The Agnimitra

[Skarx]

Sayuk knew a bit of the place now, but his guide was growing nervous. After complaining about him not even smiling or reacting to any of his joke or comment.

 

"I mean everyone at least laugh once when I tell them these jokes! At least to one of them! What are you geez? A block of ice?!" Said Guillaume the guide.

"Just go on with you guiding I don't need you for your side talking"

 

The guide just turned to me and decided I was not worth his time anymore. The boy was angry. He raised his hand then turned away not saying anything more. Sayuk knew more than to follow him. Laughing um? He wondered how people would react to his... laughter. He could try. Just to see if he could do it right. It has been a while since he last did it. Would probably sound way too unnatural. Still as he walked around he ended up hearing a ruckus coming from what the guide had called the "infirmary". When he turned the corner to she what was happening the he found Stick and Rain, causing trouble and healing. Nothing of interest so he went on his way and ended up in front of Midnight. He looked at her coming toward him or more probably to the infirmary. He let her be and having nothing more interesting to do and wanting to see how she would take care of this he stayed.

[Kira1]

On her way to the infirmary Midnight came across Sayuk who seemed to be passing through. When he saw her though he stopped, seeming as if he was going to wait and see what would happen with Stick. She flashed a smile towards him before heading into the infirmary. Her eyes looked to where Rain was, healing on of the guards that was holding Stick down on the bed. How much trouble can this guy cause? She wondered to herself.

"Anyway I can help?" She asked Rain, since there wasn't much else for Midnight to do at the moment. She might go off to find Kiri and Puppy to see how they were doing, but Stick seemed to be the major issue right now.

[WonderBubbles]

((Is it night now...? ^^))

[Kira1]

((no, it's like almost 11am now or something. why are you waiting for night anyways? just come in now.))

[Jadeclaw]

((What's happened so far? Can someone tell me?))

[Kira1]

((*sigh* i guess I won;t make you read all the previous pages, Jadeclaw. Midnight met Stick, Sayuk, Kiri, Puppy, and Rain (in that order) and they went to the temple that they are now after a quick stop at a smaller safe house. They're at the temple now and you can read page 11 and 12 to see what we recently did.))

[Skarx]

((OMG! Someone else from the army! I am not alone anymore!... Um maybe I am in my situation... XP))

Edited October 17, 2009 by Skarx

[WonderBubbles]

((no, it's like almost 11am now or something. why are you waiting for night anyways? just come in now.))

 

((Because your peoples are in England and mine's all alone Down Under. Different time zones and Fluffy's sleeping...))

[Kira1]

((ah, i see. ))

[Walker]

((VICTORY! I got home sooner then I thought I would, enough time for me to post at least, so here goes... also Kira, do you mind if Puppy starts to develop a new power? It's not a terribly huge power so it won't make him indestructible or anything, but I thought it might be alright because he's in the middle of puberty and therefore still discovering his powers.))

 

While the others were still talking, Stick had withdrawn inside himself the darkest recesses of his mind. The woman’s telepathic jabs had tired him out faster then any physical battle could have. He had weakened enough that the woman was starting to get dangerously close to the blackest and deepest parts of his mind where no one else but him should ever venture. With the last of his will, he was protected these parts with a burning fire of rage, but just as it seemed she was about to broach his defenses, the woman withdrew from his mind.

 

Hesitantly, Stick listened to the emptiness of his own mind and tensed as he readied for a surprise final attack from the woman, but it never came. Slowly, he became aware of his surroundings again and remembered his situation, but strangely, he felt no will to fight. The mental battle that had waged inside his head had left him more weary then he had imagined. The woman who had wormed into his mind was looking at him with a strange mixture of fascination and contempt. "Your mind is a very strange and dark place Stick, but... there may be hope for you yet."

 

"Why?" he asked her gruffly. The question hung in the air for a moment as the woman considered her answer.

 

"I wasn't trying to break you Stick. If I went any farther you would have gone insane, at least more insane then you already are with all those deluded conceptions of yourself and everyone else floating through your head. You may not want to admit it, but under all that armor, you're as fragile as twig. You could snap at any moment, and that could be a very dangerous thing for everyone. I'm not going to be the one responsible for breaking you, or we'll only have another Dark on our hands." the woman stared at him with cold hard eyes. For once Stick had no snarky or demeaning comments up his sleeve to reply with, only a blank stare. Trying to forget what he had just heard, he looked around and noticed the girl he had first meant on the road... and Rain, of course.

 

"Where's my dagger Rain?" he asked.

Edited October 17, 2009 by Dashidragon

[Kira1]

((yeah, that's fine Dashi))

 

"I don't think it would be wise to return your dagger at the moment," Midnight said to Stick, coming around next to the group of Agnimitra. "Won't you at least stay and rest?" She inquired, not really understanding why he was letting his pride get in the way of being healed. It seemed being injured was a bigger disgrace than letting yourself be healed. Injuries slow people down, making them tired, hurt and disoriented depending on the severity of the wound of course. And Rain was such a good healer that after a quick treatment Stick would be back to tip-top shape in no time.

Midnight's mind also wandered to wondering where Puppy and Kiri were. Well, she would find them later.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Kira1

[Key2Universe]

Just as Rain finished healing Mark's injury she heard the "Worm" speak. Rain stopped moving to listen to what the woman was saying about Stick. Rain frowned and looked down.

 

I hate that he has those feelings for himself. But, I'm glad that someone who probed his mind can understand, as I can, that he still has hope. She thought to herself, until his words pulled her out of her thoughts.

 

"I have to agree with Midnight on this one. You've done enough damage to Mark and his brother without a weapon, don't think I'm stupid enough to let you injury this whole Temple so that I'll stay and heal them all while you run away, as you have in the past." Rain said, remembering one of their earlier encounters. Rain had been forced to stay and fix up the Resistance, while Stick had flown away laughing. She sighed.

 

"You're exhausted. Why don't you just lay down and rest for a while." Rain said and gave him a stern look. After a moment she turned her attention to Mark's brother. "Do you mind if I heal you, as well?" She asked, in her sweetest tone.

 

"Not at all, ma'am." He said, keeping a stern face. Rain stepped to him and rested her hands on him. Then, she began healing his broken leg.

[Walker]

This whole time, Puppy had been sitting in the dark corner of the cellar or basement, whichever it may be. Long ago his thoughts had stopped rolling and were replaced with a sharp clarity of thought he had never experienced before. Without the large number of constricting emotions through his head, he had the ability to analyze the situation logically and plan a course of action. The answer was simple really. Stick was a man with a cold one-minded purpose. As long as Golden stayed out of his way when it came to him tracking down and killing his brother, then he was home free. His perfect solution was to stay away from the jerk. In his attempt to stay away from Stick, he didn't even allow himself to think of the man. The better he ignored him, the happier he would be.

 

Standing up, Puppy felt ready to return and confront the others. Once again, Puppy was making his way along the wall with only his hearing and touch to aid him. He felt as if he was getting closer to the stairs, when something caught his foot and caused him to trip. Falling flat on his face, his face started to burn. Reaching up, he realized he had scraped his forehead. Without much thought, he healed the scrape and then reached out to find what he had tripped over. After reaching blindly into space for a few seconds, his hand gripped around the wood of a well worn handle. Picking it up, Puppy wondered what he was holding when it came to him in a flood of disjointed images and emotions.

 

It happened in the briefest of seconds, but it felt like a millennia to Puppy as his hand gripped the handle tighter. First he felt the feel of sunshine and wet dirt on his fingers, and then the joy of an old man as he gardened. In that moment, Puppy felt as if he was the man who had held this garden shovel long ago and used it to plant his garden. The feel of joy the man had felt while planting radiated from the shovel as if the object had absorbed all his feelings. Dropping the shovel, Puppy gasped and shook himself, wondering what had happened. He turned around and stumbled up the stairs and out of the basement as fast as he could.

 

Standing in front of the door, Puppy shivered as he wondered at what had just happened. All he wanted to do was escape. Walking as fast as he could in away from the basement, Golden speedily walked through the hallways. A few of the Agnimitra looked at him strangely as he rushed by them as fast as he could without running, but no one said anything. Finally he stopped in a hallway where there was no one. He stood there frozen for a few seconds, but he had to know. Looking around, he located a vase sitting on an antique table. Hesitantly, he went over and brushed his fingers across the vase and gasped again as disjointed images rushed through his brain. First it was of the feel of clay on his fingers and then joy of molding the pot. For the briefest second Puppy felt as if he was the potter who had made that pot, and the joy of producing something so beautiful out of a lump of clay flowed through him.

 

Taking his fingers off the vase, Golden looked around in dismay. He knew these weren’t his own feelings, so how was he feeling them? Experimenting, Puppy walked along the hallway, touching every object he could. Some of the objects told him nothing… but others sent a flood of emotions and images from the previous owners rushing through him. He wondered in disbelief as he made his way along the hallway as he touched every object he could to see what it had to say.

 

…

 

Stick frowned. Of all his possessions, his dagger was perhaps his most treasured, other then his green shirt, which had already been ruined. The dagger was to him like the friend he had never had, a constant companion who was there for him whenever he needed it… except now. For the sake of his dagger, he was willing to go along with what the two were saying, for a short while at least. He would hold the ploy until one of them gave it back, or until he tracked it down himself. After that, he would find the nearest exit and bolt into the huge wide world.

 

If his trick was going to work though, he knew that he couldn’t be too complacent, because that would immediately alert Rain that something was dreadfully wrong. Rain knew him well enough to tell when he was trying to pull a fast one, so he had better play his cards right. “I’ll stay.” He said, “but… on a few conditions.” He let silence settle for a few moments. “I get my own room with no guards and that hatchling from earlier is the one to heal me.”

 

He had no idea if either of them would accept the conditions, but he hoped they would. It would be best for all of them. If he had is own room, he could slip off whenever he pleased with no one to stop him and there would be no guards Rain would have to patch up like ragdolls in the process. The reason Stick had mentioned the hatchling is because he very well knew the youngling couldn’t handle healing such an injury. The question was did Rain and the other girl know that. That was not the only reason though. The hatchling looked strangely like someone Stick had once known and that was bothering him. He had to know why.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Dashidragon

[Kira1]

((aw, what a cute power for Puppy. X3))

 

When Stick said he would stay Midnight smiled, but as he continued on she frowned a bit. Not a disapproving smile, but a sad smile that meant it was too bad he couldn't just stay. Period. "Well, of course you can have your own room," Midnight began, thinking the situation over, " and I don't really get why you want Puppy to be the one to heal you. I don't suppose I could stay while he heals you to find out? Or is there something else? Puppy did react quite strangely when he first met you. Other than that, it's really up to Rain."

[Key2Universe]

((Poor Puppy about the whole Stick thing. He is so happy and bubbly, it's sad when he gets that depressed. ))

Rain sighed when she heard Stick listing off demands.

 

Of course he can't just accept these kind people's help, he has to attack them and try to take advantage of them. Will he ever change? And he thinks I'll let him alone with that young dragon that he shoved? Is he insane? Rain sighed again and pushed away the thoughts to finish healing this man. After the bone was successfully together Rain opened her eyes and smiled at him.

 

"Thank you for your dedication, even if he doesn't appreciate it." Rain said sweetly to him. He nodded, not looking at her, but a small smile crept over his face. Rain smile then turned back to Stick and put her hands on her hips.

 

"Oh, so you have demands? You can never be grateful for what these kind people offer you, huh?" She said then shook her head. "I agree with Midnight, you can have your own room. I will not post people by your door for you can use as your play things. I will warn you that guards are posted around the perimeter, should you try to escape. And as for the young dragon you shoved away this morning, Puppy, we will talk to him. If he wants to help you, then he can. Midnight and I will supervise, in case he needs any aid in healing you or in case you decide to attack him again. And if you do get past the guards on the perimeter and you want to leave so badly, I won't stop you. I won't send anyone after you, to waste their time, either." She said looking into his yellow eyes.

 

She had specifically avoided promising that she would not go after him. If he truly wanted to get away from her so badly, Rain would let him go, but she had a feeling there was more to it than just that, which is why she wanted him to stay. She smiled on the inside that he had decided to stay at all. After she had finished talking to the Elder, Puppy, and anyone else that needed her, she was going to spend some time looking at his prized dagger. She had always been curious about it, and figured she wouldn't get another chance to check it out.

[Kira1]

"Those plans sound good to me," Midnight agreed with Rain. If he was so intent on leaving, then this set-up should work out for the best. And there was always the option of just knocking him out, but that wasn't always the best. When they did talk with Puppy, hopefully she could get him to cheer up more since he always seemed so down about something. Almost as if he felt that if he became too happy all the time it would be like a sin. He was fourteen, he should live a carefree life.

Luckily, they had Rain with them now. She was always so wise and could make others feel better, well, except Stick since he resisted.

[Skarx]

Sayuk stepped forward, entering the room.

 

Oh? You often use trick like this to force people to listen to you? I don't get why you force him to stay if he does not want to. You can't rely on someone who dislike you and obey only because you hold something he want back. The second he gets it forget about him.

 

He didn't care if they only did this to heal him, for his health. For all he cared, this fool could just go die in a ditch. Now what he did care for was what Midnight might to tell them from her visit to the leader. Unless they really were just left on their own she may have a clue to help him understand the place. He needed their trust before questioning anyway.

 

Now what did the elder say we should do now?

[Walker]

((lol It is kind of cute. I made you sad? I know this sounds weird but you just gave me a huge compliment. That means my writing is evoking emotion in the reader which is the whole point of writing, right? At least I know I'm doing a decent job in that area then.))

 

The more objects Puppy touched the more he started to realize how his new power seemed to work. The items that gave him no sense of emotions seemed to be commonplace items, such as toothbrushes, objects people had used but never really thought much of or loved. The objects that gave the most sense of emotions were older objects, ones that had generations to collect and absorb emotions from their owners. One that gave him the largest range of emotions was a typewriter. When he touched it, the emotions of dozens of people who had sat over it and wrote both happy and tear wrenching letters and stories washed over him.

 

Every time he touched something, he drew away like a bolt of lightening and gasped. His whole body seemed to rebel against accepting these emotions, just like a body sometimes attacks a donor organ, but he was strangely addicted to the experience. Whenever he came across a new item, his hand would hesitate over it briefly and then he would bravely touch it before drawing away like someone who had been bit. It was when he came to an antique sword that he realized what he was doing wrong. As he touched the sword, the joy of battle rushed through him and he felt the familiar feel of the hilt as he danced with it across the battlefield in graceful movement. He drew away once again, but he was strangely drawn to this weapon. It was deadly yet so beautiful it brought an ache to his chest. Touching it again, he allowed his hesitation to seep away.

 

As soon as his hesitation stopped, his body stopped rebelling against the experience and it became natural to absorb all the emotions and feelings. Before he knew it, Puppy had become a partly different person. No longer was he just Golden, but also the man who had weilded the weapon. Picking it up, he allowed himself to slash at invisible enemies and flourish the weapon in beautiful displays of swordsmanship. The weapon itself was teaching him how to brandish it, or more correctly, he knew from the experience of the man who had previously wielded it.

 

"What do you think you are doing young man?" a voice called from across the hall in a disapproving way. The voice broke his concentration and he immediately dropped the weapon. When the contact broke, he was simply Puppy again. Puppy's mouth opened to formulate an excuse but nothing came. He looked over and saw a man who was looking at him.

 

"Weapons are dangerous. Don't play with them." The man said gruffly and picked up the weapon, returning it to the table where it had been displayed. "But that was excellent swordsmanship you showed there. Where did someone your age learn to do that? Usually it takes decades to develop that sort of skill with a blade."

 

He wanted to say he knew nothing about swordsmanship, and it was true now that he had dropped the weapon. He wanted to say the weapon had taught him how, but he also didn't want to end up in an insane asylum, so he just stared, unable to explain the experience to the man.

 

...

 

Stick accepted their offer with quiet fortitude. It wasn't quite what he was hoping for, but it was good enough. He knew he was easily capable of slipping past the guards around the perimeters. They would probably be looking for a man with yellow eyes and red hair, which was something Stick could change with little thought. Having the girl supervise him during the healing was a small inconvenience, but having Rain there was his biggest problem. If the boy could manage to heal his wing even slightly, the problem would be flying away before Rain was able to heal the rest. He had to hope the boy was capable of healing the wing to an extent where he could fly on it for at least a few minutes. If he could manage that then he had a chance.

 

Of course he would have to come back for his dagger if the boy managed to heal him and if he had to escape before he got his hands on it. That might be the biggest of all his problems, but he would consider that later. At the moment his problem was his plans were full of 'ifs' but perhaps it wouldn't even really matter. Stick rarely ever stuck to his own plans in the end anyway.

 

A man he did not like the look of stepped into he room, but he figured it was just from the racket he had been making. He chose to ignore the mans enterance and looked back at Rain and the girl. "Agreed. Now tell these two monkeys to get their hands off of me." he glared at Mark and his nameless brother. Their grip was tight enough that his skin was turning red.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Dashidragon

[Key2Universe]

((Oh, your writing is wonderful! Very captivating!))

 

Rain turned when Sayuk entered. She listened to his harsh words. She raised her eyebrows.

 

Why don't remember where I know him from. He seems like a very memorable character. Rain thought to herself. She was annoyed with him for a moment, but let out a breath and let her frustration deflate. Some of the Agnimitra adopt these thoughts to survive. I cannot judge him harshly for that. I must remember where I know him from, though. Rain thought to herself. She looked at Sayuk.

 

"You make a valid point. That is why I am only trying to keep him until he is healed. And if he truly wishes to leave, nothing is stopping him. I don't ask him to aid our cause, either. I help anyone who needs it." Rain said. She then turned away from Sayuk to look back at Stick. She would leave Midnight to the new members she had recruited. When Rain looked back at Stick, he seemed deep in thought. After a moment he spoke again.

 

"Sorry, could you both let him go?" Rain asked, nicely. The men immediately dropped their hold and stepped closer to her, as if they would guard her. Rain saw the red marks from their grasp and gasped a little. She instinctively was drawn to the pain and stepped towards him, then stopped. She remembered how much he hated her touch. She felt some sort of emotion building inside of her, and as it reached her facial expression, she turned her back to him.

 

"Mark, would you mind showing Stick the nicest guest chambers. He has had a rough day." She said, her voice lacking its normal calm, soothing tone. Normally, they reserved those chambers for her, but she felt terrible for causing him any sort of pain. She hated causing anyone or thing pain. Rain let out a deep breath, then looked at Midnight.

 

"I am going to look for that young dragon, Puppy, was it? I would like to hear his decision as soon as possible." She said. She then stepped out the door before anyone could say anything else and began heading down the hall. She then sent a message out to the Resistance members staying there.

 

Has anyone seen a young male Agnimitra? Should look to be a young teenager in his human form. He is called Puppy. She continued walking down the hall quickly, waiting for a response.

 

I am with a young boy. I just found him in the West Wing, main hall with Garowyn's sword. He is a very skilled swordsman. One of the male Agnimitra replied. Rain nodded and headed in that direction.

 

Thank you, I am on my way there now. She thought back to the man.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Key2Universe

[Kira1]

Midnight looked to Sayuk when he spoke, sighing after he said his thought. Why was he always so heartless? It wouldn't hurt him to lighten up a bit. Stick then asked for the guards to let go of him, which Rain had them do and noticed the red marks left on Stick's arm. Midnight saw how much Rain wanted to rush forward and heal Stick, but she held back, turning her back to the man before announcing her intentions and left the room to look for Puppy.

"I guess I'll meet you in the guest chambers later. Still have to remind Puppy about some guidelines," Midnight muttered the last part mostly to herself before turning back to Sayuk. "Sorry, you asked me a question, right? About the elder?"

[Skarx]

Sayuk looked at Rain go away. He just couldn't remain unaffected by her presence... She didn't seem to remember him, but he could not help the fear that she could blast his cover for some reason. When she left he felt the pressure go away. He then focused again on Midnight when she spoke to him.

"Yes, did the leader want us to do something? Us the new ones."

He smelled the room, the odor of the infirmary reminded him of some other place, less kind that this. There was this one hospital where he had worked in. The only time he worked with a human after joining Dark. That one had a special place in his mind. He killed his own race, the reason? He liked to study humans in every shape and fashion. He owned a small hospital in a desolated place, lost somewhere in the woods. He would walk around find some wounded humans, that Sayuk helped wound sometime, tell them he could help them and lure them to the hospital. There he would judge if the subject was good or not for his experiment. If it was not then he would heal him and release him. If it was... he would attach them and open then taking part out one at a time. The human itself was dead, war had made him crazy. Good memory these were, it showed how easy it was to control humans.

 

((This is sadly close to a true story... but I don't remember it exactly.))

 

 

 

[Kira1]

((thats a sad story.))

 

"I was put in charge overseeing new arrivals since the elder is currently busy as well as anyone else who would originally have this job. We seem to be low on hands here for now. I suppose what we should do is asses your skills, just to find out where you be best suited. I can tell that Kiri and Puppy are eager to help in anyway they can, but what about you? You never seem exactly enthusiastic about anything," Midnight replied to Sayuk. She figured that Puppy would do best learning from Rain about healing since he already showed somewhat of a talent for it. Kiri she wasn't sure exactly since the girl hadn't showed off any skills to Midnight yet. There was that one thing she did with the clouds. To have her provide support with this kind of ability could prove helpful to their stealth. But what was Sayuk's strengths?

[Skarx]

After Midnight had finished talking Sayuk just looked at her. So she was in charge of them. He didn't look eager to do anything hum? Rushing things never did anything good so he was rarely eager to much, but he still had a limit to his patience. He decide not to talk about him and his lack of enthusiasms at helping the resistance. Putting his foot in his mouth would be easier if he was pressed on these kind of questions.

"How do you want to test my skills?"

He wondered if it would be in a fight, like it was in Dark's army. He was a good fighter, not like he would have a choice being the rank he is but it was not his favorite sport.

"I'm ready when you are. I don't have anything to do for now anyway. Where do you think I should go?"

He then waited calmly. Rain was gone so he didn't have to stress over her anymore.

 

((Yeah... though it was on a military place. Soldiers go t it the worst... They found all kind of body part in the back room... Gruesome. Poor them.))

[Kira1]

((aw, poor them ]: ))

 

"That's what I am trying to figure out, though you seem like the kind who would be a fighter. I guess a spar with you would be the easiest way to find out. Is that okay with you?" Midnight asked. She made this assumption merely by his demeanor, which seemed like that of a fighter's. Someone who does well in the face of battle, and in Sayuk's case, does well when shutting off to emotions of attachment which could get in the way of harming your enemy. She figured it would take Puppy many years before he learned how to harden himself in order to harm enemies without regrets. Kiri would be better at learning that quickly, simply because she was older.

[Skarx]

((Yeah... on the bright side the madman was killed. So he's not on the loose anymore.))

 

A fight? Interesting.

"If you wish. Chose where you want to fight and how you want to fight."

Now they were talking business so Sayuk was more interested. At least none of the other pest were still around to slow them down. He left the infirmary, pretty sure this would not be the place they would fight. There was one other point he did wanted to say before anything else.

"I do not want to put on a show. So if we can go somewhere now one, or barely anyone would be in case one of us get wounded in battle it would be better."

He waited for Midnight to open the way and he followed her to the location she would chose. He prepared himself to use his magic if needed and mentally prepared to enter a fight. No matter what kind of fight it was, he always entered a match with a goal in his mind. In this one it was not to show off all he had, but to prove he could handle himself just fine.