Return to Blood [M][DragonSong]

[Lowen Thorn]

Art never wanted to cause harm to Tsukihana. Hells, he really wouldn't of stood a chance even if he wanted to, but he didn't want her to harm Hana either. What was he suppose to do? But soon enough, Hana's arm was wrapped around him, and that was the only thing separating him and the older kitsune.

He tried to calm his breathing, but it provided nearly impossible as the first in his chest burned with anger. "Don't touch her," he growled under his breath. "Not that that. Ever again."

[DragonSong]

The older kitsune snarled again, then smirked. "And do you think you could stop me, human pup?"

"Please, just stop!" Hana begged, tightening her grip on Art. Her throat was sore, she knew that was going to bruise, but honestly she wasn't even angry at that point; she just wanted to get out of there. Tugging on Art gently, she muttered, "Let's just go, please, c'mon."

"I should have known," Tsukihana spat at her. "You halfling blood betrays you, niece. You cannot see past your little plaything to consider the self-sacrifice of ruling."

Hana winced and dropped her eyes, silent. She didn't know what to say to that--she doubted she could say anything that would change her aunt's mind.

[Lowen Thorn]

Art was more than mad. He was furious. Hatred burned in his chest as Hana held him in position. What.. right.. did she Tsukihana have? What gave her the right to treat them this way? To treat Hana this way? To treat him this way?

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He had just about enough of the attitude. He was over her self-appointed position of power and importance she dangled over them.

"Don't talk to me like that," he hissed. "And don't talk to her like that," he warned.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His vision was almost blurry as searing pain pounded in the back of his head.

[DragonSong]

"I would dearly love to see you try to stop me," Tsukihana replied in a low whisper that was so cold Hana felt the ice of it crackle over her heart.

Then her aunt turned her back on them. "I was a fool to think you would be worthy of this place," she spat as she did. "Get out of my sight."

Hana swallowed thickly, a sharp ache bolting through her chest, but she just lowered her head and grabbed Art's arm more firmly, trying to pull him away. "Please, let's just go..."

[Lowen Thorn]

"And just where the fuck do you think you're going bitch?"

His voice was no longer his own. It was less angry and more challenged, no longer timid but confident and cocky. The laze of the southern drawl rolled off his tongue with both presence and personality, and it should have been nearly unmistakable to Hana.

Ipsen yanked his arm away from Hana and took a few steps closer to Tsukihana. "Party's just getting started."

[DragonSong]

Hana's eyes widened. Almost unaware of her aunt now, she moved forward and planted herself in front of the man who had been her friend. Her eyes narrowed, jaw set and tense.

"Ipsen," she growled. "Calm down. We're leaving, just...let Art back out."

[Lowen Thorn]

Ipsen's eyes snapped to Hana, eyes cold and nearly dead of any other emotion beside malice. "Well, fuck me twice and call me Shirley," he mocked. "It's the Fox Goddess. Well, you didn't fuck me but you fucked Art, didn't ya? That's practically the same thing. Was it everything you ever dreamed it would be?"

He spit from his mouth into the dirt and took a step closer to the kitsune. "You must be foolin' yourself if you think I'm going to let Art run amok anytime soon. I just got here! It's been soooo long! Didn't ya miss me, Hana?! Besides, my quarrel isn't with you, girl. It's with dear Auntie over there."

[DragonSong]

Hana's eyes flashed. With no warning, she pulled back and smacked Ipsen across the face. Hard.

She heard Tsukihana shifting behind her and used the momentum of the slap to spin and plant herself in front of her friend's body, lips curled in a snarl. She was tired, she was confused, she was angry, and she was just done.

"We. Are. Leaving," she ground out, as much to Ipsen as to her aunt. "Now."

[Lowen Thorn]

"We're not going anywhere."

Ipsen's response was quick, vile, and demanding. Not only that, it wasn't just his voice. It was if he took on two voices at the same time - his own, and someone else's. It wasn't Art's voice. It wasn't even Lowen's voice. It was a different voice altogether; something confident, controlling, and sinister.

His eyes went black.

"Darling," the voices said again, almost teasingly. "Won't you step aside?"

[DragonSong]

Tsukihana's eyes widened, and some of the color bled from her skin.

Hana felt a chill race down her spine. Whatever was happening, if her aunt reacted like that, it wasn't good. Not to mention Art--or Ipsen--suddenly smelled...off.

She took an instinctive step back. "Ipsen...?"

[Lowen Thorn]

The snicker that slipped through his lips, if you could call it that, came in sporadic waves. "Ha ha ha.. ha ha ha.." was more of a broken chant than a laugh as he locked eyes with the older kitsune behind Hana. The new voice paired with Ipsen's made it all the more eerie, and almost maniacal.

He had no interest in Hana. Not yet.

"Ipsen, Ipsen, Ipsen," it spoke slowly. "Who is Ipsen? Are you Ipsen?"

His right arm pulsated with black smoke and fire and he tilted his head at Hana before giving her an unwelcome and unforgiving smile. "No. You're Hana," he said. "Sweet Hana. Dear Hana. It feels so good to finally meet you. It feels so good to finally have a host again."

"Ipsen, Ipsen, Ipsen," he continued. "Arty-Art-Art," he added. "So easy to manipulate, right? So useful. Stronger than he ever would and ever will realize. I love him. I love him so much. Don't you love him so much, Hana?"

His eyes grew even darker now, darker than what should be possible. He continued to smile at Hana: a black-eyed, big, wide, painful smile. His lips cracked and skin could have stood to break from such a smile.

"He loves you, Hana," the tone in his voice took a complete one-eighty. No longer playful or curious, just dread. "He loves everything about you. Your friendship, your smile, your confidence, your heart, your body."

"He hates her," he quickly changed and pointed at Tsukihana. "He hates her but I love her. She's beautiful, so beautiful.. I want to skin her from her.. from her head to her toe."

Without warning, it's dark infested arm slung Hana out of his way and he took a step closer to the elder kitsune.

[DragonSong]

Hana felt her stomach drop toward the earth. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, a few of them coming into focus with alarming, sickening clarity: why Art never really talked about what had happened to his wife, why he didn't seem to remember, the existence of Lowen and Ipsen to begin with...

The kitsune whirled, taking her fully fox form, and saw that her aunt had done the same. In less than a second Hana had sprung across the space to knock into Tsukihana's shoulder, urging her back toward the entrance of the temple.

"We have to get out of here, get the priestesses and get somewhere safe!"

"Keep back from me, traitor!" Her aunt whirled on the thing in Art's body, snarling, hackles raised. "I will not be driven from my home by some murderous human! Not again. This ends now!"

Hana skittered back, the fur along her back standing up in a line. "I--I don't think that's human..."

But it was in Art's body. And she couldn't let her friend be hurt.

What was she supposed to do?!

[Lowen Thorn]

The thing shrieked in laughter at the two opposing kitsunes, and its transformation continued to unfold in a sickening and tortuously slow fashion. It began with his other arm, growing at least three feet longer in length through the sounds of rustling bones, and the connected hand crunched and cracked until it resembled more of a inhuman claw that a hand with fingers.

His skin was nearly purple, as if Art himself was choking, and when the beast showed his teeth again with that horrifying smile, they looked more like fangs.

"I don't think that's human," it repeated, no longer a split voice between Ipsen and itself. Instead, it sounded exactly like Hana. It then turned to Tsukihana and mimicked her voice with a slight tilt of the head. "This ends now."

The shadow it cast on the temple floor behind him walked away. It separated itself from where his feet connected with the stone, and walked away.

The shadow ran past the kitsunes.

[DragonSong]

"No!"

Tsukihana whirled, chasing after the shadow and disappearing deeper into the temple.

Left on her own with the thing, Hana took a step back, hackles raised and tails lashing from side to side. Her eyes darted around, searching desperately for anything she could use in the courtyard to keep it contained--to no avail. The temple was too open.

[Lowen Thorn]

"Odd seeing a traveler in this neck of the woods," it said in Hana's voice.

"Are you some sort of goddess?"" it asked in Lowen's voice.

"No, I'm no goddess, sir. Just a traveler," again in Hana's voice.

"Weren't you just here, ya little terror?," came Tobin's voice. "Who the hell is this then?"

"Well lookie lookie, who the hell do we have here?!" the voice of Ipsen spoke. "Oh, I got you. I know you now. Hana, right? Been takin' care of ol' Lowen in my absense, han't ya? La.. La.. Lowen. La.. La.. Lowen.. likes to keep the world all to himself most times. A real piece of shit if I do say so myself."

Not Ipsen. Not Lowen. Not Tobin. Not Hana. Not Art.

The thing tilted its inhuman head once more and flashed the kitsune the devil's grin before the sound of an explosion, and the smell of heat and fire, rang out in the distance behind her.

[DragonSong]

"What are you?" Hana hissed, taking another step back. The fur along her hackles raised, ears pinned flat to her skull as her tails whipped through the air.

The sound and smell of fire suddenly washed against her back and she whipped her head around instinctively. Oh no...

[Lowen Thorn]

Though it may have been hard to distinguish, the creature huffed in response. "What I am is none of your concern girl," it hissed in teasing. "What I want is what you should be concerned with, and I want to have fun."

Its sickening, gut-wrenching smile was a freak show and its teeth smelt of rotten flesh. It was excited. It took a step toward Hana and bones cracked as it found its footing. It took another commanding step and swung the longer arm toward Hana before it abruptly stopped.

"R-RUN!" Art's voice, as well as a glimpse of his true face, broke free for just a moment before the creatures neck bent sideways with a thundering snap. It screamed in pain and darted into the shadows.

[DragonSong]

"Art? Art!"

Hana was frozen, unsure. She should go to her aunt, try to protect the village.

But...Art was her friend, and he was in trouble.

"Damnit." Gritting her teeth, the massive fox whirled and chased after the thing that had once been her friend, eyes narrowed and tails lashing as she scented the air.

[Lowen Thorn]

Out of the temple and toward the woods. Art's head pounded harder than it had ever had inside the darkness of evil. It took every ounce of him, physically and mentally, to control the beast long enough to get it away from Hana. Soon they were out of the village and in the thick of the trees - the beast growling and wincing in agony as the internal battle continued within him.

"One," Art said.

"Two," Lowen said.

"Three!" Ipsen roared.



The shadow left fire and destruction in everything in its path, yet failed to take any lives. At least, not directly. When the beast cried, the shadow cried with it, and retreated back toward the source of the sound.

[DragonSong]

The village was in chaos anyone willing and able hurrying to put out the fires, to attempt to fend off the strange shadow-creature. Tsukihana herself dogged its heels, trying to force the thing to turn and face her.

When it turned and ran, a sudden silence rushed in for the briefest moment, and the village sat stunned and frozen.



Hana chased the beast into the surrounding forest, paws thudding heavily against the earth, not bothering with stealth.

"Art!" She swung her head in a wide arc, trying to locate his scent. "Art, where are you? Please! I just want to help! Please, Art..."