Oni and the Forest. (Tanaka v Ophelia.)

Ophelia let out a small chuckle. "We prefer it that way. The less people know about us, the better. You may not realize it, but fairies have most likely run into you." Some of the younger fairies were looking at the stranger in awe, now that there wasn't an immediate danger. Cordelia couldn't help tracing a finger up one of his horns, to see if it was actually real.

"I believe the same could be said of you, however. We haven't seen one of your kind around these woods, before. And we've been here for some time. You told Perdita you were an...Oh-nee, yes? I've heard the name spoken before, but I had no idea what they were. I must admit, it caught me a little bit by surprise when I first saw you, and more than a few Midara make their way through here, as well."

Katarina walked next to her mother and whispered in her ear, "So, are you gonna tell him, or should I?" Ophelia was silent for a beat, before nodding. "Mr. Tanaka, we are predators by nature. Since I've already deemed you as something too dangerous for us, I felt that you should know, as much. I don't need to explain what we were doing before you noticed us, and before Perdita fell into you, do I?" She let the question sit in the air to gauge his reaction. Most people usually aren't too happy to find out they were, at one point, being hunted. If worse comes to worst, she could flee with the children before she leads him back home. There was quite a few pitfall traps still left, after all.

These kids seemed to be attracted to him like moths to a flame. He just let out a huff, continuing to walk. "Yeah...I travel a lot, but I don't see too many of my kind around here. As for what you were doing...I assume you were trying to find some poor sap you could eat? Though I don't know what you'd eat from em....Ya don't look to me like ya eat meat."

He seemed to have taken it rather well, all things considered. "You'd be correct, that we do feed off of travelers that come by these woods. However, we're not savages, or killers. We feed off their mana, and we make it a point not to kill anyone...accidents aside. Most end up escaping at one point or another."

Some of the fairies around him were talking among themselves at the mention, with a few pointing fingers at Cordelia, who made no real reaction to it aside from a snort. Hermia was especially ticked at her reaction, and took everything she had not to finish what she started.

"Honestly, I expected you to see us as a threat after I told you. Most do."

".....I'll admit. Yer giving me a bad taste in my mouth. All these traps and tricks, and feeding off people....Preying on those that are weaker than ya....It's sickening...Brings back some unpleasant memories, to say the least."

An exhale. Relax, Tanaka..You aren't in the Underworld..and you aren't dealing with them. While these fairies sounded quite familiar to Midara.... "That being said. You said it yourself. I'm too dangerous for you. Even if we were to come to blows, I feel like I'd have the upper hand." Was that boasting? Bravado? Or was he that sure of his skill? The blades upon his hips were no mere toys, after all.

She noticed his change in attitude from his statement. Something about the way his expression changed gave her the impression that he was at least familiar with creatures like her. It was enough to send a few of the fairies away from him from the sudden shift in attitude. Cordelia, however, wasn't too perturbed. "I don't expect you to understand. Most people can't..."

"And I've already admitted to that fact. Some I'm willing to put things at risk if it would mean a good outcome for the children, but others, like yourself...I won't put their lives at risk. I could tell from the way you carried yourself; You're quite skilled with those weapons of yours, aren't you? Plus, I didn't know what you were. For all I know, you could have been in league with those humans that profit off of creatures like us."

Despite his emotions, Cordelia, with her emotionless expression was circling through him, taking mental notes of his weapons, armor, size, bulk...anything she could tell at a glance. Eventually it brought her back up to his side as a sly smile crossed her lips. "You ever killed anyone?"

"Cordelia!" The shout was enough to make her shake, as the burning gaze of her mother was enough to melt away that bravado as she joined her sisters. "Please forgive her. She doesn't know her limits, sometimes."

"Feh. I got no reason to join humans. As for how skilled I am...."

Cordelia's question caused him to give a toothy grin. "Lass. I'm about one hundred years old. I'm a fighter as well as a blacksmith. Need I say any more?"

While the expression was meant to at least spook the smaller fairy, Cordelia's wild grin in kind said volumes. If anything, it seemed to excite her more. A light pat on the head from her mother was enough to get her to calm herself, though, looking a little annoyed but accepting it. "Honestly, Cordelia...you really shouldn't be prioritizing that. It's not efficient." The little fairy grunted, not really seeing it but not wanting to upset Ophelia further.

At his statement though, some of the other fairies peeked their heads out in wonder. "He's 100 years old?!?" "Most humans don't even live that long!" "But he looks so young compared to them!" "I wonder how old Oh-Nee live?" The younger fairies were chatting among themselves, just loud enough that Tanaka could hear snippets of their discussion. Ophelia only sighed, as she couldn't really stop them now. "Forgive them, the children haven't seen anything quite like you."

It wasn't long before they came to a home deep within the forest. The winding path they took would make it near impossible to stumble into, although a scant few have. It looked like it had been there for ages, with vines and greenery growing through the stone that made up its side.

"We don't get many guests that aren't planned as food. The least we can do is treat you to some tea. That is, if you're not too off put by us..."

"Eh. No big deal. I can't fault em for being curious. As for yer offer....I spose I can come in for a cup. More of a fan of sake, myself....And no, I refuse to let yer kids drink it. Last I need are a bunch o' kids flying about drunk off their derrieres!"

"Sah...Kay?" Now it was Ophelia's turn to be confused, as the word was foreign to all of them. "Well, if it's anything like alcohol, then I appreciate the sentiment. Some of the older ones have tried it, though. Katarina, the oldest, is the only one who's developed a fondness for it. Most of the others write it off from the taste."

Katarina was quick to wrap her arms around the Oni in a friendly gesture. "I'm more a beer gal, myself! We don't get it around her very often, but every now and then, some traveler will bring it with them." She chuckled to herself as she remembered a few of those cases.

Cordelia was the one to pipe up at the statement. "Tried it. Tasted foul. Don't see the appeal of having emotions inhibited."

Katarina just sighed at her resignation. "You just don't get it, Cordi! It's an adult thing!" She looked over at Tanaka. "I'm the oldest, by the way. Juuust under Mom's age of-"

Ophelia cleared her throat, getting the attention of everyone present. "Oh, whoops! Sorry, almost did a goof there. Look, Mom, we don't normally get guests over! Can you really blame me! Most people that come here end up being, or at least are planned to be, food!"

"I suppose not...come inside, Mr. Tanaka. I'll have the younger ones prepare you something. I hope you don't mind it being herbal." She welcomed him into the house as the smaller fairies got to work getting out the materials for tea-making. They moved with a surprising amount of precision, even if a few of them bickered a little.

"Please, sit." The two elder fairies took a seat on a couch in the main living area, looking dusty but livable, and across from a comfy looking seat.

"Ah...Sake's rice wine...much more potent than beer or wine. Amazing when drunk warm. Good for those cold nights when you need something to warm up the old bones..."

The comment about age made Tanaka chuckle as he followed them inside. Admiring the interior decoration, he made his way to the chair and sat down, unstrapping his two blades from his hip and resting them upon the side of his seat.

"A nice place you have here, miss."

Katarina was definitely curious at this "Sah-Kay" that Tanaka mentioned. 'More potent' than the stuff they occasionally find made her a little excited. She'd have to ask him later for more details.

The smaller fairies flew a few cups of tea in front of the two groups, shifting the steaming cups in front of the individuals. Ophelia took a moment to take in the smell, herbal and dark, like a fresh summer morning. While it wasn't something they specifically needed, they could at least appreciate the flavor, and had done so enough times to make it rather well. For many days, it was something that the family did together. She took a sip of the steaming tea, looking more calm than ever. Katarina did so as well, even if she wasn't quite as big of a fan of it as her mother.

"We found it here in the forest. We believe humans made it a while ago and then abandoned it." She punctuated her words with another sip. "So, Mr. Tanaka...tell me about yourself. As Katarina mentioned, it's rare that we have actual guests. What brings you through our forest?"

"...."

Tanaka leaned forward, taking the cup and swirling the brew around before sipping it. Tasted nice...filled him with a sense of warmth that he could truly appreciate.

"A shame they'd abandon it. As for your question...I like traveling the world. I was doing just that when I got lost within your forest. Mildly annoying, I must admit...But it allowed me to meet you all, so I suppose one could see that as a blessing of sorts. As for me telling you about myself....That all depends on what you want to know."

A few fairies looked between themselves at his offer, a few questions already bubbling up between them. A big smile crossed their faces as a few of them quickly approached him and started throwing out question after excited question.

"Where'd you come from?!?" "Did you make those swords?!?" "What's an Oh-Nee?" "Do you have a bad sense of direction?"

"Girls!" The voice of their mother rung out and instantly silenced the excited mob. "It's rude to crowd our guest. If you're going to ask questions, decide among yourselves to do so one at a time. Or none of you will be allowed to."

The last sentence was enough to spook the younger fairies, as they huddled between themselves to whisper and decide what they wanted to do. It took a few moments, before they all nodded, and pushed Hermia forward. She fiddled with her hands a little, clearly nervous. "So, uh...we'd never seen, anything like you in the forest, before. And, we haven't left places like this in, well...a really long time. So...what's your home like?"

A chuckle escaped the wizened smith at their excitement. He didn't expect to be so popular. As the kids finally decided on someone to ask, he placed a single finger on her head, patting it lightly.

"The Underworld.....Best way I can put it is....Hrmm." Tanaka pulled the pipe out, lightly tapping his chin with it. "...Ye know the whole thing humans say about Hell? How it's fire and brimstone? It's like that. Rivers of magma, flowing through caverns of black stone, so massive ye can't see the ceiling, though that may be the clouds of ash. There are tunnels, but any unprepared traveler may find themselves losing their way, and perishing."

The Oni closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "As for the villages....Not much to really speak of. They're definitely home. Our homes are made of the same rock as the cavern itself. They at least look like some of the places you will see here on the surface."

Opening his eyes, a crooked grin made it's way to his face. "It's a nice place when ye get past the smell and the heat...Might be good for yer pores, too."

Some of the fairies let out an "ooooh" at his description. For right now, they looked like a group of rambunctious children, and what they were being told was something that was hard for them to wrap their heads around. All of them were used to lush forests, full of life, for as long as they've been alive. What the oni described to the young children sounded, well...it sounded awful to the little fairies. All of the ones that were curious were sitting on the table, cross-legged and looking up at their guest, enamored by having someone new to interact with.

"That doesn't sound like a great place..." "But people like him live there, so..." "Maybe it's not so bad!" "I definitely wouldn't wanna live there, though..." Ophelia watched her children take in this information with a curious, but calm expression on her face. Seeing them this energetic and excited made her feel a little bit at peace, herself. She clasped her hands together, creating a sound that caught her children's attention. "Remember: one at a time."

Not wanting to wait and discuss it with themselves this time, the children's hands all raised up in succession, trying to get their own questions out, but Aemilia's went up first. Ophelia, noticing that, pointed to her, giving her the okay, as some of the others groaned at being too slow. She gave a small curtsy to her mother before facing Tanaka.

"If this is a topic that you don't want to talk about, I'll fully understand. However, if I may be so bold...do you have any family of your own, Mr. Tanaka?" Her gaze was inquisitive, a little harder than some of her siblings, but not oppressively so. Even he would be able to see she was a little more mature than some of her other sisters.

"Heh....Now that...is a question." Tanaka rubbed his chin in thought. "If yer asking me if I have a lover....No, no I don't. That's a full on commitment. As for my parents? If they haven't passed on, they're pretty old...I haven't checked in on them in a very, very long time."

Aemilia looked at him with a curious expression. He seemed open enough, at the very least. The idea of family was very important to fairies, for obvious reasons. While fairies weren't one to participate in relationships usually, they at least understood how much it meant for others. But family was something they felt, sometimes even more than most creatures, as their entire lives revolved around it. And their guest's casual dismissal of it didn't sit quite well with the older fairy.

Aemilia was quite for a moment, before calmly answering. "...you should visit them, sometime. If they're anything like ours, they're probably worried sick." With just that one sentence, she sat back down with her siblings. Hermia chuckled to herself as she did, causing Aemilia to look her direction. "What're you giggling about?"

"Well, you just kinda got me thinkin', that's all...you care a lot about us, don'tcha?"

"Of course I do. What a stupid question." Aemilia popped her younger sister in the back of the head, but only lightly, for doubting her, before lightly putting her hand on the back of her head.

Before Ophelia could get out a word, Katarina's hand next to her sheepishly went up. "...well, I hadn't said anything yet, but I suppose that counts. As long as the others are fine with it?" She looked over the crowd of fairies, and no one was having any complaints. Katarina was in a special position, after all. "Very well. The floor is yours, Katarina."

The other fairy cleared her throat, before leaning forward. "So, you're out in the world, going from place to place, exploring the sights...what are you really looking for? Thrills? Riches? A significant other, perhaps~?" The purple fairy pressed her arms underneath her breasts as she did, extenuating her bust with a sly wink, before letting it drop as she leaned back into the couch. "I only ask cause, like...everyone's got something they really want out of life. There's gotta be something that really speaks to you, yeah?"

"I may have to...If they're alive, I'll spend time with them...If not, then I'll tell them the sights I've seen."

At Katarina's question, Tanaka scratched his cheek. If he had any response to her chest, he didn't show it, instead keeping his gaze leveled with hers. "...I've been around for many, many years. Life's pretty stagnant down there in the Underworld, ya know? But up here? There's many differnt things I can see, so many things I can do...If I want to better my fighting skills, I can. If I want to learn a new craft, or new styles of smithing, I can. That's why I travel."

If he had any sort of reaction to her little teasing, it was impossible to tell for the fairy. Katarina could only assume that he just wasn't into that kind of thing. Or he had an incredible actor's face.

"So, you're one of those 'roaming warrior' types, huh? I get you, I get you...we see a couple of them go through our forest every now and then. Some of them taste pretty nice, too..." The fellow Elder couldn't help but lick her lips at the thought.

"Katarina, control yourself. You might set our guest at a bit of unease..."

"Oh! Sorry, just kinda zoned out there..." Katarina looked genuinely a little ashamed of lapsing into her memories a little, a light blush painting her face, but it's not like the oni could blame her. Getting actual guests was clearly a rarity for all of them, and many weren't quite used to having to socialize with someone in a genuine way.

"Now, children, our guest has been very patient with us, but I don't want you tiring him out. So, you get one more question, and then it'll be time for bed. Alright?" Ophelia had kept Perdita next to her ever since they had returned home, the little girl gently snoring as she was held in the safety of her mother's breasts. She had a little drool coming from her mouth as she did, but at the very least, it seemed like the worst of her punishment was over. Every now and then, one of Ophelia's hands will move to pet the little girl's head, always electing a cute smile from the sleeping fairy.

The fairies nodded to themselves, huddling together again to think of the best question they could. They'd already heard about this "Underworld" that he came from, what he's good at, what he's trying to do in life...it had to be something they'd all be satisfied with. It was about a minute of intense whispering between them (along with some light bickering) before they broke from the circle, with Ariel taking the front.

The orange fairy cleared her throat, mentally preparing herself. "Mr. Tanaka, if we may...we've decided on one last thing to ask. I-If it's not too much trouble..."

Hermia patted her on the back, rather hard, at her stuttering. "Just ask him already!"

"R-Right...Well, you've told us, a lot about you, so far. S-So, we had to think for a while, and we came up with...w-well...what do you think of, well...us? We haven't had a chance to just talk with people, for, like...forever, and...well, most people see us kind of like...monsters, and all...n-not that we really blame them! But..." Ariel stuttered to herself for a while, tripping over her words and trying to continue but failing miserably. Some of the younger fairies chuckled to themselves at seeing the familiar sight. Ariel had a habit of getting overly nervous, and a few of them had urged her to tell the question mainly for the reaction.

The Oni rose an eyebrow at Katarina's reactions, but looking at the others, he felt a small smile make it's way to his face. They looked happy with one another, truly content. While it bothered him that they preyed on people, he couldn't really fault them, now could he?

At the last fairies question, he leaned forward...and lightly pat her head. "Not a fan of the fact that ye don't fight yer prey..But I've got no qualms with ya. Yer some good kids. And yer mom seems to at least be somewhat trying to keep ya on the straight and narrow. Glad I got to meet ye."

Ariel prepared for the worst at seeing him lean forward, wincing a little as she expected the usual response most people gave at just seeing them...but it never came. Instead, she let out a small gasp as she was instead greeted by a small pat and a softer smile. It was infectious, and enough to make Ariel smile as well, leaning upwards more into the pat as her wings flapped behind her. The troublemakers that a few of them were, some of her siblings groaned at the sappy sight, but it didn't seem to faze her one bit.

The clap of Ophelia's hands closing together was enough to draw their attention back to their mother. "All right, children. You've had your fun. But, it's getting late, and I'm sure our guest has to continue his journey. Besides, it's almost bedtime." This elected an even larger groan from the group, but they all floated off to prepare themselves for bed, but not before giving their own farewells to the large oni. Ophelia and Katarina were quick to join them.

"Give me but a few minutes, Mr. Tanaka. I wouldn't advise staying the night with us, personally. Those that would come looking for us might link you to us. I'll be sure to see you off, before you go, though." With that, she and Katalina walked off, going to prepare the younger ones for bed.

"Understandable." Tanaka stood up, groaning at the sound of his bones creaking as he walked towards the door. There he waited, checking to make sure that his blades were still attached to his hips.

As the oni waited, a few sounds could be heard from further inside the house. Some bickering between some familiar voices. A few raised shouts, even if most of them sounded playful. A few words that would be rather unknown to the traveler, muffled by the walls but still noticeable. Chances are, the family wasn't used to having people in the house aside from themselves.

After a moment, the voices stopped, and out walked the two elders, Ophelia looking slightly worse for wear. Disheveled was a nice way of putting it, with her hair out of place and looking a little bit tired herself as she sighed, her back against the door.

"If you're feeling tired, Mom, you can go sleep with them..."

"No, no, it's fine. Besides, it's only fair." Taking a moment to collect herself, she noticed Tanaka still waiting for the two of them. "I apologize if you were waiting a while. Sometimes the children can be a little...rambunctious, before bed." Ophelia tucked some hair behind her ears, before walking forward into the night air. "Come, I'll guide you through the forest to the other side. That's where you were going, yes? Wandering out here alone is just asking for other Midara to try something silly."

As she walked onward, Katarina went up to Tanaka, placing a hand to her mouth. "Try not to bring up how tired she looks. She's, uh, kinda prideful, about what she does." She passed him a little knowing smirk, hoping he'd at least understand it, before joining her mother's side, making sure she doesn't wear herself down too much. "So, were you just gonna stay up here quietly the whole time?"

She thought for a moment as she walked. "...I suppose not, no." She slowed her pace a little, letting the oni catch up to the two of them.

This time, Katarina brought a hand up to her mother's ear. "So, this guy's been pretty open with us. Do you think we should tell him about...that?"

The expression on Ophelia's face looked completely shocked at the very idea. "...are you sure, Katarina?"

"What's he gonna do with that info? It's not like it can bite us in the butt, at least."

Ophelia's arms crossed, her brow furrowed in thought at the idea.

"Ah, no worries. And here I was, thinkin' ya were gonna try and take this time to eat me. Not sure how I'd taste, though." A smirk was on his face at the lighthearted jab. As they walked, he followed. His hand tapping the hilt of his blade as he processed everything he had learned today.

It was a moment before Ophelia spoke again. She hadn't discussed these topics with anyone, even the children, aside from Katarina. She had a point, that him knowing about it wouldn't impact them any more than him knowing they exist. And, he had been open with the children. She hadn't seen them that genuinely happy about anything that wasn't just feeding in some time.

Eventually, she sighed, letting her form relax, looking over at Katarina and nodding. The younger Elder's face lit up with excitement, as she turned to face their oni friend. "Hey! Hey! Mr. Tanaka!" Her entire body bounced as she talked like an excited child. "Before we get there, do you wanna hear something really special to both of us?"