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 Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:01 pm
Roy slowly opened his eyes. The sounds of voices had woken him. Familiar voices. Where was he...? He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes.
Right...he was at camp. Someone must have carried him back here after he collasped.
He wiped the drool from his mouth before he glanced over at his Uncle. The bard looked very tired, but was struggling to stay awake. For what? For whom? Then the young lord recalled their conversation earlier, when it was just the two of them fighting the morphs. He glanced around. There was no sign of FD.
He couldn't see someone as strong as FD get defeated in combat, yet it was possible. Especially against one of the 'Heroes'. Why were they fighting anyway? Were he and the rest of FEF really enemies of the world?
He got up to his feet slowly, the sounds of his four magic sounds bouncing off his body and against their sheaths. He walked over to the supply wagon to see Sue and a few others pig-out on food. He would have laughed if he wasn't so sore. He grabbed a plate and some food before walking over to his Uncle. He set the plate down in the bard's lap.
"You gotta eat Uncle...get some rest too." the nephew told the uncle. "There's no way FD would lose to them. He'll come back, victorious."
He then looked around for any sign of his Mother. She was there, looking at the flames (was that a new dancer's sash? Weird...he thought he had seen another dancer with the exact same cloth. Maybe he was imagining things). He looked away for a moment, then back at her, only to see her run off into the forest.
"Mom?!" he called out, taking a step forward. But sleep was taking over again. He struggled to fight the darkness, but he was losing badly. He ended up falling over again, back into slumber.
He would probably never see his Mother again.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:29 pm
Loch, not having gotten much of a response at the campsite, decided to wander around, twirling that Mend staff in one hand as he did so. The respective auras were a bit depressing, actually. He had to get away from them before they brought him down.
He made his way to the trees along the edge of the campsite, casually tapping each one with his Mend staff for no real reason. That's when he sensed the familiar aura. It was sad, kind of like his own...weird. His sense wasn't perfected enough to tell him exactly where it was coming from, being this close, so he looked around him. Nothing. No one, at least, seemed to be giving him the same vibe.
So he looked up. Huh? There was a raven up there! Sitting by herself, just watching the others...
Well, Loch's curiosity was piqued. Whacking the tree she sat in with the Mend staff one more time, just for the heck of it, he leapt up with his wings and grabbed onto a branch near her.
"I'm sorry to bother you, young lady," he quickly excused himself. "But I couldn't help but notice you sitting up here all alone."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:33 pm
FD limped towards where the banished members of FEF had relocated, his good arm across his ever-bleeding stomach wound. He’d never been damaged like this before and had no idea that the wounds he’d incurred upon himself in battle as a dragon would follow with him into his human-like form. His left hand was burned and hung limply as he moved forward, his right arm and hand bleeding as well, but pressed against his stomach in an attempt to apply pressure to his most major wounds simultaneously – though he was bleeding from other, less noticeable wounds, he’d be able to hopefully remain conscious with his arm and stomach being the ones that he tried to alleviate. He had to know if Nils was alright – it was what had kept FD moving forward. FD couldn’t die like this, not now! He had to make sure Nils had safely escaped the battle. And, assuming he himself would be alright, do what he should have done at the anniversary party in Eyris before any of this had happened. He moved his left arm to feel his pockets to ensure there was still the same box in it that he’d been carrying – it was still there. As he felt it’s physical presence, he motivated himself to continue forward.
What looked to be the location for FEF members was finally in distance, but FD’s vision was starting to become blurred. He stumbled over himself as he tried to look forward. He felt limp; it would be so easy to lie where he was and never get up. NO. He was close. Too close. He KNEW Nils was nearby. FD began to drag himself forward across the remaining expanse of ground. “K-K-Kaoru…” he whispered. His eyes had shut – but FD wasn’t dead. Kaoru… Kaoru!
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:43 pm
Annis eventually put her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her fists. These people... were a lot closer to each other than she was to any of them. Large didn't seem to be around, but thankfully, neither did Blondie... Annis sighed through her nose. To approach them now didn't seem right. They were gearing up to fight some sort of dark god... Loki, was it? She wasn't a guild member. She was just an observer.
That is, until she heard a loud thwack to the trunk of the tree she was perched in, and yelped in surprise. She flapped her wings twice, causing a single ebony feather to twist and twirl down towards the ground. The surprise stayed on her face, though, as she found a rather... pretty man settling onto the branch nearby.
A man with grey heron's wings.
"I'm sorry to bother you, young lady. But I couldn't help but notice you sitting up here all alone."
Annis stared at the man for a minute. Finally, she reached out and... tugged on his hair gently, not enough to cause pain, just to reaffirm it was solid. "You... survived...! A heron made it through the Massacre...?" she breathed, betraying a slight thread of hope behind the shock in her voice. "How... h-how is that possible? I-I thought... th-the fires, how did..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:44 pm
Nils stared blankly ahead, ignoring the plate of food that was placed down for him. "I... I'm fine, Nephew. Really." He replied softly, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke, lying through his teeth. A soft, reassuring smile came to his face. "Don't worry about me..."
Once Roy was looking away, his forehead was resting against his knees once more. Though his Nephew's words were true, he could not shake the fear that FD would not return.
What... what would I do, then?
"Mom?!"
Nils' head snapped up, just in time to see Roy collapse. "Nephew! Ninian!!" He moved to stand up and give chase to his sister, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw none other than his beloved Fire Dragon.
His beloved... "HIKARU!!" The bard stood up and sprinted, not thinking to stop until he reached FD's side. Nils' eyes filled with tears as he flipped FD over to his back. He gasped; there was so much blood... was he still alive?
Of course he is!! He wouldn't leave me... right? "Hikaru... Hikaru!!" The tears began to flow as he uncorked the elixir from his Nephew, carefully applying it to every one of FD's wounds, making sure not to waste a single, precious drop. He was careful and quick about it, despite the fact that his hands were shaking so much. "Hikaru... Hikaru, please... I beg of you... Wake up... Wake up!!"
Elixir empty and tossed aside, Nils hugged the Fire Dragon close to himself, unable to stop the tears from flowing. He managed to get all of his beloved's wounds with the elixir, but was it enough? "Hi-Hikaru... please, don't die... I-I need you..." His voice was barely above a whisper as his body trembled, desperation leaking into his voice.
"... I love you so much, Hikaru..."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:07 pm
An eyebrow arched quizzically as she timidly reached out and pulled on his hair gently. He let her finish her examination as he kept that eyebrow raised. Her voice, it was breathy, shocked...
"You... survived...! A heron made it through the Massacre...? How... h-how is that possible?"
Loch gave a single shrug as he settled upon his branch and lay a hand on the raven's shoulder. "I did? That's all I know. When my family turned up missing...I decided that if I cared at all about keeping my own life, I needed to leave." There was a slight glimmer of sadness in his eyes, quickly hidden by a consoling smile. "What about yourself?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:21 pm
Annis turned her eyes briefly to the hand now on her shoulder, then back up to the heron's face. "I did? That's all I know. When my family turned up missing...I decided that if I cared at all about keeping my own life, I needed to leave."
Annis studied him silently for a moment. It wasn't just her, then. "Sometimes... sometimes being in the dark is worse than actually knowing, isn't it?" she laughed dryly. She looked down at her knees, not looking up when he questioned her in return.
Annis opened her mouth, then closed it. She could taste the smoke on her tongue, smell the burning wood, hear pitched screams in fear, agony. Hatred. Repulsion. The sound of beorc hands destroying sacred laguz land.
"Go! Run! We'll try to stop them!" If Annis hadn't run... Her wings were night black, the herons' were as pure white or grey as a cloud, but they had gone after her. For being a flighted laguz, the blame of their beloved apostle's death was on her hands as well. Annis could still feel the flames beating at her back and the burns on her arms as she found herself pushing through the darkened door of an abandoned house, running from the shouts and swords and fire of the enraged men, and...
Suddenly falling through endless blue sky over a castle town.
Annis finally looked up, clearing her throat. She tried to push the memories back and looked ahead, avoiding his gaze. "The... Massacre was occurring as I found myself here," she finally answered, trying to carefully word her response. Some things didn't need to be told. "My parents... tried to calm the people they could find as I tried to run. I don't actually know if they're all right... They probably burned along with the forest..."
Annis laughed roughly, smoothing out the fabric over her thighs. "But... the past is the past. If you look back while moving forward, you'll only fly into a stone wall." Annis pushed her hair off of her face. The memory of burning wood dissipated from her senses. "My question is... why are you here? I mean... here, with the guild members."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:34 pm
Seeing as Ed had decided it was best to go, Hatmon found it best to tag along. After all, sticking around town meant she would be all alone. Being alone wasn’t something she was quite as used to anymore. In the past it has proved to be common place, but since meeting Kris is never seemed to occur. Hatmon wasn’t sure what she could do with herself if she stayed behind. There was always laying out to sun herself, but compared to joining a bunch of other people for a fight or sitting around being lazy, she had chosen the more active role. She could never forgive herself if the guild she had just learned about got destroyed while she sat around.
A yawn escaped her fanged mouth as she wandered the camp site. She was still in her fox form, and she planned to battle in it, but there was probably no harm in turning back into a human for a bit. She stretched a bit, flicking her tail in the air and beating her wings against it before she started walking again. As she walked, she suddenly seemed to shift from one for to the next. There was no flashy display of light and smoke. Simply, she seemed to glow a dull blue light as she changed form, nothing more.
Once the quick transformation was complete she stretched again; remembering what it felt like to move in a human’s body. “Nothing quite like a form shifting,” Hatmon mused to herself as she brushed some of her long black hair over her shoulder. Though she did recognize some people, she didn’t really know anyone aside from Ed. Thus, she would observe for now, but should someone strike conversation with her, she wouldn’t dare refuse them.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:53 pm
Ed was winding her way around tents, taking a good look at people who seemed to be in trouble or were hurt or such, but most were being tended to or didn't have any ailments at all. That was good. What wasn't so good that some people seemed real depressed, and by the spirit of Artemis, Ed didn't like it when people were depressed. But she also noticed some people were just pitched and hyper and all, and it made her grin. After all, the age of depression was gone for Ed.
She kept Hatmon in her sight as she moved, her Aegis sword shifting along her shoulders (from what Ed had heard, usually only ninjas wore their swords that way, she wondered if it was true). As Ed explored, she managed to catch a glimpse of Hatmon shifting. She slowed down to observe with awe. She didn't have to slow down for long though, but she did freeze to contemplate what she had just witnessed. Ed wondered how she herself transformed, if there were any fancy lights or anything. She didn't think so, but then again, her memories didn't tell her much.
Ed had packed herself two elixirs and two vulneraries, twirling her sword, her eyes flashing with a fire. Or maybe it was the reflection of the campfire nearby. Ed was unable to contemplate on that for long either, however, for she too caught a glimpse of Ninian dashing away, holding a rainbowy sash that Ed did not recall seeing anywhere.
"Hey lady, wait!!" Ed barked, immediately launching after the dancer, her legs thrusting against the earth with strength attained through constant training, her ribbons whipping about in agitation just as Roy too gave chase. But Ed skidded to a stop when the young hero collapsed. She glanced down in alarm, then over her shoulder as Nils came running, then back at the Fire Dragon collapsing soon after. It was all happening quite so quickly...
"What in the blazes has possessed the lot of ya!?" Ed cried, for a moment caught up in the tangle of what to do. When she saw no one was taking action, she decided the other two could be left to Nils and concerned persons. "Hey, you two get on your feet soon! There's too many people down to — " She fought for the words, but none came. Ed had hoped for some awesome reunion and pumped morale, not this slug of a rally. "J-just get up!" she finally shouted, darting off into the forest. Ed really hadn't seen a reason to yell at Nils, he wasn't the one who collapsed.
Ed also managed to miss the heartfelt moment that the Fire Dragon and Nils were having. Oh well.
Ed would be back. She just didn't think she'd come back without Ninian.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:54 pm
"Sometimes being in the dark is worse than actually knowing, isn't it?"
He nodded. She, like himself, had been through an awful time...not something he was ready to relive. Her words were slow, pained... and she'd suffered a loss too. She'd lost her parents, he'd lost his wife and daughter. A kindred spirit...
"But the past is the past." That's what mattered.
"I'm here with no one," he mentioned in response to her question. "My loyalties do not lie with this guild. I sensed sadness here and I was drawn to it. But at the campsite, I was not needed, so I took a little walk and found myself here. I have the feeling that everyone is gathered to...thwart the presence that's come upon their land. I have unfinished business with one of the Heroes, so...I do hope they will lead me to her."
He nodded. "And you, miss...I'm sorry, I did not catch your name. My name is Loch."
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:02 pm
Annis laced her fingers together, nodding slowly as she studied her feet. His words helped to calm her down, settled the foreboding feeling deep in her gut. Would something bad happen? There was no way to tell until it actually occurred. She didn't turn her eyes away from her shoes until he reached the end of his quiet words, one pointed ear twitching just slightly.
"And you, miss... I'm sorry, I did not catch your name. My name is Loch."
Annis lifted her gaze and looked over to Loch. She studied him for a moment, then gave a small, almost wry smile. Nice enough man, at least... good to know a remaining Heron is a decent person. "Annis. My name's Annis." She held out her hand for him to shake as her wings flapped once to make sure her balance stayed stabilized.
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:13 pm
He smiled. "Annis...Annis the Raven. It's a very nice name." He stowed the Mend staff in his pack before accepting her handshake, using his opposite hand to keep grasp onto his branch. He stared into her face for a second.
Such a shy, innocent beauty...
But that moment quickly passed. He withdrew his hand from hers once again, glancing down to the ground below. "What are your plans with the turmoil to come?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:44 pm
Kaoru… FD began coughing up. His wounds started behaving strangely in a reaction to the elixir that had been administered to him. His breathing eventually returning to normal as the coughing subdued and he slowly opened his eyes. He was in Nils’ arms and there was an empty elixir bottle nearby on the ground. “Kaoru… Oh! Kaoru!” His voice was soft, just above that of a whisper. It was almost difficult to speak, but there was so much to say. “I’m so glad you’re safe! Oh, Kaoru! I’m so, so glad you’re safe. I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you! I’m so sorry I had to stay behind… Kaoru… I’m… sorry…” FD’s body felt exhausted in the moment. He hadn’t put himself through something so demanding since, well… the Scouring probably.
“Kaoru, I… I never want to leave you… I want… I want to be with you forever – I want to be YOURS forever.” Nils was holding FD, still on the ground, but FD took Nils’ hand in his own his now-recovering burning hand, and stuck his other in his pocket, trembling, and pulled out the small wooden box he’d been carrying on him since before this massive chain of events had started. This wasn’t how he had planned to do things, but he’d never felt stronger about it than he did now. He finally opened the box to reveal within it a ring of gold with a small, red gemstone in the center. Although the stone was red, it wasn’t any sort of ruby or traditional gemstone but in fact part of a Dragonstone. Whether it would be enough for Nils to transform, FD had his doubts; the stone Kaoru used to transform was much larger. But he’d seen both Nils and Ninian use rings to the ends of benefiting their allies in combat; perhaps Nils would be able to use this similarly – Fire’s Devotion. “Kaoru… I love you, Kaoru… I love you more than anything else in any world – I need you.
"Kaoru, will you marry me?”
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:32 am
Sue was the first to hear the proposal, and... the first to be shocked by all that was happening what seemed to be at once. Corking the waterskin she'd taken, the nomad darted to Nils and FD. This time, she didn't need Andre to be fast... it was on her pure desire to see them both that had fueled her ever forward.
"Hikaru... has finally returned..." she muttered, now fully relieved... that he'd been treated with an elixir and all.
She was about to be happy, truly happy until something nagged at her. The nomad had been on a mission before all these successive battles... and she'd long forgotten it until seeing her Host Club members reunite. Then... it came to her. Rei! Where is he? He wasn't with the captives or the exiles! And... he missed this... he missed this moment...
Worry again overtook her, but Sue wasn't despairing. She didn't want to fall into depression anymore; what kind of leader would she be?
Her eyes searched for him and found nothing... so she was going to start asking as soon as she'd heard Nils's reply to FD. Rei... if you're not here... if no one brought you back... it means you're still in trouble. I'll come and find you... I promise.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:32 am
Jin staggered through the forest, following the trail of blood FD had left behind. Unfortunate, that Jin had been unable to heal the dragon's wounds--unfortunate that in the midst of the fighting, during some of the dragon's maneuvers, Jin had gotten too close and...
Well, he got WHAPPED by the dragon's tail and sent flying. At least he'd held on to the Heal staff (he didn't know if there were any left besides this one), but the damage had already been done--he fell crashing to the ground, thankful he hadn't landed headfirst into a tree. As it stood, he'd taken quite a nasty tumble, somersaulting end over end as he hit the ground before skidding to a halt on the back of his robes.
Yet he could still move, so move he did, making his way to the campsite to find said Fire Dragon and Nils together. It seemed Nils had already healed him. That's good. But did everyone else survive? He moved onward into the camp...
About the same time as a Pegasus landed in the middle of the campsite, flapping its wings to give itself a slow and easy landing. The rider dismounted and walked over towards the wagon, recognizing enough faces.
"Cap'n Dan, Lieutenant Leon," she said, grinning and waving to them as she walked over. "Good to see you both here! Cap'n Ghis is also on his way with reinforcements in tow. What'd we miss?"
...It might be a challenge to talk to them (they had even heavier accents than Ghis did--sometimes she wondered if rank and accents were somehow proportional to each other), but here and now, they were a welcome sight to see.
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