Intertwining Souls (closed)

[JadeKnight]

This is a closed thread for La_Raina
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Lacross System, Planet Roanoke

Planet Roanoke had a dark history, and it seemed things were going to becoming dark once more. Hurling towards the planet was a two mile wide asteroid. However this was no ordinary asteroid. Traveling at a fixed distance like a hardened barrier three miles in front of the asteroid was a series of fifteen large squares made of materials unknown to the current part of the galaxy. The squares shifted constantly in a large square, protecting the asteroid from space debris and were made of multiple layers of materials.

The interaction between the squares and the planet's atmosphere was a sight to behold. As the heat burned away at the strange barrier, the entire sky around the planet was turned into a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors. The display lasted for several minutes before they barrier burned away, leaving the asteroid fully intact to reach it's final impact point. The impact point was on the largest continent of Brovince, creating a crater ten miles wide. The area was completely flattened, destroying all vegetation, wildlife, and anything else caught within the area, including a large portion of the continent's main seaport. A shock-wave was sent out for thirty miles, flattening and destroying even more. Once the dust settled, a strange wave of darkness began to slowly emanate from the asteroid itself.

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The kingdom Island of Io.

It was the same dream again. The same one he had every full moon. Standing on the surface of some lake was a young woman, completely nude. He wasn't able to tell many details about her, as he could only see her from behind. The dream was in shades of grey, making things even harder for him to figure out who the strange, yet beautiful woman was. She had hair down to the middle of her back in long flowing tresses. It always took her several moments to even notice that he was there, her concentration on the full moon. She would slowly turn towards him, the moonlight playing on her soft skin. She only turned partway, revealing the side of her supple breasts. Her lips moved slowly for a moment as she held a hand out towards him.

"Thank you...."

The dream broke up only a few seconds later.

Senji gasped as he woke up, unknowing that the wonderful display in the sky had occurred. It was a cloudless night, giving him a view of the stars and full moon. The wind was cool against his face as he blinked sleep from his eyes.

It took a few moments for several things to register in his mind that things were not how they should have been. First, he was staring at the night sky when it should have been the ceiling of his bedroom. Second he was unable to lift his hands up to rub the sleep from his eyes. In fact, as he looked down along his body, it seemed that he had currently been tied up rather nicely and left out in the middle of the forest. He had been dressed in his blue dragon-scale armor, along with more of his things laying nearby.

"Great, now what?"

A small chirp from nearby caught his attention, from a dark object in the shadow of a nearby tree. It hopped and gliding over towards him, revealing itself to be Shell, his small blue dragon companion. She chirped and tilted her head as she perched on the tip of his boots as she looked at him.

"Good to see you're still here girl. Mind helping out a little?"

Her golden eyes whirled for a moment and then she released a gout of flames, burning the ropes. He yelped for a moment at the heat, quickly tossing the burning strands away.

"Ow. That hurts you know, but thanks."

He smiled for a moment as he blew on his fingertips to cool them off.

 

[La_Reina]

Sula was the captain on the ship Galaxy. She was so happy. She had beat out the other captains for the spot of 1st Captain to go where no Asturian had gone before. They were going to see what was in the black space and if she was lucky find another species and befriend them. Sula got into her hyper-chamber chair and waved goodnight to her crew. They will awake in a few weeks and start their exploration at the edge of their solar system.

Sula was awoken to a screeching alarm. She tried to press the eject button on her chamber, but it remained close. "Sorry Captain, but their is little oxygen and you must stay here to receive the required amount to keep you alive," said the computer.

"What's going on? What happened?"

"We went through a region of space having a gravitational field that no matter or radiation can escape. Somehow we have come out the other side, but not all of the ship. We are missing a good part of it."

"What about the crew."

"All here."

Sula relaxed. "Good."

"And dying."

"What?!"

"There is not enough oxygen for you all. I have to conserve it."

"Will we live."

"No."

Sula grew solemn. She wiped at her chambers and saw most of her crew were sleeping, but a few were pounding on the glass. Sula blew on the glass and started writing backwards in the glass. Stay calm. We're having a malfunction. Everything will be okay. We're crash landing.

"How long do we have til we're all dead."

"You won't die, captain."

"You said we're dying."

"They're dying captain. My main function is to ensure your survival not theirs."

It dawned on Sula what was happening. "Spread the oxygen so that as most of us can survive."

"Negative captain. There's not enough. I'm pulling all the oxygen from the others to ensure you can breathe."

Sula stopped talking as she looked out. Her crew weren't sleeping. They're chests weren't moving. Her eyes widened in horror. She saw a few of her crew stop pounding and grab at their throats or just go limp and weak.

"NO. Stop. That's a command. Give them air!"

"Negative captain. Brace for impact!"

Sula couldn't brace. She had nothing to hold onto. She was flown onto the glass and hit her head. She was knocked out cold, but not before she saw her last crew member die.

http://www.musecube.com/mikestylesphotos/171015/171015-1255312-large.jpg

 

[JadeKnight]

Senji yawned as he stood up, still feeling a little tired. Things were not looking up for this morning, waking up in the forest with no clue where he was at the moment. He smiled for a moment when he noticed his backpack and sword laying a few feet away. At least whoever had put him out here had been kind enough to leave supplies for him.

He strapped his sword on his back and rummaged through his backpack for a few moments. He had a few healing potions, magic potions, a bag of coins, and a letter. He was about to grab the letter when he heard Shell chirping excitedly.

"What is it girl?"

He looked at her where she had perched on a tree branch. She chirped more and pointed towards the sky with a claw. He frowned as he looked up in the direction she was pointing, but didn't see anything yet. It was several moments before a bright ball of fire appeared in the sky, heading in their direction.

"What in the world..."

He continued to watch it as it got bigger and bigger. He wanted to move, or get out of the way as the object soon became apparent to be some sort of flying vessal. For some reason he just stood there, watching it flying overhead. He wasn't able to make out any sort of details, due to the darkness, as well as the fire that had burst out around the hull.

He continued to watch it as it zoomed past, the sound deafening. He didn't see, but he could hear the crash as the ship crashed through the forest. He shook himself out of the frozen state and pulled on his backpack quick.

"Let's go Shell, there might be survivors."

The little dragon chirped in agreement and flew off after Senji. They arrived at the crash site a few minutes later, picking their way through the debris field. The ship looked like it got split in two when it crashed into an ancient tree, fluids, equipment and bodies fallen on the ground.

"Man, what a mess..."

Senji frowned as he moved closer, examining each of the bodies. He wasn't a healer, but he knew enough to see if any of them were breathing. HE had just reached Sula where he heard a strange voice crackling from within the wreck.

"Five minutes...ill..destruct.."

"Damn, we better better moving."

He frowned for a moment and then knelt down by Sula. He picked up a blade of grass and head it beneath her nose. He gave a little smile when he saw the grass moving from her breathing and tossed it aside. He carefully lifted her up in his arms and looked towards Shell.

"Can you smell water?"

Shell lifted her snout in the air for a moment, sniffing. She chirped happily and flew off into the forest. Cradling Sula carefully, Senji followed the little dragon to a small waterfall clearing. He had just laid Sula down on a soft patch of grass when her ship exploded in the distance.

 

[La_Reina]

Sula woke up laying on the softest grass she had ever felt in her life. She knew it was grass, but the earthy smell of it all and the pretty green with a slight gold color. Sula frowned. Grass didn't have a gold tint to it. Suddenly it all came back, the exploration, the crew dying, her ship! Sula sat up and immediately grabbed her head. She shouldn't have sat up so quickly. She should have smelt fire and wreckage not the sweet smell of nature. The wind blew her hair and she quickly twirled it into a bun and secured the end so that, unless she whipped her head around, would keep her hair high and off her head.

The sound of water instantly made her throat dry and she slowly looked over to see a beautiful waterfall. Sula crawled over to it and bent over the water taking huge gulps of the most tasteful water she had ever tasted. Back home water was all radiated. She had a radiation shot that should last her another few months so she wasn't worried about drinking this water, but she didn't have to be worried anyways. This water was pure, clean, and she knew that this wasn't home and an invaluable asset to her planet. Sula drank some more until her belly was full of the stuff.

There was a chirp behind her and Sula looked over her shoulder to see a monster. Sula gave a small scream and tried to crawl away from it ending up splashing in the water. The thing came closer. "Dragon. You're a dragon. Oh gawd those things are myths. Not real. Okay, Sula, obviously you're hallucinating."

There was a sound and she turned to a man who ... was breathtaking. He was speaking, but Sula understood nothing. She rubbed her ear grateful that her language implantation device was still there and working. She turned it on and the device went through all languages known to her race before finally being able to translate what he saying. Unfortunately, she caught the tail end and she could only stare at him in confusion.

"What happened to my ship," Sula asked. Her chip automatically translating her vocal cords to form the necessary sounds so that the man would understand her. In short making her speak his language without any conscious effort on her part. "Where am I?"

 

[JadeKnight]

She was still out after he laid her down on the grass, so Senji shrugged off his backpack beneath the tree Shell had perched in. He watched Sula every now and then, shuffled through his stuff. He hmmed softly for a moment as he pulled out a small letter addressed to him. It was probably important, but not quite as important as what he was dealing with at the moment.

He leaned back against a tree as he watched over the strange woman for several more minutes. He smiled for a moment as she suddenly jerked awake, sitting up from the grass. He was curious about her, watching her carefully. He stayed quiet as she drank the cool water, Shell flying over towards her to examine her.

The little dragon chirped, catching her attention. She flew a little closer for a moment. Senji chuckled for a moment.

"Shell isn't a myth lady."

He smiled as Sula looked back at him. She was more beautiful awake. He felt she seemed familiar, but he didn't think he knew her. He pointed towards a large plume of smoke that was raising up in the distance.

"If you are taking about that ship I pulled you from, it isn't anything but scrap now. You were the only one I managed to find alive."

He paused for a moment and then took a bow.

"My name is Senji Komadi. And that little dragon is Shell."

Shell chirped in agreement and perched on a rock near the waterfall.

 

[La_Reina]

Sula followed his finger to see a black darkening the sky. Her face fell. Her crew was gone and she was on some strange planet. Her first voyage into the unknown was a complete failure. She had to get back to that ship and see if there was anything she could salvage or find to communicate back home.

Sula heard him speak and she turned in time to see him bow. "What about my other question. Where am I? Or better yet what planet is this? What solar system?" Maybe Sula could figure out how far they had come. Hell, maybe it wasn't even that far and she could find her way home.

Sula stood up and dhadn't offered her own name lost in thought she was. She waited for his answers and when they weren't coming fast enough she signaled for him to keep talking even as she was walking away from him heading towards the smoke. She had to get to her ship.

 

[JadeKnight]

Senji watched Sula walk away towards the crashed ship, asking a series of questions of him. He shook his head softly for a moment, wondering exactly what he got himself into. Seeing that she was wanting to head back to the ship, he pulled his backpack on and followed after her. He kept one hand on his sword, ready in case of danger.

"Easy there miss. It's not as if the ship is going to fly away."

He chuckled soflty for a moment as he moved to catch up with her. Shell flew in a lazy circle above there, keeping an eye out for danger.

"As far where you are, we're in the Kingdom of Io..on the planet of Roanoke. I really couldn't tell you anything about our solar system. I would have to try and do a little research on that, but the closest library is....Heh, I'm not even sure where in the kingdom we are at the moment."

He sighed for a moment, looking at the brightening sky for a moment. He looked back down towards her as they arrived at the crash site in a very short time.

 

[La_Reina]

Sula stopped and looked at the man as though he was the stupidest thing she had ever seen. "You do not know what solar system you live in? Do they not teach that sort of thing to the children on your planet?" Sula shook her head believing she had been rescued by a simpleton when he astounded her once more. "You don't know where we are in the kingdom...on your home land?" Sula would have cursed, but she knew her translator would translate the words and she didn't want to embarrass or make a stupid man feel stupider.

"Well thank you," Sula said slowly. "I will find my own way around. You have been very helpful." She continued speaking to him in slow even tones. She made sure her hands were where he could see them and were open and up. A sign of no danger from her. "You have a good day now.

Sula walked off looking at the burning wreckage of her ship. She sighed seeing there was slim to little left of it and she had to turn away when she saw anything that resembled a skeleton. She failed them all. She didn't know what had caused the breach in their system, but her job was to keep them safe. She had failed that. Her job was to explore the unknown. She had failed that. Well, she was in an unknown. She could still do her mission and maybe at the same time figure a way back home.

Sula stood up. She had a goal now; a mission to complete. She turned in a wide circle and in the distance she thought she could make out a tower. That's where she would go. Sula went once more through the wreckage looking for anything she could have missed, but found nothing. She had nothing, no weapons, no pictures, nothing except what was on her. Which was, a quick inventory revealed: undershirt, over shirt, pants (under garments), translator embedded in her, two gold rings, and a recorder in her pocket. It wasn't much. Sula picked up the recorder and started speaking into it describing everything that happened as she walked towards the tower in the distance.

 

[JadeKnight]

Her comments really didn't make him feel stupid about not knowing the information she was asking about. He just shook his head for a moment as he watched her, a few feet from the wreckage. Shell hovered over head, chirping softly.

Things were just getting better for him. He woke up in the middle of the forest, tied up like a wild animal, but had been given enough supplies for fives days at most. The only person he knew was crazy enough to do such a thing was his old man. And now he had this strange woman wandering around in the forest, and her demeanor was trying to tell him she was a lot better than he was. He sighed softly as her watched her walk away from him.

He frowned as he noticed the tower in the distance, the same one she was walking towards. Since she seemed to be out of earshot, he glanced up at Shell for a moment.

"Not good...But at least we know where Dad dropped me off at. Plus I still have some unanswered questions for her. Come on."

Shell chirped in agreement as the two of them ran off after her. He had almost caught up with Sula when he heard growling behind them. He drew his sword as a pair of large grey wolves burst out from the bushes, one heading for him, the second going after Sula.

"Look out!"

He brought his sword up and blocked the wolf's attack, slobber flying over his breastplate. Shell flew after the second wolf in attempt to head it off.

 

[La_Reina]

Sula was still speaking into the recorder describing everything around her even the weird color of the grass and plants. Though she had to admit the flowers were pretty and the landscape was very beautiful indeed. Hell, if she wasn't on a mission she would have stopped and enjoyed the view. She wanted to smell the different flowers, but wasn't sure if any were poisonous and the guy who found her wouldn't be much help. She had to find help; real help.

She was just stating such when she heard a cry behind her. She turned around and saw a large grey wolf coming at her. These weren't like the wolves back home. These were large and big as hell. Sula didn't have a weapon. She did the only thing she could. She ran. She didn't scream, just turned, and took off. She could tell right away the wolf was faster than her. She put her head down and willed her feet to move faster. A sharp shrill for some reason made her plant a foot and make a sharp left turn. She continued running. Glancing behind her she saw the wolf had jumped and when she turned when tumbling past her.

Sula glanced at Senji and saw he was fighting the wolf. So he was a warrior. Something akin to a dumb jock probably. Well her best bet was to help him and they both could fight off first one wolf than the other, but what could she do? Sula looked down and saw a rock, she picked it up and threw it at Senji's wolf. It hit the wolf in the nose who snorted and shook his head before looking at Sula. "Uh oh!"

Something slammed into the back of Sula. She had momentarily forgotten about the wolf chasing her and it's momentum rolled it over her. Sula felt like she had the wind knocked out of her. She got up and took off again this time the wolf was closer and growling. If wolves could talk she was sure it would be telling her he was angry and couldn't wait to feast on her bones.

 

[JadeKnight]

Senji blinked for a moment when he saw the rock hit the wolf's nose for a moment. He glanced over at her and shook his head for a moment. He watched the wolf for a moment as it focused on Sula for the time being.He twirled his sword in one hand for a moment before focusing on the wolf.

"Moon slice!"

A bright blue projectile in the shape of a crescent moon shot from the sword as he swung it in a wide arc. It flew towards the wolf as it crouched down to leap at Senji, slicing through the wolf before disappearing. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment before the wolf slid apart into several pieces in a pile, it's insides splattering on the ground.

Shell flew in close as the second one knocked over Sula. She chirped for a moment as she watched the wolf and Sula. As Sula turned to run, the little dragon took it's chance to attack. She may have been small, but she was still able to hold her own in a fight. She opened her mouth and released two fireballs, hitting the wolf in the back of it's head. The wolf yelped at the heat as it's fur caught on fire. Shell dive-bombed the wolf, bowling it over. The little dragon clawed and bit at the wolf's underbelly as it tried to roll over, yelping and growling. Shell managed to claw at the wolf's throat, spilling it's life blood.

Senji ran over as Shell finished the kill, calling to Sula.

"Are you ok miss? It's not safe for anyone to go around unarmed in these woods."

 

[La_Reina]

Sula was still on the ground, but sitting up crossed legged as she stared at Senji, his little dragon friend, and back again. She wasn't sure what she was seeing, but swords don't spit things at things. Sula wanted to lay back on her back, but she knew it was scratched up and hurting. But at the moment it didn't hurt so bad. Not as bad as her head which was trying to make sense of everything she had just witnessed.

"Okay? Me? Yes. Wait. No. I mean no." Sula let Senji help her to her feet. "Safe no. No." Sula was staring at Senji's sword. It looked so normal. It was normal, but she could have sworn she saw something come from it. Magic? No. There's no such thing.

"I'm .. I'm Sula." It was odd, but the only thing that seemed to make sense to her to say. "My back hurts." Sula turned to Senji could see it. It was bleeding profusely, her back was shredded, and it was a miracle she was walking and moving.

 

[JadeKnight]

Senji held his bloody side to the side as he helped Sula up carefully with his other hand. He enjoyed the feel of her soft skin against his, but he didn't show any sign of disappointment when she let go.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sula."

He frowned for a moment as he looked over her bleeding back. It didn't look life-threatening to him, but then he wasn't a doctor. He reached back and pulled a small bottle of red liquid from a side pocket, holding it out to her.

"I'm not sure what sort of medicine you are used to, but this should take care of those wounds."

He pulled out a small cloth after she took the potion, using it to clean his sword before sheathing it. He pulled out a knife and knelt beside the wolf that Shell had killed, talking as he began to skin the wolf.

"I'm sure things are a little complicated for you right now, but I don't mind helping you out. I'm pretty much on my own as well at the moment. I know where we at, now. However the closet town is three days travel on foot from where we are."

 

[La_Reina]

Sula laughed. "Pleasures all mine." It was a common phrase on her planet, but right now it seemed almost ridiculous. The pleasantries after an attack like that. Than again Sula could be going hysterical. Her emotions were running high and everywhere. Sula took the liquid and held it not sure what it was or what he wanted from her.

"Medicine," Sula looked at the bottle. She watched him clean his sword and then ... skin the wolf. Sula had to look away. She wasn't used to such ... barbarics. He spoke and Sula tried to concentrate on the trees instead of his knife and that sickening tearing sound.

"Uh, yes, okay. I would like that. Sticking together. Til we reach the town. Yes." Sula still held the bottle. She had it clutched in her hands between her bosom holding onto it like it was life itself. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to drink it or pour it on her back or say some sort of magic word to make it do something. This place was crazy and she felt as though she was going crazy with it.

 

[JadeKnight]

He glanced over at her for a moment as he continuing to finish the last cuts of removing the hide from the body. He gave a little chuckle for a moment at the sight of her cradling the potion in her hands.

"I don't mean to be rude, as I am not really sure how medicine works from where you are from. Our healing potions and mana potions tend to work best when drank."

He smiled to her for a moment before laying out the hide, fur side down. This was the first time of cleaning a hide by himself, and he wasn't sure if his pack had been included with something like salt to cure the skin with. He sighed not finding anything in the pack, so he just rolled the skin up as best as he could, tying it closed with some leather strips.

"This thing might smell in a little while, but that should go away once I can get it cleaned well. It will probably get a decent price when we get to town."

He tied the skin to the outside of his pack and pulled it on, standing up.

"Are you ladies ready to head out?"

Shell chirped eagerly, a little blood on her claws from gorging herself on the other dead wolf. She licked her claws clean before hovering in the air a few feet from them.

 

[La_Reina]

"You're .. mana ...what?" Sula stared at the bottle almost forgetting she had been holding it. He wanted her to drink it. Sula gulped loudly before taking off the cap. There wasn't any real smell when she sniffed it. She took a small sip and felt cold fire spread through her body. She gasped and then felt an odd tingling feeling in her back. She tried to look backwards and could barely see some of her wounds stop bleeding. Sula drained the bottle. The fire brought her to her knees shaking. The coldness had her shivering, but the fire had her moaning in pain. She felt her every injury she ever sustained fixing itself. It was odd to feel pieces of your flesh move on their own and then stitch themselves. To feel old injuries that hurt shift slightly and suddenly no pain. It was odd and good and weird and bad. It was so many things.

Sula wanted a bed badly now. She couldn't think so she took this extra overload of information and stuffed it away. She got to her feet and tried to smile at Senji. He was rolling up the skin and Sula almost forgot what he was doing while she had been healing. "Oh. So this is like a trade country. Like an old timey thing, but ..." Sula held the bottle staring at it. "But advanced at the same time. Interesting."

"Ladies," Sula asked while her eyes stared at the dragon. The blood made Sula queasy and she glanced away. "Can that thing actually understand you? I mean I get it understands some commands like sit, stay, attack, but actual full length sentences?"

Sula walked beside Senji letting him lead the way.

 

[JadeKnight]

Senji blinked for a moment at her questions about Shell, and then laughed.

"You make her sound like some sort of pet. Shell's nothing like that."

She chirped and perched on his left shoulder lightly, cleaning the blood from her claws. Once she was done, she flitted off of him, flying ahead of them.

"No, she is a real livng dragon. I'm not certain how old she really is, but she's been with me as a companion for about ten years now. I was about twelve when I foundt her with a broken wing near a cliff that was near my house. I nursed her back to full health and she's been by my side since. Though they have moved further away from humans, dragons are very intelligent. Most of the adults can talk and command magic, but Shell hasn't developed those skills yet. She seems to understand everyone quite well actually."

He looked over at Sula for a few moments, studying her before looking back at the forest. Though the forest was thick, he had a geneally sense of which way to go. He had told her that they were three days from town, but that might take a little longer through the dense brush.

"I'm sure everything is confusing right now, but I'll try my best to help."

 

[La_Reina]

Sula didn't share in his laughter. That thing was a pet, right? She didn't understand when he insisted the dragon wasn't a pet. He tried to explain, but her mind just couldn't comprehend it. Most of the adults can what... talk? Sula couldn't get past that line. She was in thought as they walked over that part. Dragons were a big one to take in. If she wasn't constantly looking at one she would have believed it was all made up or her imagination or her mind snapping. Than the 'dragons can talk' bit kinda blew her mind.

After awhile Sula had to push that away for further pondering later. "Uh, yeah. Help. Cool." Sula was looking around. The buildings seem close, but as they walked it seemed they never got any closer. Was this going to be longer than a few hours? "How long will it take us to get to the city, town, whatever?"

Sula heard her stomach growl. It was loud and she placed her hands over her stomach in embarrassment. "Will it be soon? I really must find food, water, and shelter."

 

[JadeKnight]

He had a feeling that things were going to get more complicated before they got better. He felt he could have thought worse of her, but he figured that he probably would have acted pretty much the same way if he had been stranded on an unknown planet too. He blinked when she started asking how far they still had to go, even though he had mentioned it earlier. He glanced towards her with a little smile.

"Well, we still have two or three days of travel, by my guess. I've not really been this far west of the capital before. The Demon's Tower isn't exactly a hotspot for people to travel. Plenty of nasties in there that I wouldn't want to meet right now."

He chuckled softly for a moment when he heard her stomach growl and she started to complain. He reached back into a sidepocket and pulled out a large chunk of jerky, handing it to her.

"Eat this for now. It won't fill you up, but it should keep you till we find a place to rest. I won't push you any further than you can go."

A short time later found them back at the waterfall that he had brought her to before. He dropped his backpack down against a stump before pulling his breastplate off, laying that aside as well. He was left in a pair of blue jeans, blue undershirt, and his combat boots. It was easy to tell he worked out regularly, but he wasn't overly muscular.

"Feel free to take a bathe, rest, and whatever you would like to do. I have a tent and more food, but it will take me a few minutes to get things setup."

Shell swooped down and perched herself on a rock near the waterfall, getting a bath.

 

[La_Reina]

"2 or 3 days," Sula glanced at the buildings then around her. "In the woods. With those beasts? That could kill us?" Sula wasn't liking this information and she was having problems not to go hysterical. She was having a bad day and it was getting worse and worse. She hadn't heard him say how long it would take them before. She blinked trying to hold back the tears. She easily tuned out the "Demon's Tower" bit. She was NOT going to ask what that was or why it was called that or anything.

The smell of meat hit her nose before his words hit her ears. She gingerly took the meal. "Thank you." She meant for the meal and not pushing her too far. Hell, she really wanted to sleep. It seemed he read her mind when they were at another waterfall, she didn't realize it was the same or she probably would have lost her shit. Why did they go back? And was telling her she could rest. It seemed they were going to be setting up camp.

Sula smiled her thanks and was walking towards the water when she realized there was no privacy. She couldn't take a bath here, but she needed to bathe and wash her only pair of clothing. She glanced at Senji who wasn't paying attention nor seemed to take the hint. "Uh, do you need to go out into the woods to find ... uh firewood or something? I can take a bath while you do that. Just let me know how long you'll be, okay?"

 

[JadeKnight]

He looked around for a moment, lost in thought for a moment. It took a moment to realize that she was speaking to him about taking a bath. HE really wasn't used to spending much time like this with females, so the thought of her privacy escaped him a little.

"Oh sure. I'll try not to be long then. If you need anything, Shell will stay here. She can get me if you need anything else."

He really hadn't planned on staying in this stop for long, mostly just to grab some food and let her take a nap. He dropped off his backpack near a tree, pulling an envelope from it when she turned around from him.

"I'll try not to be long."

When he was out of sight from her, he sat down on a stump. He carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a letter from his dad.

Dear Son,
I decided to boot you out of the house. It is time for you to strike out on your own and become a man. Al you ever did when you were home was sleep, eat, and practice your sword-fighting. You will not be allowed back until you make a man of yourself.
Jospeh

"Such a kick in the teeth. Ah well."

He pulled out a match and lit it, lighting the paper on fire. He watched it burn, letting the ashes fly away on a slight breeze. He sighed softly and closed his eyes as he listened to the forest sounds.

 

[La_Reina]

Sula nodded at his words. He wasn't gone for 2 seconds before she was peeling off her uniform and slipping into the water. She leaned her head back washing away the blood and the dirt and the stress and she could go on and on. She heard the chirp of the dragon and she opened her eyes to see Shell staring at her. For some reason she had the urge to cover her breasts that were just above the water, but stopped herself. It was a dragon. Just a dragon. That thought was crazy enough.

Sula bent her knees and let the water cover her head. She had been a swimming champ for a 10 years running and could hold her breath sometimes to the point where other people began to get worried. Right now she was going for the record. She could feel her heart starting to speed up frantically then slow down. She felt her limbs get heavy and she fought the natural urge of her body to fight for breath. She couldn't stop the small twitches in her body as she fought to stay under water.

Suddenly a sharp pull of her hair had her standing up screaming, "ow!" Sula was starting at Shell who had her hair in it's claws pulling up. "What the hell are you doing?" Sula demanded. She didn't really expect the creature to speak or anything. "I was just ..." Sula didn't know how to explain, but she ripped her hair from the creatures claws. "I wasn't going to die. I'm not trying to kill myself," Sula was now talking more to herself than to the pet. Sula could not get past that smart-dragon thing.

As Shell flew above her Sula began scrabbing at her arms and back. Now that her body was being invigorated with with the bath she felt her stomach give another tug. The jerky wasn't enough and she was hungry again.

 

[JadeKnight]

When he felt that enough time had passed, he made his way back to the camp. As he got in sight of the waterfall, he took in several things. Sula's clothes were piled near the edge of the water. A few large rocks obscured his view of the bottom of the waterfall for several feet, and he couldn't see her anywhere away from the rocks. He saw Shell circling above the rocks, and he placed his finger against his lips to keep her from calling attention to himself.

He had the urge to peek at her, but he had better manners than that. He quietly moved to his backpack that he had placed beneath the tree. First to come off was his sleeping bag, which he laid out five feet from the tree. Then he pulled out a towel, a bandana, and a couple of apples he foundt stashed in it. He placed the towel at the foot of the sleeping bag with the apples on top.

He sat down beneath the tree, pulling off his sword belt and laying it within arms reach. He pulled his armor off, laying it aside. Next was his metal greaves, socks, and chainmail shirt, all of which set beside his sword. This left him in a t-shirt and well worn blue jeans. He folded the bandana up into a strip and tied it over his eyes before leaning back against the tree with his hands clasped behind his head.

He stayed like that quietly until he heard Shell chirp and a soft gasp from Sula. He chuckled softly for a moment.

"No need to worry miss, I can't see anything. Sorry to frighten you, but I couldn't find any suitable wood. I did lay out a towel for you by the sleeping bag. And feel free to take a nap on the sleeping bag as well. Once you're rested, we can get moving again."

 

[La_Reina]

Sula knew she had spent way too much time in the water. It was just so peaceful and she found she had lost herself in fantasy. She had imagined herself a young maiden swimming in the lake which she had changed to a young mermaid, and decided on a young siren. She had been humming to herself and pretending that Shell was her friend. Not a pet. A friend that understood her and helped her get spying men or that one man of her dream. Well, that thought led to who was the man of her dreams? What would he be like?

Sula was lost in thought as she climbed out of the water. What would the man of her dreams look like? Sula's eyes landed on Senji leaning against a tree. She gasped seeing him there and wondering how long he had been there. He must have sensed her as he spoke and she couldn't help smiling. He had blinded himself. Sula stepped closer letting the hot sun dry her. She waved her hand in his face and he didn't move. Could he truly not see her?

Feeling brazen she began posing. First she pressed her breasts out towards him, than her bum and made sexy faces. It was so freeing and naughty and just like a Siren. She laughed and picked up the towel. "Thank you." She hurried to finish drying what the sun had missed and put on her clothes. She laid down on the sleeping back eyeing the apples.

"I'm decent. You can take the blindfold off. Thank you for not taking advantage of the situation, Senji. You're a true gentleman."

 

[JadeKnight]

He chuckled softly when he did hear her speak.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a true gentleman, but I was raised with enough sense on how to act around ladies."

He sighed for a moment as he pulled off the blindfold and tossed it on top of his backpack.

"My dad raised me well enough I think."

He looked over at her for a moment with a smile before getting up. He pulled out a small mushroom, tossing it into the air. Shell chirped as she swooped to catch it from the air and then perched on top of his pack, enjoying the mushroom. He walked to the water's edge for a moment, peering at the clear water.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to get clean."

He sighed for a moment, looking up at the clouds in the sky. He tilted his head for a moment, catching a strange cascade of colors along the bottom of the clouds before it disappeared. He shook his head for a moment before he pulled off his shirt and laid it on the rocks. As his back was exposed, four diagonal scars were visible against his skin, much like a claw strike. However he didn't move anymore, seeming to become lost in thought.