[System]
Appearance - Appearance: Apart from the normal black and white uniform of the shinigami Aoshi possess very little that makes him fit in with the rest of his comrades. For one, he's very tall and broad over the shoulders, reaching a full height of well over two meters, thus he can look down on most people. His hair has already turned white, but a few patches of black still remain, luckily he has not begun to go bald but has begun to cut his hair short. His eyes are bright green, and very alert. Some wrinkles have appeared on his face, mostly around the eyes and mouth, but fails to make him look old. Only experienced. In his life, he worked as a shipbuilder and lost his left arm (halfway between the shoulder and elbow) in an accident while launching his latest creation. He thought that he'd be reunited with his lost limb in the afterlife, but that was not the case.
Distinguishing features: Most people can hear Aoshi long before they see him. His loud, booming voice travel well through the air and when he's happy his laughter can be heard from far away. Once he comes into view people react to his size (he's built like Komamura) and bright, almost shining eyes. Aoshi's huge stature gives him an edge when it comes to strength, even though he only has one arm he can often overpower people he spars and duels with.

Age – 89 dead, 43 alive.
Gender - Male.
Class – Soul Reaper.
Division - 8th.
Seat - 3.

Zanpakuto name: Amaya. (Night rain).
Description: Aoshi's inner world takes the form of an endless sea at night. The sea is filled with countless rowboats of different sizes and shapes (from different cultures). Amaya herself has the form of a mermaid with pitch black hair and exceptional beauty who will rise up from the water to speak to Aoshi. She is very flirty and will invite him down under the water on several occasions. What would happen if he were to accept? No one knows.

Sealed form: Amaya looks like a standard Zanpakuto with dark blue wrapping at the handle and a matching scabbard. Details are made with dark wood instead of metal.

Shikai:
Activation: Aoshi must hold Amaya by the handle, with the back of the blade resting against his shoulder and utter the phrase "I long for the sea, Amaya".
Appearance: Amaya's released state is divided in two, a conch shell that functions like a horn, and a spear with three tips, commonly known as a trident.
Shell: The shell works like a horn, and can be heard for miles by anyone with the talent to see/hear spirits. The sound is packed with spiritual energy, and at close range it can stun or even knock back weaker forms of hollow. Incoming projectile attacks can be rendered useless by a well-timed blow, but only if the attack in itself is weak enough. Something like a cero would punch right through.
Trident: Originally a simple fishing tool favored by fishermen of most cultures, this tool was weaponized by the gladiators in ancient Rome.
Aoshi's trident (at the start of the game) is a basic attack-type weapon. What is unique however is that it seems to amplify Aoshi's already monstrous strength, and move on its own.
Aoshi's arm is lost forever, but the spirit of it is retrieved by Amaya when he enters Shikai. The spear doesn't move on its own, it is being manipulated by Aoshi's left hand and arm.

Aoshi was born into a farmer's house in Japan more than 100 years ago. He worked the fields and tended the cattle as a young boy, but had a good head and was sent to the nearby shipbuilder to learn a real profession. Shipbuilding is an art that demands a lot of a person's mind and body, Aoshi had planty of both and learned fast. When he became an adult he was known as the "giant" because he was at least one head taller than anyone around, and almost twice as wide. He was always received well and was a trusted member of the community.
The loss of his left arm was a great tragedy for everyone in the village. Aoshi had finished one of his boats and was helped by a small army to transport it down to the water. They wouldn't have to walk far, but it was demanding nonetheless. Disaster struck when the pole that Aoshi used to hold the boat with snapped, by reflex he shot his arm out, trying to catch the thing, but the sudden weight shift had made many of the others drop their ends and Aoshi was trapped beneath the ship.
The others freed Aoshi as fast as they could, but his arm was crushed. Someone had fetched a doctor, but anyone could see that the arm would have to be amputated.
After the incident Aoshi stepped back from the building, and instead took in a team of young, bright lads to teach. Aoshi was plagued by "phantom limb syndrome", frequently feeling things with his left hand, or suddenly cry out in pain of a wound that had long since healed. At the age of 43 he couldn't take it anymore, he took a boat, rowed as far as he could and jumped in.

Unknown to him, Aoshi became a hollow and terrorized the small village he had once called home. A patrolling soul reaper heard his scream one lucky day and, after a brief fight, released him. The village couldn't recover from the damage, a few managed to relocate to other settlements, but those who refused to leave starved or froze to death.

Knowing nothing about what happens after death Aoshi was brought to Soul Society and the Rukon district (wandering soul city). As a working man Aoshi soon found something to do, and never stood still. Not only were his phantom pains gone, he felt strangely unrestrained in this new world. It wasn't long before he felt a familiar feeling, hunger.
Of course, being a working man he had money, bought food and thought nothing of it, no one had told him that souls normally didn't eat. One day, after replenishing his stock of food he was spotted by a soul reaper who just happened to be passing by. Aoshi is a large man, and eats a lot, so he was really hard not to notice.
The soul reaper told Aoshi about hunger and what it meant, and that there was a place for people like him. At first Aoshi didn't even think about joining the reapers, as he always had been a peaceful man, rarely involved in fighting. But as time and his hunger grew he found himself drawn toward the reaper academy.

During his time as a student Aoshi did fairly well. He wasn't the brightest or most skillful student, but well above average. After graduating he was accepted into the eight division where he quickly rose through the ranks and become a seated officer. Even in this elevated rank Aoshi climbed fast, then suddenly stopped. People whisper about a secret duel between the third seat and the lieutenant of the eighth division where the seat was brought to tears at the mere sight of the lieutenant's unrestrained power, some whisper the opposite, and claims that the lieutenant bought his place by the captains side from the seat. The only known fact is that Aoshi never openly oppose the lieutenant, and the lieutenant treats Aoshi with much respect.

Details – Aoshi is a peaceful man who truly believes that violence is the last way out. He'll often go out of his way to find another way to settle any kind of disagreement. Despite this, if he has to fight, he'll do it quick and hard, so he'll at least won't have to fight for long.

Evolution - Big changes to your character or newly acquired forms and/or powers achieved during the progression of this thread should be listed here. For example a lieutenant becoming a captain or a soul reaper becoming a visor.

[User]
Light got up and started to do some stretches. While the normal hollow rush was a bit late, she still thought something was coming, so she might as well prepare. While stretching one of her legs, she commented at the offer of instant ramen. "Yeah sure, why not? Haven't had that in awhile." a few minutes later, Light could sense something coming her way. Two figures, both fairly powerful, and neither hollow. This made her groan in annoyance.

"Great, do you feel that? Two newcomers are on the way. Hope they aren't outright hostile. That would be boring." she said, sitting down in a more ready position, but still looking like she was relaxing a bit. Usually she found that a more docile looking pose made non hollows pause, and even hollows from time to time when they had an inkling of intelligence.

[Assistant]
Hey they may be hostile but they don't seem hell bent on killing you either." Angelo said softly watching as the two soul reapers came into view wondering what this would mean for this odd group...

The Seretai:
the Seretai was peaceful until a hell butterfly was given to the head captain. It was saying that squad captain 11 captain akane, one of the only females that has ever become a kenpachi in squad 11 was cutting down soul reapers like it was nothing and is smiling the whole time. While this was bad the worst was that it wasn't all, apparently their were reports that the captain of squad 10 captain Daisuke was sending his troops to blockade all forms of relief the squad 4 barracks were currently under guard and forcibly occupied making escape near impossible for them to assist in the kenpachi killing spree. Then their were the reports that squad 8 captain, captain Hotaka was forcing all of the reserve forces usually meant for this situation all back to the barracks leaving most forces except squad 11 weakened with lowered man power. This was a state of crisis for the soul society for it seemed that their own captains were betraying their squads and their duties. Captain Katsuo immediately called for all captains that haven't gone completely mad into the conference hall immediately for an emergency meeting along with the lieutenants to immediately gather all their forces that haven't been controlled into action and await instruction. Captain Katsuo made sure that his lieutenants sent the hell butterflies and to send two for the soul reapers currently in the world of the living to be informed of the situation by means of their soul pagers so they know not go to their captains when they come back but to instead report to him immediately....

[User]
"They can see us from here, but that alright…" Aoshi stated, his last words trailing off into silence.
They had stopped their last shunpo on top of a nearby building only a few hundred meters away. Outside shouting-distance, but close enough to see relatively well.
Both of them instantly confirmed that the hollow in the park was the one they had been sent for. Aoshi went down on one knee and relaxed. They were far enough away to not provoke an attack, except from an especially hungry hollow, and also far enough away to let their guard down for a bit. Of the hollow did turn hostile they would have ample time to get ready before it would reach them.
"Looks like another one right next to it" the big soul reaper said and tried to figure out what the other figure was. "It's no hollow… Feels almost like a reaper, but why would they send two teams for one hollow?..."
Aoshi looked to his partner for an answer. She was after all the higher ranking of the two, she might have gotten more info than him, even though that seemed a bit unfair and unnecessary. He found her not even looking in the right direction, but instead tracking a pair of black butterflies that were obviously heading in their direction.

[Assistant]
Once they had arrived at their location Rēku was able to take in everything at once basically. So she'd turned to look around at the beautiful sites, then something had caught her eye. The black butterflies she knew all too well. Beautiful creatures, but that also meant something was going on if they were interrupting the mission. Then her one armed companion decided to converse with her. He really was a funny guy though. "Well," She started as she continued watching the butterflies approach as she lifted her left hand out for one of them to land on her finger. "it's pretty obvious isn't it?" She giggled softly as the butterfly landed on her hand.

After the message was recieved she closed her eyes as a smile grew further upon her face. Things were definitely getting interesting. "It's pretty simple to figure out, come on!" She said turning to him cheerfully. "Just look! Clearly the Soul Society wouldn't have sent a second team without telling me at least. On top of that if they were one of ours they wouldn't be casually out there like that. So, obviously the two probably already know each other! On top of that we know no other soul reapers should be in this area right now that was already in the world of the living! So clearly he's not one of ours. So tell me...What do you think after considering all of that? Plus the fact that you can feel his spiritual pressure?" Rēku had already figured out the possibilities.

You had the first option of it being some rogue element, which in that case meant that the situation was even worse considering the rogue ex shinigami were mostly those people. Another was that it was actually a hollow who had managed to obtain a true arrancar form, which in that case they would still feel more like a hollow. That brought them back to the first option. The real question would be how to deal with the situation. Then on top of that there were the head captains orders and the situation in the soul society. This wasn't exactly the best situation there could be. "Well in any event...We still need to do something despite who they might be, and then there's also the head captain's wishes..." She hated to sound more serious than usual all of a sudden and out of no where like this, but it was required of her. "So...We have a few options for this situation, Mr. third seat...Either we try and wrap this up quickly and head back, or you head back on your own since the head captain needs us to return and I will complete this mission on my own before returning. What do you think?" At this point she was testing him. She wanted to learn more about the man, and to challenge him. Of course he could take this in the complete wrong way seeing as she was so much younger than him, and was treating him almost like he had the intellect of a child.

[User]
"What!?" The large soul reaper's booming voice was surely heard by every spiritually sensitive person in town. The message that the butterfly had relayed was not one he'd expected, nor was he very happy to hear it. On top of this, the lieutenant thought it a good time to start playing games. In a much lower voice he added "You're insane. We can't abandon the mission" and then, through his teeth "No matter how much we want to".

Aoshi looked at the hollow and its mysterious companion once again. The hollow was in itself not the most powerful one he'd ever come across, and this time he had backup. The stranger on the other hand was hard to get a read on.
"That other guy must be a rogue reaper." He stated. Not even aware of how close to the truth he actually was. He'd never even heard of visored before. "Damn shame, but it means we have an ally in case the hollow turns hostile. Haven't heard of a rogue yet who's sided with the hollows."

After a few seconds thinking... "I say we get down there and see what's up. This hollow's supposed to be special, maybe it can be reasoned with. If it willingly allows us to send it to the other side it beats the hell out of having to fight it. Maybe that's just what that other guy is up to... What do you say?"


[System]
Nickname/Codename- Val
Age- 230
Gender- female
Species- fae
Familiar- Richard, pelican
Origin- Earth, Dimension 1784b
Skin- caucasian, about what you'd expect from someone from London
Eyes- irises are black
Hair- yellow hair in a braid that drags the floor if she doesn't pick it up
Appearance- she's classically beautiful, as most fae are, but 6'4" with her shoes. She tends to dress in shorts, some form of top (fae have a looser meaning for "shirt"), and her leather jacket, which has quite a few bullet holes in it. Sometimes she wears her hat, a wide brimmed felt hat her familiar likes to sit on.
Skills/Abilities- fire magic, accelerated healing, running in stilettos.
Race/Ethnicity- English
Personality- while she's ultimately a good person, she's got no qualms about breaking the law or doing things that could be considered "bad" in order to ultimately do what's right. She's a highly capable leader and highly successful pirate, though some criticize her for being too harsh.
History/Current Status- she's successfully gained control of most illegal activity in and around London, and has and is taken steps to take down human trafficking worldwide. She met Ukase a a couple of years before, and is working with him to stay on top, as well as dating him.

Name- Ukase Grey
Nickname/Codename- Uki (by Valkyrie)
Age- 25
Gender- male
Species- human
Origin- Earth, Dimension 1784b
Skin- tan, but not white person tan, asian tan.
Eyes- deep hazelnut, always look like he's up to something.
Hair- black, cut short.
Appearance- he's somewhere around 6' tall, which is way above the average height for Filipino men. He's powerfully built and can very clearly handle himself in a fight. He has a leather coat similar to Val's, but his brushes his knees.
Skills/Abilities- crazy tech smart.
Race/Ethnicity- Filipino
Personality- he's kind of unprofessional, but nonetheless a capable pirate. He relies more on cleverness than brute force to get the job done. He loves puns and making dad jokes, but can get serious when he has to - and can get scary when he does. He's friendly and generally easy going and doesn't want to hurt anyone; he's fairly idealistic about the whole pirate thing.
History/Current Status- he dropped out of military school after a disagreement with higher ups about what the military should do. Since then, he's built a ship, gathered a crew, and got a fearsome reputation through use of rumors and publicity.

Name- Scarlet
Nickname/Codename- none (yet...)
Age- 190
Gender- genderfluid (he/him most of the time)
Species- fae
Familiar- Artemis, frogmouth
Origin- Earth, Dimension 1784b
Skin- caucasian. Has intricate tattoos on his upper body, mostly on his back and arms but the ends around to his chest and up the back of his neck.
Eyes- irises are black.
Hair- bright red, pulled up into a ponytail that comes down to his mid-back.
Appearance- he's 5'5", classically beautiful because he's fae, and slightly muscular. He doesn't believe in shirts, but wears pants most of the time.
Skills/Abilities- fire magic, arcane magic, accelerated healing, being a nerd.
Race/Ethnicity- American.
Personality- he's a huge nerd, but a powerful mage. He's fairly cautious and careful, but can have trouble keeping his mouth shut in certain situations. While he's pretty laid back most of the time and will be friends with just about anyone, he'll rarely forgive anyone he doesn't like.
History/Current Status- he's lived most of his life in New York, working off Broadway as a theatre tech. He moved to London with his then boyfriend a few months before they broke up and Ukase hired him to help with mechanical things on the ship.

I'll probably post pics here once I make good drawings of them

[User] Duplicate due to saving/server/potentially home internet issues. Please ignore.

[Assistant]
Lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, accompanied by a crack of thunder that shook the trees and sent birds flying in alarm. Shortly after that, several engines rumbled to life somewhere above them. All three looked up to find a huge shape, significantly larger than the shuttle that'd brought them there, turning and lowering itself into the clearing they'd just come from.

It looked like a boat - and a large one at that - but attached to the top was a balloon that doubled its height and bulk. It hovered over the ground while six feet lowered from its hull; once they were in place, it touched down. As the engines quieted, voices could be heard:

"Max, Tsering!" A male voice called. "Get a party together, check this place out."

"I think we should do that ourselves." A woman with bright yellow hair pulled back into a braid leaned over the side of the ship, then looked back to someone on board behind her. "Doesn't look too dangerous, I think we can handle looking for fuel."

There were a few seconds of silence before the man responded. "If you're sure, I don't see why not. You guys stay here and watch the ship, make sure nobody comes to visit." He said to the other people on the ship. "Hey Scarlet, you mind coming with us?"

A third voice replied: "Oh, sure, captain."

After a little movement and noise from the ship, a ladder dropped from the side, letting two people down to the ground. First came the woman with yellow hair in a braid down to her ankles; she didn't appear to be wearing much more than a red-brown leather coat rolled up to her elbows. She was shortly followed by a man with red hair in a ponytail. He had pants on, at least, but when he turned to look around, they saw that he wasn't wearing a shirt under his jacket.

After him, a tall, imposing man with darker skin and a large tube slung across his back dropped to the ground. "So...what'd you say this place was called again?"

"I didn't." The woman said, looking down at a device in her hand. "I just hope they have what we're looking for."

[User]
"Whoa!" Zephyr was nearly bowled over by the sheer awesomeness of the magnificent craft in the sky. As an air elemental, he couldn't help but admire the beautiful way it soared through the sky. Pity about those engines, but not everyone could be so gifted as himself.

Rena regarded the new developments critically, ignoring the noisy ship with so many minds and focusing on the small landing party. Determination was the primary emotion she felt. They seemed.. diffrent. Not like other Quadrans she'd met.

Landon waved. "Good morning! Fine day for a nature walk, isn't it?" He shouted, exuding friendliness.

"Landon." Rena's tone held a note of warning. "I'm not sure we can trust them."

"I'm sure it will be fine, Rena. Besides, the bigger our group, the safer we'll be here in the Wilds."

[Assistant]
The woman looked over her shoulder at them, somewhat suspicious. She put away the device and turned towards them: "...hello."

The two men with her turned too, and the taller one smiled and waved. "They seem friendly enough."

"Don't let your guard down." The woman muttered, shooting him a look. Then she addressed Zephyr, Landon, and Rena. "Can we help you?"

[User]
"I was actually wondering if we could help each other." Landon said, with a friendly smile. "The Wilds is no place for those who are unfamiliar with it. I thought it may be good if we travel together through it."

"Hey. What kind of ship is that?" Zephyr cut in, stepping between Landon and the other group. "That was totally awesome the way it just FWOOSH! and then--" Zephyr made sweeping motions with his hands, the air currents kicking up the leaves and forest debris at his feet until it almost formed a tornado around him.

[Assistant]
"Uh...a class 2 airship...?" The taller man glanced at the ship and back at him.

The woman was still suspicious. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Val, chill, if they were gonna steal our stuff they probably wouldn't have stopped to chat first." The taller man put a hand on her shoulder. "And the ship isn't unoccupied, so we don't have to worry about our cargo."

"Fair enough..." She picked up her braid to keep it from dragging the ground as she walked over to them. "You're natives here?"

[User]
"Here? No." Landon said, looking around at the lush vegetation with a degree of longing. "Some days I wish I did, but no. We've traveled here to see how the place fared after the storms."

Landon turned to Rena as he felt foreign twinges of fear, suspicion, and concern. Her eyes were obscured by dark glasses, but the firm set of her mouth was enough to tell him that she didn't think too highly of these three. "It's all right. I'm sure they mean us no harm." He said softly, turning back to the group.

"My name is Landon. May I have the pleasure of making your acquaintance? It's rare to find someone who still shows an interest in The Wilds."

[Assistant]
"Hey, I'm Ukase, this is Valkyrie and Scarlet." The taller man said, ignoring the look the woman gave him.

Scarlet waved slightly; the woman rolled her eyes and pulled out the same device she'd been holding earlier.

"We're looking for fuel, actually." Ukase said, "you know where the nearest city is?"

[User]
"Heh. The nearest city is the Capitol, where we just came from on that shuttle. It's about a two hour trip via shuttle, but I just be that thing could get us there faster." Zephyr said, looking up at the sky with his hands on his hips.

"The shuttle isn't due back for a week, though. We're on a camping trip, remember?" Landon said.

Rena continued to monitor the three strangers, hoping to get clues from their emotional states. They seemed almost alien, and she was having a bit of trouble reading them. Why would they be so concerned about their cargo? As far as Rena could tell, the airship and the minds onboard were still aloft, fairly safe and inaccessible to anyone without a rope or strong air elemental skills.

[Assistant]
"How much fuel did we have left again?" Ukase looked over at Scarlet.

"Um..." he pulled out a small device and clicked a few buttons, "37 and a half gallons."

"Shit, that's not a lot." Ukase thought a moment. "Think you three can point us towards the Capitol?"

[User]
Zephyr turned to look at the landing space at the shuttle had used, then up at the sky in that direction. "Uh.. That way, I think. Or did we take a turn on the way here?"

"Don't look at me." Rena said.

"I'm not sure either. I was just enjoying the view and looking forward to our camping trip." Landon said, shrugging.

[Assistant]
Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "We'll figure it out."

"Hold on, we don't have any idea where we are and how to get to that city." Ukase said. "We should at least find someone who can tell us where we are in relation to it."

"A map can do that." She tapped on her device. "Damn...something's disrupting it..."

"Yeah?" Ukase looked at it over her shoulder. "Oh, man, you're not bouncing off any signals."

"They have flying vehicles, they should have radio signals." She frowned.

[User]
"Radio signals? We haven't used radios in years." Zephyr said, looking at them. "What isn't done by psychics is done with L-waves. Not many relays way out here, though."

"Where did you say you were from, again?" Rena asked.

A crack of thunder caused both Landon and Zephyr to look to the sky.

"Uh oh." Zephyr said, lifting a hand with a palm up to the sky. "Currents are changing."

[Assistant]
"Great..." Ukase pulled out a radio and said into it: "Guys, there's a storm coming, pull in the sails."

"Roger that, captain," a voice on the other end responded.

Valkyrie looked at her device again and frowned. "L-waves...if there're any relays within two hundred miles, I can pick them up on this; problem is I can't pick it up if I don't know what I'm looking for..."

[User]
Zephyr sidled over to look at the device more closely. "Well, it's a pretty simple algorithm.." he said, reaching for the device.

Something made him stop mid-motion, and look up. "Whoa."

"What is it?" Rena said. She had felt the spike in Zephyr's awareness.

Zephyr's bright blue eyes darted toward Rena for a moment, before he chuckled weakly. "Eh.. Nothing. It's probably just--." He stopped and looked up again. "Hey, uh.. Ukase, right? How's your airship do in a storm? Does it have an anchor.. or something? This one feels like you're going to need to do more than fold the sails."

[Assistant]
Ukase looked up too. "Uh...you guys seeing this?" He said into his device.

"Yeah, captain," the person on the other end responded. "I'll take care of it, don't worry."

"Thanks, Tsering." He glanced between Zephyr and Rena. "Anything we need to be really concerned about?"

[User]
"If it's anything like the storms lately, yes." Rena said. "Landon, I thought you said the weather reports were favorable."

"They were." Landon said, putting a hand on Zephyr's shoulder. "What do you think, Zeph?"

"Uhh.. I wasn't here for the last storms.. but this. This feels massive." Zephyr said, his eyes scanning the clouds above that were starting to darken and thicken. "We really should find some cover."

[Assistant]
Ukase sighed. "This oughta be fun."

"There's a gully over there, we can probably go there..." Scarlet looked around.

"I guess," Valkyrie looked up at the sky, "we could get in the ship, though with this weather I don't think we can guarantee anyone's safety."


[System]
Age: 26

Race: Human

Job: Magus

Description:

Even for a human, Artos is farly average in body type. A bit on the tall side, he is also fairly toned from daily training. His eyes and hair are not hereditary, as his parents eyes were artic blue and they both had honey colored hair. His eyes are a deep scarlet red because of a mutation from his frequent dabbing and poring of ancient and forbidden tomes and his hair had become dabbed in an ivory white, a small price to pay as Artos claims.

His armor is fairly lightweight, allowing him to move and cast spells at will and not hinder his agility. The armor itself is self-enchanted, though it's fairly weak. He mainly uses a longsword he lovingly called 'Red Trinity' due to the red embellishments on the hilt and scabbard.

While most of his time is spent on reading and studying ancient tomes, he trains in mastering his weapon, 'Crimson Trinity' and spends the rest on training Martial prowess, though not particularly advanced, he could hold his own. He's still particularly young, his knowledge in the ancient arts, while intensive, is not very deep. He is still learning, although at a very fast pace.

Biography:
Born under the Raulyn household, the household was viewed as slightly prestigious but fairly normal. His parents were both Magus, something which Artos was not privy to. Artos' birth was not planned for, but they still took care of him deeply. He was somewhat neglected due to his parents pouring time into learning the secrets of the tomes, though Artos didn't particularly mind as his parents did still love him and he was naturally independent.

His childhood consisted of fights, with children who bullied him and then being rewarded with a nice fist marked shape on said bullies' faces. He had a natural affinity for fighting and love for it, his battle sense is extraordinary being able to make up strategy before the fight, and tactics during the fights. He had fought three brothers of said bullies, who were taller than him and had managed to win, albeit barely. His parents always tried to reprimand him, but they found that the bullies would usually instigate the fights, making them try and talk to said bullies parents, although they were thick headed.

At the ripe age of 14, the day was normal with the birds chirping, the ray of sun penetrating through and the sound of fists colliding with skin. The bullies were trying to pick on Artos, to which he delivered swift retribution. After the last bully was on his knees, begging for him to stop, Artos let him go with a swift kick, he trudged home. The journey home was as serene as it could be, he was lost in thought until the smell of smoke penetrated his nose. In the far distance, his household was dancing in a pool of orange and red, it was on fire.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he arrived at the estate, only to find his parents fighting something. The only thing Artos could distinctively recognize was his elongated ears, it was an elf, drow, high elf, Artos didn't know. All he knew was that both his parents, who were both strong magus, though Artos didn't know, was being overpowered by this figure. Bolts of light and the clashing of blades resounded through the burning building, and before he knew it, both his parents fell. They had been overwhelmed, and the figure ran his blade through his father, and soon his mother too. The figure was smiling the whole time, he looked at Artos with a sardonic grin that would haunt him, and said something about him becoming stronger so that he could 'devour' him and then began to strut away.

Rushing to his parents, and through tears, his dragged both of them outside the building. The debris almost caught Artos but through tenacity he had managed to dodge. His parents were still alive, though they were at deaths door. His Mother and Father were placed side by side, through hacking coughs that resulted in blood spewing out his mouth, his father had confessed that they were attacked by 'The Devour', one who hunts Magus'. Artos had no idea what he was talking about or what was going on, hugging his parents, saying that they were going to be okay. Only to be met with a sad smile, and tears they claimed that he should train and become a better Magus than them. He said that there was a secret room, inside their shed, and all the ancient tomes and texts were in there. The mother then mentions that his Uncle would come and care for him, and also train him. Artos was still confused, being handed a key and a piece of paper. Then they were... gone.

Artos was devastated, he was sitting next to them for hours after their deaths, he decided to bury them next to their own beloved homes. A few more hours passed, and there were two mounds of dirt and pseudo-gravemarkers. Still raining tears, he said a short prayer before toughening up and punching himself. He looked for the shed and after more hours, he finally found it, it was well hidden to the point where 'The Devour' missed it. Placing the odd shaped key in and with a large click, the 'door' moves aside and revealed a deep basement. The torches lit up one by one. Stepping down one by one, the humidity was overflowing. Using the wall as a crutch to go down, finally arriving at the bottom the slight hum of magic hit his ears. Squinting his eyes, adjusting to the darkness, he noticed what was basically a library and on the corner was armor and a sword that he would use.

Grabbing an old dusty tome, Artos had begun reading and at first it confused him to no end, but he didn't care, after more hours his uncle had arrived, and with stoic eyes he knew what had happened as his parents did exclaim that someone was watching them and had sent him a message before hand. He tightly hugged Artos, who had begun crying again. After hours of talking, his Uncle, Adrian Raulyn would take care of him. Adrian was very understanding and lenient, and he himself was trained in the art of the sword, a master even. They had decided to live somewhere close, so as to be close to the ancient tomes.

Years and years of training and reading had made Artos very powerful, though not as strong as 'The Devour' yet. At the age of 21, his uncle had passed away, peacefully and serene, unlike his parents death. Though Artos mourned, he mourned with a light heart, knowing his Uncle, Adrian had left life peacefully... unlike his parents. Setting of to secluded training and poring of ancient tomes, his mind was dead set on avenging his parents.

Reaching the age of 26, he had expended all the tomes and secrets and set out to travel the world to look for more of the hidden tomes.

Demeanor/Attitude:
Chaotic Good

Artos is a so called perfectionist, not being able to leave something unless he understands the intricacies of it. He is kind and tries to help out people when he can, his helping nature was something from his parents, though Artos doesn't notice. He is a bit of a battle fanatic, trying to fare his skills with against any people who are willing and strong. He has a natural sense of battle, creating strategies before hand and tactics during the stress of battle. He is also fiercely independent, growing up with the lone-wolf mindset and it has stuck ever since.

He has a strong distrust of any being with elongated ears, Elves, High Elves, Drows and anything similar. He also will show slight hatred for them, even though he himself knows that not all of them are as evil and maniacal as the ones who killed his parents. This stems from his childhood, an incident that has since been his drive.

His main mission is to find 'The Devour', and will not rest until he has found justice.
His secondary mission is to find tomes of old and power, and finding other individuals who are magus' to trade secrets and knowledge.

Other:
Since he needs to spend hours reading and reading, he has grown to like reading.
He plays the Lute to himself sometimes when he is deeply thinking.
He prefers to self-cook.

The tomes he had read so far are numerous and number alot. Including but not limited to;
~Tome of Sanabits, an ancient tome transcribed by the greatest healers of Eons long past.
Status: Badly burnt, over 95% is unreadable thanks to a fire.

~Book of Elementum, ancient tome found by his parents, transcribed by the greatest Magus' of the past.
Status: Fully readable and learnt. Learned elemental spells.

~Tome of Auguriis, another ancient tome containing enchanters of old greatest techniques.
Status: Hard to grasp, but he managed to grab the essentials, he's still getting around to it. Managed to enchant his armor, can enchant others.

[User]
Drizzak

---

The smaller goblin sat on the step of the wagon as his mutagen finally wore off. His nice new skull adornment had been stolen right off of his head, rather painfully and now he let out a sigh as his draconic, ogre-like physique faded, looking down as his club-handed arms shrunk down to skinny claws once more, shedding of their scales like bark falling from a tree. Pale and ashen once again, a stark remind of his goblin heritage. His low mood quickly faded as he began to mix up another batch of his vile chemicals. The familiar firelight glowed from the vials as he packed them into his costume once more, as he donned it from where it had been thrown into the wagon when the short gnoll slaughter had finished.

The small goblin scratched at his side, now his chipper draconic self again. For a while he stared at the others in the party, seemingly unfazed by the previous floating sphere that had sailed past them. Was it above his understanding, or was he just too headstrong to care? Did he honestly believe himself able to dominate such an unearthly force? Truly his thoughts were an enigma to even himself. Such a ponderous wonder he was. A beast to be admired. Revered, even.

Drizzak scratched at his behind and let out a loud belch before speaking in the same high-pitched shriek.

"Drizzak wish big ball left dogmans. Drizzak hungry. He burn them good enough for eats. What waste."

[Assistant]
Hugh was a little taken back by her sudden flight. He reached out his hand, "Wa-" He interrupted himself, bringing his hand back in, "Okay." His expression looked as though he felt a little guilty that he had done something wrong. He overheard Ellis's teasing. His face suddenly felt flushed and he brought a hand up to his face, rubbing around his eyes. After hearing Vivian saying they had yet to share a bedroll, Hugh cleared his throat, feeling a little embarrassed at the whole conversation. "Okay then, too much commentary from the peanut gallery for the day." He said waving them off.

He listened to Ellis and Vivian speak of what they were after, the whole chalice and treasure stuff. Hugh thought of how much he had changed, since long ago becoming a paladin. Now he did things to provide a living for himself, with a good amount of danger and excitement. The promise of a great reward, enemies numerous, danger around every corner. You had to be a little insane to take this up as a living.

The reasons why Hugh was no longer a paladin were numerous. He had shut himself off from the rest of the world, choosing a simple life, leaving his paladin life behind when the tribe adopted him. He didn't want anything to do with being world police, anymore. All that he wanted was a simple existence, but even that was taken away, forcing him to become a wanderer, taking up questing to make a living. Mercenary alone was enough to make him an ex-paladin.

Hugh simply walked alongside the wagon, observing that Sana had run up ahead. He wasn't particularly sure if he could just walk up to her at this moment. She seemed like she wanted to be alone for on the little scouting mission. He felt kind of stupid at the moment, but simply walked to the back of the wagon and put on the rest of his gear, including strapping his warhammer to his back. Then he headed towards the front of the wagon.

"Hey Sana, I can scout with you!" He said yelling up ahead, figuring that regardless it would not really be very good if someone was scouting alone.

[User]
Sana kept an eye out before them, chuckling to herself slightly as what their new companion had said. At least he had a sense of humor. To what Ellis had said, it took everything in her not to turn around and snap out of pure embarrassment. Gulping she had kept moving to take a scouting position figuring that it was better than to confront the hafling. He seemed to like to tease, yelling wouldn't stop that.

 When Hugh called out to her, she swallowed hard and took a deep breath before waving him over to her. She had a moment to calm down and compose herself as it were and felt she had been reading far too much into his simple action. Sana wasn't exactly young, in human years, but Hugh was definitely her senior and she thought now, having a moment to reflect, that he was probably just acting as a parent or older sibling may have to her outburst. Trying to give a little comfort to a tense situation. At least that is what she tried to convince herself of.

[Assistant]
Tagged; Everyone in the party,

Sana said another retort, and it did ring some truth and merit. Wariness is a good trait, and before he could reply she ran off. Walking behind the wagon, his thoughts were wrapped around his outburst, I wonder why I was outraged to that degree. he thought, pondering to himself. Before he knew it, Ellyn was next to him and began singing a song in an unknown language, but it was soothing to the ears. Closing his eyes, a repressed memory of his younger years triggered in his head,

Artos' parents had just died a few months ago, and he was still dealing with their untimely deaths. His uncle had sent him to do a request from a personal friend, the request detailed a retrieval of an item that was rumored to be around the area. He was paired with another young Magus, a half orc, half human. She was called 'Turael', and Artos didn't really get along with her, his distrust and prejudice of orcs had gotten in the way of that. Their friendship did gradually get better over time. Long story short, the mission was successful, but Turael was captured, tortured and eventually left to die on a road. Many people passed by, and left the half orc to her demise and some even spat on the Magus as they walked by. By the time Artos found her, she was already at death's door, and with a smile she sent him off with a 'goodbye.'

His eyes slowly opening near the end of the hymn, and a single tear escaped his eye and with a sigh, he remembered why he himself is not prejudiced and biased towards any of the races. His glare had all but left, and now he went back to his relatively normal self. "Thanks, I needed that." he said towards Ellyn with a slight smile. "You can go rest in the wagon, I'm fine now." he continued after seeing her yawn. Noticing that the male elf with the pointy ears was glaring at him for some unbeknownst reason, Looks like three might be after my life, well I guess I should apologize to Hugh. So atleast I could worry about one less. he thought to himself with a sigh. Placing his tome in his pouch, he stopped Hugh in his tracks "Apologies for the outburst." he said, swiftly bowing his head, and with that he began walking away, behind the wagon again, reaching for his tome and began reading.


[System]
* Age: 22
* Gender: Male
* Race: Human
* Appearance:
* Personality: Gillian values honesty, simplicity and trust. All of which he feels are impossible to find in any sufficiently large group of people. A loner by necessity and by nature, he prefers not to speak too much, especially on matters of nobility. He can be very defensive when dealing with intimate issues (or those dealing with his condition), and as such avoids them as much as possible except with those he considers close friends. What few friends he keeps are treated to a watchfulness most attack dogs would envy and the occasional stroke of melancholic humor when he's in his more 'peppy' moments.

He is a loyal knight to his core, and believes in the mission of the Iron Rose Knights with a fervor approaching fanaticism. However, he openly dislikes the glamour in which they operate. The opulent ceremonies and the relic of a tradition for choosing their captains put more at risk than it was worth. A shiny set of armor and a parade with a beautiful young girl might make the population feel better, but it won't help the village razed by orcs while the knights sat polishing their boots and wallowing in the nostalgia of their roots. As such he can seem a bit of a hard liner when it comes to dealing with enemies of Thaln and is not known for his patience (or mercy). His tolerance for magic users is especially low, distrusting them intensely, even those trained in the Mage College.
* Brief Backstory: Gillian was born in the township of La Reine, located on the Velt-Thaln boarder just off a rarely traveled caravan trail. The only truly notable thing about it was the local superstition that a powerful witch resided in the local woods, His parents were both local hunters, trading much needed food and pelts to travelers and locals during the winter months. It was a quiet place to grow up, much of the day spent hunting or practicing with the town militia (which consisted of little more than a few men armed with make shift spears). For the first fourteen years of his life, Gillian faced few hurtles aside from the normal trials of a rural hunter and the occasional disorganized Orc warband attempting a raid.
In the fall of his fifteenth year, a small caravan accompanied by a squad of Iron Rose Knights rolled into town. Their commanding officer, Seigward Parnella, was investigating reports that the local orc bands had gone utterly quiet. The people of La Reine, Gillian included, were eager to believe the Orcs had simply vanished, removing the one few dark marks against their sequestered home. Parnella was less naïvely optimistic, ordering his squad to occupy the town. Parnella's suspicions held true and within the week the town was under siege by an impressive warband, seemingly brought together by an ambitious and skilled young Orc. The Knights, even while bolstered by the town militia, could barely hold back the attack. Being young and untrained, Gillian broke rank quickly, fleeing into the forest, seeking sanctuary in an abandoned shack deep in the heart of the forest. He soon discovered that he was followed by an orc on boarback, who hunted the boy seemingly for the pure sport of it, side swiping his prey and letting his boards tusk slowly gore the young man. After many wild helpless wings, he eventually managed to land a blow on the rider's saddle, sending the orc tumbling over the side of his awkward to the merciless hooves that awaited him below. As the Orc lay dead or dying, the cripple Gillian limped onward to the shack, still intent on hiding until the attack subsided.

Just when the shack was a blurry dot on the horizon and he could feel to his wounds edging him ever closer to death, an odd woman stepped from behind a tree branch, offering to save his life in exchange for a favor to be called on at a later date. In no condition to question her motives nor caring too deeply about them at the moment, he accepted hastily. He only had time to watch as the woman called over a lumbering antlered figure, which loomed over him for a moment before unconciounsness took him. He awoke among the smoldering remains of his village, his arm replaced with some eldritch approximation of magically grafted flesh and bone and the orc band seemingly repelled. The victory was not without cost and much of the village, Gillian's family included, lay dead at its heart. What few were left turned on him quickly, blaming the 'demon child' for the attack.
Parnella and the remaining knights quickly took charge of the situation, claiming the boy as his squire (for his safety and the safety of the villagers if their suspicions proved true). The village was soon abandoned, the remaining villagers heading north to Velt and the knights and their new ward lingered a while, hoping to find the wayward caster and undo the bargain. Though their search yeilded no witch, it gave time for the squadrons resident caster to determine the nature of the arm. A construct, forged by a demon (through some obscured or lost article of magical craft) summoned or accompanying the witch. Parnella eventually convinced the boy to move on, after nearly a week of scouring the forest for the woman, but allowed him to remain with the squadron while he searched for answers on the road. For a while he was a squire in name only, Parnella initially only intending on keeping the boy around until Gillian could be freed of the bizarre addition. However as the months began to stretch, the elder knight found himself occupying the boys time with training more and more, if only to shield him from the reality that his situation might be permanent. At the very least, this way the aging knight could provide him with a chance to do some real good. On the dawn of his eighteenth year, Parnella asked Gillian to formally join the order, to which he agreed. Soon though Parnella's age began to show and he could no longer handle the physical demands of Knighthood and was forced to retire to Thaln's capital and disband his squad. Gillian attempted to stay with his mentor, but quickly found himself chaffing under the obligations expected of a knight in polite society as well as the hesitation of some of his commanding officers who knew of his condition. Deciding he was not welcome, nor wished to stay, in the capital he has since adopted a more mercenary method of performing his knightly duties, joining with squadrons short of hands in remote regions or on jobs ranging from too trivial to suicidal in exchange for basic living expenses or information on sightings of constructs similar to his.
* Equipment:
Armor: Being fairly poor in comparison to many of the knights with who he travels, Gillian's armor is a bit of a hodge podge. While it is all well fitted, it largely consists of old leather armor, with modest amounts of chainmail and the odd piece of plate to supplement weaker areas. While it offers more mobility and reduced weight, it sadly lacks the greater amounts of protection a proper suit could afford.
 Boar Spear:  Primary weapon of choice.
 Kite Shield:  Guaranteed to probably block fatal stabbings or your blood back.
 Broadsword:  Used in conjunction with the shield for when spear is too unwieldly for the area.
 The Demon's arm:  A magical prosthetic that has taken the place of Gillian's original arm, constructed through an arcane process not as yet fully understood. Its aesthetics are dark and insectoid, black chitinous plates interconnected with ghostly blue membrane beneath. It is slightly more durable than the average arm, thanks to the natural armor, though Gillian is in no rush to test its limits. It can act as a catalyst for casting a limited number of spells, though weather this is a function included for some agenda of the witch or the whimsy of the demon who created is not clear.
* Skills:

Gillian is a capable hunter and tracker, having spent many years as a furrier in his youth. There are few Knights of the order who can track a bleeding Orc from a day old trail in the wilds of Thaln, and Gillian is one of those proud few.
Gillian works best as a support fighter, being lightly armored in comparison to many other knights. While he can handle himself in a one on one fight, he prefers to circle around opponents distracted by comrades, harassing them from a safe distance and creating opening.
Demon Arm spells Known:
  Griffe longue:  Fires a projectile of white hot energy which stabs into the target before dissipating.
 Larmes:  Places a sigil on another creature for 12 hours. Sigil oozes harmless, but highly luminescent, fluid constantly for the duration. Sigil can be removed with any commonly available method of removing minor curses.
  Le Bras du Géants:  Increases the strength of the arm itself for a few moments. He can easily crush stone in his grip while this is active. However, only the arms strength is affected. While the arm might be able to palm a large stone with no issue, he would sooner throw out his back than be able to lift it.
  Le Vrai Nom:  Allows Gillian to disguise his arm as human. Works for less than two hours a day at maximum and prevents the casting of any other spells while it is active.

[User]
Silfern Valenthorn

Nodding in affirmative to Fannily, Silfern took position on the little captain's left flank. She kept a wary eye at the crimson spear-bearer as the apparent mercenary became increasingly serious. Silfern tightened the grip on her sword as she spread her feet apart for ease of movement. The duelist took a deep breath, her mind entering a state of extreme focus. Her eyes locking firmly on Alette as her senses began to attune solely on the spear-bearer, noting every twitch, every shift in the woman's stance, soaking up every information she can get to read and predict her movements as everything except her opponent and anything between them faded in the background. This was a dangerous gamble that would render her vulnerable to outside attacks, but something told her that she'd pay for it if she didn't commit her all against this woman.

"While I realize that this is all just a misunderstanding, I will not let you hurt our Captain."

Silfern declared calmly, her now widened eyes zeroing steadily on Alette's with a penetrating gaze.

Then, without another word, the Knight sprang into action, and in an almost inhuman burst of speed, stepped in range of the woman with one great lunge and executing a downwards diagonal slash before quickly jumping back, her sword ready to parry.

[Assistant]
Tyaethe spun around, taking stock of the battle and realising things were about to get very messy unless she intervened. That was exactly what she had been trained to do in the first place, though... what good was a defending paladin that couldn't break up a fight without striking a single blow? Her sword was big enough to work as a shield for more than one reason.

Alette's view of the captain was obscured by a looming figure in dull plate, and the incoming attacks impacted instead on a shield far more durable than the squashy mercenary would have been. The Shark wasn't being entirely trusted, either: any attempt to get at someone beyond Tyaethe would have to go through her shield, her sword, or the paladin. None of those options were going to present a clear chance of getting someone on the other side.

"STAND DOWN! That man was a traitor!"

How did she know? Simple: the bodies were several days old. They'd only received word of something happening at the fort today and had arrived to find the mercenaries still finishing off its previous occupants. So either more than one person had suddenly gotten away after days of the garrison being slowly decimated... or the mercenaries were telling the truth. But all the corpses were days old, so that wouldn't hold...

[User]
Klaus
Klaus was about to head for the main gate till she heard an order from her captain to guard her flanks. She was a bit surprised that Alexander survived that charge, but backing away seems like a wise choice for that spear girl. She realized that the Knight on her captain's left flank was a bit too aggressive, so she readied with a more defensive stance, making sure that she got her captain well covered on the right flank.

And which man is the traitor? She got confused over that senior's command.

[Assistant]
---FORT DAELANTINE---

It was clear to Jarde that this woman was dangerous but at least reasonable. "Well, I don't want to fight. It appears we're at a misunderstanding here."

And with a loud yell from one of the knights calling for a ceasefire, Jarde hoped that would get everyone's attention and get everything straight. He wondered though as to what actually happened in the fort. The reason why the mercenaries are here was also a mystery. If they are indeed here not as the enemy, then why are they taking the fort from the attackers? Jarde hoped all these questions can get answered in a table rather than in a cell.

There was also another question in Jarde's mind. "Oh and, what's a stingray?"

[User]
Nori reluctantly lowers her blade, though she fails to put it away completely. She wanted to trust the undead womans words, having heard nothing but good things about her from her mistress. But still, the spear woman was angling a blade at the captain, and she would be derelict in her duties if she allowed someone to kill her current charge. She continues to watch the Shark, moving to Fanlily's side. "Are you uninjured captain?" She asks.

Gillian was less impressed by the claim, failing to lower his weapon entirely. "On what grounds?" He asks angrily, voice carrying across the courtyard as he ignored the looks of concern some of the rank and file knights threw at him. They may have been willing to charge at an unknown enemy, but few in the order were brave (or foolish as the case may be) to ignore an order from the undead sentinel twice.


[System]
Appearance:
Age:
23

Hometown:
Kiloude City

Personality:
Blunt, Discerning, Playful, Stubborn

Pokemon:

Alnair, Genderless, Quiet

Enif, Female, Gentle

Matar, Male, Bold

Likes and Dislikes:
+Drawing
+Fashion

-Heights
-Being told she can't do something

[User]
Cori was not having a good time. In theory, she loved the work they did. They got to travel, be independent, help people in need… in practice though, it was sometimes a much different story. Like two weeks ago when they got a phony call from some punk teenagers who thought they could ambush Cori and Nathan and try to filch their supplies. Or the week before that when they'd arrived on the scene only to see their competitors already there with a triumphant glint in their eyes and fresh money in their pockets. Or today.

Today sucked.

"Oh yeah," she muttered, more to herself than to her partner, "I really feel like we're making a difference. Especially when it means trekking through some backwater bog." Though there was acid dripping from her words, Cori was often an excess of bark and very little bite (unless you somehow got in the way of their work – then there was no saving you). Her anger was spurred on from impatience and annoyance more than any actual resentment. When the time came, she'd no doubt dote upon their client like she always did, even if this proved to simply be a false alarm.

Cori gritted her teeth as she fought to lift her legs from the marsh with every step. She was a small thing, and every time she placed her foot, the water rose well up her calf. She'd had the sense to bring only the most disposable clothes, though even those were perhaps too chic for this route (Cori had standards). Boots, a pair of shorts, and a well-made pink blouse. They were all covered in mud. She was tired, dirty, hungry for some actual food, and every time she stepped, the twigs and leaves buried in the silt felt like insect legs against her skin.

She placed her foot again, more forcefully than was wise, and gave a little yelp when the marsh all but ate her leg. Stuck up to her thigh, she grabbed onto Nathan's shirt on reflex, almost bringing the poor boy toppling down with her, but found her balance before it came to that. Cori skewed her face up as she tried to lift her leg. But the weight of the water and silt was clamped down around her, making escape impossible. When she tried using her other, awkwardly bent leg, to push herself up, that one only slipped further into the mud.

She turned her head slowly to glare up at Nathan.

"This kid better need saving."

With a huff, Cori glanced around, looking for something to latch onto for support. The only thing within reach (besides her poor partner) was an old, rotting tree. She reached out and curled her fingers tentatively around a branch, only to have it break off when she pulled. Cori sighed, and took the branch in both hands, testing it. It was a pale, dirty thing, but aside from the rotten stump, it seemed sturdy enough. Cori stabbed it into the mud, and braced herself as she tried to pull her leg up. She grunted from the effort, as the pressure seemed to make her leg twenty pounds heavier. But after pulling and pulling (and nearly losing her balance a few times) her leg slowly started to rise. The mud kicked up, ruining whatever visibility she had. This was likely why she didn't see the quagsire clamped onto her leg until its head was out of the water.

Cori screamed and nearly fell backwards. The pokemon, content to hang onto her leg, practically swallowing her foot whole, didn't react. Yanking the branch from the water, she swung as hard as she could. It smacked the side of the quagsire's head, the rotten wood shattering on impact. A shock wave vibrated down the quagsire's body and its mouth opened. Without even a change in expression, it sank back to the bottom of the swamp, lazy bubbles floating up to the surface. There was a red mark around her leg where she'd been bitten that would no doubt morph into a bruise in an hour. Cori was frozen for a moment as she just looked from her leg to the water and back again.

"That's it! We're teleporting." She reached to her belt, where her pokeballs hung. She was done with this stupid route. If wild pokemon freaked out and decided to attack, then sure. Cori was ready to do some damage. Anything to get this job over with.

[Assistant]
His friend's grumblings were to be expected, given their recent string of unfortunate luck.

Still, Nathan knew they were doing good work and that Cori felt the same way. If she didn't, she wouldn't be struggling in the marsh alongisde him. "Oh I'm sure he does and when we get to him, everything will work out and it'll be worth it." He promised her sweetly, though in his voice, there was a small bit of strain. As Cori attempted to pry herself free from the mud's ironclad grasp, Nathan was trying to make sure they were heading in the right direction. Once you began moving through the area, it was dangerously easy to get lost and feel overwhelmed. The last thing they needed, was to spend time and energy going the wrong way. Then again, if they somehow circled back the way they came, it would at least give them a means to take a break. But he and Cori were much more interested in moving forward and doing their job right.

He turned to see Cori trying yet again to free herself, this time with a bit of tree. He did his best to not laugh because he knew she could easily just use him as an anchor and he didn't want to be pulled into that sticky, smelly predicament too. Just when it appeared she'd made the unbelievable escape, a quagsire put any progress, let alone success, to a literal screaming halt. He just stared as the pokemon then just opened its mouth and slide back under the thick muddy gunk where it had originated. His eyes then went back to his partner who looked mortified. Nathan couldn't hold it in anymore and started to laugh. An arm wound around his stomach as he kept on laughing until his stomach began to ache. Cori wanted to teleport which he understood. He had hoped to cover better ground on foot but that was an endeavor that was not paying off in the slightest. "Alright, alright." He agreed when he finally quieted down.

"You don't want to take your new friend along?" He teased.

It had been decided though, to teleport to the old haunted house and search there. Cori summoned her trusty claydol and took them on the outskirts of where the haunted house had rooted itself. Nathan was happy to have grass under their feet now. It was squishy and slippery but an improvement from where they had come from only seconds ago. "Thanks." He gave them a smile before the pokemon was put back in its pokeball so they could cover more ground. "Hang on." He then threw his pokeball up and golbat came out. "Hey bud, we need you to look around the area for someone. He'll be wearing a yellow shirt. Use your supersonic to reach further areas but come back here in 15 minutes." He instructed, not wanting his pokemon to get too far or even lost in the area.

Turning back to Cori, he motioned to the rickety building and headed that way. "Jaspor?" He called out, wondering if the boy was around. "Jaspor?" He called out again and gave a shrug. He walked up to the wooden home and pushed the door open, it giving a timid creeeeak as he did so. Inside there was no light except for what could filter though the cracks in the walls and roof around them. The house had a large room and then beyond it, a few doors and hallways. It was compact but obviously sensitive. "Jaspor?" He called out as he stepped inside and tried to spot any sign that someone was inside. In the middle of the room was where a fire once had burned, the logs now damp and mostly ash. As much as he strained his ears, he could only hear the wind whipping around the home. "Let's stay together and check the rooms." He suggested. The boy, Jaspor was in fact in the home but he had fallen into the basement, through the floor in the second bedroom and had ended up snapping his ankle.

He had been in the house for over a day and with his pokemon being a zigzagoon, he had no way of getting the help he needed.

[User]
Cori shot a glare at Nathan as he laughed, her grip tightening around the shattered stump that remained of her branch. One good what to the head, that was all it would take… But in the next moment they were dropped in front of the crumbling mansion. That kid had better be here. Cori just wanted to finish this job and get home to wash the mud from her skin. Tossing the branch to the side, she dusted her hands off and started walking forward. Her leg throbbed whenever she put weight on it where that stupid quagsire had all but inhaled her foot. She hissed a bit at the unexpected pain the first time, but gritted her teeth and pushed through it after that.

"I really hope this kid's here," she said, her sour mood cooling a bit now that they were out of the mud. They had work to do. Plus, this old building had always given Cori the creeps. The wooden floor creaked with every step, the wind whistled through the frame and made it always sound like there was something else inside, and the light flickered through the cracked windows, always tricking the eyes.

"Jaspor," she called out along with her partner. But there was no response. Careful to stick close to Nathan, she crept through the house. The first few rooms on the ground floor were empty save for crumbling furniture and years' worth of dust. Every now and then a loose floor board bent just a little too much, or squeaked a little too loudly, causing Cori to jump and quickly move to another area. "Jaspor!" she called again.

Cori and Nathan moved on to the last door on the level to check before it was timing to climb the staircase. The door was already open, slightly ajar like most others in the mansion. Reaching out, she pushed it open, and it swung wide with a creek, the hinges grinding on each other. A shiver ran down her spine, but she stepped forward.

"Hello?" She froze when she saw a gaping hole in the middle of the room, the floor splintered and crumbling around the edges.

"H…hello?"

Cori's eyes widened at the sound of a faint, fragile voice coming from the hole. She turned up to look at Nathan before hurrying forward. Running to the edge of the hole, she stopped closer than was wise and bent down to peer through.

"Jaspor!" And indeed, in the shadows of the basement sat a young boy in a yellow shirt, a trusty zigzagoon curled around him. "Jaspor, your mom called us, we're here to help you," she called down to him. Worry was written clear on her face, her previous bad mood forgotten. "Are you ok? are you hurt?" Jaspor squinted up at them before turning back to look at himself, as though he had to take stock of everything.

"My… I fell. I think I broke my leg or something." His voice quavered with every word, and upon closer inspection they could see tear tracks cutting lines down his dusty face.

Cori looked back up at Nathan before continuing, "We're gonna get you home, alright?" Then she pulled out a pokeball and in a flash of red light her spritzee appeared. "See what you can do," she said, pointing down at Jaspor "He said his leg might be broken, but there could be other things too." The pokemon bobbed in understanding before fluttering down to the boy. "We'll be right down, ok Jaspor?" she called as the protective zigzagoon stood between its trainer and the foreign pokemon. "Enif will stay and help you until we get there."


[System]
Gender: Female
Appearance: "It's just grape juice, have a drink already."(around 5'1)
Age: 17, about the same in her avatar's appearance as well
IGN: YukiFu556
Race: Human
Avatar: "I'm not gonna show mercy to any one of you bastards."(around 5'1)
Equipment: * Gold Earrings: A pair of ordinary false gold earrings. And yet, it seems like they may reflect something about the wielder.
* Fashionable Jacket: An ordinary jacket, but the unique markings upon it speak of something more unique. It is said the original wearer showed deep inner power, but none know how this is particularly relevant.
* Fancy Vest: An appealing vest with no notable traits or characteristics.
* Pants: One of a set of items of clothing that most locations require you to wear. Alternatives include a skirt, or shorts. You are wearing something down there, right?
* Mysterious Armored Boots: A pair of armored boots found with the Fashionable Jacket. Offers a decent defense, but the real mystery is those unusual markings.
* Storage Pouch: What adventurer leaves home without some method of carrying items?
* Spark Blade: A sword created in secrecy, said to combine the ancient art of magic with the recent advances in technology. However, the systems within seem more advanced than most devices anyone has seen. It possesses multiple forms, the first of which is a fairly ordinary katana. Only by truly focusing your skills upon this weapon can you hope to understand its full capabilities. Awarded for completing the Black Cairn of Higorod below level fifteen solo.
	+ Spark Shooting: You have discovered Spark Blade can fire projectiles, waves of light from the sword. The lines in the blade flash brightly when it fires.
	+ Rend Blade: You have unlocked one of the secrets of the Spark Blade, allowing it to transform from a katana into an enormous, magically-empowered greatsword. You're certain it's longer than you are tall, and yet you can wield it without difficulty. Naturally, you can now utilize a much deadlier form of Spark Shooting. It can also charge itself to deliver devastating physical blows coursing with magic. Somehow, you feel this is not even close to the final secret Spark Blade holds.

Level: 48
Skills: * Katana Mastery S: Passive, increases proficiency when using a katana.
* Greatsword Mastery A: Passive, increases proficiency when using a greatsword.
* The Fire Within B: Calling upon your inner reserves of passion, you add thirty percent more damage to your attacks. Your soul burns with visions of victory!
* Ignition C: While you are not skilled with magic, your bullheaded determination grants you the ability to temporarily empower your body, blazing with magical power. Certainly, you cannot cast a single spell, but with this ability you can increase damage by fifteen percent and decrease incoming damage by ten percent.
* Willpower A: Passive, resist most mental debuffs.

Personality: Fujiko is notably a rather uncouth, passionate girl, with a sharp, aggressive tongue and unyielding confidence in herself. She loves a challenge, feeling that no matter how hard things can get she'll eventually break right on through and succeed. She loves a fight, as well, pretty unhesitatingly willing to clash with just about anyone over just about anything, especially if it'll come to blows. At the same time, she has rather strong morals, admitting to the fact that she 'finds it very difficult' to pick the evil option in any games she's ever played. She despises bullies, going out of her way to confront them wherever she finds them. At the same time, she's prone to mocking others herself. However, Fujiko feels she never goes beyond light teasing among friends. Fujiko has an extremely short temper, quick to anger and almost as quick to lash out due to her anger, proving herself to be quite passionate. She could easily be described as hotblooded. Fujiko cares deeply for her little sister, Kirika, who is also a fan of Untold Eternity.
History: Fujiko lives with her mother, who struggles to balance spending time at home with her two daughters, Fujiko and her younger sister Kirika, and the work she needs to sustain her family. Fujiko delved into video gaming, especially extremely difficult games. She became a huge fan of the Souls series, but expressed a great deal of distaste towards low-level trolls who preyed on new players. In real life, too, she embraced a way of life that vented stress from her lack of a family life, confronting bullies, spending late nights out, and clashing with her teachers repeatedly. Even her friends referred to her as 'kind of scary', but Fujiko was pretty sure they meant it in a good way. She was very protective of her sister, and for a long time refused to introduce her to an online game she enjoyed, Untold Eternity. However, she eventually relented, provided that Kirika let Fujiko keep an eye on her while she played. Fujiko's conduct in Untold Eternity was viewed as a "challenge run". She went to the notoriously difficult Black Cairn of Higorod(recommended level 60) at a level far beneath the recommended one, and obtained an extremely rare weapon as a result. The weapon seemed rather lame for the prize for completing an incredibly difficult dungeon at a low level, solo, but as someone in it for the challenge, Fujiko decided to try it out. When she discovered it gained more abilities as you leveled up while using it, it became her main weapon. Kirika was still new at the game, and remains a rather fresh player. But that won't be dangerous for her, right?
Pets?: N/A
Other: Notably poor at speaking English, can type it decently.

Name: Yukimura Kirika
Gender: Female
Appearance: "Did you say something about candy?"
Age: 10
IGN: MofuMofuMahouShoujo
Race: Beastkin(Dog)
Avatar: "Nee-chan told me about all the candy items in the game and I couldn't help it!"
Equipment: * Apprentice Mage's Hat: This hat is for young magi in training. Why, exactly, is anyone's guess, but some say an ancient mage wore something similar. The modern version is decidedly unremarkable.
* Apprentice Mage's Top: This vest is for young magi in training. Imbued with a minor magical enchantment, spell effectiveness is improved by three percent while wearing this outfit.
* Gauntlets of Red: These Gauntlets are commonly equipped by adventurous young magi. Created by Evalyn Cresh, they were among many of the magical creations. While they are fairly weak, a young magi can never have enough magical equipment. Reduces Mana Recharge Time by two seconds.
* Apprentice Mage's Pants/Skirt: This skirt is for young magi in training. It has no specific special attributes, aside from going rather well with the rest of the outfit.
* Apprentice Mage's Boots: These boots are for a young magi in training. They have no special abilities, but don't they look rather stylish?
* Double Storage Bag: An adventurer, especially one versed in magic, has great need of storage. Devised by Edgar the Wiser, the Double Storage bag is twice as large inside as it is outside.
* Candy: Candy is so tasty, isn't it? Restores one point of health.
* Mana Blade Staff: A short mage's staff bearing a pair of mana construct blades. Said to be based on the original tool of Red Mage Maria, it has minor defensive melee capabilities in addition to spellcasting. Aside from being striking in appearance, it has no true benefits aside from defensive melee capabilities.

Level: 8
Skills: * Ignite Scatter D: A series of mana blasts scatter across the area, fired from the mage's staff.
* Ignite Shot C: A single directed beam of mana, fired at a single target.
* Ignite Barrier E: A weak barrier spell that can defend both the caster and anyone within the scope of the shield.
* Spark Bind D: A series of mana binds wrap around the target, briefly immobilizing them.

Personality: Kirika is a friendly, outgoing little girl who wants to become friends with nearly everyone she meets. She's highly talkative and eager to learn more about new people, and is always excited for just about anything new, really. Kirika loves candy, magical girl anime and manga, and just about anything cute. She misses her mother most of the time, and tends to bury herself in anime and games when she's not allowed to go out. Kirika's desire for friends makes her extremely trusting of others, though not so much that she would do something foolish like follow a stranger. Still, she's easily lied to if she thinks that someone is her friend. Kirika is incredibly hurt if she discovers her trust has been broken, and will become withdrawn for a while as a result. Kirika looks up to her older sister Fujiko a great deal, absolutely adoring her and everything she does. ... Well, nearly everything. Kirika is a much better student then Fujiko. One of the reasons she got into Untold Eternity was purely because her older sister plays it.
History: Unlike her older sister, Kirika never knew her father. Most of her experience with her family has been rare times where her mother could spend time with them freely, or being cared for by her older sister. As such, she has become very devoted to Fujiko. Wanting to have more friends like her older sister, Kirika became quite the social butterfly, eager to meet new people and learn about them, and become their friends. Wanting to be like her older sister in everything but school, Kirika decided to get into Untold Eternity, promising Fujiko that she'd let her guide her and keep an eye on her. She even gave her a decent early game staff to keep her safer if she gets stuck in melee range.
Pets?: A small, long-eared squirrel-fox creature named Fuji, after Kirika's older sister. It sees extremely well, allowing Kirika to target better with long range spells, increasing her accuracy rating.
Other: Kirika loves candy. And magical girls. Her favorite show remains DokiDoki Precure, even if it's somewhat older by now. She can't speak English, and can only write very basic phrases learned in school.

[User]
Jethro Roranson
Interacting with: @OneStoryToMany

---

Jethro smiled as Laurel accepted his friend request. He was relieved to have found an ally so soon. He truly believed what he said. If they were going to survive this crazy world they were going to need friends. Going it alone was practically suicide. Even if they do respawn after death, not having a friend there to guide you through the loss could be a burden. Jethro's mood changed when Laurel said they didn't even play MMORPGs. He smiled wide and laughed heartily. "Haha, unlucky indeed, but look at the bright side. You got sucked into a stacked character ready to do. I'm completely new, and a dwarf!" He said with a chuckle as Laurel checked her stats. When she stated her level and her rank in scythes he grinned triumpantly. "67? Ha, nailed it on the head! Mid game indeed, and not a bad rank. It means whoever had this character before you had quite recently unlocked the scythe skill. Ranks are your level with a skill. Think of it as a grading system. So a rank like C means you're adverage at the skill with plenty of room for improvement. But, don't let that get you down. At level 67 I'm sure you probably have plenty of skills to back it up. Unlike me is all I can do is swing my hammer and hope it hurts enough." He said with a hopefull smile.

[Assistant]
Amelia

---

After listening to the beastkin girl, apparently called Kirika, Amelia gives a nod of understanding. So, the little one is called Kirika, while her sister is Fujiko. If Kirika is hanging out around here, then she's probably a fairly low level. Fortunately, the towns that recruit fresh adventurers are just to the North of here, conveniently on the way to my original destination. As Amelia plans out her next move, the howls of far off wolves start filling the air. It seems that here's not such a safe place to be thinking of such things. We should start moving.
They are currently in a plain just North of Araldyne. Amelia had actually stopped following her Trusted Mentor's Warg's tracks when she saw the chaotic riot going on in town, and decided to go around before heading further North once more, leading to where she and her little companion are now. Looking towards the girl, Kirika, once more, and motions for her to follow with a smile.
"I. Help. You. Follow." Kirika seems to know a fair amount more English than she gives herself credit for, so Amelia doesn't bother trying to waste any more time than neccessary trying to explain things in Japanese, and starts heading North.

[User]
Lorand

---

Lorand, who had been riding for a good couple of minutes now, looked at his map one more time. He was extremely close to the Amelia and the young girl's location, and was still riding with the speed of a mad man. No matter how silly his concern was, Lorand was still fearful of what he might find when he arrived.

"I swear if she has done anything to that girl, I am going to dropkick Amelia at least a mile away from here. Actually, make that two miles."

Lorand muttered this to himself as he came upon the scene at hand. Amelia was standing there talking to the girl, and it seemed like no harm had been done. However, looks could be deceiving, so Lorand leaped off of Rummahl and began to approach the pair, eyes fixed on Amelia. He walked towards them with a calm demeanor, even though he definitely was not calm.

"What's going on here Amelia, and what have you been doing since I left?"

He asked as he turned to inspect the young girl who was next to Amelia. She was a low-level wizard beastkin, something that seemed like a somewhat strange character combination to him, but he payed that no mind. He just wanted to make sure Amelia hadn't done anything to the girl, or anyone for that matter. Lorand could see that she was at least she was not harmed, so he was hopeful nothing bad had happened.

[Assistant]
Yukimura Fujiko, Formerly in Flight

The flight was, well... Fujiko had never exactly flown before. Especially not on a horse. So, to say the least, that experience was quite... impactful. Fujiko found herself indeed holding on, though more or less looking irritated about it the whole time. She probably would have enjoyed it more if not for the fact that her little sister was out there and potentially in danger. So, when the wolf came to a stop and they eventually landed, finally giving Fujiko the view of what she was instantly able to recognize as Kirika... admittedly, Kirika with white hair and animal features, but Kirika nonetheless, there was only one response.

The dark-haired girl lept off of the pegasus, ran over to her little sister, and abruptly hugged her, to the surprised greeting of "Onee-san!"


[System]
Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Weapon: Trepination Blade

Not only will this sword ruin your day with its impossibly sharp edges or if you're-gods forbid-stabbed by it, it can focus and fire a steady beam of energy through its length and out its tip when powered with Dust. The scabbard for the sword is a bright red, and tapers with the blade. It has since been upgraded to include the ability to mecha-shift into a katar.

Shield

Specialty: Up Close and Personal. Oswald's semblance is obviously most useful for this style of combat, as it prevents enemies that excel at range from getting to a viable range from him, so long as he can get within fifty feet of them. As he wields a sword and shield, Oswald is capable of both a bruiser role and a tank role. So long as he's in his opponent's face, he's comfortable fighting in whatever manner is appropriate for the situation. When he attacks, Oswald is ruthless, leaving no openings, and even using his shield as a weapon at times to keep himself from giving his enemy an opportunity to attack. On the defensive, he becomes a fortress, blocking with both sword and shield, refusing to give up any ground.

Semblance: Closer- Oswald can instantly close the distance between himself and another living creature (Grimm or no) within fifty feet of him, moving from wherever he is to about four feet from his target.

Personality: "Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick." Oswald is a friendly enough guy when he's with friends or allies, and he tries to keep the peace whenever fights break out. He tries to be the first on the scene, and acts as an enforcer to make sure things don't get crazy. If a fight does happen to break out, he'll try to bring it to an end before anybody gets seriously hurt. He strongly favors the diplomatic option when available. If someone makes it clear that that option isn't available, though...well, he breaks out the big stick.

Color: Onyx

Emblem: A heavily damaged dark stone tower, with a small white figure standing proudly atop it.
Emblem

Appearance: Oswald stands at about 5'10" tall, weighs in at a mean 220 pounds, and sports a pair of dull brown eyes topped by a short head of dark black hair. He typically wears a heavy red cloak with onyx pauldrons over a pair of black pants and a white collared shirt. Under his cloak, he has a pair of onyx steel gauntlets, a dark red canvas brigandine and wears a pair of dark black greaves under his pants. He's rather light-skinned, and his face has a small scar under his nose that goes through his lip diagonally. As for shoes, he always wears a pair of black work boots.
Oswald

[User]
"Dibs on the shower. Enter at your own peril." Diamond challenged them in a tone completely lost on Marcus.

"Noted." the young officer replied, busy with his luggage. Outside of the bare essentials he also brought a collection of books that covered subjects from data on Grimm to engineering to a few pulpy science fiction novels. Next he pulled out a large map of Vale and the surrounding lands.

"Well, boss, I'm an easy enough guy to deal with, I think. A roof over my head is just about enough to keep me happy. Stay outta my bags, don't get us killed and treat people like people, and we'll get along famously." Oswald told him from where the warrior lay on a bed.

"Very well, I shall try to meet your standards." Marcus said sincerely. He very intentionally made no promises. His people skills were poor and he knew it.

"Damned wrist. I'm lucky I'm right-handed. At least I can get along with that much."

Marcus grunted in agreement as he eyeballed the map and the wall next to the door, unsure if it would fit.

Looking over to the bathroom door, Oswald screwed up his face. "Not sure I like the look that girl gave us when she went in. Almost like she half expected us to do it. Maybe even wanted it, a little, just so she could have an excuse to make trouble. Whatever, let her have her shower. I'll go last." he continued.

"You know, I could always take one for the team and take up her offer. Gods know that you prudes wouldn't. For the Glory of Team Moderation, of course." Aurellius spoke up. He had been silent all the way up to the room outside of a few heavy breaths or sighs, Marcus could not tell which. Marcus made a note to check if a Datura released some form of aerosolized poison, he had no intention of coming down with 'bronchitis the dark evil on steroids version'.

"Be patient and you can get all the looks you want. Grimm don't wait for people to get dressed, so any showers out in the field will have to have a sentry." Marcus said flatly. A simple fact of life drilled into him at an early age was that survival trumped the standard 'city slicker' social mores. Gender never factored into things like the aforementioned sentry duty, you kept each other alive first and foremost. He had started to fiddle with some pins to get the map up, however the little brass tacks barely found purchase in the hard wall. Behind him Diamond entered the room again.

"Hey boss, when's the wake up call?" Diamond called out.

"Breakfast opens at seven hundred, first lessons at eight oh clock sharp. Oh, and they apparently have a limited amount of 'good stuff' for breakfast so arriving early was advised." Marcus replied while he pulled out a nailgun from his belt. Some high impact engineering later, the map was firmly in place. There, fixed. He grimaced a bit as he saw that his last few bags should have been sent to the garage instead of the team's room. Logistical screw ups, the eternal nemesis of those who used a lot of spare parts.

"Right then, I have to get this stuff to the garage and I want to get some maintenance done before sleep. Goodnight, incase you are already asleep by the time I get back." he said as he lifted the bags over his shoulder.

[Assistant]
Seilber stood on the stage under the lights, jittering. This wasn't right. Damnit! The last thing she needed was the spotlight on her! So much for keeping a low profile... She sighed inwardly. I'll just have to turn this to my advantage, she decided silently. At the same time, she could understand why. Indigo was good especially in a fight. There was a competitive edge to him, and something else more... And he was something of a hothead, a berserker. It made him strong, powerful in battle.

She caught the whiff of anger off of Indigo, a mixture of sweat, pheromones, and blood. Moving quickly she followed him, gesturing for the rest of them to come with, slithering through the crowd. Seilber chewed her lower lip in apprehension. In the field out there, she'd just been trying to keep herself and those around her alive while they worked through the Exam. Indigo had wanted to charge in, guns blazing. And while that might have worked with simpler prey, the Ariadne they'd been up against were not so easily dealt with. They turned the very ground and area where they were into deadly traps, making it virtually impossible to get around without moving carefully.

Working with Viviane, both of them using their bow weaponry, they had rained down hell and problems upon their foes. Using the special bolts in the crossbow they had erected barriers, and turned the spider's own sticky situations back on them. They had used warp gates to evade or maneuver when needed. Seilber's Dust based attacks had spewed fire, burning webs and spiders like nothing, while explosive forces ripped spiderlings apart. Viv's lifesight had told them where attacks were going to come from, kept them out of ambushes, and shown them where to shoot before they could even see the targets directly. Ineko's suit had given them the strength and speed to tear through some webs with little issue, and had allowed him to go toe to toe with the massive spiders. Lightning had been his ally as he had become something of an overgrown bug zapper when they were there.

Indigo had the short to midrange firepower, and the ability to spread his damage out or focus it. His 'hatchets' of a sort had hacked off more than a few spider legs, and he'd been able to use that barrier power of his to his advantage. Until Seilber had started directing her partner, he'd been focused mostly on his own things.

As she re-analyzed what happened while following Indie, it dawned on her more why she had been chosen. Sure he was a great fighter, but for now he was in it for himself. His ego, his pride. He was trying hard to be the best, instead of being the best he could be. There was little care for anybody he worked with. She had an optimist, and a naive girl to look after, as well.

"Indigo," she said quietly as they had drawn away from the crowd, looking up at him. Her honey colored eyes seemed to glitter just a bit in the dim interior. "I would, but I've got to get my stuff moved. Class tomorrow too." Seeing Indi storm off from the stage had been a little upsetting. It seemed that the decision by the staff would likely be final. "I… I'm .." She sputtered a little. She wanted to apologize, that was clear, but at the same time, she wasn't sure she should. Things were kind of off to a bumpy start there. Really it wasn't even her fault. It wasn't like she'd shot for taking that slot. "All I can do right now is get a move on." Glancing at the rest of the team nearby, she tilted her head a little. "We'll figure it out together. I'll be at our assigned dorm room, if you wanna talk." With that, she turned to slowly head toward the dorms. Thankfully most of her stuff was still in her rocket locker.

[User] Greyson sighed loudly as he relaxed in the tub letting all his aching muscles relax in the hot water. After a few good minutes of soaking Greyson grabbed a towel and dried himself off before changing into some pajama pants and a shirt so he could get some sleep soon. Greyson left the bathroom and went over to his space and started to decorate it. Mainly by painting the walls around his bed with washable spray paint, He used his time to draw a heart with wings one side devil and the other angel but both bleeding from barbed wire around it. Greyson would happily draw anything the others wanted in their spaces if asked since painting was one of the things Greyson was good at even before he couldn't walk. Although right now Greyson was feeling a bit peekish for some burgers or something to get in his stomach so he could finish drawing...

[Assistant]
Victor was managing a good pace, he'd adjusted for his missing arm and his stride had lost it's stagger, he was catching up and feeling rather good about it. When Rayna started dropping back Victor was slightly offended thinking Why is she dropping back? There is no need to check on me! I'm missing an arm not a leg, I can do this!
"Hey, Victor buddy, good ol' Vic, Vic my old pal..." This is weird, is she that concerned about my lack of an arm? Do I seriously look that incompetent?
"I was trying to wake you up and I shook your arm and it fell off and I didn't know what to do and I was a little freaked that I pulled your arm off and I might have lost it... maybe?"

Victor continued jogging for a few seconds, smiling and waiting for the punchline. As he realised none was coming the smile slowly became less cheery. Victor Wanted to scream at Rayna, yell at the top of his lungs and kick up a fuss, but realising nothing good would come of it he bottled it up, buried it deep, and continued to smile, slightly slowing his jog.
"Rayna... you are telling me that you removed my arm, by accident of course, and managed to lose it? A prosthetic arm that is... well the size of an arm and is a bit heavier than one..." Victor had to pause, he felt his temper rising and had to take a deep breath before continuing on.

"How, Rayna? How did you lose it? Please explain this to me like I am seven. My arm falls off, you are naturally shocked and didn't know what to do. I understand that part, but this next bit is where I get confused. The part where my ARM goes missing. You see it fall off and what? How does it go from being on the floor, or in your hand or whatever to being lost? Are you so shocked that you throw it out the window?..."

Finally stopping altogether Victor couldn't stop himself from asking "You didn't throw it out the window... right?" sounding more like a plea than an actual question.

[User]
Marcus's comment about sentry duty and showers made Oswald chuckle a bit. "You got that right, boss. Can't tell you how many guys got a shiner for peeping back at home." He wondered how often they'd actually be outside of the school grounds: he couldn't imagine the Academy letting first-year students with little to no actual combat experience out very often. Yes, there had been the test, but considering the number of injuries the students had suffered against their enemies, he doubted there would be frequent excursions any time soon.

It seemed they were being advised to wake up early for breakfast. Oswald figured about six in the morning would be good. Once their other teammate was showered, he'd follow and then go to sleep. Not much left to do this day, after all.