”Despite our little provided announcement from The Voice people can still call upon the Jiyu to clean up their messes….this better be something of value,” Jedrek complained to his horse. The chestnut mare merely flicked her ears in response as she chose her path carefully through the lush grass. Hunter rolled his eyes in return as he knew that his new steed would not give him any satisfaction of interaction. He was surprised even at himself for having decided to select a mount for his travels. Typically he moved from assignment to assignment on foot, but now they were becoming more spread out than he felt comfortable getting there on his own. Jedrek pat the steed’s neck gently before giving her a nudge on her sides to encourage a faster speed. No riding equipment had been purchased yet, so he had become rather proficient in riding bare back.

With the faster pace the sight of ruins came into view. There was a small group of humans that were making attempt to establish a village among the remains of an ancient civilization. From the looks of it they had been able to make some use of the old ruins. The letter he had received from Matriarch Uial had told of a shifter demon that had come amongst the people. Great fear rose up to the point of all turning on one another until the creature could be rooted out. Jedrek could only wonder if this was mere fear from the announcement made from the deities of the Goddess of Death being possessed. He had found on his travels that fear was the worst to attempt to fight than any actual demon. Many small villages he had come across had more superstition that he had to fight then demons.

From a distance away from the ‘village’ Jedrek could hear people calling to one another about his arrival. Golden gaze narrowed as he waited to see how he would be received. Thankfully, they were not arming themselves. The dragon tattoo around his arm helped identify him as the one being sent from the Clan. Once he was close enough, Jedrek slid down from his horse to allow the mare to take up time to eat the grass. ”Good day to you, who is in charge for me to speak with? I am Jedrek of the Jiyu Clan. I’m the one that was asked here to check into your….problem.” His tone was even and calm. The demon hunter was working on his personality with clients at least before allowing himself to shine through his façade.

An elderly fellow came forward to usher Jedrek to a broken building that had some more privacy than in the open. ’We welcome your arrival, sir. We have a changling in our midst. We worry what it wants.” Jedrek lifted a curious brow before frowning. ”Wait…so it hasn’t done anything yet? I got here days after initial contact. That was plenty of time for it to create a problem. Are you sure it is a demon?” The pattern wasn’t lining up to what Jedrek was familiar with. This didn’t make much sense. ”Anyway, let me check things out and see what I can find. Move about your days as normal.” Jedrek patted the man on the shoulder before moving into the ‘village’ that mostly was just tarps over holes in the old ruins to serve as shelter.

Iris really really disliked being away from Sularia. Or Elysia, or Tar Eisalae. She realized that so much of her comfort came from always being within arms reach of her master and mistress. She had not felt quite right ever since her Mistress, or Mother- it was a connection she still did not understand fully- had been attacked and almost died. 

She couldn't put a finger on what it was she was feeling, but because she couldn't get it under control, her appearance would not stop shifting. She kept changing faster than a chameleon. She pulled her hood up over her face to try and hide herself from the villagers that were nearby building over the ruins she had been sent to investigate. She didn't mean anyone any harm, but she knew that people were suspicious with what had just transpired. She looked down in the pool of water she sat by and watched her face shift yet again. She sighed and splashed the water in frustration before she stood up again and started looking around a section of the ruins. 

As she rounded a section of fallen wall, she ran into another villager. The contact with the individual made both jump back, and Iris felt her appearance shift again. She looked up alarmed as the young man cried out in alarm about a demon and she looked around frantically. Then she realized it was she he was referencing and she barely got her voice back before he was scrambling away and running back towards the other villagers, still shouting. 

"But… I'm not a demon!" she yelled out after him, her appearance shifting yet again to what it was supposed to be. Her expression was blank, but inside all her emotions were rolling around like Angela's twins. She didn't like it. She wished Nathaniel was with her. She felt calm around him. He made it easy to make the emotions go away. She decided she had better move on and climbed deeper into the ruins, on the look out for specifics that Master Drae had instructed her to look for. She only hoped that the young man had heard her and realized that she was not what he had thought….

Nothing appeared to add up as the demon hunter walked through the town. There was no destruction. There were no unexplained bruises upon the villagers. All that seemed to be happening was a mixture of fear and superstition. Jedrek sighed to himself. Again, it was easier to deal with an actual demon then the fear concocted in a groups mind. They seemed to only feed upon it. The recent incident helped none. He put a hand on his sheathed katana while moving through the ruins that were slowly being transformed into shelter. There could be admiration for those with such determination to carve out a home for themselves out of the normal locations. These ruins had a potential to contain the items that were instructed to be searched for by the Voice. He shook his head as he had to deal with one task at a time.

Jedrek ducked under a tarp that hung lowered over an archway to see a cloaked figure dashing down what used to be an alley way. Head tilted to the side as he heard yelling about a demon. He could not stop the frustrated frown from reaching his face as he turned to see a young man running up to him. Words were strung together in some sort of fashion that he could barely understand. There was more panic then actual sense being thrown about. ”Alright lad, calm down. Which way did this ‘demon’ go as you so deem her?” A shaky hand pointed towards where the cloaked figure had gone. ”Everyone keep to their work and away from where I am going. No once come near.” He clapped the young man’s shoulder with a reassuring hand before moving into a slow jog.

He was sure that there was something else going on beside a demon, but he was going to be cautious either way. A stirring in his chest gave him an indication that his bonded was sensing something just as Jedrek was. Right hand lightly touched the left arm that had the dragon tattoo upon it running all the way to his back. ”Alright, let’s check this out.”

Moving deeper into the ruins he was able to find some tracks that gave direction for his target. Jedrek felt no need to draw his sword considering the aura in the air still did not feel demonic. The hunter ducked through a narrow section to come upon the cloaked figure as if it were searching for something. Again, there was no demonic aura radiating from the so called ‘demon’ that the villagers were going on about. One brow lifted in curiosity as he neared, though he kept a distance for safety concerns. ”Demon…or no?” he questioned with a slight amusement to his voice. If it were, then he could defend quickly. If not, then there would be an examination to prove to the people that they were just being too superstitious.

She heard him come up behind her. She didn't want to cause any more trouble than she already seemed to be. Her face shifted and contorted once again, the tumult growing again in the pit of her stomach. This time felt horns sprout from her head and a tail grow out from behind her. If she hadn't looked demon before by taking on other people's appearances, she was certain she did now. It was too much. She didn't turn to face the individual, sure that her visage would not be one for the faint of heart and she turned and started running, scrambling over partially fallen walls, and columns, trying to find a place where she could just hide. She kept her arms up and elevated to conceal her face, and she pushed a bit of an agility spell into her legs to push her faster, just wanting to get away from everyone who was in the vicinity. 

She was so confused. Why couldn't she control anything any more? Why was it all happening? Was it all because of the rifts? Because of what had happened to Lady Angela and Master Drae? Master Drae was so busy and so shut off from her now that he couldn't see or hear what was going on inside her. He had wanted to give her privacy so that she would have room to grow. 
Her foot caught a large rock and she went sprawling over a low wall and landed hard on her back about seven feet below into part of a ruined canal that ran through the ruins with a splash. 

Great. Now she was away from home and all her clothes were wet. She pulled herself slowly out of the water and pulled herself into the shadow of a boulder and pulled her knees up to her chest, her hood obscuring her face. She just wanted to shut everything out. 

Again Jedrek knew that this wasn’t lining up the way it had been laid out for him. The demon hunter could not feel the malice that had been lined out for him the way it had been described. He crossed his arms over his chest while waiting for some sort of answer from the creature shrouded in front of him. If anything was clear, there was the radiation of fear coming from the hooded figure. Was it a fear of being caught by a hired professional? Or was it a fear instilled by those that were crying out for its extermination. At this point, he was thinking it was option number two.

No answer was given to his posed query. He didn’t make a move towards the being, or attempt to stop any of her movements. It took little time for the target to cover her face in order to turn and run. Jedrek’s golden gaze narrowed as he caught sight of horns on the top of her head. Even if they were atop her head like they would be a traditional demon it still didn’t seem to fit. ”Wait!” he called after her in a soft attempt to halt her progress. Head shook as he watched her run off in a different direction.

Hunter started into a light jog that turned into a flat out run. He didn’t want to chance that one of the villagers would run into this creature and take matters into their own hands. Everything was best for it to stay in the hands of the professionals. More than anything it was the superstition and fear that led to the worst conclusions. The sound of a splash of water was paired with that of a body thud on the ground. Jedrek slowed his progress before coming to the edge of canal that was straight below. He squatted down to look at where the hunted had obviously fallen.

”Look, I’m not here to actually hunt you. I want to figure out what is going on here, but you aren’t portraying as a normal target.” Jedrek gripped the edge to hold on to while dropping down into the canal below. ”Really, I am here to find the truth…nothing else. I won’t hurt you unless you attack me or give reason for it.” His hands were kept of the sheathed katana at his side.

Eyes scanned the area until he instinctually stared into the darkness near a boulder. ”Are we going to have a conversation? I really don’t wanna take the word of some scared villagers.”

Iris stiffened at the voice of the hunter as he drew near again. She kept her face hidden but she didn't want to run anymore. And… he sounded sincere. She swallowed hard, her hands and hood still shrouding her face. 
"I'm not what they say! I was just sent here by my master to do research on these ruins. I'm not here to hurt anyone or take their souls or whatever it is that demons are supposed to do…" she explained, her tone indicating her fear and confusion. "I'm just… having… oh what is the term… a 'bad day'. I'm wet, people keep screaming and running every time they see me, my Mistress was attacked, and I am far away from home, and… and I am all alone." 

She glanced his way but was careful to keep her face hidden. She could feel it wanting to shift again, and she fought hard to keep it from doing so, whimpering softly as she wiped canal water… or what she thought was canal water, from her face. The tail she had grown twitched and lashed back and forth similar to an irritated cat's. 

A satisfied chuckle left him as he got an answer finally. The voice was that of a scared young woman that seemed to only want out of the predicament she was currently in. Jedrek felt pity for her considering there was a small hoard of villagers that wanted her dead. Despite all that she could look like, it wasn’t her fault. Jedrek could tell that now. He didn’t blame her for wanting to keep her face hidden if that was what was causing everyone to lose their minds.

He allowed her to get out her self-defense. There was no need for it, but Jedrek wanted to let her speak her own words. She needed to feel heard for once. ”Who is your master?” he questioned. Kneeling down, he grabbed the canals edge to jump down. A splash of water sprouted up around his feet. He made no move towards her to make sure that he didn’t give her reason to run again. Hands stuffed into the pockets of his black jacket with a quick nod of his head. ”Yeah, I would definitely say that you are having a bad day, doll.” The hunter couldn’t help but chuckle a little. The poor thing.

”And wait…your mistress was attacked? Where is she?” Now, there was another person possibly involved that could be in trouble. Jedrek scratched the side of his head as he attempted to get the woman to talk. He was very confused as to what was going on, but wanted to make sure everyone was safe.

Brow lifted as he saw a tail moving from side to side just like the cats he had back home. ”I’m here to help. Are you hurt? Let’s first check you for injuries before we move forward with anything.”

Iris didn't divulge at first when the hunter asked her the name of her master. She was a little more than flustered at the sound of him dropping down into the canal with her, and she pulled her cloak closer about her face. He seemed to find it amusing, but at the same time, Iris realized he was not trying to be threatening. In fact he was actually listening to what she had to say.

A wave of relief washed over her and the tail-flicking stopped. As a matter of fact, as he began ratting off questions to make sure that she was all right, a lot of her fears subsided, and the storm of emotions inside her began to still. The tail, actually receded back into her and vanished completely and she cleared her throat to answer him. 

"I'm a little sore from my fall… but mostly wet," she answered him, her voice still a bit tight. She didn't like the way it felt, like there was a lump that would not go away. And water kept dripping down her face and would not stop. It was irritating. She wiped her face on the damp hem of her cloak. "And my master and mistress… Lord Adraejen Porthyrius and Lady Angela Rose… you likely have already heard what happened," she explained as she slowly stood up, rubbing the arm she had landed on when she had fallen into the canal. She was still trying to hide her face, but even just talking about Lord Drae and Lady Angela, it was both hard and made her feel better. 

"Lord Drae sent me out here to try and study the rifts…" she said as she tried to look at the hunter without exposing her face. She didn't know what it looked like right then, and she did not want to startle him. 

There was an audible click of his tongue at the sight of the female clinging to her cloak closer to her face. He took a deep breath in and then let it out as he calmed the growing annoyance. The agitation was not at the scared woman, but the villagers that had terrorized her to the extent. Jedrek scratched the back of his head as he tried to figure out how to convince the hiding femme that he was not a threat. His personality was not typically one that worked well with the psychologically damaged. He was a hunter, and not good at socializing outside his tight knit circle. Inwardly he cursed being given the assignment without a partner. He would have even preferred having Chel along with him. His huntress comrade was not one of the best with emotions, but she was better than him by miles.

Ever so slightly his head tilted to the side to see that her agitated tail flicking had stopped. Must be a good sign, he thought to himself with a bit of relief. If he could get through this messed up situation he was going to give himself some proper credit. Possibly would even see if Chel’s husbands would want to go out for a drink. Though, that would be an assignment in itself.

Golden gaze narrowed as he focused on the recession of the tail until it was completely gone. His attention lifted to where her face was hidden beneath the cloak. Features showed signs of surprised before they changed to sympathy. ”Yea, I have heard.” Jedrek made sure his hands were up to show that he was not hiding a weapon. Slow steps were made towards her, though he shifted to the side a little in an effort to not see her hidden face. If she wanted privacy than he would give it to her. ”I would imagine that you would be more than sore from that fall. If you are only sore…than you are quite the strong one, aren’t cha?” He had a bright smile on his face as he extended a hand. ”If you let me see your arm I can heal it. As long as you can take healing magic. I know there are some that reject healing magic. If you can’t do that, than I can patch you up with some of my emergency supply.”

He gestured over to sizable boulder for her to take a seat. ”I’m sorry about your Lord and Lady. Because of this chaos it is why my Clan is out on these missions en masse. Did you find anything?” Jedrek glanced around to make sure there weren’t any hidden creatures that would try to get the jump on them. That would have been the very last thing that they needed in the moment. ”Once we get you patched up, I can escort you back to explain the situation. I promise you that you will not be harmed. If you wouldn’t mind telling me how you shift like that. What race are you exactly? I come across many kinds with your ability, but the way you do it is different than I have encountered. Again, if you don’t mind.”