Name: Rufus Delancy
Age: 25
Race: Half-Elf
History: Rufus was six when the war broke out between humans and elves, the same year his mother was killed because of racial discrimination within the cities. To avenge his mother and as an attempt to find his place in life, Rufus joined the human army when he was 20. During the fighting he gained the trust of his comrades as well as the nickname "Stray Dog" (from the saying "Think of it as being bitten by a stray dog," meaning that something bad happened to you through no fault of your own.)
Appearance: Rufus, full body shot

((There's my guy. I'll make the first post if you want. Just post your character profile first. Can't wait to see it!))

Name: Lark Tuyil
Age: 24
Race: elf
History: Lark's father was a war hero. He was a high ranking officer who died in the war and Lark had always aspired live up to his expectations and fight in the war. He joined the elven army when he came of age and is now a proud solider.
Appearance: Wild blonde hair about average length and pink-colored eyes. Oh and elf ears. He's pretty. Here's a picture

((Looks good, and I don't mind if you post the pic later. I'm about to head into a class, so I can't actually make a post, but I saw that you were on and wanted to let you know that I'm around. XD I'll be back on in maybe two hours, and I will gladly make the first post then. I just didn't want you to think I was ignoring the thread or something. :P))

((Don't worry about it. We really don't seem to often be on at the same time anyway so just post when you can.))

Looking out across the empty battlefield at the fallen enemies, Rufus felt, if only for a second, a twinge of doubt in his heart. For five years now he had dedicated himself to the cause of war and fought with unflinching resolve against their enemies. Now, however, he wondered why so many had to die for peace. It seemed so paradoxical and tragic.

"Get a move on," one of the other soldiers grunted, obviously not happy, having been tasked with scavenging duty. When battles ended the victorious side would scan the leftovers on the battlefield, searching for survivors and taking what things could still be used.

Shaking his head, Rufus moved on from where he was, checking bodies for weapons, ammo, and anything else that could be taken without being disgraceful. If ever he found someone he knew, he would take their dog tags as well, as a remembrance and so that they could keep their honor and be remembered as having died valiantly in battle.

((Sorry if it was short and a bit crappy, but my brain exploded a few minutes ago. XP))

((Good, then we're on the same page because my brain has been melted for a couple of hours now))

Lark was overseeing things back at his base taking inventory on how much soldiers were lost during the last battle. He hated this part of his job. He was the one that ordered his men into action. It was his fault they were...

No, he couldn't think that way.

He was a leader and he had to take responsibility but he was never to doubt his ability to lead. After clearing his throat, he ordered commands to the other soldiers. He assigned some to look-out, some to nurse-duty, and told the others to rest. He could tell they were weary over the last battle. A battle they had lost. Morale was shaken and it was Lark's job to get them rearing and ready to go again but he wasn't about about to pep talk a bunch of tired or half-dead soldiers. He'd wait and until then, he'd plan. The elves needed and victory and he planned on bringing them one.

((Was that okay at all? I haven't done an rp like this in awhile ^^; ))

((It's fine. I'm sure both of our brains will recover in time. <3 Your post is fine, but...how will they eventually meet? In the original, my character saved an enemy soldier he found during the scavenging. Any ideas for this one?))

Squatting down and looking closely at one of the corpses of a soldier from their side, Rufus rustled around in his vest for anything he might have left over. As it turned out, he'd hit the jackpot, so to speak. The man had a pack of cigarettes, a box of bullets, and a small bag of hard candy. Why the idiot had brought all of that into battle was beyond Rufus, but he didn't care. Now that he had it, it was to his advantage. Sweets were impossible to get, even for the higher-ups, and cigarettes were as valuable a currency in the base as they were in prison.

Stuffing the goods into his pockets, Rufus continued searching the man, although he didn't seem to have anything else of interest on his person. Finally taking his dog tags, Rufus dropped them into his pocket. Even though he didn't know the man, he understood that he must have fought bravely, and to him, that was what mattered most.

Moving on down through the battlefield, Rufus found a few more things of interest, like a ring and a photograph of a man's family, along with more dog tags than he had ever wanted to see without owners. The tags he kept in a sack he'd brought along, just like every other scavenger. He could only imagine the looks on his comrades faces when he returned with such a stuffed bag. This battle had certainly taken a good chunk of their forces, even though they had won. It was the inevitable price of victory.

((I don't know, that's what I was trying to figure out. I didn't even consider being one of the bodies...that's a good idea 0.o I guess it's too late for that though isn't it? Hmmm...))

Lark strolled around the campsite for a bit but everything seemed to be in order. He decided that they didn't need him there so he grabbed a bundle of black cloths and started to walk away. He wanted to go back and give his fallen soldiers a proper burial, but there was no way he would have time for something like that. Instead, he'd drape a black sheet over them, it was the least he could do. It was always something dangerous considering it was a battle they had lost and the enemy may still be lurking about scavenging for useful items.

Even if they weren't still scavenging, it was likely that they were nearby. Still, this was something Lark felt he had to do. He hated the idea of leaving the bodies of his fallen comrades sprawled out in an open battle field covered in their own blood.

He flinched slightly as he reached the field. Knowing how many comrades had fallen and seeing their bodies was a completely different thing.

((Ooo! What if, to avoid being caught when he gets to close to the scavenger group, he fakes his own death? Rufus realizes he's not dead, attempts to help him not realizing he isn't really injured, and we just go from there?))

As they swept the battlefield, the group made sure to keep an eye on the sky. Although the sun had already fallen and the moon was glistening in the sky, they had to be sure to get back before too much of the night passed. After a certain time the guards were instructed not to let anyone into or out of the base, for safety measures, and they certainly didn't want to end up having to spend the night huddled together out in the field.

Every now and then Rufus found a soldier in his final breaths, usually too disoriented to even speak. Actually witnessing their final moments was even more painful than seeing their corpse, as it still ended with him having to take off their tags and check their body for useful loot. It wasn't that he felt disrespectful; he merely hated having to watch a perfectly good life vanish before his eyes. It was almost as if they had died on his watch.

((Great idea! I like it! xD))

Lark panicked when he saw that the humans were still on the battle field. He had come to soon, why hadn't he waited?

It would inconvenient to his troops if he was captured. He couldn't cause them trouble. It was too late to run back so not knowing what else to do, Lark sprawled himself among the bodies of his fallen comrades and played dead. If anyone came near him, he'd hold his breath to hide his breathing. Hopefully he could just wait the humans out here and continue his duty when they finished up and left the battlefield.

((Glad to hear it! <3))

As he continued going through the bodies, Rufus always treated the enemies' corpses with the same respect he gave his own soldiers'. After all, they may have been elves, but elves were people all the same. Even though they were so different, humans and elves never realized how many things they actually had in common. Perhaps that was the reason that they fought. As he sifted though the bodies, Rufus noticed that most of the elves were already dead when he got to them, not noticing even a single one still heaving his final breaths as some of the humans had. It was a good sign that the humans had one, seeing as even the elves that were left behind were not living.

However, one of the bodies he found was still warm, the cheeks still had colour, and the heart was still beating. Flushing a bit, Rufus quickly thought of what to do. There were only a few options. One, kill him swiftly with his gun. Two, leave him there in hopes that his people would come back for him and that he would not have to die a slow and even more painful death out there on the field alone. Or three...

Quickly grabbing a hat and jacket from the body of a fallen human soldier, Rufus ripped the elf's shirt off quickly and rewrapped him in the jacket. Pulling the hat onto the man's head and over his ears, Rufus looked around quickly before picking him up in his arms and making his way back to the base.

As soon as he got into the medical ward, a doctor and one nurse began helping the man right away. However, they found no obvious injuries. Instead, they suggested that he had been hit in the head, or perhaps somewhere else debilitating, and was simply unconscious. Nodding to them, Rufus brought a chair over to the man's bed and stared at him, wondering what kind of a person he might be. It might have been a bad idea to bring him there, but...it was better than leaving him out on the field, right?

Lark stifled a gasp as he was lifted from the ground. He quickly debated what to do but could find no easy solution. He continued playing dead not knowing what this solider would do if he awoke. Was he human? What a human want with a seemingly dead elf? Lark couldn't figure out his motive and was having trouble finding a solution because of this. Was should he do? Where was this solider taking him? In his experience, humans didn't want to touch elves much less save their lives. It had to be elf that had captured him, nothing else made sense.

Lark kept his breath shallow and his eyes closed until awhile had past of his lying still. He didn't know where he was or if anyone was around him but he wasn't going to solve much by pretending to be dead when he clearly wasn't. Slowly, unsurely, he opened his eyes a peek and examined his surroundings. He was in a medical ward. A human medical ward. He balanced his body on his forearms so he could sit up a bit and look around. This only suceeded in confusing him further.

He turned his head and jumped in surprise to see that someone was watching him. He panicked instantly. What did this man want? Who was he? Why did he....rescue him? No words would come to Larks lips, he just stared in shock uncertain of what to do in such a foreign situation. He hadn't been trained for this. He knew how to deal with being wounded. He knew how to deal with being attacked. He knew how to deal with being a captive. But this...this was new. What do you do when an enemy....rescues you?

Well, sort of rescues. Lark was really in no need of rescuing but this solider must have taken him with the intent of rescuing him. He must have thought Lark was injured and tried to help him. All the signs pointed to it. Now what was Lark supposed to do?

Sitting alone at the elf's bedside, Rufus tried his best to run through everything in his mind that had happened up to that point. As it turned out, he had rescued an elf from the battlefield, fearing that the man's life was in jeopardy, when it turned out that he'd just hit his head. Now Rufus was stuck with him and still had to figure out how to keep him safe in a camp full of humans. While there were plenty of half-elves around in the human camp, there would surely be people who were suspicious of a new recruit showing up at a time like that.

Just as he was getting deeper into thought, Rufus was disturbed by the elf sitting up and staring at him in surprised. Staring back, Rufus said nothing, simply observing him for a moment. He looked confused, and shocked; which seemed like a natural enough reaction to Rufus. After all, he probably thought that he'd been captured. Either that or he had suffered brain damage from his battle injuries.

"How are you doing?" he asked gently, not wanting to startle the man even more. After all, he knew how hectic war and battles could be. Even something as simple as waking up in an unfamiliar environment could throw a soldier completely out of whack. He'd seen people do things they never would have had they not felt threatened.

Lark stared a moment longer. He was on the verge of lunging himself at the other man in an attack but that didn't seem like the smartest move at the moment. If he was correct, he was in a human camp and if he attacked one of their soliders, it'd only be a few seconds before he was dead.

Lark blinked at the other man's question not knowing how to answer it. How was he doing? He was stuck in enemy territory with nowhere to go and nothing to do. "Where am I?" He asked just to be sure he was correct about his wereabouts. "Who are you?" He continued his questions before the other man could even answer one of them, "What do you want with me?" He asked finally narrowing his eyes in suspicion. He didn't like being in a position where he didn't know what to do and needed answers now.

Furrowing his brow, Rufus almost felt insulted. He had gone through the trouble and peril of saving this man's life and this was the thanks he got. However, he understood the man's concerns. He probably would have been just as suspicious if an enemy had saved him.

"My name is Rufus. You're back at camp. The human camp," he whispered, not wanting anyone to realize that the man wasn't really supposed to be there. "As far as what I want with you," Rufus said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head, "I just wanted to make sure you were all right. See, when I found you on the battlefield, I thought you were hurt pretty bad, seeing that huge puddle of blood you were laying on. There's enough death in war already. I didn't want to have to watch anyone else suffer, even an enemy."

Shrugging his shoulders, Rufus admitted, "I never did have the heart to put someone out of their misery if there was some chance they could be saved. I mean, if there's no hope it's better to let someone go in peace, but...you were still alive, and obviously still are," he pointed out, not wanting to make that statement past tense. "The doctors say you got hit on the head or something. That true?" he asked, only ever trusting medics to heal people, not to explain what had happened.

Lark sat up all the way and took a breath to calm himself. So he was right, this was a human camp. He considered lying to the man and telling him that he did hit his head but the man had saved his life and while, he wasn't in danger, it was still something Lark couldn't help but appreciate. Human or not, this guy was kind.

"No. Actually." Lark said, "I was there to give the passed soldiers a proper burial. I hate leaving their bodies there disgraced like that. They died for honor, they should be treated honorably. I didn't know you guys would still be out there."

This was odd, it was doubtlessly a new experience for Lark, he was chatting with an enemy. "Look," Lark said getting up out of the bed, "I have a camp to run. I can't be staying here chatting it up." He felt odd. His enemy was suddenly real. He'd never talked to a human before and he didn't expect on to be so...nice. He was suddenly thinking about all the humans he had killed during the war and was feeling oddly guilty. He'd never thought of them as people before. "I suppose I should thank you." He said entirely unsure of himself now. He'd never questioned things like this before, it was unsettling.

"It was a big battle," Rufus said with simplicity, not sure how else to explain it. It had taken them a while to completely cover the battlefield. After all, their job was to check every single body and most of the area the battle was fought on, just so that nothing could be missed. "We don't usually send out very large salvaging teams, just in case we need to withdraw quickly. You can understand how even a defeated enemy could see a chance to strike at a mostly unarmed and unaware party after a battle," he added, seeing that this elf was rather intelligent. On average, elves seemed to be smarter than humans, but this guy seemed like he had a little something extra.

When the elf stood up and announced that he had to get back to his people, Rufus stared at him blankly for a few moments before erupting into laughter. "Oh sure," he said wiping tears from his eyes, "just go ahead and tell the guards at the door that. I'm sure they'll let you right out!" Once he had finished laughing, Rufus smirked at the elf and said, "Are you serious? You're in the middle of a human camp in the middle of the night. Let's be realistic. One, even if you were a human, they wouldn't let you outside at the moment for safety reasons," he said, beginning a count on his fingers. "Two, they've never seen you before, so they'll be suspicious. Three, if they figure out who you are, you're a dead man."

Shaking his head and chuckling, Rufus broke the news. "No matter how you look at it, you're stuck here at least until the next battle, maybe longer. So...make yourself at home," he said with great satisfaction, leaning back in his chair and watching the elf to see what his next move would be.

Lark slumped his shoulders at the man's comment. It was true, there was no way he was getting out tonight. No one back at his camp even knew where he was, he hoped they didn't do anything rash without him.

"Alright, you're right." He admitted. But to make himself at home? Here? What about his duties? What about his soldiers? Lark shook his head, he was too logical of a man to be contemplating 'what ifs' he had to deal with the here and now. "Alright." He said again trying to get his mind to cope with his new situation. "But...what am I supposed to do here until I can go back?" He wasn't used to not having a job of some sort and while the human with him seemed nice and accepting he was doubting the others were.

"Clearly you don't have a problem with me being an elf but I'm sure the others will." Lark looked back up at the man, "You're oddly accepting." He stated simply. He hoped the other humans weren't like this one. If they were, he couldn't handle the guilt of killing so many.

Shrugging his shoulders, Rufus said, "That's really for you to decide. I mean, I guess I'm kind of responsible for you until you get out of here, seeing as I'm the one who brought you here and put you in danger. Why don't you just follow me around? I'll be able to cover for you so no one will no, and I might even introduce you to some of my friends," he said with a wink, wondering if this elf was even interested in meeting people while he was in enemy territory. Although there was a small voice in the back of Rufus's mind warning him that showing the elf around might endanger their camp, he tried to ignore it, not wanting to face the fact that it would be just about as bad as having a spy around.

Understanding the elf's suspicions, Rufus said, "Some are and some aren't. Oh, and while you're here, you're a half-elf. Not an elf. That will at least have people thinking you have some business here as a soldier. You can't let anyone know you're an elf," he whispered, not wanting anyone to overhear them. "What's your name, anyway?" he asked, trying to return the conversation to some semblance of normality, or at least as close as they could get in a time like that. Not only were they at war, but they were on opposite sides, and the elf seemed to be decently high-ranked. Rufus wondered what kind of job he had, but figured that it would be rude to ask such priveliged information. After all, why would the elf want to share such personal information with the enemy?

Lark agreed with the man. He decided it would be better to just go along with whatever this man wanted until he could go. "They don't have a problem with half-elves?" Lark found this bit of news surprising. Why hate full blood elves but not have problems with half bloods?

This man was allowing him to stay at an enemy camp. Surely he knew the dangers of letting an enemy in. Lark couldn't figure out if this guy was somehow trying to secretly sabotage his own camp by letting him in or if he was just a kind-hearted man that trusted people. It was hard to trust anyone but you're own comrades in war but Lark found it hard to think that this man could be sabotaging his own camp. He didn't seem to have the mean spirit required for something like that. Lark decided that if this man was going to trust him, he would live up to it and put some trust in him as well.

"My name is Lark Tuyil and yours?" Lark said relaxing a bit.

"Of course, some people will always have a problem with those who are even a bit different from them," Rufus explained, not bothering to cover up the humans' actions, "but for the most part they'll leave you alone. I mean, a half-elf is half human too, so I guess they see you as a tainted human rather than a tainted elf." Shrugging once more, Rufus had to wonder how half-elves were treated over on the elven side. Surely they were more tolerated seeing how intelligent elves were. However, Rufus had also heard that they could be much more prideful, which made him fear for safety of a half-elf on their side as well.

"Just follow me, then," he said, getting out of his seat and stretching. "I've got to go back and see my team since I'm done with scavenging work. Why don't I introduce you?" The rest of his team had no problem with Rufus being a half-elf, so he didn't see why there would be a problem with introducing this man too them. "They're a pretty scrappy bunch, but they're good people, so you won't have anything to worry about."

As they were walking out of the medical ward, Rufus said over his shoulder, "I'm Rufus, by the way. No one here calls me that, though, we've all got nicknames for each other." Although they truthfully had starting using code names in order to keep their identities hidden in battle, the troupe had grown fond of the tradition and now used them 24-7. "I'm Stray Dog. You shouldn't call me that, though, just call me by my name." Although he liked his code name, Rufus never wanted to hear anyone say it but his comrades. It was something special that they shared that nobody else could have.

Lark straightened his shoulders and followed the man he now knew as Rufus. A tainted human...that's a odd way of looking at it. Lark himself had always thought of half-bloods as traitors. His father had hated them and it was ever brought up, he would rant for hours about how shameful it was for an elf and a human to breed. Throughout his life, Lark didn't come in contact with humans often so he never thought about the possibility of falling in love with one and having a child.

A tainted human? As if elf blood was poison. Lark mentally scoffed, if anything elf blood was the superior of the two. He caught himself thinking like his father again and shook his head. His father was a great man but could be a bit too...strongly opinionated to put it nicely.

"Are these friends of yours human?" Lark asked already assuming the answer was a yes. He was at a human camp after all.

"Yeah. I don't know any other half-elves," Rufus said, not even realizing what he'd insinuated. "I mean, there are enough of them around here for people to easily believe that you're just a half-elf, but at the same time, the humans still outnumber them. You know, some people say that's the reason the humans are doing better in the war," Rufus mentioned, although he wasn't thinking at all about how Lark might be able to use any of that information to the elves' advantage. "We let the half-elves fight along side us as equals; is it true that the elves don't?" It wasn't supposed to be a guilt-trip, but when Rufus thought about it, he hoped that Lark would be able to take something good away from his time in their camp.

When they had finally walked around the base a bit, the two arrived in a small room at the far end of the building. Inside, five men were already sitting around on fold-out chairs, each occupied in one manner or another. One, the only wearing glasses, looked up, but had to wipe smeared dust off of his slightly cracked spectacles in order to see who was in the door. Smiling brightly, he announced, "Hey guys, Stray Dog wandered back in!"

Looking over, all of the others smiled at the sight of their buddy. Each greeted the pair in their turn, starting with the most normal of them all; a man of good heigh and toned muscles called over, "And look what the dog dragged in! A new friend." The man sitting on the chair next to him, who actually looked more like a a girl with no chest, frowned and whined, "Why didn't you tell us we were having company? I'm not presentable." Although his short brown hair was plain, the blue eye shadow and mascara were striking enough on their own.

The final two, who stood out like even sorer thumbs, finally spoke. "Good to see you came back safe," said the smallest and youngest one. With an eye patch covering his left eye, the two middle fingers missing from his right hand, part of his left ear missing, and a bunch of bandages wrapped around one of his calfs, he looked more like a retired crash-test dummy than an active soldier. The one nearest him, a giant of a man with skin like leather, smirked a bit and mumbled, "Eeh, 'ee ain gonbe gon no dime zoon, tut meeon da'un."

Other half elves. Was this man...a half blood? "Of course it's true. Elves fight for pride, half elves have no pride." He said before realizing this may offend Rufus. "Sorry." he said quickly, "That's just the Elven view I didn't mean to insult.." He trailed off as they stepped into a small room.

Lark examined the occupants. They were quite the motley crew. Everything from a buff man, to an a war-ridden man and a girly boy. Lark liked them immediately, they had character. But he had to remind himself they were human and he should keep his guard up. He wasn't entirely sure Rufus had been telling the truth about them being find with half-elves. Then again...if Rufus was a half-elf like Lark was now beginning to suspect, they obviously accepted him.

"Hello," He said to the group bowing his head politely.

"Okay guys. First off, this is Lark, he's a half elf," Rufus said, introducing him as formally a he could muster. "He's going to be joining us around here for the day. After that he's being moved to a different camp for training. He got sent here by mistake and needs someone to look after him for the day," he lied superbly, although he planned to tell all of them the truth that night. In fact, as he finished he winked, which had always been the group's signal for a cover-up.

"Really? A half-elf? I have so many questions," the spectacled man said, getting up and walking over. His dark green hair bobbed youthfully around his face, having been cut short with plenty of volume. "Call me Goggles," he said with a friendly smile, shaking Lark's hand briefly.

"Just make sure not to suffocate him," Rufus warned, knowing how Goggles could occasionally go overboard when he got really interested in something. After all, he was their strategist, and he was constantly reading and doing research into a number of odd topics. "I should introduce you to the others," he realized, looking at the other four men in the room. "That's Black Hawk," he said, pointing to the average-looking man, who simply waved back. "The one next to him is Peahen," he said, as the man wearing makeup winked at the elf.

"That's Arrow Head," he continued, gesturing to the giant who had sense gone back to wrapping fresh bandages around the damaged boy's leg, "and the one he's with is Gumballs. Gumballs is the youngest here, but he's still one heck of a fighter." Waving with his good hand, Gumballs called over, "Don't worry, I'm left-handed!" as though that made all of his various injuries moot. His voice was much higher than the others, and he was thin and a few inches shorter than Rufus and Goggles; obviously he was just around a high school age.