[Really? I'll go check it out :yes:]

((^_^ I'll start working on some sort of post . . . and I need to find a picture for Abel again. :sweat:

Welcome back, Jake! :D I'm glad you guys are here. :heart:))

[Now we just need to wait for Amaya :D
I'm currently torn between Cyril and the new character I wanna make. Since I'll be able to get on Menewsha for clumps of time now, I won't need to make Cyril disappear. On the other hand, I'm not sure yet if I won't be too busy anymore to be able to hold two characters at a time. I could let Cyril be called back to HQ as originally planned and play with my new guy for a while. Then when I have more time (*cough* holidays *cough*) I can commandeer both of them. But I could also just stick with Cyril first then when I have more time (*cough* holidays *cough*) I can make my new charrie to join in if we need some sort of deus ex....help of some sort. Thoughts? :)]

((*laughs* Alright. Well . . . let's see. :/

I'll have my new charry come popping up near the others, considering he'll be with Abel. But . . . perhaps Cyril should be called back to base. :sweat: I'm thinking of having Tweak disappear (for a while!) too. See'r and Amaya . . . well, the little missy hasn't been on in a while, so we'll see what becomes of them. They'll just be hanging around in town. ;)

Oh, and Jake! I'll have Aesh reply to you as well. ;)

*goes to make character sheet for new charry* Okay . . . dragon, here you come!))

[Alrighty then :D I'll let Cyril play around a while longer. Then after he gets called back to base, I'll start using my second =3 I'll pm you my new character profile soon.]

((Alright! :D I have Rayeth and a picture of Abel on the first page, just in case you're curious. ;) I'll have to think of a post for both Aesh and Tweak next time . . . my eyes are killing me. :cry:

Have a good one, deary! I need to get away from the computer screen. :yes:))

((i always miss the chatting))

((*giggles* I'm sorry, Jake. :) We're just too darn fast! lolz))

((i know you are, your like talking ninjas :XD))

[Hm? You changing your avi's costume jake? Looks like you're planning on making a foxxy outfit, unless I'm mistaken =3 Can't wait to see when it's done :D]

Aesh turned to Jake, frustration clear in her eyes. The slitted pupils dialated as her anger rose, and the dragon pointed to their guest. "He seeks to speak with Lord Da Vinci, but I refuse to let the worm go anywhere near my master. He won't leave until he sees him." The dark-haired woman snarled, her feral gaze returning to the man with a top hat and nice suit. He had the stench of money all about him.
The dragon's red eyes narrowed, and it seemed for a moment as though she would explode into her dragon form and torch the man. "He needs to go," she hissed through clenched teeth, her hands clenched into tight fists. Little could rile Aesh so, for she was usually a rather calm, caring girl. But this man . . . he was worse than the fiercest of wolves.
-

Tweak led Cyril away from the pair of Outlaws, her single yellow eye filling with amusement. "Odd people," she said, and then she shook her navy hair out of her face. The girl looked up to the male with her, and smiled a bit. "To the inn we go, yes?" Her hat didn't slip over her eyes, as it usually did - thanks to the new one she'd gotten, it actually fit now.
As they headed for the inn, Tweak mumbled to herself about a variety of things - she was still living up to her name. Especially when she randomly knocked over someone's stall as they passed. Luckily they weren't blamed . . . they only kept walking. At the inn, Tweak pulled Cyril along to the counter, got two rooms, and handed the key to her friend. "See you tomorrow morning, cowboy. I need to get some real sleep." Yawning, the young woman smiled. "Who knows what tomorrow will bring."

((I'm planning on having Abel (or someone) send a message to Cyril asking for his presence in the neighboring city. And Tweak . . . I'll have her stick around to cause See'r and Amaya issues. ;)
I'll bring in my new charry next post (hopefully) as well.))

((Minty: i finished my fox =3 but i can show you if you want?))
Jake listened and he saw her anger, he knew if he didn't do something she would not be able to hold it in anymore "Aesh..." he moved over to her and put his hand on her shoulder "... please calm down, i will get rid of him" he said and he turned to the man, he moved right into his face "look you, i don't care who you are, where i come from we usual throw people like you off our property, your lucky this place isn't mine" he growled a bit "now please leave before i make you regret being here"

Cyril barely had time to tip his hat in goodbye to their new acquaintances as Tweak dragged him off. Not that it would have mattered much to the blind one.

"You got it.", the Zealot replied when the girl asked him about their next destination. It seemed like his hatted companion had gotten more spacey since he had met her. This time she managed to walk into a stall, apparently without so much as blinking. While a little embarrassed, Cyril just followed his fellow Zealot to their new inn with his usual silence.

"Alright. Sweet dreams kid.", he said with a smile, tossing his key up a little before catching it. Before he left for his room, Cyril pushed down on Tweak's hat and shook it a bit, messing up her hair in jest. It had been a long day and both of them really needed the rest. They were still recovering from injuries after all.

[Sorry for the lateness guys, I've been out shopping all day :gonk: Finally got to post :yes:]

((its dead again O_o *pokes*))

[Naw it ain't. Esmme's probably just busy :yes: I hope...]

((i hope so too))

The gentleman wrinkled his nose in disgust, shaking his head. "I don't think you know who I am," he said, and then took a step back. He was rather startled by Jake's forward manner, but didn't seem too worried. "Neither do you know what knowledge I hold concerning this girl here."
Aesh snarled, and almost lunged past her friend, but couldn't manage to get past him. Her brown eyes began to glow, and she hissed in a feral manner. "You jealous, greedy pig!"
The man didn't reply, but he did adjust his top hat. "Desperate times come for desperate measures," he said in a thin voice, reaching up to smooth his dark mustache. "And you, creature, are the reason for such times."
-

Tweak grinned, and fixed her hat. As Cyril walked away, she disappeared into the other room, closing the door quickly behind her. Little did she know that the Zealot's were being followed - by someone that was employing them. They both received an envelope under their door by morning, giving detailed explainations of their current missions. It was time to seperate.

[Hurray! You weren't eaten by zombies after all! :glomp:]

The marksman sighed as he held the opened letter in his metal hand. "Well, work is work....". He pondered whether he should say goodbye to Tweak before he left. Who knows when he'd see her next after all. Cyril stood, pausing to stare at the letter once more before folding the paper and returning it to its envelope.

The contents of the message requested his assistance with the rescue of another Zealot unit caught in a skirmish against a group of Outlaws. Apparently they had found a dragon but were outnumbered by the dragon's supporters in Tourmaline Town. He was to meet up with another sniper to take out the dragon while the enemies were preoccupied with the other Zealots. An underhanded attack, but if it meant the death of another of those wretched beasts he wouldn't complain. The sooner he got there, the sooner his allies would have back-up as well.

Cy grabbed his hat off the side table and made his way out. The fiery, morning sun was already peeking over the ocean; the shadows of the surrounding buildings stretching into the forest. He looked over to where his friend's room was and wondered if she was even up yet. Finally, he walked over to her door, the sound of his boots being the most audible thing in the nearly empty inn. Most of the guests were still asleep and the small chatter of the inn keeper and the bartender could barely be heard from the inn's pub.

Noto knocked quietly. "Hey, you up?" He doubted he would get an answer though. Perhaps she was still asleep. Maybe she even got a mission as he had and done what he considered before he left his room.

"Lookin' for me, hot-shot?" Tweak tapped Cyril's shoulder, giving him a wide grin. "I was on my way up from dinner." Dinner . . . at such an early hour of the morning. It seemed that Tweak's mental state was slowly dipping back into the crater that it usually occupied. "I need to go soon. Someone's calling me back to another town." Her single yellow eye filled with a spark of clarity, but it faded swiftly. "They probably want to tell me that I'm too much trouble for you or something."
Then, as though suddenly remembering what she was doing, she pushed past Cyril, entering her room. "You wanted me, didn't you? You were just looking for me, weren't you?" Tweak sounded genuinely confused, as though she didn't know the answer.

((:boogie: nope. We're alive in here. LOL))

Initially startled, the Zealot quickly turned only to face the smiling Tweak. He let out a small sigh of relief but was a little embarrassed that he was caught off guard. Nearly gave him a heart attack. At first, Cyril was confused when she talked about dinner but remembered that she was still sort of an oddball. She spoke about how she had also gotten a mission, which didn't surprise him now, and that she was leaving as well. Cyril noticed how lucid she sounded as she spoke, a stark contrast to how she was a while ago. He smiled, removing his hat to smooth his hair before replacing it. "Please. I can handle 'ya anyday."

Tweak then asked if he was looking for her. If Cyril wasn't sure about saying goodbye before, he was even more unsure now. He wouldn't admit it but the one-eyed woman had grown on him in the past two days. The man looked at her and finally smirked. "Yeah. I was gonna say that I'm being called elsewhere as well. So...I'll be seeing 'ya around kid." Cyril gave a light punch to Tweak's shoulder before turning towards the stairs.

"Take care of yourself, alright?", he called out as he headed for the door.

[BAAWWWW :cry: Urk, *sniffle* I know it isn't that sad but I'm a sap for goodbyes OTL]

Jake heard the man called Aesh a creature and his anger was burning up too, he growled and tried to hold it in, the merories of the Zeots and that inn, he couldn't contain it any more "you little greed fool" he growled as he grabbed the mans neak and started to squeeze "this is your last warning, leave or die"

"You too," Tweak said, grinning at his show of farewell. When he'd gone, the girl frowned a bit, trying to hold back tears. Rarely had she ever grown attached to someone, and this was the perfect example of why not. Biting her lip, the navy-haired female swiftly finished gathering her things - which wasn't much - before heading for the door of the inn.
The entire way out of the town was a trip on foot - during which her yellow gaze searched for Cyril - and Tweak finally let thoughts of her mission consume her thoughts. It was time to leave this life behind once again.

((:cry: How sad . . . *sniffle* *clears throat* And now for our next charry's. LOLZ))
-

The man started, and let a gloved hand touch Jake's as he held his throat. "I-I suppose now isn't the best time, is it?"
It was moments before he was scrambling back, escaping as fast as he could from the two dragons as they snarled and showed their anger. As soon as he'd retreated into his carriage, Aesh's brown eyes filled with relief.
"He comes back every month," she said, calming herself down slowly. "He's someone who demands fees to keep my secret safe. I don't know what else to do." She would kill him . . . if she were a darker individual. But that wasn't so - she was a peace-keeper, for the most part. "I don't know what to do about him. I can only hope that he won't inform others of my living here." It would be most terrible for the young lord Da Vinci if anyone knew of her presence.
-

Hissing, the man's blue eyes filled with hatred. As Abel's resonating words filled the space in which he was held, Rayeth pressed clawed hands over his ears. He hated that voice. The sound of his life-long captor made him sick. Hissing again as the assistant of the master appeared, Rayeth could do nothing but mentally fight. There was no way to disobey Abel - not while he still held reign over his life.
Rayeth was forced to endure the grinding noise that the mechanism of the stage made. As his cage was lifted from below, the crowd gasped, muttering and whispering. Dragon. That's what they were all thinking. Filled with a sudden rush of rage, the male slammed against one side of the silver trap, snarling and pulling away as the metal burned his exposed skin. The clothing he wore did little to protect him from the effects of the silver.
As Abel spoke of dragons, gesturing to Rayeth himself, the blond creature growled. Blue eyes lingered on the stone, a pale blue thing, that hung about the Zealot's neck. That was the only way that Abel still held control over Rayeth. That stone - his heart stone - was a powerful object that he could never resist. As he glared at the object, he felt it's call. Abel's cold hand closed about the azure jem, and Rayeth felt immeasureable pain flow through his veins. As always, it forced him to change.
Webbed wings, like those of a bat, broke from his back, bringing a cry of pain from his lips. Rayeth lashed at the cage's bars again, only to find that his white-scaled form was shifting further. Within moments the pale dragon struck his tail at the man who held such power over his actions - he hated Abel beyond measure.
Blue highlights showed only as the sun glinted off of his scales, and Rayeth scanned the crowd with striking blue eyes filled with disgust. Disgusting creatures, all of them. He was, as always, the main even in the show that Abel was giving.

Jake looked back at her, his anger was still there but it was clear that it wasn't at her "well next time he comes back i shall give him one warning next time, then i will kill him" he growled a bit "if he does send anyone i will fight them off no matter what the concequences"

[Woooh!! :squee: Abel's back to putting people through a miserable time again. I like his new pic by the way. I didn't think that hottie could get any hotter, but DAMN! :heart::drool::heart:
And why do I get the feeling that Jake and Aesh are probably gonna be in some trouble soon?]

"Quit it Knox! You have your own food!"
Though the little monkey gave a screech in protest, he let go of the partially bitten loaf of bread nonetheless. The black and purple clad child, his owner, had just given the little primate a whole striped apple for his meal which he still had to finish. Unfortunately, Knox managed to sneak a bite of the sweet bread as well. The young street performer had to break off the part that was bitten and begrudgingly gave it to the sneaky pet.

"Hey boy!", the owner of the baked goods stall called out. "You forgot your change!" The lanky man held out the few coins that his little customer had left.
"Thank you sir!" Byron replied, nodding gratefully before moving deeper into the carnival's crowd.

It wasn't unusual for Byron to be mistaken a boy. She did look just like her brothers after all, one in a triplet set. Having heard of a festival in Pay'Tions, Byron arrived a few days ago in order to try her luck at attracting some income. She was a street performer by profession. Her family were entertainers and it was only natural that she became one as well. But due to some unfortunate events, she ended up taking care of herself at an early age, traveling from town to town and earning a living with extraordinary balancing acts, complex juggling feats, and simple yet fabulous magic tricks. These were the skills she mastered in order to survive. Byron also had to feed her beloved assistant, Knox.

While she did indeed garner a good audience, her stay at Pay'Tions had been anything but typical. Only the night before last was there a fire at one of the inns in town. Supposedly dragons had burned it down. But she didn't see any large scaly beast as other travelers often described around campfires. Perhaps it was just an accidental fire?
Quite a disappointment for the girl. But she had discovered one more thing that was interesting. According to a few of her customers, there was a showman in town who had a real live dragon kept as a pet. Today she decided to take a break and see if it was true.

With their lunches in hand, the girl and her pet wove through the throng of civilians until finally they reached the stage of Abel. There was still a few grown-ups and older children in between her and the stage front but the girl was content where she stood as long as she could still see the performance. Still, it would really help if they didn't move around so much. Byron tried to listen to what the eloquent man was saying but because she had arrived late, she wasn't quite sure what it was all about. But it wasn't his smooth talk that had her pay attention. It was the silver cage that was brought out from under the stage with a fanfare of grinding metal. There was someone in the cage. He had pale yellow hair with shockingly blue eyes, a clear contrast with the speaker's dark mane and blood red eyes.
Like a wave, people around her were starting to say 'dragon' in hushed tones. Some of the kids were even starting to move closer to the stage while others warily backed off. Byron stood where she was in disbelief.

"Dragon?! But that's not a dragon!", she said voicing her skepticism as best she could above the sounds of the energized audience. The fierce sound of the prisoner ramming the cage, however, soon stole her voice. Byron wasn't the only one who quickly backed away from the platform. Nobody at the front was leaning on the wooden structure anymore. No one strayed too far either, their fascination and curiosity keeping them fixated on the silver cage, the creature within, and the showman's hypnotizing tale. This time Byron could clearly hear him, his voice holding the audience's attention captive as the cage held his 'pet'.

Despite hearing from him the characteristics of a dragon and how they could take human form to deceive and kill unwitting humans, Byron would not fully believe that the blond man was actually a dragon. Not until he started to change, that is.

It was magnificent. Breathtaking. And terrifying. None of the stories, none of them, could compare to seeing the real thing. A real, live dragon. Such beautiful scales, white with flashes of blue. Fangs and claws sharper than those of the great cats. He could barely fit in his cage now; his wings were so huge and his tail already more than stuck out of the cage. The audience was definitely shocked when the dragon struck his master and an even wider space emerged between the crowd's front lines and the platform. Even Knox was starting to panic and hid behind the girl's head after screaming at the caged beast. But Byron stood still, one of the few people brave enough to remain close to the reptile's fury.

She couldn't look away. She wasn't scared anymore. Just mesmerized. Byron could tell the dragon's face was filled with hatred, with a wish to hurt anyone who got near. Yet it didn't stop an idea from forming in her head. The idea that she should sneak backstage after the show was over to get a closer look at the dragon.

[I can't wait for Thanksgiving! :yes: I can already taste the turkey! :eager: Oh and also, will Abel's eyes still be red or should I go with his new gray eyes now? =3]

Smiling, Aesh bowed her head in a thankful fashion. "Then we need to be ready. He has many friends, or so I hear." The dragon took a few more deep breaths, and then moved back into the house, glancing to the carriage that sped away in the distance. "Let me speak with Lord Da Vinci for a few moments, and then I will get some water started for tea. Perhaps you would like to see where you will be staying?" That was, of course, assuming that Jake was staying.
Closing the door, the dark-haired woman sighed and headed toward the large staircase. "Thank you, Jake."
-

((Oooh, si! Aesh and Jake are in for some Zealot trouble. ;) Very soon, very soon.

And I totally agree. Abel = :heart: *giggle* And goodness gracious me. I loved that last post there, deary. Incredible, that one! You always know how to bring a scene to life with that writing style of yours. :D))

Abel didn't bother flinching as the beast's tail lashed toward him. It never struck - as always, he stood just out of Rayeth's reach. The man regarded the dragon out of the corner of his eye with displeasure, but then let his smooth voice continue onward. "Dragons are among us," the Zealot said in a voice barely loud enough for the crowd to hear. It drew some of them back in, keeping them hanging on his every word. "They wear our features, they use our hospitality, and what do we get in return?" Silence mocked the area, and Abel's expression grew darker. "We find betrayal and chaos left wherever a dragon dwells."
It was then that the tall man started a tale that he'd told countless times before - Rayeth's story. Or, what Rayeth had heard as his story for over a decade. From his cage, the dragon let out a loud growl, shifting to try and pull his head further from the bars. Unfortunately, he didn't fit in his prison very well - wings protruded from both sides, and his tail no longer fit unless he curled it up beside him. His long neck was a trial, and his nose kept touching the silver before him. Every move he made only served to make him press against another bit of the pure metal.
Rayeth's blue gaze moved over the crowd again, and he let his growl grow louder. He continued to do so until Abel stopped him, one hand reaching up to the heart stone. Struck by a wave of pain, the white creature merely silenced, baring his fangs at his "master." If he had the chance, he would kill him - he would kill them all.
As he clawed at his prison once again, Rayeth locked his gaze on the youth that braved his movements. A young boy, but the looks of it, was staring at him, mesmerized - or perhaps horrified. This is how it always was - though this youth wasn't backing away, as the others were. Putting no further thought into the child's actions, the pale serpent merely turned his attention elsewhere.
Hatred seething in his gaze, the winged beast had no choice but to sit in silence as Abel fabricated the same story he always had. It was close to an hour later when the Zealot silently commanded him to shift forms. Human, or something close to it, once again Rayeth spat a few curses toward the dark leader. As the metal gears began their grinding tune once again, the shifter let out a muted cry of pain as his wings resurfaced. He was fighting against Abel - he always would. Finally letting his guard drop, the "human" slammed a hand against the bars beside him in frustration. I hate you.


((Oh, and Abel's eyes . . . let's keep them red. ;) More malicious that way. :lol:))