Raiha

[i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]The planet was pitiful in the least, covered over with masses of screaming people. One minute living completely peaceful lives, but now terrified, running for their lives, as Andrew cleared the planet in preparation for what came next. The military, as piss weak as he expected fell with a minimal amount of resistance. As far as he was concerned, this was swatting flies, picking flowers, as boring and typical as any mission, even for an Elite like him. With a yawn, he shot a rather lazy ball of ki at the latest opponent and found it kicked right back at him, the shock nearly throwing him off of his game. Instead he turned just in time to avoid his own attack and face down whoever had done that to him.[/i] ?The fuck are you doing to our planet?? ?Not your planet now. We?re taking it for our own.? ?We? I only see you here, terrorizing our people, killing everyone in sight.? [i]Two warriors had dropped down from one of the burned out buildings he had just cleared. One with dark brown hair spiked over his face the other with dark green hair, almost black. They were wearing some kind of armor, nothing compared to his he was sure. That same smug confidence written on every line of his face, and he crossed his arms, as if to say he didn?t even need them to beat down the two that were bold, or stupid enough, to stand against him.[/i] ?Who are you? Why are you doing this?? ?Andrew. Saiya-jin Elite. My job is to clear this planet for resale. It?s ours now. And you two?? [i]The one with the brown hair spit once on the ruined ground in front of him, the green haired one?s frown deepening into a very ugly scowl.[/i] ?Gavin. And Joko. This planet isn?t yours.? ?We?ll see about that. I?ll even make a deal. If you two can make me bleed, even just a little, I?ll give the rest of your people time to evacuate.? ?...if one of us can make you bleed, we?ll see to it that you die too.? [i]With the conversation ended, Gavin flung himself forward, energy focusing in his hands, going straight for Andrew?s throat. Swatted aside as casually as if he?d been just a passing annoyance, he threw up his left hand and pushed aside Joko?s own attack. Without following through, Andrew let them pass harmlessly to either side, and turned around to watch them both recover from the initial failed assault. Not missing a beat, Andrew raised both his hands, palm up and fired off several dozen bursts of ki, low energy, but enough to force Gavin and Joko to scatter. His scanner read their power levels at some ridiculously low point, not even enough for him to bother even a vague powering up. That was of course until Gavin slammed both fists into the ground and shouted, his power level skyrocketed, growing exponentially, while Joko?s did something very similar. Their auras blazed around them, energy stirring the gravel at their feet.[/i] ?So they?ve got more to offer than just that. Oh good, I was getting so very bored.? [i]Altering his power level to a point just above theirs, he swung body around to meet their attacks, swatting them aside with minimal effort, one after the other. At one point Joko came close enough to clip his ear, but not enough to draw blood, much less raise a bruise. Gavin managed to land a blow to Andrew?s chest, but it did nothing to his armor, and in fact he barely felt it. The two, knowing that they?d reached the end of the line after hours of fruitless attempts, did not fall to their knees. In fact both staggered upright after Andrew had casually knocked them down what felt like the thousandth time. And feeling reasonably pleased with the results, Andrew casually walked closer to the two warriors he?d so soundly defeated. His gloved hand wrapped around Joko?s throat and he clenched tightly enough to snap his neck. One turn, one burst of ki from his palm and Joko fell, not even having time to gasp out a final breath through his ruined throat. Gavin looked up, blood sheeting down his face, and the last thing he saw was Andrew reaching down for him. A quick burst of pain and he fell, his head wrenched halfway around his shoulders. Unpleasant business accomplished, Andrew brushed the blood from his palms, and turned to look at the ruined, smoking planet. He chuckled. An empty sound.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]?Work work work, that?s all I do in this place.? [i]Neil muttered to himself as he fired up the grill, instantly ready to cook with a light touch of my hand on the coals. No propane fed nonsense for us. Not when we have our own butane in the form of, well, me. Sevara slept on, even as the household erupted around her. Neil laughed maniacally as the steaks roasted. Like he?d known, like he was prescient, he?d brought more than one cow this time around, his work cut out for him. Lakis set the table under my watchful eye while Andrew skewered the marinated vegetables I?d cut earlier, the rest flying under my knife into the bowl of sauce. Upstairs I?m sure Gavin was trying to carefully undo the seal I?d placed over Billy?s room. Crystia twined herself around my ankles lazily, batting at the various Saiya-jin tails that whisked close enough to her as Kiwi gurgled on her blanket on the patch of grass by the lilac bushes.[/i] ?So Crystia, has Gavin figured out the seal yet?? [i]I watched as she stood upright, looking slightly awkward on two legs and narrowed her cat-slit eyes, feeling power gather around them. They glowed from purple to a light silver, and then back again. A vague psychic connection sparked back and forth between me and Crystia, and for a second I saw through her eyes, exactly what she saw. Gavin was standing at the door, his arms crossed, his brow furrowed. He was examining the elaborate spiral and spider like web threads I?d set up as the blood seal with some confusion. I withdrew from behind Crystia?s eyes and nearly giggled aloud. She shook her head once, the jingle bells I?d attached to her earrings clanging merrily, the purring in her throat sounding more like chortling to me. Andrew shook his head as he busily stabbed poor helpless vegetables and stacked them six across on a platter.[/i] ?What seal?? ?I sealed Billy?s room so I didn?t have to stand over him every second watching him like I can with Sevara. It?s a really really simple charm but I?m pretty sure Gavin doesn?t want to risk setting it off by touching the door.? ?And this is amusing to you because...?? ?All he has to do is touch the door to unseal it. But if he tries blasting through it that?ll activate the spell and he?ll have to rebuild the entire second floor outside of Billy?s room.? ?So you?re essentially drumming up business for us construction crews.? ?You bet your ass.? [i]Neil laughed over the grill, flipping several well done steaks onto yet another platter, the prepared vegetables sizzling on the second rack. They?d laughed at us at the hardware store as we bought the largest grill they made. Suitable for restaurants only, but right at home surrounded by several flowering trees and perennial bushes, it blended into the garden seamlessly. I walked over to Sevara and sat next to her, my youngest girl whimpering softly to herself in her sleep. She twitched a few times, then lay still again while I stroked her crimson colored hair gently. Kiwi shrieked with laughter on the blankets, grabbing at a passing butterfly, but missing entirely. Upstairs I heard some shouting, and looked at Crystia, whose eyes were fixed on the exact spot where Billy was sleeping. Or, had been sleeping.[/i] ?He figured it out I take it?? [i] She nodded, looking prim, and then immediately began bathing her tail, which I took as a sign she didn?t want to watch for any longer. I gave myself into the situation and slowly rose upwards to the second story, peering in through Billy?s window. Gavin was standing in Billy?s room, looking slightly out of place, as Billy sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He looked out the open window at me, then back at his father, and I leaned on my elbows casually.[/i] ?Took you long enough sweetie. What?s the matter? Didn?t you pay attention to me when I told you how to disarm that kind of seal last year?? [/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]$6 US in Seoul, or $6 in the US? 'Cause gallons over here cost about $3.20 or something like that.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Less if you're on Wic. Or of you drink lactose free milk like me.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Where's Shy? Don't look at me that way! Just because he lives 20 minutes away that doesn't mean I know! But seriously folks. Let's see here...I'd join because we all know the promise of a female version of James Bond that smokes SPACE CIGARETTES is awesome. That and Shy thinks I can come up with a nice terminal disease complete with cool and exciting side effects that nobody has clearly ever thought of before.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]As one of the few women here that is routinely dragged to expensive formal dinners at places where the water is bottled and 10 dollars for flat and 12 for sparkling... Anything less than a 20% tip is a complete insult. You tip the coat check person, you tip the valet that parks your car, you tip the waiter, and you do NOT skimp. Half of it is because the service is generally that good and half of it is to impress your female date. However, when you're eating primarily dinner, you do not tip on alcohol. Unless you are just THAT extravagant. And how do I learn all this? I have a boss that takes me to expensive dinners as part of my maintenance and to make himself look good in front of his business associates. Otherwise 10-15 is what you can get away with at most other places like Denny's or Outback steak house. Usually you just double the tip, give or take. And try to not tip with change. That's tacky.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]It wildly varies with the school schedule I'm keeping. This spring quarter I have classes on MWF at 10:40, so I get up around 8 so I can make myself a large breakfast so I don't starve all day. This means that I go to bed around 11 or 12, if only because I'm big on sleeping. On Tuesday and Thursday I have classes from 2-6, so I eat a lunch and pack a dinner, and generally sleep in. I.E. Today I went to bed around 2 in the morning and woke up at 11 a.m. And on the weekends I go to bed when I feel like it, or when the party is over. Otherwise I take naps in the middle of the day if I'm tired, and I just enjoy myself.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Well then I'm here. Andrew's here.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[FONT="Times New Roman"][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][i][b]Oh Crystia Crystia Crystia.[/b] With a hint of ice, I'll take it. That secured your victory for me. But still, hard choices. Two divas duking it out in a duel of delightful devastation is just so dastardly disorderly.... ........alas.[/i][/COLOR][/FONT]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i][b]8bit[/b]. Congratulations. You did what I did and broke away from just the main topic given to work with. And thus, I do show my solidarity. Perhaps the reason I was turned off a little by your altogether still decent poem Treble was the line in which you are "grasping for air." If only because that didn't strike me the correct way.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Alas, you've confessed to me Gavin that you've never been to a city before. But even so, I feel a vague sense of hopefulness that you will someday. Specifically whatever city I'm living in at the time. [b]Moo haha.[/b] And Allamorph, I have been in many cities, and while I've been in cities in September, I've never heard a hound baying in a city. I've seen police dogs sniffing corpses, but never hounds baying.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Not to beat the dead horses further, but I believe some beating never hurt things that were already dead. [b]Aryanna:[/b] Simple yet poignant. A plus. Aber: Very daring, but perhaps too daring?[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]I think I'm going to have to [b]march in lock step with Shy.[/b] If only because I've BEEN to Dixieland. Oh the sweet sweet memories of sweet tea and tobacco fields on fire. Not that I don't sympathize with being locked in a classroom with no escape in sight. That's my entire Spring Quarter.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="times new roman"]Disturbed's new single. "Inside The Fire." I attach the very adorable artwork to give you an idea, and you can find a rather high quality sound version in youtube. I find the sinister laughter to be coquettishly charming.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Now that I've gone blind trying to read light pink text... I would like to take the time to say that I think you're putting a little too much stock in internet relationships. It's not that I don't enjoy talking to the friends I've made on OB, and I've made several good ones, but if they died, I'd have no way of knowing. I'd wonder what happened but I don't think I'd be up night after night tearing my hair out wondering what's going on. Call me a cold hearted ***** because that's what I am. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Matt: What's wrong with me? Matt: OH GOD D'Ann: you're out of cookies. Matt: I know! Matt: I had this disturbing dream about that last night. Matt: Apparently, my psyche will go to extraordinary lengths to acquire a new imaginary batch. D'Ann: oh god D'Ann: wait, what now? Matt: I may have murdered you for the secrets locked in your juicy brain. Matt: Possibly. Matt: It made sense at the time. Matt: I remember I came out ahead. D'Ann: wha? Matt: Don't worry about it. Matt: You'll be fine. Matt: For now. D'Ann: speaks you who want to eat my juicy brain Matt: Not me, my drug addled dream world. [center]~~~~~~~~~~~[/center] So apparently I shouldn't keep my recipes for my really good chocolate chip cookies secret. Do you have a secret recipe? Does your mother? Is it tasty? Will people eat your brain to get it?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]That's a chocolate chip cookie.... ....a really big cookie... Am I the only one who remembers the Kudos bars? Back when my mother didn't let me eat candy I used to get them from my grandmother instead. But alas, they appear to be no more. But seriously, someone find my husband. Maybe he fell into a pothole and was mugged.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Gavin gently sat me down in one of the chairs and kept his hands on my shoulders, while Neil casually lifted the box the size of two large cows over the picket fence and into the flagstone path that led to the grill. While he casually began preparing the meat that everyone would be eating tonight, Gavin prompted me to explain the situation a little more fully. Neil interjected when I was describing the way Billy?s ki had looked to me.[/i] ?Wait. His ki was EATEN?? ?Like huge teeth marks in his skin, but they were just an illusion. Something ate it like his energy was a sandwich.? ?Well fuck me.? [i]Neil sat back, a machete dangling loosely from one of his massive hands. Gavin had taken over the vegetables for me, when Sevara flew over the house and landed in the backyard, trailing papers behind her and her hair a total disaster. Her dress had been torn and she looked like she?d been attacked, only not nearly as bad as Billy. I was up in an instant, propelled out of my chair by motherly instinct. Sevara thumped down into a canvas chair and spent the next few seconds breathing carefully while I put my hands on her forehead and forced her eyes to meet with mine.[/i] ?No...Don?t....Don?t want to-? ?Look at me. Now.? [i]I put a hint of energy into my voice, making the words a command that made her flinch openly and Gavin and Neil wince. The same crashing sensation, only this time it looked like someone had merely taken a single bite from her. No physical wounds that were nothing to worry about, and no terrible trauma or black out. Instead she was panting like she?d run a marathon, and her eyes were wide open, fixed in fear. One hand on her forehead, I looked back in her time and saw her running from something invisible, but I felt her fear as palpably as my own. With a quick movement, I released her and told her to lie down in a slightly softer tone of voice. Obeying me immediately, partially out of fear, partially in simple exhaustion, she was asleep instantly. I turned back to Gavin and Neil, who had been watching the entire time, with vaguely horrified expressions on their faces. Neil stuck his machete point first into a thick slice of steak and Gavin set down his knife before he snapped it in half.[/i] ?So something?s attacking children now?? ?Their Ki. But I have no idea why someone would try to stab Billy. Or even how they could even puncture him. We?re supposed to be resistant to that kind of thing.? ?So she looked almost the same as Billy then.? [i]Gavin was watching his daughter sleep, a perturbed expression on his face, then he looked up to check the position of the sun. Just as he did, Andrew appeared at the gate as well, Sikal behind him. He looked at the homicidal expression on Neil?s face, my own drawn expression, and then Sevara looking like she had been beaten and left for dead. Andrew sat down hard in one of the chairs he pulled up and slumped forward a little on his elbows.[/i] ?So it?s starting all over again?? ?It?s not like we thought all this peace and quiet would last.? [i]I leaned against Gavin for a minute, hearing Crystia step downstairs with Kiwi cradled in her arms. She passed the baby over to Andrew, who sat her in his lap gently, holding her as if she?d disappear if he let go. I turned back to Crystia and looked up at Billy?s window, partially open. Then I stood up with a resolute look on my face, and told everyone to group slightly closer together.[/i] ?Nobody?s leaving tonight right?? ?No, tomorrow?s a Saturday. We can start then.? ?Well then everyone sit still and nobody cross through the gates.? [i]With that warning hanging in the air, I flew up until I was standing on the ridgepole of the house and clasped my hands together, focusing my energy until I felt like I was suspended in a cross of gold and fire. Crystia looked up at the spectacle. I knew she could see Ki as easily as she could see the material, and whatever I did here, she could duplicate just from watching. With a short breath to bring my thoughts together, I focused on the house, the thresholds that were sacred to me and screamed aloud, feeling the energy crashing down in a circular pattern. Spirals within spirals fell across the land that was mine and my husband?s. Wave after wave of energy poured down to surround the house until it hung in the air, like a bubble in glass. An invisible shield that was self sustaining once set up, and I slid back down to the ground and took Kiwi from Andrew.[/i] ?Go wake up Billy Gavin. Neil would you please start cooking? The skewers are in the drawer under the grill Andrew.?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]It was early enough to make Michael moan when I kicked his door to wake him up for breakfast. But who cares? Just because our parents weren't alive anymore, didn't mean I was allowed to let things slide completely downhill. Absentmindedly, I sifted cream of wheat through my fingers while I cracked eggs into a bowl with my other hand. A few whisks and a pinch of shredded cheese, and breakfast was ready in five minutes. By then my errant brother had slouched into the kitchen and was sitting down at one of the barstools, gulping down the orange juice I had set next to his bowl and plate. I ate standing over the sink, already dressed for work, feeling slightly overheated and wishing our apartment had air conditioning. Too damn hot for 7 in the morning.[/i] "Do the dishes and I'll be home by 7 to make dinner. You'll be there right?" "Yeah yeah...." [i]I glared at him, and felt an urge to throw a blunt and heavy object at him, but shrugged my shoulders and turned back towards the front door, snatching the keys and my purse from the end table and hurrying down the stairs outside. When I wasn't inside a building, I always hurried. I didn't want to see the people around me, especially the ones staring right at my ass, even if I was wearing a loose skirt with my blouse. In the office for Social Services I sat at my desk and began working on the pile of papers that my boss had dumped in the In file. Dozens upon dozens, requests and requisitions and procurement. Sometimes I had a personal file to go through. So many messed up kids that needed to be plugged into the system, or foster care. I knew that my job was just me standing on a cliff overlooking Hell and tossing in wet sponges, but it was better than ignoring it. And this is my life. Day in, day out. At least I have weekends to paint. And every evening before I go home to dinner I go to the local Y and dance. I even have a couple friends there, as much of friends as you can have in Otaku City. Out here, you loved small, didn't hang onto something that could just get ripped out of your hands at any second. Closing time at 4 and I was out of the door before my boss could delay me with some trivial task. My beater of a Honda made it to the Y parking lot, where several kids were playing basketball, too young to have an interest in me, which I was a little too happy about. My duffel bag full of my dance clothes was in the trunk, the only thing in there besides jumper cables and a spare tire. I'd learned quickly that keeping anything of value in the trunk was stupid. Inside the Y, the AC actually worked, but considering the amount of kids and young adults inside, I guess it didn't really matter. As I walked in, Kenso, someone I'd known for at least a few months now greeted me with his customary, misguided, come ons. [/i] "Heyyy Rai. What're you doing here?" "What do you think? I'm not here to see you. Fuckass." [i]My mock glare was met with laughter from him, another cop, someone else from work. And he gave me one of those looks, taking in the tight black jazz pants and the loose fitting shirt, and the braids. I flicked my middle finger at him, which made the guy sitting behind the desk laugh. He went towards the weight room while I trudged up the badly carpeted stairs to the dance studio, where my girl Jae was already waiting, leaning against the railing, looking sexy in a leotard and baggy jeans. Part of me wished she didn't have to do what she did for a living, but not everyone can work in an office.[/i] "Yo Rai. How was work?" "Wet sponges, you know the deal Jae. Let's do it." [i]We sauntered into the studio, just a few other girls there, and three or four guys who could break dance pretty decent. They didn't object to learning a little jazz/hip hop fusion at the same time. She and I tossed our duffel bags into the corner and pulled out water bottles that were once frozen, but now condensating into puddles on the wood floor. Whatever. She slid on her dance shoes and I slipped my feet into the half soles I'd always felt more comfortable wearing, even if the floor sometimes tore up my toes. I looked around the studio, feeling better already. Black, White, Latino, Asians, nobody was a minority here. As the music started, the subwoofer shaking the floor under our feet, I felt my problems drifting away from me one by one. Maybe it was the fact that Jae and I were shaking our assess without fear of being objectified. The guys in the class were more interested in polishing their moves than getting pussy. As I kicked my way across the dance floor, feeling the grain and grit of the wood heavy under my toes, I saw Jae doing the same in a series of lighting fast turns and mid air spins. The sweat began pouring, until the points of my braids were dripping down my back, making the space between my shoulder blades itch.[/i] "Hey Rai, wanna call it quits for tonight?" [i]At Jae's prompt I looked at the clock on the wall, which was miraculously working, and accurate and saw that it was almost 7.[/i] "Shit. I have to go home and make dinner. I totally forgot about the time." "Well you know, I'm pretty sure Lil' Z won't come home on time anyway." "He better. If he wants to eat." [i]Jae laughed at me as I grabbed my duffel bag and my water, headed down the stairs as fast as I could go. Kenso saw me on the way out and threw up a hand, which I tossed my shoulder at and made a beeline for my car, the sun already beginning to set.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Ling Kelly and her husband Connor rode through the desert quietly, the sun already chinning itself on the eastern ridge line. They had packed up their saddlebags an hour previous and drunk cold coffee from the night previous. According to the map, Lore was just a few hours away, and they wanted to make it before the true heat of the day took over. No that Ling minded. She tanned deeply bronze in the sun, while Connor merely tanned, and peeled like a white onion. As her strawberry roan went through his paces at an easy lope, she whistled a simple tune that sounded slightly lilting, like the warbling of any spring bird. Connor joined in with a slightly deeper tone, and the pair wound their way through the ill used trail, their horse's hooves dull clops in the sand.[/i] "What are you thinking about Ling?" "I'm thinking about an ice cold beer. And a bath. You?" "I'm thinking about you in that bath. With your hair down." [i]Ling leaned over slightly in the saddle, and swatted him with the end of the rawhide rope looped around her saddlehorn. He jerked back and retaliated with a swipe across her chest, which missed as she leaned back, and then spurred her horse on. An indian war whoop ripped itself from her lungs and her roan took off like a shot, leaving him and his speckled mustang behind. The two raced across the desert, the morning air still sweetly cool, the sound of birds and insects a loud hum in their ears. For a few moments, all that could be heard was the sound of their horses blowing as they gave them the rein to walk, and Ling leaned forward a little to change positions and touched the stock of her Winchester just to reassure herself that it wasn't gone. Going into a new town, beer and bath aside, was always an experience. Nobody could predict if she'd be left alone, or if they'd get into a brawl over the same old tired 'that's my wife you're trying to touch' rigamarole. Ling smiled to herself, remembering the last fight. She'd pistol whipped a guy and virtually tap danced on his face while Connor had swung another guy around and smashed yet another into a table. And then they'd run out of town before the sheriff had caught up. Oh the fun, the adventures, but Ling really wouldn't mind if Lore turned out to be quiet and peaceful for a change. Just for a few days anyway. They'd been on the trail for nearly a week now and that bath was becoming more and more tempting. [/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[i][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"] I sighed and put him to bed, dressing him in clean clothes again, and setting a family ki seal over his room so nothing could go in or out without first having the same genetic markers in energy that proved the intruder a family member. Crystia watched me mark the door with a symbol in my own blood and I turned towards my own bedroom and sat down on the foot of my bed. I sighed once. Then I leaned over and picked up the phone from the side of the bed. I never had been forced to call my husband at work, but an attack on my son was something new. Never in the 17 years he?d been going to any school had this ever happened. With some resignation for the firestorm I was about to unleash, I dialed the number and fell backwards against the pillows while Crystia watched Kiwi sleep and blinked several times at my conversation.[/i] ?Hi honey. Can you come home right now?? ?Why Raiha? Is something the matter? Did something happen to the kids? Are you feeling alright?? ?I?m alright. Kiwi?s fine. I just want you home please.? [i]I suppose some hysteria must have crept into my voice, even as I strove to keep it conversational, and Gavin picked up on it immediately. Without another word he hung up the phone and I knew that he?d cheat and fly home. Not wanting to tell him what had happened within the confines of any building, I stepped outside and told Crystia to set up a shield over the house from the inside until she didn?t hear shouting or feel a massive exertion of ki outside. My husband landed in the garden in the back yard and found me sitting at the patio table, cutting vegetables next to the grill like they?d offended me personally. Without saying anything he came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, and at his touch, I put down the knife and carrots, and turned around to cry into his chest. Bewildered, he held me tightly and stared directly into my eyes when I looked up at him.[/i] ?Billy was attacked at school today. Sevara wasn?t there to help him and he barely made it home before passing out. He couldn?t defend himself. Someone knocked him unconscious and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest, leaving him for dead. Someone ran him over. Someone tried to kill our son.? [i]My voice broke and I felt my husband abruptly grow warm. Behind me I felt Crystia throw up the same shield she?d used to protect me when she was just a kitten when we had rescued her and my own children from Morrigan. Gavin suddenly growled out a word I didn?t recognize, and his energy begin to glow around him a fiery golden color, not hurting me, not burning me at all. Instead it broke over me like a wave and I felt him gathering ki, enough to destroy a town, while I kept my face buried in his chest, knowing that his hair was bursting from brown to gold, and his eyes from hazel to green. At the shift in his energy, I felt his muscles surge against me, then go back to normal as quickly as they?d shifted. The shield around the house dropped and Crystia came downstairs with Kiwi, looking rather smug. Gavin tipped my chin up with a finger and stroked my cheek, smoothing back my hair.[/i] ?Everything?s going to be alright. I?ll find out what happened. Don?t worry about it anymore. I?ll take care of this.? ?You?ll take care of what?? [i]I looked over my shoulder and saw Neil standing at the gate with a large box behind him. His arms were crossed belligerently over his chest and he was wearing a training outfit for a change. It didn't look like he was dressed for a friendly guy's night at the grill, but rather to go hunting for a would be killer. For once I was glad to see our friend. Rambunctious, trouble making, rabble rousing aside, if there was anyone who could help my husband find the attacker, it was Neil. The jerk.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][size=1][RIGHT]This is the same shit. Profanity, Sexuality, Drug Use, Adult Content.[/size] [/RIGHT] [left]It's 2008 and Otaku City's gone downhill. What was once a city on the move is now a ghetto. It's gone from the haven of the artistic and intellectual to the place where crime has become a fact of life. The depression hit everyone hard, nobody made it through without visible marks. Everyone's lives have changed, even the police can't do what they used to do. Nobody can live safely and sleep soundly in their beds. Not with gangs and other organized crime all over the fucking place. Life in Otaku City, where you could once walk down the street without fear of being killed in a drive by shooting, is gone. It's the state of nature. Hobbes was right. Life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. And I'm Rai. I live with my brother Michael. Parents died the way a lot of people's parents have died. I'm trying to be an artist in a ghetto. My brother says I'm fighting a loosing battle, but he's the one that joined a fucking gang. I stay home when I can, and go to work in the middle of the day when it's safer. I don't like going out at night. Not even with my brother and his gang banger friends. We live in a two bedroom apartment on the West Side where there used to be a working District. That's gone now. So is the Square. That's not a good place to be now. Not if you're someone like me. Just because my brother's in a gang, that doesn't mean he can protect me from everything. Actually, I'm surprised we've made it this far. But I don't think our luck will last. Nothing this fragile can last for long. [center]~~~~~~~~~~[/center][/left] This is a story that'll involve, thus far, me and Zen. If you want to contribute in some way, remember the over arching theme is going to be simply Crime. The stories don't have to connect in any meaningful way, but if you want to be part of this dysfunctional little family let me know. You can be in a gang, you can be someone trying to survive, or a police officer fruitlessly chasing down criminals. Anything that ties into the basic premise of a dystopian version of the Otaku City. PM me with ideas if you like, since it'd be sad if I had to get someone to delete a story because it made no sense in the setting I've laid out. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]The next morning went like any other morning. Gavin packed the kids off with sack lunches comprised of rice balls, juice, and apples, and then grabbed his and went to work after giving me a kiss. Crystia slunk into my room to beg for a saucer of milk in her cute, beseeching way. Which is to say she crawled to the foot of the bed and after giving me a soulful look, fell right asleep. Eventually I roused myself to nurse Kiwi while sitting up in bed, mentally going over what I had to do today. Make shopping list, feed everyone, bring out the grill. Tonight the guys were having their annual Friday bash and I was making kebabs of vegetables while they did manly things like cut up the meat and drink beers. I also vaguely recall Sevara had...something? To do today at school but I could hardly remember whatever it was that I?d signed a week previous. Kiwi clutched a lock of my hair and stuffed it into her mouth to chew on absently while I finally got out of bed and went to make breakfast for myself and Crystia. Downstairs was cool and quiet compared to upstairs, which was quickly growing stuffy. While I plunked down Kiwi in her high chair I turned to Crystia and gave a look to the windows. She dashed back upstairs to open them all while I cracked eggs on the side of the bowl and began whisking them with milk while the cream of wheat simmered for Kiwi. I opened a can of tuna for Crystia and poured her a saucer of milk since she?d been so patient and white grape juice for myself. While sitting down, eating eggs and feeding Kiwi cream of wheat, I wrote down the grocery list and tacked it to the front door for Andrew. Using the vacuum at high speeds through the house, I let Crystia entertain Kiwi and was just thinking about preparing lunch when Billy stumbled through the front door, looking bloody and nearly unconscious.[/i] ?Billy! What on Earth?? ?...sorry .....Mom.? [i]He flopped forward onto the carpet, bleeding from half a dozen knife wounds, and I literally flew to his side wondering just how this had happened, but before I asked, Billy passed out. I turned him on his back, not caring about the blood stains in the carpet. Instead I cut off his shirt and took a better look at the damage. Six stab wounds in the chest, none of them hitting anything so vital as to cause him to bleed out immediately of course, but the blood was hiding a series of bruises that made me wonder if he?d been run over by a semi. First thing was a bath, so I gently eased him outside into the back yard and applied just a little fire magic to the hose to make the water warm. By now, Crystia had smelled blood and put down Kiwi for her nap and come downstairs. She watched me work, perched on the trellis outside, her tail moving in slow twitches. Without the blood covering my son?s body I could see the bruises much better. Some of them looked like fists, but others were so big I began to think my truck theory was accurate. Getting down to it, I sat cross legged with his head in my lap and put my hands together and closed my eyes, focusing my thoughts. Since grade school and sports, I hadn?t found a reason to use my healing magic, so I was a little rusty. But, thanks to the organization system I?d used to order my energy, the right trigger word completely unlocked the ability and the memory flowed through my mind freely. I leaned over him and put my hands half an inch over the worst of the wounds and exhaled sharply. Power surged through my fingertips and onto my son?s body, covering the wounds, activating the cells, pulling his own ki together. Just as they began to seal shut, I felt something jolt against my spell and I applied more pressure, then felt it snap off suddenly. Breaking off the connection, I opened my eyes and took a closer look at what had just happened. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but my spells never just stopped working. Crystia leaned forward to get a better look and made a light mewling sound in the back of her throat that I determined to simply be a sound of worry.[/i] ?Don?t worry Crystia. I?ll fix him up right. He'll be fine.? [i]I leaned down again and closed my eyes, but this time I put my fingers on his temples and opened the Third eye. Instantly, the world turned bright red around me and I saw my son?s ki covering his body, but instead of surging around him in a fiery aura like it usually did, it seemed like parts of it had literally been consumed. Especially around the stomach and chest where the damage had been the worst, the stab wounds serious. I leaned back slightly to get a better look of his body and saw nothing else out of the ordinary but the distinct lack of power. I looked over my shoulder to the trail of wet from when I?d washed my son?s blood from his body and saw simply the thin trail of Saiya-jin and Siyannan blood flowing towards the grass. It revealed no hidden secrets, gave me no insights at all. Then I turned back and slowly pulled open Billy?s eyes, forced to look into the several hours that had taken place previously. With the sound of a crashing wave, I found myself hurtled backwards in time, while sitting in the garden with my son?s head in my lap. I saw him going to school with Sevara, heard their conversation, saw her leaving for a field trip as soon as she got to her morning classes, and then I saw him go to his. Moving quickly through his lectures I saw him heading for his science class when everything went abruptly dark. With no way to tell how far time was going I only knew that in what seemed like moments his eyes were open again and he was feeling intense pain. Trying to fly but failing, instead limping home and feeling his fear, and hope that his mother would help him. I shut down the sight, knowing that the only thing that would help him now was rest, and picked him up with a slight burst of strength. Crystia dashed ahead of me, opening all the doors and making sure the path was cleared on the way to his bedroom.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]As Erica smirked over her shoulder before closing the door behind her and Zen, I gave her a quick flash of my bare chest before it slammed shut. Gavin caught me from behind, moving about as slowly as I expected, given that the antidote was still working, albeit very slowly. I leaned down and trailed my fingers over the quickly healing wounds in his forearm. He caught me watching them close themselves and grabbed my wrist away from them.[/i] "That really did hurt you know. You've gotten faster." "And you haven't? You're lucky you were quick enough to avoid me getting you in the throat instead." [i]He pouted a little and I leaned down to kiss his lower lip before nipping it just enough to make him jerk away. But still feeling the after effects of enough poison to drop the entire People's Liberation Army, all 2.3 million of them, his jerk was more of a wriggle. I flashed him a brilliant smile that showed a slightly elongated fang and trailed a finger down his chest, his dress shirt already abandoned on the floor next to my business suit. Why waste time? As soon as their backs were turned, I had started taking off Gavin's shirt, while he managed to mug a sheepish look at his inability to do it for himself. But when I straddled his hips and slowly unbuttoned mine, one small, elusive button at a time, he paused in his self recrimination. The functional and boring, yet well tailored suit had been hiding bright red lace lingerie, and his fingers found the Brazilian cut keyhole panties that matched perfectly, right down to the little ribbon on the front.[/i] "So you were expecting me? I mean, you're all dressed up down here... And here..." "I don't know, what do you think? It's been years. I hoped you would find me again, but not quite this way. With people all around." "If it makes you feel better, I wanted to see you again. But you were awfully hard to find. You never left a trail for me to follow." "Couldn't help that. Maybe I should make it up to you." [i]I leaned over and kissed him again, this time on the lips, and in his weakened state, at least temporarily, I felt him shiver under me. He pulled away, my saliva on his lips, and touched it with one finger.[/i] "That tingles. Is this new?" "No. You were always in peak condition when we were fucking. You never would've noticed it. Everyone else did." "Everyone else?" [i]He raised a curious eyebrow and I laughed at his expression. Truth be told there hadn't been anyone else, discounting Erica. And that was more for the sakes of both our sanity than anything else. You try working for James and keeping a hold of your mind. That's right. It's completely impossible. Especially when you're Erica and Raiha. Gavin put his hands on my hips and I felt his grip tighten up. I looked back down at him and purred low in my throat.[/i] "Just Erica. But I hear you weren't completely celibate when we were separated." "Whatever you heard was a total lie... I'm sure of it." "We can find out." [i]I drew my wrist to my mouth, the bracelet comprised of mostly poison needles and ran my tongue over the tip of one of the colored beads, tasting the right flavor and drawing it out with my teeth. I plucked it from my mouth and gently pricked Gavin's basilic vein with it, barely going in, just a tiny dose. He smirked at me and I smirked back while he gasped in a sudden jerk of surprise as his spine sent shockwaves through his body. I stroked his cheek, pushing him inside me while his body jerked again, almost uncontrollably as he slid further in. His fingers on my hips tightened and I felt his nails digging into my skin, as he pushed me up and pulled me back down again, forcing me against him.[/i] "What did you...do?" "Just a little cocktail, to warm things up. Now tell me, how many between you and me?" [i]His mouth moved once, no sound coming out, and I lifted myself up, almost to the tip, before slamming back down, forcing him to gasp for air. I saw his lips moving again, and I sped up the pace just a little, letting the drug work its way further through his blood stream. I leaned closer and planted a series of kisses down his throat, feeling his body both simultaneously heal and absorb the sodium penthanol. He pulled me down to him with enough strength to remind me he could still crush me and get out of having to tell me anything incriminating. I purred at him and let him flip me on my stomach, the sheets twisted underneath us, tangled around our ankles. I pulled one of the pillows to my chest and crushed it against my nipples while he concentrated on impaling me to the point where I'd forget I'd ever asked him anything in the first place. He leaned over after a few seconds and put his lips close to my ear, his chest pressed against my arched back.[/i] "Just one." "So we're even then... I guess I should be...happy." [i]He ground himself against me, slamming into me at odd intervals, putting an odd tempo into my words, forcing me to give that up as a bad job. Instead, I let him do what he did almost as good as murdering people. Turning me around with just his arms, he cradled me against his body, and pushed me down against the comparative softness of the sheets and carpet, feeling my arms around his neck, sweating out the poison, the tingle of my lips on his. And when we were both finally sated, barely decent underneath the same tangle of sheets, Erica and Zen walked in looking about as battered as I'm sure we looked. Just with blood as an added bonus. And I'm pretty sure Zen caught a flash of one of my nipples before I turned over to look up at him from the crock of Gavin's arm. But no matter, Gavin was infinitely more comfortable than the floor, and inch for inch, came with more floor space than either of the beds in this ridiculous hotel. [/i][/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]If everyone in the world were like you Sandy, then sure, everything would be fine. Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows everywhere. But the fact remains that there is evil in the world and it can't be allowed to spread unchecked. There is nothing nauseating about people agreeing about that at all and I find your insinuation that we're all just ducks in a row bobbing our heads like morons insulting. Even if it was a joke. Sure, let them shoot you in the head and don't defend yourself. Don't defend your family, don't kill to stop someone from killing children. That'll make the world a better place. If you were really a pacifist you would've taken the prison option and not supported your government either way. Trying to say you're against the war but for the soldiers doesn't make any sense because you clearly do not support their mission. To put a stop to human rights violations, or to stand up for what you believe in is noble and perfectly acceptable and the fastest and closest way to achieve this is to do what your country asks of you. If you don't believe in what the soldiers you say you support are doing, then you're not supporting them at all. You're trying to have it both ways but you end up just being a hypocrite who can't take a strong stance on anything.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]You meant...Raiha not Erica when describing the second outfit the second female was wearing? Yes? Oh well. I'll proceed as normal. Dibs on gouging out Annie's eyes. Wait your turn Eriju. *prod*[/FONT][/COLOR]