In the high places of the world far from the sight of men where the demons of storm cast lighting about themselves and the tengu flew on wings of high the air was pure and the ground untouched by the ravages of civilisation. Once the land had been all like this. A haunt for animals, hunters , spirits and fiends. Akane’s claws dug deep into the rock carving furrows into its crumbling surface. Up here the clouds were thin and the ravens checked behind their back constantly as if expecting something vast and terrible to descend upon them at a moment’s notice.

That notion was not as foolish as one may first think it. After all the very reason that Akane had come to these mountains was to find a winged predator that was capable of easily dismantling even an albatross with little effort on its behalf. Wyverns as they were known were the kin of dragons a lesser cousin smaller in size and lacking the wisdom that set their cousins on a pedestal above all other creatures. Though they were slightly removed from their forbears it did not restrict the fact that they were indeed dangerous and possessed of a viciousness not found in other avian species.
The air was beginning to thin out slightly and snow and ice were making their unwelcome appearance on the scene. Akane knew that while most reptiles would be sluggish and lethargic in such temperatures it was the chemicals that dwelt within the wyverns chest that crafted artificial heat potent enough to create napalm like flame and also warming the beasts despite the frigid weather. With an extreme heave Akane made it over the ledge pulling herself up onto a more or less even ground where she could walk instead of scaling the ledge like a cat with its claws out.
Reaching inwards and feeling the senjutsu power that coalesced in her body she shifted her form into one that was slightly more designed for combat. It was not a major piece of senjutsu but rather just a few alterations so that she would not be caught with her pants down entirely so to speak. She could hear something coming from up ahead and if she was lucky it was the signifier of her goal. Her pace quickened moving through the snow with a new surge of purpose invigorating her step. The world around her was still a frigid arctic death-trap but with her prize so close she could do naught but show excitement under the circumstances.
A sharp hiss was the last indication she needed to the whereabouts of the wyvern nest. One of the creatures was already eyeing her with twin black pinpricks of malice as it crouched above it’s clutch of eggs. Akane knew that ironically while wyverns fiercely guarded their young from outsiders both the mother and father were not averse to consuming one of their young if the mood took them. But that was no real impasse to her plans and indeed the sooner the mother attacked her- the better.
Spreading it’s wings wide the mother wyvern came up in a threatening stance hissing and spitting small flecks of acid that steamed and coiled when the struck the snow beneath. Akane was not particularly taken aback by such behaviour and indeed threw her own head skyward and let out a cry of challenge across the peaks that would carry for hundreds of miles.
Accepting the challenge the mother wyvern took flight sending her mass into the air and wheeling on the wind to swoop down with her talons.
Akane’s body coiled up conserving enrgy until the time came to let loose. And come that time did faster than the eyes of all but the most well-trained of huntsmen and archers could follow Akane leapt towards the side as the wycerns claws rent deep furrows into the fresh snow. Akane spun , whirling to clasp the tail in her arms and held on as the lesser dragon-kin took the updraft pointed towards the heavens. The forces that bore down on her were harsh but this was nothing compared to some of the beatings she had endured in the course of her relatively short life. The wyverns tail began to thrash and writhe sending her from side to side but even as this happened her nail’s lengthened into larger claws and tore into the side of the wyverns flank finding the soft unprotected flesh on the underside of scales.

For her troubles Aknane took a clawed let to the shoulder the talons cutting through the flesh and nicking bone as the infuriated reptile attempted to get its dangerous digits closer to her mouth and eyes. Letting her body fall somewhat slack and giving herself some distance Akane threw herself over the hindquarters and latched onto the wing section. However this was not a particularly wise venture as the wings proved to hard to latch onto and thus Akane fell into a snow bank landing with a soft thud. She had barely gotten to her knees as the wyvern building up the chemical fire that seethed within it’s lungs let forth a great torrent to melt the snow (and if it got it’s way Akane as well) into clear water that trickled down the mountain side. Akane scrabbled one her hands and knees moving at a quick but jolted pace. If the wyvern had been actually preforming a strafing manoeuvre she would no doubt be set aflame like the snow and the beast would be happily guzziling down her charred flesh into its gullet. Her hand wrapped around something solid and with no shortage of haste she had scored the wyvern in the head with a rock the size of a coconut.


The wyvern was large and sturdy enough to shake the blow off somewhat and thus it wasn’t given concussion but the striking object certainly caused it to lose an amount of altitude. Capitalising on this with a move that was equal parts bravado and insanity Akane threw herself into a horizontal double foot dropkick aimed straight for the beasts already shaken head. The collision was one of the most satisfying things that Akane had even experienced in her life and as one of the wyvern’s pearly white fangs cleaned daily by the acidic wash that passed through its jaws flew out into the open air still trailing bloody flecks of spit.
Damn that felt good.
The wyvern now crashed into the snow causing the ground to give an almighty rumble. Akane was back onto her feet then leaping towards the vicious creature as fast as her muscles would let her. Blows began to rain down upon the reptile with as much force as the barbarian girl could muster. Wings started to flail at her buffering her sides and making things all that much more confusing. She narrowly avoided a bite in the chaos but was whipped in the back with the point of a tail – the lash causing blood to spurt through the general area. Pulling her head back Akane drover her horns into the wyverns nose hearing the crunch of cartilage even as she did so. The struggle went on and on both sides bleeding from various lacerations and nicks across their body till finally Akane had the wyvern in a headlock with her arms wrapped the full width of it’s neck. It felt like she was attempting to wrestle a tree in the midst of an earthquake but eventually - ever so slowly the wyverns strength began to sap out. It was time to make the pact between her and the dragon have it so that she would become like it – adopt it’s guise as her talisman , a totem for her and her only which she could draw power from. Looking to the inside of her wrist Akane focused her nature chakra to warp one of her claws into an even finer point. Pulling the sharp instrument down her wrist she got a good healthy blood flow going before grabbing the wing of the wyvern mother and doing the same thing. Blood sharing was an ancient rite used to establish bonds in many communities and this would mix the blood of the dragon with that of her own – something that would be handy in the upcoming days of violence and turmoil. Waiting till both the flows were sufficient Akane pressed her wrist to the open wound letting the blood mingle between the pair. It stung as it entered her veins fiery and slightly toxic mingling with her already potent life fluids. The wyvern stopped struggling and seemed to accept it’s fate looking slightly surprised when Akane did not simply lean over and bite it’s head off. Though it had little desire to attack her anymore it was not simply fawning over her and showering her with love and praise. That was fine with her. It was perhaps not the sage teacher she needed but it was a start on the path and for the moment it was enough.

1512/1500

Mission Complete