Completed [Sacred Arch Hotspring]Chilling Hotspring (Kyra)

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri 42nd of Spring, 30 Chimes after the 19th Bell, 513 AV "Hmhmhmhmhm~ ♪" A haunting humming of a little girl could be heard echoing in the Bronze Woods tonight. Kouri, the gothic lolita ghost girl, was sitting on her favorite branch on her favorite tall tree, her legs swung back and forth and her very long white hair slowly swayed up and down as if it was blown by an ethereal breeze. "I wonder what should I do tonight~♪?" She said to herself in a sing-song voice. Kouri was feeling mischievous tonight, she needed her supply of naughty pleasures; not in that way mind you. Mama... ah, it's okay, right? I don't do it often.. besides I never actually hurt people, ehehehe~ With that thought, Kouri shut her guilty feelings. "Hmmm...." Kouri crossed her hands in front of her chest as she made a thoughtful expression. "AHA!" A figurative light bulb appeared above her head. "I know! I think I'll... 'visit' that hotspring everyone has been talking about, ehehehe~" Sometime ago when she was visiting Syliras City, she had heard a couple of women talking about a hotspring just outside Syliras; it seemed quite popular as it's said it could cure illnesses and wounds just by bathing in it. "Ehehehe... Hot spring, eh... I wonder... ahaha..." A naughty grin appeared on Kouri's face as she was planning to abuse her ghostly frost-touch to scare the shykes out of people bathing there. "Mwehehehehe..." Her evil giggle echoed in the woods as she vanished into thin air, heading to the Sacred Arch Hotspring. Half a Bell later, 20th of Bell "Ihihihihi~" A strange head-shaped object could be seen at the natural stone wall surrounding the hotpsring, that 'object' was Kouri; her body was 'inside' the stone wall as her head poked out to observe the location, there were a few people currently bathing in the warm pool even though it was night time. This place really is popular after all... Kouri bit her lips in excitement and anticipation as she searched for a pranking target.

[Kyra]

It had been quite the adventurous past few seasons for Kyra. The young, mischievous kelvic bad been to Ravok and back, facing off strange rock men, searching out Marcelo's killer, finally getting revenge, then back into the forest where she met the forest witch and another katana wielder, and even a squire who was anything but what one might expect. Her life was rarely boring, and she seemed to travel more now than ever in her life. Kyra was tired, but luckily her travel would soon be over.

Syliras was now in sight, it wouldn't be long now before she could finally put down her bags and relax within the walls of a safe city. It was true that the forest had grown on her, and at times she did enjoy nature more so than the busy cities. But the forest had it's own problems as well, and she never slept for long with the threat of predators lurking in the shadows at night. Once she was back in the city, she would have a somewhat soft bed to sleep on and a room all to herself.

On her way to the city, Kyra paused when the sound of water reached her ears. There was also a fresh scent of clean water and fresh dirt in the air. Kyra hadn't visited the spring on her last visit to Syliras, and it wasn't until she happened upon the sight that she realized where she was. It was a good sign, and meant that not only had she not gotten lost again, but that the city was very close by. The spring was empty when she arrived, and the kelvic decided to have a bath. It had been a long and humid journey through the forest and she was already starting to feel itchy.

Kyra left her backpack and weapons near the shallow end, then picked through the items to find her soap then undressed herself. She placed her clothing, the men's attire that she had been wearing for days, beside her other belongings and entered the warm waters. It felt amazing, tiny watery fingers massaging her body from her head all the way down to her toes and in between. She closed her eyes with a soft sigh of pleasure as she peddled herself out into deeper waters. The young kelvic wasn't a swimmer and so she only moved as far into the waters to where her feet were only slightly off the ground.

She soaked her soap bar and started to clean herself. It was odd how even after blood had been washed away, the scent still remained, and it took more than one bath to be rid of it...at least for those with her keen sense of smell. Once she was done bathing, Kyra slowly floated a bit further into the soothing waters and allowed herself to drift under. She felt at peace now, submerged underneath, weightless, her nude form receiving the wondrous treatments of the hot spring. The kelvic had lost track of how long she had been under, until the sounds of voices quickly awoke her. Kyra pushed herself back up and peeked out above the waters.

Her nose was completely cleaned down, and with the scent of blood washed away, her senses were back to full use. There were people coming, more than three and they were close to the spring. She peddled herself back towards the shallow end and stepped out onto the ground where she dressed herself in the outfit she had on before. Not a moment afterwards, the group of people appeared and started to disrobe themselves and jumped into the spring. Kyra looked on from the edge, as she lifted a finger to brush the soaked strains of silvery blonde hair from her eyes.

It was a nice bath and few moments to relax, but she imagined that she should leave. It was true that she was likely heading to the same city that they had just come from, but that fact didn't mean they she liked them...or trusted them.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri When Kouri started observing, it was after Kyra had done bathing so she didn't spot her. Kouri looked mischievously at the three men bathing in the spring right now. Uhuhuhu.... She giggled in her mind as she floated downwards and phased through the stone wall beneath the water surface. The three men were happily chatting with each other, mostly about women and wine. Kouri kept approaching until she was finally near the men, she could see their feet dangling in the water. Now then... TOUCH~♥ Kouri extended her tendrils to play around with the men's feet. "W-what the petch?!" "W-wha!! AHAHA! That tickles! What the petch is that?!" "I don't know... something is wrong here..." Two of the men threw curses as they was surprised and the third one was the most calm out of the three. U hu hu hu hu~♪ Kouri was very pleased with the results, but she wanted more so used her tendrils to suddenly pull out of the man's legs, dragging him underwater. "BRBRBRB!!!" The man burbled as he was suddenly pulled by an unknown force, his whole body was now underwater as he looked all around him in panic. That's when his eyes spotted a... "Hi~♪" little girl wearing a dress with blood-stains, her very long hair spread out behind her, and her crimson red eyes and lips made up a smiling expression. Something ghastly were coming out of the girl's back, it was in the shape of swirling black tendril-shaped mist, all in all, this was definitely not a good sign. "BRBRBRBRB!!! FUAH!!" The man quickly surfaced as he felt the hold on his leg relaxing. He immediately make a dart to his clothes. "Hey, man! What happened?!" his friend spoke. "I DON'T KNOW! I saw... I saw... a little girl..." The pulled man stuttered, his face full of confusion and fear as he was fumbling with his clothes, not caring if his whole body was wet. "Little girl?" The calm one spoke "I guess something is really wrong here tonight, let's just go home." He spoke to his other comrade. Then the three men decided to end their bathing session tonight, put on their clothes, and headed home. One terrified, one confused, and one intrigued men in total. "Ahahahaha~! Aaaahahahaha~! Huehehehe~ hehehe~ fuaaah~" Kouri hold her stomach and giggled intensely, her haunting voice echoed in the water. She was very pleased with her results, the men's reactions were priceless. Now then~ I think I should wait for more, ehehe~ Making sure no one else was bathing in the water, Kouri slowly floated upwards, her ghostly from slowly emerging from the water surface.

[Kyra]

Kyra stood silently on the bank staring into the waters. Her bright golden eyes were mostly hidden, shaded by the long locks of damp blonde hair that continued to fall into her face. The soothing warmth of the spring waters had gone now and were replaced with the cool air that caressed her pale flesh. The bulky form of the men's attire that she wore left loose pockets of fabric where air could easily slip in and chill her skin until goosebumps appeared.

The young kelvic watched the men undress and dive into the waters, and it seemed that they hadn't noticed her. It was a truth that she had come to enjoy, that she could go unnoticed so easily, even while standing in plain sight. It was a good tool for a spy to possess, and she would be sure to use it as often as needed.

She reached down and collected her belongings, before she turned to leave. It was time to finally make her way into the castle city, and after a soothing bath, her mood had changed to a more pleasant one. Just as she was climbing the bridge again, she heard a commotion from the spring and turned to see the men having some sort of trouble. It looked strange, and she wasn't sure if the man was drowning or if they were all playing around.

However, her opinion of this changed when they suddenly jumped out of the water and hurried off. The kelvic stood confused as well as the men had been. What could have scared them off, she wondered. Kyra herself had spent several chimes in the waters soaking and bathing, if there was something beneath the surface, surely she would have sensed it.

That's when she felt it, a familiar cold and icy wind rising and twirling around the spring. She had only felt this one other time in the cave that she had found with the forest witch in the wild lands. It was a haunting chill, and eerie silence that would cause breath to echo..it was a ghost. Kyra spun around, her golden eyes searching the trees near and far to find the spirit. Finally, as she glanced back to the spring, she noticed the form of a girl appearing from beneath the surface.

This one looked different from the male ghost that she had met, but unless she had been mistaken, this was very much a spirit. Kyra quickly pulled her dagger from her belt and readied herself to attack, she didn't know what the ghost was after, but she didn't trust it.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Ahahahaha~ Ahaha~" Kouri kept giggling as she rose up from the surface. Her appearance looked like a twisted version of Undine rising from the water surface. Hmm... She then looked all around her to spot more targets. "Eh?" Then her eyes spotted a woman with a slender frame, silver hair like herself, and very pale skin but still within the tone of a healthy person unlike Kouri's corpse-like pale. She also has big golden yellow eyes, though the pupil's shape was resembling a feline. A metallic glint caught Kouri's eye as she saw the woman holding what seemed to be a dagger on her hand. "Heeeeeeee~?" Kouri grinned as she was amused, this woman was going to hurt her? Ahahaha~! I bet she couldn't even touch m-... Kouri suddenly went silent as she remembered the events that had transpired three days ago. What if this silver-haired woman was like that... hooded man. Someone with the ability to touch a ghost like herself even though she was not materialized. ".....U...uhm..." If this woman was like that hooded man, Kouri didn't want any trouble with her so she played the scared little girl act. "Uhm... Madame..." Kouri fidgeted with her hair ribbons, a habit of hers when she's nervous. "I'm uuuh... I'm just a little girl~ Ehehe~ Uhm... why are you brandishing that dagger?" Kouri asked in a timid tone. By now, Kouri was aware of her cute appearance so she tried to make use of it.

[Kyra]

Kyra kept her dagger at the ready, but she didn't move against the ghost girl. Instead, she just watched her as she rose further from the waters and started to look around. It was her that had scared the humans away, and she was now looking to Kyra. Like with the last ghost, she didn't have any idea where they came from, or why they chose to appear in the places that they did. But this ghost, like the last one liked to frighten others, that much was clear.

The shy act that the ghost put on didn't work on the young kelvic, not a full two years past, she had been a little girl herself. It was different, the way that she viewed the world. She didn't see those that could possibly be younger than her as being anything less than she was, nor did she see anyone older as being anything more, besides her mother and Marcelo.

"You are a ghost...what do you want here?" Kyra asked in a serious tone. "What did you do to those men, what made them run as they did?" She wasn't sure if she'd get any answers, and if this ghost was like the other then she was likely in for a fight.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri This wasn't good. The woman didn't relinquish her threatening pose. Was I not cute enough? Kouri couldn't help but wonder where did her act had any flaws. "......" Kouri went silent to examine the woman more. It seemed that the blonde-haired woman was a warrior and a brave one at that. She didn't even flinch and kept her gaze locked to Kouri. Kouri got the thought that this woman knew she was the one who scared those men away and wanted to punish her. Her suspicions were proved as the woman interrogated her in a serious tone. Kouri felt intimated and decided it would be best to answer her questions honestly. "Well... uuh... I'm bored and wanted to have some fun... and what did I do to them? Ehehe~ It's simple! I just tickled their legs and pulled one of them with my tendrils here~" As she said that, various ethereal black tendrils shot up from Kouri's back and swaying slowly in the air. "Don't you see their faces? Ahahaha! It was funny right? right?" Kouri tried to persuade the woman to see from her perspective about her pranking act.

[Kyra]

The young kelvic was still wary of the ghost, but for the moment, she seemed less threatening. Kyra could relate to wanting to have mischievous fun, and she surely wasn't against toying with humans. Such actions had been a fun time for her over the last two years and she certainly hadn't gotten enough of it yet. Still, this was a ghost a being that Kyra knew very little about and had no reason to trust.

"They looked ridiculous really." she answered as she withdrew her threatening stance, but kept her dagger ready just in case. She was now a lone in the forest with a ghost, and although this one seemed different from the other, more angrier ghost that she had met, there were questions. For all her limited knowlegde, ghost were people that died....then came back as icy smoke ready to harm the living. If this ghost was different, she wanted to know how and why.

"What happened to you, are you an angry ghost?"

[Fubuki Kouri]

Fubuki Kouri "Right? Right! Hehehe~" Kouri swayed her body left and right excitedly. This woman understood her after all, not like some humans who saw her pranking as a punishable act. "Ehehe~" With her hands clasped behind her back, Kouri 'walked' on the water surface heading to the woman. The woman seemed to be more relaxed, dropping her threatening stance. Kouri eyed the metallic glint that was her dagger and giggled in her mind. Ahaha~ Even if she tried to stab me with it... it would just go through me, Ehehe~ She beamed the woman with a smile, the woman's view on her pranking act made Kouri thought she could trust her. Then she asked what happened to her and was she an angry ghost. What happened to me? Oh... I get it... she's just like Madame Vaspira, curious about my past... A sad expression came upon Kouri's past as she tried to tell the woman her past. "W-well... I uhh... I... with Mama and Papa was... killed... by a tiger..." She stopped at that, she didn't want to remember anymore. "Angry? Uhm... no... I'm not angry... do I look angry?" She really wasn't angry. Was there something on her face that made her looked like someone who's angry?

[Kyra]

Kyra watched the ghost as she lightly stepped across the waters surface as if it were solid ground. What strange beings these ghost were, appearing human in form, but the young kelvic made no mistake about it, they were not human. There wasn't a scent, or body heat...or body at all. It was more like an illusion than anything real.

But they were very real indeed.

"What will you do if they come back? People don't like to be frightened." she asked, while still holding her dagger firmly within her grip. It was too bad that the dagger she held was the normal one that she carried, and not the special one that Aello had allowed her to borrow. The dagger was coated in magics that would allow one to strike right through ghost and harm them easily. But the forest witch had taken back her dagger, and Kyra could easily see why she would do so.

"A tiger?" she asked curiously.

Kyra had never seen a tiger before, and wasn't sure where to find one. She had heard of the animals, but was yet to see one for herself, that she could remember at least. However the fact that tigers were killers it seemed, didn't surprise her, in fact few things did anymore. The ghost girl changed the subject then, and Kyra went along as she had no particular interest in the former conversation. "I suppose you don't...look angry. It was just a question. So, there is no one here, does that mean that you will leave now?"