Wanderlust (OPEN)

[chibi_wolf41]

((OOC: I'm letting you guys know that since it is finals season, I will be unable to post for the next 2-3 weeks. After that... well, summer vacation. I'll come back around then. ))

[Reko]

OOC; Cool, cool. Good luck on your finals. 3nodding

[Thrustin243]

OOC: Okay okay, I'm a jerk. I'm in a meeting right now, but I don't care! I'm POSTING! Give me... a few minutes, I have to look angry at my screen and contribute to their conversation once in a while, so stay tuned! Sorry sorry! sweatdrop

[Thrustin243]

Footsteps – boots on stone. The daze sweeps away from Stoic’s eyes as he comes to, a quick gasp of dusty air fills his lungs as he feels the vibrations of the guards soles draw nearer. Four guards come to greet the prisoners at the door, one to open the door, the other with weapons drawn, just waiting for an excuse to start the execution early; two other escorts patiently standing by just up the hall.

Stoic turned to Ryu, his cold, steely expression easing Stoic’s nerves, if only in the slightest, as the key rings jangled from the guards hips to the gated door. Bringing himself to his feet, heart pounding, he watched as his gates swung open, the guard greeting him with nothing but silence and shackles. A hard swallow – Stoic, trying to remain stoic, lifted his arms, fists clenched, waiting to feel the metal against his wrists.

Whatever those girls are planning, he thought, bordering panic, I hope they do it soon…

Click.

[Reko]

Somer allows them to shackle her without hinderance this time, though she still frowns deeply. The others are secured and they are escorted out of their cell and through the winding passages to their impending doom. Again, time passes more quickly than before, as though it is compressing itself to carry them to their final destination as swiftly as possible. The world seems blurry around the edges again, as it was in the beginning.

Everything comes into sharp focus when they arrive outside, Luna's den mother ready to execute them.

Just outside of the walls, Nakisisa, Talis, and the wee grass girl prepare to trigger a series of distractions.

OOC: I will include you for now, Talis. I will just suggest that you continue to evade capture until you are back to decide for yourself. I hope everyone is cool with me moving this along.

[Neon Graffiti]

( All right! -rubs hands together- Let's see what magic I can strike up! )

The outside sun glinting our heroes' eyes, it's artificial rays cutting into their senses as physically as the real sun ought to. Time was flawed here; like expensive cheese, riddled with holes. Day turned to night and minutes turned to hours as loosely as the thought process was, because this was just a scene. A carving out of someone's mind, manipulated by sheer consequence.

Madam Ethelinda's chosen executioner awaited his prey's arrival, his two-fisted ax buried in his mitts, his size intimidating, and his expression cold like stone. For a moment, one would almost mistake he as a statue. But behind his cold, unforgiving mask, was something much more curious; eyes that wandered, never leaving our protagonists. Cheating eyes that no-likely adhered against bloodshed, much less dealt it.

The eyes of an impostor.

( I hope this was okay. ;D; You guys are all free to tell me to make any changes, I'll have no problem in doing so! )

[Luna Vitesse]

The stage was set, the audience, irregardless of the time of day, waited patiently for their show, or teachings as Ethelinda would have it. Fully lit, the moon glazed across the sand mounds, the crowd, the glinting axe that hungered for flesh neck.

Step one, Luna's eyes rose from her boots.

Step two, pupils tossed to her comrades, Somer, then straight ahead.

Step three, her head cocked back, leveling with the stage as she entertained herself by naming the people of her order, till..

"..." a quick breath swept into her lungs, her heart nearly skipping as her blue eyes met with the same shade across the way, staring directly at... her younger self. In that instant, both girls mimicked the same reaction, as though they needn't exchange words or signals. Both mouths slipped ajar, eye brows raised, lids wide.

It wasn't long before Luna was grabbed by the shoulders, as were the other three, and turned to face the enthralled spectators. Almost embarrassed, knowing this all wasn't real (right?), she tossed her eyes off to the side as Madam Ethelinda began to speak. Her words didn't register, if anything, they almost sped up. As the crowd simmered to a stagnant and murky silence, one guard latched her hand around Luna's bicep. Before Luna could mention anything to Somer, she found her knees kicked out, falling to her shins. Still above the block, Luna shot a quick glint over in the younger Luna's direction. Then, without warning, a hand planted itself atop her back and, unexpectedly, the migraine started to splinter it's way into her head.

Her neck comfortably wedged over the block...

[Ryu Infiniti]

Sayuri had made her way into the crowd of spectators, and stood close to the young girl with clear blue eyes. She watched as her friends were brought out into the center of the grounds. "Uh...Oh..." The girl turned to the young Luna. "Seems everything will be fine."

Ryu paused, and closed his eyes. It was all he could do in an attempt to not break from his restraints "Ethelinda..." Though it was already to late, he was tired of the farce, and the treatment of his friend pushed him over the limit. "I am afraid, I can't let this go on much longer" What Ryu said was probably nothing new to Ethelinda in a situation like this must have just seemed like a last word of sorts an Idle threat.But he waited to see her reponse.

[chibi_wolf41]

Talis was crouched at the rim of the coliseum, juggling a large rock in one hand as she watched the events unfold. As Ethelinda's attention turned towards Ryu, Talis threw the rock as hard as she could. Even at this distance, her aim was impeccable, and it hit the side of Madam Ethelinda's head hard enough to make her bleed. The guards mobilized immediately, even faster than Ethelinda was able to recover, but by then, Talis was little more than a dark movement in a shadow.

The coliseum was hushed momentarily, confused at the seemingly random assault, but they were not to be deterred from the promise of a spectacular and bloody deaths for long. As they restarted their clamor, Talis sped along the edge of the coliseum, towards Nakisisa, cloaked in shadows, and feeling her unease grow. She had a feeling someone, was trying to tell her something, but she was to afraid to voice her suspicions, in case they turned out to be true.

[Ryu Infiniti]

In the moment everyones guard droped Ryu easily broke out of his binds with relevant ease. Tired of being pushed around the time to strike had appeared. He swept low with a kick and when that guard was of balance he immediately thrust out his palm striking the guard in the chest, which sent him flying back a few feet on to his back. "Hopefully this farce of a dream will end soon." Ryu destroyed the other restraints, and freed his companions as fast as he could before the guards and their leader could recover.

"Luna this is your stage now. Leave the others to us, we will make sure the others won't interfere. I'll wipe out thier entire force if need be..." Ryu cracked his knuckles, and fixed his gloves before he started to walk toward the reinforcements who started to make their way into the area.

[Luna Vitesse]

"Ka--," Ethelinda hissed, staggering back along the stage as the sounds of metal armor regrouped and formed a wall around her. By the time Luna had snapped her head back to discover what was causing this commotion, the rebel was gone, yet the Order's troops were already scaling the walls of the Colosseum. Quick and nimble, they leaped from one building to the next, climbing up walls like ninjas.

Luna quickly pivoted on her boots and turned to Ethelinda as her hands magically snapped lose. Only a mere second of confusion before her surprised expression dropped to a blood lust grimace.

With a flash of her bangles, her dexterous fingers quickly latched around the wrist of the hand that kept her pushed to the cutting block while also unsheathing the guard's sidearm. With a pull and a shift of weight, she wrapped the guard's body over her shoulder before flinging her into the crowd.

Now, to her feet, she twisted to see the group of six blocking her path to her main goal.

No wait, seven...

Little Luna slid passed the ax armed executioner and skidded to a stop in front of Older Luna.

"L-L-Lunaleska!"

Luna's full name resonated somewhere deep inside her throat, to which she could not help but swallow hard. The younger her snatched Luna's hands and tugged.

"Ax man!" she blurted to the executioner as she shoved her hand down her pocket. "Back us up, okay?"

A handful of black beads were pulled from her pocket; black beads which Luna knew very well. "N-no, hold on a sec," Luna shook her head, "that's way too--," yet the warning was unheard .

"Now!!" with a flew flashes and a HUGE plume of smoke, the stage, crowd, even the Colosseum was enveloped.

"No you idiots! Ethelinda, still holding her bloodied forehead, "Find them, don't protect me!"

The little Fierra pulled Luna along while tugging on the cloths of the others, leading them off the stage and out through a back exit that was difficult to find, and even more difficult to fit through. But, regardless, they wedged their way through and, as the town and its people were still encased by the smoke, swiftly and silently made their way back to the old orphanage, Luna's home before the Order's reaping.

((Sorry guys, only a few more, I swear. Nearly done. Talis and Neon - can you make it over here somehow? Then I'll finish up and onto the next segment.))

[Neon Graffiti]

(Let me begin my two-part apology by saying how sorry I am for holding you guys up. ;__; And my second half by actually posting!)



The "ax man" stiffened his blade, swearing up and down he was seeing double. As Luna the elder and Luna the younger breached his gaze, the executioner was left wrought with confusion in wake of their escape.

The air-choking smokescreen proved not the culprit, but something else entirely. His weapon clamored to the ground, and his knees followed suit, the executioner fighting for clarity in the boggles of his mind.

'Get it together! They're probably just sisters, or mother and daughter. Yeah.' He tried to convince himself, shaking the demons that so racked his brain. 'Don't forget what you came here to do.'
Finding resolve to stand again, the executioner fingered the killing ax in his hand. What appeared to be blankets of smoke suddenly broke to give way to the executioner ax stressed in eager palms.

"Yeah, find them." He remarked, his guise of the "ax man" suddenly expelling with the smoke around him, giving way to a slightly smaller, hooded hooligan underneath. What was once an axe, had become something much less capable, however much more mysterious; an equally long staff, tipped with a thick, bulbous paintbrush at the end. An etherial medium dripped from its edges, black and ghostly, conjured from the same stuff his disguise was.

"Don't protect her."

[chibi_wolf41]

Talis watched the furor unfold beneath her. She felt a tiny spark of satisfaction that she would be fighting again. She secretly liked to fight, an opinion that probably went against everything she had been taught. The Martial Arts weren't meant for simple brawls and skirmishes. Nevertheless, Talis felt slightly disappointed when the smoke bomb went off. By the time the smoke cleared, most of the party at the bottom of the arena was gone.

Talis was forced to take to the rooftops again, well above the clamor of the confused townspeople and the last wisps of the stinging smoke. Ideally, she would have been able to follow the progress of the party, but the crazed folk below were quickly trampling away any small traces the party may have inadvertently left for her to track.

She shut her eyes and cleared her mind, forcing herself into a meditative state. She shut off each of her senses, one by one. Her sense of smell magnified and expanded to fill the the void left by her deliberate senselessness. It was a technique she'd developed hunting by herself in the desert, where each creature was carefully camouflaged to blend in to its environment. She used it to take her straight to her prey when she lost the trail, as she did now.

She quickly picked up the group's trail and mindlessly followed it. In her trance state, she was just a pair of arms and legs attached to a nose. A few minutes later, when the trail stopped, so did she. She easily slid out of her trance state, feeling as though she had just awoken from a strange dream. She was standing outside a dilapidated building with the words Orphanage written on it in faded letters.

((Its a little deus ex machina-y, sorry. I wanted to get her there as fast as possible.))

[Luna Vitesse]

Elder Luna looked at the old building, crusted with wear and tear from the sand and wind beating against the rotting stone walls. The lights seemed dim inside, and as she reached for the handle, still hearing the commotion a few miles back from the coliseum, she was stopped by a smaller hand.

“Hm?”

“…” Little Luna shook her head and nodded in the direction of their next destination. Strangely enough, Luna’s head was surprisingly clear – must have been the right decision to follow. She took a deep breath and followed the mini her to the side passage, down a flight of junk riddled stairs and presented with a door. The passage itself was cramped, didn’t help that it had rotting, warm garbage plastered along the side of the walls and in bags on the floor. Little Luna pulled out a thin, lengthy needle and picked the lock, the door swung open to cool, dusty smelling basement.

As the lights flickered on, lighting a small oil lamp just besides the doorway, everything came rushing back. The smell, the placement of the furniture, the tiny bed on the corner of the room, the dusty desk besides it. This was where the orphanage would house the younger children from the Order during their “picks” in hopes to safeguard their lives if not for another year. Yes, it was all coming back to her.

Little Luna lead the group further into the black and flame flickered room till they reached a bookshelf at the far side. Her hands tightened around the wooden frame, but just as she started pushing, marching steps could be heard, it’s sound amplified by the alley’s walls.

I don’t remember a bookshelf…

[Reko]

The moment of Luna's almost-execution stands out in Somer's mind, but is soon lost during their blurry escape from the coliseum.The witch isn't sure how she got squeezed herself through the tiny space that tiny Luna insisted they use, but somehow she makes it. Somewhere along the way, and she has no real idea of where exactly, Nakisisa and Sayuri rejoin them. In his smokey kitten form again, Naki brushes up against his mistress's legs, pleased.

Now, standing in the dark, cool cellar she notices yet another addition to their party. "Who the hell is this guy?" she asks, pointing to the odd fellow with the bizarre object now in their midst.