Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gio kept silent for a while as Rigo and this new ranger guided him to somewhere safe from the approaching storm. As he walked, he kept his eyes downcast, thinking about the things the woman had been saying. She really did want to kill them. Why? He had never done anything to her, and yet in the blink of an eye she was at their throats. He wanted to know why. He would occasionally glance back at her, to where she was following several feet behind them.

He had a feeling he already knew part of it. The rage in her eyes spoke volumes. Her eyes shined with the kind of malice that came only from losing what you held dearest. Gio knew that for him, that had been his family, though he was fortunate to still have Rigo with him. Maybe she had lost everything. Loss immeasurable is one of the only things that can cause a deep hatred like hers.

Gio stopped in mid-step, brushing himself out from under his brother's protective arm. Before either Rigo or the ranger could object, Gio turned around and walked straight up to the woman he had risked his life for, and would willingly do so again. He wrapped his brown cloak around him tightly to guard against the harsh winds that were ever-growing around them. The storm would hold off for enough time for him to speak, he knew it would. He stopped just five feet away from her and said, "I think I know how you feel. I don't know why it's directed at me, at us.... but I know what it means to feel loss."

A small part of his old personality was shining through. In any other case he would have been quivering with fear from the woman's very presence, but here he was, inches away from someone with every intention of snapping his neck on a whim, and he wasn't even phased. He just.... he felt that he wouldn't die. That she may hurt him, but she wouldn't kill him. He had a feeling that she had a lot of questions that he and his brother would have some answers to.

"I lost my entire family, except for my brother, two years ago. I was right there, but I didn't even have the courage to remember what happened. When the assassin struck at our manor, during my brother's ceremony, I went blank, and can't remember what happened. There's just a gap in my memory. The next thing I know, all the people I loved were dead all around me, and I was washed in their blood from the carnage. My brother had protected me, but he didn't reach his power in time to help everyone else," Gio explained solemnly, tears forming in his stony eyes. "I... no, we can understand the pain of loss. I saw, but didn't have the strength to remember and honor the deaths of my family around me, and my brother, he had the power to protect them, but couldn't reach it in time to protect them.... We have lived with this guilt for two long years, and will for the rest of our lives."

He raised his eyes to look straight into her bright, sapphire gaze, "So please, please trust us enough to talk. Please trust us enough to let us understand your pain. Maybe we can help you, and maybe you can help us."

Jolyre kept a light, but steeled pace behind the ranger and the Dragoni brothers. Her mind was a tsunami of rage and waves of agony would lap against the sides of her skull. Why couldn't she kill them? Because the enigma said not to; just not in so many words. And as much as Jolyre hated the entity that appeared, she couldn't bring herself to stray far from its words, like it was pulling to her. she brooded heavily on this.
Until the rag doll boy approached her for some godless reason. Did the boy want to die? She didn't mind to oblige him. Or was he simply a fool?
His story spilled out. The assassin, which she could only come to understand as her father, the whole Dragoni family wiped out and it surely wasn't done by Lord Alexei Aegis whose regal Angeal cadaver was just as dead as the Nero Angeals. How had this piteous boy even survived? What had made the older boy even choose this one to save? Jolyre hated stupid decisions. Like helping strangers fight mantis monsters.
"So please, please trust us enough to talk. Please trust us enough to let us understand your pain. Maybe we can help you, and maybe you can help us."
"Trust you." she repeated slowly, as if trying out the words for the first time. She laughed. "Trust you? Trust the boy and his brother who murdered all I had left?" Her eyes glistened ferociously. "I'd just as soon slit my own throat than trust you, Dragoni boy." she snapped.
"I've hunted dead leads and close encounters for two years. I have been looking for you...for...two...years." menacing whispers contorted her voice which was usually like the clear, low notes on wind chimes.
"I'll listen to your testimony. Your alibi." she sneered. "And even if it proves to be made of steel and true as the sun, you will still only be the brothers who murdered my father. And left me as an Angeal warrior with nothing to live for but a life of revenge and even less to lose."

Seeing that he had indeed incited retaliation from his foes, Suri hunched behind his makeshift barrier, meticulously digging into the innards of the ship's outer wiring. Finding the main conduit he was searching for, he grasped it in one hand. With his right arm buried in wiring and metal up to his shoulder nearly, the orange glow resurfaced in his chest as he began to absorb the ship's power supply. "Let's see if I can rock the boat a little." Suri said jovially, but with a wicked smile. Small beams and bullets ricocheted off the upturned metal as the Blackhand members fruitlessly tried to shoot down their target.

"YOU FOOLS! He's dithering behind cover which means we're invincible! Get yourselves on that mooring line and board his ship!" the thuggish Blackhand leader bellowed to his minions. Several gave him a wide-eyed 'are you serious?' look to which he responded only by leveling his weapon at them and raising an eyebrow. Two of the bravest henchman complied, while the other three hastily volunteered to provide 'cover fire'. The only cover fire the gristled leader cared for was the one his single-shot beam-rifle was going to provide. The second his lackeys lured that hulking cyborg out from cover he was going to nail him in the brain and take his precious Crystal for himself. With that kind of power, he'd be unstoppable, a valuable asset to the Blackhand business, which meant a lofty position in the ranks. He smiled devilishly as he readied his weapon on the railing of the ship and waited for his mark to appear, his own cybertronic eye zooming in to get a better sight in the dusty air.

Suri felt that he had taken in far more than enough, enough to worry him that he'd sucked his own vessel dry, but the sensation that went along with absorbing a large amount of energy somewhat dulled his senses momentarily. Chuckling like a drunken idiot, he peeked out from his cover and ducked back to barely avoid a concentrated blast that would have sheared his head from his shoulders. "...Not a problem...." Suri said as he rolled to the opposite side of the cover and stuck his arm out, palm facing toward the other ship, and released his own concentrated blast of energy. Judging from the frustrated yells and streams of curses, it looked like he had achieved his desired effect. He had temporarily blinded them, just long enough to get rid of them.

Knowing the effect of his Blinding-Blast, Suri almost casually walked out from his cover, standing tall and with a goofy smile plastered on his face. He didn't spare a glance toward his opponents as he gripped the mooring line and anchor with both hands and breathed deeply, anticipating the draining sensation that came with releasing ALOT of energy. What he didn't notice were the two assailants hanging from the line and nearing his ship. The large doors of his chest shifted open slightly to release any excess buildup and an intense orange light flared outward through his thin vest. "HEADS UP!" he yelled hysterically as both arms radiated an absolutely powerful glow. A deep thrumming noise accompanied the glow, which spread from his arms and across the mooring line to the other ship with lightning speed. Sadly, it also passed through the two men suspended from the mooring line.

The effect was almost mesmerizing, but still horrible to watch. It was like a massive shock overloading a fusebox and blowing it apart. The two hung transfixed from the line, all their muscles forced into rigid contractions and shining with orange energy that built up and up and up until it was sparking from their mouths. The final result, though gruesome, ended with both of them exploding into a shower of orange-red aura and bits of metal. Luckily, the fools on board the other ship were spared that exact fate since they weren't directly touching the live-wire between their ships. Regardless though, the leader's eye blew out in a shower of sparks as it overloaded. His henchman experienced similar effects with their mechanical parts as well. The ship, however, was slowly overheating from the inside. Circuits were being overloaded, the engine was combusting in a firestorm of electrical energy, and various parts of the ship shut down automatically as a fail-safe that would do no good in the end. The mooring line itself was a livid wire of molten energy and when Suri felt he could release no more without causing harm to himself, he effortlessly tore the line apart. He would have shouted something infuriating at them, but he had seen the two people literally fry and explode just a few yards from him. He had caused that. He killed them.

Suri silently moved back to the front of the ship and re-entered, attempting to gain control of his severely damaged ship and avoid a fatal crash.

((Sorry to write a novel guys, but it was a really intense post!))

Enter- Harrier A'Cal

Harrier kept his ears on the travels behind them, polity ignoring the conversation but listening to the tone of voice. He didn't want a fight breaking out. He heard a few words such as 'assassin' and about deaths two years ago. It made him ponder; what happened two years ago? Harrier had no idea, he'd have to check up on it unless the travelers said anything.

Once the argument came to a halt, the male Angeal addressed him saying, "Apologies. It seems we have some minor disagreements."

A polite boy, he thought, reminds me of Ferrel.

“It is quite all right, thank you. If it were under any other circumstances I would never have intruded. But seeing as your companion,” Harrier said, indicating to the injured one, “is in this circumstance, I dare say I'm happy to.”

They approached the steps leading up the the ledge, nearing their destination. With a few good minutes to spare, the storm hadn't pulled in fully; but it would still be some trouble to walk through the winds.

“I grew up in a family of ten, so I'd say I'm use to arguments such as these. But in no were near the same topic,” he added as an afterthought, and realizing that he was getting completely getting off track asked, “Can he tackle the winds on the ledge fine?”

He was still worried about Giovanni, he still looked in pain; and this would not be the first time a ranger found injured travelers in the canyons. The problem was getting them back to an outpost in time, depending on the injury and whether or not the ranger had something to treat it with.

Exit- Harrier A'Cal

After a few more futile minutes of piloting, it was apparent his ship was fried. Besides the fuel tank being punctured by the still-embedded anchor, Suri had absorbed too much power and had doomed his ship to crash. He pulled up one flickering display to show the ground beneath him as it sped by, coming closer and closer while shutting off all systems that had nothing to do with flight. He took a surveillance of the ship and found the rear end was emitting a smoke trail black as night, without fuel his ship was burning up and the engine was dying. The dust storm was sweeping in, and he was about to crash in the wind canyons of Tylem, with no idea of what to do other than survive.

The display showed alot of wind-swept land and rocky canyons rushing by. At one point he was sure he saw a group of travellers past beneath his vision, but then they were gone and replaced by yet another canyon. A chilling thought occured to Suri just then. "Hadn't considered that not only might I be crashing...but that I have a decent chance of crashing straight into a canyon wall instead of flat ground." he thought morbidly. "Oh joy." he remarked in a dead tone. He was now coasting on the winds and though he was slowing down, it would still be a rough landing.

All of a sudden, his display shifted from the ground beneath him to further up near the horizon. In the distance he could see a group of buildings. "An outpost! Perfect!" he exclaimed with short-lived joy as he tried to steer his ship in that direction and found that he would be missing it by alot. No power meant minimal steering and the winds were buffeting his ship like it was nothing...which at this point it was nothing. There was some light to the situation however, even though he was missing the outpost by miles, he was not going to be crashing into canyon walls. The land around the outpost was fairly solid and flat and he wouldn't have too far to walk. "Better buckle up" he said gruffly as he strapped himself into the pilot's seat.

Using the last of his power to try and slow the speeding craft down, the ground rushed up to meet the crippled airship in a blur, tearing apart what was left of the ship and scattering debris across the windy landscape with a loud crash.

From beneath the wrecked remains of the fuselage, Suri tried to maintain conciousness. The impact had really knocked him a good one. One of his arms was on fire, thankfully it was metal and not flesh. His legs were trapped beneath some larger debris, and he felt like he had been beaten with stones all over his body along with being gouged at by glass. Giving off a more than sufficient blast of energy with both arms, he sent the debris trapping his legs flying high into the sky. Standing shakily, for his legs were still mostly flesh and blood, he surveyed the scene while patting out the fire on his other arm. "By the Crystals, I made a mess....now...which way was that outpost?" he groaned as he scanned the horizon, as far as he could see through the dust anyway. The storm would be full upon him soon.

"Such a strong name for one so pitiful." Jolyre replied, not looking back at the foolish boy who followed her.
"And furthermore, the only help you'll ever be to me is giving me peace when your cadaver is in a box being mourned by your people...whoever that may be." she added.
How did a human end up in a family of Nero Angeals anyway?
She decided she didn't care.
What did he have to offer her in the end? As for her name, well, he'd know that soon enough. She'd carve it in his body when she was done.
For a fleeting moment, her posture softened and she winced at the severity of her thoughts. Alexei had never meant for her to turn out like this. A bitter, cold, angry warrior. The perfect soldier; fueled by rage and adrenaline and pride. A Knight of the Glorion Crystalis. She wore the crest on a simple brooch, that kept her cloak fastened.
As a child, Jolyre had planned on being a soldier, but even this was far from what she'd imagined. Then again, she'd always had Alexei behind her, telling her what it was like, how Angeal soldiers should be. "...And when you grow up, and your wings are full and feathered, you'll stand tall and you'll stand proud. The most beautiful Angeal knight in all of Lamina and even the Glorion Crystalis." he told her, lifting her up under her arms as she laughed. Her mother stood behind him, smiling at them.
And so Jolyre had been. The proudest, the strongest, the best at everything she touched. She made sure of it, for her mother and father. Tears came to her eyes.
She shook them away and went rigid with enmity again. It seemed resentment had consumed her heart, soul, and life. Now she couldn't escape.
A loud screaming crash forced her from her flashbacks and antagonized thoughts. It hit with such an impact that it rocked the canyons. Even with the wind storm forming, she could see the dust that arose from the crash. Forgetting her plight momentarily, the becoming woman, the compassionate Angeal, took over. She had to help whoever was on that ship. She ran up the steps, some 2 and 3 at a time. The ledge did look formidable, but she swallowed her fear. Slender fingers gripped at ravine rocks as she sidled as fast as she could. The wind threatened to pull her from the ledge.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Jolyre's boot slipped on a loose rock. No sound escaped her, she was too caught off guard. She knew enough to twist around and her hands caught the ledge. Looking down, she immediately regretted it. Rocks and ledges poked up and out everywhere, but not for a good fifty feet.
If she made it out of this, Jolyre swore she'd never come back to Tylem.
Ever.

Jolyre reached for something more substantial to grab hold of. There was nothing so kind. So this is how she was to die. Not with a battle cry, but the thud of a body hitting rock, not be heard among the howling winds. Desperately clinging to the rock with cramping, weakening fingers, she tried in vain to climb back up.
To fall was to die. To unfurl her wings was to get smashed into the face of a cliff. Oh Tylem, the Land of Choices.
Just as she found them, too.
It was amazing how long those seconds seemed. Like she'd been dangling there for years.
She closed her eyes until a voice below told her to let go.
That seemed stupid. Opening her eyes, she saw it was the older Dragoni boy.
Catch her!? Yeah. That seemed valid. Because she was honestly going to fall willingly into the grasp of a murderer.
She looked at it twice for a moment. What choice did she have?
Any idiot who had his wings out at moment like this either wanted to die or was truly sincere.
If this is a bad suicide/murder attempt...I will haunt these lands til the end of days she thought bitterly
Against every emotional warning in her brain, Jolyre's fingers unlatched from the ledge. She fell, hoping it would be the arms of her father's killer she landed in, rather than a vicious outcropping of rocks. If there was one thing Jolyre hated, it was irony.