Fantasy Legacies: World at War - In Character

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Westshire Bar
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Heavy Overcast
The dragon's muzzle was temporarily wrapped in tendrils, but it was a trivial matter as the dragon opened its jaw and broke the tendril trap. Einar did get his hit off but the dragon retaliated by whipping its head and sending Einar flying back a good distance. The dragon got up and shook its whole body before pointing its head towards the sky, extended its wing out and letting a fierce and deafening roar. If I were compared it to something, it would be like those visible sound waves whenever a boss creature roars.

Red lighting was seen coursing through its body. The spines along its tail and back began to glow red as it began to charge up a lightning beam, it shot the lightning beam at the ground then slowly moved its head up, the beam creating a path of fire and destruction towards Einar.

Mika nodded, "Right. Nia, help me with him." Nia nodded, "We're here to help you, Mateo." Mika just wanted to go and find Skyla but instead he's in the mess. He was sure that Rai probably had it better then they did. After all, he's most likely not in the path of destruction of a fucking Elder goddamn Dragon! Regardless, Mika focused Mateo, "If we can help, just let us know." Mika stated.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Einar was sent back once more. Twice, one from a shock wave and this one from a dragon's head. He hated dealing with dragons. It was so much better when they were down and he could carve their hides in peace. Now he was being thrashed around by the live one. His son was probably dead, and if he was still alive, probably wouldn't be able to carry on the family legacy. He was very pissed as he went skidding in the mud.

He got up as the dragon opened its mouth to roar. Einar couldn't be easily downed like his son. He had years of experience backing him. The roar, deafening to some, didn't bother him. He was used to dragon roars. Though this one was way louder than any other dragon roar he had heard and ears were ringing afterwards. On the other side of the town now turned battlefield, Aleph squirmed from the mixed pain. The pain of his severed arm, and the pain in his eardrums. He could barely hear, but what he did hear made him want to throw up from the pain. There was no guarantee how intact his hearing was gonna be after this.

More red lightning. Another beam. The same beam that took out Aleph. Einar knew what to expect this time, though. Facing it head on didn't work, but Einar wasn't a coward. Unlike his son who would rather hug a porcupine than fight a dragon. Luckily for him, the dragon had swung him close to where his axe had landed. Perfect. He ran for it, the beam trailing behind him. He wasn't the fastest with his big build, but he was certainly lucky right now. He reached the axe, pulled it up out of the ground, and used it to shield himself. He used his magic to widen its scope so that it covered more of him.

Here's the lucky thing about his axe, it was crafted from dragon remains. The first dragon he ever killed had been made into this weapon. That's what he would've done for Aleph with this elder dragon, had he actually killed it. This is why dragons were so sought after. They were pretty indestructible. Einar could get hits off because it was dragon against dragon, albeit one in an axe form. He hadn't gotten in any hits with his axe, but if he would've it would've sunken in deep. All dragon slayers ended up getting weapons forged from the remains of dragons. They were very helpful in times like these.

The beam hit off the axe and went sailing upwards towards the dragon. "Weren't expecting that, were you? Arse." He wouldn't have been able to pull that off with magic alone. It would be the dragon's own hit against itself. Maybe strong enough to give him a fighting chance should it hit.


Mateo was grateful to the two helping him, and Cora of course who provided his fluffy emotional support. He was able to sit up again with Nia and Mika's help and gave Cora a pat on the head. Mika then offered their help and Mateo got to thinking. What was the best way they could do this? He wanted to get out of the blast zone, for both his sake and theirs. They could've already been out if it hadn't been for him getting trapped, so he had to make this as quick as possible.

"Can you get my things?" Ok, yeah that sounded selfish. Not at all what he was trying to convey. "I mean, my bag has badges in it. We can use those and two pieces of wood from the rubble to make a splint. Then we can get out of here, if you guys can help me walk that is." He played with his thumbs when asking the next part. "I need everything though. The scrolls, they're my maps. No short cuts without them, so they are kind of important. And my satchel. It's just... I've had that thing for like, forever, so..." He was blushing now, knowing it wasn't as important as their lives. But it did have emotional value, plus it was perfectly Cora sized. "Please." He looked up at Mika and Nia with a serious expression, and a pleading one.

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Westshire Bar
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Heavy Overcast
The dragon stopped its beam just before it hit him back, the dragon stood straight up, an imposing figure, "Hi los mul... draal daar mu dreh ni grind mindin daar, joor." The dragon turned and looked at Aleph in the mud and looked into his eyes before extending its wings and taking flight. As it was taking, it let out one final roar before disappearing into the horizon.

Mika nodded but it was Nia who picked up everything and slung the bag over her shoulder. Mika looked as the dragon left, "Talk about timing, eh?" He shot a glance over at Einar and shook his head, "What a dick." He muttered quietly as he fashioned a crude but effective splint for Mateo's leg, "How's that?"

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Einar watched as the dragon stopped its beam before it hit it and do damage. A cold sneer danced on his lips. Was the dragon afraid? Had he found its weak point simply by happenstance? Or maybe it was his training, knowing that the axe would repel dragon attacks because of the material it was made out of, that had awarded him that victory. Whatever the case, he was sure the dragon was quaking in its boots. Well, if it wore boots it would be.

The dragon got into an imposing figure and spoke in its strange language, but he didn't think it was anything grand to look at. Einar didn't even realize it was speaking its final message before leaving. In fact, he was readying his axe and getting into a pose for another swing at it.

The dragon looked over to Aleph, who hadn't moved from his spot. How could he? His mind was riddled with pain and fear. He was afraid another limb would get blasted off if he even stood up. He was never afraid of dragons, but this one was something else. He was actually scared of it. It'd been majestic when he had first gazed upon it in the sky, trailing the thing all the way to here, but now it had blown his arm off. There was no way to get that back. Yet, as it gazed into his eyes, he didn't hate it. There was, a mutual understanding almost. Dragons were animals, even talking ones were. And when wild ones felt cornered, they attacked. He'd learned enough of that from learning how to trap animals. It was weird but locking eyes with that dragon had sort of helped his mind. Put it at ease maybe. Made him... accept it more. Even if losing an arm sucked, at least the dragon had enough decency to leave him alive. To leave both of them alive. When it had the right to kill them.

Einar watched fly up and began swinging his axe. Maybe it was going for an aerial attack. But it didn't. It gave one last roar and speeded off, leaving Einar with a swinging axe and a gash in his face. "Coward!" Einar screamed after it. "Arse! I learned your weak point and you take off! What a bastard you are!" He looked towards Aleph. "I should've taken your life for what you did to my son. Now he'll never be a real man. Never be a real dragon slayer." He muttered in disapproval and rage. He strutted over to Aleph, the boy still half deaf from the roars, and in shock and pain from his arm being severed.



Mateo watched as Nia picked up all his stuff. He'd have to thank her for that. He knew some of what he was asking her to get served no purpose in the long run, but his items were important to him. Cora came to sit next to him and allowed him to stroke his fur as emotional support. Cora was great like that. He'd let no one else touch him but Mateo but trusted him enough to help him when he was stressed or in pain.

He nodded at Mika, knowing talking was a lot for him right now. But he was right. He wondered why the dragon had left them alone finally. Well, maybe dragons were just better than mortals and spirits in that retrospect.

Nia came over with the stuff. "T-Thanks." He managed to croak out. He managed at smile at the both of them. It was amazing how much they were willing to help him out. They had the bag, so Mika was able to pull out the bandages and salvaged two pieces of wood from the destroyed bar. Then he got to work. Mika muttered something but it's not like Mateo could pick it up with his condition. His brain was barely even registering that there had been a fight between mortals and a dragon. In fact, it wasn't registering. He was overall a mess right now.

The process went with a lot of groans and whimpers from Mateo as his leg was thoroughly splinted. He couldn't wait until he had his full strength to heal it. Once he was finished, Mike asked him how it was in a voice loud enough that he could understand. His leg definitely felt straight and supported. "Good. Though it hurts a lot. Haven't had broken bones in a while, I guess. Didn't remember it hurting this much." He gave a little chuckle. "But thanks. That does help a lot. Really, it does."

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Westshire Bar
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Mentions: SharkBark
Current Weather: Heavy Overcast
Mika really wanted to turn around and punch the guy in the throat but Mika could recall he was exactly like that. He still kind of is but he promised himself and Skyla he'd do better with his attitude, "That's good." Mika then wondered... WHERE THE HELL WAS RAI? Surely he was done doing whatever it was he was doing. No matter, Mika leaned back on his arms and sighed, "Gods... what a fucking day, eh?" Nia giggled, "Yeah, who knew our reunion would end up being invaded by a dragon, Mateo ending up with a broken leg and you showing up all in one afternoon."

Mika laughed, "Yeah, almost makes me wish it was 6 months ago and we were still at the tourna... ment..." Then Mika remembered, "You know... maybe... maybe not, eh?" He weakly laughed, "Maybe a few hours before that day would be better..."

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari and Nakano Ran

Location: Forest/ Fighting the Unholy One

Rai had done it. With a tricky combination of moves, Rai managed to land powerful slashes on the Unholy One and then finally, it passed away. And just to be sure, Rai stabbed it in the head.

"Shit. I did it." Rai shakily said. His breathing was erratic, adrenaline coursed through his veins, and sweat drenched his body. Rai looked down at his defeated foe and it began to dissolve into ash before his eyes. Rai was initially shocked but then remembered that this wasn't any ordinary creature. It was a Legendary Beast, and he had just defeated it. He wondered if there was a bounty reward for killing it but quickly dismissed the thought because there wasn't anything he could use to prove it.

Rai dropped his katanas and fell to his knees. All the pain from the entire battle came back to him as his adrenaline faded away. He coughed up terrifying amounts of blood and put a hand over the wound on his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. God he wished Mateo was here, then he could heal him up. Mateo. Rai reached into his pocket and took out a letter. He had forgotten about it. The letter was sent to Rai by Nia and basically everyone was going to meet back up. Thank god he made it through this battle. He didn't want the first news about him to be that he had died to a powerful horse.

All of Rai's thoughts suddenly were irrelevant when seeming out of thin air, a pendant came down and Rai caught it in his palm. The moment it made contact with his hand, pictures and words flashed quickly in his mind, explaining the origin and the purpose of the pendant. When it was all over, Rai was out of breath. It was called the Black Pegasus Feather. It was supposed to to give the wearer the Blackflame Firebolt ability, the same one that had just gravely injured Nakano. Wait, Nakano.

Rai put on the pendant quickly and ran over the Nakano's unconscious body and scooped her up in his hands.

"I did it, Nakano." Rai said. "Now let's get you out of here quickly."

Rai picked up his katanas and sheathed them and then continued his walk to Westshire to reunite with his friends and get medical assistance. Rai looked back once more at where the Pegasus's corpse used to be and smiled. His heart felt warm. He felt restored. He was able to protect someone this time, and now he felt redeemed.

At Westshire...

When Rai arrived at Westshire with Nakano, it was a lot crazier than he had expected. Maybe he was seeing things from all the blood loss but, it felt pretty real. There was a broken bar and pieces of debris everywhere.

"What the hell happened here...?" Rai said to himself.

A woman in a pale black outfit with shiny blonde hair noticed Rai and Nakano and quickly ran up to them.

"Oh, you poor babies!" She cried out. "What happened to you two? Were you hurt in the fight?"

Rai was stunned by the fight part. Was the town raided? Did something bad happen? That would explain the damaged places and the [['[[[[[

"No, I got into a fight with.." Rai hesitated. "...an animal."

"Oh, that's terrible! Come with me. I'll get you two taken care of."

Rai offered the woman a gentle smile and followed her to what looked to be a doctor's house. Inside, Rai and Nakano were treated by many people and he was bombarded with questions. They asked about his white hair, his black skin, where he was from, and someone even asked if he was married and if he was interested in their daughter. She was pretty, but Rai turned the offer down kindly, which seemed to offend the daughter.

By the end of all of that, Rai's wounds were patched up and his chest was covered in gauze. Nakano on the other hand had to stay there for a while. And It hurt Rai to hear it but, her scorched arm was going to have to be amputated. It was sad but it had to be done or else she'd die from an infection.

After hearing that they were going to start the procedure now, Rai left the place with moist eyes. He couldn't bare to see Nakano's passion taken away from her.


Mentions: Kumii

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Einar tore away pieces of cloth and wrapped it around his son's bloody shoulder where his arm used to be. Blood immediately soaked through it. More would have to be done to stop the bleeding but it's the only thing he could do at the moment. It's not like Einar had any experience in medical practices. All he knew was how to fight and kill.

The man then went to retrieve the boy's arm. A small part of him thought maybe they could repair it. Sew it back on with magic. But it was irreparable. What could he do with a son who couldn't slay dragons? Would it be more of a mercy to end things for him? His life would be a treacherous one. He knew the disabled were not always welcomed. Treated as outcasts and liabilities. Besides, if he couldn't slay dragons...

Meanwhile, Aleph still laid in the dirt, trembling. Something caught his eye. A glimmer in the mud. It brought out something in him. He couldn't explain it. He just had to get it. So, he flipped over to his stomach with a groan and crawled using his one arm. He clawed at the mud, and it was hard. It left his whole underside caked in brown goo. But he had to get to whatever that was. Finally, he got to it and stuck his good hand into the mud. He used the last of the energy he had to pull it out and gaze at it. A collection of scales. Elder dragon scales. The boy could still feel tiny hints of electricity dancing around between them, even if his whole body felt numb. He had no idea when that had happened in the battle, but it seemed some of its scales had been chipped away. It probably had too many to even notice the ones that had left its side. But, this was a valuable material, more than Aleph even realized as his consciousness slipped away. Even while passed out, the boy's good hand kept a tight hold of the dragon scales. His hand went into a fist with his nails digging in and it was still tight even if he wasn't conscious. No one would be able to pry away his hold of those precious materials.

Einar came back over to Aleph, a severed arm in hand and an axe in the other. There was a cold look on his face as the rain spattered onto it, the blood from his face gash washing away. He'd realized Aleph had moved to a new spot. Maybe the boy had some fight left in him. He sighed then set his axe down to pick his son up. He cradled him in his arms like the day he'd been a newborn baby. Then, he picked up his axe and marched away towards the direction of Rai and the doctor's house.



Mateo listened to the two older ones as the reminisced on the day. Yeah, it'd been crazy than he had expected. I mean, he had thought he'd be excited to hear the clue about Skyla and get started on finding her, but he had never imagined he'd meet Mika again or come into contact with a freaking dragon. The situation would've been way more cool to him had his leg not been broken. Day's rest and he should have enough energy to go about healing it, but he still hated that he had gotten it in the first place. And then his secrets were getting spilled one after the other. Cora popping out, and then the black sludge that had came out of his wound. Maybe they'd just forget about it. Chalk it up to the crazy day. That's what he hoped at least as he ran his hand along Cora's fur.

Then, Mika got sad about wishing it was six months ago. He hated seeing him like that. Mateo had been so enthused about seeing Mika again, that he didn't even realize how much losing Skyla still hurt the guy. He always acted calm and collected, but he was breaking down now. He wished Cora would agree to let Mika pet him, but the reality was that Cora still didn't trust him. He'd never let a mortal pet him, well any other's but Mateo. Maybe with time he would open up more to them. I mean, the cat was out of the bag now. Literally.

"Y'know what?" He asked Mika. "I think a few hours before that day would be great. No broken limbs or dragon attacks. But, also, we wouldn't have met. It might be selfish, but that just seems sad." He scratched his head in a sort of awkward gesture. "Bad things happen. I've had my fair share of bad luck on the road. That place before Ironshire was... bad. But if I hadn't had that bad thing happen, it wouldn't have set me on the path to Ironshire to meet you two. And Rai... and Skyla. Life is about balance. So, as much as it was a bad thing, it was a good thing. Because now you have friends that can help when the bad stuff happens. Y'know?" Maybe it was a stupid thing to say to someone who was trying to get their lover back, but it was all Mateo had to help Mika. Besides, he was used to making the bad into the good.

When Rai popped into Westshire to gaze at the bar, he didn't see him. He wasn't really in the best shape to take notice of his surroundings. And maybe it was because the four of them were at ground zero of the rubble from the bar and Rai was away from it as a viewer.

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Westshire Bar
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Heavy Overcast
Mika looked at Mateo as he spoke, "I suppose you're right." Mika looked up and let the rain hit his face for a moment. He looked over and saw an all too familiar white haired maiden- er white haired friend. Rai. Mika picked up a pebble and chucked it at Rai, maybe he'd get it or maybe not, either way, he looked distracted and Mika decided to try and keep the man on his toes.

Nia looked at Mateo for a moment then to Mika who looked like he was in somber reflection before noticing Rai. Mika had already chucked a pebble at Rai, "Hey! What was that for?!" Nia whispered. Mika smiled and simply shrugged, "Cause I felt like it."

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari and Nakano Ran

Location: Forest/ Fighting the Unholy One

Rai exited the nurses office with moist eyes. Nakano was going to wake up to a horrible fate and he couldn't be there to comfort her. He had to blow off some steam. He had to get his mind off of the current situation.

"She'll be fine." Rai told himself. "She'll be okay with it. She won't blame me, she won't leave, she'll be fine. I hope she'll be fine."

Rai paced around the village helping people out and giving the occasional, "The doctor's office is over there." or "Are you okay?" to the injured residents. He was waiting for the operation to be over and found that the only thing calming his mind at the moment was offering his help. As Rai was on his way to another injured person, he caught a shiny object in his peripheral vision. Rai instinctively began to lift his hand to catch it when he saw who had thrown the rock. He looked a bit different but, he could tell it was the gone boy, Mika.

Rai got so distracted that he forgot all about the pebble and it ended up smacking him straight in the face. He snapped out of his distraction and looked to the pebble. That was a bit anticlimactic. Forget about that. Rai jogged over to Mika and soon saw the rest of his friends there too.

"Oh shit!" Rai called out. "You guys! You're here!"

Rai stopped in front of Mika and sized up Mika. Wow, he had changed.

"Dude..your hair!" Rai reached out and touched the bun. "It looks good on you. Still not as good as my hair though."

Rai gave Mika a hug and patted him on the back.

"It's good to see you again, Mika. Any luck with Skyla?" Rai looked to his side at Nia. "Hold that thought." Rai walked over to Nia and lifted her into the with a huge hug. After a few seconds, he put her on the ground.

"Nia! God, it's been a long time since I've seen that ridiculous outfit. How have you been? What have you been up to? Y'know, besides beating up people who confuse you for a guy." Rai chuckled at his own joke. Corny. "Also, hold that thought."

Rai walked over Mateo and put him into a noogie, the same thing he did back when they first met.

"Mateo!" Rai said with a laugh. "Still as timid as ever, eh? It's great to see you again. You've been staying out of trouble, right?" Rai released him from the noogie and then faced everyone. "Alright, now all those thoughts I told you to hold, you can release them now..



Mentions: Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Einar was one of the people Rai helped out, not that he needed it. He frequented that bar whenever he came traveling to Westshire after another kill. He knew this place quit well and was able to head over to the doctor's office with relative ease for a guy was a carrying around an axe, his son, and a dismembered arm.

Doctors were quite busy with those who we injured, and it didn't seem like they were happy to see the dragon slayer. Wasn't a shock to him. Most people thought his ways were barbaric. One of the many reasons why dragon slaying magic wasn't officially recognized as a magic type, despite being different from the others.

They were busy but he told them to do their damn jobs and save the one that was in life threatening danger if they didn't help him. Of course, brandishing his axe really did the trick. Aleph was taken away by the short supply of doctors they had that weren't already preoccupied by other patients. Einar gave over the severed arm, but the doctors knew they had no way to reattach it. Now, it was just a matter of time to see if his son really did have any fight left in him. He sat with his huge frame and waited for the outcome of that battle.



There wasn't much else said by Mika. Maybe he'd said the wrong thing? Being a traveler left his people skills a little...eh... sometimes. He just continued on with stroking Cora, the cat becoming a little agitated at something. Nia's voice was what broke his thoughts. Then Mika came back with a reply, but Mateo was unaware of the pebble that was thrown. Well, it seemed Mika was fine enough so maybe he hadn't said something wrong.

Then, Rai came into view yelling about them being there. He knew it was Rai the second he looked at him. I mean, the guy was kinda hard to miss. Still, another wave of relief washed over him to see another friend. He chuckled with Rai's comment about Mika's hair. Not sure how the guy would react to that, but it was still funny. Then he was skipping over to Nia and commenting about her ridiculous outfit. Mateo was glad he didn't have a stomach wound, or he would be in so much pain from the quiet chuckles. Then there was the guy thing. He'd never really been clear on Nia's gender. He felt guilty about that. Good to establish she was a girl. Or she could just be neither. Well, no need to overcomplicate things. He'd go with girl and hoped he wouldn't get punched.

Then it was his turn. Of course Mateo got the noogie. He was the noogie kid, he guessed. But it was a show of affection and he greatly appreciated it, even if it kind of hurt his leg when roughed around like that. The splint definitely helped keep it out of too much pain. He couldn't really speak while in the noogie to answer his questions or say really how good it was to see him. He probably wouldn't be proud to know that he had gotten into plently of trouble once they had all split ways. In fact, he could've been skinned alive had Mika not been there. He hoped he wouldn't sell him out to Rai.

The whole time he was being noogied, Cora had his fur bristling and his claws unsheathed. It was clear he wasn't a fan of the touching of Mateo. He was being protective of his human friend. Mateo plummeted back to the ground when he was released and took up Cora in his arms to prevent him from doing anything. The last thing he needed was his friend's connection severed and his body killed.

Then, Mateo focused on Rai. "You're hurt!" Of course that was his immediate reaction. "Sorry I can't do anything about it. I'm currently out of commission with my own issue." He gestured to his splinted right leg. "Wow, can't even do the one thing I'm good at right. Now I'm completely useless to you guys." Stop it with the pity party Mateo! He told himself. "Well, its really good to see you! We'll need you to do all the cool samurai fighting with the path we're traveling."

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Westshire Bar
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Heavy Overcast
Mika had his bun touched, not that he cared but it was a bit weird, especially by a man. Mika only scoffed when Rai complimented his own hair, compare would be a better word. Mika didn't care about looks, he didn't have to impress anyone else. He's come far but he only has eyes for one person. The currently missing member of their little party.

Nia on the other hand got a huge hug from Rai. She never got those, at least not from Rai. Well, she didn't get hugs period, people were too afraid to hug her cause they'd be too afraid they'd get punched by her. Understandable, she does have a bit of a temper on her. Rai was on a greeting spree cause he went on to Mateo.

Mateo mentioned they would need Rai's skills as a samurai, Nia agreed, "Yeah, we have a dangerous path. I heard from some monk friends a while ago that they saw what looked like a raven haired woman up by the fortress overlooking the Whispering Cliffs. It'll take us a few days to reach it but I think its worth investigating if its any trace of Skyla."

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari and Nakano Ran

Location: Forest/ Fighting the Unholy One

Rai smiled as his friends spoke to him. He was glad to see them again. It was 6 months but, I guess it felt a little longer.

"You're hurt!" Mateo immediately said. Rai felt around his face and found a welt on the side of his face.

"Oh, guess I am." Rai said. "I fought some sort of super powerful beast on the way here. I got this relic in the process." Rai pointed the the relic around his neck. "It gives me some sort of new ability but, I don't wanna use it yet."

Mateo mentioned that he couldn't help Rai with his injuries because of his own injure. Mateo gestured to his splinted leg, which Rai hadn't noticed it before. Had it been like that for a while or was it recent? Mateo then said some depressing, self pity stuff but before Rai could scold him on that, he changed the topic and talked about how they needed a "cool samurai" on the path they were traveling. Rai had never seen himself as the cool samurai. More of a samurai who beats up people for money and occasionally saves people. Nothing cool about that.

"Oh really? Where are you going?" Rai asked. Nia told Rai that some of her fellow monk friends they saw a raven haired woman up near a fortress looking past the "Whispering Cliffs". She also said that it could lead them to finding Skyla. Rai nodded, clearly impressed by the fact that she was able to get that type of information. That must've been what the note was about.

"Well.." Rai looked back at the nurses office. Could he just leave Nakano? If they waited for her to wake up, she'd hold them back due to her injuries but at the same time, if he left, she might completely lose all of her trust in Rai.

Rai looked around at the floor and he spotted a piece of paper. He picked it up and then with a chalky piece of stone he wrote,

"Hey, Nakano. It's me, Rai. I know you might be in shock right now after learning about your injury so, I just want to assure you that everything is gonna be alright, okay? One arm or two, you'll still be the amazing, "Nimble Nakano" to me. Also, I'll have to leave for a bit. My friends and I have to go save someone. I promise I'll be back. And then, I'll take you out to eat, just like I said I would.

Stay safe and get better soon,

Rai the Thunderous Hunter





Mentions: Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Westshire Bar
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Heavy Overcast
Mika listened as Rai said he got something new, a Relic of some sort, "Nice. You're not the only who powered up." Mika took the lance off his back and stood it straight up, "Boom, a Lance." He put it back on his back after a second, "Anyways, since we're all here, what do you say we leave immediately? We've got a good amount of daylight left." Mika looked around at everyone.

Nia wasn't opposed to the idea, "As long as everyone has everything they need. I don't have much I need so I'm all set to go whenever." Mika nodded at Nia then waited for the others' responses and see what they thought.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was hooked at super powerful beast. Mostly because his mind went wild with the possibilities of it being a magic beast. Even if he wasn't much of a fighter, mostly because he had a severe lack of fighting abilities, when it concerned magic Mateo was instantly there. Especially when he heard about the relic part. He lit up like kids do when being told a fairy tale. New ability? Man was Rai lucky. He'd have to ask him about it while they were on the road. Mateo had a new ability, but it was a new nature spell he'd been working on. He thought it was pretty cool, not that he was tooting his own horn, but this relic thing seemed way cooler. If they were going on a three-day journey, Rai was seriously gonna get hounded with questions by the magic lover.

Still, it was weird Rai hadn't noticed all the places he was hurt. Mateo had noticed the break in his bone instantly. How could you not with a pain like that? In any case, that powerful beast must've messed him up. He really wished he could help Rai on that front. As long as he didn't break another bone, he'd be able to heal them both up in a day's time.

Rai went off to do something with a piece of paper while Mika showed off his lance. He would've contributed to the showing off game with a smaller version of his new spell, but he wasn't able to pull off any spells like this. Magic was a definite no-go.

Mika then suggested taking off. Nia was on board; Rai hadn't yet answered. But that was half of them saying yes and he didn't think Rai would be much of a problem. They also hadn't asked about Cora yet, so hopefully they thought he was some regular cat, so he wasn't getting a vote. He was seriously lucky Cora hadn't started talking. That left Mateo to be the one pain. His leg worried him. He looked down at the splint. He didn't like risking anything. Wounds kind of scared him, because he knew they could turn rough fast. Fatal wounds he couldn't heal, same with tissues and organs dying off. It's not like he could make someone grow a new limb or heal dying cells within a limb. I mean, surely it wasn't that serious. Still, though. He could feel the pain and that sucked.

"I mean, we could..." He said, kind of beating around the bush. "Though I'm gonna end up slowing you guys down. I don't know if I can walk on my own. Maybe we could get a cart or something."

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari and Nakano Ran

Location: Forest/ Fighting the Unholy One

Looks like Rai wasn't the only person who upgraded in powers. Or weapons in this case. Mika took the lance that was strapped to his back off and showed it to Rai. It was pretty sick looking, Rai couldn't lie. Much cooler than the simple relic he had in a necklace form.

"Nice, switched from a katana to a lance." he said. "I'm surprised. Also, I think we should leave now. Going out at night doesn't seem like too smart of an idea. We might get attacked by something we won't be able to see coming. Who knows what types of things --or people-- come out at night."

Rai stopped a woman who was walking by and asked her to take the note to the doctor's office. She happily said yes and went on her way. Once Rai diverted his attention back to the group, Nia said she was on board with the idea, meaning that the only person who had to make a decision now was Mateo. Rai kinda expected what Mateo said next, he wasn't exactly the toughest kid around. But, what'd you expect? He's only...Rai had just realized that he never found out how old Mateo was. He looked to be around, 15-17 but, you could never be too sure. He'd have to ask him later. Then, Mateo finally made his choice. Though he talked about how he'd slow the group down and that he couldn't walk on his own.

"I mean, we could get a cart. Though someone would have to pay for one." Rai suggested. "I haven't done any bounties since the tournament so, I'm low on gold. If we can't afford a cart though, Mateo, I can just carry you. Or Mika too. Hell, even Nia. No offense."

Rai felt a tinge in his rib cage and winced. Guess that leftover adrenaline was fading away, his injuries were becoming quite clear now. His leg was sore, his arms were even worse. He didn't say anything about it though. He didn't want to hold back the team. Guess that's how Mateo felt right now.







Mentions: Kumii AlphaBlueWolf [/font]

 

[Kumii]

The group decided to leave immediately for the Iron Fortress. They would make the normally 5 day trek in record time, they would arrive at the door of the Iron Fortress in 3 days.

Three days later...After much hiking and carting on Mateo's behalf, the group finally made it to the towering structure that was the Fortress. They would take a moment to marvel at the beauty of the slightly mist-covered Fortress. Only one problem stood before them...

The gates were raised, meaning a frontal assault was next to impossible. They scouted the location for a bit to find anything they could use as an alternate entrance. As they looked, Mika spotted a side path that scaled the walls into what looked like a maintenance entrance. They all decided that was a good path and they started to cross the very long bridge, oh because that was another thing, the Fortress was on an island with a natural moat that seemed like an endless abyss.

As they crossed to about the halfway point they all heard a terrifying sound... a Dragon roar but it sounded more mechanical then anything. They turned around and it landed on the other end of the bridge and began its approach. None of them were ready for a fight...

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Bridge to the Iron Fortress
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Mika and Nia took a moment to admire the fortress, "Damn. Such magnificence, imagine this place in it's hayday. It's probably seen many fights." It was true, the fortress saw maybe hundreds of battles. That was all Mika noted as they made their way across the bridge but at about the halfway mark, a roar. A Dragon. Another one? Mika turned around to see it, it was MASSIVE.

'Holy fuck!' Mika thought, "Fucking run!" Mika just kinda blurted that out and then started running to the other end of the bridge. Nia had a confused look on her face, "Wha-" Then she saw what Mika did and froze.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was feeling much better. For one thing, his leg didn't feel like it was being burned in the deepest pit of hell. For another, it also didn't feel like it was going to disform. That's because it was all better! He was right. After resting that night and well into the morning on his cart, Mateo had felt well enough to patch up his leg. With the pain of that gone, he'd been able to give Rai's injuries a quick heal too. They were both in fighting shape as they crossed the bridge. And he felt better now that he was less of a nuisance to the group.

"Wonder if any mages lived here." He wondered aloud. It was really pretty with the mist curling around it. Almost seemed like a spell to him. Maybe it was. Who knows? Pretty interesting to him though. It took the edge off of knowing he'd have to battle his way through this place. 'Just focus on the pretty fortress, not the scary fortress.' He told himself. Every so often he could see through the mist, see the battle torn walls of stone. He would shake his head and try to put on a brave face. But it was a lot for a sixteen-year-old. Even if he had been dealing with a lot of bad stuff from a young age, this still made him nervous. He just had to remember why he was doing this. Why he had pushed aside his own dangerous quest for this one. For Skyla, one of his new important friends.

Mateo stopped when he heard that sound. An all too familiar sound. Though, it sounded different. Not from the same dragon who had fallen onto of the bar and put his leg out of commission for the day. Sounded more, mechanical? How could a dragon sound mechanical?

He had no time to really think hard on that one till it clicked. He followed Mika's gaze to the dragon that had plumped its metal ass right on the bridge. Ok, great. Mechanical dragon. Great.

Mateo the Follower immediately went to run after Mika. He turned his head back and saw Nia frozen in her spot. Seriously, you'd think Cora had played a mean joke on her and made an ice patch right on her feet. She was so still, and Mateo understood how that felt. So panicked you couldn't do anything. Yeah, that was a familiar feeling.

He raced back to Nia, risking feeling the impact of her negative emotions on his mind. It wasn't as strong as an entire crowd, so he had it better here than at the tournament. And much like the tournament, he gripped her hand hard and pulled her along with force. "C'mon Nia!" He wasn't losing another friend now. He didn't want to be the useless one of the group. He didn't want to have to depend on others all his life. He was going to help now.

"Now I know why they call this place the Iron Fortress!" He yelled while running and pulling Nia. Maybe a joke would snap her out of her panic. He pulled her along to the direction Mika was going.



While the group had been on their journey to save Skyla, Aleph had been on a journey as well. The trek to Ironshire. A lot had happened the night he woke up from having his arm blasted off. One, there was no way it was getting reattached. Two, somehow he had found dragon scales. Three, he had a long and very interesting conversation with his father. Four, an elf bartender told him a bed time story.

The first two bits of his night were products of the fight. The third was a painful conversation. His father had gone ruffling through his stuff in maybe a way to sate his grief. Did he even have grief over this? Aleph knew his father was never very proud of him. Who knows? But, the point is, he'd found the notebook filled with dragon drawings. That's all he did when observing his father and his brethren kill dragons. Draw diagrams and pictures of the dragon they were fighting. That's probably why he didn't have much fighting experience. He got distracted. The whole doctor's office had been erupted in a yelling match. The first time he had ever risen his voice to his father, and all because he was still in shock about losing a freaking arm. The doctor's had tried to get Einar out, but he just brandished his axe and threatened murder. He was disrupting all the patients but he didn't care. He'd gone on about Aleph being a disappointment. He tore pages from his pride notebook and threw it down. He stormed off, his harsh words still ringing in Aleph's ears. Or maybe that was from his hearing loss. Yeah, the doctors said he was probably going to be half deaf. Wasn't that nice?

In the middle of the night, the elf from the bar had come to visit him. "Do you know about the Blue-Eyed Bandit?" He'd asked. Aleph had shook his head, focusing more on his father than the elf. "He's from here, y'know? From Westshire. Though people used to come to my bar saying they got beaten up and stolen from by some punk with striking blue eyes. Said it happened in Ironshire. Haven't seen the guy in some years, so its possible he's taken his business over to Ironshire. But he was a public menace. The best thief I've ever known." The elf moved around his hands in strange patterns. Sign language. Not like Aleph could understand it though. He had never learned sign language. "You know the reason why he was so good?" Once again, Aleph shook his head. "Well, because he's a genius with machines. Uses them on his heists or whenever he's in a rough spot. He could build anything really. Out of any material." His gaze shifted to the dragon scales. Something inside Aleph clicked. The guy worked with machines, could build anything out of whatever material he was given, and Aleph had dragon scales which were a key component in dragon slayer weapons. They were stronger than any metal in the world. He looked towards his missing arm. If he could build anything....

The elf wrote down key points of information for him. Stuff he might've missed in his speech and ways to get to Ironshire. "Thanks, Kaitas." He said with a weird voice. It was already sounding weird with his hearing loss, mixed with his Irish accent. "You can thank me by being discreet. You meet him, you don't tell him I sent you looking for him. You didn't learn this from me, alright?"

And that's what had sent him out to Ironshire. He took a lot of forest paths, finding the atmosphere comforting plus he knew forests well. He'd backed up that night and had made his way over. Making it to the city two days later. The only reason he'd gotten there so fast was because he had avoided sleep. Now to find this Blue-Eyed Bandit guy. Though, he could be anywhere in this huge city.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Panic

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

After the decision on what to do was made, the gang made their way to the Iron Fortress. The walk there was mostly small talk and Mateo asking questions. They had rolled Mateo around in a cart for a bit and then afterwards, he seemed a lot better and healed up his leg. And then even better, he felt good enough to fix up Rai too. Now, they were both back in prime condition and were able to tackle anything that came at them. Well, not anything.

As they got further into their quest, their surroundings became significantly misty. The air Rai breathed was moist and his hair became damp by the second.
"Damn, the weather around here sucks." Rai commented. "Must be hard for anyone who lives in this area-"

Rai suddenly stopped mid sentence when he heard a sound. It seemed like everyone else had heard it too. It was a clunking and heavy thudding sound. Something large was in the distance. Rai squinted his eyes to get a closer look and then his eyes widened with fear. Right before them was a huge, no large, no, GIGANTIC, dragon. Not an average dragon though. It seemed to be mechanical, like someone had made it from scraps and bolts. Suddenly, Mika yelled out for them to run and instinctively, everyone did.

Two huge beasts in only a small period of time? Shit, seems like things just aren't going Rai's way. Can't we just have a peaceful walk to the fortress?


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Tired

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

The worst taste ever. It was like a fucking dragon took a shit in his mouth.

Castro Smith woke up with that taste in his mouth. He wanted to stay in bed and sleep more but, it was just too much. So he groggily got up from his flat, metal, super uncomfortable bed and made his way to the sink in his small, poorly lit, room. The bed made a loud creaking sound as he got up. Castro decided to make a mental note to steal a bed from someone next time, this trash shit just wasn't gonna cut it.

At the sink, he looked at himself in the mirror before he did anything else. He couldn't see himself that well without his glasses but, he had a pretty good idea of how he looked. Castro was in a white tank top with stripped boxers on--his pajamas-- and he had messy bed hair that stuck out in a plethora of directions. And of course, his signature blue blazing eyes. Funny how he forgets how he looks every time he wakes up.

Castro picked up his blue toothbrush and spread some mint toothpaste on it. As he brushed his teeth, the awful, putrid, taste left his mouth as was replaced with a fresh, minty smell. Part one of his morning, done.

Part two? Eat. Castro walked over to his stolen fridge in his stolen shoes wearing his stolen clothing and opened the fridge to see that he had run out of stolen food. God, it's like he's forgetting to steal the stuff he actually needs to survive. Guess that means.... Castro walked over to his windows and peeked through the blinds. There was a guy who sold breakfast to people each morning standing outside his window. Eggs, pork, and some biscuits. Castro's mouth watered as the smell of the food assaulted his nose. But no, he'd suppress the urge to eat. He won't leave the room. Yeah...

-----------------------------
"Hi, I'd like to but some eggs and three biscuits please. Add some pork too."

Castro, actually, Charles, stood at the stand ordering some food. He was dressed in a red robe that complimented his black wig and his hazel brown contacts. Castro hated this disguise but, it was the only way for him to get around unnoticed.

As the stand owner prepared his food, Castro heard some giggles from behind him. When he turned around to see what it was, he saw that 4 girls who looked to be his age were standing behind him, and they began to blush when Castro looked at them.

"Hello, girls. Beautiful day we're having, right?" The girls smiled and said yes as moved closer to him. "H-Hey, what are you girls doing?"

Ignoring his questions the girls got even closer. Castro could practically inhale their perfume. But just before they could do whatever god forbidden thing they had planned to him, the stand owner had finished preparing his meal.

"Thank you, good sir." Castro said as he payed the man, took his meal, and began to bolt away. Before he could get far though, one of the girls grabbed his arm and pulled him in close.

"Please help." she whispered. Castro looked into her eyes and saw that they were filling with tears. "That man right there.." She gestured towards a man in a black cloak. "He's been following us since we stepped outside. Please do something!"

Castro hesitated for a moment. He couldn't get into a fight, he'd draw attention to himself. But at the same time, if he didn't something would happen to these girls. He had to make a choice, now.

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

Back in his hiding place, Castro Smith lay on his bed, his chest heaving up and down and his hands covering his face. He then removes his hands from his face. He was crying. There was a newspaper on his bed that revealed why he was crying. He was crying because 4 young girls were found dead in an alley with multiple stab wounds in them. They were said to have been killed by a man in a dark cloak. Those were the same girls that had begged Castro for help a few days ago.

And he had just left them to die.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Bridge to the Iron Fortress
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Mika ducked into the service entrance, waving in his friends, "In here, quick!" Mika could see the dragon behind them, "Hurry!" He shouted at them, he was a bit too panicked to see that Nia had frozen up and that Mateo went back for her. Mika felt a bit bad but in his state he couldn't help it. Meanwhile Nia was dragged by Mateo, which effectively snapped her out of it, "Sorry, I froze up.."

Nia began running in pace with Mateo so that he wouldn't be dragging Nia along as they ran towards Mika was.
(sorry for the short post, couldn't think of much :c come to think of it, posts have gotten shorter without Skyla... I miss her ;-

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo saw Mika up ahead, ducking into a service entrance. He yelled at them to hurry, but that didn't really help them. Soon enough, Nia unfroze and ran alongside him, saying sorry. "It's fine. I get like that too, so no worries. Just run!" He was experienced in travel so this was a piece of cake to him. Still, he heard the creaking of the metal dragon. Damn was that thing massive.

They made it to the service entrance and Mateo drew a sigh of relief. Now they just needed Rai and they'd all be here. He looked out for the samurai, hoping he'd been affective in healing the guy's wounds so that he would be fine here.


Aleph made his way through the streets of Ironshire. He got looks from the surrounding people. Maybe because his arm wasn't there. He was a scruffy looking boy, with a mess of tangled black hair, a light brown/tanned complexation, blue eyes, and a scarf and wooly jacket. One sleeve of the jacket hanged limply, and it was apparent that an arm didn't inhabit it. He looked like a homeless orphan on the streets, but he had no energy for personal hygiene. No energy to even comb his hair out. He didn't even have the energy to rip off the jacket's sleeve. Not like he'd be needing it with no arm. Well, part of that was his hope that this Blue-Eyed Bandit guy was the real deal and that he wouldn't just steal his dragon scales. If he could make him a new arm, then maybe his father would start believing in him more.

The sounds around him were muffled. Before, he had an easier time understanding and processing sound. Maybe because the doctors said it was going to be a progression. He'd been able to hear his father yelling at him because it was so loud, and Kaitas' story because the accident had been fresh. Three days later and it was worse like they said.

But Kaitas had made sure to set him up. Besides his torn-up notebook that he still had with him, he had a new one for communication as well as a chalky stone wrapped in cloth that he could use to write down messages. The notebook's first pages contained instructions for sign language. Different phrases and words as well as the alphabet. He decided to take a break and practice. He sat against a wall in the shade and put his notebook down. So, easy stuff first. How about his name. Ok, A. Looks kind of like a fist. Like a half fist. And then stick your thumb up? It was in rough shape, but he had managed a sort of sign language A. Ok, L. Upwards finger gun. E is...

It continued on like that until he got down all the letters of his name. A.L.E.P.H. Aleph. Again. He put it all together which made it become sloppy. But what could you expect from a kid who'd just lost part of his hearing and was trying to learn sign language. Plus he was never much good at focusing on stuff. He stopped after a bit of trying and decided to just continue on with searching for this bandit guy. He'd have plenty of time to learn sign language once he could convince Castro to make him a new arm, because Aleph was convinced he was nothing if he didn't have the normal amount of arms.

Daily sign language practice. Check. He put away the notebook in his bag and stood, feeling the weight of eyes now on him. A sharp pang in his stomach and a rumble. He hadn't realized he was hungry, but he hadn't eaten much. He could've taken berries from the forest. He remembered one time he'd gotten poisoned by eating some random berry in the woods. Lucky for him, it just gave him some severe indigestion. Safe to say he learned his lesson about eating random berries and now took his time to learn about the bounties of the forest to determine what was poison and what wasn't. Anyways, even with his berry knowledge, he hadn't eaten anything in three days. He'd been forced to eat in the doctor's place, but they'd discovered he just threw everything up. On his travel, day two with food hadn't been much better. He didn't even attempt to eat on day three. And now, day four, he was feeling the full effects of it. But he didn't know if he'd even be able to. He looked into a small satchel. Kaitas had given him some of the money he had earned from tips. The elf seemed kind of sketchy with that knife of his, but he honestly wasn't bad. Kind enough to help an unfortunate kid like him.

Aleph twirled around a coin in his hand because he needed something to do. He got antsy quick. There were some mumbles around him, but he was short of hearing. He wasn't picking it up, but he could guess. "Hey, look at the kid without an arm. What use does he have? Why does he even choose to live in that condition? Won't make it. Useless." He murmured what he thought they were saying. He could tell by the looks of pity he was getting. And maybe he even thought that about himself.

A few steps away, some guys were tailing him. Thought it would be easy to take a kid like him. No adults around him, clearly on his own, and the flapping sleeve of his wool jacket didn't help him at all. He didn't notice them with his dull sense of hearing as they tailed him. He did have his sense of smell and eventually smelled cooking food. Around the corner there was a vendor. His stomach rumbled and he started psyching himself up to ask for food. He went up and asked, "Hi, uh, what food do you sell?" It was kind of hard to understand. He had an accent plus he really couldn't hear his own voice so the pitch and tone of his voice was off. A mumbled reply came back. At least mumbled to him. His cheeks turned red and he stared uncertainly at the man. He looked at the cart. Eggs, pork and some biscuits. "I-I'll take an egg and a biscuit please." Aleph wasn't really a fan of meat. He was pretty lucky. He then asked the guy selling stuff about if he knew the Blue-Eyed Bandit. He said some stuff as he fried up an egg, then pointed to a wall. He would've been lost if he hadn't pointed. He walked towards the wall and took a bit of time to pry away a postor. Wanted postor. Wow, that was a lot of money. So this guy must be pretty good if he had racked up a bounty like that. Still, it gave him a little perspective. Plus, he could show people the postor now while asking around.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Panic

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

"Shit, shit, shit, shit..." Rai said as he bolted behind Mika.

He did not want to die. Or even come close to it again like when he fought the Unholy One. Rai looked behind him to see that Nia had completely frozen.

"Nia! Move!" Rai yelled at her. But she didn't seem to hear him. Rai stopped for a moment and began to go after her but Mateo got there before him and dragged her along. Afterwards, the group ran as fast as they could to avoid the dragon. Rai looked back constantly, seeing that the dragon was still behind them and looking for a fight.

"In here, quick!" Mika said as he ducked into the service area. He didn't have to tell Rai twice. Rai sped up he running pace and dashed towards the service area at full speed. He then entered the area and tripped over. He hit the floor but quickly recovered and looked back at the dragon. Guess they were safe for now. Rai sighed in relief and grabbed his chest. His rib cage was hurting from all that running and probably his past injuries too.

"Alright." Rai said between pants. "Now what?" Rai waited for a response.


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Tired

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

My blade. Castro thought. Where's my blade?

Castro stood at the closet in his small room dressed in what people call, "The Orange Blur" outfit. He going out to do something. Not to steal like he usually would. No, no, no. He was going out to kill. A rare case for him. Castro pushed a bag out of his way and an orange light became visible. He reached towards it and picked up a jagged black and orange blade from the closet.

Here we go.

Castro sheathed the sword onto his back and put on his small backpack. He was ready now. He looked up at a hatch on his ceiling and then leapt up to grab it. As he hung from there, he twisted his body in a circular motion, thus turning the handle with it. By the time Castro had done 7 full twists, it cracked open and he climbed through it. The hatch led to an alleyway that was only accompanied by rats and the smell of oil. Castro stealthily climbed the walls of the alley and made it onto the roof.

"Alright." Castro said as he looked around. It was still daytime so he'd be visible to other people but, he didn't care right now. "Where the hell is this bastard at."

Rai looked at the streets of Ironshire. The street in front of him didn't have much to it. Some people were talking to their friends, drinking, basically being oblivious. It was like no one in this town noticed the horrible stuff happening around them. If they had, they'd probably be searching for that killer too, just like Castro was. Also in the street was the usual vendor owner. He had only one customer today, a kid with an uncomfortable looking wool jacket. Guess no one was hungry this morning.

Castro leapt from the rooftop to the next, gliding over the vendors stand in the process. Once he reached the next rooftop, something caught his eye. A tall figure in a black cloak stalking a little girl.

"Got you now." Castro said to himself.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming Spear and Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Service Area
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Mika caught his breath as soon as everyone was safe. He listened for the dragon but it sounded like it departed, "It sounds like it left but stay alert." He said between breaths as he looked around, it was dark but he saw an unlit torch on the wall. He grabbed it and snapped his fingers to produce a spark to light the torch that lit up their surroundings a bit more.

Nia looked around as Mika light their surroundings. She was still in shock but she was better, "Damn, it's all dusty. I guess that's what you should expect from an abandoned fortress." she stated. Mika held the torch out in front of himself, "Yeah for real, I mean look at this place..." The surrounding area was littered with skeletons covered in cobwebs and dust everywhere. The weapon racks held spears, swords and axes from a bygone age and, again, was covered in cobwebs and dust, the torches lining the wall had the same deal as everything else. Mika covered his mouth, "Hell, this place really needs some kind of maid service. Am I really to believe people are living here? Let alone keeping someone else here? This is horrid." Mika said through his mouth.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was glad when they had all regrouped. Mika notified them of the dragon leaving, but to stay alert. "And thank the gods for that."

He was glad for the light when Mika lit the torch. Cora could see the dark, but he certainly couldn't. And that was probably the same for everyone else. Though, what he saw made him wish he hadn't lit it in the first place. Skeletons covered in cobwebs. That was nice for their chances. He hoped they wouldn't become skeletons in the next few minutes.

Mateo shrugged at Mika's exaggeration of the place. "Eh, I mean, I've seen worse. Let me to you, abandoned mineshafts are pretty creepy. Especially when they've been rumored to explode." He thought back to his childhood, the desert. "And don't get me started on how many people abandon their homes in the desert. And then buildings just pop up wherever with the shifting dunes an all. Compared to that, this place seems pretty tame other than a giant metal dragon." He shuddered a little at the shifting dunes. He remembered the sight of his house getting swallowed up by one of those things while he and his adoptive family watched. And then the sandstorms, those were rough. Yeah, he was glad he wasn't in the desert anymore.

"They probably have the most spiders I've ever seen on my travels though, so I'll give it that." Mateo than saw the old weapons on the weapon racks and grinned. He picked up a spear, not carry about the cobwebs laced under his fingers. He then pointed it at Mika. "Look, I'm like you with your fire spear." He joked. It was important to remember he was still a teen. Despite how mature and calm he liked to act, he was still an immature kid in some aspects. But really, he was just trying to make light of a dark situation. He grinned and then exclaimed, "Ow!" That practically echoed through the room. Cora had given him a good kick from within his satchel. He rubbed at his side. "Y'know, you didn't have to do that, you cranky furball." That retort prompted another kick from an angry cat.



Aleph went back over to the vendor while folding up the wanted posting and sticking it inside the pocket of his wool jacket. And let's just say, folding was extremely hard with one hand. You take so many things for granted. That's why he needed this new arm. But what he didn't realize was that his ticket to getting a new one was so close to him.

The vendor gave him a sunny side up egg and a biscuit. "How much?" The vendor gave him a muffled number. He ruffled in his coin pouch and produced a coin. He gave a slightly angry response, thinking Aleph was trying to con him. "Sorry." He pointed to his ears. "Can't really.. hear well anymore." He looked sad and apparently it was convincing. The vendor seemed like a good guy. He pointed to the coin pouch and made a motion to continue. When he had the correct amount, the vendor gave him a thumb's up. He gave over the coins and said, "Thank you!" The vendor nodded and waved, accounting for the fact that he couldn't hear. Ok, so maybe not everyone was bad when it came to people with disabilities. The vendor had understood and helped. He liked that.

Call Aleph crazy, but he put the egg on top of the biscuit. He didn't know how many people did that but he personally loved his eggs on biscuits. It was like eggs on toast, but way better. You haven't lived until you've had an egg on a biscuit. He looked at the food, his stomach rumbling. He just didn't know how he would react. Ever since the accident, eating made him feel sick. He couldn't hold it down. It just came right back up. But, it'd been three days. He needed something in his system. He needed the strength. So, he took a bite.

It was actually good. He could keep it down without trouble. Maybe it was because he was just that hungry. Soon enough, he was getting to the gooey yolk and had orange spread on his face. The goo even dripped to the ground.

Suddenly, something in the air caught his eye. A figure leaping from a building. Wait, that face seemed familiar. The eyes were what realy caught his attention. Blue like his own, but a very striking blue. A striking blue that would award anyone a name like the blue eyed bandit. His mouth was wide open. He was lucky it had caught his eye, because the sound wouldn't have carried to him. He shoved bit into the biscuit so it could hang from his mouth, because he only had one hand, and managed to take out the poster and unfold it. He'd been unlucky enough to lose an arm, but lucky enough to find the guy he was looking for by mere happenstance. The gods really needed to pick a lane with his fortune and misfortune.

Naturally Aleph took off running in his direction. He was on the rooftop though, so he could only follow via the streets and that's exactly what he did.

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Service Area
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Misty
Mika looked at Mateo as he pointed the rusty spear at him, chuckling a bit, "Watch out, that spear's deadliest attack is giving someone tetanus." Mika was half joking about that, the spear was in no shape for combat, dulled and terribly rusty. All the weapons looked that way so if one of their weapons broke they'd be shit out of luck.

That said, Mika really didn't know how to respond or what to think when Mateo explained the desert, that was more Skyla's forte, "I heard about that." That was all he could muster, "Sorry, Mateo. I... I don't really know what to say. This would be more Skyla's forte."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was glad his joke was well received. That'll show Cora. Mateo smiled, his cheeks bright, and giggled. It was pretty funny coming from a serious guy like Mika. Well, Mika looked super serious all the time with that look. So maybe it was like how he was soft on the inside. Maybe Mika was secretly a goofy guy.

He turned to look at the other weapons and Mika went on. He apologized for not really knowing what to say about his whole desert spiel. "No, it's alright. If you don't know, you don't know. Besides, I'm used to it. No one really likes going to the desert because of how dangerous it is. So, many people just hear rumors about it and decide from there without knowing a lot. I mean, they're not wrong. Wasn't always a picnic, I'll tell you that, but its home." He shrugged it off and went onto the next thing. "Real shame these weapons are only useful for tetanus. Could've used something more than just a stick if we're fighting our way through here." He put the spear back and almost knocked the whole thing over. There was a bit of clattering as he tried putting everything back.

Then Mateo realized what Mika had said. "Wait, is Skyla a fellow Desert Strider?!" His eyes sparkled at the thought. If that was more Skyla's forte, then that's what he figured. Also, Desert Strider was a little name he came up for them to make people in the desert seem cooler. I mean, there were people who liked to ride sandstorms, so it seemed fitting for that kind of dangerous life. More clattering was heard coming from the rack, he'd turned so fast that the tetanus weapons clattered down again.