Beneath the Shadow of the Moon (Anyone)

OoC: Well, this is my first fight in a long time, and I may be a slight bit rusty. My only request for this fight is that if you want to participate, please be able to form a somewhat coherent sentence in the English language. Oh, and also, as many people as would like to can feel free to jump in at any time. Just have fun and learn something! ^_^ Oh, yeah, and Liya's profile can very easily be found near the beginning of the character approval page.

BiC:

Night. The most comforting time of the day for the young woman known as Liya Karonan. The darkness, pierced only by the occasional glimmers of the moon and stars, enveloped her in its reassuring embrace. She felt safer in the middle of the inhibiting blackness of the night. People would be less likely to spot her, perched lazily on the thick but supple branch of a spruce tree. Periodically, Liya would glimpse a traveler or two pass right beneath her vantage point. Not once did anyone look up, and Liya smiled to herself. She was indeed good at what she did.

The circling shadow of a falcon made her glance upward. Kryanak had returned from scouting the surrounding villages and towns, and hopefully she had returned with welcome news. Slipping snakelike down the trunk of the tree, Liya entered a nearby clearing. The aromatic scent of the pine trees filled her nose as she crouched down as still as she possibly could just at the very edge of the clearing. She waited for Kryanak to slowly lower her flying form to the ground before signaling her friend toward herself. The falcon awkwardly shuffled over to Liya, and she paused just long enough for Liya to stroke her head feathers.

Liya, I’ve searched high and low for our quarry, but I fear they have eluded even me. And I couldn’t do much searching once darkness fell. I am sorry…

Liya smiled down at her little friend and whispered, “It’s alright, Kryanak. We’ll find who we’re looking for in a timely fashion. Who knows? They might even pass beneath us this very night.”

No sooner had Liya said those words than she heard a faint rustling in the trees just beyond where she and Kryanak conversed. Holding up a cautionary finger to Kryanak, Liya very silently revealed two of her many daggers from within her clothing and stalked off deeper into the pine forest. Scanning her surroundings Liya was able to pick out a silhouette just a few meters ahead of her. Deciding to be as careful as possible, Liya circled out to the right to get behind the figure and cautiously made her way towards it, taking care not to make a single sound that would betray her presence.

OoC- Sure, I'll join. I've been trying to do as much writing as possible in the last few weeks of summer anyway, and I would consider it an honour to fight you. Karaza's profile is in my sig, and his travelling companion, Khana, will not be joining him, for she is at this time in another battle.

BiC- A few moments before.

“Grrr” Karaza shouted into the dark woods. Night had covered all and Karaza’s search was going nowhere. It was a brisk summer’s night and the forest was dark and silent, the occasional cricket’s chirp could only be heard throughout the darkness. The sky was blocked out by the trees hanging over head, but the stars had been seen by all on such a beautiful of nights. “Why can’t I find you!?!” he shouted angrily again into the night. “You said that I could find you if I needed to!” however, Karaza wasn’t even sure wether the man had really said that, he was merely hoping. He had left Khana alone for a night to find this man of the past, and now he might not even be seen.

As the creature with white skin walked through the forest, his ears twitched suddenly. He opened his eyes, which he usually kept closed whilst walking, and looked around. Even the darkness of night could not foil his eyes, but even so, he could see nothing that could have caused such a ruffle, a few squirrels, falling leaves, but nothing overly large. He stopped his pace and the sound of his black boots against the curving, dirt path ceased as well.

“Who’s there?” He called out calmly, as if it did not upset him as much as intrigue him. No answer came in return. He knew someone was awaiting him, but he would probably never figure out if he didn’t keep going. His slow pace continued once more, but he stopped soon after when he heard another minuscule noise, once that could not have been heard by human ears. He looked around without turning his head, but still, no one showed themselves. He started walking slowly towards a tree just a few feet ahead of him, but now the sounds had stopped.

“ They must have heard me.” he thought to himself, for the noises had indeed stopped, and whatever had been making them was either dead, or being very careful about where they stepped. Karaza lips shifted ever so slightly as he held back a smile and started walking once more. This time, there was still no sound, but Karaza didn’t cease his movement, he was now almost at the tree, when he heard a final sound. A figure came flying from behind the tree with great speed and landed in front of Karaza.

The person was a female, barely older than Karaza himself. She wore a black, full body suit that could often be seen being worn by ninjas other warriors who focus more on speed and agility than power. She had black hair, which was pulled back into a pony tail, some of which was covering her face, it made it look as if she had been moving quickly. Karaza looked at her and then back at the blade she held to his neck. He didn’t like having a rapier aimed at his neck, but he’d been through worse.

“Um, excuse me,” he said calmly to this woman. “I don’t suppose you could take that weapon away from my neck, someone could get hurt.” she looked at him oddly, but did not draw the blade back. Karaza raised an eyebrow and then sighed. “No? Well, it’s a shame, I haven’t done anything to offend you, have I? Or is it my skin, yeah, that freaks people out. Oh well, I don’t really fancy you either.” he started to move slowly backwards as he awaited for the warrior’s attack.

OoC- I'm really sorry about how crappy her outfit was described, but I didn't know what clothes you wish her to wear. Um, if you could let me know in your next post, then I will happily go and edit mine.

OoC: Actually, the way you described her clothes was just fine. I just realized that I hadn't mentioned anything about her clothes in her profile. I shall have to fix that. ^_^

BiC:

Liya stared fixedly at the strange creature before her. He was like a man in form, but his skin was...unnatural. It was as pale as the moon above and appeared to be like unto rubber. Liya had never run across a creature of this kind before, and she had not the slightest clue how to react to it. One thing she knew for certain; this creature was not her intended target.

"It seems that I have mistaken you for someone else...uh..." she trailed off, unable to think of how to properly address the creature.

"My name is Karaza," the creature mumbled softly.

Trying to keep the delicate situation from spiraling out of control, Liya introduced herself. "My name is Liya Karonan. I am an assassin hired to kill someone. You are not that someone. My quarrel is not with you."

Karaza seemed to hesitate for a moment, but his expression soon hardened again. "I still don't like you," he said simply.

It was obvious to Liya that a fight was inevitable. Gripping her rapier tighter in her hand, Liya slightly shifted her weight forward. Kryanak screached a warning in her head before Liya could do anything.

Don't underestimate this enemy, my friend! I can sense something different about him! Who knows what he is capable of?

Liya nodded her head to let Kryanak know that she would take the falcon's warning into consideration. Briefly, her eyes flashed over the silver amulet that hung around Karaza's neck, but she paid no more heed to it than an elephant pays heed to an ant. Flicking her rapier in Karaza's direction, she beckoned him forward with her free hand.

"Well, come on. If you don't like me, perhaps we can get to know each other better?"

Ooc:

...as many people as would like to can feel free to jump in at any time.

May I? I'll use Tayler in sig.

Bic:

Tayler was walking through the forest, reading a book. She decided to take a break that night because she couldn't stop thinking about her two brothers. The book was a romance, she brought a hankerchief with her so she could cry openly in the darkness of the forest. She looked up for a mement and saw two people talking to each other. She knew she shouldn't, but she decided to butt in on the conversation to see what they were up to.

Putting away her book, she walked on up to them. "Hello, who might you guys be?" Tayler asked. One of them looked like she was wearing a black ninja outfit similar to her own. "Did you go to ninja school?" Tayler gasped.

"Look, this isn't your business so could you... um, leave?" Liya asked her, still keeping her eyes on Karaza.

"Ooh, are you going to fight?" She asked looking at their swords.

"What does it look like?" Liya asked her.

"Look girl, if you don't leave than you are part of this battle as well." Karaza growled.

"Ok!" She said happily, "I'll join your friendly duel."

Karaza looked at his two opponents. It looked now as if there would surely be a fight between the three warriors. He looked slowly at the two of them and then back up at the green leaves that rested on the tree tops which blocked out the star lit sky. “Well,” he said to the new comer. “It seems that I am growing rather popular. What’s your name?” the girl looked at him, she seemed to be reluctant to answer.

She finally decided to give out the tid bit of information, “My name’s Taylor, Taylor Rune. And you two are?” she looked at both Liya and Karaza. She continued to stare at them, neither of which seemed to want to answer.

Liya was the first to speak, as she cautiously answered, “My name is Liya Karonan, and I do not really wish to fight you.” She took her rapier and put it away. Taylor looked at her oddly as if this didn’t make sense to her. She shuffled her feet for a moment and then looked at both of them.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Can’t you just spare the time to have one friendly duel?” she sounded as if she had been planning this for a week. Liya turned back around and shrugged, but she still seemed to be a little on edge. “And you are?” she turned to Karaza. He looked at her strongly for a moment.

“My name is Karaza,” he spoke softly. “And I will gladly battle with you.” he too seemed to be a little suspicious, but it was to be expected; it was not every day that three complete strangers got together to have a battle for no apparent reason. He stepped back and shook his vest off, he then put it by a tree. Liya drew her rapier again and Taylor took out her katana. Neither of the three really knew why they were going to fight, it just seemed the right thing to do.

As the three prepared to attack, the sound of a falcon could be heard across the night sky. The sound’s glory and majesty hit the forest and echoed off of the trees. The trickling of water could be heard from a near by stream, and the moon acted as the only light to come anywhere near the old forest path. The sound of dust being stepped on also made it’s way through the surroundings as each warrior braced his of herself for the attack of their foe.

Liya was the first one to make a move. She held her sword high and ran towards Karaza, who was closer than Taylor. He dodged the weapon by letting himself fall to the ground and catching himself with his hands outstretched behind his back, it made him look like a big, white crab. He quickly pushed himself back to his feet and he had to jump to avoid a low slice from Taylor’s katana. The weapon soared past his legs and almost connected with Liya’s stomach, but she used her rapier to block the attack.

Liya sighed heavily, out of the three, she was obviously the one who wanted to fight the least. She swung her blade towards Karaza’s head, he ducked quickly by doing the splits but he felt a foot hit his stomach. Taylor had kicked him and he was now laying a few feet away from where he had been previously. He saw that Liya and Taylor were now engaged in a sword fight. He stood up, extended his claws and prepared for his attack.

OoC- I don't know why, but that was the lamest battle post I've ever made O_o; Anyway, I think we need to create an order in which we should post. If we go in the order given so far, it would be LEA, so it should be her go if no one else joins in the near future.

Why do I always wind up in the wrong situations at the wrong time? Liya silently asked herself as she dodged the slicing blade of Taylor's katana.

Kryanak had heard her rhetorical question and put her two cents in. Perhaps it is because you never check to see who it is you're attacking before you actually reveal yourself to them?

Liya released an exasperated sigh just before bringing a fist up to connect with Taylor's stomach. The girl stumbled backward to catch her breath, giving Liya enough time to collect her thoughts.

Kryanak, this is no time for useless chatter. Neither of these is my target, and I really need to get away so that I can find my target before he gets too far ahead of me. If I can't bring Lord...whatever his name was...that man's head, then I can't eat for the next few weeks. And I'm never in a good mood when I'm hungry.

Kryanak's silent laugh echoed inside Liya's head. You certainly have that right. Well, what are you going to do, then?

That's a good question... Liya thought to herself.

Before she could think of something more to say, a clawed hand suddenly materialized out of nowhere right beside her, and a searing pain lanced through her upper left arm. Out of reflex, Liya flourished one of her silvery daggers and stabbed it as hard as she could toward Karaza's open side. To her dismay, however, the dagger only merely scratched the surface of the creature's white skin, and Liya stumbled backward, biting back a curse and clutching a hand to the gash caused by Karaza's raking claws.

Muttering to herself, Liya noticed Taylor rush at Karaza out of the corner of her eye. The girl's katana caught the moonlight from above as it sliced down in an arc toward Karaza's neck. Liya could only stare in amazement as even the katana seemed to just bounce off Karaza's skin and fall uselessly to the floor of the pine clearing.

"Perhaps I've finally bitten off more than I can chew..."

OoC: Remember, anyone else who is reading this, feel free to jump in at any time. The more, the merrier! ^_^

OoC: I hope you don't mind if I join as well! Everyone seems like very good writers which is always makes for excitement. ^^

The link for my character Aidan is in my signature!

BiC:
Aidan observed the three battling while he crouched silently in the thick undergrowth of the forest. He watched the very odd Karaza intently. He was definitely the man he was looking for.

****Six days earlier****

Aidan had just arrived in the town of Hollis after his long brawl with Arlaus. He was fatigued and in need of a place to rest so headed to the local tavern to start dulling the pain there. He sat down at the bar and got a beer. The beer was very refreshing to Aidan. It would not make his pain go away, but it would provide a temporary numbing at least. After a few drinks, Aidan started listening in on a conversation the men behind him were having.

"I heard that he's a monster! Rumors say he tore right out of his momma's womb!" one worried man stammered. Another shook his head while puffing on a big cigar. "No, no, no. Preposterous! He's just a freak of nature." An older man shook his head in disagreement. "I don't see what the ruckus is all about. The young man does no one any harm when he comes into town. He's just different. I don't believe he's dangerous at all," he muttered as though he was afraid to give his opinion.

Another man in a fine suit laughed and puffed a ring of smoke from his pipe. "I'm the mayor here, Thomas. That man is a menace! He terrifies all of the citizens. He's capable of doing anything he wants through intimidation! Hollis doesn't need such a man walking our streets." He rubbed his fat belly and continued smoking his pipe. "What is it you suggest happen then, mayor?" asked Thomas stroking his old, gray beard. "Simple, old man. We'll hire a professional swordsman to take care of the problem," he said with a wink.

Aidan rose from the bar and walked over to the men at the table. "How much would you be willing to pay for this problem of yours to go away?" The men all looked at him with hesitant looks. The mayor looked at him and asked, "How would I know if you're capable of the job? Who are you?"

Aidan stood without saying anything at the side of the table. In an instant, he drew his long-sword and struck without a word. The thick, oak table the men were sitting at simply folded into itself as it fell in half. Food and drink spilled to the floor. The men still sat, but now their mouths hung open in disbelief.

"My name is not needed. I'll need enough money to rest for a day or two, repair my armor, and purchase supplies," Aidan said as he placed his large sword in the sheath behind his back. The mayor had a bewildered look. "Five-hundred gold pieces," the mayor said with a slight stutter. With a slightly trembling hand, the mayor pulled a sack of gold from inside his coat pocket and held it up. Aidan took the sack from his hand and pulled up a chair.

"Now, I need to know everything you know about this man."

After getting the information he needed, Aidan left from the tavern. He stayed at an inn where he bandaged and stitched his injured body. He paid for the necessary repairs to his armor the next day, bought a few supplies, and headed out to look for this man known as Karaza.

****Back to present****

Aidan knew that this man was indeed Karaza. He rose from his hidden vantage point and made his way towards the fighting combatants.

The two female fighters had seemingly joined together for a while to try and fight Karaza. Their blades made no difference though as they were deflected from his rubber-like skin. Aidan decided it was time to step in.

"You two stupid girls," said Aidan with his arms crossed, "You won't hurt him like that. He's much too strong for that." The other fighters stopped and turned toward the man standing in his silver armor. His thick, white hair blew in the soft breeze.

"Who are you?" asked the girl in the black body suit. Aidan smiled. "I'm the man sent to kill him." He pointed at Karaza. He started to speak to the odd looking man. "You're definitely the man I'm looking for. It seems as though there's a town that does not wish for your presence ever again. I'm here to make sure that will happen," Aidan said reaching behind his back and grasping the hilt of his sword. He drew his long-sword and tightly gripped it at his side with both hands.

"If you are interested in my name, it is Aidan. Remember it well, girls. You remember it well too, Karaza, as you will be cursing my name for the rest of eternity...where ever you may spend it," Aidan said with a slight chuckle.

"You two would stay out of my way if you knew what was good for you," Aidan said as he stood about to launch into an offense against Karaza.

OoC: I'll let LadyElvenarcher and Quark decide how they want their characters to get involved with fighting against me. ^^ Should be fun!

"Well excuse me buster." Tayler scolded putting her hands on her hips. "All you had to do was ask to join, the more the merier." she stood up straight and looked him in the eye, "You could tell us how to fight him though.

"Why do you keep thinking this as a game?" Karaza erupted charging toward the newly joined opponant.

"I thought it was." Tayler smirked as she did the same.

Ooc: Sorry it's soooo short, I have to go to class now. Staff: If that is the problem, save it through word or some program like that, and continue later. Since doing it all at once is the problem. Quark: I was at school and couldn't

Karaza stared intently at this new challenger, only one thing made him stand out from the other two, his motives seemed far more grave. "You've been hired to kill me?" he said for a second, seemingly pausing to think afterwards. "Well, someone must not like you, or else they wouldn't have hired you." the female warriors looked at him, and then back at Aidan, Taylor seemed speechless, but Liya looked more understanding of Aidan and his motives.

The new combatant drew a large sword and braced himself, out of the whole night, this seemed to be the most silent moment. After a moment Aidan spoke, “Vile creature, you shall pester the inhabitants of Hollis never again.” he charged at Karaza with only a decent speed. Karaza looked him over; he had white hair that hung behind his head. He was wearing a large, heavy-looking piece or armor. As his sword came crashing down with significant speed. Karaza jumped backwards but his back pressed against a tree.

As the dust settled Liya’s voice rang through the night. “Ok, I think we should all stop now. I have other business to attend to. Karaza and Aidan, I shall leave and let you take to your own matters. I bid you farewell.” She turned to leave but Taylor grabbed her arm.

“We can’t just leave and let them kill each other!” she shouted as she pointed to the two who seemed to be in a game of dodge and swing. Liya looked at the girl and shrugged, she didn’t see anything wrong with it. Taylor’s face curled up. “Come on, you don’t want their blood to be on your hands. We have to fight with them until they stop. Both of them.” she ducked quickly to avoid a shot of psi energy, even though she wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

As the two girls rushed quickly to join into the battle, they both felt a strange force push against them. They fell to the ground as this weird, non existent wall seemed to push them away. Karaza was still dodging large swipes of blade but now he seemed to be using telekinesis to block the girls out. As he focused on doing this however, he felt a great pain make it’s way to his left arm. As the weight from Aidan’s blade shot through his arm he fell to the ground and his psychic wall crumbled.

“You’re nothing special Karaza. Just another beast that hurts the innocent.” Aidan’s blade neared Karaza’s face but he merely smiled at the warrior. As Karaza rose his hand to counter the attack he suddenly found that there would be no need; Taylor’s katana intercepted the blow of Aidan’s sword even though she seemed to fall over afterwards. Karaza jumped up and saw his chance. He drew his claws and he charged towards Aidan with his arm raised. But as he neared striking point he felt a pain in his arm. A knife had flown at his arm and just barely pierced the skin. He pulled it out and looked over at Liya, who was already clutching another knife in her hand.

“Stop!” Aidan cried into the night. “I have no intention to fight with you young ladies. My quarrel is with this beast.” he pointed to Karaza, but even though he sounded much like a true gentleman neither of the girl’s lowered their weapons to either foe. Aidan sighed and charged at Karaza, he swung his mighty blade to block a flying knife and he kicked Taylor away as she charged him. He reached Karaza who was still holding the knife. He blocked the attempted stab and swung the mighty sword. It connected but he had been rather far away and the blade merely slit Karaza’s chest. He watched in astonishment as the wound slowly healed itself as if by magic.

Karaza smiled and then looked at his determined foe. “Well, nice shot, I’ll give you that. After all, it’s only fair that you should receive one compliment before you die.” with these words he stood up and brushed his fingers over his torn shirt. “After all, this was my favorite shirt.” and she suddenly quickly charged at his foe.

OoC- Well, that was fun. Uh, Star boy, at the moment you can see that Karaza and Aidan aren't really the best of friends, but I don't really want them to leave the battle hating each other. I'd rather him leave with a new rivals rather than a new sworn enemy.

Standing calmly to one side, well away from the fight, Liya sheathed the knife she had been clutching in one hand and tucked the stray strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. Once again, she found herself wondering why she was even involved in this. There was no point to her being here, and every moment she was delayed was a moment longer that her quarry had to escape from her. Sighing, she leaned against a sturdy, nearby pine trunk and contemplated her situation.

Grrr...what do I do, Kryanak? Why am I still here when I should be hunting down that bounty?

There was silence for a moment as Kryanak formulated her reply. Perhaps it is your good heart, Liya.

Disgusted with this answer, Liya shook her head and muttered to herself. "My good heart, eh? What's that supposed to mean? I don't care about those people or their problems, only my own. But...I suppose by now it's too late for me to collect on that bounty anyway. So, I might as well entertain myself while I've got some spare time on my hands."

Unsheathing her rapier, Liya balanced it easily in her left hand and rushed back into the fray, her body as low to the ground as she could get it.

If I can't hurt Karaza with my weapons, then I might as well go after someone I know I can draw blood from.

Catching Aidan completely by surprise, Liya swept her entire body upward when she was but a few feet away from him and stabbed her rapier into the warrior's very open left side. Leaping quickly away from him before Aidan could do anything, Liya fluidly revealed three daggers in her right hand and launched them blindly at Aidan, not really caring if any of them connected, just so long as they provided enough distration for her to to avoid any sort of immediate retaliation from the man. Without waiting to see the results of her actions, Liya slipped into the dense undergrowth at the edge of the clearing and crouched there silently.

OoC: Sorry if this is a bit long, but I was on a roll. ^^

BiC: Liya’s daggers soared through the air toward Aidan and Karaza. Aidan jumped out of the way as one of the flying daggers narrowly missed his leg. One struck a tree with such velocity that splintered pine chips shot out over Aidan’s diving body. The former knight hit the ground hard and quickly rolled to his back to keep an eye on the ever-dangerous Karaza. He had not been so lucky. Even his leather-like skin was not enough to stop the other stray dagger from penetration. Karaza plopped down on the ground trying to pry the dagger out of his hip.

“Ugh,” Aidan groaned as he held his hand to his left side. He glanced down at it. His armor had been dented badly and the blade had slightly penetrated his side. “That damn girl. What the hell is she thinking?” Aidan stuck his sword in the ground and pulled himself up to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, the other girl in a ninja-style dress came rushing towards him. She brought her katana down fast enough to seemingly cut the air itself. Aidan deflected the blow as he jerked his sword from the ground. He released his sword as the girl’s katana shot toward the ground after the deflection. The silver-clad man grabbed the girl by her throat. She tried to counter Aidan’s choke with her sword but he gripped her hand, which still held her katana tightly.

“Who is that other girl?” Aidan asked in an angered voice. The girl gasped for breath and said, “Her name is Liya.” Aidan squeezed the girl’s throat even tighter. “Where’d she run off to?” The girl struggled for breath as her face turned a bright red. “She,” the girl gasped, “Ran into the woods.” A grin spread across Aidan’s face.

“Thanks,” he growled. Aidan turned and tossed the girl with all of his might toward Karaza. Aidan picked up his large sword and sheathed it behind his back. “Good luck with him, girl. I’ll be back for you, Karaza. Take your time with that wench. I’ve got business with you, but now it’s personal with me and the other girl,” Aidan shouted as he ran toward the woods. He stopped and looked back at Karaza and Tayler as they looked at each other perplexed at why they were even fighting at all. “Don’t worry. I won’t be too long,” Aidan said with a smile as he disappeared into the woods.

The lonely soul wandered through the woods in search of the girl, Liya, that had attacked him with absolutely no motive. Aidan would not allow himself to be attacked with no reason. Surely she had some sort of reasoning to attack him. He walked quietly with his short-sword in hand. The girl was quick and he’d not let her catch him off guard again. He would respond to steel with steel and there would be no running away. The darkness of night made Aidan’s search for Liya even more difficult for him.

The moon lit the forest floor with a pale light. Aidan’s heavy feet crunched the fallen pine needles on the ground. He looked all around him, but could see nothing save for the countless trees that surrounded him. Then came a very light sound in the silent night sky. A falcon whisked through the air far above Aidan’s head. The former knight gazed up at the falcon and began dashing in the direction it was flying.

“It’s the falcon that was with that girl! She must be using him to scout for her while she escapes!” Aidan said to himself triumphantly. He was sure that he was going to find Liya any minute. Aidan ran until he thought he saw something just for a second. He slid to a stop on the ground in the pine needles under his feet. Aidan stood in a defensive position.

“I know you’re there, Liya,” Aidan said. He gripped his sword tightly and looked around himself cautiously. “I’m only here for business and you’ve interfered. What’s to say that you won’t interfere with me again? I’ve got my hands full with that freak back there so I can’t have someone else meddling with me. Now come out so I can finish what you foolishly started,” Aidan said aloud. There was a sudden rustle of the trees behind him and Aidan awkwardly spun around to see what was making the noise. Liya dropped down behind the man effortlessly and quickly struck with her rapier. Hearing the whizzing of her sword, Aidan sidestepped and swung around with a spinning backhand. Liya ducked under the gloved arm with ease and countered with a kick to Aidan’s face. The resilient man pushed the foot aside with a hard shot from his elbow. He brought the same arm he had blocked the kick with down to strike Liya down with his short-sword. She caught his blade with her rapier. They shoved off from each other and stepped back. Aidan’s chest heaved from the lightening quick skirmish.

“Give it up, girl,” Aidan said as he breathed heavily. Liya stood her ground and her breathing was increased a little more as well. “I lye down before no one,” she said. With not another word, Liya sent two daggers flying at Aidan. He deflected one with his short sword and it dug into the ground at his side. The other plunged through his armor and into his shoulder. Liya was airborne and landed in front of Aidan to finish what she had started. She struck at him with her rapier once again trying to strike him in the chest. Aidan quickly delivered a kick to her hand which sent her blade off course missing him narrowly. Aidan countered quickly with a vicious blow to Liya’s face which sent her sprawling to the forest floor.

Aidan grimaced as he pulled the dagger from his shoulder. He could see in the pale light that blood was dripping out of the rip in his armor where the dagger had pierced him.

“You’ve drawn blood from me once already. It’s not going to happen again,” Aidan muttered as he winced from the pain.

In the distance he could hear the clanging of swords in battle. The sounds were near to himself and Liya. “Damn, those two are still at it? I figured that Karaza would have long finished her off by now. Perhaps I’ve underestimated this whole thing,” Aidan said to himself.

Tayler was thinking to herself as she remained on the defensive of Karaza's attacks. "This seems more than a game now." She thought as she blocked an attack from Karaza. "Maybe it was never a game in the 1st place." with her free hand, she rubbed her neck that was still hurting from Aiden's grasp. "I thought he looked like a nice gentleman, I was wrong. He has no respect for--" Her thoughts were interupted by a sharp kick to her stomach, sending her through the air, tumbling across the ground, then ending in a crouched possition.

"Why are you fighting me?" Tayler asked the rubbery man, "I never did anything to you. I thought this was a game but it seems more than that now."

"Afraid?" Karaza asked her.

"I laugh in the face of danger."(Stolen line. w00t) Tayler smirked.

"Very well." Karaza said as he looked down at Tayler's stomach, "That gash is pretty dangerous." he finished as he ran into the forest trying to find out where Aiden went.

Tayler looked down at her stomach and saw a dark wet spot of liquid on her shirt. She jokingly laughed because of what she said. It hurt severly. She closed her eyes to attempt a healing spell. She had only tried the healing spell a couple of times before, she wasn't very good at it, but it worked to some extent. "Heal!" She whispered. The wound closed up slightly, but not all the way. She tore the end of her skirt off and wrapped it around her waist and tightened it. "That will have to do for now." She said to herself as she stood to her feet. "Now to find the others." She ran off into the forest to see if she could put an end to this.

OoC- I couldn't help but laugh every time someone called Karaza "rubbery", I'm very glad that all of you read his profile properly, but he's not made of rubber, just his skin is like rubber. Anyway, no harm done, just a few laughs given.

BiC- As Karaza tore through the thick bindings of trees to find where Aidan had gone he heard Taylor stand up and look around, but he didn’t stop. He could head Aidan’s footsteps just up ahead, and he needed to catch up to his new foe. He looked back in front of him. Trees littered the terrain on each side of him, but he seemed to have a pretty clear path in front of him. He kept moving quickly through the forest until he came to a small clearing. He saw Aidan clutching his small sword and Liya on the ground trying to regain her balance.

Aidan turned to Karaza ferociously, “What’s the matter, the girl, she’s still alive, is she not? Perhaps you’re acting so that I’ll think the villagers were wrong, or maybe you have a thing against hurting females, either way, you’ve sealed your fate. I’ll take care of her and then you’re next.” he moved quickly to Liya and as she tried to draw another blade he knocked it out of her hand with his sword. She looked at her bleeding hand and suddenly, a falcon came flying down at Aidan. He swung his sword at the falcon, and made partial contact. The bird was sent flying a short distance into a tree, but he didn’t seem to be bleeding.

“Kryanak!” Liya shouted loudly as the bird fell slowly down the edge of the tree. Once more Aidan turned his attention to her, and as he readied to strike, Karaza came flying towards him. His feet were extended in the air and pointed towards Aidan, he was attempting to drop kick him. Aidan quickly dropped his smaller sword and drew his other, larger one. Karaza’s hit it instead and he was sent flying back. He managed to land with his feet spread widely and with his hand acting as a third leg. Before Aidan could counter, Karaza raised his free hands and short a psi orb the size of a basket ball at him. The orb hit his sword, but it then exploded, sending the warrior flying backwards.

Aidan stood up as quickly as he could and he regained control of his sword. “Fools! My quarrel was with Karaza, but you interfered.” he pointed to Liya. “The other girl is no better, she protects this fool as well.” as he finished speaking Taylor arrived in the clearing, she was bleeding from the cut Karaza had bestowed upon her, but she still seemed ready and eager to do battle. Aidan seemed to be breathing heavily out of anger and he charged quickly at Karaza and Taylor. Karaza stood up right quickly and he pushed Taylor out of the way using his telekinesis. As she hit the ground she let out a delayed shriek, but no one payed much attention.

As the huge sword came crashing down where Karaza had stood, he mocked Aidan silently from up in an overlooking tree. “Wow, you really do seem quite angry don’t you?” he said almost cheerfully. Aidan took another swipe with the massive sword, it didn’t connect, but the gale that it snapped the tree that Karaza had been balancing on. As he fell, Karaza cupped his hands and prepared to fire an energy beam, but as he landed he felt a pain in his neck and he heard a clang of metal. He looked around, Liya was now standing and rushing over to the falcon, Aidan had deflected a knife that had been thrown, and Karaza now had a knife in his neck. He pulled it out swiftly and let it drop to the ground.

As Karaza’s knees hit the ground and he coughed up silver blood, Aidan raised his sword to his throat. “Stop!” Taylor shouted loudly into the darkness. Before Aidan could strike, he felt electricity enter his body. He swung his sword around to cut off the electrical current that Taylor shot at him and he then turned his sights on her. She let out a small shriek as the mighty sword barely missed her head. As Aidan prepared to strike again, something hit his leg. He turned to see Liya, clutching her rapier, which had hit his leg and caused him to kneel.

Liya looked furious now. “How dare you!?! Now, it’s personal.” she looked back at the falcon, and she prepared to swing her blade. Instead of connecting with Aidan’s face however, it sliced Karaza shirt as he jumped in front of the warrior. As Karaza landed a short distance away, Liya let out a cry of anger, and she then fired a another knife at Karaza, which connected with Karaza’s right leg. He stumbled and tried to get up, but it was no use. As Liya prepared to strike Aidan again, her sword suddenly flew out of her hand for no apparent reason. She looked over to Karaza furiously, his hand was extended and there was a smile on his face.

“Now, now, you can’t kill him. Where’s the fun in that? He was hired to kill me, that means I must kill him, it’s called irony.” Liya did not seemed pleased with his little joke, and she started moving quickly towards Karaza with yet another knife in her hand.

OoC- Heh, everyone seems to be protecting everyone else. Anyway, now Liya has a reason to stay and fight. S'all good.

Liya practically boiled with fury as she stared daggers at Karaza. Only briefly did she glance toward her rapier that was laying at least 20 feet away from her.

"I don't appreciate being told who I can or cannot kill! That man hurt Kryanak, and I intend to exact vengeance upon him! No one injures my friend and lives to tell about it!"

Surprise at Liya's tenacious love for her falcon flashed across Karaza's face for just the barest of moments, but it was quickly buried behind a mask of stone. However, that one brief moment had been all Liya had needed. Falling to the ground, Liya rolled over to where her rapier rested and snatched the blade up. Bouncing quickly to her feet, Liya pivoted in Karaza's direction and flung a pair of daggers toward him, knowing full well that Karaza would be able to easily dodge them.

Karaza was not her intended target, though.

Directly behind Karaza was the man Liya so vehemently hated at this moment, and to her satisfaction, one of the daggers managed to plunge itself deep within Aidan's left thigh. The other, unfortunately, went sailing off to the right and buried itself in the ground inches from where Taylor stood. The girl let a shriek escape her lips as she jumped a few feet away from the gleaming weapon in the ground. She turned in Liya's direction and yelled, "That wasn't very nice!"

Liya rolled her eyes and ignored the girl's shrill voice. Instead she rushed over to where Kryanak's limp body lay. Gently, she ran her fingers all over the falcon's body, checking for broken bones or bleeding gashes that might be fatal. When her search turned up no immediate threats to Kryanak's life, Liya released a sigh of relief. She stroked her friend's head feathers as she attempted to connect with her.

Kryanak, are you alright? Can you hear me? Answer me, please!

There was no response.

Tears began to stream down Liya's cheeks. She had never been without Kryanak in a fight. They were one. They helped each other. But now...

Before Liya could get any further in her silent lament, the singing of a blade came arching toward her. Instinctively, she rolled to the left, still cradling Kryanak's body in her arms. Leaping to her feet, Liya faced Aidan who just stood there smirking unmercifully at the sight of Liya holding her falcon.

"Stupid bird. It shouldn't have interfered. Just as you should not have interfered. Now, you've seen what happens to those who get in my way. If you leave now, at least you'll be able to keep your own life."

Liya's eyes blazed with anger. Taking the time to set Kryanak's body underneath the protective shelter of the spreading pine tree, Liya balanced her rapier once more in her left hand and stared at Aidan, fury swelling in her voice.

"You will die this night. I promise you."

Aidan wielded his massive sword as he faced Liya. The girl was visibly shaken about her falcon. Aidan could sense the fury that fumed out of her every pore.

Aidan laughed. Liya’s face reddened in anger over his completely uncaring attitude.

“I really must laugh about your threat!” Aidan said gleefully, “If I had a piece of gold for every threat that has been made to me, I wouldn’t be searching the forests for him.” Aidan pointed his finger toward Karaza. The former knight looked at Karaza’s silver-blood that had pooled on the ground from earlier. “Why don’t you cough some of that in a bucket for me? I’ll sell it as silver,” Aidan said mocking the man. He turned his head back to face Liya. To his surprise the girl bolted at him.

Liya shot her rapier forward in an attempt to thrust it into Aidan’s heart if he had one. The skillful and experienced fighter countered by knocking her rapier’s point to the ground with the hilt of his sword. Liya’s rapier brushed the ground beside Aidan’s foot as he jabbed the hilt of his sword into the girl’s face. She moved her head quickly to avoid the vicious blow from the hilt. In a flash, her rapier flew from the ground. Aidan tried to counter once again with the hilt of his sword, but Liya was far too quick. The end of her rapier plunged into an unprotected part of Aidan’s wrist. Unable to move his sword because of the rapier, Aidan give Liya a brutal backhand with his armored left hand which was still free. Her head violently twisted sideways and saliva mixed with a little blood flew from her mouth. Aidan jerked Liya’s rapier out of his arm. With his sword free now, he unleashed a horizontal slash that would have cut the girl in half. Though she was still dazed from the blow, she was agile and quick enough to jump over the large blade. She landed with one hand on the traveling blade, pushed off into a flip, and kicked Aidan in the face with both feet. The kick caught him unexpectedly and sent him backwards onto the ground.

Liya quickly jumped onto Aidan as he lye motionless on his back. He had dropped his sword. No sooner than she had straddled him, Aidan jumped up with surprising strength. Liya was still wrapped around his body. Aidan jumped forward and slammed her into the ground under his weight.

“Stupid girl. You should have saved your threats,” Aidan growled as he pinned her to the ground. “Let me go you bastard!” Liya yelled. She was trying to reach for one of her daggers, but Aidan had her wrists gripped tightly with his strong left hand. Aidan reached down toward his hip and pulled out the dagger that had pierced into him earlier.

“How ironic. You die by your own little dagger now,” Aidan smiled as he brought his face closer to her own, “It’s a pity really. I don’t like killing girls, especially pretty ones.” He put the dagger against her throat. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light and Aidan gave a brief cry as he was flung from the top of her body.

Aidan flew a distance and broke through several large pine trees. The trees crashed to the ground on top of Aidan shattering the silence in the night. Karaza stood with a heaving chest with wisps of smoke coming from his cupped hands. Liya sat up.

“I didn’t ask for your help!” she cried to the man. Karaza shook his head. “You sure seemed to need it. That man…he’s ver-” Karaza was cut short by an attack from Tayler. She had been hiding in a tree during the brawl and had taken advantage of the confusion. She held on to Karaza’s large back and put her sword in front of his neck. With the mumbling of a few words, Tayler’s sword began to glow and seemingly move with bolts of electricity. She grinded her sword on Karaza’s throat and the blade began shocking him violently.

“Hurry!” cried Tayler from his back, “Help me finish this creep off and then we’ll take care of the other guy!” Liya jumped to her feet and ran toward the two. Out in the forest, the large fallen trees began to move. Two of the fallen trees flew in opposite directions as Aidan struggled up to his feet. He began walking slowly toward battle holding his ribs. His teeth were visible and they were clenched tight enough to break. A deep fury was welling up inside him..

Liya darted toward Karaza, prepaired to finish him off. The tip of her blade pointed toward the being with such accuracy it would be immpossible to miss. She stabbed the beast directly through the heart, killing him... Or, that was her plan anyway. Just before she reached Karaza, he had manged to slash Tayler off his back which opened the choice of knocking Liya's blade from her hands.

Tayler squirmed on the ground, clutching her bloody gash in her side. She whispered the words heal which helped a small bit, but it still bled furiously. "How could I be so stupid?" she shouted in her mind as a series of curses fled from her lips. She stood to her feet to see Karaza and Liya engaged in a magnificant duel. She approched slowly, still clutching her would. Suddenly, she saw a sudden movement in the corner of her eye. She turned to see Aiden zipping toward the two.

"Liya!" Tayler yelled, pointing toward Aiden.

She quickly jumped out of the way just in time. Aiden didn't stop though, his target wasn't Liya anyway, it was Karaza. He rammed into him receiving a few claw marks on his armor and flesh, but he made sure to leave some of his own gashes in Karaza's rubber-like-skin.

Tayler charged her sword with bright yellow lightning. "Good, I can get them both in one shot." she said to herself. She pointed her blade at the two battling warriors and took carefull aim. Then with a single word, the lightning struck from her blade sending Karaza and Aiden in opposite directions. She then yelled to them, "Do you realize what's happening? If we keep this up we are all going to end up dead. I for one have a very important task I need to accomplish." She was obviously not enjoying this "game" anymore.

After Aiden was standing again he simply laughed, "Had enough missy?"

"No." Tayler scowled and she dashed in the direction of Aiden at incredible speed. She lifted her Katana in the air and swung it in the direction of Aiden's neck.

Ooc: My posts are so much smaller than you peoples'.

*bumps* Uh, Linkrules, it's your turn to post. I just didn't want you to forget about this! ^_^

OoC- Yes, sorry it took so long. I went outto play tennis with some friends today and when I got back I had a stomach ache. Anyway, on to buisiness.

BiC- The katana came dreadfully close to it's target. As it approached his neck, Aidan raised his sword and blocked it. Taylor jumped back and pouted as she saw that her attack had failed. She prepared to attack Aidan, who seemed to be having trouble raising his sword once more. But as the blade swung quickly towards Aidan’s throat, Taylor felt something hit her in the back. She was sent flying forward a few feet and when she turned around, Karaza was standing where she had been with his foot raised.

“Why are you even here?” he asked Taylor. “You don’t have any reason to stay, do you? This is just like a game to you, isn’t it?” Taylor thought for a second as Karaza jumped into the air to avoid Aidan’s sword. As he started to slowly fall from the air, he saw Liya, who had just finished putting the falcon named Kryanak down on a tree, throw multiple knives at Aidan. Karaza saw Aidan block most of the knives with his sword, but two were still making their way to his chest. But just as simply as they had been thrown, they seemingly stopped moving in mid air, and then dropped to the ground.

Karaza smiled as he landed on the ground. He looked around, the clearing they were all in allowed him to see the sky, which had thousands of beautiful stars in it. The trees surrounding the small clearing would made for good cover for any of the four warriors, and the tall grass also helped cloak any one who needed it. He then looked at his opponents; Aidan had quite a few piercings from Liya’s knives, Taylor had a bloody gash in her stomach, and Liya was bruised, but over all just seemed worried about the injured falcon.

“Stay out of this!” Liya shouted into the darkness. “Why do you protect him you fool, he’s trying to kill you?!?” she demanded Karaza to answer. He looked back at Aidan, around at Taylor, and then back at Liya. He didn’t really have an answer to give her, for he didn’t know why he had stopped the knives himself. Liya let out a grunt of frustration and charged at Karaza with her rapier. He attempted to block her stab with his fore arm, but out of reflex he thrusted it away when it was hit by a knife. As the sword prepared to hit his heart, he closed his eyes, a second later, there was a clash of metal, and a smile came upon his face.

He opened his eyes to see both Liya and Aidan in front of him, he guessed Taylor was still behind him. Aidan looked very annoyed with what he had just done. “We’re even now, whelp.” he said remorsefully as he lowered his sword. Karaza shrugged and sighed, he then jumped, and used his hands to act as feet, he then spun himself with his feet out. The spin kick hit both Liya and Aidan, sending both unprepared warriors flying back. As he sent himself back upwards, he felt Taylor’s katana hit his back, and he fell over from the unexpected attack.

Taylor looked at him from above. “Why wouldn’t I have a reason to be here?” she asked. Karaza sneezed, the grass tickled his nose. Taylor ignored this and kept talking, “You attacked me, and hurt me, and as a warrior, I can’t leave until I do the same thing to you.” Karaza tried not to laugh, for it wouldn’t have helped his situation, but he couldn’t help but feel the need to mock her reason for battle.

As he stood up slowly Taylor tried to stab him again, but he moved quickly out of the way. He jumped backwards, away from Taylor, but he cried out as he felt Aidan’s mighty sword crash into his back. He fell to his stomach and Aidan walked in front of him. He prepared to talk, but Liya charged at him. This time he blocked her rapier and pushed her away. He then knelt down next to Karaza. “Now, I will collect my reward.” and he then lifted his mighty sword over Karaza’s back, preparing to strike.

The world spun for a second as Liya fought to regain her balance after being so violently repelled by Aidan. Shaking her head, Liya glanced over in Aidan's direction and saw him poised to kill Karaza. With no time to ponder her actions, Liya threw herself in Aidan's direction, slinging knives at him faster than she could blink. Raising her rapier, she prepared to drive it directly into the hated man's side. Several of the knives sliced into Aidan's skin, distracting him from Karaza for the moment. Pivoting on the balls of his feet, Aidan brought his own weapon to bear against the oncoming Liya. Her eyes flashing with fury, Liya changed her direction at the last moment and launched herself at Karaza instead. To both Aidan's and Karaza's surprise, Liya placed the blade of her rapier against Karaza's throat. A tense silence reigned for several minutes before Aidan finally broke it.

"What are you doing, fool girl? I thought you intended to see me dead, not him."

The curve of a smile spread across Liya's face. "You are indeed right about one thing. I do intended to see you dead this night. However, I believe it would be to my advantage to kill Karaza for the immense amount of money he will put in my pocket. If those townspeople see him dead, they won't care who killed him, and they'll pay whomever killed him a very handsome sum of money. You all caused me to delay here and thusly lose the trail of a man I had been hunting for the bounty on his head." She shrugged. "All in all, I do believe it's only fair that I should receive the reward for this man's head." She tapped her rapier gently against Karaza's throat.

Aidan was in shock. "WHAT?! You can't possibly think that I'll allow you to do that! Karaza is mine!" He took a step toward her.

Liya flourished another knife and twirled it menacingly in one hand while still holding her rapier against Karaza's throat in the other. Her intent was quite clear to Aidan. Karaza shifted his weight slightly but not enough to cause Liya any concern. Taylor stood to one side, silently absorbing the scene. Aidan allowed a small smirk to show and voiced his thoughts.

"Well, I can see that you mean business. What do you propose we do now?"

OoC: Just a little plot twist. Thought I'd keep things kickin'. ^_^

OoC: Nice twist, LEA. I can definitely work with it. ^^

BiC: Aidan rubbed his chin while looked at the girl. Her rapier was still pressing into Karaza’s throat and she held her other knife in Aidan’s direction.

“I propose that I kill him and receive payment for him,” Liya said menacingly. Her knife fell from finger to finger as she spun it effortlessly. Aidan stared at her with a scowl on his face.

“I don’t share much with anyone,” he said lowly, “However, I share my money with no one. That does include you too, darling.” Aidan suddenly struck without hesitation. Liya’s hand gripped the knife tightly stopping its spinning to intercept the blade. She leaped backwards away from Karaza as Aidan pursued her. Karaza took the opportunity to leap up into a treetop to contemplate his next move. The former knight clashed swords with Liya. The two exchanged violent blows, each countered and blocked by the other. Aidan was able to sneak in a hard right jab through the girl’s defenses and into her face. Her jaw seemed to compress under the ruthless fighter’s iron covered right hand. She was knocked backwards, but she was able to get a hand on the ground as she fell. Liya landed right back on her feet. Aidan dashed toward her and prepared to bring his mighty sword down on her head. Suddenly Tayler stepped in his path and jumped up wrapping her legs around his face. She leaned back so that her hands landed on the ground, pulled the former knight from his feet, and threw him through the air using all the strength in her legs. Aidan slammed into a tree, bounced off, and landed on the ground hard. Tayler put her hands on her hips and gave a little smile.

“I’m not going to let you hurt anyone else! How does it feel to be on the receiving end of the stick?” she asked the fallen man. She reached down and straightened out the pulled up fabric of her ninja styled dress. A mischievous smile spread across Aidan’s face.

“Well, it hurts pretty damn bad,” he groaned sitting up with his back against the tree, “But the view beforehand was decent.” Tayler pulled her hands up and clenched her fists.

“You pervert!” she shouted. Tayler bounded toward the lude man prepared to strike him dead. She never got close to her target though. The young girl was sent tumbling to the side from a hard shoulder from Liya. Tayler tumbled and struck her head on a tree, knocking her unconscious.

The experienced and dangerous girl walked up the base of the tree where Aidan sat slumped against the tree. She spun the end of her rapier around in little circles close to his face.

Aidan looked up at her. He swallowed his pride and spoke.

“Half,” he said looking into her turquoise eyes again. Liya looked taken back by his statement. “Half of what?” she asked. Aidan smirked a bit.

“Half of the payment. Help me kill Karaza and I’ll split the payment with you. There’s too much damn interference for me to finish the job by myself,” the humbled fighter muttered. Liya took her rapier out of his face. Aidan extended his hand up to the girl.

“Now help me up, damn it,” Aidan said with a smile. Liya grasped his hand and he grasped hers tightly. She pulled the former knight to his feet inches from her. She stared at Aidan with an awkward silence ensuing. He broke the silence.

“He’s not going to die while we stand here,” the armor clad man said, “It’s time to get to work now.” Liya and Aidan dashed off together in search of Karaza.