First Encounter (Zorolo and fire_by_rain)

[southern belle]

Bella sat in the twilit forest, staring blankly ahead of her. An empty, unremarkable clearing was the object of her gaze. There was nothing at all special about it... except that it happened to be where her home had once stood, so many years ago.

She looked in front of her, seeing it in her mind's eye. It was a humble home, the kind you'd expect to find in a forest. Her family had been happy there, though. They had lived together in peace, content. It seemed wrong that in one short day that had all changed...

The Hylian shook her head as visions of smoke and fire entered them. Tears were beginning to dot her eyes, and she raised a hand to wipe them away. There was no point mourning over the past, she told herself, though she didn't heed her own words very well.

~~~~~

For such a small inn, it was very busy. This excuse for a town seemed to be the largest community for miles in the area, and all the locals and travelers seemed to gather at the tiny tavern. The Hylian looked around in distaste -- though she hid it well -- at the conditions of the inn. She held her staff, which currently looked like a lady's walking stick, lightly in her hand and walked across the room, taking a table at the bar.

Luna was, for once, dressed in modest, inconspicuous clothes. She had come here hoping for news of the young Hylian tracker, knowing there was a good chance of finding her in the area this time of year. She ordered a drink at the bar, and sat listening to the conversations around her. If she was lucky, she just might get a lead...

OoC: Alright, well, it's not that great, but I've set the stage for things to unfold. :3 Looking forward to this, guys! ^^ And please forgive the sucky title, y'all... I suck with naming things. XD

[Zorolo]

OoC: Worry not, Belle. >_> And I wouldn't have noticed this had I not checked the IC thread, so you are lucky I did. ^_^

BiC: "Get back to work!" a voice echoed into the stone mines, and the workers stood up off of the rocks they had been eating their scarce rations upon, moving back to cracking stones with their tools and bringing it to the pile for transportation to the city the stone was to be used in. Useful thing, stone. It was the tool by which man would erect mighty fortresses and walls to defend their cities, and in places scarce of wood, they used stone to build their houses and other things. But that wasn't quite why his green eyes looked down upon the quarry or the people that worked their grueling jobs. Hey, at least they could feed their families, right?

Strange thing was, none of these people were slaves. In fact, they were all working in the mines by economic necessity, or they were working their because it was one of the few well paying jobs in the area. A small city built outside of the mines had small goods for the workers, but again, they weren't why this man was there. The green cloaked man had stopped by to take in the sights as he returned to looking for someone. A person he hadn't spoken with in a while.

"Come to think of it," Zorlo started, smiling under his hood, "mayhaps I should get back to heading towards a nearby city. He could feel the person he was looking for in a not too distant land, but it would still take even the Aura Master a while to get there by foot. Come to think of it, why rush when he could simply travel there slowly. Something told the fencer, although only vaguely, that where he was heading was a place of some importance to the person he was looking for.

He began walking, his green cloak forming a cloak that flew in the growing gusts, pushing back the green haired man's hood, revealing the vibrantly colored, natural green hair that grew from his head. Something suddenly made the fencer feel slightly sick. Something both evil and foul was in the air. It wasn't nearly as strong as Shinu, who's very name spread terror and death, but something slightly milder. Something that was merely malevolent, but not really unimaginably evil.

"Even so," Zorlo said as he looked towards the city in the distance, feeling a faint dark energy from it, "I must tread carefully. I wouldn't want to attract any attention. After all," the green haired man said as he leapt from his perch and began to fall towards the lower elevation ground below him as his jacket and cloak flowed in the wind, "I'm a wanted man," he stated with a slight smile. Not always the most fun being a bounty, but it did mean that things could get more interesting if a bounty hunter dared to get involved.

As his feet hit the ground, the ground suddenly burst from below them as he sprinted towards the nearby town. Whatever that dark aura was, he was sure it wasn't a fluke. Something about this time of year... it was too convenient. Didn't matter, if something dark wanted to get involved, the fencer was there anyway. Little did he know that his own knowledge and confidence could be dangerous. After all, being able to find almost anyone did produce a risk, didn't it?

Well, that didn't matter at this moment, or to Zorlo, ever. He made quick time, and after nearly an hour, he turned a corner and slid through the entrance to the city sideways, his cloak flowing behind him. Alas, the poor man didn't stop in time and...

CRASH!

He hit a building at nearly full speed from his turn, shattering the wooden wall of the tavern. The Aura Master's eyes narrowed as he looked around the bar, and then at the wall. "That wasn't the smartest idea, was it?" he asked himself out loud. Several people had noticed him, including a person he could have sworn her recognized. Mayhaps it was just him losing it, but perhaps the person he thought he knew would say hi if it was her. After all, a person with silver eyes isn't a normal sight... "Then again," Zorlo said to himself, "neither is a guy with green hair," he chuckled at his own thought. He was an interesting individual, after all.

[fire_by_rain]

OoC: sorry it took so long ^^;; dont expect a long post from me.

BiC: Iyasis sat in a booth in the inn against a window, watching a lone candle burn on her table from over the brim of her cup. She was clad in her old black cloak, hood raised to hide all of her face but her softly glowing silver eyes. Flashes of gold sparked within them as she watched the flame dance and hum before her. She shot a glance around the room, something troubling her. What exactly, she wasn't sure, but there was something in the air, in her mind; and it wasn't anything she liked.

The fire immortal murmured something under her breath, turning to the flame. The fire cracked and grew slightly, waving in the still air. She frowned. The fire knew it as well. Her silver eyes sparked and she glanced around the room once more, paranoia growing as the feeling seemed to grow stronger. As her body was so tense, she didn't feel the familiar itch right away... until a few moments before it came down on her.

The woman nearly jumped out of her skin as the inn's wall shattered. She was instantly on her feet, a hand instinctively flying to her sword hilt at her left side beneath her cloak. It took her a moment to recognize the man that had startled her, but when she did she let out a breath. She smiled a little and walked closer as the inn went back to its business. She pulled her hood down and smirked lightly at the fencer. "You really like making entrances, don't you?" she teased.

[southern belle]

Luna cursed fluidly under her breath as the crash made her jump, spilling her drink all over her cloak. She muttered a few words, waved her hand over her cloak, and the alcohol lifted out of the fabric. She called the bartender over with a wave, placing an order for another drink. Then, acting like she was paying attention to nothing but her drink, she turned her attention to the newcomer, listening intently. Such a traveler would be far more likely to have useful information than one of these stupid locals...

It was a tall man, with vibrant green hair. He was talking to a girl with red hair -- not the girl she was looking for, unfortunately. She did seem to be a traveler as he was, however. A cloak, rough with use, was draped around her shoulders, and a slight bulge revealed a sword underneath it. They seemed to just be making small talk, but with any luck they'd move onto more helpful topics of conversation shortly.

Before that could happen, however, the innkeeper came rushing out of the back room. He was a large man, who looked generally predisposed to be cheerful. At the moment, his face was distorted by shock and outrage. His mouth gaped open as he stared at his wall. "Wha... My inn! Who did this?!" He looked around, and saw the green haired man standing in front of the shattered wall. "What do you think you're doing, destroying my inn like this?" he demanded, marching over to the man -- who stood a good deal taller than he. He folded his arms across his chest, glaring up at the him. From her place at the bar, Luna sighed, considering using a few magic suggestions to get the man to go away quietly...

[Zorolo]

OoC: Short posts are good.

BiC: The fencer looked blankly at the owner of the inn and at Iyasis. "Yeah... I'm really sorry about that," the green haired man said as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I didn't think I would turn and accidentally slam into a wall," the fencer said with a nervous smile. He didn't know what to say. He was used to seeing things destroyed, so someone complaining about it was unusual.

"Well you'd better be! And how do you expect to pay for this!" the man barked as he looked at the fencer, who didn't seem to have any money or anything of value on him. "You look like a drifter, so what do you have for trade?" the man asked in an annoyed tone.

"Well, I do have this," the fencer said as he unzipped his jacket and took out a small pouch of gold and handed it to the inn owner. When the man opened the bag and poured out its contents, his eyes went wide and he looked at the fencer.

"Um... get this man a room for the night." The inn owner, still in awe, walked away, the absolute shock still sinking in.

"Odd guy," the fencer said as he watched the man walk off and turned his head towards Iyasis. "Miss Iyasis, it has been quite a while, has it not?" the fencer asked casually, smiling at his acquaintance. After all, the two hadn't seen each other in quite a while. "By the way, how is Miss Bella as well, I haven't seen her in a while. I'm actually looking for an adventure, so I figured finding you and Miss Bella would help with that, since you two always seem to find adventure," the Aura Master stated with a smile, awaiting the answer.

[fire_by_rain]

OoC: okay, yes, this shall be short; as i cant really progress the story.

BiC: The fire innate chuckled a bit. "Yes, we do have quite a knack for adventure..." she mused, silver eyes glimmering softly in reminescence. "But actually, i haven't seen her in a while now." Her eyes downcast for a moment, as if in a flash of sorrow. "After Ayalmar left, she and Lohiya went off for a little while, i can't quite remember the details, it was a few months ago. I'm not sure if they split or not." she said with a casual shrug. "What about you?" she asked, folding her arms lightly over her chest, ankles crossed.

The feeling still scratched relentlessly at the back of her mind, begging for urgent attention, but the immortal ignored it for the moment, only praying that whatever it was would appear soon. As a warrior, she knew that waiting on the edge was usually far worse than the battle itself. Just sensing that so much was wrong, the itching, without anything happening would drive her mad. She wanted this out in the open where she could defend.

[southern belle]

Luna sat there, listening to the two. Wild excitement leapt within her at the mention of Bella, only to be dashed by swift disappointment at the other girl's reply. D*mn... I've apparently found some friends of the fool girl's, and they don't know where she is. She thought bitterly. She took a swallow of her drink, only to put it down again, even more disgusted. What do they put in this vile stuff, dirt? She resisted a childish urge to stick out her tongue in distaste.

The mage continued listening to the two, thinking. She needed for them to decide to go looking for the girl... that was her best hope of finding her at this point. Friends would know much better than she where to start looking. She began working the spell to put the suggestion in their minds... then stopped. She could sense magic around those two. The girl's was even after her own elements... this could be dangerous. She let the gathered energy fade away again. If they could come to such a conclusion on their own, it would be so much better. There would be no chance of anything warning them of her.

After all, if they didn't decide to go looking for her, she could always plant the suggestion in them while they slept that night... She grinned, and took another swallow of her drink without thinking. ...Ugh.

OoC: ...once this gets going more, I'll be able to write longer posts, I'm sure... XD I just kinda... can't do much until y'all decide to go look for her.

[Zorolo]

The fencer's eye twitched slightly. Something was definitely wrong here, although the green haired man knew not what it was that could possibly be wrong. Even so, the Aura Master wouldn't let such annoying things get the better of him. He had more things to worry about at that moment, and he needed to speak to Iya about them, since she was the most likely person to know where Bella was.

The fencer looked at the silver eyed woman and began to formulate a plan. "I sense something is very amiss right now, so I need to find Miss Bella. I have the most odd feeling that something bad is about to happen, and an even more annoying feeling that is poking in the back of my mind. Whatever it is, I knew you'd be the best person to speak to, since you'd know better where Bella was then I."

As the green haired man spoke, his eyes remained in contact with the immortal's, but whence he finished his thought, he looked around. What was this that bothered him. Mayhaps it was simply nothing, but even so, that wasn't likely. "Anyway," he began as he resumed eye contact, "can you assist me. Normally I'd find her simply using my Spectral Sight, but something is affecting the auras of this land and I can't get a lock on her. Please, assist me."

[fire_by_rain]

The fire innate watched him just as steadily, but her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of her friend's name. She folded her arms and leaned against the wall of the inn. "Why must you find her?" she asked in a low voice. "Do you really think this ties into her somehow?"

Though the fact that she was not the only one that knew something was horribly wrong was almost a relief to her, worry choked her heart from somewhere deeper. Something from the past was stirring, and she knew it. Problem was, she had over fifty thousand years of past to sift through. It could be anything, really. But the whirring in her chest was making her think twice; this was something bigger; the warrior could feel a great shadow looming ahead of them, as they marched blindly forward. And the thought that one of her closest friends was mixed up in this just made it worse. Iyasis couldn't have been more on edge if she were walking on a sword blade.