City of Six (Started and Full)

Lulu

Zabe and I decided I should travel in the middle of the group, to keep them on track. I did so. I turned myself invisible, and walked silently amongst the six, catching hints of gossip. They were probably all tired and confused. I don't remember much from my childhood, but what I do remember from the night when mother and I were abducted how scared I was. Momma had told me it would all be alright, but she sounded scared. That made me scared too.

I shook my head and continued walking. I had saw some interesting conversation coming from Malis and Ari, so I walked a little closer in their direction. Still to far for me to read their lips. Closer, closer. Crunch.

"OW! Watch it!"

Too close.

Malis gasped and jumped back, I held my breath and tried to remain invisible. It wasn't working. ZABE! Was all I had time to think before I reappeared.

"Who are you!?" asked a very shocked Ari.
I looked at him, then down at myself. I gripped my foot in one hand while balancing on me good side.
"I am no one," I glared, vanishing from view again.

Varik | Outskirts of Toliaz

"So which way, Varik?" Charna droned on, facing away from her two guard dogs. Her eyes were cast onto Mt. Dekkan, onto the storm clouds that inevitably would loom nearer and nearer until consuming them.

"They're heading East," Varik replied, eyes closed with his hands touching the loamy soil. Two feet behind him, his sword stood wedged in a boulder, towering over Pravus.

"East?" Pravus queried, his eyes narrow. A spark tipped from his fingers and dissipated on a rock.

"Yes, north." Varik sighed and dug his monstrous fingers deeper into the soil. "Their footsteps resound in the midst of Edgewood Forest."

Charna nodded, turning back to the two. Slowly, she approached Varik and put a hand on his shoulder, sharing his senses for their location. "I see." After a moment, she grinned. "Boys, you bought us time without knowing it."

Pravus stood up and crossed his arms. "What do you mean, Charna?"

The wicked queen grinned. "I take it you made a mess in the valley?"

"Just an insurmountable ledge, really," Pravus smirked. "Full of scrolls and bones and Storm Bird organs."

Varik grinned. "I did mean to bring you one of those skulls, Charna." He stood and clawed the rocks from his hands. "I understand what you mean, though."

Charna nodded and looked to Pravus. "Word must have gotten to the travelers at some point, probably through an oracle or something mystic and convenient. And because of what they've heard..."

"...they believe that Mt. Dekkan's Pass is blocked by a landslide," Pravus grinned, his eyes narrowing.

"So they'll be venturing East for some time, giving us plenty of time--"

"--to disrupt the flow." Varik gave out a dark chuckle, heaving his blade from the boulder, leaving it to fall into two even pieces.

The trio nodded to one another. "Let's get moving, then, boys." Charna nodded to Pravus, who snapped his fingers twice, leaving a small ember in the tall grass. With a snicker, he began to walk away, leaving the clearing ablaze.

When he caught up with his comrades, Charna looked back to him and smiled. "First, we'll go visit one of the nobles. One of them should know how many pests we'll be dealing with."

-- -- --
Nobleman Birch | Edgewood Cabin | Later That Night

Birch had considered asking his wife his burning question all day; the time just simply hadn't arisen. However, as he entered the cottage den and looked beyond the light of the fire, he watched his wife's kind eyes focusing on a book. She had the warmest smile on her face, and her slightly-graying hair gave warmth to her face, somehow. Birch smiled softly as he sat in the chair beside her, nestling into the Griffin-feather cushions and sighing.

"Do you recall the children we witnessed passing through the southern wood earlier?" he asked.

His wife closed the leather binding on her book and slowly nodded, curiously. "I believe I do. There were quite a few of them, yes?"

Birch nodded, folding his hands together. "Well, curiously, one of my fellows reported a mystifying act done by the children."

"Mystifying? Howso?"

"Well," he began, "it seems that one boy turned the beak of a Griffin into the snout of a pig."

"How entrancing!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening with interest.

Birch smiled and nodded once again. "Yes, quite! But it seems peculiar to me that such children behold such prowess." The lady nodded. "And it came upon me that it may be time."

"Time?" she asked. "Time for what, exactly?"

Birch leaned in as if to tell a guarded secret. "Time of the Walk--"

A light knock came at the door, bringing Nobleman Birch to his feet. "How odd for someone to come at night..." He neared the door and placed his hand on the knob, pulling softly. And as the door opened...

Nothing. "Hello?" he asked into the open air, sticking his head out into the cold. "Is anyone th--!"

Before he could finish, a mighty grip hoisted him off his feet and out into the night. He screamed back for his wife, but his mouth was soon covered.

"Bury the house," a woman said, and whatever was moving Birch stopped abruptly. The man closed his eyes as the ground beneath his feet shook, his eyes cast upon his cabin just as the ground beneath it opened up with a bone-chilling crack and swallowed the cabin whole. With wide, teary eyes, Birch watched his home--and wife--fall into what seemed a bottomless chasm. The ground beneath them shook in violent reprieve; the fissure closed without a trace of his home. "Now," the woman said as Birch hit the ground on his tail, "tell us about those children."

Conleth (In The Woods):

"So, we're just going to wander around like loons?" I asked, uncertainty clawing at my gut as I avoid all the...weirdness...as much as I can. I was interested at first, but now things seemed more sinister. I could almost taste it. And animals were fleeing, fast. Birds, too.

I shiver but keep walking. "I should go home...I'm not meant to be here," I grumble out, but I don't make a move to carry that out.

I had the feeling the creepy starlit (or whatnot) man was being honest, after all. And this...

"...Is this a dream?"

Well, that's a stupid question.

What could I say? I got talkative when I was nervous.

Pravus~Edgewood Cabin

"Now," Charna said coldly, "tell us about the children."

The man's eyes widened, still in shock from from watching his house swallowed by the earth. "What children?" the man said. Varik threw him to the ground. The old man let out a cry of pain as his should struck a rock and started bleeding.

"I'm sure you can tell us," Pravus said softly, kneeling down before the man. "The children may have came off odd, displaying a sort of power." The man's eyes grew, and suddenly grew hard, glaring at Pravus.

"No clue what you're talking about," the man said as calmly as he could, even though his voice still shook in fear. "No odd children have passed this way."

Pravus chuckled, removing a leather glove from his hand. "We can do this the hard way or the easy way," Pravus said, his tone as soft as before. "Personally, I would love to see you on the ground screaming in agony, but dear Charna thinks we should try being nice." Pravus ran a pale finger down the man's arm, smiling when he cringed in pain. "Now, tell us what you know."

"Some children passed through here today in the Southern Woods," the man said, body pale and shaking. "One turned a griffin's beak into a pig snout. That's all I know, I swear on my life!" The man looked at where his house used to be, and turned back. "Can you bring my house back, please, it's all I have."

"Now that's going to be a little problem," Pravus said. "See, we don't need you going off to tell anyone about us . . ."

"I won't tell anyone, I swear it!"

"I wish I could believe you, but I'm not the trusting type." Pravus nodded to Varik who opened the crater again. Pravus dragged the screaming man to the crack, kicking and screaming all the way, and without mercy, pushed him in. The man screamed the entire way down until there was an audible thud, and he went silent. "That was fun," Pravus said.

"Varik, trigger the earthquake," Charna said. "And Pravus, you can let the fire run wild."

Varik nodded, and Pravus let out a sighed from having keeping the fire in check and small. Suddenly the earth shook, and a large fire flared to the South. "Fun, fun, fun," Pravus said with smile, watching the fire consume the trees.

Zabriel

Zabriel glanced quickly at Conleth, and then to where Lu had just appeared and disappeared. "No, none of you are dreaming. This is very real, and if you die, you will not wake up in your beds. Your life will have ended. I suggest you listen. And please, avoid the non-existant girl's feet."

He had been walking directly behind the group for the whole hike, keeping a careful eye on them. Cypress had vanished, but from what Zabriel could tell, she was headed in the right direction. Nevertheless, he would appreciate if the girl would slow down. Losing track of her would land Zabe in a tight spot.

The group spoke in murmurs, arguing or agreeing, Zabriel couldn't bring himself to care. As long as none of them were screaming in pain, bleeding or running off, he was fine. He caught a few snippets of conversation here and there. Questions, mostly. Too bad nobody but Zabriel and Lulu knew the answers to any of them.

And then there was the griffin-- the one Dax still hadn't changed. So far, Aridian hadn't attempted to hold a blade against the poor boy's throat, and that's all that really mattered in that situation. Sure, the poor bird was distressed, but it was the least of their problems.

Zabriel turned around to scan the forest behind them. This place had started to send shivers up and down his spine, and he didn't like it. Not a bit.

Everything seemed normal enough at ground level. No lurking monsters, glowing amber eyes or arrows sticking out of tree-trunks. Zabriel lifted his eyes, a nervous expression plastering itself to his face. Glowing, pulsating light. Orange, red, yellow. A forest fire?

He felt his heart skip a beat, and then begin to hammer wildly. Already, they were experiencing this sort of problem? The sun hadn't even risen yet! He turned back to the group and took one quick breath. "There's a fire brewing back a ways. Move! Keep to the same direction, and do not lose each other!" One by one, the heads turned, and eyes widened. With luck, none of them would start to panic.

Cypress...

Cypress, wherever you are, get with the rest of the group now! Zabriel shot at her quickly, praying that things wouldn't get any worse than they already were. At least not yet... it was too early.

Lulu

Fire. Fire... I hated wild fire, such a loss. Cypress fell back with the group, silently. Alert. If she tried running off I'd have to force her back into the group, my patience was wearing thin. My worry was beginning to rise.
Lu, are you still there? asked a concerned voice... Zabe.
Yes, I'm fine. I replied briefly.

The ground began to shake, sending a few of us falling over. Zabe wanted to rush over and help, but we weren't supposed to show ourselves. Not yet. Someone else nearby could control earth, and they were stronger then me.
Zabe, we need to get them to the city. Fast. I was beginning to panic, someone didn't want us here.

*sorry it's short and crappy, it's late, I'm tired. I'll make up for it tomorrow*

*Deleted* I think I might be a bit confused as well... so I think I'm going to watch for a few posts.

Dax Van Curen

Everything was quiet, sort of, and Dax was working on trying to change the griffin’s beak back to normal. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite remember how a griffin’s beak was supposed to look like, and had to rely on his imagination. Time and time again he’d change it to a different sort of beak, and marvel at the enhanced beauty of the griffin, only for the creature to paw at its beak and whimper.

His heart sank a little every time the griffin disapproved of his work, as Dax believed the griffin’s beak looked better his way, but nevertheless, he continued to tweak the beak’s size and color until the griffin was satisfied. Which it never was.

Then it began. A soft rumbling at first, nothing more than a customary quake. Dax had encountered a few in his lifetime, and he bent down to soothe his horse’s neighing. Only, it didn’t stay that way, and the earth roared, and it cracked from beneath them. Dax couldn’t control his ride’s panic, couldn’t even restrain his own fears clawing at him. All he could do was grip the reins of the horse until they felt as if they’ve been embedded in his palm and hold on for dear life as his horse reared and fled the crashing trees.

Dax shut his eyes, tears spilling from them, stung from the smoke as they were. A sharp cry melted into the chaos of the forest as Dax was thrown off his horse and onto the ground. A satisfying crunch and delirious pain. Dax gasped for air, well aware his neck was broken. He clawed at his own neck, willing it to get better, to fix itself before Dax ran out of oxygen and –

He didn’t even want to think about it.

Ash, bitter and thick, flooded his lungs again, and Dax choked. His mouth was dry, and he could barely see around him. Where were the others? Which way was home? He sharpened his own vision, and though his eyes continued to sting, at least, at the very least, he could see somewhat better now. Crawled through the ground, and the leaves crunched underneath him, and roots shifted out of his way.

Van Curen, get back here! yelled Zabe’s voice in Dax’s head. Lulu, we have to get that idiot back here!

Never. All he wanted to do was go back home and back to the way it was. He didn’t want to be kidnapped by some madmen. Every surviving tree Dax passed immediately strengthened itself and reached out to the other closest tree, and their thick branches formed walls. Lulu and Zabe could have fun hacking their way through that. Dax wasn’t planning on letting them find him –

His hand fell on a shoe, and Dax looked up with wide, reddened eyes. He automatically blanched and scrambled backwards into the thick wooden wall he’d built himself. Pressed himself against it, feeling the moss slimy against the back of his palms.

He wished he never left home. Two men stood before him, towering and overbearing. As if it wasn’t already hard enough to breathe, Dax began to hyperventilate. Shook, even.

They looked like rouges, and Dax was aware everyone in a fifty-mile radius knew about the Van Curen line, and the Van Curen boys.

“My brother can give you all the gold you want if you don’t hurt me,” Dax squeaked. “Or…or…”

“Or what?” A woman he hadn’t noticed slunk up towards him, smirking. “Are you going to tell your little guardians that we hurt you? Hmmm?”

What guardians? Dax shut his eyes and breathed in deeply as a hole in the two-meter thick wall he’d built swallowed him whole before closing again. The cavity was big enough for him, and him alone. Hardly enough space to sit in. Complete darkness bathed him in fear, but a pinhole of light offered a smidge of hope. Dax peered through it, once again manipulating his own abilities to allow himself to see through such at tiny hole.

Maybe he’d burn to death here in this little wooden oven he’d built. The thought made his heart skip a few beats, but he stayed inside. No, those thugs would leave. They’d leave when they saw the fire inching closer. They had to.

Then, maybe it was Dax, but he thought he saw a fairy slip past. Intrigue surpassed fear, and he automatically reached out to touch something he'd been trying to recreate for years, something he thought didn't really exist. Just a few more inches-

"Gotcha!"

And the walls closed around his arm again, but already one of the men's hands had gotten inside the cavity with him, and Dax stared at it in fright as it flailed. What if the man broke the wall? What would happen to Dax then? So Dax turned the hand into wood, all the way to the arm, and stopped right at the elbow.

He'd promised not to ever manipulate humans unless it was himself, but this was an emergency. And yet he couldn't stop crying, or shaking. He'd never been so terrified his entire life as he was staring at the wooden hand in front of him, now stationary.

Pravus

Pravus cursed drawing his arm out of the hole. He stared in shock seeing made of wood. He tapped, hearing the dull thunk of wood. "What the hell," he said staring at his arm. "Someone get a knife." He ripped off his shirt. "Cut it off, I'll regrow it back." Pravus took his belt off and stuck the leather in his mouth. He nodded to Varik who drew his large sword. He cried out in pain as the sword struck his arm, cutting it off above where it was turned to wood. Pravus wrapped it up quickly in his shirt.

"God dammit," Pravus cursed, looking at the sport where the kid stood before the earth consumed him. "I'm going to kill him! I'm going to tear out his nail, break all his fingers, and freaking roast him alive under my flames! He'll wish I was dead before I'm through with him!"

"Are you quite done," Charna asked when Pravus quit yelling.

"Yes," he growled. He adjusted his stump in the shirt. "I need some bandages before I lose too much blood."

"Cauterize, we don't have enough time," Charna replied.

"But then I won't be able to regrow it."

"We'll cut more off to trigger the regrowth again, now cauterize it."

Pravus summoned fire into his hand and gently laid the flame on his stump. The flesh burned until the wounds were closed causing him to grimace in pain. "I'm going to kill him."

Cypress

Man, what was with these people? They tell me to keep going, I do, they yell at me to come back. I growled in the back of my throat. I hooked my claws into the bark and yanked down, leaving strips of the stuff peeled back. My boots touched ground. Scowling, I leaned back against the tree, waiting for the group.

Why was I doing this? I blamed it on Devon. All in the strategy. I keep moving, I get tired, I get caught. I stay still, he doesn't expect it, and I might be able to take him by surprise- maybe. If I didn't wait too long. I started rubbing wood curls from the claws, only barely scratching my fingers. I felt years' worth of terracotta, brick, cement, wood, piping, all groaning and swaying and being terribly sick. Anyone who tells me that inanimate objects don't feel is getting a very firm kick.

Well, while I was here, might as well mark my path. For all my senses, I still got lost in the woods. Put me in a city, I'll find my way to the nearest inn in ten minutes. Any city. Put me in the woods, I will pass the same rock five times and not notice. So I took a throwing knife from the strips of fabric woven around my waist and turned so I faced the tree. Diagonal down, diagonal meeting that. Slash through it. My signature.

I pushed myself further under the hood of uncertain darkness and pulled my knife out firmly, slipping it back into place. The group was coming, scattered and angry and uncomfortable and all sorts of emotion that I really didn't want to deal with. Time to get going again. I was halfway up the tree in three seconds, and leaping and swinging with a split second more, still making no more sound than a hushed "fwip" on the wind.

They couldn't control me, not fully. This was all survival.

I could still smell Count Devon in the trees.

Charna | Forest Clearing:

I looked away when Pravus cauterized his wound. "I'm going to kill him," he hissed. He didn't sound very happy.

Smirking, I gave him a cold look. "No, you are not," I said, cutting over his words. "Father says we need them alive, so we'll take them--Alive." Varik stared at me, but I was more worried about Pravus doing something stupid. He opened his mouth again. "No. We do as my father says--No buts and no killing, if we can manage it." I looked away again, at the wooden wall before us. I started laughing.

"Now what?" Pravus asked, still wrapping his arm in his shirt. My little friends seemed to be ignoring my laughter.

I didn't look at them, my laughter dying down. Well now, what were we going to do? I studied the wall before me. What a curious child. Why would my father want them alive? They were clearly powerful--hell, that kid had turned Pravus's arm into wood. I felt a chill run down my spine and turned away, watching my two goons with narrowed eyes.

Fumusia | Deep Forest
One second he was there, the next he wasnt. Dax had dissapeared halfway through explaining some of his abiities. I was beginning to understand why we were all here-- we had unusual powers. That was as far as I had got when he had suddenly vanished.

By the time the leader man called out, "There's a fire brewing back a ways. Move! Keep to the same direction, and do not lose each other!" ,I was already in a frenzy. The fire was so close, travelling faster than possible, I could feel its pungent smoke creeping up my throat, blocking my air ways, surrounding my senses.

I coughed and staggered. The ground shuddered beneath us, groaning. Fire was ripping through the trees, throwing shadows across our path, and burning our skin. Creatures of the forest ran across our path, trying to escape the singing fire.
I felt sick and dizzy. Vulnerable.

I felt a firm hand on my shoulder, and I spun round to find the leader guy. My eyes dripped with tears from the sharp smoke.

" What can you do about this?!", he asked urgently.

" What?" I didnt understand. He pointed to the sky, coughing. I understood.

" Oh," I rasped, " I see." I could attempt to make it rain. It would be hard; the weather usually only changes to suit my mood, and I didnt feel sad. But I -we were desperate.

I stood still, trying to retain my balance against the shuddering ground, and the overwhelming fear of the fire. My stomach was heavy, and my throat was blocked. I was going to throw up.

"But I musn't," I rasped to myself, feeling the gentle shiver up my spine, through my finger tips and up to the sky.
The dark clouds broke, and I felt, almost instantly, the cool drops of rain on my skin.
My rain was light at first, not even close to a threat to the fire, but I was refreshed by the cold drips on my body, and it became stronger.
I could hear the satisfying hiss of flames being quenched, and destroyed. The rain plummeted down, heavy and angry, comitted to sabotaging the murderous flames.

"RUN!" I screamed to the others- someone didnt want us here, and they were very powerful, and very determined

Malis | The Fire In The Forest:

The rain drenched through and through Malis's clothes as she ran. The trick with the griffin was impressive - but to make it rain? Malis wondered. They all seem to have abilities. Why'd they bring me along, though? She didn't have time to think, though - Aridian, who had been running around just a while ago, had suddenly slowed down again, supported by his pet dragon, who was also failing.

Malis didn't know why she wanted to help - but she did, and she hoisted him up by the arm. "Come on, move it!" He tried to smile but failed, and Malis dragged him along as they ran. They were falling back, though - everyone was faster than them. She scowled and yelled at the others' backs.

"Can't one of you help me with him?! Honestly!"

Someone turned around.

(Short, again. -_-)

*Deleted* I think I might be a bit confused as well... so I think I'm going to watch for a few posts.

Fumusia | Running

The others ran forward quickly. I closed my eyes and focused on the rain even though I could feel my strength draining from me with every droplet I emmited from the sky.

But I had to keep it coming. The fire was almost dead, but you can never be too sure...

I heard laboured breaths behind me, then someone calling out, "Can't one of you help me with him?! Honestly!"

Spinning round and saw the brown-haired girl (Malis is it?) trying to heave a weak Ari, who seemed to be close to fainting. I ran quickly over to them, convinced the fire was put out, and helped her. With my extra strength- although I was faltering- we managed to drag Ari over to the group again. I was beginning to feel a bit dizzy with fatigue, and felt myself stumbling.

Strong arms caught me, before I even knew I was falling. I looked up to see a strange looking man, who was impossibly tall.

And then, I realised this was no man, for his legs- well, he had four! At the bottom of his torso, his bottom half was a horse! I read about these creatures in books... I believe they are called centaurs.

I stammered backwards, my mouth gawping. He smiled at me, then his expression turned into a frown when he saw Ari.

"Ari..." the creature said in a deep voice. Malis seemed just as astonished as I was.
The centaur picked up Ari in his arms and started walking. Me and Malis looked at eachother with the same shocked expression on our faces, then followed.

Catching up with the others, we began to walk again. Where? We didnt know...

______________________________________________________________________

Fumusia | Riverside

We came to the river, and into the morning. Crisp, cool air escaped into the dull woods; the sky was the fresh colours of tangerine and blue. It was a beautiful day, however, I seemed to be the only one enjoying it.

"Well, atleast the fire is behind us!" I said, cheerily. Everyone sighed at my pathetic attempt to lighten the mood.
We had lost Dax. That was the jist of it. The leader guy, who had announced himself as Zabriel, and his companion, Lulu, were muttering hurriedly under their breath to eachother. They were glancing around, worried and anxious. The centaur had left our group now, after reviving Ari into his original state; I think fire effects him somehow...
Malis was staring at the clear, blue water of the river and I knew she was in a different world.
Everyone had announced their names on the way to the river, so we were all aquainnted, and felt more like a group.

I sighed. The sound of trickling water, and the blinking reflections of the sun were relaxing.
I was tired after creating the rain to abolish the fire- which, by the way, I had not had a single thanks for.
I knelt down by the water, and splashed my face. The coolness felt delicious on my cheeks.
Someone knelt down beside me.