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It was a rather quiet patrol. Not that Yasurin found complaint in that. He welcomed the calm silence of the icy mountains. No threat to deal with, no intruders to chase off, just a few hours to contemplate in solitude. The Oni let his eyes close if just for a moment while taking in a deep breath of the frosty air around him. Yet the peace was suddenly shattered the moment his ears picked up the sound of crunching snow.
Footsteps.
Yasurin’s eyes snapped open and he readied his spear in one hand, the other readying to call upon the elements to cloak himself.
No sooner did he release the spell, it was dispelled by a gust of hot air. Yasurin’s ears flattened. Another Arcanist? Still, he wasn’t going to back down from a potential threat. He could now see a figure approaching and he pounded his chest while making a guttural growl before bellowing, “HALT!”
The figure stopped.
Yasurin soon realized it wasn’t human. The figure was as tall as him, maybe taller, and covered in dark scales. Massive teeth jutted out of their mouth. They wore nothing but gold jewelry and a loincloth. A long tail swayed over the surface of the snow slowly, the tip surrounded in flames that almost looked more like hair, just the same as the ones on their shoulders.
In many aspects, the figure looked like some kind of Oni but not an Oni that Yasurin himself had ever seen.
“What brings you here?” He asked cautiously. The stranger too was watching him but tilted their head seemingly with curiosity. “Passing through.” They answered in a deep, rumbling voice.
“That is all?”
The stranger blinked slowly at him, “That is all, though I am also willing to trade.” They gestured to their pack full of weapons. Yasurin couldn’t help taking some interest. The craftsmanship of each weapon looked different from each other, suggesting they were not made by one person and hailed from more than one region. “You are a weaponsmith then?” Yasurin asked, watching for their reaction. “More like a collector.” The other Oni laughed.
Yasurin looked the stranger over once more before letting out a slow breath through his nose, “Perhaps you have something of use in your collection.” He stated and then tapped two fingers to his chest, “I am Yasurin.”
The stranger bowed their head, “Baan Tao.”
Yasurin took a moment to pronounce the name quietly to himself before his eyes met with Baan’s once more, “Baan Tao. And what is your anima?”
Baan blinked twice, eyes widening on the second blink, “My what?” They asked bemused.
“How should I see you? Our bodies do not always match with our souls so my people do not presume. Only when we connect with our anima is it decided then.”
Baan Tao made a sound of understanding, “Male is how you should see me.”
Yasurin nodded and then gestured for the fellow Oni to follow him. Baan Tao chuckled once again, “Thank you for asking, curious as it is. Humans usually do presume.”
“So we have noticed.” Yasurin retorts, sharing a laugh with the stranger. As they trekked through the snow, climbing higher into the mountain, most of it was in mutual silence but at times they traded idle banter along the way.
“You have magic of your own then?” Yasurin asked at one point. Baan Tao made a sound of curiosity, prompting Yasurin to elaborate, “Not the kind Arcanist possess. More as we do, sharing a connection to the elements.”
“Ah. Yes. Fire specifically.”
Yasurin glanced out of the corner of his eye at Baan Tao. “That explains how you were countering my spells. Ours is to Wind and Water.” He stopped momentarily to fully face Baan Tao, “Do I need to worry about your magic?”
Baan Tao’s head tilted, “Only if I feel at threat. Will I?”
“As long as I do not. No.”
“Then there is nothing for either of us to worry about.” Baan Tao formed a toothy grin, which with his massive teeth would surely be intimidating to other races such as humans. Yasurin meanwhile mused himself over the idea of how many tribe members would swoon over the other Oni. He was doing his best to not swoon himself. "I will take your word for it." He resumed leading on, hearing Baan Tao chuckle again behind him.
“Do you face many troubles in this region to be taking such precautions?” Baan Tao asked after another interval of silence.
Yasurin rumbled thoughtfully, “We take such precautions to avoid trouble.”
“So leading me in circles is another part of that precaution?”
Yasurin stopped in place and looked back at Baan Tao. The other didn’t look irritated, simply amused that his guess appeared to be correct. Yasurin let out a slow, resigned breath, “Yes.” He continued onward with stiffness in his shoulders, “When did you catch on?”
“When I realized that we were walking much longer than it would take to get back to your village. I cannot see a reason for you to be that far away that it would take so much time to return if anything happened.”
Yasurin snorted, “Normally I have the help of a storm to make it harder to notice. But I feel that you would swat it away. Again.”
That got another laugh out of Baan Tao.
Once they finally came to a halfway point, Yasurin turned back warily to Baan Tao. “I must make your presence known before I can lead you any further. Will you stay here?” He asked, his tone not giving room for argument despite the question.
Baan Tao merely shrugged. “If that is what you wish.” He then folded his arms, taking on a stance to await being summoned. Yasurin held a pointed stare for a moment longer before leaving the other Oni to make his report. When he did return, he was flanked by two other Mountain Onis who tensed upon seeing Baan Tao in person, gripping their spears tighter.
Yasurin though gestured for Baan Tao to follow which the Oni obliged, keeping a gap of distance between himself and his guides. They led through a cave that opened up into a valley within the mountains, completely walled off from the outside. Occupying this valley was a sizeable village of Mountain Oni, many of whom were standing outside of their homes to observe the stranger coming into their midst. Yasurin gestured for Baan Tao to halt as he took a couple more steps forward before calling out, “Weapons for trade! Those who spoke interest, come forth!”
There was an air of hesitance but more than that, curiosity.
Baan Tao looked around at those taking him in with an outward appearance of calm but Yasurin could see some calculations going on behind his eyes. He had no doubts from the moment of taking him in that he was a hunter or warrior of some kind.
A few Mountain Oni finally began to trickle out toward the stranger but suddenly Baan’s attention snapped to the side. Yasurin followed his gaze to a group of approaching children, tensing as he made to call them off but Baan Tao fully faced them with a grin and crouched down. This made the children halt in a brief pause, taking him in before they finished their approach with curious hums of awe.
“What are you?” One asked.
“I am an Oni. Like you.” Baan answered, staying still as the children encircled him. “But you have no fur!” Another exclaimed, poking at his scale covered side. “Sure I do!” Baan pointed out his beard with a chuckle. The kids laughed with him. “Your tail is so long!” The first one pointed out while grasping said tail. A third tried to butt his horns against Baan’s and Baan lowered his head enough to push back in a mock standoff.
Yasurin blinked slowly at what was happening in front of him, certainly not expecting this behavior. As Baan Tao continued to entertain the children—lifting a couple with just his arms as he stood up—Yasurin couldn’t help but smile. Eventually, parents came to collect their kids and a proper trade could finally be arranged.
Baan Tao answered any questions raised in stride, accepting clothing or food with those that settled on a weapon to trade. Which turned out to not be many as the tribe was perfectly capable of making weapons of their own, it was much more about curiosity in this case than necessity.
When all was said and done, Yasurin escorted Baan Tao out of the village and back to the mountain range wilderness.
“This was a curious venture. Thank you.” Baan Tao bowed his head to Yasurin who snorted in amusement. "Curious indeed. Should you pass through here again, you are welcome to stop by.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
With that, they parted ways.
So
blackchaos666 recently got a hold of a new Oni that I had to feature with the Oni he designed and here we are. Enjoy and go visit Black_Chaos's page while you at it.
Footsteps.
Yasurin’s eyes snapped open and he readied his spear in one hand, the other readying to call upon the elements to cloak himself.
No sooner did he release the spell, it was dispelled by a gust of hot air. Yasurin’s ears flattened. Another Arcanist? Still, he wasn’t going to back down from a potential threat. He could now see a figure approaching and he pounded his chest while making a guttural growl before bellowing, “HALT!”
The figure stopped.
Yasurin soon realized it wasn’t human. The figure was as tall as him, maybe taller, and covered in dark scales. Massive teeth jutted out of their mouth. They wore nothing but gold jewelry and a loincloth. A long tail swayed over the surface of the snow slowly, the tip surrounded in flames that almost looked more like hair, just the same as the ones on their shoulders.
In many aspects, the figure looked like some kind of Oni but not an Oni that Yasurin himself had ever seen.
“What brings you here?” He asked cautiously. The stranger too was watching him but tilted their head seemingly with curiosity. “Passing through.” They answered in a deep, rumbling voice.
“That is all?”
The stranger blinked slowly at him, “That is all, though I am also willing to trade.” They gestured to their pack full of weapons. Yasurin couldn’t help taking some interest. The craftsmanship of each weapon looked different from each other, suggesting they were not made by one person and hailed from more than one region. “You are a weaponsmith then?” Yasurin asked, watching for their reaction. “More like a collector.” The other Oni laughed.
Yasurin looked the stranger over once more before letting out a slow breath through his nose, “Perhaps you have something of use in your collection.” He stated and then tapped two fingers to his chest, “I am Yasurin.”
The stranger bowed their head, “Baan Tao.”
Yasurin took a moment to pronounce the name quietly to himself before his eyes met with Baan’s once more, “Baan Tao. And what is your anima?”
Baan blinked twice, eyes widening on the second blink, “My what?” They asked bemused.
“How should I see you? Our bodies do not always match with our souls so my people do not presume. Only when we connect with our anima is it decided then.”
Baan Tao made a sound of understanding, “Male is how you should see me.”
Yasurin nodded and then gestured for the fellow Oni to follow him. Baan Tao chuckled once again, “Thank you for asking, curious as it is. Humans usually do presume.”
“So we have noticed.” Yasurin retorts, sharing a laugh with the stranger. As they trekked through the snow, climbing higher into the mountain, most of it was in mutual silence but at times they traded idle banter along the way.
“You have magic of your own then?” Yasurin asked at one point. Baan Tao made a sound of curiosity, prompting Yasurin to elaborate, “Not the kind Arcanist possess. More as we do, sharing a connection to the elements.”
“Ah. Yes. Fire specifically.”
Yasurin glanced out of the corner of his eye at Baan Tao. “That explains how you were countering my spells. Ours is to Wind and Water.” He stopped momentarily to fully face Baan Tao, “Do I need to worry about your magic?”
Baan Tao’s head tilted, “Only if I feel at threat. Will I?”
“As long as I do not. No.”
“Then there is nothing for either of us to worry about.” Baan Tao formed a toothy grin, which with his massive teeth would surely be intimidating to other races such as humans. Yasurin meanwhile mused himself over the idea of how many tribe members would swoon over the other Oni. He was doing his best to not swoon himself. "I will take your word for it." He resumed leading on, hearing Baan Tao chuckle again behind him.
“Do you face many troubles in this region to be taking such precautions?” Baan Tao asked after another interval of silence.
Yasurin rumbled thoughtfully, “We take such precautions to avoid trouble.”
“So leading me in circles is another part of that precaution?”
Yasurin stopped in place and looked back at Baan Tao. The other didn’t look irritated, simply amused that his guess appeared to be correct. Yasurin let out a slow, resigned breath, “Yes.” He continued onward with stiffness in his shoulders, “When did you catch on?”
“When I realized that we were walking much longer than it would take to get back to your village. I cannot see a reason for you to be that far away that it would take so much time to return if anything happened.”
Yasurin snorted, “Normally I have the help of a storm to make it harder to notice. But I feel that you would swat it away. Again.”
That got another laugh out of Baan Tao.
Once they finally came to a halfway point, Yasurin turned back warily to Baan Tao. “I must make your presence known before I can lead you any further. Will you stay here?” He asked, his tone not giving room for argument despite the question.
Baan Tao merely shrugged. “If that is what you wish.” He then folded his arms, taking on a stance to await being summoned. Yasurin held a pointed stare for a moment longer before leaving the other Oni to make his report. When he did return, he was flanked by two other Mountain Onis who tensed upon seeing Baan Tao in person, gripping their spears tighter.
Yasurin though gestured for Baan Tao to follow which the Oni obliged, keeping a gap of distance between himself and his guides. They led through a cave that opened up into a valley within the mountains, completely walled off from the outside. Occupying this valley was a sizeable village of Mountain Oni, many of whom were standing outside of their homes to observe the stranger coming into their midst. Yasurin gestured for Baan Tao to halt as he took a couple more steps forward before calling out, “Weapons for trade! Those who spoke interest, come forth!”
There was an air of hesitance but more than that, curiosity.
Baan Tao looked around at those taking him in with an outward appearance of calm but Yasurin could see some calculations going on behind his eyes. He had no doubts from the moment of taking him in that he was a hunter or warrior of some kind.
A few Mountain Oni finally began to trickle out toward the stranger but suddenly Baan’s attention snapped to the side. Yasurin followed his gaze to a group of approaching children, tensing as he made to call them off but Baan Tao fully faced them with a grin and crouched down. This made the children halt in a brief pause, taking him in before they finished their approach with curious hums of awe.
“What are you?” One asked.
“I am an Oni. Like you.” Baan answered, staying still as the children encircled him. “But you have no fur!” Another exclaimed, poking at his scale covered side. “Sure I do!” Baan pointed out his beard with a chuckle. The kids laughed with him. “Your tail is so long!” The first one pointed out while grasping said tail. A third tried to butt his horns against Baan’s and Baan lowered his head enough to push back in a mock standoff.
Yasurin blinked slowly at what was happening in front of him, certainly not expecting this behavior. As Baan Tao continued to entertain the children—lifting a couple with just his arms as he stood up—Yasurin couldn’t help but smile. Eventually, parents came to collect their kids and a proper trade could finally be arranged.
Baan Tao answered any questions raised in stride, accepting clothing or food with those that settled on a weapon to trade. Which turned out to not be many as the tribe was perfectly capable of making weapons of their own, it was much more about curiosity in this case than necessity.
When all was said and done, Yasurin escorted Baan Tao out of the village and back to the mountain range wilderness.
“This was a curious venture. Thank you.” Baan Tao bowed his head to Yasurin who snorted in amusement. "Curious indeed. Should you pass through here again, you are welcome to stop by.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
With that, they parted ways.
So
blackchaos666 recently got a hold of a new Oni that I had to feature with the Oni he designed and here we are. Enjoy and go visit Black_Chaos's page while you at it.
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 364 x 334px
File Size 139.4 kB
Comments