Fight-o?

The sun was setting, the virtual sky overpassing Mac Anu lit a dull orange-yellow, met with the hovering cotton-like clouds, a dark sinfully sensual crimson, the same pigment of the eyes Ryuu gazed at the setting sun over the shadowed brick hills the sun tucked itself beneath. He sat cross legged, his ink black bulky leather pants rubbing against eachother bellowing makeshift shrieks. His back as well was arched slightly, back hunched but with his shoulders raised, over his left shoulder the wide elongated mahogany sheathe that bedded his Singing Blade nested comfortably. The Blademaster hummed to himself softly, his lips curled into a faint smile while caressing the brim of the sheathe with his gloved fingers while the snow-white strands of his hair flowed with the wafting breeze.

He sat there, the brim of his black worn boots at the very edge of the pastel red rooftop that claimed stories above the Mac Anu floor, gazing at the passing players, Blade and Wavemasters alike seemingly mobile ebony fallen rain droplets. It was blatantly midday within' the the sea-bearing port-village, dusk before the tranquil black that was night being beckoned, and the orange-redness that the sun and sky exuded shimmered along the dragon's mystical hair, making his tan skin as well glow a seemly warmness.

Solitude. He sat alone, but at peace, the bustle that dispersed despite the hour heard upon deaf ears at such altitudes, the entire space around him subject to Ryu's voiceful conscious; he took advantage of this. He spoke aloud to himself, despite him smiling into the warm sky, seemingly sweet and nectary, however undenying sadness pooled beneath the facade; disbelief and shock battling about his already jumbled mind.

"Dead," he started, almost chuckling while shaking his head simultaneously shutting his eyes, emphasizing the last words, "the Raiders are in-actuality dead. Gone. Non-existent." He peeled open his eyes sluggishly, letting a pitifully apathetic chuckle slip past his tongue and bottom lip, fixated upon that golden sky again, as though searching for something; disappointed.

He lifted his right hand, the hand which comforted his blade, with little to no effort, stiffening his fingers into makeshift clawing paws which nails punctured invisible pink-white flesh. "And now we're supposedly the 'Anima Mundi," the paw ripped at the flesh, the pigment of crimson, blue, dribbling from the ripped flesh slither-like, Ryuu's options window opened in all it's cerulean rectangular glory. With the tip of his right tan index finger, poking out from the purposeful hole within' his just as battered gloves, he caressed the bold white 'Flashmail' tab, bellowing beneath his breathe 'Chase Raven' as Saiyun skewered his thin pearl white fingers along his blue-black keyboard.

The fallen Figment Raider wannabes who're now seeking a pathetic redemption for the sake of a pitiful attempt at reviving our endangered, near extinct, animal family.

'Send' Ryu bellowed, the clean-white parchment that floated before his forehead and eyes slipping into a yellow-golden envelope, within' the same twinkling light that summoned it, vanishing.

Now for the Clan hopefuls.

The dragon bellowed send once again, this sheet giving birth to a twin, twin-golden envelopes appearing and disappearing with the contents of both virtual letters.

The winged Blademaster now let out a sigh, a small feelingless sigh, neither containing an ounce of feelings melancholy nor exuberant. It was just a plain sigh, dispersed into the virtual air and wind that pranced about the structure's and waters of Mac Anu. The Blademaster couldn't be sure why he vouched to do this; he was still soaking in the fall of the family, his true family given his failed otherworld family. Perhaps within' him a pint of hope shined though? Perhaps a ray of hope, dim-lit, illuminated the seemingly endless darkness that clouded his conscious? Perhaps these recruits were the embodiment of that, and perhaps Ryuu's subconscious realized this.

The Blademaster didn't know, jumbled and obscure thoughts made thinking impossible. So for now, with his glazed crimson virtual-real eyes, the dragon gazed into the marvel that was the Mac Anu sky, smiling dimly for reasons he himself still didn't know.

SP: 54

The message stirs Kiwi's eyebrow into curving just slightly in curiosity.

"An item small enough to be concealed in the palm of one's hand... two of them...", he thinks. He reasons that there must be some particular purpose for these items that requires that she ask him for a special item in the first place. Otherwise, she could use common coins or potion bottles to meet her needs. Luckily, he has an item in reserve that should do the trick. The Heavy Blade leans against the wall beside the Save Point NPC in Mac Anu and draws a pair of golden feathers, which he holds out slightly in his gauntlet. Meanwhile, he brings up the flashmail interface a moment to type out his response.

The sun was setting over the water city, throwing light off the waves on the river onto the sides of the buildings around it. The sun was pink, orange and red, but the water acted as a prism, separating the light into many colors. The most visible was the gold color that danced over the sandy-colored bricks of the city, but flecks of red, blue and even a little green could still be seen out of the corner of one's eye.

It was time. She and the dragon had decided to take up part of the responsibility of recruiting new members into their clan. The message Chase had left on the BBS had gotten many responses, but Chase had left it up to Ryuu to pick which applicants they would choose to test. She didn't really care who he chose, and it didn't matter much: none of the people who responded to that message had known what they were getting into. They probably thought it was a simple request for help. Not so much.

The recruitment that the ram and dragon had thought up was different from any Chase had heard of for any clan before, including the one she and Ryuu had both participated in when they were Figment Raider hopefuls themselves. Of course it had to be different, things had changed so much with the clan since Chase and Ryuu had joined. The two of them had spoken of this recruitment only briefly before, but Chase had said she would get the necessary items for the “game” they would play with these new recruits.

At the ping of a flashmail, Chase sat at attention. She smiled almost immediately: it was from Ryuu. Late as always, she thought of him fondly. Normally, someone who wasn't quite as punctual as she was bothered her, but she was used to his lateness by now. It had hindered them in the past when they had tried to work as a team in tournaments or events, but now it was one of those things that she looked back on and could laugh at.

Remembering that she still hadn't contacted Kiwi, the ram quickly sent a vague flashmail to the bird. He had been a strong ally to the clan in the past, and maybe he would be interested in helping the “new” clan.

His reply came almost immediately. Chase quickly set off towards the save point, where he had said he would be. She was there nearly as quickly as he had replied.

At first, she didn't really know who she was looking for—her and Kiwi had never been formally introduced, but it was easy to recognize him after scoping out the players near the save NPC. He was one of the only characters she had ever seen to wear denim, and the sturdy blue fabric seemed to stand out amongst all the flashy designs of the other characters in the area. Chase slowed as she approached him, stopping a few feet away. “Kiwi?” she asked, making sure this was the right person.

He was holding out two small golden feathers. She remembered. “That's right... you were the bird, weren't you?” Taking a few steps closer and dropping her voice slightly, she continued. “I'm sure you noticed.. the ship is gone. The Figment Raiders are gone.” With every work she spoke her voice got quieter, but she kept talking. “But some of the old members and I are trying to piece the clan back together. I guess if you came, you're still interested in being a part of it?” She shook her head gently before plucking the golden feathers out of his grasp.

The ram turned on her heel, looking over her shoulder at him. “I need to go, but thank you for these. And if you still want to be a part of our...” she paused, looking for the right words. “...inner circle, we meet on the rooftops now.”

With that, she left him, calling another “thanks” as she ran towards said rooftops. Darting into an alley and using the shortcut Artemis had shown her, she made her way onto the rooftops, to the dragon's side. She held out one of the feathers in her hand, giving it to him. “Here.”

When he had taken the feather, she offered a hand to help him stand up. “Should we go meet them somewhere? I'm not sure they will be able to get up by themselves.” Deciding to lead the way, she made her way to the section of roof that hung over the alley she had gone into to climb up onto the roof. A large crate sat against the wall, and it didn't appear to be tall enough for a player to get onto the roof from, but if you stood in the right place, it was.

The ram stood near the place where the other players were due to arrive soon, hoping that if they were looking, they might be able to spot her and Ryuu from the street. She looked to Ryuu, at a loss for words. How would they know they could trust these recruits with the knowledge that the clan still existed?

“Don't tell them about it right away,” she asked him gently. “I want to know it's okay to tell them first. Wait until they take a feather.” The ram knew she wasn't ready to add new members to their clan, but they had to do it sometime. They couldn't run with five active members--they needed new blood to start functioning properly again. She clasped her hands together in front of her while she waited, hiding the feather between her palms.

edit-- SP bar.
SP-15/15

((remember, you have 3 days to post. The order is Ryuu, Chase, whoever posts first (Mizu or Teishu) and then whoever posts second (Teishu or Mizu)
If the person who was supposed to go doesn't post in three days, the next person has three days starting on the previous person's third day. Ask me if you need more clarification on this? xD I can't talk right.))

Mizu sat in the shade of a building near Mac Anu's Chaos Gate, browsing through The World's BBS to see if anything was going on. He ran across the usual threads, like tales of hackers, unorthodox characters, missing players, etc. They were always present, though, and the wolf-like Blademaster could swear that at least two out of every three such threads was a rumor or a joke post. He had never really used the forum more than once, when he was starting and asking around for a party, and then when that had bottomed out, he went to just browsing it rather than making posts.

Well, that wasn't completely true- Mizu had made one other post on the BBS. The only thread he had replied to was one by a person who went by the name "Chase" on the forums. It had been a request for help, though vague, so out of curiosity Mizu had replied, but also stated that he hated waiting. That was simply to encourage this "Chase" to explain what was going on that much sooner. In reality, the Blademaster was actually pretty patient, willing to wait things out. He did get reckless on occasion, but other than those times, he was fairly calm-minded.

Sitting against the wall of the building, Mizu noted with a sigh the same thread that he had signed up in. Several others had registered in the thread as well, but it didn't seem as though there was any reply. It had been a bit of time since Mizu had posted, and without a reply, he felt like the victim of a stupid joke. It was that kind of affront that had caused the Blademaster to stop posting on the forum, and resentfully just browse through similar hoax threads. It didn't seem worth his time, but Mizu just couldn't get the energy up to go questing, so he just sat reading the BBS. It was getting boring, though, and the Blademaster was preparing to log out for the day when his furry ears perked up at the sound of a beep.

A Flashmail? Who could that be from?

Mizu mulled over the information in the flashmail, surprised at the fact that the earlier thread hadn't been a prank at all. Regardless, though- the whole issue was oddly suspicious. What was with the anonymous sender, and why was there so much mystery around this need for "assistance?" What was needed of two low-leveled players, since they were the only ones who had passed the first test? Something fishy was up... but Mizu ignored it as he climbed to his feet, brushing the dust off of his sea-blue coat. It was worth checking out.

Checking his map, the Blademaster found himself in the central area of Mac Anu. He needed to go Southwest, right? Setting off, Mizu started at a light jog, moving at a fluid pace across the cobblestone streets of the Eternal City. A few players stood in his way from time to time, but it didn't take much to avoid them. The Blademaster actually picked up the pace and leapt over one of the groups, landing on the other side while they watched with a look of awe at the wolf-like player, who had gone from a simple jog to a full-out sprint. Soon, though, Mizu left the main bulk of players behind and headed into the less-populated region of Mac Anu.

The area was fairly quiet, considering that not a lot of players wandered that deep into the Root Town, but Mizu found the silence almost... refreshing. The annoying babble that followed players everywhere had been starting to drive him stir-crazy anyway. Looking around, though, the Blademaster saw nothing that looked like a meeting place. Checking the flashmail again, he wanted to smack himself in the forehead. They were meeting on the rooftops, which pretty much indicated why Mizu hadn't seen his contacts as of yet. However, he wasn't sure as to how he would be getting up to the roof, so he simply continued along, looking for something to stand on.

Coming upon a stack of crates in a dead-end alleyway, Mizu started to climb up them when he saw the two players atop the nearby roofs. Targeting them quickly, the Blademaster tagged the male as "Kageryu" and the female as "Chase Raven." Mizu recognized the second name from the call for assistance on the BBS, and knew these were his contacts. Assuming a nonchalant pose, his arms crossed, the wolf looked up at the two above him, his ears twitching violently in anticipation. A light breeze caught his silver hair, causing it to lift out of his eyes for a brief moment before settling back down.

"Am I correct in assuming that it is you two that I'm supposed to meet here?"

SP: 14/14

Many days were just regular. Others were things that destiny made for you. Teishu looked from where he was, dipping his bare feet in the cool river. He enjoyed the cool breeze and the river as it slowly passed. He saw a few NPCs using a paddle to row across the area, then jump off and walk up to a shop or store to take their spot. They all looked exactly alike, each having a plump body and the same usual clothes. Some faces were slightly changed, but you could tell that they were all programmed and used to do the same thing each and every day of the year.

There was something about the area that made him think of, well, a calm area, like a plain with a breeze. His eyelids slowly lowered, his vision focusing on the clean water below him that splashed against his bare feet. His boots stood next to him, on their side. He looked at his reflection and frowned, smiled, then went back to his confused look. He stared at his reflection for a few seconds, trying to find something inside of him. He didn’t know, something that would reveal something…well, new to him.

He looked up at the sky that shone down on him and the clouds that slowly drifted past. They looked like their usual white color, not a dark gray as it was in his neighborhood. Gloomy in his area meant vacation here. It was a bit confusing to him to see the weather always the same in certain fields, but then again, rain in Mac Anu wasn’t all that great. He looked down at his feet and decided to pull them out. He slowly took them out and slipped his feet into his boots. He got up and dusted himself off for a moment before grabbing his staff and walking towards the bridge.

There was a sound. A Ping sound to be exact. He was confused at what had happened just now. He hadn’t exactly heard of anything. An envelope slowly materialized above his head. He pulled it down and touched it. In a second, a message came in front of him. He was a bit surprised at the message. He didn’t know how to react to this, but read the message anyways.

He read it twice. He had posted in the BBS board about this who knows how long ago. It had been quite a long time was all he knew. It seemed they were coming together for a test. He looked it over. Be warned however, what you’re getting yourself into can’t be turned away from once agreed. The words rang through his head. What exactly was that important that you could just…get rid of. He closed the flash-mail. He was going to the far south western area of Mac Anu. He nodded to himself. That seemed easy enough. It was on the rooftops of that area. He looked around for a moment and decided that he’d get going so he wouldn’t be late.

He headed up the stairs and ran across the bridge. He didn’t know why he was running. Many people were running and most seemed to just like running around the city. He was trying to act like it, but he also wanted to be there and not get late or anything like that. He ran towards the back area and looked around. Numerous groups hung around the area. He frowned and turned right down the alleyway.

He looked around, the only shades of light coming through the alleyways coming at the top of the area and only casting a small light. He ran down the alley, noticing numerous boxes, old stands, and what looked like abandoned areas where players had once gathered up. He looked around and thought he heard something. Even if it was just a boot hitting the ground, it was a hint. He raced down the left and found a ladder to the building. This was probably it. He slipped his staff away and started to climb up. The ascent didn’t take long and he was up there in a minute.

He seemed to be the last one there. Seeing Mizu meant that he was the last one to get there. He gave a dull frown and looked around. He saw that one was a girl known as Chase Raven. He had met her once before, but he preferred not to think of failed attempts at questing. The other one was tagged as “Kageryu”. He seemed to be the higher level of this duo. He was level twelve and Chase was level two. A ten level difference. Yeah, that was a lot and he could probably kill the both of them in two strikes, or even one. He gave a quick bow just to be sure of himself, then gave his entry.

“Well, seems I’m the last one here for this test. When do we get started with it?”

SP: 41/41

He hummed to himself, both daintily and thoughtlessly; an attempt at a lack of thought at best. Dead. This word, along with hope and the two-stepping why, found pleasure in prodding at his jumbled mind with nouns and adjectives alike joining the mind-bound rodeo. He still smiled however, an otherworldly, and more than likely obnoxiously awkward grin, still with his crimson retinas peeled on that tranquil orange sky before him, clouds permeated within it dispersing just as tranquil breezes. It was almost like an obscure mind-duel -- a rhythmic duel of the 'dance' archetype. Saiyun's mind relentlessly thwarted his conscious with cabbage patched memories of his fallen clan, feelings of nostalgia jumping onto that conscious made dance floor with the arm flying Harlem shake. Ryuu's partners was merely that still orange sky he gazed into so intently, her in her white-orange frilly dress resorting to the stiff and feelingless waltz.

It was hopeless though. His moves were stale and without passion -- his gaze was fake and his grin second to that of a mannequin. The dance filled with elegance was outdone by the trippy athleticism permitted by the conscious hemorrhaging figments of memory -- despite Ryuu's and Saiyun's attempts alike, cleansing their chaos filled minds deemed futile. Those figments couldn't be escaped.

"Here," barked a foreign voice. It was more of a light murmur, a female voice with a voice slightly strained under exhaustion. Her voice grew imaginary warm hands, nested at the center of both those palms a shimmering golden feather, the light sun's ray beading over the inhabitants of Mac Anu once met with it's mysticism, glowing almost enchantingly. However met with Ryuu's eyes, that feather appeared aflame, her voice grotesque and alarming, his lips parting with his eyes wide, him leaping back an approximate two feet from the roofs' ledge; his backside rested on the balls of his toes, his upper-body with his right arm extended before him.

Oh, it's Chase the dragon thought to himself, simultaneously shutting his eyes while shaking his head and enclosing his scale speckled wings. He quickly reopened his eyes, catching view of the golden feather lying atop the roofs' surface, surprisingly unmoved and still shimmering. With the brim of his left index finger and thumb he lifted it from where it nested itself, clasping it neatly between his palms as he pushed himself to his feet with his right hand wobbling slightly after having sat for so long.

After composing himself the dragon then readied a smile and a greeting, though the ram was paying him little to no attention. She was eyeing over the ledge the dragon peered over, warily staring down at the passing players stealth-like. She then bellowed gently, however not even looking directly at the Blademaster, "Don't tell them right away, I want to know it's okay to tell them first." His brow then furrowed lightly, arched meekly displaying the irritation that grew with the following: "Wait until they take the feather."

He unclasped his left hand, sitting it right-side-up before his face, analyzing the feather from edge to edge. He bit his bottom lip in attempt to hold his tongue, simultaneously pivoting 90 degrees letting his backside, with makeshift eyes, glare into the side of her head.

"Will do," he bellowed, trying to return that 'gentle' facade. He let his eyes scan over the feather again quickly, twisting his head to view the ram at the corner of his eyes for but a millisecond, staring in the opposite direction once again. "Though our hacks 'll give away the situation itself." His voice developed, morphed into one filled with mood shattering seriousness, while not directly looking at the ram eyeing her presence down with the same hidden eyes from his backside, "If they fail they could very well inform GMs to spite us. Not that I think they'll do that" He soaked in a small breath, freeing his mind of seams before finishing.

"We'll wait 'till they get the feathers, yes." He shut his eyes lightly, nesting his hands behind his head reopening them to stare at the setting sun, smiling, letting the seriousness in his voice evolve into a chuckle. "We have to go into this soft-heartedly y'know? Can't get soaked into the paranoia, since it is just a game." He then spun around walking next to the ram with his arms still wrapped behind his head, gazing back down at the passing players, finishing calmly, "'nd I think we can trust these guys. Though it is just a random premonition." He turned to smile at her lightly, to then, have his focus obstructed by the clash of the worn wood that formulated the rooftop with the soles of battered boots along with a hearty welcoming and inquisitive voice.

"Am I correct in assuming that it is you two that I'm supposed to meet here?"

And recruit number one arrives. Points for first arrival, he thought quickly, pivoting from his view of the town to the edge of the roof that branched off into the nearby alley. Ryuu smiled softly, lifting his right hand solemnly while dangling his fingers. He bellowed a just as soft and playful reply, "That you are..." he inspected his flowing gray-silver hair and his undeniable towering height(compared to Chase and Ryuu anyways), "mr.Silver haired giant, sir."

He prepared to step forward to formally greet the newcomer, but his focus again was offset by another mildly echoing voice.

"Well, seems I’m the last one here for this test. When do we get started with it?"

Ryuu stopped in his tracks, diverging his view from the grey-haired Blademaster to the black haired Wavemaster clad in borderline blinding blue. The dragon fed the Wavemaster the same inviting grin as the Blade, looking back at Chase quickly, then back at the players before him. Ryuu stealthily placed the golden feather within' his left palm inside his crimson trench coat that flowed with the passing breeze billowing currents of wind that hissed the presence of the oncoming blackness that was night. He let that same hand slip away from his coat, letting it lie before his still grinning face, his arm at an arch with his fingers stiff and parted. He let indications of a Rai spell jolt between the brim of his ungloved fingertips, with that same strong grin returning the Wavemaster's comment while simultaneously back-stepping to the roofs ledge, letting his backside rest once again.

"The second player finally arrives, and is ready to get things started it seems." He widened his smirk, letting his fingers fall back to his side, shifting his eyes toward Chase, "I'll let Chase explain the ordeal here." He let his crimson eyes fall back upon the two players, upon Saiyun's right clicking, named 'Mizu' and 'Teishu'. "If you didn't already inspect my name though, I'm Kageryu. I usually go by Ryuu though."

He widened his grin into a toothy smile, spouting whole-heartily, "Real matters aside, we're glad to have you two here. I'll shut up and let Chase speak though."

SP: 54

The first character to arrive was a shaggy, silver-haired Blademaster. A tiny breeze caught his fine hair and swept it up around his head like a wispy tornado as he stepped onto the roof. Chase saw Ryuu’s white hair, in a similar shaggy cut, and her own choppy orange-brown hair float up with the breeze as well before settling down onto their shoulders, her own hair flowing over her shoulders like copper water overflowing from a cup.

The next player to arrive looked familiar... Chase almost turned around when he stepped onto the rooftop. “Blue,” she acknowledged him with a stiff nod. She had felt uncomfortable around him at their first meeting, but he was almost in on the secret that she was afraid he had known about before. He knew where the clan hideout was, so there wasn’t much else to lose. She tried to pry a smile onto her face, but it ended up crooked. Ah well. Better than nothing. It was something. Teishu bowed to both her and Ryuu in return.

Ryuu spoke cheerfully to the two of them. If he felt any of the nervous, scared feelings that Chase was feeling, they didn’t show in his voice. She was worried, like always, that someone would betray the clan and turn them in. All the characters in it were, after all, illegal in the game. She trusted all the current members of the clan and was nervous about letting new members in, but she tried to rationalize her thoughts. The clan needs to get some fresh blood sometime.

The dragon handed the explaining part over to her. Thanks, Ryuu... The ram took a deep breath before starting her short speech.

“We’re testing you,” she started out flatly. “To be honest, I don’t know if I can trust you with the secret that you might get let in on if you pass this test. All I feel safe telling you right now is that you will be part of a... of a family if we decide that we like you.” Chase turned to look at Ryuu for a minute before looking back to Mizu and Teishu, flicking her eyes between the two of them. “It’s a risk for us to be in town openly, which is why we stay on the rooftops. We’ve put ourselves in danger already by advertising ourselves on the BBS, but since we didn’t say directly what we’re planning... well, it should be okay...”

Her voice trailed off and she looked down at her hands. In her left hand was the golden feather she had received from Kiwi, and it reminded her what the real task here was. “This is part of the test.” Chase held up the feather for a split second, not really giving the recruits a clear look at the item. Their look at it was probably also reduced by the shining sunset’s light reflecting off the soft golden threads that made up the feather. “Ryuu has one of these, too. If you can snatch it from us... well, that will show us how well you can think on your feet, and you’ll have a nice chance of being accepted into our family.”

Chase tucked the feather into the goggles that were wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet before turning to nod at Ryuu. She looked over her shoulder at the recruits. “Ready?”

She almost fell over as she started running with her back slightly hunched, lurching into what was considered “full speed” for her heavy class– a speed that was comparable to the agile Twin Blade’s average running speed. When she reached the edge of the roof that they were on, she stopped, stealing a glance over her shoulder. Who’s coming to get me?

SP—> 15/15

Mizu watched as Teishu came up behind him, the blue-clad Wavemaster greeting both Kageryu and Chase Raven with an almost awkward bow. The wolf felt no inclination to do likewise, since he was meeting complete strangers. An almost defiant gleam filled his golden eyes as he watched the two players on the roofs. The one that kept his interest was the white-haired Blademaster sitting at the edge. First of all, he was the higher-leveled of the two, and second... he seemed less serious about the whole ordeal that was about to occur. In contrast, Chase seemed almost hesitant about sharing anything with the two players who had approached.

The combination of the two features made Kageryu intriguing in an odd way. Mizu couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there wasn't really much more too it than what had been so obviously stated. The wolf decided that it was likely something that could wait for analysis later, since the other Blademaster was addressing him. Something about a "silver-haired giant?" Mizu almost wanted to laugh. He had designed his character to be a bit taller than average, but compared to both Kageryu and Chase Raven, he had quite an advantage in the height category. It was almost comical, but that was how some things worked.

Mizu had to admit that he liked Kageryu, even after they had only just met. The kindhearted, cheerful manner was not what he had expected after the BBS posting and the Flashmail, but it was rather nice. The boy seemed to have a more upbeat personality overall, and that was impressive considering the state his partner seemed to be in, with a bit of paranoia mixed together with fear. Mizu decided to keep an eye on Kageryu, though, since one never knew what to expect.

After the white-haired Blademaster took the initiative with the greetings and introduced himself, also raising his preference to be called Ryuu. Mizu's ears perked up once more, hoping that he'd get some more information on the whole reason that he'd been called out to the far part of the city, but Ryuu simply deferred to Chase Raven, who seemed to simplify her name as Chase. Mizu settled back down, but his ears remained slightly lifted as he listened carefully for anything that could be important.

Chase started in on a speech about secrets and a "family" of sorts. Mizu began to wonder exactly why things had to be so secretive, since he didn't see anything to make trouble for the two before him. The only thing odd that he immediately noticed about Chase were the two ram's horns that spiralled outwards on either side of her head. It was a classic animal hack, as far as Mizu knew, and those, while technically illegal, got nothing more than a frown before it just became a common sight. His own ears, as well as the golden eyes, were both small hacks that a friend had programmed into his character, and he had never encountered any trouble.

A flash of light off of a golden object caught Mizu's attention again, and he looked to see what it was, but the light made it hard to see the actual item. The fact that the sunset was angled just right and thereby silhouetted the object made things worse. Ignoring that fact, the Blademaster simply listened as Chase explained what the task was in order to join this mysterious group. Whatever that strange object was had to be taken from the two players, since Ryuu seemed to have a copy of it. Chase immediately took off at a run, while her companion simply sat at the edge of the building, grinning down at the players below.

Mizu knew who his target was.

"Teishu, you go after Chase! I'll handle Ryuu."

Leaping forward in a swift and sudden movement, Mizu ascended the stack of crates with an unnatural grace, his feet barely touching each box as he made his way up. Half a second later, he leapt from the top of the boxes and landed on the rooftops. Ryuu wasn't more than a few feet away, but Mizu didn't expect things to be easy, so drew his Brave Sword from its sheath that hung behind him, and ran forward with the blade scraping across the rooftop, sending up sparks behind him. The attack was one he used frequently, since the force used to pull the weapon up after dragging it so far added to the swing speed and strength of the attack. Ryuu wouldn't know what hit him... hopefully.

SP: 14/14

Chase seemed to acknowledge him a bit more than the other man had. She knew him by the nickname “Blue”. He didn’t exactly think he exactly represented the color, but whatever worked with her was fine for him. The next man was named Kageryu. It was quite the long name. Maybe he had a nickname? He didn’t know why he was criticizing names right now. It was pointless, really. He looked to Mizu, who looked as ready as ever. He always seemed ready with those wolf-like eyes and wolf-like pelt and wolf-like everything. He seemed to really like wolves. He noticed Kageryu was grinning at them. It seemed they must’ve been either impressive, or they looked like two clowns. He more or so thought they were impressive for recruits. Kageryu was the first one to speak. He wasn’t giving them any directions, but was more or so introducing himself and such. They could just call him Ryuu. It sounded like a name a dragon would have. The name itched him and so did the appearance of the two. He didn’t know what, but he knew it had to do something with the BBS post.

He smiled at the two of them. He welcomed them and then he let Chase take over. Chase seemed to be the one in charge hear. He was ten levels higher than him. It seemed that he’d be either a great person to fight alongside or a hard one to fight. He looked experienced for one thing. He smiled and listened to Chase’s words intently. The first words were a bit surprising at first, but they sunk in. ‘We’re testing you’. They were testing them for what exactly? He had forgotten the BBS post a bit, but he knew that he had posted in it and was interested. It seemed that they were joining some kind of ‘family’ at that. He raised a brow at the thought of that. If they were saying family then that might’ve meant a clan maybe? It was the only reasonable thing that went into his mind. He hadn’t heard of many clans. He hadn’t heard about any at all. But if what he heard was true, that meant that this clan was somewhat one that tried to stick to the shadows. They seemed worried for one thing, but the BBS post seemed to expose just a bit of what was going on and such. He crossed his arms. If it was that way, this was going to interesting.

She stopped talking for a moment, her voice trailing off. She looked down for a moment and then started talking again. They were being tested, of course, and this seemed to be their test. He could’ve called the test ‘Go after the feathers’, but he didn’t want to call it a name. It seemed childish to even think of calling it a name. He stared at the feather in Chase’s hand. Ryuu had one too. Their test was a test of speed. Wavemasters, for one thing, weren’t great at speed, but he didn’t exactly have a robe on, so he might have less trouble with running. He thought that if they teamed up, maybe they could get a feather easier. Teaming up would have to be the idea. It was common sense and he thought Mizu would understand his plan. The last word was simple.

“Ready?”

He smiled at Chase. It seemed that this would be a fun time with the two of them going after a few people. Chase took off in a run first. She was probably the slower one at that, but without the axe out, she’d probably prove to a be a faster runner. Mizu was the first to react out of the two. He turned to him for a moment and spoke the words he was hoping for him not to say.

“Teishu, you go after Chase! I’ll handle Ryuu.”

He frowned at him as he charged up the crates, his feet barely touching them. Boy was he eager to get on with the fight. He pulled his blade and started to attack Ryuu. He wanted to help him with fighting Ryuu, but he didn’t want Chase to just sit there and wait. He guessed he’d just have to go after Chase after a while. He charged up the crates, not quite as quickly as Mizu, but he was heading for Chase. He jumped to the top of the building and ignored the swords he heard slashing. Chase was already at the edge of the building. She gave a quick glance back. He gave a friendly wave back.

He pulled his staff out and prepared it. He was going to have to be on the offensive first. He’d just have to test out what worked and what didn’t work. He approached with fast steps. He didn’t bother to run at her. There was no hurry. Once she got into range he’d just have to use one of his spells to get the feather. It was an easy way to get it away. He frowned at the floor and raised his staff high. He swung once down and a green aura enveloped him. He smiled. He loved magic.

“Juk Rom!”

The green aura that enveloped him burst out into a frenzy as a tornado formed in front of it. He smiled at Chase. He wasn’t exactly aiming for her. He was aiming for the feather in her hand. They were the same level, so it seemed that he’d have a higher chance of getting it. But since she was a heavier class, she would have a harder grip than most. The tornado raged forward, leaves and thickets swirling in the wind. He just hoped that it’d be able to hit her and get the feather out of her hand. He knew there was more to it than he thought there was. It’d hardly be a recruitment if he got it on his first tree. All he could do now was wait.

SP: 34/41

The ram let out a sigh, enclosing her eyes and reopening them but milliseconds apart. The snow-haired Blademaster had half the mind to chuckle, the other half shoving off her meek hesitation as she proceeded to put it plainly, "We're here to test you."

The next statement that followed the trail from her mouth billowed uncertainty and skepticism. She questioned her 'trust' within the two who stood before them, welcoming-puzzled expressions molded into their virtual faces. Her skepticism lied around the dysfunctional animal family they were being considered added too, their eyes and hands but inches away from the wolves, foxes, and winged creatures alike; bodies however separated, parted by thin glass. The ram's eyes peered at the dragon's own of red for but another millisecond, her focus again swaying back at the humanoids whom gazed at them through that imaginary sheet of glass. Her sheepish lips started off again, attempting to instill into the duo's heads, while still being elusive, the "danger" of the situation, only solidifying the puzzled expressions displayed.

Her voice came to but another halt, her aquatic eyes peering down at the hand where the the shimmering golden feather nested itself. She lifted that hand firmly before her face perfectly centered and aligned with her lips and nose, "This is part of the test," escaping her thin lips. The dragon only smiled, exposing but a pint of his glossy white teeth as she noted toward him, informing them of the golden feather that rested within his own grasp.

It's soon to begin, he thought quickly, his smirk widening, the tip of his brown-pink gums nearly exposed.

And with the echoing "Ready" hand and hand with the scurrying of boots meeting wood -- the imaginary glass shattered.

And it begins Ryuu thought, smirk full force and gleaming -- however obstructed by a deep baritone voice.

"Teishu, you go after Chase! I'll handle Ryuu."

The winged Blademaster's throat dried instantly in shock. He wasn't aware that the Wave and Blademasters were acquaintances; but he was even more alarmed by the Blademaster's instructions. It gave the 'gray haired giant' an interesting appeal. Ryuu couldn't tell if he was gallant or just plain conceited. He walked into this thinking he'd have to worry about the recruits piling up Chase's ass in an attempt at cheaply retrieving her golden feather. He initially actually pictured himself firing a Vak spell from the edge of a towering roof, in a gulf of fire, blasting one of the two off the roof; but that wasn't the case. The giant whole-heartily and happily scooped the greater challenge between his mental meaty fingers. Ryuu only smiled even wider.

I love this guy already

With his gray hair dispersing among the fading orange light that met with the vanishing sun, each strand appearing as though aflame, the second Blademaster stepped lightly to the towering roof on the same grounds as the dragon. He glided forward, his fit and large figure sprinting at the Ryuu as he dragged his sword across the roofs surface, the friction between the melded metal and roof sending woodchips and orange-red sparks trailing behind him. The dragon continued smirking, lifting the same hand he let the Rai sparks slither about his fingertips, ignoring the echoing from a foreign voice as he flattened his hand forward and lengthened his arm to expose his gloved palm. The hand veiled itself in a burst of electricity, each bolt crawling around his finger and palm as though they contained their own essence of life. Your job is merely to be threatening, Ryuu thought to himself quickly, letting that smile only sublime itself as he finally let a mediocre breathe escape his lungs commanding the bolts to leave his fingers and palm to do their bidding.

"Rai Rom."

Each bolt escaped his hand in but milliseconds, growing ten times their original thread-like size, appearing as multiple iridescent yellow cobras diving at the gray haired Blademaster still gliding at the Blademaster; sword still trailing the roofs surface. Each lightning cobra dispersed into miniature piece after miniature piece, atom after atom building upon eachother to meld together golden-yellow electrical wind currents. The tan skinned Blademaster then, with that same hand, planted his still outstretched palm onto the surface of the bridge with full purposeful force, pushing his still seated self forward preparing to skid toward the the 'gray haired giant' with outstretched legs, his mental self in desire of connecting the heels of his boots with the Blademaster's legs.

The bigger they are the harder they fall eh?, Ryuu thought quickly, Saiyun with his VR helmet sneering at himself for thinking of such an obnoxious cliche'.

SP: 54 - 10; 44

Teishu had sent a spinning Rom spell at Chase, a tornado that intensified the slight breeze that had skipped across the rooftops before. Blades of grass, brambles and multicolored leaves that reminded the ram of autumn whipped through the air, creating a cyclone that made its way towards Chase. It caught up quickly—she wasn't exactly a quick character.

The strength of the wind carrying the leaves and grass toward Chase was great, and when the tornado collided with her, the leaves and grass left red welts on her skin where they had whipped across her skin. The prickly brambles left cut marks. Slowing her speed slightly, she looked down at her thighs as she ran. Damn. She appreciated the Wavemaster's innovative thinking—using a Rom spell to pick the feather out of her hand? Clever. But this is a chasing game. Don't let your spells do all the work for you. The red marks almost glowed against the pale white skin of her legs, and where her arms and legs had been cut by the thorns on the thistle-like brambles, her blood glittered with the light from the sunset.

Suddenly angered at the boy's attack, the ram whipped around at Teishu, turning on her heel while she ran, with her eyes flashing. “You want to play rough, Blue?” Unclasping the fist the held the feather, Chase slipped the coveted item into her pocket before moving her hand to her axe's handle.

“I'll show you rough.” Chase whisked a Health Drink and a Warrior's Blood out of the pocket of her shorts—miraculous how much they could hold—uncorked each flask, and chugged them down before charging towards the Wavemaster. Her body glowed with a healing blue aura around her cuts and welts, sealing them up magically and leaving her skin unmarked once more. With the Warrior's Blood, something changed in the way she moved—there was more grace, more control over her movements, allowing for a more precise on the target and therefore causing more damage.

Holding the axe to her side, Chase ran as fast as her body would let her towards Teishu. She imagined springs in her elbows—right now, they were stretched out, straining to contain themselves, but once she was in range, once she could hit him, the springs would release, snapping the axe towards the boy with a tremendous amount of force.

Her legs carried her, closer and closer, until she thought her axe would reach him. Turning on her side to break, Chase swung with her arms, twisting her torso to gain torque and power from her body's core. Take that.

SP --> 15/15

As Mizu ran at his target, Ryuu simply sat staring, watching calmly. The enemy Blademaster hadn't even left his rooftop seat, content to watch the wolf approach with a look of something akin to... amusement? Mizu didn't like either the grin nor Ryuu's calm manner. It suggested that something was up. Frowning, the silver-haired Blademaster kept his sword dragging behind him, fragments of wood from the rooftops flying into the air. If Ryuu was just going to sit there, watching, then Mizu was going to give him something to get active about!

However, the burst of lightning coming his way came as a bit of a shock. Ryuu had raised one gloved hand, and suddenly a web of electricity had come spreading out, spiralling as it went to form a tornado of pure energy. The Rai Rom spell burst across the rooftop, obliterating the wooden tiles and shattering them into splinters that fell to the ground below as it arced towards Mizu with a wave of sparks that had Mizu's hair floating before him, static dancing around a pair of shocked eyes. The attack had come so suddenly, and the wolf was caught of guard, yet he wasn't going to be taken down so easily...

Reacting quickly, the Blademaster spun, his blade scraping beneath the wood tiles with a dull crack, sending a few dozen tiles from around him into the air as his weapon lifted from the ground. Slashing out twice, each tile was sliced in half, though some were split into more fragments, but the maneuver practically raised a wall of wood fragments floating in the air for the instant before the spinning tornado of electricity that was the Rai Rom spell met it. A burst of energy was formed at the impact point, and an electrical explosion rocked the rooftops, filling the areal with a cloud of thick smoke.

Mizu burst out of the smoke with his sword still drawn, tendrils of the gray-black cloud clinging to him as he emerged. His sword was held in a different stance now, the hilt gripped in both hands and held low to one side, as if the Blademaster was going to lunge forward with the blade with a motion almost like a stab. As he approached Ryuu, the man simply kicked out at Mizu's legs, trying to trip him. The wolf reacted to that attack without any hesitation at all, leaping into the air and right over Ryuu, turning as he did so. He landed directly behind Ryuu, positioning himself so that he could put his Brave Sword's edge directly to the right side of the Blademaster's jugular vein, holding it there unwaveringly.

"Look, Ryuu. I don't really want to take the item, whatever it is, by force. I can see that you don't have it in either hand, so you've hidden it on your person somewhere. Rather than risking having it be cut up in a swordfight, why don't you just hand it over, nice and easy? I'm sure neither of us wants to really go to combat, but if I have to, I will."

Mizu continued holding his blade to the side of Ryuu's neck, steady and pressed against the flesh. The slightest push would draw blood at a vital point. The wolf, though, truly hoped that it wouldn't come to that. However, he was prepared, if necessary...

SP: 14/14

((OCC: Btw, for SP regeneration purposes, in case y'all didn't know ('cause I certainly didn't) we'll be gaining 1 SP on each turn, which means that we'll have 3 extra SP at the beginning of each turn, and another one added on at the end. Just thought I'd clarify.))

Teishu saw his Juk Rom spell had caught up with her as she ran, but the thing was, the feather didn’t escape her grasp. Instead, it just made red blood trickle down her legs and hands. He frowned, seeing as the feather was still grasped tightly in her hand after the Juk energy had resided. His staff fell down from its upright position and he was left to stare at Chase as she recovered from the spell. She was anything but fine right now and he didn’t like that look at all... He gulped at the sight of her as she prepared her axe, looking like someone who just got pissed off by a magical spell. He didn’t like what he was getting into. If she landed a hit on him, he’d be dead, and if he guarded, he’d be close to dead. That wasn’t good.

“You want to play rough, Blue?” she yelled. His eyes bulged for a moment, the blue inside slowly darkening as she shoved the feather into her pocket. It was a good move on her part and now she had the upper hand. If he couldn’t survive this attack, he wouldn’t pass the recruitment either! He prepared his staff. “I’ll show you rough.” That was all she said before she began she made her move. He didn’t like the situation at all.

Her first move was to pull out two things, a Health Drink…and something else that he didn’t know. He stared at her, his eyes bulging, as she whisked both down. The red blood that trickled down her legs and arms dematerialized within moments, leaving her at full power. The other item had increased her attack, making things even tougher. Now he didn’t know what to do. He wouldn’t be able to dodge such a powerful attack by an axe and she probably had deadly aim. She looked like she had gone through something like this before. She ran with grace he hadn’t seen before. He took multiple steps back, but that didn’t stop her from completing her charge.

In a moment she turned a bit and sent the axe forward. It was in a swung from down to up to down. The last down meant on his head. He swung his staff up to meet her axe, but all he saw was the axe slam it aside (though it did stop some of the force) and send him flying back. His character did a spin once in the air and finally collapsed on the ground, his character sprawled across the building. For a moment, he didn’t move, but he slowly got up. He shuddered as he forced himself to get up, his arms shaking after the impact of the swing. Blood gushed out of the wound for a moment. He wasn’t sure what to do. He got up and turned back to her. He had a cut on his cheek, but the majority of it got to his chest. With shaky arms, he raised his staff.

“R-Repth.”

A blue aura slowly came around him and it made him relax for a moment. His eyes closed for a moment, knowing his wounds were being healed. The aura stopped for a moment and his wounds were healed, the near death experience seeming far off in the distance. He held his staff up as if nothing had happened. He wasn’t going for a spell this time. If he did it again, nothing would come out of it. The best thing was to try and grab it from her pocket. He didn’t have too much of a chance, but he was around the same speed so there wouldn’t exactly be a big advantage on her part. He charged forward, his mind telling him that he was crazy, but his head telling him it was the right idea.

He stepped on his left boot and pushed off of that, throwing himself onto Chase, his staff swung forward so he wouldn’t force himself onto the sharp point. He threw himself onto her and if he missed, he was definitely as dead as doorknob unless she was going to be nice. If so, he’d make a grab for her pocket and try to force the feather out. It was a situation that he didn’t like going through, but what else could he do? He could do lots of things, but that’d just get her pissed off and then she’d come raging back and this time she wouldn’t be so generous as to not use a skill.

SP: 38/41

Boom.

Worn crimson-mahogany woodchips erupted their way into the air, hand and hand with the cloud of opaque brown fluid dust that found itself dispersing about the wind currents swimming about the rooftops. The dragon’s view of the gray haired Blademaster was infallibly futile. The lingering dust clouds masked him from head to toe, the figure Ryu had initially aimed for with the balls of his toes pointed forward undetectable; whether or not the current of electricity that dispersed itself from the brim of his fingers actually made contact with him was undefined as well. Voltage. The prevalence of the quick and soft sounds of slithering volts darting about the rooftops echoed their way into the dragon’s eardrums; Saiyun’s VR Helmet. If the moment he flew forward with his leg fully extended and stiffened truly only lasted a matter of milliseconds, cliché or not, those were the damned longest milliseconds his mind had ever had to carve through.

Carving, slicing and dicing; those tan ears traced the light bellowings of steel and air coming into contact with each other. Light sensual contact, the discreet and purposeful dicing and carving of wood griping their way into the mix of erotism coming into play. The steel dicing it’s way through the light wood a makeshift dull red tongue licking the bridge and edges of one’s ears, the just as griping wind a shaft, a sublime elongated shaft delving into the sinful erotism that the hand that wielded this blade of steel molded -- penetration -- orgasm.

Boom.

The cloud of dust jerked, it’s front segment growing ever more, the milliseconds in which seemed like hours brought back to it’s timely reality, Mizu diving forward past the brown opacity elegantly. He however landed right before him, the soles of his boots landing right before his metal-veiled extended toe, contact making way, however anti-climatic. It was almost as though his calves were tickled, actual milliseconds giving him opportunity to leap himself above the dragon, blade extended and beneath the bridge between his neck and chin. His blade was still, and his baritone voice drifted itself into the wandering twilight wind, baritone and disturbingly calm.

"Look, Ryuu. I don't really want to take the item, whatever it is, by force. I can see that you don't have it in either hand, so you've hidden it on your person somewhere. Rather than risking having it be cut up in a swordfight, why don't you just hand it over, nice and easy? I'm sure neither of us wants to really go to combat, but if I have to, I will."

With that, Ryu smiled, his virtual lungs almost coughing up light chuckles. He let his right arm fall to that same right, his palms softly caressing the undamaged wood tiles beneath it. He let his left arm rest within his lap, simultaneously cocking his head up and toward the sky, peering at it with just as much calmness the Blademaster behind him exuded. He shut his eyelids.

"Damn your arrogant, haha," he started with a chuckle. "It puzzles me first off how a level one Blademaster could avoid a Rai Rom spell from a someone ten times his level," he reopened his eyes, tilting his head to the side meekly peering at the steel that lay over his shoulder and beneath his neck. "But after avoiding that spell, to directly avoid a kick from that same ten times in level player? Damn is all I can say. Your arrogance however is in the fact that you would even suggest me merely handing the item over to you."

His smile was sublimed, him averting all his energy into his right arm, just like before, this time however using that energy and virtual muscle to lift his entire body, his shoulders angled down with his legs angled up, his right leg and heel being driven up with the utmost force from the roof to beneath the Blademaster’s chin. He let the hand, palm open and fingers spread, that kept his body airborne slip away from it’s brief connection to the roof, continuing the cart-wheel like motion begun, driving his heel and boot past his chin and over where his body originally occupied, soaring through the air to land a good four to five feet in advance, heels weeded into the red-brown tiles beneath him. He pivoted ninety degrees, facing the giant once again.

He strained his voice, his lungs expanding and his lips perched, making a multiplied effort in making his voice heard. “This is a ‘test’. I’d suggest you treat it like one big boy.” His tone was cheery and saturated with optimism, his familiar toothy smile peeling it’s way past his dull red lips. He wanted to relay another message to the gray Blademaster but his mind, his virtual clear mind, couldn’t fathom what as he could only gaze forward with his crimson retinas growing lips that smiled at the Blademasters’ before him moon-like eyes.

He did another showy back-flip, five to six feet in ground occupied, the other edge of the rooftop no more than another five feet away. He gazed forward once more, legs parted with his blade still sheathed, his left arm with his wrist bent arched forward slightly with his right hand resting over the top of his blade’s hilt.

Edit --> Grammatical error.

SP: 44 + 4 ; 48

Impact.

Her axe had made contact with Teishu, though the Wavemaster tried to avoid it. The ram watched through clear-water eyes as he brought his staff up to defend against the monstrous axe. Everything she could see was so sharp and defined—it must have been one of the effects of the Knight's Blood she had downed earlier, because she wasn't used to seeing things like this. True, her ram hack was one of a rough, raw strength and power, but the strength of a ram was more unrefined than the powers some of the other animas possessed: the keen, agile falcon; the spontaneous wolf; the brave, powerful dragon. I imagine this is how Artemis sees everything, Chase mused to herself. These are the eyes of a hunter.

The sharp blade of the axe hit the smooth, lacquered wood of Teishu's staff, and the Wavemaster was thrown back immediately. She watched him for a minute and thought of an asteroid or meteor hitting a planet: obviously, in this case, Chase would be the meteor, smacking into the planet and knocking it back, leaving a crater in the planet's shell, exposing its interior... God, if his staff hadn't blocked her hit at the right angle, Teishu would almost cetainly have a dent in him.

She skidded to a stop after the charging attack and shuddered slightly, cutting her mind off from the grotesque path it had begun wandering down. Teishu was on the ground in a heap, and the ram took this opportunity to look over towards Ryuu to see how he and his charge were faring. If their little scramble was going in a similar way Chase and Teishu's was, she expected to see Mizu downing potions rapidly to save himself from Kageryu's strength.

He wasn't. The wolf was behind the dragon, with his sword's blade up against Ryuu's neck. Chase almost laughed stiffly—did the wolf honestly believe he would get Kageryu that way?

She was frustrated with these two newcomers—at least Teishu wasn't trying to play the mobster and put his staff up against her neck. Deciding she would rather be near Ryuu than on the other side of the roof, Chase turned to see what Teishu was doing before leaving to go to the dragon's side.

He was coming towards her, and Chase's mind reconstructed the events that she had missed while watching Kageryu and Mizu. Teishu wasn't charging forward like Chase had done, but almost lurching or staggering, as if his body was moving but his legs couldn't keep up. A slight blue mist lingered around his body, and the clean, new appearance of his clothes that had been flecked with blood a minute ago confirmed her suspicion that he had healed himself.

But that was the past, and now is now—he was coming towards her, staff held out in front of him and hands appearing to be groping in the air. Going for the feather, no doubt, Chase knew, but she wasn't going to let him take it this easily—the ram backed up a little, moving her axe so it would be held in front of her diagonally, shielding her body from the Wavemaster's staff in case he decided to make any slashing movements with it.

When she had backed up enough that she was sure Teishu wasn't close enough to hit her, she spun 180 degrees on her heel, turning her back on the Wavemaster so that she would be facing Ryiu. Immediately, she took off running again, but the dragon had moved. She spotted him in the air. Show-off, she laughed at him in her head, but continued dashing towards the edge of the roof. When she was close enough, Chase leaped and swung her axe in the air. The combined weight of her and her axe was certainly more than Ryuu and his sword, and she hadn't jumped as high—it was impossible with her short legs, even in this game where it seemed like anything could happen. She hoped swinging her axe in the air would give her a little extra momentum, carrying her over to the other rooftop's edge. Chase had made the jump before, just never under the pressure of being engaged in a duel.

It worked. The ram expected it would—she rarely watched sports events, ever, but on the rare occasion that she had watched Track and Field events, the jumpers carried and threw weights to help them gain a little extra distance in the air. While she wasn't prepared to fling her weapon across the gap, she expected that just swinging it would produce a similar effect. It did, and she was thankful.

Now, the two former Raiders were standing on a separate rooftop from the Anima Mundi hopefuls. Standing at the dragon's side, Chase frowned a bit at the recruits—things weren't going as she had hoped. Hopefully, that would change soon.


SP—> 15/15

"Damn you’re arrogant, haha. It puzzles me first off how a level one Blademaster could avoid a Rai Rom spell from a someone ten times his level, but after avoiding that spell, to directly avoid a kick from that same ten times in level player? Damn is all I can say. Your arrogance however is in the fact that you would even suggest me merely handing the item over to you."

Mizu sighed. He hadn’t really expected Ryuu to go with the whole “hand-over-the-item” thing, but it had been worth a try. The wolf hadn’t wanted to really fight if he could avoid it, but if the opposing Blademaster wished it, then he would be happy to oblige. Mizu prepared to drive his entire blade through Ryuu’s neck, sighing inwardly as he did so. Why were people so intent on fighting? It would be so much better if they could simply hand it over, or find another way to “test” their recruits. But that was the way of humans, it seemed- fighting was their answer to everything.

Suddenly, a swift motion from Ryuu registered in Mizu’s mind. The Blademaster had shifted, planting one hand against the ground and using it to drive a foot upwards. The wolf’s head jerked back as he saw the target for that kick, but he was a second too slow in dodging it. The quick attack caught him at the end of his chin, sending him stumbling backwards as Ryuu got to his feet, moving so that he ended up about seven feet away from Mizu’s position. Twisting, the boy turned to face Mizu, a grin on his face and words on his lips.

“This is a ‘test’. I’d suggest you treat it like one big boy.”

“Fine, you want to play it rough? No crying when you get hurt!”

With that, Mizu let the more aggressive side of his personality take hold, his golden eyes narrowing and his stance becoming all that much surer. Gripping his blade lightly in a backhand stance, the wolf put it to his side, holding it as one would a katana ready to be drawn from his sheath. However, his free hand made up the sheath that bound the weapon, hovering lightly over the flat of the blade. The feelings of battle washed over him as he stood waiting- anger, rage, and focus all built up within him as his vision centered on his opponent, who had just jumped across to the far rooftop to stand next to his partner, still holding her feather in one hand.

I guess we’ll start there.

Mizu’s eyes swept over the two while he considered the best method to attack while both opponents were together. A frontal assault on either would be suicide- the other would come to the target’s aid. However, if there was a way to keep the two apart, then going directly for Chase would be the better of the two ideas. The problem was that such a plan was too easy- why go after the weaker of the two? There was no challenge, no risk to be taken in fighting an opponent only a level higher. However, going against an enemy ten levels higher than oneself made the challenge that much more appealing… That was why Mizu had targeted Ryuu from the start. However, the Blademaster was proving quite formidable without even drawing his sword, so the wolf decided that he’d need some help. Opening up a flashmail, he requested just that.

Praying that Teishu went along with the plan, Mizu ran directly for the rooftops, his eyes still narrowed as he calculated his jump. His stronger legs would be enough to carry him across, easily, but that wasn’t the problem. The issue was landing where he wanted to- directly in front of Chase. It also had to be timed directly after the Zot-type spell was cast, so that Ryuu wouldn’t interfere. In other words, there were a lot of things that could go wrong, but it was still worth a shot.

Leaping across the gap between rooftops, Mizu’s feet connected with the wooden tile of his new location, standing directly before Chase. As he did so, his sword came out of its “sheath,” being drawn with more force than would be contained in a usual swing. The blade ripped through the air in a horizontal strike from left to right, aimed for Chase’s upper chest (though that was due to her height, not particular targeting). After finishing that swing, Mizu activated one of his skills, jumping into the air with his blade overhead.

“Crack Beat!”

Mizu’s sword came down in a perfect arc as the skill was performed, light gleaming off of the edge with a fiery glow. The combined attacks would form something akin to a cross, one horizontal line and one vertical line. If anything, the move would surprise Chase and force her to drop her feather. If not, though… well, there was always a reason for having a plan B.

SP: 14 – 10 = 4 + 1 (End of turn bonus) = 5

Teishu had ran, he had leaped, and he had managed to make a fool of himself by face planting on the ground. He got up in an instant, Chase already on her way to another building. He stood there for a moment and jogged forward, seeing as there wasn’t much need seeing as they were on different buildings. That was a good thing, seeing as he could use spells on Chase, but if Mizu faced the two of them, it might prove a bit tougher. He reached the edge and looked toward Chase, she having already jumped over the building. He was surprised that someone carrying an axe could clear the distance. He raised his staff, unsure whether to cast a spell or not. He looked over at Mizu, who seemed to be doing something. Maybe he was flash-mailing someone, maybe even him, but how was he supposed to know when he hadn’t done one before?

Ping!

The Wavemaster only smirked at the site of the envelope that rose over his head. He quickly snatched it and held it in front of him. With a simple tap, it opened up. He read it and raised a brow at the plan he had. Sure he had enough SP for it, but what would he do after that. After that he was basically a sitting duck, someone who was going to easily die whether it was Ryuu or Chase. He could only hope to defend and maybe heal Mizu or him once a while. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking the plan over. He didn’t send a flash-mail back to Mizu, but he only raised his staff and hoped, hoped the plan would work.

“Gan Zot!”

At first when he yelled it, he wasn’t sure if it would work. How were rocky pillars full of dirt supposed to come out of buildings that weren’t even close to being made of dirt? He looked up and heard a low rumbling sound that was most active between Ryuu and Chase. Almost instantly three pillars shot up as Mizu leaped from the building. The aura slowly faded as he noticed that the pillars were moving down back into the ground. Mizu yelled his skill and he was forced to follow up with yet another spell. If they passed this test, he’d be amazed, but if they didn’t, he wouldn’t be too surprised either. He raised his staff again and a green aura surrounded him.

“Juk Rom.”

The once green aura burst into leaves and wind, forming straight in front of him. In a second it had traveled across the building, headed toward Chase for the second time in this battle. He didn’t like teaming up on people, but this was a test and if they were supposed to pass, they would have to play mean, even if it was a girl they were fighting. He never liked that kind of idea, but this was a game and she had almost made chopped Teishu out of him if he hadn’t blocked with his wand. He watched the swirling whirlwind, unsure if it or the blade of Mizu’s had impacted on her yet. He’d be the one to take it and if he did…if he did, maybe they’d have a chance at Ryuu, but maybe not. He could only watch right now, his blue eyes shining with curiosity and his whole body tingling. This might just decide the whole test.

SP: 12/41

"Fine, you want to play it rough? No crying when you get hurt!"

That rich voice teeming with over confidence solidified itself. Mizu's tongue sharpened, that digital pink-red tongue swaying that voice of baritone from the tip and brim of his tongue up, bouncing from the roof of his mouth and teeth to mesh with the wafting breezes floating about. From the distance the snow-haired Blademaster stood, his crimson retinas and pupils could barely scope out 'Mr.Giant', but a glimpse, a second’s worth glimpse, of auburn-orange flashing with the orange ray of twilight caught view of his eyes. The dragon could feel the giant’s brows narrow and fall. He could feel the mood shift with the raising of that Brave Sword crafted of steel, the wind being cut neatly as he lowered it to his side, the blade nuzzled to the very brim of his pelvic. Ryu couldn’t be certain whether the mood’s shift tailored to that of a virtual bloodlust, or whether it was a calmness that soaked in the mindless serenity of battle. No, he couldn’t be certain, but he had to smile, he could only smile; a perhaps by now obnoxious idiotic smile, his legs still parted with his right hand still caressing his blade’s hilt.

Gotta’ admit, this guy is pretty good for a new player. He’d probably had murdered me by now with a few more levels on me… I guess I‘ll have to get moderately serious myself though. Can‘t slip up here… The effortless caressing halted, his fingers tensing while sprawling and slithering themselves around that hilt, the brown-cloth veiled hilt resting within his palm grasped by his fingers.

Thud. A thud a sounded. A light thud, hand and hand with the sound of sole and wood making light contact, the vicinity of but a few inches from the dragon. His neck arched while carrying the weight of his head with it, his scoping eyes catching view of ram horns and an axe more than half the size of one of Ryu’s wings. Chase hopped to his side, her back to Ryu while staring eagerly in his opposite direction with her axe held forward with it’s tip and blade propped. The dragon’s stupid smile tore at his lips to enlarge that smile, the dragon staring back in the vicinity of Mizu, badass running through his mind as he tightened his grasp around the blade.

"Trying to hint at them to group up huh?" The dragon questioned, his sentence lingering off with a chuckle; though he wasn’t expecting a reply. He was just as surprised as she was. The duality between the Wave and Blademaster seemed the only feasible solution to Ryu, and he saw that duality coming forth ever more as his eyes gaped with the knowledge of them already being acquainted. Yes, he was just as surprised as she was, but he wouldn’t discredit them, because for all he knew, some preconceived plot could have been settled within the mind’s of both Mizu and Teishu So no, he wouldn’t discredit and belittle them just yet. He let his brows sink and furrow himself, his smile however no less sublime.

During the time Ryu observed and retorted however, the Blademaster with hair of gray made way, charging with each strand of his hair flying behind him with elegance, his form no less elegant -- his grimace and tense expression however hardly diminished. His view seemed to alter however, those piercing golden eyes tunneling through the dragon’s abdomen, past the dragon, the ram seemingly what ravaged within his pupils and orange-yellow retinas. Ryu’s own eyes widened, bulging and almost leaping from their sockets, his idiotic smile as well obstructed and mauled over. He took a step back, tucking his left arm behind his hilt to give his blade of song room to free itself from it’s sheath. Mizu’s own soles made contact with the roof, his sword coming down with him, swipes of elegance supporting that drive as he careened the lingering wind from his path.

Shit, the Blademaster thought quickly, tugging his blade from his sheath while darting toward the rampaging Mizu. His former curved lips thinned but parted while his virtual teeth grinded amongst each other. He was halted however, moreover frozen. The ground beneath him began to quake, the red-brown molted and melded pieces of wood rising in spires beneath him as he bellowed ‘shit’ beneath his breath. He leapt back with a single step, his blade still within grasp as he could only watch the wall of meshed wood and stone rise feet above him. His attention was forced into aversion once again however, the voice that summoned wind currents only leaving trails of worn branches and leaves above the spire of walls into the dragon’s view.

"Goddammit," Ryu bellowed once again, partially snorting and partially shooting a pint of air between his enclosed teeth sounding a hiss.

That was a damn smart move, he thought quickly, mentally racking his brain; compliments to the brewer of the plan aside he needed to think of a means of remedying the situation. His eyes scanned his fingers grasping his blade, his eyes trailing past his arm and past the roof. Yes, his crimson retinas spotted precisely that said desired remedy, that said remedy curling his lips back into that stupid smile. With the effortless flick of a wrist and click of a button within his ink black controller, the Wavemaster Teishu was in sight and targeted. He darted to that right, reaching the roof’s ledge, leaping down to the lower roof with every ounce of might he could squeeze from his virtual calves and toes. Mid-air Saiyun prepared a flash mail, the golden virtual envelope appearing before the Blademaster while he glided mid-air.

Enter.

With the brim of his pinky Saiyun clicked enter, the golden envelope appearing before Ryu dematerializing into a shimmer of trailing data; and the Blademaster landed. Foot and sole connected with the rooftop, and Ryuu stood face to face with Teishu, smiling ever more profoundly. He stopped for but a millisecond, staring into those pacific blue eyes, innocent eyes he could swear swelled with confusion and bewilderment. The dragon quickly sheathed his blade, simultaneously swiftly stepping to the Wavemaster’s side and back. He hooked his right arm into the Wavemaster’s right, crevice meeting crevice, his virtual muscle however tugging it; Ryu’s doing the same with his left arm, hand and hand and arm to arm with the Wavemaster’s left while tugging and pulling back toward his chest. He sunk his head in toward the bridge of Teishu’s left ear, his chin almost resting above Teishu’s shoulder. The dragon then leaked his breath into the Wavemaster’s ears in soft whispers.

"You planned on working as a team from the start didn’t you? Haha. That was a smart tactic up there; probably could’ve left you two at an advantage if it was implemented earlier. Regardless, let’s enjoy this little embrace we have here hm?"

Edit ---> Tag issue ><'.

SP: 48 + 4 ; 52

((Alright. Sorry my post lagged so much guys. I told Chase why, but it'd be appropriate to present it to you both. School is basically ramming me up the ass at this point in time. Primarily Junior theme, which is a major project that contains too much work, along with make-up work from missing school after being sick for 4 days. Junior theme will be 'over' entirely come the end of this week, so my posts should aslo no longer lag. At the same time, I can't be positive. So be wary that it's possible my next post may lag as well. But it won't happen anymore after that.

And Teishu. Your last post was a day late. I didn't discuss it with Chase, but considering my situation and how late my post was I won't think much of it. Just don't let it happen again, haha.

Between me and Chase as well, we've come to the conclusion that if you miss the 3 day mark, homgosh, '3' times you're automatically no longer in the running. You two can handle that easily enough though so I'm not too worried about that. Sorry again guys.))

A grin split the ram’s face like the crooked smiles on Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns. It was working—they had taken the hint, and they were doing it. Her mind was made up now.

They didn’t leave Chase much of a gap to think, either. Both of her “opponents”, as they were trying to attack her. A tall column of rock shot up from the rooftop right next to Chase, crumbling, brown, earthy rock. She could see Ryuu in her peripheral vision before, but Teishu’s spell blocked the way.

In another instant, the silver-haired wolf character was in front of her, his blade in the air. Chase whipped her axe in front of her body, holding it so the blade lay flat across her chest, forming a sort of shield out of the giant weapon. Even though she was being “ambushed” in a sense, the silly grin was still pasted across her face.

“That’s what I like to see, boys!” She shouted as sparks flew from the tip of Mizu’s thin sword scraping against the metal of her axe’s blade. Sparks danced around the contact point of the two weapons and Chase moved backwards, away from the Blademaster. A sudden thought fleeted across her head–the “sheep” had just survived an attack from the wolf. A tiny chuckle escaped from her as she continued to move away from him, but a flicker of concern wisped up in the base of her skull. Hopefully, there won’t be any conflict between us... in the future.

The Wavemaster had sent a spell at her from behind, and it moved towards her backside. Chase moved to where the giant stone columns had been, surprisingly nimble for a small character carrying a weapon that was more than half her size. The tornado spell continued on its former path as Chase had hoped. Sticking a hand into her pocket, she pulled out the golden feather and released it into the air. The vicious winds of the leafy tornado sucked it up greedily and carried the feather to the edge of the rooftop. When the tornado died down, the feather floated across the gap in the roofs and moved towards Teishu.

“It’s yours,” the ram shouted at him. “Take it.”

She looked at the daring wolf, who still had his sword raised. Her usually gentle eyes were somewhat sharp. “And you,” she went on, “I’m not so sure about you. But you worked with Blue, here, so I suppose... you’re in too.”

Looking across the gap to the dragon, who had Teishu tight in a hold, Chase nodded at him. Come here and leave him. Moving gracefully, as always, across the gap, the dragon slunk to the ram’s side and they stood together, two noble animals on the rooftops. Ryuu seemed to share Chase’s look at Mizu, but regardless of how the dragon felt he cooly flicked the golden feather at the wolf.

“Congratulations,” Chase said, resting her eyes on either character for a second before looking at Kageryu. “You passed the test. What do you say to joining our clan?”




((You both got in. I'll have both your characters added to the clan and I think your primary accounts should be given posting priveledges in the AM forum, so I'll have that done too I guess. You don't have to reply to this. We can have a Quickchat if you want Chase/Ryuu to explain the AM to your characters more.

This is the end of this duel.))