew until Ayras appears to be blanketed in glass that stretches from the base of his throat to his waist. This is as much to restrain him as it is the first steps Satoshi needs to working her peculiar healing, for once the casing of ice is in place, her song shifts anew and the clear material begins to glow a hazy blue. As the ice comes in contact with Ayras' blood, communications are opened, allowing the cryomancer to inflict her will upon the kindred liquid. However, whereas she'd normally use this channel to commandeer another's body through their blood, this time the methods are different. This time, her song is one of coaxing and promise, urging the blood to speed up its process of restoration, guiding it away from minor injuries, and nudging it along toward the worst damage. Her words are heeded, but the action is not as gentle as natural healing once the process begins. Blood and ice have mingled together as they work their way through Ayras' wounds, knitting together ragged flesh with threads of frigid water, sealing gaping holes with plasters of ice crsytals, and otherwise using the chilly, crimson-stained element to temporarily fill in where skin, muscle, or bone is lacking until nature can take over in time. It's a lengthy process and one that requires a severe amount of concentration and energy on Satoshi's part to direct microscopic frost into myriad patterns, but when she's done, Ayras is relatively patched up--if a bit crystalline in some spots, especially where an almost perfect cylinder of ice is embedded into his chest. With a shudder, the ice blanket melts away from the vampire, followed seconds later by the foxkin when she keels over in a dead faint from the sudden draining of energy, coupled with her own, untended wounds.
Ayras knows he's in for a time when he's held down by ice. It's not so bad at first, though, just a slight tingling where the ice starts to work his way into his blood. But gods, once it has a hold of it, that's when it gets interesting. The metal-winged warrior grunts from the less-than-pleasant sensations flowing through him, muscles tensing as Satoshi's magics guide his cells to where they're most needed. By the time that cylinder of ice has formed in him the vampire is veritably shaking from the healing. But hey, he -is- healed, and now he can go about feeding. Or, at least, he could have if he hadn't looked at Satoshi's now passed-out body. Face meets palm - metal palm - and he nearly knocks -himself- out cold. Somehow he manages to keep conscious, and he hefts Satoshi off the ground and over his shoulder. Time to find a hamlet to murder. Thankfully, wings make that quite expedient. Upon finding one, he secrets Satoshi away somewhere safe before setting off on his murder spree. Some time later, though, he shows back up at where he left the kit, a pair of struggling humans in tow. It's a simple matter to knock them unconscious and bind them, leaving them behind as a snack for his Queen when she awakes. Now with his more noble duty taken care of he returns to the scene of the fight, looking for Aidan. Huh. She seems to have gone off somewhere. With a shrug, Ayras goes back to the kirin's body, sneering down at the thing. "That's what you get for shooting lightning at -me-." And with very little further to-do, he stomps down on the beast's horn, breaking it away from the equine thing's head, complete with bits of flesh and skull. That'll make a nice souvenir.
The humans don't last long once the kit is awake. Sleep has activated her regeneration, healing her numerous injuries in relatively quick order, and leaving her with a monstrous appetite upon awakening. And so it's a monster that descends upon the two humans. A small, oftimes fluffy, monster, but a monster nonetheless with fangs more than suitable for tearing into throats and latching onto delicious pulses, redirecting the torrent of blood she so craves. In little time both bodies have been drained utterly, without a single drop wasted upon the ground, and Satoshi can sit back with a contented sigh. A few moments are spent simply sitting, recovering, and blinking around her mysterious hiding place before the semi-sedated foxkin sets off ambling into the snows. Following her nose as well as her attunement with Frostmaw's snows, Satoshi eventually finds her way back to the site of the Kirin's attack, and there finds the place devoid of anybody save for the horse's body. Kicking the creature to ensure death, she paces around it, examining its form and gauging just how valuable its parts are when... "Where's its horn?!" There's no one around to hear the kit's shout of dismay, but that doesn't stop her from following it with a string of swearing and a few more kicks to the Kirin. During her beating of a dead horse, Satoshi spots the amber stone she'd left near it and, momentarily forgetting her frustration, retrieves the brightly glowing item. Heat pulses from the stone in waves, threatening to burn her hand anew, and a fissure lances through its center, but Satoshi is nonetheless grinning. She's successfully caught lightning, after a week of effort. Sure, the stone is damaged, she'll have to find a stronger replacement, and reinforce it, but that isn't a difficult matter to remedy, not when she's managed to bottle a storm beast's strength. "Step one, check." Pocketing the amber, Satoshi heads off, with the intention of having the Kirin's corpse hauled back home for use. Along the way, she stumbles upon the pile of metal gear Aidan had abandoned. Never one to waste valuable material--and recognizing the scent of Iverfin on some of the pieces, Satoshi takes it all with her too.