Town of Latent

THE MERCHANT TOWN OF LATENT

Credit goes to Lucind for the Map.

DESCRIPTION - LOCATION - PEOPLE - COAT OF ARMS - THE LANTIAN SPEAR & SHIELD - CLIMATE - FLORA - FAUNA - PRODUCTION/TRADE - SOURCES

Latent is a merchant town located on the eastern shore not too far from the Leviathan Stadium. Along with Durem and Barton, as well as the newly developing Akea, it is one of the largest cities in the northeastern lands. The city is composed of a large number of people far and wide, including the native Atlanteans, with around 8,000 inhabitants. Over the years, the business within the Stadium became such a neccessity for the town, because of the ravaging wars within the lands. Because of this, business has sprouted up within the country, thanks to the Stadium.

• Description:

Latent is a thriving town full of trade and growth. The fishing market has kept the people living for generations, and still thrives due to the bountiful source of food, the Leviathan Sea. The Latent market is one of the most diverse in Gaia.

The town is divided into two areas; the Inner City and the Outer City. The Outer City includes the area on the shore of the Leviathan Sea, and the south and southeastern border of town, facing the forest that surrounds the Stadium. The Inner City is everything inside the borders and the northern border. The two primary entry points to the city are the Northern Gate to the northeast of the town, and the large port. But this is only one part of Latent. The other Latent, not visible easily for the traveller, is as extended as the visible one. Built on a flat rocky shore which contains a lot of caverns, the sewers under Latent are older as the town itself. And it is said that the "funny" business which flourishes there, is far more important than the transactions made in the upper town...

The Northern Gate

The Northern gate is part of an essential trade route with Barton. The Northeastern road is watched at all times by a marshall of the city, from a watchtower adjacent to the gate. The gate is closed after dark, and any merchant caravans that wish to enter must obtain special permission, or wait until morning.

The Outer City

Surrounding the houses and the gardens is the Outer City, a maze of streets, buildings and general urban chaos. Some twenty percent of this area are used by hunters and fishers living in this area. The fishers gather fish from the sea and prepare their flesh to be eaten, and their parts to be traded. Hunters hunt for food and gather lumber in the forest on the outside of town. Many buildings are libraries or training centers, others are profitable businesses. This quarter also houses the entrance to the tunnels that run into the cave network under Latent. There is even a school for young ones, teaching mainly history, languages and about other races, as in the market square they are a common site. At the very edge of this area is the sheer face of the inner wall that reaches up into the sky, encircling the city. But the wall isn't solid by any means.

The Shrine of Water

The most noticable structure in the Outer City is the Shrine of Water located near the shore. The Water Shrine is a small, but a beautiful temple located on the eastern shore. It is triangular in shape, and the point is facing towards the center of the sea. It is constructed of fine marble, hued with bluish green. In the center is a fountain where fishers and sailors usually ask for blessings before using the waters.

The Arwood (Grove of Arvins)

A short walk to the east of the town will bring one to an Arwood; a grove in honor of Arvins, a legendary Hunter. The path closer to the town is less adorned, but as one walks along, moss is fund, and eventually, hearth bushes develop. The path comes to a circular grove inhabited by various trees that do not normally grow in the region. The grove is tended by hunters in the town daily, and one is usually found somewhere in the vicinity of the Arwood.

The Gardens

Roads leave the Inner City square in four directions (northeast, west, southeast - to the three portcullis on the inner walls, and to the gates of the city beyond and east to the harbor). Move in any direction out of the market area and you are presented by the gardens that encircle the Market Square and for a while you start to understand why this place is so beautiful. The gardens echo beauty, growing wild and ornamental plants from far away places. Here the gardens follow the concentric theme created by the walls, wrapping around the central square. There are no paths emanating from the roads that pass to the outer edges of the city, but if you look carefully you can make out the tracks worn by centuries of feet passing over the grass. Certain parts of the gardens are simply carpets of flowers for most of the year, that not even the roughest of rogues would wish to disturb.

The Residential Areas

It is hard to tell where the gardens end and the residential areas begin. People live above your head as you stroll through certain areas of the gardens. You can hear them singing, laughing, but you can't see them when you look up. What you make out however, are the crisscross walkways that link dwellings, the spiral staircases up towers, and flowers cascading fromrailways. Along the road, and sometimes well away from them, with no obvious way to reach them, are small stone or wood dwellings. What is different in Latent is that housing administration fulfils a rather different role, as property is not distributed. Rather it is the duty of the owners to give the house to a neighbor, should they, for whatever reason, leave, who will ensure that it is not left unlived in for too long. Housing administration keep tabs on quality craftsmen, and can give advice on who is right for those jobs that are usually caused by high winds; administration will also organize any necessary repairs needed to empty houses, and will find somewhere to put up those who find themselves without a place to stay.

The Inner City

The buildings in the Inner City are generally large and built of stone, steel, brick-- all the modern day conveinces. The homes here are built towards the outskirts; closer to the Outer City. Where the main business takes place is in the very center of the town. The Inner City is always busy. It is filled with taverns, inns, businesses, and trading houses, as well as the area known as the 'Trade Route'. Upon the trade route, one can buy various items for your everyday needs. From the basic weaponry to even some of the rarest weapons(if your lucky), the training equipment one can use in order to further their training, the armorments to help bring out defense, and the other miscelaneous items that can be of use...

The Fountain

A large fountain in a lake stands at the northern end of the Inner City. The sculpture is of the world itself, supported by two Leviathans, and the other elements are to be found at their feet and around the disc that they support. Water cascades from the disc of of the world into the pool, the edges of which are planted with herbs with healing and food usages, which residents are free to collect on a sort of bring and take basis. If one takes from the poolside, one must also plant something in return.

The Lantian Train Station

The Lantian Train Station is a gloriously crafted building. The entrance looks like something from the Greek Era with pillars holding the arched entrance. Each pillar is a swirling Leviathan holding the roof up as if it is biting the material with its majestic jaws. Once inside, the lobby of the building is dotted with a few cafés, coffee shops, and small stores where odds and ends can be bought, such as newspapers and magazines. The ceiling is high here, nearly fifty feet up, and instead of a normal ceiling, it is covered in three massive skylights. The tiled floor stretches all the way to the ticket lines.

At the ticket booths, one purchases a ticket and can grab a map of the city complete with a numbering system marking all of the major interests for tourists and visitors. Tickets can be purchased for many destinations including Lament, Strata, Barton, Aekea, and Durem. The train platform can hold up to six different arriving or departing trains, and a PA system calls out across the building to alert travelers of departing, or arriving coaches. Screens can be found just beyond the ticket booths detailing this information for all to see. Security is there, but rarely seen since many security cameras dotting the complex watch activities and alert officials that something is wrong. If extra assistance is needed, a quick phone call to the Shields usually suffices. However, for the most part, things go as usual, and the employees do their best to accommodate travelers’ needs.

Other Interesting Buildings

It would go without saying that I should not mention some of the smaller but still well-known places in Latent such as the most prominent establishment in the town, "Fallen Star Tavern", and its competitor, the White Deer- which boasts 'over forty types of drinks, liquors, ales, spirits, and other potations', or the Apothecary's Flask, which sells all sorts of medicinal, chemical, and herbal concoctions.

Numerous merchants also run establishments in the area, such as "Dark City", a small shop whose owner claims to have visited Leviathan Island and returned with treasurel. Here you'll find a nice and comfortable place to read, buy or rent new and used books, talk with friends about what you've currently read, chat about nonsense or just relax.

A traveler will have his or her choice of numerous inns and bedplaces; on the cheaper end of the scale are such places as Tarhand�s Cothouse down by port (mostly frequented by the dockyard sorts and the poorer merchants) while those with a few gold coins to jingle would probably continue to a more posh setting.

If that same traveler then needed to replace a few items or completely replenish his supplies, the popular and broadly-stocked Orrin Chandler's would have much of what he required. If seeking swords, daggers, or basic armour, one cannot do better than the dwarven-owned and operated Dwarven Arms (an unimaginative but accurate name for the huge weaponsmithy!). For soft goods, the long-established weaving firm of Sergetha & Daughters has a great deal of made-up stock and can weave-to-order most individual requests.

Eating establishments are on every street of the city, and range from the tiny fish-fry stalls and temporary ale-tents to the elegant frescoed rooms of Leviathan Falls Fine Food. Taverns, beer-halls, pubs, and other drinking holes may also be found throughout the city.

If seeking entertainment in the evening, the East Side of the city, is an area a visibly-armed man may choose to wander with sufficient coin to purchase more exotic drinks, emotion-altering substances, or paid companionship. However, the second-lowest Step of the city is somewhat safer and has the more discreet establishments such as the simply-named "Jenny�s" to recommend it.

And finally, if the adventurous traveler should run short of money during his stay, he always has the option of risking his future at Fribben the Human�s shop, where the ample-bodied money-lender will gladly discuss terms with him.

Other Places Include:

-KFC (Kentucky Fried Chocobo)

-The Bistro (Italian Resturaunt)

-Bobs Hotdog Stand (hot dogs obviously...)

-Sharons Chilly Ice Cream Shop (31 trillion flavors...)

-Bessy Bovine's Quality Steakhouse (steak & burgers)

-Me Chinese (Cantonese Cusine)

-Nihon-Tofu (Japanese and a wide selection of vegetarian dishes)

-Sweeny Tods Meat Pies (meat pies obviously, now serving Soylent Cola...)

-Pins & Needles Tattoo parlor (what the bloody F**k do you think they do there?)

The Underground

Ever since the Stadium had been introduced, Latent has regained some of its splendor however, the trade in the upper town is not the same as it was in former times, but that doesn�t affect the business in the sewers.

The underground Latent is built on rocky ground, but has many caves which are connected with each other. It is said that once a civilisation of giants existed here which built the sewers, but there is no proof for it, though the caves are connected through a number of big tunnels as well as very small opening. There exists a net of channels in the underground which is flooded regularly with seawater when the tide is high, especially when the currents are strong during the winter months. Latent gets rid of its debris this way. Due to the openness to both sides , to the sea in the west and the east, the sewers can be a dangerous place to be. It is hard to predict how high the level of water is at a given time or in which direction it is flowing. So only skilled people are able to visit the sewers and anyone who has to hide from authorities of the upper town might find refuge or a silent death.

The Docks

The docks are connected both to the town and the stadium. Latent has it's own seperate docking area for fishing boats and commercial use, while the Stadium itself, however, has a much more industrial type port at the base of the cliff that the stadium is sitting upon. Such a construction allows the 'basement level' of the stadium, to be intertwined with parts of the cave system beneath it, eventually emerging near the base of the cliff where the port is built into it.

The harbour itself is a maze of small wooden jetties stretching quite some considerable distance along the sand and pebble beach at the foot of the cliffs.Hundreds of ships may be tethered to these jetties at a time. As well as small fishing vessels, identifyable by their distinctive shape: long thin boats, often shaped or painted to look like the great creatures of the deep, and often called Dragon Boats, one may see merchant boats from all over Gaia, stopping here, or simply docking to trade. As a result, a small market of its own exists within the docks, as people trade from their boats.

The Traders Inn (Floatilla)

Another favourite spot is the Traders Inn, or the Floatilla. Made up of two large, anchored vessels, the Floatilla is the best place for a new merchant to start his career. All day merchants travel to the Floatilla, set up shop, and reside inside the landlocked vessels for the time they are in the city. It is rumored that the Floatilla harbours a black market. A myriad of smuggled items, such as jewels, artifacts, weapons, and even foreign women (prostitutes) and slaves are said to be sold and traded here. Besides the illegal market, the Floatilla harbours various mercenary gangs who will do anything for money.

Location:

Latent is located in the Gaian province of Barton, and is a major trade center among the major cities. The city is nestled between the Leviathan Stadium, and the forest.

People:

The intial inhabitants of Latent were the surviving remainder of a lost tribe. Their skin is usually white in color, though darker shades of color have been seen as well. Their hair color varies from white blonde to dark brown. The eye colors of the Lantians also vary but are mostly shades of blue. There are also various body types, but for the most part are of an average height.

They have a wandering spirit and are always looking for adventure. They cherish freedom and they are willing to suffer for it. They are extremely difficult to rule and often they decline to defiantly. However, they obey willingly if they respect the person in charge.

The strong ties these people have to the sea, which they deem as their life-giver, show fully as they consider the sea their territory and lay claim to whatever they find in it, whether it is alive, dead or sunken.

The Lantians have an unusual metabolic and circulatory adaptation. This adaptation, which has evolved over many thousands of years, allows them to dive at depths that would cause instant death to a normal human. It also allows them to stay longer without oxygen and to slow their heartbeats to a point where others might think think these people were already dead.

In town the men and women wear various manners of clothing. The men often wear single layered pants while the women wear dresses made of soft cottons; the more elaborate dresses are sewn with crushed oyster shells.

Lantian diet consists mainly of seafood and things they can get from the sea. Their bread, and other compliments all come from the sea. The bread is made from special seaweed, which is baked into flat shells upon which other seafood can be put into it.

The Lantian population is characterized by a remarkable tolerance to foreigners. Everybody can be fully accepted to their society and enjoy the same treatment as the locals as long as he/she can speak their dialect and respects their ethics.

Because of the location of Latent, and the fact that the town is a port, many people from all over Gaia pass through the town. Merchants from northern Gaia, immigrants from across the sea, fighters seekign fame, and adventurers seeking the mysterious all have an impact on the rich cultural background of this town.

The people of Latent greatly respect the Island of Leviathan and have created numerous superstitions about it. The thick haze and strange noises that come from the northern sea add even more to the superstition. Some say that the island is haunted with ghosts of those lost at sea. Some believe that an actual Leviathan still lingers, and curses the place. Some have come up with even wilder theories such as the entire island is haunted by elven skeleton zombis, or a demon lord of the sea resides there and kills anyone who comes close to his horrible magic. No one has ever been brave enough to actually venture there and find out the truth.

Coat of Arms/Sign:

The Latent coat of arms is a silver Leviathan within a triangle. The triangle represents unity between the three major towns of Gaia: Barton, Latent and Durem. The silver colour is a symbol of productivity. Silver is also used because it is a valued metal that can be found in the Gaian region.

The Lantian Spear & Shield

Uniforms

The Lantian Spear: The uniform of the Spear is as shown above. A long, two-toned coat serves as the top for the uniform; the forearms and chest of which is white, the rest being a dark blue, as well as the fastening buttons which hold the two layers of the coat together; there is a black shield-shaped crest on the left upper arm of the coat, which contains a silver spear with a leviathan wrapped about it. The slacks of the uniform are the same dark blue as the coat, and are held up with a silver-buckled, black belt. The ensemble is gloveless, although they can be worn, and any shoes are allowed. Women can wear skirts if they wish, but they may also wear long dresses or slacks.

The Lantian Shield: The Shield's uniform is very similar to that of the spear, except that it is solid blue instead of two-toned. And instead of having the silver-and-black patch on the upper left arm of the uniform, the Lantian coat-of-arms is sewn on the right breast of their coats in silver thread.

Members

The Lantian Spear: Members of the Spear are few, but powerful. Considering the class of people that travel through Latent to the Stadium, you wouldn't want a regular old police force, now would you? Altogether there is maybe two dozen members, but they are all a minimum of A-class fighters. They prefer to keep their identities a secret, and not very many people have seen them - at least none that are willing to talk, for fear of persecution. All fugitives are apprehended and taken to a containment center somewhere near Latent, although the location is secret. Their leader is a warrior of immense power, obviously, but no member of the Spear to date has spoken personally with him; they typically recieve orders by telepathic means. When they are off duty, which is often, they pose as regular people and wander the streets of Latent; some actually live there, or at least nearby. And, indeed, the only time they don the infamous blue-and-white coat is when a true threat to Latent is posed, or a string of crimes have been committed that are particularily haenous. For all other crimes, the duty falls to the Lantian Shield.

The Lantian Shield: The Shield is a force of everyday Lantians that have signed up to defend their home, and vary greatly in strength. Some are high-class warriors such as can be found at the Stadium, but some are simple residents with no special powers that simply wish to keep their community safe. They can be armed with any weapon, and are based out of a squat, two-story building located near the center of Latent. The basement and second story are holding facilities for prisoners, the lowers facilities for more dangerous suspects, and the first floor is the base of operations. At any given time there is maybe twenty members of the Shield at the station, and a hundred or so out on the streets.

Summary

The Lantian Spear: The Spear is basically a special forces, only called upon for high-profile fugitives and powerful criminals that the Shield can't handle. Their numbers are few, but fiercely proud and dedicated; with the strength to back it up. The Spear is their life, and they devote themselves wholely to it.

The Lantian Shield: A basic police force of dedicated Lantians. They are numerous in number and diverse in their members; none are turned aside, except for those with shady pasts. Just like any police force there is dirty members, but they are clean for the most part. They are very useful in keeping tabs on basic criminals, but the villians that are too much for them are always referred to the Spear.

Climate:

The spring season is generally cool while the summer is quite humid. Precipitation in the winter time is usually in the form of rain, but occasionally a soft snow occurs. There is a lot of rain, especially in the summer. The town often is lightly foggy near the coast, but never so much as to obscure vision.

Flora:

Latent is surrounded by quite a large forest, akin to Barton Forest. Various other small bushes can be found in the area such as the teki tree and the hearthbush. Some people keep small gardens, usually wielding berries of some sort.

Fauna:

Not many animals would be found inside of the city itself. Birds tend to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Wolves roam around the outside of the city and a hunter may come across the occasional Gaian bear. The most popular animal in the town is the fish of course. Khendochar, and mithrilfish are just a few of many fish living in the sea.

Production/Trade:

Latent serves as the center of the Gaian trade routes. As a result, the town has a number of large storage areas, where traded goods are stored to be transported to their proper locations.

Latent produces mainly fishing and hunting supplies, and trades for weapons, clothing, and other materials with the other Gaian cities. Because trade is very high in Latent, the town has available to them resources from all over the continent. The primary business in the town are weaponmaking and fishing related jobs.

Trade takes place primarily with Barton, which yields them cloth and dye. The more exquisite furniture in the town is imported from Durem.

Resources. The large forest surrounding the city provides food, herbs and lumber. Additionally the sea provides food, water, and minerals. Also, an essential trade route has been established upon this sea.

To the northeast of the town, a small mining community was established. Though not greatly pursued by the Gaians, silver mining is a common job among people in general.

Their was one thing for sure, if there was a bar that was known for it's drinks it would have to be the Fallen Star Tavern's. It was known for the smooth feeling when it trickled down the customers throat, giving the cool tingly sensation feeling each time. Each bartender and Maiden were often found to be friendly and extremely attractive, but some were just alittle to friendly with one another some would say. But that wasn't the point, the point was they were good for customer benifits.

Finally another customer entered the Tavern, a few turned to look on who it was but as always it was simply another customer. Slowly the consumer placed a spot on the bar stools where they lied face to face with the bartender. From afar, it was definately a woman. She seemed to be in her twenties now with shoulder length black hair, that matched her black framed glasses. What really caught people's attention was her ears, They were infact; not human. They were large snow white rabbit ears which seemed to pick up every sound within the room.

To the left of her a man staggered over and plopped beside her having difficulties even to stand. The odour of alcohol filled the area she was in as he breathed. Quickly she attempted to fan it away with her gloved hand.

"Hey Gorgeous, Wanna come on over to my room so I can get some of that bunny action...if you know what I mean?"Asked the man with a rather slurred tone. The rabbit girl soon turned to look at him and cocked her eyebrow, she obviously wasn't amused by him.

"How about no..." simply replied the girl as she turned over away from him trying not to pay attention to him. She fiddled abit but countinued to look on what she wanted to order. Without warning the man beside her placed his large clammy hand on her thigh close to the opening of her black skirt.

"Hehe...You don't seem that tough" mocked the man as he was soon inches away from her face. At that moment her crimson eyes where flaming in rage. With a quick movement she threw his arm away angirly, but sadly it didn't seem to be that strong of a throw.

The drunk quickly scampered away at having the fear of this stranger of beating him to death, but before he left he did manage to say a few words. They were slurred and staggered, spoken with some difficulty but still understood.

"You better watch your back Boy"

The Tavern doors swung close as the woman turned over to the young man. She froze for a moment realizing who it was. It was Silver. She smile grew to be fairly large as she quickly gave him a large hug.

"SILVER!" Giggled the woman as she pulled away from the hug smiling brightly. Her identity was finally revealed, it was Madison from the former Leviathan Stadium. She had managed to survive the destruction of her home. She had a few cuts and scraps on her fair soft skin but she still seemed alright. She countinued to smile brightly at him.

"It's alright...I'm hanging out here for alittle but...as you can tell it's not working out so well. And yourself?" Replied Madi as she offered him a stole. She smiled brightly and looked for the bartender so she could get Silver something to drink.

Madi was never a big drinker, infact she never tried it before. Memories of her past seemed to spark inside her at the slightest smell of it. But she was always curious about the experience that she could face if she tried maybe alittle sip.

Madi cocked her hide sideways and looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about...What was a pheonix? Soon the Bar tender turned to Madi to see what she would like to order. She wasn't even sure, she didn't want to look like the wuss that comes to the bar and sits there. But she didn't want to do something stupid.

"Pheonix?" questioned Madi as she told the bartender to go his own way and she got would try some of the wine. She wasn't entirely sure what awaited her after trying this fine drink. But for her, it would most likely be an experience within itself.

Sakura confused by finding the rubble of the ruins of the stadium had sent her straight for the near by town. She felt a horrible feeling in her gut as she headed into town. When she first woke to find that Silver had left. The ruins of the stadium left her in a panic and she noticed the smoke of the chimnies of this small town and followed. She walked into town amazed she had never noticed it. Her stomach began to growl as she picked up the scent of a well cooked meal. She blushed out of embaressment from not eating, and looked about for a near by inn to stay at.

" "

Chris stumbled around the drunk who was attacking him. Giggling as he weaved and dodged the mans slow and pathetic blows. The drunk getting more and more infuriated all the while. It stopped being funny as soon as the drunk sloshed some sort of foul smelling liquor on Chris. The drunk swung again, and Chris narrowly dodged that one, and was caught off guard by the kick following. Chris grasped the mans left ankle firmly, and twisted it slightly, the drunks other leg buckled. Chris swung the mans leg out across his body causing his back to be turned to Chris, and on his knees. Chris laid him out with one strong kick to the back of his head. And departed for the nearest tavern, leaving the drunk unconscious in a back alley.

Chris saw the woman, and had a brief mental debate about whether or not to stop and talk to her.

(Inside Chris' mind)

*Talk the girl and don't stare at her breasts.

What the? No, shut up, thats weird.

No, she totally digs you, turn on the charm maaan.

Dude, how can you tell that when you're not even looking at her face.

DAMN IT! I told you not to stare at them!*

Chris was indeed, standing there like an idiot. Staring straight at her chest, and reeking of whisky. He wasn't drunk, and he didn't drink. But it would seem like he did.

"Guhh... hi~"

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

Finally, Lucind turned around, smiled apologizing at Rebecca and then made sure both of them found a comfortable seat in one of the vehicles.

On the way to Latent Lucind almost fell asleep but snapped her eyes open everytime the vehicle jolted.

~ Chapter 2: Latent - The Charming Hamlet from Hell ~

The vehicles had stopped at the refugee camp on their way back to collect the wounded and injured that remained here, as well as the healthy ones that had stayed behind to attend to them while the larger group had already begun the trek to the nearby village of Latent. They should have been arriving about that time; in fact, they could be seen from the edge of the village by the time that the trucks had left, and most definately would have been in town by the time they got back.

With the new passengers, both injured and not, room had to be made, and adjustments to the seating arrangements were done quickly in the interests of getting everyone out of the sun and into a clinic as soon as possible. Upon this particular truck, the two young men who had been sitting near the back moved along to sit against the back of the cab, and two new passengers climbed into the bed of the truck with them.

"Hey, ladies..." one of the young men said, before recieving a slap on the face from the other.

"Timing is everything! " Tiem shouted at the other boy, his arms folded across his chest after the smack, and accompanying his sage-like advice with a sage-like nod.

"...timing...? But I-" And he was slapped on the other side of the face..

"Timing is EVERYTHING! "

"What the hell are you-?" And he promptly recieved another one.

"Timing. Remember timing? Our friend timing?"

"..." The young man seemed apprehensive to try again, unsure of whether or not he'd recieve another smack of vengeance for saying something at apparently the wrong time... Or perhaps just something wrong in general...

"Hey, ladies..." Tiem leaned back a bit against the cab of the truck; reaching up with his left hand to brush a mussed clump of hair straight again, and then reaching up to readjust the positioning of that... cat... on his head.

" What the hell!? Why are you allowed to say-"

Slapped.

Tiem simply smiled like an idiot, folded his arms, and crossed his legs; looking the epitome of slackerdom as he reclined at the front of the truck bed.

"Because I'm not trying to get some..."

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! ...no, it's most certainly not Tiem Jay... though he IS most certainly faster than a clumsy girl.

The boy dove forwards, pushing off from the back of the truck cab and reaching out towards the girl who was about to fall backwards over the tailgate. His hand caught the collar of her jacket long before she was in any sort of truly dangeorus situation... not really the most dramatic 'nick of time' saves, but it wasn't supposed to be heroics, just a helping hand to keep someone in the frying pan and out of the fire.

"Oi..." Tiem muttered, looking up at her from where he was half-laying on the edge of the truck bed; trying not to crush or bump any of the injured that filled the rest of the bed that he had just flattened himself across, "...remain seated until the vehicle comes to a complete stop."

"Do not..." Tiem said monotonely in reply, releasing his grip upon the girl and pushing himself back to recline against the cab again; resuming his position from earlier in painstaking detail (which looked just odd, to see a person try and recreate a pose that they had just left, down to the point of grasping his foot with both hands in order to position it correctly upon the opposite thigh).

"What do you mean 'not'?" the other youth piped in; glaring over at Tiem in disbelief, "You just adjusted it a minute a-"

"Timing is-!"

And the young man promptly shut his trap.

"...no cat."

And the rest of the trip was spent in silence, as everyone simply stared at him in disbelief...

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

The convoy stopped at the next medical center of Latent, those seriously injured were directly carried inside the low building.

Enter the Dragon... or... Exit the Dumbass... stage left, that is.

When the truck stopped, Tiem jumped out over the side, and ran around back to open the tailgate and let everyone who could walk out. Then, without further delay, the stretchers were taken out again and the wounded men and women were loaded onto them to be taken inside. There was really nothing else that someone without real medical training could do to help other than whateve was asked of them... this is what he had been asked to do, and this is what he would do, until it was done, and then... um... Well, he hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"You're one weird guy, kid..." the young villager said as the two carried the last of the men into the medical center on a stretcher.

"...yup."

((have to tell matt I'm dragging him around NPC-ly got to change this if he has other plans though...eh whatever))

Lucind squeezed Rebeccas shoulder encouragingly before she left.

It didn't took her long to find Enki - he wasn't hurt and therefore already bustling around, checking the situation.

When Lucind stepped out onto the yard behind the medical center, he was molested by a couple of journalists from broadcast and newspapers: Someone must had recognized him as the owner of the no longer existing stadium.

Lucind leaned against a wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest and watched the scene, her mouth slightly curving with a grin. When Enki saw her Lucind thought to see sighing him in relief for he then mutterted an excuse to get away from those guys.

---

About half an hour later Lucind returned to where she'd left Rebecca behind.

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

Lucind squeezed Rebeccas shoulder encouragingly before she left.

***

About half an hour later Lucind returned to where she'd left Rebecca behind.

And she was right there waiting... a little worse for wear, but there, nonetheless.

---

Let's go over the events of the past half hour, shall we?

30:00 - Lucind leaves to find Enki, leaving Rebecca alone.

29:55 - As Lucind walks away, Rebecca thinks back to the encouraging squeeze that she had just receieved, and then further back to the hug that Twitch had given her. And she smiled, thinking that perhaps she wasn't quite as alone as she thought that she was...

28:14 - Lewd commentary from local teamsters.

28:13 - Breaks into random bout of euroslang.

24:21 - She'd gotten about a block so far, not really recognizing anything, not because she hadn't been here before, but because this was an unfamiliar medium between the big chain-stores she had seen in the city and the complete lack of anything but the tavern and general store that were about a twenty minute walk through town in the village that she had been raised in. She wasn't used to commerce, or to lively villagers...

23:54 - She picks a shop and goes in.

17:32 - She runs out of the shop, after realizing just what type of place it is.

17:27 - Three men run out after her, and give chase through the street.

11:56 - The first of the men catches up with her after she trips over a stack of chickenwire fence rolls that were leaning up against the side of a building.

11:51 - The first of the men recieves a bloody nose.

11:37 - The other two men catch up...

11:20 - Hark! From the rooftops! A cape-wearing superhero- oh, wait, no...

09:38 - After a long, drawn out speech, the cape-wearing dunce with a cat on his head proceeds to whup some serious a**.

08:45 - The three men go running.

07:58 - Rebecca questions where the cape came from.

07:48 - Cat-head explains.

07:38 - Rebecca wishes that she could take back ever asking.

07:12 - Rebecca heads back towards the medical center of Latent.

01:23 - Lewd commentary from local teamsters.

01:03 - Slap. Hard. Stupid teamsters.

00:02 - Rebecca smiles.

00:00 - "Mi-... Lucind...?" Rebecca looked at her, hoping that wherever she had gone to she had accomplished what she had hoped to.

Looking past Madison, who seemed enthralled with the ultra fine wine, Silver saw the one person who was liable to kill him most. Though he couldn't help to see her hungry, he pushed his plate with enough force that it slid all the way down to her. Looking as though nothing had happened, Silver brought out the last of his hard coin.

"Another Crabmen steak please..."

The barkeep, throughly annoyed at the sudden outburst of specialty orders, but entrhalled by the extra coin, went into the kitchens to get him his special order.

Silver didn't even make an attempt to dodge her, even though he could have easily. He didn't expect it, though he wasn't entirely surprized either. He just sat there for a moment in silence, a single thought in his head.

I kinda deserved that...

For the time being, he was silent. He drank deeply of his Faye wine, polishing off the 1000 gp drink. He was silent for a moment, the unnaturally fine wine running its course. It would be a long moment before Silver would speak.

Silver sighed for a moment, as the tavern suddenly went silent. He hadn't anticipated this moment, at least not like this. He knew she'd be upset but he didn't think that she'd cry over it...

Are those... tears?

In the entire time he's known Sakura, he's never seen her cry. She usually tried so hard to hide any sort of pain, emotion, and weakness. Silver felt disheartened. For the moment, he didn't know what to say...

"I believe I have a bit of explaining to do..." He said very sheepishly.

There were murmurs around the bar. Being so close to the old stadium, they couldn't help but know about the events that perspired there. Silver took a deep breath, looking down slightly.

"I awoke during the night when I sensed a powerful swing in power. I sensed the deaths of countless innocence, and then... I sensed nothing. All of my gates and sentries in leviathan were blocked from me, as if they had never existed."

He took another breath before continuing, and looked her in the eyes.

"I knew of the danger there, and I would be damned if I brought you into it. You had already risked your life to get my cure. I would not allow you to throw your life away; I wouldn't have been able to stop you and you know it. So I summoned Facination and I rode off into the night, knowing that by the time you knew I was gone I'd be a good week ahead of you."

"....Its okay."

Silver felt a deep amount of sympathy for her. He should have at least written her a note or something, but he knew that would have changed nothing. Haveing a lot of guilt wieghed upon him, he did domething he normally would not have done... he gave her a hug.

"Now lets just have something to eat, ok?"

The bar keep came in carrying Silver's special order steaks and stared out into the sea of hushed customers.

"What? Did I miss anything?"

The faces blinked for a minute before resuming their meals as though nothing had happened. The noise level quickly picked up until it was kinda hard to hear the person next to you. The dim lighting seemed to fit Silver's mood while he quietly ate his steak.

Silver looked down for a moment. He couldn't let her go feeling the way she did at the moment. He at least had to say something.

"Well, it can get kinda boring by yourself..."

WoGer Wrote:

> Lucind Varhetel Wrote: > Lucind squeezed Rebeccas shoulder encouragingly before she left. > > > > > *** > > > > > About half an hour later Lucind returned to where she'd left Rebecca behind.

And she was right there waiting... a little worse for wear, but there, nonetheless.

***

Let's go over the events of the past half hour, shall we?

30:00 - Lucind leaves to find Enki, leaving Rebecca alone.

29:55 - As Lucind walks away, Rebecca thinks back to the encouraging squeeze that she had just receieved, and then further back to the hug that Twitch had given her. And she smiled, thinking that perhaps she wasn't quite as alone as she thought that she was...

28:14 - Lewd commentary from local teamsters.

28:13 - Breaks into random bout of euroslang.

24:21 - She'd gotten about a block so far, not really recognizing anything, not because she hadn't been here before, but because this was an unfamiliar medium between the big chain-stores she had seen in the city and the complete lack of anything but the tavern and general store that were about a twenty minute walk through town in the village that she had been raised in. She wasn't used to commerce, or to lively villagers...

23:54 - She picks a shop and goes in.

17:32 - She runs out of the shop, after realizing just what type of place it is.

17:27 - Three men run out after her, and give chase through the street.

11:56 - The first of the men catches up with her after she trips over a stack of chickenwire fence rolls that were leaning up against the side of a building.

11:51 - The first of the men recieves a bloody nose.

11:37 - The other two men catch up...

11:20 - Hark! From the rooftops! A cape-wearing superhero- oh, wait, no...

09:38 - After a long, drawn out speech, the cape-wearing dunce with a cat on his head proceeds to whup some serious a**.

08:45 - The three men go running.

07:58 - Rebecca questions where the cape came from.

07:48 - Cat-head explains.

07:38 - Rebecca wishes that she could take back ever asking.

07:12 - Rebecca heads back towards the medical center of Latent.

01:23 - Lewd commentary from local teamsters.

01:03 - Slap. Hard. Stupid teamsters.

00:02 - Rebecca smiles.

00:00 - "Mi-... Lucind...?" Rebecca looked at her, hoping that wherever she had gone to she had accomplished what she had hoped to.

Lucind squeezed Rebeccas shoulder encouragingly before she left.

***

About half an hour later Lucind returned to where she'd left Rebecca behind.

Ah, you're already looking better, not so pale anymore. Went on a walk?

She also thought the girl looked a bit ruffled, but Lucind didn't want to ask about it.

What interested her more now was were Rebecca was coming from, where she belonged to.

What - if I might ask - did you do in the stadium, Rebecca?

Silver sat there for a moment, lost suddenly in reflectiong. Though he looked quiet content, he was absorbed in the recent destruction of the stadium, and the miracles he had witnessed there. Uncertain what he was too do next, Silver just thought about his next plan of action.

That pheonix... had powers of extrodenary magnitude. It may give me a clue as to where I can find the element I need to destroy Narsgad and his council...

Silver looked fondly at Sakura and smiled weakly. He wasn't too eager to go out on another espionage after the events in the stadium and ruins...

But that could wait for a while...

Silver's train of thought was broken by Sakura's words. Happy, though slightly irritated, he looked at her with a smiled.

"Its okay. You should really get some rest. It would do you wonders."

Silver shrugged.

"That's not a problem. I have a private room, so they couldn't do anything about me bringing someone else in there. It has two queen sized beds."

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

Ah, you're already looking better, not so pale anymore. Went on a walk?

She also thought the girl looked a bit ruffled, but Lucind didn't want to ask about it.

What interested her more now was were Rebecca was coming from, where she belonged to.

"...something like that..."

The young girl was very brief with her responce; choosing not to think about it, not to remember it, and simply to move on, or else she'd dwell on it... Nonetheless the simple fact that Lucind had asked about her made the girl's breath a little harder to draw, and caused her heart to beat a little faster within her chest.

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

What - if I might ask - did you do in the stadium, Rebecca?

She shifted; unsure what to say to that... what had she really done, other than caused worry and gotten herself sent to the infirmary time and time again for silly things? How could she truthfully answer that... with intentions or with actions?

"I..." she started, looking to the ground between her feet as she began to speak; the somewhat mussed chestnut hair that had rested in peace behind her shoulders slid forwards and obscured her face from view. "Well... um... I try."

Would that suffice in the least? God, she hoped so... She didn't really want to have to explain how no matter how hard she did try, she could never seem to succeed; or that in all the time that she had been there she had been too afraid of the real fighters to be able to ask one of them for help. Was it even possible for her to put a good spin on 'I chicken out a lot'?

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

((have to tell matt I'm dragging him around NPC-ly got to change this if he has other plans though...eh whatever))

Lucind squeezed Rebeccas shoulder encouragingly before she left.

It didn't took her long to find Enki - he wasn't hurt and therefore already bustling around, checking the situation.

When Lucind stepped out onto the yard behind the medical center, he was molested by a couple of journalists from broadcast and newspapers: Someone must had recognized him as the owner of the no longer existing stadium.

Lucind leaned against a wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest and watched the scene, her mouth slightly curving with a grin. When Enki saw her Lucind thought to see sighing him in relief for he then mutterted an excuse to get away from those guys.

***

About half an hour later Lucind returned to where she'd left Rebecca behind.

((Taken place before Lucind goes back to Rebecca... stupid time warps... Does the time warp... again...))

***Enki was surprised when a bunch of journalists rushed over to him the very second he jabbed his naginata into the ground. It was amazing to him that any of them even recognized him as the owner to the stadium. After having to indirectly dodge question after question, he spies Lucind. Enki only replies to the next question with "No comment. Now leave." He turns and picks up his naginata from the ground and heads over toward where the beautiful woman is waiting for him, very relieved that the journalists took the smarter decision not to follow an anger man who just lost his home when he's carrying a two foot blade on a long pole. When he reaches Lucind, he bows elegantly and smiles*

Well, hello gorgeous**

Enki Leviathan Wrote:

***Enki was surprised when a bunch of journalists rushed over to him the very second he jabbed his naginata into the ground. It was amazing to him that any of them even recognized him as the owner to the stadium. After having to indirectly dodge question after question, he spies Lucind. Enki only replies to the next question with "No comment. Now leave." He turns and picks up his naginata from the ground and heads over toward where the beautiful woman is waiting for him, very relieved that the journalists took the smarter decision not to follow an anger man who just lost his home when he's carrying a two foot blade on a long pole. When he reaches Lucind, he bows elegantly and smiles*

Well, hello gorgeous**

Lucind smiled, though knitting her brows.

I almost expected you to give some of those men an idea how skilled you are with your naginata....

She then sighed.

But it'll be much worse: now that the first reliable news are out, all broadcasting stations and publishers are going crazy to get the best story. - But besides from that, many people are just shocked because a famous place...a legendary place is lost...

By that, Lucind eyes had become blank again, lacking of all emotions and rather seeing inwards.

Blinking, she directly looked at Enki again, and slowly walked around the next corner, where they were protected from view, in case more journalists searched for survivors.

I was utterly relieved that you all got out of it. But...Sunstrike wasn't there. Enki...what happened?

Her eyes searched for an answer in his blue orbs.

---

WoGer Wrote:

She opened her mouth to say 'no'. Not because she wasn't hungry, but more along the lines of that she was afraid to say 'yes'. However, her body answered readily enough for her, as at the mention of food, her stomach began grumbling very loudly and chewing on her insides to try and get her attention.

"...er..." The girl looked a bit embarassed at that shameless show of intention that her stomach had given, and quickly covered it up with both of her hands pressed flat upon her stomach. She had lifted her head up just a bit to try and answer, but when her stomach had acted up she had dropped her eyes to the ground once again.

"...yes," she finally managed to say; taking her hands off from her stomach and picking her head up, "I think I'm hungry."

Another groan from her stomach followed.

"...very hungry... "

Fine. Let's go then.

Lucind smiled, then lead Rebecca out of the medical center and turned left, directly heading to a small lane where she knew they would find a nice tavern - not one of those dark or shabby one's, though Lucind really wouldn't mind, but out of consideration for Rebecca and that they both wanted to eat something properly, it was better to head for such a...trustworthy place.

About ten minutes later, they both sat on a wooden table, browsing through the menu.

I'll have this soup, with roasted seaweed, a portion of rice and turkey-shashlik with mustard sauce.

She leaned back, considering if she should go on asking subtle questions to find out more about the girl.

There were few people Lucind really trusted - and Enki belonged to this group. Otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed him to embrace her just like that, or like he did back in the camp. She knew that this was his way to show friendship and affection.

For a moment, she leaned her head against his chest, then raised her head again.

There were about twenty people, I think, who were teleported out of the stadium, but some were injured or unconscious. I saw Miss Hono and other known faces. - Right now, I'm having an eye on a girl who was also inside. But she's still shocked from what she'd seen, the bloodshed, the devastation...

She frowned, then a kind of guilty look appeared on her face.

When the tornado within the stadium started to mess up the camp....I lost your coat...I'm sorry.

Honestly, I don't know. I suppose most of the stadium crew which had still been at the camp when the tornado started to crush the walls, merchant's ring, stands..everything...think they were able to flee. Probably some are somewhere here in Latent...

Ah..this is just...grotesque - this chaos. When I first entered the stadium years ago I was told that, "There's always something going on at this place." Damn right, eh?

But you know what? I think I'm going to let "Feimurgan", the book-cafe being rebuild - but this time here in this town. We don't know how long it will take until we can enter the stadium again...or who's going to pay for all that damage, she faintly chuckled, - although I've heard someone saying that they're going to start a charity drive - ...we don't know what is to come, but I think reviving "Feimurgan" could be a way to gather all people related to the stadium, sooner or later.

That's why I'm going to visit the local building contractor. I already made up plans during the last weeks - now I've got a kind of ironical sign from above that it might be a good idea to transfer the cafe to Latent.

And then...I'll leave. I have to return to my clan, need to consult the elders. Maybe I'll take that girl, Rebecca, with me. I have to admit that in fact I don't belong to those social beings, but she seems to be pretty lost right now.

Lucind smiled at him.

But I'll come back. I promise. At the latest when "Feimurgan" re-opens. - And now I'm asking you to let me go - or else I'm falling asleep right here in your arms.

She blinked and tried to hide a grin.

"There he is!"

What was it... five minutes in? He swore he had just arrived in this town and now he was being chased by local law enforcement for a crime he wasn't particularly sure he had committed. Still, amidst the shouts and cries of those who pursued him and those who he left in his wake during his mad dash, he felt like he was truly alive again for the first time since he had made his return. He ducked into a narrow alley - nobody had seen him enter, or so he suspected.

Buying those dark clothes had helped - he simply stayed in the deep shadows to avoid detection by his pursuers. Still, carrying around a gigantic dragon skull on one's head didn't exactly lend to blending in with one's surroundings. It was beginning to dawn on him how bad of a situation this was. He had no friends, no hideout, no anything... and as an added bonus, a bunch of people who wanted to have a not-so-friendly questioning session with him. How did he get himself into these situations...?

"Your about as far from a horrible person as possible, Sakura. You were just... misslead. And besides, I completly diserved it."

Silver closed his eyes. Even though it didn't show, he was just a little nervous. He didn't fare well in these sort of situations; he's been isolated so long he's never actually encountered them.

she looked down and spoke almost silently

"I thought I would never see you again..."

Her head lifted up as she began to sence his nervousness, she raised an eyebrow and looked straight towards him

"Silver.... why are you nervous?"

"I'm not nervous. Where'd you get that idea?"

Silver was nervous, but he would never admit it, not even to himself. He looked down for a second, slighty flushed. He didn't know what else to say at that moment, so he just sat there.

She only made him flush a little more. He gently pushed her hand away, and smiled slightly. He looked into her silvery eyes, and spoke softly.

"I'm fine... really."

Silver's emerald green eyes shone brightly in the dim room. He looked down and turned his head away for a brief moment.

Silver's ebrows shifted downward. His flush slowly went away, as if it had never been there. His eyes shifted to the side, he saw Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

"Am not. You can't prove that... Why am I even arguing this with you?"

He half expected her to argue this, becuase his own mind was.

Are so...

"..."

Silver stood up and started towards the door. He stopped partway into the lobby and turned his head back for a brief second.

"Are you comming?"

Silver smiled warmly. He stopped and waited for her to catch up to him.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere without you. Anyways, where do YOU want to go?"

"That's okay. This is my first time here as well. So so we can do anything you want to do, or can go anywhere you want to go."

Silver scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. He didn't care where they went or what they did; he was just happy to have company.

After finishing her soup, the waiter was about to bring Lucind the rest of her order.

Oi, he's coming. So, if you've picked something - of course Lucind had also seen Rebecca's lack of resolution - tell him so. Just raise a hand or look at him, then he'll know you want to order. ...or kick him, if it doesn't help, hehe.

Lucind had sometimes seen guests doing other things to attract the waiters attention, things that were far more...risky.

((am sorry XD))

The waiter smiled broadly, slightly amused by Rebecca's attempt to describe what she'd like to have. "Turkey-shashlik and rice, then? Okay!^^" He hurried behind the counter and called the order at the cook who could be seen though a square gab in the wall.

When he came back about ten minutes later, placing a plate in front of Rebecca from which a mixed smell of sweet rice and spicy sauce emanated, Lucind spoke to him.

Excuse me....Brett, right?

Where she had looked extremely tired before, Lucind now smiled nonchalantly at the man and let her charming voice play.

I'd be so grateful if I can buy both meals on tick*...

The waiter stared at her for a moment, shook his head in confusion then nodded fiercely: "Sure, ma'am. No problem!"

Lucind didn't do this for her own pleasure, but she wasn't keen at all on getting into trouble because of such a trifling matter. For now, she just wanted to settle the last things here - and then take a fly home.

((*hope t'is the correct term for this...))

Silver smiled warmly.

"I understand. If you want to rest, the room is upstairs."

Silver lead upstairs and down the hall. When they came across an oak door with the number '12' on it in gold letters he stop. He took the old key and unlocked it. The door opened with ease and revealed a small room with two beds, a kitchen attachment, and a bathroom. It had all the acomodies of a modern hotel room, but Silver didn't know how to use most of them so it was a mute point anyways.

"Here we are."

"I'm sorry, but I can't afford the Suite. I just spent the last of my standard gold..."

Silver had lots of money, but none of it could be spent on gaia. The wieghtless etherial coins were of no value here, as others thought of them as worthless trinkets. Silver sighed and sat down on one of the beds. He had no pernament resisdnece now that the stadium was destroyed, and once his week was up in the inn he had no where to stay.

Silver looked around the room in contentness. He smiled happily as he spoke.

"I'm just glad your happy with it. Its bigger than my dimensional home was. Anyways, what are your plans for tommorrow?"

Silver looked at her with concern. He wondered just what had gone on in her life... he couldn't help but to sympathyze for her. He had his own unique hardships, but he could still try to help others with theirs.

"You, my friend, are in need of a vacation"

Silver luaghed slightly and looked into her eyes.

"You already have, remember?"

Silver looked down slightly, his eyes shifted to the side. Crossed his arms and looked away for a second, feeling slightly unconfortable.

I can't help it that I care about you...

Silver looked up at her and smiled. He put his hand on her shoulder and softly.

"Don't be..."

He turned slightly red again. He hugged her for a long moment before speaking.

"I'm glad you did it anyways. I don't even know what I would have done..."

Silver, surprized, patted her back. He had never seen her like this. She was usually headstrong and a little stuborn, and hid her emotions well. Her crying was like winning the lottery or the world splitting to the core.

"Its... ok. Really..."

He honestly didn't know what to say to her at this point.

Another busy day in the bustling merchant town of Latent. There was always something to be done, especially now that so many had come to the town following the destruction of the stadium. With nowhere else to stay, travlers and adventures had come to the town as it was the only other habitable place within reasonable walking distance, and business was booming. Inns were booked solid, resturants were making plenty of money on those passing through, and there was even rumor going around that a new Stadium would be built soon that would attract even more business. Things were going good for Latent, despite the all too recent tragedy that had befallen the area.

But there was one young man who was not busy today. A lone, solemn figure strode up one of the town's many lanes. He didn't seem to have any particular destination in mind, but he was in fact heading for one particular place. The same place that earlier one might have seen an old man come looking for Vahn, but turned away by the current residents.

This young man was Silver Alexander, Kyonuske. In the days following the destruction of Leviathan Stadium, he had been reclusive, retreating into the near-by forest for solitude to contimplate recent events. Now, he was making his appearance again, returning to the make-shift Kyonuske headquarts untill a proper one could be established. Not totally "out of the loop" as it were, quiet observation from affar had revealed to him that of the remaining Kyo that were left, the more senior members didn't seem to be taking an active roll in restoration efforts. This simply would not do. If things were still a mess when Vahn came back, everyone was going to be in trouble.

That was... if Vahn came back. Mitsuyo appeared to be telling anyone who asked, whether for secrecy's sake, or that she actually believed it, that Vahn was dead. Silver was quite adamant to the contrary, and was prepared to defend his belief, should it come down to it. He'd have to find out what Mitsuyo really thought later.

But for now, he walked, heading for the place that Mitsuyo was staying for the moment. She had been a mentor to him, and if anyone knew what was going on, behind the scenes or not, she would.

Silver let out a long sigh, raising his left arm, which firmly gripped his shiney ebony bokken in its hand, to rest the wooden blade on his shoulder. His right arm, though healing at a much faster rate than the normal humans, had still not completely recovered from the damage sustained fighting the monk at the 2nd Leviathan Stadium's final battle. It was still bandaged up tightly and braced in a secure position, but it should be fine after a few more days. As for the rest of him, he wasn't in uniform today. No real need to be without official Kyonuske business to be done, so he just wore his usual casual clothes, a red, long sleeved jersey, and loose fitting black pants, adequate for combat, with small flame designs embroidered on the bottom modeled after his Shishou's.

To most he might appear like a common citizen or adventurer, but it would not be hard for anyone who knew of the Kyo to know who he was...

Silver's nose twitched, picking up the faint scent, but he didn't pay any attention to it. Probably a flower stand near-by. But then, his vision started to get weird. He blinked once, then blinked again. It didn't help. He shook his head trying to clear it. Nothing. At first he thought he was just tired, he had been pretty restless lately. But then he started hearing things, and alarms went off in his head. He snapped alert, but his vision was already distorted.

Damn! The scents! Trance inducing agents or hallucinogens of some kind! Someone got the drop on me. Some ninja I am...

Slipping.

Silver's grip tightened, trying to keep a hold on his weapon. He didn't sense any murderous intent or an aggressive battle aura, but heat signatures told him that someone was definately close by. Might as well try to start things off civilized.

"Can I help you?"

He didn't know who he was talking to, or exactly where they were, but it was a safe bet that they could hear him.

"What? Who're--Ngh..."

Silver slumped onto a near-by wall, the front of some building, his shoulder hitting the stone. He couldn't tell which one anymore. He was getting tired now. Real tired.

He fought to keep his eyes open, but he was having a hard time telling if he was even still awake already.

Tch... vice-captain... always making rookie mistakes... shoulda just stayed... in the forest...

Silver slowly slid down the wall 'till he hit the ground, falling on one knee, then onto his backside, turning to sit against the wall. His head drooped, and after a few more moments he slumped over, out like a light.

After several minutes of unconsciousness, Silver snapped back awake, the time having passed seemingly instantly to him while he was out. He awoke to find several townsfolk looking at him oddly, as if he were just some bum passed out on the sidewalk. In truth, that must have been what he looked like. Fortunately, he'd woken up before any sort of policeman or guard happened by.

Silver slowly climbed to his feet, rubbing at his head, using the wall for support. He felt better than when he had passed out, but what a strange experience that had just been. The whole ordeal that had just happened seemed like a bad dream to him, but he knew it had been real. His now missing prize posession was evidence enough for that.

Silver looked around for any signs of the woman that had appeared before him. It had to be her doing, whoever she was. She had more or less robbed him, and Silver hated being stolen from. He didn't have much, but what he did have was priceless to him, and this was a Dante Decker bokken, which just so happened to also be considered priceless to the general population, though not in the same way, and that only made matters worse. It meant much more to him than the obvious monetary value of the item, which he could only assume was what it had been stolen for. He had to find it.

Of course, the easiest way would be to ask the Kyo for help. There wasn't anybody the top ninja clan on the continent couldn't track down. But if Silver let word of this get out, he'd never live it down. Especially if Mr. Decker himself somehow managed to find out. He had to find this woman himself, and quick.

She just sat on the bed looking down at the floor feeling ashamed of herself, blushing as she avoided looking up wondering what he was thinking. Praying that he wasn't looking at her or was angry at her because of what she had just said

"..."

She sighed and kept looking down feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. Why was this the only time she was unable to hold on to what she was feeling? She feel really annoyed at herself for this. She let out a soft sigh.

"Confused...very confused..."

She blushed, her right eye was opened wide in shock staring from beneath her hair but was hardly visible. She moved over a bit to give him room and looked down trying to think of how to reply and was debating with herself on weather or not just to swallow her own damn pride

"I am kind of confused about what I am feeling... for one you scared the living daylights out of me.... and seeing you is like seeing a ghost.... I don't no weather to laugh, weather to cry, weather to beat you to a pulp, or weather to ...."

She blushes and shakes her head she looks at him and pushes her hair out of her eyes and looks into his green eyes and quickly looks away and then speaks softly

"I am confused about what I feel about doing.... Silver...?"

She looks back into his eyes, her eyes starting to water. She then turns her head facing the edge of the bed and looked as if she was going deep into thought

"Silver what if it was the other way around... what if I left early and you came back to the stadium and found it in pieces.... and thought I was gone with it... and then later saw me... how would you react...?"

"I am just alittle curious about it..."

she shook her head and said softly

"no I'm sorry ... I should have been honest with you before but I didn't know then.... but when I came to the stadium I felt like I would come apart I didn't know what I would do... Silver... when I saw you down in the bar I was so happy to see you..."

She moved closer to him, she hesitated for a second but then she hugged him tightly and just layed her head on his shoulder. She just layed her head there quietly.

she sighs and nods

"alright..."

She lays her head back onto the pillow her soft pink shot hair spreading onto the pillow. She closes her eyes softly and slowly drifts off into a deep sleep.

Lucind Varhetel Wrote:

I'd be so grateful if I can buy both meals on tick*...

The waiter stared at her for a moment, shook his head in confusion then nodded fiercely: "Sure, ma'am. No problem!"

(( Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry! ::Has been busy.:: ))

Rebecca could only stiffle a small startled gasp as she watched Lucind so 'smoothly' took care of the tab. She wasn't quite sure what had happened, though she was pretty sure that the meal wasn't supposed to end with an 'oh, and it's on the house'.

"Hu-" the girl choked, almost starting to speak but stopping before the 'how' came out; deciding it would be a little better to wait until the waiter was gone to ask Lucind what had just happened .

(( And a crappy one to boot! ::Shame.:: ))

And it WAS worth a visit!

...but she had never really been one for flowers. A tomboy to a T, always interested in everything else except for the things that healthy young girls were supposed to be interested in; which is probably why she was here right now, fresh from the ruins of a fighting stadium.

The hour didn't pass all too quickly, but it passed nonetheless.

Silver slept in complete content. It had been weeks since he truly rested, and he was completely exuasted. A tornado could have literally ran through the town and he wouldn't know about it.

Silver slept heavily. He dreamed of sand, lots and lots of sand. Walking across the sand was Silver himself. He was thirsty, and there was nothing to drink. For several days he wandered through the perilous desert on the verge of collapse. Finally, when he thought the end was near, he came upon a brilliant display of lighting and unusual skies. He looked in awe as he approched this spectacular phenominon...

When he woke up, forgeting all about the dream.

Silver rubbed his eyes sleepily. It felt way too early to be awake. Reluctantly he forced himself to sit up. He looked for the time on the grandfather clock. It was only five twenty, but he got up anyways due to hunger. He looked to where Sakura was sleeping and blinked at the empty bed.

She's probably downstairs getting breakfast. Unfortunatly for her that's not till sunrise.

Silver stretched for a moment before getting out of bed. He sat there for a few minutes sleepily before heading into te shower.

Silver got out of his warm shower and was sorta surprized that no one noticed that he turned the upstairs into a suana. Dressing in his new red yukata, and discarding his battle-torn mystic robes, he actually looked presentable. Silver frowned slightly though, and looked at his old yukata.

I'm going to need to get that repaired.

He placed the folded, beautifully designed robes under his bed so he could find them later. He then headed downstairs to get something to eat.

Silver walked into the tavern area, which was still decently full at this time. The barkeep was already up and about. On his way over, Silver spotted Sakura and gave her a small wave. Before he could even order his meal, the barkeep spoke.

"The private meal, while better than the common meals by all acounts, only covers the standard meals. You either eat what we serve or ya don't eat at all."

Silver grinned for a moment.

"You make it sound like I was about to order something exquisite and hard to prepare."

The barkeep frowned and handed him a glass of wine.

"Don't gimme that, boy. I'm old enough to have seen your type. I had to ship in specialty food all the way across town, and I had to break into my personal collection for that Faye wine. You know how expensive that is?"

Silver raised his wineglass for a moment, smiling at that age comment.

"Hey, I paid for it."

There would appear to be no movement whatsoever. It would look as if large plastic bowls could move naturally. In reality, however, Silver quickly threw a clean hard-plastic bowl at the Sakura's harasser. The bowel, being plastic would bounce of rather harmlessly, though it would hurt significantly. However, there was significant force behind it that it would knock the wind out of almost anyone, if not giving him a concussion.

Silver smiled.

"What. I didn't do anything. And we get three meals a day with the room. Didn't I tell you that?"

Silver replied sheepishly. The barkeep glared at him for a moment before placing another bowel down on the table. This time it was filled with stew, and it was handed to Silver. Walking off, he spoke with a certain gruffness.

"Didn't I just have a bowel here a moment ago?"

The barkeep left and came back moments later with another bowel of stew and a glass of wine, which he handed to Sakura. The quality of the food wasn't extravagent, but it wasn't bad either. Silver quickly began to eat his meal, but not at a pace that was uneasy to watch.. Before long the wine and the stew were completly consumed.

Silver stretched back and looked over to the unconscience man. Silver figured he could at least more him out of the way. Though Silver didn't look it, he was pretty strong, and lifted the man with ease. Placing him on a couch in the common room, Silver sat back down in the tavern a few minutes later.

Silver watched her hand, but what happened afterwards surprized him, to say the least. He instinctivly brushed her hand away.

"Eck... don't do that."

He poked her in the arm kinda hard, enough that she would feel it, but not enough to hurt her.

Silver was stunned for a moment. A few seconds later though, he smiled slightly. He returned the hug, and looked her in the eyes.

"Your being Sakura."

This was beguining to get a little more comfortable than Silver was used to. Though not unwelcome, he began to feel slightly nervous, though not nearly as much as one might think.

"Anyways, what are your plans today?"

Silver smiled.

"Well, we've got 6 more nights we can stay here, seeing as I've already paid for it. So you can take your time and do whatever you want. As for me... I'm heading to the library to see what I can find out about the pheonix."

Wading through the crowded streets, Silver kept his eyes open for anyone who even remotely resembled the woman who had gotten the better of him. His vision may have been messed up, but he was pretty sure he had gotten a good look at her, and was fairly certain he would recognize her if he saw. After several long minutes of frantic searching up and down the road, it had yeilded nothing. Either this woman was really fast, or she didn't really look like the one he had seen. Neither of which would be all that surprising...

As Silver stood in the middle of sidewalk contemplating his next move, his concentration was interupted by a bit of a scuffle down the street. He turned to face it, hesitant to get involved. He was having enough problems as it was, and wasn't something like that the job for the town guards or police? Still, Silver was never one to sit by and let others get hurt. It could be a while before anyone with any authority showed up, as usually was the case in these situations. Putting his own troubles aside, he took off down the street, heading for the scene.

When he heard a voice cry out, probably the person on the recieving end of what ever was going on, Silver's eyes widened. That voice, it had been familiar. It wasn't exactly the same as the one he had heard while he was halucinating, but given the state his mind was in at the time, it was just close enough to be the same person. He picked up the pace, pushing his way through the crowd that had gathered at the scene.

He stepped out of the crowd and into the empty "fight circle" that had formed before a rather large, burly looking fellow holding up a young woman. Whether this was the woman he was looking for or not, the brute sure didn't know how to treat a lady.

"What's going on here? Put her down!"

Silver stood, steely gaze focused on the man. He hesitated a bit before answering, but if it would diffuse the situation without anyone else getting hurt, it would probably be for the better. He'd rough this thug up if he had to, but he'd see if it came to that first.

"Silver Alexander, Kyonuske Vice-Captain, 1st Squad. I'll ask you again to put the woman down, and maybe we can resolve this without any more trouble."

Silver waited untill the man was out of sight, and for the crowd to dispurse before he relaxed and his features softened. He was a nice guy, he didn't like having to look or act tough for intimidation value, but some matters called for it.

Silver slowly approached the girl, not appearing angry at her in the slightest. In fact, he was grinning. As dim as he was sometimes known to be, it was obvious to him what had transpired given the reactions of the girl, and that they just happened to be outside a resell shop.

"Hey hey, easy there, I'm not gonna hurt ya..."

Silver carefully took the not-so-ordinary wooden weapon from the girl, and gave it a quick once over inspecting for any major damage, before sliding it through a belt loop on the left side of his pants. That taken care of, he turned his attention back to the young woman before him. He took a moment to size her up, and then let out small laugh.

"Haha, so it was YOU who somehow managed to get the better of me, huh? There musta been more to those scents than I thought. That's quite a talent you have. And a good eye, too. But, you know, you probably coulda gotten a lot more for this thing if you went to the right place instead of just trying to hock it at the local pawn shop... but it seems those thugs had other ideas, anyway..."

Silver then leaned forward, closer to the girl and a little more to her level to get a better look at her.

"You are a little worse for wear, though... geez, you must be starving. You happen to have a name?"

HonoRaven Wrote:

Hono appeared in a cloud of soft silver sparkles, sighing softly to herself as she fluttered her fan and wandered around aimless ly thouroug the still empty streets of the small town

It's not easy for a man as big as him to move undetected through a street. But, unless you were paying attention, you wouldn't recognise him. He blended in exceptionally well...his hands in his pockets, his handsome face twisted in deep thought as he moved through the crowds...

...Thats what you get for being away for so long. Something drastic happens, and people might get hurt. Sure, you cant be there all the damn time, but you could have made a difference. Some help is better then no help.

This train of thought kept running through the railway of his mind, chugging around and around only to pause breifly to allow some new considerations on and others to disembark and file off into the memory banks.

Despite what some people may say about the big Tomorrow, he does think a lot...wether he gets anywhere with it all, however, is another matter...

Walking over to a small stand, he reached into his pocket to fish out a gold coin. The icy-pole in the vendor's fridge was looking mighty tasty at the moment, and you never know...perhaps sucking on the frozen liquid might charge his brain...

The fluttering on the back of his neck caught him completely by surprise. His reaction was one of slight amused contentment - his toes within his boots curled from the feeling.

"...If you want me to buy something, you've piqued my interest..." He said in that deep Tribal accent. "...Feels like something my fiancee would like..."

Taking his icy-pole and paying, he stood upright, putting the lolly in his mouth.

"I dunno, she's more of a caster type..." John said down to the little lady, cocking an eyebrow over his sunglasses.

Wait a minute...

Reaching out with his free hand, his other hand in his pocket whilst the icy-pole was jammed in his mouth like a half-lit stogey, he placed a finger on the edge of the feathered fan and slowly pushed it down to see it's owner's face...

There was a large smile on the large man's face as he saw who it was.

Raven.

Taking the icy-pole out of his mouth he leaned down to kiss her cheek gently, his smile never missing a beat. "Well, well, well...i come back from a relaxing holiday for one day and already i'm catching up. How have you been, Rave? Keeping out of trouble, i assume?"

The stuff about the stadium could wait...if she wished it. He already knew. She ought to know that.

"Yes...very good...extremely good...good to get away from everything..." He said. It had been a bit sudden...suddenly dissapearing like he had...but then, nobody really needed him anymore. There was no danger.

None that he had been aware of...

"Yeah, Amber asked me a while ago. I should have asked her, but she beat me to it." He smiled down to the woman, watching her as she sipped her juice box. "And children, huh? Are they around, or are they with the man of the house?"

He'd really like to see that. John loved children, and on the whole, they liked him. There was something about the new spark in a child that gave warmth to the fire within him...

"Tell me about it...beats my brain about like a kitten with a ball of string, she does..." He said with a grin, biting into his icy-pole and munching on it for a second, before putting his arm around her shoulders.

"C'mon now, i haven't seen you in a while! Tell me about yourself! What have you been up to...tell me..."

He sighed audibly, his hand stroking her shoulder absently as he looked off into the distance, his voice quiet. "...Tell me about the Stadium. Tell me about...about Maximos..."

John sighed. "The last thing i need is riddles, Rave. A Phoenix saved you? You mean a giant fire-bird that only ever lays two eggs in it's entire existance?"

John walked them over to a fountain, some long-forgotten woman spouting water from some oriface into the pool beneath her as the big demi-god sat down on the stone edge of the fountain and ate his icy-pole.

"...Juuni...Juuni said there was a rain of blood...then everything went 'boom'...whatever happened, it took out the Stadium. Which is a shitload of ground to cover. If i had to guess, it was like someone let off a nuclear bomb within the centre of the fighting arena..."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead as he watched his icy-pole drip onto the sadny ground, the bustling people around him not helping the headache growing as his mind tried to assimilate everything. "I've been hearing about tensions from purist humans about how dangerous meta-humans can be. This is a prime example. If someone did this out of malice, then thats that - but if it was an accident...a meta-human who couldn't control his or her powers...then it's something entirely different."

A timebomb that ticks was workable. You knew how much time you had left.

One that just goes off without warning was many, many times dangerous...

John sighed, suckig the rest of the ice from the pole before sitting back, his hands by his sides to support him, the little wooden stick that the lolly had been on waggling at he spoke.

"One person wont be enough, Rave. And even then, you're account is...patchy, at best. I need something clearer...someone who can explain it to me in...well, idiot's terms, i suppose."

He sighed, lifting a hand to scratch his cheek. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the store.

John groaned inwardly. Enki. He'd never really liked him, and John he. Especially since John had pretty much renounced the GSF...but, then again, this was also a part of what they had done...or could have done, he figured...

"Hmph...thats a resource i'll tap last, i think..." He muttered, chewing absently on his wooden popsticle. "Although i think he's a bit too powerful to be taken out by such an explosion...even one as powerful as that..."

Standing up with Raven, smirking as she scored a point with the juice-box, he stood back with his arms crossed, looking down to Raven. "Rave, are you inviting me over to your place? Coz you do know that i'll have to take Meryl and Amber along too...even if Munin does wanna talk to me...it's been a while since we've done something that normal families do...like go see other people and crap."