[System]
Gender: M

Age: 35

Place of Birth: Seattle, WA

Sexuality: Hetero

Relationship Status: Vin was engaged to a girl he'd been together with since his late teens, and through unforeseen circumstances, the relationship ended.

Occupation: Co-partner of several tattoo shops along the East Coast of the United States, mostly located in upscale areas, Buckhead being one of them.

Skills: A vast background in traditional art, with a focus on tattooing and the use of various inks and their properties.

Power: Tattoo & Body Art Manipulation

Essentially, a telepathic ability that allows him a certain degree of control over the ink used for the tattoos, thereby giving "life" to an otherwise static image on his (or a chosen target's) skin. His ability is most potent when used on his own tattoos, allowing him to lift the imagery from the skin, solidifying it, and giving it a brief independance from the host body. (i.e. A crow tattoo on his chest can "peel" away, transform into solid mass, and fly around).

Natural tattooing inks created by plant dyes, animal minerals, salts and various other natural sources, etc work the best. Synthetic inks are generally weaker.

As a defensive mechanism, if threatened, the tattoo ink will protect itself (and the host), adapting and shielding Vin from physical attacks for a limited amount of time.

Areas that are covered in tattoos also have the potential to heal much quicker, as the artwork essentially "repairs" the affected area. The more severe the wound, the longer time it takes to completely heal and the more mental exhaustion is incurred.

Cost of Power Use: Causes varying degrees of mental fatigue & migraines, and the longer it is sustained, the more lethargic he can become, to the point of unconsciousness if not careful. There are instances where the power, if not kept in check, could lash out violently toward others or the host himself as it begins to take on a life of it's own...
Appearance: Vin stands about 6'1, tall and lean. He generally keeps a closely trimmed beard or clean shaven face, and a neatly comb head of thick dark auburn hair. His wardrobe tends to lean toward a "chic rocker" fashion in blacks & grays, more so to impress the higher-end clientele. His arms, chest and back are covered in various tattoos of fantastical venomous creatures, tribal & gothic patterns, life, death, and various symbols that only he may know anything about.

Personality: Vin comes off as relatively light-hearted and easygoing, and yet can easily be identified as borderline narcissistic due to the fact that he seems to "know everything about everything" and holds nobody else but himself in high regard, which can reflect in his close professional and personal relationships. He is inherently stubborn and critical about a great many things, especially related to artwork, and his intense focus can be misinterpreted as being "socially disconnected" when in the middle of a project as he doesn't tolerate distractions very well.

Generally, however, he's a guy that goes along to get along, and enjoys to socialize in circles where there may be an opportunity for gain or pleasure. As an artist himself, he loves art, especially body art, which he'll gladly discuss with anyone who will listen to his incessant ramblings which inevitably circle around to him talking about himself.

History: As "deceptive appearances" go, Vin had always managed to keep his life running against the grain as much as possible, turning his nose to rules and regulations that seemed to only work for everyone else but him. Although he'd never let on that he had an ounce of the proverbial anarchist in him. Growing up in Seattle during the late eighties, early nineties, he found himself in the midst of the grunge scene, which influenced not only his outlook on life and society, but his love for various rock music and art. His family life was rather eventless (some would even say "normal"); both parents got along, worked hard at their respective blue-collar jobs, and generally made a bearable life in the Lower Queen Anne area of the city. As most good parents did, they both encouraged their son to do something meaningful with his life...

Of course, "meaningful", was a matter of interpretation.

Vin loved the city, especially the underground scenes, and most of his time was spent running with his wayward friends, getting into the seediest dumps to see their favorite bands play or hanging with the best local street artists, painters, and tattoo kings that Seattle had to offer. As his artistic talents flourished, he also reaped the rewards of diligence and hard work. He eventually turned his focus on tattooing, which it seemed everyone was willing to pay good money for, no matter their social status. At seventeen, he'd saved enough from various art jobs to share rent on an apartment in the downtown area, closer to where the action and the money was. Vin was a dreamer, and he wanted to keep the film rolling as long as possible. He'd met, for the first time, a girl he could really see sharing his already chaotic life. A girl who shared many of his own passions and aspirations, which gave Vin the feeling that he could really control the relationship and all its variables.

Funny thing how our own interpretations sharply contrast the harsh reality of things...

Years passed quickly as they would for those living a life that seemed to be an endless party. But for Vin, the fun hit rock bottom when his soon-to-be wife had decided to lavish herself in the lifestyle of another man. A man who seemingly had his shit together and gave her the world. The blowback became a stain that stuck in the forefront of Vin's mind, degrading his outlook of a future he hoped would have been shaped by his own hands. The solid relationship he once had with his parents began to suffer as he spiraled downward and pushed away a lot of people in the process. He eventually made it to a point where was ready to move on, to leave his old life and hopefully never return until he felt ready to return.

And he'd found the perfect way out...

Vincent reached out to James, an old friend who'd moved to the east coast to start up a chain of tattoo and body art shops mainly located in upscale areas. James knew the business, and even the rich enjoyed the opportunity to leave a lasting mark, whether it was social prestige or simply ink on their body, he'd gladly offer it all. Vin, confident in knowing that his artwork would be a great addition to his friend's business, didn't hesitate to take advantage of becoming a co-partner, quickly moving from his hometown of Seattle to a hi-rise apartment in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia.

[User]
At the sight of the mason jar Vin pulled out from the pantry, Nate's eyes seemed to light up. Not so much at the idea of alcohol but more at the memories it brought back. He had shared many a bottle of moonshine with his brothers in arms when the C.O of whatever base he found himself stationed at came down on the boring side of having real alcohol on base. It was usually saved for after a successful mission but it did make those painful days a little more bearable.

A thought flashed in his mind though, prompted by one of the less fun voices in his head reminding him of Vin's earlier shenanigans. The stranger Vin had torn limb from limb was still pretty fresh in his mind. And while the thought of Eli being ripped to shreds was admittedly pretty funny, the idea of it happening to him or, even worse, one of the kids was less entertaining.

He pushed himself up from his chair, forgetting about the pain in his ribs for half a second and then suddenly, violently remembering all about it. He winced and put a hand to the part of his body that hurt the most as he made his way towards Vin before snatching the jar from his hands. "Not to sound like my mother..." he told Vin. "...But do you really think that's such a good idea? I mean do you even remember what happened the last time you lost control of your senses?" He quickly unscrewed the lid on the jar and took a swig, cringing at how bad it was before turning and heading towards Jennifer where he thrust the jar at her like there was no chance she would refuse.

Maybe getting absolutely shitfaced could ease both of their pain.

[Assistant]
Jennifer couldn't hide her disgust toward the moonshine Nate had just shoved in her face. His reaction alone after was enough to discourage her from even touching the jar, but he was persistent, and she didn't feel like fighting him, not when she was hungry, tired, and in pain. Although reluctant at first, Jennifer eventually figured the moonshine would give her an excuse to curl up on one end of the couch and fall asleep while the rest of them stayed up talking about whatever the hell they felt like.

I hate you, she mouthed off to Nate as she took the drink, a worried expression on her face when she looked down and imagined what it would taste like. She'd only ever heard the stories, but backing down now would crumble any credibility she could have with these people, not that there was any to begin with. Jennifer decided to get it over with and forced down nearly a mouthful. Big mistake for her. She nearly dropped the jar as the poor girl covered her mouth with her free hand. Her eyes watered a little bit as she set the moonshine down by her feet.

"That was worse than I thought," she said after being able to speak again, although her voice was somewhat hoarse. Jennifer decided she needed something to get the taste out and slowly got up, walking over to where Vin was standing to get something solid in her stomach.

[User]
Eli laughed at them. It was clear that they didn't have anything apple pie where they were from. Eli took then jar and took a large drink from it. There was no sour face or coughing, just a grin.

Eli walked over and pulled out another, larger jar. This was a darker color. "That'll go down a lot smoother than this one." Eli went back and took his seat.

"Help your self to anything we got. If you have to go into town or meet anyone. You're just tourist camping out and passing by. Don't try to make friends, and damn sure don't tell them anything about you. Lie if you have too. People out here don't like a outsiders. And under no circumstances at all, go a party. They'll use it as an excuse to either beat the shit outta you or kill you if they have too."Eli said after another drink. "People are mostly nice and polite around here but the bad ones are about as bad is it gets. Christabell can tell you about if she feels like it. Just be smart about everything. After a day or two of rest we'll leave here and head up to Nobles holler. We should be safe there for till we can figure something out." Eli finished the last of the jar and placed it by his feet.

"I'm gonna take a look around. You guys try to relax." Eli stepped out of cabin and lit a cigarette.

[Assistant]
"So uncool..." He mumbled as Nate grabbed the jar from Vin's hand and walked away while taking a swig of the obviously disgusting liquid that had probably been stored in the pantry for well over one hundred years. As much of a dick move as that was, however, Nate had a valid point regarding Vincent's lack of control and the brief yet vivid image of the bloodied corpse popped into his head. He'd almost forgotten about that night, considering how quickly it happened, and the shock of the aftermath seemed to suppress the memory up until now. Was it his mind's defensive mechanism numbing the pain to the point where he'd become desensitized to something so horrific? Had it been too many years of horror movies, Slipknot concerts, and designer drugs in his system to dull the last few vestiges of morality he had?

He snapped back from his momentary reverie when Jennifer started gagging on the jar of whatever that hell it was, which apparently hadn't worked out too well for her or Nate, but Eli didn't seem to have a problem knocking back a large gulp while laughing at the ignorant "city-folk". The guy didn't really appear to let much bother him, as though he'd been through stranger things enough in his life that the current situation was just "another day" to him. Or perhaps he just played it off well enough as to not cause unnecessary tension among the group. Vin supposed that was what everyone was trying to do in their own way.

Vincent found whatever MREs had been stored away, opening up a few of the dark grey plastic bags labelled "beef and gravy" and something resembling spaghetti with meatballs, which at this point might as well have been steak and lobster. He poured them into a few ceramic bowls that were stacked in the corner, grabbed some tarnished metal forks from the drawer, and tasted a bit of the spaghetti while simultaneously squeezing his eyelids in preparation for something terrible. However, surprisingly enough, it wasn't half-bad, albeit cold, but still edible, and he slid a bowl over to Jennifer.

"Well, it's better than trying to live off paint thinner in a jar." He grinned, wrapping an arm around her and planting a quick peck on her cheek before whispering in her ear. "And, by the way, you're wicked attractive when trying to be impressive..." He said, poking fun at her earlier bold move of drinking some of the moonshine to oblige the natives, regardless of her reservations about it.

"But I'd stay away from anything you can't identify." He said, taking another bite of the pasta and smiling, as a bit of the red sauce ran down his chin.

"Bon apetit!"

He turned to face the open room while shoving another forkful of the spaghetti into his mouth, and focused on Eli as he was headed outside for a smoke.

"Hey, for what it's worth bro, thanks for the rustic dining experience and chef-quality cuisine. I'd give this place one and a half stars at best. Although It probably would have been an even two if it wasn't for the three dead rats over there." He motioned his thumb toward the corner near the pantry. "But hey, at least they're dead." He continued, shrugging before taking another bite of Momma Harlan's home cooking.

"So...Nate, I suppose the question on everyone's mind is...how long are we going to be stuck here and when, if ever, do we get to leave?" He eyed Nate in between finishing up his bowl of food. hoping that at least he had a better grasp on what was going on.


[System]
gender: Female

godly parents:
* Mother: an unnamed Cherubim
* Father: Kagu-tsuchi (Indirectly. A drop of his/its blood was used.)

sphere of control: Blood, Weapons, Mist, and Entertainment

personality: Miriam prefers to ignore just about anything she's not interested in, opting to play some game or stare at nothing and eventually fall asleep instead. However, when it comes to Claire, Yuki, and fighting, a plethora of emotions could rise out of her. She fights for fun, and often holds herself back in mortal fights by using a fragile human vessel.

When an opportunity to fight arises, she becomes ecstatic, excited, and crazed. This is usually calmed by her friends. If they aren't around, however, then she would most likely start many battles. Aside from that, the only times she shows any emotion away from her friends and battle is when she goes to a human convention of various fictional things. She is an enthusiastic expert on cosplaying, and loves to role-play on the internet on various sites such as this one.

sacred animal: Condor

powers:
* Weapon Conjuration
* Ammunition Conjuration (makes it a rule only to create arrows when using this power)
* Red Mist Manipulation (Actually just mist manipulation, but the mist turns as red as blood when she controls it for some reason)
* Mist Travel (can essentially travel to and from thick clouds of mist and fog)
* Blood Travel (only when there's a large enough amount of blood in a given area)

weapon(s): Trick weapons (i.e. a threaded cane, a scimitar scythe, a bladebow, and a trick twinblade/dagger and katana named Rakuyo)

History: Miriam was birthed from blood. Deities may call it ichor, but it is their blood nonetheless. She was birthed from two drops of blood. The first was a preserved drop from a long-dead creature. The second was that of the one who raised her. A cherubim angel, whose name was lost to time. This angel felt that her own end was to come, and so she set out to create an heir. Her attempts were doomed, as the deities refused to accept a creature such as her, whose beastly appearance was...not favorable to them. However, the blind goddess known as Fortuna had admired the cherubim's attempts, and helped her. Fortuna gave the angel a vial that contained a drop of blood, belonging to the deceased son of Izanagi and Izanami. The one known as Kagu-tsuchi, whose blood had created a number of gods from the Japanese pantheon.

By allowing her own blood to mix with Kagu-tsuchi's, Miriam had been created with the body that her mother would have had, had she been born a goddess. Miriam did have a few quirks, though. While the Cherubim wanted her to live as peaceful as the angels did, Miriam was a violent child when unsupervised. When her mother had turned her back, Miriam went down to the earth, where the hidden amazons lived, and slaughtered all but two of them. Miriam would continue to use this method of killing warrior races and mythical beasts as a way to train herself in the ways of combat.

Her mother knew of them, and often scolded Miriam about those instances, but she loved her daughter too much. She taught her how to bend mist and fog to her will, and distracted her from chances of bloodshed with games. Even when she was at her most uncontrollable, Miriam loved her mother, and stood for ideals of peace and love.

When her mother died, Miriam was lost. She traveled from here to there, fighting and killing within every war she happened upon, until she met Claire. Claire took her in, and introduced her to the entertainment that the earth had to offer. The two would live together, even when Yuki arrived. The sister goddesses of the Dusk and Dawn, of Music and Dance, became her closest friends.

other:
* She holds some VERY well-kept secrets. Ones that I don't feel comfortable sharing, for fear of her somehow coming to life, reaching through my screen, and strangling me to death.
* She crafted her weapons herself, then became excited when she found similar weapons being used in her current favorite video game.
* Fortuna, seeing herself as what the humans would call a "godmother" (heh) to Miriam, had blessed her with good luck in games where she played against others.

[User]
of flames01
Landon noticed Rhona as she ran and called out to him about his arm. He turned towards her as he 'felt' her touch his new arm. It was a strange sensation to him and he was surprised he could feel it. He tried to stop Rhona from frantically searching for his arm. "There's no need to search for it. My arm was torn and crushed by one of the wolf heads. It probably ate half of it, wherever it is, but thanks for the help anyways. This arm takes concentration, but it might not be that bad."

Landon turned to Zeltrax and Ghidorah. "I think we have a much bigger problem than just my arm right now anyways. I don't know how we're going to touch that giant. I hope we can keep it entertained long enough for Reese and Yato to take down Zel."

[Assistant]
@blackpanther

Rhona looked at Landon with a upset look on her face as she heard of the fate of his arm. "Yeah... OK... I... I'm sorry... I should have come sooner..." She murmered apologetically as she eyed Landon's frozen arm, touching it lightly once more. "Does it hurt...? Your prosthetic... Can it feel anything...? Does it hurt when it gets destroyed...?"

Rhona hid her face behind her hair as she looked down. "I'm sorry..." She apologized again.

Rhona then noticed the 2 towering giants that stood in the distance. Their sheer size was startling on it's own, but to know that those were to be her opponent, terrified her. Swallowing her fear, Rhona spoke truthfully. "I-I don't know how we will be able to distract such a huge god.... But we have to try... But... I could try blinding it... However, if we aren't careful, I could end up blinding both of you by accident..."

[User]
@Cuccoruler

Yato looked up in time to dodge the fire balls as Zeltrax swung at him in mid dodge. He brought up his katana just in time but almost got knocked down in the process. Using the short pause to get his barring Yato braced himself against the new attacks. The blocks and dodges kept him alive but gave him some bleeding cuts. "I can't hit him if he won't layoff me."

[Assistant]
of flames01@BlackPanther
Landon looked back at Rhona as she began to get sad over his arm. "Haha, you're fine. It was my own choice to rush in dumb." Her touches of his arm helped him adapt to the feelings it gave. He didn't think the dark would connect with him so well inside of the ice. "It doesn't hurt, but it hasn't really been under any real pressure yet. I don't think it will hurt though. I can feel your touch, but it doesn't feel like you touching me, if that makes sense. I can just feel something there." Landon laughed again as Rhona was apologizing. "Haha, you're really fine. This was my fault."

Landon looked back to the three headed beheamoth. He wasn't sure where to begin on distracting it, or slowing it down. He listened to Rhona give her idea, and it's flaw as well. He had a way to fix it and maybe help too. "That might actually work. I'll blackout me and Alec's eyes as you blind it. I'll also sheet the ground with ice beneath it. Alec if you could cut at it's feet, we just need you to get it to try to move. I'll give you solid footing as you move along the ice. It might seem a little goofy, but it might fall. It might just fly as well though. Don't we have anything that can fight on this scale? I don't know how to make myself an ice giant yet."

[User]
Zeltrax felt the sharp wind hit him. He was knocked off balance just momentarily but gained his balance back with an awkward slash at Yato's legs. He continued to slash at the two. Since Yato was cut however he would start to see things as corrupted. He would soon start to change his attacks towards Reese most likely.

Zeltrax took this chance to change his attacks towards Reese now. He fired several more fireballs before following up right behind them. Before the fire balls even hit Zeltrax had sliced through his own fireballs to slash at Reese. This was that power of a god of corruption.

[Assistant] Reese retreated attempting to dodge the fire balls. Being skilled in combat he knows not focusing on the target was a bad choice of action. He didn't even notice Yato taking a hit how focused he was on Zel. Thankfully for focusing on Zel Reese was able to see his sneak attack coming. Though he did see it coming he barely managed to dodge the slash by punching at the ground beneath him the wind shooting him up from Zel's reach. "Damn he's good but hell have to do better to catch a God of War!" Reese spun and swung at the air sending him falling back to the ground at an accelerating rate. As he fell he throw an uncountable amount of punches that even caused his arms and first to become a blur. The funnel of a possible tornado began to erupt from the repetitive gusts of winds.

[User]
"Gimme a sec! It's hard to come up with a song to use against a war god! Go on ahead!

Miriam groaned in annoyance before dashing off to fight against Zeltrax. Her scythe had disappeared, and in its place was an oddly curved longsword. In a moment, the blade snapped into a second form. It had turned from a normal sword to a unique longbow. Arrows began to appear in Miriam's hand as she began shooting at the alien war god. In the distance, one may be able to see the mist and fog gathering together once more in preparation.

"Got it! First one up...!"

orbs of light began to slowly raise from the ground, and her cloud of darkness began to move again. Suddenly, the cloud dashed quickly, Only slowing down for Claire's orbs of light to shoot out projectiles of varying intensity. It went on like this for a minute, before evolving into something more complex.

The projectiles suddenly grew in number, and began shooting into the sky, only to rain down at its target as intense beams, carefully avoiding those who were on Claire's side. At the same time, the music commanded Claire's darkness to pursue Zeltrax as a wave of grasping arms and hands.

"Next one up...!"

While this was happening, Yuki had arrived in the Underworld. The winds there were being forced so much that they had carried her with little to no effort on her part. She watched the battle evolve further and further into a chaotic mess, and found that the few that were fighting each other must have been where she was meant to be. It wasn't hard to pick out the alien war god. He was pretty much obvious with his red...armor/skin, and the strange anatomy. It also helped that the strange winds and fire were where they were as well.

Yuki heard a familiar song, and assumed it was Claire fighting along to it. It was partway through its first half, and coming up to its build-up to the piece's end. It was just enough time for Yuki to help out. She'd have to do it from a distance, though, since her own action would probably be muddied up in the process over there.

When the build-up began, she started to abruptly dance, as if she had started at the middle of a routine. Her movements began to summon the waters to rush towards the battle, though not as a wave, but as elementals without spirit, and a limited amount of time before they melted back into uncontrolled waters. Then, she performed a flare that turned into a continuous spin. This particular part summoned the winds and fire away from the fight to come to her and join together. Together, they formed a burning tornado of flames. As the music got more and more intense, it lifted up large chunks of stone and ground, molding them into round, flaming projectiles that were launched at Zeltrax.

Knowing that this was the most she could do at the moment, and that the piece was done, Yuki looked to the floating torch she was given by Hecate, and spoke to it.

"Torch of Hecate, reveal what I must do..."


[System]
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Nicknames:

Interests:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Catchphrase: ""

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Personal relationships with others

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[User]
Nori Hisakawa Red Sages

---

Nori rushed past Yudai as he dealt with the first guard in front of them. He hadn't gone for an immediate killing blow, but being pinned on a spike was plenty enough for him to get by. It was rather fortunate that the other two guards seemed scared straight to hell by Seijo's spores, and he guessed that the one who actually stood up to Yudai was the only one who really gave a damn about it. Which made dealing with the other two that much easier. They had decided to huddle themselves up at the vault door as their last stand, as far away from the scary people as possible.

Well, Nori didn't feel like being a damn pushover this time. He ran up to the two of them, making quick handsigns. Water Release: Water Bowl! briefly went through his mind as he blasted the two of them with a quick burst of water. It seemed harmless enough, and the shinobi probably weren't planning on dodging a light spray, until they both stumbled, caught off-guard by the immediate follow-up of the Aquatic Bone Suffering genjutsu. It was all of the opening he needed, as he kicked one away from him and grabbed the other one by the throat, perhaps for a second, maybe two. Kingdom of the Eastern Seas. The shinobi coughed once before collapsing, twitching and unconscious on the ground as he let go of him. The one he had kicked aside was staggering up to his feet, eyes widening at the unusual sight, distracted as Nori rushed over and stabbed him through the gut with a quickly-drawn naginata. He flung the body off of the weapon towards Seijo's side of the room. Maybe he'd even get to suffer in her spores, not that he'd be surviving a blade through the gut with numbed up muscles.

"I'm setting up the bomb, everyone!" Nori shouted, placing the bomb on the vault door and taking the steps necessary to activate it. He decided to just leave the shinobi he had knocked out with Kingdom of the Eastern Seas next to it; he'd get to have a slightly flashier death than his comrades. With the bomb up, he turned and bolted back towards Yudai; if he was still having trouble with the last shinobi, he could cut him down from behind. Not that the remaining fodder was what he was concerned about. He was far more concerned of what Seijo's definition of "contained explosion" was, and just wanted to have distance between himself and the oncoming blast.

---

Nori almost audibly groaned. A backup door. Of course, why wouldn't there be one? It was two nearly legendary weapons of the past, one of which apparently had some latent power within it. At least it didn't seem as though this one would be taking a Senju Chakra Nuke to blow through, so it was more a matter of just how much longer it would take instead of if they could or couldn't. Seijo answered his mental question though with her plan, and gave him the new orders. Kill the backup coming in from the VTOL, grab the stuff once the second vault door was down, and get out. Basically what the mission plan was already, with a few extra bodies on top.

As he stepped up behind the two jounin, he was already thinking about the possible upcoming fight, and the possibilities that could arise. "Anzai, if I have to set up some mist to even the odds against these reinforcements, would that hinder you at all? I'll try to contain it to one section of the warehouse to avoid hindering Yudai and Lady Tametomo, but it would make me feel better to know that I'm providing an advantage to at least someone besides myself."

[Assistant]
Aroshima Sarutobi
The Red Sages - Secret Base.

The food came, Aro sat down and ate roughly half of the noodles in the bowl, he wasn't very hungry, after all. He drank two cups of water, before looking around, finding a cute girl on the other end of the room. He listened in on the plan with one ear, they were to steal the artifact of the Sage of the six paths - and a old Uchiha weapon that was only notable because it was worn by Sasuke Uchiha himself. From what was known about him in history The Uchiha Avenger was kind of a dickhead.

Then again, maybe that was his Uzumaki blood talking. After they had been informed regarding the plan, Aro patted Naomi on the shoulder, motioning that he was going for a smoke, when he headed towards the cute girl he had spotted earlier, seeing she too carried a pack of cigarettes. Introducing himself and bumming one from her, they struck up conversation while heading outside, Aro producing his zippo lighter.

THE NEXT DAY

A couple of hours before the mission would start, Aro left the apartment of the girl he had met the day before, fixing his tie around his neck, the scarlet piece of cloth meticulously tightened enough to look like he didn't care how it looked - of course this wasn't true. He headed towards the academy grounds, he was going to see his dad, he hadn't talked to him in a couple of days, he wanted to know how his mother was doing. But before he could get to the classrooms, he was stopped by three kids - Kai, Tako and Namasaru, the first two were twins from the Inuzuka clan, the last one from a civilian family. They were all three genin, whom had been lead by Aro on a couple of D and C rank missions, but were scoring extra points from assisting teachers in the academy.

Kai spoke up "Aro-sama!" He shouted, Aro looked over and smirked "Yo." a newly lit cigarette in his lip, Tako walked over to him and looked him up and down "Mind if I bum one from you?" Aro looked at him up and down and shook his head "Fuck off, Tako, in five years, maybe." Namasaru was busy training, he was teaching the academy students how to throw shuriken. Tako was used to being rejected whenever he asked for a light from Aro, so he just shrugged, Kai spoke up again. "So, you here to bring us for new mission? Tako's been chewing my ear off for another mission." Shaking his head, Aro sighed. "Nope, just here to see my dad, I'll talk to you guys later." walking past the three, whom returned to their business.

Heading towards the classrooms, he saw his dad was still in the middle of teaching the children about the concept of chakra, how it functioned and what it was used for, in theory, his father was a great shinobi, he knew everything there was to know about the arts, Aro always admired that. He stood in the doorway, leaning against it, and when his dad looked over at him he nodded his head. His father finished his segment and then said they would take a five minute recess.

"Hi, son." Sahashi spoke, leaning on his oak-wooden cane. Aro smiled "Hi dad." He could see that his father's look was bittersweet, he was troubled - then again, Sahashi was always troubled. "How's mom?" Aro asked, and his father nodded his head "She's mostly laying in bed, resting. Her status is unchanged." Aro nodded. "So the treatment's still not working?" his dad sighed with sorrow.

"No, it is not." Aro nodded, looking at the ground for a moment. "Since you're here, the clan head gave me an invite to the auction later today - to represent our clan, but I can't go, so you should go in my stead, Aroshima." Aro's eyes opened wide and he grinned. "You saying I get to buy cool stuff with clan funds?" He joked, his father stared him down, showing him that he did not appreciate his son's attempt at humor. Aro shrugged. "All right, so, my cleanest suit then, anything else?" His father nodded "Yeah, I was given a mask, I left it at home." Aro nodded. "Okay, thanks, dad." Sahashi nodded. "Now, get going, you need a shower, and I have to resume my class." With a grin, Aro was heading out.

He came onto the grounds again, running into the trio, whom gathered around him Namasaru spoke up, he was always a thoughtful one "Aroshima-sama, how is your mother?" He lacked social skills, but his heart was in the right place. Aro gave a brief smile "Her condition is about the same. Anyway, guys. I have a Mission for you."

***

Aro walked towards the entrance of the auction, wearing his best suit, going as far as to wear a proper waistband and his fine shirt. The purple mask with gold trim covering his face. He wasn't going to miss this party, that's for sure. He walked into the auction, the guard stopping him asking for identification - he flashed his Sarutobi invite and revealed his face for but a moment, as he was patted down, they found nothing on him. He headed inside the ballroom, where all of the socialites were, all of them were rich, most of them civilians, he recognized a few faces.

Tapping his mask, a centimeter-big object dropped down into his hand as he put it into his ear, masking it as him readjusting the mask. He tapped it and soon could hear the voice of Tako. "All right boss, we're guarding the perimeter." Aro smirked, grabbing a glass of champagne and walking around the room, picking up on conversations. Sure, the kids were genin, but they were good at doing what they were told - and they understood when they shouldn't ask questions.

[User]
Amegakure Outpost, Confederate Outpost

---

In hindsight, that chick really was a bitch Tatsuya grumbled to himself as he lifted up his emaciated wallet. That woman had taken him for everything he had, and if wasn't for the fact that he was in the military equivalent of a five star resort, he'd be pissed the hell off. As it was, he was content by the luxuries presented by this outpost, which was so ridiculously awesome that it made him wonder whether the Confederate spent money on anything besides their military. Seriously, how could afford this?

With a soft sigh, Tatsuya returned to the present, looking down at the floor of his room, which was covered in mounds of papers that held numerous seals on them, both complete and incomplete. After waking up and going through his daily routine, he'd decided to spend the day trying to wrk out some of the more advance seals he could use in his forging techniques, as well as trying to come up with a few of his own. However, this had all culminated in hitting brick wall as he found himself swamped by all of the formulas, equations, and overall information overload that came with this kind of stuff. Not to mention that he felt no inspiration to make anything, a condition he suffered from since creating Ketsui. He could still forge things, sure, but nothing truly exceptional had been formed by his hands for years now. It was almost like he used it all up in the process of making Ketsui, and while it was a fine blade, he needed to make more like it or better if he ever wanted to accomplish his dream.

After a few more minutes of studying and muttered whispered, a slow twitch began to play at his right brow, before he let out a shout and tossed a bunch of the papers into the air. Getting up from his seated position, he decided to work off some steam in one of those glass cages they had, maybe even fight someone while he did so. If no one was available, than he could always spar with Bishamon, who he had a great need to kill over and over again for the trouble he caused yesterday and his contribution in to Tatsuya's recent loss of wealth. Namely, he was going to shove Ketsui up the fucker's asshole repeatedly. While this may not accomplish anything, it was somewhat therapeutic for Tatsuya to kill his annoying clone, helping him to calm down a bit. That probably meant that there was something wrong with his head, of course, but he really couldn't care less at this moment.

Leaving his room in a huff with Ketsui strapped to his side, along with all of his other battle gear, he made his way to the training area, only to notice that a bit of a spectacle was going on. On closer inspection, he saw that the two Hyuuga who he'd unintentionally insulted were duking it out, with the girl being at a clear disadvantage. While he was as curious as the rest to see the battle, he was more focused on getting his own sparring time in. However, just as he turned away, an alarm suddenly started blaring, with a message calling out for the female Hyuuga to pick a squad and head out somewhere. This caused Tatsuya to freeze a little, before trying to subtly blend in with the crowd, something that didn't work very well when you're over 6ft tall with very noticeable red hair. While Tatsuya wasn't afraid of combat or anything, he didn't want to go on a mission with two people he just got into an altercation with the previous day, especially when one of them was Higoho. That just wasn't a very favorable situation for him.

If someone's up there, please give me a break at least this one time. Please. Tatsuya asked to whatever higher power their maybe, though he knew that it was in vain. His luck was, and always would be, absolutely terrible, almost as if the universe was conspiring against him.


[System]
Character Summary
Age: 4

Birthday: April 9

Race/Species:
Siberian Tiger

Gender:
Male

Birthplace:
Arceria, Kaeler

Jewel color:
Birthright: Purple Dusk
Offering: Blood Opal

Class/Caste:
Warlord

Languages:
Kindred

Occupation:
Kindred

---

---

Appearance

Height:

Weight: 294kg (around 648lbs)

Eye Color: Yellow

Fur Color: Orange with black stripes (Duh... it's a tiger )

---

---

Character Psychology

Sexuality:
Heterosexual
Relationship Status:
Single
Personality:
Largely protective around his own kin and particularly those he consider friends and allies. Naaji is not afraid of showing his fangs to defend himself, his food or his allies.

Habits:
* Marking the trees nearby with claw marks to keep intruders away.
* Hide any leftovers on trees, carrying the carcass up to one of its branches.

Hobbies:
* Stalking "humans" out of curiosity.
* Climbing on trees, and sleeping on it's branches.

Fears:
* Being caged
* Hayllians (Not only fear, but he came to really hate them as well)

Likes:
* Meat
* "Humans" (the ones who don't attack him)

Dislikes:
* Hayllians
* Eels. They taste terrible...

Skills

General Skills
* Tracking
* Climbing trees and even some rocks, depending on their size.

Combat skills
* Agility and flexibility: Once he is after his prey, running away from him is very difficult.
* Precise bites: Always aiming for the neck, the back of the head or other weak spots, every bite he gives is very dangerous.
* Hunter's patience: If his prey is too strong for Naaji to take down, he will give it a few bites to cripple it, and let it bleed away, or wait until its weak enough for him to go in for the kill.

Magic skills
* Wrath of the Wild: Temporarily heightens his physical capabilities. It is a very tiring skill, and the longer he keeps it active, the more hungry and tired he gets when it ends.
* Meld: Mild camouflage. Although it doesn't make him completely invisible, instead making him somewhat 'transparent'. As long as he moves very slowly, he is very difficult to see. If he stands still, its impossible to see him.

---

---

History

Background

Naaji was born on Arceria, Kaeler. Differently from some other tigers, it was raised relatively close to a blood village, so sometimes, a few "humans" went near his territory to hunt, gather herbs, or cutting down trees. Naaji always knew that if he attacked them, they would only come back hunting for him, otherwise, they rarely even tried to hunt him. After all, it would be much easier to simply hunt less dangerous animals. Due to that, Naaji grew curious about the weird humans. They sometimes came to the forest just to cut down trees and carrying them back... Such weird actions caught his interest, and so he started stalking them, out of pure curiosity, simply to watch them. Unfortunately, he didn't knew that some humans weren't that comfortable in being stalked... Even if he was simply following them, now growling nor attacking them... He would soon find out that humans were not to be trusted...

One day, a few strange humans, with a strange colored skin came to the forest. They weren't the ones that Naaji used to watch. They were carrying weird half circles that they used together with sharp sticks to hunt. This time though, they weren't trying to hunt the animals they always used to. Instead, they were seemingly searching for something else... A loud, angry and very familiar growl echoed through the forest... It was his mother's. Running as fast as he could, the young Naaji got there just in time to see an arrow hitting his mother right in the neck. With her last breath, he could only hear her faint growl, telling him to run away. The last thing he saw before running was the weird humans using their knives to rip his mother to shreds, taking her fur away.

As the time passed, and Naaji grew older, he soon learned to differentiate the normal humans from the so called 'poachers' with dark golden skin. He knew that those meant trouble. His fear soon transformed itself in hate for those humans.
He would never let that happen again. He wasn't a cub anymore, he was now an adult, and quite a fearsome one at that.

---

---

Additional Information

Other:

Theme Song:

[User]
Location - Hyall
On a long road from places unknown came a pale figure, appropriately cloaked due to the beating sun and dry air. He was used to the latter of these, but the former was making him sweat much more than he would like. Never again would he volunteer to come to this end of the world, someone else can take the walk from the city to here. He stopped for a moment and put a gloved hand up against the sun, shielding his eyes from the star's harsh rays, and ahead of him he saw a settlement of sorts. "...Good a place to stop as any..." he mumbled, confident that there was no one around to hear him. With a grasp of the canteen on his hip, the man set out for this town, glad to know he's been going in the right direction for the last few hours. The metal container rose to his lips and poured out some life-giving water into his mouth, which was quickly swallowed.

The rest of his walk later, Arsenio Graves began to regret leaving the Winds as early as he did. There was no threat here, this town was actually quite bustling, the dead opposite of what he expected from a town with no shade whatsoever. Based on the heat, he doubted this settlement even had a winter! It wasn't an issue though, he was where he needed to be. He started to look for the nearest inn, disregarding the hole that had formed in the street, or the tall woman chasing after something in the middle of it all, instead following the stride of a man in a blue coat with brown hair. Sure, it was from a distance, but he seemed to know what direction he was headed in. Hopefully it lead to a place to stay for a little while.

Thankfully, it did. Arsenio entered behind the man and booked himself a room, heading up to it soon after. He opened up the door and peered inside, pleasantly surprised to find that it was well-furnished for such a small village. A nice bed, a desk, a dresser even, a room fit for someone on important business. He set down his cloak and some of his traveling gear, keeping his sword and dagger on him as always before heading back down to the first floor. Once there, he sat at the bar and ordered himself a drink before sitting back and engaging in one of his favorite pass times: People watching.

[Assistant]
Aisha Najm

Location: Hyall

Hyall, a city of money, blood, power and secrets. Aisha had already heard about that city a lot of times, it was always held in such high regards by merchants and tourists. It was said that you could find absolutely anything there. Jewelry, clothes, weapons... If it existed, it was probable that somewhere in Hyall there was a merchant selling it. Aisha's last work was to escort a merchant, and what other destination a merchant would have other than Hyall? After finishing her job, she was left at the entrance of the city, with a nice amount of extra money. Since she never visited Hyall before, that was the perfect chance.

As she approached the entrance of city, Aisha couldn't help but be amazed. There were so many people on there, so many merchants... It wasn't anything like other small towns or villages she visited before. She thought it would take a while for her to get past all those people and enter the city, but in fact it wasn't. As she walked, people slowly got out of the way, staring curiously at her. It was unavoidable... Centaurs were a rare sight at cities, especially one as big as Hyall. Plus, the fact that she had such an exotic appearance, wearing a scarf covering her mouth to protect her from the dirt and sand on the road (which she quickly took it off after receiving the first few stares, because it could obviously be misunderstood by others) and the fact that she had a big glaive and a bow on her back.
It wasn't exactly pleasant, being the center of attentions like that, but she wouldn't deny that it was indeed very practical... She didn't need to stand on lines or anything...

"It is certainly... way bigger than I was imagining..." the young centauress said to herself as she walked through the town, looking around, amazed by the sheer amount of people. By that time, she was already getting kind of used to all the stares, but she couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. She really wasn't used on being the center of attentions. Was something wrong with her appearance?
Before proceeding, she stopped for a second, checking her overall appearance to see if there was anything wrong, weird or that it would draw even more attention and suspicion other than the fact that she was a centauress.

"Ok... Everything seems to be ok." she thought to herself, quickly passing her hands trough her hair, to be sure it wasn't messy, checking her hooves and tail.

But standing still right in the middle of the street wouldn't do any good now, would it?
She didn't knew a lot about the city, but she could easily see where the merchants were located just by hearing the people around her and following them. The noise from many different merchants displaying their products, and trying to sell was pretty easy to hear. From weapons to clothes and food, just like the rumors said, Hyall had it all... Everything you could think about, it was very probable that someone was selling it somewhere in that city.

Aisha hoped she could find some nice accessories for her. She could be a bit more careless with her money. After all, that merchant was quite generous with his reward. She never realized why, since it was a simple job, but she wouldn't deny his generosity. She could afford having some fun at Hyall. It was her first time there, she should enjoy herself. Taste some of the local food, browse the shops...

"If I'm lucky I'll be able to find some things for me." She thought to herself with a smile on her face, as she walked towards the shops.

Being such a big creature as a centaur, it was indeed a bit hard to walk without bumping on anyone, especially in a crowded place like that. Aisha's steps were graceful and elegant, but the sheer amount of people were too much for her to avoid bumping into them forever. Sooner or later, it was bound to happen, and it proved to be sooner than she had imagined. The victim in question was a man almost as tall as her, wearing a white and blue overcoat, with quite a daring half opened buttoned shirt under it. With long, slightly disheveled brown hair with a few white strands, giving him quite an... exotic appearance. He looked almost like one of those bards or traveling artists Aisha saw once on the road.

"I'm sorry... Are you ok? I didn't mean any harm. It's just that it's a bit hard to walk while avoiding bumping into other people in such a crowded place." Aisha said, trying to avoid any unnecessary confusion. She knew that due to her size, a bump could potentially hurt a bit more than it should.

[User]
Location-Forest; Kindred Area

Her paws slowly pressed into the forest floor while her athletic build body brushed against overgrown bushes. For a while Taiah felt like something was watching her every movement, which wouldn't have been a problem is this stalker was Theoden, then again the human would have called out Tai. A very strange nickname which was created since the animal's kin had adopted her. Then again humans were a very peculiar creatures to kindred anyways. Taiah's grey eyes shifted to the side, a soft growling rumbling within her chest.

The tiger shifted in her stance while staying in place for a few seconds. So far nothing seemed to be following her but the feeling of eyes still made her uncomfortable. Perhaps it was just her imagination. The girl slowly shifted from the sudden stance towards one of the nearby trees. She paced her paws against the plant's bark scratching away into as if to claim this whole area as her own. In a way she was attempting to take claim to the area but she was also waiting for her stalker to appear. That way they could have a nice long chat.

[Assistant]
Location: Forest, Kindred territory.

Naaji realized that there was another tiger on that forest a few days ago... First it was her smell, then some markings on the trees. It made him really curious. Naaji was alone for most of the time, so he got really interested in that new smell. At first, he was really wary of her. He didn't know how she would react, so he simply kept watching her from the shadows, being careful to not show himself. She had a really beautiful fur, and her grey eyes were different from every other tiger Naaji had ever seen.
He knew he was in her area, but still, he couldn't help but be very curious about her. He was alone for a long time, so it would be nice to have someone to talk...

But Naaji wasn't that dumb, he knew that she had already realized that there was someone else watching her, mainly because of her actions, by marking the trees & etc. Staying hidden wouldn't do any good, so after thinking for a bit, he decided to show himself.

Very slowly, he got out of the bush he was into, walking on her direction, letting out a friendly chuff. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't misunderstand his intentions and try to attack him. Very carefully, he would get near her, sniffing the ground near her to catch her scent.

Angel


[System]
~Maribel~

---

---
Age: Unknown, physically appears 14
Gender: Female
Race: Vampire
Class: Scout

Personality:
Despite Maribel childish exterior, it is most unwise to treat her as such. Mainly because calling her one will resort in a swift and biting retort. She indeed be several centuries old, but she certainly doesn't act her age. Thankfully, she only acts out of line to those who treat her as a child first and a vampire second.

Otherwise, Maribel is a kind soul that hopes for only the best towards her companions and the people around her. Yes, compassion is even spared to those who greatly annoy her, though she may have trouble expressing it. She tries not to hold a grudge over others, knowing that with long age comes further misfortune and so treats matters as lighthearted as she can.

Rumor has it though one can actually appease her by bringing her to sate her displeasure at an individual. Of course, none of these rumors have either been disproven or verified, since she's more often seen consuming small pints of blood than sugary treats.

Background:
Not much is really known about Maribel's history or origin. She can vouch for herself that she often forgets how exactly she was brought up into this world. Whether this is due to some misguided amnesia or if she is simply that old has yet to be seen, though it's doubtful the latter is the truth.

Even so, Maribel spends her days traveling the land on her own, stopping by several towns and helping out weary travelers who look like they're in need. Recently however, rumors have abounded about the return of certain dark lords and an undead army. Being notified as that "one vampire who doesn't go around eating everyone", she was summoned forth by the ruler of Sa'Renak. Thus, a new journey begins.

Powers:
Maribel possesses no special powers other than that given to her by her vampiric nature. Such abilities include heightened strength, speed, stamina, and senses compared to that of a human. Furthermore, she has a slight regenerative factor that is most effective in the cover of darkness. Other than that, she has no inherited merit of power.

Weapons:
Nothing but her razor sharp claws.

[User]
After a long and arduous journey, The Smiling Wind's caravan set up camp just outside the eastern gates of Alo'Quin. Three of the four travelers hovered around their modest cart, each giving the other much needed space after being cooped up in tight quarters. An hour after everyone had settled in, Iko, the dancing fox woman, returned from her hunt. She carried a bucket of blood in one hand, which belonged to the hare she grasped with the other.

"Well done!" Said Yania, the troupe's elvish singing actress. She set down her cup of mead and rolled over to greet her dear friend, staring excitedly at Iko's hunt. "That'll go well with the seasoned yams and gold taters we picked up at the Orchid Market."

Iko nodded. "It's not quite the parting feast I wanted to give Zahir, but the company is where it counts, eh?" She flashed her white fangs into a smile.

"Speaking of which, where is the lad?" A dwarf appeared from the other side of the cart. It was Ironshard, acoustic musician and special effects wizard. His long brown hair and beard were meticulously braided, no doubt the work of Iko and Yania.

Yania shrugged. "He wandered off with Chuvalo. Said he'd be back." Ironshard frowned, but not because of Zahir's disappearance.

"Either drink the Ruby Ale I brewed, or hand it over to someone who appreciates its craftsmanship! We're low on resources making this unexpected trip to Alo'Quin as is." Ironshard snarled, pointing at the cup Yania had been nursing for the past hour. Yania growled, engaging in what would be her 22nd argument with the dwarf for the day. Iko laughed as she trotted toward the campfire. Without warning, a powerful scent stopped her in her tracks. Iko stuck her nose in the air and gave two sniffs, then let the hare drop onto the grassy floor.

"What is it?" Ironshard said, startled at Iko's behavior. Yania looked over, showing concern as well. The fox looked back at them both with a devious smile that sent chills down their spines.

"Boar..."

***

Zahir Kadmizahri smiled at last nights farewell feast with The Smiling Wind, cherishing the look on their faces as he dragged in a succulent boar on the back of his white-coated llama. The meat was roasted with a tinge of honey and spiced seasoning, washed down with Ironshard's tasty Ruby Ale. After the meal settled warmly in their bellies, and the ale kept their spirits rambunctious, they performed one more time as a quartet, singing and dancing to their heart's content. Their audience? the woodland animals and insects of the night. They filled every bush and tree branch in site, watching with zipping curiosity at these peculiar characters.

His thoughts wandered off to the late hour, when Ironshard and Yania were off asleep and it was just him and the beautiful fox...

Zahir clutched the aqua blue scarf around his neck, drawing it close to smell Iko's haunted scent of lilac and sunflowers. In his trouser pockets is a folded letter from Iko, one he can only open if his ears came across "their favorite song." His ears had been searching for its melody ever since. Another letter was folded in the same trouser pocket, one he opened time and time again. It was the reason why he now gathered with this group of strangers inside a tavern called The Cup and Barrel. Years of aimless travel with The Smiling Wind now seemed like a distant memory. The perilous adventure detailed by the robed man awoke something deep within the Gnome, a feeling he welcomed with much fervor in his heart. The time for song and dance is over. Now, it is a time for song, dance, and grim adventure!

The gnome swayed to and fro between the giants that lumbered about his path, whistling a joyous tune.

"Well, quite the task set before us, eh?" Zahir said aloud to no one in particular. He placed the mugs onto the table and hopped onto the closest open seat. All of the attention seemed to be focused on Merlin, so Zahir slid one of the mugs he brought over to him, clanking everyone's cups with his own. "To new friends and new enemies...May the former be the only ones sharing this toast!"

[Assistant]
Once an acceptable number of warriors, rogues, and mages had assembled, and elder man Alexei had over looked, had risen up and gave his announcement. Alexei has turned his attention just slightly, still jugging instances of his mead as he listened. Just as Lokee had briefed him, the old man, in his rather powerful tone Alexei could respect, explained of this 'Vile Cult' as a clear and present threat that has already marauded its way into the South East of Sel'Renak. After explaining his part and supplying payment for this quest, the old man shifted the focus to Merlin, a man whom may have been but a few years younger than Alexei himself in order to fully seal his cooperation with the task at hand.

One by one, he watched his eventual party members introduced themselves, allowing Alexei to observe each one carefully, analyzing how they talked and behaved and how reliable they would in a fight. Some seemed impressive while others appeared more lacking but it was the coming battle that would truly prove their worth to him. The first to approach Merlin to agree to the quest was a young-appearing girl named Maribel who didn't seem to belong in a slug-fest but by the way she spoke however hinted towards something more behind the innocent looks. There was a degree of aged wisdom Alexei could pick up and questioned if her exterior appearance was validly true. He would find out later.

The next was a woman clad in glimmering and radiant armor, who stood high and pulled her own weight; a knight from the look of it. Almost reminded him of the near-gallant soldiers of Dissidia he'd occasionally bust heads against. While it was clear she had little tolerance for Maribel for some reason, the knight who'd later introduce herself as Valentine Sel'Lei - Gods, these names... - maintained her cool and professionalism before joining the table. Clearly capable; the fight will soon tell all.

The red haired woman from earlier finally revealed herself as Raijin, the Raging Lightning. Her behavior was respectably bravado, if not over confidence. But, if the fierce oriental figure was capable of wielding that large club with ease, Alexei was sure she was reliable enough in a fight. But what of her true potential? He could feel spiritual aura around Raijin but nothing he had felt before; it was foreign and...Godly? Time will tell and hopefully with a flashy display Raijin's title would entail.

Lan approached next but if first impressions meant anything, Alexei was not impressed with the boy's stature. Lan seemed shy, very shy, and his willingness was something that could eventually come in question. However, his robes and staff and the other belongings he carried gave Alexei the impression that the young man was a mage of sorts. While a factor that was most welcomed, the druid would have a lot to prove to Alexei before earning the warrior's respect.

Then came a Gnome who openly introduced himself, minus his name of course, but with a clear evident upbeat behavior, bringing several mugs of alcohol to the table. Admittedly, Alexei could not see anything of remarkable quality from the Gnome nor anything to bring to a fight. He did find a holstered knife on the happy character but it didn't appear that great of an advantage to be had in combat...Especially with for the Gnome's small size. Alexei's observations would have to continue more with this one.

Finally, Alexei gave a silent sigh and joined his party at the table, mead still in hand, further cursing Lokee for involving him in all of this. He found himself a seat and made himself some room, minding not to bump into anyone or anything with his equipment. Though he rather not have, he joined the un-introduced Gnome in with the toast.

"Merlin, yes? I am called Alexei..." it was normally customary to also give mention to his Clan, however he believed none of the individuals gathered at the table had never been to the cold Northern lands and probably would not understand of the culture or show interest of his Clan. Then again, he knew nothing of cultures each of his future companions originated from either. "...When do we depart?"

[User]
Merlin was quite surprised when he had been named the leader of this ragtag group almost by default. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts, wondering what was in store for the bunch he hadn't noticed how many people were now surrounding him, awaiting his first move. This was pressure, he thought, he hadn't known much of it before now however this was a whole new game. The first that seemed to approach him was Maribel, the young girl whose eyes spoke of centuries of pain and suffering. She scared the gods out of him, he couldn't explain it but she terrified him more than any quarry he had ever tracked. Then there was the gleaming bucket of armor that somewhere inside contained a holy elfish woman, this, is already quite the troupe. As the others came up and made themselves and their intentions known they received their purse and awaited Merlin's instructions.

The evil was growing in force in the south east and was not taking its time moving across the land. For an army of mostly dead and derelict soldiers they had a certain swiftness about them. The port city of Woodshore was under duress, they were right in the path of these invading armies. Merlin figured this would be a way to attempt to cut off the armies progress.

Merlin stood up to address the table of his companions; "Woodshore is in need of our help, if you aren't ready to leave tonight then be ready, time is most certainly not on our side." He paused to allow his allies to start amassing a list of poultices and other miscellaneous items they may need. "Meet me at the south gate at daybreak. We will leave toward the city of Feymere, from there we will make our way to Woodshore. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I will be ready to fight this great evil and am glad I have a strong group of fierce warriors and adventurers by my side. Say goodbye to any loved ones you have for this may be the last time you see them."

Merlin grabbed his mug of ale, stood up ad he downed the drink and made his way for the door, He needed to get some more caltrops and could use some fishing line as well.

[Assistant]
Maribel raised an eye, a little confused as to why this boy was scared of her. Had she done something wrong? She could easily smell Merlin's fear since it practically polluted the air with its wafting scent. Before she had a chance to inquire though, Merlin ordered for all of them to properly prepare themselves for the dawn to come.

Well that wouldn't be too hard. As a vampire, she didn't have loved ones to give farewells to and tools weren't really her standpoint in defense. She would have to stock on items of course for the good of the party, but staying any longer in this place did no good for her in the end.

"Whatever you say fearless leader," she said with a shrug, moving back to her elevated position in the high chair and waving her hand for another cup of drink. The bartender looked a little hesitant in giving her what she wanted but who could deny the beckon and call of a lady?

And so she drank more of her prim, red liquid, keeping an eye on all those around her. The holy elf woman would be a problem since her type were usually the kind to kill first and ask questions later. Everyone else was really just a slight nuisance to her and made too much noise. Except of course, the feminine looking boy and their fearless leader.


[System]
龍馬 民上

Age:

18

Gender:

Male

Arcana:

Judgement

Equipment:

Practice Bow with cheap Bamboo Arrows, several small snacks and drinks, a small first aid kit that can help with minor wounds like cuts and bruises.

Skills:

Archery - The only skill he has gotten any help with outside his family. He is one of the school's best archers, due to this it also makes it easy to carry his weapon around the school grounds and the surrounding area.

Cooking - Ryoma was taught how to cook at a young age due to necessity. But he's skilled at it, his cooking ranges from simple meals that kids won't object at to meals that can please even the most picky adults.

Cleaning - Ryoma is a bit of a neat freak, he is always keeping things clean, his locker, his room, his desk, his little siblings' rooms. If can be cleaned he will clean it.

Studying - With such a busy schedule at both home and school it's a miracle Ryoma is good at studying and is always on time with reports and school assignments, he is also a decent tutor as he taught his younger siblings a few times over the years.

Ikebana - Due to Ryoma's family' business he was taught how to arrange and decorate flowers and plants, you need steady hands and an eye for color and detail for this job which he does.

Appearance:

Ryoma is tall standing at 6'1", and he has decent muscles as he weighs about 178 Ibs. He has short brown hair that are pushed away from his face and is about eyebrow length. He has somewhat pale skin with a very subtle hint of a tan. He has intense brown eyes. He is often seen wearing sports shirts with flannel shirts on top of it, with sweatpants and sandals outside of school, which gives him a very casual and somewhat western style.

Personality:

Ryoma seems like a serious and stoic individual but in reality he is just very quiet and shy and is only ever open to friends and family, which can make him come off as standoffish and rude but in reality he's just nervous about being around others and often stutters when he has to speak. Ryoma suffers from anxiety as he feels like he always has unwanted attention due to his appearance and the rumors that surround him.

Due to his rather cautious and studious nature, he considers every word and actions of those around him and due to his anxiety he has a hard time trusting people he doesn't have preexisting relationships with. But beyond all that Ryoma is a very caring and supportive person, often at the cost of his own health and mental well-being.

Biography:

Ryoma was born as the oldest child of Ryotaro and Naomi Mikami. The Mikami family are well known in Shikatsu as a traditional Family, they dressed traditionally, they spoke traditionally, and lastly had very traditional jobs, Ryotaro was a flower arranger while Naomi works at a traditional boutique. Ryoma was an only child for almost a decade, he was a quiet yet carefree child, trying to help whenever he can. When his first little sister, Yomi, was born, he was nine years old, Ryoma grown attached to his little sister right away, often helping his parents take care of her, she was as quiet as he was when she grew older, but never shy. Then his little brother, Ryuuta, was born when Ryoma was eleven, he was a firecracker of a child, loud, booming, and excitable; Ryoma and his parents had their hands full with him. Then finally his last little sister, Ami, was born when he was thirteen, she was even worse then Ryuuta, she was tomboyish, tough, and energetic to the point of never being exhausted. Ryoma was pretty much a parental figure to his younger siblings as their parents still had to provide for them and have to spend most of their time working. While Ryoma loved his siblings and parents, he felt a little resentment of taking care of his little siblings as he was still a kid and soon to be teen himself. But he never spoke about and just accepted his role as a caretaker and being a background figure in his own life.

When Ryoma was in middle school he was a popular kid as he was easy to get along with and had good grades and was good at sports. But he never made any close friends, never any that he would consider a best friend at least. On his last year of middle school he lost his popularity not of out of anything bad, but just the fact he became busy with his personal life and had barely anytime to focus on clubs or friends. But he never became an outcast or bullied, he just kind of faded into the background.

When he enrolled into Uchima Senior High he was a total unknown. As most of his middle school classmates went to a different school and he stood out due to his height and sharp features. During his first year at Senior High he had a rumor spread about him, that he was a delinquent and would kill anybody that would get in his way. Due to this rumor he didn't make any friends until he joined the archery club. Where he made a few friends and a name for himself as one of the club's best archers. But he was still feared and avoided by any non-archery club member. While the rumors keep flowing in from year to year, Ryoma kept to himself and he has both decently high grades and the highest scores in the archery club. But Ryoma is worried about the rumors he hears that isn't about him, the rumors that students are vanishing, it worries Ryoma since he fears that the rumors are true and that he may vanish without a trace and that very few students at the school will even notice or may even be glad he's gone.

Persona
Name:

Anubis

Appearance:

Traits:
-Reflects:N/A
-Absorbs:N/A
-Void: Curse
-Resist: N/A
-Weak: Holy

Abilities/Skills:

Eiha - Light Curse damage to 1 foe

Patra - Heals an ally's Mental ailment

Baisudi - Heals an ally's physical ailments

Diarama - Moderately heals an Ally

Next Skill:
Maeiha - Light Curse Damage to all foes (Unlocks if Ryoma is in the team when the Icy Samurai is beaten)

Media - Heals all Allies slightly (Unlocks if Ryoma and the others escape from the ??? School without beating the Icy Samurai)

Invigorate 1 - Tiny amount of SP is restored per turn (Unlocks if Ryoma is the last one left in the ??? School)

Curse Boost - Increase Curse Damage by 25% (Unlocks if Ai gets killed)

Jin:

1st skill: Twin Shot - Deals light physical damage (2 hits)
2nd Skill: Garula - Deals medium Wind damage to one foe
3rd Skill: Tentarafoo - inflicts confusion to all foes
4th skill: Magarudyne - Deals heavy wind damage to all foes
5th: Triple Down - Deals light gun damage to all foes (3 hits)

---

Main Theme Song: Hard Times, By Paramore

Battle Theme Song: VS. Lusamine Remix, Kamex

[User]
Enju

The boy didn't look like the most social person there could be. He was stuttering and had a slight accent to his voice. It was amazing people would takr their time to learn japanese as well as common japanese people spoke. Enju formed a slight smirk on her face as she got a bit closer to him.

"Oh? I haven't heard an accent like that before. Europe? I'm sure it is from Europe. Looked good when I saw it on the internet, like the Big clock and the europian twin of the Tokyo tower."

Enju had gone a bit off track with her side notes but continued immediatly after.

"Yea I guess it must have been alright hehe. He didn't kidnap you or anything. Probably just bored or something."

Enju found the boy to be a tad stressed by Enju and Blair their presences. He didn't look like he had to hide anything. He was probably just taken off guard by the two japanese pretties.

"No, not really. Just felt like helping if the man was rude against you for your climbing. People these days are very open minded so I was a bit worried about you."

Hans made some lame excuse that he had to get back to his practice since time was running low. What a fun destroyer! Enju quickly stopped him from walking away taking a bit more of a nervous talk with the boy. She didn't want him to walk away yet.

"Oh um, wait I know! Blair told me she wanted to get some ice cream together with you. We can go with the three of us?"

[Assistant]
Sinatra, @Krayzikk, @Kafka Komedy

---

Hitomi impatiently bounced up and down moving the steering wheel to each side attempting to inch forward towards DRU-kun. "Mush Kazou!" knowing that she had multiple options for arriving. She could believe in the heart of the cards, rely on justice, or follow Daisuke. All incredibly viable and well thought out plans for reaching their destination.

Hitomi, growing more bored by the second began to yawn contemplating falling off the side of the bike in order to nap. It would hurt, but the sweet release of sleep would be oh-so worth it. She supposed it wouldn't hurt that much.

Probably anyway.

"H'yah!" She cried out wipping her hands back onto the bike as if she was tightening the reins of a horse. She kind of heard Kimiko speaking with Kazou. But it was kinda silent.

She just wanted to go.

"Sooooooo boreeeeeeed."

Hitomi groaned. She thought about bringing down the bike with Kazou in tow, but his stupid long legs wouldn't let that happen.

She thought she heard the name Drake, but Kimiko was quick to correct. His name was DRU. DRU was a great name. But she thought on it, didn't Kimiko have a friend named Drake? He sings...?

Probably.

He sounds nice.

[User] Hans raised an eyebrow in confusion he really didn't get what this woman was up to but he figured it couldn't be all good. He was taught to always give someone a chance first but could he really trust this girl? "Norway. Scandinavia. North of Germany, and Denmark. That's where I'm from." Hans managed to get out he wasn't too thrilled at having to use Japanese so casually but he agreed to go here so he knew the risks. How would he exactly go about refusing to get dragged along with this weirdo girl, and her friend. "I suppose I...appreciate the help? Sorry my japanese isn't great. I learned it from shows...and trial and error. But why do you want me?" Hans questioned the young woman as he fidgeted in place slightly. He tried to think over himself...could it be his looks? He wasn't particularly good looking...his muscles? Maybe but he wasn't exactly a body builder? Just by being a foreigner? He suppose that could be it. "If you really want me to I will...but this is out of the blue miss." Hans tried to say casually but he was having issues with the pronunciation his words. "Oh yeah...I am...H-I mean Olsen Hans."

[Assistant]
Other Class Room Building

Ryoma watched, no, Judged the strange mockery of a samurai. It pulled at the bow string slowly, in a mocking manner, as if bemused by his miracle. Ryoma glared at the table monsters as well, he knew he could kill each of them with a single blow, but the samurai is a problem, Ryoma knew he couldn't kill it one shot like the tables, even if he got off a direct hit. And they both knew it.

Suddenly, Ryoma was dragged by the great force of the samurai's arrow, and he found himself hanging off a wall by the ruff of his shirt, it was a mocking gesture, the thing could've killed him right there and then but it didn't. Ryoma let out a pained gasp as his body slammed against the wall and his insides rang out with pain again, causing him to let out a bloody cough. Ryoma glared at it with pained eyes but still determined expression.

It wants a game. It wants to show its power, and kill them like a cat with a mouse. Ryoma didn't have the time to waste on playing with this monster. Ryoma gathered his thoughts and replaced an arrow from his quiver and chipped away at the arrow as quickly as he could. Five solid strikes should break the ice.

Ryoma fell to the ground with a thud as he landed on his hands and knees. After catching his breath, Ryoma looked up and glared at the monsters with such intensity that was only seen with archery targets previously. Ryoma stood up, ignoring the pain coming from his gut and then looked at Ai, his expression soften at her, before he let out a breath and he unlocked the visual from within his mind's eye, the number XX. Then he shattered the thought.

"Anubis, give us strength! Diarama!" Ryoma yelled out as he lifted his arm forward towards Ai. Anubis appeared over Ryoma in a blue glow and lifted his arm up gently and a glowing light envelops Ai. The light would feel warm and comforting like the sun in a warm spring day, pain and injury are eased and healed extraordinarily. Ryoma with the help of Anubis had the power of life and healing, while also causing death with Curses.

Ryoma will not squander this gift.


[System]
Gender: Male
Character: Cirno

Personality: Cirka knows he's the strongest. He's confident to the point of cockiness and narcissism. This can get him into trouble, especially with his naivety and lack of common sense. He's not dumb per say, just a little foolish. He's tactless and honest to a fault, and hates lying or owing things to people. He's kinda self-centered, and can hurt people without realizing. Not that he doesn't care, he's just looking inward, not out.

Powers:
* Danmaku: Cirka has the ability to generate energy bullets. Though they are weak, and don't travel very fast, they are ridiculously easy to make. Most of the time Cirka just spams the shit outta them, since he's able to make about a hundred at a time.
* Cold Manipulation: Being the ice fairy, Cirka is able to reduce the kinetic energy in atoms. This generally manifests as ice generation, though if he's feeling particularly vicious, he can freeze an enemy to death from the inside. This also means he is weak to heat, and immune to cold, and it's kinda chilly around him. Bring a coat. The range is about 6m
* The Strongest: Being The Strongest fairy, Cirka has super strength- about the top of human physical perfection. Also, one doesn't get hit with Danmaku all day and not develop a resistance, so Cirka gets a slight bonus resistance towards energy based projectiles, such as plasma or laser.
* Flight: Like all 2hu's, Cirka can fly.
* Fairy Physiology: Most fairies are weaker than humans. Even the strongest fairy is only about 4'5" and is only 3/4 as durable as your average human. Luckily, they have Accelerated Healing, so it kinda balances out.

Equipment:
* Popslice: A wooden broadsword that says "よたい" on it. It is unbreakable, even though it's made of wood.

Other:
Don't worry, he's not all pixel-y like that.

He doesn't have the other swords. Not yet, at least.

[User]
| ??? |

" Online. " I was now conscious, my mind instantly turn on as if it were a computer. Movement returned to my body, the sizzling feeling active on my muscles. It felt awkward as I tried to move my hands, not being able to see was...har- Oh. Slowly opening my eyelids I could hear my breaths and could see borders, my hand's quickly touched a...helmet? There was a leathery feeling on my hands, the transparency of the glass that was on the helmet was good enough to see what was outside. Soon the sizzling feeling faded away and I could tell that my body was floating in mid-air. I didn't even know if I was in the air and I was too cautious to take off my helmet. I padded myself, to make sure that I was in reality...' Wish this helmet was off of me... ' I said in my mind and soon after a few seconds the helmet disappeared, hair and air releasing from the enclosed space. I hyperventilated for a few seconds until I recognize that I was breathing perfectly.

I blinked, baffled at what I was seeing. " Code 98., " the voice said again, it's dull and monotoned voice was definitely familiar, a hologram appeared in front of me. I didn't know why I considered it a 'hologram' it seemed like an instinct or somewhat. The holograms wrote down multiple codes...soon enough the holograms disappeared, I was left, once again confused. After a few minutes of confusion, my eyes suddenly created outlines. The one backing away I 'fell' onto a platform. Looking down I considered it to be another hologram except it was solid, the hologram had code noticeably running through it. I stood up, looking back at the outline, the outline had wings and seemed to have the shape of a humanoid. As I stepped forward I imagined myself falling but instead the hologram followed, walking a few steps closer to the outline the hologram wasn't infinite and only expanded when I went a certain distance.

" Target seems, passive. " The monotoned voice said, I couldn't help agree with the unknown being that was speaking to me. As I got closer the outline became larger and I soon saw a blue haired boy with icicle-looking wings. Once again baffled the voice instructed me to only stay a few feet behind, " Weapons are not found, the humanoid figure...is powered. " I didn't know what the voice meant though I imagined that the figure had some sort of magical powers. As I walked around the fae-like being the outlines increased as there were about 3 or 4 beings that interacted with the fae. " Passive, stay a safe distance. " The voice told me once again, ' Alrighty ' I replied to the voice within my head.

[Assistant]
The first thing Dan noticed when he opened his eyes, other than the white and blue void was that some guy with wings and wielding a giant Popsicle stick like a sword charging at him. His first idea was for some reason to stab him to death and take the "sword'as a trophy, immediately afterwards he remembered that taking trophies was stupid. Long story short he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

While Dan was ignoring the urge to stab the fairy, someone in red pajamas or something fired a jet of water in the direction of the Popsicleblade user. Since he was not sure if that would help he tried to put his hands in front of his face to protect it. It was at this point he realized several things, namely he had only one hand, it seemed to be covered by something black and shiny and he was wearing a ring he recognized from Homestuck. These facts combined with the urge to stab someone and claim a trophy lead him to a bizarre conclusion.

"I have become a Jack Noir!?!?" Now he had to figure out which version he was, the fact that he had the ring at least limited it to the pre-scratch version but there were still three forms left even in that case. Okay actually two since the first one wouldn't have the ring. Anyway this wasn't the time to figure that out, if the waterblast didn't stop the fairy he might have to fight.

Hoping he was right so far, he reached for his chest where he should have a sword. and indeed the sword was lodged in there. "Okay, I really hope the theory about the sword is true." He pulled the black blade out of his abdomen without encountering any resistance."So far so good, that part was painless at least. "

[User]
Well, all things considered things could be worse. Things could always be worse. Say, he could be being chased by a dinosaur or have lost his pants or something. Well, considering he was pretty sure he was currently wearing a skirt, maybe it was pretty bad. Ah well...at least he could watch these other idiots fight for entertainment until he woke up from this weird dream of his. At least this would probably be over soon. He read somewhere that dreams only lasted a few minutes, actually no matter how long they seemed.

Still, something about this felt...off. Like, this was an incredibly life-like dream or something. He sat up with a small annoyed huff, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his knees while he tried to think of everything that had recently happened. Maybe this was just a weird dream given to him by those nachos he had eaten a few hours ago. After he ate those nachos, what did he do anyways?...he vaguely remembered something about the computer and a game. The memory was fuzzy at best, but he had never had a good memory to begin with. What was a little...weird was the fact that he clearly remembered Gaige from Borderlands 2 being in that game or something.

And that, is when it hit him. The mechanical arm, skirt, stockings, jacket and...uh...other assets. He looked like Gaige. Just to confirm it one more time, he reached up, pulling a strand of hear off of his head. It was red, confirming his suspicions. Just...just what in the hell was happening? On the off chance this was real, then that meant he had turned into Gaige. Which meant...these...boobs were real and that he had just pretty much turned into a girl.

...but that couldn't be, right? Really, people just didn't turn into video game characters. But if he had...then that meant Deathtrap should also be here somewhere, right? Or rather, he could summon him using his left arm. Now...how exactly was he supposed to do that? It would be a nice little test to see if he just looked like her, or also had her abilities. In the game, she made a motion with her arm to summon DT. Something...like this?

He moved his mechanical arm in the same way Gaige always did in the games. It couldn't be that simple, could it? Surprisingly enough, it was. As soon as he finished the motion, digital blue blocks appeared, quickly forming the robot. It made a mechanical sounding noise as he was summoned. The large robot hovered in place, its single eye studying the area around it emotionless, as he tried to actually wrap his head around what he had just done.

O.M.G. It was Deathtrap. Like, literally the Deathtrap from Borderlands 2. A girlish squeal escaped his lips as he went into fanboy mode. Or...fangirl mode? He wasn't entirely sure, at this point but screw that. He could summon Deathtrap. He tentatively touched it with his right hand. Yep, it was the real thing. Or at least it felt real enough for him to accept it as real. Did that mean...the others were real as well, then? He recognized link and Kirby. Maybe they were people who got caught up in this too - though they seemed like...well, most of them got to keep their bodies. Unlike him.

Well, whatever. Deathtrap. Now...what about everything else? If he was the character from Borderlands, he would need a gun. An Hyperion SMG or Pistol, specifically. Since Deathtrap looked like it had quite a few points into the Anarchy tree, he would need the accuracy stabilizers on those guns...Well, whatever. He'd figure it out later. For now, Deathtrap. How did he command this guy? Just...a verbal order or something?

Eh, whatevs. For now he would continue to sit and have DT make sure these guys didn't try anything on him-er, her?...Them? He she?...Ah whatever. Not like he would particularly care in the long run. He could just not tell these guys he was a guy at all, if it came up. Probably would be easier anyways. Eh...whatever, it seemed the fight was escalating a bit. Some wizard looking guy in a robe fired a blast of water at the fairy guy. The black guy then pulled a sword out of his chest?...ouch. What the heck, dude?

"Man..where's some popcorn when you need it. Or nachos. I could go for some nachos." She sighed. Might as well get used to using She. Probably what these guys were gonna call him anyways. Maybe she should go see Link or something. Out of everyone gathered here, he and Kirby were the only ones she recognized. Though, the fairy guy looked suspiciously liked Cirno, but she wasn't sure since she was never a big fan of those games.

[Assistant]
As the fairy boy threw himself at the enemy, he heard water flowing towards him. He flicked his head towards the commotion to see a wizard that looked suspiciously like that one guy from that one game gesturing with a staff and firing water at him. Cirka grinned devilishly as he froze the water coming at him. But it didn't stop. In fact he had now made the situation much worse. He was slammed with a big chunk of ice and flew back, dropping his sword on the way. Though he was immune to cold, he wasn't immune to mass. "Note to self. Freezing things doesn't stop them." He mumbled as he got up. He looked down his shirt to see that he had a sizable light bruise on his chest. But Cirka wasn't one to give up that easy.

The ice fairy generated tons of danmaku and threw them at the wizard in a spread pattern. Though they weren't exactly moving fast, Cirka was sure it would be enough to make him at least move or something. All he needed was an opportunity. While the wizard was preoccupied with the bullets, Cirka again charged head first at the sword wielding carapacian. To make up for his lack of a blade, Cirka covered his right fist in a block of ice. Though he was unsure if it would block Jack's blade, once he was close enough, he could try to freeze Jack himself. "Freeze Sign, -C
o
 Fist!" The young man yelled while he flew to meet his opponent.