Open The Soul Guard

Ally bounded after Vera, throwing out idle chatter all the way down to the road. When she saw the two people, apparently a man and his daughter, she didn't take long to decide that this Jenna girl was going to be pretty damn awesome. It was unfortunate that neither of them were named Crotchkiss, though. She bounced off Vera's comment on that. "Yeah, I was really hoping for a midget!" Her lip trembled in mock depression befroe she giggled. She took what possessions she had and tossed them in as haphazardly as Jenna.

She hopped into the van, exploring its nooks and crannies. There wasn't loads of space, but it looked adequate enough. It only took her a few seconds to find something worthy of being called a trophy. Wrapped around the arm rest of the passengers seat was a giant orange piece of rubber. Very stretchy rubber. She took the band, and hopped out of the van. "Vera, check out what I found! I used to dick around with these back when I was, uh..." She trailed off, meaning to say, 'in my cute little shack with everyone else,' but found the words hard to say. She cleared her throat very suddenly, and went on. "Well, I used to screw around with these."

As she offered the band to Vera, she began to eye the back of Cedrick's head with a malicious smile.

Archie was quiet on the way up to the van. The girl...Ally...was much too loud. She was like some stupid thing from his school. This wasn't class, this wasn't fun. This was serious. People could die. Everyone here could die. This was a rebellion, a revolution, a rising, and she was treating it like a joke. Didn't she lose anybody in this war? Is that why she didn't care?

"Or, perhaps, she's lost someone so close that she need to distance herself from the whole thing. Not too disimilar to what you're doing-" Archimedeas clanged.

"Yeah, well, I'm not doing it so loud." Archie interrupted, lamely.

"True. But your's is probably no better than hers. It's all weakness, not being able to deal with something. A form of egocentricity so vast it hampers logic. Unintelligent, ununderstandable. A very typical human emotion."

"Spoken like someone who's never lost anyone."

"Spoken like someone who's had someones to lose."

Archie left him alone after that. He observed the driver and his apparent daughter intently, much more interested in the man who gave nothing away then the daughter who threw herself everywhere. He had nothing to pack, so he just slid quietly into the van and onto a seat. He put a hand lazily on the seat behind him, then withdrew it, sharply. Did he have a right to do that? Was the seat 'his' yet?

He shook his head. This wasn't highschool. No one gave a dman where he put his hand. And after this triumphant thought, he shoved both into his pockets.

(I am kinda lost... time skip.)

Jacen entered the van quickly and placed his sword across his lap as he went to the back. Then he closed his eyes and decided to use this time to contact Palara.

Palara Jacen thought as he peered deep inside. Sure enough, a faint connection became established.

Huh, what is it human? Palara soon shot back.

Do you know what is going on? asked Jacen
Yes, but I rather want you to find out yourself answered Palara.

Jacen mentally sighed and broke the connection. Same question=same answer, Jacen knew that. He was just glad he could contact Palara at anytime.

Cedrick had pretty much just walked right into the middle of a fight, and managed to get them to follow him, well, them. She forced herself to keep her mouth from opening and gaping. I will never understand how people can do that...it's like some sort of social power I'll never understand...

It's common in people who were actually raised by their parents, not just left by themselves...

...You know I couldn't change that. she shot back at him, surprising both of them with the sharpness in her tone. I just...ugh leave me alone. And with no reply, she came out of the forest somewhat, at least out of the trees. She kept to herself, she didn't even want to talk to anyone. Not like they would talk to her anyway, she blended in with the backround most of the time.

She couldn't even place why she was being down on herself now, or why she was having mixed feelings about all this. Maybe this wasn't the best thing for them to be doing...but it's not like it's her choice she just had to follow the orders of what she was told. She shook her head and looked ahead of her, almost running into a tree. Sighing, she focused more and saw that she had actually reached the van in one piece.

There was an older gentlemen along with a young girl, she assumed maybe they were father and daughter. What a stroke of luck...I get to see families interact and know what I was missing out on... Skye was being very dark right now, and Ares knew it, staying very quiet. The girl was very energetic, and the man seemed patient with her. She sighed, barely listening to him say to put any stuff you were carrying in the back. Not having anything, she went to the open doors and sat, out of the way of anyone getting in, with her feet dangling outside of the van. Why did she have to be so bitter now?

She leaned so her head was on the cold metal of the van and looked out into the trees. You know the world is full of things you won't understand, you just don't understand that it'll be hard to be around people that actually care for one another. Maybe you can come to care for them as friends. Skye just shook her head. How would she start, when she barely knew what a friend was? Or how to care about someone? Maybe I should have never come here...then I wouldn't be risking my life for something I barely understood.

((Magical. Most everybody is ready. If you haven't already, get cozy in the van. Here we go))

Cedrick was just about ask how long until they could get moving when the passenger door opened and in bounded Jenna. She slammed the door, and spun her chair around (as it had apparently been modified to do) to face them. Harry got in a little more collected manner on the driver's side, mumbling about how he didn't know what anyone meant by "crotchkiss."

Jenna popped open the glovebox, and presented a tablet. Her fingers wuickly navigated across the screen as she was, interestingly enough, silent. "Here's what the council says," She started, clearing her throat. "'You are to proceed to the city of Piani. Upon your arrival at the entrance of the compound, confirm your escape route with your squadmates and make sure the drivers are safe. Proceed to the entrance discreetly.

"At this point, it's up to you to fill in the blanks. You can make yourselves known early, or conceal your weapons until the last moment. Simply ensure that the governor's death is known, and that our message is proclaimed. Discuss tactics on the trip there, and you should be able to function as a single unit without a problem. As always, there are to be no civilian casualties unless absolutely necessary.'" Jenna gave a deep sigh as she finished.

Cedrick stared at his thumbs. The van's engine roared to life, and Harry sat silently while he waited for someone to give the green light. "So, then..." Cedrick started. He glanced at the others briefly. "I'd assume everyone's prepared for this?" He looked at Skye when he said this. She didn't seem like she could even step on a spider without saying she was sorry. "Piani is just a short drive from here, soon as you get on the highway. And the compound is close to the city limits, so the officials can evacuate the city quickly in the event of a crisis... Kind of like this."

Jenna spoke up. "How come you guys said something about kissing crotches when we introduced ourselves?" She pointed to Ally and Vera.

Cedrick let out a sigh of frustration. At least three who couldn't control themselves in some way, Ally and Jenna with their attention spans and emotions, and Vera with her personal space. And Skye with her timid nature could be a liability. Archie had so far proven to be clumsy and nothing more. The two strays they picked up had already proven their willingness to throw around their powers like toys. Jacen had some kind of thing where he said things that didn't make sense, like the driver thing, and then Cedrick looked at himself. He probably seemed like an overly-bossy punk who thought he was superior to everyone else. Arrogant. Yep, we're going to die. He thought with one hand over his face.

((I know Yoshi didn't say it, but you guys are free to control Jenna and Harry))

Ally found a seat in the van, close to the door, and sat on her hands. She listened to the long and boring briefing, thinking they had already heard all this before. "So, basically, they just wanted to make sure it's absolutely impossible for a rock to misunderstand the mission?... Sounds stupid." She thought, kicking her feet out rythmically.

Jenna asked what the whole 'Crotchkiss' thing was about. Ally beamed, and clapped her hands together while she explained. "So, basically, me and my friend Vera, over there-" She pointed to Vera. "-Were talking about what we thought our driver would be like. And it ended up becoming a foreign midget in a tuxedo with a bowtie, named 'Hotchkiss.' And then Vera told me she thought it sounded like I had said 'Crotchkiss.' So we were kind of hoping, whether or not your dad was the driver, or if it was a midget, that we could have a driver named Crotchkiss." She giggled.

She beckoned to Vera to sit next to her. "Come on! The sooner we get all set, the sooner we're outta' here!"