LadyElvenarcher and Shade vs. Puck the Trickster and Duke of Clubs (Plains)

[Aex]

The wind has great influence over all that it touches. The grass, when touched by its embrace, turns to water. Waves ripple through mighty fields likes water moves amongst itself in great oceans. Inhabitants of this new, green ocean, although perhaps not fish, swim around in it with unmatched stealth and speed. Why is it, then, that the beauty of such plains go unnoticed by society? Why, when discovered, are they simply replaced by buildings? Is it for the same reason that the ocean is being polluted?

On that fateful day, however, the largest threat to that place was not humanity's carelessness. Four who were destined to arrive were slowly making their way to the seemingly endless fields of green. Both the grassy hills and the flat lowlands awaited their arrival, silently sending out their cries of fear. Even knowing that they were not purposely meant harm by these four, destiny could not play out without casualties.

It was thus anticipated that the harmonious green of the plains would be compromised by the battle that would ensue the meeting of the four stangers. How badly would it suffer?

[Duke of Clubs]

Jesus answered him, If I have spoekn evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?

"Because they're envious cow herding buggers," Kellson said. Enough of this. Depressing. He carefully bookmarked his place in the Gospel According to S. John and slipped the Bible back into the pouch slung across his shoulder. There was little else in there, and it saddened him slightly; his companion hedgehog Norman was staying at the tavern several miles away. Kellson was afraid he'd be disqualified if he had a hedgehog that could grow to the size of two or three camels helping him in the tournament.

Hand still in the bag, he pulled out the flyer. "A Tournamentt fore The Agef," it proclaimed in fancy writing. Kellson vaguely wondered which age and replaced it back in his bag.

He scanned the plains, yawning, searching for his partner. He hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. Excitement did it to him. He fluttered his wings to gain altitude, briefly admiring the how the new black plumage looked. He'd dyed them specifically for the tournament.

"Where, oh where," he muttered. His partner had purple hair. Purple hair! Black dye was good. Purple? The only other color that could possibly scream in your face "Sweet Jesus, LOOK AT ME!" was hot pink. And purple dye was expensive where Kellson came from. Imported from Phonecia for the royalty and upper class, giving him another reason to be skeptical of his partner. Kellson didn't like royalty.

He found a lonely tree in the middle of the waving grass. Descending, he was caught by surprise: the grass was almost chest height. He settled down in one of the lower branches, wings still extended, and waited for the purple haired partner.

OoC: Unless that picture lied to me and your character doesn't have purple hair.

[Puck]

The afternoon sun beat down on the dark warrior as he, nigh his steed trotted along the green plains in hope for a challenge. He anxiously sat upon his horse gently patting it keeping it calm. It seems animals had a better sense of when danger was arise, and this certain afternoon his black furred horse seemed especially nervous. He let one hand off his steeds reigns to take his hood off his head, it seemed the heat was getting to him as well.

This great tournament made him smile as he thought of the great warriors who would surely want to prove themselves. He did not care for victory, even though it would be sweet. He wanted to test his might against the best. He slowed his horse to a halt as they entered the field described to him as the battleground in which the fight would occur. He dismounted figuring pets would not be allowed to enter with there masters. He took his first step into his new playground with adrenalin flowing freely threw him.

He walked along an unbeaten path causally looking around for anything that would help him in the battle ahead. The grass was long in some places almost chest height where in others it was not even an inch high. He stopped suddenly as he felt a numb almost unnoticeable headache. A power was close, not very strong, but it was there. He scanned the area to see a lone figure, with what looked like wings standing by a lone tree. The figure was undoubtedly the partner described to him. He smiled as decided to give his partner a surprise.

Stepping into the long grass for a second he found the shadows he was looking for. To his partners surprise he slowly sank into them, as Kellson looked upon wide-eyed. Kellson freaked out for a second turning around hoping to find out where the purpled haired man had gone. He found what he was looking for Tsuukai was directly behind him shocking him and causing him to stumble backwards.

“Not very sharp witted are you,” the master of shadows laughed.

“How did you…know what it doesn’t matter lets just get this battle over with,” He said with distain in his voice.

“Hah, what didn’t like my little trick?”

“I don’t like you, what do you think you are royalty?”

“Royalty where did you get that from,” he laughed for a second before continuing, “ Allow me to introduce myself, I am Tsuukai Ita the master of shadows, the black rider, but most importantly I am your partner for the battle ahead. It would be wise to remember that,” he finished sternly.

“I am Kellson, a true hero,”

“Hero,” he spat, “You think you’re a hero boy. A scrawny kid like you, with some fancy weapons is a hero. Hell if anyone fitting that description were a hero we would have enough evil to fight.”

“What you are a hero,”

“Hardly in order to be a hero I would have to save people, but I don’t seem to do that much. I am a warrior I come and go as I please fighting to become better. So what is a hero doing in a tournament, aren’t tournaments only for glory and riches I thought hero’s where selfless,”

“I want a challenge, like any one else,”

“If you lose my trust you will get one,”

“What is that supposed to mean...” He lost his words as the black riders hand grasped his throat,

“You’re a smart lad, listen to me and we may get throat this battle without anyone dieing, refuse and someone will die, and kid it wont be me,” he said letting go of the boys neck,” Now be a good boy and sit quiet,”

“Listen I am not just some kid…”

“Funny you look like one,” he said cutting the boy off again, “You are hardly old enough to be out on your own yet you claim to be a hero, I have a feeling this will be a long fight,”

The grass rippled as a power came close giving the whole land a taste of blood. A large headache struck the shadow warrior as the figure stepped into the battlefield. He close his eye’s as he did the world opened up to him, he could see blurry images of it, the only clear one came from those of power. He hunted the land in his mind to find the one he was searching for only a few miles to the east. He opened his eye’s again to see Kellson opening his mouth about to talk.

“Silence boy, our opponents have arrived,”

OoC: Now it is Shade or LEA's turn I must say it is an honor to be facing not one but both of my favorite RP'ers on ZU. I know my post is not very good but it is the best I can do. I humbley await for your posts for they will be amazing as they always are.

[LadyElvenarcher]

Winds stirred in the grasses of the wide, open plainlands, carrying with them the faint scent of two beings up ahead. Humans like herself, and yet...not at all like her. From the news she had heard borne by the pigeon she'd received the other day, the pair ahead of her must be the opponents assigned to her for this tournament she'd agreed to participate in.

A light brush of thick fur gently nuzzled her brain out of its thoughts, and she tangled her fingers lovingly into the back of Apollo's scruffy neck. He was the only one of her twelve wolves she had accompanying her. The pack didn't do so well in wide, open spaces like these plains. There was hardly anywhere for them to hide and camouflage themselves.

She felt a cold, wet nose push gently into her palm as her fingers had begun to relax. Daughter, shouldn't we be moving on? If you can smell the ones awaiting us, I certainly can.

Anna, the Dream Dancer, smiled down upon her faithful friend and companion. I know. I can't help but wonder just who my partner is supposed to be. That letter the pigeon brought me made no mention of his name or what species he belongs to. It didn't even say whether it's male or female. I'm a bit nervous, actually... I've never done something like this before.

Apollo ran his tongue reassuringly over his friend's hand. You'll be fine. Even if this partner turns out to be unworthy of you, you'll always have me.

Anna's burnt yellow eyes gleamed affectionately as she gazed at him. With a smile, she wordlessly began making her way closer towards her destination. The scent had become much stronger after a few minutes of walking, and she hastily crouched down into the tall grass, keeping as silent as possible to observe what she was up against.

Perhaps I should wait to make myself known until I'm sure I even have a partner. After all, there are two of them and only one of me.

Apollo didn't seem affected by Anna's obvious lack of mentioning him. Yes, that would be wise, I think. If they start to come toward you, though, they'll leave me no choice but to defend you.

OoC: Meh, shortness, but I'm pressed for time.

[The Shademan]

The ominously titled "Black Rider," and the vagabond youth who had been assigned as his sole partner stood side-by-side. Tsuukai's body language reflected his coarse words to the boy, his arms crossed as he leaned unconsciously away from his ally. Even his eyes spoke his disdain. The question now was simply who their opponents would be. The Master of Shadows stared into the distance, like a statue, for an entire sixty minutes. This unnerved Kellson more than just a little, making his own eyes water just watching him.

"Hmm?" Tsuukai's lids closed, finally, although just for a meager half-second, making sure what he saw was real. That grabbed Kellson's attention, and then they both saw it. The falling star. From a distance, it appeared like a rogue cloud hurtling from above, but now, as it came into focus, it became a purple trail of fire.

"It's going to land right on us!"

"Not so. I'd say that, by assessing it's current angle of motion, it will land...probably two acres or so from where we're standing. That direction."

Tsuukai's finger pointed with an air of calculated interest, an omen for the expected crash.

The comet landed just as the Black Rider had estimated. What he hadn't guessed, however, was that the unidentified falling object would land right in front of the Dream Dancer called by the sweet name of Annabelle. Actually, it didn't do so much as land as come to a slow, abrupt halt, revealing the curled up figure of a strange creature that seemed to generate the indigo conflagration all by itself.

Monkeyish in appearance, the being had large, expressive red eyes and wild, scruffy hair on it's head, while a thin layer covered the rest, the entirety of it purple. A light tint, considerably more cheerful than the hair of a certain warrior who had watched it whizz by only moments ago. When it's feet, which appeared more like clawed hands, came down on the grass, the wolf began to close in.

"Wait." Anna raised a hand, and it's movement ended. However, Apollo's face were still pulled into the toothy false grin that signifies trouble for all who see it, and his harsh growls whispered distrust in this...thing. Sometimes the faintest hint of deception can be the most frightening. However, the small creature merely smiled broadly at the four-legged beast.

"Doggie!"

Annabelle couldn't help but smile, and looked down at the childish, albeit strange organism.

"Do you have a name?"

The thing looked up at her with what appeared to be revelation and adoration.

"Konjiro!" He chirped happily, and appeared on her shoulder. He then mimicked the one who had seen him descend, only to the exact reverse, pointing to where the other two combatants stood. "Know you. Fights. Tourney-mens. S'go."

[Duke of Clubs]

That was damn well enough of that, if Kellson had anything to say about it.

“All right. Let’s go. Or, you know. We could just stand here for another hour.”

Ita turned, very slowly, to stare at him. Kellson shrugged.

“Fine. See you later.”

He began walking towards where the glow had stopped. “You’re aware that I can hear you coming up behind me, right?”

The light footfalls stopped. Pause. Started slowly again, even softer. “And now, too.” Kellson sighed and turned.

“Okay. Listen to me now and talk to me later, old timer.”

“Old?”

“You’re older than me, as you love to point out. First off, we need to work together to win this. Can you zip across the sky in a purple blaze? I can’t. This isn’t going to be a walk in the park, man. Pull yourself together and quit being such an arrogant moron. Secondly, if you touch me again, bad things will happen. To you. Not to me. And third, see point one. Now, are you with me, or is this going to have to be a two on one on one? And that would be pretty bad, because the pair would win. I guarantee it. They had skill enough to get in this.”

Ita was stock still. Then, he growled, “No one has insulted me so and lived to tell of it.”

“I suspect they didn’t,” Kellson shot back, and turned again. “None of them had skill to back up their mouth. Who’s that remind me of…”

He heard the footfalls easily now, and was ready. He whirled and grabbed at Ita’s arm, but missed, and the Black Rider had his hand around Kellson’s throat. Kellson grinned and Ita felt something prickling at his stomach. He looked down. Kellson had a knife.

“I said, if you touch me again, bad things will happen. To you. To be exact, I’ll spill your guts all over the ground and have to explain to the opponents why my partner isn’t here.”

They both eased back.

“Let’s do this, all right?” Kellson asked. “If it makes you feel better, you can commit dastardly acts of revenge or something after this.”

This time, they both walked side by side. It wasn’t out of companionship; neither wanted to expose their back to the other, but it was better than before, Kellson thought. The minutes passed by in silence, nothing but the rustle of the tall grass to be heard. It was peaceful. Kellson entertained cynical thoughts about how it wouldn’t be peaceful in a few minutes, but let them go.

“I’m gonna go aerial,” he said. “Be right back.”

He floated up into the cloudy sky. Very stormy. It would be so ironic, wouldn’t it, to be struck dead by lightning in the middle of a battle. ‘Twouldn’t be very funny, though. Kellson muttered a proverb from the Gospel of Me: It’s Only Funny when it’s Not Happening To You. Thunder rolled in a distance, a deep, booming roar.

“When it isn’t happening to me,” he muttered.

Silence. Then…

“Sweet monkey Christ!”

The flaming purple comet he had seen sped past him at Speed.

“Oh, my GOD.”

Kellson was already pulling out his rapid firing crossbow. That was the other modification to his fighting style he’d made before the tourney: he’d added a second firing mechanism so that it would shoot two bolts at one time. He cocked it mid-spin and turned to see the comet halt abruptly. It was indeed a monkey. Good call, Kellson thought. He leveled the bow.

“Try that again and I’ll put six of these in your eyes, midget,” he shouted. The thing screeched and shot at him again. Kellson folded his wings and dropped like a stone.

Ita was already fighting the other opponent. No, opponents. So this woman brings a wolf and I can’t bring a hedgehog? Not fair at all, Kellson thought, scowling. He extended his wings and flew parallel to the ground about four feet up, zipping past the woman and kicking her in the leg.

“Afternoon,” he called, flipping onto his back and looking back towards them. An explosion sent him tumbling into the sky. Monkey!

It hurled purple globes at him. “Konjiro ‘plode you!” he squealed.

Kellson stopped, hovered in the air by beating his wings faster, and held out his hand. Golden light shot from his fist, meeting a sphere thrown by Konjiro. There was a dazzling explosion, but the sphere was gone. The others weren’t, and Kellson had to wait a few seconds to charge up.

“Oh bug-“

He swooped to avoid purple flame.

“-Er!”

OoC: Dude, wouldn't it feel weird to be pwned by a demon monkey? Crazy.

[Puck]

The beast had jumped Tsuukai as he looked towards Anna. His teeth where held back by the hilt of Tsuukai’s blade only inches from his face. You really should pay more attention to your surroundings, first that boy pulled a knife on you then this I’m losing faith. The voice inside Tsuukai’s emerald mocked. Losing faith in what the thing you created. Tsuukai hissed back mentally. No I am losing faith in the master of shadows. Exactly, the thing that you created. I am not the real master of shadows only your messenger Ita barked back, obviously not in the best of moods. Enough of this Tsuukai you have a battle to win, kick this dog off you, and get the girl. Fine, he hissed back finishing there internal conversation.

The master of shadows Pulled the beast forward with his blade, just enough to bring his feet up. With a two-footed kick Anna’s friend was sent on his back. He sprawled on the ground for a second before returning to his feet, teeth glaring in a flash of lightning. He charged forward aiming for every being weak point, the neck. Tsuukai took flight backward, gabbing his deadly bow from his back. Taking aim on the ferocious wolf’s stomach he pulled a black tip arrow to the string. “Be gone!” he shouted as he let the arrow fly, the wolf was able to turn slightly in mid air, but the arrow still scrapped along his chest creating a large gash.

Apollo dropped to the ground as the wolf dreamer raced to his side. Tsuukai smiled, and turned his attention to the badly faring Kellson. The black rider laughed as he sensed the Ilangr quickly charged up another blast at the un-expecting winged warrior. The winged warrior saw the attack at the last second, instinctively put his arms in front of his face. Kellson heard an explosion but felt no pain. Dead perhaps, he opened he moved his arms to see a purple barrier a foot from his face. He turned to see his purple haired partner chuckling at his surprise.

“Was that you?” he asked shocked.

“I couldn’t let my partner get destroyed,” he chuckled connecting the term partner with that over confident twerp.

“Cocky aren’t you,”

“I am no more arrogant then my ability lets me be,”

“No one is that good,”

“What, a joke how pleasant. You will die before you even realize your full potential with your attitude.”

“I have had it with you, unless you have something useful to say just shut it,”

“Duck,” he stated calmly.

“Wha...” he started to ask confused by the words meaning. As he did a fiery streak of purple lit up the sky right in front of the overconfident warrior. He ducked still in mid-flight holding the top of his head. His arm was a raging fire for a second, but passed as the flaming ball moved on. Kellson dropped to the ground; grass about knee high flowing even more violently then before. He was more angry then afraid, but not at either of his enemies more at his confident partner.

“If you can’t take care of that monkey then I will handle both of them,” Tsuukai barked at the heroic warrior. The winds stopped whispering, and started yelling as the few trees scattered along the seemingly endless plains danced.

“I can take care of hi…it. Just get that girl,” He stated trying to formulate an attack strategy against such and unorthodox being. Tsuukai’s eyes glared at the boy, as he grew even angrier. That boy hardly big enough for his sword was trying, was telling Tsuukai Ita, the master of shadows what to do. Whatever, he hadn’t the time to teach the kid a lesson he would learn it when he looked behind him and the black rider wouldn’t be there to save him. Tsuukai turned around rapidly to seethe silver haired girl and her oddly rejuvenated wolf, Apollo.

Annabelle’s Hand grabbed a charm around her neck. Upon closer inspection it was clear that it was in the shape of fire. What it meant Tsuukai couldn’t answer, but he had a gut feeling that it wasn’t something good for him.

[LadyElvenarcher]

Anger flared briefly at the edges of Anna’s mind, but she quickly suppressed it. Losing one’s head in the midst of battle was never a very wise thing, after all. Sliding her fingers over Apollo’s head gently, she inquired as to his well-being.

Are you alright, my dear friend? Have your injuries adequately healed?

The silvery wolf nuzzled his nose into her side affectionately. Yes, daughter. I’m perfectly fine. That cursed arrow only grazed my stomach.

Anna smiled, closing her eyes half-way in satisfaction. Good. Now…shall we clean up this little mess?

Looking down at her necklaces, Anna found that her hand had involuntarily gripped one of her many charms. It was ruby, crafted in the shape of a single flame that seemed to catch the sunlight and dance all on its own. She shook her head. No, that wasn’t the way she was going to start out. A frontal assault was never logical to start a fight with. She would probe her enemies, seek out their weaknesses and then exploit them. Dropping her hand away from her necklaces, Anna sent a silent, mental command to Apollo. He nodded his regal head at her and turned to snarl quietly in the master of shadow’s direction. With a flourish of his handsomely-furred tail, the alpha male padded off through the swaying grasses of the plains to some destination known only to his master and friend.

With an affirming blink, the Dream Dancer turned her focus back onto her purple-haired opponent, sizing him up with her haunting, wolfish eyes. If it were possible for her to see through him, she would have been accomplishing just that with the intensity her gaze riveted itself upon his figure. Mentally, she made notes of his appearance, filing them away for future reference. Knowing any details about him would make her job easier if she did indeed choose to harness her conscious-probing abilities later. He was several inches taller than her and clearly much more physically built than she was, but that didn’t necessarily count in his favor. A smile crossed Anna’s face. No. That certainly didn’t count in his favor at all.

Deciding she had stalled long enough, Anna’s hand touched a charm, an almost crystal clear one with a hint of blue shaped into a lazy, erratic swirl. As soon as she made contact with the trinket, it dissolved into a bluish-white mist that flowed out from that one tiny source to blanket the surrounding landscape in a rolling, eerie mist. It was so thick that it completely hid Tsuukai from her sight. But she knew that wouldn’t matter. He would betray his location to her in mere moments. And after ticking off about five seconds inside her head, she was proved right. The sounds of a scream coupled with the snarling of a wolf broke the ominous silence her mist had created.

Not bothering with moving, for Anna could clearly sense Apollo’s presence about 45 degrees northwest of her current location, the Dream Dancer touched another charm. Within moments, she held a simple, yet well-crafted, wooden bow in her hands, an arrow already nocked to the sinewy bowstring. With stealth that would make her wolves proud, Anna slipped gracefully through the inhibiting mist toward the sounds of the struggle between Apollo and the so-called master of shadows. While moving, she allowed herself to briefly wonder what had become of that quite intriguing creature that was her partner and their other opponent. Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on the present task at hand. She was certain that Konjiro could take care of himself.

When she had judged she was within range, Anna raised her arrow-laden bow and pulled the string taut until her tensed fingers touched her right shoulder. She closed her eyes, knowing that sight wasn’t necessary for her at the moment. To guard against any possible miscalculations, the Wolf Dreamer sent another message to the one whom she counted among her dearest friends.

Apollo. I’m loosing my arrow.

Two seconds after she’d said those words, she made good upon her promise.

[The Shademan]

Konjiro's large eyes, as cute as they might appear, work independently of each other for a sole purpose: to hunt with greater ease. The Ilangr are not a herbivore race. And this special trait serves Konji well as an advantage in battle, most notably in a situation with multiple threats.

One eye was previously trained on his current foe, the human who hardly merited the title of man. Not due to stature, but sheer green-horned late adolescence. Konjiro's other eye, however, had tried to study the progress of both his partner and his opponent's. This way, it would be exceedingly difficult for the demon to be caught offguard by a sudden trade of enemy targets or a double-team strategy. The tables took a turn for the unexpected when that mist, like a cool miasma, spread out throughout the entirety of the battlefield, leaving Konjiro without a clue as to where Kellson might be. Both of his eyes aligned with themselves again, and he squeaked in frustration. At the same time, the scream of the Master of Shadows audibly shocked the furry creature, and it blinked twice, looking around for the source, but finding nothing. Gradually, the purple beastie descended, to land in the foggy blur, and hope he came upon his enemy.

"GOTCHA!"

With a technique admirable of a swordsman, Kellson swept his body from the ground around where Konjiro came down, his blade coming at the creature's chest in a vertical sweep.

CLINK.

Kellson's eyes practically bulged out of his head. On both of Konji's hands were now large gauntlets with spiked knuckles, and he had caught the blade with almost bored ease, his bushy, wild fur now draped over his face. The blade began to grow warm, hot with the flames of his occult magic. Gritting his teeth as his hands were on the verge on smoking, the brown haired swordsman finally let go of his weapon. In the flicker of an instant, Kellson had two large cuts on both cheeks, and he was slapped aside with the broad side of his own weapon. The tinkle of metal that resounded afterward was the sword being dropped. Konjiro planned to continue his assault in a far different manner. His solely visible tooth glittered as his eyes glowed with mischief.

Spheres were the next thing the eighteen year old saw. Dozens of purple spheres. He covered his face at first, but that was helpless. He saw they weren't approaching him to roast his flesh. What a relief. So, what were they doing? The hint came in the form of a spark of light, followed by a crackle, that flickered across his weapon, which now lay beside him. Beams of electrical energy rippled and pulsated visibly around him. The hair on the back of his neck rose, and his hands and feet felt asleep.

Through the mist, just far away to be out of his field of vision, Konjiro was beating his fists to his chest and grinning broadly, waiting for the sound of his lightning to strike.

[Duke of Clubs]

Ugh.

Kellson took a quick stock of himself. Head—pained, bleeding; limbs—tingling, probably asleep; weapons—somewhere in the mist, ‘cept for a knife; general—not good.

He frantically looked around through the mist. This wasn’t going well. Sword…sword…there!

It lay on the grass, smoking. He scrambled after it.

Something purple shot in front of him.

“Jesus!”

He slid feet first towards the sword as violent violet sparks appeared in the mist, circling around him and shooting at any visible skin, especially his face. He tried to raise his arms to fend them off, but it hurt… He cried out, huddling in a ball ask the sparks got bigger and started hitting his armor. He fumbled with the catch and threw it off. It was better to be open to attacks then sizzle like a hot hamburger. Some of the lightning, still getting bigger, zipped off after it, but most still kept railing his body, scorching his skin. Screaming, he raised a hand and blasted a line of energy through the sparks. The smaller ones disappeared in the golden light, but the large stayed to attack him. He rolled over and over on the ground, trying to catch them under his body and shove them into the dirt. Finally, blessedly, the attack stopped. Kellson was trembling uncontrollably from the charge. Shakily, he got up and staggered over to his sword while recharging a fist with godly energy. Where was that goddamned monkey, he was going to catch it and ram this light down its throat, the bastard…

He heard a cackling through the mist, some growling, and another scream. Ika wasn’t doing well, either. The monkey was out there, as was the wolf. Damn all of them. Kellson turned to leave, to fly away, get out before he got it in the form of spikes in the throat. The monkey probably knew where he was; he’d been yelling loud enough. And he didn’t know where the monkey was. Yes. Time to go.

He extended his wings to their fullest span, preparing to depart. Then he stopped.

Duh. The wings. Idiot. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He flew up into the sky, over the mist, and started beating his wings as fast as he could. It wasn’t his best, far from it; the electricity from the attack had left him barely able to pick up the sword, much less fly for long. The fog cleared a bit under the rhythmic pulse of his wings. Bingo. Heartened, he began flapping harder rather than faster, long, strong strokes that you could hear as a whump, flap, whump, flap. The mist thinned considerably.

“YA-HAAAA!”

The monkey shot out of the lessening fog, nailing Kellson in the side and slicing at his now unprotected chest. Blood spurted over both of them. Kellson screamed in pain and lashed out with a fist, catching the monkey on the side of the head. They both fell to the ground.

The monkey was up a lot faster than Kellson. The young man slowly raised himself up with his elbows. He should’ve left. Thunder boomed again, much louder than before. Too late to bail now…

OoC: I have to say it: Kellson says, "I am SO TIRED of this MOTHERF***ING MONKEY ON THESE MOTHERF***ING PLAINS!"

I couldn't resist. Proceed.

[Puck]

OoC: Well put DOC. Anyways here is my post it is nothing compared to the greatness of Shade, and LEA but it will have to do.

BiC:
Somewhere in the midst of the battle, a small almost silent sound buzzed through the misty air. Cutting through the heavy atmosphere the arrow soared at its unsuspecting target. Tsuukai sensed something was about to happen what he didn’t know. Seconds grew into hours as the arrow slowly and decisively picked it’s spot. A glimpse caught his, something shining in the mist. Before he knew what it was he was on the ground in pain, an arrow sticking out of his arm. His body went to the ground for only a split second. As a true warrior would he quickly returned to his feet ready for whatever hell was next.

Placing his hand around the enchanted arrow, he pulled it from his flesh causing a waterfall of blood to emerge from his wound. Fight threw the pain, teach them the meaning of war, a voice spoke to the master of shadows. Not another word, this is my fight not yours I will win it as I please. The voice took warning, and did not speak again.

In the mist a pair of small footsteps trotted along an unbeaten path. Stalking the black rider, aiming for death. Closing his eyes’ the purpled haired warrior was no longer deceived by the world. He could see anything with power. He focused on the beast. His mind hovered threw the even more blurry world, looking, searching. Finally his mind focused on the source of the power, the wolf only a few feet behind him, ready to strike. Tsuukai dropped to one knee not from the every rising pain in his arm.

Apollo was almost upon him. His heightened vision could see the shadow kneeling, a perfect time to attack. Using his full force he leapt from the ground. The blue mist swirling around him as he dove, but before his teeth, and claws could reach their target he was stopped short by a wall. It seemed it had decided to come in the most unlikely of time, certainly not by mere chance.

Apollo took no time to lay on the ground he bonded to his feet, teeth glaring in anger. The wolf sped around the newly created obstacle, but as he did a shadow laid in wait. As his body bound around the unlikely barrier a blast of black energy shot him off his feet, sending him into the seemingly endless mist, fading from sight. A sadistic smile of victory crawled over Ita’s face as he stood still in the dense fog. Waiting for something, what he did not know, a scream in the dark, a face wrenched in pain, the flap of wings, the end of lost sight. Around him the purple mist lightened, not away completely, but enough to see clearly. What he saw was not the best of things; the demon had a pair of metal spiked gloves, and was charging at his only ally. While his favor did not rest on his partner, he could not let himself be double-teamed.

The hand of Tsuukai went into his cloak for a split second returning only moments later with a small dagger. Not big enough to fight hand to hand, but enough to cause pain in which ever it chose. The blade was tossed over the shadow covered ground threw thick grass, and into the leg of a demon. It seemed Konjiro had yet to readjust his eyes to look at both opponents. This allowed Tsuukai to attack from behind, while the monkey was distracted. The cute face of Konjiro tightened and wretched as the blade dug into his hairy leg.

“I owe you one,” Kellson bellowed over the blood stained plains, as he prepared to face a slightly weakened opponent.

“No, this makes two,” The shadow stated matter of factly, as he drew his saber. He stared at it; he noticed it was still surprisingly shiny besides being used for many years of battle. He could see himself almost perfectly in its reflection of the world. Not only that he could see behind him as well. What he saw was another arrow just like the one before about to be set loose. Not taking a moment to think he noticed the entire land was covered in shadow by the storm brewing above.” Covered in shadow,” he whispered to himself, slowly sinking into the shadows below him.