Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm not here because of LAZINESS, missy... sweatdrop

...and the fact that as tempting as it is to write something, I was weeks behind on my RPing due to a game addiction.

...and... it's kinda hard to get into character with that guy... considering he HAS no personality.

(( Now... how to start off? *Doesn't feel like editing over his other post...* ))

4:57

4:58

4:59

0:00

Five minutes were all that had been agreed upon, and as the digital counter in the upper right of the viewscreen turned over, the time limit had just expired. The view itself, that of the forest around and the open space between the trees that had served as a roadway over the past few decades for travelers of all kinds, swept past almost as a blur as the seemingly mechanical man that stood motionless by the roadside turned towards the treeline.

Sitting quietly in the center of the road was an large coach, its mud encrusted wheels sweated firmly in the ruts that had been carved into the road's surface by a half-century's traffic along the unpaved pathway. The interior was plush, appolstered in red and purple fabric, covered with brass and gold inlaid over the mahogany interior... truly a vision of extravagance and wasteful expense... then again, so was the escort who had insisted on bringing her toys along with her.

"Hold position and await further orders," spoke the individual in a flat tone as it turned away from the coach and driver alike, and stepping off of the beaten path into the woods, disappearing within a moment into the thick foliage.

"Oi!" the coachman shouted back towards the lady's sentry, waving his hand in the air as he leaned up again from his lounging position at the head of the carriage; the tip of his cigarette trailing a gossamer line in its wake as it moved through the air, "Tell Madame that I'm not stopping the coach again until we arrive, so she should lay of the wine!"

The smoke trail ceased for just a moment as the coachman took another drag off of it, leaning his head down again to the cushion he had pushed up against the side of the bench upon which he sat, as he toyed with thoughts of stealing one of those bottles of Merlot while the mistress was out...

On the small video screen that projected on the inside of the visor, UGH#387 took bearing on the locator had been given to her, finding the direction and looking briefly to the digital marker above the small blip that read 37.6m before the visor was removed; a thickly gloved hand on each side pulling the device away from the only patch of pale, bare skin that showed on the almost mechanical-looking man and replacing it against the forehead of the stiff synthetic helmet which covered most of his head. The forest was too dense for the visor to be of any use in locating the difficult woman, other than the GPS locator. It was much easier simply to follow the trail of flatteend and trampled shrubs, broken branches and stalks, and impressions from her high-heeled shoes in the soft forest earth, than it was to try and navigate through the digital sights of the visor.

Not a word was spoken from the diciplined soldier as his paced strides never slowed, following the woman's trail into the woods. She had been a fool to come this far for a simple matter like privacy while emptying her bladder, but, the spoiled always did take everything too far. Silently and fluidly, the thickly gloved left hand swept past a sheath strapped to the soldier's left thigh, grasping onto a rubber handle which protruded from it and drawing out a steel rod from within it's nylon holster; his index finger pressed against the side of the handle, away from a double set of triggers which protruded from the underside of the handle.

"Your time limit has expired, Miss De-" #387 said in a monotone voice as the rod brushed aside a fern that grew across the path he followd, only to cut his words of uneventfully while he took that next step into the clearing; his thumb pushing up along the rubber handle to slide a textured switch into position, prompting the entire length of the rod to begin to hum faintly as a surge of electricity shot through it, cylcling from the internal battery to the tip and back again, the slight vibration in the rod blurring the engraved letters of 'Force' which adorned the side of the steel shaft.

His finger slid down from the side of the rod onto the first of the triggers as another step lead him into the center of the clearing. Upon the ground there was a clearly visible sign that his charge had passed recently, though it bolstered no confidense in regards to her well-being, as all that could be found of her beside a smeared and splattered pool of crimson ichor was the bloodstained hem of her exorbitant dress.

"Alternate Situation 2: Protection of the target top priority, use of Deadly Force recommended to ensure a swift resolution..." the mechanical man recited the textbook rules flawlessly as always, glancing around the area quickly with the icy gaze of the set of pale blue eyes which peered out from behind the black facemask that hid his features from sight. Seeing no immediate threats with his innitial survey of the area, his thumb slid backwards again along the handle of the Force rod and the tool was slid back into its sheath at the side of his left thigh. Without another moment a new weapon appeared, drawn from a similar holster on the side of his right leg, this one was much more recognizable for what it was; large, black, .45 calibur, and engraved down the side of the barrel with the name 'Deadly Force'.

Without so much as another word, the bat of an eye, or a compassionate thought about the possibly dead woman that he was meant to be escorting, #387 followed after the trail that lead deeper into the forest, following the smears of blood left on leaves and tree roots, the sweep of the earth as which marked where her body had been dragged through the dirt, and, once nearer, the sounds of animals in a frenzy.

Another clearing came into view, and in it, a dozen growling grey wolves, their muzzles dripping red as they crowded around their kill, forming a semicircle to protect it from the intruder that had just encroached upon mealtime. Their confidense didn't last, however, as the firearm raised to the air and reported with a single shot, causing the wolves to scatter into the forest to all sides, and a chorous of squawks and shrieks arose from the birds which had taken up residense in the canopy.

"Directive: Protect, Status: Failed," #387 said to himself as he approached the torn and decimated body, sliding the weapon back into its holster as he came beside it, looking down on the broken frame that once was the breathtaking young woman he had been assigned to bring safely into Durem. However, she was dead now, and his mission was impossible to complete...

Reaching to his hip once more, the thickly gloved fingers curled around the handle of yet another weapon, and pulled it free from the sheath at his belt; a serrated combat knife, thirteen inches in total length, and gleaming lightly on its polished surface in the afternoon sun.

-----------------------

"JEESUS ********!" the coachman shouted, almost falling from his perch atop the carriage as the stoic individual who had left him almost half an hour beforehand returned carrying a bloody, severed hand.

"What the- where in the- what did you- ********' 'ELL, did you kill the poor woman!?"

"She was dead on arrival. There is no more reason to stay," #387 said without a single flicker of emotion in his voice, climbing into the back of the coach and setting the severed hand of the mistress, still bearing an ornately adorned emerald ring upon its finger, on the cushioned seat where she had spent the rest of the journey.

"Take us to Durem."

I love how the coachman thinks #387 killed her! xd

Sorry double post.

When he had taken this job, it had not been with any real enthusiasm. HE HAD owed Kaj'hel a favour after importing those apples....but this was hardly worth it. The "escort" part was quickly giving way to baby-sitting the young and obnoxious Lady Flouatine. He, Gallant Goldheart, was a warrior of great standing, a bard of renown, He was...
...alone...again.

Having looked back to check on the ever infuriating Lady Flouatine, he found that she was gone. Stopping he doubled back a few paces to check where she had turned off the path and, with no great hurry, followed her. The woods were supposed to be safe, but knowing her, the squirrels would provide enough of an obstacle for survival. She had been appalled to think that she would have to ride a horse instead of a carriage, let alone steer the beast herself...but she had done surpisingly well. Trodding on, Gallant found her steed and dismounted from his own. He tied the two horses to a nearby sturdy tree and continued after her tracks. He came to her clothes before he came to her. They were strung out along a branch across the path. Having seen their like before, he idle brushed them aside and walked on till he came to the lake. There, naked, she bathed...swimming on the sun dappled water surrounded by emerald forest. It was all very scenic, but he had seen their like many times as well. Leaning against the tree and waited for her to notice him.

When he finally broke her oblivious state, her face was contorted in shock as well as anger. She adopted a virtuous and accusing tone with him, using the air of noblitiy no doubt taught to her by her merchant father.
"It is not chivalrous to watch a maiden bath." she chided.
Gallant smiled.
"No? that is good then. I see here no maiden...only a child."
He let the insult sink in and stew in her overly sized ego as he sauntered down to the bank and sat.
"Besides" he continued "I am known for my skill with blade, bed and spech...but little is said about what virtue I have. If you wish to bath, you may do so, but I am ordered by your father, no less, to keep you under stern gaze for the entire trip. I intend to do just that, no matter what personal sacrifice you have to make."
He picked up a flower and casually began to pluck at it as she let out a shriek of irritation. He looked up to see the look of anger on her face, but only caught her countanence melting into something else...fear.
"Gallant...there is something else in here with me." She said, her voice shaking. At those words, the water behind her broke, revealing a large head filled with rows of teeth. It rose high above the water on the end of a neck as thick as a tree.
"I suggest, Lady Flouatine, that you do not move...." Gallant said in a controlled voice. He stood slowly, keeping his gaze on the sea serpent. For a few tense moments...nothing happened. Then, sensing the movement before it had stopped, the sea serpent drifted slowly around the Lady Flouatine, and lowered its head so that one of its great eyes hovered inches from the Lady Flouatine. She felt a strangled scream raising in her throat and faught to keep it there. Gallant on the other hand, was thinking. Pulling out his lute, he tuned it. The noise immidiatly drew the attention of the gargantuan creature. To the astonishment of his charge, he began to play a simple melody. With its serpentine grace, the sea serpant made its way towards the preforming minstril and reared up before him as he played. It was then, with greater astonishment that she saw it swaying. With a flourishing ending, Gallant shot his hand upwards sending multicoloured flares into the air. The monsterous creature's head swiveled upwards, trying to track each one until its eyes focused on only one that drifted down, slowly into the palm of Gallants hand. There is stayed as Gallant whispered something into what she could only guess was its ear...and then it left...just like that.
"It is safe, m'lady." Gallant said calmly.
"Good" she replied with a sting in her voice fresh from fear. "That means you can turn around while i get my clothes on."
Gallant turned and began to walk up the bank.
"I shall be i the clearing along the path setting up camp..." He went to the path and began to climb to the clearing "..scream if you need anything."
He smiled as she responded with another indignant sreech.


"What is there to eat?" Lady Flouatine asked. Well perhaps asked was to generalized a word. When one says that she asked, what one really means is she whined in such a tone as to have posed a question. Gallant, having quickly discerned such a distinction, was quickly becoming fustrated with her inadequcies. There was a reason he rarly traveled with the women he encountered.
"There is rabbit and some stew left. Sit by the fire and eat." His tone was curt. She paid no attention to that though.
"Stew? Rabbit?" Her voice cut the tranquility of the dusk. "I wanted roasted boar, did they not send some with us? How about some pastries as well? Father knows I dine better when I have dessert to look forward to." She made her way to the fire. "Where am I to sit? are there no chairs?" Gallant jabbed his finger at a fallen log he had pushed around the fire and said nothing. She looked, as if for a moment, that she was going to argue. However, to Gallant's amazment, she thought better of it. She sat heavily upon the log and, after arranging herself, took a bowl with some stew and set about eating. Finally, she was putting her mouth to some use that did not aggrivate Gallant. He was just about to settle down to sleep when her mouth returned to its earlier occupation.
"What did you do to that thing today?" Her voice broke in. Swallowing bitter words he adopted the attitude of one who was speaking to a curious child.
"When I travelled to the east, I learned a technique that atunes the persona of a serpent with that of the musician. They used it there to avoid being bitten by deadly snakes, but the technique can be applied to our culture as well. Then, in relative safty I was able to suggest to its fascinated mind that it was best if it left you and I well enough alone. ANd it did. It is a large lake, there are bigger things for it to munch on." Hoping that would satisfy her, Gallant went to roll over, but it was not to be.
"But I thought father said that the forest was safe." She complained between sips of her stew. Gallant, giving up on any thought of sleep, sat up.
"The path is safe, there are few if any outlaws, and wolves are deeper into the forest. Most predators are content to stay away from humans because there is enough game for them as it is. However, you strayed from the path. You subjected yourself to the will of the forest, and it is not kind. To stray is to submit yourself to rules which, you do not...could not understand. I need no arcanic evocation to compel you to stay on the path for tomorrow so that we may reach our destination in one peice."
"You wouldn't dare use your magiks on me!! I would tell my father." She said, sticking her nose up in the air. Gallant, shifted around and brought his lute to bare.
"M'lady, you wouldn't remember a thing. No be quite...I would hate for all your racket to bring the wolves" He said with a grin. Her eyes widened.
"but you said the wolves were deeper in the for..." her voice trailed off at Gallant's unwavering expression.
"I did...but your father also said that the forest was safe..."
Knowing that he had finally gotten through to her, whether out of fear or common sense he did not care, Gallant finally settled down to sleep with the prospect that tomorrow...he would be rid of her.
praise the Lady Luck...

You scare us.

*Hides under the covers with a flashlight.*

Naw, we're just slow. It's nice to see posts from the new peoples! whee I did like the baby boy dimension thingy. ninja