Tale of the Outcast Warrior: Kaori's Choice.

DAYS UNTIL WAVE: 86.

Sometime during the early morning hour, Tyler was jerked awake by a sudden blaring in his mind which only meant one thing: a hostile being had breached the Protective Warning perimeter. Jumping to his feet he grabbed Oblivion, waking Kaori as he did so,

"Rise and shine Barbie we got company!"

She immediately jerked awake and grabbed Dawn. Tyler was already outside with the sword stuck in the ground before him, he had his bow up an arrow fully drawn back to the tip, ready to fire. he was aiming toward the north the direction the alarm was coming from. Kaori Joined him, standing back to back with the angry man,

"What The Hell?"

"My Warning went off in that direction, don't what caused it, but whatever it is they ain't friendly...here they come!"

A group of riders were charging the friends camp, racing through he early morning light at a breakneck pace. Sighting the armed pair the lead man give a load yell and brandished a naked sword in their direction. Tyler didn't hesitate further, loosing the barbed shaft at the lead man's horse taking the poor animal in the chest. The mortally wounded creature screamed and fell, throwing it's rider to the ground with a crash of metal, Shit they're armoured? These aren't regular bandits! The fallen horse tripped four others not fast enough to evade the fallen steed. The other five riders maneuvered their mounts around their fallen brethren and continued their headlong charge, only for another arrow to hit the far right man in the hip, between a pair of plates, knocking him from the saddle. Tyler calmly nocked another arrow, thanking his Warning spell for the heads up, without it the pair would have been killed in their sleep for sure. As it was, Tyler fired another shot, hitting another man in the elbow, threading between the greave joints. As Tyler readied the final arrow he figured he could loose before it was sword time, he became aware of Kaori chanting, her voice filled with eldritch power, In the name of the goddess of flame I condemn you to burn!! Hellfire Kiss!!! Two of the remaining riders were engulfed by Kaori's flaming kiss, the flames of which were a deep crimson, mirroring the color from the crystal ball. The men fell from their unharmed mounts, screaming in agony as they were burned to death by flames that could not be put out by conventional methods. the fifth and final rider jumped off his horse, sword drawn and faced Tyler, clearly intending to cross blades with the younger man, however Tyler entertained no such hindrances like honor, and just shot the man in the eye socket of his helm with the still-nocked arrow. Throwing the bow down, Tyler grabbed Oblivion's hilt and drew the silvery blade from the ground, turning to face the men who had finally managed to extract themselves from their fallen steeds. There were two opponents for Tyler and Kaori each, and no time for further spell. Tyler heard the clear rasp of a Katana being slowly readied for battle behind him, he knew Kaori could handle a blade, but he still resolved to kill these two as quickly as possible and assist the pretty blonde. As Tyler reached this decision the men charge, one going to the front, the other trying to get behind Tyler; if that happened He was done for. But Tyler was no fool, and did not wait for them instead rushing the man to his left, seeing as the man was armed with a heavy long spear, an easy mark for the type of short sword Tyler wielded. Tyler swung his sword at the armoured man' spear, causing the man to recoil and jab at Tyler's chest with the longer weapon, exactly as Tyler planned, as he ducked under the cumbersome polearm and closed the distance before either the now-defenseless spearmen or his partner, now hindered by the spear himself, could react. Tyler plunged Oblivion into the man's stomach using his powerful legs rather then his arms, easily punching through the thinner plate metal and diving into the flesh beneath. The man screamed in agony and horror, but had to the wherewithal to try to grab Tyler to prevent him from recovering his stance and give his partner an opening. Tyler, however, had other plans, instead spinning around and grabbing Oblivion in a backhanded manner Tyler Then swung the sword free from is flesh and metal sheath with a vicious yank, effectively sawing the stabbed man in half inside his armour. Tyler then backhanded blocked his second opponent's weapon, a large flanged mace, with Oblivion's crosstree halting the powerful weapon in it tracks. The new attacker was breathing heavily, both from exertion and from rage at the fact that these two little brats had both thrown off their attempted ambush and killed all but three of them. As Tyler was about to slide the mace of his sword, There was a loud scream from over by Kaori, and both combatants looked over to see the cause.

Kaori's attackers were armed with a saber and a battle-axe. Kaori had panicked initially, as she had never liked violence against other people, which was why she couldn't bring herself to fight back against the pope, and why she had dropped out of her kendo lessons, despite achieving her seventh blackbelt at age ten. she just didn't like hurting people. But as she was faced with the charging men, she was suddenly reminded of the times Tyler had stood fearlessly protecting her from any and all who would do her harm, and how she wished she had that kind of strength. How many times am I going to let him rescue me?! The Pope, the Tower guards, the Wallgate Guards, every time there's trouble Tyler always has my back shouldering all the weight himself! while i cower in his shadow. She had watched him shoot the man leading the cavalry charge, and the resulting collisions, along with the second impact. Seeing the firm resolve in his eyes, Kaori made a decision there and then, I will NOT be some damsel in distress unable to defend herself from people, I DO NOT need a knight to defend me I WILL DO IT MYSELF!!! And unleashed her Hellfire Kiss spell, which incinerated her target but nothing else, a useful spell when fighting in tight quarters. She watched Tyler fire his third arrow into the face of the man who had foolishly tried to fight him honorably, Heh Idiot, anyone who knows Tyler like I do would know he'd never fight fair, especially with me behind him. There had been four men left standing, a spearman, a mace wielder, a saber carrier, and an axe man. The spearman and mace guy had gone after Tyler while the saber guy and axe man went after her. Kaori had unsheathed Dawn at first, before her kendo instincts kicked in, as even though she had left the dojo, she had never truly lain down her sword. She spread her feet, widening her stance, sheathing the Katana and taking up a stance with the blade sheathed and her hand hovering near the handle gathering her strength in her powerful legs, when the men had tried rushing her, she unsheathed the blade in a flash of light and whirring silvery metal, the first strike taking the axe man in his elbow, the slim blade fitting perfectly between the bigger mans' armour, severing the arm completely the resulting scream capturing the fields attention, with the axeman effectively removed from the equation for the moment Kaori turned her attention to the saber wielding man, who now had a pale look on his face as he realized the true depth of his folly in attacking the beautiful blonde with the slender blade instead of the angry boy. Korai took up the katana in both hands, the traditional samurai grip, and leaned forward blade up, tip facing the man. The man stupidly swung his own slender blade at the girl in her strange stance, only to find she had vanished the last thing the man heard in this life was his own head hitting the ground, and the rasp of a sword being sheathed.

Tyler and the mace wielder had watched as Kaori beheaded the man with a dizzying twirling slash, only to stand calmly behind the man sheathing her blade as his head slide off his frame to the ground, followed by his body. Atta girl!! Now it's my turn!! Tyler gave a push against the bigger mans mace, only to fake it out and slide to the side using the momentum of the push combined with the mans' push in the opposite direction to perform a spinning sidestep ,placing him in perfect positioning for a single well-aimed strike to the man's exposed neck. Tyler swung and the man was dead before he hit the ground. The excitement over, Tyler cleaned the gore from Oblivions blade with a rag from the dead man's body. Tyler then went over to find Kaori applying a tourniquet to the man whose arm she had severed's stump. The man was cursing when tyler Approached,

"Must be fuckkin going fuckkin soft, letin a slip of a whore take me arm, Worthless cunt..."

The man stopped his spluttering when Tyler's shadow fell across him. Tyler was planning on interrogating the man, in hopes of figuring out who they worked for, but the man beat him to it,

"Don't waste your time ya bastard, I'm jist a frontline grunt, Only the captain knew where our orders came from and he was the first to die, clever trick that, shootin his horse instead of him, our plan was shattered at that exact moment his horse went down like that."

Tyler listened indifferently, he had anticipated this,

"Only the captain knew who the targets were then? well what did he tell you were doing?"

The wounded man winced, clearly in immense pain,

"He tol us we goin after a couple murderers, an that we'd be paid after taking your head lad, the lass we were to take alive. dunno why."

Tyler and Kaori exchanged a look and nodded. Tyler rubbed his eyes,

"I knew I should've killed him when i had the chance, son of a bitch"

The man, looked at the pair who had slaughtered his company so easily,

"So whats to become of me eh?"

Tyler looked at Kaori,

"Don't ask me, your her prisoner, not mine"

Kaori sighed,

"we're gonna let you go when we leave here, we're not monsters, well I'M not at least, him, well depends on the day."

"HA!"

"For the time being though, Hey Tyler can you do anything for the pain?"

He walked over thoughtful

"Well I think so, i have a healing spell that numbs pains and closes wounds but I don't know if it's work on a severed limb...ah fuck it lets try it."

The man squirmed, trying to move away from Tyler's approach,

"hey now if ya gonna kill me then just kill me! Don't draw it out!"

Tyler sighed,

"Shut up idiot your not dying this day, though keep talking and you just might."

The man fell silent as Tyler grabbed his stump and intoned,

Holy mother of life, heal this wounded soul HOLY RELIEF!!

his spell flared blue and white as it took effect. The wounded man looked terrified until the pain receded, and he finally realized where he'd seen that particular spell before,

"By the gods, They didn't tell us we were huntin a Warrior, an a priest at that! NO WONDER WE WERE WIPED OUT SO EASILY."

The man finally relaxed,

"well thankee for that laddee, I think I'll rest here before heading back to give me report,"

Tyler and Kaori broke camp as the man passed out. as Kaori pulled her green tunic down her body, she felt a tap on her shoulder, turning she saw Tyler standing there with her boots in his hands, as she took them he spoke,

"You okay?"

She turned to look him fully in the eye, There was nothing but concern in his gaze,

"I'm alright, I think at least, I'm not injured at least,"

"that's not what I meant"

She then realized the source for his concern. She had killed three people. Her hands were stained with the blood of others, and so were his, he had seven lives on his hands. she looked him in the eyes

"Are you?"

"Yes, I am."

His eyes were clear, he wasn't lying. Truth be told Kaori didn't feel any different then she had last night, she had heard from her uncle that killing people was a line that, once crossed, there was no coming back from. Koari had killed three people, two with fire, and she felt no remorse or sympathy for the fallen, Does that make me a sociopath? or just heartless? As her mind started racing and her breathing started getting ragged with the shock, she felt Tyler grab her shoulders, rather roughly two forcing her to see nothing other his intense brown gaze.

"Kaori. Listen to me. your not a sociopath or heartless,"

she gaped at him, it was if he had read her mind,

"You did what needed to be done, and protected both yourself and myself. We didn't pick this fight. But you are not a monster, you are kind, and caring, and beautiful, and sweet. You care more about other people then you do yourself sometimes. REMEMBER YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER. Okay?"

The force of Tyler's concern, along with his words, helped Kaori calm down and come to terms with her new identity as a true Warrior. She took a deep breath, held it and when she released it, it felt as if all her tension left her body leaving her feeling very frail. Tyler smiled as she calmed down,

"You okay?"

He released his grip on her shoulders as she replied, her voice full of it's usual cheer,

"Yeah I okay now, thank you."

"Good."

but as Tyler went to search the one of the fallen knights Kaori grabbed him a desperate hug, burying her face in his chest, stopping him in his tracks. Tyler said nothing only wrapped his arms around the far gentler girl, engulfing her in his strength and presence.

"thank you"

She whispered in a small, weak voice. He did not reply, only hugged her tighter. They stayed like that for an hour or it might've been only seconds, before Kaori grunted and Tyler released her without complaint or protest, aware the moment had passed. She stepped back and before he could escape, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, before turning away and going check on the horses leaving Tyler standing there with his mind completely MIA. It took him a good minute to recover, Holy shit did that just happen? it just happened right? I'm not hallucinating am I? Holy shit she kissed me! Tyler slapped his face, driving the hurricane of whirling thoughts out of his head and went back to searching the dead for coins and any other useful items.

The sun had cleared the horizon and was approaching noon before the duo were ready to depart. Thanks to Tyler's looting efforts, the pair were ninety five silver coins richer, bringing their total funds up to four gold coins, one hundred fourteen silver, and five copper. Tyler had also replenished the arrows he had fired with ones taken from the fallen soldiers. He had also found an assortment potions, some red, some blue, some were even green. Tyler quickly ascertained that the red potions were healing potions capable of healing most minor to moderate wounds, basically anything short of a severed limb, the blue potions restored the mana pool, which struck Tyler as odd since the mana pool was literally a person's soul, So what the hell am i drinking here? Another person's soul?, The green potion turned out to be a rather powerful paralyzing agent. Capable of rendering the afflicted target unable to move for at least an hour. Kaori wanted to dispose of it immediately as it was probably intended for her, But Tyler countered her reasons with his own,

"We can use it to make hunting for animals that much easier, since it isn't too hard to find something that can't move right?"

She couldn't argue with that logic, though she had insisted she be the one holding on to it. They split the mana and health potions between them. After much work, the pair finally climbed onto Thunder and Gloss, and set back out onto the road. Leaving behind no sign they had ever been there, besides the small mound of corpses, and the newly freed horses roaming along the bank looking for food, the pooling blood from the dead leaking into the formerly pure river, tainting the clear water with it's clouds of darkened red. In the sky a crow cawed, before another responded, and another, and another. Before too long the scavengers descended upon the site and began cleaning the site in the way only nature could. All the while a one armed man staggered down the road back to the capital, with his tale of blood and fire, of the pair who struck down a small company of knights without taking a scratch. A tale of a boy whose gaze chilled him to the bone, of a girl whose beauty would haunt him for the rest of his days, and a tale of how they treated his wounds after having mercilessly slaughtered his comrades. He hurried back to the safety of the capital, eager to put distance between himself and the dangerous pair. Distance, and the Walls.

The pair in question were traveling down the road again, happy to be moving. This time riding at a steady Half-gallop. Tyler was getting more comfortable in the saddle, making great progress, even though this was only his third time riding a horse in his life. As they rode, Tyler was asking kaori about Hellfire kiss,

" So what kind of spell was that? It looked pretty gnarly,"

Kaori smiled, happy her magic impressed him,

"It's a multi-target spell, but not an Area Of Effect{AOE}type spell, I have to individually mark each target, up to two, in my mind before casting it, and it takes about twenty-five mana for the full powered version that I used, and since I manually choose my target, there's no risk of the flames spreading to an unintended target. It's very convenient for times when conventional flame spells would just bring wanton destruction."

"But why a kiss though?"

Kaori giggled,

"Wow if I didn't know better I'd say you were jealous"

Tyler laughed,

"Well I was a little jealous that you gave a kiss to some random strangers you just met. I mean it fits, but I was still surprised."

Kaori was still giggling until she fully processed what he just said,

"Hehe wait...THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT FITS!? CMERE, ASSHOLE"

Tyler laughed at the incensed, red faced girl, wisely moving Thunder out of range of her slap. Tyler urged the big warhorse into a gallop, leaving an irate Kaori to give chase on Gloss, ranting on how she was gonna kick his ass later.

A few hours later the pair, now about halfway through their trip to the city of Dragul, stopped to rest the horses and their sore butts at a small village along the main road. Kaori had calmed down some, but when the pair dismounted outside the village tavern she promptly kicked her companion in the round shields, dropping him like a fallen log. The witnesses, a few of the local townsfolk both laughed at Tyler's pain, cheered the lady, or winced in the shared imaginary only a fellow man can sympathize with. Tyler, on the other hand was laughing hard from his position on the ground, once the surging pain receded he rose, dusting himself off,

"Happy now, Barbie?"

She gave him a mock-severe look,

"Not sure, here let me kick you again, that should help"

She went to wind up but Tyler took the hint and just stopped talking. Instead he went to enter the small tavern. Kaori smiled behind his back, as he was the only one in her life to tease her like that, she let it slide. Catching up to him the travelers entered the local watering hole. It had a rather small interior, about ten tables and a mall bar. Tyler guessed they had been spoiled by the capital's sheer size and grandeur. As the pair enter a young woman, maybe twenty years of age if that, approached them,

"Greetings welcome to Logger's respite does a table for two sound okay?"

She spoke with the overly-cheerful voice of one used to restaurant work. Tyler smiled as he look to kaori who nodded, and the hungry pair allowed themselves to be led to a table in a corner, with a large window facing back the way they had came. kaori and Tyler sat opposite each other and listened to the cute waitress list off the options and drinks. The pair made their orders for their food and the lady danced off to the kitchen, only then did Tyler notice the little wagging tail sticking out from the lady's skirt, to Tyler it resembled a small kittens tail. Guess she's younger then I thought Tyler turned to to see Kaori glowering at him, gripping her fork in a ominous manner. Tyler cast about, desperate to find something to distract the potentially murderous girl. He found his salvation when he looked out the window and noticed a very familiar shape rising into the sky in the distance.

"Hey kaori look is that the Dragon Tower?"

She gave him a suspicious look, as if guessing his ploy, but looked anyway, and sure enough they could make out the thick red line of the Tower.

"Wow, that's incredible, we're like what a full day and a half's ride from Term and we can STILL see that thing? Just how big is it?"

She had a grudging respect in her voice for the size of the structure that was still causing them grief. "Yeah, i wonder if we'll be able to see it from Dragul."

Tyler was looking out at the Tower, a strange look of disgust on his face. As Tyler gazed at the far away colossus, he got a strange feeling, as if the pope himself was looking him in the eye from that very same tower in both parts hate and disgust. Tyler grinned at the prospect, flipping his middle finger at the red line, as he did so he felt the sensation increase then dissipate. Then the reality of what had happened struck Tyler like a thunderbolt, The pope must be using scrying-type magic to track us! I bet anything that what the strange feeling was! He reported as much to kaori, who thought he was imagining things, "Oh come on, I'm sure that ass has more important matter to deal with then waste his time spying on us. I'm sure seeing that damn tower again didn't help but relax, he's far away at the moment. so relax," Tyler sighed, and gazed out the window towards the tower, unable to share his pretty companions optimism, I know what I felt, after all I'm used to being watched by someone and I recognize that kind of sensation anywhere. Plus I don't think someone so used to getting their own way with everyone regardless of station could psychologically handle a pair of mere children defying his will, let a pair of kids summoned by the very god his entire organization worships. As the food arrived; meat pie with mushrooms, carrots, and some thin cookies washed down with pear-flavored cordial, Tyler mentally sighed knowing just how far religious people were willing to go at times, either to spread their faith, enforce it, or crush and heretics or those who defy their officials. Tyler didn't share any of his fears with the feeding Kaori, she didn't need the constant looking over her shoulder that was Tyler's trademark. Tyler smiled, helping himself to some of the pie, Aww well it doesn't really matter anyway, since to get to Kaori, they first have to get passed ME, and I dare anyone to try!! The pair ate in silence, engrossed with the delicious meal before them, and as they were finishing the food, a trio of men entered the bar. They were extremely rough looking, covered in long thin scars, wearing light chainmail armour with studded leather covering the rest of their well-built frames. The party had the look of serious adventurers returning from a job, though whether that job was successful or not, Tyler had no way of knowing. The men seated themselves at a table directly opposite the pair's own table and began rudely banging on the tabletop with mailed fists, demanding to be served. Their behavior both them at the top of both Tyler and Kaori's shitlist. Clearly frightened and intimidated by the display, the tailed waitress that had served the pair hurried over to the men. As she did so, Tyler and kaori both shared a look, Tyler undoing the straps holding Oblivion in it's scabbard when riding, and kaori doing the same on the katana Dawn. The girl reached the trio's table and began timidly listing that days options, her earlier cheer and vitality completely missing. She barely got through the first round of options before the largest man, yelled at the poor girl,

"EHH? WHAT'S THAT? SPEAK UP I CAN'T HEAR YA!! COME ON SING OUT WE'RE HUNGRY HERE,"

The girl jumped and stammer trying to speak, clearly frightened by the man glowering at her, one of the other spat at the ground, the gross substance landing on the girls foot, and it was all the more disgusting as the girl was barefoot for some reason. She recoiled in horror, and the offending man took it as an insult towards him,

"watsa matter girlie? Don't like me face? Well that ain't nice! Cmere i ain't so bad,"

the pig grabbing the smaller girl's arm, pulling her towards him and his cohorts, who were all laughing at the now terrified girls pleading, The final straw for the enrage pair was when the third man reached up her skirt and discovered her furry tail, cruelly grabbing and hosting the screeching girl off her feet,

"Hey lads lookee here! We gots urselfs a Tail! an a pretty one at that!"

"ENOUGH!!!"

Tyler had risen to his feet, making a beeline for the detestable "men", kaori right behind him, her hand resting on Dawn. The man holding the clearly-in-pain girl in the air laughed as he swung the poor girl around like a bag of potatoes,

"Soo this one a friend o yours is she? whats a runt like you gonna do to take her back eh? She just agreed to play with us for a while ain't that rightt--ARGHHHHH!"

Unable to stand the sound of the screams of the girl in his ears any further, tyler drew Oblivion and had swung the sliver blade out of sheer rage, slicing the mans' arm clean off. kaori was there to catch the now falling tailed girl in her arms and carried her behind Tyler. She was sobbing heartbreakingly, Kaori went to examine the poor girl's abused tail, only to find it nearly pulled out by the roots. The once sleek fur now matted down by the girls blood. Koari looked at the weeping girl,

"It's okay Tyler will kill them, and heal your tail back to it's former beauty. i promise."

The girl was inconsolable, her only response was to bury her face into kaori's chest, clinging to her frame, stain her tunic with her tears. Meanwhile Tyler faced all three of the evil men alone, even the one whose arm he had severed; his friend being a skilled mage, had staunched the bleeding and deadened the pain.

"You little shit!!! you'll die for that!! Do you know---"

Tyler cut him off by charging the men, twirling Oblivion in a savage arc at the left most man, who was the mage, intending to cut his legs out from under him. Caught in the middle of a spell he had been trying to cast beneath his breath, the mage was woefully unprepared for Tyler's attack, which had also caught his companions off guard all well. The man had time for a single cry before Tyler's sword found it's mark in his chest, punching through the mans body and sticking out the other side, the man went limp falling to the floor, with Tyler's blade still inside his body. The other two men, now having had time to pull their own dagger from their belts circled the seemingly defenseless young rookie. The one-armed man smirked, thinking that with his and his friends greater experience and skills, they would easily kill this kid, then the real fun would begin. he had not failed to notice the beautiful blonde accompanying the would-be hero, he was already thinking for the horrible things he would make her do to make up for the death of his friend at the hands of the boy. The man couldn't contain himself, he sneaked a peek at the girl, and when he did his blood turned to ice in his veins, the girl was smirking, as if to say gotcha. The momentarily distracted man felt something hit him in the chest and looked back to see the hilt of Oblivion sticking from his stomach as well, How? I only looked away for a split second! how could he move so fast? he never got his answer, as Tyler tore the blade from the man's gullet in an upward stroke, cleaving him from the waist through his chest and finally tear it from his shoulder, splattering blood on the ceiling with the sheer force of the blow. Tyler then turned to the last man standing, his slivery blade dripping with the life blood of his former compatriots, and approached the now cowering man with the blade by his side. There was no mercy in his gaze as the terrified man looked into it, only a vast darkness that chilled him to his very soul, looking into those eyes was like looking into Oblivion itself. Tyler reached the man, who was now begging and pleading for his life, even as tyler raised the still-hungry blade for the strike that would end the man's life. But just the blade fell, eager to sink into the man's head a voice called out to the monster,

"Wait!!! don't!!!"

The blade stopped, the razor-sharp edge resting on the man's bowed head. Tyler looked for the source of the voice, and was surprised to see it was none other then the girl they had saved. she was still bleeding from her tail's base, but had come to her senses in time to see Tyler nearing split the man's head in half. Tyler turned his Oblivion-gaze upon the one who'd interrupted his executioner duties, "Why should i spare such a miserable bastard?"

He barked, The girl flinched, but spoke up bravely nonetheless,

"because he surrendered to you! If you kill him now you'll be nothing but a murderer, instead of a brave soul who stood up for someone weaker then you!"

Her words had a pleading, strained tone to them, as if the act was taxing her strength. Tyler looked back to the man, his blade still resting on his head, considering whether to just kill him here and now. Kaori's voice helped him decide,

"If you want to kill him, I won't blame you, I'll still go with you, but know this, if you kill him like this, are you will REALLY be the murderer the pope and king have labeled you as, in other words you'll prove them right."

Tyler sighed, withdrawing his blade,

"well, thank your lucky stars those lovely ladies have a more forgiving soul then I do."

The man looked up, shocked as the Monster removed his blade,

"Ohhh thank you my lord!, I'll change my ways I promise-Arghhh!!"

Tyler had swung the blade in a blindingly fast X-shaped pattern, leaving two groves on either of the mans cheeks,

"I won't kill you, but those marks will stay with you for the rest of your days, THAT is my mercy."

Tyler turned away, walking back to kaori and the tailed girl, who promptly passed out from the pain her tail was giving her. As tyler was wiping his blade on the rag he had torn from one of the dead men's shirt, the rest of the tavern staff came out from the kitchen; a elderly man and woman, another man that appeared to be the same age as the senseless girl, and a pair of small children. The children's eyes grew wide as saucers when they saw the blood soaked carnage, which none of the adults tried to hide from them, Guess their showing them how ugly the world can truly be, good Tyler approached the new arrivals, sheathing Oblivion as he did so. he noticed that aside from their age difference, the elderly woman, and the unconscious girl looked about the same, along with the little girl child. as he noticed this fact he also noticed that all six people had tails, whereas the newcomers had exposed cat ears as well, I guess I couldn't see the waitress's ears as she's wearing a bonnet, Then he actually took his first real look at the waitress and the others. The waitress had pale skin, barely showing from under her black-and-white maid outfit, sky-blue eyes with the slanted pupils that cats had, and delicate hands and feet. The elderly woman looked the exact same, except with wrinkles and hey eyes were more of a clouded blue then the pure sky-blue of youth. The little girl was also the same, Tyler would've bet money that if all three were the same age, they would be virtually impossible to tell apart, the main difference between the three were their tails; the elderly lady's being a dusky brown and faded white color, with thinning fur, which also covered her ears. The waitresses' tail, before being nearly pulled off her body and soaked with blood, had been a beautiful, sleek bark brown with shining white bars down the length, even her ears had the same pattern, and the fur on each had been firm and thick. Finally the little girl had the same colors and patterns, but her fur was more fluffy like a true kitten, then the firmer fur of an adult. The men were of the same way, except their colors were a darker gray, and straight black fur, and their eyes were a vibrant green which even out shown Kaori's blazing emerald peepers. Tyler walked over to the Elder mancat, while the others raced to the still unconscience catgirl in Karoi's arms. The Elder spoke in a raspy, creaky voice, "I'd really like to thank you young man for your assistance, I really would but..." Here his eyes flashed and his tail lashed with indignation,

"YOU MADE A MESS!!, DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE US TO GET THE BLOOD OF THE WALLS?!!! AND THE DAMN CEILING TOO?!! NOT TO MENTION ALL THE DISHES THAT'LL HAVE TO BE WASHED OVER?!!!"

Tyler took a step back from the literally hopping mad Elder, his tail straight out like a flagstaff.

"Umm, well, I'd be happy to help clean up, I mean I guess i did go overboard a little, but let me heal her first."

At the mention of healing, the Elder stopped his rant mid-word,

"YUR DAMN RIGHT YOU'LL HE--!!!"

and got a sad look on his face, when he spoke again he was just plain sad,

"Can you heal her? Her tail's barely hanging by a thread here."

Tyler went over and knelt next to the injured catgirl, and sure enough, her tail was only hanging by a thing thread of flesh. Tyler immediately regretted sparing the last of the men. as he looked at the damage, he was aware of the little girl nuzzling into his side, he looked at the girl, who was clearly on the verge of tears, holding her own tail tightly,

"Please sir,"

her voice a pitiful whine,

"Save her tail, please, If she loses her tail she won't be able to call herself a NekoPles, so please."

Tyler tore himself from the heartbreaking sight of the little girl, and looked at kaori,

"Get out the healing potions, I'm gonna need them and you help for this kaori."

she nodded, got up and sprinted for Thunder, where they had their potions stored. Tyler in the meantime took out spell licenses, and flipped through his healing spells till he found the one he intended to use called Divine Resurgence, the most powerful healing spell he possessed, with it, reattaching limbs was possible, although extremely difficult and tricky. The spell required a tremendous amount of mana to cast, like one hundred and fifty points, and increased drastically based on the severity of the wound it was applied to. The spell was one of the White Path, which lessened the strain slightly, but not enough to make a major difference. It worked by isolating the injured areas and forcing the body to regrow and repair the damaged pieces, and if the parts were seperated, the challenge triples, hence Tyler's request for the healing potions. His plan was to keep the tail alive during the process, which was like to take several hours at best, and force the body to grow a new link between itself and the tail using the strand of still connected flesh. If all went well the catgirl's tail would be reattached with only a few extra inches added on being the only indication. When he explained his plan the catfamily immediately shut the restaurant down and locked the door. Only the cats, and kaori, who had returned with their entire supply of healing and mana potions, were allowed entrance. The injured catgirl was laid on her stomach, her clothes were removed and a tablecloth covering her body above and below the base of her tail, which connected directly into the base of her spine. Tyler handled the moving of the tail himself, being as gentle as possible to keep the strand connected, for if it broke, the tail was lost. Kaori was to pour the potions onto the strand at regular intervals during the procedure, to both sped up the healing process, and try to take some of the strain off of Tyler. She was also instructed to pour mana potions down Tyler's throat when he starts to show signs of magic fatigue. Kaori had agreed, but forced Tyler to promise to stop if it seemed hopeless, which he had agreed to only after her pleading with tears in her eyes. The catfamily were permitted to stay and watch, only if they swore to remain silent, so as to not break his concentration. During the flurry of activity, kaori was both extremely moved and proud by how far he was prepared to got to help he poor girl he had just met not even three hours ago, For as much as he calls himself a monster, which he no doubt is, He can be astoundingly soft-hearted and kind when someone truly needs his help. She was smiling at the man directing the catfamily, until a sinking thought crept into her mind WAAAAIIITTTT, Is he doing all this to HELP or is he just doing this to PET a catgirl's fur? I'd better keep an eye on him after he helps that girl! She fumed inwardly at the thought of him petting some other girl, while outwardly she was determined and efficient, her face giving nothing away.

After the flurry of preparations, Tyler knelt beside the catgirl, kaori on his left, and the younger catman holding the girl's tail steady as Tyler began the spell incantation: I call to the spirits of life and growth, hear my call! lend me your divine power to heal this injured child of Your seed, help her body remember it's strength and beauty. Let my strength be her strength, her pain be my pain, My will her will! Hear me oh benevolent and charitable spirits of life and growth I humbly besiege you on her behalf, aid me in aiding her! DIVINE RESURGENCE

As soon as he had started speaking, his mana flared to his call, bathing the tavern interior in the Blue-White colors of his twin Paths. The colors then all swirled around Tyler and his hands which he placed on the catgirl's' still bleeding stumps and wrapped his hand around the space above them, as if he was holding her tail in his hands, then he began channeling the mana directly into the bloodied stump where her tail should've connected, forcing her body's cellular regrowth to explode. The reason Divine Resurgence was such a difficult spell to get right, was because it allowed one to directly control another's cell growth, enabling the new controller to reshape the body at will. as long as the caster could maintain a clear mental visualization of what he wanted the finished result to look like. As it dealt in regrowth, it could only handle cells, that were missing components, like a missing limb or a massive gash, it couldn't alter a already complete cell structure, so it couldn't make breasts bigger, or someone taller unless that person was willing to cut off the part they wanted altered, AND find a competent trustworthy mage to preform the spell. Such mages were rare, since if, someone casting the spell lost control of the spell, or their mental image tainted by lack of concentration or competing pictures, the cellular growth would instantly reverse itself and start eating the cells around them, as the strain on both the caster and target was so extreme. It would basically cause the target's body to self-destruct, and cause the caster's body to suffer the same fate as the mana flow came from a cellular level on their end as well. So since the spell was so strenuous, and downright dangerous, it was not a spell most would even consider attempting, thus rendering the spell chant and the licenses for the spell to become exceedingly rare. The reason Tyler had it now, was because it had, for some reason come included in the book of spells Lyrica had given him. He had only planned on using the spell if Kaori's life was at stake, but here he was now, using the most dangerous spell he had on a catgirl's tail.

Tyler's hands moved down a half-inch in two hours of nonstop concentration, with another four inches to reattach the tail, meaning he was going to be in that spot for at least eight hours, but so focused on his task and the image in his head he didn't even notice. Kaori following Tyler's instructions to the letter, pouring a healing potion on the main length of tail to keep it from dying from lack of nutrients from the main body. She watched fascinated by the site of the whole process, but also worried for her friend, who was working so hard to save a mere catgirl's tail. His eyes had not moved from the spot his hands held.

Another two hours later and Tyler's hands moved down another half inch, finally revealing a bit of the regrown flesh, complete with the beautiful brown and white fur she had once had. Still, there were many hours and three more inches to go. The NekoPlesian children had gone to bed without so much as a board creak, their catlike senses serving them well. The elder NekoPlesians accompanying them as well. The catman was still holding his companions tail without wavering after four hours of remaining motionless in his uncomfortable position. his sheer will was impressive. Yet another two hours passed, the girl's new tail segment was beginning to take shape, but only a little as he still had over halfway to go. Two hours came and went, followed by another two, he was over the halfway mark now, with a a full two and a half inches of new flesh, fur and cartilage. The fur on the newly grown section shone with a healthy sheen as it had prior to her ordeal, but he was not finished yet with an inch and a half to go before the true test came. Kaori had taken over tail-holding as the catman had been on the verge of collapse, and had started shaking the tail ever so slightly, but kaori, who had also been drinking heal potions to keep up her own strength had immediately taken over this crucial task, as if the tail moved even a quarter of an inched closer of farther form it's original position it would compromise the concentration, and the image required to make the spell function, instead she had the catman pour the potions on the tail, which offered opportunities to rest in-between applications. Kaori refused to take a rest of any sort, not when Tyler couldn't take one, nor would he have if the option were given to him. I'd bet when he's done he'll probably blame himself for not stepping in sooner, If i know him like I think i do at least. The diligent blonde never budged from his side during the entire procedure.

As for Tyler, he was locked in such a state of utter mental and physical concentration, he was unaware of anything going on around him. The only thing occupying his entire being was the image of the girls tail in his mind, the feel of the mana flowing through his hands into her, and the feeling of flesh regrowing beneath his hands. The next section was complete, time to move further down another half inch. There was only one full inch left before the base of the rest of the tail could be reattached. after a further two hours, the main section of the tail had slid into Tyler's glowing, mana infused hands beginning the most crucial, and most difficult, part of the entire process: connecting the old tail to the new one. This meant reattaching all the veins, arteries, nerves, and flesh required for the body to properly support the extremity. As such it was the most difficult, for if one vein or nerve were to be incorrectly connected the tail would not function properly, or worse die while still attached, causing to potentially rot the body from the outside in. The final two hours passed excruciatingly slow for the Blonde and her catman assistant, as Tyler's hands moved the final half inch, revealing the newly reattached tail in all it's splendor. The next part was also difficult, for it required the seperation of the mana from the girls cells, their independent functioning, and the normalizing of their fuel consumption. If handled poorly it would cause the cell to also eat each other in a desperate quest for food. Thankfully her mana pool didn't include her tail as a storage area, for as she was a Red Path mana type, it would have made the entire process a good three times more difficult. As it were though, after about eight hours of nonstop, constant work and strain, Tyler finished the operation. As his hands popped and cracked from being released from such a position for so long, kaori came over with a mana potion, and a mug of water. He drank the mana potion, and the mug of ale in less then a minute, before covering the now sleeping-soundly catgirl with the tablecloth, her new tail swishing contently. Afterwards Tyler Promptly blacked out.