human
There was an eerie silence on the Hill of Swords when Guts revisited this place. And yet, there he stood, looking among the wreckage from the harrowing fight with Nosferatu Zodd where the entrance of Godot's mine once stood, now reduced to a pile of rubble and nothing more.
There was a brief moment where he began to hear Griffith's words echoing within his mind as he stood there among the hundreds of blades buried tip first within the snow laden ground here, causing the Black Swordsman to flinch in a mixture of agony, hatred and sheer and utter frustration. "This is the man I am now," Griffith told him as he began to fly away with Zodd carrying him. "And you of all people, should know better than that."
Those same words resonated within Guts' mind with a dull echo, one that made him nearly nauseated. Did he even have any shred of pity? Did he have any forethought? Did he even care? Was he even able to care? Did he even feel any sense of remorse for what he had done to his beloved Casca? If neither of these... Then what was that monster he had seen there? Though his right eye may have been ruined, his left knew exactly what it was it saw, and what he saw was someone far removed from the Griffith he once knew. Whatever that was, that was some kind of demon reborn in Griffith's body, something that stripped him of all emotion and care. And what he saw filled him with nothing but absolute venomous hatred unlike anything he had ever felt before and it would've been so easy to slip into that mindset, to just let the Beast of Darkness within him just slowly take over his mind and just lay waste to everything within striking distance of his massive dull broadsword. To just let the blackened wolf feast upon the flesh of the fallen enemies and slake its hellish bloodthirst. But no. He had to remain steadfast. If not for his own sake, then perhaps Casca's. He had no other alternatives but to turn towards.
And that was the issue. He had no other alternatives. Aside from Casca who had regressed to nothing more than a child mentally after what happened to her, he was entirely alone. A normal man would've been crushed under the sheer weight of what he had felt, or if not, had just flatout killed themselves, but not him. And as long as Griffith still lived, there would not be any force upon this earth that would ever take his life, not as long as he still drew breath and could swing the Dragonslayer in both his left hand of Rickert's construction and his right hand of flesh and bone. There would be a time when the Grim Reaper would lay claim to his soul, but that day had not yet come.
gpt
While the tall man in black armor stood on a hill thinking about something a lone woman with flowing black hair stood nearby, her attention, however, was drawn to different things. Who would have thought at one time this woman was a leader of a band of mercenaries after her hero was captured and imprisoned. While he was away she dealt with their worries, their issues, their now notoriety as the most wanted band after what happened to her leader Griffith. The memories spike in her mind like fragments constantly exploding and reforming as she struggled to even hold onto one. Another fragment was that of her loving the man in black armor, actually caring for him...or was it? Her thoughts skewed again as the shard itself was already destroyed. Though with a few of these memories that were stored in her mind some of them carried searing hot pain in her head as she held it occasionally. This one moment she was standing near the tall man as she cried out. "Owahh!"She exclaimed as she winced as the man barely flinched as she looked around suddenly something else took her attention away from the tall man.
"ooooOOO?", She said out loud as she just stumbled around the hill following the little thing that caught her attention. From this standpoint anybody that saw this woman would think she was just normally mad or broken but they wouldn't have guessed she was a second in command and knew how to fight. That she defended and did her part in a mercenary band without using her wiles to get what she wanted. She worked hard to do what she wanted and achieved what she could on her own merits as she worked her way through things with the others that were the band of the hawk. When they had become heroes she still didn't rest as she was always vigilant of everything, including Guts, the man that stood by her though she wouldn't know who he was from the next mand however she knew she had strong feelings toward him but didn't understand them. As she wandered down the hill she suddenly saw a glowing light flying around as she looked at it,"oooOOOOO!! Aaaa!!"she grew excited as the light made her follow back to the tall man again as she just was interested in the bright light shining in front of her guiding her like a lost puppy back to where she should be. No, nobody would know that this woman, this broken husk, was once a proud woman that held her band above all else and would defend them to the death.
Though she wouldn't know the pain she felt that one day in the eclipse that had happened on that fateful day. The day that she saw her band being torn asunder by demons, flesh being rung from bone, screams of her helpless comrades against a horde of crazed, hungry demons. The sudden jolt of pain and violation by her once leader in front of her love that was forced to watch it as she blacked out from the whole ordeal forever broken due to the experience, on top of that forced to give birth to a spawn of the god's hand and Guts. Though she didn't know any better she had that connection to the child that now was wondering around in the world. Longing to be reunited with him though while this feeling was buried with her constant desires she would eventually seem him again at least that is what the strang feelings within her head told her though she didn't' care much about that. She only worried about the shiny light that flew around the tall man.
human
In that moment, when he heard the familiar cries of a rather childish type of a woman somewhere near him, Guts snapped out of his train of thought before he looked his left shoulder at first. There she was, wandering around in those brown shabby robes, her long black hair an absolute mess. Similarly, this was not the Casca he loved. Whoever she was would be easily mistaken for some mad woman or someone who had severe mental issues. But yet, this woman who now inhabited his beloved was now who he had to take care of for better or worse. Once again, he had no other alternatives. And it seemed as though that no matter where it was he went, so long as that Brand of Sacrifice remained on his neck, it meant that they would know no peace and that monsters and demons alike would always come after him.
Therein laid one other issue. The line between human and demon had been so blurred that it was almost nondescript. Human monsters, human demons, monstrous humans, demonic humans... Nothing seemed to be so clearly defined anymore. It only added onto the mounting animosity and nihilistic tendencies, but Casca... She was the one constant that meant something to him in this world that had all but been stripped away from him on that fateful day when it all came crashing down upon him and his comrades like a ton of bricks.
And as he looked on at the shell of a woman thought to be believed the second in command to the Band of the Hawk, all he could do was just stand there as he felt an all too familiar pain in his heart. There was one recurring thought he had, however. There had to be something that could bring her back from this edge of madness and then, she would be well again. Guts would have his lover back in his arms and more importantly, Casca would be able to swing a sword once more. Perhaps then, she would join him in taking their revenge on both the God Hand and Griffith. That's all that he wanted more than anything, to have the love of his life back in his arms where she was and nothing else. Where they would go didn't matter, so long as there was no one within a good long distance away. He would then take notice of a glimmering light flitting about in front of Casca and in that moment, he relented on his thoughts. There would be another time for thinking later, he then thought.
gpt
The creature that flew around distracting Casca keeping her nearby Guts was no other than his little friend Puck an elf that decided to stick by the hardened warrior. He rathered enjoyed the grump man's company often trying to bother him with different antics that were funny or otherwise as he landed on Guts' shoulder he looked over at Casca which had been staring at both of them for a while with a vacant stare that she sported all the time."So, was she like this all the time Guts? I mean we have been traveling together for some time but I never saw her anything but this. I mean you care for this woman and I can see it through all of the situations we have been in you have always defended her. So...what is the story?"He asked as he sat usually on his shoulder leaning back watching her as Casca continued to watch them intently curious about what they were doing but not enough to really do anything to ask about it. Not like she could anyway as she was incapable of even doing that.
Casca stared at Guts and Puck as she looked at Puck,"oooaah! waa!!"she called out to puck as she held out her hands like she wanted to hold the guy in her hands. Though Puck shook his head at Guts the last time he was put in her hands Casca nearly walked off with the poor little elf."Aaaaa!! Oooo!!"She sounded more frustrated as she looked to Guts as her face grew contemplative like she was trying to think of something to say to him but all that came was odd sounds that she was emitting to Puck while she had her hands out for him to get into them. Though when she gazed at Guts something within her that wanted to get out but her brain couldn't process the idea to go through with it as something had permanently broken within her own brain to allow any such action to happen.
human
A slight grimace was given when asked by Puck about how Casca came to be this way once he felt the little elf land on his shoulder. It was indeed true that he had only known her for a short time, but even then, Puck had no idea as to what happened to her on that day of the Eclipse. He was never there for any of it. But to retell the story of what happened on that day only caused him to lower his head slightly before a sigh was given. He was adamant about lying to the little sprite, but this had to be the one time where he had to make a deflection.
"Let's just put it like this," Guts spoke. "There's a lot that happened to her that I don't think I have the heart to retell. But what I will tell you is that she was never like this. She was a woman who could carry herself no matter what the situation was and my closest ally... Perhaps even my lover. But all of that changed on a day that I will never forget nor forgive until the day I die." He added as he then looked straight on ahead, narrowing his left eye slightly as he spoke in a tone that was focused on his ultimate goal of a bloodstained revenge. He would then looked over to Casca who only vocalized to the two and held her hands out to him as if she was wanting something. A little glance to the elf on his shoulder would seem to know what it was she was looking for all too easily, but he knew that the last time he did give her Puck, Casca nearly ran off with the poor thing. At least he caught up to them, he thought at that moment.
"I'll maybe tell you one day, but not in front of her." Guts then concluded, shaking his head slowly as he spoke.
gpt
Casca watched Guts' reaction, "Ooooa?...waaa?? WAAA!!!"She glared at Guts motioning to the little elf as she glared at both of them when Puck insisted to stay on Guts' shoulder as she just frowned looking around. If those two people weren't going to help...ohhh, her mind suddenly felt captivated as she wandered off a bit but stayed generally close to them this time.
Puck kept staring at her as he frowned,"Guts...we need to help her get back to that woman you speak of...this isn't fair to Casca. I always see her wonder around you like a lost puppy without a mother and you happen to be the stand-in."He smirked at Guts which only gave him a hard stare back as he waved his hands, "Well don't you want your old Casca back? I mean even if she could just make her more of an adult than a wondering child...we could have another defender or at least helped with the others."He commented as he floated around Guts again as he kept his eyes on Casca.
human
Guts shot the elf a sharp look with his left eye, one that said "I will squish you with my left hand before washing your remains off of it." However, Puck did have a point to raise. How long could this go on, he thought. In addition, he looked up at Puck as he hopped off of his shoulder, causing him to cross his arms in front of himself and arch his right eyebrow at him with a questionable look. "For your information, yes, I do want her back to her old self. But at the same time, where are going to find such a thing that doesn't even exist?" He then asked, frowning cynically. "Do you have any ideas? Because if so, I'd love to hear about it. If not, then stop wasting my time." He then added, staring at Puck with an even sharper glare. "The reason as to why I say this is because I'm tired of chasing after miracles. I've grown tired of wishful thinking. I'm tired of mysticism and everything to do with it. It's either you have a solution or otherwise, don't bother speaking to me." He then concluded with a frown adorning his expression.
gpt
The little elf frowned as hse floated by him, looking at Casca making sure the woman didn't wander off too much. It was already a few times they had to go and bring her back due to wandering off."Well I did mention Elfheim before...that we could bring Casca to...I mean I am not entirely sure where a cure to this condition is or if there is any. But I mean we have to try at least for her sake as well Guts. You and her deal with those issues with your brands...I mean...I can give them my super elf kick hwaaa!"Puck goes into his cute stupid chibi form doing some weird movies in front of Guts knowing full well that his antics didn't make the black swordsman smile at all. Though in the end he just wanted to see a Casca a little more of a person than a child as he just kept glancing at her. Despite all of his time spent with Guts he never really paid much attention to Casca unless to pull her out of the fire, now he was and what he saw really wanted to get him to help her to some extent.
Casca just kept wondering about looking at the scenery, she would chase after a butterfly or even some incest that she saw flying about. But Puck would be the one to fully distract her to bring her back to Guts as the big man didn't really do much unless it was needed, Puck knew this and was okay with it, Casca she didn't really care...she just wanted to touch things that seemed interesting and enough to hold her attention as she finally stopped and stared at both of them with a bug-eyed stare. Puck just sighed,"I didn't think I could get uneasy watching somebody be this carefree or mindless...no offense...Guts."Once again the elf had to watch his tone as he knew he was stepping where she shouldn't with Guts. The swordsman was already shooting him more nasty glares,"I-I'll be quiet Guts...I am just saying."Puck ended with the fact that he just floated by Guts keeping an watchful eye out for the childish Casca.
human
Guts blinked a few times before he then remembered something. That was right. Puck did mention Elfheim, he thought before he then lowered his head a bit and looked away from the elf for a brief moment with a thoughtful expression on his face now and he would remain like this before looking up to Puck once more as he started to assume some... Odd... Fighting poses. This only made him look at the elf with an odd expression on the Black Swordsman's face, one that seemed to ask what was he doing. But yet, he knew there was something out there for Casca, but what only made him think even harder to the point where his mind began to ache. He would then dispel these thoughts for a moment with a shake of his head before looking over to Casca as she came back to the two and stared at them with wide open eyes.
"No... You're right..." He answered as he turned back to Puck once more. "I've just had a lot to think about." He added before lowering his arms down by their sides and placed them to his hips with a long sigh escaping him then closed his left eye, reopening it a moment later. "So. You mentioned Elfheim." He stated before quirking a brow to him. "How long of a travel do we have ahead of us? Besides, there's nothing more for us here. I just... Needed to come out here one more time to think about something." He then added, despite he was trying to hold back a degree of bile over the encounter prior to this moment of quiet.
gpt
Puck kept floating eventually settling on his shoulder again putting a finger on his lower lip looking up some, adopting a lazy pose as he did so."I'd Say ...maybe a few days time, though the travel will be hard...then again what haven't we done yet that isn't hard huh Guts? We got this!"Once again Puck acted like some action hero as he did his silly poses again though eventually just sitting there sighing."I just want to get you two to where you are able to actually be something other than food for Demons."His slight caring coming out before he smirked,"Besides I don't want to picture as an old man with a huge ass sword guts."Puck admitted as he just wanted to get this done and Casca back to normal or if there is a normal for all he knew he couldn't be helping a very angry man do something to an innocent girl that was just the way she was already. But, no there was something that bothered hm something that didn't sit right with him about how Casca was. What Guts was hunting for, things like this needed answers though to Puck solutions instead of answers cause he knew that Guts wouldn't go asking, he would go swinging, and he would swing till there wasn't anything left of the problem despite how much it laughed at him that it was useless. Guts' a man that wouldn't stop doing what he wanted or would stop at nothing to get what he needed from the world even if he had to carve it out one piece at a time.
human
"A few days' worth, eh?" Guts answered as he looked over to his shoulder again where the elf sat. "And you say the road getting there will be hard, eh?" He then asked before looking back towards the snow covered road that led him here. "Not that I need any form of idea of how hard the travel will be, but rest assured that we will get there, come hell or high water." He then looked towards the horizon and put his hands on his hips once more.
He would look over towards Casca once more, his expression softening slightly as he looked to her before looking back to the horizon again. But that was before he heard Puck describe his future. This actually got him to do something that had been nearly forgotten to the sands of time... Slight as it was, but it was enough to convince the elf, a small smile formed on his face before a little scoff was given. "With how things are as of now, I'll probably be dead long before then. But you can rest assured that I will take everyone down with me before that day comes." He added with a strong sense of confidence in his voice. "We'll need to get going soon before the sun sets. Besides, there's no telling as to what will be around before then."
gpt
Puck nodded as he looked toward Casca flying around the girl as she blinked noticing him, "OOOA....waa! ah!" She reacted following the glowing light as she stumbled toward Guts and the direction as Puck had mentioned it to Guts, This was before he was trying to distract and get Casca to follow along with Guts' himself as the swordsman couldn't get the girl to follow very well due to her childlike attitude. Puck always noticed that about Guts and Casca is that they were always so at a cross in this form as it seemed Guts couldn't get comfortable around her carefree attitude. When he noticed that Casca was coming Puck looked back at Guts, "Guts, was it smart to go out on our own? I mean the others would have been very helpful on this quest for Casca." Puck commented as he tapped his chin again floating along with Guts, they had the witch, the little loudmouth wanna be Guts, and like the other two. The holy royal and the weird servant that followed her around. But this whole quest that Puck may have mentioned to Guts he was intending to go on his own, which Puck couldn't figure out. He had to watch out for Casca how did he think he could get far by himself. One thing that Puck never understood is the determination and stupidity sometimes that Guts showed when he did things by himself. Sure, he was opening up to new people slowly but he still had some old habits that were annoying. Even Puck, himself, had to fight to go with him on this quest ever since he mentioned it to Guts while they were at a tavern together with the others. He really wanted Casca back, so much that Puck even started to want it despite how he felt about Casca in general.
human
Guts flinched at the idea of having others with him. It wasn't so much that it wouldn't serve a purpose as bigger numbers would be ideal given the circumstance, but it would also be a detriment as well, considering that all it would do was paint targets on them for anyone to lay claim on, with Casca and himself having the biggest of them all. Furthermore, it would undoubtedly get them killed. So rather than taking on a new group, he knew it was better by himself. His lone two year bloody rampage against all of demonkind was further proof of this where he gained his moniker. At the same time, he also knew that it would only be a matter of time before something even worse happened to Casca if he wasn't careful. He remained silent for a time before he then drew a relenting breath, sighing his reply before he spoke.
"You might have a point. But as it stands, I can't afford to bring anyone that's close to me into this matter. But... If it means that she'll be safer, then perhaps we might be able to set something up once we arrive at Elfheim." He answered before glancing back to Casca once more.
gpt
Puck turned to look at Casca too looking over at Guts, "I hope you are right Guts, I mean we could have used their help. I mean I know I am a badass and you wanted to get some by bringing fewer people, but this might have needed people." Again doing his weird chibi thing during that he quickly reverted back as he watched Guts reactions, though before the big man could say anything Puck just sighed, "I hope we can find a solution to Casca's problem cause I think it has been long enough that she acts like a helpless child you know?" he said simply despite what Guts thought but some part of him thought that Guts would probably ignore him.
"Oooooowaaa!!!", She reaches for Puck as he barely misses her as she looks frustrated that she didn't get her target making more grunting sounds as she was side by side with Guts. Her eyes stared at him a long time as she looked for Puck or something stimulating as Guts was a horrible thing to get that from as she saw Puck again her voice picked up. "AAAaoooowww....Ah!" She called out leaping to grab him but he barely dodged her attacks as he cursed a little not careful around her and underestimated her.
human
"Do you honestly think that I'm not aware of this, Puck?" Guts asked with a quirked eyebrow then turned to look at him again. "I just... Need time to think about this, is all." He added with a slow shake of his head, soon grimacing when he heard the elf mention Casca's current mindset. It honestly pained him that she was like this for as long as she has, and the constant reminder of this was only continuing to gnaw at what little reserves he had in terms of patience and perseverance. What's more, was that talking about this even further wasn't helping Casca any more than it was already. As a matter of fact, the time spent talking about this further only delayed their undoubtedly long travel even further.
What gave him some solace was when Puck had to bob and weave just to stay out from Casca's grasp. Even in her childish state, there was still that highly skilled fighter within her in regards to her hands. It was a crying shame, however, that he couldn't even touch her. Not that he didn't want to, he just couldn't bring himself to do so, no matter how hard he tried to save for those times when she was asleep. Those were the moments he would cherish, for there would be some degree of peace that he could live with while keeping her in his lap during the long, cold nights where there was nothing around, and the only ambiance was the sounds of the occasional gust of wind, an owl hooting off in the distance and the soft cracklings of a fire he had made for the trio. And every single time, he would be the one keeping watch. It was more or less the reason as to why he had not been able to rest properly, if at all. Then again, with the possibility of any demons crawling around anywhere, how could he be able to sleep? It was almost an alien concept to him these days. His Branding of Sacrifice made certain of that.
gpt
Puck sighed as he just floated along, the fact that Guts was hesitant irritated the elf, not that he was doing this all out of pure kindness. But putting the brakes on something that could help her was making him upset. "I mean...how much time do you need Guts? I mean we are on the road, we are going to where I suggested and even to get info on a method or something that could help Casca! I don't think there needs to be such a long thought on that! Again I know how you look at her! There shouldn't be a thought in the matter! Charge at it like you do every acolyte we run into!" Puck said pushily as he floated around Guts' face to make sure that if the black swordsman wanted to squish him for being assertive the man would have to work for it, not that Guts was the thing to completely worry about as Casca was following nearby while Puck was distracted she came up and screamed, "OHHAAAAA!!!" As she gripped the elf finally in her hands as he gasped some. "Come on Casca! That wasn't fair!" He said angrily as she continued to walk with him a dopy smile crossing her face as she closed her eyes when she did it. "OOOAAH!!!", She exclaimed as she continued to hold her prise glancing at Guts holding up her hands like a kid that wanted to show their parent what they caught.
human
There was a lingering thought within the back of Guts' mind that he wanted to just swat the elf out of the way of his face... But there was a point to be made. He had already spent so much time in thinking about this that all he had done as of now was just stagnate on them. He should have been able to come up with a solution by now himself. He should've been able to just solve everything as he normally did, by just charging headlong into the fray and be damned of the consequences... But the reality was that he just wasn't sure of whatwouldbe the solution. From everything that had happened up to this point, this was the one problem that far too many variables, far too many nuances and far too many complexities. It was as if he was constantly walking up a pathway that had no end to its many twists and turns and backtracking here and there and everywhere in between that it just led him nowhere.
But once again, all of this talk wasn't getting them anywhere, the other half of his mind said simply. There was no further need for words when actions speak louder than words, anyhow and continuing to dwell on them further only cemented this. These thoughts would soon be interrupted when he heard the elf be snatched out of the air, causing him to glance at Casca as she held Puck in her hands and was held up to him with an expression on her face that was looking for some form of praise for what it was she caught. He would look at her with a rather surprised look on his face for a time before a small smile came to it. After a moment, he then reached over for her hands with his left, patting her hands only a few times to get her to release her hold on her prize. "Good job, Casca... You can let him go, now..." He spoke to her in a gentle tone.
gpt
Puck was in her hands as he nodded within, "Y-yeah...you can let me out now Casca." He said though it was muffled that was when he felt Guts put his hand on Casca's as she looked at him a bit. Though she glared as she held her hands away with Puck in them, "AAAOOOO....AH!" She yelled out like a child that was told to give up her favorite toy as Puck yelled out feeling himself get jostled around. "Come on Guts, control her or something! I mean I distract her you know some kind of thing to calm her...down?" He thought about what he was saying as he knew that Guts didn't exactly have a secret way to make sure she was behaving it was kind of random how she would act out or obey which made him nervous as he looked around his hand prison hoping that Guts could help him out this instant.
human
When Guts saw that Casca wasn't letting go of Puck, he froze for a moment. Well now what, he thought. He couldn't be harsh with her. Not like this. It wouldn't be any much better than... Well...anything, really. But at the same time, he knew he had to get her attention somehow, even if it was with something far less practical and more of a cheap diversion. But at the same time, he knew he had to act... something like that of an odd version of a father figure of sorts. But how was he going to do this, he wondered as he felt Casca pull her hands back and hollered at him like a child. So what did he have to do? After a moment, Guts attempted to reach for her hands again, grabbing onto them firmly but had to be careful for Puck as he was still stuck there.
"Casca. Put him down." He then spoke with a bit more firmness in his voice now.