Re: Echo of Nothingness (EON III) Continuation

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

Kios jokingly said, "Well your sister can't kill you if she dies first. Though Zach might very well get himself killed...probably not by a lack of preparation, but more of a clumsy moment like tripping and falling off of a cliff. If we were to look after him for a bit would that be satisfactory?"


Kios patted Danyell on the head to soothe her, "I have a lot of faith that our kids are going to survive long enough so that you can kill them. They may be rash like we used to be but we've taught them well and they're both self-sufficient enough I believe." He began to walk towards the stairs that lead back up to the surface before continuing, "If they find themselves in need of some help or direction, the first place the kids would go would be here. At least Leios would and I'm pretty sure the other teens also know about the Library even if they've never been here before." Kios summoned some of his Dark Seishitsu and sent it towards the mechanism that kept the entrance to the library locked, unbinding it temporarily. "That means that the best thing we can do for them now is to stay here and leave the door unlocked for them. In the meantime we can continue trying to find ways to improve the Nil situation."

(It's really short but I wanted to at least get something out there for Kios finally, I might add more later xD)

(I couldn’t find Zach’s? So maybe this is out of turn, but whatever)

“Kios, that was insensitive.” Danyell quietly scowled him, not wanting to freak Zach out anymore than he already was. “Zachariah, Zach and I caught up just before he went… shopping, with the others. He’s grown up so much these past few years, I’m sure he’s okay.” Gently attempting to calm him down him despite her own inner panic, the brunette slowly let out a deep breath as her husband began to pat her head. All these years and their relationship really hadn’t changed very much at all. A sentiment that was bittersweet in a sense. She’d hoped she would have learned to control her temper at that point in her life. Though, to be fair, panicking due to her husband’s sudden disappearance hadn’t helped at all. That panic is what caused her to turn a blind eye to her children’s suspicious actions in the first place.

Though Kios’ side of the argument was far more practical then spending all her time worrying over something that she could not longer fix. Not that she’d admit that out loud. “Technically speaking, you were the first one on that kill list.” Danyell muttered while rolling her eyes before sighing, and reluctantly nodding in agreement. It would take them weeks to search all the possible locations their kids might’ve wandered off to. They’d be making better use of their time helping those that needed them in Nil and Fuji. On top of that, those were projects that they could set to work on immediately. “Alright… We’ll stay here. But so help me Iskios, if something happens to our kids you will have h*** to pay.”

Pulling all her hair back into a high ponytail as she scanned over the room, Danyell took a few moments to collect her thoughts before turning back to Kios. “I think Fuji may be in greater need of our assistance, though I don’t know the fine details of Nil’s problem yet. So Zach, Kios, what plan have you guys come up with?”

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

Judah made a combination glare/grin as he watched the pipsqueaks each do their work. Eyes widening, he barley dodged the blast of kiko as it grazed his shoulder, leaving a burn, canceling out his previous attack with the shot. He then noticed the girl being a copy-cat as a attack similar to his rushed at him as well, sand erupted under him as he dodged the attack by riding a cloud of sand floating in the air looking down at them in surprise, he grinned happily "Sweet!!!~" he chuckled as he was pleasantly surprised at the sudden spike in skill "The legendary Kiko, and that little girl seems to be good at mimicking me....this might actually be entertaining!" he smirked as he raised his hand. He would need to not underestimate them, even if he was good and at an advantage...anyone would have trouble in a three on one fight. 'If sand can't penetrate his flames' Judah noted as he made a thrusting motion with his hand. "Hahaha! so this is for the sake of your family? Well then, it becomes more and more clear to me..." Four small, spiral shaped, shards of stone erupted from the ground "Me and you...we aren't too different it seems!" spinning fast as they swerved and shifted through the air, hard targets to aim at although their target was clear, as the sharp spear head stones flew at Rohan, easily piercing through the blaze at him.

Using his other hand he motioned towards Sahara as he made another gesture, a pillar of stone rising behind her in a over the top eruption...a distraction as a powerful stream of sand was came fourth from the sea of sand like a serpent, 'The stone will be a distraction...while a tort of sand will blast her in the back, slamming her against the stone in the process!' he thought out while he quickly snapped his attention to Iggy, stone spikes blasting underneath him in a large array. "It's admirable that you'd fight, to damn for what others think or believe! To hell the risk that two strangers would face for the sake of those who you hold closest!" he ascended on his cloud, perfectly at home as he watched from above the battlefield using the environment to his advantage as he moved his hands in a circular motion, causing sand to whip about them...more or less for annoying and reducing their field of view "I won't lose, you would understand the feeling...I have something to fight for as well!" he yelled as he grinned, moving his hand forward "You and I are kindred spirits after all!" having thrown his hand in a horizontal motion, the sand shifted underneath his foes as to form a tidal wave of grainy earth to wash over them following his hands direction.

Rohan was quick on his feet, ready for any attack Judah might throw at him, now that he decided to use kiko he had to create a whole new plan to defeat him. He threw 2 punches that shot flames after Judah as he flew on the cloud he made from sand, so he was getting the high ground... the could be a problem, he should get Judah down again before it's too late. Good thing Rohan was quick to make a new plan, he glanced at Sahara and Iggy's direction to check on them but in that time Judah had already launched his next attack. When Rohan turned back it was already too late... Rohan was able to move but the attack had pierced through his left bicep. He covered the wound with his other hand as he side stepped... the attack made a whole on his leather jacket which only fueled his rage "we're nothing alike..." he said after noticing the sand around them moving and the sky getting covered as well.

Iggy was a bit overwhelmed and also feeling kinda useless in this fight since he didn't have any water left to attack with... if only he could get to that small cloud that was passing by. He fell back after Judah attacked him luckily it missed him since he fell back but he was getting a bit scared with their current situation. He was beginning to lose hope too.

This was really bad... they were surrounded by the sand and Judah had the upper hand. Rohan quickly ran over to Sahara and wrapped his hand around her waist and grabbed Iggy by his shirt. He used his fire seishitsu to fly up like a rocket, and out of the sand storm into clear skies. He used the momentum to throw Iggy with all of his strength towards the cloud he had been eying for a while "wait no Rohan!" He screamed as he flew off.  He stopped in front of Judah while holding Sahara close to him "don't worry about my arm... I can hold you, just give me some support while Iggy comes back.". Rohan's eyes began glowing white and shot beams of kiko from them,  right at Judah. Then raised his hand and created a massive fire ball, almost like a small start. After a few seconds passed he threw the ball at him.

Sahara scanned the battlefield frantically, though it certainly didn’t show in her body language nor expression. Had she been in control of her actions, she’d probably be a useless nervous wreck in that moment. However it seemed that she couldn’t do anything without first getting it approved by the Lady of the Waste, though the same seemed to hold true in reverse. At least while she still had her strength. Thousands of ideas seemed to race through her mind, some even containing brief glimpses of memories. All unmistakenly coming from her temporary companion. The more time that past, the more restless the powerful woman became. Her voice slowly turning more daunting and horse as she demanded for Judah’s head in an almost feverish fashion. While each idea seemed to carry traces of good methods to apply to her current situation, each was undoubtedly to over the top to risk using with Rohan and Iggy right next to her.

Speaking of the two, Sahara was growing more and more concerned for their well being with each passing moment. Especially Iggy. The young blonde didn’t seem to be holding up very well at all. The poor kid was literally out of his element, reducing him to simply stumbling around in attempts to dodge incoming attacks. Despite the large bolder barreling towards her, the young maiden knew that she had to help him. Even if she got hurt as a result of saving him.

Thinking in such ways did not take well with the Lady of the Waste, though her resolve was strong enough to temporally take the upperhand in her internal struggle to move. “Piccolo!” She cried out as he fell backwards, raising a hand to summon a makeshift chair of sand to break his fall and quickly pull him closer to her and out of the range of Judah’s attack. Immediately after she closed her eyes and pulled her arms up instinctively to block her face, but to her surprise the large rock never touched her nor the sand shooting up from behind her. Slowly opening her eyes once more as heat swiftly rose to her cheeks, Sahara discovered that Rohan had come to her rescue. She was in too much emotional turmoil to speak, though she was able to reach out and grab Iggy to ensure that he wouldn’t fall as Rohan grabbed the boy by his shirt and launched them into the open sky. In an instant the blonde had disappeared from her grip, thanks to Rohan who threw him across the the sky and held her closer to him. An action which quickly peaked her anger and caused her to lose control wasn’t again, though her burning cheeks remained brightly stained for all to see.

“Right.” As the only response that she and the Lady could seem to agree on, though secretly the emerald haired girl found her panicking at quite an alarming level. Rohan was holding her by the waist up in the sky with an injured arm, which wasn’t only dangerous but also undoubtedly bad for the condition of his injuries, and Iggy was screaming and sailing towards a tiny cloud. Their plan for stop Judah clearly had room for improvement.

After Rohan sent his kiko beams and some fireballs at Judah, Sahara finally selected a concept that she liked from the Lady’s demands suggestions. Something that seemed to come from Zofia, based on the appearance of the women she’d seen in one of the short recollections from her partner. Summoning a large orb with spikes shooting out of it from every direction, the blacksmith wore a small satisfied grin as he scanned over her handy work. “Use this.” She instructed bluntly, already knowing that he was strong enough to turn sand to glass thanks to his footprints beneath them. Since Judah couldn’t control glass, it should do the trick in catching him off guard for a for moments.

[Sammich]

A man of opportunity Zachariah's brows eased a moment, the concern fallen from his face as he corrected Danyell on her statement. "I'll have you know Mrs. Siopelos I am in a long term relationship with my job, we're going on twenty-five years now~" His eyes gleamed with a patriotic pride and he gave the married couple before him a wink. "But point taken." His expression wavered back into creases, his age showing as Danyell divulged the details of his nephew.

He allowed himself a slight exhale of relief, classic Zach, playing the hero. But as he listened the stone in his chest grew heavier. Zachariah swallowed hard, beads of sweat forming on his brow, "Mrs. and Mr. Siopelos, I am going to assume you spent only a short time with my nephew..." He continued with an eerily even tone, "because I assure you he went with them. He wouldn't back out, not after that. Zach is going to get himself killed. Omygod my sister is going end me. I feel it, an ominous force sucking away my life energy already. Soon she'll be back to finish me off." While he was partially worried, partially serious and partially being dramatic for humorous effect to lighten the situation, the feeling he described was sincere. Maybe it was the topic of conversation, the daunting new threat on the horizon, the two whole hours of sleep he had gotten the night previous, maybe it was because he was stashed in a library underground while everyone else was out risking their necks against numerous threat. He rubbed his face pulling back the skin, making it seem gaunt.

"I think I am going to be ill."

Kios jokingly said, "Well your sister can't kill you if she dies first. Though Zach might very well get himself killed...probably not by a lack of preparation, but more of a clumsy moment like tripping and falling off of a cliff. If we were to look after him for a bit would that be satisfactory?"

"Pride or no, you knew something was wrong and you abandoned your family!" Danyell roared, her fingertips shaking as she pulled them into a closed fist. Her breath fell heavy. The fire in her eyes far from an illusion as she held Kios' gaze in a hard glare, though it only lasted but a moment before her eyes fell closed. It took a few moments, however the middle aged woman managed to her breathing and pull herself back together. Iskios was a lot of things, though he was far from being the type of man her father was. He wouldn't turn his back on those he loved, rather he had an odd manner of portraying his confidence in there abilities. Eventually grunting in reply to his latter comment, the tall brunette stiffly nodded in agreement. "It was... Strange, to say the least. Though I think it shows some growth on Jove's behalf..." The mere thought caused a small smile to form in the corners of her ruby lips, hope swelling within her as she pondered back on her decision all those years ago. Perhaps this was a sign that such a choice hadn't been made in vain.

Pulling from her inner thoughts as Kios warned Zach of his resemblance to herself, a small spark of anger once again began to glow within her warm brown orbs. "I'm right here Iskios! What a way to speak of your wife." She grumbled lowly while crossing her arms under her chest in a huff. All those years and nothing had really changed between them. They still fought like, well, an old married couple, Kios was still an idiot, and Danyell still couldn't imagine loving anyone else. Even if he indirectly insulted her from time to time. "Don't listen to Kios, Zach WILL be fine. So you don't have to worry... And congratulations I suppose. Though I'm not sure how you'll be able to spend the anniversary with a career."

Danyell turned back to Kios as he continued on to the main topic at hand, pausing a few moments before gently shrugging her shoulders. "I'm not really certain, though I don't see why he'd help us if he was involved with our attackers. On top of that he was just a kid, seemed to be around Leios' age." Dismissing the subject once he'd done so, the fiery brunette found herself far more concerned with his next topic of conversation. She had been so caught up in finding her husband that she overlooked her children's suspicious behavior. Lissandra hated shopping. Leios had never been with the others when they left. "Oh no..."

Brushing her fears aside as she enjoyed the warmth of Kios' arms around her, Danyell chuckled softly in reply to his apology. "I know you wouldn't, I'm sorry too. Not hearing from you sent me into a panic." She admitted in a quiet huff as he pulled away from her, her gaze following his broad frame back to the library's shelving. Honestly she didn't understand how he always remained so composed. "Wait Kios-" She protested weakly, though silenced herself as he continued on about all they had to do. On one hand he was right, Fuji needed help. Logically speaking that should be their first concern. An entire continent had suddenly been turned to Ash and rubble, that wasn't something that just happened naturally... The few survivors that had managed to avoid the tragedy needed help rebuilding, and the one responsible needed to be unveiled before they repeated their actions. Something much greater than the warlords were at play... Moreover Zach must've really needed help regarding the conflict in Nil if he'd called in Kios. That wasn't something he normally did for kicks and giggles. Keyword in that statement being 'normally'.

However on the other hand, Danyell was beginning to grow far more upset regarding the welfare of her children. It was selfish, putting her own fears above the needs of an entire country... But she'd always been that way. Many didn't understand why Danyell allowed her emotions to take complete control of her thoughts, and maybe deep down she didn't truly know a way to answer the question herself. All she knew was at that point it was instinctive. It had never lead her astray.

"Hold on just a minute, the children didn't go anywhere! They are just shopping!" A loud growl escaped her as she attempted to reaffirm both her companions and herself, though the swift pulse pounding against her chest made it clear that she was failing to do so. "S-Shopping... They hate shopping... W-Why did I fall for shopping?" Beginning to pace as the rooms temperature began to spike, courtesy of the flames rising from her long brown waves, the panicked mother found herself panting for air as she attempted to calm herself. Why was she such an idiot? Earlier she'd written the signs of in hope that she'd been wrong, though more Kios spoke of it the harder it became to deny her flaw. "I-I... I was so focused on finding you... We have to go stop them! They're going to get themselves killed!" She added to Zach's worry, tugging on her ponytail in her usual nervous habit. In that moment she knew exactly what she needed, a voice of reason.

In her youth she'd turned to Ren to solve her inner conflict, though those days seemed so long ago. Over the years she'd found another person to rely on in times of trouble, so that Ren had the time he needed to heal. Whether or not he was actually as helpful, really depended on the subject a hand.

Turning to her husband with large pleading eyes, Danyell mentally begged him for guidance. Something that happened fairly often in the Siopelos' home, when she was upset about something that wasn't Kios himself. "I'm going to kill them, I really am. Then they'll be grounded forever. Literally." The grave comment escaped her lips in something of a threatening manner, fire beginning to light the depths of her chestnut orbs as she began to be consumed by her anger. If only she hadn't blasted off after Kios... Even if it had been the first time he'd ever forgotten, it was not an unreasonably difficult task to write a letter explaining that he was heading out to the library. Or for him to tell her in person, heaven forbid.

Kios patted Danyell on the head to soothe her, "I have a lot of faith that our kids are going to survive long enough so that you can kill them. They may be rash like we used to be but we've taught them well and they're both self-sufficient enough I believe." He began to walk towards the stairs that lead back up to the surface before continuing, "If they find themselves in need of some help or direction, the first place the kids would go would be here. At least Leios would and I'm pretty sure the other teens also know about the Library even if they've never been here before." Kios summoned some of his Dark Seishitsu and sent it towards the mechanism that kept the entrance to the library locked, unbinding it temporarily. "That means that the best thing we can do for them now is to stay here and leave the door unlocked for them. In the meantime we can continue trying to find ways to improve the Nil situation."

(It's really short but I wanted to at least get something out there for Kios finally, I might add more later xD)

Zachariah swallowed, "Mr. Siopelos, I worry for my nephew but he is far from helpless, you can thank my sister for that. Because of her geography cannot be counted among his weaknesses." He laughed, fell silent and nodded zealously, "Of course that would be our best course of action, we can't let them fight this battle by themselves, I trust my dear sister to keep a lid on things in Ryujin if my theory turns out to be correct..." The queasiness in his stomach rose and fell with his statements but he kept a straight face to the couple. They had their own worries it seemed, as they embraced he felt a wash of guilt, he wasn't helping their worries at all by proclaiming his own.

"That's true as well..." He scoffed, breaking his eye contact with them and peering into a corner of the library, "I feel young again, waiting while my sister does the dirty work." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I can do one thing, I can get another pair of eyes on the outside..." The councilman patted himself down on all the small pockets that laced his fine clothing until he procured a corked tube the length and width of one of his fingers. The cork gave way with a pop that resounded in the quiet library and he poured the contents into his hands. A pile of glittering sand. He cupped his hands together and brought the sand to his mouth, whispering short words. Finally he gently blew on the pile, as one would when igniting kindling for a fire and the sand flourished, taking the ethereal guise of a small bird. The sand creature flew off, melding into the earthen walls of the library.

"If that message finds the right person, we should see the kids soon, truly depending on how far away they are..." He was worried, truth betold, but he felt the warm tang of pride in his chest to think his nephew was out, doing what good he thought he could. It almost made him feel shame for dragging him back under the desert. There would be plenty of time for self discovery AFTER they averted these disasters.

He looked to Danyell and Kios, "Now I feel I should get back to the tomes, my one true love political documents~" He winked again, still supressing the uprising in his stomach.

[Sammich]

 
“Aw, did Orion tell you that? He’s such a party pooper!” Natsumi pouted, though was secretly just as upset as she played out that she was. Though not the best at expressing herself, she sincerely had enjoyed seeing Shina again… The young redhead didn’t want to watch yet another friend leave again so soon. It seemed like the more time that passed, the more she was abandoned by those she counted on. Speaking both from past experience and current circumstances.
There was nothing she hated more than being alone.  
“Oh, sure thing Sugar.” Snapping out of her thoughts with a slightly less enthusiastic smile than usually, Natsumi carried a glass over to both of the boys before pouring a cup for herself and taking a seat at Zach's side. His comment leading her to giggle softly. “I know right? And yet she’s got a knack for that kind of thing, organization and other motherly chores. She’d probably get more dates if she stopped harassing the local gangs, now everyone’s intimidated by her.” Sighing softly as she leaned back against the couch before letting out a yawn, the young maiden visually perked up in reply to Duke’s compliment. “No need to sweet talk me, Sugar. It’s not too hard to turn on a stove.” She replied quickly, though her beaming grin told how she really felt. Natsumi really was one who thrived on praise, and the attention it brought with it. Along with that she immediately took a liking to Shina’s companion, though she hadn’t seen his true colors yet.

As Orion held the door open for the two, his eyes widened as Shina suddenly marched up to him in a proud manner and did quite possibly the most unexpected thing that had happened to him that day. Staring down at her in confusion as she suddenly pulled her shining ribbon from her hair, Orion found his cheeks subtly warming up as her white curls fell down around her and she reached out the tie the ribbon in his hair instead. For a few moments her could’ve even process what had happened. What was she hoping to accomplish by giving him her bow? Then to follow it up she called him cute, and blew him a kiss before disappearing down the hall with Duke following after her. Had the ribbon been a token of her favor then? Though more importantly, were all women as forward as Delilah, Umi, Noel, and Shina?
Eventually turning back to his companions as he pulled the ribbon from his hair, studied it, and then gently placed it in his pocket, Orion slowly began to clear his throat before replying to Zach. “When it comes to women, I don’t think a true understanding can ever be found.” He admitted bluntly before leaning out of the doorframe and spotting another exit on the other side of the hall. “I’m going for a walk, but it’s late. You two stood get some rest, I’ll wake you up in the morning Umi.’ The young man addressed them professionally before disappearing into the hall and shutting the door behind himself.

“Oh boy…” Natsumi groaned sarcastically before standing up and stretching out. “Come on Zach, you heard him. It’s time to get some shut eye.” She prompted gently before finishing her tea and setting the cup aside before moving over to the bedside and flopping down onto the mattress. She was actually pretty beat, what a day.  

Zach leaned back into the pillows, still gripping one to his chest. To Orion's answer he snickered, "I kinda thought it was a familial thing?" He joked, his voice slow with sleep. "Byyyyyeeeeee." Out of instinct his arm raised in a haphazard wave goodbye to Orion as he went off to do whatever mysterious silver haired people do in the middle of the night. His eyes drooping as the cozy feeling of the clean sheets, his fresh washed hair and the warm tea in his stomach easing him. He kept reminding himself he had been beaten near senseless TWICE today, it certainly didn't feel like it, which was truly a testament to their healers abilities. He nodded compliantly, his consciousness fading to quickly to offer her the praise she deserved. "Sweet dreams Natsumi..." His eyes closed and his breathing became low and even.

[Atlas]

she sighed and got up, she went after him. He didn't lose her that easily, she then found the man hole. she then looked down into the hole " I see you" she said as she stood up. she then closed her eyes and started to move her hands in a specific way. Then the water down below the manhole started to moved slowly and then it started to move uncontrollably. The water then grabbed a hold of him, then the water and the guy went flying out of the manhole. Aleah then commanded the water with her hands to come to her, the water then brought the guy to her. it had a hold of him tight then you think, she grinned she then took her necklace back.

"Well then, I guess I should've taken that into account.." He whispered to himself as he as pulled from the manhole. Taking control of the water, he broke himself free. "Now, what did I tell you? I think I need that trinket a bit more than you do. Hand it over" He said simply and extended his arm, hand open. Of course, he know she wasnt likely to just simply hand it over, but wanted to avoid violence if possible. He began to wonder if there might've been an easier way to get the money he needed. He did even know where to sell the necklace. Though, he hadn't ever given up before, and he surely wasn't going to start now. "Otherwise, I might have to use some methods that Id prefer not to use." He let out an elongated sigh, hoping she would just hand it over. "As I said, you can always just take it from the buyer afterwards."

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

Pounding, yet gentle, a pure sense of pain overwhelmed her; taking many stops to 'appreciate nature', she would take that chance to let her lungs become accustomed to the icy coldness of the air. It had been a while since she ran long distances - especially so persistently with another person dragging her back, yet the minion followed after her, had it been someone else, the girl would be dead yet she was in good hands, hands that could protect her.

The moon had many guests in it's home, varying in size and even colour, she loved the night sky - it always fascinated her. Yet it wasn't her that seemed to be all that impressed, as once she turned her head, she realised the ambition and innonence in the eyes of the girl, a honey amber which shimmered, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" At first, her voice came out broken and weak, having to cough before it returned to it's previous state. Yet no reply was given, instead their eyes met eachother, her face softening once more, greeted by a toothy smile which appeared very silly yet adorable, "Ah, if you want look at the stars more, we can. It'd just be better to sit somewhere so we don't waste our energy." Yet, the girl shook her head, perhaps she was not interested afterall, "It's best if we go, some people get violent" Was all that escaped her mouth, Smart one.

Continuing their walk, many thoughts ran through her head, they all changed dependent on what she walked past, the most frequent being her family.  Lissandra told her that August had changed, that he disobeyed his father, that he was with the children of the heroes yet it wasn't Lissandra, Natsumi, Orion, Rohan or ANYONE that knew him as good as she did, right? The thought scared her, it lingered around her, almost grabbing at her to drag her down yet with that, the speed of her walk increased, at one point it almost went into a run but she protested, her fears couldn't lead her. Not now, not ever.

Pivoting, she gazed at Orion, she was about to respond however her lips sealed themselves once more, the fabric of her sleeve brushed aggressively against her arm, realising that the girl didn't know who Orion was, but did she either? Perhaps it was best to ignore him, afterall he had angered her - yet she knew it'd be rude and below her, "I won't agree with the morning, but I can definitely settle on night." A uncertainty had overcome her, especially since his eyes shifted from her to the girl yet the kicker had only to come.

Once it did, it had taken Shina back and for several minutes, she had nothing to say other than offer her stare, "Oh, yes, of course." Stammering, her fingers let go of the girl's hand and instead locked themselves within eachother, "I had a child when I was 12, and no one heard about it. Not the kingdom, not the servants, not my parents, not my brother and nor did I." Twisting her body to give Orion a good glance, she let her words sink in before giving another strike, "And oh yes. Of course, I managed to maintain such a petite stomach, look no bumps!" Her hand ran down her stomach to smoothen the fabric; displaying how thin she actually was, "Because you know, after you give birth, your stomach obviously restores itself to it's previous state" This time, the comment was more of a scoff and dig at the absurd question, "Of course It's not my daughter! I'm escorting her back!" The frequency of her voice remained quite high as she mocked, in the end, she folded her arms; awaiting another response.

“Then night it shall be.” Orion agreed loosely with a soft chuckle before turning his attention to the small girl clinging onto Shina’s hand. It seemed that the girl trusted Shina for some reason or another, which secretly pleased the young man. Not having to intervene on behalf of the girl was a relief, and also gave Orion some hope as to what the princess’ true character really held. Perhaps he’d been too hard on her. Despite her questionable partnership and behavior from earlier, he reasoned that anyone who was kind enough to hold a child’s hand wasn’t a bad individual by nature.

Glancing back up to the porcelain skinned young women as she simply stared at him in silence for some time. Had he said something? Eventually rubbing the back of his head slightly awkwardly as he took in the stiff atmosphere between them, Orion softly cleared his throat as he waited for her to speak.

Thankfully a few minutes later, she finally decided to.

The retort she’d settled not hardly phased Orion, as that was only a few years younger than Delilah had been when she’d started accompanying strange men through the night. Though even but Delilah’s standards, 12 was an inappropriately young age to begin messing around with boys. Leaving him to reason that it was probably a joke. At very least he didn’t think Jove’s daughter could get away with bearing a child before her teen years without news spreading throughout the kingdom. Though her final comment on the subject shut down his curiosity once and for all. Clearly the child wasn’t her’s, or she certainly would’ve remembered giving birth to her.

Coughing slightly in discomfort as she twisted her frame for him to have a better view of her, Orion found himself reluctant to look until he realized why she was so upset with him. She’d taken his comment as an insult, and now was attempting to defeat her body’s current state. Something that he would’ve never done purposefully, though it was too late to consider what he should’ve said instead. Recalling the one and only time he’d jokingly insulted his sister’s frame, the young man knew that at that point he had to tread carefully. One wrong word and things could get really out of hand. “Shina… I apologize. I never meant for you to take the comment in an offense manner.” He promised gently as she scoffed, sighing as he ran a hand back through his hair and scanned over her before slowly nodding. “You have a beautiful figure, there’s no need to feel self conscious about it!” Freezing up as he blurted out the last statement, he realized then Shina had spoken as well. Announcing that she was simply walking the child home. Perhaps his apologetic and reassuring words had been a bit to much. His last compliment could absolutely be taken as flirting despite his best intentions.

Eventually clearing his throat once more, Orion decided to kneel down beside the small girl and gently rub her head before Shina could reply. “…I’m sorry to hear you were separated from your parents. Would you lovely young women allow for me to escort you to the mansion? It isn’t safe to walk alone in the forest at night.” He explained with a gentle patient grin, technically asking Shina for her permission too. Though indirectly for fear of her rejection. Orion could never stand the thought of anything happening to a child, and Delilah had taught him to treasure women growing up… Even if only by means to talking down to men. Shina was women, so he preferred she didn’t go out walking alone at night.

[Derekjay2000]

Rohan was quick on his feet, ready for any attack Judah might throw at him, now that he decided to use kiko he had to create a whole new plan to defeat him. He threw 2 punches that shot flames after Judah as he flew on the cloud he made from sand, so he was getting the high ground... the could be a problem, he should get Judah down again before it's too late. Good thing Rohan was quick to make a new plan, he glanced at Sahara and Iggy's direction to check on them but in that time Judah had already launched his next attack. When Rohan turned back it was already too late... Rohan was able to move but the attack had pierced through his left bicep. He covered the wound with his other hand as he side stepped... the attack made a whole on his leather jacket which only fueled his rage "we're nothing alike..." he said after noticing the sand around them moving and the sky getting covered as well.

Iggy was a bit overwhelmed and also feeling kinda useless in this fight since he didn't have any water left to attack with... if only he could get to that small cloud that was passing by. He fell back after Judah attacked him luckily it missed him since he fell back but he was getting a bit scared with their current situation. He was beginning to lose hope too.

This was really bad... they were surrounded by the sand and Judah had the upper hand. Rohan quickly ran over to Sahara and wrapped his hand around her waist and grabbed Iggy by his shirt. He used his fire seishitsu to fly up like a rocket, and out of the sand storm into clear skies. He used the momentum to throw Iggy with all of his strength towards the cloud he had been eying for a while "wait no Rohan!" He screamed as he flew off.  He stopped in front of Judah while holding Sahara close to him "don't worry about my arm... I can hold you, just give me some support while Iggy comes back.". Rohan's eyes began glowing white and shot beams of kiko from them,  right at Judah. Then raised his hand and created a massive fire ball, almost like a small start. After a few seconds passed he threw the ball at him.

Sahara scanned the battlefield frantically, though it certainly didn’t show in her body language nor expression. Had she been in control of her actions, she’d probably be a useless nervous wreck in that moment. However it seemed that she couldn’t do anything without first getting it approved by the Lady of the Waste, though the same seemed to hold true in reverse. At least while she still had her strength. Thousands of ideas seemed to race through her mind, some even containing brief glimpses of memories. All unmistakenly coming from her temporary companion. The more time that past, the more restless the powerful woman became. Her voice slowly turning more daunting and horse as she demanded for Judah’s head in an almost feverish fashion. While each idea seemed to carry traces of good methods to apply to her current situation, each was undoubtedly to over the top to risk using with Rohan and Iggy right next to her.

Speaking of the two, Sahara was growing more and more concerned for their well being with each passing moment. Especially Iggy. The young blonde didn’t seem to be holding up very well at all. The poor kid was literally out of his element, reducing him to simply stumbling around in attempts to dodge incoming attacks. Despite the large bolder barreling towards her, the young maiden knew that she had to help him. Even if she got hurt as a result of saving him.

Thinking in such ways did not take well with the Lady of the Waste, though her resolve was strong enough to temporally take the upperhand in her internal struggle to move. “Piccolo!” She cried out as he fell backwards, raising a hand to summon a makeshift chair of sand to break his fall and quickly pull him closer to her and out of the range of Judah’s attack. Immediately after she closed her eyes and pulled her arms up instinctively to block her face, but to her surprise the large rock never touched her nor the sand shooting up from behind her. Slowly opening her eyes once more as heat swiftly rose to her cheeks, Sahara discovered that Rohan had come to her rescue. She was in too much emotional turmoil to speak, though she was able to reach out and grab Iggy to ensure that he wouldn’t fall as Rohan grabbed the boy by his shirt and launched them into the open sky. In an instant the blonde had disappeared from her grip, thanks to Rohan who threw him across the the sky and held her closer to him. An action which quickly peaked her anger and caused her to lose control wasn’t again, though her burning cheeks remained brightly stained for all to see.

“Right.” As the only response that she and the Lady could seem to agree on, though secretly the emerald haired girl found her panicking at quite an alarming level. Rohan was holding her by the waist up in the sky with an injured arm, which wasn’t only dangerous but also undoubtedly bad for the condition of his injuries, and Iggy was screaming and sailing towards a tiny cloud. Their plan for stop Judah clearly had room for improvement.

After Rohan sent his kiko beams and some fireballs at Judah, Sahara finally selected a concept that she liked from the Lady’s demands suggestions. Something that seemed to come from Zofia, based on the appearance of the women she’d seen in one of the short recollections from her partner. Summoning a large orb with spikes shooting out of it from every direction, the blacksmith wore a small satisfied grin as he scanned over her handy work. “Use this.” She instructed bluntly, already knowing that he was strong enough to turn sand to glass thanks to his footprints beneath them. Since Judah couldn’t control glass, it should do the trick in catching him off guard for a for moments.

"We're nothing alike you say?" Judah laughed as he watched the pest below him struggle, "Then tell me how we are so different!" he mocked as the small group ascended to meet him at his level. Glaring as Rohan had pulled the other two up with him, his expression changed when Rohan chucked the weirdo blond friend of his. "His own friend?" he questioned shocked for a moment before realization struck, a forming on his face 'So that's his plan then...' he was pulled from his thoughts as he road the sand cloud through the air as he managed to dodge the kiko beams, a grin spreading over his expression "Freaking laser eyes!? that's so sick!" he exclaimed as he positioned himself upside down, the sand holding his legs as he shot his hand forward as the ball of fire came at him a massive wave of sand swirled in front of him. The crimson blaze slammed against the beige storm of sand. "Now I understand we're different in one way!" using his one hand he used his other to take aim at Iggy "I'm not stupid enough to put my comrades in danger!" a mass of sand erupted from his arm, taking on the form of 5 large tentacles as they raced towards Iggy 'That moron just acts during the moment...disregarding how flashy he was...putting his friend in a position where his momentum is taking him forward and can't dodge midair without support to push on', three quickly blocking his path forward as the other two went to lash into him, "You think I'd just ignore that stunt! I've been raised with a water mage 100 times more smarter and stronger than you and that snot! I remember enough of her lectures to know the risk of letting a water user near clouds!" Shouting out as he managed to negate the flames, he righted himself. "Two criminals with a lust for proving who's stronger...a thug from a gang who commonly exploits and abuses those weaker then them and the desperate, and a Pirate who hunts other pirates to protect the masses...even still we'll trample over all for the of our family" he glared harshly at Rohan and Sahara, eyeing the ball she created, the tentacle shaped sand writhing dangerously, blocking the path to the cloud. His wild hair blowing in the wind as sand swirled around him, mixing with the flames and heat of the desert his eye gained a much more serious expression "The only difference is that you're the villain here bud...I was afraid i'd just be offing some innocent people...but it seems you'd have died when we purge the world of criminal scum like you anyway..."

[IskiosAdmin]

The muscles in her back stayed taunt as Takumi began to speak again, they had just met he barely knew anything of her and her past but the anxiety rose in her throat as she could just see the words come out of his mouth. But they never did because though they shared experiences they were still strangers. Her eyes rolled as the Skyslayers voice rose, she offered Leios a knowing look but did not interrupt. Takumi was on edge but he had a good heart. The situation never escalated, Leios had more sense that she would have guessed.

She let them banter about their relatives for a minute, she looked at her nails, grimy and short, a bit of blood still staining her finger tips. "Look at you two, should start a club." She said with sarcasm and a little smile.

Her face knotted in irritation as the desert was mentioned, "Never been there." Her words were short, maybe too short.

Takumi lowered his head in slight shame, hearing Leios explanation...he had heard some rumors while exploring that a female was going around destroying criminal hives, Leios having fought her made sense, now that he thought about it, with the nature of destruction caused. Taking in a breath he returned his gaze to Leios "So long as you understand, I'm once again sorry. Things have been..." he paused glancing around the camp of refugees, lots of them look worn out and ragged "...Things have been tough..."

Straightening up when he began to talk in regards to their lineage, he grinned at Leios "...My mother didn't really like your dad, she seemed okay with Danyell...I think they didn't know each other that well is all" He shook his head at the memory of his mother fussing about the two, Kios and Danyell. Glaring at Kamilla after her little comment, he cleared his throat in contempt, "I'm so use to just being 'Eve's Kid'...I'm sorry if I came off rude about the subject...it's a pleasure to meet someone of my...'Extended Family?' He said slowly in a questioning tone, more than likely asking if that sounded acceptable.

"You wish to go to Nil?" he questioned, a raised brow looking at his wounds. He was about to continue, but was surprised by Kamilla's interjection. Staring at the girl with a glare, not a harsh one mind you, but a analytical glare. "...Having been there, and knowing how to get there are two different things Kamilla..." Takumi pointed out with a smug grin, "...Anyway, I know how to get there. Mother took me there on occasions when she went to visit some political dude...something about giving support to Zofia's brother." He placed a hand on his chin in thought "He believed that he could help garner support threw being friendly with a religious figure, I went with her due to teaching...so I have  pretty good idea how to get there." He no proudly "Mother took me often enough too see Aunty Zofia a well...who she was...um..." Searching for the word, he had a embarrassed flush as he chuckled nervously "...Fond of..."

"However, if you think I'm taking you anywhere in that state...you'd be wrong...Unless" he said slyly turning to Kamilla "If you came along, to keep an eye on his wounds, I may be privy to the idea. Not too mention I had business planned in Nil either way..."

Leios smiled bashfully as the talk about the Heroes continued, "My dad does have a tough personality to get used to and I agree that they probably didn't have much time to get to know each other." Leios extended a hand to the boy, "I think that regardless of whether we have related blood, we still have an important connection to each other so extended family is appropriate."

Leios heavily furrowed his brow as Takumi spoke about their Aunt Zofia, "I-i see." Those thoughts were quickly pushed out of his mind because as soon as he heard Takumi's condition for guiding him to Nil, Leios perked up. "Alright then that's settled!" he proclaimed, grabbing the shoulders of Takumi and Kamila and turning them around to face a tent with supplies. "Let's get a move on. We'll need water and some food. I personally don't need much more than that but two should gather whatever you'll need for, and after the trip. I estimate that it shouldn't take us more than a day to get there."

At Kamila's comment about the desert Leios gave her a questioning look for a moment but quickly required, "That's not a problem, you'd be coming along so that Takumi can be reassured that I won't bleed out."

----------------------------------------------------------

After Kamila and Takumi finished gathering their belongings Leios gestured for them to follow him in the general direction of Nil and began the trip, "Let's not waste any time, lead the way Takumi."

(We can combine the trip and arrival scenes into one post for each of us, so that we get some remarks in about the trip but still get to Nil so we can move on. So our next posts (after this post itself) should include our arrivals in Nil at Lilac Town or the Library (which Leios at least will end up at eventually regardless). Actually, they're just going to go straight to the Rohan/Judah fight.)

[NaroModerator]

There wasn't much Rohan could do while holding Sahara so they had to go back to the ground again, since that's where he planned to defeat Judah anyway. He took the spiked ball made out of sand that Sahara had created for him and tossed it a few inches away from them. He blew fire at it turning the outside into glass while the inside was still hot liquid glass. He caught it with his hand and now he had to find a way to help Iggy, hopefully Iggy was thinking the same thing as Rohan.

Iggy was so close to the cloud, he could almost take control of the water in there if he was a few inches away. Though he couldn't do anything because of the sand tentacles blocking his way, and the ones grabbing him... so he had to find a away soon. That's when it hit him! He was sweating from the heat of the desert and Rohan's flames made him sweat a lot more. He began moving his head in circles and shaped his sweat into a ball, about a size of a baseball. Now he was just going to wait a little bit until nature helped him. Even if Judah blocked Iggy from getting to the cloud, it was still moving towards him... slowly but surly. The cloud split into 2 smaller clouds after colliding with the sand tentacles, and Iggy was able to pull all the water from there. The water surrounded his body and froze making somewhat of an armor for him.

Rohan looked up at Iggy then back at Judah "let me guess, this water user must be the water warlord? Hmm well after I'm done with you... I'll go after her... then for the next one... and the next one, I'm going to hunt all of you." He said with a very menacing tone. Moving forward to Judah, Rohan began to fire breathe but he aim it towards the sand cloud that was holding Judah. In a few moments it was just melted sand that would turn into glass with a few seconds of cooling down, but it should burn his feet anyway, but it wasn't over yet. Rohan and Sahara descended to Judah's level, and he whacked him with the spiked ball right on the shoulder. Now it wasn't the spikes that should hurt him, or the shards that must've cut him... it was the hot melted class inside that splashed all over his shoulder and arm. Rohan then flew over to where Judah had first made his appearance and landed safely with Sahara.

"Roooooohaaan!" Iggys screamed while falling from the sky in his ice armor. As he was falling he quick made the Arno into a bow and arrow from ice, he drew the arrow back and aim it right at Judah. Rohan caught Iggy and saved him from falling into the sand, Iggy ended up with a leg over Rohan's shoulder and his torso facing him, but Iggy was still aiming at Judah "nice catch" he said as he let go of the arrow. Iggy unfrozen the arrow and made into a ball of water that splashed all over Judah. Iggy was laughing because he finally did something "I got him!"

"Congratulations" Rohan said as he dropped him to the floor and moved over to the side "thanks for your help Sahara... Iggy... Hey Judah! Let's end this once and for all, as the old people from
Kagutsuchi say... let's have an Agni kai or whatever" Rohan entered his fighting stance once again "come on."

[Sammich]

The muscles in her back stayed taunt as Takumi began to speak again, they had just met he barely knew anything of her and her past but the anxiety rose in her throat as she could just see the words come out of his mouth. But they never did because though they shared experiences they were still strangers. Her eyes rolled as the Skyslayers voice rose, she offered Leios a knowing look but did not interrupt. Takumi was on edge but he had a good heart. The situation never escalated, Leios had more sense that she would have guessed.

She let them banter about their relatives for a minute, she looked at her nails, grimy and short, a bit of blood still staining her finger tips. "Look at you two, should start a club." She said with sarcasm and a little smile.

Her face knotted in irritation as the desert was mentioned, "Never been there." Her words were short, maybe too short.

Takumi lowered his head in slight shame, hearing Leios explanation...he had heard some rumors while exploring that a female was going around destroying criminal hives, Leios having fought her made sense, now that he thought about it, with the nature of destruction caused. Taking in a breath he returned his gaze to Leios "So long as you understand, I'm once again sorry. Things have been..." he paused glancing around the camp of refugees, lots of them look worn out and ragged "...Things have been tough..."

Straightening up when he began to talk in regards to their lineage, he grinned at Leios "...My mother didn't really like your dad, she seemed okay with Danyell...I think they didn't know each other that well is all" He shook his head at the memory of his mother fussing about the two, Kios and Danyell. Glaring at Kamilla after her little comment, he cleared his throat in contempt, "I'm so use to just being 'Eve's Kid'...I'm sorry if I came off rude about the subject...it's a pleasure to meet someone of my...'Extended Family?' He said slowly in a questioning tone, more than likely asking if that sounded acceptable.

"You wish to go to Nil?" he questioned, a raised brow looking at his wounds. He was about to continue, but was surprised by Kamilla's interjection. Staring at the girl with a glare, not a harsh one mind you, but a analytical glare. "...Having been there, and knowing how to get there are two different things Kamilla..." Takumi pointed out with a smug grin, "...Anyway, I know how to get there. Mother took me there on occasions when she went to visit some political dude...something about giving support to Zofia's brother." He placed a hand on his chin in thought "He believed that he could help garner support threw being friendly with a religious figure, I went with her due to teaching...so I have  pretty good idea how to get there." He no proudly "Mother took me often enough too see Aunty Zofia a well...who she was...um..." Searching for the word, he had a embarrassed flush as he chuckled nervously "...Fond of..."

"However, if you think I'm taking you anywhere in that state...you'd be wrong...Unless" he said slyly turning to Kamilla "If you came along, to keep an eye on his wounds, I may be privy to the idea. Not too mention I had business planned in Nil either way..."

Leios smiled bashfully as the talk about the Heroes continued, "My dad does have a tough personality to get used to and I agree that they probably didn't have much time to get to know each other." Leios extended a hand to the boy, "I think that regardless of whether we have related blood, we still have an important connection to each other so extended family is appropriate."

Leios heavily furrowed his brow as Takumi spoke about their Aunt Zofia, "I-i see." Those thoughts were quickly pushed out of his mind because as soon as he heard Takumi's condition for guiding him to Nil, Leios perked up. "Alright then that's settled!" he proclaimed, grabbing the shoulders of Takumi and Kamila and turning them around to face a tent with supplies. "Let's get a move on. We'll need water and some food. I personally don't need much more than that but two should gather whatever you'll need for, and after the trip. I estimate that it shouldn't take us more than a day to get there."

At Kamila's comment about the desert Leios gave her a questioning look for a moment but quickly required, "That's not a problem, you'd be coming along so that Takumi can be reassured that I won't bleed out."

----------------------------------------------------------

After Kamila and Takumi finished gathering their belongings Leios gestured for them to follow him in the general direction of Nil and began the trip, "Let's not waste any time, lead the way Takumi."

(We can combine the trip and arrival scenes into one post for each of us, so that we get some remarks in about the trip but still get to Nil so we can move on. So our next posts (after this post itself) should include our arrivals in Nil at Lilac Town or the Library (which Leios at least will end up at eventually regardless). Actually, they're just going to go straight to the Rohan/Judah fight.)

What was it about her that made her seem like the caring type. She blamed it on her round face and freckled cheeks. She looked like someone who should care, someone who would dote or nurture. Someone who would help a stranger with connections to a man she never wanted to meet."I could care less if he bled out," She said flatly, "So there better be something shiny and expensive at the end of the road if you truly desire my help." Kamila gave them equal parts a glare before pivoting and stalking off to her tent.

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'It is unlikely you'll even see him, even less likely he will recognize you' the worries melded in her mind, but her expression was void, her eyes dull. Kamila shouldered her bag, joining her party at the edge of the camp, she remained silent to convey her contempt towards the journey ahead.

[VocaModerator]

Pounding, yet gentle, a pure sense of pain overwhelmed her; taking many stops to 'appreciate nature', she would take that chance to let her lungs become accustomed to the icy coldness of the air. It had been a while since she ran long distances - especially so persistently with another person dragging her back, yet the minion followed after her, had it been someone else, the girl would be dead yet she was in good hands, hands that could protect her.

The moon had many guests in it's home, varying in size and even colour, she loved the night sky - it always fascinated her. Yet it wasn't her that seemed to be all that impressed, as once she turned her head, she realised the ambition and innonence in the eyes of the girl, a honey amber which shimmered, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" At first, her voice came out broken and weak, having to cough before it returned to it's previous state. Yet no reply was given, instead their eyes met eachother, her face softening once more, greeted by a toothy smile which appeared very silly yet adorable, "Ah, if you want look at the stars more, we can. It'd just be better to sit somewhere so we don't waste our energy." Yet, the girl shook her head, perhaps she was not interested afterall, "It's best if we go, some people get violent" Was all that escaped her mouth, Smart one.

Continuing their walk, many thoughts ran through her head, they all changed dependent on what she walked past, the most frequent being her family.  Lissandra told her that August had changed, that he disobeyed his father, that he was with the children of the heroes yet it wasn't Lissandra, Natsumi, Orion, Rohan or ANYONE that knew him as good as she did, right? The thought scared her, it lingered around her, almost grabbing at her to drag her down yet with that, the speed of her walk increased, at one point it almost went into a run but she protested, her fears couldn't lead her. Not now, not ever.

Pivoting, she gazed at Orion, she was about to respond however her lips sealed themselves once more, the fabric of her sleeve brushed aggressively against her arm, realising that the girl didn't know who Orion was, but did she either? Perhaps it was best to ignore him, afterall he had angered her - yet she knew it'd be rude and below her, "I won't agree with the morning, but I can definitely settle on night." A uncertainty had overcome her, especially since his eyes shifted from her to the girl yet the kicker had only to come.

Once it did, it had taken Shina back and for several minutes, she had nothing to say other than offer her stare, "Oh, yes, of course." Stammering, her fingers let go of the girl's hand and instead locked themselves within eachother, "I had a child when I was 12, and no one heard about it. Not the kingdom, not the servants, not my parents, not my brother and nor did I." Twisting her body to give Orion a good glance, she let her words sink in before giving another strike, "And oh yes. Of course, I managed to maintain such a petite stomach, look no bumps!" Her hand ran down her stomach to smoothen the fabric; displaying how thin she actually was, "Because you know, after you give birth, your stomach obviously restores itself to it's previous state" This time, the comment was more of a scoff and dig at the absurd question, "Of course It's not my daughter! I'm escorting her back!" The frequency of her voice remained quite high as she mocked, in the end, she folded her arms; awaiting another response.

“Then night it shall be.” Orion agreed loosely with a soft chuckle before turning his attention to the small girl clinging onto Shina’s hand. It seemed that the girl trusted Shina for some reason or another, which secretly pleased the young man. Not having to intervene on behalf of the girl was a relief, and also gave Orion some hope as to what the princess’ true character really held. Perhaps he’d been too hard on her. Despite her questionable partnership and behavior from earlier, he reasoned that anyone who was kind enough to hold a child’s hand wasn’t a bad individual by nature.

Glancing back up to the porcelain skinned young women as she simply stared at him in silence for some time. Had he said something? Eventually rubbing the back of his head slightly awkwardly as he took in the stiff atmosphere between them, Orion softly cleared his throat as he waited for her to speak.

Thankfully a few minutes later, she finally decided to.

The retort she’d settled not hardly phased Orion, as that was only a few years younger than Delilah had been when she’d started accompanying strange men through the night. Though even but Delilah’s standards, 12 was an inappropriately young age to begin messing around with boys. Leaving him to reason that it was probably a joke. At very least he didn’t think Jove’s daughter could get away with bearing a child before her teen years without news spreading throughout the kingdom. Though her final comment on the subject shut down his curiosity once and for all. Clearly the child wasn’t her’s, or she certainly would’ve remembered giving birth to her.

Coughing slightly in discomfort as she twisted her frame for him to have a better view of her, Orion found himself reluctant to look until he realized why she was so upset with him. She’d taken his comment as an insult, and now was attempting to defeat her body’s current state. Something that he would’ve never done purposefully, though it was too late to consider what he should’ve said instead. Recalling the one and only time he’d jokingly insulted his sister’s frame, the young man knew that at that point he had to tread carefully. One wrong word and things could get really out of hand. “Shina… I apologize. I never meant for you to take the comment in an offense manner.” He promised gently as she scoffed, sighing as he ran a hand back through his hair and scanned over her before slowly nodding. “You have a beautiful figure, there’s no need to feel self conscious about it!” Freezing up as he blurted out the last statement, he realized then Shina had spoken as well. Announcing that she was simply walking the child home. Perhaps his apologetic and reassuring words had been a bit to much. His last compliment could absolutely be taken as flirting despite his best intentions.

Eventually clearing his throat once more, Orion decided to kneel down beside the small girl and gently rub her head before Shina could reply. “…I’m sorry to hear you were separated from your parents. Would you lovely young women allow for me to escort you to the mansion? It isn’t safe to walk alone in the forest at night.” He explained with a gentle patient grin, technically asking Shina for her permission too. Though indirectly for fear of her rejection. Orion could never stand the thought of anything happening to a child, and Delilah had taught him to treasure women growing up… Even if only by means to talking down to men. Shina was women, so he preferred she didn’t go out walking alone at night.

Perhaps it was barbarous for her to actively talk down on Orion, a stab after another yet her conscience screamed at her to be more gentle; not giving herself a second to correct herself as her final judgement had been done.

After the final rub, her feet twisted and faced Orion once more, "You naught need to apologise, perhaps you've overworked yourself. I don't know though, I may be a very questionable person yet I wouldn't ever bear a child - especially at such an age." Her words flowed like a melody, this time gently pleasurable to the ear rather than her previous demeanor. She, herself was never too sure as to why she acted so strangely, it was as if she had many creatures pulling at her strings, changing her outlook actively.

Though her head shifted at the intentional cough, she was starting to sense a pattern with the man - That was that awkwardness seemed to be second nature to him. Yet an apology was not what she had expected, it caused her to stumble back however being too small to notice the difference between mere repositioning and an actual stumble, "Ah, it was mockery. I wasn't truly upset however appalled at how.." Biting her lower lip, her gaze went to a floor before returning to his eyes, " Oblivious you seem to be. I don't necessarily understand how one could be so...Eh..Out of touch. I mean surely many would know about a royal family birth, regardless of your region of birth and residence." Yet the silence which was supposed to be held was interrupted by yet another comment which caused Shina's eyes to spring open widely, "I.. Don't... It's why I pointed it out, as mockery once again." Sighing, she looked with slight defeat at Orion, the anger was replaced with hungry confusion, "I just don't understand why you seem to be worked up over so many things, you need to relax otherwise you will be apologising to others your whole life."

Though once an opportunity had risen to make the awkwardness go away, it had just as easily been taken as the child squealed in joy, "Yes! Of course you should walk with us!" The frequency of her voice made Shina temporarily deaf as she continued to hear the ringing, giving a side glare to the child before responding to Orion's request to accompany them, "I suppose it has been settled by the girl now. Shall we get going?"

[Derekjay2000]

Leios smiled bashfully as the talk about the Heroes continued, "My dad does have a tough personality to get used to and I agree that they probably didn't have much time to get to know each other." Leios extended a hand to the boy, "I think that regardless of whether we have related blood, we still have an important connection to each other so extended family is appropriate."

Leios heavily furrowed his brow as Takumi spoke about their Aunt Zofia, "I-i see." Those thoughts were quickly pushed out of his mind because as soon as he heard Takumi's condition for guiding him to Nil, Leios perked up. "Alright then that's settled!" he proclaimed, grabbing the shoulders of Takumi and Kamila and turning them around to face a tent with supplies. "Let's get a move on. We'll need water and some food. I personally don't need much more than that but two should gather whatever you'll need for, and after the trip. I estimate that it shouldn't take us more than a day to get there."

At Kamila's comment about the desert Leios gave her a questioning look for a moment but quickly required, "That's not a problem, you'd be coming along so that Takumi can be reassured that I won't bleed out."

----------------------------------------------------------

After Kamila and Takumi finished gathering their belongings Leios gestured for them to follow him in the general direction of Nil and began the trip, "Let's not waste any time, lead the way Takumi."

(We can combine the trip and arrival scenes into one post for each of us, so that we get some remarks in about the trip but still get to Nil so we can move on. So our next posts (after this post itself) should include our arrivals in Nil at Lilac Town or the Library (which Leios at least will end up at eventually regardless). Actually, they're just going to go straight to the Rohan/Judah fight.)

What was it about her that made her seem like the caring type. She blamed it on her round face and freckled cheeks. She looked like someone who should care, someone who would dote or nurture. Someone who would help a stranger with connections to a man she never wanted to meet."I could care less if he bled out," She said flatly, "So there better be something shiny and expensive at the end of the road if you truly desire my help." Kamila gave them equal parts a glare before pivoting and stalking off to her tent.

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'It is unlikely you'll even see him, even less likely he will recognize you' the worries melded in her mind, but her expression was void, her eyes dull. Kamila shouldered her bag, joining her party at the edge of the camp, she remained silent to convey her contempt towards the journey ahead.

Rolling his eyes at Kamila's obvious displeasure with the idea of coming along, he simply glared at her "I don't really care what you care about. I however care about getting help for Fuji..." rummaging through the supplies as he took time to measure out an appropriate amount of food and water, grabbing a quiver of arrows as well, "Rest assured...I'm certain our companion will have some way to pay for your generous, and obviously important, use of your time" Turning to her, he reminded himself that for some reason...they had managed to last this long together, and decided it'd be best to keep seeing how long they can tolerate one another "And you never know, maybe some fresh Nil air will be good for you, coax you to get your head out your ass anyway"

He mumbled that last part under his breath.

"Now then" Takumi began as he strapped his bow on, "We're going to Nil...once there, we go drop Leios off where it is he needs to go. After that, I plan on seeking official aid from Nil...I doubt those lousy politicians care enough though, still...doesn't hurt to try" Looing around and muttering to himself as he did a once over of the camp he began speaking to himself "Already got word that supplies from Wu-Long will come, along with some soldiers to help around camp..." he took in a breath as he finally seemed to calm down somewhat as he awkwardly looked to the two, his pseudo-relative and his source of annoyance...he could tell this'll be a grand ol' time "W-Well, time go I guess...Who knows...it might be fun, might get a tan even"

{Insert Line Break Here } + [Time skip of laziness~]

The time had mostly been spent traveling, he endured the pain of having to leave behind the camp....having to have both Leios and Kamila drag him away as he tried to go "Double Check" on some things. And having to endure the general awkwardness between himself and Kamila, having been together since the camp was formed...theirs was a...estranged relationship, not that he didn't like her...and as far as he could tell...she didn't hate him. He did however enjoy his time chatting with Leios...he seemed smart, and very much tolerable for the time being. He didn't normally enjoy talking about his family, but he figured it'd be nice to know how his extended family was doing...so that was a learning experience at least. And, about a day later, he could officially regret wearing his traditional Fuji garments...which consisted of a fur garment and a black shirt. Raising a hand to the sun as he stood in the mixture of rock and sand ground he looked forward, he scanned the horizon as he grumbled about the desert "We should be close now...although, I think I see a sandstorm...or a battle going on" He stated to his fellows as he pointed to the distance, to what could be described as a small flurry of sand shifting abnormally in the air "I thought I saw fire in there as well...so we should probably avoid whatever it is..." He suggested it, although he had a creeping feeling that the man who aided in destroying a village due to his lack of pleasure from being a bystander had other ideas. At least he knew Kamila would be of the same mindset as his.

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

Everything was happening so quickly, Sahara was finding it impossible to agree with the Lady of the Waste fast enough to actually make any form of a headway in battle. Before she could even process what was happening Iggy had been caught by Judah before reaching his cloud, broken out, and sent falling down to both she and Rohan. Luckily her fiery haired companion was more on top of the battle than she, managing to carefully set her down and catch his friend in an instant. Nodding confidently as the two moved to strike, Sahara joined in with a move of her own in a last stitch effort to change the course of their fight. As Iggy's arrow launched towards Judah, Sahara's chains unwound from her body and shot towards the sand users with the speed and recoil of a ferocious snake braking through the desert flooring. Wrapping all the way up Judah's body, Sahara manipulated the metals edging to cut him like the blades of fresh knives. Alongside Iggy's attack which left Judah wet, her's left the man's frame bloodied as well. Though her sudden surge of confidence changed in an instant. The very same Rohan called off her and Iggy's help in favor of a one of one battle to the death. In that moment so many emotions raged within her. Fear, grief, anger, and on the Lady's behalf even bloodlust. She could feel the goddess' will challenging her own, screaming to stop Rohan... To play a key rule in Judah's demise. That's when her perception of the Lady truly changed, the woman's demands finally shedding light on her true personality. Even the sound of her voice changed, leaving the green haired maiden with a pounding headache as she chains pulled back and dulled to recoil around her frame like armor once more. Biting her lower lip to keep from crying out as she fell to her knees, Sahara firmly held her head between each of her hands and gasped for air as she fought against the woman's powerful infulence and sought to regain control of her own body once more. However that turned out to be a task to great for her to accomplish on her own, leaving her at Rohan's mercy in the end. "...R-Rohan... Y-You have to w-win!" She begged softly whilst surrendering herself to a soft groan and praying that he'd be able to end the fight with great haste. The Lady was sure to continue pressuring her to take control until Rohan paid for Sahara's end of the deal and Judah's end came to pass. Whether or not she could hold out that long was the real problem left to be solved.

[Derekjay2000]

"They didn't turn a blind eye to Jove's acts, obviously, as they put a stop to it. Some are simply smart enough not to waste their lives away on futile revenge missions." Lissandra chuckled passively at the girl's misguided comment, deep down beginning to pity the supposed 'warlord'. That women... She'd done this to her disciples, twisted their emotions and feed them thoughts of a hopeless revolution against Jove from a young tender age. When really all they'd needed was a loving mother to help them let go of the past, and heal.

The fallen hero had lost her way indeed, to go as far as to drag those who trusted her down with her.

And all in the name of revenge, if even that. Perhaps she was after glory as well, a chance to take out a demigod and take his place as the unspoken overseer of the earth itself. In the end, it was hard to place exactly what she was after at that point. Too many years had passed since her parents, or anyone else, had made contact with her.

"Ease the pain of others? Jove has been at peace with this world for over 20 years, and now has an entire country that depends on him. Though I don't condone his parenting methods, that's the only thing I can currently give him any demerits for." Rolling her eyes as she shook her head in annoyance, Lissandra sighed in disappointment before continuing. "Until Jove chooses to return to a radical lifestyle, you warlosers are the only ones disrupting the peace. So far I've witnessed first hand destruction of a multi million gold piece property on you're behalf, and not the mention attempted murder and human endangerment. Though lets be honest, I'm willing to bet your group has taken many lives on their quest to gain power. That at very least warrants a life in prison, and by your own definition of justice a death sentence. Unlike Jove, killing you is actually an achievable task."

"My parents succeeded in what your master would never have thought was possible, and to be brutally honest do to her extremist points view, never could've done. They changed Jove's mind about humanity. Your master is bitter because in the end, she was no hero at all. She failed. Her quest was to kill Jove, my parent's was to end the war. Which was accomplished in the end?" Chuckling bitterly as the air grew stiff, the young women paused as an icy chill came over her. It was clear then that Lnna had made her choice, though her reaction to that decision hadn't been what even Liss herself had expected it to be.

As the girl refused her verbally, Lissandra found herself shaking. Her hands twitching at random by her sides as a genuine fit of laughter fell from her crimson lips. Practically beaming with joy as the blonde whipped around and slashed out at her, the auburn haired girl put to practice the most important thing Ren had taught her. Never run away from an obstacle, no matter how much power divides you. Though in this case she had to admit, she was greatly underwhelmed. Based off her earlier conversations with the doctor, she'd expected the women you carry herself with carefully planned attacks. However up until that point into their battle Lnna's fighting style mirrored that of Judah's. Leaving her to believe they'd learned it from a women who fought using the same tactics herself.

Catching the blade made from icy her bare hand, the usually collected young women's smile only grew as scarlet streams slowly tickled down her hands and the blade turning to steam due to the extreme heat radiating off her body. She glazed down at the cut with a gaze slightly sentimental, remembering all years she'd spent researching in the library and then training in the forest. Every single day pushing her limits, and learning how you control her darkness Senshitsu without her father's help. Not that she wouldn't have excepted it, though her father seemed to stray away from the thought of both she and Leios mastering advanced darkness techniques. Something that confused, yet didn't dieter her. Though all of her experimenting had been for no true reason save to keep up with you family up until that point, things were about to change. She didn't know if she'd ever face another battle like this, each side so set on their ways that anything could happen, and that excited her in ways she couldn't quite describe.

"That first hit was a free, but now you'll have to work for it." Lissandra explained confidently as she wiped her hand against her shirt, cringing slightly as Lnna addressed herself in the same manner as Rohan usually did. So she was delusional as well as dysfunctional. In attempts to defeat Jove, the warlords had become the same type of people that he used to be. As ice shot up from the ground beneath her, Liss flung herself back onto the first spike to break from the ground. As she stood atop the fragile fixture, the girl waited patiently as the danger slowly melted away beneath her feet. It had taken her a few minutes, but she'd finally come up with a plan that should carry her safely threw that battle. If executed correctly, of course. Timing would be everything for the next short lengths of her life until the fight ended. "Determining who is worthy to live and who should die..." Lissandra began softly as she ran her blunt blade through the earth beneath her in short quick bursts, her tone serious as she glared over to Lnna. "That was what Jove did, 20 years ago. In attempts to defeat him, your group has replaced him! Rebuilding his purpose!" Launching towards Lnna at a remarkable speed thanks to the flames shooting from the back of her feet, the previous arena fighter smirked as the ice on her blade melted away before striking out at the girl's stomach while using her other scorching hand to try and choke her. Either way, Lnna was going to get burned. Just being near the wild girl was hot enough to hurt, and definitely discouraged close proximity at all costs. "Who gave you that right?! Do you warlosers think you're some kinds of gods?! Deciding the worth of a life?!"

"My master failed, yes...but she is now working to correct that failure. The idea is to prevent a catastrophe...not wait for one to happen" Lnna confirmed as she watched her opponent calmly as she advanced, "It'd do you well to not lump me in with Judah, might surprise you to know...but aside from the Land and Flame...none of us have ever actually taken another's life, and in Judah's case...most of those were Pirates and The minds for Nil downfall..." Watching Lissandra avoid her attack she examined the girl as she analyzed the possibilities she possesses 'So it seems Juda's style isn't going to work is it...' she noted as the ice melted beneath the girl, 'I shall reserve it for another chance to properly employ'

Bracing her self as Lissandra blasted forward, Lnna acted appropriately...despite the girls speed, the tactic was one often enough employed while training. 'Style change; Ying Lightning Style!' her stance instantly changed as she hoped back slightly, dodging the knife as it sliced through her coat. Snow and water surging towards her hand as she shot it out catching the flaming hand gunning for her throat. Her hand had been incased in thick ice, acting as a gauntlet covering her arm as she took the chance to apply pressure, the ice melting, but still resisting the flames. A wave of cold air washed over Lnna as she moved backwards to avoid the girl losing momentum, using her own power to manipulate temperature as her icy aura clashed with the magmatic girls own fiery presence. In a fluid motion she twisted letting Liss move past as she unlocked her hand from Liss' and used the other one to direct a speedy and harsh, whip like, stream of water to slash into her back. Scrunching her face in annoyance at the idea that they were similar to Jove, she was angered by the idea, "We are not Jove, and not Gods...your parents, and their friends, chose their fates knowing that some people wouldn't agree" keeping her distance, she gathered water that had previously been the mass of ice from before as they moved and soared at her at high speeds as they whipped around and lashed out at her in a fast manor, just before she hardened the snow enclosing her opponents feet to give her some reduced movement for a time "They chose to mark themselves for death, we are the ones that will respond to that decision!" She glared at her as her anger was clear through her tone, though....deep in her mind she debated the idea, "We are acting in need for Justice, Jove senselessly slaughtered all regardless of station, age, or morals!" so we are different then Jove....right?

Shaking the doubt from her mind as she steeled her resolve, and quickly locked he sights on the girl 'This girl is skilled, I must not underestimate her' waiting for her to react she made a small gestured as steam and water came together as a flurry of small needles of ice floated in the air, some firing at her while others stayed in wait as she glared at her awaiting Lissandra's next move.

[Derekjay2000]

There wasn't much Rohan could do while holding Sahara so they had to go back to the ground again, since that's where he planned  to defeat Judah anyway. He took the spiked ball made out of sand that Sahara had created for him and tossed it a few inches away from them. He blew fire at it turning the outside into glass while the inside was still hot liquid glass. He caught it with his hand and now he had to find a way to help Iggy, hopefully Iggy was thinking the same thing as Rohan.

Iggy was so close to the cloud, he could almost take control of the water in there if he was a few inches away. Though he couldn't do anything because of the sand tentacles blocking his way, and the ones grabbing him... so he had to find a away soon. That's when it hit him! He was sweating from the heat of the desert and Rohan's flames made him sweat a lot more. He began moving his head in circles and shaped his sweat into a ball, about a size of a baseball. Now he was just going to wait a little bit until nature helped him. Even if Judah blocked Iggy from getting to the cloud, it was still moving towards him... slowly but surly. The cloud split into 2 smaller clouds after colliding with the sand tentacles, and Iggy was able to pull all the water from there. The water surrounded his body and froze making somewhat of an armor for him.

Rohan looked up at Iggy then back at Judah "let me guess, this water user must be the water warlord? Hmm well after I'm done with you... I'll go after her... then for the next one... and the next one, I'm going to hunt all of you." He said with a very menacing tone. Moving forward to Judah, Rohan began to fire breathe but he aim it towards the sand cloud that was holding Judah. In a few moments it was just melted sand that would turn into glass with a few seconds of cooling down, but it should burn his feet anyway, but it wasn't over yet. Rohan and Sahara descended to Judah's level, and he whacked him with the spiked ball right on the shoulder. Now it wasn't the spikes that should hurt him, or the shards that must've cut him... it was the hot melted class inside that splashed all over his shoulder and arm. Rohan then flew over to where Judah had first made his appearance and landed safely with Sahara.

"Roooooohaaan!" Iggys screamed while falling from the sky in his ice armor. As he was falling he quick made the Arno into a bow and arrow from ice, he drew the arrow back and aim it right at Judah. Rohan caught Iggy and saved him from falling into the sand, Iggy ended up with a leg over Rohan's shoulder and his torso facing him, but Iggy was still aiming at Judah "nice catch" he said as he let go of the arrow. Iggy unfrozen the arrow and made into a ball of water that splashed all over Judah. Iggy was laughing because he finally did something "I got him!"

"Congratulations" Rohan said as he dropped him to the floor and moved over to the side "thanks for your help Sahara... Iggy... Hey Judah! Let's end this once and for all, as the old people from Kagutsuchi say... let's have an Agni kai or whatever" Rohan entered his fighting stance once again "come on."

Ignoring the brat on his left he glared as Rohan used a breath attack on him, jumping off the cloud of sand as it was engulfed in flames and reduced to glass he grinned as he reformed another beneath him. Landing softly as he chuckled "You runts gotta do better than that to defeat me-GAHHH!!!" while he was laughing he failed to notice Rohan's follow up as the glass orb slammed into him. Clenching his teeth in pain as it shattered he hissed in rage as the pain surged through him. Gripping his arm his rage fueled him even more as the two other weaklings strike at him, Iggy's attack only succeeded in annoying him, and although Judah could've easily countered the girls attack, he was blinded by his rage....and the water attack that got in his way. Sahara's attack attacked him though he simply used his superiority in Seishitsu to dispel the attack seconds after contact. Falling still, he opened his eyes as he rolled in the air slamming into the ground. Landing on his feet he remainded crouched down as he slowly stood up, panting slightly as he regulated his pain. "Hah...this is new....excitement from a battle..." he noted as he put a hand on his shoulder, feeling the sting as he looked at his now bloody hand, "....Too bad for you it's being overshadowed by all of this UNYEILDING RAGE!!!" Roaring as the glass shards and material was shattered apart as the ground shook. He glared at them as he still had his hand over his cut up arm as it had glass on it. Glaring up at Rohan he laughed "You're biggest mistake was threating my family...sound familiar you low life scum?" he growled as he stood straight, 'A one on one duel? this piece of crap thinks he can beat me still...hahaha...' he chuckled inwardly as he stood his ground, "Fine...by all means...lets finish this. Hope those two are ready to watch you die..." Power surged through his damaged arm as he glared at him

'I won't lose to this scum, Master!' energy rang out through the area as the sand began to rise, in a instant Judah shot his damaged arm forward...glass shrapnel flying through the air, all remnants of the glass having been removed as Judah used his Seishitsu to control all the shards in the vicinity to fly and swarm around Rohan, "I control all of that which is born of the earth...glass is no different!" he yelled as he used his Seishitsu to make the ground unstable as it shifted, pushing and pulling at Rohan, streams of sand exploding out at him, a mass different sized stones both sharp and hard going into the mix of sand and glass, 'I still have the earth at my command! and I haven't gotten to my strongest element of earth yet!' he laughed as he attacked Rohan with the fury of the earth itself.

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

Shina seemed to be a very complex person indeed. At least, she behaved very differently than Delilah, who was really the only girl he'd ever spent time with. Normally Delilah would scoff and shun him if he said anything she didn't approve of, only letting it go (in an exaggerated manner) after he apologized. On the other hand, Shina was almost the exact opposite. It was as if she expected people to speak to her disrespectfully, and the idea of an apology baffled her. Something that would be confirmed later in their conversation.

"Well, I suppose your brother is a handful." Orion grumbled slightly through a half belated sigh in response to her notion of him over working himself. He'd give August credit where it was due, keeping an eye on the boy had proved to be his most challenging mission yet. "I wasn't attempting to question your morals, so for that insinuation I think it's best to ask for your pardon. That's just how I was raised." He finally attempted to explain as her tone grew gentler. While he still didn't trust her, he didn't see a need to provoke the young woman in any way. Things might even end up better than he saw possible if he approached his wariness of her in a friendly manner. Hopefully his doubts could be put to ease over the course of their walk.

His next apology seemed to really throw her off, which lead to her give him a little more insight as to what she currently thought of him. An amusing, and in some points accurate, description. "...Believe it or not, I'm quite good at reading people. One could almost call it part of my trade... Though that aside, I'm not used to dealing with girls so close to my age. The one I am close to can be described as a bit of a wild card. I've learned rather quickly to never assume anything regarding a young woman, because of her." Shrugging as Shina mentioned the royal family, Orion took a few moments to weigh how much of his story would be appropriate for him to tell her before continuing. "I'm far too busy to keep up with the talk of the kingdoms, and not particularly fond of the royal family. Over the years I guess you could say that I've grown out of touch with society. Honestly, I didn't know how many children Jove even had, much less their genders... Though after today I suppose it's safe to assume it's just you and August, as I haven't heard mention of anyone else. On the rare occasions I have time off, I love finding villagers to recite the tale of the heroes to me. There's nothing actually written that's accurate, or even slightly creditable, to be released so far on the last war so I follow the word of mouth. Though each tale is always significantly different than the last, the message is always the same. A message that I aspire to uphold myself."

As he finished Orion found himself overcoming his previous embarrassment as his eyes lifted to meet her. "Don't worry about me, I manage to stay relaxed almost all of the time."

Chuckling softly as the little girl squealed in excitement to his request, Orion turned around as lowered himself to her level. "I'm honored... Why don't you hop on? It's late, and you're probably tired. I'll give you a piggy back ride for a bit." Waiting for the small girl to accept his offer before returning to his feet once more, the young man then turned and nodded in response to Shina before beginning to walk with her. Though he hadn't had much of any particular parental figure in his childhood, he'd always loved when Delilah had carried him in such a manner as a child. Sometimes, she even felt like his mother rather than his sister. Since he couldn't recall either of his parents, occasionally he'd even pretend she was. In this sense, he hoped to give the girl that same comfort.

[NaroModerator]

Seeing his companions follow through with their attack made Rohan remarkably happy, especially Sahara's attack. It wasn't planned but she delivered it beautifully "Woah! That was great guys" he turned his head to look back at them and shot Sahara a smile "girl Ima marry you~" he said before turning to face Judah, Rohan's anger was being replaced with determination... unlike Judah who was now that one beings blinded by his own rage "it does sound familiar, you also sound like one of those exotic parrots... repeating and repeating everything I say. Since I'm actually in a good mood right now I'll let you go if you giv-" he was interested by Judah comment. His attack looked like just a wave of sand but Rohan didn't see they shards of glass flying around. He felt the shards scratching his face, hands and even his clothes. Minor injuries nothing to worry about, he covers his eyes with his forearm so that no shard could get his eyes, but Judah had already launched his next attack. The group moving wasn't helping either... it threw Rohan out of balance, now he felt something different... the pieces of earth were cutting him as well but those were much deeper.

Iggy took Sahara's hand and pulled her back out of the attacks range, it looked like Rohan was having a hard time in there but there was nothing Iggy could do to help him at the moment. He still had some water but it was best to save it for another time, Iggy just crossed his fingers and hoped that Rohan was alright.

Rohan covered his face with his forearms and yelled back at Iggy and Sahara "RUN" was all he said to them. Iggy reached out for Sahara's hand and took her further back, Iggy didn't know much about Rohan but he did know something about him... he was very flashy and destructive with his attacks. After moving a few meters away from him Rohan was finally able to work. Rohan took a deep breath and extended his arms out wide releasing a wave of kiko overtaking the sand and glass. It even made a small crater on the floor. Rohan jumped up and moved closer to Judah "I was actually gonna give you a chance to live, guess not... all in all you're just another brick in the wall..." he took off his leather jacket and tossed it back to to Iggy 'I don't know how powerful my next attack is gonna be... but I'll have to end it with it' he looked at his right arm that was pretty bloody from all the shards. He took a good look at himself and realized how beat up he was "gotta hand it to you... it's been a long time since I was this hurt in a match like this, my clothes are all dirty and ripped up, my hair is a mess and I'm bleeding from my arms and face" he said then spitting some blood to the side "I can't afford to lose though... I won't let you hurt my friends... I won't let you hurt my family, it's been a wonderful... uh" he looked at his watch that was pretty cracked up too but it still showed the time "a wonderful 7 minutes but I gotta go hunt the other warlord and I don't have all day... besides... you lost the moment I threw that tennis ball at you..."

[IskiosAdmin]

What was it about her that made her seem like the caring type. She blamed it on her round face and freckled cheeks. She looked like someone who should care, someone who would dote or nurture. Someone who would help a stranger with connections to a man she never wanted to meet."I could care less if he bled out," She said flatly, "So there better be something shiny and expensive at the end of the road if you truly desire my help." Kamila gave them equal parts a glare before pivoting and stalking off to her tent.

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'It is unlikely you'll even see him, even less likely he will recognize you' the worries melded in her mind, but her expression was void, her eyes dull. Kamila shouldered her bag, joining her party at the edge of the camp, she remained silent to convey her contempt towards the journey ahead.

Rolling his eyes at Kamila's obvious displeasure with the idea of coming along, he simply glared at her "I don't really care what you care about. I however care about getting help for Fuji..." rummaging through the supplies as he took time to measure out an appropriate amount of food and water, grabbing a quiver of arrows as well, "Rest assured...I'm certain our companion will have some way to pay for your generous, and obviously important, use of your time" Turning to her, he reminded himself that for some reason...they had managed to last this long together, and decided it'd be best to keep seeing how long they can tolerate one another "And you never know, maybe some fresh Nil air will be good for you, coax you to get your head out your ass anyway"

He mumbled that last part under his breath.

"Now then" Takumi began as he strapped his bow on, "We're going to Nil...once there, we go drop Leios off where it is he needs to go. After that, I plan on seeking official aid from Nil...I doubt those lousy politicians care enough though, still...doesn't hurt to try" Looing around and muttering to himself as he did a once over of the camp he began speaking to himself "Already got word that supplies from Wu-Long will come, along with some soldiers to help around camp..." he took in a breath as he finally seemed to calm down somewhat as he awkwardly looked to the two, his pseudo-relative and his source of annoyance...he could tell this'll be a grand ol' time "W-Well, time go I guess...Who knows...it might be fun, might get a tan even"

{Insert Line Break Here } + [Time skip of laziness~]

The time had mostly been spent traveling, he endured the pain of having to leave behind the camp....having to have both Leios and Kamila drag him away as he tried to go "Double Check" on some things. And having to endure the general awkwardness between himself and Kamila, having been together since the camp was formed...theirs was a...estranged relationship, not that he didn't like her...and as far as he could tell...she didn't hate him. He did however enjoy his time chatting with Leios...he seemed smart, and very much tolerable for the time being. He didn't normally enjoy talking about his family, but he figured it'd be nice to know how his extended family was doing...so that was a learning experience at least. And, about a day later, he could officially regret wearing his traditional Fuji garments...which consisted of a fur garment and a black shirt. Raising a hand to the sun as he stood in the mixture of rock and sand ground he looked forward, he scanned the horizon as he grumbled about the desert "We should be close now...although, I think I see a sandstorm...or a battle going on" He stated to his fellows as he pointed to the distance, to what could be described as a small flurry of sand shifting abnormally in the air "I thought I saw fire in there as well...so we should probably avoid whatever it is..." He suggested it, although he had a creeping feeling that the man who aided in destroying a village due to his lack of pleasure from being a bystander had other ideas. At least he knew Kamila would be of the same mindset as his.

Following Takumi through the desert with Kamila kind of off on her own, Leios had plenty of time to think to himself.
'I'm assuming that Kios is at the Library, it would explain why he wasn't home for so long. Once I get to the Library I need to devise a way to find the next Warlord. Mom is probably at home worrying about Lissandra and I now along with Dad. I've got no clue where Lissandra is, but if she hasn't gotten over her inferiority complex by the time we run into each other again I swear I'll give her an earful.'
He looked up as the ground began turning to sand beneath his feet, the storming desert horizon bringing him back to his current reality.
'I still haven't figured out how I'm going to pay these two back yet. Actually, If we stop by the Library I think I can make it work out. However taking a look at this storm, it seems that will have to wait for a little bit.'

After Takumi noted the sandstorm out loud, Leios stopped for a moment to speak up about the reward. "So, now might be as good a time as any to talk about how I'm going to repay you two. Takumi, if you're looking to secure aid for Fuji from Nil a certain Library is the best place to start considering a few things. As for Kamila, at that library there are at least a few shiny, unique and therefore expensive objects at the same location, but that depends on what you want. Unfortunately I don't quite have a read on you yet so you'll have to tell me that yourself."
Leios continued walking, this time directly towards the disturbance, "Now that that's out of the way, I have to say Takumi, I completely agree that we should avoid the sandstorm. But of course we're not going to, or at least I won't. You two don't have to follow, I'll be fine if this is where we part ways." Leios paused to let a devilish smile overtake his mouth, "Buuut, I won't be able to reward you two for helping me out if we do. Your choice." He picked up the pace and didn't look back to see if they were following.

A short trek for him close to what he confirmed to be a battle. He could make out four people, a girl and a younger boy that he'd never met before, as well as Rohan and apparently the Earth Warlord that had attacked the mansion. His face quickly formed a sneer, "Rohan!? Didn't quite expect to run into you so soon, but with you being the one to go after the Earth Warlord first I guess my surprise isn't warranted. I can't seem to get rid of you honestly. Still I'd have thought your fight would have finished by now, what with Judah over here only being the 5th ranked Warlord and the one I've already defeated being the 3rd. Maybe you need a break there buddy, you're looking like you're not going to be able to finish your fight. Or perhaps you're not able to focus because you can't control your emotions since this guy attacked your family. You could take a seat and let me handle this because you might just be too weak to do this yourself. You've already gotten help from two, what's one more?" Leios' sneer faded as he thought to himself, 'You've gotta at least make the finale flashy.'

[Sammich]

What was it about her that made her seem like the caring type. She blamed it on her round face and freckled cheeks. She looked like someone who should care, someone who would dote or nurture. Someone who would help a stranger with connections to a man she never wanted to meet."I could care less if he bled out," She said flatly, "So there better be something shiny and expensive at the end of the road if you truly desire my help." Kamila gave them equal parts a glare before pivoting and stalking off to her tent.

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'It is unlikely you'll even see him, even less likely he will recognize you' the worries melded in her mind, but her expression was void, her eyes dull. Kamila shouldered her bag, joining her party at the edge of the camp, she remained silent to convey her contempt towards the journey ahead.

Rolling his eyes at Kamila's obvious displeasure with the idea of coming along, he simply glared at her "I don't really care what you care about. I however care about getting help for Fuji..." rummaging through the supplies as he took time to measure out an appropriate amount of food and water, grabbing a quiver of arrows as well, "Rest assured...I'm certain our companion will have some way to pay for your generous, and obviously important, use of your time" Turning to her, he reminded himself that for some reason...they had managed to last this long together, and decided it'd be best to keep seeing how long they can tolerate one another "And you never know, maybe some fresh Nil air will be good for you, coax you to get your head out your ass anyway"

He mumbled that last part under his breath.

"Now then" Takumi began as he strapped his bow on, "We're going to Nil...once there, we go drop Leios off where it is he needs to go. After that, I plan on seeking official aid from Nil...I doubt those lousy politicians care enough though, still...doesn't hurt to try" Looing around and muttering to himself as he did a once over of the camp he began speaking to himself "Already got word that supplies from Wu-Long will come, along with some soldiers to help around camp..." he took in a breath as he finally seemed to calm down somewhat as he awkwardly looked to the two, his pseudo-relative and his source of annoyance...he could tell this'll be a grand ol' time "W-Well, time go I guess...Who knows...it might be fun, might get a tan even"

{Insert Line Break Here } + [Time skip of laziness~]

The time had mostly been spent traveling, he endured the pain of having to leave behind the camp....having to have both Leios and Kamila drag him away as he tried to go "Double Check" on some things. And having to endure the general awkwardness between himself and Kamila, having been together since the camp was formed...theirs was a...estranged relationship, not that he didn't like her...and as far as he could tell...she didn't hate him. He did however enjoy his time chatting with Leios...he seemed smart, and very much tolerable for the time being. He didn't normally enjoy talking about his family, but he figured it'd be nice to know how his extended family was doing...so that was a learning experience at least. And, about a day later, he could officially regret wearing his traditional Fuji garments...which consisted of a fur garment and a black shirt. Raising a hand to the sun as he stood in the mixture of rock and sand ground he looked forward, he scanned the horizon as he grumbled about the desert "We should be close now...although, I think I see a sandstorm...or a battle going on" He stated to his fellows as he pointed to the distance, to what could be described as a small flurry of sand shifting abnormally in the air "I thought I saw fire in there as well...so we should probably avoid whatever it is..." He suggested it, although he had a creeping feeling that the man who aided in destroying a village due to his lack of pleasure from being a bystander had other ideas. At least he knew Kamila would be of the same mindset as his.

Following Takumi through the desert with Kamila kind of off on her own, Leios had plenty of time to think to himself.
'I'm assuming that Kios is at the Library, it would explain why he wasn't home for so long. Once I get to the Library I need to devise a way to find the next Warlord. Mom is probably at home worrying about Lissandra and I now along with Dad. I've got no clue where Lissandra is, but if she hasn't gotten over her inferiority complex by the time we run into each other again I swear I'll give her an earful.'
He looked up as the ground began turning to sand beneath his feet, the storming desert horizon bringing him back to his current reality.
'I still haven't figured out how I'm going to pay these two back yet. Actually, If we stop by the Library I think I can make it work out. However taking a look at this storm, it seems that will have to wait for a little bit.'

After Takumi noted the sandstorm out loud, Leios stopped for a moment to speak up about the reward. "So, now might be as good a time as any to talk about how I'm going to repay you two. Takumi, if you're looking to secure aid for Fuji from Nil a certain Library is the best place to start considering a few things. As for Kamila, at that library there are at least a few shiny, unique and therefore expensive objects at the same location, but that depends on what you want. Unfortunately I don't quite have a read on you yet so you'll have to tell me that yourself."
Leios continued walking, this time directly towards the disturbance, "Now that that's out of the way, I have to say Takumi, I completely agree that we should avoid the sandstorm. But of course we're not going to, or at least I won't. You two don't have to follow, I'll be fine if this is where we part ways." Leios paused to let a devilish smile overtake his mouth, "Buuut, I won't be able to reward you two for helping me out if we do. Your choice." He picked up the pace and didn't look back to see if they were following.

A short trek for him close to what he confirmed to be a battle. He could make out four people, a girl and a younger boy that he'd never met before, as well as Rohan and apparently the Earth Warlord that had attacked the mansion. His face quickly formed a sneer, "Rohan!? Didn't quite expect to run into you so soon, but with you being the one to go after the Earth Warlord first I guess my surprise isn't warranted. I can't seem to get rid of you honestly. Still I'd have thought your fight would have finished by now, what with Judah over here only being the 5th ranked Warlord and the one I've already defeated being the 3rd. Maybe you need a break there buddy, you're looking like you're not going to be able to finish your fight. Or perhaps you're not able to focus because you can't control your emotions since this guy attacked your family. You could take a seat and let me handle this because you might just be too weak to do this yourself. You've already gotten help from two, what's one more?" Leios' sneer faded as he thought to himself, 'You've gotta at least make the finale flashy.'

Kamila made it plenty clear her participation was begrudging. But she was far from an uncooperative child. She mad her displeasure clear in her acute compliance. Her silence and begrudging expression could also be thought to contribute to her rebellion, but she was just like that all the time. She ensured a decent pace, close enough to be safe on the road, far enough where it would be awkward to include her in conversation.

In the desert she began to feel a sense of comfort that made her... uneasy. It was the shifting sound of sand and the earnest sun that lulled her into some sort of listless mind state. She fought to keep her focus, especially as an uneasy knot formed in her stomach. Something was happening, up ahead. She opened her mouth to warn them, but she nearly ran into Leios as they had already stopped, observing a swirling storm over the dune. Her heart picked up pace, a sense of wonder over taking her, she swore her eyelids lifted a millimeter.

The conversation was clear around her, but her gaze never drifted, sure as Takumi said, a geyser of fire illuminated the roiling sand. Her fingers curled and itched. Who or what was making THAT happen? Her focus turned to Leios as soon as 'reward' was mentioned. She gave a slight smile, "Smart of you not to assume things about a stranger.", in the next second however the smile flipped and increased ten fold. "What are you doing?" She hissed under her breath, taking a step to follow. But she whipped around, securing Takumi's gaze, for a moment before releasing a noise of disgust and melding into the dune, pursuing the son of the heroes.

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

Lissandra cursed under her breath as the blonde managed step from her reach, causing her to move past the woman as something of a makeshift water whip lashed down her spine. Despite her added momentum he flames gave to step, the whip did manage to make contact. Though, luckily, her shirt received most of the blow. Or what was left of it that was.

She was nearing her time to wrap up their fight, nearly convinced that the women as beyond her help, though still mentally debating her conclusion. The blonde was stubborn, and hopelessly mislead from early on in her youth... That last part was the only thing keeping Lissandra from completely outwitting Lnna at that point in their battle. By that time Lnna had already given her the information she needed, and her first priority should've been to head back to her team in Seiya. However her lingering sympathies for the warlord kept her in check for the most part.

"I never argued that statement! Jove did horrible, unspeakable, things, but right now he's doing good things. Seiya depends on his leadership. Don't misunderstand, if he were to revert back to his old ways I'd be there to fight alongside my parents to defend this world... But right now the only group threatening the balance of an entire nation is you warlosers!" Liss shot back immediately, attempting to take her time to speak with the woman though time was of the essence. Lnna wasn't making her choice any easier for her. If she wouldn't open her eyes to the truth then Lissandra couldn't just let her go... She couldn't risk the threat that she imposed to her family. However she also didn't want the blood of someone so misguided staining her hands, and weighing down on her conscience.

Then again, she wasn't being left much of a choice at all.

With her feet frozen to the ground, and thin needles made of ice launching towards her, the young woman knew she had to act. There was no more time to prolong their battle. Her life was on the line, as well as her family's... She'd have to worry about her feelings of pity and guilt after their struggle came to an end. Taking in a deep breath before erupting from head to toe in hot white flames as a few needle scrapped across her cheeks and sides, Lissandra then launched herself to orbit. In a flash amist the brilliant vibrant dance of her flames, the Arena fighter took her rightful place as the offensive striker. Lnna had taken too much of her time already. Her clothes were torn, her body bruised and bloodied, though her pride had yet to falter. Just for one single moment, the auburn haired teen wished to believe that she could stand as an equal to those in her family. Deep down, part of her might have even begun to consider such a notion as a true possibly.

As her hands stretched forward, Liss' fury rained down among Lnna in short hot bursts. It was as the depths of hell had swallowed up the blue skies, staining them red as the atmosphere grew hot and dry. The snow began to evaporated, carried up to the cursed fiery rains above as Lnna was left to avoid the unpredictable cries from above. The land around the blonde slowly gave away to impacts falling for her, resembling what one might suspect had been a meteor shower. Meanwhile the plants buried beneath the snow turned to ash, which began to twist and turn within the choatic dance of the air.

In that moment Lissandra expirenced something she couldn't quite describe. Every emotion, fear, and feeling of inability came to life, and yet they were free from their usual sting. The girl's expression left blank, her eyes calm and chaotic in the same instance. Her scarlet eyes burning as brightly as the fire encircling her frame. "I don't despise you, Lnna, so I apologize for what is to come. However my family means more to me than anything. Now I'd my time to fight for them, just as they fought for those they cared about so many years ago."

[VocaModerator]

Shina seemed to be a very complex person indeed. At least, she behaved very differently than Delilah, who was really the only girl he'd ever spent time with. Normally Delilah would scoff and shun him if he said anything she didn't approve of, only letting it go (in an exaggerated manner) after he apologized. On the other hand, Shina was almost the exact opposite. It was as if she expected people to speak to her disrespectfully, and the idea of an apology baffled her. Something that would be confirmed later in their conversation.

"Well, I suppose your brother is a handful." Orion grumbled slightly through a half belated sigh in response to her notion of him over working himself. He'd give August credit where it was due, keeping an eye on the boy had proved to be his most challenging mission yet. "I wasn't attempting to question your morals, so for that insinuation I think it's best to ask for your pardon. That's just how I was raised." He finally attempted to explain as her tone grew gentler. While he still didn't trust her, he didn't see a need to provoke the young woman in any way. Things might even end up better than he saw possible if he approached his wariness of her in a friendly manner. Hopefully his doubts could be put to ease over the course of their walk.

His next apology seemed to really throw her off, which lead to her give him a little more insight as to what she currently thought of him. An amusing, and in some points accurate, description. "...Believe it or not, I'm quite good at reading people. One could almost call it part of my trade... Though that aside, I'm not used to dealing with girls so close to my age. The one I am close to can be described as a bit of a wild card. I've learned rather quickly to never assume anything regarding a young woman, because of her." Shrugging as Shina mentioned the royal family, Orion took a few moments to weigh how much of his story would be appropriate for him to tell her before continuing. "I'm far too busy to keep up with the talk of the kingdoms, and not particularly fond of the royal family. Over the years I guess you could say that I've grown out of touch with society. Honestly, I didn't know how many children Jove even had, much less their genders... Though after today I suppose it's safe to assume it's just you and August, as I haven't heard mention of anyone else. On the rare occasions I have time off, I love finding villagers to recite the tale of the heroes to me. There's nothing actually written that's accurate, or even slightly creditable, to be released so far on the last war so I follow the word of mouth. Though each tale is always significantly different than the last, the message is always the same. A message that I aspire to uphold myself."

As he finished Orion found himself overcoming his previous embarrassment as his eyes lifted to meet her. "Don't worry about me, I manage to stay relaxed almost all of the time."

Chuckling softly as the little girl squealed in excitement to his request, Orion turned around as lowered himself to her level. "I'm honored... Why don't you hop on? It's late, and you're probably tired. I'll give you a piggy back ride for a bit." Waiting for the small girl to accept his offer before returning to his feet once more, the young man then turned and nodded in response to Shina before beginning to walk with her. Though he hadn't had much of any particular parental figure in his childhood, he'd always loved when Delilah had carried him in such a manner as a child. Sometimes, she even felt like his mother rather than his sister. Since he couldn't recall either of his parents, occasionally he'd even pretend she was. In this sense, he hoped to give the girl that same comfort.

Tilting like a puppy, she stared at Orion though the tilt was very slight, almost unnoticeable, ' Is my brother a handful? I mean, not necessarily.. He's his own person afterall; having the freedom to do whatever he wishes, so why is he a handful?' Her gaze broke from Orion to instead greet the floor, her lips twisted themselves to the left, giving her an expression of thought yet confusion. She tried to find the answer among the pebbles which neither resembled another, yet even the soft, hard or wild edges didn't have an answer for her. So instead, her eyes ran back to Orion, not revealing the desperation of knowledge behind his secrets, perhaps she had to pay attention to his words, flip them around for an answer? Afterall, she already knew some things about Orion because of August, though knowing for sure and estimation weren't the same thing. 

She chuckled, perhaps she was still very accustomed to her old lifestyle but she would possibly never get used to not being judged, afterall eyes and ears were everywhere she went, this included that very place the three of them stood in. It had always made her cautious, never knowing whether a public or discreet approach were better, afterall, once she was expected to do both though now it was as if she were a ghost left to ponder the wonders of the world in secret. 

Her arms folded under her bust with her hands cuddling into the curves of her body, she listened carefully to him, 'Why'd he need to read people? I can only think of a few reasons why'd he need that.', Yet her face gave no signs of the worry which brew itself inside of her, had he given her an answer for his interest in her brother, she wouldn't worry as much yet life didn't seem as easy to just in give like that. 

Much of the talk was ignored by Shina, she never invested herself much in others' lives as she had no reason to, nor did it interest her that much as she had yet to acknowledge the fact that her life wasn't the only complicated thing roaming the planet, though her interest had perked up upon the mention of her family, "How can you?" Bewilderment had grasped control of her as her eyes pierced at Orion, "You must live under a rock, I fail to believe that you lived in such oblivion to the world around you, especially if you claim to read people." If what she thought of him was to be true, then he must be lying, she realised that the man was silent in nature, a trait which many servants under the Vermilion name would do, it was their way of learning secrets by allowing the opposing party to talk the contents of their hearts out.

Yet, if she was right, he reversed the classical role to appear normal. Closing the thoughts out, she decided to stretch her body out, she had always been proud of her stamina and endurance yet due to them not being active, they had turned somewhat rusty though that is always fixable.

She hadn't even realised that the girl mounted Orion's back; instead she let out a soft sigh of relief as her arms retreated back to their sides. Their walk had begun, yet throwing many glances at Orion as she had not trusted him. "Sometimes, I feel like I have too much freedom. Everyone is taking on responsibilities to fight that, fight this, fight them, then there's me. I'm casually strolling along with two strangers without a worry in the world. Yet that's terrifying because I have no idea whether I'm doing what I should be or not. Currently everyone is making history yet here's Shina!" An exhausted sigh graced her lips and announced itself to Orion and the girl, "My brother, he took after our father, he had everything our father wanted yet our father never sensed that amount of power in me, i was jealous. Envy was biting onto my living existence every single time I saw August use any other power than Henkai, fire and water because those are the only powers I possess."

[Derekjay2000]

Seeing his companions follow through with their attack made Rohan remarkably happy, especially Sahara's attack. It wasn't planned but she delivered it beautifully "Woah! That was great guys" he turned his head to look back at them and shot Sahara a smile "girl Ima marry you~" he said before turning to face Judah, Rohan's anger was being replaced with determination... unlike Judah who was now that one beings blinded by his own rage "it does sound familiar,  you also sound like one of those exotic parrots... repeating and repeating everything I say. Since I'm actually in a good mood right now I'll let you go if you giv-" he was interested by Judah comment. His attack looked like just a wave of sand but Rohan didn't see they shards of glass flying around. He felt the shards scratching his face, hands and even his clothes. Minor injuries nothing to worry about, he covers his eyes with his forearm so that no shard could get his eyes, but Judah had already launched his next attack. The group moving wasn't helping either... it threw Rohan out of balance, now he felt something different... the pieces of earth were cutting him as well but those were much deeper.

Iggy took Sahara's hand and pulled her back out of the attacks range, it looked like Rohan was having a hard time in there but there was nothing Iggy could do to help him at the moment. He still had some water but it was best to save it for another time, Iggy just crossed his fingers and hoped that Rohan was alright.

Rohan covered his face with his forearms and yelled back at Iggy and Sahara "RUN" was all he said to them. Iggy reached out for Sahara's hand and took her further back, Iggy didn't know much about Rohan but he did know something about him... he was very flashy and destructive with his attacks. After moving a few meters away from him Rohan was finally able to work. Rohan took a deep breath and extended his arms out wide releasing a wave of kiko overtaking the sand and glass. It even made a small crater on the floor. Rohan jumped up and moved closer to Judah "I was actually gonna give you a chance to live, guess not... all in all you're just another brick in the wall..." he took off his leather jacket and tossed it back to to Iggy 'I don't know how powerful my next attack is gonna be... but I'll have to end it with it' he looked at his right arm that was pretty bloody from all the shards. He took a good look at himself and realized how beat up he was "gotta hand it to you... it's been a long time since I was this hurt in a match like this, my clothes are all dirty and ripped up, my hair is a mess and I'm bleeding from my arms and face" he said then spitting some blood to the side "I can't afford to lose though... I won't let you hurt my friends... I won't let you hurt my family, it's been a wonderful... uh" he looked at his watch that was pretty cracked up too but it still showed the time "a wonderful 7 minutes but I gotta go hunt the other warlord and I don't have all day... besides... you lost the moment I threw that tennis ball at you..."

Protecting his face with his one arm Judah growled as Rohan dispelled his sand and earth. Glaring at him, Judah took the time that Rohan gave him to do his own examination. His body was pretty beat and burnt up, and his left arm was pretty torn up from the hot glass that had hardened on him...with his arm out of commission it would be difficult to fight, smirking as he looked on at his opponent Judah simply chuckled "You're not bad yourself...however, This damage is nothing compared to what some others I know are capable of..." he warned as he entered a combat stance, his left arm lying limply and his other ready to strike. W Leios arrived he was a bit surprised, 'crap more little runts!' he thought in annoyance, however he was taken back when Leios began to berate Rohan, and even more so when he spoke of defeating his comrade, "Impossible....Ying was taken out! Did you kill her!!!" he shouted in anger, worry in his voice for his comrade. Looking down he glared before moving his attention back to Rohan.

"You may not be able to afford to lose...but I REFUSE to lose..." he spoke through clenched teeth, "I owe them everything...I will make sure to repay them all for their love, and I will make sure your family pays the pain they suffered a hundred times fold!" Power began to flow through his body, focusing in the hand as the sand quivered beneath them, the particles of sand, the shards of stone, and more began to gather around him as he prepared "They are good people who deserve more than what life gave them!" A light glow began to emanate from his hand as the sand began to flow into it, "Taking in a criminal brat like me, willing to challenge legends, and the god that took away everything from us...I will repay them in your blood!" The ground began to harden and become clear and crystalized as a strange structure began to form around him as the light and sands began to become harsher and more furious

"I will bear the burden of slaying all who oppose us who have no business doing so! for their sake....I've already accepted the fate of the damned!" He yelled as the light over took the area, jagged spire of crystal erupting around him as he used his Seishitsu to bring fourth crystal. His right arm incased in a thick, spiked, gauntlet of the material as jagged structures erupted towards Rohan. Judah charged at him, following the flow of crystals, rearing back his right arm as he went to strike the man his remaining magical power being poured into the attack "Everything! for the sake of family!"

[Derekjay2000]

What was it about her that made her seem like the caring type. She blamed it on her round face and freckled cheeks. She looked like someone who should care, someone who would dote or nurture. Someone who would help a stranger with connections to a man she never wanted to meet."I could care less if he bled out," She said flatly, "So there better be something shiny and expensive at the end of the road if you truly desire my help." Kamila gave them equal parts a glare before pivoting and stalking off to her tent.

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'It is unlikely you'll even see him, even less likely he will recognize you' the worries melded in her mind, but her expression was void, her eyes dull. Kamila shouldered her bag, joining her party at the edge of the camp, she remained silent to convey her contempt towards the journey ahead.

Following Takumi through the desert with Kamila kind of off on her own, Leios had plenty of time to think to himself.
'I'm assuming that Kios is at the Library, it would explain why he wasn't home for so long. Once I get to the Library I need to devise a way to find the next Warlord. Mom is probably at home worrying about Lissandra and I now along with Dad. I've got no clue where Lissandra is, but if she hasn't gotten over her inferiority complex by the time we run into each other again I swear I'll give her an earful.'
He looked up as the ground began turning to sand beneath his feet, the storming desert horizon bringing him back to his current reality.
'I still haven't figured out how I'm going to pay these two back yet. Actually, If we stop by the Library I think I can make it work out. However taking a look at this storm, it seems that will have to wait for a little bit.'

After Takumi noted the sandstorm out loud, Leios stopped for a moment to speak up about the reward. "So, now might be as good a time as any to talk about how I'm going to repay you two. Takumi, if you're looking to secure aid for Fuji from Nil a certain Library is the best place to start considering a few things. As for Kamila, at that library there are at least a few shiny, unique and therefore expensive objects at the same location, but that depends on what you want. Unfortunately I don't quite have a read on you yet so you'll have to tell me that yourself."
Leios continued walking, this time directly towards the disturbance, "Now that that's out of the way, I have to say Takumi, I completely agree that we should avoid the sandstorm. But of course we're not going to, or at least I won't. You two don't have to follow, I'll be fine if this is where we part ways." Leios paused to let a devilish smile overtake his mouth, "Buuut, I won't be able to reward you two for helping me out if we do. Your choice." He picked up the pace and didn't look back to see if they were following.

A short trek for him close to what he confirmed to be a battle. He could make out four people, a girl and a younger boy that he'd never met before, as well as Rohan and apparently the Earth Warlord that had attacked the mansion. His face quickly formed a sneer, "Rohan!? Didn't quite expect to run into you so soon, but with you being the one to go after the Earth Warlord first I guess my surprise isn't warranted. I can't seem to get rid of you honestly. Still I'd have thought your fight would have finished by now, what with Judah over here only being the 5th ranked Warlord and the one I've already defeated being the 3rd. Maybe you need a break there buddy, you're looking like you're not going to be able to finish your fight. Or perhaps you're not able to focus because you can't control your emotions since this guy attacked your family. You could take a seat and let me handle this because you might just be too weak to do this yourself. You've already gotten help from two, what's one more?" Leios' sneer faded as he thought to himself, 'You've gotta at least make the finale flashy.'

Kamila made it plenty clear her participation was begrudging. But she was far from an uncooperative child. She mad her displeasure clear in her acute compliance. Her silence and begrudging expression could also be thought to contribute to her rebellion, but she was just like that all the time. She ensured a decent pace, close enough to be safe on the road, far enough where it would be awkward to include her in conversation.

In the desert she began to feel a sense of comfort that made her... uneasy. It was the shifting sound of sand and the earnest sun that lulled her into some sort of listless mind state. She fought to keep her focus, especially as an uneasy knot formed in her stomach. Something was happening, up ahead. She opened her mouth to warn them, but she nearly ran into Leios as they had already stopped, observing a swirling storm over the dune. Her heart picked up pace, a sense of wonder over taking her, she swore her eyelids lifted a millimeter.

The conversation was clear around her, but her gaze never drifted, sure as Takumi said, a geyser of fire illuminated the roiling sand. Her fingers curled and itched. Who or what was making THAT happen? Her focus turned to Leios as soon as 'reward' was mentioned. She gave a slight smile, "Smart of you not to assume things about a stranger.", in the next second however the smile flipped and increased ten fold. "What are you doing?" She hissed under her breath, taking a step to follow. But she whipped around, securing Takumi's gaze, for a moment before releasing a noise of disgust and melding into the dune, pursuing the son of the heroes.

Crossing his arms, he was expecting the answer from Leios to be that they would get involved....however, that didn't mean he enjoyed it any more than possible. Mumbling some curses under his breath at the confirmation, he was very intrigued by the offer of help possibly from this 'Library' and he was sure from the rare sight of a grin from Kamilla that she was interested in it's expensive contents. Glaring hard at the young man before them, he hated to admit it...but he was good at convincing others. Debating in his head if this "Supposed" help would be worth it, his fortitude was crushed when Kamila caught his gaze. Looking into her eyes for a bit, before she broke the silence with a offended noise, he threw his hands out in a expression of 'The hell did I do!' before slouching down as he also begrudgingly followed after the two.

[NaroModerator]

Rohan was ready to charge in at Judah to begin his final attack but hearing a very familiar voice, not one he liked, made him lose concentration. That voice came from the one and only... "Leios!" He turned around to face him, technically ignoring Judah, as if their fight was done and he was now fighting Leios. That bastard had the guts to come and make some checky comment right in front of his face, that's why he hated Leios so much... he took deep breathes and counted to 10 to calm down and continue his fight "What are your doing here Leios? You know what! I don't care... I might just fight you instead" he said. He was a little shocked by the news, so he already has beaten one? Rohan is gonna have to step it up "to be fair, he has the advantage in the desert, and..." he turned back to face Judah again and getting into his fight stance once more "you look pretty injured with those bandages, you took a beating, but that's expected from a weakling like you... the son of Kios... you aren't living up to the expectations you know, well I'll deal with you later" now he was gonna concentrate on Judah, and finish him without anymore distractions.

Iggy was pretty confused, who was this Leios guy and those other 2? More warlords? No it couldn't be, he just shook his head and stepped back a few more feet pulling Sahara along with him "I think Rohan is ready to use that now" he said, only Iggy knew what was going to happened next... he just didn't know who was gonna come out more injured.

"This is good opportunity to show Leios my new technique! One that will surpass kios, no! Jove!" He said with a cocky grim, it was really a beautifully powerful technique, and Rohan was the only one that could deliver such technique "what was that? Hmmmm you don't know of what I'm capable of!" Judah was beginning to sound pretty creepy with all that make them pay with blood stuff. That was another reason Rohan couldn't let him live "just shut up at me and come at me" he said and immediately after that Judah did come at him with some crystals "do you really think some crystal is gonna stop me? Come on Judah!" He threw a punch releasing a beam of kiko taking care of the crystal coming at him, now to deal with that crystal gaunlet. Rohan rushed to Judah just like he did with Rohan, he pulled back his right fist which started glowing red and clashed with Judah's gauntlet "bites the dust". Once it made contact with Judah's fist it created a massive explosion, hurting both them equally and knocking both back... but unlike Judah... Rohan knew of the knock back so he was ready for his next attack. His left arm started glowing just a few seconds ago and released an explosion behind him. Sending Rohan towards Judah at an incredible speed, he was able to stop in front of Judah and pulled back his fist once again while Judah was still unable to block, his fist was glowing red again but this time there was a small stream of fire twirling around his hand. There was something weird about this one though, Rohan's hand was shaking. All of this happened so fast even Rohan barely able to take action, he delivered a devastating blow to Judah's sternum. Rohan was barely able to handle the power but was able to control it in the end, unlike the other one... this attack didn't explode. Rohan sent all of that kiko and fire energy into Judah's body causing the explosion to be inside, of course the impact of punch broke Rohan's hand and Judah's rib cage. The explosion took care of the rest of his body "Another One Bites The Dust..." Judah was sent flying but before he could get out of range, Rohan caught his leg "There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man" he said pulling kids back toward him "And bring him to the ground" he kneed his spine after saying that " You can beat him" he elbowed his stomach "You can cheat him" then let him dropped to the ground " You can treat him bad and leave him
When he's down" the fight was over, Judah couldn't recover from that so now it was time to get some information out of him.

Rohan kneeled down next to Judah and took a deep breath and looked at Judah's condition "most of your bones are broken, your blood is boiling and burning you from the inside... you're dying Judah, so now tell me the location of all the other warlords"

[DannyGirl~Moderator]

The trip back to the little girl's home proved to be quite interesting for Orion to say the least. It seemed that aside from sharing their hair color, he and Shina had something much more valuable in common. The same curious spirit. He could from the way her gaze flickered about, deep in thought, only to return to his once more. Shina was trying to find something hidden within his passive gaze, though was having difficulties doing so. What she was searching for was the only detail he wasn't certain of, which left the two in an unspoken state of frustration and wonder. Quite an effective way of passing time to those with inquisitive minds.

A child loosely clinging to his shoulders, and a young women sizing him up while traveling alongside him... Orion found himself in a curious situation indeed. The companionship was welcomed deep in his heart, though also puzzled him slightly. It wasn't anything he'd imagined someone in his circumstances could possess. In fact, he still deemed it highly improbable when considering the possibility of such a sight happening again. So he secretly held on to that moment. For once in his life there was a sense of peace. He wasn't training, fighting, undergoing quests, reprimanding Delilah, or even gathering intel... Though technically he did have a quest he was supposed to be doing, it was refreshing to choose something for himself for once. Normally the old thing he possessed such decisive power over was what he wanted to eat.

Watching as the young woman at his side crossed her arms and gawked in response to his comment, Orion found himself chuckling softly as he thought over what to say next. "You can believe and disbelieve whatever you wish, Princess. What I told you was the truth, though it does sound absurd." He eventually commented while securing his hold on the little girl's legs, mentally noting that his nickname was off. Princess didn't suit Shina in the slightest. "I'm afraid that even when leaving under a rock you'd catch wind of the royal families business... In order to truly stay in the dark, one has to purposefully do so. It has nothing to do with being able to read those around me, but rather who I feel is necessary for me to read. Your family never made the list... In the past at least."

Watching in mild amusement as the young women stretched out in thought, Orion simply shrugged as she processed his explanation while continuing on. The house wasn't that much further. But he was beginning to grow rather concerned that the parents allowed their child too wander off into town on her own, and then left her rather to fend for herself at night. The woods around them didn't seem to be safe under such circumstances. Then again, what did he know about parenting?

Though he pushed his criticisms aside as Shina spoke once more, suddenly twisting the conversation in a direction he hadn't been expecting even remotely. Which was a rare occasion in itself. Was she really opening up to him? In such a personal way as well... The turn of events left him speechless for a few moments, though he made sure to carefully consider each part of her confession before attempting to reply. "...In a sense I understand where you're coming from, though I don't believe your first problem is as bad as you believe it to be. What good is making history if you waste away your entire life to do so?" Orion softly put out for her to consider, knowing that in this case he was standing worlds away from the girl beside him. "Fighting for what you believe in is always a worth while cause, but you can't expect to gain anything without losing something in return... In truth, I envy you. This is really nice... Just taking a stroll with two friendly faces. In this lifestyle you can be anyone you want, no one would ever be able to tell the difference... However once you step up, and turning to a life of constant battle, your name will forever be stained in the life you leave in your wake. Winning a battle means forcing another to lose whatever they were fighting for. A constant circle of unsatisfaction. Which is why your rule is so important as a 'charity worker'... You can prevent the conflicts before they even surface." Though he was attempting to comfort the girl, he still didn't by that she actually was just a charity worker. "The only battles worth undergoing are those you take on for those around you. Fighting for your own gain, or even to leave your impact on the future history of the world, is waste of time. Even then it can be hard to pick which battles are right, and which are wrong... I've learned over the years that things are hardly ever how them seem."

Glancing over his shoulder back to the small child on his back, Orion found that she'd fallen asleep by the time they reached her home. After knocking on the door, and explaining the situation to the girl's worried parents, Orion passed her off to her family and bid them goodnight. Smiling ever so slightly as he paused for a moment, the young man pulled himself back together before turning back to Shina. Though thoughts of what having a family would be like still rang fresh in his mind. "Let me walk you back to town, there's something I'd like to do." He admitted hesitantly, his cheeks showing a light spark of pink though he chose to ignore it. "...And for the record, your list of abilities is rather impressive. I only possess the ability to use the element of wind... It's a shame your father didn't see that potential."

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