[System]
Appearance:
Gender:
 Male
Age:
 17

Personality:
 Though coming off as a bit of a loner, and seeming adverse to conversation, Masahide is fairly well known about the social circles. An excellent student- with grades to match, an excellent study under the kendo club, and has been known to volunteer for community work around the area. However, it's not enough… Or at least to Masahide. Striving for prefection to the point of nearly tearing himself to pieces, the young boy barely has any time to enjoy his own life. It's for this very reason that he seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, 'If only I were better,' a reoccurring thought in his own head. It's because of this that people have seen him passed out during lunch hours at school, or seeming shaken and ill fed. But what would you expect? The pursuit of perfection is a long and excruciating process… Though less than fruitful. He'll never achieve perfection, but he'll never accept it… In the end though, something has to give. And at this point, it's looking to be the boy.

Equipment/Skills:

 Uniform: Masahide takes great pride in his school and studies, wearing his uniform fairly consistently. However, it's not uncommon for him to dress in a rather dark ensemble on off days or when out with friends… If he had any.

 Wakizashi: An heirloom of his family, this masterfully made blade bears a significant importance to his family. It is for this reason that Masahide covets it, training with it hours after school before washing up and heading for whatever activities he has planned.

 Deductive Reasoning: Always the analytical one, if the pieces are laid out before him- odds are he'll solve whatever the puzzle may be. Though it'll take a couple failures (of which he'll hold over his own head), it's only a matter of time before the solution is in place.

 Zealous: You get Masa to swear to a purpose, nothing will stop him. Even if it's simply studying up for a test, or squaring off against someone, he won't back down. The task will definitely take it's toll, and will ultimately consume him if not achieved, but he'll be damned if he doesn't try.

Background:

 Born to a wealthy industrial family, Masahide would want for nothing. Whatever his heart desired, his parents allotted him. However, over time- this became dull. What worth were these things? Merely baubles and trinkets of his vanity and greed. It was shortly after that realization that he began to strive to make a name for himself. First, it was cleaning the house while his father was out, then it became excelling at school, and then a physical training regime. Then suddenly, the house wasn't enough, he'd seek to assist at shelters and shrines, anything he could do to keep himself busy and making a contribution. However, when his father was diagnosed with heart complications and forced to retire, this merely kicked Masahide into overdrive. Now taking up odd jobs to make up for the lack of income (though it wasn't needed) and going without on pretty much everything, Masa would become an asset to his family. When his father ultimately passed away, many feared the grief would kill the frantic boy. Instead, it had the opposite effect, it mellowed him out. He saw what the years of strain did to his father, so he dialed back his efforts… However, he still spreads himself much too thin. Though he's trying to accept the fact there are things beyond his control, to this day, Masahide Saji will never stop striving for perfection. Even if it kills him.

Persona:

Tyr-

 Known as the Norse god of war, Tyr was considered one of the wisest and most courageous sons of the All-father, Odin. No clearer was this evident then the binding of Fenrir. The mighty wolf was the harbinger of the Ragnarok, or so the gods foresaw, and they attempted to bind the massive wolf. Every time, Fenrir broke free and grew wiser to his own strength. In a final act, the gods had dwarves craft a 'ribbon' that was strong enough to bind the wolf, yet would not openly display this prowess. Having grown wise to their schemes, Fenrir offered to wear the ribbon if one of the god's placed their hand in his mouth. Tyr volunteered. Though he lost a hand in exchange, it kept the wolf from being able to fulfill his purpose. Disaster averted- Tyr continued to retain his mantle, even if it costed him one of his hands.

Appearance:

Abilities:

Arm Chopper: Deals light Phys Damage to 1 foe and has chance of fear

Rampage: Deals light Phys damage to all foes 1x to 3x

Matarukaja: Increases attack for 3 turns (party)

God's Hand: Deals Severe Phys damage to 1 foe.

[User]
Gen Itoshi
Sunday, 31
st
 - 2015

Warakuma Recreational Center

The sun shined and the wind blew gently and Gen had a smile on his face. Nothing could compare to spending a Sunday morning after midterms week outside the house. His mother had been pleased to hear that he had done tremendously well, or at least appeared pleased. Why would she not be pleased to hear that her son was only two points away from a perfect score? Oh yeah, that was how she put it: 'two points away'. But at least that was more than enough to keep her satisfied for a few weeks; hell, maybe even a few months.

Gen took his thoughts away from school for a moment to open the door of the Recreational Center. Due to the inexorable coming of summer, he was wearing a plain t-shirt that was blue at the collar and shoulders and faded to gray from mid-chest down. Besides that, a pair of jeans and his sole pair of casual sneakers. The only other footwear he had was the school's reglamentary shoes, and he had to leave those at the entrance before getting in. He remembered how he had outgrown two pairs in his second year of middle school, when he had quite a growing spur. The funny thing was that Gen's mother threatened him to make him go barefoot if he kept outgrowing shoes. Like, you can't stop growing when you're a teenager, Mom! Or so he would have liked to point to her.

As soon as he entered the lobby, Gen saw someone that caught his eye. Or rather, it was impossible that it did not catch his eye, for it was someone he knew and saw on a regular basis. However, the context was different, and she seemed so strange without her school uniform that Gen needed a moment to remember just who she was. But her name came to him; they were in the same class, after all. Gen walked up to Shizuka, waving at her. Even though they were not exactly quite acquainted to each other, ignoring her would have been plain rude, and being exaggeratedly friendly all of a sudden would have been awkward; but a few words with a school acquaintance had never heard anybody.

"Hello, Otonashi-san! Didn't expect to meet you here," Gen offered as a greeting, looking down at her from his standing position. "Good job on the midterms, by the way. How've you been?"

[Assistant]
Strawman Hospital
31/5/2015 Sunday

The enemies took hits easily, they didn't seem the dodging type. Leiko and Chiaki stood in the back throwing out a few spells to help with the offensive effort, but as soon as they did, some of the other shadows that weren't already under attack, fired their handguns at the party, halting the spell assault. Akane's Persona strode in, doing some serious damage to one, but the thing is, there were four others, and she felt a bit of pain as soon as the one beside the one she attacked struck her Persona, and then very quickly another followed up with the handcuffs, managing to bind Setanta.

Rui immediately went in with a Gale Slash, restricting all of their movements while doing damage just for that moment, giving Setanta some room so that the bind would wear off after a couple moments of struggling.

"They can fight in range or melee, and can bind a careless advance. We need to hit all of them at once. Akane, Chiaki, Leiko, focus on picking them off once I use Gale Slash again", he ordered.

He called upon Askr again, moving fast into the center of the shadows before disappearing into a hurricane of slashes for a single moment, causing each and every one of them to stagger. This was their chance.

[User]
Akane Hanazawa // Strawman Hospital
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

Setanta burst through and managed to deliver serious damage one of the shadows but the remaining ones managed to bring an end to their magical support. With the support having been halted, the shadows next to her target, struck her persona and causing Akane to feel the hit, making her stagger a bit. Not giving them much time to rest, the shadow followed up with the handcuffs and managed to bind Setanta. Well, at least we know for sure now...But damnit...

Soon after, Rui went in, with Askr, and managed to break the bind, freeing Setanta before giving out an order. "Got it," as she took a stance. Having all selected their targets of attack, they waited for Rui's next move. Once he summoned up Askr and hit all of them with a Gale slash, they made their move. Summoning Setanta again, they went in for a finishing Kill Rush.

[Assistant]
Saji Estate - Dojo

5/31/2015

 "Things have gotten kinda crazy around here, haven't they?" A youthful, and spirited voice called out in the background, echoing subtly in the open air of the dojo who's only competition was the subtle grunts of Masahide as he swung his Shinai. It was that time of year when Masa's cousin -Yamato Saji- and his family paid a visit to the estate. Today marked the fourth year anniversary of Shinjiro Saji's passing, and without fail relatives would flock to the estate to pay their respects to the man and offer assistance to his widow and son. Always, Masa's mother turned down the offers, each with a polite bow and a friendly smile... But these were things that Masahide took no part in. His father had passed, and now he was responsible for the well-being and reputation of his family in Warakuma, customs and sympathy be damned.

 Still... The boy would be lying if he said it didn't effect him somewhat, possibly the cause of his growing frustration as he attempted to perfect his strikes, though seeming to be of no avail. With one final downward strike, Masa paused, "I haven't noticed."

 "Right. You haven't noticed several of your classmates disappearing and suddenly winding up in the hospital? Not even the one out of your class?" Yamato spoke, his tone clearly agitated though with a bit of jest.

 "You're well informed." Masa replied, lifting his arm to wipe the accumulating sweat from his brow. He hadn't kept track of how long he'd been practicing, though from the mounting fatigue and soreness of his already worn muscles, he could fathom a guess... Then again, time seemed to drag on while Yamato was on a tangent.

 "You know me, always up with the times. Plus, the updates on the news help... You sure you're ok?"

 "I'm fine. I go to school, I work, I come home. Not much time to get kidnapped."

 "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say mister perfect," Yamato waved his hand dismissively with a sigh as he stood from his seated position, brushing off his jacket before looking back to his cousin, "So, Auntie wants me to take you around town. Anything in particularly interesting around here? This place isn't like Okinawa, and I haven't really spent much time outside of the estate."

 "Not interested, thanks." Masa said flatly, reversing his grip on his weapon before making his way over to place it in the empty spot on the rack alongside the few others that sat perfectly aligned.

 "Not like you have much of a choice. You really want your mother to yell at both of us? Nothing against your mother... But she can get scary when you piss her off."

 At this, Masa couldn't help but chuckle. It had been a long time since he'd seen his mother truly angry, most of the time she was casting her usual smile as she tended to her business around the town and home. For what all she's suffered and been through, you'd never meet another with a more cheery disposition... Yet the memory of Yamato being scolded for knocking a set of dishes off the counter was always a rather amusing image. Her eyes narrowed in anger, her voice booming and echoing within the dinning area while Yamato stood there dumb-founded with a broom and dustpan. A priceless image.

 "Uh huh. That's what I thought. Come on, let's go," Yamato remarked, having spotted the subtle smile that had grown across Masa's lips. In annoyance, the raven haired boy sighed, wiping his brow once more with his arm before following after his cousin.

 "Let me hit the bath first, I'll meet you in town."

Warakuma- Streets

 "So, what's the plan?" Yamato remark, lifting his arms up and behind his head before crossing them, seeming overly relaxed and at ease in contrast to Masa's rigid demeanor, his hands stuffed into his pockets with his gaze locked forward.

 "This was your idea, idiot," Masa replied curtly, his agitation worn like a badge upon his button up shirt.

 "Moody much? Still, it's good to get your ghostly self out into the sun every once in awhile," Yamato seemed pleased with his own retort as his gaze faced forward once more, wearing a triumphant smile as they continued to walk down the sidewalk, "Oh, by the way, don't dare check your phone. Any talk about going to your 'jobs' and I'll smash it on the pavement."

 "I'll be sure to return the favor to your teeth if that happens." Yamato let out a audible laugh at Masa's threat, seeming to not be intimidated in the slightest. Onward they ventured, the contrasting duo roaming the city out of boredom.


[System]
Race
Human

Age
12

Gender
Female

 Fears
Dragons, loss of control

 -Description-
A small human girl of no older than 12 with uneven and gently singed light brown hair that stops around her shoulders. Her clothing is simple cotton, though the dress is burnt away and singed in many places. It leaves one to wonder who allows her to dress this way, or if there is anybody to care at all, certainly the messy hair, wild grey eyes and lack of shoes adds to the look.

 -Personality-

She is a suprisingly angry little girl, for being worshipped as a phoenix in her hometown far from most civilization. Prone to sudden mood swings, she can enjoy the company of a person one moment and wish them ash a second. Despite her natural pyromancy however, she is still a little girl and is just as curious and naive as the next.

She is surprisingly kind however, always quick to smile for birds, and quick to tears for the injured. In fact, even if she is quick to anger and stay angered she has a wide array of emotion that she chooses to try and hide from the world.

 -Pyromancy-
 Due to the wild nature of pyromancy it can obviously be destructive, but when spark focuses she rarely intends true harm and due to this she has little combat experience outside of temper tantrums that involve setting herself ablaze, often catching things things around her in her rage.

Spark is what mages refer to as an " Elemental " a mage born with a gift for a single elemental catagory, with no true hope of learning magic outside this catagory. Spark's element is fire.

Wards
 Due to her lack of control, Spark has taught herself a few weak flame wards to prevent her from setting ablaze the things she enjoys keeping around.

These wards are able to redirect heat and flame away from the object in question. These wards are weak, and break easily from overuse and at the end of the day, forcing her to practice her wards by constantly reapplying them to the required objects.

-Skills-

Burning things
Both a skill and a very much enjoyed activity.

Sewing
A little girl must know how to keep her only set of clothing from falling apart, a skill she can thank her mother for.

 Elvish speaker
A crush on an older Elf boy in her village led her to spend a lot of time learning the Elvish way of life, her illiteracy means she cannot read or write her own language let alone Elvish, but she is fluent enough to hold decent conversation.

 -Background-
Her life was that of a simple trading village on the edges of civilization and belonging to none, her home was a trading hub of information and goods, people and lifestyles that all clashed in often strange ways.

For the first ten years of her life she enjoyed herself as a normal, albeit tempermental child. Since age four she was an admirer of the elvish people and their ways, the orphaned girl spending more and more time alongside the long living peoples. At age 7 she gained a best freind in an elvish boy who acted as a buffer between Spark and her poor decicionmaking.

As one would expect from the life of a child, nothing truly extraordinary happened until age 10 when her pyromancy developed, resulting in a forest fire. The two years that followed were a blur, magi and researchers came and went in an attempt to teach Spark to harness her abilities, to no positive result.

It was only in the week of madness and the days to follow that Spark had begun to wish she had practiced her abilities.

The world fought, and Spark was stuck in the middle of a sudden four army war with nobody truly belonging to any one side. As far as Spark knows or cares, she was the only sane person to escape her village.

She followed the story, as many children had. She found a new family in these forgotten and abandoned, but unfortunately a few wished to save the adults, a poor decision in her mind but who is she to argue?

[User]
Spark was in a strange mood, not really sure of anything right then. It was not just her either. As she walked she joined one other, then as they kept walking more and more arrived until a good 50-60 children walked alone into the middle of nowhere, nearly all too terrified to even think about approaching a settlement until everybody was too hungry to complain.

It was nearly midnight, and it took hours of arguing between thevolder kids, something Spark was glad she had not been a part of. Eventually though, they had to go, sending a party of older kids into a strangely quiet town at the edge of the forest the rest hid in. The little town was quiet, no torches burning or smoke rising to be seen. The buildings themselves were of simple make, sturdy and made of the wood from the nearby forest. The cultivated land nearby betrayed the small settlement's farming origin.

Spark had not been chosen to go with the older kids, but she snuck along anyways until they were too far into the village to argue. They were there for supplies of any kind, food, water, blankets. Ways to defend themselves would not go amiss, but they were children and this was a farming village, there would not be too many useful items.

The fight that happened here did not last long, a fact apparent by the multitude of bodies that lay still in the center of the village, a group that thankfully was devoid of children. Spark avoided looking at the dead, she was reminded of the undead that attacked when she was 7, easily repelled but frighteningly persistant. Spark almost half expected these bodies to getvup as well.

[Assistant]
A E L I N O R  K I A N D A L L
Unknown Town
Midnight

Eli never believed in ghosts. They were nothing but products of a simple mind, existing only in stories told to babes and old men to fill their heads with needless fear. She was almost a woman grown. Her resolve would not be shaken by such nonsense.

And yet, as the small group ventured deeper into the darkness of the town, Eli could imagine herself forgiving those who believed it haunted. She did not, no of course not, but those of a weaker mind--

A scream pierced the silent veil that had settled upon the town, and Eli immediately spun around, bow drawn. Her eyes darted about in the darkness, the tip of her bow lacking a target. A boy few years younger whimpered and thrust his torch forward. Light spread into the darkness, trembling in tandem with the boy's hand, until the source of the scream became visible. Someone had tripped and fallen.

Eli sighed, turning back to where she'd been heading. "Keep your wits about you," she mumbled to whoever happened to be in earshot and pressed on further.

The shadows around them seemed alive. They slithered up wooden walls like snakes, and if one stared at them long enough, they could nearly hear them hiss. Eli would have preferred real snakes to these ethereal ones, in truth.

The light of the torch illuminated yet another face of a man long gone. He was slumped against the outer wall of a house that seemed brand new, carved of wood finer than many a house around it. Eli guessed he used to be rich. In death, he didn't look any different from the corpses of the less wealthy; his eyes were equally empty, and shadows danced upon his pale face all the same, silently mocking his fate.

Eli averted her gaze before her stomach could turn.

She held her bow at ready and edged towards the open door next to him. Whether he'd been meaning to escape or join the fray, the man hadn't gotten far before someone had plunged a dagger into his throat. Was whoever did it to him also dead? He should have been, yet Eli found it hard to still her racing heart as she reached for the door.

It creaked.

Had Aelinor not been accompanied by others, she would have jumped out of her skin. As things were, her pride kept her legs steady and aim steadier. Bow braced, she pushed the door open with one boot. The torch-boy stepped behind her and lit the way inside. The light licked at the wooden floor, sprucing the shadows back into a crazed dance on the walls.

Steadying her breath, Eli stepped inside to explore. If the man was rich, the chances of finding something of use were high - that was, unless someone else had gotten here first.

A sudden shudder ravaged her spine. If someone had, she truly wished they were long gone by now.

[User]
"What a mess."

Angel had to keep a sunny disposition. It was to keep her sanity. Laugh in the face of danger, and maybe you can pretend to be brave.
 Inside she was freaking out and kept her pitchfork nearby. She wished she had a real spear but that was the best she could do for a long time now, and frankly, it worked pretty good so far.

Anywho, she didn't need torches, her unique structure could pick up on warmth, and her tongue could taste the air for anything strange. She decided very quickly to keep that in her mouth. It smelled like death here. Alot of these bodies were only a few days old and the flies were having a feast. Without that, and without light, her progress between the buildings were slow.

Having been a farmer herself, she knows how folks would store their food. There was always some stuff in jars and pots, most of the time, meal food like wheaet and corn were stiched in giant bags like flour. There were also the silos. If the silos were here, and their contents weren't completely invested with vermin, the kids could eat pretty for atleast a few days. She had to remember her family though, how they barely did any work in the days leading up to this insanity, and how their hard work was allowed to wilt and spoil. He hoped that this town had thought of something for the winter before everything went to hell.

She thought back of the decision to head into town. "Y'all better not try ta shoot at me, ya hear." She reminded everyone before they went on this little errand. She went ahead of the group. Her tail actually made less noise then everyone's feet, shockingly so she could scout it out first just to make sure. She knows she was different. One of the only 'monsters' of the small army of kids. But she was trying to be a sweetheart as best she could. The kids were scared, and there were worse thing about then a beautiful smiling snake girl. Atleast that was her reasoning. She could swear some of the kids though she was going to eat them, even though she was the one that ended up cooking most of the time.

Regardless, so far so good, but as quiet as things were, she could hear the noises in the distance. A scream even and this made her go peeak past a corner and take a look. They weren't panicking so everything must have been fine.

Speaking of, she didn't check this house yet. She climbed in through the window, her bulk landing with a creak.

She winced at the sound, which almost made herself jump. "Eeep... okay okay Angel, you be brave now." She kept the prongs forward as she vaulted up on her tail. Typical cottage, typical things in a typical house. It was like a hurricane went through it. Tables, chairs, broken windows, soot out of the fire. A rocking chair lay broken, balls of wool on the floor. She made her way to the kitchen, not much better. The pots and pans were scattered, some hanging dangerously from hooks threatening to fall off.

She kept her eyes, nose trained on the floor, the corners, anywhere someone or something could hide. If there was a battle here, where are the bod- She stopped as she almost tripped on a woman's corpse. "Good lords..." She said with a quiver. The woman's head had been bashed in with a frying pain. The blood and pulp had congealed into a blackish mark. This made the naga put a hand to her mouth and back up---

into the pot that was hanging. It fell off the hook and landed on the counter and then the floor with an audibly large crash!

[Assistant]
All in all the place was terrifyingly quiet, smelt of rot and generally made Spark wish she stayed behind. After waiting to watch the others split up, she ducked into a small building, the edges of her hair lit and casting a soft orange glow on the inside of what seemed to be a chicken coop containing a single chicken who stared at Spark with a single unblinking eye. Needless to say Spark was immediately smitten.

Walking out carrying the newly warded and concerningly patient chicken in her arms. Spark wandered around, checking up on the bird every so often. It seemed to blink very rarely if at all and seemed to take interest in the strangest things, such as the tiny flames that flickered across Spark's body.

While the chicken was a goldmine in Spark's opinion, she knew the others would be angry if she did not find something of real value. It was then she noticed the larger of the buildings, an obvious residence to a sort of landowner. Spark remembered her father complaining about a particularly old and stubborn man, and the etchings above the doorway matched the shaky signature of the old man in question.

Ducking into the doorway was the moment Spark noticed the others were there, it was useless at that point to hide really, being a literal living torch holding a now audibly complaining chicken that, while completly still, clucked and grumbled at every flickering shadow.

 " Surprise I guess, look what I found. "

Spark sounded absolutely thrilled about her find, while the chicken meanwhile kept its eyes on the particularly long shadow to their left, clucking in what can only be described as a threatening tone.


[System]
Age: 25

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Description:
{Name unknown by most. I love role-play so someone can be my accomplice :) } A tall, Caucasian from Florida, he is around 6" 1'. He is lean and slightly tanned, strong in upper and lower body. He has some facial hair, but not much, due to his large knife strapped on his chest. a somewhat shy man, who keeps to himself, and only speaks loudly when around a small group of friends that may not still be alive. he has a scar on his face, from a mutant wolf claw, and he has a spot on his left shoulder he makes sure is well covered...

Biography:
Born and raised along the east coast of America, Alexander has always wanted to travel to Europe, at least until the outbreak. He has/had (unknown) a younger sister, mother, and step-dad. He always loved the outdoors, and lucky for him, loved to role-play apocalypse situations as a kid. He also loved to parkour in his free time, and is very fit due to it. Not a drinker or smoker, though does love the woods. In schooling, his mother always pushed him to new limits, leading to him being in advanced math and history classes, in both middle and high school. He didn't have many friends in high school, and didn't like many sports. The only true friends he had were a small group of about 5-8 people.
Although they were small in number, his friends and him made a YouTube channel, and saw each-other almost every weekend. They would role-play, shoot guns, parkour, and make videos on his channel (he was the owner of said channel).
Alexander was close with his mother, mainly due to the fact that his parents were divorced, and he only got to see his dad on the summers. When he was with his mom, it was the school-year, so he lived regularly. When Alex was with his dad, however, they went sailing, hiking, camping, and fishing.
Alexander was trying to become a famous archaeologist, and succeeded. He discovered lost cities, ancient religions, and lost civilizations no-one had ever heard of. He made award winning fantasy books, like The Dragon's Lover, and Lost in the City of Time (I don't know if they are real book names or not :) ).
Alexander got a master's degree in Archaeology, and owned a mustang, a nice house, a large plot of wooded land, and he had a wife, and two kids. (They are of unknown location to them, which might be why he actually drank liquor for the first time since he was 21.)

Pre-infection Career:
An archaeologist who specialized in ancient Mayan cities. Parkoured and wrote stories in free-time.

Other:
Wears jeans, a t-shirt, and leather "armor" scraps over his clothes. Also has a paintball mask made into a gas-mask. In his camel-pack he has a mostly full water skin, a loaf of bread, some painkillers and vitamins, a Zippo black lighter, and some extra mags for his guns. Extra t-shirt and two pants included.

[User]
"No." Captain Ishida Hisashi rejected the offer, before remembering the more socially graceful words, "thank you. That would be illegal. What ration is given to you is your own. Supplies are limited." He had always had difficulty expressing himself in the language of the land, partly due to his basic grasp of it. All he could do was to state facts, but what he felt and what he thought were constantly locked inside of him. He could state those as facts too, but that would be insufficient.

Looking down at Alexis, Tanya's younger sister, he couldn't help but to crack a smile, "Hello, Alexis-Chan. It is good that you are reading." Before turning back, rather reluctantly, to her guardian. Behind her was her dinner - they were eating out of cans again. In fact, most people were these days. Modern living by itself was unhealthy in some ways, and to live in a fallen modern society would be worse. The 'farm' that was set out would not be able to feed everyone around the year, very far from it in fact. The very same thing that was sustaining them was killing them over the long term.

"Tanya-Kun, you missed your medical appointment today." The medical officer said, concern trickling through. "While you and your sister's last screening has uncovered little health issues, a month passing is a very long time." Bringing up his computer, he checked his digital schedule. After pressing a few virtual buttons and passing between virtual windows, he came upon the right day on his calender. "I have another window for you open two days later. Or I could do it tonight."

Looking at the kid again, he remembered what Jack had said behind his back as he was leaving the bar-n, what some people were saying when they thought he couldn't hear or understand. While they didn't have the power to remove him from his duty, what they had said had cut deeper than that. Looking at the kid had given him some hope. "We will protect Alexis-Chan. No matter what it takes." He said to Tanya as he smiled again at the youngling.

[Assistant]
Jack shrugged his shoulders and asked for his whiskey back. If someone else was paying he was sure as hell going to oblige. Grabbing the small glass he sipped at it and grimaced again, the lovely taste of piss filled his mouth. Sighing he looked the man over. He actually had no idea who this was, he had only heard the name from the Peacekeeper. However it was only fair that you knew your drinking buddies name.

"Name's Jack. Brit, born and bred, what about you fella? I heard Matt from those blue-tops, but where you from? It seems like we have all kinds around here. First you got the locals who turn up, me in fact as well, and then those from out of the state. Then. Well. Blue tops from out of the country arrive and apparently we all have to worship the ground they stand on and respect their bullying ways."

Jack winked smugly before taking another sip from his cup, he offered it up to connect with Matt's glass, he was always a fan of knocking glasses.

[User]
The man offered a toast of sorts, Matt obliged. The glasses clanked and the two drank. "Where am I from? Up north I guess. I guess it really doesn't matter that this point because most of my family is gone. If not all of them" Matthew said, but he suddenly changed his demeanor to try and get the self-pity and sadness away. "Brit eh? What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Matthew asked.

Finding out new things about people was always an interesting situation to get into. Matthew found, before the Z's took over the working world, that he loved interacting with new people, as long as they were friendly, and often tried to make new friends and acquaintances. At this point, with all that was going on in the world, having more friends was not a bad idea. But on the other hand, it could be. New friends meant that you cared about people. Whether it be in a friendly fashion or something more. The more you cared the more you were likely to be hurt in the end. The Z's were persistent beings, they usually got what they wanted. Their only drive was to eat, humans was to survive. The Z's usually won.

[Assistant]
Rain, great for masking your sound. A strange man, whom no-one recognized, thought to himself as walked in through the entrance to the camp. He didn't look like a standard civilian, nor a guard. Some-what like a mix. He wore dark, strengthened leather armor pieces over his t-shirt and pants. He had sneakers that were slightly worn, but could last for still some time. On his back was a large camel-pack, which was when people started to realize this must be one of the fabled Scavengers. The Scavengers rarely came into camps, and spent almost all of their time looting and in abandoned cities. They were the closets one to the undead, and the farthest from them. Strapped to this man's hip was a pistol, that lucky enough, had a silencer on it. Also across his back was a rifle with a decent scope, but no silencer was seen on this weapon, though it was hard to tell in the rain and dark...

This strange man made his way toward an area of commotion, some kind of barn, it appeared. Once inside, a hush fell upon the place. This man, a white man with a mop of blond hair, sat at the barn and order a drink. The bartender was a little weary by now, and somewhat afraid of the man. Not only did he have the guns, but he had a large knife across his chest. When the bartender slipped him a drink, the man passed him a small amount of vitamins. the bartender was shocked, but the man told him in a somewhat gruff voice to keep them, and proceeded to sip on his drink, all eyes on him...

[User]
Tanya nodded at Captain Ishida she did drink coffee often whenever she had it, when Ishida mentioned missing her and her sister's appointment for the month she rubbed her head slightly. "I totally forgot, I've just been working so much that it must have slipped my mind." Tanya answered as she went to take the can off of the stove and onto the counter. Alexis looked up at Ishida and smiled at him before putting the book face down on the built in table so she wouldn't lose her place. "It just keeps my occupied." Alexis answered looking over towards her sister for a moment she forgot about the appointment as well.

"We can do it tonight, might as well get it done sooner then later. Just let us eat real quick, your more then welcome to join us as well." Tanya said looking towards Alexis who agreed to as well though Tanya never liked going to the doctors when she was growing up with the zombies outside she couldn't risk getting sick either and leave her sister to fend to herself. "Thank you Captain Ishida." Alexis smiled as she looked towards the can of beans.

[Assistant]
Most people started to get back to their games and drinks, but some stayed staring at the man. He looked around, not moving his head, only his eyes, to look at all the people. He appeared to be studying the people. After finishing his drink, he pulled up his hood, covering his face, and started to leave. Someone stopped him before he could make it out the door...
(any guests or people in the Bar-n go ahead if you want and role-play that you stopped me on the way out, I may be willing to do shady work or lessen the power of the Japanese. I might just get supplies, or whatever is needed.)

[User]
Jack had immediately taken a liking to Matt. The guy seemed honest, hard working and like he was just trying to make his way in life. Whilst the foremost was not always a boon these days, the rest were respectable enough. Sipping at his drink Jack almost laughed at the question too his origins. Hell, if he had a choice he would still be back home.

"Grew up in London. School was shit so I just bummed around, making some money from a number of less than legal vemtures and eventually my parents got tired of it. Family booked me a flight and sent me to live with my Aunt over this side of the pond. Course I didn't change toi much." Jack winked and then downed the remainder of his drink.

"Anyways, thanks for the drink Matty boy. I shall return the favour someday. Until then keep yourself well." Jack got up, patted Matt on the bag and half walked, half stumbled, towards the exit. He hadn't noticed the Scavenger come in and so was thoroughly surprised as he collided with the blonde haired man. Reversing suddenly Jack spluttered out a curse.

"Fucking hell! Watch where your going." Jack then noticed the gun. "Jesus christ, it is not my night, guard or blue top? 'Cus those are the only two groups allowed guns out in the open here." Of course many others had firearms and Jack had his eye on a nice pistol. But on thw black market they were incredibly expensive and more of a pipe dream for most.

[Assistant]
On his way out the exit, Alexander (unknown to most) was interrupted by a somewhat drunk man, probably from England based on his words. As the two men both backed up, Alex made sure this wasn't a purposeful introduction to an attack, and saw a look of shock on the man's face. The English man claimed "it wasn't his night," and asked if Alex was "a guard or a blue top". Alex knew what a guard was, of course, but had never heard of "blue top."

"Neither," Alex replied, "I am a Scavenger, and I will carry my weapons wherever I so chose." Alex figured that this man might be a good fellow, but as a drunk man, he should probably be left alone until morning.

"Are you still sober enough to tell me where any tents are that I can fall asleep in, or do I have to ask another person." All Alex was hoping for was that the guards or the "blue tops" didn't show up, and didn't know about him until morning. Although, getting an answer would be nice, and getting a map of the base would be better...

[User]
Jack narrowed his eyes as the man mentioned he was neither. In all honesty Scavengers were nothing to him but wannabe heroes. However the man was armed and his arrogant dismissal of the camp's rules tickled Jack. Though his knowledge, or lack of, meant he wasn't a local. Hell Jack had had enough of being told what to do by the camp, and it's prestigious guests. Walking forward he gestured out of the door.

"Have you seen the state of the camp fella? We are packed in here and if there was much spare room it would be taken." Then pointing to one of the dirtier looking ends of the camp he spoke again. "See, I was one of the first ones here and I get shitted on. Now I may have a bed in my bunk that is free, but a decent space to sleep is hard to come by around here so..." Jack looked off into the distance and then smiled.

"Tell you what! You can have the bunk for thw night, if you get me something nice. Don't care what! But something I can't get this side of the fence." Turning Jack was caught in a slight daze but then righted himself. He then offered his hand and plastered on a cheeky grin.

[Assistant]
Alex was a little skeptical at how quickly this man's mood changed, but still reached out and shook the hand, unable to keep a completely straight face. Alex decided that he might as well try to have at least one friend in camp, for when he placed his bombs at the main guard locations. He still remembered the damaged house he used on the edge of the city, and left his makeshift bombs there. I will use the shack as a base, and leave my rifle there. I will get him "something special," and then come back.

Alexander hoped the house still had its barricades on it, and hoped that even if it didn't, the hidden compartment in the closet on the west side of the house wasn't discovered. He still knew a couple of stores and locations of the city that weren't scavenged, by him at least.

"Do you have anything in particular you want?" Alex asked the man in a hushed voice. People were starting to take notice, and as such, Alex asked the man if they could go somewhere less crowded to talk, as he double checked all his supplies were still fastened tightly, and that his pistol and rifle were still in place.


[System]
Species : Elf
Gender : Female
Age : 54
Height : 175

Jazdia is a tall elven woman with a pale complexion, blue eyes, and long, waist-length platinum blonde hair that she often let untied. Elves are all born beautiful and Jazdia was no exception. Her attractiveness is often described as an eternal winter barely touched by the sun's embrace. But that's just another way for the gentlemen to adore her face that seemed to always sport a perpetual frown. At least that's original.

Former leader of a peacekeeping organization, Jazdia understands it would be in her best interest to omit such details from her MO. Not that she is a wanted criminal or anything; she ended her tenure on a relatively high note actually. The thing about working as law enforcement is you will have no shortage of old enemies who would persistently try to even the scales with you even after retirement, and Jazdia does not wish to be tangled with such... nuisances.

So now, she is just Jazdia. An adventurer, restaurateur, and tea connoisseur. Yeah, just put that in her business card.

Traits and spells:

-Blood Phobia (passive)
Taking damage would result in lower combat efficiency. Jazdia will start sweating, having a shaky aim and blurred vision. At a certain threshold, her Ultravision cannot be activated.
-Curse of the crimson flame (passive)
Resting near any fire or under the sun would slowly regenerate her power and heal her wounds. However, any healing magic cast on her would instead deal damage.

-Arrow Enchantment.
Channels magic into her arrow. Can only use one type of arrow in a single turn. Has three flavors:
A. Crystal Arrows.
Glorified fireworks with an equally destructive explosion contained inside. Can be programmed to either explode upon impact, delayed, or remote detonation.
B. Crystal Arrows
Non Explosive variants, but hot as hell it pierces through plates and mails like a hot knife through butter. Armor Piercing, nuff said.

-Counter
Any close-range attack will be answered with heavy retribution. Figuratively speaking, sometimes this extended to the non-combat situation. Proceed with caution.

-Ultravision
Channeling magic to enhance her vision, Jazdia can see pass through solid objects and magical manipulation such as illusion and darkness. Imposes varying degrees of strain on her body depending on the area covered and elapsed duration. Prolonged abuse of this skill might result in myopia and gradual blindness.

-Vengeance
At this point, taking heavy damage would no longer weaken her. Now she is faster and deadlier and angrier. The third flavor of her enchanted arrows unlocked:
C. Poison arrows. Deals heavy damage over time. The enemy killed by this arrow will have their body burst into a swarm of black lepidopteran that attacks nearby hostiles until either they or the caster died, or the effect expires. At the end of its fleeting lifespan, the insect will return to the caster and heals her wounds. Has 3 days of cooldown.

Equipment
-Lurea
A recurve black bow adorned with gold and silver linings on its limbs. Has an absurdly light draw weight of 44 pounds.
-Maugrim
A long knife with ivory handle and elven runes inscribed on its blade.
-Medium-sized satchel bag
A plain-looking bag that doesn't seem too out of fashion despite being designed with function in mind.
-Pocket watch
A momento from her father. Well maintained and functioning properly.
-Medikit
Generic first aid kit.

[User]
I see. 神様のお恵みがありますように... May the God be with you. Who knows, maybe twisted fate give you a better future.

Well then, want for another round? You should eat plenty for your recovery. Once you brought back into good shape, let's have some drink. I noticed you are a good drinker back then."  Chounan replied and smiled.

[Assistant]
For a moment the fox observed Veronica Blackwater as he tried to get a bit of a read of her emotions. However the pale girl turned out to be pretty proficient at masking them. Not that it was too surprising for someone who was doing shady stuff for the king himself. The girl probably received pretty much direct orders from and directly reported to the guy on the throne himself. A loyal tool to the king was Kaito's guess.

As Cedar made his way to the door, the kitsune noticed how just for a very brief moment her senses sharpened as she followed the movement of the bear. There was this slight change in her posture when the door was opened and it changed again the moment it closed.

""Blackwater, eh? I'm pretty sure I've heard that name before somewhere not too long ago. Three, maybe four decades or so. There was this farmer who used a story about a certain Lord Blackwater to scare his kids into behaving. If you misbehaved he'd come out at night to take you back to his lair and feast on your blood."

The fox paused a bit and gave Veronica a friendly smile " It must be a total coincidence that you share a family name with a vampire from a folk tale. Just as the curtains happen to be closed in broad daylight for some added secrecy of our operation."

Kaito could not help but wonder about the colorful cast of their party. The king certainly had gathered a bunch of outsiders and anomalies to search for his son. From a bearman to a presumably vampire to a mythical fox creature. Not to mention that the doctor seemed to have a funny smell around him. It sure made the orc and the elf look like normal ones.

"Anyway, since we're departing half an hour before midnight. If there aren't any specific questions you want me to answer I'm off to grab some extra food and take a nap."

[User]
Solomon Sparrow
Location: Hdur, Kindeance

---

 "I believe I know whom you are speaking of, Mister Kaito. He is more than the villain of folktales. I once had the pleasure to make his acquaintance. To say he was less than hospitable would be putting it nicely. Last I spoke with him, he was in search of something. A protege perhaps. I do not really know. He was cordial enough during my encounter, so I don't think much ill of him. If I remember correctly, he probably still lives at the Tretagor convergence." said Solomon, his head tilting to the side as he was attempting to remember details about the one time he had encountered Lord Blackwater. He then lookws forward, his head slightly shaking from side to side. "I cannot say what he is up to these days. We didn't have much to offer each other to maintain communication."

 Solomon leaned forward in his chair, his eyes looking intently at Kaito, "Not any questions relating to the mission at hand. I am curious, however. Jazdia spoke of your mastery of illusory magic, with whom did you study?" Solomon's voice didn't carry any hints of interrogation, rather, he seemed to have genuine intrigue. The study of magic wasn't a well distributed occupation, so to have someone be a master in the school of illusion was impressive.

[Assistant]
Despite exuberant cheering and being pressured to eat more, the poor bear was experiencing the strange mix of sensations that frequently accosted him this time of year.

Being physically stuffed to bursting, while remaining ravenously hungry.

Well, at least the mind-altering edge had been taken off.

He had polished off a good 2/3 of the cauldron by himself, but the large quantity of water in the stew had bulked it up. He would have practically sloshed when he walked, causing him to have a rather profound need to find the little bear's room. (Do bears go in the woods? Yes. Yes they do.) Given that he could not physically consume any more, but would certainly be able to finish it in a few hours, he asked if they could move the remainder to the inn, where the rest of the group was holed up.

"better check with them on their end first-- They aren't usually keen on outside food being brought up."

In hindsight, it seemed like a sensible enough objection, given the nature of their business, but on the other...

He looked at the cauldron with a sad expression. He REALLY wanted to eat the rest of it, but was already suffering the effects of fluid overload.

"I'ma go fin' out 'en" he moped.

"You SURE you can't finish it Mr Bear?" chortled the farm-hand that had sold the lot. "Eyes too big for your stomach?"

Cedar rolled his eyes at the comment. "I saids i' woun'na be all at oncet! Dayum! Ain't no ways 'at whole thang gonna fit in muh gut!"

"I dunno, it's pretty close! You got most of it in there!"

The entire crew got a chuckle out of that at his expense.

"Let us know if they say it's OK Mr Bear. We'll hold on to it a bit longer until then."

Cedar thanked them kindly, stood up, and immediately had to lean on his walking stick. The need to find a secluded tree was very pronounced. He waved at the farmers, then started hobbling down the road, before dipping to the side into a densely wooded copse of trees to see to his business. One of the farmer's dogs had followed him in curiosity, but took off terrified the moment it caught wind of what he was discretely letting out back there. Cedar chuckled at the dog, finished his business, then sauntered back onto the road, and toward the inn.

The sun had moved noticeably in the sky, and he guessed it was early afternoon.

Feeling like a new bear, he went through the door.


[System]
Age: 20

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 118 lbs

Likes: Writing, Singing, Music, Nature, Sleep, Animals, Taekwondo/Martial Arts, Silence, Rain, Thunderstorms, Night, and Books.

Dislikes: Mornings, Needles, Heights, Pain, Enclosed Spaces, Sports, and Being Bored.

Party Trick: Amaya knows many martial arts tricks and can break boards.

Profession: Amaya is a student at Shine City Academy. She is majoring in Biomedical Engineering, and minoring in Psychology. She also works part time as a waitress at a fancy traditional Japanese restaurant called the Tiny Snowflake located in Shine Junction.

Bio/Personality: Amaya grew up with two extremely busy parents as an only child. Her mother and father owned a consulting company together, so she had a lot of money growing up. She originally started taekwondo because she was alone a lot, and her parents worried about her well being. Eventually she grew to love it and started taking many other forms of martial arts. When Amaya went into college, she wanted to go away from her home and be more adventurous, but she still wanted to live in a larger city, which is why she choose Shine City Academy. She lives in the dorms on campus to get the full college experience (plus she didn't know anyone going into the academy Freshman year). Amaya didn't want to rely on her parent's money, so she got a part time job, which she absolutely loves. Amaya decided to work there because she enjoys traditional Japanese culture and also she thought the uniforms were very pretty on her (not that she'd admit that to anyone). The pay is enough to get her by, with a bit to spare on a good day.

Amaya is a quiet person, especially with strangers. She sometimes gets social anxiety because she's not used to interacting with others. Amaya is very good at handling small children, although she doesn't really like to spend time with them. Once one gets to know Amaya, she can be very kind and gentle. She cares a lot for what little friends she has. She can be silly at times and enjoys laughing with others. However, she does have a limit. If you ever get on her nerves or are rude to her, she is terrifying. Since she is well trained in martial arts, she isn't afraid to hurt others. Especially if you hurt her friends. Amaya finds the way others think interesting. She's also a great listener, but has trouble comforting. Not that she doesn't try her best in doing so. Amaya also has pocrescophobia, or the fear of gaining weight. She has never told anyone this. And while she isn't anorexic or bulimic, she is a health nut. So she works out regularly, and does her best to eat healthy foods. She also makes sure to never measure her weight. While it isn't severe, it still affects her from time to time.

[User]
Iruka was actually enjoying her time at the arcade, for once playing something that wasn't mahjong, she was terrible at any other kind of games (either too much of a klutz, or far too easily distracted), "But, if it's just letting these balls slide down, I can do it... right?" she thought with the half-hearted determination of one who knows she's trying to trick herself.

And so, she began to play, kind of losing the track of time while innocently feeding the machine with tokens until... "Huh?" Iruka said as the last of her tokens was devoured by the pachinko machine, that once again didn't let out any balls at all.

When you think about it, that wasn't such an unexpected outcome and, because of that, Iruka only spend the pocket money she had on tokens, knowing that she couldn't dare lose her sustenance money because of games. Even so, Iruka couldn't help but feel a bit (much) disappointed as she was ready the arcade while listening to the transmission "It's getting late already, I should get back" she thought, but her feet refused to move as she stared wistfully at a prize booth and all the fluffy dolls that they had there.

Eventually, Ir[7ff00=8dc73f]uka's body obeyed her commands and let go of the pile o' cuties and as she was about to leave the arcade... "Wha!?"[/color] Iruka bumped on someone. A taller boy, around Iruka's age, with an oddly colored hair who was chewing some bubblegum. However nothing of this mattered now to Iruka as she had one hand over her chest while taking small breaths and muttering "I need to keep calm... I need to keep calm," insistently under her breath as she tried to control the sudden onset of her haphephobia.

[Assistant]
"I'd like that," Kyle barely got the full question out before she answered him, he figured that was a good thing, "I work the early time slot tonight from 5:00 to 10:00. I'll give you my number." Nori reached into her purse again and produced...a pencil? Oh wait, no that was make-up. Taking his left hand into her own, she began to write the digits down, the make shift writing utensil dragging across his skin as the numbers took form. "It'll come off if you rub it against something, so be careful," she let go of his hand and he observed the digits, they were of course backwards from his perspective, but he'd translate later.

"I guess I should get going. I've got a few more errands to run before work," Nori told him, shifting her weight from one foot to the next. "So...I'll see you around?" She asked, looking up to meet his gaze.

Once again Kyle found himself gazing into her sun-filled eyes, a little disappointed that she had to go, but he was ok with that, she had things to do and he'd see her again later that night, "Yea, most definitely," he smiled a big smile, "I'll see you tonight, stay safe, alright?"

They exchanged farewells and the tattooed girl took her leave, Kyle lingering behind at the arcade machine just watching her walk away. She turned around once to look at him, her eyes just as shining despite the distance, he waved to her with his right hand and watched her disappear from the arcade. Alone once again, or as alone as a building full of people would allow, Kyle took time to reflect on the events that occurred that morning into the afternoon. Bliss.

"Good reaction," he thought idly, looking at the number on his hand he quickly pulled out his phone and punched in the digits. In hindsight he probably should have just handed her his phone, but was too distracted by how adorable "sexy" she was to care. Looking at the digits on his hand one last time he pumped it and immediately felt a yawn coming on. "Hm...kind sleepy..." looking at his phone again, it was still pretty early enough in the afternoon that he felt he could get away with taking a nap before going to Nori's set. After all he didn't necessarily need to be there at 5:00, but he did need to be there so he could see her. With his mind made, Kyle sauntered on home with the intention of crashing for a few zzz's.

---

9:17 pm

"(crapcrapcrapcrapCRAP!)" Kyle shouted out as he ran as fast as he could down the street, phone in hand as he tried to find out WHERE THE HELL CLUB FRICKIN LUSH WAS!!! When Kyle returned to his apartment earlier he thought it wouldn't be a terrible idea to smoke just a little bit before conking out for a couple of hours. Well a couple of hours turned into several which brings Kyle to his current and unfortunate circumstance. Quickly throwing on a t-shirt, blue flannel, a pair of jeans and grabbing his coat and hat, Kyle flew out the door, barely remembering to lock it behind him before rocketing down the street.

"I didn't even text her, god she's probably wondering where the fuck I am, I don't even know where the fuck I am, why did I smoke that shit before sleeping!? Why do I sabotage myself like th-!!!??? WHAM!

Kyle fell flat on his ass, the pain was pretty bad there, but it was his head that he was more focused on, "(Argh, son of a-!)" Kyle gritted his teeth to bite against the pain in his head, he slowly opened his eyes to find another individual on the ground in front of him, another guy, probably around his age but with half his hair dyed blue and the other purple. He looked pretty in pain too...Kyle snapped into focus his attention immediately directed away from his own trauma to the SECOND FRICKIN' PERSON HE LITERALLY RAN INTO TODAY "God what is wrong with me?!"

Clambering to his feet Kyle quickly approached the other guy, "Hey man, are you alright? I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Kyle was feeling pretty horrible, but then...he remembered Nori was still waiting for him. "(oh crap)..." Though his feelings were somewhat conflicted, he made a choice, "uh, uh, uh, ah, you!" Looking around he spotted another person, some girl, "So he needs some help, he looks fine, but he might need some ice, I have to uh.. uh... I'M SO SORRY!"

Kyle bowed down and jetted back down the street again. To be perfectly honest, he felt extremely horrible for just abandoning the people like that, but he was sure they had it handled, plus he was LATE! Kyle willed his legs to move faster, pushing himself as hard as he could to get to the club, not even realizing that he dropped and left his phone behind.

Frokane @KoL

---

[User]
"I know the controls can be complicated at first, but you should at least give it a try. It's actually a fun game once you get the hang of it."

Tomoko turned her head toward the source of the voice. A young man, probably not too much older than herself though. Oh shit. Somebody had witnessed Tomoko's horrific failure. This single arcade run was getting worse and worse by the second.

"You see, when he jumps in like that, you can hold down and push punch and you'll do an uppercut, knock him right out of the air. Go ahead and try, you can probably beat this guy with that alone."

"I just chose the wrong character," Tomoko explained, watching the timer on the second round tick closer and closer to zero so that she could be relieved from this run of misery and actually work on getting a respectable score in the next one. Pulling a pair of tokens from her pocket in advance, the girl watched the timer hit zero. The screen displayed the losing screen, followed by the timeless staple in all arcade games: The countdown from ten in big numbers, accompanied by the ever-important question, "Continue?" At that part, Tomoko started mashing buttons to hasten the countdown hitting zero, before being brought back to the title screen.

Nodding toward the young man that had given her some advice, Tomoko said "That's solid advice. Now it's my turn to give you some." before putting the tokens in the machine once more, making sure to choose the proper character this time. Highest skillcap in the game due to an unorthodox moveset, low hitstun, and virtually no ranged attacks, but a top-tier character in the right hands thanks to spacing power, difficult reads, and a metric ton of combo potential. Just her style. At the loading screen, Tomoko opened her mouth and let a veritable hell of mechanical skill pour forth.

"This guy's gap-closer can be blocked, but he'll close the distance anyway and land a hit when he does if your opponent isn't blocking. What most players don't pay attention to is that he can stop while closing the gap; you can use that on most players to stop as soon as you're in range and use a sweep to knock them down and combo. Against pros, you force them to play a guessing game; will I go for the sweep, or will I close the gap all the way? The sweep is safer since you won't be as easily punished if they block it, but if you go all the way and they blocked low for the sweep, you'll hit them. Once that happens, it's time to combo like there's no tomorrow."

Once the fight started, Tomoko immediately closed the distance needed to demonstrate what she'd just explained. Since this was a very weak AI, it wouldn't predict the sweep; it never did. She used this opportunity to put into action what she'd just put into words, stopping mid-gap-close and using the sweep as soon as she was in range. The AI was swept off its feet, and with some quick inputs and sufficient jiggling of the joystick, Tomoko was now 30 hits into a combo and growing, with an airborne opponent taking more and more hits for every moment Tomoko's character of choice was near it.

"Easy, right?"

[Assistant]
After being given the Bluebird Nemesia, Amaya looked over at where the bright girl had pointed out the fertilizer, and grabbed a smaller bag. After quickly purchasing her gift the blond made sure to thank the younger girl for her help. Then she whipped out her phone to check the time. Geez, was it that time already? Maybe it was about time to eat. However, another thought invaded her mind. She wasn't really all that hungry was she? Amaya had such a good workout this morning that she didn't want to ruin it with overindulging in food. Besides she needed to study for finals. She had already spent too much time shopping for gifts. So, with that thought in mind, Amaya stopped by her dorm to drop off her gifts (making sure to find a good hiding spot from Rachel), and grab her backpack and laptop before heading to the library for a long study session.

---

Time Skip

Amaya's eyes wandered from the pages of her notebook to the massive amount of students in the library. She had been studying for who knows how long, hours most likely. The quiet girl had managed to make a lot of progress since that morning. Her bio essay was 75% done, she studied for her massive math final, and she had even finished her presentation for speech class.

However, boredom was starting to settle in. Amaya's eye were looking around the room, making educated guesses about what everyone was doing. For example, there were a group of guys studying at a table together. It didn't take a genius to know that they were on the football team. It looked like they were hardcore studying to keep their grades up to stay on the team. At another table a girl and a guy sat staring into each other's eyes more than staring at their study material. A small twinge of sadness filled the single female. Being alone sucked, but it was better than being with her ex, Damien. That bast... he wasn't a great guy.

Snapping out of her trance, Amaya realized she wasn't going to get much more done, so she packed up her things before heading back to her dorm. She either had the option of fooling around on the internet, or do something more productive with her life. Especially since she didn't have work tonight, she felt like doing something adventurous. So she decided to see what Shine City had to offer tonight.

The biting winter cold nipped at her uncovered ears and nose. Amaya had dressed up warmly, but not everything could be covered. The park was pretty much empty. Not many people were out for walks in the freezing cold on a Saturday night. But, still, Amaya kept on walking. Even if nothing exciting came up, at least she had gotten some more exercise in that day.


[System]
Age: 13
Height: 5'2"
Body Type: Lanky,
Hair: Dirty Blonde
Eye Color: Dark Brown

-----------------------------------------
Background: Even before the outbreak, Bobby was a victim of others. Being shy, timid, and a frail build, he was the target of bullying throughout his school years. This led to him growing a greater disposition for books and his own company, or the company of his loving father, Stanley. Bobby's mother died when he was very young, and he only has the faintest recollection of her. Stan, on the other hand, was very close to Bobby, and helped him foster his love for knowledge. Bobby was quite particular to books on archaeology, and had grand fantasies of becoming an explorer of artifacts just like Indiana Jones. Ever since he witnessed the infamous "sword vs. pistol" scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Bobby begged his father to get him a pistol just like Indy. Coming to a compromise, Stan gave him a slingshot and, being quite skilled with one in his own youth, taught his son how to use it. This led to an incident at Bobby's school, in which one of his bully's was sent to an ER. Bobby was temporarily expelled as a result, much to his father's dismay; but it sure did a good job of stopping the bullying.
Then, the outbreak happened less than a year later. Stan, working in a busy hospital as a nurse, was one of the first to go; and Bobby had the misfortune of witnessing the transition. Stan caught on quick, and knew first-hand just as the rest of the city was catching on... but it was too late on to get his son to safety, himself. He urged his son to leave him behind, and compelled him to use the sewers as a possible method to hide. Bobby was reluctant, of course... until all hell broke loose, as the city fell into chaos along with his father shortly after. Bobby left Stan without much of a good chance for goodbyes, and took on his father's desperate advice to use the sewers. It was surprisingly effective; to not get eaten at first, anyway. He could still hear the chaos unfold above, the sounds of people screaming and being eaten alive.
Being on his own, he didn't have much as far as answers or comfort. The sewers have since proven to be a safe haven from most of the zombie population, at the least; but it has done little to prepare him for the outside world. After a recent incident at discovering his "home" in the sewers was ransacked, Bobby made an awful realization; the Raiders were learning about the safety of the sewers in greater numbers. Running out of places to hide, Bobby has recently been forced in more and more situations to attempt to survive above... and its been proving increasingly taxing for the unenlightened boy.
Personality: As already mentioned, Bobby is shy and timid by nature; add to being in isolation since the beginning of the outbreak, and his social abilities are... inadequate, to say the least. However, he is far from dumb, and learns the traits of others quickly. As such, he will be more comfortable revealing less (or lies) about himself as opposed to more. The world with which he has grown up in has logically made him accustomed to pessimism and distrust, where he looks out for himself first and foremost, if only for survival's sake. He is still a child, however; he has not forgotten how to laugh, or cry.

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Unique Abilities: Having spent most of the pandemic living in the sewers, Bobby has a great handle of NY's sewer system, and his eyesight has developed quite well in conditions without light. On the negative side of things, the lack of sunlight has also made his eyes very sensitive to the sun. Considering this trait, Bobby is great as a night spotter, as a guide in dark places (most especially the sewers), and (as further described in his "knowledge of combat"), very useful as an unorthodox "sniper." In addition, his small size and height allows him to squeeze through and/or hide slightly more easily in small spaces than others, and/or to sneak and make less noise slightly more effectively (though he's no ninja, and trained ears will find him without much difficulty). As a side, he will also eat next to anything that's edible, having grown a knowledge of what is edible and what is not, learning out of necessity to eat essentially sludge and/or whatever rotten scraps he happens to stumble upon to survive (aka having a complete lack of cooking skills).
Knowledge of Combat: Bobby is an excellent shot with his father's slingshot, and it has saved his life from zombies on more than one occasion. He's a very good shot with it at long distances, practicing extensively on the dull moments of down-time he has in a day. This makes Bobby much more dangerous than his frail frame makes him seem at first glance, and has resulted in the deaths of two foolish Raiders (reluctantly, and still mentally scarring, on Bobby's end). Despite this, Bobby's preference for his slingshot has led to a lack of development and experience in guns or close-proximity weapons; if ever caught in such a situation, he would be sure to be dead without the quick help of others. Knowing this full well, he has lived his life avoiding it at all costs, and has been relatively successful (until recently).
Weapons/Equipment: 1. His father's slingshot. It is one of the professional, metallic kinds, and being a quality instrument, it's still in very durable condition. It is capable of shooting all sorts of miscellaneous objects laying about (as big as a soda can, as small as a tiny pebble). 2. A large pouch holding rocks and scraps of "food", and a smaller pouch of "bang snaps", those novelty fireworks that you throw on the ground to make a small, bright "POP!". Using his slingshot, these in particular prove incredibly useful for directing/distracting small to medium groups of zombies. 3. A combat knife he's found on the streets near the beginning of the outbreak, which has since become rusty and near-dull. Marginally useful for cutting through weak materials, or his own hair. Not very useful in CQC, even if Bobby knew how to use it for such. 4. An old, dirty wine bag for water. 5. Very large shades that he has also found near the beginning of the outbreak, used when the sun is particularly bright (and look rather comical on his small face).
Conditions: Bobby's skin was always pretty pale to begin with. Add to the matter that he hasn't been seeing much sunlight, he almost resembles a zombie from a distance. Also, while knowing quite a bit about the sewers, he knows very little in terms of the outside world since the outbreak.

[User]
The stone connected, but Truffles managed to turn just in time, preventing the blunt projectile from splitting into the back of his skull; knocking out a few teeth, instead. This was only a temporary fallback, though, as the mysterious figure behind him took the opportunity to finish the job.

It was a pretty gruesome sight for Bobby, getting a full view as Truffles turned just enough to let Bobby see a bit of blood squirt out from his neck. But even worse were his eyes: blood red, crazed, and looking at Bobby with malicious intent. He attempted an angry slur of final words, but it just resulted in a pitiful gurgling as the other fellow lent him down to the ground.

The man, at this point having his clothes covered with splatterings of blood, would have looked just as menacing if it weren't for a less crazed face; only marginally so, but that was all you could really ask for in this new world. At the least, it was enough for Bobby to get the hint he wasn't going to attack him (for the time being) giving an approving nod before scavenging the bodies.

Bobby gave an uncomfortable nod back, not really sure what else to do, still a little phased from Truffle's death and the bodies littered around him. He was still weighing out his options. Should he just take what he can and run off before this guy gets any ulterior ideas for him, just like all the others? Or could Bobby have some use for him? In any case, he knew sticking around here wasn't an option.

"You're going to want to finish up with that. That was a... uh. Loud entrance."

[Assistant]
Hunter walked into his apartment room like it was any normal day. He cleared the floor as best as he could just so he could do that. Took him over 3 weeks to make sure it was clear and another 2 weeks to find where they kept getting in from. Now the only way on the floor is the elevator which is now powered by a home made generator, and the emergency stairwell. The generator isn't used much though. Unfortunately it's powered using an old bike and a few batteries, So this job takes a good long while to get enough power to run an elevator.

He walked into his apartment and placed the shotgun on top of the dresser, he kicked off his shoes and threw odd his hat onto the kitchen counter. He grabbed himself a beer from the fridge (Currently lacking power and just used to keep drinks separate) then he went and sat on the chip bag covered couch. The food he found in the building was always random, which was fine with him but he was once force to eat nothing but Doritos for a week because he had a large supply of them and no luck finding food. Why did so many people have so many Doritos?!

His feet started turning some peddles at his feet and he turned on the TV, He was living a life of luxury considering the events going on. Then his head ache came back, he was out of Excedrin, or anything else for head aches. All he had was prescription pain killers for hips or something. He had no idea where to find medicine though, that was normally the first thing he grabbed in case someone else was searching the apartments as well. TO find medicine he would need to leave the apartment building.

He looked out onto the street and saw dozens of dead just outside his building, and hundreds if not thousands spread out over the streets. "...Dammit." He knew this day would come when he would have to leave the safety of his building.

[User] Now that Anthony was close enough, he could see that the figure was nothing more than a pale, young, boy. "Wonder how many days it's been since he's seen the sun." The older man mused as he found more ammunition for his gun, and not much else. "You're going to want to finish up with that. That was a... uh. Loud entrance." the boy said. Anthony looked the boy in the eyes and saw how hard they were, and shook his head to himself sighing. He reloaded his pistol, and raised an eyebrow at the young boy. "So, coming or not?" Anthony asked, "Cause looking at you, I think you could use a partner."

[Assistant]
"So, coming or not?" Anthony asked, "Cause looking at you, I think you could use a partner."

The man reloaded his pistol, and he was making Bobby exceedingly nervous. He seemed to have no regard for how much noise he's been making, or how such noise attracted the raiders in droves, having just as much of a death wish as their friends. And even more concerning was how nonchalant the man was at having killed several people... crazed or not. Was the Overground truly so awful as to turn people as such?

Or was this guy even more insane than he presumed? He seemed to have a good handle of protecting himself, but for all he knew he'd use him as bait or start banging pots and pans together like a madman, as all evidence was starting to lead. But Bobby knew he would have to make the upward journey sooner rather than later, and this was probably his best ticket.

Only now did Bobby realize he was musing silently to himself, leaving the man staring at him impatiently. "I, uhh... okay. But one condition." In the time of half a second, Bobby released a rock in the direction of one of the corpses ten feet away, leaving a large indent in his skull. Bobby points at his craftiwork. "I have a no touch policy. ALSO! I'm a, uh... black belt in Tai Kwon Do. So. Yeah. Watch yourself."

[User]
The air was crisp, the sky clouded. However, the late fall chill was not the only thing that filled the air as Petra Novak sat perched on the rooftop of her apartment building. The groans and howls of the undead flouted upward from the streets and reached her ears on the rooftop. She had been camped out there for the majority of the time after the outbreak. After fleeing from her apartment with whatever supplies she could gather, she raced up to the rooftop, baracading the door shut. On occasion, when food resources were in the red, Petra would unblock the door and reenter the apartment building to scavenge before returning to the rooftop. However, as time went on, more and more people were turning and the weather grew colder and colder. Both the rooftop and the inside of the apartment building were becoming eliminated options for Petra. She knew she had to move soon - she just didn't know where.

This would be the last day she could scavenge through the building. Every time she went in, there seemed to be more walkers and she constantly ran the risk of raiders or residents of the building being less than hospitable when she barged in their door. This was the last time.

As Petra entered the building, she had her fire axe at the ready. She cursed the fact that she didn't have a firearm - she could never seem to come across them and after leaving her old life behind, she vowed never to own one herself. But times had surely changed since then. Slowly, Petra stalked through the hallways, flattening herself against the wall whenever she heard the groan of a walker or the creak of the floor boards. As she gingerly made her way across the top floor, the sound of gun shots from the floor below her caused her to jump. It had been a while since she had heard gun shots in the building. She cringed at the thought, knowing it would sturr up the walkers. She picked up her pace now as she made her way to the stair well and onto the next floor.

[Assistant] "I have a no touch policy. I'm also a black belt in Tai Kwon Do." the kid said. Anthony scoffed and replied while holstering his pistol, "Fine, and if you're a black belt, then I'm the former president." Then, looking down at his blood drenched clothes, he groaned and facepalmed himself realized why the boy looked at him weirdly. "Shit, guess I look like a psycho huh?" After scanning the area quickly Anthony continued to speak while scratching at the bush of a beard on his face, "Hey kid, we should move soon, don't think these bastards were alone." Then he flashed a grin at the boy, hoping it seemed reassuring since he flushed his mouth with warm water every few days. "My names Anthony, but you can just call me Tony."


[System]
Gender: Male

Age: 27

Race: Half-Orc / Half-Goliath

Appearance:

One would describe this Half-orc Half Goliath as intimidating, with an impressive 8'4" height and weighing nearly 390 Lbs. With his massive stature, raw power, and imposing presence, he proves to be quite intimidating for even the most savage of foes. Genthok is larger than average Goliaths and more thickly-muscled than a normal Orc, this half-breed is often observed performing feats of incredible strength with ease. The half-breed bears a mixture of his parent's bloodlines' physical traits. The black markings across his Grey stone like skin, the pale blue of a Goliaths eyes, and the muscle structure, sharpened canines, and pointed ears of an orc.

Multiple scars litter the half-breed's skin. Strange dark colored burns cover his hands and the center of his chest. The result of nearly succumbing to over casting. Genthok prefers to wear strong leather and stone armor and even then it's mostly around his waist and legs preferring to keep his upper body in a tangle of ritualistic bone armor. Other than a heavy blanket in colder weather Genthok will rarely wear anything that covers his face other than war paint. His hair is kept simple, mostly bald with a black scruffy beard.

Personality:

Genthok can be quiet and secretive around company he thinks are a threat. Otherwise, he's the kind of guy to drown his woes in extensive training or spending time in the forest and in nature. He is a kind, stoic, and gentle creature. Even through his intimidating stature, the giant forms natural unspoken bonds with animals and children very easily.

However, none of this means he's not a good fighter or a force to be reckoned with. When not working with hearts and minds he keeps to his studies. This shaman of nature is also quite able to change his personality to better suit a battlefield. Some have even called him insane. But this is the life of a berserker. Deal as much damage as you can, hope you don't get killed.

History:

Genthok was born from vengeance and seen as an abomination to his Goliath mother as well as the rest of her tribe. Given up to the inquisition as tribute days after his birth. The Half breed was more than likely saved from a worse fate. Thus, he was raised by other orcs and Goliaths that were already part of the inquisition. He learned from them and even showed prowess and skill with magic.

After a time of training and learning he began to be trained in the arts of magic. Specifically the arts that come with being a shaman to be able to settle the souls of the lost and calm the creatures of the wild. The shaman held a significant impact on the cultures he was raised between and normally was the strongest spell caster among the nomadic tribes. When he finally graduated, he was tall, strong, and powerful. Harnessing both the power of a shaman and the fury of a berserker.

As part of his graduation he had to accompany a group of shamans into the deep forests, so he could find and bond with a friend. He wasn't allowed to take any weapons and had to drink a liquid that would awaken his soul and open him up further to the world around him. This concoction also called out to the beasts in the forest until one finally answered. A large brown bear confronted the young half-breed. Soon he learned what this test was about, he would either dominate the bear or die. A harsh reality for a harsh world.

The fight lasted almost an hour before the bear was rendered unconscious. The other shamans taught him how to bond with it, talk to it, and most importantly feel what it felt. After another week of living off the land in the forest, his group returned. The bear now known as Artur walked behind his new friend. Genthok scarred and bruised from the fight was given the blue cloak of an inquisitor at 17. Finding the best place for it to hang from his belt as a mark as it was a bit small for him.

Genthok spent the next 10 years fighting, helping, and learning how to better control his magic as well as how to fight the blighted. He found most of the jobs he was tasked out on where to help purify land of evil and restless spirits as well as hunt down cults and demons they brought into this world. The giant also found himself working in small towns and villages, teaching the people how to harvest food better or improve their existing structures. Sure the inquisition was created to fight back the blight if it ever returned, but they still needed to look good to the civilians of this realm. With his natural knack for this his superiors would constantly have him walk around towns just to help and cheer people up.

Equipment:

Leather, Stone, and Bone Armor: Metal inhibits his ability to feel the world around him as a shaman. There for his armor has been made from hardy leather and stone covered in Orcish, Dwarvish, and Goliath runes. These runes help him by allowing him to focus his magic better. These runes are also mixed in with the bone armor that encompasses his upper body.

Basic Survival gear: Genthok spends most of his free time in natural environments and has thus modified the equipment given to him to better suit survival. Not just for himself but encase he has others with him as well.

Stone and crystal War hammer: because of his limits with metal, Genthok was gifted a special Hammer made of stone, crystal, and wood from an ancient elvish forest. The hammer was made by a master elvish crafter. This hammer although looking like it would break with one swing, is incredibly strong and resilient to even magical attacks.

Mark of the inquisition: his cloak hangs off the right side of his belt.

Herbs: being a shaman he has several small pouches of medicinal herbs. These plants are normally harvested from the surrounding area and are used for healing elixirs and other applications.

Magic:

Earth magic — Specialty Nature: Genthok uses his nature magic primarily to heal others and the natural world around him. He does use this occasionally to help with building houses and fortifications as well as growing food. This also allows him to befriend and control animals like Artur. The half-breed can also enhance the physical abilities of others near him by giving them a blessing of sorts, but it's taxing after words for both parties depending on the strength and duration.

Berserkers rage: as his Orcish blood boils within him after taking a hit. He is able to gain a great amount of strength and raw power for a limited time. His ability to heal naturally increases and his pain tolerance skyrockets. This gives him the ability to deal massive amounts of damage and fight through near fatal blows. However, even though he may feel invincible he's far from it. This ability drains him of his strength and has almost killed him before as he uses his natural magic to enhance himself. He also needs to get hit first before he can use this, and he can have trouble determining friend from foe.

Shamans Incite: this allows him to feel the world around him a bit better than others. This mostly deals with spirits and souls but also with instincts. He cannot talk to those who have passed but he can feel their pain and their emotions. This ability is what he awakened with the other shamans in the forest.

[User]
Lanithil Valkas

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There were few things in this world worse than feeling helpless in a dire situation. Yet that was exactly how Lanithil felt as he watched his and every other arrow bounce off the monster. No matter where he fired the results were the same. The only real upside to this was that it was not hard for Lanithil to call a ceasefire when a few of the men boldly charged the beast. Holding up his right hand in a fist he yelled out "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!"

Immediately the archers restrained themselves and the volleys stopped. Lanithil watched closely as his allies engaged the armored mass desperately looking for an opening. His eyes followed every hit of magic and attack hoping they would reveal some sort of weak spot they could use. The tension among the archers grew as they waited. Each one praying they could come up with a way to assist their fellow inquisitors.

Their moment came soon after Gil pulled the spear and the beast was peppered with magic attacks from every direction. While most seemed to have little effect, a fire spear from Ardur drew the wood elf's attention to the spot where Kharne had hit it with acid. As the steam settled, he began to see the large cracks and missing chunks that part of it's armor had. It was impressive damage, but they could do more if that spot was completely exposed.

Hearing Ardur's command to focus on that spot, Lanithil and the archers raised their bows. "Archers ready!" He called out. All of them took aim and waited until their allies were clear and the beast was trapped in ice by River. "Fire!" A volley of arrows flew straight at the breaking chest piece. Hopefully the plate would be weakened enough to shatter at the force of a dozen or more arrows; just like it's weapon had.

[Assistant]
"What, do we sail the seven seas now?" Lilianna responded dryly as Ardur turned his attention away. All hands on deck indeed. She watched it turn from attacker to attacker as they assaulted it, her interest in it waning quickly. Nothing more than a nuisance really. Its only strength seemed to be its size.

"I'll let the others handle that then. No need to burn my magic with plenty of others here." Lilianna stood back to observe, sword in hand just in case. She was much more interested in examining the bodies littering the field and what may lie inside. After of course she made sure their headstrong commander got himself proper attention.

[User]
Kharne held onto the giant despite the sudden heat of the flames from Ardur that flared around the armored behemoth. When the flames dissipated the draconic giants scales steamed. His 'mount' flailed about due to the flames which had knocked him off. Armor was a bit difficult to grip given its lack of hard edges. Well the giant had one big edge and Kharne thundered towards it. His thick arms wrapped around the giants middle while his wings twisted and slammed down into the ground to act as anchors.

The strain of his muscles was almost audible as he attempted to lift the armored beast from the ground. The straps on his armored arm snapped from the sudden strain of trying to contain the bulging muscle underneath. This was probably the hardest any of the other Inquisitors had seen the half dragon work, most physical tasks coming easy to the naturally strong man. But back to point, if he couldn't lift the giant he'd keep him still as long as he could.

[Assistant]
Halek had been prowling by the edge of the combat looking for a weakness in the beast. Watching every move the creature made he had been trying to find even the slightest gap in the armor. When his allies had made the hole in the giant's armor Halek smelled opportunity. The armor seemed to be it's only defence. Quickly coming up with a plan Halek sheathed his sword and began to trot towards the giant. Multiple spells were being flung at the giant creature, not giving it time to retaliate.

Once Halek had closed the distance to about twenty feet he drew his dagger. While cutting his palm with the dagger he murmured,"venenum aspidum stillante portasse." the blade began to turn a sickly green and began secreting a thick liquid of the same color. Taking aim he knew it was a somewhat difficult shot to hit with the creature moving so much. Halek was having a difficult time getting a good shot until Kharne came up behind the creature and grabbed it from behind. Now with the beast detained Halek slung his arm down, flinging the blade at the champion. As soon as he let go he knew his aim was true, but he still watched the blade tumble through the air until it landed within the hole in the armor.

Quickly backing away, Halek went towards the archers. While his dagger leaked venom into the giants body for a time, he could poison the archers arrows. Reaching the archers he looked towards the person commanding them, "I can poison your arrows if you need me to."