[Children of Yelaria][O/F][Adventure, Fantasy, Elemental RP]

[Scrivener_Lost]

Warriors in peace - no time for war
Warriors indeed - we know the score
Warriors of heaven & Earth below ...

tab tab From the heavens up above
tab tab The only road to peace is love
tab tab Trust in your heart,see your dreams unfold
tab tab Though you know not how the story goes

tab tab tab Walk with me into the sun
tab tab tab No more battles to be won
tab tab tab Take my hand,you're nearly home again.

tab ☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷
x >>CHILDREN tab OF tab YELARIA<<
tab ☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷


ЄѦɌȚҤɃѦɃϓ

Time is gently passing by
Though you weep i ask not why
searching the emptiness of your soul

tab tab Lost in visions of the past
tab tab Memories they seldom last
tab tab Silence is all that remains the same

tab tab tab Because your life is no disguise,
tab tab tab alone you stand
tab tab tab Look at me through my mother's eyes
tab tab tab See who i am...forever free



Ғ'ΑΑɌ ɃЄɭȘЄȚҤ ϘΊ ' DΑɌ

⋙
As the great burning and beautiful embodiment of Sol began to rise proudly into the sparsely clouded morning sky, a pair of bright emerald eyes followed the magnificent God's hearty approach over the horizon, casting the first few warming rays of warmth across the vast land of Yelaria. The moment the soft rays filtered through the trees and hit his sun kissed skin, the young farmer closed his eyes and allowed a smile to freely cross his features as he relished in the sweet nectar of morning light. Like a sunflower opening up to the sweet first breath of morning, the young son of Qi'dar raised his head and tilted his chin up so that his face could catch the broad spectrum of warmth and serenity. There was nothing like the catching the first glimpse of Sol and Belseth had to remember why he chose to sleep in most days instead of greeting the sun as it blessed the earth with its presence. As it were, perhaps even more than the last few hours of sleep he managed to steal from underneath the stars; in this very moment Bel felt refreshed for the first time since having run from the Druids the previous night. He had not eaten, had not bathed; nor had he even drank from the water of the river in front of him, but in this moment with the sun breathing over him he felt peace. And he was glad for it. The gentle heat washed over his body and sank deep into his skin, into his sore muscles, and deep into his chest where his heart had felt nothing but trepidation for the last few hours. Sitting with his legs crossed and his arms resting against his knees, he had taken to sitting alone at the pebble covered shore of this river in anticipation of the sun and he was glad to have gotten this chance he had forgone for so many years now. He could see now why his father got up at this hour everyday. For Bakkara, it was for the chance to meditate and be alone (with a family of eight children to contend with, it was no surprise that a man as stoic as he would need some peace). But for Bel...he had nearly forgotten then hidden splendor that was of this hour. His parents had taught their children the importance of meditating when they were young and for a long time Bel had never truly taken it seriously. He would sit directly behind his three older siblings and throw rocks at them or poke them in his boredom. But today...today was different. He had no siblings to throw rocks at. He had no father to tell him which prayers to recite. And he had no mother to cook him breakfast.

Bel lowered his face as his stomach grumbled loudly and he looked down to his abdomen. It was no surprise really seeing as how he had managed to throw everything up last night that he had consumed in the last twenty-four hours. His brows knit together as he rubbed his stomach and he glanced to his left where a long stretch of rope had been tied to a medium sized rock next to him, his eyes following the twine length into the river where the current pulled it downstream. A second length was pulled tight against the first and down in the middle of the loop were several fish. The idea that his food was waiting for him in the water right now made him half consider abandoning his self-appointed mission, though it wouldn't look good on him if he returned to camp with only enough fish to feed himself. To be honest, Bel wasn't even sure if they had managed to save any food from the previous night in their escape. However, it was a fading worry as he turned his attention back to the make-shift rod planted between the crook of his right knee. He watched the tip of the branch as it dipped slightly and twitched with the pull of the water, but not enough to indicate that his prey would be at the end of the thin strip of line. He took a deep breath and filled his nostrils with the scent of the wet dirt and dank sand before breathing out slowly. Just a few more...then I can go back, Bel thought to himself, an absent smile crossing his face once more. He was surprised really, this spot had been a perfect place to fish. Though, the river itself was far too deep and fast moving for Bel's comfort, it had been the best place to find an abundant amount of fish. The young Earth esper's dark lashes lowered as his mind drifted back to those at camp. Soon, the rest of the group would be awakening and they would all be hungry. The night had been too full of nightmares and panic, they would be famished. Bel let his thoughts drift back to the events of last night, namely the Druids and the events that had unfolded afterwards. First those crazed men...then Han's death...and then Salam showed up! Bel thoughts continued.

The smile of pride in his friend after Aeneth brilliantly showed off her powers was perhaps even radiant enough to shimmer in the dark of the night. Not only had she transformed herself like earlier, but she had managed something even more complicated than simple cat ears. Not to mention she was able to pull off a brilliantly silky tail to match. He had nearly been on the verge of clapping her on the shoulder like he would with Abel, but promptly corrected his actions and simply placed a gentle hand against her arm instead all the while congratulating her. Little conversation was offered between the trio as Bel mentioned something about his powers being akin to that of a mole simply pushing dirt around. He had taken to sitting against the rock that Abel had taken perch upon and continued to mention about how the necklace in Aen's hand had been something he was unfamiliar with, but not in the mere sense of jewelery. More over, he was interested in the concept of Aen being able to tell when to wake the other espers. To be completely truthful, Bel was fascinated with the clock and its strange concept as the young farmer had never been able to tell time from a clock. He explained to Aen that he could tell her when it morning food time, afternoon food time, snack time, napping time, and night food time, but he had absolutely no concept of "time" when it concerned a clock. He could tell you the season by the way the water flowed through a creek or when the perfect time to plant turnips was from when a certain migratory bug showed up. But, Belseth could not tell time. And when he had asked her to show him how, to teach him how to read a clock-face, the young farmer had only gotten through a few minutes of her lecture before he had shortly drifted off to sleep, snoring quite loudly as his body refused to obey the commands that Chi had given him earlier.

Belseth was a terrible lookout.

They were lucky that Aen and Sal were far more responsible than Bel as he drifted off to sleep without a second thought to his actions. His slumber this time around was not plagued with nightmares and for the most part, he had slept in relative peace. When Bel first roused a second time, he could hear the sounds of conversation coming from a pair of voices he hadn't heard in time time. Kiara and Marcus... The Earth esper only rest against the rock for a brief moment before he realized he had drifted off during his watch. Guilt raked at him and he winced, turning to search for Aen and Sal, hoping that they wouldn't be too cross with him for drifting off. Though, the esper considered, now it was too late to worry about that. He let his mind wander for a moment, his eyes peering up through the trees to the faint dusting of light that heralded the coming of dawn. His stomach had first roiled in this instant and he was surprised he hadn't awoken the others from the sheer magnitude of the sound. He paid little heed to Kiara and Marcus as they appeared to be in deep intimate conversation and he took the chance to steal away from the pair unnoticed as he managed to find his pack (how did it end up away from him? Had he dropped it? If he had, how did it manage to get back to the second clearing?) and once again clasp it around his waist. Now that his body was fully awake, the hunger was screaming at him and he knew that he needed to find some sort of food. They would all need sustenance before moving on. Moving on where? Were they truly going to continue this damned journey? With their loss of Han...were they still willing to keep going? Bel was able to skulk away surprisingly quietly as he lightly tromped through the forest, though to where he was rather unsure. He had no real idea where he was going nor did he know if there was even anything edible nearby. Though, for Bel, scrounging for roots and lentils wouldn't be hard, but he wondered if that would even be enough for the rest of his companion's bellies. As he walked through the semi-permeable darkness, he paused as he considered for a moment the possibility of using his power to find food underground. He was the Earth esper, after all. Could he actually find something beneath the dirt? Considering this possibility, he knelt to the cool ground and placed both hands on the soft pine-covered earth. He furrowed his brows and concentrated on the moist dirt beneath his fingers. He could easily shovel dirt without touching it, but could he actually feel through the dirt? Could the earth communicate to him something as complex as location or identification? He only fancied the idea for a moment and frowned when he received no such answer and stood up. Waste of time...

And though it was not the earth that had told him where the river was, it was his sense of hearing that told him there was source of rushing water carving through the land nearby. He followed the sounds until he had come across the deep river he was currently sitting in front of. Being near something this fast and this deep set his nerves on edge, but he consoled himself by explaining to his mind that he had no plans to cross it. Choosing a spot not terribly close to the water, Bel opened his back and fished around until he was able to find the thin twine that would serve as his fishing line. He found a sturdy branch nearby and fastened a hook to the end of the line. With the one earth ability he did have, he managed to scoop deep into the sand until he was able to find a worm to which he speared on the hook and cast into the water. And now we play the waiting game... He had told himself, shivering in the first breathy wind of dawn that carried with it the coolest of winds before sunrise. But he had a task and his mind was set. He needed to prove that he was better than simply falling asleep in the middle of watch. And within the first few minutes of pre-dawn, Bel had managed to hook several fish. With each new bait came a new scoop in the dirt, and this motion continued until the shore space around him became pock-marked with holes.

And as the branch pulled heavily from Bel's grasp, the young farmer snapped out of his mediation of thoughts as he pulled against the stick, one hand managing the branch and the other pulling against the wire. The fight was brief as the trout he managed to surface was relatively small, but it would serve as a decent meal he hoped. After catching a few more fish in this nature, Bel snapped the twine from the branch and carefully wrapped it up and replaced it in his pack with the hook attached. Gathering the rope in which all of his fish had been carefully threaded through, he pulled his small harvest from the water and promptly went to work cleaning and gutting the fish on the shore. As he tossed the guts back into the river for the other creatures to eat, his mind wandered back to the deer massacre in the first camp and for the first time since then, a snigger came from him, a hand wiping across his brow as he worked dutifully with the dagger. He hadn't mean to scare poor Aen, but deep inside where he stored his guilt he also felt the faint tickle of laughter. This time, he would clean the fish far from camp and present her with something not bleeding profusely. With his hands covered in scales and fish guts, the Earth esper rose from his position and carried with him the rope and the filleted fish back to camp. As he approached the second clearing, he noticed that Chiseira appeared to be awake. A wide smile crossed his features. "Morning, Chichi! Look what I have!" Bel announced loud and proud. He heaved the rope off to the side and carried an armful of fish filets to the Shadow esper. "There's not much...two for each I think...but its something," he reported, his voice practically echoing in the clearing. "I suppose we should try and get Abel to make a quick fire? Or you know...I'm sure Marcus could fry them if we needed..." His voice hadn't lost the volume, but merely the happy tone as he mentioned the Lightning esper, not even remotely bothering to hide the disdain from his last few words as he glanced at the dark haired man. But the look was nearly lost as quickly as it had formed as he promptly handed Chi the fish before scrambling towards Abel, all the while calling his name out without a care for the volume of his voice. "AAAAAABEEEELLLLLLL!"

↪this is what i'm listening to:: Veerapandi Kottayile - AR RAHMAN
↪this is what i'm wearing:: Esper threads...


⋙
⇉location:: Second clearing.
⇉mood:: Its a new day!
⇉ooc::
⇉tagged:: Ayre, Aeneth, Kiara, Abel, Chi, Salam

we are the e s p e r s; the warriors of ˛ balance; the ⋞kings⋟ and ⋞queens⋟ of the elements☼;

[Scrivener_Lost]

The Sound of my Soul::

✣ D R U I D tab tab tab G E N E R A L ✣

The air was tense between the Druid squad as their horses offered the only break in the silence of the night, snorting and huffing as they carried their riders back towards the Druid camp. The cool night air offered little comfort to the stoic leader as he lead the group, his horse riding out in front of the arrow-shaped formation. The beast needed little in the sense of direction from Noir as the Druid General let his mind wander through the events of the night. All of his careful planning had been for naught; they had not managed to capture the Espers and had in fact partly caused the death of one. Noir's hands tightened fractionally around the reins as his eyes stared daggers into the back of his horse's head. Their mission had been a complete and utter failure in the sense that he had broken his promise to Father. "Now is your chance to rectify your mistakes. Do not come back without all of the Espers accounted for. If we miss the chance to take them all down at once...we'll never find the locations of the Fountains. We need that information, Noir." The Druid General felt his stomach clench tightly as Father's words echoed in his mind. He had planned for everything, even the possibility of Laziel ignoring his commands and acting out just as he had. But Noir had a backup plan for that. And a backup plan for that plan. But what he had not expected was that wild tangent to show up. He had not expected another Esper to kill a fellow man. The scent of burning flesh was still fresh in his memory as the group descended down the mountainside, Noir's mind's eye replaying the scene in his head over and over again as he struggled to pick apart what went wrong and where. But in reality, there was nothing for him to truly figure out. It was simple. He had not planned for the wild variable that was of the Lightning Esper. How could anyone plan for something like that? Would Father have been able to consider something as dramatic as that? There would be no way...for as long as we've studied them, there haven't been any documented cases on an Esper attacking his own...let alone killing him...There is no way for us to calculate something like that...Well. Now at least, I know what that man is capable of... "Now you can stop using a dead man as a leverage. We don't know where our next destination is, but we're heading west. I am interested in your offer, but my teammates are not. Come and find me after we reach our next destination. A castle of some kind, no one remembers the details. Some kind of god bullshit." Noir's eyes lifted slightly from the silky mane of the horse to the far horizon as the Esper's words came to mind. In the distance, he could see the glow of the roaring fire back at the Druid camp.

He was interested in the offer... Noir raised his hand and glanced at the metal gauntlet which still had flecks of skin attached from the dead Esper's charred neck. He killed his comrade so that I did not have a bargaining chip...so there was someone in that group that he cared for, that much is evident. Otherwise, he would have had no purpose to prevent me from using that Esper as leverage. Perhaps he is interested in the offer for the same reason why he killed his kin... Noir's brows knit together as his mind worked, his memory going through the faces of the Espers like a deck of cards being shuffled. He went through each one: the golden-skinned boy, the blue-haired girl, the male blond Esper, the fragile female, the Esper female with the strange eyes (his mind lingered on her face a moment longer), and finally the blonde female Esper. I wonder...was that it? Is she valuable to him? There was no other explanation for it. That woman clearly was of value to the variable and Noir made a mental note of it. If the man was truly honest about his desire and would in fact stick it his word about revealing the information Noir wanted, then there would be little issue. However, if and when Noir returned to the Castle and the man had made a fool of his promise, Noir would rend that man from the earth, starting with his pretty woman first. The Druid General's mind switched back to his job at hand and blinked against the cool wind that blew against the brigade as they made quick and steady pace back to camp. Upon leaving the clearing, they had quickly come upon the scout that had led them to the location in the first place. Noir gave him the orders to follow the Espers well out of site and tail them to the Castle. There would be little the Espers could do against a practiced Druid scout and the man eagerly accepted his new orders and swiftly left in the direction Noir had given him. The General knew that the scout would be able to find them easily and keep track of their movements throughout the day. In the mean time...I have to return to Father...he needs to know what happened...

There was no denying the trepidation that silently filled the General at the thought of returning back to Father with nothing but a tale of failure and no Espers. Though his face betrayed nothing of the sort, the General had begun to feel slightly nervous. But there were no other alternatives. He had to regal Father promptly the events of the night so that it could be recorded and plans quickly reformed. There is no room for failure and no room for nerves, Noir berated himself. He set his jaw and clenched the reins tight in his hands now, urging his horse faster. There is no denying what has happened tonight...Laziel's disobedience is my disobedience and I must serve whatever punishment is befitting of the occasion. Its my fault that the Esper died, even if it was not by my hand. Now we are minus an Esper and without him, the location of his fountain is lost... Noir felt the heat of his anger bubble up in his stomach. He ground his teeth together as he struggled to keep himself composed. Father is not going to be happy... Riding close to Emil, too close for the young Colonel's liking, Laziel eased his horse up to match the speed on Emil's left. His pale eyes shimmered dangerously in the moonlight as he leaned close to Emil. "This is all your fault, you know. You'll be lucky if Father doesn't skin you alive," Laziel hissed, snarling at Emil. The younger Colonel kept his eyes trained on Noir's back, trying some way to absorb the rigidity of his idol as Laziel harassed him. He bit his bottom lip as an angered blush crossed his face and he glanced at Laziel. "I fail to see how any of this is my fault! You're the one who shot the Esper!" Emil replied hotly, trying (but ultimately failing) at matching Laziel's spite and poison. "Noir told you several times not to attack!" Pulling close to his right, Orpheus brought his large horse to match the speed of the two bickering soldiers, his strong gaze falling over the two. "Both of you fools should be flogged, but you Laziel are lucky that Noir is your General." The Brigadier tossed his head to the side with a snort, turning his head poignantly to the sky. "I fail to see why that is a concern of mine." Orpheus glared at Laziel from across Emil and the Colonel flinched under the man's heavy gaze. "You've truly no idea what you've done, do you?" Orpheus grumbled, his voice barely heard above the hoof-falls of the beasts. Laziel turned his eyes uneasily to Orpheus and Emil followed the snake-like look to Orpheus as well. Both of the younger men were now curious as to why Orpheus spoke with such heavy reluctance. Though his face, much like Noir's, revealed very little in emotion, his voice could be discerned where as Noir had careful control over his tone.

"Father is not going to take this failure-" "Orpheus." The minute his name was dropped from Noir's lips, the Lieutenant sat rigid and composed in his saddle, all attempts at conversation dropped instantly as Noir passed a heated gaze over his shoulder at the man. Emil looked from Noir to Orpheus with painfully curious eyes and was moderately surprised to see a flicker of guilt cross over Laziel's features if only for a moment before the Brigadier huffed and turned his horse from Emil's presence. The young Colonel was left to a growing worry as he gazed at Noir as the General turned his attention back to the horizon. Emil was no stranger to the cruelty of Father, but he wasn't entirely too sure as to why both Laziel and Orpheus seemed so worried. Their own punishments were carried out by Noir himself and Emil had been on the wrong end of Noir's superior control over his soldiers before. Emil winced when he thought about the time Noir had forced him to wear metal gloved that would not allow for him to flex his fingers for two weeks for stealing a sweet biscuit from a merchant once. The entire Druid army was well aware of the creative and terrible ways in which Father punished his army, some of them which Noir had adopted himself and improved upon. They knew well enough what disobedience meant and what sort of terrible punishment would come of it. Emil's thoughts drifted towards Laziel and he sourly wondered just what Noir would do to punish him for his act, or if Noir would punish Emil himself for messing up in the first place. But what truly worried Emil was the way Orpheus and Laziel were acting. Did they know something that Emil did not? The way Laziel kept stealing uneasy glances at Noir made Emil wonder...what sort of punishment befell the very grandson of the Druid Leader? Was that why Orpheus and Laziel both looked paler than normal now, and continued to grow as such the closer they came to camp? Why then, did Noir ride forward so fervently and boldly if he knew what sort of fate awaited him back at camp? Emil knew he was not the strongest of the Druids by far, but Noir was, and yet...there was not a single sign of hesitation that came from his leader.

The moment they arrived back within the confines of the camp, Noir had several commonwealth take away their horses as he commanded his squad to follow him as they marched into the belly of the beast. Several people were already passing whispered words between each other as they watched their prized General approach the largest of the armored wagons, completely empty-handed. Noir kept his gaze even and trained as he promptly stormed through the camp, people parting as he approached Samhain's wagon. The moment he came to the front of the two-tier steps, he paused and turned to his squad. He gave them a silent command with his hand as all three lined up directly behind him, their arms crossed over their chests in salute as Noir alighted the steps and disappeared into the armored wagon. Emil swallowed harshly and Laziel's sharp gaze darted to him for a moment. "All your fault~!" Laziel whispered in a sing-song voice. Orpheus gave Laziel a rough shove with his elbow and the Brigadier couldn't help but let out a hissing snigger as he caught himself and righted his stance. Emil felt his face burn with indignation once more and he felt his features twitch in annoyance as they waited in suspended silence. Save for the few commonwealth still awake and mulling about, most of the soldiers had long since retired to slumber, most simply passing out where they had taken to residing for the night. Though, that wouldn't be for long, the three of them noted as a sharp slap echoed through the night coming from the armored wagon. Emil winced and Laziel straightened his shoulders. The young Colonel let his wide eyes travel to Orpheus, but the rigid Lieutenant kept his eyes locked onto the wagon. Yelling now as Samhain could clearly be heard yelling at Orpheus. "...unacceptable...ruined everything...damned fool...failure!" For each time that Samhain's voice echoed through the night air like searing hot poison, more people began to rouse from their slumber and gather around the wagon, but very much avoiding the three soldiers like the plague. There was another sound of a fleshy hit before the sound of something glass falling and breaking. Then, the door to the armored wagon burst off its hinges as Noir stumbled out, nearly falling from the first landing. Emil's breath hitched in his chest and Laziel twitched, but Orpheus continued to stay still.

Noir swallowed heavily as he quickly plucked himself from the landing and crouched low on his knee, bowing deeply in front of Samhain as the Druid leader glared at him from the doorway, Noir's blood dripping from his knuckles. The Druid General kept his gaze down and averted, his nose bleeding heavily and a gash just below his right eye already beginning to turn fleshy and purple. "I gave you one command, Noir, and you let the Espers escape. Not only that, but one is dead as well! Samhain bellowed, his voice drifting over the whole camp. "Yes, sir." Noir confirmed. He didn't dare look up at Father as the man stormed down the steps to the landing and grabbed a handful of Noir's scarf and yanked him to his feet. The General still averted his gaze, his eyes falling submissively away, though not truly looking at anything. "And you dare to claim that you have a solution! There should not have been a problem from which you needed to derive a solution, Noir!" Noir sounded an affirmation once again, but this only angered Samhain further as he tossed Noir from the landing and onto the pressed dirt, just feet from his squad. As Samhain descended the steps, his eyes turned to the three soldiers instead, a roiling fury bubbling over now as he approached Orpheus first. The soldier nearly towered over Samhain, but that mattered little as the Lieutenant had to gather every last fiber of strength not to cower in front of him. Samhain pulled back his hand and released a powerful blow against Orpheus, sending the young Druid stumbling back slightly. He moved past Laziel, the Brigadier tensing visibly as Samhain rounded about Emil and slammed his hand against the Colonel's face, sending Emil flying into Laziel. The Brigadier stumbled, but didn't bother to help up the young Druid as he cried out in pain. Laziel's eyes widened in fear as Samhain stood in front of him now. From his belt, Samhain pulled a dagger and lifted it under Laziel's chin, the metal tip just barely kissing Laziel's soft skin of his Adam's apple. "F-Father! I beseech you! Laziel is my Brigadier. His failure his mine. Let me address his insubordination. You have entrusted me with these men...please allow me to punish them as I see fit." Noir breathed heavily as he managed to lift himself from the dirt, once again slipping into the kneeling position. Samhain turned from Laziel to Noir now, the Brigadier taking a whimpering breath. Samhain stood over Noir now and he gazed down at his grandson for a moment before taking the dagger and placing under Noir's chin to force him to look up at him. By now, near the entire army had been awakened and were watching with bated breath. "I am seeing that giving you the title of General has become a mistake on my part." Noir's sapphire eyes gazed up at Father now, his face still as stone despite the rapid ticking his of his heart in his chest. "I fully believe that the Esper is telling the truth. Once they themselves have learned positively the locations of the fountains, he will relinquish to me the information. The power limiters that we have been working on will work. Yes, they will have their powers fully awakened by then. But we will have the limiters and they will not be able to fight against us." Noir quickly rattled off the information and he could see the light in Samhain's eyes shift as his mind began to work. Samhain's hand did not falter as the blade kissed Noir's throat, his mind working with the plan that Noir proposed. After a moment, he dropped his arm and with it, the blade. "You will accept the punishment for your slovenly work, then you will rejoin the scout immediately and wait for the Espers to return from the Castle. We have had little time to test the limiters, but without an Esper or Guardian to test it upon, we shall have to trust in your work." Noir gave an affirmative nod and dropped his head once more as Samhain sheathed the dagger before turning towards the Lieutenant, Brigadier, and Colonel. "Take him to the chords." Samhain muttered, throwing a hand dismissively at Noir. The three gave each other an uneasy look before rushing to take Noir by his arms. "For each escaped Esper...five lashings. For the death of one...well...I shall come by and execute punishment for that..." Samhain muttered as he walked to the large fire in the middle of the camp and plucked a red hot branding iron. He raised it into the air as the three soldiers carried their General away.

"Yes...there is no stopping us now. We will get the location of the fountains...and with it...the termination of this damnable place called Yelaria..."


Noir's Army
Orpheus
Lieutenant
Rigid :: Quiet :: Obedient
Poleaxe
Druid Camp
#003366



Laziel
Brigadier
Insane :: Abusive :: Crude
Crossbow
Druid Camp
#003399



Emil
Colonel
Hesitant :: Indecisive :: Two-faced
Broadsword
Druid Camp
#0099CC

‗location:: Druid Camp
‗mood:: ......
‗ooc::
‗tagged:: Everyone

[Mutual Friends]

✿ ʟocaтɪoɴ: Smaller Clearing xxxxxxxx❀ ϻσσɗ: Content xxxxxxxx✿ ωɪтʜ: Espers xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Why couldn't it be a dream?

The night played out smoothly, as if nothing were wrong in the world, and the trio sat together as they made sure to keep their voices as quiet as possible, though, none of the other espers stirred in their sleep. Approval was offered towards her after displaying her ears and tail to the boys and she nodded her head with a small smile, suddenly rather thrilled to be given such praise from her friends. Bel's hand clasped around her arm, as if in congratulation, and she still could not wipe the proud look of her face. It was a strange feeling, though, as no one had ever acknowledged her feats, if even small, before. Her sister would be there for her, as always, but her mother had a huge impact on her life. On her. And the fact that she used to be just like her...it made her shiver just to think about it. Aen tried her best to stay tuned into the conversation between Sal and Bel, adding in a comment when needed but, truthfully, she just felt numb. The whole world was pressing in on her, like a weight on her chest, slowly pushing her down and down. And there was nothing between her and this weight but her flimsy skin. It wasn't enough. It wouldn't protect her. It doesn't keep anything out. The outside will keep pressing in until her ribs were crushed, and then her organs, her heart and liver and stomach....I'm not broken. No, no, I'm not. Blue eyes that were usually so full of light were now quite dull, a mere shell of her former self. Her skin was pale, and she felt so cold. Aeneth could feel her eyes slowly close and open back up repeatedly throughout the night and all she wanted to do was fall back sleep despite knowing that her dream might return to her. Her body ached for it, to disappear for a few more hours and get over whatever it was that made her chest heave in pain as if she was struggling to breathe. But at the same time, she felt her hollow heartbeats, felt the empty tinglings in her fingers, felt the burning nothingness traveling through her veins.

Belseth and Salam were helpful in more ways than they knew as they served to keep her mind distracted and to look for other things to fill the growing void. A few times, Bel would continue to mention his own thoughts about the ruby necklace that she held in her hand and she almost gave it to him so that he could investigate the whole concept of time more closely, as he seemed fascinated with the idea of her being able to keep track of time. After he was done with his rambling, she held the necklace up in the moonlight, allowing herself to get a better glimpse of the clock-face and she proceeded to explain how to read it. She'd learned how to read a mechanical clock for the first time from her father who, surprisingly, seemed to have quite the interest in technology that was constantly changing with every passing day. It wasn't all that hard in her opinion and, like her father, she tended to drone on and on when it came to explaining things to others. It took her a few moments before she realized that Belseth had fallen asleep (even though he had asked the question in the first place) and she glanced over at Salam, a look of embarrassment - for not only herself but for Bel's actions also - clearly written across her features. Aeneth had tried to prod him in his side with her elbow, nudging him in a lame attempt to wake him up, but it was no use as it was obvious that there was no waking the Earth Esper up from his deep slumber. A small sigh escaped her and she turned back towards Sal, offering a apology for Bel's behalf. "I suppose that just leaves us then," she'd said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Being the soft-spoken person she was, Aen was never too good at making conversation like Bel was. It just simply did not come easily to her, specifically when it concerned new people. Still, she tried her best to keep things interesting or, otherwise, she would wound up the same way as Bel had. As expected, she was curious about where she had seen him before in town and had even questioned him about whether or not Sal had been in the same class as she. It was worth a try wasn't it? But, as soon as she began to relax a bit around Sal, the more she opened up herself, though, she did not reveal too much. For the most part, she asked questions concerning his own family and then spoke of how she regretted leaving them behind but that there was no backing out now. Now the espers were far too deep and turning back wasn't an option. Not that she could leave even if she wanted to. There was no doubt in her mind that upon returning home would only render her a mere coward in the townsfolk's eyes, as if she were some dog with its tail between its legs, and she would be shunned, chased from Yelaria, or even, at it's worse, killed for her shameful actions. She could never do it either way even if death, in her opinion, was not to be feared. But, that was a mask wasn't it? Nothing could hide how she truly felt.

Her mind wandered back to thoughts of Hanson again, despite trying to hold it back. His own death could not be foreseen as no one had expected it. He couldn't have known he would have died or had the possibility of dying on his journey to becoming an Guardian or, at least, not unless he failed at defeating the Guardian before him. So, why, did the Druids come into the picture? Why did they and Marcus have be factors in his death? Even when he was one of the strongest of them all, he was still the first to fall. It made her wary just thinking about it. It made keep on wishing, reflexively, for a glimpse of the future, so she'd know what to do if her time came. But she doesn't kid herself. Aeneth knows that she'll have to feel her way forward blindly. She tries not to be afraid. Even if she knew what was coming, she could never prepared for how it feels. I can't change what already happened, she thought, growing quiet again as she stared down at her hands. She had listened to Sal and she was genuinely interested in what he had to say himself but the entire day had drained her of what was left of her energy. As the minutes ticked by, (it seemed like forever to her) Aeneth took a couple of peeks at the necklace again and, upon noticing that it was time for the swap, she told Sal to go and wake up Abel and that she would get Ayre. She had to be careful as she stumbled through the darkness, trying not to lose her footing and tumble into a sleeping Ayre, and she leaned down and gently shook her arm to wake her up. "Ayre? Can you hear me? It's your turn," she whispered in a soft tone, but also loud enough so that she could hear. Once she was sure that the blue-haired girl was awake, she placed the ruby into the palm of her hand and told her that it was how she would know how to keep track of the time, almost repeating the same steps Chiseira had done. She figured Ayre would know how to do it, or at least could ask Abel if need be, so she did not try and go through the explanation again. "Marcus and Kiara would be after you...but I think you already know that," she said quietly, shifting her gaze over towards the couple for a few seconds before slowly making her way past the Water Esper and back to her wolf companion.

A familiar scent greeted her, grabbing and twisting its vine around her, pulling her toward it as if they were saying they missed her greatly. She heaved a deep sigh, and soon enough a heavy drowsiness crept over her limbs, little by little, swallowing her fingers first then spread throughout her body like an undesirable, flesh eating virus. The Nature Esper's vision blurred, drinking the delightful aroma that hung in the air hungrily. Aeneth stared into the darkness gathered overhead for a moment, permitting her thoughts to settle, allowing his mind to organize the events around her clearly. Aen was strangely quiet as she laid back down where Etu was still, surprisingly, sleeping as soundly as he was before and she curled up next to his warm body in spite of the heaviness she felt. A breath of exhaustion was swept out of her chest as soon as she laid her head on the wolves side and it only took her a few moments this time to fall back asleep. Unlike before, there was no nightmare in store for Aeneth and, instead, all she could see was pure darkness. There was nowhere for her to run. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. There was no escaping it. And, this time, there was nothing she could do. Was this her reality? Sometimes she would fall, spinning through space, grasping for things that kept her here. And, sometimes, she would catch them, sometimes she doesn't but she could see clearly the path that she'd be walking on. A voice spoke to her again but she couldn't quite hear what it was that they were saying. It sounded distant and out of her reach and, even if she wanted to find it, there was no telling where it would lead her, so she left it alone for now, allowing herself to be swallowed up by the quiet.

It was impossible to tell how long she must have remained in that godforsaken dream, that spiral of impenetrable darkness, before the sun rose above the horizon and, finally morning came. The warm rays of sun traveled first along her bare legs, tickling along her pale skin, before kissing her all the way up to her heart-shaped face in greeting. Her toes flexed and twitched in response and she was almost immediately pulled out of her slumber, yawning slightly at the feeling of warmth that spread across her skin. Aen rubbed at her eyes in a tired way, revealing what must have looked like bags underneath them, but she could not see this of course. Had she not slept as long as she thought? Her birdlike figure, twisted and turned as she stretched out, allowing her halo of tawny locks to fall around the front of her body. Aeneth sat up a bit peered around the groups of espers with mild interest, wanting to see who was awake and who was not, and she wasn't in the least bit surprised when she found that Bel wasn't in the clearing. He must be used to waking up so early. He is a farmer after all, she thought, yawning again a little louder this time. Her eyes found Chi who had just woken up also and she raised her arm in a hello. "Good morning Chi," she called out to her in a voice that sounded slow and sluggish, almost as if sleep were still tugging at her. It took her a moment to realize that the gray wolf was no longer at her side and she furrowed her brows together, confused as to where he could have wandered off to again. She was almost tempted to go after him again but she did not have the slightest idea as to where it went so, even if she did try to find him, she would only cause herself to get lost in the forest. This part of the woods wasn't exactly recognizable to her after all and getting separated from the others wasn't at the top of to do list. Not to mention it wouldn't be smart to go off into the forest on my own if those Druids are still out there somewhere, she thought, shaking her head at the idea. The sounds of leaves rustling in the distance caught her attention and she turned her head towards the sound, her skin prickling at not knowing what it was. It sounded human, though, and from the clumsy way that the person was making all that noise just by clomping through the forest as loudly as possible, she could only guess who it was. Bel appeared as she had thought, holding a trophy of freshly caught fish in his hands, and he proceeded to show it off to a hungry Chi. He seemed cheerful enough, just like he had been ever since he was a child, and she smiled a bit. He bounces back fast, not that it's a bad thing, she thought, glad to see that her friend was acting the same again. His positive attitude was always a breath of relief to the others, or at least to her, and she looked up to him in that sense. He could make her smile even when it was hard...that much was appreciated. The smell of the fish caught her nose and, even though she wasn't a strict vegetarian when it came to fish, she wasn't even sure that she could eat it. Was that right for a Nature Esper? Did the they ever do that? Her hunger spoke louder then her mind at the moment and, almost absentmindedly, her fox tail thumped against the ground behind her. Weird, she thought, reaching back and placing one hand on it to stop its eagerness. Aeneth chuckled a bit, thinking that it must have been her 'animal instincts', and she stood up from her spot and made her way towards Chi were the long trail of fish lay in front of her. "Nice catch Bel," she chimed in happily, plopping down in front of the meal. She criss-crossed her legs and planted her hands on her knees, leaning forward a bit as if to get a better whiff of the fish. The smell didn't seem to bother her this time, only made her stomach grumble further, and she glanced around as if waiting for the others to get up. Bel went to go and bother Abel, shouting his name as clear as day, and she merely laughed at his impatience. Aen tried to muffle her melodic laughter against the palm of her hand, hoping Abel wouldn’t have noticed somehow even after he got up. But who was she trying to fool? It was simply impossible to conceal the shrill sound of her voice. Her eyes remained clear and pure, not a single hint of maliciousness swirling in their depths even if she was laughing at the sight.

OoC:I dunno what to do with her, sorry *sulk* and sorry if this is late too ;n; *omg my friend is making me a new layout soon yay* (I like this one but I like changing things up too :3 ) xxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀✿❀xxxxxx

because everyone else has it

#BC8F8F
#FF8585

[Kiothaeus]

The blonde esper had little recollection of conversation throughout his shift. Only awkward silence and regret. A new face in the group had prevented him from being alone with the water maiden, which irked the male an incredible amount. His name was Salam, and apparently he was friends with Bel or something like that. Regardless, he was an unexpected obstacle; a male, farm boy obstacle. Yes, the group now had two farmers and two nurses, an adventurer, and two animal caretakers. He would call himself the "firestarter", as it was now his talent; other than using the spear. It wasn't the ideal warrior group, but somewhere in the man's heart told him that they would manage. Hopefully. . .

As he went to sleep that night, he had forgotten about the injury he had inflicted on his hand. The blonde forgot to tell the light esper about it, as it was numbed at the time. In fact, he fell asleep rather peacefully despite whatever had happened to his hand. The giant rock was far from being a cushion, but at the same time, it was smooth enough to where he could fall asleep. He slept on his stomach, with his face turned to the side. As the sun began to rise, he could feel his back soaking in the rays of comfortable heat, causing him to slowly wake up. The male was enjoying the warmth on his back, with the low murmur of the group talking beneath him. It was moments like these that made him enjoy the outdoors. Well, almost. "AAAAAABEEEELLLLLLL!" The blonde's eyes shot open, as he twitched from the volume of the farmer's voice. Yes, he could easily tell that his "dear friend" was screaming at him to wake up as he was the only one dumb enough to do something like that. As he heard the farm boy get closer, he was tempted to kick him as he made his descent. Or perhaps he'd let it go for today? Sighing, he rose from his comfortable position, and sat up. His eyes wandered around, as he looked at the espers briefly before rubbing his eyes with the hand he could actually feel.

The blonde looked the farmer in the eye blankly, still debating on whether or not to hit him. He struggled to talk, as he finally got down from the rock. "For everyone's sake, please calm down in the morning... What do you ne-" As the man got a glimpse of his hand, he stopped speaking. It was very, very discolored, and something looked out of place. The blonde walked away from Bel, and darted straight to Ki, not able to comprehend how he could of done something like this to his own hand. "Ki, Ki, Ki, Ki, Ki!" He called out for her name multiple times, unsure of her exact location. He broke out into a cold sweat as he smiled nervously. One could easily tell something was wrong, just by looking at the strange smile on his face if he or she didn't get to see the male's hand. Upon reaching Ki, he plopped next to her, and waved his hand so that she could see it properly. "C-could you be so kind as to fixing my hand, Ki?"


xxxxx██████████████████████████████████████████████████
xxxxx ʟocaтɪoɴ: The Wilderness xxxxxxxx ϻσσɗ: Ha Ha HA MY HAND xxxxxxxx ωɪтʜ: Espers
xxxxx██████████████████████████████████████████████████



OoC:







#FF0000
#FF6600

[Cynotastic]

The evening had been rather strange for Ayre, at least, when it came to her turn for watch. She had been feeling... Rather odd.. Her leg was stinging; throbbing, and felt like it was in immense pain. Though, when investigated, it showed no proof of injury, save for a little scratch that appeared as though it had been placed upon her while she was pulled through the forest by Abel. Mostly shrugging it off, the Water Esper assumed the scratch and the pain was after such an exhausting night. It was probably just her leg aching from all the adrenaline of running through the forest. Or perhaps, she had actually got caught on something.

Though, she managed through her watch relatively fine. Mostly just paying attention to her adorable goat, and the fact there was a new Air Esper. While she paid little attention to him, mainly just inspecting the wound on her leg, or wondering why it was radiating such an intense pain. The time was mostly filled with silence. Before she knew it, it came time to pass the shift onto Marcus and Kiara. After passing the necklace onto Abel to awake them, she had curled up and attempted to fall back to sleep.

Initially, it was rather difficult to slip into slumber. The injury seemed to pulsate when she was getting ready to sleep. Almost as though she could feel something bizarre coursing through her veins. Almost as if something had got lodged inside her that she hadn't noticed. As the irritation spread through her body, starting down near her feet and traveling up to her heart, it started to becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. Not only that, she had been flushed with a fever, and was in desperate need of something to drink. Each breath she took was quick and shallow, feeling the desire for liquid shoot through her even more. Perhaps she had something caught in her throat? It wouldn't explain the pain in her leg, but it might explain how much it hurt to breathe - right? However, knowing it was time for bed, she laid still. Each breath still harder than the last. Every time she tried to take a big breath, it just got caught and felt like it was unable to hit her lungs. Then, before long, she had managed to slip into a slumber.

However, it was not an ordinary sleep.
No, it was an eternal one.

Her injury was not just a simple scratch from the roots and plants she ran through. Nor was it a wound that any of their weapons looked to inflict. No, in fact, it appeared to be more like she had either been attached by a creature in the middle of her slumber, or she had been attacked by the same sort of bolt that got Kiara. Either way, when morning occurred, the blue haired woman no longer drew breath. Blood was also no longer circulating through her system. Her skin had turned pale hues, and she definitely did not appear to be alive in any sort of the meaning.

On top of that, it appeared as though at some point in the night - perhaps the moment that Ayre drew her final breath - Sol had disappeared. It seemed as though he had ran away in search of some other warm body to snuggle up to. As there were little hoof prints which lead out of camp.

It seemed as though that was the end of the journey for Ayre Soltinia, the first chosen Esper of Water for the new generation of Guardians.

May she, and her soul rest in peace.

[Cynotastic]

tab tab cynosuralcataclysmcyn

✘ ʟocaтɪoɴ :: Campsite -> River side xxxxxx ✘ ωɪтʜ :: The group -> Myself xxxxxx ✘ ғεεʟɪɴɢ :: Upset xxxxxx ✘ ʜaɪʀsтʏʟε :: High Ponytail xxxxxx ✘ σuтғɪт :: [x]

"Morning, Chichi! Look what I have!" Her attention was immediately captured by Belseth after she slid her clock into place. It was as though he knew exactly what she desired after awaking from her slumbering. Her eyes widened with excitement as he displayed the fish fillets. A large grin graced her face as she clapped her hands together. "Perfect!" "There's not much...two for each I think...but its something," "That is fine, after all! Two is better than none!" She said almost in a sing song voice, and she walked over to Bel to inspect the cuts of red fish meat. Then the boy handed her the meat, and while she wasn't fond of handling raw food. The concern was quickly removed from her mind as she heard the Earth Espers' voice boom over the entire clearing.

"AAAAAABEEEELLLLLLL!" Then, Chiseira's attention was stolen by Aeneth who had popped over near her and was inspecting the fish as well. While it wasn't as much food or as many parts and pieces to the meal as they had the other night, it was still a welcomed meal, at least, it would be once the fish were cooked. Flashing the Nature Esper a smile, she noticed the animalistic features of the girl, and Chi was curious as to why she seemed to interested in the meal when last night she had been so scared and almost grossed out by the meal of the dear. Though, that wasn't a conversation for now.

Continuing to stand there, she heard the voice of Abel respond back to Bel, glancing over to the pair, she listened in on their conversation. "For everyone's sake, please calm down in the morning... What do you ne-" Then, she noticed his hand just at the same time Abel seemed to have. 'His hand looks awful.' Chi thought as she noticed it, and apparently thinking the same thing the man rushed over to Kiara's side, while it had appeared that she and Marcus were attempting to get a bit more sleep, the Fire Esper seemed to have no plans to let that happen. Not that Chi minded, the sooner they got moving, the faster they would get to the castle and the faster they would be able to progress through the dungeon.

So, it was good that he was keeping them awake. "Oh Great Guardians! Abel? What did you do to your hand?" She questioned, curious about how he seemed to gather such strange bruises and how his hand was so strangely discolored. It seemed as though almost everyone was awake. While Sal was still slumbering, which, she didn't blame him since he arrived to the party late and she assumed he stayed up later than she had. The only other person who was still sleeping was Ayre...

"Once you get your hand fixed Abel, please make a fire so we can eat and get the show on the road." Chi stated her voice dipped in minor irritation at the fact they weren't already moving. Her mismatched eyes scanned the camp again, then they fell onto the blue hair that still lay on the ground. From a glance, Ayre looked like she was still sound asleep. "Hey Aen, hold these a second?" Chiseira asked as she handed the fillets back to the girl, then walked over to the sleeping water esper. Though, upon further inspection, something didn't seem right about it. Especially with the little goat tracks leading out of camp. It was very strange... Sol never left Ayre's side from what Chi knew.

As she placed her hand's on the other girls' body and gave her a gentle shake, Chi realized that the Water Esper's skin was very cold, not to mention pale... And... Not breathing? Immediately, Chi fell off her knees that she was resting off and rocked onto her butt against the cold soil. Her eyes wide in panic, jaw dropped in confusion, and she pointed at the clearly dead Esper. "Ayre...?" She muttered, in shock of the situation. How could she die...? She thought as she had a hand float in the air towards her for a moment. "This can't be...?" The Shadow Esper spoke, her voice in clear disbelief.

"Why did we lose another one..?" Her voice was shaky and she was asking no one in particular. It felt more like a dream, it just didn't feel real. Tears welled up in her eyes and she buried them in the palms of her hands. It just felt so surreal. Grabbing the sides of her head, she stood to her feet and walked away from the corpse. Her stomach gurgled with hunger, but after what she had just discovered, she had no desire to eat. In fact, she felt physically ill, if she ate anything it might just creep back up her throat.

Taking a hard gulp of saliva she waved a hand dismissively to her group of allies. "I need a moment..." She said as she started to walk towards the stream of water that Belseth had fished from. Sitting next to the shoreline, she dipped her hands into the water. Her eyes observed the liquid a moment before she splashed it onto her face and laid down next to the river. Closing her eyes, she let out a heavy sigh. This adventure was supposed to be fun, a test of physical strength. A test of her in general. Chiseira never expected the situation to turn so dire and for them all to have already lost two espers. Tears leaked from her lids and rolled down her face.

While she had been expecting a challenge, the Shadow Esper never expected it to be such an emotional struggle.


✘ σσc :: SO MANY FEELS GUYS.

[Maximum_0verdrive]

tab tab ʟocaтɪoɴ: corpse xx || xcσϻpaɴʏ: espers xx || xϻσσɗ: Tense. xx || xsтaтus: -----



The previous night


It was true that Bel and Sal's fathers didn't get along real well and as a result it seemed that it had started to rub off Sal. He couldn't say the same for Bel and based off of their past interactions it was still hard to tell. At the same time, this man was the only one of the group that he really, truly knew the best. He was the only thread that Sal would be able to grasp at to really integrate with the group at this point, because even though he noticed people that he was acquainted with within the group they were just that; acquaintances. These were the thoughts that ran through Sal's head as Bel intercepted the handshake that Aen had taken too long to accept. As the other's warm hand wrapped around his arm, allowing traces of heat to seep through his tunic. Inside, he was conflicted. He wanted to feel angry at the guy he was supposed to hate for intercepting a handshake that wasn't meant for him. At the same time however, he wanted to take this as a sign that it would be a fairly straightforward path if he wanted to try to fix the relationship that their fathers had pretty much forced on them. It looked like Bel was all for it with the way he was acting. Sal nodded and gripped the other's arm in return, matching the shake. As they continued to talk, Bel told Aeneth to do her thing, which turned out to be her shapeshifting. Sal clapped for her, that was impressive, since she could already do way more than he could do. The most Sal could do right now is keep his powers from spiraling out of control. It's a shame he didn't spend a little more time working on his abilities before he left, he would have been able to show off something in return. He'd probably spend some time working on it tonight.

After talking for a while and towards the end of the watch, he kind of separated from the two and spent some time working on his abilities. He stood separate from everybody else so he didn't wake anybody up. He made progress, after spending some time working on it he was able to hold himself up off the ground, and even quiet the sound of his footsteps-- although the latter was harder to do than the former. At last he started to get tired and decided to call it a night. He hadn't introduced himself to the other espers yet, but he could do that in the morning. For now, sleep was more important. As he thought this, he found a nice grassy area and laid down, folding his arms behind his head to act like a pillow and staring up at the night sky. It was weird that he couldn't go to sleep when he lied down, but it gave him some time to think. Most of his thoughts were of what this drastic change in his life would mean. As he glanced about, looking at his new comrades he thought that it might not be too bad, but it was still going to be a little weird, trying to join a group that had already established itself. His thoughts then drifted to Han, the previous air esper. He didn't even know the man but he felt bad having left him behind in the clearing, where no doubt there would be some kind of scavenger that would pick apart his body and nobody would ever know that he had been there outside of this small group of espers. He certainly wasn't torn up inside like he was sure some of the members of the group were, but at the same time he wasn't completely apathetic to the fact that he had died. A human life was still a human life, the disappearance of which would change only depending on how close the individual was to someone else. Out of respect for the dead, he almost wanted to go back and give him a proper burial, but he couldn't. He didn't have anything to dig with, so he couldn't even do that much for him. The best he could do was already done.


The following morning


He had awoken later than the majority of the others, after coming to he noticed that Bel had gone fishing, managing to catch a pretty decent haul of fish for them to eat, and it seemed as if everyone was up for the most part, save for a couple of people. Laying eyes on the fish reminded him that he still had to present the food that he had brought and salvaged from the previous campsite for the rest of espers. Disappearing from the group for a moment, Sal untied the horse from where he had hidden it the previous night, then lead it back to the group. He was about to start unloading it, until Chi caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. She was hanging around one of the espers that were still sleeping, which normally wouldn't have been anything alarming, but something about the scene just felt wrong. As he approached it did indeed seem that something was wrong-- it looked like she was dead too. Their group had lost two espers since their journey started the previous day, that was a creepily high mortality rate. It almost made him want to go back to town and never come back. Almost. Chi said something about needing a moment and headed off in another direction. His stomach knotted slightly as he bent down next to the corpse and observed it, hoping that she had somehow been wrong about the girl being dead. Of course, she wasn't wrong. Sal wanted to feel bad, but as he stood up and gave space for the other espers to come by he realized that he didn't feel as bad as any of the other espers would. It was kind of the same as it had been for Han. He felt bad that Han had died, just as a human being, seeing someone else dead made him feel bad, but he wasn't about to shed a tear for any of them. Why would he? He didn't know them. He hadn't even introduced himself to this girl, they hadn't said a word to each other, he didn't even know her name. That didn't change the fact that might feel terrible about her passing. He was gonna suggest she get a buried this time though. They probably didn't have a chance to because they were running last time, but this time there's no excuse.

"Poor girl."

He didn't really know what to say. He didn't know her, so he left it at that.

""

OoC: sick post complete

[Scrivener_Lost]

Warriors in peace - no time for war
Warriors indeed - we know the score
Warriors of heaven & Earth below ...

tab tab From the heavens up above
tab tab The only road to peace is love
tab tab Trust in your heart,see your dreams unfold
tab tab Though you know not how the story goes

tab tab tab Walk with me into the sun
tab tab tab No more battles to be won
tab tab tab Take my hand,you're nearly home again.

tab ☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷
x >>CHILDREN tab OF tab YELARIA<<
tab ☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷


ЄѦɌȚҤɃѦɃϓ

Time is gently passing by
Though you weep i ask not why
searching the emptiness of your soul

tab tab Lost in visions of the past
tab tab Memories they seldom last
tab tab Silence is all that remains the same

tab tab tab Because your life is no disguise,
tab tab tab alone you stand
tab tab tab Look at me through my mother's eyes
tab tab tab See who i am...forever free



Ғ'ΑΑɌ ɃЄɭȘЄȚҤ ϘΊ ' DΑɌ

⋙
Like a cat... Bel thought to himself as he approached Abel's perch upon the large rock. He grinned up at the Fire Esper knowing full well that he had still been in the deep trenches of sleep before Bel could approach. Just before reaching the large boulder, a voice called behind him and he whipped around to see Aen joining Chi's side. "Nice catch Bel!" His face instantly radiated a wide and sloppy grin as unrestrained happiness in the compliment effectively distracted him from his current objective. In fact, it was so effective, that Bel had not been paying attention to his footing as he had planned to ascend the boulder and had not been watching his feet. The toe of his right slipper caught a small rock and he stumbled forward, nearly face-planting right into the smooth face of the rock. He caught himself, however, as he threw his hands out just in time to prevent from smacking into the large rock. He didn't care to look back at the two girls after looking like a fool for tripping and felt his face burn adamantly as he glared down at the rocks and cursed their existence. "For everyone's sake, please calm down in the morning... What do you ne-" Belseth cast aside the embarrassment as his friend spoke from above him. Like the small puppy harassing an agile cat, Bel gazed fondly up at Abel, his smile returning as he flashed his teeth at Abel, elated to see that his call had awakened his friend. "Morning, Abel~!" It was clear when he did not receive a greeting in return that Abel had already set his mind to a task and had forgone Bel's presence in favor for Kiara. As the Fire esper rushed to Kiara's side, Bel turned and gazed after his friend as he noticed the strange way he had addressed the woman. A twinge of worry flickered through him and he followed behind Abel as the blonde man sat next to her. Like a shadow, he lingered over Abel's shoulder as he fully gazed down at Abel's hand now, wrinkling his nose as he took in the horrid state. What...what did he do to it? Bel wondered worriedly and he tried to recall what his friend could have done to warrant such damage, but the previous night was nothing but a painful blend of panic and terror.

Bel ran his tongue across his lips as he reached over in an attempt to poke at Abel's hand. "Geez, Abel...what did you do? That's gross...does it hurt?" Bel's attention on Abel's condition waned almost as quickly as it had been promoted with movement behind him. He hadn't been aware of Sal being up and about and the sound of his horse had warranted his attention, but not only that, -"Ayre...? This can't be...? Why did we lose another one..?" The air had suddenly become quite heavy. Eerily and familiarly so. He tried to return his attention back to Abel and Kiara, but Chi's soft but pained voice caught the farmer's ears as he turned back to her. She was kneeling by Ayre's side and in one split second, Bel felt a cold jarring sensation spear through him. He didn't quite know or understand why, but everything around him suddenly came colliding inward; the absence of Sol, the heavy air, the lack of Ayre's sing-song voice greeting everyone. What sealed in the reality was Chi. His lips parted and his mouth dropped open when he watched her, the pinnacle of strength that moved them with her words, had to walk away from Ayre's still body. "Chi...?" He had wanted to approach her and ask her to very clearly explain to him what was going on, but just seconds before he could place his hand questioningly on her shoulder, she stood up. "I need a moment..." As she walked away, Sal replaced her by Ayre's side and Bel felt the cold hard reality hit him as Sal knelt down to inspect the water esper's body.

"Poor girl."

Dead...she was dead...There was no denying the color of her skin, the stillness of her breast, and the beautifully haunting way her face looked so peaceful as she lay there, looking as if she were simply sleeping. And in a way, she truly was sleeping; deep in the cold embrace of an eternal slumber from which she would never awaken. Ayre...she...she's dead? But how...how could that be possible? Could that be possible!? She was just fine last night! I mean..she could have had an injury...I-I...I don't think she was injured...But it was impossible to tell. It was so dark last night. And...there's no blood. She couldn't have possibly been...I mean, the Druids...they didn't kill her. There's not a single mark on her. Only Kiara was hurt! How could this possibly have happened? Bel ran a shaky hand through his hair as he gazed down at her small body, his emerald eyes wide with shock and laced with panicked thoughts that sped through his mind. It was entirely different than last night. It was entirely different than Han's death. There was no threat. No man pointing a bolt at his back. No fear. No panic. No warning. No...they couldn't have killed her...I only heard his crossbow shoot once. Did she get pricked by something? A spider? A snake? No...that doesn't make sense...I've lived in this area all my life and I have never come across anything like that...I mean...I only heard one shot, right? Or...or... His eyes turned to Marcus. Could he...no...there's no marks on her anywhere! Why is this so confusing? Why does this have to happen? There's no way he did anything...right? There was only one shot...no...two...two? No, one. Just one shot...Did he do it while we were asleep? It was him and Kiara...and no way she would let him do something like that. But what if she had fallen asleep? He could have done it then...But wouldn't someone have heard? Sal! He was awake! Marcus wouldn't attempt to kill twice...would he? No...No!...would he? His right hand had stayed placated to the back of his head as he let his eyes rest on Ayre forlornly and now his left rose up to meet it, interlocking his fingers as he chewed on his bottom lip. He could feel his throat burning now, scratching really as his eyes began to sting with the threat of tears. Han's death was hard, yes. But there had been so much fear and panic driving his body, tears had not been an option at first. But now, he could only struggle to keep his breathing in check as he strove not to make a scene.

But why...why was she dead? There was most certainly no justification for this! There as only one shot...I was sure...one shot...no, there most definitely were two..there had to be! There's no other way to possibly explain this! Unless...unless he truly did have something to do with it. Forest-colored eyes once again found themselves judging Marcus' expression. He could not help the suspicion that grew in him. Tainted him. Belseth had always been a truly trusting person, but how else would they be able to explain the girl's death? Marcus had killed Han not even twenty-four hours ago and now another one of the espers were dead. The suspicion was quick to fill Bel and it poisoned him like nothing else he had ever experienced. It left a bad taste in his mouth and his stomach clenched tightly. He would have never even imagined that any one of them were capable to doing something like this to another human being. But Marcus had been able to... And now Ayre had mysteriously died. The farmer's head was filled with terrible questions that needed to be answered and horrible suspicions that burned him like a hot fire. He didn't want to think like this. His mother had taught him that all people were good and even if they had one bad things at one point in their lives, people were still capable of being truly righteous and kind beings. But then, how could she explain what was going on? Why was Han dead? Why was Ayre dead? Why had the druids attacked them? Why...why am I so afraid now? Bel was kneeling with Sal at Ayre's side now, his hand wavering just above her shoulder as his forehead wrinkled as he drew his brows together, his face scrunching tightly in an unattractive grimace as the tears burned his eyes relentlessly now. Slowly his hand alighted upon her cold shoulder and the moment the contact was felt, Bel felt a sharp breath break painfully away from his chest as he let out a sound mixed between a sob and gasp. He let his head bow now as tears began to bubble over his lids and slip down his face. This time...it was different. Yes, any death is sad. Han's death had been sad. But Ayre...she had meant much more. Bel had not known Han, but Ayre...she had been his classmate, a Yelarian since birth, and his friend. She had spent numerous days on the Qi'dar farm with Sol and even if they were not terribly close, he still felt the ripping pain of loss.

As Sal stood, Bel copied his movements and took to his shaky legs as he stared down at Ayre, tears freely falling down his face and making dark wet marks against his golden skin.
All he wanted to do was throw up. And cry. And go home.

But he was a man and men didn't do that.
But he had thrown up last night and now, he was crying...

Now what options are left for us...?

↪this is what i'm listening to:: Veerapandi Kottayile - AR RAHMAN
↪this is what i'm wearing:: Esper threads...


⋙
⇉location:: Second clearing
⇉mood: Not again...
⇉ooc::
⇉tagged:: Marcus, Sal, Aeneth, Kiara, Abel, Chi

we are the e s p e r s; the warriors of ˛ balance; the ⋞kings⋟ and ⋞queens⋟ of the elements☼;

[thymeast22]

here I am, a rabbit hearted girl xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx this is a gift, it comes with a price
frozen in the headlights xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx who is the lamb and who is the knife?
it seems I've made the final sacrifice xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmidas is king and he holds me so tight
we raise it up, this offering xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxand turns me to gold in the sunlight

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Kiara Aurealis, the Light Elementalxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

❋ Where: Wilderness #2

❋ With: Espers

Kiara fixed Abel's hand. Then looked at Ayre and did doctory things to determine she was dead. Then acted sad and comforted Bel.


She had barely closed her eyes when Kiara heard Bel return, speaking loudly. If there were voices, she wasn't going back to sleep now. But she stubbornly refused, trying to find the call of the dark so she could slip back into slumber. No such luck. Especially when she heard Bel shouting for Abel. With a soft sigh the Light Esper opened her eyes, watched the proceedings without moving from her spot against her fiance. He was warm and comfortable, and Kiara doubted his grip on her would loosen any time soon.

She couldn't help but smile a little at Bel's antics, at Aeneth's simple cheer and fox-tail. Then Abel was awake, and chastising Bel. She watched him as he froze. When she saw his barely-concealed panic, followed by a rapid-fire repetition of her name, Kiara shifted Marcus's grip on her so she could see what was wrong. Abel beat her to it, and crouched down beside her. His hand was thrust in her face, and she took it gently in her hands as she turned to face him properly. Her fiance was forgotten at her back, though Marcus would be used to her abandoning him over an injury.

His skin was an ugly purple, and she could see where a bone was sticking up at the wrong angle. Kiara grasped his wrist with one hand so he couldn't jerk away from her. "This will hurt," she warned him. She had to find out if he had broken anything other than the obvious metacarpal. So with her left hand she gently pressed on his hand, fingers probing and trying to ascertain the damage. "What did you do? Slam your hand in a door again?" she asked as she worked. Then, as soon as he started to answer and wasn't paying attention to what she was doing, Kiara pushed the broken bone back into place and prayed he wouldn't accidentally set her on fire.

As soon as the bone was set her mark flared and her power surged. A strange, blissful warmth traveled from her hand to his wrist and into his injured hand. It would hurt some as bone was repaired and the surrounding tissue knit back together. But it would still hurt less than the initial injury. When the glow faded Kiara looked up to him, smiled weakly and tried not to fall over at the sudden exhaustion. She really needed to learn how to control the power so it wasn't as draining. "Well. This certainly makes things easier," she murmured with a laugh.

Then Kiara heard Chiseira speak up. "Ayre? This can't be... Why did we lose another one? The shadow esper emotionlessly crossed into the woods as Bel and Sal both inspected the girl. Well, she might as well get her own official opinion in. Kiara stood and moved to crouch down beside Ayre, blue eyes sharp as she ran through a cursory inspection. She couldn't let herself feel anything; she had to lock away her heart for this. They needed to know what had happened so she couldn't fall apart and mourn. There would be time for that later. It wasn't until she found the tear in Ayre's pants that she paused, frowned. "Bel, give me one of your knives?" she asked, glancing up and holding out a hand. Once she had the blade she carefully tore the fabric open so she could see the skin, and the cut, beneath. Surely that tiny cut hadn't...

Kiara stared, growing pale. She remembered how it had felt like her blood was on fire when she healed herself. How it had spread throughout her entire body, and not just her leg. And when she looked closely, Kiara could see Ayre's veins, see the vessels standing close to the skin. Necrotic. She'd only ever seen such an effect when villagers had come to her suffering from a snake or spider bite, but luckily they had no species so poisonous that the human body couldn't recover. "The Druids use poison," she breathed. She offered the blade back to Bel as she stood, hesitated. Then she abandoned any sense of propriety and hugged the poor Earth esper, leaning into him. and taking what comfort she could from the presence of another living human. Kiara couldn't do anything for Ayre, not now. But she could offer comfort to the survivors, and seek it herself. Ayre had been a friend. And now she was dead.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I look around, but I can't find you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI must become a lion hearted girl
if only I could see your face xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxready for a fight
instead of rushing towards the skylinexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxbefore I make the final sacrifice
I wish that I could just be bravexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxwe raise it up, this offering



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx lyrics ++ xxxxx
#FF0000 Abel #3FB6AA Marcus #993300 Bel #5218FA Hans #993366 Chi

[Mutual Friends]

❁ ████xx███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
xxxx┇ ♛▰▰ Second Clearing
xxxx┇ ♛▰▰ Abel, Bel, Sal, Kiara, Chi, Marcus, and...Ayre
xxxx┇ ♛▰▰ I refuse to leave her like this...not again
xxxx┇ ♛▰▰ Theme - Lost Skies
xxxx┇ ♛▰▰ Outfit

Not even moments after her compliment did Belseth flash her a lopsided grin in delight, causing her to shoot him her own smile in return, before she noticed the way he teetered on the side of the boulder. "H-hey, Bel, be careful-" Aen started, before flinching as he fell forward a bit, almost smacking his face on the edge of the rock. It was lucky that he caught himself at the last moment though... Oops, I didn't think he'd get that distracted, Aeneth thought, pretending not to notice Bel's little slip up as to not embarrass him further. "Ki, Ki, Ki, Ki, Ki!" Aeneth's attention was diverted when she saw the mere state of Abel's hand and she widened her eyes in pure surprise. It was discolored and bruised, almost as if he had punched something, and she frowned from her spot across from him. "Oh my..." she said aloud, gaping at him a bit. Just when he had done that? And how did he not know it was that bad until now? She wanted to do something to assist him but she did not have the slightest idea as to how to help him and she was glad that this task was left to the healer of the group, Kiara. The blonde women had yet to awaken from her slumber but, without so much as a warning, did Abel clomp over to the sleeping pair and asked in a meek voice if she would do something about it. Kiara should be able to heal him...she can probably do the same thing that she did last night with her own wound, she thought, confident in the fact that the Light esper would be able to succeed as she could not. He did look pretty distraught about it (but who wouldn't?) after all so she hoped she could fix it for him in no time. Her attention was taken off of Abel for a moment when she heard Chi's voice call for her and she tipped her head up to glance over at her. The fillets of fish were thrust in her attention as she was asked to hold onto them and she nodded, taking the bounty of meat from her. Aen did as she was told, laying the pieces of fish out in front of her and not even bothering to become embarrassed when her stomach growled in anticipation. All that running from last night had taken quite a lot of her energy and even what little amount of sleep she had gotten did not end her hunger. Those herbs and berries she had eaten had apparently done nothing for her as they usually did and her newly found 'animal side' was hard to control. Or, more likely, its hunger was. Why did raw meat look so inviting all of a sudden? Something like this would usually cause her stomach to churn and her nose to turn up in disgust but, now, the feeling was completely gone. Please, please, don't make me start acting like a wild animal, she thought, trying her best to keep her hands in her lap as to not touch the red meat before it was cooked. No matter how delicious it looked in her eyes...

As oblivious as she was, Aeneth could still hear the sound of Chi speaking behind her, the purple-haired girl's voice laced in disbelief. Almost on instinct, Aeneth snapped out of her daze and turned to face her fellow esper, only seeing now that the girl's hands were wrapped around Ayre's shoulder as if attempting to wake her. Aeneth could not see the state of Ayre from where she sat on the ground, as she was blocked by Chi's own body, and she rose from her spot almost cautiously. Almost afraid to see what was causing her to act so strange. "Chi? Is something wro-" Aen attempted to ask before Chi tumbled backward, rocking back and forth on the ground. Sal had approached also but quickly retreated, seemingly surprised by whatever he saw also. Upon seeing this, an uneasy feeling clutched her heart, tightening and tightening as if making it hard to breath, and she took another step forward to see with her own eyes of what was troubling her companions. When her blue hues fell upon what looked to be a sleeping Ayre whose skin seemed to have lost its usual rosy color and was replaced with that of a pale tone, it only took one look and she knew. Her mouth was open in the tiniest bit and there was not a motion in her face, no twitching, no nostrils flaring and no spirit left inside of her body. Looking at her mouth it looked like her spirit just slipped out of her body from her mouth and left in such a hurry that her mouth was just left ajar. It was just a shell from which she no longer was a part of. Her mouth was open and drooping and there was no control over her facial expressions just a blank look. It looked so cold and unemotional.

The Nature esper was frozen in her spot. Twitch. An inexplicable darkness crossed her features, slowly overruling emotion and consuming her soul as it seeped into her body each time she allowed herself to hold her gaze on the small girl. Pain struck her heart in that moment and she trembled, unable to move or force her body to tread any closer to Ayre. Fear grabbed her throat, her hands began to shake. The Water esper's eyes were still closed, almost as if she was sleeping peacefully, but her chest did not rise and fall as it should have been. The girl's body was motionless and stiff and the lifeless expression made her realize that she was never going to take another breath again. Yet, for some reason, she still looked like she could open her eyes at any moment and speak to her again one last time, no matter how much she knew that would not happen. Ayre's last breath had been taken and her heart would no longer beat. It was almost as if her spirit seemed to be no longer attached to her body but peacefully floating above her. It was a corpse, not a vessel for her spirit to travel in anymore but an empty shell where once existed a person full of life and energy. "Ayre...? This can't be...? Why did we lose another one..?" Chi's voice barely reached her ears as she stood frozen over Ayre's pale body, in a state of total shock and horror. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight and her hand immediately flew towards her mouth, trying to hold back the whimpers that were sure to escape her. How was this possible? Just last night Ayre had been completely healthy, or as far as she could tell, and she didn't remember there ever being any signs of concern. If something was wrong, would Ayre have told them? If she had known something was wrong then...could Kiara have helped? First Hanson and now Ayre. Why? Why is this happening to us? "A-Ayre...why...?" Aeneth croaked out shakily, bending over so that she was crouched. Her lip started to shake and quiver, tears clouded her eyes and turning her blue irises to haunted oceans. It wasn't fair. None of this was! And for someone as sweet and innocent as Ayre to be taken from them...it didn't make sense to her. Could Marcus do this? If he so much as laid a hand on her... she thought harshly, clenching her hands into fists at her side. Distrust laid thick in her eyes, almost took over her again, and she had to take a deep breath to clear her head a bit. It was the only possible explanation that fit correctly in her mind. Who else could have done it? And the Druids...well she couldn't see those men as a factor in her death. Right? She wasn't sure what to think at this point...

Aeneth heard him. She heard Bel, sitting a little ways in front of her, near her. She heard him, the breaths he took, the gasps–she heard him crying. That was all it took. The simplicity of it all came crashing down around her. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that she knew nothing about and all she could do was try to piece it back together. But, she couldn't. Not anymore. She was bent over, coughs wracking her body, feeling like she was going to throw up. Aen tried to suck it in and not make any noise but it hurt too much. It hurt too much to hold it in. She let out a whimper and then another silent cry, feeling out of breath. How much more could she take of this? At some point...couldn't the pain just end? Her shoulders vibrated as her head hung between her arms. She closed her eyes, tight, so tight, and bit into her lip as the tears rolled and rolled. “Oh gods,” she groaned, slapping a hand over her mouth as the words ripped, raw and aching, through her lips as if torn from her heart. Tears spilled heavily over her hand as the new wave rocked through her body, and her other hand ran shakily through her hair. For a long moment there was no sound but the wind and the water and the creak of leaf and limb. And then, far far off, beyond her and the shaken up espers and the bright morning sky, from somewhere out in the world, came the long lonely howl of a wolf. Goosebumps rose on Aen’s smooth skin, and for an instant she felt dizzy. Then, so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father’s voice. "Your going to lose people in life. And you realize that no matter how much time you spent with them, or how much you appreciate them and told them so, it will never seem like it was enough. But you have to stay strong, even when everything seems like its falling apart." She couldn't. How could she tell anyone else to stay strong when she couldn't even do it herself? Pathetic. That's what mother would say. I'm supposed to be strong, but I'm not even when I pretend to be. Stupid. And then Abel...she wasn't even sure what to say to him because she knew that he would be one of the ones most impacted by her death. Abel...., she thought, her heart going out to him more than anything.

"The Druids use poison." These words seem to tear her away from her thoughts, even picking up her head to glance over at Kiara. The Light esper had been inspecting Ayre's body, seeming to want to ensure her death, but had stumbled upon what looked to be a barely noticeably wound. The smallest cut had allowed poison to travel through her veins and take over her system, killing her in the slowest way. Something so small had caused her demise. And for what? For the Druids beliefs of sacrifice and redemption? A confluence of thoughts and images saw radically through her mind, thoughts racing in every direction at once. Slowly, the urge to smash, destroy, just crush something or someone with unbridled ferociousness attacked her. "If I...if I ever see them again...I swear I'll...I'll kill them for what they've done to her," she whispered darkly, furrowing her eyebrows together in frustration. Thoughts of Han wandered into her mind again, thoughts of him being left behind as they fled for their own lives and how he had not been given the proper burial that he deserved. That was their faults and theirs alone, even if there had been no possibly way for the espers to return to their fallen comrade, it was still shameful. The same would not repeat for Ayre, though, and she felt that it was their duty to send her off to the Gods in the right way. Her grieving for her friend had not been done, not at all, but she knew that the least the espers could do was prepare some sort of goodbye for her. Aeneth slowly rose from her spot, rubbing her palms at the crevices underneath her eyes, and edged closer to where Kiara and Belseth stood and only stopped when she got the full veiw of Ayre. A look of sadness was plainly written across her face for the loss of her friend and resentment for not being able to do anything, even though there was no possible way for her to know that she had been dying. The color had left her face still and had been replaced with a pale complexion, almost as if she had seen a ghost. "We...we can't just leave Ayre here...," she said quietly, her voice barely audible. She remained strangely sullen and her blue eyes appeared to be glazed over as if some part of her spirit had left her. Her jaw was set firmly in a expression that was neither a frown nor smile. Something was happening to her, and she could not understand it. She fluctuated between feeling unbearably fragile, and incredibly hard, and the harshness of it brought with it a cold numbness that terrified her. Those moments where she felt nothing, separated her from all existence. Despair was filling her like a black wave and as it passed, it left behind it a cold resolve. "We need to bury her," she said finally, almost as if echoing Salam's thoughts, her words hard as stone as she willfully stumped out the last remnants of pain.



OoC: Oh gosh. FEELS HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS. *change of colors* ITS DONE ITS DONE GOSH DARN ITxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
❀✿❀xxxxxx


because everyone else has it

thinking - #ddaa88
saying - darkolivegreen

[brightly colored lemon]

apparel

She had a meager house in one of the poor districts of Yelaria. It was a ransack little thing, offering her no pride. The roof slouched against the supporting walls, and several of the shingles had found their way to the ground and shattered. The sides were in terrible shape, and the shutters had long since come off. However, it was what Bianca had to call home, what the small stipend from the guild paid for her investment. They laughed and spitted at her when she collected her sum, but it was the only way she could survive--after all, finding work with her soft hands and delicate appearance was fruitless. The girl looked up to her sad home and sighed, then slowly opened the door and entered. She did not enjoy coming home like this.

As she closed the door behind her, her leg tingled as if it was falling asleep. Pins and needles shot up from her toes and all the way to her hip. But she forced herself not to react. This had been happening all day since she got up, and she was worried that there might be something wrong. But how could she go a doctor with her particular lack of funds? Surely they would gawk and laugh, just as the smuggling guild did. Gritting her teeth, she picked up her two sickles--a gift from her father prior to his downfall--and went to the back yard to find something to eat. When she opened the dirty door, it revealed a garden which was well-tended and full of life. This was where Bianca spent most of her time and money, since it was her only option when it came to feeding herself. She may have been a wretched cook, but her gardening was necessarily prudent. One plant in particular stood out to her--a little sapling which was bearing its first fruit. There were four small, orange fruits dangling from its green twigs. Bianca knew that as it grew older, the bark would become rough and prickly, almost like a warning. But for now, she would be able to touch the bark without damaging her soft fingertips.

Taking a pouch from the kitchen, she approached the little sapling and carefully used one of her two sickles to make a clean cut into one of the fruit's stems, completely severing it from its life source. A cut with such a sharp instrument meant that the tree would be able to grow again from that twig, rather than rejecting the twig and killing off an opportunity to bear more fruit. The other three weren't ready for plucking, so she put her sickle back in its place on her belt, carefully put the fruit in her pouch, and tied the pouch next to the recently-replaced sickle. If her leg got any worse, she would just need to cook the seed in this fruit, and it would start to feel better immediately. Halfheartedly, she thought about simply cooking it now, but it would be a waste of her meager resources. After this, she would have to pay for the seeds, which she could afford but only haphazardly.

As the day continued, her leg became worse and worse. And when she finally rolled up her dress to look at it, she found that the source of it was the marking on her leg of her lotus blossom--it was swollen and ugly, and she found that it reacted to touch with pain, much like a bruise. She had never heard of such a thing happening, and she could feel the panic settling in. All she could do to fight it off was to drop the fabric that she held in her hand and sit down on her bed. Quickly, she grasped at the fruit in the bag on her other hip, but she knew that she would be tapping into precious resources if she started cooking it for situations like this. She carefully put the pouch back in its place and grabbed at the fabric of her dress, clenching it in her fists. Then a thought occurred to her; why not go to the church? Counsel there was free, and they were obligated to give aid to the poor and those in need.

Without a second thought, as a creature of impulse and panic, she left her shamble of a house and ran to the church.

By the time she arrived, she was out of breath and had to take a moment to lean against the large, wooden doors before gently knocking on them. It was almost as soon as she knocked that the door yawned open to reveal a friar of youth. "Is there some way I can help you?" he asked politely, but she could tell that he was uncomfortable.

Why? What was causing his cheeks to blush and his eyes to stick firmly to her face? Icy eyes glancing about her appearance, she saw the culprit: she was dressed in a thin, white fabric, which was giving way to the Sun to reveal much of her (mostly absent) figure. Laughter puffed out from her cheeks. "May I step inside? I must speak to a priest."

If his cheeks could get any redder, they did. "Yes! Yes... of course!" he moved aside, allowing her to step into the doorway. "What is the matter at hand?" he asked cheerily, seeming relieved that she was in shadow and shielded from his eyes again.

"It is a private matter," she said and looked at him down her nose. "Could you please take me to someone now?" Wasn't her impatience obvious? Weren't these people supposed to do as she said without question?

"I will go and get--" someone else's voice interrupted him.

"Young lady, is this about your marking?" he asked from the sidelines.

It took a moment for Bianca to find him in the darkness of the corners, but there he stood in a small, open doorway. She couldn't quite see him, but from his voice he seemed quite old. "Yes--" she responded, but he cut her off as well.

"Come with me," he demanded and ushered her to the doorway. Cautious but curious, she slowly approached the door. "Reveal your marking and hold it out," he commanded. This guy didn't mess around, did he? But Bianca was not ashamed. She lifted her dress so that he might see her left hip and the condition it was in. Disgusting. He turned to face her with a small idol in hand and muttered something to himself, but she couldn't make out what he said. Then he spoke louder, saying that what he was about to do would hurt.

Before the panic could creep up on her again, he was dripping water on to her hip and muttering something else, and the marking reacted strangely. Twisting to watch, water puckered up from its contours like sweat and then dissipated. Her eyes widened and she nearly threw her dress back down, but she could not tear her eyes away. Her hip was healing, its marking returning to its beautiful, smooth texture on her tight skin. The pain forced her to her knees, and she could no longer watch for closing her eyes. His voice came from above her. "The element of water has awakened in you, Bianca. With this power, you can control water with your will, as well as heal through cleansing. May the Guardians of old be replaced by the Espers of new."

She could hardly believe it. What on earth was happening? She demanded to know some answers to the questions which flooded her mind, but she could hear his footsteps leading him away from her. Finally, she opened her eyes to look up at him, and his calm, confident expression forced her to stay quiet. "Your powers of the respective elements have been awoken. Feel free to test your limits briefly. I shall open the door, then you may be on your way, journey to the Castle to the west - Castle Cethiena. In there shall be your first test with your power. On the walls, in the castle, are helpful hints to those who have passed, or failed, the test prior. I wish you luck, and may the current Guardians and the Gods above aid thee on your quest."

Then he left her there, cowering on the floor like a wounded dog as the pain finally eased from her hip. She took a deep breath. So she was supposed to go on some sort of quest, huh? And she was just supposed to listen to this old man who just poured pain into her body with a single drop of mystic water? What if she didn't want to be an esper? Slowly, Bianca managed to stand up and took a few timid steps towards the door through which she had entered. Perhaps if she was quiet, she could leave through the front doors without that friar taking note.

"Hello there!" called a voice from beside her, sending her skin flying off her bones. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to give you a fright," he apologized and stepped back.

"Of course..." she said shakily.

"You must still feel weird from whatever he did in there," he said unabashedly. When Bianca finally looked him in the eye, she saw that it was the same friar from before. "I don't know what it is, but he did the same thing to some others who came here earlier with the same questions. A lot of them came out pale, too." He must have seen her anxiousness--not that it was difficult, since she was nearly bouncing off the walls to ask questions--because he got straight to the point. "Okay look, you're obviously curious, but I don't know anything. I'm just supposed to give you a horse and tell you which direction to go," he confessed.

What a waste of time. "I'm not going," she growled. "And don't try to make me."

The friar did not seem pleased with this response. His cheery expression flipped to utter disappointment, and he took a step closer to Bianca. "You can change your mind," he said, his voice significantly lower and more threatening than before.

Bianca didn't want to admit it, but she tried to run. He caught her wrist before she could fully turn on her heel, and before she knew it, she was over his shoulder, in a church, kicking and punching to be released. None of it seemed to phase him, so she stopped trying and watched the hallway move backwards. He was actually quite the gentleman, all things considered. His arm wrapped around her leg, but he wasn't touching her at all with his hand. His other hand lingered at his side. Their journey to the stables was wordless and consisted only of him carrying her... that is, until he tried to put her on a horse. She struggled, thrashing her arms and legs about in a flurry that was difficult for him to keep up with, but he won in the end. As soon as she was upright, even though she was not in the correct position, he slapped the horse's buttock, and the massive creature bolted forward. It was all Bianca could do to grab the saddle. When she looked behind, he was waving with his usual cheery expression.

"Dammit," she grimaced and turned back around to watch where she was going. All she wanted was to live at home with her plentiful garden. As the horse raced through the city, it seemed to know exactly where it was going. And when Bianca tried to pull on the reins to bring the horse to a halt, it totally ignored her and instead galloped awkwardly with its jaw close to its chest. Disheartened, Bianca slouched and gave up. There was no way that this horse was turning around now, and she would have to deal with it.

The horse was still going, but Bianca was lost. After some time, it slowed down to a walk, and Bianca found that it was responding to her commands again. Tugging on the reins, she commanded it to go left. It went left. She did the same for the right, and it went right. Then she halted and twisted in the saddle to look behind her. She was in a forest, and there was no way to see the city or any sign of it from here, which meant that she was completely at a loss. All she could do was turn around and hope that she would find it.

But which way had they been traveling in the first place? If she had been traveling North, then she would have to go South. But had she been traveling North? Or was it West? ... Or was it South? She closed her eyes and lowered her head, allowing herself to take deep breaths. Panicking wouldn't help her now. The horse continued walking forward, and Bianca decided to simply let it go. It's not like she could direct it any better. Instead, she looked down at her fingertips. She could manipulate water, huh?

The horse lead her to a stream. "Need a drink?" she asked calmly and prepared to dismount. "Take a break. I kind of need one, too," she admitted quietly. When the horse came to a stop, she dismounted and lead him to the stream and watched as he drank. The flowing water held an appeal that it simply didn't have before, especially with the curiosity flaring through her brain. And when she looked up, there was a girl with purple hair sitting on the other side of the stream.

[Midoriko63]

ｃｈｅｅｒｓ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ ｙｅａｒｓ ａｎｄ ｌｉｆｅ ｙｏｕ＇ｖｅ ｍａｄｅ♛ɱａｒｃｕｓｂｕｔ ｓｏｏｎ ｔｈｉｓ ｗｅｉｒｄ ｙｏｕ ｗｉｌｌ ｂｅ ｒｅｂｏｒｎ

ＬɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＩɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＧɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＨɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＴɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＮɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＩɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＮɪᴍʟᴏsᴛＧɪᴍʟᴏsᴛ ϟ ᴅᴏɴᴛғɪɴᴅᴍᴇ
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
Leaning back against the hard bark of the tree behind him, the rough texture resting on the back of his scalp. Uncomfortable, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He closed his eyes for only a moment, his body pleading for more rest. He picked up the gross smell of fish faintly, and Belseth talking about something. He heard his name, and his ears perked up if only for a moment to hear the rest of the sentence. "-Marcus could fry them if we needed..." His voice was loud, and at the moment.. incredibly irritating, Could fry them? He must be talking about the fish, and he actually scoffed at the suggestion. Even if it was more of Belseth making a really bad joke than a literal suggestion. If it came to it however, he would damn well try if it meant getting some damned food into his starving body. Fish though... He didn't pick up much from the conversation, and it sounds like he will need to look over and see what exactly he is talking about. But he didn't really feel like it, and instead kept his eyes closed as he tried to find some kind of equilibrium-

"AAAAAABEEEELLLLLLL!"

His eyes shot open, a strange uncomfortable feeling rang through him starting at his ears. Amber eyes now staring at the foliage of the forest they took refuge in, and his heart beating a mile a minute. He was startled, and now... unfortunately.. awake. A low grumble escaped his throat as he lifted his head from the bark behind him. As he was trying to take in everything that was going on, Fortunis decided to come and bother Kiara about something. He didn't care what it was, but the restless repeating of the first syllable of her name was almost enough to drive him crazy. The fire esper reminded Marcus of a child with a blister, screaming for some kind of relief from the pitiful amount of pain he may have been feeling. Hoping for a magical remedy. Luckily in his case, such a thing exists within Kiara. Of course Marcus didn't even take a single glance at the fire espers injured hand, and even if he decided too it wouldn't matter. Kiara would have had it healed before he got a chance to see it. He heard other commotion, but he wasn't sure what for. Caught up in his own exhaustion he didn't really catch on at all. Kiara left his side, probably to attend to other matters within the group. All of the other espers around him were speaking of this, that, and the other but he paid it no mind. It was then that he noticed a grim atmosphere coated itself among the group. He wasn't sure where it came from, nor why it was so strong until he decided to look for himself.

Leaning away from the tree he had laid back against, and peering his vision over towards the group of espers, he saw that everyone was in some kind of mourning. The sound of sobbing filled the silent forest, and he wasn't sure what everyone was crying over. The only esper not moving was the water esper Ayre. Infact, she looked as if she were asleep.. "The Druids use poison." Why was she talking about the druids now? Was the girl dead? He thought that only Kiara received any kind of damage from them... Then again, Marcus was not known for his amazing observation skills. At the time he also didn't really care about anyone else but her.. So him missing it would have been expected. He also seemed to miss the new face among the group, a white haired boy who echoed the same sadness as everyone else. He wasn't always there, right? He could deduce that he was obviously from Yelaria, another face he was vaguely familiar with...

"If I...if I ever see them again...I swear I'll...I'll kill them for what they've done to her,"The nature esper Aeneth was only one of the few of the group who were extremely upset. Her thoughts left her mouth in pained words, some of which he couldn't hear thanks to all of the crying around him. "We need to bury her," Hmm.. The lightning esper turned back around, and leaned against the tree again. So she was killed by some poison from yesterdays ambush? A bolt may have scratched her skin or something. There was no way to be sure... One thing that could be said, and that they could be completely certain of... Is just how dangerous this journey has become. It is only the second day, and they have already lost two of the original espers. He wasn't really sure how to feel, or how to react.. Not because he was the reason they lost the first, but because he didn't really know either of them.. So he didn't really... care about them. She is dead, and of course that is something that should induce sadness in him as it has to his companions. They have lost another of them, and now their journey may become even harder because of it.. So why is it that he can only feel annoyed? Instead of being plagued with sadness, he is only irked at the current situation.

Was it really a good idea to sit here, crying and moping around? Because of that, what if they attract unwanted attention? With everyone's hearts unsettled and their minds a blur there is no way they could combat another ambush. Hell, they weren't ready for the first one. Nobody, including himself; were truly prepared for this journey even now. They were all comfortable with their current lives, why did they get picked? It was completely random as far as everyone knew. It was supposed to be an honor in their village to get this marking. An honor to go on this journey to become the next elemental guardian. What he said to the druid still holds true. He doesn't want this power, he doesn't want to become a guardian or do any of this anymore. Not just because it was dangerous, not just because he didn't want to get hurt, but because he just really didn't want too. He just doesn't want this. It was too much work, emotionally and physically. Sure they have all been training for this their entire lives but... No. He didn't want this. His fate was truly cruel, thrusting him into the throes of battle and conflict when his fiancee is with child.

Maybe he should give up. May it be his stomach that yearned for something to eat, his body that yearned for comfort, or his heart that couldn't find a stable place to sit.. but he wasn't ready to give up yet. Not just yet. So they should get a move on. Cook those fish that Belseth managed to catch, and move from this position. But.. will they? He turned back around to look at everyone, the sadness still coating the air like a thick blanket. Just sitting here won't get anything done though will it? He stood from his position, and took silent steps towards the group of espers. All of them were sitting or crouching besides Aeneth, whose face was so pale she looked as if she had just seen a ghost. It was from here he could see the effects up close. Everyone around him had broken, all of them were in shambles trying to put themselves back together. What about himself? He was mostly alright emotionally, but he found it much harder to brace this mood than he had originally thought. It was easier to gaze upon this from a distance. But now, as he stood just before all of his mourning companions he could feel it. The dread and despair that sunk onto his shoulders. The very same that plagued the rest of them. He was at a complete loss for words. All of the things he wanted to say had slipped from him, and he couldn't find anything to say to the grieving group of espers. He awkwardly crossed his arms over his chest as he tried not to get pulled in any further into the mood of despair that darkly hung over the clearing.




☇ＷＨＥＲＥ：yelarian outskirts ⋆⋆⋆ ☇ＷＩＴＨ: rainbow espers⋆⋆⋆☇ＦＥＥＬＩＮＧ: melancholy
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════





phew wow
even he feels kind of sad
#B14D94
#3FB6AA

[Cynotastic]

tab tab cynosuralcataclysmcyn

✘ ʟocaтɪoɴ :: River Side xxxxxx ✘ ωɪтʜ :: Bianca xxxxxx ✘ ғεεʟɪɴɢ :: Emotional xxxxxx ✘ ʜaɪʀsтʏʟε :: High ponytail xxxxxx ✘ σuтғɪт :: [x]



Using her arm to cover her eyes, she continued to lay there. While the sleeve on her arm caught the teardrops, it wasn't in the right spot to stop her nose from running, which she sniffled to keep from running down her face. Chiseira couldn't let her state deteriorate to completely bawling her eyes out, as much as she wanted to. No, instead she began to reflect on the interactions she had with Ayre and Sol prior to her end. If anything, she wanted to lighten the emotional wound by recalling fun instances together. The first thought that came to her mind was when they were all standing outside the church shortly after discovering being marked and Belseth trying to make the poor girl understand Abel's feelings for her. "Are they saying I'm sweet and sour?" Whereas the meek question the girl offered after the situation only caused the Shadow Esper to cackle from the hilarity of the situation. She still felt that her and Ayre had a good rapport

Chi continued to lay there, recounting the day. Next to flutter into her mind was when Han, may he rest in peace as well, crashed into her. The poor girl had a tendency to get into awkward situations. While the Shadow Esper had never seen her get into so much trouble previously, it was definitely worth a laugh at this point. Her face was still running, and when she tried to sniffle the snot that was oozing from her nose, she inhaled too far and it trickled down her throat. This caused Chiseira to sit up, coughing and hacking. However, she still couldn't help wandering down memory lane with Ayre. She had been present in Yelaria for as much as Chi could remember, which meant she was not someone to just easily forget without reflecting on her memory. Then came the excitement Ayre had when she first erased the flames off Abel's hands. There was just such an adorable feature to the girl that caused a smile to creep onto her lips even in memory.

Wiping her face off, she let out a slow breath of air, trying to relax all the nerves and emotions that were jumping at her face. Closing her eyes and placing her fingers around them, she let out another long breath of air. The movement of her chest filling with air and slowly emptying continue to calm her nerves. While she knew mourning was natural when someone who had been seen around the town most of each others' life it just felt so unreal. The whole past day almost had. However, she couldn't morn forever. Then, another instance of the girl speaking popped up into her mind.

"I'm just glad I get to go on this journey with you all." Chiseira felt her chest tighten and the urge to cry arising again. However, she continued to take deep breaths and release them. She was the leader! Emotions couldn't get in her way, emotions couldn't cause her to lead the remaining party into danger. Couldn't cloud her judgement and allow her to return back to Yelaria where they all may potentially meet their deaths.

Then, the noise of something close caught her attention. She stiffened. While Chi could hear the faint conversation from her allies in the distant, this had sounded particularly close. Not only that it didn't sound like something normal, it sounded like something...licking up water? Her hands lowered from around her eyes, and she turned to look at the river she was next to. There Chi's mismatched eyes fell on someone who she had often also seen in Yelaria. Bianca. The Shadow Esper was in the same grade as Bianca and watched as she had gone from having everything to nothing and living on the streets. Taking one last deep calming breath, her gaze locked onto the woman and the horse.

"Hello Bianca, what are you doing here?" She asked curiously as her eyebrows furrowed as to try to hide the mix of emotions she was currently feeling. There was a pause, and Chi was feeling torn. She wanted to question if the beautiful girl before her was the replacement for Ayre. It would make sense, considering her arrival with a horse. However, being on the edge of being calm and being rattled to the point of tears again, Chi felt that an inquiry to Bianca's purpose would only cause her to return to crying. That couldn't happen. Doing that would be caving into her emotions. Being a follower instead of a leader. Her hands traveled, it was hard for her to keep still. They moved up to her ponytail and tightened it as to tighten her hold on the conflicting emotions.

Swallowing her nerves, she looked down into the running water, then looked up to Bianca once more. "Were you chosen as well?" That was the best that Chiseira could do for getting closer to her point.

[Scrivener_Lost]

Abel watched Kiara nervously as she gripped his wrist. He wasn't nervous in the sense that he didn't trust Kiara to do her job, but he was most certainly nervous about making her use her powers after watching how it drained her the previous night. In fact, he was sure she was probably not up to par this morning and began to feel slightly guilty about damaging his hand.
"This will hurt," He wished she hadn't warned him and even though he tried not to tense up or twitch, it was rather difficult with someone poking and prodding a hand that had been left to swell during the night. "What did you do? Slam your hand in a door again?" Abel was thankful that Kiara was attempting to bring his mind from the pain and had he not been busy trying to prevent himself from jerking away from her or letting the fire that was bubbling up in his limbs fly free, he might have even laughed. She did deserve an answer after all. She was trying to be as gentle as possible and it would be best that he show her that he wasn't about to engulf her in a fireball. But all he could manage was a pained smile as he chomped down on his bottom lip, trying to skirt the pain from his mind. Sweat dripped freely down his face as he breathed out in heavy pained breaths as the woman continued to feel the bones in his hand until was finally able to catch his breath enough to answer. "Heh...I think-,"

pop!

Abel tossed his head back as he sucked in a breath through his teeth, the sound coming out serpentine and wicked as sweat flicked off his brow. But almost immediately following, Kiara was pouring her healing energy into his hand. He could feel it move through his veins like warm water, soothing and maternal almost as it slid down his wrist and spreading outwards into his palm. It was comforting, as if a heated cloth had been pressed over his hand and even though there was pain from the repair, Abel's mind was more focused on the relief than the painful tugs and stretching as everything fused back together and the swelling began to recede. His features were bunched up in pain until the very moment that Kiara let her hands fall away. Breathing out heavily in relief, he turned pain wearied eyes to Kiara as she smiled weakly. She was talking now, but Abel was watching her as she listed to the side slightly and he reached out with his other arm. But Kiara already appeared to be distracted by something else. In fact, nearly everyone appeared to be drawn in by something and when Chisiera spoke, Abel turned his head to see a number of Espers moving to a particular spot. Hey...isn't that where...

"Ayre? This can't be... Why did we lose another one? "Poor girl." "A-Ayre...why...?"

Really? What is everyone going on about now... Abel slowly stood from his position that had been abandoned by the healer and as he stood, his eyes followed the odd display that was being put on by the others. "Hey...what is the problem?" He asked. Even with his height, it was difficult to truly discern what was going on. Abel took a few steps forward, but paused when Kiara asked for one of Bel's daggers. Abel felt a terrible cold pebble of apprehension drop into his gut. He even felt his stomach muscles contract with the feeling as his eyes widened with Chiseira's retreat. The shadow esper was clearly upset. He felt his breath beginning to lighten and he had to breath quickly in order to suck in enough oxygen to keep from passing out. "The Druids use poison." "W-what are you saying, Ki?" But the words were so void of breath and any real volume, they escaped his lips in the form of silent whispers that died just in front of him. A-are they...is Ayre... He watched as Sal and Bel stood, clearly having confirmed their own suspicions of what had happened and he could clearly see the pain and grief on Bel's face now. He had to look away. He could not look at Bel's face. For an intense moment, he hated seeing the farmer's tears; because that meant that yes...something was terribly wrong. And he didn't want it to be. He did not want it to be Ayre. Then Aeneath began to whimper and Abel felt that cold pebble grow into an icy stone and grew in his stomach and it was dragging him down now. Dragging him into the terrible grip of reality and truth.

But he didn't want it to be. No...it can't be... The fire esper turned his gaze away from the group, his hands beginning to tremble as he stared blankly into the distance. He was fighting the itching in his eyes now. No...this is not what's happening... "We need to bury her," No...no...stop talking...stop talking! Abel wrenched his eyes shut as he ground his teeth together, the muscles in his shoulders bunching as he tried to chase away this reality. Belseth was openly sobbing now and he was latched onto Kiara. That image itself broke Abel and he could not release the horror and grief that had built up in him now. His brows furrowed darkly and as the other espers appeared to finally make room around Ayre, Abel felt his eyes drawn to her still body. The fire esper wanted to make sure that these idiots around him were just making this up. Everyone was pulling a prank on him. They had to be. There was no way this could be happening. But...if he confirmed his fears, then Abel would be forced to accept this reality. He would be forced to accept that the girl whom he had so terribly and desperately wanted to notice him and share the same feelings he felt for her was dead. Before he could stop them, he could feel his legs slowly approaching the water esper and as he paused a few feet from her, his visage was clearly writ in pain, but also now tinged in terrible anger that transformed into an agony from which he could not draw himself from. He stood, his chest clearly and rising with each terrible breath he drew, his face drawn in shadow with his back to the sun. He took two cautious steps before kneeling down by Ayre's head where he reached out and brushed his hand through her sapphire locks. "I'm sorry..." He whispered softly. He had been the one to drag her to safety. To think she was in his arms, fleeing with him, and he had felt so sure they were safe; and now she was dead.

"I'm sorry." He repeated once more before standing. Then, without a single word to the group, the fire esper turned and marched into the forest with the earth esper calling out his name behind him.


xxxxx██████████████████████████████████████████████████
xxxxx ʟocaтɪoɴ: Second Clearing -> Forest xxxxxxxx ϻσσɗ: ...... xxxxxxxx ωɪтʜ: Espers -> No one...
xxxxx██████████████████████████████████████████████████



OoC: If anyone feels this is out of character at all, let me know so I can change it promptly! biggrin

[Scrivener_Lost]

Warriors in peace - no time for war
Warriors indeed - we know the score
Warriors of heaven & Earth below ...

tab tab From the heavens up above
tab tab The only road to peace is love
tab tab Trust in your heart,see your dreams unfold
tab tab Though you know not how the story goes

tab tab tab Walk with me into the sun
tab tab tab No more battles to be won
tab tab tab Take my hand,you're nearly home again.

tab ☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷
x >>CHILDREN tab OF tab YELARIA<<
tab ☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷☷


ЄѦɌȚҤɃѦɃϓ

Time is gently passing by
Though you weep i ask not why
searching the emptiness of your soul

tab tab Lost in visions of the past
tab tab Memories they seldom last
tab tab Silence is all that remains the same

tab tab tab Because your life is no disguise,
tab tab tab alone you stand
tab tab tab Look at me through my mother's eyes
tab tab tab See who i am...forever free



Ғ'ΑΑɌ ɃЄɭȘЄȚҤ ϘΊ ' DΑɌ

⋙
"Bel, give me one of your knives?" The earth esper's hand had moved promptly and without hesitation on command, relinquishing one of his kukuri blades immediately upon Kiara's request. After she had healed Abel's hand, the woman had resigned herself to inspecting Ayre's body to search for the answer to the question of how this had all happened. Forest-colored eyes could barely discern what Kiara was inspecting as she carefully and respectfully sliced through the water esper's clothing to find the location of an apparent injury. Bel's mind was far too wrapped up in trying to prevent himself from making a scene as thick beady tears dripped down his face, but what he could pick out, what he could clearly hear was: "The Druids use poison," Bel's mind tossed this new information around in his head for a moment as it clashed with the horrible hot searing thoughts of placing the blame on Marcus. Bel took in a shaky breath but it drew little comfort as he struggled to some how catalog this information and place it properly. He didn't know what to do with it. The accusations he had already begun to fling silently at the lightning esper were being forced back into his mouth as Kiara brazenly spoke of the Druids. She pin pointed them as the cause and though he believed her, it was still difficult to place this reason over the one he had already come to nearly accept and take to heart. And even though he didn't want to hate Marcus, the esper had already killed one person. Who was to say that he couldn't do it again? It made sense. But...he supposed, poison made more sense. He didn't want it to make sense because the druids were already gone. However, Marcus was still around. Easy to hate. Easy to accuse. And yet, Bel knew he didn't have the heart or the capacity to hate for long. He would never deny that Marcus hadn't killed Han and it would stick with him for the rest of his life. Marcus had given himself a stigma and though he deserved the hatred that was spurned towards him, his own beloved had taken the time to disprove Bel's suspicions. And, in some odd way, Belseth was glad because then he didn't have to hate a fellow esper more than he did now.

When Kiara turned to him to return the kukuri blade, the earth esper took it without word and even if he had not been looking at her, he could see her pause. Her hesitation. And after promptly sheathing the blade, Bel quickly covered his face to try and prevent Kiara from seeing how terribly upset he was. He was ashamed to be seen crying like this. The only male out of the group who had been brought to tears and he was sure he was being judged because of it. You're no man...crying like a child...your family would be ashamed... And when Kiara drew him into her arms, he fought against the desire to lose all control. But how could any one not expect him to cry? Ayre was his friend, his companion, and for a brief time, a fellow esper. And now she was dead. However, within seconds of Kiara pressing into him, he lost his sense of restriction as his arms around around her, dipping his head into the nape of her neck as he released a powerful sob that wracked his body. He gripped Kiara as the sorrow took hold, his fingers practically digging into her back as he hungrily drank up the support she offered. He couldn't help now. He didn't care if Marcus or Abel saw him crying like a fool. He couldn't help the terrible wretched sounds that clawed up from his throat and spilled out as he cried harshly into her shoulder. Within seconds her shoulder was wet as his arms trembled and shook with each painful sob that coursed through his body. What made it worse was that for some obscure, far off reason, whatever sort of aura Kiara was putting off, it felt so terribly maternal and comforting that for a breif second, Bel felt like he was once again wrapped in his mother's arms. He couldn't place it, but she felt so warm and her hold on him was soothing to the point where just after a few meager moments, Belseth could feel a slow and pressing calm begin to settle over him. It were as though through Kiara, he could feel his mother pressing her hands against his dirty brown hair and humming softly to him, telling him to wipe away those tears. And after a few more breaths escape from him, spreading hot moist air over her shoulder, he pulled back and looked to her, dark emerald eyes gazing at her for a long curious moment. It could have just been her natural aura or her esper powers, but he could not get over the pure and motherly energy she was exuding. His eyes searched her face for a moment before sniffling and pulling back, his cheeks hazy with embarrassment as he ran the back of his hand across his nose. "I-I'm sorry Kiara..." He whispered, though he didn't quite know what he was apologizing for. Because he wasn't acting like a strong man and offering her the comfort? Because he wasn't full of rage and unending seething desire for vengeance? Or because they knew, that together, they had no choice but to keep going?

"If I...if I ever see them again...I swear I'll...I'll kill them for what they've done to her," Aeneath's words dragged Bel from his momentary comfort and his head slowly swiveled to look at the clearly upset nature esper. And when she moved closer to Kiara and him, he reached out and gently brushed his hand down her arm as he gave her a sympathetic look. She was angry, furious really, and he understood why. "We...we can't just leave Ayre here...," He hummed and solemn agreement until she spoke her next words. "We need to bury her," He hadn't thought about, but she was right. Ayre deserved a funeral. And all at once Bel was remembering that they had left Han to the mercy of the Druids in the other clearing and his stomach churned. They hadn't been able to bury him, but at least, they had the time to do so for Ayre. We have no digging utensils... Bel thought to himself for a moment, his mind beginning to race as a horrible realization began to dawn on him. W-we have no shovels...we have no way to dig a hole...we... Belseth's stomach made a loud noise and he wasn't sure if it was because he was starving or because it had dawned on him that he would have to dig the grave himself. His hand dropped from Aeneath's arm and both hands went to his gut as he looked distressingly at Ayre's body. The only uses that have come from my power...have been to bury things! First the deer head and now...now Ayre. Before the panic could grow to an alarming level, however, his attention was now drawn to Abel. For the first time since he had begun to mourn, he saw his dear friend finally approach Ayre and a fresh new wave of terrible sorrow fell over him. His best friend had just lost the girl of his dreams. "I'm sorry." As Abel knelt by Ayre's head, Belseth finally shook free of whatever terrible hold gravity on him as he took a careful step towards his friend. The terrible pain and stillness that Abel was showing was making him nervous. "Abel?" The fire esper repeated his apology and before Bel could stop him he turned and marched into the forest opposite of the direction Chi had gone. "Abel! Wait!"

Turning, he turned to gaze at Kiara, Sal, and Aeneath for an answer. But when they offered nothing, the earth esper turned his gaze back down to Ayre. We need to bury her...bury her...I have to dig a grave... Bel's face tightened as he lifted his right hand and wrapped it around his left bicep as he continued to stare down at Ayre. It shouldn't be too hard...I've dug graves before... As soon as the thought had entered his mind, he wanted to chastise himself for the thought. For animals...never for another human... Bel's face wrenched into a look of concern and hesitation and trepidation. It doesn't matter! You can do it...Ayre deserves this...at least...this... Bel took a sharp breath before whirling around quickly. He had to start now before his nerves got a hold of him. If he thought any long on it, he would never move himself to do. Acting quickly now, he moved towards the center of the clearing and tossed his head from side to side before turning his head up towards the trees where a small clearing in the foliage brought in a ray of sun. He gazed up at this ray of sunlight for a moment, the golden ray falling upon his face before he let his eyes drift down to the plot of land in which the sunlight brightened. Here...where she'll be able to see the sky... Bel thought to himself. In this spot, where the sun would drift upon her grave site, she would be able to see the birds, the clouds, the sun, the moon, and the stars. And hopefully, one day when the espers could return, this spot would be a clearing of remembrance and beauty. One day, they would return here to where Ayre rested and they would build her a proper memorial. I promise you this... Bel said before raising his arms.

With the first swing of his arm, a deep scoop of dirt was tossed aside. He had been practicing all morning while searching for worms, so scooping dirt aside without having to touch it was easy enough. With the second swung of his arm, another handful of dirt was removed. And he did this several times before he began to realize he would be doing this for hours at the rate he was going. Stopping, he took a shaky breath before he brought his arms to his side and slowly curled them up towards his chest. The pressure of the earth being moved made his elbows ached and his muscles burn against the strain. His arms wavered with the effort and as a large gouge of dirt was cupped up by an invisible hand and shoved aside, it mirrored Bel's movements as he flung his arms to the side. Sweat began to bead on his brow now as he did it again. Slowly, he curled his arms in, feeling the earth resist his call before eventually melding to his will and moving aside. And for each time he moved the earth, a horrible sigh of effort escape the earth esper as a fresh new wave of tears began to drip down his cheeks. A grave...for my friend... And he was digging it. Another scoop. Another breathy side. Another tear fell to the dirt. It continued like this as he carved away at the earth, tears falling freely now as his arms and legs burned with the pressure of the dirt being moved around him. Around the fourth large scoop, Bel had begun to mutter under his breathy exhales. He had attempted to hum, but that required breath that had begun to become too hard to draw. So, between heavy breaths and with each crescendo of his movements, he began to sing once again.

"From the heavens up above
The only road to peace is love-"
-scoop-
"T-trust in your heart, see your dreams unfold
though you know not how the story goes-"
-scoop-
"Walk with me into the sun
No more battles to be won
Take my hand, you're nearly home again-"
-scoop-
"T-Time is gently passing by
Though you weep i ask not why
searching the emptiness of your soul-"
-scoop-
"Lost in visions of the past
memories they seldom last
silence is all that remains the same-"
-scoop-
"Call me when you need a friend
To be with you until the end
As the mountains crumble to the sea
Share your loneliness with me-"
-scoop-
"Trouble always finds a way
To keep you further everyday
if only the end justified the means-"
-scoop-
"Brothers lost and yet they be
so free, in your eyes tears i see
courage is reaching your dest-"

There was no final gouge in the earth as Belseth felt his legs give out from underneath him, his eyes rolling into his head as he listed to the side and collapsed, sweat creating a glistening glean on his skin as he dropped to the dirt. The hole had only managed to go three or four feet into the ground before the earth esper felt his energy completely spend. And he had pushed it. He was not done. He knew it needed to be deeper. He had to make it deeper. But his body fought against him and despite the amount of sleep he had managed to steal away the previous night, he simply did not have enough power. They were not even fully awakened espers yet and this simple act of digging a deep hole had done far too much damage on his reserves. Now he lay in the dirt, his entire body shaking with the effort of having had to move such a resistant force in that amount as he panted terribly, his breath kicking up puffs of dry dust into the air.

↪this is what i'm listening to:: Into Eternity - Brian Tyler
↪this is what i'm wearing:: Esper threads...


⋙
⇉location:: Fleeing.
⇉mood:: Oh my God...what has happened!?
⇉ooc:: Tell me if I need to change anything!
⇉tagged:: Ayre, Aeneth, Kiara, Abel, Chi

we are the e s p e r s; the warriors of ˛ balance; the ⋞kings⋟ and ⋞queens⋟ of the elements☼;