Katoka

The urgency of Freyd's invitation to his and Elora's home was something that cause Katoka to think that maybe her trip through the Fire Forest just last week had been something a bit more pressing. While the message he had sent had simply invited her over to talk over tea, deep down she knew that the items she had left with him had spurred a much more visceral reaction than she had thought. The blonde had spent the morning tidying up around her home, mostly busy work to keep her anxiety in check. She kissed Sam goodbye, only exchanging a few words before she finally left. Her relationship

The samurai wished she could it was a pleasure to pick up any goods from her close friend, sadly that would be a lie. Freyd Edges was in desperate need of a makeover, and some tidying, and hell Freyd could probably burn it down and rebuild faster than the time it would take to fix the place up. However there was also something still welcoming about it. Katoka wasn't sure if it was because she was so close to the Whisper, or if she had just gotten used to the "organized chaos" that he referred to, but she still felt a smile touch her face when she managed to find the weapon he had left behind f

Now wrapped in her warm and fuzzy cloak, Katoka let out a content sigh of relief. "You're the best Mina. Someone needs to wife you already." The trek to the frozen monster's lair brought back many memories to the samurai as she walked. She munched on the pastries that Ciela had given them as they trudged through the snow. She recalled the conversations she had with Freyd when they traversed the same path. They had both changed considerably since then, despite the short amount of time that had passed. Upon reaching the designated 'boss' area, Absolute Zero's hulking form was a large a

It was not very often that Katoka slipped into the "shop" that Freyd ran. No matter how many times she saw it she wasn't used to the tents and tables that were cobbled together. Glancing around she didn't notice her friend around and nodded, sure that he was more than likely at home with Elora. "Good." she thought. With a soft sigh she stepped up to a semi empty area and open her inventory, scrolling through and selecting as many items as she could before spawning them all at once with a clang. She promptly summoned a sheet of paper and writing utensil and began to leave a note. "Fre

She didn't remain on the ground long. Katoka knew that if she waited too long there would have been more things that emerged from the darkness. She knew that she wasn't ready to face them on her own just yet. With trembling knees she rose and stumbled her way back to the path she had previously been on. Her eyes were red, puffy and hollow, her nose running and her arm left a trail of blood behind her. She was broken, but she was not dead. Her hand gripped the hilt of her weapon fiercely, her teeth clenched and she shut her eyes tight. A growl rumbled from her own throat not unlick the wol

The wolf wasted no time. It loped forward, its jaws wide and snarling, only to be met with the glowing edge of her blade. The sword connecting with its open mouth once again and coming to a stop. Katoka yelled, her voice loud and filled with hate and pain and fear, her weak left arm struggling to hold the large creature in the air. Sparks flew from the blade and with one final shove the edge cut through the crustal reinforced jaw of the mob and cut clean through once again from head to tail. Kat continued to scream, her frustration having reached its peak long ago. She slashed and cut and

With pixelated blood dripping from her right arm, the samurai stood with her sword in her non-dominant hand, it's tip wavering ever so slightly as she attempted to keep her composure. If it wasn't for her battle healing skill she was certain she would have been in real trouble. Though she did manage to keep a few better quality healing potions on her after her near death experience on the sky docks for floor 26, she wasn't sure if she would have been in the right from of mind to remember to knock them back. The final wolf in front of her began to circle around her cautiously, never taking

A sharp and excruciating pain jolted Kat from her stupor. She cried out and looked around wildly, her mind barely able to process anything that was going on. She had just finished destroying the last wolf's growths and now she was on the ground, her arm inside the jaws of another-- no, the third wolf, the one she had cut from jaw to ass previously. She must have blacked out from the pain, only just now coming to as she was being shaken around like a ragdoll. "Let me go you son of a bitch!" she shouted, her voice shrill and counted in panic. She managed to bawl up her fist and strike it o

Katoka didn't have to go far to find the next blight wolf, it's snarling and corrupted form emerging from the darkness of the woods emanating a feral aura as it stepped into view. The samurai swallowed her fear, pushing it down for her to process later. Now was not the time to loose focus. The wound on her forearm throbbed, the teeth marks from her previous opponent making her wince as she gripped her blade with what resolve she could muster. The creature in front of her scratched as it's neck, the music like sound of tinkling stone from it's mane of protrusions. This had been her second

Using the pommel of her weapon, Kat slammed a heavy hand down on the wolf's head, causing it to let go of her for just long enough for her to jump back. The half hearted attack had not been without its disadvantages, her arm throbbing even more from the strike. She watched at the mob shook it's head slightly from disorientation, but the blonde felt herself freeze up as she got a better look at her opponent. This wolf was not unlike the ones she had faced previously with their disgusting mineral like growths, however this one had several that ran from it's shoulder to it's hip. The same di

The samurai made her first mistake in thinking the the fight was over, her second was taking her eyes off the red and black crystals that had absorbed the fallen mobs. Once she had caught her breath Kat had returned to the initial tree where everything had taken place, taking care to retrieve as much evidence as she could of the mysterious players that had created the lure and, at least to her assumptions, the wolves that had gone after her. The small bottle of blight was now corked and safely in her inventory when a twig snapped behind her. A grow began to reverberate through the forest

She knew he meant well, but watching Freyd crack Ulric over the head for over twice the amount of damage she did previously made her eye twitch ever so slightly. She was frustrated. The samurai knew deep down that she was strong now, much stronger than she had been in the past. However she felt as though she was hitting a wall, reaching a peak that she was soon going to fall off of. Ulric Drell spat on the ground and readied himself to attack Freyd. As he heaved his arm back he blinked in confusion. It felt wrong, as if his arm was much lighter than it had previously been. Looking to his

The opportunity to strike an enemy when they have been knocked off their feet is something that doesn't present itself very often, Katoka took that moment to strike. When Ulric hit the deck with a thud there was the all too familiar sound of a sword art charging and striking. A gust of wind rustled the downed pirate's hair as he looked down to see a red slash across his body and the small blonde now standing over him grinning. It wasn't a strike that dealt the amount of damage she had wanted, but it was better than nothing. With a few hops and skips she returned to the edge of the dock an

The third wolf had the most unique growths on it's body, with crystals jutting from various points of it's back as well as several from it's side and joints. Katoka would have been mesmerized had it not been for the imminent danger she felt like she was in. Despite these creatures not having a lot of health, they were surprisingly nimble and quick to act. The first two made sure to constantly attack, not giving her a moment to react. This one however, was circling her, watching her every move. It almost seemed to be analyzing her. Kat had fought and interacted with numerous NPCs and enemi

Flashes of light and the echoing clang of metal meeting what sounded light more metal sounded through the trees. Katoka was on the defensive almost as much as she had been when fighting the sky pirates on floor 26, and that was while fighting four enemies at once. This one wolf was keeping her from being able to perceive her surroundings. She stepped back and tripped over a tree root, sending her toppling over into a sprawling mess onto the ground. The monster had jumped as she was falling, sailing straight over her and missing it's attack. Kat thanked the horribly placed root for once an

The wolf lunged before Katoka could react properly. She only managed to draw her katana before it's jaws clamped down over the blade, sending sparks flying from it's mouth. Using all her strength she only just managed to yank her weapon free and kick the monster back to put some distance between them. Only then did the name of the mob appear above it's head for her to read, 'Sundered Blight Wolf'. The animal jumped once again and left Kat to move on the defensive, smacking her sword into the side of it's head in order to deflect it's attacks. She moved and danced through the trees, not ge

Panicked eyes shot towards the beast left standing. It chuffed a breath of air from it's snout and stepped forward to sniff the bodies of it's companions. The samurai had a better view of the growths on the wolf's side as it did this, seeing veins of black that snaked through the red crystals and into the flesh of the creature. "I need to get out of here." she thought to herself, "Before this thing decides it wants something fresh to eat." The wolf whipped it's head up and glared at Katoka, as if it could hear her thoughts right then and there. A growl creeped up it's throat and rumbled f

With that she heard a growling noise in the distance, growing louder as three white wolves emerged from seemingly nowhere. Katoka slowing began to back away as the creatures padded over to the meat. Two of them stopped at the haunch of meat that was covered in the gross concoction of pheromones, crystal, and what she assumed to be blight. Kat had stepped back slowly several feet to put some distance between her and the hungry monsters. She had wanted to destroy the trap before anything had been drawn to it, but at this point that would have just made the wolves attack her outright. The th

Tapping the outside a windowed display opened, revealing the name of the item in the jar. "Sundered Embers?" she asked aloud, "What the hell does that mean?" Her eyes were now drawn to the dripping vial nearby. Placing the jar in her inventory she approached the tree once again, this time leaning in to tap the side of the glass to being up the item name without getting too close. A window appeared once again and Kat had to squint to read the tiny frame. "Brew of Blighted Pheromones. This is... an alchemist brewed this." Kat stepped back, trying to process the information she was taking in

She cursed to herself for not being able to hear them fully and at the men for being smart. One thing was certain though, they were both players. Kat wasn't sure if this had disturbed her more or less yet. Stepping out from behind the trees the woman approached the contraption they had set up. Whatever was dripping onto the meat below seemed to make an odd pulse spread through the ground every tie it dripped down. She got as close as she could before stopping a foot or so from the meat. Just to her left the jar that the cloaked man had pulled out was sitting, seemingly forgotten in his ha

Katoka stopped at a tree and peered around, finally laying eyes on the two individuals she had been hearing for the past several minutes. One was short and stout, wearing what looked like a skull mask and looking about with wild eyes. The other was tall, wearing a hooded cape that covered their face. The hooded one seemed to be positioning what looked like various cuts of meat on the ground and hanging from the tree. The samurai arched a brow as she watched him work, confused as to what he was doing. Next he uncorked a jar and took what looked like a pair a medical forceps from a pouch o

Rounding a particularly large tree Katoka had expected to see the source of the speaking, however there was nothing more than more empty path before her. The voices continued, though now they seemed to be coming from deeper in the forest, off the path. The blonde chewed her thumbnail as she fought with herself, unsure of if she actually wanted to leave the path to pursue the mysterious voices. After a few seconds she sighed, "Fuck it." she grumbled and quietly stepped into the uncharted woods before her. As she advanced towards the sounds she could begin to make out more and more of what

Her thoughts drifted to her friends, to Elora and Freyd and anyone else that may be pursuing this floors labyrinth and it's boss. She wished she had been able to take a position on the team making the advance, but she knew that there were others that were more qualified for mapping those areas. The samurai thought it was odd that to this date there were no defined quests on this floor. For a place this inhabited by NPCs and interesting places, there had to be something. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard what seemed to be voices in the distance. Looking about she didn't see a

As the samurai entered she couldn't help the feelings of awe that washed over her. The colors of the leaves were gorgeous. She could see in great detail as she walked how this location was named the Fire Forest. As she walked she could see various animals through out the trees, though she found it odd that every single one she saw seemed to be albino. Looking up to the canopy of foliage above her she could see that very little light managed to make it down onto the forest floor. "Hmm, maybe it's something to do with that." she said to herself as she observed two squirrels as they chased o

After half an hour the driver let Kat know that they were coming up to a fork in the road. "What's in either direction?" she asked him, peaking ahead to see what she could make out in the distance. "I'll be heading off to the left hand side, going towards the MacDonald's place. To the right side the road will lead you to the Fire Forest." he pointed in each direction as he spoke. "Don't let the name fool you, it's not actually on fire." The man reassured her when he saw the look of surprise on her face when he mentioned the name. Once they had reached the fork Katoka had come to the