Trials and Travels (Semi-lit)

[LoveLost]

Noe Amani

Noe looked around the room still realizing the deaths from earlier in the day after their graduation. It was something that she never wanted to witness again, but she knew that she would. Worry and sorrow coated her features momentarily before she realized that it was time for them to get going. She was sure that things would turn out alright for all of them, at least she hoped they would. Her mind kept going over what she had packed and if they needed anything, they could ask their local plant elementian to grow them something. It also helped that the one of the more reclusive and older members, a plant elementian that she had never seen before, joined them. From what she heard, the woman was one of the Plant Elementian Queen’s personal guards. She was a strong warrioress who had murder in her eyes most of the time when it came to other people.

 

Noe had seen her in the garden earlier and realized that she was actually completely and totally different from the appearance that she had given off upon arrival. When she was surrounded by plants, the woman was as gentle as a passing breeze. But as soon as she had heard Noe, she had crushed the plant in her hands which gave her a pained look.

 

After making sure that everything was set for herself, Noe looked around at the others who were also getting ready for their trip. It was going to be some time before they really realized who they all were and it would take at least a week and a half to get to where they needed to be. After allowing another servant to secure the girth on the saddle of her horse, she mounted up like everyone else and watched as people seemed to file into line. It was a random order but she found herself near Kai and Loren and of course, Isa was near Aketsu.

 

 

Taikisha Moren (Isa)

Isa felt like her whole life was both falling into place and completely and totally falling apart. She had bandaged a damaged relationship with her father, as well as found herself with a young man that she truly adored. Her father had no problems with the noble, and was actually housing his family with plans of making them the royal family of the new Aero. It was something unheard of, but her father was working feverishly on getting the others of the Royal courts to decide on the matter.

 

She and Aketsu had gotten back some time ago and it was no evening. She allowed her eyes to adjust to the swirling rays of light that came off of everything. Light emanated from the stars up above as did the moonlight but it also came from a few plants. It was a curious appearance until she realized that the plants that seemed to be alight, were instead glowing from the lightning bugs that were resting within their gentle petals.

 

A small chuckle came from her as she tightened her hair once more before looking around at the people that she was to travel with. The woman to her left was someone who was to be a guard to them. She had graduated from the college several years before and was underneath orders to protect them at all costs. But the oddest turnout of the entire trip, was the man that was coming up with her. He was tall and very strong looking but he seemed to have the same dark look that the Plant woman held. It was obvious that they had worked together but she still couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that came with them.

 

When a servant walked by, she asked them who they were and why they looked so strange. The servant merely replied that she had seen them when they graduated and knew that they were beings from a different land that held power of the elements like her highness did. The mask of unknowing surprised Isa but she couldn’t help but stare at the man and woman approaching them. Both held a fierce expression on their faces, but they also seemed to be set in a large basin of resolve. The man seemed to have a hint of sadness, but the most striking thing about him, was his ears. They weren’t normal like a human beings, but instead like that of a lionfish’s. Along his back, there were also spines that weren’t connected, but definitely appeared to be lined with sharpened metal. They were spaced about five inches apart and curved along his spine until they came to a…a tail. This man had a tail! It twitched back and forth as he looked over the young children before him almost as if they were meant to be seen and not heard. Every few minutes, the spines along his back would ripple and shimmer like electricity ran through them, but it was only their vibrant silver/blue hue that made it look like that. When Isa was done gawking at his odd features, she noticed that his hair and eyes were silver like that of an Aeroian’s, but with more gray than white. He was as tall as Kaimaru, but with a slightly more limber build to him as if he was made to be swimming between waves rather than walking on land.

 

Leith and Nerio Oran

 

Leith looked at his brother who was still pale from the mornings escapades. It had been a rather wild ride, but they were alive and well despite the deaths and despite the confusion of the day. It had been a long day none the less and both were tired anyways with a long night and day ahead of them of riding since they had lost time from the unexpected visit. Leith ignored the looks from the people around him and kept his seafoam green eyes glued to the leather of his horses saddle. When his brother jabbed him in the ribs, he looked up to see what was in front of them. Creatures that they had seen only once or twice in their travels.

 

One was a man, and the other a woman but both were definitely from a more, aquatic land like their own home in Triton. There were one or two of their kind living in their homeland but they were always aloof to those that were fully human. They had heard tales of beastmen from the desert, and something like mermen from the water and here they were standing before them. The man was definitely a merman, but the woman, well, she was most definitely a beguiling merwoman.

 

Nerio allowed himself a judicious look at the woman before him. Her figure was strong and meant to be hard to move. He guessed that she was probably something like a shark merwoman or something like that because of the size of her body. She wasn’t big though. It was rather hard to explain and normally, Nerio had an easy time explaining what women looked like. Her legs looked as if they could crush the very life out of a dragon if a dragon were foolish enough to go near them. In stark contrast to her legs, her arms were strong, yes, but they seemed far more lithe than her legs did at least on land. Her eyes were a light, drawing green that complemented her short, dark green hair. Along her cheekbones were furrows that seemed to be where her skin stretched tightly across ridges. Her ears, like her friends, were also fins, but instead of seeming alert, her fin ears were dropped slightly probably because of their size. Along her forearms there were also fins but they were held up against her arms and seemed to start at the tips of bony protrusions that extended beyond each elbow. In her facial structure, she looked much like Noe, but there was a deadly grace that came from her.

 

When Nerio was done looking at her, he noticed that Leith was frowning slightly and proceeded to ask him what was a matter.

 

“The woman…her legs…they aren’t really legs…look!” Leith whispered to his brother and much to Nerio’s surprise, his brother was right. The woman had less of a human look than the man because instead of legs, she had kept her tentacled form to move quickly and quietly over land. She had a total of eight legs instead of two, but as he Nerio stared at her along with Leith, her legs seemed to mold into two that were covered by plants and metal as soon as they appeared.

 

Neither of them knew where either material had come from because the woman and man did not move at all. It was as if they had fully mastered their element and no longer needed to use their bodies to chanel the energy needed to control said elements…

 

Z’fan Marouwa

 

Z’fan watched the children around her not realizing that they were far younger than she and her battle brother had been when they had graduated. But they had also been taught at a time when war was not so prevalent. Her heart reached out to them only for a moment before she withdrew and transformed her body into a more acceptable form. She and her battle brother were much the same in the age of the bird being, Ayame. In fact, they had known him for some time before, but they were still very weak compared to the forces behind the Shadow Queen. It would take she and her battle brother to even encounter evenly one of the Beast Men that were under her control. Not to mention the One that they suspected was on her side, a dragon beast man. He was far older than Ayame, her battle brother, and herself combined and it would be difficult to try and fight him as well as whatever minions had been sent their way.

 

She wished that Ayame would stay to protect the king and her queen, but she knew that his mission was to come with them and to help them complete their mission; either destroy the queen, cause her to submit, or find another way. In any case, the war would need to be stopped and everything resolved before they could do anything political.

 

The only thing that she looked forward to at the moment, was killing the hundreds of soliders that had captured a part of the ocean and held her people captive there. It was a difficult task to tame the merpeople of the southern half of the island, but they had done the feat probably with the help of the great magics that were within the dragon beast man and the Shadow Queen herself.

 

With one last glance of total apathy towards the children, she climbed atop a large battle horse that had been hers for a few years now. She had bred him specifically to hold her weight since she was heavier than most merpeople except for her own octopus kind. The horse nickered where he stood as she awaited the others.

 

 

 

ONE WEEK LATER

 

Travels have been rough on all of them, but at least they are together. As was instructed by the oldest members of the party, each of them have been sparring until they were exhausted each evening that way they can learn each other’s weaknesses and strengths and help one another. However, Z’fan and her battle brother have kept their abilities secret except for the disappearance and reappearance of the metal along the man’s spines and the growth of plants around Z’fan when she sits.

Everyone seems to be getting along all right…but there is sure to be tension with soldiers at least a few days out that have been spotted by Ayame…

 

 

((If Lore, or Natasha would like, they can take the lead on the "bad" side. If not, I'll update this later.))

[gistofeverything]

Tractus

 

They had set out for Aero about a week ago, if he could remember right. He had heard that there was a battle between the members of their council, so he assumed that they were going to settle that dispute. That was fine, though - he wasn't mainly involved in politics, anyway. He just wouldn't do any of the talking. He was sure that the others could handle all of the diplomatic duties of their pilgrimage.

 

But he was just thinking too far ahead of himself. Right now, he was fixing the entourage's dinner. ((There's a forest around Sola, so I'm going to cook forest critters. :3)) He had went a ways from the campsite, and had trapped several rabbits, frogs, and other small creatures. He had also gotten some wood to start a fire. He had rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed the sticks together, before he got a small spark. He had thought ahead for this, and had already prepared a bed of dry grass underneath the rubbing sticks. With the heat provided by the setting sun, the grass caught quickly.

 

He then put the wood on the burning grass, and let it catch before he started preparing the food. After the wood caught fire, he started skinning the various animals with the blade he carried at his side. When fully extended, the staff was taller than Tractus himself was. But it could also fold small enough that he could carry it in his pocket, if he is wished. He then speared some of the meat onto the sticks and started roasting them.

 

His parents left everything in their house, from what precious spices they had, to his mothers few pieces of gold. He only kept a few of each thing that his parents left when they vanished. Among these, he kept some fragrant leaves. His mother used to use these leaves whenever she cooked something, and it made the food taste good. He decided that he would put some of a thin, spriggy plant ((dill)), on each of the small slabs of meat.

 

When all of the food was finally prepared, he couldn't see the sun any longer, and he called the group to dinner. ((A new post for a new year! :3))

[gistofeverything]

((bump...))

[SkySong278]

((bump ))

[LadyNatasha]

((I'm here! :-D And Rak is coming soon))

 

~Aketsu~

 

It had been one week since the group had set out, and Aketsu was finally getting used to having three strange beastmen--er, two beastmen and one beastwoman--constantly hanging around. Ayame was really the only one who seemed to talk much at all, which sort of bothered Ayame; being the leader of the group, he had a hard time trusting the other two. Neither of them had joined in the evening sparring, so neither of their abilities had been revealed. That was the only downside to the trip, though; everything else was fantastic.

 

For the first time in years Aketsu felt free to do whatever he wanted, which thankfully was fully within the laws and the king's orders. He was more loyal to the king now than ever, and not because of some stupid memory-blocker. Now for the first time Aketsu was actually free to gauge his own thoughts about the king and his family, and he knew for certain now that the king was a good man who cared deeply for his people and his family. Aketsu had been shocked when his oldest brother Chaix had told him that the king was working to make them the royal family of New Aero (as it was being affectionately called), and his sisters and brother Tsoun had traveled with some bodyguards to try to persuade townsfolk in Aero to come to the new city. They were very good at persuading those who hadn't actually made up their minds, and they offered protection for those people as well.

 

Besides all that good news, Aketsu felt stronger now than he ever had. The constant training over the past week had finished toning on his already-strong muscles and he was getting better at aiming his wind where he wanted it. Sparring with Kai was especially fun, because Aketsu had never fought sand before and Kai was exceptionally gifted with it. Everyone seemed to be getting along well; in an entire week the only fight they had had was over who would have to have night duty on the most boring of nights. There was always a beastperson watching at night, but the graduates also took turns for it was good practice.

 

The best news of all, though, was that Isa was the most wonderful person Aketsu had ever met and he got to travel with her.

 

But leadership came first, and now as a wonderful smelling meal cooked (courtesy of Tractus, who had turned out to be useful in many ways) over a fire, Aketsu stared hard at a map. It wasn't that he didn't know where they were or where they were going; direction was Aketsu's specialty. But Ayame had scouted ahead and had seen what were possibly enemy soldiers a few days out, headed almost straight for the Graduates. And that distracted Aketsu with another thought.

 

"We need a group name," he said as he walked over to the fire where Tractus was. He sat down and folded up the map, then took a deep breath. "That smells wonderful," he said with a smile. His mouth watered at the idea of freshly cooked meat, and he met Tractus' eyes. "What do you think of 'The White Knights?' Too old-fashioned? Too overused?" This was shortly before the food was ready and the sun was almost fully set.

 

~~~

~Yuaki~

 

Everyone was content, but Yuaki was edgy. Everyone seemed fine with the beastpeople, but Yuaki kept her guard up. Everyone trained their elements to their fullest extent at night, but Yuaki conserved some energy. Of course, she only trained with her swords, for no one could know that she was not what she claimed to be. Enemy soldiers were on their way, and she had an awful feeling they might recognize her.

 

Yuaki was not who she claimed to be and had different goals in life than most of the people she had been traveling with. So far as she had told others, she was from Triton. But that wasn't true, and Yuaki had hoped to keep the truth a secret by staying at the Academy to train the new students that would come there, the next generation. However, she had made the mistake of actually making a friend--the Princess, nonetheless--and had felt obligated to travel with Isa when invited. So here she was, traveling the world, embarking on a journey aimed to humble and defeat those Yuaki had once called family. That was why she was nervous and on-edge and didn't trust the beastpeople. When asked, Yuaki would just claim she wasn't used to such people and didn't like the look in their eyes. This was all good and true, but she also feared they might figure out her secrets. It wasn't like she ever accidentally used her element and it wasn't like she used her swords like someone from Whisper. No, she had practiced swordsmanship under several masters all from the Light side. She just always felt like they might discover her.

 

And then there was Kai! The cutest guy on the trip, and the only one she feared might discover her secrets. He was strange; he could tell if she was lying, if he wanted, and although she rarely had to lie (no one ever asked her if she was from Whisper of course) she always felt awkward around him. She knew he could use Lightning and sand, and she was one of the few--Noe knew for certain, but Noe seemed fine with it. But lightning was a 'bad' element, and Yuaki wondered what kind of secrets Kai might be hiding.

 

Now, as the evening went on, Yuaki skipped over to the tent area to find Isa. She was slightly bored and wanted to chat with someone, since their training was over for the night. "Isa? You here?" She half-whispered, though no one was asleep.

 

~~~

The Dark Side...

~~~

 

~The Metal Child~

 

"Tomorrow we enter. The first group of travelers will be entering as the sun rises, and from what I know Cumulus guards usually have the least trouble with this group. We enter, some of us speak to the Noble Families and Cumulus leaders, and the rest of us mull around town and find out what the people really think of their leaders. Rebellion shouldn't be hard to cause; my mother has spoken of how the people in Cumulus feel their leaders can't make a decision; they long to join one side or another, Shadow or Light, and it doesn't seem they have much of an opinion on which side they should join. They want to join the winning side, of course, and if we can convince them that Whisper will reign dominant, than a rebellion should start on its own. Betzalel and I shall confront the leaders and Aamina shall come with us, but she shall stay out of sight. As Betzalel has revealed to us, the Weather Machine is actually kept in a room right behind the throneroom where the leaders of Cumulus sit. The doors are large and strong... but they are made of metal."

 

Jahanshah stopped and smiled a devious smile; metal doors were the biggest mistake Cumulus could have ever made, for metal was Jahan's element. His talent with metal had made him a prodigy child in his homeland, but it had also had the unfortunate effect of making his mother look at him as though he was an Emperor since he was two. He hadn't been well-socialized and had never been treated like a child, so even though he was only fourteen he had learned to be an adult and had no trouble speaking to adults or commanding them when necessary. As for the lack of socialization, it wasn't that he didn't enjoy conversation or discussing plans, he simply wasn't used to anything but very formal speech to others. However, since he and his group of loyal followers--all loyal to the High Queen of the entire Shadow Realm, the Queen Zillah of Whisper--had been traveling together, he had found that speaking to them as equals was quite pleasing. He always held an air of leadership around him, an air he could hardly help it was so natural, but he saw them as comrades rather than underlings.

 

"Marcus, I want you to make sure some of the rebellion makes its way into the palace to distract the leaders if they won't join us. I shall quietly tear through them and Aamina shall enter and take the Weather Machine during the chaos. She will make sure to use her Earth Element so that everyone thinks the Earth Elementalists are to blame. Even when I break down the doors she shall stick chunks of earth into them to dent them. We shall escape courtesy of Betzalel, and we shall rendezvous in the dark part of the forest shown here on the map. The city will be in chaos, we will have the Weather Machine, and Cumulus shall be against the Earth kingdom. Skylar and Celeste, make sure you get out of the chaos in time, for if any spies from the Light Kingdom are there we don't want them suspecting you of this. Any questions?"

 

It was evening and Jahan spoke quietly, although Betzalel would have known if someone was spying on them. By this time, Jahan was quite used to having the sun on his skin. His skin had darkened just a bit so he didn't look so incredibly pale and in fact looked almost normal, though he usually had Daedureth his shadow sword protect him from the majority of the sun's light. At least his arms were darker, a nice cream now instead of pale, and the burns were pretty much healed. Jahan was even coming to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his skin. His torso and legs were still protected by clothing and under that clothing he wore metal. His horse carried reserves of metal on it and it also wore light metal armor which was quite normal for those days. In fact, Jahan's entire 'bag' was filled with metal, which was one reason why he had chosen to ride the largest horse there even though sometimes he had trouble mounting. But things were going well for the group, and they were ahead of schedule and undetected so far. Yes, things were going quite well...

[Nasa13]

Eirikr

 

Eirikr smelled the food before he saw the camp. He was incredibly hungry, as he had not dared enter Sola for supplies. His hunger overrode his will to continue past the camp. As he moved carefully toward the camp's edge his foot trod on a branch, the heavy miners boot snapping it. Eirikr froze immediately; a figure, silhouetted by the fire turned at the sound. Once the person turned back around Eirikr moved forward again.

 

Eirikr would not enter the camp if it turned out to be a group loyal to the Shadow alliance, he needed a prisoner. He approached the figure who had turned earlier, a girl judging by her long shimmering hair. Pausing to form a stone blade from the fragments on the ground, he moved around behind her. Quickly Eirikr slid his wrist blade under the girl's throat. He placed his hand over her mouth; not on it, but in front of it where he could clamp it shut if she said anything.

 

"Which alliance are you with," whispered Eirikr, lowering his voice to a growl.

 

((i wrote that it was a girl but i can edit it if necessary. The camp is the Light group's))

Edited January 19, 2012 by Nasa13

[LoveLost]

Noe Amani

 

This past week had been very hard on dear Noe. She was completely and totally exhausted from the new rigours of training with people that were far better than she with their weapons both elemental and physical. But at least it had allowed her figure to become far more muscled than it had been in her entire life and her strength was now perfect for the large sword that she had always used since a very young age.

 

“The food smells great Tractus!” Noe sighed happily but then remembered that she needed something when Aketsu mentioned them needing some sort of group name. “I dunno, Aketsu. It really is up to you and Kai to decide but maybe something more avante garde and not normal instead of something that has been used by the Light Kingdom before. But then again…” she shrugged and walked off to find her tent. Once she had, she grabbed a small notebook and stood with her back to the forest and face to the fire. Her long black hair hung down past her waist and shimmered in the firelight as she read what she had written the day before.

 

She could just hear Nerio snoring in his tent and Leith she knew was sitting a little further away from the fire than the others because of his association that fire was essentially evil. An old habit of his actually. She noticed that Yuaki was looking for Isa and also that the two “battle-mates” were sitting beside each other with Ayame in his Griffon form hovering over them. They didn’t look at each other, but it seemed as though they were deep in conversation.

 

While she wrote about the happenings of the day, she heard a small piece of gravel crunch underneath someone’s feet but didn’t turn around in time. Noe dared not breathe as she felt a cold, stone knife pressed against the olive skin of her neck. A whispered growl came to her ear with a question of which side she was on. She would have thought that that would have been evident to anyone of the Light Alliance but wasn’t willing to risk her life. “Light.” She said and then in a move that had been shown to her by Kaimaru, she twisted around quickly as she ducked down to the earth. With a push of her legs, she was back a bit with her sword drawn and in a ready stance that had taken a few trumps from Isa and Aketsu for her to learn.

 

“What do you want?” she said in a normal tone. No one would probably hear her over the fire, but if things got bad, she would shout for help.

 

Taikisha Moran ( Isa )

 

Isa had been reading by moonlight trying to figure out some old tactics and battle techniques that the ancients had used throughout time. It was just her luck that she was the Rainbow Child because it meant that she was able to use master level and beyond forms of light with the right amount of concentration. It was difficult to hone light that was based on a reflection of the sun, but she did it now and a distinct moon beam was directed on the page. From a ways off, it looked as though Isa was reading one of the old Light Elementian Manuals that were locked away in the library, but she wasn’t.

 

Her hair was tied up in a high bun to keep it from being cut or her from being distracted when she sparred with her fellow warriors. But even now, she twirled a small piece as she often did when lost in thought. When she heard her best friends voice coming near her tent, she couldn’t help but smile and look up. “Why in the heavens are you whispering?” Isa asked. It was easy to see that she was still happy over her relationship with Aketsu and her father and having a friend like Yuaki just made things all the more wonderful.

 

With a graceful movement she placed her book down and stood up to meet her friend in a large hug that expressed her joy. “Are you bored?” she asked a devious smile on her face. It seemed that she and Yuaki had been getting along by playing a prank here and there on Aketsu and Kaimaru although they hadn’t been able to pin the pranks on anyone.

 

Leith and Nerio Oran (Mainly Leith)

 

Leith looked around the camp. It was far too quiet for his taste for he often loved the sound of the ocean or the sound of a lake. It was never quiet for the sounds of animals and the water never ceased. The crickets and other bugs weren’t loud enough to drown out his thoughts and calm him over the idea of an enemy not being that far away from them. His face was easy to read as he frowned at the fire knowing that it was an enemy to all Water Elementians since it turned their water to steam. For most it was hard to replenish the water used unless they knew how to draw water out of the air like he and Nerio now did thanks to the strenuous battle training that they were going through with their fearless leaders.

 

To be honest, Leith was incredibly glad that Aketsu and Kai had been chosen as their leaders. Both were smart and had differing opinions but still made sure to consult with one another over just about everything. It made their lives easier when they knew that their leaders were in one voice instead of two.

 

When the smell of the food finally hit his nostrils, he looked up from the fire with his seafoam eyes to see where the smell was coming from. “Whoa.” Was his reply to the food that he saw there for everyone to eat. “You cook. Cool.” Was his simple statement to Tractus. He hadn’t spoken much at all because of the gut feeling that he had about something…he didn’t know what it was, but he could feel that it wasn’t good.

 

He turned around and sent in a water snake into the tent that he shared with his brother and could hear his brother spluttering for a moment before the water shot through the door of the tent and nearly hit Leith if he hadn’t been prepared.

 

“You could have just said something.” Nerio said with a wry grin as he stepped out of the tent with only a vest and pants on. He hardly wore a shirt anymore due to the fact that they spent their time outdoors and he desperately needed a tan. When they fought with wooden swords, he would often forgo the vest to remind himself to always watch where your opponents weapon was going to be.

 

Ayame, Z’fan and Unnamed Battle Mate to Z’fan

 

On the opposite side of the tents which was where Kaimaru had smoothed a patch of earth then added his own twist, was where Ayame, Z’fan and her battle mate sat. Much to their benefit, the three of them were speaking about what they were going to do regarding the large force that they felt was coming towards them. They knew that it would thin their numbers by at least one if not more than that. But it would mean less weight for them to take care of and to watch over even if it meant the loss of one so young who had not yet learned to harness their ability and not only use it to channel energy into their element, but also into their bodies. Such a loss.

 

Z’fan didn’t move, but instead made a slight chirp in the deepest part of her throat which signaled that she wished to speak with Ayame and her battle mate telepathically. When they opened their minds via a connection with her battle mate, they began to further discuss what they were to do to protect the children the most. Of course they were to listen somewhat to what Kaimaru and Aketsu said, but if it in any way endangered the lives of the children, they were to take over and make sure to have themselves die first before the children did by any circumstance.

 

When they were finished, Z’fan stood and used a blanket of swiftly grown seedlings to hide Ayame as he changed into his human form. Her battlemate handed him a few clothes that he would be comfortable in but it mainly consisted of a pair of pants and an optional shirt. Now that the children knew of his form, he most often stayed in a bipedal figure that resembled both his human and animal traits.

 

“How comes the plan Aketsu?” Ayame asked him kindly.

 

Marcus

 

Marcus looked around the circle that had gathered to look and see what their young leader had come up with. it was simple enough to cause a distraction and simple enough to get away, but he felt as though the young girl that the Lord had chosen to take with him wouldn't be able to do anything to better their cause. How could she be strong enough to destroy a machine that was maybe six times her size in height and more in length and depth? Marcus tossed these thoughts from his mind when he realized that he was being directly spoken to. He was to lead all of them into the riot which was actually going to be fun. A little fire, a little ice, a little this, a little that. Such fun.

 

Aamina

 

Aamina looked at Jahanshah as he spoke and committed every word to memory to make sure that she understood the plan. he was smart and cunning which allowed him to tbe the leader of their group. Such strength at an age that she couldn't comprehend for her own young age and ignorance of future ages. When he stated that she was to throw pieces of earth into the walls of metal, she hid a half smile. It was easy to throw spikes unlike some weakling Earth Elementians.

 

When he asked if there were any questions she shook her head and dismissed herself so that she could go and lay down on her patch of earth that was marked by a ring of red dirt that seemed to glow with heat. She sat down in the middle with her legs crossed and her hands relaxed over her knees and eyes closed.

[SkySong278]

Skylar

 

Sky listened to everything that Jahanshah said and when she heard both her and Celeste's part in the plan, she nodded in understanding after hearing what Marc was supposed to do. She got a little worried about that but didn't voice it even if she wanted to. She knew that her fiance could take care of himself but she still worried about him. She knew that he worried about her sometimes too but she guessed it was expected. "No I don't have any questions," she said after she heard Jahan's question of if they had any questions. She didn't have any questions about the plan at all and she confirmed that with the statement that she said. She then rode her horse over to a group of trees and grass so that she could graze and then dismounted before losing her balance on the steep incline and rolling down the hill until she hit a rock and stopped, groaning a bit as she tried to get up.

Edited January 21, 2012 by Dragonpelt

[Nasa13]

Eirikr

 

Curses she was fast. The girl slipped from his grasp with a grace he had never seen before. Eirikr extended his right leg back, drawing his arm back for a strike, and crouched forward into his combat stance. His powers called, pulling up more stone to form a blade on his left hand.

 

"To know if I should kill you or join you," whispered Eirik, his eyes roving over his opponent as he studied her stance. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, and her mark.

 

"You're... You're a wind elementalist," stuttered out Eirikr, suddenly depressed he hadn't said beautiful. He straightened up, allowing his blades to lose cohesiveness and crumble. "I am Eirikr Stanislaus,... miner. I... I am at your... s- service."

 

He bowed his head somewhat, touching the brim of his hat with his hand.

[LoveLost]

Noe Amani

 

Noe kept her sword out in the open and grinned. "Nope. I'm Weather. See?" she said and held a small stormcloud over the palm of her hand and then let it dissipate slowly. "You're name is unfamiliar to me though except for..." she shook her head slightly and then looked up at the much taller man again.

 

"It's easy to mistake our marks though." She stared at him for a long time although there was no malice or even battle knowledge in her eyes as she looked at him. The only thing that showed any hardship was the long and painful looking scar along her ( i forget which arm so I'll make it her left ) left arm that seemed to grow and ebb in the shape of a large, jagged lightning bolt. There were slightly deeper places where it looked as though someone had punctured her arm, but they also looked as though they were healing rapidly.

 

Her shirt had cut off sleeves that allowed her arms to be completely exposed. On her right arm there were scars of a smaller scale that were easy to see on her olive skin. She leaned on her sword comfortably since it was the only form of defense that she was sure of.

"You don't have to stutter you know." A kind smile crossed her lips as she quickly sheathed her sword. "Well, come along Mr. Stanis...Stanisl....miner. You'd best meet our fearless leaders so they can do what they want with you." There was no joke in her voice as she turned around. For a moment she stopped and glanced back at him. "Don't try anything funny. They are both stronger than they look." She faced him fully and wondered if he would follow.

 

Marcus

 

Marcus was about to ask Jahanshah about how he wanted the riot to be conducted besides the directions that he had given when he heard are short nicker from one of the horses as Skylar walked her horse over to where it could easily eat. He recognized the nicker of his own horse, Adlai, but he then heard a thud after he heard Skylar's feet hit the ground. he turned around just in time to see her tumbling down the hill and with a shocking stop at the end of the hill. "Skylar?!" Marcus cried out his bright golden eyes shocked with fear as he ran down the hill after Skylar. She had hit her head on a rock with a force that wasn't good.

 

"Skylar...Sky are you alright? Don't get up...just don't move." He was probably overreacting, but he didn't care.

[SkySong278]

Sklyar

 

"Yeah," Sky said in reply to Marc's question before stopping from trying to get up. "That was stupid of me and I think that I should just stay at the camp tomorrow when you guys do your plan." She then sighed as she looked away from him and added as some tears fell down her cheeks, "Maybe I shouldn't even have come in the first place since the only thing I'm good at nowadays, or what seems like I'm good at, is getting hurt and causing delays for the rest of you." She knew that what she was saying then was just a combination of being hurt and what was in her head but that's how she was feeling right then. She knew that it wasn't really true but that was her helplessness talking. It usually came out right after she got hurt. She sniffed a bit and turned her attention to be back on him as she waited to see what his reaction was going to be and what he would say.

Edited January 22, 2012 by Dragonpelt

[Nasa13]

Eirikr

 

You're name is unfamiliar to me though except for...

 

The Eirikr kept repeating her words in his mind. Except for what?

 

The look in her eyes told him that she had yet to experience the terror of battle. She may be well practiced but practice was different than life or death. He couldn't take his eyes off her for long. And her smile; he practically melted. Eirikr pushed his hat farther down over his eyes. Without meaning to he pulled a smooth stone, one of many he had collected, from his pocket and began flipping it in his hand.

 

"Lead on," He said, moving to follow her. He tried to stop himself from flipping the rock but he couldn't, it was a nervous reflex.

[LoveLost]

Marcus

 

Marcus' face grew hard when he heard what Skylar was saying. "You know better than to say that in front of me Sky." he said and gently tilted her head towards him. The tenderness that was now on his face showed her that he believed in her more than anything in the the world. "Your abilities are useful and you are the only person that i know how to fight with in perfect sync." He kissed the top of her head softly and wrapped a strong arm underneath her arms to make sure that she could get up easily. He hoisted and in a swift motion also placed an arm underneath he legs and picked her up. "The plan will go on, and you will be fine. You just need to not move for a bit." With strong strides he appeared over the hill that she had fallen down and walked to the tents that they had set up a night before. Once there, he walked into their tent and layed her down gently.

 

Noe Amani

 

Noe walked on ahead of Erikr with a curious glance and arrived near the campfire with a few curious looks from her surrogate brothers. She promptly moved to the food that was already being served out and grabbed some for herself and their guest. With the way that she served the food to Erikr, after making sure he had been sitting down, it was easy to see the callouses on her hands which were evidence to her servant childhood.

 

Leith and Nerio both walked over to her and started to question her. Both of them were tall, but had thin, swimmers' builds. Noe quickly calmed their fears but when she told them what happened, their piercing eyes looked at Erikr simultaneously.

 

"Don't make me use a tornado." she muttered to them with a grin. "Now, let him eat and then Aketsu and Kaimaru can interrogate him if they so wish." She said with a look at their fearless leaders that clearly stated she would have it no other way. It was obvious that she knew that Erikr could be a threat, but her somewhat childish, kindest side made it know that you were to help whomever you could. If they turned to be an enemy, then you would fight. But before then, no.

 

"Please eat. You look like you are pretty hungry." she said taking a seat near him on a log. Noe looked around for those that she hadn't seen for most of the day from where she sat. It was hard to figure that they had already been out for a week.

[Nasa13]

Eirikr

 

Eirikr was grateful for the food. He wolfed it down, stuffing it in with his left hand, chewing it a few times then swallowing it. About the third mouthful he became aware of some of the stares he was receiving.

 

"Apologies," he muttered. He reached around his pack and pulled his fork out. The pack leaned against the log, his pickaxe leaning on the pack. He was aware of ow close the girl was sitting to him. He would make a move towards her but the others might perceive it as hostile. It was clear the two who had confronted his guide were not happy about him. He just hoped their leaders were not as hostile. At last with a content sigh he set aside his plate. He flipped a stick into the fire sending up sparks. As he adjusted his position to face the other he reached down his hand to form a blade in the shadows of the log, just in case.

Edited January 22, 2012 by Nasa13

[SkySong278]

Skylar

 

Sky listened to everything that he said before and after he tilted her head gently towards him and knew that everything that he was saying about her was right as she looked into his eyes and saw the tenderness on his face. "You're right but I just feel like this every time I get myself hurt," she said in reply to his statement about her abilities being useful and her being the only person that he could fight in perfect sync with. She then laid her head down on his shoulder after he picked her up and made his way back to the camp. She had just nodded in reply to what he said about the plan going on and that she just needed to not move for a bit earlier before he brought them into their tent. After she was laid down gently, she fell straight to sleep. All the riding that they had done the days before this one along with her getting hurt again really made her exhausted.

[jaina]

Cielo

 

Cielo made her way through the camp that the group had set up for the time being. The petite girl was making her way towards the source of the food she was currently smelling. Eventually she found her goal, fresh food made by Tractus and ready to be eaten at anytime. She didn't fail to notice a newcomer to the group which put her on edge as so far, nothing had gone right for the group and she was feeling a touch wary of just about everything. Still she was doing her best to maintain her cheerfulness. So far though, she had yet to pick anyone else apart, partially because no one needed it, and this was hardly the time.

[Lore_Master]

~Loren~

 

The past week was nothing more then a foggy memory, the only things he could recalls were maps... pencils and other such items. He literally had his face stuck to his maps and journal. He recorded things, progression of the other Elementians's training sessions, jot notes on what could be done to improve such sessions. All the meanwhile, his free thoughts merely returned to his home... Aero. He had heard things about New Aero, and wondered if his family was safe. Compared to a week ago, he wasn't looking as healthy as he was before. He had almost no appetite, only forcing down food when it was offered.

 

Caleb had stored away the robe he used for so long, in his bag on board the wind raft. It was placed against a couple of trees, it was now mostly used for storage and for people who need a rest. He looked at the campsite around him, familiar faces such as Cielo, Noe and Tractus. Including an unfamiliar one, which made him slightly interested. He closed his eyes for a moment and stood up, walking over to the campfire. "Noe... who is this?" asked Loren, curiously.

[BlueApollo]

Luna

 

Luna opened her purple eyes and gazed at the sparse starlight that had managed to break through the foliage above her. She almost felt like she had been losing track of the time on their journey, especially since she had been able to keep herself on the fringes of the action. Her father would have been so disappointed to see his daughter being so noncommittal. She was the one who had accepted to go on this mission, yet she had barely made a dent in any of their progress. Still, she had found a quiet comfort as she lurked in the shadows, keeping a watchful eye on the stars. Her parents had taught her every visible constellation by the time she was six, and she could still recall all of them. They sparkled in her eyes, reminding herself of just what she was: a Space Elementian. Too bad she couldn't shine right back at those stars. Well, figuratively speaking.

 

Luna closed her eyes again and listened carefully. From what she could make out dinner was ready. The scent wafted to her on a light breeze, calling out to her empty stomach. She opened her eyes and gripped her cane as she began to make her way towards the smell. Tractus's voice echoed in her head like a bell: dinner is ready...dinner is ready...dinner is ready.... The light of the fire soon danced in her eyes as she took in the sight of what had created the smell. Forest critters. Luna sighed. Not again she thought.

[LoveLost]

Noe Amani

 

Noe kept eating distractedly as she thought about the ensuing battle that they knew would have to occur. From what Ayame and the battle mates said, the soldiers were spread out and had at least one or two Shadow Elementian’s with them. It was going to be difficult for them to get by them, but maybe Isa could provide a hologram? She was good at that kind of thing especially since she was the Rainbow Child.

 

When she heard Erkir state something, she turned to him and realized that he had been half starved. “No worries.” She smiled at him kindly and finished her food quickly since a) it tasted good and more people were arriving to eat and she needed to make sure that they were taken care of. It was a servant-like habit, but she just couldn’t kick it.

 

When she looked around, she noticed that not only Loren was here now, but also Cielo and Luna. Luna was very quiet and intimidated her and Cielo, well, she was Cielo. She was a dual elementian as well and hadn’t hidden that from them. (I think?)

 

“Noe, who is this?” Noe turned around from where she was rinsing her plate with some water drawn up by Leith and Nerio. “Hiya Loren.” She said and stood up after rinsing the plate off. “Well, this is Erikr, an Earth Elementian if I judged his weapons correctly.” She didn’t want to make what Erikr did known to everyone so he basically left that out of the equation to tell Kaimaru and Aketsu when they noticed that there was a new comer. They were both probably so caught up in the battle tactics that they didn’t realize what was going on.

 

“he’s a hungry traveler and isn’t an enemy until proven.” Her voice was slightly defensive, but if there was someone in need, well, why not give it?

 

To be honest though, she found herself smiling at Loren instead of keeping the stern face that she wanted.

 

Leith and Nerio

 

Leith watched Noe with a smile of brotherly love as he realized just how naïve she could be. This guy had attacked her without them noticing and she still ventured to give him food and a small respite unless Kaimaru and Aketsu decided to let him continue to stay. It was ultimately their decision. He looked around their group and noticed that they were all there together. Things were rough, ya, and tensions built, ya, but they were all alive and all healthy. He had to admit that fighting with some of them was rather tough because they were experienced in battle. At least those that he fought thanks to Kaimaru and Aketsu. They had a whole big scheme of how to assign people to their proper opponent. It was pretty genius.

 

Leith looked at Luna who seemed a bit put off by the same kinds of foods that they had been having over and over again, but it was the only thing that they would be able to get unless someone found a way to get Z’fan to grow a large fruit producing plant. But that would be entirely too suspicious. He looked down at his own food as his brother stood up with a smile. Nerio had always liked Cielo because of her degrading ways to those that were crazy enough to get caught in her cryptic mind.

 

Speaking of Nerio, he walked over to Cielo with a smile on his handsome face and handed her a plate so that she could get her food. “G’evening Cielo.” He commented and then turned away from her to go and sit down again. His muscles ached from working most of the day in combat and getting ready for the soldiers.

[jaina]

((most think she's a water elementarian, she's never really openly demonstrated her weather abilities in a way people would notice))

 

Cielo accepted the plate from Nerio with a gracious "thank you" before serving herself some food. There was no need to rush at the moment, and while she was tired much like everyone else, she did her best to remain unflagging as she settled down to eat near Nerio. With the decision to open a conversation with him, she asked her first question for the evening, "Nerio, what do you make of our current situation?" This wasn't the same sort of questioning she had used to force Loren to look at the fool he was being, but rather simple, honest curiousity about his opinion.

[Rakashua]

Kaimaru Had been up since morning training, but not because he thought he needed practice, though it was true, more could never be a bad thing in his mind, but no, he was out in the middle of the meadow training so that he could think. Leading was hard, it wasn't his thing, and most of the time he deferred to Aketsu, the boy was a natural leader, of course he needed guidance now and then, and was a bit inexperienced... then again, all of them were.

 

Since they had left they'd been joined by two other beast-men aside from Ayame, he wasn't concerned, the feeling he got from them was only positive, and concern for the light kingdom, they weren't a threat and could be valuable allies. All of the others were getting along well, and though they were tense and tired, they were friends, more or less. They were all training hard and he was proud of them, but they hadn't been tested yet, in their sparring, none of them came close to killing one another. It was of course always going to be like that, they couldn't make it serious enough to be life threatening, that would be dangerous. But anything less... and they would not be prepared.

 

Kai was currently running in a circle, spiraling outwards. Each time he took a step the earth rose up to meet his foot like a thin pillar and remained there, followed by another, higher one that he stepped up onto next, like a spiraling staircase going outwards as it got higher.

 

He'd been doing this for four hours since the sun had risen, and each time he'd reached a higher height before he couldn't raise the earth fast enough to reach his foot... before he plummeted over the edge and fell to the ground some ninety feet below... this time he made it to one-hundred and ten one foot steps... before the next one was just a bit too slow and he began to fall once more.

 

Free fall, it was a terrifying and yet a wonderful feeling, like flying, except with sudden death at the very end of the trip. Well, at least for a normal person. Normally Kai would have just hardened the sand around his skin to shield him from the impact, and made the ground softer as well, but this time he had an idea while he fell, and decided to try something new, inspired by the lightning bolt Noe had almost been hit with only a week earlier.

 

This time he maneuvered so that he was falling head first, and concentrated all of the pent up energy he could manage into his right arm, and then focused it down to the tip of his finger. Energy, he had learned, including lightning, though volatile, could be focused into a tiny tine point, confined, squished down into a little spec, creating a very very volatile mass of energy. The more focused it became, the harder it was to hold onto, to control, and keep from bursting in any direction, which lightning tended to do in the first place. But it also became deadlier and has he fell, the air around his hand literally caught fire as it passed close to the charge at the end of his finger... and then... right before hitting the ground, he released it.

 

The idea of course, was that the resulting explosion as the energy released into the ground and in all directions, would be sufficient to slow and halt his fall, allowing him to land safely... well... it was sufficient to stop his fall alright... in fact... it reversed the fall and for a moment Kai found himself actually flying, unfortunately he was moving parallel to the ground and towards the tree line.

 

Oops... he thought as he had just enough time to tuck himself into a ball as his body began smashing its way through the underbrush and a few small trees as it was propelled in the direction of camp, which was just on the other side of the thin tree line.

 

Back at camp...

 

 

Everyone near the fire, heard the sound of breaking underbrush as if a large animal were charging out of the forest in their direction, this was followed by a humanesc ball-shaped object that emerged from the tree line and bounced twice on the ground before rolling past them, seeming to pick up dirt like a snowball traveling down hill might, as it rolled. This continued for a few moments until it came to a stop, now about thirteen feet in diameter.

 

When Kai finally opened his eyes, he found himself upside down, inside a large earth-ball. Collecting the extra weight as he rolled had slowed him down rapidly, unfortunately it had also trapped him.

 

Oops... he thought for the second time in two minutes, I need to start thinking these things through... The ball had made a line in the ground that widened as the ball had grown, and he could clearly feel the others nearby moving around. Right... and that could have hit someone, not going to do this again...ok... gotta get out... mmmmmmmnnnnngh.... He quickly came to the conclusion that he was very much stuck and though he would normally just move through the rock... it seemed his danger sense had taken over though and thought that keeping him here would be the best idea, because he couldn't move.

 

But there were other things to try... and as the ball sat there, it got bigger as he moved the earth around himself outwards, until the ball was three times as large, but hollow in the middle.

 

Kai looked around at the inside as he stood up, hearing several cracks from his joints as he straightened them. this is actually kind of cool... he thought, then realized that everyone on the outside must be really wanting an explanation by now... oh well.

 

He quickly took inventory of where everyone was in relation to the ball and moved to one of the walls where no one was standing, placed his hand against it, and released enough electricity to blot that section outwards. He emerged, coughing slightly, in a cloud of dust. He squinted at the sunlight and noticed, with a small amount of distaste, that his right hand was slightly blackened from the electricity use, that was becoming more and more annoying the better he got at controlling the lightning... because it always seemed to hurt more each time.

 

"It's-ok" He waved to the others, catching his breath quickly, "small accident in the clearing..." Suddenly he was standing up again though and looking as if nothing had happened, his face serious, "who's he." He pointed at Eirikr and frowned, noting how close he was to Noe.

[Lore_Master]

~Betzalel~

 

As he listened to the Metal Child's plan for Cumulus, he was rather surprised with the plan. He took into account everyone's strengths, and tried to make an adaptable plan for the situation. When the part regarding the weather machine came up, he himself had a question. Which he voiced once the Metal Child was done speaking. "A question, my lord." Said Betzalel as he made eye contact with him. "If the weather machine is as large as I believe it to be, I should I make myself... more "earth-like?" Asked Betzalel, before he established a mental link with the Metal Child. "What I mean is, if I have to turn into my beast form, shall I use the earth itself to cover my dark scales?" He added, not wanting to make the others know his secret. It would be soon that he would have to tell them, but he didn't want to risk enemy intelligence finding out so soon.

 

He looked over to Skylar and Marcus as the female got herself injured... how in the name of the elements that happened, he didn't know. He then watched the stars in the night sky, pondering what it was like... being a star in the middle of an ocean of blackness.

 

~Loren~

 

“Well, this is Erikr, an Earth Elementian if I judged his weapons correctly. He’s a hungry traveler and isn’t an enemy until proven.”

 

Had this conversation taken place merely a week ago, he would have been stunned at her trust, and thought it bordered the line to naivety. But, from all he knew about her, this wasn't the biggest news. He looked at Erikr once more, he noticed how close he was to Noe... Perhaps he was the sort to fall in love at first sight? Or maybe he was like Kai in a strange way... The train of thought merely made him smiled, another thing to work on for their training. He still had the bracelet covering his wind birthmark, he himself was working on being open about his birth, his grey hair was clearly visible. "If you say so..." He said quietly, before giving a quick sigh as he turned around... Just in time to watch Kai's little "show" with the ball of rock and earth. It was the first time in a week he cracked up and began to laugh. Maybe that's why he wasn't feeling so great, he got too caught up in his work. His laughter stopped when Kai asked him about Erikr.

 

"Noe says his name is Erikr... He's an earth elementian." He replied, before he began to walk away from the three of them... maybe he would get a little something to eat on his own this time.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Lore_Master

[Nasa13]

Eirikr

((I refer to Noe as "the girl" because Eirikr doesn't know her name yet.))

 

As the girl got up Eirikr felt a moment of panic. So far she had been the one who had protected him, settling her companions fears and suspicions. He set down his empty plate and got up to try get her to stay longer. Before he could he could say anything she was confronted by another of her comrades. Feeling awkward and not wanting to interrupt the girl he straightened out his coat and adjusted his hat. He slipped his fork into his coats pocket. He pulled out his canteen and took a sip of water.

 

“Well, this is Erikr, an Earth Elementian if I judged his weapons correctly. He’s a hungry traveler and isn’t an enemy until proven.”

 

Eirikr wished she hadn't mentioned his powers. He had wanted to keep it secret until it was necessary to use it. He hoped they would forget it thanks to the one guy's stunt with the dirt ball. The guy was a fool, in his opinion, playing with his powers like that. But he had the look of a Terran, strong from most likely working in the cities tunnels and quarries.

 

He decided that after he talked to the groups leader he would ask the girl what her name was.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Nasa13

[LoveLost]

Nerio, like his normal narcissistic self, took a moment to think, about himself. He loved it when people asked him questions about what he thought because not only was it about him, but it was also about what was going on around the world. Right now, their world was this little area that had possessed their time for a little bit. “I think we are stuck. We have to fight otherwise we won’t survive. But then again, if we run back to Solis and the soldiers there help us, that sets us a week behind and I doubt anyone wants that.” He looked down at her and smiled a winning smile before looking back out at the fire and became serious.

 

“However, I do know that we can all also die with the up and coming battle which is something that should be treated with caution and not full blown war.” Despite his sometimes self-absorbed ways, Nerio really did care about the others in the camp and wouldn’t want to see any of them hurt. He glanced at Noe who was looking into the forest as a loud crashing noise started. In a moment, Nerio had a water shield along with his brother in front of Noe and the others until they saw Kai step out of the smoke.

 

The water was released and the two realized just how silly the situation was and both laughed gently before sitting down where they had once been.

 

Noe looked at Loren as he responded to her, but was suddenly distracted by a loud boom where their meadow was that they practiced on. From that boom, in the moonlight, she could vaguely see a figure but thought nothing of it since all of them were around the campfire except one. When she heard something coming through the forest, she jumped a little and turned her hand on the hilt of her sword.

 

When a thing stopped in front of them, she noticed that her vision was blurry then looked to the side to see her “brothers” there making a shield to guard the campers. With a giggle-snort, she watched as Kai walked out of the earthen ball and made sure to look for wounds. Since he said he was okay, she looked back around the camp until she was sure that he addressed her. When he did, Loren answered before she could get a word out which made her huff slightly.

 

She stood in a flourish and walked up to Kai. She lowered her voice as she leaned up to his ear to whisper what had happened. In her own way, she told the basics. Out of nowhere this young man came up behind her and held a knife to her neck. After asking her alliance, and she answering, she used the move that Kai had shown her to get out of that particular situation. She then asked him his purpose and who he was and he answered. “He was really hungry. I hope I did right by letting him eat.” She said with certainty that she did what was right.

 

[Rakashua]

Kai allowed his face to relax, he was too tired to be angry, having been up all day now, and the scent of food reminded him that he'd forgotten to eat. He whispered back into Noe's ear, bending down slightly to be at the right level. "Well then I'm glad you learned so well what I taught you, for his sake, or he might not be quite as lively. What you did was good, just remember, not everyone will ask you what aliance you are first, they might just be satisfied to find out by looting your corpse...." It was a harsh thing to bring up, but Kai was concerned for Noe, she was so sweet and nice, even though she had a darker less pleasant side. He worried for her safety and had placed said safety fully under his own responsibility, giver her extra time in training and pushing her harder, and she had done well. But that didn't mean he didn't worry. Soon there would be no more friends, and everyone they met would have to be treated as an enemy until proven a friend. A harsh world indeed.

 

He stood back up, stretching and cracking his neck before speaking to the newcomer. He brushed himself off and his sand reverted to its normal form, when he had emerged from the ball of dirt his chest had seemed to be all over the place and messed up with his abs on his side and other defining features slightly eschew, not the sand moved back to where it was supposed to be and he looked normal again.

 

"Welcome to our camp Eirikr," Kaimaru rolled the name around on his tongue for a moment before saying it correctly, it wasn't as odd as he'd ever heard, but it wasn't exactly "bob" either. "I'm Kai, one of the leaders of our group, I see you've already met Noe... And that... not in a fashion I'm too fond of, but I can excuse your behavior, I probably would have done something similar." and it was true... he would have probably buried her up to her neck in dirt by pulling her under... and then asked his questions.

 

"We are glad to share our food with you, and in exchange, we would be equally glad for any knowledge you have about the movements of individuals and groups in this area. And of course, if you'd explain exactly what your purpose is out here I'd be more than willing to let you spend the night." Kai's sing-song voice was even and kind, but his mind was focused and hard. He tapped three of his toes on the ground, raising the ground a millimeter under the man's feet, letting him know that he was reading his body through the earth, it was courtesy to let someone know when you were testing them that way, and among other earth elementarians, it was custom.

 

If the man was very experienced with either Earth Elementarian customs or skilled with the element he would be able to sense what it was Kai was doing, tapping into his body's vibrations to sense his heartbeat and the truthfulness of his response, if he wasn't... oh well, hopefully he didn't frighten the man.