Timing and a scene [Ren]

[Ren]

Ren watched her as she spoke, his eyes trailing across her face in an uncontrolled manner. From her cute little chin to her perfectly sculpted eyebrows, Ren was certain that the girl before him was one of the prettiest he had ever encountered. In his eyes, she far outshined all the Sidhe Alanor had to offer, though her personality had more to do with this subconscious decision than her appearance did. Though Namiko was beautiful, she, like the rest of the Nimbus, could never hold a candle to the pure blooded Sidhe. There was something just so insanely beautiful about them, and it was that feeling that made Ren so sick to his stomach. The fact that Namiko was not a Sidhe allowed him to feel more at ease, and, in the process, his brain decided that he would become infatuated with her...at least for the time being.

The fact that she had told some humans of her faerie blood had Ren narrowing his eyes, "Lucky. Jun made me promise never to say a word about my blood. It would have been so much easier if I had. Everyone else would have been too scared to fight me then. Not that they weren't already." Ren showed off a toothy grin. It was during times like this that one could see the truly malicious nature the boy actually harbored. Ren had been a hellion in the human world. Running gangs, destroying property, and beating the crap out of those who got in his way had all been popular past times of his. It had of course been an outlet for the aggression he harbored, an aggression naturally built into him. The fact that he was stronger, faster, and healed quicker than his human parts had given him a superiority complex, which was part of the reason why he was having such a hard time adjusting to Alanor. Here he was nothing but a speck of dirt on King Cel's shoe. The thought of going from number one to less than zero was horribly frustrating.

Ren didn't seem aware of how malicious his words had sounded - he was clueless as always. Instead he merely kept up his boyish appearance, his innocent smile plastered on his face. That had always been a plus side to Ren. Despite the fact that most of his life had been shrouded with dangerous activity, Ren was naturally charming and particularly sweet when it came to women. After all, Ren considered the majority of his bad deeds to be a joke, or, even justified in his mind. So in reality he found nothing wrong with himself, save for his temper which had a tendency to flare quite easily.

After realizing that he had inadvertently mentioned his brother for the second time -though Ren didn't remember the first time - he decided that he might as well admit that he had a sibling, "I lived in the human world with my older brother who also is a faerie, so I guess I had it easier than you huh? Well you're here now, and I'm really glad you are." He shifted his chair back and forth on its legs in a momentary lapse in concentration, his chin still resting on his arms. It was around that time that the Seelie Queen made her entrance and Ren shot her a look. He blinked for a moment, his eyes wide as he took in her beauty. Had Namiko not been there, Ren would have quite possibly spent a longer time gaping. Instead he snapped his mouth shut, coughed slightly and jerked his eyes away from the ivory doused Queen as she made her announcement, "Definitely not what I had expected."

[Namiko]

Similar to Ren's own thoughts, she was having a hard time with her excitement versus his beauty. Of course because they'd been sharing such an interesting topic to the both of them, she wanted to watch his face and delight in his expressions, smile when he smiled. But then when she did look at his face and see him smile, her stomach had a very uneasy gravity-defying feeling. Her heart was racing too, but she'd been trying to ignore that for a few minutes already. He was charming when he relaxed, and handsome in both a cute way but also a somewhat rugged way. He looked tough, but boyish at the same time. Namiko was surprised to find that this was somehow her 'type'.

She shied at the topic of confessing her faerie blood. It had been the easy way out, and she knew it. "They must have been intimidated by the strength of the faer- wait, did you fight someone?" The realization dawned on her suddenly that the only way to garner that kind of fear and respect would be if people had witnessed his strength somehow... and she had a feeling that punching a trash can or lifting a car was not the spectacle which had earned him this. Namiko had never really entered into any physical fights, though she had been bullied by some girls in Chiba when she'd gotten her first boyfriend. They didn't take kindly to a mixed girl polluting one of the school idol's pure blood. Shrugging off those bad memories, she was just about to ask who Jun was when Ren explained himself.

Her eyes were drawn down to the parting of his perfectly plush lips, almost missing what he said entirely. If Ren had of asked, she would have agreed that there was nothing wrong with him. It made her feel quite inferior, but she was so used to it that she basked in his attention despite the feeling. When had anyone like him ever really given her the time of day? She was still expecting it to go wrong, like the last time... I can't believe you took me seriously, Namiko... You should know better. His cruel smile had made her fear faerie men for a long time.

"Hmm, maybe not. For a while, my older sister Reika was there... but... well, maybe it was better when she left." She fidgeted with her dress uncomfortably, pain flickering across her eyes for a moment before she cast her eyes down to the spotless snow. "She didn't like me much." That was putting it lightly. The older woman positively ran her into the ground with her words on several occasions, until Namiko learned that she should keep her problems and secrets to herself.

Namiko noticed Ren's gaze across the sea of people and curiously looked over. Her eyes widened a touch, shimmering in the light as if hypnotized. This was why she could never fit in there. She managed to shyly take her eyes away, noting Ren's wide-mouthed stare. She would probably never earn that kind of look from anyone. Coming into power didn't seem likely for her, no matter how much she felt it would change her life for the better. "Oh... I had heard she was very beautiful..." She said softly, trying not to look back at the woman.

[Ren]

Ren was not unlike most faerie. Secretly, deep down inside he envied all Sidhe. Their beauty, ther prowess, and their power. The mere thought of the respect that a coming into power would bring him made Ren's fingers clench a bit tighter. Still, the likelihood of it happening any time soon, or if ever, was super slim. According to Jun, both of their parents had been of Nimbus blood, though apparently their grandfather on their father's side had been Sidhe. Even so, to the best of Ren's knowledge, their father had never come into power. He couldn't really know for sure though since Ren didn't know where his parents were, or even if they were still alive. Jun had a habit of keeping these things from him.

Annette was gorgeous, but it was a scary type of beauty. Her presence was severely alluring, and Ren felt himself craving to look upon her, though he did his best not to. Out o all the Sidhe present Annette had the most commanding aura. That aura, combined with her beauty severely intimidated Ren and he found himself inwardly cursing his own weakness. Directing his eyes to the ground, Ren took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to force somewhat inappropriate thoughts of the Queen's flesh out of his mind. They made him feel horrible, especially since Namiko was right there. For some reason, despite the fact that they had no real romantic relationship, Ren felt as if his thoughts of the Queen were an affront to Namiko.

Rubbing his head somewhat ferociously with his right hand, messing his hair in the process, Ren caught glimpse of his mantel tattoo and blinked. He looked to Namiko, completely oblivious to her previous words since he had been to busy concentrating on his own thoughts, "Hey, what's your mantel by the way?" Ren slipped his right arm from his jacket and held it out his right arm to show her. The snake tattoo coiled around his entire right arm in constant slow movement from his wrist to his shoulder. Though half of it was obscured by the metal bracer around his wrist, the general idea would be unmistakable. He stared at it for a few moments, "I didn't know what it was at first- I certainly hadn't chosen it. But my brother has studied almost everything under the sun. It's an Papuan Taipan. Jun says it's Australia's largest venomous snake, and probably the most venomous in the world." He was boasting of course, this was evident. Although Ren was somewhat naturally arrogant, at this moment he was attempting to show Namiko that he could be just as good as those Sidhe. His mantel could deliver a mortal wound that could kill in less than thirty minutes with just one bite. How awesome was that? Plus, he was trying to keep up conversation, which he wasn't exactly the best at.

[Namiko]

Namiko was happy to talk about something, anything else. The presence of all those Sidhe so nearby made her take notice of her inadequacy more than usual. Although a Nimbus, she felt more akin to a human or an unfortunate looking hybrid. It wasn't that she wanted attention, actually it would be creepy to suddenly have strangers staring after her like they all wanted to sleep with her. It was just that she wanted to fit in, to feel as good as someone important.

She suddenly noticed Ren's arm when he presented it and made a small 'Hm?' before a sharp 'Oh!' of surprise. "It looks really big and strong..." She remarked with obvious awe. It wasn't just any snake, it was a really deadly snake. Snakes alone were powerful with their bodies if they were this big, but he was also venomous, twice as deadly. Then when he asked about hers, she awkwardly began to lift the line of her dress on the right side before stopping at mid-thigh with a red flush. "Um... I don't think I can show you..." It was on the bone of her right hip, jumping downwards so that it fit the arch of her body perfectly. But because it was in such an intimate spot, the only way anyone would see it... well, it was suffice to say that no one had seen it yet. She'd forgotten about that.

"It's a Mountain Hare..." Her mantel would probably make him laugh at how small and fragile it was. She could run like a demon in her mantel's form, and it blended into the surroundings perfectly... but in combat she stood no chance. Smiling suddenly, she was actually happy she'd met someone with such a powerful and interesting mantel. "You're lucky, I bet you look really cool." Curiously, she watched it move and reached her hand out, hovering just above his skin. "Can I...?" Not having a problem with snakes at all, she wondered what it felt like having one as a living tattoo.

The bracer was a curious addition, it didn't seem to overly fit his other accessories or wardrobe. Maybe he had an injury there that he didn't want anyone to get at in a fight. She had broken an ankle once and been extremely worried about someone knowing of it when she was in Alanor. Or maybe he just liked to mix up his fashion.

[Ren]

Ren was probably quite lucky that he missed the movement of her dress and subsequently did not see the exposure of her thigh. Had he, an equally red blush would have crept up onto his face. Instead, he simply cocked his head at her answer, ”Mountain Hare huh?” He wracked his brain for a second. Ren had never been good at studying. Even over the hundred of years that he had lived, Ren had never paid much attention to anything he wasn’t interested in. Jun had attempted to teach him a variety of subjects, all of which had come easy to Ren. It wasn’t that he wasn’t smart. Ren was incredibly intelligent. However, he was also very lazy and very narrow minded, which at times allowed him to come off as ignorant.

He broke into a smile, his canines lightly indenting his lips as he watched her, ”Sounds adorable.” In reality, Ren had a large floppy bunny stuffed animal in his room and he was equating her mantel to that. Close enough, but definitely not the same. Although it seemed odd to him that she couldn’t show him her mantel –the fact that it was in a private area had completely eluded him- he decided to let it go, his eyes trailing to watch her hand as it came to hover over his flesh. He blinked at her request, ”Oh. Sure.”

Her praise of his mantel was well heard and it only increased his smile as he shifted his arm closer to her. It was then he saw her eyes catch his bracer and he felt obligated to explain, ”I never go anywhere without a weapon. Especially not here.” The metal bracer sheathed a retractable blade that would extend over his hand, dipped in his own poison. So, even while not in mantel form, Ren still possessed his deadly fangs.

[Namiko]

When he repeated her mantel's name, she gave him an awkward and slightly exasperated smile. She almost apologized for it- why would she apologize for her mantel? It would be a strange reaction, and she knew she should appreciate it for what it was instead of wishing for something big and bad. Like a snake. When Ren's eventual reaction came, she stared at him with her mouth slightly agape. She managed to regain her composure with a normal facial expression, but her cheeks were so red it physically hurt. Her hand went up to one side as if nursing a burn, looking straight at his chest and avoiding his face.

"O-oh, r-really?" She laughed nervously and scuffed her heels in the snowy ground. "I guess a-at least it's that..." He didn't seem to be upset that she couldn't return the 'show you mine, show me yours' game, and didn't even ask about it. It wasn't a big deal, it was just a rabbit that could make a leaping motion across her hip, painfully girly looking. But then would a big macho snake really suit her? Maybe she'd gotten luckier than she thought.

Her hands were quivering now when they slowly reached down to his skin, at least this should distract her. Though being closer was not doing anything for her nerves at the moment. When she felt the living image, it danced under her touch like the real back of a snake. The warmth of his own body made it even more lifelike. She gasped softly and traced down the body, stopping just short of the bracer. Weapons were not her forte, so she figured hands off was the best approach, less she trigger something to... make him stab himself or something.

"Is it big?" If it was, it was really compact. She looked visibly wary of it, her hand lingering above the metal, two fingers rubbing together at the memory of his snake tattoo. It was quite the sensation. Had she known about the venomous addition, she would have thought Ren was a genius. Either way, he was really strong, and the fae woman blinked up at him with a sense of shy adoration.

[Ren]

The light touch of her fingers left a tingling sensation as they danced across the surface of his skin. Ren felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end; he suddenly felt chilled. The shock of sensation he got from her flesh touching his was something Ren couldn’t quite describe – he had never experienced anything like it before. It was pleasant, that was for sure, but it elicited a sort of excitement in him that felt alien. His body ached to twitch the feeling away, to allow the shiver to run down his spine, but he beat it back into submission. What would Namiko think if his body suddenly launched into a spasm at her touch?

His chest swelled, the sudden desire to grab her and yank her towards him into a kiss arising so strongly that he was forced to bite his lip – hard. When her fingers left his skin Ren realized that he had been holding his breath and he let the trapped air out slowly, lest she was alerted to his ‘discomfort.’ He was grateful when she gave his mind something different to think about. At her question Ren yanked his arm back, perhaps a bit faster than he really intended, so that the blade would be out of range of her flesh when it extended. ”No, not really.” He said as he bent his middle finger down to release the trigger located under his wrist.

The double-edged blade lashed out from its housing with a soft metal-against-metal screech, though it was hardly audible. It was obvious he kept it well oiled and taken care of. The bracer itself spanned from his wrist to two-thirds the way up his forearm, so there was not much room for the blade. Ultimately it only extended about two and a half to three inches past his hand if he clenched it into a fist. The blade and bracer were both made of titanium, which made them quite strong and durable, though the blade’s width was nothing to write home about. It was obvious that the weapon was either for silent, on-the-mark assassinations or immediate self defense. Ren briefly thought back to the time he had used it against the tentacled monster down in the Underdark and narrowed his eyes.

”Not too impressive.” Ren eyeballed the blade, ”But I laced it with poison, just incase.” The semi carefree manner in which he mentioned the poison alluded to his readiness to use the blade. Ren had killed a fair few with it thus far (minus the use of poison), back on Earth, but he wasn’t about to mention that to Namiko. No need to scare her. With precision Ren dropped his hand back and brought the blade, tip-first, down onto the table, using the wooden object to push the blade back into his bracer. There was a click as the trigger reset. Ren looked back to Namiko, studying her for a second. It was only then he realized how frail the female actually was. Even though he knew of her immortality, the thought of how easy it would be for her to get hurt made him slightly uncomfortable and he shifted in his chair. Pushing the thoughts out of his head, Ren crossed his arms back over the back of his chair and rested his chin on them, ”Neh, Namiko. Why did you decide to come to Alanor?”

[Skylla]

With the coming of night comes the pounding of drums who direct a procession of faerie dressed in flowing white robes and cowls. Horns sound a triumphant call as each member of the procession surrounds a large pyre. One by one each fae takes their torch to the pyre until the tower of lumber is a blazing inferno.

The Imbolc bonfire symbolizes the melting away of winter and the warmth associated with the spring. The light of life can be seen for the first time since the past summer in burning pyre embers. The whole festival is bathed in warmth and a powerful brightness.

[Namiko]

Although she had been focusing on the feel of the snake and not Ren's skin (otherwise she'd have been done for), she noticed when small bumps prickled along his arm. Either he was cold, she was tickling him, or it felt nice. She was pretty naive, but she knew why she normally got goosebumps and those were the reasons. Her gaze had finally flicked up to find his eyes, but his expression didn't reveal what she had wanted it to. Instead, he had moved on immediately to demonstrating his bracer.

She watched as he moved back and extended the metal, jumping only slightly as it sharply slid free of its hold. She marveled at the smooth blade, listening as he described it. It was... what?! Laced with poison? How did he ever manage that? "That's amazing!" Her eyes lit up and she yearned to touch or inspect it, but for obvious reasons she knew this was a bad idea now. It looked like it would be great for close combat, no wonder he was so confident and cool. He was ready for anything.

A procession had begun just off to the right, beautiful robes of white filling the area like so much more softly falling snow. The only difference was the burning bright torches, looking warm and alive against the grey-on-white landscape. The massive bundle of wood began to come to life before their eyes, and within minutes she could feel the warmth from where they sat, the earth looking soft and wet as the snow began to melt away from the center of the fire. Her toes shifted in her shoes, yearning to feel that softness and warmth.

The night was falling, and as Ren laid his face on his hands cutely, he was lit in a perfect golden glow. He was so handsome in the light that her heart immediately began racing, and for a long span of moments she simply stared at him, breath caught in her throat. The glow glittered off her own hair, making it seem like it had caught fire as well, the glare sparking her eyes and making them look even more brightly filled with wonder as she gaped at Ren.

He said something, what had he said? Oh shit. Her face went into another painfully heated blush as she fought to talk over the suddenly heavy rising and falling of her chest. "I... I... um... why... wait, I'm sorry?" She couldn't recall what he'd said at all. She quickly looked down at the ground and ran a hand through her hair. There was something too impossibly intimate with how he looked in the shadows with only the light of the fire. I can't look at you...

[Ren]

The moment Ren had gotten comfortable was the moment the white-clad, torch-carrying profession entered the area and lit the bonfire ablaze. Of course, being as ADD as he normally was, Ren’s attention shifted from Namiko completely to watch the bonfire, his deep rusty eyes reflecting the flames as they danced. He felt the magically imbued warmth flood over his body and narrowed his eyes against just how bright the fire was. Impressive, yes, but nothing he hadn’t seen before. Ren had honestly expected something a bit more spectacular- this was the land of the Faerie after all. Magic was everywhere. You would think they would employ it more often.

Completely unimpressed, Ren turned to observing the reactions of the faerie in the tent. A few seemed awed, others indifferent. He caught sight of his brother speaking with what appeared to be another Unseelie male as they turned to face the bonfire. Ren rolled his eyes; trust his brother to find something like this interesting. Had it not been for Namiko, Ren would have bolted a long time ago. Speaking of Namiko, if she was anything like most girls he knew, she probably thought the fire and miniature ceremony was beautiful.

Ren rotated his eyes back to observe the female and automatically regretted this. He was quite lucky she was in the process of watching the fire because the red that quickly rose to his cheeks was not something he fancied explaining. The heat from the fire didn’t help either as the male frantically tried to squash his blush before she turned back to notice him. It was just that the way her auburn hair refracted the light born from the flames, the way her pale skin danced and flickered in the coruscation that was almost intoxicating. Admitting his defeat, Ren jerked his head back towards the fire just as Namiko looked at him again and proceeded to attempt to answer his question.

The Nimbus didn’t reply to her right away. Instead he managed to take in a few quivering deep breaths. Stop acting like an idiot Ren. He chided himself, and the pink slowly began to seep from his cheeks. Once composed, which took only a few seconds, Ren shot his rust-swirled eyes back to Namiko and realized that she had somehow lost track of what he had asked her. It took him a few seconds even to remember, ”Oh. I was wondering why you chose to come to Alanor. It doesn’t seem like your kind of place.” He admitted honestly and then continued to babble, ”I mean, I didn’t have a choice. Jun made me. I was wondering if that was the case for you too.” By now he had completely recovered, mostly. As long as he remained focused on conversation he could ignore how beautiful she was.

Man he was going to need a cold bath tonight.

[Namiko]

Ren seemed to be having difficulties, his own actions reminded her a little of herself. It was comforting but confusing, she barely understood why she got so nervous, but he didn't seem like the type to come by it easily. In her eyes, Ren was really confident and self-assured, something she aspired to. He was kind enough to repeat his question without asking her how she'd missed it in the first place or poking fun, something she'd come to depend on about him. He made it easy to hide things that would just be too embarrassing to admit.

He added onto his question quickly, as if to make her more at ease by sharing about himself. She would have answered it anyway, but it made her smile softly. This was exactly why she liked him. Her mouth had been poised to speak when her expression became slightly serious. Like him? Did she like him? Well of course she liked him, but did that mean she liked him? She looked hard into his rust swirled eyes and swallowed with some difficulty. She was about 90% sure it was true. Oh god.

"It's not... not really... I think. You're right. It's my sister, I um... I just wanted to talk to her, impress her. I don't know... it's... yeah... like that." She couldn't even form complete sentences right now. The urge to run was almost impossible to ignore, she felt like the longer she stayed here, the more he would see it. And then he would tease her, or say those two horrible words- 'just friends'. She'd just met him! When had she ever liked a guy this quickly? Well possibly her third year of human college, but that was a long time ago.

Her fingertips were shaking lightly, her face was probably still red, and as she took in his perfect face she noticed an indent in his lip with a touch of blood. When had he bit his lip? "Oh are you okay? There's blood on your lip." Her concern managed to wash away her almost overpowering anxiety, so she leaned in and reached out without thinking to wipe at it gently and curiously with her finger. The blood had started to dry, but when the flesh of her finger touched his bare lip she froze dead.

The tension between them had been palpable, but she was too blind to notice it had been building and feeding off each other. Looking at her quivering finger on his lips, she wanted so badly to know that silky feeling with the much more sensitive skin of her lips. The image was so vivid that she wanted to scream. There was just something about him... maybe it was just that nobody this perfect had ever given her the time of day before. Her eyes were vulnerable, drowning as she looked at him, as if saying without words 'help me'. She had no idea what to do with this feeling, how to express it, what it meant.

"R-ren, god, I'm sorry, I should... I just... sorry." Her hand sharply jerked an inch away from his lips, lingering in the air while she decided whether to run or try to recover this... somehow, while still going crazy.

((Methinks I might have to edit the post with Jun and Cel so that she seems less casual, chummy-chummy with him XD))

[Ren]

Ren’s eyes were focused on her hand as it slipped up to brush against his lip. At first his expression was incredulous, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened. Then the holy shit she just touched me reaction flickered briefly through his eyes the moment her hand jerked back. Ren looked as if he were about to say something when his eyes, almost involuntarily, jerked to the side to follow an arrow as it imbedded itself in the wood of their table with a loud THUNK.

The boy’s reaction was instant. His right hand snapped up, grabbing Namiko’s own wrist in a rather harsh grip. He proceeded to yank her down as he slipped off of his chair, practically shoving her under the table in an effort to protect her from the onslaught of arrows that quickly followed. He hardly felt the arrow that planted itself in the flesh of his right thigh, punishment for how slow he was to secure himself sanctuary.

Hissing between his teeth, Ren wasted no time in yanking the arrow from his flesh. It was a callous move, but one he could get away with- he was a faerie after all. The pain hardly registered in his mind. Ren had been on the other end of a blade several times. He knew that biting pain; he had gotten used to it. By now his adrenaline was pumping so hard he could practically hear his own blood rush through his veins. There was only one thing on his mind- getting Namiko out of the area as fast as possible.

Without even asking her, Ren shifted to yank her heels off of her feet, knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to keep up with him if she were wearing them. As the black-coated creatures flooded the tent, Ren hissed under his breath ”Whatever you do, stay by my side.” His eyes were frighteningly feral, set alight by what appeared to be a thirst for blood. He was in his element- highly alert with a readiness to shed blood not previously visiable beneath his innocent-looking exterior. As far was Ren was concerned, this attack was a direct assault on his territory (Namiko) and he was about to seriously fucking punish anything that came near her.

Without any other words, Ren grabbed Namiko’s wrist with his left hand. He proceeded to yank the girl up and out from under the table as he took off. Since they were already near the edge of the tent, Ren headed directly for the woods, only to find their way blocked by several of the dark-shaded ones. Ren wasted no time ending one with a punch to the throat with his right hand, noting with satisfaction the sound his blade made as it extended from its sheath to destroy the creature’s jugular.

Still, they were fast. Ren was hardly able to meet the next one’s attack with a sword, his right bracer reaching up to catch the blade, metal against metal. He jerked Namiko closer to him, shifting his body sideways in a perfectly poised position for a side kick, which he instantly deployed, the satisfying sound of cracked ribs resounding as he made contact and the creature fell back. The third attack forced Ren to let go of Namiko’s hand so that he could jerk his left hand up to catch the blade aimed for his shoulder. He stepped in towards the creature, dealing it a quick punch to the heart. As it fell back, the previous one, having recovered from Ren’s kick to the ribs, lunged for Namiko.

(ooc: should I bring Namgil into this? Also, hope you don’t mind him yanking her around o.O)

[Namgil]

It would never reach her.

Where Namgil came from was a pure mystery. He appeared to almost emerge from the shadows, much like the black-endowed creatures that seeped from the woods. He was lightning fast, thousands upon thousands of years of experience backing his movements as he slipped forward and dispatched the creature. One hand came to the head to pull it back; the other brought forth a large serrated blade to rip through the flesh of the creature’s neck. With a tremendous amount of force, Namgil kicked the creature from behind and wrenched backwards at the same time, effectively decapitating it. Unfortunately, there was a large possibility that the now-harmless and blood-spouting corpse would land on Namiko…but Namgil wasn’t particularly concerned with the details.

Instead he shifted the head up to get a better look at it, tilting his own head so that his black hair fell back from his eyes. A glimmer of a smirk ghosted over his tanned visage before he nonchalantly tossed the useless piece of flesh aside. Namgil shifted his eyes back towards the party and the chaos that now encompassed it. While he was a sucker for a good brawl, there was no reason for him to get involved.

Ah, but the matter at hand soon beckoned him and the Sidhe was forced to turn towards Ren. The last time he had seen the boy was when he was still a child, defenseless, helpless. He had changed a great deal- for the better, as far as Namgil was concerned. Still, now was no time to stand around and assess the Nimbus boy. They had to retreat and Namgil still had a role to play.

”Yo, kid. Let’s go.” He indicated that the two younger ones should go on ahead of him, ”I’ll keep you covered.” This rare bit of generosity from Namgil was somewhat heart-warming, were it not for the cold, venomous undertones of his voice. Those who knew him would know he was up to something. Fortunately, Namiko and Ren did not.

[Namiko]

It was a miracle her heart didn't stop, with how fast it was racing from having actually touched Ren. He looked like as much of a deer in headlights as she felt, and she was just about to apologize when a sudden sound made her jump and emit a small cry of surprise. She was just about to ask, 'is that an arrow?' when force jerked her arm so hard that she felt it might come out of its socket.

Ren had pulled her down under the table, and the sounds of more arrows hitting wood and snow alerted her as to why. He had acted quickly, much more quickly than she would have, and the unsettling realization was that he might have very well saved her life. Ren was under the more open side of the table, and she noticed immediately when an arrow managed to strike into his skin.

Her hands moved to more gently withdraw the arrow, but he wasn't wasting time and decided to haphazardly yank it out of place. Her eyes winced when she noted how painful it must have been. She, too, had been on the end of many injuries that would have stunned humans but were fairly minor for the faerie. This was mostly due to bullying, bad luck, or personal clumsiness though. No stories worth writing home about.

She startled back to reality when Ren had curled about to her feet to remove the stilted heels. She left them where they were, knowing she'd need her hands free. Maybe they'd be there later, if not, well... she did have a lot of shoes. The ground was bitingly cold, but it was better than a broken ankle. "O-of course!" She managed to breathlessly confirm. Ren had... changed. It was startling, but she told herself to trust that this was necessary. He was still Ren, she could put her faith in him.

Breathing deeply, she barely had time to recover when she was being jerked up and out from under the table. Her legs were shorter than Ren's by a fair bit, but without the heels she was fast. She'd been a runner in school and probably still had records that hadn't been broken. Her breathing hadn't even accelerated when she'd bolted alongside Ren to the treeline. Coming to a stop so suddenly disoriented her, and so did the fear of what tried to block their exit.

Ren was instantly engaged in battle, and she tried to move to his backside whenever possible so she didn't get stabbed or kicked by accident. When he was forced to let go of her, an ebony hand reached out with intent, and she let instinct take over for a moment. Her spine angled into an arch to the side, falling backwards as her hand reached out to deflect the other. "Ah!" Her voice registered her surprise when she came out unscathed, but it didn't last long because the other had recovered and was coming back again.

Preparing herself for the worst, she tried to brace to cover her most vital areas, but in an instant something else had appeared. A blur dashed through her vision, and then just suddenly there was blood, and something falling towards her. She stumbled backwards and landed on her butt and hands with a corpse in her lap. Namgil quickly tossed it aside, but Namiko was still staring at her blood spattered dress.

Getting to her feet again in a hurry, she ran to Ren and grabbed him tightly about his left wrist for a moment. Her eyes flicked to Namgil, slightly shining with wonder at his Sidhe appearance and the fact that he'd saved her ass completely. Then her attention was back on Ren. "You heard him... let's go." She begged softly, pulling on the wrist she'd grabbed.

"Th-thank you so much." She dipped her head at Namgil before preparing to run with Ren still in her frightened grip. She didn't know if Ren had seen the man save her, so maybe he wouldn't understand her being so thankful. She really owed both men her life today.

[Ren]

Ren managed to turn around in time to see Namgil rip the head off of the black creature. While he had not seen it directly attacking Namiko, from the position they were in he could only assume that was what had happened. There was a brief moment of self-damnation as Ren cursed himself for allowing Namiko to be put in danger. This moment was quickly covered up by excessive awe of Namgil. It wasn’t every day Ren got to see someone rip an entire head off of a body. It was incredibly impressive.

When Namgil turned to address him, Ren blinked, his wits flooding back to him. When he realized he had been standing there gawking, in the middle of an obvious crisis, Ren quickly tried to cover up his embarrassment. Luckily Namiko was there to save to day as she grabbed him by the wrist and urged him to move. He glanced down at her, glad to see she had remained unscathed, and then quickly followed her deeper into the woods.

Ren’s kept his eyes forward but his ears trained backwards as he heard Namgil follow them. He would make sure to fully express his gratitude to the Sidhe when they had more time. For now all Ren was concerned about was getting to the safety of the Unseelie caverns.

[END]

(Figure we should just end this here. It’s gone on long enough haha.)