Kaer Morhen

[Apollymi]

This lad would not be discouraged from his actions. It was strange to this woman. She'd seen more than her fair share of new pupils die, but never had she told someone in such blunt terms they were going to die, to have them argue about it. There was no backing down, no light of hope diminishing within the lad's eyes as she shared this news. He simply claimed that it would be fine. He showed her what he meant by this, allowing his Mana control to fail and in his left hand a wisp of energy showed. The Medallion on her neck vibrated with magical energy and she was left with a raised brow. "A creature that high order, chose a human as their mate? How strange..." she murmured. Still given what his problem was, the absoluteness of his death was no longer certain. It seemed the boy simply wished to remain exactly as his was, without becoming the same type of higher order creature who created him.

She sighed, her red hair swiftly moving about her shoulders as she gathered a myriad of ingredients and began pouring them into a mortar and pestle. "Even if you don't die, you do understand that the changes made to your physiology will be permanent. There will be no heirs produced by you... you cannot change your mind about this," for a person native to this world such a speech was absolutely normal. She didn't know it what it would likely seem like to the lad. Instead she busied her hands, crushing herbs adding strange liquids and live small samples. This concoction was a vile mix of things, made to mutate everything about this lad that was human. it would make him stronger, faster, give him a certain bit of extra... but things could not be gained without other things being lost. If he understood this they would continue. She walked over to a nearby fireplace removing from the mantle a coin like Medallion, which was blank in its conception but malleable by magic alone. The base of it was things that a Witcher would use, but what would become of it, and its final shape was something that would be determined by this boy's body alone. "If you are certain put on the necklace and sit on the table prepare for your binding." If he lived through the ordeal, the Medallion would bind itself to him and change its shape. If not, he'd die, and she'd return it to where it had been before. She sat a cup beside the lad containing the contents of her concoction the Trial of Grasses would begin as soon as he was ready.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, isn't it?" Kou said, playing along with the idea while knowing he'd simply selected a combination of races to be. Perhaps, somewhere in the world, there was a legitimate case of a half-Celestial that was properly born. No matter. His existence was a matter of importance, but not how it came to be. He knew what his racial combination could do for him in taking the Trial of the Grasses, and he knew that his human half would be forever altered... maybe. Either way, there were no other worthwhile options. Either he'd lose the human half of his identity, or he'd earn a few boosts to its abilities, and essentially undo a hindrance in his build made by specializing in magic as a Saber Class. As neither outcome would do harm, he didn't even give a second thought to hopping atop the table and stretching himself out into the bindings. "Yeah yeah, it's fine. I'm not the type to worry about heirs and shit anyway. Gimme the juice~"

[Apollymi]

It seemed the lad also thought his particular parentage was strange. Whatever the case, he claimed a readiness to continue that this woman could only admire, though she did so secretly given his mortality ratio. The fact that this lad claimed not to care about heirs was also very strange, if he already had them it would be one thing, but lives were long and many died wishing to pass along their knowledge. She supposed an understudy would also work, or technically he could claim an heir in a different manner. Whatever the case, she had a task to perform. "I understand, here..." and with that she aimed to pour the entirety of the cups contents down the lad's throat. Immediately after she'd secure his bindings and then she'd wait. There was nothing else to be done of course. And though she'd seen this process take place dozens if not hundreds of times before, watching the transformation of another individual always stirred her own memory of the process and always broke a little something inside of her.

[Bloodedge]

Now that the chatter was out of the way, Kou was ready to take on the Grasses. This was going to be a very, very new experience for the lad. He had no clue what to expect from the concoction being poured down his throat, but he found it to be rather... disgusting. If that was the worst he had to deal with, everything would be fine. If only the most tedious part of this ordeal was being so disgusted by the Grasses themselves, that he wished to vomit on the spot.

It was far from the worst.

Kou kept his position atop the table, as if he had much choice otherwise. Aside from a bit of coughing and a few rolls of the tongue from the liquid itself, it didn't seem so bad. That is, until he felt the Grasses making their way through his body. The sensation could not be described as pain. Well, perhaps it could... if such a mundane word could be individually applied to every cell, every fiber of his being. Convulsions came quickly. He had an immediate urge to scream as his eyelids stretched to their limit, but all that escaped him was a gurgling that would not stop. His fists clenched repeatedly, his ankles twisted with matching frequency, and his head turned with a quickness that led to his face slamming against the table. What made the people of this world decide this was a worthwhile process? For a simple advancement of one's own power, the procedure alone was enough to drive one to a madness which made it all worth nothing. Even knowing he had no chance of actual death, Kou felt as if he were being killed and recreated again, and again, and again. How long would this last? Maybe he should have asked. Maybe it didn't matter, as a single second more was always too much...

[Apollymi]

The grasses and the disgusting original taste of things, his current feelings... they were only the beginning. This process was a long and arduous one. As his body became accustomed to its current state of furvor, another concoction needed to be mixed. Forktail Spine Fluid, Mandrake, Ribleaf, Manticore Poison Gland... all things to be combined and boiled down while the lad did suffer. If he was still alive by the time the concoction was finished, it'd be administered directly, this time through a tube and a vein in his arm. He would not have to taste this, but it would cause worse effects. Most likely of the side effects would be seizure, but there were others. She hadn't been kidding when she mentioned that madness was a factor, those who underwent these trials weren't always the same afterwards. "It will get worse before it gets better..." these words were probably of little comfort, but did at least imply the lad might be alright. Days on end this woman would stay at his side, and over the duration she'd administer more chemicals to change the lad's physiology. Did she block out his struggles? No... she listened to them all and continued her own work, leaving him in a half finished state wasn't an option either.

[Bloodedge]

Oh, if only the lad knew. Perhaps another method would have been more favorable after all, but it was far too late for those thoughts now. He couldn't even finish a single line of thought before his mind was clouded by the excruciating agony. It all came in pulses like a heartbeat, making adjustment impossible. Worse yet was the fact that there was more yet to come. Another concoction was funneled directly into his veins, which themselves would rise to the surface of his skin all over his body in future days. Naturally, time was entirely lost to him. That burning sensation of Akashi pushing himself to the surface of this body was the work of mere children compared to the hell he experienced over the course of a week.

The screams found their way out of him eventually, echoing throughout the weathered castle for at least three days straight. No food, no drink, and endless pain that made sleep an impossibility were all he knew for days on end, and it took everything the Celestial part of his anatomy had to offer, just to keep him going. His Mana enshrouded him in a very uncommon manner, looping in and out of his physical form over and over again. Words were spoken to him at some point, but he could not comprehend them. Did his ears even work? Maybe. Maybe these words were simply drowned out by his own screaming.

Eventually though, the outcries would come to a sudden halt. Kou fell completely silent, baring slit pupils in those starry eyes of his while his body became limp...

[Apollymi]

Screams and pain, was all this assassin woman had to offer the lad who'd wanted to become a Witcher. On day one she was still feeling like he wouldn't survive, by day three his screams made her wish he had. Still, it had been quite some time since she was last able to see one progress so far. She began to have home for him by day five, even as his screaming and fitful sleepless continued. And then, on day seven something amazing happened. The boy went absolutely quiet and his eyes, those amazingly starry eyes of his, shown slit pupils instead of the round ones. He'd... survived the process. "It seems you were right about your own heartiness..." she mentioned but she did not let him up yet. No, there was still a danger here, if he was mad, it was better to let him lay there. If he was mad, it would be better to put him down now than risk what he would do if he left this room. "State your name, and what you wish to do when I free you..." she said calmly. If she didn't like the answer she'd kill him here herself, that was the way. No use in freeing a mad monster slayer among the unsuspecting. That would not be good for the image of the Witchers as an organization.

[Bloodedge]

More silence. Even for several seconds after being addressed by the redhead, Kou did nothing but stare at the ceiling. It was over, right? Surely the pain and suffering of it all was a thing of the past now, but it lingered in his mind nonetheless. Eventually, only his eyes moved to look upon the woman. He seemed to be resting somewhere between fearful, distraught, and hateful. After all he'd been through, she had the nerve to question him before he was released? Sure, there were reasons for doing so, but those reasons be damned! Kou's Mana surged from his every pore, and the added physical strength of the procedure made breaking free of his restraints a simple feat. He sat up immediately, as the object placed on him at the beginning dangled from his neck, having formed into a pendant in the shape of a wolf's head with red jewels in its eyes.

What would he do when he rose this way? Well, he'd take a deep, deep inhale, and... sigh. "... Fuck," he muttered in a grainier tone than normal, seeming to have damaged his voice. This wasn't his answer to the woman; not at all. His first spoken word was nothing more than a representation of everything he felt, from pain to relief. "Could use a burger. You keep food in this place?"

[Apollymi]

Apparently this lad didn't take kindly to still being restrained. Much to her surprise, he immediately raised the level of his Mana breaking free of his restraints and sitting upright. As a matter of reflex the woman with her long red hair was at the ready, twin swords in each hand. She had them in a cross formation. She wasn't one known for direct combat, but she was fairly certain of her ability to kill someone directly while they were still seated. His follow up statement in a tone much more gravelly than he'd normally spoken was to ask for... food.

Food.

The woman relaxed visibly. It was a normal thing to ask for. "You could have just said you were hungry. I would have let you up," she said with blandness in her tone. She tapped her left temple with the edge of a blade, in a manner that would make a normal person's skin crawl. She'd not seen someone survive this process in quite a while, it was a bit of a relief to know that it wasn't a completely broken process. No matter what the cost. She came a bit closer, inspecting the pendant on his neck and finding it to be a wolf head. "I see, you belong here more than I do..." she mentioned moving herself towards the door, she turned her back to the lad and said one other thing. "I have no idea what the hell a burger is. But, you are free to eat your fill, White Wolf." she said as she sheathed her weapons and led the lad to the meal hall and whatever was beyond that.

[Bloodedge]

He wasn't going to wait around to be let loose. If this woman had released him instead of greeting him with questions, his post-suffering rudeness could have been avoided. He soon removed himself from the table, standing for the first time in a week, yet without feeling odd about it at all. If anything, he felt it was easier to move too much compared to how his body function before. His vision, as well, was quite powerful. Even within the dim room he was in, he saw more clearly than he could ever imagine.

Being referred to as White Wolf was strange. Taking a moment, he looked at the pendant around his neck. A wolf's head, of all things? Well, he supposed now he'd have to deal with two additional identities, between White Hawk and White Wolf. That was a shame, but an even greater shame was the lack of a burger here as well. If only he could find a place in this world that could offer him a tasty burger. Alas... food was necessary regardless, so he'd partake of something. "What do you have? And where's Hikari?"

[Apollymi]

Did the assassin know it wasn't nice to leave people tied up after experimenting on them? Yes. Was she about to break with that tradition putting a danger to her own life, and the life of every individual to be found within this place? No. It was rather simple really. When asked about food options the woman didn't really know what to say, they had standard food. "Vegetables, goat, fowl, maybe boar if anyone has done any hunting," she said upon reaching the kitchens she began to look through. There were a couple of staff moving about any more than willing to see to the needs of these people. "See that he's fed," she said as the kitchen people began moving around. There was no high class presenation to this food, but there were plenty of smoked meats visible in the burning fires, plenty of vegetables both raw and roasted and cups for ale or whatever, which ever he'd prefer to drink.

There was the matter of the Demi-Human the lad had shown up with. She'd been quite troublesome when he hadn't emerged the second or third day, by the end of the fifth day something rather strange had happened. "She's in the training grounds... apparently some of the others took a liking to her attitude. She hasn't been put through the trials but, she has some interesting qualities to start with. You could see her from that window..." she said with a shrug, pointing towards a opening in the castle which overlooked the inner training grounds. Hikari right at the moment was balanced atop logs completing an obstacle course blind-folded short sword in hand to knock away any random object that found its way into her path. A group of stern looking Witchers of various ages watching the lass compete on a level they didn't think possible for any outside of their ilk.

[Bloodedge]

The woman mentioned a selection of foods which... he supposed were about the norm for this world. It was disappointing that he could not partake of something he tended to enjoy: a good soba, perhaps something with rice. Whatever the case, food was food. He'd proceed to claim an entire roasted leg of goat, which he would bite into as he moved toward the window referenced by his trial-giver. Of course others took a liking to Hikari's attitude; she had a very explosive personality, as far as he was concerned. As he watched her through the window, he did so with much intent. "Hm-" he mumbled, pushing open the window to lean out of it. Now that he gave it consideration, she seemed to have become quite capable.

Luckily, he had a new physique to test. Another bite taken, and he hopped down from the window. His landing would occur atop a long within the same obstacle course Hikari worked through, and he'd draw his sword immediately. He moved forward, spinning around an immobile obstruction to step onto a log closer to Hikari, and his sword swept through the air horizontally to aim a strike at her right side.

[Apollymi]

Hikari and her obstacle course were having a pretty decent go of it. Strangely, there was a shift. She sniffed the air, her ears twitching atop her head. She turned in place twisting her sword around her body in a halo, stopping the path of the incoming sword. Her follow up was to kick out to the right, at what she approximated to be the torso of most beings, while she balanced atop one leg. She aimed to knock off, whatever newcomer had emerged. Of course, such an action was reflexive with enough force to jar anyone who met the kick. "Oi oi, I'm working here! I'm almost done, jeez wait your turn..." the girl chided as her actions took place. Still with the blind fold in place she hadn't a clue it was her brother she swung her weapon against. No, he didn't smell the way her brother smelled, nor did he move the way she'd gotten used to him doing... at least not to her given what she'd picked up so far. The people watching the lass work, seemed to be strangely entranced by this new addition to her training. They wondered about the outcome of such a situation.

All the while the assassin watched from the window. What an interesting pair of siblings these had to be. 'Hmphf, I have a feeling their marks on the world are going to be something else...' the woman mused to herself. Instead of jumping down into the courtyard. She took the long way around, a casual stroll feeling generous enough to give them time to bond more.

[Bloodedge]

A quick deflection was about what he'd hoped for. He was right; she had a respectable amount of skill about her. Thinking to truly test this, as well as his own abilities, he closed his eyes. Spinning again in the opposite direction, he stepped forward once more. He was led around Hikari's outstretched leg while spinning his sword, switching it to his other hand with a reverse grip. "Hm," he mumbled as he reached out to grab a hanging obstacle, using it to maintain his balance during a forward lunge of his sword's pommel. His aim was simply to strike the girl's abdomen with it, applying just enough force to knock her from the log if it struck properly.

[Apollymi]

She'd definitely deflected a sword strike, but, there'd been no contact of her leg. That was strange, someone else moving about this course with the same amount of skill she'd possessed at base, would have been sparring with her already. The Demi-Human's brow furrowed and her ears continued to twitch. No sound from feet? He'd grabbed hold of something... She'd pivot on that still solitary leg, bringing the one she'd kicked outward with down in front of herself. Firmly planting her feet. All of this was done solely for the purpose of getting the wind knocked out of her by the pommel of a sword aimed towards her abdomen? She fell off the log, she was on pouting testily as she removed her blindfold. "Hey what's the big fucking idea. Wait your turn you Obstacle-Sniping-Line cutting----" was there more? Maybe but her eyes were open now and they settled upon the lad who'd emerged from inside recently. "BAKA-NII!!!!" that was the follow up as tears of joy streamed down her face and she flew towards the lad aiming to hug him instead of attack him. "I really should kick your ass. You had me worried sick, making all kinds of irrational decisions. Then you have the nerve to cut in on my training, you fucking Nerd!" overall she was quite happy to see him. She'd raised a certain amount of fuss after finding out how long the lad would basically be tortured and was happy to see him fighting fit.