[System]
Age: 26

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Personality: Leon is a talented enchanter and knows it. He has a tendency to overestimate his skill but will also admit when he messed up as a result. He can be unmotivated when it comes to physical labor as he considers it below him and will try to get away with not giving it his all, though his pride will prevent him from intentionally half assing anything.

He automatically assumes anyone incapable of using magic is less intelligent than him until proven wrong.

Armaments:

* Enchanting: Leon is an enchanter and as such uses enchanted items. In order for an enchantment to work the appearance or material of the item has to have some relation to what he wants it to do.
* Ring of Burning Light: This ring consisting of a small red sunstone engraved with a flame and set in a silver band allows Leon to fire heated beams of light.
* Spirit Wolf Necklace: Given to Leon by his teacher. This pendant shaped like a wolves head has the ability to call forth a spirit wolf loyal to whoever summoned it. The wolf can't be killed but enough damage will dispel it. The more damage taken and/or the longer the wolf is out the longer it takes to recover. Leon can't use any of his other items while the wolf is out due to it using most of his magic.
* Water shell: This conch shell has the ability to hold large quantities of both fresh and seawater and can release it at either a trickle or in massive force. The quality of the water doesn't change while in the shell but since it doesn't create the water it has to be refilled if empty.
* Absent Blade: A simple dagger hilt seemingly missing it's blade. In reality it doesn't need one since it allows Leon to use the air in front of it to cut, or stab his enemies. The range and damage is the same as for a regular dagger but Leon can activate or deactivate it at will and he is the only one who can use it.
* Centipede: Normally looks like a centipede shaped ring but when active covers Leon's arm in the length of a giant centipede that is able to stretch to hit opponents.
* Ring Armor: Leon's attempt at creating his own version of the Spirit Wolf Necklace. While this living suit of armor made of interlocked rings has the same indestructibility as the spirit wolf it's both weaker and has a longer recharge time. Connected to a ring shaped like a knight's helmet. Unlike the wolf this doesn't drain his magic to the point where he can't use other items at the same time but he will have to use them sparingly.

Biography: The ability to use magic is quite common in Leon's world, though most people aren't very powerful. This actually includes Leon as his magic reserves are below average for an enchanter and it looked like he would be mediocre at best.Still he was determined to follow in his uncle's footsteps. Luckily for him though his uncle realized that he actually had quite a bit of talent and taught him anyway. The lessons mostly focused on how to create unique effect for his items to make up for their lack of overal power.

Other: Most of Leon's items can be used by anybody capable of supplying them with magic but the Absent Blade is keyed to him.

[User]
De'kae, the Druid

 Cold. Something cold was digging into her bare spine. Furrowing her brow, Kay crinkled her nose and sneered. Her eyes were closed and she had been breathing rhymically just a few seconds ago but it was clear something had disturbed her slumber. Sleepily, her eyes opened. Ouch. She was wearing a crop top, and the natural curve of her spine wasn't enough to prevent it from being jammed by rocks. Sitting up, she rubbed her head and glanced around. She hunched into her shelf and grimaced, shuddering as she heard an abominable shriek. Glancing upwards she caught a glimpse of the horrific woman-beast above her. She scrambled away just in time, running away. There were others around here, but Kay's mind was reeling. What the hell just happened? Where was she? Wasn't she in the middle of something? She was carving a staff to go with her traditional garments, right? Well, that was long gone. Not like it would be much use- without a magic crystal it was just a stick. Someone, a woman in red, told her to get up and Kay had no intention of disobeying. Especially since she spoke with such a commanding prescence. Maybe she knew what was going on?

 Kay, breathing heavily, glanced back towards the spider. The woman in red armor was lunging toward the beast. An ally! Kay had never seen such a creature before, but she had read stories of half-person, half-beast abominations that roamed the hills. She had even met some before. The snake men of the eastern swamps were particularly nasty. The centaurs weren't so bad though. They reminded her and the Druid Elves.

 Shaking her head of this distraction, Kay got back to the moment at hand. "Uhhh!"  She shouted. She had hoped to say something cool like the sword woman but instead she just made a loud, confused noise. Well, whatever!

 Raising her hands, she summoned a protective Structure barrier around the sword woman Saria. It would not restrict her movement at all, and in case she was overcome by the beasts strength it would deflect some of the damage, depending on how much was done to her. The tattoos on Kay's body, particularly on the arm she had raised and pointed at Saria, began to glow a dull green. This sucked! Kay was afraid and confused, but she had a fighter's instinct nonetheless. Normally, however, the battles she fought made sense. This made no sense at all.

Natalia

 Natalia had woken up only a few moments ago. Staring up at the ceiling, she saw the spider beast above her. A dream? It certainly felt real. Using her arms, she grunted and pushed herself into a sitting position. Slowly, she scanned the room around her. People, of all different shapes and sizes. Curious. Beside her, her Powered Armor. Dull. Empty. Powered off. A useless pile of junk, right now. Right now, she felt she was in danger. The beast shrieked. Those around her began to battle it. Natalia did not dream often.

 Someone told her to get up. That person did not know that Natalia was missing her left leg from the knee down. That swordwoman also did not know that it wouldn't matter, because Natalia's legs were paralyzed. It had been a while since Natalia had to crawl on the ground. The Powered Armor next to her was a hulking gray behemoth, standing eight feet tall at least. Unfortunately, it was laying on it's back. Natalia could only enter the Powered Armor via it's back. The entire thing would open up and she could crawl inside. Usually, she would have the help of several other smaller drones. Now, she was by herself. The beast was closing in.

 Suddenly, there was a green surge of energy all around her. Natalia and the Powered Armor were slid along the ground by some kind of glowing verdant scooper. Ten, twenty, thirty feet away. Natalia tried to keep steady but she ended up rolling and flopping around. Her and the Powered Armor slid to a stop well outside the combat zone.

 "Sorry!" A cosplayer shouted an apology at Natalia. She was dressed as a fantasy character, with fake ears and everything. Let's be logical here. If the spider beast is real, than it stands to reason the elf woman, and everyone else in here, is real too. Perhaps, Natalia thought, she had been kidnapped and taken into another dimension. Or it was a dream. Either way, she needed to get into the Powered Armor.

 "Abi," Natalia said. Her voice was low and monotone. "Activate Powered Armor." She said to the suit. Nothing happened. As she suspected, the armor would need to be turned on manually. Otherwise, it would already be on. The power to this thing was completely off. If Natalia remembered correctly, she had the suit connected to her home's power supply when she was looking through a telescope. At the time she was sitting on her wheelchair, the back wheel was brushing up against the suit's foot. Perhaps she was fortunate to have the suit available to her at all.

 Either way, she lacked the strength to lift the suit. While Kay wore her fantastical verdent outfit, Saria had her armor, and the others in the room were decked out in various ways, Natalia was wearing a grey tank top, and some jeans. The left leg of the jeans was hemmed shut just below the knee. She hadn't anything resembling a warrior's frame. All of the ruckus had caused her grey tank top to ride up a bit on her torso, revealing her flat, soft midriff that matched her unmuscled bare arms. From a single glance a warrior could tell she had never been in a fight before. Despite being totally vulnerable and useless, in a life or death situation, Natalia was remarkably composed. Her cool eyes, light blue, almost gray, watched the encounter dispassionately. The sooner Natalia could get inside her armor, the better. Most of the people in the room were most likely distracted by the hybrid creature. Still, if they looked over to the far right of the room they would see Natalia with her right arm draped over the chest of her Powered Armor, leaning on it for support.

[Assistant]
Ariamis the Mechanist

Ariamis grunted as wakefulness came to him on the cold stone of the floor making him question just what that damnable artifact had done to him. He stood up quite quickly however as it appeared there were more people around him though if only it were just them and not the horrific almost Drider like being coming down from the ceiling. It gave only a short display before swatting aside anyone too close with its spiked limbs, he would have to avoid those until he could close the gap. It sent several other combatants sprawling before rushing at himself and those who had been initially out of reach. In response, the side opening to his contraption opened to reveal the four clawed arms it helped to house and just like that the Dwarf was ready to fight.

The only problem was they were scattered with only two of they're numbers already in motion which would not do against a creature this size. If they intended to attack frontally he would ideally get to the flank where he could deploy some of his more potent abilities or underneath the beast where he might hold the advantage that his size allowed him. That did not appear to be a working solution however because the three of them alone would not hold for long against the assault. There was an ally to the right who appeared to be unable to move to help them laying against what looked like a mighty iron golem yet did not move as it should. It would be of immense use to them so that was a priority in his mind before directly engaging with the enemy, they would need everything at immediate disposal to assess they're chances.

As the Drider charged he tucked himself and his extra arms into a roll making use of his size to avoid the blows he surely would have taken. He was sturdy for sure but even he had no interest in getting crushed by that thing or trying to match it head of even if he could. After unfurling himself he used his arms to help himself almost gallop over to the fallen construct and its Artificer who despite the strange grab certainly looked the part. He understood why she was not fighting immediately upon arriving casting a glance at the pant leg looking more in length like one of his own than a human's.

"Why does your golem lie dormant? I believe we will need it and yourself shortly." Ariamis said turning to check how long they might have to figure out a solution to reawaken the golem while the very angry problem on the other side of the room continued its rampage, "I could be of assistance though I need to know what to do."

[User]
Katelin

Katelin rolled over and rubbed her lower back. Something is wrong; she didn't fall asleep on hard ground! Opening her eyes, she looked around, shocked to see about a dozen or more other people around the large room, a few standing, others getting up, and the rest lying down like she had been only seconds ago.

Katelin heard a screech, and looking up, she saw something that she had never seen personally but had heard of from the knights' stories of similar mutated monsters, the knights boasting about defeating them without help. Letting out a short scream, Katelin scrambled to get up, forming an ice spear as she did so. She tried to get her heart to calm, but seeing an arachnid that big was too much. One fully armored lady didn't have such fears, as she glared around and told everyone to get up if they wanted to live. The lady then attacked the monster as Katelin saw a glowing shield-like thing form around her. Katelin threw the javelin, but almost missed, the ice getting stuck in some terrible-looking barbs.

Moving backwards to try calming down, Katelin looked around, and saw that most everyone was up. One girl with strange clothing was in a corner, seeming to struggle with some heavy-looking armor on its back. While forming another spear, Katelin saw the girl's lips move. "Is she talking to metal?" Katelin thought, confused. Looking closer, she saw the girl was missing a leg.

Katelin threw the spear, then got her bow off her back - so lucky it was still there - and looked over at the girl again. A Dwarf with metal arms was moving towards the girl. Hopefully he only ment to help. Katelin looked back at the spider, shuddering at the thought of possibly getting eaten by this thing. It looked angry, and that lady on its head looked so creepy.

Aiming, Katelin shot a couple arrows at the creature's eyes, hoping the mini explosions would cause enough damage to hurt it.

[Assistant]
Leon had no idea where he was or how he got there and wondered if any of the others knew. Most of the others looked unusual but the half metal dwarf and the woman seemingly wearing leafs took the cake, along with the spider monster of course. He had never heard of anything like it but figured it had to have been created by either a single incredibly powerful magic user or a group of them working together.

Before he could even react Leon as well as most of the others were knocked by the spider monster with a woman in armor being the first to recover and going on the offensive with the leaf wearer casting some spell not long after. Just as he thought that they might be able to deal with the spider monster without much trouble he noticed the one legged woman crawling to a suit of armor on the other side of the room. Luckily for her the dwarf spotted her as well and seemed smart enough to realize her armor was most likely pretty powerful as he seemed to focus on helping her out.

While he was distracted by that yet another fighter had gone after the spider and Leon wondered what he should do, neither of the present options appealed to him. Eventually though he decided that despite the labor that would no doubt be involved helping the legless woman out would at least let him see her capabilities while keeping his own hidden in case any of the strangers decided to attack him.

Hugging the wall and staying as far away from the fight he ran across the room towards the dwarf and the empty suit of armor. "Hang on, I'll help as well!"


[System]
Race: Twi'lek

Gender: Female

Age: 27

Appearance:

Skills: -Is proficient with her dual Guard Shoto lightsabers.
-excellent dancer.
-knows how to blend in easily.
-Adept at interrogation.
-Highly skilled force user.

Equipment: -Two Guard Shoto lightsabers.
-backpack.
-mixed bag of sith and jedi holocrons.
-spare outfits.

Bio: Izin was born on the twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth, where she was well aware of the slave trades and disposition towards her race. At a young age, she came across an old and -at the time- strange relic. She collected it, but did not show it to her family, feeling that they would not take kindly to it. Not long after, she was found by an Inquisitor and taken from her home to be trained. With her master, she learned that the relic was an ancient lightsaber, and was inactive. As the years passed, she had become more and more skilled as a Sith Inquisitor. She spent a number of years under his wing, learning and growing to be just as good as he was before he died.

Following her master's death, Izin'asilos was unable to perform her Inquisitor duties. She could still capture, but she couldn't kill. For all of the unwilling jedi and force sensitives, Izin had managed to sneak them out to safety. With a year passing, she had drawn too much attention to herself, and fled the Inquisitorious. In her self-exile, she was found several times by other Inquisitors, who had been able to find her. She had escaped, but hit rock bottom.

There, she was guided by the force, and came across a set of Jedi holocrons. She began to follow some rules of the Jedi code, and took a better path as a grey Jedi. She couldn't fully abandon her past to start anew, and even if she did, the Jedi code was too demanding mentally. They had to be stone walls, which was impossible for her to do.

Putting herself on a new path, Izin moved closer to the core world, avoiding the outer rim in hopes of staying away from other Inquisitors. That wasn't to say that she took the risk of going back to her family briefly and telling them that she was okay. Despite her desire to stay with them, for their safety as well as her own, she continued her journey to the core worlds.

The Twi'lek was in the Mid Rim when she intercepted a rebel signal, in which she decided to follow and assist the rebels. They had been surpsied to see such a menacing woman on their side, but did not decline the offer to help. Since then, she had done whatever she could to aid the rebels and their cause. A common phrase she had began to say when talking to the rebels was 'may the force be with you'

Other: She does not fully understand the title of Darth and how it is given, earned, and the true implications of it. It seems to be self-appointed, but Sidious proclaimed Vader a Darth, and the whole thing was confusing for her.

[User]
The Cantina better have damn good drinks. That's all Azala could think about as she headed in its diriection. She needed a stiff pint before she had to meet any of the other recruits for this little adventure began.

Her DC17 clanked against her armor as she walked into the Cantina, finding the most secluded corner so she could keep an eye on everyone. She had a few bounties on her own head and they almost always seemed to try and kill her when she was drinking.

Once the creds had been in her account, she'd found the nearest rebel base and secured passage to the Hammer of Justice. A bit dramatic, but they weren't paying her for opinions.

She signaled one of the Twi'lek waitress's for a bottle of Kri'gee. Most she'd away from the bitter drink, but she always felt more at home with a bottle beside her. Val'Buir would drink like crazy after collecting a bounty, then curse like cruse the damn thing the next morning for trying to kill him.

She fingered the holo pod hooked to her belt, remembering the message her Buir had left her. He was looking for a bounty, and told her he'd kill her if she got killed out there.

She smiled underneath her helmet as the waitress sat the Ki'gee onto the table. Now, if she just had some spiced warra nuts, everything would be perfect.

[Assistant] "Cantina, haven't gotten a drink in a while.. Jazar thought, as he moved through the busy alleyways to find the Cantina. He went towards the Cantina, and looked around at the busy interior. Bustling with action, with over 50 to 100 faces everywhere.. people wonder why it's so easy to get killed in here.Thought Jazar, a light smirk escaped Jazar's lips, as he was still wearing his helmet. He moved to a seat near to the door, and looking at the door, for mainly security reasons. He activated the holo message via his hud and listened to it. Nodding along as he looked to a waitress. Pausing the message for abit before ordering a cup of coffee. He went back to hear the instructions of the message. Interesting..good way to pass the time and do something noble. Another smirk escaped Jazar's lips. As the coffee came his way he turned off the holographic display on his HUD. Before he took off his helmet. He sipped on the beverage. He seemed to be overly prepared, his armor and his weaponry sticking out the most.

[User]
The red Twi'lek deactivated and put her holo-projector away, hiding it in a pouch on her waist. Her new destination was a cantina, in which she was unsure if she was among the ones that were contacted about the orders to go there. For some time, she had been tapping into the signals in order to know where to go to help the rebels. She didn't believe that she was formally indoctrinated into the rebel faction, but had made just enough appearances to be known by some of the fighters.

She'd just have to make a good first impression on the higher ups she was sure she'd be meeting at the cantina.

[Assistant]
As the Rebel shuttle landed off stepped eight clone troopers in Phase II armor each of them adorned with blasts marks and rough scratches the armor had been painted over red and blue. Between the two columns stood a figure his helmet cupped under one arm as he walked towards them his lowered. They could across where his eyes should have been was nothing more than a strip of cloth. He walked over to the bar smiling at the bar tender then looking around. You all knew him as the Jedi assigned to lead this mission.

"Give me something forthy, strong, and life threatening bar tender. Corellian whiskey for the Clones. All on General Crix's tab." He turned back the clones cheering as they broke ranks and began to talk and laugh. "Oh and Warra Nuts for all the boys. They just got back" He turned picking out each individual which was no small feet and waving them over to the bar. At his was a DL-18 blaster pistol, older model but it would do the job, strangely his sabers could not be scene his Mandalorian armor seemed to be recently made and almost unmarked which would mean it was made to accept him as a new member of a clan. He waited to see which of his new allies approached him first however his eyeless vision stayed directed at the red Twi'lek. She was force sensitive and had tampered with the dark side, yet he did not sense she came here for violence.

[User]
In a secluded corner sat Tak, his war torn robes hiding him from prying eyes as he nursed drink. Tak had been at the cantina for hours waiting for the other members of this mission to show up. In his time here Tak had seen three fights, five illegal deals, and two drunks tossed to the streets. All in all it had been an uneventful couple of hours, with him passing the time primarily by playing holochess with an AI partner. Currently the score was three to two in his favor. However as at the beginning of his sixth game the other members began to file into the Cantina and Tak canceled the game in favor of watching them.

All in all they looked unimpressive beyond the gear they had hidden, good. Those who flaunted what they had usually weren't worth much in a real fight. Tak's attitude took a climb for the better as he saw his fellow clones enter the cantina and cause a ruckus, it brought a wave of nostalgia to the old clone and with it came a small smile. In a fluid motion he moved from his seat and weaved through the crowd before taking a seat by Vale, not looking at him as he instead ordered a drink. "Not one for subtlety are you Vale?"

[Assistant] Atreides was still working through his drink at a liesurely pace when the commander of this little operation came rolling in the door with a group of, to his surprise, Clones and started ordering drinks. Well, that was probably one of the least subtle ways he had seen someone enter the cantina in quite some time. But the man knew who he was looking for, from the hand motioning and such, so the technician stood up, drink in one hand and bag slung over his other shoulder. He proceeded to make his way over to the bar, not the first to approach the Knight, the other fellow making his own comments on the fact that he had not made a very subtle entrance. That got an amused snort out of Atreides, and he sat down at the counter now, bag resting on his shoulder still. A bunch of others had went into and out of the bar, and the only one really attention grabbing was the red Twi'lek, she looked like trouble, and he was prepared for it just in case. "Subtle would have been good, but I suppose stomping around with a bunch of Clone War era gents tends to alleviate that kind of requirement at times, eh? "

[User]
Izin waited in silence, watching as the squad of old clones came walking into the cantina. She had no idea that clones were still in use after all this time. The era of using expendable units was long gone. to see a clone of a battle droid was a stroke of luck all it's own. But to see one still in action was nearly an impossibility. She had been led to believe that all remnants of battle droids and clones were lost after the clone wars died out, but obviously that wasn't what had actually happened.

She could feel at least two sets of eyes on her at the moment. It wasn't something that was not used to, being a rather rare specimen of Twi'lek herself. Her red skin set her apart from many others she knew. Still, she remained by herself, watching the events around her unfold. If a fight started up, it wasn't going to be her fault.

[Assistant]
Vale looked between the two new arrivals, sighing he turned his head towards each of them. "Subtle is all in the appearance, if I put these boys in Mandalorian armor and tromped in here not a soul would bat an eye. Just think were some merc's who just got paid. I can be subtle and I can be loud, glad to meet you both. Sit down and have a drink on the dime of the General whose got you both wrapped in this." He then hushed his voice.

"However I see something a little out of place, act natural and stay quiet. She attacks then run, bar's to enclose for a blaster fight." He broke off laughing walking over towards the red Twi'lek his voice changed some as if to sound deeper a rim accent through from what planet made it hard to place. "Hello beautiful your a rarity, I've never seen a red Twi'lek before." He got in a little closer than was friendly. It was of course an old test, play as the lecherous Merc and gauge the reaction of course it would also quickly work against him being a Jedi after all they didn't learn that sort of thing.


[System]
Nickname/Title: Calamity Queen
Appearance:(ignore the gunblade), and add a black cloak with a hood.
Race: Human, although she views herself as a shade.
Class: Necromancer
Main-Hand Weapon:Double Edged Battle Scythe
Off-Hand Weapon: Find someone who wields a normal scythe with one hand effectively :P
Secondary Weapon: Her lips
Armor: Cloth
Powers:
-Necropolis: The mainstay of almost all necromancy, this allows her to summon up either skeleton or zombie creatures. Skeletons have the advantage of damage dealing, but are more brittle than their fleshier counterparts, who in turn, deal less damage. The more numerous/powerful the summon(s), the more it costs.
-Shadow Step: A more effective method of dodging attacks. Whenever an attack is about to hit, she will seemingly dissipate into the shadows, before appearing elsewhere. Can also be done for movement to a hard to reach location, or surprise attacks. Range and strength of natural shadows in the surroundings dictate how much life it costs.
-Devouring Kiss: A seemingly simple spell, this is also one of the most important spells that allows Suki to stay alive. She basically kisses someone, regardless of gender, and can either drain them of energy, or their life. The former has the advantage of not killing the target, but the later is more efficient in sustaining her.
Skills:
-Seducing: She has gotten rather capable of seducing someone, mostly to keep herself alive. With her looks complimented by the dress, it isn't too hard to do.
-Stealth: When required, she can be extremely stealthy, moving silently at an acceptable pace, which is something one can't exactly do with heavier armor.
-Information Gathering: Combining both her abilities to seduce someone, and her stealth capabilities, it's not surprise that she can gather information.
Weaknesses:
-Dying Life: Necropolis and Shadow Step have a cost. Compared to most spells and magic styles, which consume the caster's energy, necromancy based spells consume the caster's life. Thus, requiring the caster to consistently drain someone to keep herself alive.
-Active Dodge: Despite having the Shadow Step spell, it is an 'active' spell, meaning she has to deliberately cast it. If a surprise attack hits her, it's going to hurt, especially with the cloth armor.
-Thin Armor: Cloth armor, while extremely light and allows for agile movement, doesn't give way much in terms of taking hits.
-Easily Flustered: Despite having to kiss to keep herself alive, Suki is flustered quite easily. This is evident when she tries to kiss someone she knows
Personality: Cautious and prone to hiding, one might find Suki hard to associate with. Not because she's violent, or unsocial or anything of the like. It's just that you might have a hard time finding her. And even when you manage to get we to talk, she seems to talk rather softly.

However, once you get to know her, and gain her trust, she becomes a rather useful and adorable companion. Whenever tired, she would not be afraid to use someone as a lap pillow, nor be used as a hug pillow herself, despite blushing very profusely. Also, she will come to you for a kiss quite often.

Whenever scared, she has a habit of squeezing herself into a small corner or a tight space between furniture, the look of doom gloom on her face.
Background: Coming from a village that had religion as a pillar of support, it isn't too hard to imagine what kind of suffering Suki had went through just for being born with the powers of a 'demon'. Consistently being chased away from others, even having rocks thrown at her.

Having to survive on her own, she found her way through rather underhanded methods. By far the most effective seemed to be seduction, before draining her victim into unconsciousness.

Nowadays, she moves around consistently, since most of her victims would be out to look for her, and churches would be out to hunt her down.
Other:

[User]
Alula watched in interest as Kelvin and the merchant continued to haggle prices. She tugged her hat down over her eyes as the man mentioned orphanages. Even if that would be far safer to live in a home for parentless children then traveling with a group of first time adventurers, she said nothing. She found the man's tone slightly cynical, but nothing she would really bat an eye at. The rest of the party seemed rather quick to jump down his throat. But she understood. Alula shivered, tugging on her hat again.

The young girls outburst was rather odd as well. The child was being rather outspoken and rude for one so young, and she could stand to learn some manners. It wasn't wise to lash out in such a way, especially around the man who had saved her life. Again, Alula understood. And Alula shivered.

She watched in silence as Carver again intervened, playing the mediator, when Kelvin and the merchant seemed to be unable to find an agreement. She frowned when he mentioned her name, however. Equating her to the children and innocent of the party. If only they knew. She kept herself from speaking out, she knew the man just wanted what was best. After awhile the voices informed her that someone had tried to sneak away from the party. It would be best to mention it before things got too carried away.

"We may...need more then...thirty minutes..." Alula slurred slowly, pulling the rim of her hat down over her eyes. "The girl...has returned to the town...she took measures to...not be detected by you all..." She shivered. "We...I...believe...it would be best...to wait for her here...if she wanted us...to follow she would have...told us to."

[Assistant]
Des followed Carver, he seemed to be the only one who made sense. "Earlier, you said we are all children of the Sun. Does that make you my brother?" If this guy was Des's family then he might know something about Des's past.

Suki's staff was Exactly where she had left it. There was something slightly suspicious about the fact that it was the only thing left untouched, even more so sense her skeletons lay destroyed beside it.

[User]
Upon Carver's command Furnace immediately started to break down a tent, attempting to mimic him as well as possible.
 "We should wait here for her then? Have these goods collected in packages for transport by the time she returns? If she returns."
He asked, thinking aloud.

[Assistant]
Separ

This was a bad situation for sure, the girl Separ had tried so hard to save was now back in the lions den, but for what reason? Was there something she needed to do in that town that was worth risking such danger? As much as Separ wanted to leave for safety, he couldn't find it in his heart to just leave her behind like that, especially after all that hard work he put in trying to save her. Feeling as though some type of disaster may fall upon the girl, Separ took off his backpack and laid it on the ground before walking over to Carver. "I'm going to go after the girl. You keep everyone else safe and continue on towards the next town over. I'll catch up with you there. Just don't follow after me as moving in a big group could attract unwanted attention. If any of you gets injured there's a medical kit I purchased earlier inside the backpack." Separ looked over at his group and smiled. "So I'll see you later then I guess." However when he saw Alula he felt a bit funny, something was nagging at him making him feel uncomfortable. He stared at her for a minute awkwardly before looking away not wanting to creep her out any longer. Deciding to ignore this feeling his attention turned towards Kelvin. "You have explosives right? Do you mind if I take a stick of dynamite as well as something to light it in case of an emergency?" Asked Separ in a rather serious tone. The last thing he wanted to do was blow up a whole area but if it meant surviving the enemy forces it could be useful in a pinch.

[User]
Arastoph rolled his eyes as, once again, a transaction was intruded upon. It wasn't just any transaction either, but a contract! That would make great strides in benefiting the party to all here (aside himself) belonged to. And this little girl had the audacity to intrude upon adult matters as though she had any right to?

The boot was worth more than she was!

"Exactly, you little goblin." He said as his smooth tone gradually dripped with venomous and seething contempt. "You do not know me, nor do you trust me; and by extent, do not know what I would do to you if you dare to try that again."

Arastoph caught himself in the midst of his threat, and quickly bound to recover himself.

"...Though as once a father, I could not possibly bring myself to do the likes of which. A hypothetical. That said... you are sorely in need of discipline. To which I would leave the responsibility to the... inarticulate one. If you think I would allow a child to possess any sort of your party's spending power, I'm afraid you are mistaken."

'Then again, the simpering, defective imbecile is probably the reason behind her infantile tantrums.'

In addition to the abhorrent cretin of a human child, the paladin ushered an end to their negotiations which Arastoph had felt was weighed quite considerably in their favor. Carver insisted that negotiations may be finished another time while they packed up and pressed on towards the other town.

'What a shame; we were almost finished.'

Carver praised his skills, but scolded his morality - living up to the stereotype of the rigid moral enforcer, and that his way of living was the one and only way of doing so. However, what had to be the most amusing part of his lecture was what he perceived to be Arastoph's motives! He deducted mere, simple greed! Nay, that was not the case for him; obsession with the mundane, terrestrial concept of currency was not where his heart lies. Rather, it was simply a tool and method of power for him to exert over the less powerful. But as for why this particular path was taken... needless to say, it had nothing to do with worshiping gold coins.

"Surely, Sir Carver," Arastoph mused, "you don't think me to be so shallow and banal to be bothered with something as trivial as greed?"

"I am not so frivolous," he continued. A sly smile has stretched over his face as his eyes turned to the corner upon hearing the oracle's warning of one of their own ranks attempting to slip out unnoticed.

"From the sounds of things, I may not be the one you should be suspicious of, good knight. At least I have been upfront with my business."

[Assistant]
Every stick neatly sorted by length. Every sheet of cloth folded in precise squares, piled and bound.
Furnace wrapped every object he owned as well as all other unattended objects in rags and bags.
Divided into equal shares, or at least a close approximation. One package for each person here to carry.

Furnace looked at Carver as he stood beside his work.
It was clear on his face he took pride in it, that he hoped for approval.
"We will take these things to 'that way', right?"

[User]
Alula had noticed Separ staring at her, but really took no mind. The man was strange, and so was she. Most of the time people payed her no mind, but when they noticed her she was truly the center of their attentions. She didn't like it. Once the man turned away, after staring at her for minutes, she tugged her hat down over her eyes.

She didn't keep quiet for long, however, as she noticed something while Furnace was packing up camp. There was something on his forehead, something drawing her in. Once the gnome was finished with his task, looking quite proud, Alula limped over to him. With a bit of ungraceful struggle, leaning on her staff for support, she knelled down in front of him.

With a strangely sudden movement, one someone might miss if they had blinked, Alula's hand whipped up and moved the gnomes hair off of his forehead.

She studied the marking with a strange intensity, her expression looking distressed.

"Furnace..." She started, looking into his eyes. "Where...when...did you get...this..."

[Assistant]
Furnace flinched when Alula suddenly touched his head.
Surprisingly close and with eyes filled with concern.
Furnace stared back at her in confusion, then at his empty hands before looking back at her.
"What did I get?"

[User] Suki frowned as she looked at her scythe. She had a knack for noticing things unusual, and this was quite odd. It hadn't been touched, left where she dropped it. That, and her skeletons alongside it, in pieces. However, standing here was not going to solve her problems. Taking a breath, she reached down, before grabbing the scythe.

[Assistant]
Alula frowned, feeling rather troubled. How could he not know what was on his own body? Perhaps it was a recent addition, and he just hadn't looked at her reflection lately. She furrowed her brow, trying to remember if she had seen it on him when they had first met. She couldn't remember. The voices were keeping rather quiet, unnerving Alula even more. After a few moments of silence Alula realized she still hadn't given the gnome an answer. She spoke, trying to keep the concern out of her voice.

"It is...a word...written on your forehead...in a rather...exotic language..."

She paused, trying to plan her next words.

"I have...met few others...who can read and write...in such a way...other then myself..."

[User] As Suki picked up her scythe, the sound of a tripwire being activated could be heard. Before anything could be done, a rope ripped Suki into the air causing her to flip upside down and drop her scythe. Three raiders stepped out from their hiding place, "Look at this one boys, a real cutie. And she's got a nice pair of legs and little something else to show too." (I'm assuming she's wearing a skirt) The raider who was checking her out walked over and placed his hand on her cheek. "Hey sweetie, my name's Daven. And you are?"

[Assistant]
Suki only managed to formulate a squeal, as she found herself hoisted upside down. Craning her neck to look down at her feet...or up....she found a rope tied to her ankles that was responsible for holding her in this position. Although the idea of trying to untie the rope had flashed through her mind, she gave up almost immediately. She probably couldn't even reach, since she'd have to fight against gravity, move into an awkward position, and stay in that position to free herself. It was more likely someone would arrive before she could finish. Most likely whoever set up this trap.

Not disappointed, she looked at the thee raiders who stepped out from hiding. Only having herself to blame for not being more cautious, she frowned as she heard the raider speak. Hurriedly pushing her skirt over her legs at the front, while accidentally squeezing her bosom together, making her cleavage more pronounced. Fighting the urge to turn slightly and bite the hand on her cheek, Suki chose to try and talk her way out of this.

"Well Daven, I'm Suki. If you wouldn't mind me asking, why are you three raiders around here?"


[System]
Gender: Female

Age: 29

Appearance:

Maria has a lightly tanned complexion inherited from her Italian father and her Spanish mother. Maria is all angles and sharp edges-she comes from a long line of tall, bony women with high cheekbones and an angular facial structure. In her awkward teen years, Maria appeared gangly and boyish, but she has grown into her figure nicely and has made the subtle yet immediately noticeable transition from "bony" to "slender". She is still inordinately tall, though, standing at 5 feet and 10 inches. Nothing to be done about that.

Maria's hair is a warm, honey-brown color. It is thick and straight, falling about halfway down her back. Maria is fond of styling her hair in all the latest fashions, which requires the extensive use of steel rollers and hair rags. Her eyes are blue-green and usually lined with heavy make-up. Maria has the long fingers of a piano player, mostly due to her genetics (she has never played the piano in her life), and she had perfected the art of gliding across a room. Maria is willowy and graceful, with the posture of a prima ballerina. Her lips are rather average, but with the purposeful application of her favorite red lipstick, they appear to be full and pouty.

Not all of Maria's beauty comes naturally. She worked on her posture and her walk for years, and she keeps herself on a strict diet to maintain her figure (Maria knows for a fact that she couldn't pull off a curvaceous, statuesque look, even if she had any curves; she is much too tall for it) and to keep her skin smooth and freckle-free. After all, when you're in the same business as Maria, your beauty is practically all you've got.

Personality: To others, Maria is a sultry, intoxicating temptress, capable of charming the secrets right out of someone with a coy glance and a flutter of her long eyelashes. She reads people like an open book, a skill honed through years spent in her particular line of work. Sharply observant, perceptive, and brutally analytical, Maria has been taught how to detect subtle shifts in emotion, how to seduce a man (and perhaps even a woman, though Maria has yet to cross that bridge), and how to kill someone in a dozen different ways while dancing the waltz. Enigmatically charismatic, Maria exudes a certain aura that instantly draws people to her. She puts up a playful and coquettish front all while maintaining a certain air of mystery that unfailingly attracts the attention of her target. Elegant and refined, Maria is able to engage in lengthy discussions about a wide range of topics, from European literature to the latest technological advancements and Parisian cosmetics.

Maria hides a spine of steel behind red lipstick and expensive silk gowns, pretending that she has morals and "womanly sensitivities" (whatever the hell that's supposed to mean). In truth, Maria is as about as cold-hearted as they get, thinking mostly of herself and the few people she genuinely cares about. She can be stupidly, blindly loyal to a person or a cause, to the point where she is sacrificing everything for one single thing. Maria is sly and shrewd, often manipulating and blackmailing people into doing her bidding. When she isn't around clients, Maria comes off as a bit stand-offish and aloof, although she is fiercely protective of her "girls". She values her independence and is truly afraid of very few people. Deadly and alluring, Maria holds no qualms against playing men like a flute to achieve her own goals. And oh, play them she does-most people don't stand a chance against the wiles of the venomously beautiful Maria Moretti.

Background history: Maria was the product of a one-night stand in between an Italian gangster and a dockside whore. She grew up on the streets of New York City, foraging for food during the day while her mother worked the wharves and piers of the city at night. Maria's mother told her of her true ancestry when Maria was nine; how she came from a long line of women with...special gifts, and how these women had taken advantage of their gifts through the centuries. Descended from Spanish gypsy snake charmers that fled the country during the reign of Queen Joanna the Mad, Maria's mother could hypnotize others with her big brown eyes, draw people to her with a single touch, and poison someone with a kiss. Maria's own abilities began to manifest in her early teens, and she suddenly understood how her mother could make so much money in the span of a single night.

It was another few years before Maria's mother revealed why she came to America. After getting mixed up with a dangerous crowd in London, Maria's mother woke up one day to find that she'd been robbed of everything she owned. Penniless and with nowhere else to go, she plied her trade until she had enough money to pay for passage across the Atlantic. Once she had arrived in New York City, she intentionally sought out a man to get her pregnant, for if the women of Maria's line reach thirty-five years of age without giving birth to a daughter, they die.

Maria's mother taught her everything she knew until she (rather ironically) died of the Spanish flu during World War I. Maria wasn't even twenty at the time. Thankfully, her mother had left Maria with a considerable sum of money and her father's name and current address. Armed with that information, Maria packed her bags and made her way to Chicago.

When Maria got to Chicago, she snuck into her father's ostentatious home and confronted him. He practically had a heart attack at the sight of her, but he recognized those alluring, mesmerizing eyes and intoxicating touch immediately, despite how long it had been, and he saw how incredibly useful Maria's abilities could be. Maria changed her last name to Moretti and began working as a high-class escort in one of Chicago's speakeasies while secretly passing along information to her father, who ran a vicious gang.

Maria spied for her father-Alessandro Rossini-for a couple of years before she began running a bordello herself. Alessandro passed along funds for the establishment, and in exchange, Maria passed along any pertinent information and did odd favors for him anytime that he needed it. Maria developed a fierce, if unrequited, sort of loyalty to her father as a result of their highly profitable partnership. She is also ferociously protective of the young women who work in her bordello, though she won't take any shit from them.

Maria frequently wears long, ornate hairpins that have wickedly-sharp ends in her hair. She normally has some sort of blade hidden in her bodice or under her skirt, and she sometimes conceals a pretty little pistol with gilt metalwork and a mother-of-pearl handle on her person. Maria is no soldier, but she has a knack with blades and most certainly knows how to shoot a gun.

Maria found herself in trouble in 1940 when the police linked a recent death to her. The man that was killed was last seen with her; indeed, Maria had kissed him hard in an alleyway, poisoning him. Maria was arrested. At first, she was unworried, certain that Alessandro would somehow bail her out, especially considering the fact that she'd killed the man at his bidding, but as time went on, it soon became clear that no help was coming. Maria decided to take matters into her own hands and attempted to escape the facility she was being held in. She was unsuccessful, though the authorities discovered that anyone she kissed ended up dying. When the government began assembling a team of powered individuals to take down Hitler and the Nazis, Maria was offered her freedom after the war was over if she helped to fight. Maria accepted, though she cares more about her vengeance than Adolf Hitler.

Maria is worried that she will not be able to give birth to a girl before she turns thirty-five. She only has six years left, and who knows how long the war could take?

Superpower and how the character got it: Maria is able to hypnotize others by looking directly into their eyes. Eye contact must be maintained, and the effects usually wear off after an hour or so. She can only hypnotize one person at a time.

Maria is immune to most, if not all, forms of poison, and there are trace amounts of poison in her skin. Prolonged skin-to-skin contact with Maria will make the other person feel foggy and a bit like they are drunk. It will make Maria seem irresistible as well, depending on the person. There is also a lethal, fast-acting poison in her saliva, which can kill a man within thirty minutes. Maria wears a thick layer of lipstick to dilute or nullify the poison if she has a client that she doesn't want to accidentally poison. There are also times when she wears poisoned lipstick, when she needs a poison that works even faster than her natural one.

Nobody is quite sure how exactly Maria's ancestors originally obtained their abilities, but Maria is fairly certain that it had something to do with their natural affinity for snakes. She isn't entirely sure where the part about giving birth to a girl comes in, however. Maria resents that she must give birth in order to survive; she places high value in her independence and feels like the one stipulation was somehow placed on the women in her family by backwards old men who couldn't stand seeing women having so much power.

[User]
Óscar laughed at the Frenchman, shaking his head "Hey pal, I think we're supposed t-Oh come on!" he stopped talking just as he saw the Russian female follow the "Franchute" with a jog, turning his head to the Captain as he moved his hands to them and then to the mounting, repeatedly "A-Are we supposed to begin now? You won't even tell us when?" The Spaniard then rolled his eyes and sighed, starting to jog at a moderately good speed, slowly catching up to the Russian female "Я догоняю!". He hated when guys took advantage of the situation, like, "Oh look at me, I'm going to be the first one to start because the Captain hasn't said anything, bah bah bah..." Agh, hijo de puta.

Just as he started jogging, he gave a pat to the Captain's shoulder as he went over him, turning his head slightly again and looking at the two siblings, winking at them as he "shot" at them with his hands, before going back to the race and literally going pale as he saw the mountain. He had gone up there a bunch of times, but for fuck's sake, now they had to beat the Cap's record, which was better than an Olympic athlete. The heat started to punch in, and even though he had lived in hot countries for most of his life, he still was affected by it. Óscar moved his hand to his trousers' back pocket, taking out a medium sized bottle water and opening it as the liquid from inside of it started to gravitate around his head, closing his eyes for a second before he sighed in relief: Now he had a ring of cold water around his neck and head, keeping him cooled down.

This wasn't so bad. He had free air conditioner, a good walk around the mountainside...although he had to admit that the place was pretty, really pretty. Óscar wasn't thinking about the women in the camp, at least not now, he meant the small amount of nature that surrounded the barracks and the base in general. He was used to nature by this point, but everything used to be dry and orange. And now, everything was alive, it was all green, almost as if mother nature herself gifted this gorgeous scenery to the camp itself, just to satisfy it's desires. He then looked up to the top of the Currahee and forgot everything he just said: He was fucked. "Me cago en Dios..."

[Assistant]
Three miles up... three miles down.

Johnathan had heard a few of the solders around camp say that when it came to the run up Mount Currahee; Three miles up, three miles down. It wasn't the kind of run that you sent the physically unfit on right away, you had to build up to it otherwise people were going to drop like flies.

While some of his teammates were quick to jump the trigger and get started, running and jogging up the trail without even waiting for the Captain to start them off, Johnathan actually remained where he was to keep an eye on his teammates. He had already made the decision to jog alongside the slowest member of the team. Partly it was so that he could help encourage someone who might require it more then the front runners, but it also put him in a good position to aid anyone who tripped or who weren't in a good enough condition to continue on their own.


[System]
Age: 18

Skill: shooting (regularly spent time target shooting with friends and family), running (she was on the school running team).

Weapon: .22 rifle

Personality: In pain at the loss of her family, Jealous of those that still have their families or good groups. Kind and caring to those she considers her friends. Understands her limits and always tries to have an escape route planned. Can be paranoid and untrusting of new people and groups. Doesn't get on overly well with other women her age.

Bio:
Molly was at high school when the Walkers came, she escaped alone and tried to find her little brother. When she failed to do so, Molly returned home to wait for her parents. They never came back. After several days and with food running low, she had to leave in order to survive.

Lacking physical strength or force of arms, Molly avoids danger as well as she can and scavenged to stay alive.

[User]
It was a typical Florida day. Hot, humid and devoid of life.
The latter was the new typical. There were "people" wandering about here and there, but they were not what was considered alive anymore.
It had been nearly a year since the dead had started attacking. Anyone who died, for any reason, came back as a monster who had only the most basic instinct : the need to feed. Their danger came from their tendency to attack in large numbers, overwhelming their victims. They weren't smart and couldn't communicate, but they had excellent senses of hearing and smell and were not easily deterred from the chase.
----------------------

Jessalyn - clothing store - alone

The world sucked, but she had it better than others. Jessalyn knew that. She at least had a roof over her head, in the form of a wrecked school bus have buried in a crumbling building. She had food, in the form of the cans with missing labels she found here and there. It was a surprise every meal. Would it be peaches? Would it be spagettios? Would it be expired? You never knew.
She had some security, with her knife and gun. Of course the knife was getting dull and the gun was out of bullets but it was something.
And she was squatting in a ruined shopping district that had plenty of places to scavenge. Even with the panicked mass buying people had done and the mass looting afterwards things had gone to hell too fast for everything to be taken. And drifters only took what they could carry easily.

The seats from the bus had been taken out and propped up in various places fanning out from the entrance of the bus, to make it harder to reach quickly. The inside had a sleeping bag on the floor, various boxes of supplies. You never knew what you could use. Such as the hose she had taped to an empty soda bottle that ran up to a tarp on the roof of the bus that collected rain water. She had mastered the 30 sec shower.

Jessalyn was currently looking through a clothing store a few blocks from her shelter. She picked through the clothing meticulously, trying to find things that would even semi fit her. She currently had no way to really wash clothes well so she frequently had to scavenge.

-------------------------------

Katie - railroad tracks - running

The little body wove in and out of the various abandoned rail cars. A man was chasing her, his swears getting nastier.
"Little bitch! I'll cut your fingers off for stealing from me!"
Katie slid under a car and out the other side, sliding down a hill and into a drainage pipe before the man got close. Her pursuer tried to follow but gave up quickly since he was so big he would have to crawl an inch at a time, plus he would have to leave his gun behind. Instead he went back up the hill and over to the other side, intending to wait for her to appear at other end of the pipe.
It took him nearly five minutes to realize she had doubled back and had climbed back out the way she entered and was long gone.

Katie ran in the brush alongside the tracks, holding to her chest what all the fuss had been about : a bag containing two cans of corn and a box of bandaids. She had used the crying ruse to get the man to stop and try to help her. Once she was at his camp she helped herself to the cans while he had gotten bandaids for her skinned knees. She had snagged the box before she took off running.

Crying always worked. Adults always thought she needed rescuing. They never even considered that she was playing them like a flute. They also thought she was helpless. At least the man who had tried to hurt her had thought that. She had led him right into a walker herd and she wasn't sorry.

She finally stopped once she felt she was far enough away. Thankfully the cans had pull tops on them. She ate the corn greedily with her hands, even drinking the juice from it. She remembered hearing her mom talk about nutrition and how things like bread and corn turned into sugar in your body and it wasn't healthy to eat too much. But she was sure her mom wouldn't mind her eating a whole can of corn now.

The other can she was saving for later. It was in her school bag along with the box of bandaids, a cracked coffee cup, a nearly empty box of animal crackers, her pencil box that had a ruler and a few pencils and pens that were out of ink, a box of matches, a compact mirror and a comb with the handle broken off.
Most of the things she had she had stolen from people. Her parents and teachers had always taught her that stealing was bad and the police would take her away if she stole. But she hadn't seen any police in a long time. There were a few times when she wished the police had come to get her when she stole. Even if they put her in jail, at least it was somewhere safe. And policemen always had guns.

[Assistant]
Ayla - Bike Store - Alone

How long has it been since Ayla has seen someone? A real person, not one of the walking dead? Even Ayla doesn't remember. Her life has been measured day-by-day since the event she calls the Cataclysm. That's the only way she could explain it. How else could the world go from perfectly fine one moment, and than hell on hear a second later? Right now Ayla was looking for an bike shop. She had seen an old advertisement in a looted out bar for bike repairs nearby and hoped she could snag one herself. Beast walking. And trying to use a vehicle in these conditions was nearly suicidal; the horde would hear you easily, they didn't care if you ran into them, and usable fuel would be a hot commodity. Not to mention traffic was terrible. But a lot of things people took for granted would quickly become rare. Clean water, electricity, gasoline, and most of all sanity.

Eventually Ayla would find the shop, but unsurprisingly it has also been looted. A lot of the bikes were gone, a lot of the protective clothing and helmets were gone, even the tools used to fix them were gone. All that was left were a few children sized bikes and even those were broken or simply too small for Ayla to use. Suddenly, she heard some movement in the back. Ayla was fast on her feet and went to hide behind the counter, picking up a small metal bolt and loading it into her sling. She waited there silently, waiting to see what the noise was. She hoped it god it was just one of them: she could kill a lone walker. Maybe two if they don't get her at the same time. But if it was three or more, she'd have to get out fast.

[User]
Location: Mall Parking Lot | Interactions: None

 "Hold," Rex whispered, squatting down beside an abandoned car, his body leaning against the passenger-side front wheel while his eyes peered over the hood down yonder, gazing at a mass of people who seem to have assembled in the middle of the parking lot of the Sawgrass Mills Outlet Mall. Rex's partner acknowledged the command with a small, subtle huff. The people... they moved funny. They seemed as though they could never truly attain perfect balance and their joints appeared rigid, their extremities piloted with a total lack of precision. Rex immediately knew why. These weren't people at all. These were what people became after.

 His eyes were covered in the shadow of his black hat's brim as he squinted to try and see just what was motivating this small horde to gather. These morbid shells of flesh always seemed to have a singular motive; hunger. No doubt they found something or someone to sate their appetites, but the crowd was too dense to see passed. It was hard to confirm what the prize was. Regardless, he and King didn't hear any screams. The worst part was already over. Now all that was left was the grotesque consumption of their victim.

 Rex let out a disappointed grunt. In times that he could help the living, he would. It seemed as though he was too late to be of any service here, though. No point in wasting energy or ammo on these biters. They were distracted and would continue to be until every last morsel of their victim was gone. Rex looked to King and the German Shepherd immediately met the gaze awaiting further instruction. Rex brought up an index finger and touched right between his eyebrows before bringing that same finger down like an ax, pointing toward the western end of the parking lot, which was populated by even more abandoned cars, but with far less undead. King took the silent order and complied, making himself small as he crawled, moving quickly each time he was exposed and slowing down again when his presence was hidden by one of the vehicles. Rex followed suit, hunched over holding his bow and quiver in place on his back so that they wouldn't rustle or make any unnecessary noise as he moved.

 It didn't take long before the duo was far enough away to be out of earshot of the ghouls. Rex's muscles relaxed a bit more and King's demeanor did as well, the dog's mood ever the reflection of his owner's. A rumble then sounded out into the air, causing King to look sideways at Rex's stomach. The cowboy exhaled out of his nose in a sort of laugh. The zombies weren't the only ones that were hungry. It had been a while since their last meal. Rex had come to the outlet mall to try and scavenge any morsels he could get his hands on. Since the main entrance was occupied, he would have to go at it from the side.

 He glanced at the western entrance and luckily saw no impediments. Looking at King again, he performed the same gesture as before, only this time it ended with his index finger pointing toward the way inside. King immediately obeyed, moving a few yards ahead to scout the area while Rex slowly followed behind, ready to grab his bow from it's sling at a moment's notice.

 With only a few more yards to go before they were officially in the courtyard, something made the duo immediately freeze in their tracks. There was a scream, shrill and blood curdling, followed by two loud gunshots. King's ears went straight up as he froze in place while Rex's eyes grew to a nearly unnatural size. The commotion wasn't far and seemed to be coming from the right. Biters don't use guns, though. Rex and King refused to move, trying to decide if it was worth their attention... trying to gather what the hell the situation could even possibly be down there. Then they heard something else that sent a chill down Rex's spine, causing goosebumps to appear on his arm. On the opposite side, coming from the left was the raspy moans and shuffling footsteps of the dead who also appeared to be interested in the gunshots. Rex and King found themselves in the middle of a disastrous sandwich. He looked to his dog and managed to utter only one word: "Fuck."

[Assistant]
Molly - road - walking

The heat bore down on Molly like an oven, her feet ached from walking and sweat soaked her back from where the rucksack prevented it from letting air circulate. Turning to look behind her, far back down the road a lone figure stumbling and shambling on. The heat distorted the figure but she could tell it was one of them. The occasional lazy breeze brought the smell of rotting flesh with it.

"Damn thing has been following me for miles" she said aloud. Talking to herself was a habit that had stopped worrying her a long time ago. Molly dropped to a crouch and swung the bag off her back, opened it up and grabbed the last water bottle inside. "Half full, dammit" she muttered, rummaging through the bag to check everything else was still there. 13 bullets, a tin of sardines, a couple trail bars and her notebook.

She needed to find more water, the last road sign had said the next town was 8 miles up, which meant more walking.

With a sigh and a glance behind her at the ever persistent follower, Molly started up again putting one aching foot in front of the other. Cursing under her breath as she went "8 more miles, 8 more miles...


[System]
Nickname(Optional): Pfft, no.
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Physical Appearance: Of Average build with short dark hair, Neil isn't exactly the most unique specimen. He is fit but not noticeably so. He isn't big at all, but he is also not small. He has a face girls can find cute, but not exactly dreamy. Tanned skin and a ruddy complexion from all of the machine's he's worked on, coupled with the calluses on his hands gives him an experienced look despite the very youthful appearance he has. All in all, other than the twinkling of his eyes and the trademark grin, he is essentially average. He has dark eyes and very dark brown hair, enough to be considered black under most light. He's about 5'10 and 165 pounds.
Clothing: He often wears baggy pants, mostly military cargo. He likes to wear single colored T-Shirts. Usually he wears red.
Personality: Oh, now that is a question. To say Neil is eccentric is...well, that hits the nail on the head. Very good with hand-eye coordination, competent combatant, good engineer, and a daring pilot. But prone to sarcasm, snide remarks, unorthodox behavior, and just good old fashioned explosions. He's a born jokester, though behind his charming yet insufferable demeanor belies a certain intelligence, and to those he enjoys, he does tend to have a big heart.

[User]
"What the fuck?" Miguel whispered on his comm. Neil could tell Miguel wasn't really passionate about taking risks. He was a 9-5 kinda guy. Still, the pilot was confused too, seeing Junebug heading down the ridge with a thirteen or fourteen year old carrying a rifle right behind her. He knew it was a kid but if he decided to turn that barrel on Sayeeda she'd have no chance of surviving. Taya behind the both of them should have made him feel at ease, but lo and behold it didn't. They might not be too far off, but with the sun glaring down on Neil he wasn't the crackshot he usually was.

"Who the hell is that?" Neil called to her when she was in earshot, vaulting over the back of the junker they'd been driving.

"Who the hell are you!?" The younger kid said, pointedly trying to make Neil not talk past him. Far from it, actually. Neil was a big kid himself. He knew kids were far smarter and more wiley than people gave them credit for. That being said...

"Who the fuck are you talking to!?" He yelled at the kid.

"Down boy. You're here to be pretty, not speak." Junebug remarked, trying to hide a smile from him. Neil gave her a look, knowing she was just trying to demasculate him in front of the kid. Taya had arrived to stand by the young shooter, and Neil thought they were pretty much the same size. It nearly made him laugh, but he decided to just poke Sayeeda more to explain what was going on. She acquiesced a moment later, taking the sling of her rifle off her shoulder and placing it beside her seat in the junker. "We're taking this kid back to his place."

"Is that cool with the boss?" He asked.

"We were hired to protect the caravan...we protected it. What does it matter we're a little late to making it back? They don't pay us to kill kids."

Neil tongued his toothpick, hefting his own gun in the sunlight. "You got it, Captain."

[Assistant]
Judging by his increasingly demanding comm calls, Miguel was both confused and irritated by Sayeeda's new passenger. She made no reply to his transmissions simply staring out into the desert, which was probably unprofessional as he was technically the representative of her putative employer. At one point Miguel went so far as to swerve toward their car. Sayeeda reacted to this simply by laying her rifle across her lap, casually, but in a fashion that pointed the weapon at the Spider commander's jeep. The disrupter rifle was a formidable weapon but, as she had seen on Cylonikea, it lacked penetrating power. The solution had been to attach an underslung grenade launcher that she had stripped from an assault shotgun. The lancher was configured to fire self forging penetrators, copper discs seated against a small charge of explosive that would forge the plate into a spearhead of hypersonic metal. The weapon was designed to threaten light armored vehicles and would certainly gut a soft skin jeep like a rifle bullet opening a can of soup. Miguel probably didn't realize exactly what the weapon was, but it would be obvious to a fool that being on the other end of it was contra-indicated and he made a frustrated gesture and swerved away.

"What are you thinking?" Taya asked, clearly uneasy with the situation. The young woman had the most visceral distaste for the bandits but she was obviously determined not to be caught napping.

"For right now we are going to finish this job," Junebug said glancing sideways at Neil. The pilot didn't appear to have a reaction, which might be because he was thinking along the same lines as Junebug. The convoy rolled up out of the valley and over the low hillock at the end. A broad valley spread out before them, incongruous green due to irrigation channels that gathered a shallow river into weirs and canals that radiated outwards from the water like the bones of a fish. Small huts stood at intervals along the canals surrounded by a greenish orange crop with thick succulent leaves like beach grass. The hutts appeared to be made primarily of sheets of extruded plastic, often printed with the logos representing beers and soups and other canned goods. Judging by a half destroyed hutt on the edge of the town, the locals packed mud between two layers of the stuff to provide some insulation from the heat. Small kitchen gardens surrounded the huts, mostly beans, tomatoes, and other crops which could be trained to climb wooden lattices. Here and there, scrawny chickens wandered pecking at bugs and other fare among the plants. The locals toiled in the fields, picking the leaves and tossing them into woven wicker panniers or scooping buckets of water from the canals to pour into pvc piping that served as cheap drip irrigation. At the end of the village where the much diminished stream turned away to the west was a large shed sided with corrugated iron. Judging by the pile of picked leaves at one end and the barrels of transport matrix stacked haphazardly at the other, that was the … facility might be to grand a term, that the spiders used to stabilize and transport the narcotic leaves. Beyond the shed was a banked dirt road which followed the river. Along the top of the bank were a series of stakes, perhaps a half dozen, each decorated with a corpse in various stages of decay. Some were merely blackened skeletons but the latest one was ripe enough that the sound of vehicles cresting the ridge startled a swarm of flies into the air, though they returned just as quickly.

"What the fuck?" Taya exclaimed, pulling out her binoculars to get a better look. Seeing it up close didn't please her any more and she gagged slightly.

"You bastards did this!" the kid beside Taya snapped in a voice that clearly verged on tears.

"They shoot anyone who they think grows too much food and not enough drugs, or anyone that dosent grovel enough and they stake them up there," he spat. Junebug's mouth compressed into a frown but she didn't speak.

As the small convoy pulled up in front of the shed a dozen bored looking Spiders ambled out into the midday sun. Some of them looked like they might have been drunk or drugged, others scratched and swatted at insects but all were heavily armed. Miguel hopped from his jeep and started to stalk towards the trio of mercenaries. Before he could open his mouth however a woman in a dirty white dress let out a shout and rushed across from the nearest field.

"Rodrigo!" she shouted arms opened wide.

"Mama!" the sniper, apparently Rodrigo, shouted and tried to hop out of the car. Unfortunately the woman's run brought her past Miguel who grabbed her by the neck. The woman whipsawed in an almost comicbook fashion and let out a strangled squeak. Rodrigo let out a scream and grabbed for his rifle but Neil slapped his hand down on the weapon to prevent him from pointing it. There was a general stiffening as men grabbed for their own weapons.

"Looks like I get to wipe out a whole family of useless scum," Miguel commented, sounding very much like the cat who ate the canary as he drew a pistol and pointed it at the womans head.

"Hey," Junebug called, "they aren't paying us to shoot women and children."

"Shut it bitch, they aren't paying you at all! We know how to keep order in our own territory and we don't need no advice from snooty off world putas!"

"Funny," Junebug observed, "that wherever you go in the universe you will find someone willing to call you a bitch and a whore. Some things truely are universal.

"Junebug we can't just let…" Taya began but Junebug chopped the air to silence her as she vaulted over the side of the car and landed facing Neil, Taya and the boy.

"This train is about to start rolling kids," she told them in a quiet serious voice, "if anyone wants to get off, now is the time." Rodrigo stared at her in mute terror his eyes darting between her and his mother.

"You know I'm always ready to dance babe," Neil replied with a wink.

"Junebug… there are thirty of them…" Taya began, clearly not wanting to look afraid but also cognisant that they were out gunned to an almost ludicrous degree.

"Thirty seven," Junebug corrected, then turned and walked over to where Miguel stood. She had her rifle but she kept it pointed out the ground, her manner nonchalant and the thugs seemed to relax.

"Please spare my son!" the woman wailed imploringly, Miguel responded by clouting her with the barrel of his pistol hard enough that the gun came away bloody. There was a strangled shout from the car and Miguel grinned evilly.

"So goods delivered, jobs done right?" Junebug asked, her voice so casual that despite the tense situation the guards seemed to relax another degree. Miguel frowned as he clutched the moaning woman, clearly taken aback by the apparent non-sequitur.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. Junebug made a gesture that looked like a shrug with her rifle.

"I mean, we have delivered the goods so the job is complete? Right?" she asked, making the same gesture with her weapon.

"Of course the job is complete you stupid…"

Junebug's left hand came out from behind her back and tossed something small and hard at Miguel. His attention had been on her disruptor rifle and so he was taken by surprise. The grenade hit him in the mouth with a clack of breaking teeth and then exploded in a blinding white light that made the midday sun seem like a distant candle. The blast was literally stunning to anyone looking at it, which she hoped wasn't Neil and Taya, but her helmet's sophisticated combat AI was able to blank her visor and harden her hearing protection to resist the concussion. It didn't protect her from the overpressure of the blast, but between her battle armor and years of experience she was still able to move. Sayeeda leaped towards Miguel tackling the woman to the ground a she caught her around the waist, the weight of her gear and armor bowling her over effortlessly. Gunfire erupted from all points as the gangsters tried to shake off the effects of the flashbang. Junebug picked the woman up and tossed her bodily into the nearest canal and then leaped after her, landing in the hip deep water in a spray of mud before whipping her weapon up to rest on the edge of the improvised trench and opening fire.


[System]
Age:
62 moons

Gender:
Male

Clan:
MistClan

Rank:
Leader

Appearance:
A slender black tom with sharp green eyes.

Personality:
At first glance, Shadestar is an aloof cat that doesn't really make his emotions known. He is rather stoic, even with his own Clanmates. But deep inside, he cares deeply for his cats-- it's just that he's awkward and not sure how to show he cares. He's a bit quiet, but understanding and accepting of those who deserve it. Shadestar is also prone to drifting off into his thoughts, often staring into space when he does so. Despite appearing distant, he has a dangerous temper when it comes to cats that dare threaten his Clan. He's somewhat strict when it comes to rules and traditions; a no-nonsense cat, he won't allow others to push him around.

Biography:
Shadestar was born in the middle of a very warm greenleaf alongside two of his brothers, Robinkit and Riverkit. The three of them played and played and played, exploring MistClan's camp and getting into all sorts of trouble. That was, up until the three kits contracted greencough. Riverkit and Robinkit both died, and Shadekit was suddenly left without brothers. He became very withdrawn due to this, though the then-leader, Lightstar, believed it was a sign from StarClan. Lightstar took Shadepaw as her own apprentice, and because of her mentoring, he blazed through his apprenticeship and earned the name Shadefish.

Shadefish was able to successfully train two apprentices when MistClan's deputy, Deep-pool, was suddenly attacked and eaten by a crocodile the Clan had been dealing with for the entirety of newleaf. Lightstar, befuddled by many seasons of leading, took advantage of the situation and immediately promoted Shadefish to deputy. It didn't take him too long to take Lightstar's place-- she passed away due to an unknown illness in leaf-bare of the same year.

Shadestar has been the leader for approximately five seasons, and has seven lives left.

Apprentice?:
None at the moment.

Mate?:
None at the moment.

Kits?:
None at the moment.

[User]
Shadestar
MENTIONS: Eelpond

---

Shadestar desperately wanted Eelpond to stay in his den for a little bit longer, but there were responsibilities the both of them had to take care of. He nodded solemnly as Eelpond departed, and once again he was left alone within his den. The morning was soon turning into sunhigh. Hopefully it would be warmer as it got later. He gave his chest fur a few licks and got up to leave his den again. Now that the apprentice ceremony was over, he could grab something to eat from the freshkill pile. The black tom approached the small pile on the floor and pawed at a trout that had most certainly been pulled from the surrounding waters. Hopefully the hunting patrols would come back with more food that day.

He grabbed the trout and took it to a sunny spot in camp, settling down and beginning to remove some of the scales that covered its body. Maybe he could go hunting later as well... there was so many things to do that day. Though Eelpond's words sent a shiver up his spine; Irisstar was certainly not being friendly and it would be bad if he went and attacked his warriors. StarClan, I hope not.

[Assistant]
__________________________________________
Shadestar's Den ---> MistClan Medicine Cat Den

Mentions: @blindwoofer's Tinypaw

The medicine cat let out a little grateful purr of his own as he settled down on the other side of the fish, tucking his front paws against his chest for now so that he could lean down and bite into the prey, falling quiet for the moment as both cats focused on filling their bellies. Eelpond especially knew that they would need to eat well, they'd need their strength for the journey to the Moonpool. He'd done the trip so many times that admittedly, Eelpond hadn't really thought about using travelling herbs, he hadn't needed them for quite some time now. But he could see how they might help Tinypaw, so, after he had swallowed the next mouthful, he sat back slightly, swiped his tongue around his whiskers and nodded.

Eelpond flicked his tail as he looked back towards their den, then the calico she-cat, and dipped his head again.  "Yeah, I think some travelling herbs would be helpful, don't you? Do you remember how to make them up?" he didn't think that she would have done so already, they didn't have the time before the apprentice ceremony, so Eelpond figured now was as good a time as any to fit in another lesson and teach Tinypaw how to put together the herb wraps. "Finish up with that fish and join me back in the den, I'll go and start laying everything out so I can show you."

[User]
Tinypaw
Mentions: @The Elvenqueen

The little apprentice smiled happily as she ate. When Eelpond sat up she blinked and licked her whiskers. As he spoke she nodded some. She did think traveling herbs would be a good to have. "Well it is a long way to travel so I would think so." She said but paused and thought a moment before she shook her head. Tinypaw didn't think they'd had reason to make any since she'd become an apprentice so she hadn't learned them yet. Of course it hadn't even been a full moon since she'd been given her apprentice name so there was time to learn. Smiling again she nodded before leaning down and licking up the last few flakes of fish.

Once done she quickly groomed before trotting back into their den. "I think daisy leafs are in traveling herbs." She announced once she came into the den. It had taken her time to think it over but she did remember that since one day they'd picked some and Eelpond had told her that they were used to ease pain in joints and given to traveling cats. Sitting down in front of the spot he had the herbs lined up she'd wait excitedly for him to show her how to make the traveling bundle of herbs.

[Assistant]
__________________________________________
MistClan Medicine Cat Den

Mentions: @blindwoofer's Tinypaw
__________________________________________

When Tinypaw agreed that she thought the travelling herbs would be a good idea, the older tom nodded gently and left her to finish up the rest of the fish he'd left, getting to his paws and padding into the den to go to the herb store. As he waited for the little calico to join him once more, Eelpond's paws moved through each crevice with practised ease to select out piles of herbs he knew they would need for the mixture, he'd been a medicine cat for long enough now to know them off by heart. Tinypaw would get there too, one day, with his guidance. He set each pile of leaves out in front of him and waited patiently for the she-cat to return to the den.

When she did, he waved her across with his tail, beaming proudly as she already managed to recall one of the plants without him so much as prompting her. "Yes, exactly! Daisy leaves are one of the ingredients, well remembered!" he purred proudly, flicking his tail to indicate the other herbs he had laid out before them. "But that's only one of the herbs needed to make what the Clan calls "travelling herbs". There are three others that are mixed together with the daisy leaves that help to give cats who make long journeys strength, and to fill their bellies so they don't feel hungry as quickly, which means that they can cover more ground for a journey like the Moonpool without worrying about hunting on another Clan's territory, which would be against the Warrior Code. Now, do you recognise the names of any of the others, if you have a look at them here?" he would, of course, tell her if she didn't, but a quick test to see if she did remember any wouldn't do them any harm.

[User]
Interacting with: @skitts | @sassy1085

---

 It was a glorious day, at least. That was where the positives tended to end. Things along the borders were always quite iffy. Anything could happen. The next big war could be snowballed from a border incident, and most of them were. They were walls in which the clans were divided, entities of harsh justice that ensured there'd always be a contest to be had. Though, it wasn't an imperfect system. The clans could define their hunting grounds and could adapt to their own parts of the valley, differentiating them and creating an identity amongst the wild. A sense of order, contained in a small plot of land that rivalled the others. Those were the things to be glad of. Time and time again, Branchfall had wondered how life on the free market of preservation played out. Relying only on themselves was a hasty job, especially in the presence of four great clans and the dangers the valley had to offer. He pictured the rogues and the loners as being amongst the most headstrong and capable cats across the land, held back only by their stubbornness and lack of social wit.

 The perspective of borders was all too different from a cat who'd been on two sides of it. He'd seen one world and transitioned to another. That was a jarring experience. Life was different. The food was different. And whilst they all shared a conglomerate of ideas, religious beliefs and the all-encompassing Warrior Code, they were divided by a cultural significance and the great divider: thought. Branchfall had his own ideals pressed together into an ugly mess. And patrols like theirs were only the sharp reminders of the messes that had been made. The manifestations of an old world compared to the new; life before and the death of an old family member. He just hoped to StarClan that he wouldn't run into the cats he knew best. Whether they were family or just old friends, it was the last thing he needed.

 Because of this, Branch came across as rather hasty. He was at the front of the group, checking everything and sniffing around as if he were in a rush. At the least, he tried to be thorough but couldn't hold himself up to the standards of a careful and detailed patroller. The first fifty heartbeats seemed to go off quite nicely. There wasn't an issue nor anything more than the faint scents of old reports. The roughened familiarity of a wild creature that skirted their territory was barely noticeable anymore, and so Branch breathed easily knowing that it wasn't anything cumbersome. Eventually, he grew tired of the silence between the three. It was deafening, getting in the way of his anxiety. The last thing he wanted was to silently stumble into a BirchClan patrol in the dead of morn.

"Hey, Flamepelt," he began in a mumble, "can you just start talking about something? Anything at all? New rumours, news or things of interest? I'd really appreciate it."

[Assistant]
Mentions: @Ambra
Silverflight watched the patrols begin to disappear from the camp and follow out her given orders for the early part of the day. She let her eyes continue to trail lazily around camp as the daily routines began to pick up speed. Several of the other warriors who had been up earlier were settling down to rest and share tongues or find some other way to make themselves useful around camp. She already began planning out the evening patrols in her head, giving Tinypaw a nod as the apprentice pulled something from the pile for herself and presumably Eelpond. The sun had burned off the mist that hung across the camp and now there was a warm glow cast across the camp and warming her pelt. She closed her eyes briefly and allowed the warmth to scare away the lingering doubts and darker thoughts that plagued the valley.

She saw Eelpond slip from Shadestar's den and head back to the medicine cat den. Hopefully the two medicine cats would get something from Starclan. They had been uncomfortably silent given the terrible things that had stricken each and every clan. She watched Shadestar follow shortly after Eelpond, a contemplative look on his face slipping into worry. She hoped their leader wasn't taking too much onto his own shoulders with the killings. Starclan knew he couldn't do more than he already was. She hoped that the naming of a new apprentice and the show of clan unity would drive away at least some of his concerns.

"Morning Shadestar," she meowed as he approached, "Everything alright with the journey to Moonbrook?" Tensions were high and if there was something that might prevent them from communing with Starclan things would only get worse. "Nothing more we need to concern ourselves with I hope."

 Mentions: @skitts
Nightpaw nodded at Dawnpelt's suggestion, "Sounds good to me," he trotted behind her and Froststorm as they began to head out of camp; shaking the water droplets off of his pelt as they dripped off the reeds, "If Irisstar decides to start something it would be good for us to be nearby." He kept his ears pricked as they padded past the quiet bubbling of the streams that weaved their way into the nearby lake. He saw a faint flash of scales underneath the water, but he didn't leap after it. If they were going to be out for some time he'd rather keep his paws dry of the cold water. Maybe he'd try to catch fish on the way back if they were still swimming about. The thought of getting mud caked in between his toes wasn't the most pleasing, but he wouldn't pass up the opportunity for their return journey.

"Are we allowed to hunt on our way to the Oak Dens?" he asked towards Dawnpelt.

He hoped to hear the quiet scuffle of small paws on the dirt or the ruffle of feathers indicating birds pecking around for seeds on the ground, but the nearby area was fairly silent. The slowly rising sun warmed his dark pelt and would hopefully lure the underground dwelling critters out into the light. He could feel the uncertain tension that ran through camp and tried to not let it get to him too much, but when the older warriors were nervous it made it difficult not to feel the same. He shook his head to clear out the thoughts and focus on what they were doing. The clan needed food and there was no way that they were going to come back empty pawed.