The Way of the Monk

Quin set up the picture of Zora, the two seals, and the book on a box as a makeshift shrine down in the cargo hold. She didn't know how to feel now with the feeling of dread that washed over her earlier that day, so unlike the people around her, she's decided to turn to her gods for guidance.

"Kofusachi and Daikitsu I'm praying to you looking for help and guidance with what I have been cursed with. This thirst is weighing on me to just drink and drink tempting me to take innocent lives. I don't want to walk the path of a monster that me and my kind are seen as. Please I beg of you for anything, I need something to help me."

She spoke softly in her prayer to make sure no one praying on her can hear her prayer but her and the deities she looks to for help in her fractured state of mind.*

Quin let our her prayers to both the Lady of Foxs, and the Laughing God. While certainly uncommon, Quinn certainly understood her reasons for doing so. She prayed, and prayed. For several minutes. Or perhaps several hours. It was hard to tell. Her hands and knees felt...almost nailed to the ground at times. She prayed towards the two seals, but more directly, at her master Zora. As she did so, however, she heard rustling. Like that of paper, in the wind. Or perhaps that of a gerbil.

She opened your eyes to see a red-tailed fox staring back at you, looking at you curiously, like perhaps that of a baby, or an inquisitive anamal. It's mouth was placed firmly upon the picture of Zora in front of you...and appeared to be mid-NOM of said picture. At the same time, however, Quill could see the glint of gold within this foxe's eye...or perhaps just a reflection of her own coin purse. At the same time....a madding buzz seamed to fill the air around you, as a single, bloated looking mosquito floated into view behind the fox..who appeared entirely oblivious to the creature.

Quinn stared into the golden eyes of the fox that was mid bite to the picture of her Shogun and someone she considered to be family not by blood. Yet the inquisitive look in those golden eyes only seemed to reflect the same that she felt her own have many times when she was young. But the sight alone of the bloated blood fill mosquito floated into view behind the fox.. Her hands and arms felt as if she was made of iron... my legs nailed to the ground under me... Quinn did the only thing that came to mind...* "Watch out behind you!" She yelled out at the unknown kin that was before me of the horrendous insect closing in on them*

Her quick shout summoned the sound of battle horns and drums as the fox seamed to bravely dodge the unseen threat...sadly rippng the picture of Zora it kept in it's mouth in half. The fox turned to face the mosquito,holding Zora's paper face like a shield in its mouth, but...despite being several times larger, seemed to show hesitation. Or perhaps, a lack of skill. As by the time the much larger fox turned to face the bug, the mosquito had already flown around and flanked it, and threatened to bite the fox. As if that wasn't enough, a second mosquito appeared to fly out from behind you. With the battle being two on one, the fox retreated a few feet to the side of the wooden chamber, and stuck its paw into a lose bit of the hull of the ship, and appeared to produce a small leak. A trickle of water began to flow into this room, it's flood producing a makeshift riverline that the fox hid behind like a moat...the two mosquito's seemingly unwilling to fly over...for now. As the music crescendoed, the fox looked towards her, for advice._

Quinn was taken aback at first by my voice summoning the sound of battle horns and drums that sounded all too familiar from the days of her training. She almost paid no attention as the fox sadly tore the precious picture of Zora, but instead more intent on seeing that this fox survive the fight. She watched at the sight of what happened and saw the look for help as the make shift river halted the terrifying and relentless insects. She didn't know what to do, but she felt my heart pounding as if the fox was my everything in this very moment. So she did what came to her mind first. She turned into her fox form for the first time in years and bared my teeth as if trying to say “let us fight as we were born to do!”

She shifted into your fox form. Almost instantly,the shackles around her arms disappeared , as Quin jumped directly into the war zone. The fox in front of her snarled at the insects, who, for lack of a better term...multiplied further. Two more mosquito's appeared, now four in total. Three in front of you, and the fourth, suddenly behind her!

Amosquito appeared behind her , and stabbed itself into Quin’s neck, hitting her fox body almost exactly where you had been bitten by the vampire a few hours earlier. She felt....woozy. As if a section of herself had been eaten away by the mosquito. Seeing this,however, her fox-in-arms dove toward Quin, and, still holding Zora's face in it's mouth, almost appeared to grapple the mosquito with the paper, though at the cost of taking its eyes off the riverline.

Upon having been bitten in the same spot as earlier and feeling the same effect, Quinn’s eyes went wide. She shifted into her mystic focus state; her red fur appearing to be almost like red autumn leaves with her skin hard as bark underneath.

She took a quick five foot step back from them and launched a magic missile. Each of the four mosquito getting one*

(PEW!)

Her magical assault appeared to definitely do some damage, as purple artality rained down upon the mosquitos. Yet, your foe's appeared undeterred. Flying across the riverline, the three mosquitoes in front of you charged directly at your position.

Two hit there mark, each of them pouncing upon Quin as they dug there evil, dirty noses into her fur. The pain.....it was palaple. Impossible to describe. A dizzying blow to body and brain. She felt unnerved...off balance from the lack of blood. As if death was waiting....for even the slightest lapse in concentration. At the last second, however, her Fursona-in-arms jumped towards the last bug, and, like a secret service agent to a head of state, tackled it to the ground with Zora's face, as it pierced the paper, with evil intent.

*With the two bites sinking past even her oaken flesh, Quin now was losing her focus; with vision blurring and the knock of death at my door as if tempting me to let him in. “No!” She thought. “ I can't have it end like this, I refuse!”

With that, she stepped back from them again with magic swirling in her hands as she throw out a scorching ray at the both of them; her eyes alight with a will to live and not succumb to them.

With an unrestrained magical fury, Quin let lose two blasts of magical energy at the two mosquitoes pinning her down....both of them became absorbed by the fire, and dissolved into dust. At the same time, the mosquito flanking the two of them charged directly at Quin , and appeared to impale it's beak on some of the nearby hardwood!

But she was not out of the woods yet. The mosquito her comrade faught escaped its trap, and stabbed towards the other fox, piercing its neck. However, while it was wounded, it appeared to show resolve. It was learning. Picking up tips. And yet, it stood its ground. This was to be the final showdown.

With a loud growl, Quin moved over to the one that went after the fox familiar as she drew her katana, pumping it full of magic as she enhanced her weapon further before striking at the insect that dared to attack the fox familiar.*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g-wBrU9keE

She stabbed towards the mosquito. Easily enough to kill the evil insect, to cut it in twain. For all the damage it had done to you, and your new comrade. Your blade, even reduced down to your new form, easily sliced the insect in two, as you cut at the mosquito with vengeance ...spattering guts, and mosquito everywhere as you fox comrade looked on without acting. Now, just one foe remained. The final mosquito, it's beak hopelessly stuck into the wood of the wall. It was helpless. An easy target. And yet, rather then press the attack....your fox-under-arms appeared to watch you, while at the same time, lick its wounds.

Quin looked upon the mosquito stuck in the wood with her blade in hand and a tight grip on it, but seeing it struggling and wavering like this almost made it seem... Scare? Did it fear death like she did? Quin pondered, as she walked over to the insect while putting her sword away in its sheath. Gently, she reached out to the stuck insect and decide to do something even she didn't expect.

Quin walked over to the mosquito as it wiggled in the wall. It was clearly scared. It wiggled harder even as she approached it, and even harder as she touched it. With a sharp POP, Quin freed the insect from it's self imposed captivity. She met eyes with the creature. It's large...bulbous eyes. It's long, narrow stabbing mouth. Strange, smaller things swimming around in it's clear gullet. It looked absolutely disgusting And yet....it did not flee. The second fox slowly made it's way over to Quin, still licking it's injuries from the battle prior.

"From up above," it spoke, with the voice of Zora, "Humans view these creatures as nothing but automatons. Pests to be killed. But down here....you can see them as they really are. The Fox pointed towards the clear interior of the mosquito, with the various liquids, and the other, smaller things bouncing around inside it's gullet. "Just as bee's are drawn to the honey of flowers, so too are the Ka to blood and water. Without them, many plants would wither and die. Without there bodys, young fish would have nothing to eat. And without this (The fox points to the long, narrow mouth) "The lifeblood inside all would not be recycled. Like all living creatures, Ka are useful creatures. Even when they are twisted to evil ends".

Quin nodded as she looked at the Ka (as the fox called it) while observing the very disgusting yet fascinating insect in her hands. Quin held it in her hands and just let it sit there as she watched it as if waiting to see if it'll do anything or just fly off

“So even if twisted like this little one has been, it's still just as any other living being on this planet. It has a place here just like I do, whether it be recycling the lifeblood, being food for others, or helping grow others.” Quin said softly repeating what the fox told her before she looked down at the golden eyed red fox. "Yet what has brought them, and you here. Even if twisted with evil it still confuses me as to what brought them to me and you little one."

"She has taken the name "The Duchess", came the response from the other fox. For death did not kill her...it, elevated her. Displaced her. Given her time to plan. Control over the Ka. And chemicals. And blood. She revealed her other self to you unwillingly but now, she acts swiftly as you unravel her veil. When she was struck down.....she came back stronger than you could possibly imagine."



“It is her minions who have infected you, and, soon, the entire Shackles. In revenge for a life no longer lived. For a card game, never played. And an anger, without a beginning nor end.”

"And yet...you can still save her before she corrupts herself to darkness.”

"So this Duchess person is the one corrupting the Ka, the one who is behind this Crimson Curse?” Quin responded. “ But what you're saying is that even with her plan to corrupt all of the shackles, she can still be saved from the darkness? If.. If that is a possibility then I'll need to keep it in mind, but I don't think the others will believe me.. Especially with there distrust of the gods.. But. If she can be saved from it then I'll do what I can to save her, and help her like you two have done me of the decades."

“The Duchess herself is too far gone no.. She had lived a life of hate. Or distrust. Of vengeance. But you still save her. Before she even walks down that path. There is another. As Citor to Laviticus. Or Jojo to Jaquies. To Mae-West, Marie Antoinette.”

"Wait so what you're saying is that Mae-West isn't the one that's causing this, but she could be if not saved. While Marie Antoinette is The Duchess we need to kill to end all of this. So finding Mae-West is still important to save her, the true one behind all of this is Marie Antoinette... Thank you, and I'll do what I can to convince the others of this, if anything to spare someone such a dark and twisted path like Marie went down."

The fox nodded with a short laugh. “The other way around, but yes.”

"So we find Mae-West and kill her, but try and save Mary-Ann from being pulled down this rode. Thank you, I'll do what I can."

Quin bowed deeply to the fox while closing her eyes* "I wished I could do more as thanks for all these years of help you have provided me."

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Quin woak up from her prayer to find her alter still mostly intact. The picture of Zora is ripped in half, as if an animal had bitten into it, but none seemed to be missing. Three dead mosquitoes lay at her feet. While one buzzes happily away.

She looked around and down at the three mosquitos in front of her on the floor. Then she looked at the picture as she let the Ka fly away happily to be alive unlike it's kin. She bowed her head one last time and gave a clap of her hands before taking the shrine down, and shifting back to her human form. But now she let her ears and tails show, as if finding a new comfort with who she was and that even of others called her a monster, it only mattered what she really was. She was Quin Zhou, royal guard of Zora and eldest of the Zhou family.*