{{ Case Farrell Lyulph }}
The Wild Hunter

Noise. Everywhere. People. Everywhere.

The hunter felt like he was in a forest.

A forest that choked and screamed and bound.

Case hated cities. It didn't matter if it was a tiny town or a massive metropolis. He hated being in them. He hated the press of bodies, the constant chaos of noise, the assault of smells. He hated feeling like he was caged in. It was nothing like his forests, where the undergrowth never pressed in, where its songs never grated, where the scents never clashed. And he was never quite as clausterphobic as he was right now.

But the thing he hated most about them were the rules. Ever since his exile from his clan, the fiery-haired man had never lived with a set of rules beyond "hunt or be hunted". His lifestyle was one that was loose, unstructured. He slept where he wanted, bathed where he wanted, ate where he wanted. But not in these places. In one town he'd been imprisoned for "stealing"; in his own defense, this was before he'd known what money was, and he'd been hungry. In another, he'd been chased out of an inn he could legitimately pay for for "not showing modesty"; his entire life, he'd never found a need for a top or shoes in any season other than winter. There were so many standards these people lived by that Case was hard-pressed to satisfy them all.

What usually made his brief comings and goings in the random town or city he'd stumble upon was the attention. Granted, most people carrying around a full deer pelt and stag antler were quite noticeable, but he knew how the citizens saw him: a tall, rather intimidating wild man, decked out in nomadic apparel, way too many accessories, and armed. And that drew a lot of attention. It took the man every fibre of his being to ignore the stares and whispers that had become customary to his appearance, and instead set his gaze as close to his target as possible (without blinding himself): the towers of Harmony. Ironic, how despite its name, the town seemed to be less than harmonious.

As he neared the gates, the nomad spotted people there ahead of him. Two males, one female. The female had silvery hair, and her behaviour was that of a weasel or a raccoon. Another man was seated on the steps, his sun-coloured hair short. The other was a tall, tall fellow, almost like a tree himself. Though the one with the golden hair remained, the other two passed by the guards. The same two guards gave him apprehensive stares as he strode past them.

Inside, it was much cooler than it was outside. Case felt goosebumps appear on his arms in the cool air, and fidgeted a little; he wasn't cold, but he wasn't comfortable at this temperature. As the doors swung shut behind him, he felt as if someone had suddenly sealed away the forests. The only smells here were of cold stone, and the two people who had gone in. The place made him edgy.

Trying to distract himself from the lack of natural scents and sights in the building, the bronze-skinned man took to observing the other two in the edifice with him. The girl's eyes were interesting, one the colour of a bluebird, the other as vibrant a verdure as spring grasses. He cocked his head curiously at her for a moment, then promptly ignored her as a faint, familiar smell met his nostrils.

The other man was dressed in earthy tones, and had the appearance of a hunter; not quite Case's own brand of hunter, but a hunter nonetheless. That, however, wasn't what got the nomad, whose own vivid hair and fiery tones seemed entirely out of place. It was that the tall tree-man smelled like forest. Curiosity piqued, the man who was closer to animal shuffled a little closer, sniffing the air as he scrutinized the taller man. The earthy-toned fellow was older than him by at least five season-cycles, and he didn't look like a nomad. Strange, strange. Amber eyes glimmering as he grinned wolfishly, Case straightened.

"Tree-man, smell like forest." He wandered off a bit, this time inspecting the seats at the table. As he looked up from picking at the seams of one of the love seats, he continued, "Is here for good hunt. Tree-man and snow-hair girl, here for good hunt also?"

C ı ɛ ℓxxx

Soft blue eyes looked at the girl for a while before he spoke, thinking over his words before he could even begin to speak. "Downstairs there will be six individuals convening, six of skill and... unknown motives." Including a reward with transporting Kanade would make the more rotten and greedy flock, Ciel knew, but without it, the worthy wouldn't come, either. Just because he wanted peace and kept himself in a tower most of his days didn't mean the young man was ignorant of the ways of the world outside. Filled with greed, hate, envy, lust.

"You will be leaving, after all six have arrived," he continued on, feeling a twinge of both guilt and sadness in his gut as his spoke the words. Since she was but a baby she had been living here, and Ciel had only just been in her life for a few years since he became Flyte, but he had grown attached to her quickly. He knew a few others would be sad to see her go, too. Perhaps even bitter, but this was how it was to be.

"The world outside is a dangerous place, and you're not ready for it. You never will be, which is why these people will be accompanying you towards your," he paused for a moment, "destination." Could it be put any other way? "They will know the world, uniquely themselves, and will be able to protect you and guide you through it. And, thus, you will be leaving my protection." Another twinge of sadness. Ciel could only wonder with a grave heart: could she survive, outside these walls of isolation? Had the protection he and others offered her from the outside world been a mistake? A horrible, horrible mistake that they would only just begin to see?

((Guys, please remember that posting flobs in your posts is not allowed. You can differentiate between your characters using different colors/fonts/etc., but please don't post the same picture in each of your posts please. :yes: You can put your character's name with formatting in the FIRST post by that character, but after that, it's not allowed. Just a heads up. ;D Thanks!))

(i've never heard of that.......but whatever now i do!)
Kanade didn't say a thing as Ciel spoke. She didn't know what to say, going out to places she had never seen before? Sure it made her excited but, she wasn't sure how to defend herself if the other six watching her were to be knocked out or something. Kanade looked up at Ciel, her eyes were filled to the brim with tears but she was smiling,"If that's how it is then so be it, but can I ask why?" She needed to know why. If they sent her off with a unknown group she was sure that they may abuse her or even worse!

Katie Scarlett Divine<3

As Katie entered the large building all she could think about was how elegant looking it was, the chairs, the paintings, everything looked well thought out. She quietly shut the door behind her and noticed the others. Of course there were others. . . there were supposed to be six. She took a deep breath and looked at them offering a small smile to be polite and then continued to look around the room, not exactly knowing what to do.
All she did was act like she was interested in everything, even though she had already looked at it. She felt very out of place here and just wondered about everything she possibly could.She wondered about her childhood, their childhoods, were they got that exquisite vase, or who painted the marvelous painting. She had no intention of asking someone if they knew anything about this more then she did, since she was stumped.

The duties of a messenger tended to be overlooked by soldiers, guards, servants, scholars, and others of the like that stayed within the massive building that looked more like a fortress than a home. However, the duties of the lone messenger of this home took his duties seriously and was terrified out of his mind, so his adrenaline, fear, and muscles carried him down the halls with all the speed he could muster. Behind him, there were shouts from the soldiers that were on duty. The sounds of gun fire, screams.

Then silence.

The messenger ran faster.

He nearly ran into the double doors, his muscles twitching with exhaustion and threatening to give out on him before he had a chance to tell his master what was assailing his house. Despite the size of the doors, the swung open without barely a push, and the messenger rushed in at the sound of a howl. The Master, a blond, tall man that was just hitting his twenty-eighth year of life, looked up at that howl, his shockingly bright green eyes narrowed in worry and dread.

"What is happening?" he snapped at the messenger, who had fallen to his knees just feet from the door, his breaths coming out in heavy, quick gasps as he tried to suck air into his burning lungs.

"We don't know. She got through the gates - blew them apart. No one stood a chance, sir. She was at the doors in a matter of seconds, and I came here." He rasped, out of breath. "She's faster than your beast, and was right on my heels -"

"And you led her here?" he hissed, taking a few steps towards the fallen man, a dangerous aura radiating off of him. The master had a legendary temper, a power to back it up.

"I-I had to warn y-you -"

"Shut up," the blond man snapped. "She's here," he looked up from the man, the threatening aura disappearing. "Leave, unless you want to die," he whispered darkly; the messenger wasted no time in exiting the room.

Just seconds later, the woman appeared. She was tall, taller than he was, and he stood at 6'5". Her hair was as golden as the sun, and her eyes as blue and changing like the ocean. He was taken back by her - the power she radiated, the regal air she commanded. The brown and green cloth floated around her form, and her hair drifted as if a constant breeze was moving it around her. He took a step back as she took one forward.

The woman laughed, "You don't know who I am? I'm insulted, Bowman."

Bowman paused, but his suspicion didn't waver in the slightest. Baaljast had howled, after all. He never did that unless there was something dangerous afoot, and she was just oozing dangerous. He watched the woman as she smiled and spread her arms in a warm, motherly gesture. Then, it clicked.

Bowman fell to his knees. "Mother," he gasped.

"Rise, my son, I have need of you. But first, I need to tell of a child, far away from here, that give the Gods... concern." She frowned slightly and Bowman stood. "Will you preform the task that I have in plan for you?"

Bowman nodded as Baaljast, his giant wolf, padded into the room and lay beside the Mother Goddess. "Excellent," she smiled and lay a hand on the giant wolves head.

OoC;;
DUNDUNDUUUUUN.

(ano.....creepy much?)

Erik stood still, mildly shocked as a boy and another girl just went right by him as he was holding the door open with hardly a word. (Well, the boy had said something, and seemed vaguely familiar, prehaps someone he had found in his forest often or something, but he didn't give much more thought thatn that.) He shruuged good naturedly and shut the door. Just before the door shut, a breath of wind seemed to slip through, causing him to instinctively clutch his side like he'd been hit. It was as if... he could feel something was about to go wrong in his domain. He shook his head as if to clear such crazy thoughts out of his head before sitting down at the table. He looked around at the others. "So, wait?" He placed his arms crossed on the table and began to focus off into space, peacefull and quiet, detatched from his surroundings. Better to just wait for instructions until someone decided to give some sort of directions.

{{@Katie;; Sorry, no offence meant or anything but the pickture of your character irks me like no tomorrow. I've just seen it some many times. akldbs;glds. It makes me want to go kick a puppy or something. D:}}

((Sorry! > . <
I've been sick all week and didn't really feel like finding another picture. ._____. Please don't kick a puppy ): ))

Λ ɾ ı ɛ ℓxxxx

Ariel had barely noticed the arrival of the other man, but when she finally did catch sight of him, it startled her. Tall, like the other one, and dressed in the same fashion. Wild men. Men of the forests, the land. Even though she belonged in the cities, where she and the rest of her thieving kind could thrive, Ariel could see that they didn't quite fit in. They couldn't survive here, even with all their skill at surviving outside of the walls of civilization.

She studied the new forest man for a minute. He was more decked out than the other one - had more accessories. Her fingers twitched involuntarily with an age old urge, and clenched her fist and bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep her mind from wandering into its usual one. Stealing from this man wouldn't do her any good, especially if she would be stuck with him for a while. Plus, he had weapons. It would be better to see what he could do with those first, before she tried anything drastic.

Ariel turned her attention from him to the woman who had entered, looking at her for a moment as she stared at the room and all its strange contents. It somewhat apparent what the two men were skilled at, but what could she do?

There was a point when Ariel tried to ignore when things were odd around her, and that happened when the fiery haired hunter began to sniff around the more earthy one. She didn't have to look directly in the direction of the men to see it, it was clear enough through her peripherals from where she was seated. But she couldn't help but sigh when he spoke. Snow-hair girl? Hunt? Ariel rubbed her eyes, was she going to be the only one who could form sentences used by normal people?

"We have to wait until the Flyte or whoever comes down to see up, Tree-man," Ariel said, grinning to herself. What an odd, yet appropriate name for him. "We probably have to wait for the others, too. They're supposed to be six."

OoC;;
Katie, if you want, I can give you the info to my photobucket account and you'd be free to raid it. c: I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed - but that's only if you want to change your picture.

(*humming* it takes a while for the others to get here huh?)

((I'd like to since I'm feeling better now (: ))

Seeing everyone was migrating to the table and the seats, Case figured he might as well join the crowd. Instead of going around the chair like a normal person, however, he simply vaulted over the back of the loveseat whose seams he'd been picking at and landed with a muffled plunk on one side. Ohhhh, it was soft! Like the lush mosses that lined some of the rivers. Only, this one also felt kind of hard. Too unnatural. And his sandals were starting to bug his feet. Well, that could be easily fixed. With a swift tug, the fiery hunter yoinked off the obstructing leather footwear and, wrapping the thongs around the soles, shoved it into the satchel he carried. Ahhh~ Much better. His feet could feel again. Positively more relaxed, Case wiggled his toes to stretch them out a bit, then pulled himself into a crouch on the plush seat.

"Wait good for hunt. Hunter wait, get good prey to catch."

He licked his chops, like the very idea of chasing down a frightened animal through the depths of a forest was the most delicious thing to imagine. Which it was. For him. Case lived for the hunt; what else was a hunter supposed to live for? His bracelets and necklaces and anklets were all proof of his livelihood. Interspersed with carefully crafted semi-precious stones, his bracelets and anklets had a single bone bead painstakingly carved from each animal he'd slain, while one of his necklaces featured a fang or claw for each predator he'd battled and won. They clicked quietly together as he traced the faintly chafed lines the straps of his sandals had made on his feet.

The hunter's golden eyes flicked up to stare at the second girl that had entered. More strange! The girl had the lingering scents of rain and soil, yet though those were natural, it didn't smell . . . natural. There was some enigmatic variation to it that didn't make it the scent that he smelled on the tall earthy man. What could possibly do that? Case was about to investigate further when the snowy-haired girl spoke. The tanned man's lips stretched into a toothy grin as he snickered at the girl's use of his name for the other male in the room.

"Is what Case hears. Us, miss two more, yes?" The beast-man looked incredibly pleased that he could do the calculation. The mention of the Flyte reminded him of something that had been bothering him for a while. A furrow appeared between his brows as he added, "But, strange city-men. Why name 'Flight'? City-men much like birds?"

Kane pretty much ignored everyone around him. He was lost in his thoughts, not really wanting to come out as if yet. Everything had just happened so suddenly... A few more people had entered the ginormous tower. Kane felt he should probably head in also. Seeing as he was one of them. Slowly he drunkenly got up. Swaying a bit from his sudden weight change. His normally loose fitting blue robe loosened more, forcing him to retie it right there on the side walk. He liked those robes. They looked more expensive than they really were. And they were very light. Great for traveling and moving. Not to mention his old white ones had been covered in blood... Bringing a hand up, Kane shifted his hair a bit to the side. Keeping it out of his bright face as he turned and headed in.

It was quiet inside. Though every now and then a voice would break the silence. He passed a fellow monk. They stopped to exchange a few words. Mainly ones or worry, and about Kane's other party members. A bit of worry washed over Kane like a great plague. What were these people going to be like? One he already knew for sure was a thief. The others he was unsure about. They said their goodbyes and good lucks as they each headed in opposite directions.

Kane wondered about. Following the voices to where he found a few familiar faces. "Greetings Everyone." Kane said rather formally to the small group of people already inside.

Erik's mind was in hyper-drive, looking closely at the marks and trying to analyze their meaning. There was very little that went on in his forest without his knowing. Finally dress and adornments began to click into place in his mind and he identified what he was looking for. "You are of Herne, are you not?" Erik's voice was quiet and somewhat raspy, the way it normally was when he deined to speak in sentences longer than three words in length.

"The Flyte are..." he paused, not entirely sure what the equivalent would be. Something from his stretch of the forest. Erik had seen flashes and tracks of him and his kin, though he'd only outright interacted with a couple of them. It had to be something that the boy would understand. Something of life. "They are like... the great tree of the forest, who guides and directs with its wisdom. Only the Flyte has no such great knowledge as the tree."

A yes, the great tree of the forest, where he often rested and listened to it's words and teachings. He missed it's guidance and companionship. Dearly missed it. Some thought he must have some power to be able to read the signs of the wood. No power, just practice and patience and the ability to learn quickly and listen to what was going on and being said by the subtle hints that nature left behind. He glanced around the room again as a sardonic twitch at the corner of his mouth began to show itself. He was probably one of the most 'powerless' out of their whole little bunch. They were in a city, and forestry was little good, here.

The entry of the golden-haired man he'd seen at the gates prompted more inspection from the ever-curious hunter squatting on the loveseat. Now that they were away from other smells, he could smell the man much better. He smelled of blood and light and those strange liquids that city people used to make their wounds better. He'd once allowed someone to apply some onto a cut he'd received from battling a rogue wolf. A faint shudder ran through him as he recalled the scalding fire that had been left on his wound. He was much happier with his natural poultices.

Tree-man's soft rumbling voice sounded; he sounded like he was talking to . . . Amber eyes flashed dangerously to the tall man as the name "Herne" left his lips. For a moment those eyes became slitted like a cat's. Then they were normal again, though the flame-haired hunter was still giving the earthy man a look of pointy warning.

"Case, no clan," Case growled softly, low in his throat, sounding more animal than human. "Clan Herne have no Case."

Not anymore, at least. Not that he was about to share that with anyone. How had he known? Case himself was but a child when the Seer had commanded he be cast from the clan. Something about dark fortunes and ill omens and whatnot. He'd been too young to remember, and he didn't find it all important. What did matter was the stripping of his clan name, leaving a young boy who had only just gotten his first clan tattoos bound by his ankles and feet deep in the heart of the forest. And since then, Case Farrell Lyulph had been alone.

The man was still talking. Of the city-men who named themselves after what birds could do. Anger forgotten at this new piece of information, the tanned young man cocked his head inquisitively to one side, almost like a bird himself. So they were city-men who were like the great tree of the city people? Of course their knowledge was nowhere near as vast as that of the great tree! Human lives were like blinking to trees. If trees could blink. The great tree was very wise. He would know from personal experience.

"Strange city-people. Think they are like great tree." he mused. "But still not answer. Why name 'Flight'? Much strange."

Erik took in Case's look and squatted down, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Case is of the forest, and the forest protects her own. Case lives in Erik's domain, and Erik is of the great tree. You are of the great tree's clan, and that is the greatest honor of all."

He stood up and walked a short ways away, as if nothing had happened. "Flyte. Foolish Men." Back to his two word sentences. He ran a hand through his short hair and looked around the hall impatiently. This man was keeping them waiting, whether or no there were to be six. Let the last come and find them, should he (or she, Erik admitted, glancing around at his present company) feel the need to join.

Every moment he spent away from his domain was one more stitch of worry, one more unnatural twitch, one more second of anxious anticipation. He snorted quietly at himself. He was a mess. Never should have left.

Λ ɾ ı ɛ ℓxxxx

Confusion spread openly on Ariel's face, her multi-colored eyes narrowed as they darted back and forth between the two odd men. Did they have some sort of history together that they were talking about, and she just couldn't grasp because of their short, blunt, broken language? It was frustrating, and she was glad for the short distraction as the blond man - whom she had stumbled into earlier - appeared once more. She gave him a small smile in return for his greeting, her patience too thin to really bother to return it verbally.

Ariel couldn't help it, it was in her nature - so she ended up listening to the broken conversation over the Flyte and forest and trees and clans. This was the first time she had ever heard the Flyte be compared to a tree. She didn't even know that a tree could be wise - a thought she should better keep to herself with those two around, with how they carried on. But during the conversation on had mentioned his own name, Case, was it?

"I once heard that mans greatest dream was to fly, and to do so was to taste true freedom," Ariel said, cutting into the forests' mens conversation over the Flytes seemingly controversial title. "Perhaps that's why his name is "Flyte", to symbolize that freedom and to give it to the people he's watching over." She shrugged slightly, taking out her few coins again and flipping them through her fingers. "But what does a thief now of these things, hmm? I keep to things I know," she muttered to herself, glancing over to the trinkets Case had, with a small smirk on her lips.

OoC;;
D:
I had an epic fail with Ariel, and forgot to follow my own profile rules. >< I added onto her skills, because I only gave her one. It has to do with her daggers.
And I'll have a Flyte post up soon, so we'll carry on soon. I was just hoping the other guy would post soon... Starts with a "K"... ;;>>

(kiyoto where are you??)

((i don't know what to post = . = ))

C ı ɛ ℓxxx

Ciel was surprised at her readiness to accept her fate. He thought that she would have protested more, or at least been upset. But she was right - she did deserve an answer. Ciel wasn't sure he could give it to her, however. The whole situation still confused him and left him feel dark inside. His gut told him what he was doing was wrong - ever part of him did, but he had to do it. Even if he wasn't religious, the Gods demanded something from him.

"I'll explain a few things on the way to down to the bottom floor,," Ciel finally said, after a few minutes of silence, waving her over to him while he opened the door to usher her out. "A few weeks ago, we had a visitor," he began after the door shut behind them both, leaving them in the sky blue hall way. "He was strange; dressed in rags. He entered the building with the guards knowing, but left without them seeing him. I'm not sure how he did that - it's the only way out this tower." Ciel frowned slightly, recalling it once more. "We spoke for some time, and he told me about a... prophecy, if you will. One that only the Gods knew for the longest of times, because it was forgotten amongst us humans. But it was about a child, a child born on an eclipse with reversed eyes.

"You're to go to Lost," he said suddenly, sure that the point was made that she was the child the old prophecy was talking about. "The people that are coming are to take you there and keep you safe along the way, which is why I called for the most skilled individuals - not just anyone." Ciel stopped in front of the elevator, the black doors gleaming. "You do not have a choice, Kanade, and I do apologize for that. But I'm doing what I can to keep you safe along the way, because I cannot accompany you along the way." Ciel glanced at the doors, so that Kanade couldn't see the guilt in his eyes. One of the reasons he had been given this position at such an early age was because he was honest and bad at hiding his emotions. He knew his distress would be written all over his face, but he wouldn't let it effect his thinking. He would do what he had to. The door opened to reveal the off-white marble interior of the elevator.

"After you leave, we'll probably never see each other again." Ciel waited for her to enter the waiting elevator before he did. In case she tried to run, he'd have to be quick enough to catch her.

OoC;;
Sorry if it seemed like I was puppeting. x-x;;

(no prob~)
Kanade nodded silently and entered the elevator, not saying a single word. In fact, she seemed to find the floor very interesting today. Finally she said,"I see...." Then went silent again, tears were streaming out of her eyes as Ciel mentioned them not seeing each other ever again. I've been with him my whole life, and now we won't see each other again?! She thought, the tears silently dropping onto the floor. She didn't know what to say. For the first time in her life she experienced sadness and anger towards Ciel. She shook her head,I should be happy, he has taken care of me so far, now its like I'll be given to new carers who I'll probably learn to like as much I have with Ciel....

((Still don't know what to post = . = ))

Kane followed the broken conversation the best he could. Though found it to be a bit confusing. He did just come in. Something about the Flyte being a tree? Who knew. There were many different people in the world, with many different ideas. Kane listened to the Theory a bit. In fact each theory was interesting. Though he had to admit Miss Ariel's made the most sense. He fixed himself a bit. Bring his blue robes up a bit higher. He seemed to be surrounded by people who were completely different from he. It would be a strange journey. That is for sure.. He heard Areil's remark about herself.

"A simple thief can know much if given the chance to speak." He paused, tossing words around in his mind. "A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times. Anyhow the Flyte is still a man, yes? I believe that is all that honestly matters." Kane said. Probably a bit out a terms, but then again, he still was not sure what they had been speaking about before hand.

((Come to us.))

Katie walked into a room where it seemed a conversation about a Flyte was taking place. She stood by the door, just listening as they all spoke. . . not knowing what to say or do.

((Sorry its so short..but I don't know what to post...))