To See What You've Got

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla stepped off the boat with shaky legs. She'd never traveled this far before. The unknown land seemed to call to her, a world of her own. How often had she dreamed about a place far from civilization, where she was free to live off of wild game and run around stark-naked should she choose to?

"It's a wasteland," Anita spoke behind her.

"It's paradise," Kyla stated distractedly, already rushing off to explore the unknown world.

Anita wasn't far off from the truth; the land was barren. You could see red dirt for miles. Every so often stood a patch of grass, or a small tree; it was the edge of a desert. Kyla rejoiced silently in the beauty of the place, she could see the edge of the world from where she stood. The deep blue sky was turning purple overhead, and soon she would see the place's true colors. The group made their camp out in the open; she and Anita would be sharing a tent. They said goodnight and Kyla excused herself to look at the millions of stars, promising herself silently that one day she would be able to name them as they lit up the open sky She walked away from the camp, hoping to find solitude among her new world. The sound of the wind and the whoosh of running water hit the girl's ears. Kyla turned in the direction of the noise and began to run. It took about fifteen minutes, but Kyla found her prize. It was a giant canyon, the bottom of which she could not even see in the darkness. The sound of a stream could be heard bouncing off of the canyon's walls. She sat upon the edge for hours, waiting for the morning like a child on their birthday.

The sun began to rise, and Kyla forced her sleepy eyes to remain open. The colors were unlike anything she'd ever seen. The Canyon walls shone gold and purple at the lights reflection. At the bottom of then canyon, sat a waterfall no more than twenty feet high, which fell from inside the canyon walls. Kyla’s eyes scanned the walls of the crevice, every so often on the walls of the rock there was an indention each one like a small cave. Do people live here? She wondered to herself. Pulling herself away from the beauty, Kyla raced back to camp before she worried everyone too much.

[Silence Sei]

The air was dry, the birds were few, and tension was high. Sei Orlouge had to agree with Anita that this place was indeed a wasteland. How he had been convinced by the two girls to come here was beyond him. Perhaps it had been the puppy dog eyes, perhaps it was the constant 'please's coming from the teenagers, or perhaps it was the fact that Sei liked to take Kyla as far away from Jensen Ambrose as possible.

Yeah, it was the last one.

The mute looked about the flat lands. The caked dirt on the ground seemed to indicate that anything that lived here was often exposed. Whether it was to the elements, bandits, or creatures of the night, Sei could easily see why nobody lived in the Outlands. Anita had quickly begun to follow Kyla in her mad dash to Thayne's-know-where. Sei, however, expressed his deepest thanks to the captain of the boat for the transport, paid him handsomely, and informed him of when to return for them.

It would be like a miniature vacation. There were no world threatening dangers here. There were no knights constantly asking Sei fifty different questions. There was no worry of anything coming without being spotted miles down the road. Sei reflected on this with a smile. Perhaps maybe Kyla was right after all.

The mute tried to follow his girls, but a mile our so out, he decided that they could find him. He lay onto the ground back down. The mute's face grew into a wide smile as he began to watch the puffs of white clouds slowly pass by his form. They were slowly making different kinds of shapes that Sei was indentifying. He hadn't cloud gazed in a long time. He never had the time to just sit back and enjoy life like this anymore.

Okay, Kyla was right. This was paradise.

[Amber Eyes]

Kyla woke the next morning eager to tell Sei of the caves she'd discovered not far from the campsite.. She rushed to his sleeping bag but found it abandoned. Come on! We're on vacation Sei! Just this once you could sleep in!

She rushed in the direction of the canyon she'd discovered and quickly caught up to Sei. She joined him on his walk, neither speaking for several moments, both caught up in the beautiful nothingness surrounding them.

"Just run off and leave me then!" They heard from behind. Kyla turned and there stood Anita, her hair all over the place.

"Not adjusting to life of a wanderer too well, huh dear sister?" Kyla put her arm around the girl, honestly feeling sorry for her. "I have something I wanted to show you guys." Kyla walked towards the canyon, beckoning the others to follow. They walked for several minutes in complete silence less a couple of grumbles from Anita. Kyla couldn't help but rejoice a bit in the fact that this time she was the one in her element.

They reached the edge of the canyon and the sight took Kyla's breath away. It was much larger than she'd ever imagined, and sure enough a stream ran right through the bottom. It began with a huge waterfall and Kyla wished she could reach down and feel the cool water. The caves were more evident in the sunlight and Kyla looked to Sei. "They're homes aren't they?"

[Silence Sei]

"I believe so, yes" Sei said, observing all of the man sized holes that the stream lead through. IT was no big deal that there were people living in an otherwise deserted wasteland such as this, but who were they? Anita's eyes seemed to be combing over one of her many books in order to try and figure out that question for herself. Sei looked to Kyla with a bit of a smile, hoping the girl was thinking what he was.

"How about a more direct approach?" Sei smiled, grabbing Kyla underneath the girl's arms. The mute's wings quickly sprouted out in vibrant oranges and blues, flapping a bit at first to 'shake the cobwebs out' as it were. Sei lifted up his daughter and began to fly downwards towards the homes at the bottom of the canyon. IT took several minutes while carrying the load that was Kyla Orlouge, but the duo finally reached the bottom of the area.

Dust kicked up all around them upon landing. The holes that seemed to be miniscule in size earlier now seemed to be reshaped as man-made entrances. Sei's eyes darted around, trying to find any indication as to who the people that lived, here were. The smell of freshly moved dirt filled the mute's nostrils, a smell that he knew Kyla enjoyed very much. His eyes finally decided to follow the stream, attempting to see where it ended at.

"Well Kyla, should we follow the water, or just pop in on some of our temporary neighbors?"

[Amber Eyes]

The girl squealed with delight at the feeling of weightlessness Sei created as he carried her through the canyon. The beauty from the rim held nothing next to what she now saw, and Kyla could not make herself believe this wasn't fantasy. She spread her arms and felt the wind hitting her face; cooling her with the light mist from the waterfall. As much as she longed to dive into the water, the caves were planted firmly in her mind. When Sei asked his question Kyla did not hesitate.

"The caves!" The girl shouted as Sei changed their course to match follow where she pointed. They were headed towards a wall, which held at least a dozen caves, all connected by stairs built into the stone. They were slightly dilapidated, but still usable from what Kyla could tell. They landed and Kyla took a moment to look back at the rim they had flown from. Kyla could barely make out the form of Anita, but if her body language meant anything she wasn't too happy about being left behind again. Kyla rushed down the stairs and into the first cavern. Already Sei was taking off to get her 'sister' and Kyla wanted a moment of peace to picture the history of this place before Anita could ruin the fantasy of it with her facts and figures.

[Silence Sei]

"You always take Kyla first!" Anita shouted, a growl of jealousy in her tone, "Kyla always gets to take the trips before me, ever since she first came to us!" Sei knew that the teenager was angry that he had grabbed Kyla before her, but Anita was not thinking clearly. Kyla knew where she was going, and Anita didn't. If Sei had gotten lost, his second 'daughter' would have managed to guide him out. Sei was a great strategist when he could view the entire map, but he was lousy with directions.

"Anita, Kyla can defend herself down there if something attacked while I was away. You can't. There doesn't seem to be anything out here that required you to fight. It was the safer choice to take Kyla down and then come back to get you, where Kyla and I can both defend you if need be ." The girl grumbled as Sei reached under her arms and began to carry her down. Lately Anita had been getting more and more of an attitude with her father. It was another 'Kyla-effect' that was inciting this sudden rebellion in the girl.

When Sei landed with Anita, both parties seemed to have cooled down a bit. The cool air hitting one in the face would do that. Anita began making several horrible spitting sounds for a moment, causing a grin to form across Sei's lips. It seemed as though the 'Daughter of the Dragon' had managed to eat a few bugs during the descent. Sei couldn't help but feel amused, thinking that the event was karma getting back at Anita for acting so selfishly.

Sei closed his eyes and shook his head. He knew better than to search for Kyla already. The girl probably dove headfirst into some sort of trouble, and would require her 'father' to rescue her from it. Kyla was a capable fighter, but she was nowhere near ready to take on unknown dangers. Sei began to think that the two areas Kyla excelled in the most were clumsiness and getting into perils.

"Let's go see what she's gotten herself into this time." Sei sighed as he began to walk down the stairs his relative had just run down moments earlier. Anita followed, still trying to get the taste of insect out of her mouth.

[Amber Eyes]

As Kyla entered the first cave, she heard a whisper. It was a funny sort of language, and Kyla could not make any of it out. Kyla prided herself on her knowledge of languages, something taught to her by Zander as they traveled throughout the many lands of her childhood. Kyla quickly pushed the sound out of her head, who knew what kind of animals were about? Surely it was either her imagination or the local typical nature sounds. She looked about her, and quickly noticed that dust covered most everything inside. There was a small stone bassinet in the corner, and Kyla could not help but approach it. Inside lay a blanket that must have been beautiful once. It was several dyed pieces of fabric sewn together. Kyla's mind filled with images of a happy baby gripping the quilt as it fell asleep to the sounds of its mother's song. She pictured a father coming in and sitting at the small table on the far side of the room. She could almost taste the food that the woman in her mind had cooked for her beloved. It would have been a simple existence, but surely a happy one.

But why did this child not outgrow the bassinet? Did these people leave or did something happen to them? Kyla hoped that they had simply moved on.

Kyla laid the blanket down on the basinet and said a silent prayer to the Thaynes for this little family, that they had found happiness all those years ago.

Kyla wondered down the next set of steps, imagining she had lived with these people, as she entered the next cave however she was pulled from her fantasy. This cave was set up very similar to the last, minus the crib. Something pulled the girl to attention, though Kyla couldn't place it. She looked around and again heard the whisper she could not place. That was when she realized that the dust in this room was not as thick as the dust of the others. Someone had been here, perhaps as recently as a couple days ago. Kyla wondered around the small home, and looked at everything.

The cups had been used, and some rubbish was gathered in a corner. Next to the pile Kyla noticed a piece of white silk fabric. She bent down for a better look, and the voice, now no longer a whisper reached her ears again. Kyla still couldn't understand the strange voice, but it seemed to be urging her towards the glove. She picked it up, noticing the jewels on the back as the voice now clear said, "You are mine."

[Silence Sei]

Sei had explored several rooms before he made it into the room where his daughter was picking up a strange glove. Sei quirked an eyebrow at the girl, but was quickly interrupted when Anita tapped him on his shoulder. Sei turned around to look at the younger girl. Anita merely pointed around to Sei's back, prompting the mute to grab the hilts to his Gemini Blades and withdraw them.

The swords had been glowing a bright blue hue. They were also emanating a humming noise of some sort. It wasn't anything that really annoyed any of the three warriors, but it was there. These telltale signs were indications that Kyla had just picked up a Zodiac Weapon.

Sei looked to his daughter, his eyebrow requirked at the glove. What was a Zodiac Weapon, a thing of Thayne-like potential, doing in a relatively abandoned home? As Sei thought upon this, his eyes began to browse around the area. The signs of dilapidation that had coated other venues in this 'village' were more lax here. Someone was taking care of this room, for some reason.

The thought caused Sei to turn around. Surely, if someone was living here, they would be back shortly. The mute was quickly greeted by the barrel of a gun. The mute's eyes widened as he caught glimpse of the guns owner. She had short, cropped, black hair. Her golden eyes were obvious contacts, as they were slitted like a cat. As she smiled, a row of pearly white teeth flashed in front of the mute. Behind her, several mean grumbled and shouted for the woman to finish Sei then and there.

"Go on, Janie! Do it now! You could be the bandit that took out the Hero of Radasanth!"

"How stupid was he to come to our turf unprepared?!"

"Wait a second...is that Zander's sister?!"

The last one caught Sei off guard. Even as the voice of this 'Janie' was ordering the Orlouges to be tied up, Sei was sending Kyla her own private message. "You....know these people?!"

[Amber Eyes]

"Who is leading you?" Kyla demanded of the girl. "You have no idea who you are messing with! If Zander hears about this...." Kyla was already placing the glove on her hand, she could not explain why but the glove seemed to be begging to be a part of her.

A large man grabbed Kyla, shoved her onto the stone floor and began to tie her to Anita. "We don't work for Zander anymore, little Lady. You don't even remember me do ya?"

Kyla tried unsuccessfully to place the man, his features seemed so familiar. "Who are you?" Kyla asked with genuine interest.

"I only met you a couple 'a times. You ran away my second night with the group. My brother will be eager to see you again though."

Kyla stared into the man's face before letting a gasp escape her, "Your Talarni's little brother! You were there the night with..."

"Let's not get into all of that little lady, just sit still." The man finished his work tying the two young girls together back to back before he noticed the glove. "Huh...that thing must like you, it burned everyone else who tried to put in on. We figured it was probably some sort of magic. It's a pretty glove, thought we could fetch a fair price for it. I'm going to need it back."

The glove seemed to protest as the man reached for it. Kyla quickly shouted a bit too loudly. "How much do you want for it?"

The large man seemed to think for a moment. He looked into Kyla's eyes, and she tried her best to hide the pleading that lay in them. "400 gold."

Anita burst into laughter. "That's ridiculous. It's just an opera glove; it's not even the full set. You're crazy man."

Kyla nudged Anita, true the price was high, but the glove was pleading with her. There was no voice this time, but Kyla could feel the glove's despair at the thought of parting from her. "I have 360 gold in my coin purse. Take it or leave it." Kyla said plainly.

The man raised his eyebrows before reaching down and snatching her bag. "And what if I just take the money and the glove?"

"When was the last time you saw your brother?" Kyla smiled at the man.

"It's been a few months, he had some buisness with a man named Ciato." Kyla tried to hide the suprise of the mention of her uncle's name. She looked to Sei who quickly told her to calm down telepathically. "Don't let him get to you, I've got this under control."

"Then you don't know that I've learned a few tricks and made a few friends since the last time you saw me. I'm a fair person; I will pay you for the glove and let you leave. That's about all the patience I have for this thayne-damned group today though. Leave now with the money or I will assure you that you will regret it with every fiber of your being."

The man and his female companion laughed at Kyla's anger. "And what exactly are you going to do about it?" The woman chided.

Kyla bit her lip hard in an attempt to hold her anger. "Oh, just this." Kyla wasn't sure why, but the glove seemed to be leading her actions. She tensed her right hand, and three razor sharp claws came out of the cloth. She used them to cut the rope that binded her, and then quickly conjured a shadow sword. She pulled herself to her feet and stared at her would be captors, a shortsword in one hand and the newfound claws in the other. "I'm done being kidnapped, I'm done being helpless. I wil count to three and then you will no longer have the option of leaving this cavern alive. Make your choice quickly."

"1"

"2"

"3"

[Silence Sei]

Sei had been so caught up in the mention of his brother's name, the rest of the world seemed to slow down around him. Ciato had killed Talarni, Sei had seen it with his own eyes. The mute had originally thought that the evil bandit had come to Orlouge Drantrak for Kyla. She had been his obbsession, after all. Yet he had been there for Ciato. Why? What did Ciato have to offer him? Why did Ciato kill a man who had come to the town for the express purpose of seeing him?

The mute hadn't even realized that Kyla had broken her bonds until she began her ultimatum. Even then, it was Anita who had to nudge her father into comprehending what was going on around him. Looking to the girl, Sei raised an eyebrow at the claw she now wore on her hand. Anita smiled as she began to realize that this was the reason the Gemini Blades had been glowing. Kyla had a Zodiac Weapon!

It was going to be time to test the ferocity of the weapon shortly, however. As Kyla's countdown reached '3', several more bandits ran into the room. They had heard the ruckus and had come to investigate. Janie twirled her pistol around and aimed it at Kyla, finally deciding to say something worth while.

"Hope that claw o yers is good at helpin ya dodge bullets too." Janie grined as she began to squeeze the trigger of her weapon.

All the while, Sei was unbinding himself from the ropes.

[Amber Eyes]

"Move dumbass!" A voice screamed in her head, Kyla quickly jumped to her right and then forward. Janie's handgun quickly ran out of ammo, and she reloaded. Kyla took the opportunity to look at Anita. The younger mystic looked back at her with confusion in her eyes, and Kyla was certain it wasn't her who had spoken. What the hell? Kyla thought to herself.

Luckily it seemed like most of the group behind Janie were still trying to figure out what was going on. Janie held the gun up again, ready to fire. Kyla stepped in close and grabbed the gun, causing Janie to shoot the cement wall behind the girls. She tried with all her might to pull the gun from the girl's hand to no avail. Without fully understanding what she was doing Kyla jabbed the claws from the glove deep into the gut of the girl. Janie's face froze, her eyes looked glassy, and she began to cough lightly. Her full body weight lay on Kyla's shoulder. It was at that moment Kyla realized that everyone in the room was looking at her with a horrified expression. She stepped back, pulling her glove out of the girl’s stomach with a disgusting slice. She let the girl fall to the ground, noting that while her breathe was ragged, it was still there. Janie fell in a heap on the floor, and two of the men quickly grabbed her and left the cavern, shouting curses as they went.

The other men quickly re-assembled, and began to surround the three mystics. Luckily Sei and Anita were now on their feet, because Kyla couldn't do anything but watch the glove absorb the human woman's red blood.

[Silence Sei]

When Sei had seen Kyla impale Janie with the claw, he grew nauseous. He had always wanted the girl to be able to fend for herself, but to be able to callously kill somebody was never his intent. The stomach pangs subsided once the mute realized that the girl was still breathing, and would be okay with proper medical attention. Now there was only the issue of the remaining bandits.

Sei slipped his wrists out from the ropes, finally having loosened them enough through wiggling around to free himself. As he stood, Anita looked to both her father and Sister, bouncing up and down in frustration. It seemed as though the Daughter of the Dragon was not skillful enough to release herself from her ropes as of yet.

The bandits did not wait to give Anita the chance. All three quickly lunged for the heroic trio. Sei met them head on, diving straight towards the bulk of the three men. The telepath never even withdrew any of his weapons, using his elbows to find home in the sternums of two of the men, and his head coming down to meet the face of the third. Just like that, two men doubled over and one lost consciousness instantly.

Sei winced at the horrifying cracking sound the nose of the bandit had made. He stood straight up, looking to the men who were trying to breathe correctly again. Without any regard for what they may or may not do, Sei approached Anita and untied her from her bondage. Anita stood and nodded thanks to her father. The duo then made their way to the transfixed Kyla. Sei placed a hand upon her shoulder, raising an eyebrow to her.

He could feel it now. The call of a Zodiac Weapon. Kyla Orlouge had been chosen to bear a great power on her form. The picture of the lion on the glove told Sei immediately that this was the sign of Leo, the lion.

The beast bears its claws when cornered....how appropriate.

"Kyla...are you okay?" Anita said, placing her hand on Kyla's tense right shoulder.

[Amber Eyes]

"I need to get the hell off of this land, now." Kyla said forcefully. She ran from the room and climbed the stairs to the top of the canyon. There she looked back at the site she had once seen as so beautiful. Now it seemed tinged in blood. Kyla ran as fast as she could back towards the boat. She hadn't made it far before Sei and Anita caught up to her. She had been forced to run around the canyon's side while they had been able to fly to the far side. Both fell in line beside her, Anita putting an understanding hand on the girl's shoulder.

The trio walked in silence the rest of the way to the campsite. They packed, Kyla attempting to ignore the looks between Sei and Anita that said they were having a conversation she would never hear. Sei kept glancing at her and Kyla attempted to show know guilt in her stare. Was it wrong to kill to defend your family?

The power of what she might have done pulled her heartstrings and she couldn't swallow the lump in her throat. The moment they were on the ship and away from land Kyla pulled the glove off and placed it in Anita's backpack. She walked to the edge of the ship and stared back at the land that was slowly dissapearing. I will never wear that thing again.

[Silence Sei]

The boat ride had been as awkward as the trip back to camp. Sei had lived up to his nickname and did not speak a word to either of his daughter's the rest of the way home. He had too much on his mind at this point to be half-heartedly involved in a conversation with the two of them. Waves splashed against the boat and mist sprayed onto his face, but he ignored it. Something more important was on his mind.

By the time the three had made it home, Sei had already gotten an update on the bandit known as Janie. It seemed that the telepathic bond seemed to share with Talen Shadowalker paid off, and the leader of the mute's Information Team had gotten everything Sei had wanted to know of the girl.

It seemed that Janie had leaded a smaller band of bandits than Zander, Kyla's former mentor and a bandit leader himself. She turned to the life of crime after finally having enough of her father's ill treatment towards her, and shot him in the heart. Afterwards, she was hunted like a beast for defending herself. She had not been wrong for making a stand, but the end result was too grim for Sei's taste. More people joined her after learning of what she did, and that she would do the same for anyone else who had been beaten or abused. Just as Kyla had been defending her family from bandits, so had Janie been protecting hers from intruders.

"Furthermore, I took some liberties of my own," the child shadow master continued. "Janie is in the infirmary, we're still not sure if she's going to make it or not. Her group of bandits though, has pledged their loyalty.

"That's fine," Sei spoke absent-mindedly, concerned about the girl, "I will assign them teams tomorrow."

"Oh no Sei. They didn't pledge loyalty to -you-." Talen said, a wry grin crossing his young features. He pointed behind the orange haired Mystic towards Kyla. "They pledged their allegiance to Kyla."

Sei looked to the girl, who seemed just as shocked as the mute. It made sense if the bandits acted like rabid animals that they would follow the strongest alpha. Kyla had earned that right by defeating Janie, dodging her bullets and delivering a possibly fatal blow to the girl. Though the news of Kyla gaining a following pleased the telepath, he couldn't help but think about that dark place Kyla had went to.

This war was corrupting her and Anita both. It was making them both take life for granted. If such things could stain the souls of the girls, what was it doing to him?

Worse yet, what would the actual war do?


((Spoils: Kyla receives her own group of NPCs for the Ixian Knights, and well as the hospitalized Janie, who will be better and/or dead at Jess' discretion.

Kyla also receives Sophia's Mane: A Zodiac Weapon of the sign of Leo, it is shaped as an opera glove that can protrude three razor sharpclaws at Kyla's will. The glove also seems to share a mental connection with Kyla, pushing her in the directuions she needs to be headed. Its Zodiac Weapon status allows it to grow as it's use does, given its connection to her. Current tier is Mythril, and if that doesn't work, then steel.))

[Taskmienster]

To See What You’ve Got ::

Taking this off Z-man’s hands for him. If you have questions, comments, concerns feel free to PM or IM me.

Story 13/30

:: Honestly, no clue what was going on in this thread most of the time. Bandits hiding in caves that you had to fly to, which were in a large cavern, but minutes away from where you landed randomly on a small land unidentified.

Character 16/30

Writing Style 12/30

:: A couple missing punctuations here and there, a period in the second full paragraph of the first post and some comma’s at times.

Wild Card 4

Score 45

Rewards

Silence Sei :: 1750 exp |100 gold

Amber Eyes :: 875 exp | 0 gold
((You receive a small band (5 people) following you, but the gun was lost so nobody has one in your group. The zodiac weapon is approved with following stipulations: material is excellent steel weapon, does not level up material with your own updates just what powers it may possess and only at the approval of the RoG.))

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added via Workshop