Poetic Chaos

OK, just for the hell of it, I'm going to base this character off of my actual self (not all of this is who I really am, but it's loosely based. So no rolling your eyes, 0ber0n!) Name: Jake Rogers Age: 16 Sex: Male Race: Human Job: Works at the local music store. Weapon: Katars (He keeps them hidden, as it is illegal for someone of his age to have weapons.) Clothing: Let's just say "the creepy Gothic kid" Method of Transportation: Walking (And occasionally driving in a car - but only when he feels like it.) Likes: Music, his guitar (Custom Ibanez GX-513), sleeping, the color black. Dislikes: Light, McDonalds, guns, people in general Bio: Jake doesn't really have a family, seeing as he was an only child and his parents had dissappeared on a mountain climbing vacation. He lives alone, but the authorities don't know about this yet. He prefers to be alone, and usually is, based on the way he looks: people don't exactly want to talk to him. Boys aren't "supposed" to wear eyeliner streaked down in mock tears, or black lipstick, or inch-long spikes on thier wrists. No matter. Life to him is but a transient passing, nothing but a blur of irregular and meaningless patterns meandering their way into and out of existence until finally reaching their destinations of impending oblivion. It is this oblivion that he awaits himself, waiting for this terrestrial projection of his physical self to pass away into the twisting nether that may or may not exist beyond life. He has no freinds whatsoever, and lies to himself that he doesn't care. He knows, though, deep down inside, all he really wants it to be loved, to be cared about by someone. All-in-All: The lonely creative outcast kid. Alignment: Civilian

Gothkir laughed at this. He felt so happy, so complete. He and Jiae were the only things that existed to him... Her lips were his salvation, her eyes the very home of his revived soul. They kissed again, more and more, intertwined in an eternal lock of love and compassion. They understood each other now... They knew where they both belonged: In each other's arms. Jiae slowly drew her head back, drawing her tounge from his mouth and her lips from his. "Thanks for everything," he said. She laid down on top of him and kissed him gently. He closed his arms around her and held her close. "I'm the one that should be thanking you." She propped her head up so she could look at his face. "Look, about me and Riho. He and I aren't... When we hugged, you looked--" He put his finger to her lips. "Don't worry about it. I just get that way, ya know? You are all I have to live for, and at the time it seemed possible that he could take you away from me." She laid her head back down upon his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. Gothkir laughed gently. "What," said Jiae, looking at him again. "Do you know how mad I was when he took you?" "No," she said, giggling. "Tell me about it." He told her the story of what had happened, how he had killed Chuun... And how "f-cking pissed" he was. That made her laugh. They kissed again, for a long time. Then they heard the voices of the group. They sat up, Jiae in Gothkir's lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and awaited the coming of thier companions, who, as it seemed, were singing an ancient drinking song together. Jiae laughed. "They'll never change, will they?" Gothkir smiled and looked up at the stars that had begun to emerge in the darkening sky. "I sure hope not, Jiae. I sure hope not."

OOC: LOL actually, Minkus, Gothkir [I]was[/I] the one who killed you. It says [I]kama,[/I] not [I]kunai[/I] ("... he had a kama enloged in his skull." Original post by 0ber0n the Neko). LOL. Actually, I wrote a post that had this battle between Chuun and Gothkir, but the computer crashed right as I was clicking the "Send Reply" button. It made me mad. I'll rewrite that post as best as possible. IC: Gothkir ran as fast as he could through the battle (of which he was paying no attention to whatsoever). He swung his flail kama this way and that, killing every guard that got in the way of his rage. His target was in sight now. [I]That pompous bastard! How dare he even TOUCH her?[/I] "Chuun!" Gothkir's cry was loud even against the backdrop of the battlers. The red-garbed Kiros whirled around. "Ah, well if it isn't my favorite vampire. I trust you've been doing... well?" "Cut the bullsh-t, Chuun. I'm going to finish this once and for all." "You, kill me? We'll see about that!" The Chuun drew his rapier and began attacking Gothkir fluidly. The Kippor was bleeding in multiple areas within minutes, and Chuun kept stabbing and slashing. "Well, vampire! Seems as if your... time is up." "We'll... see... about... that!" Gothkir threw a bolt of shadow at the unsuspecting Kiros' chest. He was sent flying and landed on the ground. "You... know... magic?" This time, the pauses weren't for effect. "A little. But now, you'll NEVER touch Jiae AGAIN!" The Kiros swore in his native language as a kama came sweeping down. It plunged deep into his forehead, spraying blood onto Gothkir like a fountain. Gothkir didn't even watch the blood pool around Chuun's head. He ran straight over to where Jiae was laying uncouncious. He checked her pulse. Still alive. [I]Thank the Gods.[/I] He cradled her in his arms. She was all he saw... The battle had ended with him killing Chuun, but he hadn't noticed. He stared at the sky, furious at Chuun, furious at himself, furious that he couldn't have stopped Chuun from taking the only thing he cared about away... But he had her back. [I]Gothkir?[/I] The words gently cascaded over his mind. [I]What? Wh- Jiae![/I] He looked down. Her eyes were open now, and she looked into his. He could see his face reflected in the green of her irises. They looked at each other for a while like that, and kissed. Chibi and Riku had been watching, which neither of the two had noticed. Chibi laughed and Riku began clapping. Gothkir turned around, embarassed. "Oh, shut up you two!" So now the secret was out. "Oh, it's cool Gothkir!" Sardik laughed. "A Waska and a vampire - now [I]that's[/I] and odd couple if I've ever heard of one!" Jiae kissed him again, as if to show that she didn't care.

OOC: Yay Minkus! Another Tool fan! Sorry, I had to say that. They're the best. IC: The entire group was afraid to even speak to Gothkir he was so angry. None of them had ever seen him that way before. "Geez," said Riho. "Is he [I]always[/I] like this?" "No," replied Chibi. "Actually, he almost never shows emotion. I always got the feeling there was something... wrong with him. But there was that one time he shot himself..." "[I]What?[/I] He [I]shot[/I] himself?" Riho looked shocked. "Yeah. Almost blew his own head off. It was all we could do to keep him from dying. Jiae kept him alive, though." "Sh-t. Poor guy..." "Yeah." "By the way... He and Jiae seem a little... close." "None of us [I]really[/I] know what the hell is going on between those two." OOC: Bell rang, got to go. I'll finish later.

"[I]I love you too, Gothkir.[/I]" Ok, that was about the highlight of the past 6 years. The group laughed as a humiliated Ta'a Chuun fell through the portal. But Gothkir had much, much bigger issues at hand. His stomach lurched when he saw Jiae hug Riho. They looked so... so close. He could feel the jealousy setting in already, seeping into the corners of his mind and rooting itself there. He shouldn't have felt that way, as she had sat right back down and put her head on his shoulder... "Erm, well, uh, sorry, Jiae. I didn't think of it. I was just concerned with finding you..." Jiae smiled. "Its alright, Riho. I promise." [I]Sh-t[/I], he thought to himself. [I]Anyone else is bound to be better than me... I'm just a vampire... and look at him... I can't compete with him. [/I] No. He wouldn't think that way. He loved Jiae, and that was all there was to it. She had, after all, told him she loved him. [I]Wow.[/I] [I]An optimistic thought.[/I] [I]That's new.[/I] Jiae was definitely something Gothkir needed in his life right now. Since she had started to notice his existence, back in the Blackmoor, he hadn't even thought about that gun... Gothkir could feel the mana fields increasing around them. It was kind of refreshing, as he himself, being a dedicated Death Monk, could use some magic himself. "So, Jiae, who is this?" He raised an eyebrow. "I see you two know each other quite well, too!" He laughed. "Oh, shut up Riho. This is Gothkir." He smiled wide, showing his sharp fangs. Riho stepped back. "Oh, sh-t! I wont be messing with you!" Gothkir seemed taken aback. Jiae laughed. "Don't worry, Riho. He won't hurt you. He may look scary, but he's a sweetheart." She turned to Gothkir. "Sorry 'bout that. He has a thing about vampires." "Yeah," said Gothkir, almost jokingly. "Better get used to it. There's two of us." Lucifer grinned at Riho, and then went back to eating. "Great," said Riho. "Just great." Gothkir extended his hand. Something he hadn't done in a long while. Jiae seemed to revive his confidence... Riho took it cautiously, then, sensing it was safe, firmly grasped it. They shook hands. "Gothkir Dessendor," he said.

[I]Gothkir. I heard the beast scream, and thought...[/I] She couldn't meet his eyes. [I]I know. You should be asleep, though.[/I] Jiae smiled, and looked up. [I]How could I? I was worried.[/I] He smiled at her and sat down, wincing. Jiae put her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around hers. "Well," he said, out loud this time. "Things have been getting quite interesting lately..." She looked up at him and he kissed her. She giggled. "Very interesting," she said, smiling contently. "Oh, by the way... You had started to say something to me, telepathically. It cut off before you could finish. What did you say?" Gothkir said it this time without hesitation, without doubt. "I love you."

Gothkir pulled the crossbow bolt out of his foot in time to see the snake's mouth closing around a defenseless Lyc. [I]Time for me to actually be useful.[/I] Gothkir swung his flail kama as quickly as he could at the serpent. It hit the creature's skin and bounced off. It [I]did[/I], however, devert it's attention to him instead of the Lyc. It whipped it's head around and roared at him. Gothkir then noticed the fleshy area around it's forehead. [I]What the...[/I] The fleshy area opened to reveal another eye. It already had, what, 60-something eyes? This one was huge, though, and human-like. It swiveled around to survey the area. Gothkir watched as one of Chuun's guards fired frantically at the eye missing every time. The beast ripped off the man's head with one quick motion. It turned it's head back toward Gothkir. The large eye in it's forehead focused on him. There was something eerily human about it... [I]Pitiful creature[/I]. The words entered his mind like a scream. The creature was speaking to him telepathically. [I]But how...[/I] [I]Shut up and listen[/I], it snapped back. [I]Leave this place. It is no longer yours.[/I] Gothkir looked at it. [I]F-ck you.[/I] He swung his kama at it again. It plunged deep into it's massive eye. Acidic blood spurted out, killing three more guards. The creature screamed and charged toward Gothkir again. He jumped up, swinging his kama. It buried itself in the eye again. The creature's head fell to the ground with a crash, but it wasn't dead. The guards all fired at the eye, and it finally gave a thrash, and died.

Jiae's face moved closer to Gothkir's, eyes half-closing as they got closer. Gothkir thought his heart was going to rip out of his chest, it was beating so hard. Their lips touched, softly and sweetly. His life connected to hers, all of their pain lost in the kiss. This moment was one Gothkir remembered for the rest of his life (and wished had lasted that long). The tender kiss layed upon his lips seemed to fill him with a new power, and he felt he could have lifted the weitght of world with ease. They pulled away slighty, and their lips touched again, shorter this time. Gothkir opened his eyes to see her face. Her eyes were still closed, as if to savor the moment for a while longer. Her eyes slid open. "Gothkir, I..." "Gods, Jiae," he said. "I'm sorry... oh gods, I'm so sorry..." He turned to leave, but she grabbed his wrist. "No, it's ok." He looked at her disbelievingly, but she kissed him again. "There," she giggled. "Is that proof enough?" He nodded, looking into her eyes again. "Jiae, I..." He just couldn't say those three words to her. Not yet, at least. He hoped he would, for the Gods knew he felt it. "Yes?" She looked at him sweetly. "I..." He couldn't. "Thank you," he managed. "But you need to get some rest." "You sure you'll be alright?" She gave him a worried look. "Yeah," he replied. "Now you get some sleep. I'll take care of these bastards." She laid down to get some sleep. Just as he turned to leave, she lifted her head up. "Oh, and Gothkir?" "Yeah?" "Kick some Prelate ***." He knelt down and kissed her forehead. "Oh, I will," he siad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ta'a Chuun was looking quite proud. "Now, you miscreants, prepare to be... apprehended." Gothkir was becoming exasperated with Ta'a Chuun, the Prelate, and those damned dramatic pauses! He had been crouching near the outside of the clearing. He stood up and began swinging his flail kama in a slow circle. "I would advise against that, Kippor, what with your kordova friend in such a condition," said Ta'a Chuun, smirking. "What did you just call her?! I'll f-cking kill you!" Gothkir let the kama fly free, swinging with deadly speed at the Kiros, who deftly defleced the blade with his rapier. He snapped his fingers, and there was a crossbow bolt in Gothkir's foot. [I]Damn[/I], he thought. [I]That kinda hurts![/I] "One more outburst like that, Kippor, and I'm afraid that we'll just have to set our sights a bit higher." The Kiros seemed very proud of himself. That's when the guard came rushing into the area. "SIR! We have a problem!" "Soldier, weren't you in a patrol with ten other people?" asked a very nervous Chuun. "Sir, I'm the only one that made it back alive." Ta'a Chuun didn't look too proud anymore. KKKRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKK! "What the hell was [I]that[/I]?" Sardik strained his eyes to see into the forest. "Oh, sh-t. Here it goes." "What," asked Gothkir. "Well," said Sardik, "That's got to be the biggest f-cking snake I've ever seen." A huge serpent, almost 300 feet long came crashing into the clearing. It roared again, louder this time. KKKRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKK! It's massive teeth didn't look too inviting, either. [I]In case I don't make it out of this one...[/I] Gothkir trained his telepathy on Jiae's signal. [I]Jiae?[/I] [I]Yes?[/I] She replied. [I]I love you.[/I]

OOC: Ummm.... Matarael, I was under the impression that spells [I]don't[/I] work in the blackmoor, but oh well. I'll roll with it. IC: [I]Damn vulture things![/I] There was still a battle going on, seeing as Ta'a Chuun had decided to betray them after all. Gothkir really didn't care, though. He had more important matters to attend to. Jiae was hurt, and that was more important than the world at the moment. Gothkir saw that she was burnt terribly by the acidic blood of the beasts. [I]Gods! Does everything in this place have to have acid for blood? It's like some bad horror movie![/I] Gothkir removed his trenchcoat, as it was getting in the way. He took off his shirt and wrapped it around the shivering Jiae. He picked her up and looked behind him, processing the scene in his mind. [I]Where did that Lyc come from?[/I] The Lyc stood, looking quite dramatic with the unnatural light eminating from him. Gothkir watched as the frustrated Lyc found the aura dissipated. "Tich'kinact!" The Lyc cursed the antimatter. Gothkir wondered if Jiae would be angry with him for taking her away from the battle. Hopefully she wouldn't, but it was no matter. Her life was more important. He ran into the moor, carrying her body. He set her down in a clearing and took the shirt off her. Althogh she was hurt, she wasn't in danger of dying. That was a relief... If he lost her... He looked down at the Waska. He sat there looking at her for almost an hour. He could still hear the sounds of the battle, but they seemed distant. Her eyes finally slid open. "Go... Gothkir?" "Yes, Jiae. It's me."

[I]Gothkir! Where are you?[/I] Her voice entered his mind like a sweet melody. [I]Jiae? Jiae! Oh! I'm... just a little away, you should be able to find me.[/I] He was still getting used to this telepathy thing. He heard the pitter-patter of feet, and turned to see Jiae. She paused for a moment, and tears began streaming down her face. She ran up to the Kippor and threw her arms around him. He drew her close, and she buried her face in his chest. She looked up at him after a few minutes. "I thought you were dead, Gothkir. How could you?" "I'm sorry Jiae... I... I just..." He broke into tears, not able to finish his sentence. She put her face into his chest again, and they cried there together, letting each other's tears feed their unconventional comfort. They sat down next to each other. "What were you thinking?" Jiae sniffled at the end of the question. "I just feel... so... useless. Useless, and hopeless." "Why? I don't understand..." "Look, Jiae. Before I met you, I had nothing. [I]Nothing[/I]. Something about you, though... You make me feel whole again. You've given me another chance in this world. It's like I've been reborn through you. Not many people give a vampire a chance, but you... You're different somehow." She looked at him, her deep eyes wide. "I didn't... I had no idea I meant so much to you..." Soon Gothkir found himself spilling his life's story to the Waska, Lyssa dying, his brother being murdered, even about his father raping him. He had never shared these things with anyone but Lyssa, and she was dead now. Jiae listened intently, the story making her cry at times. He got the feeling she could relate at some points. "I'm sorry you had to listen to all that," said Gothkir apologetically. "I just... I really needed to say some of those things, to get them out of me." "It's ok," said Jiae. "When I was little, my mother beat me... My father raped me and used me for prostotution... My brother, my lover, was killed years ago. I know what it's like, Gothkir. I feel that pain." With that, she fell asleep in his arms. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [I]"General Townsend, your daughter is here for you." Townsend looked at Gothkir. "Excuse me for a moment." He walked out of sight, and Gothkir could hear a door open. "Ah, Marra, how are we today?" "I'm doing well, dad. Is Riku here yet?" "No," replied Townsend. "Not yet. He should be soon. You can talk to Gothkir while you wait." "The vampire? But dad..." She said this under her breath, but Gothkir could hear it clearly. "Marra! I will not tolerate such... prejudice. Now go say hello to him." Marra walked into the room. She was a pretty girl with brown hair and matching eyes. She looked younger than she really was, even though she was of average height. "Hello," she said cautiously. "Hi..." replied Gothkir, keeping his eyes trained on his feet. "Look, if you heard that... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I just... The kids at school tell me stories about vampires." "Marra," came Townsend's voice from the front room, "Riku's here!" Riku entered the room.[/I] Gothkir's eyes shot open as the dream evaporated into the recesses of his waking mind. [I]That Riku... That was... Sardik.[/I] That's when he heard the terrible screeching noise.

"Gothkir?" "Gothkir!" His eyes slid open, revealing Sardik's face in front of his. "Sardik...?" "Yes, it's me. You're all right. It took all Jiae had to keep you from dying. What the f-ck were you thinking?" Gothkir didn't even think about the question. "Jiae? Where is she? Is she alright?" "Yes, ya crazy vampire! She's fine. Just uncouncious. She should wake up soon. Now, what was that all about? Gods, man!" Gothkir rushed (to the best of his ability) over to where Jiae lay. Something happened then... Something rose in his throat. A tear slid down his cheek, gleaming like a crystal in the gloom of the moor. Soon he was sobbing uncontrollably. He sat down next to Jiae and cradled her head in his arms and put his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, Jiae," he managed to whisper between sobs. "I'm so sorry..." "Come on man," said Lucifer from the shadows. "Give me a rest! It's not like she's dead!" Gothkir looked up, rage filling his eyes. "Look, you don't have any idea what's going on in my head! F-ck off!" Gothkir got up and stormed away. "Gods, what's [I]his[/I] problem?" Lucifer's question seemed so nonchalant, it even made Sardik mad. "Come on, Lucifer, give him a break. He just shot himself, for Light's sake!" "I'm gunna go talk to him," Sardik said to Chibi. She gave him a worried look. "Oh, don't worry, I'll be fine." Sardik followed Gothkir's path. Gothkir was sitting on a stump with his head in his hands. "Hey man, don't worry about Lucifer. He's got problems of his own." "It's alright," said Gothkir, wiping the tears off his face with his half-gloves. "Hey man, what's up?" "It's nothing. Really." "Nice try. People don't just shoot themselves in the head for no reason." "Look, I just... Life ya know?" Sardik nodded. "Yeah, life can be a b-tch. Trust me, I know. You just can't let it get you down, ya know?" "True... but I'm so tired of dealing with life. Everytime something good happens, it's taken from me." "Jiae hasn't." Gothkir looked up surprised. "What?" "Jiae. She's something good that's happened to you, and she hasn't been taken away." "What? How did you...?" "C'mon man. I can smell love a mile away," said Sardik with a grin. Sardik looked familiar somehow, in that moment. Gothkir could feel a memory fighting to break loose... "Have we met before? Before the other day in Balkazaar, I mean..." "No, I don't believe so. Why?" "You wouldn't happen to know a General Townsend, would you?" The Waska stopped breathing for a split second. His entire body seemed tight, and his eyes pierced through the gloom, showing like fire. "Yes... I do..." he said wismically. Then he snapped back into the "real world". "Wait a second! You [I]knew[/I] Townsend?" "Vaguely. I recall him... But something interferes with my memories." "The war," Sardik said excitedly. "Were you in the war?" Gothkir's mind was suddenly filled with images of battle. "Yes... I think so." It dawned on both of them at the same time. "The antimatter," they said in unison.

The group settled around the spring that Jiae had found, each finding their own spot in the soft grass. "I'm going to take a walk," said Gothkir, suddenly. "You sure? It might not be safe." "Yes, Lucifer, I'm fine." Gothkir looked over at Jiae, who was busying herself with tuning up her staff. "If I'm not back in an hour, have Jiae contact me telepathically." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [I]I saw it there again,[/I] Gothkir thought to himself. [I]I saw it in her eyes... they dimmed... pain washed over her, just like it did back in town. Why do I feel so... connected to her? I can't do this again... I can't fall in love again... [/I] [I]Ah, who am I kidding. I've already fallen in love. But why do I even think about it? She deserves someone that's at least worth something.[/I] Almost as if on cue, his foot hit something. He looked down to see an old-fasioned revolver on the ground. He picked it up and examined it. It still had three bullets left. Suddenly, it seemed very inviting. The thought of that gun... Gothkir put it in his mouth, feeling the cold steel against his tounge. Had he not been here before, thought these thoughts? Not like this, though.... Never like this... It seemed so simple. [I]Just pull the trigger, and all this bullsh-t will be over. Jiae won't have to deal with me... No-one will have to deal with me...[/I] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The camp went silent as a gunshot resounded through the forest.

The group stood in staring awe as Sardik finished off the creature, watching it dissapear into the void created by his sword. [I]That sword...[/I] Gothkir had seen that sword before. [I]Townsend? Sardik wouldn't...[/I] Gothkir watched from the outskirts of the ring of the companions. [I]Big surprise. Me on the outside. Again.[/I] They seemed to be talking telepathically. It was actually kind of comical, watching them flailing and gesturing silently. Gothkir could catch pieces of the "conversation" now and then. There was something he had caught earlier that stuck out in his mind, though. [I]"He may be a kippor, but he's been through more than you can imagine..."[/I] [I]Maybe she does care...[/I] [I]She doesn't have the slightest idea, though... Does she know what it is like to watch your family slaughtered? I do. Did she know what it was like to have her own father rape her, like Gothkir's father had done to him? I do. Did she know what it was like to have her only sibling murdered by her mother? I do. Did she know what it was like to think of suicide day in and day out? To have her hope hanging from a thread, to have nothing to live for? I do. [I]But I do have something to live for,[/I] he thought to himself. He noticed he had been staring at that reason absent-mindedly. He averted his eyes, hoping she hadn't noticed. He didn't want to look away though... She was so... beautiful... He remembered what she had looked like back at the house... Her flowing hair falling around her shoulders, her eyes glowing in the sun, her tail calmly swishing back and forth. Damnit! He was staring again! Hopefully she hadn't noticed. They seemed to be finished. They each went seperate ways to set up camp, as Sardik and Lucifer had brought some tents. Jiae walked over to Gothkir. "Thanks for the help with those things," she said, nodding toward the dead beast. "I couldn't have taken it without you blinding it." She hugged him. [I]SHE HUGGED ME![/I] It was all he could do to keep from jumping and screaming for joy. Joy. He hadn't felt [I]that[/I] for a while. He managed a "yeah... uh... thanks..." "You sound nervous," she said worriedly. "Are you okay?" Gothkir cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a long day, ya know?"

Jiae's words invaded Gothkir's mind as clearly as spoken words. She had just saved his life. Twice. But there was no time to thank her. The creature was waiting for the slightest noise. [I]*Snap.*[/I] [I]Damnit. The Kiros. I forgot about him.[/I] The beast whipped it's hideous head around at them. [I]Why is he looking at us,[/I] asked Jiae telepathically. Gothkir turned around, and sure enough, the Ta'a Chuun was in the foliage directly behind them. "F-cking kordava!" Ta'a Chuun winced again. The beast pummelled its way through the underbrush. Gothkir swung his flail kama, which slashed across three of it's eyes before plunging into a fourth. He pulled it out and caught it. The beast roared in pain, it's face even more horrific now with the black blood running down it's face in a cascade. The blood scent seemed to give Gothkir a boost. "Good job!" Jiae winked at him. "...thanks," Gothkir replied nervously. That was all the boost he needed. Gothkir and Jiae leapt at the same time, landing on it's massive head. Jiae methodically took out the rest of it's eyes. The creature was thrashing like no other, and screaming in it's terrible voice. Gothkir swung the kama at it's soft belly over and over. The black blood was everywhere now, but the creature would not fall. Then Gothkir saw the Kiros. Ta'a Chuun gracefully twirled his rapier, and in one fluid motion, the beast's arms fell to the ground. All four of them. The beast gave a final thrash, and fell to the ground. Jiae and Gothkir hopped down from it's head. "Nice work!" Ta'a Chuun gave a flourishing bow. "My pleasure." Jiae regarded him suspiciously, but managed to get out a quavering "thanks."

"We're [I]WHERE?"[/I] "The Blackmoor," replied a slightly familiar voice from the underbrush. The Kiros stood up and brushed a fern leaf from his cape. "You!" It was the first time Gothkir had ever heard Jiae angry. "Ti'chikmish almin kordava!" [I]Heh! Jiae knows Kiros swears. [/I] Her words seemed to hit the Kiros like blows to the chest. "How dare you speak to me like that? I'm not here to hurt you anyway. I need your... assistence." [I]God d-mn dramatic pauses.[/I] "Might I properly introduce myself. I am Ta'a Chuun." He started toward Jiae with his hand extended, but she hit it with the metal-capped end of her staff. "Don't touch me, kordava!" She spit when she said that, kordava, and he winced again. "You know, you really shouldn't be saying those words..." He turned to Gothkir, who still lay on the ground. "Will you have the courtesy to... introduce yourself like a proper gentleman?" Gothkir cautiously got to his feet, regarding the Kiros suspiciously. "Gothkir Dessendor," he said, shaking Chuun's hand. "This here is Jiae." "Have a last name, Waska?" Chuun's sarcastic tone seemed to irk her greatly. "What's it to you, kordava?" Ta'a Chuun looked at her angrily. "Where did she learn these words?" "Beats me," said Gothkir. "Well, enough of the small talk," said the Kiros. "We need to work together to get out of this forsaken place." Gothkir regarded him suspiciously. "What?" Ta'a Chuun didn't sound pleased with the atmosphere. "How exactly [I]did[/I] you end up here anyway?" "I was pushe--- *aghem* I decided to follow you to make sure you didn't escape, but for some reason, my portal closed up. It must have to do with the mana block here." "Right," said Jiae sarcastically. "Now let's get the f-ck out of here. I'm hungry." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The three walked in silence for the better part of three hours, but the marsh continued on... and on... and on... CCCGGRRRAAAAHHHHH!!! "What was that?" Jiae looked around cautiously, holding her staff close. "Don't know, but it sounded big." Gothkir, too, drew his weapon and began swinging it silently. The Kiros already had his rapier out. He looked almost like a rediculous pirate with that wide brimmed feather hat. That's when the beast came crashing into the clearing. It's twelve slitted eyes looked frantically at all of them from it's massive head that stood sixteen feet above the ground. Four horns curled from it's head, and spined covered it's carapace. It's body resembled that of a centipede. A really, really [I]big[/I] centipede. It had four forearms with wickedly curved claws. CCCGGRRRAAAAHHHHH!!! It let out it's beastly roar from the enormous jaws that barely fit in it's head. "Eww! It's hideous!" Jiae's face contorted into a disgusted glare. "Thanks for the observation, Captain Obvious!" Gothkir was [I]not[/I] in the mood.