How long had it been since she first came here and was reunited with Kaede? Although she was still not entirely comfortable with the idea of doing misdeeds for the sake of having food on the table, the recent events had made her all the more aware how easily the line blurred between 'I don't want to do this' and 'I need to do this'.

When one of her little misadventures with Kaede came to bite them in the rear she had been forced to act. It was not that she wanted to murder those people, but they left her no choice. Those people had to pay the price the moment they planned to kill her sister, and the price paid for that was to be paid in blood.

Still, even as she was chewing on a strip of bacon the wolf girl couldn't help but recall the foul taste that lingered in her mouth in the wake of the event. The taste of blood and flesh, it made her recall once again how she tended to dislike her transformation.

There was no denying its usefulness, in the end, the lone reason she had still been alive was because those fools had underestimated the power of a Lycan's more monstrous form, but it still was unpleasant to know how difficult it was to control her temper while in that form.

Another chew followed as she swallowed a piece of the bacon, her gaze shifting along the nearby trees that led toward the haunted lands. She had heard rumors of that forest, a forest that tended to drive the people within insane. Fortunately, she had no need to go there so instead she lowered her back against the tiles of the rooftop she was on. A momentary glimpse up at the sky quickly told her that there was not a sign of storm or rain approaching, a clear sky and a pleasant spring breeze was all there was to be found right now.

Yet it was as those thoughts of relaxation drifted through her mind that Diana was unaware of the fact today was still going to be an eventful day.

How could she have been so stupid, her emotions had guided her and brought her to a place that no answers would be given either but yet, there had been hope. The Tree had told her a little bit more and Sorcha couldn't believe how she would have never thought to try and connect more with the beings of nature on a more spiritual level. The elf had been here for answers and well let's be fair, she wasn't sure if she would ever find her family again, it should perhaps be a relieve for some, considering her story, being left alone in the dark. Only to wake up in the morning without anyone, the house all muddy and things gone and broken and why had she not noticed. She should have asked, she should have tested but she had been too young, too stupid at that point to figure it out. Right now, she had gotten more knowledge, more experience in life and the world and yet she felt like she lost more.

Sorcha wouldn't show the worries, she wouldn't frown, she wouldn't sign, she would stop in her walk only and look up at the sky, her almond shape eyes blinking and yet not seeing. She needed to do something, to find better weapons because she had none but she didn't want the human made ones, she wanted to do something instead of linger on. The thing was that she felt like she was being stuck in a loop that went on and on but made her not accomplish anything. It made her tired and warry, and she didn't blame Oak. For she had at first thougth this town a bad thing, a bad vibe and hatred but after her meeting with Jian, she didn't think so. She sometimes couldn't stop thinking about that meeting, it had truly been wonderful.

Something she had to set out of her mind, the ideas popping up in her mind were like a romantic fairy tale and Sorcha knew those fairy tales were impossible.

It didn't take long for Diana's thoughts of relaxation and carefree daydreaming to start fading away in favor of a more focused gaze. Pushing her body upright the Lycan looked around, seemingly bewildered at what had drawn her attention. A brief little sniff at the air followed as she pushed herself onto her feet, balancing her body along the edge of the rooftops while trailing the peculiar scent she had caught.

It didn't take long for her to start wandering, jumping onto a lower balcony and swinging herself onto the ground as she sniffed the air again, her ears twitching lightly as her childish excitement was stirred by this trail she was tracking. Something or someone was nearby, and she believed that they weren't human. It was only after a moment when she finally caught the source of the trail that she sniffed lightly once more, her tail wagging excitedly while she declared proudly.

"I knew it! That scent didn't belong to a human~ It reminds me too much of nature for that. However, I never experienced such a scent before..."

The Lycan mused softly, a hand raised to her chin before she lowered it and scratched the back of her head with a sheepish grin lingering on her lips. "Sorry about that~ My name is Diana, Diana Scalisi."

While her heart wondered into the forbidden fairy tales that she wanted to exist but didn't because well life was simply not structed like that, her mind kept reminding herself of that and also pointing her in the right direction, she had heard that there were haunted lands here and people would become crazy upon entering it, what if someone did and wasn't able to leave anymore due to that. Her amber eyes turned from the sky to the lane in front of her, it actually didn't lead to that immediately but if she would walk on, take some twists and turns she would.

Than something happened, actually it wasn't strange it was probably the nature of the thing, person that showed up but very pleasant was another thing, although Sorcha accepted, she was an elf, she prefered other elves above any other race but she didn't mind the way nature worked, she only had a light frown upon her face as she found it difficult to be pleasant about the idea that someone sniffed her scent, was it a good scent? She felt the need to wash to be honest even though it wouldn't change a single thing as everyone had a personal scent. So when the lycan apologized, she politely waved it away, "It's fine, I'm Sorcha Donovan." she wanted to say nice to meet you and even if that was possible, she couldn't because of the way of the meeting, but she could be polite and she should especially if she told herself it was not bad, "Pleasure to make your acquintance." she said shortly after her own introduction.

A light twitch of her ears followed, her gaze lingering on the expression of the elf who gracefully waved off her apologize, seemingly feeling she was not bothered by it. After a moment Diana listened to the somewhat polite response to her greeting, the politeness actually making her feel somewhat uneasy. Being raised among street urchins and her own mother was not exactly the most polite and proper lady in Fiore had led Diana to never really experience something that went beyond casual politeness, so the lady-like demeanor of this person left her feeling somewhat confused, curious and mildly uncomfortable.

"As a Lycan I tend to be able to identify people by their scents, like I could tell you how many people there are within a certain area just by taking a whiff of the air~" Diana exclaimed proudly before pressing her hands onto her hips and adding with a sheepish grin. "But you won't need to worry about me trying to sniff your backside, that's something dogs do, I'm a Lycan, please make sure not to mistake our ties to a wolf with those of a dog, that's kind of embarrassing even if both are canines."

A soft chuckle followed as her gaze drifted toward the area the elf had been looking at earlier. "Hmm the haunted lands, it's an eerie place for sure..." the wolf girl hummed softly before turning bck toward Sorcha and inquired with a hint of curiosity. "Forgive me for asking, but you aren't a human, right? I mean..."

She raised a hand toward her head and pointed at her ears that twitched lightly. "You seem a bit different from them, like me! But not exactly like me either, since I doubt you're a Lycan like me. I like your ears Sorcha~"

She answered with an innocent smile.

Her ears and her tail made it so that Sorcha immediately knew or guessed that Diana was a lycan and to be fair it was a long way ago, rooted in her being that she standardly disliked human beings, so it was why she didn't mind the idea of Diana. She only wondered what kind of personality she had and if Sorcha made a mistake in judging too harshly or freely in this case, she met people that she didn't mind, her heart skipping off a beat going on into the fairy tale like ideas but she focused and called herself in her mind to attention, she was having a conversation, it would be very rude to daydream right now.

She nodded slowly when Diana explained, as she understood and she couldn't help but press her lips strongly against each other to hide the smile, which now turned in a very small smile, "It's good to know that information." she said and actually she wanted to ask what her scent was like, now that she could ask, she was very curious, but as it was again impolite to ask about herself, she would simply ask it differently, "So does every human have the same sort of scent?" Because she believed Diana would have understood she was an elf, their might not be many of them but perhaps she met some others.

Her gaze first drifted to the haunted lands again and she wondered, would they be there, again and again until she pulled herself together and turned her eyes back at Diana, surprised about the question. She simply stared and watched how Diana explained, moving up her hands to actually hide her ears behind them until the moment the lycan said she liked them, and she blushed, "I-I am an elf." she said because of the surprise and the compliment. So Diana had not met other elves.

A sheepish smile lingered on her lips as she watched that little hint of a smile appear on Sorcha's lips, yet when she was asked whether humans had the same sort of smell she shook her head lightly in response. "Every person has their own unique scent, it's a bit difficult to describe but like, the scent my sister has is a lot different from that of another human, so as a result I can easily set apart and figure out what scent belongs to who."

A hand raised to her cheek as she tapped it lightly, a pondering look on her features as she tried her best to clarify a bit further. "Most humans tend to have a stronger scent like it's a bit overwhelming in comparison to yours, yours reminds me of the scent you find in a forest when walking among the trees and the flowers. It is much softer and floral in nature than the scent of humans."

And finally, Sorcha explained the reason behind her mysterious scent, making the wolf girl's eyes spark with excitement as she answered her with a cheerful tone. "An elf~ It's my first time meeting one~ Although that might explain the pleasant scent~"

The girl nodded her head in approval as she looked back at the forest. "Were you planning on going there? I heard a lot of bad rumors about that place, so going there by yourself might be a bad idea... Even the scent coming from that forest feels unnatural."

It was actually interesting to hear and Sorcha learned something new that day which was a good thing, she liked to learn and understand the world a bit better, hence why she liked to observe. It only hurt a little when Diana explained the way of scents and smells with an example of her sister, if only she had that ability, she might have found her family, her brothers a lot sooner but she was an elf and she could only walk the path that nature and the Queen of Nature had figured out for her. But she tried to forget it, focus on what Diana was telling her and hoping that perhaps her answers lay closer than she ever considered; in the haunted lands.

To be fair she was happy to learn that her scent was a pleasant one, it actually did feed her ego really well and that smile stayed on her lips, as well as the reaction to her answer that she was an elf. "To be fair we elves mostly stick to our own town and forest." Which she hoped wouldn't spark the question to ask why she was here. Sorcha after all wasn't a liar, she was a smooth talker as most elves were to avoid questions and to tell things that were mixed with the question and pointed it into another direction. Sometimes she made use of this and sometimes Sorcha was simply honest.

She turned her eyes to the forest and shrugged, "I need to find answers and there might be a possibility that they are in there." Sorcha muttered, clear enough for Diana to hear but she had not really convinced herself to go in there, she didn't feel for going crazy after all. And what Diana said, she felt the same in a different way she could feel that the trees were calling out, a haunted idea, as if the whole forest, every tree, plant or bush was taken over by ghosts, which would not be possible and thus explained why people would go crazy as they didn't consider such things. But Sorcha was an elf, she simply knew it already and yet she wondered if it would help her to stay sane in that way.

Diana tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion, seemingly mildly interested at the explanation behind elves their presence in Fiore, or rather the lack of them. It appeared most of them dwelled primarily in their own country and the forests they inhabited, so as a result they were rarely found in human society. It reminded her of the stories she was told about her own people. While Lycans were more commonly found in Fiore, they usually traveled among a pack, yet there were occasional exceptions. Sometimes one didn't have a pack, just like her. Well, saying it like that wasn't entirely correct.

Even if the Holy Knights had murdered the pack she was born in, her adoptive mother had taken her in and raised her as if she was her own flesh and blood, the close bond they shared making Diana feel as if she truly had a pack of her own among her mother and the orphans they took care of.

Nonetheless, her attention soon turned toward the words spoken by Sorcha as she inquired with a hint of genuine interest. "You want to take a look in there, despite knowing the risks? Those answers must be really important to you then..." The Lycan mused softly before tapping her chest, a playful motion as she declared proudly. "It would make me feel bad to make you enter by yourself after I warned you, so I guess I can accompany you~ Just note that if you do turn crazy I'm dragging your rear back to the town."

For what Sorcha knew about Lycans that counted for the wild wolves as well, she could perhaps tell Diana, her new acqiuantes might understand very well that if the answers related to family, something like a pack right? Although she now only saw Diana alone, she had mentioned a sister. She looked to the haunted forest again, not looking at Diana but speaking loud enough for the lycan to hear her, she said, "Those answers might make me capable to find my family." She didn't say it too loud, it would be a whisper for anyone else around them. She had at first not wanted to tell her, she was telling far too many people about her inability to find her family for already four years even if she didn't mention what happened or when it happened, it was every time a disappointment to herself again because she remembered.

She turned her eyes, without her face back towards Diana, seeing her point at her own chest. She heaved up her head in surprise when Diana said she would come along and turned her face towards the Lycan, she wanted to say something about that she couldn't ask Diana to risk herself for that, because even if the two of them would have a change to get crazy, she believed that they would withstand it better than humans but that meant the risk for either of them was just as high. She bit her lip, "I thought you Lycans did touch rears hm." It was her pathetic attemt to joke but it more sounded like a neutral saying than anything else, "If you didn't feel like it's something bad to do, than I want to thank you already before hand, I don't know what we will find but to be fair I try to not get my hopes up to find something. I just want to find my family." Anything would be fine, the tree had given her an idea, they were separated, her father, mother and brothers but that meant she only had to look twice as hard.

Her ears drooped briefly at the revelation about why Sorcha was searching for those answers, and why they were considered so important to her. "I would be a hypocrite to stop you then, considering the things I'd be willing to do for my family, even if we aren't related by blood." Indeed, she had been willing to go far to keep her family safe, including the murdering of the thugs who threatened to kill her sister. However, after hearing the attempt of the elf to make a joke the Lycan laughed in amusement as she stepped beside Sorcha, her tail playfully swatting into the direction of the elf's rear before she hummed teasingly in return.

"When the situation calls for it even I shall grab that rear and pull it to safety. Although be glad that I'm not humping your leg, now that would be terrifying."

A hearty laugh escaped her lips as she walked into the outskirts of the forest, her eyes sharpening their gaze and her mind seemingly on alert, clearly aware of the dangers this place possessed. "So you think you might find a trail of your siblings here? Do you have anything belonging to them? I could try to catch their scent then, else I'd have to rely on my nose to find a scent similar to yours... although I'm pretty confident in my nose! Best nose in the whole of Fiore! Well, for a Lycan at least, I heard stories of a creature that can track your scent across an entire country..."

Where she was looking for her family, Diana explained what it meant for her, even if it didn't mean they were related by blood, she wondered what to say, sometimes you had to just pick your family and even if she would perhaps have a happier live with just her uncle and cousins, she went on to find her siblings, her brothers, her father and mother while they weren't there for her. While they laughed at her for only being a girl and she clenched her right fist. But the conversation was getting more air and more fun, now the elf was bad in making jokes but she did try.

She couldn't help but chuckle at Diana her answer, something that happened not too often and she tried to hide it with her left hand, but it was unmistakably there. There was a very much bright red blush on her cheeks as well as the top of her elven ears and a faster heartbeat. Fairy tales didn't exist and it wasn't even romantic but in the ears and mind of a hopeless romantic being, it was very easy to change that.

She followed Diana none the less though, placing her hand on the nearest tree and feeling the faint lingering sense of what you could call haunted, "No, all I have is that we are the same, from the same family line, my brothers that is. My parents, I have nothing, they were taken away from me in the middle of the night. It is such a strange story that I refrain from remembering it or telling it. Everything gone, destroyed or forgotten including me." she said a sort of mysterious and she walked on, she should find that beast to find them, if only she had something, perhaps her uncle did. "I'm glad I bumped into you in that case." she said with Diana her explanation of her sense of smell again.

Even if they weren't far in the forest, there was this eerie feeling that rushed over her, as if the trees, the plants and the bees screamed for her to save them, a sort of magical pressure on her mind and she had no idea how to take care of it or how to process it. She prevered the wild woods in Magnolia over this for any second, but they held no answer and this was another forest, they still were elves, perhaps Orchidia was a good third option.

Perhaps it was fortunate for the elf that Diana was oblivious to the bright blush on the elf's cheeks, perhaps because she was rather focused on the forest they entered. As they wandered into the haunted lands the Lycan sniffed the air once more and scoffed lightly. "This stench isn't natural, be careful and let me know as soon as you start becoming unwell Sorcha."

Although she might had been able to retain her sanity upon entering those woods, she knew it was a matter of 'how long could she keep the insanity at bay', and she was even more concerned about her companion, knowing well enough that as an elf Sorcha's connection to this place was stronger than that of a human being. As she traveled along the path they had started to traverse. "It's as if something is driving a corrupting influence onto the land. Even the distant scent of animals holds a certain vileness to it. Whatever it is, we'll have to make sure it doesn't get the chance to affect us."

Reaching a small clearing the Lycan crouched down near what appeared to be some footprints and sniffed lightly as her fingers trailed lightly along the outline of the prints, seemingly catching the trail of something. "Several humans... and an elf passed by here recently"

"I will Diana, thank you." she said, letting go of the tree and trying to zone out the conversation that she was trying not to have, the idea that the trees yelled for her to be saved. It went through her heart and it hurt but she stayed away from trying it again the deeper they got into the forest, stepping onto the floor of the leaves and other nature elements that were dropped on the ground. It felt heavy, normally she walked onto things without leaving that much of an imprint but it was as if the earth was a bit heavier magnet and pulled her stronger towards her, nothing really changed in her lightness or speed but it made her leave imprints in the mud.

"I wonder where the influences comes from, it is said that Phantom Lord doesn't have this problem, so it must come from them." She wasn't even sure if they were close to the guild, but that's not why she was here so it didn't matter as long she didn't bump into any of them. Her eyes turned strongly on Diana as they reached an open spot and Diana mentioned that an elf had passed by, "Do you have a guess of when?" she was a good tracker but footprints might only be slender and lighter than heavy boots from humans but it was the scent that was more helpful. She was holding on too hard, her heart tightened, heartbeat feeling heavy, but surely it could be one of her family members, she knew they were split up once, who said not twice. "Is there any more you can tell?" She was getting desperate, training and now searching but not finding, it might have done things to her.

Phantom Lord, a mysterious guild of troublemakers who valued their freedom over all else. Could it be that some sort of magic associated with them was the source of the corrupting influence? It could explain why their own members weren't driven insane. "I'm not sure if they are responsible for it, that would have to be quite a malicious curse then, I don't know much about hexes and such but the taint of this land feels much more than a simple hex."

She clarified further, yet as she rose back onto her feet she pondered for a moment. "The strength of this scent suggests they were here a few days ago, the scent is starting to fade slowly but I can still follow their trail."

As the Lycan started to wander along the trail she finally found the source of the mysterious footprints. Near a tree there were a collection of corpses, two were decomposing already on the ground, while the final one was leaning against a tree, judging from the ears no doubt the elf she had found before.

"Stay back for a bit Sorcha, you don't want to see this..." The wolf girl warned her as she reached with a hand toward the jacket of the elf, a light tug tearing it open to reveal blood stains. A finger reached for them, a light lick of her tongue following over her fingertips as she mused softly.

"I see... the reason his body is in a better state is that he died later, maybe last night? Blood is still fresh." A hand raised to the man's chin, lifting it lightly as she shook his head lightly. "His body suggests an age that is older than that of your siblings or parents, if it was someone you'd know it might have been a grandparent, but if you look at his face you can see wrinkles starting to settle in, according to what I heard elves retain their youthful looks for an extremely long period---- Sorcha?"

Looking in bewilderment she felt something was off...

Sorcha knew as well that the hex was upon this lands, the curse or whatever you wanted to call it was like a braid of multiple hexes, cursed and bad omens and intentions that made it so that the lands were cursed, asking for the insanity and sanity of people to keep it going for as long as it was already there, tainting the people, tainting the bushes, plants and beings inside this forest. It felt like a heavy burden on her as an elf, she felt as if the surroundings of nature were crying because they didn't want to be like this but to cleanse this place would take a lot of power and magic and she wondered if even the King would be able to fix it with just a twist of his hand but she didn't know the Elven King, she had never met him, never seen him as her father didn't want that. He didn't want to put something bad on his name as a royal guard.

Thank god for Diana, she kept thinking that, it was better that Sorcha wasn't alone and that Diana was here to help here, a few days ago, that was a good hint and she held her hands together pressed against her chest as she felt the hope reaching her. Who would it be? Killian? Hunter? Was it her father? Was it her mother? She felt her lip trembling but took everything to keep her composure, she wouldn't cave, she wouldn't cry, she would be the polite and graceful elf that they wanted her to be.

But she stopped in her track as Diana said she shouldn't see this, she shouldn't see what? She was at first standing still but when Diana spoke, that the person died last night, she couldn't help but walk towards it. The beautiful being, the elf was all the attention she could give to the situation, it wasn't her family, it wasn't her siblings it wasn't her father or mother but it hurt her. This could happen to them, it could be them, it could be a curse, the lands were already cursed anyway. She felt her amber eyes trying to scan for anything, amber looks, the skin, the marks, everything she saw flashing before her eyes, was it Killian? Could they do this to her younger brother?

Her mouth opened in a silent scream and she felt hot tears in the corner of her eye, she didn't hear Diana speak, the forest was getting in her mind, the corpse moved and looked up at her with the same almond shaped eyes, the same colour as her own, "Sorcha is that you." She now couldn't help but scream and take steps back, Killian, they took Killian, they cursed him, they killed him.

Was it the curse of the haunted lands? Despite her warning, it seemed Sorcha couldn't resist the lure of the answers she sought. As a result, it seemed the sight of the elf's corpse brought her to tears, and finally when she stepped back and screamed the lass knew what was going on. That look in the elf's eyes, how her eyes seemed filled with dread and panic. Was it a hallucination? Pushing her body upright she quickly approached Sorcha, attempting to gently extend a hand to the elf's shoulder to reassure her.

"Snap out of it Sorcha, that corpse doesn't belong to your family. It is this forest playing tricks upon you." Although she was growing all too aware of the fact that this peculiar presence was drawing closer, that vile stench that drove everything and everyone insane. Did it already reach them? Looking back at the corpse she made a soft grunt. "We got no choice, going deeper is too dangerous for you. We have to return to the town Sorcha."

Attempting to lightly reaffirm her decision by trying to gently squeeze the elf's shoulder she continued her efforts to reassure the elf. "The answers you seek can't be found here, at least not with this corpse. the dead don't tell the tale you desire..."

Her eyes were not leaving the body, her lip still trembling, she had expected it, she had known it, they were gone, taken, butchered anything, "Killian, what did they do to you?" she said her voice way too high pitched, her hand lifted up to hold on to him. She was too far away of course to do that but she was blinded for anything else, the hallucination made it a corpse, made it her younger brother. Holding up his own hand to grab her too. She pushed Diana away to get closer to Killian, they were taking him away from her, his last moments he should spend with her. "No!" she yelled, "I'm not going anywhere." She had to know where Hunter was, did they take him too? She had to find her elder brother, he surely was capable of doing and handling things on his own but if they took Killian, it might have ripped open a wound near his heart, they were always together.

She pushed again away the arm of Diana, why didn't she understand, of course she didn't understand, she was a lycan and just as she had been nice and helpfull, she didn't see that this was her sibling, "I cant and wont leave, he would be here all alone dying, I can't do that and I need to find Hunter." She stared at Diana full with anger and pain.

This was bad... she had heard stories before, or rather it was a rumor she had overheard, of how some people in Oak said that people who entered the haunted lands simply 'disappeared'. When Sorcha yelled in protest Diana shook her head violently. "OPEN YOUR EYES ALREADY! That corpse doesn't belong to your brother!"

No, she had no choice, if she allowed Sorcha to remain here she would likely spend her time at the corpse till the forest drove her insane, or worse. Seeing that previously pleasant expression distorted into one of anger and pain the Lycan lunged forwards. However, it was not an attack, no... her hands were opened so her palms would likely strike the elf's stomach with enough force to send her reeling several steps away from the corpse, upon which the Lycan stood defiantly between the elf and the remains of the fallen.

"This is your last warning Sorcha, if you don't return with me willingly, I'll be forced to use force."

As if to amplify the threatening nature of her warning the Lycan balded up her fists, the knuckles shifting from under the sleeves of her jacket to cover her fists as she seemingly had armed herself.

"Please Sorcha... don't make me hurt you in order to save you..."

For a few seconds the cloud before her eyes had turned away as she had never heard someone yell at her like that, the elves she knew never did so but the corruption of the forest took over rather quickly again and as soon as she looked at the corpse again she saw Killian and she cried, "It is, it is my Killian." She could not see anything else, Diana didn't know her siblings, she couldn't know. She wouldn't understand in the case of elves, but she felt it. The darkness seeping in her body and it made her afraid, what if it really wasn't Killian, what if there was hope that it wasn't her family, no matter how bad it was for this elf and the humans, at this point she couldn't see anything else but her younger sibling dying.

But that made her blinded for the flat hand on her stomach, she staggered backwards and stared at Diana, no longer the capability of the elf, no politeness or elegance, the forest had its influence. "Why don't you understand I just can't leave." She didn't need to explain again, he was here, Hunter was here too she was sure of that and how would she ever be able to look at her parents if she found them and tell them that she had left Killian alone and had left Hunter to his so called destinty. "Please Diana why can't you understand,"she said pleading, taking a step back and forming her hands into fist, "Fine, I won't just simply leave. I won't let you force me."

Was there really no other choice? Was rendering her unconscious truly the only way she could save Sorcha? She had no choice if it meant saving an innocent person then... she would have to use force! Fortunately for her, she was fairly confident when it came to martial arts, unlike her sister who used a bladed weapon all she needed was her fists. And understandably so, the natural physical strength of a Lycan was with her, but it still made the girl uncomfortable to know she would have to use that power against Sorcha.

"..."

Seeing the elf take a step backward and raise her hands into a fist it was clear she was ready for a fight, a sight that made the Lycan's eyes briefly moist. Kaede was right, she was way too gentle... All of a sudden she pushed her body forwards, considering the few steps between them a sudden dash with such a burst of speed she wouldn't even need a second before she would be able to cross the distance between the elf and herself.

As her dash reached its destination she stepped forwards with her left foot, her leg bent slightly while she angled herself for a strike. She didn't want to aim straight for her temple, in the end, while that could surely knock her out, it would possibly cause lasting damage, while with this attack she might be able to knock the elf out with a single painful blow.

Pulling her right elbow in close to her body her fist clenched, seemingly moving in to punch while her body faced the right side, the twist of her upper body toward her opponent carrying her punch with more force.

With the way her right fist swept from the side toward her jaw, it was possible that if she connected her blow it could possibly cause a blackout.

Of course, life never was that easy, and the fact her attack didn't come at point-blank would give Sorcha the moment she needed to defend herself.

She felt lost, as if her mind was full of fog and her eyes couldn't see. She wanted to roll up like a ball and cry but she was never allowed to cry when her father was around, she wanted to just be home, have her warm cup of tea or anything like that but she couldn't. Giomanch never let her, no matter if he wasn't there. She wanted help but she couldn't. It felt like she was walking around in a maze of fog and painful feelings and seeing corpses of her siblings and her parents.

She had moved her hands up to fist, protecting her face and staring with the clouded amber eyes at Diana. No one would lay harm on her face, what if she would get a mark, a scar, anything badly that would hurt her future in finding the one being, fairy tales didn't exist. Everything was about beauty and Sorcha was to hyped on that. She had moved her hands up, making a cross to protect her face and thus now especially her jaw line because even if her eyes looked clouded, nothing was wrong with her view and thus her mind. She moved her right arm forward as she felt it collade, to push away Diana her arm and swing her left leg to the side of Diana her right leg and hit her at the knee if the Lycan wouldn't stop her. She wasn't good in fist fights, her father build her to be a defender, so what was she doing!

She should have expected it, that life wouldn't be that easy for her. If she could have just knocked out Sorcha with that one hit then things would have been a lot easier, she could have simply carried her back to safety and apologized when she regained consciousness. However, like wasn't a fairy-tale, and Diana knew that all too well. With her right side facing the elf the moment she had her blow intercepted and her arm pushed away she was caught off-balance, the swing of Sorcha's left leg accompanying the backward step of the Lycan's left leg. Of course, this meant her right leg was facing Sorcha, and that kick that collided with her knee made her wince in pain.

Still, her concern for the elf's mental state clearly ended up overriding the pain she felt, and with Sorcha's left leg in motion, the Lycan retaliated. Swiftly she pushed her left leg forwards, intending to try to hook it behind Sorcha's right leg while using the motion of the elf's earlier attack to try to push her back so that she would trip over her leg, and hopefully stagger backward, or in a best case even trip onto the ground.

"So stubborn!" The girl cried out in anger at Sorcha's resistance.

There might be a reason why Sorcha was now definitely not on the winning side, she was a defender, and she knew how to block but not how to strike, which was definitely an issue at this point. Why did her father never train her like that, there was no one else to protect her right now right? See a girl got to do what a-.. yeah well a girl also had to find her balance, she felt her balance moving too far backward as she was falling backwards, the weight of her bum was now the weight pulling her down, even for an elf that might be an issue, but she wouldn't just simply give up. Since she was now prepared to fall and a light being as she was an elf, she would be able to get on her feet rather quickly again.

She fell backwards and held her hand on Diana her elbow to pull her with her but made sure that the wolf girl fell next to her as she turned herself on her right side, holding on with her right hand to the Lycan. She quickly let go and came upright, in case Diana fell she would push her down on the ground either face up or face down. "If I am stubborn than so are you." she muttered more sassy than she would have been without the influence of the forest.

Her plan had succeeded, but not exactly without complications. Although she had made Sorcha trip, the elf had swiftly grabbed a hold of her elbow and pulled her along toward the ground. Fortunately, one of the first things one learned when being taught defensive martial arts is how to fall properly, so that you'd suffer as little injuries as possible and got back onto your feet as quickly as possible.

With a light thud the two of them fell onto the blanket of leaves that covered the ground, and fortunately mid-fall she had twisted her body so she was about to tumble with her back to make some distance and get back onto her feet. At least, that was the initial plan. Finding the elf on top of her and seemingly trying to pin her down the first, and perhaps most natural thing Diana tried to do was push her off her. While one hand was being restricted by the elf, the other was still able to freely move and so she swiftly made a push at the elf, unaware a miscalculation had happened in the procedure.

Boing Boing

A soft sensation spread through her hand as she had tried to push Sorcha off her, oblivious to the fact she had pushed against the elf's bosom, and as a result, the surprisingly soft sensation had left the Lycan in a temporary state of bewilderment, mumbling softly. "Meat buns?" Yet recalling the importance of the situation she quickly shook her head and attempted another push, this time at the shoulder while twisting her body along, hoping to topple the elf sideways onto her back!