Fire & Ice II: Age of Rebirth(private/mature/continued)

"R-Really?" Titus blinked and used his good hand to point to himself. A warm smile formed on his lips. He wasn't sure what was happening or why he suddenly felt so happy..but he was enjoying Kora's company. "I guess its a good thing that I saved you from being eaten alive." he smiled and scooted a little closer to her. "Haha I cant believe he was actually licking your leg while he hung you upside down."

"Where do you get off telling me why I saved you?" Noel frowned, feeling a little annoyed now. He still didn't back away though. He stared right into Soara's eyes as he spoke. "I saved you because I owed you one, first and foremost. Though, you are right. The first reason was a lie. I really dont care if your father sent assassins after me." he stated, although part it was a lie too.The truth was he didn't know why he had turned around to save Soara. He stood up straight sighing softly. "Now, if you're satisfied I'd like to find a spring and get all this mud washed off me." Noel frowned and looked around. He wasn't lost, but the whole thing with the ogres had messed up his sense of direction. "Your nose is sensitive right? Can you find a water source?"

Kora listened to him explain how the deons viewed humans and she thought it over. That was propably true. The were below them species wise. She actually wasnt offended "Really its not a big dea." She laughd as he rambled on. "Well thanks. For a demon i guess you'repretty cool." She teased. She didnt understand why all of this had hapened but right now she didnt mind being here with Titus.

"Whatever that isnt true. Lie all you like you saved m because you wanted to thats all. I can tell that you would think you could tae them on any demon. Which isnt true but stil." She responded. The feeling of Noel's warm body right next to hers she froze. "I guess so....but that still doesnt answer why.." she whispered back staring into his bright eyes.

"Erm..well..its not that big a deal..." Titus mumbled, his eyes shifting away from her as his face turned dark. He looked back at her though after she brought up his family. "My family doesn't hate humans. You guys...well..." Titus paused trying to think of to word what he wanted to say. "Ok dont get mad, but...we kinda see you humans as rats. You feed and destroy everything, especially the environment. You also multiply faster then rabbits. We dont hate humans...you're just...more so very annoying creatures. BUT, I dont think that way about you! No..I think you're kinda cool, nothing like a rat." Titus explained, though he wasn't sure if he was doing a good job or not. Titus had never been good with females. He wasn't awkward, but whenever he talked to a female he got nervous and when he got nervous he began to ramble about stupid stuff.

A small smile formed on his lips as she pushed him. It was funny. They were talking normally and currently Noah had no desire to kill her or humiliate her. "Good question." Noel sighed and crossed his arms over his mud covered chest. "I suppose if I had allowed you to die your father would send his hit squad after me. I'd rather not have to spend the rest of my life running." Noel explained before pushing off the from the tree. He walked right up to her, his body leaning in till their lips were only inches apart. From here, she'd be able to see just how bright his blue eyes really were. "Besides, you saved my life and now I've saved yours. We're completely even now."

Kora looked over at Tius as h spoke. She could tell he was having a hard time finding words. "Well...that...that would b great." She smiled. "Thats very weet of you." She blushed lightly. "Though would your family be okay wih hat?" Sh asked knoing they hatedhumans.

Soara leaned against the tree as well sighing in releif. "I thought we were dead too. But not becase of me you jrk." She said pushing him teasingly. "Why did you save me?" She asked meaning the rock. "You hate me so why? And i can handle it for one night."

ooC: gtg, be back later

ic: Titus frowned. Even if Kora was human she still deserved a family and a home. Yugo had promised to have taken to which ever human village she wanted, but Titus felt like that wasn't much of a reward. No..it felt more like they were simply getting rid of her. "W-What if.." he whispered softly and turned to face her. His cheeks began to burn bright red as he struggled to find the right words. "Well..I cant give you a family. B-But...maybe I can..give you a home? Maybe..you can live in the castle..instead of being dumped in some village where you dont know anyone. W-Would that..be ok?"

Noel didn't relax till they were far away from the sleeping ogres. He had practically been holding his breath the entire time. "I think we're good." he breathed and leaned over to catch his breath. "I hate those damn things. They have no territory. They just roam any where they want." Noel spat and stood up. His bright blue eyes shifted over to Soara. He could just barely see her mud covered form next to him. "You were smooth. I thought for sure you'd get us killed." he smiled and stretched his arms above his head. Seriously, it was almost like he didn't care that he nude even though his body was covered in mud. "Lets find somewhere safe to sleep. We'll go back for our clothes in the morning. Can you handle being naked for that long princess?"

Kora listened as Titus gave explanation that she didnt feel was needed. She had hard it from him before. "I know Titus...its not your fault." She promised. "I understand this. I didnt want to go with the army but there was no here else for me to go." She explained. "No family or home..."

Soara fet Noel's tap and slowly crawled backwards. Slowly standin she did as he instructed walking backwards carefully. She was worried about running in to a ogre so she kept looking backwards. It seemd tey had a clear path though.

"I'm sorry.." titus whispered softly. He couldn't even imagine loosing his own mother. He loved her way too much. "Listen. I know that that other human blames my dad...but I can tell you that neither my dad or aunt would ever order for a human village to be attacked unless they had provoked us. Like, earlier yesterday. The only reason I was sent is because demon slayers started killing our kind and some fat feudal lord began to invade our lands. If it hadn't been for those actions we would have left them alone. Its always been my dad's policy. We dont bother the humans as long as they respect our hunting grounds." Titus explained. "I dont know who attacked your village..but I promise that it was no one under my father's command."

Noel couldn't see anything behind or in front of him. He reached out his hands and feet using his sense of touch to guide him back off of Soara's body. He took his time careful not to break any twigs or do anything that would cause the ogres to awake. Once he was in position he very lightly tapped the back of Soara's foot and continued moving backwards. His body stayed as low to the ground as possible. Noel had crawled back a good 10 yards before he rose up on his knees and very slowly stood up. His entire body was still covered in mud so he blended in with the surrounding darkness. "Very slowly..start walking backwards. We'll come back for our clothes later."

Kora looked at him. "Yes most of us can. Very few cant." She stated. She didnt undersand why this surprised him. At the question of her mother she frowned. "She...was a great woman. Very caring and kind. I miss her so much..." she whispered biting her lip to stop herself from crying.

Soara barely noticed the time passing. She lay there listeningto the sound of Noel's breathing. When he finally spoke again herearsperked up. "Okay..." she whispered back. She stayed as still as possiblewaiting for him to tap her foot.

"Books?" Titus blinked shifting his soft gaze over towards her. "You mean...humans can read?" he asked curiously. All the times he had heard of humans they were always referred as savages, the lowest of the low. But if Kora could read..it made Titus wonder just how much human society had advanced under the noses of his kind. "Your mother." Titus whispered, his body relaxing under the cool midnight air that blew through the clearing. "What was she like?"

The seconds soon turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours. How many had passed? Noel wasn't exactly sure, but he was fighting to stay awake. The three ogres were just lounging around the campsite. Noel closed his eyes and leaned down pressing his nose into the back of one of Soara's shoulders. This was the first time he had ever been this close a demon without killing one. He couldn't see, but he could tell by the feel of her body that it was very similar to that of a human woman minus her tail and ears. He let out a steady breath and looked back up. The ogres were sleeping now. "Ok listen." he whispered, his pressing pressing against her ear once more. "I'm going to move off you very slowly. Dont move an inch until I tap your foot. Understood? IF we play our cards right we may just get out of this alive."

Kora nodded as she finished wrapping his arm. "It's okay...I get it I guess...I just wanted to help." she replied. She lay next to him in the grass staring up at the clear night sky. "My mother knew a couple things. The rest I learned from books and other healers." she explained. "I attended school but they didn't teach a lot of that."

Soara did as Noel instructed and got as close to the ground as she could. Feeling Noel on top of her Soara blushed not that he could see it. "Okay..." she whispered back. She allowed her muscles to relax as he lay on top of her. The feel of his warm lips near her ear and his body reminded her of Jann. She felt like crying but knew better so she bit her lip.

For once, Titus had nothing to say. He didn't complain while she sucked on his scratches or even when she applied the leaves she had chewed up to his wounds. "Thank you.." he whispered, his eyes closing as he allowing her wrap his arm up. "And sorry..for yelling at you. I prefer..to take care of myself..." he whispered softly. Pain was still rushing through his body, but it wasn't 'as' bad as it had been a few minutes ago. "Where did you learn to be a medic?"

"Get down!" Noel whispered as soon as she had made her way towards him. She was just in time too because soon after the ogres had returned. Noel placed himself ontop of her, his bare body pressing hers firmly into the earth. "Relax." he whispered softly against one of her ears. His lips were so close that she'd be able to feel the warmth from his breath. "The mud will cover our scent. We just have to wait them out. They'll move on eventually. Just be patient and dont do anything stupid."

Kora nodded s he fnally allowed her tohelp him. Taking his arm she sighed. "Dont freak out...i have to suck out the poison. She stated. She started to lightly suck on all the scratches spitting out the poison afterward. Once she was done she pulled some leaves and bandages from her wait. "Brought these along." She mashed the leaves in hermouth before slowly rubbing them on the wounds. "Its gross i know but it draws all the poison out." She explined wrapping it in a bandage.

Soara felt her heart race as the other ogres came back. Then one was coming towards her. "Shit!" She yeled in her head. Then they ran off due to a noise. She quickly crawled to Noel. Deciding not to ask questions for now just follow him

Titus' eyes shifted towards Kora. He bared his fangs a little trying to fight the pain that was working its way through his body. He hated relying on others. Accepting aide from a human was even a lower blow. However, Titus had never been able to learn healing techniques like Ama and Soara so there wasn't much he could do. "F-Fine.." he whispered and laid down on his back. His chest began to rapidly rise and fall. His claws hooked into the earth as he bit down down on his bottom lip till it bled.

"This isn't good..." Noel thought to himself. The sounds from the ogre feasting caused a few more to turn around. Now instead of one there were three ogres fighting over the carcass. Even worse was that the three were standing in between where Noel and Soara were hiding. Noel very slowly inched his way backwards. If he was careful maybe he could escape. It would mean leaving Soara behind though. Three ogres began to bash each other with their fists. The smaller of the three stumbled back, his giant feet stomping dangerously close to where Soara was hiding. This was Noel's chance. He continued to back up, but then suddenly stopped. If the ogres found Soara they'd rip her apart. Even if she managed to kill one there just too many of them. "Fuck!" screamed mentally. Every part of his body roared from him to leave the hybrid behind. Instead, Noel rose up a little grabbing a rock. He tossed off to the left so that it struck the ground hard enough to get the ogre's attention. To his surprise, it actually worked. There wasn't much meat left on the deer so the ogres slowly began to stumble their way over towards where they had heard the noise. Noel's head suddenly popped up. He waved Soara to rush over towards his bush before ogres decided to turn around..

Kora didn't say anything the whole trip. When he finally stopped she could see how tired he was. Climbing off she huddle on the ground trying to get some warmth. Hearing him gasping she sat up. Crawling over she didn't say anything just examed the wound. Should could tell it was poisoned. "I'm going to guess that without your healing you don't know what to do? May I please help you?" she asked.

Soara let out a sigh of relief but quickly took it back as the ogre reentered the clearing and began to devour the meat of the deer. "Go away!" she thought wanting to get out of this situation.

Titus struggled to stand at first. Once he was up though he went into a quick sprint. He didn't stop, not even as he left a blood trail behind him. The moon was shining brightly in the center of the sky by the time he stopped running. They reached a grassy clearing. It wasn't the safest spot to rest, but Titus was exhausted. "We'll rest...just give me a hour.." he panted and took a knee to the ground again. His dark furry ears were pressed back firmly against his head. "I'm not healing..." he thought to himself, slightly gasping for air. "Fuck..those wolves must have coated their claws with some type of poison..."

Noel thought that they were safe for a moment. The ogres had passed by without noticing them. However, when one turned back around Noel held his breath. The demon staggered over towards what was left of the deer sniffing it. He let of a grunt a violently slammed his feet into the ground! Noel placed both his hands over his mouth. If they were caught they'd die. He was also out of smelling salts and wouldn't be able to knock the demons out.

Kora stepped back looking hurt as he yelled at her. When he took a knee she slowly climbed onto his back. She didnt' say a word as he ran through the forest. She didn't understand why he wouldn't let her help him or why she yelled at her.

Soara nodded at his signal and also started towards some bushes. Feeling herself bounce slightly she winced. Then froze as the ogres burst through the forest. "Shit..." she thought. She knew that they were not a species to mess with.

"I dont need you help!" Titus hissed and pinned his ears back. "We dont have time for this.." he muttered now gripping his arm tightly to stop the blood flow. "We need to leave this territory before I end up fighting the entire tribe. I cant exactly carry you so jump onto my back." he instructed and took a knee to the ground in front of her.

Noel slid on his belly hiding under some bushes. He looked at Soara giving her the 'shh' signal. Soon the tremors grew louder and louder until Noel's body was actually bouncing off the ground. Just a few yards away five 15ft tall ogres were passing buy. One of the first thing Noel had been taught when he became a demon slayer was to avoid combat with their kind at all costs. They were far too large and their strength was at a ridiculous level.

Kora landed with a somersault in the bush. As he instructed she closed her eyes but the light shown through her eyelids slgihtly. Once it stopped she slowly opened them blinking away the spots. Coming out of the bush she saw Titus's wounds were much worse. "Sit and let me help you." she insisted. Looking at his arm a look of concentration crossed her features.

"He has gotten them there a couple times..." Soara whispered looking at the ground. Her eyes darted up though as Noel asked her to strip. "What?" she hissed then saw what he was doing and nodded. Quickly she stripped and buried herseklf and her clothes in the dirt.

"Damnit. This is getting us no where." Titus hissed as lept from branch to branch. He turned his body slightly shooting a few fire balls at the wolves tailing them. Titus then jumped down from the branches and landed on the ground with a hard thud. He placed Kora on her feet and pushed her into some bushes. "Stay put and close your eyes." he ordered while whipping his body back around. "So you've finally stopped running." One of the wolves smirked as he flexed his claws. "Yea." Titus replied softly, his eyes closed. Suddenly, a twisted grin formed on his lips. Plumes of dark fire began to burst from around his body. "Burn." he smirked and shot both his hands out towards the wolves. What followed was a bright flash which illuminated the forest, a flash twice as bright as the sun. When it faded, everything surrounding the wolves had been reduced to ash. Not even bones had been left behind. Titus let out a steady breath. He looked down at his injured arm muttering curses. His injury was worse then he thought and using his dark fire hadn't helped much.

"If he's a hypocrite then you're a fool." Noel yawned. "Sooner or later you'll find his claws wrapped around your little neck." Noel stated, his eyes now opening. Suddenly, they shifted off to the left. "Hey...take off your clothes." he instructed and began to strip down to nothing. He reached into the earth covering his entire body in mud from head to toe. Light tremors were rumbling through the ground and Noel recognized them.

"I am sorry..." Kora snapped back. It was not common sense in her mind. She wouldn't have had the strength to hold onto a branch anyways. Hearing the wolves still chasing them she clung to him tighter. "Hurry..." she encouraged.

Soara smirked at his response to her statement. "Okay sound good to me." she replied taking a bite of meat. "It's probably becasue you just rode on my back all day." she stated. When he brought up her brother though she frowned. "I don't hate him though...he's a ass sure and he hates me but I am not like him. He hates me because he blames me for something that happened when I was like 14 and I didn't know any better. He however did something that we are still paying for today and he doesn't even care. He is sort of a hypocrite."

"Its common sense!" Titus yelled growling a little. "If someone throws you up high, you grab onto something. You dont just come falling down like a rock.." he hissed and leaped up into the trees. He looked back seeing that they were still being chased. "Dont worry about it." he muttered, referring to his wounds. "My body we'll heal itself eventually.." Titus stated. It was no pitch black. If it hadn't been for Titus' eyes they would have run into something or would have fallen out of the trees by now.

"For my sake?" Noel blinked. He turned giving her half of a grin. "That came off as a threat princess." he stated and took his seat across from her, far across from her. "I'm not hungry." he stated leaning back against the trunk of a tall tree. "You know, sooner or later he might just kill you." Noel replied softly, his eyes slightly closed. "I read it in his eyes. He hates you. If you have the chance, you should get rid of him before he tries to kill you. Not that I care of course, but its just some friendly advice."

Kora saw the ground approaching and she yelled out once again. Closing her eyes. "Am I dead?" she asked as she stopped falling. Opening her eyes she saw that she was once again in Titus's grasp. "How was I supposed to know that? You should have told me." she snapped. Seeing the blood she frowned. "I can fix that." she stated pointing at the blood.

Soara sat down by the fire restarting it with a flick of her wrist. "If you say so. And I hope for your sake you are right." she stated. "Though I prefer not to find him dead." she added. "Should we just eat this or would you like something else?" she asked.

Titus had already clawed out the eyes of two wolves by the time Kora began to fall. He looked up, his ears perking as her screams rung through his ears. Dashing towards her, he reached out catching her before she could touch the ground. "God you're loud..." Titus groaned and quickly began to move back into the brush. The last three wolves were on his tail. "I threw you up into the trees thinking you'd catch a branch..but all you did was fall. How useless..." Titus sighed as blood trickled down his cheek and along his right arm.

Noel frowned and threw his arms up behind his head. "Well I'm normal so yeah..." he sighed and shook his head. "Right now we're about three days away from the village. I wouldn't worry about catching up to your brother because he'll have to go through the traps I've laid out. Heh, if he doesn't die you should be seeing him real soon."

Kora stared at Titus not sure what he meant. Closing her mouth as he instructed she felt him toss her into the air. She let out a loud scream but quickly shut her mouth again. She couldn't believe he had done this. Looking down she saw herself start to grow closer to the ground.

Soara stopped as they approached the camp. "No duh Noel." Soara muttered. She had the sense of smell of a wolf she knew her brother had been there. Looking around she sighed. "He couldn't have left too long ago." she stated. Running a hand through her hair she frowned. "Well I guess since you cant' see int he dark like I can."

"Hey kora..." titus whispered, his eyes shifting from left to right as the wolves began to circle him. "Close your mouth and dont bite your tongue." he instructed and with monster like strength tossed her body high up into the trees above his head! At the moment the wolves attacked him. Titus extended his claws as fire surrounded his hands.

Meanwhile, Noel and Soara had just reached the camp site that Titus had left behind. Only half of the deer remained. "Your brother was here." Noel stated and he climbed down from Soara's back. He leaned into the ground examining some of the marks the had been made on the deer. "Something big bit into this, but it wasn't the cause of the death. Look at these marks. They're too small to be a wolves, but too big to be a neko's. My guess is that they would fit your brother's profile." Noel frowned and stood up, his eyes shifting towards the sky. "Its dark. We'll have to camp here unless you enjoy wondering aimlessly in the dark,."