Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oh I love the humans in the legion. I will now tell you the story of one of my favorite humans named Buddy.

One time I was flying around like I always do looking at stuff and I fly over the city of Philadelphia. I figure that’s worth a look so I do a reconnaissance of the city scape to gain a perspective of friendly and hostile forces. Well that’s what I write in my time log really I just like flying and looking at stuff.

So I’m flying overhead and I see this troll trying to eat a wino in an alley. Now this isn’t a big furry troll from the north. But one of those stick thin goblins on steroids that the Italians and Spaniards call a troll because the big furry trolls sweat so much in the heat of Spain and Italy that Everyone can smell them from a long way away and it’s too hot out for them to chase down their prey. So they’ve got these other trolls there.

So this troll was a much smaller scaly lizard-like troll from Southwestern Europe. It was wearing an eagle’s hoodie to cover up it’s green scaly skin and a pair of those big baggy parachute pants that were really popular back in the 80's because of M.C. Hammer oh and Air Jordans that it’d gotten off of some guy that had tried to mug it.

Well anyways the wino wasn’t really a wino at all it was one of our vampire spies, or maybe one of the vampires they made, but anyways it’s a vampire. The troll doesn’t know this because trolls aren’t known to be the smartest celestials. Anyways, this troll and this vampire are in this fight and they’re working up a racket. Me, I was sitting on a rooftop because this was pretty neat.

So Buddy the cop comes down the alley 'cause he hears the noise and he’s now a beat cop. He used to be a detective, but he got busted down to a beat cop for getting caught taking bribes from the local street walkers. The way he says it, is that the girls need to make a living and it’s better they have a cop watching their back for a small take than have a pimp slapping them around for a large percentage. So yeah the uniform didn’t quite fit him right cause he was still detective fat but he was definitely a cop.

Right as Buddy gets in sight of the vampire and the troll, the troll picks up a garbage bin. You know the big ones with the flaps on the tops that the trucks have to pick up? Yeah, so the troll has that over his head and he’s about to smash the vampire with it.

The look on Buddy’s face was priceless it went from, holy cow! to I should run to that isn’t right. It stuck at that isn’t right and he said pretty calmly to the troll. “Sir, if you don’t put that waste receptacle down I’m going to have to charge you with assault with intent to kill and destruction of municipal property.”

The troll was very confused, which I think is one of two states trolls have, the other being angry. It looked at buddy and turned to throw the dumpster at him. Buddy didn’t change position but just said. “Assault on a cop doesn’t look very good on your record either. How about you just put the big garbage down?”

The troll was kind of dumbfounded and it put the rubbish down. I believe it even looked a bit apologetic. So Buddy says to the troll “You’re gonna need to find somewhere to sleep it off. Can I recommend St. Anthony’s mission?” By the green pallor and superhuman strength Buddy assumed the troll must have been a street junky on some really wicked drugs.

Well the troll started to shamble out of the alley to do what Buddy suggested I guess. Perhaps a troll just needs a voice of reason in their head. I know the trolls in the legion don’t do dumb stuff cause they’ve got Starlit bossing them around on the field and the enforcers bossing them around in the barracks.

Of course just then the vampire... I’m pretty sure it wasn’t one of ours after all ‘cause he was a jerk. Well yeah that vampire he goes and laughs at the troll. The troll loses it’s composure and throws a fist at the first person it sees which sadly is Buddy. Buddy he just grabs that troll’s arm calm as you please pulls it back while putting his knee in the troll’s back and has that troll down on it’s stomach faster than you can say Rumpelstiltskin. And chi-c***k he’s got the cuffs on that nasty troll. Southwestern European trolls have an iron allergy, so it’s in too much pain to use it’s strength to open the cuffs.

Now this jerk vampire figures he’s got the upper hand now since the troll is neutralized he can kill the troll and get a nice dinner of pig tartar. He starts to sneak up behind Buddy who I’ve gotten to like 'cause he’s neat. I’m just about to call out to Buddy to look out when Buddy sees the vampire’s shadow and whips out his nightstick quick as a mongoose and hits the wino vampire right across the legs really hard.

The vampire he topples over next to buddy and grabs Buddy’s arm, the one without the nightstick, pulling so hard he dislocated Buddy’s shoulder which is good cause the shock from the shoulder helped his mind deal with the big nasty fangs as they tore into his hand.

Buddy is disgusted and pissed and running on instict throws a fullpower backhand with the nightstick. Buddy whacked that vampire in the head so hard the end of his nightstick shattered and the vampire rolled back in a sloppy cartwheel for about 5 feet.

Now Buddy realized what was going on with the wino cause he’d seen a movie or two and he says. “I’m sorry. I’m going to have to bring you in for drawing blood without a licence and assault on a police officer. Please come peacefully or I’ll have to use deadly force, or should that be re-deadly force?” which made sense to him. Maybe it was the arm pain or the mental stress or something.

The vampire is all sure of itself and figures it can take out a fat cop with a bum arm because it was that cocky sort of vampire that should have been an extra on Angel with a name like henchman number six in the credits. So henchman number six jumps at Buddy and Buddy just brings that broken nightstick straight up through it’s ribs into it’s heart and the thing falls over and lies there looking like something really really dead more like a dog or a mummified kangaroo than a person. I think there's some transformation of basic muscle connections and bone structures that aren't noticeable on live vampires but makes the dead ones look so very not human. I hear Buddy chuckle something about “Buddy the vampire slayer.”

So Buddy goes and checks on the troll who’s gotten all white and pasty from having that iron on it’s wrists for that big long time though it was only really like a minute or two. Buddy looks really scared 'cause he doesn’t know what the heck is going on. Maybe it’s a junky going into shock but junkies haven’t got teeth like trolls or eyes with vertical slits. But he’s feeling compassion for this troll anyways even though he doesn’t know what it is. So he takes the cuffs off the troll and he starts to green up right away 'cause trolls are super fast healers. Must be all the energy they don’t spend on thinking going somewhere.

Now it doesn’t matter what kind of troll you’re dealing with the rule is simple if you can best them in unarmed combat they can’t fight you again for 100 years. So the troll rubs it’s wrists and sits there asking for Buddy to tell it what to do. Buddy tells it to take up being a vegetarian and get some better pants. The troll used some of it’s troll healing magic on Buddy’s shoulder before it left.

Buddy realized no one would think much of the mummified dead thing in the alley or believe him if he told them what happened decides not to file a report. Instead he went to the uniform store and bought another nightstick, then went to the bar and bought a lot of beer. I met up with him there and recruited him into the legion.

Sorry if my story is long, or if it is a bit hard for you to read... I have it done in the font size I usually use, and no one has complained yet, so... Here it is. A work of about five hours. ^^; I hope you like it.


My story is pretty much like other humans – I was born into an average family, and into a normal town, depending on where one is from though. The people around me were normal people; I was not exposed to magic until much later on in my life. However, all this normality and ordinariness does not make a story, now does it?

But my story exists because of me – I discovered early on, that I was not like those around me. My name is Lupin Drake: I am a diplomat, and loyal follower of Ratholin.

And not as human as I want to be.

~~~

When I was born, it is said that my birth was not like other births: my mother had no troubles, even with her age and the fact that she had many children before me, nor did I. For a birthing to go well means that the child is blessed in some way by the gods, or a nearby spirit who happened to be there.

However, it is also said that I did not cry like other babies… I remember hearing the Elders whisper how odd of a child I was when I passed them once. They remarked to themselves that I had looked at them quizzically, as if defying them in some way.

I do not know if this was true or not, as I was too young to remember myself, but it does make sense to me now. Or it did later on in my life.

But I always knew that there was something else.

~~~

I grew up oddly… all though my parents were kind and did the best they could to raise me "properly" according to our people's ways, I was a wild card of sorts. Along with my parents, there were seven of us. My three older sisters all liked to dress up and gossip to one another about different things, and often tried to catch the eyes of boys. I found them annoying, and tried to keep away from them as much as I could when I was younger.

My brothers were better than they were at least… They never seemed to be interesting in marrying someone and having a family, and were more interesting to be with. Unlike my sisters who wanted to manipulate me for their own pleasure, my brothers often included me in exploring the woods behind the village or teaching me little interesting tid-bits about life, which I listened to intently.

My favorite brother was my oldest – Yasahiro – as he was always very kind to me and I loved being with him. But as a spy, he was often away from the village. As I got older, I saw him less and less due to the missions he had to go on.

The village children were no different than my sisters. I never liked any of their games or habits, and was content on just reading or exploring the woods. I was often teased for such behavior, and needless to say, my parents became worried about me whenever I would come home with scrapes and such. I never told anyone that some of the older kids liked to shove me around along with the typical name-calling.

The Elders also regarded me as if I were some freak, if not a demon child who would eventually kill them. I often asked them questions; they did not appreciate my abundance of interrogations, and I greatly disliked their lack of answers.

As I got older, my thirst for knowledge and independence, along with my rebellious nature, grew immensely. I never wore the robes girls were required to wear, and practiced arts such as writing and studied subjects like law, history and religion that girls were generally discouraged to participate in. I was even bold enough to spy on the practice sessions of our warriors and learn hand-to-hand combat when I could.

But despite the self-satisfaction I got from doing these things on my own, I was often frustrated with my life. People ignored me more than before, and there were many long periods when no one would speak to me at all. To release my pent up anger, I went to the bolder that sat by the village gates and night and pounded my fists into it until I was tired. Yasahiro often was the one who bandaged my knuckles the next morning, but he never questioned the reason behind the wounds like others so annoyingly did.

That was another thing I loved about him.

~~~

By the time I was fifteen and at a perfect age to be married, I was shrew and quiet, content on watching people more than interacting with them. My standoffish nature did not repel the boys of the village as I had hoped… Those that often shoved me around when I was younger came after me in hopes I would allow them to court me, and always left the house confused when I flat out refused. But I had seen their dark sides and was a victim of the evilness that lived in human's heart.

I did not want to be married to a person that released such darkness so easily.

So I continued with my ways, but focused on being quieter about it so I would not draw unwanted attention to myself, and to keep my parents from worrying more about me than they needed to. I continued to learn and train myself, and refuse suitors left and right. From time to time, I often pointed out to them someone else who would suit them better than I would. I secretly got my sisters married that way. Happily too, I might add.

But it was when I turned seventeen did this simple life of solitude, reading and pretending to be a "normal" person turn a to drastic direction.

~~~

It was on my birthday did the attack occur. It was my sixteenth birthday, and one is considered an adult at that age in my country. I could leave the village and no one would be able to stop me, all though I knew that many would protest. Those that leave their village are often seen as traitors, especially if one is a warrior or spy. What I think they were worried about most should I have left, was what I knew.

It was no secret that I knew a lot about almost everything, even though I was far from achieving the level of intelligence the Elders rarely showed; that came with age. However, no one really made a comment about my knowledge. To reassure them that I would not betray them, I worked my way through the law system of our village and became a diplomat. Because of my work, I was in a position where I could not become a traitor or leave the village. I didn't like it, but it had to be done.

But I was doing more than that. Like I did when I was younger, I watched Yasahiro train and picked up many of the spy techniques he learned and used, and was working on becoming a spy myself. For one reason or another, women were not allowed to become spies, and I already had a job as a diplomat.

That day, I noticed that all of the adults who were older than me were tense; more so than they usually were, while those my age or younger continued to be oblivious. It took a bit of spying and some time to piece things together, but I eventually concluded that some sort of battle or war was coming. Why else would our warriors be training so much lately, and the smiths making more weapons than necessary? I thought to myself.

I then set off to find my oldest brother to confirm my suspicions. Another part of him that I liked was that he listened to me; a rare quality in the men of my country.

"Yasa-kei!" I called, using the nickname I made for him out of the first part of his name, and the word "kei", which was a term of endearment little sisters often used for their older brothers in our language. As usual, he was sitting upon the rock I often took out my frustrations on and meditating. As a spy, he often had to learn many horrible things, but it was to ensure our village's safety. It caused him stress despite this justification, and he meditated to make himself forget the information and to calm himself.

He opened his eyes and smiled at me. "And how is my dearest sister?" he asked quietly.

I opened my mouth to answer, but there was a sudden explosion the caused the both of us to jump up and get into battle stances. As the smoke cleared, we were not surprised to see a band of kitsune. Lately, they had been pressing at our borders, and it was not unusual for me to see dark shadows and small glimpses of golden eyes in the dark.

"Man, that was easy!" one called out. The kitsune that said that was right in front, and armed with other explosives still. He had a grin, and by the color of his fur (brilliant red), he was arrogant, but not a fool. "Ah, warriors already?"

"Lupin," Yasahiro whispered to me. "Go and warn everyone, I will hold them off."

"Yasa-kei," I protested. "I'm not going to leave you here alone, and besides, have you forgotten what I am?" While he blinked at me, it was rare that I ever went against anything that he told me to do, I got out of my battle stance and walked up to the kitsune, who had now gathered at the front of the gate, waiting for a signal to attack.

No doubt, there were some of them in other places around the village to attack while most of us would (hopefully, according to their plan) be distracted with the main gate.

"I want to discuss with you some means of settling whatever conflict you are set to start with us peacefully," I said. "As a diplomat of this village, I will willingly work with you to prevent bloodshed on both sides."

There was a collective of snickers and small chuckles; they obviously thought that I was foolish for approaching them. But then again, there weren't that many. My people usually fear the kitsune, and run from them unless they were warriors. As a diplomat, I made sure to learn the ways of all peoples of our country – it was not widely known that kitsune value bravery along with self-sacrifice and cleverness.

The one in the front grinned widely, showing off his sharp teeth, and lowered his weapons. "A diplomat, eh?" he asked. "All right – I'll make you a deal. You hand over the one who has our blood in their veins and we'll leave you alone."

"For how long?" I countered. "And why would there be a kitsune in our village?"

Another, whose fur was less red, came up. She appeared very old, but nonetheless strong and wise. "There is not a full blooded kitsune in your village, but there is one who has the blood of the kitsune in their veins, as well with human blood. We want our lost child back." I for one was at a loss of words. Someone was part kitsune in our village? This was unheard of in any part of the country, especially our village!

All though I had no personal grudges against them, most people within the village over twenty-seven years old hated the kitsune because of an attack that happened sixteen years ago. The attack was devastating and all though most did not understand it, the hate they felt for the kitsune was infectious. There weren't many people who didn't dislike them.

"Tell your warriors to stand down and go into the forest, and we will discuss this and get to the bottom of this," Yasahiro said sternly, coming up beside me. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt how tense he was. However, I did not understand the anger I knew he was hiding, nor the obvious worry he felt. Something was wrong…

And who would have guessed that I was right?

~~~

The leader of the kitsune, the bright red one, and their representative elder, the female who spoke to me, spoke with the Elders of our village. As the only ones who addressed them, Yasahiro and I were included on the meeting as well.

Apparently, the attack that happened sixteen years ago was not unprovoked like it was said. The only was to access the river outside the western gate was to go to the large cliff that was a short walk away from the village. The water level was slightly lower than the top of the cliff, and it was dangerous to go there without at least three other people. However, a woman did her laundry all the same – and she fell into the river.

Carried down stream quite a ways, she was near death when she washed upon shore. A kitsune found her, and decided to help her. However, the only way that the kitsune could do that was to merge their souls. When the woman woke up, her life restored and wounds healed, she was shocked that a kitsune would do that for her. All though their souls were the same, they still had separate identities. The woman kept her other identity a secret, and came up with a cover story of what had happened, and no one knew the wiser.

Until she had her last child… who carried the blood of her kitsune identity unlike the rest of her children who were fully human. This child was not really a kitsune, nor a fully human but something in between. Nothing like this had ever been recorded of happening, so there wasn't a term or any knowledge of it.

As for the kitsune's attack… they just wanted the child that carried the blood of the kitsune who gave up their life for the human to be raised by them. Of course, those who first saw them approach the gates blew everything out of proportion and started the fight.

The Eldest of the Elders nodded once the kitsune were finished with their story. "All right then. We shall hand over the child to you as long as you do not approach our borders ever again. We will do the same for you of course."

The kitsune agreed to this.

"It will be hard to find a kitsune-human amongst humans, especially if they have been living as a human all their lives." Yasahiro commented.

The Eldest looked at him, and a shiver of fear ran down my spine. "Finding a kitsune, even one with human blood, amongst humans is not that hard. Kitsune are naturally curious, love to ask questions and have rebellious streaks. And they are famous for their red and orange hair – something highly uncommon if not impossible for humans to have. As a matter of fact, she is right here. All the kitsune need to do is leave."

My eyes widened – I was no fool. The kitsune-human child he was speaking of was I. I fingered my short hair; I had always wondered why it was tipped in dark red, all though I never colored it with anything.

"You are not taking Lupin away from here," Yasahiro said, his eyes narrowing. "Even if she is a kitsune, you are not taking my sister away!"

"You knew?" I exclaimed – this was a mere speculation. However, I turned out to be right.

He turned to me, and his eyes were filled with remorse. "I was present at your birth… and even though the story is that you didn't cry when you were born is true, you were also marked with a visible sign that you were a kitsune – you had a tail. The Elders locked away all kitsune magic you had and the tail went away. Everyone at your birth vowed not to tell a soul, let alone you, about what had happened. We thought it was for the best."

"But we should have gotten rid of you and your mother when we first saw that tail of yours," an Elder said. "You have caused nothing but trouble for the village with your ways, and now you have brought kitsune on our doorsteps!"

I stood up in anger. "Nothing but trouble!" I screeched. "I have become a diplomat of this village, and I have stopped five wars with other villages, even though other diplomats have taken the credit for my achievements! I have been keeping myself discreet and quiet for the past five years, and have been working my arse off to ensure this village's safety and happiness, as much as anyone else would! I have set up a lot more happy marriages with my various suitors than our matchmakers and a whole lot more!"

"Lupin!" Yasahiro exclaimed; it was an unspoken law to speak like that to an Elder. All though I loved him, I was somewhat angry with my brother as well.

"And why didn't you tell me this before brother?" I shouted. "It would have saved me a lot of questions and pain!"

Yasahiro just lowed his head in obvious shame. "I was forced to take a vow… You know how I am with my sense of honor." He said. "And I didn't want to burden you with the secret. But I guess that I underestimated you, ne?"

I bit my lip – a desperate instinct from somewhere made me want to cry.

"So," the leader of the kitsune asked. "What are you going to do now?"

"You will be welcomed in our clan," the kitsune Elder said softly. "We can leave right now if you wish."

Still standing, I breathed out heavily. "I am not going with either of you," I muttered. Looking over to the Elders, I sneered. "You are old fools… and to think, I once held you in highest regard. I am leaving the village tonight, and don't think you can stop me. But rest assured, I will not be leaving with the kitsune." I then turned to them, glaring. "You could have said something earlier. It would have made more sense."

With that, I left the Elder's temple to go to my home for the last time. I had some serious packing and mental planning to do if I wanted to leave without remorse and not come back anytime soon. I could have fueled myself with the anger I was feeling towards everyone in the village, as I now knew some people's reason to hate me, but I couldn't. It was something in my blood, and one cannot change that – ever.

But what was worse was that I used to think that in some way, I would be able to redeem myself for being so troublesome when I was younger.

But this is where prejudice leads.

~~~

As I packed, I thought that no one else was in the house. Even though people saw me, I made sure that I did not give off any signs that something was wrong. I would have to leave the village quietly, and let them make speculations of their own in the morning. I could easily find work in one of the towns to the more industrialized west, or even a city. I was not sure what I was going to do once out in the real world, but I could surely go through law school once more, become a diplomat of one of the larger cities, and make my living through that. Or I could become specialized in another talent of mine…

"Lupin," a soft voice said from behind me as I closed my knapsack. I turned around and saw my mother. Of average height, thin and blessed with soft features, she was a very beautiful woman. She had brown hair like mine, and now that I looked closer, it had a red sheen and her eyes were a bit more golden than normal human coloring.

A few memories of her flashed before my eyes. I loved being with her when I was younger, but as I got older and more rebellious, I could see the worry and stress in her eyes, and thought that it was best if I backed off. She had married later than most, and with four other children before me, time was not her friend. "I am so sorry for the trouble my carelessness has caused you." she whispered.

I blinked, and knew what she meant. If she had gone with someone to do the laundry all those years ago, she wouldn't have fallen in. I might have been born normally… The kitsune would not be here, there would have never been an attack… an attack that was all started because of my birth despite the idiotic guards watching the gate that night.

I merely shrugged, trying to be passive about the whole thing. "It was not your fault. It was natural selection, or as some people would say, destiny."

"It will not stop me from missing you, never the less." She whispered. "You always reminded me of myself when I was younger. You have not had an easy life, but you still find the strength to overcome your obstacles and achieve whatever you set your heart out to do. I will miss you, my daughter." She then approached me, and enveloped me in a hug. I had not revived one from her since I was thirteen.

I couldn't just stand there, emotionless, like I normally would. I hugged her back and forced the tears in my eyes to go back into my tear ducts. "I will miss you too, mother."

With that, she let me go and moved out of the doorway of my small room. "Remember that I love you, and that you will be welcomed back anytime in this house. Take my blessing and find the happiness you deserve."

With that, I left the village. I only paused twice; one was to meet eyes with the kitsune Elder, who just merely nodded to me before she jumped over the village wall and into the woods. I took this as a mutual understanding that they would not bother me unless I personally wished it. I was still considered one of them despite my human blood.

The second pause was because my Yasahiro approached me and gave me a swift and tight hug. "I am going to miss you," he said. "You were always my favorite sibling. Do not ever stop asking questions or being yourself – that is what makes you special no matter who says what. Be safe and find happiness."

When he let go of me, he thrust a black book into my hands. "This is a spell book that I had found on one of my spy missions," he explained. "I had wanted to give it to you for your birthday, but today was interrupted. One of the spells in there is one that will unlock your kitsune powers little by little until you master all of it."

"Thank you," I said. "I'll be coming to visit from time to time. Mother said I was welcome to our home despite what the village said." I then noticed that he was not holding himself like he normally did – he looked like he had lost a battle. And in a sense, he did. He could not protect me from what I was… "Yasa-kei?" I started.

"Yes?" he asked, as if he expected me to have left by now.

"You know Hisae?" I continued. "The girl who always wears a robe that is in some shade of blue or green with short hair? She really likes you… but has been too shy to approach you to even say hello. Find some happiness yourself. She's a good person."

I broke into a run before I could hear his response.

~~~

And now, it has been six years since I left my village. Since then, I have traveled around the country, never settling in one place for long. I kind of tend to find corruption wherever I go. And with my blasted conscious, I felt obligated to expose that corruption and secretly destroy it from the inside out. No one knows this, but the hope that the town or city I "turn upside-down" will turn out all right keeps me going.

And all of this corruption has leaded me to the "dark side" as most would call it. Yes – this means that I have worked for various people whom most people rather despise for short amounts of time, but I do what I can without going insane or killing myself.

And being on the dark side has actually given me some things that the "light side" would have never given me otherwise: freedom. To them, as long as you work hard, don't betray one another and just generally try to get along, then you're ok. But being strong in one way or another, intelligent or useful somehow isn't bad either. No one cared if I was a woman, or pretty young. It didn't even matter should a few of my stronger and more magical bosses discover that I had kitsune blood in my veins.

And it was in another town that I was thinking of settling down and taking a vacation in that I met my current boss: Ratholin.

I had heard about the wars with elves he and his legions had been having, and some sort of impulse came over me. Apparently, he had finished battling with some more elven armies, and was just doing some training in the woods with some other more predominate figures of his legions. I offered my services as a diplomat before thinking everything through or even finding more about him and his motives.

The impression he had on me when I spied on him for about half an hour convinced me that he was all right. He didn't ask questions, but agreed and sent me on a job.

And since then, I have been working with him as his head diplomat. In all honesty, I do not know that much about him, but he does have redeeming qualities that others seemed to lack. And that is good enough for me – I'm finally doing some good on a grander scale.

But where my current employment with him will lead me to next, I am not sure.

At least I'm satisfied with my life for once.

Thanks. ^^

~ Lupin Drake: Head Diplomat