Fantasy Legacies: World at War - In Character

[Kumii]

Little ManaLocation: A rooftop?
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Clear
Mana tilted her head, "Cursed like you? Some Spirits would consider being a Spirit a curse you know. The mortals look at us like we're a threat when all we want to do is be friends with them. We want to live peacefully with them and yet they want to kill us simply for existing. It's gotten to the point where Spirits began infighting among themselves because we're all playing the blame-game with one another." Mana lowered her head, her hair covering her eyes in deep reflection, "You said I could reveal that I'm a Spirit to them if I wanted to, like I could just kill them if they didn't like me but that assumes I'd want to kill them if they did attack for revealing myself. You're not the only one who lives in constant fear, you know. Daddy does, Mei and Jin do... I do too."

Mana looked up at Cora, "Cora understands... doesn't he? With him being a Spirit and all. He took the leap of faith with you, not knowing if you would turn on him or not and yet... here you are." She gave a light smile at Mateo, "I took the leap of faith with you too. That tells me alot about you already, Mattie. You just gotta take the leap of faith with your friends too. I'm sure they'll still accept you for you, like I do. Like Cory does."

Kiko MateasLocation: Finch's Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Overcast, Rain predicted
Kiko looked the rookie up and down, honestly, he didn't seem like much to her, "Mr. Finch... ARROWYN! YES! I REMEMBERED!" Kiko seemed like a child when she finally remembered the last name. She quickly cleared her throat and recomposed herself, "It's your lucky day, Rookie. You're going on a mission with yours truly. Specifically, we're going to investigate recent vigilante sightings." Kiko put a hand on her chin in thought, "Though, I don't know why Cyan chose you specifically..." She shrugged, "Regardless, finish getting ready and meet me around the around the corner in 5 minutes, yeah?" She turned around and began walking away, "Oh and don't keep me waiting, Kiko doesn't like waiting!" She waved a hand as she walked away.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

"It's not the same." Mateo muttered, barely audible. At least spirits understood their existence. At least they had people they could depend on. Mateo had his adoptive family, until he found out they'd lied to him about his entire existence. They couldn't help him control the curse, control the stages. It got progressively worse and traveling meant he was around people. People he could hurt. Then there was Cora. They'd met on a complete whim. Back then Cora was snippy with him like he was with Mateo's friends. He'd been convinced the kid was some kind of human spy or assassin, because he'd been watching through his window as his tutor explained to him a new technique. But all he did was run his mouth about how cool his ice magic was. It was obvious Cora was a spirit, but Mateo showed little care. And Cora returned that gesture when he'd found out about the curse, remembering the sweet kid who was so passionate about magic that he'd run his mouth for hours with little care in the world.

Then they'd made a promise that would last a lifetime.

But that wasn't really the point. Cora had people before him, awful people, but people who had raised him and given him a safe environment. It just rubbed him the wrong way that Mana was comparing struggles, saying they were the same. Did she know what it was like to be afraid if he touched someone, he would literally make them wither away? Did she have to deal with her body bursting into sludge? Literally changing before her eyes? He didn't think so.

Besides, he wasn't even remotely implying that Mana could just kill his friends should they attack her. It would be wrong for them to do such a thing but killing them wouldn't be right either. Two wrongs don't make a right and all that jazz. Besides, Mateo wouldn't let her kill them, just like he wouldn't let them kill her. He would look for the peaceful solution. He did understand how mortals viewed spirits, that being the exact reason him and Cora were so cautious about telling people he was a bakeneko. He wasn't that naive. He just didn't believe the plight of spirits were in any way remotely the same to his life and problems. Sure, they both lived in fear, but those of the curse and spirits had different lives.

Cora was starting to become a tad bit defensive here. He hated that some small demon child was trying to paint the narrative of their friendship and Mateo's curse. He understood what she was trying to get at more than Mateo. He had to hide away in a satchel when they visited mortal towns because he'd be attacked simply because he was a spirit. Luckily, he was immortal, but magic users knew how to sever spirit ties. Which meant his immortality could come to an end pretty fast. Sometimes Mateo just didn't get that, but Cora didn't pretend like he understood his curse either. They accepted that they had different problems and worked to better them together. Mateo respected every spirit they came across and tried to tell spirit hating mortals they were wrong about spirits in the politest way possible. While Cora helped Mateo get through curse attacks through emotional support and defended him from mobs of angry villagers. That's why they worked well together.

But he wouldn't expect a child to understand. That's why she was making such points.

Mateo did appreciate the sentiment, especially about leaps of faith, but she just didn't understand the situation. Cora hadn't gotten the chance to take a leap of faith, and neither had he. It just worked out in a way where they both accepted each other. "Listen, I appreciate the thought and all, but your wrong. Me and Cora revealed our identities because there was no other way. I was having one of my, I guess, 'episodes' when my curse got revealed to Cora."

"And I thought this one was spying on my family. Went out to fight him with my spirit identity revealed. Little did I know he wasn't a threat at all." Cora interjected to tell his part of the story.

"Hey, I'm plenty of a threat! Especially with my new book." Mateo argued back. But you could tell it wasn't arguing really. Playful banter coming from his light tone.

"Which you have little idea how to use." Cora gave him a dead stare.

"I- that's not the point. Listen, first off, no one's killing anyone. That's not at all what I was implying. The whole point is peace. And I'm not letting anyone innocent get hurt, like I said. And second, you don't know my story. Just like I don't know yours, or your father's, or any other spirit for that matter. I'm not trying to compare their stories to mine, and mine or Cora's shouldn't be compared to theirs. Everyone has a different story to tell."

"Yeah, and listening is the best way of showing you sympathize. Also reading social cues and body language is kind of an important part of understanding people's boundaries. And when you've overstepped them as well." Cora said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He was trying to hint at the lecture without being explicit so that Mateo didn't catch on a scold him for being more unfriendly. But Mana needed to understand that this was a hard thing to talk about for Mateo, and she was severely overstepping.

Mateo kind of gave him a look, definitely catching on. He wasn't trying to lecture Mana or anything, he just really thought she was jumping the gun on comparing situations before she really understood them. "I think you've got a good point with the whole leap of faith thing, it's just hard. Me and Cora just kind of mutually accepted each other on complete accidents. I guess maybe it is better to tell them before an accident does happen. I trust them, its just-" He took a sigh. "Scary. Really scary." He shook his head. "I just- have to do it in my own time. When I'm ready. You can understand that, right?"




The woman in front of him looked him up and down. He just kind of stared at her with an eyebrow raised. He suddenly started feeling self-conscious about his pudgy baby face. He wasn't too short or too tall, a perfect mediocre mix of the two. Probably because of his heritage with him being half human half elf. He was regular sized for a human male of his age, but shorter for an elf, a race which boasted tall figures. Also from his heritage were shorter ears. Well, smaller not shorter. They were like humans with a slight point to them. They weren't elongated like some elves but kept the signature point of elvish ears.

Despite his face being pudgy with what seemed to be residual baby fat, his body contained none of that. But that didn't mean he looked full of muscles. No, his body seemed lithe and agile. He may be smaller with less strength, but he had the agility and acrobatics to fly after a criminal in pursuit. His body was built to withstand chasing down criminals for miles. A quality not always appreciated in guards. People expected guards to be flashy and strong looking. And despite him being young for a guard and not muscular, he was good at his job, and he wanted to prove that to everyone else.

Kiko screamed out his last name saying she remembered which didn't really make him feel too good. The captain of the guard had forgotten him. But it also made her seem much much less scary. This woman didn't seem to be stoic like his stepmother, which he really appreciated. And what was better, she announced that he was going on a mission with her. The captain of the guard. He wanted to scream and jump up and down, but he knew that wouldn't get him respect among the ranks or even with Kiko herself. It really was his lucky day.

She explained they were looking into recent vigilante sightings but didn't go into much detail. But something she mentioned got his attention. She mentioned in passing that she didn't know why Cyan had chosen him specifically. Cyan.. chose him... specifically. He was absolutely giddy to hear that. Maybe the captain of the guard hadn't remembered him, but Cyan had surely taken notice of him and his work.

Kiko finished briefly, saying to meet her around the corner in five minutes and to not keep her waiting. Finch closed the door, waited for the footsteps to fade and then exclaimed "Yes!" while pumping his fists in front of him. His smile was etched deep into his face and his eyes shone. He couldn't wait to brag to Skylark about this. He realized he needed to get his stuff and meet her immediately. Thinking about Lark would come later.

Luckily, he was almost ready. He quickly took a comb to his hair and brushed it to a slightly messy point, but at least he didn't have bed head anymore. He threw on his fingerless gloves, leather boots, and grabbed his bow from off the floor. He searched for his quiver and slung it over his shoulder when he found it. It was pretty big, and he also had to sling his bow over his shoulder which conflicted. He always felt like he should get something smaller so he wouldn't have to bring so much equipment since he also carried a sword. But he was incredibly good at aiming. He just had to find something that felt like him.

Finch scampered out of his room with three minutes to spare, turning the corner early as to not make Kiko wait. He figured he might get brownie points for that or at least make Kiko like him a bit more. "So, can you fill me in on the details of this mission?" He said, with a tone that indicated he was all for this.

 

[Kumii]

Little ManaLocation: Heading to Luminosa
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Mood: Upset
Current Weather: Clear
Mana's ear twitched at the 'it's not the same' comment. Kinda made her mad that he just kinda dismissed how bad Spirits actually had it. Mana kinda tuned out everything after that but then tuned back in towards the end, noting Cora's defensiveness, "Wasn't trying to force you or anything of the sort. Just trying to give you a confidence push." Mana turned her body away, her toned flattened a bit, "I know how to get Luminosa. I'll meet you there, Mateo." Before they could say anything, she jumped off, 'Not the same he says. He's not a Spirit. He wouldn't understand what it's like to be hunted down everyday for your whole life. To have your mommy killed in front of you. To be scarred for life... to be immortal... and having to live with those memories forever... if he knew that then he would understand why...'

Spoiler: Bond with Mana

Progress - ++Positive

Bond with Mana

Kiko MateasLocation: Streets of Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: 12:07 pm
Kiko noted Finch's cordiality and his eagerness about the mission. Kiko kicked herself off the wall she was leaning against, "Alright, Rookie. Basically, we're investigating a masked vigilante. Goes by the name 'Joker'." Kiko waved him to follow as she began walking in a specific direction, "Typically, we don't really mind Vigilantes. Makes our job a little easier but this particular one has a tendency to 'accidentally' kill innocent people. Our job is to confirm whether these rumors are true or not. Makes sense?"

Spoiler: Kiko's Respect

Kiko's Respect for Finch - +Positive

Kiko's Respect

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo immediately noticed the shift in mood, Mana's tone becoming flat. It was so noticeable because it was usually upbeat and full of excitement. He didn't know Mana well, but he'd experienced mood shifts with children. Particularly when he was discussing medicines. More specifically, oral medicines. They were often bitter and disgusting on the tongue, especially if they were made with herbs. Its why he liked to add things like honey to the recipe, which gave it a sweeter taste, or give the child an incentive to take it like candy or a toy.

He thought maybe he should do that, make his voice, tone, and words sound sweeter like honey. Then maybe Mana could understand his side of things. It was just hard when talking about this. And it got messy and hard to explain how he felt in a cohesive way. Especially when the sludge was threatening to take him over.

But before he could even attempt to soften his speaking, Mana told them she knew the way to Luminosa and that she'd meet them there. He put a hand out and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could she jumped off the building. He got worried real fast and ran to the edge, but she was completely fine. Of course, she was immortal and a demon. Duh. But his healer's instincts didn't go away just because someone was immortal. He worried over Cora constantly.

"Wait! Didn't you say you wanted to go with us?" But she looked pretty intent on leaving. He sat on the edge and watched her go, swinging his legs while he rubbed his temples and let out a heavy sigh. He'd obviously done something wrong.

Cora jumped off his shoulders to sit beside him. Mateo went to lay on his back, still swinging his legs, and spread his arms on the rooftop like he was making a snow angel. "Was I too harsh? Even if she is five hundred years old, she does seem to act like a child."

Seeing as it was just the two of them on a rooftop, Cora decided to turn humanoid for the time being. With a curl of light, there was suddenly a fourteen-year-old boy in a cloak sitting next to Mateo. He was considerably shorter than Mateo, but that was to be expected because he was younger. And also, Mateo had hit puberty way too fast, being almost at adult height. He was just maybe an inch or two above Skyla's height, the smallest adult among their group save for maybe Nia. But Nia herself looked pretty young, while Skyla was definitely an adult.

"It's not your fault Mateo. Your curse is a hard thing to understand, and even you don't fully grasp the limits of it. How could one child hope to understand? Being a spirit isn't like the curse placed upon your family. I fear nothing quite is like it." Cora said in a more cordial voice. He liked to act regal when he was human looking.

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Cory." Cora's face was enough to get Mateo laughing. He really was not a fan of that nickname.

"Don't call me that, ever." Cora looked to the sun in the sky. He wondered if it burned that bright in Luminosa. Mateo had talked about it before, telling him it was the birthplace of light magic. If it was, the sun's intensity must've been ten times worse. He turned his gaze to Mateo. What must he be thinking? What with finally going to the place he was really born. Cora knew the story of how his father basically pawned him off to his adoptive parents, saying it would be safer. That seemed like a ridiculous notion to him. What could be safer than being with a relative who could actually explain the curse? But Mateo wasn't all too bitter. He dreamed of getting to see his father for the first time, even though the guy had abandoned him. That's what he wanted most in the world, despite all of it. Cora really hoped he could get that closure in some way or another, but maybe going to Luminosa wouldn't just help cure his curse, but his heart ache as well.

"Listen, yeah its hard. But none of it is your fault. Not the curse, not when people can't understand or except it. The responsibility of that is on the one who started this all those years ago. You're not alone anymore. I may not understand it as well as someone from your family can, but I won't leave you. Never. We made a promise remember." Such sweet words would've been weird to hear if Mateo didn't already know the true Cora. Maybe he acted a little snippy, but he'd defend anyone he truly cared about.

Mateo sat up from his position and held out his pinky. Cora took it in a mock gesture, mimicking the moment they made their promise. "I promise I'll show you the ins and outs of the world on our travels. Every inch of this terrain you will see alongside me, as my partner and equal."

Cora then took up the promise. "And I promise to forever stay at your side and to traverse this land together. No matter what threat comes our way, I will protect my ward from the dangers of the mortal terrain. Cursed or not, I will stay by your side."

It lasted a second longer, before they both lost their composure and started giggling like little kids. Mateo gave a snort and then spoke through his laugh. "Hey, why am I the ward? I'm older than you."

Cora cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, by two years. And let's not kid ourselves, you get into more trouble than my being a spirit does."

That got a couple more laughs out of the two. They sat and smiled for a moment longer before Mateo gave an audible gasp. The sludge was on the move again. He pulled up his sleeve to watch the sludge become thinner and completely wrap around his arm. He tapped at it, and suddenly he could see the color of his skin again as the sludge somehow merged back into his arm. Him and Cora met eyes. They weren't completely sure what it was, but they both estimated that it was a good thing. Mateo had been calm and relaxed enough where the sludge went away.

"Well, I guess we should go back now." Then Mateo remembered Cora's leg injury. "Let me see your leg for a second. Remove the frost."

Cora did what he was told, raising a hand over his leg. Cold frost sucked upwards to his palm and dissipated in a fit of cold air. Immediately, Cora gave a low groan, now actually feeling the injury. Mateo quickly got to work on it, hovering his hand over the injury. With a soft glow of green, the cut closed up until it was a thin stretch. "Your muscles may feel a little sore, but it should be good now. Just don't pick at the scab."

After that, Cora shifted back to his cat form and climbed up to Mateo's shoulder. Mateo carefully picked his way down from the rooftop, with Cora helping him find holds for his feet and hands. Soon they were off to rejoin the group, not knowing how far away they were or even where they were going. But luckily Cora helped to pick up their scents and ensure they would make it back to the group in a short while.




Finch showed consideration for all the details Kiko gave him, eating them up like a hungry hyena. Finch liked knowing all the details of a situation before acting. Despite that, he seemed rash. He was ambitious, hungry to climb the ranks and prove himself. That led to some problems, and he wanted to make sure to seem competent in front of Kiko. He carefully considered everything, taking a moment before responding to Kiko.

Finch nodded, "Gather evidence, figure out if we're dealing with town gossip or something plausible and dangerous. Seems simple enough." He followed Kiko, matching her pace without much concentration. "But to me it sounds like this Joker fellow is more of a criminal than a vigilante. You can't be helping the innocent if you're accidently killing them. I don't know, maybe it's like a ruse. A mask he puts on to hide what he's really doing. You said it yourself; the guard doesn't mind vigilantes. So maybe he's a criminal pretending to be a vigilante to sneak around the guard." Finch gave out a simple theory to Kiko, brainstorming a bit.

 

[Kumii]

Skyla Junia and Mika YunaraLocation: Iron Bridge
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Clear
10 minutes prior...
Skyla still was kind down-troddened about the whole deal with her uncle and Mateo, "Hey Mat--" She looked around, "Wait, where'd he go?" Mika perked up a bit too and looked around, "Mateo!" Mika called out... no answer, "This is strange..." Mika looked at Skyla, who was clearly worried, "Hey, let's just wait here, yeah?"

Skyla fought back a bit, "But what if he's in danger??" Mika shook his head, "I get that but what if he's alright and comes to find us but finds we aren't here anymore?" Skyla looked away for a moment then back at Mika, "You-You're right." With that, they decided to wait.

Present time...
Skyla and Mika are sitting, leaning against the bridge wall, Skyla is fast asleep against Mika's shoulder. Mika on the other is deep in thought as they waited. He briefly looked at Skyla then back ahead of him, 'What's taking him? Should we start really worrying now?' He thought.

Kiko MateasLocation: Kiko's Quarters
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:00 pm
!!! Choose your next words carefully !!!

Kiko listened to Finch's theory, "That's a sound theory, Rookie. However, seeing as you don't have any solid evidence to back it up. I'm afraid we can't jump to that conclusion." As they turned a corner, they arrived at their first destination. Kiko's Captain's Quarters, "Wait here. Be right back." She opened the door and entered her room. A little time passed and she re-emerged donning a new weapon, a special-looking standard issue guard long sword, she tightened the sheath to her hip, "Right. We have a potential next target. According to an anonymous tip, Joker's next target is a business, one apparently known for... shady practices."

Kiko crossed her arms under her chest, which slightly pushed it up, "So tell me, Rookie... based on what we know so far, what do you think Joker's motive is right now? We know his next suspected target is a shady business. Apart from that, we know he wears a mask to preserve his identity, so whoever this is, doesn't want to be identified by the general public. What are your thoughts, Rookie?" She asked, intently waiting for his answer and thoughts on the matter.

???Location: ???
Current Weather: Overcast. Rain Predicted.
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 11:45 am
"My family tells of an ancient legend about two great Dragon Brothers... the Dragon of the North Wind and the Dragon of the South Wind. Together, they upheld balance and harmony in the heavens."

A masked man in a black long coat, black loose pants and black knee-high boots with red gloves is seen sneaking around the rooftops, using their Shadow Jump ability. The figure looked up, noticing the overcast sky, "Hmm.. looks like it's about to rain. I wonder when though..." They looked back down at their target. The Blacksmith's Shop.

"But the two brothers argued over who could better rule their land, their quarrel turned to rage and their violent struggle darkened the skies. Until the Dragon of the South Wind struck down his brother, who fell to earth, shattering the land."

The figure stood up, "Time to investigate." The figure disappeared in a shadow...

"The Dragon of the South Wind had triumphed... but as time passed and he realized his solitude. The sweetness of victory... turned to ash..."

They snuck around, 'This is what...? The hundredth time I've done this and yet... nothing's changed...' They thought as they scouted the location.

"For years, the bereft Dragon's grief threw the world into discord... and he knew only bitterness and sorrow. One day, a stranger called up to the Dragon and asked; 'Oh Dragon Lord, why are you so distraught?'. The Dragon told him; 'Seeking power, I killed my brother but without him... I am lost.' The stranger replied; 'You have inflicted wounds upon yourself, but now, you must heal. Walk the earth on two feet as I do. Find value in humility, then you will find peace.'."

The figure finished scouting and jumping away. Shaking his head, he thought, 'No, now's not the time for that. The scouting is done. I need to focus.' The figure slapped his cheeks and jumped away on final time to prepare for the infiltration.

"The Dragon knelt upon the ground, for the first time he was able to clearly the world around him and he became human. The stranger revealed himself as his fallen brother. Reunited, the two set out to rebuild what they had once destroyed."

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Alert and Ready to Battle

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Throbbing.

That's what Rai felt in his head as he began to sway a bit from his exhaustion. He'd exerted himself too much, and by now, he was well approaching his limit. All of the fighting, anxiety, and traveling he had been doing over these past few days had finally caught up to him. Countless injures were sustained, and he had swung his blades so much, it felt like his arms were going to fall off.

And now here was an exposition dump. Mika had overpowered the Knight, which caused him to surrender and reveal who he was. Then...it all got fuzzy for Rai. His fatigue absolutely demolished his cognitive ability for a bit, and he only processed two things. Uncle, and run away. The run away part clicked in his mind when he saw some new Knight appear. Uncle, however? It was just a word he had heard someone say, and he couldn't decipher who.

(Once they had escaped)

What the hell just happened? Rai thought to himself once they were safe. He sat down on the cold ground and put his katanas on the ground next to him. The throbbing intensified as he attempted to put bits of the encounter together.

It was like his head had its own heart beat. The rhythm was constan at first, but it only seemed to get faster with each painful movement he made. Rai had never experienced magic fatigue before, so he couldn't really tell if that's what was happening or not. But one thing he was damn sure of was the fact that he couldn't keep doing this to himself. He had been so focused and fixed on everyone else's safety that he forgot to incorporate his own. And now he was facing the consequences of those actions.

Rai took a slow glance at Mika and Skyla. They didn't seem to be in pain like him, and they definitely weren't questioning their life choices, and it put a small smile on Rai's face. That means he did well protecting them. Well, probably just Skyla. Mika was capable of defending himself.

He then looked around him for Mateo, so that he could check out his condition. But surprisingly, he wasn't clinging to the group like a fly on horse shit. In fact, he was no where to be found. And just as Rai noticed this, Skyla seemed to at the same time. And with her asking where he was, Mika noticed too.

Rai slowly stood up and began to scout around him. He had been so dazed by his exhaustion, that he hadn't even noticed Mateo stray away.

"Hey, let's just wait here, yeah?" Rai heard Mika say.

"Wait?" Rai murmured to himself. What was waiting going to do? Someone could have taken him, and if they waited, they'd be long gone by then.

Then Mika explained why he wanted to wait. He said that they should wait because he could be alright, and if they leave, once he comes back, no one will be here with him. Rai couldn't argue with that. He could've just went to take a piss. So with that, and skyla seeming to also agree with Mika, Rai sat back down besides his blades, and went back to being lightheaded.

10 minutes later...

Alright. Maybe listening to Mika was a bad choice.

Skyla was sleeping on Mika's shoulder, Mika seemed deep in thought, and Nia was busy being a background character. Rai on the other hand was scouting the area for Mateo, as he began to become worried. No one takes a 10 minute piss unless they're dying.

Where the hell is he? I'm not doing this again. We just found Skyla, and there's no way I'm losing someone again.

Rai rubbed his temple and let out a light groan as his head throbbed even more. He leaned against the bridge wall and slid down to a sitting position. He couldn't keep walking around looking for Mateo anymore, so all he could do now was hope that really was a 10 minute piss.



1331, Ikari Residence --- Flashback (16yo Rai)

Insantly. The fight was over instantly.

Young Rai was sprawled out on his family's expensive carpets, which were now stained with blood from his body. The intruder had defeated him immediately. A flurry of impossibly fast kicks assaulted his body and left Rai coughing up blood as he crumbled to the floor.

"Seriously?" The scarred man asked. "I would've expected you to be a bit more durable, since you're Mustang's son and all."

The man stood over Rai with a disappointed facial expression and shook his head. Almost as if he was expecting a challenge from a teenager.

"Well then, I guess my work is finished here." The man began to make his way to the door but suddenly stopped for a moment. He stared deeply at the wall, as if he was trying to see through it. "I have a better idea. One much better than leaving you here in pain."

The man walked back into the kitchen and observed Aurora closely. His warm, yet cold eyes studied her from head to toe, almost as if he was a scientist study a specimen before doing harmful experiments. And after what seemed seemed be 2 minutes, he ran a finger through Aurora's white hair and smiled, which made her whimper a bit.

"You look just like him, little one. From the cloudy white hair to the curious, obliviously eyes." The man smirked at her."I wonder how much I'd get on the market for selling Mustang Ikari's daughter."

After hearing the man utter those words, Aurora began to let out muffled screams as she squirmed around, attempting to free herself from her binds.

Rai twitched a little at the sound of her screams. They were a bit more muffled at first, but as he began to wake up, they became clearer. That's when he remembered the situation he was in..

Rai quickly scrambled to his feet, which sent a sharp pain through his body, and charged at the man again. He began to throw a fist towards him, but the attack was quickly stopped when the bottom of the man's foot connected with his face. Rai stumbled back a bit, but quickly dismissed again and tried for another attack. This time he got even more of a beatdown.

Once again, a bizarre flurry of kicks came at all angles towards Rai's body. His ribs, his jaw, his knees everything. The way the man fought was absolutely brutal. Every single attack had the full intention of bringing its target to the ground as quickly and painfully as possible. Rai even attempted blocking some of them, but they just found their way past it and hit vital places.

"I see you're just as persistent as Mustang, though." The scarred man told him.

Rai's head hung down and he stumbled a bit as he began to feel the pain from the attacks. adrenaline was subduing most of it, but it was still finding some way to affect him.

"I'm getting sick of you now." The man took a few steps towards Rai and lifted his head by grabbing his hair and yanking it. "I think I'll finish you off, put you out of your misery."

Then, the scarred man lifted his right leg and drew it back to his side. A roundhouse kick was going to be the final one. The one that would either kill Rai, or make sure he never functioned properly again.

Zap.

A small bolt of electricity shot from Rai's hand and into the intruders's body, causing him to jump back and little and cancel his attack.

"What the-" The man shook himself a little, trying to get over the sensation. "What was that? Was that you?"

Rai groggily lifted his head a bit as small sparks formed around his body. He slowly put his hands in an X over his chest and looked up at the intruder.

"Oh lord. Don't tell me he raised a sparky." The man said as he began to take a few steps back. "Don't do this, alri-"

With a loud grunt, Rai broke the X on his chest and from his body emerged a wave of electricity that spread across the entire house, shocking the intruder, as well as Rai himself. And because Rai was so desperate for the kill, he had forgotten about his sister who was tied up on the kitchen table, and she unfortunately was affected too.

A move that Rai still uses to this day,

Omnidirectional Electric Waves.


(Going to color tomorrow. Also, this post most likely doesn't make sense, sorry.)

Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Determined

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Gonna finish this another tomorrow.

Mood: Annoyed

Akuhei

Shugosha

Unknown, Ironshire

Check Castro's part of the post.



Love,



Shark



Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Mika's Death and Skyla's Descent into DespairLocation: Iron Bridge
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 12:25 pm
About ten minutes had passed since Skyla fell asleep on Mika's shoulder. Mika gently shook Skyla awake, "Hey, I need to get up and walk around." Skyla groggily nodded and let him get up before eventually getting up herself. Apparently she was exhausted, "What's up, Mika?" She asked, stretching.

Mika shook his head, "Nothing. Just needed to--" Mika felt a sudden and sharp pain coming from his chest. Skyla gasped and quickly covered her mouth as she noticed the obvious sword jutting from his chest, "Mika, no..." Mika groaned, grasping around the sword before he was pushed aside by the culprit. The Death Knight had come in quiet as a ninja and stabbed Mika through the chest with the Headless Horseman's sword. Once Mika was on the ground, gasping for air and reaching up at the Death Knight, who stood above him. The Death Knight made one final plunge of the sword into Mika's heart, killing him instantly.

Mika's arm fell lifelessly to the ground and his head turned to one side, "...Why?" Skyla asked, weakly, too stunned and shocked to actually do anything. The Death Knight gave but one response, "Because I felt like it. I wanted to kill and he just so happened to be the closest one." With that, the Death Knight vanished in a cloud of darkness. Once he was gone, Skyla ran to Mika's body and put a finger to a vein in his neck, disheartened to find out there wasn't a pulse.

Skyla knelt beside Mika, her eyes covered by her hair. She made no sounds or seemed to be sad or anything. She slowly reached over to grab Mika's Lance, once she had it within her possession, she clutched it close to her heart and began softly sobbing. This seemed to awaken something within the Lance as it began to lightly glow, "Mika..." She clutched it tighter. The glow grew brighter but then faded after a few moments, "I'll... I'll avenge you... my love... I'll make... sure... they know... about you..." She said between sniffles and gasps of air, however for now, she remained on her knees, softly sobbing over Mika's corpse and his Lance.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

The brief meeting with Kumii, and then sort of dispute with Mana had been rather quick. Quick enough for Mateo and Cora to have their small chat and then begin their travels back. While they traversed the ground at impeccable speed, coming from their experience with travel, they discussed about how best to break the news of a small child waiting for them in Luminosa. And how best to propose the Luminosa journey as well. Mateo had already thought of a really good idea that wouldn't give away his secret. The Festival of Light. He heard it happened around this time, and he thought it would be great for the whole group to have fun. Meanwhile, he could break away and investigate the curse's origin and how to cure it.

They both decided that was best for Luminosa. Now the Mana thing was a little trickier. They were both stumped until Mateo eventually proposed the idea of saying she was a relative, maybe a younger cousin who'd written to him about the festival.

The mood was lighthearted, each taking turns in poking fun at each other. That's how their travels usually went. But suddenly Mateo felt a wet sensation on his hair. One, two, three. A fourth dropped on his head, and the wet substance trickled down his face. He could feel the wind stir with a new element, water. He looked up and sure enough there was rain. He pulled up the hood of his ruana. "Huh. Didn't know it was gonna rain. Better that it happened now rather than the fight on the bridge. That could've been tricky, especially since none of us know water magic. Rai probably would've electrocuted as all, right?" He said with a giggle. "Wonder if I should learn water magic next. Luminosa is all light magic though. Cora?" His gaze shifted to the cat on his shoulder who was sniffing the air with a troubled look in his eyes.

"Mateo, speed up."

"What-"

"Speed up!" He yowled, which got Mateo going. Cora said nothing more, since he didn't want to trouble Mateo further. Though, if he was right, he sensed Mateo would be in a lot of pain. The rain was slightly mudding up scents, so he couldn't tell who's it was. All he knew, was that there was a putrid scent in the air. The distinguishable scent of blood.

Mateo wasn't too far from the site, seeing familiar trees and rocks from where he'd strayed from the group. He came to the area he met Mana, noticing the small dots of sludge and the slightly withered undergrowth from his decay ability. He picked up his speed and eventually got to his friends, but it wasn't a pretty sight. He stopped just beside the tree line to take it all in. Skyla giving soft sobs over a body. Mika's body. He looked to the ground, the rain making the pool of blood around his body diluted.

Something told him the truth right then and there. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and his body felt warm despite the cold rain. His legs shook uncontrollably. He couldn't move or think. His whole body tensed. If this was one of his patients, he would've run up to them immediately. So, why? Why couldn't his body just move? Why was his mind betraying him? He had attachment to Mika. Was that why? His feelings were complicating things, and he just couldn't move. Because Mika was too important to him for this to be true. All he could do in that moment was utter one word. One silent question.

"Sky-la?"



Kiko seemed to seriously listen to his theory, which Finch appreciated. Not many people actually took him seriously, so he liked that Kiko was sort of recognizing him as an equal in that sense. Though, she still referred to him as rookie rather than Finch. He supposed he'd just have to prove himself in this mission so that she'd really see him more as an equal than an ordinary rookie. But she was right in the end. They couldn't come to a solid theory without investigation. He was mostly just throwing it out there, since to him Joker seemed like a standard criminal. Finch was trying to fight to protect the innocent, even from the somewhat unfair clutches of the guard, so hearing about someone killing people, even on a supposed accident, seemed like the standard definition of an evil, heartless criminal.

They turned a corner and Kiko told him to wait before entering a room. He didn't mean to peek, but he saw hints of the room as he watched Kiko disappear inside. The room seemed to be in the dorm wing of the building, but a little way away from his room. Plus, he saw some telltale signs, pillows and bedding, blankets. As well as other personalized aspects of the room that were tailored to a certain woman's interests. He realized with a start that he was waiting outside Kiko's bedroom. He'd taken a peek inside the captain's quarters. He felt wrong about that because, one, he was invading someone's privacy, even if it'd been on accident. And two, that was his boss's room. It wasn't very professional to sneak a peek into his boss's room, even if she seemed very down to earth. It made him feel like he should've been named Weasel instead of Finch.

Two other guards came by in light conversation. He could tell they were older than him and had more experience on their belts. They stopped and just stared at him, clearly recognizing that the strange rookie Finch Arrowyn was hanging out beside the captain's quarters. He just gave an awkward smile and small wave as they passed, slightly hearing whispers from them as they turned the corner.

Finch's gaze went back to Kiko as she emerged once more from her quarters. He noticed her new weapon, a standard issue long sword much like his own. But unlike the one hanging from his hip, this one looked special. He wasn't exactly sure how, but something told him that sword didn't get handed out to the whole guard. It was special to Kiko, and Kiko alone.

She got right back to business, saying they had an anonymous tip. His expression seemed to brighten as she got him thinking about Joker and this case. She told him Joker was targeting a business known for having shady practices, and how he wore a mask to conceal himself from the public.

Finch looked up, deep in thought. "Motive, huh?" He murmured. "Well, the motive sounds like this guy wants to take down a shady business, but it's never that simple. If it was, then we wouldn't have to do our job. We're investigating this guy because he has criminal tendencies, because innocent people are getting killed by him. Until we know more, I say we treat him as a criminal. Or at least a suspect to these killings." He went silent, thinking more for a second and connecting some thoughts in a lose series of threads. "What kind of shady business is this? Like what do they deal in? Depending on what it is, there's a possibility Joker could want something from this place. He wears the mask, so people don't see him, like you said, because he's planning a heist. Maybe he's even having back door dealings with this place. We don't have any evidence now, but I know there's something more to this story than just a vigilante." His voice rang through with confidence in his last statement. Finch truly believed in the possibility that the full story with Joker wasn't there. There was definitely something else, and he was going to find enough evidence until he could prove it and protect the civilians.

 

[Kumii]

SkylaLocation: Iron Bridge
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 12:56 pm
Everything around Skyla metaphorically darkened as Mateo arrived, from Skyla's perspective, time had froze. In Skyla's mind, she had blocked herself off, to represent this, chains swirled around the lone Skyla and tightened, locking with a padlock. A shield had been put around her heart too, time resumed for Skyla as Mateo said;

"Sky-la?"

With this, the shield cracked a bit, showing she was willing to open back up, given time. "I'm fine." Her voice was significantly more monotone then before. She got up and walked a few steps before feeling a sharp pain in her head, 'No!' She heard a voice in her head, it was hers, the shield cracked further.

'This ISN'T you!!' the voice in her head exclaimed, 'They deserve better then that!!' Skyla groaned in pain as she held her head.

In her heart was a dark room, only Skyla was there. Another figure emerged, one with a distorted image, almost like a flame, "Open your heart..." It said, "Let me in..." Skyla looked away, "How can I trust you?" The figure walked closer and took the form of Mika, "Mika, trusted me did he not? Besides, would the man you loved really be okay with you being like this?" It returned to it's fiery form, with this, Skyla realized it was the Lance talking to her, "You're..." She thought for a moment about it had said, "No, but..." The form stopped her, "Then don't. Live on, not for his sake, but for yours. Spark the Flame of Resolve in your heart! Trust in me!"

Spoiler: Mood Music

Try and time this in your mind, it'll make it more epic c:

Skyla decided to trust it, "Okay... If he did, then I will... maybe you can help me..." The form appeared to nod and disappeared. About this time, the red gem on the lance flashed then shattered as fire spewed from it and into Skyla's chest where her heart was. At the same that this happened, the shield around her heart and the metaphorical chains shattered and broke. It stopped and things went calm for a minute until fire energy flared around her. Skyla didn't make a noise though and just watched as it happened, her hair remained its raven color but the purple tips turned red-orange and became surrounded by a permanent transparent fire that was harmless. After everything had calmed down, Skyla checked herself out, "Sweet."

She turned to Mateo and gave a small smile, "It'll take some time but... really... I'll be fine. After all... he wouldn't want me to be sad, would he?" She stated.

Spoiler: New Power gained!

(See Character Sheet for changes shortly...)

Kiko Mateas and the CommanderLocation: Streets of Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:22 pm
Kiko listened to his theory, "Hmm..." Kiko looked at Finch, "We don't have all the answers. If we did, the business wouldn't be operating right now, would it?" Kiko shrugged, "Well, at least you're confident." Kiko turned away, "You're right about one thing, this is more to the story but we don't know how much more. That's what we're here to investigate." Kiko turned back to Finch, "Alright, so the location--" Kiko felt a presence behind her, a familiar one...

"Did someone say investigate?" The voice was stern yet feminine, think sultry. Kiko turned around, "Commander! You're back!" Kiko paused for a moment then jumped and hugged the woman in front of her, which seemed to be highly odd. The Commander hugged her back though, they seemed to be on good terms at least. Kiko let go of Nikki and turned to Finch, "Finch, this is Commander Nikki Eversteele."

The Commander stood with her hands behind her back, staring at Finch, "Ah, so you're the unfortunate soul who has to deal with Kiko, hm?" She said in her sultry voice.

Spoiler: Respect

Kiko's Respect for Finch - -Negative

Kiko's Respect

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

The response from Skyla was monotone, no emotion showing. She got up, taking a few steps before she groaned in pain. But even at that point Mateo's healing instincts weren't kicking in. His legs still shook, his body transfixed to the spot. His eyes seemed far away, looking straight through Skyla to the corpse of Mika. His lance emanated fire energy, flaring a bit of hope in him. If it was active, then that meant Mika must still be alive. But that hope sank when it erupted into Skyla. Much like how his book bonded to him, he knew the lance was bonding to its new owner. He could feel the extra presence surrounding Skyla, making her warmer against the cold rain. Usually, he would've congratulated his friend, but this wasn't cause for celebration. No, this was much, much worse.

Skyla spoke to him, and his eyes widened. "Why would you be..." His small voice trailed off. The reality set in. The lance, Skyla's words, and his knowledge finally broke him from his spot. "Mika!" He yelled, his voice breaking. He ran to the body, stumbling in the mud briefly.

"Dios, Mika!" He exclaimed as he slunk to the ground beside the body and pulled his hood down. His hands glowed with a familiar green energy. He hovered his hands above the wound in Mika's heart, but nothing happened. No movement came from the body, no semblance of the wound closing or the body trying to repair it. The green light flickered and faded. Mateo knew what that meant. He couldn't heal fatal wounds. But it was worse than that. There was no soul to heal. Mika was gone.

But Mateo wasn't willing to give up. The green light flooded back to his gloved hands. This time he pressed his hands right up to the wound. "Come on! Heal, dammit!" He yelled as tears rolled down his cheeks. He checked the wound, but nothing changed. "No. Please, no."

Cora jumped down from Mateo's shoulder and pressed against his side. Despite not having as good of a relationship, Cora still felt the tug of sadness. He could feel how much pain Mateo was in and sympathized. He remembered how Mika protected Mateo, even when he thought the teen was a spirit. He showed acceptance to spirits and treated Mateo like any other person, even when he was under the impression Mateo was a spirit. The only difference that seemed to matter to Mika was that Mateo was younger and inexperienced. He needed protection and that's what Mika gave him without any prejudice. Cora dipped his head to Mika, a silent goodbye and thank you for everything he'd done to help Mateo and for his stance on spirits.

Once again, the green light from Mateo's palms fizzled and faded. "Mika..." He murmured and looked up to the sky. Suddenly, his eyes started fading in color. They took on a silver color with hints of blue gray. At the same time, his vision started getting weird. Everything lost color, his vision turning monochromatic. It was like he was going color blind. Or maybe more like he was actually turning into the animal he was. Most animals couldn't perceive colors after all. Was he really slipping that much? He couldn't feel the sludge. Or maybe it was there, and his mind was too numb to realize it. The rational part of his brain wasn't perceiving anything.

But color tingled on the edge of his vision. A shimmering form of blue developed onto his vision like a polaroid, ever slowly appearing until his face could come into view. Mika. Or rather, what was left of him. His soul, leaving his mortal capsule and going off to join the rest in the afterlife. The spirit world awaited him, tugging at him to leave. But for now, he regarded the only one who could see him with a warm smile.

Mateo watched as Mika's blue form wandered to Skyla, giving his love a parting kiss before he made his way to the afterlife. He regarded her new look with his usual silence, but it showed on his face. He seemed proud that she was able to move on through the pain, and that his lance had given her some form of comfort.

Next it was Rai's turn. He gave Rai a nod of acknowledgment. He acknowledged the man's strength and how hard he fights. How much of a good samurai he was, and how he would protect the group with everything he had. He was leaving things to Rai; sure the guy could handle it.

Mika's form gave Nia a goodbye wave, then looked back to Mateo and Cora. He maneuvered back to his body, back to where Mateo and Cora sat beside it. He looked at the usually cold cat, now showing respect to his fallen comrade. Mika gave a small bow to him, one of respect. Mateo couldn't tell if Mika realized the truth about Cora or not, but he didn't seem mad if he did realize.

He looked back down to Mateo, the last of his goodbyes and the only one that would be realized. Tears streamed down Mateo's cheeks as he looked up to Mika's spirit. Mika wiped it away, then gave him a pat on the head. It was a soft pat, unlike Rai's which totally messed up his hair. There was a small disturbance to it, a tuft suddenly going out of place, but that was all that showed of Mika's presence. Now that his business was done, Mika started glittering away. He was moving on now. He turned to the skies, the rain shifting straight through his blue form. Mateo reached out for his hand, but it fell through. He couldn't hold it, but he felt a strange warmth as his hand passed through Mika's. Like he was there for a second, but Mateo wasn't strong enough to pull him back. "I'm sorry.." One apology for a million things. He couldn't say everything, so he thought maybe that would be a good summery. He was sorry about lying so much and about how he was useless. About how Mika always had to protect him from everything. He was sorry about it all.

Mateo watched Mika fade away, and his eyes went back to normal. His vision gained color once more. He brought his hand back down, noticing sludge clinging to the edge of his glove. Sorry didn't feel like it cut it.




Kiko didn't seem too impressed with his answer, but he honestly didn't know what to say. He didn't know much about this situation. Finch only knew that there was something up here. Something that would be dangerous to the general public. But Kiko knew more about this assignment than him, which didn't help. He liked to have all the information displayed right in front of him. He didn't like surprises, and yet he acted super rash. Hypocritical, yes, but he wanted to climb the ranks fast.

Kiko turned back to Finch, ready to tell him the location they were scoping out. But Finch tuned her out as he saw a new figure loom over Kiko. The new woman seemed a couple years older than Kiko, and much more stern too. Her voice reflected that, and Finch had to do a double take. She reminded him of his stepmother, which was not a good thing. His stepmother had that same stern gaze, and a similar appearance. The white-ish hair, the white and blue-ish clothing, the stern look and voice. The only difference was that his stepmother looked older than the woman in front of him, and her gaze always made you feel off. Or at least it did to Finch. It always felt like she was inspecting him.

But Kiko warmly accepted her presence, exclaiming that she was back and then going into a hug. Finch liked to see Kiko's unprofessionalism. It made him feel ok about his own actions, as well as make Kiko seem more like a person rather than a mean, scary authority figure. She seemed to be one of the good ones in the guard, as he knew there was plenty of corruption within.

She'd also called this woman 'commander', so he knew she was of higher rank than even Kiko herself. He wasn't sure what he should do. Maybe bow or salute. Though, she accepted Kiko's hug which made her seem less scary. Even so, he still didn't know a lot about this commander. Finch remembered Kiko from his test to get into the guard, but he'd never met this woman before. Not in person, at least.

Kiko introduced him to Nikki Eversteele. He knew her. She had quite the reputation after all. She'd joined when she was only twelve and climbed the ranks till she was commander. Nikki was an inspiration for him. He'd gotten at a lot of flak for being nineteen in the guard, imagine what it was like at twelve. The flak he got was mostly from being rash and doing stupid things in an effort to climb the ranks, but also because he'd passed the test with flying colors. A lot of people had been jealous because he seemed like he didn't know a lot. Not being from Ironshire didn't help his cause either. But he'd helped his father go after the bad spirits for years. Hunting down criminals was literally in his blood. No wonder he'd passed. He respected Nikki so much that seeing her be like his stepmother was kind of a let down. But she seemed sort of down to earth around Kiko so he'd just give her a chance.

Nikki's stance and her tone didn't really help her case though. Finch decided to do a little salute, bringing his hand up to his forehead. He put it down to answer Nikki, surprisingly going against what she said. "On the contrary, ma'am. I don't think I'm unfortunate at all. I'd say I'm quite lucky to get to shadow someone as experienced as the captain when I'm fairly new and don't have much to my name yet. What's more, I get to be her partner in this case. It's quite exciting to be given this opportunity." Finch gave his best to use more put together sentences in front of the captain. Despite that, his voice rang clear and true, as if he actually thought what he was saying, which he did. His cheeks were edged with pink at the statements.

 

[Kumii]

SkylaLocation: Iron Bridge
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:00 pm

Spoiler: Mood Music

Skyla looked back Mateo upon hearing him cry out, the grip on Mika's Lance got a little tighter as she watched Mateo try to heal him. She stood in silence and looked away, holding back tears of her own. She tried to be strong when she said what she said but seeing Mateo try to heal and revive Mika almost broke her again, "Mateo... stop it..." she said quietly.

Just as she was about to make her way to Mateo, she felt a strange warmth on her lips which caused her to stop in her tracks. She instinctively put a finger to her lips, "Wh--" She shook it off and continued to Mateo, kneeling down next to him, placing the Lance on the ground. She grabbed his shoulders then pulled him in for a tight hug and didn't say a word.

Kiko Mateas and the CommanderLocation: Streets of Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:25 pm

Kiko crossed her arms in a pout as Nikki made that comment about her, "Heey! I'm right here!" Then Kiko heard Finch's comments and made her blush slightly, "S-Stop it." Nikki saw Kiko blush and smiled slightly. She turned her attention back to Finch, the brief, momentary smile fading, "Private Finch." She turned to Kiko, "Captain Kiko. Per command of Lord Cyan, I will be joining you for this mission. He thought you could use an extra hand so.." Nikki bowed, "Thank you for having me."

Kiko waved her hands in a dismissive manner, "Wh-- N-No! We're honored to have someone of your renown accompanying us on this mission. Thank you for joining us!" Kiko bowed back. Both stood back up, "So, let's get underway shall we? I have new information." Nikki stood before the two, seeming to have taken command from Kiko, "As you know, you'll be heading to the suspected location which is the Blacksmith's Shop run by Jon Half-Borne."

Nikki looked between Kiko and FInch as she spoke, "As it turns out, Jon adopted a daughter. Her name is Serana. The mission is unrelated to her though and if she attempts to engage us in battle, we are under strict orders to only incapacitate her. Our target is Joker, though Cyan informed me that we should recruit him, if possible." She said, "Maybe do the same with Serana too, I'm not entirely sure."

Spoiler: Respect

Kiko's Respect for Finch - ++Positive

Kiko's Respect

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: In Despair

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

10 minutes. 10 minutes had passed and Mateo hadn't come back. Rai had become more worried in that time period, and was actually questioning if he was still alive. No. He's fine, Rai. He has to be, right? Rai thought to himself. He could only reassure himself for now, because it was the only thing his body could make him do for now. He was in too bad of condition to get up and look for Mateo, so he has to stay complacent and hope for the best.

Rai looked over to his right when he heard movement coming from Mika and Skyla. Mika had woken her up, and they both stood up and stretched a bit.

"You good, Mika?" Rai asked. If Rai knew what was going to happen next, he would've said something else. Because little did he know, those would be the last words he would ever speak to Mika.

As swiftly and quickly as possible, a sword was suddenly stabbed through Mika's chest. In that moment, Rai could only let out a quick and quiet gasp, because it had all happened too quickly. Mika was pushed to the ground and gasped for breath as Rai finally processed the situation. The new knight that had appeared earlier had came back for a kill, and he chose Mika as his target.

Attempting to save Mika, Rai quickly stood himself up, which gave him a blinding migraine for a moment, but he staggered over to where the Knight was, his walking uncoordinated and slow.

"WAIT!" Rai called out as the Death Knight began to lift his sword into the air for the kill. Move faster! Rai thought to himself. He tried as hard as possible to speed up his limp, but it was useless. Please, body! Just one more time! Don't fail me now!

A light thud.

Rai knew it was over when he heard the thud from Mika's hands lifeless falling to the ground. The Death Knight had plunged his sword into Mika's heart, killing him instantaneously. Rai stopped his useless running and looked down at Mika's corpse in shock. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. But that wasn't going to get him anywhere.

Rai redirected his emotions towards the Death Knight and began to charge at him once more as he spoke to Skyla. Once he was in range, Rai leapt from the ground and attempted to tackle the Knight. But he just ended up crashing into the ground as the Death Knight vanished in a cloud of darkness.

Rai quickly stood up and turned back around, expecting the Knight to still be there, but all he was left with was the corpse of his old friend Mika, and Skyla sobbing over it.

"M-Mika..." Rai slowly sputtered out. His legs shook slightly as he fought back to urge to crash to the floor and cry. Seeing the pool of crimson red blood around Mika's body and the sobs of Skyla was too much to bear.

"Sky-la?" Rai suddenly heard in front of him. Mateo was back, and he looked just as distraught as the others upon viewing Mika's lifeless corpse.

Skyla spoke to Mateo with a bit of monotone in her voice. It was dry and uninteresting, almost as if she didn't care that Mika had just died at the moment. But after a bit, and a significant change in the details with her hair, she gave Mateo a smile and spoke kindly to him.

Mateo on the other hand was in denial. He denied the fact that Mika was dead. He crouched next to his dead body and began attempting to heal the wound on Mika's chest. He cried and begged for Mika to wake up, but as expected, there was no use in doing so.

Rai couldn't bear it anymore. They find Skyla, but lose Mika. Why? Why couldn't they just be happy? Why did they deserve to lose what they had just found? Rai turned towards the walls of the bridge and balled up his fists. From there, he punched the wall with the full force of his hands over and over again. He gritted his teeth as blood emerged from his knuckles and scolded himself.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? With each punch, a question formed. Why weren't you paying attention?! Why didn't you keep an eye out for any threats?! Why did you let yourself get injured in battle like that?! Now look what happened! You couldn't even make it there in time! Why?! Why?!

No answer to his question ever formed, but he asked anyways. From the tournament all the way to this day, he had slipped up and got himself hurt badly in battle. And both times, he wasn't in good enough condition to save someone.

Rai's bloodied and bruised hand fell back to his side as it could not function anymore. Vermillion colored blood dripped from his exposed flesh and onto the bridge floor. The metallic and uncomfortable smell of his blood filled his sinuses and spread across the area. Rai's breathing became ragged and delayed, and he found himself biting his bottom lip to hold back a whimper that was begging to come out.

The physical pain Rai endured was intense and harsh, but not even close to painful as the emotional and mental strain and struggle he went through at the moment. But he couldn't let that pain show. Because right now, he needed to be strong. Not for himself, but for the group. If the versatile, "strong" Samurai broke down, then all hope really was lost.

So, to calm himself and cope with the pain he felt Rai closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the blood stained wall, taking a moment to himself.




Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Determined

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Need to plot with Alpha and possibly Kumii. Hold on.

Mood: Annoyed

Akuhei

Shugosha

Unknown, Ironshire

Check Castro's part of the post.



Love,



Shark



Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Unknown FigureLocation: ???
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: ???
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:00 pm
The scene shows a large, open area filled with blackened vined thorns. A few seconds pass before a misty portal forms and a figure steps through. They stand for a moment, blood dripping from the sword they carried. They dropped the sword and it made a clanging noise as they brought their hands up to their helmet. They took it off and revealed their face, at least the bottom half and the demon-ish grin they had which was full off sharp teeth, "Everything is going according to plan." They said, in a deep and husky voice, "Thanks to that traitor, they'll make their way to the Desert Nation, until then..."

Their eyes flashed red with the demon-ish grin plastered across their face, "It's time to have a little fun at Ironshire. My pawn is set there..."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Through seeing Mika's presumed ghost, the weight of it all was finally starting to set in. He'd seen Mika fade forever and now knew he was gone. He couldn't heal this. But finally accepting that notion didn't make it hurt any less. He looked at Mika's lifeless and now soulless body, unable to move or do anything. Suddenly his body shifted, and he was in Skyla's arms. He hadn't even noticed her kneel down beside him, or the sound of Rai's fists against the wall. He felt like he was drifting, detached from the situation as his mind tried to process it all. He couldn't even notice the small things anymore, like movement from his friends. His mind was dazed.

But soon enough, tears welled up in his eyes and overflowed like a waterfall. He wept and screamed into Skyla's arms, letting go of everything he was holding onto. He'd never before realized there were stakes to their adventures. That one of them could die at any point. He'd been so naive, thinking it was a fun happy go lucky adventure. Even when Skyla was kidnapped, it still felt like a fairy tale. They were the good guys, so they would win and get Skyla back, then be happy and celebrate. He'd never realized for one second that this wasn't a fairy tale, and that there were actual risks to what they were doing. Mika had been there every step of the way, so there was no reason for him to realize that. With his protector by his side, Mateo didn't feel nervous or scared. But now Mika was gone, and it was reality setting in. He'd lost a great friend, and that could happen to anyone else.

Mateo stayed like that for a solid couple minutes. He could feel the soft prod of Cora's paws, giving him support as he worked through his sadness. He hadn't been there for Mika when he needed him, but Mika had been there for him. If he hadn't thrown a tantrum, then maybe he could've saved Mika when the blade struck. He realized in that moment that he didn't know what happened. The only reason he knew the wound was sword inflicted was because he'd seen and treated wounds like that before. What really happened?

He pushed himself up, even though he could stay like that for an hour or maybe even more. But he had to know. He wiped his tears on the sleeve of his ruana which didn't help much considering it was pretty soaked from the rain. "How did he-" His voice broke. He couldn't say the word. He couldn't say die. It was too painful. So, he switched his sentence, knowing Skyla would know what he meant. "What happened?"




Kiko got embarrassed by his comments and he looked down, a little embarrassed himself. He hoped that was work appropriate. He really wanted these people to like him, and he feared being himself wasn't exactly what they wanted out of a soldier. They seemed strict and militant, while Finch was kind of a hodge podge, spontaneous mess at times. He was more a ranger, or a hunter, than a soldier. His training had been different from most of the guard, and most likely why he struggled to fit in. But he'd always loved the image of a knight, so he would struggle through. His comments had embarrassed Kiko, but hopefully it would show who he was and help to establish himself in her views.

Finch looked up to see the flash of a smile displayed on Nikki's face, that quickly vanished as her head turned to him. He gave a slightly nervous smile. Nikki addressed him and Kiko in a militant kind of manner, saying that under Cyan's command she would be joining their mission. He was utterly ecstatic at the thought as Nikki gave a bow to Kiko. He got to learn from one of his inspirations, though he did hope that with Kiko around Nikki would become less surly. And he meant that in the nicest way possible. Nikki really did seem more unfriendly, while Kiko was a little more down to earth. From that small smile, Finch could tell Nikki really liked Kiko, and that Kiko had the ability to help her open up more.

Though, he kind of felt like he was intruding on their moment as Kiko bowed back. He didn't know if he should do or say something, but Nikki wasn't really addressing him. She was more addressing Kiko, who had been the highest ranked guard in this mission until Nikki joined. Finch was the subordinate while Kiko had been the clear leader of the mission.

After that was finished and Nikki officially joined the mission, she started giving them the full run-down which Finch greatly appreciated. Though, she seemingly took over leadership from Kiko which made sense. After all, she was of a higher ranking.

Nikki broke things down for them, saying their target was the blacksmith's shop run by one Jon Half-Borne. She informed them that Jon adopted a daughter named Serana. This Serana might get in the way of their mission if she was at the shop. Finch really hoped she wouldn't cause them any trouble because it might alert Joker to their scheme. Nikki told them they were under strict orders to only incapacitate her, but Finch thought that was something that didn't need to be said. Of course he wasn't going to kill someone if he didn't have to. He never intended to kill someone but knew that in any mission it might come to that, and he was ready to deal with that when it came. But unlike some members of the guard, he always looked for methods to capture their targets. He found rotting in a cell to be a way better punishment for criminals than death. Besides, Finch was no killer.

Some other information completely caught Finch off guard. Nikki told them Cyan had ordered the group to recruit Joker if they got the opportunity, made even Serana too. But if Joker was really a murderer, he should serve a sentence behind bars. He knew the guard and their methods had a fair share of problems and corruption, but this just didn't bode well with Finch.

Finch didn't know if interjecting and challenging a high-ranking officer would be considered mutiny or something, but he felt strongly about this. "Um, excuse me. If Joker has really murdered innocent people, wouldn't it be better to put him behind bars. At this point, he isn't a vigilante anymore so much as a criminal. Wouldn't it be better for him to face the same penalties that all criminals do, instead of being offered a position."

 

[Kumii]

SkylaLocation: Iron Bridge
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:03 pm

Spoiler: Mood Music

Skyla let go of Mateo and looked at him he asked the million dollar question. Skyla took a moment, "The Death Knight happened." Skyla looked away, having to recall what happened kind of sucked but she understood Mateo wanted answers, "Sorry, Mateo, I... I don't really want to get into it." She grabbed the Lance that was laying next to her and clutched it so tight that her knuckles began to to turn white, "Just know that, that bastard will pay for taking him away from me." She said with a stern resolve in her voice. She quickly realized she was slipping into a vengeful state and pulled herself out of it, loosening the grip on the Lance and letting her knuckles return to their natural coloration.

Skyla pulled herself up then extended a hand to Mateo, "Come on, Mateo. There's no use sulking about his death. It's not what he'd want, is it?" Skyla gave him a reassuring smile, "Besides, as long as I have you by my side, I feel like I can do anything." Skyla's smile faded, "So please... don't leave my side, okay...?" Her voice slightly breaking, still extending a hand to Mateo.

Kiko Mateas and the CommanderLocation: Streets of Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:27 pm

Kiko listened as Nikki gave a run-down, crossing her arms under chest and nodding a few times. Once Nikki was done, Finch mentioned Joker being a criminal rather then a vigilante, Kiko agreed, "Yeah, assuming this person has killed innocent people, he should be tried under law."

Nikki nodded at both of their comments, "I see your points... I guess we'll just have to find that out for ourselves, hm?" Nikki said.

Meanwhile...
A mysterious figure perched themself on a roof nearby, eavesdropping on the conversation Finch, Kiko and Nikki are having, "Oh ho ho? I suppose I should introduce myself..." They stood up, as they did, they fixed their red gloves then adjusted their mask. It was Joker. Joker took out a 'Joker' playing card and threw it between Kiko and Nikki.

And now...
Nikki and Kiko were startled by the sudden card that came flying through, striking the wood beam on the house behind them, "What the.." Kiko went to go pick it up and saw it was a 'Joker' card. She showed it to Finch and Nikki, "Hey, is this what I think it is?" Nikki looked at Kiko, "Hmm... It sure seems like it. So that means... they're nearby..."

Joker jumped down from his roof, "Closer than you think." This caused Kiko and Nikki to draw their weapons and face Joker, who wasn't armed or ready to fight. "What do you want?" Nikki commanded.

Joker smiled, "Well, I really couldn't but overhear that nasty conversation you were having about me... and me, being the stand up guy I am, decided I should interject and defend myself because, you know, it's not nice to talk behind someone's back like that." Joker began pacing back and forth as he spoke.

Spoiler: Respect

Kiko's Respect for Finch - ++Positive

Kiko's Respect

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: In Despair

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Mateo's wails and sobs of agony was almost enough to break Rai. Rai knew that Mika meant a lot to Mateo, and that he was sort of an older brother figure to him, but seeing him in this state truly revealed to Rai how much he cared for him.

This was exactly what Rai dreaded happening. From the criticism he made on Mateo's plan up to now. Someone dying was the worst possible scenario in their situation. It'd reduce the amount of people they had on the team, which would reduce their chance of winning against enemies, and it would ultimately break their spirits. And now it occurred. Mika, one of their best offensive allies, and the heart of the team, died first.

Rai didn't have a huge sort of bond or connection with Mika. In fact, when they had first met, he hated him with all his heart. And even when they met up in Ironshire, he still felt like the two of them were drifted apart. Two forces that repelled each other as if they were like-sided magnets. There was just never any sort of relationship between the two of them. They weren't friends. They weren't enemies. Just two guys who had to put aside their differences and work together for the time being.

But for the others, it was different. For Skyla, Mika was a friend of many years and the love of her life. As calm and collected as she seemed at the moment, Rai could tell that she was hurting. But she still managed to give Mateo that reassuring smile. It was a horrible tragedy though. After being held captive for months, she was finally reunited with him, and just an hour or two later, he was murdered in front of her.

For Mateo, Mika was, in a sense, a figure he could look up too, someone who accepted him for who he was and cared for him in many ways. Rai couldn't see it at all, but Mateo most likely saw Mika as an older brother. And now, without even getting to say any final words to him, Mika was dead. He had lost one of the only people he could lean on, and an old friend.

So Rai could understand their grief. The agony and pain they were going through. But for Rai, he was just angry. Angry because he wasn't fast enough to save him. It's selfish, yes, someone dies and you only think of what you could've done? But it was Rai's personal way of coping with pain. Blaming it all on himself.

Rai glanced over at Mika and Skyla and listened closely as Skyla explained that the man who had killed Mika was known as The Death Knight. And she had plans to make him pay for what he had done. She asked for Mateo to not to leave her side in this and extended a caring hand out to him.

That type of bond right there. That feeling of comfort and the drive the person gave you to keep pushing forward. It was a rare and quite surreal feeling for Rai. It was something right out of the stories his mother read to him when he was a little boy. It was the kind of bond that he wanted with someone. A bond that gave the feeling that you could do anything just being in the presence of that person. Deep down, Rai envied the others for being able to have that feeling with each other. Rai didnt feel it for any of them, to him, they were just friends he had made and now fought alongside them. Comrades was the word to describe it. They were just comrades.

"Once you two finish reassuring each other, we should give our fallen friend a proper burial." Rai said, turning towards Mateo and Skyla. "And, uhm, Skyla. Since you knew him best...I think it should be you who decides where we put him."





Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Determined

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

"Hey, Castro. You've got a pair of engineered scissors on you, because it's time to do some snipping."

What the hell did this girl just say to me? Was Castro's initial thought.

It wasn't until Rori charged at Akuhei and slashed at his bandages when her plan clicked in his mind. It didn't make much sense to Castro, they could just target his lower body or somewhere higher than the bandages, but that seemed to be what she was getting at here. And it wasn't like Castro could vote against now anyways. She had already initiated it, so he had no choice but to go along with it.

Rori's assault on Akuhei was too quick for him to react to, letting Rori easily slash through on of the layers of his bandages.

"Ha! Missed me." Akuhei proudly said to her. Rori's plan hadn't hit him yet, he had just assumed that she was poorly aiming.

Then, wasting no time, he retaliated from her attack with his own. Akuhei began to rapidly swing his blue sickle at Rori in an fluid motion that made it seem like he was drawing on a canvas in the air. And from his sickle came a clear trail of hot, boiling water that flung itself at Rori with each missed slash. If a slash connected with Rori, the water would travel through the tip of the blade and burn her skin.

Akuehi's flurry of attacks may not have been good for Rori, but Castro saw it as an opening to his back, and a quick way to remove a high amount of bandages. Castro began to dash at Akuhei, but at the same time he curved his path so that he would be just out of the Shugosha's line of sight.

Once Castro was in cutting range, he used manifested a short but sharp edged dagger and slashed at the bandages, successfully removing three.

"Easier than expected." he muttered quietly.

Akuhei had irrelevant stamina, so his attacks weren't ever going to stop until Rori was dead, so as a way to stop his chain of slashes---and possibly get the kill--- Castro jabbed his dagger at the back of Akuhei's head. But just when it seemed like it was just at the point of piercing his skull, Akuhei instincts kicked in as he felt the blade graze a strand of his hair. And to save himself, he turned around with a spinning hook and ensnared Castro's arm between his the back of his knee, and from there, he leapt off of his other leg and slammed his shin against the bandit's cheek, knocking Castro to the ground.

Blood flew from The Blue Eyed Bandit's mouth as he crashed to the ground. He held his bruised and battered cheek and felt the exposed flesh stinging from the oxygen.

Now Akuhei readied his red sickle and lifted it into the air, the metal becoming a searing white color as the Shugosha infused it with heat, and then slashed down. The sickle stabbed itself into Castro's back, steam erupting from the boy's blood which now boiled.

Castro let out an exasperated and painful scream of agony as he squirmed around,attempting to free himself from the blades death grip. But Akuhei pushed it deeper into Castro's skin and then left it there, staring expressionlessly as he listened to the screams.

"Tsk. I warned would happen this, Blue Eyes." Akuhei regrettably said. "Now Heath be mad at me for harming you like this. Shameful."

[Bandages remaining: 8]
[Akuhei is turned around and distracted. Chance of success in removing more bandages: 92%]

Mood: Annoyed

Akuhei

Shugosha

Unknown, Ironshire

Check Castro's part of the post.







Love,







Shark







Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Kiki JonesLocation: Kiki's Room, Ironshire
Mentions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Clear
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 12:25 pm
Kiki sat in a dark room, cross-legged on the floor in what was to be assumed as her room in her parents' house. She stared intently at a small phone-like screen made of her light magic. There were moving blips, blue to signify Skyla, Mika and Rai. It wasn't long before a red blip appeared, approached one of the blue ones, it was around this time that the blue one disappeared, "What? Did the red one just-" She whispered to herself.

Time: August 26th, 1337. 12:56 pmThen from the corner of the screen, another blue blip came running up, "Hmm?" It stopped over where the other blue blip used to be. Another blue blip briefly flashed on her screen but vanished as quickly as it appeared. She tilted her head at this and tapped the screen with her finger, "A glitch?" Kiki was disturbed by her mom calling out, "Kiki, darling! Come get lunch!"

Kiki called back out, "Coming, mom!" Kiki swiped her hand and the screen vanished as she got up, "Right. I'll check back on them later, they're an interesting bunch." Kiki turned and opened her door and ran downstairs to get the lunch her mom and dad got her. As she got downstairs she was immediately bombarded with love by her mother, "Moooom, Stooooop." Kiki's mom stopped and looked at Kiki, "Sorry, honey, I just love you so much!"

Kiki blushed a bit, "I know, Mom, just stop embarrassing me." Kiki's mom pouted a bit, "Eh? But this is our home, who're you gonna get embarrassed by?" She questioned, Kiki turned away and grabbed her food, "That doesn't matter." Kiki started to run back to her room before she stopped to turn around and run back to her mom and give her a hug, "I love you, mom." She looked at her dad and did the same thing to him, "You too, dad. I love you." She let go of them and ran back to her room with her food.

Kiki's mom watched with a smile as she ran up to her room, "Geez, I didn't get to love her very long." Kiki's dad shook his head at her comment, "Cut her some slack, sweetie. Remember she still hasn't quite come out of her shell yet." The mom crossed her arms under her chest, "I guess." She quickly jumped on Kiki's dad, "Then you get my love instead!" She said as she giggled and hugged him. Kiki's dad couldn't help but chuckle at the sudden outburst, "That's fine with me!"

Kiki heard the ruckus up her room as she stared at her screens, a small smile formed across her face, 'I have really great parents.'

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

• Mateo Cabrera and Cora Liu
• Rori Lang
• Finch Arrowyn

• 
  "The Death Knight happened."
  
  Mateo had no idea who the Death Knight was, but he immediately hated him. Mika had been unjustly murdered by this guy. Mateo was really starting to hate knights. There was Cerah Junia, Skyla's uncle who had helped collapse the Desert Nation and any protection the people of the Seramine Desert had. Now some other knight had ended up murdering Mika. And then there was the third knight, the one with the spiky armor and skull like helmet.
  
  Though, that name did ring some bells from a fairly recent conversation. Didn't Kumii mention something about the Death Knight? And this Loki guy he was supposed to find in Luminosa, he knew this knight as well. The way Kumii talked about him, with disdain in his voice, made it seem like he wasn't all for the murderous guy. But he had ended up saying he and Loki were generals for the Death Knight. He hated the way his emotions were working now. He felt a twinge of hatred for Kumii, even though the guy had been nothing but helpful. Had they merely been a distraction for Mateo, so the Death Knight didn't have to worry about him saving Mika with his healing magic. Had Mana's words been fake...?
  
  He hated that thought, because Mana had known full well of his curse and didn't care one bit. But it was hard thinking otherwise when her father just so happened to be the general of the guy who just murdered his friend.
  
  Skyla continued by saying she didn't want to get into it. Had it been selfish of him to ask Skyla to recall details from a traumatic event? He was just trying to make sense of the situation, but he would respect Skyla if doing so was hurting her. She resolved to get revenge for Mika and Mateo would do everything he could to help her get that.
  
  Skyla extended a hand, saying being sad is not what Mika would want which he felt was true. Though Mika's soul hadn't said anything to him, his expression and goodbyes said it all. He didn't want this to hold them back. In fact, he wanted them all to move forward. He seemed like he didn't want this tragedy to make them lose their way.
  
  He took her hand and tried for a weak smile, making her a promise. "I won't leave you. None of us will. I-I promise."
  
  Cora scrambled up to join them on Mateo's shoulder, curling his tail around the teen's neck for both warmth and support. For the first time since Mateo had gotten back, Rai spoke, talking about how they should give Mika a proper burial. Mateo only nodded at the thought, feeling a bit sad at the notion that they had to bury Mika, and looked to Skyla for her thoughts.
  
  And so, the group set to work on burying Mika. Mateo pretty much stuck with Skyla the whole time, helping her find a place she liked for Mika's burial. Before they put him in the ground, Mateo explained that Cora could make it so Mika's body never decomposed. He would stay in his current state forever thanks to Cora's frost preservation. Cora seemed fine with Mateo explaining his skill, because he'd used ice magic during their battle with Cerah Junia. Mateo summed it up as Cora being a special companion. He hated the lies now, but it would stay Cora's decision to tell them about him being a spirit. He never planned to take that away from Cora.
  
  Cora encased Mika's body in frost, proving to be able to cover large expanses with some concentration. But Mateo knew that it was harder for him, because he usually encased small things in frost, and this was the entirety of an adult male body. Afterwards, he picked Cora up and let him rest as they finished work on the burial. Mateo set to work on etching a headstone, writing Mika's full name, birth date and death date, as well as a couple words with Skyla's input. It was hard to scratch into the rock, but he managed it by borrowing a blade from one of his companions. He didn't stop until it was complete, showing severe dedication to make it the best he could. It was for Mika after all, so it had to be good. No exceptions.
  
  Mateo rooted the rock into place above Mika's grave and it was finally complete. It'd taken a bit, but they'd finally gotten it done. Cora helped to find some nice flowers and they set it on top of the disturbed mound of dirt. Mateo prayed beside the grave, hoping the gods would give Mika a good afterlife for all he'd been through, then they set to work on pitching a camp, which nobody seemed to complain about. They were all tired, physically and emotionally.
  
  ***
  
  The camp was finally done, and everyone was resting. Mateo made an excuse that he was going to go look for firewood and said Cora would come with him to ensure his safety. A sort of buddy system that would hopefully act as reassurance for Skyla, who seemed anxious about losing anyone else. Mateo gave a wave and set off with Cora.
  
  When the two were far enough away Mateo breached a subject. "I've been thinking about some things, ever since... y'know."
  
  Cora pawed at an absent piece of timber to see if it would be decent for when night came. He gave a smile, though it didn't seem quite appropriate with what was going on. He was being more smug than anything. "I knew that was just an excuse for us to talk freely. Does it have something to do with him?"
  
  Mateo looked away, still heartbroken enough that even the mention of Mika got him feeling sad. "In a way, yes. There was so much that was left unsaid. I never thought there would be consequences, but now I realize this is the consequence for my lies. I've been thinking about everything, what Mana said and how things ended up. I want to tell them, Cora. About my family and the curse, about who I really am without the lies."
  
  His Bakeneko companion sighed, "Are you completely sure about this? This is tragedy, not consequence. You shouldn't be blaming yourself for what clearly isn't your fault."
  
  Mateo gave a strong shake of his head. "I'm not blaming myself. The fault lies purely with the Death Knight, whoever that is." Mateo sat down, putting down the pieces of timber he'd collected along the way beside him. Cora did the same, sitting down in front of him and curling his tail over his paws. "My consequence isn't his.. death. It's the fact that I never got to tell him about the curse. I never will now. I don't want to make the same mistake with the rest of them. I'll tell them, and if they hate me for it then so be it. I'm just done lying. I hate it, I hate it all. The lies and the fear that no one will accept me. This was my push to try. Besides, for the first time I think I have faith. Faith in them, that they are true friends."
  
  "Well, I guess there really is no stopping you." Cora said with a begrudging tone, "Just be careful about this, alright?"
  
  "Ok, Cora. I promise." That seemed to please the cat a bit, but he still seemed anxious for the conversation that was to come. "C'mon, let's actually be helpful and find some more firewood."
  
  ***
  
  The two continued on for a bit, finding enough firewood to justify the time they were gone, then swinging back by the campsite. "We're back, and with plenty of firewood to last the night."
  
  Mateo popped out of the tree line with Cora at his heels. He was the one holding all of the firewood, and he felt like his arms were going to fall off. He didn't have the muscles Rai had. He dropped the wood into a pile, which consisted of a lot of odd sticks and some branches. Cora dropped his own stick, which he'd carried in his mouth to help Mateo out. Then he started arranging the pile to be neater than Mateo had set it, which was pretty hard because he was in the body of a cat.
  
  Mateo gave a hefty sigh. He looked anxious and worried, kind of like how he did in Ironshire when he'd first met Skyla and Mika. He played with one of his sleeves and averted the gaze of his companions. He finally looked up at them and initiated what he hoped wouldn't be the end of their friendship. "We need to talk." He sat down and regarded them with a serious expression. "Have you guys heard of the Cabrera family curse, and the legend behind it?"
  
• 
  "Ha! Missed me."
  
  Rori smiled at the oaf's words as she passed by him. Her attack had been a total success, succeeding in cutting through one layer. Yet he had no idea of her plan yet. Her words to Castro had concealed it enough so someone stupid couldn't even begin to comprehend it, which meant she was betting on Castro being smart. He'd said before that his brain didn't function in battle sometimes, but she needed it to work now.
  
  Akuhei began an attack of his own as Rori flew by, swinging his blue sickles in an arc of fluid motions. Her mind raced, getting ready for a slash attack from the blade of the sickle. Instead, Akuhei completely missed her. She celebrated, thinking he was just pretty stupid. But she was as misguided as he was, thinking the same thing as he did when she'd sliced his bandage. She should've realized Akuhei would be able to perform magic. But she had been preoccupied with her own fight to really watch the boys deal with their old friend.
  
  A steaming trail of boiling water impacted her side as she flew by. She let out a yelp and skittered to a stop. The skin around her stomach was naturally exposed in a sort of crop top manner, and of course the water had hit her side in that area. She groaned as the water seared her skin, giving her a burn that etched itself on her side. She was a master at fire and could usually redirect any fire-based attacks with her golden blade, which meant she wasn't at all used to getting burns.
  
  So, the idiot could use magic. And it was similar to Castro's. By similar she meant the same element. Castro could use water, while Akuhei could as well. Was it just water? Could he heat his water with that element alone or was there something else to it?
  
  Before she really had time to think on that, another spray was coming her way. She swung her golden dagger through it to try to cut through the spray, but it simply traveled up the blade like it was conducting electricity and gave the burn on her side more area to torment her. "The hell?"
  
  Rori figured out quickly that her dagger wouldn't have much effect on the burning hot water, though she didn't completely understand why. She dodged out of the way of the next shot of water, then summoned an arc of fire with a swipe of her blade to collide with Akuhei's fourth attack. The fire fizzled out once it collided with the water, but also neutralized the attack. For the rest, she used her flitting red and orange flame wings and spread them in front of her as a sort of shield. As each new hit impacted the wall of flame, she was sent back a bit, skittering to try to hold her guard. If this kept up, she wasn't sure if she could stay grounded. It kept getting harder and harder to keep her balance.
  
  But just as she felt like she was going to lose herself, Castro came in to save the day again. Rori didn't know if the guy had a hero complex or something, because it seemed like he was always saving her from attacks. Rori didn't know much of what happened, except that Akuhei suddenly spun around to deal with Castro. As his back turned to Rori, she saw more bandages gone. She smiled, seeing that Castro proved himself to be in the smart category.
  
  Rori was struck back into the moment as Castro let out a painful scream, her wings went back to their original position, albeit seeming smaller than they had been before. Like a normal shield, they'd been damaged from all the hits they took for Rori. She dashed towards Akuhei's back, taking the opening and making an upwards slash with her dagger then darting to the side, getting a full view of Castro being impaled with a red-hot sickle.
  
  She honestly didn't understand why, but her body felt like it was moving on its own. It was sort of instinctual. She heard the screams of agony from Castro, and the cold pleasure on Akuhei's face. She couldn't take it and rushed in, using her flame wings as cover in case Akuhei tried for an attack. She grabbed the hilt with her free hand, barely even realizing the blade itself was as hot as fire, but she showed no signs of caring for the heat. There would be one final surge of pain as Rori used all her might to pull the sickle right out of Castro's back.
  
  As she looked at the sickle in her hand, realization washed over her face at what she'd done. Rori didn't understand why she'd felt such a surge of protectiveness. Nevertheless, Castro was in less danger now. "Are you alright?" No gags or quips, just genuine concern.
  
• 
  Hearing Kiko agree with him made Finch smile. She was clearly one of the good ones in the guard. She understood the difference between a vigilante and a criminal. It may be mean to say this about his leader, but Cyan himself didn't seem to understand that difference. Finch did agree that a talented vigilante would be a worthy recruit, and if Joker was just that then so be it, but if Joker was a criminal then that was wrong to give him preferential treatment.
  
  Nikki said she'd take it into consideration, but Finch wasn't so sure she would. If it was a direct order from Cyan, he couldn't see how she could disobey that.
  
  Out of the corner of his eye, Finch noticed something flying. It could've been a disturbed bird fleeing the scene, or maybe even some kids kicking a ball in the wrong direction, but Finch was sure it wasn't any of those. Before he could inform his teammates, the thing zipped past them at such a speed that it planted itself in a wooden beam. Kiko marched over and plucked it out of the beam, turning it over to show Nikki and Finch. His eyes widened as he realized it was a card, and not just any card, a Joker.
  
  While the two briefly discussed it, Finch took a more tactical approach to the situation at hand. His gaze flung to different alcoves and alleyways where Joker could've been hiding. To late he realized that with the cards trajectory he should've been searching the rooftops.
  
  Joker appeared in front of the group, announcing himself. He didn't look to be armed, but Kiko and Nikki drew their weapons, and he followed suite, taking his bow off his shoulder and nocking an arrow.
  
  Nikki asked what he wanted, and he so graciously explained. "Hey." He said, addressing Joker. "Since you said you wanted to defend yourself, I say we skip the formalities and get straight to business talk. Who are you really? Vigilante or criminal? You've been doing a fair share of eavesdropping, which I have to say is not very nice either, so you know what we're accusing you of. Multiple 'accidental' murders of the innocent. So, have you or have you not been killing innocent civilians on your vigilante escapades?"
  

 

[Kumii]

SkylaLocation: Iron Bridge
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:05 pm

Spoiler: Mood Music

Skyla heard as Rai said to bury Mika, it didn't feel real yet, "Y-Yeah. I know a place..."

Current location: Great Oak Tree outside Ironshire
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:30pm
Mateo said he needed to get firewood, Skyla simply nodded, still reeling over the death of her best friend and 2 day boyfriend. Was she destined to always loved ones like this? It felt like she was cursed for existing but that was just the despair talking. Then Mateo came back and sat down with Skyla and Rai, he was nervous at first but then serious, "Hmm?"

He mentioned something about a legend and a curse, "Uh... Cabrera... Curse?" She had heard of a family with some kind of curse but never heard a name nor the type of curse it was, "I've of a cursed family before but... Cabrera doesn't ring a bell. Why?" She asked, a look of worry on her face as she looked at Mateo.

Kiko Mateas and the CommanderLocation: Streets of Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:29 pm

Spoiler: Mood Music

Kiko and Nikki both noted Finch's assertiveness. Kiko smiled slightly, 'So the Rookie has some balls.'

Joker took a step back and looked to put up his hands as if surrendering, "Here I am coming unarmed and willing to talk and you all draw your weapon and act all hostile." Joker clenched his fists softly then extended them in a subtle manner, "This works out better for me anyways..." Joker then disappeared into the shadows behind him.

Nikki and Kiko raised their guards as he disappeared, "Stay on guard you two." Nikki commanded, looking around, "A shadow jumper... he could strike anywhere."

Joker appeared behind Nikki, "Like right behind you!" He yelled as he went for a strike on Nikki. Nikki reacted lightning quick and deflected his dagger. Joker jumped back but was quickly overwhelmed with Nikki right in front of him, "Holy shi-" Nikki whacked him with the hilt of her blade. Nikki watched as he fell back a ways. Joker propped himself up then got up and wiped away the blood from his mouth, "So... you're the White Flash. I thought he'd send you, so I prepared a counter offensive." Joker snapped his finger and the Joker card exploded in a nonlethal blast which sent Kiko flying towards a building. When she collided with the wall, she let out a yelp and fell to the ground, seemingly unconscious.

Nikki watched as Kiko got hit with the concussive blast, "Kiko!" SHe turned to Joker and lowered herself, "You're lucky he has a use for you, otherwise you'd be dead where you stand." She said in a rather menacing tone, "Remember, Private! nonlethal damage only!" She commanded.

Joker's Vitality (687/687)

Spoiler: Respect

Kiko's Respect for Finch - ++Positive

Kiko's Respect

Respect Milestone achieved!

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: In Despair

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Mateo and Skyla had agreed to burying Mika and 25 minutes later, they were finished giving their friend a proper ending.



"...let his body and soul rest in peace, and help us to recover from his tragic end. Amen." Rai said as he finished off his prayer.

He got up off of his knees and and watched as Mateo rooted a rock upon the grave and then set up camp. Rai took it to himself to help bring logs to the fire and dropped the final bit in the pile before sitting down next to Skyla.

Rai wanted to say something to Skyla. He wanted to find some way to help her feel better. But before he could think of Mateo came back and told them that they needed to talk. His tone was serious, which was pretty rare to Rai. So this must have been an urgent topic.

"Alright. What's the deal?" Rai asked.

Then Mateo went on to ask them if they knew of the Cabrera family curse.

"Family curse?" Rai asked, his head cocked to the side a bit. "No, at least none with the name Cabrera. What about them?"





Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Determined

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Rori's upwards slash at the bandages was another success. Four bandages fell from Akuhei's torso and lightly fell to the ground.

Castro gritted his teeth as he attempting to hold back his yells of pain. He could feel the sickle push deeper into his skin as Akuhei left it there. It was an extremely painful injury, but he attempted to stand up anyways. As he got onto one knee, the sickle was ripped from his back and another wave of pain went throughout Castro's body, causing him to grunt in pain. When he looked back to see who had taken the blade, he saw Rori standing there, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah..yeah, I'm alright. Thanks for that." Castro answered between grunts of pain. He stood up to his feet and pressed a hand onto the burning wound. It was a 3rd degree burn, which means the nerves were destroyed, so there wasn't much pain to be felt anymore. "I hope you were able to get some of them."

"Some of what?" Akuhei asked, he slowly began to approach the bandits.

"Some of this." Castro said lowly. He manifested a small ball of ice into his hand and look towards Rori. He whispered to her, "This ball is going to break into shards when I throw it at him. He'll be disorientated, take the chance to remove some bandages then."

"Stop whisper! You disrespect me."

"I'm sorry." Castro sarcastically said. He then nodded to Rori. "As an apology, here's this!"

Castro reared back like a baseball pitcher and then threw the ball of ice as fast as he could as Akuhei. Akuhei's immediate instinct was to slice the ball out of the air, but the moment his sickle touched it, the ball broke and shards of ice flew into the Shugosha's face. Akuhei closed his eyes and grunted in pain as he put his hand to his face.

Castro immediately began running to Akuhei's left side wasting no time to take to opening. He hoped that Rori would understand and take his right. The plan was for the bot of them to slash at the bandages at the same time, and hopefully, they'd get all at once.

Once Castro was behind the Shugosha, he manifested an ice knife and slashed at the bandages, taking 2 off. The last two would be Rori. Hopefully she didn't miss.





[Bandages remaining: 4]

[Akuhei is turned around and distracted. Chance of success in removing the final bandages: 99.9%]

Mood: Annoyed

Akuhei

Shugosha

Unknown, Ironshire

Current Time -- 1:29 PM

Place - Seiryoku Empire

"Please kill him." Noxious brashly says.

"Once again, no." says Kizawa. "Also, I couldn't even if I tried."

Kizawa Tadanage walked through the halls of the Seiryoku Empire. He's on his way to give Heath his daily report. The floor of the hall is a shiny red marble color, and to his both his sides are evenly spaced white pillars with streaks of red along them. Heath says its just some stains, but Kizawa thinks otherwise.
It's definitely the blood of the previous assistants. Totally "stains" though.

"If you use Seance and let me take control, I can kill him." Noxious suggests.

"Nox, we are not going to try to kill Heath." Kizawa said with a sigh.

The two large doors to Heath's room come into view as Kizawa walks under small arc that holds up the upper wall. As Kizawa wraps his fingers along the doorknob, he stops and takes a deep breath before ripping it open.

In the room, Heath sits uninterested on a large throne chair with katanas on the wall behind it. He looks bored at first but his face lightens up as he sees Kizawa enters the room.

"Ah, Kizawa!" Heath says. His deep and strong voice sends vibrations through Kizawa's body. "What's the news of today?"

"What do you want to hear of, sir?"

"Hm. What's the status on some legendary beasts?"

"Surprisingly, The Unholy One and the Junk Dragon are rumored to be dead."

"Oh?" Heath leans in a bit, clearly intrigued. "And who killed these poor animals?"

"Witnesses say that a white haired bounty hunter known as Rai Ikari walked away from the scene with an unknown girl. I hear she was rushed to medical aid, where her arm was amputated due to her burns.

"Interesting. I'm not surprised they were injured. And who could've possibly killed the Junk Dragon?"

"Well, it's only rumored to be dead. It hasn't roared in two hours. It usually roars every 30 minutes."

Heath taps his finger on the armbars of his throne violently.

"That's not good. Not at all." Heath says with a stern look.

"How so, sir?" Kizawa asks. He clears his throat a bit and gulps. If Heath looked like that, he could go off at any time.

"Each beast usually has an item it guards or one that appears after death." Heath fixes his gaze onto Kizawa. "If they were killed, that means someone has obtained them. Who knows what they could've gotten? It could be something extremely powerful."

"I understand your concern sir. I'll look deeper into that and let you know. Is there anything else you'd like to know today?"

"Yes. Where is Akuhei? I sent him to retrieve Kuragiri long ago."

"Erm. I haven't heard from him yet. Should I go investigate?"

"PLEASE SAY YES!" Noxious yells from Kizawa's mind.

"No, I'll send Kaminari." Heath answers.

"NO!"

"Ishikawa? Send Kaminari to get Akuhei."

"Yes, sir!" says a muffled voice from a door in the room. Then retreating footsteps can be heard.

"Will that be all?" Kizawa asks.

"Yes, it will. Thank you once again. Oh, and please tell Aikawa to come to me on the way out."

Kizawa nods and then begins to make his way out of the room. He sighs in relief from his report going well. The last thing he needs in Heath snapping on him like he did with the other assistants.

He doesn't want to be the next stain on the pillars.

Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

• Mateo Cabrera and Cora
• Rori Lang
• Finch Arrowyn

• 
  Skyla and Rai both said they didn't know of the Cabrera family. Skyla said she'd heard of a cursed family before, and it's possible that she'd heard of his but never knew the family name or maybe never remembered it from the time of when she'd heard the story. Rai seemed curious about what he was getting on about but had also sensed his serious tone and knew something was up. While Skyla instantly had a look of worry plastered to her face. Going on was hard for him, but he knew it had to be done. What he'd told Cora was the honest truth. He wanted to make sure he got to tell them this. They were important people to him.
  
  "Well, I-" He stopped for a second. They didn't know the story, so telling them he was a Cabrera would make little sense without the context. Besides, telling them was hard. He didn't know if he wanted to just rip the band aid off or delay as much as possible.
  
  "I guess I should tell you guys the legend then. There's not much hope in it so, keep that in mind." He breathed a sigh and then narrated the tale. "Once there was a farm hand. He was young, maybe a little older than me. No one knows his name, a detail lost to time. It was some time ago that these events took place. The boy didn't have riches or a stable life, in fact he scraped by. But he was supposedly kind none the less. He tended to the goats as a herder and spent time with them up on a mountain. One day, while traveling on that mountain, he came into the path of some kind of entity. The story gets a little hazy at this part. Some versions of the legend say this entity was a spirit, maybe a demon of some kind. Others say it was one of the gods, but never named which one. The nature of the reason for the curse is unspecified as well. Sometimes the boy had disturbed this spirit through reckless actions, and the entity wanted suffering from the boy. Other times the boy is depicted as this entity's servant, who would terrorize the town below the mountain. In that version, the curse is still a curse, but more so depicted as a gift from this entity to the boy, so he could bring more suffering to the villagers. I don't know which I believe, I just know that the boy is innocent. Yes, he terrorized the town, but it wasn't of his own free will. I believe that with my whole heart. Because this curse, well, it turns you into something else. You don't have control of your body, its more instinct. You become a creature, a beast. You become the monster."
  
  From how Mateo talked about the last bit, it sounded like he was talking from experience rather than narrating a fairy tale. The whole thing was pretty odd. "Anyways, the boy didn't get a happy ending. This guy, Ignis Lucero, he kind of trapped the boy with the help of his brothers and killed him. All the villagers saw was the bad part of the boy, so I don't really think they're the bad guys. But the boy isn't either. The story frames the boy to be the evil one, but it's really whoever started the curse. They're the real villain of the story."
  
  "And that's the story of The Beast of Luminosa. These were all past events, albeit not to the exact note. As it was passed down, the story kind of became a watered-down version of itself. No one really knows the real version of events, just kind of the skeleton of the story. But it's an important part of Luminosa history. The boy's descendants, the Cabrera family, carried on the curse. The Lucero's try to hunt down and slay all the boy's descendants. It's been like that for twelve generations."
  
  Mateo and Cora exchanged a glance, a conversation seeming to pass through them in that one look. Cora was trying to get him to back out, making sure he was ok. But Mateo was determined to continue and tell them the truth of his origins.
  
  "The reason I'm telling you this is because... I'm a Cabrera. It's my legacy. I-I'm cursed." Mateo's body was shaking as he took off his left glove and revealed his hand to both Skyla and Rai. The blackened ends curled into claws. It seemed like the kind of thing a demon would have but made sense with the context that Mateo was cursed.
  
  Honestly, he felt like balling right then and there. He could feel his eyes watering as he waited for their reaction. What would it be? Acceptance or fear? Would they be repulsed by him? Would they continue traveling together? Or would he lose them? He didn't know, but he would find out soon enough.
  
• 
  Castro confirmed that he was alright, struggling a bit to get up. He thanked Rori, then said he hoped she managed to get some. "Of course I did!" She exclaimed. She didn't know. She had absolutely no clue if her slice had gotten some bandages. But she couldn't let Castro know that. She had a flawless reputation to uphold. Luckily it had actually followed through and erased four bandages from Akuhei's torso. The guy was still none the wiser.
  
  Akuhei approached them, big and dumb, not understanding what they were talking about. Castro responded by producing a ball of ice and whispering the plan to Rori. She gave a nod, looking at her golden dagger in one hand and Akuhei's sickle in the other. Using his own weapon against him sounded awesome. That'll probably teach him not to leave his sickle in the backs of bandits. Because it'll come back to bite him in the ass.
  
  As Rori got ready, Castro quipped and threw the ice ball at Akuhei like he was a player in a baseball league. Homerun! Now it was time to run to home base. Akuhei's other sickle touched the ice ball and immediately, just as Castro had said, ice shards went flying into his face. The Shugosha staggered with a grunt and a hand to his face. Castro went running up to Akuhei's left side. Rori understood immediately and took his right, with impeccable speed.
  
  At the same time as Castro sliced, Rori sliced a diagonal upwards with Akuhei's own sickle, and a diagonal down with her golden dagger, making an 'x' slice on his right side. She smiled, knowing her plan had worked after all.
  
• 
  Joker wasn't exactly complying with Finch's order. Finch was actually hoping that Joker would just clear his suspicions right then and there or affirm them. But instead, he slunk back into the shadows. Finch aimed wildly, his grip on his bow and arrow tightening. Though, keeping an arrow nocked for too long made things tricky. The arrow tapped frantically at the wood of the bow, waiting to be released.
  
  Nikki told them to stay on guard, saying he could reappear anywhere. He did so right behind Nikki. Instantly, Finch released the arrow. Nikki and Joker went into combat, the arrow completely missing its mark. It hadn't been straight. He learned though, pulling out another arrow from his quiver, but keeping it in his other hand until he was ready to fire.
  
  He couldn't find any openings. One, they were moving too fast. Two, Finch was afraid he'd hit Nikki by accident. They were right up against each other while fighting. He had incredible aim, but even an archer more experienced than him would'nt have taken the shot.
  
  Joker had a plan though. The Joker card exploded in a blast. He watched as Kiko was sent flying against a wall. "Kiko!" He yelled. But she seemed to be unconscious. Nikki then reminded him to use non-lethal strikes only.
  
  "How are you supposed to go non-lethal with a bow?" He murmured. He did have a fair point, considering it was pretty impossible not to do some kind of damage with an arrow.
  
  He ran up to Kiko and got in front of her in a defensive stance. He nocked his arrow, pulled the string back, and fired. He aimed to pin Joker's clothes to a wall so Nikki could strike. He released two more arrows, a total of three in an attempt to hold him in place. He took out one more and held it. Finch promised himself that if Joker went after Kiko, the one unconscious, he would let loose the arrow. It wouldn't be a nonlethal strike like Nikki ordered. It would be wherever Finch happened to aim.
  

 

[Kumii]

SkylaLocation: Great Oak Tree
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:33 pm
Mateo explained the legend, some of it sounded familiar to Skyla but if she was told this it was when she was a child back when the Desert Kingdom still existed. Her parents would probably know it.

The Mateo revealed his hand, the black fingers. Something reminded Skyla and she remembered back when they took down the Dragon, she noticed that Mateo had those same black fingers back then too. That's right, she knew since then that something was up with Mateo. She paused for a minute then got up and walked over to Mateo and probably defied his expectations by hugging him, "You're cursed...? So what." When Skyla let go of him, she noticed he wanted to ball, he was anxious.

Skyla simply smiled at Mateo and used her thumb to dry his eyes, "Hey, we're not going anywhere, okay? We made a promise, yeah?" Skyla said that, it had a double meaning though, "But... it's not just a promise. For me, it's much more then that. You're family to me. A little brother to me. My... last survivng family..."

Skyla shook her head and got up and extended ahand to Mateo, "What say we conquer this curse together, yeah?" That statement was directed at both Mateo and Rai... and Cora too.

Commander and JokerLocation: Streets of Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Raining
Current Time: August 26th, 1337. 1:29 pm

Spoiler: Mood Music

Joker saw the arrow coming at him and he used his knife to deflect it which caused the follow-up two arrows to miss completely but it left him open to a shoulder tackle from Nikki. He slammed against a wall, letting a yelp and falling to the ground. Nikki prepared to release a strike with the butt of her sword on the grounded Joker but Joker rolled to the side and dodged it and got up swiftly.

Nikki pointed her sword at Joker, "Surrender yourself now!" At this point, Joker seriously considered that. He shook his head though, "I can't.. not yet.." He said, almost as if waiting for something but the tone of his voice sounded like it wasn't a trap but more like something bad was coming... Nikki narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly, "What do you..." She shook her head, "What do you mean, 'not yet'?" She inquired.

Joker looked down, "You wouldn't believe if I told you. After all, you came here to arrest me, did you not?" He said.

Joker's Vitality (586/687 85.2%)

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Serious

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Mateo explained the legend he was speaking about full detail. It was about a young farmhand that encountered an entity and disturbed it, so the entity decided to make the boy suffer by causing him to terrorize his entire town.

Rai knew nothing of entities, just spirits and humans, so upon hearing that, he looked confused at its mention. Mateo continued and said that the curse, it turned its host into a "creature", a "beast", "the monster.", as Mateo described it. The Beast of Luminosa.

And then apparently, the boys descendants all carried the curse, and it passed down from generation to generation, and a man named Lucero's descendants, the same man who killed the original farmhand, were hunting down Cabrera's for twelve generations.

Rai didn't need Mateo to tell him what was going to happen next. From the way the story was going, it was easy to tell what he was going to say. But as Mateo took off his glove, Rai's eyes widened in pure fear. His hand looked normal at first, but as it got down to the ends, his skin became blackened and his fingers seemed to be curled like the claws of a demonic being. It was a bit horrifying in a sense. It was like something out of a horror story his mother read to him as a child.

"I'm a Cabrera. It's my legacy. I-I'm cursed."

Skyla seemed to remain quiet for a bit, and so did Rai as he tried to see what her reaction would be. But she did the unexpected, and hugged Mateo. She spoke kind words about him and that she didn't care about the curse, all while telling him that he was like family to her.

"What say we conquer this curse together, yeah?"

Rai took a slow, shuddering breath before he responded.

"Uh, yeah. I just have a question." Rai fixed his gaze on Mateo's cursed arm, not daring to make eye contact with him. "So, as you said, the curse does something to its host, right? Does that mean..." Rai finally broke his gaze on the arm and looked at Mateo. "..youre going to end up doing what the farmhand did? Terrorizing people and becoming a monster?"

Rai felt uneasy about this entire thing. He couldn't understand Skyla's calmness after hearing that story. From the way he told it, it sounded like the curse was extremely dangerous, and made its host the same way. Plus, some of the Lucero guy's descendants are hunting down people with it? Is it truly that bad

He didn't want to hurt Mateo, neither mentally or physically, but he needed to know. Would that curse make him a potential threat?

Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Shocked

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

With a fast, "x" shaped double slash using Akuhei's sickle and her own dagger, Rori cut off the remaining bandages, completing her plan in record time.

Castro smirked at Rori's skill. For a human, she was extremely fast and powerful, almost on the same level of Kuragiri at his peak. She had never failed to impress him, so while be still didn't trust her with his life, he had a bit of respect for her.

But refocusing on the situation, Castro quickly manifested an ice spear and stabbed into Akuhei's exposed back. The Shugosha exclaimed in pain as Castro continued to drive it forward, pushing Akuhei to the ground. Just as Castro ripped the spear from his back and prepared to drive it into his head, a wave a flames flew past his face and engulfed Akuhei, melting the spear at the same time.

"Not...done with you yet." said Kuragiri while panting, as he had just regained consciousness. Then, blinded with rage, he charged Akuheia and began to hit him with a flame induced combo. His fist were surrounded by flames and each punch left a burn on the Shugosha.

"You idiot!" Castro yelled out. "I was about to kill him!"

Kuragiri ignored Castro's comment and kept on with his assault, truly believing that he was doing something. But Just as Kuragiri was about to hit him with another devastating flame punch, a quiet knocking could be heard from the store's door.

Castro and Akuhei both looked towards the door it and watched as it flew off of its hinges and slammed into Kuragiri, sending him flying into a clothing rack.

"Akuhei." said a tall, black haired man with a muscular physique. "Don't tell me you're losing."

"Kaminari." Akuhei said with eyes of fear. "I-I was going easy on them."

Kaminari shook his head, clearly disappointed and diverted his attention to Castro and Rori.

"I sincerely apologize for my brother's disturbance." Kaminari Takahashi spoke to them. "We'll get out of your hair if you just hand over Kuragiri."

Castro looked over to Rori and whispered,

"Rori...that's Kaminari. The highest ranking and strongest Shugosha."

Mood: Annoyed

Akuhei

Shugosha

Unknown, Ironshire

Hi







Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Loathesome KumiiLocation: ???, Ironshire
Mentions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Raining
After dealing with Mateo and his cat, Kumii decided to spy on his favorite fighting trio. A new party had appeared. They had immense power yet not Spirit Thread, 'Just who is this?' He thought, he admitted the man caught his attention. He heard the names 'Akuhei' and 'Kaminari'. This was getting interesting and he had just come back too.

A devilish grin formed across Kumii's face, he wanted to join in but he held back. Holding his head with one of his hands, "No... I can't join..." Power began to overwhelm him though and he found it harder and harder to hold it back. Both hands began holding his head, "N-No!" Suddenly the power stopped and his arms went limp to his sides.

All went quiet for a second before Kumii looked up. His eyes flashed red momentarily but they went back to their normal color as Kumii fell to his knees, 'What the-' He shook his head, 'That's never happened to me before but it seems to be gone for now...' Kumii seemed distressed by what just happened...

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

• Mateo Cabrera and Cora
• Rori Lang
• Finch Arrowyn

• 
  Mateo watched their faces as he explained the legend. Cora stopped arranging the pile of firewood as Mateo started, joining him at his spot and sticking close to him. Cora unsheathed his claws, flexing them in the dirt in case he needed to protect Mateo from their outrage. He wasn't entirely sure of this, knowing how a lot of others reacted in the past. They'd been sent to Ironshire because they'd been chased out of the last town they visited, Mateo's secret slipping out.
  
  Now with Mateo finished, there was a deathly quiet, enough for anxiety to rise within him. He studied their faces closely. They were both silent, but there was noticeable difference in how they were taking things. Skyla's feelings weren't as apparent, except for a look of realization. Mateo remembered the dragon. He needed a hand to be uncovered to use Decay, so she'd probably seen this before. Now she knew it was a part of the curse, a sign that he wasn't exactly one of the normal mortals. He'd been afflicted with something from the long past, something that wasn't his fault, yet his hand still looked like a monster's.
  
  Rai, on the other hand, wasn't taking it as well. Of course he steeled himself, but there was a look of shock and fear plastered to his face. No doubt he found Mateo's hand to be repulsive. Or at the very least scary to look at. He understood that though, always hating how his hands had looked since birth. His adoptive father had said it was a perfect imperfection, while he thought it just made him look like a monster. He didn't want to be a big, scary monster, but that's the hand he'd been dealt.
  
  Another moment, and he heard words from Skyla that he never thought he'd hear. A moment of relief washed over him, Skyla's hug making him forget about all the despair he was feeling over seeing Rai's reaction. A moment passed as his eyes widened, and then he shut them, hugging Skyla back and releasing some pent-up tension. He kept his ungloved hand from touching her, not wanting to accidently use Decay. But even if he had touched her with it, he felt so peaceful in that moment that it never would've activated on its own.
  
  Skyla basically took care of him like he imagined a big sister would, drying his eyes as she noticed them watering. Her voice was soft and kind, saying that they wouldn't go anywhere, and that they'd made a promise to stick together. If Skyla still wanted him by her side, then of course he'd fulfill that promise to the fullest extent. He owed that much to her, after lying about everything. It felt good to come clean and be accepted like this. Skyla was a Cora, caring for him unconditionally no matter what he was afflicted with.
  
  Then Skyla absolutely melted his heart by calling him family, like a little brother. He'd never realized it before, but they were that close. Losing Mika, gods it still hurt to think about him, was like losing family. Anyone could see that by just how much it had affected him. It would've been the same had it been Skyla, or even Rai. He cared about both of them so much, and the thought of losing them was unbearable. Skyla and Mika had basically been like his older siblings, protecting him at every turn. Rai was like the fun uncle, pulling out cool moves that impressed him so much. A tear ran down his check, and he wiped it away, determined not to cry.
  
  Skyla extended a hand to him, saying they would conquer the curse together. Cora looked at Skyla with a new admiration. It had taken her a minute to adjust, but she'd accepted Mateo no questions asked. That was something Cora had to appreciate. His cold gaze turned warm. Mateo had picked a good one. His... family.. they were good souls. At least Skyla, and Mika. Rai had yet to prove himself in the eyes of Cora.
  
  Mateo nodded at Skyla's statement, finding a smile creep onto his face. But before he could say anything or take her hand, Rai finally piped up after being so quiet. He tried hard not to wince at Rai's question, but the sound still escaped his mouth. That was like a punch to the gut. His smile failed, falling to sadness. Rai had taken away the wrong sentiment from the legend. Well, maybe the right one, considering everyone in Luminosa painted the Beast as the villain. The Beast had just been a kid, a little older than him, and couldn't control the curse. It wasn't the right sentiment he'd wanted to get across. But it's not like he could fault Rai for wanting to know such an important detail. Mateo had known he'd been playing with fire this whole time. He knew the curse could manifest, he knew he could lose control, and he knew he could end up hurting them. He'd been selfish, living a dream.
  
  "I-" He stopped and looked away with a guilty expression. The answer was clear. Yes. Eventually he spoke once more, trying to find the right words. "Well, the story is about a beast. We.. we don't mean for it to happen. But it does sometimes. If there's a strong negativity around us, from our feelings or from others around us, we turn. We can kind of sense negative emotions like their catnip, we're drawn to them but not in a good way. It's painful to be around that, and sometimes we lose our way. We, um, get big and stuff. It's really hard to explain unless you see it."
  
  Then Mateo lowered the sleeve on his cursed hand, revealing sludge clustered around his arm that had been building ever since Mika's death. It'd stopped but wasn't going away. As he explained, there were so many negative emotions. Sadness, fear, anxiety. He needed to be more calm and relaxed, but how could he after his friend just died? "This stuff, the sludge, it builds. It's at least a good warning sign of when I'm getting close to turning. It kind of encases the body, and then I turn. Our forms shift, we get pretty big. We get covered in black fur, but the sludge is still there in places. We kind of take the form of animals, y'know, because of the farmhand being a shepherd and all that. We all look different. There are multiple accounts of the first being a goat like animal, ironic huh? He herded goats, and then he becomes a monster goat. But he had like ten different sets of horns, all different in shape and size. I've been told I turn into something similar to what the first beast was, just with one pair of horns. But I don't really know much about the forms, just that your consciousness slips into something else. It's like your locked inside your own mind, floating in a sea of sludge. I can't see the things that I do, and I don't control my body. It's like that for all of us. We don't do it on purpose. We don't try to be horrible... it just ends up happening."
  
  He was silent for a bit, then continued. Meanwhile, Cora was glaring icy daggers at Rai. "They're more like episodes though. After a little bit, we turn back to normal. We retain our humanity most of the time. If we don't feel the pull, we can usually stay that way. But a lot of us end up slipping, making mistakes." He looked up, his eyes sad with regret. "We don't mean to cause so much damage. We don't want to terrorize people or be monsters. But we have no choice in the matter. That's the curse's effect on us."
  
• 
  Rori was floating on cloud nine. Her plan had worked, Kuragiri's body becoming exposed as the last of the bandages dropped to the floor. Her eyes darted around. She could see them scattered everywhere. One draped over a counter, another dangled off a wrack like it was merchandise. She could just imagine it. The Buffoon's Bandages, rare artifacts from the time Rori and Castro beat his ass, now only $5.99!
  
  Yet Akuhei still seemed clueless, or maybe he was just busy dealing with Castro's barrage of icy attacks. Even though he had been down with a painful strike, Castro was back at it dealing damage to Akuhei's now exposed flesh. She had to admit that was pretty damn respectable. He seemed like a competent fighter. Rori was confident that she would end up winning in a fight with him, but he was competent non the less.
  
  Rori unleashed a strike of her own, dropping in low and clipping his side with his own sickle. The strike was a little wonky though, considering she wasn't used to something curved like a sickle. The golden blade in its sword form was slightly curved, but not as much as a sickle was. The cut didn't seem to be all that deep because of that.
  
  Before she could get another strike in, she saw a wall of fire smash into Akuhei. She shifted back with a look of confusion. Had Castro done that? He couldn't use fire magic though, right? She knew that wasn't her, so maybe Akuhei? But that didn't make sense. There was one player she wasn't accounting for, one she'd almost forgotten during the fight. "Ugh, gods that voice is so damn annoying." Rori muttered as she heard Kuragiri.
  
  Rori got out of the way, watching as Kuragiri hit Akuhei with fists engulfed by flame. She stood back and watched, not trying to help him. He absolutely hated Kuragiri. To her surprise, Castro actually looked angry, yelling at Kuragiri who simply ignored him. Castro was wasting his time with someone like Kuragiri.
  
  Rori was actually enjoying the show, a smirk crossing her face as she held her burned side. Then her head swiveled to the light knock on the door. Everyone seemed to stop and take notice, except for Kuragiri who was hit with the door when it came slamming off its hinges. She gave a snort, trying not laugh not for Kuragiri's sake, but because there was a new situation.
  
  Rori joined up with Castro, him being the only person she was sure wouldn't attack her. They had this unsaid allyship. Neither of them trusted each other completely, but they were the best option they had at the moment. Castro was entangled in things from his past, and Rori had been caught in the same thorny vine he had.
  
  Some tall guy with a muscular physique entered the room, regarding Akuhei like they were allies. 'Great, another one.' She thought. But this guy was much more calm. He didn't promise blood shed or attack them, just offered a simple offer that Rori was more than glad to accept. Castro gave her some information. Apparently, this guy was Kaminari the highest ranking and strongest of the Shugosha. And, from what Kaminari said, apparently, he was also the idiot's brother. Rori could tell where all the good genes had gone, because Kaminari seemed powerful, good looking, and smart. In other words, all the things Akuhei was not.
  
  "Kaminari, right?" Rori said, trying to play this smart. For once she couldn't be an annoying prick. Because she had to get herself out of this mess alive. She put the sickle behind her back, hoping to keep it and cause a mild inconvenience for Akuhei. "That is a very tempting offer. I really don't care what happens to him. Why you'd want the dirty child killer, I have no idea. And frankly I couldn't care less. If you'll get the Black Cloaked Creep off my hands, then that's a bargain I'm willing to strike. But nothing's for free. Surely you can understand that. I don't want you to simply be out of our hair, I want you gone for good. I want you, the strongest of the Shugosha, to give me your word that you and your.. associates won't ever come for me again. Or my... business partner here. No attacking or seeking us out again. Do that, keep your word, and you can have him free of charge. Do we have a deal?"
  
• 
  Finch winced as Joker deflected the first arrow, with the other two failing to miss their mark. Yeah, non-lethal was impossible to do with a bow and arrows. He could pull out his long sword, but he was intentionally guarding Kiko, and having a ranged weapon helped to contribute to the fight. He looked back at her, extremely worried. He could hear her breathing, but she wasn't getting up. In that moment, he remembered how all his wounds miraculously healed on their own. He wished he could transfer that to Kiko somehow, but he knew it was his strange ability alone. His own freaky thing that came with feathers growing in his hair. He wished he understood what was going on, but at the same time, it was good knowing he could heal so fast. Besides, there was just this serene feeling inside of him, a feeling that told him nothing malicious was at play here.
  
  He shook his head and watched the fight, waiting for another chance. Joker fell to the ground, Nikki seeming to have pulled off a hit on him. Joker was sharp though, rolling out of the way as Nikki tried for another attack and got up. Nikki told him to surrender, and there was something about his eyes that caught Finch off guard. He didn't look like he wanted to hurt them. But he felt like he had to defend himself. His mind seemed to fight with him about what to do, then said he couldn't, not yet. His voice sounded kind of desperate. Finch hated that his morality was coming into question here. He was thinking that maybe Joker wasn't a criminal. He seemed like he was in some kind of trouble, or that he knew trouble was coming.
  
  Nikki pressed him on what he meant, but he said they wouldn't believe him. If Finch woke up with feathers in his bed every morning, he was pretty sure he could believe whatever Joker had to say. But then he pulled the card of them trying to arrest him. He was right, how could a guy like him trust them after that welcome?
  
  He didn't know if this was a really stupid thing, but Finch had morals, and a heart. He took up the conversation. "Look, I'm not gonna lie. That is what we came here to do. But only because there have been some, let's just say, rumors about you. Like I said, multiple innocent murders. As a vigilante, hopefully you can understand that as guard members we can't just let rumors like that go around unchecked. It's dangerous. We needed to confirm whether or not you were doing these things. We do have probable cause and are in full legal jurisdiction to take out this arrest." He sighed. "But I know that's not exactly what you wanna hear. Listen, if you just answer my question truthfully, I will help you. It's clear that you're in some kind of trouble, or situation. You need help, and I will do everything in my power to help you. I promise." Finch seemed absolutely serious and genuine, as he always was. He looked like a fledgling, new, baby-faced, and innocent. But he was determined.
  
  Finch thought for a moment, knowing Joker was suspicious. He was being brave with this move, trusting that Joker was innocent. He would berate himself if he was wrong, but he couldn't get his words out of his head. That look on his face. "Here, I'll even take the first step." Slowly, and pronounced so Joker could see all his movements, he reached up to his quiver, with the hand that held the arrow and put it back in. Then, he put his bow back over his shoulder and held both hands out. He wasn't unarmed, but he didn't have any weapons in his hands. He didn't trust Joker enough to get rid of his weapons completely.
  
  He shot Nikki a look, asking her to do the same and trust him on this.