[System]
'I'm definitely not used to this kind of crap, but heck, I'm sure gonna give it my all. I sure could use another companion, though. The current one is kinda cheeky.'
Age: 24

Supposedly, a hero from another world, even though he doesn't feel 'hero-like' at all. He was sent into a quest with the princess Rena Falkren from the kingdom of Eskar with some armor, a sword and a bag full of coins on him. Supposedly, they have to slay the demon king 'Lucifer'. (I know, my naming sense is bad and kinda lazy xD)

[User]
Rena woke up, and not in graceful way, mainly by choking on her own saliva as people sometimes do when sleeping. She coughed heavily trying to discharge the unwelcome substance trapped in her throat, in her fit a bundle of pages was thrown off of the desk... that day didn't start all that great. While muttering to herself, something about gag reflexes or whatnot, she had to take perhaps five minutes to finally reorganize the local workspace. When done Rena found Noboyuki to be missing from his bed, knowing better this time she just assumed him to be in the bath, just to be safe, hate to have a repeat of yesterday.

Breakfast sounded good to the rudely awaken princess, rather than asking for food to be brought up she opted to eat in the main hall, maybe have a chance to listen to gossip, and more importantly to take the chance to properly thank the owner, as well as figure out how they're going to arrange for more days because clearly they will not be leaving for a while. Rena tossed her rather dirty fancy dress on her own bed, after their previous adventures it was quite covered in dirt, instead she wore spare clothing, a rather plain white cotton dress but really comfortable.

Down in the hall, Rena right away found the owner to thank him for all the help he had provided, thing is after bringing up that they'll have to stay for much longer than expected, the owner simply swiped the idea aside knowing full well that Noboyuki could not travel, especially when he was wounded while in service to the hamlet from hunting that cursed god. At the most he'll be able to afford to feed and house them for a month, after that there wouldn't be much else unless he wanted to go bankrupt, still Rena was thankful for his compassion. She sat at a table with a small breakfast of oatmeal, fresh cheese, and a tankard of diluted ale, so far the news going around was nothing of note, just talks about weather really after last night however, Rena didn't mind the peace, not at all.

[Assistant]
After a relaxing bath, Noboyuki came out and thanked the owner, and also the heavens for having such a convenient thing in there, and that it was just like those of Japan was also a huge advantage for him. It made him feel at home, one way or the other. After getting dressed up and everything else, he went back to the dining hall. He hoped to find Rena there, but if he didn't, well, he'd just have breakfast without her. Noboyuki, though, was just dressed with a shirt and a pair of pants, without the usual jacket he wore on him. It just seemed a bit too stuffy now to wear and made him feel uncomfortable.

After arriving to the dining hall, he spotted Rena rather quickly, even though she wasn't wearing her usual fancy dress. Well, it wasn't a surprise, probably it got ragged and dirty yesterday during their escape. He decided to not even comment about it and just sit in front of her, to take his own breakfast. He had already asked someone to bring his food there, so they brought it little after he sat down. He started on eating it slowly, it was the same meal Rena was eating too, so he decided to take it a bit slowly. After a while of being in silence, Noboyuki finally let out a sigh and looked at Rena.

"Good morning. Sleep well? I hope I didn't do anything in my sleep to wake you up." Of course, he was uncertain of whether or not he had sleep talked, screamed or groaned in pain last night. His dreams were fairly normal as well, so he didn't think he had any kind of reason to start screaming during the night, but one never knew. "Also, your power is a life saver. I'm guessing I would be screaming with pain if it weren't for your incredible holy shield thingy." He wasn't sure of whether or not it really had the power to do that, but he just assumed.

[User]
More news here and there, again nothing too special fairly mundane overall. Interesting part is even if Joungha had made a very recent appearance, as in the night before, no one seemed to even acknowledge the being's presence. She was were, the creature was anything but subtle, the villages back in the hamlet should've heard his roars, Rena knew she did at the very least. There wasn't much to go on so she decided to forget the thought, perhaps there was an unspoken rule about never mentioning the god. She leaned back in the solid oak chair, nothing gained from a little eavesdropping it seemed.

Suddenly there be Noboyuki, right out of the blue without warning or a greeting first before he sat down. Heartbeats later, a server brought him breakfast, funny thing was the meal was the exact same as her own, must've been the standard fare that morning. Rena was conflicted about how she should act, for the majority of their journey she had of course remained standoffish to the hero, as she wanted of course, but last night she broke that mean streak, the worse part is she wasn't too sure how much of the night Noboyuki actually remembered through the drunkenness and pain. For the second time that day she almost choked on something liquid, while taking a drink of ale, the hero talked and for some reason this threw her off big time.

As luck had it she managed to resist going into another coughing fit by sheer willpower Rena fought against the urge to hack and wheeze in order to deal with the misplaced ale. She did listen intently to what Noboyuki had to say, maybe looking a bit more interested than she had in the past, her companion seemed to be fairing well all together yet that didn't fool her into believing him to be alright, there was still the issue of his injured foot. He did mention how he thought that her holy shield was helping to deal with the pain, although the shield was only deigned for its one specific purpose and shouldn't do any more than that, but still anything could be possible in the realm of the divine.

"I slept well, maybe a bit restless considering I didn't find a proper bed in time, but well enough nonetheless." Rena looked off to the side as if thinking, which she was, "Interesting you bring up the shield as such, its power is not meant to treat pain as you know, but I suppose that anything could be possible, perhaps a side effect? Speaking about your pain... uh, how is your foot? I hope I managed to treat it correctly, medicine is not something I studied much... I possibly fear that I did something wrong."

[Assistant]
When she started coughing and suffocating on whatever she was eating, Noboyuki couldn't help but feel a bit worried. He'd had stood up to check on her, but given how his foot was, it wasn't something he wanted to do right now. Yes, the pain may be gone, but one never knew. The thing was a bit too exposed for it to be safe to be moving aorund without a worry in the world. He thought it'd be better for him not to stand up, Rena wouldn't kick the bucket just because of that. "H-Hey, don't go choking on me right now. We are still only halfway to wherever that guy is, ya know?" After she finally stopped coughing, Noboyuki let out a relieved sigh. "Oi, oi, the one that was about to be a goner is me, not you. Don't start choking over nothing, will you? You surprised even me." He said.

Well, after that, Noboyuki felt relieved that he didn't wake up Rena at all, but when she let the bomb drop on him, Noboyuki almost felt like spitting out the juice he was drinking. He held off that urge and gulped it down with a lot of effort and even if a bit of exaggeration. "WHAT. THE. HELL! You don't try and fix up some guy when you know next to nothing about medicine!" While he was a bit mad, he was still grateful. As far as he knew, his foot was better, but that might as well be an effect of the girl's holy shield.

"Ya know, let's just... let's just leave that aside for now. My foot is fine enough for me to walk, at the very least. See, let's go away from that. What would you like to do today?I've got an idea, if you don't mind hearing it. Do you know what a date is?" Nobyuki said, with a happy expression on his face.

[User]
Well wasn't that a least bit rude to say, going about as if she was some clueless girl without a sliver an idea how to wrap simple cloth around someone's foot... did she say that? Rena was obviously somewhat concerned for how Noboyuki healed over the night, and it was very possible that she could've tripped up somewhere when managing his wounds, as she was inexperienced in medical practices, not a complete idiot in any way. Rena glared at Noboyuki as she silently fumed over her thoughts, probably wouldn've have been best to say anything, despite how she wanted to verbally tear into the loose lipped hero, and that time those were her true feelings, none of that aloof act she had been maintaining.

Then at the mention of a "date" her scowl turned into a look of confusion, not that she didn't know what a date was, Eskar was a civilized kingdom after all so the concept of courting someone wasn't usual and even expected, at least among the nobility. Now the question was why did Noboyuki want to date her? Was he joking? Rena thought she knew the man well enough to at least get a feeling about his true intentions, and well he looked earnest, strange as it might be. For a brief moment Rena almost panicked at the idea of him being romantically interested in her, which was the absolute opposite of what she desired, still before her shock could really show she decided it might be best to query a bit further, Noboyuki's definition of a date could be vastly different from her own, with his being from another world of course.

"I... know what a date is yes. Its quite common for a man to court a woman as such in Eskar, I'll say that much, also I'm assuming a 'date' is the same from both our worlds... so." Rena stared into Noboyuki's eyes with conviction, "What is your reasoning behind asking for a date, hmm?"

[Assistant]
Noboyuki should have expected this. It seems Rena took it as him wanting to get closer to her, in a romantic way. Well, it was funny in its own way. Noboyuki let out a snicker at the sight of her, being a little flustered, even if it was over her usual demeanor. Noboyuki supported his head on his hand with a confident smile on. He seemed to be mocking her, in one way, but he was actually just interested in her vision of a date. "Coutship, huh? Back where I come from, it isn't uncommon for a man and a woman to go on one with those intentions. Though, you can also have one just as friends." Noboyuki explained, while moving his finger with his other hand. "In other words, miss princess, I just want to relax for a bit. It'd be nice to get acquainted with the town too."

Noboyuki suddenly lost all of his spunk and looked a bit sadder. "After all, we are stuck in here for a while." Noboyuki felt ashamed of himself. He was supposedly the hero of legends and he was done in by a forgotten God. How pathetic was that? Jonghua or not, Noboyuki made it one of his goals to finish the thing once he was able. It was more of a grudge rather than actual worry for the village, though.

He shook his head, before looking at Rena once again with his spunk restored and his confident smile again in his face. "Besides, wouldn't it be good for you too to get acquainted with people over here? Ya know, representing your father and whatnot? Loyal subordinates come from a friendly relationship with them, I hear."

[User]
What he said did take sense, at least his last statement having a good personal relationship with common folk was never a bad proposition. Problem was it was hardly pragmatic, no human ruler could ever effectively do such a thing, the feudal system was in a place for a reason, a commoner reports to the mayor or elder, who reports the to local lord, who reports to the local duke, and so forth. Really a king was only expected to deal with twenty some odd direct vassals. Noboyuki probably didn't understand this system, again remembering he's not of her world, Rena decided that saying anything wasn't worth the effort. Plus after some consideration it was decided that she was overthinking the topic.

Rena sat in silence only staring down Noboyuki, in all consideration she couldn't figure out why he wanted to go on this date. Now she had to admit there wasn't really a problem if it was only out of friendship, and certainly Noboyuki was considered to be a friend. In the end Rena conjectured that maybe something like his version of a date wouldn't be all that bad.

"I suppose I see what you mean... maybe spending some time exploring this hamlet would not be a waste." In one movement Rena stood from her spot, determined to take part in this foreigner's brand of dating. "I hope your foot wouldn't be a problem if we walk about, right?" Now she couldn't help but not to look concerned, after all Noboyuki had only a night to heal, still the man should know his own limits.

[Assistant]
Noboyuki smiled, a bit arrogantly, if anything else, when Rena agreed to go on a date with her. If he ever went back to his world, he would be able to brag about this to his friends, if he ever went back, that is. After all, it isn't everyday that you get a date with a princess of a great kingdom like that. Well, should they get on with it? He had just finished his breakfast too.

Noboyuki stood up as well, not before cleaning his mouth carefully with the handkerchief he kept inside his breast pocket. It was only bits and crumbs of bread, so it wouldn't get so dirty, otherwise, he wouldn't use it so lightly. It was one of his favorite things, after all. Made him seem classy. "Then, shall we get going?" Noboyuki simply said, while looking at the girl with a big smile.

And then, she seemed to get worried about his foot. Well, it had hurt at first, but it was nothing right now. "Now, don't look so down like that. It makes me feel bad for my foot again. Anyhow, don't worry. Your shield is keeping anything bad at bay, I'm sure of it." Noboyuki said, before making his way towards the exit of the restaurant, before turning his head around at the girl with a smile. "You aren't going to just stand there and wait, right? Let's go. We'll worry about things once they happen, so let's just enjoy ourselves for now."


[System]
Age: 20

Short bio: Raised by an adoptive family, Prompto lived a lonely childhood devoid of any friends. As a child, he was self-conscious and deemed himself unworthy of his peers. Although he befriended Prince Noctis in high school, Prompto has never truly rid himself of his inferiority complex and greatly doubts himself. Along with that, he carries a deep secret regarding his past, one that continues to haunt him.
Despite his burdens, Prompto remains upbeat, optimistic, and is often the first to crack a joke in the aim to make his friends laugh. Prompto prefers to see the good in people rather than the bad, and he has a soft spot for animals, particularly chocobos.

Other: Shortly after high school, Prompto discovered his love of photography and is rarely seen without his trusty camera in hand. As a result, he has many days of their journey recorded and isn't shy to snap pictures of complete strangers.

Weapon: Being the marksman of the group, Prompto is skilled with using a gun and favors that as his weapon.

Family: unknown

Relationships: friends: Noctis, Ignis, and Gladiolus

[User]
"Come on, Noct! You promised!"

"I know...but we're low on gas." Noctis looked into the review mirror, suppressing an aggravated groan as Prompto hung onto the headrest of his seat. Once the blond got something into his mind, it wasn't easy to sway him. Especially when it came to Chocobos.

For the past ten minutes, they had been debating back and fourth, attempting to decide whether or not to go to the Chocobo Ranch. In the beginning, idea sounded appealing, but after Ignis pointed out that their fuel was running out, the group started to change their minds about their destination. All aside from Prompto, of course. The youngest of the group had his heart set on seeing the large golden birds, and he wasn't willing to surrender.

"Aw, we can make it!" With a loud, dramatic sigh, Prompto leaned back, adjusting his camera lens for umpteenth time. "I was hoping for a group shot, Noct! Maybe a couple of selfies, too."

The day was still early. All Noctis wanted to do was to catch up on some much needed sleep. After a moment of consideration, he sighed in defeat. He couldn't say no to his best friend.

"Well...I guess if we take the back road, we should be able to make it." The prince glanced to Ignis and Gladiolus with a hint of hesitation; hopefully they would be on board with his decision.

Prompto couldn't keep the grin off of his face. With a small fist pump of success, he set his camera in his lap, ready for shooting. "You won't regret this, Noct!"

* * *

The drive was a long one, even longer than Ignis had anticipated.

"We're not going to make it." Noctis eyed the gauge, his heart sinking. They had five miles left to go, and he didn't fancy the idea of walking there on foot.

"We'll make it!" Prompto started to insist that there was enough fuel, right as the Regalia came to a slow, rolling stop. "...Or not."

Noctis sighed, leaning his head on the steering wheel as Gladiolus cursed their misfortune.
"Looks like we're walking." As much as Noctis wanted to, he couldn't completely blame Prompto. The decision to go hadn't been made by him, though he certainly had pestered them. "Come on."

With varying sighs and grunts of annoyance, all four exited the vehicle. Prompto offered them a light, guilt ridden smile. "At least it's a nice day, right?"

For the most part, the walk there was a quiet one, aside from Gladiolus blaming Prompto.

After what felt a lifetime, Noctis spotted a neon sign. "Looks like we've made it." It was his hope that the owners would have some extra fuel that they might buy off of them. The sun was hot and relentless, they were without shade and clad in black which was an unwelcome combination, given the heat.

Prompto quickened his pace, breathing in the fresh country air. "I can't wait! See any?" They were still on the road, but he could spot some wooden fence posts through some of the trees. "Think they've got any baby Chocobos?"

Noctis shrugged, removing his jacket with a small sigh. "Couldn't say."

The closer they got, the more they could see of the property. Prompto moved ahead of the group, eagerly looking for anyone in charge.

[Assistant]
Ever have a moment where your life flashed before your eyes? Well a young blonde was going through that moment when she went flying through the air.

The flashbacks reminded her of when times were a bit simpler. When her job revolved around making sure the Chocobos were cleaned, the stalls were freshly taken care of and the patrons were happy with the service. But since Deadeye became a problem, getting the birds out to do… well anything, including for people to ride them off the farm lands was difficult. In response to Deadeye's consistent presence, the team at the Chocobo ranch caught as many wild Chocobos as they could in order to protect them from getting well… eaten.

Hey Sarah, the owner said seeing the active young blonde spending more and more time with the Chocobos. You wanna learn how to break them? Of course she, being young and a bit foolish, jumped on the opportunity to learn how to do it. That was… until she realized what it entailed and the reason the owner never showed her on a live and untrained Chocobo was because of how difficult it actually was.

She had been working with the same Chocobo for the past two weeks only to find that he decided to continue being aggressive towards her. Today seemed like the worst day of all. Today was a day like any other day until the Chocobo decided he had had enough. Sarah had been working with the Chocobo on the training and breaking it for a while now. Using a lead attached to a pole she was trying to get it to calm down before she climbed on only to have the creature turn to her.

The Chocobo let out a cry before planting its feet and leaning forward, "What, no!" She shouted before the creature leaned towards and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt with its beak. With a jerk of his head, the creature sent the five foot four inch, 120 pound 22 year old flying through the air…

And thus, she had moments of her life flash before her eyes. Her blue eyes closed tightly as she braced herself for impact, knowing full well the closest thing to her location was a large tree and that… that was going to hurt. Her face flinched as she expected the firm impact of a tree trunk but she hit something, softer and the softer thing fell backwards.

Upon her hit her eyes opened and she saw arms flying up beside her. What? Her mind was spinning and soon her world was upside down as she landed on someone who proceeded to fall backwards due to the impact. After taking a moment to catch her breathe she quickly rolled off of the person she hit.

"Oh my god." She said quickly as she looked down at the person she was thrown into. The young man she had hit laid flat on his back. Her small hands gently touched each side of his face on his cheeks. "Hey, Hey! Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Leaning over she stared down at him with concern in her blue eyes. "Come on, open your eyes."

[User]
Prompto didn't believe in walking, not when he had something to look forward to. Unable to contain his excitement, he broke into a run, surpassing the others with ease. Grinning cockily, he looked over his shoulder. "See you slowpokes at the ranch!"
 Unfortunately, Prompto wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. At all. He'd just started to look forward again when out of nowhere, he crashed heavily into someone. Or someone had crashed into him. Everything had happened so fast that was impossible to tell.
 "Oof!"
 Hitting the ground with a thud, Prompto managed to thwack his head against the ground. The impact wasn't severe, although it was enough for him to blackout very briefly. As he lay completely motionless, he felt someone touch either side of his face. What was going on? He couldn't tell, and he didn't recognize the voice.
 "What...?"
 Eyes fluttering open, Prompto came to. Once the world came into focus, he was rather surprised to see a pretty young girl looking down at him. Their eyes locked, and his mind went blank.
 For a few seconds, Prompto merely stared at her in shock. He was unable to piece together what had happened, as he hadn't any visual before the collision.
 "W-whoa...sorry about that! I wasn't looking," he started to stammer out an apology of sorts, fearing that she'd been hurt.
 Using one arm, he propped himself up, his worry evident. "Are you okay?!"

[Assistant]
His eyes finally flickered open and before she could breathe a sigh of relief she found herself gasping for air. Man he was gorgeous! The world went silent around them for a few second as she sat next to him on her knees cradling his face in her hands. Face flushing instantly red, the sound of the world returned rather quickly when he began to speak.

Letting go of his face and feeling like an idiot, she sat back on her heels to give him some space as he propped himself up. A small laugh left her as her hand ran along her neck. "I've been through worse." She said with a nod. "Are you okay? I am so sorry! I was working with a chocobo when he picked me up and threw me. Had I even caught a glimpse of you before the impact I would have called out to have you move." Her head rose and fell with a nod as she tucked some blonde hair behind her ears with a polite, grateful grin. "If it wasn't for you I would have hit a tree."

Her own worry came across her face. "Are you okay? I came at you pretty hard. I'm really sorry." A nod rose and fell her head before she pulled herself to her feet and extended a hand to him. "Here let me help you up."

[User]
Prompto could scarcely keep his cheeks from reddening in return. He found himself hoping he hadn't made things awkward by staring, but it wasn't every day that a pretty girl dropped in out of nowhere.
 "Whoa, seriously? A chocobo did that?" Prompto was so fond of the creatures, he'd forgotten they were capable of more than being cute. When she offered him a grin, he grinned shyly in return. "You don't have to apologize," he insisted quickly. "I'm just glad you're okay."
 From his spot on the ground, he glanced towards the tree behind them, thankful that the girl hadn't hit it instead. When she offered him a hand, he accepted and climbed to his feet.
 "Thanks," he smiled and brought his hand back, rubbing his arm nervously. He wasn't half as skilled with speaking to people as Gladiolus was, at least not when it came to females. More often than not, he felt rather awkward and self-conscious. After a brief pause, he summoned the courage to speak up again.
 "So...I guess you work here, right?" It felt like a silly question, but he was attempting to lead her into a bit of friendly conversation. The girl seemed nice enough, and he wanted to make sure she was unharmed after their collision.
 "I'm Prompto," he introduced himself with a smile, holding his hand out to shake. "You're positive that you're okay?"


[System]
Nickname(s)/Alia(s): Snow, Snow Maiden, Ice Princess, Snow Queen.
Age: 200+ (Physically 18)
Occupation(s): Guardian of Companionship/Friendship, Protector of Children.
Morality: Good

Gender: Female
Race: Human (originally), Winter Spirit (currently).
Eye Color: Brown (originally), Blue (currently).
Hair Color: Brown (originally), White (currently).

Relatives: Jackson Frost (older brother), Unnamed Mother.
Affiliation(s): Guardians (North, Bunny, Tooth, Skellington, Sandy, Jack Frost).

Power(s): Cryokinesis/Frigiokinesis (control and creation of ice/snow/frost/sleet/hail, and cold), Atmokinesis (control and creation of snowstorms, hailstorms, and blizzards), Flight, Cold Immunity/Resistance, Bewitching.
Weapons/Equipment: Magic Staff.

Personality:
Curious, Fun-Loving, Adventurous, Kind, Caring, Maternal, Warm, and Friendly.

Voice Actor/Actress: Lucy Hale

[User]
Snow looked at the bird with narrowed calculative eyes, almost as if she was trying to decider what the bird was trying to say. She didn't know how to communicate with animals but she knew that the raven was trying to tell her something. Levitating on the spot, she turned, so she was looking at bird, downside-and-up, then upside down. Thinking. Then the light bulb went off.

"You want us to go to London? Someone in trouble? A child in need?", she asked the animal, before looking at the globe. "That's it, isn't it?", she let out her arm, allowing the bird to walk on it, and perhaps sit on her shoulder.

[Assistant]
The bird nodded and jumped onto her arm and moved to her shoulder, rubbing her cheek with his beak. Jack frowned and said "an odd message to help a child..." when Snow came back down Jack looked around and said "is Sandman here? We will need a fast ride to get us to London in time to help whoever is in need?"

Serena was panting, blood dripping from a cut on her face as the creature was fighting with her shadows so she could take a breath. But they wouldn't hold it for long. Serena closed her eyes and muttered "if the spirits of the holy moon can hear me...please hurry..."

[User]
Snow chuckled with a smile, and rubbed the bird's neck with a finger, hearing it curdle in happiness. Hearing Skellington, Snow looked around, as well, picking up her staff. "No worries, Jack. I finally managed on how to control the wind, as Jack had helped me", she said, along with her staff beginning to glow. "Hold onto your bones", she said, levitating the Pumpkin King on the spot, and letting the wind blow them towards their destination. Always not too far behind her brother when it came to tricks.

It's as if they were flying with the wind; heck, they literally were. In just a few seconds to minutes, the city of London came into their view.

[Assistant]
Jack looked around and said "I really like London...it's pretty..." then he spotted movement on a roof top nearby and said "Snow...I think that's what our raven friend wanted us to get too" he pointed to the roof where the pair saw the creature and a lone figure fighting.

Serena was barely staying up right when she pulled her bow from her back and natched an arrow and took aim. Her sight was shaky but she was a very good shot. She fired and the arrow flew straight and hit the creature in the chest and shadows jumped out and wrapped around the monster, making it scream. Serena dropped her weapons and fought to stay up right. She then saw her raven and two figures in the sky above her and she muttered "they heard me..."

Jack frowned and said "you hit high and I hit low?"

[User]
Snow smiled at Skellington's observation before she too came into noticing movement down below. Sympathy showed into her blue eyes, once she came into seeing someone who appeared to be in need of their aid. Hearing her friend's idea, the white-haired spirit smiled with innocent deviousness. It would be interesting to see what they could do together as a team, considering that they both have barely have time to see each other, since Skellington had to return to Halloween Town several times a year, in preparation for the upcoming holiday that he represents.

All Snow has, is to spend time with her brother during the winter months. They all represented something, after all. Sending a frigid gust of wind towards the black figure, an icicle spear came towards the assailant, pinning it in place.

[Assistant]
The monster screamed as Jack jumped down and landed, throwing out his sticky hand and hitting it hard and sticking it against the ice. Jack smiled and summoned fire to his hand and said "Snow! I have this thing pinned thanks to your ice, check on our friend while I wrap him up for you"

Serena was panting badly, closing her eyes and trying to stay upright. She stumbled a little as she reached for her blade that was stuck in the cement, trying to pull it free. Jack was wrapping the monster up tight while ice built around it, trapping it inside. Jack looked at Snow and said "shall we?"

[User] Carefully descending to the ground, Snow quickly approached the wounded individual. Comparing the two of them, the white-haired girl would be slightly shorter than this young woman. She put a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder before turning to Skellington, once she heard him. Smiling at the suggestion, she sent a blast of ice towards the creature, at the same time that her best friend attacked.

[Assistant]
Serena grabbed her arm gently and said "it's made of ooze...freeze it hard and smash it..." When the creature was hit by the ice and frozen Jack ran forward and with his sticky hand smashed the creature to pieces.

Jack stood straight, looking at the pile of frozen ooze and looked back at Snow and the angel. "That was interesting...what was that thing?" Before Serena could answer she fell to her knees, pain hitting every nerve in her body now. The energy from the fight was wearing off and she was spent now. She looked at the pair and said "they are...making the kids sick...I tried to help but...their are too many..." Serena swayed, losing the fight to stay upright

[User]
"Nice hit, Skellington", Snow complimented the tall skeleton with a grin before turning her attention to the angel, to whom she showed a frown towards, when she began to explain what kind of assailant they just defeated. Gripping her staff, along with her long, white hair following her movements, the female winter spirit walked towards one of the shattered pieces of iced-ooze. Almost in curiousity, she reached out to touch it, having to feel the cold aura radiating off the ice.

"What is this?", she wondered, thinking aloud. "How are making the children sick?", she asked, sounding innocently sad. Snow wanted to know who would give such a fate to children. "Were they...dying?", she asked the angel.

[Assistant]
Serena shook her head, panting as she rested a hand on her right shoulder to support the wing that was hit by the ooze. "None have died yet...but I have been getting to some fast enough to get that ooze out of them...other went too far and now are being cared for...at the hospital where this thing was heading..." she pointed to her bag and said "I have a bottle in there...it has what I pulled out of Anna tonight...she's one of those who got sick. I was heading to...the hospital to check on the other...kids and see if I could help them now..." she coughed and shuttered, her body shaking. Jack moved over to the angel and check her wing.

"Snow, she's in bad shape...she's wounded and she has a couple spots where this ooze hit her..." Serena looked up as Snow was checking the pile. "Don't...let the ooze touch you...it burns on...touch..." she flinched again and lowered her head.

[User]
Snow heard Skellington, but wasn't able to acknowledge him right away, as she thought about the state that all of the children are now currently in. "R-Right", she stuttered on her words, before flinching, drawing her hand back once the angel warmed her about what the ooze could do. When you're sick, there would be an outcome whether if you will survive or not...and that scares her. Standing back up to her full height, her staff glowed, allowing the wind to pick up the skeleton and the angel, and carry them back to Snata's Workshop.

There, she had to search for her brother. Snow needed him, in these times of comfort. "Jack! Jack?", she called out to him, which only made her recall the many memories she had with him, growing up, before his death; where he saved her. Jack and his many tricks; he made her laugh and smile. "Jackson Frost?!"

[Assistant] Jack was waiting with Bunnimund by the globe, looking worried. Skellington carried the angel into the work shop. "Claus! Jack we need some help here" frost looked up and ran to his sister, hugging her tightly and said "I knew something was up when Bunny told me you left with bone daddy....are you okay?"

[User]
Snow melted into her brother's embrace, relieved to be in his arms. She adored children; she couldn't allow this kind of fate to be bestowed upon them. Tooth flew in, along with North, who took the angel from Skellington's arms, and take her to another room to tend to her being.

"We're fine. The children; the ones who are suffering in sickness...I fear they will die, if we don't act", she sadly told him. It was her one true fear; not being able to help them, as much as help them believe. It was a thought too much to bear, causing a stray tear to fall from one of her blue eyes.

[Assistant]
Jack caught her tear and smiled. "I know it will be okay. We will do everything we can to help them...who was that you brought in?" Skellington came back in and said "tooth and north are taking a look at her. We didn't get a name yet...but she was skilled...she took a beating from that thing and didn't back down"

Serena was laying on the table, fighting to open her eyes and turning her head. "The kids...I have to get back to...the kids..."

[User]
Snow fell into Jack Frost's embrace until she heard Skellington's presence reappear before them, once again. That one thought continued to repeat itself, as it also triggered a memory. 'Jack, I'm scared', she still remembered that day. The day when Jack fell. The last time she ever saw him alive. He was a Guardian to her; now, she will be a Guardian to him, as well as all of them. She wasn't named Guardian of Companionship for nothing. For that, her loyalty and warm heart were her more-major traits. It made her wipe another tear from her face, and give a quiet sniffle. "She's strong; I know inner strength when I see it".

"We'll get back to them. Don't worry", Tooth reassured her, as she tended to the wounds of the angel's wing.

[Assistant]
Jack looked into the room with the siblings and muttered "what bothers me is that she looks familiar...but I can't place her face. Does she look familiar to any of you?"

North was trying to keep Serena from moving while tooth work on the wing, Buunymund handing Tooth the tools she asked for. Bunnymund looked up and said "Snow, and both jacks, we could use a hand. Her wings are moving just as bad as the rest of her"

Serena was tossing on the table, sweat pouring down her face as she muttered weakly "they are in danger...the children are not safe...the darkness will wrap around. Their souls...I can't let that happen..." north raised an eyebrow and looked over at the three by the door.

"What did you two find out there?"

[User]
To hear her friends call for them, Snow slowly released herself from Jack's embrace, looking at Jack once more and, taking his hand, she walked to the other room, only to see the angel writhing on the table. Hearing Skellington and North, Snow walked towards the angel, and gently place her hands on the sides of the young woman's head, as well as her forehead, allowing her cold aura cool the individual down, and keep her calm.

"Apart from all of the interesting characters we've seen throughout the years, I can't say that we have ever seen an angel before", she commented. "She was being attacked by some kind of creature we have never encountered before. My first thought was Pitch".

[Assistant]
Skellington nodded and said "but it wasn't sand like pitch...it was ooze...nasty stuff. She warned us not to touch it...that's what damaged her wing so badly..." Bunnymund was looking at the other wounds and said "they are swallow...just bleeding a bit...and burns. Tooth, is she as bad as she looks?"

Serena opened her eyes slightly and saw Snow above her. "Protect...the children...the souls...infected..."

[User]
"As one with wings, myself, I would highly recommend her not to fly for a while, which would be just about right, in order for them to start healing", Tooth informed, just as she about finished wrapping the wing. "Now, I don't know how long, but I can only say, for about a while", she added, as she finished tying the appendage off.

Snow looked at the agony in the young woman's eyes, and kept her hands gently on the angel's head. "How can we do that?", she almost whispered, soothingly. She wanted to know how.


[System]
Appearance: Svelt gymnast body at 5'4". She only has synthetic hazelnut skin from the neck up and cornrows like this that only go down to the base of the neck. Everything below the base of her neck is segmented hard-plastic plating with soft plastic covered joints. She has bright aqua eyes that almost seem to glow. Oddly enough, she has the ability to transform her ears away to be replaced with bare skin (don't ask, something about being more streamlined an' shit).

Her bounty hunter outfit (not that she will have many chances to wear this while enlisted) is a mix of these pants and boots and the whole top portion of this sans skull mask. It still has the loose and floppy collar so she can bring it up to cover her face like in the first picture. In her off time she wears stuff like this and this with either stockings or pants. She always has gloves on except in private.
Age: 43. Looks around 25.
Race: Quantum
Citizenship: Horizon
Personality: Quiet, cautious/wary, and sometimes stern. Very observant of her surroundings and minor details. Can make conversation, but is usually not very talkative. In fact, she likes to keep awkward/oppressive silences and is amused by some people's discomfort. Doesn't laugh, but you can get her to smile.
Dislikes oppressive people, or those who try to steal/take/destroy the comfort, daily lives, honor, and rights of those without the means to defend and fight back for themselves. Has a great fondness for all forms of natural water and bodies of water and children except quantums who look like children, but have the voice and/or the mind of an adult. She will nope the hell away from that shit.
After a hard or challenging episode/decision in her life, she may burn/destroy one of her sculptures as a way to commemorate and support her progress.
History: Created with a raw Quantum AI by a 2nd-gen soldier who fought in the Race Wars, she was raised with a militaristic lifestyle for the first 30 years of her life. Then, seeking to expand her skills in wilder environments, she traveled to FAS territory and spent the next 13 years as a bounty hunter going after rapists, murderers, pirates, violent mobs/gangs, anyone with a bounty who disturbs the peaceful lives of civilians. It was during this time that she discovered a calming hobby of making sculptures and carvings using her myriad of blades, and the occasional chainsaw. She started doing this to practice and refine her precision and technique, but the act eventually began to take a life of it's own.
Theme Song: This song but she likes listening to techno and funky music. <-- She is quite amused by the ironic subject matter.

Cog: Askalaphos
Physical Description: Basically looks like this and this. Eventually upgrades to have a backpack.
Tactical role: Stealth assassin/scout, Frontline skirmisher/duelist
Evaluation:
* Cog Score: 8
* Pilot Skill: 9
* Mental Fortitude: 10
* Obedience: 7

Weapon/Equipment/Special Systems List:
* Beam Claymore: About as long as a cog is tall, this powerful beam saber has a containment field that can barely keep the energy in control. Thus, when the blade is swung, it leaves behind a beam trail that can block bullets and beams.
* Hidden twin Katars: located inside forearm casing.
* Complex and comprehensive camera system so the cog can see in ALL directions.
* Lots and lots of thrusters for high speed and maneuverability.
* ECM base Cloaking system: Physically, the Askalaphos is totally visible. But at long-medium to short range, it is completely invisible to cameras and sensors.
* Little to no armor and no long range weapons

Wishlist:
* Zulfiqar: Looks like this, but double sided and thinner with a modified handle and guard. The length of this blade is 1.5 times the height of a cog and the even more powerful energy is now better contained for a concentrated effect. The solid middle part of the sword is retractable for storage. The intelligent program of the sword will make it so that the beam part of it stays concentrated in the direction of the swing, but releases the energy on the other side for the beam trails to still happen. Downside, there is actually a flat of the blade, so thus if struck there, the blade can shatter.
* Tachyon Harp backpack with more thrusters: Allows for subspace hopping for limited range teleportation (BAMF!) and disappearing, and more maneuverability through Dark-Matter surfing.
* Large Shoulder pads that are actually hidden arms with normal beam blade nozzles.
* Beam boomerangs?? Either that or my cog will eventually get head mounted Vulcans, pesky missiles...

[User]
Arienne was excited. She had spent the last 12 hours running her cog's information through her head and doing some rough simulations. Her cog's cockpit was barely such. I was a interface free, neural link cockpit, and it was just enough room for her to stand in, hook up and have her consciousness and senses upload and take control of the cog. She would literally become one with it! She just couldn't wait to try the actual machine out!

But then, Corina's questions brought Arienne back out of her eager daydreams to reality. Hmm, good on Corina to get to the matter at hand. Knowing about Rules of Engagement would be good since Arienne had never had to deal with such before. She had always done covert or very blatant, in your face operations. Her jobs were always really simple. Save this person, get this info, kill this group. Well, it's always good to expand one's horizons. Learning and getting used to this should be helpful in the long run.

[Assistant]
Pharazon nodded at Corina, acknowledging her question, "The training will cover basic piloting and targeting. Theoretically, it shouldn't take long to get a 'feel' for piloting a cog. Once you can get the cog to move how you want, then we'll have the carrier send out some targets to practice on. As for rules of engagement," here Pharazon paused, they didn't sigh but looked like they wanted to, they did close their eyes for an unusually long time before opening them again and continuing, "due to the 'unconventional' nature of cogs, you will be granted a lot more autonomy than would be typically allowed for normal soldiers. The only things I can say are, 'we sortie when we are ordered to', 'communicate your intended actions to the lance before carrying them out', and 'unless I say, "Commander's orders"...you are allowed to rely on your best judgment'. For the most part, our lance should only be faced up against enemy units, we should never encounter hostage situations or anything of that sort, though fighting in populated urban areas is a high possibility. In such situations...trust your best judgment, but never intentionally endanger civilians." Pharazon concluded. They didn't like these 'rules' but on this ship, the research division's word was law. Pharazon added that last part about not harming civilians intentionally as the research division was ready to give the pilots full permission to do whatever they 'felt' was the 'right thing to do' in combat.

"If there are no other questions, then everyone get in your cogs and prepare to sortie."

once everyone had entered their cogs and initiated the Cog OS boot up, the frames holding the cogs in their places began moving the cogs, sliding them along their backs out towards the compartments that ringed the central body of the carrier. A comm link was established between each cog and the bridge's catapult operator, whose voice could be heard going through the launch sequence while the cogs got situated in the launch compartment and the blast doors opened. "This will be your maiden launch. While the carrier is designed for simultaneous launch of up to six craft, for this time, we will being doing it one at a time so the Lieutenant Commander can catch you if you have trouble braking. Phalanx, you are cleared for take off."

"Lieutenant Commander Pharazon CXS, sortieing." With that, the frame carrying Phalanx shot forward, releasing Phalanx when it reached the end of the launch rail, propelling Phalanx out into the hyperspace bubble.

"Alright," came Pharazon's voice over the comm link, "Send the next one out. Let me know if you're having trouble controlling your cog. Again, the way you control your cog should 'feel right' to you, if you think this lever, or this button, or this pedal brakes, then that's probably the one."

[User]
Corina frowned. She didn't exactly like the lack of rules, but fortunately Pharazon didn't seem to either. They had done their best, but Corina could hear the restraint in their words. What they had said made sense, and Corina understood why there was a lack of restraint with the cogs, but at the end of the day she was a soldier, and soldiers liked orders. Short of orders, soldiers liked chemistry among their team in order for a proper dynamic to work itself out, but this lance had yet to develop chemistry. Their interaction since meeting had been limited, though Corina had to place some of that blame on herself. She wasn't exactly the most social of people and had isolated herself for much of the trip.

Corina could only offer a terse, "Understood, sir," before heading towards her cog to prepare. Climbing into the cockpit, Corina immediately understood what Pharazon meant by "feeling right." The interior was simple, organized, and disciplined. Everything was in a matte grey finish, matching the greyscale digital pattern that covered the cog. Corina smirked. This was definitely working for her.

As Phalanx was launched out into the bubble, Corina felt Farfalla being moved for launch. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shitshitshitshitshit, Corina began to panic slightly as the launch quickly became a reality. She was a foot soldier - any type of vehicular warfare was alien to her. That said, she found that she wasn't as nervous as she expected; the comfort and odd familiarity of Farfalla's cockpit was calming.

"Lieutenant Chun, piloting cog Farfalla. Let it be recorded that on this day, you've got a career foot soldier flying around in space," Corina announced nervously, feeling the acceleration of the launch shoot her out into the bubble. Corina braked with no problem, decelerating at a steady, even rate with the depression of the lower left pedal. She quickly asserted herself with Farfalla's movement controls: lower left was stop, lower right was go, upper left was strafe left, upper right was strafe right. Whatever direction she pulled the arm controls in, Farfalla moved to look. She could trigger a powerful burst of speed in any direction by pulling one of the many triggers on either side in combination with a directional control, though it was incredibly taxing on her physically. Corina would have to figure out a way to exercise in order to make the sudden directional changes easier.

[Assistant]
yes yes yes Yes YES! That was all Arienne could think as she lowered herself into her cog's cockpit. Starting the startup sequence, she stands upright as latches twist around, securing her into place. Putting her head back, a helmet pops over her head, inserting plugs into the jacks behind Arienne's ears. The first time transfer and acclimation of her consciousness to the cog took a few minutes was an interesting experience, but would be faster from now on. It now very much felt like her body became that of the cog.

Finishing the transfer, Arienne did a systems check and then started moving her new arms around when she noticed her vision. The OS of the cog and her close interface with it allowed Arienne to have a very good view of All directions around her. She had read about it in the manual, but experiencing it now was more than she could have hoped for. Arienne knew she would miss this omniscient clarity when she left the cog. She also now knew what to call her cog. If the cog could have smiled, then it would, but insted, this revelation set the cog humming, almost like a purr...

"Askalaphos, heading out!"

As soon as Askalaphos lost contact with the catapult, Arienne gave another intense burst of speed. Flying straight towards the other 2 cogs, she would have collided if she didn't make an explosive 90 degree turn going up. Askalaphos spun and twirled as she flew around and about in complex and graceful maneuvers. She was an owl in the night, very much in control of her movement, and very aware of her surroundings. And Arienne felt a joy she had never experienced before.

[User]
Chie tuned out almost everything else. It was always the same dull, boring questions she had guessed they would ask. No, this was what she was waiting for. She had been in the pilot's seat before, but there was a big difference between simply seeing it and actually piloting the mecha. Excitement swelled up in the tiny girl's heart and she was practically quaking with how eager she was. Her flight suit, a powder blue, was correctly equipped, and she'd done everything properly. All that was left to do was to get going...

"Boom's heading out!"

And moments later... that speed. The sensation of escape as she was launched out into space... this was exactly as she knew it was going to be! She hadn't gotten to really try it yet, but...

"Wah... this is great! It's even better then I thought it would be!"

Boom gently glided through space as she went

[Assistant]
"I'm glad to see you all got the hang of it," Pharazon said.

Out here, it was clear that the four ships were in some sort of astrophysical phenomenon. An iridescent, spherical border separated the 'real space' containing the ships, and the surrounding hyperspace. In the front, an image of the destination planet could be seen, as if the ships had already arrived, while behind, an image of the planet they had departed from, as if they had never left. It was as if the Destiny Squadron was the same proximity to both planets, and this was technically true according to space-fold physics. As both planets were visible to the ships in the space-fold, the ships were also visible to both planets. Light, "information", always got through the space-fold faster than matter, resulting in this strange phenomenon.

"Continue learning how to move your cogs. Test your limits to see what kinds of speeds and accelerations you can handle, though some cogs will inherently be slower than others," Pharazon coached, "After a while, I'll ask the Destiny to send out some targets."

[User]
Arienne mentally went through Askalaphos' capabilities and reviewed the information on her Beam Claymore and ECM Cloaking system. Only one of them could be active at once and Arienne was fine with this.
Activating her claymore, she did a few practice swings before going through her forms, testing the flexibility and range of motion Askalaphos had. After that, listening to Pharazon, she started flying around at top speed, making sudden and harsh turns and stops, all the while swinging her weapon in practice for rapid disarming and executions.

Switching over to her cloaking (thus turning off the claymore), Arienne flew about equidistant between Boom and Farfalla.
"Hey Corina, Chie. I'm testing Askalaphos' cloaking system right now. Do you still see me? I'm right between the two of you."


[System]
**Age:** 20

**Sex:** Male

**Appearance:** (No FC, unfortunately :/)
Mitch is a tall (6'6"), lanky fellow with an amount of muscle more suited for track than bodybuilding. His skin is a warm olive, indicative of Acadian lineage (not necessarily sun exposure), with a few moles and a few patches of discoloured skin, birthmarks that look like the pigment is just missing. There is one such patch on his neck, spanning from the top of his right collarbone all the way up to his right jaw joint. The other is on his left hip, about the size of a large hand. His eyes are a dull grey and his hair is straight and jet black, long enough to cover his ears and fall over his eyebrows. His left eyebrow has a notch in it.

The most noticeable thing about him at present (aside from his height) would he the yellowish, fist-sized bruise on the left side of his face. It's healing.

**Personality:** Mitch is a protective, gentle giant, with a good sense of humour and a somewhat quiet demeanour. He has a habit of fading into the background, even though his height does tend to make him an eye magnet in an unfamiliar crowd. He's kind, tech savvy, and a good listener, valuing those who listen in return.

**Flame color:** Invisible
Mitch's flame's name is Llehctim (pronounced Lechteem, with a soft *ch* sound. Think German). It doesn't speak, other than the occasional quip in quiet, incomprehensible whispers, sounding as if they come from many different voices.

I'll probably be making little adjustments to this over the next few hours, I'll give a shout if anything big changes.

[User]
Sav had been juggling a pack of crackers, another of cookies, and a half empty bag of sour candies in her arms when she heard Myles call out to her,

**"MA, can I get another beer?"**

She awkwardly turned toward the counter and dropped the snacks there, next to her beer, as she turned toward her steadily emptying fridge she called back to him, in mock anger,

"Myles I _swear_ if you pass out piss drunk I'll kick you off the bed and leave you there- I won't bother dragging your ass to the couch either." Empty threats, she adored him too much to be serious.

Sav opened the fridge and snatched up a beer. The beer was cheap, as it was the only thing she could afford on her current salary, and to make up for it she'd asked the others to bring their own alcohol if they wanted to. She never considered that someone would bring the hard stuff- like the vodka. She didn't know who brought it but by the sound of the game going on in the room over, she was sure Mercy had just downed some. That girl, she thought with a snicker, loved to be the center of the fun.
She bearhugged the snacks after tucking Myles' beer under an arm,

**"Here, I'll help you!"** Called Mitch as he walked in after her. Oh what a sweetie, she thought as she turned, ready to tell him not to bother. She'd noticed the bruise earlier when he'd first arrived and had been exceedingly sensitive to all of his actions. She knew he wouldn't appreciate her making a big deal of it- but it _bothered_ her. It bothered her so much that she had had to sneak off to the kitchen earlier to calm herself so she wouldn't cry. And that's when Daniel had called. She didn't know how exactly he found out that Mitch was at her place but she never cared to ask him. Instead, once she realized that he was drunk and probably wouldn't remember a word she'd said, she coaxed him off the phone and to forget. Regrettably she'd called him sweetie- upon reflex because she referred to everyone as that- and it vexed her that she hadn't told him off.

**"So, who was on the phone?"**

Fuuuuuck. Of all the phone calls to ask about, she thought as she nervously clutched at the food in her arms. She smiled, perhaps a little too forcibly, as she desperately tried to think of a vague answer. What would she tell him? She couldn't _lie_ to Mitch- it was Mitch, he knew her too well to buy any sort of lie. She shrugged and laughed nervously,

"I don't uh- I don't need help with anything! Thanks for asking~" she stalled just as Homer strode into the room.

_"Here, that looks pretty bad. Are you alright?"_

Bless you Homer. Sav took the opportunity to slink past them as Homer caught Mitch's attention. And at once she was stepping through the threshold of her room, brandishing the snacks,

"I come with gifts." She announced before handing over the snacks to the only two players left, Abigail and Mitch's sister, just as she caught the word 'sexy' being passed between them. Oh how scandalous. She snatched a cookie before turning to toss Myles his beer- she instantly regretted doing so- because who throws something at a drunk person and expect their hand-eye coordination to be on point?

[Assistant]
When Mitch conked him with the bottle he let out a "HhhheeEEEYYYY" and waved his arms erratically, trying to reach Mitch with grabby fingers. "THAT WAS RUDEEE." He slurred and pointed an accusatory finger at Mitch. He scooped up a discarded paper cup on the bed and whipped it at him, but it only floated back towards the ground. Myles huffed and adjusted his genie cap and stuck his tongue out at the door Mitch had exited.

Myles impatiently rolled about on Savrina's bed. His legs kicked up in the air and his arms flailed, the sense of shame having left his mind. "MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA." He seemed to screech like a ten year old. His father-like demeanor was all but gone when he succumbed to liquor. When asked by Mercy, the hard smell of vodka on her breath, if he's the only person there. "Naw." He gurgled, pointing gesturing with an exaggerated motion to Abigail and Mimi, Homer having left.

He rolled over onto his stomach, resting his elbows on the bed and his chin in his hands. His eyes were wide, foggy from the beer, but awake. A grin was plastered on his face, created by a remark from Mimi. "YEAH, KISSSSS muah muah muah..." With his two hands he squeezed his cheeks together, making a fish/kissy face. He creepily licked his lips together, and in that moment the can of beer flew towards his head. With slowed senses and a bad reaction time already, the can squarely hit him in the face. Myles let out a groan and slipped to the floor face first.

He flailed again, not unconscious, just disoriented. "THAT HURT SAV." With two hands he held his bleeding nose, and rocked back and forth, eventually rolling all the way under the bed, screaming a "Fuuuuuuuckkkk!" as he rolled. Not to mention his head hit the bed frame when he did make his way under. Ouch.

[User]
Mitch had to spare a glance toward Savarina's room as she meandered with her answer, cheers coming from inside. Had mercy *actually* done the dare? He raised his eyebrows, grinning and shaking his head. Well, there was at least one person in need of a drive home tonight, if she didn't crash there, as Myles almost definitely would. Especially with the state he was in, moaning and groaning like a child. Mitch had to laugh.

He had to look back to Sav as she finally answered, smiling just a little too widely with her armful of snacks.

**"I don't uh- I don't need help with anything! Thanks for asking~"** Came her awkward response. Mitch was prepared to just take some of the snacks from her, because that was the kind of thing he did, but suddenly a wild Homer appeared, and Sav used the distraction to make her escape. Mitch looked after her, a confused expression clearly displayed on his face. She wasn't one to just brush off a question, and she was obviously nervous. He hoped it wasn't anything serious, or at least something he could help with.

*"Hey, that looks pretty bad. Are you alright?"* Homer asked, offering a dishtowel filled with what Mitch figured was ice.

Mitch froze for a second, looking down into his drink. Well, he hadn't expected that everyone would just ignore the bruise on his face, but it had been going well enough. He had figured that if he never mentioned it, no one else would either, but within his group of friends, it wasn't a very realistic idea.

Putting on a small smile, he patted the shorter man's shoulder, out down his drink and accepted the ice, trying to brush it off as no big deal. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's healing." He said. *Isn't the first time,* he thought.

Picking up his drink once more, he pressed the ice gently to his bruise. It was a few days old, past the point where ice would help, but he had to at least act like it helped, in an effort to appease his friend. He was ready to make an excuse to return to the bedroom when one was made for him, in the form of several loud bumping sounds and Myles' subsequent complaints. Looking between Homer and the room, Mitch laughed and nudged him. "I think we're needed," he whispered, making his way to see what happened.

[Assistant]
Mitch hesitated for a moment before he set down his drink. He smiled and patted Homer's shoulder and took the dishtowel from him, meanwhile Sav made a quick exit saying something about not needing any help. _Why do I get the feeling I was just used as a distraction_ Homer thought. **"Yeah, I'm fine, it's healing."** Mitch said as he put the ice on the bruise and picked up his drink.

Homer looked around awkwardly trying to think of something to say. Mitch wasn't a very good liar, but did Homer really have the right to call him out on it? He still hadn't told anyone that his aunt had thrown him out the house, and he wasn't really planning to do that any time soon.

Fortunately, a loud thud and some cursing from Myles gave them both a distraction. **"I think we're needed."** Mitch whispered and walked towards Sav's room to see what happened. Homer followed after his friend, shaking his head. "Can't we have one party without Myles getting a drunken concussion?" he asked.

Homer was still worried about Mitch, the bruise might have been no big deal, but he did know that he and Daniel had broken up recently. And Daniel didn't have the best temper. "Hey, Mitch you do know you can talk to us though. If something's bothering you I mean."

[User]
Abigail paled as Miriam whispered in her ear. Kiss Mercy? But she didn't see her in *that* way! And now Myles was making kissy noises, which definitely wasn't helping. Then again, she'd hoped for something fun, hadn't she?

Sav entered at that moment and Abigail sighed in relief. She had food; maybe she could prepare herself while the others were distracted. She was tossing snacks to them now, and Abigail was just about to grab a packet of crackers when Sav tossed a beer can at Myles. Before she could call out a warning to him, it hit him square in the face. Just before he slumped to the floor, she glimpsed blood on his nose and her eyes widened.

*"THAT HURT SAV"* Myles yelled as he flailed while holding his nose, which caused him to roll all the way under the bed, hitting his head on the bed frame with a loud *thunk*. Abigail winced. That had to hurt.

She got on her hands and knees and crawled towards the bed, peering under it. It was nearly pitch-black there; she wasn't sure exactly where he was.

"Myles?" She called out. "Are you okay?"

[Assistant]
*"Can't we have party without Myles getting a drunken concussion?"* Homer asked.

Mitch laughed, gesturing to the room, where commotion was starting to stir. "Do you know who you're talking about?" he chuckled.

Homer's next comment made Mitch turn just as he was about to enter the room. He gave a little half smile. "I know, don't worry." It made him feel better that his friend was so concerned, and he didn't intend to keep his bad relationship with Daniel a secret forever (besides, they could probably guess) but he didn't want to ruin the party by making it about him. This was about getting together after a while apart, laughing at Myles, and basically acting like the teenagers they had been so recently before.

This in mind, Mitch returned to his spot by the dresser, however didn't sit. Instead, he put his drink and the makeshift ice pack on the dresser and knelt down to try and get a look under the bed from there, since Abigail had taken her spot by the bed. Turning his head almost upside down to look, he couldn't see anything; however, knowing that Myles could probably see him, he laughed and commented, "Smooth move, ladykiller." He had to wonder exactly *how* Myles managed to get under there, but maybe the slightly dented beer can on the floor nearby had a part in it.

Either way, Mitch righted himself and sat back against the dresser, looking to Miriam. She looked like she was having too much fun to be up to anything good. He hadn't been able to hear the dare she'd assigned Abigail, but he had a pretty good idea of what it entailed. He didn't mention it, but gave her a mockingly accusatory look, struggling to keep a straight face in the midst of all the ridiculous things going on. What a way to lighten the mood.


[System]
Appearance: Tall for a gnome, short to anything else. His skin is sickly pale and long straw like white hair has a hint of faded red.
His limbs are scarred with fire and chains. He wears grey rags and a thick leather apron. He is covered in soot and grime.
His jet black eyes suggest his fey herritage, the grey lines under it suggest he hasn't enjoyed much sleep lately, or even ever.
Race: Bleachling Gnome
Class: Blight Druid
Main-Hand Weapon: Steel broadsword sized and balanced for an Orcish Warlord.
Off-Hand Weapon: the broadsword is too large for Furnace, so it becomes a two-hander for him.
Secondary Weapon: smiting hammer
Armor: rags and a leather apron
Powers:
Immolate: Furnace can naturally burn his own and readily available energy sources. The flames either fan out to scorch everything nearby or concentrate to melt metal. This requires concentration to manifest, but just energy or fuel to maintain.
Enervate: Furnace can force energy to become positively charged, if he infuses this into a living being it heals wounds and energizes the creature.
Animate: He can also force energy to become negatively charged, this has the opposite effect as Enervate does. He doesn't know it, but he can use it to heal undead and temporarily animate corpses.
Skills: Crafting(Forging weapons and industrial tools), spell-craft(specialty: energy flows) , appraise (he can tell the structural integrity and purity of objects and materials, he has no concept of monetary value though.)
Weaknesses: He has never met a real person. Thus he has no idea how anything social works. Everything is new and wondrous to him.
A former slave he has a weak will and no instincts to speak of. He can easily be bullied around and clings to anyone who shows him kindness.
Personality:  Annoyingly submissive, unnaturally calm, depressingly accepting, surprisingly hopeful.
Themesong

Background: At a very young age, before he had a chance to acquire memories or even a name, Furnace was taken from his home in a bandit raid.
The bandits spared his life when they had seen his race's knack for magical fire, so they decided to "raise" him for that purpose.
This meant stick him in a small cell made of stone and devoid of light. The only opening and sliver of light was the entrance to their war furnaces. Which he was forced to keep alive day and night for as long as he could remember. Though he never got to see his captors, just the weapons of war he made, he was able to catch parts of conversations through the roaring blaze. This way he managed to learn the language but not much else. Since they never bothered to name him he concluded his name was Furnace.
Alone and shackled Furnace toiled through in timeless darkness until one day, months, years or decades later a voice spoke from the earth.
"What do you desire child?"
He had pointed at the small light at the end of his jail.
"Freedom? One day.."
For years to come the voice would come back sporadically and talk to Furnace.
Never did the otherworldly being reveal his origin or goals.
Furnace didn't care. He learned to channel his energy rather than burn it into the air.
He learned of other creatures, races, worlds outside.
And with every bit of knowledge his craving for freedom grew.
The voice always preached patience.
One day there was a loud commotion outside the forge. Screaming and the clash of weapons.
Weapons which sound Furnace recognized, against those he didn't.
Hopefully he dared to let the fires die.
A hand reached into the pit and helped him out, broke the shackles. Furnace was free and blinked as he saw the sun for the first time.

Other: There is a strange creature from other worlds who's taken an interest in Furnace.

[User]
Alula had seemed to calm down considerably, but was still horribly overwhelmed. Not once voice kept still for very long, and she was very confused as to what they were telling her to do. She peered out from under her hat, watching as the half-elf gathered back up his belongings. He was an interesting one, but the voices could not agree on why. Perhaps he just was because he was. More phantom noises filled the oracles ears, whistling winds and breaths cut short. It was horribly unnerving. She shivered for a moment despite the heat.

The noises stopped suddenly, leaving Alula dizzy once more. Unfortunately she was also now out of the loop on the whole bar situation, she hadn't really been comprehending what the two taller men were discussing. But what she did pick up on was the half-Elfs speech impediment. In an almost comical turn of events, her mind was in an even fifty fifty split right now trying to remember and understand what would be socially acceptable. Was she supposed to not say anything or point out his strange pattern of speech.

And then Alula noticed he was looking at her. She initially panicked but then noticed something. He had glowing eyes too, or well one eye. For some reason this observation made her next choice very clear to her. And in her slurred voice spoke.

"You..talk weird..."

[Assistant]
Separ

The moment I laid eyes on this woman I felt my body's temperature rise as my face turned beet red. I could hardly say a word as I was immediately enchanted by her beauty, and in that short moment time seemed to creep to a halt making it feel like an eternity. "Make sure there's at least one cute girl in your group as well, okay?" The words of my mentor echoed in my head as I continued to gaze upon this girl's beauty. "Your call sir."

Kelvin's words brought me out of my trance and back to reality. Ahh, just how stupid can I be? I can't just gawk at this girl, and besides regardless of how good my mentor's training was, I don't think his last snippet of advice can be considered valid. I sighed for a moment redirecting my focus to try and calm myself down. My body slowly changed back to normal as I now stared at the woman. I would not fall under her spell so easiy, even if I wanted to actually do so. Wait why am I admitting that? Ahh, forget it, just say something so you don't look like an idiot.

"I'd love it if you joined us, though I must ask if you know about how to fight or any useful skills really. I wouldn't want you or Kelvin for that matter, to get put into any dangerous situations, so please be truthful to what you can or can't do. Or at the very least understate your abilities so we don't do anything to rash and wind up all dead or something, I don't know." I gulped as while I wasn't going gaga over her anymore, I was still having a bit of trouble talking, as evidenced by the nervousness in my voice. Well it wasn't that big of a deal anyways, I probably just needed to get used to her.

[User]
Vis' eyes went wide when she said those words, his cursed left eye flashing an angry green for a moment before it stopped. He wanted to retaliate with words but his throat seized up, locking shut, if he spoke she would just poke fun at him again, he usually stood tall but now he slumped a fraction.

"nothed*," he turned around and with a flick of his tattered left ear, he signaled for them to follow, his steps were more unsure now then they'd ever been, almost all people did not comment on his voice, they tended to know what was good for them, the last time someone did they suffered a beating. But he couldn't beat the girl under the pointy hat, he just couldn't bring himself to raise his hand at her, she seemed like she didn't know what she was saying but that didn't make him any less wounded. Vis tightened his scarf.

When they arrived at the tavern, Vis held the door open for his group, turning around to see the Paladin, Gnome and the pretty hooded girl who made comments at his expense.

[Assistant]
Suki shifted her gaze to the side slightly, as she was compared to that of a barmaid. Not because she was insulted, but moreso because she ended up thinking about kissing patrons when she was half dead. That was one memory she would love to bury, but at least that was at a different village.

"Of course. Although I may not look like it, but I do have confidence in my ability to scout out an area. That, and when I do run into trouble, I trust my skill in a scythe." Answering the other man's questions, she couldn't help but to notice how he had a momentary lapse when he first looked at her.

She leaned closer to him, while subtly releasing the top clasp of the cloak, allowing it to part slightly. From this angle, the man could get just a tiny glimps of her chest. "Well~? Do you believe me~?" Whispering these words, at such a low volume, yet with hints of a challenge mixed in with that sultry tone.

[User]
Furnace entered the tavern and looked around.
The room was filled with wooden constructs, living creatures and ceramics containing, what smelled like food.
He didn't see a source for the food though. How did these people find it? Why decide to eat it here?
Then he saw a creature with a large wooden plate stacked with cups. Distributing food to people.
He noticed a pattern, she went by all the wooden circles and gave foot to those balanced around it.
Furnace concluded that if they balanced on the small wooden constructs around the large wooden plates, they would get food.

Following the pattern the barmaid followed Furnace chose a table that would soon be serviced.
He took the cloth-wrapped bastard sword slung over his shoulder and carefully placed it leaning against the table.
After sizing the chair up for a few seconds and studying the other patrons he got up on the seat and sat down cross-legged.
Then he waited. If his guesses were correct food would now come to him.

[Assistant]
Separ
A scythe huh, that's an interesting weapon of choice, thought Separ as he continued to talk to this beautiful lady. However as he was listening to her, she seemed to lean forward and unbutton the top of her cloak, an action which surprised Separ. He stared closely for a second and realized he could see a small portion of her cleavage. Was she purposefully trying to make him look? Should he look? Can he? While Separ kind of wanted to take a peek he realized that wouldn't be a good idea. She was most likely just feeling a little hot and wanted some more air. He glanced to the side not wanting to stare at her chest and give off the wrong impression. "I believe you, after all you have no reason to lie right?" His voice had turned even more nervous now, as he wasn't sure quite what to do. "So, uh, welcome to the team I guess." He looked back at her and gave her a somewhat shy smile.

Separ turned towards Kelvin and extended a hand, his palm facing the sky. "This here is Kelvin, and my name is Separ. If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" As he said this Separ had a lightbulb moment and turned towards Kelvin and nodded slightly. "I'm sorry, it seems I had forgotten to tell you my name earlier. Sorry about that."

[User]
Kelvin
Well, at least the other guy was going to keep his head on. Mostly. Not that Kelvin had done much better with that passing insult. A scythe? Scouting? Kelvin shook his head. If she had those skills, it was more concerning. What if she was part of a marauder's crew- luring unsuspecting travelers to the wrong road at the wrong hour. The thought made him shudder. It was just unnatural, for someone with a face like that to be alone in a town like this. Though, in retrospect, it was equally strange for an engineer to be hanging about the area as well. She leaned closer to them, his companion specifically, and murmured towards him, letting her cloak hang open a bit. Whelp. He was done here. Kelvin turned away smartly and sat down at her table, attempting to keep a straight face.

Aren't you supposed to seduce them before you get what you want, rather than after? Not that he had experience in such things. Ah, Separ was his name. "It be alright, think nothing of it." Kelvin didn't look at either of them, looking pointedly to the side and then jumping, knocked over his chair and falling to the floor beside it. "What… who is that?!" A strange, whitish childlike creature was sitting on one of the seats beside him. Kelvin spluttered and recovered a bit. "Ah, hello there… little one."

[Assistant]
Alula watched the half-elf for his reaction, and she couldn't help but think maybe she chose the wrong choice. He had looked mad, and she could feel that she had hurt his feelings. Her face kept neutral, but there was an argument going on in her head. She chose to ignore it, but her headache and dizziness were increasing. And after a few moments Alula had forgotten about what the voices were arguing over. Something about a voice? She knew plenty of those. Oh. They were walking now. She wasn't sure were they were going, or if she should go too. But after taking one teetering step forward she decided going with them was better then staying alone in a crowd.

She allowed herself to lean on the paladin a few times, and although the touch of armor felt like a searing through her robes she did not fall. Several times while the small group was walking Alula asked where they were going, and every time she got an answer she soon forgot it and asked again. She also asked several other questions ranging from asking "what time is is" four times to questioning why the paladin was wearing so much armor. Walking into the bar was slightly less overwhelming then walking through the streets. It was still many thoughts being thrown at her at once, so many intermingling voices. But now several of them were drunk. And yet it was still a lot to take in.

She opened her mouth, eyes dully glowing under her hat. "A gathering place for people of all kinds, the road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same and yet they end up here."

She already felt far more comfortable being out of the heat, and although the bar was noisier she could barely hear them under the voices in her head. She watched as the gnome ran off to find a table, sitting with a few other people. Alula disliked the idea of having to be close to more people so quickly, and instead found herself wobbling over to a small table near the back of the room. All around her phantoms and hallucinations moved, ranging from the joyous to disastrous. From weddings to war. But she didn't mind, they were faded and quiet under a heavy cloud of alcohol.

[User]
Furnace noted the other beings around the wooden circle had noticed him and one of them wished to trade words.
He eyed the tall figure, he had a magnificent beard, he was tall but not as physically imposing as his new metal bound friend.
The thing that stood out about this guy was not his appearance. Furnace tilted his head slightly without breaking eye contact with Kelvin.
"Petroleum, iron filings, sulfur, fresh paper...and something else... You smell interesting."


[System]
Character Information
Alias
Ivory Wings
Age
22
Race
Pterodactyl
Gender
Male
Occupation
Monk-in-training/Construction worker
Height
5'11''
Weight
260 lbs
Hair Color
None
Eye Color
Bright scarlet with a bit of hazel around the edge of his iris
Visual Appearance
 Hiko has the appearance of your average pterodactyl with a few major exceptions. For one, he's albino, his skin is a very light grey that borders on being white with an amber colored underbelly. Secondly, he's much smaller than your average pterodactyl, closer in size to an average human. But he does maintain the stout and bulky build that is common with his race. His tail is about three and half feet long. He has a wingspan of roughly seven feet.
Written Appearance
Hiko wears his temples traditional lavender robes with a golden sash around his waist. His hands and feet are wrapped in a white bandage.
Personality
Hiko's demeanor is like that of most other monks from his temple. He has been training his mind for years to keep calm and collected as much as possible. He tries his best to stay humble and kind under all circumstances. However he is still a relative novice and his beastly instincts can sometimes cause him to lose his temper. He is also beholden to a competitive nature and a desire for strength and power to prove himself as a warrior. But it should be stressed that for the most part he keeps a calm demeanor and tries to be nice and helpful to everybody he meets.
Background
One day many years ago Kenmeina Menta, a monk from the Tsubasa Temple, had gone off to the mountains to meditate for a few weeks as part of his training. Kenmeina had barely been meditating for an hour before his concentration had been broken by the sound of a babies terrified wail. He immediately ran off into the forest where he heard the tortured crying coming from. When he arrived at the source of the noise he found an infant pterodactyl that was surrounded by a pack of about a dozen saber tooth tigers ready to eat it the poor child alive. On instinct Kenmeina intervened and began to fight off the tigers.

Kenmeina fought bravely against the tigers for hours, killing several in the process. He however had sustained severe injuries, including losing his left eye and his right arm being irreparably shattered. Eventually the few remaining tigers decided to retreat, leaving Kenmeina with the pterodactyl child.

He slumped down to the ground, tired and broken. He almost fell unconscious before the infant's cries snapped him alert. Kameina crawled his way over to the baby's side and finally got his first good look at the child. He was the smallest pterodactyl Kameina had ever seen, even for a newborn. Not only that but his skin was oddly colored, white all around his except for a bright red belly.

Just by looking at this boy Kameina could tell he was special. He also knew that the boy would die if left alone out here in the forest. With a new paternal energy Kameina picked the child up and used his tattered sash as a bundle for him. The baby had finally ceased crying and was now staring intently at Kameina. He gave a weary smile to the child and and the child gave him a large fang-filled grin back. Amused, Kameina looked the pint-sized pterodactyl in the eyes and said, "I think I'll call you Hiko, Hiko Kyoryu". The newly dubbed Hiko let out a happy squeal that quickly turned into a yawn before falling asleep. Kameina strapped Hiko around his back and walked back towards the Tsubasa Temple.

The years went by and Kameina raised Hiko as a monk at the Tsubasa Temple. Even when Kameina became the head of the temple he still found time for Hiko's training as a disciplined and skilled warrior. Hiko took to martial arts well. His physique made him naturally stronger than his peers, even if he never quite reached the normal size of a pterodactyl. Even more, his tail and wings also gave him an upper hand in combat and Kameina pushed him to use them effectively while fighting.

Over the years he finally developed into one of Tsubasa Temples finest fighters and gained an amiable reputation for helping out around the temple, being an excellent mentor to the children, and defending the temple from bandits. Kameina had spent a few years looking for Hiko's family but eventually abandoned the quest. Besides, Hiko was perfectly fine living at the temple and enjoyed his family. Even if they were largely different from him appearance wise, they were all still the only family he ever knew.

One day, when Hiko was twenty, Kameina told him that it was time for his Kuesuto, an important part of his training to become a full-fledged Tsubasan monk. This would require him to go out into the world and travel around, learning important life lessons. The goal was not to return until you felt ready to answer one simple question, "What is the purpose of life"? To Hiko it seemed like an overly simple and yet vague question. One he thought would be easy for him to figure out an answer for.

But two years have already passed since he left his temple and he is no closer to figuring out an answer. Kameina told him that when he had the right answer he'd know, and he had full faith that Hiko would figure it out. Hiko took up a job doing construction in the city and made a living there for a few months before one day learning of the Tenkaichi Budokai tournament. Hiko had long missed the thrill of battle and hadn't been able to really test himself in battle outside of the temple. Plus, he figured this would be a great experience for him that might bring him closer to attaining the wisdom he needed to return to Tsubasa Temple. So he signed up for the Tenkaichi Budokai and started training arduously for what was sure to be a fierce competition.
Weapon & Techniques
Weapon
He carries a standard brown martial arts staff from his temple. It is approximately five feet long and weighs a little over twenty pounds.
Power Level
910
Ki Color
White
Techniques
Hariken: Hiko channels ki through his wings before flapping them vigorously. The result is a powerful ki-charged gust that sends his opponent flying backwards.

Aibore no Tsume: Hiko channels ki into either his claws or teeth, making them powerful enough to tear through even hard metals.

Akainami: Hiko builds up a large amount of ki in the pit of his stomach that he then fires out of his mouth in a powerful beam. This attack uses up a lot of energy and is usually saved as his trump card.

[User]
Character Name
Race: Human
Time/Day Day 1, Morning
Location: Waiting Room
Tagging: @The Abyss

A mere monkey tail from a non-elite spacer, was not nearly enough force to do any damage whatsoever to Sheeban. She trained under true elites, professional fighters who devoted their craft to making the craft entertaining. And as such, even with this pitiful performer she felt it was best to oblige. After all, this was the lessons her dojo taught. While the impact from the tail was not near enough to cause such an impact, Sheeban lunged back of her own will and took a bump on the ground below.

It was a loud thud, but it was still a simple back-bump. As she was down, Sheeban did a series of standard side rolls as she reached one of her containers of mascara. Due to the fact she had made such an exaggerated moment, it would be key to make the people out there believe that this fighter managed to do the blow, even though they did not. With both of her hands Sheeban began applying large amounts of mascara around her eye to give it the impression that it was bruising. Of course as she was doing this she was rolling around yelping out in entertaining yelps of pain and rolling around to distract from the actual application. After all sleight of hand was necessary in these sorts of things.

Once she applied the make-up on, Sheeban slowly began to get up. It was a matter of appearance, she dramatically pointed up towards the spacer as she was taking in over-heaving breaths. Was it a perhaps much? Probably, but some of the most entertaining aspects of the world of fight were built on great illusions.

"H-HEY!" Sheeban dramatically shouted up towards the monkey as she began flourishing with her left hand. It was going around and around in a circular motion before being cupped against her ears. "Didn't hear no bell. CAUSE LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING BROTHER!" Sheeban eagerly declared as she thrust her right arm outstretched right, with her left arm in a fist down near her stomach.

"Being big isn't about taking cheap shots! It's about setting an example to the small! It's an example I set in day in and day out - and I don't ever plan on quitting! Some might not like the message, yeah, I'm the Dungeon's Princess! But I ain't no cheap-shot, small-talkin' jackaboot thug! I DELIVER THE BIG MESSAGE, THE BIG PICTURE! THE FIGHT I FIGHT IS A NEVER-ENDING QUEST TO EMBOLDEN AND EMBIGGEN THOSE THAT NEED TO THRIVE!" She raised both of her hands up and began doing a set of poses, "Cause the world is a large place, full of those big and small. And people need a big message, a big thing to get behind. I don't want people to think tiny, I want them to think big! I want them to go large and in charge without any concerns of small-thinking; that's what prey does. And lemme tell you, the predators who are behind with a big message and dream will always triumph those who think too small!"

[Assistant]
Paw-Paw Kenji
Tournament Announcer and Current World Champion
Location: Tournament Arena Announcer's Table
Tag: @Lauder@Slingshot@Double@The Abyss@Weird Tales

---

Trumpets blared into the air, announcing the beginning of the World Martial Arts tournament. At the center of the arena, a file of colorful kimono-wearing performers marched onto the tournament floor, waving giant feathered fans of various colors. They marched into a circle and faced the crowds as they continued to dance. Many of the performers were famous models. Being escorted onto the stage was a young girl whose theme was blue. She had blue long flowing pony tails, a blue skirt that stopped short about her thighs, and doll baby shoes. The fan boys and girls—to include pervs—were going wild, screaming her name before she reached the center of the stage.

AYUMI~!

I LOVE YOU AYUMI!

The girl smiled brightly at her fans, giving them an exuberant wave. As soon as she reached the center of the stage, her escort presented her with a microphone.

"Everyone! HELLO~!" she happily greeted.

The crowd practically exploded in response. Painted poster boards with hearts all over waved about in the stands.

"Are you ready to fight?" she asked with a musical giggle.

The crowd roared again in excitement and Ayumi started to sing:

While the crowd was being entertained by famous Central Capital singer Ayumi, Paw-Paw Kenji was gnawing and drooling over his announcer microphone until one of the staff members walked over and quietly whispered, "Uh…Master Kenji. It's your turn to open the tournament."

Paw-Paw blinked his big, brown bulging eyes and released the microphone as he sat back in his boosted chair. A strand of drool extended from the mic to his mouth as he blinked one eye and then the other. The staffer stared blankly until suddenly, Paw-Paw abruptly exclaimed: "WELCOME!"

The staffer jumped in startle and flailed his arms as he fell off the stage.

"Welcome to the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament! Ruff! Ruff-ruff-r-r-ruff! Arf!" Paw-Paw shouted. "Opening today's tournament ceremony is Shizuma Ayumi herself! While she enraptures everyone, we will go ahead and toss onto the jumbotron our first preliminary match ups! THAT'S RIGHT! If you didn't sign up, registration is now closed! Ruff-ruff-ARF!"

"There's a long day ahead of us folks, but as long as the beer is flowing and the concessions hot, we'll make it. Ruff! I can't wait to see who will come out on top and try to take my title!"

[User]
Character Name: Hiko Kyoryu
Race: Pterodactyl
PL: 910
Time/Date: Day 1, Morning
Location: Fighter Waiting Room
Tagging: None

Hiko slipped away from the commotion in the locker room to check out the opening ceremonies. He was amazed by the spectacle of it all. A knot began to form in Hiko's stomach, he was beginning to feel anxious. It just started to hit him how big a deal this tournament really was. Here he was, a kid from a quite mountain temple, preparing to fight against the greatest fighters this world had to offer. Maybe he was in way over his head, but he knew it would bring great shame to the Tsubasa Temple for him to back out now. At least they didn't have television back at the temple, so he didn't have to worry about them watching him lose.

Paw-Paw Kenji, the reigning Tenkaichi Budokai champion, announced the fights and displayed the tournament tree on the jumbotron. Hiko scanned the enormous screen until he came across his picture, and beneath his was Beryl Bloodstone on the other side of the bracket. He recognized her as the brightly dressed witch he spotted in the fighter waiting room. She didn't seem like much a fighter to him, so maybe he had it a bit easier this first round. Hiko thought that perhaps if he made it to at least the second round he could try to take some pride in that.

Walking back to the locker room Hiko found a different place for him to relax while he waited for his fight to be called. From the bench he was sitting on he could see Beryl trying to sell another fighter some trinket. Hiko was confused, was she not going to prepare for her fight? No changing into proper martial arts attire, no meditating, no stretching? Hiko thought that perhaps she was just that confident in her ability to win. Reflecting on it, he was pretty sure Beryl was the only magic user in the tournament. That put her at an advantage because she had skills that nobody else in the tournament possesed.

That was the one major flaw with Hiko's training. All his life, outside of the occasional bandit and wild animals, Hiko had only fought other Tsubasan monks. All Hiko knew was fighting people who practiced the same martial arts as he did. While each fighter was unique in their own way, each monk still followed the same disciplines. Hiko had certainly never dealt with a magic user, or a wrestler, or even monks from different temples. This tournament was bound to be a learning experience for Hiko, so even if he didn't win he'd still get something of value from participating. He wasn't quite sure how to even prepare for his fight against the witch, as he had no idea what to expect. So Hiko prepared how he usually did and began meditating to clear his mind before his match began.