The Last Star (Bing/INV)

It was a crunching sound that brought Bing to consciousness. Groaning as his eyes opened, he felt pain shoot down his side. Scuff marks covered his body, and burns coated his mint gi, darkening it considerably. How long had he been out? Where was he? Trying to regain his senses, he blinked blearily, and sat up.

To his right flank lay the ocean far below, waves lapping against the craggy mountainside he'd apparently found his way to. Nearest to him was a chunk of rubble, clearly a remnant of Battle Island. Judging by its location astride three large, particularly spiky rocks jutting from the waters, he'd hazard a guess and say the water had been a bit higher last night. Had the rubble been his home, slowly drifting him to this mountain range?

The source of his natural alarm clock seemed to be a bush of some sort, filled to the brim with blooming flowers of some sort. He'd pulverized it in his sleep, which explained the brown-green splotch he could make out on his shoulder, and the discomfort in his lower back.

Megis must have left him alive, then. A good note to start the day on, if nothing else.

Sitting up, he took a deep breath, and reached for a travel pack that was not there. Somewhere along the way it was washed to the ocean, meaning he would have to forage for supplies. Sighing, he scratched his face in frustration, and simply sat back down.

With his current predicament, it seemed he was tucked away in a crevasse of some kind, near to a forest range. Even so, he needed time to collect his thoughts; rushing into the wilderness would do him no good. So, taking a deep breath, he composed himself, a sort of half-meditative state coming to him as he watched the waves.

---

It wasn't long before a voice called out. Funny how things worked like that. In times of need, the strangest folk would find a way to you. Bing smiled as he turned his head, waving with a sore arm that forced itself to stop mid-motion and retract. He hissed at the pain, but pushed past it anyways.

"I suppose you could say that." Bing sat up, bowing at her from afar. "I am Bing Gan. A traveling... Nomad, of sorts." Maybe he didn't much like the ring of that. Nomadic types were sometimes bandits in disguise, weren't they? Hopefully his choice of title didn't sow distrust. Either way, he continued, a hand coming up to rub his wrist as he spoke.

"Last I remember, I was visiting the ruins of Battle Island. Some stranger appeared and accosted folks, so I took on his challenge while the other visitors fled." He gestured to himself. "Suffice it to say, I was not the victor. But! It seems he deemed me worthy enough, and so I walk the earth still. Though, where exactly on the earth that happens to be, I am unsure."

Looking around, he had to imagine he was still somewhere north. The climate was still a bit nippier than he preferred, but not so much that snow topped the mountains.

"Perhaps you could point me in the direction of a city, or perhaps a town? I'd be willing to assist you in your foraging as payment, if you don't mind."

Kyten held no expectations for the outside world, but what he had experienced was a brilliant change from his life until now. He accepted the run-down lab knowing nowhere else in the past, but there was no chance of him simply returning now. The feel of the fresh air and the room to fly freely was reason enough to stay out of his old home, and this was only immediately after he'd left. It was possible the feeling would fade with time, but for now, it was amazing to experience this feeling for the first time.

Despite this new feeling, he was left unsure of what to do with his newfound freedom. He still wished to find the doctor's killer, of course, but he barely had anything to work with. All he had was the year of death, the doctor's name, and a solid suggestion to get stronger. Perhaps the computer would have told him more, given more time, but Kyten wouldn't rely on that. Not if he didn't have to. For now, it was probably best not to worry about that specifically.

He hadn't found anyone in the immediate hours following him leaving the laboratory, save for the small animals that seemed to avoid him. Not that he'd looked particularly hard or moved particularly fast, but it was a little disappointing. Not enough to dampen his mood, given he hadn't expected to meet someone immediately. But he would have liked to, so when he heard the voices of others, he decided there was no better time to try.

It didn't take long to find the two talking; though he only saw one immediately, he could tell the other was just lower down. He flew out from the cover of the treeline, landing a decent distance from the orange-haired woman. Though his ki was masked, that did little to stop his wingbeat or the sound of him landing.

There was an awkward moment as he considered his first words to another person. "Um, would you mind if I joined you?" He asked as he landed, obvious uncertainty in his voice. He wasn't sure who these people were or if this was the right way to introduce himself, but it was a bit late to worry now.

The young kami laughs a little, readjusting the basket at her side and turning around to lead them away. She hadn't really heard words of wisdom like that since her own masters, and much like them, she wasn't one to pass up taking the advice. His gi and demeanor betrayed any surprise this would give Jackie though.

"Wise beyond your years. Of course."
When prodded about the meaning behind such a simple task the woman reached into the basket for the jar of ready-made water and green tea leaves. Not yet processed by heat, only contained in the jar as a temporary measure. She'd swish its contents around for a moment and nod her head towards it to make sure his attention was on it.

"It's what I need to complete my tea. Jasmine Tea, stilled at modest heat. Finish that and I can head back for the evening. Any help would be appreciated."
It seemed to simple with the way she put it. And mundane, like she had little better to do with her youth. A quick shuffle was made to catch the offered mashed flower on the top of the sealed jar. Smiling and stowing both of them back into the basket. With gradual movement through the forest, said petal would fall in with the rest of the smaller items in the basket. She hardly needed visual reference for this plant.

Bing wouldn't be the only thing she'd get out of today either. A small creature seemed to lurch forth, flying to their feet with words. Whimsy would strike anyone more naive but the kami had seen their fair share of the unique here on Earth. She stops in front of the young-looking creature for a moment and tilts her head at them. Bing seemed just as amicable, offering them a flower as a reference too.

"And I do mean any help. Hey there. Nice to meet you. Maybe this will be over quicker than I thought... Name's Jackie. That's Bing. We're looking for those flowers. Shouldn't take but one bush to grab the few I require. Then we head inland towards the nearest river from here."
With no further complaints, the redhead would step around and lead the pack again. Gingerly scanning across the forest floor for another one of those elusive plants.

---

Certainly an interesting bunch, these three were. An outside observer might consider the two Earthlings mad for traveling with a bug-like humanoid, but Bing was well aware of the variety of species around the world. Just because he hadn't run into one before didn't mean he couldn't give them the respect they were due. Either way, he'd think about the philosophy of a hypothetical observer some other time.

"A possible lead is a good place to start." Bing collected a few more ruined flowers, and offered one to Jackie, while keeping one for himself. "Even if you're wrong, it will help us rule out some of the forest. The growing patterns of flowers such as these should be traceable rather easily, once we know the exact type we're looking for, that is."

Bing closed his eyes as he walked, keeping his other senses open as best he could. Ki came in all forms, and flowers were no exception. They, too, gave off life force, so detecting it wasn't entirely out of the question. Whether or not he was adept enough to do it, however, certainly was.

"So, Kyten, where are you from? A local, I presume? Though, I suppose those wings would allow you to travel rather great distances..."

Bing lost himself in thought for a moment, waiting for Kyten to answer as he kept his senses wide open.

Nodding once, Kyten took a small lead now before the other two. He flew to the front over the stream, so that they clearly saw him as he pointed a clawed hand in what he thought was the correct direction. His wings audibly buzzed; the sound wasn't too loud, but it was noticeable. "It's this way, I think. I'll make sure to say if I think we're going the wrong way." He would retreat back to the humans' side after this initial direction, allowing Jackie to retake the lead of the group. It seemed his lead for the flower was better than any the humans had, loose as it was. Though, were they actually humans? There were plenty of humanlike aliens from what the computers said, so their humanity wasn't a certainty. Not that it mattered. He was hardly human himself, but they didn't seem to mind. Or at least, they didn't seem to.

Bing's question halted his mental meandering on their humanity. "Kind of? I've only just gotten outside, but I guess this is around where my home is." Kyten answered without thinking as he tried to guide them to his previously flown path. The foliage was fairly dense as they moved deeper into the forest, though there wasn't any clear sign of the jasmines they were looking for.

"I haven't had much time to explore, so I can't be a traveller yet. I've enjoyed the exploring I've done so far around here, though. I like being outside a lot more than inside, anyway." He smiled as he spoke, though he hadn't actually dropped his smile once. It was even there during his awkward introduction, though it wasn't quite as wide then as it was now. Kyten didn't know much about the world outside besides what he had personally experienced and some basic summaries of a few places on earth, but he computers did say this place was out of the way for most people. What Jackie said confirmed that, probably.

Thinking about it, he'd probably like being a traveller. There was no harm in being one, not that he could think of. So long as he remembered his goal, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Mmm..."
Jackie hummed as she pushed through some of the deeper forested area closer to the major river out here. Unable to locate just what jasmine Kyten claimed was out in this direction. When the little guy brought nothing to the contrary as to her going the wrong way, the redhead continued forth with hope. All the while her companions got to know each other; Or, well, the stranger of the two. Kyten himself seemed to speak like he had never been allowed outside before. Bing caught onto this too. And he didn't seem like some basement dweller from the cities. Almost effortlessly, Jackie strode backward to face him as she continued leading the pack.

"I think it's probably fair to ask, if only to get to know him better. It does give me hope that our friend here saw us out and about on one of his first travels and offered to help. Kindness and cooperation are much more an innate part of our characters than any learned hates and fears."
She seemed to reassure nothing was really wrong with Kyten had done thus far. No, she was kinda interested that something that 'never got out' was instinctually helpful. Not everything was miserable and uneasy. "In any case, I think at this rate we'll hit the river before the Jasmine."

Which... could be heard in the distance if any silence dropped between the trio. They were a bit further out than she remembered as a child. A river that she knew no longer bore the bush closer to home. Back here though, perhaps Kyten had seen something her past looking didn't account for. Before she could trip up, the kami twisted herself back forwards and hopped over a stump that found itself an obstacle for her. Fate wanted to trip her up, literally.

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