(http://i.imgur.com/8W0V3xm.png)<br/><br/><strong>Character name</strong>: Luika Dzel Ketnesi<br/><strong>Who:</strong>Ne'iine, Natu, K'ali<br/><strong>Where:</strong>Sadghan Lakes & Forests<br/><strong>When: </strong>17th Day of Hunger Moon<br/><hr/><br/>Trudging through powdery snow makes for a weary sprit in the best of people, but doing it with a broken heart and the shards of his shattered world made every step all the heavier. He had barely managed to escape with his life. It was certain even with the good head start he had they were combing every nook and cranny of the town and countryside for him. However he didn't think that they would be so bold as to set foot in a Tikkan village. No, they were afraid of the creatures, and rightly so. They were fierce, powerful and they lived more freely than any man. Three days he had been slogging through the fluffy, white stuff through endless forest but he wasn't lost. At times he questioned his sanity, but he knew it was the only way. He had to ask the Tikkan for help, much as he dreaded it. It wasn't like he was a coward but one has a certain respect for a creature that has almost killed you on several occasions. The feel of Tikkan teeth penetrating, sliding sharply down through skin, muscle, to gnash against bone was not an experience one forgets easily or takes lightly.<br/><br/>It had to be the Tikkan. He could hide out in outlying towns but survival there even if they didn't find him, was still slim. Eventually they would search the outlying towns. Those people were desperate and the promise of food or wealth would be too much for them to resist and he wouldn't blame them for giving him up. It was too dangerous to pass through the towns even, so he had stayed clear of them. Of course it hadn't been easy but he was more than just a nobleman, he was a soldier too and more than that an assassin, a man who knows how to keep himself alive and kill others. The first night he had not dared light a fire but curled up in a shelter made of pine branches, letting the darkness swallow him up within it's great, black maw. He didn't sleep much if at all. Recent events weighed heavy on his troubled mind. His wounded heart had been ripped from his chest by that woman. How could he have loved her? How could he be such a bad judge of character? How could he not see how she toyed with his emotions and then ripped his heart out to feast on it? That little move had almost cost him his life as his half brother attacked him when he was still reeling from the shock. He still didn't know how he could have been so blind. Was it perhaps he had not been wise to women's ways of enticing a man, leading them along?<br/><br/>He didn't know then but he knew now and it wouldn't happen again. No, he was through with love, through with the incredible heavenly highs of it all and then the fall to the hard rocky shores of reality. It hurt him and it was enough to break a man's sprit if he let it. However the trials of young love were nothing compared to the crushing loss he was dealt. His father, the pillar of his life, the head of the House of the Nine Mountains had fallen. Murdered by his own jealous son. He had been the light of his life, had always been there. Yes, when he found out that his father was responsible for meddling in his romantic affairs he was angry, more than angry. He could not ever recall raising his voice to the man before. It had earned him a solid rebuke and the harshest tongue lashing he had ever endured but he took it and he still loved him. That was perhaps what made it so horrific to see him laying dead in a pool of his own blood. The man he followed, the brilliant mind behind sharp blue grey eyes, the love he extended and didn't have to, the man he loved as a father as his leader was dead. It seemed an impossibility for such a strong and talented man to be killed so easily. It tore him up inside and he was thoroughly heart sick because of it.<br/><br/>Raw, wounded in the worst way he clenched his teeth against the howls of pain and rage he wanted to utter and once again threw himself into his work. He would bring justice to his brother. However he was in no position to do so now. Such a move would be stupid. He wanted to take his father's place beside the king and he wouldn't be able to do that if he killed his brother in cold blood. No, he had to clear his name. Besides, he couldn't kill him anyway. He had hesitated when he had him pinned against the wall, his katana against his throat all it would have taken was one flick of his wrist. He was his brother and he couldn't kill him even though there had been nothing but bad blood between them he couldn't do it. Was it a mistake? because he didn't he was sure his brother was now planning something even more vial. He knew his brother and his father had very different views on things and with his brother at the head, whispering in the kings ear it was only the beginning. His brother was too ambitious to settle in his new position for long. He had to be stopped. The truth had to come out. He wouldn't let his brother burry it along with him.<br/><br/>Such were his thoughts as he walked in near silence through the quiet wood. his step was a practiced one, one that allowed him to sneak up on a Tikkan. However he wasn't trying to sneak up on anything but only trying to perhaps see the Tikkan before they saw him. From there he could plan how he wanted to proceed. he took note of the direction of the wind and tried to move so he was down wind and perhaps they would not catch his scent before he arrived. There was not much he could do about the scent. His katana was polished with clove oil to keep it clean and to keep rust from it's razor edge. It was the sword that had killed his father but it was his none the less. It was wrapped in a cloth, strapped to his back to perhaps conceal it from the sight of the Tikkan because they would know the strange blade on sight as the one that belonged to Wolf Killer. He wanted a chance to explain himself rather than just being mauled to death.<br/><br/>It was too quiet. He stopped and quieted his breathing, ears straining to hear any sound in the silence that stretched. He was not alone now. Of this he was sure. It was a sense one gets, the hairs prickling up on the back of one's neck. The slight sound of a bow string being pulled taunt, a thin sound in the heavy silence was his only warning before a voice broke the quiet all together. He raised his hands in the universal gesture of surrender. His left hand was bandaged, a cut on his palm a token of his brother. It explained the scent of blood and he meant for him to see it knowing how keen there sense of smell was for he was sure it was a Tikkan who leveled there bow at his back. He was dressed in dark brown, fur lined leather and the cut of it would tell them he was not a common man but a man coming from some wealth. The wind shifted and he was no longer down wind of them.<br/><br/>A soft, rumbling growl made his heart pound in his chest and a primal fear chill his heart. His mouth went dry. He didn't like that sound. Slowly he turned his head to look over his shoulder. The Tikkan were there, two in human form, one in wolf. The wolf made him uneasy, perhaps more so than the arrow at his back. He swallowed hard and tried to force down the fear. This was a delicate situation that needed to be handled with some sense. He watched as the wolf transformed into a rather beautiful naked woman. such a sight she was, a vision right out of fantasy. A blush crept up over his face, betraying his youth but he averted his eyes like a gentleman. Yes, the Tikkan were rather free with themselves and modesty was something perhaps few of them had. He cleared his throat and finally spoke.<br/><br/>"I have come a long way to seek asylum from your leader." His voice was a soft but firm tenor. The kind that was pleasant to listen to. He did not give his name. He did not say from what he needed asylum. He did not tell them who he was. Those points needed to be handled carefully or he would end up dead where he stood.