Fire & Ice (PG vs. PoI!)

OoC: Muahahahaha!!!! Prepared to be pwned Icy! You'll regret your treacherous behavior!

BiC: The Devil's Tooth. As fiendish a name as the mountain that it belonged to. Few had ever tread here, and only a few more ever would. The jagged mountain climbed ever higher and higher, cutting through the clouds as if to pierce Heaven itself. The mountain was blanketed from top to bottom with snow, the white surface marred by jagged outcroppings and thick forests. Near the bottom of this treacherous peak, three shadows flickered through a thick forest of evergreens, the slight trembling of branches the only clue that they had passed.

Darkcloud kept his eyes ahead, leaving the other two to follow him wordlessly as he swung and leapt from branch to branch. The scout's oak climbing stick twirled through his hands as if it was an extention of his very body, the years of practice evident in the scout's movements.

Behind him, Brightwind followed in the same manner, proving surprizingly limber for a mage. Today, Brightwind was forced to wear clothing suited to the cold, but, as always, he managed to do so in style. A thick fur robe was wrapped closely around his body, the hood pulled up over his head. The fur itself was white, with black and brown dying in designs of birds and feathers. Under his fur robe, the Hawkbrother wore a sparkly blue robe, thinner than the fur one, but no less spectacular. Crystal beads and white feathers were threaded through it in a myrid of geometric designs.The mage's fur boots kicked off a branch, sending snow flying to the ground below.

Behind him, Souldad leapt deftly from branch to branch, abet with less skill then the twins who had grown up in forests similar to this. Behind and above him, a pure white owl lofted through the branches, on the lookout for danger. Ahead of Darkcloud, Vree likewise soared above the forest, his keen hawk eyes wary of trouble.

The three, or rather, five, continued their trek through the snow covered forest, once more on the search for Brightwind's and Darkcloud's life goal. The man, the blood mage, who destroyed their clan. Seeing as he didn't have any more pressing matters, Souldad had decided to accompany them, hoping for more treasures like what they had found the last, and first, time they had ran into the blood mage.

Rio, PhoenixFire, Jade, and the others were on business of their own, and said that they couldn't help them this time. But that didn't matter. For Darkcloud, even if he had to search with only his brother at his side, he would never give up. he had done so before, and he could do so again. But he knew he wouldn't have to worry about that. The members of the Phoenix Guard had always been drawn back together before, and they always would.

Ooc: what treacherous behavior would that be, leaving the PG? The posting order (so we don’t get mixed up) HH, Angel, SOps, Graceful. For the timelines sake lets say this happens after BITTI.

Bic:

“If he ever tries to come back again I want something that can stop him with ease, we only defeated him with luck and a good hand in magic.” Cyno said quietly, his eyes darting everywhere for signs of the cave.

“So why do we need to find this blood mage person?” Sora replied, ducking low as the ice elf accidentally sent a branch whipping at her.

“Well actually two reasons. One is that after Valion’s run in with him the angel says he’s incredibly powerful, so he’s bound to have something that could stop Icil, and two is that Valion’s says he’s incredibly evil, so we get to fight someone, which I like doing.” Cyno laughed, his voice echoing around them.

I can’t make my move yet, wait until she falls or something… the elf thought, taking a glimpse at the woman who was trekking behind him. In truth, the elf had been taken with her the first moment he had laid eyes on her. But like most of the women he tried to woo, she had shrugged off his attempts. But the ice elf had sensed something deeper than he did with most woman, a connection made out of ice like the cord he had around his neck. It might have been the similar history that they both had shared, both parents dead and something evil that they were related to, both of them demons. A twig snapped out into his face, knocking Cyno out of his dream.

“Watch where you going silly.” Sora giggled, and walked past him. Blushing, the elf rubbed his cheek where a red mark was steadily rising.

~

After hours of trekking and a slowly dropping temperature, the two finally came to the cave they had been looking for, the mouth flickering with the light of flames.

“Do we go in?” Cyno questioned. As if in reply voices rung from the cave entrance, and the two hid behind a nearby tree.

“He’s not here! We came all this way and he’s not here!” a voice shouted.

“Calm down, it’s not the end of the world. From the look’s of it I would say he was here, but he might had heard that we were coming and went higher up the mountain.” Another voice shouted. Drawing Icilria from the back of his jeans, Cyno turned to Sora, who had a scimitar in her hands.

“I don’t who they are, if they were looking for the blood mage then there against us. Take the first chance you get to attack.” The ice elf mumbled.

In reply to Cyno’s declaration, Sora asked, “If they’re looking for the blood mage, why would they be against us? If we want the same thing, wouldn’t that makes us allies, at least for this?”

The elf shook his head, “No, because we want to get to the mage first. If someone else defeats him, we may not be able to get whatever he has to stop Icil.”

The hunter nodded. Something that would stop the ice demon would be a godsend. She wasn’t even sure how they managed to survive the first time. After fighting Drayden, she thought she knew almost all there was to ice demons. The Raikan smiled at the irony, Boy, was I wrong. But Sora returned her attention to the cave as the voices became louder. She was holding her water scimitar, Pure, just in case these people did turn out to be their enemies. But when she noticed that her breath was visible in the cold air, she fancied the Pure might freeze into Zero. Glancing over at Cyno, the hunter was glad to have him on her side. He was right at home in the chilled weather.

“Well, I suppose we should try looking higher up in the mountain for him,” one of the voices stated, their origins now coming out of the cave.

“Wait,” another said suddenly, “Vree says there are other people here, hiding.”

Guess that’s our cue, Sora decided. She looked over to the icy elf who gave her a nod. Cyno calmly walked out from behind the tree with her right behind them. Their weapons were still in their hands but not in a readied position.

“Who are you and who are you looking for?” Cyno questioned.

OoC: Well, since SheikahOps ran off to inactivity, I've been invited by HH to take his spot (apparently). If you read HH's edits, you'll see Soledad will be in this fight.

BiC:

They flitted through the trees ahead of him. The brothers he had once helped. Unfortunately the Blood Mage had escaped and the assassin claimed no bounty. But now these two had contacted him and told him they had located the man once more. Now he could exact his revenge and his spotless record could be renewed once more. He could once again be feared by the street rats he hunted.

As they neared an opening, Soledad stopped next to the two brothers he had accompanied. The scouter, Darkcloud, held his hand up as he went off to search the area. Soledad kept his eyes trained for any traps or tracks. He had some experience in tracking because his targets weren't always cooperative, if they ever were. But he saw nothing and his findings were confirmed when the Hawkbrother told the party that the area was secure.

"In that cave?" Soledad asked, motioning in the direction of the hole in the mountain.

"So our sources say," Brightwind replied.

"I hope they're credible." Without another word, the assassin silently swooped to the soft snow. He kept his footsteps light and made not a sound. He moved to the edge of the cave and looked in. He saw nothing. He turned to the brothers behind him.

"What is this?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Maybe he's further on in." With an unconvinced look on his face, Soledad moved behind the brothers this time as they entered the cave. As they slowly moved deeper into the darkness, no light yeilded itself and the assassin heard no signs of any life. After a few minutes, the Hawkbrothers stopped with a long sigh.

"I guess we were wrong," Brightwind said with a hint of disappointement in his voice. As they began to walk out, Darkcloud shouted in anger.

"He's not here! We came all this way and he’s not here!”

“Well, I suppose we should try looking higher up in the mountain for him,” Brightwind suggested tentatively. As they got into the light, Soledad gave him an approving look.

"Might as well give it a try," he said.

“Wait,” Darkcloud intejected. “Vree says there are other people here, hiding.” As if they had taken their cue, a fresh-faced man walked from behind some trees. He was clad mostly in blue with his black cloat trailing behind him. He carried no visible weapon, but Soledad was sure he wasn't unprotected in a place like this.

“Who are you and who are you looking for?” Cyno questioned. Behind him trailed a young female. Her hair cascaded freely down her shoulders, and Soledad was stricken by the fact that one of her eyes was red. Her attire was a bit odd, especially for this cold. But when he thought back on his own look, he knew he did not seem so ordinary himself. In her hand was a scimitar that really caught the attention. But even as the usually lonely assassin gazed upon it, the blade seemed to be changing. It was indeed an odd sight to see.

"We are mere travellers, looking for an important man." Darkcloud initiated the conversation, keeping the details vague.

"What man?" Cyno asked.

"No one of your concern," Soledad replied in a cold tone. Cyno stared at him darkly.

"If it is the Blood Mage we are looking for, I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to leave your quest. He is ours for the taking."

"I'm afraid our party has business with him," Soledad replied in the same tone as before. "He won't be so up to any other visitors after we get through with him. Are you friends of his?"

"Not quite," Cyno countered. "Leave, or we will have to make you leave. We have business we must settle with him first." Soledad flashed his dagger intentionally. "And we will meet him no matter what, or who, we must go through." The threat was obvious. And for some reason, Soledad was itching for a fight.