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 Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:25 am
The squad leader told them when they had passed over into the badlands, but Quinn didn't need to hear him. He could feel the difference in this place; it was a chill in the air, an almost palpable tension in the silence. They crept forward, their footfalls making not even the slightest sound for fear of what it would draw to them.
Following up the rear of the squad, Quinn was the only one to notice a fellow recruit who had snapped. First he slowed his pace to a stop, and then he took a step back. Another step. Another, and then he turned scurried back the way they had come, still being careful not to make a sound in this awful forest.
Quinn's first feeling was anger. They were all in this together, and they had strength in numbers. What gave this coward the right to abandon them? But, giving it more thought, and fighting the urge to alert the squad leader, he found he pitied the recruit, and was maybe even jealous of him. But what he was doing was desertion, and the penalty for that was death. A guy didn't deserve death just for losing his nerve.
Quinn checked to see that nobody else was watching him, and followed the escaping recruit. The squad leader did not know them well enough yet to recognise faces. He would not notice their absence if they returned soon. Quinn just hoped the recruit would come to his senses.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:28 am
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:28 am
Sol was at the edge of the badlands now. She was down from the drivers seat of her cart, trying to calm her horses for the trip across. It was obvious by looking at what she was doing that she had magick and was using it to calm and speak to the horses. Sol knew she had magick, just not how much she had. Talking to animals was all she knew she could do. Her sword was visible on her left hip but she had many hidden knives. She was so focused on her horses she did not sense anyone coming. She wasn't defenseless, she just did not like dealing with people. That was why she had left her troupe in the first place. That and the fact she cared very little for men. If one had ever bothered her he'd have a knife at his throat before he could even scream. Sol didn't talk about why she hated men so much, it was a bad subject and had gotten a few members of her old troupe wounded just for asking about her past. At least they had kept her safe though. She new it was dangerous to be using her magick out in the open like that but she needed to or else she could not get across the badlands.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:04 am
Name: Jaemura Kenshin Himura
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Personality: Determined, distant, calm, cunning.
Appearance: 
Skills/Magick Abilities: Aura manipulation- able to manipulate his own aura and the aura energy directly around him for a two foot radius at will for various purposes up to and including: strength enhancement, sense (usually sight, smell, hearing) enhancement, attack range enhancement, reflex enhancement, and rarely, invisibility through bending light. The main disadvantage of his invisibility talent is that he can only move at a slow walk, otherwise the wavering of air will give him away, though in a high wind or dust storm situation the ability is useless.
Likes/Hobbies: Survival, hand-to-hand combat, herbal remedies to enhance healing, poison creation.
Story: Kenshin was adopted as a child into a nomadic tribe that lived on the edge and within the desert. He quickly proved himself skilled in use of the combat spear, a foot long dual edged blade with a two foot haft, as well as using the natural surroundings for recon purposes. He is skilled at stealthy but extremely quick movements and can, when necessary, attack someone without their realizing it after a good six mile run without showing much in the way of exhaustion at all.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:20 am
(Accepted. Nice to see people joining.)
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 11:33 am
Himura's navy-violet eyed gaze followed the caravan, though he crouched beneath a cloak that outwardly looked more like a rock than a cloak near a tree a few dozen feet ahead and to the right of the caravan itself. He had two daggers beneath it on his hips as well as an odd whip-blade he'd discovered that hung off of his right hip just behind the dagger. It was one of the few weapons he could use to augment his limited range within his manipulation zone. He heard a low snap and shifted his gaze to see a roughly dressed soldier, obviously one who was weak in endurance, staggered up the hill behind him; the only reason he could see the man behind him was because he held his combat spear's two and a half inch wide blade at an angle that allowed him to watch behind him, though he didn't realize that shifting the blade slightly to follow the man caused a reflection of light off of its razor sharp edge that would to outsiders in front of him appear as a flicker of light.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:21 pm
Sol stopped when she spotted a soldier running. She caught a flash an frowned. 'What was that,' she wondered. 'A human?' She shook her head and returned to her horses.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:36 pm
Himura shifted subtly, rolling so that outwardly he simply seemed to be a rock rolling downhill. The truth was, however, he was concentrating and sending a subtle pulse of energy outward like sonar that would pick up on anyone else with unique gifts within a forty foot radius of him. He heard a twang and cursed as the cloak was ripped just above his right shoulder, though the arrow deflected off of the hardened leather armor as if it had hit concrete as he rolled to his feet, the cloak falling to the ground as his gaze shifted before he spotted a shift in the hue of the rocks nearly a dozen feet off the ground as the archer fired another broad-head arrow that he snatched out of the air, snapping it as he unconsciously enhanced his sight and strength with his aura manipulation talent. He sensed as the pulse returned that there were two others with gifts nearby, though he knew the markings on the arrow were of the Din'mera Clan, a clan that shunned the usual traditions that his clan and others practiced and tended to work for the Council's less-than-pleasant 'contacts', who were actually nothing more than mercenaries. His black hair that stopped a few inches below his shoulder blades was held in a ponytail at the nape of his neck with ragged looking bangs that hung over his face, temples, and eyes.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:07 pm
Sol did not see. She was in her seat again and starting to enter the badlands. Both her horses were still nervous.
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 4:15 pm
((Not quite sure how close to each other everyone is, but I'm guessing Ryu's character is somewhere near mine...)) Ivana was helping Taren clean up from breakfast and strike the camp when she felt something and nearly dropped the wooden bowls she was holding. She fumbled with them for a moment before regaining her grip. That was odd. It was like someone was trying to feel for their presence. And it was through the use of magickal energy, too, so it couldn't be Council soldiers.((Someone's turn. Not sure whose anymore.))
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:45 pm
Quinn sprinted through the forest, frantically looking all around. He had focused too much on escaping his squad unnoticed, and had lost sight of the other recruit. He knew better than to call out; even if the squad had moved out of earshot, he was still close to the badlands and whatever creatures inhabited it. His right hand hovered over the pistol on his hip, ready to draw if he saw anything with claws or teeth. Over the thumping of his own heart came the sound of a horse and wagon slowly treading along, heading into the badlands. When the cart and the woman that rode it came into sight, Quinn skidded to a stop. His first instinct was to ask her if she had seen another man run past. But common sense overtook panic before he could open his mouth, as he realised that a woman who could travel alone through this part of the forest was not your ordinary Council citizen. She was a vagabond, maybe even a witch. She was the enemy. He stood before her, his hand down by his side and a little too far from his gun to draw quickly, frozen in indecision. What was she? What should he do? What could he do?
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Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:26 pm
Sol reined her horses to a stop. She met the soldier's gaze fearlessly. She was not afraid of him. The gaze held her loathing of men and it showed. She did not try to hide it or the fact she disliked soldiers. One hand was on her sword hilt, ready to draw if attacked. She could tell this one feared her, she could sense it. There was also the fact that if there was one there were more. It wasn't good, not at all but still the situation was not out of control just yet. "Hello," Sol said slowly, her voice cold and wary.
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:59 am
'Hey,' Quinn answered, somehow letting his voice wobble in a short, single syllable. The aura of hatred and hostility coming from her was like nothing he had ever felt before. He was fighting just to stop himself from shaking. Attacking her was definitely not an option. He could run, but she might just shoot him down from behind. if she was a witch who knew what destructive powers she had?
He came to the conclusion that his original idea, bizarre as it was, was perhaps the best course of action. 'Excuse me,' he started, 'but my friend ran off in this direction only a minute ago. Did you happen to see him go by?'
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:24 am
Himura deflected a second arrow with the flat of his spear blade as he shot a look back at the soldier. "Get your scrawny, lazy a** out of here," he snarled. The soldier yelped and stumbled, tumbling down the hill into the nearby bushes. He could hear talking and half turned, drawing one of his daggers in a reversed grip as he pushed off, somersaulting backwards as he sheathed the dagger after deflecting the third broad-head arrow and landing at the base of the hill before he darted into the scrawny bushes where his mostly tan and gray clothing melted into invisibility. He kicked the soldier square in the rear end, sending him tumbling onto a dusty 'road' where a woman on a wagon sat facing another soldier. "Tell your friend I won't be there to save his hide a second time. There are Din'mera in the area, armed. I will scout and find them," he said in a low steely tone he knew carried more than enough to the duo. He wasn't impressed at the girl's meager killing intent, though it was obvious she disliked soldiers as much as he did, and he tolerated them... barely.
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Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:26 pm
Sol frowned. "Yes but I'm sure he's dead by now," she said coldly, her tone saying she could care less. Really she didn't know that but she rather enjoyed toying with soldiers sometimes. That was when she was in a good mood however.
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