General Toran RP

--- Song Lin Tiao ---

Lin Tiao took the cloth and wiped her mouth quickly, but in a very high society fashion. She gave a strange sideways look at Chyou before flicking her left hand out at her, raising a finger.

"Oh no, you didn't," she smiled fiendishly, flicking her wrist to pick up a nearby pinecone from one of the nearby evergreens. Wrapped in her aura's energies, she flung the pinecone at Chyou's face, knowing fully well she could deal with it.

Lin Tiao's abilities had manifest shortly after Chyou joined her family - often attributed to Lin Tiao's lack of sight and some kind of divine blessing from one of the Four. However, she wasn't necessarily so sure. She felt that they manifested out of some kind of desperation to see the people closest to her in some form.

"You know, I wonder if we will see Kimlee or Eien in Toran," Lin Tiao mused, as if she hadn't just thrown a pinecone at Chyou. "It is kind of fitting - you three all out travelling at the same time." Neither had seen their cousins in a couple of years, the pair having been unable to get to last year's Suzaku Festival. "I feel like there is something fateful about it..."

- Song Chyou -

Chyou's face raised into a fiendish grin. Out of the corner of her eye, she reacted split second with the incoming pine-cone. With a quick jerk of her arm, Chyou sent a wind borne projectile to meet the pine-cone. As the two collided, the compressed wind spell shattered the frail pine-cone, the force/nature of the magic causing the shrapnel to scatter backward towards it's original position.

'You little fiend!', she said with the same fiendish grin. Playful events like these were the normal for these two. Although, while they were younger, such exercises were used in Chyou's training. Although, the projectiles used to test her reflexes were far larger, and launched with much higher velocity than the simple pine-cone.

'Well, they are both in town. Eien sent me a text not but two days ago. I'll see if they can meet us tonight' With the thought of Eien and Kimlee in mind, Chyou reached into her Hanfu's torso to retrieve her PDA. After finding Eien's and Kimlee's contact information, she sent a quick group message:

- Hiiiiiii Eien! Lin Tao and I aren't far from Toran's square. Are you two up for meeting us there in about 15 minutes? -

--- Song Lin Tiao (and sort of Eien) ---

Lin Tiao just smiled at Chyou's response, "That is good then. It'll be good to see them. We really need to make sure they get to the next Suzaku Festival though." She was polite enough to not be too direct on the matter, but it was hard not having everyone together last summer for the Festival. She looked forward to it every year, as the only time that they could really all be together as an entire family - a rare opportunity and with how protective her parent's were coupled with her duties as a member of the Triumvirate.

At the very least, if Kimlee and Eien were in Toran, then they could catch up over dinner. It wasn't the festivities of the Suzaku Festival, but it was a rare chance to get some authentic Toranese food, one of her favorites. The deep, rich flavor of the spices around Toran create some of the best dishes - the burning flavors of their spicy hot noodle dishes beginning to whet her palette.

Chyou's device would buzz quickly in response with a short 'Yes. We are both here'.

"Good news?" asked Lin Tiao, curious as to what the quick response indicated.

Itsuki’s first reaction to seeing Night was not necessarily one of surprise, but was certainly unexpected - he was fairly sure that Night had moved on to Ward and that he’d progress forwards, not backwards… That said, the fickle hand of fate had moved swiftly during the previous few days - Kal’s mysterious death and resurrection, Kimlee being found, and according to a PDA message from Eien, a member of the Elite Triumvirate being in Toran. Night’s sudden appearance would normally have meant nothing to Itsuki prior to his training in Gishiki, but the fact he was carrying a tome identical to the one that he had used to awaken his more spiritual side was quite obviously not a coincidence.

“Hello, Night. I trust you’ve been well?” Itsuki nodded in reply to Night’s initial greeting, perhaps much to his shock, as the phrase was uttered with a level and placid tone, completely without the typical undertone Itsuki had before that implied his desire to have a… Clandestine meeting with whomever he spoke.

Itsuki would patiently listen to Night’s request for help after the brief exchange, nodding along where appropriate, before studying the pictures that Night had taken and nodding somewhat sternly. It seemed that Night had, indeed, been manipulated by the very active hands of fate - it also came to Itsuki’s mind that he, too, had been manipulated as he realised the implications of what he had to do next.

“Night, there’s a book that I found that I’d like you to have. Consider it repayment for the knowledge you gave me concerning Sakura-sei - and I think it’ll help us both with this mysterious passage of yours… Would you like me to message Eien and ask him to come along? He was with Rook earlier, so I could ask him to send the message on or message him personally.” Itsuki added, pulling out a book labeled “Gishiki: A Spiritual Awakening” and pressing it towards Night.

Kal whistled at Eishund who stood up. Kal nodded at Night and Itsuki, not knowing who the fuck Night was. He jogged off towards the town square and sat on the ground facing the direction of the beach. Eishund sat in front of him, panting. Kal cocked his head to the right as Eis did the same to the left. Eishund barked at Kal who frowned.

~Hey, would you mind meeting me at the square?~ Kal telepathically sent to Kimlee. He included an image of where he was and what he could see in front of him. Surprisingly most of his view was covered by Eishund who had her tongue out. The shore was obviously ahead of him.

Eishund licked his face and Kal frowned. He pushed Eishund's head away and made a 'gross' sound. The dog merely wagged it's tail ferociously. Kal sighed and then Eishund tackled him, sending him on his back and Eishund barked happily. Kal simply gave up and allowed to happy hound to be clumsy. While Eishund backed off and attempting to play with Kal he began to think to himself.

~Last time I saw her she was upse- no. Frustrated would be a better word. She didn't know what was going on. Hopefully today we can clear things up and find out exactly what we both know. After all we both have died and come back to life.~ Kal thought to himself as Eishund tugged at his shoes, to which Kal paid no attention.

--- Kimlee ---

Kimlee had been doing some browsing of the wares of the Toranese peddlers when she got Kal's mental message

"That is fine," Kimlee responded back. Flicking her wrists, a habit she felt she acquired imitating her cousin's telekinesis, she called forth her Hawkline. Swinging her leg over the back of her Natrelmon with a surprising grace, she took to the sky as Hawkline flung himself upwards - his ascent forcing her to grip his back with her arms, hugging her body close to him. The heat that radiated of his body kept her warm against the rushing winds around her.

Moments later, she spotted Kal on the shore. Pointing down at him, Kimlee directed Hawkline to land on the shore a short bit away from him before she would slide off his back onto the soft shore.

Kal looked towards the sound he heard and saw a giant bird with a small Kimlee on it's back. Kal's jaw dropped. He shook his head and approached.

"Thanks for coming out, and looks like while I hunted for more Natrelmon you decided to feed Crowire..." Kal said while looking Hawkline up and down. He whistled as Eishund sniffed the air, not recognizing Hawkline.

"Anywho, my reason for asking you here is simple. One I wish to combine our knowledge of whatever is going on in Toran and with us to figure this puzzle out. Hopefully. The second goal of this was to see what else we both possess." Kal said while taking a breath.

"First I'd like to find out about you. What kind of magic do you know and are Mythin and Hawkline your only Natrelmon?" Kal asked her.

--- Kimlee ---

Kimlee nodded, hoping she could at least be some kind of help.

"Well," she paused for a moment, lowering down into a squat, her hand brushing through the sand, her Mythin poking up from beneath the back of her shirt, his tail coiled around her neck. "I have started delving into Abjuration, Hydromancy, Invocation, and Cryomancy. And yes, Hawkline and Mythin are the only Natrelmon I have so far."

She wasn't really sure how this really would help him find out anything. However, she assumed he had some kind of point with this line of questioning and that he would get to it in a moment, so she said nothing else, waiting for him to continue.

"I am studying both Abjuration and Invocation." Kal said as he used Mirror Image to create two more of him. They stood on both sides of Kal. "I also have Eishund, Olena, Sakura-re, Wispy, autistic cat natrelmon, and Dotix." He paused.

"Now all I remember is that I went to the beach and waited for Rook. Here." He paused for a moment. He swallowed. "Then I closed my eyes. When I closed them I don't remember hearing anything at all. Then as I died I moved backwards I think." Kal said softly.

"Later Eien unlocked my potential. I'm telepathic and I think I might be a medium as well. Olena is different to me then compared to when I died." Kal mentioned as his clones disappeared. He put his thumb to his lip, he didn't notice it but he did this when he began to think REALLY hard.

"Do you remember anything from your... death?" He asked softly.

--- Kimlee ---

"No," Kimlee responded, her voice softening, "I remember walking just outside Toran and then blacking out. The next thing I remember was blackness. I couldn't move and everything around me was freezing cold, especially just above my heart. Then there was a sharp pain and a brief warmth before..."

She stopped, knowing she didn't need to say more. She had no idea what had happened to her. Kimlee gripped the sand tight in frustration, remembering the time when she was the most helpless. Having always thought of herself as highly capable, it was a huge blow to her ego.

"Sorry but I don't think I can be much help to you with how little I remember," she added, avoiding looking at him in the eye.

Kal closed the gap between them quickly. He placed his right hand on her shoulder gently. With his telepathic prowess which he had trained with his Natrelmon he sent a imagine of his Natrelmon and other animals in general. He hoped his invocation skill could help with this next part. With the imagine and direct contact Kal placed a minor illusion on Kimlee. The illusion was to share the feeling that he felt when he saw animals/Natrelmon. It was the happiest feeling Kal could feel, it brought him to near tears sometime. He tried as best as he could to share this feeling with Kimlee. 

"It's alright. You've helped me a lot already Kimlee." Kal said. He knew he should change the topic of conversation but he wanted to give her a minute.

--- Kimlee ---

Kimlee let her mind race through the illusion rapidly. It was a blur, and very little of it memorable, but it washed a feeling of calmness over her that she hadn't had in awhile - it was a comfort she often found in her own Natrelmon, Mythin and the now Hawkine. Each provided its own type of support mechanism to her; Mythin was the rationalist, keeping her calm, while Hawkline was the impulsiveness she needed to do things she would and then extract joy out of them. While she knew they wouldn't ever understand her words to them, at least the true feelings of them, she knew they understood her feelings without those words. She knew that both of them had confidence in her, knowing she wouldn't ever put them in danger intentionally and that she would make the sacrifices for them should that time ever come.

"I'm glad then," she said, finally looking Kal in the eyes. "I don't know what we can do at this point about either of our situations, but I think I am ready to stop focusing on them so much. It isn't going to help me. Or Mythin. Or Hawkline."

She stood up, letting the final bits of sand fall through her fingers. Hawkline seemed pleased with this revelation, letting out an approving screech. Mythin's made no vocal acknowledgement, but Kimlee caught his eyes swirling with approval colors in her peripheral vision.

Night nodded enthusiastically at Itsuki's suggestion. "Yeah totally! Bring Eien and Rook they're both pretty relia- Oh... Itsuki..." Night was immediately silenced and humbled as Itsuki pulled out the Gishiki told. While a majority of Nerta's citizens would have no idea what Gishiku wasand Night would normally fail to realize the gravity of Itsuki's actions, the past couple months had matured Night and given him a scholarly disposition. As a result, Night was temporarily overwhelmed by such a gesture.

"Itsuki... The tome I have you was a small gift, I was just being helpful. But... This? This is powerful ancient magic, it's spiritual rebirth, are you really entrusting this to me? Thank you, really, I will use it to the best of my ability to do good." Night carefully placed the book into his back pack before his demeanor changed entirely, showing that the old Night wasn't truly gone.

"But dude! I think if we all put our head together we can find this place. Eien's smart and Rook is pretty resourceful. Plus, I think Suzaku might want us to find it, it mentions a Garden of Souls, I think the reason we're going to Rebena has something to do with the Garden.

Oh by the way, I'm Night." Night suddenly just realized the presence of Itsuki's friend, and enthusiastically extended his hand in greeting despite feeling a little embarassed at having overlooked another human being less than three feet away.

Toran was one of the only warm spots in Nerta's winter. Samuel didn't mind the cold up north, but he found the sub-tropical climate of Toran to be quite nice this time of year. The bright sun shone down unabashed with no snow-heavy clouds to block its warmth. The sand was warm underneath Samuel's bare feet, but the wind from the sea lent a bit of briskness to the air.

It had been a month or so since his loss to Takai in Ward. Samuel had taken that time to purge the bad energies from his body. Toran was a great place to do that. The constant sound of breaking waves, people going about their business as if winter had never come...

As if the memory of death and destruction was not so fresh in their minds...

Toran still bore the scars of that fateful battle. The streets and buildings still showed scorch marks and the Toran Arena was more avoided than it had been in the past. Regardless, the people of the southern city carried on with their lives, not letting the tragedy affect them. It was astounding to Samuel. He still had nightmares about the fight and Arandin's death, despite his best efforts.

Samuel shook the though from his head. Opening his eyes, he looked around. He had been standing in the same spot for three hours now, meditating. Bekkelber, Lancelot, and Chu stood to either side of him, doing likewise. Their eyes were closed and their breathing was slow. His Natrelmon made him proud; they were pure of mind and strong of body.

Well, three of them were. Samuel looked up into the sky, using a large palm to shade his eyes. He could just make out the specks of Albion and Atrixus zooming around haphazardly. The small dragon was never one for focus, though it would try its best to meditate. That often didn't mean much, but Samuel appreciated the effort. Atrixus was... odd. It was a calm Natrelmon, and seemed to treat Samuel with affection, but its mind always seemed to be distant. It would follow Samuel's command, but there was not as much synergy as there was with his other Natrelmon. He would have to work on that.

It was time to go, however. Whistling through his teeth, Samuel beckoned for Albion to descend. The trio of Fighting-types all opened their eyes and stretched sore limbs for a moment. "Well done, all," Samuel complimented, returning them to their Relics when they were done. Atrixus made its way down and perched itself on Samuel's shoulder. It nuzzled its golden head against Samuel's cropped hair and cooed lightly. Albion settled itself for zooming around his head excitedly.

The flying Natrelmon needed more time out of their Relics, Samuel could tell. So he let them as he made his way into town. He got a few stares; such rare Natrelmon were not seen that often around here, and even less common was two of them at once. But for the most part, people minded their own business.

As Samuel rounded a corner, he caught sight of three people standing around a bench. He immediately recognized Night and Itsuki: friendly faces when which he hadn't seen for far too long. The third was unknown to him, but his association with these two likely meant he was a Trainer as well. He waved as he approached, attempting to grab one of their attentions.

“Few of us are really ready for a spiritual rebirth, and even less deserving of the chance at true redemption… With the sacrifices that you’ve made, and the choices that you’ve made… I think you’re more deserving of this tome than anyone else. Perhaps we can even meditate together in the future.” Itsuki replied to Night, smiling a little at the humble nature of Night’s actions. In a way, he saw a lot of himself in Night, but Night had genuinely made sacrifices and decisions that were legitimately difficult. He’d been through all that Itsuki himself had and more, and the opportunity for something as rare as the experience Gishiki offered was not something he could keep from such a noble (if slightly autistic) soul, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Oh, that was Kal! He’s new to being a trainer and he’s already been through some… Harrowing experiences, I’ll say. I think the journey of being a trainer will be good for him!” Itsuki added, laughing at himself a little for forgetting to give more information about him. It could have come across as rude, but Itsuki got the feeling that Kal had wanted to take some time to himself after he hadn’t really replied to his offer for training. At any rate, him jogging off was fortunate - Kal wasn’t ready for the journey that Night was proposing.

It didn’t take Itsuki much longer to sense the indomitable spirit of Samuel, who was walking down the square towards an unknown destination, and just as Samuel noticed the pair talking Itsuki waved in response - perhaps a little eerily - before beckoning him over. Samuel would be a staunch ally to have on the journey, if he was interested, and it would be nice to talk to him after so long. It had been quite a while since he’d seen Samuel, actually, and if Itsuki remembered correctly Samuel was one of the trainers that hadn’t been able to demonstrate knowledge of war to Kirigishi Takai. It would be an easy task for Samuel to accomplish if he put his mind to it.

“It’s been a while, Samuel!” Itsuki half-shouted to really catch Samuel’s attention in case he hadn’t immediately followed the beckoning motion, before looking up expectantly at Night. It was his tale to tell, and he’d have to be the one to ask Samuel about the book he’d found.

--- Eien and Kimlee ---

Eien and Kimlee arrived at the square a few minutes before their meet up time with their cousins. It was, as Lin Tiao had told Chyou, and fateful day. Night and Itsuki, now gathering companions for a journey that may very well kill everyone involved, would arrive shortly in the square - both Kimlee and Eien seated on one of the stone benches off to the side, giving them a solid view of the northern entrance of the square.

Kimlee spent the time fixing her hair, Hawkline having flown back to the square faster, having just returned from her meeting with Kal on the shore. She didn't talk much, still trying to recall more about her death in some hope that it could lead to solutions for both her and Kal.

Eien had noticed her reservation, but didn't mention it, going into some kind to some kind of meditative state. Ohitsuji was doing likewise off to the side, surveying the surrounding area with its aura.

Also, Lasers.

Rook was floating at maximum speed when he overcame the gathering in Toran square.

"LOL OKAY, might as well go say hi." He thought.

He landed beside Eien and Kimlee.

"What's going on here?"

-- Song Chyou --

As Chyou and Lin Tao arrived at the square, Chyou quickly observed the mass gathering of trainers in the area. Looking down at Lin Tao she smirked; 'Faithful indeed, sister.' The mass gathering could not be out of sheer circumstance.

As they approached Kimlee and Eien, Chyou embraced them both with affectionate hugs. After she had finished her embrace, she motioned toward the crowd of people circling the area; 'What's this all about?'.

"Of course! I've never tried it but sitting still for a couple hours couldn't hurt." Night of course responded with a cheesy well meaning grin, though it was clearly apparent he took the offer seriously and would try to join Itsuki in the future. His grin dropped slightly, his happy expression still prevalent, but an urgent seriousness was there too. "I will not let this gift go to waste. I'm really glad your my friendand I hope we can continue to help eachother on our spiritual journeys in the future." Night took great care once again that the priceless tome was given the respect and security it deserved as he tucked it into his bag.

Nodding understandably about Itsuki's friend who had abruptly left, Night could see that he was going through some complicated issues he needed to deal with on his own. Nigjt began to turn around to follow Itsuki's beckon, and parroted the spiritualists greeting to Samuel. "Yoooo! Sam! Long time no see my friend! How've you been?" After Samuel related his own experience and personal journey from these past few months, Night gestured with one hand to the PDA in the other indicating that Sam should take a peak. Taking on a less playful tone Night began to explain to Sam their purpose for being there as he displayed the old poem and the older map of the lost city.

"You should look at this. Check out the map, I think that's Orin right? But I don't know of any grand garden in those plains or any cities near the coast. And this line here, Suzaku's light. The tome I found this in was ancient, the map inside looked like it predated most of Nerta's first settlements. Whatever this place is talking about, it's the stuff of leged and possibly a key to the past."

Night inconspicuously took a look around, making sure people weren't getting suspicious of the small gathering and merely took it as former trainer-companions remeeting after some time a part. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "I don't know if this has to do with the Black Gate, but this place seems like it is old enough that we might learn something useful there. And I can't shake the feeling that I was meant to find it or I was meant to go. I don't know if it's Suzaku or Arandin's spirit or anything like that, but I'm being compelled to follow this lead through."

"Hello Itsuki, Night," Samuel responded, the corners of his mouth uplifted in a small smile. It was good to see the two again. "I'm well, thank you. Been taking a bit of a break." He didn't divulge any more; he wasn't sure how much they already knew, and didn't want to be a bother by speaking too much.

When Night motioned to his PDA, Samuel bent down slightly and looked over Night's shoulder. "Hmm," he pondered quietly as he stared at the map. It was odd, indeed, the strange markings near Orin. But where there were questions, surely there must be answers.

"Whether it is Arandin's spirit, Suzaku's will, or your own curiousity, it seems a fitting quest." Samuel nodded slowly. "It would be good to find as much about this as possible. If you wish it, I will accompany and assist you in whatever way that I can." Night was a strong Trainer, and it seemed likely that Itsuki would be coming along, too, seeing him here. But even then, two was a small number for such a potentially dangerous journey. Three might even still be too small, but Samuel would help to the best of his ability.

--- Eien, Kimlee, and Lin Tiao ---

Lin Tiao greeted her cousins warmly, glad to see them, but she was only here to see Chyou off. After saying her goodbyes to Chyou, who was now involved in preparation for a journey to a place another trainer had found in a book.

Eien moved off to the side, ensuring he was alone. With a quick flick, he launched Blinding Light in both directions before quickly placing his hands on the wall. It would obscure the presence and usage of his Shariha. Now, they had a portal to Orrin and could move to the next stage of the journey.

"Now if everyone could step into the portal..." Eien said, gesturing to the swirling purple vortex now in front of him.

Itsuki stepped into the portal.

Also, lasers.

Night stumbled into the portal.

FRALLION IS AWESOME!

(Assuming someone took the time to inform Rook and he offered his aid)

Rook floats through the portal.

(At Maximum Speed)