Iron and the Tree

[Iron Flint]

The stout young woman had become accustomed to the darkness that permeated the small town of Alatus Nox. It was just something that was, day in and day out. However, Iron did long to see the sun again, and was at that very moment trying to chop her way through the thick undergrowth that created an impenetrable barrier that cut her off from the rest of the world.

She had been at it for the better part of an hour when she decided to give up for the day. She tucked her blade safely into the lining of her coat where no one would steal it (it was, after all, of the purest quality. All the better for collecting herbs), picked up her coat, and turned. She maneuvered through the thick wood until she emerged into the clearing where she had begun.

Iron didn't dislike Alatus Nox, not at all. In fact, she had started to make quite a name for herself in the town - Iron Ethel Flint, Liniments for Every Ailment. She didn't have a shop, but word traveled quick in this tiny little town. But she missed the sun. And her family.

Shivering a little, Iron pulled her coat back on and buttoned it up, starting in one direction. It didn't matter where she started, she'd end up in Exodus eventually.

Up ahead, the large young woman spotted something glowing in the distance. She gathered up the skirt of her coat and began toward it. It was a tree. A glowing tree.

"Curious," she mumbled, reaching up to touch one of the glowing white branches. She took out her blade and snapped it off, only to be disappointed when the glow 'leaked' out after it had been disconnected.

"This must have some magical properties. I may finally find a cure for baldness." She declared, putting the branch in her bag.

It was then that she heard a rustle.

[Yu Kobi]

Kobi had been wandering around the Genesis tree a lot recently, hoping to find Axl again soon. She really didn't have much else to do with her time, and because the weather was nice she felt there would be no reason to bother to do something more productive. Her small frame moved silently amongst the bushes, her long hair staying out of her face for once.

The mask which she always wore hung over her face, sticking slightly as the more humid area caused a light dew to form on her skin, her breaths coming in small, silent puffs as her eyes darted around in search for her beloved brother, or at least one of the woodland creatures to keep her company.

For the most part she had been avoiding the tree itself, always finding herself blinded by the odd light of the tree. It made her calm, it made her tired, it made her easy to attack. She didn't want to get too close to it unless she was with Axl. She didn't call out, knowing that Axl would know if there was somebody so close to his home, instead she moved towards the tree where she would wait on Axl.

She paused in the bushes, just outside of where the tree came into view, hearing a light call of 'curious' she froze, her eyes narrowing as she glared between a blank in the leaves, watching an unknown woman approached Axl's precious home. She cried out in pain herself as a deep cut opened on her shoulder when the woman pulled a branch from the tree, tears falling down her cheeks as she pulled her mask off to push her hand against her cut and halt the bleeding. She dropped the mask, stumbling out into the clearing with her staff in her free hand.

"Why did you do that?!" Kobi cried out, watching in horror as the life slowly drained from the branch, "DO YOU WANT ME TO DO THAT TO YOU?!" She yelled out, pulling her hand away from the deep injury and resting her bloody hand on her staff, getting into an offensive position and charging forward at the girl, intent on hurting her badly.

[Axl]

Axl gasped as he felt the damaged that had been caused to his tree. While all of the trees in the forest were important to him, and he could feel it when they got damaged, the Genesis tree was special to him, it was his tree the tree he needed to live. The forest was constantly changing, but the Genesis tree always remained. If the Genesis tree was injured, Axl would be as well.

He gripped at the arm that had been damaged, a clear sap-like blood tinged with red flowing out of the deep cut that ran all the way up his forearm to his elbow. He knew he wouldn't really be able to use any herbs to heal himself, the issue was that he had to be sure the Genesis tree was okay. It had only felt like a small branch breaking off, however, it had not been a dead branch, which would not have effected Axl, a live branch had been violently snatched from the tree ahead of it's time. There hadn't been any major storms in the area lately either, so that could only mean one thing: someone was hurting his sacred tree.

As he headed swiftly through the forest, he wondered what kind of person would do such a thing, and if Kobi was already there.

He finally burst out from the trees to where the Genesis tree was. He saw Kobi, he staff held at the ready as she faced a woman he didn't recognize. He gathered that she was probably the one who had injured the tree. He took a few steps towards them, bracing himself against the surrounding trees with his good hand.

By all means, there was no reason why he should be feeling so much pain over a small branch, even if had still been alive; it was something Axl couldn't really explain, but he had been gone for 500 years while some foreign magic invaded the soil, and he had still yet to find how this magic effected him. Perhaps this was one of it's side-effects?

Either way, he felt himself weakening and only managed to gasp out a "why?" before sinking to ground.

[Iron Flint]

It was only after she'd placed the twig in her bag and buckled it up that she noticed the rustle. She turned, scratched her head, and continued on, thinking that it must have only been the wind. But then she was knocked to her feet.

"What? What? What did I do?" Iron said, pulling herself to her feet and looking around frantically, wondering if she'd accidentally stepped on somebody. "What happened? Are you alright? Goodness gracious! You're injured, here, sit down." She said, making a grab at the young ladies hand before noticing the other person who was slumped on the ground.

"Goodness. Now there's two of you." She said to herself before walking over to the fallen man and putting her ear close to his mouth to measure his breathing. "Nothin' old Iron can't fix." She said, putting on a smile. Bedside manner, all that. Had to be calm in the face of... craziness.

"Now, can you tell me what happened to you two? Get in a fight. I know how that is."

[Yu Kobi]

"No! You did it!" Kobi shouted before sheshifted into her fox form, darting forward towards the temporarily abandoned back. Although she was still injured in this form, it thankfully didn't hinder her too much, and she quickly reached the bag. She shoved her face inside, shaking it slightly so she could squirm in through the buckles. Grabbing some bandages and the stick from the tree between her jaws she yanked her head up, snapping the straps.

She shot towards the tree, leaping up unto the lowest branch and up until she got to where the branch had been stolen from. She shifted back, trying to literally bandage the branch onto the tree with shaky fingers.

[Iron Flint]

"Hm. Interesting. Now, tell me, does the tree have some sort of regenerating powers?" Iron said, studying how the girl bandaged the branch onto the tree. She seemed more interested than peeved or confused. She was no stranger to shifters, either, and it didn't seem to bother her that the girl had turned into a fox and stolen her possessions.

"And what do you mean by I did this? Is it a metaphor for a view on life, perhaps? In any case, shall I attend to your friend? He seems awfully dazed."

She kneeled beside him once more and started to tend to his wounds.

[Axl]

Axl's eyes flickered open and he groaned when he saw what Kobi was trying to do. "Kobi!" he yelled out, "Don't be an idiot!" He knew she was trying to help, but the branch wasn't going to magically re-attach itself, things didn't work that way. "We'll heal Kobi! Really it's fine!." he shouted again. And it was true, already the cut on his arm was shrinking at incredible speeds until it was the size it should have been for a break like that, a small scratch.

He knew that Kobi was in her human form, and where she was on the tree wasn't very strong. Realizing what could possibly happen, his eyes widened in alarm. "Kobi! The branch is going to - "

SNAP!

Axl gritted his teeth in pain as the cut on his arm opened up again, clear, sap-like liquid flowing out, only slightly tinged with red, making it quite obvious that Axl wasn't human.

[Farina (Fawn)]

The loud snap startled the girl-- she barely could conceive that she had caused it to happen. Regardless, she shifted mid-air and bolted into the brush. Guilt seared through her. Despite having the best wishes, she had (like usual) only made matters worse. She knew that Axl was probably mad with her; she didn't want to be yelled at! So she kept going until her injury made it impossible, blood running down her front leg until she shifted, most of her torso stained by the crimson liquid."I'm going to stay away from Axl for now..." she pouted lightly, putting pressure on the wound. "Until we're healed, at least..." she walked slowly off into the brush, going deeply into the forest and away from prying eyes.
((Forgot to change accounts >_> wups))