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[color=gold]Time:[/color] Morning
[color=gold]Location:[/color] Forests outside Roshmi City
[color=gold]Interactions:[/color] Cora [@Potter], Elsea [@Tae], Umber [@FunnyGuy][/center]

Cade grunted with annoyance, neither human showed any interest in following after Ayita, they ignored him. He knew why, he wasn’t any sort of leader, he wasn’t a great hero, and what he was barely amounted to enough to even claim the mantle of a warrior. For in all his travels fighting against goblins, trolls, and orcs, it had done nothing to prepare him for the recent horrors he had witnessed. He had been useless against both the dracolich and the great demon at the ball, he had left behind the human he had promised to protect, and he had clearly failed to prove his worth to those with him now. Cora ran off in the wrong direction, summoning more fire as if it were a toy to be played with without any caution. Elsea stayed where she was, shouting something that did not reach his ears, because the moment he realized they weren’t coming he ran off. He would not abandon Ayita again, he would not keep repeating the same failures. 

Cade tore after the image of Ayita that ran through the forest, but she was so much faster. He couldn’t keep her in his sight let alone catch up to her. But he was a cat, he didn’t need sight to catch something, instead he relied on his sense of smell. Once he caught the familiar scent of the human, she became easier to follow. He broke into a clearing in the forest just as the sound of scream cut through the air. The smell of blood hit him even before his eyes landed on the gruesome sight. Ayita impaled on a tree, color already draining from her, and [i]his halberd[/i] dripped with her blood. A cold shiver of shock ran through him as he looked from the lifeless body of his friend to the feline creature that had killed her.

[Color=brown]"Still trailing behind, Cadence?"[/color] The cat with blackened and charred fur spoke. [Color=brown]"Not as easy as catching fish and fawn, this one."[/color] It spoke with Shadow’s voice, moved the way his brother moved, and he caught the familial scent of his brother mixed with burnt fur and flesh. It smelled like Shadow had once the funeral pyre had been lit, looked like a twisted version of his brother that had crawled out of a mound of ashes, and had eyes made of nothing but darkness. All of Cade’s senses told him that this was real, that Shadow had killed Ayita, that his brother stood before him mocking him. 

Cade’s heart, however, knew it was a lie. He knew Shadow, and his brother would never take the life of someone both innocent and unarmed. It was a lie that had the gaul to try and wear his brother’s face. Shadow was dead, he lived and died with honor and Cade had watched the flames of the funeral pyre consume him. This was not his brother, but whatever it was it had killed Ayita, someone he swore to help protect, someone he had given his word to. Cade let out a primal and rage fuel roar, his fury focused on the figure in front of him. 

[color=gold]“You are not him, wearing his face will not distract me.”[/color] He hissed out before springing forth at the lie that wore Shadow’s face, his claws ready to shred through his enemy. Cade fell into the role of an aggressor, his swipes and attacks a ferocious outburst of anger, and each one missing as the creature continued to move just as Shadow did, effortlessly swift and always just shy of his reach. It was just like when he spared with his brother, Cade always leagues behind in terms of skill, his brother always a flawless warrior. It seemed undefeatable, he could never hope to defeat his brother in a real battle, and Cade had to remind himself that this was not Shadow. He had to predict his movements, throw his next blow where the creature would be, and once he realized this he found the creature moved in a similar pattern. When he finally did land a blow his claws eager to tear through whatever this enemy truly was he found nothing there. Nothing but a flurry of dust surrounded him where the creature had once been.  

[color=gold]”Magic.”[/color] Cade spat out the word in disgust as the creature that looked like Shadow disappeared into dust and reappeared nearby, it’s mouth twisted into a taunting grin. Cade lunged at the creature, throwing himself through it and skidding, his feet stumbling as he once again hit only dust rather than a tangible opponent. His glance landed on Ayita once again, then back again to the creature that could not be fought. Ayita was dead because he had left her back in Roshmi and he had left the other two humans back at their campsite. This was the distraction, Cade had let himself be drawn into battle with something that could not be fought, this was a failure, he had to learn from it. He tore out of the clearing, running as fast as he could, no longer paying any attention to the creature that wore Shadow’s face. He had to keep the human’s safe, Ayita was already dead and he knew that is what she would want.