Q
Quakernuts
Guest
Original poster
Nobu
So the new Kitsune claimed to never have met the Spring God personally, but had heard of him. Nobu considered the possibility of the Kitsune lying to him, after all it would be stereotypical of the race to trick him in some form or another. They were an aggravating people at times, hiding behind pranks, jokes and untruths. Regardless, Nobu couldn't act on a lack of information and let the matter slide for the moment. The Spring God had made his escape by now, and Nobu had simply removed his place of worship as a way of hopefully preventing people from coming here and practically sacrificing themselves to the Kitsune.
The performer, Schichiro, supposedly the best swordsman in the world seemed confused for a moment when Nobu handed the belt back. Nobu doubted that title in its entirety, just by looking at the man. While he would like to say that first impressions shouldn't define a person in their entirety, he found it hard to believe that statement to be anything other than a misplaced pride. Regardless, Nobu gave a small smile. It was fun to see someone who was filled with enough confidence to spout it to everyone within range. Others would call it arrogance or an overabundance of ego, but he preferred to be optimistic. When Ayumu noticed the small fox wandering up on them, he turned to address it. Nobu was confused for a moment, until he realized that the fox appeared to be actually talking to him. Was that another Kitsune? Not like the others he had seen ever, but he couldn't claim to know everything about their race. If it was a particularly young one, that would explain everything. After all, young Tengu looked like demon spawn, so why should a small fox form surprise him?
The swordsman appeared to be wary of the fox, but Nobu doubted it had the power to harm any of them in any serious manner. Although, Schichiro did notice something that had previously escaped Nobu's senses. He looked down to see a kind of smoke or fog starting to overtake his feet. A curiosity, it didn't seem natural in the slightest. He looked to see from the direction the fog was coming from, and noticed the parts of the forest appeared to be on fire as well. The smoke at his feet didn't seem to be from any natural phenomenon though, and he became focused. The Spring God could be up to something just out of range of Nobu's senses, and if he was he would go and interrupt him at the very least.
"It would appear the infamous Spring Fake has gone and done something else that requires attention." Nobu stated, pinching the bridge of his nose and doing his best to not let out an audible sigh. "I apologize for the briefness of this encounter, but as I was the one who forced him from here, I feel the responsibility to go see what he's doing and, if possible, stop him. If you'll excuse me." Nobu stated rather politely before briskly walking towards the source of the smoke and fire, only to see the young little fox take off ahead of him as well. He wasn't sure what it was thinking, nor its age or experience, but seeing as he was heading in that direction as well he didn't see a reason to stop it.
Nobu arrived at the epicenter of what seemed to be causing the all the distress. Smoke, both magical and mundane, filtered up and made his eyes water. He pulled a portion of his clothes up over his mouth and nose as he pushed into the increasing heat of the area around him. Fire reached up and engulfed entire trees, but he had to make sure there was no one in immediate danger first and foremost. It was incredibly thick and hot, making it hard to breath, but Nobu wasn't particularly afraid. At worst, he could bolt up into the sky and away from the area if he started feeling overwhelmed. For now, using a mix of self control and chi mastery, managed to slow his breathing and heart rate to avoid a portion of the smoke inhalation while he searched.
A crunch, uncharacteristic of a branch or leaf, snapped beneath his feet. Looking down and lifting his foot, he found that he had snapped a bone, a human sized one at that. Looking closer, he saw that it was an entire body, completely charred and cooked. It made Nobu's stomach turn, although that caused a bit of surprise in the Tengu. He was no stranger to the more disgusting sights of battle or atrocities, and while in his early days he had a weaker stomach, he could claim with certainty that it was made of iron now. So it was strange that he felt a need to vomit, and almost as if in timing with this realization, he started coughing. The smoke must be getting to him more than he would like to admit. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the coughing, only subdue it slightly. Maybe it was the magical fog that was causing this, but he still wanted to be sure that there wasn't anything or anyone caught in this mess. Even as his eyes peered upon the remains of other charred humanoids, he pushed on.
Until he caught sight of a single human looking figure in the smoke. What was a singular old man doing in the midst of this chaos? Did he know about the burned figures? Was that the Spring God tricking him again? He stood out enough that he couldn't be certain that it wasn't a trick again, and his coughing was giving him away enough that attempting to hide wouldn't be feasible. Instead, Nobu decided to go with the naive approach. Nobu's free hand stayed near his blade however, ready to draw at a moment's notice. His wings bristled, ready to lift Nobu out of the area should the need arise.
"Sir." Nobu started, piercing through the fog. "It isn't safe here, you need to leave."