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 Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:14 pm
Dante looked to Irame, his eyes still cold, impassive. Inside, he was a bit incredulous. His little sister...she was too trusting. This did not sound good. Not one bit.
But....
"You helped return those that were lost to us," he said, inclining his head. "For that you have my respect. And for that we owe you a great deal, so do not worry. I will support the decision to help you, should it come to that."
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 3:39 pm
Hm...what is this? Races other than humans here. How interesting. So the elves have agreed to do their bidding as well... The man narrowed his eyes behind the dark cloak. What an immature bunch.
"I truly would appreciate your help." The man nodded, shifting his focus onto the "leader" of the group. "What say you, mister?"
"I say you look suspicious in and out of yourself, to be brutally honest." Kenth pushed his glasses up the ridge of his nose, hiding his inspecting glares. "We do not know a thing about you, aside from the fact that you are somehow uneffected by the danger within the forest. We are grateful that you have helped the three of our friends...but we do also have tasks that must be accomplished. Waiting for the three lost members of our group had already wasted a lot of time on our part. How do you negotiate the lost times?" Kenth looked up quickly at the man. Surprisingly, there seemed to be a hint of snicker on his face.
The man took a few steps backwards, as if stumbled by the young doctor's words. Clever humans...ugly and clever. Grinding his teeth, the man grumbled under his breath. No...it was not the time to reveal anything about himself...not yet. However, he wouldn't allow himself to be tricked by these humans (and elves) either. If these creatures wanted to play, then they would play HIS game, not their own.
The stranger let out a laugh. "You are truly clever, mister. I am impressed." Strangething himself the man approached Kenth, lending out a hand. "I know what you are all looking for, and I believe I have a piece of that information kept myself. If you would like to help...then perhaps this piece of information would be a good trade?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 4:08 pm
Alex turned her head as she heard Greg next to her, the scowl that previously occupied her face slipping into a genuine smile. She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut short by a familiar voice yelling her name. The woman didn't have time to react before Lina all but knocked her over, the force of which drove her right into Greg. Stumbling but stopped by the man behind her, she clutched the woman in her arms to keep her from falling over as well. "I'm sorry, Lina," she grinned at the woman in her arms, joking, "just a bad case of wanderlust."
Tilting her head back, she giggled a little as she looked up at Greg, looking sheepish at being between the two. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine...thank you. I'm sorry to have worried all of you."
That warm grin fell from her face as Kenth started to speak. What the hell was wrong with these men? She listened to the exchange, still holding onto Lina, hissing under her breath so that only she and Greg would hear, "This isn't a game!" Out loud, she practically growled, "If we're all done complimenting and bartering, there are still things to be done." Alex's vivid green eyes shifted to the doctor. "It's hardly his fault that we were gone." Her gaze shifted to the dark man. "Nor is it our fault that your precious person is missing."
She was stiffening, trying to keep from being angry. Alex had the sudden and strangest sensation of being near the temple... Giving a shake of her head, she scowled at both of them, "We're here to help more than one person. We have to move so that the problem doesn't claim your lost person...or that the lost person doesn't become the problem. I'd say that's even ground...gentlemen."
Herei remained silent, perhaps strangely so. He gently put a hand on Irame's shoulder as she moved towards the man, offering only a slight shake of his head as a reason. Best to let the two egos get out of the way so the real work could be done.
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:23 pm
Lina had opened her mouth to say something to Alex--then the man began to speak.
And suddenly the woman felt horribly COLD.
Seeping, freezing cold. And her stomach, her abdomen--cramps....
don'treactdon'treactdon'treact
Lina did her best not to, though her glare fixiated on the man was slightly off, something slightly wrong about it. Like she was drugged....
Dante nodded to the man. "Then I am sorry, but I must respect whatever Kenth's decision is here, no matter how oathbound I am to help you. I will--a good deed is not easily forgotten. But you must wait until we are finished--it is not just for your good, but for the rest of these people's as well."
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:26 pm
Farlest had been quietly watching, wrinkling his nose at the conversation and sort of...leaning against Ka, whom he'd tugged along with him. This fellow seemed to be willing to help...somewhat, but not without a price.
However, they had come here to be of aid, and it seemed that without this stranger, they might not be able to find out just what it was that they needed to do in order to fix things. What an awful puzzle, a true dilemma. Farlest wasn't sure he liked this...
...and the man gave him an odd feeling. Just what...was he? Senses that weren't entirely human on Far's part seemed to detect something odd...and well, what else was there in the world besides humans and elves?
...good question.
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:12 pm
(( *sneaking on at con* ))
Ka had gone along willingly when Farlest pulled him toward the group talking to the stranger who had come with them out of the forest. He had no idea, really, what to think of the man ... or whatever he was. Somehow, though, natural protective instincts wanted to help him.
But that wasn't so easy as it sounded in theory ... so he kept his mouth shut, having put one arm around Far's shoulders as the smaller boy leaned against him.
He'd also noticed the man was rather ... odd. But ... again ... didn't really know what to think of it. So the game at the moment was wait and see.
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Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:33 pm
Silver glinted in the light as his eyes narrowed even more at this thought of negotiation. A 'she' was lost in this forest. And though that hand looked human enough there was still much left under the hood. Or cloak. This world was full of mystical things. And even if he didn't always believe it all...he could no longer deny that they were indeed around.
He looked towards the cloaked figure. The doctor and this stranger were dancing around the bull's eye waiting for one to make the wrong move. He preferred blunt people. It made things move along quicker. He moved closer to Kenth, untrust clearly in his aura. "I want to know if this 'she' is actually human. Or do you mean Luna...or some other sort of mystic being deemed unfit for humans to know of?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:30 am
Greg took a few stumbling steps backwards as the two women barreled into him. He just smiled at the two of them, however, as he was just happy to have everyone be safe and okay. “You really need to apologies to Kenth.” Greg replied. “And apology accepted, so long as you stop doing it.”
When Kenth started speaking Greg was simply quite, listening to Kenth, the stranger, and Alex. “I’m sure that he’s doing the best he can.” He said quietly to Alex, but as Alex spoke louder he simply bit his tongue and was quite, waiting for her to be done. “Alex, Kenth’s our ‘leader’ so it’s probably not the best idea to be yelling at him in front of everyone one.” Former training poking out there a little, and true he had done it, but he was family, and that gave him the ability to do a few things different.
Irame stopped as soon as Herei put his hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him a smiled a little, a forced smile, but still a smile, and backed up a bit. She was fine not getting any closer to either of them. They were a bit intimidating, first, and second she still didn’t like that man. Rules of hospitality and how to be polite were only going to force her so far.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:41 am
"Oh I'm not yelling," the Italian said tersely, her lips pressed into a thin line. "You'll know when I'm yelling." Alex took a deep breath through her nose, turning to look at Greg. She felt weary to her bones as the first thread of fear started to wind its way through her. They didn't understand what they were getting into. Very softly, she looked at the red-head and spoke in earnest, "You don't know what's out there...Greg. You don't...you can't imagine." She didn't tell anyone but Kenth what she saw, and even he only knew limited details; no one had asked, and it was just as well. Her attention jerked briefly to Weiyuan, so strong and defiant; that was the boy she knew. A sad smile touched her face as she watched him, RuiZhi approaching the elder to stand by him. They didn't need to be a part of it and the thing that lurked in waiting...
Releasing Lina, she moved out from between the two, heading towards Herei. Kenth and the others seemed to respect this smiling man, and while she didn't put that same trust in him, she would at least try to reason with him and stop the wheels of chaos she saw in motion. "Professor Fang," she said quietly as she came next to Irame, "may I have a word with you?" Before I throttle both of them, she added mentally, her face grim.
The man smiled warmly at Irame, giving her an encouraging nod. "We'll find our answer," Herei murmured to her as he saw Alex approaching the two. "Very soon." He turned his bright smile upon the Italian, although he did not miss the darkness that touched her brow. It was about time she had come to him. He listened to her simple request and nodded once, offering a quiet, "Excuse us, Professor. We'll return shortly." He withdrew his hand and moved a little further from the group, motioning the dark skinned woman to follow.
At a distance that was satisfactory, ensuring no eaves dropping, Herei turned to face the woman. Smile still shinning, his voice held all the warmth of greeting an old friend, "What seems to be the problem?"
RuiZhi had approached Weiyuan shortly after his outburst, standing by him like a silent sentinel. His hands were crossed in his sleeves and his face was expressionless, save a flicker of that same defiance his brother had, lighting his brown eyes. Weiyuan and he knew this place, knew the land and the law, knew the history and the tales...no one here did, no one had even asked in curiosity. The idea that the Goddess Luna was somehow manifest seemed absurd to the boy, but he wouldn't discount it; he knew the taint of the land wasn't natural, not like the disease.
He stood close to his brother, both to impart his support and to draw some comfort. The boy had feared for the worst, but had not counted on the cause of madness being something...unexplainable. He'd seen it in his sister's face, and knew that the worst was yet to come.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:24 am
No sooner had Alex let her go than Lina stood there, on wavering, tottering legs, for a moment before her knees gave out beneath her, consciousness connected to her mind by a wavery, tentative thread.
Dante noticed and took a sweeping step back, hand coming across her front to catch her as she fell, then lower her to the ground, eyes scrutinizing her slowly. Her brow was sweating, warm; her breath belabored; her hands coming across her stomach and abdomen as though trying to protect what only he and a few others knew what lay beneath.
Something here was very, very wrong.
"....Professor? What..."
"Rest, darling."
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 4:53 pm
There was a momentary light in Kenth's eyes when the stranger mentioned a piece of information. The light faded, however, as his thought was distracted by people chattering on his side. Kenth took note of Weiyuan's question, and looked up at the stranger with a curious look on his face.
"The boy's got a point. What is this thing you are looking for?"
The man paused for a moment as if he was hesitant to tell the truth. But eventually he calmed himself down, and gave a soft laugh. "No, it's nothing that complicated. I am looking for an object that I have accidentally dropped. It is very dear to me---what it exactly is I could not say---but dear enough for me to call it as if it was a human being. I believe you all have done this sometimes, no? When you have something you like dearly, even if it is not human, you'd address it as if it is a human." The man spreaded out his arms as a concluding gesture. "but regardless...the strange thing about it was that by the time I came back and tried to look for it it was already gone. Which makes me wonder, since you all have crossed the forest...maybe some of you have seen it."
The man stopped talking and looked around, trying to read expressions of the human faces that was in front of him. "Well?"
Kenth chuckled sacrastically. He then repeated the stranger's words to people around him.
"Well?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:14 pm
Dante meditated a moment.
To choose, or not to choose?
One could lead them into danger...and another could get them into worse. And quite honestly, she wasn't sure which was which.
"...Do we have a choice, Kenth? We're probably going to imperil ourselves either way."
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:53 pm
Alex took a deep breath, and quickly started to recount what she had seen, from the moment the thing caught her eye to what the strange man here had said about devils and death. She talked with her hands animatedly, so that anyone who might see could see that she was very serious about her words; it was a trait in her blood, and one that came out forcefully when she felt scattered.
Ending her tale with explaining what she said to Kenth (and omitting the small fact that he almost hit her), she looked at Herei with dark eyes and concluded, "You can't take everyone in there. There's something...something wrong with the forest. It's sick, Professor, and it will consume everyone here and the students if we march in there." She felt sick just saying it, as if speaking the words outloud gave it power. "Please. At least...at least go back to the scientists, tell them what they're up against, rethink it but for goodness sake, don't trust this man and run after him blindly--"
"I would do no such thing," Herei cut her short sharply, smiling all the while. The smile had never faded, but there was something in his eyes that was not smiling at all at the woman's tale. It was as bad as he had thought...no, it was worse. "But I am not the leader here." He held up his hand before she could protest - and there was no doubt by the flash in her eyes that she was going to - before continuing, "I will speak with him. The doctor is a mostly reasonable man and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to leave the majority of us behind."
Giving her a singular nod, he looked over to catch Kenth's eyes as he turned to face them. "Doctor, if you would, please. Advisor, if you have a moment as well." Herei turned his gaze back to the woman, taking in her thinly reined wrath and the glint of fear on her brow. She didn't strike him as someone who rattled easy, and yet she was pleading for him to take the others to safety.
All he had to do was make the three of the men agree. If only it were so easy.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:52 pm
Dante cocked his head, laying Lina's head gently on the ground. "...very well."
He turned his face towards Alex, the near oval, neat face and almond-shaped eyes fixed on her own fierce ones--eyes that burned with a deep, unwavering flame. "If you would please, Alex, keep an eye on Lina? It seems that a particularly nasty presence here is having a rather sudden and dire effect upon her," he said, and his eyes went to the woman on the ground struggling to remain conscious.
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:53 pm
The brunette's hearing pinpointed upon Alex's voice. So she had seen something. He crossed his arms, he'd have to talk to her later then.
His gaze shifted to RuiZhi. This stranger appearing caused quite an commotion but perhaps fate was trying to tell them to follow with whatever this man had pleased. He scoffed to himself, Weiyuan rarely believed in 'Fate'. There were very few instances upon which he would freely admit that the powerful force must of been behind the event.
Hmmm. Object. He still doubted that it was just a simple 'precious' object. There must be something more to it! There were still too many mysteries behind this man and his 'precious' object and Wei just didn't like it all. They were already trying to solve one mystery they didn't need any more intertwining with it and making thing more complicated!
The boy looked up to the white-haired man, the distrust of this stranger and his mysteries written clearly on his young face. "I believe we have no choice but to help this stranger. His mysteries may be our answers." Who knows...one simple object may just have enough power to change the balance of the world.
A cold glance was sent to stranger. That man needed some unveiling.
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