ENDLESS JOURNEYS (O/A)

[Nova Blancke]

Nova was about to start when they were interrupted. In that instance he was ready to strike out. Too many coincidences since he had started this journey. Or to be more specific. Since he met her. Still...they do happen. What surprised him was Trinity's naivety. In stead of being on her guard she helped the man. Nova had to admit he looked genuinely hurt but it was best not to trust anyone, anymore.

"Food won't be a problem. Neither will water. We are simply looking for something that should be here somewhere. An entrance of sorts. But perhaps it's not accessible from this cave."  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity was tempted to answer 'we're hiding from someone' but that would have only lead to more questions. Like who, or why, which would in turn lead to him connecting the dots to the wanted posters, 'Trinity the Titan Terror' and then she would have to run off or avoid her pursuers using shadow manipulation. She was certainly glad she didn't answer odds are it would lead to that conclusion no matter what she replied with. She adjusted her hood to conceal her face. Only her lips showed.  

[Sumeragi Sins]

PixelMuse

Nova Blancke

He was a little skeptical about Nova answering with what he said. Aishi thought on this for a moment.

"So, let me get this straight. You are looking for an entrance, but it can't be found in this cave. If that's the case, then why are you here in this cave if what you're looking for isn't here?" he asked, quite confused with what he said. He picked up the burning torch from the ground so the light was better and the flame didn't eat it's fuel out too quickly.

"I had the luxury of getting lost in here. And now, I'm adventuring. Maybe I can accompany the two of you on the quest to find the entrance not here in this cave?" he asked rather seriously, but with a smile on his face.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

The question reminded Alec of his older brothers. They reveled in the thrill of battle. He never enjoyed the blood lust the way they did. With them, the line between their humanity and the wolf within was almost invisible. They took care of their assigned fox-kin, yes, but they also waited with baited breath for someone to attack them.

"I'm not sure. He might be a bandit, or one of those -kin hunters we were told don't exist. All I know is that he thinks we're easy pickings he's got another thing coming."

With that, Alec knelt down and began to chant. It was a chant to gather the blessings of nature around him. It would empower his druid abilities, as well as grant his wolf forms claws the strength to clash with steel and not break.  

[Nova Blancke]

((ooc: sorry, think I missed that you replied. ))

"No, what I meant was that it should or could be around here. Mind you that it is something very old so I would not be surprised to see if it was destroyed. Still I hope to find it intact." Nova replied

"But very well, I am not one to turn away someone who is lost. You'll have to excuse my body guard and student. It is her job to be weary. Though she likes to add a little mystery to herself." Nova said with a smile. It was simple for him to change his entire demeanor to fool someone. The benefit of living many lives.

The man kneeled and placed his hand on the cold floor and pulse quickly traveled through out the tunnels. A few of them came back.

"It seems we have several exits here."  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity kept quiet as Aishi asked more questions. There are truly times when Nova could be charming and patient. Initially she was only going to do do enough to help him back on his feet but it seemed Nova okayed him to join them on their journey. She smiled at Nova's explanation and thought it rather fitting. "So where to boss?" She figured she'd play up the part.  

[ChaliceKing]

Kerana

Rikki Tikki Travi

Alec nodded before sniffing the air to see where the man was.
"His scent is becoming weaker. He was inside a moment ago, but I think he went back outside. He must have detected the trap we laid for him."

"Kay, we need to close what window shutters are still upstairs. He may try to scale one of the nearby trees to get up here from outside."

Kerana nodded then whispered a spell which allow a breeze to shut all the window shutters at once. She threw a small fireball that was enough for the ice to melt. The fox girl repeated a swirling motion allowing for the melted water to rise up and cover the ledges of what remained of the outer wall asking for a few more dew drops from the forest around them to ensure the wall on the outside was covered. When that was done she drop to her knees, too many spells, "I closed the shutters and covered them in ice. I'm not sure I can keep casting spells at this rate. Why does this guy want to fight us? Why does he want to hurt us?"

As he headed outside and started to scout another way inside, he circled the building looking for a way up and inside. He lost count on how many times he circled after the third time, but as he finally started to get a plan, he watched the window above him close shut. Damn! The runed blade pulsed in his hand and he grimaced in slight annoyance. It was growing impatient and it wanted to get to work. It didn't care who it got to work on, it's owner or it's owners enemies, but now that it was out of it's home, it was ready to be used.

"Not yet...a little patience please?" His tone was both authoritative and nervous as he spoke to it. He'd been on the receiving end before and it wasn't fun. He had to hurry. He scaled the building and tried the window only to find it sealed..cold to the touch. Ice probably. Alright, let's put you to work Alexa. He tossed his shredded cloak away in the wind, raised the runed blade and smashed it against the window, allowing a small wave of the true nature of the blade to echo in the air. He could hear their voices inside and smashed the blade against it again and again.

If they were as good as he thought they were, they would have felt the echoing waves emitted from Alexa. She was a very special blade...forged by a very evil man. She was crafted from pure nightmares and if she ever managed to cut someone, even the tiniest scratch, pain of both physical and mental nature would plague them. The worse the injuries inflicted, the worse the pain. "I can hear you both in there. There's no escape for either of you!"  

[Nova Blancke]

"I could not find it here. I think earthquakes and cave-ins have blocked the entrance from us. This mountain is big, huge even. On the other side we should be able to find the dragon-kin. Granted we have to climb but we should be able to find some answers there. " Nova explained.  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity bit her lip at the sound of 'dragon-kin' she has been lucky enough not to meet them in person but she had heard that they were rather ill tempered. "Dragon-kin? Are you sure about this boss? With their short tempers and all, that may be the last thing we want to run into." She had forgotten briefly that he mentioned that his wife was one. Though that doesn't mean all of the other dragon-kin would be as nice.  

[Nova Blancke]

"They are a race of pride and yes they do tend to...flare up. But I understand their culture. I studied that and their habits. I should be able to blend right in!" Nova replied as he made a gesture with his hand. If he was going to pretend to be another man then might as well do it right.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec had felt that. It filled him with a sense of dread he hadn't felt since he chased the fae that had taken Kerana's soul. It shook him to his core.

No, this man was dangerous. He wanted to hurt them. He wanted to hurt Kerana.

The winds around the building began to grow more intense. Alec was longer longer driven by his killer instinct alone. Now he was determined to protect Kerana. Not just because he was her guardian, there was always that, but because he loved her from the moment they were introduced to one another.

Zephyr stirred within Alec. The boy's desire to protect his beloved was strong enough to allow a level of connection the two and only skimmed the surface of. It wasn't perfect, not yet, but the wolf spirit thought this an enormous step in the right direction.

The sweeping winds began to circle around the building, focusing on Alec as the eye of the storm.

Alec exhaled slowly as he shifted forms. He wasn't the small wolf-kin he normally was. Neither was he at the peak of physicality that he experienced when Zephyr took over when Shara attacked. He was something in between.

"This is your final warning! Leave us be!" he shouted at the bandit.  

[ChaliceKing]

Rikki Tikki Travi

Alec had felt that. It filled him with a sense of dread he hadn't felt since he chased the fae that had taken Kerana's soul. It shook him to his core.

No, this man was dangerous. He wanted to hurt them. He wanted to hurt Kerana.

The winds around the building began to grow more intense. Alec was longer longer driven by his killer instinct alone. Now he was determined to protect Kerana. Not just because he was her guardian, there was always that, but because he loved her from the moment they were introduced to one another.

Zephyr stirred within Alec. The boy's desire to protect his beloved was strong enough to allow a level of connection the two and only skimmed the surface of. It wasn't perfect, not yet, but the wolf spirit thought this an enormous step in the right direction.

The sweeping winds began to circle around the building, focusing on Alec as the eye of the storm.

Alec exhaled slowly as he shifted forms. He wasn't the small wolf-kin he normally was. Neither was he at the peak of physicality that he experienced when Zephyr took over when Shara attacked. He was something in between.

"This is your final warning! Leave us be!" he shouted at the bandit.

He fully ignored the warning shouted at him and continued to bash against the ice feeling the slow degrade of the barrier and it giving way under his assault. Just a few more....With one final bash the ice separating him and the two inside was shattered and he burst inside, feeling the wind whip around his body. His eye immediately noticed the wolf, but he was definitely different. More powerful...more dangerous. What is this thing anyway?

As the ice fell to the ground around him, he stood facing the two. His stance was no longer one of casual brawling. He was entirely in the mental state of wanting to kill. He would never slack, never waste a move and perform t the best he could. "Whatever you are...you can't beat me kid. Step aside..and maybe you'll get off easy." He noticed the girl was exhausted. He would keep an eye on her, but he knew he didn't have much to fear from her right now. The main threat in the room was this wolf..or whatever he was.

He could sense that he had some of the same mentality Veran had. The urge to kill...it wasn't as strong, but it was there. Still, unless he fully let go and cared for nothing less than total bloodshed, there would probably be no way he could match up to Verans speed and skill. With a small push off the ground, he rushed the wolf, both blades flashing ready to strike at whatever opening there was available. Both his runed and ice blade longed to draw the mans blood.