{Kohana} A shadow comes over the masses

[Avatar of Kohana]

Laughing rain sighed softly to herself, reading over the last of many reports delivered from her Sha'Nai spies. The news was grim, it seems that the leader of the To'yaree had much more of a following than she had originally thought. The snow leopardess made a mental note to up her work to get that following over into her own camp, a note that had many others grouped with it.

The firelight and torches illuminated the room, giving it a warm glow with just enough dancing shadows to keep the air of mystery in the room, and Rain smiled as she looked around and slowly got up. She had been working for most of the last three days, not wanting to be disturbed other than to have reports from the spies brought to her. She had much to think about, and being constantly interrupted only prolonged the solution.

Moving to the doors leading out onto the balcony that overlooked the small villiage down the hill from her villa, Laughing Rain stood and just watched the last of the villiagers hustling home, and she had to cant her head, pondering. It had been nearly a week, which meant that the preparations would be nearly complete for the glorious celebration of the union of the clans under a single banner, and yet, something nagged at the back of her mind. She had the signature of the large male who stood as the head of the most mighty of the clans, but somehow there was something about his attitude that Laughing Rain felt just didn't mesh. She knew that if she really had to, she could send out a hit squad to kill him, but at the same time, if that happened, the To'Yaree would be thrown into disarray, as there would have been no ceremony to appoint the next leader, which would cause nothing but anarchy at a time when there couldn't be any division of the tribes if Rain's plan was to come to fruition.

As Rain stood pondering this, she detected the sound of someone coming to the doorway behind her, and her ears slowly swivelled back to take in more of the sound. She spoke in a voice that showed her command of her minions, but it was a ruse to cover the weariness that truely filled her.

"You've already delivered the reports from the forests and mountains. Unless there is something about those reports that has changed drastically, I told all of you that I wished to not be bothered..."

The voice that replied, however, caused the fur at Rain's neck to bristle, and her lip to roll upwards in a snarl.

"Oh come now, Laughing Rain, surely that is no way to speak to someone like me? I mean, without me, you never would have risen to such power. If it weren't for me, actually, there wouldn't even BE a you." The figure was leaning against the frame of the door when Rain turned to face it, and slowly a crystal goblet filled with an opaque liquid was raised to it's lips for a sip.

"You are dead. End of discussion." Rain retorted and quickly brushed her way past her 'guest', intentionnaly running into the arm that held the goblet, hoping to knock the container to the floor.

Slowly, the form turned to follow the leopardess' movements, and the light of the torches caught it's clothes, revealing a monk's robe, covered with a long black cloak, a hood obscuring the features.

"Oh Rain, tell me that you are not that naive, thinking that just because I haven't been seen for a while, that means that I died. Do you really think that someone like me could just disappear while someone like you still existed here? All the work I did making our people into something, that was all just a wasted effort? Oh no, Princess, you can't get rid of me that easily...Or should I call you, Your Highness, yet?"

Rain snorted and started shuffling through the paperwork on the desk, trying to find one of the reports, but unable to do so. It was obvious that the other's presence was riling her up.

"Damn it, where is it? I was just reading it. There is no way that you could have gotten past my spies, they are the best trained and geared mercenaries that money could buy...They have kept watch over the forests and mountains for you, and not once have they found any signs of your still living. There has been no signs that you were returning here. And by the way, how in the nine rings of DEATH, did you get past my guards?" She turned and stared at the hooded figure, aquamarine eyes seeming to glow with unrighteous flame.

The figure just smiled from the shadow of his cowl and walked over towards the desk, pulling from a bag at his hip to drop a thick sheif of papers onto the desk, followed by a single sheet that bore the report she was looking for.

"There are all the reports that your spies have made about me to this point, it was a simple task to get them away from the little buggers, when you have what it was that they wanted...." The firelight caught the shadows of the hood and ripped them away for a moment and it could be seen that the face beneath was heavily scarred, and the black hair was long and pulled back. "They all sought power, and I showed them what true power was. Or had you forgotten that I control Life AND Death, Rain? You're power extends to just Death."

Rain could take no more and lashed out to her right, a burst of green flame poured from her outstretched hand and struck the wall behind where the figure had just been standing.

"Very impressive. Quite a parlor trick you have there, Rain..." The soft, smooth voice spoke into her left ear now.

Again, the leopardess lashed out to try and hit her target, instead, just as the flames left her paw, the door opened, and in walked a tall Kee'Awloo in the black robes with violet trim that marked him as one of Laughing Rain's lieutenants. The canid never stood a chance, and in an instant, his flesh seemed to just melt off his torso, leaving a smoldering hole straight through his chest. The look of horror remained frozen upon his muzzle as he fell to the floor with a sickening thud.

"See what your temper has done? You've just killed one of your most trusted minions, and for what? A little revenge on me? You always were too easy to rile, Rain." The figure said, now back in his original spot.

Laughing Rain reeled around to face her guest, eyes narrowing. "Why don't you cut out the games, and take off that robe. I know who you are, and there are to be no interruptions. You should have died at that temple, it would have made things so much easier for everyone."

Slowly, the gloved hands raised and pulled back the hood of the robes, but did not reveal the features of a grizzled, old wolf, but the features of a normal man.

"There you go again, making wild assumptions. Do you really think that I would be so stupid as to just let them come down here and kill me that easily? I have never been truely appreciated for my true genius. It started back in the academy, no one believed that with knowledge in xenobiology and neuroscience, one could essentially live forever. Then at the arena, after that buffoon Gilo and his space pirates found me and my research I was forced into the life of slavery. A life where my ideas were never fully allowed to come to fruition. But then, THEN, I found that winged freak and the buxom one. That changed it all..." The male turned on his heel and started walking back towards the balcony, continuing to speak as he did.

"Then I got the final peice to the puzzle. I had the research notes, and I had the history, but I didn't have the actual life experience of what it was that I created. And as that wench slept, thanks to the powerful work of that Mishuu, I was able to get everything I needed to create the greatest specimen of my career, and do you know what that was?" Shadow asked, looking over his shoulder and leaning agianst the stonework that formed the balcony's railing. "You, Rain. My greatest work of art, was you."

Laughing softly to herself, Rain walked out onto the balcony, keeping her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned with her back to the railing, watching Shadow, and using her body to hide the dagger she had hidden against the back of her shoulderblade. "You can't expect me to believe that, Shadow. I know that you think I am gullible and easily lead astray, but I have proven that wrong. I have the support of every one of the leaders of the Clans. They all swear alleggiance to me, and my rule over them all."

Leaving his chalice on the railing, the male turned and glared at his feliine companion. "And just who do you think persuaded them? Who trained the Sha'Nai on where to put the charges so that your adversary, Wind, would be nothing but a light show in the skies of Nepleslia? Who do you think it was that has kept Gnarlpaw away for so long?"

Rain quickly pulled the dagger fully from it's hiding place and struck out against Shadow. The male dodged the first swing of the glinting blade, and then caught the femme's wrist as she swung back for a backhand strike. "Do not EVER mention that name in my presence. He is a disgrace. When he people needed him most, he ran away. I stayed here and endured, watching the people as they trod down the path of being nothing but slaves to the Star Destroyers. I stayed right down there," Rain pointed towards the villiage, "And knew that I could do nothing but sit and wait for them to come back and claim us as their 'pets', just as the other furless ones did before."

Rain's eyes still burned bright with fury at Shadow, at the Star Army, at everyone not of pure Kohanian blood. But very slowly, Shadow would release her wrist and brush past to take up his cup.

"I know, Rain. I know how it must have hurt you to know that your people could be so much more, and yet be totally unable to do anything about it. But I'll also tell you this, if you think that by killing me, you will be able to just make all of that go away, you're very, very wrong. If you kill me, you lose the last vestages of your people's past. I know where you're people came from, Rain, and I know what they were capable of. Your ancestors were not simple farmers, or tinkerers, or monks. They were warriors, they had more power than just the old magics. I alone know the locations of these items, and if you ever want that information, you are going to have to do something for me." Shadow smiled wickedly as he sipped from his cup, the fluid within crimson and thick.

"And if I were to decline? What is to stop me from just killing you now and ridding the future of any other dealings with slime like you?" Rain retorted.

Shadow shrugged his shoulders and turned his back once again to the cat. He showed no fear of her, for he knew that there was nothing to fear from his creation.

"Go right ahead, Laughing Rain. Kill me, just as you killed so many others just to satiate your own greedy desires. Give yourself totally over to the powers of Death and Suffering, but I can guarantee that you will never find the answers that you seek if I am dead. If you kill me now, you will never keep the throne. You know that, though. You know that He will come back. You know that you, and your armies, will be no match for him when he does. And you know, deep down in parts of you that you never show people," Shadow turned to face rain, and his own eyes seemed to glow, but with an eerie red tint. "That you need me, and are no more than a puppet, created to dance on a stage, and play your little part. The Star Army came down here expecting to fight a madman, but instead, they found a god."

Rain looked about to strike a third time, but just as she raised her dagger for the final thrust, she stopped. Taking a deep breath, she stared into his eyes, and lowered her arm, ears folding back, and tail tucking around her right leg.

"I know all of this to be true...What it is that you wish of me?" The leopardess muttered, eyes never leaving those of Shadow.

"I don't want much of you, My Pet. I just have a single request." He smiled maliciously and turned to look back to the villiage, "Just continue playing your part."