[System]
~My Characters~
Age: 21
Sex: Female
Mate: Open
Vampire or Werewolf: Vampire/Werewolf
Coven or Mav's Pack: Coven
Position in the Coven or Pack: Knight
Power : Healing, Ability to shift into a wolf, and Black Fire
Bio: Crimson is quiet around anyone who isn't her sister. She decided to live with the vampires because she thought it would be best and they would teach her how to be strong. Well the only thing she's learned since joining the Coven is that she can't control her Cursed Werewolf side.
Picture:
Wolf Picture:

Name: Shadow
Age: 25
Sex: Male
Mate: Open
Vampire or Werewolf: Werewolf
Coven or Shadow's Pack: Shadow's Pack
Position in the Coven or Pack: Alpha Male
Bio: Shadow grew up without a family. He was originally born in a different pack, but when his mother died from having her second born litter his father blamed him and his siblings. Well his siblings didn't make it, but Mav was too strong willed to die. Which is when the Alpha of Silverstone found him and took him in. When the war happened the Alpha's that took him in and treated him like family were killed. He is confused when it comes to Vampires, but he keeps the peace with the current vampires.
Picture:
Wolf Picture:

[User]
Iris watched him as he poured his coffee down the drain and bid her goodnight, "Good night, Alpha," She said quietly before was began to walk toward the guest room. She was a little surprised to hear that Shadow had been suffering from nightmares although that seemed to be a come thing with the loss of a loved one... She still had nightmares about her parents' death. She was just at the door when she heard Shadow speak. It was soft and had she been human, she probably wouldn't have heard it at all. When he finished, feeling as though she had eavesdropped on a private conversation, she slipped into the guest room. She ran her hand through her damp hair and sighed. Changing into a t-shirt and pajama pants, both that were much to large for her she grabbed a blanket.

Pulling it from the bed, she walked out of the guest room and over to Shadow's bedroom door. She was in her head thinking about what it was that she was about to do and couldn't hear him quietly talking to himself on the other side. She rapped quietly on the door before she pushed it open a little. She bit her lip as she stood in the doorway, holding the blanket to her chest, "I... don't know if I'm overstepping but... You're right. My sister... she used to keep the nightmares away and without her..." She took a deep breath, "Would you mind if I slept in here tonight? I can sleep on top of your blankets..." She rose the one that she carried with her up a little, "I brought my own."

She cleared her throat, "Of course... I understand that it's absurd for me to even ask but... It seems like you might need someone to ward off the dreams..." she brushed her hair behind her head, "Although, I suppose the both of us could just make dream catchers and avoid this whole thing. I mean... People might find out and say things... things that aren't true and I," She looked at him and for the first moment realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her face turned red, making her silently thank the night for hiding her in the darkness, "should probably just go back to the guest room..."

Leopold fell back into his chair and sighed. He wouldn't admit it to her but his insistence that she leave was not only for his people... He looked up at her, "No one can know what you are. Tamed or not, they would kill you and I would have no way of stopping them. If you leave now, it is simple enough to say that you couldn't handle being in the coven... That you were banished for one reason or another. If I were to tell anyone that you lied to me and hid the true nature of who you are... They would kill you... Which is why it is best for everyone that you leave. My people are safe and you keep your life and freedom."

He stood once more and walked over to the door, "I suggest that you leave before anyone else finds out and you become prey rather than predator."

[Assistant]
Shadow heard a knock at his door and before he could answer Iris stepped into his room and started to speak. After listening to her he smiled softly, but as she turned to leave he shook his head, "I don't mind at all. Though my bed is big enough for two as long as their cuddling, so if you don't mind I don't mind." Looking at himself he sat up, " Ummm would you like for me to put a shirt on or do you not mind if I'm comfortable?"

"So you still insist that I leave? You call it freedom and my life, but really I have no life outside and I am never free until this war is over." Shaking her head Crimson walked to the door and looked out of it, but stopped and looked at him, "You really wish for me to leave then the only way to make me leave here is to make me obey you. In order to do that all you have to do is drink my blood." Looking at Ban she nodded to him, "Stay here... You'll be safer and you..." Her eyes now turned to Leopold, "I will give you time to think about what I said. Goodnight, M'lord." Bowing to him Crimson left shutting the door softly behind her.

Leaning against his door a moment she released a heavy sigh then walked to the dungeons. Once inside she walked to the cage and closed the door then she chained herself up as she waited for the moon.

Feeling the Rays of the moon run over her skin she felt the change begin. After the change happened in place of the vampire Crimson stood a black Lycan with Crimson's Crimson eyes.

[User]
Iris bit her lip a little before shaking her head, "No... if you are comfortable.... I don't mind."

It was more of a blanket statement than a specific answer for either question. She wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and walked over to him before she climbed onto the bed, facing him. She was a lot closer to him now than she had been in the kitchen and found herself blushing again, "I don't think there is enough room for a nightmare in this bed now," She joked before adjusting her head on the pillow. She moved herself in a bit closer to avoid falling off the bed, "Good night, Alpha," She said quietly before closing her eyes.

Leopold sighed when Crimson left and ran his hand through his hair. He looked over to Ban and huffed, "Don't look at me like that."

He walked over to his desk and cleaned up his things before he walked to the door and headed out of his study to head to bed, "Well, come on," he said to the cat that was still staring at him.

He closed his eyes, "Will you stop looking at me like that?... I'm talking to a cat..."

He shook his head and walked out of the room.

[Assistant]
Shadow smirked softly then moved a little, so she could lay in the bed more. Looking over the blanket she had wrapped herself in he seen it had holes and some were pretty big. As she made a comment about a nightmare he chuckled softly and grabbed another blanket to lay over them, "Yes I agree. A nightmare can not slip between us now." When she moved to adjust herself he removed the blanket from her and laid another on them both, "I don't mind sharing and that has holes in it. I just hope you don't mind my arm drapping over your body." Gently he smiled as he laid his arm over her body then closed his eyes. Hearing her speak one more time he nodded, "Good night, Iris." Pulling her closer to his body as he held her tightly and smelled her hair. It smelt like damp flowers and he enjoyed it for it lulled him into a peaceful sleep.

Ban hopped off the desk and followed behind him. As Leopold walked into his chambers Ban jumped onto the bed and sat down on it watching him. Finally he spoke, "You have feelings for her don't you, M'lord? I watch you both and I notice things that neither of you will admit, but you can tell me. I am not going to tell a soul." Looking away Ban licked his paw then rubbed it over his ear as he kind of gave himself a bath then looked at Leopold again, "Yes I am a talking cat. I am Crimson's 'Guardian' so to speak. You know what she said is true. Every word."

[User]
Iris's eyes popped open when she felt Shadow's arm wrap around her and pull her close. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked at Shadow as he started to fall asleep. She had never lain with a man before... Before this moment the closest she had been to a man was cuddling with her father as a child and that hardly counted... Now, here she was, lying in bed with the Alpha of her pack... if the pack was going to spread rumors about their relations behind closed doors when they were informed of her moving in, they might not be all that wrong. She rolled over to face away from him, thinking that it might be better but all she found was that now she was pressed right up against him. She lay there with him for sometime, until his breathing slowed and he was properly asleep... Then her anxiety snuck into her head and Iris snuck out of the bed. Slowly lifting his arm off of her, she grabbed the blanket that he had discarded and wrapped it around herself. She moved to sit on the couch. At the time, she had every intention to go back to the bedroom... She promised to lie there with him, to keep away both of their nightmares and lying there with him was nice until her brain started over thinking it all... The main thought being how she was lying to him... How she wasn't his mate.

Iris didn't get much sleep that night. In fact, she didn't get any as she sat at the dining room table going through all of the files that Shadow had until she got up the nerves to go back into the room and go to sleep. She made sure to keep a ear out for any sounds of nightmares but beyond her pen on paper, there were no sounds in the house. Soon, the morning sun crept into the room and she looked up, realizing that she had not only gone through the files from the last two years but also completely worked through the night.

Whoops.

Leopold jumped when the cat spoke in his room. He looked at him as he explained a little then shook his head, "It doesn't matter what I have or don't have for, Miss Crimson..." He said, finding it awkward to explain himself to the cat, "What matters is that she lied to me and that makes me look bad to the council of Lord and Ladies... And that if anyone of them found out about her..." He shook his head. He pulled his blankets back and stripped off his shirt and pants before climbing into bed, "You know, I don't have to explain myself to a cat... talking or not. Good night."

With that Leopold lay back and allowed for sleep to take him.

[Assistant]
Shadow had slept peacefully for once in what felt like forever to him. As he opened his eyes he seen Iris wasn't there. Jumping up he looked around his bedroom, "Iris? Iris, where are you?" Quickly he moved from his bed to his bedroom door only to see her at the dining table. Sighing heavily in relief he hung his head, "You ok, Iris? I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable... Thank you though. I finally got a good nights rest in a long time."

As he spoke he walked to the coffee pot and fixed a fresh pot. Once it finished he poured himself a cup of coffee and began to sip it sighing softly.

Ban rolled his cat eyes then moved to curl up on the pillow beside Leopold's head. Yawning and streatching for a moment before laying his head beside his, "We'll talk more in the morning about it all. For now sleep would be wise, plus do you think if she came out and told you who and what she was and why she is here that you would welcome her with open arms? No you wouldn't have. You and anyone and everyone else would have killed her on the spot and stop calling her that." Finally Ban closed his yellow eyes and softly began to purr.

[User]
Iris looked over her shoulder when Shadow called her name. Before she could answer the man was at the door of his bedroom looking at her. She watched him as he apologized if he made her uncomfortable before saying that he had managed to sleep fully through the night with no nightmares. She gave him a soft smile and nodded her head, "Yes... well... Um," Her cheeks turned red and unfortunately, the sun did little to hide it like the night had, "I've... Before coming here, I lived only with my family.... We weren't around many men and... That was the closest... I've ever been to a man and... I felt as though it might be inappropriate with me not being your mate..."

She yawned a little and started to gather all the papers, "I managed to go over all of these... From the last two years."

She picked them all up before carefully putting them back away into the filing cabinet. She rubbed her eye and pulled her blanket close around her before she walked over to him and poured herself a couple of coffee. She yawned once more before she took a sip, "I suppose I'll go grab my things after patrol..."

[Assistant]
Shadow listened and watched Iris as she spoke. When she told him she finished the files for the past two years he almost choked on his coffee, "You what? That must have taken you all night." As she grabbed herself a cup of coffee and talked about patrol he shook his head, "No you will stay here and sleep. I will arrange for you to take the night patrol. In a few hours I will go talk to your 'room mates'. Not of you, but to make them move in with their mates." Being careful he took a sip of his coffee to finish it off then he pushed from the counter and washed his cup as he started to think of what she said before.

Once he washed his cup he put it to the side to dry and walked toward his room, but he stopped then looked over his shoulder at her, "I'm sorry... I should have thought about that and should have refused, but... I thought we were helping each other. Really if you don't want to stay here then you can leave... I won't force you to stay though... It would remove the loneliness and chase the nightmares away." Nodding he went into his room and got dressed for his morning patrol.

Dawn broke in the dungeon below and Crimson had already changed back into her vampiric form, but she was still asleep with burns from the iron chains on her skin. See what many didn't know is in her lycan form metal of any kind burned Crimson, but in her vampiric form it didn't hurt her. Even Crimson didn't understand, but as she laid there slowly healing she slept.

Ban yawned and streatched out for a moment then he curled up closer to Leopold's head thinking it was Crimson, but as he blinked his eyes a few times he realized who it was and stood up. Streatching out again he yawned and jumped off of the bed. Moving to the unlit fireplace he began to clean himself as he purred softly and waited for Leopold to wake.


[System]
Title(s): Pagliacci

Class: Assassin

Gender: Male

Attribute: Man

Era: 19th Century

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Personality: As a partner, he is paranoid, obsessive, and simply difficult to hold a conversation with. If it's friendship and camaraderie that's being pursued, one should look elsewhere. He is a clown through and through who has yet to find a proper way of articulating his own wish, varying from "that I had never married her" to "that I knew it was Silvio earlier". At his core, he simply wishes that his life had been a peaceful one, one where he could have acted to his heart's content, had a drink with friends, and live alongside someone who cared for him as much as he cared for her. In that regard, he can only be called a pitiful figure who loathes being pitied, but there might be some Masters who see such a hopeless case as someone worth fighting alongside.

Bio: The main character of the play Pagliacci. An actor who plays the part of a clown, Pagliaccio, in a play within that play. The work as a whole is regarded as a core example of the blurring between art and life.

Pagliaccio's story is that of a clown who is betrayed by his wife's infidelity, and who is drugged before his wife and her lover abandon him. In Pagliacci, Canio's wife plays Pagliaccio's own wife, and in fact is committing infidelity behind Canio's back. Before a performance of the play, Canio discovers his wife's actions through the aid of a friend, Tonio, and seeks to discover the identity of her lover.

Over the course of the play, Canio is manipulated by Tonio and assured that he will find out the identity of his wife's lover during the play. To that end, he attempts to force down his emotions and act out the play, only for his emotions to overwhelm him. An interrogation of his wife as Pagliaccio soon becomes a true interrogation of his wife in the middle of the play, the audience enraptured by what they believe to be a genuine performance.

Fueled by madness and rage, Canio murders his wife onstage, the audience helpless to watch. In the assault, Canio's wife calls out for her lover, Silvio, who appears on the stage to her aid only to be struck down by Canio as well.

The play concludes with Canio onstage, two corpses at his sides, and with the simple words "The comedy is finished!"

Weapon: Knife BIG KNIFE, Clown Equipment, Normal Clothes.

Parameters:

Strength: C
Endurance: D
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: C

Class Skills:

Presence Concealment: -

Through acquisition of the Personal Skill "Vesti la Giubba", Presence Concealment has been sealed.

Personal Skills:

Vesti la Giubba: EX

Putting on the costume. Forcing down one's emotions, one's heart, and one's own nature. The core of the tragic clown which wears a smile even as his spirit starts to crumble.

Rather than the ability to conceal one's presence, this is instead the ability to conceal one's nature underneath another persona. In the eyes of the observer, Canio cannot be viewed as the Servant Assassin, Canio, but rather as the role he chooses to play. Even such things as the flow of magical energy around him become indicative not of his own nature, but of the nature of the role. The same holds true for attempts to read his status as a Servant; if he is playing the role of another Servant then their status will be displayed, and if he is playing the role of a human then no status will be available. Even if one possesses the ability to see through alignments, the alignment they will witness is not Canio's own, but merely the role he plays. However, a role is only as complete as Canio's knowledge of it.

This capability has reached nonstandard rank due to synergy with the remaining Personal Skills, with Canio's own acting ability and with the madness that causes him to enter the role he plays entirely. At this rank, even entering combat or the indictment from an ally cannot shake his role, as the cries of his wife failed to move the audience until she had already perished.

Mental Disorder: B

The mind has become ill. Mental interference of B rank and below is shut out, but mutual understanding with the sane has become impossible.

The madness brought on by the infidelity of Canio's wife, the blind obsession with seeking out her lover and bringing him to an end, the feral scream of a broken man as he loses the line between where he ends and the play begins.

Performance: A

Talent for acting. An art that moves the masses, blending sound and movement to tell a story with visceral human emotion. Canio's profession, and one he bears considerable skill in. While not one of the greatest actors to grace the earth, he can nonetheless be considered first-rate in his art.

At this rank, performances can even generate an effect of fascination upon those who witness them; in order to resist this, a resistance to fascination at equivalent or higher rank is needed.

(Human Observation: E++

The skill to observe and understand people. It is not simply observing but also hypothesizing the livelihoods and preferences, all the way to their life, of people he may not even known the names of. This requires a tremendous memory that does not forget easily, but unfortunately, Canio does not have that. At base, this aptitude is low, and he is barely capable of noting 'how a person roughly is'.

The double modifier signifies two conditions. The first is 'ties' to the target; that is to say, the greater his relation to the target, the more capable he is of knowing them. The second is 'empathy', whether or not he is capable of relating to the target in some form. When one or both conditions are met, aptitude increases significantly. This certainly demonstrates the nature of Canio's own biases; the tie it possesses into his Noble Phantasm is equally apparent.)

Noble Phantasm:

Name: La Commedia è finita!

Title: The Fool's Errand is Done, May We Laugh at His Folly

Rank: A

NP Type: ???

Range: ???

Maximum Number of Targets: ???

Description: Hidden due to its nature and relation to the character. Separately PMed to the GM.

[User]
Berserker

Mordred -- The Knight of Treachery

Current Location -- Canal District - City of Science and Industry Building
@ItMeGritty@King Cosmos

It was quite unfortunate for the Lancer, had Mordred been any other class she may have fallen for such a taunt. Dashing in, sword swinging as she answered the challenge to her chivalry and heroism. However, right now, these words were wasted on Berserker's ears. Not only could she not 'hear' them because of her Madness Enhancement, but she literally could not them due to the fact that they were separated by hundreds of feet of space. Which is why Berserker had resorted to throwing things in the first place. But her Master's instructions were very clear, she was to kill the enemy Magus the first chance she could get, even if she had to be injured in doing so. Berserker took off like a bullet, grabbing one last trashcan and leaping over the river with the speed only a Servant could possess. About halfway through over the river she threw the receptacle directly at Lancer, pulling her sword out and preparing for battle as she headed straight for the Khan.

The trashcan struck first, most likely deflected like the Lancer had deflected the other projectiles, but the true attack was in the followup that was Berserker. She landed but a moment after the trashcan, already swinging at the Lancer in an attempt to crush him before the battle truly began. Each swing was with the intent to kill, each blow accompanied by A+ rank strength, enough power to destroy a building in a single swing. There was no control, no technique, simply raw power with the intent of crushing the enemy in her path.

[Assistant]
Lancer - Jangar, Khan of Bomba
Latin District - Send help

As soon as Berserker launched herself towards him, Lancer settled himself in a defensive stance; crouching low with his legs wide set and bent to absorb the impact of any attack, arms above his head as he held the Aram spear at an angle, point touching the ground and the long haft forming a diagonal barrier in front and above him to block his opponents charge. He had a fraction of a second between taking his stance and his opponent's first attack reaching him to wonder if provoking his opponent had been the wisest idea; the apparel of a knight, the weapon of a Saber and the ferocity of a Berserker, he had no idea who this mystery hero was but the aura they gave off, the pressure he felt from facing down their charge, was reminiscent of the monsters he had slain as a child.

The trashcan struck his spear with the force of a cannon shot, the receptacle exploding on impact and all but disintegrating under the forces at work as the width of Lancer's spear protected him from shrapnel. Berserker's first sword swing came less than a hair's breadth after, the brutality of it sending shockwaves down the length of the Aram spear to ground themselves in the street that its tip was resting against; even with some of the force being directed into the ground below him, a shock travelled down through Lancer's arms and into his body, his very bones protesting as Berserker threatened to turn him to dust on the first swing of their combat.

A crater formed beneath the Khan's feet and cracks spider-webbed outwards from his feet and from the tip of his spear's blade. He could not afford to take another hit like that, even blocking it felt like it was removing years from his life. As Berserker raised her sword for another swing Lancer shifted his stance, feet turning and hands adjusting their grip as he flicked his spear upward and around. The flat of the blade slapped against Berserker's sword and redirected the next attack, much as he had redirected the thrown fire hydrant, as he threw himself sideways out of its path. Even the air from the swords passing was dangerous, the wind it produced buffeting Lancer and trying to peel the skin from his exposed face and hands even as it pushed him further away from his opponent.

The remaining attack were dealt with in a similar manner, Lancer fighting a constant retreat as he sought to keep his opponent at the exact range of his spear, using the full twelve feet at his disposal to parry and redirect the knight's attack away from himself or even from the ground or buildings if he could manage it. Such steps were necessary when even the explosive force of a near miss could harm you.

@ItMeGritty@floodtalon

[User]
AHEZ-Canio
Palais Omnisports de Paris, Bercy, Residential District
He was dying. He could feel it. That spiteful, chaotic last gasp of his Master had truly done the job, hadn't it? He could scarcely understand the nature of what had occurred- had 'Ahez' entered 'Canio', or had 'Canio' entered 'Ahez'? He could not tell, he merely knew that he now bore a body of flesh when it was once one of something else, a ghost chained to a great puppet of meat. At the same time, that very vessel was crumbling.

This was only natural. The purity, density, strength, solidity and every other aspect of a Heroic Spirit is far beyond what a human body can ordinarily sustain. Something like possessing someone's physical body and giving them a Heroic Spirit's abilities is impossible. Even being possessed by one for a moment was a 'miracle'.

However, Canio was different. Not only was his grade as a Heroic Spirit exceptionally low, but he was a being that excelled at 'becoming others'. Rather than a stone that would shatter a glass it was dropped into, he was water that would suit the confines of his vessel. It was thanks to this that it was possible to achieve something resembling Heroic Spirit possession, tethered together by the ramshackle pressure of three Command Spells.

Even then, though, this was an 'impossibility'. His eyes saw countless futures, countless disasters in which the body crumbled apart before it could be stabilized. Even with the factors that made this event possible, it was still merely that: possible. Canio's 'weight' as a spirit was straining the confines, like freezing a glass bottle. It would not take long before the glass shattered from the inside out, especially if he maintained his 'presence as a Servant'.

Ordinarily, even this would have been incomprehensible to him. However, his eyes now saw things that they had never seen, countless possibilities that assailed his addled mind, a mind that now knew of magecraft, of the ravings and research of a lost girl. Indeed, the 'will' that had been engraved on him remained. His Master, a manifestation of the Ideal King Phenomenon, was not so easily defeated even in death. He was now Ahez just as much as he was Canio.

His presence faded, becoming that of a mere human's once again. By putting on the costume of a human, it was possible to slow the process of the world's corrective influence bearing down on him, as well as the decay of his vessel. Useful knowledge that flowed from the mind of his deceased Master.

Yes, even if 'Canio' had expected to die, the will that had been carved into him still had a role to accomplish.

Yes, even if 'Ahez' had countless plans and schemes that leveraged her advantages, the will that had possessed her was a fool through and through.

"The overture ends."

It was time to go exploring.


[System]
Age: Died when he was 27, now though, who knows.

Gender: Male

Appearance:

A tall man at a little over six feet tall with the muscular build of somebody who's fought battles his entire life. With longish crimson hair and golden eyes. Though usually taking the form of glowing crimson butterfly when he appears in human form, he is transparent. He usually appears wearing a bloodstained outfit akin to what a Samurai would wear, dating him in the Sengoku Era.

Personality: Not much is known about him currently, but judging from what he does, he appears to be kind and protective. He seems to care enough about the dead he leads to learn their names.

Physical Traits: ???

Mental Traits: ???

Abilities: He is able to manipulate things in this land between living and dead to a certain extent, such as bringing the teens back if they were to fall off the paths. He is also able to freely change between his true form and butterfly form.

Color: Red

How they died: ???

Clues Discovered: N/A

[User]
Crimson Butterfly: Journey

The scenery was unlike anything they had ever seen before, as they had lived in the big city of Tokyo. They were in a clearing, a small, circular, patch of dark soil amongst the darkness around them. They were the only living things among this circle, it seemed that everything else was dead. Outside the circle was a forest thick with tall dark pines making it impossible to see very far around them. It was completely silent, no birds, no rustling wind, anything to tell them that this was all a normal forest.

If one were to look up from the clearing, the sky would be completely clear. It was such a dark black that it looked nearly blue or purple. It was dotted by tiny silver stars that were completely unlike the sky that they were all used to. The constellations were all in different places. The moon was full and the color of blood, casting an eerie light into the clearing below.

From their patch of safety were three very different paths. All of them pointing north, with one straight and the other two angled to either the left or the right. The path in the middle looked like the safest, wide and free from branches, roots, or anything else that could impede their way. The one on the left was narrow enough that they'd have to pass through one by one. The ground was uneven and one who was clumsy might have had a hard time with it. The path on the right was too dark to see down, but appeared to be in between the two on terms on wideness. In front of the left path was a tiny, glowing, crimson, butterfly, the only spot of color other than themselves in the dark scenery. It was fluttering in lazy circles in front of the mentioned path, seemingly trying to lead them teens somewhere.

Each teen was in the small clearing, lying a bit a ways away from each other as not to scare any of them. A girl with bright red hair was directly in the middle of the clearing on her back. She'd wake up looking directly as the sky. The boy with snow colored hair was at the edge of the clearing, leaning against one of the many pine trees. His head, shoulders, and legs, were painted with pine needles, telling him that they had been there for some time. The girl with orange hair was laying directly in front of the middle path, a solitary branch from a nearby pine hung over her. The branch was thick and strong, something that would most definitely hold her weight. The final teen, a boy with dark hair was laying on the far side of the clearing. He was on his side and the first thing he was going to see was the girl with red hair.

[Assistant]
Tsukasa slowly regained consciousness. It was odd. One moment, he was.... Wait, where was he, actually? He couldn't remember what the hell he was doing before this, or anything substantial but his name at that. He slowly opened his eyes. His whole body ached. Before long, he finally opened his eyes, after blinking quite a few times before that. He was... in some kind of clearing? He looked around for a bit, and he also felt unusually agitated. His breathing was fast and he also felt his heart beating like crazy, After a while, he finally calmed down and stilled his breath. The intial panic subsided to give place to more rational thinking. He looked at his body, just to find himself being a mock of a pine tree. He was wearing a white dress shirt, along with rolled up dark pants, which were being held in place by a pair of red braces with yellow polka dots in them, so his clothes got painted really badly because of the pine needles. 'How long have I been here?' Tsukasa thought, before standing up and taking the little pine needles off his clothes with his hands, and then went on with his head.

He stopped briefly in where his hairpin was, and caressed it a bit. He thought he might remember something, but nothing really came to mind. He was feeling a bit frustrated but still... "Well! Things will just come together later!.... I think." Tsukasa said, to no one in particular, as he threw his arms behind his head. After that, he started walking through the forest he was in. It was really odd, to say the least. The trees didn't seem alive, they looked alive, but they didn't seem alive. It was an eerie feeling that took all over Tsukasa's being. His eyes were drawn to the sky next, while he tried to get away from that eerie feeling that made him frown. Much to his surprise, the sky didn't alleviate him, in fact, it just made him feel all the more intimidated.

It felt like an eerie premonition for something, but what? As far as he knew, he was all alone there, so no one could actually do something to him, or at least, he hoped that was the case. While he roamed through the forest, though, he suddenly stopped, moved his head around and then scratched his head. "Now, this is a problem. I think I'm a little lost." Tsukasa said. Not that he wasn't already lost, mind you, but the realization did only come to his head just now. He could only barely make out the space he was in. It was spacious, yes, maybe two people would fit into it? It was also pretty dark, and scary. Tsukasa wasn't even able to look down to the floor, for God's sake! Whatever it looked like or if he could use it to guide himself a little better was obscured by the unnatural darkness of the path.

[User]
Hideki felt....hard ground under him. He couldn't say why this was his thought but it felt as though it was the wrong kind of ground. 'What does that even mean?' he thought as he began to register the fact that there was little sound around him. Just as he had started to accept that there wasn't much to hear, he heard a voice which caused him to instantly snap his eyes open. "Well! Things will just come together later!.... I think." Hideki heard the footsteps of the boy who had just spoken, but he couldn't take his eyes off the sight just in front of him. There was a girl laying there who had hair that was redder than any hair he could remember seeing. In fact, he just realized, he couldn't remember anything.

He pushed himself up and propped himself up on one arm and noticed there was yet another person. Everything seemed......wrong was the best way to describe it. He knew he was in a forest, so where were all the animals? The trees weren't moving, but there wasn't even the feeling of a breeze. Even without that however, Hideki shivered. 'I don't really feel like hanging out here, but maybe one of these other two can help me. Plus, it'd be best to make sure they're alright.' He stood up and walked toward the pathways looking directly at the butterfly. It seemed to be unafraid of his presence, not that he was trying to frighten it, which was unusual. He stepped in front of the middle pathway and looked down it seeing that it seemed to be the clearest and likely best option to move forward.

He looked down at the girl laying practically at his feet and noticed the branch. He frowned slightly wishing he could help remove it, but knowing there was no way with how weak he was. He took a step back and turned to an angle where he could face both of them waiting for some sign of life. 'If neither of them move, I'll have to check their vitals. Should I have to check their vitals and there is any sign of life I should probably start gathering food and other sorts of supplies from wherever I can find them...' He quickly was lost in his thoughts.

[Assistant]
The first thing she remembers is the musky smell of dirt.

Erin exhaled deeply and stretched her limbs out, feeling the muscles tense and relax as she regained consciousness. She rolled over and lied on her back, before opening her eyes. The stars shone brightly above her, but a large branch highlighted by the light of the moon obscured her vision. She smiled softly and raised an arm to swat the branch away, but was only able brush the tips of the leaves oozing red. Still disoriented, she closed her eyes and dug her hands into the ground, rolling soft clumps of dirt between her fingers.

Red moon. Silver stars.

A spasm rocked through her body and she jerked into wakefulness, sitting up to stare at the sky. The moon shone a bright red and the stars sparkled metallically, as if mocking reality.

"Huh?"

She could not remember who she way or why she was there—she felt her chest hollow and her heart drop. It was then she noticed the presence behind her, and she immediately pivoted, ready to throw her entire weight into whatever it was.

It was a boy about her age, who looked just as confused as she. She studied his face for a moment before she relaxed. It was good to be around another person.

"Uh, hi," she said,"You wouldn't happen to know why we're here, would you? And is it just me or does the sky seem kind of weird?" It was a strangely casual remark for the situation she was in, but without her memories, extroversion was the default she felt comfortable with.

She took the moment to look around and noticed a glowing red light near a path to the left. It seemed to be flittering here and there, reminiscent to a firefly or a butterfly. Before looking closer to investigate, the bright color of red--the shade of a girl's hair--caught her eye.

"Damn," she murmured, and rushed to the girl's side,"what the hell is going on?" She shook the girl lightly and pressed a couple fingers to her throat. A pulse. She sighed in relief, and supported the girl to a sitting position. Erin looked at the other boy in the clearing and asked, "And you? You ok? I should've asked you that first."

[User]
'Mmmm.... Pine? Why do I smell pine trees? And why does my head hurt a bit? Its probably nothing.... And am I laying on the ground? I smell fresh soil too.... I know I need to wake up, but I don't want to open my eyes. I just want to lay here in peace.... Wait, is something touching my neck?! Why am I starting to sit up!? What the hell is going on here!?' Mika thought to herself, quickly opening her Peridot eyes as she stiffened at the sight of her surroundings.

She shook off the girl and scrambled to her feet, dusting off her black and white attire as she stared at the three people in front of her; One boys, and another girl. The girl with the orange hair was kneeling on the ground where she once was, having been the one helping sit her up. And then the boy with the black hair.... She looked closely at him, trying to figure out this weird feeling she had going on in her gut.

"W-Who are you all, and what are you doing here? What am I even doing here? What's going on, and why can't I remember anything?! Did you two do this to me!?" Rose asked as she started to panic, not knowing what to do, where she was, or even who she was. This was so confusing, she just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. So many questions roamed her mind as she leaned against a pine tree, her eyes wandering from the two people who seemed to be the only ones, to the glowing red butterfly that appeared to have the color of her hair all over it.

It was absolutely beautiful, her mind mesmerized as she approached it and offered it her finger. "What is a wonderful innocent being doing in such a forest like this?" She questioned it quietly, her blood red hair swaying a bit as she shook her hair back and forth. "Why must bad things happen to such good creatures?" She asked even quieter than before, wondering if anybody had heard her or not. She was calmed by this butterfly somehow, the sight of something good in this ominous place felt like a relief to her.

She waited patiently for someone to answer her questions, wondering if they even knew themselves.... Or if she could even trust them for that matter.

[Assistant]
The Crimson Man
"No, no, no, no! Why did Seiji have to go down the right path! He'll never find his way through the darkness without any light." The Crimson Man said to himself in a panicked tone. Not that the teens could hear him in his butterfly form. All they could see what his flight pattern change to something more erratic and panicked. It would seem he would have to lead them down the right path instead of the safety of the left one. The right path was tricky even with light, there were sudden twists and turns that if not followed would lead the teens off the edge of a drop, or onto freezing cold water. They couldn't die here, considering they were already dead, but it would wear him out to bring them back each time.

That was part of his deal with Kami-sama, he could manipulate things somewhat in this land between the living and the dead, but not without cost. Because his job would be easy, and Kami-sama didn't want that. Then every undeserving teenager would get a second chance at life and screw it up. Only those who proved themselves got to go back. The Crimson Man hoped that this group would make it. They really did deserve to go back after dying in such horrible ways. He wished he could take his human form and hug them all, but that would scare them. And he couldn't touch them in his own, ghostly form. It was Mika who was the first to approach him, reaching out a finger for him to land on. Normally he would have, but there was no time now. Instead he did the butterfly equivalent of bop to the nose. He fluttered past her, brushing her nose with a wing as he did. He stopped at the right path and increased his glow, showing the teens that he could light the path if needed. And it was needed if they were all going to get to the next clearing safely.

The Right Path

The right path was exactly as described. A long, pitch black road with sudden twists and turns leading to drops, water, ditches, things that wouldn't be fun for anybody. If those turns weren't taken, the teens would find themselves in a bind. Seiji was very close to one that led to a ditch that would be impossible for him to climb back up himself. The path was really only dangerous if one wandered off without the light the crimson butterfly could offer. It was one of the longer beginning paths and could tire out those without much stamina. But was wide enough that those who were clumsy didn't need to worry about falling off.


[System]
BASIC
Goes By (Nicknames): Mel
Age: 2,500 approx.
Gender: Female
Race: Silvan Elf

APPEARANCE

Face Claim (Actor/Actress They're Played By): Ehh, she's never really had an actress per se, it's a drawn picture that I found on google that I use for her but it's just perfect for her xD)
Hair Color: Straw blonde
Eye Color: Ice blue
Skin Tone: Quite pale-porcelain-ish
Height: 6 ft
Weight: No idea tbh XD I'm no good at working out weights lol let's just say she weighs around what she's supposed to for her height
Build: Slender and tall like all of her kin, well-muscled with a strong/sturdy frame overall
Weapons: Bow (which was once her father's, was passed on to her when she was old enough to learn to shoot), Rapier, set of elven fighting knives

Overall Appearance:
Appearance + "Casual" Clothing (ignore the sword and the magic mist stuff, she doesn't have that xD) :

Armor:

Arm guards:

Bow:

Rapier:

Daggers:

PERSONALITY

Likes: The stars/star watching, spending time with her family, killing orcs etc.
Dislikes: Orcs and other such evil beings, watching her loved ones sad/suffering
Strengths: An excellent and swift fighter with both bow and blade, fiercely loyal and devoted to her family and loved ones, will always stand up for her beliefs and friends
Weaknesses: Headstrong and stubborn, does not always listen to others' advice or orders. Often impulsive and rushes into things before thinking of consequences.
Fears: Surviving severe injury but not being able to fight or look after herself properly, losing Legolas or Thranduil, being unable to have her own children someday

Overall Personality:
(huge paragraphs oops sorry-have a basic breakdown in case you don't feel like reading the whole thing xD)
Sarcastic | Untrusting | Loyal | Sharp-tongued/snappy | Compassionate | Sensitive

Mel is a witty, fairly sharp tongued and often sarcastic individual, she is wary of strangers and will take quite some time to trust most she meets, though those who have a child-like innocence about them seem to find her trust a lot easier. However her tough exterior does hide a soft and loving side deep down. To her family and close friends she is devoted and gentle, and would do anything for them. Losing someone that she cares deeply for affects her more than most perhaps, and it would take her a good few centuries on most accounts to reach the point where she can accept it fully and "move on" from it as well as she is capable. Indeed she still feels melancholy at thoughts of her passed relatives but can push it aside if the situation calls for it. Her sense of duty is unparalleled to most, and many a Mirkwood soldier who has served under her command has been known to describe Mel as "hard headed and as determined and foul-tempered as a Warg keeping hold of the last scrap of meat at mealtime". Once she has a job to do, she will not abandon it for any cause, no matter the consequences, until the task is completed.

Mel is extremely wary of dragons and would sooner attempt to kill one than converse with it, regardless of whether it approached her in a friendly manner or not. She has seen the ruin and death that dragons can bring, and indeed she will never forgive the beasts for tearing apart her family, to ask her to befriend one will be met with only contempt, bitterness and hate on her end. Other than dragons, there is very little that sparks enough fear in her to reduce her to a blubbering mess, as Mel is a particularly tenacious individual which is to be expected from someone who has grown up in a forest which has been steadily taken over by darkness and evil. Having to slay and fight with nests crawling with extremely large spiders on a daily basis means it's not exactly a "good idea" for lack of a better way to phrase it, to be afraid of them. However, anything larger than those spiders which she has experienced in Mirkwood is highly likely to leave her rather bemused and more than slightly concerned, as she has never confronted any arachnid of a larger size before in her life. In regards to how she responds to fear, even when Mel is scared to death she is not the type of individual to stand there literally quaking in her boots, whimpering and bawling. Instead she typically takes on the "rabbit in the headlights" kind of approach and tends to completely freeze up, totally unsure of whether to run away or fight whatever puts her in that position.

While she is by no means a "damsel in distress", nor does she necessarily act like a "spoilt princess", however she does occasionally act at rather 'high and mighty' as some may describe it, because of her well-off upbringing. Mel isn't a tantrum thrower by any stretch of the imagination, but she does at times react to things which displease her by pouting and/or sulking and then proceeding to make some sort of snide comment on the matter. Snide comments and sharp remarks are something Mel is never short of, which may come as a shock to some as they would expect someone of her upbringing to be "polite and lady-like", though she is far from it. She is not inherently rude all the time, and due to countless lessons from her aunt and uncle in her younger years she is perfectly capable of acting in a civil manner to form treaties, alliances and other such things, and is indeed even rather capable of sitting in on many political matters and being rather persuasive towards her own or her kingdom's need and win the opposing party over - even if it bores her to death! She does not take lightly to insults towards either herself or her family or kingdom, and unfortunately it doesn't take much to get her riled up. Mel is not unknown to take a swing or two at someone who overstepped their mark with her, though for the most part she tries her best to keep herself controlled and will usually just respond in turn with some other cutting remark towards the person who started the whole affair.

BACKGROUND

Date of Birth: I actually haven't been able to work it out exactly just yet XD it's a couple decades before Legolas', though ;)
Place of Birth: Mirkwood (well, back then it was still Greenwood but yeah XD)
Family Relations: Ardor (father, deceased) Thranduil (uncle), Legolas (cousin)

[User]
"Thorin!" Kili shouted as he tried to push through the crowd to get to his uncle as Thorin was thrown to the ground by one of the goblin subjects, who was lining up his foul blade to cleave the dwarf prince's head off.

But at that very moment, a bright white light burst forth from behind the group and engulfed them all, making the goblins scream and drop to the floor, stunned. As the dwarves blinked and looked about them, dazed, and the light cleared, they saw Gandalf standing there.
"Take up arms!" the wizard instructed, raising his voice to shout loudly. "Fight! FIGHT!"

[Assistant] Scrambling for their weapons, the dwarves fought their way through the caves of goblin town. One by one, a goblin junped at then here and there as the Fae followed them while taking flight ahead of them, clearing the bridges by violently colliding into the small goblins off the side. Allowing them a safe passage, the last thing they wanted to see, was the king again. In the way he was, he mocked them. "What are you going to do now, wizard?", Maleficent angrily swiped out her dagger and suddenly stabbed the goblin king through the head. "That'll do it", with him dead, his weight caused the bridge to collapse.

[User]
With shouts of surprise, the dwarves clamoured to keep hold as the entire bridge that they were standing on plummetted far below, they all landed in a pile at the bottom, with the planks of wood all on top of them. Groaning loudly, they tried to get up and brush off the debris.
"Well, that could have been worse." declared Bofur matter-of-factly and trying to make something cheerful of the matter. At least they were free of the goblins now.

However, no sooner had the dwarf said it, than the goblin king's corpse collapsed directly on top of them.
"Oh, you have got to be joking!!!" Dwalin hollered angrily as the dwarves squirmed out from underneath the body.

It was then that Kili looked back behind them as he heard the scurrying of thousands of feet heading towards them, and saw a mass of snarling, hissing goblins heading directly for them.
"Um...Gandalf...!!" he yelled to the wizard.

[Assistant] As the bridge was falling, Maleficent did lose her wind current and fell along with everyone else, but landed a few feet from the wreckage. Seeing the corpse drop, she gave a wince at the sight of them being crushed. Helping them out, she lifted some parts of the bridge that was on top of them, in order to help the squirming be easier. As she was about to move the piece that was above Kili, she couldn't but look up at the thousands of goblins running after them. "Time to go", she quickly said in a small voice as she managed to get the young dwarf out.

[User]
"Go? What do you mean 'go'?!" Kili repeated Maleficent's instructions back at her, though ran as she had nudged him to.
"There's only one thing that will save us now," Gandalf clarified with an explanation, ushering the other dwarves towards the exit also. "daylight! Run, all of you!"

[Assistant]
Ushering them through the caves, Maleficent felt relieved as she finally felt the sun upon her. Running down the mountainside, she still by Kili's side, relieved that they both managed to stay through the predicament.

"Five, six, seven, eight. Bifur, Bofur, that's ten. Fili, Kili, Maleficent, that's thirteen. And Bombur, that makes fourteen. Where's Bilbo? Where is our hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!", Gandalf shouted over them as they finally came to a stop.

[User]
The dwarves all looked to and fro in surprise, as if they had all only just realised that the hobbit wasn't with them.
"Well, I thought he was with Dori!" cried one of the dwarves. Though at that shout Dori looked rather offended.
"Don't blame me, I'm not his babysitter!" he protested.

Meanwhile, Bilbo had just managed to escape Gollum and the goblins by turning invisible when wearing the ring he had found on the floor in Gollum's cave.

[Assistant] "What happened exactly? Tell me!", the wizard demanded. "I'll tell you what happened", Thorin stepped up. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again, he is long gone", Bilbo slips off his ring and steps out from behind the tree he was hiding behind. "No, he isn't", hearing this, the dwarves are surprised and look glad to see him. "Bilbo Baggins. I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life", Gandalf felt relieved at seeing the hobbit, alive and well.

[User]
"But how on earth did you get past the goblins?!" Kili asked, astounded that the hobbit had managed to escape the tunnels alone.
"How indeed!" Dwalin echoed, wanting to know just as badly.
"Yes, well..." Bilbo cleared his throat awkwardly and slipped the ring subtly back into his pocket, hoping they wouldn't notice.

Gandalf however it seemed had noticed, though he didn't say anything and simply shook his head.
"That doesn't matter now, what matters is he is back, and all in one piece!"
"It matters!" Thorin insisted in a growl, stepping forward. "I want to know!" turning to face the hobbit he asked. "Why did you come back?"

[Assistant]
"Look, I know you doubt me. I know...I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my arm chair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, cause...you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you, but I will help you take it back if I can", Bilbo explained calmly to the group, and the fae couldn't help but curl a smile on her lips.

Azog and his warg army show up, seeing the group down the mountainside. "Run them down! Tear them to pieces!", he yelled in Black Speech to which Maleficent understood perfectly. A couple of wargs come running down the mountain, howling.

Maleficent's smile dissappeared when she saw the wargs coming. "Run. Run!", she started small until she raised her voice for them to hear. "Run with them, I'll catch up", she told the twins.

[User]
"But..." Kili began to protest though he couldn't finish his sentence as Fili grabbed his cloak and pulled him after the others who were already running behind Gandalf down the mountain.

However, they were then put in a predicament because they found that it soon ended in a cliff, and they had nowhere left to run to. Thinking quickly, Gandalf shouted to them.
"Climb the trees, quickly!"

[Assistant] As they continued to climb the tree, Fili was helping his brother climb, but the youngest almost lost his grip as the tree began to shake. The wargs were trying to knock the tree down! That wasn't going to help them at this rate, and getting wasn't an option! A warg managed to at least climb a little up the tree, but didn't get far. A female shout of Black Speech came to the creatures, and the fae aggressively collided and toppled one of them off the cliff that was below. Knowing that it wasn't over yet, the female charged back and hit one of the riders head-on.

[User]
Bilbo had been forced to stop, by sheer luck managing to stab the Warg that had chased him through the head, killing it. However, his sword then got stuck in the creature's skull and he had to brace his foot against it to be able to pull it back out. By then all the others were up in the branches of the tree, and the pack was still advancing.
"Oh dear..."


[System]
Chelsea Sparks - Old name
Race:
Caucasian
Age:
25
Bio:
Lizzie's had a pretty rough life, a native to the Mojave she's been through the wringer since she was born. Parents were killed when she was a kid by some raiders after getting false promises from the NCR about safety. Afterwards, she took to raiding herself, gaining somewhat of a dislike for the Republic. Eventually she joined up with others, and while they weren't quite big shot bandits like the Vipers, Fiends and such, they did well for themselves as one might expect raiders to do. Even earned themselves a bit of a notoriety, enough to gain a sizable bounty on all their heads. At least, until, there was a bit of a falling out over something.

She doesn't exactly talk about it, but it ended with them dead with her alive. In an effort to both clear her name and set herself straight, she started bounty hunting, taking a new name in the process. To legitimize herself and cover her tracks, she deemed bringing their severed heads to the person in charge as a must.

Despite everything, she maintains a somewhat cheerful attitude, and perhaps, takes a bit too much enjoyment in her new profession.

Skills:
Science - Lizzie's interest in science purely used to be chem based. After getting clean (mostly, still can't quite shake the jet), she put it to more survival focused things, and putting old world tech to use. She may not be the best, but she can get around most places.

Guns - Learning to defend yourself and kill before your killed is a good idea. Lizzie's a notoriously good shot. Typically, she prefers long to mid range weapons, but can handle close range combat well enough as long as it doesn't take too long.

Explosives -Explosives are a pretty quick answer to any problem. Watching the ensuing 'boom' is always fun, too. A bit of a pyromaniac in that regard.

Sneak - Sometimes, a good sneak attack is needed. Sometimes, getting away from trouble and staying out is the best idea. Liz is pretty good at telling which is needed for each job.

Talents:
Perception
Agility

Flaws:
Charisma
Endurance

Signature Weapon:
Brush Gun

Gear:
.45-70 Gov't Ammunition, Hatchet, Modified Bounty Hunter Duster, Jet, Weapon Repair kit

[User] Lizzie unconsciously licked her lips as the Gecko head splattered into giblets. There was something fun about just watching something explode like that. Quickly, as they scrambled up the wall she positioned her gun downwards, over the edge of the cliff. Swiftly, two more shots were unloaded at two different geckos in an effort to thin their numbers before they got to her. As soon as the second shot left the chamber, she backed away from the cliff edge, ready to put more rounds into the Gecko the moment they climbed over.

[Assistant] Sure enough both geckos fell off the walls as giblets. It was a bloody mess and frankly one of them wouldn't have much meat left on him to eat unless you was to scrap up his remains into kebabs. Despite this overwhelming firepower the last two geckos continued to climb up until they were finally on the ridge with you. It was a narrow ridge, so it was close-quarters combat. And it wouldn't take long for them to charge at you trying to bite your legs. Their teeth were like forty switch blades being popped out all at once, ready for stabbing into some meat.

[User]
Maybe she shouldn't be quite so eager to blast them, a bunch of meat was goin' to waste.

Eh, oh well.

Realizing she didn't have quite as much room as she thought, Liz opted for some close quarters combat. She grabbed the barrel of her gun, swinging the butt of her rifle into the mouth of one of the lizards, using the weapon more like a glorified baseball bat than its intended purpose. She didn't take time to holster the rifle, instead simply letting the weapon fall to the ground and attempting to dodge the second gecko and using the time to pull her hatchet from her belt.

[Assistant] Your improvised use of your gun was mostly effective, good enough to knock one of the geckos out from the air however it didn't kill the beast. It did make him stunned if only for a moment. The second gecko however was able to get a scratch on you, biting into your leg. While you can certainly feel it, your pants and duster were doing a decent enough job to prevent the gecko's teeth from finding any skin. If it were a bigger one, you'd likely be losing some flesh and maybe even bone. Still you'd ought to act fast. The nasty critter was gnawing, tearing through your duster's leather.

[User] "Ngh!" Lizzie winced, feeling the gecko's teeth clamp down on her leg. On the bright side, it was right in striking distance. The bounty hunter grabbed her hatched, wrapping both hands around its grip and swung the blade right into the side of the lizard's skull.

[Assistant] You'd feel a slight sting as the gecko's teeth cut into flesh, but as soon as the blade of your axe left the gecko's skull, the beast fell to the ground twitching. It would spasm there for the rest of it's very short life, dying in about twelve or so seconds. That left the last lizard, the one you had stunned with your rifle, who continued to run and lunge right at you. Despite being so small and physically puny, these creatures were physically capable of rather impressive levels of athleticism, not just their climbing ability but also leaping. This is most important because the last gecko jumped high enough that it was going to try and bite your face.

[User]
Ow.

Note to self: Gecko Teeth hurt.

Still fourth one down, one to - "Gweh?!" Damn, she really needed to remember how fast these little snacks were. The redhead, barely had seconds to react as she brought up her hatchet, holding it between her face and the creatures teeth hoping to catch the creature mid jump on it. She'd try to shove it off of her - in times like this having something like a pistol she could just pull out would be fuckin' amazing. Assuming it was successful, she'd make an attempt to drive the blade of the weapon into this ones head.

[Assistant]
Not a moment too soon before you manage to catch the gecko as it bites down onto the handle of your hatchet. It holds fast despite not catching any meat, allowing you to swing it into the nearby wall just long enough to stun it once more, and finish it off with another axe to the head. This once was a cleaner cut and nearly decapitated the gecko, finally leaving you with nothing but a few dead lizards. It wouldn't take too long if you felt like skinning and butchering these geckos; hides were always in some demand from traders who knew people who could turn them into clothing and textiles, and the meat was... Palpable enough. Obviously don't eat it raw; gecko meat is highly radioactive and it's a good way to get cancer. But once you grill them on an open flame, they're a decent enough snack and unlike most wasteland critters, the radiation actually helps make sure the meat doesn't catch diseases.

You'd be able to obtain at least four usable gecko hides, though one was notably missing it's entire head. As for meat, taking the best cuts you find about seven pounds of the stuff all together. There were more bits of the gecko you could eat, but that meat is tough and unpalatable no matter what you do with it. Better off leaving it to the flies. And finally, seemed like one of the geckos was pregnant, because you found one gecko egg. Gecko eggs are hard to cook though due to their high acidic, making terrible omelettes. You've heard of some crazy wastelanders making cocktails with them, but those usually ended with said wastelander dying of some sort of alcohol based poisoning, which may or may not have been made worse by the gecko eggs.

Once you'd finish figuring out what to do with these gecko bits, it was more or less a straight shot to Primm. The town seems almost peaceful from a distance, but you know that it's going to get loud once you make your presence known there. You can see the big old bison from your position too. The fact it wasn't on fire at the moment might be considered a good thing for Primm's state of welfare.

[User]
.45-70 Gov't Ammunition
Hatchet
Modified Bounty Hunter Duster
Jet x1
Weapon Repair kit x1
Firebomb x2
Gecko hides x4
Gecko meat 7lbs
Gecko Egg

"Whew..." Lizzie grunted, taking a moment to collect her rifle from where she had discarded it. "Looks like meat's on the menu for dinner tonight, haha!" She laughed, setting about the rather bloody work of skinning and gutting the gecko's. Always a good idea to try and get skins. Traders would always pay for 'em, and if not, she could probably find some more use for them herself. More importantly was the meat. Call her crazy, but she had a particular love for Gecko meat. Might even be able to use the Egg as an impromptu throwing weapon.

Finally done with the work, Lizzie made sure any injury she had wasn't too terrible before setting off.

Primm.

She had been there a few times before. She wouldn't be surprised if someone recognized her from her old gang. Well, maybe she could get in without getting into too much trouble or recognition.

In and out.

"...maybe an explosion or two." Lizzie giggled, making her way towards the city. It definitely wasn't going to remain peaceful once she found her bounty.

[Assistant]
The rest of your travel to Primm was fair peaceful aside from the occasional gecko, bro g being alone they simply ran away from you. As you'd approach the first thing you would notice would not be Primm itself, but the NCR. Seems like they had a little base set up across the bridge from Primm, their flag flying high. However there was only a single soldier at the gate who would stop you as you approach.

"Whoa where the hell do you think you're going? Havent you heard? Primm's under lock down right now. Whole gang has taken over the town."

[User]
.45-70 Gov't Ammunition
Hatchet
Modified Bounty Hunter Duster
Jet x1
Weapon Repair kit x1
Firebomb x2
Gecko hides x4
Gecko meat 7lbs
Gecko Egg

---

Oh.

The NCR.

Great.

Lizzie's soft smile didn't betray the fact her mood had been thoroughly soured at the sight of them. She almost wanted to just ignore them. Not like their rule was respected out here anyways, and she wasn't particularly fond of getting held up by them either.

"Heh, yep, I've heard." Lizzie replied in a fairly non-hostile tone despite the sass of the words. "Looks like you guys could do a better job." Her smile widened, glancing in the direction of the Bison Steve. "So I'm gonna do it for ya. Leader of that gang? I got a firebomb with his name on it." She only stopped long enough to reply before heading across the bridge.

[Assistant] The soldier looked at you strangely, but didn't stop you. "Fine, but don't say we didn't warn you. Just mind yourself on the bridge, we've set up landmines to keep the gangs away from our side." Sure enough, going across the bridge was slightly perilous. There were a few fragmentation mines scattered on the bridge. They didn't enough enough power behind them to blow up the bridge they they went off, but they'd certainly be able to kill anyone who made the mistake of being within the vicinity when they went off. As for Primm itself, it was a pretty large town. It was a straight shot to the Bison Steve, but you could already hear the hollering of the gangsters throughout the city, doing god knows what.

[User]
"Wow sounds like a party." Lizzie mused, stepping across the bridge, wary of the mines. Really, she could respect a good explosion or two but blocking off an entire bridge just seemed excessive. That was bad for everyone! Just keep a fresh supply of grenades or set up some sort of sentry or something if they wanted to make a choke point.

Not that it'd mattered. If the Gangers wanted to attack them, they could just try from a different position.

Now, did she want to take care of everyone else or simply go after the big bad guy? Wasn't like she'd get paid for taking out the rest of them. Her bounty was just for Thrasher, no one else. Eh, couldn't hurt to take out a few of them. A bit more info and maybe a few supplies, but nothing more than a few.

Wasn't there a mail station or something in Primm?

Lizzie made her way towards the station slowly, rifle at the ready and sticking to the shadows in an effort to get the drop on anyone that might be in her way.

[Assistant]
You walk through the streets of Primm with a finger on your trigger. Finding the mail place was easy enough; it was the Mojave Express. They even had a sign, or what was left of one. However as you approached you could hear voices in the distance. Those voices began shouting, and shouting turned into gunshots. As you'd get closer you'd be just in time to see a three men armed with some pistols surrounding a fresh dead corpse. They wore matching blue uniforms with cheap armored vests, some of them wearing trooper helmets. Looked like some unfortunate courier had just been gunned down in cold blood, and right in front of the Mojave Express as well.

The three men, Powder Gangers, were chuckling to themselves as they looked through the dead body for valuables. They wouldn't notice you at all.

[User]
.45-70 Gov't Ammunition
Hatchet
Modified Bounty Hunter Duster
Jet x1
Weapon Repair kit x1
Firebomb x2
Gecko hides x4
Gecko meat 7lbs
Gecko Egg

---

Three people that didn't know they were dead yet, huh? Should be easy enough to handle them. Hopefully it wouldn't kill all of them, she at least wanted to ask one where exactly Thrasher was holed up in Bison Steve. Approaching slowly, Lizzie pulled a firebomb from her belt. Quickly, she ignited the fuse and held it for just a few seconds before tossing it in between the three of them.

Immediately after, she pulled her rifle, taking shots at two of the gangers head, with the third getting some in his kneecaps.


[System]
Game Origin:
Fire Emblem: Awakening

Appearance:

Personality:
Henry is, to put it lightly, absolutely psychotic. But at least he's a psychopath with a cheery personality. A dark mage with little to no morals is a volatile force indeed and usually meant to be avoided and the constant smile on his face makes it all the more creepy when combined with his love of violence.

Henry's amorality is extremely prevalent to those who have been around him enough. He has done things such as extending a war by informing someone of an assassination plot so as not to "waste a perfectly fun war." And is certainly not past him to throw away the life of innocents for victory in war. Though he has been seen protecting innocents under the orders of the tactician of his army, even at a tactical disadvantage. Even with his willingness to follow orders he has expressed his desire to rebel, and even kill, against his superiors if given a 'stupid' order such as not being allowed to kill.

Despite his tendency to violence and love of death, Henry is a surprisingly caring person when he finds people he actually cares about and will do anything to make them happy. He will even go as far as to curse people to death (which isn't that far for him) for the sake of his loved ones.

Henry is quite the jokester, often making puns or macabre jokes. Laughing quite often in dangerous situations and ignoring the gravity of situations completely. This could be attributed to how slow he is to feel pain and how much he seems to ignore it despite disliking it. He also lacks a fear of death at all which can make him even more dangerous in a fight.

Henry also has a soft spot for animals and animals often love him in return. Being especially close to a wolf at one point and usually having a flock of crows surrounding him.

Despite his violent personality and a love of blood and gore, it is hard to call Henry inherently "evil." It seems to be more a lack of morals and difficulty telling what's right and wrong.

Background:
In the continent of Ylisse, there were three countries. Regna Ferox, a country that values strength so much that they hold tournaments to decide who will rule. The Halidom of Ylisse, a peaceful nation ruled by a benevolent Exalt. And finally the theocracy of Plegia, an aggressive nation that largely worships the Fell Dragon Grima. Henry was a dark mage who belonged to Plegia. When he was a small child Henry's parents wanted nothing to do with him and abandoned him at a magic school in the country. The school was an awful place full of pain for Henry, he even described a spiked room he would be stuck into if he acted up and how he almost died.

When he was still a child Henry grew particularly fond of a wolf whom he would play with. This happy relationship ended abruptly when the creature tried to visit him at the village he lived in and the villagers killed the poor wolf. Henry found the animal dead and surrounded by villagers causing Henry to snap and slaughter the entire village.

Over the years and after his schooling Henry became one of the most powerful dark mages in all of Plegia and earned himself quite the reputation. Though he had no loyalty to his country shortly before the current war between Plegia and Ylisse ended and he ended up secluding himself in a place called Carrion Isle. Two years after the war was finished it was there that he was recruited by the tactician Robin and Prince Chrom of the Halidom of Ylisse when an army of zombies called Risen attacked the group. After assisting the group Henry followed along and helped in their endeavors to fight a war threatening the entire continent.

Shortly after the Halidom had finished fighting against another continent known as Valm, the nation of Plegia attacked again. Their new leader, a sorcerer named Validar, was attempting to resurrect the Fell Dragon itself using the body of Robin as its vessel. With the dark dragon Grima brought back to life the army did what they had to do, and through the blessing of the goddess Naga and the bonds of friendship formed the powerful evil was vanquished. Or at least, that's how the story would go if it were not for Galeem's all consuming light.

Specialty:
Damage-focused mage

Level:
1

Experience:
0/10

Powers:
Ruin- A type of dark magic that is somewhat inaccurate but with a higher rate of dealing more damage than normal.

Strengths:
Pain Tolerance- Due to his constant dealing with pain he has built up the ability to deal with it very well and slow to realize it in the first place. Without him really worrying about pain he is able to fight well even while injured. "Oh, NICE! I'm still bleeding in, like, twelve different places! Look at all that blood..."
Health and Defense- For a magic user he has a surprising amount of health and physical defense (a 95% chance to get health on level up in game and 50% for defense with a naturally high amount in those stats from the beginning) though he can hardly be considered a tank.

Weaknesses:
Magic Resistance- Despite his high physical defense he has very low resistance and is thus very weak to magical attacks.
Lack of Pain- a downside to his ignoring of pain is that he is less likely to seek help if injured and continue fighting even if he shouldn't.
Child-like demeanor- Even with his violence his personality is almost innocent, for lack of a better word. This can make him easily manipulated if you play to his likes.

Spirits:
"Not unless you count ghosts of people I killed, haha!"

Kindred Spirits:
Grima (Fire Emblem: Awakening)- The Fell Dragon itself… sort of. This variation of Grima is the spirit of the dragon in its hosts body which is a version of Robin. While stuck in a mortal body Grima can only harness a fraction of its powers. Despite them never meeting personally Henry's attachment to its host helps make this interesting duo possible

Canas (Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade)- A dark mage like Henry, but differed drastically with his kind nature and love of knowledge.

Yashiro Tsurugi (Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE)- Yashiro is someone known as a Mirage Master who works with a spirit of someone from Henry's world, and has personally met two of Henry's allies, Chrom and Tharja.

Inventory:
A tome for his Ruin spell

[User]
Magnumus Agoston, Centurion.

Level 3 - (2/30) EXP (still thinking of what new power to get)
Location: MegaDragonBowser castle
Word Count: 470
---

"Very well. Thank you, Tora." He said, filled with grim determination. He placed the spirit against his chest, right over his heart, and it vanished within his breastplate. Suddenly he was all alight, and he could see nothing but flames. He cried out in fear, assuming he had totally ignited. But there was no pain, just heat. An uncomfortable level of heat. His helmet shifted, and there was the crunching of metal as two horns burst from his forehead and pierced the flat, steel face of his helm.

He felt himself grow larger and stronger. "Dear God! I'm on fire!" He called out, attempting to pat out the flames. But they subsided shortly, and the astonished armored warrior was left looking over himself in disbelief. The black pits of his helm's eye holes were now glowing embers.

An armored gauntlet came up and gingerly touched the horns. "Oh, my." Something felt wrong in his mouth. He ran his tongue over his teeth, and they were sharper. If he had hair, it would be red and spikey.

"I'm a demon." He mourned regretfully. But he did not feel like sacrificing goats, or pillaging the innocent. He only felt stronger.

"The powers of Hell are granted upon me..." He clenched his fist, and then sheathed his gladius, which now seemed like a dagger in his hands.

"I'll need a bigger blade." He mumbled to himself. No, he thought. This was important.

"I need a bigger sword!" Agoston demanded proudly."But now, we feast. A just reward for such a fierce battle."

The Centurion plopped himself down in a chair, the poor piece of furniture almost crumbling beneath his now much larger form. He attempted to remove his helmet, only for the article of armor to be stuck on his horns. Grunting, he tore it off, ruining the poor thing.

"I need another helmet, too. With horn holes." He wondered if there was a blacksmith. For the first time, everyone could see his face. It was battered, scarred, and rugged from years of conflict, and now his teeth were razor sharp, horns burst from his head and his eyes were burning coals. Were it not for his relaxed body language and face, he could easily be mistaken for some horrible villain. The Centurion rapped his knuckles on the table.

"Come on! A feast! The Princess commands it." He looked down a Tora and winked. "And a toast as well. To our fallen friends." As he prepared to gulp down whatever drink he had in mind, a ruckus was approaching. An intruder of some kind. He grumbled and downed his drink in one go.

"What's this!?" The horned man called out. "Be quiet!" He chucked the mug as hard as he could at the stranger.

[Assistant]
Blazermate

Level 4 - (11/40) EXP - Learned Dispenser Toolbox
Location: Peach's Castle
Word Count: 407

The battle was over. With a lot of punishment coming from Ratchet, the mages, Michael's rifle, and the kid, MegaDragonBowser was down for good, although not without a few taunts. Blazermate was actually a bit concerned with his taunt, trying to get Bowser to absorb his soul. The two were basically the same thing, so it would feel like that it'd be super easy for this boss to influence bowser in the worst way possible, all of which Tora and his friend pointed out and Blazermate was all too familiar with. "I agree with Popi. I'm the only lady who is around that has taken in a spirit for more than a little bit. And it does change you, just like new parts do." She said, telling the king koopa to stay away from that spirit.

With the defeat of MegaDragonBowser, the castle seemed to get... nicer? It was hard to explain, but it was as if the entire area was free of Galeem's control, all the Galeem controlled Toads going back to normal as apparently a princess named Peach came from... somewhere to greet everyone. Blazermate wasn't too impressed unlike a few of the others at her appearance, but went with the group anyway as they made their way to another room in the castle, finding their other allies that weren't part of the megadragonbowser fight.

Speaking up, the Centurian took the spirit. After a bit of hesitation, with some help from Tora, the Centurian took the soul into himself, and after a bit of light and flame, he emerged, a more demonic, firey version of himself. "Aw hell. All I got was trousers and this weird, not cute accent. You get demonic. Lucky," Blazermate said, jealously looking at the Centurian's new form. While the rest of her team mates were eager for the food in the mess hall, Blazermate wasn't interested being a robot and all. Instead, she noticed a newcomer making his way to kick Bowser who was busy arguing! Seeing this, Blazermate put her healing beam on Bowser, although she doubted this guy could hurt him too badly.

[User]
Level 2 (17/20)
Location: Peach's Castle
Word Count: 322

As soon as the giant dragon turtle went down the black fog dissipated as Henry had no need for it anymore. He watched curiously as the the creature gave its final speech to the real Bowser. It was a heartfelt thing almost, if it wasn't for the ominous smile on the dying Bowser's face. The mage wasn't all that interested up until a weird… spirit thing appeared from the enemy. That immediately caught his attention. After approaching closer and listening in it was made obvious that this was in fact the spirit of the dead Bowser. And what else were they talking about, absorbing it? This left the boy confused until he saw the loud, armored man absorb into his body which quickly changed the man into what looked like a demon. "Woah… that's awesome! Do all the enemies drop spirits like that here? Can I get stuff like that too? Ooooh maybe I can finally get wings like a crow!" While too busy freaking out about this new revelation about the world he almost forgot to ask about another important thing he overheard. Galeem.

"Oh right, so what's up with this Galeem guy you mentioned? Why am I here anyway? Or better yet where am I?" All of these questions that Henry had been holding back till now all came forward to the small group that had gathered around the Bowser spirit. But whether or not his questions were answered someone else approached and attacked the spiky turtle that Henry was starting to grow fond of based off appearance alone. That wasn't going to fly with him. The dark mage whipped around and prepared a spell. "Careful there, attack us and you might just end up dead!" As he called this out a spark of dark magic appeared on the floor under Gene's feet, indicating that an explosion of dark magic would occur in a moment if he didn't move fast.


[System]
Appearance

Race: Human

Occupation: Thug/Gang Leader

Memories: Much of Graham's memories are shrouded in the fog of death, but he remembers bits and pieces and he most certainly remembers his end. He was born into a family on the... well not the rich side of town that's for sure. He doesn't remember whether he was middle class or poor but he does remember joining a gang, the Lamb Street Shanks. Why Graham did this he does not recall. It was either something about family, something about revenge, or something about gold. Whatever the reason, Graham joined the Shanks. Eventually, the Shanks' founder got himself killed, something about a gang war or a guard crackdown, and someone had to take his place. After breaking a few faces and crushing a few windpipes, Graham got the job.

When Graham joined, the Shanks' territory barely reached beyond Lamb Street. By the time Graham took the helm, that had not changed. The first thing Graham did was correct that. Graham began a campaign of rapid outward expansion, pushing aside defiant rivals and meddling guards with contemptuous ease as he went. But just as the height of his power seemed to be in his grasp, Graham was met with the one challenge he could not so easily contend with: Those who stood behind him. Paxton Truter, Graham's right hand man, who handled the finer points of wrangling the Shanks while Graham focused on the ambitious broad strokes. After watching Graham work for a time from the position he held at the boss' back, Paxton figured that he could handle both the finer points and the broad strokes easily enough. And so, Paxton went from having Graham's back to stabbing it.

But while that would have been the end for most, it was not so for Graham. Instead of moving onto whatever the afterlife had in store for him, Graham's soul found itself bound to a gestalt. This turn of events, though surprising, was certainly not unwelcome. Graham saw it as an opportunity, a chance to track down his backstabbing right hand and reduce him to a bloody stump. All he needed to do was find away to convince Yin and the rest of them to go along with it.

Other: In life and in death, Graham carries a curious smoking pipe. Nothing can be placed in the pipe, nor can it be lit. But should someone attempt to use it, the pipe produces bubbles. Graham does not remember how he came upon the pipe, but he does remember that he finds the act of blowing bubbles from it therapeutic.

[User]
When the shortest of the four spirits awoke, their first instinct upon finding themself among these spectral strangers was to get into a defensive stance. While their expression was hidden behind a mask, the distrusting glint in their eyes as their gaze swept over each member of the group was unmistakable. Eventually, their sight rest on the woman asleep on the altar. At the sight of her, the masked spirit felt themselves relax slightly, though they weren't sure why. She was just as unknown to them as the others. However, unlike them, she seemed to be tangible, alive, and not in the best condition due to hunger. A strange feeling of... protectiveness passed over the small spirit and they attempted to approach the woman, only to find they couldn't move. Frustrated, they muttered something under their breath. It sounded like it was in halfling, but even if the other spirits couldn't understand it, they could probably tell it was some kind of curse.

It was at this point one of the other spirits, a (seemingly) human woman with an unusual green eyes spoke up, introducing herself to the rest of them as Alsei. The masked halfling glanced at her, scrutinizing her once again. She didn't seem hostile, at least not towards current company. In fact, her sense of urgency and her willingness to be the first to speak up meant that the halfling couldn't help but respect her, even if they still weren't sure if they could trust her.

"Tamzen," they grunted in response. "Tamzen Silentflight." They watched as Alsei then started scanning the surroundings in search of something she referred to as 'PAL'. Tamzen followed the woman's gaze towards a shape sitting submerged in the sand that, on closer inspection, appear vaguely humanoid in shape. How had Tamzen not noticed that before? They'd have to be much more alert going forward if they wanted to figure out what was going on.

[Assistant]
It was too bright. The vestiges of power that the Kenku had clung to were beginning to burn away. Memories fragmented- slipped away- disappeared- and with them so too did the power that was granted to Whisper by his Patron and Master. Greatness was stripped from his very soul, power and purpose eradicated in the oppressive light of these Bright Lands... Finally the cycle of death and visions was broken, finally his spirit could try to piece itself back together with the echo of his Master's voice in his mind.

and what remained was the shell of Death's Apprentice. A being coalescing of shadows, murky and bestowed of an abyssal gloom, took form in the recesses of the Altar that Yin had lain upon. The wretched form of Whisper- a puppet without strings, bones holding up a shell of skin and feathers, a faceless horror of skull and beak, an eyeless creature ever watching- solidified in this place of darkness and rose from it into visibility. At first it was as if the strange Kenku were asleep, its body somewhat curled in on itself, but in short order the spectral creature unfurled and presented itself to the others. Its robes were dark and heavy, the feathers of a dense and dark cloak blending with his natural plumage where possible- and offering some semblance of coverage for his gangling and strange appearance in others. His arms moved stiffly, the quiet creak of bones apparent in his otherwise languid movements; he raised his arms up and pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, stifling most of the skull into shadow that left his beak protruding out into the visible strata of light. Quietly, almost purely to himself, the beak parted to utter a phrase in a voice as timeless and as booming as the thudding of tombstones into earth;

DEATH IS ONLY A BEGINNING.

The hood shifts, attention moving to speaking voices. Feathers rise, danger sensed. An arm reaches out into empty air, a hand only half-covered by flesh and feather stretching and coiling experimentally. Seemingly satisfied, the creature's hand suddenly closed tightly into the air as shadows whirled about its spectral form and coalesced into the form of a large reaping scythe, which it brought about to bear in both hands. Gripping this weapon tightly seemed to bring about an air of comfort to the strange Kenku, and as the hood tilted down to give the impression of a gaze being lowered Whisper appraised the girl on the altar. A weighty inspection.

"I think we shall call you Whisper."

This time when the Kenku's beak parted, the soft and pleasant tones of a woman's voice slipped from the beak. It occurred to Whisper that he had no recollection of who the voice had belonged to even as the words left his beak. This made his grip on the scythe tighten visibly as he lowered his head further. Damn that insufferable Brightness. He would remember with time...

But for now, he resolved himself to protect this girl. Whoever she was, she did not deserve this fate. He decided this suddenly, but he felt secure and comfortable in the resolution. So far, keeping her alive was the only thing that made any sense- and he still remembered enough to know that keeping people alive was most certainly not his ordinary order of business. There was never a simple day of work anymore.

---

Mechanical tidbits; Summoned Pact of the Blade weapon, re-flavored 'Halberd' as a Scythe

[User] One moment, Graham Douglas had been the undisputed master of all he surveyed. The next, he had been bleeding out on the ground, a knife shoved into his back by his traitorous right hand man. And now here he was. Rather than heading off to whatever afterlife was waiting for him, Graham instead found himself in a crumbling temple with with a bunch of other dead people all surrounding a girl who was still clearly alive and sleeping soundly on the temple's altar. Though he was incapable of moving away from where he appeared, Graham had the fortune of appearing within sitting distance of one of the few long chairs that time had yet to break beyond use. As he sat down, Graham heard the others start talking and introducing themselves, so Graham figured he'd get in on that. "Graham Douglas." Graham introduced himself. "By the by, does anyone else 'ave this strange feelin' in the back o' their 'eads that somethin' dangerous is 'eaded this way or is that just death makin' me go a bit loopy?"

[Assistant]
As the four were trying to figure out what was going on with their situation, the girl began to rouse. Strangely enough as she was becoming conscious, everyone would feel more mobile. They were able to move around her, though no further than five feet or so. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looked around. For a moment she seemed shocked. She was quiet and you could all tell she was afraid. Yet at the same time, despite being so much smaller, so much weaker, there was a certain level of defiance within her. As if she was ready to fight despite how hopelessly outmatched she would be. "Who are you all? You're not... Did you just come here? You don't look like the monsters in these lands." Yin gulped. She had no weapons, not even a rock, but her hands were held tightly to her chest as if to protect her vitals. "I'm Yin... Do you all live here?"

Whisper would also notice something now that they have awakened mentally. The altar the girl sat upon was dedicated to a certain deity. The name would elude them due to the void in their memories, but off the top of their heads Whisper could remember their had something to do with voyaging and safe passage: sensible things to want in this pastoral coastal ruin. Whisper himself would know that there are similar deities within the realm of death, such as the Ferryman of Souls. Perhaps it was no coincidence that Whisper would awaken here then, in this place meant to guide people to their destination, be it new lands or an afterlife. As for Graham, while most of his memories unrelated to his vengeance are also a blur, something about some of the ruined iconography was familiar. It was strange because the markings weren't anything like what was on the altar. But it would only take a moment for him to remember some cult or religion that was rather notable back in his city that had the tendency to plaster their symbols everywhere, especially in temples. Even if Graham is not a religious man, he would know that such graffiti had one purpose: marking an enemy area as your territory. Perhaps it was no time that brought this temple to ruin after all.

That foreboding feeling was still coming. And for some it was heard. Tamzen was able to hear the flaps of a large winged creature: this was no mere bird. Something much bigger, and was moving fast and with purpose. It was uncertain to know if they realized Yin was here but Tamzen could at least recognize some flying creature was approaching the area due north. As for the others, Alsei would only need a short moment to realize that Yin was overly malnourished. Any strenuous physical activity would drain her quickly, and there was no doubt that if anything came by to attack her, her chances of survival was slim. The fact she survived for this long was nothing short of a miracle. PAL would approach, it's body largely functional however many parts of it's chassis and equipment were rusted and in a state of ruin. The flail heads were gone, likely lost underneath the sand, the tabard was eaten away but insects, and the shield was warped and rusted as well. It would take some time to fix PAL back to it's previous state, but it was still functional nonetheless.

[User]
As the other two introduced themselves, Tamzen looked over their new companions once again, eyes lingering on Whisper in particular. They hadn't encountered many kenku in their travels, but they were pretty sure that skeletal, eyeless face was not a common trait. Did it have something to do with how he had died? None of the others showed such severe disfigurements, meaning either the kenku's death had been particularly horrific or there was something else at play here.

The halfling didn't have too long to comtemplate what to do about this before the woman on the altar finally awoke. Tamzen turned their head towards her. Just as they were about to open their mouth to answer her queries, however, their pointed ears suddenly pricked up as they became aware of large wingbeats, slowly growing louder and louder.

"Something's coming," they said. They pointed northwards. "From over that way." They looked back at Yin. "It appears we are not safe here. Do you know how to fight?" They then glanced at the other members of the group. "Do any of you know how to fight or..." They looked down at their ghostly hands. Could they even fight like this? They weren't even sure if they could move, let alone hit something. They shook their head. "I think we should consider retreating, find a place to hide, get our bearings."

[Assistant]
From where he was sitting, Graham pulled out his bubble pipe and began 'smoking' it. As he did so, he became aware of a number of eight-pointed stars graffitied all across the temple. Graham was familiar with this type of graffiti. He'd frequently used his own version of it over his many campaigns of underworld conquest at the head of the Lamb Street Shanks. It was the sort of graffiti that was left behind after an attack to let people know just who it was that rolled on through and set fire to everything. Most of the gangs Graham had dealt with hadn't been religious in nature, the closest he'd ever come being some pirates led by a hobgoblin paladin. But even so, Graham had seen these symbols before when he was alive. They belonged to a cult that paid homage to the Bright for power or protection. They never made an effort to oppose him and he had never antagonized them, so Graham didn't know much about them. But he did know that a good portion of the Lamb Street Shanks were also members of this cult.

Graham didn't remember there being a quiet costal village near the city he lived in though, so he wondered what these symbols were doing here. Perhaps the cults operation was farther reaching than he thought. Or perhaps they had moved or expanded far beyond the city between Graham's death and now. Either way, Graham put those thoughts aside as Yin woke up and spoke.

"Graham Douglas." Graham introduced himself a second time once Yin was done talking. "We just got 'ere through some magical shenanigan or another and were just as puzzled as you are on 'ow that 'appened."

When Tamzen mentioned that something was coming and suggested they run and hide, Graham was deeply offended by the notion. "Bugger that!" Graham exclaimed. "If whatever's comin' this way is a threat, I say we kill it!" With that said, Graham put away his pipe, pulled out his crossbow, and readied himself for battle.