The Calling

[Narath]

((You know, Jacen doesn't even know Tiana is a horse))

 

"But what about the other one?" Jacen asked. "The one he called Copper? What should we do with him? It wouldn't be very kind of us to leave Roark's friend here."

"I can still walk on my own." Copper interjected, giving a half hearted salute, trying to make a serious face.

The drunk then proceeded to pull himself up using the table they were next to, finally coming to a stand on a pair of wobbly legs.

"Shee? Just fine!"

"Alright." Jacen said, looking at Copper sceptically before bending down to put one of Roarks arms over hos shoulder. "Here. You get Roark's left arm, I'll get his right."

 

[makenziec123]

((I know, she's gunna come charging out of the stable and scare the bajeezus out of him :3

 

Also, Pyro, do you want Selye to meet Amanda or no?))

 

Talibah was about to reply, saying she figured that the could just come back for him or ask someone else to help them, when Copper drunkenly stood up on his own.

 

"...When he falls over, I'll try and catch him." She said, glancing back and forth from Jacen to Copper once she pulled Roark's arm over her shoulders.

 

"Geez he got heavy..."

 

"That's what tends to happen when you don't talk to someone for the last several years of your life that was so much like a little brother to you." The voice scolded, making Talibah bite back a snarky comment.

 

"Okay. Ready?" She asked, looking over at Jacen.

[Dracovicus]

Azera saw Amanda and Navir. He simple nod to the two as he watch them pass him than he followed Amanda. When they came to the part Inn Navir had lead them to, Azera stop and turn his head. 'Something not right here' Azera thought to himself as he felt the eyes of something watching not only him but the whole party. He had that feeling from the bar, so it must also be watching everyone so far that it could see.

'So you feel it to as well, Azera.' The voice said in his head as he agree with it.

Azera was on edge now, and his body was showing it. Something was following them and watching them from a far, almost as if stalking them. There was no hiding it present, nor it power. It dark power clawing at Azera own power, as if it was competing to see which is stronger. His hand felt the hilt of his sword as the cold leather bite at his skin.

'Azera, careful. What ever it is, keep calm. It's trying to get under our skin, and you are letting it.' The voice said in his head.

Azera shook his head for a bit, than followed Navir in to the building. He saw something that stuck out from the small crowed. There leaning against the back wall was a woman with a black feather dress that stop just a few inches below her knees. There on her side saw two dual blade swords, each polished sheath hiding their steel blades. Both her red eyes and his blue eyes caught hold of each other for a split second, and just like that she was gone, almost as if fade into the shadows of the wall.

Just as fast as she vanish, she reappeared between Amanda and Azera. Her back was to Azera, but she face Amanda. "Well aren't you three wanted right now." She said in a low voice so only they could hear. Her black dress match the same feathers as Azera Black feather hoodie, which meant it was harpy feather that was used to make it.

 

[Narath]

"Ready as I'll ever be." Jacen replied, grunting under the weight of her friend as he began to move with her. "So, uh... how did you two meet? If you don't mind me asking of course. You don't need to say anything if you don't want to."

He wasn't exactly expecting Talibah to open up about it. So far she seemed pretty secretive of her past. Jacen understood and respected how she felt, but his curiosity still wanted to know something - anything - about her. Hopefully as time went on, they could maybe become friends enough for her to open up a little.

[Pyrowings]

((Sure.))

 

Selye mulled over the man's words while trying her best to keep her rising panic down. She knew about the situation with the Border Guards, she knew the horrors' numbers were practically innumerable.

And they only had a few months! For all the good it would do, why not just invade now? The cockatrice seemed to sense her anxiety, fluttering her wings and hopping on her head.

The Lord of the Horrors was now the talk of the people, some begging for mercy from the stars, others vowing to find these "Callers", whomever they were, to win their life, others thinking to flee from the island to somewhere, anywhere. Still others vowed to fight, some are apathetic to the plight, others wallowing in despair, unable to see hope. And a few were like her, trying to carry on with life, yet still pensive by the man's words.

Pathetic, those who want to bargain with him who wants to find these Callers. Can't they see that there must be a reason the Lord of the Horrors would want to find them and eliminate them? Granted, even if they could defeat them, it is a very big if. There are demons there with the knowledge of the best mages in Horusia, giants that reach into the sky itself, puzzles with the bodies and abilities of a hundred beasts... Hmm. I certainly can't blame them, I suppose.

With all her thinking, though, she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, nor did she hear Clementine's twitters, causing her to crash into some people, two of which where obviously drunk.

Edited May 12, 2014 by beiningtian

[makenziec123]

"Long story short, we met when we were little kids. By that point I think I was... ten? Maybe eleven? I can't really remember. I think I'm twenty three now though." She replied, dragging Roark forward and somehow managing to get through the doorway.

 

"Geez, Roark. Lay off the donuts, would ya?" She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

 

She heard someone stumbling around behind them and she thought it might be Copper, but it could also just be Roark's feet hitting against stuff as they dragged him by.

 

Once they were all outside, Talibah gave a semi-frustrated huff as she tried to get the hair out of her face.

 

"Hang on a second." She said, freeing one of her hands and bringing it to her lips so that a high-pitched whistling sound pierced the air like a fog horn.

 

Just then, a midnight black mare burst forth from the closed -and previously locked- stable doors, sliding to a stop just inches in front of Talibah and Jacen, her shoulder standing even with the top of Jacen's own.

 

A strong, powerful neck curved up like a wave from the ocean and steam blew from the almost angry looking horse's nostrils as it starred down at it's master.

 

"You mind giving me a hand here, Ti?" Talibah asked as if it were normal for giant horses to come charging at you out of no where.

 

The horse bowed its long neck and gently nuzzled its large head between Roark and Talibah, easily holding the man's weight so that Talibah no longer had to support Roark's arm.

 

"Here, if you throw his other arm over her side, she'll carry him for us." Talibah smiled, completely oblivious.

[Narath]

"Well I'd like to hear the long story some day." Jacen said.

She was still avoiding answering him properly, just like Jacen thought she would. He was still mulling this over, when suddenly a large horse burst through the door and stopped Just in front of them. Jacen let out a startled yelp, dropping Roark and falling onto his backside in panic.

"Oh shut up." He said to the voice in his head, which was currently laughing at his tumble.

"But it was funny!" It chortled.

 

---------------

 

Copper was following close behind Roark as his friends dragged him off, and was just getting used to walking again when he got knocked over. With a groan, he pushed himself unsteadily back onto his feet and saw that the person he had bumped into was a young woman.

"I beg your pardon madam." Copper said, trying to keep his balance. "I'd offer to help you up, but I cannot seem to keep my own footing steady enough to do so."

[makenziec123]

"Good girl, Tiana." Talibah smiled, patting her pet's shoulder.

 

"Uh. Jacen? You okay?" She asked as she and her horse both blinked down at him confusedly, Roark somehow now laid across the horse's back like a blanket.

 

A blanket that was now getting drool and drips of beer in the longer fur around Tiana's hooves.

 

The horse moved closer to sniff at Jacen, trying to decide if he was afraid of her because she was scary, or if he was scared of her like the people that tried to hurt Master usually were. Especially when their noisy things that threw rocks at her didn't hurt her.

 

Talibah gently stroked at her mane though, tugging gently to tell her that he was a friend, and the almost guard dog-like horse withdrew her curiosity, settling her broad black head on top of her master's shoulder instead.

 

"Talibah, Tiana can be very frightening when people first meet her! You know that! The voice scolded her as always, though Talibah could tell that he was laughing on the inside by the way his presence in her mind shifted from happy to serious and then back again.

 

"Sorry. Jacen, this is Tiana, my father's war- Er, my horse." She caught herself. She still thought of Tiana more as a friend than as a tool like her father had, and so she referred to Tiana as her father's warhorse when she wasn't thinking.

[Pyrowings]

Selye would have shrugged off the apologies, said that it was her fault for crashing into him in the first place, and apologise.... It's rather hard to do when mute, though, so Selye just settled for shaking her head and making a "shoo" motion with her right hand and offering her left hand down to the person she knocked down and a small bow towards the others for causing any trouble.

"Ssss-Wreee!" Clementine and Aqua whistled and hissed, flying down from... Somewhere, landing on top of her head again.

Did she just say "sorry"...? Selye's eyes drifted up, even if she couldn't see the cockatrice, before she looked back down at the inebrated man.

 

((She's left-handed, I guess..?))

[Narath]

((Roark is on the horse, not on the ground by the way bein

Sorry, would have posted sooner but my stupid school internet disconnected when I tried to submit what I wrote and deleted it))

 

"Yea, yea. I'm just fine." Jacen said as he scrambled back to his feet, his face now a deep crimson from embarrassment. "I'm just not used to large horses charging me.

"So, you said she was your fathers?" He asked, changing the subject from his fall. "She is very beautiful. My family never had a horse because we could never afford it. I think I'll buy one for my parents though if I can earn enough money out here. With me gone, they'll need some help tending the farm."

 

---------------------

 

"You want me to leave?" Copper asked, confused by her hand motion due to his drunk state. "But..."

"Ssss-Wreee!"

"Oh!" He exclaimed upon seeing Cementine. "What a lovely creature! Can you tell me it's name?"

Copper reached out a hand towards the bird-like creature as he spoke in attempt to stroke it's feathers. Normally, he'd request permission first, but he was still a bit off from the beer.

 

((By the way, I need a name for a stray female calico cat me and my sis found yesterday. Any ideas?))

[makenziec123]

((Aw! Kitty! My friend named her cat Don Gato after a camp song. What colors is it?))

 

"He's your partner now, remember? He'll find out sooner or later."

"You're right. He will. Some day. But right now I'm going to do my best to push that day far, far away." She thought back.

 

"Yes. He liked riding through the desert a lot. He taught me how to ride on a little pony that could only just keep up with her, but I'm glad that I have her now. But don't worry, considering you're still in one piece, I think she likes you!" Talibah chuckled, petting her horse's velvety nose.

 

She peered around to where Copper seemed to be talking to another person.

 

"Now that Tiana can carry Roark, should we go help Copper? It seems like he made a new friend or two." She added, gesturing towards the man that was currently trying to pet a girl's cockatrice.

Edited May 14, 2014 by makenziec123

[Narath]

((White grey and orange. We are still trying to think of a name for her. And since we don't want to name her what my sister's one idea was, she's just moping every time we try to name it because she's not getting her way.))

 

"I'm glad she does." Jacen said, smiling at the horse nervously. "Is it alright if I pat her or something? I just feel like it would work in my favor if I showed her if I'm nice.

"And, um... Maybe, if it's not too much to ask for, could you perhaps teach me how to ride? Another reason why I wanted a horse when I was younger was so that I could play around and pretend I was riding it into battle if it wasn't time to work..."

At this, Jacen blushed slightly again. It was such a childish wish back then, and the thing was, he still kind of dreamed of it at times. He was just going to keep embarrassing himself in front of this girl wasn't he?

"I don't know whether we should or not." Jacen replied. "I mean, he seems to need the social practice... Though that could just be the ale. But he could also be a bit too drunk, in which case it would be better to keep an eye on him."

[Narath]

((Bump))

[Pyrowings]

"You want me to leave? But...."

No, no. Selye shook her head. It would make no sense for him to leave, especially if he was with a group of people. They probably wouldn't take kindly to a stranger who walks over and tells a person to leave at random.

"Oh! "What a lovely creature! Can you tell me it's name?"

Huh? I would if I could... Wait, don't pet her!

Aqua hissed as the man's fingers came near her, with Clementine hopping up and down, fluffing her feathers and flapping her wings. Selye winced, gently pushing the man's hand away, if for nothing else his own safety. He might misinterperate that if he is drunk, though.

 

[Narath]

Copper grinned stupidly at the bird snake thing as hit hopped on the girl's head while making a lot of noise.

"Why she's a curious creature isn't she?" He said as his hand was pushed aside. "I quite love animals, especially birds. They have quite an elegance about them. I have never seen one such as this before. Can I please examine it closely?"

[Pyrowings]

Cockatrices are interesting, yes. I never even heard of them until today, in fact....

Selye looked worriedly at him, only shaking her head, reminded by Sota's words on how the cockatrice had acted to others. And what was evident now, if Aqua showing her "hood" was any indication, even if it was more like a mass of spikes. I can tell why Sota wanted her off as soon as possible, even if only the person who a cockatrice "binds" with can teach them to control their gaze. And again, he's drunk. I don't think that the right condition to handle one, to put it lightly.

Selye glanced to the nonplussed Clementine and Aqua, then back to the grinning man. I think I might cause some trouble if I stay any longer....

[makenziec123]

((Sorry for vanishing. It's finals week and my best friend's girlfriend (who is also a friend of mine) broke up with her and then took off on her senior trip to Florida. Recap please?))

[Pyrowings]

((Finals here too. Seems like Georgia and Alabama was more similar then I thought.

 

Nothing much, just Copper curious with Clementine and Aqua and being confused at Selye while she doesn't know what quite to do.))

[Dracovicus]

((Also Slayer is now known to Amanda Navir and Azera, As they are at a Inn in town and she happen to be in that Inn))

 

 

[makenziec123]

((Oh okay cool. If I forget something feel free to point it out ))

 

"Eh. Judging from the way the girl is acting around him, I think he'll be okay. Let's hose Roark off and come back for him." Talibah replied.

 

"Be my guest! Just let her smell your hand first. Like this-" She explained, holding her own hand up in front of the soft ebony nose like a traffic director telling a car to stop.

 

Tiana gave a few sniffs, then licked Talibah's hand like she was an overgrown puppy, making her master giggle slightly at the feel.

 

"See? Isn't she the sweetest thing ever!?" She laughed, throwing her arms around the mare's neck in a big hug.

 

((I can't find the post where Amanda and everyone goes to the inn. Can someone either repost it or PM it to me please?))

 

[Narath]

"O-okay." Jacen said nervously, holding his shaky hand palm up to the horse. "There there, good girl. I-I won't hurt you. I j-just want to be friends."

 

-----------------------------

 

"Is she a bird or a snake?" Copper asked as he stared at the bird with his head tilted quizzically to the side. "It's hard to tell. Oh, I just wish you'd let me examine her.

"What about them? Can my friends see her maybe if I can't?" He said pointing to said people. "Then they can tell me about her."

[Dracovicus]

Azera saw Amanda and Navir. He simple nod to the two as he watch them pass him than he followed Amanda. When they came to the part Inn Navir had lead them to, Azera stop and turn his head. 'Something not right here' Azera thought to himself as he felt the eyes of something watching not only him but the whole party. He had that feeling from the bar, so it must also be watching everyone so far that it could see.

'So you feel it to as well, Azera.' The voice said in his head as he agree with it.

Azera was on edge now, and his body was showing it. Something was following them and watching them from a far, almost as if stalking them. There was no hiding it present, nor it power. It dark power clawing at Azera own power, as if it was competing to see which is stronger. His hand felt the hilt of his sword as the cold leather bite at his skin.

'Azera, careful. What ever it is, keep calm. It's trying to get under our skin, and you are letting it.' The voice said in his head.

Azera shook his head for a bit, than followed Navir in to the building. He saw something that stuck out from the small crowed. There leaning against the back wall was a woman with a black feather dress that stop just a few inches below her knees. There on her side saw two dual blade swords, each polished sheath hiding their steel blades. Both her red eyes and his blue eyes caught hold of each other for a split second, and just like that she was gone, almost as if fade into the shadows of the wall.

Just as fast as she vanish, she reappeared between Amanda and Azera. Her back was to Azera, but she face Amanda. "Well aren't you three wanted right now." She said in a low voice so only they could hear. Her black dress match the same feathers as Azera Black feather hoodie, which meant it was harpy feather that was used to make it.

((It at the bottom of the last page))

[makenziec123]

Tiana swung her head away from Talibah and sniffed at Jacen's hand, then lightly pressed her velvety nose against his palm.

 

It was mostly because he nose itched, but humans seemed to think it was some kind of trust thing. Eh. He wasn't hurting master, so he must not be a threat. Which makes him neither food nor foe. Which means she didn't get to eat yet. Which sucked, because she was really hungry. Then again, she always like the silvery shiny things that lived in the water better than the taste of people anyways. Maybe master has food?

 

"Hey, look at that, she likes you." Talibah smiled, digging through her nearly endless bag until she found what she was looking for.

 

"Good girl." She cooed, presenting her pet with a piece of dried fish instead of the usual apple that most horses ate.

 

Talibah then glanced back towards Copper again.

 

"He really likes that bird thing, huh?" She asked, wondering if now was the time to try and get him to leave the girl alone.

 

~~~~~

 

((Thanks draco ))

 

Amanda stood stock-still for a moment, surprised at having a person suddenly materialize before her.

 

Then she subtly heated the air around her, creating a medium-sized gap in the crowd so that any civilians nearby wouldn't get hurt.

 

"Leave us alone." The fire mage growled like a wolf, deep in the back of her throat, her blue eyes turning red with the fire that was triggered by her anger.

 

"In case you didn't know, I'm a fire mage. Fire magic is controlled by emotions, and I just so happen to have a pretty nasty temper when I need one. Still wanna take me on, you overgrown pigeon?" She snarled, a swirl of fire already forming in the hot air she had created around her.

Edited May 21, 2014 by makenziec123

[Pyrowings]

Tsk. The streets are even cobblestone, nowhere for me to write. That reminds me to never go anywhere without my notebook and paper. Selye grumbled, then looked over at the group he pointing at. I wouldn't call this cockatrice good with people... She shook her head in response to the man's question before she pointed at the cockatrice, then shook her head again as she made a sweeping gesture. Not that he would probably pick up on what I'm saying. In fact, it might just be easier to go and confront the others.

[Narath]

"I'm glad she approves." Jacen replied, moving his hand to stroke the horse's neck.

"Wait, what?" He asked, shocked frozen when Talibah fed Tiana the fish. "She eats meat? What? Why would...? How...? My hand isn't in danger is it?"

 

((Sorry I took a while to post. I've been trying to think of things to write for Copper but I'm stumped. Who would have thought it would be so hard to talk to a mute?))

Edited May 23, 2014 by Narath