Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Apr 15, 2007 13:03:25 GMT -5
To join this adventure, visit our Recruitment Thread Characters Currently Involved: 1. Kashan: a mechanic of unusual strength who appears to be a rather strangely dark-clad human. She has a secret she's not sharing. Her instructor in the ways of a mechanic is a telekinetic Psyon who lives in the village of Telsey. While she travels a lot, she keeps her own home in this city not far from his. 2. Nairi: a most peculiar swordsman who does not appear to have use of all of his mental faculties at times. However, he has a certain fondness of Kashan and decide to journey homeward with her. 3. Anna (and Rafe): A young minstrel and her infant son. As our adventure begins, a group of brigands are trying to kidnap the boy... 4: Kirithis: an assassin of whom little is known at this point in time.
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Apr 20, 2007 12:28:37 GMT -5
And so does our journey begin...
It wasn't that Kashan was feeling antisocial, or any more antisocial than usual, anyway. But when you traveled with another person for days or weeks on end eventually you ran out of things to talk about. And so it was an awkward yet not entirely uncomfortable silence that spread between the dark clad female and Nairi now. The awkwardness was thanks to the fact that Kashan had spent so much time alone and now Nairi had infiltrated her life...and the weird thing of it all was...she kind of maybe sort of liked him there. It was most peculiar.
Beside the point though, they'd stopped for a light lunch and Kashan could be found now squatting with a slightly pointed rock hanging from a string which was in turn hanging from a stick. "It loses momentum..." she frowned. But it was interesting. If a mechanism could be created to continually bump the rock back it would keep a time of perfect seconds...and if the tapping of the rock could somehow catch a device of some kind to tap the seconds away...why, a person would be able to count the very seconds of a day! Wasn't that interesting? Well, she thought it was, anyway. Impractical, perhaps, but people these days rather liked novelties anyway. 'Perhaps a canvas parchment with...markings of some kind on it...hmm...'
They were maybe a half day's walk from Telsey--the taller city spires could just barely be made out past the slightly overcast sky. She looked up a moment, tilting her hat back and narrowing her eyes in thought, lips pursed. "The Cyrrines are at it again," she muttered though she was glad for a cooler temperature--for the first time in days her heavy clothing didn't feel stifling. "A fog always rolls off the mountain, making it hard to see very far. See, it's starting to thicken. We won't be able to see but ten feet or so ahead of us in a little while."
Those familiar with Telsey were well used to the fog that drifted north over the mountain when the air got too hot. No one had yet figured out why and the common theory was that it was the restless spirits of long since dead deities--the Revenants Cyr and Ines who were buried beneath the mountain. Kashan thought that was fairly silly, but it was the popular theory on the matter.
She was distracted from her meandering thoughts by a nearby scream and rose quickly. "That doesn't sound very promising..."
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Apr 23, 2007 17:01:58 GMT -5
Was he sleeping? He wasn't really sure. Sunlight was streaming through a patched canopy of leaves, and birds were chirping somewhere. His eye-lids felt like they were made out of lead, and when he managed to get them open, Kashan was nowhere in sight. Where did she always go in times like this? Did she hate forests or something? Maybe it was him... which, in itself, was a rather upsetting thought, considering he loved Kashan. Right? He wasn't sure - things were so confusing nowadays. There was a time where there was only the sword, and it was simple. Peaceful. Now there was Kashan, and he wasn't entirely sure, but it felt like a conflict was blooming here...
Back in reality, Nairi sat propped up against a tree, staring off into space. He seemed to nod a bit when his traveling companion had something to say, but it wasn't much of a reaction, and could've been entirely coincidental. He'd actually been doing this for a lot of their trip, but since they didn't have a whole lot to talk about, Kashan probably never noticed. It was like sleep-walking, and during these times he was somewhere else, somewhere thinking that Kashan abandoned him again and being frustrated at his inability to figure out why. Was he a bad kisser? Did he need a hair-cut? It always came back to that particular stretch of woods, filled with that hypnotizing song... the song that masked his perceptions just enough for common sense to fail and realize that the voice is coming from behind him. He just walks on, unaware, trapped in something unexplainable and, in it's own way, terrifying.
When the scream came, he was slow to rise. It might just look like a delayed reaction, but for Nairi, it was like trying to force yourself awake from an especially clingy dream. Eventually he did, gasped, felt his heart skip a beat like it always did when he came back from that place to realize that Kashan hadn't forsaken him yet, hadn't quite given up... and that they weren't in a forest at all. Gods, what a headache he had. The young man groaned and got to his feet, resisting the trembling in his hand, the urge to draw his weapon. "Erm... wait, what's going on?"
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Anna
Novice
Posts: 14
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Post by Anna on Apr 25, 2007 16:20:44 GMT -5
Anna stood inside her kitchen, preparing a late lunch for herself and Rafe. She usually tried to get lunch for Rafe earlier in the day than this, keeping him on a schedule (what little of a schedule she could.) But they'd had such a great time, laughing and playing that Anna had lost track of time, and Rafe had actually worn himself out. Much to Anna's surprise, Rafe was actually in his room napping.
It amazed Anna that, considering her past, she was so content doing simple things like cooking and playing with an infant baby, her infant baby. She loved gazing into Rafe's eyes, his father's eyes. Anna didn't know what had become of Rafe's father, but that wasn't really her concern. Anna was just glad to have Rafe, to have this simple house that had been her grandmother's. Her grandmother had died when Anna was very young, but Anna always felt they had a special relationship. Her grandmother had trusted Anna with her most important secret.
A secret Anna was convinced that Rafe shared.
It was odd, Anna had no way of knowing, she just...knew. It didn't really matter though, he was her son, she loved him and would protect him if necessary. Though they lived outside of Telsey, Anna didn't spend that much time in the city. Oh, she would go there often enough, trade for food or other such things. When she needed a few ka she would trade on her minstrel skills. Her grandmother always said she had a beautiful voice, so she used it for the most important thing in the world, her son. She was good at lullaby's, which was a handy skill when dealing with an infant.
Anna looked up suddenly! She thought she heard something coming from her porch. What could it have been? She couldn't see anything through the window, the fog made it impossible. Someone could be standing right in front of her house and Anna probably wouldn't see them until the fog lifted.
Anna stepped out onto her porch.
"Is someone there?" she called.
'Why am I so nervous?' she wondered. 'This could be nothing, an animal perhaps. There's no reason anyone would want to harm us, and we have nothing worth stealing.'
But Anna couldn't shake this fear that something was wrong.
Suddenly, a man appeared out of the fog and grabbed Anna. Anna screamed, startled by this large attacker. Anna desperately fought, trying to pull out of his grasp, but he was far too strong and wrestled Anna to the ground. Anna opened her mouth to sing, she knew that was her only chance, but her attacker covered her mouth with his hand, almost like he knew what she was capable of!
What could she do?
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on Apr 25, 2007 22:28:57 GMT -5
They say that months living alone in the wild can turn a man crazy. Kirithis had never really believed in that, but then again, she wasn't a man, despite the fact that she knew few capable of toppling her. Never had there been a man other than her father who had brought her down in a fight, and he was long gone. Or perhaps it was she who was long gone?
The assassin stared into the fog, plotting out her course as always. Never one to stay put for long, when she wasn't training or hunting, or doing something else, she was plotting out her path. Which way would she go next? When would she purchase supplies? Would she take odd jobs soon to make her strange ends meet? All were valuable questions.
Right now, all she knew was that she was going to Telsey. She might do some 'work' for spare ka, but she wasn't in dire need of any. She could do many things to survive, and only two involved ka.
Crimson eyes, such a strange color, stared up into the sky, wishing for a trace of blue, or a hint of the fog lessening. Her senses were sharp, but it would not be too hard for someone to sneak upon her in the thick cloud that covered them. She sighed. Of all the things to stop at, it had to be a fog. She was throwing a knife into the ground repeatedly, crouched low to avoid being seen anymore than she would have been and concentrating.
A scream! She jerked her head towards the sound, keen eyes attempting with little success to puncture the thick fog. Who was it? It sounded like a woman.. Yes, it was definitely a woman's scream. Without hesitation, Kirithis was up, moving silently as she could towards the sound, taking unconventional routes like trees and rocks and such to keep off of the grass. Grass bending creates noise, after all..
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on May 1, 2007 13:21:44 GMT -5
"Someone screamed," Kashan informed Nairi. "While you were dozing off." She knew not everyone was interested in science, but it seemed to outright bore Nairi, who tended to doze off every time she was experimenting with something she found interesting. Maybe he felt ignored or thought she was strange. Well, no point thinking about it now.
She pursed her lips. "From...that way, I think," she said, pointing a pail finger into the thickening blanket of fog. "Towards Telsey. If we don't go around we'll probably run into trouble." She didn't seem to express any real interest in it one way or the other. Running into trouble was a bother. But detouring to avoid it was just as much of a nuisance as far as Kashan was concerned. She'd let Nairi decide. She supposed some people might think to go rescue whoever was in trouble--but Kashan was no warrior. She'd rather not get involved with other people most of the time. There were, of course, exceptions. Well, one at current. The woman's cat, Nanai, wove around Nairi's ankles. Confusing. Their names even sounded the same if one wasn't paying close attention--her boyfriend and her pet. Ah well, such is life.
At the scene of the crime, Anna would find herself vastly out-numbered and out-gunned. Pinned down by a hulk of a man clad in dark armor, a much smaller fellow picked up Rafe as a third man on horseback--a paladin of some kind by the looks of him demanded he 'hurry up, fool." The small man stuck his tongue out at the paladin. "I'm hurrying I'm hurrying!" he complained, muttering something about "Luny hurry. Luny my breakfast. Luny kiss my high and mighty ass," before declaring. "Somebody make this wretched little babe stop crying!" whilst holding Rafe away from himself at arm's length.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on May 4, 2007 0:10:36 GMT -5
Nairi wasn't good at decision-making... he didn't really have the head for it. He could hardly even figure out which direction he wanted to go, most of the time, and the sword did the rest. It thinks for me, he thought, and furrowed his brow. "We should go. Someone could be hurt, or... well, I don't know. I just think we should." The youth had his reason for going, though he wouldn't explain it to Kashan even if she asked - it would just sound weird. The sword doesn't want me to, so I will. This kind of defiant thinking was new to him, and he liked it. Before it had been so subtle that it was like a whisper on his ears, a slight breeze pressing his hands, but now it really felt as if it was physically holding him back. If I could just get rid of it, he considered, then decided against it. He didn't want to put his hands anywhere near it at the moment.
He knelt and scooped Nanai into his arms, smiling to his companion. "Don't want her to get stepped on in case we have to run. That would be bad, yeah?" It would've been comforting to hold anything in his hands right now - Kashan's hat, for example - but this served two purposes and the cat was quite soft. Much better than unforgiving steel. He couldn't quite help feeling as if the blade on his back was fuming, shocked with anger at its denial. Was it Kashan that made it so furious? He could never feel it before...
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Anna
Novice
Posts: 14
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Post by Anna on May 4, 2007 22:10:49 GMT -5
Anna struggled desperately in the man in the dark armor's grip! What were they doing with her son? That little man wasn't even holding him properly.
Anna's leg shot up, her knee hitting the man in the gut! He grunted and fell back, losing his grip on her! Anna got up and scrambled towards the little man holding Rafe.
"Give me my son!" she demanded.
Before she could get close the man in dark armor grabbed her again! Hauling her back, suddenly holding a knife to her throat!
"Holding your mouth shut is too much trouble," he said into her ear. "So maybe I'll just cut your voice out of you."
Anna trembled as he held the knife close to her throat!
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Kirithis
Novice
Shinma Hukumetsu
Posts: 62
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Post by Kirithis on May 6, 2007 11:51:19 GMT -5
Kirithis had been close to the sound, and her speed carried her easily, silent as the breeze itself. It only took her a moment to reach the scene, and even then, she remained out of sight as she approached.
Hmm.. looked like two men, an infant and a woman. Quickly, crimson eyes evaluated the situation. The child seemed what they were after, but the woman was in immediate danger. Now, how to disarm the man holding her..?
A throwing knife flew through the air, the steel singing with determination as it soard towards the man's arm. Careful calculation made the knife stick into the arm that bore the hand that held the knife, aimed specifically for certain nerves and tendons that would cause him to drop the knife. She sent another knife to the little man, aimed carefully so as not to hit the child, into the back of his left knee. The angle produced a very high chance of the man falling to his knees and then to the side, not harming the child.. In theory, of course.
Not a second later, Kirithis appeared, crouched on the ground, eyes dangerous, like a hawk's, body tensed and prepared for battle. She was close to the little man, wary of how he fell and ready to snatch Rafe in a split-second's notice. Neither man would be down and out just yet, but the element of surprise had been hers, and at least she could draw them away from the woman and the child for a moment.
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on May 6, 2007 12:34:40 GMT -5
The angle of Kirithis's approach apparently obscured her vision of the third man, a paladin on horseback not ten feet from the smaller man holding the babe. It was this man who easily deflected the knife aimed at the small man, who simpered a little, not seeming terribly cut out for all of this. The paladin swung his claymore around easily to come up under Kirithis's throat. "That was foolish." he said.
The large man meanwhile cursed under his breath. The knife had hit, but not exactly as Kirithis planned. It slid off a metal gauntlet to catch him in the spacing between the ebon armor he wore. His grip DID loosen a bit though as he reached his empty hand around to yank the knife out.
Currently though Kasahn buried her head a little deeper into that wide brimmed hat. "I guess," she answered. It wasn't that she was a bad person, she just tended to avoid people and doubted she'd be much help anyway. Well, if someone needed help though and Nairi wanted to help, then she wouldn't argue.
Nanai rubbed her little kitty head up against Nairi's face. She liked people--she liked Kashan most, perhaps because the cat could sense that Kashan needed to be liked more than most, but Nairi was quickly becoming a close second. A little purr came out. The cat, obviously, didn't get what they were talking about and was used to a moody atmosphere.
Kashan began to walk up the road again in the direction of the sound she'd heard which had really been almost directly up the road anyway from what she could tell.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on May 7, 2007 17:12:07 GMT -5
Nairi rolled one shoulder, trying to look off into the distance - a futile gesture at best with all the damn fog. "I suppose that we don't have to, but it's on the way, and if you were in trouble, I'd help you... even if I didn't know you." He flashed one of those gorgeous, "all the lights are on at the moment" smiles that happened so rarely, starting to pad off into the mist.
He really wasn't much of a hero, before or after the "incident." Usually content to mind his own business, he couldn't resist the chance to contradict that faint pull on his mind, the constant whispering in his ears... not when he had the strength to do so. Maybe it was Kashan that gave him that strength - maybe it was Kashan that was sending the weapon into such a fury. Regardless, it felt good to be fully in control for once. He stopped just a few feet away before he turned to the Deus, blinking. "If you're... you know, scared... you could hold my hand." He carefully shuffled Nanai into the cradle of his right arm, extending the left.
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on May 8, 2007 10:19:08 GMT -5
(forsaking the order for now since Kashan and Nairi have yet to arrive on the scene)
Damn him! Nairi was always saying embarrassing things and smiling and making her all confused. Now he'd just done it again. Her cheeks heated up a bit, not that one could tell from the deep shadows her hat cast over her features.
"I-idiot," Kashan complained. "I'm not scared. I just don't think I'll be much use in rescuing anyone." It always seemed to slip Kashan's mind that she was tolerable with a sword and stronger than the average large burly man due to certain dracon genetics that she made efforts to keep carefully hidden. Regardless of that. "Let's just hurry," she complained. "If you want to play hero we'd better get there before the damsel is dead."
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on May 8, 2007 13:56:52 GMT -5
Nairi tilted his head. "I'm not sure if I believe that, but I guess we'll find out, hm?" Despite this potentially dangerous proposition, the young man couldn't stop grinning. That wasn't really too odd, though, considering his typical behavior. "Does this mean you don't want to hold my hand? I thought that's what people in relationships did? I'm pretty sure my feelings should be hurt at this point..." He blinked as if he was taking a moment to consider this, then gave a haughty, "wounded" look to Kashan as he retracted his hand and gave its attention to Nanai instead. He wasn't very good at this "relationship" thing, but he was trying!
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on May 8, 2007 14:35:46 GMT -5
"Th-there are proper times and places!" Kashan protested, not really a relationship expert either but at least understanding that 'gee let's hold hands' didn't pair well with 'and go into battle and maybe get badly injured or die'. Okay, so she was probably-maybe-making mountains out of molehills but it was still embarrassing. "Just, come on and hurry up. We're probably getting close. "You need your hands free if you have to fight of some...thing.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on May 8, 2007 14:54:50 GMT -5
"Alright, alright," he grumbled, but whether or not he needed to be prepared for a fight, he refused to put his hands anywhere near his blade until it was absolutely needed. Well, at least he had Nanai... who was soft, and cuddly, and didn't hurt his feelings. He huffed quietly, continuing to make some head-way into the mist, though they could easily be veering off in a different direction and he'd have no way of knowing unless there was another scream. "Why would you live in such a foggy place? I can barely see a couple of steps in front of me."
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