Bearsworth

The Last of Us

While Shax could have chased after the man after he transformed into a cat-like creature, one unfamiliar to the Demoness, she saw immediately that doing so would be pointless. Even weighed down by the short creature he had stolen away from the scene the cat-creature's speed was beyond what she could match, at least while armoured up as she was. So, while tempted to chase down her prey, Shax ultimately determined it a waste of time and snorted dismissively, rather disappointed in the beings of the island she had so far encountered. So many cowards and beings that didn't want to fight. This place was pathetic! Where were the challenges? The warriors? The ones who wouldn't back down in minutes like a puny spawnling?! Now the clearing contained only she and the fox-eared spawnling, but she paid the child little mind, ignoring his drawings in the dirt as she reattached her massive sword to her back.

Seeing no further reason to stay in this area Shax made to walk back into the foliage, starting off in the direction she had originally been moving in. As she did so the Demoness stomped past the fox-eared spawnling, unintentionally rubbing away sections of his pattern as she walked over the place he was drawing them, not even glancing down.

Hospital for the Unstable Liabilities

Fair enough. I left the description out in my post for the moment, so I'll deal with that later on.

Hospital for the Unstable Liabilities

A small, red-headed girl awoke to the sound of the wake-up call, tired and red-eyed.

She yawned loudly and slowly sat up in her bed, half-opened eyes looking around as her expression gradually changed into one of confusion. This... What? Where was she? This didn't look like her room. It didn't look like anywhere she'd been before, either. She rubbed her face, specifically her eyes, and opened them wider to get a better look at her surroundings. But it was no good. The bed was unfamiliar, the walls unfamiliar, the petty furniture, door... None of it looked familiar! Where was she? Why wasn't she at home in her own bed?! W-what was-

<Calm, sweet Summoner. I am here.> A spectral voice echoed in the young girl's mind, distinctly inhuman and yet... Friendly. Warm, even. It was a comfort, one she found familiar, and as her mind still reeled at her unpleasant awakening she turned to look down beside her bed where the source of the voice became known. A great, shaggy black dog sat by her side, looking down at her with bright white eyes. It was huge, far larger than any ordinary canine, nearly the size of a grizzly bear! The beast looked as though it could tear her head off with one bite, but the red-haired girl felt no fear as she gazed upon the dark furred canine. As her eyes fell upon it, -him-, she remembered it all. She remembered the days before, being stolen away, traveling for hours... And then her arrival yesterday morning, drove through the gates of Mary St. Jude, the place that was her new home. Her new prison.

Sophia felt a lump rise in her throat, threatening to choke her, trying to force out the sobs. She lunged at the shaggy black bear-dog by her side, throwing her arms around the massive bulk and clinging desperately to his warm fur, burying her face into his neck to dry her tears before they fell. Her body shivered, the poor girl trying desperately to hold back from crying any more than she already did last night, and the bear-dog lowered his head to gently lick her cheek, claiming the single tear that managed to drop down her skin.

<Do not cry, sweet Summoner. We are here for you...>

-

A short time later Sophia rolled her way towards the courtyard, washed up and dressed, the great bear-dog no longer by her side. Instead a small creature lay curled up on her lap, chest rising and falling gently as it slept while the young girl wheeled her chair out through the entrance, blasting her with a cool breeze alongside warm sunlight. She shivered, looking around as she rolled down the ramp and onto the grass, seeing many other patients already gathered all over. Many were alone, though many others were gathered in small groups, talking and even laughing a little. Some, Sophia noticed with a little awe, were displaying their unique abilities to their friends. Not knowing where to go she simply wheeled out onto the grass, finding a patch that wasn't too close to any of the groups and settling into a nice place, feeling the sun drop down onto her skin and warn away the morning chill.

The small creature upon her lap, very similar to a fox, though smaller and somehow more... regal. Its orange fur warmed by the sun, making the small fox-like thing stretch out across her lap, eyes drifting open just a tad to reveal bright yellow. Sophia ran a hand over the fox-creature's fur, to which it grumbled happily. She smiled down at it, then lifted her head to look out past the courtyard gates, wondering how long it would be until the arrival of the new people.

Hospital for the Unstable Liabilities

What do our rooms look like?

The Last of Us

Actually, since Tomas literally ran away in his last post you've just drawn Shax's attention onto Blake. HE is now her target after his usage of considerable power, which Shax takes as him being an amusing challenge, unless of course you somehow manage to come up with an argument that'll get her to stop.

Though if you try, it's better not to mention peace. Shax is pretty damn one-dimensional.

I mean, so far the only reasons people have given Shax to stop fighting is 'we could be the only non-humans left!' or 'Our enemies are the humans!' and things that might work on a normal person, but not to someone who loves fighting to the death no matter who or what her opponent may be, or what the state of the world in general is. You've got to appeal to her from that perspective, understand what she wants and offer her something that's far more tempting than to kill all the opponents around her. Something she can't get on her own.

The Last of Us

Of all possible things her opponent could have done Shax found herself surprised by his choice. Not to stand his ground and counter, not to take another shot with the rifle, but to grab the short creature with the injured leg and throw it at her, turning tail and fleeing the moment the being left his grip. It was an unusual enough action that the Demoness didn't dodge out of the way, the small creature hitting her in the head, though rather than her face the odd creature's armour collided with her tough horns. Neither the armour nor her horns were damaged by the impact, but the weight of an entire creature hitting her in the head knocked Shax briefly off balance, ending her charge as she was forced to take a couple of steps to the side, slamming the end of her sword into the earth by her feet to steady herself.

This didn't last for long. Shax's eyes returned to where her opponent had been, narrowing in disgust as the stench of his cowardice washed over her. A deep growl emanated from her throat, though this was not one of the same amusement from earlier, this was a growl of something far more sinister. The fallen short creature sounded understandably displeased, but now the Demoness' focus was not on him, but the coward who fled after throwing a sacrifice in his stead. Many had run from her when she came to do battle, many preferred to flee and be seen as cowards than to risk destruction at the hands of a greater warrior, and where the Demoness understood the terror that must have provoked such actions the sacrifice of another, a weaker, to cement an escape was disgusting. This was coming from a creature who killed indiscriminately for fun!

But before she could give chase, to hunt down the wretched not-human who attempted to flee, the sound of rushing energy and cracking earth caught her attention. Reacting instinctively Shax leaped backwards several feet, head turning to lay eyes upon the encroaching power, and watched as blue light split the ground into segments that seemed to be aimed to separate the gathered beings in the clearing. The source lead to a man, human-looking for the most part, with a short sword plunged into the ground. Yet another advocate for peace, crying out in the hopes his empty words would take away the thrill of battle Shax loved so dearly. The Demoness only watched him, the edge of her immense blade gouging a line in the earth as she pulled it in closer to her side, the previously displeased expression on her face gradually twisting into a freshly amused one. She raised a hand, pointing at the newcomer as her face twisted into her wide, wicked grin.

"You imply I care for the lives of not-humans beyond that of humans," She spoke in her amused, unsettling tone of voice, the slight grind of metal on stone audible for a moment as she twisted her blade where it was stabbed into the earth. Her shark-like teeth parted and her unusually long tongue slipped out, rubbing over a thin line of blood that had landed on her lower lip sometime during the earlier fighting, presumably from Tomas' broken nose. "I care equally for either kind, little man. Be they human or not, they will face me in battle, and to the winner goes life!"

The Last of Us

I've been waiting on Tomas since, well, Shax is in the process of charging at him.

Hospital for the Unstable Liabilities

I've just been chillin', waiting on things to kick off.

The Last of Us

The trouble is that Shax might not have a reason to actually come back to the island once she's been given a way back to the mainland. Stay among the non-humans who are hiding and trying to stay quiet, or go to the mainland where there are swathes of enemies for her to fight for as long as she wants.

If it got to the point where Shax was needed to go to the mainland to get supplies, there would have to be some kind of reason for her to return to the island. Not to mention we have to get to that point first.

The Last of Us

Oh, she's fully aware of the fact humans have turned into non-human mass murderers, it just doesn't really change her outlook. It isn't like she has any family or friends, after all.