Monsters & Madmen

Arcose seemed inhospitable to Kohi, and as much as that made it an excellent spot for training, that wasn't why he had made the trip to begin with. A training excursion should probably have been welcome, given his experiences over the past couple of weeks on Earth. But Arcose presented a different opportunity for him: a chance to see, first-hand, how another species had sorted out its many social ills. Or hadn't, for that matter.

But it wasn't easy to penetrate the outer crust of Arcosian society. He hadn't expected immediate acceptance, but he was taken aback by the degree of elitism he had encountered upon making his way through the port. Most regarded him as a mercenary in the port proper. When he made into the heart of his first city, the reactions shifted somewhat. They seemed to assume he was some manner of servant or merchant.

His garb might not have helped -- and it wasn't helping with the cold, either. Although he was wearing a black, thermal shirt underneath his usually-open gi, the cloth only protected so much. Any ordinary Earthling might have risked some sort of exposure damage with such ill-chosen attire, but -- of course -- he was not an ordinary Earthling.

His latest efforts to gain access to the Arcosian palace thoroughly rebuffed, Kohi had resorted instead to making do with Arcose' vast wilds, and gaining some of the training he hadn't intended to do. The winds bit at his exposed skin as he darted from peak to peak, his speed doing little to quell the pain of the wind's chill. There were beasts all about, whatever creatures could survive in such extreme temperatures -- but they weren't worth his time.

He spotted one in the distance, some kind of furred monster skulking its way into a cave that seemed to have mostly iced over. A year ago, it might have given him the fight of his life. But things changed.

Now, the only opponent worth his time in this strange preserved wild was the environment itself, and whatever threats it could pose to a being whose physiology was about as alien to it as could be. But as he moved, still darting across perilous peaks and between narrow, icy valleys, he unwittingly made himself a target.

It took a tremendous amount of ki to move as fast as he had managed, and as he finally came to a rest at the center of a frozen lake, no doubt half a dozen scouters had already locked onto his position.

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