Kisses Wounds stood outside the gates of the Vault. Gifrse Vault. She could feel the darkness around her, the cold of the lands seeping through even her thick fur. As pious to her faith as ever, she wore nought but her chest wrap to cover her moderately endowed chest, and loincloth hanging from a belt with a single pouch. In her hand, her staff, her only physical means of protection, not that she had ever needed to use it. Her face held an expression that could only be taken as sadness, despite the animal face she had being poor at expressing much emotion. Her ears drooped, and her tail hung low as she tried to fight off the evil trying to pick away at her soul. Thankfully, she was not alone.

Hiro Kouen had joined her as she was travelling. They agreed that they could help each other with the task at hand, given they had both been sent for the same one. This land had to be purified, and while she was not alone in the endeavour, part of it still left her near crippled with fear. It seemed like such a massive task, and she could only pray that more than just her and her latest acquaintance were given the task, not that she could see anyone else around. She stood a ways from the gates, wrestling against her doubts. Slowly, she took a breath in, letting it out so as to calm her nerves. 

She took her staff in both hands, resting her forehead against it with closed eyes. "Goddess of the forest… Mother of the creatures whom inhabit thy domain and protector of those who pass through it with good will and intention. Grant me the wisdom and strength to carry on this task you have given me, and bring purity back to these lands to which have fallen into chaos and destruction, so that future generations may enjoy what it once was without being plagued by such desecration of the holy earth. So that the creatures whom once called these lands home before the perversion we are witnessing today may return once again and live their lives in peace. Help me, and my new companion become the instrument of thy will and the vehicle for your word to reach these lands who have fallen deaf to your voice by force and not by will. Grant us protection as we return the covenant of your love and care, so that we may proceed without hindrance. If not without hindrance, grant use protection and good will for what atrocities we may commit to ensuring your love and life are spread far and wide, unmarred by any and all who would try to remove it from this land," She said, seeming to relax after each and every line. It was still difficult, but she could feel a warmth in her chest, which to her was sign enough that her prayer was answered.

Then she turned to her Hiro. "Please, do not take offence, but I would not look poorly upon you if you decided that this task is too large. It is daunting, and even with the Goddess of the forest on my side, I can barely press on forward. This is not a fight you need to take with me, or at all should you not wish too. I can do this alone, and if I cannot, I do not have any qualms wth being taken back into the forest mothers embrace once again, to live and learn under her until I am resurrected to continue my purpose in these lands." She explained, her voice not even carrying a trace of negative emotion towards him.

Hiro Kouen, Phoenix Knight, stood there in the frigid air, garbed in a heavy animal skin cloak and his crimson, fire resistant armor.  He could see his breath as he sized up the massive gates in front of him with his bright sapphire eyes.  He had been tasked with purifying these lands, to remove the evil and frost enchantment on this land, the beam of icy energy that cloaked the continent in perpetual winter.  He looked at his companion, a wolf woman named Kisses Wounds, a druid that appeared out of her element.  Considering how she was dressed, the lack of weapons in her possession, she seemed ill-suited for this task, to be honest..  He himself wielded a long sword handled with both hands, as well as powerful fire magic.  He was more than up for the challenge.

She gave a lengthy prayer before they started their journey onward into the dungeon.  She prayed to Lady Angela, the Earth Mother for protection over them in their journey.  She then asked if he was sure he would be fine in accompanying her in this task.

"Surely you jest.  I'm not one to back down from a challenge such as this, Lady Wounds.  This land needs our help.  The people need our help.  There are lives at stake, people need our help.  I'm just worried about your choice of attire, it's cold out here, I know you have fur, but aren't you cold still?  It is dangerous, I won't lie, but I wouldn't leave you to do this task alone.  It wouldn't be very gentlemanly, or heroic for me to flee at the first sign of danger.  Just stay close so I can protect you.  We'll get through this fine.  We just have to work together."  With that said, he started walking toward the intimidating, frozen gates, adorned with statues of frightful dragons.  He could feel the immense chilling energy radiating from the gates.  He channeled his fiery mana through his arm, a radiant aura radiating from his hand as he forced the gate open.  The door swung wide open, exposing the dark, chilling interior of the dungeon.  This was the point of no return.

"Onward we go."

Kisses Wounds regarded the warrior with interest. It was not uncommon for others to question her choice of attire, but she knew she was well warm enough. Not comfortable, as she could feel the cold nipping at her fingers and footpads, but warm enough that she was not worried about succumbing to the fright that was hypothermia. She had survived many a winter wearing nothing but this, though in hindsight she wished she owned a jacket of some kind. She knew why she didn't but it was always good to have on hand. Alas her vows stopped her from such things. There was little else she could do at this point. She was far from anywhere that would have anything warm to wear unless she stole a jacket from one of the possible unlucky warriors who tried to brave this get.

Then, she took the time to follow. He was right, she had a job to do. They both did, but she would not allow someone to put their life on the line simply so that she could claim to be safe. Safety was merely an illusion, but together, they could make that illusion a little more reliably. At least they would have two sets of eyes, instead of just the singular. She followed behind him, just as the doors shut, plunging them into darkness.

"Thine mother, grant me the blessing of light so that my companion and I may be able to see those who would seek to stop us from accomplishing our task," She whispered, as her staff started to glow. The light it was emitting was warm, comforting, something like a beacon giving off a feeling of hope in this accursed place. There was little else she could think of doing as she contemplated the situation they were in. "I appreciate your chivalry. It does not go unnoticed, though I do not enjoy the idea of you being harmed for my sake. It just would not be beneficial to anyone, and I am sure you are one with plenty of life and story to tell to others…" She explained. 

Kisses Wounds gave another prayer, a shorter one this time.  HIro could suddenly feel a comforting warmth that he couldn't explain.  Maybe Lady Angela's presence could be felt all the way here in this icy hell hole.

"I am a warrior, a Phoenix Knight.  I fight for the greater good.  I don't seek to bring death, but I seek justice to those who would do others harm.  It's my job to put myself in harms way, for who else would do it?  SOMEONE has to do it.  My father taught me so, and he is a great man."  Hiro took a deep breath and proceeded into the dungeon, where it was somehow even colder inside than outside.  A freezing shiver went down his spine.  He could also feel a great darkness inside.  "Keep on your guard, it's dangerous."  Hiro drew his blade and led the way through the hallway of frigid stone.  He looked about, seeing what appeared to be a white lizard of some sort sitting on the ground in the distance, staring at him.

". . . The hell is that?"  The lizard opened its mouth and unleashed a huge blast of freezing ice in HIro and Kisses' direction.  Hiro immediately took action, raising one of his hands, to the air, the ground shook as a solid slab of earth and stone rose up between him and the speeding projectile, shielding the two from the blast.  The blast shook the wall, but it stood strong against the blast, ice spraying in all directions from the impact.  Hiro peered around the edge of the wall, a couple seconds later, the ice salamander shot another ice blast in that direction, whizzing past Hiro and Kisses, flying off in the distance.  A couple more blasts were fired, but Hiro noted the time that it took for the lizard to launch another attack was consistent..  He waited for a blast to go by, and immediately decided to counter.  He leaped out from behind the wall, and thrust his right hand forward, unleashing a powerful ball of flame soaring in the direction of the ice lizard.  The lizard started to crawl to evade, but it moved too slowly, the flames engulfed the lizard and exploded upon impact.

The lizard was toast.

Hiro turned to his companion after checking the area, making sure there were no more dangers.

"Are you all right?  You weren't injured were you?  You ready to continue?"

Kisses Wounds shook her head at his comment. "Fighting for peace and the greater good, is like a woman mating to maintain her purity. It is in of itself a contradiction. Restrain. Calm. Do not harm, as it merely fans the flames of hate," She said, looking at the gates as they walked past. "I do not doubt the wisdom of your father, though I cannot help but feel some hesitation for that belief. It takes mere minutes for one who is patient to wait out the anger of their enemy if they would just hold them at bay. I have done so on many occasions," She added as they walked until she noticed the lizard. This was strange. The regarded the lizard for a moment, not doing anything to intimidate.

She didn't even have time to say anything before there was a flurry of combat. She stood, protected by this wall before her, trying to understand why he would not allow her to try and charm the beast. Why he immediately leapt into violent action. When she saw him cast his own spell, Kisses flinched noticeably, feeling the creature's pain as it exploded. She was at a loss for words, her muzzle working as she tried to articulate something of meaning and worth. This was… Wrong. Violence of this calibre, and even to her eyes this was beyond overkill for a single creature. 

When it was over she noticed he was talking to her. Asking her questions that seemed self-explanatory, but even then she felt it was wrong. "Am I alright? No… I am not alright… You killed a creature of the earth and in such a horrific manner. You walked into its home with a weapon drawn, why would you do that?" She asked, sighing as she looked around the wall. She looked visibly perturbed by the scene and had to bring herself to look away. "Any creature would feel intimidated, and they are not so lucky to have such critical thinking you or I possess. It attacked defending its home, regardless of how corrupt is may be. We are here to purify, and that does not mean baptise the lands with the blood of those who reside within it. There must be a better way for us to continue…" She sighed, shaking her head softly.

Hiro didn't see any wounds on her, and he himself was fine.  However, her words from before they were interrupted by the ice salamander, and afterward, puzzled Hiro.  She was a pacifist, and insisted he go by her standards?  He slapped his face with his hand, visibly frustrated with her words and her anger with him.  Staring at Lady Wounds, he spoke.

"Lady Wounds, you ask the impossible.  I did not kill a harmless puppy, I killed a terrible glacier salamander, that can shoot freezing blasts of ice that could kill me or you on impact.  You would've been a frozen statue, dead.  There's not just one of these things around, there's likely more, and there's traps, and other monsters all over the place.  You can't just . . . waltz into the frozen Vault, the Vault of an ancient ice dragon, and just talk the guards down, as if they were kind people capable of rhyme and reason.  Can you charm a whole lair of these things, and ice wyverns, and dragons, and Gods know what else?  Are you going to make one of these glacier salamanders fight its own kin?  Is that a better option?"  Hiro took a moment to catch his breath, to regain his composure.  pointing toward the smoldering remains of the salamander he had just killed.

"There is a dragon's remains here, and it is altering the climate of the whole land.  It is strangling the land with tendrils of cold and death!  This salamander, a 'creature of the earth' is guarding the door to the dragon's former lair.  I honestly don't care about any treasure that could be found here, I'm here to stop the curse on the land.  And these creatures here, are here to guard the vault, to protect the treasure, and more importantly, protect the remains of their dragon master.  They will kill me, they will kill you, they will kill everyone in this land, any and everyone you hold dear, the forest, the trees, the animals.  They will DIE if we don't go in there, and stop the ice curse.  Everyone will die, if we don't go in here, and stop the monsters guarding the lair."  There was a loud roar shaking the very walls of the dungeon.  Several more glacier salamanders could be seen popping out of holes in the walls, while several wyverns: blue scalely, mini-versions of dragons, swooped down from the ceiling, and surrounded the arguing pair.  There were four wyverns, surrounding them on all sides, while the salamanders took aim at the duo from afar.

"Hey, Lady Wounds, mind talking all these monsters down?  Can you charm all of them at once?  Can you prevent them from tearing my limbs off, or freezing us into icicles?"

Kisses wounds merely shook her head at the words of the man, sighing. "The haste of youth is strong in you. You do not take the time to think of alternatives…." She sighed, looking over the large group of hostiles. Kisses just lifted her staff, just as the Salamanders shot at them, the blasts smashing against an invisible field, as her other hand was brought up, closing into a fist. Before Hiro could realise it, three, tiny wyverns, similar to the ones flying around, only green with the appearance of a forest appeared, flying around her head then focusing on the attackers. "With ease, we do not wish to hurt them," She said softly, her composure calm and relaxed even through the combat. All three wyverns, and the Druid, harnessed their magic, purple bolts of energy launching from them, slamming into the Salamanders that were attacking them. It was short work, as all of them fell limp to the ground. 

Now she had to focus on the Wyverns. "Protect us…" She whispered to the wyverns, who immediately picked up on her protection, the three of them easily matching, and even superseding what the lone druid was capable of. The dog let her lung fill with air, chest rising noticeably before she let out a loud, unnatural woof! The Wyverns all fell out of the air, scrambling around as they tried to regain their bearings, as any other creature in the hallway started to scramble away, trailed by the disoriented wyverns. All that remained, were the limp Salamanders.

"Thank you, children, of the forest. Please… return to your homes," Kisses Wounds smiled, waving her hands as the wyverns vanished, returning to where she summoned them from. Then, she turned to Hiro, showing him the now non-hostile hallway. "I believe you called this the impossible? I believe I did exactly what you asked me to do. Take a lesson from this, there is always a way. You simply need to think about it from a different angle. Patience and practice. Creatures will learn that you are not trying to harm them if you never harm them. A warrior should only resort to violence when pacifism absolutely is not possible, and even then, only enough to keep them and those around them safe. Death should never be an option," She said, a smile on her doggish face.