The Scourge (Mature!! LSU's accepted)

[Mew Master]

The Scourge

You believe in the supernatural, don’t you? Of course you do, or else you wouldn’t be listening to me.

Have you noticed the change in the world lately? Those so-called psychics are predicting accurate events that transpire within days. Magicians are manipulating reality and it’s no sleight of hand involved.

No? Well then youngin’ look over at that statue of this city’s founder. It’s important to this whole city, possibly the state, but something’s off about it, isn’t there? You see that black line that runs up the edge of the statue. You can? Then that’s a good thing.

There are creatures out there, evil spirits, demons, vices. They’re cruel beasts that care nothing for the physical world. The world they come from is a twisted shadow of our reality, and they long for the sensations we take for granted. Because of this, they cross over. Misshapen bodies of horrific design and intent, they torture anyone and everything in their way.

There are a few good things however. They can’t leave too far from their port of entry into our world, or else they become disembodied and expire. Other people can’t see them, which saves them some mental stress and trauma. However, once inside the area of the demon’s influence, the people can see them, and this exposure starts to expand the portal’s influence and the demon’s territory.

Here’s the bad news. These portals are everywhere and they’re hard to find. Over this entire world portals are opening up and the Scourge is coming through. And even though they can’t be seen, doesn’t mean that they can’t interact with the world.

Hmm? The Scourge? Ahh yes. That name sounds familiar to you doesn’t it? They are an ancient race that crossed over between our world and theirs freely eons ago. They resembled parts of ancient mythos and were feared for their power. The fear they felt soon turned to anger and jealousy and fighting broke out. The Scourge turned on mankind, and mankind sought the aide of earthly beasts to combat the evil that they themselves had created.

Many years have passed, and mankind has forgot the tales of the past, save for vast exaggerations, and misinterpretations. The creatures that helped us were downgraded into moral stories and false demons to remind us of the Scourge that was sent back to their world. Despite our implications of those great beasts, they still dawn us with their power come the correct time. I can see the eyes of the beast in your true self, and your aura gives away the elemental path you will walk.

Now the portals are starting to open, and the Scourge is planning to return to this world and take it as they think it is their right to do so. You can see their forms. You can stand against them.

Pray you are not alone against …

THE SCOURGE

Now for the main stuff...

Name:
Age: (Preferably 16 and up)
Sex:
Description:
Personality:
History:
Element: (Element from which your character draws his or her Spells, No restrictions.)
Creature: (Type and name if wished different from Human)
Creature Description:
Angelic Appearance:
Hybrid Appearance:
Weapon: (each character has access to a mystical weapon of their choice throughout the RPG. The Weapon can only be used by the character and no one else.)
Spells: (Two spells your character will stumble upon while in a stressful situation
Relationships: (Any NPC, or other PCs, some pending approval by me and others)
Other: (Yes, other)

Creatures:

Creatures can be any type of mythical or real animal that has existed in human lore and myth, all pending my approval. I’m pretty lenient, but I’d still like to okay something or other. There can be more than one, and I’m not too restrictive on that end. Just let me know which area your creatures from and distinguish between things like Asian or Western Dragon for example. ^^U

Forms:
You have a variety of forms that after some training and good-natured dumb luck are able to access and harness your own power through the creature that you choose. The following are:

Human: Basic human with access to magical abilities and some enhances physical and mental traits.

Angelic: Angel-like with wings that vary with appearance, and main element of expertise. Your wings can appear as anything that you want, although many times they involve some aspect of your element.

Hybrid: You still retain your human shape, only your wings either are there or not, you gain claws, tails, horns, fur, and various other characteristics of your creature meshed in with your human form. Many hybrids increase in size with the addition of the extra joint and metatarsus. Normal human clothes rip and shred with changing to this form, but there are some ways to stop that from happening.

Full Breed: Your creature form is full and fore-front in all it’s legendary, ferocious, and incredible beauty. Heightened senses, claws, teeth, wings, tails, and all others are at your disposal as you let your full fury known.

Elements:

Elements are of the world and its makings. These determine what spells and attacks that characters can use, as well as having some affinity for what their creature is. This isn’t always the case, but more often than not it is. Elements are also brought forth through some part of a person’s personality, and some of what they reflect:

Fire: Passion, energy, chaos
Water: Calm, flowing, changing
Earth: Stubborn, will, intent
Air: Changing, swirling, refreshing
Light: Logic, healing, clarity
Shadow: Secrets, manipulation, clouding of thoughts
Plant: Nature, awareness,
Lightning: Impulse, action, first to move
Ice: Cold, calculating, slick
Metal: Cold, unbending, stubborn

To repeat myself, you don't have ro reserve elements or Creatures. There are too many of them running around that I think there'd be multiples of everything. LSU's are accepted, pending my approval as always.

Setting:

A fairly decent sized city of about 1 or 2 million, no name for the moment. So a city roughly the size of Manhattan Island. Schools, colleges, malls, civic centers, and various other sites of interesting measure and intrigue. (Now named ^^U)

Current Characters:

Mew Master: Denny Roth (Kíashkiklah, Fire Dragon)
Shadow Djinn: Kyoshiro Watanabi (Balthus, Wind Werewolf)
Blademaster: Ivan Faust (Zandios, Shadow Chimera)
Drusilla: Auril Haven (Erinyes, Ice Fury)
Weasel Overlord: Leucetius Daithi Íomhar (Daithi, Lightning Hippogriff)
Crystal Tears: Joey ‘Ruffles’ Ip (Tyn, Water Wyvern)
Mystic_Clown: Angelo Weiss/Veran/Poe/Nero/Sorrow/Rage/Joy/Drowzy/Beast (Fire Hydra)
Prof. JB Wolf: Saisei no Nanashi (Unknown...)
River: Kiina (Keena) Prattle (Plant Unicorn)
Mew Trainer Rose: Aliana Hurdan (Temira, Light Avistel)

Others are welcome as well...

Bartholomew (The city)
-------------------------------------

There is much to be said for a large city. Businesses everywhere, fast food chains multiplying at other ends of town, historical places defiled by juvenile pranks. It seems to be very normal for a city of around 2 million.

The college has a reputation for getting students from around the world, and holding a few sport championships over the years. Bookstores, the low-income housing area, little mom-and-pop stores that are steadily going out of business, all reside within the boundaries. The city of Bartholomew is fairly large, even sporting a large recreational lake on the outskirts of the suburbs. International travel is frequent, and as such some parts of the city have divided into areas of certain ethnicities. Near the college is an old fashioned Japanese dojo, thrift shops line up and down several streets, and the museum is packed on most days.

This unsuspecting city however is going to experience some changes.

Near the center of the city is a circular road that encircles the statue of the city’s founder. People drive by and see the statue everyday and some get a closer look at the bronze figure. As people admire and continue on their way, something odd happens.

Along the outline of the statue’s head, a rip seems to form. It is small at first, and then grows a little bit larger. Dark purple energy slowly seeps out of this little rip. This rip isn’t very small, but it starts to get wider as a pair of claws appear and slowly begin to expand the rip to where a small red eye can be seen.

This eye overlooks the humans who cannot see it, and narrows in malicious glee before other eyes crowd around it, sneering at the physical world.

* * *

The Japanese dojo is shared by members of the college and community. It is a large building with several mats and training rooms for various martial arts practice. Outside is a large relaxation pool with giant lily pads and even larger fish. The pool sits by the edge of one of the walkways that extends further out into the garden. Trees, bushes, flowers of various types, and rock pathways litter this large park-like area.

The edge of the reflecting pool gains a certain dark glow, even as some students walk by in their gi. Another tear forms and begins to slowly spread around the edges of the pool. The fish start to avoid that edge of the pool and stay more at the opposite side. Diabolic hands start to pull the rip apart, allowing what is beyond a glimpse into the world.

* * *

Such things are happening all over the city. The lake has two rips forming at near the shoreline, a few campus rooms are gaining rips as well, dark alley trash tins, the junkyard, even a light post at one of the busiest intersections in Bartholomew. This effect is the same, the rifts are spreading, and soon they will be breached…

Everyone, you know the drill. Character info with your first post please. I’ll join in within a few days. Have a blast.

Changed Rating to Mature, mainly because I realize this is based off of Werewolf: The Forsaken, and Bleach in a few ways ^^U I don't wanna get in trouble later on also.

Current Character Stats:

Denny Roth
Unlocked Forms: None
Spells: Fireball, Energy Barrier

Kyoshiro Watanabi
Unlocked Forms: Angelic
Spells: Gale Tempo, Hurricane Crescendo, Maelstrom Shards, Tempest Thrust

Ivan Faust
Unlocked Forms: Angelic
Spells: Heat Wave, Disaster Sword (Next two spells Needed... PM me with choices)

Auril Haven
Unlocked Forms: Angelic
Spells: Ice Storm, Blizzard, Spirit Haze, Ice Mirror

Leucetius Daithi Íomhar
Unlocked Forms: Angelic
Spells: Lightning Swiftness, Thunder Bow, (Next two spells Needed... PM me with choices)

Joey ‘Ruffles’ Ip
Unlocked Forms: Angelic
Spells: Break, Pulse, (Next two spells Needed... PM me with choices)

Angelo Weiss
Unlocked Forms: None
Spells: Flame Dive, Kaboom

Kiina (Keena) Prattle
Unlocked Forms: Angelic
Spells: Nature's Fury, Life or Death, Seasonal, Pincushion

Aliana Hurdan
Unlocked Forms: None
Spells: Healing Glow, Kamaitachi

Saisei no Nanashi
Abilities: Unknown

[Shadow Djinn]

So I guess we start seeing the rifts? >_>

Name: Kyoshiro Watanabi
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Description: True to his name, Kyoshiro looks incredibly 'azn'. He has sort of long orange/black hair that kind of looks like a mop on his head at times. He stands at about 6'1 and is very thin, so he looks like those dead trees. (He gets that a lot, too.) Contrary to his personality he dresses very neatly, wearing a black plain collared shirt decorated with various company logos, and has a chain dangling from his neck. He usually wears black slacks or various colored dress pants, and occasionally has goggles strapped to his forehead. (He's cool like that.) His shoes are pretty nifty, resembling contemporary skate shoes. On his right hand he has a pretty nice looking silver wristwatch, all though where he got it from is questionable.
Personality: Kyoshiro's...odd. He's incredibly laid back and lazy in school, hardly bothering to study, but maintains straight B's (save French, he likes French..) He's cheerful usually, but is a big backtalker to those he dislikes, usually control freaks or adults. His way of talking can be very slang oriented depending on the person he's talking to, but at other times he's very sophisticated. He has a knowledge of various languages, and when aggravated starts cursing a person out in a random dialect. Outside of academics, he's a fast thinker and improviser, able to respond to changes easily and adapt. Sarcasm is another 'gift' he has, used constantly in his everyday life. His expression often looks bored or dull. He has the odd ability to stay calm, rather anticlimatic in very serious moments. Occasionally he also talks to himself.
History: His parents are those types of business maniacs that are loaded with money. When he was a kid they devoted a lot of time to him and his older brother, and he was rather spoiled but wasn't bratty by any means. Later on the attention stopped and he developed ways to entertain himself, usually solo methods. He was always a stickler for books, and thus has a pretty vast collection. His life at home is pretty dull, and he's a lot different at home then he is at school.
When his brother moved away to college, Kyoshiro decided to live in his brother's apartment, though he didn't exactly TELL him until he was discovered in the U-Haul truck. His brother grudgingly allowed him, and his parents didn't care much as long as it didn't 'damage their business.' He got in trouble of school a lot because he liked to mess around, but still managed to stay on the soccer team at the school he goes to. Since he 'moved' *coughstowedawaycough*, he's developed an affinity to wearing goggles and doing various skating activities, IE: rollerblading/skateboarding.
Element: Wind
Creature: Balthus the Werewolf
Creature Description: Sort of ruggeder then most werewolfs. He's gray haired and has a very shaggy mane, with gray bangs that can cover his eyes. He's very muscled and tall, wearing ripped pants as his only piece of clothing. Five claws adorn each paw/foot, and shades of brown patch over areas. A scar adorns his face.
Angelic Appearance:Two ghostly wings form at his back, only seen by those who can see demons as well. Unfortunately, they hover so greatly on the line between corporeal and ethereal that Kyoshiro can hardly feel them.
Hybrid Appearance: Kyoshiro slightly enlarges and gets buffer, his shirt manages to stay on (somehow), but his pants get slightly ripped. He gains claws and slight patches of fur, and a shaggy mane of hair falls down to his back. The hair and fur in question is a foggy gray, and a slight scar appears on his cheek. His teeth also get slightly pointed. His pupils gain a slightly maniac look, giving him a more werewolf esque persona. Physical capabilities are also improved immensely -- his speed increases rather impressively, and his jumping is of Olympic calibur. Physical strength is also increased greatly, as is resilience to pain.
Weapon: Twin short swords of rather ancient variety. They look rather like this (http://www.odinblades.com/Swords6/Tw...%20Swordsa.JPG) all though they're much darker. The blades are slightly serrated as they're pretty old, and the hilts are worn out and rough. There's also a lack of shine along the blades.
Spells:
Gale Tempo: A faint emerald aura shrouds Kyoshiro's swords -- upon dashing forward and swinging said blades, two jade sickles of energy spin outward, razor sharp air pockets swirling around said projectiles.
Hurricane Crescendo: A sphere of ghostly energy forms in his hand with a rather searing sound -- upon releasing mental restrains on it, a powerful gust spirals out, decimating most objects. The sphere can also be thrown, and thus would create a mini tornado in a small radius of where it landed. Said wind can be manipulated as to how powerful it is and how sharp the air pockets are.
Relationships: *shrugs* Open
Other: Yay for adding others. He's called Hunter by some of his friends. Don't ask why. It's a long story that involves noodles.

Kyoshiro Watanabi ~ Wind
-

A boy paced along the desolate outskirts of Barthomolew with no more then contentment. He was dressed rather drably in the high school's soccer uniform, a rather clashing shade of blue and red that he often pointed out to the coach. Black-orange hair fell to his eyes, and at the same time, he gazed at the wristwatch seated on his arm.

Calmly noting that there was only five minutes until the soccer game started, and that it would take at least fifteen to reach the high school, Kyoshiro Watanabi retrieved his skateboard.

A small cement road ran along the unpopulated area that was Kyoshiro's haven. Wheels grinded along the cement as he grinned, heading towards the city.

-

Unfortunately, for a simple teenager such as Kyoshiro, he had distractions.

The skateboard proved little use for his trek to the lake, another calm place he preferred over most.

The woods that surrounded the lake were equally tranquil, devoid of most things forests entailed. Depositing his currently useless skateboard by a tree he knew well, Kyoshiro gazed at his watch again.

" Well I'm late now," he noted indifferently.

He pushed away bristly branches, noting that his uniform was already slightly dirty, though you could hardly tell.

" Ah damn, the coach'll have my ass," he commented.

Pushing away another branch that had been jutting into his side, he entered the calm area that was...

" Holy shit," Kyoshiro managed, gazing at the scene before him.

The shoreline, usually the same as the rest of the water, save some bits of soil, was now blemished by two gashes.

What on earth is that?

Kyoshiro stepped back a bit, not even caring that a squirrel was eyeing him contemptously from the safety of a tree (he'd been on one of the branches Kyoshiro pushed away).

The gashes were inhuman, lined with streaks of swirling, morbid colors that seemed unaffected by the small, rippling waves. Slowly, as Kyoshiro retreated to a tree trunk, a clawed hand emerged from the small tear, and began to pull it apart with the aid of its other limb.

Oh hell.

Without looking back, Kyoshiro ran.

[Blademaster]

All right, Mew-dude started the game up! Time to do what I do best: Annoy people.

(rubs hands together)

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

Name: Ivan Faust
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Description: Ivan Faust is a frightening human being, a full 80 inches tall and 220 pounds. His hair is jet-black and tied in a ponytail that hangs down to his shoulderblades. His skin is pale as death, and his eyes are a steely blue color colder than frozen hydrogen, hidden behind glasses so thin they're almost invisible. His attire, as one may suspect, is black - he wears a long black coat that resembles a cape, loose black pants, and shiny black shoes and gloves.
Personality: Fans and players of 'Here Comes the I-Squad!' might compare Ivan to Enigma, but in all honesty, Enigma is a saint compared to Ivan: Ivan is full of hatred for everyone and everything in existence. He is silent, cold, and ruthless - he almost never speaks, but when he does, his words are like a dagger soaked with boiling acid through the heart - almost everything he says is said with the intent to cause pain and/or inspire fear.
History: Ivan was born to a German mother and father living in Louisiana on August 29th, 1987. Ivan wasn't a bad child, per se, but he was something of a hellion, all the way up to his 6th birthday...
One Ivan's 6th birthday, one of his birthday candles of all things sparked a fire that burned his house down, killing his mother and father as well as eight party guests. Ivan himself was hospitalized for weeks afterwards; after he'd finally recovered, he was placed in a foster home in New Orleans, where he stayed for 3 years until a younf couple adopted him; some 8 months later, a tornado shredded his foster parents' home, killing both them and their two daughters in a most gruesome fashion. After that, it was back to the foster home...
This pattern of horrible luck continued for several more years, until - as fate would have it, on Ivan's 18th birthday - the now-infamous Hurricane Katrina struck, decimating the foster home and killing everyone inside... Except Ivan.
That day, Ivan finally 'snapped'; his persona became as dark as his past, not that he can really be blamed. Ironically, while he has no problem being cold and cruel towards whomever he wants, he'll still fight alongside the good guys, provided doing so benefits him in some way...
Element: Shadow
Creature: Ivan's creature is a chimera.
Creature Description: Unlike the Chimera of Greek mythology, Ivan is a male chimera (duh), with a sturdy goatlike body, a lion's head adorned with a golden mane, razor-sharp claws and fangs, a tail tipped with a serpent's head, and magnificent eagle wings stretching some 20 feet from tip to tip.
Angelic Appearance: The same as his human form, but with 20-foot eagle wings sprouting from his shoulders.
Hybrid Appearance: Ivan is human, but his fingernails (and toenails, actually) extend into sharp claws and his canines into fangs. His eyes turn a bright green (halfway from his icy blue eyes and the chimera's yellow ones), and his hair becomes the same golden color as the lion's mane. Also, his muscle mass increases by roughly 50%, and his reflexes and speed skyrocket.
Weapon: In the Katrina aftermath, Ivan found amongst the debris a long, thin sword with an edge that can split a human hair - literally.
Spells:
1. Hate Wave: Ivan channels his emotions into raw energy, which he can then weild both offensively (forming blasts and simple weaponry) and defensively (creating shields/forcefields). The stronger his emotions, the stronger the energy.
2. Disaster Sword: Ivan focuses negative energy directly into his sword, which is released when the blade is swung; the energy rapidly expands and seemingly ignites from the speed, resulting in a massive shockwave of negative energy that can decimate a skyscraper. Immensely powerful, but almost impossible to use (Ivan would have to be practically dead before it'd work.)
Relationships: As much as Ivan hates and distances himself from everyone, he does deep down retain some spark of his humanity; ergo, he does long for love on some level... Though he very rarely shows it. So, in other words, open to whoever can tolerate him.
Other: Shamelessly basing Ivan off of Sesshoumaru from the anime Inuyasha, heh heh... ^^''''''


*******************

"Watch it, freak!"

Those words rang out loudly in the young man's ears as he walked, that having been the 57th time that week he'd heard those words.

And like the last 56 times, he didn't care - they were only words; reflections the simple-mindedness of the moron who spoke them. They meant nothing to him.

His pace uninterrupted, the man continued his way across the intersection, the blaring horns and cursing voices aimed at him seemingly going unnoticed by him as he reached the other side of the street and continued on his way.

The dozens of drivers and pedestrians observing this bizarre individual didn't know what was stranger - the fact that this man was crazy enough to walk across a busy, four-lane intersection on a regular basis with absolute disregard for the danger around him, or the fact that he was lucky enough to avoid injury every single time.

Lucky... that's the word they used.

But the black-clad man knew better - he'd have considered it a blessing if he was struck dead. A liberation from his misery.

Which is exactly the reason it would never happen - the only way he would ever die is when whatever higher power there was finally allowed his body to die of natural causes, whenever that would be.

He knew it - he'd seen it enough throughout his life to know it was true.

He was the luckiest bastard on Earth, and at the same time, the unluckiest.

He was virtually invincible, but at the same time, so vulnerable.

He was his own worst enemy, and his own best friend.

He was...

Ivan Faust.

Though Ivan was technically homeless, he certainly didn't look it: he was clad in a long black coat that seemed to resemble a cape (Fans of the anime Yu-Gi-O h! would likely compare his coat to Seto Kaiba's white blazer.), black pants with shiny metal cuffs, polished black shoes, and black gloves that looked like they'd just been bought. A black sheath was slung over his shoulder, the hilt of a sword visibly protruding from the top of it.The only part of his attire that didn't look brand new (or that wasn't black) were his glasses, which were a light brown (Not that you'd notice, they were so thin and worn.). Like every other day, his black hair was tied in a slick ponytail, and his icy blue eyes were cold and emotionless.

Like every other day, he was hungry.

And, like every other day, he knew just where to find some food...

*********************

A short while later, Ivan had arrived at the woods surrounding Lake Bartholomew. The lake was a tranquil place, one of the few areas that Ivan could feel almost at peace, and it was also full of delicious freshwater fish.

His mouth almost watering by that point, Ivan made his towards the trees...

WHAM!

Ivan stopped in his tracks as a figure suddenly dashed out of the woods and slammed right into him. For a second, the figure just stood there...

And then, it fell backwards, landing on its backside in front of him.

Ivan looked the figure over coldly. It was a teenage boy about 6 feet tall in a red and blue soccer uniform and running shoes. Despite his obvious Asian features, the boy's hair was a strange, tangled mix of orange and black.

"Oooooowww..." he mumbled. "Someone get the license number of that truck...?"

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

I'll let Zane take over for now - kinda hard to have a conversion with this guy, it is...

[Drusilla]

Name: Auril Haven
Age: 20
Sex: Female
Description: closeup
Standing at six feet tall, Auril has a nearly overbearing presence and seems to challenge all around her without ever saying a word. She wears a black t-shirt under a denim jacket with assorted patches, dark blue jeans, and black leather boots
Personality: Not exactly the open kind of girl, the most communication that the vast majority of people recieve comes through her facial expressions and, more specifically, her eyes. Her mind is constantly weighing her options in any given situation, and thoughts fly from one idea to the next. When others try to wrestle words from her, she tends to get irritated and shuts them out. She does have a softer side, but it rarely shows and is only known to the very few who know her well.
History: A long-distance college student, Auril didn't know anyone when she arrived and didn't bother to change that in anyway. She prefers her own company to that of others, and has a reputation among her peers of been a woman of few words. Not much else is known about her; her persuits in life are intellectual rather than emotional. She grew up in a suburban area, excelled in school, but during her adolecent years she closed herself to the outside world. No one reason could be pin-pointed for her distance, and it's never really changed.
Element: Ice
Creature: Erinyes, a female warrior of demonic persuasion
Creature Description: Fierce, beautiful, and powerful, Erinyes (known as Furies in some mythos) are dark avengers from the Hells. Mercy has no place with them, and they fight until their ends are accomplished.
In her Erinyes form, Auril has long, cascading curls of dark blue, pale skin with a faint blue tint (like her angelic form), light blue feathery wings that are covered in perpetual ice, and glowing turquoise eyes. Her clothing is similar to that of her angelic form, but of a frosty blue. Her skin is cold to the touch, and her very being can suck all heat out of the air, freezing water on contact.
Angelic Appearance: here
Hybrid Appearance: here
Weapon: Longsword
Spells: Ice storm- Shards of ice fly through the air, freezing and impaling anything in thier path.
Blizzard- Blindling light leaves enemies helpless as intense cold drains them of their energy.
Relationships: Thinks Ivan is hot stuff ^_~


Auril Haven
Out of context

It was late afternoon. Classes were done until evening, and luckily, I didn't have any until next week. While it was nice to only have that class once a week, it was rough having to sit through a three hour lecture, which is was it amounted to. Not exactly a fun time...

So, I was walking through downtown, taking my oppurtunity to escape the dorms for a little while. I didn't know what it was, but today campus felt very... oppressive, I supposed, though it wasn't quite exactly accurate. The whole city had the same feeling to it, though at least there were places that were more open. It was like something was just waiting to happen, something big... and I had the feeling that I wasn't going to like it one bit.

But for now, I was free; sure, I had homework waiting for me, I always did, but I didn't have to have it done for a few more days. Now, I could get away from the nearly claustraphobic press of fellow students and try to find something that would, for the time being, satisfy my need for solitude.

I could be a social creature when it was required, though I very rarely enjoyed it. People, as a whole, annoyed me; they spent to much time with deception, facades, and generally being disgusting, self-serving creatures that I tried to avoid interaction.

A feeling of dread creeping up my spine and I turned, trying to be inconspicuous. People passed me, paying no attention to my obvious discomfort, as I scanned the nearby area for whatever it was that had me on edge. Then I saw the shadow, and the eyes. Others walked right past, nearly through them, and didn't notice a thing, but I saw those dark, glowing eyes bore into my soul. I didn't like it one bit.

I started to run, weaving through the pedestrian traffic, not bothering to see if I was persued or not. I passed faces that clearly expressed the thought that I was obviously mad, running from nothing as though my life depended on it. Perhaps it did, I didn't know, nor was I about to stay around to find out. The oblivious masses could go about their business; this thing didn't seem to have the interest in them that it did in me. I could feel it's malicious eyes on me still, and though my conscience screamed at me to stop and warn people, I knew that there was nothing that I could do for them, no way that I could stop this... shadow, whatever it was. I didn't like it, and I didn't like the panic that it stirred within me.

I came to an intersection, and stopped, nearly falling on my face into the busy street. Passing traffic ruffled my hair as I stood back, waiting for the light to change so I could cross. Once it did, I moved quickly, not looking behind me to see if the shade was there until my foot touched the opposite curb.

I saw nothing, but the panic remained. I knew better than to trust that because I couldn't see it, it couldn't see me. My instinct knew better, and yet... I was curious, now that the panic had passed. What in the hells was it? What did it want with me? Why did no one else seem to notice?

What was going on?

[Mew Master]

*Clocks in* Yo!

Name: Dennis "Denny" Roth
Age: 22 (Yay for birthday yesterday ^^)
Sex: Male
Description: Denny stands roughly 6'4" tall and has a decent upper body build. His weight is around 200 lbs of muscle and toned areas. He usually wears golden rimmed glasses that blend in with his face and clearly show his hazel green eyes looking at the world. Dark brown, nearly black hair, grows from his head and down into a shoulder-blade length pony tail that he keeps tied most of the time. While the hair may be long in the back, he keeps the front, top, and sides cut short so no hair gets in his eyes. This despite the fact that he has whacked himself in the eye with his pony-tail hair anyway. He is most often seen wearing a pair of black "Bondage" pants. These are pants that have chains and other fabric connected by links that go from hip-to-hip behind him. These pants are very loose and easy to move in, which is why he enjoys them. He also often wears T-shirts that are two sizes too big for the comfort factor, and many are Dragon memorabilia. He has a ring that rests on his right pinky finger because it's too small to fit around his ring finger. Hanging around his neck is a necklace that has a small stone that seems to reflect light within itself like fire. During the colder months he wears a long black duster that he was given, and during the summer and spring he commonly wears an old denim overcoat.
Personality: Spontaneous, sarcastic, mostly optimistic (you should see him around tests), Denny is perhaps the one person who can say something, and then contradict himself a sentence later. He takes everything in stride, living life so that it's lived. He likes being with some people, and yet likes having his own solitude when he feels such a need. Of the things that he can't tolerate are how people and creatures are mistreated. He is usually the first to throw himself in the way of a blow or attack so that he's picked on instead of another person. In such cases he thinks too much with his heart, and not his head. Anyone who's met him either instantly likes him, or doesn't want to be around his annoying self. Denny is usually annoying to both friends and foes.
History: Denny has lived an interesting life. After moving and changing schools constantly during his younger years, his family finally settled down and his life regained some degree of normalcy. Throughout his life he has had an affinity for drawing and is almost never seen without a sketchpad and a pencil in hand. Many of his notes have pictures of anything that was in his mind at the moment: dragons, knights, heroes, demons, and various other random stuff. He is studying to become a Paleontologist, however he does have a fascination with Dragons and other mythical beasts. He's going to college and is on his senior year of his undergraduate years. Right now he lives only a few blocks from campus and can be seen lugging around his 10lbs of books to class and back. He's been practicing a martial art known as Aikido to better his sense of balance and also because it teaches how to help someone else to the ground without hurting them in the process. So far he already has his first rank in the class.
Element: Fire
Creature: Western Dragon, Kíashkiklah
Creature Description: The Dragon has 3 sets of limbs. Two forearms, two hindlegs, and a pair of wings. The head is rectangular in shape with large crocodilian set teeth that seem to be angular. The Canines (the ones at the front edges of the mouth) are much larger than the other teeth, that seem to poke through the skin of the mouth. The nostrils have flaps of skin that resemble water-droplets in shape, with the tips pulled up. Between the nostrils is a horn-like structure. This structure is repeated twice along the dorsal side of the skull. The lower back of the lower jaw has three bony protrusions on either side that point backwards along the body. Large cat-like ears rest on both sides of the head, under the horns. The eyes seem to be surrounded by darkness and only the pupil of the eye can be seen as white-hot embers. Ridges over the eyes give way to the horns. These horns curve up twice, making them resemble a widened omega symbol. They curve up starting from right behind the eye ridges. The back of the head has a flowing main of pitch black fur that flows in the direction of the wind. This hair extends halfway down the neck from the head. This dragon's body is heavily muscled with much of the muscle concentrated along the hindquarters and pectoral regions. The fore arms are thin compared to the hind legs but are not devoid of muscle. They end in four-fingered hands with long curved claws at the end of each digit. Along the ulna and radius portion of the arm have several bony protrusions that curve back against the arm, pointing towards the main body. These structures are rock hard and sharper than a knife blade. The hind legs are heavily muscled and give the dragon enough power to lift off and up the ground. Three toes dawn each foot with a bone extension of the metatarsus extending past the ankle. A long tail ends in a cache of more bony protrusions that are shown across the entire creature. A pair of bat-like wings allows the dragon flight. The wings have holes and tatters in them, adding to the dragons proficiency in battle. They also have three long digits that connect the membrane for flight. The "wrist" joint of the wing has a small vestigial digit that ends in a curved claw. The underside of the dragon is armored scale that seems to be separated into sections that extends from the head down to the tip of the tail. The chest area seems to have the only difference as it has the scales arranged like chest armor.
Angelic Appearance: Similar to his normal appearance, however he grows a little bit in height, and there’s a fiery glow behind his pupils. His duster appears more often while in this form for some reason. His wings are pure flame. Through concentration he can increase his speed simply by constricting the energy output of his wings to jet off at high velocity or coast by gliding. Such manipulation can be seen as the wings condense into jet-like blasts of energy. This is most effective when lifting straight off the ground to build up energy and then let the wings take form and control his stability as he flies off.
Hybrid Appearance: Possibly the most disturbing of all. Denny grows two feet in height, added mostly due to the added joints in his feet. His muscles grow and burst apart any shirt or coat he might be wearing. His feet change shape so drastically that the claws shred through his shoes. His legs become triple jointed, as his metatarsals extend giving him a slightly dinosaur stance. Three long claws extend from his three toes as the transformation causes his toes to merge together for stability. Long, curved, sharp claws extend from his fingers. These are as hard and sharp as any sword. Similar bony protrusions along the dragon’s arms are present in the Hybrid form’s arms. His wings are no longer flame, but instead they are exactly like the dragon’s, complete with the holes in the wings and the vestigial digit at the bend in the wing’s wrist. The transformation distorts his eyes to a golden-yellow human shaped eye with a silted black pupil. His teeth change as well, the canines, incisors, and molars gain a sharper edge and the canines themselves become proportionally bigger. The hair on his head gets shaggier and much longer, now stretching down his mid-back. A pair of the dragon’s horns spike up from the sides of his head, and his ears become elongated and cat-like. His voice is lower and has more of a growl behind his words.
Weapon: Katana. To the normal eye, this just looks like the handle for a katana Sword. However, when he holds the handle the blade of the sword appears (not like a lightsaber), and it is pure heat and light, a bright red color. Depending on what form he’s in also changes the size and use of the Katana. In human form it is the normal shape of a Katana, regular length and shape. In Angelic form, the sword gets longer and is much lighter, useful for delicate attacks and blocks while not losing speed or balance. And finally, when in Hybrid, the Katana changes into more of a No-Dachi, Great Katana. A larger and thicker blade with a much higher force behind it.
Spells: Fireball: A regular projectile made of spiraling flames and heat. Energy Barrier: Able to control heat and temperature to some degree (snicker), Denny is able to create barriers of energy that he can use to protect himself or others. These are fairly strong and are mostly in spherical shapes
Relationships: Denny has made several dozen friends over his life and some of them attend the college he goes to. Because of his Paleontology major, Denny has met with Leu in the Natural Studies building of the college. The two get on each other’s nerves, but their good friends none-the-less. Anyone else who wants to be friends with Denny is welcome to, knowing how friendly and open he is. It is known that he has a Girlfriend who lives a state away and when she visits he tends to avoid everyone to spend time with her. She’s not controlling, he just likes being with her.

Now for my little jaunt in the area. Oh, and any Late Sign-ups can post in here, and don’t get me confused between the Sign-up and the RPG ^^U.

Denny Roth~Fire
-----------------------

Just like every other day, I walked back to my apartment. The books in my bag, weighed heavily against the lower edge of my spine. If I wasn’t careful I’m sure I’d end up with some spinal disorder when I hit 50. But I’m 22 and that really doesn’t matter right now. A good stretch and pop, then my back should get back in place.

I yawned, as I always did sometimes as I walked along a somewhat broken sidewalk that the city has forgotten to fix. My feet plodded on the cement sidewalk as I finally made my way to my “dungeon.”

It’s a basement apartment, nothing too special of course, but at least it was big enough for me and a few friends to hang out in for hours on end. The school day was slow, as usual, I knew I shouldn’t have ate anything before leaving the house in the morning. Walking down the stairs I unlocked my door and stepped in.

Papers, clothes, and other random items rested on the only decent furniture I seemed to have, the futon I got from someone else last semester. Yes there were a few short tables that had even more junk littered over them, but I had at least some idea of what was on those.

I dropped my backpack on my bed and then went to get dressed for practice. The dojo was at least six blocks away, and on a nice day like today walking was going to be the best option. Mainly to save gas money, and secondly it let me listen to my music on my way there.

So I put on my gi pants and put the top and belt in my duffle bag. Grabbing my CD player I slid the earpieces on and then set out.

It was a good day, few clouds in the sky, the sun beating down upon the earth, the dozens of crazed motorists who would just loooove to run me over in a fit of rage.

I arrived at the dojo, ready for Aikido practice. The dojo itself was extensive, college funding at work I suppose. To keep up with the influx of international students, the college decided to build a center for everyone to be able to practice and not interfere with the wrestling team too much. They practiced lots of things here, Kung Fu, Karate, kendo, Tae Qwan Do, and various other martial arts that I hadn’t known about. Each of us (the classes) had our own room to practice in, with adequate mat space for everyone.

The part about the dojo that I loved the most however, was the area beside it. The relaxation area.

For starters there is a large low-cut area of grass that the yoga students used for their exercises. The trees that surround the area around them give other students shade and a chance to get out of the dojo for a breather. Small circular stones make winding paths through the garden. And possibly the most expensive thing of all the garden was the relaxation pool.

The pool itself was large, about 12 by 12 feet in area, and had huge lily pads that floated across the top. A few of them had lotus blooms. There were also large fish that resided in such pools, to me they resembled giant catfish with waving fins. It was elevated by about 3 feet and went six feet underground, so it was about 9 feet deep. Water ran over the edge to simulate a waterfall-esque sound and was recycled back into the pool through a filtration system. I always liked to sit and watch the pool when we weren’t practicing during our breaks we get in the day.

Today something was different though. At first I thought it was mist flying off the edges of the pool to give it a rainbow-effect, but as I looked closer I realized that if it was a rainbow effect, the colors were way off.

A dark, sick looking shade of purple seemed to float around a portion of the pool’s edge. The colors vibrated and melded like a down-to-earth version of the Aurora Borealis. Black, purple, blue shades mixed and contorted around what looked like a small rip. The fish were avoiding the shades as well, staying far away from that edge of the pool.

I stared at the rip, wondering if someone had just taken a picture and the flash was too centered and bright. As I stared I saw something beyond the rip itself. Something was stirring inside the rift, twisting and thriving in some perverted motion of being alive. Then a glowing eye seemed to float into view and stared at me.

My whole body froze. The eye seemed to burrow into my soul and I could feel a malicious intent towards me. It narrowed it’s gaze and I knew it was staring into me, seeing everything it could about me. If I didn’t stop looking, it was going to consume my soul.

“Denny?”

I jumped. Normally when someone comes up from behind me, I jump a little. This time My entire body jerked and I literally jumped two feet in shock.

When I came to my senses, I looked behind me and there was my Aikido Sensei. His short dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes helping me recognize who he was.

“Denny, are you okay?” he asked.

My heart was racing from my little experience with the “thing” in the reflecting pool, but I tried to regain my composure.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I replied and tried to reassure my sensei not to worry too much about me.

“Practice will be starting soon, so don’t spend too much time out here.”

“You got it.”

I shifted my duffel bag around my shoulders and I looked back at the reflecting pool. The rip was still there, but whatever was looking back at me wasn’t. Warily I started walking into the dojo, getting ready for practice, and hoping what I saw was only my imagination.

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

Neeeeeeeaaaaxt?

[Crystal Tears]

Name: Joey ‘Ruffles’ Ip
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Description: her skin was tanned and eyeliner made her maroon eyes stand out. Her shoulder length black hair (it also had red highlights), was held back (excluding some bangs) by a black bandana with white skulls and cross swords decorating it. She wears a long dark jean jacket with golden buttons. An open white dress shirt reveals a black semi tight t-shirt with a gold and red skull and cross-sword design on the front. Her pants hang relatively low on the hip and are tight there so they stay on. From there they loosen quite a bit. Silver zipper pockets from mid calf and up about ever 4 inches up. Adorning her feet are thick heeled black boots with that go up to low calf and have silver and gold buckles. (She has a Japanese look about her, oh and she stands about… 4’7’’ )
Personality: Upbeat, and light hearted. Joey isn’t one you will see down in the dumps often. Her carefree nature hinders her ability to be responsible, but otherwise she’s a great friend. Hesitant towards people she hasn’t spoken to before, she’ll open up once the initial ‘hellos’ have been exchanged. Despite her happy nature, Joey has her secrets; she dislikes talking about her family or her past, nagging her on this subject could send her into a depressive state that could last for days.
History: Joey’s upbeat nature is a mask for the darker side of her life. Her parents really never cared for her, so she became very independent, spending more and more time out of the house until one night when she was nine she didn’t come home. The next day she did, and found her father drunk on the floor and her mother passed out on the bed due to too many drugs. She realized they hadn’t worried about her, so when she was twelve, she left home and never came back. Using her witty personality and street smarts, Joey has turned into one of the most successful street kids in the city. (Due to pick-pocketing, breaking and entering, and trafficking illegals…)
Element: Water
Creature: Wyvern Named Tyn
Creature Description: A large creature, but not as large as a full grown dragon. A Wyvern has a long slender body and complete with a very long and versatile feather tipped tail. With beautiful lilac eyes, and large black ram-like horns, the Wyvern’s head is elegant; the only downside is that it has a bit of lock-jaw, prohibiting the jaw from opening wide enough to clamp down around a front of a car or something of that nature. Its feet, though still retaining a reptilian nature, had long talons like that of a hawk or eagle, though the hind talon that would’ve been used to catch prey has moved up and has become a very sharp dewclaw. Wyvern actually has two pairs of wings. The main set are very large, and the wing web resemble something of large, leathery feathers with dark veins running through them. The second and smaller pair are located were the forelimbs or ‘arms’ would be, they are exactly like the larger pair, through their particular use is unknown.
The coloration on this Wyvern is something of a pale, shimmery blue while its underbelly is a creamy white. The wing web and feathers alike are a deep navy blue with a turquoise sheen.
Angelic Appearance: The Wyvern’s main pair of wings sprouts from Joey’s shoulders. The only difference is the wings color; they’re black, while the wing web feathers are still the same navy blue with the turquoise sheen. Her fingernails grow increasingly long, and curve a bit to form something like talons. The red highlights in Joey’s hair shift and become an electric blue as her eyes shift to a memorizing cerulean with lilac hints at the edges.
Hybrid Appearance: Growing about foot, and maybe an inch or two, Joey begins to actually look scary. Her hair grows rapidly and the highlights fade away until its all black. Her eyes change to a same shade of beautiful lilac as her creature form. Her ears turn black and twist and form into thick ram horns which sharp ends stick out back her cheeks. Her fingertips morph to accommodate full talons while her legs literally snap and morph into the design of a horse’s rear legs. She stands on them like an ordinary part of legs, only the feet have morph into Tyn’s sort of feet. The wings in her Angelic from return, but now are exactly like Tyns, color and everything. Smaller wings sprout from her higher back, just below the larger pair.
Weapon: A Mace: It is basically a long chain with a spiked ball on the end of it. It does not need to be held, but Joey still must make moments to cause it to swing and twirl about, because It only reacts to Joey, it is useless to everyone else because of its sheer dominating weight, oddly though, the mace does not have it weight when being carried without the intention to use it.
Spells: Break – Forms a sphere of water around Joey, protecting her from most harm coming her way. It grows smaller and smaller before exploding with brutal force and a large amount of water.
Pulse – An orb of water that streams towards the enemies, and hits one with crushing force.
Relationships: Open.

Joey

The city was usually a nice place to be, so many people would deprive a young sixteen year old of any attention what so ever. But today… Today had been different.

Joey was an out-going girl, and usually, she was quite open about her opinions. But right now, she had to keep quiet, even as her heart pounded, she need to keep sane, not let the overwhelming terror in her chest and stomach get the better off her.
The picture was still clear in her mind. A creature… With long, at points twig-thin arms as been crawling out of a wall. Long broken and yet still razor sharp claws had adorned its horribly overgrown hands that seemed to be missing thumbs. Oh god, its black eyes had pierced through her cheery attitude and had broke back feelings that for so long she had never felt.

It was a hallucination… She comforted herself, trying desperately to brush the image of the creature away. But it was imprinted; the claws, the eyes, the deformed face that didn’t even look remotely human, but more like a deer, the skin that had been pulled to tight and had black stretch marks running over the half that she had seen… Its chest had been ripped wide open, and yet nothing dripped from the wound, only an everlasting darkness was seen. Like the creature lacked anything but malice and cruelty. It was a horrible hallucination.

“Excuse me?”

Joey nearly yelped as a young woman tore her from her thoughts. She was an average business woman, and she looked concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh.” Joey smiled, waving her hand carelessly. “I’m fine, me and my friends. We’re playing tag see.”

“Oh.” The woman smiled, and disappeared in the massive crowd.

With a sigh, the rather short girl rested her head on the back of the wall while her heart slowed, breathing deeply, she opened her eyes.

For a moment, Joey swore her heart stopped.

The thing, it’s horribly eyes were staring down at her. The claws had dug deep into the brick wall and the teenager hadn’t realized that the dust and chips of brick had fallen around her. Its back legs were twisted and looked like horses, only at a terribly wrong angle, as well as pieces of bone split the skin in several places, and the hoof, the hoof had been broken talons.

“Oh holy mother of god…” She gulped, feeling her heart scream back to life as her legs moved on their own accord; bolting her from her place like a freight train had hit her, but as she heard the creature land behind her; she let her body go wherever it wanted to.

Unfortunately, that happened to be a road.

It was rush hour, and the traffic was moving… Surprisingly… Joey couldn’t stop herself; desperate to get away from the horrible creature, she ran right into the middle of the bustling cars. Turning her head to see the creature right behind, leaping onto a traffic light, before bounding behind her. But what shocked her even more was that everyone else seemed to lack the ability to see it. They were all either going about her business, or watching her.

With a loud honk of the horn, Joey stopped. Waving her hands madly as her body tipped from lack of balance. Her eyes grew wide as the horrible thing leapt in front of her, claws outstretched in a terrifying fashion as they grind against each other.
That’s when she noticed its mouth, sewn together in a crude fashion that she had only seen in horror flicks. The thick twine was black and the flesh around it seemed rotted. Joey’s stomach churned as she continuously stared at the green skin.

Horribly real hallucination… She cringed, covering her face as one of the claws outstretched preparing to rip her open in the most gruesome fashion. Yet, the claws never came.
Uncovering her face, she couldn’t believe what had happened. Crimson smoke billowed from the spot the monster had been, it loomed over Joey, making her feel cold inside. Stupidly, she turned with it, her eyes following the smoke until it settled right beside her, her heart began to race even faster as the crimson dust began to form back into the twisted back legs of the creature.

Again she ran; her legs like springs as she somehow managed to leap over a bench before dashing down the street. She prided herself on being fit; she needed to be in her line of ‘business’, but even so, her legs were beginning to tire.

Why couldn’t others see it? She must’ve looked incredibly crazy, a short 16 year old girl blazing down the sidewalks and ripping across intersections like a rabid dog was hot on her heels. Her jacket flew out behind her as she continued to sprint, faster and faster before she was far away from whatever that thing had been.

“Oh..” She panted, leaning over as her lungs burned and legs ached. “T-that was… Too close..”

Joey soon recovered, and though she knew she should probably keep moving. She didn’t. Instead, she sat down on a green park bench and covered her face. Her light-hearted attitude was having trouble overwhelming the feelings that had stirred within her when that creature had gazed at her.

Feelings of misery, of depression… All feelings she thought she had left behind.

[Mew Trainer Rose]

Name: Aliana Hurdan
Age: 19
Sex: female
Description: About 5 and a half feet tall, average build, slightly tanned Caucasian complexion. Her hair, which is slightly wavy and shoulder-length, is a dark brown, nearly black, and usually pulled into a loose braid. Her eyes are also a dark brown, though not quite as dark. She tends to wear well-worn cargo pants with big pockets on the legs, a slate gray hooded sweatshirt over t-shirts with various animal pictures on them. Her shoes are cheap sneakers, and she’s often seen carrying a dark red-and-brown backpack. Any ornamentation is either fairly simple, like a pewter pendant of a cat on a black cord (worn as a necklace), or practical, like a wristwatch.
Personality: Generally polite and quiet around superiors and those she doesn’t know, but becomes more carefree and talkative around friends. Has a stubborn streak on occasion, but is generally patient and willing to be lenient in a disagreement or decision. Occasionally lazy, but on a whole is hard-working and caring, willing to help others if it in within her power to do so.
History: Aliana is a true ethnic mutt; the simplest way of describing her heritage is “Eurasian.” She had ancestors from most European countries, several Asian ones, and likely a few stray other countries. As a result she doesn’t look or act like any ethnicity in particular.
Has lived in the city most of her life, and aside from occasional family vacations never really traveled far. She quite enjoys the city and was never dissatisfied with her lack of travel.
On-and-off throughout the years her parents sent her to the city dojo, and she recently became proficient in the use of kamas, although of course she’s only used the practice ones so far. Her performance in school was rather average, aside from being rather poor at any foreign language she was made to study. She’s currently attending the local college, though has yet to choose a major.
Element: Light
Creature: avistel
Creature Description: Looks something like this and is about the size of a cat (also has short, weasel-like claws that aren’t shown in the pictures): http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/32563233/ http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/43118022/ http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/23490446/
Angelic Appearance: slightly shorter in stature, with a pair of feathered wings that resemble those of her creature form, except the yellow feathers appear to be made of light, and when she flies they leave behind slight streaks of yellow light.
Hybrid Appearance: Even shorter than the angelic form, just over 4 feet in height, and appears very lithe and wiry. She now sports a light coating of fur all over, predominately red with yellow “socks” around her feet and hands, as well as a yellow patch running from her chin to her belly. She also has a weasel-like tail, about two feet in length, which is also red with a yellow tip. Her face now has a short muzzle, and her eyes are now more of an amber color. Her wings are larger, and unlike her angelic form, the feathers are entirely feathers, although they appear to glow slightly. Her finger and toenails are slightly pointed, resembling short (though not particularly sharp) claws. Her hair is very short and lightens to a mousy brown. Any clothing she’s wearing generally stays on, since she shrinks a bit, although she’ll need to tighten her belt to make sure her pants stay in place, and her shoes (not to mention every other article of clothing) will be too loose.
Weapon: A pair of kamas with wire wrapped and inlaid along the length of the oak shafts (for stability, endurance, and a better grip.)
http://www.atlantaokinawankarate.com/kama.htm
Spells: Healing Glow: Aliana produces a gentle golden light (usually from her hands, but sometimes from her wings, another part of her body, or even her whole body) that eases the pain and heals the wounds of anything it touches. She can control the strength of the light, and the brighter it glows, the more it heals.
Kamaitachi: Aliana holds her two kamas, crossed, in front of her, which glow with a white-hot light. Then in a flash (literally and figuratively) she flies forward and whirls around the battlefield like a dervish, slashing with seemingly random attacks as she goes. When she’s finished a moment later, her opponent(s) have wounds that appear minor and bleed little at first, but are deceptively deep and more dangerous then they appear, as they are often in vital areas or pierce major veins. This leaves her exhausted for a short time from the sudden, rapid exertion.
Relationships: Friends with Denny, having met him in college.

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

Aliana – Light
~~~~~~~~~~~

I wandered down the street, idly wondering what to do for the rest of the day. My last class of the day had just gotten out, and I didn’t have much in the way of homework, so I figured I’d find something to do in the city. There was always something to do in the city, after all.

My thoughts were interrupted by my rumbling stomach, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten yet today. Looking around for someplace to eat, I spotted my favorite mom-and-pop store: Dotty’s Variety. I grinned and went inside to find Dotty herself was at the counter.

“Hello, Dotty,” I called to the little old lady. Her name was Dorothy, really, but I guess she and her husband figured using her cute nickname would sell better.

“Oh, hello, dear,” she replied. “How are you today?”

“Doing good,” I answered before getting a tuna sandwich and a soda form the refrigerated cases. I chatted politely for a minute before paying for my food and leaving. I unwrapped the sandwich and started to eat, but decided to sit down first, so I headed to the statue of the town’s founder. There were a couple benches near there.

Despite my decision to sit first, I had taken a couple of bites by the time I came in sight of the statue. I started looking around for an empty bench, when something caught my attention. Not anything particular, though, it just seemed like something was strange about the area. I looked around to try to figure it out, then suddenly spotted the crack. I don’t know how I could have missed it before; right along the founder’s head there was a eerie purple crack. Not on the statue, either, it was just there. It was just strange at first, but as I watched a claw reached out and tugged open the crack, widening it until a second claw could reach out, and then others. In a moment, when nearly a dozen claws were at work, an eye swiveled into view behind them. A red eye, which looked out maliciously at all the people in the area.

Until now I had been practically frozen, staring at the crack and all the things in it. When I spotted that eye, I tore my eyes away from it and started walking. I didn’t want it to see me. Or, at the very least, for it to know that I saw it. I got around the nearest corner and as fast as possible, and once I was sure I was out of sight I began to jog, then run. I didn’t know where to, I just needed to get away from that thing.

After a couple minutes I slowed, then stopped. I just stood there on a random street, shaking slightly. What the heck was that thing? And come to think of it, why didn’t anyone else react to it? Could they not see it? How was that possible?

I realized I was still holding my sandwich, but I wasn’t hungry anymore. I dropped it in the nearest trash can as I headed back to campus. After seeing whatever-that-was, doing homework all afternoon suddenly sounded more appealing that staying on the streets.


(OOC: Random note: My grandparents really had a little store called Dottie’s Variety when my Mom was a kid. Guess what my grandma’s name was. )

[Drusilla]

Forgive me if I take this and go too far... I probably won't be posting for another few days, since I'm flying home tomorrow morning and will probably be out and about with my friends. I don't know how soon Mew Master wants our powers to manifest, so I left it open to go in multiple directions.

Do as you will.


Auril Haven
Go Into the Water

I had hoped that the... whatever it was... had been the last of today's excitement. I could have gone the rest of my life without ever experiencing something like that again, and I would have been perfectly content with such a boring fate. Alas, fate is not so kind.

A girl, practically flying through traffic as I had done just a few minutes ago, stopped to catch her breath and seemed to collapse onto a nearby bench. I could have just walked on past, ignoring her as I usually would any stranger, but something about the look on her face... the haunted shadows that lurked between her eyes, and I wondered if she had seen something like what I had. It was ludicris that I could even think that; perhaps I had been staying up too late, getting up to early, doing to much, and was suffering from fatigue... no way something that evil could exist here, in this city. Under normal circumstances, I entertained the thought of other planes of existance, but this had truely rattled me. And now I was about to go up and ask a random girl about it. Maybe I was just losing my mind...

No matter my intentions, I couldn't just go up to her and open my heart. Totally out of the question. I had some manner of dignity left, after all.

I approached her with a blank face, determined to keep the option of walking away open to me. "Are you all right?" My voice sounded as dead as usual; I might be unnerved, but I gave no one that kind of edge to use against me, especially not someone that I didn't know.

She looked up at me with slightly dialated eyes, though she had regained the rest of her composure. "Yeah, I'm fine..." she replied, looking away.

She had seen one, I was sure of it now. The question was, did I say something? Did it mean enough to me to bother? A combination of fear and curiosity nagged at me in the back of my mind.

She girl looked back at me, still towering over her. "Is there something you want?" She asked, dryly. She was covering up, too, and was nearly as good at it as I was... but she was trying to hide too much. I had learned that there were times that you had to embrace some emotions, or holes formed in your shields.

I crouched down so that I was more at eye-level with her, and glanced about before speaking. "You saw it too, or something like it, didn't you? There's very little that would make anyone run like that in this city... But-" I didn't get to finish my thought. A shout echoed from nearby, closer to the waterfront. A second adrenaline rush hit my bloodstream, and I had a feeling this was only the beginning.

I glanced down at her. "Hold that thought, would you?" There was another street in between us and the trees before the shoreline. I dashed out into traffic, tires screeching and horns blaring to life. I took the time to slam my fist into someone's hood and yell a few choice obscenities back at the driver before running to the opposing curb.

One young man was lying on the ground, obviously hurt in someway. He glanced at me as I yelled, then returned his attention to the... whatever. Another young man, standing and unwounded, stared at the thing.

I glared at the shadow-creature, not filled with fear this time, but with frustration. "What in the nine hells is going on?" I growled. By this time, a croud was gathering, but none of them seemed to see what we saw. Some were pointing and laughing, others wandered away, shaking their heads and muttering about 'kids and thier drugs'. Others were spellbound, looking about wildly as if their instinct told them that something was wrong, but they couldn't actually see it.

I saw it, and though fear was now starting to grip my heart, the adrenaline pushed me farther towards anger... cold, icy anger. I knew, without being able to see myself, that my eyes were dead... more dead than I had ever been able to make them.

The shadow-creature made no move, only 'stood' there, almost examining us...

Or, more likely, waiting....

[Pichu Luver]

Name: Kiina (Keena) Prattle
Age: 19
Sex: F
Description: She is about 5'11 and very lean. Not quite thin enough for people to do a double take, but enough that you think 'under fed model' when you look at her. Very tanned skin as she is outside as much as is possible. Her hair a vivid red, like a glowing sunset has come and settled on her head. It is pin straight and falls to mid-back. She has dark green eyes that seem to hold a deep sadness. They make you think of think old growth forest and mist when you look into them. A quiet smile always seems to be on her face. She can't hide her emotions to save her life, but because of that you can tell she is very trustworthy. She can't hide anything or lie successfully, so you know she has to be honest.
She has much endurance, and can seemingly run forever. She heals from injury quickly, but it often leaves a scar, and her hands have many little ones from nicks and bangs acquired over the years. She is not clumsy, quite the opposite, but whatever injuries she does acquire leaves a scar. She has gotten a jagged pink scar from her left collarbone, across and down almost her belly button. Because she so easily scars it is very noticeable but is normally hidden by her clothing. Her ears are also very slightly pointed. Not obvious, but if you stare at them long enough you do notice it.
She usually wears bellbottom blue jeans and often walks with her hand in her pockets, looking around at the world and smiling at various things. Her t-shirt is modest, to hide her scar easily, and is typically navy blue, white or green. She is often wearing a light blue fuzzy zip up hoodie, a spring jacket tied around her wait. It is white, light blue, and navy. The zipper is broken on it but she refuses to get a new one. Her sneakers are light green and white with white socks. Oh, a bit of a Scottish lilt in her voice.
Personality: Usually calm and serene, but doesn't stop between being calm and sad/angry etc. If she's angry, sad, or happy you immediately know it. There is no 'in between' stage if you get my meaning. She is not emotional, she just doesn't bother to try and suppress things, as she sucks at hiding what she's feeling. So she isn't prone to major freak-outs, as she let's it out immediately what it bothering her. A little sob here, an angry retort there and she's fine.
She may seem absent minded but it is only an illusion, she is always watching. Always willing to lend a hand and her time, with no thanks ever expected. The kind of person where you absent mindfully ask her to do something, or wish for something to be done and the next day there it is, complete. She is friendly, but not apt to spill her life story out to you. It is not obvious she is very suspicious of people especially males, as she is always so friendly and willing to help. If it wasn't for her vivid red hair and eyes, she would be utterly forgettable. She can still blend into a crowd when she hides her hair (put it up in a bun or tail) .You sweep your eyes over her, and dismiss her as unimportant. It was a rather amusing talent in school; she would be marked there even if she wasn't.
History: Normal is the key word growing up. Her parents are from Scotland, that's where she got her slight accent. Nothing special happened in primary school, made a few friends, bullied a little but not when she reached the older grades. Didn't move around, stayed in one school for all of Primary and one school all of Secondary. She loved music and nature and could often be found in the parks in the city. She would climb up a tree and indulge in her favourite pastime, people watching. She found it very amusing to watch others go about their lives, totally oblivious to everyone else. Unless of course something went wrong and then they would hope no one noticed.
She had average grades through school, slightly higher in music and art. She played the French Horn and photography was her specialty. When she was in the eleventh grade she was walking home late one night from band practice, she was grabbed when cutting through an alley. She had thought nothing of it as she had done it all the time she had lived there. The man tried to rape her and gave her the jagged scar. She managed to get him off her and bashed the hilt of the knife into his temple. The authorities came quickly and all was settled, but obviously she hasn't been the same since. It was what caused her to become suspicious and that underlying sadness. For now she is an office clerk in a shipping company.
Element: Plant
Creature: Unicorn
Creature Description: Almost exactly like what stepped out of the ancient myths about them. She is not white, but a luminescent silver colour. Her coat appears to shine light green when the light hits it. Her horn is very long almost two feet and is crystal clear. A green light faintly glows from within it, and gets brighter or dimmer depending on her strength and emotional state. Her ears are longer then normal, about 7 inches long. She has feathering starting from her knees and hocks and goes all the way to her hooves, touching the ground. It is the colour of new growth grass, a bright light green. It looks very much like it is grass and can easily fool people into thinking it is just that. Her mane and tail are the same, and when they ripple in the wind it looks like prairie grass blowing in the wind. Her breath smells of a spring day, with the coolness of winter still lingering about. Her tail is very long and whip like, lots of long hair on the end but some climbs all the way up it until about a foot and a half from the base. Her dark grey hooves are cloven like deer, not solid like horses. Her hearing and sense of smell go up, but most noticeably her night vision is excellent, almost like day. Colours are much more vivid and she can she the auras around people.
Angelic Appearance: Much the same but her skin gets paler and her hair gets streaked with brilliant green. Her wings are long and narrow, built for long distance flying. They are silver and have green patterning on it in the shape of leaves.
Hybrid Appearance: She gains the long whip like tail and her hair becomes bright green. Her skin becomes quite pale but not sickly. She almost seems to glow in the moonlight. She has a small crystal jewel in the centre of her forehead that dimly glows green. Her sight becomes better and she can dimly see the auras. Lastly her feet become cloven.
Weapon: Double Bladed Sword-Obviously it has blades on both ends and takes a great amount of training to use. This is how she has gotten some of the cuts on her hands, through practice when she first got it. It is kept on her back as two separate half swords. She yanks them over her head and snaps them together. Once together they will not separate until she wants them to. The two blades are single edged and slightly curved all the way through. The handles are dark brown leather and have the appearance of bark. Except for the end, it is metal and holds the claps that hold them together. They have a green design of vines all the way down to the points. When she starts it is like watching a dance. Sometimes it mesmerizes her enemy and she quickly cuts them down.
Spells: Nature's Fury: The plants, be it grass, trees, bushes, flowers attack her enemy. Anything of plant origin will suddenly grow in exponential rates or grab with roots, branches, whatever is best and handy. Especially deadly are seeds. If they get into the enemies system or land on them, they will grow rapidly and, obviously, cause an extreme amount of pain and quite easily death. All plants will kill or just hold the offender at Kiina's will.
Life or Death: Her sword or horn becomes encased in a dark green liquid or yellow green. The yellow green causes sickness and weakness to all that get cut with it. The green heals with every swipe.
Relationships: Uh yeah, open?
Other: N/A

Not sure what time of the year it is so I guessed . . .

Kiina Prattle
*-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-*

'One thousand, two hundred and sixty four times six percent GST is . . . seventy five dollars and eighty four cents. Add that on and it's . . . one thousand three hundred and thirty nine, and eighty four cents. Cost to customer. K good now, '

DING!

Kaiina looked up from her desk and rubbed her eyes. It took a few seconds but her eyes eventually focused on the computer screen in front of her. It was a rather nice screen with a background of an old growth forest, a single lane dirt road winding through it. It took another couple of seconds to realize that yes her shift was over and she could leave.

She smiled and nodded once to herself but bent back to her work. The others around her were grabbing coats and jackets, rushing off to whatever they thought was so important that they must be the first to their car, and must get out of here right now. Kiina ignored them as usual and finished her last work order and put on her pile. She of course still had some left over but it was a small pile. They could most defiantly wait until tomorrow; she was ahead of the game anyway.

They were quickly deposited into the right inbox and she patiently gabbed her things, one of the last to leave. She smiled to a couple of co-workers that were as like-minded as she, not in a rush, let the maniacs go first. They chatted amiably, arranging to go and see a movie later in the week. They were an interesting mix, either long time employees not quite the retirement age but nearing the end of their working days or collage students. Kiina had plans to be in the latter soon but as many young adults these days, needed the money first.

She entered into the mid afternoon sunlight, slipping in and out of the workers coming in. She smiled and took a deep breath. Still the sent of spring but summer was fast approaching. Thankfully Bartholomew never got overly humid in the summer. She hitched her backpack up a little higher and started in the direction of the Dojo, she has a lesson today and was looking forward to the workout.

She seen a couple of people running at full tilt quite fearful and was wondering what was the matter. The zoomed by too quickly for her to ask though and otherwise she got to the Dojo without incident. She slipped into the building and swiftly changed. She was the second in her class to arrive, and she joined the other in her warm up exercises. There were in fact only five of them as their twin bladed sword was not a popular choice.

It was an uneventful lesson; she finally got a technique for attacking down right and the Sensei dismissed them for the day. By that time it was almost evening and after changing Kiina decided to relax by the pool for a while. That was when she noticed the well, tear in the water. It was rippling slightly, but against the waves of the pond. She noticed the fish were pressed up against the opposite side of the pond. Some people too seemed to be afraid of that area and were skirting around it; their faces though showed they knew not exactly what from.

She felt fear start to build in her chest but she approached it anyway. It was bizarre; it was all kinds of sickly colours and the space behind it seem to be sucking all the light away. Then the liquid seemed to move and a hand clawed free from it. It reached out and pulled against the edge, making the space wider. A glowing red eye appeared and peered around. It finally settled on her and it seemed to realize she could see it. She gulped and backed up. A chilling laughter seemed to echo from it and another joined the hand, this one though was like a crab's claw, but chunks missing out of it.

It shoved the hole bigger and bigger until its head slid out. It was vaguely snakelike but it had this dark liquid oozing all over it and drops kept falling of to sizzle on the ground. It couldn't seem to decide to be solid or liquid. Sometimes scales with jagged point were there, others the liquid covered them and flowed on. A midnight blue mane was attached to its sinuous neck and two branchlike horns extend from its head. It opened its mouth and hissed at her, enjoying the fear it was causing her.

She felt ready to faint and she rapidly back peddled and slammed into someone behind her. She whirled and saw it was a guy. He had about four inches on her; which was saying something, as she was quite tall. His almost black hair was stuck to his head in some places; obviously he'd just finished a class. All his clothes seemed about one size to big and his gold-rimmed glasses were askew from her bashing in him. He was vaguely familiar as she passed him a lot in the halls here. They'd never met; it was just the sort a familiarity of seeing someone everyday for a long while.

She leaped away but his eyes were not on her, but on the creature behind her. He looked about as terrified as she felt. Everyone else was either looking at them like they were nuts or trying to leave the area, looking over the shoulder frantically but wildly. Like they were scared, but they didn't know what they were running from. She looked from him to the well, THING and summoned up her courage. "You - you can see, tha-that thing too?"

-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

Hope I didn't go to far . . .

[Blademaster]

Well, seeing as nobody else is gonna step in...

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

Ivan

Ivan stared his icy stare at the boy in front of him, his thoughts only on his hungry stomach and how he could punish this ignorant waste of life for hindering him in his search.

"Hey, buddy, are you alright?" the boy asked, still on the ground. You could give me a hand, maybe...?"

Ivan began to reach... for his sword. But before he could draw it, something behind the boy in front of him growled a guttural growl. A black form pushed its way through the trees and stomped its way up to the pair, yowling fiercely.

"E-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" the boy shrieked, scuttling back as far from the creature as he could (which wasn't far considering Ivan was blocking his path).

Ivan himself looked at the creature emotionlessly, his face not portraying the slightest hint of emotion as he glared at the monster before him.

It was a putrid, twisted caricature of a corpse whose species when (if ever) alive Ivan could not even guess. A full ten feet tall, the demonic entity had green, crusty skin hanging loosely over a gangly skeleton resembling a cross between that of a human and some sort of amphibian. Sprouting from the beast's small hands and feet were black claws that looked literally five times bigger than they should've been, and where its tail should've been was a torn hole, with several decomposing entrails dragging along behind it. Yellowed spines ran down the creature's back, and the devil's skulllike face was marred by hollow eye sockets, razor-edged teeth in broad, gaping jaws, and a tiny stub of a nose, the nostrils of which were flaring at an insane speed and blowing dust and grime into the air.

'Well, now...' Ivan thought, raising an eyebrow, 'what have we here...?'

Ivan and the monster glared at one another for a few tense moments, the demon's beady eyes staring into Ivan's ice-cold ones, seemingly intimidating him about as much as he was intimidating it, when movement appeared in the corner of his eye. Ivan certainly wasn't going to take his eyes off the monster fifteen feet away from him, but he did see enough out of the corner of his eye to identify the newcomer as a 6-foot (or so) woman about his age, clad in casual, blue and black clothing.

'Another annoyance...' Ivan thought, turning his attention back to the demon. 'I have no patience for this...'

In the blink of an eye, Ivan had drawn his sword and pointed it at the demon, its blade glinting a magnificent white in the sunlight. The glinting light struck the creature in the eyes, causing it to flinch...

That was all Ivan needed - with the speed of a marathon runner, Ivan sprinted at the demon and slashed it across the throat with his sword. The beast fell back, black ichor spurting from the wound and its mouth. The abomination's head drooped, a gurgling croak escaping its severed throat, before it turned tail and ran, astonishingly seeming to move faster despite just having its trachea severed.

The boy in front of Ivan looked up at the black-clad man in awe.

"Whoa..." he muttered.

Ivan ignored him and dashed through the trees after the beast, his sword raised over his opposite shoulder, his head low as he sought his quarry. Within seconds, he'd made his way to the lake.

But the beast was gone - all that was left out of the ordinary was a blur of dark colors out over the water.

Ivan straightened up and looked around. The warped colors did catch his eye, but his mind was focused on the entity he'd just been attacked by (or maybe the other way around). Only after several moments of not finding the beast did he finally 'relax.' He glanced down at the water.

His reflection stared back at him, a few trout swimming beneath it.

Ivan licked his lips...

SHINK!

Seconds later, a single unlucky trout found his heart and spine impaled on Ivan's sword. Ivan removed the dead fish from his sword and wiped off the blade before replacing it. He gathered a few stray sticks around the lake and, with the help of a lighter he'd found in the gutter a few days earlier, started a small fire on the shore. He impaled the fish from mouth to tail on a particularly sharp stick and then set it against the bonfire, the flames quickly barbecuing the fish, leaving it charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

'Finally.' Ivan thought, picking up the stick and biting into the fish. Like he usually did, his zeal to eat lead him to burn his tongue, but he didn't care. Finally, he had his meal.

And no aggravating bystanders or netherworldly abherrations were going to change that...

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

Or... are they...?

DUN-DUN-DUNNNNNNNNN!!

[Mew Master]

WHoo-hoo! Someone to pal around with!

Denny Roth ~ Fire
--------------------------

"You - you can see, tha-that thing too?"

Indeed I could. A horrible mix of mammalian, reptilian, and amphibian features. Dark ooze dripped from smooth and spiky skin to land on the ground, sizzling with a patch of dark energy and black smoke. It stood taller than me, possibly around seven… maybe eight feet tall.

The…thing had just ripped its way through the tear in reality that I had seen earlier before practice. As it did so, I hadn’t noticed the tanned woman also staring at the sight. That is, I didn’t notice until she bumped into me. I’m not used to women, or anyone for that matter, suddenly bumping into me. She did look familiar, however. I had seen her walking the halls of the dojo with a wrapped weapon. She must have been in some of the more advanced classes for exotic weapons.

I didn’t notice all of that until later however.

A low hiss escaped from the thing’s mouth, snake-like maw showing two large fangs and smaller back-wards facing teeth lined the rim. The hiss turned into a chuckle as it could almost feel the fear and shock growing in my mind. We must have looked silly to everyone else. Why didn’t they see it? It was as plain as *&%^ DAY! The woman seemed to be terrified as well, however she wasn’t in a helpless damsel-in-distress sense of terror.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I can see it.”

She looked back at me before her eyes settled on the being before us once more. The creature’s laughing caused it to rear its head back in a maniacal fit of laughter.

“Finally,” it said, with a hissing lisp. “Eons of waiting, scrounging around just to survive, waiting for the chance to return…”

“Did it just talk?” I asked this time, my eyes nearly bulging out in realization. It could talk. If it could talk, it must be intelligent. If it was intelligent, we were in big trouble.

My fellow terror-struck peer nodded before replying. “I think… I think it did.”

Its eyes focused in on us once more, and I recognized those un-earthly eyes as those that had seemed to stare into my soul earlier. Slowly it started advancing on us. However, our combination of fear and shock was keeping us rooted to the spot, unable to move or afraid to run.

It was a few feet away from us, every step it took dislodged more sludge that dropped and burned the ground, causing the vegetation to rot and wither. Pulling its crab-clawed hand back and I realized what it was going to do.

For some reason: my own willingness to protect others at the expense of my own life, or just the instinct for self-preservation. My realization was that at that moment it was going to kill us, and enjoy it.

Moving without thinking (either instinct or training, I’m still unsure which) I moved in front of the woman with me.

“Look out!” I shouted as I extended my arms up.

Aikido is a martial art devoted to using your opponent’s energy and momentum against them. It’s a passive defensive art, and also one that doesn’t receive that much attention. Unless of course you’re Steven Segal, who’s a 7th Degree Blackbelt Aikidoist (which shouldn’t be possible for American students). It’s also viewed as “faking” because of the usage of Ki and understanding how the human body bends and moves.

Now this thing wasn’t human, however I was going to at least use what I knew (however little it was) to protect us.

I stepped into the creature’s way, my body close to his. The smell was a mixture of a wet-burlap sac, ozone, and sulfur. My arms, extended up so that they were on either side of its neck while it’s crab-clawed arm was still in mid-swing and in the air. Extending my Ki, sliding my left foot back, dropping my center of gravity, and grabbing onto it’s (clawed) arm as I did I took the thing down with me as I used a yokomen tenchin to use his momentum, my center of gravity as a fulcrum, and threw the monstrosity into a nasty break-fall straight around us and onto its back.

I was surprised at myself. Not just that I had used a move with practicality, but that I had used the more aggressive form of the throw to drop a monster at least two feet taller than me.

My new friend was also somewhat impressed, from what I could tell.

“What… did you do?” she asked, surprised.

“Eh…Oh,” I rubbed the back of my head in slight embarrassment and pride. “It’s Aikido.” I felt something sliding around on my head and I realized my hand had some of the black goop on it. In a normal fit of comedic backlash, I frantically tried to get the goo off of my arm by shaking it around frantically. “Get it off. Get it off!”

“RRRAAAAGH!”

I stopped my attempts to dislodge the sludge from my hand and both me and the woman looked at the monster standing back up.

The ground showed the impact of its landing, and a few of the circular stones were cracked and fractured. It stood and I could hear the popping of bones and ligaments as it snapped them back into place. Then it started laughing again.

“You are going to be more fun to kill than I thought.” it hissed at me.

I stepped back, reading myself once again. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimmer of metal and I saw that my ally had a staff with two blades on either end. An honest to god twin-bladed sword.

“Ya know,” I said, a smirk coming across my face for some reason. “If we’re going to be fighting together, I might as well ask your name.”

She readied herself as well, the hypnotic fear of the monster before us broken. If I could throw it to the ground, then there was a chance we could win…. And survive.

“Kiina,” she replied. “Kiina Prattle. And you are?”

“Roth. Denny Roth,” I replied in a horrible James Bond rip-off.

Then I noticed that green energy seemed to flow around Kiina as she stared at the monster. I had never seen aura’s before, and hers looked very natural, like I was looking at a serine forest. Pushing that thought aside, we both prepared for the thing’s advance.

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

*pokes River or MTR* Yer it!

[Pichu Luver]

Tagged! I'm assuming you don't have your katana at the moment, but you'll get it out in my post, k?

Kiina Prattle
*-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-*

'Ok did he just flip that slime ridden, crab-snake thing?' Kiina blinked.'Holy crap'

"What . . . did you do?" she asked glancing between him and the monster. She didn't try to hide the surprise evident on her face. It was amazing he'd managed to do anything to that monstrosity.

"Eh…Oh," he rubbed the back of his head an embarrassed smile on his face. “It’s Aikido.” Kiina nodded, now realizing what had happened. A very efficient martial art, she had never been a disciple of it, but she had watched it sometimes. She like its fluidity of movement and no wasted actions. Suddenly he started to jump around and was shaking his hand frantically, "Get it off. Get it off!" The black goo went flying Kiina couldn't help it, she laughed.

Suddenly the monster seemed to get its bearing, or breath, or maybe it was just affronted she had the daring to laugh in its presence. It opened its maw and roared, blobs of that nasty black stuff going everywhere. It lurched to its feet and we both impulsively took a step back. The fear returned with a vengeance and Kina could practically feel her pupils dilating.

It turned, the cracked and dead plants showing just how heavy it had landed and deadly it was. Kina felt a pang she couldn't explain at the dead flora. Its bones and ligaments pop and cracked as it turned and stood. The other students had long since vacated the area, utterly terrified how grass was just dying and stone cracking for no reason they could see. Even the teachers were gone as far as she could tell.Inexplicitly it started to laugh and fixed its gaze on the guy beside her.

You are going to be more fun to kill then I thought. It hissed at him.

' Oh no you don't. He probably just saved my life, and I'll be damned if I don't return the favour.' Kiina reached over her back and brought out her two long handled sword. With a twist and a clink they were together and secure. Kiina dropped into her battle stance a second after the man did. She saw him flick a glance at her and his eyes widened a trifle. Evidently he knew they're weren't many people versed in her type of weapon.

"Ya know,” He said, a smirk coming across his face. “If we’re going to be fighting together, I might as well ask your name."

Kiina grimly smiled as well, her blood was starting to rise. She loved a good fight and now that he had proven this thing wasn't invincible she wanted a piece of it. "Kiina," she replied. "Kiina Prattle. And you are?"

"Roth. Denny Roth,"

Kiina snorted at his James Bond joke and glanced amusedly at him. She turned back to the thing and watched as the goop kept falling off and killed the plants. She didn't know why, this just kept getting her more and more angry. An insane smile split her face and she felt alive with energy. It seemed to start at her heart and rushed over her body and everything seemed to be more vivid, except for the monster. It looked more dead then ever.

She glanced at Denny and her gave her an odd look. Oh she knew what her face looked like. It always caused her fellow classmates to become just a little fearful. She looked insane but she just loved the heady rush of battle. She noted a flickering red glow seemed to start to grow on him. She dismissed it as unimportant as it wasn't harming him or her. She smirked at him, her eyes flashing. He nodded, assured she was fine. They rushed at the creature.

So began the dance. She sliced at the crab arm as it came down when she reached it. It came off with a horrible sucking and crunch noise, its vivid yellow blood spurting outwards. Denny then again used its own momentum against it to get it on the ground.

They fought well together, Denny would throw it to the ground, or turn it away when she was just a trifle to slow to protect herself. When a claw reached out, or the maw came around to bite him, she would swipe up and cut it away. Denny seemed to give her a signal to distract it and she swiped at its head. He disappeared for moment and came back with a katana. By this time his shirt and pants had dark spots where the goop fell on him. Thankfully it just seemed to slide off, but it was leaving stains that almost seemed to be burn marks.

It was a beautiful weapon and the red glow that surrounded him flowed up the sword and encased it in its glow. It was bright red and when he sliced into the creature it screeched in such a high pitch they both clamped their hands to their ears and sank to the ground. It gazed at them with utter hatred and snarled low and guttural, swinging its tail around. The end had a giant mace on it and Kiina cried out, reaching out with her hand in a futile gesture to protect Denny.

A green glow shot out from her hand and covered the grass around Denny. Time seemed to stop for them but sped up rapidly for the grass beneath him. It shot up in an accelerated growth so fast they were two feet tall in matter of seconds. They reached under Denny and tossed him out of the way. As he was flying through the air the mace slammed into the grass. It reached up and entangled its tail, twisted and growing still more and thicker with every second. The monster roared in frustration and tried to wrench his tail free.

Denny tumbled to stop beside her and sputtered, "How in the hell did you DO that?"

Kiina put her hand down and the glow stopped, but the monster was still trapped for the time being. "I-I-I don't know." She shook her head looked at him utterly confused. The red glow was still around him and he looked just as mystified as she was.

-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

I figured you'd like to use your spells first. So *searches for someone to tag*

[Mew Trainer Rose]

Aliana – Light
~~~~~~~~~~~

I stared after the other woman as she ran off down the street, her words echoing in my ears: "You saw it too, or something like it, didn't you? There's very little that would make anyone run like that in this city..." Could she see the rip I saw? Were there more of them? Or did one of those things trying to pull the rip open manage to get out? In that case, she probably ran off to confront something that had escaped from the rip, or possibly a different. I was torn; should I go after her? Should I head back to campus and pretend I don't know a thing?

My sense of self-preservation won out, and I quickly took off in the opposite direction as the woman went, heading back to my room. I had a small apartment very close to campus, so close it may as well have been one of the dorms. My heedless rush earlier had brought me fairly close to campus, so it didn't take me long. I scurried into my apartment and collapsed onto a chair.

I felt safer for the moment, but only slightly. If there were more of those things, then who knows where or when I’d see one? All I could be sure of was that there wasn’t one here and now. As I pondered what to do next, my eyes roved idly over my room, then settled on the box I kept my kamas in. It occurred to me that should I run into something from those rips, I’d better be able to protect myself. I took the two small sickles out of the box, then after a moment’s thought I wrapped both blades in cloth, cleaned all my books and papers out of my backpack, and put both kamas in the backpack. As an afterthought, I tucked a little more cloth in the bag behind the kamas as a precaution. I wouldn’t want to cut or stab myself by accident if I could help it. With the backpack on, the weight of the weapons against my back was somewhat reassuring.

But now I was back to the question of what to do now. Hiding in my room certainly wouldn’t make whatever those things were go away. Running around randomly wouldn’t do much either, and if I did run into something I had no idea if I would be able to fight it off successfully.

…I’d better find others who can see those things. Maybe they’d know more, or could help me fight if we ran into something. I nodded resolutely at the thought, then went out to look.

[Mystic_clown]

Name: Angelo Weiss/Veran/Poe/Nero/Sorrow/Rage/Joy/Drowzy/Beast (you’ll see why he has so many names when you check his personality/history).
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Description: Standing at about 6’23’’ with a lean build and pale skin. His pale brown hair is short, reaching just below his chin, yet is tangled and sticks up in all directions. His green eyes can either be dull on minute, or blazing with energy the next.

As for clothing, Angelo’s arms are restrained in a straight jacket, preventing their use. He also wears a pair of brown, slightly puffy pants and laceless boots, which he can kick off and put on without the use of his hands.
Personality: Angelo suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder. But while people with this only have TWO personalities, Angelo has NINE! Most of these personalities are constantly fighting for control of the body.
Angelo: Usually weak and timid from his time in the asylum. When he gets to know someone though, he opens up quite easily. He’s generally a nice person, but likes to keep out of everyone’s way.
Veran: A lot more confident and more forward than Angelo. He likes to speak in riddles and while showing a great deal of intelligence, prefers to use it to confuse people. Like Angelo, he’s a friendly character and is one of the few personalities that will willingly give control back to Angelo.
Poe: Cold, calculating and always thinking things through. Poe is the intellectual of the nine. He displays almost genius like intelligence and often looks down on others as a result. While he prefers to remain in control, he will give control to either Veran or Angelo on some occasions.
Nero: Angelo’s evil side. Cruel, sadistic and ruthless. He displays great arrogance and will go to any length to satisfy his goals. He often speaks ill of the other personalities, especially Angelo. When he gains control, he’ll only relinquish it when one of the others wrench it from him.
Sorrow: The emo personality. Always depressed and angsty, he often wonders the point of doing anything in this world. When he gains control, he never really tries to hang on to it.
Rage: The personification of rage and hatred. He’ll explode at almost anything and will hold a grudge against someone a long as they live. When he gets mad, it’s hard to calm him. When he gains control, it’s hard to take it from him.
Joy: While Sorrow represents sadness, and Rage represents anger, Joy represents unrivaled bliss. Constantly happy and bouncy, he’ll either cheer up those around him, or annoy them to no end. He’s prone to breaking into song and randomly hugging (or trying to) random people.
Drowzy: Constantly tired, Drowzy wants only to sleep, that’s it. As soon as he gains control, he’ll most likely fall asleep, unless someone keeps him awake.
Beast: Wild, insane and unpredictable. What Beast will do is completely unknown. He could be sitting still one minute and trying to kill someone the next. Apart from Nero, Beast is truly the insane personality of the nine.
History: Due to having a rather domineering mother during childhood, Angelo, like his father, quickly became meek and submissive. Having to repress all anger, sadness, barely getting any sleep and being forced to control what he did. However, at the age of 15, all these surpressed aspects of him came out, as personalities of their own. His surpressed anger and sadness came out as Sorrow and Rage. He’s lack of happiness came out a Joy. His longing to be confident came out as Varen, the intelligence he had to hide came out as Poe. His wild, reckless side came out as Beast and finally, his dark, hateful side came out as Nero. His parents (mainly his mother) had him sent to an insane asylum after Nero took control and attacked Angelo’s mother. He’s been there for five years, without any improvement. Although, since his arms had been bound by the straight jacket, Angelo has learnt how to use his feet in place of his arms. Recently, a demon attack on the asylum as allowed Angelo to escape.
Element: (Element from which your character draws his or her Spells, No restrictions.)
Creature: Hydra
Creature Description: A large, 10 foot serpent-like creature. He only has two from claws, no hind legs. His scales are a pale red-ish hue and has sharp, black spines running down his necks and back. At the end of his tail are three large spikes, good for clubbing. Each of his nine heads are a different colour, representing a persona. Pale green for Angelo, a brilliant emerald green for Veran, steel gray for Poe, blue for Sorrow, deep red for Rage, gold for Joy, purple for Drowzy, multicoloured for Beast and pitch black for Nero. All heads with glowing yellow snake eyes.
Angelic Appearance: Same as his human form, only with two large black wings bursting through his straight jacket.
Hybrid Appearance: His hair appears a lot more spiky than his human form. His skin takes on a pale green hue and becomes slightly scaley. and his eyes are a glowing yellow and snake eyes. He has a pair of black spines going down his back and his teeth become much sharper.
Weapon: Since Angelo’s arms are….unavailable due to his jacket, he has to use his feet. His weapons are blade like devices worn on his feet (think the grieve edge from Soul Caliber 3).
Spells:
Flame Dive: Flames form around Angelo’s feet as he performs a flying kick at almost superhuman speeds.
Kaboom!: Flames surround him before giving off a massive explosion, severely damaging everyone within 15 metres of the explosion, except for Angelo himself.
Relationships: Open

Sorry for taking so long with this.

[Blademaster]

You guys seem to be having some trouble with this slimeball. Maybe I can lend a hand...

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

Ivan

Ivan made his way down the street running parallel to the lake, the light rain falling not seeming to bother him as he went.

Still, that didn't mean that Ivan was off the hook yet - there was one thing still annoying him...

"Ivan!" the lanky Asian teen (He'd identified himseld as 'Kyoshiro.') called, running after his black-clad 'friend.' "Ivan, wait up! Where are you going?"

Ivan didn't respond.

"You have to be going somewhere." Kyoshiro said obviously.

'The fact that this ignoramus can articulate a though even THAT complex is really surprising.' Ivan thought as he went on his way.

Kyoshiro followed Ivan another block, his feet practically falling in step with Ivan's.

Finally, Ivan stopped. Kyoshiro, surprised by this, almost walked into Ivan for the second time that day.

"Ivan...?" Kyoshiro asked after a few seconds. "Something wrong?"

Ivan didn't respond; his hand reached for his sword. He grabbed the hilt...

And then, he paused.

"Why are you following me?" Ivan finally asked, not turning around, tilting his head, averting his gaze, anything.

"Well," Kyoshiro replied, "for one thing, you're going in the same direction as me, and for another, you just fought off a monster that probably would've eaten me for lunch if you hadn't. So, I guess I owe you a-"

"You owe me nothing." Ivan interrupted as he began to walk again. "Go away."

Kyoshiro paused for a moment, but then he continued after Ivan.

"Come on, don't be like that!" Kyoshiro said. "Ivan...!"

Kyoshiro stopped talking when he'd realized Ivan was standing still again.

But this time, it wasn't because of Kyoshiro that he'd stopped - Ivan's attention had been captured by what looked like smoke billowing over the buildings two blocks down...

Right around where the Dojo was...

'It's just one disaster after another today, isn't it?' Ivan thought to himself. 'Apparently I haven't yet lost my touch...'

Ivan glanced down at the sidewalk, raindrops running down his face and glasses before droping away and splattering on the ground.

'I might as well see what's happening for myself...' Ivan thought with a sigh. With that, he marched off in the direction of the smoke, not knowing or caring if Kyoshiro was still behind him.

'This city is always so stagnant and tedious.' Ivan thought as he walked. 'It's been so long since anything truly dire has happened around here... I was beginning to think that the powers above had finally decided to lift this curse they'd placed on me...'

Ivan turned the corner.

'...But it appears that I was wrong...'

Ivan's attention drifted back to where he was going.

And that's when he stopped dead for the third (and last) time.

Before him was a scene like something out of a bad anime: the Dojo lay in ruins, flames and smoke billowing from the rubble scattered about the remains of the foundation. The pool and garden were marred by dark stains and globules of decaying matter, and the garden itself looked as though a rain of weed killer had fallen and wiped the Earth clean of life. Around the decayed landscape stood four battle-damaged young adults: a man in his late twenties holding a bow, a man Ivan's age in casual clothing, a teenage girl with long red hair, also in casual clothes, and a short brunette in faded clothes.

But what really made the scene bizarre was the fact that the redhead weilded a twin-bladed sword surrounded by green energy, the younger man was weilding what looked like a red lightsaber, the archer's bow and arrows seemed to be flickering a faint yellow, and the brunette held a pair of shining white kamas!

The quartet of warriors stood at the ready, facing the Dojo, weapons raised. Before Ivan could ponder what was going on, a lumbering form burst out of the Dojo, howling horribly and stepping into the fray.

Ivan curled his lip in disgust - the shadowy beast looked vaguely like a 9-foot Swamp Thing covered in black ichor. Its head resembled that of a rotting snake's, and one of its claws was a massive, crablike pincer.

"Puny humans..." the abomination snarled, raising its claw. "Try whatever you wish - your pathetic magic tricks won't save you..."

The monster paused, its head swiveling in Ivan's direction and stopping.

"What...?" the demon snarled. "Another one? You humans are like cockroaches - there's more everywhere you look!"

Confused, the four already fighting the demon turned and spotted Ivan.

The demon took a few 'steps' forward, a grin spreading over its hideous face.

"But... you seem... different, somehow... You don't seem to have any of these other mortals' gimmicks at your disposal... Or, if you do, you either do not realize it..."

The monster stopped about thirty feet from Ivan, the other four fighters on either side of the beast, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"...Or, you choose not to use it."

Ivan glared his lethal glare at the monster, not moving in the slightest as it stared him down.

"Yes... that's it." the behemoth rasped. "You're holding back, aren't you? You are either very brave... or you are a fool."

The monstrosity clacked its large claw menacingly at Ivan.

"Well... I believe this will be quite entertaining. Prepare yourself, mortal..."

Ivan didn't budge from his spot. Four sets of human eyes and one set of... something else's eyes were trained on him.

Slowly, Ivan drew his sword...

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

Neeeeeext...?

[Shadow Djinn]

Given my family's lack of festivities, here I am on Christmas day.

With that said, Merry Christmas!

Kyoshiro Watanabi - wind
-

Ever since Kyoshiro was a kid he picked up on several things. First off, stay away from your parents when they're in a rush. Second off, asking for an object more will only decrease the chances of attaining said object. And thirdly, stay out of trouble, and run when something seems too big to handle.

Even as Kyoshiro's eyes fell on the demon, he felt fear pulsate through him -- an emotion he thought had escaped him long ago. Then it left. As if a celestial breeze had swept throughout his person and thrown away the conflicting emotions.

He managed a smile, throwing off his soccer jersey to reveal a plain black collared shirt, noting plainly that said jersey had been caught on a sporadic breeze and was now in a circle of flickering embers.

Ivan had drawn his sword, moving forward to engage the demon amongst the other combatants. Apparently he'd gone unnoticed -- Ivan obviously knew of his presence, but didn't care much.

Should've kept that knife I found...

Kyoshiro sighed, brushing away orange-black locks.

Fuck, I really don't want to do this...

He proceeded to speak a string of foreign curses as he dashed forward, gloved hands clenched into fists.

So I leap and then I kick with my cleats...yea, that'll do it.

The demon had raised a burly arm, howling as it prepared to smite Ivan for all its worth.

Kyoshiro closed his eyes.

Oi vey...

He thrust downward with powerful legs, propelling into the air.

Evidently his valorous feat went awry -- the beast simply roared in amusement and batted the oriental boy away with its other arm before approaching Ivan once more.

Kyoshiro plummeted to the ground with a groan, feeling a searing gash in his leg. Rising slightly, he cursed as blood trickled from the wound.

The five combatants were attacking the demon now, who seemed to be incredibly aggravated by the humans' efforts.

" I guess you guys have the situation under control," Kyoshiro said sheepishly.

Then he ran.

You're just going to run? Kyoshiro paused in midstride, wheeling around to see the gruesome scene once more.

" Yea," he said to himself. " I am. I can't do anything and --"

Summon it.

" What?"

The courage...

" What the hell am I going to do? Kick soccer balls at that bloody thing? Look at --" Kyoshiro paused, gazing around him.

...Where was he? His eyes detected long stalks of grass waving about in a gentle but persistent breeze, sweeping across what seemed like a fertile plain. Kyoshiro muttered something in Icelandic, gazing about the darkkness that was now shrouding the plains. The wind continued to blow, increasing in fact, as only small specks of light cascaded about the dismal chamber.

Then a roar penetrated his thoughts, the shadows receding as a beast sprung forward, mane blowing wildly in the rising crescendo of the wind, head thrusting into the air with a powerful bellow.

Courage...

Kyoshiro's hands -- still clenched, began to surge with energy even as the beast dissapeared, still feeling the gales sweeping about him as his eyes fell on the hellmonger once more.

He paced forward at first, before increasing into a steady run as his face disfigured into a scowl, hands thrusting forward as he felt the air swirl about him, emerald energy forward from his outstretched palms...

" GALE TEMPO!"

Jade sickles of hissing wind emerged from his hands, twirling forward at wild speeds, ripping into the hellmonger with a shnk!, tearing through the skin of the beast with ease. Ichor dripped from the wound, and Kyoshiro prepared to thrust his palms forth once more, only to realize he was...

" Swords," he said breathlessly, gazing at the two short swords that were now held in his hands. His eyes regained slight luster, and he grinned.

Come on, then.

[Mew Master]

Denny Roth~Fire
------------------------------

Aye, what a strange predicament we find ourselves in, I thought with a Scottish accent.

Kiina, Lue, Aliana, and myself stared the thing down once more, starting to regain our strength. Somehow my gashes had healed and Kiina wasn’t wincing in pain with every breath. I was still glass-less but I could see the form of the thing, clear enough.

Our attention was drawn as the thing seemed to acknowledge someone else entering the clearing.

Or should I say, two people.

We looked, and I saw another human, but without my glasses their details were masked somewhat. The blobs of color that I assumed were his clothes were jet black, and his skin was a pale contrast. Surrounding him I saw a vibrating dark aura. Was he another one of us? Possibly, he looked human enough. The other seemed shorter, and I assumed younger, looked like he was dressed in a soccer jersey.

The tall one seemed to draw a sword in response to the demon’s taunting, and readied himself as the thing advanced on him. Then I saw the younger one, rush towards the abomination, and jump up, aiming a kick. Raising the pincer arm, it smacked the kid away and a cloud of dust was kicked up from the impact.

“Damn,” I muttered. “That’s the last straw.” I felt my anger start rising to the surface.

It took a lot to get me angry. Pick on me, hit me, hurt me, I’ll just brush it all off. But, pick on someone I care about, or a kid, then I get pissed.

I pushed myself up, gritting my teeth together in anger and determination. So what if I couldn’t see that clearly, I usually practice with my glasses off anyways.

Watching as the tall man (taller than me I thought) and the monstrosity faced off, both slashing and cutting away at each other. He seemed to be a better fighter than me or Kiina were individually, but I don’t think he could fully handle the thing.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ve got a way I think will kill it, but I have to be attacked to strike. After that I won’t be able to defend myself from its tail or any other tricks it might have.”

“So watch your back like earlier?” Kiina asked.

“Basically.” I tensed up my legs, ready to rush forward.

I saw the tall one and the demon exchange several blows, he managed to avoid the thing’s blows, even if they did look like really close calls. Watching, I timed my rush. I had to get in between the two, just as the thing was ready to slash down with its claws or pincer.

Now! and I had my chance.

Running forward, I kept my new sword out to the side, ready to intercept. Sliding along the ground between the creature and the man, I raised my sword horizontal. The things claws caught on the back of the blade, causing sparks and flame to fly. I my hold of the swords position lack, letting the claws slide off as the thing continued on its downward swing. The swing was moved off course by my block, and away from the man behind me. Sliding my foot forward I got behind the thing and then jumped up to reach the neck. Aiming for the area where I thought the neck would be, I sliced down.

Heat and flame burned against the creature’s sludge-skin as I pressed it harder and deeper. It started thrashing about in pain and letting out the high-pitched shriek that it enjoyed so much.

I tried to push down deeper, feeling the recoil of the thing, but I wasn’t slicing through. Not yet at least. It started to thrash around, and I was starting to lose my hold on it. Then its body became rigid and it roared in pain. Glancing down I saw Kiina with one of her blades buried into the thing’s chest, a groove leading away from where her blade was now, somewhere in the rib cage. It shrieked and started to raise its pincer to smash into her when out of nowhere the taller man thrust down, pinning the pincer shut by thrusting his sword through, sticking it to the ground. Dark energy from his body moved through the sword and to the ground, pinning the “hand” there. Now that I had a closer look at ‘em, the guy did not look that happy, but I can guess none of us really did.

The thing started thrashing around, and I could see the neck start to engorge with sludge again. It was readying to spit, when more arrows flew through the air from Leu’s longbow, embedding themselves through the snout of the creature, pinning its mouth shut with several arrows. We were holding it steady, Kiina and the man trying to hold it steady, and my sword slowly making the cut through the neck. I felt the other hand try to move and slice at either of them, but a blur of movement and the sickening sound of breaking bone met my ears and I glanced back. The kid was there, brandishing a pair of short swords, he had connected with the thing’s elbow, causing it to pivot in the opposite direction of normal and a black and silver bone had burst through the flesh. A gust of wind seemed to accompany his movement, and a light blue aura surrounded him extending forward. It thrashed around now, and I saw the movement of the mace-like tail. As if in a counter-movement, Aliana stuck both of her small scythes into the flesh of the tail and tried to keep it still.

I imagined we all looked like an interesting sight. An eight-foot tall demon, thrashing around with young adults sticking weapons into the flesh to tie it down so that it could be decapitated. Odds are we looked like one of the murals that were in the dojo… if it wasn’t burnt to the ground by the time we were done.

Finally I felt my sword start to push on through the neck, and I pushed even harder, brining my full weight down on it. With a hiss of smoke, fire, and ozone, my sword cleaved through the neck. A high pierced screech caused my eardrums to ring as the blade of my sword disappeared before I landed. The head of the creature bounced off the ground twice before it stopped, yellow and black fluids draining from it. Similar fluids seemed to drain from the body, which continued to move and twitch.

Then, the sludge and flesh started to melt off the body, half covering Kiina in the process. However this sludge wasn’t the acidic type it had spat at me earlier and it slid off of her too. Everyone stepped back from the mess as the sludge and ooze disappeared into nothing. The skeleton collapsed like a load of bricks, the light shining off of the silver streaks.

We watched and the bones themselves started to dissolve. Crumbling under their own weight, the skeleton turned to ash, and then was blown away in the growing wind.

I overlooked the damage. The relaxation area was almost completely decimated. Several trees had been smashed and patches of grass were either dead or three feet tall. No piece of the goo was left, absorbing into the ground and soil. A part of the dojo was still on fire, no doubt that part was my fault. Should have known paper/wood and fire don’t mix. The smoke had risen into a large tower in the sky. Surprising of all the damage, was that the relaxation pool was undamaged. Everything about it was still pristine, clear, and perfect as it had been before. And perhaps the most disturbing thing then, was the eerie purple glow that still emanated from inside the pool.

I didn’t know it then, but our fight, wasn’t nearly over…

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

Allright ppl... mingle... character development time... We've still got... oh... bout 5 or so minutes before the police and fire-trucks arrive..

[Pichu Luver]

Shhhhhhh yes I'm pathetic I'm posting on Christmas, well now its technically Boxing Day but meh, still kinda sad. ^^'''.

Kiina Prattle
*-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-*

"Eh God that was right bloody disgusting. Eh-ru-errrrrg." said Kiina as she shivered all over. The rain felt good after all that guck on her. The vines slowly receded, the glow seeming to flow back down into the grass at her feet. The fire was far enough away for the moment, and she felt the fatigue setting in, so she plopped ungraciously on her butt. In the process she felt her hand land on a pair of glasses, "Huh. Here Denny, I think these are yours."

He blinked owlishly down at her, rain pouring down his face, before taking them. "Yeah thanks." he shook his head in amusement, "I can't believe they're not broken."

"Be thankful for the small miracles." Kiina said jokingly. He looked about as tired as she felt. He raised an eyebrow at her and about a nanosecond later they both burst into laughter. The woman who seemed to know Denny smiled and laughed a little, the blond man smirked and chuckled. The oriental teen smiled but the black hair man, he looked like death incarnate. He only surveyed them all like they were very, very well, foolish would be the polite term, and snorted in derision.

"You were a fool to get in my way like that. Sheer dumb luck is the only reason you aren't dead right now."

Denny started protesting and Kiina got up, gulping. This man, he had the same feel the man from the alley three years ago. Cold and indifferent to any pain he may cause to others. He listened to Denny an instant before sweeping his gaze over the group. To her it looked like he was assessing them. He seemed to sense her fear and Kiina abruptly lowered her eyes as he looked at her, focusing on the pond. As she watched from the corner of her eye he appeared to narrow his eyes for a moment, before focusing on Denny again.

Kiina simply sighed and continued to watch him from the corner of her eye. For that matter she swept a quick look over the other guys. Denny seemed an alright sort, and she didn't think the soccer teen would try much. The other man though, so far he'd been ok but one never knew. She just shrugged to herself and made a mental note.

She listened as the others chatted and replied where appropriate, but focused on her swords. She took apart her staff and sunk both blades into the ground. The goo may have just slid off but it never hurt to be cautious. She reached over her shoulder again and got the rag for her blades. It was soaking wet but it was better then nothing. She wiped them clean and wiped them once more on the grass before putting them away. By this point she could hear sirens in the distance and said, "Um, I think were going to have a lot of explaining to do in a few minutes if we don't skedaddle quickly."

-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

Right, so just chat around her and do what choo want. So your'ses mingling turn!

[Blademaster]

Shhhhhhh yes I'm pathetic I'm posting on Christmas, well now its technically Boxing Day but meh, still kinda sad. ^^'''.

Erm... I've been here posting a lot of the day, too.

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

Ivan

Dust...

That was all that was left of the monster whose massive claw Ivan had pinned to the ground just moments earlier. His sword, still embedded in the Earth, was now plunged not through a huge crab claw, but a small mound of grey powder, blowing away in the wind and dissolving in the rain.

Ivan stared down at the blade of his sword, deep in thought. In the midst of a fight, his sense seemed to sharpen, allowing him to take notice of the things around him more easily...

But as bizarre as his opponent was, what truly baffled Ivan was his own sword - as he plunged it through the beast's claw, he could swear he saw something black envelop his blade before diving into the Earth, like a great shadow, but different. It was more focused. More powerful.

More... solid...

'What is going on here?' Ivan thought, pulling his sword from the ground and inspecting the blade.

Raindrops spattered against the sword, dirt and ichor clinging to it thinning and washing away, leaving only the silver, normal-looking blade underneath.

'I've seen much in my life,' Ivan thought, turning the sword over. 'I've seen fires, floods, tornadoes... But a nightmarish hellspawn? Powers over the elements? This is all new to me...'

A few voices broke Ivan away from his thoughts. He looked up, remembering that there were five other people in his company.

Ivan grunted to himself, his expression darkening a bit. He hated crowds.

As his eyes fell on Denny, however, the rare urge to say something sounded in his mind.

"You were a fool to get in my way like that." he said in an icy voice. "Sheer dumb luck is the only reason you aren't dead right now."

"What?" Denny said, offended. "Hey, pal, how about a little gratitude? If I didn't step in, you'd probably have been shish-kabobed by that thing!"

Ivan's gaze wandered amongst the group as Denny ranted at him. The archer, the brunette, that simpleton who'd followed him...

Then, his eyes fell on the redhead, who quickly looked down at the pond, away from him.

Ivan paused for a moment, his keen eyes catching sight of several scars on whatever skin of hers was exposed. The scars... And that look in her eyes...

Ivan narrowed his eyes, memories of his own past suddenly flashing through his mind.

"...And another thing..." he heard Denny's voice say. "Hey... Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"

Ivan looked back at Denny.

"No." he responded, his tone as frigid and emotionless as the icy void of space.

Denny frowned.

"You've got a real attitude problem, buddy." he said.

Ivan looked Denny dead in the eye, causing the latter to actually flinch a little. Those eyes... They were like black holes. Dark pits devoid of any signs of life and light.

"I'm not your buddy." Ivan said, his voice so low and dangerous, it was almost a hiss. "I'm no one's 'buddy.' Not yours..."

He looked at Kyoshiro.

"...Or yours..."

He looked at the group as a whole again.

"...Or that of any of the rest of you. Don't think I attacked that abherration as a means of assisting you. Whatever that creature was, it challenged me, and I responded. That's all."

His eyes locked on Denny again.

"You were merely fortunate enough to destroy it before I could land the finishing blow."

Just then, the sound of sirens reached Ivan's ears.

'Perfect.' Ivan thought, his brow furrowing. 'More aggravation.'

Not wishing to be annoyed any further, Ivan sheathed his sword. Then, he turned and walked away.

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

Well, as has become the official slogan of this RPG...

(slaps somebody)

Tag!

[Blademaster]

(snicker)

Well done, sir.

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

Ivan

"Maybe you should start thinking about other people and not just yourself."

Ivan's eyes narrowed behind his glasses; he glared into Kyoshiro's eyes just as he'd glared into Denny's.

But Kyoshiro didn't flinch - he stood adamant and firm, blocking Ivan's path.

Annoyed, Ivan turned and walked the other way.

But a moment later, Kyoshiro was in front of him again.

Ivan turned back.

Same result.

The ominous man's eyes narrowed.

"Move." he finally said.

"No way!" Kyoshiro retorted. "What is your deal? We're attacked by a demon sludge monster, the dojo is in ruins, and now you're just gonna walk away like nothing happened? We gotta try an-"

"Move." Ivan repeated, his annoyance building into anger.

Kyoshiro narrowed his eyes.

"Not. Gonna. Happen." he said slowly.

"Move...!" Ivan growled, his voice showing signs of emotion for the first time.

"Why don't you just chill out?"

Ivan's eyes widened. His pupils dilated; his irises turned jet-black.

"MOVE!!" Ivan roared.

As the word left Ivan's mouth, a black aura surrounded his body and began to generate dark bolts of energy that surged through the air and crashed against one another, producing a sonicboom that threw Kyoshiro back a good 10 feet!

"Oomf!" Kyoshiro grunted as he hit the ground once again. "Owwww..."

Ivan gritted his teeth for a moment, his fists clenching...

But then, suddenly, he relaxed. His mouth opened slightly, his eyes wide with shock as the aura vanished and his senses returned to him.

Kyoshiro got back up.

"Alright..." he growled. "That's it! I'm gonn-... huh?"

Kyoshiro's look of anger suddenly vanished into confusion as he saw Ivan standing there in shock. The black-clad man looked down at his hands, which were shaking ever so slightly.

'What... what was that?' he thought, his heart pounding from a mix of adrenaline and astonishment. 'Did I just... How did I do that...?'

Ivan gritted his teeth, grabbing his forehead abruptly. He felt a headache coming on...

No, a migraine...

No, it felt like his head was going to explode!

Ivan gritted his teeth hard against the pain, determined not to scream or show any sign of weakness, but eventually, he succumbed and cried out in agony, falling to one knee and one hand...

*****************************

After what seemed like hours, Ivan stood up, the pain gone.

But that didn't come as a relief to Ivan, because when he stood back up and looked around, he instantly became more confused than ever.

Ivan stood atop what seemed to be a flat-topped mountain reaching thousands of feet into the sky. The stone he stood upon was an earthen brown devoid of any signs of life.

But what really caught Ivan's attention was the sky around him - it was pitch-black, as though it were the middle of the night, with dark storm clouds rumbling and rolling further down the summit, for as far as the eye could see...

And that was just it - it was as far as he could see! Ivan was standing atop a mountain in the middle of the night, but somehow, he could still see!

'Where am I?' Ivan thought, his eyes wide in disbelief. 'Am I dead...?'

Ivan paused.

'No... No one has ever died of a headache. But, nonetheless...'

"Ivan..."

Ivan's eyes darted to the side; he spun around and looked... up...

Seated on a throne carved into the mountain itself was a humanoid figure with a burly body, goatlike legs ending with sharp claws, thick arms tipped with more black claws, a long, spindly tail with what looked like a snake's head at its end, and a lionlike head surrounded by a golden mane. Two splendid wings were folded behind the creature's back.

"Who are you?" Ivan asked, his voice returning to its normal monotone despite this amazing beast before him. "Or, rather, what are you?"

"I am a chimera, Ivan." the creature responded, its voice echoing but its mouth staying still. It almost seemed as though the creature was communicating psychically... "A creature of folklore known to bring about natural disasters."

'I know the feeling.' Ivan thought.

"Indeed you do." the chimera replied, as though it had read his thoughts. "Which is why I have brought you here, Ivan. Your world is in danger, and your help is needed to save it."

"You must be joking." Ivan said with a scowl. "Why should I assist the world that's brought me nothing but pain my whole life?"

The chimera's eyes narrowed.

"Because doing so is the only way you'll ever be freed of that pain, Ivan. My power has lain dormant within you for far longer than you'd think; that is why misfortune follows you wherever you go. You must harness that power for yourself. Once you've mastered it - once you've helped restore peace to your world - the misfortune will end, Ivan. Is that not what you want?"

Ivan pondered this for a moment, before finally he asked:

"And... if I refuse?"

"If you refuse, the phrase 'Hell on Earth' will take on a far more literal meaning than it does now in your world..."

Ivan's eyes widened as he realized what this meant.

"Choose, Ivan. Time is of the essence. More creatures like the one you helped destroy are arriving in your world as we speak. You must decide. Now."

Ivan was silent for a long moment, before he finally looked up at the chimera.

He nodded slightly.

"Very well."

Then, the chimera vanished; the clouds parted, leaving only the inky blackness all around Ivan.

Suddenly, the mountain beneath his feet seemed to crumble, but Ivan did not fall. As though he were suspended, he stayed in place, standing alone in the void of darkness.

With no other defining features around, Ivan's vision quickly degenerated, and soon, it didn't even matter if his eyes were open anymore. As the darkness overtook Ivan, he suddenly felt a surge of energy, such that it threatened to overwhelm his body.

And it did - his last conscious thought was the realization that a bestial roar was suddenly reverberating in his head...

********************************

Back in the real world, just moments after Ivan had collapsed, he came to again.

His eyes slowly opened, the irises flashing yellow for a second before returning to their normal blue...

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

Grrrrr... I'm even worse at keeping my posts short than Mew Master!

Well...... tag?

[Mew Master]

Geez man… you make me sound selfish and self-centered…and and… GAH!

Grrrrr... I'm even worse at keeping my posts short than Mew Master!

And the Gauntlet is Thrown! *Smack*

Denny Roth~Fire
---------------------------

"You were a fool to get in my way like that." The guy said in an icy voice. "Sheer dumb luck is the only reason you aren't dead right now."

"What?" I said, slightly offended. "Hey, pal, how about a little gratitude? If I didn't step in, you'd probably have been shish-kabob-ed by that thing! Besides, Dumb-luck is my middle name"

“I thought your middle name was Dee,” Leu retorted from behind me.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know that.” I looked at the taller man, with my glasses in one piece (seriously I should get some glassy straps or something) by some miracle. He was taller than me, built bigger than me, and looked… more physically fit than I did. I calmed down a bit and my thoughts started to re-organize themselves. “Look, I appreciate the help you gave us. Without it we would have ended up as an entrée for that thing’s dinner. However I had to get involved for two reasons: I’m a crazy SOB, and it attacked that kid… Um Sorry, what is your name?” I said looking at the Asian youth.

“Watanabi Kyoshiro” he replied

“Right, Kyoshiro over there, so I had to try and end it the fastest way I knew possible.. Hey.. are you even listening to me?!” I snapped my fingers in front of his face to grab his attention. I was trying to thank and apologize for sounding selfish and self-centered.

“No,” he glared at me with those pitch-black eyes.

I face-faulted and almost lost my balance. I sighed before stating. “You’ve got a real attitude problem, buddy.”

“I am not your buddy” he seemed to hiss at everyone, not just me. "I'm no one's 'buddy.' Not yours...” he glanced at Kyoshiro. “Or yours.” And he looked us over again.
"...Or that of any of the rest of you. Don't think I attacked that aberration as a means of assisting you. Whatever that creature was, it challenged me, and I responded. That's all."

“Bull!” I shouted. This guy was getting to me, his black eyes were hard to look at, and they seemed to almost drag my soul into them. “You can’t believe what you just said. No one’s that heartless. Besides, I threw myself in the way of not only that thing, but you too!” I thought back, recalling the position of both him and the monster. “When it swung down, you were ready to slash back at it, but the claw would have blocked. As I got in the middle, you were ready and willing to slash in a full forward strike, but you stopped. You could have just sliced forward and cut me in two, but you didn’t.” Doesn’t mean he wasn’t regretting it right now.

He just closed his eyes and started walking away.

“HEY! If you don’t want me to call you buddy, then just tell me your name already!”

I was ignored… as usual. I sighed, and I saw Kyoshiro run up in front of the man. The young man refused to budge out of the way, I admired that stubbornness. Mostly because it reminded myself of me.

“MOVE!” Two blast of energy flew forward and collided, knocking Kyoshiro backwards with a shockwave. A genuine mini-thunderclap.

Great, now he was attacking kids too?! That’s it… Huh?

As I prepared to give the big guy another piece of my mind, the aura around him vanished. He grabbed his head and started to shake a little. Then he dropped to one knee and hand.

My anger at him turned to concern and I ran up to him. Kyoshiro was already there.

“Ivan. Ivan. Hey Ivan!” he shouted.

So that was his name. I kneeled down next to him and looked. Ivan’s eyes were wide and black as usual, but he seemed out of it. Like he was staring into space like I did so often. There was no reflection in his eyes. Then I thought I saw something strange in his eyes. Normally they were black, but for a split second I thought that they had turned a bright yellow. I blinked and looked again, but they were back to their original black shade.

He turned his head at me. “What do you think you’re doing?’

“Eh? Oh don’t mind me.” I said smiling. Pushing myself up I looked at everyone else and the carnage that had happened around us.

"Um," I said, a strang feeling washing over me. "Anyone know that feeling where your leg falls asleep and there's that weird tingling sensation?"

"Yeah," Aliana replied.

"Good. Because my whole body feels like that." I couldn't keep my balance anymore and I fell forward.

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

In the spirit of things, however to keep other ppl posting, I tag Prof JB Wolf, Mystic_Clown and Crystal_Tears! Muwahahaha!

[Weasel Overlord]

Sweet Jesus, you guys sure post fast! *waves from Boxing Day* I don’t have anything to do until 5! Yay! Hope you all had a good crimpo! ^_^

...Must...compete...with...long...posts.... *looks manic as she rocks back and forth* As much as I’d love to, I refuse to burden you all with one of my 2000-word specialities, so here is this. Huzzahs!

-----*-----

--* Hippogriff // Leucetius Daithi Íomhar // Lightning *--

Leucetius blinked at the monstrosity that had just been defeated by the collective hands of the motley group of people standing in front of him; including himself! No-one had been more shocked than Leu as he’d strung one of his arrows and let it fly, then another and a third, all striking dead in the mouth of the creature.

In fact, he’d been slightly more surprised when his arrows had crackled with a certain...energy not unlike that electric tang he’d tasted moments earlier. A confused expression on his face, Leucetius ran his free hand through his hair distractedly. What the hell had he done there?

In his introversion he didn’t notice a sort of ruckus going on in the background between Denny and the dark stranger who was really quite rude. Leucetius was deep inside his own head now...

He spun around, suddenly aware of a presence behind him. It was a big, hulking, sparking-yet-kindly presence, but not one to mess with. He sensed an edge to it which would strike swiftly and without warning should anyone get on the wrong side. But all in all, it was a peaceful presence.

Turning swiftly, Leucetius tried to catch sight of it, but was left with just a feeling... a flutter of feathers in his peripheral vision, stormy grey and streaked with dangerous yellow. He reached out and grasped one reverentially, holding it up to his eyes, twisting and turning it and observing as the lustrous sheen caught the light and yet did not refract it; it was almost taken in to the feather itself, an eerie, flickering yellow which caught Leucetius’ eye and would not let it be.

A loud screech caught his attention away from the beautiful feather and directed it straight in front of him; where the most majestic creature he’d ever beheld stood proudly, pawing at the ground impatiently with talons which should not be.

It raised its head to him imperiously, a slightly maddened look in its eye which should have terrified Leucetius, but instead gave him a great feeling of homecoming. As if this beautiful creature was his destiny; indeed, as if it had been watching over his for all of his life, that was how much Leu felt he knew this being.

It blinked owlishly, no, eaglishly, at him, clacking its beak and making a menacing step forward in what was unmistakably a challenge.

Leucetius had read about this creature, although a part of him knew it so well that he didn’t need to ever have read about it.

It was a Hippogriff! Proud, majestic and quick to take offence, Leucetius knew that he had to make the first move or risk his head being torn from his still-living flesh.

Placing his left hand to the small of his back, palm outwards, he dropped to one knee and, with an elaborate flourish of his right hand, bowed his head deeply and respectfully, not daring to look up lest he insult this great beast.

A gentle nudge at his shoulder was all he needed to be told that he was now safe. The beast had made his choice, Leucetius was now his.

Standing, Leucetius looked the Hippogriff in the eye. He knew its name to be Daithi, just as his own, and it was suddenly clear to him why this ancient name belonged to him too. This beast, Daithi, had been his guardian since he was born, watching and priming Leucetius Daithi for this great task which was his to share with the a selected amount of individuals; some of whom he had already met.

Daithi opened his beak and a sound which could have been the rumble of thunder, or the crack of lightning, or the howl of a storm-soaked wind filled Leu’s ears; yet he knew that no actual words were being spoken. It was more like...the feelings and emotions being articulated told him the story of the world, and what he must do to save it from what it must not become.

On that stormy, darkened plain, Leucetius Daithi stood, and, for the first time in his life fully aware of the great task which had been laid at his feet, he laughed mightily, an echo of the storm inside flashing from his mouth (beak) as he gloried in the worsening weather.

He threw his hands to the sky, left still clutching the longbow, and the shadow of wings flared out behind him as he called the storm into himself; and then the Hippogriff was gone, Leucetius stood alone yet not alone under the lightning-torn skies, filled with the knowledge of his powers and a sense of kinship with Daithi which was not merely material.

Loosing a single arrow straight upwards, Leucetius watched it fly on, then turn and fall, cleaving the skies with a great rumble of thunder as it sped vengefully to the ground once more.

Leucetius Daithi held out his right hand and caught the arrow a mere metre from the ground and the crash of thunder and the tang of lightning filled his head, his eyes and his soul as he fell to his knees in supplication to the mighty natural power of the storm which he had become.

And with a rush he felt himself returning into his body with all the speed of a lightning bolt...

Leu’s eyes snapped open and momentarily filled with lightning and vengeance. Which must have had some sort of adverse effect on the world around him, as there appeared to be a girl.

The girl, Leucetius recognised, was the one who’d previously being wielding the twin-bladed sword with such finesse. It had been beautiful to watch indeed; like a flashing dance. He shook his head. But why was she flopped across his stomach?

He grunted as he took her dead weight into his arms and struggled to his knees, laying her gently on the floor in front of him. He’d read somewhere that unconscious people weren’t to lay on their backs, so he placed his hands firmly on her thigh and shoulder and rolled her onto her side so that she faced towards him.

Poking her gently, he was fairly unsurprised to find that it had no effect and that his head was, indeed, pounding. It felt fluffy. But the sort of fluffy where if you move, it screams in anger and belabours you with a cactus.

Leucetius winced and looked up at the group of people who he didn’t know. Maybe she’d come round soon. He shrugged and winced again, settling himself down on the ground to wait for her awakening and, more importantly, to think on the information he’d been given by Daithi.

He thought of the Hippogriff with longing. He’d dearly like to see him again, but he had no idea if this was at all possible...All he could do was hope. And hope that he was strong enough to take on this... Scourge.
-----
Tag Riiiver! ^_^

[Pichu Luver]

*agrees with Weasel* Daaaaaamn you people reply fast Oo'''.. *gets thwacked by WO* Oy I'm here!

Kiina Prattle
*-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-*

Kiina blinked at the lot of them. First they were arguing and looking like they would degenerate to dealing blows. One actually did, the cold man had blasted the asian ten feet away. She felt her blood rising in anger when he suddenly sunk to the ground, holding his head. Kiina snorted, served him right for doing that to the other guy.

While all this was going on she noticed the blond man wavered slightly before falling. He actually seemed to bow almost as he fell and she approached him cautiously. He was twitching slightly and seemed to be muttering. She felt some fear build in her stomach and wondered if perhaps the monster had done something to him. She knelt by him warily and started to shake his shoulder.

"Hey, hey. Come on guy wake up!" She was just about to ask the others for help when he exploded with electrical energy. It shot out in all directions and coursed through her body. She cried out before collapsing, unconscious before she even hit the ground.



Kiina groaned and sat up, shaking her hand to try and get the numbness out of it.

"You could have warned me you were going to go sparko." Kiina said looking up from her now tingling hand. She blinked; she was not where she should be.

She was sitting in a small clearing, more like just a break in the trees. The grass she was sitting on was extremely long. Huge trees were scattered for as far as she could see, smaller ones more dominant. Most of the big ones would take three people holding hands to reach all the way around. Some though, they looked like you could drive a car through it they were so wide. Every thing was a blue green in the dying light, mist threading through the trees. It was very dark under the canopy and as she looked way up at the tops of the trees, she could see stars were dotting the sky. A comet was blazing a bright white trail across the sky.

She scrabbled to her feet and turned in place, "Ooookkkkkkkk how did I--

:Kiina:

She whirled and could see a shape striding through the trees. In the gloom and mist she couldn't make out what it was, but it appeared to be glowing slightly.

She reached for her knives but they weren't there, for that matter she wasn't even wearing the same cloths anymore. She has a dark green dress that was imprinted with trees and wildlife. A blue silk butterfly shirt had replaced her 'tee. A brown vest with vines climbing all over it was over top and she was bare foot.

: Peace. I mean you no harm.:

She could feel a calming sensation exuding from the voice but she was still suspicious until it came out of the mist and trees, stepping into the clearing.

She gasped as she gazed the creature, a real live unicorn. It had a rippling silver coat that glowed green very slightly. It was very lean, no excess muscle or fat anywhere. Its light green mane was very long, reaching lower then its neck. It was waving its long whippy tail lazily through the air; the hair just looked like it was silky soft as it waved about. The grass almost seemed to crawl up its legs with its feathering, matching the colour of it perfectly. Most amazing of all was the two-foot horn sprouting from its forehead. An emerald light seemed to emanate from within, dispelling all her fears instantly.

"But, how--?" she asked. She couldn't help it and reached out to touch the unicorn. It didn't move but to tilt her muzzle forward to let her hand cup it.

She could hear a gentle female chuckle echoing in her head, :Not how little one, but why.:

"Why? You mean that . . . thing earlier?" she asked as she reached under her head and scratched the underside of her face. The unicorn seemed to enjoy this and leaned into it. When she looked at her though it was with very sad eyes.

:Yes. That was not the only one, as you will find out from others. Help them, for what is more deadly then nature's wrath?: She raised her head and Kiina could see the fury there, hiding beneath her calm surface. :And Kiina, Mother Nature is very, very angry.:

Kiina nodded, stroking her neck, feeling the rage coming off the unicorn in waves. "How could I not?"

She nodded and proudly arched her neck :I knew I did not choose wrongly all those years ago. And Kiina?:

Kiina heard the hesitation and looked at her curiously. What could make this majestic being take pause?

She sighed, her sides heaving and reached around to touch her muzzle to Kiina's cheek, :I'm sorry I could not be there for you when you surely need it most. I couldn't reach you yet and could only see to it you did not die.:

Kiina felt the tears start to run down her face and hugged her. "You tried, and hey, saved my life. The doctors couldn't understand why I hadn't died from blood loss."

She nudged her whuffed into her hair. :Yes but, I will not leave you so undefended again. Now, we fight together.: She backed away and Kiina touched stroked her muzzle once more before she sank to the ground, growing sleepy. She watched as her vision faded, the unicorn reaching into the sky, screaming challenge to those would threaten their world and life.



Kina came too all at once and her eyes flew open. She was on her side and the blond man was awake and about a foot away from her. She shot up into a crouch and hopped away. "What do you want?" she asked before thinking.

He raised his hands in a calming gesture and gave a gentle smile, "Nothing. I came too and you were unconscious on top of me. So I just put you there."

"Oh." She looked at him still suspicious and he gave a crooked smile. She sighed, "Sorry. You well, I think you shocked me right good and generally that's not good for you." She stood up and he did the same. She wobbled and had the stars appear when you get up to fast after sleeping. He clutched his head and didn't look so good either.

"Ah, my apologies." he said. She smiled and nodded, looking around, the sirens now quite close. She gulped but felt she; with the Unicorn's help could most assuredly take on whatever was to come next.

-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

*thwacks nearest person*

You're it!

[Crystal Tears]

OMG! My second post! WOOT! Hopefully I don't mess anything up...

Joey

Joey was faced with a difficult decision. It appeared to her that she was alone in her untimely predicament. And though she was safe at the moment, she couldn’t help but feel as if the thing she had out ran was watching her, waiting for her to lower her guard. This kept her unnecessarily on edge. Her blood swept through her veins like pressured water through a horribly narrow pipe. Feeling like at any minute they were going to explode, but that was only because of how fast her heart happened to be beating, pushing the blood faster and faster until it kept an unusually high pace.

I can feel you… Dear sweet child…

Joey’s head rose, her nervous eyes scanned the horizon of people, unfortunately, being extremely short and sitting down was posing a horrendous problem for her. Her high sense of curiosity compelled her to find it, but not to move very far from the bench no… Do not take to the ground…

Turning her head, Joey’s eyes gazed at a war memorial statue that easily towered over everyone. Biting her lip slightly, she wasted no time hoping up onto the cement slab that the statue was moment, on, and then climbed.

When she was finished climbing, the street merchant was clinging to a brass soldier’s body as she scanned over the heads of others. Many shot her a look of disgust, and then others just glanced at her curiously before moving on. Either way, most were leaving her alone.

Ah, silly little girl… Now I can see you…

‘Why is that not comforting?’ Joey cringed, turning her head to look at a building that easily towered over the statue. Squinting, her sight set upon a figure, seeming to glare right at her through the window. It was odd how it moved, much like a squirrel or a cat, apparently digging its fingers into the window ledge at it stared right back at her. Oh my god… She gulped, as the figure scurried away from the window, crawling like a spider on the side of the building until it reached one of the oversized gargoyle corner ledges.

The next moment seemed to be slowed. The corpse like creature leapt, its twisted legs out stretched as it flew through the air. The gapping hole in its chest seemed to absorb the light it made contact with. Joey’s eyes widen, and her hands mindlessly let go of the neck of the brass man. She felt the wind slowly wisp by her body as her frame bent backwards. It was extremely sudden when time seemed to catch up with itself, and everything zoomed. The statue shattered as a twisted demon shot through it, its claws narrowly missing Joey’s body that slammed hard onto the ground.
The creature kept going however, its body hit the ground about three meters away from Joey’s head. Instinctively, the girl shot up. Ignoring the pain in her side as she scrambled away, Joey couldn’t help but look over her shoulder at the thing.

It was right behind her, its twisted limbs snapping into place as bounded forward, claws out stretched so far that they caught her shoe. With a yelp, she clung to the bench, and looking as if she was pulling quite a stunt. Her arms burned as the creature pulled, in a desperate attempt to free herself she slammed her free foot into the abominations face, making it let go in some pain.
Freed from its horrible grip, Joey used the strength in her arms to catapult herself over the bench. She stumbled on the landing but quickly took off like a bullet once her body regained its composure. Her side ached from the harsh landing she had oh so elegantly made, and it was hindering her. In her desperate state she scrambled over a fence and landed in a closed off construction sight.

One’s such as you should be absorbed… Not murdered…

Joey yelped, ducking just in time for a lanky arm to smash its way through a pillar or concrete, but luckily missing her.

“Holy crap!” Was the only thing that could escape her mouth when suddenly she was on her back. Hands and arms outstretched in a frantic attempt to shove the horrible creature off of her.

If the teenager didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought this horrible creature was trying to rape her. But it wasn’t far from it at all, at least to her knowledge. The demon was pinning her, it easily put its surprisingly overbearing weight down on her legs, and then one arm. The other was thrown about frantically, trying to defend itself.
The darkness in the chest seemed crueller now, like something far more evil was staring at her, ready to drag her inside this mutants body without a second thought. The black seemed to bring up horrible feelings, depression was becoming overbearing, and it crossed Joey’s mind to just quit. To let herself be taken by the horrible creature that evidently wanted her in the worst of fashions.

Now… You will be one of us!

She screamed, seemed like the only thing to do. But as she did, water came. It snaked along the ground and crawled on the cement pillars and iron poles, eventually it gathered around her body like a shield, forcing the monster off. Joey slowly got to her feet, her eyes looked around her as the world was blurry and twisting, the water was distorting everything.
The creature seemed confused, backing up slightly as the orb around Joey shrunk, compressing itself smaller and smaller before it barely managed to cover the girl at all.

What… What is this magic?!

“The hell if I know…” Joey murmured, feeling the water ripple around her. The ripples travelled faster and faster, causing the orb to waver. Droplets expelled from the sphere, but they didn’t fall to the ground, they shot out like bullets, slamming into the fencing and construction with such force that they managed to chip the concrete. ‘But it’s on my side…’

It felt like someone had hit her repeated with a car. The water ripped from her body with such force that her limbs outstretched and looked as if someone was trying to rip them off. A compressed shockwave of air shot out and slammed into everything, crumbling the pillars and blowing over the fence over. The next thing to hit was the water. It had such momentum that the half constructed building toppled, pushed over onto its side. Crushing the fence the construction workers had placed in-between the city and the forest, to keep the animals out. Joey managed to hear the creature scream, but it was replaced by a horrible gurgling noise of the water overwhelming it.

In the end, Joey was left alone. Soaked head to toe in water as droplets fell from the sky from the excess. Her side ached worse now, and she couldn’t turn to those who were gathering around at the moment, they would want to know what happened, and she couldn’t answer that.

She didn’t even know the answer anyways.

“How art thou?”

Joey turned, wincing as the pain in her side grew stronger with every movement. The man who was speaking to her stood out from the rest. He was quite old, many wrinkles cursed his pale skin and his eyes were weary with age. But the shade of the irises caught the teenager’s attention. They were not blue, green, or brown, but something of a purple; a pale purple: as if the light had been drained from them, but a purple none the less.
His clothes were slightly torn, and whatever vibrant color they had once possessed had been washed out of them by the rains, wind, and washers… But he had a smile on his face that seemed to strike Joey as entirely odd.

“I’m… Fine…” She paused, seeing him wave his hand, which caused the crowd to break. Joey raised an eyebrow; did he know all of them? Or was she missing something? “Who are you?”

“It is not mine name which is important, but thy health. Thee should go to the Arena, lest anything more should happen to thee.”

This man successfully baffled Joey; she had not heard someone talk like that in a long time. The only time she had heard it was when she had walked in front of the theater, and to advertise for the show that was coming, some people were speaking in such a weird tongue.

“The arena?” Joey responded. “Do you mean the Dojo?”

The man nodded.

“Shadows hunt you, yes they do. They are filled with a wickedness that the world has never seen before. I shall explain more to thou; however we must meet with the others. A field of practice of this metropolis shall serve as our gathering source. Come now, lest you be killed before sundown” The man smiled.

Joey was about to ask how this man seemed to know about the demon that she had fought, but a couple of things stopped her. The first is that he implied others were like her, they could see such foul things crawling about, another was that he’s… ‘Vibe’ in a sense meant no harm to her, and if it didn’t, he was good at shrouding it. The final reason was that she really wanted to get out of here, and the Dojo was a good enough excuse as any.

HALT!

Both turned, their eyes watching a pile of rubble shift and rumble before the demon leapt out, landing in front of duo.

You shall be ours! Or die! Either does not bother us!

“Us?” Joey pondered, suddenly noticing a crack. Wide and deep the crack seemed to be, the purple hue around it grew darker as a claw similar to the visible demon’s slammed into the earth, pulling another demented creature into view.

“Flee.” Came the voice of the man. “Flee.”

Though she didn’t want it, Joey listened. Her feet carried her away, her small frame easily slinking through the pile of rubble before she broke the concrete mess and was in a forest. Birds chirped and she could hear crickets chirp somewhere near by, but her body didn’t stopped.

’Flee… Flee… Flee…’ She thought, keeping it in her mind as a barrier against the growing pain in her side. ’As long as you keep running, they’ll never catch you…’

The trees were blending together now, her eyes were barely managing to keep up with her legs as she spring boarded off of a tree to clear a large log that blocked her path. She landed on the ground with surprising grace, but the landing turned her pain into agony. Her chest heaved as the sharp, knife like pain ached against her lungs, and all of a sudden oxygen became increasingly hard to get. Even more so as her throat turned dry from gasping, and then her lungs burned. She wanted to stop, but the man’s look and his words stuck in her skull, she had to reach the Dojo, and she had to keep running.

She had to flee.

She finally broke the forest, and tumbled into a clearing. Her legs that had felt like they were a blazing inferno gave out beneath her and she hit the ground; Hard.

“Oh thank you whatever god happens to…be…” Joey trailed off as her eyes gazed upon a dark crack running along the shore of the lake. A shiver trembled down her spine as her kept staring, it was then she noticed the entire place seemed to be on fire, and rain… The rain she hadn’t noticed before, but it was indeed raining.

’Flee’

Joey tried, but her legs burned as they were stood upon. Instead, she limped, nearly cursing every time she moved. She neared the flaming the area and was utterly thankful to see numerous people standing there, thought one had collapsed, or, that’s as many as she could tell. Slowing down to a painful limp, Joey approached the group.

“Um…” She stuttered. “Hi?”

[Blademaster]

Eh heh... Sorry, Mew-dude. Won't happen agai-

(smack)

Ow... (rubs cheek)

Ivan

Ivan slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry for a moment before restoring itself.

'What... just happened?' he thought, a little dazed. 'Was that a dream?'

He stopped for a moment, suddenly realizing someone was looking at him from off to the side. He looked back, seeing Denny staring at him as though he were a Martian.

"What... do you think you're doing?" Ivan asked, his dark eyes suddenly looking less dark than usual, yet at the same time, even more dark (Does that make any sense?).

“Eh?" Denny asked, smiling a crooked smile. "Oh don’t mind me.” With that, he stood up, swaying slightly as he looked around.

"Um," he said off-hand, "anyone know that feeling where your leg falls asleep and there's that weird tingling sensation?"

"Yeah," Ivan heard the brunette respond.

"Good. Because my whole body feels like that." Denny replied. He teetered...

And then, he fell forward, slamming into the ground like a fallen tree.

Ivan looked down at Denny's conscious-yet-incapacitated form as he struggled to get up, catching sight of something behind Ivan that seemed to frighten him.

Ivan's eyes widened; in a fraction of a second, the vicious vagrant was back on his feet, sword drawn in the direction of what Denny had seen...

"Kiina! Leu! You two OK!?" Denny called behind Ivan.

Ivan grimaced as he realized what had flustered Denny was the redhead, who Ivan assumed was Kiina, and the archer, Leu, both of whom were on the ground beside one another now, looking as though they'd both just run a marathon.

Ivan slowly sheathed his sword once again and adjusted his glasses.

Just then, however, he realized his vision was still a bit blurry, as though his glasses were fogged over. Ivan assumed it was the rain and removed them, going to wipe them off on his coat, when he realized he could see fine with them off.

'Well, this is something new...' he thought.

Ivan held up his glasses and looked through them, seeing the blurry remains of the Dojo. He lowered them, seeing the ruins sharper and more real than they'd ever been when his glasses were on his face.

Ivan closed his eyes and folded his glasses, then he placed them in his pocket.

"Um... Hi?"

Ivan opened his eyes and looked across the clearing, seeing a teenage girl in an... interesting outfit stagger into the fray.

'Damn it, is there no end to this aggravation!?' Ivan thought as Denny went over and talked to the girl.

"You really should try and be more patient, Ivan." a voice suddenly said in Ivan's mind. "It will make your mission far easier in the long run."

'Yes, I'm sure.' Ivan thought sarcastically. 'Sorry, but I don't listen to strange voices inside my head, no matter what the circumstances - including those where I am attacked by hideous monsters from the depths of Hell.'

"I'm not a voice inside your head, Ivan. I'm a voice inside your soul. Have you already forgotten?"

Ivan glanced to the side slightly.

'Chimera.' he thought, recognizing the voice. 'So, it wasn't a dream...'

"No, Ivan, it was not. And my name is Zandios. I suggest you remember it, as well as the rest of what I told you..."

Ivan sighed to himself.

'You're referring to when you told me to destroy those demons and I'll finally be liberated from the curse that you placed on me?' he thought sarcastically.

"I may herald natural disasters, Ivan, but I also battled the creatures that now plague your world eons ago. Many beasts you know of mythological folklore did. Together, we defeated them then, but now they are back, and only all of us together can defeat them again. I am truly sorry for your misfortunes, Ivan, but there were no other options available to us..."

Ivan's paused, deep in thought.

'You mean to tell me that the only alternative to saving this miserable planet was to allow me to live in torture for twenty years?' he thought darkly.

"It was our only option, Ivan - the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Ivan's expression darkened.

'That is very easy to say when you are one of the many rather than one of the few.' he thought icily.

"True, but it is not easy to say when the repercussions of being one of the many is so severe - is twenty years of pain and suffering not preferable to what could be eternal damnation for an entire world?"

Ivan's expression lightened a little.

'Even if it is,' Ivan thought, 'why was I the one who had to suffer? There are far more deserving people - and I use that term very loosely - of such a life than me.'

"That is exactly why I chose you, Ivan. I required someone pure of heart to weild my power. And there is no one of purer heart than a child. Anyone else would have given up on such a life a long time ago, but not you, Ivan - for twenty years, you have persevered, adapting and overcoming every obstacle placed in front of you. Though your social skills are in dire need of improvement, I have always believed you were the perfect vessel for my power. And by helping the other agents of the elemental beasts slay one of the evil Scourge, you have proven me right."

'I already said I was helping nobody.' Ivan responded. 'That twisted nightmare challenged me, I accepted, and that mouthy pyromaniac destroyed it before I could. It is as simple as that.'

"View out however you wish, Ivan - more of those Scourges are on their way here as we speak, and you must help the others slay them all."

Ivan's eyes widened.

'Help them?!' he thought, emotion finding its way into his mental voice again. 'A motley group of idiots I don't even like, or for that matter know!? Forget it.'

"You can help them, or condemn the world to eternal night and almost certainly condemn yourself to Hell for allowing it. It's your choice."

Ivan gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, which crackled with black energy for a few seconds before Ivan relaxed and turned back to the rest of the group.

'I hate my life.' he thought.

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

Whee, character development...

Tag!

(smacks somebody)

[Mew Master]

OOC: Howdy!

Well since there's only been one post since I last blurted out, this isn't going to be a posting for plot advancement, but rather of some of the art I've gotten done for the RPG thus far.

First off we have my Character with his weapon, and Beast in the background. I triked to make Kiash look menacing... dunno if it worked.

Then we have Denny's Hybrid form, which I do think turned out really well ^^.

Those to be Drawn:
Denny & Kíashkiklah (Done)
Aliana & Avistelm (Done)
Joey & Tyn (Done)
Lue & Daithi
Kiina & Unicorn (Done)
Ivan & Kandios

I'll post later after River posts. She was pretty tired last night and couldn't really post much >>U

Later!

[Pichu Luver]

Yo me's a here.

Kiina Prattle
*-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-*

Kiina smirked at Denny's line but her attention was abruptly turned to the sirens. Two fire trucks and no less then five cop cars car screeched around the far corner and zoomed toward them. She cursed and thought, 'Great don't we look innocent, all of us with weapons. Mind it is a dojo but . . .'

The cars all slid on the wet asphalt but managed to come to a stop without hitting anything. The fire trucks stopped across the street and up a little, the fireman pouring out of the trucks like ants. The cops streamed out, guns at the ready.

"Put your weapons down! Slowly! And keep your hands where we can seem them!"

They all complied, though a few were a bit slower in doing so. Namely Ivan didn't seem at all willing to put down his sword. Kyoshiro murmured something to him and he glared at him. Kyoshiro didn't flinch and Ivan appeared to be having an inner battle with himself. He finally seemed to say 'ok FINE' and grudgingly put it down.

The cops came forward and took all the weapons. The firemen had started on the blaze and the cop who spoke earlier came forward. "You will get your weapons back once you satisfactorily answer a few questions. Alright? Follow me."

The rain had lightened off into a drizzle but they were all quite soaked by now. The cop took them behind their ring of cars to the buildings across the street. Another officer came forward and whispered something to him and he nodded before fixing them all with a glare.

"We have eye witnesses saying that you bunch, but mainly you two," he pointed at Kiina and Denny, "were seen swinging you weapons at nothing and things kept being destroyed around you. So, care to explain?"

"Uhh, "Denny started, looking helplessly around at them, but everyone else had as little idea as to how to begin as he did. "You see officer . . ."

"The cause of this be a gas explosion."

They all turned around and saw an old man approaching. He seemed exceptionally old for he had many wrinkles coursing his face. His eyes were very odd, a pale purple and he had a conciliatory smile on his face. His clothes were very old and worn, all the colour long since washed out of them.

"That may be true, but that does not explain their weapons being swung around."

"My good officer, could it not be so? None be here who could have caused such damage. None can cause explosions, their weapons possess no such armament." He stepped forward through them and patted the officer on the shoulder. "This be a dojo, a place of practice of weaponry. So their swinging of swords, dagger or shooting of arrows is all to the norm."

The officer started, "But the witnesses . . ."

"Were of such shocked minds and wanton of explanation to place thine children at thee scene. Like before, this is a place of weapons practice. Destruction by the foolish young is better by far then explosions of no known beginning. Thouist probably only saw them fleeing with weapons in hand and place all of blame on thou."

The officer looked at the man and slowly nodded. "Alright. That does make more sense then kids swinging weapons around and explosion being fired by them." The gazed at them all and Kiina felt he hope rising, "You all may go. Dan! Give em back their stuff, it wasn't them!"

"Serge you sure? The wit--"

"And how exactly could they have caused that?! The officer surveyed their weary looks and the ruined dojo. Dan frowned and considered this before nodding, "Just a second!"

A minute later they all had their weapons back and the Sergeant waved them off. "Now go, make sure your parents, or family know you're alright."

They all turned and the old man waved at them to follow him. They walked around the corner and into an alley, gathering around him. He nodded to them and said "You have questions on thine mind."

-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

As per Mew Master, he knows more then he lets on, but I doubt he'll tell everything.

*ruffles the hair of the closet person*

Tag!

[Mystic_clown]

Angelo
-------------------------------
A lone figure stumbled through the empty streets, sticking to the shadows. His pale blonde hair in disarray and having trouble keeping balance due to his arms being restricted by the straight jacket.

He still had trouble believing what had happened. Something inhuman had broken through the asylum and numerous patients, him included, escaped. Strangely enough, it seemed as if no one other than himself saw it. How could they miss it? It was freaking huge!

Anyway, Angelo had to fous on keeping himself hidden, and that's not easy with eight other personalities in your head. Angelo was trying to keep as much control as possible.

His eyes widened when he heard sirens. He couldn't go back to that place! Never! He quickly sprinted into a nearby alleyway and hid behind some garbage cans. He heard some talking between the officers and someone else. It seems they weren't after him at all. ut still, it was safe to remain hidden.

As the police left, the group entered the alleyway, completely unaware of the escaped mental patient hiding behind the garbage cans. As they began talking, Angelo tried to slowly crepe out of the alleyway.

And he would have had it not been for a banana peel lying around. So, instead of slipping away unnoticed, Angelo ended up crashing into the garbage cans, attracting the attention of everyone in the alley.

Sorry for the crappiness. and I'm sorry I took so long.

[Mew Master]

GAH! My hair!!! T_T

Denny Roth~Fire
--------------------------------

Well this was a fine kettle of fish.

How was I going to explain this to my parents? Hi, mom? Yeah I got arrested. But it’s okay I’m innocent. What? Oh nothing. The dojo just exploded while me and a few other people were fighting and interdimensional demon from hell. What? No I’m not on drugs… for the thousandth time I’m not…

And when I tried to think of something to get us out of this, an old man came into the room and spoke with the police. He had an odd look to him, and I could have sworn I’ve seen him somewhere before. His speech was weird too. A combination of old English and what I can best describe as Yoda-speak.

As I listened, I realized that we were going to get away with this scot-free! Sweet. I was given back my katana handle, and everyone else received their weapons as well. The officer waved us away, exasperated at time wasted on trying to get us to confess to something that we only had a part in doing. And was mostly my fault anyway.

Stepping out of the building, the old man was walking cheerfully away, humming to himself. He stopped and motioned for us to go over. Warily I looked at everyone else, and they looked at each other.

We followed.

As he walked into the alley, some sirens passed by. More police and fire-trucks on their way to the dojo to put the fire out.

"You have questions on thine mind." We followed the old man, no one speaking a word. “Is understandable. Happened, much has in the last half hour.” The group stood around him as he smiled, his eyes scanning us over. His attention became diverted over as something crashed beyond us. My hand instinctively reached for my katana handle, but I stopped short when the old man held his hand up.

I looked harder, and I noticed it was someone else who was laying on his side, wet, dirty, and covered in who knew what from the garbage cans and alley ground. Then I noticed that he was wearing a straight jacket, with all the locks and restraints in place.

“Are you okay?” Kyoshiro asked and ran up to the person. I followed. If the man was in a straight jacket it had to be for a reason.

He heard us approaching and struggled to regain his footing. With only your feet and nothing else to balance yourself, it was like running on your side on the ground. Kyoshiro reached him first and helped him up, I got on the other side of the guy and helped him sit up. He started struggling.

“No! I’m not going back there! I refuse! Lemme go!” He struggled hard but I held onto the cloth a bit better than he could thrash around in.

“Ahh, arrived another player has.” The old man stated. Glancing up at the old man in confusion, I looked down at the man in the straight jacket. He had chin-long, very bright, brown hair. His eyes were green, and wild, confused, and scared. Then I noticed it. The aura. He had an aura like ours, but it was more like mine. It was blazing red.

“He’s…” I heard Kiina start.

“One of you, yes.” The old man replied. “Now that he has arrived, we shall retreat to my home. The questions you have must weigh heavy on your minds.

“Come on man,” Kyoshiro said softly. “We aren’t going to hurt you, we’ll help you up. Ready?”

I nodded. “One. Two. Three!” The young Asian and I lifted the guy to his feet.

“Easy buddy,” I added, showing my meaning by letting him go and stepping back. “What’s your name?”

He looked at me, eyes wide with more than likely a combination of fear, confusion and whatever problem he might have. “A-Angelo We-Weiss.” He was shaking lightly, it was probably shuddering from the cold of the rain.

“Quickly now,” and we hurried. Kyoshiro and I walking beside Angelo to make sure he didn’t fall again. I watched the restrained man, and was surprised at how much his head shook and his eyes seemed to dart back and forth between everyone and sometimes nothing but dead air.

We followed the man deep into the slum area of Bartholomew. The homeless and downtrodden frequented this part of the city. Half built projects and the skeletons of older buildings made the area seem more like out of a bad werewolf movie where the main characters are attacked by a pack of salivating death-beasts. A tall gutted out skyscraper loomed above us, its dark shadows magnified by the thunder-clouds. Flashes of lightning played tricks by showing me things that couldn’t be there in the first place. Horrible misshapen things that defied explanation. The light had to be playing tricks on me.

“Not optical illusions are they.” I looked at the old man again, his small rag-covered form walking at a steady pace. “The demons emerged here too. However their territory is small and they are weak compared to the one you defeated at the training building.” He looked at the girl who met up with us at the dojo. “And the one that you dropped a building on, my dear.”

I looked at the girl again. My glasses must have been smudged with some of the gunk from earlier. She wasn’t wearing a skirt, and her jacket was a jean blue, rather than the green I had thought of earlier. She was also relatively short, probably a foot smaller than I was. I don’t know, I can’t judge height. But she was the shortest of us by far.

“Ju-just who… are you people?” Angelo asked as we neared what looked like a small tent.

“Oh just your average saviors of humanity,” Leu replied with his arms in the air and hands behind his head. That didn’t help. Poor Angelo looked even more confused, and his head twitched around more.

I looked around. Piles of rubble, concrete, rebar, and other various construction materials littered the ground around the building’s supports. The tent, not surprisingly enough, looked like it was a blanket draped over a loosely taunt support wire. Grayed from years of use, the blanket had no sheen to it, and blended in nicely with the rest of the rubble. Our guide reached forward and pulled up one of the flaps and motioned for us to enter.

“Come now, inside away from this harsh weather. Inside and dry yourselves by the fire of friendship and loyalty.”

Leu was the first one in, ducking to enter, followed slowly by everyone. I was the last one to go inside. Looking up as lightning flashes illuminated more demons above, glaring down at us.

“Come, young one. Inside.” I walked into the tent and was surprised.

The expression, looks bigger inside than outside just took on a whole new meaning to me. While the tent looked like a ratty collection of rags and blankets that could barely cover the old man himself, had the roomiest interior I could have imagined. Lush pillows rested on the floor, silk fabric donned the walls. In ways it resembled a raja’s personal room. Candles were lit and scattered around to give the room a bright feeling. While the outside was colorless and dull, the inside was full of vibrant colors and patterns that almost hurt my eyes.

“Sit now, while the tea brews and warms our souls I shall answer and explain what I can.” He walked around as we took seats, taking his own seat on a collection of larger pillows around a fire. The heat felt good on my body, and I still felt a ping of tingling and numbness from earlier, and the chill of what we had fought.

“Hi, I’m Leu and I’m a chosen one,” Leu said, making it sound like it was an Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting.

“Hi Leu,” Aliana replied with a chuckle.

“Just who are you?” Ivan said with a snort, folding his arms inside his black jacket.

“Ahh, yes. If you wish to call me a name, then I believe I shall go by Sean. Yes Sean will do nicely for now.” He smiled as he lit an engraved pipe.

“Okay Sean, what’s going on? Why are there monsters popping out of the woodwork like in a video game?” Kiina asked.

“The answer you seek is it? Such is one that is difficult to tell, but I shall try.” Sean inhaled on his pipe deeply and then let the smoke hang on the air. “Many eons ago, when humanity was still young, a race came to this world. They were a strange and dangerous race with powers that surpassed all explanation. Many called them demons, spirits, and tried to appease them with horrible sacrificial rituals to quell the blood-thirst they seemed to have. This held the creatures back, at first. Grow did their thirst for power can control. Wish to rule the humans and this world did they. Humanity turned towards the only thing they could, the great Beasts did rise, and fight along with humans in their struggles.”

As we listened, I could almost see the smoke make shapes and figures as Sean told the story. Dragons, griffons, human shaped puffs of smoke acted out the scenes before us, dancing along with the words spoken.

“The great Beasts hated the demons. Twisted abominations of all they held dear were they. Care nothing for life did they. Destruction and death were their path. Elements of the world were the Beasts, and victory did we have.

“Sealed, the Scourge was. Back into their own twisted world of rocks and wasteland. Tired the Beasts were, used their own magic to seal the portals of the world, and made themselves weaker in the process.

“Time passed and humans forgot the way the Beasts rose to save them, and regard them with hatred and loathing did they. The Beasts were slain, our protectors no longer.

“Nothing lasts forever, and the magic used eons ago has withered away. The Scourge has its way back to the world, and nothing stands in their way. Except for you, my children.” He smiled a big heart-felt smile.
There was silence. None of us dared to speak while we thought about what he had just said.

“Let me ask something,” Kiina started. “If the Beasts were slain, then why did I see a Unicorn? And why did it talk to me?”

Sean was silent, as if contemplating an answer. “The Beasts magic may have been diminished, but their strength remains forever. Their spirits, their Essence per-say has traveled across the world since their death, residing in countless other humans who could be considered reincarnations of themselves. You just happened to be the ones alive when the Scourge appeared. I shall watch my tongue however. It is not chance, or luck that you have the strength of the Beast inside you. You have each been chosen by that Beast which you are attuned with.”

“Ooookay,” I said this time. “Why are we the only ones who seem to be able to see these things?”

“The Scourge are invisible to most, incomprehensible to others. Sight of one often leads to chaos and dementia that will cripple one for life. Humans cannot see the demons unless they are within the portal’s area of influence, which grows with each spawn that makes its way across the boundary. The Scourge are also limited to the portal’s area of influence, if they stray too far away, they disintegrate, the Beast’s seal magic still quite strong.”

“Alright,” Leu said, cheerfully. “What are your guys’ Beasts? Mine’s a Hippogriff” He said that quite proudly, and almost matter-of-factly.

“This is ridiculous,” Ivan snorted. “I can just slay every single spawn that comes through the rifts. End of story. They’ll run out of demons soon enough.”

The old man’s eyes narrowed at Ivan. “Such speech is brash for one so young. Confident or foolish, is still unknown. You cannot simply kill each one. For every one that comes through, the magic becomes weaker, and as two portals connect in such a way, the magic is weakened even greater. Then stronger foes may pass. When all of the portals connect, gone will the Beast’s magic be forever, and darkness shall reign.”

“That doesn’t leave us with a lot of options,” Kyoshiro replied. “How are we supposed to stop them? Close the portals?”

“Such is possible,” he nodded. “However, ancient and powerful spells are lost and will require time to find once more…”

“Um,” Aliana said, trying to get a question in. “What about the energy that seems to flow around us?”

“You wonder about that light you see? That dearie, is the elemental path. It glows around you during times of intense concentration and concern. Extend it does with each action you take, and the more you learn the stronger it becomes.”

He surveyed us, the smoke floating thickly, but none of us seemed to cough. The smoke actually felt good, like a refreshing breath of clean air. I felt revitalized with each breath.

“We have an interesting group. One of Water,” he looked at Joey. “Of Shadow (Ivan), Light (Aliana), Plant (Kiina), Lightning (Leu), Wind (Kyoshiro), and two of Fire it seems (Me and Angelo).”

“Heh,” Angelo said in a much different tone than earlier. “So death is coming to this world and we’re what stands in its way?”

“Yes.” Sean said. “I can see the Beast in your eyes, and the elemental path that you walk. You all must face this menace and return peace to the world. I shall help with what I can. Should you need me, or even if you don’t, I shall be there, or here, or wherever.”

“So… what now?” Joey asked.

“I would suggest… some training.” Sean smiled at us, and I got the feeling we weren’t done for the day.
--------------------

What now? Well, we all have a few options. We can either head home, get some sleep, and forget about the day. Go down and hunt down some of the other rifts. Or train against the weaker Scourge inhabiting the scuttled skyscraper above Sean's home. I'm leaving it up to the individuals... ^^

Later!

[Blademaster]

OOC: Mew-dude, that pic of Denny and Kiashkiklah is teh c00l. I want one of Ivan and Zandios! Please draw one, please......!

[Mew Master]

OOC: Allrighty... you added to list.

Shadow: Dude... I know how you feel. Despite the pace we've been driving at,... there's no real rush here. Take your time, go at it slow, and come up with some good posts ^^

Later!

PS. MTR, you outta be happy.. Here's Aliana and the Avistel!

[Blademaster]

Well... It's after dark, I'm jacked up on caffeine...

Time to let my dark half out of his cage for a little while... Mwahahahahaha...

Ivan...?

Very well. Let's do this...

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

Ivan

Ivan stood silently off to the side of Sean's tent, his arms folded over his chest and his eyes closed as he listened to the strange old man and his story, being sure to throw in a comment of his own from time to time. Eventually, the old man spoke of training - attacking and destroying the demons climbing around the broken buildings outside.

This prompted Ivan to open his ice-colored eyes.

"Training?" he echoed, causing a few other people in the room to look at him. "I don't think so. The sooner I kill these demons, the less time I have to be annoyed by the rest of you."

Before anyone could protest, Ivan turned and dashed outside.

'Wow,' Denny thought, 'I think that's the first time he finished a sentence without insulting somebody.'

*******************

Outside the tent, Kiina was inspecting her knives when suddenly the front flap flew open; a black figure dashed out like a bat out of Hell, causing the girl to jump back a bit.

'Whoa!' Kiina thought. 'That guy's fast!'

With the speed of a marathon runner, Ivan charged for the nearest demon (which was perched atop a third-story support beam), his sword drawn. With catlike reflexes perfected by years of daily training, he leapt atop a pile of cinderblocks and up a stack of plywood (conveniently) in the shape of a staircase, leaping up onto the beam behind he demon.

Surprised, the creature spun around and hissed at Ivan, its elongated head and lanky, almost apelike body making it look similar to a Xenomorph from the Alien series. It outstretched its claws, which dripped with a foul-smelling orange goo.

Ivan narrowed his eyes and raised his sword, his body remaining perfectly still for a good, long minute, the wind blowing against his jacket almost drowning out the one thing he finally whispered:

"Die."

The demon's beady eyes narrowed.

Ivan charged, barreling down the thin support beam with his sword over his shoulder. He ran up to the creature, sword over his shoulder. The beast raised its claw to block the blow...

In that split-second, Ivan spun his sword around the demon's arm, thrusting it far behind him before swing it back at the demon, under its raised claw. The beast's glassy eyes widened for a plit-second...

SQUUNCH!

With a sickening noise reminiscent of a live animal being beheaded at a slaughterhouse, Ivan's sword plunged clean through the demon's chest; before it could even squeal in agony at the sensation of its vital organs (if it had any) being torn asunder, Ivan slashed his sword upward, splitting the demon's chest, neck, and head clean in half. The beast uttered a choked gasp before withering and bursting into black dust.

As the beast died, Ivan leapt down the scaffolding and assaulted another creature, severing its twisted, almost plantlike head before it could even raise its claws. As it exploded into dust, Ivan spun around a third demon attracted by all the commotion and plunged his sword through its back and out its chest, slicing the sword free through the creature's side, leaving it standing halfway carved in two for a second before Ivan spun back around and slashed it down the middle, leaving it to fall in three pieces and vaporize as he moved on to the next of the Scourge.

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

Anybody feel like taking over before Ivan renders these guys extinct by himself?

[Mew Master]

Anybody feel like taking over before Ivan renders these guys extinct by himself?

Eh, there's too many in the building for Ivan to kill them all. I figure he'd probably start getting exhausted by around his 20th kill or so.. *shrugs* But I'll let other ppl post before I do ^^U

[Crystal Tears]

Joey

To think that a moment ago she had thought herself alone. That the water, which had ripped from her tiny body, had only been an extremely odd occurrence; that could somehow be explained by science... Was, according to the man, caused by a beast slain long ago.
It was hard to believe, but since demonic creatures had been literally slashing, clawing, grabbing, ripping, pulling and otherwise finding some sort of way into her world, it really wasn't all that farfetched....

This creature that everyone, save maybe two, had seen... Joey had seen none: no grand creature had come to see her; no feeling of welcomed strength flowed through her tiny frame... No, instead, what ran through her veins was a thick coat of fear underlined with a feeling of despair. This group of misfit children (compared to the rest of the world) was the only thing that stood between the everlasting darkness of a hellish world....

Well things could be worse...

'Yes, things could be much worse... We could be powerless, and without the mighty beasts behind us... In fact, we could be armless, and only have our feet and teeth to fight with.. I don't think any of us...' Joey's thought was interrupted when she glanced at the strange man the group had discovered, and then the dark man who was constantly unhappy. 'Ok well, maybe they won't have a problem with biting into the creatures... But I for one would find it extremely disgusting biting into deep orange, or grey flesh with patches of it rotted skin with bones sticking through tied in with the mixture...
A disturbing image entered her mind: the restrained one had just bitten into a demon similar to the one she had fought. He tore at the flesh with the strength of a lion and chomped down. Turning to her with an insane grin on his face, which grew inhumanly, wider once his crazed eyes had focused on her. Pieces of green flesh huge from his mouth as he spoke: "Heh heh heh... Tastes like Chicken!"

Shaking her head, Joey looked around the room. People were murmuring either to themselves or to each other. With a grumble she stood, wincing slightly as her wound seemed to have failed to heal. She brushed it off, she had come adjusted to the pain now, and it was no more then an annoyance, like a bee sting.
Joey stepped out of the tent then. The rain, which had been coming from the sky, had stopped for the time being, and the crisp blue sky was managing to break through the cloud cover. She felt some relief as she sat down on a concrete slab, the pain stopped, and her fearful soul eased. The sun, though little, was welcomed warmth on her skin.

She watched the dark man walk towards the building. Hell, it didn’t seem that bad; the idea of training that is. Frowning, she quietly followed, until she reached the entrance.

‘Why am I doing this?’ She thought with a annoyed look. ‘I don’t even had a damn weapon and I’m about to go and…

Her thought trailed off as her eyes settles upon something hanging on a bent pole jutting out of the crumbling building. A chunk of cement, apparently crudely ripped from whatever surfaces it had once been connected too hung from the pole by a thick black chain. With a mischievous sparkle in her eye, Joey looked at her surroundings. The banged up and dented side of the building was practically a staircase to the would-be weapon, and proud street girl like her was not one to let such an opportunistic chance pass by.

Though the ‘stairway’ was more like a very worn down and dangerous ladder, Joey still managed to climb it like a monkey. Her limbs found cracks and holes big enough to shove her hands and feet into which propelled her upwards. Her eyes glanced down as the ground, and refused to look up after realizing just how far up she had climbed. Gritting her teeth together the teenager tore her eyes away from the ground and focused on the piece of cement that dangled only inches away from her outstretched hand.

“Come on…” She glared at the piece of rock. “Come on…”

A low growling noise made her blood run cold. Straining her neck, she could just make out a deep orange thing with only two limbs. Both were armed with a single thick, black claw that dug into the side of the building with ease. Sewn onto its face was a clothe mask that left no holes or slits for it’s eyes, instead, wide, and long point ears twitched as she felt her breathing quicken.

“Oh you mother-“

She didn’t get too finished; she used her legs to propel herself off the side of the building to the pole. The creatures long, clubbed tail slammed into the side of the building where she had been hanging moments ago. Her fingers clenched around the pole that groaned at the added weight and slightly bent. Joey glared at the piece of metal.

‘I am not that heavy…’

The low growling noise edged closer, and Joey was forced to grip the chain and then leap. Her slam body curled up and barely managed to fit through a hole in the outer wall. The cement and chain combination flowed, the chunk of heavy rock slammed into the weak wall and sent dust everywhere. Joey’s mind however, was blank.

And then everything came screaming back.

The girl coughed; painfully she lifted herself off the hard floor and looked through the dust. Groaning, her hand outstretched and clung to the piece of metal again, dragging it close as she rose to her feet. Her crimson eyes narrowed as the faceless creature crawling through a larger hole, looking much like a wingless bat. Its ears twitched and its attention was drawn to the girl as she began to spin the makeshift mace.

The thing leapt, its single claws brought outwards as it headed for a collision with the teenaged girl. Joey growled and whipped the cement block behind her before throwing it forward with all her might. The cement block eased through the space between the claws and slammed with brute force into the masked face of the demon.
With a horrible cry the creature fell to the ground, doing an odd sort of black flip as it regained its composure. The mask was now thickly stained with blue-black blood that dripped onto the floor. It wavered a bit, about to strike, but then sent flying to the left as the mace slammed into the chin, sending bone fragments and blood everywhere.

“You know..” Joey snarled, releasing the cement block at the perfect moment so that it careened into the creature’s right leg, rendering it useless. “You’re not so tough…” Another sharp hit to the left leg made it so the creature could only snarl and use its tail. “When we have weapons…”

Spinning the weapon over her head, she smirked. “Go fuck yourself.”

The mace flew forward; oddly, a light seemed to emit from the chunk of man-made rock, before it appeared as a sphere. Jagged spikes were attached to orb, and the chain that propelled it forward shone light the sun before the light faded and revealing a sky blue chain with flecks of silver in it.
The spikes shredded into the creatures head, obviously hitting some sort of nerve, as soon after the head erupted, and the oddly coloured blood smothered the ground before the twitched body faded.

Joey nearly screamed. Her eyes were focused on the chain of the mace, which she swore she had been holding onto until now. The chain floated by her body, and her hands tingled with an odd sensation. Curiously she flung her hand forward, and watched in awe as the mace shot forward with such power that the mace crashed through the wall before retracting.

"Awesome..." She smiled. Turning as suddenly multiple twisted figures surrounded her. With a grin she magically spun the mace above her head, and in a mocking attitude towards their old style friend...

"Bringth it on, bitches."

[Shadow Djinn]

Kyoshiro Watanabi ~ Wind
-

Damn, why do I always get into trouble?

The asian youth gazed at the sky as he paced along the shattered remnants of buildings, rather uncaring of the various demons he noticed skulking about.

His swords had now been sheathed by miraculously appearing covers, hanging by loose chains despondently. Kyoshiro gazed at the demons again, managing a scowl this time.

Kay, so I have to save the world by killing demons. And I don't even know what the bloody hell my 'creature' is. What the hell's with that?

A flurry of French expletives passed as Kyoshiro ended up wandering into one of the ruined buildings, cursing again as he saw Ivan batting away a massive congregation of leathery skinned demons, displaying no visible fatigue. His sword was stained with gleaming ichor, along with the floor around him.

" Oi," the asian youth said casually, unsheathing his swords. Ivan didn't even flinch -- his sword whistled down in a deadly arc once more and split a demon in two.

" Rather weak, aren't they?" Kyoshiro continued, leaning against a wall now. " I 'magine my brother's dog Mittens could take these..."

No response. " But of course, Mittens is rather wimpy. 'Cept dogs don't like to mess with him. I tell ya, never seen a Chiuhaha kick a German Shepard's ass before that one time a German Shepard pissed on the-"

His audible monologue was cut off as a reptillian form sprung at him -- Kyoshiro managed to roll away just in time, gazing at the jet black hellmonger skulking along the walls.

" You want to get that close, you got to buy me dinner first." Kyoshiro scowled, raising his blades. The demon made no response, springing again, only to be cleaved in two by a swift cut from its target.

" So anyway," Kyoshiro continued, glancing at Ivan. " He..."

As if on cue, three more forms sprung from the shadows with a hiss -- once more barely avoided by their victim, who was now muttering something in Icelandic.

" Listen, Scourge," he said impatiently, thrusting his blades through a black form that leapt at him. " If you don't mess with me," he paused now, swinging a blade upward to split another attacker in half. " I won't mess with you. It's not like I want to save the world, y'know. I'm perfectly fine -- OI!"

A burly assailant lunged, gleaming claws thrusting forward, parried with a hissing sound by its opponent. The beast growled with displeasure -- the smaller demons backed off now, the burlier one obviously being some sort of leader...

" Ahoy, sir," Kyoshiro said lazily, getting into a fighting stance. " So you're some kind of pack? Alpha dog and what not?"

The beast's reponse was a throaty howl before pouncing again, this time attempting a swipe with both foreclaws -- once again blocked by the chosen of Wind, who realized the lesser demons had formed a circle about them..

Fine time for fucking wounds to hurt! Kyoshiro scowled as he felt a sharp pang of pain.

How'd that wind thing go again? Canya hear me beasty? Want to save me from dying?

The hellbeast had now resorted to quick swipes and snaps of its jaws -- Kyoshiro found himself nearing the edge of the 'ring', unable to find any safe openings...

C'mon dammit...

The demon now gave another howl of frustration -- foreclaws thrust forward in a lightning quick attack, Kyoshiro's left blade clattering to the ground.

" Oh, damn." Kyoshiro eyed the fallen weapon as his assailant gave a roar of triumph, now lunging and ripping a gash in the unaware's chest.

Kyoshiro fell over, cursing all the while, other sword slipping out of grip...

Pathetic.

Eh? 'Sat you beasty? 'Ello!

So cheerful in a near death situation?

Oi, am I in that plain thingy again?

You're not deserving of my powers. You're...

Pain split his head -- Kyoshiro backed away from the snarling beast with a roar, drifting between the two realms of conciousness and unconciousness...

FIGHT!

Tightening the grasp on his sword, Kyoshiro dashed forward, managing a brief cut on the beast's shoulder, inciting another howl. His assailant turned , lunging and slashing once more -- Kyoshiro felt blood fall from his free hand, but ignoring the throbbing pain as he thrust upward...

The blow ripped through the beast's exposed neck, but undaunted, his enemy pounced again and slashed Kyoshiro's shoulder with a triumphant growl.

Goddamn...

Kyoshiro sank to his knees, breathing heavily as he gazed at his opponent.

Fuck, I don't know how to use these bloody swords...

And suddenly, a lesser demon sprung, propelled by unsatable bloodthirst -- despite cries from its peers. Kyoshiro felt fangs sinking into his back, he was falling now...a cry vibrating in his throat as once more, pain spiked through him...

Get up.

Sorry man. I'm done with this...Dammit, not again.

Kyoshiro's eyes opened, scowling at the winds that were now buffeting him as he gazed around the open plain.

Shadows shrouded the landscape once more, and a throaty growl was heard.

Oh, now you want to help.

Kyoshiro felt his pain receding, gasping as he saw a wound on his arm close up in tingling light.

Very much like the wind, you are.

A shaggy form stepped forth into the sparse light, chuckling in rugged growls.

Changing...quick to adapt...never daunted. Why I chose you, I suppose...

" So, beasty," Kyoshiro said casually. " What are you? Bigfoot or sommat?"

No.

The shadows retreated as light took command once more, the now revealed beast gave a howl.

" Werewolf," Kyoshiro gazed at the rugged form, eyeing the unkempt patches of fur that covered the beast's person. " Fascinating. Really."

" I am Balthus," the beast finally spoke now, ignoring Kyoshiro's despondent comments.

" Nice name." The chosen nodded. " So, why do you want to meet me now?"

" You have so much potential..." the beast shook his head. " But it's hidden. Deep inside. Can't you feel it?"

" Well I do have to take a piss if that's what you mean," Kyoshiro frowned. " But I can hold it."

" Still ignoring your irrelative comments," the werewolve scowled. " Search...deep inside. Feel that powerful, swirling energy inside your heart..."

" Fine, I'll play along." Kyoshiro rolled his eyes, grasping the now retrieved swords, noting mentally that the world was rapidly starting to not make sense.

And then...

Kyoshiro gave another powerful roar as the landscape receded, Balthus chuckling before slowly fading, speaking unaudible words...

His eyes opened, and Ivan was towering over him, a mass of unconcious demons only a slight ways off, now sparring with Kyoshiro's previous opponent.

" Ivan! Old fellow!" Kyoshiro grinned. " Nice of you to take the lackeys out for me while I was haviing a stunning revelation that adds to my heroic character. Now then, as a cliched hero, I should be taking out that ol' beasty with some ultimate attack..."

The asian youth thrust a palm forward -- Ivan sent the beast flying with the flat of his sword, glancing at Kyoshiro haphazardly.

A brief moment of silence passed as Kyoshiro remained in a ridiculous pose, with Ivan scowling at him like he was the most moronic idiot he'd ever seen.

" Well then," Kyoshiro said sheepishly, retracting a limb. " Guess I'm not heroic enough yet. Y'know, where you discover a whole 'nother side and you're all super powerful..."

The beast had risen once more, now speeding towards Kyoshiro to reclaim its denied prey.

" Ah, beasty." Kyoshiro said cheerfully. Before he could unsheath his swords, Ivan stepped forward, weapon hissing forward and cleaving the hellmonger in two with a shnk! Before Kyoshiro could voice his displeasure, a second wave of hissing forms stepped forward, eyes gleaming into the moonlight...

" Well then, Ivan old pal." Kyoshiro grinned. His hands fell on the worn sheaths of his blades, assuming a battle stance as the congregation sped forward.

" Time for some old fashioned bonding eh? Near death situations and what not?"

As always, there was no reply.
-

Sorry, it's rather crappy in terms of wordplay, but it's 3:34 AM and I felt guilty about not posting. Go subpar guilt propelled posts? ^_^;

EDIT: As for soundtrack...Beliver by IKUO would be rather fitting for Kyoshiro. Or One Third (Junjou no Kanjou) by Siam Shade. As for Balthus, I don't really know...something really loud I suppose. Yeaa...

[Drusilla]

Dashing in and out... Hopefully, I'll get to post tonight, but at the moment I'm at the library about to kill this keyboard. I'm not gone quite yet!

[Weasel Overlord]

CRAPNABBIT! *had written out post only to be told that she is not logged in >_<* But anyway...

I'd like Leu's theme tume to be The Groove, by Muse pleurse! It's a B-side, and if anyone wants to hear it, just ask me! ^_^

In case no-one saw my away message too, I can't post (properly) until the 8th. Sorree for any inconvenience! Please don't leave Leu-leu out in my absence! ^_^"

Bye y'all! xx

[Mew Master]

Denny Roth~Fire
-----------------------------

“Training?” Ivan snorted. “I don’t think so.”

With that the guy dashed out of the tent, leaving me a bit surprised.

“Wow,” I said. “I think that’s the first time he finished a sentence without insulting somebody…”

“Quick you must be, not let him be alone. The Scourge are many, and he is but one. Weak though they be, numbers are an advantage in their favor.” Sean stated, looking at me and Aliana. Kiina had already went outside to prepare her twin-bladed sword. Kyoshiro jumped to his feet and ran out after Ivan, and I could hear him scrambling up rubble.

I nodded to Sean and started to head out.

”Wait!” Aliana and I stopped at the tent’s entrance and looked back at Leu. “Don’t forget about me.” He said, standing and re-shouldering his quiver of arrows.

“How could I?” I replied as I pulled the tent flap aside. “We need some comic relief.”

Running out into the rain I realized two things wrong. First off, the young girl who was with us earlier, Joey I think was her name, was gone. Secondly, Ivan AND Kyoshiro were gone too.

“Damn,” I muttered as I stopped by Kiina. “Where’d they go?!”

Kiina put away a rag that she had been using to clean her sword blades. “They just ran in there.” A click and her two separate blades locked together. “What are they thinking?”

“Dunno, but they might be one banana short of a bunch,” Leu replied.

“Where’s Joey?” Aliana looked around, trying to find the young teenager.

“I’m not sure. She was here a moment ago, but then she disappeared.” Kiina didn’t sound like she was happy with the way she let the younger one disappear.

“Let’s go!” I said and started running for the gutted-out skyscraper.

The falling rain gave everything a dark and wet look. Random flashes of lighting showed us smashed figures within the confines. Traveling along the incline was difficult with the slippery slope and the rebar pointing out of it.

“I hear something…” Leu commented and we stopped.

I started to hear it too. It sounded like small rocks falling down the edge of a cliff. We listened, wondering what Scourge could do such a thing. Then I heard another sound, a young girl’s shouting.

“Kiddo!” I shouted and made my way faster up the rubble-ramp.

Using my hands and my feet I made it up two lengths ahead of the others. Damn, I thought. If anything happens to her I’ll… As I reached the top, a flash of lightning showed movement and my head peeked over.

Just as my head appeared over the edge of the ledge something, spherical, big, and very pointy came flying at me. Instinctivly I threw up my barrier around me and closed my eyes.

Death didn’t come… I didn’t think. How the hell should I know what death is like? I opened one eye, and then another. My hear skipped a beat… or three.

Half an inch from the bridge of my nose between my eyes was a very sharp, and very large spike. It rested against the edge of the nose-crest of my glasses, pushing them up slightly. My eyes focused and I saw that the spike wasn’t alone, more spikes jutted out from a spherical object. Focusing even more, I saw that my shield had almost not been put up in time. The boarder between me, and the sphere caught on this things chain, stopping it just short of caving my face in.

“Sorry!!!” I heard shouting from beyond my barrier and further along inside the building.

I moved back a bit and then looked through the red-tinted sphere that surrounded me. There was Joey, hands clasped to her mouth and eyes wide with surprise.

“Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.” I said as the shivers that were running up and down my body started to stop. “I know I’m annoying Kiddo, but that’s no reason to kill me!”

I dropped my shield and tried to catch my breath, falling to my knees and kneeling.

“Sorry! Sorry!”

“Denny?!” The others came running up after me. “What happened?” I recognized Leu’s voice.

“Oh don’t mind me,” I replied. “Just another near-death experience.” Looking back at them they could see how shaken I was. Odds are I was as pale as a sheet and resembled a hollowed out ghost.

“Um,” Aliana this time. “Is that mace… floating?”

I looked back, and indeed, it was floating. The chain was long, very long and seemed to curl around Joey almost protectively. First thing to pop into my mind was that of a snake or serpent. Pushing myself back up, I dusted off part of my pants before continuing on.

The walls looked black from blood and some Scourge bodies remained.

“Ivan’s been here,” I muttered.

“How can you tell?” Leu replied sarcastically and I rolled my eyes.

Cautiously our group made its way through the lower levels of the condemned building. The smell of mold, dust, concrete, and some various animal wastes caused my nose to scrunch up. If there were more Scourge here, then we would have to be careful. Sean had said that there may be more powerful ones hidden among the weaker things crawling around through the woodwork.

I held my katana handle in my right hand, unsure of how to activate it if the chance came. I neared a doorway and looked through. Inside I could see a rift. It was large, about as wide as I was tall and several demons stood outside, each looking different than the rest.

“Okay,” Joey asked, barely above a whisper. “What’s the plan?”

Plan? Damn! I knew I had forgotten something!

Okay, time to actually assess the situation. Kyoshiro and Ivan were running around the building. Possibly dead, probably still alive. The five of us were together, working as a team, which is what I was hopping Ivan and Kyo were doing. I glanced back inside the room and took a head count.

Four demons. Each looking more like a horror-show reject. There were five of us, and more monstrosities could come through the Rift at anytime. There was also no telling how many more Scourge were in the room. There could be dozens more, maybe no more at all.

“Okay,” I said getting the group together. “We need training to hone our abilities, both physical and magical.” I thought about what to do. “Kiddo,” I looked at Joey. “You’re with Kiina. She’s a bad-ass in a fight and can watch your back when you watch hers. If something does get through she can heal you... I think. Aliana, you can heal too, so stay with me unless anyone else is hurt. Leu-leu, you’ve won a couple of Archery contests, right?”

He shrugged.

“Okay, we’ll need you to give us cover-fire while we’re in there. Watch it though, if what Sean said is true, then the Scourge’s portal has a powerful influence over the area if there are four demons already in there. So they might come charging out at you. I don’t know how many are in there, best to stay cautious. Hmm… we need a distraction…” I thought for a moment. Then an idea lit my face with a smile.

* * *

The Scourge scouted their new home.

“It has been too long since I’ve felt stable ground under my claws.”

“Try to get used to it. We must protect the portal for when the higher ranks arrive. Once they do, we can start to taint the world and make it more suitable for our master’s desires.”

“As long as I get to taste real meat again, I don’t care too much…”

“What?” A weapon attached to a long chain floated and lightly clinked as it seemed to twist and slither. Its spherical head had many spikes that jutted out from the sphere made it look strange. The demon stepped forward, sniffing and glaring at the strange thing. “Is that?”

Flames blasted around the weapon, creating swirling trails of fire. Then the mace flew forward without warning, slamming into the Scourge’s chest, piercing his torso, collapsing his lungs, and crushing his rib cage. His dead body bounced along the ground twice before sliding to a stop against the far wall.

The other demons stood in confusion and shock. Their wide-eyes narrowed and looked at the doorway where the mace had flew from. Arrows flew from the doorway as four humans rushed them two of them with weapons. One with the handle of what must have been a sword, and a younger one rushing in. Their eyes widened in surprise.

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

I leave it up to the other players to describe the demons in the room. Use your imaginations… Go nuts ^^. Also, there are other demons in the room, at least one other, but there can be more. I set us up for a fairly nice ambush… and Denny’s not the best strategist in the world neither ^^U

Later!

[Pichu Luver]

Hmmm *rubs hands, creating time.

Kiina Prattle
*-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-*

“Nice hit!” yelled Kiina as she rushed into the room with the others. She saw a quick view of four demons in the room, one already down thanks to Joey’s mace. Two had arrows sticking out of them and were roaring in anger. The third was sitting on a piece of rubble and watched the whole thing with a detached air.

Kiina headed to that one and it leapt up off its rock, opening its arms and revealing torn and tattered wings. It appeared to have spike like plates running down its back that rose up as it hissed at her. Oily feathers were under the plates and its underside was scaled.

Its legs were very long and spindly, appearing to have almost no muscles at all. They ended in three dagger-like claws, a forth reminiscent of a raptors hook. It had no tail and an almost human face except for the huge chipped and cracked beak jutting out of it. Its ears were extremely elongated and had hair that ended in a million little hooks.

It stepped down of its rock and leisurely approached the battle. It legs jutted up backwards behind it and its claws dug deep into the ground. Kiina gulped, this thing sure looked smaller on that rock. She twirled her blades and rushed at it. It jumped up and flapped once right over Kiina and slashed at her with its huge claw. She ducked and swung her blades upwards and into its left wing, slicing it right up to the arms.

It screamed, almost sounding human and crashed to the ground. She took advantage of the situation and slit it right down the back. It thrashed and managed a lucky hit with its right wing that sent Kiina flying. She crashed into a wall and heard it groan in protest. She sat there dazed for a moment and the demented harpie rolled to its feet and jogged at her.

Kiina head was still spinning and if it hadn’t, she probably wouldn’t have laughed but it ran so weird. It bobbed to a great degree as its thin legs took the weight and pushed it back up again. The birdwoman jumped and cocked its hooked claws but a mace crashed into its left side and crushed the wing, snapping bones. An arrow also dug deep into it jaw and she was sent tumbling to the right, screeching horribly.

Kiina shook the stars out of her eyes as she stood and waved thanks to Joey and Leu. Leu saluted and Joey was already busy with their creature. Kiina cautiously approached the harpy this time but she couldn’t seem to get her over long legs under her and lift her to he feet. Kiina took advantage of this and swung at her head. It came tumbling off with very little effort and the body gave one great spasm before falling into dust.

Kiina turned and the others were just finishing their creatures off and she wiped the sweat of her brow. When they were finished, Leu went around getting his arrows and Kiina said, “That harpy like thing was right nasty. Thanks you two.”

Joey smiled and nodded while Leu gave a bow, “All a part of the job, ‘tis was nothing.”

Kiina laughed and Denny joked, “Are you the knight in shining armour now?”

“Of course not, I am a noble elf lending my bow to the fellowship.”

“Oh I don’t know about that Leu,” Kiina said totally deadpan, “Unless you liked being called Fairy Boy.”

“Hey!” he said trying hard not to laugh as the others did around him. It felt good to laugh, even for only a little, it pushed what felt to Kiina like impending doom just a little bit away for a while. When they had done making jokes at each others expense they continued on, looking for more demons.

-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-

Soo, I left it up to you for your monsters. Go create!

Tag!

[Blademaster]

Hee hee hee... 'Enjoying himself?' 'Showing off?' Somebody's giving our buddy Ivan a bit too much credit...

Well, as long as we're all working together here...

'We?' I think not...

Shut up, Ivan. On with the posting!

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


Ivan

Ivan glanced around himself at the six demons surrounding him and Kyoshiro.

While most of the Scourge so far had looked rather independent of one another, these creatures all looked similar enough to one another to be called a single species. They were each about 4 feet in length, with flat, boneless tails dragging behind two pairs of spindly, almost insectoid legs. The creatures' forearms were long and gangly, ending in sharp, fingerlike claws that scraped along the ground like apes' knuckles. Bony protrusions extended from their shoulders, giving the impression that these creatures had once had wings, and similar spines ran in parallel row down their backs.

But most bizarre were the creatures' heads - they looked like no creature Ivan had ever seen. Their skulls were long and pointed, like birds' beaks, but their lower jaws were split down the middle, giving the demons 3 jaws apiece, each of which was lined with pointed teeth - not on either side, like normal teeth, but right down the middle. Two pairs of round, red eyes - one right behind the other - were nestled in broad, hollow sockets on the sides of their heads, and at the back of their skulls were axe-shaped ears lined with what Ivan could only assume were veins.

"Well, Ivan," Kyoshiro said in his typical cheery monotone, "these guys seem t'have us outnumbered... What's the plan?"

Before Ivan could respond, a feminine cry reached his ears. He turned around...

And there, behind him, a beefy-looking girl with a sword had just sliced one of the monsters' heads clean off. She landed behind the demon's carcass, a smirk on her face as she looked up at Ivan.

"Cut the crap, boy, and let's see what you're really capable of!"

Ivan looked at her strangely. Had she just challenged him?

Well, if she had, he was certainly not going to refuse... He raised his sword...

"Ivan, calm yourself. She is on our side."

'Figures.' Ivan thought grimly, turning to block the blow of another demon. 'None of the rest of this so-called band of warriors has failed to incite my ire yet, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that this-'

Ivan's thoughts were cut off as the demon he was fighting was suddenly split in two by Kyoshiro, who smiled crookedly at Ivan and gave him a thumbs-up.

'Idiot.' Ivan thought.

"Caught ya by surprise, didn't he?" the girl taunted, slicing through another demon's chest. "Better pay more attention if ya don't wanna end up something's dinner!"

Ivan's expression iced over; black sparks began to crackle around his wrists as he charged another demon, slashing through its spine before spinning around and kicking the crippled abomination right out of the building. He turned his attention to another of the insectoid monsters, which flinched and stepped back. A few others followed suit.

'Looks like they've finally decided to give up.' Ivan thought. 'Perhaps these creatures aren't as stupid as I had initially thought.'

As the demons backed away, however, an unearthly howl reached Ivan's ears as three new, larger demons sped forward, one of which was charging straight at him. The beast thrust its clawed forearm at Ivan, who blocked it with his sword, sending a few sparks flying. He and the demon struggled for a moment, eventually pushing each other back a few feet.

Ivan and the demon circled one another, their eyes fixed on each other as they each sized up their opponent.

This new creature was by far the strangest yet. It stood on two short, sturdy legs, it's round, beefy body looking like it was wrapped in a demonic turtle's shell, and its arms were long and slick-looking, seemingly devoid of any bones. They almost resembled a squid's tentacles, in fact, but at their ends were six fingers, each of which was tipped by a grey claw. The creature's head looked like a skull in basic outline, but where its mouth should've been there were instead long flaps of flesh, and its broad, glassy eyes were positioned at either side of its slimy head. A disgusting gurgle escaped its mouth as it scrutinized Ivan, trying to find his weak spot.

Ivan narrowed his eyes, his sword at the ready. He raised his free hand and beckoned the creature...

The demon gurgled a battlecry and charged at Ivan, thrusting its claws at him, each of which he blocked with his sword. The creature advanced on him, continuously striking with one claw after another, keeping Ivan on the defensive.

'So,' Ivan thought as he blocked the creature's attacks, 'it looks like some of these creatures can pose a challenge, after all...'

Not that it mattered - Ivan soon figured out a pattern in the creature's attacks and blocked one with his sword, then dodged the next, quickly freeing his weapon in the process before slashing it up, cutting one of the demon's tentacles clean off. The beast squealed and fell back, yellow ichor spurting from the wound as its severed tentacle wriggled and flopped around the floor like a fish out of water.

"HADOKEN!!!"

Despite Ivan's best attempts to ignore his ignorant 'friend,' he couldn't help but look in Kyoshiro's direction when he heard that bizarre warcry.

A second later, a brilliant green flash issued from the teenager's palm, blowing the demon he'd been fighting a good fifteen feet back, sending it slamming into the wall!

Ivan raised an eyebrow.

'Finally,' he thought, 'that idiot did something of some merit.'

In that brief pause, however, the demon Ivan had been fighting lashed out its remaining tentacle, slamming Ivan in the chest and knocking him back into the opposite wall.

"Umf!" Ivan grunted as his back slammed into the wall and he slid down to a sitting position, his sword still firmly in his hand. The beast Ivan had been fighting made a strange noise that sounded like laughter.

Ivan's mind registered what had just happened; after a brief moment of shock, his mind clouded over, his vision marred by darkness...

The turtle-shelled creature's laughter ceased as Ivan stood up and sheathed his sword, his head lowered. For a brief moment, both were dead-silent...

...

Then, Ivan raised his eyes to the creature.

The demon actually stepped back - Ivan's eyes were pitch-black!

KRA-KOW-OOM!

With a sound like lightening striking, an aura of what looked like black fire suddenly flashed into existence around Ivan's body, his coat billowing behind him as the dark energy stirred up the air around him.

The sound and flash of energy had attracted the attention of Ivan's two 'teammates.' Locked in combat with his own demon as he was, Kyoshiro still managed to smile a crooked smile. He knew what was about to happen; with almost perfect timing, a familiar Prodigy song began to play inside his head:

Smack mah bitch up...!

KA-FWAM!!!

At that exact moment, Ivan attacked - with jet-like speed, he charged at the demon, a shadow-cloaked fist pulled back. With a growl of fury and exertion, Ivan plunged his fist forward, right into the demon's face; at the moment of contact, the black energy surrounding his fist exploded to life, crackling around the demon's head like a livewire. The monstrosity squealed as the shadowy energy sucked away its very lifeforce, the impact of Ivan's fist outside its head and the vacuum-like energy swirling within its head quickly peaking. The beast howled one final, agonized cry...

And then, its glassy eyes filled with yellow ichor and popped, spraying the gruesome substance every which way; a second later, the rest of the fiend's head buckled and compacted, then exploded outward. Yellow ichor and chunks of flesh and bone flew everywhere, spattering against the floor, the other demons, and most of all, Ivan himself. The demon's carcass swayed, and then, it fell backwards with a crash, exploding into black dust a moment later.

Every demon in the room (save for the ones already fighting) went dead silent as Ivan glanced at his ichor-stained fist. He opened his hand, glancing it over front and back, before finally he lowered his hand. The demons watched him in silence...

Then, Ivan turned his attention to them, the dark aura around his body flaring to life once more...

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

Uh-oh, Ivan's in a bad mood...

Well, while I go and hide in a bomb shelter somewhere, somebody else can take over. Tag!

(smacks the nearest person and then runs like Hell)