...by a Moonlight Shadow...

STOP! BEFORE YOU POST, READ THIS IMPORTANT MESSAGE.

I've been what one has called a 'serious' roleplayer for six years. I don't LARP if that's what you're thinking... but I prefer these important aspects in a roleplay

1. LITERACY. If you tlk lyk dis or liketis and dont spce... YOU ARE NOT BEING LITERATE.
2. A sentence is not a post. A paragraph (up to four clear and intelligent sentences) is a post.
3. GODMODDING AND POWERPLAYING MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A DONKEY'S HINDQUARTERS, DON'T DO IT.
4. Being polite is a virtue... use it.

~~

Sorry, no vore-ing here. Hahaha... unless you WANTZ IT!


Anyway, send me your character's profiles and I'll post them here. The reason why? Because it clears up space in posting. ^^

~~CHARACTER PROFILES~~

L'Ryn

Name: Silla-Ren Lola
Age: You Do Not Ask Someone That!
Sex: Hermaphrodite (One sex dominant at a time)
Race: Crossbreed (NekoMxFairyF, wtf?)
History: Silla was born when an Off-World Neko named Hiroto from the warring world of Kensu met a kind fairy named Lola. The two fell in love (despite various protests), and somehow managed to concieve Silla, who was born at the Fairy Pond. It was a wonder, but the accepted explaination was that Hiroto's race was someway compatiable with fairies.

However, Silla was odd. The poor child would switch genders throughout the day! Eventually, as Silla grew, so did it's ability to control it's gender shifting. Also, Silla was born with two shriveled fairy wings which had to be amputated because they were drawing blood away from Silla's heart and could not be corrected. But Silla had a sort of tattoo grafted onto his/her back, resembling the wings, and marking Silla as a 'honorary fairy' of sorts.

Hiroto and Lola raised Silla well near the Fairy Pond, with Lola teaching Silla healing magic and about the dangers of Felarya while Hiroto taught Silla how to fight and defend his/herself. Hiroto and Silla could almost always be found sparring together during the evening, using either their swords or bare hands. A few fairies usually turned up to watch the sparring matches or to speak with Lola about her extremely odd family, ('Your husband is edible and your child is a hermy!').

One day, Hiroto crossed swords with a swordsman named Sol Thous. Both were equally matched in skill, and the remains of their fight could still be seen today, a small area where the trees had been marked up by thousands of missed blade strike and a few little indentions from Sol throwing Hiroto into the ground repeatedly. Silla watched from a safe spot, cheering for Hiroto.

Then Sol somehow managed to impale Hiroto through the heart.

Sol almost killed Silla too, slicing through her (Silla was a female at the time) flesh and leaving many scars. But Sol didn't kill the strange mutt, despite Silla being an 'abomination', instead telling the traumatized girl to come try to kill him. Sol then slit Silla's throat, adding on 'in hell!'. Luckily, Silla's mother found her and healed her child before she died of bloodloss.

Silla spent another two years with her mother before leaving into the dangers of Felarya, to track down Sol and avenger Hiroto.

Abilities: Silla is a excellent swordsmaster, with skill almost on level with Hiroto (who was said to had killed a giant naga with one swoop of his blade, but this is just a legend). Silla, being a neko (sort of), is also very fast and much stronger then a human. Silla also has excellent hearing, expected of someone with ears like a cat's. Silla is also fairly proficient with healing magic, but it takes Silla three hours to completely heal a large gash, meaning that Silla is in no way a master. Although it would not count as an 'ability', for some reason, Silla does not register as a 'neko' to the senses of a predator, but as a fairy! Still doesn't mean they won't eat the strange thing!

Appearance: Silla is roughly 7'5 (as in seven feet and five inches) , and as a female has D-cup breasts, and when a male has... uh... well... let's not talk about that. Silla has a shock of pure white hair that's usually styled up into a low bun. Silla had numerous scars all over the body, the most being on the torso and arms, but there are a fair amount on the legs and the most noticeable being on the right cheek. Silla is muscled, but slim and often wears a odd shirt that is loose around the front and has no back so one can see the scars and the tattoo, but Silla wears a bunch of bandages around her chest when she's a female to hold her breasts down. Silla has tufted cat ears on the top of his/her head, and both have piercings. However, Silla has no tail. Silla also has red eyes and the right eye lacks a pupil. Some stretch marks on Silla's stomach point to a possibility Silla may be a mother, but Silla avoids the subject.
When it comes to gender, Silla is both at the same time, but one part is dormant while the other is working, so while Silla is female, she looks female and has female tools, but internally she still has male bits (you just can't tell). While male, Silla has all his manly bits, and no boobs, but the female tools are inside. It is hinted the gender swapping may have something to do with the Fairy in his/her blood.






/Fish/

Mantis
Race: Half Felaryan fairy/ mausu
Height: 5"
Green hair, green eyes
Wings: Preying Mantis (underdeveloped)

Mantis is a demi-fairy with a fully Felaryan fairy mother, Cynthia, and a tiny mausu father, Hercules. Soon after the tiny managed to court the fairy, they were both very surprised to discover that they had conceived a child. When Mantis was born, it became clear that he wasn't a normal Felaryan fairy, having a set "real" size as a tiny. His wings, although mantid like his mother's, were comparably small, having been underdeveloped. He also completely lacked antennae. But even with these alarming qualities, his father saw great potential in his half-fairy son. Hercules' people had a tradition to bestow befitting insect names, and when the tiny discovered that his son had green hair and eyes, as well as the same mantid wings his mother possessed, there was really only one name that fit.

He lived in the predator-free haven created by his mother for most of his childhood, training extensively with his father, sharpening his reflexes, making his tiny body tougher and stronger, and most notably of all, mastery of ki as a way to partially compensate for his lack of fairy magic. It could be that he simply can't use fairy magic because his way of thinking is different than fairies, or it could be that his rather underdeveloped wings attribute to this lack of magic. In fact, to remain in flight, he can never stop beating his wings at a feverish pitch, having no levitation magic to support him.

Eventually, after feeling that he had overcome these obstacles, Mantis felt he was ready to survive in the hostile outside world alone. His adventurous mausu nature drove him to explore the world, always on the move.

Since Mantis is the combination of a natural predator of nekos as well as their natural prey, he has conflicting reactions to them- one innate part is frustrated because he can't eat them, the other is scared for its life and out for tiny vengeance. He more readily identifies himself as a mausu, and simply can't stand the way they eat tinies.

Slightly larger than most tinies but without the size-changing that Felaryan fairies are known for, life has been extremely dangerous for the demi-fairy. Although he doesn't mind company, the fact that he possesses the wings of a fairy means that all tinies run from him (as do most races preyed upon by fairies) and when his fellow fairies realize he is incapable of size-changing, they often regard him with suspicion and look down on him.

While usually appearing somewhat troubled and even annoyed, he can find joy in many things and has also shown his aloof fairy side on occasion. When he gets in a good mood, it's difficult to snap him out of it. Instead of thinking of himself as a disabled fairy, he likes to think of himself as the most powerful tiny, which is arguably correct. He has vowed not to get into the affairs of other races, but sometimes his curiosity gets the better of him.

Abilities: Disproportionately large strength compared to his tiny frame; when much ki is applied, can hold his own on a human scale by zipping in to close range and letting charged energy disperse upon impact. That isn't to say that he could send a human flying, but his quick strikes coupled with evasion can convince an opponent to mess with someone their own size. Mantis possesses the predator sense common to many Felaryan predators, which innately lets him sense the approximate size of beings near him. He can also sense a creature's level of ki, although this only works at close range. He can also fire his ki at an opponent in a pinch, although it's not especially powerful or reliable. His small size and intuition makes him an rather difficult opponent to hit, much like trying to catch a fly, although, just like a fly, his fragility keeps him constantly attuned for danger. But his most unexplainable trait is that, instead of being proficient in magic, he has a natural resistance to magic in general. This means that most enchantments and spells, even friendly ones, are lessened in their effects.

Silla opened her eyes slowly, feeling something drip onto her nose. She looked upwards, seeing raindrops splattering onto the leaves above, and then onto her face. "Ugh." She sighed, sitting up slowly. Shaking the sleep from her bones, Silla undid the bandages around her chest and redid them, tightening them against her body, squishing and securing her breasts to her body. Silla felt very uncomfortable as a female, and felt the need to glare at any guy who looked at her chest.

Securing her long and thin blade to her side, Silla began walking down the very green path ahead of her. Her ears twitched slightly, taking in the voice of the forest. "Where shall I go today?" She wondered to herself. South would take her to Negav, where she found out the hard way that she wasn't exactly liked there. East would take her to Ur-Sagol, West to the rumored warrior village, and North was where the Temple was, and Silla had no wish to be mermaid chow.

Silla spun around on her sandals, then stopped, vaguely dizzy. She then began walking in the direction she faced, which she had no idea what it was. However, she was only about a mile away from her starting point when she paused again, hearing the shifting of feet. Bandits. Joy.

A green blur arced through the air in a small swarm of starkala bugs, the sweet, winged morsels disappearing one by one until only one lazily floated, completely unawares of the predator stalking it. Mantis reached out to grab up the one remaining starkala when a sizeable drop of water plopped right on his head. Angrily shaking his hair dry, the mausu-fairy buzzed audibly after the morsel before it could escape, catching it in triumph. The now-full demi-fairy buzzed over to a nearby branch to take cover from the rain, when he noticed something not too far off, but out of sight. Judging by its size, it might be a human or a neko, but for some reason he felt it was something different.

The rain was beginning to pick up, but at last Mantis' curiosity won out- he took off, flying spastically, though he was just attempting to dodge raindrops. Soon he recognized what it was he sensed, and that was a fairy. But as he honed in on its location, he sensed no change in size. Soon after that he wrinkled his nose up at the distasteful smell of wet neko, perhaps what this fairy was hunting...

At last he caught up with the figure- and it was nothing like what he had expected to see. While his senses clearly said "fairy", he saw no wings. The figure looked like a human female at first, but then he saw two cat-ears poking out from atop her head. He then realized that the smell of neko was still strong, and that there were no nekos in the area that he could sense. Mantis was so perplexed that he forgot all about the large drops plopping down on him. He had to get to the bottom of this.

Mantis darted right at whatever this thing was, coming to a sudden stop right in front of its face and buzzing loudly.
"Excuse me, but what the Quaz are you?"

The rain was soaking through Silla's shirt and her hakama, turning their light hues deeper in color. Her hand rested on her blade, which strongly resembled a katana, and she was perfectly still. There were bandits around her, despite the rain and the fact that there were a few predators about who probably loved the taste of wet human, and they were canvasing her, trying to see if she would put up a fight. However, her ears perked a bit when catching another sound, the flapping of wings? Blinking as some water managed to get into her eye from her eyelashes failing in their duty of filtering, she suddenly found herself face to face with a little fairy like boy.

"What am I?" She repeated, holding her free hand up to act as a sort of umbrella for him, keeping the strange fairy shielded from the rain the best she could. "I'm a fairy." Silla said, her voice completely honest. "I'm a neko too." She added, shrugging. "Take your pick. To me, I am Silla." Her eyes flashed about, tracking one of the bandit's shifting movements, before they returned to the green haired fairy like being before her. "And who are you, fairy?" Her voice was curious, not threatening or dangerous. Silla was like that, the person came before their species, that was what she believed.

"A neko-fairy?!" Mantis blurted, while the alleged hybrid kept looking back and forth warily. Mantis scowled for a moment. "Impossible..." he murmured. No, just because it was improbable didn't mean it was impossible. Unlikely, yes, but then again, he himself was was actually half tiny. Some would say he was impossible. But he just couldn't see how a fairy and a neko... Bleh.

Then he finally heard the rustling of movement through the rain. His senses attuned to them, he sensed several humans creeping towards the two. Here was a chance to test this neko's claims. By the way she had no fear of him despite not knowing his secret, that he could not size-change, she must have been either one cheeky neko or part fairy herself, as she claimed to be. Then again, even if she was, the fact that she possessed no wings made it unlikely that his next point would be valid. And if that were the case, he could also expect for her to possess the same infliction.

"Hey, if you're really part fairy, you'll have no problem with all those humans." he said, gesturing around the two, "Right now you've got business with me." Mantis flew out from beneath the neko's hand, stubbornly enduring the rain as it fell on him anew. "I'm Mantis, a demi-fairy. A mausu-fairy". At this, the tiny figure's body began to glow with a faint blue aura. "And If you, Silla, are a neko- a hunter of tinies- you are my enemy."

Silla's left ear twitched hearing the small one mumble something that sounded like 'impossible'. She had heard it before, especially in Negav when she had went there briefly to help a friend. Nobody thought that such different species could mate! But they did, and Silla was the result. She rolled her shoulders, working out a kink in the muscles. Adjusting the wet shirt, Silla still looked at the strange fairy, who had flown out from underneath her hand. She let that hand drop loosely to her side.


"You, walk up from behind her, you, go on one of her sides, and same for you! And you two... just... do whatever when we got her, kay?" The bandit's leader whispered quickly to his thieves-in-arms. Indeed, they all spread out into their respective positions, with one beginning to approach from behind.



"It's nice to meet you, Mantis. And don't you think you are unfairly stereotyping me? Like I said before, I'm Silla, not a neko." She said in a calm and fairly tranquil voice, while noticing the blue glow around Mantis. Silla lifted her sword up somewhat, but she did not unsheath it. "I don't see why we have to be enemies. I don't eat 'Tinies'. I eat duikers and sometimes glouteuxes." She explained, not wanting to fight Mantis at all. They were both similiar in a way, so why should they? "Really, we don't have to-" She paused, smashing the hilt of her sword into one of the bandit's face's, the one who had been sneaking up behind her. The bandit fell over himself, landing on the mud as he held his face in his hands, crying in pain. "Don't interrupt my conversation." Silla growled at the bandit, before looking at Mantis.

CHARACTER PROFILES

Tuc135

Name: Nordian
Age: Unknown, aging ceased at 24
Gender: NA, formerly male
Species: Skeleton, formerly human.
Hair: NA
Eyes: NA
Height: 5 feet, 11 inches
Description: On the outside, Nordian appears to be a heavily armored human. Every inch of his body is covered with blackened armor of some sort. What isn’t covered with plate is covered with chainmail. His greathelm has only a few narrow slits for eye holes, and has a large crest of purple feathers. He carries a large shield, and a heavy spiked flail. Strangely, on his belt, he also carries a few tools of the blacksmith trade.

However, underneath the armor, Nordian is nothing but a skeleton, without a single bit of flesh on him. The bones have been bleached white, and an odd clinking can be heard when Nordian walks or moves quickly.

History: Nordian, in life, wanted nothing more to be a blacksmith. Growing up, he apprenticed under the blacksmith of his village, learning quickly. His skill rapidly grew, and when Nordian came of age, he joined the other blacksmiths in the metalworker’s guild.

That came to an abrupt end. A plague struck the village, and Nordian took ill and died. He was buried in the cemetery of the mournful village. The fortunes of the village waxed and waned, but it never fully recovered from the plague. After a couple generations, the village was abandoned altogether and left to crumble.

Some years later, a war broke out between the kingdoms of the land. One of the sides had in its employ a powerful, and evil necromancer. This necromancer, while looking for suitable bodies to raise for soldiers, happened upon the abandoned village. The cemetery was a windfall for the necromancer, and proceeded to raise all the skeletons he could find. He picked Nordian’s to make into a champion, because Nordian’s skeleton was young and strong from years working as a blacksmith. A simple magical mind was not enough, the Necromancer forced Nordian’s spirit to return from it’s rest and inhabit the skeleton again. Through the means of powerful spells, the necromancer forced an artificial loyalty onto Nordian, compelling the former blacksmith to serve the necromancer against his will. Nordian was given the heaviest and most intimidating armor and weaponry the necromancer could find.

It didn’t take long for Nordian to grow to hate the necromancer. He was forced to lead the skeletons the necromancer summoned into battle again and again. He struggled in vain against the necromancer’s spells, but the dark sorcery was too strong for him to break alone. He longed for release from his slavery.

Release came after several battles. Nordian had been sent to besiege a fortress of men, but unknown to the necromancer, there were several wizards in this fortress. When the necromancer’s skeletons overran the fortress gates, the wizards decided to intervene. They cast powerful incantations that caused the skeletons to fall apart. Compelled to act by the spells upon him, Nordian was forced to enter the battle. He charged at the wizards that were destroying his skeletons. One he grasped by his robes and raised his flail to crush him. The wizard hastily cast a spell of dispellment on Nordian, hoping to banish the spirit, but the dispellment could not overcome the enchantments binding Nordian there. The wizard prepared for the death blow.

It didn’t come. Nordian stood there, still holding the wizard and the flail. For several long seconds, he did nothing. Then to the wizards surprise, Nordian set him down, and thanked him for his freedom. Though the wizards enchantment did not break the spells binding Nordian to the necromancer’s will, they weakened them enough for Nordian to break the spell. Nordian left the battle, and with a thought commanded the skeletons to drop their weapons, leaving them easy prey for the human defenders.

The necromancer knew something wrong had happened, but only when Nordian stormed into his presence did he know the skeletal champion was no longer loyal to him. Panicking, the necromancer hastily mumbled a spell of banishment. But Nordian was too swift. The spell was cast the moment Nordian gripped the necromancer around the throat. There was a flash, and neither Nordian nor the necromancer was ever seen again.

But the two did not die. They found themselves upon a lush world, filled with humongous trees and abounding with life. Nordian finished what he had started, and swiftly brought a bloody, yet well deserved end to the necromancer. He himself sat down and waited to return to his rest.

He was surprised when he found himself lingering. He should have departed, now the spells were no longer supported by the necromancer. However, there was a powerful magic permeating the soil of the land. It sustained life. All life, even the unnatural life knitting together Nordian’s bones. At first he was disappointed, but he didn’t end himself. A though occurred to him. His will was his own once again, and he was becoming curious about this world. His life as the blacksmith of the village had been far too short, perhaps he could explore a little before he returned to his rest. After all, eternity was forever, it could wait a little while longer.

Abilities: Nordian is unusually strong, having many times the strength of a regular man. As such, his armor, shield and weapon are only a light burden, allowing him to move quickly even under it’s weight. Additionally, being a skeleton, Nordian no longer needs to breathe, drink, eat, or sleep. Nor does he feel pain. He can see exceptionally well, even in total darkness. Lastly, he is quite skilled and knowledgeable in the arts of blacksmithing and metalworking.

Personality: Grim and quiet usually, yet respectful and honorable. He generally avoids company, fearing their reaction when they discover what he is, yet he enjoys conversation so long as he can keep his origins secret. He can become quite enthusiastic on the subject of metalworking. He doesn’t stay in one place long, though, as people start to notice he doesn’t eat or sleep. When any ask why he doesn’t remove his helmet, he blames facial scars.

Nordian is something of an atoner. Bound to the necromancer, he did many fell deeds of which he is ashamed. Now he feels that he must make up for the crimes he was forced to commit. He does so by correcting any injustice he sees being committed. Those who are innocent have nothing to fear from him, but he has proven to be the bane of many a criminal. Yet he will not kill them, and spares them once their victims are beyond their reach.[b]

Nordian walked along the path, the falling rain causing hollow plinks upon striking his armor. The heavy stomp of his iron boots were muted by the damp grassy ground. Water ran down his armor and dripped down to the ground. Putting his shield over his back, Nordian used his free hand to yet again wipe the water from his helmet’s eye slits. His other hand carried a large spiked flail no regular man could even lift.

Nordian paused. Up ahead, through the downpour, Nordian could see a tall neko woman. He could also see several men moving to surround her. She was aware of them, and had neatly broken the nose of one sneaking up behind her. Still, she was outnumbered, and Nordian thought it best to intervene. He retrieved the large kite shield from his back, readied the spiked flail in his hand, and walked towards the bandits.

If he had lungs, he would have sighed. It disgusted him when people tried to take advantage of those weaker than themselves. However, Nordian suspected that this neko would surprise them.

Mantis gawked as Silla deftly pounded the bandit's face in, but this was not why. She'd claimed not to eat tinies- almost as unlikely a claim for a neko as being half fairy. Mantis allowed himself to settle down a bit- he had no reason to doubt her, sensing no lies in her tone. She didn't even identify herself as either a fairy or a neko. Maybe she was both, but combined, that made her something else. The same was true for him.

"Alright" Mantis finally said, "I'll hold you to that."

After a few seconds the bandits began a full assault, this time as a group. As they closed in from all sides, Mantis saw that Silla was unfairly outnumbered. Surely that weapon she possessed would work better once she took it out of its sheathe, he thought.

Suddenly, a man lunged at them from the side, weapon flailing in front of him wildly. As two more attacked from the opposite direction, Mantis focused ki into his palms, zipping right towards the slashing sword, dodging it in a midair roll and coming face-to-face with its wielder. "Boo" Mantis said. At the sight of the fairy only inches away, the wet, wide-eyed man stumbled back and slipped in the mud, falling on his back and dropping his weapon. Mantis glanced back to see the... Silla... About to engage the other two. As the man he'd spooked attempted to sit up, Mantis flew up high and then down as fast as he could, dive-bombing right down on his face, planting his ki-charged fist right onto the man's forehead. His head once again made contact with the ground with an audible *thump*.

What could he say- he had a weakness for girls in peril.

Silla gave Mantis a soft smile as he finally decided to atleast somewhat trust her claim of her heritage. Then, the other bandits decided to make themselves known, and Mantis immediatly went to deal with one of them. Silla decided to take on the other two. She looked at another newcomer, in great hulking armor with a giant flail, she understood his intentions were not malicious. However, the bandits were another story.

Ducking down as one of them attempted to smash a large pole into her head, she unsheathed her sword, using the energy from the draw to smash her hilt into the bandit's chest, breaking the sternum. The bandit staggered backwards, his breathing ragged. Silla turned to the other bandit, who held a large and crude axe above her head. "Drop that sword or I drop this!" He threatened. Silla let go of her sword, allowing it to clatter on the ground, she then brought her hand up, grasping the axe's handle and planting one deft kick into the bandit's chin, making him let go of the axe and fall backwards, unconcious and with a broken jaw. Silla let the axe drop beside him and picked her weapon back up, putting it back into it's sheathe.

She walked back over to Mantis. "Thank you Mantis, and you..." She turned to the newcomer, bowing gracefully to him. "Thank you as well... uh... sir."

The neko, as well as a small fairy he missed earlier, proved to be much more formidable than the bandits expected. They probably could have handled the situation adequately without his help. Still, it didn’t sit well with him leaving the bandits for her to deal with alone. But he saw no need to kill them, he returned his shield to his back and hooked the flail over his shoulder. Calmly he strode up to a pair of the bandits that looked like they were planning to jump the neko from behind.

The two turned at the sound of his boots stomping in the heavy ground. One of them gasped at the sight of the armored warrior. The other drew a rapier and lunged at Nordian.

With a speed one wouldn’t expect from a heavily armored man, Nordian sidestepped the rapier’s point and latched one gauntleted fist over the bandit’s wrist, and grabbed the bandit’s tunic with the other and lifted the bandit off the ground. Nordian put just enough pressure on the bandit’s hand to cause his fingers to go numb and drop the rapier. As if he was tossing a rag doll, Nordian threw him to the ground.

Nordian turned to look at the other bandit, who gaped at him. He dropped the long dagger he was holding. Nordian nodded in approval, the bandit just spared himself from a beating.

“It was a pleasure madam. Call me Nordian, please,” Nordian said, his voice possessing a slightly eerie echo within the helmet he wore. Nordian turned to the defeated bandits. “Which one of you scum is the leader?”

Convinced the bandit was out cold, Mantis turned his attention to the new arrival, who's clanking of armor was quite audible, even in the soft mud and the sound of the drizzle. To him, the man was an armored colossus striding right into the brawl, handily taking out two of the bandits with utter ease.

At last the three unlikely allies looked around at the result of the scuffle with the bandits- the giant who called himself Nordian inquired who the leader was. The whole lot of them, at least those that were conscious, simply stared at the trio fearfully. But Mantis knew that the one who had issued the orders was not among them- he could sense the coward running away, already out of sight.

Mantis quickly beat his wings and began hovering before Silla and Nordian, leaning backwards and pointing his arm like a compass into the trees. "I sense one human running that way." he said, "But that recklessly, I doubt he'll last long on his own."

Mantis noted that the rain was finally letting up- and with it came uncertainty. Deciding to ally with Silla had been a split-second decision. He wondered if it were best for him to depart from the neko-fairy... The only other demi-fairy he'd ever met....

Silla's ears turned, listening to all the sounds. She could hear the pattering of feet from the bandit's leader running. Turning her head, she nodded at Nordian. "Nice to meet you, Nordian." She put a hand over her chest, sighing. "My my! It seems like I'm meeting so many new people today!" Undoing the bandages, she let them fall away as she pulled out a new roll from her hakama's odd pockets. "Let him go." She said, commenting on the bandit leader. "Going after him will bring nothing to us."

Unraveling the new banadge roll, she let her shirt fall from her arms and hang loosely around her waist as she began bandaging up her chest again with the new and dry bandages, showing the many scars on her body, and the large fairy wing-like 'tattoo' on her back. "See?" She said to Mantis, pointing at it. "These are my 'wings'." She gestured to two small scars on her back. "And those are of what remains." She kept rolling the banages until they were close to her collarbone, then snapping them in place with little clips.

"I'm Silla." She said to Nordian, nodding her head. "Oh, and Mantis?" She walked over to him, bowing politely before asking. "Can I travel with you? I really don't have much of a destination."

Mantis looked upon the lines on her back, which were undoubtedly shaped like a pair of wings. However, it was the scars where wings might have once fitted that confirmed her claim. Then it was true- and Silla was indeed as much fairy as himself. He felt slightly foolish for his rude arrival, and a bit daunted that he and a neko, his sworn enemy, were actually part of the same race, to an extent.

Mantis was snapped out of thought when Silla suddenly asked him if she could accompany him. For the first time that day a wide smile stretched across Mantis' lips. "Sure" he answered, "To be honest, I don't have much of a destination either. Could use the company." "But", he added, "No neko shenanigans."

Mantis returned Silla's respectful bow before finally addressing the mysterious armored man. "Hey there, err, Nordian. Name's Mantis." he said, flying to what he judged was arm's reach, and held out his hand. Apparently that's how humans made friends, and unless there was some sort of ghost in all that armor, he was sure that he was speaking to a human. "You care to come along too?"

“He compounds one cowardly act with another. Felarya will deal with him with her own brand of justice,” Nordian said. “As for you,” He added, turning to those bandits that still remained. Nordian retrieved his flail, and easily swung the huge, spiked head before the bandits. Their eyes widened, and their faces paled.

“This is my weapon. Remember it, for I will remember you. I do not sully my weapon with the thin blood that runs in the veins of cowards. However, if I hear of you waylaying or attacking travelers again, I will make an exception to my rule and you will feel my weapon’s bite. Now go. Those of you that can walk, carry those who cannot.” Nordian commanded. The bandits hastily scrambled to obey Nordian’s orders. Within moments they were gone.

“Hopefully that will scare them out of the career of a highwayman,” Nordian said, after the bandits were gone. He turned back to Silla and Mantis, as Mantis came to adress him.

“Your offer is generous, Mantis. I will be pleased to share the road with you and Silla,” Nordian said, chuckling. He found the little fairy’s offer to shake hands amusing. He reached out and delicately shook the fairy’s offered hand on one finger of his gauntlet. “Not that you two really need protection. You fought well, and I believe that you could have handled those bandits without my aid. Still, I am curious, Mantis, how did you render that one unconscious? I did not see you land any blows strong enough to render a man unconscious.”

Watching Nordian threaten the bandits, Silla's face shifted into a nuetral look, before returning to a soft and polite look. "Not all people can simply abandon what they have come to see as life, Nordian." Silla said, before looking at her own sword. "And yes sir!" She said, saluting Mantis. "No neko shenanigans from me! No siree! I will be a good little traveling companion! Yes I will!"

Twitching her ears, she sat down near Mantis and looked up at him. "Yes, I am curious too, what did you do to knock the bandit out?" She asked. "Was it some kind of magic? The only magic I can do is healing, and I'm not terribly good with it." Taking out a small rag from her hakama pocket, she began cleaning the sheath of her sword, polishing it until all the dirt and mud came off and revealed a slight shine.

The area was vaguely familiar to her, she realized. Most likely from the times her mother took her out to teach her the dangers of Felarya. She wondered how her mother was now, Silla hadn't spoken with Lola in years, and when Silla had left, her hair was much longer and her ears were not pierced. She giggled a little, imagining the shocked look on her mother's face.

"Good to have you with us." Mantis answered as he finished the handshake to Nordian, or rather, fingershake. This guy seemed valuable to have on his side. He also wanted to get his hands on that mace...

As Silla saluted and proclaimed her behavior, Mantis squinted his eyes a bit. Maybe she was a bit of a cheeky neko...

Mantis then scratched his head for a moment at Nordian's suggestion that his attack was not as effective as he had believed. He was practically sure he'd knocked that bandit out cold. "Hmm..." Mantis thought for a moment, then suddenly went wide-eyed. "He was faking it!?" he cried in disbelief. He had seen one of the other bandits carrying the man away- not only would he have been a coward, but a lazy coward.

"Well, I can't really use magic. He must have, err, just known when to stay down. Nobody wants to fight me twice if they can help it." Mantis proclaimed, slightly embarrassed that he had overestimated his own skills.

Mantis quickly changed the subject. "So- you two ready to depart?

“If he was faking it, he was a good actor,” Nordian commented, but he said no more. His question had caused Mantis some discomfort. Mantis didn’t seem ready to share how exactly he subdued that man. However, he was certain that bandit was unconscious, and that Mantis had used more than a simple punch to knock him out. Still, if Mantis didn’t feel like telling him, Nordian was fine with that. He himself had his share of secrets and then some.

“I am ready to go. Lead on, Mantis,” Nordian said, putting his shield on his back again, and his spiked flail over his shoulder.

"Wait."

Silla stood up, looking at both of them. "Before we go on, I'd like to say... if we ever come across a man named Sol Thous, he is mine." Her eyes had a shadow casted over them. "And I swear... his head will fly." She looked back up, cheerful. "Anyway, let's go, Mantis, you be the leader, you probably know this area better then I do." Silla said, waving an arm spastically. "I don't often hang around here for various reasons."

Looking at Nordian, Silla sniffed the air. There was something odd about that man, but she could not put her claw on it. "Nordian, where did you get that flail?" She asked randomly, attempting to start a conversation. "It looks very heavy. I don't even think my father could lift it!"

Nordian looked at Silla, but the gleam in her eye and the conviction of her voice told him she would accept but one answer. “Vengeance is a dangerous thing to swear on,” Nordian said, “But I will not stand in your way if you have just cause.”

Nordian was glad she changed the subject from the topic of revenge. He was less pleased when she asked about the flail, but he was used to it. Others before her had commented on his large weapon. “There are few men who can. It comes from another world, as did I. I am not native to Felarya, you know. Anyway, in that other world, there was a war going on. Perhaps it rages still. I don’t really know why the two sides fought, nor do I really know who the sides even were. I was…pressed into service because of my strength. I was given the strongest armor and weaponry that was available and sent into battle. It was during that war that I was banished here by a wizard. I decided to keep the flail and the armor, they were the only possessions I had.”

“I didn’t originally want to be a warrior, despite the skill I have in combat. I was a blacksmith before the war. I earned my strength hammering metal upon an anvil for years. Give me a forge and iron, and I could create such armor and weaponry that would put these crude things to shame. The armor I could make could protect one from the sharpest lance or arrow, or the heaviest mace. It would be strong as steel, yet light upon the shoulders. And it would be just as much a work of art as would be a tool of war, easy to use, and beautiful to behold. I’ve often wondered what kinds of metals lie beneath the mountains, and what kind of armor I could make from it.”

Mantis paused as Silla unexpectedly announced her vengeance upon some "Sol" guy. A bit dark, this one is, Mantis thought, glancing away. He then recalled that he had seen Silla's scars when she'd loosened her bandages earlier. Maybe that had something to do with it... Well, it wasn't any of his concern, he concluded. He certainly didn't know this man, he thought, and gave Silla an understanding nod.

Where to go, where to go, Mantis thought to himself. He usually traveled on his own whims, and at his own pace. If he wanted to keep these traveling companions, they'd need a goal of some kind. Although he would rather have explored some of the more dangerous places in Felarya, such as the far north or south, perhaps a return trip would be worth it. After all, it had been some time since he had visited his ancestral home. Silla's too, in a way. Mantis wondered if she'd been to the Nemyra Kingdom even once in her life...

After Nordian's surprising speech, Mantis rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked up at the mysterious armored man, and apparently a man who also made armor as well. "Could you make armor for... A fairy?" he asked with a wicked grin.

Silla listened to Nordian's words with understanding eyes. "My father, the 'neko', came from Kensu. From what he told me, there were no blue rivers, and the ocean itself was tainted red." There was a shifting noise somewhere as a duiker suddenly dashed past, bowling Silla over, and disappeared into the foliage. "Ow." She said standing back up slowly. "You're a blacksmith though? That's great! But I don't wear armor... except a piece when I need to, if you catch my flutter."

Looking at Mantis, Silla smiled. "Hey, Mantis, if you ever get tired or something, you can ride on me." She suggested, guessing the demi-fairy did not have actual magic levitating him. "We could go to the mountains or to the west or..." Now Silla was simply mumbling to herself, looking off to the side. "A fairy in armor... very scary." She said, nodding. "I think making armor for Mantis is a great idea!" She clapped her hands, before returning to mumbling to herself on how she should find a gloutuex to kill so they would have a steady three month food supply.

“I was a blacksmith, yes,” Nordian said. “Though I have not practiced my trade since I was compelled to serve in the war. But I would jump at the chance to work metal again.”

“Armor for a fairy? Now, that would be an interesting challenge…” Nordian thought. He fell silent as his mind reached back through his memories. Past the terrible times spent serving the necromancer, back to a happier time while he had still been alive. He thought of the techniques of working metal and the wisdom of the older blacksmiths.

“Perhaps…it would depend on a lot of things,” Nordian mused after a moment. “I would need to know how much a fairy could lift easily. And for how long as well, people don’t generally wear armor as constantly as I do. If you wanted something for constant protection, it would have to be lighter so it wouldn’t fatigue you. I would have to beat the metal until it was paper thin to keep the weight down. Measurements would be difficult, considering your size. I would need to be much more precise with exactly how large I make the various pieces. That would require a watchmaker’s or jeweler’s hands rather than a blacksmiths’, though I do have some experience from trimming armor with gold, silver, and such. Additionally, your wings and flight add a whole new level that I have not had to deal with before. A balance would need to be struck between protection and freedom of movement. Also, one must consider that the armor I make is made for men who stay vertical, made so the weight is spread along the whole column of an upright man. Do you stay vertical while flying, and would your wings be able to support the weight of the armor, or would you have to stay on foot to use it?”

“I’m afraid I must answer you with an indecisive maybe, Mantis,” Nordian said. “I can’t rule out the possibility, but neither can I assure you of its certainty. Most of the challenge comes from making suitable armor for one so small. It would require a different set of skills than my usual trade. Still, I have some experience with the amount of precision needed. I would need a very pure iron, or more likely a lighter metal, precise tools, a fire that could be controlled to a fraction of a degree of heat, and a good set of magnifying lenses. And a good deal of patience and cooperation on your part, Mantis.”

Mantis leaped, dodging the renegade duiker, then taking a controlled fall back down to the ground. When Silla offered to let Mantis ride if he got tired, he gave her a wry smile. "That's kind of you, but I don't tire as easily as you might think." he responded. The real reason was that he didn't think he could stand the smell of neko so close.

Mantis nodded approvingly as Silla jumped on the armor-for-Mantis bandwagon; but then, as Nordian explained the intricacies involved with creating specialized armor for him and armorcrafting in general, Mantis could only nod dumbly, unfamiliar with most of the terms the blacksmith had used. His hopefulness deteriorated quickly, leaving him silent for several seconds after the armored man had finished. Then he perked back up- it was such an easy solution!

"If most of the trouble is that I'm small, why not make the armor human-sized and then" he then turned to Silla suddenly and created a slight flash from a minimal expenditure of ki- "Shrink it?" he asked.

"Wow, that's... a lot of long terms for smithing metal." Silla said, putting her hand up to her head. "I feel... vaguely stupid now." She decided, rubbing her head. Her sandaled foot pushed the mud at her feet a little, watching it flip over revealing some worms. Reaching down, she grabbed three worms and slurped them up. Food was always something hard for her to come by, since she was so easily distracted and her food was usually taken away when she returned to it, so she had no qualms with eating worms. She picked up another one and dropped it into her mouth, but this one somehow managed to crawl out her nose. She ripped it out and dropped it back into the mud.

A flash disrupted her vision, making her jump. "Ah! What was that?" She asked, blinking as her vision re-adjusted. "It's not magic, right? So is it something else?" Silla rubbed her eyes, before nodding. "We can go to my mother and ask her about shrinking the armor. My mom, Lola, lives near the Fairy Pond, and I haven't seen her for awhile anyway." She suggested, remembering when her mother used to feed her very tiny humans she had shrunk, of course, Silla wouldn't mention that. She may have never eaten a Tiny, but she had eaten humans although they tasted rather bland to her.