Tatsu

Li Rou had no idea how long she had been clinging to the beast before she knew she. needed to move. Every instinct told her to stay put, yet staying put would accomplish nothing. She had jumped on to help her rescuer, she had no intention of being caught. Li Rou moved her fiery hair out of her eyes and moved forward. She moved on light feet, aware the beast might feel her. Li Rou made it to the sack faster than she had expected, a bump from the beast hit the sack into her head.

Light surrounded Li Rou as the beast exited the darkness on the opposite end the boy had wanted to be on. Li Rou climbed above the sack and started to open it, straining against the tight bonds. As she made a hole she saw the boy inside, his eyes were narrowed as he saw her. They widened as he realized who she was. He stood up and put his arms in the hole she had made, widening it. This is when Li Rou saw his right hand, or rather, saw the stump where it should be. She took her eyes off of it and saw a jet black scar on his opposite arm. This boy had been through a lit. He looked her age, old enough in ancient times to have seen war, too young in this time for such ordeals.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, straining against the bag.

"What does it look like?" Li Rou shot back, giving a last few tugs.

The boy grinned with disbelief, "The idea was to keep you out of this." He said, accepting her outstretched hand. Li Rou strained, planting her feet on the beast as the boy slowly climbed out.

"The idea was stupid." She grunted, grabbing his back to hoist him out. He chuckled, grabbing onto the beast's fir as the bag grew limp. Li Rou couldn't help staring at his stump, he held it close to him, yet in a way that made it seem part of him. He had lost it long ago, Li Rou was sure of it. He wore a dark shirt that didn't reach to his shoulders, this told Li Rou he wasn't afraid of his scars, he didn't shoe them off either, they were just part of him.

"Well, thank you. My name is Tatsu." He said, looking over the beast, "We should dismount as fast as possible."

Li Rou nodded, "My name is Li Rou. There's a clearing up ahead." She saw a clearing up ahead that was surrounded by trees, a small group of people sat there.

Tatsu nodded, moving towards her. The beast started to slow, moving towards the clearing. Li Rou froze, they couldn't be caught.

"Time to go." Tatsu said, giving her a soft push with his stub. Li Rou let go of the fir and spread out to slow her fall, she willed her wings to spring from her back and felt nothing but a twinge. The ground rushed up to greet her, she tucked into a ball and rolled on impact, world going black.

Li Rou woke up with a groan, everything hurt, ached. She saw boots by her head, she turned to see Tatsu sitting beside her, staring up into the tree branches. His mask shielded his eyes from her angle so she could only see its deep embroidery. It was a rich navy with swirls running around his eyes. Her eyes were drawn to his arm, the same discoloration that was on his face tore across his arm above his stump. He naturally had tan skin, these scars were a pale white.

Tatsu propped himself up to look down at her, blond hair falling across one eye. His scar started pit of his mask on his left eye. She could see it swirling down his neck and onto his chest.

"You awake?" He asked, swiping the hair out of his eye.

"Yeah." Li Rou said, feeling loopy. She frowned, "What kind of name is Tatsu? I've never heard anything like it."

Tatsu chuckled, "It's not from around here, I was born on an island, you've never heard of it." He stood up, kicking his legs, "I'm going to have to leave you for a but. I need to know who I'm up against."

Li Rou started to stand up, Tatsu pit his hand to her chest, "You can't come after me this time. You're barely awake, and still weak. You'll be okay here, but you need to stay exactly where you are."

Li Rou frowned, wanting to argue. She continied to stand when a wave of dizziness washed over her. She nodded instead, settling back down as her vision swam. Tatsu gave her a small smile before turning to leave.

"I'll be back before long. If not, don't come after me. These people can not catch a phoenix. I know you're one." He said, flicking something out of his pocket and throwing it towards her. A dagger landed in her lap. It had a diamond on the hilt, a bell behind the diamond.

Tatsu smiled again then waved, walking off. Li Rou watched with furrowed brows until he disappeared from sight, hoping the boy would stay safe. She then settled into the roots of the tree, staring up into the sky. The tree was in bloom, covered in fragile blossoms, little flames flickering in the sunlight. Tatsu said she'd be safe if she stayed here, she could feel a protective spell woven through the tree. He had known she was Phoenix. That wasnt hard to tell if he knew what he was looking for. Her hair was the fiery red and feathery consistency of all Phoenixes. Her eyes were the deep blue. He had known that phoenixes exist, not many did. She felt her eyes sliding shut and sent another wish of flick to her companion before slipping back into sleep.

Li Rou opened her eyes, she was in a large nest. This was the dreamspace of the Phoenix. The nest extended above her head and a hole lay at her feet. She started to walk down the hole, readying herself to meet the Odyssey.