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 Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:52 pm
“People from the military don’t always have the attitude that you would expect.” Greg said abstinently as he took the dog tags from RuiZhi and looked at them. He read the first one and quickly flipped to the next one.
Well….. That was… It certainly told him what he wanted to know. Although the blood left some things to be explained. He couldn’t think of any reason why it would be on there. He’d have to ask Alex when he saw her again. That would be just one of many many questions that he would have to bombard her with… He looked at the two of them together and then up at RuiZhi.
“RuiZhi, do you think it would be okay if I kept these until we saw her again?” He asked with a grin.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:02 pm
The small boy shrugged and smiled wistfully, not unlike Herei. "I don't think she'd mind, as long as she gets them back. She likes you." RuiZhi looked back into her bag, touching a worn journal and a strange oblong case before putting the herb box back and cinching the bag closed. He knew what those were; the journal was written in more languages than Alex let on she knew, and the strange case she refused to talk about. Not a secret, she had insisted, just an old heirloom.
After putting the bag between his feet, he looked up to Greg. He was an earnest man, and kind to boot; he wondered what his sister saw, though, that made her smile so much. Maybe it was because he was Kenth's brother, or because he reminded her or something. He'd have to ask later.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:15 pm
(Sorry ^^; I gotta go to bed so it's a little rushed)
Greg smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to give it back to her, it’s just that,” he didn’t think that he should say anything about not wanting anyone to know anything about the tags, or the fact that Dante would probably blackmail him with the things if he found out. He thought that that would probably have been… well a bit strange to say. “I want to ask her about them. Thank you though.” He patted RuiZhi’s shoulder and smiled once more.
“And don’t worry. I won’t tell her that you went through all her stuff.” He joked.
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:18 pm
RuiZhi gave a boyish grin, looking his age for once. "Oh, she probably wouldn't know by you having an item from the bottom of her bag, huh?" Laughing a little, he leaned towards Greg, lowering his voice before murmuring, "Just don't show them to anyone else. She trusts you and only you, I think." Smiling broadly, satisfied that he at least made the effort, he turned his gleeful attention onto Lina.
"Okay! So what's this game?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 7:35 pm
Dog tags...? Well, whatever, it wasn't any of her business.
"Okay!" Lina said, grinning widely as she spread the six dice out in front of her. "This is a game that I learned a long time ago. The goal is to get a higher score than anyone else and win the game.
"In order to do so, however, you need to roll either a one, a five, or one of the following combinations I'm going to show you in a minute. As long as you roll any one of them, you score. If you don't, you "farkle" and you lose all the points you accumulate from rolling the die."
She then went on to explain the various combinations and their scores to the small group.
((An explanation of the game and the different combos can be found in Lina's post on the previous page.))
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:01 am
There was no other sounds other than his own foot brushing against the scattered grass that laid on the ground and the stomps that followed. The two walked without much words, and there was an eerie mood of suspision, caution, and alert in the air. Even if he had agreed to help the stranger, the young doctor did not take his guard off. He himself was unarmed, so being ready at all times was the only thing he could do. The man didn't look as if he had carried a large weapon, but smaller ones like guns...or knife...would do him no good at this place. Thankfully the surrounding was dark and obscure...oddly it made Kenth felt somewhat safe.
"So tell me. What is this thng you are looking for?" Kenth asked, "And where exactly are we going?"
The stranger didn't look back. "I'm going back to the place where I lost her. There would be clues there, wouldn't it?"
Kenth sighed and stared at the man's back with a little sacrasm. "You did go back to look once, didn't you?"
"I did, but I was by myself." The man turned to Kenth just a little bit. "This time I have a keener eye with me."
"I see." Kenth was silent for a moment, "And what about your part of the deal?"
"That, my friend..." The stranger laughed, "will have to wait till you complete your part."
Kenth frowned. He'd have to think of something to receive the informations first. This man had a dangerous feeling to it, and Kenth did not like the chills he had been getting ever since he went back into the forest.
"Clever...aren't you...?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 12:34 pm
RuiZhi looked a little dubious, but he was willing to try the game. It would keep his mind off the fact that Alex had not returned with Herei and Dante...not that he had expected her to. "I've never played a dice game," he commented thoughtfully, lacing his fingers together and leaning on his knees to watch Lina.
Herei walked into the area, casting a brief glance where a small group of students and Greg were gathered, Lina holding something in her hand. Some type of game? That was good, to have a small amount of play before he thrust them all into the forest. A soft voice tickled the inside of his ear, reminding him that their play would not be for long.
I'm leaving scraps of cloth on trees to lead you where we're going. I'm approximately a third of the way in.
The Advisor smiled to himself, nodding to no one in particular. It would be time to go soon.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:28 pm
Weiyuan moved away from the group, not really being interested in odd little games like this. His attention floated onto the forest hoping that Alex would be able to get Kenth back soon. As much as he supported going along with that man he didn't trust it. He was sure neither was Kenth. But he had a feeling that if something bad would happen, Kenth wouldn't have the right skills to defend himself.
Not that Kenth was weak. More or less, he just didn't have the right technique or control that he had. If it was a fight of minds, he didn't worry for the elder man. He attention shifted onto the other native. He indeed was the one who sent Kenth off. Weiyuan had strong feeling that he shouldn't underestimate this one. He was wiser than looks made it seem.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:49 am
((maggghhh…. D: seriously... Didn't know what to say...))
“I’ll be careful with them.” Greg said. He went to put the tags over his head, as if he was going to wear them, but stopped, and decided to put them in his pocket instead. It would defiantly feel to strange to be wearing any form of dog tags again. Especially with there being ones with two different names.
“So then this game, let’s get started.”
“Are you going to go first, Lina?” Irame asked.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:53 am
"...And that's the game!" Lina said cheerfully, scooping up the dice with a flourish after she finished demonstrating the different combinations and acceptable scoring numbers. "You need to get about 300 points to get on the board, and ten thousand points in order to win. You can surpass it if you score high enough. After someone either reaches or surpasses the score, everyone gets one more roll to try and beat that."
She smiled at Ruizhi. "My gramma taught me," she said, smiling fondly at the memories of warm Texas days in the hill country, playing with her grandmother and brother. She had always tried to beg for "just one more game," but sometimes her grandmother would refuse--and Lina didn't blame her. She just wished that she could have played all those games with her before she'd died.
"All right," she said, the scheming grin coming back onto her face. "Shall we roll to see who goes first?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:30 pm
Kenth felt himself panting with all the walks and searches. The man had left him a while ago, leaving himself to look through the area while the stranger checking other places. The young doctor frowned. When was he low enough to become someone's servant for some stupid object? He knew that it cannot be helped...sacrifices must be made to advance...yet, he could not help but to feel sorry for himself to have put himself in this situation.
Nothing to be found here. Kenth sighed. It was hard for him to see in the area, even with a flashlight. He didn't know how he was supposed to find anything. The stranger didn't tell him much other than the object being "something you'd not find in a forest". Kenth felt more and more angry as he thought of the man's attitude. That person...he looked down on Kenth, looked down on the group, no doubt. What was his purpose? How was he able to obtain informations that Kenth could not? What power did he have?
Shaking his head to calm down, Kenth wandered over to another area close to where he was. There, before starting to search, Kenth suddenly felt as if someone was near him. The young doctor blinked and turned around, his nerves tensed as he tried to make out any noise that was out of ordinary.
Footsteps.
The stranger, perhaps? No...it was too light to be a man's footsteps. Who..or what could it be? Kenth tightened his fists and listened. Yes...it was definitely coming his way. Testing, the young doctor called out.
"Who's there?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 5:29 pm
Herei started to walk into the group, then stopped again, tilting his head. Looking over to Lina, he said loud enough that the students and teachers could hear, "I'm afraid we don't have time." Casting a meaningful glance at the gathered, his smile small, he intoned, "We are leaving now. Those of you who fear for your life or otherwise need to rest, need to stay. The rest of us go into the heart of the forest to face something I cannot possibly try to name."
He turned his back and moved towards the still open gates, not slowing or stopping. "Those who come with me, come now. We don't have any time to waste."
((I'm skipping ahead in time for Alex, Kenth and the mystery man - everyone else who is replying to Herei, please do so as though this isn't happening right now.))
--- An hour later... ---
She knew the minute she entered that territory. The pale moon that had been her filtered light was completely swallowed, plunging her into darkness, leaving her with only her senses and memory to guide her. In Alex's frame of mind, that wasn't exactly helpful right now.
As if the forest knew this, it allowed her to catch the sound of movement, still far ahead but not outside of her reach. She slowly made her way towards the sound, fingers lightly brushing over rough bark. Alex found it strange and unpleasant that the same trees that had barred her way before, now seemed to lead her. She strained to hear the movement, which became clearer as she came closer, but there were no voices. Fear gripped made her stomach cold as her mind tried to whisper the worst of possibilities. Did that man hurt Kenth, or...or worse? Did he leave him behind? If this was him, what would she do?
All her thoughts were swept aside at the familiar voice, and she felt a warm flood of relief at the doctor's tone. Careful to stay out of the beam of his flashlight - she'd been in darkness so long, that would surely hurt - she called back to him, "Doctor...it's Alex. You didn't really think I'd leave you here, did you?" Even though he'd stopped moving, she could make out his pale attire, stark against the darkness. She stepped next to him, putting a hand on his arm so he'd know where she was, almost weak with the relief that she'd actually found him.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:59 am
Lina was ready to roll the dice when Herei spoke.
With a childish pout, she stood, tucking the dice away into her pocket and nodding. "All right." I'm coming, Alex. We're coming.
""Miss Lina, are you sure you should--"
"Don't try to stop me, Dante." Lina breezed past him, standing alongside Herei as they walked through the gate.
"....Humans," Dante groaned in an exasperated voice--or as exasperated for him as he could get.
But he didn't stop her; merely followed them out into the wild once more.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 6:04 pm
"I am ready to go." Irame said standing. "Let us go and find what we will face." She looked over, however, as Lina stood. She looked as if she wanted to say something about her coming, but she stopped after the woman's exchange with Dante. She knew that Lina would not be swayed. She supposed that the best thing that she could do would be to stay near and protect her.
"They are as stubern as ever, aren't they?" She asked Dante as she walked up to him. "Even all this time hasn't changed that." She smiled, then followed Lina out the gate.
Greg, who really hadn't heard what was going on and only had the vaguest idea from what he had heard from other peopel, looked up and then stood as well. "Well if we're going out I think that it's about time I got up off my behind and went and did something. I really have to go, considering who's out there." He smiled at Dante as well and extended a hand. "Would you like to walk with me, professor Dante? It's safer in groups."
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 9:49 pm
Steel eyes searched for the pairs that belonged to the two he vowed to look after. He nodded to them before following Professor Herei. He was eager to go and as much as some relaxation would be required for such a stressful journey he didn't feel it was right. Kenth and Alex were out there on their own. And even though he trusted Alex to be able to defend the both of them, as long as the enemy wasn't human he couldn't trust that fact. So off he went, senses set on high.
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