Kachi-Kachi's Story

They had been weak, the humans were cowards tying them up and poking them from afar, drugging them to keep them useless. Then a miracle came along in the form of a bomb that shook the building to its very core, opening up the floor and revealing the sky. Slaine had never thought he would see light again, or feel the bitter cold on his skin. The chains, the chains were useless without their drugs. He ripped them from the walls, eager to leave, eager to taste and see and smell. He turned towards his family, the one that had been with him in this circle of hell. Slaine was so very proud, they were able to keep it together, mostly, through all of this. They ran, free from the devil called humanity, over the hills, through the woods, playing in the snow, in the sun, relishing the wind and chill that threatened to freeze over everything in beautiful ice that was so fragile a mere whisper could break it. Then there was a building, the ugly marring of humans once more. It was built of glass and mirrors, as though it were supposed to be reflecting the land around it. Instead, the mirrors cast heat on the land, causing the snow to melt.

Kachi was wary of this place; it was strange, and light. They had been in the dark for so long, that he at least had become used to it, knew how to use it to his advantage. But here in these twists and turns, it was light; there was no place to hide, to observe the threat from. It was dangerous. But they had to escape; they had to get out, away from where the scientists would harm them. He refused to allow them to harm his family any longer. So despite his tenseness, he stuck to Slaine and Lillim like glue, making sure to keep so close he could taste their scents on the air, and feel their warmth as living beings.

"Slaaaaaiiiiine...." An annoying shrill whine pierced their minds as the smallest of them complained yet again. "My feet hurt, Slaaaaiiiine. I don't wanna walk anymore! I just want to eat. I'm so hungry....!" Lilim felt a rush of energy as she anticipated the coddling from the tall, proud, and somewhat gullible 'mother' of sorts. Freedom and being spoiled? It was a good match. A very good day - though if Qing Yu were around too, it'd be even better. Qing Yu's strong, so she can take care of herself! My feet are aching!"

Slaine turned towards the tired girl. Lilim had always been so full of energy, it was sad to see her so easily weakened. "Jump on my back." Slaine offered. He would keep going, there were two things that drove him, that he had to do no matter what happened. The first was find food, food was priority. Down there, their only sustenance had come in the form of liquid meals and forced nutrients. The second priority? Qing Yu and Shun. Their two siblings were missing and Slaine would stop at nothing to have them all happily reunited. Kachi couldn't agree more, knowing the others thoughts on the matter without even having to question it - their only loyalty was to the Tori. Not those damnable humans who would dare lock his family away in the dark.

Lilim gladly climbed onto her older brother's back, making a pleased sound that was somewhere between a mewl and a purr. She snuggled close to Slaine's back, happily relieving herself of the pain in her feet. Perhaps Kachi was also tired - usually he'd have said something about her behavior, wouldn't he? Still, even if she was exhausted, their little family still wasn't whole yet. It wasn't as if the eel wasn't worried about them - she was, definitely. But, well... her feet really hurt. "Thank You! She said in a peppy voice, tilting her head upwards to see the gentle snow fall. With a sigh, Lilim relaxed herself. "...So, where do you think we should go? I..." A lazy and careless flick of the tongue brought no hint of either Qing Yu or Shun, but the snow seemed to be messing with her sense of smell anyways. "Yeah, I don't smell them anywhere."

Kachi too took in what he could; overly sharp eyesight and the heat sensing abilities of a snake told him that there was much heat, all around them, from dead fires; but none of them the right temperature to be a body.

Slaine turned the other boy, who was awfully silent. That was unusual. The building before them cast a large shadow, the mirrored walls distorting their reflections. It was almost invisible if not for the out of place garage and the doppelgangers staring back at them from their reflections. "That building may have food," Slaine nodded his head towards it, wondering what Kachi was thinking. Slaine was still kicking himself due to what had happened earlier, after their release. Qing had gotten taken, the humans had, had masks and gas, things that left them debilitated long enough to capture Qing. In the clamor, they had lost Shun as well. Two siblings, gone like that.

"Yeah, it does - I can taste something on the air that I recognize from the time I spent among the humans. I think they call it 'roast corn'. It's like... kinda sweet and warm, do you sense it?" Kachi answered back, inching yet further into the other two's personal space so that his shoulder brushed both of theirs as they walked, being careful not to put pressure that might unbalance the two.

Lilim's stomach then decided to growl loudly just as she was about to respond. With a quiet, almost meek voice, "...Yeah, I'd like to eat." She murmured. She tasted the air again, this time taking more care into actually processing the sense, noticing the corn mentioned by Kachi. Unfortunately it just made her feel more ravenous than before. Honestly, this was so much work and she wanted to take a break or something. In yet another whiny tone, "Can we eat? The others are strong, heck, Qing Yu probably killed them all, y'know her... so it should be fine... but I'm hungry..."

"Wait," Slaine tasted the air, he could tell that yes, there was corn, and something else too, something dangerous. "There are others here," they could kill them, no question they could take whoever was in that building down easily. The question was, who the others were? "I'm just as hungry as you guys, but in this condition... Should we risk it?"

"We need to get some food either way." Kachi murmured. "I saw outside through a window - the was nothing, just nothing, for miles. We need the strength to keep moving, otherwise, we'll die. Go in cautiously; Slaine, let down Lilim, we need to be able to move freely." Kachi warned gently, shifting his weight forward to quiet his footsteps in the hall, creeping cautiously to the doors that marked the entrance to where the food-scent was coming from. The hall was in ragged shape; no doubt from whatever had shaken the building so violently. One of the walls was cracked, there were no windows anywhere that were not shattered, and one of the doors was missing; Kachi took in the place with a critical eye, noting the glass, which one the one had could make a great weapon but the other could make them slip and injure themselves.

Slaine nodded his head, they did need to eat, that much was true. He placed Lilim down when they reached the door, walking on silent feet and following Kachi into the kitchen. It was an entire dining hall they walked into though, the entire area abandoned. Slaine went around every blind spot to ensure their safety before returning to the others, meanwhile Kachi had gone completely rigid the moment he was even a few feet away from the group, bristling even more the further away he got, not relaxing even slightly until Slaine had returned. "It's clear for now, we should eat quickly and look for things we can take with us." Slaine murmured once he had regrouped with them. They should store food as well, but Slaine was sure that in such a big place like this, there would be plenty of food to take with them.

Lilim was, unfortunately, forced to walk again for the time being, but at least it seemed that there was nothing yet to worry about. She followed her brothers as cautiously as she could, keeping an eye out for other things to carry with her. A bag or something would be convenient, to store looted things. She gave Kachi a squeeze of the hand to try and ease his new tension and began her hunt for food. Overturning cabinets and opening the white fridge, she eventually gathered up her loot in her stolen sweater and piled it onto a table, almost with a sense of expectant pride and a desire for praise. Feeling satisfied, her thoughts started to spin. "Humans are stupid." Lilim said cheerfully. "Why make a place like this if no one lives here? Isn't it a waste of space?"

Slaine shook his head. "I will never understand humans," he replied to Lilim, "they are experts of waste."

Kachi, or his part, just gave them a glance, again testing the air. That was his role after all; he was the one who protected them. It annoyed him slightly that they would speak so casually in such a situation, but then again it was also a good thing; the alternative was that they would be terrified, in this unknown place. Kachi narrowed his eyes a faint scent that he recognized tinted the air, hidden beneath smoke and dust. He opened his mouth a bit to draw the scent in more deeply, and then recognizing it at last, stilled for a moment before abandoning their place of safety that they had been observing from and quickly but silently making his way towards the door, the other two right behind him.

______
Was that a sound? Of course, it had to have been. This sound wasn't a typical one, not like the ones Shun was used to anyway. This was different, louder, more abrupt. It awoke him from his sanctuary of dreams. As his eyes slowly fluttered open he glanced around to see that something big had indeed transpired. With a yawn and a stretch Shun rose to his feet, the chains that had bound him lay broken, he figured that was a side effect of whatever had happened. It was odd though, he felt frozen in time for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts and process what he needed to do now. Should he try to locate the others? His so called siblings? Or should he just make his way to freedom and then back home. He wasn't sure how that would work though, he hadn't really ever been beyond this one room in his whole life. Well, standing here thinking wouldn't get him home, his siblings were all strong, much more so than him. 'Maybe if I win over my fellows they can help me get back. Or at least keep me alive long enough to get there.' He thought as he stepped outside his room for the first time. What awaits me now?

Shun meandered around the building, well what was left of it anyway. He briefly felt a pang of fear, what if he never found the others? Whatever had happened here had been very recent and he was totally alone, still inside the compound. His eyes darted around for an opening big enough for him to climb out of, he thought maybe if he made it outside it'd be easier. Well if nothing else then he could just run off in one direction and hopefully find something, anything to help him. To his great displeasure he was having trouble finding a hole in the walls large enough for him, the hallway to the left of his room had been blocked off by rubble. Sighing and resting his head against the wall he felt the tight grip of defeat settling around his heart. Being alone was alright, but being alone and vulnerable was not. Looking to the remaining hallway, the only way not blocked off, he started off. Hoping that if he walked long enough he'd eventually get out and maybe find the others.

His footfalls became more of a trudge than a saunter like usual. His breath was becoming labored. He must've been walking for days now! Well, more like fifteen minutes, but time was certainly slower. Grumbling quietly to himself Shun made his way towards a smell that seemed to be coming from some sort of food. A smile painted his face as his trudging became a sprint. One thought happily dominated his mind. Food. He made his way quickly to the smell, he found it the kitchen. Most of the food was gone but there seemed to be some sort of. . . Corn? He didn't care at this point and began eating it hungrily. He made sure to eat as much as he could hold. Who knew when he'd be able to eat again. Why, for all he knew this could be his last meal!
______

Slaine's tongue flickered, he tasted something awfully familiar. He turned to search for it, but what he was tasting and what he was seeing were two different things. Could it really be Shun? Seeing Slaine suddenly turn after a tongue flick meant something must've changed. Lillim followed suit and the vague new aroma floated through her sensations that felt almost unmistakable. "It's him." She said in a helpful whisper, nudging Slaine's side. "Let's go say hi!" Slaine's pace picked up. He walked, his footfalls silent in case it wasn't Shun after all but rather a remaining human. Slowly, he turned the corner, the smell of corn overwhelming the smell of his brother. Slaine straightened, peering out cautiously from behind a wall. It was him! "Shun!" The boy stepped fully out from behind the wall, relieved to have been reunited.

Kachi instantly darted over once it had been confirmed that the scent was truly Shun's, circling him once as he checked the air again. “Are you alright?” He demanded quickly.

As Shun had been eating corn like there was no tomorrow, he almost had missed the declaration. A voice had pierced his stupor. His eyes slowly flickered up to see his siblings. Blinking a few times before slowly setting down his fourth demolished corn cob. Kachi started circling him and Shun just sort of shrunk away. He did the routine 'are you alright?' bit. Shun just sort of watched everyone with his eyes, cautiously scanning over them. He wondered briefly if they would attack him if he claimed he was wounded or sick. He'd better not show any weakness toward his siblings. "I'm fine. Better now. Are you all alright?"

Kachi gave him a slightly dry look. "Of course I am." He responded, arching one brow.

"My feet hurt!" Lilim added in an irritating whine.

Kachi gave her a lingering glance. "Well, you'll have to wait a bit longer to rest Lil. We're in danger here; we have to find supplies and the others and get out, as quickly as we can."

The eel puffed out her cheeks in annoyance but shrugged. "Fine, fiiine. Sheeeesh." She acquiesced. "...It's good to see you again, Shun!" She offered him an amicable wave.

A smile crept onto Shun's face as Kachi spoke, then he made his way closer to them. Kachi relaxed slightly as he neared, his birdlike internal compass straightening a bit as another piece of the flock returned. Next was supplies then. Kachi turned to scan the room again. It looked as if the kitchens had been on the other side of some kind of glass wall, which was now shattered; no doubt the storage areas would be back there.

"This way." He motioned, and then started towards the space, leaping easily up on the counter and perching there on the tips of his toes as the others passed by, watching their backs, keeping his attention riveted on the entrances.

Kachi seemed to have everything well under control. Such a good little flock leader, a father-figure to protect us. Right. Shun walked among his siblings, his flock. He couldn't help but feel a bit relieved to finally not be alone. His instincts told him this was by far a better situation for him to be in, his stubborn brain didn't think the same. Luckily for him, the instincts were stronger by far. Guess that's what animal blood will do for you. Shun figured that they were still short a few people, which might explain why Kachi seemed a bit torn, clearly very focused but he was on a mission for sure. Shun's eyes drifted over to the small female. Lilim. He couldn't help but smile at her, he thought if maybe she was anything like his own sister.

"I'm so happy to see you in one piece." Slaine was happier to see the kitchen though. He gave Shun a nod and began ransacking, taking out cans, going through the oven, raiding the fridge. It was as though someone had left mid-meal, a whole roasted chicken and side dishes left to the side, forgotten on their rush to leave. Good, better for them that they would be able to at least relax for a minute as they devoured whatever food had been left over. Lilim eyed Slaine curiously, staring at the half-eaten meals. "What do you think happened? Did they die, maybe?" She had a quizzical expression. "Could they come back maybe? We should hurry, right?"

Slaine was unsure. He placed the chicken in front of them and tore off a leg. "I don't know." Slaine spoke honestly. He crunched through bone, devouring meat. "Maybe," he spoke through his mouthful of food. "They were inside of the rehab center when it blew up?"

The eel seemed somewhat disappointed about that possibility, picking her own piece of chicken and staring at it before taking a small nibble, holding it like one would hold a cob of corn. "No fair." She pouted childishly. "I wanted us to kill them! Slaine, it's not faaiiiir!"

Shun perked up slightly. "we wouldn't have to kill them. . . Right Slaine? We aren't gonna kill anyone?" Shun was feeling a little uneasy, he had never really fought before. He didn't like the idea of fighting in a life or death situation. Not really at all actually. Lilim shot him an annoyed glower. "Boring." She mumbled quietly. The glare was well received and Shun subtly closed his mouth and waited.

"Only if we have to. If we just killed them for no reason, we would be no better than the humans who kill for no reason as well." Kachi said, leaping down off the counter and going straight to the supply cabinets, searching though them until he found a large cloth food bag, and then checked each of the spaces in the small kitchen for foods they could take with them. "I will not let them stop us from getting the hell out of here though." He continued after a moment, with pure determination, glancing at each of his family members in turn.

Lilim grinned loftily at Kachi's words, feeling somewhat pleased as she took another tiny bite from the chicken. "Weeelll...." Her voice gained a sing-song quality as she regarded her brother."They did try to separate us, so it's only fair to separate them, isn't it?" Her eyes narrowed slightly as she enjoyed another bite. "Why not hurt them back?"

"They made us hurt," Slaine whispered. "They made us monsters, why shouldn't we repay them in kind?" Normally, Slaine would agree with Kachi, but the human scientists were where their views differed. Slaine didn't think these humans deserved to live, not after the way they had tortured them in that basement. Poking and prodding, chaining and caging, treating them like animals. It wasn't as though they had asked to be brought onto this planet. No, the Tori were made forcefully, there was never a choice in their existence.

As Slaine spoke, dashing the comfort Kachi had brought Shun felt a lump in his throat. He couldn't understand why his siblings were so bloodthirsty. Yes, the humans were bad sure, but not all of them were evil. True, they made us into what we are, they caused a lot of pain but. . .Killing them, wouldn't that just mean they won? That they succeeded in making monsters? Shun didn't like it one bit. He glanced around the messy room and sighed. He knew if they came up on humans Lil and Slaine would try and hurt them.

Kachi's eyes dimmed a bit, and he set down the bag by on the floor and walked over to Slaine, carefully carding a hand through the others' hair, a gesture imprinted on him by his bird instincts. "But if we take the time to do that, it just makes us caged longer Slaine. We can't let them have that hold on us, no matter what kind of one it is; wanting to get revenge will just make us stay near them to do it. It's still a cage. Yes, they deserve it, but I think the best revenge would be to completely be free." Kachi explained, tipping his head at the other.

The eel let out a heavy sigh as she listened to Kachi. Unfortunately it made sense, but seeing Slaine like this bothered her too. Maybe by killing the humans, Slaine would be happier. Maybe it'd make him get that look out of his eyes. She grabbed at his hand and squeezed it tenderly, then turned to stare back at Kachi with a frown. "...Who cares about winning or losing?" She murmured, deliberately not understanding. "They put us in the cage, so shouldn't they pay the price?"

Shun decided to speak. "No. They shouldn't. We are in no place to bring justice. We have no authority in what's right, our whole lives we've just been wronged. Now we need to just leave this place and try again." Shun narrowed his eyes at Lilim, she was very set on this revenge thing, even after Kachi had ended it. Or at least he had for Shun, the guy made sense. "But at any rate us standing around here talking and arguing isn't getting us any closer to the freedom we all deserve."

"It's not freedom without Qing Yu." Lilim growled in an almost threatening tone. "I'm not sure if you know, but they took her, didn't they? What if they're hurting her right now? I won't let them get away with it."

Kachi gave the girl an annoyed look over his shoulder. "As if I would just let them have her." He murmured under his breath.

Shun watched the small girl carefully, choosing his words. "She's most likely fine. She's very strong. She can for sure make it until we find her." Shun said making his way away from the girl, trying to make it look natural. The look she was giving him was making him start to sweat a bit. She wouldn't attack him right? She just found him, another member of the flock. She wouldn't. . . Or would she. Shun didn't care to find out. Being around Tori, just like him, made him paranoid already. Now one was being hostile. It didn't sit well. Maybe I should've stayed in my room.

With a frustrated sigh, the eel grabbed Shun's hand in her other, squeezing it as well. "No." She said plainly. She was still angry, but she wanted Shun to at least be happy that they reunited. They were, after all, family, weren't they? "How about we kill the humans who took Qing Yu.... and leave the not involved ones alone. Does that make you happy?"

It didn't. Although it seemed only fair. They took someone obviously dear to this child, it would be understandable for this girl to act in such a way. Shun crinkled his nose and managed a slight smile looking at their locked hands. Honestly he wasn't that comforted, but he was more than he had been before so he allowed himself to relax slightly. "If you feel you must." Shun said with a tired sigh.

Slaine's hands balled into fists. Kachi knelt before him, speaking calmly, rationally. It sometimes made Slaine frustrated, but it was nothing he didn't understand. Slaine leaned his head against Kachi's chest. "You're right, if we kill them, we only play further into their hand." He hated to admit it, but in this case, they would have to preserve life, even if it was one he didn't like. "If they hurt Qing Yu, I won't hold back." That much was a promise. Slaine turned to look at Kachi, wondering how he managed to stay so frustratingly calm even when no one else could. "We should eat and go, I smell something that's making me uneasy."

Kachi nodded, and reluctantly stepped away from Slaine to return to packing the bag.

Once Lillim was finished with the chicken, a new idea burst into mind. Setting aside the matter of killing humans, what Lilim wanted now was something sweet to sate her tongue. Sure, they had to hurry... but she really wanted some candy. Something to suck on and to make her mouth feel moisturized. "I want candy." Her voice went back to it's childish whine. So she hunted through the room, deciding to temporarily ignore the rest of the Tori. She wouldn't be able to convince them anyways. Finally she found a pouch of what seemed to be sour candies and pocketed a handful before shoving the rest into the bag. With a happy expression, the eel sucked on one, enjoying the explosion of flavor. "Slaine, my feet still hurt. Carry me?"

Kachi gave Lillim an exasperated look. "Lil, enough. We have to run; we can't be carrying you around now. Toughen up; you can rest once we're safe all you want."

Lilim glared at Kachi, trying to talk but only strange muffled sounds came out as her tongue was blocked by the candy. She instead stuck her tongue out stubbornly and turned her head away, looking pleadingly at Slaine.

"It's alright Kachi, I'll carry her." Slaine replied, getting to his feet. He washed the grease from the chicken off of his fingers and decided he was going to look around for boots or shoes, at least something to protect their feet. "We should find clothing, we shouldn't expose ourselves to the cold without some protection."

Shun watched mommy and daddy arguing over the baby. A deep groan escaped his throat. Shun moved by the whiny little girl and looked toward the way the others had com in through. "We're going back out the way you all came in right? Because from the way I come from is blocked by ceiling pieces." Shun leaned up against the wall.

Kachi pressed his lips into a thin line and let the issue go - they didn't have the time to debate over it. He picked up the awkward bag and slung it over his shoulder, double-checked that they were all there, and turned back towards the entrance; only to freeze in place as he saw someone standing in it, blocking their way out.

"Well, damn." He hissed under his breath, shooting another glare at Lilim for distracting him. This was exactly why her little act of being weak was so annoying; it put Slaine and Shun in danger this time, and now they were going to have to risk injury fighting their way out. Wonderful just wonderful.

Brash | Wild | Furious | Lethal

|| Blood On My Hands ||


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"So did my soul turn back
To look again upon the past
Which never had a living person left."
--Dante's Inferno
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⎡ EXP - #X14082 ▮ Dialogue - #000000⎦