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[Shekey the Green]

--"Not any problem at all, and it was a pleasure to meet you too."

He smiled and leaned back, stretching himself into a completely vulnerable position. Hands behind the head. He trusted new acquaintances far too easily...

--"Well, as a matter of fact your the first Neko I've ever seen; I've only heard about Neko's in rumors and wisperings in passing. I never really expected to see one, especially not in a human civilization such as this."

Adrasteia looked at him.

"Well, to be honest. I'm the only Neko I've seen since I was sold. But that was years ago. I haven't seen a Neko since I was a young child." She shrugged a little. "It's not like it's a bad thing. I don't really live in the civilized cities. I've been traveling alone for a long time. I stay away from civilizations because, well, I'm a Neko. Humans hate Nekos. I don't understand or really know why; maybe I'll never know."

The fish was gone. All that remained on the plate were bones and bread crumbs. It was quite delicious. She didn't think Alabast understood how much it meant for a little kindness to reach her.

"I don't let it hinder me; I don't feel bound to society. I am what I am. I've accepted it and fully understand what I'm capable of."

Adrasteia was trying to talk without revealing too much of herself. He seemed like a decent person, but she wasn't sure just yet.

[Goose]

Snoogyfoofie looked at the farie that had done such a thing. Being the Dwarfy Dwarf that he was, Snoogyfoofie was angry.

He got out his war hammer and looked at the dude. Bloody fairy. With daggers and all.

Snoogyfoofie uttered his name in a war cry and ran at the lady with her cat. He was going to get that meal, even if it came at the cost of her life.

Yes. Thats what I said, at the cost of her life.

[Renegade]

"Hmm.." Alabast frowned. "Well im not sure what the big deal is about Humans and Nekos either.."

Alabast looked up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought, but in reality he was watching an interesting charicter walking on by out of the corner of his eye. He was decked out in all black, and looked rather dangerous, but there was something about him that looked rather familiar, if only he could put his finger on it...

'Better to just watch for now' thought Alabast.

"Well, Well, Well..If it isnt Alabast" the man in black shouted as he strolled over.

Alabast sat up and looked over "Well if it isnt Virgil, and what are you doing here?"

"Well i came to deliver a package"

"Really? I just got done doing the same, and now im having a nice chat with my new friend."

"Oh wow, I see you have managed to sink to a new low for yourself associating with a Neko."

Alabast suddenly stood up, sending the chair tumbling behind him, cloak billowing out completly over his shoulders so that everyone that was watching could see the katana on his left hip, drawing it out a bit with his right hand so you could see a little of the black blade.

"Mind repeating yourself?" Alabast said.

[JRPomazon]

The dwarf charged at Marie and the cat. Gate shook his arms again and two more daggers came to his hands. He threw them into the ground, in front of the dwarf's path. Sure enough, she ran right to them and tripped on the protruding projectiles. It resulted in a loud thud and the charge was stopped. Gate turned around and headed in the other direction. Marie looked on in shock, the idea that he was armed never came to mind.

"Get moving before it starts moving again." he said.

"Oh, right." Marie said as she held the cat in her arms and hurried behind Gate.

The two of them headed over to the residence of the cat's owner, Marie's mother. Her home wasn't too far from the tree, maybe a block away at the farthest. The home was small and looked the same as the others around it, a common theme to living in a city such as this was that the houses were very similar to each other. Marie knocked on the door and her mother came and greeted her.

"OH MY! MY DEAREST PUDDIN! YOU'VE COME BACK!" The older and round woman who happened to be the Cat's owner cried.

"That is perhaps the worst name for a cat that I've ever heard." Gate thought to himself.

"Mother, this is the man who saved Puddin. Mr. . . . umm. . . " Marie trailed off, still not knowing Gate's name.

"Gate." He said as he cut Marie off.

"Gate? What a strange name. . . " Mother said as she stroked her cat.

"Bite me." Gate thought.

"Well, do come inside." The mother said, waving her arm towards the interior of the home.

"I just finished cooking my world famous fish stew. You'll love it!"

As the two women and cat went inside the house, Gate followed shortly after.

"This will probably end up like all the other times people are kind to me." He thought to himself.

Edited by JRPomazon, 20 August 2008 - 12:56 PM.

[Tseb]

Shamus was well underway and the trip looked like it was going to be rather uneventful. He avoided a few tall trees as they began their forward ascent.

"What interests you in Cha' Firen?" The kid called after a poor attempt to board the flyer.

"Nothing much I have to be somewhere in three weeks, but for now Cha' Firen is just a place to be." Shamus called from the helm down to the deck where the kid was.

The trip was regretfully uneventful. Several hours later they landed next to the main road leading to Cha' Firen.

"I'll be living out here, you're welcome to come and go as you please."

Shamus locked the helm down using a mechanical lock he had rigged to it. He then began his post flight checks and securing of the ship.

[Shekey the Green]

Alabast suddenly stood up. The chair behind him knocked over. His arms went to his right side. From behind him, Adrasteia could see the hilt of a Katana.

She was surprised. Not only did this human defend her, but he began to draw his weapon. Her face held an expression of shock for a brief moment.

Then things went serious.

--"Mind repeating yourself?"

Adrasteia stood up. A little slower than Alabast. Her hands went to her sides, resting on her claws once more. Her teeth were grinding against each other. She could feel her canines pressing against her lips. Her tail flicked with anticipation. Bad things would happen should this Virgil keep talking.

Virgil looked her up and down.

"Yup. She's a Neko. Whiskers and all," he smirked. "I knew you were low, Alabast, but not this low. This low, is well, almost unforgivable."

"Unforgivable," She said quietly. "Best mind your own business, sir; leave ours to us. No need for confrontation today.

"Oh? I cat can talk?" Virgil said. Most people say that. She'd gotten used to it. "And it thinks it has manners. How precious. Can it do tricks too?"

She looked over at Alabast. His face was contorted with anger.

"You don't have to do this Alabast," she muttered to where only he could hear her. "Not. For. Me. I can defend myself if you want to walk away."

She pressed the buttons on her claws and felt the wrists covers close once again. Only this time, she was sure they'd feel flesh.

[nameless]

Nameless rambled into town. The trip had been very uneventful, he had slept through most of its. "Hmm this is a nice town." He thought, as he passed the shops and stalls he saw that there were many things that he would come back to see later, but for now it was time for food. He saw a nice enough looking pub with some people out front and some inside, the people in the front however looked as if they had a disagreement, there was a man in black, a man with cloak and katana, and a Neko. "Hmmm this might be interesting, lets check it out." He moved loser and listened in, they seemed to be arguing about the Neko, one was on her side the other wasn't. The Neko stood up and reach for something Nameless couldn't see, and the man in the cloak reached for his katana.

"The Neko wants to fight dose it?" The black clad man said.

"OHHH, this is gonna be good." Nameless thought as he watched.

[Goose]

Snoogyfoofie, who was a MALE dwarf, was even angrier now. He'd been tripped over by that little fairy and his stupid little daggers.

So, he simply watched where they headed, and followed.

The went inside a house. Snoogyfoofie found a way to use this to his advantage. He may have been too late to have Cat for his dinner, but he was sure going to have some puddin for desert.

He managed to find a boulder conviently located near the house. It looked decorative. Somebody had painted it pink. But Snoogyfoofie was able to, with a little grunting, move it, over to where the door was shut, now blocking it. Snoogyfoofie then lit his pipe.

He blew smoke rings for a few minutes, and then walked around the back to see if there was a way out for his now prisoners. Indeed their was, a back door.

Snoogyfoofie would leave it clear.

He walked around the front again, and got his pipe and lit some straw that was on the ground near the house. It went up quickly. He was able to find a large branch that became quite a useful torch when lit. He then went around the back of the house, and proceeded to set the back door alight in flames.

He then walked over to a tree and sat down to watch the show.

[Renegade]

--"You don't have to do this Alabast," she muttered to where only he could hear her. "Not. For. Me. I can defend myself if you want to walk away."

Alabast gave her a quick glance. Well she indeed did have some dangerous looking weapons at her disposal, but...

"I'm sorry," said Alabast cracking a grin, "I cant just leave a woman to fight for herself, besides I cant let you take all the fun anyway"

"Ahh, the ever so chivalrous sellsword" snickered Virgil reaching to a pouch on his side drawing some kunai and raising them in an offensive-type fighting stance.

Alabast quickly took in his surroundings:A few tables, chairs, and a crowd..

'wonderful if we do this here he may wind up killing a few innocents saying they got in his way' thought Alabast

"Hey you! yes you with the gun and greasy pants! make sure nobody from the crowd gets killed, alright?" Alabast yelled at a kid not too much younger than himself, while drawing his black bladed katana, assuming a fighting stance.

"Heh, you think that you can beat me in battle? I dont think you can even with that garbage you call friend standing next to you," sneered Virgil.

[JRPomazon]

As dinner continued, Gate was feeling uneasy. The stew, although surprisingly good, wasn't the culprit for his nervousness. He looked over to Mare and her mother, who apparently were having good time discussing their days. Good for them, let them revel in small talk. Gate pushed his now empty bowl towards the center of the table and got up from his seat, heading towards the front door.

"Leaving already?" Marie asked as Gate's departure distracted her from her mother.

"You can have sec-"

"Your door is locked." Gate interrupted. Marie, with an agitated look on her face came over to the door.

"You know, I'm getting really upset with always interrupting-"

She stopped her lectures as she couldn't open the door.

"The door won't open." She said.

"That's what I just said you moron." Gate thought.

"OH! A FIRE!" shouted Marie's mother as she saw the back door in flames. Front door sealed and the back in flames? It appeared as though someone was trying to kill the family inside.

"I never would of saved that stupid cat if I knew these people were nothing but a headache." Gate thought.

As the two women of the house frantically panicked, Gate gave a deep sigh and proceeded to the burning door. If he was going to live through this, he had to either extinguish the fire or leave the house before it was engulfed in flames. Since people had already seen Gate with Marie and if they died in the fire while Gate escaped, he would be considered a murderer. After all, he wasn't from around here and his appearance startled people. The only option that would have the least amount of problems was taking care of the fire. The entire door was burning by this point and moving towards the frame it was placed in. The door had to be removed at all costs.

"Gate, what are you doing? You'll get hurt if you get too close!" Marie cried.

"Shut up already, you're annoying." He replied.

He gave a swift kick to the door, around the top hinge to be precise. He proceeded to kick the hot metal hinges with his leather boots. It was hazardous to be attempting something like this in the clothes he was wearing, they didn't provide much protection. But even still, he had to kick down the door if he was going to live. He continued his assault on the door until he actually managed to shatter the first hinge. He gave one more powerful kick to the remaining bottom hinge and broke the door off. It landed in the dirt around the house and the small inferno was contained. Marie and her mother went to take care of the smaller flames that had appeared on the walls around the former door. Gate causally walked outside to find the dwarf from before (who was actually a male after all) in the tree near the house, with a very sour face.

"Stupid creature." He said as his hands grasped two daggers. He threw them at the gnome and struck it's side. Merely a grazing, but enough to make the dwarf fall from the tree and onto the hard ground. Gate moved in a little closer to the writhing dwarf.

"A blood dwarf, should have figured as much. Could he be related to those others I killed few days ago? No, he seems like the kind that prefers his own company."

Gate could simply finish off the bothersome dwarf then and there, but after kicking the door down he didn't really feel like it. Instead he picked up the dwarf and carried him under his arm.
As he lifted him off from the house's premises and into the main street, the thought of a place to send him to. He handed the dwarf 10 kinnmarks after placing him and his pipe on the ground.

"Take the human money and go to the Squealing Pig. They have some ale waiting for you I heard."

With that said, Gate left the dwarf tho his own devices. He blended back into the crowd. Now that the dwarf had money and hopes of ale, he would hopefully go and pursue that and leave Gate alone.

Edited by JRPomazon, 21 August 2008 - 10:00 PM.

[nameless]

"Hey you! yes you with the gun and greasy pants! make sure nobody from the crowd gets killed, alright?"

Nameless looked up, the guy with the katana was telling him to help. He gave the guy a thumbs up to show he had gotten the message "Sweeeet!!!!, I get to help. Ok need to clear the street, but how????." He looked around for a way to get everyone to leave. "crap there is nothing." Then he spotted a small trickle of smoke, black smoke which meant fire, which was a thing that everyone might run off to see. "Bingo!" He started running towards the smoke and shouting "Fire, Fire, we need help putting out the fire." It worked, well sort of, about half of the crowd the had been there moved in the direction of the fire the other half stayed. Nameless stopped running and moved back to the pub. "Right now theres a lot less to worry about, but I should still try to get them to move." He moved towards the crowd and started telling them that they should move, no one listened, he started shouting that they should move, still they didn't listen. "Fine don't listen to me listen to grace." He pulled his gun and fired a shot into the air, that got their attention.The crowd panicked and fleed the scene soon the street was empty say for the black clad man, the neko, katana man, and nameless. "Now what?" he asked the cloaked fiure with the katana.

Edited by nameless, 21 August 2008 - 02:58 PM.

[SL the Pyro]

Dark was sleeping soundly under the shade of a tree, recovering its strength. While the horse's tough attitude gave it a fierce will, its past-resistance to simple things such as being fed gave it a lower-than-average stamina rate; it would take some time and effort for it to restore its former glory. In the meantime, however, this was a great inconvenience to Shadow. He wanted to reach Kinaacha as soon as possible, and riding a horse was considerably faster than walking. His best option was to wait for the horse to wake up.

So in the meantime, while Shadow waited for that horse to wake up, he decided to practice his ability that somehow eluded him; the use of magic. Standing up and seeing another tree that was out in the open enough, he began to move his arms and hands in a mesmeric motion, then thrusted them forward. The best he had ever managed was a small cluster of sparks, and that was all that he created this time as well. Not deterred, he continued to try and form a simple fireball... but each thrust of his hands ended in the same result.

He didn't understand. In his past journeys he had all but memorized the hand signs and movements for weaving a simple fire spell. He had seen these movements performed with complete success and had been mimicking them perfectly... but for some strange reason, only that small amount of sparks formed. While he was more than adept with his blades, physical armaments would only do so much. There were some things in this world that would require more than cold steel to dispatch, and that was why he wanted to learn how to create and manipulate fire. If he could achieve this, he could kill without leaving a slash mark, or even go so far as to set fire to his knives and longswords to increase their effectiveness, or even their range. The ideals were there, as were the movements... he had been practicing this for two whole years, and yet he simply could not weave more than a cluster of hot sparks into existence. If Shadow were capable of feeling any serious emotion, he would be very frustrated right now. But he refused to give up; he would solve the mystery of weaving magic, no matter what.

For now, however, Shadow thought it useless to waste his strength creating a spell that he currently lacked the knowledge to create successfully. For now, he would focus on getting to Kinaacha. He only wished that he had stopped for a map so he would know where he currently was and how much further he had to go; all he knew is that he was headed in the right direction. But before he continued, Dark would have to wake up and be fed. So until then, Shadow sat back down against the opposite side of the tree that Dark was at, seeing nothing better to do at the moment than to rest...

[Shekey the Green]

Adrasteia wasn't noticing her surroundings. Some greasy kid said something and the crowd that had gathered dispersed. This Virgil was asking for a fight.

How I loathe confronation, she thought.

In an instant, Adrasteia jumped onto the table. Alabast jumped a little when she pulled out her claws. She swung the claws on her right arm towards Virgil, stopping it in front of his nose before he could react.

"This is your last chance; walk away or don't. There are no guards to save you from me. This ends now," she said sternly, her claws unwavering.

"I don't need to be saved from a cat," Virgil replied, doubt shaking his voice slightly. His eyes were searching for a way out of his current predicament. "I'll fight you. And you'll fall. I don't like cats. I won't spare your life, nor his." His head nodded towards Alabast.

"You won't be the first Neko hater I've cut down, and you won't be the last. Threaten me, and it's fine. I've lived through people like you all my life. Threaten others, and it's an invite to rip you to pieces."

Fear flashed before Virgil's eyes. "Try it; I dare you."

So she did.

As she jumped from the table, she swung the claws on her left arm towards him. Virgil dodged back and out of the way of both claws.

Adrasteia landed in a crouched position where Virgil had stood. She raced towards him, her claws behind her. Alabast followed a short distance behind her, but far enough so she could swing her claws.

Virgil was running backwards, which was a stupid move on his part, for he tripped on a rock and landed on his back. Adrasteia was about to tear her claws into his flesh when Alabast threw her out of the way.

She slid on the dirt road away from Virgil.

As she looked up, she saw Alabast holding his katana towards their opponents throat. As she got up and ran back towards Virgil.
"P-p-please. D-don't hurt me."

Adrasteia put her claws in their hilts and released her arms from them.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Alabast said. "Go home. Don't be this stupid again."

Virgil got up and ran off.

Adrasteia was tempted to follow, but instead, turned her head towards the greasy kid.

"Who're you?"

Edited by Shekey the Green, 21 August 2008 - 10:41 PM.

[Goose]

Snoogyfoofie didn't need much more motivation than that. When he heard the word "ALE!" his mind lit up with what it reminded him of. Which was Ale. Ale may hve possibly been the greatest thing in the world. Just the thought of those frothy bubbles inside him made him ignore the big fairy and just run in the direction of the squawking warthog, or whatever it was called. It housed Ale, thats all that mattered.

Snoogyfoofie smiled as he ran in the direction diretly infront of him. He knew that his destination wasnt far off. He had this unique ability to sniff out ale and that gave him the advantage over his kin when it came to drinking. No matter who hid it wherever they hid it , Snoogyfoofy was able to find out where it was located, and go straight to the source.
Like the back room of the Squealing Pig, where kegs of beautiful ale were stored.

Rather than pay for Ale, Snoogyfoofie decided to go in that back way, through a window that just happened to break, and because of his size, was able to dive into a keg of ale without being noticed, since there was abusy trade out front.

So as snoogyfoofie both drank and swam in that keg of ale, he thought of wonderful tings, like ale, and ale, and was in heaven.

[JRPomazon]

The crowd was riled by something, the townspeople scurried away like cockroaches throughout the streets. Gate, not phased by the sound of gunfire stood his ground and continued as if nothing were wrong. There wasn't much left to Cha'Firen that he hadn't seen, unless there were more girls with cats stuck in trees. A mildly interesting place, this Cha'Firen. It might be worth visiting again. Until that time came, it was the open road for Gate. Kinnacha was located near this place, maybe that would be his next destination. The city was the home of the Dragon Knights, the protectors of peace or some rubbish like that. Perhaps Gate could find something interesting there. With his mind made up, he decided to head off.

There was a large ferry waiting by the docks, appearing to be was heading somewhere. Gate proceeded one of the men placing crates in the craft.

"Excuse me, but where is this ferry going?" He asked with a slight hint of authority in his voice. The authority is was made the man he asked look rather annoyed at him.

"Kinnacha, what's it to you?" The man replied.

Gate took out 30 kinnmarks.

"Take me along as extra luggage, I don't care about proper accommodations."

The man smiled and snatched the money from Gate's hands.

"Greedy swine." He thought as the man counted the money.

"OK then, you'll go in last after we finish with these crates." The man said, stuffing the money in his pocket and heading back to work. At least Gate had a ride this time and didn't have to swim. He would just have to deal with the obnoxious noise that came with the trip.

Edited by JRPomazon, 24 August 2008 - 12:09 AM.

[nameless]

The Neko tried to kill the black clad man but the man with the katana had stopped her. Nameless had thought about shooting him as he ran away but resisted for fear of making either of the new found people mad at him.

"Who're you?"

Nameless looked up at the Neko. "Nameless" He said as he offered his hand while trying to avoid the clawness. "And your name is?"

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Lotus had soon split from Wil after arriving in the city, and had been staring up at the sky, trying to spot that airship he had seen earlier on the horizon. After looking around some of the buildings, he eventually saw the craft starting to set down. Determined to find out more, Lotus went on his way through the thick of the city of Cha'Firen.

Not too long after that, Lotus soon found himself standing in front a building, the sign overhead sporting the letterings: Flyer's Guild Cha'Firen Branch. Not wanting to make a waste of a walk, Lotus pushed the door open and walked in, talking a wide look around.

"I am sorry, but we are closed to make some rep..." an older male voice started.

Lotus looked to the middle aged man behind the counter. If Lotus had known the phrase, he would have thought that the man looked like he had seen a ghost.

"Ah, this humble one apologizes for intruding--" Lotus hastily spoke.

"No, no, not at all," the man interrupted, "I'm sorry, It's just that, for a second there, you looked like someone I used to know."

That confused, yet curious expression crossed Lotus's face. The man took a deep breath, trying to clear his head, and started talking again.

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but we are closed for today. All of our aircraft are currently in need of being repaired, so I can't guarantee a reservation flight either."

"Ah, this humble one does not want to fly, this humble one wishes to merely to look at the machines of the sky."

"Just look?"

- - - - -

A few hours later, Lotus had gone back to the streets. He had gotten a small tour of the place, and was utterly fascinated by what he saw. The most complex thing he had seen prior to this was a water mill, so looking at all the complex machinery was mind-blowing. He could barely understand some of the terms used but that did not abate his curiosity. Nevertheless, after the long while, there not much else to see. He thanked the man for the tour, and went on his way.

He eventually saw a crowd moving through the street in somewhat of a panic, which he deftly avoided by ducking into an alley.

Curious, Lotus thought as he stepped back onto the street.

It was not long after that when a rather hurt man ran down the street, tripping close to Lotus.

“Help needed?” Lotus said as he offered a hand.

The man panicked and scrambled to his feet by himself, running off down the street.

What makes such a stampede and panic to not take a simple offer of help? he wondered to himself.

As Lotus walked down he passed by a bar, casting a quick glance.

A neko? Curious, this humble one has not seen a neko in a long time.

Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 24 August 2008 - 12:49 PM.

[CID Farwin]

Wiping his mouth, and licking the blood from his fingers--how he hated wasting even a drop--Sondin pulled his scarf back up, re-covering his nose and mouth. The two bandits had a surprising amount of loot between them considering how weak they were, nearly two thousand kinmarks and a wealth of precious gems. Sondin, of course, cared nothing for the wealth, but he brought it along anyway, (what he could carry, at least) He may not have interest in money, but the people of Cha'Firen sure did. It amused him how a few coins here and there loosened some people's tongues as well as ale. Better, in some cases.

He made his way back to Cha'Firen--the bandits' camp was only fifteen minutes away. It was for him, at least; He never thought about if he was faster than humans or not, he never really needed to know. Entering the city, and ignoring the stares he was all-too used to by now, he wound his way through the back alleys until he found the door he sought, marked by two guards. Of course, nobody at first would see two guards, but two men--one human, the other a shadow elf--at their leisure, sitting on either side of a barrel playing some game involving stabbing a knife between their fingers without stabbing themselves. Sondin knew better by now, and they recognized him, only giving him a quick glance before returning their attention to their game. Seeing that there would be no trouble, he went inside.

Inside was a rotund man at a desk full of papers, scribbling inside a ledger. Roland was well known as a smuggler, though Sondin had no idea if he had any affiliation to the Jinta family or the Yuusef Dynasty. He only glanced from his writing to see who had entered and spoke while still scribbling. "They dead?" was all he asked.

"Yes."

"So soon?" Roland finished scribbling in his book and set it down. "Good. They were bad for business." He leaned forward expectantly, "And the merchandise?"

Sondin pulled out a bag of some strange ore he hadn't recognized and dropped it on the table in front of the large man, "Ten pieces, just as you said."

Roland opened the bag and poured out its contents, "Yes, yes," he said, examining each one, "Ten pieces, our lost shipment," he looked up at Sondin. "Our client will be very pleased."

Sondin wanted no time wasted for chit-chat. "And our bargain?"

"Of course, of course," Roland replaced the contents of the bag and stuck it in one of the many drawers in his desk. "Down to business. Our bargain." He stood up and walked to a window, overlooking Lake Cha. "Three nights ago, there were a few suspicious characters come to Cha'Firen. Not that people coming during the night is a rare thing, there was just something--different about these ones."

"Get on with it." Sondin's impatience was leaking into his voice.

Roland cleared his throat before continuing, "Yes, of course, to the point. There were three of them. Come during the night, like I said, kept to themselves, looked oddly at everyone--like wolves passing through a flock of sheep trying not to be noticed. They went straight to the docks and asked for a ship. Of course nobody wanted to sail out to Kinaancha so late at night, but ol' Ben Farrow, don't know what they said or did to him, but they got him to sail out. When he come back, he's all jittery and eyin' everyone like they're gonna stab him soon as he turns around."

"Where can I find this Ben?" Sondin now sounded eager.

Roland looked away from the window to Sondin. "'Fraid I can't help you there. He disappeared yesterday, after sailing back. Said he was going to grab some ale and never went home."

"Hm. Well thanks anyway. You've been a great help." He started for the door.

Roland sat back down and opened his ledger again. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Sondin left, the guards didn't even glance this time, and found his way out of the alleyways to the main streets. He was right, they were in Kinaancha. There were three, that could be problematic. He might have to think of some sort of strategy. At least they would have to come back through Cha'Firen if they were going off of the island, so he could afford some time to plan.

[Shekey the Green]

Nameless...?

Adastreia looked down at his hand which he held out. It was some sort of greeting, she assumed. She was also confused by his nervousness. He reaked of it. Her claws were put away, wasn't that enough? Or maybe it was the fact that she almost killed a man today.

"What'm I supposed to do?" she asked either of the men standing before her.

Adastreia's looked up towards Nameless. Behind him, she saw a man(woman?) in animal clothes walking towards her. S/he was...green? Adastreia liked green. His/her mossy/brownish hair was as long as his body was, and had feathers in it. He was very intriguing.

She found herself staring at him/her. Adastreia wanted to walk over when Alabast caught her attention.

[Arato]

Arato sat watching the neko within a local shop. He was intrigued by her as well as the others. He was one of the few who had not been disturbed by the gunshot that sounded earlier and he was glad he had chosen to stay. He was content with his behind-the-scenes view and certainly did not want to have to introduce himself to these people but he decided it was necessary.

As he left the shop he did his best to work up a smile. He started to approach a young man from behind who looked to be about 16 but stopped when another character who was dressed oddly stepped in front of him.

Arato decided his introduction could wait until a more appropriate time, after all, a man had almost been killed. So Arato turned back and decided to find his young friend Xavier.

Edited by Arato, 25 August 2008 - 10:39 AM.

[nameless]

"What'm I supposed to do?" The Neko asked.

"Oh sorry, you shake it" Nameless reached for her hand and put it in his and shook. "Like that" He smiled up at her, but notice she was looking behind him at something. Then the man in the cloak caught her attention. Nameless looked around, standing there was a man dressed in animal skins with mossy hair, looking curiously at the neko. "Are you against neko's to?" Nameless asked him simply. "Cause one neko hater just barely escaped with his life earlier, and this time I will shoot."
He stared at the man.

[JRPomazon]

Between two crates and the rough skin serving as the roof of the ferry, Gate bide his time. There wasn't much breathing room where he was, just enough space for him to crawl between. It didn't matter, he was getting a ride for a lot cheaper than a normal ferry would cost. Why was he so interested in islands and water-side cities all of the sudden? He must of been in one of those moods. Gate moved his arms across his body and checked his dagger count. It was in the yellow, almost half of them had been used between killing those blood dwarves, helping that woman's cat and attacking that other blood dwarf. He would restock when he got to the destination, that's all there was to it. Gate closed his eyes and rested on top of the crates.

A young boy lead by a Elven man occupied his dreams. The elf guiding the boy was strong, well built and stern in his appearance. His hair was long and white. The boy wore ragged clothing and had hair that was unkept and long. They were walking through a rocky path, near or on a mountain somewhere under a pale gray sky. The boy, who appeared to be walking for days without end, fell to the ground gasping for air. The Elven man turned to him with cold eyes.

"Get up. You stay there, you'll die."

The boy remained silent. The man knelt down to the young child.

"Listen, you have to live. Survival is the most important thing in this world. You'll have to survive if you want to see a new tomorrow."

Gate woke up from his dream to see the ferry moving the opposite direction it should have been. He looked over the crates to find that the rest of the small ferry was covered in blood and unfamiliar men had taken the ship for themselves. A hijacking? The men dressed in black and had savages looks to their appearances, but they didn't seem to notice Gate among the crates. Where they were going was unknown, but now Gate had to remain hidden at all costs. He'd deal with these men when the time was right.

[Renegade]

Alabast sheathed his katana in one deft fluid motion.

'Wow, I'll have to keep a close eye on her in case somthing like that may happen again' Alabast thought.

Alabast watched Nameless shake Adastreia's hand. Alabast wasnt too familiar with human socializing custums himself, because even though he was human he didnt socialize with too many human's himself, but he did know that that was a gesture of kindness.

Alabast then looked up and noticed this odd fellow standing there and thought
'Hmm..he certainly doesnt look too dangerous'

--"Are you against neko's to?"
-- "Cause one neko hater just barely escaped with his life earlier, and this time I will shoot."
Alabast looked at Nameless.
"No I really dont think you have to worry about him, so you can put your gun away."

Alabast then turned to Adastreia.
"Hey, I really think we should get out of here, the guards may have heard that gunshot and could be on their way here, and i would like to continue travelling with you, but that is completly your decision."

Edited by Renegade Soul Reaper, 25 August 2008 - 11:20 AM.

[SL the Pyro]

Shadow was close to Kinaacha now. He was very close, this was evident because the Imperial Fortress that was home to the Order of the Dragon Knights was now visible over the horizon. It was not long before the entrance gate to the city was in view... but he was not expecting a conflict there.

At the gate, a lone pair of dragon knights were fending off yet another band of theives. Shadow began to wonder if everyone in this world had suddenly developed a taste for blood and wealth overnight. There were only four theives this time, armed only with cutlasses from what he could see, but the knights were barely able to hold them back; they were more skilled that the average thieves, too weak to land any real blows but smart enough to make sure that th knights couldn't counterattack. But average or not, they must have been desperate to attack the gate to the Imperial Capital. But regardless of their reasons, they were in Shadow's way.

Giving Dark a kick, he signaled the horse to pick up speed and charge at the thieves. The heavy trotting of hooves got everyone's attention. When the thieves had turned around, Shadow saw that his initial presumption was wrong: they were holding cutlasses, but also crossbows. They had been using them as makeshift shields. While two thieves went back to work on the knights, the remaining two quickly armed their crossbows and fired at the intruder... or rather his horse. The whole event had happened too quickly; both crossbow bolts connected with Dark, one in its neck and the other in its leg. He would die from the neck wound in mere moments... it was a good thing that Shadow did not make friends, because now was definately not the time for pining. He was, however, going to get revenge for his only mode of transportation being destroyed. Quickly he jumped from the falling horse and said with his calm and slick voice, "Get out of the way." He dropped some knives from his sleeves and sent them soaring through the air at the thieves. One to the head, the other to the neck, they both fell down into death. Once he landed on the ground beside their fallen bodies, he gave the other two theives little time to see what had just happened behind them; two more knives met the backs of their necks. They fell down dead as well.

The disaster averted, the two gate guards sighed with relief and relaxed. "That was strange..." one knight commented to his companion. "Why would these theives just attack us like this?" Shadow payed little attention to their ramblings and speculations as he retrieved his knives from the corpses of the thieves. "Anyway, thank you."

Retrieving his last knife, Shadow replied, "You were only in the right place at the right time. Your thanks are not needed." He began to walk through the gate, when he was cut off by the flat of battle-worn sword weilded by the other knight. "Is there a problem?" he asked, not even turning his head.

"You tell me, Scarlet Devil." the man replied with venom. So he recognized him... that was going to make things difficult. The knight who had thanked him earlier took a couple of cautious steps backward. "What does a world-class assassin such as yourself have to do in the Imperial Capital?"

Still not looking him in the eye, Shadow replyed, "If you assume I come here with murderous intent, then you are mistaken."

"...You have real gall to say that after killing four people so quickly." he reminded him.

"They were in the way." Shadow told him simply. "I only come to Kinaacha to find information, nothing more. I plan to leave afterwards when I find a new means of transportation."

"Well, that's too bad." the knight replied. "Because there is a warrant out for your arrest." His twisted his sword ninty degrees, so that the blade of the sword was lined up squarely with Shadow's neck.

That had succeeded in getting Shadow's attention... a bad idea. He turned his head to face the knight and said, "Is that so."

The knight nodded to his companion, who was walking around behind Shadow so he tie his hands together with a rope that he had pulled out of his armor. This was not good; Dragon Knights were some of the most powerful warriors in the world, and a straight fight with two of them at once would no doubt cause an uproar that would draw in more. If he was going to prevent his own arrest, he would have to either kill them both immediately, or escape before the commotion drew in other knights. And he was not going to escape after coming so close.

Plans to eliminate these two knights immediately rushed through his head, and he selected the one that would work best; a surprise attack, using the first knight's own weapon. It was kill or be killed, and as an assassin, it was his job to kill as quickly and as quietly as possible.

At the last moment, his plan went into action; just before the rope was secured around his wrists, Shadow tripped the knight behind him and swapped places with him quickly, shoving him into his unwitting partner's sword. Before the knight could react and stop an injury, Shadow shoved a knife into his throat. Both of them fell down. The sword, in combination with gravity, was jammed through the armor of the second knight and into his chest. Shadow covered his mouth and prevented a scream before stomping down on his back, forcing the blade deeper. He stopped when he heard muffled gurgling and removed his hand from his mouth, blood now coming out of it. He died a few seconds later.

Casually Shadow walked around his little masterpiece of death, comtemplating what to do with them. If he was wanted by the Dragon Knights, then he couldn't simply just walk into Kinaacha and ask for information from them as he was, he'd never make it out alive. He needed a plan... doing a double-take, he remembered that the first dragon knight had no imperfections on his armor. After retrieving his knife, Shadow began to relieve the corpse of his armor and scratch it up a little with the other knight's clean sword...

--------------------

"SOMEONE HELP! WE HAVE WOUNDED!"

Those words immediately caused the gate to open. Three dragon knights ran out to see a gruesome scene: Four theives and one of their own knights on the ground, all with brutal slashes on their bodies, the dragon knight having the worst of it. Bloody cutlasses and swords were scattered along the ground. "What happened here!?" one of the knights demanded.

"T-thieves! They attacked out of nowhere! They all attacked at once!" the victim knight stammered.

The three knights looked over the scene, the one who demanded an answer checking the dead knight's body. "Such brutality... and yourself?"

"I... he killed one of them before he died. I managed to eliminate the rest."

He took the helmet off of the dead knight. "He was just recently initiated into the order... the poor child." he said. "Pick up his body and carry it into the city. We will give him a proper burial."

"Allow me to help, sir..."

"No. You have been through enough. You are relieved of duty for two days. Get some rest."

"Yes... sir..." the battle-scarred knight said sorrowfully as he turned around and lumbered into Imperial Capital. Rarely did he smile... and what a sickening, demonic smile did he have. Shadow was pleased with his work for once. The original wearer of this armor had been hidden in the forest, and he modified the murder scene to make it look like the thieves killed the other knight. Now he was able to pass himself off as a Dragon Knight... this would it considerably easier to get the information he wanted about Xervan. But the time the knights had figured out what really happened there, Shadow's work here would be done and he would be long gone...

Edited by Shadow_Link, 25 August 2008 - 02:03 PM.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Lotus was scared for a moment, but thankfully the situation fixed itself. He was still confused a bit though--he was familiar as to what neko's were as a race, but he did not know the word for them in this land.

"Ah, may this humble one go with you for awhile? This humble one wishes to speak to Good Stranger Cat-Like when the time is good." Lotus asked, using a rough translation of his people's language.

[Shekey the Green]

Adastreia jumped a little when Nameless took her hand. He put it in hers and moved it up and down. Curious, she kept doing it, not letting go of his hand.

Is this an introduction? Am I doing it right? she thought?

Intrigued with his gestures, she wondered when to let go.

--"Hey, I really think we should get out of here. The guards may have heard that gunshot and could be on their way here, and I would like to continue traveling with you, but that is completely your decision."

Adastreia was shocked at his question, when the mossy man(woman?) came up and asked a similar question.

--"Ah, may this humble one go with you for awhile? This humble one wishes to speak to Good Stranger Cat-Like when the time is good."

The voice s/he spoke with had a rather deep accent. Adastreia decided to assume s/he was a male, but would still have her doubts.

Her war-stricken eyes looked at both of them. She didn't trust them quite yet, but Alabast was kind enough to stop her when she was on the brink of being uncontrollable. The mossy man's eyes were just as war-stricken as hers. From what she could see in his eyes, he had a troubled past.

She then nodded. "Both of you are more than welcome to join me."

She looked at the mossy man/woman and said, "They call me Adastreia. What do they call you?"

She then realized she was still holding Nameless's hand. This much interaction was confusing her. She let go and smiled at him.

"By the way, Nameless, it was a pleasure to meet you."

Edited by Shekey the Green, 25 August 2008 - 12:56 PM.

[nameless]

"No I really dont think you have to worry about him, so you can put your gun away." Alabast said.

Nameless looked around at him. "Ok!" He put his gun away, and returned to his normal unserious self.

"Hey, I really think we should get out of here, the guards may have heard that gunshot and could be on their way here, and i would like to continue travelling with you, but that is completly your decision." Alabast said with a look around.

And the stranger spoke up.
"Ah, may this humble one go with you for awhile? This humble one wishes to speak to Good Stranger Cat-Like when the time is good."

"Both of you are more than welcome to join me." Adrasteia said. And then let go of Nameless's hand and smiled, he smiled back.

"By the way, Nameless, it was a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"your leaving? can I come, I'm handy to have along, sometimes, like when you need things fixed or made right then and there. So can I?" He smiled hopefully.

[Arato]

Xavier ran up to Arato
"Where've you been all day?!" He asked.

"Just getting to know the town, I almost introduced myself to a Neko and some others but I got nervous and backed down," he said frowning.

"Did you here that loud gunshot?" Xavier questioned.

"Yeah, in fact, I saw the person who shot it." Arato replied.

"Really!!!! Man I would give anything to see a gun like that, I want to buy one some day when I'm older," Xavier said excitedly.

Arato chuckled at his young companions ambition. That was part of the reason he allowed him to come along with him. After all, a little optimism never hurt anyone. "Would you like to go get something to eat? I fixed up an old mans wooden chair and he gave me enough kinmarks to pay for a dinner for the two of us. How about it?" He asked

"Sure!! Not having to cook for once is definitely a welcome change in schedule," replied Xavier enthusiastically.

So the two unlikely friends walked off to find a suitable restaurant. They ended up walking by the Neko and others while they were talking, and Arato whispered to Xavier, "That kid with the greasy pants is the one who owns the gun."

"WHAT!!" Xavier shouted. He then ran up to the young man in the greasy pants and said "Excuse me, sir, but may I see your gun! I've always wanted to see one close up, but I've never had the chance and now I do so I don't want to miss it, what do you say?"

Arato ran up behind Xavier and said "Sorry for his rudeness, he's only twelve, and he gets really excited about things like this, again, sorry. We'll just be on our way."

Edited by Arato, 25 August 2008 - 04:29 PM.

[JRPomazon]

The small ferry had landed on some shore, away from civilization. The thieves began to leap off the small craft, splashing in the shallow water that came up to their feet. They were moving towards the back to unload the ship. Gate grabbed one of his knives and cut a hole in the animal skin roof of the boat and escaped to the unoccupied side of the vessel. The unloading process began, the four hijackers began to grunt and heave the large crates off the boat and onto shore. What were in these damn boxes anyway? Something pressed against Gate's neck, a long blood covered cutlass.

"On your feet maggot." The voice behind him called out. Gate slowly got to his feet, hiding the dagger in his sleeve.

"Walk. Now." The voice called out again.

The two of them made their way to shore, where the other four men stopped their unpacking to see what their partner had found.

"A stowaway. What do we do with him?"

"Don't care, kill him I guess." Said his lethargic sounding companion.

Gate took his concealed weapon from his sleeve and stabbed the man holding him three times.

"Uaaaagh!" Cried the thief as he fell to the ground, holding his stomach in a vain attempt to stop his pain.

Gate took the same dagger and threw it into another man who didn't seem to realize what was going on until he had a knife piercing his heart.

"Bastard!" Cried a masked thief as he and his companions drew their cutlasses.

"Swords are a poor choice." Gate said as he shook his arms for two more daggers.

"Whah. . . is that some sort of magic?" One of the thieves asked his companions.

"No you bloody fool, he just has concealed weap-"

Gate had thrown his dagger into the head of the thief before he could complete his response. One of the thieves charged at Gate and tried to thrust his sword into Gate's chest, which was met with a sidestep to the right and a stab into the side of the neck. The blood got on Gate's sleeve as the man's charge became a drop to the ground. The last thief stood as Gate held the now blood covered dagger towards the last of his opponents. The man put his cutlass away and grabbed something from his pocket. Gate watched intently as the man grabbed a gun.

"Try this magic man." The thief said as he aimed his gun.

Gate began to dash sideways back and forth in a zigzag motion as he closed the distance between him and his opponent. The thief had a hard time aiming at a moving target, cursing himself for not shooting sooner. In seconds, Gate was in range for a final strike and the thief with a decent shot at his target. A shot resounded throughout the area. The bullet grazed Gate's side and the dagger was plunged into the thief's gut. As blood formed at the man's mouth he looked at Gate.

"You've got nerves . . . never seen a poker face like yours before . . . " he muttered.

Gate removed his dagger from the man in black. The man dropped his gun and fell to his knees and died sitting up. Gate backed up from the body and removed his shirt. The wound was bleeding, although it wasn't serious. He applied some herbs on the wound and rapped it in bandages. He noticed the gun and the bag of ammunition on the corpse and took them for himself. Gate didn't have a lot of experience with this kind of weapon, but since it almost took his life he might be able to use it later. Taking the spoils of victory, Gate headed off. He left the ferry and the unknown cargo and went south. If he was right, he might be a few hours away from Cha'Firen.

[Shekey the Green]

Everyone seemed to want to come along with Adastreia. For a moment, she considered turning around and leaving. Life normally wasn't this eventful. She wasn't sure if she liked it (or them) yet. However, Adastreia's too soft for her own good.

Just when she was about to welcome Nameless as well, a young boy ran up to him.

--"Excuse me, sir, but may I see your gun! I've always wanted to see one close up, but I've never had the chance and now I do so I don't want to miss it, what do you say?"

The older gent with him seemed nervous.

-- "Sorry for his rudeness, he's only twelve, and he gets really excited about things like this, again, sorry. We'll just be on our way," he mumbled.

Adastreia heard something in the distance. Someone was coming quickly in their general direction.

"Well, whatever happens, we all need to move away. Now. I don't know how I became the leader of this brigade, but I am. I'm leaving the decision on whether or not you come to you. If you're with me, you're with me. But I'm moving out, and as quickly as possible."

Adastreia then turned towards and headed the opposite direction of the docks. There was no passage for her here, but she had made new companions.