The villagers shuffle around nervously, the sounds of the raiders pillaging the town above them having faded well over an hour ago, the dim flickering light of a single lantern casting it's light on the grim scene. But still, none are willing to be the first to peek out and see if it is safe for them to exit. The heat emanating from the thick doors at the top of the stairwell speak of the fire still close and blazing strong. Children weep in a corner, a few of the older ones trying to keep them all from whaling. Though the danger may be gone, they can not be sure, and the sound of a hysterical child is sure to alert anyone to their presence. The children outnumber the rescued adults two to one, many parents sacrificing their lives to keep their little ones from harm. The adults either sit around with dead looks in their eyes or move about trying to comfort and aid one another with cuts and burns. Among those injured is an unusual sight in these parts, and indeed something none in the village had ever thought to owe their life to. His breathing slow and ragged the beast man lay unconscious near the children in the corner. The children, the first to be saved and less bothered by things most consider strange, feel a faint comfort having their savior so close. This son of the Moon Raven clan however does not know this. He does not feel their little hands trying to shake him awake every once in a while, nor does he hear the adults shooing them back while they try to tend to him. The dank little cellar they are hidden away in is not very well maintained, the earth walls and broken shelves give them almost nothing to work with. However, those who still have their wits about them manage to tend to the wounded in short order laving only the long wait until someone screws up the courage to venture forth. Long hours tick by and the stranger does not stir. The little ones seem to one out of tears and eventually their crying leads to sleep. Many curl up right next to Shu and nod of with either a head or a hand on some part of him, taking some incomprehensible comfort in touching him. Eventually however none need worry about checking to see if the coast is clear for instead the cellar doors are thrown open from the outside, showering the stairwell with the deep orange light of sunset. After the near complete dark many of the villagers recoil just from that, while still overs cry out in fear, thinking it the raiders who have found them. The oldest youth goes so far as to take on of the beastman's blades and takes up a protective stance between the stairs and the other children. To their fortune however it is not the raiders that have found them. As the first soldier reaches the bottom of the stairs the older villagers recognize the kings colors and cry out with joy, scrambling over to her. The hardened soldier hides her own relief and sorrow at finding them alive. 'I'm glad someone survived, but. . . .Is this really it? Are these the only ones?' Her eyes land on the youth, still holding the blade but now looking less hostile. The soldiers that come down behind her begin helping the rest of the villagers out, but the youth with the weapon tenses as she approaches. A few of the little ones wake and cry, seeing an armed person approaching, making the boy all the more on edge. “It's alright kid, we're from the capitol. We're not raiders, we're here to help, just, put the blade down.” She speaks softly, keeping her eyes on the young man's. Once she's close enough she carefully takes the weapon away, tucking it in her belt before calling one of the remaining villagers over to help her usher the kids out. She pauses however when she spots the beast man passed out on the ground. When the villager comes to her side she asks, “Who is this? Surely he's not a villager. . . .” A few of the children reach over and take hold of the man, looking up at the soldier as if they are terrified at him being taken away. The mild aged man, his left arm missing below the elbow from his time as a soldier, looks down at Shu and shakes his head. “No, that there is a very brave man. He came with the raiders, I saw him coming into town with them, but before laying a finger on any of us, he turned on his own. Even took a few hits from some frightened villagers, but still only fought raiders.” He coughs slightly, the dust in the air tickling his throat. “If it weren't for him, I doubt any of us would be alive. . .” While not unheard of, and indeed the man sounds sincere, the soldier is unsure if to take this story at face value. 'The little'uns seem to have taking a liking to him though' she muses, her eyes running over the many bandages covering the beastman's arms and chest. Some were obviously put there by little hands trying to be helpful. As such, she's sure he's not quite as hurt as he seems. With a nod she gestures for the man to begin helping her remove the children, many going quite reluctantly, until at last only a handful of them remain attached to the stranger. She sends one of her fellows off to inform the king of the situation and to bring more hands. Should this warrior awaken and still be looking for a fight, she wants to be ready.

War had clashed throughout the land for years, but quick wit and patience had finally awarded their kingdom a brief respite. Though outright war had teetered on the precipice of breaking free once more, negotiations had managed to keep the would be battle-fields on the borders between kingdoms quiet. Unfortunately, the raiders and bandits refused to follow the same code of peace and neutrality. Almost daily, Mathias received reports from various parts of the kingdom where villages were raided and sacked, many put to the torch if his men were not able to get there in time. The kingdom was vast and the army was being spread painfully thin in his attempts to keep everyone safe. He had moved some in closer to the capital to try and minimize the casualties, but many refused to leave their homes and families despite the looming threats. It was all Mathias could do to keep his towns and villages covered, but he continued to try. The last report of raiders attacking one of his Southern-most villages had come in the night, and Mathias had instantly dispatched the remaining small cadre of guards, mostly his own personal guard, to accompany him as they went to see to their safety. They would be travelling most of the night to get there, but he didn't give them a choice. Though the village rested on one of the further borders, they were still his people, and Mathias intended to do whatever he could to keep them safe. Even if, at the end of the day, that meant nothing more than laying their bodies to rest with all of the appropriate respect and dignity they deserted. Sometimes, that was all he could do. They rode in silence, bodies braced low against necks of mounts as they fought against time and distance to get there before all hope was lost. The trip had passed in a blur of hurried scenery as they'd galloped through towns and hunting trails alike. The scent of smoke had the horses snorting and tossing their heads long before the blaze became evident to their eyes. The carnage of the village came as no surprise, but was still a hard thing to see. Brooding silently over the destruction of their home, Mathias sat back in his saddle and let Arius take control. Twice his age and equally experienced, the captain of his guard didn't need guidance in this matter. "Spread out!" the captain called, rising in his stirrups to look over the twelve men and women who had come with them. "Find any survivors." he called, even as his old, tired eyes scanned the burning buildings from beneath his cowl with little hope. "Sari, Lex, take the perimeter. Find me the bloody beasts that did this!" The two men in question gave a quick fist-to-chest salute and wheeled their tired mounts to scout the countryside. Frowning, Mathias picked a direction and kneed his mount into a walk. So much damage and destruction. So much unnecessary death and pain. Anger fought with exhaustion and sadness as he carefully picked his way through the carnage. Ari frowned briefly as he watched Mathias take off. Briefly, he debated following him, but in the end he turned to search the city himself. He didn't expect they'd find anything, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try. Nudging his own colt forward, he began to pick through the rubble in hopes of finding at least some survivors. Activity from one of the cellars in the far side of the village drew Ari's attention and he dismounted and tied off the reigns of his horse to a solid-looking tree before approaching. By the time he'd gotten there the soldiers were already well on their way of clearing out survivors, and he didn't hesitate to jump in and help carry out some of the injured older villagers. Leaving them behind with a few of his other men, Arius ducked into the cellar to explore the space for himself. Grateful for the mask that covered his nose and mouth and protected him against the dust and smoke, he moved down the steps. Eyes squinting as his gaze adjusted to the dimness, he frowned when he noticed the beast at the feet of his Sergeant. "Definitely not." he echoed her words as he looked from the felid on the ground to the villager that had come over to answer the woman's questions. His brows rose slowly at the elder man's description, and he looked down to the unconscious male with new interest. "He protected you?" he asked in disbelief. It wasn't like the beasts to help out the humans, but it would certainly explain his presence here, especially with all of the children clinging to him like some great savior. "I'll take him," Ari rumbled when the children had finally been cleared away. "Help the rest of the villagers." he instructed the soldier, though the few remaining stragglers were already making their way out. "Seems the rest of the village is gone." he rumbled quietly as he crouched down and hauled the beast-man over his shoulder. Adjusting his weight, he braced the unconscious beast with a hand against the small of his back and headed up the stairs to rejoin his comrades. "We'll need a wagon to get everyone out of here. Majesty wants them taken inland for their own safety in case the raiders return." Ari announced as he draped the beast-man's form across the front of his own saddle as gently as was possible. "Him I'll be taking back to the keep for questioning." he informed, leaving no room for argument as he vaulted up into the saddle behind the beast. "Is that everyone?" Mathias asked as he approached the small group of villagers. He didn't mean to sound so disappointed, but there were so few! "Aye, majesty." Ari rumbled as he mounted and settled a hand on the cat to keep him from slipping. Mathias' expression twisted into a frown as he did some quick mental math. So many dead. And for what? "The scouts found no sign of anyone." Mathias groused as he moved his own mount closer to Ari's for the trip back.

The cold chill of stone against his flesh is what greets the beastman upon his waking. His claws spread out reflexively on the hard surface, his last memory of being in fire and resting on earth making the sudden change shocking. A low growl finds it's way out from between his lips as he wakes with a snap, his body trying to come to attention on instinct. Unfortunately a combination of burns, open wounds, and smoke inhalation keeps the beastman down, unable to get beyond being on his hands and knees. His eyes sting at the brightness surrounding him, the sun streaming through an open window shining right one him.

'Where am I? What is this place?!' His growl continues, alerting the guards outside his cell a little way away that he's awake. As one runs off to tell the captain the other moves to into the beastman's line of sight. Shuraal, who had been staring at the window, blinking to try and clear his vision and realizing that the window is barred, snaps his attention over to the guard and lets out a long hiss. He is still very confused as to where he is and what's going on. He backs away slowly, still on all fours, and stares p at the man staring right back.

The man is quite curious over the prisoner, having never been so close to a beastman before. 'They usually keep to themselves, and those who do leave their groups live alone, or so I've heard. They say he saved a bunch of the villagers singlhandedly. Took on the raiders. . .' Despite this claim by the villagers, and the man's unequiped state, the guard keeps a firm hold on his spear, ever at attention should the nonhuman try and escape.

But escape isn't even on Shu's mind at the moment. Right now, all he wants is information. He swallows over and over, trying to get some moisture into his throat, however each time he does he flinches, the action making his throat sting. The hiss hadn't helped. After some deep breathing he manages to calm a bit, his tail brushing against the back wall of the cell. Slowly his lips fall over his fangs and he leans back into a sitting position, his claws still pressed into the stone floor. 'I need to stop, to think. This can't be the raiders' He begins reasoning with himself, looking the guard over carefully, making him uncomfortable though the armed man would never admit it.

'The raiders would not take prisoners. They don't do that. The only place even remotely related to them that would have a stone cell like this is miles and miles away, and I would have been forcibly woken up and tortured. . .No, this, this must be. . .' He closes his eyes and shakes his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind, once hand coming up to clutch the side of his head. It's all too much right now. He knows he must be somewhere related to the villagers he helped. . .'[/i] His eyes snap open. Looking up once more at the guard he croaks out, “The villagers, the children, they, they are *cough* safe?!” His eyes are intense and his voice, despite it's roughness, sounds honestly worried.