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Fantasy Legacies: World at War - In Character

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  • Mateo watched the tiger shrink to be seven feet tall, which was still taller than the average height for an adult male. Even if Mateo was tall for a teenager, he couldn't help still being intimidated by the cat, even though he towered over them less now that he was smaller. He started to walk past Mateo, who took a step back in response, feeling small and helpless compared to the deity, who would likely kill him if he ever transformed in the city. And Mateo even thought he might kill him regardless of if he transformed or not.

    But Halazzi stopped in front of him. In fact, everything did, but in a different way. He couldn't feel Cora's body expand as he breathed while sitting on his shoulder. He looked at the cat worriedly to see that he was fine. He looked around and saw a similarity between Cora's fate and everyone else. They were all still, Mateo the only one who could move. As well as Halazzi, who still had lightning zipping from his pelt.

    He turned back to the tiger as he heard his voice, but Halazzi's mouth didn't move. The deity said he knew who Mateo was, knew that he was a Cabrera. He said he would have words with him and his kin, which Mateo didn't quite understand. Did that mean that more Cabrera's resided in the city, or did the tiger just want to tell them off for how they lost control and rampaged? Or was it just a fancy, deity way of saying he wanted to talk to Mateo? He guessed the latter, considering he told him to meet him at the base of the mountain when this was all done.

    The Solqueador Mountain, who's name came from the Spanish words Bloquedor Solar, meaning sun block. Luminosans judged time based on the mountain, knowing that it was afternoon when the mountain blocked the sun. It wouldn't block it for some time now, meaning it was early. But even though Luminosa had warmer climates, the mountain was still white with snow. The first one, The Beast of Luminosa, always went up there. He wondered if the cold and snow appeared comforting or depressing to him. Did it make him long for the home he could never return to, lest he be slain? Had that been the reason why he'd been to the city, when he transformed for his final time? Those thoughts made him sad for him, a boy who'd only been a little older than himself, who'd had his normal life ripped away from him. Those of the Cabrera curse knew they weren't alone, but he'd been the first, and it must've been lonely to have no one understand you. Everyone thinking you're a monster. And no one even remembering your name, not even your relatives who inherited the curse from you. Mateo thought the Solqueador Mountain held a lot of sadness that no one ever knew about.

    Suddenly, he could hear and feel Cora's breathing form on his shoulder. He looked around as Halazzi resumed his pace, everyone seeming to have life breathed into them once more. Mateo himself looked a little jumpy, putting a hand to his head and shaking it out.

    Afterwards, the tiger's attention shifted towards the guard's question. He leaped up towards the arch, declaring that they were to be allowed into the city limits, as the gates were open in his words. They were outsiders, Halazzi said, but they had potential to become something more. Allies, the deity suggested. But why would a deity of Luminosa want a Cabrera as an ally? It didn't make sense to him, which was why he dreaded that conversation.

    Halazzi looked towards Valero and Hunter, giving a nod, and then turned his knowing eyes towards Mateo. He just gave a quick glance, reminding him of the things he'd spoken. Or thought maybe. The words had seemed to stream directly into his head, which was pretty disorienting.

    Well, they knew where they were headed next, after the guards left them. The Solqueador Moutain, which no citizens were allowed near, let alone outsiders. This would be fun.
 
Mood: Alert
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Bridge to Iron Fortress
"Don't worry, I got you." Rai reassured Mana, a wave of nostalgia washing over him.

This reminded him of a familiar moment, one that was almost exactly like this, a time 6 months ago. The event that occurred at Bounty Hunter lodge with Nia.

Nia. She was someone Rai hadn't thought about in a while. Ever since she had left the group, he really didn't have any times where he had a clear head so that do so. Too many things had escalated, and it drained him of mental stability. There were so many things she missed, fortunately of course, but if only she knew.

Mika had been murdered in cold blood in front of Skyla and Rai, and Mateo had to arrive at that bloody scene in horror. Rai truly fazed by it, but the Death Knight kept appearing to bring it back to haunt his mind. It brought back the fact to remembrance that he was right there. Close to Mika, and had the opportunity to save him. But his body was too weak to uphold, and he couldn't help but watch him die.

But how would Nia react to all of that? It's not like they'd be able to avoid bringing it up anyways. She'd perceive that someone was missing from the group. And then they'd have to tell her to horrible truth. She'd have to hear about-

Goddamn it! Focus! Rai thought to himself while shaking his head.

He had missed what the leader of the group before them had said, but Mateo explained to him, getting him back on track. Matro had also backed up to stand behind Rai, so he extended his arm to shield the boy as well.

The large cat was named Halazzi, and as Mateo described it, he was a deity that serves someone named Lukia. And the Lukia person was the man who gave Ignis Lucero the sword the slayed the first of the Cabrera curse. These names didn't quite click with Rai, as he didn't know who they were, but he could understand the gravity of it to Mateo. If the samurai remembered correctly, the Lucero's were hunting down the Cabrera bloodline. And now, one of their associates was before him.

Just at the moment, Halazzi shrunk down to a smaller size and walked ahead of his guards. He then spoke up once more, telling his men something about his judgment before leaping over to the huge arch over Luminosa's gates. Finally, the deity announced that the city was open to the group. And with that, a wave of relief washed over Rai's body. He left his defensive stance and watched in awe as Halazzi leapt away gracefully.





Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Neutral
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
Castro nodded his head in affirmation to Rori's serious tone. She had told him that he better keep his word, and he damn sure planned to. He would protect this boy with his life. There was no way Castro was going to be the death of another child, or at least he prayed he wouldn't be.

Rori then reverted to her normal casual note and announced her departure. She used Aleph's notepad once more to inform the boy that she was leaving, most likely saying her goodbyes along with it. It took a while for her to finish it, so it must have been lengthy. That means it was probably more heartful than the other ones, so Castro looked away to ensure it's privacy.

After reading the note, Aleph abruptly gave Rori a, er, half-ish hug. Castro's eyes widened in surprise as he looked to the girl for her reaction. Rori was just as shocked, but still gave him a small hug back. Then after the two pulled away, she left Castro with one more parting message about Aleph being from Westshire, which would definitely come handy in the future.

"Thanks, Rori." Castro said with a smile. Shortly after, Rori stylishly exited the hideout. Once he heard that she had fully departed, he lowly said, "Please, stay safe."

He snapped back to to situation before him as Aleph put his arm out once more. The sleeve was mostly in the way of the actual arm, so Castro pulled it up over the boy's shoulder and wrapped it there. Then he outstretched all of Aleph's fingers and began to wrap to mold around them. As Castro finished that, he spread it around his entire hand then up the arm to about where the stub was on the other hand.

Then, he patted each part of it down to smooth it out, and then lifted his blowtorch up. He obviously wasn't just going to heat it up randomly, so he looked to Aleph and gave him calming look. Castro then grabbed the notepad and wrote with one arm,

I'm going to heat up the mold now, but I promise it won't hurt much. Maybe your arm will feel hot or sting a little, but you won't be burned. I just need to do this so that the mold takes the shape of your arm, alright? If you don't feel comfortable with this process, let me know. I'll find another way.

Castro held up the notepad in front of Aleph to let him read.








Mood: Intrigued
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


Akuhei shot Jin a venomous glare as he heard the bikini comment about Miyahira. Before he could check the Demon on it, Mei did it herself, which calmed him a bit. Miyahira didn't really care about it too much, but felt pride at the fact that Jin found her attractive.

As the twins got up and began to follow the Seiryoku members, Kaminari shifted slightly as he felt the stares of Jin and Mei on him. Just then, Jin spoke up and looked at Miyahiri once again, making yet another inappropriate comment. But this time, when Mei went to check him, he turned the tables of her and accused her of having to resist her urges towards Kaminari. Aikawa and Kizawa both laughed at his 'muscles' joke, while Kaminari scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and chuckled as well.

Mei attacked him in embarrassment and then began to speak in a language no one but them could decipher. To this, Kaminari cocked his head in curiosity.

"[Prick.]" Akuhei started. "Quit talking about my sister like that. Have some respect, June."

Kaminari sighed and placed and arm on his brother's shoulder. "What, not gonna defend me too? Don't let it get to you too much, Akuhei."

The elder Shugosha turned back to the twins.

"Mei, what you said earlier, what language is that?"




Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 
  • Skyla & Mana & JustineLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 10:55am

    Mana glanced up at Rai as he reassured her. She smiled, "Thank you.." Imagine having to reassure a 500-year-old probably-more-powerful-than-you Demon because she's a child in appearance and maturity. Mana had calmed down some when Halazzi left, she looked at Rai, "You know.. you're actually super nice." She said, grasping his haori but much more softly this time around. Speaking of Spirits... where has Queen gone...? She appears to be nowhere to be found.

    Skyla walked up to Mateo and said quietly, "Hey, you okay? You seem... a little shaken, Mateo." She noticed how jumpy he was ever since the appearance of Halazzi. Meanwhile, Justine walked quietly behind the group, still not being entirely welcome. She still had to prove herself but the anxiety of being ignored was beginning to get to her but she was electing not to say anything.
 

  • Mateo rushed past the guards and into the city, his arms shaking. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Maybe they should just turn back and forget about it. Halazzi, after only a quick glance, could tell of his Cabrera heritage. He'd never realized that he'd see a deity here. He'd never seen a deity or God before. He knew of them, especially the ones of Luminosa, but didn't think Halazzi would ever show up. Or that he could tell so easily. It'd shaken him more than he realized. He didn't know what to do. If he should actually go talk to the deity. He could probably find Mateo anytime he wanted if he didn't actually show up. But Mateo didn't quite feel comfortable with the arrangement.

    "Hey, you okay? You seem... a little shaken, Mateo."

    His shoulders jumped as he heard Skyla's voice, then relaxed when he realized it was just her. "Uh, y-yeah. It was just a little nerve-wracking to see someone who was involved in the legend. To be here at all really."

    He looked towards Skyla, feeling a little calmed by her presence. She always reassured him. When they first met, when they'd found her again, when Mika had died, and even when he'd finally told them of the curse. He'd shown her plenty of times that he was a crybaby, and she took him in her arms and hugged him until he felt better every time. He couldn't suffer another loss because he was selfish. He couldn't drag them off to see Halazzi and get annihilated. Besides, he needed a guiding hand right now, to tell him what to do. Because, honestly, he couldn't think straight. And he didn't know if he'd be able to make the right decision, if this really was a trap to kill another Cabrera.

    "Skyla? I need to talk to you." He lowered his voice and sped up his pace, hoping the others would follow close behind. "So, the thing is, Halazzi, the tiger deity, he spoke to me. Ok, not really spoke. He didn't open his mouth. But I could still hear his voice. And that's not another effect of the curse. H-He said he knew that I'm a Cabrera, and, well, he wants to talk to me. I think. The way he talks sounds like it's a riddle. Anyways, he told me to meet him at the base of the mountain."

    Mateo pointed towards a high mountain in the far reaches of the area, a pointed tip of white that looked like it was covered in snow, which was unusual given the warmer climate of Luminosa. "The mountain. The Solqueador Mountain. The one from the legend. Which is also heavily off limits to citizens and outsiders. The thing is, he's connected to Lukia, which means he definitely doesn't like me. I don't know what to do. I don't know if it's a trap or not. Basically, there's a lot of 'I don't know's' in this scenario. He did have the chance to kill me though, he knew I'm a Cabrera, but he didn't. Maybe he's one of the reasonable ones, only killing Cabrera's if it's necessary, but I'm not sure." He looked towards Skyla, and it was obvious where he was going with this. "What do you think about all this? Do you think we should go?"
 
  • SkylaLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 10:55am

    Skyla nodded towards Mateo as he explained what had happened. She didn't quite know what he was talking about with the whole Halazzi talking to him thing but went along with it. Finally he mentioned the base of the Mountain then asked what he though they all should do. Skyla crossed her arms under her chest, "Well, I'm certainly not letting you see some deity by yourself." Skyla thought for a moment, "That said, maybe we should go? I mean, he is a deity, right? If he didn't immediately try to kill you then it's possible he's willing to listen to reason? That or he has a reason for summoning you to the mountain." Skyla looked at Mateo, "Either way, I'll go where ever you go, Mateo."
 
Mood: Calmer, but still Alert
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Luminosa
Rai returned a warm smile as Mana made a comment that touched his heart. As she continued to grasp his silky haori, she told him that he was super nice. At to his surprise, he realized that this was the first time anyone had addressed him face to face as something that wasn't superficial in a sense. Mana didn't say protective. She didn't tell him he was strong. She didn't call a warrior.

Mana said he was nice.

"Thanks." he had responded. "I try my hardest to do so."

Rai looked up in surprise and took Mana by the hand as Mateo and Skyla began to speed up, going further into Luminosa. He was originally going to catch up and join the two side by side, but as sound of Mateo's voiced dimmed to a barely audible, he decided to linger back. It was most likely that a conversation was starting, so Rai gave them their privacy.

As he walked ahead and brought along Mana, Rai realized that he was still limping a bit. His left foot scraped against the rubble beneath him as he dragged his leg helplessly. The vines had done this to him. In fact, there were still faint red trails going up his leg in a spiral. The effect of the Death Knight. It began to seem to Rai that every time the knight appeared, someone was either hurt, or worse. Murdered in cold blood.

Things had reached a breaking point where Rai feared for his life in the presence of the knight. He had swiftly and easily taken out Mika, so who says he couldn't do it to him next? There were many opportunities to do so, but it never happened. Someway and somehow, Rai kept his life each and every time. Why? Why didn't the Death Knight just avoid further problems by decimating the entire group? It left the samurai baffled all the time.

Either the knight was downright idiotic, could care less about killing them, or had bigger plans for them in the future. The thought of the cause dawned on Rai's mind in this moment to the point where he had forgotten about his injuries. And Mana as well. As he looked to his side and saw the girl once again, he snapped back to reality.

"Ah, Mana." Rai began. "So uh, are you from Luminosa? I've never seen anyone like you in Ironshire or Westshire before." He placed his free hand on her head. "Though I have to say, it's nice to see a fellow white haired person out here! Besides that bird, erm, butterfly lady. It's a rarity."


Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Focused
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
As Aleph read the text on the notepad and then nodded in confirmation that heating the mold was okay, Castro pulled the 'trigger' on the homemade blowtorch. A blue flame spewed from the opening of the gadget and heated the air. Small ripples to represent heatwave formed around the tip as well.

"Here we go." Castro murmured. Then, he slowly lowered the flame down to the mold and began to let it lightly graze it. He moved in an up and down motion on one area at a time, and just doing one part too a while because of how cautious Castro was with the flames.

Once one area had been heated enough, that part of the mold hardened to permanently take the shape of Aleph's arm. Castro continued this process for several minutes, and the bandit looked to and from the blowtorch to Aleph many times, watching for expressions of pain. If he saw any, he eased up on the flames a bit.








Mood: Happy
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


"How you look me in face and speak unknown language." Akuhei bantered in a confused tone to Jin. "You expect me to understand?"

Speaking of languages, just then, Mei answered Kaminari's question referring to the way they were speaking before. She calledit, 'Demonic' and said that it was the language of the Demons. She also mentioned to Kaminari thaat if he wanted to learn it, he'd have to go to Kumii about it, as he was the one who determined who they taught it to. This caught the Shugosha off guard, as he had to prior intention to learn it in the first place.

Kaminari shook his head and stared ahead once again. "No, no. I don't want to learn your language. I was just wondering what it was."

"Liar." Miyahira suddenly spoke up with a smile, something only her brothers and Heath usually could ever get her to do. "You know damn well your curious ass wanted to learn it. Probably was gonna eavesdrop too."

"What!? I promise on Chang So-Doo's soul I didn't want to know!"

"Chang's gonna steal your soul tonight for a lie like that." Aikawa quipped, letting out a long and hoarse laugh afterwards, which caused even more laughter among the group. (except Miyahira)

"Alright, I think we should pipe down in front of our guests." Kizawa said. Which to his surprise, actually quieted them down. They actually listened? "So, Mei and Jin. I heard that your leader said something about a foe. If you wish, please tell me more about this being."

Kizawa reached into his pocket and took out a small pad and pen. As he looked between the twins, awaiting their answer, he titled the page,

The Seiryoku Empire's New Enemy.



Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 
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  • Mateo felt a warmth enter his chest as Skyla started off by sternly saying she wouldn't let him go off to see Halazzi by himself. Even if it could be a trap. Even if Halazzi got angered by his presence and tried to kill him and his associates, she'd still come with him. He couldn't help the small smile that displayed itself on his lips. She always made him feel better.

    She suggested they go, but she sounded as unsure as Mateo felt. She did make a good point. Like she said, he could've just killed Mateo back at the gate, or alerted his heritage to the guard's attention. Either way, Skyla announced that she'd go wherever he did, which made him less nervous if he had Skyla watching his back. And she also helped to confirm their next course of action, bringing an indecisive Mateo to finalize their next route.

    Mateo nodded. "Thank you." He looked towards Cora, who swished his tail and meowed. He knew the spirit wouldn't leave his side while they met Halazzi. He turned around to ask Rai and Mana, but then realized that they'd trailed behind and had started another conversation. He smiled. Even though they'd learned about Mana being a demon, seeing her true form full force, Rai still conversated with her like she was a member of the group.

    "Ok, let's do it." He said, his fists clenching at his side while his gaze gave off the feeling of steely resolve, even though his arms trembled at his sides. He walked up to the two, not wanting to disturb their conversation too much, but knew it would be unwise to run off without giving them a say. Especially with Mana, considering her father had made him promise her safety. "Hey, so, that big cat deity, Halazzi, he told me to meet him at the base of the mountain. Me and Skyla are gonna go meet with him. But I don't know what he wants, or if it's even safe. So, do you guys wanna come with? Of course, you don't have to come, if you don't want to."

    Mateo didn't want to sound too dependent or force them to come along with if they didn't want to, but he still needed to let them know where the three of them were going. And offer if they wanted to come along.

    He looked down to Rai's leg, catching a glimpse of the red trails from the vines, which had pricked into him hard as he'd struggled to break free. Mateo brought up his hands, ready to kneel down and heal it for him, but brought them down a second later. Even if they had gloves on, would Rai really want Mateo's gross hands touching the wound? He himself despised his hands, and he was no stranger to how they looked to other people. Horrifing things. Sickening. And he'd seen those emotions displayed on Rai's face when he'd revealed his hands. He couldn't blame him though. Mateo loathed his own hands as well.

    "By the way, do either of you two need to be healed." He looked between both Rai and Mana, trying to sound inconspicuous about the question, like he hadn't noticed Rai's leg. "Oh yeah, Mana, I can magically heal people. So, if you ever have any wounds, you can just come to me, and I'll heal them up super-fast."
 
  • Skyla & Mana & JustineLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:00am

    Skyla nodded back at Mateo. She couldn't help but sense the steel resolve coming from him, which made her smile. Mateo approached Mana and Rai and asked them if they wanted to join them to base of the Mountain then after that, went to his healer roots. She remained silent as she awaited their answers.

    Mana let go of Rai's haori as he began to ask her the question if she was from Luminosa, "Nope. I'm from the Demon Nation. I am a Demon after all. Did you not see my true form earlier?" She asked in a questioned tone. She thought, "Hmm maybe this'll convince you without revealing my true form in front of everyone again." She pulled Rai over a bit and leaned into Rai's ear and whispered, "[I know you can't understand me right now, but I like you.]" She finished her sentence and let him stand back up and smiled at him, "Did that convince you?"

    Rai didn't seem to get a chance to answer as Mateo approached them asking if they wanted to join them on a trip to the Mountain. Admittedly, Mana was still a bit scared of the deity, "I'm sorry... I-I can't, that whole encounter still has me a bit shaken up, Mattie."
 
Mood: Calmer, but still Alert
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Luminosa
A demon. Rai thought. Mana's words lingered in his mind for a bit. Yet again, another term of this world was unfamiliar to him. Guess this needed to happen. If Rai hadn't came along with the others for this...experience, he would have continued his mediocre life without giving a single thought as to if things, places, or creatures unique had existed. An eye opener, for sure. This just proves how well Cyan was protecting Ironshire. The fact that Ironshire hadn't been taken over or destroyed by any of the otherworldly entities outside the city gives three possibilities. Either Ironshire was not interesting to other potential threats, it was so well-protected that not a single person dared to start trouble, or Cyan himself was just that intimidating. Either way, Rai had to give the man some credit for his doings.

"Yeah, I saw the form." Rai replied to Mana. "Or at least, in small bits. I was still more so focused on the Death Knight."

He continued listening intently to the girl as she mentioned a way to prove it to him, without revealing the form again, of course. Rai then nodded and gave her a smile as she made him lean forward a bit and whispered into his ears. That smile faded very quickly though, as the language she spoke was unfamiliar. Not a word from that sentence could he distinct.

Mana asked him if that proved it to him. "Uh, definitely." But she wasn't paying attention to his response, so it went unheard.

Mana had fixated her attention back on Mateo, who had previously asked them a question. It involved Mateo and Skyla going down to the base of the mountain to meet up with Halazzi, the big blue cat from earlier. Rai instinctively cocked his head to the side in confusion, as he didn't understand why they would do that. But he stayed silent as stuck to the assumption that this was the subject of their private conversation.

Anyways, Mateo was wondering if Rai or Mana wanted to tag along, although he was unsure if it was necessary or safe. Mana answered first, rejecting the offer due to a lingering feeling of disturbance from the encounter. And Rai was irrefutably not going to leave her by herself, so he shook his head, declining as well.

"I'll stick around here and keep and stay with Mana." he informed them. "You two deal with whatever the meet-up is for. Be safe."



Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Focused
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
Gonna DM you, Alpha. So we can talk about how we want the building process to go.

Happy I Like It GIF










Mood: Happy
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


The Seiryoku Empire's New Enemy.

-There are rumors that this man stole his power from a so called goddess. Her name was "Serana". Not very helpful information, but it'll do.
-Jin says that the man has slaves. Thought he addresses them as generals. There are four, and apparently, Kumii is one of them. This must be why he seeked help. Uncertain.
-Kumii dislikes being a general.

Kizawa clicked the end of his pen and looked back up at the twins. "Interesting information. Anything else? Does this being have any other associates? Who are the other four generals? What can you tell me about his moveset? What type of magic does he use? Any weapons? What-?"

Kizawa would have continued his prolonged banter if he wasn't cut off my Aikawa slapping the back of his head.

"Damn, boy!" the old man berated him. "Stop running that goddamn mouth! Have at least the respect to let 'em answer a question before giving another one!"

Aikawa continued to mutter degrading comments under his breath about the boy, while Kizawa just nodded his head and apologized.

"Sorry, could you go ahead and answer the one about-"

"Actually, Kizawa, I think that's enough questions for now." Kaminari interjected. "Jin. Mei. Do you want us to show you around? Or is there something else you'd like to do?"



Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 
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  • Mateo looked on kindly to the little demon as she responded that she couldn't go. It'd shaken her up too much, and Mateo completely understood that. In fact, if the whole thing didn't concern him, he wouldn't want to go either. But he was the Cabrera, the one Halazzi was concerned about. If they were going, then Mateo himself didn't have a choice on the matter like the others did. He had to go. He felt guilty about even asking the others to come with, knowing it could potentially put them in danger. He felt like a burden on them again. At first, he could barely fight, only helping to keep them healed up. He'd gotten stronger, obtaining his phoenix pal and actually being able to help in battle, but now he was a whole other burden on the party. They had to deal with the ramifications of his curse, and the potential that he'd transform into a monster should he be overcome with negative emotions.

    Part of the reason why Mateo acted so skittish and jumpy when first meeting Mika and Skyla was because of his curse in the first place. Because he didn't want people getting too close to him out of fear he'd hurt them. Some part of him was fearful of others and how they'd perceive him as a monster. He already knew he was the monster, so he didn't need other people telling him the things he already knew.

    He could understand Mana's qualms with the whole thing and didn't hold it against her. Though he'd rather she not stay alone, especially in a place so unforgiving as Luminosa. He was about to ask Cora to stay behind with her, but before he could Rai jumped in with his own answer, saying he'd stick around here and stay with Mana. He gave a grateful nod to Rai.

    "You as well." He responded to the samurai, then bent down to be at Mana's level and put a hand on her head. He gave a smile. "Don't worry about it, ok? We can handle everything." He acted all happy go lucky, but his face hardened up and became serious. "Just be careful. People like us aren't welcomed here. I know it's tough in a lot of places, but it's bad here especially. So just keep a low profile."

    He lumped himself in with Mana and Cora, considering Luminosans really didn't like him because he was a Cabrera. And yet again he felt like a burden, considering one of the reasons spirits weren't liked here is because of suspicions that the Cabrera's and spirits worked together, as well as the fact that some people thought the one who cursed the Cabrera's was a spirit. No one knew who it was that did it, but some believed that an evil spirit started the whole thing. Of course everything that affected his friends could be drawn back to him and his lineage, making him feel extra guilty. And it just made an overwhelming surge of protectiveness rush through his veins, making him apprehensive about splitting the team about. Especially since last time he'd been apart from his friends, one of them had died. And he'd been too late to save him using the one thing he was good at. He didn't want to separate again, lingering there for a little bit too long. But he broke away eventually, standing up and saying a quick, awkward goodbye before they trailed off.

    As they walked deeper into the city, the nature of it became more apparent. The city seemed centuries away from how it had appeared in the story of his ancestor. In that version, people had hidden away in their homes from fear. The city had been bleak before, but after Lukia blessed them, putting the city under his watch, it had grown more prosperous. It didn't rival Ironshire's technology, but it certainly grew in size from a small town at the base of a mountain, to a bustling city. The sun shone brightly on its citizens, who in turn used the safety of the day light hours to work and get things done. Mateo could see the beginnings of decorations. Marigolds were a common theme, a flower seemingly native to the region. People seemed to start putting together vases of orange marigolds. As the days got closer and closer to the festival, the flowers would be put out on ofrendas, and their petals would line the streets and make a path for the spirits to enter back into the material plane for a short time. The Festival of Light was also seen as a time to honor ancestors and allow them to come back for a time and spend the holiday with their family. Of course, no one knew if they actually came, considering no one could see the deceased souls reentering the mortal plane, but the belief was there all the same.

    Flag pennants were cut out of cloth and put together on a line of string by decorators starting the process of getting the streets prepared for festival time. Some merchants came out to prepare various stalls that would soon line the streets, setting up attractions and colorful signs. Things would be in full swing by the end of the week, when the festival would take place once more. It all seemed like the usual routine for Luminosans, which made Mateo envious of the life he could've had, had he not been born into the curse.

    The traditions of Luminosa festivals were a little bit different but could still be marked as the beginnings of a festival by anyone. He still felt wracked with nerves but could feel the prickle of excitement at looking at customs so similar and yet so foreign. Luminosa was such a beautiful place, always in color. But the brighter the light, the darker the shadows. And Luminosa had plenty that Mateo was fully aware of, and still felt the effects of. He knew despite growing up in the desert, that he'd been born a Luminosan. This was his culture, yet he knew he'd never be welcomed with open arms.

    And the closer he got to meeting Halazzi, the more he realized that fact, his jumpiness soon returning. He physically jumped when he heard the cawing of a black cloud of crows, disturbed by the shadow of something much larger perching onto the rooftops. Many of those figures stood, though Mateo couldn't make out the details of them. They reminded him of decorative gargoyles, except they were much bigger and moved to scare off the crows. The birds pecked around at the top of the buildings, the only dark shape in Luminosa. The crows reminded him of his own cursed form, and how pitch black he became. Which was probably one of the reasons why whenever a crow started pecking around near a person, they cursed at it in Spanish to scare it off. He knew they kept a lot of superstitions here regarding black furred animals, like cats and crows, because of the dark creatures the Cabrera's turned into.

    They made a straight line for the mountain, and in doing so eventually made their way to the center of Luminosa. At least the center of the city now. As they walked into the big open area, he was made immediately aware at the eyes staring at him. Two stone eyes in the center.

    Mateo gulped down at the sight, feeling like the statue itself bore into his soul. It felt like the man of stone could see the curse he contained inside of himself and would use the sword carved at his side to expose him as a beast. He instantly knew in his heart who the man was. Ignis Lucero. The sight of the man made him shut down back into his nervous side. The guy who had murdered his ancestor in the story, and proclaimed the hunt to end all Cabrera's, which was apparently backed by the God of the Hunt himself. Not surprising, since he was the god of hunting and all. Still, Mateo would've thought he'd be able to see the truth about the Cabrera's. That they were an innocent party in all of this. They didn't want to transform and rampage and hurt people. It just happened. But the Lucero's believed they performed the god's will, and maybe they did. Maybe Halazzi had a message from his master or came to kill Mateo personally. He wondered if the god had told his deity to finish off the Cabrera's, or to let the mortals settle mortal arguments. The Cabrera's were still mortal after all. Mateo was still human, just with a different side to him. He was as mortal as the Lucero's or Skyla and Rai. In the end, you could say it was just another needless mortal war, but deities and gods seemed to have some control over it. They were headed to Halazzi, after all.

    The statue wore the garments of a hunter. Long tunic, a belt with satchels and supplies, strapped boots and gloves, and a billowing cape of heavy stone. His longish hair looked to be tied back in a ponytail and his face looked warm and inviting, unbecoming of a killer. Though Mateo was aware that to the man himself, what he'd done had been for the good of his people. Ignis probably didn't think of it as murder but slaying a rampaging beast. He could understand both points of view, having the insight of the event now being written down as history, yet he didn't have the whole story. No one truly did, as many details had been lost along the way.

    In one hand, the man balanced the Sword of Light. Even if he'd never seen the real weapon himself, and never wished to meet the Lucero that held it now, he knew it'd been crafted perfectly. As if the carver had the chance to inspect the real thing to make it so. It completed the look of the iconic man, yet something still seemed missing. He looked down to his feet, and the glaring mask jumped out at him. Carved into the stone at the man's feet, a slab of stone had been made into the man's titular mask. A square sheet rounded out so it could fit the face of the man who'd worn it so long ago. It had two holes for the wearer to see through, and at the top it jutted out into two horns that branched into new paths, sort of like small antlers. He had a strange, but strong wave of negativity hit him. He couldn't explain why, but he hated the mask almost instantly. He'd never come across it before, but something told him it held a lot of pain and misery within its gaze.

    The statue seemed too life like for his taste. Mateo could almost imagine what he'd looked like in real life, even though Ignis' time had been decades before his own. He looked down to see the plaque beneath the statue which had the name Ignis Lucero written in bold. Below it was a script Mateo didn't even dare to read to save his own sanity, and before long he pushed them forward. But with a final glance, it felt like Ignis' eyes tracked him, someone who carried the lineage of his sworn enemy. It gave him the creeps, even though it had only been his imagination.

    It'd been a long walk, but they finally reached the area where the city started to blur into the mountain range. Luminosa wasn't as big as Ironshire, but it seemed pretty close. Now, as they came closer to the reaches of the mountain, the city thinned. The houses seemed less and less extravagant, the rich keeping to central Luminosa. The houses became small, stucco buildings of various colors, still keeping with the colorful and constructional theme of the city. Though the buildings looked much older and carried a sense that these had been the homes of many of the original Luminosans. But instead of having people flocking to take the homes because of historical value, they'd become poor shacks that no one besides the poor dared to touch.

    Closer to the Solqueador Mountain, Luminosa kept its slums. No one wanted to live near where they thought the Cabrera beasts roamed, so it made sense why the area would be restricted to the ones balancing poverty. And why the property value had drastically decreased. At least the place was less densely packed than other slum areas he'd visited back when he roamed as a nomadic traveling healer. In fact, the buildings were kept spaces apart from each other, all leading up to the base of the mountain. At about a hundred yards from the base, the poor houses stopped, and a military presence became noted. Guards stood outside a thick wall of stone, similar to the wall that surrounded the entrance to the city, that segregated the Cabrera's mountain from the Lucero's city. Two towers stood guard, again signaling the similarity to the main gates of Luminosa. They'd arrived, but with a little trouble.

    He sized up the wall, feeling displeasure sink into his bones. He should've realized the mountain would be guarded. He knew going up the mountain was off limits to everyone, so of course they'd have security measures to keep that law in place. And Mateo didn't fancy getting himself noticed by asking the guards to let them through. Unless Halazzi vouched for them, the guards would never let them through. And he didn't think the deity would do that, given it seemed like he wanted this meeting to be a secret.

    Mateo tore his gaze from the wall and to Skyla. "There's no way the guards will let us pass, and we can't jump it either. What do we do?"
 
  • SkylaLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:05am

    Skyla let Mateo respond to everyone then responded herself, "I wont let anything happen to our favorite little healer." She commented towards Rai, "You just gotta promise not to let anything happen to our Demon friend." She smiled then departed as Mateo did. Skyla looked around, taking in the sights and sounds of Luminosa. On one hand; bright and joyful, overwhelming even. On the other, she couldn't help but feel a certain darkness surrounding the city but not your typical darkness but more like the city had its own secrets to hide.

    Mateo and Skyla both noticed the statue. Skyla felt a sudden chill of uneasiness as they approached their meeting location only to be met by a giant wall and seemed to well-guarded. Skyla sighed and Mateo spoke up to her, "Honestly, I'm not too sure." She began to scan the wall, looking for any potential weaknesses or discrepancies within its structure.
 
Mood: Calmer, but still Alert
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Luminosa
As Skyla informed Rai to protect Mana, he quickly nodded his head and watched as the two departed. Just at that moment, the little girl peeped. She told Rai that he didn't have to stay with her, which he found absolutely boggling. She was a child who couldn't be any older than 8. Why would he leave her on her own in this strange area?

Except, now she had informed him, she wasn't actually 8 years old. She was 500.

"500?! What the fu-" Rai shouted out before quickly cutting himself off. He placed a hand on his head and looked Mana in the eyes. He was trying to see if there was any sign of a lie in her eyes, but she was serious. "Sorry. Uh, yeah, sure let's explore."

Rai ventured along with Mana through Luminosa, keeping his guard up as much as possible. Not only was this a foreign city, but it also seemed to contain deities. Now, Rai was willing to fight and possibly kill any dangers that could've come their way during their exploration. But, he wasn't too confident in his skill when it came to full blown beasts attacking him. He did have experience, such as the Unholy One and Junk Dragon, but both times Rai had people by his side. But here, he'd have to fend one off with a little girl. Definitely not the best conditions.

But he'd still try. Regardless of the consequences. It was just that protective instinct that dwelled within him.

"So, uh, Mana." Rai spoke up as the two traversed on the beautiful roads. "Could you tell me about, if you want to of course, demons? I mean, what exactly is your kind? I've never heard of them before"

He waited silently for an answer, but before he could get it, Rai heard his name get called out from ahead. As he gradually looked up towards the source, a pretty white haired girl came into view. And she was the one calling his name. She also talked like she knew him, asking 'is that you?'.

Rai took a step in front of Mana as the girl closed the distance between them, with two other people coming along. "Yeah, that's me, Rai Ikari." He answered. "And uh, who the hell are you?"



Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Focused
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
After successfully hardening the mold on Aleph's arm, Castro smiled upon his accomplishment. Then, he returned back to work and slowly slid the mold from the boy's forearm. Or at least, what should've been his forearm. Now, it was the stub remaining there. Castro couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Aleph's arm, but didn't dare to ask out of worry that it'd hurt him.

Castro placed the warm mold upon a small table beside him, carefully holding it by the biceps.

"Alright, little guy." he said while dusting off his hands. "Now I'm just gonna smelt a few of those scales and some titanium, then pour it into the mold. Then I'd have to wait for it to dry up, break the mold off, then we'd have a sold base for your arm. Afterwards, I'm going to use the other scales to coat the arm, essentially making it armor. Uh. Then we gotta add some seams and mobilizers to give it flexibility, so you can more you fingers and all that. Then we'll-"

Castro looked back up at Aleph. Then he put his fingers on his temples and sighed.

"Right. You can't hear me. Sorry."

The bandit took up the notepad and scribbled a new message onto a free page.

So I'm gonna start smelting your scales and some titanium I have in store. You're gonna have to wait for a while, but you can look around for something to entertain yourself with. But you CAN'T watch me smelt them. I don't want you too close to the furnace.

Castro looked around the room and then back to the notepad.

If you're hungry, I have some sandwiches and water jugs in the fridge. Also, there should be a cookie jar behind that bench over there. I also have some books and safer gadgets under the bed. Just don't come near the furnace.

The bandit began to hand the notepad back to Aleph, but hesitated and took it back to write another sentence.

Also, I don't mean to push for information, but who are your parents? I wanna know what I'm getting myself into when I take you back.

Then, Castro finally gave Aleph the notebook. Afterwards, he walked over the his furnace and began to put coal into it, loudly saying.

"I'll read that when I'm done."









Mood: Happy
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


Mei and Jin had gazed at each other for a moment, then answered the question, as if they had a telepathic conversation. The two asked to see the Seiryoku training grounds, even suggesting a spar to assess the skill of their new allies. No magical abilities, just a test of their skill and battle iq. And Mei even suggested for it to be just Jin fighting.

The Seiryoku members all exchanged looks. Some uncertain, some excited, and others uninterested.

"A spar is...unexpected." Kizawa said. "Considering that we just met you. But of the others wish to participate, they can. I wish to stand aside and observe."

"So do I, I'd like to watch someone get their ass beat, not do the ass beating." Aikawa hoarsely laughed. "Domori and the siblings can- wait. Are you suggesting a one on one, or do you want to fight them all at once?"













Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 
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  • Mateo looked on with worry as Skyla responded that she wasn't too sure herself. Mateo watched her eyes scan the wall for any cracks along it, and he did the same. However, his skin prickled with an uncomfortable feeling. He was sure someone was watching them, but when he turned his attention to the guards, they seemed to just be doing a quick scan of the area. Nothing unusual for guards. Yet Mateo still got that uneasy feeling. He wasn't all too sure what caused it. He just knew it made him feel even more nervous, feeling something ancient and powerful bearing into his soul with their watchful eye.

    Suddenly, he took hold of Skyla's arm and started dragging her away. "C'mon." He simply said. He could feel both Skyla and Cora's eyes now on him, most likely worried on what had gotten him so spooked, but that wasn't comparable to the uneasy feeling he got. Even if he was sure it was the same motion, watching, it felt different. And he was vaguely aware that the bright colors of Luminosa were slowly starting to fade on him, being replaced with monotone colors as if he were color blind.

    He dragged Skyla to an area where a house eclipsed the wall, which would obstruct them from the prying eyes of the guards. He wasn't sure if whatever had been watching him was gone, but it felt better now that they were less out in the open.

    A crate had been set up right to the wall, and Mateo sat on it to deliver a heavy sigh. He had to figure out how exactly they'd be able to get over this hurdle, but it seemed hopeless. Until he realized that the crate shifted with him. He raised an eyebrow and got up. He knocked on the wood of the crate, and the knock echoed back to him, conveying that it was hollow and empty. He opened it up a crack, and sure enough, nothing inside. He looked around, but no other crates of the nature could be found. "Why would someone just keep an empty crate here? That can't be up to code with the guard. Basically everything is kept away from the wall besides the house." He remarked.

    But as he inspected the area around the wall, his vision came upon a crack in it that arched up from the crate. He traced it with his finger and came down upon the crate. His eyes widened upon his realization. "Help me move it." He said, again with no explanation behind his actions.

    Between the two of them, plus the emptiness of the crate, they were able to move it with ease. It slid across the ground, revealing a sizeable hole in the wall that went all the way through to reveal the space on the other side. Cracks sprawled out around the hole that could easily fit a humanoid figure, most of which had been hidden by the crate. The whole thing seemed deliberate. The hole itself looked like it had been bashed through by something, creating the cracks that chipped away at the stone to form the little entrance. Then there'd been the empty crate placed there to hide the imperfection in the wall. But he couldn't imagine why any Luminosan would want to go beyond the safety of the wall and into the territory of the Cabrera's, so the whole thing was easy to bury in the back of his head. Who knows, maybe the stone had crumbled away from age. Besides, it helped them in their current situation.

    "Well, I guess we found our way forward." He said, crouching down next to the small tunnel. It'd be a tight fit for the two of them, looking like it was designed for someone much smaller. It seemed Mana sized, and if the girl had come with them, she'd find she could move through it comfortably. As Cora jumped off his shoulder, intent on moving on his own to give Mateo enough breathing room, the teen crawled through first. He took the lead, followed closely by Cora. It wasn't too long, spanning the length of how thick the wall itself was. He found himself on the other side in only a few seconds, but as he'd suspected it'd been a tight fit. Cora popped out after him, the cat being able to zip through in a second if no one had been in front. As he looked up, he took in the beautiful sight of the Solqueador mountain. It was breathtaking. Green pines littered its incline, something rare to the Luminosa landscape. They shadowed the stone and grass that gave way to white at its sharp peak. It looked massive with different ledges and landings, and so many other details he couldn't make out. He knew why his ancestors had been obsessed with the sight, because it instantly drew him in. Despite Luminosans regarding it as a dangerous place, Mateo saw beauty and peace. He felt calming emotions edge into his worry and disintegrate it, wondering how anyone could think of the mountain as such a cursed place. To him, it felt as clear and serene as the ringing of a bell and he could almost picture that sound emanating into his eardrums, urging him to climb the mountain and see what secrets laid there for him to find.

    Meanwhile, the boy who had created the makeshift tunnel watched from behind the house, out of sight of the outsiders who had found his passageway. He was intent on following them, to figure out why they wanted to visit the mountain. The markings burned into his face like tattoos signaled him as a special member of the Convocation of the Golden Hunt, and the young boy didn't remember seeing those figures before. They weren't members of the Convocation, he didn't think, which worked in his favor. However, he still didn't like others having access to the mountain, which they could use to find anything up there. He needed to make sure the tunnel stayed a secret, for the safety of things that lied beyond them on the rocky slopes of the mountain. And maybe, just maybe, they were people that he could gather aid from. He could only hope, as he was out of options, and time that was running ever so thin.
 
  • Skyla & HalazziLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:06am


    Skyla was suddenly tugged along by a worried-looking Mateo, clearly he was trying to escape from something. They arrived at a very inconspicuous looking crate and Mateo asking Skyla for help to move it, which she did. Doing so revealed a small hole, barely large enough to fit an adult sized female. Skyla groaned as she crawl through the space, almost getting caught when it narrowed ever so slightly, "Jesus, this was... not made..." She plopped out the other side, groaning a sitting up, "...for someone like me." She saw Mateo looking at the mountain in wonderment.

    Skyla admitted to herself that it was beautiful but her attention was torn away when she spotted a white tiger within the brush. She put a hand on Mateo's shoulders, "He's here." She said and pointed in his direction.

    Halazzi emerged in his much smaller cat form, about the size of a sabertooth tiger, "I am glad you can make it." His voice wasn't as boomy as it was earlier but it was low still, "You are cursed with Death. Aren't you, Cabrera?" Halazzi could feel his curse, "You need not answer me, I can feel her power within you. However involuntary it is, the Goddess Serena's power is part of you now." The figure emerged next to Halazzi but oddly neither Skyla nor Halazzi reacted to her appearance.

    The woman spoke though, "My dearest Halazzi, If only you could hear me. I would like to speak with you. It is so very lonely." She seemed to be unaware that Mateo could possible be the only one who could hear or see her. She turned her gaze to Mateo, "This one reacted to my presence earlier... but alas, I fear he cannot hear me as well."

    Halazzi continued as Serena did but her words seemed to overpower Halazzi's in Mateo's mind at least, "If you worry about being killed young Cabrera, you need not fear. I have no intention to do so, for that is no longer the will of the God Lukia, my master."
 
Mood: Calmer, but still Alert
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Luminosa
As the pun flew over his head, Rai shook his head at the girl's words. She reminded him that her name was Nia, which Rai found familiar for a moment. It wasn't a name he hadn't heard before, but it was ultimately barely reaching the surface of his mind. Nia continued to mention Mika, and that she had left them at the tournament, exactly six months ago.

How the hell does she know about the tournament? And Mika? Rai thought. And then he took a moment to size the girl up, examining her features. Her longish eyelashes, her hips that had a slight curve to them. Believe or not, this description is also in Rai's post where he first met Nia. Regardless, he was at a loss for words.

"I-I'm sorry, but-" Rai froze in his sentence. The tournament. The Foggy Bandit. The Bounty Bar. Who was the other girl that accompanied us? Nyla? Mia? He gazed upon her one last time as a cog finally turned in his mind. "Hold on, weather girl Nia?"

Rai's jaw slowly dropped and he leaned forward a bit, staring intently at her face. He looked like a deer mesmerized by car headlights, frozen, and unsure of what to do in the moment. Only there wouldn't be death right after. Instead, there'd be excitement. And that's what happened. Rai placed his hands on both of Nia's shoulder and shook her a bit.

"You've gotta be...You've gotta be shitting me." He gasped. And suddenly, he scooped Nia up in a large hug, spinning her around and letting out a heartful laugh before setting her down. "Holy shit! You've tanned! You sound a little different! Your-"

Rai cut himself off and shook his head. He found himself about to make a comment on her cleavage, and shook his head. Embarrassed at the fact that he had looked in the first place.

"You're still short." He said to replace it. "Damn...this is crazy." Rai took a step back and sighed. "I-Where were you? How have you been?" He looked back at Kishi and Ryuuni. "I-Is that your Dad?"




Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Focused
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
Castro scooped up a handful of scales once he finished inserting coal into the furnace. He had ran there and dumped them in as fast as possible, getting shocked plenty of times on the way there. Then, he searched through a bag full of metals and collected some Titanium, throwing them in next.

7 minutes later...

"Ah, fuck!" Castro yelled out as he accidentally touched the new heated liquid. He wasn't worried about holding back on his cursing, he had just assumed that Aleph couldn't hear it. But because of how loud he yelled, it was bound to slip in. "Sorry."

Castro had poured the new liquified metals into a small stone bucket, and then carried it over to a small table beside the arm mold, creating a loud thump it hit the wood. Afterwards, Castro lifted the arm and placed it between two books so that the opening was facing upwards. Then, he carefully lifted the bucket and began to pour in the heated liquid. From this came a loud sizzling; smoke began to arise from the mold. Once this process ended as well, Castro set aside the bucket and began to take our neurological gear as the liquid solidified.

"Alright, Aleph." He said lowly, knowing he couldn't hear him "This is where shit gets dangerous."







Mood: Happy
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


Akuhe laughed loudly at Jin's comment about them needing an advantage.

"[He talk lots of game.]" He said to Miyahira. "[Hope he can back it up]" Then he turned back to Jin. "I'll take you on myself. Give you an introduction. My way."

"Akuhei." the eldest Shugosha spoke up. "You've fought enough for today. Castro, that girl he was with. Give your body a break."

"Cmon, I'll be fine."

"I cannot risk you sustaining any further injuries. Especially now that we might go to battle with someone."

"Akuhei." Kizawa said. "Kaminari is right, we don't know what kind of injuries you have. It's too risky."

Akuhei sputtered for a moment and looked between the group, doubting that they were serious. But once he realized they were, he sighed and nodded his head. "So who fighting?"

"I will." Kaminari answered. "I will not let my sister get attacked, of course." Kaminari leaned in towards everyone else and whispered, "Plus, she's shit at hand to hand combat. She's nothing without that sword!"

The Seiryoku all laughed at his joke, but Miyahira suddenly kicked her brother in then side. "I heard that, [idiot]. I can fight...a bit."

"Keywords. A bit."

Miyahira began delivering more kicks to Kaminari sides, which only made him laugh harder.

"Alright, alright." Aikawa said and then began to lead the way. "Let's get these folks to the arena."

Moments later...

After a bit of walking through the empire, the group approached a large pair of double doors that were isolated in a hallway. The smooth steel of the door was dyed a harsh, crimson red color and had no doorknobs on it. Which meant that they had to be pushed to open. Small bits of bright light were slipping through the cracks, making the cold marble floor's white shades glisten. It was as if there was an entire paradise on the other side. But in reality, there was a large fighting arena that had a violent past of matches.

"Right out these doors and we'll be there." Aikawa announced. "I should mention though, Heath was influenced by gladiator battlefields for this arena. Many people find it...very extra and unnecessary."

Aikawa put his hands on the door and paused. "Frankly, so do I." Then he pushed on the smooth steel and shoved the doors open, revealing a wide, earthy arena surrounded by stands for viewers.

binu-balan-a02-copy.jpg

"Welcome to the Seiryoku Battle Arena, Mei and Jin."

As the group walked through the doors and onto the field, a guard came forward and bowed.

"I see you've come to use the field today?" The man asked, a big smile on his face. "Or are you just giving our guests a tour?"

"A little of both, Masaki." Kaminari answered. "We're going to have a little spar."

"Ah, damn. Could you try to keep calm this time? Last fight you had here, you left a huge crater in here. Do you know how long it took to fix that?

"You remember that? Well, that was years ago. I'm much more controlled now."

"And stronger." Masaki added. "That's what I'm worried about." He turned to the others. "Shall I take everyone else to the watching suite? W-Well, except the other fighter of course. Which is..."

Akuhei hardly patted Jin on the shoulder and smiled. "Man right here. Jin..don't know last name."

"Nice to meet you, Jin. And good luck in your battle."

A few minutes afterwards...

Once Masaki had escorted the others to the suite, Kaminari took Jin to the middle of the arena, where the two of them stood a decent distance from each other. Kaminari began to stretch for the battle, and looked confuse when he saw that Jin wasn't.

"Oh, I forgot." he said. "You get 5 minutes to warmup before the battle, when you're ready, just yell it out."

In the suite...

"Miyahira." Akuhei started.

"Whaaat?" she spat.

"Who you putting your bet on? As in, who you think win?"

"Ugh, what do you think? I'm almost certain Kaminari will prevail."

"Haha! That's the spirit! Same here." Akuhei looked towards Domori, who hadn't said a word since the twins arrived. "What about you? Who you bet on."

Domori stood in silence for a moment, but then finally answered.

"I am confident about our fellow friend, Kaminari, but we should not underestimate the newcomers. For we have not a single clue of their skill just yet. Besides their impeccable speed. So, I cannot quite answer your question, though I do hope Kaminari can secure a win for the empire. It would greatly please me."

Akuhei and Miyahira both stared blankly at the archer for a second, and then turned back to the arena.

"So formal for what?" Miyahira muttered.

"Right. Remind me to stop asking him questions." Akuhei whispered back. Domori smiled nervously and fixated his attention back on the pair in the field. He felt a bit embarrassed and feeling out of place, as he had heard their comments. I should have just said Kaminari.

Meanwhile, Masaki stuck his head out the window of the suite and yelled towards Jin and Kaminari. "Once you are ready, just say you are ready!"

[Arena]

Kaminari narrowed his eyes on Jin and finished his last stretch. He was uncertain of the man's skill, but didn't want to doubt at the same time. But he also didn't want to hurt him too much, so he decided on holding back.

"Then, the battle between the Shugosha and the Demon will commence!






Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 
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  • Mana & NiaLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:06am

    Nia took the hug from Rai in stride and decided to ignore the comment about her height. She knew what Rai was comment on before that though, it was quite obvious, "Yes, hi, I missed you too." When Rai let her go, she took some breaths, "I've been here, training with Master Ryuuni." She said as she introduced one of the two men with her. Ryuuni gave a graceful bow, "Peace be upon you, Samurai." He said in a polite tone. Nia then introduced Kishi, "And the more devious looking one is Kishi. He's the son of Master Ryuuni." KIshi scoffed, "Whatever." Nia looked at Kishi then over to Rai, "He says hi."

    Kishi shot a glare at Nia, "I did not-" Nia quickly interrupted him, "ANYWAYS, Who's the little one with you?" Mana looked at Nia and waved, "I'm Mana! I'm a Demo-" Ryuuni and Kishi both quickly hushed Mana, "Don't say what you are here!" Kishi said in a hush yell, "The citizens here aren't exactly keen on our kind here, Little One." Ryuuni continued. Mana quickly shut up, "S-Sorry, I forgot." She said a little timidly. Kishi and Ryuuni both looked at each other, "We're sorry, Little One. Didn't mean to scare you, we just don't want harm to come to a fellow Spirit." Mana shook her head, "No, it's my fault, I forgot I'm not suppose to reveal what I am while i'm here."
 
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  • Mateo flinched as he felt the hand on his shoulder, tearing his drunken gaze from the mountain to Skyla. The woman pointed to a figure, signaling Halazzi's presence, and his attention switched once more. He found the blue cat's colors pop out, as he was not completely of the material plane. He was something in the middle, and Mateo's sight picked him up well. He could see the traces that lingered on Halazzi of the other planes. The things that bound him now to this plane, and the strings that attached him to the spirit world. And so many more that Mateo couldn't comprehend. More that related to Halazzi's deity bonds, that he'd never seen on Mika from the man's final goodbye. It was strange, and terrifying, and slightly fascinating at the same time. If he had to guess, it had something to do with Halazzi's deity status, rather than Mateo's own ability he'd been slowly developing. But at the same time, his eyes glazed over in an amount of fear that Halazzi surely took notice of, very similar to how he'd acted on their initial meeting. He wanted to hide behind Skyla like a cover, much like how both Mana and him had acted to hide behind Rai, but forced himself to be brave on account of this being his battle. They were here because of him, so he had to stay strong for them. He had to be the leader even when he was scared and didn't want to be. He was determined to grow stronger for them. For the people who'd accepted him.

    Halazzi appeared in a smaller form than last time, that wasn't exactly small compared to them. The form was comparable to Cora's saber tooth tiger form, which was pretty big. Big enough where Mateo could ride comfortably on him. It didn't really lessen the fear, because Mateo knew full well the tiger was a deity that could kill him in one fell swoop if he really wanted to. And Cora obviously knew it as well, as the small cat curled around one of his legs, his fur bristling to make him look way too poofy. He bared his fangs in a mock growl but didn't let the noise radiate from him just yet. He waited to see what the tiger deity would do, while letting him know the small cat had a fighting spirit.

    His voice didn't boom out like last time, in fact it kept a low volume to avoid alerting the ones that guarded the wall. It seemed as though he wanted to keep the meeting a secret. He told him he was cursed with death, which got Mateo extremely worried. Did that mean he was marked for death or something? He didn't understand that what Halazzi referred to by Death was the goddess, and her power. Mateo knew his curse, and the powers that came with it, circulated around death. His Decay ability killed everything it touched, and whenever he transformed, he went on a rampage until he calmed down. Negative emotions circulated around death, and so too did it around the Cabrera's, turning them into their monstrous forms whenever negativity got too close.

    Halazzi obviously knew he was a Cabrera, stating it out in the open. He talked about feeling "her" power within Mateo, speaking about a goddess named Serena. He'd heard the name before, remembering how signs of the goddess had disappeared long ago. And yet those traces appeared right in front of him, as the colors of the world completed their fading. The only colors he could see now were Halazzi's blue form, flickering with traces of lightning, as well as a new figure. This one appeared black, not unlike the new monotone appearance of the landscape, but still somehow held color to her form. Darker colors that held the appearance of black, but still could be defined as the colorful aura of souls tied to the spirit realm. The figure's form appeared different from Mika's, but also different from Halazzi. There was a sense of power from her, but also a sense of weakness. An eyebrow raised as he looked around. Skyla was monotone, after all she was still of the living world. The landscape around them had changed into hues of gray, black, and white. Much like the words spoken from Halazzi, he didn't understand much of this.

    And as Halazzi continued his speech, so too did the new woman, taking him off guard. The two voices overlapped, making it impossible for him to focus on the tiger. The woman's voice appeared louder despite being so soft and mournful. She spoke of being lonely, of no one being able to hear her. Of wishing to speak with Halazzi, and even mentioning Mateo himself in her speech, saying he reacted to her presence. And when he really took the time to realize it, as her gaze laid upon him, he got that familiar prickle go up and down his skin. He felt drawn to the woman somehow, her words almost lulling him in much like how a mother sang a lullaby to a sleepy little baby. He tuned back into Halazzi's words at the last statement, hearing about how he didn't have to fear of being killed by Halazzi, as the hunt for the Cabrera's seemed to no longer be the god Lukia's will.

    Mateo looked around, confused and a little nervous. He rubbed his temples, trying to clear away the confusion, but his vision remained colorless besides for the two forms. "What? I'm sorry, but.. I-I can't focus. There are so many things that don't make sense right now. So many things I don't know. Why doesn't Lukia.. why doesn't he want us dead any- I'm sorry but, is this supposed to happen to the Cabrera's? I can't see color. I can only see both of yours. You're blue. And I know who you are. But who is the woman beside you? She's in color as well."
 
  • Skyla & Halazzi & SerenaLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:07am


    Halazzi went silent as Mateo mentioned he could see colors, "Woman beside me?" Serena was taken aback by that comment just as Halazzi was, "You can.. see me? You can.. hear me?" She said. Meanwhile was confused, "The only people I see before me are you, your friend and your cat. There's is no other woman here, Young one." Skyla looked just as confused, "Mateo, are you okay? What other woman?"

    Serena approached Mateo again, her voice began to flood his mind again, "You... you're special aren't you? You have the ability to glimpse into the Spirit Realm, don't you?" She looked into his eyes, "You've seen death. You know death. You know... me..." She reached for his arm but her hand simply phased through it but his arm would slightly react to her presence. Serena would notice this, "I see. You've been cursed, haven't you? With my power but not by me. You've been cursed by the bastard of a false God, I can sense it."
 
Mood: Calmer, but still Alert
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Luminosa
"Ah, peace be upon you as well, Mr, uhm, Ryunni." Rai had responded, returning the bow. And after Nia introduced Kishi, he couldn't help but laugh at the boy's lack of response combined with Nia lying about it. "Nice to meet you, Kishi."

As Nia asked about Mana, Rai didn't quite get to answer when she began to have a conversation with Kishi and Ryuuni. From what he could tell, Mana almost gave away her species, and apparently it wasn't treated well around here at Luminosa. Rai was going to speak up to Ryunni for reprimanding the girl in such a harsh sort of way, but the man quickly apologized for and explained his reasons. Very mature, as Rai would put it. He had spent so much time around youth, from a teen to young adults, that he had forgotten about the maturity only found in elders.

Rai suddenly cocked his head, taken aback after thinking about Kishi. When the man spoke, he voiced his concerns about how he and Kishi didn't want something to happen to a fellow spirit. Keyword, fellow. He gazed back up upon the pair. Don't tell me they're also Demons..

"Uh, hey, Nia." Rai spoke up. "You didn't quite answer me. How have you been? I mean seriously, where did you even go off to? And how'd you end up here?"

He thought back to when he last saw her. There was so much to catch up on. How the group had found Skyla, their encounters with the Death Knight, Skyla's relative, the Junk Dragon. Mika's death. That'd be an uncomfortable discussion, but it was an inevitable event. She had to know. After all, Mika was Nia's friend as well.


Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Tired
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
After Castro had carefully spread out all of the neurology equipment onto a table, he took off his armored coatz grabbed a pillow and slipped past Aleph and onto the bed. Placing the pillow below his head and taking off his glasses, the bandit slid Aleph's notepad beside him. Though he was lying on his side, he quickly wrote a few sentences on the notepad. All of which came out extremely sloppy and uncoordinated.

"That metal is going to take a few hours to fully solidify. I suggest you try to get some sleep, which is what I'm doing. I don't know about you, but I've had an eventful day. I talk to you later. Wake me up if you need anything."

Then with an exasperated groan, Castro outstretched his hand and dropped the notepad beside Aleph. He fell asleep only moments later.

Everything was set up for more work by his awakening, but he'd do it. He promised this boy, pinky promised at that, that he'd build his arm and take him home. And though both process would be long and gruel, he had no choice but to do it anyway. The only concerns Castro had at the moment was Aleph's and his own. One concern sprouted from the making of them arm, and the other came from the boy's origins.

The process of syncing Aleph's mind the arm was difficult, had a low chance of success, and most importantly, was dangerous. A few wrong moves and Castro could accidentally give the child brain damage. Another and he could damage his nerves. That's one of the main reasons he was so hesitant to agree to make the arm. He didn't want to accidentally kill Aleph. In these past days, he had already gotten enough children dead. There was no interest for more.

And with Aleph's origins, Castro had no idea who the boy's parents were, or even what they were known for. For all he knew, they could be thinking that someone abducted their son. And if Castro were to just stroll along with Aleph, they might get the wrong idea and see him as the culprit. Enraged parents? Not something he wanted to be on the receiving end of. Who knows what they'll do. If one of Aleph's relatives actually obtained those scales from killing an elder dragon, then they'd have no trouble killing him.

These worries and questions loomed over Castro's mind as he slept, but there was never any assurance. But there was no escaping those possible fates that didn't involve breaking his promise, so he had only one option. He had to go through with it and pray for success.







Mood: Happy
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.



"Akuhei wasn't lying." Kaminari said with a smile. "You do talk a lot of game. I really hope you can back it up."

After he had finished his stretches, he ignored Jin's taunt and looked back to suite. "Masaki." he called out. "I'm ready."

[Suite]

Masaki nodded back to the Shugosha and then turned to Mei.

"Alright. Once Jin says the word, both fighters are free to attack. Whoever goes down first wins. Or, if they made up their own conditions, that goes too."


"Let's hope Jin can prove to be a worthy opponent." Miyahira chimed in. "Or else this will be tiresome to watch. And I didn't come here for a one-sided beatdown. We came here for a battle, isn't that right, Akuhei."

Akuhei, who had pleased himself with he food bar, had two glasses of sake in his hand as he walked back over to the window. He gestured one to Miyahira, then Domori, then Aikawa, then Kizawa, who all declined the drink.

"Ah, you all boring." he muttered. Then he gestured it to Mei. "I have confidence in your brother. He seems like a man of his word. Let's hope he attacks first. A drink?"





Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 

  • Mateo raised an eyebrow as Halazzi seemed confused about his statements on the woman. The woman asked if he could see and hear her. Of course he could. She was right there in front of him after all. He didn't yet realize how short of a miracle this was, especially for the woman herself. "Uh, yeah." He said, replying to the woman in black, though it could easily be mistaken to the others as an answer to Halazzi's question.

    Halazzi's answer to his question got him all sorts of worked up. He rubbed his eyes just to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but afterwards the woman's dark form was still there. "But-" He began, his voice small, but Skyla's voice eclipsed his, worry edging her tone as she asked if he was alright. "She's right here.."

    The woman's voice flooded his mind again, making it hard to focus on anything else but her. He couldn't tear his eyes off her piercing gaze as she looked deep into his soul and saw everything he held inside. She knew about his ability to see into the spirit realm, the first he'd heard of it, marking him as special. She said he knew death, he knew her. She tried to touch his arm, but it past straight through him. However, there was a disturbance in him, a force he could feel. It felt so familiar to him, and strangely comforting. The woman knew what it meant, instantly telling he was cursed, but talked in a confusing way. Her power? Cursed by a false god? No Cabrera ever knew the origins of the curse, nor understood how it worked. He felt such a yearning for this woman to explain, as no one else could.

    "Yes." He said, speaking to the strange woman. Cora climbed up his back, the cat's fur fluffed out with worry, to take up his usual position on the boy's shoulder. "The Cabrera Curse. My family has carried it for centuries, but we don't know anything about it really. I don't know anything about this false god. But I know you're involved, at least a little bit. You feel so familiar, but I've never seen you before. In a similar way to how I felt around that knight, but its more comforting with you." He blushed slightly, knowing how stupid that sounded, especially around a woman he'd never met before. But he felt so sure of that feeling. It felt... oddly maternal than anything else. "Who are you?"
 
  • Mana & NiaLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:06am

    Nia looked at Rai as he asked his question again, "Oh, um.. I've been good... great even." Nia hesitated for a moment, "Uh, I decided to do some.. spirit searching, I guess? I left and traveled around until I ended up here, I suppose." Mana tilted her head at Nia dodging the question yet again. She gently tugged on Rai's Haori. "Maybe that's an uncomfortable topic for her, Rai?"

    Nia looked at Mana and shook her head, "I-It's not. Just... I'm not sure where to start is all."
 
Mood: Hungry
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Bridge to Iron Fortress
"No, no." Rai assured Nia . "I understand, it's been a while and things have been a little hectic. I can...definitely say the same."

Rai's gaze softened and he bit his tongue as he pondered his next words. He wanted to tell her about Mika, but was it too soon? They had just reunited. Would it really be alright to just...dump all of that trauma on her? It couldn't be.

"Anyways, the others are here too, they're just talking to someone for a moment." Rai looked to Mana and gestured towards her. "This is Mana. I don't know too much about her, except that she's adorable. Mateo became friends with her, and she kinda just tagged along."

Rai took a moment to think.

"Dang, what else...? Oh, I defeated some horse for this new amulet." he grabbed the amulet and held it out. "It allows me me use this move that incorporates Dark magic. I've only used it once, and I guess it was a little useful. Then...the others and I fought this big ass dragon and killed it, well, Mateo and Skyla did. And, we fought this knight guy who turned out to be one of Skyla's relatives. Beat him too. Or, we were going to. Then, uhh. We...we went to this comfy hotel and woke up to this maid lady talking to Skyla. Blah, blah, blah, dust something. We met these two siblings, both of who were extremely weird. They wanted to spar, Skyla said no, the older brother kept bitching, we got close to here, met Mana, the older brother hated her kind, tried to fight. He wasn't successful, his sister kind of betrayed him and actually agreed to help kill the guy. Then, yada, yada, yada. We got here, Mateo and Skyla split up to go talk to someone. I agreed to stay with Mana, we came here, you ran at me, I didn't recognize you and didn't know who these guys were, and...yeah. That's the little gist."

Rai looked obliviously between the three for a moment, and then shook his head in realization.

"Shit, I ranted." he apologized. "My bad. But that's basically the run down." Rai looked around blatantly for a moment. He was taken back as he felt his stomach grumble a bit. Which wasn't exactly a surprise. He hadn't eaten much since the hotel. "Got any places to eat at around here? The trip here was...you wanna go with tiresome? I'll pay."









Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Neutral
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
As Aleph and Castro rested for the remainder of their rough day, the liquified materials had reached a cooling point. And thus, it was solidified. It was now a thicker, heavy, and durable arm. The exact same proportions of Aleph's arm, proper fitting, and an exact wingspan. And when Castro got up to check on it early in the morning, he was duly impressed. With the arm, and himself.

But the limb wasn't finished yet. It needed coding, flexibility, and much more innovation. And all of that couldn't be done on an empty stomach of course. So before he began working again, Castro began to make breakfast for himself and Aleph. His resources were of plenty, but not exactly what you'd call breakfast.

Castro would proudly admit it, he had a sweet tooth. Which was why his food supply consisted mostly of chocolate, hard candies, and pastries. It was a miracle that he had found real food in there. The man was able to make 4 peanut butter sandwiches. Yes, only peanut butter. Would you believe that only the more wealthy citizens were likely to have it? They must pay farmers goods money for it.

"Hey, Aleph." Castro said while shaking the boy. He had the sandwich on a plate and held it near Aleph's nose, attempting to have to smell entice him. Then he shoved the notepad into his line of sight, which read, 'Breakfast is served.'








Mood: Intrigued
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


"You demon have bold statements." Akuhei stated. Then he nodded slowly and took the bottle of sake from Mei to go fill up.

[Field]

"Alright, fighters!" Masaki called out. "I want a clean spar. No magic abilites, no weapons. Just strength, prowess, and sweet old hand to hand combat. The winner is determined off of two factors. Whatever conditions you two discussed is the main one. But if one fighter is rendered unconscious or immobilized, the fight will also be halted."

Kaminari returned his gaze from Masaki back to Jin. One hit and I win. This guy's cocky ways are going to get him killed one day. Or maybe he's just that confident in his skill. Either way, these are idiotic conditions. Is he taking this as a joke? It is a friendly battle, but I didn't promise that I wouldn't hurt him. I just told myself I'd go easy on him. Absolutely astonishing. I really hope he doesn't act this way in battle.

Without even thinking to consider Jin's capabilities, Kaminari took a ready stance decided that he'd end the fight as quickly as possible. As a way to show Jin that his pride was useless. Little did he know, doubting his opponent was just as prideful. And he'd soon come to regret that.

"And without further ado..." Masaki pauses for effect. "Battle!"

Instantaneously, Kaminari pushed off of the heel of his foot and quickly charged towards Jin. With his speed, he was able to close the gap between them in barely a second. Then he attacked.

He lead the assault with a roundhouse kick aimed towards Jin's head. Then extended the combo by coming back around with a hook kick. And to finish, he threw a flurry of jabs the Demon's way.




Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss
 
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  • Mateo's eyes widened as he heard the woman's introduction. The goddess of death? The literal goddess of death. Gods didn't just appear in front of any mortal for no good reason. Their appearances were scarce, and you usually could never catch a glimpse of their true forms, the gods coming in the force of signs. One of the many reasons Ignis Lucero was well regarded was because of the fact that he'd been visited by Lukia himself and blessed with a divine weapon. And now Mateo was glimpsing the real goddess of death. A goddess no one had heard from, no signs or anything, for centuries, decades. He understood now why her aura had appeared differently to him.

    With the shock written all over his face, he must've looked like a fool. He sharply inhaled, straightening out his posture as the goddess circled him, looking him up and down. He must've not looked like much. Sure, he was tall, but that's about as much intimidation as his body could gather from other people. His muscles weren't big, his arms only accustomed to handling the staff he'd traded out for his book. He still kept it with him, though never seemed to hold it like before. He wasn't bulky, quite lean. Both Rai and Skyla were more filled out than he was, the only bulk to him being what his ruana provided. He was no warrior, nor champion. At least he didn't think himself to be. What would a goddess think of him? Would she make fun of his long legs, calling him a bumbling fawn? Would she mock his body as being thin as a worm? Though, her piercing gaze looked deeper into his soul, pushing past his appearance. She saw the unusual qualities to him, things only he could provide. How his stranger qualities could be of use to her, despite him thinking he had no use at all.

    To his surprise, the goddess talked of fortune. He didn't think the same. The thing that had drove him here had created suffering for his family for years. It brought persecution to the Cabrera's doorstep, so much so that he didn't think there was truly a safe place for any of them. Yet Serena chose to look at the positives. They were both here, both wishing to have something out of their grasp. Both of what they sought after were impossible things, Serena wishing to return her spirit to its body, and Mateo wishing to end the Cabrera curse. But together, they could help each other. They didn't have the power to do it on their own, but if they helped each other, they could hopefully accomplish both tasks.

    Serena demonstrated that she couldn't interact with the living world, Mateo's skin prickling at the sight of her touching Skyla. Well, attempting to anyways. Even if he felt a warmth being around her, she was still the goddess of death. Loss was a feeling too common right now, and it made him vulnerable and protective over his friends. He didn't like the touch, even if it was simply a harmless demonstration from the goddess, and even if Skyla showed no signs of noticing, that same look of worry plastered to her face from before. It felt as if Serena could take away her soul at any moment, like Mika had been taken away from them as well.

    Serena turned back to him, extending the deal the same way she extended her hand out for him to shake, though he wasn't sure such a gesture would be meaningful if she had trouble interacting with the material plane. She laid it out simply. She would help him find what he sought, and in return he would do the same. In return for what he truly desired, Mateo would return the goddess back to her position and full power. He looked down at her hand, apprehensive to take it.

    He looked towards Skyla. It wasn't fair to bring her into a god's war without a say in it. She said she'd follow him, but at what cost? The same could be said about Rai and Mana. And of course, the Bakeneko who had joined him first. They'd made a deal just like this one, an exchange that eventually gave both a prosperous friendship. Cora told him he'd follow him, much like Skyla. And even if Rai seemed a little distant and far to reach, he'd become enveloped in the group's tale. He was one of them now. He could always leave if he wished, but he'd continued with them even after Mika's death. Even after learning about Mateo's curse. The white-haired samurai, and the little white-headed demon who he was bonding with, seemed like they'd follow as well.

    He couldn't think of just himself in all of this, and he shamed himself for believing he did so. But in the end, he wasn't. He was simply thinking about a different group. His family, those he hadn't met and those he will meet. For his father, who had given him up to be raised by a normal family, and all his other relatives. They suffered under the same curse as well, the only ones who could truly understand what it was like to turn into a rampaging beast, or to make flowers die upon touch. He thought of all of them, persecuted under the Lucero's laws and hunted for the goal of extinction. He thought of the people the Cabrera's themselves hurt and killed due to their encroaching curse. In a way, he also thought of his group. If he took this opportunity, found help, they'd never have to worry about him transforming and rampaging upon a town, or even harming them. He'd be less of a burden on them. They wouldn't have to worry about keeping him calm, and away from negative environments. He could just be like them, one of the team, without so many ways to burden them.

    "I want to find a cure for the Cabrera family curse. I want to find a way to rid ourselves of it, and not just for me but for my entire family." He said his will clear and concise, no hesitation. Maybe before he would've said learning every type of magic, which was even now still one of his goals. Before he would've resigned himself to his fate, told himself there was no cure for his family's curse. But his friends, new and old, made him feel empowered. Skyla and Cora were right here with him, supporting him even though they didn't know he was speaking to a goddess. There was Rai, and his new demon friend Mana, who had both accepted his strange condition, even with its dangers. He thought about Mika, that knowing smile he'd shown him before he'd drifted off to the spirit world. He wondered what the man would think of him, but he didn't feel that familiar mix of self-pity and loathing he'd come to know whenever people gazed upon his form. The thought of his friend, so much like an older brother, so much like family, gave him hope and strong will power. He would help his family avoid the death and suffering brought by the curse, so that he'd never lose another one again. "I'm not sure it is possible, as we are already twelve generations into the curse with no stop in sight, but if you can help me find a way then I promise to return your spirit to your body."

    Mateo's gaze flickered to Skyla, then back again. "But I don't want my friends in harm's way. I need to protect that family as well. If it's possible.. I want to find a way to keep them safe from this. I don't want them getting hurt in this deal or ending up as collateral damage." He knew very well that the gods of their world didn't necessarily always think of all the innocents. They were selfish and flawed, with ulterior motives, even if no one was brave enough to say the truth to their faces. If he didn't extend this in the deal, then it might get factored out by the goddess as unimportant. His parents, his adoptive ones, had told him many stories of the gods, Mateo being a quick learn even at such a young age. He'd always been a scholar, it seemed, licking up any details he could on stories of the gods and how magic came to be, on how people acquired magic and the like. Though the story of how Lukia influenced Luminosa and the Lucero's had always been left out of his, you could say, homeschooling. Another reason why he'd felt lied to when he found out he was a Cabrera. But that was another matter entirely. He'd learned through various stories that the gods could be unfair in certain situations if it did not fit their needs, so he made sure to weasel it in there for extra measure.

    He reached out his hand, hesitating a little, before trying to grasp Serena's in a handshake. He'd reached for Mika, put his hand had passed straight through. Now he wondered if the same would happen again, but he reciprocated the gesture regardless. "I'm Mateo. Mateo Cabrera."
 
  • Mana & NiaLocation: Luminosa
    Interactions: SharkBark SharkBark
    Current Weather: Clear
    Current Time: August 28th, 1337. 11:07am

    Nia nodded her head at Rai expo dumped on her. It was a lot to take in all at once but she got the gist of it but something wasn't mentioned, rather it was avoided by Rai. Either by intention or accident. Nia hesitated a moment but Rai suggested resting and getting food as Rai was hungry, "Oh, yeah, I could do with food. What about you Kishi? Master?" Kishi and Ryuuni both looked at each other and nodded, "Sure, why not. We know a good place to eat." Kishi said as both Ryuuni and him left. Nia followed suite shortly after, gesturing to Rai, "Come, come!"

    Mana looked up at Rai, opting to stay close to Rai rather then run off with Nia and the others, following whatever he decided to do.
 
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Mood: Hungry
Rai Ikari
Thunderous Hunter
Bridge to Iron Fortress
"Thank God." Rai sighed. "Come along, Mana. Let's hope they actually have some decent food here. I don't know about you, but I haven't had a good meal in a while."

Rai began to follow behind the others, hoping that Mana would come along. When he caught up to them, he stood to the side of Nia. He couldn't wait to have Mateo and Skyla reunite with her. The two of them didn't have as much of a relationship with her as Rai did, but it'd still be nice to see their reactions. And hopefully one of them could be the one to break the news about Mika's death. And the Death Knight too.

Rai didn't know why, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Not now. Not when they just met back up. It was already a collateral damage to the group's morale, so maybe a break from the topic would be good for their mental health. So Rai decided to stop thinking about it and returned his attention back to the others.

"So, Mr. Ryunni." Rai started. "Nia referred to you as, 'master'. And she said that she was training with you. If you don't mind me asking, what do you teach?"


Kumii Kumii AlphaBlueWolf AlphaBlueWolf
Code by Serobliss


Mood: Neutral
Castro Smith
Blue-Eyed Bandit
Unknown, Ironshire
Castro quickly turned back and watched intently as Aleph suddenly outstretched his arm. A discontented expression appeared on the boy's face as he gazed upon his only arm, not exactly doing anything. Castro's eyes flicked to the arm, then Aleph, then back to the arm, and to Aleph again. What the hell is this child doing? he thought. The confusing motion went on for a few more moments until the boy finally stopped and began to write in his notebook. Though the bandit was still pondering on what just went down. Maybe the boy didn't get enough sleep. Perhaps he was processing where he was. Things like that happen at times. Castro was beginning to think that he should have let him sleep a little longer.

When Aleph handed the notepad to him, Castro read the message of him asking if the arm had solidified yet, and also a thank you for the breakfast. Ah, that must be why he was looking at his arm. He was thinking about the mold. Makes sense. Castro took up the pencil from from the bed and responded to Aleph, saying,

Yeah, it's done. Now I just have to break off the mold and we can see the result of the smelted metal. It won't exactly be a sight to see right now, considering that I still haven't even begun adding the mobilization features and designs. If gave that to you right now, you'd have a stiff, useless, plain piece of metal for an arm. There would be absolutely nothing you could do with him. You wouldn't even be able to move the fingers! The process may be a little prolonged, but trust me, in the end, it'll be worth it. And no problem. Sorry I couldn't get you something more...breakfast like, haha.

Castro placed the notepad back on Aleph's lap and began to walk towards the mold. But he suddenly stopped as he heard the rustling sound of a notepad beneath his feet. When raised his foot and looked down, he saw a sketch of a dragon with a large gaping mouth that spewed forth lightning. Castro picked up the book and cocked his head. What's this? he thought as he began to flip through the pages. An expression of fascination formed onto his face as he examined the almost perfected drawings. Most of them of dragons, which sparked interest in Castro. He glanced over at Aleph, who was the only person who could have left this in the room. Though without this context, it'd be hard to believe. The sketches were precise down to the very last detail. The angles of the scales, the jagged points of a dragons horns, the symmetry of the lightning fragments. Who would expect a child to be able to draw like this? Maybe it didn't belong to Aleph. Maybe it was his parent's or friend's drawings, and he was just holding onto it.

That would explain the detail. Only a person that had encountered and fought them firsthand. Perhaps his father drew them. Or his mother as well. Either way, that would make them an extremely talented individual. A concentrated one as well. That gave Castro a bit of assurance and allowed him to breath easy about taking the boy back. A person like that would most definitely be able to understand his intentions and see that they were good. He felt ecstatic just thinking about it.

Castro turned to Aleph and gestured towards the notebook. "Does this belong to you? These drawings are absolutely amaz- shit." Castro picked back up the notebook and wrote,

Who drew these dragons? They're really good. The detail is impressive. Was it one of your parents?

Castro began to wait for Aleph to finish, but flinched and quickly turned back as he heard the loud sound of a thunderous roar. It rattled his bones and sent a chill down his spine. Castro looked back to Aleph, assuming that the boy didn't hear it, and then ran towards the vent entrance and scaled to wall to exit. He slowly raised the vent from it's place and peeked his head out to see what was happening. There was no sign of a source, but there indeed was now a colossal amount clouds that had formed in the air, gray and stirring up with lightning. A storm was forming, but he could've sworn that wasn't there when he went to get fresh air earlier in the morning. And the roar as well, what was that?

Castro placed the vent back in place and jumped back down into the hideout. He looked at Aleph, who would obviously be wondering why he just did all of that. He wasn't sure if anything was going down at all, so until he did, he decided not to risk implanting false worry into the boy's mind. So Castro shook his head and gave Aleph a thumbs up. But right afterwards, another roar followed by voices ruptured the air, causing Castro to yelp.

"Uh.." Castro ran over to the notepad, snatched it up from the boy's hand regardless of if he was writing and wrote to him,

Sorry, someone walked over the grate and it made a loud sound. That's why I was flinching. Sorry for taking the book, continue writing.



Mood: Intrigued
Akuhei
Shugosha
Unknown, Ironshire
Location - The Unknown Monarchy, the Seiryoku Empire.


Kaminari's eyes widened in shock as Jin miraculously was able to dodge his first two leading kicks. The man had skillfully moved out of the way of them, and then weaved past each and every jab as well. His reaction speed is insane. he thought just as Jin complimented him mid battle. Then the man charged forward, just as fast as Kaminari had before, and went for a low leg sweep. The Shugosha instinctively darted back to avoid it, and was caught off guard as Jin immediately launched himself from the ground into a high spinning kick. The transition from the sweep to the spin was almost instantaneous, as if he had just snapped into place with it.

[Suite]
"Holy shit!" Kizawa exclaimed as he watched intently upon the battle. "What kinda twitch reflexes does this guy have? That was seamless."

"Eh, nothing too special." Miyahira shook her head. "You're impressed too easily, Kizawa. I guess it's because you haven't seen things like this before."

Ignoring what she said, Kizawa clicked his pen and began to jot down a note about Jin.

-Jin's reflexes are incredible. He is great at evading attacks, as well as transitioning to other ones.

[Field]
Kaminari was barely able to get his arm up in time to parry the spinning kick, and he staggered a bit to the side due to the force. Afterwards, Jin returned to his original stance and awaited the Shugosha's next move. Kaminari could only look up in shock for a moment at the man's fighting prowess. And his speed as well. He single-handedly kept up with his natural speed and was almost able to land a kick in the first moments of the battle. Kaminari began to think that he'd have to try just a little harder to land that one hit.

"Alright, that's on me for underestimating you." Kaminari muttered to himself. Then he shifted his body weight onto his front leg and put his hands in front of a face, also slightly bending his knee to adopt a Muay Thai stance. Then he began to walk back up to Jin, deciding not to charge in violently as before.

Once he had come into attacking range, Kaminari suddenly ducked down and charged at Jin's waist for a tackle. But the moment he got close, he maneuvered his body and swung back up into a upwards knee strike. If Jin had ducked down to defend the tackle, then the knee would be right in front of his face. Right after he did that, Kaminari continued to throw a wide right hook towards Jin's temple. And finally, he leapt back predominantly and then leapt into the air, ending his combo with a downwards axe kick.




Kumii Kumii







Code by Serobliss



Kaius Adamson
Mood: Alert
The Conceited Genius
Emperon Palace, Elesrith
1671313316255.png
"Don't tell me that's what I think it is." Kaius said to himself as he laid upon his bed. The booming roar of a dragon resonated through his room and send an electrifying feeling through his body. Emphasis and the electrifying. Kaius turned his head to the side to peer out of his window and scanned the now corrupted sky. Lightning was charging up in the clouds and raindrops showered upon Ironshire. When only moments ago there was a clear sky that lead this beautiful day. "C'mon. Not today. Please."

Kaius slid off of his bed and walked up to his window, overlooking the city and it's citizens. Others began to notice as well, beginning to go back into the safety of their homes. Or for less fortunate people, cower beneath some piece of scrap or endure the cold. It was a sad sight to see. People who were poor, both physically and mentally, couldn't seem to even fathom the solution to their problems that was so obvious. Just do something with your lives. That was Kaius's take on poverty. Kaius believed that being poor was the fault of the poor person themselves. Nothing else. He had mixed feelings about people of that circumstance. He truly felt bad for them, but resented them for their actions as well.

"Just..." he gritted his teeth and grunted in frustration. Then he viciously spat, "...get a job or something! It's not that fucking hard you-" Kaius closed his eyes and began to take deep breaths to calm himself down. Yet again, he let himself get worked up over the sight of a vagrant. "Shit, I can't stand-"

A loud thunderclap abruptly sliced through the air and filled the ears of every person in the area. It was followed by an unknown loud voice that spoke in an unknown language. And afterwards a second dragon roar was heard, causing him to Kaius to flinch and look to the sky. He had expected to see a dragon towering over Ironshire, but yet again nothing was there. But something was coming. He wasn't too sure of it at first, but as more voices continued to echo vastly.

Kaius sighed and a soft smile spread across his face. "Perhaps I can finally please Father with a valiant accomplishment." he took a step away from the window and kneeled down next to his bed. Kaius reached underneath it and pulled from it an obsidian curved dagger that had it's blade highlighted with platinum. "As father says, ahem, I vow that I will help and succeed in the process of defeating or fending off anything that may come to harm this city. If not, I pledge to starve myself for 3 weeks. Eugh. Damn, I hate your methods, Father."

Code by Serobliss
 
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