Abysmal Souls: Chapter 2

[ReformBlade]

Looking at her hand as if it were more interesting she responded, "Yeah I found a decent shelter for the coming night. You done yet?" She asked rhetorically before hopping down to the same level as him. "Whatever, what all..." Carrion paused before continuing. She wasn't used to this, but hey, there's a first for everything, "...do you need done so we can speed this up? I-I'd rather we didn't spend too much time out and about here, we NEED to try and keep as small a profile as we can..." She said rather hastily.

[Nanami Touko]

"I just need you to pile some snow at the foot of the cave entrance... and make sure nothing's inside the cave. Having a bear wake up and tear us apart during the night wouldn't be very nice." He began to set up a few snares about 20 feet from the cave. Hopefully a rabbit or so would jump into it, and get stuck. Of course, he had to steal some of his shirt to set up the actual snare, but it was worth it. He was beginning to get hungry. He went back to the cave entrance, and sat down in the snow. "This... looks like it's going to work out. Alright." He was hoping there was actually a bear in the cave, now. It'd be nice to roast one up. "Gah! Gotta get my mind off of food..."

[Shin]

Aurelio looked up, somewhat amused by the boy. Part of Aurelio wanted to punch his face in, but he'd have to restrain himself. He needed that knight on his side.

"Wait? He's with you? Well, I've seen stranger." He turned his attention to the armoured man. He leapt down from Halberd, it was annoying talking from horseback.

"Whilst coming this way, I came across an unmanned horse. I can show you the rough area I saw it in. I'm guessing your target's done a runner, it's not often someone abandons a decent horse."

He brushed snow off of his horse's mane.

"It's weird, word spread about a witch hunt literally overnight. Who exactly is she?"

This guy seemed pretty intent on finding her, which was good. Although the witch was sounding less and less like his sister by the minute. He'd tag along to make sure. There was also the fact that word had spread so quickly. After what the knight had said, she sounded pretty real.

[ReformBlade]

The witch watched Adrian sit down in exhaustion and frowned, "Why don't you go rest or something? That'll get your mind off of food. In the mean time... Uh... I'll go see if I can do some hunting. Just stay here and don't do anything stupid, alright?" She went off in a huff, completely forgetting to pile up snow in front figuring she could do that after she came back. She went deeper into the mountains, her cloak wrapped tightly about her conserving her energy no matter how uncomfortable it would be. It wasn't the safest idea she had, but she always got results when she went by herself.

"Like I just said earlier, she's a completely heartless and cold bitch with a fiery temper." Grant said brushing the snow off of his legs and continued, "Pink hair, wears all black, may threaten to kill your family..." He said, not hiding any contempt in his voice at all. He was simply out for blood.

[CT075]

"Well, if you guys want to miss out on all the fun by spending the night in there, that's fine with me, but I think I'll run ahead!" (shouted from the other side of the wall)

Ormis started running the second he got up. He could clearly see some hoofprints, which he followed until he noticed that the horse had stopped, and two riders had run off on foot. He grinned.

Not so smart after all, eh? Or you've never run form a hunter before?

He took off again, reaching a set of mountains about 10 minutes later. Surprisingly, he didn't notice the signs of people climbing, only that the tracks stopped there.

"Dammit... She's in there somewhere. Hm..."

Edited June 4, 2011 by Camtech075

[Caliban of Sycorax]

Lucretia remembered her dream--her mother was in a snowfield, and there were bodies around them. She didn't know if these people were the bodies, but she figured if she traveled with them she could at least have protection if necessary. Without any words she slipped on some winter clothing and followed the two men through the snow. She remembered the cold winters of Miyako she spent training swordplay. Her blades were built to resist the cold, and they were made of nearly unbreakable materials. If she needed to fight, she was ready.

They continued their journey and stopped at the mountain range. The footprints they had been tracking ended.

"Dammit... She's in there somewhere. Hm..."

"They're probably sheltering themselves from the cold" Lucretia said, "if you're not used to it, it can be deadly."

[Shin]

"Thanks, buddy. The name's Aurelio, what do you go by?" Aurelio answered.

The odds were it wasn't his sister. She'd always been kind and considerate, but this seemed like a good alliance. Aurelio pointed at the town. Halberd knew very well what that meant. Take shelter until I come back. Obeying his master, the horse dashed off, towards the north entrance.

"She's probably taken shelter somewhere, this snow's pretty nasty. There aren't really any towns near by so her best bet would be a cave or something."

Aurelio looked down at the boy's footprints.

"He's a lively little punk, isn't he? He's got the right idea though, we need to catch up before the weather gets worse."

Aurelio began to make his way after the kid. As much as he hated his attitude, the odds were that he'd be seeing him again.

[Nanami Touko]

"You're being too nice, you know? I don't trust you." Adrian wasn't liking her sincerity. It was abnormal to what he'd seen before from her, and it was starting to make him wary. "Oh well, if she's getting food, I should be setting up the snow." He began to pile snow at the entrance of the cave, which was luckily only around 6 feet tall. It was a snug cave, but it was long enough for them to both get some room inside. He was around 3 feet up with the snow, when his stomach began to growl again. "God damn stomach, you'll get some food soon enough, alright? Just keep moving, me. Just keep moving..." He piled the snow up to 4 and maybe a half feet, and then made a small crawl space to get inside. "I'll let the storm take care of the rest..." And then he heard some footsteps. Sounded like running. Riya can't be back yet, can she? He peeked out from the little crack in the snow, to see Ormis and an unknown woman down at the base of the cliff. Shit! This is not good. He sat back down, hoping they hadn't seen him hiding. If they had, maybe he could feign ignorance.

[CT075]

"Well, I sure as hell don't feel like looking around the entirety of this damn mountain range. Look for a cave or a weirdly piled stack of snow or something. Adrian appeared to be with her, and it looks like he's native around here. That means he knows that they need shelter if they're gonna survive this storm."

Ormis was beginning to feel the effects of the cold himself, wearing only a light cloak that kept the snow off his body. As a Sapphirean ((Is that right?)) native himself, he was used to this. But that didn't stop the chill from bothering him. He pulled up his cloak to cover his face a little.

"My suggestion is that we either wait for ten minutes or for those other two guys to get here. Emerald can hold his own in a fight, and Mr. Pompous over there could probably serve as a distraction if nothing else."

Right at that moment, he saw some movement by some crevice. He squinted, but couldn't really make out what it was. Maybe it was just some falling snow or something.

Still...

He checked for the easiest path up there. Sure enough, there were little indentations in the snow where someone had used it as a a handhold, and small clusters of rock where a ledge crumbled from someone stepping on it.

"I think we've found them, or at least someone else around here. If Emerald and his new friend aren't here in the next five minutes, let's go."

Ormis readied his weapons.

[Nanami Touko]

Adrian heard Ormis talking, as the storm had died down for just a moment.

"I think we've found them, or at least someone else around here. If Emerald and his new friend aren't here in the next five minutes, let's go."

"Seriously? I don't need this shit right now..." Time to make a break for it. If I can find Riya, we can lose them in the mountains. Adrian took a deep breath, ready to bolt. He backed up in the cave, and then took a running start, diving through the snow he'd made as a makeshift wall. It collapsed, and he rolled onto one knee, looking down at the group of Ormis and the girl. "Hey Ormis! How've you been, ya little shit?! Just couldn't sit back at the town and relax, eh?!" He smiled, and took off up the mountain. Of course, most people would have trouble climbing a mountain in this weather, but not Adrian. Not only was he used to the weather, he was used to areas like this, so scaling it up the way Riya had gone was as simple as walking along some plains, to him. He was actually hoping to run into her, so that he wouldn't have to deal with his two pursuers on his own.

Edited June 4, 2011 by seph1212

[CT075]

"Hey, Adr- Hey!?"

Ormis started climbing up.

"Hey, you, lady. I never caught your name, but it'll have to wait. You can stay here and wait for the others or you can come after me. Your choice, but I'm going!"

He bounded up the slopes with a little less grace than Adrian, having not climbed mountains in a storm for a while. But one who grew up doing things like this would never forget how.

"Adrian! W-wait up! Come on, where're you going!? Dammit, wait!"

His foot slipped, and his had to pause for a sec to catch himself.

Damn... The others are never gonna catch up in this weather.

"D-Dammit!"

He started climbing, faster now, but still not fast enough to reach Adrian in time.

[Nanami Touko]

"Ha! Can't keep up, can you?!" Good, he's leaving that woman behind. I can deal with him by myself. Adrian stopped at the top of one of the ledges, giving Ormis the chance to catch up, as he drew his sword. "I can deal with him, I can. I will!" Adrian had actually started to second guess himself. He hadn't known Ormis very long, but, he liked the guy, even though he wasn't very smart. And, Ormis was still a kid! He couldn't kill a kid... could he? Adrian's legs began to shake a bit. No, I've... I've gotta keep running... No! I can, and I will do this! I'll convince him to leave, and if he won't, I'll... I'll... Adrian shook his head and took a deep breath. "I will do this."

[CT075]

Ormis scrambled over the top of the next ridge to see Adrian waiting for him, sword drawn. To be entirely honest, he liked Adrian. There was something about him that just made the boy trust him.

But... he's in league with that witch... Gah...

"No need to insult me like that. You can't have been living here for THAT much longer than I have. You're what, 2 years older than me?"

It was obvious that neither of them were bothered by the cold. Ormis would have taken off his cloak right away, but he didn't want to get drenched with snow just yet. Hopefully he could get out of this without fighting.

"Hey, what's with that sword? Come on, you're not going to fight me, are you?"

It was a bluff, and both of them knew it. Ormis tightened his grip on his sheathed sword, still underneath his cloak. He wouldn't draw it until there was no chance of getting out of this without fighting.

[Nanami Touko]

"I'm not going to fight you if you walk back down that cliff, Ormis. Why are you chasing her? For money? Fame? Because that idiot in green armor convinced you to? Come on! You're not an idiot! You can think for yourself, can't you?! I've read the letter, and I know what it said, but, even then, you'd rather take her life just to save yours!?" Adrian didn't want a fight, and if he could convince Ormis to leave, then he wouldn't have to have one. He kept his legs steady and his sword out, though, just in case.

[CT075]

"I'm not doing it for fame or money. I'm doing it becaus-"

Ormis fell to one knee.

"B-Because... dammit... Gah!" He clutched his head.

A wall of flames. No way to escape. A boy, running through the once-white-coated trees tripped and fell, rolling onto his back.

"Wh- who are you!?"

No answer. A shadowy silhouette, red hair clearly visible in the firelight, approached him.

"Hm, I thought you'd put up more of a fight, the way you talked earlier. It's a shame." The boy was crying. He got up, and ran in the other direction, only to be cut off by a fireball. "No running, boy, I want to see how strong you really are. Come on, now, pick up that weapon. Here."

She threw a sword at him, blade glinting in the flames. The boy caught it, then wiped his tears with his sleeve. He wasn't dead yet!

Ormis slowly stood up, still holding his temple with one hand.

"Gah... I can't... I'm not gonna run... I won't..."

He collapsed, without the strength to fight.

"Run, Adrian."

And then he was unconscious, snow drenching his cloak.

((Just FYI, this isn't a cop-out, this is something SB and I actually planned. This just happened to be a convenient place to start it.))

Edited June 5, 2011 by Camtech075

[ReformBlade]

"What did I expect, of course no animals are out and about, they can fuckign sense the weather... how strange..." She pondered for a moment what it would be like to be able to do that, but it was cut short by a sudden growl above. She looked up to find a wolf staring her down, teeth bared. Wolves don't hunt alone, Riya. she thought to herself, grimly remembering the last time she was hiding out in a mountainous region. She took off towards the designated cave at a run, causing the wolves to chase after her, easily surrounding her, putting themselves right where she wanted them. With a sweep of her arm, she produced a ring of fire around herself and the wolves, blocking them all in, making the wolves panic. Smiling in glee, she slowly brought the ring of fire closer and closer upon her, the beasts scurrying about pathetically, until...

FWOOSH!

The wolves were burned badly, trying to put out the fire all over their bodies, but carrion sustained it until they stopped moving. "Wow, they held up for almost a minute... they're getting tougher, or I'm... weaker...." She muttered as she covered the wolves in snow save for one which she picked up and slung it over her shoulders. She heard Adrian's voice carried through the wind, which only made her mildly angry, given her usual anger level. "What the fuck is he doing? And... who is he talking to?"

-----

Grant responded with a smile to Aurelio, "The name's Grant, nice to meet you, Aurelio. And yeah, she probably has taken shelter in the mountains to the West there... " He said pointing in a general direction over to his right, "And yes, that kid is very impulsive and gets on my nerves, but he's extremely genuine and doesn't seem to back down from a fight." Grant tied on the fur cloak and hurried off to the mountains with Aurelio.

[Caliban of Sycorax]

Lucretia decided to wait instead of following the kid up the mountains, and instead stood poised for battle at the foot of the mountain, swords drawn. She was very confused at the moment, and she still knew little about this "witch" character everyone was after. She didn't really care for the "hunt", she just wanted a group that she could fight with in case her mother appeared.

((short post is short, I guess I can wait for Grant and Aurelio to arrive))

[Nanami Touko]

"Ormis...? Ormis!" The boy had collapsed, and Adrian was freaking out. Why did he collapse, what happened, what... I... What's going on?! Adrian kept his sword out, in case it was a trap, but upon rushing over to the boy and checking to see if he seriously had collapsed, he had. "Oh great... Ormis, why'd'you gotta do this to me?" Alright, calm down Adrian, calm down. You can just... take him with you, yeah, and when he wakes up you can explain this whole deal to him. He picked up the boy, hoisting him over his shoulder, and continuing up the cliff, where he ran into, who else, Riya. She seemed to have found something to kill, as the entire area was devoid of snow, with... lumped up piles of snow. I... don't want to know if there's anything in those snow piles. "I swear I can explain this whole situation as long as you don't just start shouting and actually give me a chance to explain" he hastily blurted out, hoping that he'd be able to get at least one word in, edgewise.

Edited June 5, 2011 by seph1212

[ReformBlade]

Her expression was stoic as Adrian tried to ask her something. "Just fucking spit it out then..." she said through her teeth, trying as much as possible to hold her rage in check. Even she knew that's be a dumb idea. Looking at the unconscious kid brought back memories of hers. Ones she didn't care for, and yet...

"Hm, I thought you'd put up more of a fight, the way you talked earlier. It's a shame." The boy was crying. He got up, and ran in the other direction, only to be cut off by a fireball. "No running, boy, I want to see how strong you really are. Come on, now, pick up that weapon. Here."

She threw a sword at him, blade glinting in the flames. The boy caught it, then wiped his tears with his sleeve. He wasn't dead yet!

"Leave me alone, dammit! I was doing just fine until YOU came along!" He swung at the lady wildly, missing. "Gah, stand still!"

The lady smirked, her teeth shining in the light, "Oh come on, you can do better than that, boy! You think you can get by in life with such meager skill? You're a wimp. Plain and simple. A meaningless being. If you can touch me, I'll stop toying with you, so come on, show me what you can do, prove that you're not just a crying pitiful kid!" She laughed at him as he kept swinging and missing her, the laughter only getting more and more maniacal as the kid got angrier and angrier...

Carrion shook her head, shaking the memory away from her. No way... bullshit, was he that kid?

[Nanami Touko]

"Uh, well..." Adrian began to stutter, unsure of what to say, as he could hear the sheer anger in Riya's tone, and he'd rather she not be upset. She seemed happy earlier, but, as she had suddenly become seemingly angry. I knew her kindness was just a ruse. Alas, Adrian calmed down and took a deep breath. "He followed us here with a girl, who's still waiting at the base of the mountain, probably waiting for some more people to show up and chase us. They spotted me, I ran, and Ormis followed me." He set the boy down on the ground, stretching his arm some. "I couldn't bring myself to kill him. He's not a bad person, and I honestly think that he was just misguided; convinced into chasing you, when he really didn't want to. I wasn't about to leave him there. We should at least wait until he wakes up, and hear him out." Adrian was focused on making sure Riya didn't try anything, like set him on fire whilst he was out, so he stepped in between the two, just in case.

[ReformBlade]

She wasn't liking where the conversation was going, but time was of the essence, "You got 5 seconds to make a decision, or I'll make it for you, and you won't like it. Take him or leave him for the others." She waited for his response, figuring she knew which one he'd take. "Tic toc, hurry up, kid."

[Nanami Touko]

"We'll take him, now where are we going? They're on to us, and we won't be able to stay on the mountain for the night." His voice was stern, and he kept his eyes locked on Riya. Adrian was sure that he could convince Ormis to join them, and would rather have the option of trying that then having her turn him into a burn pile of ash. I can at least try. And if he won't listen... then, I don't know.

[CT075]

"Dammit, dammit, dammit! Gah!"

The boy was wild with fury, swinging the sword around without abandon. He was determined to kill her, the woman who had appeared out of nowhere and killed his family. Not that he ever really did a whole lot with them anyway, but still his family.

"Grrrraaaaaaah!"

His blade swung around again, but this time the kid braced his shoulder against a tree and used it as support to swing around again. He barely nicked her, drawing a little blood from her arm. She looked surprised for a moment, then put that maniacal smile back on and said something. The boy couldn't hear over the roaring of the fire.

"Dammit!"

Ormis woke up in a cold sweat, scrambled backwards a bit, and grabbed frantically for a sword before he remembered where he was.

"Guh... huh... YOU!"

He reached for his sword again, but found it missing. Either he had dropped it at some point on his journey to... wherever he was right now or Adrian had taken it. Ormis slumped back, utterly defeated. He gave one long look at the woman standing near him with long, red hair and the power of fire.

"Ugh... you... that night..."

The boy couldn't even form full sentences right now.

I guess this is it, huh... I guess I never really lived up to my claims of grandeur... Oh well...

[ReformBlade]

"Yes, me. I'm almost regretting leaving you alive that day... Perhaps you can make yourself useful, and I won't kill you." She offered to the kid. "I'm sick of it. i really am. People think I'm the source of all their problems... I'm not innocent, I'll never pretend I am, but goddamn, I try and help people out every so often and everyone assumes I'm just trying to kill everyone ever! All of this over one goddamn misunderstanding. I'm tired of it all, and every time I try and explain, I get the fucking weirdest faces and the most violent responses. And... AAARGH! Look, kid, I'll lay off of you and just walk away if you promise to just leave me the fuck alone. I have done NOTHING to you, and you've done NOTHING to me so far. I propose we keep it that way before you get all pissed over nothing..." She ranted out of nowhere. "Or..." she continued, her voice becoming resolute. "Or you can come with me and see for yourself what it's like. then judge for yourself." What the hell am I thinking? This is a terrible idea! But... it'd at least keep them within arms reach...

[CT075]

"Hm, so is that it? I would've thought you'd at least try and scare me into submission before that."

Ormis was beginning to get angry.

"Don't you DARE act like you're the victim here. Sure, I attacked you first back in town. But you struck first both that night and a few days ago in the forest. I personally have a bone to pick with you."

He paused.

"Of course, I don't have a whole lotta choice here, do I? I ask to leave, I get a fireball in my back. I don't really trust you. You can guess why. Either way, I think I'll stick around. At least this way I can make sure this doesn't come back to bite me later."

That's right... we never finished that fight in the forest. What was that she said...?