Friend or Foe 2.0

[Vosur Aekira]

Vosur and B'ar conversed with the guards to explain what had happened, the carnage that ensued through the evening and the fire that was finally put out. After finally being convinced that the two were not at fault, the guards picked up the body and began to prepare for a mass funeral for the fallen. Unaware of what was going to Rigor, Ghost, and Tezzator, they started to salvage what was left of the smithy to rebuild it as much as they could throughout the night. The two joked about left and right as they worked, every once in a while the two would have to stop and rest as both of them were not at their best. Vosur would have to use what tools remained to make temporary repairs on his legs, Ba'r would have to readjust the sling for his arm. It was a long and arduous night for the two, using what they could to make the parts they needed for repairs to the weaker areas of the smithy, though they were able to melt down and use most of the damaged weapons and armor for many of the repairs. All that remained were roof repairs and ash-sweeping.

[ST-84 Sahelanthropus]

The copses lying on the ground and the innards strewn about disturbed me, but oddly wasn't nauseating, as I was sure it would have made me feel in the "real" world. I sensed a threat nearby, somehow like I had a sixth perception, and hastily drew my weapon. Soon after, an unfamiliar voice spoke to our group, and an ominous laughter manifested itself along with what appeared to be a black Dragon, he claimed to be the one who murdered the people that lay before us, I believed him, and I swore that I would compensate for the innocent blood spilled today with his own. He made his attack, but not before foolishly warning us of it, and we avoided it almost effortlessly. "You're gonna pay for all the people you killed, Dragon..." There was a cold tone of vaunted hatred in my voice, punctuating on the utterance of the word Dragon. I pointed my blade and a vengeful stare at the impudent upstart, and soon, an aura of anger emitted from my body, and subtle percussions that sounded like sledgehammers pounding on a metal beam, matched my slowed heartbeat. I gritted my jagged teeth and licked each individual tooth in a bizarre fashion, my eyes then became drained of all color, like gigantic pearls with tiny red vines wrenched around them. I had become lost in an unnatural rush of hatred, and I knew it would only stop when my claws were stained with every ounce of his blood...

[Somebody]

  The large dragon smiled, amused by their bravery. " The tendrils are but play things, easily conjured." he laughed as he walked calmly towards them as if they were old friends. As he made his way forward his physical form faded to a shadow like gas, bubbling about before taking a new shape. The figure shrunk to a much shorter and nearly black shadow of the young dragoness and from his shadowy claws sprouted a perfect replica of her scythe. He laughed mocking her as he raised his claws to his ears and danced about, shaking his hips from side to side. "Life is so much more fun when you fill it with chaos but to murder you with your own shadow is pure delight." he taunted amused by his own doings. As suddenly as he stopped the shadowy figure of Rigor split creating 4 more shadows which took the form of the others, a bird, a dinosaur and two iguanesses." Tendrils can be cut, torn asunder and all manner of things quite easily, but how easily can you beat your own double? With all the strength, wisdom and agility that you have. What you know they know." he remarked this time taking an eerie seriousness to him and he reformed back at his sword, still stuck into the ground.

  Tezztor strode down alleyway after alleyway, heading straight for his first victim. His scaley mug shown no signs of remorse or concern for the killing of the one on the list. It was simply something that must be done for him to find happiness for himself. "I've spent too long in my life serving the needs of others and why? So they can betray you when your use has outlived its need? The wolves of this city will pay dearly and they will fear the mentioning of my name." he stopped to laugh, amusing himself at his own dark humor. "I am the dark lord Tezztor, and I command you my furry minions to die!" he paused for a moment before continuing his thought. "I wonder what the people on this list have done to deserve this fate that I have been ordered to serve.  By my own honor that I risk their lives to fullfill my own. I feel there is more to this then simple murder, these people must be of some importance and though I may not like it, it could give me more of a clue to whats going on in this world." he thought as he moved on down the street, nearing his goal. The citizens and the guards paid him no heed as if the event earlier had never happened, this struck him as a bit odd given how much fervor was put into his chase. The details of that event in his mind seemed to fade as if stuck in a foggy cloud in his mind. the memories of the Raptor were taking over and the existence prior was becoming a mere memory.

  The sun was setting and most of the furs in town had retreated to their hovels for the night. It was the first time since his arrival any sort of serenity hit him as he took in his surroundings. Maybe it was the dead of night or the feeling of the hunt but he had never felt more alive then right at that moment. He stopped at the edge of a building and peered around at the smoking remains of the smithy. There he saw the white wolf working with a bear as if trying to repair it. He didn't know the bear but somewhere in his mind it seemed he might of known the white wolf but he shook his head without a thought and unsheathed his deadly dagger. Muttering a prayer in his own tongue he coated the blade in a poison, readying it for use. Looking back to the smithy he watched them and as they both turned away he slunk closer, making sure to stay downwind of them as to not reveal himself. He did not cringe at the thought nor pour over his morals in killing this innocent, he had a job to do and he aimed to do it with as much precision as his namesake had come to be known for. The bear joked with the white wolf some more as the day faded into night, unaware of his impending doom.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Rigor smiled and leaned to her shadow, taking a claw and grabbing a cheek of the shadow, shaking it like an auntie to a child. "Awww. She looks so cute. Just like me in my opinion. It only upsets me that I've got to fight a pawn and not the coward behind it. Though I will say, she's more of the light of the party since she's so willing to dance and play, Kiolosk. You could have done a better job." She grinned wickedly despite the odds, her long striped and serpentine tongue escaping from her mouth and dripping with a green substance.. She only knew this character because of seeing him so often in stories and other things her friend had written and portrayed. "Tsk, Tsk.. I'm disappointed. Let's see just how much she is like me. I'll give her the first move."

[PhantomStone]

phantom listened to the dragon talk and then heard the shadow ghost walk forward to her. phantom grimaced and raised into a fighting position. ok, so she knows about my wrist and head. huh, well even if i was in my best shape i don't think i could do this, if i know this, then she knows this. phantom looked over at the iguanas' shadows'. either of them could probably take me down, and i might be able to take out the large Dino's shadow. phantom tried to think of a way to ask the others if they could switch partners. phantom knew deep in her gut she would not win this fight if she had to face her shadow.

[Vosur Aekira]

After a while of working, the two stopped to eat, then Vosur stood up after finishing, venturing to clean up the ashen debris with a broom. During the sweeping, he hits against something among the ashes with his foot while sweeping... an obvious metal-to-metal clank was heard in the small pile of ashes. Kneeling down and brushing a little bit off of what hit his foot, he reveals a handle with a slight 'hook-basket' in shape. Further brushing away revealed an incomplete and unsharpened sabre, his hand hitting against a sheath about the right size and shape for it as well. He picked up both pieces and cleaned off as much dust and ash as he could, then slid the sheath over the blade... memories of the sword that was introduced to his character in the storyline he made flooding his mind. The sword-and-sheath set weren't aesthetically-similar, but the feel of the weapon was familiar to him as though it were his Spirit of Ebele.

Dropping the broom and holding the set up to the oncoming moonlight and faint light of the guard-house torches in the distance, the thumb's-width of the exposed blade he held to the light seemed spark memories. Repressed or recently-attained, it didn't matter, it made him smile for a split-second... seeing the Angel with his favored weapon, countless battles that led up to and beyond the meetings of his loved ones, seeing his two children born. After that flood of memories, his demeanor became serious as he remembered the fates of them all in his story: anyone who became his beloved died, first child went missing and never to be found, second child died with his last beloved. Finished with reminiscing, he glanced back to the blade just long enough to catch the reflection of a set of eyes watching him off the hilt.

Vosur: "You mind if I keep this?" he called out to B'ar, holding up the sword and sheath to his view, but not turning around to face him... his ears swiveling about to find out about in search of anything out of the ordinary.

B'ar: "An'thing y'kin use, be m'guest." he replied, doing what he could to make his place appealing to customers again.

[ST-84 Sahelanthropus]

Seeing this shadow of myself made me realise again what I had become, causing me to draw back a bit. "Will I ever go back?"  My aura as well as my morale suddenly vanished, but I did not drop my weapon or lose the will to fight. Knowing that the shadow would know all of the novice sword techniques that I had learned in my previous life, I quickly fabricated a plan to simply out-last this doppelganger. I wasn't totally sure if they could suffer from exhaustion, but it was worth a shot if I failed to kill him in a fair fight. "Your move, my little impostor." I mockingly gestured to myself, challenging the copy to attack first.

[Somebody]

 The dark dragon knight looked on as the fellowship before him stared down their own shadows. While it wasn't as amusing as it seemed like it would be in his mind, it did serve as a nice distraction from the typical pushover resistance he typically received. Not speaking a word he merely snapped his scaley claw and the shadows rushed their counterparts. Sitting down lazily on the edge of the stone fountain he let out a fierce yawn, he had been awake for days searching for the source of the surge of power he had felt in the region. Typically nobody but his own brother could compete with his power, however whoever or whatever caused this fluctuation held quite a bit of it themselves. 'Days since rest, days since I've eaten." he muttered exhaustively to himself like he had carried a heavy boulder up a hill. The clash and yells of the first pairing snapped him out of his stupor, looking over he noticed the two iguanas twins feverishly battling for their lives.  While the beastmaster twins sent wave after wave of summoned wolf at each other, the monk twins were exceedingly exciting to watch. Lighting fast twirls of the staff clacking in an almost inhuman beat. One would flip and the other would twirl around for a tail attack, neither able to overpower the other's skill.

 Tezztor slunk around in the darkness, not making a sound and staying downwind of the two inside. He stood patiently for what seemed like hours waiting for the perfect moment to strike his prey. The more he thought about it the more he desired it, almost lusting for the kill. He watched the white wolf rummage about the wreckage, finding a blade of sorts that he could not see from his perch. The bear however had his back turned to him, remaining mostly stationary. "This will only take a second" he thought to himself. From the time he would strike to the time he could get out of there would seem only like a flash in a moment and if the target did not die from the brutal strike the poison would finish what he started. "Which is more deadly, the bear, the wolf or the raptor?" he entertained in his mind, smirking at the notion.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

The dragoness jumped backward, loving the rush of adrenaline as well as the rush from her opponent. One technique she was quite fond of was a little thing called timing. As the shadow charged to her, its attack was broken with her first strike with her scythe to its gut. She had sidestepped and sliced, cleanly and efficiently. So much in fact, that she shadow stopped and turned towards her without any sign of impairment for another attack until black substance that would have more than likely been guts began to burst out onto the ground and disappear. The shadow clutched its stomach as if to try and hold it all in. And let out a frustrated roar.. Swinging its scythe in turn and nicking her on the face. Caught by surprise, Rigor stumbled backward and fell flat onto her rear. Her long tongue lapped the blood from her wound until it completely healed on its own.. But by the time she could focus back on her opponent, the shadow was on top of her, scythe in the air, readied to land a hit on her skull. The over-sized death blade came hurling downward, and as if it were an instinct, she grabbed the doppelganger's ankles with her feet and rolled, causing the shadow to fall to the ground. At the last moment, she let go with her feet and lifted with her arms performing what looked like an extremely flexible cartwheel and landing with her foot on the shadow's throat. Her claws dug into it's windpipe and  in response, it scrambled wildly in search of its dropped weapon. It was disgusting... Rigor looked down at it, scowling. Without further thought, she wrenched her leg and there was a snap.

[PhantomStone]

torque. phantom thought before the onslaught of her shadow hit her. the black falcon stepped forward with speed and swung a hard blow to phantom's jaw. unsuspecting the straight forward attack she was unprepared and the blow connected solidly. before the silver winged falcon could react her doppelganger sent two hard uppercuts her way both connecting with her stomach. ghost locked her stomach muscles a bit to late and had to step back away from the shadow while she fought to regain her breath. the merciless shadow smiled and stepped forward to close the distance once more and threw a feigning blow toward her left shoulder, ghost twisted away from the punch but had missed the sideways power kick that connected solidly with her ribs and back. phantom was forced to hop to the left and forward once more from the force of the kick, putting the battered silver falcon right back into range for her doubles's fists. the shadow was rewarded to two solid fist jabs to the silver winged girl's stomach before phantom stepped away.

ghost stepped back and tried to breathe. the battle was hard on her and it was taking her toll, having thrown no punches of her own the real ghost was surprised at herself. the shadow had copied exactly every throw and punch she would have made, if her wrist and skull weren't bad at all. if i were me, right feign and left jab followed by a grab and a knee. phantom counted as the shadow followed the planned route to the letter. the dark falcon grinned as she hit her lighter opponent, not suspecting what she was thinking except for all the pain that was filling her. the real ghost grimaced. taking the punishment as well as she could. she knows my skills, but... ghost dodged the next attack, relying on instinct on what she would do. the doppelganger landed only one lucky shot in her next barrage.

i can dodge, but it won't win me the fight ghost thought as the shadow had backed her farther and farther away from every body. she quickly dodged around her shadows next attack and proceeded to step around her so ghost's back was now to the others. if she had to back up now she had more room. but right now she didn't intend to back up. she leaped at the shadow who wasn't facing towards or away from the silver falcon. the dark falcon was startled but reacted well by grabbing the silver's wrist and wrenching her over her shoulder, sending the silver falcon flying and crashing into the side of a house. phantom snarled as she heard and felt the bones in her wings crack. she sprang up, angry and letting her fury power her she charged the girl again, leading with her broken right wrist, just as she knew the doppelganger would, the black falcon grabbed teh broken wrist, and threw her hips to the side to try to launch the silver falcon over like before. but this time ghost was ready she dodged the check and slid in right behind the shadow. she stood close and swept her own feet in and out sweeping the doppelganger's feet out also causing her to fall to the ground. ghost worked her right arm free from the shadow's grip as she fell and now hooked her hard right arm under the shadows throat. with her left hand she picked up a good sized chunk of rock and was ready to bash the shadow's skull in.

[Vosur Aekira]

Vosur: He kept hold of the weapon, using his other hand to reach down and pick up the broom, the feeling of uneasiness as he looked to the bear. "You think we did enough rebuilding for this place today?" he spoke out to the massive blacksmith.

B'ar: "Ah've wonted better overhead anyways, an' it will'nt rain today... so guess 'tis a good 'dea t'ave a drink." he said, wandering towards the house, noticing Vosur's expressions when he held the weapon. "Ya'look like ya' were a pup with a toy for a mite, then allovasudden ya'were like ya'saw a fun'ral. Care t'lay yer troubles on this ol' B'ar?"

Vosur: "I do not intend to lay my troubles on you as you have enough to worry about. Let's say that I remembered the past, both good and bad." he said, a smile to the bear as turned his head to keep track of B'ar as he walked by himself and into the rebuild of his home. He stayed outside, looking into the progress of the rebuilt smithy.

B'ar: "Past remembered by a mutton of an unfinished weapon... heh." he joked as he went in and started to rummage through a charred-but-intact chest of his belongings, pulling out and trying on a pair of Cesti, which seemed to fit his hands and wrists as he adjusted the metal-plated gauntlet-like punch gloves. "These things managed to survive that infernal disaster. What a reckless lad Ah'was."

Vosur was silent for a while, not paying attention to the blacksmith now, his hand dropping the broom as his recessive hand, which was now his right hand, gripped the sheath of the sabre and thumbed the weapon slightly out of it. He couldn't smell if there was anyone else out there, his ears were constantly scanning the area for unusual sounds as they swept back and forth.

[ST-84 Sahelanthropus]

As I waited for my opponent to make the first move, he copied my weapon and behavior, and held his ground. This annoyed me a little, knowing that both of us would be equally unwilling to make the first move. I prefer a more defensive pattern in fighting, so it made sense that my copy would too, but then I finally decided to get this over with quickly and attack first with a lunging strike, he deflected the attack, but to his dismay I anticipated the direction of the move and disarmed him by twirling the sword out of his grip, and it landed on the ground a few yards from us. This made him angry, and he let loose with several clawings and bites, which was unexpected to say the least. As I frantically tried to block and counter the spontaneous assault, I dismembered his right arm at the shoulder with my blade of cold steel, and the copy let out an inhuman screech as he grieved over the loss of his primary arm, tightly holding his shoulder, which was profusely dripping with a black, blood-like substance. I approached him cautiously, he then looked up at me and gave a weak, defiant roar. I felt satisfaction, and maybe even pleasure from seeing my foe kneeling on the ground before me, and readied myself to finish it all off by turning my fallen enemy into a lurid slurry of blackened ooze, but he died before I could do so, and melted into a thick puddle of dark liquid...

[Somebody]

 The dragon dark knight yawned again, his maw spreading wide revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. A puff of fire escaped his maw he has let it out, almost resembling a magician's show. Standing up be walked towards them casually, clapping his claws together as if he had witnessed a show. "Very well done you have all beaten yourselves. Still it was amusing to watch and you will all be glad to know how much I will enjoy each of your heads as a trophy. Don't fret, I won't feel a thing." he smiled, reaching his hand back as if to grab something out of air. At that same instant his massive two handed blade, one befitting a dragon of his size, flew from the ground and into his grasp. With a click of his claws the blade caught fire and the puddles of black viscous goo on the ground sprang back to life, once again forming shadows of their masters.  The dragons form seemed to fade in an out of corporeal and incorporeal forms, jumping from spot to spot instantly and before they knew it he was upon them. Wasting no time he swung the massive blade in a wide arc, the fabric of reality around the blade seemed to momentarily tear and sent ripples outward from the blade. The dragon laughed like a maniac, loving the chaos.

 Tezztor looked onward, adjusting his position edging himself closer to his target. The two increasingly separated themselves from each other, the bear went into a different room, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. The white wolf remained and he kept a close eye on him. Somewhere in his mind the white wolf seemed familiar, like they had met before but he shook his head removing the thought. The time was perfect for a strike, his victim completely separated from the other if even for a moment. He slunk through the window and crept up behind his prey, barely making a sound other then the soft clacking of his talons on the floor. As he reached the target he heard him say, "What a reckless lad Ah'was." he smiled and coldly added in his heavily hiss accented voice, "Somethings never change." before the large bear could react he jabbed his dagger into its back, wrenching it in then pulling it viciously up the spine. He stepped calmly backward watching the bear writhe as he sniffed the air for others, the only scent remaining was the wolf. Stepping out of the door he looked a Vos while twirling his dagger around his claw effortlessly, muttering a prayer in the raptor tongue. There was a palpable tension in the air as the blood curdling noises from the other room filled the night. A smile curled up on his lips as he brought out a piece of paper from his pack and used the blood on the dagger to cross the name off the list. Putting it away he looked coldly back at the wolf.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

The dragoness growled, tired of the dragon's games. She wanted shelter, she wanted an explanation.. And she was pretty irate with this stupid overgrown lizard getting in her way. Again, she leaped, this time looking like a lion leaping for pray, her expression even matching the feline with a vicious roar and her claws in front of her, eager to dig into flesh. Her scythe clattered to the ground, disappearing with a puff of smoke as she seemed to glide, almost weightlessly through the air.. Her destroyed wings flapping behind her like a tattered and split cape. His head was tossed back, laughing wildly. She assumed that he was hoping for his display to intimidate her and the others because he was leaving a large opening. His blade swung by her, the reality seeming to fluctuate near the blade and as it swiped past her stomach, almost cutting her wide open if she had jumped any lower.. She felt an unnerving tug until it was out of range and she collided with him, her claws digging into his shoulders. As they hit the ground, she retracted her offense and jammed her forearm into the lack dragon's throat and quickly slid her arm under his breastplate, pressuring her claws against his vulnerable underbelly.

[Vosur Aekira]

Vosur's ears perked as he heard an all-too-familiar sickening sound of a sharp object going through flesh, followed by a very heavy thump from inside the smithy. His eyes turned back into the burned-out building to see the smithy on the ground, struggling for life as he was crawling away from the scene and grabbing a dagger. He could see a figure with a bloody knife, using it to cross off something on a piece of parchment. The figure did not seem warm-blooded in nature nor in body-shape.

Vosur: Locking his eyes with the approximate location of the individual who killed the only person to even give him a chance in this world, he let out a deep growl as his eyes turned as bright-red as the blood that dripped from the blade. His stance shifted to something similar of a samurai's, his left-hand on the hilt of the sabre and his right hand holding the sheath. "What reason did you have to come back and end the life of an already destroyed blacksmith?"

B'ar: "L-laddie..." he manages to speak out, holding the blade blade to the approximate position of his heart as he readies to finish the job started by the assassin. "Th'shop... is yours... if ya'... survive." he coughs out before he fell onto the blade, his body covering over the entire weapon. No more breathing, coughing, or even rasping came out.

Vosur's eyes paled to blue for a split-second, unsure on why B'ar chose to end his own life instead of fighting to stay alive, but he did not stray long on those thoughts as his eyes went back to red on the target, the last words of the blacksmith echoing in his head.