((Oh I remember Reno. :) How do you forget something as epic as PPC was? XD And yay, -proud of Alex tooooo- Also, I can't decide on Aponi's eye color, so she's gonna be like me and they change color with her emotion level))

Aponi muttered to herself quietly. This spirit knew a lot about the goddess spirit, and yet nothing seemed overly helpful in their quest. Enlightenment, the touch of. She even seemed to know about the other Chosen, besides ths 'Haru' she spoke of. Closing her eyes and concentrating her, she managed to bring up the image of a girl on fire. Raising an eyebrow deep in surprise, she turned to look at Sly incredulously. How could someone with that short temper come from the presence of such a calm spirit. She did give a curt nod when Sly spoke of her heritage. "You have it right, kachina. Sacred Land and Mother Spirit are both cherished and respected amongst my people. It's a severe price for those amongst us who don't." Usually being stripped naked and banished from the tribe, now that I think about it..

She bent gently over Kiel's legs, taking her palms and doing a special sort of press with his pants between her hands. It seemed impossible, but whatever the press was, worked like a charm at squeezing out over ninety percent of the moist in his pants. His natural body heat should evaporate the remainder because it was so pure and clean. She called on Gileth, pulling the extra warming blanket off her saddle and wrapping it around Kiel's shoulders. "There, small one. Be safe and warm." She looked him over once more. It was truly hard to believe this frail boy could be the element of dark. Her people had always referred to the dark like it was some huge and evil presence. The Malsumis of the world were to be feared, they had told her. But, Kiel hardly seemed something to be afraid of, much less persecute...

She snapped her head up to Sly. Something more important than the fact their destination was a grave stuck out like a sore thumb. "The Goddess, Anri as she says, told us the second meeting would be there.. But anyways.... Do you mean.. The Others may need the elements to continue their journey? Would they depend on it?" She hadn't spoken her name aloud since meeting with the Goddess. She did not trust how her element would surface. If something bad happened, she did not have the 'luck' of Haru to be healed by the Light partner to Kiel. He was no where around. Her eyes transitioned from their deep, soulwell brown to dashing silver-blue. Adrenaline was beginning to pump through her system as the Fight or Flee mechanism of her mind took it's course. No one had ever needed her for anything before. What if she messed up? What if her powers killed her? Could the rest still continue onwards to save the balance? Her head began to swim and if Gileth hadn't already been close when her legs gave out, she would've hit the ground hard like a ragdoll. So there she 'stood', one arm over the back of her steed, the other grabbing at her dizzy brain, heart rate fluttering a million beats a second. Her frail body shuddered deeply. If she stayed like this long, she may die, her body burning off all it meagerly had....

((Sly is different depending on the RP :D If you had invaded her forest and Anri did not will it so, she would have killed you 8D Well, examine you in the shadows... and MAYBE kill you 8D
Yay improvement :3

Yeah, Reno xDD I told AlexRae who you were lol

I reply again because I'm trying to get the goodies towards Sly 8D It seems like only Rising cares about replying anymore o.o out of people that I don't talk to outta Mene... XDD))

The group was long gone from the center of the forest, since the rest of the Chosens were barely moving. Kyoko had made sure to keep at a good pace, his party members knew that if they slumped they would be left behind. The sun was gone, but neither Kyoko nor Sakyo cared at this point. If it became too dark to see, Raphael could light the rest of the way. Such worries were unnecessary at this point in their journey; Kyoko knew exactly where he was going.

Her stomach churned, but whether it was nerves or becoming ill... she had no idea. She held up her heavy head whenever she decided to check how far they had gotten into this forest. What if... everything is different now?... What if... he doesn't... love... me? Sakyo pressed her fingertips against her faded jade eyes, her useless eyes. She tried to remember the voice of Haku, her father, and how calming it was. When her mother, her real mother, would leave her to die in that abandoned shack because of they heavy shame she felt over having such a child. Her mother's people saw her as a disgrace after giving birth to that of their slaves' blood. She saw it as an opportunity to get her own slave with little to no effort, but Haku refused to let that happen to his daughter since the rest of his family, excluding his brother, had already been taken by her kind. Sakyo's mother gained nothing from her birth. For hours Sakyo would cry, too afraid to move out of that damp, dusty room because her vision was starting to blur. Each time she was left there Haku came and swooped her up into his arms. After the third time, he gave up on his wife ever loving their child and finally let go of the idiotic idea that she ever loved him.

A heavy heart sunk down into her chest, one hand clutching onto the fabric hanging loosely above it. She could remember her father's steady heartbeat as he held her tightly against him. Those days where he tossed her into the air then caught her; those days where he flew around with her held in his arms. He won't... laugh anymore...

Kyoko glanced back at the girl briefly, then returned to keeping his face forward. Thoughts raced about his head, but he pushed them aside. What happened in the past no longer mattered to him, only the future held any value now.

Abruptly he stopped, waiting patiently for Sakyo to realize he was no longer moving forward. Listen, Sakyo... Do you recognize the smells? You used to know this area quite well. He is inside. Telepathy was the best method, in his opinion, at this time. He had a feeling Sakyo wouldn't want Raphael to know much about the person she sought for, and he was correct. "I trust you know the way. I shall wait here... but take too long and I will leave. My journey does not end here, though yours may, Miss Haru."

With a deep breath in then out, Sakyo took in her surroundings. Instantly her eyes grew wide, a mixture of shock and fear, as her ears twitched. Desperately she tried to find something about the area that would make Kyoko wrong, but this was it. "He was..."

"In the one place you refused to look, Miss Haru... Most commonly what you seek is where you think last to venture towards..." Kyoko sat under one of the many trees, leaning back against it with his arms crossed over his chest. "Go to him."

She nodded and walked passed Raphael without any form of acknowledgement. Carefully she opened her senses up to find his aura, though she knew exactly where he was. Why... here? She kicked a rock by mistake as she rushed towards the long abandoned building, but it did not matter to her. Once she reached the door she stopped, running her hands across the splintering wood with a heavy sigh. The door creaked open. Gulp. "...Dad?"

A man of the same pale complexion as Sakyo sat in the middle of the crumbling shack with his head held low. Midnight black hair hung in front of his face; his blank face. Pure green eyes crept to the corners of his eyes where Sakyo was standing, but he did not move. "Another... hallucination... now you're older..." His eyes returned to staring at the wall opposite of his daughter.

"What... happened to you?"

Once his long horns, hidden from humans with simple magic of his kind, were smooth and held an unusual shine to them, but now? Now there were dents and deep cuts where someone attempted to steal his horns, which are extremely valuable in the marketplace. Luckily Sakyo could not see what he had become.

"You... aren't real..." he pushed himself to his feet, deep grey horns dug into the ceiling above him.

Pins shot through her heart as it sunk low into her intestines, her torso tilted forward as if she was ready to hurl all over the hardwood floor. "I am real, dad... I am..." Prove Kyoko wrong... don't be different... please...



"Every beginning has an end and every end has a beginning, young one... Anri wants you to start where another one's life had ended. She will explain far better than I once you reach this destination." Sly smiled as Aponi placed a blanket over Kiel, then nodded at her question. "Yes, each element shall be needed... though one could go through it all alone... Together life is easier, while apart the struggle begins. Without the air elements, or another plan from a different element, it will take your party days to reach Anri."

Silence. Sly lowered her hands to her sides then turned to face the direction that Sakyo was in, though very far off from this group. Her eyes narrowed towards the ground with one hand clasped over her heart.



Crim smiled as Nana-Haru gave him the lantern. The darkness would go away! "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thanks soooo much, Nana!" He eagerly took the lantern in his free hand with a brimming grin across his face. "I'm Crim! Thank you again, soo much. Really. The dark is such a scary place..." The boy continued to hold firmly onto Zephyr's hand, both his counterpart and the lantern were a deep comfort to him.



"No... I looked everywhere for you... You weren't anywhere... Not even a trace of you..." Haku shook his head, though what he spoke would normally have a sad tone to it... there was nothing. He was speaking in a monotone voice without any feeling, like he was reading everything out of a script for a play.

She walked over to her father and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her hands trailed across his body as he tried to figure out his appearance based off of what she could feel. His shirt was tattered and torn, almost completely gone, and his hair was a greasy mess. He pulled away before she could feel anymore. "Dad... Please, I'm real." Against her wishes her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Sakyo placed her hands against him once again. "Stop being stubborn... I'm real. I am. I need you, dad... You're all I have left... You and Haru-"

"Don't say his name!" Haku yelled, but still no emotions. The yell was done in a failed attempt to express anger, though it was in vain.

"...What happened to Uncle Haru? Where is Kari? What happened? What's wrong with you?"



((I think that's enough Sakyo for one post XDDD))

(( xD;; Yikes, I have a little hunk of reading to do.. I was out of town for the weekend, sorry for that/not mentioning it.... xD; I'll post as soon as I'm able to read everyone's.. ))

((Haha, it's okay xD We kinda got post happy 8D))

The feeling slowly started to come back to Kiel's legs and the blanket made it all the more better. He hardly knew her yet he felt like this was where his true home was, someone that was kind to him and did not seem to care who or what he was. He looked up to both of the women that stood before him the words rattled in his own mind as well. If all the elements serve a purpose for each other than I will need to have to take on mine ... I do not want to be alone anymore, if I take it on I should be able to bond with these others, all these chosen. He smiled lightly and stood up, tightening his grip on the blanket. "Thank you so much for making me feel better.. uh .. I do not believe I ever got your name.." Kiel reached an arm out to Aponi unknowingly.
Kiel was wary of his previous thoughts and looked down at the ground, wondering if he was running out of time for the options he had. Letting out a sigh he looked back up to Sly and Aponi. "My name is Kiel ..... Kiel Krausse..." He closed his eyes as he said his full name, wondering if he made the right choice. Slowly he dropped to his knee and felt at his face as he opened his eyes. Everything was dark, it reminded him of night back at his village. Soon there were images of his mother and the other boys, all the anger he experienced. Knowing that he wanted to get away from it all, a smile parted his lips gently and the images faded away. Now a sharp pain shot up his back and he lost control of his nerves, arms shaking vigorously, but not before long his vision was back to normal and he shook his arms and legs out of the needle sensation. Looking from one then the other a few times, he shook out his neck and tilted his head. "I suppose now I can help the others too..." He looked down at the back of his hands and shook the last bit of his nervous system back into control.

((I decided to check through some profiles... some people probably just gave up in posting, but a couple people have actually not been on for like a week o.o I unno))

(( xD;; I really like this RP... And I dun wanna see it die! <.<;; Besides, Emilia's character is shy and paranoid but she can be a leader when she has to be, which can be pretty good for moving things along... So here's an attempted post to do that! =P ))

Emilia could hear the faint sound of music, she had been listening to it was Haru handed Crim the lantern to help steady his fright. Emilia was a little uncomfortable with how close the boys were, but they seemed like brothers. Anyhow that wasn't the matter. The matter was that the music had stopped, and it was the silence that called to Emily more than the music had.

...What happened to the player?

So she looked back at the group, Elan was tossing her mane in agitation. The mare was thirsty, and Emilia never liked to make her animal friends suffered, so once again she summoned the courage to speak to the group with a slightly louder voice than her usual soft, timid whisper. "A-are you okay n-now.. Crim?" She wanted to know because she cared a little for the boy.. but whether the rest were ready to leave the safety of the clearing or not, Emilia was going to strive forward.

"I-I'm leaving n-now... I d-don't want to k-keep the goddess w-waiting... E-everyone will be th-thirsty so I'm going t-to the river before I m-make camp.. I d-d-don't care if you come with m-me or not.." With that she turned and started walking towards the forest, pausing just a moment, "I will light a f-fire for anyone th-that follows later.."

The fidgety girl disappeared into the shadows of the trees, not looking back unless Nana-Haru or someone else spoke to her. After a minute or so of walking she'd pet Elan and jump on the horse's back. In just a few moments she arrived within earshot of Aponi, Kiel and Sly. However when she was able to see the trio, it was Sly that Emilia noticed. The woman had an uncanny resemblance to one of the many ancient spirits her village often worshiped. However Emilia's village probably referred to the lady in white as something other than 'Sly'. After all, her village was known for worshiping the many birds of the forest rather than anything else.

A ton of bird-brains.. literally. Emilia hopped off of Elan, the guitar making a dull thud against her back. She wasn't sure if all of these people were among the chosen ones that the Goddess might have chosen.

Chester had been caught by Aponi and got up in a flutter, yet the small, flustered bird trusted the girl and relaxed, tweeting at her before flying into the branches and watched as Sly made herself known to the small group. Izaya was no where to be seen so far, and now that it was night it didn't seem likely that he would be anywhere other than sleeping in a tree. However when Emilia appeared, Chester flew out of the branches, tweeting as he flew over the heads of Aponi and Sly just to bump into Emilia's shoulder and fall into her hand. "Chester! If you don't be careful you'll get hurt and I won't be able to mend your wings forever..." She was seriously worried about the small sparrow, even though the spunky creature was twittering at her with quite the excitement.

"Chester... shh.. I can't understand when you're this excited... ...Oh." Coloring a shade of pink, Emily looked up, realizing that everyone was probably watching her talk to the sparrow.. or at least were listening to her as it was so dark under the trees at this hour. Yet, she was glad to know that, so far, they seemed to be good people. At least that was according to Chester. Despite this Emilia froze, she had been talking to a lot of strangers today, that didn't mean that she entirely overcame her issues with people in general.

(Haha I should have know you would tell her. And yeah it was pretty darn epic, so epic, it made it's way to a sequel. (That kinda quickly died. :) ) But it was fun anyways. I wished the original hadn't died, but it made a long time, made me proud. It's good to see you again though.

You're welcome Alex.

I like Emelia. She allowed my character to open up. )

"Mmmhmm. You're welcome. It's nice to meet you Crim." She nodded, and looked over to Emelia as she spoke. She was right, they needed to move on. "Alright, let's go." She clasped her hands together as she shouted, "Nobu, lead Miwa and the others!"

Nana gave the horse a gentle shove, and motioned for the others to follow. She waited a moment for the horse to start moving. Nobu made a faint rustle, as his wings brushed against the branches. He would wait there until the rest of the group was ready to leave. Nana began running in the direction she saw Emelia disappear in, to no surprise, Miwa was by her side. She smiled at her friend, and with hardly any effort, made a graceful leap onto her back.

In a short amount of time she had caught up with Emelia. She eased herself off of Miwa, and unloaded the bag from her side. She could hear voices not to far off. The trouble with them having an enemy was that they didn't know who their enemy was. Even those who in the beginning had chosen to be sided with them had gone a separate path. She had decided a while back that no matter what, she would not consider Kyoko an enemy. He had showed her kindness, and had done nothing wrong to her.

Nana knelt to the ground. Her finger slowly circle the ground. Her eyes closed, and her focus went primarily on her surroundings. Forgive me for earlier, I was afraid..... She listened silently for a moment. Tell me, please, can we trust them? Once again she listened, then stood. "The female with white hair is the Guardian of the Forest. The other female with the dark hair is Aponi, my partner. The male is Kiel, he controls dark. We can trust them. Should we introduce ourselves then?"

Raphael came down from the trees in a crouch. He stood just as Sakyo walked passed them. His mind peaked with curiosity, but he would not permit himself to ask, nor would he try to listen. Instead he sat, and pulled from one of the small bags around his waste a cutting knife, and a piece of wood that had the head of a woman. He placed the point of the knife at the top of the head and began to carve at it.

(I don't know what to do Raphael.....)

((Sorry I didn't post yesterday. It was a long day + Another Dr. appt. That sucked.))

Aponi clung to Gileth tightly, her heart racing out of control. She brought her free arm and grabbed her chest. She knew that if she didn't calm down soon, she risked a stroke or worse. Paralytic shock was a huge risk. Letting out a small agonized cry she collapsed against Gileth's neck, the horse the only thing supporting her body weight now, but her systems were cooling. If this is the body of a Chosen, I fear if they should need me.. Kiel's cool touch was like frigid ice on her hot skin and she cringed internally, but watched with interest as he activated his powers. His seemed central to his nervous control, with the way he spazzed...

She was about to speak to him once more, when Gileth snorted violently and turned around. She gripped tightly onto his saddle to keep from being thrown off, and soon saw what he was being obstinate about. On the edge of her vision she could make out two shapes that resembled humans and at least one horse. But she couldn't tell for certain. Gileth trotted out from under her to go back to the river however, and she fell hard to the ground like the ragdoll her body was. She lifted her arm to the shapes of the newcomers.

"I see.. new ones.. on the horizon.." She coughed slightly, shaking as she attempted to lift herself. Her sensitive ears picked up on the thud up a guitar on flesh and of Chester's frantic chirpping. It seemed to be out of excitement rather than fear however, so she didn't think they were in too much danger... As she finally stood up once more, her stability was beyond questionable as she wobbled. She moved forward several shaky steps, nearly falling to her knees again. Now she was close enough to see darkened forms of Nana-Haru and Emilia both. As her eyes became transfixed on Emilia, they widened in recognition. She purposely dropped to her knees in front of her and lowered her head reverently.

"Wakiya." Her voice was full of powerful shock and deep awe. It was clear that whatever she had said, meant something significant to her.

((Nifty fact: Wakiya is one Native American tribal name for Thunderbirds, of which she thinks Emilia is one. Naturally. :XD ))

((I MAY reply later, but I wanna nag Malice to reply before I do so.

Reeeennooooo,
I like how you chose to speak to plants, but, and this is my fault for not specifying, I doubt the plants know her name xD If they were just eavesdropping, then they would assume her name is Kachina because it's what Aponi called her. Though she IS the guardian of the forest, Sly does NOT go by a specific name thus no one knows her real name except maybe really strong spirits or something. The plants would just know she guards them and maybe call her "The Guardian" or something lol.

Sly and Ghost are just popular names amongst some of the villages, I prefer putting Sly :D Call her whatever though.))

(Ooh.... I thought I had read her name as being mentioned. Sorry. I'll edit it in. >.< )

Emily was surprised to find that she was relieved when Nana-Haru appeared next to her, and offered a smile.

Hearing Nana-Haru's descriptions of the trio gathered around, Emilia looked at them with a little less fright. Chester was sitting on her shoulder now, but the girl was transfixed on the figure of the white lady whom she assumed to be Nascha, which was the name that her village gave to the guardian spirit of the forest. Her village believed that there were two guardians of the forest that commonly took the form of an owl at night and a hawk during the day. However Emilia didn't know a lot about her own village's belief's... just what she had heard in passing, and she had always been skeptical of such beliefs because her guardian had been skeptical of them.

Then the movements of the girl Aponi frightened Emilia, and she took a step forward, worried that the girl was about to be sick even though Emily's first impulse was to leave the sickly girl alone. There was nothing she could do for sickness. However the manner that the girl dropped to her knees and lowered her head caused Emily to draw back. She almost seemed frightened by the reverence with which the girl in front of her spoke, "Wakiya". How did this stranger know that word? Were Emilia's and Aponi's villages linked? That was quite likely, but that didn't put any ease to the girl's mind.

"N-no.. I am n-not.." She sounded like she was at a loss. "Wakiya" had been one of the many knew titles that her village had tried to give her after they found out that she was conceived with the blood of a bird-demon. Before they came to that knowledge they had shunned and condemned Emilia for being such a strange orphan child, and now she was practically revered, asked to join her village in all of their rituals and social events.

"You don't have to change Emily.. You are the same little girl that has given me so much reason to live. They don't know you any better because they know your heritage so you don't have to pay them any mind if you don't wish to." That had been Granny's words after the young girl ran up to her with fright, asking what to do. All day she had been followed by members in her village that had been shunning her her entire life. One boy even approached her confessing a hidden love for her. So many people coming to her for advice or just to talk had frightened her so badly that she was in tears when she entered the old woman's tent.

"I'm confused, Granny.. I don't want to be here.. I want to leave with Izaya. Th-th... the villagers are all so strange now.. they call me Wakiya.. And I am not.. I'm Emilia and I have no title in the village other than the caretaker of the birds!"

The girl snapped out of it and looked at Aponi kneeling in front of her. "M-my name is Emilia.. P-please s-stand up.." She pleaded as she hid behind her curtain of hair. Elan nudged her, not approving of the shy behavior, but Emilia had behaved no other way, and Aponi was frightening her like her village had. From the trees Izaya appeared with a screech, landing carefully on the shoulder that Chester wasn't on, and leaned forward, peering at Aponi before pecking Emilia in the head. "Izaya.." He did it again and Emily turned around suddenly and fled a short ways into the forest to get away from everyone. Chester twittered in agitation and sat on Elan's back as Izaya took to the air and flew to a tree not far from where Emilia stopped and leaned her back against a tree.

((I would like to reserve the right of chasing after Emily for Aponi. x3 But I can't post yet because I don't want to cut other people off.. Just let it be her job >D MWAHAHAHAH PLOTTING..

Please? :heart: ))

((I'm trying to Malice to freakin' reply lmao XD He's who I wanna wait on lol))

(( Haha. I'll let you post before me then. :) Otherwise I would be going with natural reaction. ))

(( -pokes the RP- xD Soooo, from Sunday until Tuesday or Wednesday I will not be here! o.o; headsup that is ))

((I maaaaaaaaaaay be posting soon. :P Just because I'm tired of waiting. I'll just make Crim drag Zephyr


EDIT:
I'll post tomorrow... tired.))

((So sad. xD Waiting on Aru who was waiting on Malice, and waiting on Alex who is prolly waiting on Aru who was waiting on Malice xD ))

(( xD It aaaall comes down to Malice! ))

((Oi... I think I needta stop typing so much.... my hand hurts o.o and it's not even part I use that much!!! D: Anywhhooooo... this is me rushing the RP along because I'm getting more ideas for it [mind you... when doing this rp before... no one has ever made it to the mountain, sadly]

I have a feeling people will be being replaced. They have replied in awhile. o.o

AND DUDE O.o I forgot about everyone's ages in this thing xDDD It makes me laugh so hard when I remember them.

TO POSTING!))

Crim, fearing the group leaving him, ran after the rest as the ventured into the forest with his hand to tightly intertwined with Zephyr's, causing the older man to be dragged along with him. The way he ran was rather odd as he extended his legs perfectly straight, only his heels ever touching the ground. He nearly bonked into Emilia, but, luckily, he was able to stop himself. The teen blinked a couple times as he watched Aponi stumble over to Emilia, then collapse to her knees. When she hit the ground he jumped, startled by the fall. "Ah!" came a soft screech. "M-miss... A... Are you all right?"

He crouched down and gently lifted Aponi up, helping her to her feet. Crim placed her arm over his shoulder to keep her steady and prevent her from falling tot he ground once again. It was then that he realized Emily had run off. "E... Emilia?!" he yelled, then had another realization... he wasn't holding his lantern. With wide eyes he looked around for it, finding it by Zephyr feet. He slipped the tip of his foot into the handle for it and flipped it up to him, catching it in his hand farthest from Aponi. "Emilia! It's... it's not safe to... to... be alone! It's.. it's dark! Emilia! Please come back! Where did you go?!"

"Whether or not you help the group is up to you, young one... Anri gave you all the choice to follow her, follow the others, or even return home... If you wish to follow another path, then you may do so. Do not feel obligated because of the people you have met along the way, for they chose their path... Ultimately.. the decision is yours." It took her a few moments to face the people around her. This entire time her eyes had fogged as she stared off into the distance with her heart deep down in her gut. Her eyes narrowed to the ground as she let out a heavy sigh and turned to face Kiel, which was when she realized Aponi was not by his side. Sly's head cocked slightly as she swirled around, finding the girl behind her with more elemental companions.

"Ah, yes... I apologize for not realizing earlier..." gently she floated across the stream, then landed on the ground ball to heel. She strolled over to Aponi with her hair flowing behind her. "You should not strain yourself, young one. If you feel frail, let yourself rest. It is clear you are not a fighter, but a helper." The woman then placed her hand gently over Aponi's forehead and gave Crim a smile and a nod to show she acknowledged him. Ancient tongue exited her mouth as she closed her eyes. White streams of luminescent light came from the trees and slowly circled around her. When she took away her hand the healing spell was done and the spirits disappeared. "I do hope that allows you to walk around for some time..."

"Heeeey!" Crim giggled. "You glow like the goddess!" He wrapped his free arm around Sly, who was now extremely confused, then let her go. "You kinda look like this lady they talked about in the history books back home... They said she was like a ghost or something. A really, really pretty ghost who used to dance by the Forbidden Forest then disappear! But she stopped coming many, many years ago... She passed on or something."

She shook her head. "No, young one... I did not pass on. Your village turned into that of greed and stopped appreciating the gifts the higher spirits granted to us. I lost all interest in appearing there, so long as your people did not enter my forest I had no reason to care any longer."

He frowned, pushing his lower lip out. "I appreciate it..."

"Yes, but your people do not. Who shall be chasing after your companion?" Sly's lavender eyes locked with Aponi's with a smile. "I do believe you are strong enough now... I can see in your eyes you want to follow her. Let her go, flying element."

A couple blinks, a cock of the head, and a nod before Crim slipped away from Aponi. He stayed nearby just in case she was about to fall over again.

"And Kiel... You should come join us. Just be sure to hop over the river rather than trample through it, please."




He refused to look at his own child, pressing his face against the splintered wood walls of the shack he dwelt in. "Haru is dead... Kari... I don't know where she is... but she's better off without me. What happened?" Haku forced out a chuckle, though there was no feeling behind it. Anything that looked like an emotion was forced because he felt it should be there, though all it did was make Sakyo feel worse. "The summoners... they tried to take our horns, like always... but they were determined to get ours. They knew we planned on saving our people and they would lose all of their slaves... They would have to return to hard work and labor... and they didn't want that... They found us standing on a cliff right over the summoners' main city and their assassin attempted to attack us..." Haku paused briefly. "Though... you were young... you don't know about our people's traditions... Do not let anyone near your horns..."

"Why?" Sakyo squeaked, too busy trembling to speak properly. Her arms were wrapped about her tiny torso with her lip quivering. Desperately she wanted to cry; she wanted him to hold her... but she knew it wasn't going to happen. At this point she was trying her best to stand, since her legs were growing weak. All of this was too much of a shock for her.

"Luckily, you're only a half breed... I say this because the people here will assume you're a demon rather than what you really are. Your horns grow at the same speed as ours but..." he shook his head. "You already know the rest... but if your horns are cut off... whoever cuts them off owns you."

"Owns me..? W-why would they... own me?"

"Tradition... Our people take great pride in our horns. They show how much we have aged in life. When we truly love someone, we offer our horns to show we are willing to take down our pride for that person... If they choose to cut them, then they show they are willing to take care of us in return. When the horns of our people are cut off, we turn into whatever age we were when our horns were that length. It varies on the person how long it takes us to return to our actual ages, but it can be anywhere for three days to six months. The cutter of the horns must take care of their partner until they return to their actual age and then they are officially engaged, as they would call it here... The summoners found out about this tradition and abused it. Our horns are valuable here due to their rarity. They would cut the horns off and sell them, then use our people as slaves once they were old enough to do it... That was why your mother had you."

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain stab through her chest as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. "I... I shouldn't have... came here..." she whimpered.

"She abandoned you here every time I tried to get her to be a mother.... because her people banned her. They wanted nothing to do with someone who loved a Horned Child, when she never loved me at all. It was all a game to try and get her own slave... but it didn't work. She went insane and ran off somewhere, but I don't care what happened to her..."

She fell to her knees with her hands clasped over her eyes. Slowly her torso curled towards her legs as she laid there in a ball.

"Haru died... because we were ready to save our people... They attacked us from behind, but Haru refused to let me fight. He told me it was his battle. I honored him and stayed away. I thought he'd win easily since it was only one man... but he managed to cut off one of Haru's horns... He refused to be a slave to that man; to those people... and threw himself off the cliff. I ran over and watched his body collapse against the jagged rocks below. He had his wings... but chose not to fly..." He pressed his fingers against his eyes and felt no tears; he felt nothing. "Kari was able to handle when her twin brother died... but I could not. Not after I lost you to those demons... Everyone I cared for, except Kari, was gone... So I searched long and hard for someone who could make me stop feeling that pain... I found her. The daughter of an evil spirit. She told me the only way she could was by taking all feelings I could ever feel... and I agreed. Anything to get rid of the hole in my heart."

Sakyo pressed her fingers against her eyes as she rocked back and forth, hoping the pain may make everything around her go away.

He turned to face her. "What is your name?"

"S-sakyo... Haru... Kichiki.."

"Your mother's?"

"Lanari..."

"Who did you mistake Kari for when you first met her?"

"... Uncle Haru... because they both had yellow hair..."

Haku stepped towards her, standing over her. "If I had known you were alive..."

She shook her head, covering her mouth with her right hand. Sakyo's then pulled her head up and faced her father. "Do you believe me now? I'm real... I'm here..." the girl cried. "Please... love me..."

"I wish I could..." No feeling.

"Make the woman give it back... Puh lee hee hee heease..." she choked as she spoke to him, failing at keeping her composure any longer. "Find her and make her give it back... I nee... need you..."

Haku gently placed his hand under Sakyo's arms and lifted her up into the air, holding her against his chest. He cradled her in his arms and pressed her ear where his heart was beating the loudest. "Kyo... You have to find her now. She won't come to me again, I already got my wish from her... Find the village with the girl named Loki inside."

"How the hell do I narrow it down to one village?" she wiped at her eyes.

"The village with the most buildings has her. She hides in a civilization that would never realize what she is." He gently set her down on the ground. "If I could feel anything... I would be smiling and crying right now..."

"Crying?"

"Tears of joy, Kyo... Now go. Staying here won't help you... it'll only hurt." His back now face her as he slumped towards one of the small bedrooms away from her, scratching up the ceiling more as he did so. "And don't be afraid to open up to people you can trust, Kyo... or you'll lose someone wonderful like I did..." Then he disappeared into the room.

Her head hung low as she exited the shack, rubbing vigorously at her eyes until the tear stopped. Accidentally she ran into Raphael then let out a low growl as she continued passed him. "How well do either of you know the villages?"

Kyoko chuckled with a smug look across his face. "I know them rather well... I traveled through them before I chose to settle down."

"What village has the most buildings?"

"Lilia, home of Fredrickson's. The very town I chose to settle in. It's Northwest of here, the complete opposite direction of where we have been heading, Miss Haru. Why do you ask?"

"Don't give me that, you know why I'm asking."

"Well, I suppose this is where we depart then. I want to find out the other side of this war and do not feel a need to return home just yet. If you would like to save your father, then you may head in that direction on your own... though I have a feeling Raphael will gladly follow you." Kyoko stretched out his arms, then stretched forward, revealing bat wings that had sprouted out of his back and ripped through his shirt. The flapped violently until he was up in the air enough to stand. "So... if you are leaving... I bid you farewell, Miss Haru. I shall have a much easier time getting to my destination without companions anyway, since flying takes up less time than walking. Good luck on your journey and with controlling your temper." He flew above the trees and away from his former party members.

"Are you coming, Raphael?" Sakyo snapped at him. "If so, hurry up. I am not willing to wait on you."

((WHOLY SHIT I WROTE TOO MUCH O.o Well, I can promise my posts will be shorter now... since Sakyo isn't talking to her father anymore. @[email protected] I'll probably post less with Kyoko too, since he is by himself XDDD))

((IMPORTANT!!!! 8DDD

WATER IS OPEN

Telekinesis is too, but Imma have Kyoko kill LenGe's character and get his power, because he is by himself and needs more powah D< Imma make it that he gets curious and decides to test and see if he'll get the rest of the power if he kills him and it works 8D So jaaa.

Reno is ready to take water if no one else wants it. I'm just offering it to those of you with only one character first :) Since she already has two.))

(( Buwahahaha, I have taken electricity. <.<; So the next time I post, I'll toss the new guy into the mix. Though.. That will be in about.. four days.. For I shall be three hours away from my home town visiting a friend.. and I'm leaving at 8am tomorrow morning, yaaaay! ))

((Have fun, Rising! Sorry my internet kept giving out on me XDDD))

((I'll edit this later when I finish Water's profile ((Yep, I stole water)) so we can get this thing rolllllin'! and jeebus I had to read Aru's post like 12 times. :XD ))

Aponi flinched painfully when Emilia ran towards the forest and away from the clearing. She tried to croak out an apology before she made it too far, but it wasn't supported by her voice. She had begun listing to one side before Crim had caught her. She turned her heavy head to look up at Crim, eyes misty. She had hurt someone, and it kinda sucked. It made her wonder why people felt the need to hurt others, if sucked. She always figured it just made them feel better..

As Sly touched her she squirmed a little at the touch. Touch was weird... touch was.. nice? She relaxed as she felt the warm, thick, and heavy energy seep into her. It was like having hot broth on a cold day. Her eyes followed the lights of the spirit in a dazed sort of amazement. At the end of the healing spell, indeed, she could support her own weight. She gently pushed herself upright and dusted down her clothing. She looked between Crim, Zephyr, and Sly. "Thank you." Two simple words.. But they never sounded so gravely serious before in her entire life. They really did have her thanks.

She turned to stare at Emily's abandoned horse for a moment. She briefly made eye contact with Nana-Haru. Something echoed off her, made her fingers kinda twitch, when she looked at her. Perhaps.. my partner "I.. I have to go." She mouthed an apology to Kiel as she turned, running backwards after Emilia. She hesitated for a moment, then turned around and picked up a pretty good sprint after her. Sly's healing spell put her at least temporarily in the health of any of her best days, she was determined to put it to good use for once, rather than that stupid weaving. It was the soft thud of guitar-against-body that made it easy for her to follow her, but the sound of leaves against Izaya's feathers didn't hurt.

After she caught up to Emilia, she doubled over, clutching her knees. She was just out of breath and needed a few good moments of panting. She looked up, past her long hair and through dark eyes, with true and deep compassion at Emilia. "Emilia.." Her accent was thick and heavy on the name, spoken with reverence of a human to another human, even though Aponi knew she was more than just that. It was not just an addressment of Emily, but an acknowledgment of her existence. It was a powerful word, a name. There was something compelling or pleading in her voice, as she prayed Emilia would hear her.

She pushed herself up off her knees and walked over to her. Her steps were fairly stable, but when she offered her hand to Emilia it was shaking slightly. "I have done you wrong. I apologized. I see you now as Emilia, not a Wakiya. I am sorry. Please allow me to right the wrong I wrought." The word sorry came out almost as if she was in pain, a truer apology never spoken. She placed her opposite hand against her heart, clenching at the soft leathers surrounding it. "Aponi." The giving up of a name... A sacred exchange.

[This post probably gonna be shit. My brain is dead on what to do with my characters.]

When Emelia ran off her eyes glanced between the path she took, and Aponi. The word Wakiyia had no meaning to her aside from the mentioning of it had brought her friend fear. Her instinct was to follow, but the sudden excitement of people showing up made her panicked, and confused. In this state she realized that she didn't know what to do even if she had gone after her. She had never really had to comfort a friend before, especially a human one, she had never had any. Her mind disconnected from the group, and she leaned back against Miwa. Nobu's feathers brushed against her cheek, but it had no effect on her.

Nana's eyes closed, and she began to focus her mind on the forest. She almost didn't notice the flowers tickling her feet as they bloomed. "Stop, " she whispered as her eyes saw them. They ceased growing in response. She looked over her surrounding, and noticed that Aponi was now gone. Had she gone after Emelia?


Raphael stood up as Sakyo came out. He slipped the knife, and wooden statue back into place. The time with Kyoko had been very silent to no ones surprise. He had nothing to say to him, and there was no will in him to fill that hole. When Kyoko flew off there was no shock. It was easy to tell that the man wasn't normal. "Sure," he said to Sakyo, and began moving forward.

[Shitty, but did it to move things along. My post shall be more epic next time, I swear. I need to fix a few flaws in my characters....]