Balance

[EvilTeddyAlchemist]

(( That's so sweet, we all understand of course.^^ Take as much time away from here as you need. Right Bubbles?))

 

Kuro noticed the disappointment in Sooty's reaction and his pride instantly crashed,

"Weeeell, I guess I was kinda... Ya'know, irrasional. But I was standing up for Shiro! You understand right?" He was apologising, somewhat, but his posture changed quickly to a more arrogant pose, "I think I won that fight don't you?" He was examining his finger nails in a stuck up fashion.

____________________

 

Out of the corner of his eyes Shiro caught a glimpse of Trinity looking at him, although he couldn't quite make out the expression she held. He felt utterly guilty and was sure the angel had no idea of the respect he held for him, he was sure he'd missed the apology. He wanted nothing more then for things to be simple once again, for him and Kuro to be the only things that mattered in his world again, but they weren't. His world had changed, grown, and though it was uncomfortable it was also irreversable. Shiro sighed at this seemingly cruel revelation and couldn't quite pull himself into the mind set he knew he needed for the mission. He just wasn't feeling the passion anymore. He looked back at Trinity and saw the crowd surrounding her, she'd fainted, he twitched to come to her aid but he knew that he'd already caused enough damage. Holding back while he watched another with a baby approach, he remembered that Solas couldn't come near a holy being without serious side effects. His eyes widened and he rushed to Trinity's aid,

"Trinity!" He realised it was stupid to say her name if she was unconcious so he turned to the angel, "I'm sorry my lord, please. I apologise for before it's just that she's my friend. So is he-" He pointed to Solas, "- and I know that he can't come near you. Please give her to me." He was desperate, for some reason he didn't trust the angel, he would only feel safe once Solas was taking care of her. He nodded at the girl with the baby but did nothing else to acknoledge her existence because of his hatred of little kids. He looked down at the vampire, intense concern clear on his face.

 

((Sorry for the many spelling mistakes again *sweatdrop* maybe I should use a dictionary from now on...))

[WonderBubbles]

((O' course. <3 My sympathies are with you, Angel. :[ ))

 

Her yellow eyes flicked back to Kuro when he started to sound apologetic. A dark brow arched and her ears flicked forward. Then he stood arrogantly and she let out a soft growl. Sooty rolled her eyes and quickened her pace to walk beside the female reaper. "Men," she muttered, her tail flicking in annoyance. Her black ears were tilted back and her eyes cold.

[Shadlok]

Trinity was starting to come back to her senses. Slowly. She could hear people talking but couldn't pick up the words, only hear the sounds of the voices. She recognised one voice to be Shiro and one to be Cole, but they weren't shouting any more. Just speaking. Her face was covered but she hadn't regained her body control yet. Instead she just lay there, trying to make out the drone of sound which were words.

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

Cole turned his head halfway, and used his eyes to finish the turn. "I understand why you reacted the way you did. I would have done the same. You say that y'all are friends and I respect that, but can't you see that just because you are friends doesn't mean you know best. Now I do not know much about the vampire race, having never seen one, but I have a general knowledge of them. And correct me if I am wrong, but out of the sun is better right? If so, why would I bring her to you, when right now she is able to rest, and remain out of the sun?" Cole wasn't trying to sound bossy, or stingy, just trying to figure it out. He had lowered his head, and furrowed his brow as if he was thinking. "How about," he began slowly, "we go look for an animal she can use to drink from? If we do, then we can bring it back alive, so that she can drink, get energy, then hunt for something larger if she wants? Also," Cole paused to look up at the elemental, "don't call me 'lord'. I have a name, and it is Cole."

[EvilTeddyAlchemist]

Shiro listened to what the angel had to say and knew he was right, no matter how iffy he felt about the boy it didn't matter. He nodded in agreement to finding food and was about to silently leave to hunt for something when the angel added not to call him 'lord' and that his name was Cole.

"Cole. I guess we got off on the wrong track, I was trying to be respectful by calling you lord." He shook his head, feeling the urge to move back into his old, rude self again,"I got the wrong first impression of you, and you got the wrong one of me as well so." he cleared his throat and smiled at Cole as if they had only just met, "Hi, I'm Shiro, an elemental with vampiric tendencies. Nice to meet you-" He held out his hand to shake, "- you seem nice," He hoped this would come off as a new start but he wasn't sure if it could somehow be interpreted into being patronising.

[Shadlok]

(Time skipped. 2 days later.)

 

Trinity wandered away from the rest of the group to the edge of the dakr caves and she smiled to herself. "I think I might make this place my home...after we have killed off these creatures." However, Trinity had a different idea on her mind. She had been considering it for a long part of the journey. She had decided she would steal one of the new hatchlings or an egg of one of the creatures and nurse it. Let it grow into an adult. Tame to her but to no one else. She would have to do this in secret of course. But her mind had been decided. That was her plan and she intended to stick to it.

 

------

 

Storm cradled Cody and looked at Cole. "I don't think I like the idea of this place." She then wondered if she had annoyed the angel with her chatter on the journey here. She still had to reveal her secret to him. She had planned to do it for a couple of days, but could never find the right time or the right place. She decided that the time was now, so she tugged him arm and pulled him to one side, away from ANY other members of the group. "Cole, I have something I have to tell you. I have to confess it, I have wanted to since I met you. I-" she looked away a blush on her cheeks. Storm realised just how much she must seem like she was about to confess she loved him, which she didn't, but it sounded like it. "I- Cody isn't really my brother." She looked down at the sleeping child and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "He isn't my brother because I was hurt, and he was a result. He is my son."

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

Cole smiled. He lifted his hand and shook it with a strong but friendly grip. "Hello Shiro, my name is Cole." Cole figured that this elemental was an OK person, and had the right to do every thing he did. "An elemental with vampiric tendencies? Interesting. I am a angel that knows a little of a lot and in some cases a lot of a little. You seem like you are a good fighter, it will be fun to see you you would hunt without killing." Cole's smile grew slightly.

 

*2 days later*

 

Cole remain behind his group. He was currently sitting on a branch in a tree, looking diagonally down at his team. He was smiling because Trinity seemed better, though she still had to wear the clock. Cole couldn't sense anything from Solas, which wasn't a surprise. He wondered if the Fallen was still mad at him about the incident from 2 days ago. When he jumped down, Storm was talking to him. He felt his sleeve get pulled, and merely followed her. The way Storm began, and the fact she blushed somewhat worried him. He let out a slight breath of air when she said Cody's name. She began with the fact that Cody wasn't really her brother, which didn't surprise him. What surprised him was when she said that Cody was her son. Cole remained quiet, unable to think of something to say.

 

((Grr, I got ninja'ed time to edit post.))

Edited July 26, 2010 by Forsaken Rider of Dreams

[Shadlok]

((*Evil Laugh*))

 

Storm looked into Cole'a eyes, trying to find what she found in most people. Disgust, anger, hatred, pity. But she couldn't read anything. "Cole? I don't care if you're...mad at me or something, but please, I just want to know. I mean, I understand... people think its disgusting too, so it's fine. If that whats you think..." she kept a straight face as she held Cody to her tighter, not hurting him though. Just protective of his tiny figure.

[Neutual Demon]

Xtero wandered silently, a bit aways from the group as they went. He wasn't too sure of himself if he could stick around with them. His choice of words when he spoke to them when he first met them made him uneasy with himself, and therefore kept his mouth shut for the past two days, if it was two days. The necromancer usually didn't keep track of such things. He learned very little of the group he was with, too busy lost in thought and being angry with himself about conversations in the past that he didn't listen to the conversations at present. Although he was at odds with himself, the group didn't seem to mind his presence. That is, if he didn't bother any of them, which he didn't, knowing better than to stay something stupid or get angry at something petty.

 

((Bah, pretty much posted so I wouldn't get left behind...))

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

Cole lifted an eyebrow. "Mad? Why would I be mad?" He almost laughed, finding it funny that that would be what Storm thought he would have reacted like. "I am not mad. There is no reason to be mad or disappointed or any other form of negative emotion. Everyone has secrets and that is the first thing I had to accept before being allowed to come here. But, there is nothing gross about it. It is disappointing that it was an accident, but through the accident came a miracle."

[WonderBubbles]

Team Uno was on the edge of a forest, near a large plain. It was midday and suprisingly good weather. Sooty's golden eyes were focused upon the large Cave Demon feasting on a dead buck. Her tail flicked and her brow creased. "There it is," she muttered. It's crest was a crimson red and it held it's tails low. It seemed as though all it's attention was focused on it's kill. It couldn't hear them walking through the forest toward it, so the shifter assumed talking was okay. "Now what?"

[EvilTeddyAlchemist]

Shiro was looking in the opposite direction to the demon Sooty's gaze was fixed on. He was walking backward and laughing about some childish joke with Kuro. Over the past two days he'd been ellated that they were back to being close but he also had this nagging feeling of lonliness. Trinity, Cole... Solas. All his friends besides Sooty and Kuro, who were either family or close enough anyway, were in team Dos. He felt as if he was torn between family and friends, not caring and caring, his old life and his new one. Kuro, of course, was always making a joke or doing something stupid or fighting and this helped Shiro take his mind off things. It'd taken him two whole days to finally feel like himself again, feel natural, then he heard Sooty's voice.

"Huh?" He turned around to see the vicious creature and his corpse meal far enough away not to hear them or notice their presence.

"Dunno, maybe Kira can enlighten us as to the plan we're actually taking?" He turned to the gunswoman expectantly.

___________________________

 

Kuro cracked up laughing at his own joke, walking beside and behind Sooty and infront of Shiro. When Sooty stopped he stopped beside her, his humour was now gone, too disgusted by the sight infront of him. When Shiro mentioned Kira, he turned to smirk at her. They'd gotten into half fights and petty arguments during the entire two days they'd been travelling and he was starting to feel fond of their hate-hate relationship. He waited for her to reply so that he could butt heads with her once again.

 

((Mostly improv. Thanks for the time skip it did kinda feel as if it was going nowhere^^))

[Kira1]

((lol hate-hate relationship. i love it~ >w<))

 

Kira looked at the beast before them, eating its kill and was oblivious to their presence. Sooty asked as to what they would do now, and Shiro asked his own question, turning to look at Kira. Kuro also looked to her and waited for a response. With a cold look, she stared back before speaking.

"If it's up to me, then we're starting with long range. If the first few hits don't hit it, we'll need something to distract it. Since Signum and I have good long range attacks, that's what we'll be doing. I suppose if you have any, fire away as well with us, but then someone has to run out to distract while we attack again from far away. Any questions?" She looked around to everyone in the group.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Kira1

[WonderBubbles]

((It's not in a cave. x3 The Crawler's in the cave. ^^ The Leo-Bird's out in a large meadow.))

 

The shifter's ears twitched when Kuro and Shiro joined them. Her golden eyes flicked to him and she saw the disgusted expression on his face. She'd forgiven him during the long walk to their target. At Kira's reply, she glanced at the Team members. "Who's a fast runner?" Sooty asked, arching a brow. "My other form's got speed."

[EvilTeddyAlchemist]

Shiro and Kuro both raised their hands at Sooty's question. Water made the ground easier to runon for Shiro asnd he could draw the water from the moisture in the air ((Just assuming there's a lot of moisture.)). Fire gave Kuro a burst of speed as well, in fact brute strength and speed were their strong points. Long ranged attacks always hit more then just their targets and because of their speed they weren't very good at sharp turns, but it was speed that Sooty was after and that was what they had.

___________

 

Kuro looked at Kira again and smirked in a mocking way, without saying anything he had practically just accused her of being a whimp. Wanting back up while she fought from the side lines, of course he'd already used 'whimp' as an insult a lot during the past two days. So far though, it'd always made her angry. ((Just assuming again.))

Edited July 28, 2010 by EvilTeddyAlchemist

[Kira1]

((@Bubbles: >w<

 

@EvilT: You assume right~))

 

Kira looked to Sooty when she asked the question about who was a fast runner and Kuro and Shiro raised their hands. Sooty was also pretty quick if what she had said about her other form was true. Kira then turned to look back at their target creature, ignoring Kuro, before speaking.

 

"Then you'll be good for something. Now, I doubt that creature will die after a few hits and when it gets hit, it'll be angry. That's when we'll need something to distract, keep it busy with something while we continue our hidden attack. Hopefully that thing will be too stupid and stay focused on the ones running around it, so then it won't come looking for us. Also, one of its strengths is speed, so focus more on moving faster than it instead of attacking. You're no good if you're injured. You'll still need to attack it so it'll stay focused on you. Archon can either join Signum and I in long range or be in down in the fray with the others. Charin, same for you, since I haven't seen what you two can do. Then, with that hide of only fur and feathers, it shouldn't be long before it becomes gravely injured when being barraged with attacks. When it's too weak to fight back, kill it swiftly."

 

She looked to the three who she knew would be running around when she said to kill it swiftly. Her face was serious, obviously not messing around since their target was right before them. This wasn't something she was going to let them mess up. And if they did somehow fail, it would be their hides she would target.

 

Kira waited to see if anyone had a question.

[jaina]

"Archon will likely be down in the melee," Signum said to Kira as she drew her sword. She took the sheath and attached it to the pommel, letting the magic activate and form her sword into it's bow form. She sublimated an arrow out of the air with it's large head and gently held it in her hand as she cast a small barrier on the tip to help contain the explosion and increase the power. "I'm ready whenever, Kira, just say the word, I'll fire first, mine will probably concuss it for a moment, so go for it's eyes or another soft spot if you can." She said softly. She moved forward, arrow notched, but not pulled back, she'd do that when she was ready, an accident at this range could basically kill most all of them.

[WonderBubbles]

The shifter nodded in agreement, seeing the logic of the plan. "It sounds good," she commented, with a quick grin. "I'll be back in a second." She walked a few metres away from them and hid behind a bush. She removed her packs and clothing. Then she shifted; black, patterned fur sprouted from her skin and she dropped to all fours. Her body changed and she let out a low growl. Sooty pawed her belongings into a neat pile, then slunk out to the Team. She sat on her haunches beside Kuro, leaning against him gently. The black leopard needled the ground with wickedly curved claws.

[EvilTeddyAlchemist]

The plan was good, no matter how much Kuro hated that it was Kira's, and he smirked at her 'kill it fast'. He pulled out the dagger and looked at it fondly,

"I'll kill. I specialise in the last blow." He flicked that dagger around as Sooty came pawing back, he grinned.

"Leave the kill to me guys, ok?"

____________-

 

Shiro nodded at Kuro's dibs on the kill. They'd been fighting together for too long for him to feel safe leaving the last blow with anyone other than his brother and that dagger. He smiled at Kira, hoping their seeming truce was still on,

"I like it, run around attacking soft spots and when it's weak Kuro strikes him down. While we're doing that you guys are giving it painful and brutal injuries from the side lines. It sounds like my kind of plan." He grinned and Kuro scowled at how good he was acting around Kira.

 

(( I hope Kira doesn't hate Shiro aswell...))

[jaina]

Signum heard Kuro's request to have the killing blow and turned to him quietly saying, "I can try, but explosions make things like that hard, Kuro." She turned back to watch their target's movements as she waited for everyone else to get ready. She was in a peeped crouched position with one more or her special arrows off to the side prepped for use if she could.

[Kira1]

((lol, EvilT, Kira just hates everyone But some can gain her respect if they're not idiots and/or brats.))

 

Kira just nodded to the others, not too worried about the ones who would be fighting the beast in close range. If Kuro was so filled with confidence as he was, she wouldn't worry, and wouldn't feel bad if the brat was injured or killed either.

"We should get started then," she said as she took a hold of her rifle, loading it with a few explosive rounds, and was ready to go. Kira then turned to face their target as Signum had, taking a place about five feet away from the other where she had a clear shot.

"After we fire, that's your cue to rush in and attack," Kira told them, lining up her shot, aiming for a soft spot on the shoulder to take out a leg.

[Darkshadow]

Solas looked over at Trinity, who seemed to be staring into the dark caves, thinking something. From the usual look on her face, he would guess that she was plotting something, and whatever she was plotting was going to give him shivers. He still was not wearing his cloak, since Trinity was still wearing it for protection against the sun, and was still a safe distance away from Cole the angel. Solas had finally forgiven the angel for doing such a thing to Trinity, but he couldn't say anything like 'I forgive you' because, well, he was mute. Solas held his silver sickle, having freshly sharped it on his whetstone, as well as polished it with oilcloth. One had to take care of his weapons, or they would rust and grow dull, becoming useless for either attack or defense. He stepped into the shade of the cave, his eyes and ears straining to hear, to see anything at all. Nothing. The caves were as dark as ever, and the air was filled with tension.

[WonderBubbles]

((Red is for the cave demons. ))

 

The cave demon looked up, it's beak bloody and the short fur on it's face was crimson, too. It blinked it's large eyes and looked toward the sky. It was unused to the sunlight after living in the caves of it's homeland. It's tails writhed and the blades grated against one another. It had nothing to fear; everything was so easy to kill. It rolled it's shoulders, then started to pad away from the devoured carcass. All that was left was a red mess. It's claws dug into the ground with each step and the soft ground sunk a little beneath it's steps. It was larger than a normal Leo-Bird; reaching a full twelve feet from beak tip to blade end. It let out a coughing rumble, then crooned softly to itself.

 

~

 

The Crawler moved through the cave tunnel; it's gait was strange, jerky, but swift. It snapped it's jaws and it's crimson eyes gleamed. It had heard something from the cave entrance; prey. It's pincers clicked and claws scratched at the rocky earth. It was female and had eggs close by. She had eaten her mate, as was customary. He had served his purpose in life. The eggs were covered in a luminous slime and weighed a fair bit. They were mottled green and dark yellow. She stopped at the corner and peered around it. There was a group of strange, upright beings. She let out a threatening gurgle and settled down to wait for them to come to her.

[Shadlok]

Trinity looked up to see a large beast. Swift... Beautiful. It brought to her a sense of dread that she knew she would have to help her team kill this thing. It made her words stick in her throat, leaving her only a croak which escped, but it could have been mistaken for a small whimper of fear or something of the sort. She looked at Solas and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, trying to comfort herself. "A-are you ready to ki-kill this thing?" she asked, taking a sword from a sheath and holding it to her side. Then peeled her lips back, revealing a sharp pair of fangs.

 

~~~~~

 

Storm saw as a giant, horrific beast clattered towards the entrance of the prey. She wanted it dead. As soon as it was, the fear for her life and her sons would be over. She looked towards Trinity and Solas who were closest to the cave, and then she tightened her grip on her son, before putting him gently underneath a set of weeds and bush, then walked back towards Cole and removed daggers from the sheaths at her waist.

 

[Neutual Demon]

Xtero cocked his head as two from the group stood close to the mouth of a cave. Now that he looked around, from everyone else's stances, it seemed that they were going to the cave. He shrugged to himself, stepping forward so he could see more clearly into the cave at his distance. From the movements from one closest to the cave, it seemed that whatever was in there was close by, but he needed to get closer to see it. Xtero sighed softly, walking forward until he stood behind the two closest to the cave. He blinked, looking at the beast in the cave before sniffing. The smell of death lurked about in the darkness with the creature, but there was little that was useable for him. That would mean if they were going to attack the creature, he would have to use spirits, which drained him much faster than animated corpses. With no weapon on hand, it was the only thing he had to fight the creature. Xtero blew out a long sigh, taking a step back so that he wouldn't be in the way of things.