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Post by Shard Prime on Jul 31, 2009 19:10:55 GMT -7
Read this first:
xxguardiansxx.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=rules&action=display&thread=13&page=1--- "Yawwwn!" Shard Prime groggily rose from his bed in the fortress of the Guardians of Mossflower, cupping a paw over his yawning mouth. The young War commander was not looking forward to this day—this was the day that the search for the whereabouts of Aerik's missing messengers was to begin. Shard padded through quietly through the halls, stopping only for a quick bite to eat in the kitchen. In two hours' time, a congregation of all manner of creatures was to take place just outside the Fort; its purpose would be to gather any and all information regarding the missing subjects from overseas. Of course, many were only searching because they did not want their land plagued by war. Shard emerged from the Fort, blinking away the sun's rays and stretching for a few seconds, then proceeded to stroll to and up the nearest staircase to get on top of the stone wall that surrounded his home. His fingers fondly traced a path on the old wall beside him as he strode up the stairs, smiling softly; he knew the place well... Every stone in that wall was a fond memory. He put his thoughts aside as he reached the top of the wall, only to have new ones spring into place as he leaned onto battlement. "It's a nice morning... Too bad we've all got to spend it fending off threats of war," he regretfully mused, to no-one in-particular. "Of course, you're not panicking over it," a voice called from behind him, accompanied by the clank-clank of steel boots on stone. Shard looked over his shoulder at the giant hare behind him, one of the newer recruits to the Guardians, and a fast friend to Shard. The squirrel greeted his friend, "Nido, my friend. Hope you slept well—the next few weeks may be pretty damn long." Nido leaned onto a battlement next to his friend, nodding once, "I did, I did... But I can't help but feel a little nervous about this whole situation." He turned his head to look at Shard, "Clearly your king is overreacting. What if we really do get involved in a war with him and his country?" Shard thought for a moment before answering, "Well, he isn't my king; my home is here. And if we can find out what happened to his messengers, and are able to bring him proof, we needn't worry about that. It's this 'cult' that I'm worried about. We know nothing about it, and if it's strong enough to distress a city like Aerik, we're in for a hell of a fight." Nido nodded in solemn agreement. "Ah, look, here comes the first of them." The hare nodded again in the direction of one of the main paths to and from the Fort. A few citizens of a nearby settlement were arriving. Shard smiled a bit and nodded, "Yeah. I guess I should go find Crystal." With that and a hard pat to his friend's broad shoulder, Shard glided down the stairs and back to the Fort's main building.
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Post by Crystal M. V. Rosepaw on Aug 1, 2009 18:31:59 GMT -7
ooc; Sorry for the bad post. :/
bic;;
Lightning cracked, thunder churned and roared, and the water below the ship was chaotic and wild. A lone figure, drenched to the bone, looked up to the sky for relief, only to see another bolt of electricity strike down. It struck the water, a huge rush of steam surging up. The creature hung to the mast of the ship, quivering fearfully and closing her eyes tight. the ship bobbed and she lost her grip, and opened her eyes to regain it, tears mixing with rain on her face. Her red dress was snagged and torn, her body steeled against the cold water and wind. As she reached out a paw to grab onto something more steady, something huge, dark, and sinister slipped into her view. A tidal wave, dark and foreboding, lit only by dangerous flashes, lurked over the ship. The lone creature screamed, throwing a futile paw up to stop it. The ship below her was pitched into the air, her body with it. She howled in terror, then felt herself falling back down. Her body slammed into the ship with a force that should have killed her, and left her unable to make any more noises of pain. Another huge wave bore down on the crippled vessel, and it was smashed apart, the stunned fox with it. Unable to swim or cry for help, or to even move, she watched in horror as she sank. The swirling waters above her turned into faces - those of the two messengers, presumed dead, what she imagined the king of Ariek to look like, and the face of Shard. He looked down with disappointment and anger on his face, and she felt as though she was being torn apart...
Crystal Rosepaw woke with a start, a whimper of childish fear on her lips, her eyes wide and full of terror. She shrunk back towards the wall behind her, shuddering against the sick, suffocating cold she felt, wrapping her tail around her drawn up knees. The vixen's normal instinctive reflex to grab for her sword was gone now - fear had rendered her incapable. Slowly, though, over the few minutes following her waking, she slowly realized that she was fine. She untangled her limbs, slowly rising. The damp feeling she had that she had presumed to be the dark water of hate, shame, and blood was actually morning dew, and it hung from her fur and whiskers. It was a little before dawn now, and she still had time to go into the fortress and clean herself up before the meeting. She allowed a sigh of relief to slip from her muzzle, then walked towards the door of the fortress. She had happened to fall asleep outside again after walking the grounds all night in a worried panic.
She opened the door to the fortress silently, latching it behind her. She ruffled her wet fur against the cold air, her boot hitting the floor hard as she limped across the room. The vixen's broadsword pounded against her back comfortingly, her wet tunic and shorts clinging to her skin. She limped slowly up the stairs, her panic gone.
---
Dressed in the formal red silk dress from her dream, the vixen stalked across the grounds, her wounded leg more comfortable now after not being cold and wet. She hobbled towards the same staircase Shard and walked up minutes before, her boots thumping on the wet grass. A yawn streched over her face, all previous emotions turned to weariness.
The vixen looked up the staircase, and saw a hare at the top with metal boots - this was Shard's friend Nido. The fox quickened her pace, the scabbard of her massive sword hitting her side painfully. She tossed white fur from her green eyes as she called up to them, "Morning Shard, Nido. You two ready?"
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Post by Shard Prime on Aug 1, 2009 19:02:58 GMT -7
"Aye! Whenever the rest get here, we'll be ready," Shard called to Crystal as he descended the flight of stairs. Nido followed a few steps behind, his metal boots clanking rhythmically. Bowing slightly to the other, Nido added, "And a good morning to you, Lady Rosepaw." As he reached the bottom of the stairs, Shard asked, "They should all be here within about half an hour, Crys. Are you ready as well?"
As Nido stepped off of the stairs, he unshouldered his giant bow, and quickly destrung it with a footpaw, giving it the shape of a large staff with a string hanging from its high end. He carried it around all the time, so Shard hardly noticed it. He gestured politely by pointing the staff slightly ahead, to the front gate, where the majority of the searchers would enter, "Shall we?"
"Aye-aye, floppyears," came Shard's reply, and off they walked, Shard gesturing for Crystal to walk alongside him through the sunlit fortress. "It's a nice morning," he commented to her as they walked toward the big gate. "I wonder how many will show up," Nido added, catching up to walk on the other side of Shard, who shrugged at him with a half-grin and kept moving.
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Post by Agate Nightshadow & Cayana on Aug 2, 2009 13:08:58 GMT -7
OOC: Are we posting without the **?
I know this is horrible, but...
BIC:
Cayana jerked suddenly awake. The fox's sharp eyes closed, desperately trying to block out the glaring burn of bright sunlight that was flooding her sleeping area. No use. It looked like the sun was determined to get her up once and for all. With my luck, I probably overslept and they're gone already, was one of the first thoughts that flooded into Cay's mind. But, carefully, the young fox's keen ears picked up sounds of conversation outside.
The reddish brown fox stifled her sleepiness and quickly belted on her weapons, a poisoned dagger and 2 or 3 more small stealthy knives, hidden in various places around her clothes.
Opening the door almost silently, Cayana moved quickly, keeping to the shadows until she found the other beasts. This wasn't a habit, just a common instinct that had come with her type of work. Stealth. She could spy, and appear suddenly out of seemingly nowhere. After a while, she ended up in the group, and not trying to surprise them, she listened.
Her quiet voice rasped like the wind..
I'm here and ready.
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Post by Crystal M. V. Rosepaw on Aug 2, 2009 19:21:44 GMT -7
ooc;; I'll post in character here in a bit... This is the first time all day I've been able to get on. D;
Just wanted to give Cayana some advice while I'm thinking about it. I'll post actually whip something up shortly.
Okay, Cayana, yup, Shard and I use quotation marks. These are used like:
Sally sat down in her chair, annoyed with Ray's foolish actions. "That wasn't nice," she said.
See? :3 This is like how books are written. However, I know DAB wanted it written with astricks for the longest time, and this is okay too! A post with those would be written like:
*Sally sat down in her chair, annoyed with Ray's actions.* Why did you do that, *she said.*
Also, asterisk RPing can have one or two *'s. Such as:
*Crystal dances.* or **Crystal dances.**
Either way is fine. :3
... This reminds me that I need to finish my RPing guide. :/
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Post by Agate Nightshadow & Cayana on Aug 4, 2009 12:56:17 GMT -7
OOC: Thanks...
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Post by Crystal M. V. Rosepaw on Aug 4, 2009 14:00:13 GMT -7
As Shard bounded down the stairs, Crystal stared at him, confusion scrawled on her face. How could the other War Commander be so joyful, so carefree, when the drums of war could almost be heard? Her eyes misted slightly as she considered the events to come again, all of her thoughts negative in some way, and she almost fell apart into the wreck she had been. Steeling herself against this, she watched Nido follow Shard, also looking like he wasn't very concerned. Where they so sure that the messengers would be found safe, just lost in the woods somewhere? She wasn't sure finding them dead would be any better than spitting in the king's face and saying she had killed them.
Nido bowed slightly to her, which she found amusing. She flicked her tail passively, then slightly nodded her response. Until she could fully get her emotions under control, she wasn't going to speak today. Looking calm but inwardly raging at her own weakness, she twisted to allow the hare's larger form to pass her on the stairs, her eyes critical and watching.
"They should all be here within about half an hour, Crys. Are you ready as well?" Shard questioned her, thankfully calling her by the nickname she had known since her childhood instead of by any sort of title. Her normal feral, confident steps down the stairs were now tame and timid, her eyes not focusing on much for very long, lest the shadows meld into enemy soldiers.
"Aye," she stated, void of anything. Nido unstrung his bow carefully with one large foot, the gentle thwang noise it made making her ears twitched and turn to the source of the noise. He gestured with it that they should be walking. The vixen nodded quietly, her mind on her task. Her mind was reeling, pounding each emotion to nothing. Why was she afraid? Given who she was and all she had seen this was nothing, she assured herself. Why was she angry? The king had accused her of crimes and had threatened her lands, but it was an understandable thing to do in the situation, he was under immense pressure.
Any thought that could not come to be reasoned with was tossed into the cobwebs of the forgotten portions of her mind to be devoured by the beasts lurking there. With her head clear and level now, she listened intently to Shard's comment on the weather. "Aye," she responded, "I could see the stars last night; there will be no rain on our venture today."
Her whiskers, thin, pale, and hardly noticed from her fur, twitched suddenly, and she drew a sharp breath through her nose. She blinked once, narrowing her eyes. Her sharp senses were no longer flooded by paranoia, she was sure, but...
She only barely heard the hare's comment, and considered it momentarily. She then said, "All of those that value their lives."
Crystal smelled the same thing again, and this time she was sure it was not her imagination, for it was much stronger now. Gritting her teeth a bit, she twisted herself at the hip before Cayana had even got the words out, annoyance on her face. She let the rouge speak, and then snarled out words. "Halt, solider. Attention!" The vixen snapped twice, glaring impatiently. She hoped this recruit at least knew how to stand at attention. "The day is going to be stressful enough without any foolishness, rouge. An' I knew you were coming for quite a bit now. Yo' smell like sleep and the fortress," she mused quietly.
"At ease," she barked, lashing her tail once to express just how much these actions where unneeded. Who said she couldn't command?
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Post by aeroflyte on Aug 4, 2009 19:58:23 GMT -7
Teylan scrambled out of bed, scrabbling for his shirt and rucksack, jolted awake as if his body had purposely chosen to wake up brutally quickly. His legs, entangled in a thin, rough, cotton sheet gave out and he went crashing to the floor, landing hard on his shoulder. The jarring fall startled his sleep-burdened mind to full consciousness, and he bit back a few choice words and instead fiercely tried to pry the sheet from him. Once free from its clinging grasp, he managed to shove on his shirt and sling on his rucksack. He now stood at the door, not remembering why he had awakened so violently. He gazed downward over the courtyard, spying 4 indistinct figures at the gate. Of course! he thought. The scouting party!
Teylan bolted down the stairs, taking them three at a time, and sprinted across the plain leading to the gate. He skidded to a halt feet away from the small party, breathing heavily. Not the best entrance for a wannabe Rogue, but then again, he wasn't comfortable with the title. He glanced at each of them in turn: Shard, of course, was there, along with a hare whose name he couldn't quite recall. He nearly did a double take when he saw Crystal; she had forsaken her normal garb for a red dress, and bore herself differently. He glanced last at another fox, also a vixen, who he hadn't seen before.
He managed a nod, stood up a little straighter, and gasped out, "Teylan here, sorry for the entrance."
OOC: Man, I'm out of practice.
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Post by Shard Prime on Aug 5, 2009 13:45:51 GMT -7
"All of those that value their lives."
Nido and Shard nodded at Crystal's response. As they were practically in the face of war, there really was not much choice in the matter. Shard felt confident that at least half of the able-bodied folk from the nearby lands would come to their aid. Shortly after a sharp inhalation from Crystal, Shard felt his own nose twinge. "Hatchooo! Ah, excuse me." He soon found the source of the abrupt change in scent: a recently-awoken rogue, now being scolded.
Both Shard and Nido thought it wise to keep their faces blank as Crystal snapped at the new recruit. Shard understood the pressure she was under, and was under the same pressure himself, but to a lesser degree. Both the squirrel and the hare had their doubts and concerns, but would not voice them directly or show them through their actions. Both felt that they had to set a calm example for the others.
As Crystal finished, an otter came running to them from the fort, breathless, and apologized for the awkward entrance. Shard nodded, "Ah, it's alright; at least you're on time. Catch your breath and come on; we'll be heading off shortly." The young squirrel led the party to the gate, where a gathering crowd was waiting to be addressed. He glanced to Crystal, then stepped out from the group to get its attention, hoping she would join him. Shard never was good at giving speeches, but he was still identified as a leader, so he felt he had to.
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Post by Jackaroe on Aug 5, 2009 23:24:43 GMT -7
*Left-left dodge hook dodge right-left-right and... wait for it... uppercut* Jack ran through his boxing exercises as the sun slowly woke up from its slumber and clambered sleepily into the dawn sky. Jack sighed, pondering the meaning of life. These philosophical spells came upon the seafaring squirrel occasionally. He only viewed them as time-wasting nuisances, but sometimes caught himself enjoying some of the thoughts that drifted through his mind during them... Jack gave a start as a commotion brought him back to reality. He reprimanded himself for daydreaming. "That'll get you killed, someday."
He trotted back to his quarters to gear up for the meeting, whatever it was for. Better to go in ready than not. He strapped on his swords, a small medicine pouch, and his boxing equipment. And water. Water was good. Water was life.
He arrived at the meeting, slightly raising an eyebrow at Crystal, who had seemingly snapped and was chewing out a new recruit. "Jack Southgris reporting," he said with a salute.
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Post by Adderstalia on Aug 7, 2009 13:23:46 GMT -7
**The light of the new day was enough to make Adderstalia Greatstaff wish she had never even seen those messengers from King something-or-other. She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The young squirrel often called Staff had been up half the night dancing for the visitors to the Western Settlement, and then there had been the journey home.**
"I can't believe I'm up this early to help a bunch of self-righteous fools find some more self-righteous fools..."
** Staff muttered to herself as she leapt from tree to tree through the forestland, stopping occasionally to un-snag her pale green dress from a branch. It wasn't long until the Guardians' fortress came into view. It was commanding among the calm woodlands. No doubt the residents of the fortress would already be up and buzzing. Adderstalia had heard the gossip in the taverns of the Western Settlement that there was a hunt going on to find the missing messengers from the nearby kingdom.**
**Adderstalia hoped none of the guards on duty knew her. They were just as likely to stick her in prison as let her in. But she was in luck! The guards were not only changing shift, but there were a couple of new recruits. Staff smirked and approached the closed gate. She called up to the young guard.**
"Pardon me, sir, but might you let me pass? I've come to help the War Commanders with their search."
**Staff plastered an uncharacteristic smile on her face. The guard eyed her suspiciously but must have shrugged off his feelings of doubt. After all, who could resist Adderstalia's infamous smile?**
**As the gate opened, Staff saw the hunting party had begun to assemble. It was fairly hard to miss a white fox in these parts. That was no doubt War Commander Rosepaw. Staff hung back a bit not entirely sure she would be welcome.**
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Post by Agate Nightshadow & Cayana on Aug 7, 2009 15:59:08 GMT -7
Cayana snapped to attention, and then back again. Crystal wasn't usually this tense. She supposed that it was getting to everyone in the fortress, with the tension building. Nothing was going to be the same unless they could figure this out. The fox didn't flinch at the commander's insults, not much bothered her nowadays. She had overcome showing feelings too much in public. Backing off, Cayana noticed the other Guardians coming into view, most were from the fortress, but some weren't. She listened, and waited for the search to start, fading away into the background of the crowd, waiting.
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Post by Crystal M. V. Rosepaw on Aug 7, 2009 20:08:02 GMT -7
ooc;; I was waiting for Cayana to rely. :3 Because it would have been weird to just ignore her when I had been addressing her. :/
Also, everyone! Please remember that your posts MUST be over 200 words. Their is a word counter right under the 'post reply' and such.
bic;;
Crystal glares for a moment more and then sniff with disdain, turning away solidly. These recruits had no idea the mess they were in; in fact, it seemed nobody knew the dangers about to unfold. They were all about to declare that they were going to jump in the fire, regardless of the burns and smoke, and they would be held to their word. Being the War Commander was much like governing a small but powerful nation - she had to do so with care and apathy. She flicked her tail once in an attempt to rid herself of some stress, but it only made her want to punch something even more.
She was aware of heavy steps and labored breathing, and didn't care to try and scent who it was; the vixen just stood with her back to the group, going thorough the tedious motions of pulling in stray thoughts. Pride goeth, Crystal, she thought darkly, pride goeth. She pricked an ear as Shard addressed whoever had been approaching. Shard spoke quietly, quickly, but she was aware of something else in his voice. Maybe she had actually been careless and mistook his happy mannerisms for carelessness when they were a way of coping. The vixen blinked at this thought and snappily turned back to the party.
The vixen slightly took the moment of lapse of activity to look down at her dress, running her paws down it to rid of imaginary creases. She straightened herself smartly, her leg giving a mutinous, audible crack. She frowned heavily at this, trying not to curse with pain, or sigh with the relief that came after the agony ebbed. A squirrel was trotting up, looking bright and awake as if he had been up for some time after a good amount of rest. Crystal watched him come closer, running her claws through her fur, pulling out a tangle with a jerky twist of her fingers.The new arrival threw her and Shard a salute, stating his name in a proper manner. The fox raised a single brow, curious in his actions.
"At ease," she stated again, this time without the same anger and malice. Her voice, instead, held a light soprano, oddly comforting. The vixen stood quietly, holding her tail off the grass but making sure to keep her posture loose. Shard started to walk again, and she turned and followed after him in silence. The group halted in front of the gate, a couple of strong and able mice standing on either side, ready to open it when the other guard called.
Crystal heard the large front gate open, and her eyes slowly slid in that direction, catching sight of a young female squirrel walk inside the doors. Some of the enlisted help closed the gate back, probably with grunts of effort. She felt the visitor's eyes on her, and calmly lifted a paw, beckoning her over.
"Come," she called, but without any harsh commands. It was simply as if she were inviting Staff over to her party. She then saw Shard move to the front of the party, a wise manner in his walk. she followed in suit, knowing exactly what he was doing. He stopped and turned to them at the head of the group, as did she.
The vixen gave Shard a look, as if asking him to wait a moment. Crystal promptly stood very straight, tensing sharply. She reached both capable paws over her right shoulder, grasping the hilt of her massive blade. The steel rang sharply, loudly, throughout the grounds, a clear signal for complete silence. The vixen flipped it's point to the ground with an expert twisting motion of her wrists, and allowed gravity to let the sword sink into the ground at her side, between her and the seasoned Ranger.
"War Commander Prime would like to address you all," she said simply, turning her own eyes to him as well.
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Post by Adderstalia on Aug 8, 2009 10:29:15 GMT -7
**Staff watched for a moment as the white War Commander went from reprimanding to greeting in mere moments. That probably wasn't a good sign.**
"Come," called Rosepaw.
**Adderstalia forced herself to act relaxed. Perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea of after all. She mingled with the group, but didn't bother to introduce herself. Either they would know her by reputation--or hopefully not at all. She inclined her head in greeting while actually sizing up the group. There was a second vixen; a rogue judging by her stance. Staff moved to stand next to her; she had always felt more at home with those she couldn't trust. It was in her nature.**
"War Commander Prime would like to address you all."
**The tone of the words were docile, but were a command to pay close attention regardless. Staff was curious as to what the Guardians thought they would find. When the Commanders had a moment she would tell them what she saw...by now there probably wouldn't be anything left of the messengers. Perhaps they had some skills in dipolmacy--which their king obviously lacked--but very few in the kind of survival need in these lands.**
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Post by Shard Prime on Aug 8, 2009 11:20:16 GMT -7
[OOC: Dayum. @_@; And sorry for the bad posts lately. and now. >_>]
---
As the large gate creaked open, the sound of morning conversations on the other side grew louder. A ghost of a smile hovered over his face for a moment as the vixen beside him drove the enormous blade into the ground between them. He had always admired the strength it took to proficiently wield such a weapon. The resulting silence was near-immediate, broken only by the brief words of its instigator.
Shard cleared his throat and smiled again briefly, nodding to the vixen at his side, "Thank you, War Commander Rosepaw." He spoke in a clear voice, a low tenor, or perhaps a high baritone, and made sure to be loud enough so that those in the back of the group would hear, "On behalf of the Guardians, I thank you for assembling here today. For those that do not know the reason, for whatever reason, listen up!"
The squirrel clasped his hands loosely behind his back and took a step toward the crowd, pacing slowly before it. "I trust that you know of the recent plight that has befallen our lands—the threat of war. Not long ago, in a land very far from here, across the sea, a powerful kingdom was besieged. Its king sent for my aid, the aid of the Guardians of Mossflower. We told them that we would send our navy. And so the messengers left for their ship. Several weeks passed. The ship returned, without the two messengers that were sent to us, and now the king believes that we are directly responsible for their deaths."
He stopped and turned to face the crowd directly, "And thus, he has threatened us with war. We are gathered here today to find out what really happened to these two messengers. This crisis can be avoided if we all work together for it. Any questions?"
Someone in the back piped up, "Yes, why would the king of this place send for your help?" Shard knew this would be asked, and knew what he had to say. "That is not important right now. What's important is steering clear of war." This response was greeted with mixed results: a bit of quiet muttering and a few optimistic nods and shrugs. Shard returned to his place beside the other War Commander. "Have you anything to add, War commander Rosepaw?"
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