Wielding (Raziel99 and Oreo)

[Oreo]

The place: Earth

The Time: Now

Plot: The world is slowly falling apart. Environmental issues, greed, and war have brought humanity to the verge of collapse. To many it appears this is just the way of things. But the true cause lies with scientists delving where they should not have. Thinking they were finding a way to fix the damage man was causing, they inadvertently opened a breach. A tear in the reality of the universe. Our plane of existence is not the only one. While our world holds to technology, the alternate realm depends entirely upon magic. The only way for these strange and varied magical creatures to exist in the realm of earth is by merging into a human host. Some are evil, some are neutral, and more are coming.

Not all of these beings are evil but those that control their hosts openly, have intentions that will drastically change the human world. Scattered throughout the continents these people are waging war for the dominance of earth. Their purpose is to destroy one world to expand the other. The realm they wish to destroy is earth.With the scientists the first to be assimilated the rift stayed open and the entities continue entering those humans who seemed to have the temperament necessary to understand and fight.

The three factions fight in single duels, and sometimes even in small skirmishes. As the possessed humans fight they manifest the powers of the other-worlders to increase their own skills, and to gain new powers. Each time a fighter kills or stuns another they gain the ability to manifest more of the entity within them.

They gain incredible power, but the world as we know it is almost certainly going to end. The question is which way will it go, will the inhabitants of Earth be destroyed, or will those of the other realm lose their existence, or will the worlds merge, creating a permanent pathway between the worlds, and possibly even a new hope for all?

The Power Types
Breakers: Those humans who have destroyed the minds of their entity and control them. They always fight for either a merging of the worlds or the destruction of the magic world.

Possessors: Those other realm beings who have broken their human counterparts and fight to either destroy the human world, or to merge both worlds.

Wielders: These are the rarest those who have joined side by side with their other entities, two minds inhabiting one body, who fight together. They always fight for the unification of both worlds.

=======================

Character Name : Alacrity Bane

Age: 28

Gender: Female

Personality/Motivation:

"I don't care to watch the battle from afar. If I can't control it, why look?"

Alacrity has a clarity of convictions that often leads her to arguments, her natural instinct urging her to fight in the face of those same convictions. Though experience has taught her that restraint is the better part of valor, too often she has found herself victorious but alone. Improvising on the fly, is something she does with ease. Seeing what needs to be done, she remains resolute in conflict, ready to send the valiant into the mouth of hell so long as she is leading the charge. When challenged she may by reflex become argumentative, or simply unleash an icy gaze that serves notice, 'do not trifle with me'. She does everything with great passion.

Alacrity's motto: "I'm really sorry you have to die."


Appearance: Alacrity stands tall for a woman at 5'9", her long hair is pure silvery white. Only her crystalline blue, almond shaped eyes, stand out as having any defining color; while her full, slightly pink lips, fade in comparison. Her features are fair, her bone structure delicate. She keeps her slightly pointy ears hidden beneath her hair. (Her hair skin and ears changed from the affinity with the other-world char.) She prefers loose flowing blue pants that would look almost like a dress if she didn't keep them shoved into her blue suede boots. Her blouse is peasant style, white with blue embroidery around it's scooped neck.

Side: Merging of the Worlds

Power Form: Wielder

Other-worlder Type: Ice Elf

Powers Afforded by manifestation: An affinity for the cold, small tricks like freezing with her hands. (These powers increase as the RP progresses.)

Short History: Alacrity was born and raised in Northern California. When she turned 18 she began her job as a ski instructor for the handicapped in the winter months and a part time ranger for the conservation corps the rest of the year. Most of that time was spent alone backpacking through the Marble Refuge Forest making repairs to the trails and checking for up-to-date fishing licenses. Her hobby since early high school is Capoeira Fighting. A few months before the entity found her she had met the man of her dreams, or so she thought. He walked out of her life within weeks of the entities arrival. Her world turned upside down when she realized just how big the universe was and how desperately she was needed to fight what was coming. That was six months ago.

=======

Alacrity shielded her eyes from the sun streaming directly into her face. Sitting up in the back seat she tried to focus on her watch. Well she got a good...five hours of rest anyway. El stirred her mind to further wakefulness, There is not much time left. I can sense the wave of flash. They are coming soon. We need to go now.

Leaning over the seat she opened the door to her pride and joy. Then combing her fingers through her snowy hair, she climbed outside. Running her hands across the stock yellow paint job of the 68 Shelby GT, she yawned and stretched her muscles before sliding behind the wheel. Smiling, like she did every time she turned the key, it was power time. In minutes she was back on the road, eighty mph with Avantasia blasting on the CD player. A grimace and shivering of her jaw escaped as she swallowed the last oily dregs of cold coffee left over from last night. Their approach to Saint Louis proper brought with it the palpable taste of flash. The air reeked with ozone and magic. At least now she knew what to expect. Fighting, and lots of it...to the death. Who would have thought her love of Capoeira would come in handy to actually save herself and possibly the earth as well?

She had been in less than ten battles so far, but El had done his best to find weak combatants for her. She had only survived the first fight on a fluke. Arriving at a three way match, she absorbed the magic of a fallen victim before the other two had finished fighting. Alacrity fled before ever finding out which of those two had won the skirmish. Then El had led her to a newly arrived possessor. Its claim was to destroy the earth, and in moments El had surged through her veins. Her white skin had turned to a delicate blue flush, cheekbones more angular, and her breath turned icy cold while her eyes changed from pale blue to deep violet. Her customized Ronin blade gripped firmly in her hand followed her enemy with a dancing graceful precision. There was no room for error here. This was no trial or competition...it was a fight to the death.

He was bigger and stronger, but her speed and dexterity served her well. Her first two strikes had him roaring in anger. His muscled bulged across his chest with a rippling along his abdomen, before his mouth opened larger than what seemed humanly possible. Alacrity barely avoided the sonic blast of sound he had sent at her. El had sensed it coming and had her diving to the side while the wall behind her had crumbled into rubble. It seemed to take time for him to recharge for the next blast, and she took advantage of the opening. With a flying roundhouse kick from behind she stunned him. Her arm continued to swing as she landed, plunging her blade deep into his chest and shoving upward until she met his heart. As the life drained away from his eyes, his magic essence flowed into her with a visible glow. Her head rolled back, body trembling from the sheer bliss that over took her senses. Magic surged through her, and her voice stuck in her throat then shrieked suddenly as El wrapped himself more firmly around her mind.

 

[Raziel99]

"One of the few reasons I let you have some control over your mind is because you work those blades so elegantly, boy." Syn said in a rather teasing voice in Alexander's mind. Ten of the possessors were dead from his skills, the last one wasn't even a challenge thanks to some help from Syn. That rush of speed made everything easy. He still remembered the look on his allies' faces when the one cleave cut seemed to do nothing, then the man's upper half simply slid off to the side, the essence floating through the air to join with his own. He could feel the new power rushing through him to Syn, could feel her gaining power, but that didn't matter too much to him.

He didn't care what side most of those he had killed were on; if they attacked or challenged him, they were utterly defeated at his hands. Though, he was fair about it: He only used his blades because that man was trying to blow his head off with a shotgun. They were a memento from his family, a gift from their visit to Japan before the ordeal came over and killed them. That was part of his bitterness that made him kill those that challenged him.

"There's another nearby." Syn said to him, and he picked his head up to see the GT pass by him, speeding down the road. "Think we can catch up, Syn?"

"Yes." It was a burst of speed, momentarily but more than enough, that had him catch the car, jumping higher than a normal human could, then landing completely silent on the roof. This car would take him to wherever he had to be. Syn knew more than he did, since she was one that could feel the energy of the possessors.

 

[Oreo]

Can't you 'feel' the voice?
You don't have a choice.
What a kind of life:
Freedom in flesh - shackles on your mind...

Men have good intentions
on their way to the light.
But some of them are venal
and end up in the night.
Maybe it's better for you, mankind,
not to know what's going on.

Sometimes we must go
ways that seem to be wrong.
What a kind of life: Freedom in flesh,
shackles on your mind...

She was singing along to The Tower, smiling grimly at the irony of the words. Even El was chuckling in her mind. Yes, this music you listen to it is strange, but I am beginning to enjoy it's aesthetic value. We have nothing like it in Cordela. The more he talked about the world on the other side of the rift, the stranger everything seemed to be. At first she hadn't believed any of it. In fact she had thought she was loosing her mind. After a day or two of the worst migraine she had ever had, she was assailed by El's strange voice in her head. At first she couldn't even understand his words. There were just flashes of living dreams, pictures of his life imposed into her thoughts. With time she understood the content, and he began speaking in English. She hadn't wanted to believe, but it soon became evident that he was real, she wasn't crazy and earth was doomed. Here her journey began. Here the quest to seek and destroy the invaders. Here the constant fleeing, from invaders and the police. Murder was on the rise but the dead and fallen though looking human, were anything but human anymore.

The best time to feed was when groups of beings came through the rift. It constantly changed location, but when it opened those that were growing stronger sensed it, and congregated. There was a big one coming, she could feel it as well as El. Get off the highway and go right. You will sense them soon. The flash hasn't begun yet but there are two we can take down. You are strong enough. I sense another, but he is very weak. The two stronger ones pursue. Leaving at the next exit, she headed toward the heart of town. Within a few blocks she felt them. Letting El seep into her flesh, a chill ran through her as the familiar icy blue liquid changed the blood in her veins. The chameleon like blue of her skin, the altering shift of the bones in her face, the slight pearled sheen to the palms of her hands, all happened in the span of a few moments. The temperature in the GT dropped a good fifteen degrees in a flash.

Her Mustang barreled down the street toward the three. The one being followed seemed totally oblivious. He was about to become fodder, easy pickings if he was a foe. Screeching to a halt between the weaker man and the Possessors she grabbed her ronin and jumped from the car. Her waist length icy-blue white hair swung behind her like a glacial cloud. Deep violet eyes turned to the hood of her car. How had El missed sensing him? Three she could take, but four? A cloud of glacial fog billowed from her mouth with a hissing noise, as she took a defensive posture. "For or against the merge of worlds?" His response could well mean her life or death. There was something about him El didn't like, What the hell does that mean, El...he smells wrong? But she sensed it too, there was something menacing about him.

 

[Raziel99]

Most people would have thought him crazy, but Syn found it almost as exhilarating as he did, standing on the roof of the GT. He wasn't down and pressed against it, holding on tight, but actually standing in the center, able to hold steady and not crush in the roof because of the flight ability that he gained with Syn around. He had his arms out, and he had to hold back from laughing, knowing that it would scare the singing girl in the car. He could feel the chill power that was inside her, and Syn noticed it as well, though she kept silent.

Syn had come to him while he was in the mountains, and that was the first connection that the two of them made, the mountains. Both knew intricacies in them that few did, even if she didn't hail from them. It was a short time of him showing her through the abode that he could hide out in, and learning how to harness the flight ability with her help, before they headed out, and the possessors started picking fights with what seemed to be a weak Wielder. He proved them wrong again and again.

"She's going towards a rift." Syn said, something Alexander hadn't noticed, because he hadn't been paying attention to that. But he could feel the pulses of energy through Syn now, and he nodded, though it wouldn't matter if he did or not. The surge of cold that came from inside the car didn't bother Alexander at all, use to the feeling of Artic chills from mountain peaks, though Syn was disturbed slightly from it. The person below them was more powerful than she thought.

"Prey." Syn said simply, as the car came to a stop, and Alexander's hands went to his katana, his clothes tightening around him as they became a thick form of plate-like scales on him. The woman that was in the car turned and hissed at him, and he forced Syn not to return it in kind. "I have no care for the world. Only survival." He said, in a rather low voice. He jumped easily and effortlessly off the car, moving off to her side by a good 6 feet, his hand still resting on his katana as he slowly pursued the other three that she had tracked down. They still were oblivious to their presence, and he moved forward completely silent.

One of the possessors turned to him when he came close enough, and tried to grapple with him. Apparently they weren't as oblivious as he was lead to believe. What felt like claws tried to bury themselves into his shoulders, but Alex's hands came up, grabbing the man's wrists and pushing his thumbs into pressure points, loosening the grip before dropping down, his legs came up, doing a swift spin kick that bowled the man into a wall, the crack of the man's neck echoing in the area.

 

[Oreo]

How had he managed to stay on the top of her car? The thought was silly and secondary to his response. He was obviously a wielder. Though, El wasn't speaking about the man's symbiont, it was clear they were both intact. He was the first she had met in the six months since El had entered her. Alacrity's attention turned to the possessors at the same time the interloper set off after the first of them. Not about to let him poach on her prizes she followed suit. While he engaged one Alacrity set her sights on the second, a woman who charged with a furious rage. Her skin was a soft red color, and light swirls of gold seemed to shimmer across it as she ran. Her hair stuck up in a mass of curls and spikes, and a long tail extended from her rump. Her visage was almost childlike and even her dark red nearly black eyes seemed innocent in their appraising glare. One of her hands held a slim dagger and the other a long whip studded with thorns. The whip itself seemed to grow from her hand.

Alacrity's bluish-white skin burned with the cold that was emanating from her. Keening began deep in her throat, a shrill guttural note that reflected her desire to engage the enemy. Eyes ablaze with the urge for killing, held a look both wild and unfettered. Her emotions held loose, were ready to let El have full reign. Turning back to the man, "Think you can take care of that one yourself?" But he had already slammed the beast into a wall. Caught up for just a moment, watching his form, the grace and precision of his movements, seemed to instill an new kind of hunger in her. Ignoring the primal urge rising in her, she forced her attention back to her own fight.

The possessor's moves were fluid, but she was completely submissive to El's lead. Flowing around the thorny whip like action, she studied it's behavior. Alacrity stepped in close enough for the creature to strike, and just as swiftly danced out of her reach. Over and over the monotony continued, but the woman was predictable. Alacrity timed her next response to perfection. She made as if to dart away again, but instead she lunged forward grabbing hold of the thorny whip. Chilling ice shards flowed from her hands, running up the whip in a freezing spray before Alacrity severed it with her blade. Then lunging away as the beast shrieked in agony, she dropped the whip, leaving it to writhe on the ground.

As Alacrity raced forward to strike the final blow, the beast began a mighty lunge over top of her. Alacrity couldn't have planned it better. Her back arched as she stopped her forward momentum. With El in charge of her reflexes her arms flew up at the same instant the beast was above her. While she was able to spray the possessor's torso with myriad shards of ice, she was not fast enough to evade the knife thrust at her. It pierced her shoulder. Alacrity cried out with the pain as it stuck the bones. Reaching with her right hand she yanked out the offending weapon. The wound sealed over with an icy hiss, but the pain had not abated. The light shimmered off her slick blue skin as she spun around to watch her opponent. But, her shards had met their mark, the creature was dying.

Alacrity looked away it to gauge the condition of the other wielder while stabbing the blade into the creatures chest. It wasn't blood that poured forth, but pure magic essence flowed into her body creating an erotic surge of power. All was forgotten as El pressed tighter to her mind. Small spurs formed on the back of Alacrity's forearms all the way to her elbows. Scaly ridges appeared across her cheek bones, a deep pearled blue hue that looked almost glacial. Her head tilted back as a wail left her throat. The bliss was almost too much to endure. Her face was in thrall as the flash surged through her frame; a frigid icy cold permeating the air around her.

As her senses returned she scanned for the third weaker man, but could detect nothing...as if he had just disappeared. Something about him however made El nervous, We need to leave, now. I sense a trap. She looked to the other wielder. "You never really answered...Are you for or against the merging of worlds?" It would be a shame to have to kill him.

 

[Raziel99]

The female weilder had stared at him for a moment before turning to the other possessor, which was fine for him. He was left alone now to take care of this one. The one that had crashed against the wall still rose, even after what sounded like his neck breaking. The possessor smiled rather freakishly, and its skin tightened as his hair disappeared. His nails turned into claws, and suddenly Alexander wasn't as sure for taking close combat as a option.

His hand darted to the katana, but syn made sure it didn't come out. He's weak, Alexander. No use for overkill. Alex listened inwardly, then nodded, jumping up as the man jumped at him, more lithe without the extra skin and fat. Alex's foot drove into the man's skull, kicking it down to the ground, where there was the sound of bones breaking from the crushing might.

Yet, the man seemed to shrug it off, even if half of his face was crushed in. Alexander made it fast, getting behind him, and his fist burying into the base of the spine, shooting up and pulling out the heart as he pulled his hand back. He crushed it for good measure, leaving the man to writhe and die, the magical essence coming to him from the possessor.

The woman seemed to be arming herself to him, but he shook it off. There was a attraction there that he couldn't be bothered to mess with at the time. The tension was thick in the air, and it wasn't between the two of them. His clothes loosened as they lost their scale property, and he turned from her. "I am neutral. I live my own life. How the world goes is no matter to me."

 

[Oreo]

Neutral? How could a person be neutral? El was pressing her to leave, something about the weak man returning. "We need to leave. There will be many fights tonight. We stand a better chance if we join as a team. Either way I need to go. That weak man...he's stronger than he appears. My symbiont says it's a ruse, a trap to lure us in. Come with me or not, I don't care."

But the truth was she did care. Why the aura of distaste though? Or was it El? The feeling was definitely not her own. Alacrity wanted the man to come with her, but El kept resisting her urge to tell him so. Gritting her teeth, she couldn't force the words past El's hold on her. "I'm leaving."

Her brilliant blue eyes scanned the high-rises. The smell of ozone was growing stronger. An hour maybe two and the Flash would begin. Looking to most like a regular thunderstorm, but every brilliant streak of light delivered a new alien to earth. She didn't so much like going after these, since it was unclear for the first few days who's side they were on. What she was looking for were the hunters, those weak enough for her to kill. With this Wielder's help it was likely they could tackle some of the stronger Possessors and Breakers. Without another word, she turned her back and jumped in the car.

The engine was still running, and she revved it once. With a final look at the stranger, "You coming? or not?" She shifted into second, preparing to pop the clutch...

 

[Raziel99]

There is something strange about this one, Alex. Do not trust, keep your distance. Syn was acting rather itchy, the most disturbed that Alex had sensed since she found him. But Alex shook it off. "The weak one is only a vessel for power. Does not mean he knows how to use it." But she was right. The flash would be here soon, and it wasn't something that he would want to be around when it did arrive. Much too dangerous.

"Where are you going?" He asked, slowly walking towards her and her car. But she gave him the leaving warning before any answer came, and he jumped onto the roof. "Go!" She now had reason to rush: The smell of ozone wasn't the only thing that Alex was sensing. There was a greater mass of possessors coming for the fresh power being released into the world, and it wouldn't be pretty once they got there. Alex had no wish to become fresh meat to those savages.

He felt her hit the road, going fast, but he was able to hold on easily, just standing straight up on the roof as the wind blew over him. So exhilarating. The whole ride, he was completely silent, contemplating what Syn and him were going to do when they stopped.

 

[Oreo]

Well, at least he didn't put up a fight about coming with her. That was a good sign - he wasn't stupid. Alacrity had expected him to get in the car and was a bit surprised as he leaped on top at the last moment. Wanting to be long gone before the cops showed up, she had left the car running. The bodies lying dead on the ground had already reverted to their human form, looking like nothing less than a horrid murder. No one would ever believe what they had been fighting was more monster than something out of their nightmares. After shoving her knife under her seat, she strapped herself in. Trembling a bit, she gripped the wheel firmly, as tires scorched a strip of rubber and smoke; they were off.

Glancing at the roof of the car, she tried to figure out just why El didn't like him. But she had never known him to be so quiet before. It's her, not him. That's all she could get, besides a twisting, writhing sensation in her head.

"Come on El give...what's the problem?" Alacrity could feel him withdraw, almost as if he were ashamed of his feelings. He had always seemed so noble, but at the moment her image was conflicted. Perhaps he wasn't as perfect as he had seemed.

Many of the races from the other realm are in a civil war over this issue of the breach, but the animosity of her kind began long before this war. I don't trust them. Neither should you. You should be rid of him.

"You've got to be kidding me? In six months he's the first Wielder we've found, and you want me to dump him because you've got an attitude? Get over it El, this goes beyond boundaries. You know we stand a better chance of survival if he's willing to fight with us."

You'll do what you're going to do, but I'm telling you, her kind can't be trusted. I'll say no more.

Alacrity pulled into an underground parking lot, and shut off the car. The lighting was dim, but safe now. She stepped out of the GT and headed toward the trunk. Smiling up as she searched for her emergency med kit, "Not how you planned to spend the rest of your day was it?" The pain of the knife wound was beginning to cause her some problems. El had sealed it over briefly during the height of her possession, but now that her blood was returning to normal, the bleeding was starting. Pulling out a pressure bandage and some gauze she looked up at the stranger. "Any chance you could help with this?" She held out the bandage, "It's kind of awkward to dress one's own shoulder. By the way...I'm Alacrity," her head tilted, "you got a name?"

 

[Raziel99]

Alexander didn't particularly enjoy the whole car ride, simply standing on the roof rather than enjoying it with mock surfing as he had done before. Syn's disturbance with the person underneath him was... unsettling, to say the least. He tried to shake it off, but Syn wouldn't have anything of it. She always held some of his mind, at the very least. She had the power, if not the physical essence to get the job done, so she wouldn't be shaken off from her opinion's so easily.

I do not trust them, Alexander. Syn's voice wasn't her usual calm and sure voice. That alone sent a spark of fear through his spine, though he covered it up mentally. There was no need to though. The one inside her is one I have warred with for a long time. Damn Elves, trying to rid themselves of their only danger.

"What do you mean?" His voice was low, though it held the tinge of interest that he always had when Syn talked about the other side. Anything he could get from her in that regard could be potentially useful in the upcoming fights. Sadly, Syn said no more, seemingly going into deep thought.

Alexander had to steep down as they went into a indoor garage, and they parked. He jumped off the roof as she came out, landing on the other side of the car before walking over to the trunk. It seemed that she was wounded in the last battle, and was trying to attend to it, though failing. "Alacrity, I am Alexander." He said simply. He walked over to her, taking gauze and putting it on the wound, pushing it hard to put enough pressure to stop the bleeding. He then quickly grabbed the wrap, getting it around her shoulder and wound, before tightening it and clasping it so it wouldn't let go.

"Be careful with your arm for a day or two. Don't need to endanger yourself now." He closed the trunk, putting the med kit back in first before turning towards her. "What now? I'm not going to fight. I won't fight a injured opponent."

 

[Oreo]

Her breath hissed in softly as he pressed the bandage tightly to her shoulder. Very aloof and matter of fact, but he did do a good job of binding her wound. Slipping her arm back into the sweater, she did her best to not wince or appear weak. He wasn't hard on the eyes either, and she was finding it difficult to concentrate. Thank the stars El was being quiet, almost as if he were trying to hide from the man's symbiont. A slight smile quirked the corner of her mouth, pink lips twitching as they tried to remain sternly serious, but it had been a long, long time since a man had acted as if he were in charge of her life.

They had just fought monsters from another realm and he was giving her advice as if she were his little sister. It was actually quite charming after the months of solitude she had endured. Always on the run, always hiding. The few times she had called home, the response of her parents was cold. Telling her she needed to come home and get treatment. With the proper drugs her delusions would go away. "Thank you, Alexander. I appreciate the advise." She took a moment, trying to read his face, her eyes questioning? "I have no intention of fighting you at all. I was hoping you might be willing to form a partnership. We stand a better chance of survival if we team up. I gather from my symbiont that he isn't too fond of yours, but survival comes before convenience."

Just then, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, she could feel El stirring her to life. "Crap! Can you feel that? There's someone else here."

 

[Raziel99]

She seemed to be rather sweet and caring, despite the deadly symbiont that she was carrying. It was definitely one of the most potentially powerful things he had met in the last few months. It could be a danger to him and Syn in the future. But he shrugged it off. She was a Wielder like him, he knew that she had more than enough control to stop any and all physical confrontation between them. But it was something about her questioning eyes that hinted that maybe not all physical confrontation would be stopped.

"A partnership?" He asked, his own voice rather questioning. There was obvious tones that he learned to read, and he nodded his head a little. "I will accept it for now, because you are injured, but I will have to think on it. I have done well enough on my own so far." It was mostly Syn speaking through him. But she was right, he was enough so far to take out what came at him. But he would have to take some time and ponder over the dilemma, and of course make sure they got through this alive.

His head turned just as she mentioned that there was someone in there with them. "Yes, but it isn't anyone with a symbiont. It's a mob of humans. We have to get out of here. Get in the car." He jumped up onto it himself, ready to take care of anything that could be a threat. His clothes shifted into scales again, ready for defense.

 

[Oreo]

There was something dangerous about him that intrigued her. Something that a year ago would have terrified her, but now she found it almost...compelling. The person that she used to be was no more. How could she have at one time thought she would be satisfied with a quiet, romantic man that brought her flowers every Thursday? Alacrity had changed more than she realized. A faint smile graced her lips as Alexander agreed to join her for the nonce. It would be nice to have someone to talk to. Though El seemed to be writhing at the moment, that was too bad. There was a war out there and he would just have to learn to deal with the circumstances.

That he was staying because of her injury was fine with her. Though she really wanted to get some more fighting done tonight, it probably was best that they found some place safe to hole up. She remembered an Inn on her way into town, far enough away to avoid any of the feeding going on.

"It's a mob of humans." She had no quarrel with humans, even if they were scum. Her only intent was to fight for the portal to remain open. The thought of either dimension being destroyed was abhorrent to her.

"Agreed," was her only response as she got back in the car. Shaking her head as he jumped on top again, she shouted out the window, "hold on, I'm getting us out of here. We've no need to waste our time fighting ruffians." Wheels screeching, she fled the parking lot, bumping something living in her hurry to escape. Alacrity didn't stop to check. It was big, green and definitely not human. 'That' was what El had sensed.

Heading back through town the way she had arrived, Alacrity acknowledged to herself that Alexander alone was worth the trip. Someone to fight with her...if she could convince him to stay...if she could get El to lighten up. The beginnings of lightning flash flaring in her rear view mirror, burned the evening sky behind them.

Driving for at least two hours, she was well outside the city by the time she spotted the Inn. The pain had pretty much eaten what remained of her strength. As she turned off the key, her head lolled back against the head rest. Her hand banged against the roof of the car. "You still with me handsome?"

 

[Raziel99]

She sped up just as the mob of people came into sight. His foot tapped against the roof, urging her to speed up. He wouldn't have minded normally... but these people were holding weapons, mostly melee like planks of wood, steel pipes, and the like, but he saw at least one toting a handgun. He ducked down, his head missing the girder piece from the roof as she picked up speed, but he was hit by a bullet as they turned, slightly stalling as she hit something that was big. Alexander instantly thought ogre, but Syn shot that notion down. It was something worse than a ogre. But, thankfully, it didn't follow.

The bullet that had hit him struck him in the arm, but thanks to the thick scales of his coat, it didn't pierce through him. It hit skin, slightly burying in, but it was mostly in the coat, and he pulled it out, putting pressure on it to stop the bleeding before just letting it close on its own. It would take a day at the most.

They drove for a long time, a few hours at least, before the car came to a stop outside of a inn. He felt the bang of her fist reverberating along the roof of the car, shaking his legs slightly. "I'm here." He called out for her, as he jumped off the room and opened her door. He helped her out, sure that she was having problems keeping conscious since she was using so much energy through the last few hours after her injury. "You have reservations here yet?" He asked, helping her towards the front doors.

 

[Oreo]

"See El, you're worried about nothing. If he wanted to harm me this was his chance." There was no reply, but she could feel his discomfort. He was accepting her choice, but that didn't mean he was happy with it. The strain of the drive and the pain of the injury had her weaker than she wanted to admit. Grabbing her ronin as she left the car, she wrapped her arm around Alexander's waist for support.

Looking up at his profile, she was struck by the fact that he could have walked away after the fight. "Thanks for staying. I hadn't realized just how lonely these past few months had been. It's kind of a relief to talk to someone that doesn't instantly think I'm crazy when I say there is an alien in my brain sharing my body." Fiddling with her key ring, "I have a few things to grab from the trunk." After opening it up, she pulled her wallet from her purse. Then lifted out her suitcase, doing her best to hide the wince of pain. It felt like she had been living out of her car forever.

"No, I don't have reservations here. I sleep most nights in my car to save on finances. If I'm careful, I should have enough to make it to the Wielding resistance in Alaska. El says there are more than a few making their way there." Blushing a bit at the thought of her next question, she still managed to force out the words. "Do you mind sharing a room?"

But all her shyness faded in an instant. Her eyes narrowing as the Inn's light reflected off his shoulder. "You were injured?" Her hand reached up to his wound in concern, "You should have been in the car with me. Come on, let's get a room and see how bad off we both are."

 

[Raziel99]

He heard that she didn't have much money. He couldn't help but laugh at that. "I live in nature. In the caverns and on the animals that I had found. I always had a liking for Venison before Syn came around." She led him around to the trunk, and he took the suitcase from her, knowing that it would be too much of a burden for her to carry at her current state. "Come on."

The light must have hit him in just the right way, because right after she asked if he minded sharing a room, and before he could answer the said question, he felt her hand reach and touch the wound on his shoulder from the bullet, and he had to hold back a hiss from the slight shock it sent down his arm. He wasn't bleeding anymore, but the blood trail down his arm and over his coat made it look pretty bad. "It's nothing." He said, dismissing the notion of his wound. He had worse before the symbiont came to him.

"And I don't mind sharing a room." He led her into the inn, over to the innkeeper. So it would be less of a scene, he lifted her up in his arms, ignoring the shock in his shoulder from it, and carried her to the innkeeper himself. He had her skillfully in his arms so none of the blood and wounds showed, to give them less attention. They would think that they were just a married couple, perhaps on a honeymoon.

"We need one room." Alexander said to the innkeeper once they got close enough, waiting for the price and for Alacrity to pay him.

 

[Oreo]

He seemed much more amiable with their symbionts subdued. Surprising her twice, by taking the suitcase from her and next by actually grabbing her up and carrying her. She hadn't been lifted like that since she was a child and suddenly she felt small. Their wounds pressed together and hidden from the innkeeper was a perfect disguise, but being this close to Alexander was playing havoc with her senses. Alacrity found herself attracted by the scent of him. Even as she felt El trying to pull further away, her face was drawn to the side of his neck. She didn't intrude enough to actually touch him, but her eyes closed as she subtly breathed in his essence. Her lips and cheek could almost feel the vibration of his voice as he spoke.

"Forty-nine ninety-five. That includes a continental breakfast and cable TV." Her distraction was broken as she fumbled for her wallet and tossed a fifty on the counter. "The room's all the way at the end of the hall." He pointed to the corridor on the left.

Grabbing up the keycard, she nodded to the man, then stared up at Alexander. Her lips twitched a bit in humor, "You aren't going to get cold feet now are you?"

As soon as they were out of the proprietors eyesight she wiggled a bit. "That was a good strategy, but you can let me down now." Her thighs slid across his as her feet lowered to the floor. For an instant she almost wanted to press closer to him rather than step away, but turned and slipped the key through the slot. Get a hold of yourself Alacrity. You just met the man. Just because he's a Wielder is no reason to...to what?... Her eyes looked back at him as the door shut, closing them into the room. It looked about the same as every other hotel she had ever stayed in. Green carpet, gold bedspread, off-white curtains, a cheap piece of landscape art, and one chair. ...to be attracted to him?

It had felt good, if not awkward, being in his arms. Reaching for the suitcase, she set it on the dresser. "I really could use a shower. I've been living out of gas station washrooms for a week." Pulling out a change of clothes, "You won't leave...will you?"

 

[Raziel99]

The encounter with the innkeeper was fast, if not anything else. She paid and grabbed the keycard for their room, and they were off and down the hallway and at their room. He heard her words, felt her wiggling, and he couldn't help but half a laugh himself. "Well, it's good to keep up appearances until we are completely alone." He said softly, in a low voice. Her leg was intensely seductive to him, and he had half a mind to pull her close to him. But it was Syn that gave him the control he needed, and he let her walk past into the bedroom.

She was quick to get her suitcase on the dresser, then walked past him to the bathroom. "I won't leave." He said, in a unusually soft voice, before watching the door to the bathroom close behind her.

He headed to about the middle of the room, taking the coat off and laying it over a chair. He was wearing a simple brown tee and black pants underneath it, and he quickly got to doing a short workout of sit ups and push ups to make sure his muscles didn't weaken even a little bit. Syn made sure of it anyway... but no use not practicing.

By the time she was out of the shower, he was simply sitting in the chair in a deep meditation. He was fresh from having washed in a spring just the night before, washing his clothes then as well.

 

[Oreo]

His response seemed much softer, almost subdued, compared to the way he had spoken at their meeting and after the fight. Her body desired to lean in toward him again. The smell of him that had beckoned her while she was in his arms seemed almost a lure. El twined tight within her, however, and she found herself making her way into the bathroom. Tossing her soiled clothes into the corner, she worked loose the bandage Alex had applied. The wound was fairly clean, no jagged edges. If she had just moved to the side a little faster, but 'what-ifs' were for fools. The wound was worth meeting another wielder even if El hated him. "How can it really matter El? It's not like you have to communicate with his symbiont."

All her question got was a long silence. Normally he was always filtering through her thoughts. Not so much speech as images and emotions, but he was always there. Alacrity sensed there would be more than talk between El and the other if they were forced into proximity. "Then just stay hidden." Her voice dropped to the merest whisper, "I like him, El."

Her hand turned the faucet in the shower. She would have liked to sink into the tub, but thought it probably wasn't a good idea to let her wound soak. As the water washed away the grime and aches, she lathered up her hair, ignoring the ache it caused her shoulder. Did you notice El...that he likes the outdoors? Her love of nature, her very life before all of this, was centered entirely on the wilderness. Drying off and wrapping her hair in a towel. What were the odds of meeting a wielder that could take care of himself if they had to head for the hills? She pulled on her light blue pajamas, checking in the mirror to make sure they weren't too revealing. Then headed out of the room.

The side of her mouth quirked up. He looked a bit out of place. She grabbed her comb, and headed to the TV. "I hope you don't mind, but I could stand a little unwinding after everything that happened today." Clicking the remote, a chuckle escaped her lips as the show came on, "The irony," She gestured toward the screen. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers. El you're going to love this." But for some reason her eyes kept drifting from the TV to the man in the chair.

 

[Raziel99]

He was in a deep meditative state, and everything seemed to slow down around him enough that he was able to make sense of most of it. With the help of Syn, of course. He was thanking the stars that he found someone that would be some backup in the days to come. Because this was only going to get worse before it got better. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Though, Syn was dealing with the fact that the other Wielder had a elven symbiont. It was no choice for her. Greater chance of survival. They always went for what would make them live longer.

The bathroom door opened, and his fragile silence around him was shattered, and his eyes opened as the remaining thoughts shattered in his mind. But that was fine. Alacrity looked rather in place with her blue pajamas. He was going to sleep in his normal clothes, like he always did. He always knew danger could be there at any moment, and he needed the chance to get away without some clumsy clothing on him.

"Go ahead and unwind." He said, eyes closing as he got himself into a small reverie, even though it wasn't as focused as it was a few moments ago. Any nearby noise like the television would break it, so there was no reason to try it. The T.V. came on, and he heard her talking to her Symbiont. "But I have no bubble gum." He pipped up, even though he looked rather detatched from the whole scene.

 

[Oreo]

"Thanks, it's not often I take the liberty of unwinding." Alacrity looked puzzled at Alex's remark. Then a smile crossed her features and a low chuckle reverberated through her chest. "Ahhh, all that's left is for you to 'kick ass'?"

"I was never much of a fighter before El showed up. I mean, I knew how, I just never actually had the opportunity or need to use my training to whoop someone." Continuing to work the tangles from her hair, she watched this stranger that was suddenly part of her life. Possibly the only person who could understand the total change they had gone through...to know what was really going on. The public at large saw only the rising apparent crime. Murder had almost doubled. Grizzly murder, at that. The government was keeping the truth under a tight cap. People that tried to speak out about were quietly hushed.

Her hair was nearly dry before she turned to question him, "What did you do, before? You know, back when life was...normal? I was a park ranger, and ski instructor. Not much of a living, but I love the outdoors. The further we get from the city, the better I feel, but El says I need to kill if I'm going to get strong enough to survive. The flash always seems to come around major population sites." She slipped under the covers on the side of the bed furthest away from him. "I won't bother you if you want to get some rest. There's no need to sleep in the chair."

Flipping the remote over before turning off the TV she laughed inwardly as she read, Do not steal this remote. It will not work on your TV at home. Were there people really that dumb? She winced as she stretched out to lay it down, and tentatively rubbed her shoulder. With any luck, El might have it partially healed by morning.

 

[Raziel99]

(I'm sorry for taking so long to get back here. Do you want to continue this one, or make a new one?)

 

[Oreo]

I am bit overburdened at the moment anyway, at 21 RPs and I just became a Mentor on Elliquiy. That is chewing up a big bit of my time. Not to mention I just pulled out of a 6 week writers block, from burnout. It's okay to let it rest in peace.

 

[Raziel99]

That's quite alright. We can try again another time.