The Shaman and the Stag [Espe / Closed]

The night was young and yet Anatoly once more found himself strolling the streets of this small town. With his latest accomplishment and many interesting reveals he found himself finally more confident in his understanding of what was going on here. The abundance of spirits in this little town in the outskirts of Tokyo did initially prove as quite the mystery but now it was finally getting unraveled and he was ready to start taking steps to changing that. He had devised several way's of doing it and from them, a single plan was chosen to be executed now that he had the means to do it. And it was all thanks to the efforts of the Shinigami Nao and Kisho, their sacrifice was his blessing.

However, there was still one thing that Anatoly was missing and that brought him back to the streets and the small alley's where he hopped to find a single lone Hollow hunting alone. The night and the shadows proved to be the perfect hunting grounds for prowling beasts, he knew that quite well, as even he used such tactics in the past. But, compared to the Hollow, he was nothing but a mere amateur. Consumed by their emotions and shortcomings in life, these poor souls apparently took on quite bestial traits as they hunted for souls to consume. It was not a pretty life and their presence was not something that brought good news.

Luckily for this Shaman, he was in luck tonight. The presence of one such soul would soon show itself nearby. Only a couple of street blocks away he could sense a rather familiar presence that reminded him of his guardian and those crows from a few days back, albeit a bit weaker. Those crows were most certainly in a league of their own and he was most certainly not aiming for a second encounter, a creature akin to what he was sensing now was much more appropriate. Hastening his steps from mere walking to a bit of a sprint, he would pass through alley's one after another until finally making that last turn into the area of the beast.

"Found you."

"Of course I can see you, but I am no detective though," the man would reply almost instantaneously, looking at the beast before him with a rather twisted and menacing gaze. It was as if some sort of a prize just appeared before him and he was about to claim it. In a way, it was, but the creature did not know that yet. It was soon going to find out however and Anatoly was not about to let it slip out of his grasp. The plan that he was about to set in motion needed this last step and he was about to make it, he could almost feel the sand's beneath his feet.

But, before he could do anything he needed to get rid of the nuisances behind the large stag-looking creature and make sure it cannot escape. Luckily, he had methods to do both at the same time. With nothing but a mere snap of his fingers, the Shaman would call upon the elements and bring forth powerful gusts that would breeze through the narrow corridors of these small alleys and converge upon the small clearing behind the Hollow. In a moments notice a swirling mass would form and rise up, forming a tornado. The winds would blow away the stolen goods, the purse and whatever else those kids behind the Hollow were playing with, making them remove themselves from the area with haste, leaving Anatoly alone with the stag.

On top of that, the formation of the tornado behind the creature made it quite difficult for it to escape without first going through him. That was exactly what Anatoly wanted. He needed this creature and it was about time for him to make it his. "Now that the distractions are gone I need you to stay still and do what I tell you to, otherwise I will have to resort to some more painful methods. I do not wish to waste much time here so I would prefer if you would simply obey me."

Well, this was a rather interesting Hollow. Despite Anatoly's little display of power by casting a spell and causing the appearance of a usually rather deadly natural phenomenon, this creature did not panic nor did he attempt to attack him. Instead, it approached the situation with a caution which he had not yet seen in a member of the Hollow. These creatures did have a human past and most of them were born from enduring misfortune or just not being helped in time but, they would all usually end up as out of control mindless beasts seeking to feed and clench their hunger. This was the first one that did not seem to be so out of control. It shoved reason. More than that actually, he was offering the shaman a deal.

"A deal you say?" He would reply mumbling, actually taking a moment to consider what he could possibly gain from this. His plan was to try out a new spell and attempt to force a Hollow to take him to their dimension but doing something like that on such a sentient one would perhaps be a waste. Like always, Anatoly was not the kind of person who would harm those who could provide him with more than he could get from them if he did harm them. This stag was one such soul, he most certainly did seem to know what he was doing. The tone he used, the way he slowly approached the mortal, it all spoke of his nature and how thoughtful of everything he actually was. In a way Anatoly was quite impressed and, at the same time, also surprised.

Letting the Hollow approach him as he thought about the offer and what sort of a deal could they make, his attention would once more return as a series of questions was put before him. Letting the offer sit back a little bit he would first address the newest inquiries. "You don't have to worry about me, I do have ways around your kind's temperament. As for why I seek them, the answer is simple, I don't like things that are in chaos and without order. Your kin is merely controlled by their instinct for the most part, going around causing trouble and bringing more and more Shinigami into our world. I am a Shaman, I believe all spirits should remain in their worlds and leave the mortals be. Or, at least for the most part, we do need some help with the passage. If I could do something about that chaos and bring order, perhaps things would change, at least a little bit."

Pausing for a bit after that rather prolonged speech, Anatoly would realize that he just shared quite a bit of his intent with the Hollow. Perhaps his newly found interest into this creature did make him want to share such fact in hopes of getting some degree of understanding and seeing how much knowledge did this beast possess. Either way, this was a first for him.

Either way, ending the pause he would quickly answer to the offer from before: "I think we might be able to come to a deal. I won't cause you any harm but, I would require of you to take me to the world of the Hollow. Once we get there, perhaps we could provide some other assistance to each other. But, for now, I would most certainly I wish to get there first."

Bringing up several valid points, the Hollow would counter the man's words and add in some interesting questions. In a way the creature was right, this world was full of chaos and the human race itself was the cause for a large amount of it. However, it did somewhat miss out on something. Anatoly did not have a problem with explaining what exactly. Once the Hollow was done, noticing that it did not wish to be interrupted, the male would add his rebuttal. "You are right but I am not a politician, I am a Shaman and as such I should do what I can when it comes to the spiritual and not the material. I do admit I did make a bit of a mistake there but I did think their lives were in danger so something had to be done," he would add glancing at the mess his little tornado had made.

"As for your friends, I would not worry about that, there is a reason why I waited before doing something like this." And just as he said that, from his back a pair of black wings would suddenly sprout, seemingly from out of nowhere as if they simply phased through the man's body. But, that was merely the prologue of the play. Following their appearance an entirely new creature would begin to emerge. First the back of it that was connected to the wings and then a pair of talon armed arms would follow, latching onto the shaman and basically pushing itself out of the man's body. In a moment's notice the creature would fully emerge, showing itself in it's monstrous form, a large bird-like humanoid clad in armor and feather. Standing taller than the Shaman and the Stag it would merely glance at both with it's red orb before ceasing any further movement.

"See?" was all Anatoly would add after the whole spectacle that entailed here. He was quite sure that these actions most certainly spoke more than any words of his ever could. It was as if he birthed a monster, one seemingly much scarier than the one which stood in front of him. This would most certainly demonstrate how ready he was, or so he believed to be the case. Either way it wasn't too hard to guess what he was going to ask next. "Since I am clearly ready, I think it is time to move. If you wouldn't mind, could you open us a passage now?"

Stepping back as he was told, Anatoly would simply let the Hollow do it's thing as he awaited for the final result. From what he had seen previously, these things usually came from odd holes that would open out of nowhere so he was not sure how would it look if someone tried to open one of those. However, due to that same reason, he was quite suspicious of the creature and it's actions. He was not sure if this Hollow was going to take him where he wanted to go so he most certainly was not going to be the first one stepping through whatever portal it made. That is, if it opened one to begin with. Despite their little friendly conversation and the deal they made, Anatoly was naturally still not trusting of the creature.

The process that required to open the portal most certainly did seem rather complex so it had some promise, he did figure that traveling to another realm of existence was not something that would be easy and that anybody could do. Taking notes of what the Hollow did, he would watch and listen as it spoke some words in what he recognized as Spanish while drawing some symbols. Anatoly was most certainly not someone who spoke or understood Spanish so he had no idea what the creature was saying, and his Kanji knowledge was not the greatest either. But, he had his thoughts on what this specific one meant. So far everything was good.

But then, out of a sudden with a sense of urgency it would ask of them to grab a hold of it. It even called out to the guardian that stood behind the Shaman, referring to it as his slave. For a moment he would hesitate, still not sure if what this Hollow was doing, it could be asking them to grab him so that he may have an easier time at capturing them. However, realizing that he had actual means of defending himself that also benefited from touching the creature he would soon do exactly what it told him to do. The guardian however, did no such thing, it would merely go back from where it came. Despite the fact that it seemed to have left, unbeknownst to the Hollow, it was still there ready to strike if it's master needed it.

Then, as soon as they grabbed a hold of the Hollow, it actually happened, a portal suddenly appeared. Dimensions were twisted apart and a gaping mouth opened to them, leading them onto a path. Despite the fact that this still may not have been leading to where he wanted to go, Anatoly was ready to make this leap of faith. He was ready for betrayal and for whatever was waiting on the other side. It was finally time for a new chapter and so, off they went.


End of Thread