Welcome to Gaia! ::

Vince wakes up in the middle of a forest and looks around for anyone, but doesn't see anyone. He yells, "is anyone here", and waits for someone to reply".

After not hearing anyone Vince starts walking. An hour or two goes by and Vince finds a path and starts following it. He stops to rest on a log by a stream. He takes a drink of water and goes to sleep.

"I always find it odd that when people awake in the forest that they call out for others." Said a deep, intimidating voice from several different directions, Kestral was using one of his abilities known as Cheshire Tongue to hide his location. "Any experienced fighter would know that this is the last place you want to run into people.... hehehehehh."

.: In the city, it is once again nearing midnight, and the girl is still on her bed, stuck in a seemingly endless sleep:.

CrrrRRAASSHH!!! The sudden uproar of noises awoke the girl, and she immediately sat up, noticing Yurden, her devil imp, sat upon a stack of pots in the kitchen. apparently, he had been trying to make himself some sort of dinner. The little creature spoke in a scratchy, urban british, "Sorry, Hakura...thought I would cook something up..wait, why aren't you gone yet?" She had once thought his accent was elegant, even cute, but it seemed simply annoying as he uttered the words that struck her right between the eyes. "Oh god...oh god, oh god..." She leaped off the bed, and started frantically throwing on some clothes, but she could sense that the change was already coming..she was much too late. Her demon marking just below her left eye began to burn, causing the young girl to cup a hand over her face. She looked in a mirror, and saw that the curse-ritual had already begun. She had dealt with it so many times before, but this time...it was different, she could harm someone, or break something...In the storage block, by herself...she had always been safe, but now...now she was exposed, her ritual was starting and she had no means to control it. Like any helpless 15 year old girl in a bad situation would do, she simply knelt down and began to weep, the tears running down her face turning to ash, and floating off, as two large, curved horns began to protrude from her forehead. She cried harder and louder as her skin melted away, giving shape to her blackened demonic skin-like plated armor. She stood up, as fire began to engulf her body, spreading to her bed and the ground around her, and two large black bat-like wings stretched and unflexed from her back, flapping once before they folded against her shoulders. Her tears were acid, burning what was already charred beneath her, and her cries became siren wails, so that the entire building awoke to loud, shrill screams..and of course, their building on fire. The girl's eyes opened, revealing two ruby-red suns, burning with bloodlust. The girl began to scream and thrash about, burning and shattering all she could see, until she began to weaken around morning, and soon resumed her human form. Sobbing, she gathered what was unburned of her posessions and yurden's disconnected tail, and ran off through the destroyed building, sneaking out opposite the angry neighbors. This had been her home since her parents were killed, she could not imagine where she would go, for she had always handled this problem the same way, until now. She looked off towards the forest at the edge of town, and made up her mind, then sprinted off in that direction.

For some reason the girl who tumbled through the woods activated a strange device that looked like a blade that had been stuck in the ground for centuries and do to some inexplicable reason never rusted. A light burst from it and there was a holgraphed image of Takehitsu. The holo image bowed to the three people before it would presume to speak "My name is Takehitsu, I am the greatest mercenary and helper of people this world has ever known. If you are in need of anything please come to me in my castle." The hologram pointed in the direction of the castle. "I will be happily awaiting anyone who is in need of something."

For some reason the holographic images had different messages depending on who walked near it. some where generous some where demanding. He had mostly minor minute chores that he easily dispatched robots to take care of up to date.

As soon as the holographic image popped up, Hakura whirled about and, sadly, fainted. Her pack fell beside her, nearly all it's contents purged upon the ground.