An Aura of Bloodshed

Chapter 12: Blood and Water

Kitsune struck first, throwing one of her smoke bombs at the monster's eyes. It let out a horrific shriek, blindly sending its tendrils to attack. Of course though, the two Chastisers were quicker than that. Much quicker. They dodges the attack with ease, Kitsune jumping onto a rock and slicing at the monster with one of her blades.

Jesse was the next to attack. He sliced at one of the tendrils, effectively chopping it off. By this point, the creature's vision had cleared. Since Jesse was the first one in view, and he just cut off one of its appendages, it targeted him first. It smacked Jesse with another tentacle, effectively sending him flying into the wall.

The man groaned in pain, reaching up as he rubbed his shoulder. "Ow.." He muttered.

"Jesse!!" Kitsune yelped, before narrowing her eyes at the monster. "Keep your disgusting tentacles off him!!" She snapped, getting the Seataur's attention.

The monster let out a disturbing noise, which sounded like a weird mix of a horse's neigh and a banshee scream. It swung at her next, at which point Kitsune blocked. As she was keeping it distracted, Jesse regained his bearings.

He couldn't have picked a better time to get up- as by this point the monster had knocked the weapon out of Kitsune's hand. It had her pinned to the floor, a tentacle pressed against her throat. Kitsune struggled a bit, but smirked as she looked up. Jesse had jumped over, effectively stabbing the monster in the head with his scythe.

The monster let out another screech of pain as Jesse moved himself forward, continuing to cut through the monster's skull. Before long, it was officially dead. Kitsune coughed a bit, rubbing her neck. "Nice work, Jesse. You really saved my ass." She croaked.

"It was nothing really." Jesse held a hand to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so." Kitsune nodded, as Jesse pulled her to her feet. She quickly grew concerned as she noticed him wince. "You ok?" She asked.

"Ughh... Yes, I'm fine... Though I think that thing threw me harder than I thought. My shoulder hurts.." Jesse responded.

Kitsune hummed in concern, patting his back. "C'mon, let's head back outside. I'll patch you up." She stated. Jesse complied, following after her as they exited the cave.

"So uhhh... This is... a bit of an awkward question, and I'm really sorry, but could you take off your shirt? I can't exactly fix whatever damage is there if I can't see it." Kitsune asked, seemingly embarrassed. 'I hate that I just said that so much, oh my fuck-' She thought.

"Oh, umm.. Sure, sure- that's fair.." Jesse responded, his voice as awkward as her own. With a bit of fumbling, he undid the buttons to his vest and shirt. He shivered a bit, the wind cold to his usually covered up skin. God, he never noticed how cold it was until now. And the damp blood on his back wasn't at all helping.

Kitsune turned back to him, blinking in surprise as she noticed something. Due to Jesse always wearing fancy suits and the like, she hadn't ever seen it before. It was a purple mark- in a very interesting pattern. It was right on his chest. Though what struck her as odd was the coloration. It didn't look like a tattoo, and she was convinced it wasn't a scar, but it was the wrong color to be a rash or anything. It looked more like... internal bleeding.

She shook it off for the time being. She could ask later. Besides, she didn't want to accidentally make Jesse feel uncomfortable by staring. The situation was already awkward as is.

Walking behind him, she winced at the injury. "Oof- yeah, that looks painful. Not too serious, but it doesn't look very fun." She noted, pouring a bit of rubbing alcohol on a small tissue. "This might sting a little." She warned.

"Oh, believe me, I'll be fine. I've felt worse." Jesse responded... Though his tone seemed off, for some reason. Strange.

"Heh, you and me both, Jess." Kitsune remarked, before delicately cleaning the small wound. She quietly apologized as Jesse gave a faint hiss. Once she was done, she bandaged the area. "There! All done." She chirped.

"Thank you, Kitsune. I appreciate the help." Jesse responded, sliding his shirt back over his shoulders. As he buttoned it back up, Kitsune thought back to the strange marking on his chest.

"Hey... Jesse? Can I ask you something?" She questioned.

Jesse hummed, looking up at her. "I don't see why not. Go for it." He responded.

Kitsune hesitated a bit. "What... What is that mark on your chest?" She paused, before adding.

"How did you get it?"