Low Blow

"You're fooling yourself, strange person. Monsters like that only understand simple emotions, but not words. I've learned this from experience." The Beastwoman snarkily replied, only to be met with a punch to the face by an angered Oki. It wasn't a hard punch, but it caused the woman to stagger backwards. "Then what would you call what just happened, huh?" Oki asked her with an agitated tone in his voice. "Soul just tried to show to you that you can reason and communicate with anything that has sapience, but you want to go disprove it? You've seen what happened to the other Barghest and how it ran away, so why don't you actually take a look at what happened?"

"Shut up, kid." The Beastwoman ordered Oki as she stood up, trying to land a kick on him. However, Soul grabbed her by the head using his Corrupted hand, stopping her momentum. Soul held her in the air by her skull, not putting much pressure on it, just in case he cracked it. "Let go of me!" The Beastwoman yelled, trying to prise Soul's hand away, but whatever grip he had on her was too strong to pull away from. "No. You just tried to attack a child. Such a low blow. That's coming from me, who's done it before. You remind me too much of my old self, and I hate it. I hate it with whatever hate I can muster." Soul informed the Beastwomen, slightly tightening his grip as his face portrayed his annoyance at the Beastwoman.

"Now, you have two choices. Leave us alone, or test your luck. We're not here to cause trouble. We're just looking for people to invite to our city." Soul finished. "Oh my god! You're the people who're trying to create a city that involves monsters and humans! The tree spirits have told us about what you've been doing. Oh, you're fucking idiots, aren't you!" The Beastwomen yelled at him, letting out a laugh that could have woken a sleeping giant. Soul's expression turned from one of annoyance

to one of anger. He lifted up his hand, preparing to slam it down. "Soul! Don't do it. You'll just be proving Crystet's point and reverting to your own past. Leave the matter alone. Drop her, and we'll get on our way." Oki told Soul, causing him to calm down. "Sorry, Oki. She was insulting all of the work that Aaron has put in, and I just wanted to show her the power that Aaron has bestowed upon me." Soul apologised to Oki, dropping the Beastwoman to the ground. "Leave us alone," Soul told her as both he and Oki walked away. "You're lucky that I brought Oki along with me."

The pair walked away, leaving the Beastwoman by herself. She stood up, an angry expression lining her face. She had been humiliated by a child and some random Inhuman creature, and she wasn't going to have it. The Beastwoman rushed up towards Soul, murderous intent in her eyes. Soul heard the footsteps but made no move to turn around. He closed his eyes, waiting for the perfect chance to make his move. The Beastwoman threw a punch at Soul, but Soul moved his head out of the way to the right. He quickly opened his eyes, grabbing the Beastwoman's arm. He moved in front of her and pulled her forward, flipping her over his shoulder. She slammed into the ground as Oki looked down at her. "You know, you deserved that one. We gave you the option to leave this alone, yet you didn't. Personally, I believe that Soul is right to do this, but that's only coming from me. I wouldn't push this matter any further, woman." Oki told the Beastwoman as he walked away.

"Come on, Soul! We need to explore a bit more without any interference." Oki informed Soul as he let go of the Beastwoman's arm. He wasn't going to kill the woman, but he would injure her as much as he needed to so that they could explore without her trying to kill them. Soul walked ahead of Oki, making sure that no attacks from the front would hit them. The Beastwoman lay on the floor, her body in shock from what had just happened. She tried to get up but found it incredibly hard to move.

"Heh. This ain't the last time we have an interaction, fool." She whispered to herself, almost as if she was trying to curse Soul with her hushed words. Soul didn't hear her, and if he had, I would bet a high amount of money that he wouldn't have cared. Soul smiled as he walked away. "At least I didn't have to kill her. I'm sure that we could have come to an agreement about something." Soul said to Oki as Oki put his hands behind his head. "No, you probably couldn't have. People like that only know force, and it isn't something they're going to stray away from easily. After all, you're a prime example of that. You're being a decent person because you want to. However, you still sometimes solve things with force. You are not like Aaron, who used his head on occasion." Oki explained, giving his view on this situation.

"Oki, you are a strange one. At times you act like a child, but other times you act like an adult that's been alive for many decades. Why is that?" Soul asked Oki. This was something that Aaron had never asked Oki for fear of being rude. "Well, it's a long story, but I can condense it for you," Oki responded before explaining everything. "I am the child of the previous chief of the Werewolf tribe. Standard hierarchy. However, my parents were killed in a human attack seven years ago. When I was one. That's right. I'm eight years old. However, I was told by the people around me that I needed to take responsibility for the tribe. After all, I was the only surviving heir. The only heir. I was taught things at a very early age. I learned surprisingly quick, and now here we are, me being both a child and an adult. I know it seems strange, but your existence is far more unnatural." Oki explained as the pair continued to walk through the forest, undisturbed.

"Two people whose existence and actions are deemed unnatural. We'd make a great team." Soul admitted. "We already ARE one, Soul," Oki responded, smiling. He was in it for the long haul. "We're one of the best duos out there."