<div style="text-align: center;"><a class="postlink" href="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e327/steusloffa/Junk/9b4c67d7-5e06-4750-8d35-191de0acc40c_zpsagryk5tp.jpg">[ img ]</a></div><br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 200%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #BF0000">I Z U</span></span></span></div><br/><br/><br/>Izu was hefting a bag of mulch over his shoulder when Alida approached him to ask if they could take a break. He didn't say anything at first, just yawned and looked up at the sky before removing some dirt from his face with the back of his hand. "Yeah, why not?" Izu had barely finished speaking before the bag of mulch began to slip from his grasp, hitting the ground with a thud. Alida brimmed with joy as she grabbed his hand, dragging him along while demanding to sit on the bench so they could watch the animals.<span style="font-weight: bold">"Alida is always so...inter..interested???"</span>she began to fumble around with the word, looking to Izu for some sort of conformation. Izu, however, offered little in the form of acknowledgment. This was a good thing however, as he would have let her know without remorse had she butchered it somehow. He cared and wanted to help her understand his language, but Izu wasn't exactly the most sympathetic of teachers. Once certain she was correct, she continued.<span style="font-weight: bold">"Animals are so...small here,"</span>she stated, gesturing their size with her hands.<span style="font-weight: bold">"In Alida's world animals are very big,"</span>she continued, stretching her arms out rapidly and almost falling over. Izu raised a brow with little enthusiasm. It wasn't that he didn't believe her or wasn't impressed, he just had seen large animals before. However, what he defined as large maybe not had been what Alida had in mind.<br/><br/>He was about to tell her about how they had caught this massive snake down the street from where they lived, and that they should go see if anything else would be there tomorrow afternoon, since he didn't have to work. His plan was cut short as a strange sound seemed to echo in his head, though it was obvious that Alida was hearing the sound as well. The girl shot to her feet, body slightly starting to glow as Izu began to watch her figure seem to almost fade slightly out of existence.<span style="font-weight: bold">"No! No, no, no!"</span>she started crying out, reaching out to an alarmed Izu before grasping his hand and whisked away by some magical force.<br/><br/>As the two were propelled into what could only be described as a place<span style="font-style: italic">between</span>his world and wherever they were going, he felt his hand drift away from her. His fingers grasped at her, but couldn't grip onto anything as the two were ripped into their destination. While not together, the two were only separated by a few feet from the force of the magical pull. Izu was flung against the ground and into the feet of a group of well armed guards. As his vision steadied, Izu saw that these people looked strangely like Alida. The guards shouted at Izu, kicking him in the side. There was little Izu could do to defend himself as the guards barked orders at him in their strange tongue. Other beings like Alida seemed to be in the room as well, but Izu hadn't been able to give them much attention. It wasn't until he heard Alida's distressed voice that he was able to react with some measure of success, grabbing the bottom of a spear that was held by a guard. With a firm pull, Izu yanked the guard to the ground before wrestling the spear from him and popping to his feet.<br/><br/>He was bloodied, bruised and his clothing torn, but he had a spear! Izu swung the pole-arm with surprising skill, though he was still obviously not a trained soldier. Still, the men gave him a wide birth as he spoke loudly,<span style="font-weight: bold">"Alida! Wh-What happ.. Are you oka---?"</span>Izu was cut short as a guard snuck up behind him, smashing the pommel of his sword into the back of Izu's neck, knocking him unconscious.