Ruru's breath was visible as he waited, crouching behind a tall thicket in the cold lands of Coerthas. The clouds overhead at least hid the sun, preventing him from imagining false warmth. The area was quiet north of Dragonhead save for the light growling from the Snow Wolf he had in his sights. They tended to be aggressive and dangerous when hungry and this one appeared to be starving. A Lalafell would be an adequate meal for this one, Ruru thought and smiled.
His hair had grown out a bit and he had decided to let it grow. And the eyepatch he wore now felt natural, as did the sword he brandished. He had accepted his fate in life and decided to embrace who he was becoming. A soldier. He would complete his training and he would ask Kage to allow him to request Ser Natalie to attempt the trials to become a Sultansworn. While he had initially doubted his abilities with the loss of his eye, he had grown more confident as he had stepped out and worked through various beasts. While he still had much to learn, he was becoming as tempered steel with the skills he was acquiring.
He hoped Kage was healing well; his shield arm had been nastily broken and Ruru hoped it would heal properly. In the meantime, Ruru considered, it would do either of them no good to stand idly by an await the next attack by mysterious figure who had hurt them so badly before. He wanted nothing more than to find who did it and put the shackles on the person himself, presenting them to Kage for adjudication. But he needed more information, more training, and a better sense of himself for he could ill afford to lose again. Last time it cost him an eye....the next could be a far greater cost.
But first was the Snow Wolf, seemingly oblivious to the Lalafell who spied him for some time. His hans gripped the sword tightly, knuckles cracking as he did so, and hefting the shield on his other arm, he charged out of the thicket toward the wolf. The cold winds pushed against his face as he ran and the feeling was exhilirating as his heart pounded in anticipation. As he got closer, his feet making crunching sounds in the snow as he moved forward, he let out a deep yell that began in his chest and rose to greet the Snow Wolf with a thunderous "YARGHHHH!!!"
The shield slammed into the wolf quickly, catching it off guard and allowing Ruru the opportunity to open a series of quick slashes to the wolf, taking its legs out in rapid fashion to limit its movement. It let out a loud yelp of surprise and gnashed at its attacker, its teeth flashing droplets of blood. But it was already too late. Ruru swung the sword more deftly than he had in weeks and it came down in a killing strike to the wolf's torso, putting it down to its final moments. Ruru ensured it died quickly with a quick thrust to the head and then took a knee to collect his thoughts.
Through his breathing he closed his eyes and tried hard to remember what the mysterious figure looked like. Was it a man, or a woman? The form had seemed smaller but that implied nor meant anything. He needed to speak to Kage again. As an apprentice Ruru felt limited in what he could do to help, as surely the Sultansworn were handling this internally. He sighed and knew he had to figure something out. With his eye closed he envisoned the attack which had happened so fast. And then just as suddenly, the image of the alluring Roegadyn woman....and he quickly banished the the thought.
He stood and sheathed his sword after cwiping the blood away, beginning the long trek back to Ul'dah.
He had work to do yet.
His hair had grown out a bit and he had decided to let it grow. And the eyepatch he wore now felt natural, as did the sword he brandished. He had accepted his fate in life and decided to embrace who he was becoming. A soldier. He would complete his training and he would ask Kage to allow him to request Ser Natalie to attempt the trials to become a Sultansworn. While he had initially doubted his abilities with the loss of his eye, he had grown more confident as he had stepped out and worked through various beasts. While he still had much to learn, he was becoming as tempered steel with the skills he was acquiring.
He hoped Kage was healing well; his shield arm had been nastily broken and Ruru hoped it would heal properly. In the meantime, Ruru considered, it would do either of them no good to stand idly by an await the next attack by mysterious figure who had hurt them so badly before. He wanted nothing more than to find who did it and put the shackles on the person himself, presenting them to Kage for adjudication. But he needed more information, more training, and a better sense of himself for he could ill afford to lose again. Last time it cost him an eye....the next could be a far greater cost.
But first was the Snow Wolf, seemingly oblivious to the Lalafell who spied him for some time. His hans gripped the sword tightly, knuckles cracking as he did so, and hefting the shield on his other arm, he charged out of the thicket toward the wolf. The cold winds pushed against his face as he ran and the feeling was exhilirating as his heart pounded in anticipation. As he got closer, his feet making crunching sounds in the snow as he moved forward, he let out a deep yell that began in his chest and rose to greet the Snow Wolf with a thunderous "YARGHHHH!!!"
The shield slammed into the wolf quickly, catching it off guard and allowing Ruru the opportunity to open a series of quick slashes to the wolf, taking its legs out in rapid fashion to limit its movement. It let out a loud yelp of surprise and gnashed at its attacker, its teeth flashing droplets of blood. But it was already too late. Ruru swung the sword more deftly than he had in weeks and it came down in a killing strike to the wolf's torso, putting it down to its final moments. Ruru ensured it died quickly with a quick thrust to the head and then took a knee to collect his thoughts.
Through his breathing he closed his eyes and tried hard to remember what the mysterious figure looked like. Was it a man, or a woman? The form had seemed smaller but that implied nor meant anything. He needed to speak to Kage again. As an apprentice Ruru felt limited in what he could do to help, as surely the Sultansworn were handling this internally. He sighed and knew he had to figure something out. With his eye closed he envisoned the attack which had happened so fast. And then just as suddenly, the image of the alluring Roegadyn woman....and he quickly banished the the thought.
He stood and sheathed his sword after cwiping the blood away, beginning the long trek back to Ul'dah.
He had work to do yet.
