Young Writers Society

Cypress

Just a guy. Well, I think it was a guy. It was really shadowy. I didn't let out my breath, for fear of being heard, and instead pressed a hand to the trunk of the tree I was hugging. I imagined a spark running down the trunk, into the ground, into the person's feet. I waited.... nothing, not much, anyway. A silent whiff told me he was from the bar across from Roger's, with the scent of cheap perfume and powder makeup clinging to him. I choked a little- silently. Ninja Cy-cy was impossible to catch, wasn't she?

I winced as one of the claws dug sharply into my stomach, the almost scary lack of fat there making it all the more painful. Shaking it off, I drew my hand up, the blade of my throwing knife practically glowing in the dark. This high up, though, the person'd probably think it was a patch of moonlight. I hoped.

I slipped the knife between my teeth, the sharp edge facing out, and dug the other two into the trunk. Praying this would work as well in wood as it did on the buildings back home, I pulled one out and put it back in, a foot higher, then did the same with the other. Slowly, but surely, I scaled even higher, under cover of dark.

My arms started to shake with exertion, and all of my body that was below my shoulders felt like it was swaying. It probably was. I was climbing with two freaking six inch knives, for god's sake. All of my weight depended on my strength, the tree's strength, and these two blades.

'Cause I was a daredevil like that.

Barke

I hear the panicked thoughts of the girl Lulu who wanted me in the forest coming from somewhere nearby. Sighing, I turn towards the direction they're coming from. Captain Barke to the rescue. Barke the Great, feeling dead tired but willing to get off his lazy ass to help those in need...Yep, I'm the ideal hero. After a few minutes of searching, I find her.

"Lost?"

"Yep," she answers.

"Can you tell whoever you were mentally talking to earlier to think something very obvious, like say... 'The pizza train has been destroyed by the spontaneous combustion of the vampire'?" I ask. Lulu looks at me with a very curious expression. "I'll be able to find him more easily! Mind freak here," I smirk.

She shakes her head, but when it comes to the search for whoever she's looking for, I'm able to find him almost immediately. The pizza train has been destroyed by the freaking combustion of the God-this-is-annoying vampire...

"This way," I mutter, and walk in the direction his voice is coming from.

Zabriel

Lulu came into view then, with one of the six. Barke. She seemed unscratched, a little irritated, frazzled maybe, but fine in all other aspects. Zabe found himself frowning despite it as he walked over and placed a hand on Lu's arm.

"Way to go oh stealthy one," he said quietly, expressionlessly.

She muttered something under her breath, something Zabe didn't bother trying to catch. It had made Barke chuckle, so he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Zabe looked up at Barke, contemplating on what he should do. They had both been seen, and so soon, too. Of course, Zabe could always go steal the memory, but memory stealing didn't always end well. It left the victim much too confused, and the six were probably confused enough as it was.

"Can I ask you a favour?" Zabe asked, voice low. Barke arched an eyebrow. "I'm going to pretend that means yes. I need you to not mention my existance to the others, we weren't supposed to be seen in the first place." He shot a look at Lu, although it was well-known she couldn't see.

"Others...?" Barke asked, brow furrowing.

Zabe sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the forest. "Yes, the others. The other five of you. They're in the forest already. And before you ask, no, I will not say more unless you come find out for youself. Stay in this city and you'll be dead in the near future, I guarentee you."

Stop moving! He demanded the others sternly. Assuming they would listen to the little, angry voice in their heads. They needed to stop wandering, or they were all going to get hopelessly lost. Zabe didn't feel like Six-hunting tonight.

Riley

This place smelt like crap. Well, it was a mix between that and wood. As I dragged my feet along the muddy pathway, I began to wonder what on earth I was doing. It was late, cold, and slightly damp. Why the hell was I in a forest. I swore I was going mental or something. I blamed Daniel. He was constantly arguing loudly with some girlfriend in the middle of the night. Maybe the lack of sleep was effecting my mental health....

Suddenly, the bush beside me shook and out ran a small, ugly rat looking thing. I jumped a mile, causing me to stumble and bang into one of the wide trees beside me. I quickly fell down into another one of the large bushes. A loud yelp escaped my mouth as banged onto the floor. You freaking spaz, I thought, pulling myself back up. I had better hoped that there was no masked murderers in the forest at that moment, otherwise, I'd be screwed right now. I had just practically screamed my head off, after all.

I must have been walking for half an hour when I heard the sound of hushed voices. Freezing in the spot, I tucked myself behind a tree. Silently, I peeped my head around the tree to see a small group of people. Wow. Maybe I wasn't the only guy who went into the forest in the middle of the night. That kind of made me feel slightly more normal. Kinda'. Realising that I was loosing concentration completely, I narrowed my eyes at the group of people, hoping to hear something.

I managed to hear the odd word one of the guys was saying. Leaning against the tree, I nodded approvingly. He wasn't too bad looking. A bit scruffy, but hey, it looked good on him. If he had some shorter layers cut in, it would really enhance his cheekbones. Especially if he had it cut a bit shorter around the face, but kept the bangs long. Fricking hell, stop thinking off topic, I mentally kicked myself. Thanks to my little mind wonder, I hadn't caught much of what they were saying. Concentrating carefully on the scruffy looking guy, I made out the last few words of what he was saying.

"Stay in this city and you'll be dead in the near future, I guarentee you," he spoke quietly, but strongly.

Right... That sounded promising. This wasn't some kind of freak cult, was it?

Cypress

Stop moving!

I jolted a little. Where on god's green Tanshein had that come from? But I was still in Ninja Cy-cy mode.

Wasn't already, Mr. Angry Voice in my Head. I shot back. And then a rustle.

I froze and peeped down, still holding for my own (now that I thought of it, useless) life on two throwing knives. A dark head, on a boy that looked way scrawnier than what I was used to. Probably from the other side of Toliaz, the one I stayed away from- Devon, remember? In the heart, well, the side of the heart I lived in, guys were tall, buff, and virtually harmless. The ones who were spindly and slimy were the ones you headed away from. Roger? Roger was a giant teddy bear. And I really wished he was here, with his collection of glass. All the weapons I could use now were my powers and maybe spitting a knife.

So now, I just had to pray to god that the wind wouldn't pick up. I was swaying enough as it was, and it freaked me way out. My knives were buried in almost hilt deep, though, which comforted me somewhat. Until I remembered I was almost two stories up.

Man. I really messed myself up sometimes.

Lulu

Barke handed me off to Zabe, I felt comforted feeling a familular hand on my shoulder. Together, Zabe and I were unstopable. Apart... well it was impossible for me to get around, and well... Zabe just needed me. I had gone soft after Zabe's arrival. At first I didn't want him there.

I was in the training field, I knew the course by heart. I ducked, a spinning block just missing my head. But of course I didn't know that it had only just missed me. In fact, I hadn't seen it coming. I was used to just relying on my senses to know when to act. Jump back, another block missed me. I lifted my one hand, and felt the earth shake Then heard a large crack and knew I had broken/beaten the target.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, then stood straight, turned and bowed, knowing my master was standing in front of me.
"Evening master," I mumbled standing again.
"Good evening, my student. I have someone here who I want you to meet," he paused, "This is Zabe. He will be your partner, in a way," he finished.
I tensed up. I didn't NEED a partner. I worked perfectly well by myself. But I didn't dare question my master.
"It's nice to meet you Zabe. I wish you prosperity and happiness during your time here," which I hoped wouldn't be long.
"I'm over here," he said.

I cluntched my fist, I heard my master walk away, muttering something along the lines of, "don't hurt him to badly." I raised my hand, then dropped them quickly. The ground made a plop, then I heard him sink down. After a few seconds I made the ground solid.
"Lesson number one. Do not mention my inability to see. In any shape or form. Have fun digging your way out," and with that I walked away and let him dig himself out.

Now I needed him to guide me around. I sighed. Irony of the worst degree.

Charna|Bar of the Local Inn.:

I twisted the glass in my hands, then pushed it away. The glass was still full; I didn't feel like drinking. I was about to stand up and go back to my room when someone sat down beside me. I glanced towards them and sighed. It was a messanger. From my father.

"The Walkers have been spotted leaving town," he said, not looking at me. "The master says to hunt them down."

I nodded and stood up. I wouldn't be surprised if my father had spies everywhere. Smiling to myself, I headed upstairs to collect my weapons. When I glanced back at the bar, the messenger was gone.



Hours later, I was following their trail in panther form. I would suffer for it later, but for now I could track them easily. I had picked up their scent on the edge of town. Grinning a panther grin, I raised my head and concentrated. I had only been in animal form for about an hour, I should still be able to return to human form. And I could.

Once back in human form, I returned my weapons to their normal forms and tied the belt around my waist. This was going to be too easy. I just had to hope none of them were mind freaks, or they'd hear me coming. I straightened out my hair and looked around. I could see some tracks leading off to my left. They were close, I could feel it.

My smile turned twisted as I followed the tracks into the trees, wondering what I might find at the end of the trail. I pulled the shadows around me as I entered the trees, hiding myself from view. Of course, a mind freak would still hear me coming... I just had to hope that they didn't have a mind freak with them.

Ceri

Ceri's instinct told him that this little gathering of people was what he was supposed to find. Still clutching his spear, he approached them: two guys chatting, a girl, and another guy apparently hiding from them behind a tree. He had the right idea, Ceri thought, hiding from that woman. Not that he knew who the woman was, but women always meant trouble. He approached the tree, whispering, "Don't make a sound." Hopefully the more-feminine-than-the-rest boy wouldn't jump or scream or anything.

He came up behind the guy behind the tree, putting a hand on his shoulder, hoping he'd assume it was a friendly gesture. Ceri's heart beat faster and his mouth went dry as he tried to figure out why the hell there were two strangers with a woman in the woods. "What are they talking about?" he asked as quietly as he could.

Stay in this city and you'll be dead in the near future; I guarantee it.

Not cryptic at all. The dark-haired teen didn't dare breathe too loudly; he hugged the spear even more tightly and hoped that none of them had heard him talking to the hiding boy. They probably had, though, with his luck. Most likely.

But maybe that was why the cook found himself wandering around in the forest after dark rather than lying in his soft bed in the loft above Great-Aunt-Batty's inn. Perhaps he would have died there, whether by the hands of the "waitresses" he so feared above all else...or by whatever else this other man was talking about... The method of this "death" didn't matter. Ceri didn't want to die, not yet. He was too young, hadn't tasted as much life as he'd have hoped. Hadn't found and shared any real love (experimenting with kissing the busboy didn't count.) Come to think of it, Ceri hadn't had the chance to change himself into...something that wouldn't turn perfectly decent boys straight.

"I don't want to die," Ceri repeated, this time in a worried whisper rather than merely in his mind.