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Cross Abimyss Bloodbane Captain
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 Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 2:19 pm
Archangel
Chapter 1 Story by:
Tierra Brown ((Ember Infinity Aurion))
Editing and Ideas by:
Andrew Erickson ((Cross Abimyss Bloodbane))
Text Coloring by:
Tierra Brown
and
Andrew Erickson
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 3:38 pm
Color Coding:Main Characters:AeroCrossEmberEmerald KaikirithKivaRaithGods:AzaquyarCrieesForhisGuils ThoguhtLiekHajimeYmwehKins of Da:ShivesSiheyeSpiteSurrealRandom Characters:Elder 1Elder 2Elder 3*Text*
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Cross Abimyss Bloodbane Captain
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:45 pm
The room was dark. There were three hooded figures huddled around a crystal ball. Their cloaks were black as night, blending into the darkness around them. Their faces were dimly lit by the crystal ball, which was glowing with images. There was no sound coming from it.
"The girl – she is now eighteen. Her powers must be awakened now or it will be too late," a hushed voice murmured. The other two nodded slightly. On the crystal ball, the image of a young girl appeared with bright red hair. She was laughing as she bounced a ball on the side of her shoe.
"Are you sure?" one said sneeringly in a high tone. Apparently she didn't approve it. The one on the other side of the middle one murmured his agreement. Her lips twisted. "This girl?"
"Yes. She is the one," the one in the center said in a firm tone. While it seemed to be full of confidence, it didn't seem to change the skepticism in the others' minds.
They disappeared into the darkness.
© Tierra Brown
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:47 pm
"Quit showing off, Ember," a male voice groaned in a boyish tone. He was standing near a bright haired girl who was currently bouncing a ball off her shoe.
"You're just jealous, Kiva," she said, twisting to hit it behind her back. She wavered on the lone leg that was keeping her up. She was never good at keeping her balance. "You can't do what I'm doing and you're jealous."
"If you'd hand it over, I'd show you just what I can do," he muttered, giving her an annoyed look. When she didn't seem to be listening to him, he groaned louder. "That was a hint, you know."
"Yeah, I know," Ember said with a smile, "but you should know by now that I don't pick up on those kinds of things."
"Obviously." He frowned when the ball smacked him in the face. "That was rather uncalled for."
"You were being rude," she defended, allowing herself a small grin of satisfaction when he glared at her.
"Excuse me? I'm not the only one," Kiva said, balancing the ball on a foot. It wiggled as he bounced it. Ember's hands planted themselves on her hips, lips thinning into a flat line.
"Nuh uh," she hummed, stopping the ball with the toe of her sneaker as it rolled across the ground. She stooped to pick it up, squeezing it between her fingers. Kiva could only scrunch his face in contempt at her before trying it again.
"Uh huh," he argued, concentrating on the ball. He flicked his ankle, launching the thing into the air. The ball flew away from him and happily rolled down the hill. His breath escaped his lips in a sigh. "Ugh. I'm done with this."
"Great! Now I have to go get it, you person," Ember said as he laughed, a boyish sound to her ears. "Thanks a lot."
© Tierra Brown
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:48 pm
Her amethyst eyes trailed down the slope until it caught sight of the red ball rolling through the soft dirt. The wind blew her long hair back as her oversized, black-lined white shoes pounded against the ground. She followed it until it was suddenly stopped by the toe of a sneaker similar to hers. She glanced up just in time to see the obstruction - a man - but she couldn't stop quickly enough.
Hitting him felt like she'd just run into a solid brick wall.
The front of her body ached furiously as she was thrown backwards at least five feet, landing hard against the ground with a loud thump. She gave a choked groan as she doubled over, clutching her nose.
"Ow, ow, ow," Ember muttered in a nasally tone, carefully prodding her face with her long fingers. She sat up slowly, supporting herself on her elbows. The man stooped to pick up the ball, squeezing it gently with his fingers.
His hand, along with the wrist and arm that was revealed from the sleeve of his black biker jacket sliding down, was bony. If it weren't for the muscle around it and the size of the bones, it could've rivaled hers. Did he even eat?
He gave it another experimental squeeze. Ember jumped with a startled squeak when it popped, air whistling out noisily through the side.
"H—hey!" Ember managed to say after finding her voice and making sure her nose wasn't broken. She stood up with a huff. In the back of her mind, she noted dejectedly that she barely came to his shoulders. How sad. "What was that for?"
His visible dark blood red eye, almost black (the other was covered by his messy, wild aphotic bangs) and stared at her. A cold feeling crept into her stomach as he didn't respond, just simply looked at her in an apathetic way.
Ember squinted at him impatiently, but all he did was let go of the deflated ball. It hit the ground with a smack as his arm returned to his side.
They continued staring at each other like it was some kind of showdown.
He took a step forward.
© Tierra Brown
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:50 pm
It really was rather intimidating for such a simple movement. Maybe it was the fact he seemed like a pretty intimidating man. Ember braced herself, holding her ground, her hands curling into fists.
She took note of the lone wolf ear that stuck out of the right side of his head (the other was obviously lost in his hair) and the tail behind him. Was he human?
"Ember!" Kiva's voice yelled from somewhere behind her. Ember jumped, startled, twisting around to face him. He came running up to her, his clothes billowing in the breeze. "Hey! What's the hold up?"
Ember stared at him with confused eyes. Didn't he see the tall man behind her? She turned around to point him out. She gasped when he wasn't there. "Where—where did —"
Her eyes shifted, glancing around warily for him. All she saw was an empty street, apartments, houses, and the concession stands lined up on the sides. The people didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. Her mouth twisted into a frown.
Just who was he? He didn’t seem like a tourist. If anything, she was sure he was a mercenary of some sort. What business did he have here? What exactly was —
“Hello? Ember, you in there?” A hand waved in front of her face and she blinked, coming out of her thoughts. She followed it to Kiva’s face. He was staring at her curiously. “Whoa. Did you step on it or something?”
He held up the deflated ball. Ember blinked at him uncomprehendingly before she remembered.
“No,” she defended quickly, snatching it. “That—that guy… he broke it! Didn’t you—you saw him, didn’t you?”
“Guy?” Kiva echoed, his dark eyes shifting to look around. “What guy? There wasn’t anyone near you.”
How did he manage to disappear so fast? Ember thought. Surely Kiva would’ve seen him running off. “You didn’t see…” she broke off when she saw nothing but complete bewilderment on the black haired boy’s face. She sighed, trying to shake off the encounter. “Never mind. Let’s go find Emerald and train.”
“Sounds good to me!” he replied back with a grin, moving past her. Maybe that whole thing was in her head? Apparently no one else had seen it happen. Ember needed a lunch break. She turned and followed him, but paused to look behind her shoulder.
Why did it feel like someone was still watching her?
© Tierra Brown
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:51 pm
Emerald was sitting on a stool at The Frostbitten Icebox, a bowl of ice cream in front of her. The smell of the sweet desert lured in Ember as she picked it up instantly. Her stomach growled for it.
Emerald was about to take in a mouthful of ice cream when behind her a voice suddenly crowed in triumph like they’d just dug up gold, “Ice cream!”
She was nearly bowled over when Ember planted herself on the stool next to the short, green haired girl. Kiva took the seat on the other side of her. Emerald blinked at them.
“Hey,” she greeted, confused. “What are you guys up to?”
Ember stuck a hand into her pocket to pull out a black wallet. She fished through it before pulling out a few crumpled bills and sliding it across the counter.
“Eating!” she proclaimed loudly, motioning to the person behind the counter with a huge child—like grin. Emerald and Kiva both shook their heads. That girl thought of nothing but food, if she ever thought at all.
“Looking for you,” Kiva explained, tapping his fingers against the sticky wooden counter. “We were going to go train.”
“Sounds great. We still have that bet, remember? Against Ember,” Emerald said, swallowing her ice cream. Ember glanced over.
“What about me?” she mumbled around her spoon.
© Tierra Brown
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:52 pm
“Nothing! Just that bet, remember?” Kiva replied, resting his chin on an upturned palm. He hated sweets.
“Oh yeah. The one I beat you on.”
“Whatever! Emerald’s on my side this time since last time she didn’t join in.”
“You need all the help you can get.”
“Hey!” he growled, but Ember tuned him out, sucking on her spoon as she waited for her ice cream. Their voices were muffled as she stared at a fixated spot on the counter before her. Her mind was preoccupied for once, with the thoughts of that mysterious stranger from before.
Ember let out a squeak when her ice cream was delivered, shoving all thoughts out of her head. Emerald and Kiva stopped talking and glanced over in alarm, only to find Ember with one, two, three, no, four bowls of ice cream in front of her.
The bright haired girl gave them a grin as she dug her spoon into one of them.
They on the other hand, stared at her in complete shock. Apparently they still weren’t used to her eating habits yet. Ember laughed loudly before digging into one. Ice cream shot out everywhere.
They weren’t used to her manners yet either.
© Tierra Brown
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:54 pm
“So,” Emerald said to Kiva, wiping off some of the desert that had landed on her, “when are we training?”
“Well, I was thinking now, but after looking at Ember,” he paused to look at the girl whose face was covered in ice cream, “I think we should head home and clean up before meeting up.”
Ember shot them a look, but it didn’t quite get the job done since her face was covered in ice cream. “Was that a crack at me? I’m perfectly clean, thank you.”
Emerald shook her head, trying to keep her laughter inside. Kiva was in the same boat.
“Sure you are,” he said.
“What he said,” she said.
There was a sudden high pitched yowl and they glanced over in alarm. Ember was clutching her head.
“Ow!” she howled. “Brain freeze!'
They laughed harder.
© Tierra Brown
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:54 pm
Parting with Kiva and Emerald, Ember headed back to her apartment. They lived somewhere north of her while she lived toward the east of the village. Being a young woman of eighteen (today was her birthday) she was now the proud owner of her own abode.
“Welcome home,” she murmured to herself as she stepped into the place. She lived on the topmost floor. Throwing off her shoes, she treaded through the soft plush carpet and into her room where she took out her clothes and proceeded to take a shower.
No doubt she probably looked like an idiot before, walking down the street with ice cream on her face. Oh well.
Within half an hour she was ready. Baggy black jeans adorned her lower half, with a few belts to hold it up. A simple red top covered her chest, leaving her shoulders, neck, and stomach showing. She slipped on black fingerless gloves as well.
Ember winked at herself in the mirror before sprinting out the door, locking it after her, and heading out toward the usual spot.
The usual spot consisted of a clubhouse at the top of a tree built by the three of them in the middle of a clearing. There was no need for a ladder since they could easily scale the trees and leap in through the window. Around the lone tree was a complicated obstacle course.
© Tierra Brown
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:56 pm
“Is everyone here?” Ember said as she walked through the slightly tall grass. She came to a stop near the other two.
“Guess so,” Kiva replied, his dark eyes shifting from Emerald to Ember. “You ready to lose, Ember?”
“Hah, in your dreams,” she countered, cracking her knuckles. “It’ll be one lap around. Hope you guys like the taste of dust.”
They mooched over to the starting line, where they crouched and focused on the first obstacle. Ember stooped down, pressing her tapered fingers against the soft grass. The hairs on her arms rose suddenly as a cold feeling hit the bottom of her stomach. There was someone else here. She could feel it.
It was the same kind of feeling she had with —
“H—hey, do you guys feel that?” Emerald whispered, forest green eyes shifting to scope out the area. Kiva nodded while Ember glanced at her in confusion. Were they having the same feeling as her?
“At least four,” Kiva reported, crouching down further. “I can tell by their mana signals. They’re not concealing themselves at all. They must want us to sense them.”
No. It was something different entirely.
Emerald swallowed thickly. “Who do you think they are?” she wondered. A twig snapped behind them and they whipped around to face that direction. There was nothing but silence, save for the crickets as they peered toward the empty forestry. Even the wind seemed to die.
And then, four figures approached from beyond the trees.
“They’re not as stupid as they look,” a sweet voice mocked.
“Wh—who are you?” Ember asked, biting her lip. She still had that feeling, the sense she had of that one man. They moved closer. They wore matching uniforms of white. Their cowls billowed behind their back. She pushed away the feeling and focused.
“There,” the same voice said, pointing directly at Ember. “She’s the one.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:57 pm
“I see. What should we do about the other two?” a masculine voice said. “They didn’t say anything about killing them.”
“But they didn’t say anything about not killing them,” another male said. His voice was firm. He was clearly the leader of the group. “But we’ll spare them. They might come in handy.”
“Hey!” Ember scowled at them, pushing away her fear. “Don’t talk like we’re not here!”
“She’s feisty,” the first male said, leering at her. “Do we have to kill her? Maybe I could have a little fun?”
Ember recoiled, disgusted.
Kiva and Emerald narrowed their eyes. “They’re nothing like what we’ve faced before,” Kiva hissed. “I don’t know what they are, but they’re certainly not human.”
The four mooched forward.
“Our best plan to escape. Head back inside the village and report this.”
Ember and Emerald nodded. Going through the obstacle course seemed like their best bet to slow them down. They twisted and headed toward the wall. Ember’s heart was beating unevenly. It was like she’d already run a mile.
“Ooh,” the first male murmured. “They’re running. Maybe we’ll have fun after all, eh Surreal?”
“Sounds good,” she said, a twisted smirk forming on her face. “Are you sure we can’t kill the other two, Spite?”
Spite gave her a look. “Remember the plan,” he ordered, his tone dropping the topic. All that was left was to chase down the girl and kill her. "Surreal, Siheye, Shives - after them!"
“Hurry! They’re coming!” Kiva said, climbing on top of the wall. A rope dangled in front of him. Ember panted, hauling herself onto the top as Emerald followed after. They each grabbed onto the coarse rope and swung down toward a wooden block.
Ember’s sweaty hands nearly slipped off, but with her gloves — great thinking on her part, at least she thought so — she managed to hang on. They hit the wooden block and wasting no time, began hopping across the wooden poles.
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:59 pm
Ember forced herself to calm down as she nearly fell off. The balance parts of the obstacle course were always the parts she had trouble with, and this was one of them. The pole wiggled underneath her, causing her to shriek.
Below them, the four from before were trekking calmly after them. Surreal had a wicked smile on her face. Within her hands she held daggers. Ember’s eyes widened with shock as she pulled her arm back to throw them.
A few daggers sped toward her, missing her by inches. Ember tried desperately to hold onto her balance as she quickly moved along. Kiva’s mouth twisted into a frown as Spite chased after him, hitting the poles he was on. The strength the man possessed was incredible.
They were certainly not from the village or even human for that matter. Emerald wasn’t having any better luck as the other female — Shives — followed her with feline grace. She had nails that scraped the wooden poles, nearly cutting them in half.
Emerald squeaked as she managed to make it to the other side, Kiva landing next to her with a thump. Shives and Spite glared at them in contempt. There was a loud echoing shriek and they glanced over in alarm.
Ember tried to remain calm, but her whole body shook with apprehension. Her loud beating heart was the only thing she could hear. A knife whistled near her and she jumped, barely landing on the pole.
There was a pause as she swung her arms to try and balance herself. Then her foot slipped off the edge. There was a collective gasp from Emerald and Kiva while the four down below cheered.
© Tierra Brown
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:01 pm
Her hands caught the edge of the pole and she held herself for a moment. She glanced around, scoping out her possibilities. Deciding quickly, she dug the toe of her foot against the wood before pushing off and flipping backwards. She landed on the wooden platform next to Kiva and Emerald who gave a startled gasp.
“Ember!” Emerald said in relief, stooped to help the skinny girl up. Kiva was by her side as well.
“We really need to remodel the obstacle course,” Ember said between breaths. Kiva and Emerald managed to laugh a bit before a knife whizzing by them cut them short. They sprinted toward the tunnels where they slid down and crawled out through the opening.
The four, Spite, Surreal, Shives, and Siheye, were atop the platform they just came off of. They managed to complete the course and those four were far behind. Ember let out a sigh of relief for the moment, but they weren’t out of this yet.
“So,” a deep, rough voice drawled, causing Ember to gasp and look up in surprise, “what was the prize for finishing the obstacle course first?”
© Tierra Brown
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To be continued...
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Ember Infinity Aurion Vice Captain
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