Friend or Foe 2.0

[ST-84 Sahelanthropus]

"Damn!" I cursed under my breath, seeing that I was unsurprisingly beaten by two of the people I was following, but where was the third pawn? I wasn't dead, and so I surmised that he had been killed by the City Guard, or perhaps he threw the race. "The Raptor has sacrificed himself for the lives of yourselfand the others.... Curious, why did he give up the fight for your sakes?" Asked Shailik, in deep thought. "I do not know, but..." I hung my head low for a moment and hoped the best for the one who I belived to be a personification of Tezztor, then approached the two who came before me to rescue the white Wolf. His most distinctive features were his metal legs and twin tails, I instantly recognised him as Vosur. The ones helping him I recognised as Ghost with her blinded mystique and silver wings, and Rigor with her neon markings and yellow eyes. "Everyone alright?" I asked, looking around with a nervous and shifty gaze.

[WolfSeraphim]

(Sorry about to go way back)

As i searched for a fight I realized that there was someone following me which irratated me severly... While i was trying to remain calm i allowed the stalker to get fairly close then spinning with a speed i had never known before and lunging forward with the same speed i tackled the stalker... I got up and pressed one of my feet on his neck and bluntly asked while popping and stretching my knuckles, " Who the hell are you and why are you being stupid and followind me?"
I suddenly noticed i wasn't stretching my fingers but drawing out what seemed to be retractable claws. Grinning from ear to ear and forgetting all about my anger i looked, what i now realized was a cat, and saw all the fear i was inflicting....
Its response was a simple, "my master asked me to follow you and find out what your perpose was..."
looking down another wave of rage hit me as i realized i was a part of a training excercise.  i brought my claws down on its neck and killed it instantly... My first thought was to devour the creature but then i realized that whoever was the heat in this towm would be coming..
"blast... i'll just go hunting then..."
Turning and running as fast and slightly as i could. running straight for the nearest alley and getting the idea th try something... i jumped at a wall and leting instincts take over jumper from wass to wall until i reached the roof. gettin another idea, i went down on all fours and moved even faster. with the ledge rushing toward me  i jumped higher then humanly possibly threw the air to the next ledge and repeating it over and over till i decided to stop...
I then started figuring out EVERYTHING i could do... suddenly i noticed it was night and i could still see... laying down on the rrof and looking at the stars and falling asleep....

[Somebody]

  Tezztor eyed the snake, unsure exactly what the snake was plotting. Most as he knew, he was expecting to loose all knowledge of his beloved Raptor. As a therian this was a very dire loss, so he had nothing but contempt for the slithering fiend before him. "What exactly are you plotting snake? One moment your threatening my friends and all I hold dear and the next you want me to do your bidding. Surely your not as stupid as you look, or am I mistaken?" he said gruffly, his voice defining a very sharp edge. Yet the snake did not bother to answer him, the serpent's eyes did not survey him or anything it was as if it was lost in thought and he wasn't there. Frustrated the raptor lunged forward, swinging his claws at the snake but the snake teleported out of range. Repeatedly he attacked, but the snake could not be touched by even his own lightning speed. Tired of this game, he growled at the snake. "What is it you want? I'm tired of your games." The fury in his voice belied a need to tear the snake apart, as the rage built up the raptor took over.

  finally the snake spoke, "That is exactly what I want to see, the fury and the primal rage of your species. You have no equal you could kill anybody in melee combat you wished, but right now you lack the skill and mental prowess to effectively use your abilities. I however can fix that." The snake explained, smiling the most devilish grin as if amused by his own voice. "The threat I made before was a lie, a ruse aimed only at seeing each of you performing when your need was at its most dire. I knew I couldn't count on you all simply doing what I asked, risking all to save a stranger so I had to improvise." The snake hissed as it shifted its weight and moved closer to the fuming raptor. "All of them behaved exactly as I expected, selfishly with their own interests in mind. But you resisted in favor of their well being when they so easily rushed ahead at the detriment of yours.  It's this kinda drive and loyalty that I desire, a minion who will act in a way that is needed to achieve its goals no matter the cost when something important is at stake."

  "Enough of your games snake!." Tezztor roared grabbing out with blinding speed, this time actually catching the snake. The runed scales that adorned him prevented the snakes magic from allowing him to teleport. "Whats to stop me from tearing the head of your body right now?" the raptor snarled throw rows of razor sharp teeth, his mind lost to the raptor and not his own at this point. Despite it all the snake continued to grin,"Careful Raptor, if you kill me you all get sent home. That's right it was I who brought you here, and by my death can you go home. You however don't want to go, I can see it in your eyes. The desire the be who you are, the love and passion for your being burns deep withing the raptor's soul. This herein lies my proposal, you do exactly what I say and All you've ever wanted will be. I can see you still don't believe me, let me give you a gift to show my good intention." With that the snakes eyes glowed as he cast a spell on the raptor. The rags that once covered him turned to the glyphed armor that was Tezztor's trademark, across his back appeared the powerful demon's bane dagger. In his mind the raptor felt the knowledge and instincts come to life, all the skills and mannerisms took over. Tezztor was now fully himself, the cunning and murderous raptor stood in true form.

 "This is only the beggining," The snake continued, smiling as if he had already sealed the deal. "Do what I say and you can have all that you will ever need. What about your mate Reirna? She can truly be real for you here. I can see that you enjoy that thought, a place to settle down with her and maybe raise a family. Not only that but as a master assassin the world is yours, nobody can contend with your skill."  Tezztor stood for a moment, the cautious mannerisms of his human mind replaced by the confident and cold personality of the Raptor. Though the rage had not left him and he quickly unsheathed the dagger and held it at the snake's throat. The snake shook his finger and kept his smile, now trying his hardest not to be nervous at what could've been his own biggest mistake. "I gave you this out of good faith surely you must see that. I knew you could kill me but I still gave you this opportunity. You know I will hold to it because you now have the power to kill me with ease. Simply help me and all could be yours! Well Mr. Ne'taku, time to choose."

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Rigor let go of Vosur as he stood, "I believe I am if you're from the forum." She absently scratched at the back of her head, "Problem is, I don't know what to do. Tezztor's gone and he seemed to have the right idea of setting up a base camp for gathering information. I suggest we get out of town, seeing how there are people here who.. Seem to be easily controlled and pinned against us. That's where we were headed before 'fate' intervened." She looked around, a bit uneasy of the guards around. "If you were just transported here from some other place, I suggest you follow." She turned around, trying to get her bearings as to where she was to no avail, but she smelled the sweet scent of nature beyond her on the cobblestone path.

[PhantomStone]

ghost stepped away from the wolf once he could stand on his own. she listened to  the chameleon dragon anthro speak and look around. ghost was just looking around, having no specific take on anything at this point. she was dumped in a new world. and she was just slightly over whelmed as all of it caught up to her, being stuck here, the race, the guards. she tried to sort out everything that had happened. she was only more upset when she only counted the other scalie, no one she specifically recognised, rigor, and vosur. tezztor was probably closest friend she had here, now that he was gone. "I'll follow you then" ghost mumbled to rigor. she rubbed her face tiredly.

[Vosur Aekira]

Vosur leaned down to help the massive bear blacksmith to his feet, his own movements hobbled by the overuse of his legs since he never had the chance to repair them properly.

B'ar: "Thank'ye laddie, but aye'kin stand on me'own." he says as he gets up with a last cough to get the rest of the smoke out of his body. "That snake told me that he had an order 'e requested, but aye've n'ver seen'im 'fore. 'e dropped a bag o'gold at me feet 'fore 'e went an' made th'bellows blast t'start th' fire, th'n 'e hit m'head in th' back, an' almost left me t'die." He said as he held up a bag to Vosur's view, almost hiding it from the others as he did not recognize them.

Vosur: "Don't worry about them, they saved our lives." he said before turning to the others. "I'll stay behind, help the blacksmith to rebuild. Whoever we're dealing with, I feel we're not ready yet to combat him. Go do what you two need to, but stay safe and don't do anything reckless yet."

B'ar: "If'n ye'needin' gear, what e're we've got, ye'r w'come to when we get runnin'." he said, patting Vosur on the shoulder. "An' we've lot o' work t'do, lad."

[ST-84 Sahelanthropus]

I felt that it was strange how I was the only one that was not recognised, and how the body and persona that was chosen for me was one of the least dear to me. I knew the others at least held those personalities close to them, so why not me? I though that maybe Shailik was testing my Sanity and Fealty, but quickly denounced that idea and silently told myself that Shailik wasn't real... "It all seems so vivid, this can't be just my imagination, and if it isn't, then what is it really?" I said in a whisper to myself, but still inadvertently loud enough for the others to hear me talking to myself. "It was not I who brought you here, not had I planned on doing so. There is a powerful force at work that even I have yet to fully comprehend the nature or magnitude of. It has brought you here for reasons unknown, and I know you intend to find out why you are here and how you can go back to your old life." I stood there for a moment, silent, in deep thought. "I'll do anything... My Lord." There was a short pause, "Very good, now you must lend aid to your companions and follow them on this journey, but be wary of them, as they may betray your trust so that they might stay in this world. Be prepared to face off against them in the final gauntlet, and do not hold back any of the powers you will learn from your journey, for they will do the same to fulfil their own goals..."

[Somebody]

  Tezztor looked at the snake with a coldness typically reserved the the most heartless of trained killers. The light in his eyes turning to a calculated gaze replacing that of the warm gentle human he once was. It almost scared himself how much harm he wanted to inflict on the wolven city nearby. His scaly lips pulled back into a smile and he threw the sorceror to the ground. "Weary yourself sorcerer and take heed of my words, if I feel for the slightest instant that your words no longer hold the heft of the promise you just professed to me I'll separate your skin from your muscles." he remarked, the snake nodding believing him. Rising back up from the ground as if one were coaxing him with song, the snake slithered back over to Tezztor and handed him a note. "The persons on this page are hereby marked for death. How you go about it is your business and why they need to be killed is my own." As soon as the words hissed from his mouth a portal opened behind the sorcerer and he hastily went through, not wanting to give the raptor a chance to change his mind. It was a risky bet giving the raptor the tools he needed to be what he was, but a needed one for the tasks ahead.

  The assassin stood a moment, in the cool shade of the tree staring down at his dagger. As cold and calculated as he was, he was also one with honor and killing these people without knowing of their crime was not something he enjoyed. Then there was his friends, what he chose to do might ultimately effect them in this land by association. "Might be best if I let them think I'm dead till I figure this out. Don't want to draw any unessesary attention to them or myself if I don't have to. Sheathing his blade he krept off towards town, remaining in the shadows unseen. Up ahead was the guard house that guarded the southeastern gate, outside a few knights rambled on about their journies that they had just returned from as the guards ignored them. He lept into a tree with such effortless ease, his powerful legs propelling him upward into it. "Hmmm now how do I get back in without being seen." he pondered unaware that the guards were no longer after him.

  Inside the city the two iguana twins argued back and forth annoyingly like two eighteen year olds cheerleaders debating over what guy liked who. "Do you think hes ok? The sorcerer took him away before we really got to know him." Liszardia worried outloud. Not to appear like she cared less, the typically quieter sister Nara spoke up, "I'm sure hes fine and even if he weren't at least he got to die happily knowing he got to spend time with me" A sheepish grin washed over her black muzzle knowing full well she was instigating the wrath of her sister. They went back and forth heatedly for a few moments, even stopping dead in their tracks to argue it out but then as suddenly as it started it stopped. They both turned forward and walked as if nothing had happened at all, the cohesiveness of it might of seemed odd to onlookers. "We need to get out of the city before anything else happens. If it does at least we won't be near the populace and there would be less chance of danger. We have a cottage outside the gates." Liszardia offered, trying to feel helpful to these strangers.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Rigor walked on, her claws clicking on the stone path as she took each step. She gritted her teeth and balled her fists impatiently as the two iguanas argued over Tezztor. Each comeback from them made her cringe. Each sentence evoked anger, and her head went down, shoulders drawing up like a person surprised by a shot from a gun. She was trying hard not to let their arguing hinder her thought process, but their incessant gabbing was enough to make her want to grab up a random citizen and literally snap their spine in two over her knee.. Using the two pieces to beat the two iguanas like a pinata until they shut up or candy came out of their guts. Either was fine, really because candy made everything better, but the shutting up would make it a very peaceful walk. The more she thought about it, the more she agreed with herself that both results would create the best environment for her stroll because she could release her anger, then revert to being relaxed and have her candy like a good little dragon / chameleon hybrid.

For a moment she found herself grinning at the thought, but then she realized that the two reptilians were silent.. And that made her smile more broad until one of them spoke. Her shoulders drew up again, her head resuming its position downward and as the words continued, she turned her head as if receiving a bitter taste karma for her previous thoughts. She only picked up on, "We have a cottage outside the gates." Her posture relaxed a bit, and she turned around, looking to them almost dumbfoundedly.

"Well, how about you lead the way? But I swear, anymore arguing and we'll have to put one in the back and the other in the lead. It's gonna make me crazy."

[PhantomStone]

phantom followed behind rigor. keeping pace with the taller anthro proved to be a bit difficult for the smaller falcon girl but not impossible. she listened to the iguanas for a few seconds then quickly tuned them out and focused on her walking. her right wrist was giving her trouble, when she fell she surely must have cracked it. it felt hot and puffy. phantom figured that her wrist must be a bright pink or red by now. she absent mindedly tried to fit her wrist into her pocket, trying to immobilize it as best she could. phantom scowled when she remembered her predicament. shorts and a shirt was basically all she had, no pockets. with an annoyed huff she kept her head down and followed behind rigor. not particularly caring what direction they went. all the falcon girl wanted right now was to go home.

[Vosur Aekira]

Vosur turned back to the blacksmith, parting ways with his recently-regained friends. The two slumped into a sitting position a safe distance to look at the blacksmith's livelihood in smoldering embers, the two unable to do anything to save what was burning and the structure actually surviving against the flames. The inside had charred shields, armor and weapons of various melee types hanging on racks that were falling apart, but the weapons themselves retained very little damage besides the direct burning.

Vosur: "It looks like we could salvage whatever isn't too damaged, then melt down anything that is and make it into something new."

B'ar: "Aye, that'd work quite well, but even if just some burn marks, they're no use to th' customers... their temp'rin' is messed up and Ah'd 'ave to melt'm down 'gain."

Vosur slowly rose to his feet, then B'ar did as well, as a bunch of guards came to the smithy, them seeing a dead guard next to the smoldering ashes.

[ST-84 Sahelanthropus]

Steadily, I followed behind the others, not saying anything other than the incoherent and unintelligible muttering to myself. The place and people around me were very unfamiliar to me, but I felt at home being here. Although I had yet to get used to this body, I really wanted to become comfortable with it, but it just felt too alien... too inhuman. The power felt so good, yet so wrong, as if it wasn't meant for me, like I had betrayed and destroyed my humanity for something greater, and slowly, it seemed like the contrast between my old self and my current self was becoming less apparent.

[Somebody]

 Liszardia sped up as the left the gates and down the road into the countryside. The grass was always so green this time of year and the trees lining the nearby forest swayed gently in the breeze. Off in the distance a myriad of homes could be seen, most constructed from simple materials but one in particular stood out from the rest. It was a stone building of very fine build, arching wooden designs at its crest. As they came closer even more intricate designs could be seen engraved into the stone and woodwork. "Ah home at last," Nara sighed with relief as they neared the edge of the village. "Such an eventful day too, and you said going to town was a menial task." Liszardia snickered practically continuing her sister's conversation. The smile quickly left her muzzle as they neared closer, turning quickly to horror. "What the..." both sisters exclaimed in unison. As they looked onward the seemingly unharmed homes played host to a town square of mutilated corpses, all strung about in violent ways. With a seconds thought Liszardia called forth her wolven companions, renewed for the fight and her sister readied her staff. "Who did this? These were all peaceful folk." Nara said a hint of sadness in her voice.

 "It was I" A voice rang from seemingly everywhere, and yet no body could be seen to attach the voice to. A loud and cold laughter overcame them as a black dragon took corporeal form in front of them in the square. It was a imposing figure that wreaked of evil and foul intent. Clad in armor of charred black and red the large being stepped forward holding out its deadly claws. Inside the claw formed a hilt and following it a long and twisted blade that as soon as he stuck into the ground, caused the sand to turn black and fire erupted from the nearby grass and flowers. "I thought the fun was over, these peasants did not give the enjoyment I was so hoping for. So weak and feeble all that they barely lived long enough to sing to me their pleas of mercy and pain. Maybe you will serve to that end and make my trip here actually worth its while." The Onyx dragon sneered as he folded his arms cockily, seemingly not the least bit worried about the fellowship before him. His eyes began to glow and sharp tendrils began to erupt around him, more of a display of power then anything but without warning they sunk back into the ground. "Lets see how quick you are.... dodge!"

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Rigor eyed the corpses around, almost concerned. The iguanas seemed as disturbed as they were upset, and the large black dragon stood there, condescendingly. She looked up at him, a bit bored with his display. She didn't know why, but it didn't impress her. Her human self would have probably thought it was amazing, and would want to learn more.. But Rigor.. She just.. Expected more than a magic show and a couple of casualties. "Hell, I could do this on one of my off days." she giggled, "In fact, I have." Her mind flashed with memories of her character's past. It was odd... The girl within found her mind further and further from the world she had been in before all of this.. And closer to Rigor's mind. It was as if her actual memories had been printed on wet toilet paper. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.. Then Rigor continued on, "I'd have taken their intestines and worn them as a necklace if I'd wanted to scare someone." The dragon was clearly not entertained. Without warning, he shouted "DODGE" and a tendril shot up out of the ground beneath her, causing her to leap into the air with a flash. As the dragoness landed, she gripped an oversized scythe in her claw, and the tendril writhed on the ground.. A clean cut. She looked on in amazement. Where had she gotten the scythe?

[PhantomStone]

ghost's eyes widened at the sight of the casualties around the home. before she could question it a dark dragon showed up and spoke. teh human in ghost would have been scared stiff. but the Ghost on the outside wasn't scared. merely wondering what she would do if she had to act. she wasn't in the best fighting condition, her mind worked through her options, not much protection clothing wise, and no weapons, and a broken wrist and possibly a concussion. she remembered the fire in the alley, but she wouldn't try that here, one wrong move and the whole village could burn to the ground. the raptor yelled "DODGE" and rigor jumped and moved away, a black and deadly looking scythe appearing in her hands. ghost knew rigor could handle herself in a fight, and even if she couldn't Phantom wouldn't run out and try to fight, her poor condition would merely be a liability in a true fight. her mind started running through possible courses of action while she watched rigor and the black dragon react.