Tempest Edge

[De]

De shook his head to make his hair fall back into place as they landed into the scarcely planted forest. He was not the type that could stand anything to be out of place if he could help it. He tries to keep it.... Steady.

You treasure what you cannot own.

As the dragon batted her wings and landed, De prepared to leap off Tuyet.

"So are we waiting them out or continuing on foot?"

"We continue." De said with a deep, calm voice and left the dragon's back. There was no doubt in his decision. He tries to keep it steady.

Landing lightly on the earth, he paused for a couple of seconds before turning to face the direction that will eventually lead them to an abandoned city once called Collosae. The objective of his mission was to escort the dragon. And something was disturbing the peace of this mission. He glanced above.

"We continue," he murmured again, then said, "We'll see what they're up to."

Without further comments, De started down the muddy path towards the dryer and more desolate part of the land around them.

[Den // Aik]

Tuyet followed the man with her eyes, waiting to see the direction she was going in before she motioned for the sprites to follow... or more preferably go in front of her. Aik she didn't care about, but if there was possible danger she wanted Den in her eyesight where nothing could sneak up on the red sprite.

Granted with danger possibly coming from above they really could have better conditions to walk in. Between her scales and the sprites wings they might as well have been bright flowers against a patch of sand. Usually they would go in better treecover... but she supposed it was a good sign that they'd already gotten far enough away from their starting point.

Den didn't take long to flutter up to the dragons shoulder, hovering there for a moment before landing so that he could walk besides her head. Or more half walk half flutter, since it was a good way to keep from stepping in the deeper mud. He glanced up to a flurry of blue as Aik fluttered up to walk a bit behind the man that they were following, most likely curious... though he knew her well enough to be fairly sure that she wouldn't try to bug the man. Tuyet was the only one she did that too.

And she cared less about mud than he did, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't be watching where she was stepping too. They were probably going to have to wash their tights and sandals later... but for now it wouldn't hurt. "Did he mention how far it is?" He asked, loud enough that if Tuyet didn't know the answer the man would probably hear... maybe. Den wasn't always the best at judging the volume of his voice.

"Only by flight." Tuyet said, twisting her head around to briefly nuzzle at the boy before swinging it forwards again.

[Hauke]

I'm sweating, and there's a red spot on my shoulders where the flamethrower rested. The weapon is on the deck next to my feet, now, while I twist the kinks out of my arms. The rest of the Truth's crew is taking care of the few bats that remain- and the clean-up as well.

I lean against the railing and watch Captain Akasha enthusiastically issue orders to his mates as the ship's cannons are returned to their original settings. I turn my head to look outward and frown a bit. Those flying travelers... They went down sometime during the fight with the bats... And they...

Picking up the flamethrower, I pick my way to Akasha's side and tug on his arm.

"Cap'n? Those fliers... the ones we saw b'fore the bats showed up. They looked like they were goin' the same way we are! Is there anything else out here besides Collosae?"

[De]

Walking on the mud, one couldn't help but realize that being light doesn't necessarily help. De cared not that he would leave a trail behind since this wasn't a stealth mission of any sort, and the white dragon was creating enough of a trail as is.

If anyone were to catch up to them from behind, the dragon probably wouldn't die in a single blow. As for the sprites... Well, De didn't care.

De quickly contemplated the risk at hand with his trained wisdom. The thing that they saw in the sky was still a distance away from them, and probably won't come looking for them unless it means trouble. That said, with a lack of treecover, if they see the thing --- whatever it was --- closing up on them, they would have to get away as soon as possible.

On the other hand, if it's heading towards Collosae...

By flight, De estimated that the thing will arrive in Collosae two hours earlier than they do if it doesn't change course. That's as fast as fliers get with currents in this part of the sky. The day was still bright, and the devilsbride wondered what monsters were on post to guard Collosae now. During his few years serving in the organization, he has never seen an attack during broad daylight.

Attempts to advance Collosae were very few. It was a desert region shielded by illusion magics and guarded by monsters and assassins, afterall. And it was certainly not of coincidential nature that the organization De belong to was deployed for escorting Tuyet.

"We'll be there before sunset," he murmured a reply to the dragon-sprite pair, but spoke mostly to himself.

[Akasha Govad]

Akasha blinked and look down at the boy pulling on my arm. He really is adorable...and completely naive. But the Captain shook his head lightly, scattering his thoughts that involved strapping Hauke to the ship's wheel and a long, slow torture with his tongue, and looked to where the other organics had been.

"I suppose they could be heading towards the Caravan Springs..." the captain mused. He shook his head. Many fliers stopped off there for food and water: fliers, not ships. He pursed his lips lightly. "We won't worry about them for now..."

The captain rested an arm on the boy's shoulders, and scratched his jaw lightly. Things were relaxing as the crew cleaned the last of the bats off of his ship and polished the blood from the railings. He grinned and leaned against the boy lightly, subtly stroking the boy's cheek slowly.

"How was your first fight?" the captain asked lazily.

[Hauke]

I blush a little and lean into Akasha's side, amazed at how comfortable it feels.

"Ummm... I liked it? Flamethrowers are fun!" I smile happily and pull the flamethrower closer.

Akasha chuckles and pulls me closer, making me wince as my sore shoulder gets jarred. The Captain frowns down at me.

"What's wrong, Hauke?"

"Ummm.." I tug on my shirt's neckline. "I'm not used ta the 'thrower... so my shoulder's kinda sore..." I tug on my shirt some more, revealing a large red splotch across my shoulder, the edges looking a little bruised.

The man's face darkens and he narrows his eyes for a moment as he reaches up and brushes the hot skin. I wince again, and Akasha tsks at me and shakes his head.

"Come on, let's get that looked at." Akasha takes me by the arm and starts walking me towards the Captain's chamber. Wide-eyed, I grab at the flamethrower before it can fall to the deck and drag it along.

I blink spots away from my vision as I walk into the relative dimness of the room; trying to stop so my eyes could get used to the change, but Akasha is still tugging on the arm in his grasp. Without loosening his grip, he walks me over to the bed and pushes me back until I sit down.

Akasha then goes to get something across the room and I take the chance to careful set down the weapon in my hands. Akasha comes back quickly with what appears to be a first aid kit or something.

I watch the man as he starts pulling stuff out of the box and start poking at my shoulder, flinching at the tenderness of the skin.

I didn't realize it was that bad... Probably sunburned, too...

[Akasha Govad]

Akasha gently poked at the boy's shoulder. It was going to bruise, that was for certain. He shook his head lightly and looked down into the kit. He pulled lightly at a bottle and eyed the contents lightly.

"You've got a nasty bruise coming in. And the skin on your shoulders and back are sunburned. And probably your scalp and face..." Akasha said lightly, a frown on his face. "You need to take better care of yourself..." He poured the liquid into a bowl and dropped several pearls of dark colored sand into the bowl. He began crushing the pearls, mixing them with the liquid slowly.

"I always wanted to be a medic..." he murmured lightly, dropping in a small cap of bright blue powder. The substance foamed lightly before taking on a creamy appearance. He shrugged and smiled up at the boy.

"Take off your shirt Hauke."

[Hauke]

I blush scarlet. "M-my shirt?"

I glance a moment at the cream stuff Akasha is mixing, then slowly pull the too-loose shirt over my head, hissing as the fabric scrapes across the burn.

"And I do take care of m'self! I mean... I eat alright... and exercise..."

I start to shiver a little, as the relative coolness of the room begins to chill my heated skin. I bite my lip and eye the cream stuff Akasha holds, wondering what exactly it is.

[Den // Aik]

Den didn't hear the man's reply, but Tuyet did. Her head went up and she tilted it as she moved, waiting to see if there would be any elaboration... Not that the statement really needed it, but didn't hurt to wait and see. When none came she nudged at Den, passing on, "He says by sunset."

"Oh that's good." Den answered, reaching up a hand to let it rest on the scales of Tuyet's neck, "Seems like danger comes out at night." The sprite glanced up into the sky in the direction of the flying thing, wings fluttering a little as he amended, "Most danger at least."

It hadn't occured to him that if they were arriving by sunset, there was the distinct possibility of getting there right as it got dark, into who knew what sort of trouble...

Luckily that had occured to Aik, who skipped around a puddle before glancing towards the purple-haired man and asking, "Is there anything we should be prepared to run into? Other than the mysterious flying thing I mean." She watched the man rather carefully, blue wings just barely fluttering without lifting her as she walked. Really it didn't seem like he was the most social of people, so what she was looking for more than anything else was a clue that he wanted the twins to just shush up.

[Akasha Govad]

Akasha shook his head and pressed a finger coated in the cream against the wound. There was a small hiss as the cream made contact with the burn. He frowned lightly.

"See this? If it hisses, it means the wound is near the edge of it's healing capacity," the captain murmured darkly. He looked up and shook his head at Hauke. "Eating right and getting enough rest aren't what I'm talking about. You need to start learning your limits..."

The captain grumbled and scooped a fair amount of the cream into his hands and crawled onto the bed, sitting behind and straddling around Hauke. "Now just relax..." he murmured softly as he began to work the cream into the boy's shoulder, massaging the boy's muscles slowly*

[Hauke]

I cringe at the coldness of the cream that Akasha starts spreading on the wound, startled at the hissing sound it makes. Healing capacity? Meaning... If it were any worse, this gunk wouldn't help any? That's not a very reassuring thought, to say the least.

While I'm thinking, Akasha gets onto the bed and scoots up so his legs are on either side of me. My eyes widen at how close the man is. Is this normal, for him? I kinda hope so... I don't know what'd I'd do if it's just to me.

He spreads some more of the cream on my shoulder and starts to slowly knead the muscles there. Blushing, I lower my head a bit and tug my hair so it's out of the way.

"Um... but to find my limits, I hafta test 'em, right?"

Now that I'm sitting down, in a moderately lit area, and combined with the slight massage- I'm find myself drifting a little. For some reason, I find being where I am very relaxing, and I smile a little, happily.

[De]

The devilsbride glanced at the blue flutter sprite from the corner of his eye for a couple of quick seconds. His crimson snake eyes gleamed a lurid red underneath the violet hair.

He wondered how much fighting they could do to defend themselves. Though even if they could deal with monsters at Collosae, he wouldn't be the least impressed. De was not made to connect with other people except in missions.

Without the slightest change of face De turned his glance back on their path, ignoring the girl's question.

De's light cloak trailed on the mud as he walked. The wind was coming from behind them, and if anything smelled them it will be up ahead on the muddy road. It'll be hard to get past them and sneak up from behind in these empty forests. There shouldn't be anything in these regions except some snakes, but that can't be too much of an issue. So what is there to worry about?

...What is there to worry about?

Unfocused for a moment, De glanced up ahead, only to notice the rubber sounds of leather wings beating on air and shadows shielding the stinging sun. A flock of gargoyles had torn the bright sunlit sky into pieces.

[Den // Aik]

Aik figured that with the lack of answer, she might as well not ask anything else. She didn't know why, but lots of fighters took affront to little sprites constantly flinging question at them. She was assuming this man was a fighter, he was acting too calm for anything else... unless he was just really really strange.

She had pretty much settled on staying behind and attempting to dodge puddles in silence when the path she was concentrating on was suddenly full of broken twisting shadows. Her head snapped up and she stared for a moment, freezing in middstep.

Tuyet had seen the creatures at around the same time as Aik did, and her head came up, neck twisting as she snorted a bit of smoke as the gargoyles came closer, wings flaring out to cover the smaller sprite as Den pressed close to her side, his red eyes huge as he stared at the creatures. She didn't move yet, somewhat waiting to see if they would actually attack (after all, not -all- things nessasarily wanted to make a meal of one... at least not here. She assumed) but the fire was building in the back of her throat, ready to lash out at any that got close. For a small dragon, she could wreak a considerable amount of damage with her fire.

Up ahead, Aik was edging back as the flock drew impossibly close, grabbing two of her knives from where they had been concealed and glaring at the gargoyles. She could fight, and she knew she was good at it. One of these things against her and she'd have had a pretty awesome chance even without the element of surprise... But she wasn't enough of an idiot to think she'd have a chance in hell against this many. All the girl could hope was that they either were sensitive to fire or the purple haired man was a better fighter than average. As in way better than average.

"I'm guessing it's a good assumption that they aren't just happening this way on a flight?" She asked, keeping her voice calm even though she was cursing inwardly. Aik didn't really expect an answer, but talking gave her those moments as the flock drew closer to actually have some sort of an idea how she was going to do this. This wasn't her favorite way to fight by any stretch of the imagination.

[De]

For a brief moment, De's eyes fixed themselves upon the twirling shadows up in the sky while Aik's voice became no more than a mosquito's buzz to him in the hollow background. He watched a single gargoyle took a swoop towards him and slid a long silver knife out from inside the sleeves of his tigerprint robe. As the gargoyle swooped within his reach, the myrmidon stepped back lightly like a fallen leaf pushed away by the force of the winds, grabbed onto the monster's left wing and stabbed the silver knife down its throat.

Pinning the stone beast to the ground, De watched as the gargoyle strugged furiously, panicking as he watched with content. He felt bubbly inside, and smiled for the first time in a few days. As he pulled the knife out there was no spill of blood --- and not soon after did the beast melt into a pile of rough ash.

Glancing back, the swarm of gargoyles were cirling in large numbers, leaving a rough circle containing the sky above them. A few has begun to attack the ground travelling group of four, but gargoyles aren't as smart as they're strong in air. As long as they stick close to ground, it shouldn't be too hard.

De shot a glance at Tuyet.

They weren't the reason that the gargoyles attacked. It must have been something else... Something in the air.

They're here to attack that flying thing... We just happened to caught their attention...

"Stick close to the ground," he commanded as he moved in closer to protect the dragon, and smiled despite himself.

[Akasha Govad]

Akasha was massaging the cream slowly into the boy's burn. It wasn't bad per say, but it was raw and would have been a possible infection site without the cream. Plus he got to rub his hands over a beautiful specimen of humanity...and who could resist that?

He was lost in his thoughts and ministrations when a splinter of magic splashed through his mind. He tensed.

"Foreign..." he whispered. His eyes flashed darkly and he stood abruptly. "You should get some rest Hauke. But seeing as you usually don't listen...don't come up on deck without a full shirt on, understand?" He didn't wait for an answer, but rather grabbed a crystal from his desk and dashed out of the room.

In a few seconds he was on deck and stalking carefully towards the wheel. Berna arched an eyebrow but said nothing as he silently took his place behind the large metal wheel. He spun it rapidly, sending the ship angling to starboard. He plugged the crystal into the center of the ship's wheel and his pupils dilated as the crystal synced with the gem centered in his collar. He reached up and pulled the goggles down as the Techne Waves synced with his mind.

"All hands to duty stations!" he roared, his voice connected to the ship's. Akasha had merged his Machine Soul with that of the Slanted Truth. He looked through the sensors on the ship, felt the cannons extend. He has his ship were one. And he loved it.

"Got a problem Cap'n?" Berna asked blandly. Akasha nodded.

"I felt an ancient Machina engine," he said darkly. "This close to this ancient city, I'd say it's a welcoming committee..." He tensed as the forward lookouts called back.

It was a pack gargoyles. His mind twisted around the best course of action. He threw the engines into overdrive, speeding forward before coming hard to port. He ran out the cannons and turrets on the starboard side and yelled below.

"Load all guns with Firestorm rounds and aim the guns towards the edge of formation! And load a M.P Shell in cannon three and target the center!" Akasha yelled. He was playing a dangerous game here. The gargoyles were currently distracted by something. He wanted to use that element of surprise without killing whatever was angering the pack. He'd have to play close.

"FULL BROADSIDE SLANTED!" he roared. The starboard side exploded in fire and magic. Canisters of a magic explosive know as Incendrite were hurtled from magnetic cannons. They sailed towards the gargoyles, intent on exploding in the middle of the groups and creating little firestorms in the air. The M.P shell was another story. The long and slender tube carried a condensed form of the ship's fuel. When it hit a target, it released a shock wave of magic energy, hopefully pushing the gargoyles not in the direct explosions into the mini firestorms.

It was all based on luck.

"Run out the front guns and run up the small boats!" the captain roared, spinning the wheel and ship back towards the gargoyles and accelerating again. "Be ready to deal with survivors and collect gargoyle bits and powders! That'll sell!" The crew roared in acknowledgment. Akasha nodded as Berna smirked.

"Here comes the fire..." the captain whispered as the firs Air Burst round slammed into an unsuspecting gargoyle.

[Hauke]

Rest? When something exciting is happening? Nuh-uh! I jump off the bed, intending to immediately follow Akasha out the door, but then I pause, remembering his mention about a shirt.

Huh... All I have is the one, though... Wonder if he'd mind me snitching one? Deciding that it's easy to apologize than to ask, I find his dresser and start looking through it's drawers.

After a brief inspection- blushing some of the underthings the man owned- I go through the drawer holding nothing but shirts and find one that might fit. It has a tighter collar than I'm used to, but it's sleeveless as well, and a deep golden brown in color. Smiling a bit and humming, I pull the shirt on; the hem reaches me waist, but it otherwise fits alright.

But it's no good if my shoulders too banged up to help... I go over to where I'd dropped my bag earlier and dig around, pulling out a couple random leather thongs. Taking my own shirt, I fold it up and tie the leather strips around either end, and put the folded fabric across my shoulder before tying the ends.

There! That should do it! I tug a bit to make sure the improvised padding wouldn't slip and pick up the flamethrower as I head to the door. Outside, I blink a bit as my eyes adjust to the light and go to top off the fuel in my newest acquisition. After that, I head up to the wheel and stand next to Akasha.

"I'm ready to help out again!" I smile and gesture briefly to the padding made from my over-sized shirt.

[Den // Aik]

Both Aik and Tuyet were caught staring for a moment as the strange man took care of the gargoyle, who seemed to be one of the bolder ones since at that moment others hadn't yet attacked them. At least he knew how to deal with these things...

"Tuyet! Tail!" Den yelped, having been the only one of the three not watching De. From where he was half crouched against Tuyet's side he could at least attempt to keep watch for whatever the small dragon didn't see.

The albino lashed her her tail to the side, swinging her head around and shifting in an instant to look before her tail came flying back in the opposite direction, spikes slamming into the gargoyle that had been --probably simply by coincidence-- swooping down at her back. The force and the sharp points hit with a crack, sending the creature tumbling through the air towards her head as she drew her neck back, sending out a burst of white-hot flame that seared over it.

It fell to the ground rather too closer to Aik for her comfort, and she danced away from it as the creature burst into ask, head swinging around in time to see another one. The girl dodged out of the way, managing to mostly avoid it's claws so they merely scraped her arm, tearing at the black material and the skin underneath. With the burst of heat at her back she just assumed that Tuyet was taking care of that one too.

Had she been a bit less in a state of numb almost-but-not-quite-yet panic Aik would have probably made a bigger deal of the minor injury, as it was she ducked as another one came flying, this one managing to turn around before Tuyet could take care of it -- or maybe Tuyet was still dealing with the other one. Aik grabbed at one of the smaller knifes strapped in her sleeves, hand lashing out as the thing looked at her, making the mistake of staying still for a moment at a close enough range that her chances of hitting correctly weren't really that bad. The little knife slammed with a crunch into it's eye.

She dodged out of the way, managing to swing her wings away from harm as it launched towards her, slamming one of the larger knives into it's neck (or at least somewhere in that vicinity) and getting well out of the way as it writhed and lashed out in a rage, gripping the oddly unbloodied -- thank gods this one hadn't been stone-- knife defensively as she watched it suddenly turn to a powder... If she was able to she'd have to get that little knife back from the ash. She didn't remember who she'd stolen it from, but they had apparently had good taste in throwing knives.

Tuyet's head swung around for a brief moment as De spoke, while there were no beasts within frying distance, "Right." She answered, not bothering to spare a moment to wonder at the man's expression... It was rather disturbing that he looked happy -- Right, not sparing a moment for that now. She snorted at Aik, "You hear that blue? No fluttering off like a little madwoman."

"No fuck." Aik snapped, backing a bit towards the dragon as Tuyet suddenly swung her head around, bracing it to shoot a stream of fire as another one appeared.

From the relative safety of Tuyet's wing Den frowned at the writhing cloud of gargoyles. They didn't seem to be so much going for them, as streaming in random packs to something else... He couldn't help but wonder if it was the thing in the sky.

[Akasha Govad]

Akasha cursed under his breath as the explosives and magic shells did little to thin the ranks of the stone creations that were swarming a point on the ground. The captain frowned and focused, the forward optical scanners on the Slanted Truth narrowed in and the images being beamed back to the captain. He cursed.

"Travelers!" he roared, causing several of the crew to look towards him. "Those gargoyles are swarming travelers! Get ready to intervene!" The crew roared and began rolling out muskets and close range weapons as well as mounting several chain-fed repeaters onto the ship's railing. The crew were yelling at the stone creatures and ready to fight.

And once the Slanted was close enough to hear the screams and creaks of the gargoyles, the railings of the ship belched fire and metal. Crew that considered themselves crack shots sent precision rounds into the stone beasts. The creations swirled and charged the ship's decks

Crew yelled and met the gargoyles with blade and bullet. Claws and fangs met sword and spear and the screams and cries of both mixed. Akasha tapped his collar and grabbed a rifle from Berna. He looked to Hauke and smirked.

"Hold the wheel!" he yelled before he charged down the deck. The captain rammed the butt of his rifle into the side of one of the creations that was clawing at Thaen. A hidden blade ripped through the stone creation's neck, sending the gargoyle's head skittering across the deck. Several gems and powders fell onto the deck and the captain smirked.

"Kill first, then collect!" he roared, completely ignoring the look that Thaen gave him. He ran to the edge and fired a few rounds into several of the stone creatures that were flying towards his ship. He scanned the hordes and saw a large gargoyle of black stone circling between the fray on the ground and the fray around his ship.

"There you are you bastard..." he growled. Without a second thought, he jumped over the railing and sailed down towards the gargoyle. He slammed into the back of the stone beast and it roared, flying towards around the area. Akasha held on for dear life while digging into his pouch. He pulled out a large spike and slammed it into the base of the creature's neck. His eyes flashed turquoise as the machine virus within the spike slowly corrupted and killed the gargoyle. He pulled a knife and dug the small machine matrix from the creature's neck. He smirked and pocketed the matrix before pulling himself onto the thing's back.

"Now we just coast..." he said with a laugh as he slammed his boot onto the spike. The gargoyle went rigid and stiff, it's wings stuck completely extended. The captain grinned and leveled his rifle, firing at the creatures on the ground that were surrounding the travelers. He tipped the obsidian gargoyle down and rode it like a surfboard into two other gargoyles that were standing before a young man with violet hair.

The captain looked up and red eyes met red eyes as he locked gazes with the violet haired fighter.

"Hope ya don't mind that I dropped in," he deadpanned with a goofy smile.

[Hauke]

Grab the wheel? He doesn't mean me, does he?

But no. Berna grabs hold of the wheel as Cap'n rushes down onto the deck and starts knocking a couple gargoyles around. I start to breath a sigh of relief at that, and then hear wind whistling behind me. I turn and catch sight of a gargoyle coming right for me. As it swoops down, I duck down and lay flat against the floor- the creature's claws just brush the back of my neck as it passes. I flip into a headstand for a second and then turn onto my feet and grab my flamethrower, glad that I filled it not to long ago.

"Hey, kid!"

I look over as Berna shouts and she jerks her head towards another swooping gargoyle. "Get that one while I handle the ship, would ya?"

"Oh... yeah!" I run over and put my back to the dwarven woman as the stone creature comes closer and I look down the sight and change the setting to short-range before bracing my legs and firing. The thing catches the fireball full in the face and crashes into the deck, whimpering. Deciding that I can leave it to someone else now, I look around for the Cap'n and finally find him...

...just as he jumps off the ship.

I stare at the space Akasha had just vacated more a moment or two.

Suddenly, the air's as clear of threats as it's likely to get, and much of the crew is scrambling all over what looks like smaller, abbreviated versions of the Slanted.

After looking at Berna, who shoos me away, I run down to the main deck and look over the side. Although the sky's clear up here, there's still plenty gargoyle's nearer the ground.

Almost everyone else is piling into the small boats that are now floating next to their parent ship and shouting gleefully about the loot taken from the gargoyles' remains.

Wait... What 'bout Akasha? Didn' they see him go over the side? They act like he does this all the-- I pause in my thoughts. Maybe he does do this sorta thing all the time!

The last of the boats starts to descend and I shake myself a bit, carefully jumping onto the vehicle before it gets too far away. Most of the crew just make room, but a couple snicker behind their hands; I try to ignore it even while my face gets hot.

I wait, watching the ground and air and clutching my new weapon, as we drop away from the Slanted and slowly reach the ground.

I clamber out of the ship and look around me at the wet-ish forest.

If I were the Cap'n and alive after all that, where'd I go? I look around again and hear the screech of a gargoyle dying. I turn towards the sound and see a small mob of the creatures diving in and out of one area of the forest.

I smile. Bingo? I jog through the pirates gathering up their trophies and in under the trees, my feet squelching a bit in little pools of water and mud. I stop for a bit as the sounds get awfully close and walk the rest of the way, hiding as best I can behind tree trunks.

My face breaks out into a grin when I finally catch sight of the Cap'n, standing on his own two feet, and then notice the other people with him.

That purple-haired guy... something about him makes me shiver... The man has red eyes like Cap'n does, but they don't seem right, somehow.

More movement and I break my gaze away from the frightening man to look at the others. A guy and a girl with butterfly wings. I didn't know there were people like that! And... a dragon.

A dragon? So maybe they're the ones we saw earlier! But the scary man doesn't seem to fit with the other three... I tilt my head a bit.

Huh. I thought dragons were s'posed to be bigger...

[De]

De dropped the airy smile on his face as Akasha performed a suicidal gargoyle crash right in front of him. It was apparent now that the thing in the sky was a flying ship, and De didn't like it. He didn't like it.... Or is it the other way around?

Is it?

The devilsbride stared at the ship's captain with stark crimson eyes.

"No, thank you for the help," he said in monotone. The ruby light in his eyes dimmed as he studied the man in front of him. The man also had red eyes like him and Den --- a provoking colour that would look beautiful in a rain of splattering blood. De's tongue slid behind his teeth. Monsters didn't seem to be enough to hunt the captain down... Which means Akasha will be his prey very soon.

Without disturbing the wind De shot out four long silver needles with a twirl of his wrist. The needles stung into the earth before Hauke's landing spot. De kept his eyes on Akasha, as if expecting the captain to say something.