[System]
art by the magnificent Tervola
Abstract: A masked Traveller with a permanent grin

Detail:
When Spook stands still and quiet, he is a most menacing figure: the mask and hood and well-used sword give passersby good reason to avoid crossing his path. He looks like something that might spend his free time summoning dark hellions or snatching children in the night.

This, according to the Travellers who know him, is a hilarious idea. The very thought of Spook doing something as productive as summoning a beast of any kind is simply ridiculous. Spook is best known for being cheap, for his endless sense of humor, and for taking nothing at all seriously. He couldn't pretend to be evil if his life depended on it.

The Travellers have asked him why he knows the rare magic runes of the Magi. They've asked him how he learned to fight so well when he barely had the discipline to stand up straight. They've tried, time and time again, to see what he was hiding under that mask -- but to this day none have succeeded.

[User]
The old map was drawn with meticulous care, in sepia ink on aged paper; it had been folded and re-folded, bore tea stains and small margin notes scribbled in a runic code. Much of the map was forested by clever penstrokes, while plains and desert were noted by the sparsity or scraggle of trees.

Cogswall was most prominent, with its moat of barren burned wasteland -- and Enn, half-hidden in the forest, smaller and inconspicuous. There were others -- Lune, Kestrel, Raskiln -- and the temples: An'Dast, the ruins that Spook had called the "Temple of Spring Whistling"; and An'Hiket, which appeared larger and, according to the drawing, slightly more impressive.

North of Cogswall there was -- nothing. Only Sorrow's Deep lay to the north: a round craggy bay crowned by mountains.

The old man shuffled behind Meryn to peer over her shoulder. "Sorrow's Deep, eh?" He scoffed. "Dangit if that damned crater doesn't keep comin' up. You an' the Prophet and Spook -- the temples an' the lot of the crystal-skins, all you all gosh-dang care about is that gosh-dang crater." He worked himself up to exhaustion, and he creakily lowered himself into a chair.

He set his beady eyes on Meryn and pointed a knobby finger at her. "I'll tell ya somethin' 'bout that crater, missy. Leave it alone. Let it be. Boats sail in and don't come out. Birds fly out over it and don't come back. There ain't nothin living in that water -- not a fish or a scrap of weed. It's been dead and death always, and it'll be dead and death after we're all gone. Don't you believe the fairy tales -- the creature sightings or caught fish, or people returnin'. They're lies told by the temples to bring in new recruits, see. Spook hisself swallowed that garbage line and sinker. We wouldn't be in this mess."

He huffed a sigh and leaned on his bony knees. "The best thing is to just leave it be. Leave it all be. And if the temples are right, and somethin's comin', then we'll just stay out of its way."

Machinery elsewhere in the tower whirred down, and pipes clanked. An uncomfortable silence draped over the room. The old man turned his head, listening -- then shuffled over to a sink and turned on the spigot to find only a few short spits of sludge. "Dangit now the water's out, too."

The hooded man stiffened, and slowly he turned, his eyes blazing. He was either furious -- or terrified. "Get out," he hissed, his voice deep and trembling, mad with diseased insanity. "They're coming. Too many here. Get out. They're coming." A crystalline hand suddenly snatched Ronken's shirt, his fist like stone. "They're in the waaaalllssssss!"

Below, a small circle was forming around a big hooded man and the smaller man he was holding up by the shirt; heads had turned to see the source of the crazed voice that echoed in the wide chamber, and some recognized the gleam of black crystal that grew on the brute's exposed arm.

The boy, however, was undeterred. "It's okay!" he assured Feela with a pat of her hand. "We're all refugees. C'mon, let's get some grub, yeah?" He encouraged Feela down the stairs, holding onto her wrist, and waved over his head at a few friends who had spotted him from another side of the room. "That's my sister, Glinny, and her friend, and that's Bobo and Tizzy. They're saving a spot in line for us, it's okay!" He pushed his way through the crowd, skirting around the fight in the middle of the room to reach his friends who were calling over the crowd's murmur.

"PEOPLE OF COGSWALL!" a man's voice bellowed.

Up above, a man in a white hooded cloak stood at the mouth of one of the drainpipe entryways, at the top of the stairs. He had his arms outstretched. His nose and mouth were covered by dark cloth.

"THE INFECTION HAS SPREAD, AND IT IS DEADLY."

Somewhere behind him, faintly, came the choked sob of a woman.

The man who restrained Ronken was trembling. "They're coming, they're coming, they're coming for us.

"ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED. BUT YOU'LL ALL BE JUST FINE -- A CURE HAS BEEN FOUND!

A ripple of excitement spread through the room. Murmurs whispered in the crowd.

Water began to trickle out of one of the four drainpipe entryways. Then a second began to drip.

"A MEDICINAL WATER HAS BEEN MIXED. EVERYONE HERE MUST ONLY SUBMERGE THEMSELVES MOMENTARILY, AND ALL TRACES OF THE CRYSTAL-SKIN WILL BE WASHED AWAY."

The third drainpipe began to leak water.

"WE WILL BEGIN TO FLOOD THE FLOOR WITH THIS MEDICINAL WATER NOW. PLEASE DO NOT BE ALARMED, AND HOLD UP YOUR VALUABLES. SOAK YOURSELVES IN IT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!"

"They're coming, they're coming, they're coming, they're coming . . ."

Water began to flow freely out of the drainpipes, splashing down the stairs to the floor. People rushed to it to rub the water on their skin, splash their faces, scrub their hair.

"GET OUT GET OUT NOW!" This screech was not the man in the drainpipe, but it was Switch's voice. She pushed her way through the crowds, shoving people aside with a blade withdrawn, raced up the steps to get at the man in the white hooded cloak.

SLAM

A metal grate slammed down between her and the man in the white hooded cloak.

SLAM

SLAM

SLAM

Each of the four drainpipes closed off just before the water began to surge. Frothing water surged and roared out of all four pipes, and waterfalls spilled down into the crowd.

The boy tugged on Feela's shirt while water rose at their ankles. "C'mon, we gotta get wet to get cured!"

The crystalline brute at the center of the room was still shaking. Whispering. "Get out. Get out. Get out."

[Assistant]
Stay away. Stay away. STAY AWAY!

Feela's mind was already in full panic when the water started streaming in, and her fear started turning to anger. She just wanted to leave now. She had no intention of letting these people confine her in an unnatural place like this.

Slam

Feela whirled around as metal bars crashed down over the way she had entered, sealing her in with the rushing water. She swiftly ran back and slammed her shoulder into the obstacle, bouncing off and falling to the floor. Now well and truly angry, Feela decided she had had quite enough of this place. These bars were in her way, and she would not let them remain so.

She thrust her hand out to her side, feeding that rage into the symbols tattooed into her right hand. As always before, her blade extended without a sound, ready to slice apart anything she needed it to.

She brought her hand across in front of her, swinging her hand with all her might through the bars that blocked her.

[User]
Meryn's eyebrows drew together as the old man grumbled. Some of his words flew right over her head (what the heck was a
crater?) but others were old and familiar. Sorrow… death… lies…

She felt her breath catch in her throat like it did when she stood at a precipice, still and waiting. The promise of pain just out of reach, taunting her closer. She stood at an edge now, muscles begging for action. To fall or to fly. Meryn pressed her lips together and looked back down at the map. The old man had shrugged his way back to his feet and made his way to the tap. Her fingers twitched at her side.

Finally she forced herself into action. Meryn hurried to the man, grabbing his arm in both her dirty hands and tugging him back to the map. Meryn pointed to Sorrow's Deep. Then she grabbed a long rectangle of charcoal and held it up to him, tapping it with her index finger. In a quick, brutal motion, Meryn brought the flat of the charcoal down to the map and smeared black over Cogswall. She looked back up to the man, urgency in her eyes. Without waiting more than a breath, she picked up Spook's mask and cut the charcoal across the intricate design over the eyes. She held the dirtied mask again up to the old man. Meryn lowered it, her motions slowing again. She bit her bottom lip as she glanced back at the map.

Enn

Meryn brought the charcoal to the city's edge. But she couldn't bring her and to move. She looked back up at the old man, fingers still poised to ruin Enn. But Enn wasn't gone. Not yet.

The old man thought that Cogswall would be safe if they just kept their heads down and stayed out of the way of whatever was coming. But to Meryn it looked like whatever it was… was already here. People were already sick and dying. Spook was already gone. But he'd given her the mask. She didn't know what it meant, but it was clearly something important. And out of everyone, he'd trusted her with it. Didn't that mean… he thought she could do something?

Maybe the old man was right and there was nothing but death at Sorrow's Deep. But Meryn had never let fear of death stop her.

Meryn dropped the charcoal and put on the mask. She turned from the old man and moved to the spiral staircase.

[Assistant]
The roaring water pressed against her, surging waist-high, threatening to fling her any moment off the platform and into the splashing crowd below. The blade of light shimmered at Feela's wrist, ripe for violence, and effortlessly sliced through the bars that separated her from the outside world. With a few more strokes, neat sections of the bars suddenly launched outward with the rush of the water and flung down among the screeching people, sloshing hurriedly through the water to avoid being hit by the projectiles. But Feela had opened a way out, even if it was a narrow passage filled with rushing water. There was no way the children or the elderly could hope to traverse it without being overwhelmed -- but Feela would have only small difficulty scaling the slick rapids alone.

Not far along the passage there was a ladder that led up to a manhole cover and the empty street above -- she would be free. If she were to emerge here into the street, she might glimpse a small group of people in white cloaks -- like those of the people who had condemned the refugees below to a watery grave -- rushing northward, to disappear around a corner.

Should she continue against the water in the dark, thus letting the white-cloaks get away, she would emerge at one of the four tunnels that opened onto the reservoir and invited an endless torrent of water. At the mouth of the tunnel was a thick metal door which could be sealed with the turn of a huge wheel-crank.

---

The old man watched her back, and he stared down at the map again. Cogswall was gone. Spook was gone. Hope was . . . on her shoulders, it seemed. The one who didn't speak understood far more of what was going on than most of the people he'd known. His eyes traced the black line toward Enn, glanced at the other towns that dotted the continent in the path of the blight, and he thought that he, too, might understand. His dreams took on a solemn and deep-blue appearance, sharp and firm in shape.

He laid his gnarled hand on the drawing, stared at it intently -- then huffed a defeated and frustrated sigh. After yanking the map off the table he strode angrily after Meryn, to grasp the back of her shirt and shove the map into her hands. "Don't be stupid," he admonished her. "There's nothing you can do alone except get yerself killed. Get help. The Prophet's up in An'Hiket, it's a sanctuary for the crystal-skins and the best place to find allies, if you're going to Sorrow's Deep like a lunatic." He let go of her and grumbled to himself. "Don't say I didn't warn ya."

Outside the bell tower, the city was eerily quiet, gray and still. Broken mechs and robots whirred and shifted endlessly. Steam hissed out of broken pipes. Fires burned quietly where buildings once stood. Bodies smoldered. There was no more sign of people, cloaked or otherwise.

The low clop of hooves echoed through the street -- a horse or two might be found wandering the wreckage among the dogs and rats that had escaped the disease, having broken out of their stables.

If Meryn were to listen carefully, she might hear rushing water underneath the street, and the echoes of screams.


[System]
Race: Muran

Age: 20

Appearance:

Art done by Midorynn!

Magic: * Speed Magic - Ethan accelerates himself using air magic, running and striking much quicker than a normal fighter.
* Air Burst Magic - Releasing concentrated bursts of air magic, Ethan can knock away opponents, deflect attacks or launch himself to high places - the latter of which he rarely uses, poor landing strategies.

Gear:
* A bo staff, made of treated snakewood with small steel rings around the ends, both reinforcing and packing an extra punch with strikes.
* A small, wrist-mounted launcher which contains woven steel coils. Used to swing himself in conjunction with his magic for excellent maneuverability. More often than not ends up flying into something.

Brief history: From the tiny forest town of Kinsgrove, Ethan is a novice Magi and hapless explorer. He grew up enamored by guards, the concept of upholding the justice and maintaining the peace. Even at a young age he hurried along the brave men and women of Kinsgrove, and more often than not snuck along during patrols to see them in action. He would frequently be seen in town, wooden sword in hand, helping guards with their day-to-day activities. When he grew up he was determined to join them and help keep Kinsgrove and the surrounding lands peaceful and quiet for all of its residents.

Ethan would have his chance at playing peacekeeper, though not in the way he had hoped. In a regular training session with the town's resident Magi, an old man by the name of Cedric, members of the Church visited the town. Practicing magic was explicitly forbidden without license, this was known but kept quiet. For who was going to turn in a child and a beloved, long time citizen of their village? Though their first offense the Church made an extreme declaration: both Cedric and Ethan would be taken away and sentenced within one of the cities. In the blink of an eye Ethan's world changed and he found himself in a wholly new environment, the one person he knew carted off to a cell somewhere.

His fate would be a bit different. Instead of being locked up as a prisoner he would be changed into a Hunter for the Church. With very little formal training both in magic and swordplay he had a lot of work to do. When it became apparent they could not instruct him in any reasonable amount of time he was passed, declared a Hunter and relegated to simple jobs. Help to settle local disputes, clean up the city, and on a very rare occasion, actually accompany other Hunters to find a Magi. He preferred the menial tasks: dragging people into custody was never enjoyable and he never quite felt like he was dishing out justice. But he hadn't a choice, he was a Hunter now, and he'd do as the Church told him.

[User]
"Oh, Ethan! Ethan Campbell. Nice to meet you, Cecil!" Under better pretenses, he wished, but at least they had run into nice people; bandits could just as well have found them. Bandits... Another reason for them to keep moving. There was so much risk for those back on the beach and here they were, stood around and chatting casually. Ethan looked around at their group, with two more - three if you counted the moorcat. It was far from a small rescue party now and with how many people they had it made settling down for camp even less practical.

Which made him roll his eyes when Yarri suggested they keep moving. You were the one who suggested stopping in the first place. Ethan let that thought remain as just that: a thought. It wouldn't do any good to start arguing among themselves. "Yeah, we should get moving. And we can help carry the kids if you're so worried they'll 'slow us down'." He suggested, frowning as he glanced sideways towards Yarri. "Or we can take our time. Who knows, we might end up finding more people!" He was kidding but now Ethan worried he'd just jinxed them; no town was going to accept twenty or thirty people out of nowhere; if that were the case then they should have just brought everyone from the ship with them.

"We should keep the kids in the middle of the group. That way they're safe if we get anymore... Uh... Surprises." Somewhere in his oft-hapless mind was the training he'd received from the Church, training which he was now clambering to retrieve. There were protocols for everything and this was no different - at least he didn't think it was. Ethan smiled at Amuné, then Cecil, and clapped his hands together. "Why don't you and... Adrian?" He asked, glancing at their resident healer for confirmation. "Why don't you two walk together? Cecil, you can... Uh... Well walk in the middle of the group! And Yarri, maybe you can take the rear? You and your... Cat, can help make sure nothing's following us!"

One of the privy sailors spoke up about the proposal. "And what will you be doing exactly?"

"Leading, of course! Someone has to!" Ethan's confidence and smile waned under the doubtful look of the sailors. He had asked which direction to travel in right out of the gates, naturally people were going to doubt his navigation skills. And they were right to. With a reserved sigh, he shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Adrian. "How about you lead, then? I can uh... Watch Amuné?" Maybe he was trying to put things in their place that didn't need to be. But any successful escort mission - and that was what this had become, thanks to these two kids, involved forming a perimeter and keeping people safe. A little tricky to do given their group, but this should solve that issue.

Another sailor let out a groan and rubbed at his face. "I should have stayed back at the beach..." Another seconded his complaint, leaving Ethan standing at the front of the group with an awkward smile. Thank goodness for his training, otherwise he'd seem like a total idiot... Instead of just a partial idiot. Maybe he should have stayed at the beach too.

[Assistant]
Adrianna had no intention of forcing the kid to join them. Frankly, it would have been a relief if she had decided not to join them. They had a whole ship-ful of hurt people they had to get help for, and a stray kid wasn't going to make her job any easier. But the girl's pet seemed to think that joining them was a good idea, as did the boy, so their numbers went up. The white-haired man introduced himself as Ethan, and after a brief back and forth with Yarri, Adrianna perceived a bit of a struggle as to who would proclaim themselves leader of this ragtag group. Fortunately, they would only be together for this walk, so she didn't imagine things would come to a mutinous end.

Ethan decided, after a bit of back and forth, that Adrian would lead the group, and the children would be in the center. Yarri, with supposedly the keenest senses, would take up the rear and keep an eye out for tigers or stray children, as these forests seemed to be riddled with both. It wasn't a bad suggestion, but the nature of it reminded her a bit too much of the most basic training done by the Church. Just a coincidence. She told herself. You're being paranoid and seeing something where there is nothing. But paranoid was what kept her alive, and she couldn't help but feel a bit more on-edge about being so close to the man.

"Sure." Adrianna, unlike the sailors, made no fuss about the assigned post, and moved up to the front of the group. She set a somewhat brisk pace, though she slowed when she put too much space between her and the others. With everyone on alert, Adrianna didn't begin to start up another conversation with the girl or Ethan, and the others were too far away. It was probably better to just stay quiet to not attract unwanted attention.

As they settled in more comfortably, Adrianna's senses began to wander. She glanced back at Ethan, feeling something…off about the man. They had already been walking together for some time, and she hadn't picked up anything before. But now… No, she was sure of it, he had gotten hurt. But how? When? All they did was make camp, and…well, he got run over by a child, but surely the boy couldn't have caused that much damage. Adrianna turned back to see Cecil's gauntlets. Well, perhaps he had. He clearly had some sort of modifications, and if the blunt ends of those things had smashed against the wrong part…Ethan could have gotten seriously injured. He likely wasn't, in this case. All she could sense was some blood clotting in his chest. It would probably form a nasty bruise, but it was nothing worth fussing about. What's more, the injury was not the type she should even be aware of.

[User]
With her decision to stay with the group for now made, Amuné paid the rest of them a little more attention. It looked like they were getting ready to move again. Ethan suggested she be in the middle of the group, but while it might have made sense to him it was the very last thing she wanted. If he wanted to watch her then he would walk with her -- after all, Wyth was very good at watching her and keeping her safe. She didn't think of the wilderness as frightening, but the people, they were. Most of the group didn't even consider that a girl of ten couldn't walk as fast as they, not even Adrian. She had to push herself to keep up, and even then she ended up lagging behind. It was just as well. With most of the adults in front of her she could see what they were doing, and that was reassuring. The Ydran woman with the black leopard had moved off somewhere, and that was fine with Amuné. She hadn't decided about most of them. Ethan was closer, maybe closer than she wanted. But she did need to thank him, didn't she?

"Um." It took a second try before she managed to find her nerve. "Uh, thanks...for the meat, I mean, and...y'know. For saying you'd help. Even if Wyth wouldn't hurt me, I guess you don't know that." She paused. "He's really not scary, you know. I mean...not if you're not trying to hurt us." Even now the great cat paced at her side, tolerant as ever of her fingers tangled in his coarse fur. Amuné fell silent again after that at least for a few minutes. Her thoughts, however, were anything but quiet. One of the people had said there was a beach, hadn't he? So that meant a body of water. Could she have made it all the way to the sea? That was a long way from home, according to her daddy's maps. Was it far enough to be safe? She didn't know if anywhere would really be safe. Nor had she been given any instructions beyond running. Tears sprang to her eyes unbidden and the girl tried to wipe them away unobtrusively. One step at a time, wasn't that what Mommy always said? For now, she was heading for the town, and if she could she'd take flint and steel before going off on her own again. After that...she'd have to see.

[Assistant]
"Hey... It's only the right thing to do! Don't even mention it." As if anyone in good conscience could ignore a child on the side of a road. She did have her moorcat with her - Wyth was his name - but Ethan didn't feel comfortable leaving her be. Moving out, he fell in line alongside Amuné and Wyth. He seriously doubted anyone, or anything, would try to cause them harm with a group this size, but precautions never hurt. Silence felt awkward and Ethan was compelled to speak with the child. When he looked down and caught her fending back tears he turned away, rubbing uncomfortably at his neck. "Um... Once we get to town, maybe you can get some clothes...?" Was he addressing the problem? No. Heck, aside from what he could see he hadn't a clue what might be bothering the child. "Oh! I might still have gold on me, we can get you some more food too, if you'd like! For you and for Wyth!"

---

The sky had turned a gentle shade of red when the group arrived at the town's gates. Large doors blocked their entry, and two men stood on either side, pikes in hand. It struck Ethan as odd that the small town was sealed up tight. They were stopped shy of the gates and one of the guards met them in the road. Unlike those in the city who wore polished armor and sported fine weaponry, these men clearly had settled for what they could get. Simple quilted vests, heavy leather gauntlets, padded trousers and boots made up their "uniform"; their weapons looked to be fashioned from farming tools.

It wasn't a wealthy town then. Strange considering Ethan was certain he saw a mill on their way up the road.

"Halt. State your purpose, travelers."

He would like to think that their purpose was fairly clear. A few sailors, a child, filthy and unkempt, a ragtag group if there ever was one. "We're here to get help. A ship capsized in the sea, and there are survivors back towards the shore." The guard looked at Ethan, appraising him. None of them were exactly much to look at, either too young to be of any significance, or too nondescript. Which was precisely why the guard was being wary.

"A ship? The coast is miles from here, boy. You mean to tell me you all walked here?" It was a bit difficult to believe admittedly. They had just survived a shipwreck only to walk for half a day to find aid. Ethan nodded and the guard glanced back at his partner. "How many survivors?"

Ethan cursed mentally, not having had the wherewithal to take count. "Not many... A dozen, maybe two?" The estimate was high for sure and served to color the guard's face in doubt. Ethan stepped forward and smiled uncertainly. "Maybe more like... A dozen and a half. Look, the point is we need supplies. Some of them are okay, but others probably won't last long. Anything you can spare would be a huge help."

The guards shared words in private before one called for the gates to open. Rather than let everyone inside however, one of them disappeared into the walls, and the other joined him. "We're going to speak with the foreman. Wait here." Foreman? Did they mean the one in charge of the mill? That made sense; the town was too small to have a mayor, which likely meant whoever headed the town's main source of income would be in charge.

Ethan watched as the doors sealed shut before them, sighing. "Well... They didn't say no!" He laughed, and he was the only one to do so. Awkwardly settling down, he looked back at the gates, wondering if he should have shown his insignia. These people couldn't possibly turn them down if they knew he was with the Church. He adjusted his cloak, still damp and stiff from being soaked, peering at the faded patch. Maybe he could use it as a negotiating tool later if he needed to.

A few short minutes later the doors were opened, this time granting them access inside. "Foreman's busy at the mill, but he's agreed to hear you out. Come on in." The town itself was small, with little more than a dozen buildings inside the walls. A small group of children stopped in the middle of town when they entered. Ethan smiled and waved to them politely only to watch as they bolted off in between two homes. Why did children hate him?

"Inn's over there if you're wanting a drink. We don't have much left, but we'd appreciate the business." One of the guards motioned towards a two story building. It hardly looked welcoming, with peeling paint, dirty windows and vines growing up the walls. The guards left them be and the doors were sealed once more, leaving the group standing at the entrance by themselves.


[System]
Two-Step

"You may have swag, but I've got swing."

Vitals
Title: Maestro

Age: 29

Sex: Male

Date of birth: 26th July, 1986

Lineage: -

Class/Major: Pugilist

Class/Minor: Mage

Occupation: Wandering Pugilist

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Marital Status: Single

Birthplace: Basin, Caesura

Blood Type: A+

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 6' 4"

Weight: 166 lbs

Hair Color/Style: Short brown hair, well kept in a left side parting.

General Appearance: A lean, lanky individual, Jonathan is also impeccably dressed at every occasion he can afford to. His main dress is a navy blue suit ensemble, consisting of a navy blue suit jacket with thin white pinstripes, a darker navy inner waistcoat, a stark white cuffed shirt and a navy blue tie, along with slacks and his signature black leather tap-dancing shoes. He also sports plain white dress gloves and a simple, thin watch on his right wrist, and a nice, blue fedora with a white band around the body of the hat.

Skin Tone/Condition: Normal Caucasian skin tone, slightly tan.

Markings: -

Combat Stats

Dominant Hand: Right

Equipment:

-Upper Body: -

-Lower Body: -

Weapons
* Basin Street - A pair of tap-dancing shoes fortified with specially enchanted metal plates on the toes, soles and heels. The shoes are always paired with a pair of white, cotton socks that are also enchanted with magic. The spells on the shoes grant Johnny's legs with the powers of speed and air manipulation, also known as sound. The spells on the socks are strengthening spells that grant his legs, feet and hips with enhanced endurance and strength to accompany the power of his shoes.

Johnny fights using a style comprised of a few things, that was taught to him by the masters of old in his home city of Basin. This fighting style mainly uses the feet, with the addition of the hands as pivot points or supports, similar to that of the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. However, the main difference is that this style also incorporates many elements of Tae Kwon Do in it, specifically the many low to high standing and crouching kicks, along with the intricate footwork of tap-dancing to confuse and distract opponents.

Abilities
* Enhanced Endurance, Speed and Strength (Lower Body) - This ability allows Johnny to kick with increased strength and power, and also being able to block and withstand blows of a similar power using only his legs and feet. The speed aspect lets him essentially kick at the speed of sound or over, effectively letting him kick with the power of a sonic boom at maximum efficiency.
* Enhanced Agility

Magic
* Beat - Johnny uses his sound power and stomps hard down on the ground once. The impact, combined with one good, strong push of air vibrations, results in an extremely large shockwave that expands from his foot and dissipates over distance, to a maximum effective range of twenty feet. Multiple Beats strung together in sequence can create a devastating earthquake that can destroy small structures, more detail in the section on Staccato below.
* Scratch - Manipulating the air around the toe and heel of his shoes, Johnny is able to create blades of compressed air by kicking in a short arc either from left to right or vice versa. The length, speed and strength of the air blades are directly determined by his kicks. Short, fast kicks produce many smaller blades that are easily blocked but are overwhelming in number, while longer, slower kicks result in bigger, stronger blades that take a fair bit of strength to overcome, akin to trying to stop a MLB batter's home-run swing.
* Crash - If Beat is the starter, Crash is the coup de grace. By hopping into the air a short distance, drawing his feet in and then kicking downwards upon landing with the force of a jet plane fly-by, Johnny is able to stamp a humongous shockwave into the ground that ripples and explodes the earth in circles around him. Each explosion increases in intensity the further it gets from him, to a maximum of three explosions in three perfect circles around him.
* Staccato - By tap-dancing on the ground, imbuing each hit with Beat, Johnny enters Staccato mode, Beating an earthquake into the ground that he controls. The intensity and strength of it is determined by how fast and how strong the Beats are, to a maximum of a 8 or 9 on the Richter scale, an extremely devastating earthquake that he can only maintain for several seconds before he has to stop and move to avoid being harmed by his own attack.
* Accent - With a high or low straight kick, powered by air, Johnny is able to shoot bullets of compressed air at impressive speeds of up to the speed of sound. These bullets, or Accents, are aimed simply by way of the direction he kicks in, up in the air or down low at the ground, so as long as it's a straight kick and not a curved kick.

Bio
Voice: Deep, smooth basso.

Personality: Johnny is a very laid back and suave fellow, one you would see leaned up against a wall or a bar counter, drink in one hand, a woman in the other. He's smooth and slick, cunning and feisty, yet kind spirited and gentle to boot, in stark contrast to his fighting style. A ladies man all the way, he is the most gentlemanly to those of the fairer gender, going out of his way to make sure they receive the utmost respect that befits them. With other guys, he's very chummy, the bro amongst other bros, and you'll never see him without a smile on his face unless something's very, very wrong, because Johnny is also very optimistic and cheerful, something that's helepd him all through his life.

Backstory: Johnny hails from the tribe of the Swing people; collectively known as the Oldies of Oldtown, his tribe are one of the oldest in the whole of the land. The music they practice and play is also one of the oldest forms of music in the land, as attested to by their elders. Eons ago, Jazz, Swing and Blues were formed from the hearts and souls of the early Caesurans during their trials and tribulations of terraforming their unstable land into their homes. Their blood, sweat and tears distilled through their emotions and into their voices and song, and thus the Trifecta of Trials were born. Jazz, Swing and Blues make up this trio, and Johnny's tribe were the first of the Swingsters in Caesura. He is of their current generation, when the music has reached new levels of ingenuity and excellence yet they dream higher and greater, and he carries these hopes and dreams of his people with him.

Being a current generation Swingster brings along its share of troubles, and for Johnny, nothing was more troubling than being the sole heir to their style of self defense. All Swingsters knew how to fight to defend themselves, that was true, but Johnathan Twostep was the upcoming heir to the title of Maestro of Swing, something that he didn't quite fancy. Sure, he was the best fighter they had, but he simply didn't want the high life. He enjoyed his time spent in the dives and bars of his home town, Basin, and the relevant dangers that posed to his health. He loved the adrenaline and the adventure of it all. Being the Maestro meant that he'd spend the rest of his days cooped up in some boring school, teaching all the young Swingsters how to fight and to defend themselves. Not a life for him. He left Basin a week before he was to inherit the mantle, and as such his whole town got into an uproar.

Now he wanders the multiverse, having fallen into a portal while running from those that pursue him. Still with no real idea of where he's going or how he travels, he wanders in search of a good challenge.

Others
-

[User]
The sly bugger dodged his air blades. Not surprising.

As he wheeled around for the roundhouse, he saw An dart to his left and immediately stop, rolling and standing up quickly mere feet away from him. He couldn't stop the roundhouse so that went, and he immediately put his foot down.

Then the mega increased gravity hit him and he sank instantly to a knee, his hand slapping the floor, preventing him from going straight down. All around he could see the same thing happening to the other patrons. Their panicked screams filled the room.

That's when Johnny realised that his opponent was manipulating weight, he was manipulating gravity.

Sly bugger indeed.

A power like that required concentration, though he was sure that a fighter of his calibre could enact the gravity changes flawlessly without so much as a thought. He needed to get his proper speed back by restoring the gravity in here.

Compensation was key.

An lowered down into a crouch, coiling his legs in preparation for a strike. Johnny wouldn't let him.

He turned a little so An held the center of his view. With his strength, he pushed himself into a stand and reared out his right leg in a straight kick, his heel lashing out at the young man. The bubble of compressed air created there took the momentum of his kick and sped off like a shot, its acceleration way faster than the blades he created. This was an air bullet in all senses of the word; a small, powerful projectile of compressed air that flew at speeds equalling that of sound itself, and hit with the force of a medium-calibre bullet. His fastest projectile attack and, in such a tight space, the hardest to dodge.

Without giving him time to think, he hopped on his left foot and twisted swiftly to the right, bringing his legs upward to his chest again as he landed and stamped again, bringing another double Beat onto the ground to make it shake violently. This close, An would feel the ground shift at least a foot or two into the air and down, an extremely severe earthquake the closer he got to his impact point.

And then, without even waiting for the ground to subside, like he had previously, he twisted round to the left, crouched low and reached out with his left hand, planting it firm onto the shaking, shifting ground, a move he'd practiced as he'd learned to keep his balance during his own moves. He gathered a ball of air beneath his left heel as his body swung around and An came into view again. Then, he made the air pocket explode, rocketing him forward at twice the speed he normally achieved, his hand providing leverage as he shot forward. He brought his right knee up and forward, coating the front of his lower leg with a sheath of compressed air.

The increased gravity kept him low, just the way he wanted it. His flying knee strike was aimed square at An's torso, now that he was crouched. His impact time came in seconds from his burst of speed.

If anything hit his shin, the sheath of compressed air would explode forward, imparting the force of a shotgun blast in that general direction.

His left leg was drawn in close to his body, knee curled up slightly against his chest, as were his hands and arms. If that fighter chose to make a move, he'd be ready.

[Assistant]
Gravity is the weakest of the four fundamental forces, yet when applied to the human body, it is a brutal taskmaster. The patrons in the nightclub could attest to the power of gravity, as they now weighed 2.5 times as much as normal. This included Johnny whose normal weight of 166 lbs. was now somewhere around the 413 lb. mark. While the added weight would be laborious to the fit young man, straining muscles, ligaments and tendons would indeed protest any strenuous activity. The potential for self-injury was clearly present, but given the man's flexibility, he would have to enact something extreme for that to happen.

Jackrabbit stretched out his leg, snapping it into a straight kick that launched another distance strike aimed towards the crouching An. Knowing the Johnny had range on him, and the only way to negate range was to close the distance. An launched himself from his crouched position into the air, affected by zero gravity, soaring up towards Johnny. As An did so the man was in the process of dropping low as the dance floor buckled and rolled under the earthquake power of Johnny.

Tucking into a soaring somersault, his feet shooting out, An hoped to catch the man in the face with a literal, flying kick. If the kick managed to hit, An would be ready to follow up, if not he would have to adjust gravity to allow him some leeway in how he would counter the jackrabbit.

[User]
The weight increased again, dropping him to the floor in an instant. He skidded to a stop and caught his breath, light and strained as his chest muscles tried to inflate his lungs against the huge weight on his chest, and looked up quickly. He was on the floor now, on his ass as he struggled to sit up.

There went An, floating through the air with the greatest of ease, like some daring young man on a flying trapeze. Weightless. He was also flipping around in the air to drop a kick on him.

Idea.

Johnny bent his knees and braced his feet flat against the floor. Gathering pockets of air under his feet, he blew those to propel himself up over himself, folding his body in half as he brought his knees up.

The flying kick was soaring down at him, and he met it with his own.

Johnny pushed with all his might and shot both his feet upwards, building concussive pockets of air over his heels as he met the kick, feeling his soles come into contact with An's feet and, more importantly, popping the air bubbles.

The force of the air pockets would shoot straight up through his body, like he had jumped off of a really high height and landed square on his heels without bending his knees and legs to compensate for gravity. And since the guy was floating weightless, not only would this force injure him internally, but it would catapult him straight into the ceiling with all the force of a semi truck.

And, of course, if the counter happened to miss, the pockets of air would go off anyway, sending a blast of air that would still slam An painfully against the ceiling.


[System]
Age: 13

Trainer Class: Juggler

Physical Description:
Jack is a young boy of middling height and size, if a tiny bit on the skinny side. He has bushy black hair and large, expressive green eyes. His excellent physical shape is apparent in the way that he moves, always running or bounding from place to place if there's an excuse to do so. He has a handful of scars from acts gone wrong, mostly on his knees, back and lower arms.

Jack usually wears a black vest and pants over a white collared shirt, although he owns a selection of sweatpants and hoodies for workout and practise time.

Personality:
Jack is an absolute clown. Upbeat and laid back, he is always ready to smile and joke. He has no qualms about making a fool of himself to get a laugh, and he'll take any opportunity to ham it up. He tends to gesticulate emphatically when he speaks, his gestures getting wider as he becomes increasingly worked up. While he has no particular interest in becoming a high-ranking Indigo League contestant, he is willing to put in whatever work it takes to reach his own goal - that of becoming a famous performer, putting on shows with his own trained pokémon, on his own private stage in a big city somewhere.

Others might accuse Jack of never taking anything seriously, but he can be incredibly disciplined and dedicated when it comes to his training regimen - Jack is constantly exercising or working on his routines, and he expects his pokémon to do the same. He has no clue how to be a successful trainer, and can come off as a bit of a slave driver when he really gets going. His narrow focus does tend to blind him to what's going on around him, as well, as he's so used to needing nothing more than hard work and a positive outlook, he sometimes forgets to take other people into account.

Background:
Growing up in Fuschia city, Jack join would join the other children in watching the pokémon battles over at the city gym. Where most of the others admired the ninjas, though, Jack fell in love with the flashy style and showmanship of the jugglers, their performances and the pokémon they had trained for the stage. Even as a small child, he knew what he wanted to be. He'd tie blankets around his shoulders and imitate their grand gestures and bombastic tone of voice, as well as put on shows for his friends at school. Sometimes he would fall off the monkey bars, sometimes he would hit himself in the face with the stones he juggled, but his spirit remained undaunted, and as he grew older his antics grew more refined. In the end, his parents had no choice but to surrender and get him some lessons.

Studying under the various pros at Koga's gym, getting the basics down didn't take more than a few years of obsessive practise - but the circus act was only part of the dream. The show-stopping performances Jack tried to emulate all included pokémon, but he had none of his own. All he could do was bide his time, train, and rush over to Pallet town the moment he was old enough.

Pokémon:
Bulbasaur

Inventory:
Backpack with basic camping gear, clothes, etc.
Juggling balls
2 Pokéballs
₽500

PC Stash:
₽1500
Juggling pins
High-collared cape

[User]
"Heh, well, who doesn't?" Jack replied, getting back up and shuffling along with the movement of the line. The door shut a second time, leaving Jack only a few feet away, sure to be let in with the next group. "Be nice, hmm? I'll keep that in mind." He didn't feel terribly convinced niceness had many combat applications, but then again, you wouldn't want your pokémon to turn out aggressive and unruly. Jack traded a glare with another boy's spearow. "I guess you need to teach pokémon to be well behaved, too, and not just to fight," he said, half to himself, as he nodded sagely.

And then the doors opened again, cutting off the conversation as professor Oak motioned for the next group to enter the lab. "Go on," he said, stifling a yawn, "we've got a lot of trainers to get to." Jack and the others filed in past the professor and entered the building, and Oak let the door fall shut.

The lab was set up in the same fashion as always, with three piles of pokéballs out on a table in the middle of the room, and a stack of pokédexes next to a large computer. Jack had seen the place on TV plenty of times; professor Oak's show had been on for years before the success of Red, and the last year's events had made the old man more famous than ever. Oak himself looked like he had been up since the crack of dawn, and given the commotion outside, he probably had.

"Well," the professor said, clearing his throat, "as you probably know, I'm professor Samuel Oak. I used to make longer introductions, but you've seen what it looks like outside." Walking over toward the table covered in pokéballs, he tapped his finger on a sign spelling out the pokémon's names. "I'm glad to see many of already have your own pokémon - we only have so many to give out, after all. If any of you don't already have one, take one of these. Otherwise, please help yourselves to a pokédex and fill out your trainer registration for the Indigo League." He yawned again, then forced a smile. "If you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them, though your pokédex knows almost as much as I do. It's quite the invention, if I do say so myself."

The way to his future thus cleared, Jack pounced on the table and snatched a ball up from the bulbasaur pile. "I've thought long and hard," he said with a flourish, letting the pokéball roll from his outstretched fingers, over his shoulders and out onto his other arm, "and though none of these are really my style..." with a twist of his elbow, he tossed the ball into the air, "I'll proudly face the fact..." he caught the pokéball in mid-air and, letting it shrink, held between his middle and index fingers in a victory sign, "that I'm a complete and utter novice, with bulbasaur!" With a grin, he reached back for a throw.

"Ahem, please take a pokédex and fill in your registration," Oak interjected, holding down the pokéball's button with a finger, "There are still many trainers waiting their turn."

"Ah hah hah, right," Jack replied sheepishly, dropping his arm. "Sure, sorry, no problem." He scratched his neck with an awkward grin, turned around stiffly on one heel, and shuffled over to the other table.

"When you're done, you can take the back door out through the paddock."

[Assistant]
Stephen was snapped awake as the throng of trainers moved forward and he rose quickly to retake his position. He looked blearily around and spotted Wynne and the strange scarred trainer before settling down close by.
"Looks like this is it, Jim." Stephen told the spearow.
"Caw!"
The line moved forward as butterflies danced in his stomach and he entered the pokemon lab.

Immediately on entering he calmed down a little. The pokemon lab was familiar, he'd snuck into it plenty of times before. Granted, today it was a lot busier than usual but it helped that the location was familiar. Stephen quickly walked over to pick up a pokedex but stopped at the indigo league form. Jim looked quizzically down at the paper and wondered why Stephen had stopped.

If Stephen were to be completely honest with himself, he was conflicted. If he took Jim out of his head, if he took Wynne out of his head, if he took his parents out of his head, he realised that he had no real motivation to go on a pokemon journey. Sure, he wanted to see the rest of the world, but he could easily do that without being a trainer specifically. He could be a pokemon professor like Oak, he could be an archaeologist, news reporter, even a pokemon ranger, perhaps. Failing those he could even be a chef or an office worker or something. If he really stopped to think about it he could be pretty much anything and have a more comfortable existence. But... where was the fun in that?

Stephen closed his eyes as he remembered the words of his father. Despite his rather loud and brash statements, his father had a penchant for knowing when Stephen was troubled by something. One summer, some time ago, Stephen had asked Wynne why she'd wanted to become a trainer and she'd told him, though he couldn't see the appeal. He listened to other children talking about why they wanted to become trainers, be it becoming pokemon champion, capturing rare pokemon or winning contests, and he still couldn't understand why they wanted to do it. When he went home that day his father had asked him what was wrong, so Stephen asked him why he became a trainer. Stephen's father had laughed and told him something that resonated with him from then on.
"I didn't really have a specific reason, and it didn't really matter what I wanted to do as a trainer in the end," His father had said. "because I could do anything. To me, a trainer is the freest job there is."

Stephen was snapped out of his musings by a sharp impact on his forhead. His eyes snapped open to see Jim leering impatiently at him.
"Come on, we don't have all day!" Jim's eyes seemed to say.
Stephen smiled and picked up the pen.
"I know, Jim, I know." Stephen said to the bird. "No going back."
As Stephen signed the forms he was strangely at peace. If he thought about it he couldn't really discount Wynne, Jim or his parents. They meant far too much to him to discard so easily. He was a trainer now, like his father, and he could go wherever he wanted. He could research pokemon if he wanted, dig up pokemon fossils, win pokemon contests in other countries. He could go anywhere and be anything, and perhaps he could be the pokemon champion if he wanted to, though he'd let Wynne go first.

Thinking of the pokemon champions as he finished signing the forms he looked around the pokemon lab as Jim puffed up his chest triumphantly now that they were officially trainers. Stephen finished the form and went to hand it up to professor Oak.
"Professor, where's Blue?" Stephen asked.

[User]
The wait between Wynne's realization that she would be in the next group and her actual admittance felt longer than all of the hours of waiting put together. When the doors finally opened at last for them, it took a great deal of self control to keep herself from rushing into the building. She strolled in nonchalantly, as if entering this time were no more special than any of the times that came before. And, true, tagging along with Stephen to sneak into the lab before was a special memory, in its own way. But now, it was different.

Wynne was always aware that the Professor was actually a well known and respected man. She knew about his show, and even watched it. But growing up she'd always thought of him as just the kindly old man who lived not too far from her aunt and, more recently, Blue's grandfather. His lab may have been interesting before, but it certainly never bestowed the sense of wonder on Wynne that it did now. The clearly exhausted professor made his introduction to them as a group and gave their instructions.

Wynne took her pokédex, mentally promising herself the chance to familiarize herself with (really, more to fawn over it than anything) when she was alone later. For now, it went into an easy-to-access pocket on the side of her bag. As she did so, the boy from before who was so curious chose his very first pokémon and, though Wynne could understand his excitement, she had to roll her eyes at the show he made of it.

She turned her attention to her forms, filling them out in silence beside her oldest friend. She was prone to poor handwriting, and wrote slowly to be sure that a something as embarrassing as an illegible word somehow impeded her progress towards Champion. So, she was still writing when Stephen turned his in and inquired after Blue. She didn't look their way, but her attention was clearly piqued. He'd been Champion for a very short time, so she certainly didn't idolize him in the same way that she did certain other Champions. But he'd still achieved the title, and was special in that he was one of two Champions she'd actually known. His being brought up motivated her to fill out that last couple of a lines a little quicker. She was handing her form in just as the professor started his explanation.

[Assistant]
"Who knows?" professor Oak answered with a shrug. "He stayed around for a while after his last duel with Red, but then he up and left. That was several months ago..." He scratched his chin. "I suspect he's gone off to train for a rematch. He had a bit of a revelation there, at the Indigo Plateau, and I wouldn't count him out of the game just yet. He's my grandson, after all." Oak folded his arms and nodded sagely to himself, then looked up. "But that's it for personal questions. I've got a lot of trainers to get to."

It wasn't long before everyone's registrations were finished, and the young trainers were ushered out of the lab. With a last reminder to read their pokédex manuals, the professor shut the door. Professor Oak's paddock lay empty, green fields still glistening with morning dew, distant sounds of people chatting and pokémon stirring making their way from around the building. Jack turned toward the other trainers and scratched his chin with the edge of his pokédex, then smiled.

"Okay then, without professor buzzkill around..." he said to himself, and with a flick of his wrist, his pokéball came rolling out of his sleeve and into his hand, "we can finally get to the good part." He threw the pokéball into the ground, where it bounced up, cracked open and released a small, green dinosaur onto the grass. Jack stooped down to pet it, while reviewing its page in the pokédex. "Green colour... you don't say? Footprints, blah blah, dietary needs, blah blah... ah-ha! Moveset! Oh, and, uh, hi there, little guy. You and I are gonna go far."

"Bulbasaur!" the pokémon cried happily in response, and Jack stood back up. "So, who wants to take us on? We're already falling behind those guys over there," he nodded toward the fighting on the other side of the lab, and Bulbasaur cried out again. With a quick gesture, he flipped his pokédex closed and stuck it in his pocket. "Off the record, of course. I can't afford to lose and go broke on my first day!" Jack grinned sheepishly, and Bulbasaur gave him a sour look at the vote of confidence.


[System]
Appearance:

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Alias & Nicknames:
Zana Doo, Zee, Ra
Age:
26
Place of Origin:
Auckland, New Zealand

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Blood Status:
Half Blood
Sexual Orientation:
Straight
Relationship Status:
Single

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Wand:
Does not use a wand as Uagadou students are trained through hand gestures
Education:
Uagadou School of Magic
Specialty:
Legilimency and Astronomy
Experience as a Regulator:
3 years

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Biography:
Born in Auckland to a Muggle father and a magical mother, Zara was the youngest of six children (2 boys, 4 girls). Her father struggled to make ends meet especially when his wife, the children's mother, suddenly disappeared when Zara was only five years old. While her siblings were determined to locate their mother, Zara buried every emotion and thought within herself. She was known to just walk around talking to herself and giggling- her small neighborhood determined her to be quite mad.

It surely helped that her older siblings were half bloods and had magic within them- otherwise Zara wouldn't have known what to do when things started to explode around her. It wasn't much longer after that when she received her dream token and was soon headed off to Uagadou School of Magic.

As Zara aged, she could still be seen talking to herself and stealing glances at everyone near her. This was brought to the attention of the Headmaster as they feared the teenager was truly going insane due to the disappearance of her mother. It was later determined that she was a Legilimens and did not know how to not pry into others' minds. From then on, she was taught how to control the art and her personality soon blossomed. She began to not only divulge into the study of her skill, but she also loved studying Astronomy. Zara was obsessed with the idea that there were others out there quite unlike herself.

Towards the end of school, Zara was a bubbly and fun-loving girl who loved to change her hair color every few days. It wasn't until one seemingly uneventful day visiting her family that she found herself walking through town, surrounded by a large group of protesters. What they were protesting, she couldn't even tell you. She had decided to use her skill in Legilimency to pass away her boredom- that was her worst mistake. She soon came upon the mind of a rather disturbed individual and flashes of her mother started to appear. Zara watched the memory of the strange man savagely and brutally killing her mother.

Everything inside her snapped. She doesn't remember much from that day, only that she was found screaming in the square and was quickly taken away. She never spoke of what happened; in fact, she didn't really speak much after that day. Zara was returned to school where she barely managed to graduate as she just didn't apply herself. The professors did not know what to do with her. Until that is, when she was approached by members of the ORO.

It was a promise of a new start- the promise of helping others who had been slain just as her mother had been. She had also secretly been harboring for revenge against the man, and hopes to one day locate him once more. Zara is still not quite right in the head as she tends to allow her mind to drift off, and has been known to take a peek or two into the mind's of others around her.

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Notes:
*Claimed color is teal
*Non registered animagus is an otter
*Patronus is an orca
*Boggart is the faceless man laughing as her mother screams
*Obsessed with tattoos
*Speaks English, Swahili, Bantu and Niuean
*Has thick New Zealand accent

Emoery Corrigan
 - "Seems very sad. And intriguing. And strangely has no sad memories even though everyone else is full of them. Definitely am keeping an eye on this one."
Isadora Albescu Fuji
 - "The woman is absolutely ghostly- but charming. Reminds me of my sisters."
Nichole Arminstance
 - "Nickie is a fun one and is always able to make me laugh."
Florian Sabinov
 - "Tall, dark, and dangerous? What girl can't swoon after that?"
Kieran McMillan
 - "Aww, a pup. Puppy pup pup. His fur can warm my toes any day of the week."
Velvet Gertrude Moon
 - "Bunny! Aw, bunny. Sweet bunny. Nice girl. Definitely my go to for my clumsy ways of breaking things."
Arthur Stone
 - "Those eyes." Sigh. "They remind of the crab nebula. All the browns and the greens..." Sigh.
Natalia J.DeVito
 - "Girl is a major green thumb. Have you seen our gardens?"
Athos Du Vallon
 - "Ah, he has the pet birds! I don't like birds. Weird with the wings. Flapping all the time."
Felix Twycross
 - "Oh, he's a saint. Seriously. I had gashed my forehead open one day and it was gory and oozy and yeah- there's not even a scar! Wanna see?"
Sebastian Montague
 - "Such a pretty man...But quiet. Very, very quiet. There's another galaxy beyond those eyes."
The Caretaker
 - "Aww, he's such a sweetheart! I just wanna squeeze him all day."
Richard Baar
 - "Gloves. Such an odd name. Who would name their child Gloves? Poor kid. Oh, that's not his real name? Really? You sure?"
Tariq Moham Lerius
 - "He's too kind of a man to have such a confused soul. But, hey. Can never go wrong with a Russian!"

[User]
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"There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparell'd in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more"

He spoke in a whisper from the book on his lap, a single tear falling from his amber eye. He closed the book of poetry and placed it upon the desk in front of him. The Caretaker spent all of his days within the ancient walls of the Mysterium Domum or at least, all the days he could remember. What came before he did not know. At times, during these quite moments of deep reflection that his mind is full but only for a second. Like leaves in the wind, memories envelop him but as just as swiftly as they arrive they depart to places yonder, places that he cannot reach. Getting to his feet, the quiet man moved onwards, taking with him his cleaning brush.

The evidence room was not his favourite room to clean but it was one that must be kept in perfect harmony lest the restless dead come a calling. The Caretaker entered with his brush and first made his way to a large mirror, wiping it down with the cloth from his pocket. Inside was not only his hideous reflection but the image of a family, a mother and two daughters, forever trapped. "Miss Myrtle you look ravishing today as always. I brought this for the girls" Reaching into his jacket, the Caretaker pulled out a YO-YO and threw it into the mirror where it soon appeared in the child's hand. "Miss DeVito brought it back from a trip. I hope they like it" He offered a broken smile, his hand coming up to touch his marble face in bashfulness, which soon turned to repulsion at his own visage. He turned away quickly.

He turned his attention to a small wooden box, wrapped in chains. The dybbuk box was a hell of a case, he remembered Master Barr coming home covered in cuts, bruises and severe lesions after his battle with the demon trapped inside. It was lucky that Master Twycross was there or things would've gone terribly wrong. He ran his cloth around the edges, avoiding the chain of silver as he did so lest he suffer a terrible burn.

Robert the Doll stared at the lonely man with his terrifying button eyes, sealed away in his glass case. He was filled to the brim with dark and terrible magic, a monster that forced children to murder for him. A truly haunting case which frayed the edges of even Master Stone.

A child's imagination can be a terrible thing, especially when that child happens to be a wizard. Glancing at the Dungeons and Dragons board game that sat on a nearby pedestal, the Caretakers eyes were once again filled with tears. He did not remember that particular case or anything before it. The patchwork sheet that was his memory would not allow him to see prior to that day where he awoke in pain, in a pool of blood on a hill in Yorkshire. Fear and terror overwhelmed him, he gripped his brush tight as he hurried from the evidence room, slamming the door shut behind him.

In another room he sat, the only room where he would find company on this day. He looked upon the faces on the wall, moving pictures of Regulators since passed. Thirty spaces had already been taken and with every face he looked upon, his heart would break all over again.

[Assistant]
Interacting with:

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Natalia stepped aside, allowing Kieran to have his personal space again. The guy was such a hard nut to crack, regardless of how many times she tried to get him to loosen up a bit. But the fact of the matter is that it was in his nature to be detached, and changing a habit that old was simply next to impossible. Nonetheless, she would continue to strive for the unattainable, if only to show that she was still interested in working with him as much as the first day.

"Couples it is," she responded with a look of approval. His ideas were always good, and today was no exception. Even though Natalia had been Kieran's mentor when he first joined their organization, he had brought with him his intelligence and quick wit, and that was something she couldn't help but admire. She then looked past her partner over at Felix, who was more than likely planning how him and his group they were going to make their approach. He was one of her older friends there, and even though she trusted him with her life, she had never really shared her past with him, nor anyone else for that matter. Natalia took quick a look around, noticing everyone was still working out how they were planning to advance forward with the case. It was always a good idea to get as much detail into the cover story as possible.

"But can you please pretend to look happy that you're with me? Regardless of the fact that we're here purely out of concern due to these nasty rumors..." she added, shifting her weight as she crossed her arms with a smile. She was only anticipating the day that Kieran would find a new partner, but he hadn't changed his mind yet so her company probably wasn't all that bad.

[User]
As she continued to be stuck in the terror that was being intensified by the scream stuck in her throat, Zara barely registered Emory's arms around her. The panic soon gave way to the feeling of nausea as her body started to wean off the adrenaline rush and her thoughts became her own voice again. Her ears were ringing and dizziness soon overwhelmed her body as she heard the sound of the doors slamming. The smell of the clover however snapped her quickly into attention.

She leaned slightly against Emory as he helped her to her feet. While she appreciated the help, she didn't like feeling vulnerable. She didn't want anyone, least of all him, to think she was crazy. Zara had enough people in her life leave on the very basis that she was mentally insane. She couldn't bear to have him think that as well. They were in a specialized group. They were on a mission to save lives. She had to be strong.

The nausea however returned with a vengeance as the room moved. She slightly swayed on her feet as a feeling of immense dread and hatred drifted through her. Zara wasn't surprised when panic was added to the mix once the little girl ran into the room. Sticking out an arm, she propped her hand up against the nearby wall to steady herself. The woman took in a steadying breath before looking into the girl's mind. Her thoughts were clouded with even more panic and terror; Zara couldn't pinpoint what exactly the girl was scared of. Not hearing Vespa's mother, she clenched her free hand into a tight fist, allowing her nails to dig into her palm. She didn't want to search out for the woman's mind in case something bad had also happened to her. But, it was her job. She needed to do this.

Reaching out with her mind, she searched for the mother. Once she realized she no longer could detect the woman in the house, she took a staggering breath. Zara not being able to search a person's mind only meant two things: that they were skilled in blocking a Legillimen, or they were dead. She had previously confirmed that the woman was most definitely a Muggle and had no knowledge of magic. Therefore, that only left one only option. With a shake of her head, she was about to pull back when something else tugged at her search. She started to pick up a mind that was filled with incredible vengeance; the thoughts seemed to ooze with loathing. There was only one thing the being wanted, and that was death. It seemed as though death fueled the walls of this house, and the being longed for more of it.

Zara pulled back with a loud gasp and fell against the wall. Her eyes opened quickly and she looked around the room. They needed to get out of here, or they were all the next victims of this house and its demon. Her eyes glanced over at the girl before clearing her throat. She then looked to Emory with a small shake of her head before looking back towards the door. "We need to get out of here. We need to get out of here now. This is not a drill."


[System]
Age: 16
Appearance:
Personality: A relatively lax individual, Kyouma is usually the 'straight man' in a group, especially one in Academy City. He finds the day-to-day insanity of how the town works quite baffling, but at the same time also quite interesting... Which often leads to him accidentally sticking his nose somewhere it shouldn't be. He isn't keen on playing many video games or watching TV, since both of those bombard his eyes with too much light to mess around with; instead, he's often in the library sitting down with a nice book or two. He's a relatively friendly individual at that, but he doesn't take well to things that are 'so crazy they just might work' and all that.
Level: 4
Power: Photon Focus
By manipulating the motion and refraction/reflection of photons, Kyouma is able to bend light as he wishes. Other than basic applications, such as turning an area pitch-black or blindingly bright or even creating illusions, Kyouma is also able to focus photons into a stream as a laser or view far distances/ through things like dense fog. Due to his power not being offensively-based, he can only fire maybe one or two lasers at a time. His sight-based ability also acts like glasses for him most of the time, so honing in on things from afar usually takes a lot more effort and focus. On the downside, though, if his ability is nullified he's as blind as a bat.
History: Kyouma found himself either incredibly lucky or incredibly UNlucky, finding himself transferred straight into Nagatenjouki Academy for his second year of high school; used to the peace that his old high school had offered him, the insanity that was this school gave him instead threw him off in more ways than one. Though the school itself was famous for producing both regulars and ESPers (the prime example of the latter being the Number One), the way the school conducted itself was all over the place. The curriculum was scattered and erratic, which made it hard for him to keep up half the time. In fact, in order to keep up with the classes Kyouma would often have to study on his own, which drained away from his remaining free time. It wasn't exactly the most efficient of methods, it was better than nothing. Now, if only he could actually get to do things outside of his dorm...

[User]
Nadeshiko - Dark Alley

Even though it was gone, even though that huge, horrible thing was no longer there, Nadeshiko couldn't stop trembling. If... If that girl hadn't shown up when she did, what would've happened? She didn't want to think about that at all...

"H-haaah..."

The girl was pretty, too... If she wasn't currently so terrified, she would probably... Well, she would probably just blush and mumble incoherently at her, but still. It would've been a noted improvement on her just shaking and staring into space, honestly. It hadn't even properly clicked in that not only was the danger gone, but that there was a cute girl standing right in front of her, really.

[Assistant]
Murakawa Torako

She zoomed past several person down the street, before a familiar face passed her.

"HAH!" Tora skidded to a stop, did a full 180 turn and sprinted towards him.

There was some disagreement with her friends for quite some time now; about how his ability works. She herself was convinced it only affected where he could see, and her friend argued it probably works in an area around him, and the rest simply divided their opinion between them. Since she was usually busy with something else whenever she met him, this would be a good time to see if he does only see where he could see, or if he could see in an area around him.

She could see him now, his back turned to her; the perfect chance to end that argument once and for all. Using her top speed, she coiled up like a spring and launched herself at him in a flying tackle.

"TEI~!"

---

Uiharu Kazari

"No no, I'm not a member of Judgement," Saten replied, still waving her hand. "I'm just here to take care of Uiharu!"

"Hmm hmm..." Kazari nodded sagely before realizing what Saten said. "Eh?"

Before she could retort however, Shirai Kuroko returned, bringing along Misaka Mikoto. Shirai looked kinda annoyed, while Misaka was looking as nonchalant as ever. Ah, she must had some boys after her again today. Odd how they keep on flocking to her. People should have figured out long ago Tokiwadai students weren't people you could just mug, much less the Railgun herself. "Ah, welcome back Shirai, Misaka."

Judging from her question, it seemed even Shirai had not heard of the transfer.

[User]
Kyouma turned his head as he heard the girl's voice, flinching as he noticed her coming straight at his face with a high velocity tackle. He wasn't very athletic, so the end result was fairly obvious; Kyouma was sent flying to the ground as a cushion for the girl.

"Ngh... What was that for...?!" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to push himself off the ground. "No need to tackle me to the ground or anything, you know. There are a lot more interesting people to bug on the streets... Actually, strike that. Just don't drop kick me next time. Please? Or, you know... Just don't attack random passerby pedestrians like that..."

[Assistant]
Shirai Kuroko

"Shirai Kuroko," the teleporter offered, completing the exchange. It was a relieff to have another person working in the branch office--with Konori ill, and her roommate as ever absent despite nominally being part of Judgement, the workload was getting beyond what two people could be expected to take care of on their own. Not that things were made any easier by frequently having visitors come over.

Sitting down at a computer, it was clear that the number of unexplained disappearances hadn't gone up today--good for the people involved, but it left no clues as to who was behind it or what was going on. Nobody involved could remember enough to tell Judgement anything, if they even cared to report their disappearance in the first place, and somehow camera blindspots managed to make even Academy City's security network useless for finding the culprits.

This, at least, simplified today's workload; all she really had to do was log the Railgun's decision to fry yet mmore delinquents rather than simply get away from the trouble. Which meant more time for Kuroko to get close to her beloved onee-sama...

[User] Clicking her tongue at the scene of the assailant making a clean getaway, Sakie withheld her urge to chase futilely after the guy and turned her attention on the trembling girl. "It's all right now." Putting on a small smile to help the girl calm down, the taller than average girl from A Certain High School came closer and all but hugged Nadeshiko, wrapping her arms about the tiny student and bringing her into a loose embrace. "You're safe." A sisterly concern was evident on her face even as she patted Nadeshiko's head and tried to awkwardly make her feel better.

[Assistant]
Misaka Mikoto

"Ah," Mikoto waved her hand quickly as the new girl bowed to her. She didn't need to do that, just because Mikoto was a Level Five absolutely didn't mean that anyone needed to treat her quite like that. Though, on another note, it was a good thing that someone else was going to be working at this office. Both second-hand and from experience, Mikoto knew that Judgement work was pretty rough. It'd be nice for someone else to be around and lighten the load for Kuroko and the others. "You don't have to act like that just because I'm Level Five."

She gave the other girl a smile, in hopes that it would indicate she should try and relax. Mikoto really didn't want someone thinking they had to treat her like royalty or something... slumping down onto one of the office's couches, she glanced over at Uiharu, and then Kuroko. There were those weird assaults or disappearances lately, weren't there? The ones where someone would disappear and show up with some kind of temporary boost to their esper powers...

"Hey, has there been any changes with those disappearances?" she asked.

Saten Ruiko

Mikoto was asking about the disappearances? Oh, this was the perfect time to chime in! Ruiko had been waiting for the right opportunity to tell her friends all about the juicy, totally-true rumor that explained everything! Grinning as she took center stage, the black-haired girl pulled out her phone to show off images of the being that was totally responsible for the disappearances and temporary power boots some espers had been experiencing.

"This is the one behind it all!" she confidently declared. One her phone was the image of a blurry, grey being, with what looked like unnaturally long arms and white, pupiless eyes Or it could have just been lighter patches of grey, the picture quality was so bad it was difficult to tell. Well, long black hair as well. "It's all over the internet! They say it's a ghost, who's been stalking espers and temporarily jumping into their bodies to give them a power boost!"

[User]
"Alright," Annette replied to the correction, making a mental note of it. Not exactly how she would have gone about it, but she could abide by Misaka's request. After all, they were near the same social status, if for different reasons. It was only fair to be accommodating and to heed the wishes of a Level 5 such as her when asked.

She turned her attention to Kuroko then, placing the name with the face, though she didn't bow since she had already done that. Introductions over, she stepped back and resumed sitting, with the occasional sip of water and bite of a snack as she watched them all go about their business here.

She quickly picked up on the fact that they seemed to be involved in an investigation of some kind, and Annette turned her attention t observing, watching how they interacted and such. Picking up on the work dynamic was valuable when shifting positions like she was. Seamless transitions and all that.

Of course, Saten began on her rumor at that point, and Annette quietly and analytically looked over the displayed. Well, that was bad enough quality to be pretty much useless, and certainly was no basis for what she was claiming. Still, in the interest of fitting in, she asked one of the first questions to come to her mind. "But if it's a ghost then why would it only temporarily possess people?"

Having said that she glanced about at the rest of the occupants of the office before back to Saten. "Wouldn't it make more sense of it was some sort of telepathy related ability? That would explain the temporary power boosts, and why they go missing in the first place." It was just her opinion, and she would leave it to those more knowledgeable with the case to contradict her as she took another sip of water.

[Assistant]
Shirai Kuroko

With her attention wandering, the teleporter's eyes naturally drew themselves towards a certain roommate of hers, and the other girl's unguarded lap. With all the trouble that the older girl caused, it seemed only right to get something pleasurable in return. Not that it ever actually ended pleasurably for Kuroko, or that the train of thought was even remotely logical, but such a thing never stopped her.

It was quite impressive how someone so single-mindedly fixated could do eleven dimensional maths to teleport herself straight onto Mikoto's legs, yet that was nevertheless what the redhead had done. For once, Kuroko wasn't openly attempting to feel the taller girl up or drooling over her. The position she was in, with her arms around the electromaster and leaning against her chest, was definitely still one that wasn't going to be kept for long at all.

Onee-sama is so comfortable...

Not that Kuroko was ever going to pass up the chance for even the slightest contact, even if it meant being fried.

[User]
Murakawa Torako

She slammed against him full force, bring them both tumbling to the ground. She landed perfectly on top of him, a bit dazed from the impact.

"Ngh... What was that for...?!" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to push himself off the ground. "No need to tackle me to the ground or anything, you know. There are a lot more interesting people to bug on the streets... Actually, strike that. Just don't drop kick me next time. Please? Or, you know... Just don't attack random passerby pedestrians like that..."

Tora sat up on his stomach, giving a very satisfied look. "Hmm hmm... I only attack people I know. Err, I mean, senpai, you can't see behind you, can you?"

Standing up, she brushed off the dust from her clothes, and offered a hand to Kyouma. "Oh, thats right, you may not know me, Kyouma senpai, but I'm Murakawa Torako. I'm just a level 2 though, so don't expect spectacular things from me. By the way, what are you doing here? Looking for the rumored power up in the alleys?"

---

Uiharu Kazari

She looked over Saten's shoulders, staring at the picture of the thing.

"Eeh... That looks more like an alien, doesn't it? Look, just like those grey aliens that kidnap people."

She had an overwhelming feeling that it was fake, but at the same time she had this overwhelming feeling Saten could be trusted. She found the Level Upper after all, even if it wasn't quite the thing she was expecting.

"But if it's a ghost then why would it only temporarily possess people?" Annette said. "Wouldn't it make more sense of it was some sort of telepathy related ability? That would explain the temporary power boosts, and why they go missing in the first place."

"Well... If it was we'd at least have the record for it. Every ability user in the city is registered after all." She sipped her tea, noticing Shirai had teleported onto Misaka's lap. "I could have a look again, but I'm fairly certain there is no one able to possess someone AND power up their ability."

[Assistant]
Kyouma stared at Torako for a moment before sighing, her hand still outstretched in front of his face.

"No, I am not an alien- I cannot see behind me... Wait, is that why you tackled me to the ground? Talk about stupid reasons..." he trailed off before taking the girl's hand and pulling himself to his feet.

Torako's mention of a power up, though, piqued his interest. Though he had no intention of trying to strengthen himself (he was fine as he was now), the fact that another interesting incident was occurring in the city was certainly something to look into. Better than staring at a textbook all day, at least.

"Wait, a power up? I was just walking down the streets looking for a place to eat. I've got no interest in making myself stronger. Not in the least, you know?" he said before looking around at the alleyways that were in between the buildings here and there. "But... This sounds interesting. I'll probably look into it after I get some food or something."


[System]
Race: Seraph
True Name (If Seraph or Squire): Flicker Kindle (Pmohsic Sowbmi)
Vessel (if Seraph): Fire Opal charm on Ter-Bius' Guillotine Blade
Gender: Female
Age: 734
Height: 4'9"
Weight: 79 lbs.
Appearance:

Personality: mature and demanding, towards those she deems worthy of her presence, but shy, timid, and secretly manipulative towards those she does not like
Weapon: Pair of Orachalcum Gauntlets
Fighting style: Martial Assault Artes
Seraphic Artes:
Dragon Dash- Kindle leaps slightly into the air and performs two horizontal kicks.
Eagle Dive- Kindle jumps above the enemy before rapidly shooting into the ground with powerful force, usually with the knee or foot first. This creates a short-range shock wave in the air, while setting the character up to continue the combo with a ground-based arte.
Demolition Drive- Kindle first charges at her enemy, then assaults them with a series of punches.
Lucent Palisade- Kindle spins nearly horizontally, emitting light with her gauntlets that later travels a short distance ahead of her in the form of a wall.
Piercing Blast- Kindle leaps into the air, briefly gathering energy into her hands that she later fires at her target in the form of a laser.
Spirit Rush- Kindle draws her right hand back briefly, charging green energy into it, then quickly punches it with her right fist at the enemy, releasing a stream of light-blue energy following by a quick left punch that also releases a stream of energy.
Sundering Fury- Kindle first leaps into the air, then charges at her enemy, striking it. She then leaps again and performs a front-flip that sends a shock wave in front of her.
Lion's Howl- Kindle slams the target with extreme force, creating a blast of energy in the image of a lion's head, which forces all nearby enemies to be blasted away and knocked to the ground.
Deadly Force- After a prolonged charge delay to draw in chi from the surrounding area, the user strikes forward with their palm to create a powerful blast, freezing all enemies' perception of time for a short duration. Although this attack requires a very significant amount of time for preparation, it is capable of dealing an unmatched amount of damage with a single strike.
Sword Assualt- Kindle bends as light focuses on her, then charges at her enemy, leaving a trail of light in her wake and slashing her right gauntlet widely to the right. It also grants her one stack of Iron Stance.
Bladerang Hurl- Kindle spins counterclockwise with her right arm extended and purple energy trailing behind it. She then performs a curved punch to the left, sending an arc of red energy ahead of her.
Shotstaff Blast- Kindle aims her right fist at her enemy, charging it with pink energy. She then fires a bullet that explodes upon impact with the enemy, and she is thrown back a bit by the strength of the bullet she shot.
Blitz Bomb- Kindle conjures fiery wisps that concentrate on the enemy. Then they burst into a large dome of flames, able to send enemies into the air.
Flare Vortex- Kindle conjures a fiery tornado that circles around the enemy. In a large radius around the enemy, the ground is set aflame, and fireballs launch upward from the burning area.
Lightning Blast- Kindle shoots several thunderbolts in a small arc in front of them.
Burning strike- Kindle summons several flaming meteorites to rain down on the battlefield, successively striking the target with each meteorite and landing a few steps ahead of the previous one in a straight line.

Mystic Artes:
Infinitia Soul- Kindle spins around once and hits the enemy into the air. She then becomes several beams of light and continuously hits the enemy several times. The lights then combine, and Kindle appears above the enemy. Finally, she then kicks the enemy down to the ground.
Venom Strike- Kindle casually kicks the enemy into the sky, then focuses her power for several seconds, cracking the earth with the pressure. When the enemy falls back down, she throws a hay-maker that sends them flying into the distance.
Zero Dissolver- When this arte is used, Kindle summons several beams of light and directs them toward the enemy. After they successfully hit the enemy, Kindle jumps and changes into several beams of light herself and hits the enemy several times into the air. The beams then combine together into Kindle, and she finishes the enemy with with an uppercut.
Concerto Infernus- Kindle begins the arte with her arms open wide, Her gauntlets emitting flmaes. She then spins, conjuring a flaming whirlpool beneath her, with wisps of fire circling her. She finishes the attack with a strong punch of her hand sending an arc of fire toward her enemy.
Bio:

Name: Ter-Bius
Race: Seraph
True Name (If Seraph or Squire): Suwdeok Scudimj
Vessel (if Seraph): Orachalcum Gauntlets
Gender: Male
Age: 120
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 218 lbs.
Appearance:
Personality:
Weapon: Guillotine Blade
Fighting style:
(Hidden or Seraphic) Artes:
Mystic Artes:
Bio:

[User]
Ter-Bius and Kindle had found themselves at the city of Cadnix after learning what a bad reputation the Earth Seraphs were getting. With a new war upon the planet between the Earth Empyrean and just about everyone else. Many Earth Seraphs were chosen as officers to lead an army of malevolence to spread terror and rid the world of Humans and any Seraphs that stood in their way. This meant towns and villages that would be destroyed, or natural disasters that weren't so naturally caused to effect the fertile land and change trade routes. Many towns and cities had begun to disrespect Earth Seraphs, even if they weren't involved, some of them even banning them all together. However, those that walk the path of Wind knew that most everyone was welcome as long as peace was kept. Kindle knew this and she figured this would be the perfect place to continue to live with her two younger brothers, Ter-Bius.

Not long after arriving, Ter-Bius had found themselves at a bar, wanting to learn the new place and how well their alcohol selection sat with them. Taking a seat and ordering the same drink at the same time, they both sat and drink in unison. Like they mirrored each other to perfect choreography, they got many looks from those around the room, though just about everyone could tell they were Seraphs, not many knew why they behaved in such a manner. A beer or two in the boys conversation with each other was very in depth about their new life in the city of wind, hoping they wouldn't get a place that sat high about ground considering they both enjoy earth very much. A fair looking young lady sat adjacent to them at the bar, she was merely enjoying a drink, after work most likely but enjoying time to herself. They boys were just about ready to stand up when a sprite-ly blue figure seemed to make his appearance at her side.

Water Seraphs were mostly respected as they were ones to help others before themselves, not to mention they were also the primary combatant of the Earth Empyrean's war. Ter-Bius went back to their drinks and continued the conversation until Ter happened to notice that she was becoming uncomfortable about the advances of the Water Seraph. A mere thought and Bius could see right through his brother's eyes. They both stood up and moved over to where the two were sitting. Standing behind the Seraph, Ter spoke first, "Hey, let her be," Bius bumped in, "She wants notin' todo with ya," "So scram," "Or we'll make ya," a hard accent leaving their voices as they took turns speaking in a rather scripted practice. The Water Seraph was not intimidated and quickly retorted with remarks of how Earth Seraphs were nothing but trouble. The boys continued they scripted play, starting with Bius this time, "The only one causin' trouble is you," "She'd like to enjoy her drink alone," they spoke in unison and leaned in towards man they towered, "Without you."

It didn't take long for the bartender to see what could escalate and asked the commotion to be taken outside if that's where it was gonna go. The Water Seraph quickly agreed, not afraid of the two and expecting help from some people standing by seeing two Earth Seraphs pounding on a Water. They small fight started, though it was obvious that Ter-Bius stood a far greater chance, not just by numbers but by the fact that the man barely stood taller than their shoulders. With the man going after Ter first it quickly became a game of ping-pong as the boys simply pushed the man back and forth, not daring to lay a fist and pure rough house the guy out of being a jerk. Bius was the first to lunge forward, grabbing the man in a grapple and tossing him through the air only to be caught by Ter and smashed to the ground. Though not enough to break anything, and if he wasn't Earth-Tough there would sure be a bruise to last.

"TER-BIUS!" and loud shout from a small person echoed the streets. A young bright red lady stood not far from the commotion. Kindle started to stomp her way to her younger brothers. Immediately the boy released the man, probably too weak to get up from a simple tackle, and stood up tall at attention, ready to receive any punishments they might be getting. The two were rather truly terrified of her, even though she stood much much smaller and posed little of a threat by appearance she still had a strong punch to knock them both out cold. "ALLEYWAY! NOW!" a fiery tone in her voice as she marched the men over and away from the streets to avoid any more unwanted attention. "What did I tell you boys? We just got here and here you are making a scene in the middle of the street. Let alone a WATER SERAPH of all people." Ter-Bius had nothing to say, they knew they were told not to cause trouble but they couldn't help but come to aid the lady. The tension in the alley started to fade as Kindle sighed and let out a small flame from her single curl on top of her head. "Honestly what am I going to do with you two?"

Bius was the first to speak, "Were sorry sis," "Don't mean to cause ye trouble," "We were just doin' what was right." Kindle smiled and stepped back leaning against the wall, "I know I know, I'm sure what ever he did he deserved it, you guys never did anything aside from what was right, you're good people Ter-Bius, sorry you live in a time where the world hates you."

[Assistant]
Aliya felt a bit better now that she had a moment to herself. She had time to think of a plan. She knew she needed help and not from soldiers or the Celestials but people outside the war that were just as affected whether they realize it or not. Finding it would be another story.
Aliya heard a commotion just down the alley. She saw the little Fire Fae yelling at the twin Earth Fae. Normally upon hearing there was conflict between Water and Earth she would have gotten upset but this was a free city and she knew even Azurius's Generals could be pompous jerks. She was still a bit unnerved by being near Earth Fae though so she decided it'd be best to duck out but she hadn't moved since she had slumped down the wall and adrenaline has long since subsided.
"Ah! Hell! That hurts!" She winced, letting out a loud groan of pain as her entire body ached. She noticed a few cuts on her arms and sides she felt the stinging sensation they had on her cheeks as well, "And this was him holding back…" She pouted childishly bitter again about her defeat. She almost forgot she wasn't alone and her cheeks turned a bit pink. Subtlety wasn't always her strong suit and she was trying to avoid conflict in the free city. She went to get up again so she could leave but she couldn't even manage that. She slipped on some trash and fell back hitting the wall and her body screamed out in pain.
"This is lame!" Aliya yelled out of frustration. "Today is not my day!" She stopped caring about leaving and just lay in defeat. She put her hand up and waved it about a bit. "Can I get a little help here?" Even if they turned out to be working for Turfirius she was always ready to rumble she just needed a chance to heal herself.

[User]
The trio stood at the egde of the alley way in silence, their brief conversation really set a dark mood between them. As right as Kindle was about Ter-Bius, the world really was no place for the nicer the Earth Seraphim, not that they met many but the twins were a prime example. Ter was about to speak up when their silence was quickly shot down but the sound of a trash bin falling over and debris filling the other end of the alley. A young woman's voice cursed, "This is lame!" The boys couldn't help but snicker, as much of adults as they were they couldn't help but be immature at times. Kindle shot a glance at the twins that could kill, and they immediately went silent.

It wasn't till the same voice called for help that Ter-Bius once again reacted. Without word from their older sister the two dashed down the alley. Both of them manipulating the earth beneath their feet to accelerate their speed towards the damsel in distress. Ter rode the wall going high before slowly coming back down on one side of the woman while Bius maneuvered around the debris till he too was by her side. They both gasped in awh as they realized she was water, but they were not discriminating against anyone who needed help. They were both quick to action and gently lifted her up on her feet from either side. Ter's mouth couldn't keep quiet, "Are you okay?" Followed by Bius "We heard the crash." "You look pretty roughed up." "I'm Ter-Bius," the last line spoken together.

Kindle had made her way over though not in the time that the boys had, she gave her brothers room to help, and just like them she wasn't discriminating against anyone in need, even if that person was her element weakness. "Sorry about them, they weren't rough with you were they?" Asking in concerning know that Ter-Bius could be a little too rough sometimes, though they kept a good job at watching their strength. "Need me to treat your wounds? Looks like that trashcan was quite the enemy."