RPG Final Fantasy: Humanity's Last Stand. [13+ for cursing, violence, gore, perversion]

[Balinese]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]OOC: *sweatdrop* uh oh.... i'm afraid to see where this is gonna go.
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Vela knelt in the middle of the glorified closet she called a bedroom, ostensibly deep in meditation. In reality, she was daydreaming about her day with Bedros and how they had laughed and talked for so long. It had been a lot of fun, and he had said he'd teach her a few of the basic offensive spells. It was nice to meet a mage outside the family. However, it had entailed an hour-and-a-half long lecture about impropriety that ended with a week's grounding to the house.

[i]"Vela! Kad du pat. E aqbald oui ib yd 6 du pakeh ouin bihecrsahd." (Vela! Get to bed. I expect you up at 6 to begin your punishment.)[/i] A voice called up from the first floor of the library. [i]"Yht tuh'd vunkad du creamt ouin tuun yht fehtufc. E femm lralg!" (And don't forget to shield your door and windows. I will check!)[/i]

[i]"Oac, Vydran, E femm. Kuut hekrd." (Yes, Father, I will. Good night.)[/i] Vela called back, calling up a Shield spell that would pass a cursory examination but would fall apart if it was hit with anything bigger than a bee moving at a lazy buzz. She lay on her pallet, mumbling to herself, [i]"Fro ys E vunlat du pa rana fedr dryd eteud? Uha fruma faag uv hu Rosa yht hu Locke... DUNDINA!" (Why am I forced to be here with that idiot? One whole week of no Rosa and no Locke... TORTURE!)[/i] Closing her eyes, Vela waited for sleep to claim her.[/FONT]

[Cyriel]

Edana shifted uneasily in her seat, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Hayden. The fire flickered, and the scent of food drifted from the large pot that was emitting steam. Cael stirred the contents, tasting a little, and then putting in a bit more of some spice or another. She had to smile at that; he reminded her so much of one of her brothers that she couldn't help laughing quietly. Once again, she stopped her laughter at a look from the ever-serious Tylan, and she blushed.

Thankfully, her discomfort was soon solved by Cael dishing out dinner, and everyone's attention was focused on the piping-hot food. Especially Hayden, who was eating so quickly that Edana had to wonder if he was chewing at all. [I]Will he choke? And if he does...will anyone do anything?[/I] The thought made her laugh again; she couldn't keep her spirits down. When she smiled, she looked so much younger... Her training had forced her to mature, taking on the appearance and act of an adult, when in reality, she was still an adolescent, stuck in an adult world. And sometimes her childhood caught up to her, brightening her features, and providing a youthful laughter to outer appearances.

When Cael looked at her curiously, it only made her laugh harder; she couldn't stop. Tears came to her eyes, and finally she tried to swallow her food. The laughter just bubbled up, and suddenly, she choked. Coughing as she tried to get her air pipes cleared, she could only think of the irony of the situation. Cael finally thumped her hard on the back, and her throat cleared, lending her the much-needed air. Filling her lungs, Edana's laughter now rang out free, lilting and silver in the night air. She fell back off of her seat, unable to stop, and tears came from her eyes, freely running down her cheeks. Cael merely shook his head, returning to his food. Acacia looked at Edana for a moment, who was rolling on the ground shaking with laughter, and then raised her eyebrows in question at Tylan. He shrugged. Hayden watched Edana, and then eyed the food she had left defenseless.

[Domon]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][I]Cael looked down at the stew he'd cooked up. Grinning inwardly, usually his stew was just when he wasn't really expecting company or he just felt in the mood for it, but he was glad that everyone was enjoying it. Looiking around the fire Cael realized that he was actually comfortable to be around these people, however looney some of them may act.

Unfortunately though, the nice little fuzzy feelings were ruined when the group suddenly fell silent when they heard a hissing sound followed by what sounded by large claws striking the stone. Turning to look where it was coming from, Acacia pointed towards the way the group was supposed to head. Picking up a lit piece of wood, Cael hurled it in the direction, the flame went under a large dragon which then proceeded to let out a high pitch bellow at the group.[/I]

"Get your weapons now!" [I]Cael yelled as Hayden quickly unholstered his pistols and aimed them at the creature. Acacia yanked out several throwing knives from a hidden holder near her thigh and she placed the tips in her mouth and bit down while she unsheathed her katana. Edana grabbed her shotgun and got right up beside Hayden and they both aimed towards the monter's face. While this was all happening Cael picked his sword up and ran towards Acacia and Tylan.[/I]

"Eat lead you piece of ****!!" [I]Edana yelled as she fired off a high impact round at the creature's face while Hayden followed up with backup fire, but he didn't aim for where Edana's shot had fell. Instead he fired both of his guns at the large dragon's eyes which quickly blinded it, but that was nothing to celebrate about because as soon as it fell blind it started stomping about, snarling and swinging its massive tail around. Edana tried to jump out of the way but she was broadsided by the dragon's massive tail and sent flying into the cliff wall and she slumped over onto her side unconscious. Hayden saw this and ran over to the fallen girl and tried to wake her up but she just mumbled a few words. Noticing that this monster's hearing wasn't all that great, Cael ran for Hayden and handed him the Hi-Potion he had tucked away in his coat pocket, nodding Hayden uncorked the concotion and managed to get Edana's mouth open and poured some of it down her throat before she spluttered some of it out of her mouth as she came to.

Letting out a mental sigh, Cael turned his attention back to the dragon. How on earth he, Acacia, Hayden, and Tylan were going to take this thing down was a doozy. Just then Hayden walked up behind Cael and tapped him on the back.[/I]

"Hey, how about you have Acacia pelt that thing with her knives and I'll provide as much cover with my guns while you and Tylan gut that thing. I saw Edana's shot do nothing to its hide but piss it off so I'm guessing that its underbelly is its weak point." [I]Nodding Cael told the plan to Tylan, who nodded in agreement and the two of them charged at the creature's underbelly with their swords held above their heads. As Cael was runing the length of the monster he could hear Hayden's pistols screaming out bullets as he continually fired at the creature's face. Tyaln soon stopped Cael about midway and pointed upwards, and Cael realized what Tylan wanted him to do. Quickly moving his sword to the same point as Tylan's. Both then rammed their swords up into the monster's stomach which caused the monster to howl and bellow in pain and collapse dead.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[StrikeGundam]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal][i]Okay, no stray thoughts this time; we were so close last time. and i'm sure [/i][/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy][color=teal][i]that we could get it now.[/i][/color] [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]Prynn and Reese each took a couple of deep breaths and tried the summoning [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]again. This time, all of their movements were perfect and synced, and they [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]still managed to stay calm as the aura materialized. The wings began to [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]appear again, and then the summoning stopped. [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal][i]Wait a minute... This time I knew that it wasn't me.[/i][/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]He cast a sideways glance towards Reese, but she shrugged and responded with [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]a [color=darkslateblue]"Nope, it wasn't me."[/color][/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]They tried again, but with the same results. They tried again several times, [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]until it was late into the evening, but every time, they would get to the [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]point where the wings of the unknown creature sould appear, and then the [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]summoning would end. [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]"The scriptures speak of speak of something like this happening. They say [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]that if the level of the summoners isn't high enough, the summoning won't be [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]able to be completed. Do you know what this means? We've stumbled onto a [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy][color=teal]high level secrect summoning!"[/color] Prynn took several pages of hurried notes on [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]the summoning, and then turned to his apprentice. [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]"Do you want to try the class changes on the Odin summoning now?"[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=darkslateblue]"Sure, but can we call it a day afterwards?"[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]"No problem, I'll ask the cooks to put some tea on."[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]After speaking to his kitchen staff, Prynn went back into the courtyard. The [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]two summoners went through the standard procedure of summoning. A silver [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]aura took shape in between the two or them. A booming bark resounded from [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]the area between the two, and the glint of a sword was clearly visible in the [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]bright moonlight of the moon. A deep voice emanated from the circle.[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=gray]"Gill..."[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]"What in the h***?"[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]The voice sounded again, this time with an angrier tone.[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=gray]"Gill!"[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]"What is this thing asking for money for?"[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=gray]"No gill...no Service..."[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]The aura abruptly dissolved. [/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=teal]"That was...strange. Lets go get our tea."[/color][/font]

[font=Tahoma][color=navy]The two summoners walked out onto the deck overlooking the village to find a platter waiting for them. The moon was an impressive cresent and cast its light over the entire village. Prynn could just make out a figure slinking through the emplt streets. He walked over to a nearby telescope, and looked at the mysterious person. [/color][/font]

[color=teal][i]Who is that? [/i][/color]

[color=#000080]The figure in the city had white hair, and wore a black jacket. Prynn had seen him around before, but was at a loss for a name. [/color]

[color=teal][i]It's that black mage. What's his name again?[/i][/color]

[Veritas]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=2][FONT=Century Gothic]Tylan pulled his bloody sword out of the lifeless dragon and wiped it off. He then proceded to remove some of the dragons scales. He turned to see Cael, Hayden and Edana who had just regained consciousness watching him.

"The scales make fairly decent armor and the horns can be made into weapons" Tylan said roughly as he collected more scales.

"I like to stick with Mythril" Edana said her voice slightly shaken.

"I heard its just as strong and repels or adds some elements depending on the dragon." Cael said looking at Edana then at Tylan.

"Thats correct my bracers and sword are made from the scales and horns of a Dark dragon" Tylan says holding up some claws attached by a string to the hilt of his sword.

"So what type of dragon is that?" Hayden asked looking at the dragon then resuming his eyeing of Edana.

"I was just beginning to think you werent an idiot" Tylan coldly remarked.

Edana laguhed looking at Hayden who ignored the comment. "Whats so funny?" He answered with a hint of a sarcastic tone.

Cael grinned but managed to hold back his laughter and answer he queston. "A green dragon"

"The scales and horns hold little elemental property but are very stong" Tylan said as he gather the scales, two claws and a horn. He proceded to walk to his tent and put the items away. He then walked over and sat by the fire.

"What are you gona do with those?" Acacia asked.

"Armor, weapons, souvenir or I could sell them" Tylan said looking deeply into the fire.

"You havent changed" Acacia said with a faint smile as Tylan nodded.

The group had resumed what they were doing before the dragon attacked. Hayden was stuffing his face while Edana laughed at him. Cael watched then with a grin laughing every now and then. Acacia and him seemed just roll thier eyes and mind thier own business.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[The Vampire: Ed]

Hayden had surprised the group with his heroics, and serious demeanor in battle. Their opinions of him had changed, but once the battle ended he went back to normal thus bringing them back to about the same opinion. Hayden was finishing his meal as Edana stared at him wondering if he had shown legitimate concern for her well being, or if it was just a way for him to score points with her and the group. It was hard to tell. Hayden finished his plate, and slowly realized Edana looking at him in a confused manner as if trying to understand.

"I'm a sexy beast aren't I?" Hayden said as he glanced back at Edana who quickly look away blushing. Edana muttered under her breath "You're a beast all right..."

"What was that?" Hayden asked hearing a muffled reply. Edana shook her head, and attempted to move away but held her side in slight pain. The potion hadn't completely taken away the pain, and she felt in it when she moved. Hayden took one of the potions from his personal stash, and handed it to Edana.

"Drink this down, it should heal you completely." Hayden said as Edana took it from him with a look of uncertainty. "Uh...thanks." Edana replied expecting the next pick up line to follow, but it didn't.

Hayden stood up and stretched yawning a bit as Edana drank the potion down feeling the remaining pain fade away. "Thanks for grub Cael. I think I'm going to turn in for the night." Hayden said as he waved, then shot a glance back at Edana and gave her a wink.

Edana shook her head and stared at Hayden with a look that said "not a chance in hell." Hayden laughed, and walked away disappearing behind some bushes where he sat down leaning against a near by tree. Hayden had never been much of a sleeper, only after one of his flings was he able to sleep, but strangely enough alone he could never sleep. Hayden sat passing the time cleaning his guns, and making sure they were reloaded and ready go next time he needed them.

Tylan stared at Hayden's tent still packed away, and motioned toward it while looking at Cael. "Looks like he forgot to set up his tent." Acacia said, as Tylan shook his head and replied "Oh well, if he wants it he'll come get it. Until then let him figure it out himself. He's dimwitted, but I'm sure even he'll notice something is missing."

Cael shrugged, and nodded in agreement as Edana stared at the bag thinking about taking it to him. She was a kind soul, perhaps too kind to think about taking Hayden's things to him after all the harassment he had put her through.

[Cyriel]

OOC: argh, just put the playing cards in my hand.

IC:

Staring at the bag, the firelight flickered on her face. Pretending disinterest, the other members of the group sat around it, but watched quietly, wondering what Edana would choose to do. The question rang in her head: [I]should I take it to him?[/I] Under the usual circumstances, she wouldn't even have considered it, but...the events of the battle made her wonder what kind of person Hayden was hiding underneath his egotistical outer shell.

[I]Make that a very tough outer shell...that conceited male chauvinist. I've never met someone who's been so self-centered, arrogant, and infuriating. Not to mention, in absolute disregard for the number of diseases he could be picking up that are sexually transmitted from his various escapades.... But I suppose I owe him something... he at least deserves some gratitude on my part for tonight.[/I]

Standing up, she brushed off her pants, and then picked up the bag with the tent. She walked warily to Hayden's position, but in the growing dark, his form couldn't be clearly seen.

The others watched her with curious interest, and Cael called a warning, "Hey, be careful Edana."

She waved in answer, peering into the trees, but not getting any closer than she already was. Looking at the bag in her hands, she was silent, listening for Hayden's breathing. Finally pinpointing where he was, she took a step closer, readied the bag in her hands...and tossed it. "Thank you!" she called. There was an answering thud as the bag landed on target, and Hayden's muffled groan. She laughed quietly, "Sorry!" Walking back to the others by the fire, she smiled. Cael just laughed. Edana shrugged, "Hey, I was being careful."

Hayden didn't reemerge, but the bushes that contained him were rustling with activity, so they left him to set up his tent. Random muttering from his direction could also be heard, and Edana laughed quietly to herself again.

Stretching, she headed off in a different direction, "I think I'll head to bed now too." The rustling in the bushes stopped. But then she called in a voice loud enough for even Hayden to hear, "I think I'll set my tent up by Acacia's." The rustling resumed at that, and Cael could only grin. Acacia shrugged, and then nodded. Edana poked her tongue out mischieviously, "Hey, safety in numbers." She walked off, leaving the other three by the fire, but Acacia soon followed her.

Setting up their tents side by side, Acacia crawled into hers and disappeared. It was absolutely silent, and the darkness surrounded them. Edana lay down on the ground just outside her tent flap, staring up at the stars. The firelight could still be seen a little distance away, but it was far enough that it didn't interrupt her quiet musings in the privacy of the darkness. Smiling wryly, she felt her side again, amazed that there were no bruises, or broken ribs for that matter. Placing both her hands behind her head, she picked out the various constellations through some of the wispy clouds that sped away overhead.

Another memory attached itself to her...

[I]"Daddy? How many are there?"

"Hmm...well, if you really want to know, you'll have to count them for yourself."[/I]

She awoke out of her half-sleep reverie when there was a large crackle from the fire. Looking up at the perfectly clear sky, she was amazed at the magnitude of it all... She smiled to herself, "...count them myself..." Sitting up, she rubbed her chilled arms, and then traced the tattoo under her eye again. [I]Better go inside my tent...no doubt some foul beast might come wandering if I stay out...[/I] Lifting up the flap, she quietly went inside. Sleep quickly claimed her in the quiet, comforting dark, and soon all was still.

[Domon]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][I]Cael was the last one still sitting out by the fire. Running his hand through his hair he glanced around at the tents various spots. Tylan had retired to his already made tent and the light soon flicked off, leaving Cael with only the light of the fire and the constant reminder that there were things out there that may want him for a midnight snack. Smirking, he knew that even if he fell asleep in a tent wouldn't do that much good. Grimmacing in regret, he knew he should have requested a portable forcefield generator. Had he requested that the group would be able to sleep more easily. Sighing, he threw some more wood onto the fire and retired finally to his tent, which was only a few steps away from the fire.

Slumping down on his sleeping bag, Cael pulled out a portable type of PC. One of Axerion's little perks for working in the main office. Attatching the wire that came with it he then slid the other end, which was meant to be worn on the fingers of the user, and proceeded to bring up several holograms at once. One was a personal log, the second was an inventory of things, and the third was an accurate map of the area that the satellite could make. Closing the inventory menu, Cael then proceeded to speak into a thin headset, which in turn then proceeded to make the computer type out what he was saying.[/I]

"Day 1. It seems that this group is much better than I expected. I can say this confidetnly by two events that happened today. The first was the fact that our sharpshooter, Hayden had quite an accident today on the way to the ranch for our horses. Seems like he has quite a deal of strength in him, or he just has a lot of dumb luck, either way I consider him a valued member of the team. The second incident was not all that long ago, a green dragon attacked our group and knocked Edana unconscious. Hayden, surprised us all with his serious attitude and by the way he helped Edana regain herself. But I just can't talk about our sharpshooter, everyone else has shown themselves quite capable as well today too." [I]Closing that menu out, Cael then slid the PC and everything else into his duffel bag. As he did so he laid his trenchcoat over the bag and placed his boots on the left side of his sleeping bag and his sword on the right hand side, after that little thing he slid right into his sleeping bag and fell into a semi-relaxed sleep.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[silpheedpilot]

Trust me! Its not what you're thinking!
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[COLOR=Blue]Bedros slinked through the streets of the city, a bit stupid because of his staff that self-luminated. Bedros strode through an alleyway, stopping at the corner to watch for people. Seeing nobody he preceeded further down the alleyway, until he came upon the house he was looking for. Vela's house. Bedros stuck his staff into the ground, between two path stones, and snuck over to a window at the back of the house. Bedros peered into the window to see Vela laying down on her makings of blankets and such, Bedros raised his hand to knock at the window. A sudden sense of premonition filled his head, knowing something was wrong with the situation.

"Hm...This doesn't look right.." Bedros said as he dropped his hand and glanced at the edges of the window, a dull white glow dimly illuminated the window sill. A protection spell, no doubt. Bedros sat down against the wall below the window trying to think of a way to bypass the spell that her father either ordered on or put on himself, in which case will be a hard nut to crack, so to say. Bedros thought for a second then slowly rose from the ground examining the spell at a further glance. It didn't look too sturdy, but he was sure one of two things could happen. An alarm. or...worse. Bedros took a gamble and tapped on the window. Once.[/COLOR]

[Balinese]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Vela sat up on her pallet, hearing the tap, and glanced out the window. "Bedros! Hi!" She moved to the window and pulled it open, leaning out. "What are you up to, coming here so late?"
"Nothin' much. I found out where you lived, so I thought I'd pay you a visit."
"Well, it looks like you and I can't start working on black magic for a while."
"Why not?" Bedros sat on the window sill, cool as a cucumber.
"My father has grounded me to the house for an entire week for spending the day with you. That..." she let loose with a stream of fricatives that sounded rather like a set of very angry curses.
"I see." Bedros hopped down from the sill and made as if to leave.
"For the love of all that's holy, PLEASE don't just leave me here!" Vela grabbed his arm, eyes pleading.
"You can't leave. Your dad seems pretty protective." Bedros shrugged, hiding a smile at the girl's frantic begging.
"Well, will you come back tomorrow? Please please please??"
"All right, all right. Relax. Hey, do I hear your dad coming?"
"YIPE!" Vela shoved Bedros out the window into the rose bush and pulled her blankets over her head, mumbling the words of the Shield spell.

Bedros tugged himself out of the thorns and grabbed his lit staff, wincing a little as a particularly vicious vine wrapped itself around his leg. "Poor kid, to be so afraid of yer dad..."[/FONT]

[Veritas]

[FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=2]Tylan layed on his back with his sword on top of him. He held the hilt with both hands and looked at roof of his tent. He was dwelling on the thoughts of the battle. "That felt good its been far to long since I was able to fight" he thought as he drifted into a light sleep.

*Flashback*

"Tylan you have done many great things that no other have been able to do, for that Im eternally grateful. Our positon would not be as it is now if it wasnt for you and a few others. In honour of your srevice I am giving you a large lake side cabin at Mi'hen with paid expenses for the rest of you life as well as extra money for whatever you want"
"Sir I appreciate the off but I would rather go back to being a soldier"
"Im sorry that is no longer an option, you have attained quite a reputation and not everyone approves of your actions. If I were to employ you as a soldier it might spread fear among the people and your life might be treatened as well. You will also have to keep your appearances in the city to a mininum"
"After all I've done this is how im repaid"
"Most people would be grateful. Take it or leave it you might as well get something good out of it"
"Fine"
"Good man, we may need your services sometime in the future so be prepaired if we send you word"

*End Flashback*

Tylan awoke and sat up slowly. He moved to the opening in the tent and looked outside. The moon was bearing over head and he closed the flap and layed back down. Sleep did not return, he was restless. Quietly he put on his equipment and left his tent. He walked past the fire and added some more wood. He continued to walk into the forest. He found a small pool of water which hi traced a stream up the mountain. Looking into the glassy surface of the water he saw the sky before cupping his hands and splashing water in his face. He let the water drip of his face into the pool when he caught a glimse of three wolves. "Not a challenge" he thought.

He drew his sword and waited for the wolves to attack. The first one lunged at him and he slashed it horizontally across the head. The second wolf attacked from behind jumping Tylans head. Tylan quickly rolled backwards and sprung forward driving his sword into the belly of the wolf. The third took the oppertunity to strike biting Tylans left shoulder while scratching his back. Tylan tried to stab the wolf under his his arm but the wolf jumped off his back. Tylan quickly turned and ran at the wolf his sword tip skimming the ground. Apon reaching the wolf he slashed up jumping with the attack. Apon landing he dug his sword tip into the ground and leaned on the hilt.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Domon]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][I]Having feeling like he'd slept much Cael slid on his boots and buttoned his trenchcoat all the way. Stepping out into the cool night he knew it he should have brought along a couple of flood lights to illuminate the area, but due to weight constraints on the horses he had to settle for wrist mounted lights that were okay for now, but once they got into the caves Cael knew they would need not only the lights, but their wits also.

Keeping his sword within range of a quick grab, Cael started the task of making some decent breakfast for the crew. Looking around slightly he noticed that Tylan's tent looked somewhat empty, but maybe he was in there and was sleeping still. Pulling out the pot he'd used last night for the stew, Cael went about of putting some fresh water from the mountain pool into it and then proceeded to dump some instant oatmeal mix into the water and started stirring. As he let that cook he looked over at the dead dragon. Maybe he could get some good cuts of meat off of its body, he knew from the data he'd been given that the meat on certain parts of the body were great for food sources. Hefting his sword, Cael took the blade and cut deeply into the back quarter of the large creature and cut most of the thigh meat away, leaving a large portion of the creature's bone exposed to the elements. The corpse hadn't decayed as fast as Cael had thought, so the meat was still edible. Slapping decent portions onto a skillet he began frying up the meat as if it were a stir fry hoping the smell would attract the people out of their tents.

Thankfully his plan had worked and Hayden was the first one out with a rather eager look.[/I]

"I had a dream about food, and look here. All this good food for..." [I]Hayden was silenced by a death look from Cael which basically said "You even think of eating all this food and it'll be your last meal." Getting the point Hayden picked up a bowl and dished out a decent amount of oatmeal and then took a few small pieces of meat and placed them on the edge of his bowl and then sat down and started eating slowly as he eyed the pot and skillet with glazed over eyes.

Edana was the next one to emerge from her tent with a sigh of relief she sauntered over towards the two, her hair was a little disarrayed and she still looked half asleep.[/I]

"Mmmm...What smells so good?" [I]Cael gestured towards the meat and the oatmeal.[/I]

"Dragon's flesh and oatmeal. I would have cooked more, but we should conserve the food rations because we'll be going through some caves pretty soon." [I]Edana nodded and took a bowl of oatmeal and some larger pieces of meat and sat as far away from Hayden as she could. Acacia soon emerged from her tent, she looked like she had slept in her clothes, she'd already prepared herself for the trek through the caves. Nodding at Cael she grabbed a bowl and got herself some food.

Cael was starting to get worried when Tylan didn't show up.[/I]

"Anyone seen Tylan??"

"Right here." [I]Cael whipped around and saw the black-haired man standing with a bite wound on his shoulder. A little shocked Cael walked over to his horse and pulled out a first aid kit and brandished a potion and handed it to the man who graciously drank it down and looked at the food with interest.[/I]

"Where'd you get the meat?"

"The dragon was kind enough to loan it to me." [I]Cael said jokingly but Hayden just busied himself with finishing off the last of his food before he took a nose dive at the rest, but of course just as he was about to Cael shot him another death glare and Hayden just stared right back this time. Moving slightly towards the food, Hayden moved closer too until they practically ran at each other, but Cael had the pot and skillet in both hands while Hayden looked at him with a rather pissed off look.[/I]

"It's mine dammit!!"

"You've eaten already you pig!"

"So!? I need mor..." [I]Hayden didn't get anymore out because Edana had taken her whip and wrapped it around Hayden's legs and pulled him down into the ground. Snickering Cael dished his food up and plopped down next to Tylan and ate his food.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[The Vampire: Ed]

Hayden fell as Edana's whip tripped him up, his face crashed into the soil with a thump. Hayden didn't move, he laid still without even the slightlest twitch. Edana looked a little concerned at first, but then quickly remembered Hayden's little prank back on the road in which ended with him grabbing a hold of her backside.

"I'm not falling for that again." Edana yelled at Hayden as she sat on the log by the fire, then she got up and preceded to nudge Hayden with her foot. "Did you hear me? I know you're just trying to cop a feel, so knock it off and get up."

Still Hayden didn't move. Tylan came over and shoved Hayden over onto his back with his foot. Edana's eyes grew wide as she saw Hayden's forehead bleeding while he laid unconscious, and a rock laying where his head rested before Tylan turned him over. Edana looked at the rest of the group and let out a nervous laugh.

"Don't worry about it. Someone was going to do it sooner or later. Might as well been you, now maybe he'll leave you alone." Tylan said as he walked towards the camp fire patting Edana on the shoulder as he passed by.

Hayden's head had began show signs of a bruise as the blood seeped from the cut, Edana shook her head and exclaimed "Why me?" She cleaned Hayden's cut, and patched his head up. Hayden slowly awoke to the image of Edana kneeling down next to him, he began to smile and asked "Am I that much an asshole?"

Almost as if it were rehearsed the entire group said "Yes!" as soon as the words left his mouth. Hayden looked at the rest of the group and sighed, then looked back at Edana. "You love me don't you?" Hayden asked jokingly. Edana smiled back, and leaned down to Hayden. Hayden was surprised, but eager to welcome what he thought was coming. Hayden closed his eyes and waited--then suddenly was knocked back after feeling an open palm smack his wounded forehead.

Hayden clutched at his head groaning in pain, as Edana and the rest of the group simply laughed. "You're too easy." Edana said as she stood up, and rejoined the rest of the group sitting around the fire. Hayden slowly sat up, and muttered "Women..." as he turned over and crawled his way back towards the food.

Hayden reached for another strip of dragon meat, but Cael took a turn smacking Hayden's wounded forehead. "AHHH--Son of a--what the hell was that for?!" Hayden yelled.

"I told you earlier, before Edana knocked you out, that you had enough." Cael said laughing and emphasizing the fact that Edana had knocked him unconscious. Hayden sat up and crossed his arms looking away from the group muttering random, incoherent things.

"What a baby. Fine, here. You can have a piece of mine if you just stop whining." Edana said as Hayden smiled and looked her way, but was only greeted by a piece of dragon meat hitting him in the face after being thrown.

The group laughed again, as if Hayden was the official jester for their entertainment. "Haha!!" Hayden yelled mockingly as he pulled the meat from his face, and took a bite out of it then showed off his half eaten food to the group causing them to grimace in disgust.

[silpheedpilot]

[COLOR=Blue]Bedros left the side of Velas house, rubbing at his pricked leg. Bedros headed down the same alleyways he took to get to Velas house, though he peered around the corner of each so he wasn't suprised by some muggers of a sort. Everywhere there were muggers or some thugs up to no good. Even in a town as small as such. Bedros turned the corner at an alleyway entrance and headed down the main street passing by some shops that were open a little late and the usual taverns that were open until dawn for those die hard drunkards. Taking a quick look around Bedros headed out of town, down the beaten path to his own home.

"What a shame. I was going to teach her some of the arts. Oh well, she wanted me to go back tomarrow, so that I will." Bedros said to himself as he continued down the path.

"I think she'll enjoy learning some Black Magic. A good thing to know If I do say so my-" Bedros was cut off in thought as a blast of lightning struck him like a train. Bedros stood up and looked around, his vision a haze of dark colors. Bedros shook his head and wiped at his eyes. A Thunder Flan was inching towards him while reering back for another strike. The stike came, but Bedros was too fast for it and dove to the side narrowly avoiding the lighting strike. He stood up and held fast as the Flan got even closer. Bedros waited as it inched closer, holding up his hand Bedros mumbled a few words of incantation and a large blast of water shot from the ground beneath the Flan, like an erupting geyser. The flan let out a horrid shriek before basically melting into the ground. Bedros smiled and gripped his arm which had apparently taken the bulk of the lightning.

"What in the world is a Flan doing here? No to mention the fact that it happens to be a Thunder Flan. Ah..No time to think about it, I need to tend to these wounds." With that said Bedros took off down the path a light jog.[/COLOR]

[Domon]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Indigo][I]Finishing up his food, Cael took the bowl over to the pool and cleaned it out rather quickly and then placed it back on the horse that was carrying the food supplies. Striding back towards the tent, Cael started to fold the tent down to its traveling size, which was about the size of a regular backpack. As he slumped it onto his horse's side he looked at the rest of the group, which was staring at him like he had some sort of disease.[/I]

"Look, get all of your stuff together, we're going into the caves so we can get to tha village before twilight, so get your stuff together and get ready to move out!" [I]The others nodded and quickly finished off their food. After the party had finished off the food they packed the rest of the supplies on the designated horse and they started into the caves.

Thankfully the caves weren't that badly inhabited by monsters. The group had an easy trek through the last part of the caves, which seemed odd to Cael because the reports he'd recieved said that the last part was the heaviest populated area. As the horses trotted out of the caves, Cael could see a large village spanning out near the base of the mountain. Hayden let out a small whistle of amazement, but the good feelings were soon cut short when a squishing sound could be heard to the left of the group. The five turned to face the new creature which was a Malbro.

The green mass that looked like some mutated plant advanced slowly towards the group, its tentacles lashing about hungrily, its massive mouth opened and closed for food. Suddenly Cael found himself falling to his knees, his sight darkened and feeling posioned. Groping around Cael tried to grab his sword but he was deafened by the squishing sound of the Malbro. Suddenly a loud roar pierced the air and suddenly the squishing sound ceased. After staying in a kneeling position Cael heard two pairs of footsteps crunching the ground, bumbling around blindly Cael groped the rock face and called out, but his voice wouldn't work.

Suddenly, Cael's vision returned. At first it was blurry and then finally it was back comepletly and he was looking at a young man who had a concerned look on his face and a young girl who was helping the others.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/I]

[StrikeGundam]

[color=navy]The following morning after the fiasco with the gil hungry summoning, Prynn decided that a change of venue would be beneficial to both of their training. The cooks packed a moderately large meal, and the two summoners set off for a clearing near Reese' s favorite stream. The knew that they would have to pass through a large fiend-infested cave, but most of the creatures that were known to live there were no big deal. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"So what do you really think that our problem has been recently?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=teal]"Honestly, I have no idea. When we first summoned Odin, it was nowhere as hard for us to find another series of hand combinations that warranted another summon. I just hope that whatever helped us to do the double summons that we know wasn't fleeting..."[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=navy]They continued to talk about there current progress, and what they thought that the next double summon would look like all the way to the cave entrance. Prynn took a few steps into the dark cavern, and stumbled. His vision began to cloud, but he already knew what was causing it.[/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=teal]"Malboro...remedy...NOW!"[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=navy]In an instant, Reese whipped open her hip bag and took a deep swig from a bottle stowed inside. She rushed over to her teacher and helped him to recover. The antidote took effect immediately, and he climbed to his feet. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"Why would a Malboro be releasing so much of its poisen into the air?"[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=#000080]Prynn peered deeper into the cave and say the hideous creature inching towards what looked like one of several humanoid figures on the ground.[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=teal]"There are other people in this cave. Go help them, I'll take care of the Malboro."[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=navy]After taking a deep breath, Prynn closed his eyes and preformed a summoning that he had done so many times before. The entire cave became illuminated by the aura that Prynn was creating, causing several smaller fiends to slink back into their corners, and Malboro to stop his advance. A pair of ebony wings rose from the circle, followed by [url="http://www.eternal-legend.com/ffx/aeons/shots/bahamut2.jpg"]a huge gold circle[/url] and the rest of the the creature, a black, gold, and purple dragon. [url="http://www.eternal-legend.com/ffx/aeons/shots/bahamut1.jpg"]Bahamut[/url] had returned to this plain. A deafening roar escaped his mouth, and at the same time, the turbine on his back began to spin. The air crackeled with electricity while Bahamut built up the enormus amount of [url="http://www.eternal-legend.com/ffx/aeons/shots/bahamut4.jpg"]energy[/url] in his wicked jaws. Bahamut cut loose, and the Malboro was no more. Through all of this, Prynn's eyes had remained closed, seeing instead through the eyes of his companion creature. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=teal]"Thank you, old friend,"[/color][color=navy] he whispered. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=#000080]Bahamut nodded, then disappeared like sand carried on the wind. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"Um...Prynn? I don't think that these people are from our village..."[/color]

[Domon]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][I]Finally finding his voice, Cael looked at the man who had given Cael some sort of antidote.[/I]

"Who are you two, and where did you come from?" [I]The man looked over at the girl and chuckled lightly.[/I]

"Well, your guess was right, they aren't from the village. But anyways I digress. My name is Prynn and this is my apprentice Reese." [I]Prynn said as he pointed to the girl who was now heading towards Hayden with the bottle that contained the antidote. Realizing that the girl was about to either get groped or worse, Cael bolted over to Reese and grabbed the bottle and gave it to Hayden who then came to his senses, but that was the bad thing. Because as soon as he did he saw Reese and was about to start flirting with her, but thankfully Cael had shot enough of a warning look to back off.

Turning his attention back to Prynn and Reese, Cael introduced himself.[/I]

"I'm Cael, the black-haired man over there is Tylan, the girl with the interesting tattoo is Edana, the other girl is Acacia, and perv boy over here is Hayden. Always avoid Hayden's hands and never let him get within reaching distance of you if you're a girl.." [I]The others chuckled while Hayden glared daggers back at Cael, but he knew the party leader was joking, otherwise Cael would have proceeded to make Hayden look like an incompetent boob.

After a few more exhchanges in conversation, Cael looked down towards the village and then back at Prynn.[/I]

"Would you be able to take us to the leader of the village? We'd like to meet him." [I]Prynn nodded and the group started down the mountain trail. As the group was near the last leg of the trail, Cael noticed that Reese had slowed down and was walking by Cael's side with an intriuged look on her face.[/I]

"So, you're from the other side of the mountains."

"Yep."

"Is it a desert over there, or does it have a great water supply as well?"

"Well, yes and no. I mean, its a desert in a sense that there isn't much plant life, but around Lake Thyala and Mi'hel there is excellent plant life etc." [I]Reese nodded and fell silent for a few moments before she thought of something else.[/I]

"So, how big is your home village?" [I]Cael chuckled which caused Reese to put a puzzled look on her face.[/I]

"We don't have villages anymore. Since the drought came around, there is only one big city and it consists of about 2 million people." [I]Reese's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock.[/I]

"I've...That's...wow...." [I]Was all she said, she then looked back towards Prynn and she fell into more deep thought for the rest of the journey down the mountain. Nearing the village, the group, besides the two summoners were shocked by the simple look of the village, they were used to hi-tech vehicles, massive skyscrapers, , and other things of the time, this village on the other hand looks like it was about a century or two behind the cities surrounding Thyala and Mi'Hiel. Most of the people were walking or riding bikes. The attire was simple for most people, either regular clothes or they wore robes over their clothes, something that caught Cael's attention was that a lot of the people in black robes were mainly conversing among themselves as the ones wearing the white robes conversed amongst themselves as well, and then some of them wouls just ignore the norm and converse with whoever the hell they felt like talking to. As they walked further inward Cael and company drew some rather odd looks from the people, maybe it was because of their clothes, or maybe it was the fact that they were oblivious to the fact that the village was a mage village!! Suddenly a lightning bolt came out of no where which caused Edana to jump and of course Hayden caught her.. Prynn turned with a rather shocked look because not only had Edana smacked him but she also took her whip and wrapped it around Hayden's neck and proceeded to choke him. [/I]

"You son of a *****!! I'll teach you to grope my butt!! DIE!!" [I]Hayden was letting out a gagged laugh as he tried to pull away from the angered girl's wrath. Cael continued walking on and while Prynn stood there and then finally found his voice.[/I]

"Shouldn't you help him??"

"As the old Adage goes. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. So I'll just leave Hayden to his own demise, save me the time and effort." [I]Still hearing the loud gags, Cael whipped around with a dead serious voice.[/I]

"ALL RIGHT KIDS!! STOP PLAYING AROUND AND COME ON DAMMIT!!" [I]The two quarreling teens (in Cael's opinion) went motionless and looked at him with rather shocked eyes, the rest of the village was staring at them too from the whole scene... Prynn on the other hand was rather calm and motioned for them to follow him. After the group left the large mass of mages staring at them one Black mage finally spoke up.[/I]

"What the hell was that all about?? I only casted one small lightning bolt..."

[I]Prynn finall stopped in front of a large house that had pieces of machinery laying about and other miscellaneous things as well. Suddenly a large explosion was heard coming from the lower part of the house followed by a long line of cursing.[/I]

"Goddamn son of gun! Why the hell won't you work dammit!? I swear if you don't work I'll throw ya across the village and then haul yer sorry *** back here and then tear you apart piece by piece!!" [I]Prynn chuckled as he cupped his hands around his mouth.[/I]

"That hunk of metal giving you hell still Cid?!?!" [I]Just then the front door swung open full force and slammed against the wall as a man that had white hair and a white mustache stalked out rather angrily, but his face lightened as he saw Prynn and Reese.[/I]

"Good to see you two, how's things for you two?"

"They're good Cid. I found these five on the mountain, they're from the other side. I wanted to introduce them to you."

"From the other side of the mountain!!! Jesus crimeny why didn't you say so?! Com'on in then I think I can russle up some grub for us all." [/SIZE][/COLOR]

[StrikeGundam]

[color=navy]Cid told Reese to put a couple steaks on the grill out back and pulled Prynn aside. He shut the door so that their conversation wouldn't be heard. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=darkorange]"Alright Prynn, you know that I respect your opinion, so give it to me straight; what do you think about these five?"[/color]
[color=#ff8c00][/color]
[color=teal]"Well... So far they've been nothing but ordinary, but I'd watch the one called Hayden around the women. Also, the one called Edana is a bit... volatile, but only if she is pushed that way. All in all, I would say that they are all pretty trustworthy."[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=darkorange]"Good...good, I'll go and speak with all of them."[/color]
[color=#ff8c00][/color]
[color=navy]Prynn nodded and went through the gate to the back yard. He opened the gate, and let out a low whistle. Strewn around the yard were machines of all sizes, all in various states of completion, and all with foot sized dents all over them. Prynn chuckled to himself, and walked over to Reese. She seemed to have the steaks under control, so Prynn decided to ask her the same question that Cid had asked him. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"I think that they are ok, but that Hayden better watch it before Ifrit gets jealous..."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=navy]Prynn laughed, but got serious again. [/color][color=teal]"What about everyone else?" [/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=darkslateblue]"Again, ok, but I feel like a couple of them are hiding something."[/color]
[color=#483d8b][/color]
[color=teal]"Like who?"[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=navy]Reese opened her mouth to answer, but she was silenced by Cid emitting a loud and long string of curses. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=teal]"Looks like we're missing something important; just finish what you were telling me later.[/color][color=teal]"[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=navy]She nodded and the two of them went inside. [/color]

[The Vampire: Ed]

Hayden cheered up smelling the steaks cooking on the grill, his stomach seemed bottomless, but he was quickly brought back down by Edana, catching her giving him dirty looks. Hayden then returned a look of his own sticking his tounge out at Edana. Edana rolled her eyes, then held her whip up threateningly with a grin. Hayden grabbed his forehead remembering what she had done to him earlier with it, and threw his hands up defeated. Hayden kept his arms raised as he approached her, and then slowly lowered them but not totally keeping his defenses up.

"Um-hey, Edana." Hayden smiled nervously.

Edana turned her head away in anger as Hayden attempted to talk to her.

"Look-I know, I'm an ***, and all that, but I'm honestly sorry for everything I put you through." Hayden said apologetically.

Edana quickly looked at Hayden in shock, [i]An apology?[/i] she thought. Her facial expression told him that she didn't trust him one bit, but being the good person that she was, she heard him out.

"We're going to be stuck with each other for a little while, and I don't want to fight with each other like this for the time we have left." Hayden said with a smile, then slowly extended his hand in friendship. "I'd like to end our mission on a good note, so what do you say from this moment on we stop fighting and just be friends? Huh? Come on, just a shake."

Edana smiled at the gesture surprised at the sudden maturity he was showing, and so she accepted. Edana shook Hayden's hand.

"So-you do have an okay side to you after all, huh?" Edana said.

"Well, I've been smacked around for almost twenty-four hours straight now. I think anyone would wise up after that." Hayden said laughing. "Besides maybe you, and I can get a little closer and-"

Edana rolled her eyes again as Hayden seemed to be relapsing into his asshole mode, then held her hand up to silence him mid sentence giving him a stern look before shaking her head and walking away. Hayden put his hands on his hips, and sighed.

"Women!" Hayden exclaimed, then turned only to recieve a smack in the head from Acacia. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I don't know. It just felt right." Acacia said laughing as she turned and walked away.

Hayden stood holding his head as he felt defeated, but then grinned widely as he spotted the steaks on the grill. Hayden walked over and attempted to take one before everyone else, but Reese was there shaking her head.

"No, you wait, like everyone else." Reese said as she poked at the steaks with a fork.

"Aww-come on, babe. Just let me have mine. I'm starving." Hayden said in a seductive tone.

Reese closed her eyes, sighed, then grabbed the spatula to her right and smacked Hayden across the cheek with it. Taken completely by surprise Hayden nearly fell on his face, but managed only to stumble a bit.

"I told you, wait your turn." Reese said firmly holding her ground, then she looked Hayden right in the eyes and just stared coldly before speaking again. "And don't call me babe."

Hayden bit his lip fighting back the urge to curse up a storm, not to mention because Cid had all ready beaten him to it. Hayden gripped the handle of one his guns, and walked away in search of something to shoot and take his frustrations out on.

[Cyriel]

As Edana watched Hayden get his due from Reese, she couldn't stop from bursting out with laughter. [I]That guy is so...dense.[/I] Oh, it wasn't a bad thing - he made her laugh time and time again, and kept everything lighthearted. Of course, she always had to watch where he was, and keep track of his activities, but in the long run, she thought it was a good trade. Not knowing what they were going against, she thought they could use some humor.

[I]Not to mention...underneath, he's....ok.... I guess.... I mean, he apologized and everything, so I suppose he has some sense of decency... Too bad he converts right back to being a jack*** afterwards. Otherwise, maybe I could actually like him.[/I] Edana shook her head, amazed, and smacked herself on the forehead. [I]What am I thinking? Jeez, get a grip, I'm acting like stupid little kid stuck in the middle of puberty.[/I] She smacked herself again, and started walking the other direction after Acacia.

Cael, who had watched her, laughed. "What, not satisfied beating on Hayden anymore, so you gotta hit yourself?"

She looked up, and seeing Cael, only smiled and laughed. "What? No... As for Hayden, he'll probably get way more beatings from that girl Reese than me. I wouldn't go near her; she's lethal with that spatula." She winked.

Walking on again, she found herself...bored. It was surprising - here they were in a peaceful village, safe and rested, with so many people to meet, along with some nice hosts.... Edana let out a great sigh; this was precisely why she had left her farm - to get away from this sort of setting. It was too... She didn't know what it felt like, but it always made her restless. She couldn't sit peacefully long, knowing that there was so much more out there to find and discover and do.

Her feet seemed to find their own path, and led her past the little huts and cozy houses, out to where they had first come into the village. Looking out, she saw the desert again in the distance, and nearer, some of the mountain peaks rising up beside her. Taking a deep breath, she looked on, a melancholy feeling settling on her heart. [I]Why do I feel so...tied down? Everywhere I go, I can't seem to get rid of it... I always feel trapped.[/I] Closing her eyes, she imagined herself on the edge of a great cliff, surrounded by the beauty of the mountains. Then...she turned...and leapt off, spreading her arms. She felt the uprushing of air, and excitement rising in her stomach - excitement and... [I]freedom[/I].

Her eyes opened to reality, and looking back, she could see that the others were gathering for dinner. The figures were small. [I]I should hurry and get back - they're already finished cooking.[/I] And then...she heard something. Sounds in the underbrush, and then quick gunshots rang out. It dawned on her; Hayden was out here too. She looked around, and then saw some birds rise up in the air, disturbed by a being under the trees. She bit her lip; should she go get him? After all, he might not know that dinner was being served... And again, she didn't know if she should bother him - he had looked pretty upset when he walked off. Suddenly she felt guilty for laughing at him.

Turning away, she stopped, and turned back. She smacked herself again; [I]oh jeez, why do I always make myself feel so guilty about these things? It's going to get me killed...or even worse, molested. Da****...[/I] Sighing heavily again, she walked towards the sounds of shooting, where Hayden was sure to be, taking out his frustration on some poor log or another.

[The Vampire: Ed]

Hayden fired off a couple shots into the trees ahead, not actually aiming for anything in particular, just breaking a few branches. His anger was building in him, even after the scene was over he still felt angry, but not at Acacia for slapping him, nor Reese for her spatula slap, and not even Edana whom it started over. Hayden was angry with himself, for being the way he was, but he couldn't help himself. After his first, and only love, a women named Naomi, left him for some playboy. So thinking he could win her back, he molded himself more towards that image. Before he was a little like that, but now he was much worse and he couldn't seem to shake it off. When his true personality tried to shine through, it would usually be fought off by that little voice in the back of his head telling him women like the playboy attitude.

"Yeah, Hayden's a joke." Hayden said out loud as he fired off another shot. "Hayden's always the joke."

Hayden grunted as he threw his arms down, and just stared at the ground under him. Then he put his hand in his pocket and removed a picture, that of his ex-love, Naomi. He stared at it for a moment, his lips quivering, and then suddenly he threw the picture through the air watching the wind carry it for a moment.

"You *****!" Hayden screamed as he fired rapidly at the picture with both guns. "You ruined me..."

Hayden watched as pieces tore from the picture, then slowly holstered his guns. His jaw squeezed shut as he fought screaming out his rage, and he closed his eyes trying to calm himself down. Little did he know Edana had seen the whole thing, all thought she hadn't quite known exactly what it was about, she had a good idea. She felt a little uneasy about disturbing him now after seeing the anger, so she decided to leave him alone. But when she started backing up she stepped on a twig causing a snapping sound startling Hayden.

"Who's there?!" Hayden yelled as he spun around grabbing at his guns, but then froze seeing Edana staring at him. "Oh-OH, hey-ahem-hey, babe. What's up?"

Hayden went into the normal routine, attempting to act as if he wasn't bother by anything. Edana stepped a closer a couple feet analyzing Hayden's expression seeing him fighting back his anger. Hayden put on a false smile, and winked bringing Edana back.

"Oh, um-I was just going to tell you the steaks are ready." Edana said with a sympathetic expression.

"Ah, well, thanks, but I'm not hungry." Hayden said as he looked around, leaving Edana with a surprised look on her face. "I think I'll just-uh-go for a walk or something."

Hayden waved to her as he walked away back towards the town, leaving her wondering if she heard right. [i]Not hungry? I've only known the guy for a little amount of time, and he's got to be the biggest eater I've ever seen. Must be pretty bad.[/i] Edana thought to herself.

"What's this?" Edana said to herself bending down to put up the shredded picture of Hayden's ex-lover.

Meanwhile, Hayden simply strolled around the town keeping to himself, even ignoring any women he could have hit on, on the way through town. Hayden felt run down, and almost as if the life was suck from his body after thinking of that ugly incident that took place about a year back.

[Veritas]

[SIZE=2][FONT=Century Gothic][COLOR=DarkRed]Tylan walked past the various inventions of cid all unique but they all hade one common trait, foot sized dents. Reaching the table he noticed Hayden and Edana were missing.

"Theres plates over by the grill and just choose a steak to your liking" Reese directed with a smile.

"Thanks" Tylan plainly responded moving quickly to the plates.

After grabbing a plate and moving to the stakes he watched as the sizzled and poped from the heat of the flame. He finally chose an average steak ad proceded to sit down. The table was full of various side dishes.

"Wheres the kids?" Tylan asked calmly dishing up some fried potatoes.

"Edana went to got tell Hayden that the food was done" Cael answered Edana returning as he finished.

"Speak of the devil, wheres perv boy, did he finally bite the dust" Cael added

"No, He said he wasnt hungry" Edana said softly looking slightly worried.

"I wouldn't of guessed that sinse he never seems to not be hungry. Plus he was eyeing the steaks like he had not eaten for weeks" Acacia remarked.

"Dont worry about him he will be fine, as long as he keeps perv boy on hold" Cael said trying to comfort Edana.

"We should keep eatin before the food gets cold" Cid said glancing at the group.

Edana was intructed on where everything was and she sat with food. They continued to eat and Tylan listened to the information about the village closely. As they finished eating Hayden hadnt returned and Edana's worried look had only gotten worse. [/COLOR] [/FONT] [/SIZE]

[Balinese]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]OOC: sorry for not posting... life is busy when you're heading for college.

IC:

Vela woke up at six a.m. the following day, and began looking forward to a week of working her rear end off around the house, strengthening her sword skills, and generally hating life. She looked out the window and half-laughed, half-groaned, seeing the damage Bedros had left in the rosebushes confirmed his reality, and at the same time added another chore to the already long list she had to work on.

[I]"Vela! Yna oui yfyga? (Vela! Are you awake?)"[/I] a stern, I'm-almost-angry-but-if-you-answer-NOW-you-won't-be-in-trouble voice called up to her room. She bolted off the pallet and rearranged the blankets quickly, calling back, [I]"Oac, Vydran! E's lusehk tufh nekrd huf! (Yes, Father! I'm coming down right now!)"[/I] A huff was the reply, and she sighed, running down the set of stairs to meet her father in the library. [I]At least Bedros is going to stop by tonight... [/I] [/FONT]

[Domon]

[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=1][I]Cael had waited for the others to get their plates, as soon as Reese took her's, Cael quickly grabbed one of the more well done steaks and found the only open seat was next to Reese, sliding next to the young girl he started eating his food.

After a few silent moments, Cid intwined his hands together and looked at Cael with intense eyes.[/I]

"What brings you people all the way over here from your homes? Did you think maybe that you'd find something of worth here?" [I]Cael wiped his mouth off calmly and slowly placed his fork and knife down on his plate and returned the calm stare at Cid.[/I]

"We came this far so we could find an access route to the third lake and see if any of the land here was agriculturally worthy because, with over 2 million people residing near Lake Thyala we have a slight problem with the crop growing at Lake Mi'hel, so that's our mission." [I]Cid guffawed in amusement and then looked at Cael with a grin.[/I]

"Well I guess you should definetly have an escort, because there is an abandoned city right before the lake and that city is home to some mighty strong monsters. Prynn, Reese, I'm requesting that you two go along with this group and help them. Also, I know of two mages who would find this little adventure quite entertaining. One of them would be Vela, her family is a little to aristocratic for my tastes, but that girl has been an independent spitfire since the day she was born, I know her father would not want her to go but she'd go anyways. The second is a very adept black mage named Bedros, he's a loner but he'll work with you. I'll go speak to them after we eat. Now, where will you five stay for the night, I don't have any room because I converted all of my guest rooms into my lab....Prynn, would you be kind enough to open yer home up to these five young warriors?" [I]Prynn nodded and Cid clapped his hands in approval and the group finished eating.

As the group left Cid's house, Cael hoped Cid would be able to tell Edana and Hayden where to go and how to get to Prynn's house. Nearing the massive mansion, Cael let out a whistle of amazment especially at the lush front courtyard, it resembled his swordmasters home, it was oriental looking with cherry blossom trees blooming and a small coy pond with several of the fish swimming lazily about. The house was what really caught Cael's attention, the house just looked like a beacon of elegance and yet simplicity amongst the village. Grinning, Cael followed the group into the house, but not before taking one last glance at the outside.[/I][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[StrikeGundam]

[color=navy][/color][color=teal]"Alright everyone, the house is comprised of three floors, with a courtyard in the center, and a large garden in the back. The kitchens are located on the first floor, and there should be a bathroom next to every room in the house, so you can pick any room on the first floor that isn't currently being lived in by the staff. Oh, and before I forget, It is [i]really[/i] in your best interest to stay away from the room at the very end of the hall; Mr. and Mrs Hatch, the Head Chefs, are trying for their first child, and believe me, you do not want to accidentally walk in there in the middle of the night looking for a bathroom. If you need to talk for any reason, my room is at the head of the stairs on the third floor, and Reese is on the second floor in the same place[/color][color=teal]"[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=navy]Prynn showed the group around his home. Every now and then, one of the staff you say hello to Prynn and Reese, then go back to their various cleaning duties. Cael and the others often caught themselves letting out little suprised noises at the simple elegance of the entire dwelling. There was evidence of wealth everywhere, from how the entire place was built, to the materials that were used to do so. Prynn led the group past the enoumous foyer at the foot of the stairs towardsa large long hall that was labeled "Guest Wing" on a gold embossed plaque hanging on the wall. Prynn opened the door, and everyone gasped.[/color]
[color=navy][/color]
[i][color=teal]You know... With all the people that I've shown the rooms to, I don't think that I'll ever get tired of that.[/color][/i]
[color=navy][/color]
[color=navy]The room was huge, nearly as big, if not bigger, than Cid's entire living room. There was a huge bed if the the room, but you would ardly notice it's size if you didn't look directly at it. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=indigo]"How did you pay for all of this?" Cael asked in a hushed whisper. [/color]

[color=teal]"Easy, I inherited most of the estate, and any add ons that I did to the house I paid for from my salary of being the High Summoner."[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=indigo]"Summoner? What do you mean?[/color][color=indigo]"[/color]
[color=#4b0082][/color]
[color=teal]"You mean that none of you have ever seen a summoning? Well, all of you are welcome to join Reese and I in the courtyard tomorrow morning at 8:00. Please try to be on time" [/color][color=navy]Prynn shot a playful glance at his apprentice. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=navy]One of the maids exited the opposite room and came up to Prynn. She started to talk in a hurried harsh tone. [/color]
[color=#000080][/color]
[color=darkorchid]"Honestly Mr.Prynn, I have no idea why you make us all clean so many rooms when no one ever stays in them! Why, I nearly threw my back out cleaning under the beds in the guest wing alone..."[/color]
[color=#9932cc][/color]
[color=teal]"Don't worry Selfina, you'll no longer have the trouble. These People will be occuping a few of the rooms, so hopefully you won't need to work as hard. In fact, you can take the rest of the week off."[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=darkorchid]"Oh Mr Prynn, you know that I'll just end up doing work anyway; there's no need." [/color]
[color=#9932cc][/color]
[color=teal]"Well, if you say so my dear..."[/color]
[color=#008080][/color]
[color=darkorchid]"Well, I hope that the four of you enjoy your stay."[/color]
[color=#9932cc][/color]
[color=navy][color=teal]"Four?" [/color]Prynn looked around. [/color][color=teal]"Wait a minute, where's Hayden?"[/color]