Hearts of Ice. (I)ragon11, Faries, Stryder)

OoC: >_> Another title I pulled out of my ass. Nonetheless, this shall be a most enjoyable RP. ^_^

BiC:
Wind is often refereed to as the element of change, moving in one direction or another, never giving rest to it’s eternal dance. Many people reject change and new situations in life, while others embrace it and even seek it. This difference has built and destroyed empires, caused pain and suffering, and has even changed the world. Will you embrace, or reject the inevitable?

*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*

A cold and fell wind blew in from the east that day, carrying with it whispers of things soon to come. Despite the time of year, the leaves of the trees began to change colour, frost carpeted the grass every morning, and birds migrated south. Strange for August weather, but nonetheless, it was happening all around the region.

In the second story window of the village inn sat a woman with hair as white as snow, and eyes as blue as the sea itself. She looked out upon this farce presented by nature with great scepticism, something like this could not be anything other then diabolic in nature, not a force of it. Alas, there was not a hit as to what was causing this; she could only guess whether it was demonic, or some twisted experiment by the government using Magitechnology.

Still, the young woman could not let this interfere with her present plans. Hopefully, she would make it to Elid by nightfall and into the warmth of the desert. The closing days of her Life Journey needed to be spent wisely, however, so far she felt unfulfilled. Despite encounters with vampires, a strange structure called the Dome, genocide-bent priests, a shipwreck, and several strange people; she had yet to find out what she wanted in life. Sighing to herself, she turned away from the window to look upon the room one more time.

It was one of the most ornate rooms she ever had the pleasure to stay in. A large four-poster bed stood on one end of the room; its red Satan sheets and comforters able to put even the lightest sleeper into a near comatose state. The paint scheme of the room was quite dark, royal blue wallpaper complimented by a blood red carpet. Overall, the room looked Victorian in style despite the accented colours.

Giving a heavy sigh, the woman finished packing her clothes and her prized sword and hefted the heavy suitcase down three flights of stairs to the lobby of the inn. Behind the counter sat a rather chubby man with balding black hair, and a thick moustache. “Checking out, ma’am?”

“Yes, I am,” spoke the young woman.

“I’ll need your name and signature,” replied the fat man.

“Aleena Moteiran,” said the white haired woman as she signed the document.

Paying the bill, she soon lugged her suitcase outside into the winds bone-chilling embrace, and over to her trusty, old Plymouth Fury. The suspension creaked and bounced as the heavy luggage fell into the trunk, causing the whole vehicle to shake as a result. Rolling her eyes and slamming the trunk shut, she climbed into the driver’s seat, buckled her seatbelt, and drove away.

*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*/\/\/\*

A few hours of driving later led the half demon to become caught in the storm she wished to avoid. Snowflakes collided into her windshield, albeit they were few and far between for the moment. Nonetheless, Aleena knew there was no way she could outrun it, her only option was to find the nearest village and find a place to stay. That was when she saw a sign on the road.

Port Town of Malcina: <-- 40km

In the distance she could see mountains rise above the overcast sky. As much as she wanted to avoid a mountainous road in the middle of a storm, she had no choice seeing as how the last town was nearly two hundred kilometres in the opposite direction. Reluctantly, Aleena turned the steering wheel and put her vehicle on this new road. A fateful decision indeed.

Well this blows...

J trudged through the ever building snow, his metallic boots sinking into the white powder a few inches with every step, making walking slightly more difficult. Not to mention the constant blast of wind and snow that continually pressed against his body. And despite his armors natural ability to keep him at a bearable temperature, he was still cold. He didn’t like the cold much. His big hoody was worn over his armor, and his backpack clanked on his shoulders.

He established that he looked really weird and stupid in his get up. His skin tight dark bleu armor covered his thighs, and his bulky, multicolored, metallic boots went down from there. His hoody covered his torso and arms, but not his claw. His hood was up, but one could still see his shinning helmet and black tinted visor pulled down over his eyes. And to top it all off, he had a blue and black, high school backpack on.

But now on to slightly more important things; J had been walking since really early this morning. (So about eleven o’clock) making his way to the next town, the same thing he had done the other day, in search of the same thing again, day after day.

... yeah... my life sucks... Maybe I should just burn this next town, and scream out my name the whole time, but not actually kill anyone. That would be messed up. But then all the people could go fleeing away, and tell tales about their old burned down town, and the crazy shinny man that kept screaming out the letter J over and over again for no apparent reason... maybe then word would finally reach Roery that he was here...

If she was even on this world...

... yeah... my life sucks... and cold, cold sucks too.

Of course, J would never actually do anything like that. Ever. He did tend to exaggerate things like that. But he really was starting to lose hope. It had been a good amount of months now that he had been re-stranded on this planet, and the only reason he was here was to find Roery...

Bwaaaaaaah... I miss my Roery...

J looked up suddenly as he noticed he had just about to run into a sign. A brown road sign with white letters that read; Port Town of Malcina: <-- 5km

J sighed and trudged on. Why couldn’t they have put it in Miles? Now I have no idea how far I have to go still... stupid not Americans...

The armored man walked off to the side of the snow covered road. Or at least, where he thought the road would be, as it was nigh invisible under the ever building snow.

J needed a car. Walking sucked. Well, he could always run, as he was capable of maintaining a thirty-MPH run for about half a day before he got too tied. J cocked his head to the side and wondered to himself why he wasn’t running right now. He then gave up on those thoughts, as they were much to boring, and he started to run. He jogged for a ways, slowly building up to a full on sprint at an inhuman pace.

Oh yeah... that’s why I wasn’t running. I’m in a much too frumpy mood to do something so... not lazy...

Ah well... this way I’ll get there faster. Which is always a good thing.

Upon arriving at the town, J established that kilometers were most likely shorter then miles. Before he was in sight of anyone in the town, he had dematerialized his armor and reverted back to his tennis shoes, baggy blue jeans, and black shirt under his dark gray hoody. He then continued to shiver his way into the dark storm that brewed over the port town. First thing he needed to find was a warm tavern he could get away from the storm in.

J had no idea what month it was. And as much as he was displeased to find himself in the middle of a blizzard, he had no idea that there was anything odd about it, or what was in store for him.

OoC: *sprays title with disinfectant*

BiC:
Flecks of snow feel softly from the sky, gradually coating the ground in a white mist. The cool wind fell across the mountain, a kind breeze at first. The clumps of ice fell harder, and grew thicker, the wind eventually becoming irritated and angry. The wind tore at the leaves, stealing them prematurely from their branches. Soon, the snowfall turned into a blizzard that turned the entire mountain into a cold, white desert.

It was all so sudden, and the storm grew more and more. It soon came to be that winter had come before fall had even been born, and the wind grew colder and angrier.

Taen trudged through the snow, feet crunching deep into the ice, the air freezing his lungs. There were no footprints in the snow, only a deep trench where his feet dragged along the ground. Picking up his feet, moving them and inch, and dropping them down into the snow was too menial, seeing as the snow came halfway to his knees. Even his boots and two pairs of socks could not keep his toes from being frozen. He was covered in layers of clothing, which seemed to do nothing against the wind that passed straight through to his flesh.

He coughed and dropped to his knees, holding his arms and legs close to his chest. He blew fire into a ball in front of him, but the wind just blew it out. He punched the snow, breaths seething between his teeth.

“How… can it be… this cold… WHEN ITS SUMMER!”

He coughed hard, lungs frozen into a hard shell. A soft light shone on his face, approaching slowly, soft and gentle. He peered into two floating beings that glowed before him. Taen lifted his knee and pushed up, eyes still fixed forward. His face stayed blank as the light surrounded him. It felt warm on his face, a fair contrast to the cold wind and snow.

His hand reached for the dual swords on his back, but he didn’t unsheathe them. Rather, he tightened his grip and stood up. He would be ready to fight if this was some sort of foe, but he wouldn’t appear as a threat if this was a friend.

The lights stilled themselves, and Taen held his breathe.

OoC: I'm so mean. >=3

BiC:
“That was too damned close,” sighed the lunar demon as she gripped the steering wheel. A curve in the road had appeared out of nowhere, startling her. Instinctively, she slammed on the breaks to stop the car; however, it slid due to the immense amount of new powder on the steep and narrow road. If it weren’t for a slight raise in elevation on the roads part, her heavy automobile would have slid over the edged and into the frost-bitten forest below.

However, as the half demon moved to get out, the car gave a sudden, terrifying lurch. Holding on for dear life, the woman could see out the windshield as it tilted downward, slowly. Fearing the worst, she buckled herself in tightly, however, when the car grew level with the steep incline it stopped. “Aska, thank whoever had the bright idea to put that bump before the edge of the road,” said Aleena. Now I just need to find a way to get out.

Peering beyond the windshield, the woman could see a man below looking at her vehicle like a deer in the headlights. You’d think he never saw a car before. “Why did this have to happen now!?” Exclaimed the lunar demon, being able to see the lights of the city just under a kilometre away.

Suddenly, the rear of the car began to creak and groan, the stress on the rear axle nearing the breaking point. The sound of popping rivets filled the silent road as the transmission began to pull away from the engine. Aleena cursed at her car and it’s bad habit of falling apart just when she needed it. However, cursing wouldn’t help her now.

Through the near-blinding snow, the half demon could see the man down the hill begin to run, possibly frightened that her Plymouth Fury was a monster, or something of the like. Sensing the futility in staying in the car, Aleena went to undo her seatbelt. It was too little, too late.

Giving another sudden lurch, the rear wheels slipped over the edge of the road, allowing Gravity to do its work on the car. The near 50-degree angle caused it to accelerate at great speed towards the fleeing man. It took nearly all the strength the lunar demon had just to prevent the car from going sideways and rolling down the hill. Sadly, her efforts were in vain, the car slamming into a large tree on the drivers’ side. The rest of the car, meanwhile, continued it’s decent, making it go sideways and thus started to roll.

Flipping on to the passenger’s side, the rear-view mirror snapped off now lost to the snow. As it flipped on the roof the canvas only supported by small pipe-like pieces of metal, bent and caved in as the windshield crashed. Glass flew everywhere as the vehicle continued its horrific decent, cutting Aleena significantly. It wasn’t until the twelfth roll that it flipped onto a large rock, hitting the driver in the head and knocking her unconscious.

Three heart-stopping minutes of rolling later, the once beautiful Plymouth looked like a wreck. Rolling into a large, spiky rock, the engine nearly disintegrated and the hood flying off, nearly hitting the fleeing man in the head. Eventually, and much to the man’s relief, the car eventually rolled to a stop, right side up, in the waist deep and freezing little stream literally just inside town near a popular bridge.

The unmistakable sound of something crashing down a mountainside rumbled in the distance, only just audible as it was severely muffled by the sound of the wind and swaying trees. J looked around for the source of the noise, which proved very difficult in the hazing snow.

"Gah! I'm freezing!" He mumbled to himself, knowing no one would be able to hear him anyway. He glanced around at the nearby houses, most of which had black smoke wafting up from the chimneys, and every house had a few lights on while the streets were barren of any life-sign. It was quite eerie. By now, the snow was almost waist high, and J was shivering like mad. He gave up on being unnoticed, as he knew he’d be barely visible through the thick snowfall as it was. He quickly activated his armor in a soft red glow. Circulation started to return to his limbs and his body instantly started to warm.

J looked around again as the sound of a big metal thing continued to crash down. It was getting louder and louder by the second. He slipped his visor over his eyes and his vision changed to let him see through the snowfall almost perfectly. Almost immediately he saw it. Back the way he had come from, just beyond the bridge he had just passed over, was what was left of a white car rolling hazardly down the mountainside. His eyes widened and his vision zoomed in as he sprinted back to the bridge. He could see someone still in the car.

It felt all too natural for J to do what he was about to do. He had done just this many times throughout his life, for the world he came from had many hazards and pearls. He had lived nearly a quarter of his life in combat. And in almost every battle there were innocent bystanders. Every bystander was his to protect.

J leapt strait over the side of the fifty foot high bridge—whipping off his backpack in mid air and throwing it into the snow so it didn’t get wet—landing with a large splash in the semi frozen, small river bellow where the car had finally come to a stop. He glanced over, noticing a young man garbed in many layers of winter clothes who looked slightly startled at the whole situation and even more so at the appearance of the armored man. But this was no time to pay him any heed. J quickly jumped over to the car, landing beside it in the waist high, frigid stream, the cold was only just starting to penetrate his armor.

There was a tall, fair woman in the passenger side seat, sprawled out awkwardly. She was unconscious, her head barely above the water. At first glance, it was obvious the tumbling car had taken a severe toll on her body. The car was also crushed in such a way that it had her pinned completely, almost like a cage.

The armored young man grabbed the passenger side door handle and promptly ripped it clean off. He stumbled back slightly but quickly made for another attempt, slamming his claw strait into the door and gripped it well with his right and pulled hard, ripping the entire door off with a loud, screeching snap.

Suddenly the wrecked car gave a lurch and sank into the water a few inches. The river had just become unexpectedly more fierce and the strong waves pushed the vehicle farther down stream into the deeper waters. J was taken off guard as his feet failed to stay planted on the muddy river bottom and he would have been swept away completely if not for his iron grip on the car frame.

This wasn’t good. The unconscious girl was still pinned underneath the steering wheal and the roof of the car. The vehicle was sliding and sinking fast. Almost franticly, J planted his feet just inside the car where the door had been pulled off, and lifted up hard on the roof, tearing it back like a sardine can. The car gave a second lurch and rolled almost completely on to its side. The side J was hanging on. The armored man was forced under the water

Things were starting to get annoyingly difficult.

Without warning, the ground came up abruptly fast, or rather, the water level went down unexpectedly. J had no time to think of what was the cause of this and quickly planted his boots into the mud and steadied the white vehicle, making sure it wouldn’t topple over or crush him. The water level continued to descend until it was only knee deep and the car was resting firmly on the ground.

“Get her out! I cant hold this forever!” It was the same young man that he had seen earlier. It looked like he had run by the side of the river to keep up with the floating wreck of a car, and was now holding his arms out and concentrating, warping the water around the vehicle. J nodded quickly and went back to work, carefully but swiftly pulling the steering wheel right off and unpinning her leg. He then slammed his fist into the dashboard, moving the whole thing a good six inches and finally freeing the young woman completely.

The armored soldier frowned behind his helmet at her battered body. Carefully, he picked the woman up into his arms and jumped out of the river. He fired of his thrusters as he landed, slowing his decent enough not to jar the unconscious woman in his arms. The woman was extremely pale from the severe cold, which contrasted greatly with the dark bruises and still flowing blood from the cuts on her head and body.

J raised his eyebrows in surprise as he noticed that the second man had cleared the snow on the ground in front of him completely. “Set her down, I can heal her.”

J obliged and set the woman down in the small crater and took a step back. The young man then knelt down beside her and held his hands over her head, emitting a soft, white and yellow glow from his palms. Gradually, the deep cut on her temple sealed. He then moved on to the next injury.

It then struck J how freakishly cold he really was. He actually had ice hanging from his armor in some places. He shivered and crouched down inside the crater of snow.

The blond haired young man continued to heal the woman, not looking up as he spoke. “We need to get her somewhere warm. Quick.”

Meh.

BiC:

Taen knelt down to the girl and carefully picked her up, holding her gently in her arms, like a father holding his child. He didn’t even know this woman, and yet he was willing to help her. But Taen knew he couldn’t let an innocent person just lie there in the snow and freeze to death. Letting someone die was just as bad as killing them yourself, and you would have their blood on your hands. People did this all the time, all because they were too busy or selfish to lend a helping hand.

Or in Taen’s case, they were unable to help. Just as he stood up, his legs locked in place, and he nearly fell over. He shivered all over, and his legs hit the snow. Hard. He willed himself to hold his arm out to push up, as to keep from practically fainting on the icy ground.

J offered down his hand, but Taen refused. He pushed his legs against the ground and stood again. J gave a somewhat irritated look and sighed. “if you need help, then maybe you should accept it. You can barely stand in this cold. There is no way you will be able to carry her.”

Taen so wanted to kick him and tell him to shut up. It seemed selfish, but he wanted to be the one to carry the girl to safety, to be the one who saved her. He hated being upstaged by someone he KNEW could do better. But should it really matter? Shouldn’t it be more important to get her to a warm place, no matter who saves her?

The elf admired J’s ‘armor’. He wondered how such a bulky metal could be so easily carried, and questioned how it could possibly keep the young man warm. There was also a claw on his left hand, an apparent part of the metal that seemed to also be a part of his actual hand. Taen pulled his eyes away from the strange man. ‘Weirdo’ Taen began thinking to himself, but regretting a second later.

“Try and clear a path for me, and maybe a find a place to stay. I’ll carry her and follow after you.”

OoC: Meh, meh...

BiC:

Weird kid... that didn’t make much sense at all. The fair young woman was much taller then the elf and, despite her slim figure, probably weighed about the same as him. Although it was apparent he was a spell-caster, he didn’t seem to have much more strength then any average young man of his age, and he obviously wasn’t handling the blistering cold too well. And while J himself had had warmer days, he could function just fine, and could carry both of them if he needed to. Good thing for that.

J nodded grudgingly to the elf and plowed his way into the deep snow, making a path back up to the village. He ignited his thrusters slightly every now and then, to both melt the snow and warm his feet. He glanced again at the blond man and the silver haired woman. He could hear the elf’s teeth chattering and could see the difficulty he was having, moving one foot in front of the other as they climbed up the hill. And then there was the girl. She appeared to be an elf also, with her long ears, and her beauty, that was characteristic of elves as far as J knew. Maybe that was the reason the male wanted to be the one who carried her... made sense... kinda.

Either way, she wasn’t looking too good either. Her pale compaction and torn, wet clothes that were starting to frost over. Her body temperature was dangerously low, but at least her wounds had been mostly healed.

J trudged on, slowing down and stopping every now and then to wait for the young man. The silence between the two men was almost eerie, and J elected to brake it.

“So... uh... what’s your name?” the armored man asked, turning his head to glance at the elf and yelling over the howling wind.

“Taen... Yours?”

“J.”

Taen nodded slightly and continued his way up the path. J was a little impressed by his determination, but still thought him a little more foolish for inflicting the burden upon himself. Was it really so important that he be the hero...? J honestly didn’t care for the title. He just wanted to get everyone to safety, and knew he was well suited for the task.

The wind howled louder and the snow whipped fiercely. The former soldier could feel the piercing cold against his neck and arms. Still the trio continued on.

It wasn’t much longer before they reached the road again, all but invisible beneath the blanket of snow. J quickly made his way to the closest house he could see and got to work clearing the snow from infront of their front door. He didn’t know who lived here, but from what he could see, it seemed to be a decent enough place, as there was no time to search for an inn. The elf honestly didn’t look like he could last much longer, and J was admittedly getting exhausted and cold himself, and they needed to get the girl out of the cold as soon as possible.

The tall man had cleared the snow from before the door by the time the young man carrying the unconscious woman caught up, and he could see some commotion from inside the house. Panting, the elf nodded to him and J deactivated his armor in a flash of red light reverting back to his tennis-shoes, Levi’s, T-shirt and hoody. He then turned and knocked loudly on the wooden door.

OoC: Sorry if the quality is lacking. I was sick when I wrote it. @_@ Blarg.

BiC:
Flames crackled and danced in the old stone fireplace, long forlorn and used only as an ornament for the longest time. Living in a usually tropical climate, one would see no need for a fireplace save for cooking when the stove refused to work. However, with the recent and strange cold snap, many people found solace and happiness in what they once neglected. Rather funny, isn’t it?

In a lounge chair in front of the fire sat a rather large, imposing, yet elderly man. His eyes, transfixed on the fire, reflected that of a long, hard, and stressful life. How could one remain carefree, especially with this freak blizzard clasping the town in its icy grip? Soon it would be neigh impossible to go to the store and pick up supplies, and the storm showed no signs of stopping. Casting another look out the window into the falling darkness, he began to worry about his grandson. Over an hour ago he sent him out into the storm to gather more supplies, but had yet to return.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door, causing the old man to nearly have a heart attack. Pulling himself out of his beloved chair, he grabbed his cane and hobbled over to the door, secretly cursing his grandson for scaring an old man like that. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” the man answered when the knocking returned. Finally arriving at the door, he opened the various locks, old age having made him slightly weary of the world and its many evils.

As he opened the door, he began to speak; demanding why they were bothering him, since he could tell it was not his grandson through the fogged glass on the doors window. Instead, three people stood on his doorstep. However, before he had time to even open his mouth, a young man dressed in only tennis shoes, jeans and a hoody pushed by with his comrades in tow.

“Sorry, but we really need to get her warm,” the strangely dressed young man explained. At first, the elderly man felt indignant at the attitude these people possessed, but taking a closer look at the maiden as they placed her in front of the fire made him change his mind. Even from this distance he could see she wasn’t in a good way, frost beginning to form on her elongated ears in addition to all the cuts and bruises. Sighing, he shut the door behind him. Retired or not, he could not forget his duty to attend to anyone who needed his help.

“So, can anyone tell me what happened?” Asked the man as he hobbled back into the living room.

“From what I can tell,” replied the first man. “Her car fell off the cliff and rolled into the river.”

“The river!?” The old man gasped. There was nothing else he could do. “Well, you’re very lucky you barged into my house.” He said, adding a smile before continuing, “There is a spare room upstairs with a very warm set of comforters. We’ll need to warm her up before we can treat those wounds of hers.” Motioning for them to follow, he led them up the stairs to the guest room/storage room. Limited space made it tricky for them to maneuver, but after moving some boxes around they managed to clear a path straight to the bed.

The elf that came in with the young woman in his arms held her while the other pulled the blankets down. Carefully, the elf placed her on the sheets and pulled up the covers to keep her warm in such a manner that caused the old man to think they knew each other. Placing a warm cloth on her head before closing the door, he turned to both the men. “You two must be quite cold and tired. Would you like some Tea or Coffee?”

Aleena Moteiran tossed and turned under the pale white bed sheets, moaning softly as she brought the pillow closer to her head. Her long hair had fallen over her face like a funeral veil, and her shallow breaths worried the two standing there. After which, she would quiet down, and stop moving, going into a further, even deeper rest.

Taen watched her with weary eyes. The cold had stolen all his energy, and he worried that it might have stolen Aleena’s life. The cuts and bruises that adorned her alabaster skin didn’t seem to be life threatening, but the fierce cold may have done much more damage than what the surface told.

The spirit of Kida, the Ice Dragon, whispered in Taen’s mind. ‘This cold is not natural. There is no way that this is some sort of force of nature. The wind and snow are not the gentle breeze of a cool winters day. They are ridden with anger and fury. The source of this is too far for me to read.’

‘Too cold for you?’ Taen asked.

Kida swirled away, flowing deeper into the summoner’s subconscious. J stepped over to Taen.

“You seem to have a strong interest in her, eh?”

Taen shot him an annoyed glance. J laughed slightly and spoke again. “What, do you think that because you both are elves that you two have some sort of connection? Trust me, you aren’t the last elf.”

Taen smiled slightly. “It’s not like that. She just has a sense of.. wonder. She doesn’t seem like your typical run of the mill girl. She is very beautiful, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better.”

J shot him a bemused look, suggesting that Taen’s comment meant more than what the summoner had intended. J laughed once more, “You lecher!”

Taen went on the defensive, “No! I meant-“

“You little pervert. I hope she hears you.”

Taen rolled his eyes and smiled, ignoring J’s playful insults. He breathed in, and walked over to Aleena’s bed.

J became more serious, “What are you doing?”

A blue light glowed out from Taen’s palm, as well as a fiery glow. He hoped that with Sirasha’s healing abilities and Ryagiere’s mastery of heat, he could prevent her from becoming too weak. He lowered his hand closer to her shoulder.

Aleena opened her eyes, looking straight into Taen’s.

“You two must be quite cold and tired. Would you like some Tea or Coffee?”

J looked back at the elderly man and smiled at the kind gesture. “Er... Yeah, some coffee would be great. And... sorry about barging into your house like this...” He added, slightly embraced.

“Bah, you need not worry about that now. The important thing is making sure that girl there is taken good care of. I would have done the same thing had I been in your situation, and been a few years younger.” He replied a slight smirk.

J nodded a smile to the old man in thanks. “Names J, by the way. And that’s...” He paused and looked back at the elf, who was standing with his back to them, observing the silver haired girl. “... Taen.” J said, remembering his name finally.

“Ah, names Marvin. Marvin Westfall.” Said the senior, taking a cane assisted step forward to shake the tall boys hand. “Say, what in tarnation were you doing out in that blizzard, anyhow, dressed like that?”

“Oh, uh... Heh” J scratched the back of his head and tried to think of the best answer. “I was just... crossing through. I don’t get cold easily.” He explained, trying to his hardest to make it believable, but failing miserably.

The larger man eyed J and harrumphed. “And I suppose ya don’t get wet too easily, either.” He then smiled a little, shaking his head and holding up a hand as if to stop J from responding. “You don’t need to tell me, son, if you don’t think I have the right to know.”

J laughed slightly, to nervous to think of anything to say to that, and before he could open his mouth, the old man turned and started to hobble away. “I best get to pouring you two that cup a coffee I promised.”

“Ah... thanks again.” J chimed in as Marvin shut the door behind him and made his way downstairs. The brown haired young man scratched his neck and turned back to Taen and the sleeping woman.

“... You seem to have a strong interest in her, eh?”

OoC: *insert Wolfens post here* Good to go =P

Foggy shapes and blurred colours met the injured half-breed’s eyes when she finally regained consciousness. The events that transpired formed a single stretch of blackness in her memory, the last thing before this moment being her car dangling on the cliff face. I bet my car went over the cliff after all, she thought. That would explain why I feel so weak and am in so much pain. Although she would never admit it, she could feel some pain through her numbed body, still having no clue how severe her injuries were.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” replied the blurry figure that rested right in front of her eyes. “We were worried you might’ve died on us for a second there.” Blinking a few times, the blurry world quickly came into focus. Only now did she see how close this mystery man was. Sitting at the edge of the bed beside her, just about a foot away, he looked down on her and smiled. Although he at least gave her personal space, she could not help but feel a little creeped out that a stranger sat that close.

“You’re a bit too close for my liking, so back up, okay?” Aleena spoke weakly to the golden-eyed man.

Seeing the shadow of disappointment on his face as he back up, she felt more comfortable with him only sitting at the edge of the bed. Taking a second look though, she saw elongated ears and a rather well built body below his head. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure such a beautiful girl such as yourself wasn’t hurt.” To this, the half demon simply rolled her eyes, catching sight of the second man.

Unlike the first, Aleena could tell just from looking at him that he at least rivaled, or even surpassed her height. His lankly figure and brown hair reminded her of some of the people back in her hometown. “So tell me,” she spoke to this second figure. “What exactly happened? I can only guess my car fell off the cliff.”

“Pretty much,” responded the man. “It began rolling at some point, then went into the river. You were trapped inside, so me and Taen here rescued you from it before it sank.”

“Oh,” Aleena responded, a little shocked it rolled into a river, especially in this cold weather. “Is it salvageable, at least?”

“Not at all,” the man replied. “From what I saw, then engine disintegrated, the body collapsed on itself, and the wheels were gone.”

With this grim news, the young woman lay her head back on the pillow, in shock from the loss of her beloved automobile. Not only did it get her from A to B, it also represented her newfound freedom and will to explore. Now, however, it lay in ruins sitting at the bottom of a river. Sighing quietly, she gave it a moment in silence in its memory before turning to the tall man once more. “Did you at least save my equipment that I kept in the trunk?” She asked.

“Sorry miss,” Taen replied. “I didn’t see anything else other then you stuck in the car, waiting to be rescued.” Turing her attention from the elf over to the tall guy, she looked at her questioningly.

“The trunk is completely crushed in on itself,” The man added. “If you did have anything in there, it is probably destroyed.”

“C-can’t you at least go look?” The half-demon said pleadingly.

“I don’t know, it seems a little too risky,” Taen said cautiously. “I mean, we nearly killed ourselves pulling you out the first time, what with this weird weather.”

Looking down at her blankets sadly, she felt on the verge of tears over the loss of her car and most her worldly possessions. “Oh,” she said sadly. “I-It’s okay. You don’t need to if you can’t, or don’t want to.”


“Well…” He started. “W-we can try if it really means that much to you. What do you need the most? I hate disappointing people.”

“Most of all,” Aleena started. “I need my sword, for my own protection. After that, if you can find some of my changes of clothes, that would be really helpful”

“Alright then, We’ll rescue your sword, and some clothes if we can find any before we freeze,” Taen spoke gently.

As apprehensive as she was about sending stranger to find some of her things, Aleena would not deny help when it so willingly presents itself. To this, she simply smiled, too tired from her ordeal to talk anymore. Resting her head on the pillow, she allowed her body to begin resting from its long ordeal. Maybe now she would get a chance to really rest, despite the raging storm just a few feet away.

There was nothing but coldness. The wind and snow blew across the empty white desert. The young summoner had dressed himself in more fitting clothing for the weather, and now was much better suited for traveling. But first things first. The river. It was still frozen, as it had been before, and the car that held Aleena’s belongings was more than likely frozen underneath. Kida and Korale swirled urgently in Taen’s mind, driven mad by their corresponding elements present here. He’d probably need those two the most.

The dust of snow scurried along the ground, spiraling like a mini tornado, before setting back against the cold earth. J walked ahead, clearing the snow in their path. Thankfully, that wasn’t a heavy job, because they had already cleared some of it when they had gone here the first time. They came to the river, which had developed a good layer of snow over it.

“It’s… completely frozen…”

And not only that, but the car was trapped under the ice. Thankfully, there was enough of it sticking out to pull it free, the exposed half being the part with the trunk.

J walked to the edge of the ice. “Think you can bend the ice to get the car closer?”

“Mayhaps” the summoner replied, and then moving his arms closer the ice. He punched his fist into the river, breaking off parts, and reaching into it with his mind. Then, he lifted his arm up, and shot his fist out, a spear of ice, pushing the car up and closer to the shore. J reached out, and pulled it all the way to land.

“Wow. That is very… smashed up.”

After Taen had bluntly stated the obvious, seeing as the roof of the car had caved in and there was no more front or engine anymore, he walked towards the trunk, which was dented all over. “I don’t even think her stuff is in any usable condition.”

Silence. The aching cries of the winter wasteland drew nearer and nearer. A figure took form away from them, and rushed after the two. Its paws dug into the snow, and ripped it apart, as it’s body grew closer. Taen drew his blades, and readied his swords. J readied his blasters, and dropped his visor over his eyes.

Something was coming. Something that did not want them there.

"Uh... bad doggie?"

A white beast erupted from the nearby underbrush, coming at the young men with incredible speed. J stumbled backwards and instinctively fired off a few bolts of plasma towards the beast. One shot only grazed the hulking wolf before he slammed bodily into the armored man.

The monster was incredibly swift for its size and had taken J completely off guard. The soldier grimaced slightly, partly because of the beast knocking the air out of him, and partly for letting his guard down.

The armored man extended his feet behind him and pushed forward on the white wolfs neck, trying to keep it from sinking his fangs into his shoulder, but again, J was too slow. His armored boots struck a rock awkwardly, sending the entangled soldier smashing into the ground beneath the snow and the giant wolf. The beast snarled, showing off its rows of sharp teeth before lunging its head forward. There was a sudden blast of snow and ice that slammed into the side of the massive wolf, throwing him off his prey.

J quickly got to his feet as the wolf did the same, barely fazed by the attack. Before either could make a move, Taen sent another attack. A massive stream of frozen snow twisted through the air and collided into the wolf once more. With supernatural speed, the white beast tore through the assault and slammed into the elf, who barely had time to raise his swords to defend.

The elf slid backwards for a bit before sliding his left foot through the snow behind him and pushing forward with all his might. A brilliant red and gold flame shot out from his duel swords and the wolf was sent flying backwards through the air, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake.

The beast turned in air and landed with all fours on the trunk of a large tree, quickly dashing to the snowy floor afterward and disappeared under the white surface. The frigid forest fell silent again... other then the howling wind and snow and the rushing river and cracking ice of course.

Suddenly, the snow erupted from within and the giant white wolf rocketed at its prey once more. Taen had almost no time to react as the beast came from behind. A flash of metallic metal sliced through the air and stopped the wolf dead in mid air. The tree J had his foot planted against cracked and moaned from the pressure of stopping the charging beast that was now attached to the end of his grappling hook. The white monster let out an ear piercing howl of anger and pain, but was ceased suddenly as Taen brought his duel swords down, dying the white snow with deep crimson.

“Heh, good work with the fire there. Worked a whole lot better then your snow attacks.” The tall young man joked, locking his metal claw back into place and making his way over to the elf.

“Yeah well... Guess I owe you one now for save’n my neck.” The elf commented as he drug his swords throw the snow, cleaning the blood off them.

“Darn right you do.” J replied. “Nah, you pulled fuzzy off me once, too, so were about even. So... should we go and see what’s left of the car?”

Taen nodded and the due trudged back to the riverside. J grabbed hold of a sturdy looking tree with his right hand and fired off his claw into the ice water. Taen smirked slightly and watched for a few moments. J was obviously having difficulties.

“Er... yeah... I’m ganna need your help.”

Wordlessly, the elf crouched next to the riverbank and touched the waters surface with his palm. He then thrust his hand up and the center of the flowing river rose up. The muffled sound of creaking metal and scrapping rock was heard as the wrecked car was slowly dragged up through the mud and ice.

Soon after, the wreckage that didn’t even look like a car anymore was on snowy land and J had managed to pry the trunk open. A mangled suitcase and all manner of wet clothing littered the inside, along with a few other various toiletries and purse items.

Taen frowned as he picked up what was left of what appeared to be a well-crafted katana. The blade was bent and snapped in two.

“...She’s not ganna be too happy about that...” J stated solemnly.

OoC: Yes, he has a name. If your character asks, it's Terran. =P

BiC:

Though snow and ice obstructed the view, they could easily tell that night would soon fall. In fact, seeing at all in weather like this could be nothing short of a miracle in most people’s eyes. The brown-haired youth was ill equipped to deal with the kinds of conditions he now faced, wearing only a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, the warmest apparel he could find. Adding to the surely comical appearance had to be the sunglasses he wore to protect his eyes in substitution of goggles.

The youth muttered wordlessly under the breath of the cold, piercing winds as he trudged through knee-deep snow to walk back home. However, he nearly dropped the precious supplies he carried as the cry of a wolf sounded from the direction he needed to go. Darn it, I don’t need this right now, he thought. Still, he pressed on, ever vigilant and on high alert in case the dark figure of a wolf came out from the whiteness of the air around him.

Crossing the bridge, the lack of visibility hit him harder then before. Even from the sidewalk of the bridge he could not look down and see the river, only a mass of whiteness that lay fifteen feet below. Suddenly, another howl sounded from beyond the veil, this time accompanied by the sickening sound of metal cleaving flesh. He shuttered a little, put-off by such a horrific sound until he realized… someone else was out in this hell of a blizzard too.

Now, he could’ve easily dismissed this person and left him alone. After all, if they could handle a wolf in a blizzard, they didn’t really need his help. No, he couldn’t. What if they were weak, or lost and needed assistance? The supplies could wait a minute or so, it wasn’t like his home lay on the other side of town to begin with. Tucking his packages closer to his chest, his slow trudge turned into a speedy run, despite the layer of snow on the cold concrete.

Quickly turning off the bridge, he carefully ran down the steep, slippery embankment of the river over to where he heard the sounds. As he swiftly approached he could make out two figures huddling over a mass of iron, or steel, and a dead, white wolf bleeding crimson on the pure blanket.

“Hey!” He shouted, trying to gain their attention. “Do you guys need any help?!”

By the time they turned around to see him, the young man already stood directly behind them, as though he always had.

“No, I think we’re doing okay,” spoke the tall one in the strange armour.

“Oh, well, then maybe you should come inside and get out of the snow? I have a place for you to stay, if you wish to.”

“It’s okay,” responded the shorter one with the pointy ears. “We already have shelter, but thank you for asking.”

“Oh, okay then,” replied the man awkwardly. He could not think of anything else to say, for he had no idea that they would reject his help. Although, he stayed planted on the spot, curious of what they’re doing. At first, he had no idea what they hovered over until he saw a mangled taillight sticking out of the snow. “What happened here?” He asked curiously.

“Umm…” Taen looked for the right words. “One of our friends sort of crashed her car into the lake.” That was the best he could think of for this kind of situation. It’s not every day you see a car frozen in a lake with its back and sides all smashed up.

The man blinked a few times. “Well, that is some bad luck now, ain’t it? The person got out okay, I pr’sume?”

J nodded solemnly, “Yeah, but she is pretty badly hurt. Not enough to kill her though…”

After another awkward gaze, the young man began walking into the town, beckoning the other two forward. “Well, then maybe I can help. But first, we should get out of the snow.”

Taen jumped off the end of the car holding Aleena’s sword and suitcase. The wind chilled the elf, but J and the man seemed unaffected. The armored man was okay because of the suit, but the other one was no more dressed up than Taen was. The summoner wiped snowflakes off his arms and followed them in suit.

--------

Rat-tat-tat

The door creaked as it opened upon the frozen wasteland. A smiling elderly face met them inside as his hands beckoned them in. Taen went over to sit on the couch, clutching his arms together and forming a ball of fire in his hands the size of a tennis ball. J, however, just stood in the middle of the living room and eyed Aleena, whom was sitting at the table with a blanket over her shoulder, drinking either tea or coffee. The third man stepped through the door, and the elderly gentleman looked intently…

“Terran?”

J smiled hopefully at the silver haired young woman as she came into view. He held out what was left of the luggage he had brought with him and walked over to set it down beside her. “Hey, uh. This is all we could retrieve from the wreckage.”

For a moment, she looked pleased to see that hey had returned with her belongings, and hopeful to see if her sword had made it as well, but her expression fell as Taen reviled the broken pieces of metal to her.

“Oh, no...”

“Er... sorry... its how we found it.” Taen stated solemnly as he walked over and handed her the two halves.

“No, no, that’s alright. And, thank you very much for going out and retrieving my stuff... I cant thank you enough.” The half demon was trying her best to sound cheerful, but anyone could tell that she was pretty broken up about her sword.

“Terran?” Asked their elderly home keeper. J Glanced around and noticed Marvin addressing their new tag along.

“You know him?” J asked

“Of course I do. He lives here, don’t he?” The old man stated. He then turned to his grandson. “Where’ve you been, son? What took you?”

“Sorry, Grandpa, but they ran out of Early Grey tea. I tried to find another store that had it, but they all closed. I got everything else on the list though.” Terran smiled and closed the door, not even red from the sudden change in environment.

“Rats. I guess we’ll just have to ration the tea,” Marvin sighed as he poured some for J and Tean.

“Oh,” Terran said suddenly as he sat at the table not looking at Aleena. “There were Snow Wolfs out there. Actual Snow Wolfs!”

“What’s a Snow Wolf?” Tean asked, looking over from the couch.

“Well, wolves that are made completely out of snow. What bothers me is that they only show up in places they know will remain covered in snow… for up to months at a time.” A look of genuine worry shot across his face as he dumped a couple of lumps of sugar into the tea. Not for himself or his grandfather, but for the town in general.

Meanwhile, the half-demon continued to stare at the broken pieces of sword on the table. Why did this have to happen so soon? Weren’t they supposed to be neigh indestructible? At any rate, she now found herself practically unarmed, mildly hypothermic, and now upset while in wet clothes under the blankets of an elderly man’s house with four strangers. Looking at her suitcase, she immediately became thankful she got the airtight version, allowing her some clean clothes to change into.

“Excuse me,” she said quietly. “I’m just going to go upstairs to change.” Grabbing the suitcase, she carried the broken remains of her once trusty Katana up with her to the guest bedroom.

The elderly man sat at the table to sip his own tea, in deep thought about the events that just transpired, and those yet to come if the snow did not stop falling.

This may not have been home, but it felt like it.

Taen sat comfortably on the couch, leaning his head back against the cushion. He knew he’d have to go out again in the snow, and for a much longer period of time, but for now he just rested. The smell of tea filled the room. He pondered over the snow wolves, as well as other creatures that were possibly made of now. If they are all just made of ice, then they shouldn’t be that hard to take care of. Kida, the ice dragon, said in his mind. You could just take control of their bodies and destroy them.

Then Taen came up with another thought. Or use them myself. He smiled slightly. Whatever force was controlling the blizzard was more than likely using ice magic. He would just have to use it more skillfully…

The elf got up and walked over to the old man. “So, when did this blizzard start?”

The old man set down his tea and licked his lips. “About two weeks ago. It started off with just frost in the morning. The next day, all the roads are covered in a white desert.”

“Any idea what could have caused it?”

He shook his head. His grandson addressed the two of them “There is a doctor in the opposite part of town who may know something. You could al go down to talk to him once the girl is done dressing.”

The elf wondered what was taking so long. He didn’t figure that the houses here had a working water system or a decent heater, with the cold, so that ruled out her showering. However, he decided to go and check…

He pulled himself up the stairs and eyed the door that had light coming from underneath it. After knocking twice, he waited for an answer.

Silence.

He called her name, asking her if she was okay.

Nothing.

He cautiously reached for the handle, hesitating for a second before pulling it all the way open.

“A-lee-na?”

She turned around, chest and neck bear, her pale skin glistening in the light in front of Taen. Upon seeing him standing there, she screamed and covered up with a towel, then reached for a nearby object.

“YOU PERVERT! I’LL ****ING KILL YOU!!!”

Taen darted around the corner as the lamp met the wall, shattering as he rushed down the steps. The lunar demon ran out of the room with a shirt pulled over her head. She leapt out at Taen, but was intercepted by J, whom struggled to keep her from mercilessly castrating the young elf.

Taen froze as the girl shouted various obscenities at him. He tried to speak, but was unable to fit a word into Aleena’s insults.

The old man stared wide-eyed at the group, but spoke nothing of it. Instead, he mentioned the doctor again. “So, erm… do you still wish to see this doctor?”

The ice dragon Kida rolled her eyes in Taen’s mind. Smooth.

Well this was awkward. J nearly hurt himself several times trying to restrain the silver haired girl. Finally she was able to slam him into a wall and run past, but J barely managed to catch her from behind before she reached the elf.

“Ow, what’d I do?” J asked the flailing young woman. At this, she settled down, but just slightly. “Taen, you’re an idiot. And miss, we don’t have time for this.”

Aleena scowled and moved out of J’s grasp, adjusting her disheveled clothes. “So anyway, Uh” J started, looking aback at the old man. “If you want to give me directions, I can head over to the doctors myself.”

“No way. I’m going too. This blizzard already cost me almost everything I own. I want to find out what’s going on just as much as you do.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, you just woke up... from...” Taen trailed off, silenced by Aleena’s glare. “Right...” He mumbled. “Well I’m coming too.” The elf stated. The lunar demon rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later, the trio were bundled in worm coats and headed back out into the cold. The snow was almost impossible to trudge through. A little ways away from the house, J paused and glanced back at Aleena. “So, uh... this is how I was able to get you out of the river.” He explained, donning his armor in a flash of red light. The girl looked mildly surprised.

“That’s pretty neat... Where does it come from?”

“It, uh... it’s called a bio-mechanical suit. It comes from me.” The young man replied with a smirk as he continued on, creating a path in the snow for the two behind him. “So, what brings you to this... really cold place?” He called back over his shoulder.

“Well, actually, I was trying to get to the Ellid desert, but I heard a storm was coming my way. Storms in this area usually generate high winds, so I decided to find the nearest town since I was on narrow, winding mountain roads,” the half demon replied to the armoured man.

“Hey!” Came a sound from behind the trio. “Wait up!” Looking back through the blinding white of the storm, Aleena saw the figure of a man come towards them.

Terran came at blinding speed, only wearing his blue jeans and a red T-shirt. “Jeez, you guys could’ve waited for me, you know.”

“Why?” Taen spoke. “You never said you wanted to come.”

“Well, I thought you would wait on your own since you don’t know where you’re going, right?”

She pondered his words, shivering in the ever-deepening snow. He had a point, she greatly doubted if any of them knew where this doctor was. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” came the voice of J.

“So, are you going to take us to the doctor, or not?” Aleena asked nicely.

“Well, that was my intent,” Terran replied, laughing as he took the lead of the group and began to walk almost effortlessly through the blinding storm. The half-demon smiled as he took the lead, his apparent immunity to the cold strengthening her opinion of him. I wonder what he is? Can’t be human, otherwise he’d be wearing heavy clothes like us.

The quartet traveled for blocks through the bone-chilling blizzard, J and Tean keeping their eyes and ears peeled in case anymore snow wolves, or worse, came out to greet them. Each step taken felt like ten as they fought the icy wind and chilling snow. Even in such thick coats the wind pierced through with the ease of a saber, or a gunshot. Even Terran was beginning to look a little cold to the lunar demon’s eyes.

“H-how m-much f-farther I-I-is it any-w-way?” J asked as icicles began to form on his armour.

“Not far, just another block,” Terran shouted, pointing at the large shadow in the distance.