Welcome to Gaia! ::

For a moment, he vanished again, even the trail vanishing. Appearing behind her, he moved, blurring, and struck. "Eight Trigrams: 128 palms!" His hands struck every chakraa point, faster than sight.

Scerin shook his head. "You're mistress is an idiot to think she's that powerful." Something moved behind his golden eyes.

Behind him, Damon stepped out of the shadows. His blood red wolf eyes glared balefully at Rayne. "Shall I kill him, Scerin?"

Scering shook his head. "No." He waited, knowing that Taelos was heading his way. "Pray your mistress doesn't come here, Rayne. I don't like killing, and i'd surely kill her."


(besides. An odor cannot be scentless. Ever. By definition, every odor has a scent. It just takes a certain sense of smell to detect some. You do know that a Sanin cannot be beat by anyone save a few. And unless you're Pein, I doubt you'll win against him. I made him powerful for that reason.

wait?! What bounties? )

Taelos shook his head. He knew her moves from her attitude, her thinking, and her movements. Genjutsu never affected him, so he was sure that he could win. But not without killing her. He sighed. "What do you want my help with?" The blizzard stopped suddenly, the snow simply falling to the ground gently.

Scerin shrugged. "Sure. I got nothing better to do."

(He'll know if you're lying. You give off a scent when you lie.)

Taelos waited, breathing in her scent, hoping to learn the truth of the matter.

Scerin smirked. "Please. She's Orochimaru's trainee, so I know what to expect." He grinned. "No offense, but if she tries to kill me, it'll be difficult to not retaliate."

Damon growled, laying down.

Scerin chuckled at the sound. "Come now, Damon. There's no purpose in antagonizing someone for no purpose! You blood thirsty wolf, you!"

Scerin chuckled. "I dealt with Orochimaru a long time ago. Seeing her, and her arrogance, reminds me of him." He shrugged. "if that pisses you off, that's not my problem. I simply state what i think."

Taelos nodded. "Then pledge a blood oath that you will cause no harm to me or to Scerin or Damon of your own will."

Taelos chuckled, shaking his head at her ignorance. "To break a Blood Oath is death. The gods will boil your blood in your veins, and you will die. And do I trust you? Why should I? You say you want us to help you do a job, and that this was all a test. I believe that to be truth. But it could be a job that leads us into some collector's hands. I cannot allow that if it endangers Scerin."

(Truth, there. It will really happen, whether your character believes in gods or not.)

Scerin smirked, then shrugged. "Eh, whatever. we'll deal with it as it comes, eh, Damon?"

Damon nodded mutely, then growled. "I'll be watching you, human."

Scerin's eyes blazed, a darkness writhing inside of his eyes. A black aura slightered over his body. "If you keep insulting me, fool, then i will kill both you and your mistress." his words echoed with a power not human. "I don't care what you are, or what you consider yourself. Your mistress might have been trained by a Sanin, but that doesn't make her one."

Taelos spat to the side, and vanished, words echoing as he did so. "I will not trust someone who is unwilling to make a promise of protection."


(he's got little to no chance of beating Scerin, i hope you know. a 9-tailed Bijuu, as strong as Kyuubi in his prime, under the complete control of Scerin makes him extremely powerful. Taelos can be beat, but it won't be easy in the slightest)

Taelos was long gone.

Scerin smirked, and suddenly, Rayne's mind was gone, displaced from his body. (one of the powers of his Bijuu. Means he can't control his body really well. He can, but it'd be like moving through mud to control it). "You might consider yourself endless, a ghost, but you are wrong. And as for this talk of her learning things other than Ninjutsu from Orochimaru, I can understand that. And I don't care. But, know this. I care nothing for her, nor you. Continue threatening my friend, continue to hunt us, and I will unleash everything I have on you, and you will die. And if, by some chance, you live, then my master will come for you both, and you will be doomed for all eternity." With that, he and Damon vanished in a blaze of light. His mind became one again with his body. (PSIONICS!!! W00T!)

Taelos arrived at the Falls over thirteen miles away, sighing. He was exausted beyond words, and it irked him.

Scerin and Damon appeared there too, Scerin growling as he forced the bloodlust of his Bijuu back under his control. After a moment, he looked at Taelos. "why the hell did you have to pick fights with people like them?!

Taelos scowled. "What? They too powerful for you?"

Scerin almost struck him. "I could kill them, yes, but it would leave me in a weakened state, and tell Pein exactly where I am! Do you want me to die?!"

Taelos crouched, abashed. "I am truly sorry, Master."

Scerin growled, but sat down in a huff. "They are powerful, I'll give them that. Taking them both on is beyond me, if only barely. But I don't want to test any of that and risk letting Avarice out of me."

Taelos nodded, thinking of the Synthesized Bijuu. Created using dark magic, a magic not of Ninjutsu, they were every bit as powerful as their tailed counterparts. While Scerin had the 9-tailed Wolf, Avarice, in him, it didn't make him all powerful. He scowled as he remembered the girl claiming that title. Only one recieved that title, and he was the closest to being a God on this world. It definately wasn't her. But he had to admit. She could kick his a** if he wasn't careful. he wasn't a Sanin. But his speed could keep him safe. His threats of killing her were little more than threats. He possibly could, but would take too much time to strike her with it.

Scerin looked at Taelos. "Do you remember your lessons on Undead, Taelos?"

He nodded.

Scerin thought for a moment. "What kind of physical Undead are there that, when killed, retain a spiritual form here on this plane of existance?

Taelos rubbed his chin, thinking deeply. After a few minutes of silence, he raised his head. "Wraiths, sometimes. You'd have to have a focus for your soul to bind it here."

Scerin nodded. "Probably the girl."

Taelos nodded, hypothesizing that he was probably talking about her 'friend'. He then thought more. "Well, the other kind is a Lich. But there are no Arcane Casters on this world that I know of. Our Master would've known if there was."

Scerin nodded. "And Liches are magic wielders, not fighters. So he couldn't have been a Lich. What else are there?"

Taelos waited, and then listed a few more. "The Spellstitched, the Corpse Crafted, and the Demi Lich."

Scerin shook his head. "What about a Construct?"

Taelos thought again. He smirked at the situation. Scerin was powerful, but hated studies. However, Taelos was an avid listener, and had friends read to him. He was smarter by far when it came to book knowledge. "Golems? Possibly. You could enfuse a soul into a constructed form, but the form wouldn't be able to retain the abilities of a human Ninja." He stopped. "Master? Why have you discounted the Idea of this man being a Wraith?"

Scerin sighed, laying back against Damon's furry side. "Well, I didn't feel any Undead aura off of him, so I'm not sure he is."

"There are UNdead that can mask their Aura."

Scerin shook his head. "Wraiths aren't known for that." He remembered what the man had said. 'I'm a ghost. A spectre. A shroud.' He wondered. "What about a Shadow?"

Taelos though for a moment. "They are Undead that have been known to have Intelligence in the past. They are the remains of those who have died but have a purpose that binds them spiritually to the world. They can possess bodies, too." He nodded. "Could be. They don't give off an Undead aura, either. But, I wonder how he can continue to use a Kekkei Genkai when his bod-" He stopped, and his mouth closed with an audible snap! "If he retook his human body, then he could still use his abilities as he knows them, and if he dies, he can simply return to the body later."

Scerin nodded, believing this to be the proper situation. "How do you kill a Shadow? Would Light effect it?"

Taelos sighed. "Technically, yes. But this kind of shadow, the one that seems to possess this body, is of a kind rarely seen, and only in legends. I know of no way to kill one permanently, unless you can destroy the soul. Or, if the girl herself is truly the anchor for his spirit, killing her would allow the spirit to leave, whether he wishes to remain or not."

Damon yawned. "Sounds like a bunch of useless chatter to me."

Scerin chuckled. "Probably is. But it's fun, none the less. And stimulating." He gazed up into the star strewn night, and yawned. Placing up wards around the area, he laid to sleep. "Good Night, Taelos."

Taelos laid back. "Goodnight, Master." So saying, he remained awake slightly, falling into a waking sleep, a trance, that he learned to do from Aurora and the Ice Dragons. He would be completely aware of the world around him, so if anyone snuck up, he'd know immediately. He listened to the dull roar of the cattaract (waterfall) and quietly gathered his strength.

He heard nothing. Damon knew the spirit was their, being what he was, and held up a barrier.

As Taelos awoke, he remembered his dream. He had a feeling that what conclusions they had come to were..... wrong, he guessed. He couldn't explain it. It felt like they were missing something, but decided to think about it later.

Scerin awoke, and Damon told him of the visiting spirit. He grinned. "Well. It seems that no one knows what psychic shield means anymore. It's a nifty ability to have, that's for sure, Damon."

Taelos heard, and grimaced. His blindness gave him many abilities, but the ability to see with a 'sixth sense' as far as the incorporeal world was concerned was small at best.

Scerin chuckled. "I think we should take this girl up on her offer, Taelos."

Taelos looked up, surprised. "Why, master? She will not swear an oath to not harm us. How can we trust her?"

Scerin grinned, chuckling. "Lore has told me to trust her until i'm proven wrong. I'm sure, anyway, that we can take them if necessary." His eyes became deadly, and Avarice, the shadow, moved behind his eyes. "And may whatever God that watches her protect her from me then."

Taelos shivered, but nodded.

Damon lifted the barrier, and Scerin whistled. Louldy. A shrill screach that pierced through the air and majorly pissed off some birds, sending them out into the air. He was calling them.