RPG Magic of the Heart

[maikiratori]

Shi-su bit her lip to keep from gasping. In her hurry to help Kyu, she'd forgotten about the Umber Hulks' mating season being a month long and how protective they are during this time. 'What have I done to them?' Shi-su asked herself as she took the foul smelling herbs away from Kyu and grabbed her weapons. "Get ready, we have to find them before they get killed!" Shi-su hissed to Kyu and stood slowly. Her movements attracted the attention of the demons, but she didn't care. She felt an oddly familiar coldness settling over her, the same thing she felt when she was fighting off ogres to save her mother. Shi-su seemed to be seething with energy, her eyes had grown hard and her voice was like steel. "You demons! I know what you're up to and I cannot allow it. I challenge you to a fight to the death!" Shi-su called to them as she pulled out Shinjite and held it in front of her waiting for the demons' attack. Kyu was just getting to his feet behind her as the first one charged. Shi-su blocked and followed through by cleanly decapitating him. Shi-su's effortless movement would have surprized her in any other situation, but she hardly noticed as the demon fell to the ground with a thud, his hed rolled to her feet and she kicked it away as if it were nothing more than a child's ball. The other two closed the distance with the same speed that had gotten Kyu into his former prone position on the floor of the forest. With a grunt Shi-su blocked one as the other went for Kyu. "Watch out!" Shi-su managed to say before the demon was upon him.

[inti]

Kyu had just managed to stand up when he saw Shi-su slice the head off a demon.
[i]Now why didn't I think of that?[/i], he was seething with worry and fury as the other two demons attacked Shi-su. One deflected off Shinjite and decided to aim instead for Kyu.
As the demon came at Kyu, his eyes hardened, his hair became a silky black colour and he leapt into the air.
[i]The Magic of the Heart will help guide me through this[/i]
Kyu drew his sabre, all of his wounds healing quickly to enable faster, stronger fighting.
The demon saw him leap, and with equal, if not (strangely) faster speed, jumped into the air after him.
The two immediately began fighting. The clashes of their weapons were distracting Shi-su and the other demon. When the demon Shi-su was fighting looked up, she took the chance to remove its torso from its legs.
The demon that was clashing weapons with Kyu took a chance to quickly flit of its eyes to the carnage Shi-su had caused.
Kyu was enraged that the demons had somehow found a way into the ancient elvin forest. And this rage was channelled by the Magic of the Heart to enhanse his fighting skills greatly.
He began to force the demon downwards, signalling to Shi-su to sneak up underneath it.
The demon was getting lower and lower to the ground.
The rest would have to be up to Shi-su.

[maikiratori]

The demon was just within reach for her, she jumped as high as she could slicing the demon from it's groin up to mid-chest, the demon's blood sprayed onto her, but she didn't care, it was dead, and Kyu looked better than before. "We have to hurry and find the others!!" Shi-su called to him as she sheathed Shinjite and ran off in the direction she'd lcame from. 'Well have to track them, I know they've moved since I left them.' Shi-su thought as Kyu swooped down and grabbed her. "We'll be faster if we fly." Kyu said as they flew out of reach of the Umber Hulks, thankfully there were no demons. Shi-su was amazed by his speed, she'd never been flying before and it was giving her a thrill. "That way!" Shi-su pointed to the left and held on with her other arm.

[Inuyashafan418]

Ayumi FINALLY got Ryu to be less groggy and then they started to fun farther and farther away from the battlescene. [I]I hope they can find us...[/I] Then, her arm started hurting again. The pain was considerably less than before her sword had glowed, but it was still noticeable. Suddenly she saw something from the sky out of the corner of her eye. It looked like Kyu and Shi-su! She pulled out her sword just in case. "What is that?" asked Ryu.
"I think it's Kyu and Shi-su, but I'm not sure..." replied Ayumi, solemnly. She noticed Ryu was bleeding again. Apparantly the fall made his wounds reopen.
As the figures came closer she was certain that it was Kyu and Shi-su!
"Thank the gods that you're here! Are you alright?" said Ryu.
Kyu replied, "Yes we are, but I think the question is, are you alright?"
"My arm hurts less...You won't believe this, but my sword actually glowed! And I killed an Umber Hulk by myself!...Although, Ryu reopened his wounds. I'm sorry if you feel like we're taking advantage of you, Shi-su. Oh! I found your mother's pendant!...At least i think this is it..." Ayumi replied as she pulled out the pendant she found out of her knapsack.
When she did, Ayumi couldn't read her face like she normally could...

[maikiratori]

Shi-su stared at the pendant that Ayumi had pulled out of her knapsack. Finally she came out of her shock and took it. Shi-su said thank you in elvish and bowed her head for amoment. She put the pendant around her neck and tended to Ryu's wounds, they had reopened and were bleeding badly. "We need to get out of here. Ryu needs to rest for a few days before he can do anything more." Shi-su said as she pulled Ayumi and Kyu away from Ryu, who was leaning against a tree. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm afraid that if we don't get out soon, he'll bleed to death." Shi-su was worried about her charge and about the rest of her friends. She too Ayumi's arm and rubbed a salve on her arm, it nummbed the pain considerably. "This should help for a while. But we need to get moving soon." Shi-su said as she jumped up into a few lower tree branches and started to climb. When she thought she was out of reach, Shi-su sat down on a sturdy bough and sat thinking about the day. Slowly she slipped into a medative state and started to regenerate her energy.

[Inuyashafan418]

The three friends that were left on the ground wondered about Shi-su? Why did she just crawl up the tree and just sit there? Eh, then they got over it. Ayumi help Kyu build a make-shift shelter for the night. It had started to get dark very quickly...
"Are you ok, Ryu?" Ayumi asked.
"I guess so...I'm just a little tired, that's all." Ryu replied
"So you killed an Umber Hulk all by yourself, huh?" Kyu said, out of the blue.
"Yeah, I guess so...My arm stopped hurting when my sword glowed...then I got this awesome power that helped me kill it...I still don't understand why...Could it be that 'Magic of the Heart' thing you were talking about before?"
Kyu was in shock! [I]How could a simple girl talk about the "Magic of the Heart" so openly? She really must be clueless.[/I] He thought.

[maikiratori]

Shi-su heard her friends talking beneath her and listened carefully to the talk about the Magic of the Heart conversation. She had a feeling that it would be different for each person, but she still wanted to hear, and to figure out if Ayume did have Magic of the Heart. As the night wore on, Shi-su's energy came back and she climbed down the tree near morning. Kyu was awake and standing watch. "I've got it from here. Take a rest for a while." Shi-su said quietly as she leaned against the tree. Kyu didn't move for a moment and just stared at her, then he walked into their little shelter and sat in the shadows.

[inti]

Kyu didn't sleep at all that night. He sat and thought about Ryu. He was badly hurt, and he had to be taken to professional help immediately.
Not that he didn't trust Shi-su's methods, it's just.....
[i]Even SHE was worried...[/i] he thought.
He snapped out of his trance and rushed outside in a flurry of black feathers.
'I'll take him to the Elves now' he burst out of the tent, speaking to Shi-su as though he'd just discovered fire.
'Always one step ahead aren't you? Or a flap anyway,' she replied calmly, 'Take him while he's asleep. We will wait here. You'd only be about two hours right?'
'Hmm....' he thought about it. 'I think so. If I fly hard it could be less, but with another body and his wounds I'd have to fly fairly slowly...'
'Take him now anyway. He might slow us down. In fact, we'll meet you there. If we wait we could get attacked. Only two of us wouldn't last long against more Hulks like those.'
'Ok then. See you there then. Oh. And Shi-su? Try not to go too hard on Yume. She doesn't know the forest too well and can't move through it like you and I.'
'Right then. Go get him. And Godspeed to you. Ryu won't last much longer. Especially in the cold of the wind.'
'I'll keep to the height of the trees then.' was the last he said.
Shi-su just nodded. They had to go now, and had no time to spare. It was lucky they hadn't been attacked by a Hulk over the night as it was.

[maikiratori]

Shi-su watched as they flew away and sighed. They were gonna be in for it if Kyu didn't get back or they didn't meet him soon, two just weren't enough. Shi-su turned and woke up Ayumi. "Get up and grab your things, we need to go now. We'll be up in the tree branches to stay hidden, so leave anything you don't need." Shi-su whispered and helped Ayumi pack everything she needed, it turned out that Ayumi always packed light and there was very little left behind. Shi-su helped Ayumi into the trees and Shi-su led the way towards the Elves. "Were are we going and where's Kyu and Ryu?" Ayumi asked as Shi-su helped her balance on the boughs and tried to hurry along. "Kyu has taken Ryu to the Elves because I cannot tend to him properly until we're out of danger. By that time, Ryu would have been beyond help. We are going to meet them with the Elves. Hopefully, Kyu will meet us half way and help us along. This is partly why we've left before sun-up. Under the cover of semi-darkness we can move relatively unnoticed by the Hulks and demons. The two of us can't fight them alone." Shi-su explained as they tried to hurry along the branches.

[Inuyashafan418]

Ayumi felt really clumsy running through the branches...Shi-su was so graceful and light footed up here and Ayumi was well...klutzy(sp?). Her arm felt better than it has been, so she assumed that it was healing well.
"I'm sorry if I'm slowing us down...I'm not used to living in the forest."
"Not to worry, I'll help you through it."
"Thank-you."
So then they continued for what seemed to be hours when the sun finally rose.
"It's really beautiful up here..." Ayumi said.
"It is. I love to be up here in the trees."
"I wonder how Kyu and Ryu are doing?"
"I bet they're fine. Kyu might be a little tired after a while from carrying Ryu...Hopefully he'll meet us half-way..."
[I]I hope so too...If only I wasn't hurt....I also wonder if this 'Magic of the Heart' thing really does exist in me...it could be of use to us...and I hope Shi-su is alright...I feel like I've been a burden...[/I] she thought when she almost fell out of the trees. [I]Maybe I should concentrate on these branches....[/I]

[inti]

Kyu landed safely at the doors to the Healer's Hut.
[i]This Ryu character is so heavy...what the hell has he been eating?![/i] he thought
Kyu left Ryu with the healer and told him what had happened.
'I will alert our fighters, if there're demons around, there's going to be hell to pay....for us....' sighed the healer.
Kyu rushed out of the hut and leapt into the dawn air. He always loved flying around dawn or dusk.
He quickly turned and headed for where he thought Shi-su and Ayumi might be.

[maikiratori]

Shi-su helped Ayumi along the branches and when they got to the trunk of a sturdy tree she helped the girl sit. "We need to rest for a few minutes...You look tired...Are you alright? Is your arm hurting you?" Shi-su asked as she reached for her medicine pouch. Ayumi stopped her, "I'm feeling fine. My arm hardly hurts, you've been doing a good job." The girl smiled and looked earnestly at Shi-su. Shi-su could feel Ayumi relaxing a little around her, and sensed the girl's need for friendship and trust. Shi-su smiled back warmly and took a sip from her water bag and offered Ayumi some. As Ayumi was sipping from the cantine, Kyu flew by. He didn't slow down and Shi-su stood, "Wait here. I'm going to get him." Shi-su stood and ran quickly and lightly along the branches until she was close enough to Kyu to speak to him without being over heard by the demons below. "Kyu, you've gone too far! Turn back and fly for 2 minutes or so, slowly and you should find Ayumi, I'll be with her too." Shi-su said as Kyu slowed and looked at her, she ran back in the direction she'd come from and knew he'd follow. She was glad he'd been able to make it back to travel the rest of the way with them, though she suspected they'd gone farther than half way. Kyu came up behind her as she was nearing the tree Ayumi was in. "Is Ryu alright?" Shi-su asked when Ayumi was in earshot.

[Inuyashafan418]

(OCC:I hate writing dialogue for other people's characters!)

"I think he's going to be alright..." Kyu said to Shi-su.
"good...Ayumi, are you alright?" Shi-su said to Ayumi.
"huh? Oh, yes it's fine. Thanks for asking." Ayumi replied, "So what are we going to do now? We never DID decide on a place we're going to...I do know that there's a war going to happen. Maybe when can help there?...but then again, you both know the forest better than I do..."
"That's right," Shi-su answered solemnly, "What ARE we going to do now?"
"I don't know but we should get going soon before those demons reach us...I have been wondering why those demons domesticated those Umber Hulks...and WHY did they attack us? hmm.." Kyu replied.
So the now smaller group continued their way along the the tree branches.

[maikiratori]

After a short while of walking, Shi-su thought of the Elves. "What about the Elves? They could give us shelter for a day or so...We need to rest a little, besides we need to come up with some kind of plan. We can't do things on the spur of the moment, and for anything we do, we'll need information about the demon/hulk issue." Shi-su said as she helped steady Ayumi on the branches. "Alright." The Ayumi and Kyu said simutanously, though Shi-su suspected Kyu's reason, was just a yearning for going home. Ayumi was trying to put on a brave front, but Shi-su suspected that Ayumi was starting to feel strained. Worry over Ryu, her own injuries and lack of sleep all combined to work against even the strongest of people. Shi-su pulled out a tiny silver brooch and attatched it to Ayumi's bag. "I think this would go perfectly with your other things. It's just like you, delecate, yet strong." The brooch was silver and bronze, in the shape of a fairy with a water lily wrapped around one leg until the fairy's hip. It was a sign of Shi-su's father. She knew it was precious to her, but Ayumi needed something to help her along. She didn't see the look on Kyu's face as they walked, but his face held a sort of recognition.

[Inuyashafan418]

(OCC: Is it just me and Maikiratori and Inti doing this story?? PM me please)

Ayumi couldn't believe that Shi-su would have given her such a lovely gift. "Thank-you." Ayumi said. [I]What did she mean I was 'delicate yet strong?'[/I] she thought. [I]Does she know that I'm a thief?? Nah! She couldn't know that...Besides..I kind of like this no-stealing life...It's peaceful...Maybe I'll give up being a thief for a while...Let's just see where this goes..[/I]

[G.D. Ryoko]

(OCC:Where is Rhys and Arika?)

The queen`s ball was a big success. Everyone admired Darmra and Yume. They ate delicious food and danced, it was really fun. Yume really couldn`t believe that she was feasting with a queen. After the party, Kilani took Yume and Darmra to the rooms they would be staying in.

"Darmra, you will be staying in the room to the left of mine and Yume, you will be in the room to the right of mine." said Kilani as she pointed out the rooms.

With that, Kilani walked into her room to sleep.

"Wow, Darmra, that was the best party I`ve ever been to." said Yume excitedly.

"Same here." replied Darmra "No one looked at me strangly. I thought that since I was a demon, no one would like me."

"Well, they did like you." said Yume. "Well I`m tired."

Yume then said good night to Darmra and walked into her room.

[maikiratori]

OOC: Sorry I was gone for so long. I'll actually post on Wed, but I've been grounded for a week and I'll finally be able to use the net on Wed...Again, I'm sorry for holding up the thread like this...Sara.

[Inuyashafan418]

(OCC: where'd everybody go??)

The rag-tag group had been traveling for about 3 days now in some-odd direction, not knowing what exactly to do now. "Maybe we could go to where the action is." Kyu said FINALLY.
"Where's that exactly?" Shi-su asked.
"To the North. I know of a queen who is in possible danger, and a war is going to start soon...I can sense it." He replied.
"Are we going to get Ryu soon?" Ayumi asked innocently.
"Soon. I'm sure he's in good hands." Shi-su replied.
So then they started north to the Queen's castle.

[maikiratori]

Shi-su was sure they should have been at the Elve's sanctuary in the middle of the woods before then. No one had said anything, Kyu would have if they'd been going in the wrong direction. Shi-su sighed heavily. She was worried as much about Ryu as Ayumi was. He'd been injured by the Umber Hulk and there might have been an infection or poison on the claws. The three kept walking along the branches, bored and thinking of nothing interesting to say. Shi-su sighed again. "I hate to say it, but I'm bored. If something interesting doesn't happen soon, I'm gonna go looking for trouble." She'd barely finished saying this before a giant Umber Hulk with two demons broke through the branches. "EEP!! I spoke to soon." Shi-su said as she pulled out Chansu and took off one of the demon's arms.

[inti]

OCC: Sorry for being away for so long. This RPG has been relatively inactive lately, and I was kinda busy, having a hard time keeping up with other RPGs I was in.

IC:
Kyu leapt to the side, sweeping Ayumi with him. He put her at the top of a very tall tree so that she'd be safe.
'HEY!! Whats the big idea, birdboy?!' she yelled in anger.
'Just keeping you safe. Shi-Su and I know this forest a lot better than you do, and I can send the forests magic at the demons if things get too rough. We are quite close to the elven village. We'll rush past and pick up Ryu on our way north.' came his longer than expected reply.
'Fine...' Ayumi mumbled poutingly.
Kyu flew up quickly, then dived down into the madness, drawing his blade and dagger.
From the treetops, Ayumi could see that Kyu's hair was starting to go black again...

OCC: When his hair goes black, the magic of the heart is kicking in.
And you know, I just noticed this, but if you swap the Shi with the Su in Shi-Su, it becomes SuShi. lolz. I can't believe I just noticed...

[Inuyashafan418]

(OCC: I love the birdboy comment!)

Ayumi felt guilty as usual about not fighting... [I]But my arm is almost healed...Geez, why'd I have to get so attached to these people???[/I] So she leapt (as best she could) out of the branch, onto the lower ones where the fighting was going on and withdrew her sword. [I]I hope this 'Magic of the Heart' thing works again...I don't think I have much of a chance with these demons...[/I] She was slashing as best she could without rebreaking her arm when Shi-su noticed.
"What on Earth are you doing Ayumi??" Shi-su Yelled over the fighting.
"Helping, that's what."
Then her sword started to glow again and she had this immense power come over her and her arm felt that it was healed.
"BANZAIIIII!!!!!" Ayumi screamed as she took off a demon's head.
"Whoah." Kyu whispered under his breath.
So the fighting continued...

[maikiratori]

OOC: I agree with the funnieness of the birdboy comment... I'm ignoring the sushi thing.

IC: Shi-su shook her head and sighed. The girl was very stubborn. 'Why'd she have to be like this... She might get hurt.' Shi-su kept fighting with all her strength. She didn't have to think about the whole Magic of the Heart thing at the moment, she was a good enough fighter without it. Shi-su grunted as she was thrown into the side of a tree with increadable force by one of the Hulks. "What's with you bub?" Shi-su mumbled under her breath as she pulled out Shinjite and lobbed off one of it's arms easily. "It's not nice to throw people around." Shi-su yelled as she managed to take off a few more limbs before decapitating the ugly thing. One of the demons had snuck up behind her and just as Shi-su turned, it struck. Shi-su felt a blinding pain in her arm and shoulders and she let out an odd cry of surprise and pain. She fell to her knees for a moment before her mind cleared and pain started to receed. "Help..." Shi-su called quietly as she struggled to stand.

[Inuyashafan418]

Ayumi heard Shi-su's cry [I]Oh no![/I]
Ayumi SURGED with fury...then her sword REALLY glowed...It was almost blinding! She was chopping and slicing these umber hulks and a few demons too.
"Kyu, Shi-su's in trouble!" Ayumi Screamed.
Kyu didn't hear her.
[I]Dammit![/I] (OCC: I hope I didn't offend anyone with that!)
Ayumi (tried) to run through the branches, dodging bodies and demons, until she got to Shi-su.
"Are you alright?...Wait a minute, stupid question. What can I do?" Ayumi said to the crumpled Shi-su.
"Just...finish fighting these guys off...I'll be fine."
"NO YOU ARE NOT FINE! YOU HAVE BEEN TOO NICE TO ME TO DIE NOW!!!"
So Ayumi protected Shi-su from the bloodthirsty demons until she started to feel drained of energy.
[I]O crap. I guess this Magic of the Heart thing doesn't last forever...[/I]

[inti]

OOC: Sorry for being away so long.

IC:
Kyu slashed and sliced at the umber hulk he was fighting, his hair had gone completely black now. The Magic of the Heart kicked in as Shi-su had called for help.
Ayumi had screamed to him to get to Shi-su.
{OOC: Hah! Like he was going to turn his back on an enraged umber hulk, [b]and[/b] several various sized demons? I don't think so!}
Kyu quickly desposed of the umber hulk, moving on to help Ayumi fight off the demons.
'Get down there and help Shi-su!!' he yelled at her, rage had blinded him that the demons could have caught [i]him[/i] off guard. 'I'll handle these freaks!'
'Mwahahahaha!' the thinnest of the demons leapt forward. 'You call us [i]freaks[/i]? You are the freaks! You are users of the "strange magic"!'
Kyu lashed out at the demon, who quickly stepped aside, and his shot missed.
'Ooooh. You've done it now! No one dodges [b]my[/b] katana!' Kyu growled, his eyes went black and he lashed out again.
The demon dodged again.
A strip of Kyu's hair went blood red.
[i]Dodge this...[/i] he thought. He held out a hand and crushed thin air with his fist.
The plants around whipped up and grabbed hold of the demons.

OOC: Sorry again! This time for the screwy "Dodge this" line!!

[maikiratori]

OOC: I can tell you're starting to have fun with this thread... I think it's great.. All your little side comments and all..I find it all quite amusing.

IC: Shi-su gripped Ayumi's arm and pulled herself up, hiding the pain she felt in her shoulders and arms. The pain had spread and Shi-su feared the blades were doused in poison. 'What a time to get injured.' Shi-su thought as she tried to keep her balance on the limbs with everyone bouncing on them. "Ayumi, mind the trees and plants. Kyu has managed to get them to help him and they might try to grab you. Don't fight back if they try to grab you!" Shi-su said urgently, leaning against the trunk of her tree. Her arms didn't seem to want to work and she needed to get to her medicine pouch to counter the poison that she knew was actually there. The poison was taking effect, her vision was starting to blur and the strength seemed to be leaving her. Shi-su panted a little and tried to stay awake. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open, her legs gave out and she sank to a sitting position on the branch.