Desperation --- Roleplay of Pairs

[Dokurider]

He really was glad that went according to plan. As he headed to the bad part of town, the adrenaline from sneaking in the morgue wore off and brought the pain back. Each step brought a muscle curling pain to his torso, hunching him over as he walked. He really was grateful for the cane he brought along as it was doing much more than selling his disguise. That explosion in the forest really did hurt him; it felt like his muscles were reduced to hamburger and he was only held together by bones and sinew. His state meant if he was caught, his legs could not help him. It was all down to his brains and his illusions.

Now in the ghettos and near where his ex-gang prowled for victims, he placed his cash and his weapons in an nearby trash heap. "I hope I can remember which trash heap I put my stuff in." commenting on the piles of sewage and trash strewn all about the streets. All he had on him now was his satchel, those clothes from the morgue in the satchel, and his disguise of an old man, complete with a cane. It was time for some acting.

While some of the members of his former guild were of reasonable intellect and stayed inside during the lockdown, understanding the concept of unnecessary risk; Clayton knew there were members that knew neither fear or rationality and wouldn't let some arbitrary curfew infringe on their freedom to do whatever they wanted. Four such individuals came down the alley.

He knew them as decent burglars, but had a hard time keeping their noses clean. Constantly in and out of jail, drunken brawl after vandalism, they were a handful for the Pals at the Tavern. They burned through money as fast as they could earn it. There were days Clayton wondered how they haven't died, disbarred from the guild or been locked up yet. To their credit, at least they weren't drunk today, if only because all the bars are closed. Being dry seemed to be getting on their nerves, however.

"This is bullshit, Pat. All the fuckin' bars are closed. We can't 'ad just snuck out for nothin'. What're we gonna do?" O'Bannon complained. "Cut your bitchin' and moanin'. If there ain't no bars open, we'll just break into one and steal a kegger 'er two." "We can't steal from one of our one bars. If anyone found out it was us-" Tatoolo started to say before Pat cut him off. "Not from our bars, dumbass. From the Bastards." "Okay then..." Tatoolo was not on board at all for sneaking around during a lockdown. "Shit, Tatoolo, you need a beer more the rest of us." Said Pat "Doesn't sound too bad. You know how we're getting in?" O'Bannon asked. "We might be gettin' in from the roof, but I'll know for sure when we get there. How's that sound, Saionji?" "I guess that works." Saionji said as neutrally as possible.

Pat rolled his eyes, wondering why he even asks Saionji anything. Saionji always answers everything with an 'I guess' attached to the end or something to make his statement indefinite. O'Bannon decided to have some fun at Saionji's expense. "Hey Saionji, how'd it feel gettin' fuckin' decked when ya hit on that one asshole's girlfriend last week?" "Eh, well, you win some, you lose some." He was actually goaded into talking to her by the others. Saionji can be goaded into doing just about anything. He has to be, otherwise, he wouldn't do much of anything.

ooc: to be contiued

[Ryqoshay]

   Scary.

   This place was very scary. If he was not here, assuring her it was alright, she would probably be huddling in the corner making herself as small as possible.

   Instead of cowering, however, she was sitting in the middle of a large design on the stone floor. It had lots of circles and triangles and shapes she didn't know the names of and there were words she didn't understand everywhere. Had it been drawn in chalk or the like, it may have confused her, but not bothered her as it did, being drawn in blood. She did not know whose it was, nor did she care to.

   Strange smelling smoke wafted through the air from scattered sticks of... insents? or whatever he called them. Eerie shadows danced across the walls as flickering candle light filtered through the smoke. Around the borders of the diagram stood a dozen cloaked figures chanting ominously in a foreign tongue. The whole scene made her want to scream. But she sat silently, keeping as calm as she could, listening to his reassurance.

   He approached her with a knife in one hand and a bowl in the other. The blade looked wicked with serrations on one edge and an evil, grinning skull on its handle. The bowl was likely the most normal looking thing in the room; just a simple wooden bowl.

   A normal bowl. Completely normal.

   He handed her the bowl and asked her to drink from it.

   The liquid was bitter and she couldn't help gagging a little. She did not like bitter drinks. Even so, she finished it like she was told and after a few moments, a warm feeling spread out from her belly, and out through her entire body.

   She smiled.

   He praised her and she giggled in response.

   He began to chant words she had never heard before as he reached down and took her hand. Holding out her arm, he slowly dragged the dagger across her forearm. It was a pretty dagger. It even had a cute, smiling skull on its hilt. It was a very pretty dagger. Well made. And very cute.

   She watched, almost giddily, as her blood flowed down onto the pretty shapes and funny words. She stifled a laugh as he made a matching cut on her other arm. Holding her arms out fully in front of her, she grinned happily, watching the new liquid retrace the entire array.

   The whole room crackled with energy. Dark energy. The lovely song lilted and intensified as if to call forth more energies. There was a sharp crack, a loud thump and most of the candles went out. That was too bad. She liked candles. They really should have used more. She drew in a long breath, savoring the sweet smell those other burning things were making.

   She didn't know how much time had gone by, but after a while, the beautiful refrains began to sound more and more like a lullaby. Her eyes began to droop. Her head lolled about. She took another breath of the comforting aroma, and finally fell into a peaceful slumber.

   She awoke.

   How long had she been out? The last thing she remembered was him comforting her and telling her everything was going to be alright, despite being in that scary place. Had it been a dream?

   She looked around to see that she was in her own bed, in her own room. She called out for him, and a moment later, he appeared at her door. He was very happy she was awake.

   She asked him what had happened, and he explained that, unfortunately, the ritual had not been successful. She apologized, which caused him to laugh and tousle her hair, assuring her it was not her fault. He needed to do some more research and they would have to try again later.

   She agreed, though she wasn't sure she liked the idea of having to go back to that scary place again. He assured her she was perfectly safe there, and he would protect her from any dangers. When he hugged her close, she knew he was telling the truth.

   He loved her like all parents loved their children. He would always protect her and care for her.

   Always...

   A strange slashing noise makes Anita stir in her sleep. She opens her eyes a little, but sees nothing but feathers. Muttering something barely audible in a lost language, she drifts back into dreamland.

[DarkShade]

It has been about thirty minutes and Michael began to wander if John was telling him the right way to get out of the city. "Well now I think we take a left here and..." "John are you sure this is the right way?" John look around and then began to murmur. "What was that John?" John got louder and they both started hearing the word coming out of his mouth. "Well, I think we are lost." Michael put his hand to the side of his head and sighed. "Mirthean," Michael turn and look after saying his name. "Do you know the closes exit from here?"

Mirthean looked around and replied "Heading east would probably be the closest route. That exit isn't that far; though getting to the Falls would take longer since we would have to go around the city borders."

After about two hours, they figured how to get out of the city. " Hide guys." Michael alerted the others and they all hid behind some barrels and then a patrol of guards walked by. John let out a sigh. "Michael how did you know they were coming around the corner. Michael shrugged his shoulders and said quietly, "I didn't. I was only guessing."

"Well lets go." Michael said and then he did a quick dash towards some trees follow by John's Chocobo, John and then Mirthean

OOC: the city is still on guard since Taichii "flew" away.

[Dokurider]

"How 'bout that archery contest ya entered?" O'Bannon continued. "Eh, I did pretty good, I think." he answered detachedly. O'Bannon wasn't done mocking him. "What's the color of the sky?" "'Blue, I guess.'" Pat said, stepped in to mock Saionji as well. Tatoolo had long since given up defending Saionji. His way of speaking even gets on his nerves at times. "Honestly, the way you talk just pisses everyone off. No wonder you don't get any women. Women dig confident guys, and you just answer everything like you don't know shit. You should-" "12 'o clock. Dead ahead." Saionji will only speak straightforwardly when it comes to serious situations.

The whole pack came to a quick stop to see a hunched over figure at the end of the alley jumping in fright and hobbling away. Pat spoke up. "What'dya see, Saionji?" "Looked like an old man with a sack. Didn't look like much of a fight. Arthritis, maybe?" "Defenseless old men shouldn't go 'round sneakin' 'round like that." "Yeah, you'd think they should know better. Welp, better get him before anyone else does." "Let's be careful, guys. We don't want to attract the guard's attention..." "That goes without fucking saying, Tatoolo. If you're going to be this chicken shit, you should have just stayed the fuck home." Pat bit back at Tatoolo. "Okay, I got it charged, let's go, assholes." And with that, Pat released his spell on all of them.

Their pace had only increased slightly, yet they were all moving at running speeds. Saionji peaked his head out and quickly found the area clear with the old man trying to duck around a corner. Signaling to go ahead, they all rounded the corner. "That one." "Really? That's a dead end. Shit, he's really asking for it." Pat said under his breath. Around the next corner, they were greeted with an empty dead end. O'Bannon walked up to a pile of trash and gave it a kick to push it over, producing a surprised yelp and covering the old man in garbage.

The old man rose unsteadily to his feet as the thieves started to close the distance the old man was desperately trying to widen. They cornered him, confident that they had him. Suddenly, the old man desperately lunged forward and swung at Pat with his cane. Pat dodged the wild swing with glee, taunting the old man's efforts with mock surprise as O'Bannon and Saionji flanked and grabbed the man on either side. "Ho ho ho, you almost got me there! I guess you still got it, huh?"

Tatoolo appeared behind the old man and took his satchel before he even realized it. "Wait, no! Give that back! I need that! Give that back!", he spat out as quickly as he could talk and began to wildly struggle against the men's grip. O'Bannon had no trouble holding the man at all, but decided to give the old bastard a quick gut check. His rock hard fist slammed into the old man's solar plexus. Simultaneously, both men let go, sending his back reeling into the wall behind him.

Now sitting on the ground, the old man doubled over onto his side, clutching his torso in pain while letting out an awful moan. "Heh, I guess I hit a soft spot." "Ajora, what the fuck's wrong with you? Hitting an old man like that, shit." Pat squatted down to the old man's level who was louding humming in pain. "Hey, hey, are you alright man? He didn't mean to hit ya like that, alright? He's sorry, right?" Pat briefly looked at his partner. "Yeah, man, sorry. I just lost my temper there."

"So why do you need this bag so bad anyways?" Pat continued. "You're just going to take it anyways..." the old man muttered. "Nah, nah, man, if you tell us, we'll give it back, right?" They all nodded except for Saionji, who was now at the mouth of the alley, keeping a look out. "So why do you need it?" Pat said with sympathy. "I-I need it...for my granddaughter's birthday. It's today." "Ah, geez, man. Her birthday had to be today of all days? Shit man, that sucks. And you must really love her too, to be breakin' curfew at your age. You're really brave man. I respect that." He handed over the satchel. "Thank you...so very much."

"Just one thing, though. Get a closer look at him." He signaled to Tatoolo, who peered at his face. The old man looked confused. "What am I looking at?" Tatoolo asked "What do you smell?" "Some kind of cologne?" "That's right." Tatoolo was actually puzzled. With a quick swipe, he grabbed the bag back from the old man and before he could utter a complaint, Tatoolo pulled out a dazzling one piece dress. "Nice." O'Bannon chimed. "Woah, woah, woah, man. How much do you think this is worth?" "About, 5000-6000?" Tatoolo estimated. "Wow, that's some serious cash there, old man. Even if it is a birthday present. Not only that, it's pretty damn slutty looking dress to be giving to your granddaughter, isn't it?"

"Hm, let's see, slinking around a part of town you don't belong to, stinking like cheap cologne, and carrying a whore's uniform? Sounds less like a grandpa trying to make it to his birthday and more like some fucking old pervert that couldn't stand being away from his bitch, so he came crawlin' down here to get his withered old dick wet. You stupid lyin' piece of shit." The old man's eyes widen as Pat stood up. "I was going to let you go with your shit, but you fuckin' lied, man." "And he thinks we're stupid." "Yeah. Did you really think we couldn't smell that nasty shit on you? Or that we wouldn't actually LOOK inside your bag, dumbass? You rich assholes are alike." As they closed in, he instinctively started to curl up. "Don't hurt me or I'll scream. The patrols'll hear me."

All three bursted out laughing. "Really dipshit? Really? If you fucking scream, you gonna go to jail too, dumbass. And we'll be all there right along with you." He leaned in. "Us, and all of our friends in the joint, too. Your old ass wouldn't last half a day. Not some rich fuck like yourself." Pat said, ending it by planting his foot in the old man's side. The three then started pummeling the old man. He did his best to guard his tender injuries, but they really worked him over.

As they started to walk away with his satchel, Pat looked over his shoulder at the old man left on the ground. "You're lucky all we did was take you shit today. You really were fucking asking for it." And they all walked away, triumphantly. Clayton laid there shaking in pain until they were well out of sight. "Assholes, they even broke my cane. I actually needed that." He rose to lean on the wall for support. "It's one thing to rob me, business is business. But breaking my cane? That's just low. No standards at all. Keeping up with them is going to be really hard now." As Clayton started off after them, he wondered if getting beat up was really all that necessary. "At least I got to use my smell illusion in a serious context for once." Saying that making false smells was niche was being optimistic.

Managing all this pain, being stealthy, and making sure these douchebags make it to HQ, he was really pushing things. He had dulled his pain so much now, he couldn't even tell what was hurt anymore. He was effectively numb now and it took conscious effort now, as opposed to previously. "This is really going to be a juggling act now."

[Taichii]

The chocobos kept walking deep in the dark passage.. the inly source of light was only the light from the moon that seeps through the small but many open spaces between the thick tree leaves...
Taichii hums together with the rustling of the leaves..

"na nanana nanana~~ hummm~ *whistle whistle* hum hum hum~~"

The silence broke off as he heard someone mumbling... Taichii became slit eyes and tilted his head behind but saw nothing there..
The mumbling continues ... Taichii's ears lead him to anita..

"oh.. she's sleep talking.. how cute.."

Taichii briefly smiles and looked forward after a while... he continues to hum as the five juravis flew over their heads.. Taichii stood from Mikoto's back... He then released his scythe and swung it left and right... "Crez vertugo"
Red lightning generates from the X marked swing and hits the two close flying juravis.. He swinged again and forms a cross (┼) and hit two more juravis... The generated red lightning shoked them and roasted them alive... The juravis that didn't got hit on the other hand, fell in a few moment but it flew up and went west as quickly as it could..

Taichii then jumped from mikoto's back and grabbed the feet of the four juravis' from the air and landed in front of mikoto...
Taichii felt the aftereffects of his actions...
He slightly yelped as the roasted birds are hot but Mikoto quickly took the huge birds feet and carried them with his beak.
He then walked towards Lulu.. Lulu then.. seeing what happened, flapped her left wing and showered Taichii with glowing yellow diamond particles which healed his hands...

"Thanks Mikoto and Lulu... Let's go.. we have dinner" Taichii said as he was being in a very good mood.. for such a tasty dinner...
After a an hour of traveling inside the hidden passage, they reached the exit... a small forest which is near a swamp...
Mikot and Lulu stopped over a big tree and sat.. Taichii embarked from Mikoto and started a small fire with twigs and his red lightning... He then set the juravis above a piece of wood at he bonfire that he made... Taichii then walked towards Lulu...
He placed his hands on Anita's warm cheeks and said...

"Anita, dear... we are here... Let's eat dinner while it's still hot" Taichii's was delighted as his warm pleasing tone brought a little smile across Anita's face...

[Ryqoshay]

   Where was he?

   She had looked everywhere for him. How long had it been? Days? Weeks? Months... How many days were in a year again?

   She remembered that once a year, he had celebrated something he called her 'birthday.' When she asked what that was, he had tried to explain, but she really didn't get it. What she did understand, however, was that it was a day that people gathered, gave her presents and sang her songs. In fact, the first gift he ever gave her was the stuffed animal she still carried. For one day she was the center of attention, or at least more so than usual. She looked forward to that day each time.

   Unfortunately, without him to keep track, she had no idea when her next birthday was supposed to be. Perhaps she should have had several already. If that was the case, maybe they could make up for it when she found him again. A whole week of birthdays sounded like a good idea to her.

   But she could not find him.

   She had long since lost track of how many nights she had cried herself to sleep, huddled in some hidden place. Each time, fewer tears came out. By now, it felt like she had run out, but that did nothing to stop her from crying. She was still lonely.

   Of course she had his weapon. It was incredibly intelligent and she could not deny that it had very helpful in her survival. It told her what berries to eat and what mushrooms to avoid. It warned her about certain people and places, while providing useful insight to get the most out of others. Unfortunately, with its inhuman voice and peculiar speech pattern, it was not the greatest conversationalist. And at the end of the day, it was still a large piece of cold metal. She loved it dearly, and entrusted her wellbeing to its capable guardianship, but it was not him.

   So she continued her search.

   But... what was that she saw before her?

   Emerging from the forest, she found herself at the edge of a large clearing filled with plants arranged in orderly rows. And among these plants was... him.

   Was it really him? Did her eyes deceive her? Was fate giving her a birthday present? Was today her birthday?

   It had to be him! He had that weapon! Certainly it was a bit simpler, no runic inscriptions, but it was definitely well made because it cleaved through the plants with ease.

   Through the plants... He was attacking the plants. They must be bad plants. Yes, that was it. Despite her initial urge to run strait to him, she suddenly found herself hesitating. What if the bad plants got her before she made it to him?

   She looked closer. The plants did not appear to be able to move much. Perhaps, if she ran fast enough, she could get past them before they were able to do anything bad to her.

   She ran.

   As her legs carried her as fast as they could, she called out to him. He stopped attacking the bad plants for a moment to look in her direction. He looked in the other direction, so she called again. He looked back, this time with an obvious expression of confusion across his face. Did he not remember her? No, that can't be it. But, why?

   She collided with him, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his side. Now tears came. But these were different tears than before. They did not hurt or sting, in fact, they were quite warm.

   Then he asked her a strange question. He asked her who she was.

   Barely able to contain herself, she bawled out her name before clinging to him again and crying out to him. He laughed gently, patted her on the head and assured her he would help if he could. She responded by tightening her grip and repeating what she called him before.

   Gently, he pried her off his leg and picked her up, leaving his weapon on the ground. The bad plants did nothing. Perhaps they were already too scared of him to do anything after he had killed so many of them.

   He took her to his house, where there was a woman about his age. He told her the woman was his wife. The couple talked for a little while and eventually agreed to take care of her.

   She was happy. She had found him again. She knew that he would love her like all parents love their children. He would always protect her and care for her.

   Always...

   Anita feels gentle hands on her cheeks and opens her sleep encrusted eyes. Mama is saying something to her but she doesn't catch all of it through the haze. Something about dinner. Shouldn't it be breakfast when one wakes up? It doesn't matter. Mama said her name again, so she can't help but smile.

   Her stomach grumbles. Yes, dinner sounds good right now.

[Dynablade]

Footsteps that start at a brisk walk, then get faster and heavier as Quint started into a run. Opposite of him on Mandalia Plains was a small group of goblins, they smirking and yelling at each other, thinking that the lone monk would be an easy win. An eager goblin would sprint up to meet Quint half way, rearing back his arm for a punch. Blows were exchanged, Quint taking a solid shot to the nose, but returning the favor three-fold to the goblin's ribs, it doubling over in pain. The other goblins raged at their friend's defeat and rushed ahead, but they also wound up having a meet and greet with the soft grass. But they were able to get their own licks in before falling, Quint now panting, his head dizzy from the strikes. Their leader, a Black Goblin fumed from his position in the back, angry at his group for being this bad. He spat and cursed in their language, finally rising himself to face off against Quint.

What the regular goblins lacked in intelligence he made up for, his blows calculated and meeting their marks more often than not. After eating yet another blow that nearly had him drop to his knee, Quint was able to grab the black goblin's arm, both wrestling to the ground. A scuffle ensued, scratches and bites from the goblin, but a solid heatbutt would end the goblin's struggle. Picking it up by the shirt, Quint slammed it into a large rock that protruded from the ground, catching his breath for a moment before he yelled out:
"Where is it?! Some of your other friends told me you're the one he saw, so TALK."
To make sure it understood Quint hit with another powerful strike to the midsection, causing a little blood to come from the leader's lips and onto Quint's shoes. The Goblin gasped for air that wouldn't come, the human words barely audible. 
"He....was going t-to...Temple.."
Nevelska Temple, home to seemingly nothing, an abandoned building on an island off the North eastern coast. But maybe that's what the king of dragons, Bahamut, wanted, so that no adventurers accidentally found his base. But with this information, there was one person headed straight there, and he was pissed. That only left the problem in front of him.
"I'm gonna let you go now.." Quint looked dead in the creature's eyes, "And if you try anything crazy.." His grip tightened, choking the goblin a little.
"You won..just leggo!" A single final glare and Quint released his hold, the goblin dropping hard onto stone, on hands and knees in a coughing fit. Quint would walk towards his gear in preparation to travel, but just as his hand touched a bag, the leader goblin drew a knife from his belt, charging towards the monk! He sighed, able to hear every heavy and desperate step towards him. In a flash he would retaliate with a swift turn kick, knocking the goblin dead in the chin, his knife flying from his hand. A couple feet later its body would slide to a stop and not make another twitch, and Quint would sigh, knowing now not to trust a goblin.

With his bag hanging from his back, trying to soothe the throbbing pains in his chest and head, Quint would head east towards Gariland Trade City, the goblins behind him silent in defeat.

[Dokurider]

Clayton wanted to go back to pick up his stash of kunai and money he left in the garbage. He worried about the off chance someone could just happen to walk by and find his stash or worst, having to need his kunai. He was naked and he didn't like it one bit, but he could not take his eyes off of the thieves. The possibility of needing his knives was nothing, as long as he doesn't screw up, compared to the possibility of losing his deliverymen, especially when they are going the wrong way.

"Pat, where are we going?" Tatoolo asked with trepidation. "We're knockin' over the Bastard's bar, remember?" Pat said with ease. "Wh-What? But we got merchandise we gotta fence." "Can it. There ain't no reason we can't do both." "Damn, Pat. Even I thinkin' we testin' our luck today." said O'Bannon. "Not you too. Look, think of it this way. We're on a lucky streak today. We shouldn't waste it." "We've all lost plenty on your shitty bets." O'Bannon countered. Pat was getting annoyed. No one gets anything by playing it safe. "Look, are you chickenshits in or not? Because if you don't help me get any of this beer, I ain't sharing with any of you."

Pat continued to pile on. "C'mon, it's completely empty today. We've knocked over places crawling with people. We'll be in and out in 3 minutes. Then we'll drop by HQ and fence our stuff, okay?" "Fine then." O'Bannon gave in. "I don't know, man. What if someone's there?"Tatoolo said. "Can you just stop being a pussy for once in your life? I know it won't even take you 3 minutes to get that shit unlocked."

Tatoolo wasn't usually this jittery unless he's been dry for awhile or something happened to him. Usually it's getting locked up that sobers him up, but he just got out of the hospital 3 days ago, when he fell off a roof during a heist. Everyone said a stiff wind would blow him over, and it actually did that time. It wasn't helping things that it was during a rather heavy rainstorm and it made the roof slick.

"Don't call me a pussy!." Tatoolo hissed. "Then why are you acting like one?" Attacking Tatoolo's ego was a surefire way of getting him to go along with whatever he had planned. "Fine, I'll do it, god damn." Tatoolo sunk at giving into Pat again. Tatoolo continued. "But it's the only thing we doing. We do this. We get this dress off our hands. We go home. Alright?" "It's a done deal. You'll see. This is our day, man. Ain't nothing can go wrong as long as we're on the ball, right, Saionji?" "Sure, why not?" Saionji responded in his same dull tone. "Whatever." Trying to get Saionji excited about anything was a waste.

Clayton quickly racked his brain for a way to get them back on track. He could conjure up illusionary guards and make a near miss that would make them reconsider. It's too risky and it might not work. He could have a bunch of people seemingly inside the bar. It could work, but he can't get ahead of them. He's not even sure which of the Bastard's bars they are going to hit. "Maybe I could have gotten in front of them with my cane..." He still resented having to guard this assholes from getting caught. But it'll all pay off in the end. Oh, it will. His only regret is that he won't be around to see it happen. But all he could do for now is continue to follow along and help them along with their little heist.

[st4rw4k3r]

    "What did you say?" Inquired McCloud.

    "Oh nothing. I was just thinking about Clayton, dear." Mother hastily replied.

    "Okay."

        Silence fell back on the house. The light breeze blowing about the garden in the front rustled the plants, creating a simple, uneven, yet tranquil symphony, but a particular smell distracted from this potentially relaxing moment. The smell of succulent meat hung in the air, choking out all other smells.

        McCloud glanced at Mother to see what she was doing, her eyes were closed, and she was deep in thought. He positioned himself like her, and closed his eyes in mimic, but reopened them to check if he was correctly mimicking her. Satisfied with how he was positioned, he began thinking, listing everything that had occurred lately. The incident in Dorter, The Monk, the food- Oh the food, the smell made him so, hungry... No! Mind over food, thought must proceed. Clayton, this house, plants, food. His eyes snapped open.

    "Moth-"

    "What is it?" Interrupted Mother before he could finish.

    "I just.. Food..." Stammered McCloud, in horror at Mother snapping at him. "Sorry for bothering you...."

*sigh*        Mother got up and filled his bowl up with soup. "Sorry for snapping at you, I was deep in thought again." She handed him the bowl of soup. "This is your last bowl; we have to save some for later tonight. I fear our friend Clayton will be late, and famished." After her comment, Mother took her seat again and went back the thinking.

        That poor boy, his life has been so full of blood, so full of pain. Mother took in a deep breath of air, only to find an unpleasant taste of Meat. She frowned at this. "Tainted". On that, she stood up and walked out of the house, outside into the garden. McCloud, naturally, either chose to ignore her or did not even notice her absence.

        Once outside, she walked around through the meticulous arrangements. A particular plant caught her eye; a quite large bright white flower.  In awe, she reached for it, needing both hands cupped behind the huge petals in order to bring it gently into range so she could experience its aroma.

        "Beautiful" Would have been what she would have spoken if it hadn't cropped up in her mind. This flower. She dropped her hands and turned to face the other blossoms. These flowers, they were very well kempt, in fact the condition of the plants, despite the fact that they looked in need of water, it was as though the caretaker took this as his life. That all his mind, body, and very soul was brought out in these flowers, were used to craft its gentle look, its soft feel, the succulent aroma, all of it was a masterpiece, surpassing that of something a master painter would craft. This caretaker he has crafted nature, has tamed that of which has been called untamable. Proof stood that it was tamed, and crafted. He, for the caretaker's name was Clayton, yet that mattered none; maybe he was the one tamed, maybe it was the flowers that took him, and forced this race of remarkable potential, took it and did the unthinkable. All made sense now. This boy was a work of master piece, and his masters, the flowers.

        "Blasphemy!" Mother cried aloud. She looked down at the flower and brought her hands back behind it again. "It must be done." Mother stated aloud. "I will put aside my hunt. This boy, no this Art is being used, is being abused. Art in this state, in this form, to abuse it, to miss use it." She stopped and pulled her hands back and brought them to her hips. "For this fine power, to do wrong with it, to it, anything in harm can only result in the absolute and most severe punishment, of which not even Hell its self could reward. I will leave my search, my hunt, to help this, this..." She trailed of at a loss of words; her eyes pulled her back into the flower, staring deep into its brightly lit petals. "I will go to no end to see that all abuse and punishment done to it shall cease to continue or begin. That it is able to continue its work till death brings it to part from this world." With that, Mother rose with flower in hand, against the rising fragrance of the wind.  And so she stood, there, smelling the large white flower.

[Taichii]

The cold breeze of the night enveloped the two beings under a big tree near a swamp..
Good thing their bonfire was enough to make them feel warm...
Taichii sat beside Anita infront of the fireplace...
He looked into her and said... "alright dear.. we'll eat now but we have to wait about an hour before we can go play.. we would want our stomach to hurt..." Taichii said as he barred his fangs and bit off a part of the roasted bird...

Taichii got surprised at how he finished his meal... he was still hungry... His stomach grumbled...
Taichii looked at anita and laughed.... Taichii stood and went into mikoto's pack and drank water from a wooden container.... somehow the water is starting to taste a bit bad...
He then heard a silent voice... "blood is what you need..." It was his ancestor.. trying to persuade him to give in to his instincts...
Taichii decided to ignore it but then it spoke again... "sooner or later... you won't resist it..." A flashback of what happened in dorter ... The mark he left on that unfortunate thief... few drips of blood flowing from his neck.... Taichii was about to burst.. his eyes were glowing red... but he got a hold of himself for a second.. He grasped this opportunity to slap himself and just as quick, he snapped out of what looked like a trance...

He looked at anita ... He didnt notice that it was already an hour...
Taichii then guided anita near the swamps...  The soothing forest behind completely changed into a damp atmosphere..
He looks around and saw no monsters in the area...
"okay dear.. so who'll be it? "

[Dokurider]

The Blade and Scythe had finally arrived at Mt. Zirekile. After they buried their fallen member in Araguay, they packed up and continued on, with little else of interest happening afterwards. The entire congregation hiked up the rough, steep trail. The trail was only kept paved by the foot traffic that came through Zirekile, making the trail only defined by the lack of vegetation and hard to stay on and follow, especially for inexperienced travelers.

The trail's grade started out mild, but as they moved up and forward, the grade went up and fluctuated between 30 and 40 degrees. It was so steep, many members were tempted to just crawl the rest of the way up. It was so steep, the Chocobos could no longer carry the entire cult in their carts. They were now only reserved for the children and ones that could not make the climb. The varying ages and healths of the members, coupled with their hunger, made this already difficult hike grueling. The thinning air as they ascended made this grueling hike murder.

Each time they veered off the trail, it wore down the spirits of the congregation. The Anisuasor used his skillful demagoguing laced by his magical tongue to maintain and massage their spirits and faith, but he could not convince a rock to stop falling as much as he could convince his brothers and sister's muscles and lungs from wearing and giving out. Each time a member stumbled, they all collectively feared it would break into a full on tumble down the face of the mountain.

Then it finally happened, a man lost his footing and could not recover in time. Down the mountain he went, hitting sharp and unforgiving rocks and grazing the trunks of trees of the ever thinning forest as he rolled down. Fortunately, he didn't fall completely down the mountain. He hit a tree dead on halfway down the mountain, stopping with sickening thud. The Anisuasor decided that was the last straw: going on anymore would be insanity. Many of the members collectively begged and pleaded with him. After all, they were so close to the Savior, how could they stop now? The Anisuasor merely asserted his decision and why he made it.

After he had the man retrieved, who was in very poor condition, but otherwise alive, they rounded the mountain until they saw the Zirekile River and immediately set up camp for the night. The grade of the mountain made an exercise of frustration out of setting up the tents. The Anisuasor could not ask the congregation to go out and forage for food after the great ordeal they just went through nor were any of them capable of discerning the edibility of the vegetation in their vicinity, so they all had to starve for the night. At least they had plenty of fresh water, thanks to the river.

Despite the toll the hike had taken on them, they all remained in high hopes, for tomorrow, they will finally see the Savior himself. The Anisuasor discussed what was going to happen tomorrow and praised their faith and devotion. That their struggles today will go down through history, passed down from generation to generation: this was history in the making. And with that, they all went to bed that night, thoughts full of dreams of a better tomorrow, but a stomach full of nothing.

[Dokurider]

Pat cleared his throat. "You know the drill, guys. Stop lasts 3 minutes. I stop him, we grab everything that isn't nailed down. Tatoolo busts all the locks open. Saionji's all over being lookout, right?" Saionji nodded in confirmation. They were behind one of the Bastard's bars, the Rusty Nail, hiding inside an abandoned building nearby, getting ready to make their move. The only person in the bar was the bartender, a brickhouse of a man. They would prefer not to scrap with him, as barkeeps have lots of experience in kicking people out. Clayton noted that the gang did not make their observation unnoticed. The bartender was just playing it cool and pretending he didn't see them. It seems they need a distraction.

As they snuck and stacked themselves on the door, Clayton peered into the window. The bartender was ready for the thieves, reaching for something underneath the bar table. After Pat hasted his whole gang, he started to count down. "Okay, on my count. 1...2..." Pat whispered. Clayton knew what he had to do. Just before they reached three, the sound of someone violently opening the front door played from across the bar room, startling the barkeep. As he turned to meet the nonexistent intruder, mace in hand, the thieves busted in the back door, with Pat charging his Stop spell.

That distraction was all the thieves needed as O'Bannon had enough time to rush in front of Pat and meet the barkeep head on. As they collided and wrestled to the ground, the bartender's mace and O'Bannon's fists hammered each other's bodies. The Barkeep had gotten his mace around O'Bannon and was trying to get a good angle on the back of O'Bannon's head for the concussion. O'Bannon had pinned his wielding arm down and was angling his body so his shoulder was in the way of the mace's path, but the Barkeep was pounding mercilessly on his back. He was occasionally clipping O'Bannon's head, but at least they weren't direct hits. Even against O'Bannon's monk strength, the Barkeep was gaining leverage and was threatening to get out of underneath O'Bannon, if not outright get a reversal. As the Barkeep reared up for another hit, he Stopped.

O'Bannon paused himself, analyzing why the Barkeep stopped hitting him. "C'mon dumbass, we got three minutes to clean this place out! Get up!" Realized that the Barkeep was Stopped, he stood himself up in spite of the trauma his back just suffered. As he lurched upright, he gave the bartender's face a good stomp and was off to clean the place out. Tatoolo already scrambled around the bar and was looking for safes to crack and Saionji was off to be a lookout to the side of the building.

It had been about a minute so far. Tatoolo had busted the lock guarding the bar's deposits with insulting ease. It was no cheap lock either. It was less sophisticated than the lock that Clayton had to crack in the morgue, but not by all that much, and he had broken it in seconds compared to minutes Clayton had to take. It helped that Tatoolo was hasted. Clayton moved himself out to the front of the bar to keep an additional lookout. No sooner did he arrive did he see another gang coming down the street. They were Bastards.

As Saionji went to warn the others, Clayton cursed their timing as he conjured the loud marching and chatting of a pair of guards that were just around the corner. They were loud enough for everyone to hear, both Saionji and the Bastards, with the latter immediately ducking into an alley. "Guards are coming!" Saionji hissed through his teeth at Pat and the gang. Everyone immediately stopped and ducked out of view of the windows in front. "We also got Bastards coming." "Now?" Pat quietly exasperated. "They had to hide when the guards came." "Never thought I'd be glad to see the city guard for once." Pat sighed in slight relief. When the guards passed, they immediately resumed and finished up their plundering. "Okay, we got enough, let's get out of here." commanded Pat. O'Bannon handed some goods he was carrying to Saionji and they all hightailed it out of there.

When the guards rounded the next corner and were dispelled, Clayton quickly hobbled down the alleyway after the gang. He was beginning to wonder how much trouble it would have been to just deliver the clothes to HQ himself. He wouldn't have to gotten beat up, that's for sure.

[mucus]

Sitting at a table in a dark corner of the bar was a young woman.
She wore dark clothing and was virtually invisible... around her hung a mysterious aroma.
In her hand was a porcelain cup of rat tail tea.
*Sigh* "I can't believe it. . ."
The plan was simple, sneak into the bar after hours, rob the joint, get out undetected.
"At least these twerps look nearly finished...but they cleared out the bar.  I guess I've got
follow them. . ."
"This perfume seems to be working remarkably well!  How grand~"

She got up from her seat, walked over to the barkeep and cast a healing spell on him, and left the bar.
As she left she looked around and saw the thieves running down an alley.

"Hrmm...they're fast..."

"Oh well, I guess I can try a different hovel."
The scent of Setiemson still hung heavily to her.

[Ryqoshay]

   Ooooo... more cooked birdies! Delicious!

   Anita looks around. The two chocobos... Lulu and Mecocoa? are still there, so she is not eating them. What does chocobo taste like anyway? Is the bird she is eating now that phoenix thing way back when? Maybe Mama finally caught that birdy they saw while flying. No, they already ate that one back at Mama's house. So what birdies were these?

   At some point, she begins to vocalize these questions to the man sitting beside her. He smiles and nods, like he always does, but she never leaves him time to actually answer. She ponders, mentally and audibly, for a while, as she continues to devour the succulent meat. Eventually, she decides it doesn't really matter what bird she is eating so long as it is delicious.

   After some time, Mama looks like he is done and gets up. He fetches some water from one of the saddle packs, but makes a funny face as though he had just taken a huge gulp of sour milk. Anita cannot help but giggle a bit. Then, his eyes turn red, and she laughs aloud. He is acting really funny now, staring off into space like that.

   "Mama!" she calls him.

   No response.

   "Ma~ma~~!" she calls again.

   No response

   Anita huffs, frustrated at being ignored and runs over to the man in a trance. She pokes him in the belly. No response, so she pokes him again. Climbing him like a tree, she sets herself down on his shoulders and rocks back and forth, repeating the name she calls him, incessantly.

   He continues to stare vacantly into nothingness.

   "What do we have here?" a masculine voice asks from off to the side.

   Anita looks over to see three mounted men approaching.

   "Have you two paid the proper toll?" the one who first spoke continues.

   "What's a toll?" the girl asks in response.

   "This is our road." The man explains, leering at the two travelers. "And when you want to use our road, you got to pay the toll."

    "I don't get it..."

   "Then shut up, kid," he growls, "I wasn't talkin' to you anyway."

   "I am not a kid!" she retorts, angrily, hopping down from her perch.

   The highwayman ignores her and shouts at Mama instead. "Hey, boy. What you staring at? Are you listening to me?" He dismounts as he speaks. "I said you have to pay the toll to use this road." He stomps towards them.

   No response.

   "Go away Mr. Bad-man!" the girl commands, pointing a finger.

   "Shut up, kid!" the bad man shouts, delivering a punishing backhand across her face, sending her sprawling to the ground. "I've had just about enough of both of you." He snarls in Mama's face. "Now get out your money now and give it to me!"

   "Don't hurt Mama!" Anita cries, standing up quickly.

   "Ma- wha?" the confused bandit turns to the girl.

   "Heaven or Hell!?" she announces, suddenly cheerful as a pair of wings sprout from her back.

   "What the hell?"

   "Round one! Let's rock!" Without further hesitation, she makes a sweeping motion with her hand, sending one of her beloved black daggers hurling towards the bad man.

   The man holds a hand out reflexively in defense, but grimaces as the dark energies absorb into his arm. He draws his sword just in time to catch another dagger in the leg. Again, the magic courses through his system, dealing its damage directly to his core.

   The other two men dismount from their chocobos. One wields a bow that he draws and takes careful aim at the winged girl. The other begins chanting.

   Anita pays little attention, save for hearing the warks of the large birds as all five join what is quickly escalating to an all-out battle to the death. She is about to throw yet another summoned knife when she sees her opponent's intent to attack Mama. She teleports instead, just in time to...

   "Ughn..." she grunts.

   She looks down. The sword has pierced her strait through, but thankfully, appears to have missed Mama. She looks back up at the man holding the hilt. "That..." she hisses through clenched teeth. Her double gasps in horror as blood trickles out of the corner of her mouth. "wasn't very nice!" She grabs him by the wrist and teleports again.

   The new double takes an arrow to the head and collapses. The archer realizes something is wrong when his boss disappears and looks around. "Up there!" he points, hoping his wizard companion can adjust his aim before his spell is complete.

   High above the ground, Anita lets go of the bandit's wrist. "You go away now, Mr. Bad-man." She says with a smile and watches him fall, screaming, to his death. Then, with agonizing effort, she pulls the sword out of her chest and drops it, hoping it will hit one of the opponents below.

   Charon's healing is timed perfectly to the moment the foreign object is removed from its charge's body and the wound begins to close. The damage is quite grievous, however, and will not be completely mended with only a single spell.

   "Kyaaa!" the girl shrieks as she suddenly finds herself in the center of a fierce explosion. Stupid wizards! Stupid fire spells! Stupid bad-mans! It is time for a different tactic. Noting several possible trees to use, she chooses one and teleports behind it. This leaves the good chocobos outnumbered two to five... do chocobos have unlimited healing ability? She cannot recall, so she decides she has to be quick, but she still has to wait a moment for her powers to well up again.

   "Where did she go?" the wizard guy asks as the duplicate above them disappears.

   Making a quick gesture with her fingers, Anita turns herself invisible and flies back to the battlefield. She approaches the archer from behind, knowing most bow wielders have trouble shooting something so close. And wizardly guy wouldn't dare cast another annoying fire spell on her when she is so close to his ally, right?

   "Look out!"

   The mage's warning comes too late as a scythe wielding girl materializes behind the unprepared archer.

   "Bye-bye, Mr. Arrow-head-guy." She laughs as she swings her magically summoned blade around as if to cleave the man in two. As expected, the blade passes cleanly through, leaving only dark energy behind. She turns and readies for another strike when every joint in her body seizes up as electrical arcs dance across her skin and clothes.

   That reckless mage man actually cast his spell! Suddenly, she remembers that the casters do not always have to target individuals to hit them.

   Good thing Charon still has some rejuvenating power left in it. She ponders only for a second why it has yet to use its fear ability. Was the damage she was taking really that bad that it was struggling to catch up? It would not be the first time such a situation had come about, but it is still a bit worrisome.

   Feeling better again after a fresh wave of holy healing, she easily dodges a frantically fired arrow and is able to deliver her second swing with her conjured reaping tool.

   "Don't run!" she calls as the panicked archer retreats.

   No. He's not retreating. He's getting a better...

   The twang of a released bowstring and the hiss of three feathers slicing through the air announces the immanent pain of an arrow burying itself in her shoulder.

   "Stop it!" Anita whines, appearing behind the bowman as another lightning bolt shatters the image she left behind. She grabs the shaft and yanks it out before realizing that he is already nocking another. Her scythe is gone. "Counter!" she yells, shoving a hand forward, almost to the point of impaling it on the arrowhead. The obsidian stiletto destroys the weapon and its would-be projectile before dealing its ruinous effect on its victim.

   There. All that just to even the odds. Well, sort of, did Charon really count?

   She glances over at the bird brawl in progress. Lulu and Mycota are looking in rough shape, but are holding their own. The girl briefly worries that Mama would be mad if one of them died. But they'll be alright for a little while longer, ri...

   Her thoughts are cut short as she is assaulted by a barrage of razor sharp ice shards. Stupid wizards! Stupid ice spells! That hurt just as much as the fire and lighting from before! She flings a dagger at him, thankful that most wizards were bad at dodging.

   He responds by whistling. One of the bad chocobos immediately turns away from the feathery squall and runs over. Flapping its wings, it showers him and itself with ameliorating magicks.

   "Hey!" Anita points. "No fair healing like that!"

   Charon makes no comment.

   Fine. Be that way. They want to heal multiple bad guys at once? She will just have to hurt more than one bad guys at once!

   She makes a motion as though opening a fan and no less than a dozen daggers appear over her upturned hand. With a nonchalant flick of the wrist, the deadly projectiles fly out in a narrow arc, easily finding their marks in the black mage, the bad chocobo that healed him and barely clipping one of the other bad birds. Barely clipping is enough, however, to allow the malevolent energy to do its duty.

   She had not anticipated the third target, and apparently, nor had it. Thus, she cannot help but laugh at its startled wark and immediate healing, despite being close enough to also heal one of the good chocobos.

   Oh, the wizard guy is preparing another spell. The girl teleports beside him. His eyes grow wide as his spell completes and both of them are engulfed in flame. The flames blister her skin painfully but all she can do is let out a ragged chuckle as she watches him suffer the same fate.

   "Stupid wizard!" She finally gives voice to her thoughts, though now with a taunting overtone. "Stupid fire spell!" She slides sideways just in time to be included in the chocobo's blessed ability. "Good thing mine don't work that way!" Another spread of mystic throwing knives carve holes into the souls of the bad caster man and giant bird. "O~w~!" She suddenly cries as a large beak pecks at her. She had forgotten about the other two.

   Everyone is converging on her location. That is not good. She does her best work while on the outskirts of the battle, not in the dead center of it. It is time to move. With a snap, she cloaks herself with invisibility once again and flies out of the crowd.

   Without being able to see his primary target, the bad wizard guy looks like he is going to take out either Lulu or Metaco. That will not do. Anita finds a good angle and unleashes another wave of concentrated death. It does the trick. Finally, Mr. Mage man is out of the fight.

   "Ms Anita:" Charon's voice speaks in her mind. "Warning: Nearly depleted. Request: Utilize chocobos."

   And now it is a battle of attrition. Whose endurance would be the greatest? It is three chocobos against two. All three are capable of healing themselves and those around them. Could she possibly deal enough damage to tip the scales? She most certainly tries.

   The battle rages for what feels like forever. Back and forth. Peck and heal. Teleport and throw a dagger. The chocobos are smart and, unless startled by a burst of damage, typically try to exclude enemies while including as many allies as possible whenever they use their healing abilities. The whole scene becomes a staggering waltz towards doom. All the while, Mama stares into the void, completely unaffected by the strange dance being performed not twenty feet from him.

   "Slash!" Anita calls as the last bad chocobo falls, lifeless, to the ground. "You win!" She looks around the area. "That's it, huh? Maybe I should have called 'Final' instead of 'Round one.'" She laments quietly.

   "Ms. Anita..."

   "Oh, flower!" the girl giggles playfully and saunters over to the little splash of color among the otherwise dreary shades of the swamp. "Pretty flower! Beautiful flower!" She sings, picking the bloom. Carefully, she pushes its stalk through the base of her side tail's tie off point. "Yay!" She cheers. "Now I'm pretty too! Thank you, pretty flower!"

   "Ms. Anita: Request: Cleanse area."

   "I know. I know. I know." She responds, more than a little bit of irritation in her voice.

   Nonetheless, she teleports over to one of the bodies and quickly rummages through his pockets for anything of use. Finding little more than some Gil, she grabs his arm and teleportes back over the swamp. Unceremoniously, she drops him into what looks like the murkiest spot.

   This is easily repeated with the other two men, but the chocobos prove a bit more difficult. The large birds are far beyond her abilities to lift on her own, and she cannot muster enough power in her teleport to take them with her either. She eventually has to resort to asking for help from Lulu and Mikiti. At least the contents of the saddle packs make the efforts worth it.

   "Thank you guys." Anita says, hovering in order to hug both chocobos' necks at the same time. "You two were amazing back there. I couldn't have done it without you." She giggles and lets go of them. "You want some of this?" She offers some of the dried meat she had found days ago in the pockets of some other bad mans.

   The two birds turn their beaks away from the food.

   "Awww..." the girl whines a little before brightening. "Why don't I get you two something good when we get to town, alright?" This seems to go over better with them and she is certain she can see a smile form on their beaks.

   A slapping sound catches her attention and she turns to find Mama out of his trance. She cries out to him and he responds, as usual with a smile.

   He guides her back to the swamps where she had just dumped the bodies. Did he want to retrieve them for some strange reason? She is about to ask him when he speaks instead.

   "Okay, dear, so who'll it be?"

   Who will it be? What does he... Oh! Hide and seek! That's right!

   Any exhaustion she may have had from the fight disappears instantly as she throws her hand excitedly into the air. "Me!" she proclaims proudly. "I want to hide first! You seek!"

[mucus]

"Well fuck it"
Vicky says to herself.
It was raining, it always rains in Dorter.
"My perfume will wear of soon at this rate.  I better just follow
those vagabounds.  I don't have time to waste plotting a new
mark."
And with that she gave chase to the thieves.
She stood for a moment quietly chanting.
She was preparing a time spell.
The last time she used time magic . . .

  "Ajora!  We have to run Vicky!" yelled Thomas.
  'Nonesne we can take 'em!'
  "I mean it! What...do you have a death wish?
   you know they outclass us in everyway!"
  'Shut up wouldja? I'm concentrating'
  "Damnit Vicky we don't have TIME for you to fuck around
   like that!"
  '. . .'
   Vicky stood silently for a moment and cast Wall on the
   two of them.
  "That helps I guess, but they'll still find us any moment!"
  'Just shut up okay?  I'm working on something'
   vicky grabbed a book out of her bag and quickly read aloud
  'Time! Rest and give your kindness to the worthy! SLOW!'
  "Vicky come on, you know you can't cast those!  Can we
   PLEASE just get out of here now?"
  'We have a job to finish Thomas.'
  "Fine" Snarked the theif.
  'SPIRITS OF TIME!  HIDE US FROM THE JUDGING HAND OF AJORA!
   STOP!'
  "Well your shouting got them to notice us finally!"
   A volley of arrows piecred the darkness towards the two.
   One traveled deftly towards Vicky, but the Wall deflected it.
  "Time for plan B I guess.  I'll stall them as long as I can."
  'Okay, just lead them to the other end of the courtyard.'
  "Got it!"
  Vicky watched as her partner scuried down the wall and lead
  the archers fire to the other end of the open garden of the
  palace.  She watched as the archers' aimed true and sunk
  their arrows deeply into her friend.
  'AJORA NO!'
  She could hear them men bragging about who shot the thief.
  One remarked they still had to kill the girl.
  She had hoped they'd have forgotten about her.
  Vicky knelled behind a buttress and concentrated all of her
  being into one skill.
  'Thomas I'm sorry.  I promise... I promise I'll revive you.'
  She flipped decidedly to the page, it had a heavy red fabric
  bookmark marking the page.
  'Please Ajora, if ever you let your servant bring vengence
  on her opponents...please...let now be the time!'
  Up there!  the men yelled, as they caught a glimpse of her
  robe as it blew in the wind.
  'Time has come . . . crash down on the wicked! Meteor!'
  Suddenly the sky turned crimson.
  Vicky smiled as her spell manifested above the battlefield.
  Ajora was indeed smiling on the lowly white mage, as what was
  recorded as the largest meteor crashed into the planets atmosphere
  and towards the castle guards.
  'Thomas! I'm coming!'
  Suddenly a twang was heard, an archer had taken a shot and it flew
  true towards vicky's heart.
  The meteor slowly crashed into the yard, and indeed the castle.
  It had enough force that it caused the tectonic plate to shift.
  'GAH!  Why?!' Vicky called out as she collapsed.

"Not again, that will never happen again."
The rage began to fill her heart.
"I will stop those thieves and take what's mine"
She stood and concentrated deeply.
"Spirits of time, Hide us from the judging hand of Ajora! Stop!"
Suddenly the hasty bandits froze in their tracks.
"Come on Vicky, now's your chance."
She ran down the alley, her perfume was starting to wash off from
the heavy rain that hung over Dorter.
"Just a few more steps girl, and it's all yours!"

[Dokurider]

Clayton desperately ran after the thieves. They fled the tavern, still hasted, making keeping up with them impossible. They were pulling away. His massive injuries stopped him from going any faster than a painful looking trot. He was going to lose them. But then, they stopped. They all froze mid stride.

As Clayton gained ground on them, he noticed they weren't even blinking or breathing. They were Stopped. "What the- What happened?" Clayton said, dumbfounded. As he stood there, stunned and trying to make sense of what just happened, something bumped into him from behind with considerable force. It sent him sprawling to the ground with whatever bumped into him falling on top of him. The combination of falling onto the unforgiving pavement and being smashed aggravated his injuries and overwhelmed his pain reduction and he let out a pained moan followed by painful breathing. "What in hell is going on?" he thought. He turned his head to see that a woman was on top of him.

[mucus]

"WHAT IN AJORA...?!"
Vicky fell to the ground as she struck an unseen mass.
". . ."
Sticking her arms out Vicky felt the form of a man.
"Dohohohoho!  What have we here?"
She sprung to her feet, stepping on some sort of invisible round object.
Slipping slightly, she picked her foot up and placed it on the slippery stones.
She gathered herself, and placed her feet firmly on the stones.
She began jabbing her staff at the ground. . .
"Hellooooo? Wanna start talking?"
She smiled, and stood for a moment, staring at the ground.  Wondering whom she had just plowed into.
"Okay, just speak up if you want a healing.  I have work to do!"

[Dokurider]

Clayton could not maintain his invisibility any longer. The sheer amount of pain he was in demanded he put his concentration in reducing his pain to manageable levels. The jig was up anyways. He was really numb now. He couldn't feel anything now. He might have felt something poking his back. Or he might have just been stabbed. He couldn't tell anymore. He could barely even feel his fingers against each other anymore.

"Hellooooo? Wanna start talking?" she said, now standing over him. "This is bad." thought Clayton. "I don't know where she came from, but I can't let her mess up my plans." The fact that she wasn't calling the Bastards over to come kill us was already a sign she wasn't exactly Bastard. As he got up, he saw that she wasn't flying their colors and wardrobe, confirming she wasn't apart of them. She was probably someone that wanted to rob the place as well.

"Okay, just speak up if you want a healing.  I have work to do!" she said as she approached the thieves. She was going to rob them. She was going to take those clothes he planted on them. Clayton immediately shot up and in the way of her path. "Hold it, hold it, hold it." He said, raising his hands to stop her. "I can't let you rob these guys. I'm sorry they knocked over your mark, but I can compensate you and extra. Just let these guys go." He had to negotiate something with her so that she'd unfreeze them, and quickly. The Bastards are just about to enter their ransacked bar. Without his illusions covering his face, his make up was clearly and completely messed up.

[mucus]

Vicky shrugged.  She walked closer to Clayton and began to inspect his clothing and wounds.
Some of his injuries were grave indeed, she noticed bright red dripping from several places.
"What's with this get up?  Are ya trying to hide from someone?  It's not going
to end well if you're in this condition anyway. . ."
She cast a quick heal spell on him.
"What's so important about them anyway?  Are they your boyfriends or something?
Yeah.  Sure I guess I can let them go, but what do you have to offer?  This has
been a big waste of my time."
She stood before Clayton, leaning on her staff.
Slowly creeping across her face was a toothy smile.
"What's your name anyway?"   

[Dokurider]

She approached Clayton, looking him over. She was obviously eying his wounds. "What's with this get up?  Are ya trying to hide from someone?  It's not going to end well if you're in this condition anyway. . ." With that, she started healing him. "What's so important about them anyway?  Are they your boyfriends or something? Yeah.  Sure I guess I can let them go, but what do you have to offer? This has been a big waste of my time. What's your name anyway?" This one, she's chatty. He was relieved she was willing to bargain anyways. He was prepared to pull out the stops to get her to listen. He has made deals with cutthroats before, and it's difficult to get them to even listen to you, much less get a deal out of them.

Eying the bar, he wanted to get things under control. "Okay then, my name is Clayton, I can easily pay you double what you would have gotten from this mark if you leave them alone, and I planted something on them that they need to take to their HQ." He could hear voices coming from the bar. They would come out looking for them any second now. "Then it's a deal? Then let me take care of this. Just stay quiet and don't move." he spat out, moving away from her. He already felt better and could at least trot without the sensation that his guts were going to fall out.

He approached the end of the alleyway they were all in, and seemingly did nothing but plant himself against the wall in plain sight. As they poured out of the tavern, including the bartender, they scanned the area in front of them, not seeming to even see Clayton or anything down this ally. Then, something caught their eye. "There they are! Get them!" With that, they all bolted down the wrong alley, weapons in hand.

After they left, Clayton returned to finish negotiating with the girl.