Tala

You know the bad thing about fighting a white fox in a snowy environment? You can't see the thing that you were trying to attack. That was now making this fight a little harder, and she didn't like it at all. She looked around, and thought that she saw the fox, only to have narrowly missed it with her attack. She cursed under her breath as she tried to find where the fox had gone, only for it to jump onto her right leg and bite into it. "Ow! Damn it!" She kicked the fox off before she moved, trying to put some distance between herself and the creature. "If you have rabies, you're going to be really sorry!" She yelled into the snow, which gained a look from Akame where the black wolf laid. She was just watching this failure of a fight go on, but Tala wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.

Already, she was losing her patience with this darned fox. She just wanted to be out here to train her wolf, and be done with that. But no, things had to attack her. She was still tired and sore from the beating that she got from Koga. But then, that begs the question of why she even bothered to come out and do this training now anyways. She sighed, but kept her focus on the fox. Soon, her katana's blade turned teal again before she attacked it, seeming to do more damage this time. That was good, now its health was in the yellow.

While the fox didn't like this, it was clumsy after that hit, and when it leapt at her to bite, she moved to her left and avoided the foxes attack altogether. She felt like taunting it, but no words actually came to her to be able to do that. Huh, that was odd.

She had stopped walking after a bit, just looking at the engagement ring that was on her hand. It hurt just to look at it, but more because she knew that she had done the wrong doings. She had destroyed not one, but two relationships in one day, and it was taking her until now to even realize this. It wasn't until she heard a tiny whine that she tore her gaze from the ring. She knelt down and hugged Akame. "I told you that I royally screwed up Akame."

The wolf looked at Yukiro when he spoke to Tala, and just the sound of his voice made the wolf growl lowly. She wasn't trained, so there was nothing that she could do right now other than be emotional support, and that was what she was about to be. Tala on the other hand, fiddled with the ring on her finger before looking at Yuki. "My amends before were real, but I understand." She sighed lightly, before standing up.

"Come on Akami, it's time you met Koga." There was some fear in her voice on that, because she was scared of what was being said in the conversation with Noctua. But at the same time, she did deserve whatever happened there too. She looked back once more at Yuki, and attempted a small, but broken and sad, smile, "Thank you, for at least helping me realize my...." There was a long pause as she fought herself for a moment, choking out the final word, "wrongs."

You know, a walk is supposed to be peaceful until you don't want it to be. Not, the moment that you walk past a tree you apparently make a fox really mad. What kind of luck was this? She knew that she wasn't the luckiest person in the world, look at what has happened to her in the past twenty-four hours alone. But still, to have a fox just come out of hiding and start snarling at her, this was just plain uncalled-for. Akame, well, the black wolf moved so that she wasn't in the way, especially since she wasn't given a command to do anything. That was alright, the wolf will learn today.

Tala didn't waste any time, her katana's blade quickly turning teal as she rushed the fox and hit it. She watched as a small chunk of its health vanished, only for it to get mad and attack her in return. She barely lost any health, and she was honestly happy about that. She didn't need to worry about dying today after all.

That meeting didn't go well at all. She had hoped that things would have been a bit easier, but they weren't. She deserved it though, and she knew it. It had turned from an encounter with Yukiro, to a duel with Koga. She sighed lightly and looked down at Akame, "Come on, let's go do your training. Perhaps then, I might feel a bit better about things." She doubted it though, she felt like a giant piece of crap, and she knew that she deserved it. She just… still couldn't say it to the others to make them know that she knew she had done wrong. Why was she like this? Akame whined before pushing her out of the town, that was the best way to get them moving right? Tala didn't bring too heavy of gear, because she knew that she was going to be fighting as well, and well, she didn't want to overheat.

That did it, the very strong person facade that she always held onto was gone. She listened to him, and she knew that he was right. No matter how much she wanted to tell him that he was right, her pride and stubbornness wouldn't let her. Her, now empty, hand just stayed in its spot, acting as if it were still holding onto him. After a few moments, and him even walking away, her gaze fell to her feet as her arm fell to her side.

He was right. One hundred percent right. This wasn't Noctua's fault, it was Tala's. She so badly wanted to tell him that he was right, that she was pathetic and she as the bad guy. But, as she opened her mouth to say it, no words would come out. She would just stand there, mouth agape, like a fish. Why couldn't she just admit that he was right? She knew that he was. But there was something that was holding her back, and she couldn't figure out what.

Was it her pride? Her stubbornness? She didn't know, but either way, she had a feeling that it was going to make her lose Yuki for good. He was leaving her, and for good this time, and it was her fault. She couldn't stop him, and she didn't know why. She felt the first tear start to roll down her face, but she was just too petrified to move. She didn't want him to take it as a movement meant for him. She just... she didn't know how to fix what was wrong.

Well, she did, but she couldn't formulate the words. She thought for a moment, but even though she had the words on the tip of her tongue. She just couldn't. She knew the perfect song to even express her feelings, it had been from one of her favorite MMOs before this one had been announced. It expressed the exact sadness and hurt that she felt, but she couldn't even get that to be formulated into words.

"I..." That was something, but her voice cracked and broke as she tried to talk. A surefire way to signify that was there was an internal fight making it so that she couldn't say anything. Even just looking in her eyes, or the way that she was clenching her fists at this point proved it. She had something important that she wanted, no needed, to say, but couldn't. Part of her wouldn't let her. That same part of her that wanted to be sure that Noctua stayed out of her life.

That part of her that drove the first wedge between them. She didn't move toward him, instead, she turned around and just started to walk away. She couldn't say what she wanted to say, and that hurt her almost just as bad as the reality check that she was given. "I lost everything, because of myself." Whether he heard her words or not depending on if the breeze carried them to him.

@Yukiro

Well, he stopped moving and she, so badly, wanted to move to him. To hug him. To do anything but get the look that she was getting from him. He was so quiet, so rigid, so hurt, and it was her fault. No, it was that owl's fault, not Tala's. She shook her head though and took a step toward him. She had her hands down by her side, not wanting to even grab a hold of her katana.

"Yuki... I didn't want to leave you behind. Honestly, leaving you hurt. But that damned owl turned flightly and hurt my brother. I needed to find her, bring her home. But the damn bird is just too fast on moving when she feels like she's being followed..."

There was this pleading sound in her voice, as if she were begging him to believe her. She hadn't wanted to leave him behind, but she also knew that she should have just left it be. She shouldn't have gone bird hunting. She should have just stayed right there with them, kept the guys in line. She could have filled that role. She could have kept them all together without there being so much hurt.

But no, she wanted to make sure that her brother wasn't going to be absolutely destroyed, but that might have happened anyways. She took another step toward Yuki, and another, until she was able to place a hand on his arm. His sword be damned, he could cut her down right here, and she'd know that she deserved it.

"I'm sorry Yuki, I swear. I just... seeing Koga hurt, hurt. I know I should have contacted you, but because I had to keep chasing that damned owl, it made it hard to stop and send you a message." She felt her grip tighten on his arm a bit, she was trying so hard not to break down. He needed her to be strong right? That was the only way that they'd get past all of this? Right?

@Yukiro

Finally, town. She sighed as she crossed the threshold into the town, and she looked around. Normally, that lady for the quest was easy to see, which meant that she was easy to avoid. But right now, she couldn't see the lady at all, and that wasn't a good sign. "I found you and I tamed you, now I need to give the food back. Where the heck is she?" "Right behind you dear, I'm glad to see that you have finally found yourself a forever friend. Enjoy your time together, and don't forget to train her." The old lady took the food back and walked away, leaving Tala feeling a little confused. "Did you see where she came from?" Akame shook her body as if to say no and that made Tala sigh. "Great, that means she can sneak up on us at any time." Tala rolled her eyes but looked at Akame, "Let's go and get you a collar shall we?"

Thread Summary:

Finally, they were on the right track, Tala knew this because she recognized the tree that she walked into. Why? Because she felt the pain in her head all over again as she walked past it. She silently cursed the tree out, as if it had been its reason that she ran into it. Instead of, you know, her being too busy thinking instead of paying attention. That meant that town shouldn't be too far away, which was going to be a good thing for them. Tala was cold and tired, and she needed to go and find Yukiro and Koga. But, she still didn't know what to say to them. That was the only bad part. She was scared of their reactions, and as if Akame could read her thoughts, the wolf whined lightly and licked Tala's gloved hand. The sentiment made Tala smile just a bit as she nodded, "You're right, I just need to face them."

They had been walking longer now than it had taken Tala to even find the wolf. Tala has had plenty of time to fill Akame in on the drama that's in her life now, and still, they weren't back at town. This made Tala stop in her tracks and open her map. "Damn it! We somehow took a wrong turn somewhere. This is why I hate snow...." She sighed as she closed her map and looked at Akami, "I think we need to back track and try this again." The wolf gave Tala this kind of look that just said 'this is your fault' and it made Tala roll her eyes. "Great, you and Koga are going to share that damned look." Together though, they started to backtrack and see if they could find the right way to town. After what seemed like eternity in the snow, they were finally on the right track back to town.

"I think I'm going to name you Akame. It's Japanese for 'red eyes' and well, it fits you perfectly." The wolf just seemed to stare at her for a moment, before nuzzling into Tala's face. "Alright, I guess that settles that." Tala smiled and laughed, for the first time in a year, as she gently petted the wolf behind one of her ears. "You know, my brother will be happy to see you with me, but I need you to promise not to attack him if he tries to hurt me." There was a confused whine that came next, and it made Tala sigh, "It's a really long story. I think I can fill you in on the way back to town." There was an unspoken understanding between them then as they started to walk to town. At least, she knew now, that she was going to have at least one person on her side always.

She didn't want to waste any time. She pulled the familiar food from her pocket, and held onto it. She was going to tame this wolf, she was going to leave this floor with a familiar. She was bound and determined to do that. She didn't want to fail this for a fourth time. That would probably just destroy her even more. So, she took a step forward, her hand and arm extended holding the food out to the wolf. She stopped after a few steps, and whistled a little. "Come here beautiful, I'd like to be your friend." The wolf simply looked at her for a few minutes, giving Tala that feeling that she just failed, until the wolf took a step forward and gently took the treat before sitting down in front of her. Behind the wolf, its tail was wagging, and she just seemed to give Tala this look for another treat, so Tala obliged and fed the wolf once more, officially making the wolf her familiar.

Wait, when did she sit down? Or did she fall into the sitting position? She doesn't actually remember anymore. Maybe she slid down the tree while she was thinking about how horrible her situation was. She sighed though and reluctantly pushed herself back to her feet. She needed to move if she wanted to find this familiar after all. With a sigh, she nodded to herself, a simple little way for her to encourage herself to move, and that was exactly what she did. She started to move forward, and when she crossed into a new set of woods, she stopped in her tracks. Now, she wasn't a hunter or anything like that, but she could have sworn that she heard something. So, she looked around, without pulling her katana out, probably another stupid decision on her part. But she was happy that she didn't at the same time. Standing across from her was a black wolf with deep red eyes.

She hadn't bothered to move from her tree yet. She was finding it to be comforting and safe. That was odd really. Was she really so far into a broken psyche that she thought that this tree was going to be her saving grace? Funny how those things worked right? She breaks down and has the revelation of a lifetime, which, she will tell no one about by the way. This stays in her head. No one else needs to know that she actually leaned against a tree and broke down like a little cry baby. No, she wasn't crying, yet, but she had a feeling that she would be when she sees Yuki or Koga next. Of course, that crying might be because one of them, or both of them, have kicked her ass into the next year. She knew that Koga was going to do it at least, and if she ever gave him the note that Noct had left behind, she was a dead woman.

The tree was making a great leaning post for her at this point. She was just on the verge of giving up on this stupid quest again. What was the point? It wasn't like she was actually going to find anything, and if she did, it was just going to run away like before. She was cold, and she was bored, and this quest was hell. Was this the game's way of saying that she just didn't deserve to have that companion? That one thing that will always be by her side by the end of today? She had a feeling, perhaps she was meant to be alone? Perhaps that owl had the ri- NO. That was not how she was going to think. She was not going to compare herself to the woman who broke her brother. She was not going to compare herself to the woman who made everyone's lives hell.

The more she thought about how that owl was the cause for all of this, the more she just wanted to storm into the woman's inn room and make her disappear for good. It might hurt her and Koga completely, but Tala doesn't care, she just wanted to be back with her family, and she couldn't do that because she was too busy making sure that this damned owl didn't do anything. Tala had trusted the damn woman, and she goes and does this! How? Why? What was the logical reasoning? Why in the world, would that owl just up and leave Koga? He was so kind and caring. He had been nothing but nice and loving to that owl, and she went and actually hurt him by doing this. She had lost track of where she was walking while she thought in anger, and actually walked right into a tree. "Oof..." She looked at the tree and glared at it for a moment, before sighing and leaning against the tree.

She was starting to get cold as she walked. Perhaps this jacket just wasn't warm enough, or perhaps it was her missing Yuki and the warmth that he seemed to always provide her when he was around. There were two times when she was cold, and he just basically held her close to keep her warm. The first time was on this very floor, and the second time was when they... got engaged. How could she be so stupid to just leave him behind? She could have just brought him with her. She should have just brought Koga and Yuki both along with her. But no, she was determined to do this on her own, because she just wasn't the smartest person in the world, which was possibly a family trait at times. This sucked, this entire situation just really, really sucked. She wished that she hadn't chased after that stupid owl.

She just kept walking, her mind racing at a mile a minute. She didn't know what she was to do to try and make things better anymore. Perhaps, perhaps after taming this familiar, she should go and meet up with Yuki and Koga? Yeah, that sounded like a good idea, but there was still the issue of, were they going to hate her? What could she do to make sure that they didn't hate her? There was probably nothing that she could do honestly, she was probably just going to be jumping into an abyss to try and make things better with them. She still wondered if her brother was going to forgive her a little easier, but she also still doubted that. She did bail right when Noct did because she wanted to try and find the flighty owl. This was really all of her fault, and she hated the owl for this situation.

She needed to see him. She needed to find him and hope that he wasn't going to be too mad. Who was she kidding, she'd be pissed. It was funny though, she was going to find Yukiro before she went to find her own flesh and blood. Her friends list told her exactly where Yukiro was, and she was curious as to why he was on the first floor. Of course, at the same time, did he know that she was back? The owl had run into her brother, and from what she saw, things didn't go well. She didn't want to chance running into Koga at that moment.

As Tala finally got to the first floor, the darn teleporter being busy for some reason, she heard talk about a white haired guy angrily annihilating everyone in the fields. Yuki... The thought crossed her mind before she ran toward the fields. She needed to find him, to get him to calm down. But, seeing her might make it worse, and she knew that. But his anger could mean that he was going to snap on someone, and she didn't want that to happen.

Yuki was too sweet for that, but then he met Tala and all of this could logically be her fault, and she knew that all too well. As she ran, she saw him, but he was leaving view of the town. This was the moment that she wished she had longer legs, so that she could run just a little faster to get to him just a little faster. But, she was too late, because she lost sight of him. She mentally cursed at herself as she slowed down to a stop, looking around.

She wanted to find him, and after a few minutes, she spotted him once more, still move and killing things. She started to run once more, all the way up to him, and just a single, breathless, word could be heard from her, "Yuki..." She stared at him, pain, guilt, and hurt settled in her gaze. She felt horrible for not messaging him. She felt horrible for coming back. Actually, "If you want me to leave, tell me now, otherwise, I'm going to follow you to make sure that you don't do anything stupid."

She watched him, not knowing what was about to come next. Hell, if he wanted to slap her, she'd let him. She accept his anger, his hurt, his pain. Only, this time, it might be a million times worse than before. "Please, just say something."

@Yukiro

But, if Koga ever learned that the owl was alive, then what good would getting stronger do her? Her brother is so weak-willed when it came to that flighty bird that he'd crumble and forgive her instantly, she just knew it. Just thinking about how her brother forgave the bird so easily in the past, made Tala growl lowly as she walked through the snow. While she was thinking, she was in fact looking around, but it was snowing what was going to want to show itself in this? She knew who she wanted to show them self, but that wasn't going to happen. Her mind was just a jumbled mess between her anger at the owl, missing her brother, and missing Yuki. If someone was to look in her mind, they would just see a mess that had no way to be sorted, that was exactly how she felt about her life right now as well.

That's right, she had told her brother that this was going to happen. Only that owl had managed to fool them all. She broke through all of their defenses. Just how powerful was this flighty owl? Just how well could she craft her words to twist knives into all of their hearts? Tala's blood started to boil with her anger. How could she let herself be deceived by that... She muttered something under her breath as she let out a sigh. There was no point in being angry about it right now, she could do that later when she goes to confront the owl. Perhaps after she finds and trains this familiar finally, just so that she has that extra power. The owl can only evade her attacks for so long before it fails, Tala will make sure of that. But first, she needed to get stronger, so that she could be more of a threat.

She contemplated sending Yukiro a message instead. Tell him that she loves him and all of that sweet stuff that she's never told anyone else. But, it's been so long since she was there, what if he's moved on, which he should? She didn't want to ruin the chances of him being with someone who is actually right there with him. Just thinking that was a stab to her heart, and had to stop in her frozen tracks again. She wrapped her coat around her, and looked at it. It was nearly an exact replica of the one that she had been given by Yuki. He had found her frozen out here and kept her warm, and now, she was here alone. No friends, no family, and no Yuki. She really was a dumb person for walking away from that to check on someone who only seemed to prove her right.

Patching things up with her brother might be easier, he would know that she isn't lying. But that's only because Koga has known her for so long, like their entire lives, they were brother and sister after all. But, that could still only take them so far on mending their sibling relationship, right? There was a small sigh that came from her as she walked, not knowing what to do to fix anything. She should have just sent them something. That would have saved her from all of these unknown problems. She wondered if she should send Koga a message right now? At least so he knows that she's fine?

Quote

Koga,
I'm alive and fine, just trailing after Noctua who has locked herself up in an inn room. No, no one has gone to meet her, she's just been... alone. Sorry it's taken me this long to contact you, please tell Yuki I'm alright and that I'm sorry for vanishing.
- Tala

Her finger hovered over send, but she couldn't do it, and she deleted the message without sending it. It wasn't going to fix anything not after this long.

Just thinking on that made her have to trudge through the snow in attempts to keep from breaking down. She didn't want to break down, that would really suck right now. Instead, she walked and walked, trying extremely hard not to break down, right here, in the snow. The snow was even falling around her, and she watched that, it made her think of everything that had happened when she last saw her brother and her love. It was snowing, because it was Christmas. But Noct bailed before Christmas, and Tala followed her, wanting to make sure that everything was fine. She... she wasn't there for Christmas with them. She... she had left them before Christmas. "God Akiara, you are so stupid." She didn't bother to stop the rogue tear that fell down her face this time, if it froze on her cheek, then she deserved it for being so dumb. She might even be passing her brother in the stupidity category right now.

She really didn't want to think that she was in this predicament because she's a stupid little girl who forgot to contact her brother at least. She also didn't want to know what it was that her brother and... can she even call Yuki her fiancé anymore? Just thinking about Yuki made her stop in her tracks for a moment. She... she didn't know what to do. She had a feeling that her relationship with him was over, and possibly for good this time. Between her pulling her jealousy trick over Koga and Noct, to her trying that suicide mission, she might have just ruined what was possibly the best thing that she had in her life. She shook her head quickly before wiping away the tears. She couldn't break down, she had to be strong if she was ever going to see them again. If she died, what good would that do her?