The Requiem: The Girl From the Sky

[Juzz]

Sei smiled weakly at Maro feeling eased at her presence. "I don't have a map... But I do know the world quite well. I kinda studied it in the academy" Sei answered when his companions suddenly went to 'alert mode'. He felt nervous and panicked at first, not knowing what was happening. Vei seemed to have felt Sei's fear that she backed up a few steps back to the cave.

 

It all happened fast, Cloud's quick reaction, the stranger's sudden attack and Maro's actions. He was as scared as yesterday. This time, he wasn't exactly in a dangerous position, so he tried to gather up what little courage he has left. Sei took a deep breath and began to try and clear things out, as Vei crept closer to the travelers. "Please... Everyone, settle down!" he shouted with his voice trembling. "Look, were just travelers on the way to Reaven Town... So... can we at least talk this out?" he continued with a gentle tone.

[Saphira-dragon]

The girl dodged away from his blade, his upper lip curled up with pleasure as it seemed she wanted to play. She appeared to his right-hand side with his blade now at his own neck, he could help it up laugh. "You really know who to chose your fights with, don't you?" He asked slashed his blade at her's knocking it away from his neck.

 

He bent his knee's slighty as he leaped backwards away from her deadly blade and landed about two meters away, the souls of his boot skidded against the dusty ground searching for grip as he grinded to a halt. A smirk was plastered across his face, "The reason for an Azure's Knight's presence is far too offical for the likes of you" He answered steadying his sword preparing for a battle, he had totally igorned Sei's yelling.

[Rakashua]

((sorry for the long post, yes it involves all of you, wanted to introduce my character, go read my profile and feel free to ask me any questions that I'm allowed to answer))

 

Jinjekkai Hiturro stood in the middle of a large clearing in an equally large forest. Growls issued from the long grass all about him and a tiny furry mass squealed in fright.

 

The baby wolf was latched onto his left gauntlet like its life depended on not letting go. Which it sort of did, not that Jin had any intention of dropping the pup, or letting go himself, but it helped when the pup held on.

 

"I see your family isn't very happy with me..." Jin noted, speaking to the puppy as several dark forms leapt in his direction.

 

He frowned, there were several days when his eye patch made life rather annoying, and today was one of them. The patch limited his depth perception incredibly, forcing him to dodge attacks at the last possible moment and not plan his moves in advance. It was a good training tool, but it had almost gotten him killed on several occasions, this one included.

 

Jin felt a claw on his back and spun away in time to feel another on his shoulder, causing him to drop to the ground and roll backwards. He rose to his feet in time to continue his rearwards momentum with a one-handed backwards handspring, lifting out of the reach of two of the larger males. He quickly glanced around, he was finally at the edge of their group, now they were all facing his front, allowing him to quickly turn and run for his life.

 

oh this was such a bad idea! he thought as his bare feet pounded over logs, through brush, and around trees as the pack gave chase.

 

Stealing a baby pup in the middle of the night had seemed like excellent training, after all, if he could sneak past a group of wolves he could sneak past anything... right?

 

Well the snatching had gone so well that he had left with the pup, still asleep, in his arms. Then of course he had the brilliant idea of using the pup to make all the wolves try and fight with him in order, after all, if he could out run, out dodge, and out last a pack of wolves he could outdo anything.... right?

 

Unfortunately the pack wasn't showing any signs of getting tired, even after four hours of constant chase. In fact, they looked angrier and seemed to be getting faster... that or I'm getting tired and slow Jin imagined... it was a scary thought.

 

He glanced down at the pup as he ran, "Sorry, this is probably going to leave you mentally scared for life, I forgot to consider that... Really though I'm almost done, if you could tell your parents to stop trying to kill me I swear I'll put you right back where I found you and you'll never see me again..."

 

The pup's only response was to bite into his gauntlet even harder.

 

Jin suddenly heard the sound of metal on metal and turned, running in that direction. It had come from the area he had seen a cave earlier, a group of bandits had been there for the past few days, doing who knows what. That gave him an idea, if he could use the bandits as a distraction he could have a fair chance of evading the wrath of the pack.

 

He put on a burst of speed, forcing his taxed muscles to push him a little further. His first priority was to find a place to set the pup where it would he safe, after that he would deal with the wolf pack. He wouldn't kill any of them, but maybe stopping for an actual fight would allow him to knock them all out and send them home later. There were only five of them after all, right... that's only 100claws and 200 some odd teeth to deal with... no problem... ugh...

 

He suddenly broke through the dense forest and into a large clearing. He couldn't really tell what was going on but three of the people looked like they weren't getting along. Then he spotted what he was looking for, a single young man near the entrance to the cave. He was about fifty yards ahead of his pursuers so he paused in front of the cave and quickly handed the pup off to Sei.

 

"Be careful with it," he charged the man before turning to face everyone else, "Sorry, don't mind me, you can go back to killing each other or whatever it is that bandits do, just leave me and the wolves out of it if you don't mind."

 

As if on que the five wolves suddenly burst through the bushes and launched themselves at Jin, paying no mind to the others.

 

To anyone watching, it looked like a half naked man with tattoos across his body, wearing nothing but a pair of loose, wolf-skin pants and belt, two dark purple, metal looking, thin gauntlets on his hands, with a staff tied across his back and two daggers tied to his belt, ((Who looks like this except is wearing what I just mentioned)) just leapt out of the bushes, said a few words quickly while panting, and mentioned something about wolves who appeared behind him, large and black, and leapt in his direction as he took his staff from his back and twirled it in his hands.

 

 

 

 

 

~If Jin is left alone he will ensue in combat with the wolves and knock them out one at a time, aquiring any number of cuts and bites as he does so.

 

~If Jin is interfered with the wolves will attack him and whoever or whatever is interfering with him and he will ensue in combat with both, still attempting not to kill either them or the person/thing that interfered.

 

~If Sei doesn't hold onto the puppy it will curl up on the cave floor, whimpering.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Rakashua

[Altiboris]

Lucifer couldn't help but sneer. "Well, you don't know who you're dealing with here." Her blade quickly whisked back in the guy's direction. Quickly darting, she weaved until she was behind him. A slight smile lit up her features as she did so; almost everyone tended to underestimate her. The girl swiftly unraveled her whip from around her waist with her left while keeping the scimitar aloft with her right. Suddenly, Lucifer snapped out with the whip at her attacker.

 

Lorkin hissed as the girl shoved him away from the wolf. Nobody messed with him or his mistress around. The wolf snarled and got ready to attack, the shock from earlier gone. The panther hissed back, claws unsheathed.

[roobot]

Nixa looked in shock at how quickly things had changed. Leaping to her feet, she took in what was happening, pulling out her book as she did so. The girl fighting Cloud and Maro seemed to have a pet... Is that a panther? Taking one last look at her half-finished soup, which was now spilled on the rocks, she was about to leap into battle when she heard a crashing noise behind her. Nixa spun around, and in mute shock she saw a man come running through the trees, carrying what looked like a wolf pup. He quickly shoved it into Sei's hands, shouted something about not minding him and the... wolves? What has this guy been doing? As to answer her question, several fully grown canis lupus jumped into the clearing and began to attack him. Staring, she noticed the dark body tattoos and eyepatch. ...he kind of looks like...

 

Not fully sure what to do, Nixa weighed her options. She could join Cloud and Maro, or help the guy fight the wolves, with the risk of being attacked herself. Neither, she thought, as she ran toward Sei to see if he was doing okay. After all, she was pretty sure he couldn't fight (the most she had seen of a weapon was his stick) and would need help if he got attacked. As she drew herself up to Sei, she saw the wolf pup, which the adults seemed to be fighting to get back. "Are you doing okay with that?"

[LadyNatasha]

Only Maro's subconcious detected the seven newcomers (six of which were wolves). She was facing the panther now, baring her teeth. Her wolf was right next to her, also baring his teeth. Both Maro and the wolf felt confident: it was two verse one, and Maro had weapons that she knew how to use. She held a dagger in her left hand, and now she crouched to make herself the wolf's height.

 

The wolf himself was momentarily distracted by the presence of the other wolves, and was tempted to go meet them, but he had enough to deal with with the panther. Then Maro's senses came back and she had an idea. In one swift movement, still not noticing the five other wolves, she drew up to her feet and said something in a foreign language while at the same time slotting a wooden arrow in her crossbow. She pointed it directly at the heart of the panther.

 

"Lady!" She said loudly, referring to the panther's owner, not sure what else to call her. "As you can see, you are outnumbered greatly here. My wolf and his five friends over there, the man who you are currently dueling, and extremely powerful mage lady and a..." -she thought of an appropriate word for Sei- "another person are all working together. All you have is yourself, your panther and that man over there with no shirt on." Still aiming at the kitty, wolf crouched at her side, she continued in an almost-friendly fashion.

 

"I ask that you state your business here, or leave. After all, none of this would have happened if you had controlled your Cheetah here, assuming it's yours."

 

~Maro is prepared for any movement from the Black Panther, but if she shot it with the arrow she would not actually aim for the heart.

 

~The wolf is prepared to fight, but would likely attempt to jump out of the way of further attack, perhaps even joining the other five wolves for temporary protection.

 

The brown horse had gotten loose, and was currently out of sight.

[Juzz]

Sei jumped down from Vei when another stranger appeared. For some reason, he handed over a wolf pup to the boy. He was speechless and confused of what was happening around. What was that about...? he thought as he looked at the strange man with a blank stare. He snapped back to his senses upon hearing Nixa call on him. "Uh... Yeah. I'm okay but..." he said with an unsure tone as he stared at the wolf pup in his arms. "WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE!?" Sei finally snapped, confused with all the events happening.

 

Everyone was fighting except him and Nixa (who can fight but is not doing so), it felt partly awkward, being the coward he is. Sei gently placed down the pup on the ground and turned to the bag sitting on the large bird's back. "I'm tired of being useless..." he said softly, searching for something inside the bag. It was a moss green round ball about the size of an eyeball. This will at least get rid of the wild wolves... he thought. The ball was a special mixture of herbs and spices which attracts wild animals, this item is normally addressed as Spice Ball. Spice Ball are common among people who live close to forests, deserts or any area with wild animals.

 

As soon as the ball shot up the air, a strange intoxicating smell wafted in the air. The wolves seemed to have been caught under its spell and immediately followed after it. Tamed animals are usually have resistance against the smell for they have been exposed to the humans who uses herbs & spices. "Looks like my time in the forest as a kid wasn't a waste" Sei said proudly, forgetting about the other problem they're currently facing - the strangers.

((Yeah... He finally snapped ...))

Edited February 9, 2011 by Juzz

[Rakashua]

"..."

Jin watched as the wolves chased after a small green ball.

"..."

He suddenly caught a wift of the strong scent, it was so... delicious smelling!

He quickly followed the wolves, ending up behind them, staring at the strange ball that the man had thrown.

"..."

He poked one of the wolves, who snapped at him, but returned its attention to the green ball.

"ooooooh," he spoke, somersaulting over the wolves and picking up the green ball, all the wolves watched him, or rather, they focused on the ball in his hands. The smell was nearly overpowering this close to his sensitive nose.

Is it a magic ball that tames animals? he wondered, poking and prodding at the green sphere. No, if it was just magic there'd be no reason to make it smelly... it reminds me of the herb cupboard back at the monastery...

 

He licked the ball, immediately shut his mouth and began coughing as his eyes began to water.

Wow! it must be a weapon of some sort, like a distraction device! He nodded to himself, rubbing his hands together, "Right!" he called out to the wolves in front of him, who were still staring at the ball.

 

"This my wolf friends might appear to be a ball of dense spices and herbs used to distract furry friends like yourselves, but I tell you that is not the case!" He tossed the ball, catching it in his hand again, the wolves' heads followed its movement, "no, this is a training challenge. Just like eating poison in small doses over time can grant someone immunity, eating a weapon like this should do the same thing!"

 

After all, he thought, If I can stomach this I can stomach anything! And maybe it will make the wolves attracted to my breath!

 

With that, he tossed the ball very high indeed and caught it in his mouth. He gritted his teeth, bit the ball in half, and swallowed.

 

After a few seconds of running in circles screaming, as the wolves followed after the smell now coming from his mouth, the effect of the inordinately large amount of spices finally over came him and he passed out with a happy expression on his face that resembled drunkenness.

 

The wolves, interestingly enough, didn't tear him apart, rather, they sat next to his head as he breathed, scenting the spice ball on his breath to the same effect it had on them earlier.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Rakashua

[Saphira-dragon]

Cloud peered at her when she replied, "who is she?" he asked himself, Sei was yelling something and then some green ball was thrown across the clearing. The wolves took after it with the strange tattoed man also, "Freck of nature" he muttered returning his gaze back to the girl that now snapped her whip that she had taken out of nowhere. She snapped it at him, he leaped back giving her a look.

 

 

"Do I look like an animal to you?" he demanded rather displeased at being attacked with such a weapon like that, he wasn't much for patients when others were in danger around him. Nixa had Sei's back it seemed and Maro with her hound had the crazy panther under control as far as he could hear anyway.

 

"Listen! We don't have time for this bloody messing around! There are Bandits in this area and damned Knights from Kevia will be searching the surrounding area's soon more than likely! I'll be damned if I'm going to be caught by them so either MOVE IT OR SO HELP ME I WILL KILL YOU!" he snapped at her, his face turned more serious than it had before and his voice echoed around the clearing as he put emotion into it. His nostel's flared dangeriously.

[LadyNatasha]

Maro suddenly glanced behind her with a concerned expression. The shirtless man from earlier was screaming some distance away where the green ball of smelly stuff had been thrown. He was finally silent, and she wondered if they had killed him. She didn't want to find out too badly, and was still busy watching the giant cat.

 

She did appreciate the green stuff, though. It had semi-calmed her own wolf enough that he wasn't going to randomly attack the cat, though he was still prepared to defend himself.

Suddenly Cloud spoke up. Maro frowned when he was done and, still pointing the crossbow at the kitty, glanced back at him.

 

"Cloud! That's no way to speak to a lady! Now wash your mouth out with soap and control yourself! We don't need to fight savagery with savagery." The last part was her main point.

"And Sei," she said, glancing at him after glancing at the Black Panther to make sure it wasn't going to pounce. "Nice work." She gave him an approving smile before turning her full attention back to the cat.

[Juzz]

The man had swallowed the ball. It was strange sight, wolves were around him, intoxicated by his breath. Soon, a few other wild animals gathered around, some squirrels, a couple of birds and a rabbit or two. It looked like the scene when Snow White sings and animals flock around, except, it's a guy. "I use that for cooking... But eating that raw is like eating a spoonful of salt..." he shrugged, scratching his head as he stared at the weird scene.

 

"I have soap if you... Wait what am I saying?!" Sei somehow trailed of his mind for no reason. He was distracted for a while and returned to his senses, somehow, the smell affected him a bit. "Glad I can help... But we really have to move on now if we want to get a lodging in the inn by tomorrow!" he answered Maro, trying to cover up his 'trailing off' moment.

[Saika]

Take a turn right, then left, then walk forward till you reach the big tree... Lifting her head from the piece of paper she was looking at, the young woman cocked her head to the side, blonde hair with purple stripes falling over her shoulder from her ponytail. She'd already turned left, and the first right turn was done several hours ago. The main question right now had to be... Which tree is the right one? Out of all the trees surrounding her, was there anyone standing out like as a big tree? Well... There was several, really. Breathing out a dejected sigh, she decided that she might as well just continue walking. She was bound to get somewhere, right?

 

Carefully tucking the piece of paper back into one of her pockets, the woman took a few steps forwards... And stopped. The farmer who'd given her the instructions had said it's take her an hour at most, but she'd been walking for at least three. Maybe she should just go back to where she came from, and pretend she was never walking in that direction at all? It wasn't as if the tree was important, and they said that the Kingdom of Gresia had started to move... You can't just give up like that, Alazne! That was right... She was a Viziel Knight, wasn't she? She would finish what she started!

 

She took a few more steps, determination showing on her face, when a squirrel suddenly ran across the small track she was following and into the forest on the other side. What had that in a hurry? Shrugging slightly she decided that it was just a mystery of the forest and started to walk again, when a bird flew out in front of her, taking the same route as the squirrel had. The bird was obviously not hunting the small animal; she doubted the bird was bigger than it.

 

Her curiosity had been awakened, and taking another few steps she wondered just why the animals were moving that way. Her answer came in a way she didn't expect, as a peculiar smell reached her. It smelled... It smelled almost like Ceridwen's kitchen! Her curiosity was almost at it's peak now, and she followed the animals, walking away from the small track she'd been following. Since she'd lost sight of the animals even before she started, she contented with walking in their general direction. At least, she figured, she could walk in the same line back again if it didn't lead anywhere.

 

It did, however, lead somewhere. Or, more specifically, to the clearing in front of a cave. The young woman's dark eyes widened slightly at the sight that met her when she stepped out from the trees, and they glanced quickly around, trying to grasp everything at once. The most normal she could spot was a woman and a man standing off to one side, watching the happenings. For the rest... Well, at one place, another woman looked like she was fighting against a... Panther? ...together with her dog. Another place a redhead man was facing off a black haired woman, looking quite angry. And last but not least, all the animals was gathered around a body on the ground.

 

A rather still body, now that she thought about it... And she was pretty sure the smell came from him. “What's going on?” The words weren't spoken very loud, and they were more to herself than anyone else. These people didn't look like bandits, really... Weird things just kept happening to her lately. First the symbol of Arcaia appeared in the sky, and the farmer she'd been speaking to said he saw it on her forehead as well, and now this?

 

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind she decided to think about it later. Right now she needed to make sure the man laying so still was okay. Walking towards him, she carefully pushed the animals away, growing a bit more worried as they didn't respond much except for the occasional growl and glare. Hopefully it was only the smell that made them like that. Finally reaching the man, she breathed a sigh of relief when she found him breathing. Actually, it only looked like he was sleeping... But the smell was definitely coming from him. “What happened to him?” This question was directed to whoever could answer, and she turned back to the other people in the clearing.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Saikachan

[Rakashua]

*Cough Cough!*

"Blech!" Jin's chest suddenly heaved and he coughed as his body managed to recover from the sudden shock of salt and other spices to his system.

 

He groped at his back until he managed to grab his canteen, quickly unscrewing the cork he guzzled down the entire two pints worth of water in record time.

 

His single eye that was not covered by the eye-patch widened as he noticed all the animals around him. Wolves, rabbits, squirrels, birds... it was all a little weird, they were just staring at him, at his mouth more specifically from whence the spiced breath issued forth.

 

It was then that he noticed the woman standing over him, does the ball attract women too? he wondered, but immediately decided that would be silly and didn't ask out loud.

 

He lifted an arm, experimentally checking to see what his tattoos looked like, satisfied that they hadn't changed, and that he wasn't indeed dead or having some strange dream, he stood up in front of the woman, a knight by her appearance, but not someone he'd met before. Her garments caused him to guess that she was from the Viziel kingdom, or at least lived in that area at one point in time. The way she was looking at him and the others signaled she was unfamiliar with what was going on. Of course Jin was in that same condition...

 

"Miss Viziel Knight," Jin bowed politely, his previous stupor and random manner vanishing as if he had acted them out, "Let me personally welcome you to this random part of the forest in the middle of nowhere particularly important. I am Jinjekkai Hitturo, an Azure Knight, and these fine plebeians are bandits who can't seem to get along."

 

Jin failed to mention that he was actually a knight in training, I mean... who introduces themselves as a 'knight in training' that's what? a step up from tramp?

 

The animals followed Jin's every movement, but his breath still left them in their intoxicated stupor even after the addition of water.

 

"You'll pardon my lack of... shirt, and the eye," Jin glanced at his pants and belt, "and the lack of boots and..." Jin suddenly paused, "I'm not a bandit I swear... uhhh..." he fumbled with the pouch strapped to his belt, "see," he pulled out a small medallion he had been given when he left the academy to train on his own. "I'm one hundred and three point two percent Azure Knight!" he smiled broadly before adding, "which some people may view as bandits, rogues, barbarians, or other such sort, but I myself am merely a gentleman in disguise."

 

Jin decided he had talked quite long enough and, not wanting to scare off the nice lady knight person, extended his right hand, "what's your name? and what brings you here?"

Edited February 10, 2011 by Rakashua

[Juzz]

"Uh... Oh! He kinda swallowed my special recipe of Spice Ball" Sei was quite astonished to see another person in the scene. It was getting strange how many people were being gathered there. By own recipe, what he meant was, people create their own recipes of Spice Balls, thus, effects differ depending on the recipe used. It is up to the person to experiment to create desired results. Sei watched the newcomer for the moment as he somehow ignored the battle between Cloud and the woman.

 

"H-hey! Were not bandits! Were victims... Last night at least..." he protested, his voice grew weaker each sentence. "In fact, I was taken hostage yesterday twice actually... (he thought). The bandits suddenly took me when The Requiem appeared in the sky..." he added with an unsure tone. He pause for a while and looked away and continued with a weaker voice. "They claimed it appeared in my forehead... Not that it matters..." he muttered softly, yet loud enough to hear.

Edited February 10, 2011 by Juzz

[Saika]

“He swallowed a spice ball?” Somehow the notch seemed rather unbelievable. Someone would actually do that? The woman didn't get any further in her musing as she nearly jumped at a sudden cough from behind her and spun around to face the sound. It seemed as if the man had woken up from his... Sleep? ...and was currently drinking as much water as he could in the shortest amount of time. Well, she could understand that, as a spice ball had to be... Well, spicy, or at least quite strong. She merely cocked her head in curiosity as he started to move, and watched him closely. It didn't look like he took any damage, but she'd never know...

 

A smile lit up her face as he addressed her, rather politely, and a small laugh escaped her at his more or less ridiculous welcome. Not that she minded. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Azure Knight.” Well, he didn't seem like he was an enemy, or hostile in any kind, so she might as well be polite in return. Her smile widened as he asked her to pardon his lack of... Well, the pieces of clothes he lacked, before he started to fumble with a pouch strapped to his belt. If she was to be honest, she hadn't even noticed that he lacked a shirt or shoes before he pointed it out. Maybe she shouldn't say that out loud... The eye patch she'd noticed, though.

 

Nodding she looked at the medallion he showed her. She didn't really care if he was what he said he was, but at least now she knew for sure. Smiling again, she took his offered, right hand and shook it. “My name is Alazne Lilija de Clare, and I am, as you guessed, a Viziel Knight. What brings me here... I'm afraid I'm lost.” Halfway admitting it to herself had hurt... Fully admitting it to this stranger somehow hurt less.

 

Her attention turned to the man who'd answered her question when he said that they weren't bandits... But victims? Her eyes turned to the pair still fighting, and then to the woman with the dog, and she found herself slightly disbelieving. She didn't know which of them where on his side, but whoever it was it looked like they knew how to hold themselves in a fight. Her focus returned rapidly to the man when he mentioned something about the Requiem. It had appeared on his forehead, too? “I believe it does matter... Or if it doesn't, it is still interesting information, as the same happened to me. Tell me more?”

[Altiboris]

Lucifer glared and hissed, "Move it yourself." The whip in her hand vibrated slightly, twitching as if of it's own accord. "I'm not going anywhere." She was getting annoyed now. These people were intruding, not her. The girl "And I'd like to know. What the hell are you doing in my forest?" (Despite all the bandits, she liked to think of these woods as her own). Suddenly, she stopped. Turning around, she looked at Sei. "Did you say a mark appeared on your forehead?" Lucifer tipped her head to one side slightly, puzzled. What the hell did that mean?

 

Lorkin hissed at the wolf and suddenly darted forward. Entangling himself with the pup, he rolled on the ground in a confusing mass. Inwardly, the panther was pleased. The girl couldn't shoot without danger of harming her pet too.

[Saphira-dragon]

Cloud had to stop himself from giving Maro a look when she gave out to him for speaking to the girl like he did, "o....you.....we will talk later!" he hissed at her before the girl demanded to know why he was in her forest.

"Your forest? Last time I checked, this place was a free for all!" he snapped answering her back when he heard someone behind him introduce himself.

 

"No way..." He breathed out turning around staring at the man covered in tattoe's, why hadn't he noticed him before? It had been quiet some time and news didn't travel in his direction most of time when he was traveling but still....

 

He suddenly frowned as he heard Jin introduce himself as an Azure Knight, "Aw hell no" He muttered, a flicker of some emotion flashed across his face before he sheathed his sword. "I have more pressing matters..." He said walking away from the girl leaving her with her living whip it seemed.

 

He rapped his fist off Jin's skull as soon as he was close enough, "Thought the monks taught you not to lie without good reason, Jin" Cloud said scrowling him before his faical feature's softened again after his telling off.

"But all the same, glad to see you didn't fall down a hole with that blindfold of your's" he joked and Blazer appeared from the shadow of the forests snorting slightly as the danger was passing slowly.

[LadyNatasha]

Maro, who had been standing still with bow pointed at the panther, was quietly listening and inwardly apologizing to everyone that she looked so... well, unlike herself. She was extremely curious to meet the newcomers, but she hated the girl and the panther enough right now not to move or say anything.

 

She was quite shocked that Cloud knew the man with the eye patch, but her attention quickly turned back to the scene in front of her.

 

"Hey, lady!" She said to Lucifer as Cloud left her standing there. "Please tell your Ocelot to heel... or isn't he yours? If he's wild, I'll kill him now." She was completely serious.

 

As if on cue, the panther again attacked her wolf, but this time the wolfdog was ready.

 

Though he was small, he was fast, and he and the panther were quickly rolling over each other, first one on top and then the other. He growled a lot and snapped at the panther, but he didn't really bite. He was rather enjoying the fight and was almost friendly with the panther. Almost.

 

Maro didn't see it that way.

 

The moment the panther even began to move at the wolf, Maro had her crossbow put away and was in on the fight (it took a second to put the crossbow away, so they tangled for about three seconds before she reached them). She withdrew her dagger: the newcomer would not control her pet, so Maro would have to take matters into her own hands...

 

Now up close, since she was unable to shoot arrows without risking hitting her dog, she mumbled "Don't mind me," to whoever was close enough to hear as she rammed herself into the fight with the panther and wolf. She could feel both animals purposely and accidentally scratching her, but she didn't care.

"Cloud or new people, if you don't do something right now I swear I'll tear this beast to pieces and use magic to do it!" She yelled as she continued to attempt to separate the two animals (she was rather annoyed that hers was the only fight left). They were both so large, it wasn't working.

She yelled loudly (okay, more like roared) at the panther and slashed at it with the dagger she had withdrawn.

~Maro slashed to hurt, not to kill. She aimed for the panther's left ribs, striking a horizontal blow that, if successful, would be half an inch deep and seven inches long across the ribs.

 

~If the blow was successful, Maro tries to break up the fight and remove the panther forcefully again, still holding the dagger in her left hand.

 

~The only way the blow could miss was if the panther separated itself from the wolf, therefor ending the fight for the moment. If the blow does miss, Maro moves between the panther and the wolf, and prepares to attack again if Lucifer doesn't speak up.

Edited February 11, 2011 by LadyNatasha

[Rakashua]

Jin shook Alazne's hand politely, "Agh" he complained as Cloud gave him a clout on the head, "eh?" He ran a hand nervously through his messy hair, "ah, Cloud sempai..." Jin seemed to be trying to come up with something to say as he smiled broadly at the man he hadn't seen in at least two years, "eto... eto... Ahem!"

 

He straightened up suddenly and reverted back to his gentlemanly demeanor, which as far as anyone could tell, was an act, or perhaps his more rambunctious self was an act, or perhaps both, he had always been a strange one. But anyone that knew him knew that he knew when to be serious. But he was also not an open person, his true self he hid most of the time, perhaps he was shy, maybe he had a horrible trauma in his younger life, maybe he was just an introvert, it was anyone's guess.

 

"Master Cloud, allow me to introduce you to Miss Alazne Lilija de Clare, an esteemed knight of the Viziel kingdom."

 

But suddenly his demeanor changed back to what it had been and his eye went wide with a look of shock.

 

"Waaaaaait!" He grabbed Cloud by the shoulders and turned him so they were facing one another, interrupting any handshake or greeting he may have been returning to Alazne, "you had a glowing mark appear on your forehead too???"

 

He would have continued to speak if it hadn't been for the other girl, well... one of the others, who started yelling and jumped into a bundle of flying fur with a cat and a dog, both overly large for that term to apply to them completely.

 

Completely distracted by the three way wrestling match, Jin was suddenly airborne, vaulting with his hands off of Cloud's broad shoulders in a single graceful movement. He landed right in the middle of the flying fur and rolling girl...

 

He wasn't particularity sure who was fighting whom, but he was sure that he wanted in on it! fighting wild animals was one of his most favorite past times, they were so much safer than fighting people with long swords or arrows.

 

And so he growled as he tussled with the group, enjoying every minute of it.... somethings never changed, to him it was just a game.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Rakashua

[Juzz]

"Ehm? I couldn't really tell if the bandits weren't lying... But my head did ache when it appeared in the sky..." Sei answered clutching his head. He turned toward the Azure Knights and listened to them for a bit. After a moment, he continued answering the Viziel Knight. It is common courtesy to respect and cooperate with knights regardless of what kingdom he or she is from. The only exception to that was if the knight's kingdom is in a feud with yours (or where you are staying). "It was early in the morning, I was collecting wood for breakfast... When it appeared in the sky... And the moment it disappeared, the bandits seized me..." he added, sounding unsure of the events. During that time, Vei was left near the river, since Sei didn't comeback, she searched for him that night, only to see that he was captured. That was when the bird tried to search for help, finding Cloud's group.

 

Cloud and Jin continued to speak with Sei eavesdropping a bit. Not that he can stop himself from hearing their conversation. "Hey, wait... It appeared on your forehead?! Does that mean the bandits weren't lying?" Sei suddenly blurted out when Jin asked Cloud his assumption. Of course, he didn't really know it appeared on his companions too since they weren't really open to tell him about it.

 

Turning to Lucifer, Sei, due to all the fast developments, forgot his fear. Well... Cloud is right... I almost grew up in this forest, no way she'd own it... I've actually never seen her... "Can we settle down for a moment and sort out what's happening here?" he asked with a commanding and yet polite tone.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Juzz

[Altiboris]

Ignoring the girl with the wolf, Lucifer hissed in exasperation. Gesturing disdainfully to Cloud, she snarled, "He tried to attack me first you know. With that pitiful little sword of his." The whip twitched, as if it was angry that the fighting had stopped. Glaring at it in annoyance, the girl quickly wrapped it around her waist once more. Giving a final rattle as it sought to free itself, it gave up and curled together reluctantly. "Sorry." Lucifer muttered, prodding the whip. "It gets a little overexcited sometimes." Flicking her shaggy hair out of the way, she asked, "So what the hell does that sign mean?"

 

Lorkin quickly dodged out of the way of the blade, hearing the slicing noise as it narrowly passed him. Leaping back onto his paws nimbly, he quickly assessed the situation. As the girl stood between him and the target, he sprang up and at the hand holding the dagger.

 

~If he manages to bit the hand, he would probably knock the weapon away and attack her.

 

~If he doesn't, she'd have to move away. And then he'd attack the wolf again.

[Saika]

“Nice to meet-” Alazne never got to fully finish her greeting to the man called Cloud before she was interrupted by a surprised exclamation from Hitturo. The mark appeared on his forehead... Too? That meant, if she was to take everyone's words into account, that at least four of the people present had had the symbol of the prince appear on their forehead, including herself. Her eyes swept across the rest of the people in the clearing, and she couldn't help but ask herself if the phenomenon had happened to the rest of them as well... But, no, that would be to much of a coincidence. Right? The insecurity she could hear in her own inner voice almost scared her.

 

Her attention turned from her own thoughts and to her surroundings when the man who'd stood apart from the fighting spoke up, and she nodded slowly. “If a farmer's words are to be believed, and I believe they are, then the mark that appeared in the sky yesterday appeared on my forehead as well.” She cast a glance at the two men by her, and noticed with a slight surprise that only one was present, before she realized that the one who'd been laying so still when she entered had walked off to join the fight between one woman, one dog, and one panther.

 

Her eyes returned briefly to the man when he spoke again, this time asking for them to settle down and sort it out, and she nodded in agreement. Turning to the man by her side (Cloud, she remembered), she smiled and gestured towards the man and the woman who she so far hadn't seen lift a weapon, ignoring the still-ongoing fight. “How about we go over there and attempt to sort this out?” The woman he'd been fighting earlier seemed to have left the thoughts of attacking, at least for the moment, and her eyes narrowed at her question. “Polite goes a long way, you know.” Then she started to walk to where she'd gestured, answering the question as she walked. “All I know is that it is the symbol of Arcaia, and the prince. As for why it appeared... I am as clueless as you.”

[Rakashua]

Jin was knocked out of the shuffle of fur, claws, feet, and two daggers for a moment as the panther disengaged itself.

 

He rolled backwards and came up on four feet, well two hands and two feet but you get the idea. It looked like the wolf was behind the woman who had the daggers and that the cat was about to spring in that direction.

 

Jin grumbled to himself and stood up, this was no fun, everyone was ignoring him in the fight, he hadn't even been cut yet... He sighed and brushed himself off, securing his staff to his back again and checking to see if anything else hand fallen off his person during the tussle. Apparently nothing was missing so he turned back to Cloud with a look that said 'it looked so inviting, how could I resist?'

 

"I've heard of the mark before," Jin spoke up quickly, hopping from battle to conversation in the blink of an eye, "back when I was in the monastery there was some big hubbub about it and the end of the world, or the saving of the world, I forget which, I really wasn't paying attention."

 

Jin had said it to everyone in general but he now turned to the Viziel knight lady, "sorry I didn't actually tell you the truth and Cloud sempai will surly strangle me in my sleep if I don't. So anyways I'm not actually an Azure knight, I'm still in training." he said it with such a sad look on his face you may have believed he was about to cry, but suddenly he smiled and his demeanor changed once more.

 

"On the plus side I'm going to become one as soon as I get back to Azure. So I really don't have time for glowing marks and dead princes at the moment"

Edited February 11, 2011 by Rakashua

[Saphira-dragon]

Cloud looked over in Maro's direction as he heard her call out to him speaking about how they should end it now or she would kill the creature in question, he didn't want to see nature being harmed in such way even if it was a wild beast. However at that moment there was a flurry of fur and his attention was whipped back to Jin who had begun to speak after him rapping his with his knuckles.

He was introducing him to a Viziel Knight by the name of Alazne, he was bending forward slightly to bow in respect to her when suddenly Jin gripped his shoulder's flipping over his head gracefully. He ran straight into the battle like a crazy animal that wanted to join.

 

He rolled his eyes at this display, Alazne spoke saying that they should help break up the fight. Cloud only half agreed, fighting was his way of life and so long as they didn't harm the nature around them he didn't really care. It appeared that almost everyone here had the Mark appear on their foreheads, it puzzled him to no ends.

 

Jin came poncing back from his fighting appearing without a stratch, he chuckled at the comment of him strangling him if he didn't tell the truth. "You know me much too well boy" He said and then heard he planned on journeying back soon to become a full Knight.

"So do I, only to bear the news that Kevia has fallen in its war" He said gravely, he had always got paid very well in that city and there was always work there too.

[Rakashua]

Jin suddenly became deadly serious, "Kevia fell?" He asked, sighing heavily as if a little bit of good just dropped out of existence in the world, perhaps it had.

 

"I didn't think I was gone long enough for an entire kingdom to topple, who was responsible?" He asked quickly, eying Alazne suspiciously. Jin had only been to the small kingdom of Kevia once, but he liked it a lot on that one trip. The people were normal, hard working types for the most part, it wasn't big enough to have a lot of crime and it wasn't so small that the poor weren't taken care of. It was just right, a proud and generous little place, a balanced place...

 

Jin scowled to himself and his tattoos seemed to grow a bit darker along with his expression.

"Argh!" He slammed a fist into a nearby tree, leaving a black smoldering mark his hand had been. He stood like that for a moment, breathing heavily, but seemed to regain his composure and his expression and body lightened again.

 

"Cloud sempai?" He asked, seriously, "you have been a knight for some time now, how do you deal with every tragic movement of life that you have no control over?" He paused, "I've been told that finding my balance is so important, you would understand that about me more than most. I want to become a knight Cloud, I have to, soon. My body is just like the rest of the world of late, unbalanced, tending towards chaos. I've trained so hard these past two years and..." he glanced at the tree he had just scorched, "I'm no better than I ever was it would seem, I still don't have the control I seek. Like the world I've gotten stronger, faster, but no more balanced."

"I don't know how you manage it." he added with a weak smile.

Edited February 12, 2011 by Rakashua