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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:24:50 GMT -5
((Background information: Shira and Joniak are on the run because Joniak is wanted for murder, and then an accompliance of another murder. Anyone is wanted- Dragon Ryders, random midnight thief, whatever. As long as there are no unnatural half-breeds (half horse, half human) you are allowed.))
"You're such an idiot. I suggest one drink before we turn in at the inn, and instead you make it into a binge, revealing who we really are and why we are on the run. How could you be so god-damn stupid? Seriously, I could kill you right now. Another night on the road, with cloaks as beds, and twigs as pillows. Can't we have just one night in a bed?" She continued on, but he didn't listen. His head was pounding too hard to do anything but rest his head on her shoulder blade. Her cloak was comfortable, but her hair kept getting in his face. He moved his face to face the other way, away from her, but the trees passing them as the horse slowly made his way through the forest path made him dizzy. "Joniak, you know that you are wanted for murder, and the supposed accomplice of another person, but you have to wag your tongue at everyone. Can't you ever behave yourself? Now the dragons have someone to talk to, and its a direct beam to find you. No, I guess not..." He zoned out again as her voice carried through the forest as he tried to get some rest. His head was pounding because of the drink- the stuff they served was harder on the brain than that of which he was used to. It was uncomfortable the way he was sitting behind her- she had tied his hands around her front to make sure that he didn't fall off, wrists together. It was hard to shift forward to release the pain in his hands. It was hard enough to be scolded by his so-called "girl friend", let alone be cared for by her. Don't mention the dragons and let me sleep for once. He had the power of mind-to-mind talking, a newly found power, so it didn't work over long distances, but since they were body to body, it was easy. "No, I won't let you sleep. Joniak, I want to help make sure your name is cleared for murder, and boasting about it isn't going to help you any." Shira sighed. She shifted back to help him out, but it was hard in the commoner's dress she was wearing to move and not show some skin. She checked the knife hidden on her inner thigh, and then the bow and arrows that were in front of her. There was enough to do caring for Joniak in his condition to worry about midnight thieves. Dragons were the military way of finding fugitives, with their sharp noses and long claws. Riders would ride on top, to convey messages back and forth between each other, messages to home base. Dragon Ryders, as they called themselves, were greatly feared among the common people. Can we talk in the morning, please? Let me sleep and I'll make it up to you. Joniak pleaded, and sighed. "Fine. Go to sleep, but if we are found 'cause of your big ass mouth, I am seriously going to kill you." Deal. I love you. "Yeah, right. Go to sleep."
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:25:55 GMT -5
It was funny that the female should be so worried about a midnight thief.
Oh, yes. It was very funny.
A shadow followed the horse and the two mounted upon it, slinking through the brush. Another shadow, this one smaller and not at all human, buzzed alongside the first's head, swift and silent.
"I still think we should-" The high, tinny voice that was murmuring into the human shadow's ear was quickly silenced.
"Shh," hissed the larger shadow. "The one's drunk, anyway. How hard's it gonna be?"
The shadow that wasn't human buzzed woriedly before it took off from where it was perched on the human's shoulder. It flew ahead, shooting past the two on horseback so fast that it would be nearly impossible to see or hear- unless one was paying very close attention.
The human figure kept at its own pace, breath slow and quiet, and his footsteps moreso.
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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:26:47 GMT -5
Shira wasn’t paying attention to the flying creature that had flown by her- instead she was trying to figure out when they were going to stop and rest for the night. He needed to sleep off his drink, and she needed to sleep just for the sake of sleeping- she’d been up for nearly twenty-four hours.
Joniak burped in his sleep, and she winced. What a pig. In her disgust she noticed something wasn’t right-a small weight had formed in her stomach. Shira diagnosed it only as worry and hunger, not knowing there was someone watching her.
She squeezed her thighs together, and the stallion picked up the pace slightly.
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:27:21 GMT -5
The human figure put his hands into his mouth and blew a sharp, shrill whistle. A split second afterwards there was a sharp crack from directly in front of the horse, and an extremely odd figure revealed itself. As smoke and dust cleared away, a red-eyed, winged wolf revealed itself, snarling as it slowly moved towards the horse.
Meanwhile, the figure behind the travelers grinned. The djinni had really outdone herself this time- a red-eyed wolf was enough to terrify most, but the wings were new.
Silently, hoping that the travelers would be too distracted by the djinni to notice him, the thief crept closer, ignoring his partner and instead focusing on his intended victims.
They had to have something that would be easy to get to.
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Post by Daxx on Mar 21, 2006 16:28:00 GMT -5
"So let me get this straight," said Holden, rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. "You saw a man named Joniak." "Yup," replied a smiling, half-drunk man sitting at a table. "And you knew he was wanted for murder..." "Well, that was af'er 'e told da whole plashe," the man said with a small bit of spittle flying from his lip onto the table. He stared down at it and gave an amused, slightly stupid chuckle. Holden decided that although the man was half-drunk, he was still only a quarter sober. "And you let him walk right out the door, and no one did a single thing to stop him?" Holden asked exasperatedly. "Wellz, who do ya fink is gonna schtop a dang ashasheen?" Holden opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again in realization that, if drunk, the slob still had some common sense.
Holden shook his head, long dark hair brushing his forehead. He stepped outside into the fresh night air, but then realized as he inhaled that he was standing next to the horse stall and was probably better off stepping back inside for a drink before trying it again. The moonlight glinted off of his embellished crimson armor engraved with sharp black curves and small pointy bits around the shoulders extending decoratively. Not to say that the armor was mere decoration; the Dragon Ryders were not of the sort to be unprotected. He approached a large wyvern whose blood-red scales shone in the moonlight in much the way his rider's armor did. A large yellow eye came down to face Holden. The Ryder walked around to the side of the great wyvern and mounted the plush dragon- saddle. Holden's piercing gray-blue eyes scanned over the inn he had retreated out of with a look of contempt.
He took out a small silver coin from his wallet and flipped into the air. He snatched it and looked eagerly at what it had landed on. The face of an ancient man stared back at him, and he frowned. He put the coin away with a scowl; it looked as if he would not be burning the inn down after all. "Let's fly, Amara," he said clumsily in the dragon tongue. The wyvern spread its enormous wings and leaped into the air with its powerful legs. Warm updrafts lifted them up above the tree tops and Holden let the warm air envelop him as they leveled out. He scanned the ground below him in search of his quarry. Amara suddenyl dipped and spiraled down, her ears picking a loud crack of something in the woods.
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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:28:18 GMT -5
Meanwhile, in the forest, the horse reared, dropping it's passengers to the ground, then ran off into the forest with their last pack of needables, weaving inbetween the trees.
Joniak fell on the ground first, and landed on his back and neck, sending him into unconciousness from the pain. It wasn't like he would be able to fight anyway, in his condition. Shira, meanwhile, landed on top of him, swearing. She quickly got out of Joniak's arms, her cloak coming off as she backed off of him, showing the djinni her backside.
She drew her daggers, and faced the djinni, ready to protect her and Joniak at any cost, not connecting the whistle and the man sneaking up behind her.
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Post by Calypso on Mar 21, 2006 16:28:40 GMT -5
Calypso had already stopped for the night when he heard the whistle. It was probably not a good idea to have as much curiosity as he did - not when you have a reputation and a recognisable face (although he wasn't quite at the point of seeing himself stare back from WANTED posters yet) - but, intrigued, he gathered his things back together.
He'd readjusted his cloak and shrugged his canvas pack onto his shoulders, and was just reaching for his staff when there was a crashing of bushes in front of him, and a horse trotted into the little clearing. More to avoid getting trampled than anything, he made a grab for the reins and got the beast back under control.
Now he was really intrigued.
Switching the horse's reins to his left hand, and gripping his staff firmly with his right, he paused for a moment to recapture the breeze that had brought the whistle to his ears, and followed it back.
Slipping through the trees with nothing but the wind to guide him, he glanced up at the sky and considered. It was a fairly clear night. If there was going to be trouble, he'd much prefer to be able to call down a few bolts of lightning rather than rely on his staff-fighting skills. On the other hand, a cloudy sky would make it much more difficult to see - not only would that make navigating the forest awkward, it would also provide more cover for anyone who took it into their heads to hurt him. It was dark and shadowy enough already, he decided. He had a horse now, so if need be, he could make a speedy getaway.
Ah, the difficulties of being a weather mage.
Smiling wryly to himself, he slowed his pace as he drew nearer to the commotion up ahead. His blue eyes narrowed in a frown, adjusted sufficiently to the darkness that he could see the scene before him while still not quite out in full view.
Good gods, what in heaven was going on?
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:29:11 GMT -5
Though outwardly, the djinni was the picture of evil (or so she told herself, inwardly she was scoffing. Honestly, what sort of half-brained human skinbag could possibly fall for something like this? Still, orders were orders, and while the human finally got close enough to the man on the ground to press a blade to his throat, she kept up the act of venomous demon wolf.
It figured, really, that the boy got to do all of the easy work.
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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:29:28 GMT -5
She sensed the other presence behind her, and turned her head around enough to see what was going on. Why was this happening to them? All she wanted to do was have a normal life- looks like that was out of the question.
A necklace that was around her neck started to glow brightly- obviously the dijinni was lying about its apperance. Shira just hated it when people lied, just hated it. The necklace was something that she didn't have on the outside of her clothes, but in the falling darkness, it was bright, and filled with powerful magic. Hopefully this would work....
She tossed a knife backwards towards the man that had his knife to Joniak's neck, and blade skinned across the man's hand, drawing blood. Shira, however, was backing off from the dijinni enough to get close to Joniak to hopefully be able to heal him if the man decided to hurt him.
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:30:11 GMT -5
"Yae-wow-ow!" With a cry that might have been of fury or surprise, the human figure stumbled backwards, feeling the knife wizz past the spot where his head had been mere seconds ago. He sprawled backwards on the ground, his hands planted firmly in the grass, blinking as if confused.
As though realizing that the whole plan had gone to pieces, the demon wolf disappeared, taking on the semblance of a boy with black hair and skin that was tanned dark. "Well, that one was a complete mess, wouldn't you say, Jakkin? Who's idea was that again?"
"Shut up." As the human on the ground staggered to his feet, still looking dazed at his close call with the knife, one could see that he looked exactly like the boy the djinni was in the form of. "I told you not to try and- and- impersonate me ever again!"
"Impersonate's a harsh word, don't 'cha know it?"
"And if yer tryin' to talk like me-"
"Why would I do that? A self-respecting djinni like me? Posh!"
The boy opened his mouth to throw back a nasty response, then seemed to realize that the two people he had just tried to rob were still there. "Er- eheh. Yeah, um... this isn't... really... what you think it is..."
The djinni took on the form of a raccoon-sized dragon made of glass. The light that the female's necklace generated caused it to glow spectacularly. "Actually, it is, really. It's exactly what you think it is," she said gleefully to the male and female, her dragon's wings pumping idly.
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Post by Calypso on Mar 21, 2006 16:30:42 GMT -5
"Fascinating as it would be to watch this pan out," Calypso said wryly, "I get the feeling that it's no longer a tense stand-off. Or even a daring robbery."
He moved forward, keeping a careful eye on all four occupants of the clearing in front of him. The horse snorted and pranced to one side away from the djinni, and, to be honest, Calypso couldn't blame the poor beast. He was a little tense himself, ready to call on a breeze at a moment's notice. He could easily run for it if any of these people - or things, he added, considering the djinni - tried anything.
"Well, then," he said quietly. "Aren't we going to introduce ourselves, and see if he needs any help?"
He pointed with his staff at the unconscious form of Joniak on the ground.
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:31:06 GMT -5
Just as Jakkin opened his mouth to refuse point-blank to introduce himself to anybody, the djinni spoke up, her eyes glinting with malice. "Introductions would be lovely," she said, putting on a false tone of dignity. "I would be Queezle Sarahim T'artau, Feller of the Walls of Thor and Dublin." She grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp, glass teeth. "And he- he would be Jakkin." Her glistening tail gestured towards the boy who stood with his arms crossed, glowering at his companion.
"Why d'you always give the whole name?"
"Honor. Djinn are very proud. Thought even you would have figured that out by now!"
"Proud? Sounds a bit more like self-centered."
By now it was clear that the pair bickered almost constantly, and they glowered at each other.
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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:31:28 GMT -5
Shira spoke up first- she wasn't one to keep her mouth shut. What she said wasn't in regular English, but instead the universal language of animals. "Nana-tuk. Nana-tuk ne." She repeated it several times, and, slowly but surely, the horse settled down. It still looked wairly at the dijinni, but as long as the dijinni more-or-less stayed away from it, all would be fine.
Looking over at the mage that held her ride, as mage was usually the only person that had the feeling about him, the magic around him, that she picked up on, she said, "Names are Killik, and that," she pointed over to the form of Joniak, "is Elrick," without any hesitation at all. It was their false names, ones that they had used many times over to stall the Dragon Ryders and other people on their tail.
As the dijinni and the man answered, Shira walked over to Joniak and bent down by him. Her hands undid the rope around around his wrists, and checked his pulse to make sure he was, in fact, still alive. She also picked up the dagger that had been thrown, and then turned around to, infact, see the other members of their 'quartet.'
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:31:49 GMT -5
Jakkin seemed rather put off as he watched Killik and Elric, as though his pride were wounded.
"I don't see any point in introducing anyone, seeing as we're leaving- right, Queezle?"
"Nope. Not leavin'."
"What? But I- I command you-"
"Now, how long has it been since that 'I command you' rubbish worked on me?"
The two went on bickering, until Queezle won Jakkin over. "Don't argue with a djinni," she told him gleefully, wrapping her cold tail over his shoulder. "The physical strain's too much for your mind."
Jakkin muttered something under his breath.
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Post by Calypso on Mar 21, 2006 16:32:15 GMT -5
"Nice to meet you all," Calypso said with a wry smile. "I'm Periel."
That had been a close call. He'd almost given them his real name. Perhaps there was no need to be this cautious, but it wasn't just the Dragon Ryders who knew the name Rican Hyisun. There were more than a couple of mages out there who'd be all too happy to get their hands on him.
"Is your friend Elrick alright?" he asked of 'Killik', stroking the horse's neck. He listened with but half an ear to Jakkin and Queezle's banter, though he did take in the boy's face as well as Shira's. He'd never seen either of them before, thank the gods.
And his eyes flicked back to Joniak. He couldn't see his face properly, thanks to the way he'd fallen, and the darkness. Chances were, though, that if he was travelling with the girl, and he didn't know her, all would be well.
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:32:31 GMT -5
As their argument ceased, again with Jakkin looking rather foul-tempered, Queezle took the form of a rather cheery-looking songbird, perched on the boy's shoulder.
"Sore loser," she jaunted, shaking herself in a most unbirdlike manner. "Right- Killik, Elric, Periel. No way in hell'm I going to remember which name goes with which face (five thousand years does that to you), but that's quite irrelevant!"
Jakkin rolled his eyes. She was doing this purposely to annoy him, he knew, and it was best if he didn't react.
"Is he alive, then?" the djinni went on, her bird's eyes flicking towards 'Elrick'. "I didn't bother to check."
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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:32:52 GMT -5
"Yeah, he's alive. I would get him off the ground, but it seems like someone still has my horse." Shira said, looking pointedly at Periel.
Her necklace started to dim slightly as time went on, to a color that more-or-less reflected blue. This color also had a meaning, something that she started to chew her lip on. A Dragon Ryder was in thier mist. As long as he, who ever he was, didn't ask to see her upper arm (where dyes from the last time she was in jail still stayed), or Joniak's, they would get off without any trouble.
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:33:14 GMT -5
"Pity. And I thought Jakkin would have done at least part of the job right," tweeted the songbird.
"Shut it." Jakkin glowered at Queezle, but for once, they didn't continue to bicker. He was furious at her for giving their names so readily- or his, at any rate, she could do whatever she wanted with her own- but by now he was tired of arguing and getting nowhere.
One could only take so many arguments in a given day.
Anyway, the djinni probably wouldn't have answered. Her gaze had been drawn by 'Killik's' necklace. She blinked, but said nothing on the matter.
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Post by Shira Old Site on Mar 21, 2006 16:33:45 GMT -5
"What excatly was your job, anyway? Where you sent to kill me, for some reason?" The near twenty-four hours of running was really taking a toll on her, and then her necklace was showing that a Dragon Ryder was around her, and Joniak was drunk and unconsisous.
Could her day just get any worse?
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Post by RuThor on Mar 21, 2006 16:34:14 GMT -5
"Queezle, can't you keep your mouth shut for five minutes?" The djinni grinned innocently, and Jakkin turned to Killik, a scowl forming upon his face. "I wasn't gonna kill either of you- not if you co-perated." His mispronunciation of the word made Queezle snigger.
"I was just hoping you had something good worth nicking, that's all," Jakkin continued, fingering his knife longingly.
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