{"submission_id":"871201","keywords":[{"keyword_id":"743","keyword_name":"adventure","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2920"},{"keyword_id":"60","keyword_name":"cat","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"110720"},{"keyword_id":"44319","keyword_name":"contemporary","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"101"},{"keyword_id":"398","keyword_name":"demon","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"18404"},{"keyword_id":"2193","keyword_name":"fantasy","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"11602"},{"keyword_id":"123","keyword_name":"female","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"519922"},{"keyword_id":"112296","keyword_name":"garuda","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"51"},{"keyword_id":"1440","keyword_name":"human","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"46907"},{"keyword_id":"30113","keyword_name":"hummingbird","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"83"},{"keyword_id":"191","keyword_name":"magic","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"11599"},{"keyword_id":"165","keyword_name":"male","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"639923"},{"keyword_id":"16757","keyword_name":"manticore","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"293"},{"keyword_id":"3313","keyword_name":"monkey","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"4908"},{"keyword_id":"1171","keyword_name":"naga","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"2428"},{"keyword_id":"77810","keyword_name":"rakshasa","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"16"},{"keyword_id":"10129","keyword_name":"supernatural","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"375"},{"keyword_id":"597","keyword_name":"werewolf","contributed":"f","submissions_count":"5589"}],"hidden":"t","scraps":"f","favorite":"f","favorites_count":"0","create_datetime":"2015-06-17 00:26:14.11738+02","create_datetime_usertime":"17 Jun 2015 00:26 CEST","last_file_update_datetime":"2015-06-17 00:14:46.18051+02","last_file_update_datetime_usertime":"17 Jun 2015 00:14 CEST","username":"Simoni","user_id":"279733","user_icon_file_name":"75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","user_icon_url_small":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/75/75728_Simoni_simoni_barjar.gif","file_name":"1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1185/1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1185/1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1185/1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","files":[{"file_id":"1185052","file_name":"1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","file_url_full":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1185/1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","file_url_screen":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1185/1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","file_url_preview":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1185/1185052_Simoni_a_new_danger.doc","mimetype":"application/msword","submission_id":"871201","user_id":"279733","submission_file_order":"0","full_size_x":null,"full_size_y":null,"screen_size_x":null,"screen_size_y":null,"preview_size_x":null,"preview_size_y":null,"initial_file_md5":"789d1cc7e96aed80258f1379bbb3ab15","full_file_md5":"789d1cc7e96aed80258f1379bbb3ab15","large_file_md5":"","small_file_md5":"","thumbnail_md5":"","deleted":"f","create_datetime":"2015-06-17 00:14:46.18051+02","create_datetime_usertime":"17 Jun 2015 00:14 CEST"}],"pools":[],"description":"OH SNAP! :U\n\nWho is this naga woman who taunted our heroes? Who is this mysterious rakshasa who is so mighty that even a man-eating manticore fears him? I do believe we have had a major revelation here!\n\nSo yes, they return to India only to come across one of Arja's family murdered and to wind up in a fight with one of the most deadly monsters in all of India. The Manticores are intelligent, predatory beasts that eat their victims whole and who's poison is even deadlier than a naga nest queen's (the thing that bit Akul), and the manticore itself was only a minion of an even more powerful being. An ancient rakshasa who claims that Ravana, the King of Lanka and enemy of Hanuman, the Monkey King of India and Arja's ancestor.\n\nTo make matters worse, this one is intelligent, knew enough to warn his minion about their abilities (the manticore [i]knew[/i] that if he closed his eyes that Dawn couldn't trap him in an illusion), and his goal is to take Rama's Arrow from the girls.\n\nI think we can guess what would happen if he succeeded.\n\nOh yes, this plot just twisted up like a contortionist on a caffeine high.","description_bbcode_parsed":"OH SNAP! :U

Who is this naga woman who taunted our heroes? Who is this mysterious rakshasa who is so mighty that even a man-eating manticore fears him? I do believe we have had a major revelation here!

So yes, they return to India only to come across one of Arja's family murdered and to wind up in a fight with one of the most deadly monsters in all of India. The Manticores are intelligent, predatory beasts that eat their victims whole and who's poison is even deadlier than a naga nest queen's (the thing that bit Akul), and the manticore itself was only a minion of an even more powerful being. An ancient rakshasa who claims that Ravana, the King of Lanka and enemy of Hanuman, the Monkey King of India and Arja's ancestor.

To make matters worse, this one is intelligent, knew enough to warn his minion about their abilities (the manticore knew that if he closed his eyes that Dawn couldn't trap him in an illusion), and his goal is to take Rama's Arrow from the girls.

I think we can guess what would happen if he succeeded.

Oh yes, this plot just twisted up like a contortionist on a caffeine high.","writing":"The tires squeak on the tarmac as the plane lands at the tiny airport outside of Jaipur, Simoni sighing as she leans into Arja. \"Home at last...\" she giggles, \"What do you wanna do first? Go visit Akul and the others maybe?\" she suggests to her, the young garuda having already changed into her sari as the plane slows to a halt.\n\nDawn yawns as she rubs her eyes, having drifted off midway through the flight with Dusk curled up between her ears, \"Mm... dunno about you two, but I'm raiding the kitchen, assuming Lunch actually left anything for once.\" she nods, Nelen shrugging himself, \"Not sure here. I should probably check in with Rajesh and Edwood, but not much else to do after that.\" he shrugs. One problem with having Franklin gone, his job as Rajesh's bodyguard had gotten a lot duller.\n\nArja nods to Simoni, \"Yeah let's say hi to grandpa, it's been a while.\" she replies happily as she stands, stretching her arms out, \"Ahhh… Its good to be home, travel is fun but I only feel at my best when I'm here.\" she smiles.\n\nSimoni giggles as she gets to her feet herself, \"Yeah.\" she replies, \"So... wanna walk to the temple or...\" she grins, flexing her arms a bit as the rest of the group disembarks and goes off to do their things, leaving the two of them by the plane. Arja grins In reply, already hopping onto Simoni's back, kissing her cheek.\n\nSimoni lets out a bit of an 'oof' as Arja does, but smirks at her. To any mundanes nearby it'd look like a girl giving her friend a piggyback ride... at least until the girl suddenly sprouted feathers all over her arms as her legs bent backwards and grew into scaly talons before she suddenly shot up into the sky. She circles a bit, gaining altitude, and then arcs off towards the mundane reflection of Hanuman's Temple.\n\nHer garuda form is back to normal now that Morrigan is gone as well, no red in her hair and her eyes (while green) are normal human eyes. She had been worried about that at first, but it seems that the partial possession by the war goddess was what caused the sudden shift. Still, the garuda is definitely happy to be home, even doing a few twirls and loops in midair as the glide over the jungle canopy.\n\nArja giggles happily, leaning back to enjoy the ride, \"Good to be back.\" she repeats, looking at the treetops under them, \"Hope nothing bad happened while we were gone.\" she adds. Even without Franklin around Arja seems to assume that leaving India somehow opens it up to danger. She liked her travel, but it was pretty obvious she felt due to her blood she belonged in India first.\n\nSimoni rolls her eyes, \"Yeah, wouldn't that be just our luck?\" she smirks back over her shoulder at Arja, \"We get to the temple and they say 'lovely to see you two again, oh while you were gone an ancient Naga god came up from the jungle and ate several of your cousins. Y'know, an average Tuesday.' \" she rolls her eyes, then frowns, \"... I really hope I didn't just invoke Murphy's Law there...\" she nods. Given their lives it’s probably not a good idea to tempt fate, for all they knew she really could be listening.\n\nAs they draw close she arcs low over the jungle, then blinks and whistles up a quick gust to gain altitude. \"Arja...\" she mutters. Down below, about a mile from the temple, are several cars that have 'police' written all over them. \"Dammit, it'd better not be a Naga god...\" she winces, then glances around before finding a clearing where the police wouldn't see them land.\n\nArja frowns, hopping off Simoni and looking to the cops as the pair land, \"That's not good, cops don't usually come out to the wilderness unless there's something drawing them.\" she says as she smooths her sari out, the flight having wrinkled it, \"It could be anything, though, could be a tiger attack or something.\"\n\nSimoni nods, quickly changing back into her human form as she follows Arja out towards the cars. As they approach one of the men looks up, seeing the girls coming out of the jungle. \"Hey! You two!\" he calls out in Hindi, \"What are you kids doing out here?!\" he snaps as another man glances over. This one, however, is the local police chief from Jaipur... and also knows Arja, or at least he knows her as 'Rajesh's daughter'.\n\n\"Its okay Bahanu...\" he nods to his friend, \"You deal with him, I'll take care of the kids.\" he says, walking up to her. He's a middle aged man with a receeding hairline, a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, and the kind of weathered and tired look that only an old cop can have. He's also aware, that is to say, a mundane who knows about magic and the supernatural.\n\nHe walks up to the two and glances back to make sure the others are out of earshot, \"You two didn't see anything on your way over did you?\" he asks Arja.\n\nArja shakes her head, \"We're just on our way to the temple, we just got back in country from some vacation.\" she says in a low voice, looking around, \"What's going on? This is a lot of cops for out here, even if it was something like a murder you guys usually just send a car.\"\n\nHe nods to her, \"Yeah... well, we thought it was just some villager at first... but...\" he frowns, \"I had to check to make sure, but I think he's one of your cousins Arja.\" he sighs, \"It looks like he got torn apart too. Look, we'll get the body back to your family once the rookies are gone, but there's not much left of it.\" he adds, \"Looks like whatever attacked him totally overpowered him. I know... your family... is pretty tough, I'm guessing one of them could probably handle a tiger, right?\" he asks.\n\nArja frowns at that, nodding, \"Yea, if something tore one of us apart it wasn't mundane. A tiger could get the drop or whatever but... well you'd have a lot of tiger blood mixed in and probably a dead tiger a bit away.\" Arja's people were a martial race, they didn't make big displays of mourning but it was clear she was upset, her jaw clenched, glaring past the chief at a point in the jungle to focus on...\n\nSimoni takes Arja's hand and gives it a squeeze as the man nods, \"Yeah, I thought so. Whatever got him took him to pieces... and there's paw prints in the dirt... but they're all wrong. If this was a tiger it'd be the size of a small elephant.\" he frowns, \"I think this is something from your side of things.\" he nods. \"Could you let your grandpa know? I can't get into the real temple myself after all...\" he nods, \"And, well, watch out. Whatever did this is still out there.\"\n\nArja nods, \"Yea, is there a... body or something to take home? If they died like this they died fighting, that deserves a proper funeral pyre back home.\"\n\nHe nods, \"Not much of one, but yeah. Gimme a few hours to get the guys who don't know about your people out of here and then you can send someone through to collect him. We're just going to write it off as a fatality by wild animal. It's definitely not 'murder' anyways, or at least not by the normal definition, so there's not going to be an ongoing investigation here.\" he replies, then frowns as one of the cops calls for him in Hindi, \"Dammit, I have to go, you two watch out okay? Like I said, this thing is still out there...\" he nods, heading back towards the police cruisers.\n\nArja nods to the cop as he goes, \"Have it sent to the temple, we'll handle the body from there.\" she says as she glares into the jungle, marching into it seemingly without heed.\n\nSimoni hesitates, but follows along behind her. \"Arja...\" she frowns, \"Hold up, I'm going to call Nelen and tell him about this.\" she nods, fishing around for her phone in the folds of her sari. \"If this is another rakshasa or something we'll need him and the others.\" she nods as she dials his number, putting the phone to her ear.\n\nArja huffs, but slows, \"Fine, but tell him to hurry, if we're fast we may be able to find this thing before we even get to the temple, I'll drag its body back as a trophy...\"\n\nAt that Simoni grabs Arja by the wrist and spins her around to face her, \"ARJA!\" she snaps, \"Listen to me. Right now. We're going to find this thing and we're going to deal with it [i]with a lot of help and backup[/i].\" she nods firmly, \"Now calm the hell down. Remember which one of us almost got her spine broken in half the last time we fought a big nasty in the jungle.\" she adds before going back to the phone, \"No no, its fine Nelen. Just Arja being Arja. Look, we've got a problem. Something in the jungle killed one of Arja's relatives. Something big...\" she nods. \"Yeah, good idea. She'd be able to sniff it out easy. No, Drusilla should stay home. Yeah I know, tell her it's to protect the house in case it comes into town, that'd probably be better than the real reason. Bring Nessa and Patli too, maybe Patli and I can spot this thing from the air.\" she says, then hangs up. \"He's on his way.\"\n\nArja sighs softly, but nods, squatting down to rest and wait for the group, \"... sorry... It's just hard sometimes... I get this anger when stuff like this comes up, especially when it hurts my family…\" she shakes her head, \"I need to stop, though, I'm putting you in danger...\"\n\nSimoni pats her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile, \"Its alright. Just save it up for when we find this thing and [i]then[/i] go nuts.\" she smirks a bit, sitting down next to Arja to wait. After a few hours (Nelen and the other's can't just fly out like they could) Nelen walks into the clearing with a very familiar yellow 'dog' next to him and a cat on his shoulders, along with Patli and Nessa. Nelen glances back and nods to the 'dog' who immediately starts to shift and change into a blonde haired girl with wolf-like ears, a tail, and yellow eyes.\n\n\"Rrrffff!\" whines Lupe, rubbing at her nose, \"Smell bad!\" she whimpers as Nelen nods to the girls, \"Yeah, I had her sniff around the body but... well... she took three sniffs and spent the next five minutes rubbing her nose in the dirt.\"\n\nArja frowns \"What did it smell like, exactly?\" A dead body should just smell like a dead body, even in the jungle it wouldn't have rotted fast enough to make Lupe freak out like that. Nessa shakes her head, sighing softly \"This isn't good, we may be from different jungles but the principle's the same, very bad things make their homes deep inside...\"\n\nLupe frowns, \"Smell... bad... like... snake spit bad...\" she replies as Simoni thinks on that one, \"Snake spit... wait... naga venom?\" she eeps, scooting closer to Arja out of reflex as Lupe tilts her head, \"Rrr... not snake spit... but... same thing?\" she tries, \"Different... but same.\" she nods as Nelen thinks, \"So... some kind of poison, but not from a naga?\" he asks as Lupe frowns, \"That what Lupe said!\" she barks.\n\nArja frowns, \"Poison, what else uses poison…\" she thinks as she looks around, Nessa shrugging softly at her, \"Surprisingly enough there's not a ton of venomous monsters in India, demons who use poison weapons sure but this is a bit overkill for a poisoner...\"\n\nSimoni thinks, \"Well, he said there were some kind of tracks right? Something like a 'tiger but the size of a small elephant'?\" she suggests, \"So... what looks like a jungle cat but has poisons?\" she thinks as Lupe frowns, \"Lupe dunno... all Lupe smell was nasty snake spit smell...\" she whines, earfolding. It seems to her senses the smell of it's venom overpowered everything else.\n\nArja huffs in frustration, \"That's the problem Indian supernaturals aren't so unified. I mean, stuff like Rakasha is just a label, it literally just comes from what was shouted when Brahma was getting eaten by them. There can be tiger like ones, but it could also be an Asura's servant, or a demon proper, or a rogue Jinn. There's too little to go on with just poison and tiger\" she sighs softly, shaking her head \"Patli, you're small in your bird form, can you do some searching? Be fast and be careful.\" she says, the girl already shifting into her hummingbird form. \"Gotcha!\" she chirps, zipping off into the jungle.\n\nSimoni nods to Arja, \"I'll get up higher. If this thing is that big maybe I can spot it from the air.\" she says, changing forms herself as she darts up into the sky. Nelen nods to Dawn as well, the cat grinning as she vanishes, leaving behind the impression of a smile hanging in midair for a moment before it vanishes as well as the three of them spread out, trying to seek out whatever caused this.\n\nNelen flops down on the floor of the jungle as Lupe continues to paw at her nose. \"Hm... poisons and a large cat...\" he thinks, scratching at his beard, \"For India that could be a lot of things... hell it could be more than one thing, like a naga riding a giant tiger or something...\" he sighs as Lupe shakes her head, \"Not snake, just smell like spit.\" she nods.\n\nArja nods, \"Well that's good, no snakes means Simoni won't get scared... poor girl.\" she sighs, looking up as Patli darts off to check lower in the trees, \"This is bad... it could be a lot of very dangerous things...\"\n\nDawn teleports from tree branch to tree branch, making sure to stay invisible as much as she can, as Simoni circles above, eyes wide and staring at the canopy below... but it's Patli who finds it first.\n\nShe lands to rest her wings on a small hillside at first, trying to get her bearings, until she realizes that the hillside is breathing. Looking closer she'd notice that what she took for a hill was a gigantic lion-like creature with huge claws and a disturbingly human-like face, surrounded by a mane of crimson hair. It has a long chitinous tail like a scorpion's, but instead of one stinger it ends in a cluster of razor-sharp barbs, the tips of which drip a thick greenish liquid onto the ground that hisses when it lands, the plants near the tip of the tail all withered and blackened. The creature, still asleep, yawns wide, revealing three rows of razor sharp teeth within its fearsome mouth.\n\nPatli's eyes go wide as she sees it, looking it over before quickly darting back to tell the group what she saw. When she describes it Arja's face pales, \"... Manticore... it's not a tiger, it's a lion…\" she whispers, sounding genuinely afraid.\n\nNelen quickly gets to his feet at Patli's description, \"Son of a bitch, you're sure?\" he looks out into the jungle, then quickly sends a text message to Simoni. She knows that signal, if he texts when he knows she's in the air it means 'get back here NOW'. Dawn reappears as well, perching on Nelen's shoulder. \"A fucking manticore... I didn't know there were any left in India.\" he frowns, \"No wonder it was able to take down one of the monkeys. Those things are hell on four legs.\" he glances back towards where the police were, most of the rookies gone now, \"... but... Lupe said she smelled it's venom around the body... but if I remember right Manticores don't leave bodies. They eat their prey whole...\" he frowns.\n\nArja nods, \"That's why I didn't think it, manticores eat [i]everything[/i], body, bone, treasure, they're creatures of pure destruction. I don't know why it would tear apart my cousin...\" she trails off, eyes once again growing, \"This is a trap…\" she whispers, freezing up, \"This is a trap, manticores are brilliant hunters, and one monkey isn't enough food... my cousin was bait!\"\n\nSimoni swoops back in as Nelen's eyes go wide at Arja's words... and then screams erupt from the jungle. [i]Human[/i] ones. \"SHIT!\" he curses, running back towards the policemen as Dawn jumps down off his shoulder, changing back into her half human form. Simoni looks around frantically, \"What? Whats going on?!\" she asks as Lupe barks, chasing after Nelen.\n\nMerihim's possession made him all but immune to most mundane poisons and diseases, and Lupe could regenerate from almost anything... but would that be enough to deal with the legendary sting of a manticore?\n\nArja chases quickly after them, Nessa right behind. The Aztec sorceress’s own blood magic didn't make her immune to everything, but stings and such like this could be flushed out near instantly as long as she was awake to do it. \"Alright…\" she nods, looking to Nelen, the closest to a fellow 'blood mage' she had \"You and me take the brunt of this thing, it still has claws and fangs that can tear a hole in a tank but at least we won't die instantly to its poison like anyone else. The rest of you for the sakes of whatever gods you follow or descend from avoid that tail. Seriously, that thing is entirely made of scary parts but that tail will literally kill you with a scratch, manticore venom is some of the strongest in any of the worlds.\"\n\nNelen nods at her words as they get to where the cops were... and find only wreckage. All but three of the cars were gone when it arrived and now one is upside down and the other two are smashed apart. As for the police, well, they're just gone. Standing in the middle of the chaos is the manticore, the creature twice as tall as Nelen as its eyes look over the group. It grins cruelly at them, letting out a faint burp, then opens its mouth and speaks in a surprisingly cultured voice, \"Well well... more for my feast? I had a few nibbles, but I suppose I have room for seconds...\" it sneers, turning to face them as its tail lashes about behind it.\n\nNelen doesn't even wait for it to finish, reaching to his wrists as he yells, \"Dawn! EYES!\" he commands, tearing the bandages from his hands and revealing Merihim's sigils, engraved onto his palms. There's a tense moment as the demon realizes its leash is off, and then his body goes chalk-white as dozens of fang-covered tendrils burst out of his hands, aimed right at the monster.\n\nNessa nods, grabbing her knife from her pocket and slashing her palms open as well, chanting and whipping her hands around as she forms sigils with the falling blood that erupt into bursts of green fire. She aims it at the manticore as well, hoping an all-out attack right up front can at least injure the beast.\n\nThe manticore proves fast however, taking a few hits from Merihim's frenzy as the flames manage to singe it's mane, but the creature easily jumps out of the way and, to Nelen's surprise, closes its eyes as Dawn's own eyes flash a bright yellow. She blinks then teleports behind him, \"Nelen...\" she mutters as he lashes out at the manticore again, trying to keep it off balance, \"Yeah... it [i]knew[/i].\" he replies through gritted teeth.\n\nAs the manticore lands however the creature gets a surprise of its own. It’s been a while since she used this, but it seems Simoni still knows how to set up the same whirlwind 'traps' that she used on her cousin Terrance way back when Clan Fullmoon first came after them. The creature lets out a snarl as a sudden burst of wind shoots up, catching it on the chin and knocking it senseless for a moment.\n\nArja springs out at that, leaping at the manticore's face in her monkey form, hands wrapped in fire that make her iron claws glow bright orange, knowing she only got one good shot on this as she brings them down, trying to slash deeply into the creature's face while it's down.\n\nThe manticore roars in fury as she lands, but manages to shake her off and knock her away, snarling at her as it glares with one eye, its left one a mess of charred flesh and claw marks now. \"Grr... insolent monkey! I guess I’ll just have to ‘season’ you before I eat you…\" it spits, raising its tail as it prepares to launch its barbs…\n\nNessa grunts as she sees that, tackling Arja out of the way and waving her still bleeding right hand, sending a spectral jaguar's head roaring from it to bite at that tail, wanting to hurt one of the creature's worst weapons as she already gets ready to cycle her blood out.\n\nThe manticore lets out a yelp as the jaguar clamps down onto its tail, snarling as it thrashes it about. Nelen manages to conjure up a shield just in time as the barbs fly everywhere, though Merihim's infernal nature does seem to trump the creature, the barbs clattering off his shield.\n\n\"To the hells with his demands! I'M GOING TO EAT YOU ALL ALIVE AND SCREAMING!\" it roars, then the manticore suddenly freezes as a voice hisses from the trees. \"Now now manticore... my dear husssband would be mossst displeasssed to hear that...\" it hisses as the beast suddenly goes very still, it's good eye darting around, \"You... you were watching?\" it growls as Lupe's eyes widen, the werewolf growling a low warning.\n\nArja frowns, looking around, \"A manticore enslaved? Pathetic. Your kind were monsters but you had pride at least, who would be so arrogant to claim dominion over such a beast?\" she asks, looking around the area where the voice came from.\n\nThe voice seems to come from nowhere. \"Oh wouldn't you like to know young one?\" it replies, \"Don't worry, we're not going to kill you... yet...\" it adds, \"My husssband wanted to sssee what one sssuch as you wasss capable of...\" it replies. It's a feminine voice, and there's a definite hiss to it. One that has Simoni getting as close to Arja as she can as her eyes look around frantically.\n\n\"Manticore, you will return to usss now.\" it commands in a tone that says it knows very well it will be obeyed. The manticore glares at the group with what's left of it's eyes, \"I suggest you pray your thanks to whatever gods you worship for your good fortune.\" it spits, \"Today, it seems, I go hungry.\" it growls, then in one smooth motion it jumps into the jungle and runs off through the trees.\n\nArja growls in fury, \"All this was a [i]test[/i]?!\" her eyes flash with fire as she speaks in a low tone, \"You killed all these people to watch us fight?! GET BACK HERE!\" she roars, chasing the manticore into the trees, or at least she tries to, but Simoni and Dawn manage to tackle her to the ground before she can as Nelen forces Merihim back inside his body, quickly re-wrapping and sealing his hands as he looks up into the trees. \"Who are you?\" he asks, \"Why are you doing this?\"\n\nA chuckle comes from the canopy, \"I... am not going to tell you yet. It wouldn't be any fun... but I do have a messssage for Arja and her friend Sssimoni from both myself and my husssband...\" the voice replies, \"We wisssh to thank you for your aid.\" it adds, and then... it's gone. There's a faint rustle as if to suggest a serpentine body darting off between the tall branches, but it's definitely left, leaving them alone in the clearing with the wreckage of the police cars.\n\nArja lets out an angry yell when she's tackled, struggling a bit, but calming down as the woman keeps speaking \"Aid...\" she mutters, looking back angrily, \"Damn it... let's go before other cops show up, no real explaining this anyway\" she grumbles, still furious.\n\nSimoni nods as the group quickly departs, Nelen looking exhausted after allowing Merihim free reign for the fight. There’s nothing to take back to the temple now anyways, it seems the manticore finished his leftovers when he returned. As they head back to town, Lupe keeping her nose out in case they get followed, Simoni looks at Arja, \"That... was definitely a naga.\" she nods, shuddering at the memory of its taunting voice from the trees, \"Arja, are there any naga that you can think of powerful enough to control a manticore?\" she asks.\n\nArja shakes her head, \"Not sure, she'd be among a very small group, but that group ranges from very clever naga who have something to control a creature like that with to outright near divine figures so I don't feel safe guessing there.\"\n\nSimoni nods as Nelen looks around at the canopy, his hands shaking a bit from the exertion earlier. \"This is bad no matter how you look at it...\" he frowns, \"That manticore closed his eyes when Dawn tried to get him with her illusions. He knew about her powers...\" he frowns, \"And it said you two helped her somehow...\" he sighs, rubbing his forehead, \"Fuck it, we'll find out when it starts to stink I guess.\" he sighs as Lupe barks, \"Already stinks...\" she whines, rubbing her nose.\n\nArja nods, rubbing Lupe's head, \"Good work there…\" she sighs as she shakes her head, \"This is bad, whatever it is, this is very bad, maybe worse than Franklin bad...\"\n\nSimoni winces, \"Seriously?\" she asks as the town comes into view, then thinks back on what just happened, \"... yeah, yeah I guess I can see that.\" she sighs.\n\nMeanwhile...\n\nThe manticore snarls as it sits before a being in the wilds of the Supernatural World. \"They are strong, and smart, but they are still merely mortal. Whatever power allowed them to free you is long gone.\" it growls at the figure.\n\nStanding before the manticore is a blue-skinned man in a suit of ancient hindi armor, a curved sword hanging from his belt. He is tall, and muscular, and clearly a rakshasa... but more human looking than most, save for the eyes. \"Hm... so I see.\" he replies, \"They had help when they destroyed that cursed sword, but that help was only temporary. Good, the last thing we need is them having that sort of power again.\" he nods, \"Those girls were the last ones to hold my father's prison, and even if they’ve lost their powers there are other ways to break those accursed ‘blades’.\" he smirks, \"Now, all we need is the proper leverage...\"\n\nThe manticore growls low and long, \"Why couldn't I just eat them?!\" it demands, then it quails as the rakshasa glares at it, \"I... er... that is, your highness...\" it quickly adds as the rakshasa frowns, \"Because we [i]need[/i] them to get the arrow you fool...\" he sighs like a teacher talking to a slow student, \"Without them we could be stuck searching for months, years, perhaps centuries.\" he nods, \"Do not worry yourself manticore. Once Rama's Arrow is in our possession we will have no more use for them...\" he grins wickedly, showing pointed teeth as the manticore nods, grinning and showing three rows of the same, \"And then... I will feast!\"","writing_bbcode_parsed":"The tires squeak on the tarmac as the plane lands at the tiny airport outside of Jaipur, Simoni sighing as she leans into Arja. "Home at last..." she giggles, "What do you wanna do first? Go visit Akul and the others maybe?" she suggests to her, the young garuda having already changed into her sari as the plane slows to a halt.

Dawn yawns as she rubs her eyes, having drifted off midway through the flight with Dusk curled up between her ears, "Mm... dunno about you two, but I'm raiding the kitchen, assuming Lunch actually left anything for once." she nods, Nelen shrugging himself, "Not sure here. I should probably check in with Rajesh and Edwood, but not much else to do after that." he shrugs. One problem with having Franklin gone, his job as Rajesh's bodyguard had gotten a lot duller.

Arja nods to Simoni, "Yeah let's say hi to grandpa, it's been a while." she replies happily as she stands, stretching her arms out, "Ahhh… Its good to be home, travel is fun but I only feel at my best when I'm here." she smiles.

Simoni giggles as she gets to her feet herself, "Yeah." she replies, "So... wanna walk to the temple or..." she grins, flexing her arms a bit as the rest of the group disembarks and goes off to do their things, leaving the two of them by the plane. Arja grins In reply, already hopping onto Simoni's back, kissing her cheek.

Simoni lets out a bit of an 'oof' as Arja does, but smirks at her. To any mundanes nearby it'd look like a girl giving her friend a piggyback ride... at least until the girl suddenly sprouted feathers all over her arms as her legs bent backwards and grew into scaly talons before she suddenly shot up into the sky. She circles a bit, gaining altitude, and then arcs off towards the mundane reflection of Hanuman's Temple.

Her garuda form is back to normal now that Morrigan is gone as well, no red in her hair and her eyes (while green) are normal human eyes. She had been worried about that at first, but it seems that the partial possession by the war goddess was what caused the sudden shift. Still, the garuda is definitely happy to be home, even doing a few twirls and loops in midair as the glide over the jungle canopy.

Arja giggles happily, leaning back to enjoy the ride, "Good to be back." she repeats, looking at the treetops under them, "Hope nothing bad happened while we were gone." she adds. Even without Franklin around Arja seems to assume that leaving India somehow opens it up to danger. She liked her travel, but it was pretty obvious she felt due to her blood she belonged in India first.

Simoni rolls her eyes, "Yeah, wouldn't that be just our luck?" she smirks back over her shoulder at Arja, "We get to the temple and they say 'lovely to see you two again, oh while you were gone an ancient Naga god came up from the jungle and ate several of your cousins. Y'know, an average Tuesday.' " she rolls her eyes, then frowns, "... I really hope I didn't just invoke Murphy's Law there..." she nods. Given their lives it’s probably not a good idea to tempt fate, for all they knew she really could be listening.

As they draw close she arcs low over the jungle, then blinks and whistles up a quick gust to gain altitude. "Arja..." she mutters. Down below, about a mile from the temple, are several cars that have 'police' written all over them. "Dammit, it'd better not be a Naga god..." she winces, then glances around before finding a clearing where the police wouldn't see them land.

Arja frowns, hopping off Simoni and looking to the cops as the pair land, "That's not good, cops don't usually come out to the wilderness unless there's something drawing them." she says as she smooths her sari out, the flight having wrinkled it, "It could be anything, though, could be a tiger attack or something."

Simoni nods, quickly changing back into her human form as she follows Arja out towards the cars. As they approach one of the men looks up, seeing the girls coming out of the jungle. "Hey! You two!" he calls out in Hindi, "What are you kids doing out here?!" he snaps as another man glances over. This one, however, is the local police chief from Jaipur... and also knows Arja, or at least he knows her as 'Rajesh's daughter'.

"Its okay Bahanu..." he nods to his friend, "You deal with him, I'll take care of the kids." he says, walking up to her. He's a middle aged man with a receeding hairline, a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, and the kind of weathered and tired look that only an old cop can have. He's also aware, that is to say, a mundane who knows about magic and the supernatural.

He walks up to the two and glances back to make sure the others are out of earshot, "You two didn't see anything on your way over did you?" he asks Arja.

Arja shakes her head, "We're just on our way to the temple, we just got back in country from some vacation." she says in a low voice, looking around, "What's going on? This is a lot of cops for out here, even if it was something like a murder you guys usually just send a car."

He nods to her, "Yeah... well, we thought it was just some villager at first... but..." he frowns, "I had to check to make sure, but I think he's one of your cousins Arja." he sighs, "It looks like he got torn apart too. Look, we'll get the body back to your family once the rookies are gone, but there's not much left of it." he adds, "Looks like whatever attacked him totally overpowered him. I know... your family... is pretty tough, I'm guessing one of them could probably handle a tiger, right?" he asks.

Arja frowns at that, nodding, "Yea, if something tore one of us apart it wasn't mundane. A tiger could get the drop or whatever but... well you'd have a lot of tiger blood mixed in and probably a dead tiger a bit away." Arja's people were a martial race, they didn't make big displays of mourning but it was clear she was upset, her jaw clenched, glaring past the chief at a point in the jungle to focus on...

Simoni takes Arja's hand and gives it a squeeze as the man nods, "Yeah, I thought so. Whatever got him took him to pieces... and there's paw prints in the dirt... but they're all wrong. If this was a tiger it'd be the size of a small elephant." he frowns, "I think this is something from your side of things." he nods. "Could you let your grandpa know? I can't get into the real temple myself after all..." he nods, "And, well, watch out. Whatever did this is still out there."

Arja nods, "Yea, is there a... body or something to take home? If they died like this they died fighting, that deserves a proper funeral pyre back home."

He nods, "Not much of one, but yeah. Gimme a few hours to get the guys who don't know about your people out of here and then you can send someone through to collect him. We're just going to write it off as a fatality by wild animal. It's definitely not 'murder' anyways, or at least not by the normal definition, so there's not going to be an ongoing investigation here." he replies, then frowns as one of the cops calls for him in Hindi, "Dammit, I have to go, you two watch out okay? Like I said, this thing is still out there..." he nods, heading back towards the police cruisers.

Arja nods to the cop as he goes, "Have it sent to the temple, we'll handle the body from there." she says as she glares into the jungle, marching into it seemingly without heed.

Simoni hesitates, but follows along behind her. "Arja..." she frowns, "Hold up, I'm going to call Nelen and tell him about this." she nods, fishing around for her phone in the folds of her sari. "If this is another rakshasa or something we'll need him and the others." she nods as she dials his number, putting the phone to her ear.

Arja huffs, but slows, "Fine, but tell him to hurry, if we're fast we may be able to find this thing before we even get to the temple, I'll drag its body back as a trophy..."

At that Simoni grabs Arja by the wrist and spins her around to face her, "ARJA!" she snaps, "Listen to me. Right now. We're going to find this thing and we're going to deal with it with a lot of help and backup." she nods firmly, "Now calm the hell down. Remember which one of us almost got her spine broken in half the last time we fought a big nasty in the jungle." she adds before going back to the phone, "No no, its fine Nelen. Just Arja being Arja. Look, we've got a problem. Something in the jungle killed one of Arja's relatives. Something big..." she nods. "Yeah, good idea. She'd be able to sniff it out easy. No, Drusilla should stay home. Yeah I know, tell her it's to protect the house in case it comes into town, that'd probably be better than the real reason. Bring Nessa and Patli too, maybe Patli and I can spot this thing from the air." she says, then hangs up. "He's on his way."

Arja sighs softly, but nods, squatting down to rest and wait for the group, "... sorry... It's just hard sometimes... I get this anger when stuff like this comes up, especially when it hurts my family…" she shakes her head, "I need to stop, though, I'm putting you in danger..."

Simoni pats her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile, "Its alright. Just save it up for when we find this thing and then go nuts." she smirks a bit, sitting down next to Arja to wait. After a few hours (Nelen and the other's can't just fly out like they could) Nelen walks into the clearing with a very familiar yellow 'dog' next to him and a cat on his shoulders, along with Patli and Nessa. Nelen glances back and nods to the 'dog' who immediately starts to shift and change into a blonde haired girl with wolf-like ears, a tail, and yellow eyes.

"Rrrffff!" whines Lupe, rubbing at her nose, "Smell bad!" she whimpers as Nelen nods to the girls, "Yeah, I had her sniff around the body but... well... she took three sniffs and spent the next five minutes rubbing her nose in the dirt."

Arja frowns "What did it smell like, exactly?" A dead body should just smell like a dead body, even in the jungle it wouldn't have rotted fast enough to make Lupe freak out like that. Nessa shakes her head, sighing softly "This isn't good, we may be from different jungles but the principle's the same, very bad things make their homes deep inside..."

Lupe frowns, "Smell... bad... like... snake spit bad..." she replies as Simoni thinks on that one, "Snake spit... wait... naga venom?" she eeps, scooting closer to Arja out of reflex as Lupe tilts her head, "Rrr... not snake spit... but... same thing?" she tries, "Different... but same." she nods as Nelen thinks, "So... some kind of poison, but not from a naga?" he asks as Lupe frowns, "That what Lupe said!" she barks.

Arja frowns, "Poison, what else uses poison…" she thinks as she looks around, Nessa shrugging softly at her, "Surprisingly enough there's not a ton of venomous monsters in India, demons who use poison weapons sure but this is a bit overkill for a poisoner..."

Simoni thinks, "Well, he said there were some kind of tracks right? Something like a 'tiger but the size of a small elephant'?" she suggests, "So... what looks like a jungle cat but has poisons?" she thinks as Lupe frowns, "Lupe dunno... all Lupe smell was nasty snake spit smell..." she whines, earfolding. It seems to her senses the smell of it's venom overpowered everything else.

Arja huffs in frustration, "That's the problem Indian supernaturals aren't so unified. I mean, stuff like Rakasha is just a label, it literally just comes from what was shouted when Brahma was getting eaten by them. There can be tiger like ones, but it could also be an Asura's servant, or a demon proper, or a rogue Jinn. There's too little to go on with just poison and tiger" she sighs softly, shaking her head "Patli, you're small in your bird form, can you do some searching? Be fast and be careful." she says, the girl already shifting into her hummingbird form. "Gotcha!" she chirps, zipping off into the jungle.

Simoni nods to Arja, "I'll get up higher. If this thing is that big maybe I can spot it from the air." she says, changing forms herself as she darts up into the sky. Nelen nods to Dawn as well, the cat grinning as she vanishes, leaving behind the impression of a smile hanging in midair for a moment before it vanishes as well as the three of them spread out, trying to seek out whatever caused this.

Nelen flops down on the floor of the jungle as Lupe continues to paw at her nose. "Hm... poisons and a large cat..." he thinks, scratching at his beard, "For India that could be a lot of things... hell it could be more than one thing, like a naga riding a giant tiger or something..." he sighs as Lupe shakes her head, "Not snake, just smell like spit." she nods.

Arja nods, "Well that's good, no snakes means Simoni won't get scared... poor girl." she sighs, looking up as Patli darts off to check lower in the trees, "This is bad... it could be a lot of very dangerous things..."

Dawn teleports from tree branch to tree branch, making sure to stay invisible as much as she can, as Simoni circles above, eyes wide and staring at the canopy below... but it's Patli who finds it first.

She lands to rest her wings on a small hillside at first, trying to get her bearings, until she realizes that the hillside is breathing. Looking closer she'd notice that what she took for a hill was a gigantic lion-like creature with huge claws and a disturbingly human-like face, surrounded by a mane of crimson hair. It has a long chitinous tail like a scorpion's, but instead of one stinger it ends in a cluster of razor-sharp barbs, the tips of which drip a thick greenish liquid onto the ground that hisses when it lands, the plants near the tip of the tail all withered and blackened. The creature, still asleep, yawns wide, revealing three rows of razor sharp teeth within its fearsome mouth.

Patli's eyes go wide as she sees it, looking it over before quickly darting back to tell the group what she saw. When she describes it Arja's face pales, "... Manticore... it's not a tiger, it's a lion…" she whispers, sounding genuinely afraid.

Nelen quickly gets to his feet at Patli's description, "Son of a bitch, you're sure?" he looks out into the jungle, then quickly sends a text message to Simoni. She knows that signal, if he texts when he knows she's in the air it means 'get back here NOW'. Dawn reappears as well, perching on Nelen's shoulder. "A fucking manticore... I didn't know there were any left in India." he frowns, "No wonder it was able to take down one of the monkeys. Those things are hell on four legs." he glances back towards where the police were, most of the rookies gone now, "... but... Lupe said she smelled it's venom around the body... but if I remember right Manticores don't leave bodies. They eat their prey whole..." he frowns.

Arja nods, "That's why I didn't think it, manticores eat everything, body, bone, treasure, they're creatures of pure destruction. I don't know why it would tear apart my cousin..." she trails off, eyes once again growing, "This is a trap…" she whispers, freezing up, "This is a trap, manticores are brilliant hunters, and one monkey isn't enough food... my cousin was bait!"

Simoni swoops back in as Nelen's eyes go wide at Arja's words... and then screams erupt from the jungle. Human ones. "SHIT!" he curses, running back towards the policemen as Dawn jumps down off his shoulder, changing back into her half human form. Simoni looks around frantically, "What? Whats going on?!" she asks as Lupe barks, chasing after Nelen.

Merihim's possession made him all but immune to most mundane poisons and diseases, and Lupe could regenerate from almost anything... but would that be enough to deal with the legendary sting of a manticore?

Arja chases quickly after them, Nessa right behind. The Aztec sorceress’s own blood magic didn't make her immune to everything, but stings and such like this could be flushed out near instantly as long as she was awake to do it. "Alright…" she nods, looking to Nelen, the closest to a fellow 'blood mage' she had "You and me take the brunt of this thing, it still has claws and fangs that can tear a hole in a tank but at least we won't die instantly to its poison like anyone else. The rest of you for the sakes of whatever gods you follow or descend from avoid that tail. Seriously, that thing is entirely made of scary parts but that tail will literally kill you with a scratch, manticore venom is some of the strongest in any of the worlds."

Nelen nods at her words as they get to where the cops were... and find only wreckage. All but three of the cars were gone when it arrived and now one is upside down and the other two are smashed apart. As for the police, well, they're just gone. Standing in the middle of the chaos is the manticore, the creature twice as tall as Nelen as its eyes look over the group. It grins cruelly at them, letting out a faint burp, then opens its mouth and speaks in a surprisingly cultured voice, "Well well... more for my feast? I had a few nibbles, but I suppose I have room for seconds..." it sneers, turning to face them as its tail lashes about behind it.

Nelen doesn't even wait for it to finish, reaching to his wrists as he yells, "Dawn! EYES!" he commands, tearing the bandages from his hands and revealing Merihim's sigils, engraved onto his palms. There's a tense moment as the demon realizes its leash is off, and then his body goes chalk-white as dozens of fang-covered tendrils burst out of his hands, aimed right at the monster.

Nessa nods, grabbing her knife from her pocket and slashing her palms open as well, chanting and whipping her hands around as she forms sigils with the falling blood that erupt into bursts of green fire. She aims it at the manticore as well, hoping an all-out attack right up front can at least injure the beast.

The manticore proves fast however, taking a few hits from Merihim's frenzy as the flames manage to singe it's mane, but the creature easily jumps out of the way and, to Nelen's surprise, closes its eyes as Dawn's own eyes flash a bright yellow. She blinks then teleports behind him, "Nelen..." she mutters as he lashes out at the manticore again, trying to keep it off balance, "Yeah... it knew." he replies through gritted teeth.

As the manticore lands however the creature gets a surprise of its own. It’s been a while since she used this, but it seems Simoni still knows how to set up the same whirlwind 'traps' that she used on her cousin Terrance way back when Clan Fullmoon first came after them. The creature lets out a snarl as a sudden burst of wind shoots up, catching it on the chin and knocking it senseless for a moment.

Arja springs out at that, leaping at the manticore's face in her monkey form, hands wrapped in fire that make her iron claws glow bright orange, knowing she only got one good shot on this as she brings them down, trying to slash deeply into the creature's face while it's down.

The manticore roars in fury as she lands, but manages to shake her off and knock her away, snarling at her as it glares with one eye, its left one a mess of charred flesh and claw marks now. "Grr... insolent monkey! I guess I’ll just have to ‘season’ you before I eat you…" it spits, raising its tail as it prepares to launch its barbs…

Nessa grunts as she sees that, tackling Arja out of the way and waving her still bleeding right hand, sending a spectral jaguar's head roaring from it to bite at that tail, wanting to hurt one of the creature's worst weapons as she already gets ready to cycle her blood out.

The manticore lets out a yelp as the jaguar clamps down onto its tail, snarling as it thrashes it about. Nelen manages to conjure up a shield just in time as the barbs fly everywhere, though Merihim's infernal nature does seem to trump the creature, the barbs clattering off his shield.

"To the hells with his demands! I'M GOING TO EAT YOU ALL ALIVE AND SCREAMING!" it roars, then the manticore suddenly freezes as a voice hisses from the trees. "Now now manticore... my dear husssband would be mossst displeasssed to hear that..." it hisses as the beast suddenly goes very still, it's good eye darting around, "You... you were watching?" it growls as Lupe's eyes widen, the werewolf growling a low warning.

Arja frowns, looking around, "A manticore enslaved? Pathetic. Your kind were monsters but you had pride at least, who would be so arrogant to claim dominion over such a beast?" she asks, looking around the area where the voice came from.

The voice seems to come from nowhere. "Oh wouldn't you like to know young one?" it replies, "Don't worry, we're not going to kill you... yet..." it adds, "My husssband wanted to sssee what one sssuch as you wasss capable of..." it replies. It's a feminine voice, and there's a definite hiss to it. One that has Simoni getting as close to Arja as she can as her eyes look around frantically.

"Manticore, you will return to usss now." it commands in a tone that says it knows very well it will be obeyed. The manticore glares at the group with what's left of it's eyes, "I suggest you pray your thanks to whatever gods you worship for your good fortune." it spits, "Today, it seems, I go hungry." it growls, then in one smooth motion it jumps into the jungle and runs off through the trees.

Arja growls in fury, "All this was a test?!" her eyes flash with fire as she speaks in a low tone, "You killed all these people to watch us fight?! GET BACK HERE!" she roars, chasing the manticore into the trees, or at least she tries to, but Simoni and Dawn manage to tackle her to the ground before she can as Nelen forces Merihim back inside his body, quickly re-wrapping and sealing his hands as he looks up into the trees. "Who are you?" he asks, "Why are you doing this?"

A chuckle comes from the canopy, "I... am not going to tell you yet. It wouldn't be any fun... but I do have a messssage for Arja and her friend Sssimoni from both myself and my husssband..." the voice replies, "We wisssh to thank you for your aid." it adds, and then... it's gone. There's a faint rustle as if to suggest a serpentine body darting off between the tall branches, but it's definitely left, leaving them alone in the clearing with the wreckage of the police cars.

Arja lets out an angry yell when she's tackled, struggling a bit, but calming down as the woman keeps speaking "Aid..." she mutters, looking back angrily, "Damn it... let's go before other cops show up, no real explaining this anyway" she grumbles, still furious.

Simoni nods as the group quickly departs, Nelen looking exhausted after allowing Merihim free reign for the fight. There’s nothing to take back to the temple now anyways, it seems the manticore finished his leftovers when he returned. As they head back to town, Lupe keeping her nose out in case they get followed, Simoni looks at Arja, "That... was definitely a naga." she nods, shuddering at the memory of its taunting voice from the trees, "Arja, are there any naga that you can think of powerful enough to control a manticore?" she asks.

Arja shakes her head, "Not sure, she'd be among a very small group, but that group ranges from very clever naga who have something to control a creature like that with to outright near divine figures so I don't feel safe guessing there."

Simoni nods as Nelen looks around at the canopy, his hands shaking a bit from the exertion earlier. "This is bad no matter how you look at it..." he frowns, "That manticore closed his eyes when Dawn tried to get him with her illusions. He knew about her powers..." he frowns, "And it said you two helped her somehow..." he sighs, rubbing his forehead, "Fuck it, we'll find out when it starts to stink I guess." he sighs as Lupe barks, "Already stinks..." she whines, rubbing her nose.

Arja nods, rubbing Lupe's head, "Good work there…" she sighs as she shakes her head, "This is bad, whatever it is, this is very bad, maybe worse than Franklin bad..."

Simoni winces, "Seriously?" she asks as the town comes into view, then thinks back on what just happened, "... yeah, yeah I guess I can see that." she sighs.

Meanwhile...

The manticore snarls as it sits before a being in the wilds of the Supernatural World. "They are strong, and smart, but they are still merely mortal. Whatever power allowed them to free you is long gone." it growls at the figure.

Standing before the manticore is a blue-skinned man in a suit of ancient hindi armor, a curved sword hanging from his belt. He is tall, and muscular, and clearly a rakshasa... but more human looking than most, save for the eyes. "Hm... so I see." he replies, "They had help when they destroyed that cursed sword, but that help was only temporary. Good, the last thing we need is them having that sort of power again." he nods, "Those girls were the last ones to hold my father's prison, and even if they’ve lost their powers there are other ways to break those accursed ‘blades’." he smirks, "Now, all we need is the proper leverage..."

The manticore growls low and long, "Why couldn't I just eat them?!" it demands, then it quails as the rakshasa glares at it, "I... er... that is, your highness..." it quickly adds as the rakshasa frowns, "Because we need them to get the arrow you fool..." he sighs like a teacher talking to a slow student, "Without them we could be stuck searching for months, years, perhaps centuries." he nods, "Do not worry yourself manticore. Once Rama's Arrow is in our possession we will have no more use for them..." he grins wickedly, showing pointed teeth as the manticore nods, grinning and showing three rows of the same, "And then... I will feast!"","pools_count":0,"title":"Part 2.7: A New Danger","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"2","rating_name":"Adult","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"5","name":"Strong Violence","description":"Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death","rating_id":"2"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"t","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"51","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","digital_price":""}