The Coming of Shadows

[Kuffie]

"Sure," Coyoto said after helping coyoto went east to his home town of Ojaan " those two seemed a little strange meh its probablly nothing," when he reached his destination he had seen something horrible a drake was was destroying hut after hut Coyoto took out his katana and a charged " All thisssssss town musssst burn!" The drake said a he whiped up some fire in his hand ( er claws). " Stop fiend!" as a man in the crowd appered to stop and chase toward the drake and punched in the gut the drake smiled "foolissssssss human I will die to no human!" Coyoto came as the drake was grappelling the man Coyoto jumped in to action and swang at the beast decapitation !

[batgirl]

Jun turned to the man she had just poured a drink for, "never a dull moment right?" She downed the rest of her drink and ordered another.

[MC43]

His eyes looked at his bartender for a second, then they returned back to the drink in his hand, the froth bubbling over the edge of the glass. He thought that a drink might have helped him, but all of a sudden, he had no urge to drink, it seeming like a waste of time and money. He pushed it away from him and layed his hands flat on the bar. "Yeah... I guess so." His voice was low, and barely audible.

[Ryu Kurai]

Three people jumped out of the crowd simultaneously and pointed in the direction of a healer's, almost simultanoeusly. "Thank you very much." Kirrass said, in a low, growling voice. He walked through the crowd, still hefting his greatsword over one shoulder. Several people ducked out of the blade's path. The adrenaline rush of the fight was wearing off. His severed tail was exploding with pain. He winced, closing one eye and finally sheathing his sword. He got in front of the healing house without a sound besides footsteps when he shouted out in a mixture of despiration and pain "Ssssomebody get out here and help me, dammit!" He fell to one knee, his greatsword going out past his cloak on his back. A young boy dressed in healing garb came out. "What can I help you wiiii- Oh shit!" He shouted, finally seeing Kirrass and the trail of blood coming fro the bar his tail had left. "Senior! Senior!" He shouted, rushing back into the house. "No, wait!" Kirrass said in dismay, but it was too late. He gave in to temptation and fell belly down on the ground. The ground was fairly warm, not that that helped his constant pain, though. He felt himself being picked up by someone. He turned his head towards the person. He saw it was a moderately old man, with medium length white hair and glassses. The man made eye contact with him. He lifted a rag in one hand and placed it over Kirrass' mouth and nostrils. "Mrrph?" The drake said in dismay. "Swet dreams, my scaly friend." Said the old man. Kirrass felt himself going unconcious...

He sat up with a start. His tail was still searing with pain. He lifted it up, with some difficulty. He noticed that his crude bandage had been removed, replaced with a white bandage. He felt a strong desire to go back to sleep, his legs felt unrealistically heavy. He fell on his back and fell asleep again.

He was awakened some time later by the doctor. "We're going to take you into surgery now, to re-attatch that tail of yours."
"Hnn...That'sss good..." Kirrass responded. He was still half-asleep, so he didn't know what was going on. He was walked through several corridors until the came to rest at a table with a tray of surgical tools beside it. "Just lie down on this bed. We'll have to put you to sleep again"
"Huh?"
Kirrass only had time to mutter before he was smothered with cloth again.

He sat up with a start, a second later it seemed. His tail still stung. He lifted it up. He let out a relieved sigh. His tail tip was all there, the only difference was that it was a light grey now, unlike the rest of his scales. He swished it around in the air a bit, testing how well it worked. "Hmm, Not too ssshabby. I guesss I'll have to reasssesss my opinion of humanssss." He looked around. He was dressed in nothing but an apron used for patients. He saw his clothing on the floor, his weapons next to them. He also saw a note, written quickly by the doctor no doubt. It read:

Drake,
Don't worry about paying us, we took a few gold pieces from your pouch. I hope that you have found us satisfactory and will continue to visit our houses for healing aid in the future. Please tell me if your tail has problems, functionality or otherwise. Thank you!

-Dr. Mesin

He placed the paper down on the ground and got dressed, His sword, dagger and stinger going to their respective places. He checked his pouch and placed a few more gold on the floor next to the note. He found his way out of the building with some difficulty, a night sky greeting him. He walked back to the bar, keeping his hood up this time. He walked up to the bar and placed two gold pieces on it. "Missster bartender, your recomendationssss?"

[Astral Harmony]

Location: Gelti Empire Capital City, Middle Class Zones, Hazenburg District, Grant's House

[Clitonna stood there, playing her flute softly so as not to wake the others. But apparently, she was still playing too loud, because as Clitonna ended her song, someone spoke up.]
Harriet: "That was very beautiful, Clitonna."
Clitonna: "Hunh? Oh, sorry, sis. I didn't mean to wake you."
Harriet: "Ten years, it's been, and you're still the same girl I remember. Playing your flute. Calling me your sister. Still as pretty as ever. And even though you had emotional issues to fight through, you never let a day pass that your smile didn't grace. I wish I was as strong as you are now. Maybe then I'd be a soldier, too."
Clitonna: "There are many kinds of strength, Harriet. There is the strength which Grant and I have, which makes us fighters. Strength on the battlefield. And then there's your strength. The strength of a mother, capable of treating her children fairly and impartially and always worrying about them when they're not with you."
Harriet: "... ... ..."
Clitonna: "I can't really say which strength is more powerful. The strength of a warrior or the strength of a mother. I can't pinpoint which is better because while I've been a warrior, I've never been a mother."
Harriet: "I'm the same way. I have the strength of a mother, but I've never lifted a weapon to defend my nation or my Emperor on the battlefield."
Clitonna: "That's why I call you 'sis.'"
Harriet: "Hmm?"
Clitonna: "I realized...at an early point in life, that you and me were very much alike. To me, you were many times closer and more important to me than my mother who wishes she never bore me, or my father who detests me because he's too foolish to blame his own father for being the reason the O'Thanash Family is in debt. I was also close to my brother, but with the state that he's in, it's like he's suddenly gone away, to some place where I can't even see him."
Harriet: "Clitonna."
[Clitonna slowly turns towards Harriet and the two hold each other tightly. Harriet knew what this meant. Clitonna needed another pick-me-up.]
Clitonna: "If I'm as blessed as I think I am every single day, then why does my heart ache when I really run it all through my head? If a girl as pretty as me was meant to be a doting mother like you are, then why do I only feel at home when I'm on the battlefield, taking lives in the name of Emperor and country?"
Harriet: "Clitonna..."
[Harriet pushes Clitonna away enough so that Clitonna is staring Harriet directly in her eyes.]
Harriet: "Clitonna, remember when I told you that we were all living in a book that contained everyone's stories?"
Clitonna: "Yes."
Harriet: "A story doesn't end until the person passes on. You know what that means, right?"
Clitonna: "My story isn't finished. And as long as it isn't finished, there's always the possibility of a happy ending, right? The ending I've always wanted."
[Clitonna suddenly sees an image of Lilemi in her mind. She thinks about it for a bit and decided that she only needed to think about it more.]
Harriet: "Yes, but until the day you find what you're looking for...what you're really looking for, you've got to persevere. That's the strength that really binds us, sis. It's the strength of legend."
Clitonna: "You're right. You're always right. Is that what you call 'mother's intuition?'"
Harriet: "Not so much. If you wanted that power, you'd hafta bang Grant upside his head with a newspaper almost every morning so he isn't late for work."
[Clitonna and Harriet both laugh.]
Harriet: "I've raised your spirits again, haven't I?"
Clitonna: "Yep. You're a real life-saver, sis. Now c'mon. I hear Grant say over and over that he's never slept anywhere but in his bed and only during the times that you're laying with him. Me and him've got an early start tomorrow so I don't want him up late."
Harriet: "Yeah, yeah. I better get to my soldierly duty then, too, shouldn't I?"
[Clitonna and Harriet chuckle and Harriet leads Clitonna back inside.]

[Flarecobra]

Kazi sheathed her dagger, and started to head on back out into the rainy night, but bumped into someone who was just entering. Looking up, she saw that the person she ran into was a Drake. <This just isn't my night.> she thought. "Um, sorry about that. I didn't mean to." She said, knowing about how tempremtal, and powerful, Drakes are.

[Kuffie]

Coyoto notuced that his sword was cracked because of drakes hard scales "DAMMIT!" he yelled "sorry sir....Coyoto....your Coyoto the mercanary the half vam-" Coyoto grabbed him by the neck "shut up about my heiritage!"
<though I told that woman and that guy that> "o-ok you know that sword was forged by harusame right?" the men said "yes and the sword was a gift to my grampa!"" and its called the marusume because that was my grand fathers name but... the old timer who forged this would be dead!" He yelled "not true! Harusame is still alive and he is only 167 for a human thats alot thought!" the man replied "to old to fix it!" "nope he acts like a 60 year old he is that healthy!" the man said. the man took him to a hut inside was a forge and a old man. "you look lke the hero Marusume when he was 19" the old man said "but...you look a little human for the grandchild of a great vampire warrior.." he added "Look old man I need the Marusume fixed!" "It will take me about a day maybe only 5 hours depends how fast you get me a vampire fang-" "easy here I'll give you one of my old ones!" he interupted "no it must be a pure vampire's!" he said "unless you have two of your old ones!" the old man said "how about four!" coyoto handed him a pouch with four old fangs in it within 5 hours the marusume was restored

[Astral Harmony]

OOC: Is it okay if I venture ahead in the timespan? That plot twist and adventure I had planned for Clitonna is a looooong ways away.

[Flarecobra]

(OOC) Or we could also say that what's going on with you is a little bit in the past, but whichever works for you.

[Astral Harmony]

OOC: That works out. I can really shorten the story before Clitonna's adventure really gets underway. I'll edit this post to briefen up the rest of the story before the plot twist. That way, Clitonna doesn't stay separated from where you all're during the whole RPG.

EDIT: From Fantasizing Soldier to Fugitive Swordfighter

After a general briefing at the DPF Chief's office in the Harpsman District, the team of six set out. Clitonna, Lilemi, or Ferra. Three girls who never saw the Ebony Twilight sword, much less touched it, were required by imperial decree to try and draw the sword from where it lay. The trip to the Scourging Bladesworn camp was uneventful, but after that, nothing was ever the same. All three girls tried to retrieve the sword, but in the end, Clitonna was the one the sword had chosen as its new master, and there were mixed feelings all around about Clitonna and the new power that she wielded. This uneasiness followed them home, where they arrived back at Gelti Empire Capital City during nightfall. While waiting to recieve an audience to annouce Clitonna's success at earning the trust of the blade, she mysteriously vanished. When news of the murders of Roberto, Jessabella, and Rhadditz O'Thanash - the father, mother, and brother of Clitonna - hit the streets, the Shock Falchions went immediately to work. While they had been ordered to capture Clitonna, they instead decided to help her flee the city until the excitement died down. When Lilemi found her at the Rendevous area for the Shock Falchions, the team got together and formulated the plan. All of the Shock Falchions, including Commanding Officer Chalmers, helped Clitonna escape the city, but she didn't escape alone. Lilemi was allowed to go along with her, and somehow Grant managed to convince his wife, Harriet, to let him go to Clitonna's aid as well. Clitonna believes that she was possessed by her negative emotions, increased by the power of the Ebony Twilight sword, and that's what made her slaughter her family. Fabricating a story that Clitonna must have slain both Lilemi and Grant in addition to her own family, the Shock Falchions were put on the search to find their bodies. This order extended to much of the rest of the military that wasn't called to the front lines or that weren't assigned to guarding the city. This allowed Lilemi and Grant even more time to help get Clitonna farther away from the Gelti Empire, and closer to the Non-Commital Zones where they could lay in hiding. On a night, as the trio of excitement-struck deserters neared the imposed border that separated the Gelti Empire from the Non-Commital Zones, they sit down for the next camp.

Location: Alkadian Fields Southeast, some 30 miles away from the border separating the Gelti Empire and Non-Commital Zones.

[Clitonna stood resolute on a slightly higher hill, watching around her for signs of Gelti Imperial soldiers searching for her or perhaps even Free Alliance forces. They weren't that far from that border, either.]
Lilemi: "Clitonna."
[Clitonna turned around to see Lilemi. Over the period of two and a half weeks since they left on that accursed mission, Clitonna's feelings for Lilemi had built up a lot more. It was a honor having a friend as close as Lilemi was. Grant was even better still, but...]
Clitonna: "Oh, is it time for the switch of night watch already?"
Lilemi: "Not exactly. You got about a half hour left."
Clitonna: "Ah, I see."
[Lilemi walked up to stand next to Clitonna and looked out.]
Clitonna: "If Ashgand's memory serves us well, we'll hit the border later in the afternoon hours."
Lilemi: "Yeah..."
[Clitonna and Lilemi stood silent for a moment.]
Clitonna: "Lilemi, I'm torn."
Lilemi: "Hmm?"
Clitonna: "First, I should let you know that you have a much bigger place in my heart, ever since we set out on that stupid mission."
Lilemi: "Clitonna..."
Clitonna: "But, on the other hand, I feel like I'm cursing you. When they start to figure out that Grant and your bodies aren't in the city and begin to put together the pieces of the puzzle, you'll be branded a criminal, too. A deserter of the Imperial Shock Falchions."
Lilemi: "Don't worry about it, Clitonna."
Clitonna: "How can you say that?"
Lilemi: "Look, you know me, Clitonna. You know me like Ferra knows me. You know me like Grant knows me. You know me like Ashgand knows me. And you definitely know me more than Fugurd knows me. I may have done some of this because of you, but it's not only that."
Clitonna: "... ... ..."
Lilemi: "Too many lives flow down the same path that I have taken, and I wanted very much...so much to see a different path for me to walk. Clitonna, your new dilemma is my new path. And the more I think about it, the more happy I am that this path exists and I pray now, more than ever, that I have the strength to persist down this path."
Clitonna: "Hmmm. I understand."
[Lilemi turned to Clitonna and took Clitonna's hands in her own.]
Lilemi: "So please, Clitonna, don't ever think me wrong for doing this. This is what I want just as much as..."
Clitonna: "...What I want for you."
[Lilemi suddenly drops Clitonna's hands and turns away, blushing.]
Clitonna: "Aww, don't be like that now. I know that's how you think. I've thought a lot about it and I decided that...well, if at some point we can find a place to settle on our own, then I'll never want for anything else...ah, at least not for a while."
Lilemi: "Do you really mean that?"
Clitonna: "Why not? I've got nothing better to do with my life."
Lilemi: "Don't say it because of that."
Clitonna: "I know, I know. I'm sorry. Just give me some more time, okay? I need to think about it more."
Lilemi: "Like I told you before. Take all the time you think you may ever need."
Clitonna: "Thanks. By the way, I'm worried about Grant. How's he holding up without his wife?"
Lilemi: "Apparently pretty well. It must be my good cooking. Oh, yes. About that cooking."
Clitonna: "It'll be lukewarm when I get down there, eh?"
Lilemi: "I'm sorry. Grant was so persistent."
Clitonna: "It's all right. Thank you."
[Lilemi looks onward into the night as Clitonna slings the Ebony Twilight sword over her right shoulder and whistles as she walks back to the makeshift camp.]
Lilemi: "Clitonna..."