Balance

[WonderBubbles]

She was dropped gently to the ground, and only then was she aware of the high-pitched tone ringing in her ears. A hand flashed in front of her eyes and she glanced up, blinking, at Zhiess. He looked a little fuzzy around the edges, but it didn't bother her too much. Movement through the mist drew her attention away from the elemental, and she saw the other All-Seer, large than the first, explode in a shower of acid as one of Signum's arrows hit it. The force of the explosion was so strong, the thick goo that showered outward almost reached where she sat. Sooty flinched away from it as it devoured the layer of loose top-soil, turning it a sort of burnt black colour. The shifter would hate to think what it would do to flesh and bone.

[Kira1]

Now that all of the All-Seers were gone, Kira supposed she should see which of her teammates were still alive. She knew that Signum was fine, but there was Zhiess and Sooty she did not know the condition of. The vampire made her way over to where Zhiess was with Sooty, noticing the trickle of blood down the side of her face coming from her ear.

 

When Zhiess saw her approach he decided that he should fill her in of Sooty's condition.

"She's bleeding from the ear, so it's safe to say she can't hear us. Though, it's most likely something she can recover from easily...are you alright?"

He noticed the spots on her arm where acid had hit her and wondered if it hurt.

 

"I'm fine," she replied, moving her arm behind her to where he couldn't see it. Though it was hard to hide her wounds from those behind her since it was quite obvious. Soon she would need to drink some blood and hanging around the others would only make her want to go after their blood more and more in order to heal. Of course that won't be a good thing because she would bite to kill. Luckily, there was a whole forest of animals around them that she could hunt.

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

Jeff turned and loosely pulled up a smile. The bottom of his jeans were torn, rather burned, to shreds and he was bleeding from his legs. It was the same with his jacket and shirt. Though he seemed to have a lot of injuries nothing was serious nor would affect him any. Jeff made his way over too Kira and the others and yawned. "Well, seems like we did it, though not without receiving some injuries." Immediately Jeff felt stupid for stating the obvious but he couldn't think of anything else to say at the time.

[jaina]

Signum advanced from her cover with the death of the final All-seer. "Kira, take care of your needs sooner rather then later, we will wait for you," she said, Kira's aura had said more then enough for Signum to know what was needed. Her voice was calm but carried a note of both care and command as she began looking about for some remaing piece of the All-seer they could bring back as proof. With care she shifted through some of the more solid remains, her shield flaring when she hit unconsumed acid.

[Kira1]

"Go on ahead. I'll meet you back at the post office," Kira replied to Signum, before disappearing into the forest without another word. She found easy prey in the forest, so now the only thing that she would need to was acquire a new shirt and coat. The ones she was wearing was ruined because of the acid.

 

Zhiess watched as Kira left before, looking to the others.

"Well, I suppose we should head back then?"

[WonderBubbles]

She sat and watched the injured vampire walk over to them, noticing the burns and spots where her flesh had been melted away. It looked really painful; Sooty wondered how Kira was still standing. The shifter watched their mouths move, with no sound ever coming out. Something tickled against her cheek and she moved her hand up to brush it away. It felt sticky, and she pulled her hand away to look at it. The red substance was smeared across her hand; her eyes flew wide open when she realised it was blood. A worried whine slipped from her throat, that she couldn't hear, and she glanced around wildly, wanting help.

[Kira1]

((>.<))

 

When Zhiess heard Sooty whine, he decided that they shouldn't waste any more time here. He scooped Sooty up into his arms, carrying her bridal style, and faced the others.

"We should get going. I see Signum has something to bring back as proof," he said before heading back the way they came to get to the post office.

 

((Bubbles, might as well time skip to where they're all back at the post office, no?))

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

((Took longer then anticipated.))

 

Jeff scratched his head as he watched the other members shuffle around to various tasks that they self assigned. He felt odd, being the only one not doing anything and did a small jog to catch up to Zhiess and Sooty. As he walked along side of them he tried to think of something to say, ending up with, "hey Zhiess, do you want me to carry your weapons since you are carrying her?"

[Kira1]

"Naw, I'm good, thanks though," Zhiess replied, though that reminded him he didn't need the weapon anymore. There was a swirl around the scythe before it disappeared from sight and he just kept walking along with Sooty in his arms.

 

The group trekked back to the post office together where they when in to meet with dragon anthro to report their accomplishment.

Just as they were returning, Kira was suddenly amongst them no longer wearing clothes that were burned by acid. She appeared to be back to her normal self with her eyes staring coldly ahead.

[WonderBubbles]

It was raining and incredibly cold when they reached the streets of Lindon. Sooty was walking again, having regained her wits and most of her hearing. She was huddled in her cloak, sticking close to Zhiess' side, as he seemed to be the one that wanted to take care of her. They reached the Post Office sooner than the miserable feline expected; the trip back seemed to take forever.

Fraener greeted them in the warmth of the reception, where a fire was crackling away quite happily in the hearth, and glanced at them expectantly.

Sooty made a bee-line for the fire, dropping her cloak on the floor beside her as she sat as close as she dared.

 

~

 

Team Dos had reached their destination; a large forest, complete with a bubbling stream to one side and a steep cliff to the other. The Caster was curled up across the sun-lit clearing, fiddling with something that glimmered each time it caught the weak sunlight. It was quite a large one, and seemed to have just finished a meal, by the looks of the pile of bloody clothing a few yards away. His dark-green scales were reminiscent of the colour of thick, goopy poison; there were streaks of black in strange patterns, thicker around his short legs. His large, curved shield on the end of his tail lay flat on the ground, absorbing the sunlight more effectively than the rest of his body.

[Neutual Demon]

Xtero peeked out from behind a large tree, a frown crossing his lips. "So the turtle resides on the rock for warmth, not heeding the whispers of wings," he murmured quietly to himself. His brows furrowed slightly as he tried to recall the stats on the creature in the clearing ahead. Being able to use magic and bad of hearing where the only two he could remember, which was good enough in his opinion. Yet, was this thing resistant to magic as well? The necromancer sighed. Without any weapons besides his fist, he was useless unless his abilities at necromancy were superior to that of this Caster's. He glanced around him, trying to see if the others of the team had any idea of what action to take.

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

Jeff shivered. He could feel it getting cold as he was walking back and by the time the group got back it was completely cold, and not only cold, raining. Jeff muttered and used his powers to detour the rain drops the best he could, but there were millions of them he had to move which was no easy task. He couldn't wait to get inside and dry his clothes. He may be water based, but he hated wet clothes. As Jeff entered the door he nodded and smiled at the dragon anthro, a slight indication that they won, though he wasn't going to stay and talk about it as he went directly to his room.

[warewolves]

Beside the fire, Zack gazed to sooty. his eyes were blank, and he closed them for a moment. For once, he had no drinks in sight and he just stared at her. Then he crossed thr room in three big strides and enveloped her in his wings and hugged her. Instantly his warmth flowed through her. "Forgive me...." He whisperd. Then he let her go and walked away.

 

Mitosu came in and dried off her soked clothes for only a moment. Then she walked out and headed to her room.

[WonderBubbles]

Soft, feathery wings obscured her view of the dancing flames and wrapped around her; she felt secure in the added embrace of the strong arms, as well. Sooty reached up to cup the fallen angel's face, but she moved too slowly, for he was already walking away. The shivers that had been violently shaking her body were smothered by the warmth Zack had left her with, and she turned her torso to look at him as he moved away.

The feline quickly leapt up, and followed him, snaking an arm around his waist and pulling him close to her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked the sober fallen, peering into his eyes with a concerned expression.

Her other hand moved up and she went to softly brush her fingers along his jaw line.

[warewolves]

Zack gazed at her and closed his eyes. "Many things are wrong." He hugged her and kisse her deeply. Then he steppe back and said "Stay bu the fire. I need some time alone. I'll come and get you later." And he gazed at her for a moment, before turning and leaving.

[WonderBubbles]

((*pokes for more substance to your posts* :3?))

 

Sooty let him go as he stepped away, her ears tilting backwards and tail hanging limp. Her yellow eyes watched him as he left, and she wandered back to the fire. The shifter curled up in the same posture she had held before, staring absently into crackling flames. The giraffe receptionist hesitantly pushed another log onto the hearth, sending up small plumes of smoke into the rest of the room.

 

~

 

Fraener, having seen the proof of the kill, caught the attention of the remaining Slayers in the room by clearing his throat.

"Your pay is by the desk, and you'll be briefed on your next mission once Team Dos returns from theirs. There's going to be a joint mission coming up, and I'll sort out the members of the Teams before you all leave for that one. They're getting a bit full, and I'm sure you're sick of the people in your team," the old dragon grinned cheekily, before gesturing to the small sacks of gold. "Take what's yours, nothing else." He gave them a mock-serious look and left, heading for his office.

[Kira1]

((*pokes the post as well but is a bit more strict about it* You need longer posts. The post is two line longs, and while it may be the minimum amount of sentences, those sentences are kind of short and we would really appreciate it if you would put more effort into the post and give it more body so then we have a bit more to go on for our posts. :3))

 

Kira's gaze narrowed when Fraener mentioned a join mission between the two teams. She had to deal with this bunch of idiots, and now she had to deal with new idiots? Learning how a group worked took a bit of time, and she was getting a good idea of how the people she was teamed with worked. Well, not like she could do anything about this. She was getting paid, and it wasn't going to be her fault if anyone died because of their stupidity.

After Fraener told them to take what was theirs, Kira did just that and left the room, preferring not to stay in the company of the others any longer than she had to. There were things she had to attend to anyways.

 

Once Sooty was inside and by the fire, Zhiess assumed she would be alright now. He watched though as this person from before came to her, but then left her side, and she ran after him. He wondered just what was going on between those two. Sooty didn't deserve to be ignored like that. He over heard the guy mention wanting to be alone. Zhiess couldn't help but think that if he was having a hard time, he wouldn't mind a pretty girl like Sooty comforting him. She was quite a sweet girl.

His attention was brought to Fraener's desk when Kira swiped her payment from it and swiftly left. He stood there for a moment, before snapping out of it and pocketed his payment. On a whim, he decided his next action.

"Hey, Sooty," he said, walking over to her, "are you hungry? After what happened with your ears, I think it'd be good if you got some food in you."

[WonderBubbles]

She heard someone exiting the building, but didn't bother to check who it was. Coins chinked behind her and footsteps sounded quietly; the shifter had regained the hearing she realised she needed so much.

"Hey Sooty," Zhiess spoke from close by her, and her ear flicked in his direction before she turned her head to face him.

Was she hungry? Sooty wasn't sure, but then her stomach growled - quite loudly - causing her to chuckle quietly. Her ears tilted backward and she smiled, unsure, up at the Elemental.

"Sure, that'd be great," the shifter replied, before hauling herself up.

She remembered to pocket her share of the pay before turning to face Zhiess, smiling at him and admiring his blued hair.

[warewolves]

Suddenly a crash sounded from a nearby sidestreet. In the street Zack was talking with some people. One had just tried to smash a chair over his head. "I said Shudup!!!" Said the drunk one. Zack sighed and gazed at them, "An' stop reading me mind ya drunk" the other one said. Zack stopped the chair easily and layed it down so it wouldn't break. "I came in to get a drink, nothing more. If you do not move out of my way I will have to make you. And I'm not going to pay that ridiculus sum that you are imagining in your head." The man growled and attempted a punch. Zack sighed and said "So be it." He knocked the men out in two fell swoops of his wings, smacking them with a FWAP. He moved them out of the way of the door, and walked into the inn. It had rooms, and was serving some nice lamb. He grabbed himself a table and orderd some lamb and thrics as many drinks. "Ugh, I hate being sober." he mutterd. He rubbed his head. "If it's not enough to have to listen to them babling to hear them think even vulgar thoughts is unsaitable."

[Kira1]

Zhiess smiled back at Sooty and led the way out of the post office, where he then headed towards a quaint tavern where they could eat. It was calm inside, not much going on, and they were served quickly some hot food after ordering. A meal of meat and potatoes was always filling, with a nice cold drink to wash it down. It definitely helped relieved Zhiess' fatigue from today's mission.

 

((unless you have anything else planned, Bubbles, you should time skip and such so we can move on and continue with more interesting things :3))

[Forsaken Rider of Dreams]

The Jackal drew his swords and the cold steel scrapped past the edge of the sheath. He wasn't sure if it was loud or not but didn't care. The jackal looked over at the necromancer and smiled, before slowly entering a low chuckle and from there a bellowing laugh. The Jackal stopped caring if the snake thing could hear because fore him, it was time to kill.

 

Jeff re-enter the great room or lounge as others may call it. He had sort of changed. Except he only took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. He had arrived just in time to see the air elemental who happened to join when he did grab his money and go to the shifter. Using observation, Jeff knew to get the money and did, before he watched the shifter and the elemental leave. He chuckled as they left, he wasn't sure what he found funny, but it was funny.

 

 

 

[WonderBubbles]

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her clothed legs lazily and turning her gaze toward the older anthro. He stood at the head of the table, like so many times before. This time was different, however. The remaining members of both Teams were gathered around the long, dark-wood table. Her yellow eyes drifted over them; the three Reapers, standing with their airs of importance and superiority. The moody vampire, the sweet Elemental - whom she smiled at - and the fallen angels. The other Elemental, who'd she'd had no contact with, with the dark hair. The quiet anthro, who attracted her curiosity. Sooty had not met him before, and the mystery shrouding him made her fur crawl.

 

The long tail extending from the base of her spine twitched as Fraener cleared him throat, wordlessly calling for attention. Her keen gaze immediately focused on him, and she sat a little straighter.

"Now that you're all here, I would like to extend an invitation to the next mission that has been set by the officials about my position," he began.

The leopard raised an eyebrow; it wasn't like the usual ones, was it? An invitation, and by the higher-ups, as well. Her curved ears flicked above her head, and her tail loosely curled around the table leg.

"This mission will require an extensive amount of travel by boat. If the thought of this unsettles you, please speak up now, and you will be able to leave." The dragon anthro waited for an answer, glancing around the room.

Sooty raised her eyebrows, tilting her chin up. Boats were not her forte, but she would like to overcome that fear.

"I'd like to also inform you all that the pay for this mission will be incredibly handsome."

[warewolves]

Zack sighed and leaned against a corner, drinking as usual. He wasn't ignoring Sooty, but he saw the relationship growing between her and the elemental and forced himself to stay out of it. He wouldn't let his fancies mess up tru love and all that crap. Even being in his presence sometimes stuffed it up, but if that were the case she would be trying to make him bed with her right at this moment, screwing the circumstances.

 

Mitosu gazed around once, then closed her eyes and said "Please continue Franer."

[Neutual Demon]

Xtero shifted uncomfortably, wringing his hands. Most of the others were sitting in chairs, while a few opted to stand. The Necromancer had sat on the floor beside his chair, slowly pushing it as far away from him as possible with a foot. He blinked his dark eyes as Fraener began to speak, peering up over the edge of the table to glance around. Travel by boat? The Necromancer's brows twitched downward before he settled himself back onto the floor and went back to pushing the chair away from him. "The best of seeds bear sour grapes," he murmured quietly, before shoving the chair with his foot, causing it to skid and tip over, clattering to the floor. "But sour grapes bear seeds."

[jaina]

Signum listened as the old anthro announced the next mission for the group. The idea o a long sea travel didn't bother, she could simply sublimate and cover the distance in half the time anyways, but the fact that it would be paying so well also worried her a little. She decided to voice her concerns when she spoke up said, "I would guess this mission is also extra hazardous, which would be another reason for the increased pay? And could it be this mission was offered to us due to a high success rate or some such reason?"