Hotwire
Corsairs
Ariel Reyes
Posts: 97
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Post by Hotwire on Dec 22, 2009 1:01:20 GMT -5
Ariel was growling to herself as she finally caught up to the big scaredy cat palooka that was Kelly Burns. "Jesus Christ Kelly, we're sticking together, not you running off like a big girl," she huffed as she punched him in his side before looking at up at his frozen scared expression. She looked back at the way she came only to see something she was sure she couldn't really be seeing. "What the.." she wondered quietly as her breath hitched.
Near where she had just been stood something that looked like a small ghost girl. She had curly hair and a dress on that Ariel might date back to the 19th century if she thought about it. Haunting little giggles echoed quietly through their part of the woods as she smiled at them with a little wave. Ariel blinked a couple times to make sure she was either really seeing it, or just seeing things, but every time she blinked it looked as if the little girl had turned and was skipping away. Her hand fell down to grab Kelly's and gripped it tightly. Her nails dug into his hand slightly, just to make sure he knew it'd hurt if he tried to pull away again. Ariel had put on a collected expression even though she knew she was starting to get freaked out by what they were or weren't seeing. She would have to keep her head, because she knew Kelly wouldn't keep his.
"It isn't him Kelly. Let's keep moving" she said with a shake of her head, and looked up at him with a stern look. "You run off away from me again before this is over, I'll get you worse than anything that's in this forest, got it?" she said, giving him a look that she was not playing around, digging her nails into his hand just a little more to show she meant business. "Let's go, Daredevil, we've got your pain in the ass best friend to find," she said with a heaved sigh and started pulling him along again, this time not as briskly because she was looking around the darkness with a more wary eye. If something real came across them, they needed to be ready even though it was scary to move around in that dark forest.
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Shade
Hellions
Stephen Lynch
Posts: 45
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Post by Shade on Dec 22, 2009 18:55:30 GMT -5
Pouring itself into human form spake it then, as from out of the gloom it did step. "Alright, this is creepy even for me." Stephen stood now there, and tightened up closer. His blue thrall clinging, upon fellow mutant... hearts pumping, blood screaming, and speeding it's way adrenaline soaked. Once again opened up his mouth and spoke
"That wasn't me, but this place is crawling with... them.. whatever they are."
A turning twig and a rustle and with a startle turned he, yet his own footfall the source, and quavered his voice. Then again split, the hushed silence with words
"I don't think they have feet, but what do I know. They feel cold. No. More like a drain..like in a sink, ya know? When I was shaded just now I could feel them passing through me. I was spread pretty far out and they felt like nothing alive feels, bunches of em. Dozens?"
Moon light cast across and down, through tree limbs in painted dapples shown. Spots of light revealed looks worn by each and all, like cold stream waters flow and layed they somewhere between true timid and false bold.
"Mato if you don't say it then I will man, this place is crawlin with -ghosts-. I seen a lot of shit man and I, believe me when I say this, I know evil. Most of them though, they don't feel evil.. just, I dunno"
And shrugging he passed his glare, with eyes now adjusting and looked he then, from Mato to Jocelyn and back again
"hungry?"
Knowing of the hunger, with deeply understanding. Yet without a full grasp of the depth of the hunger, a hunger commanding, hunger of the stranded dead. Stephen, only part time consumed with a hunger most dark and related not, played then on lilt of word as if not quite sure. With inflection of voice, a tone most inquiring, but knowing a soul feast would soon be transpiring. His own hunger gnawed yet instinct stalled, for baser than hunger the need to survive, and in numbers survival percentages rise
"And these things don't feed on food. Food... oh god, Kelly. Where's Kelly? And Ariel?"
Her name said he, as an afterthought then, but concerned most of all, yes he was, for his friend.
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Post by TrueSpirit on Dec 22, 2009 21:24:45 GMT -5
The wise Shade was right indeed, there was a great evil in the forest, and they were angry. The air around them was unnaturally cold for this time of year, so cold that Mato could clearly see the fog of their breaths. He patted Jocelyn's arm protectively, looking around the forest. He heard the angry voices, heard the cries of outrage that came across in haggard whispers. Whether or not Shade and Jocelyn heard the voices still remained to be seen, but the were clear as day to the young Shaman. And though they were all very low and bunched together, there was one message that was very clear in all their voices. "They do not want me here," Mato whispered to his two companions, the Great Grizzly by his side growling at something next to them. "A Man of the Spirits is not welcome in their forest. They are angered by my presence."
The spirits that surrounded them were angered and enraged, for reasons that the young Shaman could only postulate. It may be that the presence of a pious and sanctified figure threatened their balance over their forest, or perhaps they just picked the wrong night to wander in this area of the woods. Though Mato believed it to be the former rather than the latter, it didn't matter at the moment. They angered whatever spirits resided in this forest, and they were trapped at the heart of it. "Kelly was screaming a moment ago and then all went silent," Mato said stiffening up only slightly as he felt the breath being taken out of him, like a cold entity tried to force it's way into him. "We must find them, we are not safe apart, or here."
The young Cheyenne Shaman placed a hand on the Great Grizzly, his spirit, his very soul in physical form and tightened the connection between them, a practice that Mato himself mastered by having the eyes of the spirit and the wise river gray eyes of the become one, as would their minds. Find them my friend, and keep them safe. A message in the mind shared between the spirit and vessel in deep connection, eliciting the response of the Great Grizzly letting out a strident cry before it turned it's powerful body and ran off into the forest, in search of the last of their companions before it was too late.
"We must try and leave the heart of the forest," Mato said looking at the roaming shadows in the dark woods, and in the rings of moonlight that slipped through the trees shook as shadows passed through them to take shape. The forms were almost demonic, but not all shared that trait. Others look tortured, and others reaped the sow of vengeance as they watched the trio. "Come, it is not safe to stay. These cannot all be human spirits." He beckoned the group to join while turning in the direction previously taken by the Great Grizzly. The voices began to get more urgent, forcing Mato to clutch his head as the air seemed to get more frigid by the passing second.
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Calorie
Corsairs
Kelly Burns
You know what word is funny? Pickelweasel!
Posts: 84
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Post by Calorie on Dec 23, 2009 1:35:53 GMT -5
Kelly stared at the spot where the little girl had been, frozen in fear and disbelief. He was trying to decide if this was like the time he smoked and drank with Shade in the boathouse, and then ran over to Emma Frost's office, convinced that there was a man eating pink pony roaming the woods. This time though, he was pretty sure by Ariel's reaction that he wasn't the only one seeing things. He stood frozen in fear and let Ariel drag him, looking around still not quite himself.
Just as he was coming around, Kelly noticed how cold the air around them got. A second after he noticed that, a great force hit his and Ariel's linked hands, like someone charged right at them, except that there was no one there. Despite that, something very solid ran into them hard enough to break their hold on each other and send them both flying to the floor. "AAAAHHHHHH!" Kelly screamed and looked around, trying to figure out if the roaming shadows were just his eyes playing tricks on him. "HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE %$, WHAT THE %$ WAS THAT %$ING %$... %$!!!" He crawled backwards, looking around wildly trying to figure out what the hell was happening and if that grass was stronger than he thought.
The next thing that Kelly knew, it felt like something was grabbing him and pinning him to the ground. "What the- Get off me! Get off! ARIEL!" he yelled and struggled on the hold. The next thing he heard was the loud roar of a gigantic familiar looking bear leap out of the trees. Kelly Burns though, was far too scared to take notice that this bear was roaring and clawing at some invisible things around them and not at them. "OH MY GOD ARIEL! RUN! SAVE YOURSELF! NO SAVE ME I'M TOO HOT TO DIE!" he yelled in a whiny voice, close to crying now.
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Splice
Acolytes
Jocelyn Roma
Posts: 80
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Post by Splice on Dec 23, 2009 2:32:23 GMT -5
It took a lot to scare Jocelyn, a good lot to scare her the way she was now. It was never really in her to be scared as much as it was to react. This time though there was nothing she could react to, nothing she could physically fight. It rattled her that something could touch her and she couldn't fight back. So much that the second that she saw Shade, Jocelyn had thrown her arms around him and squeezed tight, half comforted that he was there and half relieved that nothing out there got him.
Now, whether he liked it or not, Jocelyn laced her fingers with his and gripped his hand as if her life depended on it, her other hand wrapped around Mato's arm. She took deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart as Mato led them away. The cold air wasn't too horrible for her, since she had an incredibly high tolerance for the cold, but it was so bad that even she was starting to feel it. "I don't get it why us? Why now? Why-" she was cut off by hearing Kelly's screaming, making her heart leap into her throat in fear. "Oh god Kelly. I mean I know that he can be a bit irrational, but with all this..." Her hands tightened their grasp on the two guys arms. "Come on we need to find them!" Jocelyn pushed Mato a little bit, urging him to go faster.
It was right then when it felt like a cold strong hand grabbed her ankle and yanked her so hard that she fell right to ground, catching her completely by surprise. Jocelyn let out a shrill scream, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She kicked and struggled against the force, but to no avail. Never before had she felt so helpless as a mutant and with her Atlantean abilities. She couldn't even fly or grab a hold of any passing stumps or trees as the thing dragged her into the dark, but she certainly tried. "Get off, get off!" Jocelyn yelled and tried to kick up as she was dragged further and further off.
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Post by ~ N.P.C. ~ on Dec 31, 2009 3:02:48 GMT -5
...and then, through the mists, the moonlight revealed...
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Hotwire
Corsairs
Ariel Reyes
Posts: 97
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Post by Hotwire on Jan 1, 2010 20:41:19 GMT -5
Ariel's eyes flashed around trying to take everything at once while she still tried to keep herself sensible enough to do next. Her ears heard everything, Kelly's frantic shrieks to even Jocelyn's piercing scream as she got herself up after being knocked down. Mato's bear had come and was trying to help them, she had noticed with a flutter of relief in her chest, but she was still far from being fully content. She was surprised that there wasn't anything holding her down like they were keeping Kelly, but she noticed that she had been knocked closer to Mato's bear while Kelly had been knocked the opposite way. Her heart beat fast as she tried to push down the fear that she felt because she couldn't afford to let herself be scared. It reached her eyes though, and if someone looked at her they could tell she was shaken despite the tough and composed front she was trying to keep up. These ghosts...spirits...whatever they were couldn't be touched, and it pissed Ariel off. They were things she couldn't get her hands on and pound on, and she knew her powers wouldn't work against them either. It didn't change that she wasn't going to try like hell, though, and once she stood back up and looked over at Mato's bear, a hint of determination glinted in her eyes mixed in with the fear. Since it seemed as if the spirits didn't touch her while she was near Mato's bear, she would use it to her advantage to get to Kelly and save him. Ariel exchanged a look with Mato's bear and hung her hands at her sides as if she had given up against the ghosts, but they glowed brightly with the electricity crackling around them. She let it strike out if she saw a ghost get too close to them, even though it struck through them and hit nothing. The large grizzly bear roared again as he followed Ariel's lead and ran over to where Kelly lay pinned to the ground. "Get away!" Ariel yelled into the night as she raised a hand to let an array of thin lightning bolts spur off at the various spirits haunting Kelly. They moved away as Mato's bear moved to stand protectively over them as Ariel knelt, swatting at the air over their heads. She caught her breath and tried to calm down before she turned and spoke. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up into a hug, for both his comfort and her own. They couldn't stay like that for long though, because they had to move to find the others, but she could allow a minute for Kelly to gather himself. He was a complete scaredy cat, but he sounded like he was on the verge of crying and it was too pitiable to let happen. "It's okay, it's okay. You're alright," she said quietly to calm him down as Mato's bear roared. Once it seemed like it was getting too out of hand again, she made him stand up. "Come on, we've got to find the others. Stay with me and Mato's bear. The ghosts seem to keep away with him around, and we've gotta find Joce and the others. She screamed. They need our help," she said and made him start walking with her while the bear got on all fours and growled ferociously at the spirits swirling around them, but unable to touch them. Ariel bit her lip hard to keep from grimacing in fear. She hoped that they would be able to get back with the others, and soon.
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Shade
Hellions
Stephen Lynch
Posts: 45
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Post by Shade on Jan 2, 2010 1:54:07 GMT -5
"Aw shit, I'm not the hero type Joce-" called out the Shade as a step then another and leaping through the air cried louder "MERGE WITH ME!" Landing belly first and in his hand an arm grabbed he. The look of her eyes, if heart he still had it broke then and there, for fear made a gorgeous thing of her and but this one chance had he. This chance alone to save her from the unknown, but a deeper darkness might she yet face in him. The cracking of tree limbs and crackling of lightning, all this and the scream of a woman, that the scream of his friend Kelly Burns. Dare not he turn to look as gasped out "Gotcha Blue." A heartbeat later he felt her sliding into him and then he opened her to the danger of The SHADE within and to a blue hazy mist, a shadow cobalt, then they did turn. She would know then his secret, his hunger, his burden, as she would know it as her own and sharing it with him he felt it all the less heavy as her strength girded him up. Footfalls close by, the Shaman neared, and for him they did not fear. His spirit lore and knowledge, great it must have to have been to hold high his standing with his tribe. Jocelyn? Are you alright? asked the dark boy to his thrall It's not too much for you is it? The hunger? Can you feel the dead souls, like black holes cold and draining? Stay with me, pull back from them -and from the living too, I fear the urge will overcome us and we might feast too deeply if we begin. So lets just not even go there.
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Splice
Acolytes
Jocelyn Roma
Posts: 80
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Post by Splice on Jan 6, 2010 1:12:45 GMT -5
Oh... Oh my god Shade you have to live with this stuff? It was the oddest thing to be in the head of her best friend, and also very eye opening. It was a big contrast to be in his mind, enough to make anyone else go insane. In his mind, it was like Stephen, the one that Joce knew and loved, and then something else, something dark and more frightening than anything that she encountered back there. She couldn't describe it, there didn't seem to be the right words to give a clear image of what she saw, it was just...evil. Like the way they described demons in that show Ghost Hunters and all those other ghost hunting shows, that there was just a foreboding sense of darkness to him that just wanted more of... of something.
As much as it shocked and scared Jocelyn, it also fascinated her. Something about it called to her, tempting her the way a cold bottle of water would tempt one after they were lost in the desert for days. Wow... it doesn't look so bad Stephen, okay maybe it does but its so... wow. Its making me... Jocelyn's thought ceased as she felt it in her head, the head she currently shared with Shade. She felt herself floating through the trees toward Mato, half controlling it and half not while trying to get her own connection back with Stephen and not the... well the Shade that live in him.
Oh Stephen... you deal with this every day? she said softly in her mind, ignoring the whispers of spirits around her. Jocelyn didn't know what was going on, why that darkness called to her so loudly and beckoned her, but she was desperately trying to find Stephen in her mind, connect to him so she had a handle on the two of them being in one body. She took a moment to collect herself, trying to get everything straight. Stephen please reach out to me, I can't find the real you. Its getting closer to me, what do I do? she called in her mind, feeling like in a strange place that wasn't the familiar place she knew with her best friend.
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Post by TrueSpirit on Jan 19, 2010 2:17:41 GMT -5
The energy of the forest gained a more hostile energy as the blue beauty was dragged into the forest. How Mato wish he could have helped her, but with the spirits of evil crowding him and trying to inflict harm on him, it was near impossible. His head was pounding from the demonic spirits as they tried to attack him with malicious intent. In an attempt to keep the pounding in his head at bay, the young Shaman used all the energy he could muster and focused on the connection he possessed with the Great Grizzly that was his soul. Come my friend, keep them safe. His mind called to the Great and Mighty Grizzly, a strength in their connection that remained unbreakable no matter what forces tried to penetrate. They were one, as were their minds and resolve. The strength of his spirit was undaunted, and as Mato's focus remained on the resolute of his spirit, he regained the will to push a good away the attempted possessions of his mind by outside spirits.
As his eyes regained focus, hand that gripped the rough bark of a tree so harshly that the wood splintered into his fingers was able to loosen. His river gray eyes were met with the sight of a frightened Kelly Burns and the lovely Ariel, who put on as brave of a front as he could muster. Even through his hazy gaze, the form of the prancing and nervous Wild Mustang and the frantic and erratic behavior of the Platypus were evident next to his two friends, leading him to believe they had their own encounter with the spirits. "My friends," Mato said his hand reaching out to meet the warm soft head of the Great Grizzly in comfort. The second they touched, all the spirits that tried to get to him moved further away, but their hostile energy and malicious intent was still present. Why this would happen, the young Shaman could not say with definite conviction, only hypothesize the many possible reasons.
Placing a hand on Kelly's shoulder to calm him, Mato brought a hand to Ariel's waist and brought her forward to hug her quickly, in comfort and his own pure relief that no serious harm had come to his good friends and teammates in the dangerous forest. "Shade has gone to get Jocelyn, he will let no harm come to her." Of that he was quite certain, for even the spirit of the Wise Bat proved to be at ease in the presence of the playful and clever Bottlenose Dolphin, something extraordinary and wondrous all at the same time. "They will find us, but for now we must leave this forest," Mato said, eyes looking around while his hand remained on the growling and protective Grizzly Bear. As his eyes searched the paths and the skies, a strange sight caught came into his line of vision. In a distance surely further from where they camped rose a thick cloud of smoke, as that from a campfire. His gaze remained curious, not sensing another human in the area, but realizing they had not explored that part of the forest. "Come, Shade and Jocelyn will find us, but we cannot stay here any longer," He put himself next to his friends, attempting to find the path to navigate away from the forest with all the spirits and demons coming at them.
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Shade
Hellions
Stephen Lynch
Posts: 45
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Post by Shade on Jan 20, 2010 23:08:54 GMT -5
Hungry. Adrift, as floating in a dark thick pond in the middle of a starless moonless night, the touching of the two souls in the thick of the haunted woods and the hunger that they shared brought them closer together. Starving. You feel it huh... the hunger.. the darkness. Yes it's like this all the time for me and it's been getting worse, a deeper hold on me lately. Now c'mon, don't let it draw us back to Kelly and them. I thought you were stronger than that, you gonna give in that easily? The depth of the malignancy of the soul of The Shade blacker than the ink of a squid, colder than a walk with no shoes in the rain and more sorrowful than a life with no friends. I was going down to that fire. Feed on whoever's there, and try not to kill him. Distant it was but closer then drew they to their quarry. Yet the spark of light in the dark was the soul who did not belong and The Shade could hold it within no longer. Joce?..Joce!?!.. JOCELYN!! Blue brightness. NOoo, no not yet. Don't go! A force of separation, expulsion and ripping apart did peel the one from the depth of within the other and cried out Stephen did as she fall away from them. Just you and me again. Fine you jealous life sucking monster. You might be the stronger part of me but I've still got one trick up my sleeve that you'll never learn. Cold blackness. In the dankest spot in the wood they lay on the ground apart, confusion the look they both shared. Wanting for the touching wanting for the closeness, thankful for the rejection, breathing separately, breathing. Stephen into human form poured himself as Jocelyn had found herself the moment birthed and pushed forth from the darkest wisp of a womb. "Sorry about that.." Sat up the boy. Hand rubbing head and crawling over then, over to the blue skinned girl who in recline he did find. "Are you all right? My darkness likes the privacy of me alone." Again with concern like wind chimes twinkling in his voice as he went to touch her but hesitated he, drawing aback his hand. Therein hesitancy and concern swirled together and winning out was self preservation or preservation of the self. The Shade had no want for another within and little there was Stephen could do, nor would he want to if a search to the bottom of his soul he made, for there was not room left for another soul within them-within him. Warmth. A softness of warm glow he noticed then playing on her azure features as had they scrolled down the hillside a distance for search of sustenance. Oh shit, the fire.. we're here. Golden orange ripples lapping. Uncontrolled free-fall had brought them down. Down the hillside to feast. The glowing fire shone and with it's warmth to two cold bodies their attention turned and pulled, for not a length away burned it there crackling... and at calm rest sat tending it- it's master, it's builder, their intended prey. "Well I'll be. - Stark is right... you kids wind up in the damnedest places."
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Calorie
Corsairs
Kelly Burns
You know what word is funny? Pickelweasel!
Posts: 84
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Post by Calorie on Jan 24, 2010 17:41:28 GMT -5
"Wait a minute what happened to Joce? And Shade? He's okay?!" Kelly yelled looking around at all the ghosts. He was freaking out and ready to curl up in a ball somewhere and wail, but he didn't like knowing that his two best friends were in trouble. Especially cause he just got to see Jocelyn again after years and he didn't want anything to happen to her before they caught up properly. Or at least until he got to feel her boobs properly.
"This sucks, there is no way out of here, look at all these things!" He said looking around at all the ghosts that surrounded them. "How are we- hey! Come on what the hell is going on?!" Kelly started getting frantic as the knight ghosts started rounding up the ghosts around the three Corsairs. "Hey! Stop get away from us! We're not ghosts! Or cattle!" Kelly gripped the bear's fur as he began screaming at the top of his lungs in fright. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH GET AWAY FROM ME!"
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Post by ~ N.P.C. ~ on Jan 24, 2010 18:51:13 GMT -5
A scream in the distance drew the man to his feet. "So much for the calm before the storm, huh? Well sounds to me like the Gathering of Souls has begun. You two are sure in the wrong place at the wrong time" he said to Jocelyn and Stephen as he turned his back on them to rummage in a bit of gear that lay on the forest floor in the shadows. "I hate to do my homework, but you two are easy... Blue skin, winged feet, this far inland... and the kid that turns into darkness. Do Scott and Emma know you guys are out here in this neck of the woods?" He stopped rummaging and it appeared to the mutant duo by his body language, in the warmth and glow of the firelight, that he indeed had found what he was looking for. He leaned over a bit more and slipped something over his head. Turning around the sound of a blade being loosed from it's scabbard punctuated his spin and he stood for a second. Knowing it wouldn't take them long to realize who he was. "Should I be upset you didn't know me as easily? You're whats-his-name's daughter from Atlantis, the call you Splice.. and you're Emma's creepy dark force kid.. call you Shade, don't they? Yea..."
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Splice
Acolytes
Jocelyn Roma
Posts: 80
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Post by Splice on Jan 25, 2010 0:42:38 GMT -5
The frightened and dazed look in Jocelyn's eyes left when she recognized the man in front of them, a small smile coming on her face. "You're the Black Knight! My dad told me about you!" she said with a small smile. His reputation was well known in Atlantis and the X-Men for that matter. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you!" Her voice wasn't shaking anymore and she was gripping Stephen's hand hard. It broke her heart knowing what he had to go through, what he had to fight. She had left him at just the last second, sliding out of his body and into her own mind.
"What are you doing here?" No sooner did the words leave her lips did the screams of Kelly Burns get louder and louder. Jocelyn shivered again and moved so she could still grip Shade's hand and put her arms around his waist, holding her tight and slipping her head under his chin. She needed to hold on to him now, in a rare vulnerable moment that the Atlantean hadn't felt since before she came to Atlantis at the attack on the school. She hated being helpless, and most of all she hated feeling vulnerable. It was something she worked hard never to show, but there were times like this that she couldn't help some things.
Stephen and Kelly were her two best friends that she ever dared show that side of her willingly. It took her awhile to get Stephen to warm up to her, but she was relentless. In the end, she knew why they were friends in an odd way. No one in that trio had any agenda, or false pretenses. They were all very straight up with each other and there was no feeling of secrets or a hidden agenda. An odd trio they were, but the one thing that was certain was the trust in each other. Burying her face in his throat and nuzzling it in comfort, Jocelyn let out a small sigh and turned back to the Black Knight. "Is there any way to help them? Or that we can help?" Her dark ocean blue eyes looked up at the Black Knight in awe and slight desperation with her worry for her friends.
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Post by ~ N.P.C. ~ on Jan 25, 2010 23:05:24 GMT -5
"OOoh now they knows me, thanks." he reached over and tousled Stephen's hair. Seeing the look the boy gave him he realized these kids were well beyond the hair tousling age. "Eh, sorry." he said sort of unapologetically to Stephen and looking away from him to Splice he commented "But yea.. good eyes." sarcastically, but in a good humored way.
"Not sure what you guys can do to help, but we'll see. I'm here to make right an ancient wrong, sorta made a promise to an old friend." He glanced at the two of them as he sheathed his weapon. "Ya ever do that? You know, put your foot in your mouth and then have to grin and say it tastes great? Yeah... one a thoose kinda things."
He squared himself away, settling his scabbard in position before bending down to grad a small pouch from next to his bag. "Remember what Smokey says- only you can prevent forest fires." He reached into the pouch and cast out a glittering powder into the fire. It extinguished itself immediately, the flames imploding into a green swirl that smelled of cinnamon. "I love that, smells nice too."
"Anyway, yea.. like I said it's the Gathering of Souls." He looked at them for a split second as their eyes adjusted to the dark, Splice's almost instantly since her Atlantean heritage gave her the ability to see as clearly in the darkness as in broad sunlight. "What's the gathering of souls Black Knight?" he said in a mock kiddie voice "I'm glad ya asked kids..."
"An event foretold about a bunch of disembodied spirits culling other ghosts and whatever humans they can find before dawn. These guys have been here since the Templar Knights made that expedition to this continent.. up the St Lawrence.. back in.. Aww come on! What do they teach you guys at that school?" The eerie glow of the wood was giving enough visibility for Dane to see the two mutants faces and the look of confusion over what he was saying was just painfully obvious.
"Well believe me, I was there. It was a double cross and all hell broke loose and before I could help I got pulled out of that time and you two don't look like you care... so I'll cut to the chase, I made a promise as I faded out of that time to the one Knight among them that was incorruptible. He'd been cut down by the others when he would not yield his will to the devil that had wormed it's way into the hearts of our companions and as his soul went to heaven and I faded away I promised to free them all."
"But why now, why tonight at the Gathering of Souls?" he asked again in his mock kiddie voice. "Yeah, yeah I'm gettin to that. It's because-" HEEEeeeeeeeLLlpppPP!!! Another girlish scream split the night air "Aw damn, Come on I'll tell ya on the way. Lets GO!!" He smacked the back of his gauntlet covered hand into the thin frame of the boy who would be shadow and started off running. Looking to one side and then the other to see that the two kids were keeping up with him he continued his tale.
"It's when they're the most powerful, so of course it's gotta be when we attack. Because I'll tell you there's nothing like the thrill of waiting until your opponent is unbeatable. Okay that was sarcasm." he ducked and dodged around tree trunks and under low hanging branches as the pair stayed with him. "Heh, you guys are good at this. But no, really it's gotta be now, not my choice... just how it always seems to work for a knight- well, that and there's this runestone that's the tie to this world. When the ghost knights start spreading out to cull more souls, the souls of the living that is, it'll be unprotected."
"Just one hitch in this plan and I think." Another shrill scream let them know they were close. "Is that woman with you two?" He asked confused as it sounded like a living person to his ears, and then he held out his hand to stop them just beyond the dark edge of a clearing. "That's no woman.. is that? No, it couldn't be ..Kelly Burns?" Dane remembered the time Kelly had come as a tourist to the old Avengers Mansion and turned his Atomic Steed into Licorice flavored ice-cream cake.
"Oh wait, there is a chick with him and that other guy and a -a bear?" He didn't recognize Ariel, she had changed so radically since her registration pictures were taken and a flash of recognition caught in his brain at the Native American but he ignored it for the moment. "Well, whatever, but it wont matter soon. That hitch I mentioned is this... In order to leave the woods, they need to feed the runestone the souls of the spirits of this haunted forest, and it looks like those friends of yours are in the middle of it all. Don't worry though," he looked from Shade to Splice and back out to the clearing "I'm working on a plan."
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