Re: Nightfall, Children of the Elements

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:49 am

Well, that could be an interesting question to answer. Nuala frowned in thought, trying to figure out how she could answer truthfully without sounding crazy. She wasn't crazy, at least she didn't think so, and she didn't want other people to think she was. "I wanted to see where you were going," she answered after a few seconds, figuring that it wouldn't be good to give away the other group's presence if this guy was crazy.

She rubbed her head, not too concerned with messing up her already wild and tangled hair. There was something she was forgetting, though she couldn't quite place her finger on what. Realization crossed her face after a few seconds, and she straightened up a bit, her smile a bit awkward between her crooked teeth, the fact that she was missing a one or two teeth, and just from the sheer lack if practice. "My name is Nuala," she introduced herself, though she still kept her distance from the stranger. "What's yours?"

by Big Uri Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:35 pm

"...That's... kind of creepy, but I'll take your word for it," Aden replied, staring at the girl with distrustful eyes. It seemed a lame excuse, and it was reminder that, despite the directions his thoughts had been going, this girl was not to be trusted. That said, she was a poor liar, or else she was just plain crazy. Then again, in his experience, there were very few people who weren't at least a little bit off in the sanity department those days. He wondered idly if he fit into that description, too.

There was another second or two of awkward silence after this which Aden let pass. It wasn't that he was anti-social or bad at talking to people by design, but he simply hadn't talked to anyone in months, maybe even years, so he was just out of practice. At least the girl opposite him seemed just as out of her element as he felt, judging by her awkward smile. He noted with interest her missing teeth, an indicator that she too had seen combat.

"Nuala, eh? My name's Aden. Uh, pleased to meet you," he replied laconically, stepping forward and sticking his hand out for a hand shake, a custom half-remembered from his days in a settlement. Not that he wanted to dwell on that. It had been a while since he had heard a name, so they didn't mean a whole lot to him. It would have been nice to be able to tell where people were from by their names, which some people were able to do, but it didn't bother him too much.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Apr 06, 2013 12:53 pm

Nuala fidgeted a bit, obviously a bit disappointed that her excuse hadn't worked that well. She didn't want people to think she was crazy, she was just curious as to whether or not he had seen the group of people as well. She supposed that there wasn't a lot she could do to change his opinion, though, and tried to brush it off instead. Surely if he hung around her long enough, he'd figure out that she wasn't crazy, and if he didn't bother to stick around...well, then it wouldn't matter what he thought of her. This solution managed to satisfy her, at least momentarily.

When the stranger-- no, Aden-- stuck his hand out, Nuala couldn't help but jump back, half expecting an attack. However, no attack came, and she found herself staring at his empty hand for a few seconds. What was he doing? Was than an offer for her to stab his hand? No, why would he do that? That was stupid, you don't just let people stab you, and Aden didn't seem too stupid.

By the confused look on her face, it was more than evident that she had no idea what he was trying to pull. She stuck out her left hand, hitting the back of his right one with it before retracting her hand once more. "Pleased to meet you...as well?" Nuala spoke up, her tone slow and unsure.

by Big Uri Sat Apr 06, 2013 3:42 pm

Aden raised an eyebrow at her reaction. He withdrew his hand politely after her attempt at a response, though he wasn't too perturbed Even with his limited knowledge of social interactions, jumping at a handshake stood out as definitely not usual. That said, at least her reaction was kind of handshake-y. At least it wasn't too violent, and was more indicative of social ineptitude than it was of psychosis. And he had enough self-awareness to avoid hypocrisy and not judge her for that.

"So what're you doing here? Have you seen that group over there? They human?" Aden asked in quick succession, his green eyes alight with curiousity. He wasn't too interested in joining a group, and he didn't even care about trading, but the possibility of seeing a group of friendly humans was new to him. He hadn't seen a group of humans in months, let alone talked to one, and the the sheer novelty of it interested him.

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Apr 06, 2013 3:53 pm

When Aden brought up the other group of humans, Nuala's face light up, and she nodded. "Yeah, that's why I was following you, 'cuz I wanted to know if you had seen them too, but I didn't wanna give them away in case you were crazy," she answered, looking quite pleased. It was always nice when her predictions came out right.

"I watched 'em for a little while, and they looked human, at least," she continued. She wasn't quite sure if demons were capable of taking human form. She'd run into a few rather violent people, and not wanting to believe that her own kind had attacked her, she'd simply blamed it on demons that looked like humans. It was kind of weird, running into so many people in one day. It was often weeks between any human interaction, and even if she saw people, she didn't necessarily go talk to them.

by General Azimuth Sat Apr 06, 2013 5:22 pm

Xiax heard someone's voice, someone who definitely wasn't part of the group from Oasis. The voice sounded odd, as well, and he looked at Hasta. "Should we, follow?" he asked, before brushing Fang's eyes and ears. He suddenly heard everything more clearly, and could see what the wolf saw again. The wolf trotted into the building, seeming to know what Xiax wanted.

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Fang felt Master's connection again, and quickly realized he was to scout the building. He went in, smelling a fourth, this one similar to Master, Vines, Speedy, and Squinty, but female. He slowed down, lurking through the shadows, and saw a scary looking girl pointing a gun at Vines and his friends. He wasn't sure what Master wanted, so he stayed there.

by **Shadoe Mayari** Sat Apr 06, 2013 6:07 pm

Hasta nodded shyly. "Yeah."

He followed the group from the Oasis into the building, but he still kept his distance so he could see them somewhat. He heard the strange girl command them to drop their weapons, to which Hasta responded by sending a strong stream of air at the girl with the intent of knocking the gun out of her hands. If they had to drop their weapons, she had to as well.

by **Rose Hathaway** Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:09 pm

She was pissed to have her gun knocked out of her hand. It flew into a wall and clattered to the ground. Immediately she dashed to it and picked it up again. "Are you trying to be funny? I'll drop it when I see yours on the ground. You're lucky I'm not shooting you and your puppy too." she snapped. She didn't like this boy already. Most likely by the time this standoff ended, it would end with him dead or injured because he pissed her off that much. "I don't want to hurt any of you. But you shoot me, I'll shoot you. I'm only going to say this one more time: drop your weapons. Then state your business."

by **blackoutEquinox** Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:45 pm

As soon as the girl had lost the grip on her gun the group from Oasis reacted quickly by aiming their weapons at the girl. Marcus and Lilith took a knee and aimed at her chest, and this time Lilith did not hesitate to flick the safety off. Aculeus was undoubtedly the best shot out of the three from Oasis as he had been training with his gun since he was 10, not to mention his other superhuman abilities, and he fired a single shot after the girl had retrieved her gun. The bullet purposefully whizzed by the girl's head and took a few strands of her hair with it. Images mexican stand-offs from old western novels he had read popped briefly into Aculeus' mind before he pushed them out and refocused on the girl with the gun. He adjusted his aim to right between the girl's eyes before he spoke, "How about you put down your gun first because you started this. It isn't exactly nice to point a gun at someone the first time you meet them. And it isn't exactly smart to point a gun at a group that out powers you by a large fraction."

Lilith decided to speak up after Aculeus had finished his spill. "I would listen to him if I were you. We kind of had to watch our village burn to the ground last week and aren't exactly in the best of moods." Her rifle stayed steady, not hinting at just how nervous she was that she might have to kill another human. Being trained as a ranger by Aculeus had really hardened her nerves.

Marcus showed no sign of nervousness either. He had already had to kill human raiders before with Aculeus. His only worry was that Lilith might be killed by this girl. "Put your gun down," was all that he kept whispering to himself.

by **CodastertheDisaster** Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:52 pm

Epsil watched the group slowly move inside. He waited a few minuets, chuckling at the echo of a gunshot. He let go of the beam he had been holding on to, falling to the ground. He rolled on impact, still denting the asphalt and fracturing the bones in his legs a little, but he brushed it off and walked inside, mentally wincing with each step.

He tapped the center of the rifle trio on the back as he walked past him, yanking the gun out of the tan kid's hands and pointing to vine-arm with one arm. He heard the end of the kid's speech. "And it isn't nice to disobey orders, either," Epsil countered with a smirk.

If Xiax hadn't thought Epsil insane before, he definitely would now. Nobody would jump off the side of a skyscraper and then yank the gun out of someone's hand to threaten their leader. He was in a bad position, but at this point he wasn't really scared of taking on multiple people with guns. He didn't have any weapons on his person, but that didn't mean he wasn't incredibly deadly without. Epsil's amber eyes shone dangerously as he thought of his possible courses of action. "So how 'bout it, friend? Let's all drop the guns and be civil." At this, his palm opened and the rifle dropped to the ground.

by General Azimuth Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:12 pm

Xiax saw everything unfold, both from his own eyes and Fang's. He slowly walked inside, and subconsciously let out a mental pulse. He was getting angry and fed up with everyone being so hostile toward one another, and all the suspicions. If there were more 'demons', shouldn't they all work together? If they all had powers like his, they could easily get rid of the demons if they worked together, right? He reached the group, and simply said, sounding disappointed, "Guns." He fainted, as rats swarmed from all around them, taking the guns from the others' hands, and carrying them away. Fang ran to his master, and tried to rouse him, licking his face. As the last of the rats left, it was revealed that not a single firearm was left in the room.

by **Rose Hathaway** Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:25 pm

The leader took a shot at her and she felt some loose hair yank from her scalp. "Ow! You little fucking-" but she was interrupted by a newcomer. He had his gun aimed at the leader, which led her to the old saying that the enemy of her enemy was her friend-for now. "I'll drop it when these three knuckleheads drop theirs. Consider it payback for shooting my hair. I'm outnumbered here, and I will not fall unarmed to three assholes who think they have the right to walk around like they own the place because they watched their mommies and daddies burn." She snapped.

Then came the rats. She didn't mind the dark they brought, but the crawling feeling made her unhappy. So, once they were gone and weaponless, she manipulated a shadow like she had been practicing to shut all doors. "No one leaves and no one comes out. There is weird shit happening. I want names and scapegoats. Who brought the damn rats?" She demanded.

by **Shadoe Mayari** Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:47 pm

Hasta watched as a strange black blob took over the group and took away their weapons. "Nice trick," he was about to say, but then he saw Xiax's figure collapse. He frowned and went over to Xiax's unconscious body, keeping his eye on the girl. Then all the doors around them shut close, and Hasta's frowned deepened. It was all very dark and he couldn't see a damn thing. Everything merged into the darkness.

The girl demanded them to give her their names, and Hasta couldn't help but reply with a snide remark. "Why don't you start?"

by **Rose Hathaway** Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:52 pm

"No name. Haven't found one I liked." she said irritably to the boy who had blasted the gun from her hand. It was the short version of the story. Least confusing too, but then again anyone with no name would confuse normal people. She knew most people had names, hence why she asked for theirs. Easier to pick people out and maybe a bit less offensive than saying 'hey you' or by some other obscenity if she did hate them. Much like the asshole with the puppy dog.

by **CodastertheDisaster** Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:58 pm

Epsil chuckled loudly at the rat trick. He watched Xiax drop, and before anything else happened, shadows enveloped the exits and blocked them off. "Well, well, well," he said nonchalantly, ignoring the other boy speaking, his footsteps echoing in the sudden silence created by the girl's demand. "Maybe before you make a demand, you should oblige first."

The darkness wasn't bothering Epsil, not really. It wasn't like he was completely blinded. And even if he was, maneuvering without sight wasn't a challenge for the boy. He stopped several inches away from the girl, staring down at her with his luminescent eyes. His grin was somewhat dangerous as he spoke. "Mind introducing yourself?" he asked quietly, venom dripping from his fake happy tone.

"Oh, and you don't need to look for someone to blame. That is your fault, hon. You were the one threatening everybody, and I stuck my neck out. You should be damn happy I at least made an attempt. Now pay me back by calming the fuck down." His voice was still low, but he'd lost his angry tone for one more solemn and commanding. His smile evaporated as he spoke. He waited a few seconds for his comment to sink in, then took a few steps back, taking a seat against the wall, letting out a sigh as the pressure on his pained legs was relieved.

by **blackoutEquinox** Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:11 pm

Marcus felt the gun get ripped from his hands by someone much stronger than him. His face flashed a quick look of rage before seeing just who he would have to fight to get it back. A quick look at the boy and Marcus knew that this guy was just like Aculeus. If anything was tried he knew would probably end up inside out.

Aculeus saw the gun pointed at his head on the edge of his vision. Without taking the gun off target he said, "I don't start things with other people, but I do have the ability and willingness to end it when my friends' lives are in danger. Like right now, when a gun was so rudely pointed in our direction." And then came the rats. Aculeus let the vermin take his gun when he saw them going for the others' guns as well.

Lilith hated rats, and screamed as they ran up her body to get her gun. She dropped it and started swatting them off of her. Her scream was rather girly and lasted until the rats had left her sight. Marcus was by her side in a second and had her in his arms whispering reassurance into her ear. He held Lilith closer, putting himself between Lilith and the rest of the group.

"That was. . . Different." Aculeus said as the rats left. He turned to see Xiax on the ground with Fang trying to revive him, Aculeus guessed it was that boy who had called on the rats. Shadows leaped up and shut the doors to the building, sealing off any immediate escape. A single blood-red rose grew out his fleshy palm, prepared for what the crazy girl and this new kid might try to do, although they might have the advantage in the dark. He let the rage out his voice before beginning to speak. "My name is Aculeus. The redhead is Lilith and the other boy is Marcus. We are from Oasis, a forest village to the west of here. It was burned to the ground by demons last week. We came here for supplies and maybe a new home. I thought our welcome was warm enough until this girl decided to point a weapon at us."

by **Shadoe Mayari** Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:16 pm

"...You're weird," Hasta said, his expression remaining as blank as ever. He sat up cross-legged and began to float in place, staring the girl down. "Everyone should have a name." He noticed how irritated the older boys sound when they spoke to her and sighed. "I'm Hasta. Please don't try to kill me." It was a strange thing to say, but he thought it was more appropriate than saying "Please to meet you" or something among those lines.

He started to think up names for the girl. He just felt that having a name was a necessity, and if she wasn't going to come up with one, he might as well. It'll be easier for him as well, since he can't exactly identify most people by their faces, so he prefers to identify them by names and voices. He thought of calling her Anon, but it was a tad strange for a girl. Well, it could be a substitute until he could come up with a better one. "I'm gonna call you Anon for now. I don't like it when people don't have names."

by quackers are yummylicious Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:18 pm

Nuala twinged at hearing the gunshot, turning towards the noise, her eyes narrowing a little. Not really thinking her actions through, she didn't bother telling Aden what was on her mind, or rather it didn't occur to her. After being alone for a while, you stop thinking out loud as much. "C'mon!" she called over her shoulder as she began running.

She ran towards the gunshot noise, stopping in front of a building with the doors covered in darkness. She could hear voices inside, and they certainly didn't sound happy. That could be a problem. She really wanted to meet up with the other group, and if they were all dead, that couldn't happen. She rocked back on her heels, before letting out a drawn out sigh, and placing her spread palm near the shadows.

A bright light started to shine off her left hand, spreading down her arm to the rest of her body, though focused on her palm. The shadows in front of the door slowly started to melt away, and Nuala took this opportunity to step inside, still glowing quite a bit. She had trouble turning off her power, though hopefully she wouldn't glow for weeks on end like with her enhanced eye sight. "Hi," she said, a bit awkwardly, pulling her knife out of its sheath. "I heard screams and bad noises."

by General Azimuth Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:57 pm

Fang still wasn't sure what had happened. He had felt the command, and only his unique link to Master let him ignore it. Then the rats came, those would have been yummy, except they were under Master's orders, and more importantly, Master himself wasn't doing well. The wolf tried to wake him up, but before he could do much Scary made everything dark. He heard something coming from where Vines was, as well as lots of voices. Fang didn't like it when humans talked, they didn't make much sense. Squinty seemed to be trying to calm the others, when Shiny came in. That was all he could think to call her, at least he thought it was a her. All he could see was lots of like, around a human. Shiny smelled like a she, but her smell was similar to Scary's, yet different. He decided that Squinty seemed nicest, so he dragged Master to him, nudging the boy's foot, unfazed by the fact he could float.

by Big Uri Sat Apr 06, 2013 11:01 pm

Aden opened his mouth to respond, intrigued by her response, but was interrupted by her departure. He was curious if that meant that she'd actually talked to them, or if she'd just spied them and was playing it safe like he was. He personally hoped it was the former. It would be nice to already have a contact in the group and not have to do introductions for a second time in a day after no times in months. He had no time to think further, though, as Nuala quickly ran away at the sound of gunfire.

He didn't particularly care about the welfare of the people, but he sure as hell wanted to know if there was a gunfight going down only a hundred meters or so away from him. He knew that kind of thing could easily bring demons down on them, and plus, he kinda wanted to see what Nuala was doing. She was, after all, the first human he'd met in who knew how long, and despite what he'd say, he was curious. He strapped his rifle to his back again and began to run after Nuala, showing again that he was in good shape athletically.

When he caught up, however, he was stopped by the girl's show of power. He was impressed, he had to admit, by how she dispersed the shadows, though he hastily reminded himself that he too was at least powerful enough to do something like that. He stood behind her but in view, one hand in his pocket and the other discreetly on his pistol, though he kept it hidden rather than drawing. He kept his distrustful look on his face, not offering any words of greeting or explanation.

by **Rose Hathaway** Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:18 pm

"Anon? Seriously?" she looked at the boy with the dog and cocked her head. They couldn't see in this darkness, but she saw just fine. "I hate that name." She was not pleased with it, and she was getting close to walking over and just punching the bastard in the face.

The girl looked to the other boy, who had indeed stuck his neck out for her. "Thank you for backing me up... Um... What's your na-" She was interrupted by the girl and the boy entering. She was fucking GLOWING. She had just waltzed right in through her dark barrier like it was nothing. "Drop your weapons too. We're all unarmed. You just missed the rats that came and stole them." She rolled her eyes and groaned in frustration. "I want you all out of here. My territory. No one allowed. You want a new village or whatever? Find one somewhere else. I live here, I live here alone, I don't like people, in case you couldn't tell. Now shoo." she snapped.

by quackers are yummylicious Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:02 pm

Nuala backed up a bit, looking rather embarrassed. She sheathed her knife again, not really looking for any trouble. As long as the people weren't really demons, she wouldn't try to hurt them. That would make her no better than the demons herself. "Look, sorry, um, I just saw a lot of people and got...curious," she apologized meekly, backing up a bit. She shuffled her feet a bit awkwardly, really hoping that they didn't all hate her now.

It was around then that realization dawned on her. This girl seemed to be the one that controlled shadows...or at least she was the most annoyed when Nuala had melted the barrier away. "You weren't...holding them hostage or anything, were you?" she asked, staring at the shadow girl. Maybe she could be a hero! That would be cool. Helping people was a good thing, that's what Fione and Ander had told her.

by **CodastertheDisaster** Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:13 pm

Epsil gave a nod of thanks to "Anon", glad she showed a modicum of respect. "I'm Espil," he replied, even though she hadn't finished her question. He heard the door open, and noticed the room getting brighter, which was oddly in time with his smirk reappearing. What a coincidence.

He turned towards the door, quickly taking note of the girl that was glowing slightly. She knocked out the shadows? Nice. He grinned widely at her, his predatory eyes taking in every detail of her, and the man behind her holding the rifle. He seemed ready to reach for a pistol too, and one hand was in his pocket. Definitely not a trusting type.

"Drop your weapons too," Anon had said. Epsil chuckled, responding instantly with, "Okay." He stood up, spread his arms, and slowly leaned backwards, falling down on his back without so much as blinking. "I dropped my weapons. It just so happens that my body is the only weapon I need. Happy, Ms. Anon?"

by Big Uri Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:30 pm

"It's on my back, undrawn, and that's as close as you're getting," Aden replied defiantly, crossing his arms. It didn't matter if he didn't use his pistol, he decided. It only had a couple of bullets, and his powers would be sufficient if it came to it anyway. They were in a narrow space and he was out in the open, so the advantage was his if he had to launch an attack and flee. Although he knew at least two, probably three had powers too, which could be problematic.

The man speaking looked at them with eyes Aden didn't like the look of. He was evaluating them in terms of threat level, that much was obvious, but the grin and the way he looked at Nuala didn't seem trustworthy at all. Definitely one to watch. Not that the others weren't. The girl was on edge, dangerously so, and the other two conscious guys looked hardened. He had seen Lilith at a bad time, recovering from the rat attack, and so dismissed her for the moment, along with the drowsy-looking boy. Most strangely, he noted, there was a fucking wolf standing there like it was normal.

by quackers are yummylicious Sun Apr 07, 2013 8:44 pm

Nuala looked around the room, feeling even more uncomfortable by the way the strange man was looking at her. She pushed her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose again, backing out of the door, not really wanting to be too close to these people. She hadn't realized how overwhelming so many people at once could be. At least Aden had been by himself, so it wasn't too bad. Plus, that wolf looked pretty scary, and she didn't want to get on its bad side.

She stepped back a little and off to the side, not really comfortable with standing right in the doorway any longer. She watched as the strange man fell to the floor, her eyes curious. He seemed to have quite the ego. The others seemed to be quite a ragtag group, and Nuala wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wanted a sense of normalcy from companions, though after that thought she realized she wasn't really sure what normalcy was.

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