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 Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:59 pm
[So sleepy... Forgive anything that doesn't make sense, just point it out so I can change it. >>;]
There really wasn't much that could be done now, they were resting here for the night and that was pretty much it. Yuki moved over toward his sister and Mitsu and sat on the floor, quietly thankful for a chance to finally rest his legs again. He glanced to Hitsu for a moment, who seemed to be doing little more than staring worriedly off into space. "I'm sure she'll be alright." He said, "Atticus knows what he's doing."
He was barely acknowledged, but Hitsu looked to him and nodded gently.
Both had absently watched the actions of those around them, until Neko and Blade had offered to go and look for food. Sounded like a plan, they hadn't had a decent meal in awhile. "Don't get lost." Hitsu had called, and Yuki only chuckled lightly at the knowledge that getting Neko lost in a forest was easier said than done.
Awkward silence was pretty much the same for them as well. The fatigue from so much traveling was setting in, along with the desire to remain silent so that Riyo could properly rest. Hitsu had even begun to doze off, when Tobi gave a brief growl.
Hitsu barely had time to open her eyes, and Yuki hadn't but a second to follow the dog's gaze before the burning torch soared into the cottage and the fire promptly spread. Yuki was in his feet in an instant, jerking his sister upright, while Hitsu blindly grabbed hold of one of Mitsu's arms. The thought of danger outside was completely absent in the panic to get away from fire...
But just after crossing the threshold, Yuki realized the mistake. The growing flames, and his own ability to see in dim light brought the strangers into view. They were barely out of the burning house, and couldn't go back. Despite this, he halted and stood in the path of the two girls.
There really was no avoiding it; He looked terrified. They had nowhere to run, and it was obvious that these men were not here to help them. Quite the opposite, he was positive. Yuki felt his sister shuffling behind him, doubtlessly trying to hide.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 5:26 pm
In the time it took for the torch to soar in through the window the front door was surrounded. Men, human men, of all sizes were ready to pounce as the first of the group exited the burning building. A net was thrown to capture Yuki. The men were the first priority to take down, the woman were second. A hand reached out and took hold of Mitsu jerking her out from behind Yuki while another pair of hands reached out for Hitsu. One by one they would take them down and bind them up.
"There are still more inside!" The man restraining Mitsu yelled as he pulled her off her feet.
Having been in a daze from the moment she had been dragged off the floor, Mitsu let out a startled yelp when snatched up out of no where. Apparently men had been waiting at the sides of the doors ready to grab people up as they exited. Kicking in mid-air Mitsu tried her best to struggle free but the grip around her arms held her fast. "Let me go! Let me go!"
This only arose a chuckle from the man as he pulled her along rather effortlessly. "You're a rather cute one, your hair color will fetch a good price for you."
Unfortunately for the group of men they failed to note the dog that accompanied their current victims. Though rather small and nonthreatening it didn't stop Tobi from bolting out of the house, teeth bared and ready to defend his people. He let out a deep warning bark but immediately went for the ankles of the man holding Mitsu. Quickly he nipped and retreated to avoid being kicked and came back again for more. He repeated this action quite a few times, each time landing a better bite than the last.
"BACK!" The large man began to kick wildly at the dog though his balance was beginning to fail.
"I've got him!" As four other men advanced on Yuki and the remaining two in the house, another headed toward Tobi quickly throwing a bag over the dog and snatching him off the ground and throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. At first Tobi gave as much protest as possible, writhing, squirming, nipping, and barking. But in the end it all proved futile and he ended up pouting and whimpering at the bottom of the bag.
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Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 7:18 am
The second that fire hit the floor, Riyo's eyes were wide open. She sat up almost immediately to look at the burning flame that was overtaking the house. "What?" Don't worry, the question sounded shocked. Her curiosity was drenched by the thoughts of being cooked alive. Though, as soon as she began to get up, Atticus placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed to the door.
From this angle, Riyo could barely see the net that was tossed over everyone else. But she could hear the strange voices eminating from outside. "Then.." She started, and Atticus knew just how to respond. "We're going to be captured. Do yourself a favor and play sick and dumb. Get them to let their guard down around you." He said as quietly as he could.
Riyo could've responded with an argument here, But seeing the fires getting ever closer to where she was sitting, she just gave him a nod and stood.
All-too-quickly, she threw on her sick facade again and was lead by Atticus towards the door.
"This'll be fun, ey Riyo?" The voice echoed through the flames of the house.
'Fun indeed...'
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:16 am
The group of men wasted no time in attempting to snatch Atticus and Riyo up once they were headed for the door. Two pair of hands grabbed for Atticus to restrain him while the remaining pair reached for Riyo.
"We've got a sick one!" Called the brute as he made to pick Riyo up and throw her over his shoulder. The flames were engulfing the house rather quickly so they needed to move.
"Keep her separated from the rest," Replied the man restraining Hitsu. "We don't want her infecting the others if she's contagious."
"Should we even bring her along?"
The brute holding Hitsu looked over to eye Riyo as the other man exited the house with her. Long blonde hair was the first thing to catch his eye. "Yeah, bring her along. She'll be worth a pretty penny if we can sell her."
The other man nodded as he moved along with the others as they all made to restrain the group and transport them to the wagon. Mitsu didn't seem to be strong enough to fend her captor off but she was at least strong enough to make it difficult for him to put any restraints on.
"Sit still girl!" The man hissed threateningly jerking her forward by her wrist.
It didn't seem to work as Mitsu continued to flail her arms to avoid having the shackles put on. One had already been attached around one wrist but the other was proving difficult.
"I said, sit still!" He was restraining himself with all his might to prevent from beating her. It wasn't good business to damage the goods you were going to sell. A few more failed attempts later, however, and he finally had the other shackle on and to prove his frustration on the matter he jerked Mitsu along rather violently.
((I kinda autoed a little so if anyone has any problems with it let me know and I will change my post))
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:01 am
The cage that Neko and Blade had been placed in was on the move, more than likely to round up the rest in their group. The girl, Tessa, looked back from her seat up front while the man beside her drove the horses. "No need ta be down, lads. With pretty faces like yers I imagin' ye be gettin' a good home." She smiled rather mischievously as she turned back around.
"How comforting," Neko retorted as he leaned back against the bars of the cage. They were basically on a wagon, the back half having been transformed into a sort of jail cell. Strangely though, the bars of the cage had paper wrapped around them with strange writing all throughout.
One of the men riding on the tail end of the cart caught Neko looking at the papers curiously and decided to clear the air about them. "They be spell wards."
Neko turned his attention from the papers to the brute with a questioning gaze. He had never heard of such a thing. "Spell wards?"
"Aye, we find an' trap quite a few magic users. The spell wards prevent any type of magic from being used while yer in this here cage."
This news didn't settle well with Neko, but he felt a little doubtful that it was true. Surely a piece of paper couldn't keep someone from using their magic. It sounded ridiculous. Testing his theory behind this he tried to summon a spell, anything really, but specifically something to break through his bindings. A few moments went by while Neko concentrated and nothing seemed to be happening. No matter how he tried he couldn't get the spell to work. "Peachy." He grumbled leaning his head back. Guess he was just going to have to ride this one out and see what was going to happen.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:50 pm
A little after they started moving, Blade finally worked to get himself in a sitting position. He was still hurting some, but he was bothered more by their situation than by his new set of bruises. As the one known as Tessa spoke to them, he grimaced some.
So burning through wouldn't have been the simplest way out after all. But there were other ways of escaping that didn't involve magic, so he wasn't too worried. He needed to bide some time anyway for that matter. Still, that didn't mean that he was happy with how things were going for them.
"Well that's great to know. You guys must do this sort of thing often."
His tone was a bit flat, but of all of them, he really shouldn't be judging what these guys were doing.
---
About another week and a half passed, and they were finally out of the arctic wasteland. It was still a bit chilly, especially since it was now night, but it was definitely warmer. Though it was fairly dark out, Shun urged that they stay on the road for now. If he recalled correctly, there was a town close by that they could reside in for the night.
Sure enough, there was. Through the darkness, he was just barely able to pick out some silhouettes of buildings further ahead. Something was a bit amiss though... namely the fact that there were hardly any lights on in the buildings he could make out. It wasn't extremely late out, so he couldn't think of why there would be a lack of light, but maybe the people here went to bed early or something along those lines.
For a moment, Shun glanced over his shoulder towards Poke, before urging his horse to advance on into town.
Once they were there, he noticed a few other things. Some windows of homes were broken, and the area seemed rather desolate altogether. His guess was that a raid of sorts happened here and most of the townsfolk then abandoned town. If that was the case, then they would be getting some free rooms tonight.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 2:16 pm
"Aye, we do," Tessa replied glancing back, the same smile across her face. "It's our livin'. We've dealt with all sorts." Turning around in her seat again Tessa sat on her knees to look at the two rather playfully. If it wasn't for the fact that she was their captor she would probably be pretty cute. Fairly young, well tanned skin, dark hair pulled back into a long pony tail, fiery orange red eyes.
"So I take it ye be feline," Tessa pointed at Neko though he did not answer. He only scoffed and looked away. "A moody one at that. And ye.." Tessa eyed Blade for a moment narrowing her eyes in thought. "I would say yer human....but yer not full human are ye? Yer eyes leave one ta wonder."
"We're almost to the cottage, Tess."
"Well, I hope ye gents enjoy tha ride. We'll be headin' inta the desert after this ta the city of Nocktow." Once again she whirled around in her seat and sat facing the front.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 2:30 pm
Well at least Tessa seemed to enjoy her occupation. He could understand that, along with the whole making your living bit. Still, he didn't exactly agree with it, and it wasn't just because he and his allies happened to have the short stick here. In a sense, his ideas of moral were a bit skewed.
Shaking his head, he glared at the girl as she smiled at them. She was right about him of course, but he didn't really feel the need to elaborate.
"Eh. I'm human enough to be considered human on a normal basis," he muttered lowly.
At the mention of going to Nocktow, he frowned a bit. He had been there once before; they certainly used slaves in that city last he remembered. Shaking his head to himself, he grumbled and stared at the metal cage that encased them. He starting to get more and more restless about being bound up and captured, and the thought of being sold off as a slave did not help with those feelings.
"Looks like that fox was right about a few things.."
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 2:53 pm
Tessa only chuckled at Blade as he responded rather coldly. Touchy subject she wagered but that was no matter now. She would just play him up a bit at the auction, no one would be the wiser if she smudged the truth a little.
"Let's hurry and round up the rest. I want ta be on the move before we have ta stop for the night," Tessa ordered as the cottage came into view. They stopped the horses by a set of covered carriages and a covered wagon, most likely stolen. They were far to elaborate for this group to own through their own means.
"Ye men stay here, Timothy, Daniel, come with me ta round up the rest." The two men she called out jumped off the caged wagon and followed Tessa toward the cottage while the other six men stayed behind to watch after the prisoners.
Silently, Neko watched as Tessa and two of her men left leaving a hand full behind. In their current situation escaping was out of the question but Neko seemed to be a little less bothered than Blade was. Shuffling a little Neko seemed to be trying to get comfortable but that was quickly proven wrong when his hands emerged in front of him, his bindings cut through. They hadn't bothered to check either him or Blade for hidden weapons, big mistake on their part. "Well, that's much better."
"Hey!" One of the men yelled as he approached the cage.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 5:42 pm
Riyo let out a loud cough as the man lifted her off her feet and onto his shoulder. Well, that was extremely uncomfortable. "M'nyuu.." She whined, appearing to now lack speech. She'd have to plan this out carefully. See where they stuck her. If she played it right, maybe they'd just sit her up front. She brought her heavy breathing up to a pant and whined uncomfortably, plotting out her ideas in the mean-time.
Atticus didn't struggle whatsoever. In fact, he did whatever they asked of him without so much as an objection. "Beautiful night, isn't it gentlemen?" He asked his captors with that oh-so-neutral tone he was famous for.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:53 pm
Yuki hadn't the time to even attempt to avoid being netted, as vain an attempt as it was he struggled against it. In result, he only managed to tangle himself more, as he tried to literally claw and chew his way out. It took only a second for him to manage to entangle himself enough to trip himself up. In his panic, magic as a first resort hadn't crossed his mind. Too late now.
He heard his sister scream, and looked swiftly up to see her being dragged away. "Get your hands off her!" He roared. Once he was out of this thing, they'd regret touching her. He'd make sure of it!
"Yuki!" Hitsu had shouted, fearfully looking from him to the others as they were gathered up one by one and restrained. She hadn't the strength to fight against the one who'd gotten hold of her, even her adrenaline wasn't a match for him past what speed she would have had given a head start. Soon she was little more than a weeping mass in his grasp.
What in the hell was going on? Who were these people? Yuki wouldn't keep his mouth shut, screaming in general along with his demands that the men release them. Not that he expected it to work... But it didn't stop him. In the end, he resorted to shouting out to Neko and Blade by name, hoping that they would come to their aid.
How unfortunate that they wouldn't.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:16 pm
Grumbling to himself a bit, Blade leaned against the cage bars before turning his attention back to Neko. For a moment, he blinked as the guy had apparently freed himself from his bonds. That probably wasn't the greatest thing to do right now, considering he doubted that Neko had any lock picks on him.
It didn't take long for one of their captors to notice it too.
"Bad idea..."
Then again, it might work to their favor depending on how things go. The thief looked towards the guy approaching the cage, wondering what exactly would be happening next. But as he did, he was formulating some possible ideas he might be able to pull off.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:19 pm
After each were restrained, it was then that Tessa showed up. She eyed each person as if measuring the value of a piece of merchandise. First she stopped at Hitsu. "Small, weepy, short hair," She reached out to run her fingers through Hitsu's hair to see its texture. "Ah, ye'll do. Some men like their woman weepy. Ye at least have a cute face."
Next she stopped by Yuki grinning at his current state. "From tha looks of it we hav another feisty one." Crouching down she tried to get a look at his face through the net. "Not ta bad on tha eyes though." Standing up she made her way to Atticus, the burning building barely getting her attention. "Well, don you just look the part of tha gentleman." Eyeing him up and down she smiled moving around him to evaluate his structure. He dressed fairly nice, too nice to be with this crowd, but something on his back caught her attention. "What are these little things?" Tessa asked reaching out to tug on a wing.
------
Neko didn't even have a chance to spout out a witty comment before the door to the cage was opened and two men jumped inside while two others stood at the door. In seconds he was beaten and bound, this time shackled to the cage standing up. They searched his person for any remaining weapons and managed to find a remaining fifteen blades hidden throughout his clothing.
"Check the other one too," One brute said turned to Neko. "You'll have a fun trip my friend. I hope your comfortable." He snickered to himself.
"Oh, I'm very comfortable, thanks." Neko retorted giving a smile.
Annoyed the brute gave Neko one last parting gift, a punch square in the gut before he left. "Enjoy your trip, lad."
Groaning Neko hunched over the best he could. Even pulling on his arms as much as possible his knees couldn't reach the ground. Sleeping was going to be a b***h.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:35 pm
Atticus eyed the woman going through inspecting the 'merchandise' and making observations. As she came to him, he stood up straight and kept his eyes on her face at all times. "Mother didn't raise a barn animal." He commented as she mentioned his attire, but automatically stiffened when he felt his wings being touched. The free wing flapped vigorously, as if trying to get away.
"I request that you didn't do that again." Even through his monotone voice, it was easy to see that he didn't appreciate that at all.
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:37 pm
Before Blade knew it, Neko had been restrained once more, taking a number of blows along the way. He was a bit surprised with all the hidden blades they found, but he was a little more annoyed with the guy than anything right now. If he hadn't jumped the gun on getting himself free, they probably wouldn't be searched.
He didn't carry any extra weapons on him. The only ones he had were the one dagger that now laid on somewhere in the forest, and his sword. However, he had a good number of lock picks kept in various places; some which were hidden.
If he could somehow manage to keep at least one of them, he'd be slightly happier with the situation.
"Back off," he growled before attempting to give the one approaching him a kick to the face.
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