Riding The End (L3 | Archived | Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

[Jokerman-EXE]

Osiris threw his hands up in exasperation as they went at it again. "THERE'S A CHILD PRESENT, GOD DAMN IT!" he roared loud enough to silence the group. "The Humans, as much as I hate to say it, are right at this point. Zuberi, go grab their weapons from inside. Tell them I sent you."

The little boy ran off and Osiris rounded on the group again. "Now, let's get this straight. Humans, you're at our mercy. I won't let them hurt you if I can help it - which admittedly isn't much at this point - but you do need to act like you understand your position. And you," he said, rounding on Theridan and Nine, though mostly Theridan, "need to back off and give them some space. They're our only lead to Aeon at the moment, so we need them. Which means treat them like more than prey, because they're an asset."

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it out slowly. "Are we all in understanding right now? Because if not, I'm sure Ashling would like to straighten out anyone who continues to hold up our mission. Ashling?" He looked up at her with a slight smile.  

[Venom3001]

"Um, Phallo is our only lead to Aeon," Theridan corrected him. "Though... fine. One thing first." He looked Trajan and Donnie in their eyes in turn, expression firmly set to avoid revealing... something. "Were either of you in the initial attacks on our neutral ground?"  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

Donnie nodded to Trajan then Osiris, and met Theridan's gaze last. "No, I was not. I apologize for my outburst as well, but still stand by what I said." He sighed and rolled his shoulders. Then he gave a sideways glance to Saturnine. The Fae made him nervous, especially now when the Dane didn't have anything remotely resembling a weapon aside from his own body.
 

[Venom3001]

"I'll maintain my control as best I can for now, then," Theridan replied, voice strained. It's not their fault, any more than Phalanx's insane scheming is my fault.  

[Isa-sama]

Ashling was lost in her own thoughts before Osiris called out to her. What was that? Oh. Hurting someone who held up their mission. Her eyes took on a sadistic gleam. She was looking at Nine as she said her last sentence.

Phallo wasn't gonna mention the fact that he knew where Aeon was, but then Theridan opened his mouth. "I was wondering when anyone would notice little ol' me." Ashling flicked his back. "Ow. Other than our wonderfully tall friend." He sneered at the humans. "If our new friends want to lead the way to Aeon, I say let them."

Zuberi finally came out of building carrying all sorts of weaponry. He was struggling to hold all the guns and supplies together and nearly tripped several times. He tried to give them to Osiris (but the man couldn't really take the weapons). He got scared holding all these weapons and wanted to pass them on to someone.

In the end, the boy chose to go to Ashling. I'd really rather not have these things decorating my branches, but I'm not sure if I can trust any of them NOT to use them. Nine was insane. Theridan would rather kill them and be done with it. Phallo was a possibility. Osiris was trustworthy, but it'd be difficult for him to hold on to the guns while he was still injured. There's still our new Dryad, Morea... Cypress forbid he ever gets his hands on one of these metal stick things.

With a sigh, she started to carefully place them on her branches so that they wouldn't fall off. The things that couldn't be balanced on branches were held by Zuberi (he decided to climb her and stay away from the fighting men).  

[Venom3001]

Damn it, Theridan!

Your knowledge of Aeon is the reason Ashling is protecting you. Not like they don't know.

"I'll take one if you don't want to bother with them all," Theridan volunteered. "A Rancor I knew taught me about them at one of my previous posts. There's a thing you can do so they won't shoot their bolts. I think I might remember how to do it, so they'll be useless even if we give them back."  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

Donnie smirked at Theridan's remark; his ignorance was amusing, but also make the Dane curious. What exactly was he going to do? If the Trow broke his weapon, DuPont would be fuming something fierce.

"Just try not to break them... please."
 

[Venom3001]

"Let's see," Theridan said, inspecting the weapon once he received it.. "Looks like your weapons are different from last time I did this... but... here we go." He ejected the clip and stuffed it in his pocket. "There was something else... to 'eject the chambered round,' I think he said? Where... ah, right, the alternative solution. He pointed the gun at the ground, gritted his teeth, and fired the chambered round into the dirt, kicking a spray of it up. He tossed the now-ammoless gun to Donnie.  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

It was such a simple thing, and yet Donnie couldn't help but feel impressed. It was a shame he didn't know how to just eject an otherwise perfectly useful round. On instinct- and perhaps to help their initial wound heal- DuPont caught the gun and displayed its right side to Theridan. He hooked his pointer and middle finger under the bolt and made sure he got the Trow's attention. "For future reference, the bolt is right here." Then he gave it a yank, and let it slide back into place. "That way we don't go wasting precious ammunition."
 

[Isa-sama]

SHITROOTS. s**t. ON. ROOTS.

The sound from the gun was loud and many Fae civilians looked out to see where the noise came from.
Because shooting off a HUMAN WEAPON in an ELVISH city and having said weapon be held by an ENEMY (first a Trow, then a Human) did not look good. Especially when the city is in panic.

She grabbed two people - in one hand was Phallo ("Hey!") and the other held Osiris. Nine deemed it worthy to show the group the fastest way out of the city. They headed in that direction with little argument.

They did not stop running until they were a safe distance from the city. No Fae soldiers followed after them. Probably has to do with the Archmage's deal with these humans.

She carefully set Osiris and Phallo down on the ground. What we need is a plan. It was still dark, their little group didn't have much faith in each other, and they had no idea what they'd be doing the next day. Cypress help us if we have another fight.  

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

When the tree started moving, Donnie silently complied with her demands. Once out of the city, when they had time to contemplate their future, DuPont's answer was rather simple. "Well for starters, I'd like my ammo back. No, I don't really trust you, and I know none of you really trust me, but I do believe in honor. And I am a man that will honor his agreements to the T, and I do believe we have an agreement to work together for the time being. It'll have to do."
 

[QuietBlue]

((Sorry guys, I've been kinda sick lately -_-;; ))

The sound of the gun was loud, too loud, & Morea reflexively covered her ears. She remembered that sound from when she was a youngling, hiding from the battles, & a brief childish terror swept over her. She recovered quickly, but not quick enough to realize that, by covering her ears, she had lost her grip on the steeply-slanted roof she had been listening from & promptly slipped over the side. She caught herself before she fell completely, but she was pretty sure she saw Theridan smirk in her direction. Well, his mood improved rather quickly, she mused, then realized that the sound that had momentarily panicked her had also panicked the resident Elvish population. Ashling was furiously ushering the group out of the city & Morea realized she'd better follow quick lest she lose them. She trailed behind just a little, curious to see if the group would be followed. They weren't, surprisingly enough, & she could have sworn that was Azriel himself calling off the troops.

Oh, my Queen, she thought, there is something very strange going on here. But will I ever get the chance to tell you?

Whatever this 'Aeon' thing was, it was obviously very important to not only the Fae & Trow but also the Humans. Perhaps it would eventually affect all the races. She had to know more, but she couldn't just ask directly. Besides, with this group's track record, she was sure they'd need her healing services again. She chuckled to herself & took off after them.  

[SirBayer]

"Rifle, now please," Trajan requested. "The gear I have here still works. I've got a tight-packed three-man tent, but that's, well, three-man. I'm suggesting we wait the night out. The elves can take turns keeping watch - you obviously won't want us to. In the morning, we just start marching. Doesn't seem complicated." Trajan didn't even notice Morea rejoining the group; he was not familiar with all the faces, so he assumed she was part of it in the first place. Or at least since no one reacted violently, it was reasonable to assume she was part of the group.

"When we get there, we deliver the message. Then we tell them we know where a lead on Aeon might be, we get a chopper through that promise, and we drop where we want. End of story."  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Osiris cracked his back when set down, stretching slightly and feeling more strength in his limbs. That medicine was wonderful. He had to remember to thank -

Speaking of Morea, there she was. Osiris smiled at her and said, "Thank you for your medicine. I feel great. Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here? I thought you had somewhere to be."

Osiris realized that he wasn't exactly in a position to try to take control at the moment. He'd let Ashling, the Trow, and the humans figure out what they were going to do. Part of leading was following, after all.  

[QuietBlue]

Morea smiled at the compliment. "You are very welcome, sir," she said, taking a moment to look at him & the others. They all seemed to have healed well, but she was looking for one in particular...

"Ah! There you are!" She exclaimed when she saw the child up in the Trent's branches. She was very pleased to see he had healed so well. "Please come down so I might see you?" She looked toward the Trent (Ashling, yes?) & the Druid. "If you do not mind, that is. I wish to check his progress."

She frowned a bit at the Druid's question. "I do, yes. And yet I seem to have used up all of my potent medicine-" she pulled out her now mostly empty stone container from her satchel "-on a particular group of travelers." She winked at the Druid. "I must at least try & replace the components so I can make another batch when I return home, as it is quite difficult to make." She chuckled a bit & continued. "Plus, you are a most interesting group, & were you to find trouble along your way, I would feel terrible knowing I could have been there to help." It wasn't the entire truth, but it wasn't exactly lying either.

She shrugged & cast a wary glance at the Humans. She was intensly curious about them but they seemed fierce as Rancors & just as unfriendly. But Azriel had freed them & this group had chosen to join with them. All for the 'Aeon'. She straightened to her full height & looked at them. No better time than the present.

""Human- speak- speak words- is hard. I Morea- learn- try-ing from you. Please- with us- kind- be kind &- I help.""

She was sure she sounded like a sapling trying to use their language, but it was the best she could do. The others seemed to have a better grasp of Human-speak, so perhaps they could help her learn. In the meantime she could keep a close eye on them in the process...