Special skill? With a quirked brow, Julias felt a little transparent. What was with this chick?
"Nothing special at all," the boy shrugged and offered a small smile. "Though you do, nah?" Obviously she did, even if the girl didn't lead onto it. What was that bit about the forest and trouble?
Not that he tried to show it, but coyness in anybody annoyed Jessie. Though he admitted to being vague or withholding, he always got around to things in a few moments. Everything said was in modesty or just for the sake of avoiding attachments. Besides, Aryn probably already knew what he was.
One of the souls nearby had stirred, and the sensation tickled the young necromancer's nose. Which was pretty strange, considering that he was pretty out of tuned to matured souls like the one he was sensing now. Usually it was only souls of children and animals he was closest with. This simply furthered proved the concentration of magic here. Of especially old magic, potent too.
Suddenly a small idea of the importance of such a queer forest stoked inside Jessie, and he did in fact believe himself to be at the very least, somewhat screwed over. But Porkchops was happy and moving with ease, so that was worth something.

Aryn smirked when the boy indicated she did have a special skill. Instead of telling him what her real skill was, she indicated what it could do. "Yeah, I can tell when people are lying." She remarked. She pulled back her hair and tied it up, it made it easier to move quickly most of the time. Although it revealed a scar on the left side of her face just in front of her ear that traveled down her neck and disappeared under her cloak. "I guess we better go make some new friends." She said looking towards the group of people. She started off towards them, cautiously switching to from mindight and back to test for any malicious energies.

Hmph, there was something. Not that Jessie ever doubted there was, just that now Aryn had admitted to it.
"So there's no point in calling myself Julias, hn?" He stretched, spreading both arms out in space before him, wiggling all ten of his digits. For a second his tongue slipped to one corner of his mouth and he gave the girl a silly half-smile.
She was right, though. It would be a good idea to meet everyone else. For Aryn, that is. The young necromancer, however, didn't want to be in the company of so many people, not to mention a hostile spirit. Besides, following what the girl said, it might be a bad idea to get too many people in one place. But then again, if it was the forest's will, Jessie didn't doubt that everyone would be rounded up sooner or later.
Until then, however, he felt an interest in the soul farthest away from all of them.
"You can, sure," he replied to Aryn's suggestion easily, "I'm going to do some more scoping, so I'll see ya." Saluting, Jessie turned on his heel and headed off in search of the most distant spirit.

{{Oh, and if it wasn't clear, my char's searching for yours, Kry ^^"}}

He was sure he had a name. Everything that existed had a name, everything always knew it's own name. Except for him it would seem. A shake of his head as he grimaced lightly. There was power in knowing someone or somethings name. Power in knowing ones own name. The young man blinked, where had that thought come from? Perhaps it was something he had learned long ago. Not everything had been forgotten. After all, he knew how to speak, he knew what trees and such were. He just did not know who or what he was. Or what a human was, but his entire essence screamed at him that he was not human.

He was still and silent. Unmoving, just watching and trying to remember. He was certain now, that there were others in the forest. Further away, though if one asked him how he knew this, he wouldn't not be able to explain it. Other than, he could smell them. Faintly on the wind. Yet for now they were too far away to be heard. However, it wasn't scent alone that allowed him to know others were there. It was just an odd feeling. Somewhere in his mind, as if he could just feel their presence, as if they were standing next to him.

Still crouched down in the tree, Kat cocked her head to the side and studied the spirit. It was strange to see the blind women talk to the spirit. Hearing a crack of a twig breaking she swiveled her head in the direction of the sound. Placing her hand on the trunk of the tree Kat spoke to it. Through the tree she could tell there were two people a distance away and that one just left.

Curious Kat took a running leap off the branch to land in another tree. She went from tree to tree until she was closer to the presence the tree's told her about. That was one of her gifts, she could control and talk to nature. When she was in a tree only a few feet away from the women Kat did a flip off the branch and landed in a crouch, her staff still in her hand, blades extended. As she stood up from her crouch her cloak swirled around her.

Pushing the button the blades disappeared and Kat leaned on her staff. "Hi, would you mind if I asked you a few questions? One of my people have gotten lost in here and I've been sent to find her. But I think the forest is hiding her. Have you seen a girl elf of about 17 with blonde silver hair?" Her British accent was thick but clear. (That was to Aryn!)

"No, it really isn't any use. That said I still don't know you're real name." Aryn commented, but it didn't seem to matter because the boy had a different agenda in mind that did not include sticking together with anyone. But just as the boy left someone else approached. Aryn was uneasy about so much contact with such similar souls this deep in the forest. She looked the girl up and down, one hand still resting cautiously on her hidden blade. "Questions are never the harm unless the one who asks has a predetermined answer." Aryn cracked a half smile realizing she sounded totally stupid. "Sorry, but this is unusual for me. I tend to stay away from any humanoid here in the forest. When did she disappear?" Aryn tried to be a little more friendly but needless to say she just wasn't good at it. Aryn did notice that the girl has a thick british accent, like Aryn's own mother. Aryn also had a slight british accent mixed with what someone would call a wild accent. For some particular reason those who spent a long time in the forest developed their own way of speaking even if they had not contacted any other soul.

Kat cracked a smile at her comment, then smiled more when she realized that she had a slight British accent. But her smile fell and she sighed slightly when heard the women's answer. Kat was beginning to think she was never going to find Chesrie. "British eh? She went missing about two weeks ago. Just disappeared one night and our trackers tracked her all the way to the forests entrance, where the trail went cold." Standing up straight Kat stretched her back, before she leaned back on her staff once more.

"No, my mother was. I've never been outside of this forest." Aryn thought for a moment. "You took a pretty big risk coming into the forest without knowing for sure she's in the forest to come in here on your own. The forest does not let it's visitors divulge it's secrets. Even if you do find her, how will you get out?" Aryn looked off to the side. "If the girl is in the forest, then there's a chance the forest is hiding her from you because it wants her. In which case you'll probably want to look in the dark sections. Other than that there's not much more I can say." Aryn wished she could be more helpful but she didn't dare go near the dark sections.

For a moment Jessie felt a tinge of regret for leaving Aryn; she had sounded the least bit interested in him, and she was intriguing herself, what with the scar and accent. To console himself, the boy remembered that they'd both probably meet up again sooner or later if the forest really had been gathering them all here. Was that why he was able to sense everything so clearly? Maybe the forest was trying to keep his curiosity piqued?
Humming, Jessie meandered about, keeping tabs on Porkchops and the nearby spirit's strength. There was no real rush to get to it, and there were a lot of neat things to look at. Even so, the necromancer soon grew board of strolling and ended his desultory path. Now walking at an easy pace, he made a b-line towards the soul, which he could now spot off in the distance.
"Hey there!" Waving one hand energetically above him, Jessie used the other to cup around his mouth and amplify the volume of his voice. Screw actually taking precautions, really. He didn't sense anything all too threatening besides that one ghost, but he was a ways off from both of them.
Coming closer, Jessie was able to distinguish the gender of what had, just a few seconds ago, been a dark silhouette. It was some relief seeing another male; after finding three girls and a spirit, it was nice to meet someone a little like him.

Stunned Kat's opened slightly. "Like never in your life? I couldn't imagine living in here for my whole life." Kat paused and thought about what else the women said. She knew it was going to be bloody hard to get out of the forest. But by how she was talking it seemed near impossible now. "She is the daughter of my Queen's best mate. I'm the best tracker and archer plus the Queen is my mother. She asked and here I am. Out of all my people I am the best bet." She paused again and tapped her chin. "So the dark sections is where I should look? Would you by any chance want to show me the way there? Oh I'm Kat by the way." Kat hoped she would show her the way. Maybe it was a good idea to talk to the wind spirit over by the blind lady also.

The young man didn't move from where he stood. Eyes narrowed a bit and he turned slightly to look in another direction. Someone had called out, a male, by the sound of the voice. He raised his hand to give a slight wave in response to the energetic waving that the one approaching him was doing. His head tilted to the side slightly, perhaps this boy could tell him where he was. Maybe he could even tell him who he was. The young man didn't put much stock in that last bit, but knowing where he was would be a slight improvement. Patiently, the young man waited for the other male to continue his approach. One hand gently wrapped around the hilt of the unsheathable sword.

Aryn smiled, slightly amused. "Yes, I was born here and I will probably die here as well." She leaned forward with one eyebrow raised. "So the best tracker a talented princess needs some help finding her target?" Aryn was only teasing but she chuckled. "The dark sections are death. You don't go in those areas and come back out. Not to mention they're everywhere. My mother called the dark sections Teneterra. You have to be able to sense energies to find them, which I can but oi that adventure does not sound like fun. Your friend is probably in the Teneterra Regi which is the worst." Aryn thought carefully. The forest was planning something, otherwise these souls would not be so close. And yet, walking right into darkest parts seemed suicidal. But why else would they be here? "Tell you what. I'll be your guide to the Teneterra Regi, and even through it but I want at least three others to join us before I go. Otherwise it's just plain suicide." Aryn's purple eyes darted about the forest where she could see the other souls. There was someone else in the Teneterra Regi she wanted to go after, but she would never dare to go alone.

((Hope you don't mind me jumping in, I tried to read all the posts, but I'll just jump in oblivious for the most part. Feel free to kill me off if I am unwelcome!))

Ora stood at the edge of the forest in a daze. She was a small girl, she looked to be in her late teens, maybe early twenties, she wore a long sheer night gown, her long pale blue hair hung free, blowing ever so slightly in the calm wind. She had woken up here for the third night in a row. Why was she sleep walking to this place? An image flashed in her mind. A man, running through the forest. She blinked, it was gone. Was that man in this forest? Did he need her help? Her pale blue eyes squinted into the darkness of the woods. She saw something... was that a person? She walked forward. It was moving away from her. She hurried after it, "Hey wait!" She was running now, "Wait a minute, please!" It was gone. She stopped to catch her breath, her feet were dirty now, if only she'd gone to sleep in her shoes. She looked around, the place had a strange feel. A light fog settled in around her. Ora turned around, she was ready to get out of here. She couldn't see, is that the direction she had come from? No, it was this way... She began to walk, deeper and deeper into the forest.

"So you never want to leave? Have you ever tried?" It was interesting to Kat that someone could live in here for there whole entire life. She would never be able to do that. Laughing Kat nodded. "Yeah pretty rich eh? I've learned my lesson very well." She smiled then her smile faded as she spoke about the dark sections. Of course Chesrie was going to be in the most dangerous place. Why did the forest want her so bad? When she said she would take her into the region Kat felt hope. "So three others. I think we can do that. What about that man you were speaking to earlier? And I've sensed others around here. We just have to find them and convince them." That was easier said than done. Who would want to risk their lives for someone they don't know. But she would at least try.

{{I like you, Kya! :D Nice introduction post!}}

Strange how encouraging a small wave could be. Even though it wasn't accompanied by anything verbal, Jessie felt as if the man's acknowledgement had been. Immediately the adolescent hurried into a jog of sorts, getting the sense that this might be an interesting encounter. And, well, it just would have been incredibly awkward just walking to the stranger. Annoying, too, what with feeling like an idiot for taking too much time to get somewhere.
He looked a little lost, the necromancer thought after finally coming face to face with the man. Well, not lost really. It was hard to place the feeling, but Jessie got the sense that this leather-clad guy was a little off. Not in an entirely bad way, though. No, it was just like he didn't seem completely put together, er, not that really either. Just, maybe, the man wasn't completely there? No, no. Whatever.
"Oh hey, 'name's Julias, nice to meetchya," Jessie offered his hand to the stranger easily. Well, he'd been found out last time with the fake name, but why not try again? Introducing himself with an alias was more of a habit than anything else, anyway. "Are you lost?" That was bugging the boy, and even though he hadn't planned on asking, the question slipped out.

The young man watched as the other approached him. There was something strange about this man before him, but he had no idea what it was. If he could remember things, then maybe he would have known. He didn't sense any hostility from this male, so he let his hand slip free from the hilt of the sword that he couldn't pull from it's sheath anyway. Little good that weapon would have done.

He took the offered hand firmly, looking only slightly uncertain, giving it a quick short shake, the dragon demon released the necromancer's hand. The man had introduced himself already, so that meant they did not already know each other. He frowned, watching Julias, (for he took the man at his word when he had introduced himself with a fake name) for a moment. "I am lost in more ways than you can imagine, it would seem. I cannot remember anything about myself, who or what I am, or how I happen to be in this odd place." He shifted on his feet slightly.

Had the man been gripping his sword? Wow, usually "Julias" was able to pick up on something like that. Did he do something to agitate this guy?
News that the man didn't know who he was caught Jessie off-guard. Not only because it was really hard to believe, but telling someone, a stranger, all of that could be compromising. Right? It made equally as much sense for this fellow to be lying as it would for him to tell the truth. This act could just as well be a ploy, something to lure the necromancer into some sort of trap. What if this guy wasn't even human? Jessie was beginning to detect something similar to the demon housed within him, and for once in a great while he could feel the darkness in his right eye stir just a little.
But his body language hinted to the man's (or creature's) honesty, and despite inner warnings Jessie liked to believe that everyone was generally good. And now that he gave the fellow another look, he noticed that much like himself, one of his eyes were hexed. Well, it looked sort of hexed. Maybe he was cursed? The young boy instantly felt a type of camaraderie for the amnesiac.
Giving the man an encouraging pat on the shoulder, Jessie answered, "Well, if it's any help I think you could be cursed." And after a moment he added, "Or just not even human, but you act like one."

The young man shrugged slightly at 'Julias' suggestions. "I know I am not human, but that word...human...means nothing to me." He passed a hand over his red eye, indicating it, and then over the dragon like tattoo on his other arm. "These things, are important, I think...but I cannot remember, I do not know their significance." His expression was rather forlorn. "I do not think I was cursed, but when I awoke, the scent of magic surrounded me. Magic that smells different than the magic of this forest." He looked from 'Julias' to gaze around the forest for a moment. He had ignored 'Julias' comment of him acting human. He was acting the only way he could, not knowing himself played a big part in how he was acting.

Ora had been walking for some time now. If that fog hadn't settled in, I'd be home by now! she thought frustrated. She stepped on a large stick and heard a crack, she felt a pain in her foot and yelled out. She fell to the ground. Bringing her leg up she saw her foot was bleeding. She sat for a moment wondering what to do next. She wanted to sit there and cry until someone came for her, but she knew the chances of that happening in these vast woods were slim. She took a deep breath and stood, she wouldn't give up, she must be getting closer to a way out, as she hadn't changed her direction since she began walking, right? Her foot hurt, but she had to continue on, she had no choice.

Pushing through a mess of bushes she heard something, it was faint, but... was it voices? Yes! She heard two voices! She hurried forward and stopped short when she saw the two men talking. They both looked, different, strange. One had a red eye and the other a black, and beside them, a small cluster of bones appeared to be walking. Was she imagining this? Yes, that must be it, she had become dehydrated and passed out, this was a dream. She began to laugh, quietly at first and then rather hysterically, it was funny. Yesterday she was with her friends having fun and today she was lost in the woods hallucinating, who couldn't see the hilarty?

Irian tumbled to the forest floor from Tempo's back. The dark dragon regarded his partner with a snort. Of all the places for them to be sent, this one was among the worst. And yet there they were, a brown eyed girl and and a large opalescent black dragon in a pink forest which caught people in its depths. We should find out why this is happening, prodded the dragon mentally.

Grumbling, the young woman shook out her hair. It was a strange shade between chocolate brown and honey blond, which shimmered in the unchanging light of the forest. This place was fascinating, it was why she had accepted the mission out of curiosity. Adjusting her t-shirt and jeans as she stood Irian regarded the place speculatively. They had spotted a few people as Tempo landed in the small clearing. "Let's go find someone, maybe then we'll figure out what is causing this." Silently the dragon agreed. Against his rider's protest, he picked her up and placed her upon his back. Tempo was overly protective in a brotherly fashion. Amber eyes surveyed the forest for danger, as brown ones were filled with wonder while the dragon lumbered across the forest floor with wingtips trailing upon the ground.

A sudden and incredibly strong sense of stupidity struck Jessie. Of course! Duh! Why was he such an idiot?
"Wow, whoops!" He fought the impulse to bury his embarrassment and face inside both hands. Both grin and color came to his face as the young boy rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Yer probably a demon then, I'm pretty sure. The markings are an indicator to what kind, so that'd make you a dragon. Do those words ring any rusty bells? Demon 'n' dragon?"
For some reason the necromancer only felt dumber for speaking. Any deductions he made usually ended up being wrong or- well, there was nothing else. All of his guesses had been wrong, in one sense or the other. Though it wasn't because he never tried to think things through and come to a reasonable conclusion. It just never got around to that sort of ending. The ending Jessie always ended up with was-
Was that lady seriously laughing? Jessie was having trouble understanding what kind of fresh Hell (because this whole thing with the forest was kind of like one) would cause such a young women to completely lose it, though the blood saw seeping from her foot led him to believe she just couldn't handle pain all too well.
For a moment the boy stood silent, watching the girl with a mixture of fear and amusement. Yes, it that latter emotion was a tad sadistic, but when did you ever see someone just cackling pointlessly? After several more seconds were spent gaping at her, Jessie felt a sense of pity. She was probably lost like this dragon-guy-demon-thing, whatever he really was.
"Uh," he began, using as passive body movements possible to get closer to her, "hey, hey, you okay miss?"
This forest was just getting stranger and stranger.

The young man had watched 'Julias' intently as he spoke. When he said 'demon' and 'dragon' the young man's red eye flashed momentarily and he grunted slightly as a sharp pain laced through his head. However, it was gone as quickly as it had been there. "Those words, they sound right, but I have no way of knowing for certain. For now at least." His head jerked up, he had heard the laughter almost at the same time he had scented the blood. Extremely faint scent, apparently the wind wasn't quite right for carrying scents. In fact, nothing seemed quite right in this place.

Unlike his companion, 'Julias', the dragon demon did not use passive movements. He strode quickly and purposefully to the lady. He knew the wound should be bound and he also noticed, as he came closer that she had no shoes. Odd. When he was only inches from her, he stopped moving. Already reaching up to pull that scarf from around his neck, it was all he had that he could use to bandage her foot. "Lady, you are injured and have no..shoes...Will you allow me to bind the wound and offer you the use of my own boots?" He had pulled the scarf free from his neck, revealing to all those around him a very large, jagged scar that wound it's way halfway around his neck on the left side and then disappeared down his back.

Of course, he could not see the scar himself. He only knew his eyes were different because he had passed a small puddle earlier, not quite a stream but not quite a puddle really. It had been still. He had seen his reflection as he had bent to drink from the water. He held the scarf out in both hands. It was very large, he could tear into strips for bandaging her foot, and if she accepted his shoes. Which were probably to big for her, he could tie more strips around them to keep them from falling off of her.

Ora had laughed so intensely that her eyes had begun filling with tears. She squinted towards the two as they began to move quickly to her. Her laughter slowed to a random chuckle every couple of seconds. The men were before her. She wiped tears from her face and the humor was gone, she was more scared as she looked first at the man who asked her if she was ok. He had black streaks through his hair, one dark eye and terrifyingly pointy teeth. She answered slowly, still unsure of the reality, "Yes, I'm ok, I'm lost..." She looked to the other man, his face flashed in her mind. Was this the man she had seen in her visions? She saw him running again, he was running towards someone... She blinked, it was gone again. He had asked her about her foot. "Oh," she had forgotten about it "I'm ok really, it's just a small cut..." She observed the two for a moment. An odd pair. Who were they she wondered, and why had she dreamt of this man with the red marking through his eye? Could he show her the way out of this place? "Can you tell me how to get out of here? I'm lost." she repeated. She looked down, "and my body may be miles from here" she mumbled, still half believing it was all a dream.

Sighting the young woman and the two men more clearly, Irian moved forward quickly with purpose. Where she went, Tempo followed despite how cumbersome the trees were to him. Branches crunched under their feet as they approached the strange little group. Tempo scented blood, and sent the information to Irian. He halted and allowed the brunette to gather healing herbs and bandages which might be useful from his saddle bags.

"Hello, may I be of any help?" Announcing herself by her words, Irian moved to try and find the person who was hurt. Sea green eyes examined each person in turn. None of them seemed all that strange to her. Traveling trough many worlds, and visiting many cultures, certainly made it difficult for anything to seem strange. In reality, Irian rather liked bizarre company.

Aryn crossed her arms. "That man I was speaking to earlier was a nothing but a liar." She grimaced. "He gave me a false name and lied about his abilities, so I'd be wary of him." Aryn pushed her cloak farther onto her back, revealing her small and thin frame with belts and supplies. She pulled out a purple gem from one of the packs looked at it in her palm then wrapped her hand around it. She looked at the other girl and smiled. "I'm a psychic to some degree. This nifty little thing will glow if a soul is intending harm upon me. Animal and Human alike. It's too bad the forest does not have a single soul. Hopefully this will help in the choosing process." Aryn gripped the rock tightly and let her arm fall to her side. "I will also make you aware that I can hear your thoughts under certain conditions. The first being if you wish for me to hear them, the second being they are connected to a strong enough emotion and the third being if we make physical contact. But don't worry, I won't start popping up in your head." Aryn looked towards the others. "After you, princess."