[IC] Wings Askew

[Rekaigan]

Although Rahna couldn't really notice the form that her little wisp had taken, she was rather caught up in trying to think of what to do in the presence of the strange bird that was before her, considering the fact that she couldn't get herself to move at all. On the plus side, she didn't feel any pain from her previous injuries.. Not that she noticed that either.

Rahna flinched, covering herself futilely with her arms and looking away as the bird went to attack Gaius. With a loud CLANG! and a brief period of silence, Rahna looked back to knight, only to see that he had survived the attack; not only that, he managed to stay on his feet. She wasn't expecting Gaius to survive, but she was greatly relieved that he did. The girl's eyes shifted to the small light above Gaius's head. It was a tiny creature of some sort.. wings and a toothy little mouth.. Like a dragon..?

The herbalist was speechless for the most part. There was nothing much she could say in this situation that would be of any use, however she did managed to move a little further away from the monstrosity, shuffling herself back slightly before hesitantly standing up. She didn't have any weapons with her to help, but even if she did, she probably couldn't summon the courage to even try anything.

Rahna's gaze flicked around them as stones and boulders suddenly started to lift from the ground as the bird snapped it's wings wide. However the motion that seemed like an incoming attack was short lived as Gaius's sword cut cleanly through the bird. She felt the ground rumble slightly as all the stones fell to the ground in an instant. Rahna glanced around the make sure there was nothing else waiting to attack them before speaking up, "A-are you alright? Sorry I wasn't much help.." She asked, taking a slight step toward the knight.

She couldn't help but notice the silver glint that was among the pile of bones that the bird left behind. She realized what it was as she picked it up from the debris.. A pocket watch? She examined it briefly, noticing the tiny ornate symbols. What a nice touch. Upon opening the pocket watch.. or rather the compass as she could plainly see; she saw something inscribed in the cover. Quietly murmuring the message to herself.

She turned back to Gaius, "Gaius, you think y--" Her question was interrupted by a loud crash noise and a flash of light... like a fire, accompanied with some human voices. 'East shall burn the darkness..?' The 'poem' ran through her head as she noticed the sounds were coming from the East.

"Are you able to keep going Gaius? I think we should go see what's happening over there." If Eli was here, he'd realize that Rahna's curiosity was getting the better of her right now. Although, she may have gone there to help whoever was in trouble anyway.

[Ookawa]

Wide-eyed Sera glared at the bird protecting her. It was so beautiful, so... fiery, as if it was made out of pure fire. It looked back at her and seemed to smile as it absorbed even more pebbles. "Tomo...", Sera whispered as she watched the pretty phoenix swirl around and land on her shoulder again when no more pebbles were incoming as the bird-creature flew away to make another "bombing run".

Tomo

Smiling back at the phoenix she had just named Tomo, Sera scratched under Tomo's skin and she nuzzled Sera's hand.
But that small, serene moment was not for long as the cry of the bone bird came closer once more threatening to hurl at them even more deadly projectiles. Sera's face grew fierce and hard again when she tried to analyze the difficult situation at hand
"Alrighty, Tomo, guy..., let's get this bitch back to level ground, shall we? What that thing can do, we can do better, no?" She grinned and picked up a stone. "Tomo, can you mimic a catapult?" The phoenix caw'd to acknowledge Sera's question and she positioned herself to recieve said stones and hurl them at the bone fiend with her tail feathers.
With a swift motion a smallish stone left Sera's hand and with this initial inertia already moving the stone forward, Tomo only had to whck it hard enough to pepper the creature with incoming stony ammo. "Take that! And that! And this!"

[tex]

Gaius Stronurr

_{The Forest Floor}

Gaius heaved a heavy breath and lowered his sword's tip to the ground gently. The beast was defeated with a single swing. What a feat! Gaius felt more alive than he ever had before. Suddenly those stories of slaying dragons and braving many a danger in the untold wilds echoed in his heart like premonitions rather than fantasy. He craned his neck from side to side, slowly surveying the falling boulders that rose a moment earlier. Did he do that? Or was it the beast? Or a combination of two powerful souls crashing against one another on the field of battle? Gaius felt something steel his resolve, emanating from the bone creature's remains. It was pride. The pride of a guardian who'd stake his life on the possibility that he could save many others. Gaius turned to Rahna, breathing normally as if he'd not exerted himself at all, and smiled. With one hand, he wiped his face clean of sweat and blood, and withdrew his sword with a careful motion, sure not to damage his sheath or armor in a fumble.

"I feel born anew!" He roared and grabbed his waist with a loud 'clank' of jade-fused steel, "A warrior of old, fallen from the heavens!" His voice boomed loudly enough to shake the leaves and thistles surrounding them. The pain in his chest had returned, but he didn't acknowledge it. Something buzzed louder behind him though, prompting him to spin his head to the left. Despite his heroic pose, the little dragon was relatively unfazed, expressing its confusion through a flick of its neck and a short, high pitched purring sound. Gaius' smile shrank. But before he could question the little dragon's existence, a crash of light stole his attention. The little faerie turned as well. Rahna asked him if he could go on immediately afterward, but Gaius was already on the move, headed towards the flash of light.

"It isn't a question of can, I must! Come, Rahna!" Gaius ordered, overtaken by a sense of duty. Was the flash caused by their allies? Just what the hell was going on over there? "There's no time to waste!"

[shylarah]

“Eli!” Nikki was elated to see her friend ahead, despite the current circumstances. She waved, ducking another hurled stone, and dodged behind a tree. Blank was going after one of the boney birds, with help from his new animal friend. And the magpie from the ruins was hurling rocks, helped by -- some sort of flaming bird? Way cool, she’d have to get a better look at it later. But for now, they needed to handle the boulder-throwing birds. Something Blank had said lodged in her thoughts. The birdies could fly, yes. And there wasn’t enough room to get her glider off the ground.

But that wasn’t the only way to get in the air. Nikki dashed towards a likely-looking trunk, jamming her folded glider in the ground and using it to vault upwards so she could grab one of the lower branches. Once off the ground it was a trivial matter to climb higher, and then all she had to do was quietly venture out along one that hung above the bird Blank wasn’t fighting. The feathered lizard on her shoulder dropped first, going for the beast’s eyes, and the young lady followed, aiming to tackle the thing and drag it to the ground.

[Tombprince]

Blin "Brytag" Alborse

Blin could take it anymore, he didn't know how he knew the sword was deep inside the creature, but he had to have it. He hoped he was far enough around the creature to have it between himself and Blank. Taking a last look at the little dragon on his shoulder, he whispered to it;

"Best you don't engage it Kal, I don't like the way they try to attack you all."

He gripped his makeshift staff in both hands and charged the bone beast now that it had landed, he couldn't trust the weapon to pierce or otherwise damage the creatures body, so he went for the next best thing. The wings. Blin thrust the broken ended staff up into the membrane and attempted to rip skin asunder. If he could, he would make sure it couldn't fly away. He just hoped Blank could provide backup if and when it turned on him.

A distant murmer in the back of his mind asked how he knew the dragons name, somehow it seemed familar to him, but then those thoughts were lost as he rushed the winged monster.

@chukklehed@Mokley

[Mokley]

Rahna turned back to Gaius, "Gaius, you think y--" Her question was interrupted by a loud crash noise and a flash of light... like a fire, accompanied with some human voices. 'East shall burn the darkness..?' The 'poem' ran through her head as she noticed the sounds were coming from the East. "Are you able to keep going Gaius? I think we should go see what's happening over there."

"It isn't a question of can, I must! Come, Rahna!" Gaius ordered, overtaken by a sense of duty. Was the flash caused by their allies? Just what the hell was going on over there? "There's no time to waste!"

The going was not easy; the curtainlike leaves, thick bramble, and alternately muddy and rocky ground did not make running an easily accomplishable thing. Meanwhile, shouting rang out among the rumble and slam of falling rocks. They passed by a recently moved boulder, its mud-wet end turned upside, laying among crushed saplings. At least the boulders had cleared a semi-traversable path.

Something small and bright red went stumbling past their feet, running in the opposite direction. It looked like a wide-capped mushroom with legs, wearing a loincloth and tribal paint. It scurried into the hollow of a dead log and hid there from the noise and violence of the clearing.

From over Rahna's shoulder, a furry creature leaned forward and sniffed at the air. Its ethereal form was finishing its final shape, ears flicking and tail swishing. Familiar herbs grew on the creature's back, and its eyes seemed to notice things where there was nothing to be seen.

"Now!" Blank shouted aimlessly, and not a second later a furry white shape launched itself out of a patch of brush, landing on the back of one of the birds and sinking it's teeth into the joint where the wing merged with its back. The Ice Wolf's magic lent it's bite the chill of winter, and the beast hung on with its jaw, refusing to let go. Meanwhile, Blank was moving in for his own attack, depending on the bite to cripple the wing and keep the beast grounded so he could finish it off.

The monster's hollow eyes tracked Blank, completely unaware of the wolf's presence until it was too late.

Fangy jaws clamped down on the beast's wing; immediately, the bone and feathers crackled and smoked with an icy chill. With a crack and a shatter, part of the frozen wing fell in broken splinters from the ice-wolf's grip.

The beast did not feel pain. Just as Blank rushed in with his own attack, the monster spun like a whirlwind; its sharp bony claws caught the ice-wolf in the muzzle, dragged long deep gashes into the newly born flesh. Its back was now to Blank, and its fate was sealed.

With one crack of the blade into the monster's spine, the bones lost their will to animate. Its head rolled and dropped to the ground; its remaining wing dissolved into feathers; its body collapsed into a heap of splintered and mismatched bones. Spotted feathers lifted on the breeze and rolled away along the ground.

At the center of the bones, something shimmered. It was a silvery key, as big as Blank's palm, in the style of the locks in the old ruins on the island.

With a swift motion a smallish stone left Sera's hand and with this initial inertia already moving the stone forward, Tomo only had to whck it hard enough to pepper the creature with incoming stony ammo. "Take that! And that! And this!"

Blin thrust the broken ended staff up into the membrane and attempted to rip skin asunder. If he could, he would make sure it couldn't fly away. He just hoped Blank could provide backup if and when it turned on him.

Nikki dashed towards a likely-looking trunk, jamming her folded glider in the ground and using it to vault upwards so she could grab one of the lower branches. Once off the ground it was a trivial matter to climb higher, and then all she had to do was quietly venture out along one that hung above the bird Blank wasn’t fighting. The feathered lizard on her shoulder dropped first, going for the beast’s eyes, and the young lady followed, aiming to tackle the thing and drag it to the ground.

smack smack smack crack clatter smack

The monster flinched every time one of Sera's pebbles bounced on its bony head. It raised itself up tall and raised its wings, but just as it was about to raise a boulder, another cascade of pebbles sent it staggering backward. It chimed and clattered, annoyed and growing impatient -- and so completely distracted that it didn't notice Blin running at it from behind with a broken staff.

A boulder was just beginning to shudder when Blin's staff struck through the monster's wing in a shatter of bones and feathers. The monster retaliated by spinning around toward Blin; its good wing caught his neck and flung him forcefully to the ground with a flurry of small cuts left along the side of his throat. It raised its sharp foot to stamp down upon him -- but the monster was suddenly crushed under Nikki's velocity.

Nikki's knee cracked something in the monster's chest just as it slammed into the ground beneath her -- she had hit something vital, an instant death for her opponent. The monster collapsed into an inanimate shape made of mismatched bones and piles of flurrying feathers, and the smooth bony skull lying ominously among the scattered bones.

Among the bones, at the center of what had once been the monster, a sword shimmered in the dappled sunlight.

"Woohoo! Weehee! Yee-haa!" a small squeal of delight rose up out of the bag on the ground. A little mushroom man crawled out of the bag on the ground where he had been hiding, and he raised his little fists in victory. "Death to the chimes! We did it! Wahoo!"

[Tombprince]

Blin "Brytag" Alborse

Blin reeled back in horror as the creature turned on him, he raised the remains of his broken staff in defense just before Nikki crashed into it. He backpeddleda few feet away gasping for breath, looking at the two women and grinning at their accomplishment. The tiny dragon crawled out from somewhere within his clothes and gently proddeda around his neck injury, the pain made Blin bring his hand up to his throat and brought away a few drops of blood.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd cut himself and with the combat over he did want any coming of age man would do after such a fight which could have killed him.

Blin fainted.

Big Hero rests

Four sets of hands gently prodded his bruises and cuts, a warm and soothing salve was applied to areas with bandages to others. A savoury aroma and odour of smoke promised of food. his stomach growled just as his eyes opened. The two quickly stepped back, each wearing flambouent coloured cloth that seemed to disguise their actions as they moved.

"I think I owe you my thanks. i don't suppose you have seen my friend Kal around?"

The women looked at each other before facing him again, they both shook their heads. One went over to the campfire and brough back a bowl of soup or stew. His eyes still seemed to go blurry, whatever it was still smelled delicious. He took the bowl that was offered and slowly began to eat. Between mouthfuls, he offered his thanks again.

The women hadn't answered him, his chewing slowed and finally stopped. A brief thought of poison entered his mind but he dismissed it, they both had staves to beat him with and he was in no position to fight back. besides they both could have done whatever they wanted in his unconscious state.

"Kal. You can't his him. Big dragon, golden coloured." He tried to look around but aches and sprains prevented total mobility. "Where's my...." he didn't even see one of the women move, all of a sudden her finger tapped him in the centre of his forehead.

"Rest yourself, your in no position to strain yourself." Her touch wasn't painful but something about made his eyes droop at the word rest and before she finished, the bowl slipped from his fingers as he went sleep.

Blin's eyes opend to a small white dragon gazing into his own. It's taloned like mouth rapped him once more on his forehead.

"I'm awake." blin blinked a few times, looking closely at the tiny creature. "Yeah I do know you, your Kal...Kalikorix...I had a dream about you." He reached towards it, a little unsure of himself, and then scratched it on it's head. "Thanks for waking me, again."

Sitting himself up, he moved the dragon onto his shoulder and then looking around at the battlefield and people left there. He was just about to introduce himself to the girl that saved him, before he realised some people were missing and what in the sky isles was that walking mushroom?

[shylarah]

((clearly too sick to figure out which one's the OOC. x.x))

[LostBrotherGrimm]

Eli Wyn

Guess there was no other choice - Eli would have to fight. Would have to give his all to protect the Shroom sir, the girl that stood besides him and, ultimately, himself. Whether that meant he was going to die, he did not know, but he was not about to keel over and allow this beast to devour their lights. He was going to FIG-

"Huh?" Eli muttered out as he felt the sudden wind behind him, as another bird came onto the scene. Followed by a rowdy crowd of Nikki, Blank, Blin and Sera. Not just them, though. The scene suddenly filled with a wolf, a phoenix and some other things that Eli just shortly took notice off. Could they be...

"Could they be their lights?" Upon asking himself that, Eli looked to his shoulder, to the slowly forming ball of light. It started taking shape, becoming more and more visible in the daylight. He was right, the source of those "pretty awesome" companions his friends seemed to have surely had to be in the balls. What would his be? A massive dragon? A cunning fox? Maybe a flying snake, with the fangs of a dragon and a wisdom of a tortoise?! The possibilities were endless. for a second, the drums were rolling in Eli's head, his heart was beating hard and his breath grew heavier. The excitement was unbelievable.

Plus, with Nikki and Blank in the picture - he wasn't all that afraid that the beasts would be dealt with. He was sure Nikki would take that opportunity to take them down. Possibly later rub it in Eli's face as to why he didn't take them down himself. Or something. Well - she was about to see the great power of the flying fox like snake with the fangs of a tortoise and a wisdom of a dragon! She was about to witness-!

this?

With a tiny squeak, Eli's companion made its presence known. It was not even just a tiny squeak, but the tiniest of squeaks. "You are the awesomely powerful dragon-like tortoise fox?" Eli asked, scratching the back of his head, looking as dumbfounded as one could. Another squeak. "I... well... aren't you a... fiery little fella?" Eli patted it on its head, which made it produce even cuter sounds. It looked around for a couple of seconds, seemingly taking the battlefield into consideration. Its expression grew serious. Eli felt the change in the vibe.

"I knew it!" Eli raised his voice as if noticing a change in the air around him. "You are a cunning little one, got me fooled for a second! C'mon now, transform into the godlike powerful shiny phoenix of the afterlife... with the wisdom of a THOUSAND tortoises!" And on cue with Eli's words, the squirrel's fur started shining brighter and brighter. It became warmer and warmer. Until finally...

The little one looked at Eli and started rubbing its head onto his shoulder. A sign of affection. The warm smile returned to its face, resulting in Eli sighing with the force of a rhino. By the time he looked up, both beasts were down and out, seemingly taken care of by his friends. "Let's say you did that, huh? Yeah... you buffed them or something..." He sat down on the ground, taking the fire squirrel into his hands. "Let's call you... Squishy. Lieutenant von Squishy. We'll work on your powers later." He said before turning his attention to his friends. Blin was alright, fainted, but that was normal. That was a relief indeed.

"Great job guys, synergy for the win!"

[Ookawa]

With the bonebird breaking apart, Tomo landed back on Sera's left shoulder while she started at the boy, who had, once again, fallen asleep. She shook her head and walked towards him. How could he be sleeping that much? Mostly ignoring the rest of her surroundings Sera continued to curiously stare and glare at the sleeping boy basically trying her hardest not to smack him awake or something like that. Clearly Sera loved her little pranks, but this time the opportunity of annoying the boy was denied by his dragon creature.
"Aw...", she pronounced in disappointment when he woke up.

Still ignoring the muchroom-man, or not acknowledging its existence, she closed in on her seemingly dazed companion and punched him, softly though, in his shoulder from behind. "Yo! We never really had the chance to introduce ourselves. I'm Sera, just Sera, hi!"
She also waved at Nikki and repeated her name towards her, not knowing if she knew her or not.

[Tombprince]

Blin "Brytag" Alborse

The little dragon had seen the girl with fiery bird, had rapped Blin on the forehead as she appoarched.

"Aw...", she pronounced in disappointment when he woke up.

"I'm awake." blin blinked a few times.

Kal was moved up to Blin's shoulder as he greeted the girl. He grinned at her, "Hi just Sera. I'm Blin" He was completely oblivious to his little dragon, it sat there glaring at Sera as gently punched his shoulder. "That thing could have killed us all, no-way I'm doing that again." He looked at his improvised staff that was weilded as a spear, it was now a third of its length and didn't look like it could strike any more blows. Unless something was vunerable to a splinter attack. While Blin tossed the wood to one side, Kal made a subtle movement towards Sera before backing off, it still watched her closely but seemed a litle more relaxed that no harm came to Blin.

Blin turned to the fallen boney bird, looked at the second and finally at the mushroom person. He tried his best to decide if he should ask about the new creature that lived in this strange forest or go for the sword. He still felt the connection to it, but with Sera and Nikki both being much capable in a fight than himself, could he he any claim over it?

"That..." he tried at the same time to gesture to both the bird with the sword and the mushroom creature at the same time. His arms did a strange dance almost unseating Kal. The white scaled beast once more dug it's claws into Blin to hold on, giving a tiny sigh at the same time. "..ow" Sera moved over to Nikki to greet her and Blin followed, her antics in the fight were on par with Eli. He wondered if two of them were actually related.

[shylarah]

Nikki hadn’t exactly meant to kill the strange bird-thing, just pin it so it wouldn’t go flying and hurling boulders, so when it collapsed entirely she was rather surprised. “Well, I suppose that works,” she murmured to her lizardly friend as she got to her feet. She’d have a nice bruise on her knee but aside from that she was unscathed. The others seemed more or less alright as well. Someone was cheering at their success, and the magpie was introducing herself as Sera. Nikki couldn’t help but grin as Blin, now awake again after his fainting spell (really? /really/, Blin?) made the joke she’d wanted to make. “Yeah well, that’s what heroes do, right? I mean, we’re all fine. Heya, Sera, I’m Nikki~” The young woman started to offer a hand to shake, but a glint in the pile of bones caught her eye and distracted her before the other girl could accept. Something shiny. “Oh hey, what’s that?”

It was just a pile of bones, not really a corpse, and she’d gone through bones of animals when exploring the islands anyhow. So it was a simple matter for the teen to shove them out of the way and reveal a sword. “Hey Blank, come look at this!” she called. “That bony bird had a sword in it! I wonder if that’s normal for them.” Curiosity sent her over to the second pile of debris, and moments later she triumphantly held up a key. “Ooh, I wonder what it goes to? It looks like some stuff I’ve seen in the ruins....”

But there were no locks anywhere around, so she tucked the key away and took a good look around. It seemed most of them had an animal companion now. Blank had a cold-looking wolf, Sera a flaming bird. Blin had a winged lizard too, though his Kal didn’t have the feathers and frills of her friend. She should come up with a name at some point, Nikki reflected, giving her partner a scratch on the chin. And Eli...oh. oh dear.

“PFFT Ahaha~” Maybe it wasn’t very nice, but she and Eli were rivals, and /she/ had a fierce bird lizard and he had -- “A fire mouse!” Grinning fit to split her face, the young woman came up to her friend and looked at the glowing rodent. “Aww, just look at da widdle cutie~” She giggled. “Just like you, Eli~”

[Rekaigan]

Rahna Altema

---

Rahna was quite excited by Gaius' eagerness to investigate what was going on. She followed the tall knight through the thick forest, however the terrain was getting the better of her for the most part. After all, this place was much denser than the plantations she took care of back home. 'And a lot more unkempt..' she thought right after she tripped over a tree root that protruded out of the soil.

Dusting herself off, she continued along the path they were taking, the path was slightly cleared since a boulder had been moved, thrown to the side. A sign that someone was already here. She didn't have much time to think about it, because something small and red caught her eye as it ran passed them. Rahna instantly stopped and turned investigate what that was... It was a mushroom...? with legs.. and a loincloth? 'What on earth..?'

She had forgotten to tell Gaius what she was about to do, letting him run off to wherever. The girl went after the mushroom, her curiosity flooding over. She soon reached the log that it hid in and took a peek inside. "Hello? Mister Mushroom?" She called out. She suddenly felt a weight on her shoulders, causing her to look away from the log for a moment. Her ghostly friend had formed into the most adorable and strange fox she had ever seen. The herbs that grew on it's back were familiar to her. Mint. Mint was used to calm the nerves and settle your stomach after a big meal. Maybe it was growing it as a reaction to what's going on?

Rahna noticed that it was looking at something, or rather sensing something. It's ears were perked up and it's neck was somewhat straight. "What's the matter, friend?" She inquired. Of course she didn't really expect much of a response from an animal. No matter how fascinating it was.

[LostBrotherGrimm]

Eli Wyn

As soon as Nikki had approached Eli, the little fellow on his shoulder tried to burrow itself into Eli's clothes. The little mouse seemed to be shy, which was an interesting trait considering it was paired with Eli. Paired? Were they even paired by some rule, or was it luck of the draw type of thing? Eli had no answer to that question and was even less to find one considering Nikki was standing in front of him, distracting him from the matter at hands. "It is always the little ones that end up destroying mountains!" He said, but felt his face grow a bit red. Whether she was acting as if he was a little kid, it was still a compliment. From a girl.

"Shake it off, Eli" he mumbled to himself before he shifted his attention to his small partner. Mostly to distract himself from Nikki at hand. He had no way to get one on Nikki and her winged lizard. Not yet. She won this one.

"Don't worry, little one. She doesn't bite. I think. Besides, she is more likely to focus her attention on me than you, so you'll be safe for a while." Eli talked to his little furry fellow, trying to think of a proper name. "I should call you something, shouldn't I? Unless you already have a name?" He asked, leaning in closer, as if the mouse was whispering something to him. He acted out the best shocked face he could before shooting a glare in Nikki's direction. "Say what?! he proclaimed, his mouth wide open. Jaw dropped all the way to the floor. "Your people called you the Blood Terror of The Night Sky?!?! Amazing! Terror it is!" He beamed a grin as he quickly shuffled away from Nikki.

"Bro! So good to see you're fine. I was worried for a second there, but I should've known you can handle yourself." Eli cheerfully said as he got near Blin, punching him in the shoulder. Then, in a split second, his gaze moved towards Sir Shroom. "Death to the Chimes! Death to the Chimes!" Eli started chanting, Terror soon following with tiny squeaks of its own. "Although... would you mind explaining to us...

The hell are those Chimes?"

@shylarah@tombprince

[chukklehed]

"They seem to be either reanimated giant birds or some kind of naturally occuring golem with a talent for levitation magics." Blank said, wiping the blade of his sword on his sleeve before returning it to his sheath. He walked from his pile of bone dust to join the others around Blin's, plucking the key from Nikki's distracted fingers as he went.

"Last time I let you hold something we found, you 'accidentally' dropped it off a cliff. We were searching for hours." He turned and crouched to meet his Wolf companion, gently tracing a finger across the ice that already encased the creature's wounds. Satisfied they weren't life threatening, he returned his eyes to the key, turning it so it caught the sunlight.

"A free prize with every kill, huh? I suppose these Chimes are like any other bird, gathering anything that catches their eye. Do they have nests then I wonder? If so, they must be filled with valuable metals and gemstones. I wonder what this goes to?" The swordsman turned the key over and over in his hands, looking for distinguishing marks that would tell him the keys purpose.

[tex]

Gaius Stronurr

_{The Forest Floor}

The difficulties ahead did little to dissuade Gaius in his romp across the forest floor. He lept and bounded across vines and brambles without trouble, and crushed anything that might've halted a smaller man's stride. His breath was stronger than he'd expected it to be. It made everything around him seem virtually insignificant! The upturned boulder poised no questions from him, he merely imagined smashing it to tiny bits with his bastard sword. Thoughts of golems controlled by earth-mages rang through his head as he pictured himself thrashing an entire army of the wretched constructs, what fun! He was far too distracted to notice the little red-capped mushroom man scurry past him, and the clanking of his armor drowned out anything Rahna had to say at first. Within moments, she'd been lost to him, left behind in the heat of his heavy sprint.

It didn't take long for him to notice the large chimes in the distance, barely visible through the thickness of the forest. He slowed his pace with a sluggish clattering and lowered his body. Placing one hand on the hilt of his sword, Gaius watched carefully, and waited for a moment to strike. Those fragile creatures were no match for him!

"Kiikii!" The little faerie dragon cooed quietly, hovering by Gaius' desheveled cheek and looking in the same direction as him. He turned towards it and cocked one eyebrow back. The little creature did the same and cooed again. "Kiio."

"What in the king's name is with this forest? Leave me alone, little one!" He hissed, swatting the dragon away. The little creature sifted through his hand motions skillfully and nuzzled against his rough cheek. He shook his off and pushed it away with his armored hand. "Bloody- Eh?" A clamor of bones and rock pulled his attention back to the clearing nearby. One of the creatures was dispatched, and soon after, so was the other. He caught a glimpse of some sort of wolf, and... Blank!?

Gaius rushed his way into the clearing, crushing branches and tearing vines as he struggled into plain view with a loud clattering of metal. "Aye!" He shouted, bursting into sight with all sorts of softer plant life clinging to his armor's joints. Though, without his helmet, Gaius felt practically naked as he noticed that nearly everyone from the survey group had ended up in this clearing. The small faerie dragon fluttered its way towards his messy hair and plopped right on top of his head with a harmless buzzing noise. Gaius looked over the scene, noticing the mushroom people scurrying about and speaking nonsense that he didn't bother to acknowledge.

"Aye..." He mumbled, "Must've hit my head harder than I thought.."

[Tombprince]

Blin "Brytag" Alborse Eli Wyn

Blin grinned as Eli approached him and punched him, in a friendly manner, in his shoulder. Kal moved to the other side, carefully keeping its own eyes on the red furred little mouse creature. Blin clapped his iwn hand on Eli's shoulder.

"It's great to see you made it down...."

"Yes," Eli replied with a nod of his own, his expression growing serious for a few moments, "Now we miss only one - I hope she's okay. I really hop-" As he was about to finish, a shuffling sensation cut him off.

A blur of white, and Kalikorix had shot from Blin's shoulder and ran along his arm onto Eli, the red fox-mouse squeaked a battlecry of pure terror and startled from its hiding place began to shoot around Eli's upper torso. Kal followed swiftly but not as fast, its wings seemed to impede its speed as it raced to follow.

Blin took his arm back in shock at Kal's action and stared to speak when he noticed something subtle about the chase. Kal was losing ground. No the mouse-fox was gaining it. The distances between the two altered and all of a sudden Blood Terror of the Night Sky was chasing Kalikorix the White Dragon around.

"What the...."

Kal had suddenly leapt from Eli and glided to Blin's shoulder, Blood Terror in sheer abandon jumped the distance to follow. They did one pass around Blin's shoulders before Kal's claw dug into Blin's shoulder and it tipped over onto its back. Kal back legs clawed into the cloth Blin was wearing and a little into his flesh (again) and its front legs splayed up and outwards. Blood Terror ran into Kal, it squeaked shrilly once again and darted it's tiny head about looking for escape.

Both the friends companions were breathing heavily and Kal's head drooped backward on its long flexible neck before its eyes closed and its panting began gentle snores. Its two front legs didn't exactly grip the scared mouselike creature, more like gave it a hug.

"...Hell?" Eli finished Blin's sentence as he watched the race unfold. The two seemed to be getting along and it actually looked as if their respective companions held some traits similar to their owners - if that's what Blin and Eli even were to them. Eli approached the fiery mouse, before gently taking it away from the "death" hug of the White Dragon. "Rest a bit, furry." Eli said with a smile, as he put it into the front pocket of his shirt.

[Mokley]

"Great job guys, synergy for the win!"

"Yo! We never really had the chance to introduce ourselves. I'm Sera, just Sera, hi!"

"Hi just Sera. I'm Blin. That thing could have killed us all, no-way I'm doing that again."

"Heya, Sera, I’m Nikki~ Oh hey, what’s that? Hey Blank, come look at this! That bony bird had a sword in it! I wonder if that’s normal for them.” Curiosity sent her over to the second pile of debris, and moments later she triumphantly held up a key. “Ooh, I wonder what it goes to? It looks like some stuff I’ve seen in the ruins....”

Blank walked from his pile of bone dust to join the others around Blin's, plucking the key from Nikki's distracted fingers as he went. "A free prize with every kill, huh? I suppose these Chimes are like any other bird, gathering anything that catches their eye. Do they have nests then I wonder? If so, they must be filled with valuable metals and gemstones. I wonder what this goes to?"

Eli's gaze moved towards Sir Shroom. "Death to the Chimes! Death to the Chimes!" Eli started chanting, Terror soon following with tiny squeaks of its own. "Although... would you mind explaining to us...The hell are those Chimes?"

Gaius looked over the scene, noticing the mushroom people scurrying about and speaking nonsense that he didn't bother to acknowledge. "Aye..." He mumbled, "Must've hit my head harder than I thought.."

A colorful quiet drifted peacefully throughout the oversized forest; in the absence of the Chimes, birds began once again to warble and argue in the boughs overhead. Bushes shifted and rustled as woodland creatures scurried by; a trio of deer emerged from under the draping leaves to chew at the sprightly grasses on a hill a short distance away.

The key in Blank's palm was very old, and appeared to have been molded by hand and crafted out of crude brass. Instead of teeth, there was a single metal panel that was punched through with tiny symbols: stars and squares and triangles. The bow of the key was an ornately carved knot of three winding lines. It was, altogether, as big as Blank's hand and unusually heavy for its size.

The little mushroom-man hopped to the ground and grinned toothlessly up at Eli. "I dunno! They just showed up last night!" He waved his little arms in confusion. "There was a flash and a boom and everything shivered and then a whole flock of them bony-birds swooped in and started grabbing people and flinging rocks around like they owned the place! I call them Chimes, but I dunno what they are really. There's more than those, I know that, but at least two down, right?"

He'd barely finished speaking when he scrambled and waddled straight at Sera, excited to get in on all this introduction business that was going on without him. "Hi Sera, I'm Kipkik, just Kip! I like your dreamwisp! Very fwooshy!"

He rushed over to Blin and hopped for attention. "Hi Blin, I'm Kip! You're very sleepy aren't you? Ask your dreamwisp not to eat me okay?"

With a waddle and a toddle of his big capped head, he tugged on Nikki's pantleg. "Hi Nikki, I'm Kip! I like your dreamwisp too! Very fluttery! Do you like shiny things?"

He didn't wait for an answer before he waddled off toward Blank -- but he got one good look at that wolf and hesitated fearfully. "Nice puppy!" He didn't move too close, and finally decided to skip over to Gaius, where he knocked on the knight's boot.

"Hi! I'm Kip! What's your name, mister tin man? Your dreamwisp is very pretty!" Kip was so enamored and excited by the prospect of making all these new friends that he didn't consider actually stopping for conversation.

He hopped and waved his little arms. "Hey! Hey Eli! Hey Sera! Hey Blin! Hey Nikki! Hey wolf-guy! Hey tin man! Are you from the island? Are you islanders? From the sky! From the village in the clouds! Huh? Yeah! You're sky-people!" He laughed joyously and ran in circles. "Sky people! Sky people! I have sky-people friends!" He stopped after a moment and sat down, huffing. "But what are sky people doing here? Did you fall?"

Rahna went after the mushroom, her curiosity flooding over. She soon reached the log that it hid in and took a peek inside. "Hello? Mister Mushroom?"

The mushroom stared at her from within the dark log -- and after a few moments, slowly crawled closer. "Hello." It was a small, almost childish voice. He slowly reached out and gripped the edge of the hole in the log, and poked his lopsided capped head out, peering up at Rahna with beetle-black eyes. "You're weird. Are you going to eat me?" His eyes lifted to the strange fox at Rahna's shoulder. "Is your dreamwisp going to eat me? I'm not very good."

He crawled out entirely, slow and miserable as if accepting his fate, certain he was about to be eaten.

The forest around them was deep and enormous; pools of light shone down between the magnificent leaves and powerful branches of the trees that towered overhead. Everything was bright green, pocked occasionally by violet blooms and red petals; and blue, white-flowered vines that wrapped trunks and upturned boulders like neat packages. The birds and wildlife had begun to sing and skitter again, now that the chaos of the crashing rocks had been silenced.

The fox at Rahna's shoulder had noticed -- but had not understood -- an aura of energy that surrounded a distant statue, half hidden behind flowered foliage. The energy didn't change, and there was nothing suspicious or dangerous about it, so the fox was inclined to relax.

The little mushroom squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable.

[Tombprince]

Blin "Brytag" Alborse

It made sense, that hollow noise that they had made on appoarching them the first time, so may as well call them Chimes. Blim calming stroked Kal's belly as the tiny dragon slept, it mewed and hugged his finger in sleep and grinned as Eli took Blood Terror away. "they are quite the pair." he said and turned as the mushroom-man waddled up them both.

He hopped for attention. "Hi Blin, I'm Kip! You're very sleepy aren't you? Ask your dreamwisp not to eat me okay?"

Dreamwisp? "Well I called..." kip had already waddled away. Did he dream it real? He did vaugely remember a dream, it seemed ages ago, about flying on a great dragon. He looked at the sleeping dragon again, Kal was bigger in his dreams though, but a dragon and Kal in both were they not just as intelligent.

"Eli, is Blood Terror okay? I mean was he upset when Nikki came over?" He didn't want to upset her, she had after all saved him several times, and there was something....Blin looked away before he could red "Just asking, because Kal seems to enjoying pinching mefar too much." He gently unhooked Kalikorix and turned the dragon over so it sleep in the crook of his arm.

Kip was speaking again to everyone, Blin was going to answer when Kip's last words clicked in his head. "Fall? I crashed actually. oh crap, my gear. We need to go back, I got some supplies that could be useful." He couldn't remember if they were crushed, and if they weren't he couldn't remember what was even in there. "I think."

[Rekaigan]

Rahna Altema

---

She watched as the mushroom approached her. 'Oh my gosh, it's so cuuute~' She thought. Rahna couldn't help but giggle at what the mushroom man had said. "Eat you? No I won't~!" she replied with a warm, cheerful smile on her face. She had backed away slightly from the log to give the animated mushroom some room to breath, she didn't want to seem threatening or anything like that. She stroked the head of the fox that sat on her shoulder, "You mean Clover? No, he won't eat you either~" She added as she gingerly plucked a mint leaf from her companion's back. She held it out to the bipedal mushroom, "Here, this should help calm your nerves."

Talking mushrooms and large bone-y birds. This forest was quite a wondrous place. Rahna slowly stood up, her eyes taking in the surroundings. It was much more peaceful now that the monsters were gone and the sounds of conflict had faded away. Her gaze fell upon something in the distance.. A statue of some sort, although it was hard to see since it was half covered in flowers. She somehow felt that the statue had an energy around it, but it wasn't dangerous at all. She wanted to go take a closer look.

She turned to the mushroom man with a smile, "Well, since we're the only ones here, it's best that we stay together right? I'm going to go look at the statue, want to come with me?"