Trials and Travels (Semi-lit)

[BlueApollo]

Luna

 

Luna cringed at the sheer volume of Tractus's thoughts. That was really loud, but she knew that it probably couldn't be helped. If someone wanted their thoughts to be heard they usually tended to do that. It could get quite bothersome when people were arguing on the streets. I think we need to talk about this privately. It doesn't concern Akira; she wasn't there last night. Besides, she doesn't know anything about this whole aura thing. We need to figure this out soon before it gets out of hand. Luna walked forward as she let the thoughts float to Tractus's mind. They felt clearer than normal, a much appreciated improvement over her normal telepathic connections. Obviously this kid had some sort of effect on her or else everything would feel much more muddled, like she was trying to shout a message under water.

 

"They're p-probably going to have some sort of banquet today, or at least a buffet to celebrate the graduation. It's a big day, and I'm certain that they'll keep the chefs busy throughout the whole thing," Luna said as she continued to walk towards the cafeteria. She could feel an empty hollow in her stomach. She couldn't remember how much she had eaten last night, but obviously it had not been enough.

[akiraa]

Akira blinked and said "your right! Probably! I wonder what nummy food they'll have! Let's go see! Let's go see!" Akira then ran off hungry and excited to see what food there would be. A huge smile plastered on her face as she headed for the dining room. She couldn't wait to see what there was to eat! Maybe they'd have some delicious exotic fruits, that she could maybe even get some new seeds out of! She would just love that.

 

--

 

Akilana reached out a hand and grabbed Leith's shirt. She then said "I... won't talk anymore... please... just stay here a sec..." She was still sorting out her emotions, and she didn't want to be alone. She knew she had to get ready, and so did Leith, but it's not like she very well could at this moment. But it was visible that she was getting better now, as the little storm above her head grew smaller and smaller and less harsh.

[SkySong278]

Skylar

 

Sky was about to intervene when she saw the fight between Marc and Aamina break out since her hands were covered with ice but didn't when she heard Jahan say all that he did in order to make the other two calm down. She would have frozen Aamina if she had hurt her fiance and if Jahan hadn't intervened. Since he did, she calmed down and had her hands fall back down to her sides again as she made the ice go away from her hands. After she calmed down, she waited for them to move. She also wondered where Kilana was before spotting her a few feet away from Jahan and the others.

Edited September 30, 2011 by Dragonpelt

[Lore_Master]

"This all sounds good to me, but how can we make it look like an earth elementian did it when we have a young earth bender, and I mean - Miss Aamina."

 

Betzalel had been around on this world far longer then any of them, so nothing surprised him when it came to the humans. Especially when they get really angry. With no look of surprise on his face, he watched as Marcus and Aamina began to summon their elements, but with Aamina it was fueled by anger. He gently place one hand on his face and sighed as the two of them were almost ready to duke it out.

 

"That's enough! We are a team, not enemies! What kind of fools are we if we fight each other? We have enough enemies to worry about as it is."

 

Betzalel removed his hand when he heard Jahan's voice, brimming with anger. He was slightly impressed with the Metal Child. He could sense that the both of them were less likely to rip each other's throats out, and he was calm, yet firm with his body language. "Not bad for the youngest one here" Thought Betzalel with a smile as he walked towards everyone.

 

"The Metal Child is very right, if are willing to fight each other at this point, we might as well surrender ourselves to the light alliance right now" Said Betzalel, he wasn't happy with how things were starting out right now. "For this first stage of the plan to work, we need to trust in each other's power...if there is even a single strand of doubt" Said Betzalel, he needed someone to prove an example...He looked at a blue hair woman, the hooker Celeste. He walked up to her, his eyes turning pure coal black as he pierced his gaze into her. "I will find it and bring it to the light" He said, darkly as he kept looking at her, acting as if he was probing her mind for doubt. But in the turn of a coin, his eyes were back to normal and he walked up to the group again.

 

"So let's all be one big happy family okay?" He said with a cheerful voice.

Edited September 30, 2011 by Lore_Master

[Rakashua]

Kai almost flinched when she mentioned Noe possibly getting struck by lightning... almost, but was glad he didn't because apparently Yuaki was just guessing. Not understanding most social customs as he did... Kai spoke his thoughts allowed.

 

"You are a strange girl. Everything you tell me is a half truth, or a lie, some of it at least. You feel like you're always lying, but that can't be right because some of what you said was true." Kai scratched his chin, forgetting completely that Yuaki was a stranger to him and had no way of figuring out why he had said what he had just said or how it could or could not have anything to do with the question she just asked him. "And you are a girl, I've never tried to feel if a girl was lying before, maybe they lie differently than men. Do girls lie differently than men?"

 

Kai stopped anything she might have said in reply with a raised hand, "my apologies I asked a question without answering yours first. I'm told that's impolite. But as to your question..." Kai stamped a foot into the stone floor and Caused enough of a vibration for Yuaki to feel a sharp but momentary twinge in her left heel bone, the foot she was leaning more of her weight on than the other.

 

Kai then turned and placed a hand on the wall, a moment later the outline of a skeleton appeared. "That's your bone structure, you probably had a rough childhood wherever you used to live, or perhaps you just carried packs of sand around like me for a few years, your boned are thicker than Isa's, thickness changes depending on stress, or work in this case."

 

Kai seemed to realize he was off topic. "This is what I saw." Yuaki's skeleton went away and two skeletons appeared, one slightly taller than the other, the teeth of each were nearly touching, if they had flesh, their lips most certainly would be together and the taller one had his hands around the shorter one's face and jaw.

 

"I can feel your bones through the vibration in the floor, it only works because we're standing on such high quality stone, hard and dense. A place like this I can even feel your heartbeat. Back in the day when earth elementarians were... more abundant. As a Neutral group they made a lot of their livings as judges, prosecutors, and defenses of people in court tried for war crimes. As long as the earth elementian is sensitive enough and the stone is hard enough, the heartbeat of the person on trial can be felt and used to determine if that person is lying. You, have been lying to me." Kai shrugged, "or it could just be that you're a girl, Master Tsume did always say women had different hearts, but I never thought he meant it literally." Kai gave her a grin that was half a challenge and half a 'I caught you twice now' look.

 

"If I was a master... I could tell you where you came from, what kind of ground you've most walked on, how high an altitude you lived most of your life at, how fresh the water was in the places you drank from most as a child, how hard you've worked, even your age. All of these things at least close approximations of them, are detailed like a story in the shaping of your bones, like permanent scars, but on the bone not skin."

 

"Does that make you uncomfortable?" Kai remembered to ask. "I don't do it all the time, just if I concentrate and you stand very still, like now. Want me to try guessing at everything I just described?"

 

Kai was so happy that he had a chance to explain his odd abilities that he didn't really realize he'd been talking for almost a minute straight now. fortunately he seemed to be looking for a response now and that had stopped his train of words.

[LoveLost]

Isa and King Aslano

Isa looked up at Aketsu and was rather impressed with the way that he responded to her father. Between the time in the kitchen and the time now, something had happened to him and to be honest she liked it. She gently wiped away the tear that she had and looked at her father. If Aketsu was able to love her, did her father still love her? Didn't he hate her for all that she still blamed him for? Shouldn't he have done that to her? She stopped herself from thinking anymore when her father's face seemed to change.

 

What has happened to this boy? Was the king's first thought. He knew Aketsu to be one to use sir repeatedly when he was speaking to him and it was quite refreshing to have this boy stand up for himself for once. He stopped and corrected himself for Aketsu was no longer a boy, he was a man. This change in him from last night until now, made him a man. And beside him, his daughter, much to his sadness, looked like a woman now. She was no longer a flat chested little girl with little pigtails and sunglasses all the time, she was a full figured woman with her hair down around her shoulders and her brilliant eyes shining out from a well formed face. "Aketsu, I..." the king didn't know what to say. He was so used to Aketsu deferring to him, that being on this new fund level with him was something that was unexplored. He walked into the room and leaned against the door jam. Many women both young and old had always wanted to marry the king after his wife died, but none of them seemed to make the cut for him.

 

King Aslano folded his arms across his chest as he glanced down to where they were holding hands and noted how firmly they held their hands. "I don't mind that you didn't ask me. There have been far too many that have asked, but only wanted their benefit in mind. You have always been considerate of her and from what I hear, to her irritation. But something has happened Aketsu and I don't know what it is. From last night to now, your entire being has changed which is throwing me off a bit to be honest here." He said and tilted his head slightly. Again it amazed him how his daughter suddenly seemed quite content to be quiet and submissive. "And it seems that you have tamed her as well with a single kiss." he said and chuckled as his daughter's eyes seemed to spark with a sudden temper. "Which," he said raising his hand to forestall any argument "is how it should be when you love one another. You love her for all of her faults and perfections? Good." he said and wished that his daughter would see that in him as well. "I honestly wish both of you well no matter what happens between you two. And Aketsu, no matter what, you have my blessing. This new you seems to be something that Isa needs." he said and was about to walk out of the room when Isa reached out and grabbed his hand. There were tears in her eyes again.

 

"I'm sorry daddy." she said as she looked at the ground. Both of her hands were in his single hand as she looked up at him. "Something about Aketsu showed me something about myself. I can change...I don't have to be angry anymore....momma died because of me, but I can't blame you." she said as tears fell freely from her eyes but she didn't dare look at her father.

 

"Isa..." her father said as he hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. "It's neither of our faults. Your mother contracted the disease from a servant she was trying to save. I tried to tell you."

 

"But I wouldn't listen." Isa said and hugged her father close. "I'm so sorry daddy!" she said and let herself cry for a moment and then looked up noting that her father was also crying which didn't help her any. He had always loved her...even when she was being a horrid brat, he loved her....he LOVED HER! The freedom that she felt in that very thought after 5 years of hating him and then also finding that the one person that she did love other than her father loved her back, was almost an emotional overload. "I'll come home daddy...I promise you I will." she said as he gently wiped the tears from her eyes. Isa stood on her tip toes and kissed him on his cheek before looking at him and tilting her head to the side like he often did when thinking. "Ut usquequaque succurro illud inops. It's what momma always said." she said and then smiled at him as she stepped back and held onto Aketsu's hand for support.

 

The king looked at the two of them and was reminded when his mother always yelled at him for having long hair and how Isa had her mother's blond hair instead of his blue and gold. "I will see you two in an hour." he said and turned around to get ready for the ceremony.

 

Isa looked down at Aketsu's hand and her hand intertwined together and then back up at him again. "I'm sorry to you too Aketsu...I really am." she said and sighed a sigh that seemed to release everything about her. What was she going to be now that Aketsu had done this to her and that she had forgiven her father? She still hated Noe though. Isa turned and wrapped her arms around his waist then put her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. "I love you." she said to him again enjoying the taste and the feel of those very words.

 

Marcus Tiron

 

Marcus was only going to defend himself if Aamina had furthered the attack but Jahansha quickly stopped her of that as he stood in front of her, or at least closer to her and watched as the gem on her neck slowly stopped glowing and she turned her gaze from Marcus to Jahanshah. He looked back at Skylar and smiled inwardly knowing that she would always be there to help him and he there to help her. "I'm quite sorry my Lord. I did not mean to upset her." he said and Jahanshah spoke but was entirely surprised at the three way change that came over Betzalel. He almost had to laugh aloud though when Betzalel spoke about them being one big happy family and he almost did but it came out as more of a choking sound. "Sorry..." he said as he fake coughed.

 

Aamina

Aamina looked at Jahanshah and if he looked close enough, he would be able to see that there was more to this girl that sheer revenge...she wanted death to those that had harmed her family. She wanted death to anything that stood in her way and she would only listen to him and the queen and that was it. her mind was rather demented because of the pains that she had felt at such a young age and were nursed by a vengeful old hag until the woman thought that the queen should have her. At that point, the queen couldn't reverse what was done so she merely did her best to bind what was inside the girl with the stone that was always in her chest.

 

Leith Oran and nerio Oran

 

Leith winced slightly as Akilana tugged on his shirt. Why did she have to do that? It pulled on his heart strings but he wasn't really all that confident without his brother around. "How about we walk?" he asked her as he turned around and looked at her.

 

Nerio thought that maybe the girl wasn't Cielo and decided to go walking around the town before they all left. He truly loved the people here and it was a rather kind place to him, a place that he had loved for quite some time but now it was time to leave.

[Lore_Master]

"Loren, you're secret is safe with me. And ya know what? You should stop hiding your hair. people could just think that maybe your dad was a lightning elementian.

 

For some reason, Loren laughed quite a bit at Noe's choice of words. He must have looked like a fool, because his laughter came almost out of nowhere. "I-I'm sorry..." He said with a quivering smile, trying his hardest not to laugh again. Once he calmed down, he pulled down his hood and looked at Noe once more. "Actually, both of my parents are non-elementians, the only one in my family whose an elementian is my grandmother, my grandfather never had an elementian in his family. It was assumed that our bloodline had gotten so polluted that she would be the last elementian." He explained, hence why he found her 'dad as a lighting elementian' comment was so funny to him. He shook his head and looked around. "You know, because most elementians are either rich...or come from royalty... And i'm talking too much and I should shut up now." Added Loren, smiling awkwardly.

Edited September 30, 2011 by Lore_Master

[LoveLost]

Noe looked at Loren with a surprised look written all over her face. "Well that makes two of us then." she sand and then smiled at him. He looked nice with his hood down instead of up. "I was born to two regular people, then raised as a servant until a few years ago when Leith and Nerio found me crying with a raincloud over my head. After that, i lived in the castle as the king's adopted daughter." she said and then sighed as she looked around at all she knew. "I was actually born in Cumulus..." As she walked along the chairs and noted the names written on them, she found that her parents were going to be there which made her stand stock still and seemed to be paralyzed with either fear, shock or uncertainty or just all three.

[SkySong278]

Skylar

 

Sky looked back at Marc and smiled a bit at him, her eyes glittering a bit with an inner happiness and with love as she looked at him. They always did that when she looked upon her love. She loved him with all of her heart and would never stop. She then heard her fiance's apology to Jahan before he fake coughed. She wondered why he did that but then just shrugged mentally as she figured that she'd find out soon enough.

[akiraa]

Kilana Nitaka

 

Kilana stood there listening and waiting. Then a fight suddenly almost started between Aamina, and Marcus. But just as suddenly it was halted. Kilana groaned and for awhile started having electricity dance over her hand arcing through her fingers. She then sighed and said "No disrespect lord Jahansha but shouldn't we get going?" To be serious Kilana was extremely board and wished to get on there way.

 

--

 

Akilana Kuno

 

Akilana shook her head and said "Please... just for a little while... I don't want anyone else to see me like this... please..." She couldn't help it, she felt like she couldn't move at the moment. She also didn't want anyone else to see her. She just wanted to sort out her feelings and thoughts till they were all nice and containable, then she would go. But not before. She needed to just sit there awhile. And for once she didn't want to sit there alone when she was sad.

[LadyNatasha]

((Okay, rewrite! Here we go...))

 

~Jahanshah~

 

Jahanshah met Aamina's eyes, and a slight wave of sadness passed over him. Aamina was angry at someone, hurting because of someone... she wanted revenge on someone who had taken something precious from her. Jahan didn't know that feeling, not directly at least, but now that he knew that Daedureth belonged to the queen's brother, he could at least work to avenge Queen Zillah's brother for her. Jahan tried to convey that understanding to Aamina, but he wasn't sure. She seemed so angry, angry beyond anything Jahan had ever felt.

 

"...So let's all be one big happy family okay?"

 

Jahan turned to stare at Betzalel, not quite getting the joke and not noticing Marcus covering a smile. Just then Kilana spoke up. "No disrespect lord Jahansha but shouldn't we get going?" Jahan nodded. "Yes, enough talking. If everyone is ready, we shall begin. Marcus, Kilana, Celeste, Skylar, Aamina, Betzalel... we are about to begin a great quest that could change the world. We cannot fail. Let's go!" A surge of energy rushed through Jahan and before another word could be said, he sped past the group and towards the doors that led out of the palace/arena complex and into the great outdoors. He clutched the map in his right hand and Daedureth in his left, and the sword seemed to increase his speed. Running with metal was something Jahan was used to and the metal actually worked to help him instead of hinder him, so he was fairly fast for a fourteen-year-old. He rushed out the gate and took a deep breath of the open air. He did feel weighed down by normal clothing, but he knew he would have to get used to moving and fighting in it.

 

Once out the gate, he waited to make sure the others had kept up. He had already decided they would move out at a jog, and rest two or three times before they arrived at Cumulus... being only fourteen, he wasn't sure if these calculations were healthy or doable, but he was prepared to take corrections from Betzalel.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

~Yuaki~

 

"You are a strange girl. Everything you tell me is a half truth, or a lie, some of it at least. You feel like you're always lying, but that can't be right because some of what you said was true." Yuaki blinked, not quite sure what Kai meant. How could he tell, anyways? "And you are a girl, I've never tried to feel if a girl was lying before, maybe they lie differently than men. Do girls lie differently than men?" Yuaki's jaw dropped. Wait, never tried to feel if a girl's lying??? She was about to say something, but Kai continued speaking.

 

"My apologies I asked a question without answering yours first. I'm told that's impolite. But as to your question..." Suddenly Kai stamped, practically making Yuaki jump, and she felt a vibration run through her heel. This is the weirdest way of answering a question I've ever heard of! Yuaki watched impatiently as Kai formed something... "That's your bone structure, you probably had a rough childhood wherever you used to live, or perhaps you just carried packs of sand around like me for a few years, your boned are thicker than Isa's, thickness changes depending on stress, or work in this case." Yuaki's jaw dropped slightly and she blushed.

 

"This is what I saw." ...and then there were two skeletons, hugging the air and... are they kissing? Thats... eww, that looks wrong. Why does he have to make kissing seem gross? "I can feel your bones through the vibration in the floor, it only works because we're standing on such high quality stone, hard and dense. A place like this I can even feel your heartbeat..." And on he rambled, something about the old days and judges and lies. Yuaki nodded but couldn't help but keep glancing at the kissing skeletons... it really looked like they were about to eat each other's teeth. Yuaki had never really noticed how only lips separated teeth from meeting during a kiss. "...As long as the earth elementian is sensitive enough and the stone is hard enough, the heartbeat of the person on trial can be felt and used to determine if that person is lying. You, have been lying to me." Now Yuaki crossed her arms and raised her brows at Kai with an 'oh really?' look.

 

"Or it could just be that you're a girl, Master Tsume did always say women had different hearts, but I never thought he meant it literally." Kai's grin set Yuaki off and she stamped in defiance, her hands returning to her side as fists, but Kai just kept right on talking...

 

"If I was a master... I could tell you where you came from, what kind of ground you've most walked on, how high an altitude you lived most of your life at, how fresh the water was in the places you drank from most as a child, how hard you've worked, even your age. All of these things at least close approximations of them, are detailed like a story in the shaping of your bones, like permanent scars, but on the bone not skin." Now Yuaki felt at edge, but she was too busy thinking up responses to care.

 

"Does that make you uncomfortable? I don't do it all the time, just if I concentrate and you stand very still, like now. Want me to try guessing at everything I just described?" Finally he was silent for half a second and Yuaki took the opportunity to attempt to wipe the grin off Kai's face. "Let's start from the beginning," she said curtly. "First of all, girls don't lie! They... they exaggerate! Do you know what that means? Second, exaggeration is a very important part of a girl's daily speech, and it's important for a group of girls to exaggerate together. It's healthy in more ways than you one-track-minded boys could ever realize. Third, no it doesn't make me uncomfortable because I have nothing to hide! What does make me uncomfortable the fact that you violated my bones without asking!"

 

A servant who had been passing at a distance gasped and glanced their way, having only heard 'you violated my' and no more. Boy would this start some rumors, but Yuaki was too busy trying not to be outdone to care. "Maybe Aketsu didn't want you to see him kissing, hmm? Did you ever think of that? Maybe there was a reason Isa made me door guard! Do you always poke around in people's business? What happened to Noe? Was that your fault?"

 

Yuaki's "final blow" was that last question, but she knew she was just spewing words now. Not that she really cared. She did feel uncomfortable around Kai now, but it wasn't because he could see her bone structure; it was because he claimed he could see her past, the secrets she had and needed to keep secrets. If he finds out where I'm from, he'll tell the king and the king will have no choice but to put me on trial as a spy. There's no way he could trust me, not with the recent activity at ho-- at Whisper. If Kai finds out where I'm from, my life, my dreams, my goals and hopes for peace... are over.

 

All of a sudden Aketsu came flying around the corner and grabbed Kai's arm as though to start a fight...

 

~~~~~

 

~Aketsu~

 

There was unbearable silence for a few seconds, but Aketsu stood strong. He liked it; he liked the feeling of being in charge of his life and protecting Isa, making her feel better. "Aketsu, I..." Aketsu watched silently as the king walked into the room and leaned against the door jam. He seemed to have made up his mind, but Aketsu couldn't tell what he was thinking. He swallowed, his intense golden eyes watching Aslano's face.

 

"I don't mind that you didn't ask me. There have been far too many that have asked, but only wanted their benefit in mind. You have always been considerate of her and from what I hear, to her irritation. But something has happened Aketsu and I don't know what it is. From last night to now, your entire being has changed which is throwing me off a bit to be honest here." Aketsu's eye flickered, but he said nothing; he wasn't ready to speak about it, and he still didn't know if the king had been involved. Still, he was somewhat relieved that the king didn't mind that Aketsu loved Isa.

 

"And it seems that you have tamed her as well with a single kiss." Aketsu glanced at Isa and shifted slightly, suddenly feeling not so apprehensive towards the king. "Which," the king continued, "is how it should be when you love one another. You love her for all of her faults and perfections? Good. I honestly wish both of you well no matter what happens between you two. And Aketsu, no matter what, you have my blessing. This new you seems to be something that Isa needs." Aketsu was surprised and grateful for the king's words. He gave me his blessing, no matter what? He... of course he wasn't involved. How could I ever think that? I am sorry for wrongly accusing you, King Aslano. You are truly a great king. As Aketsu pondered this, Isa suddenly left his side and was holding her father's hand. Her eyes sparkled with tears, and Aketsu stood silently behind.

 

"I'm sorry daddy. Something about Aketsu showed me something about myself. I can change...I don't have to be angry anymore....momma died because of me, but I can't blame you." Aketsu's heart hurt as he watched Isa blame herself. He knew it wasn't her fault. "Isa..."

 

Aketsu put his hands respectfully at his sides and dipped his head in memory of the queen. "It's neither of our faults. Your mother contracted the disease from a servant she was trying to save. I tried to tell you." "But I wouldn't listen. I'm so sorry daddy!" There were tears, but Aketsu smiled just a little. As Isa kissed King Aslano, Aketsu suddenly remembered his meeting with the representatives of Aero... it was supposed to start very soon... "Ut usquequaque succurro illud inops. It's what momma always said."

 

And then Isa was at Aketsu's side again, and he happily took her hand. He now had a more respectful look in his eye as the king looked at them, and he promised himself he would eventually ask the king for Isa's hand in marriage. "I will see you two in an hour." When the king had gone, Aketsu met Isa's eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry to you too Aketsu...I really am." Aketsu shook his head and whispered, "There's nothing to be sorry about, Isa." You've done everything for me. If you hadn't been angry earlier, I would still be in chains. "I love you." "I love you, too."

 

They stayed like that in silence for what seemed like hours but was really only a minute or so. Aketsu listened to Isa's breathing as she listened to his heartbeat. Then suddenly Aketsu remembered the meeting, and he slowly pulled away to face Isa. "I have to attend a meeting with representatives from Aero. I'll see you later." He kissed her hand gently, backed to the door, turned... and sped off. He needed Kai.

 

It didn't take him long to find the monk though he was surprised to find him talking with Yuaki... more like Yuaki talking on and on accusingly. Aketsu didn't feel he had the time to wait and so he walked up and grabbed Kai's arm harder than he intended. He looked Kai in the eye. "It's time for your first lesson in diplomacy," he said. "Come with me to meet representatives from Aero, but do not say anything besides a greeting. Please." His voice was strong but his eyes were pleading. If you don't go with me, Kai, I don't know if I can control my fury. Yuaki was silent, though not happy about being interrupted.

 

((Note I'm not going to go through the entire meeting X3. We'll skip that once Kai replies and we can get on to graduation! When all others are ready, of course.))

 

~~~~~

[Rakashua]

Kai was more than a little confused. Exaggerating? he frowned, but that was different than lying. If you were lying you were saying something that wasn't true at all, otherwise it was a half truth or an exageration of the truth. The heartbeat didn't change for those things, just basic lies. On one hand that made it less useful than it could be if it were a more detailed detection system, on the other... at least it wasn't so confusing.

 

Then again... Yuaki said girls were different, they didn't lie. They exaggerated... but that couldn't be right, could it?

 

Yuaki was hiding something, something big, important, that she was afraid of, very afraid that anyone would find out. He knew that, her reaction was just like his would have been. A reason that even he avoided other earth elementarians and their questions. He didn't want to press her for it though, not any more than he would want to be pressured into revealing his secrets. He felt compassion for her, even so... he couldn't look her in the eye after she accused him of hurting Noe.

 

"I didn't mean to...." and suddenly Aketsu had his arm. He spun to face him, unsure of his intent. But his expression said it all, he was angry, but not with me...

 

"I..." he stared into Aketsu's eyes. They were hard, but also... pleading. "let's go."

 

Yuaki, I will earn your trust, you can't live with a secret that makes you so fearful, it will destroy you slowly, you have to talk to someone about it. Someone you trust, who you don't have to fear even if they know everything. I know that... I just wish I could prove it to you. Maybe one day I will...

[gistofeverything]

Tractus

 

The three of them walked into the dining hall, looking at the beautiful buffet laid out before them. Fruits of all different colors, meats that had the most exquisite seasoning, and vegetables that looked like they had just been harvested. Tractus was practically drooling as he rushed over to the table. He had never seen so much food! But he remembered his manners. He bowed, and said, "Ladies first." with a smile.

 

Celeste

 

"Yes, enough talking. If everyone is ready, we shall begin. Marcus, Kilana, Celeste, Skylar, Aamina, Betzalel... we are about to begin a great quest that could change the world. We cannot fail. Let's go!" With that, she was trailing behind the crowd, having a blur of thoughts. What if I'm not good enough? What if I make him sad? What if I make him fall behind??? Celeste. Get a grip on yourself. If you weren't good enough, he wouldn't have accepted your help to begin with. With that, she had to set off into a full sprint to keep up with everyone else.

[LoveLost]

Aamina and Marcus

 

Aamina glared at Marcus one last time before she took off after Jahanshah and made sure that she stayed right beside him. Earth was her element therefore if she ever grew tired she would just move the earth and once she was tired of that, she could run again. "I am sorry my Lord for my actions." she said before Marcus arrived beside her and looked at Jahanshah wondering why they didn't get horses or possibly ride on Betzalel's back since he was such a massive beast.

 

Leith Oran

 

Leith grimaced slightly as he looked at her and shook his head. "We have an hour to get ready Akilana and the king wants us there half an hour early...we have to go. But if we continue walking, then we can take the long way and you can talk...and I'll listen." Please let this work! Leith thought to himself. he was such an introvert it was almost an illness to him. However on the battle field he was indisposable because he was also a team player and wanted to keep people safe. Leith motioned for her to come along and started to walk again since they had to get moving. The representatives were already being met by the King he was sure and since there was a weather elementian, even Cumulus representatives were going to be there.

 

King Aslano

 

The King had rushed to his own room while representatives from all of the Light Alliance cities were arranged in a room so that he could meet with them and greet them. He was now in the golden and white attire of the royalty of Sola and he walked into the room as he watched Kai and Aketsu run by at the end of the hall. He was rather surprised at that sight but then turned around and was met instead by all of the leaders instead of representatives. "Well hello!" he said joyously because many of them were his long standing friends. The first to greet him however, was the beautiful Queen Lyra. Her hair was a dark green with extremely light green eyes that shone out coyly at Aslano as he embraced her warmly. Their two people shared the large forest that they resided in and more often that not, they visited the cities as a show of camaraderie. After her was the very excentric, and VERY young King Lucius who had come to show his appreciation for the references that Aslano had given him. He had been at the academy when it was first started and had had a few troubling times, but then grew into a fine young man. Behind him with smiling, cheery faces, stood Queen Layla and her husband King Marcio (just with dark blue eyes). The two of them were almost exact opposites in the fact that the Queen was a rather forceful woman while her husband was quiet most of the time. But many knew that if they ever crossed him or his wife overstepped her boundaries, the king spoke up firmly. Aslano hugged both of them feeling as if they were part of his own family.

 

After the last of the kings and queens, there came the council from Aero. Trigstood at the forefront of all of the council members and made sure that the king was rather knowledgeable about how proud they were about dear Aketsu and how happy they were that he had changed. However a strange feeling was about him and three others while the usually quiet and somewhat unhappy Marcy kept her mouth shut. With how Lyd and Victor (her half brother) stood on either side of her, Aslano was suspicious, but kept his suspicions to himself. He welcomed them equally and allowed on of the servants to guide them to their seats.

 

Much to his surprise the Lord and Lady of the neutral city of Cumulus were there and intended to visit with him for a week so that they could catch up. They were excited to see that there were two of their own elementians graduating and they were much younger than they were. Lady Uhni, was very gracious in her ways as she spoke the king about their successes in Cumulus and how crime had recently been cut in half while her husband, Lord Jax spoke about how finances had also grown and they were in a year of good favor.

 

King Aslano was rather thrilled to have so many friends near him and gently asked that they all be seated.

 

((NOW would be a good time to have Aketsu burst in!!!!))

 

Isa

 

Isa walked along the halls to where the entire meeting area was and noticed that all of the royal and noble leaders of each city were there. Her hair was a beautiful mess, but a mess none the less and she felt kinda embarrassed as they glanced at her as she walked to her father's side. People were starting to fill in the seats behind the royals and Isa listened as they all spoke. However she couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with the Aero leaders

[akiraa]

Akira smiled and said "Thanks.." Before she gasped and said "We need to eat fast! We gotta get ready for graduation!" She completely spaced that out of this group, she was the only one ACTUALLY graduating, but still. She quickly sat down and stacked a plate with fruit and vegetables. She then ate fast, yet rather elagently. Once she was done she quickly stood up and said "I'll see you guys later!" Before rushing to her room.

 

Once she got to her room Akira quickly got to getting ready. She soon had her dress (found it again!) on, and was now working on her hair. Once she was done she decided to start heading for where they were supposed to meet the king.

 

--

 

Akilana gave a shiver, then let go of Leith. She whimpered a little and said "you... you can go... I... don't know if I can move yet..." With that she curled up in a ball. She then tried to get back to sorting out her thoughts. But now the thought of being alone made it rather hard to.

 

(found the dress for Akilana here)

[SkySong278]

Skylar

 

Sky nodded in reply to what Kilana said to Jahan and then followed behind Aamina and Marc after Jahan to the point where he had stopped. She reached out her hand for Marc to take if he wanted to and so that they would stay together and not get separated. Not that they would but it was still a very big possibility of it happening. She felt like she didn't want to be away from his side for a minute now that they were engaged to be married. She knew that she was worrying a bit but she couldn't help it; she didn't want anything to happen to Marc before their big day.

[akiraa]

Kilana sighed a bit from relief. She then smiled a little and quickly rushed off after Jahan, and the others. She was rather happy to FINALLY be going. Now if only there was a storm with lighting. She could get a nice speed boost and really keep up with Jahan. But for now she was stuck at her normal speed, which was still rather fast from training.

[gistofeverything]

Tractus

 

Tractus waved at Akira, watching her run out of the room. He then looked at his food again with desire - grapes, olives, assorted cheeses, but then he felt a pang. He then turned toward Luna, who was again enveloped in her Aura. He was sure that she had mentioned something about wanting to talk to him when they were alone. He tried to speak using his thoughts again, this time, as if he were talking to someone rather than yelling at them. So, Luna. What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?

Edited October 4, 2011 by gistofeverything

[LadyNatasha]

((I'll get the others tomorrow~))

 

~Aketsu~

 

"Let's go."

 

And off they did go, with Aketsu leading Kai. In his haste he only barely noticed the king already walking towards the meeting room--Aketsu knew that he would now miss the greetings, but he didn't care that much. As a noble, all he was required to do was show up on time and behave, but he knew that would be near impossible without someone to keep him accountable. No doubt the king has already happily told everyone of my... change. I am glad he did, because now I don't feel like I have to hide it.

 

Aketsu finally found what he was looking for--his book of records he was supposed to bring to all the meetings. As the inheritor of his parents' household, Aketsu would have had a scribe to write down everything important for him. However, he had all but forgotten his family and wasn't sure when that happened (perhaps a side-effect of the bond?), so he really wasn't sure if he was inheriting his family's estate anymore. I hope not. My brother Chaix surely deserves his place as heir. Come to think of it, I don't even know how he's doing. How could I forget about my family all these years? I've never been that close to them, but they're still family!

 

Aketsu took a deep breath as he grabbed the book of records and dashed towards the meeting doors. Closer and closer he came, only hoping everyone was still talking... Thoom! Aketsu banged the doors open and entered the room, breathing fast... only to see that everyone had already seated themselves and were staring at he and Kai. He stood there a moment, then cleared his throat. "Excuse my late entrance, King Aslano," he said with a dip of his head. Yes, just a dip of the head, not an extravagant apology bowed to the ground... what a fool I must have looked like.

 

"Kai, we're to sit over here. Oh! Forgive my manners!" Aketsu smiled charmingly to the seated group and gestured towards Kai. "This is Kaimaru." He couldn't remember Kai's last name, so he simply left that out. "He is a monk from the desert, and will be joining the graduates as a graduate from another sort of academy." There, that sounds accurate enough.

 

Aketsu led Kai a bit further in, but his eyes were trained on the council of Aero. They all looked so... well, just like they always looked. He couldn't tell if any of them looked different, mainly because other meetings with them had been so boring and dry he had simply ignored their expressions. He went and took his seat next to Trig, but not before grabbing an unused seat for Kai and pulling it up. It made a bit of racket, but Aketsu didn't care... not anymore. He sat next to Trig and smiled politely to the man, who greeted him in return. Nothing seemed different about Trig; in fact, he seemed more pleased with Aketsu than usual. It could all be a hoax... grrr, I just don't know anymore! I hate not knowing!

 

Frustration filled Aketsu, but then he turned and saw Isa... and he couldn't help but smile. She looked more beautiful than she had in the dim lighting of his room. Her hair was still wildly beautiful and flowed freely. Oh, and I forgot to greet and bow to her. Aketsu waved to Isa, then shot a quick glance towards the representatives of Aero. Trig wasn't looking at him, but Victor was... or was he? His head had been turned towards Aketsu, but it seemed he was just looking over Kai with something similar to distaste. Victor had always been a picky one, so Aketsu didn't see this as overly strange. Still, he knew, it would bother him through the entire meeting: one wrong move, and Aketsu knew he might lose it.

[LoveLost]

((*grabs stomach because of laughing so hard* how did you get their personalities so right?!?!?!?!?!?! OMGoodnes that is hilarious...sending you a message about what I was thinking...))

 

Everybody!!!!

 

Marcy looked at Aketsu and smiled. "Hello Aketsu, it's good to see you..." she said then looked at Lyd as he cleared his throat. Marcy ducked her head and became quiet yet agian as her brother glared darkly at the wild looking man. Victor in fact had been looking at Aketsu and was wondering why he wasn't as subservient as they had programmed him to be and when the boy waved to a now blushing, but overly happy Isa (she had waved back by this time), he couldn't help but be even more so surprised. Victor looked back at Aketsu and then at Trig who was keeping a calm demeanor and knew that he would have to do something...

 

The King watched all that was going on and wondered where the rest of the students were. It was at least fifteen minutes until the ceremony started and all that were there were Kaimaru, Noe, Aketsu, Isa, wait, there was Nerio, and Leith was coming in after him looking rather uncomfortable. "Ah, Nerio, Leith you should say hello to your family and leaders." he said in a booming voice which automatically had all there look at them as they walked in. Both were handsome in their attire and smiled charmingly at the same time as the inclined their heads. The surprising thing that happened though, was the sudden mad rush of several young children and a few older children that all charged at Leith and Nerio and asked them a barrage of questions wondering where they had been and how they were. Even the smallest of them all was there standing and talking to Nerio and Leith who were beaming at their siblings. It would be rumored later that Leith even had a tear in his eye as he looked at all of them and hugged them individually. Behind the children stood their parents who, once the rest of them were finished, walked up and hugged their sons tightly. Whispered words of comfort and emotion could be heard as they held on tightly knowing that this was to be a hard time for all of them.

 

Leith and Nerio walked over to where the students were to sit with their countries and bowed to their King and Queen who smiled at them and patted at the seats that were between them so that they could both chat with the two boys, now men, that they had sponsored.

 

King Alsano looked and noted that Noe was standing uncomfortably near the Lord and Lady as they spoke to her. This was where the poor girl had problems. She gave the king a glance that clearly begged him to come and save her from them and he motioned for her to come. She politely excused herself and sat on the king's left hand.

 

"Uncontrolled runt." Isa muttered as Noe walked by.

"Spoiled brat." Noe muttered back as she took her place. She was in her normal garb instead of the fancy dresses that they had needed for lat nights banquet and she knew that today was the day for all of them.

 

((NOTE! You can have your character come in before he starts the speech, I suggest you do that now before I edit it in later tonight. Be quick though! It is time for everyone to graduate and for people to get ready to depart!))

[akiraa]

(k )

 

Akira finally made it to the room, rather tired. She stood ouside the door from site till she caught her breath, then went in calmly. She smiled and bowed to the king, before she was rushed by her parents. They were smiling and saying as they hugged her "Akira, we missed you so much! Are you alright? How have your powers developed? Do you have control now?" Akira laughed lightly and said "I'm perfectly fine. I guess they developed great. I have complete control now. Now please mom, dad. Were in front of royalty!" Her parents backed up and smiled sweetly then all three of them rebowed to the king. Akira was then led away her parents fawning over her.

 

--

 

Akilana took a deep breath. Leith had left, like she was sure he would. She had finally able to plaster her 'mask' back on. Once again she was the solid as a rock, no emotion showing, Akilana. She stood up, the little storm gone. And quickly rushed to her room. Once she got there she changed into her fancy dress. She then washed her face till you couldn't tell she was crying anymore. With that she got done getting ready and 'rushed' to the meeting room. Really it was more like a brisk walk.

 

--

 

Akilana finally made it to the room. She soon felt uncomfortable surrounded by all these people, as well as people from Cumulus being there. But of course she didn't show it. She had to keep up her mask for now at least. Until she had everything sorted out better and learned how to ask. The only difference was she gave a very small, quick, smile to Leith as her thanks for at least being with her for awhile, and trying to help her. With that she went into a corner and tried to fade away from the crowd, disappear into her own little world.

[Lore_Master]

When Loren saw Noe walking away, he silently followed her. Since today was graduation day for them, it was't that far off that Representatives would be coming to visit. And that meant that someone from the Aero council will be there...He was about to reach for his hood, when he remembered what Noe said. "If anyone asks, my father was a lighting elementian, but I don't have the powers" Thought Loren with a sigh as he followed Noe to a meeting room of sorts. But what surprised him was that the actual leaders were there, including the Aero Council. His face was that of a small child that lost his mother, scared and worried.

 

 

((Curse you writer's block ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) ))

Edited October 5, 2011 by Lore_Master

[Rakashua]

Kai walked in boldly behind Aketsu, mirroring the boy's attitude and actions, as he ha no one else to give him advice on how to behave during a diplomatic event in this kingdom. The room was large but overly warm for Kai's tastes, actually... the new robes were... much more heating than his previous ones had been. Coming from the desert he was used to heat, but in a dry way, not the kind that made you sweat bu rather the type that made your skin crack, that he could deal with. Cold too, most thought of a desert as a hot arid place, and it was... during the daylight. But at night the desert became a freezing wasteland, even then though... it was dry.

 

As everyone spoke right away Kai tried his best to stand still or sit still but the robes were keeping his sand-coated skin from getting fresh air, therefore causing him to sweat, which, if it lasted for a while, would make his sand wet and it would start falling off of him, something that would be most inappropriate during a meeting like this. So Kai did the first logical thing that came to mind. As the king was greeting Nerio and Leith, Kai took off his robe, leaving him shirtless but still in the baggy bottom half of the white and blue robe.

 

He had replenished his supply of sand earlier that day therefore his skin appeared to be in perfect condition, no scars or other marks that would draw attention, simply a perfectly chiseled frame that told no story at all, or at least a different one than his scars would have. It never crossed his mind that this might be inappropriate itself, almost all activities in the monastery including meetings were conducted shirtless, it was normal to him. The fact that no one else was shirtless didn't seem to cross his mind as a hint that that was "normal" here.

 

The lightning symbol on his forehead was covered with sand as well and he breathed a sigh of relief as the cool air worked its way around him, removing the excess moisture from his body. He folded his robe and set it behind him on the stone seat, sitting on it Indian style, exposing his bare feet.

[LadyNatasha]

((lolz. If you messaged me, I didn't get the message... PM box has no new ones))

 

~Yuaki~

 

Had Kai admitted to hurting Noe? Yuaki wasn't sure, though she didn't really care; she simply cared that he stayed out of her business, and in fact she was a bit glad Aketsu had taken Kai with him to whatever boring meeting they were going to... boring meeting... oh, graduation! Yuaki's eyes darted around until she found a water clock, and she bit her lip. I didn't even prepare! Grr, my hair is a mess... oh well, it'll have to do. It's not like I'm graduating, anyways. I'll just be standing at the side with the weapon master and clapping.

 

Yuaki decided to grab her simple steel sword as to make the point that she was with the weapon master, for she knew he would want her to. She still couldn't believe she was actually going to be accompanying Isa on the graduates' journey. It changes all of my plans, but I think it's a change for the better... I think I'll be more useful with Isa than I would be with the rest of the palace. Isa's group is going to be doing things, making an actual difference, while King Aslano is just going to be planning more and sending out more groups.

 

What Yuaki wouldn't admit to herself is that she'd feel a bit lonesome if she chose to stay instead of go with Isa's group.

 

After getting to her room and grabbing her sword, Yuaki rushed through the hallways back towards the meeting room. She waited outside the door for a moment, ear pressed to it. There was silence, then the king's booming voice, and then cheering... he had just announced Leith and Neiro's presence. Yuaki took this as a prime opportunity to walk in unnoticed. She strode in and quickly found the weapon-master, then stood by him. She smiled and gave a nod to the royalty from Triton. To them, Yuaki was simply an orphan who hadn't been recorded in the population because of her orphan-ish methods: it wasn't like Triton was a tiny place where everyone knew everyone, and Yuaki hadn't had too much trouble getting official citizenship there. That being said, it hadn't happened in a day and she had had to answer many questions, but before she had arrived at Triton she had prepared herself to answer such questions. Now, though she didn't know the royalty personally, she was well-accepted as a member of Triton and a weapon-assistant.

 

She found herself shifting from foot to foot in excitement; even though Triton wasn't where she was born, she still couldn't wait to see the look of pleasure on the faces of the King and Queen when they saw that yet another member of Triton would get to go on the Journey to Peace (as Yuaki officially titled it). Or would there be pleasure? Yuaki didn't know if they even recognized her, but she didn't really care; she wasn't there for recognition, she was there to have a blast watching the others graduate. She glanced at the doors as the painter guy Loren entered. His hood was down and Yuaki noticed with surprise how much he looked like a Wind Elementian. Perhaps to someone who had lived in Sola he could be mistaken for the son of a Lightning Elementian, but Yuaki (who had lived with and seen Lightning Elementians) knew better. If nothing else, the boy was at least related to Wind Elementians. He looked awful lost, but Yuaki didn't bother even giving him a reassuring smile; she was far too immersed in her own world, and she laughed as the weapon master congratulated her on getting selected to join the graduates.

 

Maybe things won't be so bad after all, she thought as she watched the other graduates file in.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Aketsu

 

Now Aketsu was sure he owed Kai is life. He didn't doubt Kai had somehow saved him from killing someone even as Aketsu was an infant, perhaps by sticking a lollipop in his mouth.

 

It started when Kai began sweating, really. It was hot in the room, but servants were passing out little fans to most people. Of course, they didn't bother passing the fans to the Aero council; doing such would be insulting, for Aero could create all the wind they wished. Aketsu made a small breeze for Kai and then distracted himself trying to sort out what the members of the Aero council were thinking. He couldn't decide whether he should attempt to communicate with them or not. He felt his fist clench at the thought of what they had allowed...

 

How many other lives have they ruined, locking them away? Have they done something to my brothers and sisters? Are my parents even alive? Why?! Why did they have to take away my family?! Did my family WANT me to forget about them? Has all of Aero forgotten me? What monsters would ever...

 

Aketsu felt his fist tighten. He knew he had to find something to distract him. Leith and Neiro were entering, but that wasn't enough... he decided to turn and ask Kai a question, but before he even turned his head he noticed that a few members of Aero were staring past Aketsu and Marcy was ducking her head, almost blushing. Aketsu blinked and turned his head to look at Kai. At first a look of shock passed over his face, but all of a sudden he was grinning... then snickering... and the moment Kai sat Indian-style, Aketsu lost it. He burst out laughing, laughing like he had never laughed before. It was almost ridiculously loud and long laughter, and he couldn't stop despite the attention he was drawing.

 

After a few seconds he hid his face behind a sleeve of his robe, but this was mostly just to wipe off the tears of laughter that had been forming at the corners of his eyes. "Kai!" He exclaimed, giving Kai a big slap on the back. "Is--" he coughed to stop himself from laughing again--"is it too hot in here for you to wear your shirt? You may be a bit distracting without it," Aketsu finished, quickly turning his eyes to look upon any nearby young women--most who turned away quickly when they noticed Aketsu looking their way. The exception was Yuaki, who didn't care a bit who was staring at her; she was openly staring at Kai and smirking, arms crossed. Aketsu looked back at Kai, a cheesy smile on his face. "But... don't worry about it too much," Aketsu finished, just imagining the faces of the council of Aero. He couldn't wait to 'feel' their expressions at what he was about to do. "In fact, that looks comfortable..."

 

Aketsu had enough sense not to take off his shirt, but he did unwrap the green scarf he always wore and placed it on the ground, then pulled his own bare-feet (for as stated earlier, Aketsu seldom wears shoes) to sit as Kai was sitting. He grinned at Kai one final time before turning his eyes forwards to look at the doors where more students would be coming in.

[akiraa]

Akilana even had to suppress a laugh, rather easily, at the sight of Kai and Aketsu. She then sighed and inched over towards them, carefully, bent down near Kai and whispered in her monotonous voice "Aketsu may not have really put it like this, but in this kingdom being shirtless is inappropriate. Of course you may get away with it. But I thought I'd warn you." With that she tried to inch away again. Barely glancing over at royals of Cumulus, just in hope they hadn't noticed her. With that she went to her own little spot and watched the crowd.

 

--

 

Akira gasped and looked away as she saw that Kai was shirtless. Her parents were to absorbed in there chat with her to notice. Akira almost sighed in relief to see Akilana go over and, assumingly, tell Kai that being shirtless wasn't exactly appropriate. Akira looked back at her parents and smiled as she listened to them talk about what happened as she was gone.