[M] Lost But Now Found IC [Numbers + SkarletWolfe]

[Numbers]

https://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=90209

This role-play is rated Mature for blood, gore, violence, drugs, sex, and other themes that are deemed unfit for a non-mature audience.

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Etmere sat at the head of the table in the strategy meeting room. Every morning for the past month they have been having these meetings, discussing the reports that came in from each patrol the night before. Ever since the southern nation of humans started to threaten war unless Aeroff ceded the bordering territory. The kingdom was on high alert and ready to mobilize for war at a moments notice.

If another week went by without incident the kingdom could return to its normal duties. Mainly the only big things being affected by this war time status was the military schools. The Mage School and the Knight school were both currently on hold, with their students waiting at home for further news. Etmere looked down at the recent scouting report of the human army. He silently scoffed at the idea of the humans even wanting to wage war against his race. Humans had very little magic, they had some wizards still, but not nearly the same amount as the Kitsune. Not only that but the Kitsune had natural connections to magic making it so that they made excellent mages. Granted the human kingdom was significantly larger than the kitsune kingdom, this was partially due to the blood thirsty nature of the humans, who have been consuming the many lower nations next to them. Several shapeshifter kingdoms had already fallen to the humans, and even some of the other more normal races have felt the affect. The dwarves lands had been pushed back to the mountains, making them completely underground, while the elves were currently at war with the humans. The elves had yet to actually lose land though due to fact that their lands being inhabited by a forest filled with all kinds of dangerous creatures. At least, creatures that were dangerous to the humans. Etmere shook his head for a moment before standing up from his seat at the table.

He looked over his generals. "The reports all say the same thing right now. Large armies on the borders, military exercises but no actual war like movements. Keep our armies along the borders, with mages still cycling to be ready for quick spell casting. Send our fastest scouts as well to the elves in the south. Approach them with the offer of an Alliance. Inform them that if we join the war, and increase pressure on the north side, it will allow them to push into the southern countries that the humans have taken, freeing up more allies to help against the humans." The generals all stood up and nodded before shouting "Yes sir!" Etmere turned and left the room though.

As he moved through the castle he made note to stop by his father's bedroom in the evening to update his father on the war plans. Currently Etmere was the prince, but his father was currently bedridden from a mysterious illness. Etmere shook his head to clear the thoughts from it. He needed some fresh air. He left through the back of the castle, heading into the large northern forest that was outside the castle. He easily spent maybe an hour or two walking around in the snow, heading in random directions to relax himself.

As he spent his time walking, his fox like ears twitched for a moment as he thought that he had heard a nose. His seven tails also froze in the air, not twitching in the slightest in order to make sure that he made the smallest vibrations possible. He closed his eyes for a moment before he cast a spell under his breath. "Hunter's sight." He said quietly. When his eyes opened back up, he was able to see in much longer distances. He looked around the forest and spotted the disturbance with ease. A human, red hair, red cloak, about half a mile out. He closed his eyes letting the spell erase itself. Humans, while their kingdom was looking to wage war, weren't necessarily evil. Humans did live in the Kingdom of Aeroff, they were just a small minority, only making up like five percent of the total population of the kingdom. Though she could also be a spy. He took a deep breath and decided to move through the snow, letting his appearance make him blend more into the environment. As he got closer he finally spoke up. As he spoke up he revealed his presence to her. "You seem lost little lamb. Tell me, what is your name and what brings you to these winter lands?"

[SkarletWolfe]

She sensed him before he made himself know and was prepared with her claws to defend herself if the need arose. She retracted her claws but was still prepared for a fight and turned around to glare daggers at him, how dare he call her little lamb, who the hell did he think he was? She looked him up and down noticing his seven tails and cute ears. She smirked thinking to herself that she wanted to pull them. His tails might be a problem in a fight, and seeing what he looked like she assumed he had magic too. She had her own secrets and hidden tricks but she held calm and cold as usual.

"I dont know who the hell you think you are but I am certainly no little lamb and you will not refer to me as such things again, my name is none of your concern and Im not lost so you can just turn your tails around and return to wherever youre from" With that said she turned on her heel and stomped off through the snow her cloak floating off her heels with each step. She knew it was unprofessional to turn your back on an enemy but she knew her skills and knew she could handle whatever he decided to do. No one could be trusted anymore. Especially humans. Whoever he was, he wasnt very smart to just walk up to someone in this day and age.

She needed to find knew clothes or she was going to freeze to death. She heard there was a merchant somewhere a few miles further. She knew she didnt have enough money for anything, shed have to stoop to possibly stealing something just to survive. She hated her life but she didnt want to end it just yet. She had dreams, fading dreams but dreams nonetheless. Her gold eyes scanned ahead for danger as well as behind her paying close attention to this uneducated stranger, as she kept stalking forward.

[Numbers]

He followed her quietly, watching her from behind. He thought on what to say in response to her words. Obviously, she was not a spy, he was able to gather that much quickly. Otherwise, she would know who he was just by the sign of his tails. Not many outside the kingdom knew this about the kitsune, but their tails represented everything. The more tails one had, the more power the kitsune had. At birth, all kitsune were born with a single tail, but over time they grew more tails as they got stronger and more powerful. The number of tails, while it represented power, it also represented status among adults. Commoners had one tail no matter what, merchants which usually made up the medium wealth had 2 tails at most. In order to be admitted into the military, one needed three tails, and to be an officer, one needed to have four tails. Nobles had five tails, but only nobles with six tails could be the head of the house. Royalty would then have seven tails, until the person of royal blood assumed control and became king or queen, gaining the eighth tail. As they continue to get older and wiser a final ninth tail would then appear. The only other rank to gain seven, eight, and nine tails would be those who become priestesses. The eighth and ninth tail would belong only to the high priestess who would be the one in charge with speaking to the gods.

He shook his head from his current train of thought and moved quickly to catch up with the strange woman. "Hmmm if not little lamb, what about little Robin? As for returning, what if I would rather be here talking to you. As for your name, I am afraid that without your name I will simply have to call you other things, like for now it is little robin." He stayed silent for a moment, thinking on that name. "Hmmm, I do think I quite enjoy that name for you. Red hair like a robin. I think it's perfect." He followed behind her, not super closely, but close enough to keep up a conversation as his hands were held behind his back and his tails moved freely.

[SkarletWolfe]

She glared daggers straight ahead because she knew he was still following her. She heard his pace pick up to catch up to her and then his pace practically matched hers while still staying at enough distance away from her. She wasn't sure what he was with his number of tails. Shed seen a few shifters that had more than one tail but that was only after they shifted and took the form of their soul. She racked her brain thinking about what he could possibly be. She didn't know much about any of creatures other than shifters and even then she didn't know much.

She thought long and hard as they walked. She abruptly stopped and turned on her heel to face him only mere inches from his face. He called her little robin? Another very annoying name to call someone like herself. She knew she needed to keep her cool as much as possible but this creature was really beginning to push her buttons. Shed always had anger problems and that was one of the reasons she couldn't follow in her mothers footsteps. Though she was close to what her father wanted her to be she still wasn't quite there and she would never be what either of her parents wished for and she hated herself for it everyday.

Thinking about her parents and what shed done to their dreams made her feel very sad for a moment and for a quick second it may have shown on her face but she wiped it away as quick as it came. She continued to glare daggers at this boy. "Look you annoying brat, I am no little thing at all. Period. Second you must not be very smart if you'd rather be here annoying me rather than somewhere safe and warm where you belong.Third you don't NEED to call me anything, you want to because you're annoying and think you can have whatever you want. Life doesn't work that way. Life sucks. You should just go back home to your family and leave me the hell alone."

She paused for a moment and just studied him, "What are you anyway? I don't believe I've seen anything like you and if my name is so damn important than what is your name brat?" She really didn't want to tell him her name but maybe she could scare him away. She thought hard about that and realized she couldn't do that because it might expose her for what she was. Right now he simply thought she was some human and she was hiding her true self very well, no one not even a high priestess could sense what she was. She had her mother to thank for that one. She sighed and looked up at the sky thinking she missed her mother very much and wished she was here with her instead of this annoying brat.

She turned her attention back to the young stranger and waited for his response or for him to leave.

[Numbers]

He stopped when she stopped and he waited for her to finish talking before thinking about how to answer. He started to pace forward and backward, left to right while he thought on the answer. "What am I? Well, there are a lot of answers to that question. I guess the most simple answer would be that I am a beast, more specifically though I am Kitsune. Though I am amazed you haven't seen any of my kind since you are in the kingdom of Aeroff currently, the ancient lands of the Kitsune. North of most empires. As for my name I believed I asked first little robin. However, if you wish to know my name it is prin..." Before he could finish what he was saying his tails quickly reacted. Each end of tail pointed in a direction behind him and quickly formed a spear of ice at each tip, firing it at a single spot into the air. As they fired, it took only a second to see what they fired at as they collided with a crossbow bolt, making the bolt and the ice spears shatter in the air.

He turned in the direction his tails had fired and his ears bent down in annoyance. Then a voice could be heard. "Prince Etmere, also known as the seven tail ice demon." As the voice spoke, the creator of its voice came into view, a human, wearing almost all white in order to hide their heat from his vision as well as hide their presence. Etmere looked them quickly up and down. They were human, he could tell that with ease. "Human. Likely an Assassin, guess that means your empire really wants war." The assassin looked at Etmere before looking at the girl behind him. He then looked back to Etmere. "Forcing yourself on a woman. Really are a demon aren't you. We don't want war, we don't even want the land that is rightfully ours. We want retribution." The assassin went to pull a dagger out but it was too late for them.

Etmere's tails flicked. "I don't know what lies you speak of. Challenging me in my land though is a death wish that I shall grant for you." Each of his seven tails stabbed into the snow behind him and his eyes glowed an icy blue before ice spikes shot up from the ground. The assassin tried to move but their feet had already been frozen to the ground. As the ice spikes got close to finding their mark, Etmere said one more thing. "This land bends to my will. Ice is my blood, winter is my name. I am Etmere, the ice demon. Go now to your final resting place." Then the ice spike pierced through the chest of the assassin, making red blood shoot out onto the ground in front of Etmere. Making the perfect white snow turn red. Etmere's tails came back from the snow and started to move side to side casually again.

[SkarletWolfe]

She stood there watching this scene of testosterone in awe. It fascinated her that two males could just break out in a fight and end it so quickly. Well sometimes it was quickly. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the stranger. A prince huh? He was the dumbest Prince shed ever met. He said he was a Kitsune and the hunter said Seven Tailed Ice Demon. Obviously this 'Prince' had ice magic. Etmere, an interesting name.

"So you're a Prince? You're not a very smart Prince. Honestly I don't care who or what you are, you're an annoyance who should just leave me alone, as for where I am I don't really care about that either, I'm a rogue, a wanderer as some would say" She glared at him.

"What is your damn fascination with me? Why did that hunter..." She stopped herself for a moment, "Actually I don't even care, go back to your kingdom and leave me alone, I don't need the drama that follows you around" With that she turned on her heel again and continued forward the gore not even phasing her anymore. She thought back to the horrifying scene she had seen of her parents. It haunted her in her sleep for years, she slept less and less every night. She shook her head bringing herself back to the present. Seeing a hunter in the middle of nowhere was never a good sign. She needed to find a hiding spot soon or she may be the next target.

She closed her eyes and focused, when she opened them again she could see everything around her, there was no one around for another three or four miles. Nothing ever escaped her secret vision or her ears. It had taken her a long time to learn this power and she was injured many times because of it but now she was so used to using it that it was almost her permanent sight now. She had sensed his power before now but not to this extent. He was going to be troublesome if she didn't get rid of him soon. The small platoon of hunters were heavily armed and looking for something specific, something powerful. Whatever it was she needed to hide. She scanned the area for a cave or tunnel anything she could use for cover, she spotted a small cave about a mile and a half away to the north leading into a deep tunnel and she began heading for it.

[Numbers]

He continued to follow her. Not really answering her questions for a moment as he followed her. "You may be a wanderer but you are a wanderer who is currently wandering in my lands. Naturally, that affords me to be curious as to why." He stayed silent a bit more thinking to himself as he followed her. "Well, unfortunately, I can't waste any more time on curiosity anymore. Having an assassin come for me, unfortunately, means the humans have declared war. I must get back to my generals and inform them of this development. I was hoping the humans were full of air and were wise enough to avoid war with us but I guess they want to fight. First, all the smaller kingdoms and now they're getting ready for the larger kingdoms." He shook his head side to side.

He then looked at her still following her. "Do you have someplace to go little robin? If you want, you can come back with me to my castle. I don't know why you are wandering, but I do know that wandering during the winter drastically decreases your chances of survival. It'll take us about an hour or two to walk back to the castle, but there are warm food and clothes. I would hate to leave any traveler out in the cold during the winter. More since when I am curious about the specific stranger. So what do you say? Come with me, recover some, get some new warmer clothes. Answer all of my questions and I'll have a horse and cart take you to wherever you want to go."

[SkarletWolfe]

She abruptly stopped and turned to face him, jabbing him in the chest with her finger and pushing him back a few steps as she stepped forward "I swear to the Gods if you call me that one more time I am going to seriously hurt you, my name is Skarlet and you will give me respect in calling me by my name" She glared at him still holding her finger to his chest. He offered her a warm place and warm clothes, the temptation to take him up on his offer was almost unbearable. She did call him an annoyance and has been very rude to him since he stumbled upon her so why would he offer such things?

"Look we don't have a lot of time, there are more hunters heading this way and they are heavily armed. I am not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself and have been for years. What part of wanderer didn't you understand? Obviously I have nowhere to go but it doesn't matter because I will survive no matter what. Why would you allow a complete stranger into your home? I could be a spy or something, why take that kind of risk?"

She thought about what he said for a moment and continued, "I don't know where I am, I have never heard of these lands and I did not mean to trespass so I will leave as soon as I find my way somewhere else. I am not going to your castle just to be locked away and guarded for being a stranger. I will not deal with criticism from the people there or the stares I know I will receive. I have fought humans before and I will continue doing so. I will kill as many of those bastards as I can, there is a cave and tunnel about a mile away, I will take shelter there and set traps, I will be fine on my own as I always have."

She frowned and looked at the ground, dropping her hand to her side, "I have a score to settle with them and I wont stop until I'm even. Go take care of your kingdom and I will take care of myself" With that she turned and continued toward the cave, berating herself for declining the offer but knowing humans were so close she wasn't going to miss a chance to bring her score up more. For both their sake she hoped he'd leave. She would be fighting in her true form and she never left a witness alive. No one alive knew what she was and she wished to keep it that way. She knew once she mentioned she had a score to settle with the humans he'd know right away she wasn't one and that was her first mistake.

She spoke over her shoulder as she continued walking away, "Just forget you ever saw me and I will be off your lands soon enough and you'll never have to see me again" If the humans didn't destroy her home she wouldn't have ever met Etmere and she wouldn't be stuck with him following her and being a nuisance. Hopefully he would just go away but she doubted it. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and forged on to the cave.

[Numbers]

Etmere sighed after listening to everything she had to say before following her. At one point he did consider her to be a spy, but not it was obvious that she wasn't. Humans, a term he found amusing when she said it. So she wasn't. As he casually followed her, his eyes scanned her, moving up and down, left to right. If she wasn't human what was she? An elf using magic to disguise her features? Unlikely since the elves had no reason to leave their land. A shifter was the best one he could think of. They had their lands taken by the humans and were forced into slavery. Those who weren't forced were on the run.

"I am to be king of these lands one day. Why would I ignore someone who is in need. Even if you are not a damsel in distress, the humans aren't hunting you. They're hunting me. Their empire is about to wage war with my kingdom. They must have heard my father is sick somehow and figure if they can take me, the only heir, out, we'll surrender without a fight. I can't pretend to understand why you would hate humans, and if you're one of the shifters who was forced from their homes because of the empire than I myself apologize to you." That's when he gets down on a knee and bows his head, his tails laying on the ground. "The lands of the shifters were taken because, the Kingdom of Aeroff, the ancestral lands of the Kitsune, decided to not intervene. If we had intervened, we could have brought more allies and stopped the lands from being taken." He then raised his head and stood up, looking at her again.

He then smiled in an amused way. "I held back on that other assassin. These hunters may think they are strong but I didn't just earn my nickname by being strong. Now that my kingdom is at war with the humans, I see no reason to not kill them for trespassing on such holy lands." As he spoke, anger could even be heard in his voice. The temperature in the air quickly started to drop from his ice magic to the point where the snow stopped falling. The snow on the ground started to get colder and ice started to form on his body. "Whether someone is a family member, a friend, or a stranger, they will be welcome in my home as long as I invite them. So before I extend my offer to you again, let me expand on it. If you are indeed a shifter of some kind, you may be happy to hear this. We, the Kingdom of Aeroff, will not only drive the empire of humanity back, but will reclaim the land that was stolen, and return it to its rightful owners. Our first act will be to send several special operation unification recon capable employment, or Source teams, to break the chains of the shifters and start the rebellion in those regions. With the help of the Source teams, the people there will have the ability to fight back and will force back those humans. Of course, Aeroff will supply more aid to them once the Source teams have completed their initial missions. War supplies, volunteers to help rebuild the infrastructure of the lands, as well as one of our armies to defend the borders while the shifters rebuild. After the war, Aeroff would naturally continue to provide aide however we can until the rulers of the shifters find themselves in a suitable state. So again, little rob... Skarlet, will you accept my offer to stay at my place under my care until you are back in tip-top shape? After you are up and ready to go, I'm sure my Source teams would be happy to have you help them be able to distinguish human from shifter, if there is such a way." As he spoke, more and more ice continued to cover his body. However, as he moved, instead of the ice cracking, it would move and shift smoothly, almost as if it was liquid water at the same time. It was most evident in his tails as they were constantly moving.

[SkarletWolfe]

She frowned when he continued to follow her and thought over his words carefully before stopping dead in her tracks as an image flashed in front of her eyes.

**It was her mother and father and they were home again but she was younger and they were outside standing in front of a crowd of her kind. Her mother was speaking to the crowd with her arms raised, the crowd was calming down and her mother had this aura about her and her multiple silver tails were swaying while she was in her human form. Then out of nowhere a swarm of Human Hunters flooded the village and began destroying everything and bloodshed broke out. She saw her mother shift and it was then that she realized the missing link in her life and her memories.**

Skarlet gasped and spun around facing Etmere, he was on his knees apologizing for something that was not his fault. She began feeling a little guilty for how she had treated him but that wasn't important right now, she blurted out before she could process her next thought, "You're wrong, they're hunting me...I figured it out...I know who I am...I accept your apology for the kingdoms lack of concern and blah blah blah, and I shall hold you to your word of helping me rebuild my home but right now Etmere we need to go, imagine a room in your castle where you feel safe, I need you to picture it hard in your mind make it the only thing you see"

As she said that she turned back around and closed her eyes, she lifted her head to the sky and prayed to her mother with her arms out. She was unsure of what she was doing exactly but she decided it better to continue to follow her instincts as her mother taught her. She felt power course through her and the snow on the ground began to swirl around her as wind blew through her hair and threw her cloak around. She opened her eyes and turned to Etmere, in a different toned voice she spoke to him, "Without getting distracted do you have the room in your mind clearly?"

She hoped he would stay focused on the room until she was done and held his questions for later. She watched him with new brighter gold eyes, her hair gaining a new glowing blood red color, her skin glowing a golden brown. She closed her eyes and reached into his mind for the room he imagined.