BRAAAIIINNNS! [Anadwen]

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Jy'aad closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The fresh air of the forest was soon going to be replaced by the murky stench of an old crypt. For the past few days, he had been inquiring about old crypts and ruins, and although he got several strange looks from the locals, they pointed him here, to a seemingly small barrow that really made the demigod's fur stand.

It wasn't normal for him to feel edgy about entering one of these old tombs; he had done it many times over the years and had come out just fine, if only a little dusty. Something about this crypt seemed to tug at his tail, as if it didn't want him here. Taking one more glance at the old stone entrance, Jy'aad plopped down against a crumbled wall. What's down there? he wondered. He hadn't been this nervous in a long time...

[Anadwen]

"It's close now. I can feel its presence..." Shinobu stated, staring off the edge of a mountain cliff down into a green valley. They've been following a certain spirit for days now... It was as fast as them, and apparently also as strong, making it a very dangerous opponent. If something was strong enough to withstand them...

"It's within the forest." Seiki added. His voice broke her thoughts despite being so silent, and she glanced at his solemn-looking figure beside her. His coat was waving in the wind like a white flag.
"We better get going to have it off our hands as soon as possible." she spoke bleakly, and turned on her heel, following a narrow path down the hill.

Crunching of stones warned her that Seiki is behind her, just a few feet away, but she'd know that even without it - his presence was lingering in the air, heavy, even though locked away from its full force. And she also knew he could probably feel something similar, although not as strong, from her, too.
They walked the cliff down, till they found themselves in a dense forest among the mountains. It seemed long abandoned, no trace of any life except for wild animals to be seen...

A hand in a white glove, covering his wrist, arose by her side, and pointed up. "The branches of the trees are broken above. The spirit has passed through here." her brother informed her. They begun their walk through the forest, silently and swiftly like shadows.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

His ears perked up, alert to some noise off in the distance. The sound of footsteps on leaves. It was a faint noise, but one Jy'aad's vulpine ears could easily detect. While it seemed like a trivial sound in the forest, crunching leaves and twigs, it only seemed to put him even more on edge. It was probably just the old crypt getting to him. Still, he didn't like mysteries. Keeping his hands at his scythes, Jy'aad got up and walked a good bit into the woods, being sure not to stray too far from the old crypt.

"Who goes there?" He called, his voice echoing through the old forest like faint thunder. With a sigh, he sat down again waiting for a reply.

[Anadwen]

That was when Shinobu and Seiki stepped out of the darkness underneath the trees, and stood before him. What a strange creature... She first looked over her shoulder and then at the fox-like man again. The spiritual presence... It was more than unusual, she's never felt anything like that!

"What are you?" she asked, raising a brow, as her hands instinctively reached for the Zanpakuto by her side. It was possible that this creature was here before, only hiding from them, and its spiritual presence was eclipsed by the other spirit's one... Or held back like their own.

She shot a slightly confused glance at Seiki, and then turned back towards Jy'aad. "You shouldn't be here. There's a spirit nearby, and it's unsafe to remain here." she warned him.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

A slight tension swept across Jy'aad's face as he listened. An evil spirit... No wonder he was nervous about that ruin. Despite the fact they did not pose much of a threat to the demigod, his mortal instincts still had the tendency to act up when they were around. Nothing an exorcism can't fix.

"I can assure you I've fought worse than a petty ghost." He replied, keeping an eye on her sword. Evil spirits didn't scare him; ladies that were armed and dangerous did, though, and Jy'aad wasn't in the mood for finding out what decapitation felt like. Her companion didn't look like one to be messed with, either.

"Now, I suppose you're probably wondering what I'm doing out here. To make a long story short, I was about to explore an old barrow just beyond the clearing behind me when I heard you two walking up here," he said, pointing towards the beginning of the old path that lead to the tomb, "If you feel your miscreant phantom decided to take residence in there, you two are more than welcome to tag along."

With that, he turned around and started slowly back up the path.

[Anadwen]

"It's not as petty. I'd advise you to at least stay back, this one is a dangerous piece..." Shinobu informed him darkly. They quickly overtook Jy'aad, with a few steps faster than a lightning, they suddenly appeared before him.

"It would be foolish to enter." Seiki warned him. Even despite his cold voice and majestic appearance, the threat seemed real. Shinobu nodded at it.
"Let us handle this, mister. It's our job to do it. You don't want to risk entering, unless you wish for your soul to be devoured." she added.

As they appeared before the door, both of them stopped, and Shinobu held her hands before her chest. "If you don't mind to step by... I'm just going to blast this door away!" she informed him. A ball of blazing white energy started charging between those palms.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Following the two back up the hill to the barrow, Jy'aad couldn't help but give an amused grin at the sight before him. The girl was attempting to blast open the door... And she wasn't going to get very far. Leaning with one arm against of the ancient columns, the demigod simply laughed.

"I wish you luck trying to get through that door! You're not going to be able to blast it open like its an ordinary piece of stone," he said, having restrain himself from cackling as he spoke.

Some of the ancient barrows, especially the ones predating the era of Fell, had doors made from a type of magical stone that resisted all forced attempts to open, destroy or otherwise forcefully enter the doors to these tombs, and could only be opened when it came into contact with an artifact blessed by a god or goddess of death... Of which Jy'aad had three; his two scythes were a gift from his mother, the Sionhai goddess of death and the underworld. The other one was an amulet he recently acquired that was worn by the death god of some long lost culture; however, as his mother was a death goddess, he didn't really need such things, even though they were nice to keep around.

[Anadwen]

Shinobu could no longer stop the spell as it was already almost charged into full power, and she only gave Jy'aad a shrug. "Then I'll try to!" she replied with her teeth gritted, and stretched her hands forth, finally releasing the spell. "Eightfold storm! Break!" she shouted the end of the incantation to increase the strength of the blast, and stepped back right after.

The bolt of energy left her hands, and crashed straight into the wall, releasing a wave of great spiritual power right after. It was truly a powerful spell... But not enough.

All there was in the door was a crack in the stone.

She sighed, and Seiki gave her a disappointed look. "Shameful. Do I really have to complete even simple tasks like this?" he scolded her in a particularly icy manner, and shook his head, unsheathing his own blade. That should break it...

[Klezmer Gryphon]

"That's enough." Jy'aad said, his voice shifting to a darker tone. Walking up to the cracked door, he gave Seiki a sharp leer before continuing.

"These ancient barrows have doors made from a type of stone that has a natural incantation preventing them from being opened without an artifact blessed by a being that reigns sovereign over the realm of the dead. It doesn't matter which religion you identify with; these doors react to any artifact blessed by any death god. Or, in my case..." He trailed off, before setting his hand on the door. With deep breath, he focused on his heritage as circular seal charged with the energies of the Sionhai underworld appeared on the back of his hand. The ancient door conceded to the demigod's will, rolling away to grant the Reaper ingress to the ancient resting place.

"Now then, I believe we have a petty phantom to find" Jy'aad said, motioning for the two warriors to follow. 

[Anadwen]

A slight frown appeared on Seiki's face when he was so ruthlessly interrupted. Blood-red Blossom was sheathed again, and he followed Jy'aad with long steps. Shinobu only bowed her head in shame... Being reprimanded by her brother, whom she always looked up to, hurt more than getting punched by him.

They bot quickly got in front of the demigod, with a few lightning-fast steps overtaking him, and walked through the damp corridors of the barrow. "Let us go first. It is our task to cleanse spirits such as this." Shinobu assured him as she passed by, and reached for her blade. Seiki didn't appear to bother with something like that, sure that he will be able to unsheathe it when the fight starts.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

It was frustrating for Jy'aad, being told by someone to watch while they did all the work... Especially in his own element. He could feel his hands tighten around the handles of his scythes; he wasn't sure which one he'd use it on first, the phantom or these two.

"Tell me... Do you know your way around these old burial sites? Can you tell a truly dead body from a sleeping draugr? If so, then by all means, please continue. If not, let me lead, because I've had plenty of experience in these places," he said, catching up with the two warriors with no more than a few steps. The demigod would not stand for being treated like some civilian in need.

[Anadwen]

Seiki gave him a look of slight disturbance. "It has been my utmost priority to deal with spirits for over seventy years already. Yes, I consider myself fit for my position, and I think my experience is sufficient." he replied coldly, and turned his head back right away. The spiritual presence of the spirit was growing stronger. He knew it was somewhere closer!

Shinobu sighed. Seiki was stuck to his irrational pride again... She slowed down a little to find herself right beside Jy'aad. "I'm sorry for not explaining, or introducing ourselves. We are spirit hunters, and yes, it really is our job. The Adachis are an old lineage of warriors of our kind. Our very swords are crafted specially to fight the spirits. Trust me, we are completely sure about what we are doing." she explained him, in a much kinder manner than her ice-cold brother, and shrugged a little.

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Jy'aad could feel a harsh anger rising within him. Never in all his life had he encountered arrogance like that coming from the man walking front of him before. While his companion's explanation cleared some things up, it did nothing to calm his mind or quell his actions.

"Advance no further, warrior of House Adachi without heeding my words," the demigod commanded, overtaking the warrior in less than a few steps. Summoning a wall of unearthly fire to impede their path, Jy'aad took a deep breath turned to face.

"Ye know not what lies within these hallowed grounds we tread upon. The bodies of the dead may stir and walk, but their threat is nigh nothing! Years ago, when the ancients built their tombs and burial grounds, they took no chances with grave robbers and vandals. That seal up front was merely the beginning of their safeguard, and now that the seal lies shattered by our trespass, the dead shall have their vengeance for waking their slumber. They shall not rely on the mere weapons they were buried with or the articles of their past lives to end our own... No, they shall use the power of the afterlife, of the underworld in an attempt to bring about our demise! Do you think you can withstand the wrath of Death herself? That you can simply walk in here and leave without penalty from the dead you've woken?" His voice was as cold as the stone walls around them. Jy'aad was serious; his mother was one of the few gods of death that still looked over these old barrows, and while he could enter and leave the ancient sites without incurring her fury, these two were strangers to her, or to any of the death gods that might still be watching.

"That is why I asked you let me lead, that you may not incur Death's fury and bring about your own foolish end," he said, keeping a tight grip on the handles of his scythes... Things were going to get ugly.

[Anadwen]

Seiki faced the man with a look of disbelief on his cold face. How dare did he speak to him in this way? To treat him as if he was some kind of fool? However, no matter how enraged he actually was, he kept his forever cold, calm facade.

"Do you realize who are you talking to?" he spoke silently, but his voice was incredibly cold. Even Shinobu shuddered with discomfort at the sound - it sent a shiver down her spine. When Seiki sounded like that, he was angry. Very angry... She didn't want to get into his way.