Zephyr

[COLOR="DarkRed"]The night-darkened silhouettes of cars blurred past as the motorcycle weaved through traffic at lightning speeds. At the controls was Andrej, grinning like a madman and ready to let out a howl of excitement that even his helmet would be unlikely to contain. At this point he wasn't even sure where he was anymore, as he had decided to just take off in a direction and see where he wound up. It was just the way he liked it. Wild, random, unexpected, and just barely within his control. A few days back he had actually had a plan. He was going to base jump off of a large cliff in an area now completely distant from his current location. Rumor had it that the spot was one of the best, and worst, to jump from. A real thrill ride. Just one problem with that thought. It seemed that everyone else had gotten the memo as well. By the time Andrej got there numerous others had arrived and were jumping as well. Too many to make it any fun. Why bother with the jump if it was so easy that anyone could do it? Andrej's thoughts on the subject found themselves abruptly halted by a familiar red-blue light show in his mirrors. [i]Finally, something interesting.[/i] Backing off on the throttle just a hair allowed the police car to make it's way closer to Andrej's bike. When it was just a few car lengths back he kicked the throttle up, and the sporty little crotch-rocket launched itself forward. Even on a normal motorcycle this would have been fun, but Andrej had made a few improvements. Lately he seemed to have a sub-conscious drive to amp up his normal toys in ways he did not even know he knew how to change. The chase persisted for a good half an hour, with Andrej toying with the officer through a cat and mouse game. After a few more units joined the fun he figured it would be best to make himself invisible for a bit, and worked his way off the highway and back into town. He had no idea where he was, but he did know one thing: it was time for a beer. Stopping off at the first dive bar he could find Andrej approached the bartender, pausing a moment as a news report on TV caught his ear. "... were attacked by a rabid dog in the park this afternoon. The dog was put down by police at the scene, and the young girl was rushed to hospital. Tragically, the animal control offic....." "Wild dog attacks? Sounds like a rough town." Andrej half-laughed and muttered something to himself in his native tongue before turning back to the bar. "Give me a glass of the worst tasting shit you've to on tab, ja?"[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Let us hope that lovely Baal sense of smell stays strong. I want the last thing they all smell to be scent of grease and exhaust fumes as one of my "toys" decides to hello. Maybe I'll install a grill on it, and see if clan Baal really does taste like chicken. As for you, oh mighty masters of the sky, clan Chronos. Keep your lofty perch while you can. Who needs wings to pluck you from it anyway? They say "The sky's the limit." Too bad for you that limit is still too close. Bang![/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor, misguided Sins. However there is nothing to worry about, when the Reshef win out in the end we will still show mercy and keep you alive. :devil: Test subjects will always be needed, after all. Heh heh, nothing like a pre-fight warm-up by running one's mouth, eh? Looking forward to when this one starts. I already have a few ideas that I can't wait to try out.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"] [I]“Andrej Radko Marek, born October 5th, 1980 in Czechoslovakia, your hometown now part of the Czech Republic. Immigrated to Germany with family at the age of seven, where your parents took up legitimate jobs and you took up being a maniac and a public menace.” The police officer standing over Andrej slammed the file he was holding down on the unsteady metal desk, the rattling of the parts reverberated off the cinderblock walls of the room. “You’ve made a name for yourself as a daredevil, a stuntman, and the unofficial icon of numerous rebellious teens who think that yelling ‘fuck you’ to the cops and society is a game.” “Your disregard for the safety of others, through what I can only guess is a personal death wish, has created havoc in the streets. And the things we can only guess are your doing are worse still. Ignorant and impressionable teens have been injured from copying your stunts with homemade equipment meant to mimic yours. Just last week a student broke his leg jumping from a roof with a pale imitation of some parachute/suit rig you blatantly displayed in an illegal base jump a few countries away.” The officer finally sat down, if only to glare at Andrej from across the table. “For the life of me I don’t know why you are not behind bars for reckless endangerment of everyone on the roads around you, or why you haven’t splattered yourself on the pavement from the street racing or the base jumping. Know this though, if not for the fact that you were picked up for missing a payment on a speeding ticket I would make sure you were locked up.” Standing up the now clearly irate man walked to door and opened, gesturing for Andrej to leave. “Pay the clerk on the way out.” Andrej simply smiled and nodded, “Good day, officer,” on his way out. [/I] Okay, that was just a short intro, so here is the meat & potatoes of the character: [B] Name[/B]: Andrej Rako Marek [B]Age[/B]: 28 [B]Nationality (of birth)[/B]: Czechoslovakian [B]Nationality (residence)[/B]: Northern Germany [B]Personality[/B]: Andrej is wild-man, the kind that prefers to drive faster, jump farther, and land harder than anyone else. He only ever seems to follow the rules that he thinks have meaning or won’t restrict him from his fun. Rarely bothering to think ahead he will run straight into anything he finds interesting and dangerous, though he shows an innate talent in being cautious and in control of such situations. His love of tinkering with machines and building his own “toys” has brought him a lot of attention as well. [B]Appearance[/B]: [URL="http://media.photobucket.com/image/cyberpunk/finalefanatic/Cyberpunk_Mercenary_by_Rive6.jpg?o=180"]Andrej[/URL] (subtract the guns, not his style) [B]Clan and Abilities[/B]: Andrej’s blood hails from the clan Reshef. He is currently coming into the realization that he can deconstruct any mechanical or electrical system and rebuild it into something new with a mere thought. Mass and component materials stay the same, so he cannot turn a flashlight into a lightsaber, but he can take household lightbulbs and turn the filaments into a heat-bearing garrote (for instance). In time his talents with develop further in a way that will allow him to selectively merge with machines or other man-made tools. Effectively grafting these parts to his own skin or organs, while able to be removed at will. Just imagine turning a few steak knife blades into a decent recreation of Wolverine’s blades, or fusing a pair of night-vision goggles right into your eyes. [B]---"Deus Ex Machina? A god from the machine? Ha! I am to the machine what God is to the pious."---[/B][/COLOR] OOC: Please let me know if you have any issues with sign-up itself, and I will do my best to correct them.

OOC: Okay, it was not my intent to miss out on this for a whole week. Sorry about that. Been a bit wild around here lately. [COLOR="DarkRed"]In a corner of the small dining area in which both the werewolves and vampires had gather sat the smallest member of the the group. Phelan was leaning up against the wall, notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, observing the group and noting down any manner of information. On occasion he would break for just long enough to grab something to eat from the plate piled high with food that was sitting next to him. [I]Auron, claims to be the Alpha of the vampires, however Terral is the one leading this whole group right now. Interesting social structure, note to look into it later. Tense mood in the area, expected from this kind of union, though our Alpha seems to be adjusting to working with Auron rather well. Good? Bad? To be seen. Talos was causing trouble again, no big shock there. Wish he'd get his act together and take something serious for once. Kurai was late, odd for her. Still got here in time to see the "pet" that Terral keeps. Seems to be adapting to the group as well, currently out "playing" with a vampire, think I heard the name Zen.[/I] Noticing the lack of food on his plate at this stage Phelan closed the notebook and stood up to grab more, stopping for a moment to notice for the first time that the ground seemed cold against his bare feet. Before he had the chance to obtain more food, however, the door to the room burst open and Terral appeared, complaining about the missing members of the group before disappearing out of the door again. Phelan just sighed to himself and started making his way back to the food.[/COLOR] OOC: The italics are for the writings in the notebook. Just think random notes scribbled around the page.

OOC: Knuckle's girl, I was not sure how you were planning on running the werewolf forms, so I assumed being able to change forms (human to werewolf, maybe by choice) when I wrote this. Please let me know if you want that changed. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Name: Phelan (Werewolf, saw nowhere to put this) Age: 89 Birth age (Age you were turned): 13 Appearance: (Human Form) Having been turned at a young age Phelan has maintained the natural height and appearance of a 13 year-old child. A deep look into his emerald-green eyes will show a much older view of the world however. His jet-black hair is cut short, and years of training has left him with a decent muscular build. A simple combination of blue jeans and a plain red T-Shirt are all he ever seems to need, forgoing even shoes most of the time. (Werewolf form) Phelan?s size doubles, making him smaller than a normal werewolf, and his fur maintains the same black color as his human form?s hair. His eyes seem to reflect or emit a yellowish glow. Gender: Male Weapon (if any): Phelan really prefers to uses his natural strengths and weapons for combat, as his small stature affords good maneuverability. On occasion he uses a special pair of elbow length gloves, which tie tightly to his arms (to prevent slipping), and are covered in small, razor-sharp blades around the forearm areas. Personality: Being raised early on to hate vampires Phelan has a natural distain for them, however decades of experience has softened his distain to a degree. Thanks to this he has been able to set aside his differences, for the most part, to face a greater threat. Overall Phelan is quiet, picking an observer method, and allowing his perceived ?elders? (read: adults, in there minds) take the lead if they so wish. If things look dire he will likely step forward, and hope that people listen to a ?child?. [/COLOR]

The sound of footfalls was the only thing that broke the silence of the hallway as Engel walked quietly away from the cell he had previously occupied. His back still ached from the earlier experiment, and now his empty stomach was beginning to follow suit. Deciding that at least one of the problems could be solved he now made his way towards the building cafeteria. Echoes of conversations floated down the hallway as Engel got closer, and a few heads turned for a moment at his arrival before going back to eating or talking. Grabbing a few small things to eat he sat down at an empty table and started to think. By now the rest of the group was long gone, hopefully successfully achieving their task, and that left him wondering what was going to happen as a result of being left out of this one. OOC: Sorry for the long disappearance, but the last month has been hectic and not playing nicely. Nessaja, this post is a bit short, but hopefully serves it's purpose of showing that I am not out of the RPG yet.

Muuh Puar, in the sign-up's Writing Snippet I posted I hinged a few things on the underlying behaviors of elementals based on their element. Hopefully this doesn't contradict anything you had in mind (if so let me know and I can work something else out), they are just the way I have alway seen elemental represented. Their underlying behavior is tied to the "meanings" of their element. Usually this is how I have seen it broken down: Air/Wind: Free-spirits, emotionally lofty and playful Earth: Spirits of stability, emotionally calm and thoughtful Fire: Anarchic spirits, emotionally high-strung and wild Water: Adaptive spirits, emotionally changing (mixes of various emotions) Those are just basics descriptions. Generally if you can think of what each of the elements tends to represent and put an emotion/behavior behind it that is how I've seen elementals represented.

OOC: Ah, a chance to dig one of my old characters out of storage (just wish I remembered the original name). Let me know if there are any issues with the sign-up. [B]Name[/B]: Isha (pronounced: EE-Sha) Bladescale [B]Age and Gender[/B]: 68, Male [B]Race & Class[/B]: Beast-Man (Serpent), assassin/untouchable (lowest of the low caste, not trusted by the higher castes and deemed only barely above the level of livestock) [B]Alignment[/B]: Self-aligned. Fights for whatever he decides to believe in. [B] Company[/B]: Normally travels in groups out of necessity, however he has recently found himself in the company of a very young Sylph (air elemental) whom he calls by the name Aria (as she seems to speak only in melodic song tones). Aria has the appearance of a human girl, around 5-7 years of age, pale skin and white hair with ice blue eyes. She wears a simple white dress and a pair of red dress-shoes. Aria carries no weapons, though she may have a few natural techniques that are better than weapons. [B]Appearance[/B]: Isha stands at a height of 5’ 7” and has the look of a man in his mid-twenties (slower aging). For his size his arms and legs seem disproportionately long and thin, and his fingers are about half-again as long as a normal human’s fingers. The skin on Isha’s back between his neck, arms and legs, and stretching around the front of torso, and down to the back of his hands and top of his feet, is formed of blood-red scales similar to those of a snake. Portions of his forehead and face have the same scales, though they are a bit more blended with the skin. Both of his eyes are a vibrant yellow color and have the iconic “snake-eye slit” to them. Usually hidden behind a closed mouth are elongated canines (teeth that is) and a disturbingly long and agile tongue (no jokes). No hair grows on his head, which is instead covered with the same scales as most of his face. Isha’s normal attire tends to be a simple red hooded cloak and dark-brown cotton shirt/pants combination. [B]Personality[/B]: Very quiet and watchful. Isha doesn’t tend to speak often, and can more often than not be seen watching the behaviors of others from a distance. When he does speak it is generally a toss-up between a meaningful input, or a slightly twisted remark or action which finds itself based in an urge to watch people cringe (out of a sadistic sense of humor). Despite having many of the qualities of a loner, primarily out of self-preservation, Isha seems to be protective of Aria and has been known to be aggressive to anyone that threatens her in any way. By the same token, anyone that Aria shows a liking to can find an ally in Isha. [B]Weapons/Magic[/B]: Isha’s only weapons are his natural abilities. Extremely dexterous joints, slightly enhanced senses, and venom glands tied to the elongated canines in his mouth. To increase his natural abilities Isha has trained in a few varieties of martial arts, both offensive and defensive in form. To aid his abilities without using weapons Isha has trained in a few incantations. The first increases his speed and strength, the second gives his skin mimetic properties, and the third allows him to reshape the scales on his body into blades no longer than six inches in length. [B]Writing Sample[/B]: Laughter mixed with a light melodic sound echoed through the small clearing in the forest. Isha sat at the edge of the clearing against a tree and stared out at the center of a small pond which had formed in the clearing some time ago. His attention was focused less on the pod itself than on the young girl in white dancing across the surface of the water. The girl’s pure white hair and dress twirled through the air as she spun on the tip of her toes with an unnatural grace that even a ballerina could never hope to mimic. Isha smiles slightly as the beauty of her laughter/singing, but his mood was cut short by a feeling that something was not right. Standing up he called across the pond. “Aria, it’s time to go.” He spoke in a calm voice, trying not to sound like he knew something was wrong. Hearing his words the young Sylph stopped mid-dance and stood on the water for a second looking disappointed, only to smile the next instant and start skipping in Isha’s direction. She was almost to the water’s edge when she stopped, pointed past Isha, and let out a discordant screech of alarm. Isha spun around and found himself face to face with two earth elementals, one appearing male and one female. Both had taken on a look like that of the trees around them. Their skin was make of bark that seemed to flow like silk, their hair a cascade of leaves down their backs, and “clothing” made of jade green moss. Both looked at Isha with eyes that seemed to glow with the embers of a small forest fire, an oddity amongst elemental of this nature that showed their age and power. After a moment the female elemental spoke up. “Return the Sylph to her own kind, Child of the Beasts.” Her tone was commanding, but not aggressively so. “We have not qualms with you, however you are not the right kind to be teaching her. She needs to learn from her own kin.” Having spent much time in the wilderness that was his home Isha knew a few basics about elementals. One of the biggest being their natural affinity for the essence or meanings of their element, especially among the elders. In the case of earth elementals this meant a strong tie to feelings of stability and natural order. They had less intention of taking Aria away because she was with a Beast-man than doing so because it was more natural to have her with her own kind. Perhaps this knowledge is what kept him from feeling threatened by the pair. As he spoke he looked the female elemental in the eyes, trying to push back the overwhelming feeling to look away from one with such a high stature. “With all do respect, Elder, Aria has chosen to follow me of her own volition. I have neither forced her nor have I coerced her into staying with me. From the very start it was her choice to remain at my side.” It was getting hard to remain still and looking at the elemental as he spoke. She never moved or did anything to seem pressuring, however her mere presence was commanding. “I understand that your kind has a preference for the natural order, which in this case means Aria learning from her own kind, however Sylphs are free spirits, able to decide their fate almost from the moment they are born…” Isha paused for a moment, “…from what I understand of them, that is, Elder. If that is truly the case, then is it not her decision on whether or not to return with you?” There was a long pause from the female elemental as she turned to look at her companion. Neither of them uttered a word, but it was likely they were talking to each other regardless. During that time Aria approached Isha and stood next to him, clutching his sleeve lightly. After several minutes the elemental turned back and looked at Isha, then looked down at Aria. She held her hand out to Aria in a clear ‘follow me’ gesture, and Aria merely clutched tightly onto Isha’s sleeve. The elemental lower her arm and looked Isha in the eyes. “You understand a bit more about elementals than I would give you credit for, Child of the Beasts, and you are right that she has the option to decide. This trial is over. Aria, as you have taken to calling her, may stay with you. Know that your actions with her will be watched so long as you are in our forest.” With that both earth elementals turned and walked deeper into the forest, out of Isha’s sight.

I was hoping to get a reply post from Lunar, though it seems she may have dropped. I'll ask her, and if that's the case I'll think on a post that gets things rolling again. With luck things will pick back up.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]I have no issues with having my character brought along, though in the post I have had it suggested that he not do so (mostly because of current condition). As of yet I am not sure where it will go, but I think after Lunar posts it may help with direction, since she is one half of the scene going on there.[/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Engel looked to other side of the cell where his dark-skinned cell mate lay, restless trying to move. A look of sadness, cut occasionally by a twitch from the pain in his back, crossed his face at the look of her plight. Where he had been shackled down by force she had been effectively shackled down by the serum they had given her. Engel opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of the cell's door opening. From outside two men in white uniforms, wearing white masks and carrying leather bags, stepped in and split off to either side of the cell. Both of the proceeded to start taking medical measurements of Engel and the young girl. Heart rate, blood pressure, and a list of other tests. At the same time they asked a barrage of questions regarding how either of them felt, what pain where they experiencing, so on and so forth for what seemed like hours. When all was said and done both turned toward Engel and the one who had been taking his measurements spoke to him. "We've been ordered to release your bindings, but due to your behavior earlier we wont take any chances. I'm going to be holding your head and body down to keep you from getting out of control. Do you understand?" Engel managed a quiet "Yes", his voice sounding ragged. As he said that the man placed one hand on his head, holding it firmly to the pillow, and one knee against his lower back, pinning him down while the other one removed the bindings on his wrists. Once he was done the first man stepped down and helped Engel into a sitting position while the other one left the cell momentarily to retrieve a pair of water buckets which he set next to each bed. "There have been orders for the Geist-Jugend to move out on a mission," the man spoke loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the cell. "However due to your current state you are not required to leave, and as a medical professional I would advise you not to. The same goes for both of you." With that he stood up and tossed a pair of cloths on Engel's bed. "Take some time to wash up and decide," he said as he took his leave. Looking down at his reflection in the water's surface for a moment Engel thought about what was just mentioned. After a moment or two of contemplation his attention turned to the blood still staining his hands and arms. The blood was his own, he knew that, but he still felt like it was tainted with the blood of others, and his reflection seemed to mock him for it. Those thoughts were broken as he dunked his hands into the bucket, and washed the blood and the memories away. As his mind cleared he remembered the girl on the other side of the cell and looked up at her. She was still working to get up, and having little luck with it. Standing up, despite the arching pain his back, Engel made his way over and wordlessly placed an arm behind her shoulders to help her up. [/COLOR] OOC: Lunar, I'll leave it open here just so that I am not forcing your character's next action.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]A scream of fear echoed through the small confines of the cell and was followed shortly thereafter by heavy rapid breaths. Engel looked around the room, trying to get his bearings, as the effects of the nightmare wore off. As the fear faded from his mind he tried to reach over to wipe the sweat from his brow, only to find that his hand would not move. Once more he was gripped by fear as he noticed his wrists were bound, holding him securely face-down on the bed. "Please remain calm," a voice from overhead crackled through the room's speaker. "We had to restrain you so that you did not harm yourself." Engel was confused for a moment by that last part. How could have hurt himself? The nightmares were bad, but never that bad. As these thoughts, and many others, flooded his mind a sharp pain in his arms became apparent to him. Looking over as best he could Engel noticed the shredded remains of his shirt, still hanging partially off of his shoulders and back, and the dried blood around the cuts on his upper arms. Cuts that looked like they were made by finger's scraped against flesh. A quick glance at his blood-caked fingertips confirmed this. "It seems the serum was not effective, and had strong side-effects." The voice was cold, monotone. "Increased nightmares, pain in the upper and mid back, both leading to a strong instinct to fight back. If not for the restraints you may have hurt yourself or your roommate." At the mention of that last part Engel's head popped up and scanned the room. Across from him, lying on a bed was the form of a young, dark-skinned girl. Trying to get a closer look, worried that he may have caused her harm at some point, he propped himself up on his elbows, and immediately fell forward with a yelp. His back felt like it was on fire, and the skin was ripping itself apart. As he collapsed back onto the pillow a memory clicked into place. The 'serum' mentioned was supposed to help his with his memory loss, in theory. It was still experimental, and no one knew if it would work. It seems that it had not helped. In fact the opposite, his back started to burn and ache, his nightmares became stronger and even started to plague his mind while awake. His mouth tasted of copper as he recalled biting into one of the nurses trying to bind his wrists. The pit in his stomach seemed to expand at these realizations, and he slumped back down onto the bed, waiting until they decided he could be let go.[/COLOR]

I take the info on Wiki with a grain of salt, but it's a good place to get a broad range of connecting information on a topic, which you can research properly from another site. Just thought I would provide a stepping stone for anyone who wanted it.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Here is a link to a rather long (and somewhat incomplete) list of World War II era weapons: [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_weapons"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_weapons[/URL] It's a good starting point if anyone wants reference to what might be found along the way, or even picked up to begin with. Also helpful for better descriptions of enemy weapons that we might be faced against.[/COLOR]