Broken Flame }{ Warning: Limited Entry

[zhirisa]

Clang! Clang! Clang! A violent pounding vibrates through the surrounding afternoon forest. Much of the animals are wary of this disturbance, but the cause of the sounds does not care.

Clang! Clang! Sparks spew from the plastic metal, each contact with the hammer giving a certain satisfaction. The blacksmith is working hard, even if the road through the forest has been empty all day, maybe longer. It might as well be; she just left civilization, and the constant drone of empty news was becoming bothersome. It's best to leave her be while she's angry.

The woman has many weapons stowed to the side and metal chunks at her feet. With no customers around, she might as well forge some weaponry for herself. Natural talents alone does not bode well in this world, especially if you survive alone.

Clang! Clang! Crack! Broken. Her frustration has become overwhelming, it seems. She tossed it aside, a snarl scratching through her throat. Her ember eyes intensified, seemingly to mimic the sparks of her labor. "Agh! Curse my luck!" Hammer down and project abandoned, she stomped to her cart and gave it a solid kick. It's contents nearly poured out. "Those people... why do so many humans have to be so useless??"

Her previous stop in society left her with more let downs than before. The quest to find her true home and family has become much of a challenge. No one has ever seen her kind before, and the last spotting was years ago in a land she could not reach before winter took over. "Just the fact that there are so many... What cruel mastermind would have thousands of them and only few of me? The fact that I am a rarity makes me hide in shame..."

She took out a small metal tube and started chewing it vigorously, occupying her time before she causes any more damage. Relaxing, she sighed a moment of exasperation. "Why are they so hard to find? Why has fate chosen me to be raised by a human instead of my own kind?" Flashes of that fateful day replayed in her head. The two hunters... her guardian, a grand flash of light...

She closed her eyes in sorrow. "Only you, Sera, I do not hate." She stood straight from her moping and returned to her anvil. The blacksmith picked up a metal bar, took out the tube and scraped it across the bar. The former solid chunk of pure iron became an instant fiery goop. She picked up her hammer and started channeling her power. Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Zhirisa," She said to herself."... toughen up. The sun is with you today." She looked down the road, where she could see a figure in the distance. Jaw set, she started to pound harder once more. "And apparently... it will not be the only one."

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru wasn’t wearing his usual attire. His robes made him look like a wealthier merchant. His collar was high and a deep blue, his shirt crossed over his chest in a lighter blue tint with a small emblem on his right chest and a larger version of it on his back. It was slightly long like a tunic, so he wore black pants and had wooden sandals with red straps. His straw hat that he always wore before had red tassels on both sides of his head. He didn’t prefer doing it this way but it was the designation of a Sen Seian merchant. Jiru and many people from Sen Sei would sell the highest quality of goods and had so far a good reputation with prices. The off putting bandages around his face were over looked by his colorful stall, fancy goods, and affordable prices.

Jiru had set up his stall and had been selling various goods for a couple of days already. He did not intend to leave until everything was sold. When he was down to his last pieces he would either sell it to other merchants or he would offer them on the streets away from his stall. No one liked shopping at a near empty store, it never seemed welcoming. The last few items to sell was always the hardest to find buyers for, but Jiru had been doing it for years so he considered himself an expert at it. He sold his last item to a nearby vendor. This time was a set of expensive arrows. It appeared to be more for decoration than it would actually do in battle though.

He bought food for the night and headed outside the village to camp instead of staying at an inn. This was because he brought his dragon ox. He could not just leave it in a ranch inn, it was much too valuable. His dog had to stay near it at all times to make sure that it would be safe from thieves. All the dogs he ever brought along to protect his livestock were the only beings he trusted to keep them safe. The dogs at the ranches always fought with his’ for dominance against which would protect the animals. It never came to an agreeable conclusion to where they all could guard. If Jiru were to stay in any inn that offered livestock guarding his dog would have to stay in his room to stop any trouble against the land owners’ dogs but then his ox would not be sufficiently guarded to his standards.

After rising from camp in the morning he headed back to the village to buy fresh food for the trip home and a fishing device shaped like a basket as he intended to fish on his way back. With his map in hand and two bags full of money he left for home riding his wagon with his ox leading, and his dog to his right.

Some time after riding up the trail in a smooth cruse he heard the clashing and chiming of metals. It sounded like a weapon forger working on the road side. The loud sound stopped for what seemed to be a moment. Jiru looked up the road and saw the person who appeared to be hard at work yet again. He halted his leading animal and came down to greet her. His orange Akita stayed behind silently without needing command. He tipped his hat to her in a friendly greeting, but did not take it off. “Hello there. Do you have merchandise for sale?”

[zhirisa]

Zhirisa stopped her work. At the corner of her eye she caught the sight of different colors and materials than the average traveler's clothes. A fluffy tail was at the man's side as well. Still hunched over, she looked up to see the man's face.

Everything about him screamed "wealthy." Being in the trade business herself, she recognized his emblem as a symbol for merchants. But then again, she also noticed the patch on his eye. Why would a wounded merchant partake in weapon's affairs? Why would a wealthy, commerce man want to wield a weapon while he could just hire bodyguards for himself?

Zhirisa set her hammer down and started chewing her pipe tube like a fresh cigar. Folded arms, jaw still set, she finally proposed, "Not selling today." She knew he wasn't stupid; his clothes and status told her so. She would just have to keep on refusing until he got the message and leaves.

"Look. I repair anything and everything, but when it comes..." She took her eyes off of the merchant. Zhi spotted a dog by his side, but that was not what was bothering her. "... to my..." She looked behind him, and she spotted scales. There was a dragon behind him.

Zhi broke her trance. She was in front of a human, and vulnerability was not an option. She stood up straight and challenged his motives. "My weapons are unique. What makes you worthy of wielding them, merchant? You do not look battle savvy." An explanation was needed. Not just for his interest in weapons, but why he owns what should be free. But she is in disguise, and human priorities must come first during commerce.

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru noticed her looking back at the creature who was towing his wagon and tools. Who wouldn’t after all, it was a species never sold outside of Sen Seian merchants. It was an amazing sight to behold even for someone who worked among their forces. The creature had a long lizard like tail, and larger shoulders guiding its front hooves.

But the hooves at a closer glace were actually three complete defined fingers which where plated heavier naturally by its own scales taking the shape of hooves. It could divide fully into three pieces that were always clasped together but could be divided if it needed grab the Earth and bring out claws if it needed to. It was even shaded black to camouflage it’s true form.

Its waist tapered smaller than its massive chest slightly. It had hair lining the back of its neck and continued across the top of its tail. The neck was short like a buffalo’s, the face was more like a bison’s and though there was one main pair of horns there were smaller horns gracing the sides of it’s face. The body was very light blue and its hair was teal.

The wagon towed by it had four wheels and the seats were elevated. Two steps to get down were on the left side of the cart, and were placed over the thin wheels without obstructing their movement.

The dragon ox’s tail was long and lizard like, so to keep it from wagging its tail into the wheel and getting it stuck, there was a cloth underneath attached to the top of the wagon on both ends to keep it from drifting out of place. It was possible to bring out the ox more to the front, but the tail and its body made it very long. It would be hard to move through people and various terrains at such a length.

At the back of the cart, the same emblem on the back of Jiru’s robe was hanging there in a banner as well. But the end was sealed onto the cart so that it would not be blown by the wind. The same emblem but a smaller version of it was on both sides of the ox’s body. It was held up by its body harness.

Jiru noticed her tone grow weaker as she looked past him. He tried to lighten up the conversation. “Wielding them? I do not intend to do such, if you’re very picky on who wields your goods I’m sure I can find a good home for them. Or does even displaying them hurt your pride as well?” Jiru said it with a straight face, not intending to stir bad emotions towards her. He looked around at various shards on the ground and noticed she had been working here for a while.

Jiru did have a katana to his side, but anyone could use something like that. He never really was battle ready and it showed. He really wanted to buy something from her he just wasn’t too sure how. Then an idea struck, but he wanted to save it for a moment.

[zhirisa]

Zhirisa narrowed her eyes. He seemed like an honest man. She had to admit that the human charm is extremely useful, especially towards the opposite sex. But, she was a predator. She had to know what he was doing.

She set aside her new blade in the works and picked up a steel sword from the wagon. The metal was warm to the touch, just as if she had made it only hours ago. This was done on purpose... for personal reasons. "Displaying is not the issue." She caressed the blade in her palm. "But my customers have to buy, use and keep it for themselves." She remembered the hunter, and rage was ever slowly building. She suppressed her anger, "The intentions of the sole user are important for me to know."

She spun the handle in her hands, unprotected during smithing. Her clothes were surprisingly lightly padded for work and colored oddly to boot. Instead of a forging apron she wore a traveler's vest in a dark shade of blue. Her undershirt wore the colors of shadows, and her leather pants were just as black. Stranger still, her long hair was not cut to prevent flames from reaching it. Being a female teenager blacksmith does not fit together, either. Her appearance should make her a traveler's daughter, but here she is, working by herself in the woods.

She stopped twirling the blade and tossed it back into the wagon. "So, like I said," She smirked to the one-eyed merchant. "Not selling today, but under the blacksmith's code of strength, I will fix whatever is broken."

The blacksmith's code of strength binds her forever to help passersby who have broken or damaged armors or weaponry. They must announce it aloud to all customers, though the true meaning is hidden; if someone knew about the code of strength, they could challenge the seller to an unarmed fight. If the challenger won, then they would get to keep a weapon and piece of armor of their choosing. Zhirisa was counting on the merchant to not know about this secret pact. If she loses, not only would she chance the man to keep her weapons, but it would also put her secret life in danger.

[JxSlaughter]

Zhijiru smiled, she said the code and he knew it's true meaning as he was a merchant since he was a child. His father taught him the code but told him not to abuse it or else he would end up dead one day. So he always tried to avoid it if he could. Jiru would save that option for last of course, because he wasn't very strong or speedy. He did win over petty fights against thieves and punks but those fights were quite minor, and he didn't want to hit the female. Something like that was improper and to him- culturally wrong.

He did find it strange that she was alone here, she looked rather young but her strength made him want to think otherwise. Her clothing was odd too. It didn’t suggest that she was apart of a town, city or business that he was familiar with. Jiru wanted to ask if she was here alone but he didn’t want to make too much small talk. It was time for business. He wanted those unique weapons and wouldn't leave until he had one.

He sighed, smiling. “I couldn’t help but notice that you were interested in my steer over there.” He turned to the side so that she could see fully. He glanced at it for a moment then turned back to the road side stranger and came a bit closer to her casually with his hands behind his back--signifying he had nothing to hide. He smiled kindheartedly and said, “Maybe I could trade something for your fine works. Maybe you seek some information?” He wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted, but he assumed that maybe she wanted a steer like that of her own. Jiru wasn’t allowed to sell it to people other than Sen Seians but he could tell her where she could get one. If she denied the seeking of information he would fight her. It was a beautiful creature, surly anyone would seek information on how to find one. Especially since it was so tame.

[zhirisa]

"A 'steer??'" Zhirisa was surprised that he would call a dragon something like that, almost certainly offended. "I think he deserves a more majestic title than that." Though, on closer inspection of the beast, the dragon did have the head of an ox, and his body proportions were different than what she was looking for.

Zhirisa was used to the dragons that actually looked like reptiles and dinosaurs: the chest had a smaller mass than the thighs, the front legs were oriented to act as grasping claws, and the heads would look more lizard-like than anything else. Horns or feathers would line the brow, and the tails would grow either spikes or fins. Wings of feathers or leather were also familiar to Zhirisa, but this bull had no such thing. The merchant's dragon was the complete opposite of her kind, but that did not deter her from becoming interested in the beast.

She abandoned her post and came up to the ox. "I have experience with these creatures, so excuse my intrusion..." Then her focus on the merchant was abandoned. She could feel his inner presence, confirming that it was truly a dragon. But something was missing; there was no defiance in his eyes, no desire to roam free. The word lay sickly on her tongue; this beast was tame. It would not know how to live without humans if it was ever let go.

Sadly, the same goes for her. She truly hates humans, but she cannot do anything to rid herself of them without help. Zhirisa desperately needs to find her own, free-roaming kind to permanently break free from the need of human support. Until that day comes, her flame would be tied down and broken.

Something clicked in her mind. If this dragon was tame, then there would be a dragon keeper somewhere. Keepers might know where to find wild dragons, and that will bring her much closer to her goal. Her face turned grim; if Zhirisa does meet the keeper, she might even kill him out of sheer anger and to prevent from him getting more wild bulls. The merchant must not know her own intentions, but if it was the only way to be free...

She approached the stranger. "I will take on your offer. If you can bring me to this ox's origin, then you may pick from my selection." She did not like the idea of traveling with a human, but she was not familiar with his emblem's branch of merchants. She would only go with him for as long as it takes, and then she will leave him for good. She held out her hand. "Deal?"

[JxSlaughter]

When she approached the ox Jiru’s Akita started to growl in a warning to her. Before he could bark Jiru commanded him with his hand to silence and did so without question. But it still felt tense. When she was done analyzing the ox she told the merchant what she wanted. Jiru looked a bit surprised by her statement regarding the deal. “Take you there?”

He started to think of ideas not to take her because on he was not in the mood to take someone with him on his travels. “I’m a very busy person, and if you were to come with me it might take a very long time to get there and wouldn’t you think that it would be troublesome to stick around with someone you don’t know?” He tilted his had in a way to cover his face a little. “How about I just tell you where it is instead? That way we could both go one our own ways.”

If she went on her own the people in the city would not let her in. Only merchants and special persons were allowed through the stone gates. She would get her information, but she would not be able to pursue what ever it was that she wanted there.

He tried to keep his face straight; he was shocked that a stranger would so willingly join him. If someone did that he knew that they had no worries of the dangers traveling posed. This hinted she had some strength, much like the last female he grouped with. But then again, she did work on the road side- she must have been accustomed to journeying unto the unknown. He felt a bit uneasy towards the woman.

[zhirisa]

A deep frown was set. Zhirisa should have known that he would refuse. She lowered her arm. "Talk is cheap. Anyone can talk. I need a guide. The only roads I concern with are of these woods and nowhere else."

She wished it would not have come down to this, but she chanted magic under her breath and her eyes started to glow a bright orange. " You WILL escort me, merchant. Take me to his origin." She didn't even know if the spell would work. His will is stronger than others, but this is her only chance.

If he didn't comply... she would have to sacrifice her human identity.

[JxSlaughter]

Jiru clenched his teeth looking into her eyes. There was a movement in his demonic eye which was unapparent to anyone else. The spell didn’t work. Yet, if Jiru did refuse her demands there would be more problems to worry about than just letting her come with him. He took step back defensively, but he could not defy her. It appeared that she needed to go there, for a reason he did not know- but because of his culture he had help her. Reluctantly he accepted. “F-f-fine…” He sighed and took another look at the young lady and then at her wares. He straightened up slightly and had a small greedy grin. “So I get to pick one of these then…?” He stepped away from her slowly to look at her items trying not to make her more upset than she was.

[zhirisa]

She could not believe her ears! He actually agreed? Zhirisa's anger was at a standstill as she dumbly watched him look through her supply, the glow in her eyes dissipating. "Y-yes... any set, weapon and armor combined if you want."

She did not know if her spell was wasted or not, but the price of using a manipulation spell was becoming apparent. Her balance became wobbly and her usually sharp senses dulled. Her breathing was also labored, so she bent over her anvil to rest.

Her hatred couldn't stay with her weak, so she sighed and relaxed around his presence. Inhaling, she asked while he wasn't looking, "Found something... worth your time?"

Her selection of goods were all made of quality steel. They were not cooled in water, so most of the wear on the metal came from the hammer itself, leaving a pure metal base. Plus, thanks to her own dragon qualities, all of them were warm and could cut through rock like a knife through butter. From the local katana blades to a simple metal-tipped bo staff to even a small wood-cutting axe, whatever wasn't in the wagon could easily be made through commission.

"By the way..." She stood up straight again to ask a proper question. "What is your name? I cannot call you "merchant" forever."

[JxSlaughter]

He looked through the weapons and replied to her, “The name is Jiru.” He always never told his entire first name to acquaintances. People always had a hard time pronouncing it as it is. For his homeland had an accent and more of a relaxed tongue than normal English, or the common language did. The 'ru' was pronounced without lifting the tongue.

Jiru managed to find a very beautiful looking sword. Jiru struggled to hold it a little but it was quite a sight to behold. It had two blades upon one handle, and one of the blades was smaller than the other, but it had a jagged edge and was warm to the touch. The surface of the sword appeared slightly rainbow as if it was made with a rare, precious stone. It had a strap at the end, which was quite decorated with random trinkets and various strings. The handle was elegant to match. It was a very large sword though.

He loaded it onto the back of his wagon with a huge smile. Jiru turned to her. “And what would your name be?”

[zhirisa]

Zhirisa could not hold in a small smile as the man giddily chose a blade. It was one of her experimental masterpieces, but she was willing to let it go. She preferred to keep the smaller daggers to herself, anyway.

She hid her smile when the man said his name to her. "Jiru..." she would have to practice that name later. Sera frequently made her practice speech in the past, refusing to let her use contractions and to memorize as many dialects as possible. Jiru's accent was new to her, so practicing his speech is just a result of habit.

She started to chew on her pipe again. Despite having something in her mouth, her speech was very clear. "It is nice to meet you." 'Nice' would be a relative term, but she couldn't say how she felt about humans aloud. That would be stupid. "My own name is Zhirisa."

Sera named her Zhirisa as a counter to witchcraft. Many names were created with meanings and purposes, and that leaves them susceptible to hexes and name-oriented spells. Names like Zhirisa's however, were created on the spot, without any meaning. She is immune to those effects.

Zhira sensed that the sun had left its peak for the day. Catching her breath for the final time, she shook off her weariness and started to dismantle her workplace. She kicked her raw metals on top of her anvil, and then she placed all of it into the center of the wagon. The hammer laid with the rest of the weapons. She took out a tarp and a pair of shoulder pads from underneath a chest plate armor. She wore the pads and tied the tarp over her supply. With everything secure, she lifted the cart's handles onto her shoulders and was prepared for travel.

Shrugging to get herself comfortable, she asked Jiru, "When do you want to set off? I prefer not to travel by night, if that is possible with you."

[JxSlaughter]

Zhirisa, huh? Their first names were similar, but Jiru wouldn't give his full name just because of that. When stowing away his new weapon he didn’t notice that chewing on the pipe didn’t affect her speech. She was in the corner of his eye and wouldn’t suspect anything strange like that. He got into the seat in his wagon and glanced over at Zhirisa. He did find something else odd. She was towing a cart on her own. Even though it wasn’t that strange in some places to give people rides in small carts with seats but this girl was packing up heavy objects like metals, tools, weapons, armor, and even an anvil. The cart may not have been big, but what she was carrying was a heavy load for one person to bear—even if it was a man. He was right, she had something that kept her from being afraid of traveling with strangers. It was her inhuman strength. He would have to keep an eye on her.

Jiru sat in his wagon and got ready to leave. His Akita hopped into the cart to tag along. It rolled up and started to take a nap for the journey. It knew that it would be half asleep soon, to guard the camp night.

“I usually travel by day anyways, I don’t see very well in the dark.” It was safer to travel by night if you could because that was when bandits and thieves would look for unsuspecting victims. But to counter this Jiru always camped far from the main road as much as he could. Yet, a the dimmest of campfires could attract unwanted people, and even creatures.

“Alright, let’s go.” He didn’t intend to go straight to where Zhirisa wanted to go. It would test her patience, and maybe on the way he could find out if all she really did want was an ox of her own. But why did it seem like she wanted one so bad? They wouldn’t sell it to her since she wasn't a Sen Seian, so maybe he could persuade her to leave before they got there. Of course, he wouldn’t tell her that—he traded info and himself as a guide, not the promise of getting one. A chill went past Jiru’s face. It would be a cold night.

[zhirisa]

"Alright... let's go..." Zhirisa struggled to make her first step towing the cart. Her magic still left her physically weak, even if her senses had gradually returned. Though, after taking the initial pull, towing the cart became easier. She usually ran in her dragon form with the cart handles between her wings, and she usually towed it off road to prevent the attention of hunters and humans in general. Now that she has a guide, she would have to limit her dragon form from then on.

She eyed Jiru's ox as they trudged along. "It is surprising to see someone handle a dragon so well..." She could see his potential for power just underneath his scales, and yet, he seemed -- happy -- that he was being guided by a different creature. Can't he see what has become of his fate? Humans thought of themselves as being higher than other animals because of their intelligence. This disgusted Zhirisa. It was this arrogance that made those hunters in the past kill a few of her own species. Without reason!

Zhirisa became conscious of her anger, so she forced herself to calm down. A dragon's temperament is dangerous. One false move from her, and she would have lost her guide. Not only that, but it was late in the afternoon. If she expended energy now, she wouldn't have any warmth left when night came.

The atmosphere around the woods turned a light orange as the sun began to reach the horizon. Shadows stretched across the path, and the afternoon animal calls became more nocturnal by the minute. More importantly, the temperature was starting to change as well. Zhirisa could feel the amount of warmth she took in get increasingly less and less. Walking made little progress, so they haven't even gotten close to leaving the forest. In fact, they may have gone in farther rather than going out.

Zhirisa rubbed her right arm with her left. "I... have never traveled with someone this close to night before. I have never traveled like this in a long time, actually." The longest time she has spent with a human was with Sera. Afterward, the longest interaction with a different human was no more than half an hour. "I am trusting you to be with me when tomorrow comes." She understood that people may run while she was asleep at night, but that would just confirm that humans were all the same.