[System]
Appearance: Jan stands at 1.65 meters tall. He has fair skin, dark-blonde hair styled shortly and combed to the side. He has little standards concerning the clothes he wears, usually wearing whatever he managed to get on the cheap from a clothes vendor. The only criterium to him is that something needs to be functional. It doesn't need to be pretty or graceful, it just needs to work.
Age: 27
Personality: A rash and hasty man by nature. Jan is a spirited and loud individual with a somewhat cruel streak to his actions. He doesn't particularly mind if other people are served by his actions, but is ultimately only in it for himself. He has a somewhat unnerving eagerness for the adrenaline of battle, but he places great value on loyalty, even if it is for the slightly pragmatic reason that a long-time partner is the best partner.
Tactical Preference/Skills: Jan has great proficiency at gauging a situation for oppurtunities. Naturally, this means he is also quite good at exploiting usch oppurtunities. He is a crack at shooting while moving at high speeds, and it is hard to find something treathening enough to flinch him enough to break his stride.
Neural Plug Synchronization: 80%
Other things of Note: No! only lasagna!
Text Color: quotation marks will serve just fine, thank you very much.

And the NC sheet:
Code-Name:Goldenspur

Appearance: Slightly larger then most at 17 meters tall, the Goldenspur has somewhat thin skin for its' size everywhere but the front, and has oddly built knees. It has a standard, sand-like camouflage paint scheme, and due to modifications made by its' pilot, its' thrusters uniquely burn a golden yellow. In addition, its' uniquely enlarged shoulder mounts resemble the skeletal portions of a birds' arms, and weapons installed in these mounts will look like wings when not in use.

Body-Plan: The design is based from a basic humanoid frame. The legs have folding joints that allow the mech to transform from a more aerially maneuverable upright stance to a surfaced, speed-focused tank-like mode.

Equipment: The Goldenspur has a full array of standard ECM measures, including radar jammers and heat-concealing paint. Armor is noticeably thicker at the front of the machine. In addition, the Goldenspur is equipped with chaff launchers and smoke-screens to assist in dissapearing in the thick of combat. With assistance from Volkov, the smoke and chaff are also capable of reducing the effectiveness of laser weapons. Of course, raw kinetics are still an issue.

Armaments: The Goldenspur's primary weapon is a large-scale heatray that requires it to be two-handed by its' manipulator arms. While it can vaporize medium NC's in short order, it requires it to be in close combat, and while firing, it's an energy hog, reducing the Goldenspur's ability to maneuver with its' thrusters. For lesser targets, it has two medium-scale gatling cannons in its' enlarged shoulder mounts, when not in use, they point upwards, resembling the wings of an ancient 'Hussar'. The gatling guns can only swivel towards forward targets, but can disable tanks and most non-NC targets in a short period of time, and can sting an NC until it's down easily enough. Of course, due to their ROF, they are severely innacurate at higher ranges.

[User]
Jan Van Gent and Stein could hear a faint 'tap tap tap' in their ears. Alex, the driver-lady from before, soon began speaking"Hey, this thing on? This is the... uhm... Freighter One, crewed by Bill and Alex. Little Dragon, Goldenspur, prepare for transport.".

The elevator-pads each NC was on began their startup sequence, allowing 30 seconds for the engineers to stop what they were doing and get off. The elevators began their movement, slowly rising as their respective doors in the ceiling opened. The NC's were now top-side, and a particularly large and long helicopter was hovering over-head. It was effectively two spines connecting a front and back end together, and each 'spine' had three mounting hooks, and enough space to comfortably fit your average NC. The front end had a large, angular canopy, while the backside featured fins and two small jet engines for lateral movement.

The sides of each 'pod' had landing gears, and various pieces of equipment, including cameras and chaff launchers, among others. Bill had to ruin it. "Damn, I'm still geeking about piloting this thing. 'Mirin hard. I'm not gay, but if I had to fuck a manly vehicle.."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Are you serious? Eaurgh... that's one of the few things I don't miss from those 'glory' days."

Two magnetic hooks lowered themselves from the chopper, attaching to the backs of the NC's, and reeling them in. When they were fully retraced, additional clamps connected themselves to the NC's, to make sure they didn't jostle around during flight.

"Strap on to your butts, I'm still getting used to handling this thing."

Quickly, the massive helicopter went full-throttle, moving through the air with surprising speed and elegance for something so brutish and bulky looking. Minutes of travel turned to hours, as Bill and Alex talked to each other about the stupidest things during transit. "No, that's not possible. How could snakes even take down a moose?"

"I don't fucking know, I'm not a snake. Maybe they have snake-spears? Or snake-guns? They kill moose with snake-guns and turn their moose-hides into snake-clothes. It's the only solution I have, man!"

"Or, Gee, maybe the meese-... moose just migrated?"

"You're no fun."

Before they knew it, they were flying over the water with land on the horizon. A few hours have passed.

"Combat's approaching, if you have any anguished declarations of love, I'd say em now."

[Assistant]
Joe stood before the door leading into the command center, it was open. Accessed from the same 'hub' as the briefing room, but the next door counterclockwise, the CIC was just like any other room in the underground facility. Surprisingly spacious, well-lit, and with mostly clean air. Sophia looked behind her, she was standing in the middle of the room, flanked on each side by occupied desks. The computers on each were dedicated to one NC, and the info being sent from it. Only two were being fully used, with the other three being used for analyzing more detailed information from their transport helicopter.

"Joe.", Sophia plainly noted.

"Hello. Am I too early?", Joe incquired.

"Naah. They're nearly at the combat area. The last few hours have been boring as hell, huh?"

"Indeed they have been. Simulations aren't my thing. Is there any unoccupied computer available here?"

"...Well, technically. But no, not for you. I'm a bitch, but it'd be rude if I told one of these jockeys here to get up just for your highness."

"True, which is why I asked if there is an unoccupied one, but there seems to be none. Do we have any new data on the enemy?"

"Not really, no.".She watched one of her little 'minions' screen, noting that they were due for an 'operation start'

"Ok then, I have no more questions or other remarks right now." Joe looked at a few images of the railgun, attempting to determine its capabilities. The large, deceptively simple railgun was a beast. The only two uses it'd actually be efficient for Joe could think of was for either anti-orbital work, or for laying waste to entire military bases in single, powerful shots. The modificaions made by Red-Star were hard to notice, making it difficult to discern their nature.
It was very hard or maybe impossible to discern the exact capabilities from the images, however, it was definetly possible to discern the maximum possible speed and size of one of its shots, scaled by the size of the railgun. It wouldn't represent an actual shot, but the maximum possible without destroying the railgun with the shot. By his estimations, this thing had enough power in each shell to be a smaller-scale 'weapon of mass destruction', easily enough to kill an NC with a single shell, and blow one hell of a noticeable crater into the roof of a Burrow, easily enough to collapse several blocks, if not more. Its' range was theoretically worldwide, as well.

Sophia activated her earpiece. "This is the Captain. Initiate undocking, mission is a go. Little Dragon, counterclockwise. Goldenspur, Clockwise..

Alex had her orders, "Roger, Captain. Good luck, you two.". The helicopter disengaged its' hooks and grabbers, making the two NC's fall gently to the ground, thanks to their thrusters. The Little Dragon and the Goldenspur, while they fell, each had two radio requests. Before even looking at the senders, it was obvious they were from the two enemy NC's.

[User]
Red-Oni and Fubuki made themselves known on sensors as well, activating thrusters and going into 'combat mode', four MP-NC's guarding the dig's perimeter stood their ground. Red-Oni waited patiently to speak to this newcomer, first. He may be devious, but he has 'honor'. That's what he told himself, at any rate.

When the NCs disconnected, Jan had a brief moment of confusion, had he fallen asleep during the trip? He wasn't quite sure, but there were more pressing matters, such as the actual mission. He quite quickly noticed the open radio wavelength, great, it seemed he would have to endure some madman's japping again. He opened both channels but didn't say anything, He always liked to pretend he was listening. Gave his enemies one more thing to lose focus about.

Red-Oni blurted out nonsense almost immediately on the comms when it was obvious Jan was listening. On the horizon was the NC itself, and for some strange reason, Jan felt like the Red-Oni was locking eyes with his own NC's visage. "WHAT FINE SHEEP YOU ARE, The BOTH of you! Coming straight to this wolf's den for SLAAAUGHTER!".

Well, that was subtle.

"Yeah! What he said!", Fubuki sarcastically backed her friend up.

Jan sighed. "Great, another set of nutcases" he whispered to himself. Those tended to be dangerously unpredictable. He didn't dwell on the thought too long, standing still was an invitation to get wrecked.

"I… RED-ONI, one-half of the scourge of the east, shall defeat you! I hope you're ready, for I'm about to crank up the heat! Don't sweat it, you'll be slag in no-time! I'm very good at striking while the iron's hot!". Seems like he certainly wasn't taking this seriously.

Jan thought back to the mission briefing. Oni was acting particularly obnoxious, even for the typical nutcase… Hadn't Sophia mentioned his specialty was something to do with false-flags… And then he realized he had been fixated on what was standing right in front of him and had forgotten about his back. "Heh… making noise so your friend can leisurely snipe my back while I'm distracted?" He finally responded.

"I, Red-Oni, am above petty tricks such as that! Now, face the might of my… NAAAAPAAAALM!". The red-oni was in combat range, and Jan could make out its' specific armaments. A two-handed napalm-thrower, a back-mounted incendiary rocket launcher, and another back-mounted grenade cannon. It seemed he had a sword, likely a plasma blade or some other heat-based melee weapon, on his NC's hip.

Jan soon detected another sig, higher in the sky. Fubuki was 'close' behind her ally. Almost immediately, a high-velocity sniper shell descended from the sky and hit the Goldenspur right in the left knee, making it lose some stability.

Fubuki could be heard whispering, "...see a shot, damn well take it..."

"You act like I wouldn't." Jan retorted… And here he was, getting carried away just like they wanted. Well, it was time to get right up in their grill… and in the current situation, it seemed best to focus on Fubuki. With a whine, Goldenspur's thrusters revved up, and with a whir, the autocannons showered the skirmisher with hot lead.

Fubuki's light frame tried to dodge out of the way, but a good majority of the bullets still hit, shredding many of her outer layers of armor near instantly. She quick-boosted backwards in the air, losing height and moving closer to her compatriot. "Th-that hurts! You can't just shoot girls...". Red-Oni moved in closer himself, using his four spider-like legs instead of his boosters to conserve energy for something else, apparently. In the mean-time, he fired two incendiary dumbfire rockets, paying no heed that they may hit Fubuki. One flew straight past the two mingling in the atmosphere, while the second impacted the Goldenspur, but deflected, spraying its' gaseous fuel in the air before igniting it, making a short-lived yet intense fireball.

"Bloody hell the nutcase bit ain't an act!" Jan shouted to no one in particular.

"I'm not insane!", Red-Oni 'reassured', "I'M MERELY ALIGHT WITH THE PASSION FOR BATTLE!"

Jan didn't need any more reassurance than that. "Listen up princess, nothing personal, but you're going between a rock and a hard place.".

"Look who's talking!", she responded, immediately disengaging thrusters as another three rockets were fired by Red, aimed dead-on for the Goldenspur. The reverse-jointed NC began plummeting towards the earth quite quickly, before resuming control straight after impact.

Disengaged thrusters… that meant heat seeking missiles. Goldenspur rolled around and disengaged autoguns, diverting power to the engines. He blasted off with missiles hot on his tail… Adrenaline shot through Jan, The repetitive beeping warning him of the missiles, Red-oni's ranting and taunting.. It all became nothing more than background noise. Experience and muscle memory took the wheel, backseating his mind. Jink to the side, pitch downwards to the ground. Roll around all the way to keep the missiles from getting a straight path. Disengage thrusters at just the right moment. Reorient back to his target. And finally blast the thrusters full-force just before hitting the ground. Jan vaguely heard the sound of missiles uselessly burning the ground, but he was already moving to re-engage Fubuki.

Red-Oni was snapped 'out of character', muttering a 'holy fuck'. Fubuki went silent as well, apparently equally as worried. She put her heavy sniper-rifle on her NC's back, and took out an SMG and a shotgun from her NC's hips. The duo then mutually began taking this a bit more sincerely.


[System]
Age: 25
Appearance:
Gender: Male

Personality: A rather lonely, hardheaded fellow. He keeps to himself and his pack mostly, but he is fiercly loyal to them and the people he care about. He knows he should probably keep away from trouble but he can't stand to see injustice and not act.

Background: He never knew his parents. He has always lived in the backstreets of New York with one pack or another. When he was a teenager he was kicked out of his pack because the alpha saw him as a threat. They were a bad bunch and Gabriel constantly tried to change their ways which is the reason the alpha chased him away.

Eventually, he made his own pack with somewhat like-minded individuals. Recently however they've been attacked by a few rival gangs and have lost some territory.

[User] Gabriel wasn't expecting this reveal so soon after he had confessed to Vanessa, but as soon as they returned to the apartment Vanessa had told the others straight away. He stuttered as he looked at his friends. "W-well, I, uh... It's, I..." he began, which made Conrad and Jaze (possibly Robyn) laugh so hard they almost fell off the couch. Thomas was mostly just shocked with his jaw hanging. They had never seen Gabriel speechless before, so this was a priceless moment. "That takes the cake!" exclaimed Conrad, who had to lean on Jaze not to die of laughter. Jaze himself was chuckling. Gabriel felt incredibly embarassed, but felt like he had to retake control of the situation. "First of all, Robyn!" Gabriel said, speaking with authority, "Don't call me boss, alright? I may be your 'leader' but I'm not your boss. And secondly you just had to make that joke didn't you?" He stared her down with a stern gaze, but his flushed face made it hard to take him seriously so Robyn mostly tried to fight off a grin. "Third, yes I have grown quite... Attached..." he said, unsure what words to use and looked at Vanessa "To her. It's... Normal. Right? She did save me from the up-town pack's goons. Sorta."

[Assistant]
''I am sorry Gabriel.. We just never had thought to see you so speechless or with a women'' Robyn said, she still tried to fight her grin but without much success. ''Okay guys, now its good'' Vanessa said, she sensed that Gabriel didn't feel great and she didn't want his friends to laugh at him like he was some idiot. ''It's 5 am already... Did you guys wanna sleep a few more hours or shall we start packing?'' she asked. ''Sleep! At least you, since you are the one driving us'' Robyn said. Vanessa nodded. ''True, that might be a good idea'' she said and looked at the others.

''We can start packing or first try to sleep some'' Conrad said. ''Well, that is up to you guys'' Vanessa said and looked at Gabriel. Vanessa then got out her phone and texted her uncle for the van and said that she is going back to her own house. She knew this would be a surprise for her aunt and uncle but she also knew that they would love to have her back in her own house, they never had liked the idea of their niece living in the backstreets. ''Okay, the van will most likely be here at 11 am or 11:30'' she said. ''I will have a few last things to get done before we head to the forests.. So I would really like it if you guys could pack this house empty.. Leave the furniture though.. We have better stuff in the house'' she said. She gave Gabriel a soft kiss on his cheek and then walked to her bedroom, leaving them in the living room with the choice to do what they want.

[User]
"It's okay I'm not really mad." Gabriel responded to Robyn's apology. He pretended he didn't notice her struggle with hiding the grin.
"Anyway c'mon and let's pack down all the stuff yeah? Yeah?" Thomas said, attempting a terrible pun that hopefully Vanessa wouldn't get. The others just facepalmed. "That wasn't funny, kid." Conrad said, patting Thomas on the head gently. "Let's pack, gang." Said Gabriel "We can sleep when we get there."
When Vanessa gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, Gabriel smiled but didn't say anything. He just looked at her until she disappeared into the bedroom.
Packing was quite fast, although it took a while for them to realize what to pack and where to put everything. They found plastic and paper bags and stuff though, so it was fine.

Long story short, they finished packing through the morning, and when they were done they were all yawning. Gabriel kept glancing at the bedroom door, wondering when Vanessa would wake up but also wondering when he could finally look at her again, now that he had realized she was quite pretty. He snickered to himself at the thought. "Alright guys... Let's hope Vanessa wakes up soon so we can sleep, heh." he said, sitting down on a chair with a sigh.

[Assistant]
Vanessa woke up at 8 am, with only three hours of sleep she felt like she had a really heavy body. She stayed in bed for another thirty minutes and then heard Gabriel say that he hoped she would wake up soon. She got up and dressed up. Today she wore a slightly teared down jeans, with a top with a huge rose covering the front. Her hair bound in a ponytail, she put on her sneakers and walked into the living room.

''I thought that I had said that you could still sleep too'' she said and shook her head. ''Robyn, take that spare bed'' she said. When Robyn wanted to refuse she got a pretty scary stare from Vanessa. ''Okay, I am going'' she said and went to the bedroom. Vanessa followed Robyn, helped her with the bed and then grabbed a few extra blankets. She threw one at Gabriel and then one over Thomas who already had fallen asleep on the couch. ''Conrad.. Jaze.. One of you can take my bed, unless Gabriel wants to sleep there. Robyn sleeps on the bed next to mine'' she said. Jaze ran for her bed and jumped on it. Vanessa shook her head laughing and then gave Conrad the last blanket. ''We have another chair, take some sleep.. I have to get to my shop to give the keys to Amanda'' she said.

[User]
After everyone had taken their places, Gabriel smiled at Vanessa. It was funny how she already had managed to gain some sort of authority among the pack. The 'Streetfangs' they called themselves, but right now they weren't really on the street.
Gabriel covered himself with the blanket he was given and closed his eyes. A few hours of sleep is better than none.

Short post, but don't really know what to write until we get to the house in the woods x)

[Assistant]
Vanessa smiled. She walked up to Gabriel, gave him a kiss on his cheek. ''Don't worry, I'll be back soon'' she said and then walked away, taking her coat. She got out and this time she took her car. It was not much that she owned and she mostly used it as she had to go to the flower market but this would be faster.

She drove to the flower shop and saw Amanda standing there already. Holding her two year old in her arms. She parked her car and got out. ''I am going to give you something, and you can't say no to it'' she said and Amanda nodded. Vanessa then walked to the girl and gave her the keys to the shop and her pass to the market. ''But..'' Amanda said. ''I said no no'' Vanessa said. ''What are you gonna do then?'' Amanda asked. ''I am going back home, I've found some people that can use my help and I am going back'' she said. Amanda smiled and hugged Vanessa. ''I am so happy that you are going back, it is your house'' she said. ''I know'' Vanessa said. ''You will be okay'' Amanda said. ''And always welcome to come back'' Amanda said. ''Let me know if you wanna change the name or something, I'll keep the shop on my name so you don't have all that trouble'' she said. Amanda nodded.

Vanessa then drove to her aunt and uncle and gave them a last hug. ''We stored the things you still had in that garage box in the van already'' her uncle said. ''Thank you'' she said and then swapped the keys. ''Just call me when you have time to come over, then we can swap the cars again'' Vanessa said. ''That will come later, the Jeep is standing in the garage of the house'' her aunt said. ''Awesome'' Vanessa said, she hugged them both. ''We will stay in touch, thanks again for taking care of me'' she said. ''Don't be silly, we would not have wanted to miss it'' her Aunt said.

Vanessa then left with the van and when she parked she saw on her watch it already was 10 am. She got out of the van, locked it and then walked to her apartment. She opened the door slowly and walked in as quiet as she could. She saw Gabriel, Thomas and Conrad asleep and smiled. She sat down next to the chair where Gabriel was sitting on, she wanted to be close to him, and laid her head against his hand.

That's okay :) Gabriel / The pack couldn't do much now anyways :P You can, if you want, do after a short wake up paragraph a time skip to where they just arrive at the house.

[User]
It was 10 AM, and Gabriel softly woke from his sleep by something touching his hand. Opening one eye tiredly to see what it was, he saw Vanessa's hair. He suddenly realized where he was again from the disorientation that sleep brings, and he smiled. With his other hand, he stroked her hair gently. Funny how I barely know anything about this girl. I don't even know how old she is, I don't remember if she told me. he thought and smiled at her again, before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep again for a moment.

An hour later, they were all up and got into the van. Everyone was excited of course, but still sleepy. Thomas was fighting dozing off in the backseat with Robyn, who were bullying him by flicking his ear as soon as he fell asleep. He never knew what it was that woke him up.
Jaze and Conrad were in the middle row, and were yawning occasionally, looking out the window, peacefully excited about their destination.
Gabriel was in the frontseat with Vanessa, who was driving.
They drove for quite a while, out from the city and into the woods. This region was familiar to Gabriel, but he hadn't been here for a very long time. Not since his turning... His history here made him shudder slightly, but he pushed the thoughts away from his mind. Once they arrived at their destination, they were all stunned. The house was gorgeous, with an enormous property. Everything was modern and felt fresh even though nobody had probably been here for a while. They were all looking around the house and the grounds, exploring the surroundings. It was truly astounding.
It didn't last long however, for after but a few hours the pack was tired again after having spent so many hours awake and so few hours asleep. Vanessa had showed them to the rooms where they could sleep and they had all pretty much fallen asleep directly. Except for Gabriel.

Once the others were sleeping, Gabriel looked at Vanessa and smiled. "I haven't seen them this comfortable in years. It is a truly great thing you've done for us. We'll have to find a way to repay you one day." he said, and wanted to take her hand and hold it but didn't know if that would make him come off too strongly, despite the fact that they had confessed to each other just a few hours ago.
"So this entire property is yours? Your inheritence? You must've had a very rich family... It's quite a drive out here too." he said, making small-talk at first, but after not really knowing how to continue the conversation, he decided to just screw his previous thoughts, and took hold of Vanessa's hand in his own. He looked at her. "You are... Quite beautiful, you know." he said, feeling sort of embarassed for saying such cheesy things... But he wanted to say them. He wanted to speak his mind. He had always been direct, open and honest with his pack, so he wanted to be so with Vanessa too. In time... he thought to himself, She will know the truth. But not yet.
He kept holding her hand, brushed her hair away from her face with his other hand, leaned in and gave her a kiss. Afterwards, he looked at her. "Sorry, am I being too cheesy? I feel like I'm being too cheesy. I bet you think I'm being too cheesy." he said, almost laughing. He sorta wanted her to take the initiative, to see wether or not she wanted to kiss him again... He felt silly for wanting such things, but he kinda just wanted to stand here and kiss her for a moment before he could go back to sleep for an hour or two.

[Assistant]
Vanessa had given them all their own room as she had directly told her aunt and uncle that she wanted the house to have the exact same amount of rooms as it had before, just some extra bedrooms. She looked at Gabriel and took his hand as she saw he wanted to take hers. She listened to him and smiled a little. ''Yes.. This all is mine... I told you, that I had a other house, one where we could all live'' she said and winked at him.

''I don't know if my family is rich... I do remember that my father used to be a hunter.. But he didn't only hunt in the morning on deer's and other wild animals.. When I was still very young I can recall somewhere in my memories a fight between my father and mother about my father's midnight hunts once a month'' she said and walked to the couch. She sat down and pulled him on it too. When he sat, she crawled up to lean against him. ''There.. this is better'' she said and then listened to him as he kept saying that he thought that she would find him to be too cheesy. She shook her head and when he didn't stop, she placed her lips on his. She closed her eyes and laid her hand against his cheek. Her hand would slowly slide into his hair and her free hand would be laid there too as she kept kissing him. She would allow him to get some sleep soon but first she wanted him to know she didn't mind him being 'cheesy'.

[User]
Gabriel listened intently to the things Vanessa told him. Her father had been a hunter? In this huge house? And the fact that her parents had argued was... Strange. He wasn't yet putting pieces together, as he suspected nothing and he was quite tired so his brain wouldn't do any work, so he just followed Vanessa to the couch and sat down. Calling her beautiful and then saying he felt cheesy, she kissed him. She kissed him tenderly and lovingly. He had never felt this before, any of it. He closed his eyes and kissed back, giving in to his heart. She loved to feel her hands through his hair and her soft lips against his.
His own hands found their way first around her back and then to her waist, holding her in an embrace during the entire time. He didn't ever want to stop.


[System]
character sheet:
appearance:
Young man with what apear to be the tatoos of veins running over the skin of his entire body as far as can be seen. But they are not in the veins of a human, something quite different, and they are brown in color. His palms and fingers are nearly completely covered with intersecting circles. On his face the lines seem to flow from his eyes like a line of tears that then branch over his head which can be seen through very short dark hair on the sides of his head. The top of his head has a little longer brown hair naturally stylish as it swoops off a bit to one side.
age: 24
bio: Andrew was never one to stay close to home. Nor to have close friends on his travels. But he managed to get too close to a sorcerer's bad side, and it's been mysery ever since. He retreated into his Castle, tried to be discrete, but it's obvious he gets out. He has killed people, he horrifies himself, and burns all that remains but it can't take the memories. The last thing he wants is someone making his life even harder.
other

[User]
Angel continued on her way. She continued to track down the creature. She followed the river and soon enough the creature would come into view again. She narrowed her eyes, especially when she saw the deer. She let out a human snarl.

"....monster."

She approached, ready to attack again.

[Assistant] Catching sight of Angel and Andrew the creature roared. It dropped the deer and lumbered toward them. He tryed to keep out of Angel's range with the blade, but to lunge close enough to grab them. Or at the very least swipe them into the river.

[User]
Angel dodged. She jumped and continued to move. She slashed at the creature with her weapon again. She kept her eyes on it at all times. She glared at it.

"You are going to pay!"

[Assistant]
The creature roared back at Angel and began swiping at her more viciously. If he could just get rid of this pest he could go back and heal at the spring. He was reckless, not caring about little wounds if they got him close enough to scratch or hit angel. He started aiming for her weapon trying to get it to fly out of her hand and leave him alone.

Andrew noticed the creature was intently focused on Angel and pulled the fingers of his gloves, and slipped his hands out. He folded the gloves in half and tucked them into his pocket. He quietly walked up the bank into the woods and waited for the battle between the lady and the monster to come close enough he could get ahold of the creature from behind.

[User]
Angel continued to dodge. She glared daggers. She gave a human snarl. She was furious at the creature.

"You have killed too many people! None of whom did you any harm! None of whom wronged you in any way! It is time for you to pay for your crimes!!"

She slashed at the creature again.

[Assistant]
"Some hurt!" The creature yelled in retaliation, what did this human know of his wretched tragedy of a life? "Some were guilty! You are hurting me now!" He looked for a weapon, and ripped down a long branch to swing at Angel and greatly extend his reach.

Andrew stepped back behind the tree. Did he really want to see this creature killed? Maybe he could still reason with it. Maybe he could guide it and help it find better solutions. Take him back to his castle and teach it to eat vegetables. Andrew would be occupied keeping the creature alive, but what of this creature himself? What life would his form, his mind, allow him to have? Andrew would be busy, and constantly concerned like he had been with Angel in the house. But maybe this creature would fall into the same sloth and depression that Angel had when she was prisoner.

All three of them desperately needed to find ways to live, to keep themselves going. Didn't everyone need that? If that monster was at all capable of thought, Andrew wanted to give him the chance.

Andrew pulled his gloves back on.

[User]
Angel dodged. She slashed at him again.

"How dare you?! Most of them were simple farmers, merchants, and their families, just trying to live their lives! They did nothing to you until you attacked them! What about my parents?! huh?! You killed them as well! They were keeping to themselves, in their own home! They kept their distance from most people! They were caring hard working people! And you killed them!!!"

Angel was in a rage.

[Assistant]
He growled at the angry little woman and went back to fighting physically instead of arguing. She wanted to get to him, fine, he would make her come to him. The creature moved down into the water and waded out where the current was swift and the rocks on the bottom slippery and shifting. He had to catch his balance a time or two and hoped the woman would follow and not be so lucky. He'd love to see her washed away.

"But you haven't killed people as much lately, have you?" Andrew called from the trees. "Why not? Does it bother you? I can teach you other ways to live. Without killing anyone."

"I will live." The creature hissed through jagged teeth, glaring eyes trained on the vengeful woman.

[User] Angel blinked. She turned towards Andrew. She stared to narrow her eyes. 'Is he truly a traitor?'she began to think with a frown. She turned to glare at the creature once again, ready to fight as well as defend herself. She kept up her guard. She did not lower it, not even for a single second.

[Assistant]
The creature roared at Angel again, waiting for her to attack again. When she hadn't followed him out into the river he decided to taunt her, hoping to enrage her into stupidly following him.

"I will live," he repeated, "no matter how many people die, especially people like you!"

Andrew growled himself, upset that this was not going to have a peaceful resolution.

[User]
"I help people!"
Angel shouted back.

"There have been a lot of people hurt, or have had loved ones killed, because of you! They needed help! You needed to be stopped! You still do!"

Angel was not dumb. She was not going to fall for the trap.

[Assistant]
"Then come try to stop me!" The monster growled. When Angel didn't advance he kicked at the water and started walking down the middle of the river.

Andrew came out from the trees and followed along the banks. He watched the monster and watched angel out of the corner of his eyes. He could almost feel the intensity of the anger radiating from her. She certainly wasn't happy with him either. He tried to keep his distance from her.

The monster walked farther and farther down the river. The banks on the side became narrower with more trees. The river cut deeper into the ground until it was in a gorge and would become more like a canyon the farther along the river went. The monster slipped, the river rolling and sweeping him down under the water and back up again.

"The water won't kill him. It's part of the curse." Andrew said, wondering how far the river would carry him before he washed up on the bank and found the nearest animal or person to kill.

[User]
Angel barely heard Andrew. She growled. She gave chase. She followed along the riverbank. She kept her eyes on the creature. She did not want to loose sight of it. She was still determined to put an end to everything once and for all.

"You're not going to get away!"
She shouted at the top of her lungs as she gave chase. She ran and ran. She was not going to stop. She was not going to give up.

[Assistant]
Andrew ran as quickly as he could, but he could not keep up with Angel or the river.

The monster finally tumbled up against a tree fallen into the river. He pulled himself along the submerged trunk, which remained firm. He got his head and shoulders above water and pulled himself out onto the bank. He took great gasps of air to fill his lungs and looked about him for any sign of his hunter. He picked up a rock from the riverbed and threw it at the first thing he saw moving toward him.

Andrew knew there was no way to catch up with the athletic hunter, or with the river. The river! Andrew stopped and yanked off his shoes and socks and splashed out into the deeper water. He was soon being swept along, beyond his own control. But he found his head bobbed to the surface often enough to get gasps of air. It was exhilarating being in the current. He forgot nearly everything else, but he knew, just as the monster did, that there would be a fight when he came out of the water.

[User]
Angel dodged. She growled.

"I will not give up!"

She jumped from boulder to boulder until she made it across the river. She kept her eyes on the beast. She got as close as she could without making contact. She attacked the creature again.

"This ends....now!"
She charged again.

[Assistant]
The creature assaulted Angel with everything in its reach. Water splashed in her face. rocks flew at her. Hands grasped for her arms to dislodge the weapon. He reached for her hair to try and catch hold of her.

Andrew crashed against the same tree the monster had. He scrambled out of the water, biting the fingers of his gloves to pull his hands out of them. Then he wrapped his arms around the monsters back and held on as the creature looked over his shoulder in surprise.

The creature grabbed Andrew's arms to rip him off of his back.

[User]
Angel kept trying to dodge. She stayed on guard and did her best to avoid any attacks from the creature that she was fighting. She barely noticed when Andrew came out of the water and such.

Anyway, she blinked and almost froze when she saw what Andrew was doing.

"What are you doing?! Get away from that thing!"
She shouted as loud as she could. She attempted to attack again, but tried to avoid Andrew. It was hard.

[Assistant] The creature managed to pry off one of Andrew's arms. Then he held the other and tried to spin around unwinding Andrew from him. The creature's back was turned to Angel. The creature had one of Andrew's arms and and his other hand grabbed around his neck. Andrew tried to pry the thick fingers from his throat to resume breathing. His legs kicking madly happened to hit the creature but we're not painful enough to make him release Andrew on their own.

[User]
Angel launched another attack. She nearly struck the creature. She growled. She tried again. She gasped when she nearly struck Andrew by mistake.

"What are you doing?! Are you an idiot?!"
She shouted, concern actually in her voice.

[Assistant]
Andrew could not breathe well enough to answer, but he was about to find out how idiotic an idea it had been to put himself in arm's length of the creature.

Roaring the creature turned around to face Angel again and threw Andrew's dangling body at the woman.

Andrew was turned round mid air and saw himself on a collision course with Angel. He didn't have time to think about anything except ducking his head and not reaching forward to brace himself. He jerked his hands behind himself and clenched his jaw for a rough landing. 'please just hit her dress!' he hoped against hope for no direct contact.

[User]
Angel gasped. She tried to dodge. However, she was not fast enough.

There was close contact. She would be knocked to the ground.

"ow....."

Her leg was a bit hurt. She tried to get up again. She held out her weapon. She continued to try to go after the creature.
"Stop this! now!!"

[Assistant]
Andrew was enormously relieved as Angel was able to get up and he scrambled away. He hadn't hurt her.

The problem was, he hadn't been able to hurt the creature either. It was of little comfort that they're was someone in the world Andrew could touch without draining, when that was the one person he had wanted to exhaust. His greatest weapon was no weapon at all. The creature had all the brute force on his side.

Angel at least had speed and agility.

But as Andrew got to his feet and watched her fresh attack, his heart sank. She was hurt, her leg. She would press on despite it, he knew that without a doubt. But how could they end this now? So she could get off that leg, so he could drink some water, so they could all get to healing?

Two. Perhaps that really was their greatest advantage. Two against one sent the creature fleeing.

Andrew needed to press that, but stay out of arms reach, and out of angel's way.

Andrew started throwing rocks. Not the little pebbles that bounced off the creature's hide. Stones, which made the creature close his lips over his teeth, squint his eyes, and duck his head.

--

The monster could not even scream at them anymore. His big open mouth had been too easy a target for those river rocks assaulting him. He struggled to breathe through his nose, swat away rocks, dodge weapon attacks, and ignore his wounds from where the weapon had made contact.

Overwhelmed he backed to the riverbank. He tried to make his way around the part of the tree washed up on the bank, to let the water carry him farther down stream. To carry him away from these attacks. Away from these people. Away from the pain.

But Andrew rushed behind angel and threw Rick's from the other side of the tree so the monster couldn't get there. A muffled roar escaped him.

Andrew watched Angel, they had him pinned. She would be able to take him from here, and hopefully Andrew wasn't in the way.

[User]
Angel continued to try and attack. She would not let it escape. Well....she would not allow it anyway. Anyway, she slashed at it, but her leg made it hard to get a direct attack. She missed a few times.

"ugh!"
She kept trying to charge. But, somehow, the creature kept ending up beyond her reach.

At one point, she tripped and fell. Her leg was making it hard to do anything now......

[Assistant]
The creature saw his chance. The moment the woman tripped his heavy feet pounded up the bank to where she had fallen. At last he would be able to get the weapon away from her, better yet he would be able to get rid of her. The creature loomed high over her and reached his waggling fingers for her bare throat.

--

Andrew threw every rock he had at once. The creature thundered toward Angel. Andrew tried to catch up with the monster but was several places behind him.

"Get up! Get up!" He shouted, his voice pleading. She had to get away. She may be ready to sacrifice herself to kill the monster, but Andrew sure wasn't willing to let her perish in the fight. Not her.


[System]
Age: 21 (Born; 23 October, 2029)

Gender: Male

Class: Human

Appearance: Jason
Jason stands at an impressive 5'10, and weighs around 145 pounds. His most prominent physical trait are his dark brown, long hair which he seldom wraps in a ponytail of sorts. His eyes possess a brownish, hazel color. In terms of clothes, he favors long coats, scarfs and jeans, but is able to adapt depending on the season and the weather. He also has a thing for dull, darker colors, which is what you'd expect from a man who was imprisoned all his life.

As for his physique, he is rather skinny and isn't much fond of exercise, which is odd taking into account he has a big appetite.

Background: Originating from the United States, Jason was born as the legitimate son of Benedict and Chantry Ford. Due to his father occupying a very crucial position in the US cabinet, their family had enough wealth and privileges to give the Queen of England a run for her money. Unfortunately, the young Ford learned it the hard way that money doesn't equal happiness. Since the get-go, his father had kept him in isolation, stripping him off the chance to make friends and even brainwashing him by thoroughly explaining the disadvantages of sentiment. Every single day after school, he'd sent a chauffeur to pick the boy up, designed a strict diet especially for him and every evening, he would put his intelligence to a test. But even though intelligent, Jason still couldn't comprehend his father's behavior and his obsession with staying healthy.

Everything came together in a December night of 2037. An eight year old Jason was invited to a fancy, but secluded place, along with his father, where he was explained the reason why his childhood was robbed of him. Ever since the discovery of the Pure Energy, there were several independent and government organizations who wanted to know the truth about it and the machine that made sure the dust spread out; Madou. The United States had gathered a few pieces of the puzzle, and they were paranoid. The encrypting programs they had designed to store intel proved to be less than effective in the past, so they couldn't trust a secret so big at the hands of machines. That's where Jason came in. The strict diet, the evening games, the strict 'no friend' rules were all stages of a grueling mental training that was supposed to expand the boy's memory repository until it eventually developed eidetic capabilities. He was a vessel, an organic machine, marked to carry government secrets. He was a safe bet, taking into account no human, no matter how cunning and smart, would ever suspect that a child was capable of storing large amounts of information.

Benedict's path to raising a child led to several disagreements between him and his wife, Chantry. She was against keeping the child in isolation, while he justified his actions by claiming the boy was a national treasure. Fast forward a few months, and the Ford couple filed for a divorce, with Benedict arranging to have full custody over the child. That didn't fare well with Chantry, but she didn't commit anything heinous, choosing to live with her burden instead. Of course, a normal human could only hold so much. Ten years later, one bright Wednesday, an aging Chantry made a run before the U.S senate and began listing everything she knew about her husband's dirty work, including the secret about her only son. She couldn't reveal enough before she was hit by a knockout round on her neck, but she did enough to warrant an immediate evacuation. Later that Wednesday, at night, Jason was booked a flight to Japan, but not before being forced to undertake a 'therapy session', which was in fact a hypnotic memory wipe. Traces of the Pure Energy and Madou were totally eliminated, while there was still something left concerning his family and his father's shady backdoor dealings, which would haunt him for the following years.

After the incident, Benedict got his son a nice apartment in Shimizu and enough money to live for an eternity. He refrained from visiting his estranged son, and that actually worked for the better, as Jason used all his resources to set up an awareness group called "Sakurai" that was dead set on uncovering information about the Pure Energy. He had no bright memories to cherish, which made him focus all the more at the silhouette his missing memories left. Somehow, he had a hunch that the Energy was linked to his past.

Personality: Like his father, Jason was an arrogant and stuck up creature of habit. Due to his extraordinary intelligence, he always used to make fun of his peers, and sometimes, professors, never exhibiting any pleasurable trait in his personality. What was unique, however, was the fact that he was well aware of his behavior and the effect it had on his surroundings. He knew that it was his father, Benedict, the one who planted these seeds that improved his analytical and rational thinking, but in turn deprived him off his humanity, also arguing that there must have been a hereditary factor in the equation. He just didn't care enough, embracing his role as a human storage.

Over the course of the years, his behavior changed. Whether it's for the better or for the worse, it all depends on where you stand. He became more rebellious and less willing to adhere to his Dad's rules, often prompting Benedict to go a little overboard on his punishment. After he was abandoned in Japan, he started showing traits of determination, motivated to find more about his lost memory to the point where he even found an organization, 'Sakurai'. His behavior also softened a tad, as he became more and more accommodated to conversing with other fellow human beings, even though he still believed he was a one rank higher than them in the non-existing societal hierarchy. He also has developed a sense of humor over time, a dark sense of humor but a sense nevertheless.

Skills/Abilities:
~ Improved Intellect/Eidetic Memory ~
Jason's memory storage is expanded to the point where he could learn Japanese in a matter of one week. He has the ability to recall trivial details after being exposed only once to them. He also possesses an outstanding intellect, proving to be very knowledgeable on politics, science and even able to jump to conclusions via the collective powers of induction and deduction.

Miscellaneous: * He has multiple blemishes in his back and lower back, courtesy of his father and the rough riding crop he carried.
* Jason has a licensed
Zenith 10 mm stored in one of his drawers, but rarely uses it.
* He also possesses an Android phone which enables him with with a real time feed of everything that's happening in the 'Sakurai' nerve center.
* 'Sakurai' main office is based west of Shimizu, in a four story building.
* Jason is a superb cook, able to memorize over forty-three recipes. That's the main reason he always eats at home.

Theme: Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.

[User]
Annette Delauney

The cab ride was pleasant, at first, and rapidly descended into gridlock as a bunch of people made their way to the exact same spot that she was going, which was a bit much even for the road network of this place. Go figure. Annette sighed as she relaxed, looking out the window in dull monotony. The sense of urgency on the part of her driver was overwhelming, not.

At last she got fed up, and tapped her driver on the shoulder. "Excuse me," she asked with a pleasant smile, lowering her sunglasses so she could look him in the eye. "Do you plan on having kids? Because if you do, I would suggest you take a more aggressive driving stance before I render you unable to do so, alright?"

That earned a gulp and scared nod from the driver, and Annette smiled all the more as she sat back. The threat brought results as they began moving at a much more rapid pace through the cars and along city streets, until they were at the C2 Building, Fortunately they were early, and she was able to join the people arriving.

"Thank you," she said to the driver, handing him some cash as she left the cab. "Keep the change." With that, she moved along and entered the building at a refined walk. It was a nice place, all things considered, but it could have been better. In her opinion. For the moment though, she went to mingle, and to potentially find something worth her time in all this mess and stupidity.

[Assistant]
Julia

Julia leaned against the outside wall of the C2 building, lazily puffing on a cigarette. She would have gone in already, but she had a feeling it was a non-smoking area, and she needed some time to herself. Since she was an ambassador, she rarely got the time to just sit back and enjoy herself, it was always paperwork or meetings or fancy events.

"Well, I shouldn't complain," She said absently. "There are more than a few perks that come with the job."

She finished her smoke and dropped the butt on the ground, stamping it out with her shoe.

"Alright," She said, pushing open the door and walking in, "Let's see what this is all about."

[User]
Leon Gainsbourg

Leon drew a final relaxed breath from his cigarette before throwing the stub away in a convenient nearby ashtray. More and more people flooded into the building in a seeming endless stream. It seems this city has it's fair share of visitors, some he even recognised. There was of course the occasional politcal figurehead, ambassadors and the like, not to mention a veritable ludicrous amount of tourists. Dressed in ridiculous shirts and gawking at everything, he could swear he saw one take a picture of a thrashcan for pete's sake.

this meeting had not even started and he felt bored already, strolling around to look at the various photon screens displaying colourful images, asking everyone to gather at the C2 building. It seemed a bit futile to him to ask people to gather at building while they were already there. Powerful ESP'ers his left foot, not much use in forensics if the killer just makes bullets with their mind, if you asked him they only made his job harder. Of course there were some working on their side but all in all, he felt that one couldn't beat old fashioned footwork.

His train of thought was interupted as he noticed a familiar sight crossing his path, not someone he knew perosnally but who had, shall we say, garnered quite a reputation for herself. The lovely Miss Delauney, the master thief and general troublemaker in person. He had seen her file with her picture drifting around the DGSE several times, conecting her to several high profile cases. Her file had always been remarkably small though, mostly some footnotes, a description and a photo from her débutante days. The sign of a true professional.

Now she would have no reason to know who Leon was, after all besides his rather formal clothing , he was still carrying around his luggage and looked the part of a tourist. So he would be free to follow her around and maybe learn some more about the whole situation, a thief like her didn't come to a city like this without a reason. Combined with the fact that his investigation prior had lead him to the same place, he sincerely doubted this was all a coincidence. he could spy on her to figure out how she was involved.

But where would the fun in that be? he was still technically off duty as long as he hadn't had his briefing with the local police chief and information was always best gained straight from the horse's mouth. Besides, he couldn't really call himself a proper french gentleman if he didn't introduce himself to a fellow countryman. So with a carefree smile and relaxed stride he made his way over to her, nodding his head slightly in greeting. "Bonjour mademoiselle, quelle belle matinée, n'est-ce pas? " His demeanour remained relaxed through it all, smile unfading, but his eyes betrayed him. he was watching her closely for any false move. "Much to nice of a morning to be stuck in a place like this, wouldn't you agree, mademoiselle Delauney?" He brushed aside his coat to place his hand in his pocket, making sure his badge marking him as a DGSE agent was briefly visible.

Not wanting the situation to dissolve in a fight with all these bystanders around, he tried to keep everything civil and clear. " Not to worry miss, I'm off duty, just enjoying the sights like all of us. But I can't help but wonder, what a world renowned thief such as yourself would do in a place such as this? " Leon suddenly straightened as if he just remembered something before spreading his hand on his chest in an apologetic manner. "Ah, mais comme je suis bête, how foolish of me, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Leon Gainsbourgh, but please, call me Leon. " He paused for just a moment to gauge her reaction before continueing. "I'm not here for you miss Delauney, I had just hoped that you with your connections and experiences in the more seedier parts of the world would be willing to help in a murder investigation. The killer seems to focus on beautiful young ladies such as yourself, a shame really. You wouldn't happened to have heard of anything like that, have you?"

[Assistant]
The 'invitation' for the C2 building event happened just while Jason was drying out his hair, after taking a hot shower. He turned off the dryer and peeled his eyes at the 40 inch TV, which would probably cost a fortune. What captivated his attention during the broadcast was the fact that the announcer specified foreigners, hinting that tourists the likes of him were of some importance for whatever was happening in that building. "I should work on my timing", he exclaimed under his breath, rubbing his hair 'till they got very messy and then parting them slightly to the left, not bothering to use a comb. Wearing nothing but his boxers, he made his way to his luggage and unpacked some of his items, including his gun which he was planning to carry with him to the event in case he'd be assaulted by another toddler. After a brief fashion dilemma, characterized by Jason stroking his hairless chin, he finally went on with a pair of skin tight jeans, his favorite, a brown leather jacket and a white t-shirt with black stripes.

Upon making his way out of the enormous hotel, he hailed a cab while in the sidewalk in front of the Red Dragon Resort. Tian Jin was a pretty dense place, so getting a cab wasn't much of a bother. The C2 Building wasn't far either, taking about 10 minutes for the cab to reach there. Tipping the cab driver and opening the door, he stood in front of the C2 Building entrance for a moment or so, observing all the tourists and the natives causing an uproar around the place, creating a very heavy atmosphere. "This better be good.", Jason muttered to himself yet again, taking his first steps inside the building.


[System]
Lilia Galton

"Adventure awaits on the distant horizon but first, one must have the patience to cross the sea."

Body type: Willowy, slender, and petite
Skin tone: Fair
Height: 3'8
Weight: 30 pounds
Hair style/color: Brown with golden highlights, it hangs in curls to her waist
Eye color: Crystal blue. Turns storm-cloud gray when she is angry
Clothing:(As seen in the image above)
Nickname- Lily, Lia.

Soul Type - ♥ Patience

Age - 9 years of age

Gender - Female

Personality - At first glance, Lilia would seem like a bubbly child, bouncing all over the place however once someone actually takes the time to talk to her they realize that appearances don't always portray the person. Filled with seemingly an infinite amount of patience, Lilia is the type to gather all the parts of the story, even what may seem like insignificant details, before she choses what action to take. Even it is takes a long time, even if others would have given up by this point, Lilia keeps moving forward until she feels she knows enough to make a correct judgment. Seeing the glass as half-full, Lilia knows that there can be good in everyone and she can be very persistent in sticking around long enough to show everyone else what she sees. That isn't to say she tries to force her ideals onto others, even if others don't necessarily agree with her, she is satisfied so long as they acknowledge her point, even if they don't have to like it.

Not exactly shy, Lilia prefers to wait for others to initiate the conversation, however long that may take. Lilia also can have a habit of annoying others, prompting them to just walk away because she may be taking too long at making a decision. Hand-in-hand with her patience is also her stubbornness. Once she puts her foot down, it takes a lot to move her. (Metaphorically speaking. Come on, she's about as heavy as maybe a sack of flour.) Lilia is not angered easily, which also can annoy those looking to get a rise out of her. However, this isn't to say she is like a brick wall. She has feelings and they do tend to get hurt. However Lilia tends to hide those type of emotions away from view and instead put on a smile. It could lead to those around her having to show patience in trying to get her to admit that something is wrong. Some are rather shocked by how grow up she acts sometimes.

History - Despite her young age, Lilia is actually the oldest child in her family. Two sets of twins come after her, ages five and two, which leads to her parents not paying attention to her as much. That isn't to say they don't love her, they just have their hands full. However, Lilia didn't pitch a fit or act out like some children might. She learned to take care of herself, to become independent to take some of the stress off of her parents. She started helping out around the house and even offered to baby-sit her siblings to give her parents a break. Even though she naturally is inclined to be patient, this was strengthened by looking after four young children.

Extras - She has a very severe fear of spiders.

(If I should add what her view on the monsters are, just let me know.)

[User]
Soul of Perseverance ♥ Mimi
Generator SIN
Bursting out in laughter at being called dumb, Mimi took a moment to recover. 'Dumb'. Clearly, this simpleton couldn't understand her greatness. Momentarily ignoring the nagging girl and turning to Naomi, Mimi smiled back. "Thanks, Nana! Glad to see one of you understands greatness. So yeah, let's get along!" Sticking out her tongue at the nagging girl, Mimi decided she'd clear up a misunderstanding the nagging girl seemed to have. "You think I would fall off? Why would you think such a thing? Falling is for the weak! Actually, why do you think in such a manner to begin with? You'll never reach greatness with a mindset like that! It seems that I will have to teach you how to be amazing. So we'll be friends now, too."

Practically beaming with a confident, yet slightly hopeful smile, Mimi looked at the two girls. Nothing but good times ahead of them for sure.

[Assistant]
Lucia ~♥~ A Kind Soul
Going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship blinding yellow hulk of a school bus!

Lucia wasn't bothered by the girl's silence. She'd probably just come off as a little intimidating without meaning to was all. Instead of trying to do something to help, which may have just made it worse, she chatted with the students around her as the bus drove along. A lot of the older students near her hadn't seemed willing to talk to her at first, but after a few minutes she found a topic that they all opened up on: TV shows.

So it turns out that big kids do still like the 'little kid' shows that they 'used to' watch. They just don't admit it very often. The group she was talking to was in the middle of a heated debate over what the best episode of Spongebob Squarepants was when the bus stopped suddenly. In the slight chaos that event caused, the kids got up and moved around, Lucia among them. Well, she didn't really walk around at all, but ever since seeing the stunt that one girl had pulled before getting on the bus, and then Lucia realizing that girl was on the same bus as she was, she had an Idea in her mind that she could finally act on.

So, now she was standing on top of the back of her seat, one of her hands pressed to the ceiling of the bus to help her keep her balance. Her eyes found the person she was looking for only a few seats behind her, the girl was laughing as she talked to a few older kids and Lucia was able to overhear that her name was Mimi, though she couldn't make out much else of the conversation. Alright, time to do this.

"Your attention please!" She started, smiling broadly at anyone who actually turned to look before repeating herself, louder this time. "Your attention please! I am Lucia, and from this point forward I am the self-proclaimed Lieutenant to our rightful leader, Mimi." At this she carefully took her hand off the ceiling and bowed towards the girl, a bright smile on her face. "So, let's all be friends ok? That is all."

She stepped off of the chair and sat back down just as the bus started moving again. As they got out of the city she watched the land change into the beautiful sight of a mountain towering above the trees of the forest around them. Mt. Ebott, as Mr. Connors started explaining to the group that the mountain was actually a volcano. Too bad we're going to the lake today. I bet it'd be really fun to climb to the top of that... and the view from up there must be amazing!

[User]
"oh sorry I didn't mean to bother you I just wanted to talk with someone" max said as he turned around and watched as blurred buildings passed and signs of speed limits and turns. Eventually green trees would pass.
Generator SIN when the bus slowed to a stop max looked over the brown seats to see what was gong on. Hearing what Miss Cassidy said to the bus driver Max thought to himself 'well this will take longer then I thought". Max looked over to the apparently sleeping volcano. 'wow" max thought as he looked up and down it seeing the green trees and grass all the way to the top.

[Assistant]
Lily ♥ SOUL of Paitence
"Good things come to those who wait."

---

Lily felt a small jolt of relief when one of the older kids spotted her and offered to share her seat. Lily had been briefly afraid none of them would want her to sit next to them. Lily shuffled over gratefully, taking a seat. She was so small that once seated she was completely hidden by the bus seat in front of her, the top of her head not even coming close to clearing the top of the seat. As she got settled and comfortable, she supposed she had taken too long in answering because soon her seat-mate was chattering with the other children about television shows. Not wanting to interrupt, Lily folded her hands in her lap and simply listened to the conversations flowing around her. However, a loud noise pierced the chaos around her like an arrow and the little girl leaned sideways down the aisle in order to see what was going on. It appears the trip coordinator was ready to get things rolling and had tried to resort to megaphone use, while had apparently backfired. Thankfully though the noise was enough to quiet the bus so Lily could hear the woman as she spoke without the use of the ear-piercing device. Lily quietly listened to the woman speak and when the topic of lunch was brought up, Lily turned to the backpack resting in her lap. She hd packed it herself that morning but it still didn't stop her from pulling down the zipper just in case.

Mhm. There sat her lunch box. She had even brought her own band-aids because she knew how clumsy she could be. Satisfied that she was ready for this trip, she turned her attention back to Missus Cassidy just in time to see her elbow the bus driver to spur him into movement. The bus gave a lurch and Lily placed both hands against the seat in front of her to prevent her small body from getting thrown forward. Once the bus had settled, Lily rested her hands around her backpack and simply gazed out of the window, content to watch the scenery go by as they zoomed towards their destination.


[System]
Appearance:

Ghisronia is a short young woman, with a noticeably overweight body. A mixture of fat and muscle, she has a squat, rounded form, with a large stomach, pudgy face, and a double-chin. Whilst markedly flabby, her arms and legs also have a decent amount of muscle on them.
Age: 18

Gender: Female

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Occupation: Performer/Cook

Weaponry: A variety of poisons, lightweight crossbow, and a slender short-sword.

Apparel: Ghisronia dresses in a motley combination of cloth and leather when not performing; with a hooded cloak, and trim shoulder pads for added protection. A simple leather mask is sometimes worn to obscure her features.

Equipment: Basic cooking supplies, materials for making a campfire (flint and steel etc), ornate necklace, and a handmade waterskin.

Skills: Acting, Cooking, theft, the art of disguise. Reasonably skilled with her crossbow and sword, but not at a remarkable level.

Magical abilities: Very mild understanding of healing magic. Can patch up minor wounds, and can prevent larger wounds from festering and becoming infected.

Personality: A self-aware narcissist, Ghisronia cares about one thing, and one thing only; Herself. Whilst not completely sadistic, Ghis does draw a slight sense of satisfaction from the suffering of others, and delights in meddling in affairs that aren't her own. A survivalist at heart, Ghisronia is good at adapting to hazardous situations, and is able to keep a cool head in the face of danger.

An expert actress, Ghisronia will usually pass for a fairly eloquent teenaged girl with a slight air of spitefulness about her, working to shield the full extent of her dark side.

Backstory: Born to a family of farmers, Ghisronia suffered at the hands of her abusive farther, until the day she snapped and killed him. Running away from home, Ghis spent a few months as a beggar and a thief, before falling in with a troupe of traveling performers. Having always had a skill for cooking, Ghisronia worked as a chef for the performers, whilst they honed her acting skills in return.

Plagued by memories of her mistreatment at the hands of her father, Ghis spent the majority of her childhood in melancholy, feeling like a victim, until the day of her second kill.

After a performance, a spectator from the audience followed the young girl back to her tent, attempting to force himself on her. After she refused his advances, her stalker became feral and violen; giving Ghisronia a black eye and a split lip. Enraged, she killed the man in a fit of anger, slashing his neck with one of her cooking knives.

Horrified about what might happen if the body was discovered, Ghis began to cannibalize the man who'd followed her, finding that taste of human flesh send electric sensations through every fibre of her being, in a manner that she had never before experienced. Ghis cooked the remains into a stew, which she served to the rest of the troupe; thus awakening a dark thirst that she would never be able to shake. Wherever the troupe travelled, Ghisronia would pick off easy targets, before feasting on their remains, and satisfying her gluttonous desires.

Ghisronia has continued to develop her acting skills, becoming an extremely convincing actress, as well as her thievery, to the point where she is a formidable pickpocket and con artist.

Other

[User]
Mytchel's offer got several replies from almost every occupant of the table. It looked like this would be the lot of them, then. Twelve people who'd also witnessed the Sounding. The very thought sent a sliver of dread like a spike through his gut, though he kept himself outwardly calm, topping off goblets left and right without spilling a drop.

Still, the notion nagged him. He should have told someone, said something about the terror that had thrown him from his fit of sleep, the roar that rang in his ears even now, but he couldn't bring himself to utter a word. He'd even tried his best to avoid the court mage, though he got the feeling that the old man saw straight through him. It probably wasn't far from the truth. It was the stuff of black magic, that, strange visions of what may very well be the future, hearing things no one else seemed to. It was evil, all of it, and the very presence of those others whom it touched sent a shiver up his spine.

In any case, Mytchel busied himself with filling goblets. Under normal circumstances he'd never reach across the table, but the table itself was long and rounding it for so few people would take longer than it was worth. One woman at the table requested a harder drink, to which Mytchel, grateful for the distraction, simply nodded and bowed, turning around and whistling sharply to a serving girl nearby.
"Burada ağır bir şey,"(something heavy over here) he murmured when she approached. He almost sent her away, but quickly called her back when ale was requested. "Və bəzi pivə, ki, bir." (And some ale for that one) he finished, pointing out the woman who asked.

Otherwise, he simply went about his business, nodding a bow to Elden. He knew the man, had served him several times. He served in the king's royal guard, and seemed to be a good man. Mytchel could respect him.
All went well until one guest, an eccentric white-haired man, gave Mytchel an invasive up-and-down look. It wasn't so out of the ordinary, as visiting nobility liked to compare servants in their host's household to their own, but then the man started yammering.

"So even the King's got one, eh? You, the gatekeeper...damn, but I wish I were still at Highmont University. The magical to mundane ratio in this city is simply-"

Black spots swam before Mitchell's eyes, and for a second, he was unsteady. At first, he wasn't sure what the man meant; did he mean Easterners? People of all types worked in the palace, Mytchel wouldn't know why it was so astounding to see an Easterner here. Then he continued on, mentioning something about magic. Half of it Mytchel didn't understand in his increasingly shocked state, his command of the Southern language slipping in dread. How… How could he know? How could he know about the evil harboured inside him, the evils he'd worked so hard to hide?

Horrified, Mytchel's face drained considerably of colour. His hands trembled, though he wasn't sure if it was visible or just a feeling. He found it hard to shift his gaze, wide eyes fixed on those of the white-haired stranger, and for a second, he was still. His heart pounded in his ears, and the room became very warm and cold at the same time.

A drawn-out second later, Mytchel got ahold of himself. While dread still fluttered in his stomach, he controlled himself long enough to clear his throat, shake his head, and utter, "Oh, I'm sorry, I believe you are mistaken…" in a shaky accent before he opted himself out. By then, the serving girl he'd sent away had returned with pitchers of the other drinks in one hand. Mytchel could have kissed the girl, but instead simply bowed to the guests and retreated as quickly as he could manage, without running, to the kitchens.

[Assistant]
Klaus wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd been expecting from Mytchel, but it certainly wasn't that. The servant positively quivered at his offhand remark. They stared at each other for a long moment, during which Klaus wondered if he should pat Mytchel on the shoulder ("You're magical! Congratulations! Sorry, were you not aware of this?"

And then the dark-skinned servant departed, without even filling Klaus's drink. He regarded his empty goblet with a disappointed look, then started when a heavyset woman dressed in black called out to him in a tone Klaus had only ever associated with thieves masquerading as prostitutes.

Klaus turned and subjected Ghisronia to the same full-body inspection that Mytchel and Lily had involuntarily received, tilting his head in a birdlike manner as he examined her. He'd passed over her at first in his magical sweep of the room, but upon closer inspection, there was a faint touch of magical ability about her. Certainly not a shape shifter. Parlor tricks? Healing magic? Klaus considered asking outright, but after the servant boy's startled reaction, he decided against it.

"I can't help but shake the feeling there's something more to you, sir."

What an odd thing to say. Then again, it was somewhat refreshing not to be in the company of scholars who both a) knew exactly who he was, b) knew exactly what he'd been banned from Highmont University for, and c) wanted to ask him questions about it.

"Just a man who enjoys his sprouts," he said, waving his fork at her.

He was about to launch into another tirade on the health benefits of eating your veggies when the copperhaired girl, the one who practically emanated "shapeshifter", whispered something to Ghisronia. From his end of the table, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he got the faint impression that they were talking about him.

"Speak up, lassie, it's not polite to whisper," he said, bobbing his head at Lily like he would at any student caught gossiping in class.

[User]
The farm boy's brief responses stung slightly, but there was no wound to her pride which Ghisronia couldn't heal by gorging on copious amounts of food, which is exactly what she did.

"Can I call you Ghis?"

"Sure!" Ghisronia exclaimed, beaming broadly.

"My name's Lilianna but that's such a long name, so everyone calls me Lilly. Or shorty",

"Liliana? That's such a pretty name!" The words flowed effortlessly from the larger girl's lips, an almost flawless imitation of the giggly young maidens she'd found intolerable her entire life.

Ghisronia scooped up a handful of fried squirrel, scoffing it down with a loud crunch, licking up the remaining crumbs with her thick tongue. She chugged down a few decent glugs from her recently filled wine cup, before ripping the meat off of a rack boar ribs with her teeth and snapping it up like some crazed reptile. A ravenous look flashing across her eyes, Ghisronia snatched a large powder-slathered pastry off of the cake tray, stuffing it down in several quick bites.

"Wow, you sure are hungry," chirped up Liliana.

"Not exceptionally so," Ghis confessed, in a tone that was slightly more akin to her true demeanour than the bubbly manner she'd been adopting whilst talking to the girl next to her "just a smidge peckish." The corpulent young woman picked a lightly crisped pork pie off of a nearby serving tray; promptly followed by the rest of the tray's contents, which all ended up in her mouth. "Besides, it'd be a shame to waste all this food." She mumbled between mouthfuls.

"Just a man who enjoys his sprouts," the white-haired fellow remarked, in response to Ghisronia's earlier statement.

"That makes one of us then," Ghis replied, only half joking "Can't stand those sickly green death-balls….Eurgh…" She scrunched up her face for dramatic effect, letting her tongue hang out. Now plagued by visions of sprouts, Ghisronia took the opportunity to devour some crisp honeyed-lizards, and begin work on a greasy chicken leg.

 "I think he's a learned man," Lillian whispered in Ghisronia's ear, whilst she still had a mouthful of chicken.

"Look at his clothes, he reminds me of my tutor, back when--" the young girl stopped abruptly, which served to pique the thickset woman's curiosity. She'd be a fool to take each of these people at face value, everyone had secrets after all, and the prospect of unravelling whatever it was that this seemingly innocent girl was holding close to her chest enthralled Ghisronia, but before she could inquire further she was rather abruptly cut off by a loud "Speak up, lassie, it's not polite to whisper.", followed by some curious head-bobbing.

"Lilly was just sharing with me how best to savour the taste of the orange-spotted eastern lizard." Ghisronia shot back, keeping her tone polite and well-humoured. "Apparently running one's tongue along said spots evokes a rush of flavour, however such a display would be unseemly at the dinner table, so my new friend thought it best not to speak this aloud. I'm sure you understand, sir." Ghis gave a gentle nod, smiling sweetly before she turned back to Liliana.

"I'm so glad you're here," Lilly bubbled in a slightly more reserved fashion. "I thought I'd be surrounded by dark warriors and black mages. Glad there's someone like me here,"

Ghisronia grinned inwardly at the notion that she and this copper-haired stranger had anything more than their gender in common, but aloud she said "Me too! I was absolutely petrified that I'd be completely out of my depth here, but I'm so relieved to meet someone so sweet and amicable," topping it off with a sugary little "I really hope we get a chance to know each other!"

Ghis spent the next few moments waging war on the banquet table; tearing through a plethora of pastries, several slices of meat, a farm's worth of roast animals, and a few generous handfuls of sea food. Once her excessive spree was over, the young woman took some time to relax as her stomach let out garish gurgles, and her chair continued to buckle beneath her.


[System]
Age: 25

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Appearance:

Unmasked. Fully Armored. Fleuri stands 5'10'' without his armor.

Personality:
The Jodeau family is known for its devotion to Reon, and originally, Fleuri was no exception. Tutored by priestesses and paladins, he was brought up to be honorable, selfless, and devoted. During his time as a tournament competitor, he cast many of these values off, becoming proud, materialistic and glory-seeking, desiring above all else to obtain the fame and wealth that his family no longer possessed. After being humbled by his near-death experience, he has returned to his old ways as a faithful worshiper of the sun goddess, along with a few pangs of guilt of having fallen so far. He still craves the thrill of tournament combat, and would not be above participating to aid the church again, but for now, he has more important duties.

Those who have met him can attest that Fleuri is a man of action. He is hot-blooded and quick to act or speak, but not necessarily foolish or impulsive- his experience fighting in tournaments taught him the importance of quick thinking and decisive action when windows of opportunity appear. When he speaks, he never makes claims he cannot back up and never makes promises that he does not believe he can keep.

Brief Backstory:
The Jodeau family is a once powerful, now minor noble family in northern Thaln. Over a century ago, its head at the time, Armand Jodeau, dedicated himself and his house wholly to Reon. As proof of his devotion, he gave most of his family's then-considerable land to the serfs that worked them, both to prove his lack of materialism and to demonstrate his devotion to the church's opposition to slavery. Armand would go on to serve a Paladin of Reon and later an Iron Rose Knight before embarking on a quest which he never returned from. Ever since then, the Jodeau family has remained close to the Church of Reon, both to honor Armand and because in their impoverished state, they have become reliant on the charity of the church.

Fleuri was the second child of the Jodeau family and was thus groomed to become a knight. His family had little in terms of wealth or holdings, but the church provided that which his family could not. Consequently, Fleuri received an education from Reonite priestesses and was trained in knightly combat by Reonite paladins. While the rebellion raged, Fleuri served as the squire of a paladin of Reon, battling necromancers that sought to capitalize on the bloodshed and death. As noble as it was, he was frustrated by the unsung nature of their behind-the-scenes quest while others were gaining fame and prestige on the battlefield. When he was knighted, shortly after the end of Phoran Cal's rebellion, he set out into the world to serve as a knight-errant, spreading the word of Reon.

During his travels, he began entering the tournaments in the lands he passed through, where, with many of Thaln's knights dead or disgraced as a result of the war, there was a shortage of contenders. Utilizing the training he had received from the Reonite paladins, Fleuri proved himself a capable tournament fighter, and as time went on, he became increasingly successful on the tourney grounds. At the same time however, he began to drift from his original purpose and turned his mind to fame and wealth. He stopped aiding those he passed, and began planning his journeys solely for the purpose of competing in tourneys.

While traveling to one such competition, he fell deathly ill from a fever and sought aid from the Church. As he laid there, tended to by the priestesses, all he could think about was how he had fallen from his path, more concerned with gold and glory than helping others, and now faced the prospect of dying before he could make amends and correct his mistakes. When he recovered, he attributed it to the will of the goddesses. He renewed his vows and vigil at the church, rededicating himself to fighting evil and aiding the innocent. Fleuri may not have died, but he was reborn.

During the next tournament, he fought harder than he ever had before, and when the dust settled, he was the last man standing in the infantry melee. Hailed as a champion, and standing on the precipice of fame and glory, he proved himself a changed man when he donated the prize to the church and soon afterward petitioned to join the Iron Rose Knights, following in his ancestor's footsteps. Since ending his tournament career, Fleuri has served the order faithfully.

Equipment:
Fleuri owns two suits of armor. The first is the suit he started out with and is normally seen wearing. It was originally a tarnished, battered hand-me-down, but he has added onto and improved it until very little of the original armor remains. The second is his tournament attire, a heavier and more protective suit that bears the livery of the Reonite church, rarely used outside of competitions. His primary weapon is a two-handed sword, his preference for which he picked up as a squire, having come to appreciate its effectiveness at dismembering undead. His other possessions include a dagger as a backup weapon and a gray warhorse for transportation and mounted combat.

Skills:
Fleuri has been trained in the use of a variety of knightly weapons, but he is most experienced and proficient in the wielding of greatswords. He employs an aggressive and surprisingly fast-paced fighting style not atypical for devotees of Reon, moving and attacking far more swiftly than his armor and heavy weapon would suggest. He is additionally skilled in horsemanship and in the use of a cavalry lance, owed to frequent travel and the many jousts he has participated in.

[User]
Fanilly hadn't expected to suddenly be greeted by some of the newer members and names attached to the order at this very moment, when she was caught up trying to extract further information from the Cal heir. Still, it seemed as if Dame Maritza had realized her current approach was only succeeding in causing Veileena to lock down and refuse to answer any further questions. Perhaps they would at last get some answers from the young noble girl?

Regardless, the Knight-Captain decided to pause for a moment and respond.

"I'm happy to have your assistance," she began, as she turned to face the both of them, "This may not be the best time for a discussion, however. Sir Kherun, I believe you would be best served continuing to search the bodies for survivors. Perhaps your familiars could aid you in finding potential survivors? We need all the information we can get."

She paused for a moment. Was that the right choice? Were there even any survivors? The skirmish had been relatively swift and certainly lopsided.

A fight where none among their knights and their allies should have been lethally injured. The voice in her mind had spoken up once again, reminding her that even though Haelstadt had somehow survived there never should have been a situation where the knight in black armor was beheaded in the first place.

"As a healer, Hollowsland," she continued, trying not simply dismiss her own thoughts, "You should look among my knights for any in need of your talents."

With that, her attention returned to the young Cal girl.

"I'm glad you came to your senses," said Veileena, though she still seemed to be in something of a huff, "As for your questions, it's nothing so clear cut as that."

She sighed, unfolding her arms.

"You're right. The Iron Rose Knights are a hammer. A big, crushing hammer that slams down on any enemies of Thaln," continued the Cal heir, "And hits hard enough to make a lot of noise. The moment I tried to raise the issue to you, some idiot noble would find out and think he's got the right to claim the shard and present it to the crown, as if it was his idea all along and that he deserves the credit for securing it and completely ignoring the dangers in doing so. Besides..."

She trailed off for a few moments.

"... You already believed I wanted the shard for some evil purpose, didn't you?"

Veileena averted her eyes.

"Would you have believed any different if I'd told you from the start, truly? Hmph, your reaction certainly hasn't given me any reason to think so."

For Gerard, the voice that had spoken to him simply giggled lightly after a moment's pause.

Very well~ I hope to see plenty more from you~

Daze@Crimson Paladin@HereComesTheSnow@Martian@A Lowly Wretch@JessieTargaryen@FlappyTheSpybot@ghastlyinc

[Assistant]
Tyaethe Radistirin

Giving Veileena the best unimpressed look she could (whether or not it was even that visible), Tyaethe said, "Of course, as a paladin of the moon, I'm clearly more interested in accusing children of wrongdoing than protecting the country from evil. Mayon would have no issues with that at all."

Although that only went for Tyaethe, she didn't seem to be drawing a distinction between what she would do and what the knights would do, even if Fanilly was neither the most experienced nor the most assertive leader. Or the paladin who looked so young much of the time treating a nearly grown lady of the nobility as just another child.

Though her attention appeared to be wandering from the conversation, sweeping over to the well and looking down it curiously. It was still possible that the goal might just have been to desecrate this, right? Maybe, in that case, it would conveniently remain accessible with a bucket...

[User]
Sir Kherun Zeydria

The young druid stood at perfect attention as the Knight-Captain addressed him. Of course it wasn't a good time Kherun quickly realized as the Captain had been preparing to speak with someone of importance. Truth be told Kherun hadn't really been prepped on what the situation was before being sent as a reinforcement. For all he knew Kherun could be interrupting important matters that would affect the entire kingdom.

Thus he took the command to look for more possible survivors with the aid of his familiars as a good one. But just as Kherun turned away from the Knight-Captain, he was approached by a more senior knight. They asked if it was necessary for Kherun to have mercy killed the fallen mercenary, as they still gotten information from him as they were still many questions apparently. Kherun was not aware of what any of those questions as he was out of the loop.

"My apologies," Kherun said quickly as he bowed a little, "I made the call as it appeared that he couldn't even form words anymore. His mouth was full of blood and it looked like he was drowning in it."

As Kherun stopped bowing, Watcher landed on his shoulder, giving a shrill hoot and staring at Fleuri.

"I am sorry I am new to this. It was my first battle as a Knight and I didn't know the proper protocol. So I shall redeem my error by looking for more who may have survived."

With another bow, Kherun walked away from the veteran knight. As he did so, Watcher lifted back into the air, also looking for the living. Kherun then waded back into the field of the dead, Wedge following from behind. Wishing to redeem his mistake, Kherun took great effort to check every body. After a few minutes his gloves were coated in blood, as he inspected all kinds of weapon injuries.

The pain in his shoulder where he had been hit continued to get worse as he moved it up and down to inspect the bodies. Eventually Kherun had to stand up, leaning on his staff, as a bolt of pain went up his whole right side. He began breathing deeply, calling upon druidic practices instilled in him as a child. It helped center Kherun once more, the rush of battle slowly fading away.

But this meditation was interrupted by a loud hoot from Watcher. The familiar cry awoke Kherun to the outside world. He saw the owl circling near the tree line, and beneath him a body. Except as he stared at the fallen mercenary, Kherun could see that it was slowly moving.

The druid knight immediately ran over toward the trees, sword and staff in hand. As he got closer, Kherun saw the main wounds on his body, a set of slices to his legs, effectively crippling his lower half. The mercenary was pulling himself with just his arms away from the battlefield, as his legs left a trail of blood in the grass.

"I would stop if I were you," stated Kherun as he stepped in front of the man, pointing his sword at him.

The mercenary chuckled, "So you going to kill me? Or you going to let me bleed out?"

"Neither," replied Kherun as he placed his staff down on the ground.

Magic flowed from Kherun, through the staff, and into the ground. After a few moments vines began to grow out of the ground, wrapping around the mercenary's legs, tight enough to stifle the bleeding. The mercenary grunted at the pressure. Kherun then picked up the man, lifting him onto the back of Wedge. As he did so, his shoulder throbbed with pain. Kherun then began to lead Wedge back toward the other Knights, Watcher hovering just above them.

Once they got close enough, he called to the other knights, "I found a live one."

Kherun was glad that he had done something properly, as he did have fears that he would totally screw up his first interaction with the other knights. But so far it hadn't been that bad.

@Crimson Paladin

[Assistant]
"You're probably right, we probably wouldn't have gotten anything out of him" Fleuri spoke to Kherun as he looked down at the corpse. "I apologize for my words, this ordeal has been quite frustrating." There was no excuse for being unwelcoming to one of the fellow members of the order in this manner. In the future, Fleuri would need to remember to mind himself even in times of stress.

Fleuri glanced at Fanilly and Veileena, still holding conversation. As annoyed as Fleuri was that there were still many questions that remained unanswered, they at least had some idea of what was going on, and they now had several leads to pursue. Given the urgent nature of this situation, however, Fleuri figured that this would be going straight to the crown, and it'd be up to them to determine exactly what role the Iron Roses would continue to play. He had no doubt, however, that they would be employed in this matter in some capacity- the kingdom could not afford to hold back as long as a potentially apocalyptic artifact was in the wrong hands.

Fleuri was ready to head back home. It had been a long day, and the sooner the crown received word of the Iron Roses' discoveries, the better. He remained silent, waiting for Fanilly and Tyaethe to finish questioning the Cal girl.