Wurm vs Foxes [Job with Itori]

Itori didn't like being in the Neutral Grounds. It was a good place for those who were born without magic or other mystical abilities in this world where such powers ran rampant, but for a creature like herself it was an uncomfortable place where she felt like she didn't belong. Given that her spiritual nature wasn't caused by magical means she wasn't completely shut off from the spiritual realm, but manipulation of that realm was now as difficult as it would have been to lift something from a distance in the physical realm. Standing at the edge of the town Itori took a moment to gather her thoughts, stroking the hilt of her sheathed sword with one finger while her five white tails swayed from side to side behind her. The job she'd come here for was one that she'd have to rely on her sword for to complete it, which made her glad that she'd put the effort into training rather than being like most other kitsune and relying completely on her mystical powers.

Her outfit was the same as usual, a white sleeveless shirt, white detached sleeves, a red divided skirt and socks and wooden sandals on her feet. Traditional and allowing for good movement, so even without the aid of her magic she'd be able to fight without worries. She resumed walking towards where she was supposed to meet the client before the job would begin. From what she'd been told there was an oversized worm-like creature causing trouble, attacking the anti-magic city using sheer size to accomplish what would take magic for most other creatures. The vixen wasn't entirely sure why they'd hire mages, who primarily relied on their magic, to fight a giant monster in an area where they couldn't use magic, but she figured that there were enough mages who were also good physical fighters that there were worse options.

Although she still thought that sending a small army instead might be better.

Arriving at the council chambers she twitched her ears, silently immensely thankful that at least her hearing wasn't hindered by the anti-magic zone. She could still feel the humming of the world around her, even if it didn't feel as vibrant and lively as usual. Looking around she took in the sights of the unusually styled room, making sure to keep her hands away from the sword so the people inside didn't get the wrong idea. The modern appearance of the room clashed heavily with her nearly archaic style, managing to distract the kitsune for several seconds before inevitably noticing the other fox girl in the room. Blinking and twitching her ears again Itori stared for a second in surprise before she shook her head and headed over to the receptionist instead. While it wasn't the first time she'd run into another sentient fox it had been quite a while. Meeting her here in the Neutral Grounds was a bit unfortunate since it limited their senses to the physical ones, but maybe the other woman would be willing to talk for a bit once Itori's job was done.

The receptionist appeared to be expecting her, because the moment that Itori was within speaking distance she spoke up. "You must be the other mage sent to help get rid of the worm. I'll go alert the mayor that the two of you are both here. Your partner is already waiting over there so I suggest you go speak to her first."

Itori wasn't entirely surprised when the receptionist pointed at the other vixen. Instead the spirit fox smiled softly and bowed slightly. "Understood." While the receptionist got busy alerting the mayor that the mages were here Itori turned around and walked over towards where Kumi was reading an edition of Sorcerer's Magazine. Like practically every single vulpine woman that Itori had ever seen or heard about she was quite the looker (something which always made Itori wonder why foxes looked better in human form than humans. Was she just biased?). Itori wasn't exactly conscious about her own appearance (aside from obligatory grooming of her tails) so she approached without hesitation, giving Kumi a smile and a bow once she was close enough.

"My apologies for interrupting, but it appears that the two of us will be working together in exterminating the worm that is threatening this town. My name is Shirokawa Itori and it is a pleasure to be working with you." She kept her five tails low to the ground behind her, suppressing the mild desire in the back of her head to use her furry appendages to make herself look more impressive. She didn't want to look like one of those kitsune who always had to be the most magnificent creature in the room, even if it was tempting to do so from time to time.

Given that the receptionist had indicated that they wouldn't be waiting long Itori remained standing after the bow, glancing over to the door leading deeper into the building before returning her attention to Kumi. She had several questions she wanted to ask if she got the opportunity, but she was going to be polite and listen first in case the other woman also had something to say.

WC: 873
TWC: 873/7500

"I must admit to also not having expected another vulpine in these parts. Especially considering the nature of this place." Itori's smile widened a little at the other mage's teasing comment, the kitsune being used to the kind and in fact being reminded of something from the far past. "Certainly. I am usually addressed as Itori. May I ask what name you would prefer to be addressed by?"

Before the conversation could move beyond those simple introductions they were already guided into the mayor's office, leaving Itori with no opportunity to ask any questions beyond asking for Kumi's name. The mayor looked... fairly typical, really, although to the sword-wielding fox he also looked quite tired. Not surprising, given that his town was being harassed by some oversized worm that was too tough for normal soldiers to deal with.

At the invitation to sit down Itori followed Kumi's example, shaking her head while also spreading her tails (although not lifting them very far). "Likewise, I would prefer to stay standing for now." It was one of the few real disadvantages to having a tail as a humanoid, at least when dealing with human designed chairs. They always forgot to leave an opening at the back...

Itori listened silently as the mayor explained the issue, at the same time also casually studying the man and his desk. He sounded a tad tired as well, although not to the point of exhaustion. She also noticed a pile of letters on his desk that looked relatively new. Most likely those came from people complaining about their house or store being damaged or asking for the mayor to do something about the worm. The white kitsune raised an eyebrow when the man mentioned that this worm was a lot bigger than usual, her expression becoming thoughtful. After the man had finished his explanation of the situation and Kumi had asked her question Itori decided to ask some questions of her own.

"So the issue is that this worm appears to be different from all the other worms that have been sighted in this area in the past?" She asked thoughtfully. It wasn't as practical a question as Kumi's but Itori figured that any hints towards what might be up with this specific specimen might be useful during the extermination itself.

"That's correct. We're all stumped as to why, but we've never seen a worm this big before." The major confirmed, taking a slightly theatrical deep breath. "If it was your average worm we'd have gotten rid of it days ago. They can be tricky to catch because of their tunnelling but they're easily dealt with once you've got them cornered."

"I see. Do you know of any way to possibly lure this giant specimen? What would you use if you were dealing with the smaller variant? Is there anything unusual about this worm other than its size?" Itori didn't anticipate these questions to lead to anything fruitful, but it was better to ask and be certain than to assume and miss out on a possibly beneficial piece of information.

"We don't usually lure them per se. They can be attracted to food but attempts to make use of that did not work well in the past. As for anything else unusual... I think one of the soldiers send to deal with it said that he saw something on the creature's front. He couldn't identify what though, since they had to retreat after it became clear they couldn't bring it down." The mayor sounded honest, and a tad desperate as well.

Itori smiled in a comforting manner and bowed. "In that case we will also try to find out what that something may be. It might very well be connected to its unusual size. Thank you for your cooperation." She looked at Kumi. "Well then, shall we depart?"

If there was something on the creature's front and its main trait was that it was much larger than normal... some kind of mutation? If they had no records of any worm becoming this big she doubted it was a natural occurrence, but it was difficult to imagine what could have caused such a growth within the creature while in the Neutral Grounds, a place where the most likely culprit, magic, was nullified. The white kitsune wondered if maybe the worm had left the Neutral Grounds at some point and returned after it had been influenced by the magic that saturated the rest of the world.

WC: 748
TWC: 1621/7500

After a last small bow towards the mayor Itori followed Kumi out of the building, glad to be on her way. While the mayor and the receptionist had both been quite polite she still didn't like this place too much, so the sooner they got to work removing the worm threat the sooner they could return to a location more pleasant for supernatural creatures like her companion and herself. Given with how much haste Kumi was moving she figured that her fellow kitsune was thinking the same thing.

When Kumi whistled Itori flinched, the sharp sound penetrating deeply into her sensitive ears as she hadn't expected it. She recovered quickly, but still gently rubbed one of her ears to ease it a little as she watched a relatively large black fox quickly approach. She wasn't sure but she wouldn't have been surprised if the little guy was more intelligent than your average fox. As it was Itori nodded when Kumi turned towards her. "Indeed. Given the lack of methods we shall have to do this the hard way. Fortunately even without magic my ears are still quite sharp, so if something appears I should be able to detect and identify it." The irritation in Kumi's voice was unmistakable to Itori's ears, the kitsune giving a small smile in an attempt to help distract her partner from the annoyance. "With the three of us it should not take long."

With that she followed after Kumi, having little objection to the other fox girl being assertive. Itori was quite the amiable person, and she was used to letting those with the more commanding or passionate personalities take charge while she followed and did her best to help out. While keeping track of her surroundings with her ears her vermilion eyes studied Kumi a bit longer as the two of them ran, Itori lagging a foot or so behind Kumi so the other woman wouldn't immediately notice that she was being studied.

Itori's observations were interrupted when she noticed that she was being observed in return. Turning her head she saw that the black fox that was accompanying Kumi had been looking at her, only to look away the moment she showed that she had noticed his attention. She gave the smaller fox a smile before turning her eyes back to the streets before them. Around them the city was quickly becoming less busy as they reached the northern edges, many people having evacuated for the duration of the threat and those who hadn't left preferring to stay indoors. Itori didn't think that hiding inside a building would help, but she couldn't blame the people for trying. It was difficult to abandon one's home, even for a little while.

When Kumi scolded Soul and told him to stop dragging his feet the spirit fox also looked at the smallest of the trio of vulpines. "I share your discomfort Soul, but the sooner we are done exterminating the threat the sooner we can return to a location more suitable for creatures like us." She would have reached down to pet the fox if the three of them hadn't been running. Fortunately it didn't take long after that before they reached the area where the worm had already left traces of its passing, giving Itori the opportunity to slow down and give Soul a quick pet, her fingers softly moving across the fur coat covering his back before she straightened up and looked around.

"I believe it has already been some time since the creature passed through here." She observed, slowly stepping forward towards one of the buildings and sniffing the air once while also twitching one of her ears. "I cannot catch the scent of any creature other than some humans who must have returned afterwards to retrieve valuables." In this part of town there was so little sound that the distinct clacking of Itori's wooden sandals echoed off of the walls when she turned and surveyed the rest of the area. The destruction was too big to have been caused by the hands of a human, and too rough to have been caused by some large spell or destructive machine. There was no mistaking that this was done by some large creature, which attacked indiscriminately and wasn't slowed down by walls or buildings.

"Maybe we should split up in our search?" She suggested, although she had to admit that she wasn't too eager to separate. Without their magic if they encountered the beast alone they might be in trouble. Still, if they wanted to find it quickly enough... "I do not suggest moving so far away from one another that we would not notice it if one of us came to be attacked, but according to the mayor the creature has no known preferences for where or when it appears. Spreading out would allow us to notice the creature no matter where it may strike next."

WC: 823
TWC: 2444/3500

Seeing Soul flinch made Itori hesitate for a moment, but seeing him wag his tail she assumed that she'd just caught him off guard and that there wasn't any real issue. Nevertheless she couldn't spend her time petting him, since the three of them had a gigantic worm to track down and exterminate. As Kumi designated their locations in which they would search the white kitsune nodded. "Understood. I will be careful." With that she set off towards the eastern building, which was still intact for the most part (especially compared to the damage some of the buildings had received). However the door and the wall around it had been torn out, giving Itori an easy entrance to the insides of the establishment, although before entering she looked back at Kumi and Soul one last time to make certain she knew where to find them even if in a hurry.

The inside of the building looked like it had been trashed quite thoroughly, mostly by pieces of brick and wood smashing through everything inside as the worm took out the front on its rampage. Itori sniffed everything carefully, but the most prominent smell remained that of humans (and even that was rather faint) and stone and wood. It was somewhat surprising that a creature of this size could rage through the town like this and leave little to no scent. Usually the bigger a creature was the longer the scent remained, but Itori's nose told her nothing that she could use to identify or track down the culprit.

The good news was that nobody had died in this attack. The city was aware of the threat of worm attacks so they were prepared to evacuate quickly, and Itori guessed that after they realized that this worm was a lot more dangerous than usual they hadn't wasted any time in getting everyone out of the area as quickly as possible. There was no scent of blood anywhere. The five-tailed vixen found this a great relief, even exhaling audibly. She wasn't frightened by the sight of blood but she would still not have to deal with innocent souls dying because some worm had grown bigger than it was supposed to.

With there being no scent and no traces of the worm aside from the destructive force it brought with it Itori was left with little to do other than tidy up the place in the hope that she could find some clue towards where the worm went, or maybe just loiter long enough that the creature would come back. However she froze in her tracks when her ears perked up, catching the distinct sound of a fox trying to call its allies. It didn't sound like Soul was in pain, but nevertheless Itori turned around and dashed out of the building, running over to where the black fox was positioned in front of a giant hole in the ground. Kumi was already inspecting the hole when Itori arrived, but the white fox quickly joined her in catching the scent and studying the entrance to the bowels of the earth. Aside from the scent the dirt was also too losely packed for it to have been like this for too long. Looking at the diameter of the hole Itori tried to estimate the size of the creature. If it was proportioned like a normal worm... They were looking at a creature that was several dozen of meters long. No wonder it could tear through buildings and walls as if they were nothing.

"That is most likely an accurate assumption. Although I have to admit seeing a direct representation of the size of the creature we are dealing with is making me wish rather fervently that my magic was not sealed away in this place." With just her sword Itori was going to have a hard time killing something which could probably take several sword slices without being slowed down in the least. The small worms were notorious for being able to survive even when parts of its body got cut off, and the spirit fox doubted that these bigger worms lacked that advantage.

When Kumi suggested that they follow the creature into the hole Itori's first reaction was to shake her head, even before she'd really thought about it. She could understand the suggestion, but she couldn't believe it was a good idea to chase down a monstrously oversized worm into the earth where it could attack from any direction and they wouldn't be able to locate it until it was already nearly on top of them.

However she took her time to think it over as she watched Kumi and Soul unsuccessfully try to converse. At the end it was clear that despite his protests the black fox still desired to enter the tunnel, leaving Itori with the last vote. With two votes in favour she wasn't sure how important her vote would even be, but nevertheless she took a step forward and stared into the dark expanse in front of them as she considered their alternatives. One hand was gripping the hilt of her sword, reminding her that it was still there and that she could draw it any moment should danger arrive. But no matter how long she thought about it her cautious mind voted decisively against entering the tunnel, so she sighed and turned to look at Kumi and Soul.

"If both of you believe that exploring the tunnel for at least a short distance would be fruitful I shall follow you. Personally I would rather stay up here, where it is more difficult for the worm to catch us by surprise. However I strongly suggest that we do not go to far and...-" She abruptly stopped talking as she frowned, her body going tense. It had been faint, so faint that she'd barely felt it, but she thought she had felt a tremor underneath. It was faint enough that she would have wondered if she'd imagined it if illusionists weren't trained to distinguish between reality and their own delusions. As it was it could have come from anywhere and from a long distance, leaving the white fox to look around with a worried expression. "I believe I felt the movement of something underground a moment ago, but it was too faint to discern the distance or the location. Should we enter the tunnel or wait to see if more tremors occur?" She wasn't sure if either Kumi or Soul had felt the weak rumble, but she was still quite confident that it had really been there.

WC: 1098
TWC: 3542/3500

Itori was somewhat bothered when Soul was given the order to explore the tunnel right after they'd felt the trembling, but she could understand Kumi's reasoning that if something was going to happen they needed to make sure they saw it coming. Instead of arguing she just looked at Soul before he disappeared into the darkness of the maw of the earth. "Please be careful."

Once Soul had disappeared Itori turned back towards Kumi, a frown clearly visible on her face as her fingers tensed and released around the hilt of her sword. Listening to the other woman's plan she nodded, glancing back towards the hole. "Understood. I shall remain here in case Soul finds something that requires urgent attention." Such as the worm itself, she silently added in her mind while she watched Kumi move towards the building Itori had been exploring before things got a lot more tense. She could hear Soul's footsteps disturbing the ground, the sound resonating throughout the tunnel (albeit somewhat dampened by the soft walls). While a normal human wouldn't be able to hear it clearly she was standing here hoping that the same could be said for the worm. She would expect a creature which spent most of its life underground to be good at sensing vibrations, but would it also be good at listening to the softer kind of sounds?

With Kumi scouting the area from the top of the building Itori could stay on alert in case something happened close by. She was ready to draw her sword at a moment's notice, wishing that she had her magic available. If it wasn't for their location she could have sensed the creature's soul from far away, especially since such a large creature must be brimming with life force. She didn't move for now, lightly balancing on her toes while her tails were all aligned behind her. She could hear the world becoming more impatient, the moment of conflict quickly approaching. She kept her breathing steady as she closed her eyes, focusing on her ears and straining to sense with her feet as well, the way the earth would react to-

The scream from Soul immediately changed her train of thought, the kitsune turning towards the tunnel and dashing inside without a single hesitation. She had to kick harder with her toes to propel herself forwards on the softer ground of the tunnel, although on the upside at least it also reduced the sound of her wooden sandals. When Soul came flying past she tried to catch the black fox, but unfortunately he was out of her reach and even as she stretched one arm he was already gone, back to the surface world where a distinct thunk made it clear that his flight had landed by him crashing into something solid. She hoped that the smaller fox would be all right, but she didn't have much time to think about that as she was now face to face with the worm as it quickly approached.

Without magic to rely on and inside the worm's territory Itori didn't have much choice but to try something reckless. If she tried to run back towards the surface now she'd get overtaken and possibly eaten whole. Grabbing the hilt of her sword with both hands she inhaled sharply, bracing for impact.

The moment the worm was about to smash into her Itori jumped backwards, tumbling to keep herself low while at the same time embedding her sword into the worm's tough skin. The shock jarred her arms, nearly pulling them out of their sockets, as she was carried along by the worm until it reached the surface, at which point Itori planted her feet on the creature's body and forcefully pulled her sword out while at the same time kicking herself away from the big beast.

Her landing was somewhat clumsy, sandals skidding across the paved road as she helped catch her weight with one hand, her other arm stretched away from herself so she wouldn't accidentally cut herself with the white blade she was holding. Looking up she locked onto the worm, her eyes narrow now and the fur on her five tails bristling. In the corner of her view she saw Kumi motioning for her to circle around the monster while Soul kept it busy, but the white-tailed kitsune didn't think that climbing on top of it was going to work. When she'd stabbed the thing to avoid being eaten she'd felt how tough it was: she'd barely gotten her sword inside even with the worm's own momentum behind it. Sitting on top of it would make it difficult to get the leverage to cut it, not to mention the danger if it began to jump in and out of the ground while they were still on top.

Instead she developed another plan, calling out to Soul and beckoning him. "Goad it into charging me!"

Regardless of whether Soul gave an affirmative sound or not Itori would begin to run, using her ears, eyes and nose to track both Soul and the worm, trying to find the right opening for her plan. It required the worm to charge either herself or Soul in a straight line...

When that opportunity arose, the worm rushing towards Soul as if a speedtrain that had lost all semblance of control, Itori came to an abrupt halt in a position where the worm's straightforward charge would go right past her. Planting her feet as if she was planning to lift a boulder with her bare hands she held her sword with both hands, the blade behind her for now as she gritted her teeth and braced for impact.

When the worm passed her Itori swung her sword, or rather put the blade in the worm's path. A sharp pain flashed through her body as her muscles complained from the sudden force, and her sandals slid across the street as she did her best to not lose her grip on either the sword or the ground. However even as she was being pushed backwards she was still not moving nearly as fast as the worm, whose side was being sliced open from head to tail as it essentially drove itself into the sharp edge.

Unfortunately the worm wasn't so stupid as to keep doing that, so after she'd already felt her blade cut into dozens of meters of unusually tough skin and flesh Itori was met with a giant tail smacking into her, the worm changing its course and in the process knocking her aside. The first impact made her gasp, and the second impact where her back was caught by a wall made her grunt. Dropping to her knees she breathed deeply, filling her lungs with air before pushing herself back up, once more returning both hands to the hilt as she prepared herself for the next round.

The worm was pushing its upper body upwards, towering over the other combatants as for a moment it seemed lost on who to attack next. Along its side a long and deep gash could be seen, a dark liquid that glimmered like oil flowing down its skin. Some of that liquid was on Itori as well, and she had to say it reeked really badly, even if its iridescent surface had a strange beauty to it.

WC: 1225
TWC: completed

Itori's ears twitched as she heard Kumi's comment on the way the shimmering blood escaped from the creature's veins to leak down its skin, but the white kitsune was more concerned with making sure she wouldn't get smashed by the worm as it sought to extract revenge from the one who had cut open its side. She wasn't sure if she could use the worm's momentum against it if it came at her from above, especially since it had now endured her trick once and seemed to at least be intelligent enough that it wouldn't senselessly charge into its own death if it could avoid it. However if she succeeded it would do even more damage, since the worm couldn't change its course while descending...

The choice of whether to dodge or to counter was taken out of her hands when instead the worm targeted Kumi, the blue kitsune who had attacked its back instead. While a relief for Itori it also meant that her ally was in danger. If she had her magic available she'd have turned Kumi ethereal to avoid the physical attack, but as it was she couldn't do much but position herself while watching Kumi avoid the attack at the cost of a few scrapes and bruises. The worm slamming into the stone pavement made the ground shudder, but the creature itself appeared to be unaffected as it already began to regain its bearings. However at the same time the black fox charged and began to tear at the wound that Itori had opened, after which Itori got to watch the worm first try to smash Soul before Kumi pushed him to safety with her becoming the victim of the worm's immense weight instead.

Itori was already running before she really thought about what to do next. While she hadn't heard the breaking of bones yet, but she didn't think the other mage would be able to hold out for very long underneath that massive weight. More worryingly Itori couldn't resolve the issue by killing the worm, as that would just mean Kumi would get crushed by its carcass. She had to provoke the worm into moving before it finished crushing her fellow kitsune...

The muscles in her legs complained from all the strain they already had to endure today as she pushed herself to run faster, circling around until she was approaching the worm from the side. Ignoring the pain that flared up in her legs she jumped, then once her sandalled feet touched the creature's side pushed herself yet further upwards, climbing up the creature's body until she reached the top. Once she was above she planted both feet firmly, grabbed the hilt of her white sword with both hands, and plunged it into one of the worm's tiny eyes. The screech that had been released when Soul tore off a chunk of flesh had already been painful, this one made the white kitsune's ears ring even as more of that shimmering iridescent flowed forth, staining her blade and leaking from the eye as the worm reared up and trashed.

Pulling her sword out Itori let herself fall backwards off of the creature. Spinning in the air she managed to land on both feet and one hand, glancing at Kumi to ascertain that her ally was still alive and breathing before she returned her focus to the enemy standing before her, now enraged and targeting her exclusively. Standing up Itori took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Grabbing the hilt of her sword until her knuckles went wide she tried to focus, tried to catch one sound amongst the myriad of sounds that permeated the world around her. The beating of the worm's hearts. It was still strong, despite of the blood the worm had lost. It was strong, and Itori could identify the location of the hearts, a string buried deep inside the creature's immense form.

When the worm smashed down onto Itori the swordswoman jumped to the side. Hearing the rumbling underneath she jumped to the side once more, the worm erupting from where she had been standing. It quickly turned to chase Itori down, the fox beginning to run. Every time the worm tried to strike she moved to the side, always to the same side. The worm had shown a certain amount of intelligence. Not much, but possibly enough...

She could hear it. She could hear that the giant monster was aiming towards the side Itori always dodged towards. It had figured out that she would always dodge in that direction. Which meant it was time to switch. She'd also been dodging upwards, jumping and even stepping off of the worm as it passed underneath her. She was training it to try and strike from above, a direction from which she wouldn't have as easy a time evading as she did. And now she could hear that it was rearing up, then came rushing down towards where she would have been if she dodged as usual.

Turning on one foot she spun, white blade flashing as she failed to dodge to the side. Instead she put her blade where the worm would rush right into it, but this time even deeper than before. The wound had been opened by Soul's fangs and claws and by the worm's own excessively energetic assault. The flesh underneath wasn't as tough as the skin that normally protected it. Itori wasn't going to enjoy this, but it would work.

The ground shuddered and Itori's knees buckled when the worm smashed into the earth, once more tunnelling. Itori's blade once more dug into the creature's body, deeper and deeper. Where before it had only split skin, flesh and veins, now it went all the way to the creature's core. She felt the sharp edge tear through the thick muscles that both protected and formed the chambers which pumped the blood through the body. Where before the blood had seeped forth now it gushed out, covering Itori nearly entirely (something which disgusted her immensely, especially the mess it made out of her tails).

The worm quickly stopped moving after that, its lifeblood having escaped its body. Half buried inside the ground it went limp, the tail end covering the street. Itori herself collapsed, breathing heavily and trying to avoid swallowing any of the disgusting blood, spitting it out while letting her sword slide out of the worm and clatter onto the ground. On hands and knees she shuddered, her body screaming out from the effort it took for her to resist the worm's immense might as she cut through it.

"Are... are you two all right?" She called out rather weakly, hoping that it was at least strong enough that the sensitive ears of her two companions would catch it nonetheless.

WC: 1135
TWC: Completed