Kieko

[i][color=navy]Yay! You guys are so nice! Most people would kill off a character if the person didn't post for as long as I did! I've decided that I will join this thread after putting you guys off so long! Thanks ^_^! ... Now where's my sign-up... *rummages through old recruitment threads until she finds the right one*... Ah, here we go! It's a bit dusty, and I might shine it up a bit, but here you go! ____________________________________ Age: 17 Name: Kieko Special charecteristics: She's a shadowy character, who rarely speaks, but, when she does speak, it's eather to make a wise crack or to give some help or advise. However, going on this adventure has changed her to be more friendly and, dare I say, cheerful, seeing as how she made new friends. Apperance: Standing at 5' 3"she has flowing black hair, and dresses in a black shirt and somewhat baggy black pants. She always wears a red necklace and tan necklace, both exactly the same with Chinese writing on the beads. She also wears two daggers in each sleeve of her 3/4 sleeve- shirt. The sleeves are baggy, so it is easy for Kieko to reach her weapons and unleash her skill with them. (see attatchment)([size=3]I FOUND A PITURE! I'M SO HAPPY![/size]) Bio: You guys already know what happened to me after I went on the adventure thing, so here's what happened before: Kieko, who lived in the Realm of Imagination, has never had very good parents. Up until she was eight, her parents killed and stole. They also took to going out and drinking and not coming home until late and chasing Kieko and her brothers around the house until they caught and beat them. Kieko tried her hardest to keep her brothers from following that example. One time, her parents came home, packed and left without saying anything or taking the kids with them. That night, a mob attacked the house and Kieko was forced to get her brothers and leave the backway. They then had to go to the Realm of Reality. Kieko raised her two brothers and taught them to fight/fend for themselves. But, one day when Kieko went out for a while and came back, they were gone, and never returned again. She met up with Arunue and became friends. She doesn't really trust or rely on anyone but herself, and is secretly glancing around for her brothers everywhere she goes. ________________________ *Steps back to look at it* Wow... I think that I may shine this up... this is embarassing :blush: . This is most likely the shortest sign-up I've ever written. Oh, and I'm going out of town on Saturday-Friday, so I won't be able to post until Thursday if you start some time in there. Sorry ~_~".[/color][/i]

[i][color=navy]Well, I think out of the two banners you can tell which was my first. If you can't, it's the very very VERY pixelly one ^_^'. I made the first one with MS Paint, so that may be why it's so bad. (Not to mention it was about 50X80 pixells when I first got it). I updated it in Photoshop 6, which is good. The bad thing is that I couldn't find the picture again, and my banner wasn't in layers because I made it in MS Paint, so I had to edit it very carefully. Well, yeah... here they are: First banner: [img]http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19886[/img] First banner's remake:[/color][/i] [img]http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=19885[/img]

[i][color=navy]I've never been quite your average girl. I was never that dainty, didn't like dressing up, and played sports with a lot of guys. Most of my friends were, and are, guys so I eventually grew to be more like them. But anyway, I've never been completely a "tomboy" or a "girly-girl" so I was kinda caught in between with no group. I had a couple friends in school, but none of them really wanted to be seen with me in school and all the other kids teased me until I was in seventh grade. Then I discovered confidence. It's a wonderful thing. I met wonderful friends and, when I decided for a while that I was going to be a complete "tomboy", clothes, act, etc., they supported me and one even joined me. But after about half a year of watching the other girls go shopping and hang out with friends looking gorgeous, flipping their perfect hair, I decided that their life looked much more fun. So I bought all new clothes, got a cool hair cut, and started acting like a normal girl, but still being myself. Today, I am accepted by most of my peers and I have confidence. I'm not in the "incrowd", and I could actually care less because I'm having fun with my life and I feel better than ever because I'm confident. I guess my moral here is to just be yourself and be confident in who you are. If you appear confident, no one will try to bring you down; they only go for the ones who are easy to break (trust me, I know), and if they do try to bring you down, don't let them, just do whatever works best to show them you don't really care what they say; think of a comback, walk away, walk away making it look like you're trying to hide a laugh, anything you can think of. Just be confident and try to be more outgoing; smile to strangers, say "hello" to the kid sitting next to you in class, welcome everyone and try to be their friend, give life your best and hold nothing back, and most of all relax people do judge you on first impressions and there's nothing you can change about that. But, if you want them to see what you're really like, be yourself in front of them and do what I suggested. I guarentee that if you do this, you will see improvements in the way people look at you and treat you. (Wow, this[/i] does [i]sound like an advertisement... O.O). Well, that's my little pep talk for the day ^_^. Hope it works as well for you as it did for me! ~Kieko[/color][/i]

[I][color=navy]Dark helped Niji carry the bodies out and lay them about a foot away from eight different trees; one to a person. Niji started with the father because his heart would start to dry out any minute since it had been out of the body so long. Like before, she held the heart up towards the sky, looking at it and whispered the enchantment. “Chilili yi Chililika, oe uiken fie tinkono oo sei nai keat fie tinkatinli eieinino.” (“Gods and Goddesses, I offer this heart so you may keep this spirit forever." ) She buried it and continued down the line. But, to her surprise, no one else in the family had a heart. She finally got to the youngest in the family; the six year old girl. She dug her hand into the girl’s chest and groped around for the heart. But there was none. Where the heart should’ve been was just a gap between the lungs. This girl was dead before they reached her, they all were. Niji cut the girl open and inspected her organs for anything that could cause a human to die. She found nothing, so she split the girl’s head open. Jackpot. The girl was un-edible. Half her brain was cancerous, a diseenough to bring down the toughest, strongest human. She had been dead, but apparently the family brought her back, most likely with the help of magic. However, she wasn’t immortal, so she could still be killed, but her heart had to be pierced so her soul would escape and she wouldn’t be immortal, so the family must have removed her heart and locked it away somewhere safe. The girl lying cut open on the ground was still alive. Niji got up and returned to the house. She walked through the back door and stopped to think.[/I] If I were to hide my life to keep it safe, where would I hide it? Hm… [I] Niji pondered this until she passed a wall. There was an unusual energy in this wall. Niji reared up and punched the wall; her hand went through it. Some of the wallpaper fell off revealing a brick wall, which she had punctured.[/I] This one’s not wooden like the rest of them. [I]She felt around. To her surprise she felt a knob. Niji punched the wall repeatedly. Imric and Dark came running at the noise. They saw Niji and thought she’d gone crazy. “Niji, what are you doing!?” Dark asked, shocked. She just ignored them and continued until a hole big enough for her to walk through was formed. Niji lit a fire in her hand, illuminating the small area. Sure enough, there was a door. It was iron and had eight locks; one for each family member. You needed every member to open the door. Niji walked inside the small opening, Imric and Dark ran in behind her and saw the door. With the hand that wasn’t holding the fire, Niji pointed her finger and shot a tiny stream of flames at the door, outlining it just inside of the locks. When she was done, she burned a hole in the middle to fit her and into and reached in, grabbed the door with that hand and moved it from its frame. She leaned it on the wall next to her and walked inside. She hit her head on a lantern as she walked further into the room, so she lit it. To her surprise, it was much bigger than an ordinary lantern. It was rectangular and was as long as the room. It had cobwebs on it and was rusting a bit. However, what it illuminated was not a heart, no, but what seemed to be a pantry. But it wasn’t ordinary; the jars, the water inside tinted a crimson red, were filled with the hearts of the members of the family, except the father's, he was probably the only living person in the whole family. “Dark, stab them.” Niji said, and she turned to leave as Dark shot his ice crystals into the jars. Crimson-colored water splashed out of the jars as they exploded on impact and the pierced hearts fell to the ground, covering the ground in blood. Niji burned the bodies slowly so there was no smoke, but saved the father to eat. She carried him back to the clearing, with the others tailing her, that they had landed in and she started a fire and made a spit.[/I][/color]

[I][color=navy]They were now in the kingdom Circta and they knew that the nearest kingdom was the one they just came from, and that the next was quite a distance away, so they decided to wait in the woods for the angels to come to them. “Man, am I hungry.” Dark said. “What do you say we stop in the nearest city and grab a bite? Please! Listen to this stomach! It needs food! I sure as hell am not going to fight angels on an empty stomach.” “He’s right. We should get something to eat.” Imric said. “But don’t make a scene! I know that we’re all known for it, but don’t make yourself known. As far as anyone knows, we’re still in Vidia. If we give them any reason to think otherwise, the angels will hunt us down and we will have no way to watch them use their true power.” Niji said thoughtfully. “Well, if that’s the case, why don’t we just go to the farm we passed a little while back? It’s only about five minutes away flying, ten on foot. And if we kill everyone, whether we eat them or not, no one will know they’re dead for a few weeks. Trust me, farmers don’t interact much with people or events outside their farm and people don’t interact with farmers period unless you work at a food processing plant.” Imric said. Which was true, so that’s what they decided. They traveled on foot because flying would be too noticeable, Niji couldn’t fly anyway, and they decided that it was better exercise. No one said anything on the way there, but when they reached the edge of the field, they crouched low in some bushes, contemplating where they should attack and how they should go about it. “We should just walk up like normal people, knock on the door and wait until they invite us in and attack.” Dark suggested. “You know, that might be the most sensible thing you’ve said since I met you.” Niji commented. “I like it.” And with that, she put her coat on the rest of the way so it covered her wings and buttoned it up so that it covered her outfit (people know her by those things, they usually never get a good look at her face. Well, not unless they die within the next five minutes). “Me, too. Lets go.” Imric agreed and they straightened up and walked onto the field, steadily making their way towards the house. Once they got there they knocked on the door and a little girl, about seven years old, answered it. “Hello? Can I help you?” She asked politely. Her voice was a little too sweet. “Yes, we’re looking for some food and saw your farm and thought that we might get a bite and be on our way.” Niji’s voice almost sounded soothing as if she was trying to calm the little girl. She sounded very convincing, too. “MOM!? SOME PEOPLE ARE HERE TO GET SOMETHING TO EAT! CAN I LET THEM IN!?” The girl screamed across the house. “Of course, dear. And you don’t have to yell, I’m right here.” The mom said, walking up behind the girl. She opened the door a little wider and stepped aside so that the group could walk in, Niji went first. “Come in. Hi, I’m Sarah Bonin.” She said, reaching out her hand to shake theirs. “I’m Niji.” She said, shaking Sarah’s hand. “And this is Dark and Imric. Do you have any other children?” “Yes, five more, but they’re all boys. Our oldest is fifteen and our youngest is nine. Would you like to see them? They’re with their father out back.” Sarah offered. “Sure.” “JEFF! BOYS! COME IN! THERE’S SOMEONE I’D LIKE YOU TO MEET!” She yelled. They all came inside with smiling faces. The father shook Imric and Dark’s hands first. When he got to Niji, she just stared. “Haven’t you ever heard of ladies first?” Niji asked. “Well, no. I guess I haven’t.” He said apologetically, still holding his hand out. Niji took his hand and shook it once. Then she attacked. She pulled him closer by his hand and plunged her hand through his chest. The rest of the family was stunned as they watched their father fall to the floor, Niji holding his heart. But then the mother started crying, holding her children closer. Imric nodded to Dark and Dark made a circle of ice walls around them, trapping them (fire would’ve just been messy and would’ve attracted attention with the smoke). The oldest boy attacked Niji with a punch. She stood there and let him hit her. He stepped back, rubbing his fist after the blow, but Niji just straightened up, unharmed. “You throw quite a punch. Too bad it has to go to waste.” And she punched him back, sending him across the circle of ice, colliding with the far wall, making a dent in it. He died the instant he hit. “Dark, put them out of their misery.” Niji instructed and dark shot ice crystals into all of their necks. “I’m going to have a lot of rituals to perform. Don’t touch them until I’m done.” She instructed the others, and prepared for the rituals.[/color][/I]

[I][color=navy]“What the hell?!” An astounded Dark exclaimed. “I think I’m going to puke…” He said quietly, holding his stomach. However, no one was listening to Dark. Imric was too caught up in the moment and Niji was trying to understand what just happened. It was a wonderful feeling, Imric was a good kisser; he made Niji feel safe in his arms. She had never experienced anything like it before. Imric pulled his head away and leaned into Niji’s ear and whispered, “I love you”. Then he stood straight. Niji was so confused. It felt good, but she wasn’t sure of the situation. Then she noticed Dark staring at them, dumbfounded. Niji immediately snapped to attention. “A couple of hours and you guys are already kissing?!” Dark exclaimed. “Man, Imric. When you told her you fancied her I didn’t expect her to fancy you back!” “Hey! It wasn’t[/I] my [I]idea! I was walking away when he came up and just… just… yeah!” Niji cried franticly, trying to make her self a little less embarrassed. Imric was also growing red. “Well, you see… well, um…” He started, but he couldn’t come up with anything. “It’s ok, Imric. I just wasn’t expecting… that.” Dark re-assured his friend, and he changed the subject. “Look! The sun is rising!” “No! I didn’t get any sleep!” Niji complained. “I won’t be as powerful as normal!” “I can teach you to meditate. You, too, Dark. By the look of your injuries, you’re going to need it.” They sat in a triangle facing one another as Imric instructed them to close their eyes and clear their mind and shut out their senses. So they did. A wonderful feeling swept over Niji, it was almost like she was invincible, it was almost like Imric was kissing her again, holding her safe in his arms. _________________________________________ About two hours later, they stopped meditating. When Niji snapped out of it, she felt a little dizzy, but after a while she felt as good as new and stronger than ever. How powerful is Imric exactly? “We should prepare.” Imric said. “For what?” Dark asked dumbly. “The fancy restaurant.” Niji said sarcastically, but apparently the message didn’t get through to Dark. “We’re going to a restaurant?” He asked. “No! The angels, you idiot! We should prepare because we're going to spy on the angels!” Niji said, and she retrieved her jacket and put it over one shoulder, she wanted to look her best.[/color][/i]

[color=navy]We’ll never get anywhere at this rate. If I’m going to train, I should like to do it well! [I]Niji thought and ran from tree to tree until she was behind the shocked Dark and fired another three fireballs. But Dark soon came to his senses and spun around just in time to shoot ice shards into the balls and jump away to avoid what was left of the fireballs (since the ice melted inside them and only took off a little of the balls, but slowed them down, too). Niji launched another attack, this time she jumped over Dark’s head behind him and, before he had time to react, had her arm around his throat and in the other hand she had a fireball ready to shoot. However, she was just testing to see if Dark could get out of what a human may call a “hopeless situation” which shouldn’t be hopeless for a demon. And he passed. He formed and ice shard in his hand just out of Niji’s view and stabbed her arm with it, then he took hold of her arm and threw her over his shoulder at a tree a few feet away. But, to his surprise, Niji flipped in the air so that her feet, not her head, was aimed at the tree. She bended her knees when she hit so to lessen the force of impact and jumped down, turning to Dark. “Lets make this a little more interesting, shall we?” Dark said. And he took off his jacket revealing magnificent wings and flew into the air. Niji just looked on. “Well? You have wings, can’t you fly?” Niji hesitated, knowing that this would make the fight harder because she can only use her wings half an hour before she starts getting tired and an hour before she passes out because they’re so small, but she wasn’t going to let her opponent know her weakness, so she too flew into the air. She felt rather silly with her tiny wings beating so hard to keep her up compared to Dark’s graceful rhythm of his magnificent wings; she felt her face turn red. However Dark did not tease her like the other demons and people did, he didn’t even seem to notice. Instead, he launched an attack. He shot numerous ice shards at Niji, she dove in order to dodge them and shot a number of fireballs at him from below. He looked down and moved out of the way just in time.[/I] Well, it may be a waste of energy, but there’s no harm in trying. [I]Dark thought as he formed a sword out of his ice. He knew Niji would probably melt it, but for the time being it was good enough. Niji saw this.[/I] Very interesting. [I]She thought.[/I] I’ve never seen that before; manipulating an element into a weapon. Now lets hope he knows how to use it. [I]Dark didn’t know how to use a regular sword, no demon did, but this sword was no regular one. It was made out of ice, so whatever he wanted to do with it, he could; he controls ice, after all. Niji decided that it would be safe to keep a good distance, and she flew behind him. He turned and created a wall of ice as she shot more fireballs at him. He made the wall so thick, and repaired it so fast, that Niji’s balls couldn’t get through. However, he made it so thick that he couldn’t see beyond it, so Niji flew under him silently and got behind him and shot three more fireballs at him, this time they hit him square in the back. He turned and put his back on the wall, cooling it down so the burn didn’t hurt as much, then he made a box of ice walls around himself, all as thick as the first one. Niji decided it was time to bring out the heavy artillery. She held her hands out in front of her and created the biggest fireball of them all. It was the size of the icebox. When Niji launched it, it headed straight for the ice box as hard as Niji could force it and, when they collided, it created an explosion of ice and fire, but the fire burned the ice and the wind put out the fire before anything hit the ground, except Dark; he was in the middle of the explosion and fell into the clearing, burned and bleeding. Niji walked over to him and helped him up. “It’s ok. An ice demon isn’t expected to beat a fire demon, I had the advantage, even in the air.” Niji said. “Yeah.” Dark said. But he still looked upset with himself. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up about it! The angels won’t control fire, I guarantee it. And besides, we all have our weaknesses. I’ll bet you that if I battled a water demon, they’d beat me, too. That’s what keeps the elements in balance; each one has an advantage over one other element and a disadvantage to one other element.” “I guess so.” Dark said, walking away. “Where are you going?” “To try and buff out these scratches.” He joked, pointing to the cuts on his arm. Niji decided to make a joke of her own. “Ok, but hurry back! I don’t know how much more of Imric’s ego I can stand!”[/color][/I]

[i][color=navy]I made some! I hope you like them ^_^. Tell me if you'd like me to change anything! ~Kieko[/color][/i]

[I][color=navy]Dark woke with a start and looked angrily at Imric. But, before he had time to say anything, a large rock collided with the back of Imric’s head. “Do you mind?! I’m trying to sleep!” Niji yelled at Imric. “Tell that to Dark! I wouldn’t have to yell if he wasn’t such a sound sleeper!” Imric retorted. “And you didn’t have to throw a rock at me…” “Well, keep it down! I’m going back to sleep and I don’t want anymore interruptions!” “Yeah, you need your beauty sleep alright.” Imric muttered. Another rock whacked him in the head. “Hey!” But Niji was lying with her back to him, acting as though she had done nothing (even though she had), so he let it go.[/I] She’s starting to annoy me and it hasn’t even been five hours! And where’s she getting all those rocks? It’s like she made them from thin air! The sooner we get rid of the angels the better. [I]Imric thought to himself, but he decided to forget about it and talk to Dark now that he’d gotten him awake. Niji was lying on her side, staring at the dark trees.[/I] God, I hope this isn’t going to be how it is every night! [I]She thought, burning with anger.[/I] I can’t stand Imric! I can’t believe it! I thought it would be Dark that I wouldn’t get along with since we control opposite elements, but it’s the one I have the most in common with! Ugh! [I]However, being trained in not caring, Niji couldn’t hold on to one emotion for long, and so she didn’t stay angry for long. Soon she was just thinking. She heard nothing of what the other two were talking about, and frankly she could care less, but she did wonder about them.[/I] Maybe I should give them a chance. I mean, how long will it be before we get rid of these angels? There’s no point in going through this ordeal fighting with my own teammates, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy the company while it lasts. I mean, we are demons and we do live alone. It’s nice to meet others once and a while. I just hope they feel the same, and that it’s not too late to redeem myself…. And that I am able to apologize. [I] She decided to stop thinking and listened to the soft sound of whispers coming from the other two, hoping that they weren’t planning something against her, but then again, if she was going to try and work with them, she had better start trusting them, so she told herself it was alright and slipped into a dreamless sleep by the soft sound of the whispering.[/I][/color]

[color=navy]Niji was lying on the ground when she opened her eyes. It was cold and hard, not like the grass she had gone to sleep on. She quickly got up, staying alert. She looked around, but she could see nothing. A spotlight seemed to be shining on her, but she couldn’t tell where the light was coming from and she couldn’t see beyond it. Then she heard a familiar voice. “Niji!” It was a deep, male voice. It wasn’t Maestro’s, so who’s was it? “Niji!” This time it was a female. She sounded frantic, as if she was begging for something. “Niji! Please! Don’t go!” “I’m not going anywhere.” Niji said quietly. But the pleas continued. “Niji, we didn’t mean for it to turn out this way!” The male cried, “Please come back!” “Niji…” The woman started, but whatever she was going to say turned into a sob and she soon was crying. “I’m not going anywhere!” Niji yelled into the darkness. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” “NIJI!” “NIJI!” “Shut up!” “NIJI!” “NIJI!” “I said, [I]shut up[/I]!” Niji shouted and she sent a stream of flames towards the voices. “Niji, no!” The male said, but he was engulfed in flames a moment later. Niji stopped, panting. Light suddenly flooded the whole room, illuminating the apartment and the two lifeless, burning demons on the floor. Niji looked around; it was her apartment, the one she lived in when she was little, it looked just the way she left it. A booming, disembodied voice started speaking. Niji heard nothing of it accept one sentence. “Do you recognize them? They are your parents, Niji.” It said. “I don’t care. They should learn to keep their mouths shut.” “Do you know why they were screaming? It’s not that you were going any where, it was that you were pulling away from them. You hate them now, so you’re trying to leave their hearts.” “So?” “You may no care about them, but maybe you care about what they represent. You know very well that if the angels ever find hidden, they will destroy it.” “So? Vain is my home now! My parents wanted it to be that way, or else they wouldn’t have sent me here!” “But-” “NO! I DON’T WANT TO HERE ANYMORE! LEAVE ME ALONE! I’M TIRED OF YOU COMING INTO MY DREAMS! YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO WARN ME! I CAN LOOK OUT FOR MYSELF! I’M TIRED OF EVERYONE TELLING ME ABOUT THE DISTRUCTION OF HIDDEN! NO ONE EXCEPT THE ANGELS CAN FIND IT ANYWAY, SO LEAVE ME ALONE!” Niji exploded and the voice was silent. “Niji-” “NOOOO!!” Niji screamed. She couldn’t take it anymore. Then she woke up. [I]Niji sat bolt upright. She looked around. She was still in the clearing, and Imric and Dark were still asleep. But Niji took a second look at Imric and realized that he wasn’t asleep, he was hurt. She knew she should help him, but she decided that whatever he did to get himself that hurt, it was his own fault and he should deal with the consequences; it was definitely his fault that he decided to sprout wings, and Niji thought that was what hurt him, but she also felt the slight breeze again. Maybe a stronger one had come by and hurt him as well. Whatever it was, Niji was still tired and there was the whole night ahead of her, so she laid back down and went back to sleep; this time she had no dreams.[/color][/I]

[I][color=navy]Niji went over to Maersto and explained the whole thing. She didn’t want to ask Maersto whether or not to go with them out loud, in case they had some sort of “ultra” good hearing or something, but Maersto understood the expression in her face and nodded. Yes, she should go with them, but no, he wouldn’t be coming. They knew that, with the new force, Maersto wouldn’t make it, he’s too old and the new power could defeat him easily if he was alone. They bowed to one another and Maersto turned and walked away. Niji turned to face the other demons. “Well, I will join you. But I must point out that Dark is an Ice Demon and Imric and I are Fire Demons which will make a very odd combination. After all, fire melts ice, or didn’t you know that?” Niji said to the others. “I knew that! What, do you think I’m stupid?” Dark said. “Well, now that you mention it…” Imric joked. But Niji remained un-moved. She didn’t want anything to do with these demons, but she knew it was for the best. But that brought up another question. “If you two are done, I would like to ask something.” Niji interjected. “Yes?” Imric said. “Why me? I’m still in training. Or, I was when you got here.” “Well, first of all, just because you’re in training doesn’t mean you aren’t powerful and that’s why we chose you; because you[/I] are [I]powerful.” Dark said. “Just like Imric and me! And that’s why we need you to help us defeat the angels.” “So, where do we go now?” Niji asked. “Well, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves before we see the angels’ true power and what they’re capable of. So, I would stay here for the night, and tomorrow we can see if anyone’s seen them. Anyway,” Imric paused to yawn, “I’m beat.” And he laid down on a fluffy patch of grass and seemed to go right to sleep. “That was[/I] my [I]bed…” Niji whined. “Do be such a baby.” Dark retorted, leaning against a tree, trying to go to sleep. “Yeah, but it was comfortable.” Niji said as she fixed herself a new bed. This time she found a rock and tore some branches from a bush and put them on top of the rock. She put her head on that and covered herself up with her jacket. As she was going to sleep, she thought she saw dark open one eye slightly and look at her then close it.[/I] He’s probably scared I’ll “melt” him during the night. After all, I control fire and fire melts ice. [I]She thought as she closed her eyes and she drifted to sleep with that thought. She was actually kind of glad Dark and Imric were there; it was something she had never felt before, she was glad to have company. After all those years of it being just her and Maersto; it’s changed and she’s glad.[/color][/I]

[I][color=navy]Niji knew it would be pointless to start a pointless fight that would get her master killed. So she let the fire ball diminish and looked at the demon before her, still with an untrusting look. “I was taught not to trust anyone and that doesn’t exclude you! However, I will not fight you. It would be pointless.” She said. “So, was that you who snorted?” The demon asked, holding back a chuckle. “Yes. I had a sneeze.” Niji thought it was wise not to tell anyone about her master for the time being. “Well, are we going or not?” She said, and headed toward the demon in the next clearing. Niji saw the demon, he was in the middle of the clearing burning trees and bushes. She couldn’t let him burn the tree her master was leaning against. The demon blasted another tree. “I know you’re here! Come on out!” The demon waited. He thought that maybe intimidation would work, so he tried the new tactic. “I see… you’re scared of me! Ha ha! Well come on out and I promise I won’t hurt you.” To Niji’s surprise, the other demon had joined this one in the clearing. “Hey, Imric!” The one called Imric turned. When he saw the other demon, he called out a response. “Hey, Dark! Have you seen the fire demon? She’s scared of me.” This was too much for Niji and she stepped into view. “I’m here.” “Don’t you know it’s not polite to keep guests waiting?” Imric said. “Of course, I can understand why you didn’t come out; I am very scary.” Niji tried to keep her cool and not be offended by the comment. She was not scared of him, and she didn’t want to give her master away, so she remained silent. “Anyways, like I said before, we need to talk.” Imric said. “What about?” Niji asked. “Did you feel it?” Imric asked, leaving Niji wondering about him and Dark, but also what he meant by “it”. Could it be that the wind and light weren’t just signs of unusual weather?[/color][/I]

[i][color=navy]Maersto was fast asleep, his back leaning on the trunk of a near-by tree. Niji couldn’t sleep. She played with the fire a while, making it wave this way and that, she even became so bored that she stooped to poking at the burning ashes of the child’s bones with a stick. Maersto gave a sharp snort, muttered something, and shifted his position so he was leaning on his left shoulder more than his right.[/i] Heh. For a demon, he sure doesn’t act too superior. He acts like a bum, for crying out loud! Look at him! He snorts in his sleep, his clothes are torn… well, that’s mostly my fault, but still, he should have better manners, I mean he’s been this way for-what? - twelve years as far as I know! And maybe more! [i]Niji thought to herself. She gave a sigh and looked up at the stars. They were shinning extra bright tonight.[/i] I guess some things never change. [i]Niji decided that she was bored here and that it would be much more fun to take a short flight, just to see the sky closer. Niji stood up and beat her wings. She soared gracefully in the air and hovered in one spot so she could look at the moon. It had taken her a long time to strengthen her wings enough to hold her for a while because they are so small. It required countless hours of work to make them strong enough to hold her for even a few minutes. Now they can only hold her for about and hour or so before she is drained from exhaustion and passes out. So she usually never stays up longer than about thirty minutes if she can help it. She’s still working on her wings, too.[/i] If only I could be normal. Every other demon either has fully developed, strong, elegant wings or no wings at all, I have stubs that can hardly hold me for thirty minutes. [i]She thought. She hovered there wallowing in her misery until she felt something. A light breeze appeared from nowhere and ceased almost as quickly as it had come and with it a soft glow on the horizon as if from angels. “Strange. Sunrise isn't for another two hours or so.” Niji said aloud. But she couldn't help but notice the light was several hundred, maybe even a thousand, miles away. She listened intently for anything else. All she heard were soft cries from a terrorized city, muffled by the distance. She was about to go looking for the angels, but she made out another sound. It sounded like wings. Not angel wings, or bird wings, or bat wings, demon wings. Niji dropped into a dive towards her camp. She as she dove she put out the fire with a wave of her hand. When she landed, she took apart the spit and fire pit and hid the materials in the bushes, leaving the clearing as though no one had touched it. She pulled her master back behind a bush and leaned him against the other side of the tree, the side facing away from the clearing while she peaked over the bush into the clearing. Her master seemed not to be disturbed by any of this and the wings were getting closer.[/i] D***. It still smells like smoke! They’re bound to stop now! What if master wakes up? Or worse, what if he talks in his sleep or snorts again? I don’t know if I can take on a demon now, I haven’t had time to heal yet! I told master training by battle was dangerous! But no, it’s “good” for me! [i]Niji thought. She was a little panicked, but mostly worried for her master; he couldn’t fight. What if she failed him and lost the battle? Then what would he do? The beating of wings was louder now and seemed to be right over their heads.[/i][/color]

[i][color=navy]“Huiy!” Niji yelled as she sent a stream of fire shooting at her opponent. He dodged the attack and jumped behind her, shooting a counter attack of fireballs. Niji engulfed herself in a ball of flames and turned within the ball. When she let the barrier down, she jumped in the air, as to avoid any surprise attacks (she can not see what her opponent is doing inside the ball; they could launch an attack as soon as she let it down). Once at the peak of her jump, she shot numerous balls of fire at her opponent. He dodged all of them, running from building to building. Niji landed and faced her opponent who was standing at the other end of the street. The city was aflame now, and most of the buildings had been destroyed. However, neither Niji nor her opponent heard the terrified cries of the residents, or the sobs of the people crying over their now dead friends and family. No. Neither Niji nor her opponent heard any of this; they were concentrating on their fight. Niji’s opponent sprang into the air, and Niji followed, but positioned so that she would come up facing his back. Once level, Niji didn’t give her opponent time to realize where she was, she shot a beam of fire, square at his back. It hit him dead on and sent him about a hundred yards before she ceased the flames and he fell, still ablaze, into the top of a building. The building collapsed and raised so much dust that, when Niji landed, the area of the city she was in was also hazy. She turned to a building behind her and shot a blast of flames at it, propelling herself backwards until she was next to the crumbled building. She turned to her right at the pile of rubble and slowly approached it. Once she reached it, she started digging for her opponent, tossing pieces of plaster, metal beams, and wires and pipes in all directions until she found him. “Very….arg….good,…Niji.” Maersto Frypo grunted to his pupil as she helped him out of the rubble. “Heh. I’m getting old. And you’re getting better.” Once he was standing straight up she gave a little bow and said. “Cink sei, Kiy Frypo.” She replied in her native tongue. (“Thank you, Master Frypo." )“I will get a meal and we will be on our way.” And with that Niji was gone; running in the opposite direction. Niji ran along, looking for a meal that would be just right. She couldn’t find one two big, for that would be a waste, and she couldn’t find one too small, for that wouldn’t give her or her master enough energy for their training. She spotted a little boy, crying over his scorched and bleeding mother. Niji walked slowly over to him, sneaking up behind him. When she was looking over his shoulder, she saw that his mother was still alive, holding his hand. She looked up at Niji, right into her eyes. Niji stared back blankly and showed no emotion. She just picked up the boy and left. When she reached for the boy, Niji thought she heard the mother whisper “Michael”, for she probably could barely speak or else Niji was sure she would have yelled it. When she returned with the kicking and screaming five-year-old, Maersto Frypo tried to bow, but stumbled to the ground. Niji helped him up and supported him as they walked out of the city and into the woods beyond as if nothing had ever happened. They walked away from the destroyed city as someone would walk away from a training lesson wherein they merely break boards and throw punches into thin air. For that’s all this was; a training lesson. And, for now, the kingdom of Vidia was their training tool. Niji and Maersto Frypo neared their camp. Maersto hobbled over to the spit and lit the fire beneath. Niji walked over and set the boy down so that he was facing her and waited until he settled down and she leaned forward. “Michael.” She whispered in his ear, and she plunged her hand through his chest. He choked for a second and then became still, eyes still wide with terror and pain. Niji pulled her hand out. Grasped in it was the heart. Maestro looked at her. “I’ll do it.” Niji said and walked over to a tree. She kneeled down at the bottom of the tree, holding the heart up towards the sky. Looking at it she whispered an old traditional prayer. “Chilili yi Chililika, oe uiken fie tinkono oo sei nai keat fie tinkatinli eieinino.” (“Gods and Goddesses, I offer this heart so you may keep this spirit forever." ) And with that she buried the heart at the base of the tree and went over to eat the cooked boy with her master.[/color][/I]

[i][color=navy]Here's my sign-up! Name: Niji Ju (Call her Niji if you want; Ju is her last name.) Age: 19 Gender: Female Appearance: [url=http://www.absoluteanime.com/angel_sanctuary/kurai.jpg]Click here.[/url] Calling: Demon Power: Niji is a fire demon. She can throw fire balls, shoot blasts of fire from her hands as if it were water from a fire hose, cause things to spontaniously combust when she touches them, and she can engulf herself in a ball of fire; blocking any solid attacks and good for destroying/knocking down buildings. Biography: Niji was born in Hidden, a land that can’t be found except by the angels. It is a land of total destruction and utter chaos. Niji lived with her mother, Kurai Ju, and father, Teashi [tay-she] Ju. They weren’t at all rich, and lived in a half-fallen down motel in a cockroach-inhabited room. But Niji didn’t mind. In fact, she use to play, or torture, the cockroaches by trying to catch them and burning them in her hand, or shooting fire balls to see if she could hit them. Their room became very scorched and burned, so much so that there was hardly any wall left to separate the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen. And Niji had made holes in the wall that was one of the ones on the outside of the building. They didn’t need the window after that. Niji even blasted the door to their apartment down and they had to use bed sheets to cover up the frame. By the time she was five, Niji was beginning to get out of hand. It’s wonderful that she became in touch with her powers at a young age, but everything she touched or wanted to hit with her fireballs, wound up flaming. She couldn’t control her powers yet, the only thing good that came from her being in touch with them is that no one bothered them because if they did she’d set them a flame. But her parents wouldn’t give up. They heard of someone who could help her control her powers, but they lived in Vain. However, he had trained many of the best and most famous and dreaded demons with firepowers and Niji’s parents were determined to send her to him. So, they put her on the next ship to Vain at age seven. They were not permitted to go with her, and she never saw them again. She thought about them every night for the rest of her life. But she soon did not remember them in a way that she missed them, she soon remembered them in an angry manner. She soon thought of them as traitors because they sent her away from the life she loved and put her in a distant land and she can’t even go home again. But, of course, this was all she was taught by her teacher, Maersto Frypo [may-erst-oh free-poh]. He taught her to hate everything and to trust no one. He taught her to care about nothing except her powers and making them stronger by any means, they traveled all over Vain to train; whether it’s as important as destroying towns and taking lives or as insignificant as burning a tree, it’s worth it and will make her stronger (so he taught her). And she has done nothing but that for the past 12 years.[/color][/i]

[i][color=navy]I agree with Teshi, you should definately work on your cropping. The edges are very rough. Also, besides that, I would sugest you take a closer look at your banner when you think you're done. There are pieces of the original backround still there and, though they are very small, they are still noticable. I would also sugest adding a border. It ties the banner together, really, and gives it a "whole" look that makes it look a little neater. By the way, did you make the banner in your signature? ~Kieko[/color][/i]

[i][color=navy]I really like the banner. The animation is pretty smoothe. However, he seems to shift around a little bit with each movement. I love the backround, though. Very cool. I like the way it looks; kind of reminds me of scratched rock. It goes good with the font and helps the characters to stand out a bit. The only thing I didn't particularly like is the outline on the words. It may just be me, but I don't think that shade of blue matches. Other than that, great banner! ~Kieko[/color][/i]

[i][color=navy]I tried, too! It's animated, so click on the attatchment to see it![/color][/i]

[i][color=navy]I made an animated banner for Linkin Park, if you want it. If you want, I could make you one from FFX, too.[/color][/i]

[i][color=navy]I tried, too. I made two of them and I think they turned out pretty good... Well... here ya go! [img]http://server5.uploadit.org/files/ForgottenChild-tomoeavi1.jpg[/img] [img]http://server5.uploadit.org/files/ForgottenChild-tomoeavi2.jpg[/img][/color][/i]

[i][color=darkblue]I think I see it... I think it's the backround. It may just be me, but the backround doesn't seems to be missing in a little sliver of space to the left of the furthest left character, and in another space to the right of the furthes right character. Other than that, they're both really good! I love how you put a picture in the font! Exellent work! ~Kieko[/color][/i]

O.C.C: Posting one more time because I really don't feel like doing homework ^_^. ___________________________ [i][color=darkblue]Linë, who had been in the middle of cutting an opponent in two, fell in the dirt as the soldier disappeared. She quickly got up, covered in soil. "What's the big idea?" She said, rather annoyed. Then she glanced around; not only had the soldier she was fighting disappeared, so had all the other soldiers, and the monster, too. "Linë! Tr'shiel! Come on! We gotta see if Toshi, Riv, and Asunan are ok!" Celestia shouted over to them, and they all sprinted in the direction of the others. "Riv, Toshi! Are you alright?" Mereduin shouted as soon as they came into earshot. "Yeah!" Riv shouted back. "What happened? Where'd all the soldiers go?" Tr'shiel asked once they caught up with them. "Probably with Morak." Toshi said, slowly getting up. "You mean the big guy?" Linë asked. "Yeah." Asunan said. "Darn! We gotta go! Now! Morak said he was going to Arrav!" Toshi said, suddenly alarmed. The others looked worried, but only nodded. Only Riv seemed to be recalling Morak saying that. "Right. Lets go!"[/color][/i]

O.C.C: Sorry! I've been swamped with school work! Ugh! I have six essays to do tonight, but I just couldn't stand going another day knowing I'm slacking on this thread! _____________________________ [i][color=darkblue]Amarest and Mederuin had their hands full, and Celestia was too busy to help for the time being. Finally a soldier got the best of Amarest while she was killing another and raised his sword above his head; ready to strike. Amarest turned around just in time to see it coming down... and stop. She looked at the soldier's face; it looked shocked and the soldier soon slumped to the ground, revealing Linë (bloody daggers at her side as she was the one who stabbed the soldier) and Tr'shiel. "Sorry we're late, got lost on the way..." Linë said, and Amarest, Tr'shiel and her resumed fighting the soldiers.[/i] Darn. If I had known there were so many soldiers, I [i]would've[/i]asked that one guy for directions. [i]Linë thought to herself. But that couldn't be helped now. With a free moment, Linë looked around for Riv and the others. She spotted them fighting a huge moster, but had to quickly resume fighting, so she couldn't get a good view of it. She turned to Tr'shiel. "I don't know where I'd rather be; here fighting endless-" Linë had to stop speaking to kill some soldiers. "-hords of soldiers, or over there fighting that giant monster." She said, indiating to where the monster was standing. Tr'shiel looked and smiled a bit. "Me neither!" She said, and they continued fighting. "We'll be at this all day..." Linë said to herself in a bored, exasperated tone, she didn't like haveing to chip dried blood off her daggers, which was exactly what was going to happen after this battle.[/color][/i]

[i][color=darkblue][size=4]It's KIEKO not KEIKO!!!!!!!!! K-I-E-K-O! Not K-E-I-K-O! Get it right!!!!!!!!!!!!! Agggggh!!![/size] Ahem. Sorry about that, it's just that I wanted to get everything straight ^_^". Sorry it took so long for me to get this in, I've been swamped with school work! YORGISHMORGIES!!!!! _______________________________ _Name: Kieko _Age: 16 (I think that's how old she was.... I can't really remember...) _Powers: She's mastered the skill of swordfighting (including daggers and knives and whatnot). She's also very good in hand to hand combat and with guns. She's fair with a bow and arrow, though. _Weapons: Twin Daggers _Description: She wears a black shirt with baggy 3/4 sleeves. They're baggy so she can hide her daggers under them and retrieve them quickly. She also wears black pants that are somewhat baggy, and twin necklaces with Chinese writing on them (one's red and one's tan). She stands at about 5'4" and has long dark brown hair that she usually wears in a pony tail. _Background: Kieko was born in the Realm of Reality. She had one brother: Retcetorp. When Kieko was little, her father would beat her and her brother and mother when he was angry with them. Some nights he would come home late and drunk with a gun in his hand and try to shoot Kieko's mom or brother if they angered him. If they did, they would find somewhere to hide and wait until morning when Kieko's dad wouldn't be drunk anymore. But, one night, Kieko's mother was serving her dad beer after he came home drunk and she accidentally spilled the beer on him. She turned and told Retcetorp and Kieko to run and ran herself. But Kieko's father stood up and shot her dead in her tracks. After that, Retcetorp and Kieko were on their own with their father, and Retcetorp, being the oldest of the two, looked after Kieko and protected her from their father. But their father soon abandoned them and they were forced to live on the streets. Jobs were scarce in the Realm of Reality at that time, so no one had enough food or money to be able to give the five and ten year olds on the street corner. Retcetorp had to resort to stealing food for him and Kieko, and taught her how to do it, too. But, one time he was caught and beaten to death by the police in front of Kieko. They saw her and assumed she helped him do it, so they chased her when she began to run. The police caught up with her and beat her unconcious. She thought of a place far away... a beautiful place... where no one's life was like her own... She woke up in the Realm of Imaginations and has never been able to go back to Reality. Until now. She met up with Arunue, Toshi, Symoni, Garren, and Ora and they crossed to Reality, fighting Shakia (Hondur), who killed Ora and Arunue (killed Arunue when they got back to Imaginations). When they had to tavel to a different realm where Hondur fled, they did and were able to postpone Hondur's return.[/color][/i]

Um... I like the pictures, but didn't you notice that the fonts were barely readable? lol, you made them the exact opposite colors they should be. The bottom left corner font should be white rather than the other font and the other font should be black rather than the bottom left corner font^_^. But besides that, good job! Oh, and the other banner, yeah, I think you sould crop it all the way. It looks fine, but I think it would look better that way. ~Kieko