The Gem of Peace (Yep & Ryoka Sulfinare)

[Yep]

The sky was clear with the sun blessing Meadowtown, as well as the rest of Kior, with its light and warmth. The temperature was pleasant, and the occasional breeze felt rejuvenating to the body. On a day such as today, one would think the townspeople would be in good spirits.

Too bad that wasn't the case.

With Malphas' iron-fisted rule ever-present thanks to the Death Force, the people could never be happy. They walked through the coastal town with the same amount of liveliness as zombies. Talk was rare and only done when necessary. Those who were from outside the continent would find the quietness odd, but to the people who lived there, it was normal. They knew that talking would only attract the unwanted attention of the Death Soldiers that were posted throughout the small town. If people wanted to talk, they knew it was best to wait until they could go into the privacy of their homes where no one would be eavesdropping.

However, despite what the outward appearances of the townspeople suggested, they weren't completely miserable. There was hope for change, thanks to the prophecy that was told twenty years ago. And that twenty years was finally up. All they had to do was wait for the Chosen to make his or her appearance and defeat their heartless ruler, just like the prophecy said.

Among the townspeople was a man who looked like he was in perfect shape for fighting. The bulging muscles on his arms told of the strength he possessed, and the toned muscles on his torso could be seen thanks to the thin, sleeveless shirt that clung to his body. The attire he wore to cover the lower half of his body showed that he was from the now barren village of Wild Tree--a rare sight to see, since its villagers had been either enslaved or killed by Malphas' subordinates two years ago.

And it was for this reason that Skoul kept himself in the middle of a crowd of people. He wanted to avoid attracting the attention of the Death Soldiers, knowing that they would attack if they spotted him, thanks to the garb he wore. The man had considered changing his attire to blend in, but, up until two months ago, he had normally kept himself in the wilderness. Since he was the only one left of the tribal folk of Wild Tree, he tried to keep hidden so that he could avoid suffering the same fate as what they did. However, he couldn't continue to hide anymore, not when he was looking for a particular someone. And that particular someone was the Chosen. The twenty years had been up as of two months ago, and since then, he had been traveling all around Kior in hopes of finding him or her. He wanted to aid them on their journey.

Of course, so far he hadn't had any luck. But he wasn't ready to give up. He would continue searching until he found the Chosen. For now, he would stay in Meadowtown before moving on to Port Coral. So, with that, he continued to walk, keeping his gaze straight ahead and his face stoic as he ignored the occasional intimidated glances of the people walking beside him.

 

[Ryoka]

Next to a set of buildings that marked the entrance to an alleyway, a 13-year old teen leaned his back against one of the buildings as he stared ahead, either rather boredly, or his thoughts were completely elsewhere, given by the distant look of his icy, light blue eyes. The male dressed in that of nothing more than a plain white T-shirt, with deep blue shorts that ended just above his knees. He also wore simply light brown leather boots, which didn't really fit the almost moderned style of clothing he wore. To match the boots, he wore light brown leather gloves as well. Both gloves and boots seemed to be a little too big for him to wear, due to the wrinkles in them.

This teen though, was surprisingly that of a rather muscular build. Not completely over done, but evident that he did a lot of time working his body out a lot. He finally gave a sign of movement, lifting his right arm from his torso which his arms had been crossed together at, the teen moved his hand near his face, his knuckle closer to his lips. Out of the knuckles from his gloves, ice began to form, take shape, and seemingly materialize. Forming 3 icicles that were connected to the fist of his glove. The boy neared an icicle to his face, and began to lap his tongue across it a couple times slowly. Smooth. Cold. Tasteless. In a way, it reminded him that of the metal of steel, but without the slight metallic taste. He continued to lap the icicle with his tongue, as he thought. It was ironic, that he was thinking about what he should think about. He had nothing to do that he could think of. Well, there was always trying to get his next meal, but with the conjuration of ice, dying of starvation was never a problem. Ice melted into water in which he could drink. It wouldn't have made his stomach very happy, but it was worse than nothing.

The teen continued to lap for a few more seconds, then let forth a sigh. His arms dropped to his sides, his left hand void of any of the icicles stuck to his knuckles, while his right hand seemed to keep a hold of the conjuration he had formed. Why did he have to have himself born in this day of age?

 

[Yep]

From a nearby roof, a Soldier had spotted the boy just inside the alley across the street. He noticed the use of magic, and that was what made him focus solely on the teen. The use might have been for innocent purposes--the teen was only sucking on the ice that he hard formed on his knuckles--but the laws were the laws. Magic of any kind was prohibited--except for those who were a part of the Death Force, of course.

But there was something else that made the teen catch his eye. Such innocent acts were being twisted in such perverted ways. A bulge formed in the black trousers the Soldier wore, most likely unnoticeable to any who looked up and saw the man standing on the roof.

After a moment, the Soldier made a running leap of faith to a roof across the street and next to the alley in which the teen was standing. He just made it, his heels right at roof's edge. The Soldier walked over, crouching down at the ledge where he could look down at the boy. He was done sucking on his ice now, and from where he was positioned, he couldn't see the icicles on were on his right knuckles.

Now was the chance to strike. In one fluid motion, the Soldier went from hanging on the roof with a single hand to dropping down in front of the teen. Almost as soon as he had landed into a crouch, he threw a punch right for the teen's gut. Once it had connected, he stood and pulled the teen away from the wall to take him into a headlock that was tight enough to make it hard to move, but not tight enough to restrict the passage of air. But he could easily tighten his grip if need be.

"You broke the law, kid," the Soldier said. His steel, faceless helmet allowed one to be able to see the wolfish smirk on his face and the wicked gleam in his brown eyes. "No magic. Now you got to pay. You like to suck things, do ya? Well, I got something you can suck on."

 

[Ryoka]

The teen's eyes had eventually closed as he continued to think. He soon heard a sound above him that caused those icy blue eyes of his to open. He glanced upwards, but didn't really try hard to see anything. It was something he didn't really want to be bothered with.

It was then that his eyes lit up in surprised before squeezing shut in pain as he grunted out from the blow to his stomach. The child buckled over, clutching his gut with his arms; the icicles in his knuckles dissolved into nothing but drops of water that fell to the ground. Before he knew it, he was being held in a lock. He grunted out, trying to struggle free from the grip as his hands went up to pry the man's arm off of him from the hold. His face a grimaced as he opened his left eye to look behind him at the man, hearing his words. The boy let out a weak snort in disgust. "I was licking, not sucking you idiot..." he managed to croak out. The boy then would use as much of his might as he could to try and overpower the man's grip around his neck with the hands he was using to pry it off as he struggled now and then to get free from the man's hold. Whether he broke free or not, the teen was sure to at least put up a good fight.

 

[Yep]

The smirk that had been on the Soldier's face was wiped off by the teen's response. "Shut up!" he barked as he tightened his grip on the boy's neck--the teen's prying practically useless. Having been trained for the Death Force, he was adequately muscled for the job. Someone as young as his victim had nothing against him. "Don't you fucking backtalk me, boy!"

A second later, the smirk reappeared as he lessened the pressure on the male's neck. "I could kill you right now if I wanted to. But I'm going to be nice and let you off with a lesser punishment. Just hold still and this will all be over soon." His smirk transformed into a grin before he slid a gloved hand up the teen's shirt to pinch at his right nipple. Before, he had been using the arm this hand belonged to for leverage to keep a better grip around the male's neck. Now that the leverage was gone, his hold was a little bit weaker, and the muscles of the arm that was still around his neck flexed to fight the teen's pull.

Maybe with a little more effort the teen would be able to pry the arm away. Otherwise, he might have to resort to another tactic.

 

[Ryoka]

The boy grunted out when the pressure was applied to be tighter on his grasp. The soldier's words were not only annoying (along with the actions of thinking he had the right to do this) but were angering him. He didn't want a confrontation -- even if he meant he had to endure this... humiliation, for a little bit in order to avoid it. Of course, he wouldn't allow himself to be stooped this low if he had the power.

So he stopped prying when the soldier lessened the pressure on his neck and spoke to him. Maybe he could make the soldier lower his guard some. That may be enough to over throw the hold and get back at him without making blood spill. In case blood did have to be spilled though... he would rather not do it out right out in the open.

The male's face flinched slightly feeling the leather go up his shirt, pinching his nipple. He let out a completely 100% exaggerated breathy groan only for the soldier's pleasure. He wanted to look like he had given up. That said, he couldn't stop the hardening of his nipple. Perhaps it would serve better for his plan, though. He wondered if the soldier could even feel him with a gloved hand; or if he was doing it only for his 'pleasure' to try and make him cave in to the soldier. It didn't matter, he begun to make his move, and he did so by saying: "...Pretty bold of you to feel me up like this right out in the open..." Perhaps he could persuade the soldier to go back into the alley a bit more. He didn't plan on anyone to come to his rescue. The people in the world were nothing but cowards; like this soldier -- picking on him, thinking he's tougher simply because he was older, bigger and had his "Death Force" title.

 

[Yep]

The groan was practically music to the Soldier's ears. He continued what he had been doing until the teen spoke. He paused with his fingers still pressed against the male's hardened nipple. "Maybe you're right," he grumbled, barely audible. He removed his hand from the teen's shirt. "Come back here, boy." The soldier began to walk backwards, which caused him to pull on the teen's neck as a result, so if he failed to move, he would be choked and dragged.

Once they were farther inside the alley, the Soldier stopped walking. He brought his left hand up to his right so he could remove the glove before letting it drop to the ground. Suddenly, he forced his now bare hand down the teen's shorts, rubbing over his flaccid dick and balls. "Hope you're ready to be my bitch, boy," he said, a quiet, dark snicker escaping him afterward as he pushed his pelvis into the teen's back so he could feel his bulge. To his ignorance, his hold on the teen's neck had loosened a little.

 

[Ryoka]

The boy listened, much to his disgust as to what the soldier was still doing, he had a faint grin on his face hearing the soldier's words.

When being dragged back, he wasn't paying too much attention due to thinking of his plan and choked a bit realizing the soldier was stepping back. He held any noise in though and slowly walked himself back along with the soldier. His eyes kept looking behind him, just waiting for the opening he needed. His eyes followed the hand that came up, and when the glove was taken off and thrown down to the ground, he couldn't stop a gasp coming from the sudden touch of the man's hand going into his shorts. A low moan escaped him as his tool began to spring to life. Let it. He needed to wait just a minute or two more, than he would be sure he could get out of this without a confrontation. He felt the grip loosen a bit more. He was close. "Hold your dignity in a little bit longer. It is only dignity. A glorified emotion. Don't let it get away of your success. You can handle this. You've handled it before long ago." He thought to himself cooly.

By now, the teen slowly dropped his arms, trying to show at this point he had given up completely. After all, if he dropped his arms, he couldn't make any sudden moves... or at least, that's the thought he wanted to give. The boy craned his head back a little bit, as he moaned out: "Has it always... felt this good...?" No, it hasn't. How much bait could he throw out at this point was completely questionable. He found himself actually mentally laughing at the situation. This soldier, he probably wouldn't know what hit him. The more he touched him, the more he sealed himself to the youth's bait.


[Edited... with less gloves magically appearing in shorts...

>.>;

<.<;]

 

[Yep]

The smirk on the Soldier's face widened as he felt the teen's dick grow under his touch. "You're liking this, aren't you?" He rubbed his bulge against the teen, unable to contain the quiet moan. As much as he loved the foreplay, he needed to speed it up. He was horny as hell.

"You haven't felt nothing yet, the soldier said in response to the boy's words. He pulled his hand out of the teen's pants before unfastening them. He yanked both them and the boxers down so that they fell past his hips. Now that that was taken care of, he turned his attention to his own pants. He pulled his pelvis away from the teen so he could get to his belt. With most of his attention on undoing it so he could unfasten his own pants, his grip on the teen's neck had loosened a little more.

 

[Ryoka]

The boy let out another moan in response to the first set of the man's words. Oh, how he hated how slow this was going. What disgusted him the most was probably the fact that all the touching indeed felt pleasurable, and the sounds he was emitting was not entirely just for the soldier's pleasure anymore. The bulge behind him however wasn't pleasurable at all. It was just a complete nuisance as far as what he felt. But if it made the soldier feel good, it was good news for his plan. He soon felt his shorts coming down as well. That too, was good. Everything was falling into place.

With his member half aroused, but free, the teen squeezed his eyes shut. Just a little bit, he let a small bit of urine drip from his tip onto the floor. Only a few drops. Not enough to make a noise of it coming into contact with the ground. With that, the urine quickly froze over into ice and then silently, began to spread in a thin line across in front of the teen. The more it spread, the quicker it was able to spread even more. The boy however, didn't want it to be obvious and cover the entire ground... yet. He just needed a bit now so he could spread it quickly when he needed to. The time to act was soon.

By this time, the man would be busy with his pants and belt. The teen took slow deep breaths, trying to show he was a bit nervous. He needed the man's pants to be down for him to make his move. Or more specifically, in the process of being pulled down. The boy turned his head around slowly, not wanting to make a sudden jerk to provoke the man to grip any harder; only to make it look like he was curious as to what the man was doing. He already knew what he was doing, but did it just for looks. The teen wished his brown bangs of hair would get out of his eyes though. He found it a bit annoying. Many things seemed to be annoying him lately, but his hair was annoying because it made it harder to see his mark of the man. "You're... going to put it in me...?" The teen asked, pretending to be unsure, inexperienced. Oh he knew that was what the man was planning. And as soon as those pants were in the midst of dropping, he would indeed make his move. Ironically, he wanted the man to hurry this up. If he was such a pervert, he should have loosened his belt.

 

[Yep]

The Soldier was unaware of the spreading sheet of ice on the ground. He was too focused on what lay ahead to pay attention to much else, but he did feel the teen move his head. Out of natural reaction, he brought his arm against the male's neck, although he didn't apply pressure, and he glanced at the teen, a scolding look on his face. Seeing that he was just turning his head to look, though, his expressions softened and left the teen alone to return to what he was doing.

His belt was undone. He moved to his button, and that was when the teen spoke. He glanced back up at him. "Of course," he said as he unbuttoned himself. He moved to his zipper. "Hope you're ready."

The Soldier pulled his trousers and undergarments down past his hips, exposing his seven-inch, circumcised dick, before letting them fall the rest of the way so that they rested around his ankles. He brought his left hand up to his mouth to spit on his fingers before bringing it down to the teen's anus. Without warning, he jammed his index finger up inside him. "So tight," the Soldier cooed, the smirk unwavering. The job to lube the teen up a bit was completely half-assed.

"Bend over, boy," he commanded as he removed his finger from his hole. And if the teen didn't comply, then he would force him to, which would cause him to move his arm away from the teen's neck. Either way, he would quickly line his erect cock up with the teen's hole afterward before shoving its head on inside him, moaning from the tightness as he slowly moved into him.

Of course, all of this was assuming the teen didn't do anything after the Soldier had removed his pants.

 

[Ryoka]

The teen hesitated at the tightening of his neck. That unfortunately, made him hesitate, and made him miss his mark. That was okay. He had another idea. He just needed to be patient for a moment longer. As he waited for the right moment again, his eyes glanced down at his own member. To the index of his right leg, staring at a barely visible, but still presentable scar there. It was faint in the skin, almost like a birthmark in a way.

The boy's face grimaced in pain and his head jerked a bit upwards losing the vision of the scar. He grunted from the finger jamming into him. A scowl appeared on his face. This soldier was so going to get it. His breathing became heavier at the degrading pain he was experiencing, but at least it was soon over.

Then the soldier ordered him to bend over. He hesitated again -- but this time it was him pretending. Those are the words he was hoping to hear. He slowly went down on to his knees and placed his hands in front of him, bending over as requested. Going slow to show he was making no sudden movements. His right boot just touched the thin line of ice. Once the soldier was hovering over him, the ice once again would spread, not in a line like before, but as if it was a piece of rolled up paper paper being unrolled away, becoming wider, and wider. The teen let out another gasp as he felt the head penetrating him. A few more seconds he would be ready. He let out a groan of pain -- truly a groan of pain as he felt the man pushing inside of him. Fortunately, he was ready now, and shouldn't have to suffer this crap anymore.

The ice had spread completely under the man. And since his foot was making contact with the ice, he willed it. He controlled it. It was an extended part of him. With his power, a almost spike like figure shot out of the ice; although it was as if the tip had been snapped off, for it was flat; thus being not lethal, through the pants of the man, and hopefully, smashing into the man's sac. With not even pants in the way, there should have been nothing to even cushion the blow. With his hands on the youth's thighs and on his knees, no way for him to avoid the attack that didn't even make any noise or even had the teen of making any sort of motion of moving to produce the attack. If that was successful, The teen would have raised his feet, and kicked the man away with both of them, thus proceeding to stand on his two feet and pull his shorts up... assuming his idea he had been waiting minutes for worked.

 

[Yep]

The Soldier was still ignorant of the ice, too wrapped up in the pleasure of being inside the teen's tight hole. A moan escaped his mouth as he continued to move farther inside him, but he wasn't able to get inside him completely before he felt a sudden, harsh pain. He loudly yelled in pain from his balls suddenly being smashed.

And next thing he knew, he was kicked away. The soldier lay there on the ground where he landed, clutching his aching balls as he yelled and cursed in pain.

"What the hell's going on down here?" came a masculine voice from the alley's entrance.

Sure enough, it was another Soldier. It took only a glance at the scene to figure out what had happened, and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the teen. "You attack one of us? You're a brave kid." He unsheathed the double-edged sword that was hooked to his belt.

But before he could do much else, a figure stepped behind him. The soldier's eyes went wide and his jaw slackened as he gasped in pain. He fell down, revealing the man standing behind him at his full height of six feet, two inches. A dagger was in his right hand, its blade bloodied from where it had impaled the Soldier in the kidney.

Skoul lowered the weapon to his side as he looked at the teen, his expressions remaining stoic. He ignored the Soldier who continued to groan in pain. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice deep. Despite being from Wild Tree, where its villagers used a different language, his pronunciation of each word was clear and distinct.

Shouting came from somewhere nearby, and it sounded like it was growing closer. Skoul glanced in the direction from which it came before returning his attention to the teen. "More Soldiers are coming. You should leave."

 

[Ryoka]

The boy watched the man buckle over, gripping his package in absolute pain. The teen could only grin at the sight. The grin was soon cut short and instead replaced by an annoyed look as he heard the voice behind him. The boy didn't even turn his body around; only glanced by craning his head around some to see yet another soldier there.

"Yeah. I completely ambushed him with his pants down. I'm a real hero." The boy remarked sarcastically at the soldier, before his eyes lit up with slight surprise seeing the figure behind the soldier. The teen half turned his body around to watch the scene without any real emotion as he looked up at the man who came seemingly to his aid. "Yeah, quite peachy. Flattered, actually." The boy remarked. "Quite honored to be targeted by a sexual predator." He said as he crossed his arms over his torso. "Now I know I look good." It was hard to tell if the teen was actually replying sarcastically or not. In a way, it wasn't a lie.

Then the shouting came, and the boy narrowed his eyes some in annoyance. "Like bees drawn to nectar. They come like swarms..." he muttered in annoyance. He looked at the man as he listened. The boy raised his left foot forward, and then swung it back, hitting the downed man in his package without even looking. He wanted the pain to stay fresh. He was getting off very easy. Had the soldier not shown up, he would have had a bit more play time with the man to get payback in his own way, but it would seem like not today. "I've already given myself away. It takes a while for my aura of cold to die down once it's released." He said, meaning that his body right now would be cold to the touch right now. "If I bumped into somebody in the streets, it would start an even worse commotion since other people will be involved." He explained.

 

[Yep]

Skoul listened to the teen as he looked down at the soldier lying on the ground in sheer pain. He hadn't seen the teen with his pants down, but even without that, it was rather clear what this Soldier had been trying to do, even without the teen's words. As for what the teen said, Skoul had no response for him. He wasn't good at showing sympathy or concern, and he wasn't sure how bad the encounter had been; for all he knew, the Soldier hadn't had a chance at touching the teen inappropriately. Either way, the teen seemed fine, based on how he acted.

When the teen did the foolish thing of kicking the Soldier in the scrotum, Skoul stepped over to the yelling man, covering the distance in two large strides. The Soldier, whose eyes were shut from the pain, didn't see the foot that came crashing down on his neck. They didn't need the Soldier shouting to give his comrades a better sense of where they were located. However, there was still the corpse that was lying just inside the alley. Skoul turned to that, but he stopped when he heard the teen say he couldn't take the streets.

"Then take the rooftops," he said as he stepped towards the first Soldier he had killed. He picked up the corpse by the steel chestplate it wore. "I will lift you up there." The teen mentioned the aura of cold. He understood what that implied, but he was sure it wouldn't be something he couldn't handle for several seconds, especially since he wore gloves. Skoul tossed the corpse so that it landed on top of the other dead Soldier, the armor clanking together upon impact.

The shouting was growing louder. They were getting close. "Hurry," Skoul said. He crouched down and cupped his hand together, waiting for the teen to step into them so that he could boost him up to the roofs. While there was a chance this teen could handle himself, Skoul did not want to take the chance of him getting into a tough situation that would require Skoul to aid him. He would be able to fight better without having to worry about watching over a kid. That, and it was best to keep him out of the sight of the Death Force. They would easily put up wanted posters for anyone who fought against them, should there be that chance that they saw what happened and lived to see another day. While suffering such a fate would make Skoul's goal on finding the Chosen harder, he would rather it be him than a kid.

 

[Ryoka]

The boy looked at the man almost questioningly. He didn't like running away, but as he had already done just a moment ago, he forced himself to remember that pride and dignity was only foolish ideals when it came to making rational decisions.

Rooftops, huh? He watched as the man positioned himself to give him a boost. He could very well reach the rooftops by himself, by doing so would leave a bit of ice everywhere, which would have given who he was away a bit if any of the soldiers coming did live, and were able to investigate the scene. He'd rather not take unnecessary chances, and so, with a nod, walked over towards Skoul, slowly moving on his hands with his feet. It was fortunate that the teen was actually fairly light due to his shorter than normal size, most likely.

The teen reached his arms up and when he was able to grab the edge of the roof, he would have pulled his feet away from the man and with a bit of a heave, pushed himself up onto the roof. When that was done, he glanced down.

"I won't be too far away. I like watching fights. I'll make sure to keep out of sight though."

With that, the boy stepped back a bit, and lay himself on the rooftop on to his stomach keeping low, and out of sight. He couldn't really see, to be honest, but he would be at least able to hear just fine. As he lay down, a small bit of frost would have surrounded him due to his energy flowing around as he had said. A small bit of white powder coating the roof just slightly.

 

[Yep]

Skoul had no problem lifting the boy up. He was cold to the touch, but he was sure it would have been not-so tolerable if it wasn't for his gloves and the shoes the teen wore. When the teen had grabbed onto the roof and started hoisting himself up, Skoul dropped his arms to his side. He heard what the teen said, but gave only a nod in response. He turned towards the alley's entrance, and in just in time time to see a Soldier stopping at it.

"In here!" the Soldier shouted to his comrades as he withdrew his sword. Skoul thought about using his preferred weapon, but decided against it. There wasn't enough room for that. Instead, he reached down into his boot to unsheathe the dagger he had put away earlier in order to help the teen. Seeing the Soldier closing in, he prepared. The Soldier stepped into range and swung his sword down at him, but Skoul sidestepped it before slicing at the man's throat. Ignoring the blood that managed to spray on him and the choking sounds as the Soldier collapsed to the ground, he turned his attention to the alley's entrance once again.

There were more soldiers--five, to be exact. Rather unfortunate for them, they could go in only two at a time. The one on his left thrust his sword forward, and Skoul dropped to the ground before lifting up his feet. He wrapped his legs around the Soldier's arm and pulled him down to the ground while thrusting his dagger into the other soldier's gut. He pulled it sideways, opening a gash large enough to let more blood come pouring out. Ignoring it, he pulled out his dagger and got to his feet, but he stayed crouched as he saw two more Soldiers advancing into the alley. When they got close, he reached for the Soldier who had been trying to stand after being pulled to the ground. Skoul threw him into his comrades, and when they all toppled over, he ran forward and jumped over them, making his way toward the fifth Soldier.

Despite his size, Skoul was quick on his feet--more so than what should be possible for a man his size. He easily covered the distance between him and the Soldier in a matter of a couple of seconds. The Soldier swung his drawn sword horizontally at an attempt to wound Skoul and stop him in his tracks, but the Wild Tree native ducked under it before maneuvering so that he ending up right behind the Soldier, the pommel of his dagger going straight for the back of the Soldier's exposed neck.

But then he stopped.

A flash came from the sky. Skoul looked up, and everything around them went quiet and still as others did the same. Seconds later, Skoul noticed a speck in the sky. It was falling towards this town, and as it grew closer, he could make out the green color, which occasionally gleamed under the sunlight. And as it grew closer still, Skoul realized what it was: the Gem! The one the prophecy told of. It lowered toward a nearby rooftop, and Skoul's eyes widened infinitesimally, shattering his stoic look, as he realized who the Gem was seeking.

The Gem, an emerald the size of an adult's fist, hovered inches above the ground, right next to the teen on the roof, as if waiting for him to take it.

"It's the Gem!" shouted the Soldier right in front of Skoul. "Get--" He wasn't able to finish, for Skoul had snapped his neck. The Soldier fell, and the Soldiers who were left alive and mostly unwounded ran out of the alley, shouting amongst themselves as they tried to figure out how to get up there. Skoul charged at them while their backs were turned, planning on taking them out. If that kid is smart, he will run and get away from here. The other Soldiers probably have seen the Gem's descent, and they are most likely be making their way here.

 

[Ryoka]

The boy watched on top of the roof top, taking more of a peek the more into the fight each of the men down below got deeper into it. When the flash came though, he bit his lip and sunk back far out of sight in case anyone looked around to see where it came from. He too, didn't know where it came from. It was only when the gem had nearly reached its decent towards the ground did he notice it. Then even later than that, his eyes widened. "Is it heading towards me?!

He couldn't just bolt in run. He would make too much noise and he would be seen since people seemed to have been interested in this gem. Of course they would be. It was a gem falling from the sky, what wasn't interesting around that. He did the only thing he could do and that was crunch his form up to be a small as he could as he covering his head by tucking it closer to him and placing his hands on top of his head for protection so the gem didn't hit him.

He didn't hear any sound of contact after several seconds. Did it fall yet? Surely it had to by now, it was descending far too fast for it to not hit by now. Maybe he panicked and it didn't fall anywhere near him at all?

He slowly unfolded his hands and dared take a peek. Gasping but catching it in his throat as he remembered he needed to not make noise or he would be spotted for sure. The jewel was floating right in front of him, as if expecting him to take it.

No, he didn't want to get involved. If he took it, how the hell would he hide it? It's not like he could just stuff it inside his shorts. He had no big enough pocket to just slip it in. He had no hat to hide it under and no extra piece of clothing to even cover it up. But if he moved now, he would surely be heard and spotted. Even with his magic to aid him, that would still leave lovely ice trails and damp areas from where his ice melted leading straight to him. He doubt he could fit the gem through with it. Maybe he could, but he dare not try. If this thing was going to bring attention, best have it and be hunted for it than to be hunted and not have it.

He didn't know why, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he would have rather have had continued being molested as he had been a moment ago than to see a gem fall from the sky and be floating in front of him.

Speaking of which, it was still right in front of him. And glowing. He shook his head rapidly to get rid of his thoughts that have wandered off and quickly grasped the gem. Maybe it would dim for him once he grabbed it instead of somehow using magic to stay afloat. Now, he needed to think of a way to get out of here, unseen with the gem.

This area here was pretty subtle.... well, it wouldn't be for long, but there was lots of alleyways and such for him to go over. The first thing he should do, is at the very least move away from this location where the gem fell. That would be priority number 1 that needed to be done right away.

The boy slowly pushed himself from his stomach onto one knee as he scanned around. If he could get higher than this pathetically low rooftop, that would be better. There was no way to get out of here inconspicuously without simply moving. His normal get away tactic made too much sound. Icicles shattering on rooftops was not at all stealthy. And with the gem, he couldn't really get a hold with his hands while holding it. He would just have to move the normal way and hope for the best.. Going as far back from the fighting as he could, the teen glanced over to the next roof top over, fixed the weight in his legs, and with a small grunt from the effort, managed to cleanly jump across and land onto the other side. He sucked in his breath from the impact. It was a small sound, hopefully not loud enough to be heard, and more importantly, perhaps he simply wasn't seen. If he was, well... this could get interesting rather fast.

 

[Yep]

Skoul managed to take out the three Soldiers with ease, and well before they could figure out how to get to the rooftops. However, there were still more coming. He could hear their shouts, which grew louder with each passing second. Any citizens who had been left in the area started clearing out, not wanting to risk being killed by being in the Soldiers' way.

Because of this, he had more room to work with a different weapon--one that would be better than the dagger he currently wielded, especially when there were going to be so many Soldiers coming soon. Skoul slipped the dagger into the sheath hidden in his boot before holding his left hand out to his side. Right afterward, light appeared in his hand, quickly taking the shape of a spear. Half a second later, the light disappeared, showing an actual spear in its place. For the time being, he set the butt of the weapon on the ground.

Little to Skoul's knowledge, the teen had jumped to another roof, although he did figure the boy would be moving from here by now. He would just have to hope to find him later. For now, he planned to fight and hold off the Death Force so the Chosen could escape.

However, someone else soon discovered the teen. On the opposite side of the roof, hands appeared at the edge, and, a second later, a feminine face followed. The woman pulled herself up in a fluid motion, but before she could push herself up onto her feet, she froze at the sight of the teen before her. Locks of her auburn hair blew lightly in the gentle breeze that blew through the area, and her lavender eyes widened infinitesimally.

"You're the Chosen?" she said. To all who know about the prophecy, she was clearly referring to the Gem that had fallen from the sky moments ago.

"You dare stand in our way? You'll die!"

The woman glanced down toward the nearby street from which the raspy masculine voice came. It was a Soldier no doubt. She could tell by the pompous inflections. She looked back at the teen. "Let me help you out of here." Her face showed sincerity with what she had suggested. Would the teen trust her?

 

[Ryoka]

Was only on his knees ontop of the roof when his eyes locked ahead of him seeing the female in front of him. The boy's body tensed slightly as he cupped the gem against his chest in his arms, almost as if he was holding a stuffed animal in a way and he was a little child. His light blue eyes looked her over quickly, although he had a serious look in them.

"Chosen?" He asked almost in a 'I don't believe you' kind of tone. He didn't understand what she meant. He was a nobody, always had been since he was born. Chosen? He almost laughed, he would have laughed if he wasn't trying to get away as it was right now with this giant gem he straddled in his arms right now.

Then he heard the voice behind him, he half turned his back around to glance behind himself to look at the soldier. The teen let out a grunt of disapproval at how many there were. You'd think 95% of the world had become the Death Force. Of course, that's how they generally ruled; in numbers.

He turned his head back around hearing the woman in front of him speak again. He didn't trust her, not in a distrust kind of way. He only knew that she hadn't clearly attacked him yet for any reason, so she had to at least be a half decent human being. The teen only gave a short nod with his head before pushing himself up, and moving off the edge of the roof more into the middle. He was glancing around quickly, trying to find another roof to move to, but by now there were probably so many he would most likely be seen. For now, he stayed where he was, trying to be out of sight as much as possible. He needed time to think. Carrying the gem, he couldn't use his ice to just slip away. He highly doubted he could make the gem go through his ice...

 

[Yep]

The woman paused for a moment at the teen's tone. Did he not understand what she was talking about? Perhaps it was possible the boy hadn't learned about the prophecy. Given how much the Death Force hated it, people were usually punished for speaking of it, even though some often did, so it was a possibility.

Either way, she would have no time to explain right now. There were Death Force in the area, and they needed to escape immediately. She didn't think they had been discovered just yet, but since they were still in the area in which the Gem had fallen, they would most likely be searching the place avidly.

At least, that was what she thought until she heard the sound that came next. The numerous blood-curling screams coming from the street in which that one Soldier spoke made the woman jump a little as she remained knelt at the roof's edge. She quickly turned her head in that direction, seeing the dark smoke that was rising from that area. The Soldiers were on fire! She was unaware of the large man who was battling them, but she at least knew that someone was on their side. For a moment, she thought about helping them--given how many Death Soldiers were in Meadowtown, they surely wouldn't be able to fight on their own--but she was more concerned with making sure the Chosen remained safe, and since someone was kind enough to provide a distraction, it was best to use it.

Speaking of whom, she returned her attention to him. "Follow me," she said quickly. "I know a passage we can take out of this town." She turned on her feet, but remained crouched. After stealing a peak over the ledge to make sure there weren't any Soldiers down there, she jumped down, landing in a crouch to absorb the impact. She stood up afterward and looked toward the roof. If the teen hesitated to come down, she would offer to catch him and do so if that was what was needed to get him down. Either way, once they were both on the ground, she would quickly lead him down the alley in the opposite way in which the sounds of fighting could be heard.

 

[Ryoka]

The boy glanced towards the direction of the screaming before his eyebrow raised in curiosity to the fact men were on fire. He stared with interest for a moment but then forced himself to pry his staring away as he glanced at the woman who was soon speaking to him to follow. Having nothing else he could really do, the teen indeed followed her. As they both moved while still squatted down moving to the edge of the roof, when the female would drop down, he would drop down next right after, without hesitation. He wasn't helpless or anything like that.

Much like her, he too would land in a crouch, although it was harder for him, holding the gem and all, he couldn't use his hands to really balance the impact so he wobbled a bit but still managed fine and stood up after. Still, he would follow her, having no real option lest he felt like getting caught. The gem seemed important; it sure came down from the sky and made quite an entrance so it should have been important more than just looking pretty and catching a high price, after all. If it was just price, the Death Force would have been fighting over it themselves most likely. No, they had a common objective to retrieve the gem and keep it, it would seem.

"So what is this passage you're speaking of?" He would ask as he ran beside her, still holding the gem like it was the only thing important to him in the world -- according to the situation, it may be just like that.

 

[Yep]

Seeing that the teen had managed to jump down to the ground on his own, the woman gave a small smile of approval. That showed he had some form of ability. Good. Seriousness returned on to her features almost right afterward, though. The sounds of fighting from that one street continued. "Let's go," she said, leading him down the alley in the opposite direction.

It wasn't long before the teen asked a question. She didn't answer right away, as they had reached the end of the alley. She peered out onto the street to make sure there were no Soldiers around. It would not be good if they were attacked. She had no weapon--she dare not carry one around town, lest she wanted to attract the unwanted attention of the Death Force. As for the Chosen, she had no idea what kind of combat ability he possessed.

"It's in my home," she said. "It's just down this street." It looked like they were safe. "Follow me." She looked back at him, a small, playful smile on her face. "I do hope you can keep up."

With that, she bolted out of the alley and down the street before turning to a small, wooden home that had been just a few meters away. "It's this one," she said as she approached it. She opened the door before stepping inside, and she held it open long enough for the teen to enter as well. Once he did, she hurriedly closed it before turning around.

The living room was small and clean. In the middle of the room was a small table with a rug underneath it. On its top was a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a short sword. "Now, tell me," she started as she stepped over to the table. "Can you fight? And do you have a weapon? I can give you my short sword." She slung the quiver onto her shoulder followed by the bow. As for the sheathed sword, she picked it up and turned to face the teen.

Her lavender eyes drifted to the Gem he held. "You'll need something to conceal that in. We can't have you attracting unwanted attention." She looked around the room in thought until her gaze came to rest on a knapsack laying on the top of her short bookcase. She stepped over to retrieve it before turning to the Chosen. "This will be big enough," she said with a small smile, holding the green bag up. "I hope you won't mind using it."

As she approached him, she realized something. "Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe I should introduce myself. I'm Jasmine." She smiled warmly as she stated her name. "And what about you? Can you tell me your name?"

 

[Ryoka]

The teen looked towards her and continued to follow as he was keeping the gem cupped against himself, almost in like a futile attempt to conceal at as much as possible. Why she would have a secret passage in her home was questionable to him, but he would rather take his chances with 1 stranger compared to an entire death force fleet. He was good, but he wasn't that good. At her words of hoping he could keep up, the boy couldn't retain a smirk crossing his lips. She had some smug in her, that was for sure.

Continuing to follow her, they ended up what she called her home. When she opened the door for him, he walked inside as expected to. He only took quick glances around the room to just get an understanding of his surroundings in the house, then his eyes would have looked up to the woman.

When his combat abilities was questioned, he stayed quiet for a few moments, letting her continue up until the point until his name was asked. During that time, he simply held the gem with both hands up in front of him, staring at the thing.

"Souta. My name is Souta." He would have answered as his eyes drifted away from the gem to look back to her as he lowered the object a little in his hold. "I can fight fine without a weapon. The way I fight is special, but..." His eyes looked at the bag, and then at the gem. "Holding something on me like that will severely hinder the way I fight in almost every aspect. It might be easier for me to show you then explaining it, but that might ruin your house a small amount..." he would say. Needless to say, it was better to have the gem in a bag then not, so despite that, he would go over and grab it from her and begin putting the gem inside of it.

 

[Yep]

Souta. She repeated the name in her mind a couple of times to make sure she remembered it. As far as what he said about how having the knapsack would hinder his ability to fight, she frowned a little. Regardless, he took it. "Sorry, I would give you something else if I had something that it could fit in. Maybe you can find something better in another town. Hopefully you won't need to do too much fighting until then."

Jasmine paused for a moment as she attached the short sword to her belt. "And I think I will take your word for it. But I take it you use ice, right?" She glanced at the patches of ice that led to the doorway. "Your little pathway could bring trouble right for us. Whoever was fighting off those Soldiers for you is a big help, but there are bound to be some who will skirt around him." She turned to the table and stepped over to it. "So we should keep going."

With little effort, she pushed the only table to the side--there were no chairs around it, although there were some situated around the room that looked like they belonged to it. Once that was off the rug, she lifted it up and tossed it to the side. Lastly, she put her finger in a small hole in the floor and pulled, lifting up a square piece of the wooden flooring to reveal a trap door. She opened it before looking at Souta. "We'll be going down here."

After saying that, she lowered herself to the ladder and slid down it. Jasmine jumped off before she reached the bottom; she used this passage so often that she knew the ladder's length. There was a lit lantern, which appeared to be magically enchanted, on a small table next to the ladder. Jasmine picked it up and turned to face the darkened tunnel, which looked wide enough for two fully grown adults. The walls, ceiling, and floor were nothing but dirt.

"It's kind of weird having something like this in my own home, right?" Jasmine said, mainly out of an attempt to keep this trip from being silent. She started down the tunnel. "You see, my family has always been hunters. Thanks to Malphas and his laws, my parents couldn't take their bows out to the forest without the Soldiers getting after them. So my daddy decided that we needed this in our home." She chuckled lightly. "I wasn't born at the time, but I can just imagine my mom's reaction. Anyway, yeah, that's why we have this. It's come in handy a few other times, and it looks like this is one of them. This will lead us right to the forest. If anyone does try to follow us, we should definitely be able to lose them in there--as long as you don't keep making those patches of ice, anyway." She looked at him, a playful smile on her face.