Together Again {Dante & Pure}

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

That emote was to express how dumbfounded I was at the realization. xD

The Ninjas
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

When the days are coldxxx
And the cards all fold
And the saints we seexxx
Are all made of gold...
When your dreams all failxxx
And the ones we hail
are the worst of allxxx
and the blood’s run stale...
I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx
At the curtain’s call,xxx
It's the last of all.
When the lights fade out,xxx
All the sinners crawl...

XXXXXGiving a faint nod as he absorbed what Shiro was saying and doing, Shadowheart shifted his gaze back to Kuro's hand ever so briefly. Without saying a word, he crouched down and stuck his hand through his own shadow. After a few long seconds, he pulled out a satchel and moved it over to Kuro. "Like all of these things? The shadows are bad at explaining these kinds of devices to me and three of the four living here believe I will continue to be antisocial only it will get worse than it is now," he questioned with a slightly raised brow. Glancing back at the shadow under him, he blinked a couple times before looking back up. "The shadows say that can be fixed if you'd get a more stabilized version of his hand built and prepped to take place of that hunk of rusted up junk."

XXXXX"Such a peach," Trevor sighed lightly before frowning at being scolded, not to mention smacked, by his daughter. Giving another sigh, he picked up a piece of apple and rotated it slightly in his hand. "Truth, it wasn't about whether I hurt physically or if I was exhausted. The point of me never telling you girls I was tired or in pain was because that was the only time I got to spend with you before I had to run off again. How long I got to stay home was always changing and then sometimes I'd be gone longer than I was supposed to be in mission mode. You girls were helping me unwind after work and I wanted to enjoy every second I got with you. I wanted to be active more often in your lives, to see you actually growing up and not just the insta-change of baby to toddler overnight sequence where a simple mission makes you older. Ephie even enjoyed that time though he won't admit it."

XXXXXSmiling ever so slightly as she spoke, the blonde male inwardly nodded as her words rang true. "Kana it is then. And I understand it completely. Trevor does the same thing if given the chance so she gets it honestly. Ooh. That was a bad pun," Sheik responded aloud only to snicker softly at his choice of words. That was a really bad pun. Saying that Truth got something honestly was an absolutely terrible pun. He wasn't even sure why it came out that way. Maybe he was trying not to be that buzzkill Trevor considered part of him to be? "Who knows. It's good to open up to someone though. You're not building up all of these thoughts in your head that has a single red button waiting to be pressed for you to just snap. I'm pretty bad at opening up unlike the social butterflies that we both know. Then again, I don't really have much to talk about. Born to a Sheikah family, was granted the title of the Keeper of Time when I turned thirteen, have narrowly escaped death by psychotic bxtch of a sister on multiple occasions, I know things before they happen, who I'm going to marry, how many kids I'll have and how I'm going to die, and so I've been trying to find a few extra sets of hands to help me with my sister when I'm not with Trevor. I could discuss them easily, but it's not my place. You're supposed to open up at your own pace, talking about menial things like music, colors and other interests until you feel comfortable enough to speak about yourself. Trevor gets anxious which makes him a chatterbox and he tends to forget he said he'd be patient. The fact that he's not shaking Ephraim and demanding intel is a good sign though. Now it's just keeping the others from telling your story and sharing the secrets you've told them. As an odd little demon once said, there are loopholes in everything. Seers have used art, tarot cards, crystal balls, gave suggestions as an advisor and coded messages to go around the laws Time gave them; a loophole that came with no consequence. The eyes betray the soul. The stomach growls in hunger. What is perceived depends on the person. Loopholes can be fun and they can be dangerous. He waved back by the way, albeit hesitantly."

So they dug your grave
xxxAnd the masquerade
Will come calling out
xxxAt the mess you made.
Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.
They say it's what you make.
xxxI say it's up to fate.
It's woven in my soul,
xxxI need to let you go.
Your eyes, they shine so bright,
xxxI wanna save that light.
I can't escape this now
xxxUnless you show me how.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

ah. Okay, then~ ^-^

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"exactly like those." Shiro practically purred, his face alight with happiness at seeing so many battery operated items. Picking through the bag, he snorted and looked up at Shadowheart when he mentioned it was still possible to fix Kuro's hand. "good thing I've been designing some more models for him to pick through. If I could get my hands on something other then scrap metal that'd be great, but I'll have to make due with the metals I've got. " the teen hummed, picking through the items now in front of him.
"Hey! It may be rusted junk but it's all I've got right now so back off!" Kuro snapped, shaking his head as he pushed his plate away and stood. "Um, where's the nearest exit? I could really use a smoke." He asked, his tail wrapped tightly around the pack of cigarettes.

"I don't care. It means you weren't taking care of yourself properly. I just got you back so don't ever do that crap again. I want my daddy around for a long time." The redhead sighed, crossing her arms as she turned to look at him with a pout. Letting her shoulders drop, the girl walked back over and gave him a hug, pressing her head into his shoulder. "Sorry, I'm just.... I used to have nightmares about you getting hurt and never coming home and I don't want that to ever happen...." She mumbled, holding him tighter.

"At least you have a family. I've been an orphan longer than the others, my parents abandoned me because I was the runt. I'm from a completely different pack than the others and yet because Kansei's mom and mine were sisters, they took me in. And then you s got a plan for what to do next. In my case it's just a struggle to stay alive, the future is too uncertain and even when I ask the stupid elemental she refuses to tell me things for the reasons you just mentioned among others. Apparently, she doesn't want to anger her aunt, whatever that means. I've learned to distance myself from others to keep my secrets as my own. The only reason I've ever spilled my guts is because Truth and her sister used their weird voodoo on me." Kana shrugged, scratching at her arm. She still didn't know why she was taking to him, but it was better than sitting in her room moping. Tucking some hair behind one ear, the girl gave a slight sigh and glanced out the window. "Do... Do you think Trevor would mind at all if we began practicing our skills again? We weren't able to do it too much at the Tower with out bringing unwanted attention our way. It'd be nice to get back to it."

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninjas
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

When the days are coldxxx
And the cards all fold
And the saints we seexxx
Are all made of gold...
When your dreams all failxxx
And the ones we hail
are the worst of allxxx
and the blood’s run stale...
I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx
At the curtain’s call,xxx
It's the last of all.
When the lights fade out,xxx
All the sinners crawl...

XXXXX"Good. You can use whatever you need. I acquired most of it anyways," Shayde nodded slightly only to shrug while Shiro dug through the items gleefully. At being snapped at however, his fiery eyes shifted towards Kuro with just the faintest hint of how he was fixing to make the other swallow his teeth. Lifting up one finger in front of him, the teen seemed to have grown bored of the idea of hitting him just as quickly as it'd come. "For one, do as Watari would say and cool your jets before I break my foot off in your axs. The raising of your voice was unnecessary considering I'm standing at least two feet away. For two, those weren't my exact choice of words. I was simply relaying the message. And thirdly, the closest exit is through that doorway, to your left and out the double doors to the back patio."

XXXXX"Violence altogether is unnecessary between us. There'll be none of that, Shayde," Trevor intervened quickly though it took him a moment or two to realize he hadn't called him by his other designated name. Crap. And now he was getting the evil eye from the boy. Some kids were just so touchy. Leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed back over his chest, Shayde had an obvious air of anger and annoyance around him, the flickering shadows around him not making that any less obvious. "I doubt that will happen, Truth, if he keeps calling me by that name. Then again, you wouldn't have even had him today if-" "Okay! Okay. Shush. Not necessary. Sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you by that name. Let's just move on. And it's fine, Truth. You're right. I wasn't paying attention to my own health when I came home back then. But here's the thing about that, princess, I'll always put my children before myself. You kids are my world and I'd give anything to keep y'all safe, happy and healthy."

XXXXX"That's not how I see it, your relationship with all of them that is. I've only seen y'all together a couple times, but that group in there - Truth, Deception, Skylar, Kuro, Niji, Shiro, Lianna, Krystina, Kansei and Rissa - is the closest thing to family there is. There's no blood ties involved in that relationship even if there actually are blood ties. Sure, you keep your secrets from them, but you're still close to them. If you weren't close, you wouldn't be with them," the strawberry blonde murmured after a few moments of deliberation. At the mention of what the female elemental was avoiding, Sheik muttered something unintelligibly before rolling backwards so he could stand back up. Dusting off his shoulders and readjusting his shirt, he gave her a nod. Might as well give her some reassurance that there was something a little more comforting in this house. Trevor was too hyper and Watari was stuck trying to keep hostility between the shadow users and everyone else from rising up. And there was that whole shushing thing he usually did to Shayde when he was doing or saying something rude. "Ah. Her. Not to mention the rest of them. Irritating mofos the lot of 'em. It's always nag nag nag in your ear. You've side-stepped the rules. You're adjusting the timeline to your own selfish will. Don't do this. Don't do that. Blah blah blah. But yeah, Trevor won't mind you returning to practicing that. He'll want you to expand and get better with what you do. He's always been one to go above and beyond even if he deliberately slacked off around our parents... We could help y'all with training and all that even; train you in the art of the assassin without having the actual brotherhood breathing down your neck. I do hope you all can settle in nicely, but no rush. Take it one step at a time and take everything said and done with a grain of salt. Like I stated before, some of us have habits that aren't exactly normal. Ephie has his habit of digging up secrets and history. Watari has his habits of being cheerful, humorous even, and yet being quite timid and sad. Shadowheart has the habit of insulting others without realizing it's an actual insult or if he does realize it, he's doing it intentionally because he feels like he could come to feel safe around them and end up becoming vulnerable. He hates his own vulnerability. Trevor's habits are his anxieties, the skeletons in his closet and his intimidating version of cheer if something happens to his kids. And then there's my habits... My habits make me seem like a bit of a jackass. I have control issues even though I don't like to be the one in charge of making decisions, can try cracking a joke or two when things are a bit tense like that bad pun about Truth and have a tendency to bottle things up causing me to be a buzzkill as Trevor so kindly put it. Everyone has habits, areas they feel most comfortable in, but sometimes they'll find someone or even several others they'd be willing to step outside of their comfort zone for. Never experienced it personally, but Karma did that for Trevor so I've seen it. Since his sixteenth birthday, he's been this bubble of cheer unless our parents were around or my sister opted to be a bxtch."

So they dug your grave
xxxAnd the masquerade
Will come calling out
xxxAt the mess you made.
Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.
They say it's what you make.
xxxI say it's up to fate.
It's woven in my soul,
xxxI need to let you go.
Your eyes, they shine so bright,
xxxI wanna save that light.
I can't escape this now
xxxUnless you show me how.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"sorry, i get a little defensive about it, didn't mean to scream." Kuro sighed as he started off towards the nearest exit, waving lightly to his friends as he passed them. "thanks for the directions though." he murmured, now rushing outside only to light a cigarette with a fire coming from his thumb as he leaned against the side of the house.
"thank you~" Shiro hummed, still picking around in the pile of items like he were a kid in a candy store. you could practically see the glow in his eyes as he found a few items that were actually still running and set them aside. By the time he was finished, he was sitting before a fairly decent pile of items, several different types of batteries, and had the biggest grin the others had ever seen on his face.

"okay, hold up. no. I wouldn't have him, why? keep talking, don't let him stop you." Truth drawled, placing a hand on her hip as her gaze left her father and went to Shadowheart. if her dad had done something stupid while they were away, she was going to be so angry and upset.

"yeah, that's what she sounds like. I've only ever heard her voice, but hey, that's what happens when you're so sick you can't stay awake." she nodded, snorting as she fidgeted with her hair. "i'd actually appreciate a bit of help, it's been a while since i had the chance to do any decent fighting and i might be a bit rusty, i could use someone telling me what to fix." she mumbled, glancing up at him. he didn't seem as bad as their first conversation. then again, she'd been avoiding that topic all together.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninjas
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

When the days are coldxxx
And the cards all fold
And the saints we seexxx
Are all made of gold...
When your dreams all failxxx
And the ones we hail
are the worst of allxxx
and the blood’s run stale...
I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx
At the curtain’s call,xxx
It's the last of all.
When the lights fade out,xxx
All the sinners crawl...

XXXXXShrugging with a brief 'meh', the shadow user crossed his arms over his chest and glanced back over at Truth. "Mm... I only know a bit of the story, your best option being to ask Ephraim," Shayde started after giving a heavy sigh. Sheik usually said to let others tell their own secrets, but Trevor pissed him off. How hard was it to just stick to the one name they'd called him before finding out he'd been called Shayde once upon a time ago. "According to Sheik, Trevor had a complete meltdown when he retired 'cause you ladies were gone. Supposedly, it kicked in after about a month of trying to track you down. He stopped eating, stopped responding altogether. Most of his time was spent sitting against your closet just staring straight ahead. Ephraim found him that way and spent about a week trying to get him to respond. Eventually, he attacked Sheik and demanded him to fix his brother. We're not one to understand much less use those emotion things everyone else is obsessed with so he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't find their shadows, most likely Karma hiding them intentionally, so he went to the closest family member."

XXXXXGiving a nervous laugh, Trevor pointed at Shayde causing his brow to raise. "You're a funny guy behind that cold exterior. Absolutely hilarious. I thought you were gonna talk about that hit to my chest when Sheik didn't notice the guy behind him during the last raid," Trevor responded to the other's brief tale. Standing up, his hand on the table to steady himself for a moment, he picked up a few of the dirty dishes that were now empty. "I'll help with those, Trevor. You're still a bit unsteady." "Thanks, Watari. My head is still throbbing a bit and my vision blurred briefly when I stood up. It kind of worries me that someone besides Leviticus hit me and I can't move quickly much less stand without my vision going. What's worse is he only hit me once."

XXXXX"Yeah. We kind of interact with the same people though we've never met each other until now. I believe, and this is just my interpretation of what one of 'em said, was that Rissa's a reckless bxtch. I don't really pay much attention to them though so meh. And they might be mad at me for the moment 'cause I might've been a little rude last time we had a chat. It's humorous seeing several stunned expressions when you roll your eyes at them and start up in Kesha's song Blah Blah Blah," Sheik shrugged, a smile faintly on his lips. Nodding at the female, he leaned forward a bit so he was more on her level and crossed his arms behind his back. "But yes, that's something I had a feeling about. I'd be happy to help you wipe off that rust and sharpen your skills back up. Some of you I can see in the future, your timelines even, but others not so much. I got lucky with the boy's timeline last night, but it has me confused considering it keeps adding and subtracting time. Unfortunately for me, I can't discuss it with the people I need to right now so I have to be patient... And probably ask Cheshire next time he visits if he's here before they call me back. We have to have arranged meetings apparently. Idiots the lot of 'em... So do you feel up to going through some basics in the backyard? We don't have to do anything too strenuous, just stances and how you swing your fists and use your legs in the midst of a fight in slow motion. I'll even show you mine."

So they dug your grave
xxxAnd the masquerade
Will come calling out
xxxAt the mess you made.
Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.
They say it's what you make.
xxxI say it's up to fate.
It's woven in my soul,
xxxI need to let you go.
Your eyes, they shine so bright,
xxxI wanna save that light.
I can't escape this now
xxxUnless you show me how.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXFrowning as she glared at the floor, the redhead gave a sigh and walked past her dad. "i'm gonna go outside for a bit..." she murmured, tapping her fingers lightly against her thigh as she passed by her uncle and Kana and went out the front door to sit on the porch. Staring at the road, the girl gave a sigh. she'd had no idea that her dad had gotten like that. and it was all her fault, too. she'd been the one to drag Deception out of the house to go looking for him, she'd been the one to get them lost in the city. if it hadn't been for her, he'd never have been hurt.

"well, that could've been worse...." Bander mumbled as he stood. "mind if i help with the dishes? i feel like it's the least i could do, and you really look like you should be sitting down." the wolf drawled as he began collecting plates from the others, smiling when he noticed Niji was shoving a few snacks into her pockets. "Dee, you might want to go check on the drama mama outside." he muttered, shaking his head. they couldn't leave that girl alone lately, unless they wanted more guests here.

Nodding briefly at his comments as to what these other people would say about Rissa, she gave a slight shrug and cracked her neck. she would've gone after Truth but the girl had that look on her face that said she'd snap at whatever spoke to her first. "works for me, but i've never been very good at hand-to-hand, i have this really bad habit of relying too much on my abilities" she chuckled, motioning towards where Kuro had gone for his smoke. "shall we?" she asked, hand on her hip.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

When the days are coldxxx
And the cards all fold
And the saints we seexxx
Are all made of gold...
When your dreams all failxxx
And the ones we hail
are the worst of allxxx
and the blood’s run stale...
I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.xxx
At the curtain’s call,xxx
It's the last of all.
When the lights fade out,xxx
All the sinners crawl...

XXXXXHearing the sigh and seeing Truth glare at the floor didn't make him feel any better. in fact, he could hear a faint buzzing as his vision went out briefly in irritation. Letting his gaze grow dark for a second, his eyes briefly narrowed at Shayde, Trevor nodded just barely enough to be seen. "Thank you, Bander. Sorry for making you bother with these. I was not expecting such a hard hit to the head. Then again, I hadn't expected anything from my midnight snack 'til now," he responded, a barely audible click having started off his words. Carrying the dishes he had past Watari on his third trip, - damn that boy moved fast - he shifted his dark reddish-orange eyes towards the other making him raise an eyebrow.

XXXXX"Hm? Oh. Gotcha. Shayde, stand here for a second. Alright. Ready?" the black-and-white haired male hummed while shifting the other to stand some distance away from the table. When asked if he was ready, the younger male barely lifted a brow. "Nope. Why am I here?" "Good. You're ready. And here we go." Slapping Shayde upside the head, Watari deliberately stepped back a few paces as the other seemed to be seething under his mask. "He asked me to." "I'm not stupid, Watari. Let him sulk 'cause the cat's outta the bag. It's not my problem." "So cold. Shadowheart, did you hear the introductions earlier?" "The Strays are made up of Niji, Kana, Kansei, Bander, Shiro and Kuro while the Urchins are made up of Rissa, Lianna, Skylar, Krystina, Truth and Deception. The extras are the Seer, Rayne, and a half-kitty going by various names though Mari, Jin and Kitty were the main ones given. Intros done and over with."

XXXXX"I'm going," Deception sighed while standing up from the table and setting her plate in Bander's stack of dishes. Passing by her father, her gaze seemed to linger on him until she exited the room to start towards the front of the house. She even gave Kristoff, Sheik and Kana a quick wave as she passed them. Upon reaching the front porch, she situated herself beside her twin and pulled her hair out of her face. Tapping her toes against the porch in search of words to console Truth, Deception puffed up a cheek before finally just speaking from the heart. "So... I guess we broke dad. Shocking considering he was always such a tough cookie... Even mom and all the crap I put him through couldn't break him so it sounds weird that your search for him and my search for ma was the thing that sent him over the edge."

XXXXXFollowing the girl after giving a faint wave at his niece, the Sheikah could only chuckle at Kana's words. "It's fine. I'll help you step out into more physical fighting rather than remaining dependent on your abilities. You should always have a back-up and a back-up for your back-up. If you can manage it, get a back-up for the back-up of the back-up. I've found myself dropping down to Plan C and Plan D on occasion though... Well to be honest, they were rather reckless and haphazard plans that Trevor's scolded me for," he chortled, one hand scratching the back of his neck. Passing by Kuro, he gave a slight wave before hopping off of the porch and padding some ways out into the yard. Turning back towards the house, he tapped his fingers against his leg. "I suggest some limbering up too... And maybe try keeping up with that so you don't pull anything. Failed to do so when I was a kid and walked a short distance only for a sharp pain to go through my upper leg and pull a muscle in the arch of my foot. My dad laughed while my mom scolded me for not stretching as often as I should. Kuro-tan, you feel like going through some basic melee motions with us? I promised some assassin training tips without the consequence of the brotherhood breathing down y'all's necks. Nothing too stressful."

So they dug your grave
xxxAnd the masquerade
Will come calling out
xxxAt the mess you made.
Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.
They say it's what you make.
xxxI say it's up to fate.
It's woven in my soul,
xxxI need to let you go.
Your eyes, they shine so bright,
xxxI wanna save that light.
I can't escape this now
xxxUnless you show me how.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXGlancing to her sister from over her knees, the redhead gave a small pout at her first comment and shook her head. "it makes sense, actually. we left without a single note or anything. and he didn't know if we were dead or alive, or if we'd ever come back. it's pure dumb luck that i happened to find our house again. You know how i get latched on to people so easily and grow upset over them getting hurt? i think i got that from him," she breathed into her knees, closing her eyes as she thought. "i kind of feel like an idiot. if we had just waited. it probably wouldn't have been long before he found us. nothing bad would've happened if we'd just been smart enough to stay home."

Chuckling at how Shadowheart had gotten smacked upside the head, the wolf glanced to the panther and motioned her over as he took over the plates he had and began cleaning them. "it's not a problem, Trevor. i'm happy to do what i can. besides, there're so many of us, we should at least help out with cleaning. it'd be a pain in the a** for any one person. or two." he drawled, smiling as Kansei slid up beside him and began drying the plates he handed her. "question is, what now? food's done, introductions were covered. we still have the rest of the day ahead of us." he drawled, one ear raising at the faintest whistle from lianna. "heh, apparently someone wants to play for you. she's quite good, and some of her songs have magical properties when she plays them."

Turning her head to look at Rayne, Niji smiled softly. "wanna go grab your sketchbook and talk on the roof?" she asked softly, smiling at him as she swung her legs back and forth. she could tell there were things he wanted to do and that he was uncomfortable still without his drawing book. She also wanted to get away from the wolf-people that were apparently on their way here.

"does your plan b automatically just involve twice as much power as plan a?" Kana teased, raising an eyebrow at Sheik before she dropped into a back bend, waving lightly at Kuro for a moment only to smile as she did a full cartwheel into the splits. "so, how much stretching should we be doing?" she asked, staring up at him with a grin. "eh, i'll let the dancer have her fun. she likes to work alone for the most part." Kuro drawled, sitting himself down cross-legged on the grass. Glancing behind her once more when Kuro called her a dancer, Kana gave a frown and stuck her tongue out at him, grinning when he grimaced at the sight of her tongue splitting into two as if it were a snake's. how she loved her shape-shifting abilities.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.

XXXXXSmiling lightly as he set down the dishes next to the sink, Trevor glanced over his shoulder at the fae only to nod slightly. "Oh, my dear boy, you've no idea how wrong that is. Sure, there's more work to do, but I've been going insane with practically nothing to do since I retired... And started functioning again... I don't blame them for leaving either. They wouldn't've known what to do if both parents were gone and even if I came back, not that I'm saying I wouldn't, Deception wouldn't've been too pleased. She preferred her mother over me. I gave the girls a little tiara for their birthday once and called them my princesses and she whacked me in the face with it all while throwing a tantrum on how all princesses were weak and stupid. Truth loved it though and smacked her upside the head for complaining," he hummed softly, his hands on the counter and his eyes shut for a moment. Straightening himself back up and flicking open his eyes, he patted Bander on the shoulder. "Thanks again. Miss Lianna, if you wouldn't mind, may we take it to the living room? It's much more comfortable in there than the dining room."

XXXXX"See, Tyvinda? This is why I said you just needed to relax instead of worrying about dishes and the like," Watari sighed, setting the remaining dishes on the counter and wrapping his arm around his cousin's waist. Even when Trevor dismissed the gesture with a wave of his hand, the other male didn't remove his arm but rather stared hard at him. Giving in to the younger ninja assassin, he rested an arm around the other's shoulders and started for the living room. "You're as stubborn as the rest of the family." "Well I have to be the one making sure you and Sheik are taking care of yourselves. At least now I'll have a medic helping me with that once Sheik's newest additions get here. Shadowheart, behave please. Try to be at least a little social and see if the others have any other insight on things you're interested in."

XXXXXFrowning behind his mask, his gaze skimmed over the remainder of the group before his gaze shifted to the ceiling. "Mm... What's the point of emotions if it only brings you pain and misery in the long-run? Does it relate to morals or something?" It was a pretty straight forward question, the tone very blank, but he hadn't addressed anyone in particular to see the answers he got from it. Everyone saw the world differently after all and it'd help him understand this larger group a little better with how they thought.

XXXXXNodding slightly, Rayne scooted his chair back a bit so he could slide out of his seat only to return the chair under the table. "Sounds like a plan. I'm uh... Sorry again for last night, Niji," the crusinik boy responded before holding a hand out to help the neko girl to her feet. Once she was up, he used his foot to push in her chair before taking her upstairs, Kristoff still sitting on the staircase though he was kind enough to press himself closer to the wall so the duo could go past even though it wasn't really necessary. After grabbing up his sketchpad, the dark haired boy opened the window and set his sketchpad on the windowsill as he stepped up onto it. Taking a glance at how far the roof was from him, he seemed to mull it over for a second before picking his sketchpad back up and shutting it completely, a stretchy binding keeping the side that opened closed, just so he could lean further out the window and toss it up onto the roof. After catching the faint yet satisfying thump, he too hopped outand caught the edge of the roof only to shift enough to where he was upside-down and had a faint smile on his face. "It's easier this way. Hop on over and I'll toss you up. Haven't done this since I was six."

XXXXX"You're both emotional wrecks so you aren't wrong there. But if you think about it, Truth, if we hadn't've left, we'd never have met the greatest friends in the world and had've been spoiled rotten. Which do you prefer: the damsel in distress princess locked in the tallest tower awaiting Prince Charming to rescue you from the dragon or to be the strong-willed and independent Joan of Arc, Cleopatra and Boudiccea, Queen of the Celts who waged war and won on many an occasion?" Deception retorted, her dark eyes meeting with her twin's eyes. Sighing, the dark haired girl stood up and set a hand on her hip. "I'm glad we made the decision we made. We've grown stronger and learned from our many mistakes. I'd rather be a woman men fear to piss off, the one who saves herself alongside many others, than to lay down sobbing like a child. If you're going to wallow in your guilt, I'll be your backbone as I've always been. Dad hit a rough patch and he's recovered mostly. Now that we're back, he'll smother us a bit but he'll return to his old self instead of this giggling buffoon. Just remember, stupid, some legends are told. Some turn to dust or to gold, but you will remember me for centuries. And just one mistake is all it will take. We'll go down in history. We've been here forever, and here's the frozen truth: I could speak forever. We are the poisoned youth. Understand?"

XXXXXSmiling lightly as he followed her lead in bending over backwards, Sheik nodded slightly. "All of my back-ups tend to get more reckless and go further towards knocking trouble flat on it's axs in one blow. It works usually, but then there's the times it doesn't always work and I end up on my axs. Trevor's scolded me on many an occasion for it, but it's not like I intentionally make them so reckless," he answered honestly while lifting himself up onto his hands, his feet settling themselves on his shoulders. Lifting up one hand, he gave Kuro a thumbs up. "Whatever floats your boat. If you're gonna be a part of a team however, it's best to learn how to work as a team. Example: Watari is a ranged fighter, but if used in a tactical manner and given enough leverage, he can take down a small militia at close range. Trevor's better at giving him that leverage than I am 'cause he's broader and can cave in a man's chest and send him flying at the same time with a playful punch if he wasn't wearing his limiters. And Shadowheart-" Pausing briefly so he could shift enough to where he only had one hand's fingertips on the ground and he was leaning to the side with his feet on the ground. "Learned how to toss us through shadows for surprise attacks and redirect our knives without so much as thinking about it. I'm built for speed so I hop in and out of areas with knives at the ready, a decoy mostly. And if I can get my lyre out fast enough and play a brief tune, I can blast people away, get them caught in a few small cyclones of water, make them combust, stab 'em with stone spikes or even summon a few trees that swallow people. It's some minor magical music, but nothing like Pandora's, Hameln's and Sizer's ability by playing more elaborate pieces; Swan Lake, Dance of the Sugar Plum Faerie... Beautiful pieces really. And the stretching is just enough to where your muscles are able to move without strain. You gotta think about what all you're putting behind every punch, kick, side-step, which muscles you're using, and so on and so forth."

XXXXXAfter stretching his opposite side, he straightened up and dusted his hands off. Smiling at the female as he'd leaned to the side in front of her, his brow raised slightly though his gaze seemed to be observing her movements. "I can see it. The dancer comment that is. For one, and I mean no offense by examining you so thoroughly, you've a dancer's body. For two, you're more flexible than I originally thought. And for three, you seem to state that you're both strong and fast, a deadly combination if taught to use it properly. I'm good to go so when you're ready, I want you to take up your go-to ye olde fisticuffs stance for me. We'll start off there," he almost seemed to purr though he followed his two cents on her being called dancer with a shrug. It was his opinion and he was entitled to one. Sure, there was probably another reason for Kuro calling her that, but he was speaking based on observation. It was still bothering him that he couldn't see her timeline, but he was managing to keep his cool about it. What part did she play in his own timeline? Was it really such an important role that he wasn't allowed to see it? And why did she bring up a sense of familiarity? It was like deja vu only without quite recalling where it was he'd seen her in the glimpse of his future upon receiving the hourglass necklace.

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXX"you say that now, but i'm sure if it remained that way you'd eventually complain so why not just let us help out from the beginning? it'll be easier on all of us that way." he hummed as he and Kansei quickly finished cleaning and drying the dishes, a large stack of them sitting on the counter by the time Trevor left the room.
Nodding lightly, the faerie stood, brushing a hand against Rissa's shoulder for a second only to pass her by and start after Trevor. Standing after her friend, the blonde gave a slight shrug as a portal opened up next to her from which she pulled out a lavender colored violin and matching bow. With a slight nod to the others, she followed the faerie into the living room and handed her the instruments, to which the girl slowly began practicing and tuning it.

"emotions are how we bring color to the paintings that are our lives, without them, life becomes rather grey and boring. with them, we discover new worlds to explore." skylar hummed as he stood. "at least, that's my take on things. the others here don't seem to understand as well as i how good it can feel to express ones self so openly." he hummed, glancing to his sister only to shake his head when she stood and walked out without a word. "including her." he sighed, shaking his head.

Grinning at him, the neko pulled herself out the window and, using her tail to balance herself, began walking up the wall sideways. "and here i thought i'd be the one offering you help" she hummed, waving at him as she walked up from where she was, a grey ink-like substance forming between her and the wall every time her foot moved away from the wall. Standing beside him, she smiled, softly. "i haven't done that in a while, either~" she purred, smiling at him as she took his hand and pulled him back onto the roof. "so, you looked like you wanted to tell me something earlier but didn't. what's up?" she asked, tilting her head in such a way that the hair fell off the left half of her face to reveal the dead eye it hid.

Lifting her head once Deception started talking, Truth couldn't hide the smile that formed on her face. the girl had a point; she really would rather be a Joan of Arc then the one in the tower. "you're right. let's cut away every safety net. live life so we won't regret the road." she hummed, standing and hugging her sister tightly. "Thanks for always being there for me, even when I've done something stupid." she hummed, brushing her hair from her face as she pulled away from her sister.

"Kana's our mid-range fighter for the most part, she tends to come in after our two big fighters and deal with whatever they've left over. she uses her abilities over the wind to speed herself along and also to help her adjust her blades mid air. when working with Krystina or skylar, they can attach their spells to her knives and activate them mid throw, as well as her combinations Lianna and myself. we have a system but it's only so good since we hardly ever get the chance to use it. the few times we have, we've gotten lucky enough that we scared away the majority of the enemies with illusions and the like from our magic users." Kuro drawled, a grin on his face as he spotted Kana blushing slightly.
"A-as long as you don't tell me i'm built like a tank. that's Rissa. she's such a brute." Kana snorted as she pulled her back leg up to her only to smile as she used that position to pull herself into a somersault and back onto her feet. "like i said, i'm slightly rusty so don't expect anything perfect." she explained, smiling as she got into a standard kick boxing stance, her fists near her chest but ready to spring up.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.

XXXXXHaving been forced to sit back down by his cousin, Trevor pulled his legs up into the armchair he'd taken up root in. As Lianna prepped to play for him, he beckoned the partial cat demon from the stairs to rejoin them. When he hesitantly moved to join them, he smiled lightly while setting his jaw against his fist, his elbow resting on the armrest. "I can't wait to hear what you're going to play. I love music though I haven't really played any in a while... I should've added that to my daily routines. Wow... No wonder Sheik said I'd gone looney. Either way, I'm excited to hear someone new play something," he hummed a bit more cheerfully though his gaze kept flicking towards the front door. He hadn't wanted his children knowing he'd snapped when they were gone. He hadn't wanted them to feel guilty about it. It was over with and he was mostly recovered. He still had small bouts of insanity, but it hadn't acted up much as of late. "You think they're alright? I mean..." Instead of finishing up that thought, he merely made a brief waving gesture in front of him making his cousin sigh.

XXXXX"That makes... no sense. Colors aren't born from emotions, emotions are born from colors. Man just uses colors to associate with emotions. It also doesn't explain why they exist," Shayde responded after a few moments of silent deliberation, his gaze flicking towards the winged male though it just reflected his blank tone. Having briefly shifted his gaze to follow Krystina's movement, he sighed inwardly then returned his gaze towards the fair haired male. "And does that make Harvey and myself seem colorless to you? It's not like we are robots or marionettes by not expressing them as you do. Are you suggesting we are like that of those in the book The Giver?" "You've read books?!" "Yes. I found some of the books in Harvey's, Sheik's and the twins' were rather enjoyable. Most of the good ones are in Trevor's study though. They go into more detail and are more complex than Nancy Drew." "But you... You're a tiresome guy."

XXXXXSmiling softly to himself when the two were both situated on the roof, the boy nodded slightly as if glad she'd enjoyed doing something they both hadn't done in a while. At the mention of his wanting to speak with her privately, his smile faded and he gripped his sketchpad a bit tighter. "Yeah... About that," Rayne started hesitantly only to pause. Brushing his hair behind his ear, he finally removed the band from around it and opened up the cover. Passing over the first page with elaborate symbols that could've possibly been a title page, he handed it over to the female neko. On the page was some blank walls with a simple thin blanket and pillow set in a corner of the room. In the other corner was a shadowy figure that seemed to have wings just as dark. The figure had a face amidst the darkness only the eyes seemed void of expression. "That was the first vision I had... My first time as a Seer... I wasn't entirely honest about what I said earlier. On a trip outside of crusinik territory, I wound up getting separated from my temporary guardian. My grandmother doesn't exactly live in crusinik territory anymore so it was something I did often without any issues, but this time was different... Someone tried to help me find my temporary guardian and then I somehow ended up in this place. The guy in the picture is my friend. I only know him by the nickname several others gave him: the Angel of Death or the Prince. He's never really corrected anyone much less given his real name so I just figured he doesn't recall it or simply doesn't care what he's called... Either way, we met at this place that all of the kids there called the Tower. Each of the kids had a gift given to them like my ability as a Seer. There was Willow, a girl bestowed a gift over nature, and Majesty, a girl who could control people just by telling them what to do... We nicknamed the man in charge Firestorm and one of the female workers Jade. They did experimentation on kids like with your family just without the Underlandians. Their intent was to find two people they called keys, one of dark and one of light. I'm not sure why much less what these keys are, but they're obviously people. If that Sheik guy were able to see my timeline, it'd be jumping around because I wasn't originally a Seer. I don't feel comfortable telling people that, but you've been very nice to me so I thought I could at least tell you..."

XXXXX"Good girl. I knew you had a spine. And of course I'll be here for you. I gotta keep you from turning into a giant wuss like all of those stupid princesses. Of course you still ignore my warnings, but still," Deception smiled lightly as she patted her twin on the back in her returned hug. Geez. Truth was just like their dad: touchy-feely. She was far too nice for her own good. "So, do you feel like you can face him again? He obviously didn't want us to feel guilty about it based on his expression before I followed you. Glad you feel better though."

XXXXXSheik nodded slightly before dropping his head a moment and grabbing Kana's hands. Loosening up her hands a bit, he nodded. "I'mma fix that before we get to actually swinging the fists. When you're doing a fist fight, keep your hands loose until point of impact. You do more damage if you keep your hands loose and it leaves room for in case you need to use them for other things. As for me, I'll take a step back and stand like so," the blonde made a quick punch into his own hand, his hand loose until point of impact. Leaving it at that, he took a couple of steps back before inhaling deeply and sliding one foot a little ways behind him, his knees bent slightly and his hands set themselves up to where they were straight up with his thumbs bent slightly in towards his palms. "Alright. I want you to swing your fists towards me first. My hands will block it so when you reach where my front hand is, even if you swing from a different direction, that area is where you'll actually close your fist to make impact."

XXXXXGlancing briefly at Kuro, the Sheikah made a quick shrug. "That sounds like she still works alone even amongst all of you. The rest of you are just minor additions to her skills. Maybe that's just how I see it, but whatever. Nothing is true. All things are permitted," he added, his feet seeming to brace himself a little better yet still prepped for moving around swiftly.

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXSmiling lightly as she glanced to Trevor the faerie gave a small nod and glanced sideways as Bander entered with Shiro over his shoulder once more and Kansei at his side. Once the three had settled themselves next to Rissa on the couch, she gave a low whistle, to which Rissa chuckled. "she says she's happy to play again and hopes you'll be more appreciative of her music than the last group who heard her music." Nodding at her friend's translation, the girl began to play as cherry blossoms began forming from her violin.

"it's a metaphor. and no, you most certainly are not colorless. From what i can see, it's mostly subdued and diluted. hidden, if you will. not entirely gone nor overtaken by any one color? it's... hard to explain..." Sky drawled, scratching at the side of his face where a tattoo rested around his eye. "sorry, i'm not making any sense... i'll... i'll just go now." he mumbled, his cheeks a slight pink as he wandered into the other room where Lianna's music was coming from. Leaning on the wall as he watched his friend play, he gave a smile and began toying with his braids.

"so you're... like us..." she mumbled, pouting slightly. "now it makes sense..." she murmured, fidgeting with her fingers as she looked at the drawing. "i'm sorry that it happened to you, too. people shouldn't try and change the way things are." she murmured, blinking a few times as a black tear dripped from her bad eye and on to the roof. "are they looking for you, these people?" she asked, looking up at him carefully. she didn't want him to be uncomfortable, but she kind of felt it was needed information.

"yeah, i can face him again, besides, Lee is in there singing and i wouldn't mind hearing her play again. she hasn't wanted to play since her accident, and i don't want to miss out on an opportunity like this." she hummed, taking her sister's hand in her own with a grin. "plus, i don't like the feeling i'm getting about staying out here. it's like we're being watched." she mumbled, looking behind her warily.

"that's just the way i like it, actually. no one can keep up enough to be of much use aside from adding to my abilities via spells. the only one i can really work well with is the little princess and even that's on rare occasions." Kana hummed as she went with a few test punches, going left-right as she remembered. taking a step back for a second the girl sighed softly and grinned to herself. "seems like I've at least got the basics" she hummed, her eyes glowing slightly.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.

XXXXXSmiling gently, the elder Sheikah gave a slight nod. "I'm sure I will," he hummed softly before quickly returning his attention to Lianna. Hearing the music and watching the sakura petals dance through the air, Trevor felt a mix between calm and cheer. Even if the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end, he still felt that cheery calm. It was just such a beautiful song making him feel like he was peeking into the days of the samurai. Maybe he'd enjoy it too if he invited him over... Or maybe he'd come along as the little NEET's guardian. Giving a light clap, his smile grew wider. "That, my dear, was amazingly beautiful. Words cannot express your talents in justifiable terms. I might have to ask you to play that for a friend of mine that was once a samurai... Well, he's Sheik's friend and a legal guardian for the NEET-mechanic I mentioned to Shiro when his elder brother's not around."

XXXXX"That still... Ugh... Forget it," Shayde started only to sigh heavily and slide under the table. It's not like he really wanted to interact with others, but sometimes the shadows wanted something said or his own curiosity got the best of him. This just got Watari to sigh and kick his bag under the table before heading into the living room himself. Pausing by Skylar, he flashed him an apologetic smile. "Fruity brat. Sorry about him, Sky. He's more than a tad bit difficult and he'll most likely start bugging you about what you said when he can corner you alone. He prefers private conversations, but since you came in here, he's not going to follow after you seeking the answers to the questions you've set into play in his mind. He's like a giant child that way."

XXXXXNodding slightly, the crusinik's toes curled in only for him to give a slight sniff and glance up at the neka. Instead of just reaching for the girl's face at the black streak coming from her bad eye, he pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and held it out to her. "It's alright. There are others with far worse done to them than myself... And they are. They think I could pinpoint the people they're searching for with some alterations to the Seer abilities I have now. The Angel of Death got me out before they could though so I think he believed, or even knew, I wouldn't live through the process. I can't tell much with him. He's always so void of emotion until a thunderstorm rolls in and then he's as frightened as a rabbit. It was the only real times I felt I was helping him on our little adventure. Had the basics of swordplay taught to me by instructors before the change and he taught me how to use it better," he murmured before picking up the sketchpad again. Flipping it a few pages ahead, Rayne smiled lightly as a more intricately drawn version of the shadowy figure on the first page appeared was shown to the girl. The male obviously had dark hair and eyes, enshrouded by shadow even in whatever light was showing him off better in the picture, but there were slight alterations to his dark clothes. Half of his clothes were lighter than the other half and flip-flopped sides at the waistline. What was even more odd was how his dark gaze seemed to have been turned directly away from where Rayne had seen him in the vision, his lighter shaded gloved hand obscuring part of his face. "But don't get upset for me. Your family, friends and him you can feel for, but I'm fine. I'm alive, healthy with just an occasional moment here or there where I zonk out unintentionally, and I haven't exactly gone through as much as the rest of you... At least not that I can remember. I'm not super weak, just super sensitive unless I have to start releasing the bonds on my crusinik abilities... And I can't exactly guarantee my control over those as of yet. Besides, throughout all of these dark experiences, we've made perhaps the greatest friends that will ever exist. We'll grow stronger because of it. We survived the battle, but now we have to survive the war... Or something like that. A very odd elf carrying a guitar told me something along those lines. It was like: Do not fret, mon ami. The past is exactly that and cannot be changed, but the future is for us to create with our own actions and words. If you dwell on the past and live on with only that, mistakes will be repeated and you cannot grow. Through hardships and misfortune come the greatest of lessons, the strongest of bonds and the best of friends. He then went on his merry way with a dark gaze singing something about how he's not a martyr, more like a thief... I think it went My life is perfect, so you believe. Are you that stupid 'cause I'd strongly disagree. I'm not a martyr, more like a thief. Your rules are twisted and they don't affect me." At hearing Deception calling out for a hailstorm to the duo, he'd briefly furrowed his brow only for it to click. "Using words that sound alike with my name. Sneaky woman that she is... She's talking about the feeling of being watched and to come in if anything starts going down: people approaching, knives flying, etcetera."

XXXXX"Good 'cause I had the same vibe. Inside we go or I'mma kick your ginger arse into the middle of the front yard with a sign stating we're back to terrorize the neighborhood again," Deception snickered, her arms clinging to her sister's arm as she pulled her inside. As they passed through the door, she glanced briefly over her shoulder before shutting it behind them. Pushing Truth towards the livingroom, she pointed upstairs and said softly, "Gonna tell the kids to be careful and check on Ephie. You know how he always said one thing and did another. I'm making sure he's actually taking his nap. Be back in a sec." And with that, she scurried up the steps and leaned out the window Rayne had left open. "Hailstorm, kiddies. Watch yourselves and come back in when it starts. Okay? Okay." Sliding back inside, she padded quickly back down the hall and peeked into Ephraim's room. He was indeed laying on his bed, the blankets never having been moved when he'd gotten into bed, but that didn't mean he was asleep. Stepping inside, she waved her hands around only to smirk when he muttered for her to stop before rolling onto his side and curling up into a ball on his bed. It was surprising seeing how much he had changed over the years - older, taller and more muscled - and then the things that hadn't changed at all - his stubbornness, irritability, and being so naturally human in his sleep. Since he had obeyed however, she'd leave him be so she exited the room and headed back downstairs to join the others.

XXXXXKeeping his hands in place, the blonde male was simply observing how she moved and if there was any flaws he could fix. As she stopped swinging, he nodded slightly before copying her stance. "Welcome to the club. In this exclusive club, we've all said the same thing: I can't find someone to pair up with 'cause we slip out of sync. That's my only statement due to the if-I-continue-it-won't-end-well stipulation. And eh, it's not worth the fight," Sheik faintly shrugged only to nudge her foot with his own after moving forwards a bit. Nudging her foot a couple more times, he finally stepped back a few paces. "Kick-boxing stance, regular boxer's swings with the arms. Not too shabby. Let's try your kicking. After we see about your kicks, advice will be given for both. Two birds, one stone. And slide your right foot about half an inch out. That's all I'm gonna say for now."

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.

 

[Pure T0rture]

Dantes_river

The Strays
Bander, Shiro, Kuro, Niji, Kana, Kansei

&

The Urchins
Krystina, Skylar, Rissa, Lianna, Truth

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

Whoa!
My head is on fire but my legs are fine.
After all they are mine.
Lay your clothes down on the floor,
Close the door, hold the phone,
Show me how no one’s ever gonna stop us now.

XXXXXnodding her thanks, the faerie smiled lightly at the idea of playing again, gently tapping her bow against her ankle as she thought of another song. "Lee, play the pirate song next. It's so fun~" Rissa hummed, laughing lightly at the devilish smirk that grew on her friend's face at the suggestion.

"The pirate song is pretty awesome. Especially with the effect Liana's violin creates to match it." Truth drawled as she came in and settled herself on the ground beside her dad. Giving a brief wave to Liana to let her know it was okay to play, the redhead smiled as her friend returned the bow to the strings and started to play once more, a gate seeming to form on the ground as a leviathan's tendrils began jutting out around her.

"It's alright, I'm the one who left mid-conversation because I don't do well explaining how I see the world. I'll talk to him later, I guess. After I've had a moment to collect my thoughts enough to form a coherent explanation. I can be more than a little slow at times" Skylar mumbled, his cheeks going slightly pink at the confession.

Taking the cloth handed to her, the child lightly dabbed at her bad eye for a moment, cleaning the black substance from her face before she nodded at his explanation. "Okay, so, the fact that you'd probably not survive makes them a threat, so we'll need to keep an eye out for them." The girl nodded, smiling at him. "And like I said yesterday, I can help you with your swordplay anytime. And of not me, the bigger girls all have their own sword styles they use, too. One of us has to know whichever style you were taught." She purred, hugging her tail tightly. As to his friend, she'd have to be careful about him when he got here as she had a habit of making large, thunder-like noises. Peaking below
When she heard deception, the child gave a frown and looked around. "She's right though. Something's up.... I can feel it in the air.... We need to be careful, Rayne." She frowned, holding her tail tighter as her gaze shifted away from Trevor's home, watching the nearby houses and roads for signs of danger.

Nodding, Kana gave a smirk and slid her foot out like he said, only to push off and kick hard with her right foot, her bare foot hitting his chest, following it up with one of her high kicks only to stop and readjust herself so she could do a back-kick. Once she finished, the teen gave a smirk and pulled her hair from her face, smiled lightly and stuck her tongue out at him. "So, what d'ya think?" She chuckled breathlessly, placing one hand on her hip as her stance grew more relaxed.

'Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you're lost and alone
Or you're sinking like a stone.
Carry on.
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground.
Carry on.

 

[Dantes_river]

Pure T0rture

The Ninja Assassins
Ephraim, Shayde,
Sheik, Trevor, Watari

&

The Additions
Deception, Kristoff, Rayne

I wanna hide the truth,xxx
I wanna shelter you,
But with the beast inside,xxx
There’s nowhere we can hide.
No matter what we breed,xxx
We still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.

XXXXX"Pirates! I had a thing for pirates when I was little, wanted to be one for a while too... And then my mother shot down that dream alongside the dream of being an artist, a novelist or poet and a musician. Stated those were hobbies, not what a real Sheikah does. She was a dream crusher back then. Still is considering how Sheik behaves at times," Trevor cheered excitedly at first before simply sighing. Shifting his gaze to his daughter, he gave her a flicker of a smile before starting to pick at the bandage around his head wound. Scowling briefly when a burst of wind smacked his hand away, he gave a slightly annoyed sigh before returning to listening to the music. It was most definitely a fun song and rather enjoyable much like the first. Leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around his little princess, he gently placed a kiss on her cheek. "Love you, princess. Both you and your sister," he whispered softly in her ear before sitting in a slightly lop-sided position in his chair. Leaning forward like that hadn't been too smart, but he just wanted to make sure she knew how much he still loved and cared for his girls.

XXXXX"It's fine. I just want to apologize in advance for anything he says or does. Sheik believes his behavior is a defense mechanism and I kind of agree... And that's not the first time he's asked that question about the purpose of emotions. We just didn't know how to respond to it much less answer it. I just told him it was so the world wasn't all monotonous and he responded by walking away," Watari smiled back, his hand waving dismissively in front of him. As the pirate song, so dictated by the girls, came to a close, both him and Trevor clapped while once again praising Lianna's abilities with the violin. It was here that he noticed Deception slip into the room and sit a ways away from her father. Watari knew it hurt his cousin when she did that, but he merely frowned slightly while glancing at Trevor once again picking at the bandages.

XXXXX"They're aware and Ephie is actually taking his nap. I'm surprised you finally got him to follow directions, old man," Deception snickered, her father giving a slight shrug. "Hon, it took him this long to figure out what an MP3 player is and that an iPod is a more advanced version of it. And even now, he doesn't follow directions. If he's actually asleep after I told him to go lay down, he must be seriously exhausted. I don't work with him anymore so I don't know how his days play out. All I know is he visits often, gives vague details about what's been going on while eating and departs shortly afterwards to pick up where he left off. Then there's the days similar to today where he'll stay a while longer just so he can rest. The brotherhood doesn't give him much time off after all. As Wei Fong would say, he was trained for this. Last I spoke to his master however, I almost killed him for what him and the rest of the brotherhood did to that boy..." That got Deception's interest, her head tilting slightly to the side. Was he talking about that time when Ephraim stopped coming home with her father followed by the depression sequence she'd cured? "What'd they do to him? Was that when he first got the mask?" "Yes and... It's not my place to say. Oh! Mari, you don't have to worry about the chair either. I've had worse and I did kind of step outside of my boundaries by saying what I did." "Don't make it right... And I'm sorry for jumping on hitting you with it 'cause of what you said. I'm uh... Grateful you wanna help me with my issues though..." "You're so very welcome."

XXXXXHaving paused, the redheaded male furrowed his brow slightly before pointing at Kristoffand making the teen shrink down a bit in the corner he'd seated himself in. "Was that your full strength? I haven't exactly lost my vision like that since I left home," he asked curiously only to tilt his head to the side just by a little when the boy's face started growing pink. When he shook his head no, Trevor rubbed the uninjured side of his head. Poor kid must've been trying to learn restraint on his own for a while now. "Sorry... But no, that wasn't full strength. I was able to restrain myself albeit not stop from hurling it at you." "Damn, boy. That's one hell of an arm you got then. I'm gonna hafta remove some power limiters and give 'em to ya to borrow until I can get some just for ya then. I should have extras in my room just in case I lose some of mine, rings and armbands included for when I have to look professional... If necessary, I'll have to look into lip, eyebrow and tongue piercings considering you have those too... How many do you even have?" "Um... Thirteen? No... Fourteen? I think? Nine for ears, my lip, my tongue, my eyebrow, three for... That's fifteen actually. Wh-what? Stop staring... I made some bad decisions." "The frick? Fifteen? Wait. There are three not visible. Where are they?" "Places... One's near the tip of my tail and the other two are... Under my shirt..." "Oh thank God he didn't say where I was thinking he was gonna say... Ouch for the last two." "Wasn't that painful actually albeit I didn't get them willingly." "The gangs you used to be in?" "Yeah... Can we change the topic now?"

XXXXXIt took a second to register the girl moving so her first kick landed, but he managed to block the other two. When she took up a relaxed position, his foot spun around as soon as he dropped into a crouch just so he could bring her to the ground. "Like I'm gonna have a bruise on my chest and the rhythm of my heart was thrown off briefly," he answered honestly while rubbing his chest. Raising a brow at her, he took in a deep breath before straightening back up and extending a hand to her. "I thought this was the non-stressful practice lesson, not the stressful caving in of chests full-out spar. Also, the first kick had the most oomph behind it. The other two were what we consider love taps." Cracking his neck briefly after helping the girl back to her feet, he stepped up behind her enough to where she could feel him there, his hands resetting hers into position as his feet readjusted her legs. "Your punches lack their full potential because you're not using all of the proper muscles. When you swing this fist, the muscles here add extra power behind it. And with this fist, it'll be these muscles here. When throwing your fists out, you're going to want your weight to shift. Feel the muscles pulling when I move you like so? How your weight has shifted accordingly to how your body's moving? Those are the muscles you're going to use behind your swings. As for kicks, and do pardon my invasion of your personal bubble, you're going to brace one leg on most occasions unless you jump when you're kicking. You kick with this leg, this leg will hold most of your weight and yet will need to be able to shift so you don't break your leg if it gets hit. It's the vice-versa with the other leg. And distribute your strength accordingly. Don't go heavy and then lose that initial power. You didn't just lose power in your kicks, you lost a bit of speed too. Switch legs if you have to and don't add in moves that require more time to act. Unfortunately, your initial kick, or at least this one, makes the enemy go backwards so you'd have to follow and do so quickly. Long limbed people, get close and personal to make it hard for them to defend. Never get taken to the ground by short-ranged people or berserkers... Er... The people who can shut off their sense of pain for periods of time and just go apeshxt on people. They get you on the ground, you're not gonna get back up until they wear themselves out and even then, you'll probably be out first. Understand? I will admit however, that you have very strong legs compared to your fists."

XXXXXAfter making her move into certain positions yet making sure she didn't fall over by moving one hand from off of her hand just to keep it switching from her waist to tracing the places where muscles were being used yet avoiding her personal places. Smiling lightly at her as he released her in her original position, he stepped back around to where she could see him up front again and nodded slightly. She wasn't a bad fighter, most definitely, but there was always room for improvement. Unfortunately for him, he suddenly felt quite bashful from having been so close to guide her motions and her scent still lingering about him though he didn't show it. "I want you to try again and try controlling your strength."

Don't wanna let you down,
xxxBut I am Hell bound.
Though this is all for you,
xxxDon't wanna hide the truth.
No matter what we breed,
xxxWe still are made of greed.
This is my kingdom come.
xxxThis is my kingdom come.