[color=bc8dbf]'[i]I heard why you wanted to go to Uta, I just disagreed with you,[/i]'[/color] Metou thought as they were beginning on their journey, but she didn't say anything because it would probably start an argument and they needed to move on. It seemed like most people agreed with her, which was good enough for Metou.

When the Shima escort left and the guide began asking a question, crows flew out from the trees and headed forward. It caught Metou's eye for a few seconds, she looked up as others began to talk about the action they'd seen. For a second she was distracted by the possibility that it was suspicious, but she quickly discarded it as a meaningless distraction. It wasn't like she knew much about the behavior of birds.

As she was looking at the birds instead of where she was going, Metou tripped on a rock and stumbled a bit. She caught herself before she fell, but it still hurt her old foot a lot, and she had been having a lot of trouble keeping up with the group as it was. She felt bad about stopping the group, but after Yuudai was done talking, Metou called out, [color=bc8dbf]"Hold on, give me a minute!"[/color]

Metou took the rifle off her back and her ammo pouch and placed them on the ground in front of her, then did the same with a jar that had an eyeball floating around in it. [color=bc8dbf]"I've taken lives before, although it's been a few years,"[/color] she said as she pulled the lid off of the jar, a large cork with a 1 scratched into it. She retrieved an iron scoop from her person, dipped it in the jar, and lifted the eyeball out of the formaldehyde. With her free hand she flipped up her eyepatch, revealing a dark hole. [color=bc8dbf]'[i]It's been a few years since I've done this either.[/i]'[/color] Her hand shook while holding the scoop, her other hand held the jar, but after a few seconds she slammed the eye into her empty eye socket. A gust of magic surrounded her, consuming her and growing slightly taller.

When it dissipated, a younger Metou was standing, and she reached down and picked her rifle and ammo back up. It was the form she had when she first lost her eye, still wearing her spiritual robes, still with the weight she had lost a few years later when she was banished and living on the countryside. [color=bc8dbf]"Sorry about that, it'll be a lot easier for me to keep pace like this, we can keep going now,"[/color] Metou said, now walking at a faster rate, though she'd have to pop it back in every hour or so. She stretched her arms and her wings, and then pinched her side with a bit of a dismayed look on her face. [color=bc8dbf]"Like I was saying, it's been a decade or two since I've killed anyone, but if you need to keep your hands clean, I guess I can help,"[/color] Metou said. [color=bc8dbf]"By the way, this ability of mine is a bit of a sensitive issue, so keep quiet about it."[/color]