Post by Phantasma on Mar 17, 2020 17:19:35 GMT -5
1:00 PM, Frost Kingdom Wildlife Park
The Marines had issued a state of emergency all throughout the wintery isle's kingdom. The message had been concise and very literal in composition, a mandate to lock down the recreational hunting zone. Though it had been met with initial resistance from citizens the authorities had mitigated a majority of the unrest by compensatory promises or complete transparency. When you mention that a dangerous criminal of around 39 million Beri is on the loose you tend to get strong reactions; Especially in an area like the Blues.
Not even the most experienced sportsmen offered assistance despite the time sensitivity-- if this criminal element wasn't captured soon he might escape. There was only so much the World Government could do after wasting precious resources pursuing a dangerous target, thus the quarantine was conceived around the time Kite crawled onto land. No one was to go in or out of the Park he made landfall on, Marine presence was going to keep him trapped until an official force could be mobilized to apprehend or if need be execute the man.
Alongside trapping the man some on staff communication officers put out a wire. A message, an ad, that offered a flexible salary if the fighter in question was skilled enough to take the swordsman head on. You'd be surprised how fast an Island finds a problem in dock traffic when that kind of cash is on the line. Bluebloods and the common folk might not be willing but sellswords would be; a classic strategy to throw bodies at a threat until it was tired out.
Kite was already exhausted, his hair was starting to stick to his face. He'd been running for far too long and had to endure near freezing waters to get to the island after his barge sunk. A lucky shot on the Marines part.
Behind the impressive 50 foot tall stone barrier was a wonderland of native flora and not so native fauna. Despite the often frigid environment there was a flourishing ecosystem of tall pine, slender poplar and a few hybrid species designed to provide more sturdy shelter for the animals that prowled the frozen jungle. When it came to animals the local royalty made sure it was a veritable grab bag containing everything from cows to more exotic-- often dangerous specimen like man eating huntsmen spiders. Cages with ample food kept the apex species locked away in the event of a grand hunt so that game hunters wouldn't fall victim to prey. These cages marked the only man made presence in this sanctuary and one could go for hours until running into another part of the wall or reaching the coast. Given the harsh weather typical of a Winter Island extended stay in this park was ill advised prompting the construction of way points. These instillation were currently occupied by Marines and were no better than giant bear traps. Kite knew this, heard the commotion long before he could see it with his weary eyes.
His breath was visible in front of his face as he crept through the underbrush stopping just short of exiting a close to the ground shrub. The green leaves were bowed down by wintry powder and only barely supported by gloved hands. The albino shifted them around with his finger tips and peered out ahead down the trail he had been following. For a while now he had kept to the trees and shrubs instead of walking down the exposed winding trail. Ears picking up and adjusting to sources of nearby chatter. Flowing streams gave him the stamina to continue the nearly three day long chase, cold air numbed exposed extremities. Denied his usual clothing it was force of will that kept him from shivering from his current position.
Red eyes narrowed once sight of a shadow dashed down the worn pathway. It was quick, but not fast enough to evade the swordsman. Muscles tensed on command and subconscious effort dedicated itself to figuring out the precise moment to strike. No sooner had the regalia typical of a marine came into focus did Kite send himself flying forward through the freezing air. Evaporated breath trailing from his mouth as his body blurred into a black and white bolt barreling down on the pursuer. The rustling of the bushes had gotten the recruit to turn around with his rifle in hand but pure speed on the Pirates part had prevented so much as a shot being fired. Forced to the ground with both knees pinning limbs and a hand to the Marines throat Kite could loose a sigh.
There wasn't a trace of annoyance on his bruised face, the swelling on his left eye had gone down but even with one eye he could've performed the take down. His half lidded stare almost seemed bored and his mouth stayed drawn into a tiny frown. Those carmine discs locked onto silently pleading brown eyes, there was no real mercy when Kite tightened his hands grip on the Marines throat. Had it been when he was restrained this bastard would be doing the same, in time a lot of the recruits had taken pot shots at the restrained and defamed fighter. It's why he wore ragged clothes not fit for corpses. A stripped black and white two piece suit that signified the owner was a law breaker. The shoes had long since been abandoned (the crunch of fallen leaves or twigs under foot was too risky) and the lining of the pockets torn out for white makeshift gloves that worked more like mittens.
Sleep, Kite thought coldly at the pinned man.
His victim struggled some, thrashed futilely and dropping his rifle from his outstretched left arm as he did so. It was a welcome surprise that the impact of the two bodies hadn't fired it, Kite was willing to admit the detail had slipped his attention. Surprise had bled off the slightly scarred and worn face of a clearly middle aged man. His chapped lips were drawn back into a silent snarl, eyes growing wider by the second. His tan skin grew paler, a bit. The Marine get up didn't suit him, almost looked like a costume given his age. The white button up shirt, the handkerchief, the baggy blue pants... and that hat which had in bold letters on it's face "MARINE".
Independent of the command and owing more to the lack of oxygen the Marine recruit did pass out going limp the second his eyes fluttered shut. Lingering no longer than necessary Kite hopped up and dashed on all fours to the tree line again repeating the process of knocking out grunts that were trying to hem him in to a smaller area of the park for the next part of the operation. Special care was taken to not harm the grunts-- after all they weren't in service of the World Government anyway.
It was clear from the first victim of Kites blitzkrieg sleeper choke. That expression, struggle, confidence and then despair that flashed before unconsciousness. These men were just sellswords dressed up like Marines.
Was their goal to make me think they were going to engage me in a land battle? What's the point in going through all this? Could it be they don't have enough men...? Did I really dispose of that many during the blockade and mutiny? That frown grew slightly more deep as the long haired prisoner climbed up one of the nearby pine trees stopping just short of penetrating the canopy above, looking down on the many paths below. He had ended up in a tree 10 feet away from the sleeping mercenary. The action of doing as much had him gripping the bark and using pure strength to push off with his feet, briefly jump and catch hold on a higher section or branch ultimately repeating several times. Presently he was perhaps a vague outline in the dark leafy sky of the forest but it was necessary to gauge just how many adversaries were close by. But more importantly it was a good way to judge the distance from the shore to the rest of the island and much needed supplies.
And my sword, came an incorrigible reminder.
During detainment the Dire Herald's swords were taken. The officer responsible had been memorized of course and was overconfident enough to go island side. But without knowing that Kalisto was fully prepared to steal another boat and chase after the ships stationed around the islands perimeter one by one.