[System]
Gender: Female

Age: 21

Career/Class: Courtesan/Duelist

Physical Description: Camilla is a medium sized woman around 5'5. She possess the slightly bronzed skin, angular features and dark hair common among Tileans. She has the smooth clean lines of a classical statue and the lean musculature of a dancer. Every part of her seems artfully contrived, as though she stepped from the canvas of a master painter. Camilla moves with deliberate grace which is appropriate to her profession.

Mental Description/Personality: Camilla is a fiery impetuous young woman. As a child she was selected from among orphan's for her physical beauty and raised to fill the role of Courtesan in the decadent courts of her native Tilea. Among her studies were poetry, dance, repartee, song, politics, literature, art and sword play.

Camilla is out of place in rough and dangerous situations, and although naturally adventurous and curious about the world she is no heroine. She has a fiery temper and has a tendency to act rather than to wait if given the chance. While technically trained with the sword, Camilla's education is that of the stylized art of the sword rather than the rough and brutal style of real combat, while she is perfectly comfortable fighting a duel to the tough for the entertainment of a crowd, she had little experience with real killing.

Camilla has a passing devotion to Randald and Shyalla, although she tends to focus on the world in front of her rather than the world beyond.

[User]
"Em!" He cried, his attention momentarily diverted as he pinned the skaven-mage. The thing saw its opportunity and bit into his arm, drawing blood and making him cry out in pain. The skaven would regret that, as his eyes fell fully on the thing and the vermin quelled beneath his gaze. It was less than a second before Amal had it on its feet and his dagger pressed to its throat much like Emmaline's attacker, only his dagger was not immobilized.

"Wait wait you fools!" The skaven cried to its comrades streaming towards them. Uneasily they stopped, tails twitching in irritation. As the battle raged on, Amal pressed the dagger more firmly against it. "Give me a good reason why I should not cut your throat and bleed you on the ground." He asked it in Reikspiel, nearly as broken and uneasy on his tongue as it was with the Skaven's own grasp of the language.

"Hold, stupid man-thing!" It said, wriggling in agitation. "Please listen! The orb controls the city. If I do not handle it soon, everything could blow sky high! Unpredictable! Big big explosion cablooey!"

Behind them the orb grew more volatile, the lightning within it growing brighter and larger. Amal glanced back at it, and his eyes went to Emmaline. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her or the Lizards if he could help it. Forming a quick idea, he clicked his tongue twice. Out of his sack poked the carpet curiously. Amal's grip on the Skaven relaxed for a moment, letting the thing breathe out in relief.

That was before Amal picked up the fat rat in his hands and lifted him over his head.

"You wish to handle this thing!?" He cried to the rat now squirming in terror.

"Kill kill the man-thing! Hurry hurry!" It screeched, but he was too late. Amal placed his foot on the wall of the well and tossed the skaven below just under the orb, its screams echoing as it fell an uncomfortably long time. lizard and Rats clawed and mauled one another, oblivious to what was occuring. The Skaven who had halted looked to one another, confused. Amal grimly picked up the Sorcerer's staff in both hands, and wound up. An instant before the staff struck the orb, the rats realized their doom.

FWACK

The Orb wobbled, trying to stay aloft as cracks began to appear on its outer shell. The light seeping out of it in increasing frequency. Amal had not stuck around to watch, having hopped on the carpet to speed over the battle that looked to be dying down. The Skaven seemed too preoccupied with filling the square, but the Lizardmen had suddenly begun to ignore them. They knelt before the Orb as it began to glow like the sun, bowing their heads. Amal didn't know if they were suicidal or if they knew something the Skaven didn't. He zipped over to Emmaline and grabbed the immobilized arm of the would-be assassin, cautiously moving the arms away from her neck. He held out his hand for her to take.

"Are you going to stand there and look beautiful alone, or will you join me on this magic carpet?" He asked her easily.

In the background, lightning the size of tree trunks began to discharge across the town square, originating from the orb. It cut through the Skaven like so much chaff, missing the prostrated Lizardmen by mere inches in some cases, bouncing from ratmant to ratman in a furious assault. As precise as it was, the lightning struck and sundered stone, causing buildings to collapse in its wake. Little did Amal know(though Emmaline could rightly guess) that the light had won within the orb. Amal striking with the staff had caused it to oppose the stave's darkness, increasing the light and fulfilling its purpose.

[Assistant]
Emmaline leaped onto the carpet as it soared free of the fray. Bolts of jagged energy were tearing from the shattered orb, blasting apart rock and stone in showers of flaming debris. Chunks of the cavernous roof above began to fall like great daggers plunging into the city below and flattening buildings, lizardmen and skaven alike. If Sotek had won the battle it certainly didn't seem like any of his worshipers were going to be alive to savor it. Well as the High Priestess of Asapth until told otherwise, Emmaline certainly intended to outlive the combatants below.

"There!" Emmaline yelled pointing at the tunnel through which the Skaven had come. A score or so of the creatures stood hesitantly in the mouth of the tunnel not brave enough to race to the aid of their betters but to scared to flee. Emmaline summoned up another scything bolt of golden light leaving a dozen smoking sets of skaven feet as the carpet raced through the opening and into the tunnel beyond. The interior of the tunnel was twisted by the bite of the boring machine. The tunnel narrowed rapidly as the infernal engine had obviously had no way to dispose of the spoil but had ground it down so that it settled into a smaller space. Behind them came a collosal boom and flash of light that almost seemed to make the walls of solid rock transparent. A great cloud of dust raced down the tunnel behind them like the wake of a bursting dam but with a final burst of speed the carpet outdistanced it before slowing to a coast and then settling to the tunnel floor.

Emmaline looked back the way they had come, her expression as stricken as though she had just been told that Midsummer Eve had been canceled.

"All that gold," she bemoaned wringing her hands together mournfully.

"Don't worry so much," Amal managed sounding a little glum himself, "It isn't a total loss." With a flourish he pulled a golden dagger with a large emerald in its hilt from his bag.

"That is hardly the point!" Emmaline objected before producing a pair of gem studded torcs from her own garments.

[User]
The tunnel still had some faint light which gave them just enough to see by. Amal wasn't certain if it was from the lightning back where they had come from or a light source up ahead. All he was certain of was that Emmaline had managed to outsteal him, producing two torcs before his eyes. He shook his head. "You amazing northern woman." He marveled and kissed her so thoroughly she dropped the torcs onto the ground, her leg popping behind her.

They couldn't stay where they were though, and unless they wanted to go back into a cave-in or worse, angry Skaven, they needed to move forward. Amal picked up the torcs and placed them in the back with the dagger and the now rolled up carpet. They really needed to find a way to get more mileage on it, Amal thought.

"Follow me and keep your head low," Amal whispered to his companion, and she produced a very soft light in her hands just in case things went completely dark. Amal nodded and turned, leading the way into the darkness. He had the short sword and dagger in hand, moving almost like a desert sidewinder as he crept along the cramped, newly made passageway. Crushed rock mixed with dust and jagged stones that had stayed upright from the imperfect design of the skaven contraption's drill.

"Where do you think this leads?" Emmaline whispered after close to an hour of skulking. What Amal found strange was that the tunnel had led into a more natural cavern that moved (if he had to guess) southward. It was larger than the tunnel and it smelled of rat, but so far no skaven as of yet. Not even a squeak or a whimper. Like as not what army was here had all gone straight for the Lizardman Temple City. Lot of good that did them.

"Hopefully some place where I can steal from someone more pompous and civilized." He said, indicating her to follow him after a quick look around. There were some smaller holes leading upwards and downwards, but Amal sensed following the main 'road' would work best. Soon he even felt a small flow of air on his face, and it sped his heart to hope there was an exit. "Do you smell that?" He asked her. He answered before she could. "Humid air..."

A faint screech was heard in the distance behind them. The sorceress jumped but Amal clamped her mouth shut with his hand before she could scream, letting her calm down for a moment. "It seems some rats have picked up our trail." The thief said, his voice filled with such calm deathliness and trepidation that it would have made anyone's skin crawl had they not been used to him. The cries and chitters of the rats did not seem to be made of any large number, which still did not bode well for them. It could be a 6 to 1 fight and they could be wielding the strange green weaponry they had seen in the city.

Minutes sped by and the cavern curved upwards as the two fled, growing smaller and smaller until Amal felt very frightened that it would be too minescule for either to fit through. But it was just large enough to squeeze out of one at a time. Amal motioned for Emmaline to go, the moonlight above them serving as a beacon of hope. The screeches were terrible close now and one could even hear their claws scraping along the cavern floor.

"You first." She said.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her, holding his hand out. It was a strange question, coming from a thief who had done many deplorable things before her eyes. But oddly enough, he had a trustworthiness beyond any man in her life previously, and she took his hand. He smiled, and helped her climb up. Her arms reached out, the rocky hole hugging her hips. Amal pressed against her feet, her body popping up out of the hole and she flopped on the ground.

She found she was on a grassy hill among a copse of jungle trees, overlooking a port town that wafted with smoke beside the sea. Smaller frigates and caravels bobbed within the harbor, and it surprised her so much she almost forgot Amal below. A bag filled with their provisions was tossed through the opening, nearly smacking her in the face. Scrambling to the hole, she reached down to help him up. Her hand extended into the darkness, and was grabbed by a tiny clawed hand.

Suddenly a skaven's head poked out, its nose twitching as it looked at her. It opened its mouth, but rather than making a sound, blood seeped out and it slumped back down into the hole. Scrambling and yips followed until at last Amal's hands burst through the small opening, grabbing the sides and yanking his cut and dirtied body out with a will. Another skaven attempted to ascend, but at that moment the sun peeped over the horizon and quelled its bravado, sending it back into the darkness below.

"Another vacation sounds good." Amal groaned.

[Assistant]
The two adventurers stumbled down the low grassy hills towards the settlement, nestled on the dividing line between lush emerald jungle and cerulean blue sea, the steep pitched roofs and smoking chimnies of the port seemed at once alien and out of place and the only reminder of something recognizable as civilization. Long moles reached out into the ocean constructed laboriously of stone which had been hacked from the nearby hills over the years, slowly replacing what must have initially been wooden versions created from the greenish jungle timber. A palisade wall with a stone foundation ringed the place with towers to twice or three times the height of the parapet at regular intervals. Beyond the walls were fields of crops that stretched from the town to where the base of the hills made the terrain too rocky, but beyond the occasional tool shed there were no permanent structures beyond the wall. Emmaline had to imagine this was because the settlers knew they weren't safe if they ventured out beyond their fortifications. Having just left the company of Lizardmen via a Skaven tunnel Emmaline could appreciate the feeling.

The gates of the port stood open although watchful men in the towers and on the walls kept an eye on them as they approached. The pair made quite a sight, scratched and filthy with dirt and blood and dressed in the tattered remains of sailors clothing. Never the less no comment was made as they entered the dirt streets beyond the walls. As expected from the number of ships in harbor the streets were crowded with sailors and traders from a dozen different nations. Bluff Imperials cried the virtues of barrels of ale from Middenheim, Tilean silversmiths hawked buttons of polished steel, Estalian bravos swaggered and drank on the verendahs of wine shops. There were even a few hooked nose Araybians peddling brasswares and candied dates. Sailors from every nation rolled drunkenly from taverns to brothels, good naturedly for the most part, though occasional drunken altercations were taking place. These impromptu displays of fisticuffs tended to attract gamblers more interested in betting on the outcome than joining in however.

"Hey blondie, I got a gold florin for you if you are looking for a good time!" a slightly more prosperous looking sailor, perhaps a ships officer, called, staggering drunkenly towards Emmaline. Amal smoothly interposed himself and shoved the fellow away, though not before Emmaline caught a wiff of the sour wine on his breath. The Aryabian shoved the fellow away sending him staggering into one of the brothels none the worse for wear.

"I suppose we will need to sell one of our prizes for money," Emmaline mused looking around for a goldsmith or pawn shop that might do. Amal laughed and produced a leather purse he had lifted from the sailor.

"Whatever for?" he asked before taking a gold florin from the pouch and handing it to Emmaline.


[System]
Female
28

How summoning works
Novice summoners require self drawn summmoning circles, but as a summoner gains more experience
with summoning, they begin to become able to summon without the drawn circle. However, drawing the
summoning circle still is valuable, since drawing the circle causes the summon to be more stable.
List of summons:

Xal: Wind Element, medium sized wyvern, flight, fast medium damage, can be rode by a
single person

Salise: Light element, small fairy-like imp, healing, slight debuffs to enemies, light up
dark places

Gorgon's Eye: Dark element, a red eye about the size of a human fist, floats in the air,
temporarily sacrifice summoner's vision and movement to see through the small mobile eye, if the
Gorgon's eye meets its gaze with a target, the target is dealt a brief blindness debuff,
Gorgon's Eye can also inflict a temporary freeze effect on weaker enemies

Zin: Lightning Element, large wolf-like beast, medium speed high damage attacks, can be rode
by two people

Frict: Fire Element, red ogre, very slow massive damage attacks, can move large objects

Man of War: Earth Element, humanoid with four arms, about 7 feet tall and very muscular,
high speed medum damage attacks, brawler style. Most inteligent summon, a summoner needs to prove themselves
to him before he will allow them to summon him.

Jessie possesses little magic beyond her summoning, very basic protection magic, just enough to prevent her summoning
from being interrupted. On top of that, she has a spell that allows her to convert living creatures that are
on the brink of death into new summons.

Born into a clan of summoners and quickly identified as a talent, Jessie spent most of
her life throwing herself into her studies. While most members of her clan used summoning as a
groundwork to base their studies of general magic around, Jessie forsook other forms of magic and
thew everything she had into her knowledge of summoning. Her devotion to summoning eventually gained
her the ability to summon an arsenal of powerful creatures whereas most summoners only summoned
simple critters and elementals. Eventually, Jessie grew tired of living with her isolated clan and
ventured out to see the world. She traveled around for a while before returning home to Wanaka,
New Zealand and taking up snowboarding.

Jessie is a studious type, always marveling at new information. While her practice is focused on summoning, she has done plenty of research on other forms of magic, to learn how it works, despite having no interest in doing it herself.
Active, inquisitive, and adventurous, Jessie doesn't like to sit still for too long, and is always eager to explore
new places and try new things.

[User]
"Ah, I see you caught the result of one of my latest experiments. I really thought I had cleaned up better." replied Travis as he examined himself an any more traces of soot, "I'm sure you're familiar with runic spells, are you? I've recent came into possession of a tome detailing the ancient knowledge of writing runes. Interesting stuff, though I'm afraid many of the alchemists at the time were not familiar with modern science."

Just as he finished, Travis reached over to his portable trunk and sat is flat across his lap. The chest itself was not too terribly cumbersome for its size but was surprisingly relatively light. Pressing his thumbs against two ports of the central lock, Travis divulged slight portion of his mana into the lock which unlocked in response, swinging its smooth rounded cover upwards. Within the opened chest was a shroud of blackness, devoid of any shred of light and masking its true depth. Travis dipped his entire right arm into the carry-on abyss, betraying the chest's flat height in comparison to his arm. He soon retracted his right arm and within his hand was a small clear case with a small parchment of a rune printed onto it.

"Here, have a look-see." said Travis, offering the small case to Yuno to examine, "I have the rune confines as it is, apparently, very sensitive to mana - in fact, it doesn't take any large amounts of it to even cast. The rune itself creates a combustible by-product of heated gases ignites once it comes in contact with oxygen. The resulting explosion, as you can see, was much more powerful than I anticipated but very mana-effecient at the same time. I created it as a means of a plausible getaway countermeasure and as a creative trial using old methods and current knowledge.

Seeing another patch of soot, he quickly brushed the dusty stain from his shoulder, "...But I suppose it would be perhaps a bit, overkill."

[Assistant]
"Never a dull moment." Nemo replied as he placed his hand on Raiya's shoulder and activated the teleportation card. Encompassing both of them in a bright white X shaped flash.

The spell took them straight back to the place he used the initial teleport: by the table in the kitchen. There wasn't much of a sound, but the same bright flash from before might of gotten someone's attention. "I have returned from my trip! I'd say everything went swimmingly." Nemo called out as he grabbed a chair and sat down, waiting for Felix. "I hope you don't mind, but I was feeling a bit lonesome after all that time in Mamertine. So I found a new pal to be my plus one for this mission. Build my social skills up a bit. Increase my ability to work in groups. I'm sure you can agree that will do me good." He rambled off with a grin.

[User]
There was a bright flash and Raiya could feel the familiar pull of spacial magic. After a brief moment, Raiya was standing in a comfy lodge. Raiya was feeling a very odd vibe coming from the cabin. It was fully furnished, and seemed to have many amenities. This freak better not be getting any perverted ideas. Raiya thought as she examined the room.

That's when she saw him. The specter. The phantom. The ghost she refused to acknowledge existed, and that's when it all started coming together.

---

Felix was still undergoing a panic attack even after there was a flash of spacial magic in the room. But when he turned and saw the leather clad, black-haired, Japanese tornado tha was Raiya, a whole different wave of panic washed over him.

"YOU BROKE A CONVICTED MASS MURDERER OUT OF MAMERTINE PRISON JUST TO GET ME TO JOIN YOUR STUPID CLUB!? Raiya broke out into a flurry of Japanese. Felix could only grasp every other word of what she was saying　but still got the general gist of it.

"I didn't break him out to get you. I broke him out because the parchment told me to. Him getting you was something he did on his ow-." A large sushi knife stuck itself in the ground right next to Felix's foot, any closer and he would have been in a large amount of pain. Raiya held her leather jacket open, revealing leather pockets inside that all hand sushi knives in them. She drew another one this one longer and pointier than the last.

"As if I'd believe a dead man," Raiya sneered. She reared up to throw another knife.

"I-i-it's true I swear. Tell her, Nemo. I told you to stay here and wait for the rest of the recruits." Felix stammered.

Raiya looked around the room and noticed other people. And though she was caught a bit off guard she didn't appear to be fully assuaged, as indicative of her knife still reared back in throwing position.

[Assistant]
Yuno glanced over initially at the presentation of a rune that Travis had pulled out. Having been in the field of study, it wasn't too difficult for her to understand the more complex sections of his rune once he explained it. Yet, being that it was more scientific and efficient than what most rune users use the design he had create was unlike most she had seen even despite her trained use of Rune magic . However, it answered the largest question on her mind about him being Untalanted. He knew how to manage his finite resource. While she can create a rune on the fly and not worry about her mana reserves if it was the start of a fight and she needed a quick save, he needed to meticulously analyze his runes as far as she could tell and possibly have them prepared all the way beforehand. Time and care into those aspects that someone like her wouldn't understand as much if she didn't need the same knowledge of her gems. "I'm sure some magic users might feel disturbed by having such a scientific approach to your tools. Much like how long ago philosophers and physicists disliked engineers for making their concepts become physical. However, I must admit even with the rune magic I do I haven't approached in the way you have and I am impressed. More so by the fact you were so willing to tell me all of this instead of hiding your advancements."

Looking back up from the rune she wanted to point out one portion of the rune that could have helped him be more articulate in the power desired from it. While not being the kind who would have created such an interesting rune herself, her knowledge of the field enabled her to find this feature and come up with a plan of action for the adjustment that may help out so he doesn't blow himself up in the future. "Truly fascinating though, but I think I see the point that became more powerful than-" she stated before the blur of interruptions came forth. Felix's arrival prompted her to look towards the man with a greeting smile and respond to him. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Recruiting going well?" she first replied before taking his description of Nemo. When he came back with a note she shook her head and confirmed what he likely just found out. "That note was there when I arrived. Rather odd to have left so fast when you were bringing back more people."

Then from behind Felix came Nemo's arrival which made her raise an eyebrow. More than one person was able to teleport like Felix just had? Felix's spell for that was already impressive enough, but maybe it was more common than she thought. Her train of thought derailed when Nemo came in with his own woman, and before Yuno could exchange a greeting the woman before he began to call out in her foreign tongue. Knives flashed through the air and Yuno was stuck in the confusion as to what she should get herself involved in or wait there on standby. Being a bit rational however she determined than an Arch-Magi can likely handle someone with only knives if it comes down to it despite her rage. Yuno let her gaze fall onto the more ravenous signature she caught in the room. Not having the mananalysis capabilities of Felix to determine why he gave such a feeling off she kept her eyes on the person who felt like the greatest wildcard in the room. The woman was outwardly angry and upset, but that man had been the one to bring her here with that smile. While to those who may glance at her see a slightly confused face her eyes returned to the analytical and piercing blue she had given both Travis and Felix initially. Her gaze turning to a downright glare briefly if Nemo paid enough attention to her before she turned away to reexamine the confrontation. Her mind still focused on Nemo's actions though.

[User]
The situation escalated quicker than Nemo had planned. But he had to admit that it was definitely entertaining so far. He almost felt bad he knew he had to do something to quench the fire that was building. Still in his seat, Nemo swiveled the chair into position and then used his boot to kick off from the table. It sent him sliding in between the two with an audible screech. The chair nearly teetered over but managed to fall back onto all four legs.

Now right in dangerzone, he put his hands up to try to signal them to stop. He faced the palm with the X on it towards Raiya. "Now now you two, let's just try to get along." He said as he put a silly over-dramatic accent onto his voice. He looked to the opposite person. "Give peace a chance." Nemo added before his voice turned back to normal. He looked to Raiya with a straight face. "He's not lying, while Felix was the one who told me about you. I searched you out on my own volition. You're only here because I want you to be." He explained.

"And even if it was him, that doesn't matter anymore. Or are you too drunk to remember our deal?" He asked.

[Assistant]
Jessie glanced down from her perch, the view of the snowy slopes before her filled her with energy. The snowboard route she was taking today was usually pretty popular, but due to the opening of a new slope, all the regulars were off checking out the scene there. She didn't mind not being among them though, since she had done the route raw and unflagged before it had been scoped out by the local resort's route setters.
Jessie lowered her goggles and put her earbuds in before putting a snug purple beanie on and pulling it down over her ears. She took an ipod out of her pocket, clicked on a ska music playlist, and tucked it back into a pocket and zipping it closed. She smiled as the music stared playing and jumped down from her seat landing snowboard first in the snow and beginning to gain momentum. As she zipped down the slope, the parts of it she loved began to rush toward her, and those parts were the copious amounts of ramps and jumps. Her smile grew as she went rocketing into the air off the first ramp. While airborne, she grabbed the side of her board in her right hand and pulled while shifting her body weight to the left causing an aerial barrel roll before she righted her position just before landing. Several jumps and several miles of slope later, Jessie skidded to a stop at the bottom of the slope. She pulled up her goggles and glanced up the slope as she undid the straps of her snowboard.
"Always more fun to spend time with you alone babe."
She said to the slope. She was glad to have had it as an empty slope again, when she had started snowboarding a couple years back that specific slope had always been pretty empty, but the past few months had seen a surge in its popularity. Jessie hoped with the opening of the new slope she would get more time on this slope to herself. She shrugged as she picked up her board and went to head home. She had run the slope a couple times already, and she had some things she needed to take care of so she bid farewell to the slopes for the day.
After a short drive to the bottom of the mountain, Jessie arrived at her home, the large manor her family and many others lived in. The manor was home to a clan of summoners that she was a part of, as she walked through the halls, she saw many of the clan's younger members running through the halls playing with small animal-esque elementals. She greeted several of them as the ran past excitedly chasing the small sprites they had worked so hard to learn to summon. Eventually she arrived at her room and stepped in, leaning her snowboard up against the wall. She removed her jacket and snowboarding clothing, setting it up, ready for next time. She got dressed in a pair of jeans, a tank-top, and sneakers before leaving her room and going off to the manor's courtyard where there were a pair of kids she had promised to give a little bit of summoning training to that day were awaiting her.


[System]
Age: 28
Appearance:

Personality: Grim and antisocial, Gareth is the picture of a stoic mercenary. He responds to money and little else, and his face is usually immovable as a stone. He alienates fellow sellswords with his personality, and exclusively takes jobs where he can be by himself. Because of his solitary nature, it's unclear what he truly likes or dislikes, but it is nearly impossible to make him angry, or emotional at all. Perhaps he has everything shut up inside of himself, or maybe he really doesn't feel anything at all. But if the latter case is true, why is he even living life at all?
Reputation: Gareth is well-known in Taenyth, and would be known to those in Afaede who might have knowledge of large-scale criminals (thus, probably the royal family.) He is no secretive thief, and is often so confident in his own strength that he would walk right into a place and take what he wants. He has no home and does not frequent cities much, so the law can seldom touch him. He is known as a wandering brute, or maybe even a wild man who lives in the forest. Because of his rough nature, it is told that he has no honor and would betray anyone. His signature is his weapon (see below, Combat Abilities.)

Motive for kidnapping: The money, of course. He refuses to say who is paying him, but he hails from the rival kingdom of Taenyth, a place he rarely leaves, so it isn't difficult to make an educated guess.
Likes: Solitude, cooking, relaxing in nature, taking things slow.
Dislikes: Noisy people, demanding people, needy people, snakes.

Combat abilities: Gareth's signature weapon is a large two-handed sword, dull and pitted from old age and so much use. While he is mocked for not keeping his weapon sharp, he makes up for it with an exceedingly strong sword-arm, turning the weapon into more of a sword-shaped club than an actual blade. In a fight he focuses mostly on keeping himself steady, defending and watching for good times to strike. He's very difficult to unnerve, even in the heat of battle, which makes him a great fighter and a great strategist, and he excels at making plans on the fly and adapting.

[User]
Afaedean summers were always excruciatingly warm, the air heavy and thick even after the sun had found its bed beneath the horizon. The sky was clear, the moon casting a cool white light across the white and gold stone of the palace, and the city had settled into a peaceful stillness. For now it seemed the bustle of the trade fair the previous week had faded. Namyna sighed, already missing the lively travelers and entertainers it had brought. A yawn came to her lips as she looked across the city from the back halls, the quietest wing of the whole palace. The lake shimmered beyond the city walls, reflecting like thousands of diamonds. She idly wondered whether she could slip past the guards to escape to its cool, windy shores.

"You're up later than usual," a familiar voice commented, amused. Namyna didn't even turn to face him, a smirk crawling its way to her lips.

"I could say the same of you," she returned. "A prince is no good to his people if he sleeps the day away."

"I am not the one that sleeps until after high noon."

Namyna finally turned, her tongue poking out from her lips at the comment. "There are worse things than beauty rest for a princess."

Brelan chuckled, giving a playful hit to her arm. "Is that what you call it?" Namyna struck out against his arm in return, much harder than her twin. He laughed harder, earning another punch. He wrapped his arms around hers, despite the flailing it incurred, placing a kiss against her forehead. She attempted to headbutt him in the process, just barely missing. Still, it brought a smile to her face - she would've denied it if asked.

"Get some sleep," Brelan chuckled as he set her down, turning to continue on his original path down the hallway, waving his hand over his head as he went. "I'm going to make sure you're up for sparring practice at dawn."

"Don't you dare," she called after him, hearing only laughter in his wake.

The princess turned again to the balcony, soaking in the moon's light and the sight of her city. Sleep would still be a while off; it would be no harm if she remained here for a few more minutes.

[Assistant]
This part of the palace was quiet and dark. This was pleasing to Gareth. He liked the quiet well enough, and its relative emptiness was a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle it had been the past week as he laid in wait. For a whole week he had endured being around countless people, pushing, shoving, sweating, making noise... all for the capture of one girl. But now, he couldn't help but feel it was entirely worth it. He had gotten to see such a wonderful view, and the only things that stood in his way were a few guards that were, thankfully, relatively easy to knock out without any fuss. Afaede was a kingdom of relative peace, and it showed in the palace's calm demeanor.

Still, it had been no walk in the park. It had been a grueling week of planning routes, contingencies, and talking to people. All for the glint of gold... His employer should be satisfied with the quality of his work. Nobody had recognized him on the street, and nobody had seen even a hair on his head since he first set foot in the palace. If it were any busier, if patrols were more frequent, it would be easy to come across his trail of unconscious guards. But his target was in sight now. Even if he got ambushed by three or four guards, it would be too late.

As he melded into the shadows, calming his breaths, he watched the prince and princess interact. He had no interest in the prince, but the girl, his target, did interest him. She was a fighter, he could tell from her bearing. Perhaps a bit of a tomboy. Gareth ran a hand through his disheveled hair, closing his eyes for a minute. It was not going to be an easy trip, that was for sure.

The princess was looking out over the balcony, at her city, to be sure. It was a beautiful sight, but for Gareth, it was simply a distraction. And a good one at that. Once he had confirmed the departure of the prince, he left his post in the shadows, sneaking up behind the girl, where he would snake a hand around to grab her mouth, reaching for his sword with the other hand, but not moving aggressively beyond that. Holding this pose, he spoke to her before she could get a word out.

"If you don't struggle, I will not hurt you. If you scream, you're going to sleep. Either way, you're coming with me. What'll it be, Princess?"

[User]
The hand that pressed against her face was unfamiliar, rough skin pressing her lips shut. She smelled the thick scent of leather and metal - he was armed. Panic gripped her, her breath catching in her throat. Even still, she managed to keep herself from lashing out. His gruff voice was in her ear, and she cringed away slightly. Son of a bitch. Her arms shook, her mind raced. Brelan was likely too far off to hear her, even if she did scream out. She would be surprised if there were guards left in the vicinity to help. She didn't even have her own knives on her, the items left stashed in the drawer of her dresser. Her stomach dropped as she suddenly felt terrifyingly alone. But now was not the time to freeze and cry. She had to act.

What felt like minutes must have been seconds before she reacted. Acting on instinct, one arm struck out behind her with her elbow, using her full force to jab towards his rib cage. In the same motion her opposite hand reached for the hand that held her, grabbing the wrist and twisting at the same moment her elbow made contact. Both actions did little harm past the gear he'd adorned, but it still gave her the distraction she needed for just the smallest amount of room to slip from his hand. Without hesitation, or even the curiosity to look back at her attacker, she began to sprint down the hallway.

"Brelan!" she shrieked as she ran, regardless of its usefulness, hoping for anyone to even know her whereabouts. It didn't help that she'd been wearing the Gods-forsaken dress her father had insisted upon. She had few precious seconds to think. Her eyes searched wildly for anything of use. If she could just get a weapon in her hand...

[Assistant]
Gareth felt the elbow aimed to his chest, and the hand that grabbed his wrist. There was no harm done, being that she was unarmed and he was in full leather gear (he had left his plate back at his makeshift camp.) However, it did surprise him. He was expecting a scream, or even a fight, and was prepared to knock her out with the pommel of his sword if she resisted, but what he didn't expect was for her to be so damned fast!

"Ugh, pain in my-" he cut himself off as he wheeled around, giving chase to her fleeing form. He could outrun her, he was confident, but she was raising quite a ruckus. There was only so far she could get in the palace before somebody heard her. Gareth needed to be fast. Luckily, he was as quick to think as he was on his feet. He'd brought a belt of small knives, just four of them strapped to his waist. He would need to be careful, but if he could aim his shots just right... while he was running, no less...

His first throw sailed wide over her head. He would be surprised if she even noticed it, it was so poor a miss. But the second and third were much closer. The second throw had embedded itself slightly within one of the stone pillars that were spread through the hallway; the third knife landed right where he wanted, where the hem of her formal dress touched the floor. It wouldn't be a firm anchor by any means, but it might throw her off balance and slow her flight. He kept his fourth knife on his person just in case, but at least one of the knives had done their proper job. and if the princess was fearful at all of warning shots, she might even stop running entirely.

Well, maybe that last bit is too much to hope for.

The time for negotiations was probably past, so after he had confirmed the last hit, Gareth unsheathed his sword, and old and weathered affair, while closing the distance between himself and the princess. If she wouldn't bend to reason, she would have to bend to steel. And if she continued making noise, he would have to resort to unfortunate measures.

[User]
She wasn't sure she had seen the first blade correctly until the second embedded itself mere inches from her, into one of the stone pillars. Whether he was missing on purpose or just an incredibly horrible shot, he was throwing his weapons with purpose. She flinched instinctively as she ran, hoping he wouldn't have many of the blades left. He didn't seem to want her dead, or she would have been long before she would have had the chance to fight back. No, he was here for something else. She pushed the thought away as she ran.

Suddenly the dress she loathed so deeply caught behind her. Though the light fabric tore with the weight of her forward movement, the hiccup in her momentum still left her stumbling to the ground. She gasped painfully as her side hit the smooth stone with a resounding thud, pain spreading through her side. Giving herself the smallest moment of hesitation, she rolled onto her back, heart dropping with how close her pursuer still was. Scrambling forward, she made to grab for the blade he'd thrown, before a familiar voice rang through the hall.

"Myna!" Brelan's voice called out, still dishearteningly far from her. She could hear the panic in his voice.

Namyna opened her mouth to call out to him before the sudden flash of steel entered her vision. Her assailant was even more armed than she had realized, the large blade held threateningly in his grip. The princess faltered. Not for the threat of her own safety, for she would have gladly continued to struggle with a blade now within reach. But she had made a terrible mistake. Brelan would be upon them in a matter of minutes even if she remained silent, and she would bet more than her fair share of her father's wealth that he had not grabbed his own weapons in the short time he'd been gone. Her attacker didn't seem to want her dead just yet, but how concerned would he be with others?

Brelan's voice seemed to get closer, a fact that would not have escaped the man standing above her. Acting quickly, Namyna pushed herself away from her attacker's blade, her eyes piercing into him with as much deadly hate as she could muster. "Leave him be," she snarled beneath her breath.

[Assistant]
Nothing was ever easy, was it?

The prince's voice echoed down the hallway as Gareth's target stumbled to the ground. If he were an assassin, it would be time to flee already. These were the first pair of unwanted eyes to catch sight of him tonight, and already it was one pair too many. He could escape now before the other man got too close, but keeping his identity a secret was not the priority here. What was a priority was the girl, and fortunately for him, it seemed like she might have unwittingly revealed an achilles heel. As she bared her teeth to him, she may as well have been baring her neck at the same time. What was important was not that he get in and out unseen. The only important thing was that he was to leave with the girl. And if she cared what happened to her brother, she wouldn't leave the two men alone.

After he finished his quick analysis, Gareth placed his second hand on his sword in a fighting stance. He waited for the prince to draw closer before speaking again.

"Welcome, Prince Brelan, to our little quarrel. I'm not a man for words, so I'll keep this short. Unless you've brought your whole army with you, there's only two people walking out of this room tonight. I'll let the two of you decide who's leaving with me. Whoever's left behind gets gagged and tied to a post. Or killed, for all I care." Gareth shrugged casually. "It's up to you. But now that you're here, if you try to run... well, just don't try to run, alright? Make good life choices."

Gareth's expression might as well have been carved from marble, his gaze remained measured and fixed on the two siblings. Saying he would kill either of them... well, it was a bluff, but one that should be impossible to discern from their position. It was true, however, that he was ready to spring back into chase if either of the two attempted to flee and call for backup. This wasn't like before, he wouldn't be caught off guard again.


[System]
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Other:
- Appearence: Hannah stands slightly shorter than the average girl, at about 5'3. Her hair, which is usually just hanging loose, carries a hazel colour to it. Her eyes are a faint green.
- Lives in Apartment 110

[User]
"No, no, I'm sure." Hannah muttered into her phone, as she took a careful sip of her warm cup of coffe. The girl cursed slightly at herself, as she almost burnt her tongue, completely forgetting about the caller on the other end. Her sister kept speaking like a train with no breaks. Apparently some boy had caused her a headache, for a reason Hannah was still trying to figure out. The coffe shop was rather empty at this time of day, and the young woman only had her homework and her frusated sister on the phone to keep her company. But as tiring as her sister Claire could be, Hannah always enjoyed their little talks on the phone, especially now that she herself had moved to north Sacramento. Claire was still in high school back in Toronto. The climate change had been quite hard hitting for Hannah, but she quickly got used to the heat, always finding it so warm, when the Americans found it cool.
 Finishing her cup of coffee, and finally convincing her younger sister that the boy surely hadn't tried to offend Claire by calling some band horrible, she was on her way.. Waving her usual goodbye to Mister Thatchter behind the counter, Hannah left the shop. The city was still waking up as she made her way to Coalmire Street, though Hannah had been up for hours. She always had been quite the morning person, and enjoyed strolling through the city when the cars were just heating up. Still, she let out a morning yawn, already having studied what she needed for the day. She didn't need to go back to the University for another few days, but still kept a strict studying plan. With quick steps she finally made it back to the apartments. It was a house filled with young adults, moving away from home and beginning their pursuit for wealth and happiness in life. And they didn't cost too much, either.
 Just as she was about to open up the door, a small item was missing from her bag. With a sigh, Hannah bumped her head into the door to the house,. There she stood, on the street and sighing at herself.
 "You had to forget the key again, didn't you?" she muttered to herself.

[Assistant]
"Uuugh." Ace grumbled with a strong tone of disgust as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the beams of sunlight that pierced in-between the buildings and onto his frame. He walked sluggishly; dragging his feet along and slouching his back. It had been another sleepless night. The convenience store clerk always liked to point out the dark bags under Ace's heavy eyes and how he should rest more (which frustrated the heck out of Ace) so he knew others could tell something was wrong with him. He tried to make it seem like he didn't care, which just consisted of him making an emotionless face and taking out his Ipod. After maneuvering between songs on the Ipod, the can of soda in his right hand, and the delicate plastic bag filled with unhealthy snacks, he put in his red earbuds. Heavy metal screamed into his ears. A smirk did escape him, however, as he imagined his dad saying, "You are going to go DEAF with that crap!"

The smile faded however as he thought once more about his sleep. "Maybe I should try taking those sleeping pills the doctor gave me…. I hate medicine, but it may be my only option." he thought. He stared at the sidewalk for awhile. When he knew he was approaching his building, he looked up, and his bangs swept to the side as he tilted his head in confusion. There was a girl with her head on the front door of his apartment building. He took a step closer then stopped."Who's she?" he wondered. Suspicion filled him at first, but then, /duh../ she lives in this building too. He had seen her around but never really talked to her before. He wanted to question if everything was going alright, but was not one to initiate conversation. Maybe she was sad? Mad? He couldn't tell, so he just stared.

[User]
Hannah raised her hand and passively poked the door, still having her head on the wooden door. She simply hadn't thought of a better idea, than to simply wait for anyone to come. It could be hours, though. Most were probably still resting after partying last night, or watching some episode of some show they all were so in love with. Not saying Hannah didn't enjoy watching things, she just preferred to do it after homework, as always. Finally she retracted her head, sighing at the door again. She looked up at the building, wondering if perhaps she was able to climb to her window? Hannah shrugged to herself, placing her hands on her hips before raising an eyebrow. Swiftly, the woman turned around, meeting the gaze of the young man. She froze briefly, staring at him in silence. How long had he been there? Upon further inspection she recognized him, a man living on the floor beneath her. She never knew what to make of him, but admitted to herself that she was most likely the one looking most strange in this situation.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, stepping towards him with her hands folded in front of her. "I uhh… You live here too, right? 102? 101? I forgot my key… Just this once." Hannah offered an embarrassed smile, but still didn't really know how to act around him. She could barely even recall his name, and discreetly did all she could to avoid seeming like she had forgotten. Indeed, she preferred to keep track of things. Pausing for a brief second, she narrowed her eyes at him. He was up early. Hannah was used to having to sneak out in the mornings, to avoid waking up anyone else in the building. Realizing her empty situation, she quickly continued.
"I'd appreciate it if you could open up? I don't know if you ever caught my name,, but it's Hannah. I live in 110." She tried to offer another smile, carefully holding out her hand for a handshake, as she had stepped closer.

[Assistant]
It was odd watching the girl. Even for Ace who after watching her poke and stare at the door for what seemed like a long time, started feeling strange like he should speak up …but he didn't. When she turned around his body immediately went cold. So cold, that he was pretty sure that he had just become a frozen statue. "I should explain why I'm just sitting here!", he thought, "She's going to think of me as some kind of creep!" But then he realized that she looked just as petrified.

She stepped towards him and began talking. Except her talking was something about bodies hitting the floor? "Shit!" he cursed under his breath as he yanked the earbuds out of his ears. Her actual voice was a nice change of pace for him. It had been a few days since anyone really talked to him except for the convenience store clerk and Professor, his cat, who just whined about food most of the time. She gave him an odd look and he felt as if he shrank at her gaze even though she was shorter. "I'm Ace…" he said quietly, "Yeah I live here. I'm in 101." He noticed her outstretched hand and cautiously went in for a handshake. He ended it quickly however, thinking that maybe his hand would feel too clammy against hers. Yep, that was awkward. "Sure I can open the door for you." He tried his best to make an equal amount of eye contact between her and the door. He told himself this was to make her feel comfortable, but knew it was because he wanted to stare at her while they talked, and didn't want to freak her out.

He walked up to the door. He withdrew a Pokemon lanyard with a few keys on it from out of his pocket. He opened the door and held it for her. "You know where your keys are right? You didn't lose them? I lost my mom's house key once, and that really sucked." he said a little louder and with a bit more confidence.

[User]
Hannah tried to follow his gaze as he spoke, nodding as he said his name. She carefully stepped along his way, the sound of the cars driving throughout the city increasing as the minutes passed. Still, she didn't quite know what to make of him, but he had been friendly so far. It was almost as if an irritating thorn had been pulled out of her finger as the door was opened, and silently she let out a sigh of relief for herself. She nodded towards him, as he held the door and spoke again. "Uhuh, I probably left the key for the front door on my kitchen table, or something. I have the one for my apartment, luckily. I don't usually lose my keys though." A small lie never hurt anyone. Hannah did keep track of so many things, but keys were her absolute bane. She never could quite go a month without losing or almost loosing a key. A curse, she had told herself.

Sh discreetly eyed the Pokemon lanyard, flashing a small smirk, being reminded of the times she and her sister had played Pokemon on each vacation, a tradition that sadly died out when they grew older. Hannah's attention quickly returned to Ace, though. She nodded in agreement, as she carefully stepped inside, running a hand through her hazel hair as she looked up towards the stairs.
 "Mhm, loosing house keys are the worst. Especially your parents." Hannah attempted a quick and careful smile, before she continued. "Me and my sister were once locked outside for hours, because our parents were out of town, and my sister couldn't find the key." Hannah shivered at the thought, before stepping up the stairs, awaintng Ace before she continued. The stairs were fairly new and renovated, and looked quite neatly. The inhabitants hadn't ruined them yet, though Hannah didn't have high expectations. Still, they looked nice while they were there.

"What do you do, Ace? Study, work, secret government agent?" She almost sighed at her own humor. As the door closed, a strange breeze ran through the building, causing even the Canadian a strange shiver. She grunted slightly at it, but simply dismissed it afterwards.

[Assistant]
Ace closed the door behind himself as they entered. However, a weird whip of air had entered and made a shiver run down his spine. He put a hand onto his opposite shoulder and gave a little rub to warm/comfort himself. /That was weird, I must have closed the door too hard…but it didn't slam? Did it? Maybe I didn't notice?/ Thinking this, he immediately blurted out, "Sorry.", just in case Hannah thought he shut the door in a rude way. He again walked to her side and gave a stumped face at her question.

"Government Agent, huh?" He gave a little laughing grunt and along with it, a smirk. He could feel his face getting a little hot. If he was actually a secret agent, his cover would have just been blown by the simple question. He was terrible at keeping or hiding secrets. He got both hands and used them to tug his hoodie outwards a little more to hide his face. His voice sounded embarrassed as he said, "I, um, I take online classes with the local university. I am looking for a job in the meantime. I want to work at the local animal shelter, but they are usually fully staffed and looking only for volunteers. I would do that, but I need money for rent, ya know?" He was shocked at himself for saying so much. Is this what people usually do when they meet? Probe others for information right away? Was she interested in being friends with him? Ace didn't really interact with any other residents (except for Hector in apartment 104 whom he would play videogames with every now and then. And even with that, it was strictly 'videogame business'. Along with free Mountain Dew. How could Ace turn that down?).

"I've heard talk of a new cat café opening up around here…." he mumbled. Oh gawd. Did he really bring up the cat café? It was as close to a dream job as he could get, but he was embarrassed about telling anyone (even his parents about that). His love of cats was truly his weakness. His stomach started to churn. Then he realized he didn't finish his sentence. /Ah! She's going to think I'm suggesting something!/

He began flailing his arms about and his face became even redder.

[User]
Hannah gave a few friendly nods as he spoke of his study and wish for work. She was fond of animals herself, so she wasn't going to make any complaints about possibly working at a shelter. Noble work, Hannah agreed to herself. She eyed him up and down, flashing a quick smile at the look of him covering himself as he spoke. He seemed so nervous, or perhaps just not used to speaking with strangers on stairs, not that she was either. Hannah listened carefully, having stopped on the stairs. She had folded her arms passively, rubbing her sleeves.

"A cat café?" Hannah couldn't help but break into a smile, easily picking up on the boy's panic attack. She chuckled lightly, letting her tongue wet her lips as she spoke back, attempting to calm him down. "I'm afraid I don't own a cat. Is that a necessity? I apologize, but I don't have a lot of knowledge on cat cafés." Hannah giggled again, not being able to keep a smile away, not that she was making a fool of him, she simply had found the whole situation entertaining and quite unexpected. She turned around, beginning to walk up the stairs, looking down at Ace again, seemingly expecting him to follow.
Nonetheless, she stopped with a halt, almost bumping into a man, standing completely still on the stairs in front of her. He had red eyes, and stood stiff as a door. Hannah blinked at him, before recognizing him. It was a boy by the name of Derek, the local pothead living on the second floor. He seemingly hadn't picked up on them, before shaking his head violently at Hannah.

"They're coming, man." He said, with his sluggish slow voice, waving his finger at the walls. Hannah sighed, with an unimpressed glance, shaking her head at him. Derek was waking up smoking, and went to bed smoking. Strange encounters like these weren't unusual. One never knew exactly what would happen when they bumped into Derek and his blonde dreadlocks.
"You really need to lay off on the smoking, Derek. It's getting out of hand." Hannah waved her hand in front of herself, waving the smell away. He muttered something in return, walking past Hannah and down towards Ace.

"I swear man, it's for real. I saw them, man. You know it, right? You've heard them, man!" Derek blurted out, grabbing the hood of Ace, leaning uncomfortably close to the man. "They're mean, man…"


[System]
Age: 17

Heritage: The son of Hatter Madrail. Ghent's mother was murdered a few years after he was born.

Adoptive parents: Frederick and Elise Preston. Elise was the first to find Hatter's son; she was astonished to discover him in the woods near their home, disoriented and impossibly lost.

Appearance: Thick, medium length black hair. The style is unpredictable, but the layers sometimes give it an unruly appearance. His bangs fall in front of his eyes, which are blue in color and have a sharp, piercing quality to them. The rest of his features are dark and seem to contrast against his paler-than-should-be skin. He has a lithe build and currently stands at 5'9", but has about a year left to grow.

Distinguishing Marks: A few light freckles running across the bridge of his nose. A more noticeable one is underneath his left eye. He has a small scar underneath his jaw.

Clothes Wear: Whatever's comfortable. He usually wears hoodies, jeans, worn out sneakers, and three quarter/graphic t-shirts.

Abilities: Strength and magic, both inherited from his race. As far as magic goes, Ghent was completely unaware of the ability until Drust and Elayra came to earth. Understandably, he is inexperienced but has the potential to become better with practice.

Weapons: A staff, given to him on page 13.

Personality: It's no secret that Ghent can be a pain. He isn't malicious, but he enjoys pushing the buttons of others in order to get a reaction out of them. His sarcasm usually lands him in trouble, but his past experiences haven't been enough for him to keep his mouth shut. Despite his immaturity, he has a good heart. Ghent has lazy tendencies, but can be hard working with proper motivation.

Major Positive Traits: Compassionate. Empathetic. Hardworking (sometimes).

Major Negative Traits: Sarcastic. Cocky. Klutz. Impulsive. Awkward.

Weaknesses: At times, Ghent doubts himself and his abilities. The fear of failure usually prevents him from achieving success. Having lived in two worlds, he struggles with deciding where he belongs and where his loyalties lie.

Ticks and Tags: Ticks: Fidgets a lot, often with the drawstrings of his hoodies. When he's faced with a situation he can't wrap his mind around, he will pace and/or mumble to himself until he can make sense of what's happening.  Tags: "Cut me some slack!" "Great." "Wait, what?"

Fears: Ghosts. Failure. Being unable to return home. Wonderland in general.

Short Bio: Ghent's story could have been a tragic one, had he not been found. He was discovered in a forest as a toddler, and later adopted by the very family that took him in.
 For much of his childhood, Ghent lived in the comforts of a small farmhouse in the country. Life was serene, quiet, and good. He grew up happy and healthy, with a mother who doted on him and a dedicated, hardworking father.
 Things changed when they moved. Seeking better employment, Mr. Preston uprooted his family to the city, which is where they remained for the years that followed.
 The city posed many differences and challenges, but Ghent learned to adapt and knew his way around. Unfortunately, street smarts didn't help much in school.
 As Ghent grew older, the nightmares and flashbacks became more frequent. Different events or images would trigger a memory, many of which involved Elayra and Drust. The memories confused and frightened Ghent. He never forgot Wonderland, but he learned to stop talking about it after his parents sought him professional help. It was something his mother made the mistake of telling her longtime friend, Mrs. Saxon.
 News spread and rumors started. High school proved to be Ghent's biggest obstacle. He became an easy target for jokes and ridicule, and his grades began to suffer for it.
 Motivated by money and the desire to help his family financially, he began to take on odd jobs. His fifth job turned out to be his favorite: a part-time shift at Frank's Book Barn.
 Even there, Ghent wasn't free from Wonderland. Flashbacks would hit him at the most inconvenient times…and they didn't cease until became reunited with two important faces from his past.

Other Important Characters

Name: Henry

Age: 14

Appearance:  Henry is thin, wiry, with no muscle tone whatsoever. He makes an effort to look neat, but his untamed shock of ginger hair betrays him by looking a mess and his freckles are out of control. When reading, he wears thick black glasses over his large, brown eyes that give him an owlish appearance.

Clothes wear: Henry wears an odd mix of clothing. Most of his clothes are hand-me-downs from previous cousins, including Ghent. When his options are limited, he can be found wearing faded graphic t-shirts (he favors Disney ones) and jeans that have been rolled up at the cuffs in order to fit.

Personality: Despite a rocky home life, Henry remains optimistic, but he has a sensitive side that results in him crying at the drop of a hat. Although he has a sweet, childlike innocence about him, he isn't foolish. He's remarkably intelligent and has a great love for reading and learning. Because of his OCD, Henry is always cleaning and organizing, and likes to keep busy in order to make himself useful. His desire for perfect order can be a little overwhelming at times, but he means no ill intent and has great respect for his family and friends.

Bio: Henry is an only child who never longed for the company of a sibling. Growing up in the country, he had plenty of family and cousins to spend his time with. The families all lived quite close in the rural area, including the Preston family.
 Even as a toddler, Henry was fascinated by Ghent and seemed to gravitate towards him, viewing him as an older brother figure. To the delight of their parents, the three year age gap and a difference in personality didn't prevent the two boys from getting along.
 After the Preston family moved to the city, Henry was heartbroken. The families kept in touch when possible, making multiple visits during the holidays. The visits lessened over the years, but Henry took it upon himself to keep in touch through any means possible. To Elise's delight (and to Frederick and Ghent's dismay) Henry has been known to leave long rambling phone messages, sends more texts than a teenage girl, and writes letters so long, they need to be mailed in multiple envelopes.
 Henry is the only one Ghent continued to trust with his few memories of Wonderland. Their efforts to uncover the mystery were admirable, but brought nothing but disappointment and wild theories. Eventually, a disgruntled Ghent gave up, but Henry continued to search for the truth behind his cousin's past.

[User]
"Useless? I do have qualities aside from magic, you know." Ghent slipped his backpack off of his shoulders, taking this chance to retrieve the dark gray hoodie he'd packed. On the back, there was a large, faded emblem of a skull, hardly visible after so much wear. No use risking a cold the day of venturing into Wonderland.
 "I can be stealthy, I'm quick on my feet, and -- I know I don't look it -- but I'm strong, too. Bet I could pick up you and Drust without breaking a sweat." Ghent figured he'd get away with these claims; he was almost certain Elayra wouldn't want him to prove it.
 "Plus, I'm handling all of this pretty darn well. If you pulled someone off the street and told them everything you've told me...they'd either think you were crazy, or they'd have a mental breakdown. The way I see it, you lucked out," he started to put the hoodie on, words muffled until he found where to put his arms and head. "You guys need stability," he put emphasis on the word as if were the master of the meaning. "Someone with a good head on their shoulders. I'm the perfect member for your little team."
 With the world visible once again, Ghent saw one big difference. Elayra's smirk had vanished, replaced with a troubled frown.
 "If you've damaged this…"
 Uh oh. "Oh, come on...cut me some slack! It's not actually broken, is it?"
 Ghent peered over her shoulder, surveying the bow for himself. The mark was impossible to miss, but thankfully Elayra didn't seem overly concerned about the cosmetics of the bow, only the functionally.
 "Guess I should work on my aim," he laughed nervously, understanding that he'd avoided two deadly encounters. Hitting Elayra may have killed her, while hitting her bow may have resulted in his death.
 Ghent hadn't heard the word used to summon the rain shield, but he wasn't sure he wanted to try casting a spell so soon after the bolts-shooting-everywhere incident. Using a hand to pull up his hood, he was well prepared to face the rain, though the shimmer of the shield caught his eye. To his surprise, the shield was about twice the size as before. Ghent couldn't tell if this was a friendly gesture or not, so he hung back a few paces until Elayra announced it was time to leave.
 "Uh...right! Coming." Distracted by the shield, Ghent tripped over one of the tables, regaining his footing just in time to fall into step alongside of her. "I think some of the magic moved the tables around." Ghent would rather give a lame excuse rather than to give no excuse at all. He had just started to get on Elayra's good side, he didn't want to lose his progress by being a klutz.
 "What is a 'java,' anyway?"
 Elayra's question offered a chance to change the subject, plus it was easy to answer.
 "Java's just a fancy way to say coffee. It's an overpriced drink that girls your age go crazy over." While he talked, Ghent busied himself with readjusting the left strap of his backpack. "It's alright, I guess...it's either too bitter, or sickeningly sweet."
 Curious as to how she'd known about java, Ghent studied her face, wondering who had taught her to read in the first place. Drust didn't seem like he had the patience to teach reading as well as magic and combat.
 "Why? You want some?"

[Assistant]
Elayra rolled her eyes at Ghent's claims of his abilities, none of which he had demonstrated thus far, and laughed at the concept of him adding a sense of "stability."
 Wonderland's going to eat him alive, she thought with a snort.
 She frowned and gave a displeased shake of her head when, despite his earlier claims, he tripped over one of the legs of a table.
 "You forgot to add 'poised' to your list," she taunted, her smirk returning.
 She gave yet another roll of her eyes at Ghent's excuse for tripping.
 "Pretty sure they're in the same places," she said condescendingly as, at last, he joined her, and the two of them headed back out to the street. With the shield above them, only a few stray raindrops splattered against them, most blown by the gentle breeze that occasionally wove its way through the park.
 When he answered her question, she nodded in recognition of coffee. "It's not the easiest thing to find anymore, but we have coffee in Wonderland. It even has a similar description. Don't make it quite right, and it can pack one heck of a punch."
 Elayra returned his stare with an irate, questioning sideways look, her brows twitching upward.
 "Why? You want some?"
 She snorted. "No, you featherless dodo. Like I said, the portal's by a place called 'Hava Java.' I was merely curious."
 Elayra stopped as they reached where the park's road met a larger street, the shield hovering above them stopping with her. Her back stiffened, and her hand went to the quiver of arrows, ready to pull one out as she glanced down either side of the new, open road, her fingers gently brushing the blue fletching. A car sped by on the opposite side of the street, sending a spray of water up around it from the stream of rainwater flowing beside the curb.
 "Which way?" she asked Ghent, looking to him once the car had passed, the driver hidden behind tinted windows.

[User]
"Featherless dodo?" Ghent snorted a laugh, amused by her choice of words. He'd been insulted many times throughout his life, but that was a first. "You're something else, you know that? Most girls would accept an offer for coffee in a heartbeat."
 Ghent slowed when the shield did, and he took notice when Elayra visibly tensed. Privately, Ghent decided that it may have been for the best that she rejected the notion. A boost of caffeine would have done more harm than good.
 "From here, we'll take a left. It's faster, and we can't keep our dear uncle waiting, now can we?" Hands shoved into the front pocket of his hoodie, Ghent barely paid any attention to the car. The vehicle was not recognizable to him, therefore he wasn't worried about knowing the owner.
 "So...coffee's hard to come by, huh?" While Elayra's focus was on Wonderland, Ghent's mind was on coffee. The drink wasn't always favored by him, but it sounded appealing on such a cold, damp morning.
 "What about tea? My old man's obsessed with it, isn't he?" As ridiculous as it was, Ghent was basing his knowledge off of Hatter by what he'd seen in Disney's adaption of the novel. His memories of Wonderland were vague, and they'd only consisted of Drust and Elayra. For all Ghent knew, Hatter really did throw bizarre tea parties. "I hope he's right in the head. I've got enough crazies to deal with..."
 Speak of the devil.
 As the two rounded the curb near a small bakery, a middle aged man with amazingly poor posture shuffled down the sidewalk in their very direction. Miles. Instinctively, Ghent faced Elayra in an attempt to hide his face in fear of being recognized.
 "On second thought, lets take the scenic route." Ghent wasn't afraid of Miles, but he didn't trust him, either. The man prattled on about events that had never necessarily taken place and he was a master at inventing his own version of the truth. Needless to say, Ghent didn't want the town drunk to be the last one to have spotted him before his disappearance.
 "Ey, Ghent!"
 Crap! Miles was in his own world half the time, how'd he recognize him from four stores away?
 "You just leave this one to me, your highness." Ghent knew the title would bug Elayra, which is precisely why he used it. "I'll handle this."


[System]
Appearance: Lanky at 6 ft tall, 150 pounds. Shaggy black hair will get blown into his eyes if he does not keep it out of his face. Dark eyes penetrate everything they look at, as well as emit a certain "I don't care" attitude. Has a thin, boyish face but most girls his age find him attractive. Is usually seen wearing dark clothing.

Age: 16

Personality: Very lazy. Doesn't care very much about most things. Has dealt with anxiety and depression. Suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. If he deems you worthy enough to care about, will care a lot about you no matter what and will even die for you. He has, however shown in simulations that Frame piloting is one of the few things he can focus on, and does quite well in simulations.

Motive to live: Was forced to join by his parents. Frame piloting may be one of the only things he has shown interest in.

Background: Born on the military planet of Fort Steelcast to military parents. His parents always trained him and his older brother for war and treated raising him like a constant boot camp. He extremely resented his parents for this. His older brother was the only spotlight in his life, the only thing that ever gave him high hopes and laughter. But, soon his brother was pushed into military service and died in the field. Ryan hates his parents for this. His parents signed him up to pilot an experimental Frame, hoping that the boy would finally do his family proud.

Notable Deaths: Older brother in combat.

Framewerk Code Name: Macabre

Appearance: Sleek, black all throughout. Smallest experimental Frame. Very thin. Obviously designed for speed. Almost like a standing drag race car.

Signature Weapon System: Large katana "Viscera" designed to deliver maximum power to a slash while staying as lightweight and quick as possible. Weapon system is designed to attack quickly and ferociously then retreating behind bigger Frames before a counter attack can be done.

Secondary Weapon System: Extra boosters placed strategically meant for maximum agility.
Light pistol loaded with the Frame equivalent of hollow point.

Armor Type: Extremely light weight

Special Ability:

Synchro Rate: 78%

[User]
Miles took plenty of deep breaths as his stomach began to knot up, he was confident in his abilities but knew that the Synchro-Rates would play a part in the outcome of this battle royale, and he knew his own wasn't the highest. He began scanning the first battlezone as the the orders were given to begin the fight, there was no turning back now, every movement would count from here.

His Black Komodo growled like an american muscle car, the machine was ready to smash these other machines into junk, Miles could feel his competetive spirit rising out of him and burning his body like a purifying flame, and then suddenly....

BOOOOOOOOM!

There was mad disturbance, a huge explosion flooded his screen, the sound even drowned out the annoying music of Kohelers Framewerk, one of the machines had blown up....it was Stukov's Daemon, the one that everyone was certain would be leader, he was killed. Miles didnt know how to feel, he certainly wasnt Stukov's biggest fan but he felt robbed of a chance to defeat him fair and square, a chance he would now never have. Miles quickly shook his head and re-focused.

The Cruxi would have killed you anyway, you just got an early exit....

Miles said to himself quietly and the flicked on his intercom, I hope you saw that Ramirez, that explosion is exactly what will happen to you in the battlefield, thats if I dont do it to you first in this arena!
Miles, felt good about himself, constantly taunting the young boy, he wanted to express how little he respected the Rose Framewerk directly. Miles was very tempeted to attack Ramirez first but decided to savor that conflict for later in the fight, right now he just wanted to get stuck in, and he already decided not to attack Yeshua or Lora at this moment in time so he locked on to Krista's Machine instead.

Lock on to the Archer, Komodo, thrusters, flank and advance!

Miles chose not to say anything as he boosted towards the Archer framework, he loaded his gatling gun and began to fire at Krista as he closed in, hoping to engage in heavy close combat with the Komodo's fists when he got in fighting range.

[Assistant]
"Miles still has you worked up? Don't let him do that. It's a classic tactic. If I remember my Sun Tzu correctly, he said that angering your opponent is a good idea because it makes them act stupidly. He also said to make yourself look weak, and let your foe become arrogant. Long story short, don't get salty as it makes you dumb and let Miles learn the hard way that a Rose has thrones. That's my piece on that. Want to start talking about how we will handle this fight? I'm a straightforward heavy hitter, for what it's worth."

There was a subtle shift in the Frames pose from aggressive to a passive stance, this is a game, there is a winner to the game,but a game all the same. His synchro rate flickered about, still at the same 84, but it was receptive more than transmitting. He mentally shut off the communication link with the idiot and let his vines spool out over his thighs for extra protection but didn't make them spiky just yet.

"You know what...You're right. Besse Mon Cul! I'm the same, but I'm melee. As for plans..."

He opened a visual link with what equates to a 'doodle pad' as he mentally drew up a number of plans regarding the three areas to go to, One was wearing the archer like a backpack and flying up to the tower to defend it, the other was to head for each area and defend in those zones together. Suddenly, the air shook as one of the frames exploded nearly out of the gate. Pieces of metal flew for miles in each direction, including the frame's machine gun to land at his feet with some of the belt attached and the arm that was holding it.

At first he was going to ignore it, he was a melee frame and had no need for a gun. But on the other hand, he was about the only one without one so it would throw off everyone's assumptions about him. If he took the gun it made him a bigger threat, if he didn't then it made him a bigger target.

The answer was made for him as the man he sought to avoid barreled down on the archer. He feinted to crouch down as the asshole flew by like he was making a smaller target as the vine reached out and took the gun to strap it to his thigh like a holster. Once he flew past, Rose flew after him and sent her the final plan he had thought up. He purposefully flew slower than he could to make himself look unable to catch up with the komodo while he started to establish target locks.

[User]
Silently, the monitors began to crackle with a new-found power as the world around him shook, opening the doors to the angelic freedom of the battlefield. The green fields ran towards him and lit up his eyes. No more hiding. This is the world.

The Anzu drifted like a cloud. It was elegant yet powerful. Underneath the ten-tonne heavy feet, the entire weight of the robot crippled the ground until all that was left was a slush. It would stick to the metal, causing friction problems later. He would have to leave this beautiful field if he wanted to survive. The weapon that was held by the two massive, god-like hands was bounced with the power of each muscle-tendon snapping with his motions. He had the control, now.

A monitor lit up on the far left, alarming him immediately. As this was his first combat test, he never knew what it felt like for there to be danger in his midst. This was real, thought Yeshua, as the massive contraption veered to his left, checking the perimeter. The massive landscape became a sandbox. The fauna and flora were dolls in a playhouse. With the monitor flashing, Yeshua clearly realised the weapon he was carrying needed to be charged up either any excess energy would literally destroy his Anzu. The weapon began to be tickled with the sweet nectar, lighting up like a Catherine Wheel. The next person he would meet would definitely find themselves in --

A massive explosion knocked the Anzu to the ground, tonnes of armour and wire flying in opposite directions like a ragdoll. Metal screetched, electricity zapped and zoomed, wires broke and tore. The excess weight took him off the face of the Earth and he was flung to the side violently, the entire world spinning. When the robot had finally halted after being flung many metres, the ground behind him was tarnished with ash and the foul stench of blood.

Turning the behemoth around, Yeshua witnessed the now-invisible corpse of the Deamon, piloted by Alexei. He had died in a brilliant flash of energy, not more than a minute into their first fight.

"That's one down. There'll be many more to come. No crying. Not this time."

With that, the Anzu took flight with his massive clouds for feet, marching to the great lake that was not too far away. He could spend that distance quickly, if he ran with all the power the machine could muster. With each step he took, the more powerful he felt. The sprint was a horses' stampede, but with the rage of a young man behind it. The radar flickered on, showing him the expanse of the lake. Quickly, the massive creature lunged itself against the air, feeling such resistance against the sheer weight of the Anzu. He struggled like a kite caught in the wind. It plummeted into the lake, causing a massive splash as it did.

"Not graceful. It'll work, though."

Down into the darkness the beast went with the mechanical screen Yeshua peered through, silently bracing the pressure of the waves. He touched the bed. Sand and soil crushed like fossils beneath his feet, the sound murdered by the immense body of water. He waited there, with his powerful weapon still equipped.

[Assistant]
THe Archer purred at a 75% Synchro rate as Krista launched. After a moment that felt like all of her muscles flexing, she was in control of the Archer's limbs as it rolls out of the hangar. She was predictably one of the last out of the gate with such a lumbering mech. As she neared the starting area a she spotted Stukov's Framewerk glowing and crackling as it sped off into the distance. Krista steels herself, watching this new development carefully. It took a moment to realize that Stukov was in distress. Krista barely had time to curse before the Daemon exploded, rocking the Archer. What happened? Were they under attack?

Lt. Ritsu's voice chimed in "Attention Cadets, the operation has been canc-" A smack could be heard on the command channel

"-The operation continues on, despite Cadet Stukov's accident. Let it be a warning to anyone who tries to surpass their Framewerk's limits. Carry on with the battle."

Krista sat there for a moment, stunned into silence for a moment. However several impacts on her left side knocked her back into reality. She glanced over towards the source of the attack. The Black Komodo was rapidly approaching, firing several rapid shots at her. Behind that she could see the Rose trying to keep pace. Krista fired once at the Komodo to try to throw it off before backing up to try to keep it away. She knew she needed to keep as much distance between herself and the Komodo, as it had a much better close range fighter than her. Hopefully she could keep the Komodo off her until the Rose caught it, but at this point she knew she was effectively being herded towards the Lake in the north east.

[User]
Much like the other frameworks, the Setsuka took off and promptly landed in Zone A along with the others.

Mai just stood calm and quiet at all times...taking stock at the activity...there...

She saw the framework called Daemon do something she thought she'd never see again...not since her "other" division days...

Knowing full well what was about to happen, she decided to simply put distance from it immedately and "thrusted" towards Zone B. Behind her, she litterally felt the shockwave of the explosion as it rocked Setsuka but managed to keep control.

While on the run she spotted the framework Caliburn also doing the same but stopped amonst the pillars somewhere in the zone. Still, Mai didn't want to risk a confrontation just yet. After all, everyone was basically an enemy.

"Attention Cadets, the operation has been canc-"

"-The operation continues on, despite Cadet Stukov's accident. Let it be a warning to anyone who tries to surpass their Framewerk's limits. Carry on with the battle."

"...roger that...continuing mission...", Mai droned on the open line.

Not bothering to attack the Caliburn in Zone B, Mai weaved inbetween the pillars, Mai managed to reach Zone C. It was time to use anything to her advantage. Even the terrain if at all possible. Her initial plan was to get to Zone D. She knew the areas fairly well since she had studied before hand...but it was all the tunnels that she wasn't aware of...plus...she knew one of the other frameworks was a "recon" specialist type so she needed to get out of sight of it's air drones. If her luck held, she then TRY use the tunnels to her advantage if at all possible. Perhaps even find tunnels that could help her appear in other zones if she got especially lucky. But there was a risk involved.

Zone C was a total mystery to everyone...but now as Mai came upon it...she saw...

[Assistant]
Ryan uses the Daemon's explosion as a distraction and activates his thrusters, quickly catching up with the Caliburn. For a moment, he thinks about the guy who was likely going to be a leader of the team. Ryan is then reminded of how much Stukov reminded him of his older brother.

Several bitter tears escapes their cruel prison, staining his face with a silent agony. Goodwell hears his father's voice, the exact same one he heard when his brother died, say, "Stop being a pussy! It's war! Wars have casualties!" Ryan feels a rage build up inside him, and finally lets it out.

"FUCK YOU!"

Arriving at where he saw Caliburn run to, in one movement, Macabre unsheathes and slashes with Visceral, slicing the pillar, and hopefully Caliburn, in half.


[System]
Age: 13
Gender: Male
Species: Shellos (East Sea)
Type: Water
Nature: Bold
Ability: Storm Drain
Moves:
-Acid Armor

Mysterious Gem Location: His headband. An Opal stone is sown into it.

Other: He's super happy about his situation. Not really caring about his supposed past, he instead is enthralled within his fun-filled present. Every day is an adventure, and battles are a game for fun. He hopes and lives for happiness between others.

Fighting him is extremely annoying. Even with his small build, his defenses are amazingly high, and he will continue to taunt his foe as they slowly tire themselves out, trying to take him down. If they can get past his defenses, he starts going for hit and run tactics

[User]
Pyro

@ianzerep@Iatos@Devo@RiverMaiden
Pyro sent another ember to deal with the mudslap headed his way and then Frida's before his mouth was once again letting off small fiery sparks.
"This feeling...yes, I enjoy this quite nicely." Pyro chuckled before using the ember to launch himself slightly upwards, which allowed him to scale a nearby building just slightly easier.
Of course that meant that Frida now seemed to be fighting the four by herself...however she wasn't. There was only one way they could win this fight, and that was by taking risks. And who would be willing to do so? Pyro of course.

Covering his mouth using his sleeve, Pyro now ran headfirst into the gas. The gas stung his eyes somewhat but he simply ignored it and fought through the pain. Seeing movement in the gas, he quickly moved his hand away from his mouth to launch another volley of ember.
Once the ember was gone he quickly covered his mouth once more. He knew he would get poisoned eventually, his sleeve wouldn't keep the toxins out forever if at all.
However...it did make breathing easier at this stage, and he would simply eliminate the four pokemon before the poison became too big a problem.

[Assistant]
Elvina just looked at twix and sighed then smiled. " We will need to gather more of those Energy Roots, and we need all kinds of herbs in this world that has any kind of healing Properties, I'm lucky my knowledge about plants for healing hasn't disappeared she said and pulled a giant leaf from a tree branch as she slowly walked on her unknown legs, but sometimes she starts walking on fours once in awhile as her tail continued to sway. " She picked the berries that they found then she took the root from Twix and laid it on the giant leaf that she had with her. She took an oran berry over to Twix and smled nicely. " Here Twix eat this we can't let you search for the rest of the berries and herbs for healing our follow party members that is fighting still." She said and sniffed the air and located more oran berries, Sitrus Berries, and she also found another energy root.

She also found some Pecha berries, Aspear berries, Chesto berries, Cheri Berries, Rawst berries, Persim berries and Some Revival Herbs plus more Energy Roots. She put everything she found into the leaf and continued collecting more for a lifetime supplies for curing the wounded, but she already knew the healing supplies will decrease greatly during the weeks and months living in these strange bodies with mysterious stones on them.

[User] As he got closer to the blond, Mellio started to see more and more details of her person, especially the anklet that had a mysterious stone within it. She WAS like the rest of them. Each and every one of them had one of those weird gems embedded in some kind of accessory. He thought that it was pretty cool, kind of like a secret team of sorts. He finally reached the girl, who was startled by his presence, heaving from his full on sprint. Having fully recovered after a few seconds, his happy personality went full force, showing on his face, his posture, and even as a sort of aura around him. "Hi there! I saw you watching us fight, and I was wondering if you could help!" he exclaimed quickly in a single breath, sounding more like: "HithereIsawyouwatchingusfightandIwaswonderingifyoucouldhelp!" Taking one of the girl's hands in his own, he gave her his best pout. "Please? My friends need help!" he punctuated his finished sentence with a surprise hug, repeatedly asking "Please?" and not letting go until she said yes.

[Assistant]
@Iatos @Devo @ianzerep @Lunarlors34 @RiverMaiden

Xiphias

Xiphias' ears twitched as she watched the fight unfold. They were like her.. with human forms instead of Pokemon ones. The air was thick with the scent of poison... as the pokemon like her faced off against the Grimer. Her ears twitched as she watched the battle for a few more moments before jumping in. She wanted to ask these others if they knew why they'd been turned into human-things. If they knew anything....

She darted towards the cloud of poisonous gas, taking a deep breath and holding it as she sprinted into the poison. She could feel it burning her skin as she charged towards the Muk. Panic hit her as she realized, she couldn't remember how to fight. The Muk sloshed towards her slowly, a smile spreading across its face. Xiphias felt her lungs screaming for air and had no choice but to release her held breath, feeling the burning sensation of the poison against her throat. As she took some damage, Xiphias' ice blue eyes seemed to glow. A fury rose from deep within Xiphias and a wave of darkness exploded from her body in all directions, even washing towards the others who looked sort of like herself.

[User]
@Draconequis

The blond Gijinka had been spectating the fight, mainly focusing on the actual combatants in the Houndoom and Froakie-like beings. Watching the two groups sling about elemental attacks made even more new information spring up into her head. Mud Slap. Sludge. Poison Gas. Bubble. Ember. Harden. Sludge Wave. The words formed within her mind as each move was used, the young teen not understanding how she even know what those words meant.

As she pondered this conundrum, her ears picked up the sound of running coming from her right, and the source was coming towards her! Meloi froze in surprise, unable to move in fear of the entity that approached her. But, as the figure came into view, the Ampharos Gijinka calmed down near instantly, looking at the being with apprehension. Wasn't this one involved in the conflict as well? Surveying through her memories, she was surprised to find that his absence was actually near the beginning of the fight, after a quick maneuver that saved the blue girl from being hit with a Sludge. The Shellos-like boy held himself up from his knees, heaving from exhaustion. The blond took this chance to see the finer details on his person, such as the comfortable material his clothing was made of, said clothing's cute design, and the strange opal that was embedded into the boy's headband.

Then, the green boy looked up at her with a radiant smile, and the teen almost let out a squeal of cuteness overload. He just looked too cute, with his childish face, body and clothing all molding his persona into a adorable little boy. The cute little Shellos asked her for help in aiding his friends, but she shook her head. No matter how cute he was, the blond wasn't going to risk her life for some people she didn't know. Plus, what was she even going to do? Flatter them? She paused for a moment, new information dumping itself into her cranium as she thought of the word "flatter". Huh, so it actually WOULD do something if she tried... Still, she won't-

Then the boy took her hand in his, and pulled her into a hug, shattering her personal space as well as her defense. Awwww... this boy was really too cute, trying so desperately to help his friends. She guess she could, might as well try to learn more about those who were similar to her. Unlatching the boy's hands from her back, the blond nodded to the Shellos gijinka, pulling him along as she head towards the battle ground. Suddenly, a pulse of pure darkness exploded from the field, flying in all directions, including the now allied duo. Night Daze, her mind shouted from within, advising her to dodge the move, as it could cause serious damage. However, she instinctively covered the little boy behind her, who was unable to see nor react to the move. Meloi cried out in pain as the most powerful Dark-type move smashed into her back, falling to the forest floor with the boy within her arms. She was barely conscious when she hit the ground.

[Assistant]
Twillelix 'Twix'

He was glad that his clumsiness at least helped somewhat, having no clue that the root were any special before she said so. As she told him that they needed more he nodded yet felt quite satisfied for not being totally useless. He was honestly glad they had found any berries at all, and when she gave him the Oran berry they had found to eat he gladly accepted it. He wasn't s sure it would instantly heal him or anything, but it would at least help him restore lost energy and it was not like he could remember eating anything recently either... he might as well eat while he had the chance. As they looked around however he realized time were passing quite quickly and he knew that they needed to return soon enough if they was to help their friends.

Seeing Elvina find some stuff he looked to her "Come on, we should get back and see if the others need our help... should grab any poison curing berry you can and then hurry" he said as he got up, he staggered a bit as his leg were sore, frowning slightly he bit down on the Oran berry and then picked up a apple on the way back, again waiting to support Elvina if she needed it even if his own ankle hurt.

---

The Battle were running on, and soon as more moves were exchanged and a Zoroark Gijinka joined the fray, The three grimers where soon knocked out. At this point the Muk realized that the battle were no longer favorable, and thus called the retreat before they got injured further. Escaping quickly back into the house the Gijinkas could claim their victory.

Battle Result: Enemy Looses the will to continue the battle and flees back to whence they came.
Pyro Poisoned?:
Xiphias Poisoned.
Mel-knocked out.

[User]
He didn't know what went wrong. Just a moment ago, the blond who was close to her age had started to lead him to the battle, having accepted his plea. Then, as he skipped along with the girl, he was pulled to the ground, a loud feminine scream filling his ears as a wave of darkness washed over the two of them. Team Mel hit the ground, the girl's hold over the green-haired boy slackening as the darkness dissipated. The area around them was silent for a moment, Mellio recovering from the cushioned fall while the blond who covered him fell into unconsciousness.

"Hey, are you ok?", the Shellos gijinka finally asked, rolling out from under the girl and getting up from the ground. Now standing, the boy looked over the blond's unconscious body, and his eyes widened in disbelief. A large gash stretched across the girl's back, the clothing around it ripped as well. He knelt down to the girl, visibly relieved when she heard that she was still breathing. He pulls Meloi's upper body off of the ground, slinging one of the taller gijinka's arms around his neck as she started to carry her around the building and towards the clearing his friends were at. She was hurt, and needed help, and no matter the circumstances of the fight, he needed to bring her to them. "Don't worry, you're going to be alright. My friends can help... I swear." Mellio said to the unconscious girl, not really expecting a reply as he tread on the dirt ground.