Open The Soul Guard

[Black Yoshi]

Link to OOC​

The Council's pavilion stood alone, every other tent maintaining at least a fifty meter distance from the large tent. The sky was clear, but the day was oddly bleak and sorrowful. Inside the tents, twelve very different individuals sat atop modest stones with cushions. It was proper, when meeting the council to sit on the ground before them.

The tent was dark, just shadowing the faces of the council members. Five of the Soul Guard were before them. The council members would speak at different times, and a few remained silent throughout.

The mission briefing began with a long-haired blonde woman near the center. "You have all been gathered here because the council has seen that you are worthy."

A large, greasy man on the corner added in, "Or that we believe you have yet to prove such worth."

The woman from before tilted her head sharply in this man's direction before slowly moving it back to the Adepts. "As I was saying, the council believes you are all prepared to be our personal strike force. Our ranks are sufficient for a proper counter-assault on the crown, and we intend to make a statement."

A tall and lanky man with shoulder-length silvery hair gestured to the five. "You lovelies get the honor of going first. On top of that, you get to strike hard and fast, and be as flashy as you like!" He let out a little laugh, and his white teeth gleamed with a wry smile.

A young woman with very short red hair spoke up, almost directly in the center. "... Despite what our friend just said, do not think this is a game. You are not to target anyone other than soldiers and the viceroy himself. Civilian casualties will be met with swift justice."

The man in the center, higher than the rest, spoke quietly. He rested an elbow on a knee, his cheek on his palm, and one leg lazily kicked out on the ground. His voice was bored and tired. "You'll have to hike for a while before you reach a decent road. Go that way, and you should find it easily." He pointed with his free hand to the west. "Once you get there, transportation will be waiting, and you will be taken all the way to a few blocks from the Viceroy's compound. Eliminate him, get back to the van, and await further instruction."

The blonde woman from before spoke again. "Your driver will be your link to us, and is not to be involved in any of your missions beyond simple transportation purposes, for lack of any of the power of an Adept."

The bored man waved his hand lazily at them. "You are dismissed. Adios, adieu, so long, beat it, etcetera, etcetera, have a good day..."

---

Cedrick had only ever seen the council once before. Remarkably, they were more up tight now than last time, if that was believable. He stretched after he got out of the tent, placing his hands behind his head. "Ah, what a pain. Can't believe they can't just get us a memo or soemthing written." He had seen most of these others around before, but hadn't spoken to anyone other than Cookie, the ogre of a man who acted as a cook for over half the encampment.

"Alright, I guess we can get acquainted on the way there. Sounds like we've got a hike anyways." He looked the way the councilman had pointed, and sighed. "First counter my ass. Bet they've sent out a few already, and none of them have succeeded, so they keep it quiet. If we fail, just another few who left the cause." He whispered to himself.

 

[Lil Kuchiki]

Ally puffed out a little sigh. Her heart was still thumping deep inside her chest. She had originally thought, when the little boy approached her saying that the council wanted to see her, that she must have accidentally done something horrible, when this was apparently supposed to be an honor. She wasn't quite sure she'd ever find this honorable, but there were worse things. Like being chained upside down directly by a waterfall next to a lemur suffering from asthma.

She played with her lower lip while she listened to the green-clad young man complain about this new journey. Her lip would make a little clapping noise every time she pulled it down and released it, slapping onto her upper lip. "What do you suppose our driver is like?" She asked, instead now flicking her ear. "I hope he's cute... No, wait! I hope his name is Hotchkiss, and he has an accent and wears a suit and is super proper! Like a butler! Or a midget butler! Our little midget Hotchkiss..." She considered the idea and was satisfied with her mental image.

She was also almost certain that nobody here would enjoy these little questions she posed. She had seen two, and possibly three of them, around camp before, and nobody ever looked very happy. Particularly the one complaining. He was always brooding when she saw him, except for when he talked to Cookie. What was his name again? Samuel, or Satchel, or something with an S... Or maybe a C... Clarence? No, it sounded like an S, that was for sure.

 

[CJBlazer]

Jacen smiled as he walked across camp. He had been there forquite sometime and was kinda getting impatient. He chose a small area and drew his weopen.

Jacen then began praticing and made five slices through the air with the blade and then jumped up, twice more than a normal person would, and came down with a powerful blade lunge. He landed on one knee and panting.

"Yep, I still got it," said Jacen, sheathing his weopen back. "Now, where be the others? I am getting bored."

 

[Ulqi-chan]

[ I'm sorry for replying late. ._. ]

Vera was chipping away at her fingernail polish, vaguely wondering what provoked her paint them a bright neon green, which clashed violently with the rest of her outfit. What was going through her mind at the time, she pondered. Maybe... I thought it would match? ... Nah, I know for sure that I wouldn't think that; electric green and red aren't similar at all, so I wonder what compelled me to do that? Meh, I guess it doesn't really matter...

Of all things that passed through her mind, it couldn't have been any more irrelevant as it was. Not five minutes before, she had been in that tent, listening to the close-knitted councilmen give them instructions, ordering them around, blah, blah, blah. On a regular basis, Vera would've done the complete opposite of what they wanted just for kicks, but she reasoned against it this time. There wasn't really anything else to do in the Soul Guard, not to mention she hardly knew anyone there. Sure, she recognized the others by crossing paths a few times, perhaps with small talk every now and then, but she didn't personally know them.

Guess that's gonna change pretty quick, Vera thought, planting her hands on her hips as she saw two of the others before her. One was a guy, all dressed in green and complaining about the joinery ahead. The other one was a girl, asking the man what he thought about the driver they were going to get momentarily. Vera covered her hand with her mouth at the mention of what the girl wanted his name to be, and she hid a smile. "Sorry. At first I thought you said 'Crotchkiss.' But that would be ridiculously hilarious, wouldn't it?"

Vera didn't particularly care that the girl wasn't directing her statement to Vera herself, but voicing her mishearing was just a must. It was too funny to ignore, in Vera's mind, and she needed to go ahead and make friends with the others while she could. You never know when a strong guy is handy, after all.

[ Oh, and, I'M SORRY FOR THE IMATURENESS IN THIS POST. But I'm serious, that was too good to pass up. Tee hee. "Crotchkiss." Now that would be interesting. XD ]

 

[Silver]

Skye looked around at the ones that had just been in the tent, she had tried to listen, but her attention kept leaving her, and wandering. She wanted to know more about this mission...so maybe one of the others would know? Glancing around at the ones that had been in the tent she saw that the boy with the same colour hair as her, a girl playing with her ear, and the girl with the bright girl finger nails had started a conversation. Should she go up to them and inquire about their mission?

Maybe I should just leave them alone... then she thought of what Ares would say, something about having courage..sighing, she slowly approached them, trying to not make her presence known. The green-nailed girl had started laughing about someone called 'Crotchkiss' and she tried not to laugh slightly. Skye has always laughed at the little names she had read about and since she didn't want to be noticed she had to be quiet. Well, it seemed that the other girl was asking what the driver would be like...she could start with that.

Crossing her arms in front of her had become a habit of her while she was here, and she had done it again. "Um...do you really think our driver...do you really think he'll be a midget? I've never seen one before.." More than two words, she was making progress.

 

[Black Yoshi]

Cedrick stared blankly at the girl who said "Crotchkiss." He rubbed his eye, almost in disbelief, then sighed. "Crotchkiss... Right. Well, good luck with that, you two. I highly doubt any of that, especially the name." He didn't care what stereotypes were, it was his experience that girls were more immature than boys past age seven. A girl who wasn't in the meeting asked if the driver would really be a midget.

"Our driver?" He stared at her for a few extra seconds, then shrugged. "I dunno, but I doubt it. As many ordinary humans that are running around the camp, they could easily find someone more capable of driving than a dwarf. The council might be using limited resources, but I don't think they're incompetent or else this little rebellion wouldn't last long, even with the help of Guardians." He stared at the game trail before them, and desperately wanted a well-built road.

He repeated himself. "Our driver..." He looked at the girl briefly. "Yeah, sure, our driver. I guess you're coming too, huh?"

 

[Ulqi-chan]

Vera looked over at the black-haired guy, a soft "oh" escaping her lips. She turned to face him fully, her hands falling back by her side, and she blinked. Well, he certainly seemed like the optimistic tough guy, didn't he? She ran her fingers though her hair, ridding it of a few tangles, and felt her grin fade. It seemed as though she should've kept her little comment to herself, apparently, because this guy—his name was on the tip of her tongue—didn't seem to enjoy it that much.

With a swift motion and a defiant gaze, Vera swiftly stepped in front of him, her hands back on her hips. "Have a little faith, won't you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "At least try to be a bit more, what's the word, not a killjoy? He could be named Crotchkiss for all we know, and I, for one, am not complaining." Vera scarcely noticed that she had leaned in toward the taller man, her face inches from his, and was completely oblivious that she was literally pressed up against him. Her chest was up against his, and almost unbelievably she didn't even notice.

 

[Black Yoshi]

Cedrick turned at the other girl's "oh." She was very quickly standing directly in front of him, and he listened to her only because he had to at this point. He opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. He looked at her. He looked at himself. He heard Theseus laugh in the back of his mind. And then his face flooded red.

He jumped back, pushing himself off of her with his hands on her shoulders. Theseus was busting up with hysteria in the inner reaches of his mind. "What the hell?!" He started accusingly. "Do you do that to everyone? I mean, do you even notice? Do you have any idea what I'm talking about?" He pinched his brow, shaking his head a little. He managed to get his mind back on track with some effort.

"... I was saying that you shouldn't get your hopes up, because the driver could be anyone, so... Ugh. I don't know if it's worth explaining to you." She clearly had a few things loose, and needed some lessons on how people worked.

 

[Ulqi-chan]

Vera stumbled back at the impact of the guy pushing her, but she quickly regained her balance and frowned childishly, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Hey! What was that for?!" she cried, baring her teeth at him. She noted that his face was fairly blushed, though she was too angry and naive to notice that it was more than likely because of her breasts being pushed on him, and sighed, her eyebrows furrowing.

"'What the hell,' what? What did I do? What are you... talking about?" Her demeanor was mildly confused at this point, and her arms slowly fell back by her sides. "You mean talking to people? Is that it? I'd hope you know how to get your point across when you're speaking. But... I mean, seriously." Her face screwed back into a scowl. "What the hell is wrong with you? All I did was say that you're a freaking killjoy! You didn't have to push me!"

Vera felt her fists ball up, and the thought of crashing her fist into his jaw seemed like a good idea right about now. He "wronged" her by shoving her, though she was still painfully unaware that her large cleavage was probably what caused the awkwardness and thus the pushing, and she had every right to be angry. Supposedly.

 

[Lil Kuchiki]

Ally laughed at the idea of "Crotchkiss." She liked this new girl. The dark-haired boy and her began arguing, though, and Ally felt the need to pick a side. So she picked the one with the more fun-sounding person.

"She's right, you know! You could loosen up a bit, maybe go to a few parties or something." Ally was perfectly aware of the girl's violation of personal space, and had to try very hard not to laugh at the boy's sheepishness. It was actually very entertaining. "You are overreacting. Most boys would've like that, anyway, but you must be really dull. Or have different preferences." She shrugged, not really caring what the real answer was. She walked over next to the girl, and stood next to her with a smile on her face. "Maybe you two should start over, huh? Like, with names or something. Favorite colors, maybe? Since we have to be friends from now on."

 

[Black Yoshi]

Cedrick glared back at the girl, his face still flushed with red. "I wasn't trying to push you, I was trying to get myself away. As for what you did, if you're really that out of tune with people, then maybe you should expect this kind of thing." And then it got ridiculous with another girl taking sides. Cedrick felt completely on the spot, all by his lonesome self.

"I know I'm a killjoy, I know I'm up tight, and certainly don't need either of you two to tell me." The second girl mentioned his "preferences." He only stared at her with an angry grin. "... What did you say-" And then she went on about how they had to be friends.

"We don't have to be friends. This is a job, and that's all I think it will be." He looked carefully at the 'no-space girl,' and told her and her friend, "I'm Cedrick. I fight with mostly short bursts, and that's all that you'll need to know during this job." He began walking in the direction their ride was supposed to be. He didn't know if she hated having her back turned on her, but he hoped so. The more pissed she was, the easier it would be to keep a distance from her.

 

[Ulqi-chan]

Vera felt her eyebrow raise in confusion and suspicion as she turned to the other girl, but she wasn't frowning or trying to be rude. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what did you particularly mean by 'most guys would've liked that?' I'm... lost here." She then heard the girl guess that the rude guy must've had different preferences, and her head tilted. "... Preferences in what? You people confuse me..." But she soon mentally shrugged it off as the girl suggested they started over and tried to get to know each other. Vera blinked a few times as the man, whom soon had called himself Cedrick, replied that they didn't need to be friends, and she felt herself frown. "Oh?" she said again, her voice fairly scornful and cold. Vera felt her eyebrow twitch as he turned his back on her, but she decided to state her name anyway. "I'm... Vera," she called after him, her voice loud and irritated, "And for the record, I think it's nice to meet you, too!"

Of course, she was being rudely sarcastic at this point, and she sighed deeply, trying to regain her composure as she turned back to the other girl. "... So yeah, my name's Vera. What's yours?" Vera had a feeling she would like this girl, as she wasn't rude or mean like Cedeick seemed to be, and twisted some of her dark hair between her fingers as she blinked at Ally.

 

[Lil Kuchiki]

Ally placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully. Cedrick wasn't the nicest person, but he was practical. Telling them his fighting style should help them know what to expect from him if things get nasty, so that was nice to know. The other girl, who introduced herself as Vera, brought her out of her trance. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot about myself in this little fiasco! I'm Ally!" She gave Vera a friendly smile, then looked over at Cedrick.

"He's awfully dark, isn't he? I know this is serious business, but he's already on the move before we've gotten to know everyone." She smiled back at Vera. "But that's okay. I guess every team needs someone to take things seriously. He'll be laughing when we're taken by surprise because he's the only one prepared. Maybe we'll even grow on him." She figured it might be best to follow this young man, though.

"We should get moving, I guess. We can't let him go alone. And we have to meet Crotchkiss!" She laughed at the name again, and began to follow Cedrick, though she was keeping her distance. He was obviously touchy about his personal bubble.

 

[Coroxn]

Archie had been quietly reflecting on the council and observing his new 'team mates' when it occurred to him that maybe talking to them or introducing himself might be a good idea. But they all seemed so...strange. And not in the good way. Cedrick and Vera (he had their names already memorised) had almost come to fists over practically nothing, and that Ally was far too bubbly for him to just walk up and talk to. She and Vera were exactly like the girls in school who would be smiling one minute and stabbing you in the back with hairpins the next.

So instead he turned to the shyer one, the one who seemed like she was most definitely not at home here, and said, quietly, "Hey, I'm Archie. You excited about this?"

Which he thought was a very good way to start a conversation, because it gave her ample opportunity to just say "yeah" and walk off if she didn't want to engage in a conversation. Archie wished more people would be as considerate when trying to bait him into a chat.

 

[CJBlazer]

Jacen saw his new team and then thought of introducing himself. Pulling out his sword he said.

"Hello, My name is Jacen Ralvarn, in case nobody knew. I fight using short bursts of energy and have great reflexes. I can also jump rather high. Yet, other than that, I can't really say much else, so no asking. Okay?" He looked at the others and then sheathed the sword back across his back. "Also, I may look weak, but don't let that fool you. I can take care of myself."

He looked at the others once more. He knew he could get along quite well with Cedric. He and Ced are quite alike, he thought. Though Jace uses his brain more than his fists.

"So, like, umm, what shall we do next?" He was now eager to get the meeting started and possible destoy something.

 

[Black Yoshi]

((Dammit, people, let's get this moving))

"Right, let's just get this over with. Sooner we've reached a decent road, the better." Cedrick didn't want to deal with someone like Vera. Or, for that matter, Ally. They wanted people to be too nice. As if they weren't going to go commit some of the greatest crimes immaginable. Murder. Assault. Possibly nabbing an official or two. They were fugitives. And these two wanted to be nice. Cedrick wasn't really put in a nice mood at the idea of the mission.

Another one introduced himself as Jacen. For some reason that escaped Cedrick, he drew a sword for the sole purpose of stating his name. He rolled his eyes. "Short bursts. Yeah, whatever. If you couldn't take care of yourself, you wouldn't really have reached the camp, would you? We go along this game trail, and we should come out by a road. That road will lead to a pretty little family camping area one way, and Piani another way. Our driver should be waiting there for us, whether his name is Crotchkiss or not." He turned back to the trail, and started down, making a point of not breaking too many twigs as he walked. If anyone traced them back to the road, and they saw signs of humans travelling this trail, they could find the camp. Guardians were powerful, but Theseus made a point of telling him bullets had a tendency to kill everybody.

A few squirrels and other small critters would run to their homes when they saw Cedrick. He slapped a bug that landed on his shoulder. He couldn't say if it was a mosquito or not. They were in this area, but usually only around dawn and dusk. Cedrick figured it may be a time to warn his companions of his precaution. "Everyone be careful not to leave too many signs of us taking this trail. If someone less-than-friendly wanted to find the encampment, they might trace us back to this trail and follow it up."

 

[Coroxn]

Seconds passed, and the girl made no move to respond, so Archie stood their awkwardly until Cedrick, who seemed to be taking charge much too much for his liking, made what were probably supposed to be some witty remarks and ploughed on through the forest, strangely creating little noise or din during his march. Cedrick then made a comment on it-this was an intentional move so as to not lead anyone back to the camp. Archie rolled his eyes (inwardly. He didn't dare actually do it). He of all people understood the benefits of playing cautiously, but to be over cautious was to be foolish. If they spent too much time trying to leave no trail their speed might suffer so much so as to delay or even ruin the mission, and that was something this uptight little git could probably murder people over. He smiled. Murdering people over not being able to murder people. Ah, the irony.

He made an increase in speed, at the sacrifice of breaking a good deal more twigs and undergrowth, but managed to about match Cedrick's speed, staying a meter or two behind to avoid, you know, actually talking to the guy.

His foot connected with a root, and he flew into the ground unceremoniously, leaves rustling at unimaginably loud levels. He immediately threw himself up and shook the dirt off of himself, and looked back at the impact. There was a large, Archie-sized imprint in the loose earth and mood. He slapped his palm to his forehead and walked briskly on, staring at the ground in front of him to both avoid another fall and the eyes of the group that may be on him.

 

[Silver]

(I'm sorry I haven't posted ahhhhh)

Skye had completely spaced out. She was only really snapped back into the picture when someone had said their name was Archie and was actually trying to have a conversation with her. And she was spaced out for it. She would have tried to talk to him, but she wasn't quick enough and he started to walk away...or well, trip away. He fell face first in the dirt, and quickly tried to correct it..or well, that's what she thought he was doing. Skye had so many trouble guessing what people were doing.

I'll make up for not replying...or at least try to talk to him...maybe he wouldn't feel too embarrassed.. She quickly tried to catch up, trying to avoid people looking at her and to avoid the same root the boy had tripped over. There seemed to be a small indent in the ground where he hit.

"Um...Archie, right? I'm sorry I didn't say anything before, I was just a little, um, spaced out. I-I'm Skye." She called it out not loud enough to carry everywhere but to where he could most likely hear her.

(/fail post. My next post will be awesomer and longer...at least I'll try to)

 

[Sylph]

“ermph!”

Physically tossed, the young man let out a annoyed groan as he lifted himself off the ground. He wipes at his forehead, smearing the trickle of blood from the cut. Trying to find his balance again, he dives off to the side as his attacker dove for him. Making use of the attacker’s confusion when not in possession of his recent punching bag, the young man scampers deeper into the woods. Pushing back his hair into his hat, he starts to run the events through his head.

He was walking through the woods. He was making his plan on how to avenge his family. He was talking with the crazy bird lady. Then he was jumped by some deranged old man that started to beat the ever-living-shit out of him. After that it was pretty much a blur of movement on both sides with Krow laughing her tail feathers off in his head while it all happened.

He continues to run, hearing his attacker hot on his tail even with the speed he was going at. He mentally yells at Krow for not helping him, only to receive more laughter from the mad woman. Risking a glance over his shoulder, he let out a small yelp as the old man came close to grabbing his coat. "How the hell are you this fast!" he swear back at him, diving off to the right and looping around a tree to run back to where he began. He's been travelling these woods long enough to know how to use it to his advantage.

He also knew he couldn't run forever at this rate without his Guardian's help.

Clutching his chest, he struggles to breath as he runs back into the clearing and wishes for a place to hide so he can recover. Finally his legs buckle and he falls to his knee, letting out a curse as he spins and readies a attack on his attacker.

"Bring it you Old Fart!"

 

[Coloursfall]

With a growl, the blond man leapt to his feet after a bare miss at the boy he was chasing's coat, cursing to himself and gritting his teeth and shoving some of his hair from his face before keeping chase.

"You'll regret saying that, you little rat!"

Edward snarled, crashing through the woods after his young foe, face twisted into an angry growl and body tense and ready for a fight. After the pair came out onto the path, the older male stood back a bit and watched with a wide smile and the young boy readied an attack of his own. Best not make it easy for the little thief then. Edward shifted his stance, legs apart to give him better balance, one arm held out in front of him.

"You going to give up?" He hissed, showing all of his teeth and twitching his fingers a bit, whites of his eyes darkening slightly.

With a soft hissing sound, his Guardian began to manifest, tendrils of dripping crimson ichor swirling from nothingness into existence around his forearm, quickly engulfing it, slithering to the ground the reforming around her master's powerful arm. Almost immediately, the thick blood formed a wicked cluster of spikes and blades, twitching and shivering with anticipation.

"'Cause if you don't..."