The Path to Sin (Ikken Isshu + Griselda Banks)

[Ikken Isshu]

((Google knows what his name means. ninja But since I jumped the gun and revealed it in this post anyway, I'll tell: It's Japanese for "Temporary".

Odd that guides say it's easy, because I remember having a lot of trouble with it too. confused ))

Cal cursed when he saw the effects, or lack thereof, of Ixion's attacks on the aquatic-but-apparently-not-so-much fiend.

Or...

His jaw dropped slightly open when he made the connection, like a bolt of lightning had just gone off inside his thought processes. He sheathed his sword and placed himself between Ixion and the entity ahead of them, which had begun to glow as if charging for some kind of attack.

"Kasetsu," he called out. "Cute, very cute. If you've got some kind of agenda, it wouldn't hurt to just tell us up front, would it? If things don't go smoothly after that, then you can sic your fiends on us."

The fiend stopped moving, and drew back a few paces over the trail. Something appeared in the center of its mass, then dropped out onto the path - it was Kasetsu, arms spread wide, smiling widely.

"You've become quite a clever person, Calaman," the man said.

"Unfortunately, I'm not quite clever enough to figure out what you're doing here," Calaman said flatly.

Kasetsu shook his head, laughing. "Not so easy, not so easy. I'll give you a break, since you are so very clever. My toy wouldn't have been able to keep up the charade very long anyway. The real one isn't far from here, by the way, so I'd advise caution if you spot any nearby ponds."

"You won't tell us anything?"

Kasetsu shook his head again. "I don't work for you, Cal. Nor your Mistress."

Calaman made a face. "Get yourself gone, then. Don't hold us up needlessly - we don't have time to waste with this nonsense."

"So straightforward, so upfront. It's a shame you have no idea what you're doing." Kasetsu was laughing as he straightened his posture. He raised his left hand into the air, and the fiend above him simply vanished into thin air. He raised his right, and he himself seemed to turn to water, collapsing into a puddle that seeped into the dirt.

Calaman stared at the empty path. Magical threads woven into probing psychic tendrils returned to him, having gained nothing from their search of the man - it was as he'd thought. Kasetsu had been little more than an illusion, or something similar. Which could only mean...

"That thing was not a man," he said, shaking his head to clear the drowsiness that had sprung up suddenly. He groped at his pack for a vial of ether. "I encountered him - it - just after... Djose. I think it's a fiend of some kind, but a strange one. I think Pheos created it. I do know for certain that it's his ally, and that it can change its form, or at least its appearance."

"More importantly," Aer put in, "what in the Farplane did he want? He just left when you called him out. And how did you know that fiend - thing - wasn't real?"

"It was real. It was probably imitating something much stronger than it could actually emulate, but the fiend itself was real. I - have a sensitivity to such things, now. Don't worry," he added flatly. "I'm not going to take up magery and try to replace you as Lady Ed's magic-user. But I have gained a few extra tricks. I just... Damn it, I wish I knew what that thing wants."  

[Griselda Banks]

((DX So at least I'm not a complete loser!

And...I hope you weren't planning to do any more in the forest, 'cause I'm fresh out of ideas and will be moving on to the temple if you don't mind. twisted ))

Ixion's consciousness faded back into Eddora's, the aeon fading away as she watched in utter confusion. "Okay, so this guy's not a man, but a fiend, and he's here, but he's not here, and he wants something from somebody but nobody knows what. That makes a lot of sense." Rolling her eyes, she frowned into the shadows of the forest around her. Good. No ponds nearby. Though she wasn't really sure what he'd been talking about.

Then she glanced worriedly at Calaman. As long as he's not spying on my guardian, she thought. The last thing we need is for him to disappear again.

Rogan pushed himself away from the tree against which he'd been lounging, yawning loudly as though they hadn't just been attacked by one of the strangest people they'd encountered so far. "So can we press on already?"

With a sigh, Ed nodded and started down the path again. "Just keep a close lookout. We don't want anything jumping out at us."

-----

Other than a spot of trouble with a Chimera, the party encountered nothing more to hinder their march through the forest. The sun was beginning to set as the ground climbed to a higher altitude and the trees began to fade away. The air had grown colder and colder as time wore on, and now Ed shivered as she felt it cut through her clothes, which were much better suited to the mild climate of Bevelle.

They paused to catch their breath on the crest of a steep hill that rose above the last stunted trees and looked out over the craggy landscape ahead. Chasms sliced through the rocky cliffs and slow-moving glaciers glittered red in the distance, and she almost imagined she could see the cliff under which lay Macalania Temple. Still a long way to go.

Heaving a tired sigh, Ed started down the other side of the hill. It had been a long day. All that excitement in Guadosalam, Calaman's return, Kasetsu, and all that walking.... "I suppose we oughta find a cave or something to-"

"What?!"

Ed jumped in surprise and turned around to see Rogan standing stiffly at her side. At first she thought his sudden outburst had been in response to her own perfectly reasonable suggestion, but then she realized he was facing back the way they had come. Her eyes flicked up the trail, half-expecting to see Kasetsu standing there smirking at them. But there was nothing there.

Rogan stood, staring blankly to the south as though he could see something no one else could, and his face was twisted with a fury incongruous with his usual lackadaisical manner. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Rogan growled, "Not if I have anything to say about it, you flea-bitten Doom-blasted pile of-"

He stepped forward forcefully as though about to break into a run, but before he could even lift his other foot his entire body dissolved into a thousand pyreflies, which all sped off to the south, back the way they had come.

A ringing silence filled the air as Eddora gaped openly at the space where her guardian had just been standing.

((Kekeke...finally, this scene I've been itching to write ever since I created Rogan! I can hardly believe we've actually come this far xd ))  

[Ikken Isshu]

(( eek

~OOC Interlude~

I was wondering why I hadn't yet told you, knowing you're a fan, and then I realized I haven't talked to you since I started it, but - I finally got around to watching FMA. It was epic. I also watched Shamballa, which was pretty good. It was certainly better this time than it was the last time I watched it, which was before I had seen any FMA whatsoever. (Yeah, it didn't make much sense at the time.)

I'm on episode 6 of Brotherhood right now. I'm finding parts of the introduction to be a little contrived and rushed, but I expect that's because probably I'm already supposed to have seen FMA and it's just trying to get to the "good part", the "proper ending". So far, the major changes that I can comment on, for better or worse:

- The scene of Ed and Al transmuting their mother is much better in Brotherhood; it appeals to the senses better than the original, I think.

- The Tucker/Nina arc in the beginning wasn't as good as the original, though I'm not sure if it's only because I've seen it already. However, I felt physically sick when I saw it in FMA, and I was barely affected this time around. Also, it might just be my imagination, but I'm pretty sure that arc was longer in the original, and if that's true, then it was probably the shortening that soured it for me. (The original Tucker/Nina arc might have been my favorite part of FMA; I can't think of another part of the series that forcibly affected my emotions like that one did.)

- Gluttony's new voice actor... WTF. I liked Gluttony's original VA. Like, a LOT. I can see why they might not have been able to get all the original VAs, but that one in particular tugs at my heartstrings. The new one just doesn't fit as well. I'm sad that I will no longer get to hear the original Gluttony go "Tabete ii?!"

I've been watching this show so much lately that whenever somebody recognizes Ed, I have to say it along with them: "Hagane no renkinjutsushi... EDUAADO ERURIKKU!" :p ))

"By Yevon," Aer breathed, and immediately turned his eyes on Calaman.

"I don't know," Calaman snapped, but he got up anyway and ran to where Rogan had been standing, and dropped to one knee. His hand brushed the dirt. "No. No, no, no. I've had enough of this!"

He yanked his sword out of its sheath, and from the sound and the impact resonating through the ground, it seemed like something had exploded outward from his body, but all anyone felt was a rush of icy air. Without pausing to speak with or even look at anyone, Calaman took off after the pyreflies.

"Cal!" Aer shouted, and cursed under his breath as he took off after the boy.

((Short post, but I'm short on inspiration and options. :p Plus I want to hear more about Rogan, lol.))  

[Griselda Banks]

((8D *GLOMPS YOOOOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!!!* xd I suppose you already know what a huge fan I am; I have never seen an anime that has gripped me as much as FMA. I'm so glad you're enjoying it! (I don't understand how anyone could not like it, but....)

So who's your favorite character? Mine are definitely the Elric brothers - when I first watched it, it was just Ed, but after reading the manga and reading and writing a metric ton of fanfics, I've come to appreciate Al just as much. They're such wonderful character foils for each other, and I love how they're siblings who actually get along with each other. Ed's sacrifice to bring Al back...just blows me away, even now. Breathtaking.

A close second favorite would be Mustang, because he's just that cool wink He's even cooler in the manga/Brotherhood, though. Out of the Homunculi, my favorite would probably be...hmm, Envy I guess, overall. I like Lust in the first anime, because of the way she actually changes sides, but Envy is pretty cool in both versions. It's so fun to see him/it go crazy all over the place! xd

And what did you think of the ending to the first anime? :/ I haaaaaaaaaate that ending, and Shamballa DX Talk about smashing the implicit promise into a million tiny pieces.... Brotherhood/manga all the way for me! It has a much better ending - not just in terms of it being satisfying for what happens to the characters, but also because it just makes a lot more sense in terms of the story. And is a lot more epic biggrin Everything fits together a lot better in the manga/Brotherhood storyline. You watch the first anime and think some things are cool, but then when you look back after seeing what the original intentions were...there's no real turning back. I did miss the LustXScar stuff from the first anime, though. It would never work in Brotherhood, but it was still an interesting relationship, I thought.

Yeah, the beginning of Brotherhood is definitely the weakest part of the show, because they were really rushing through it, I guess because they were afraid people who already knew the story would get bored or something. But it gets really good once it gets past the divergent point! Sometimes they portrayed scenes exactly as I've always pictured them in the manga, and they even add little tidbits here and there of their own making (plus, the battles get cooler and cooler as they go along, and the animation of these battles is just about the best I've ever seen).

I like the transmutation about the same in both versions; I think they're both very powerful and visceral. It's an awesome way to begin the first episode, you have to admit. When I saw the first episode the first time, I was immediately hooked and dying to find out why these little kids were screaming and bleeding all over the place. I agree with you about the Nina episode, though. There were three episodes with the Tuckers in the first anime, if I'm remembering correctly - the one in which they were introduced, the one with the State Alchemist exam and Elysia Hughes's birth (the only completely happy episode in the whole show DX), and then the fateful chimera one. And even then, the next episode ties in really closely with the whole Tucker thing, because Ed is all torn up about it still, which is why he goes and chases down Barry the Chopper. It's only one episode in Brotherhood, right? Well, they're staying true to the manga, at least; there was only one chapter there too. For the space they had, though, I thought they did a pretty good job. I really like the part where Ed's all excited about Tucker's "breakthrough," and then you can slowly see it dawn on his face what really happened. The Nina arc was the first time I cried in the first anime, and you can be sure that I cried a lot more times through the course of the story, lol xd *feels very girly now* But yeah, if you already know what's happening, it becomes less emotional. I mean, I fell absolutely to pieces when Hughes died in the first anime, and even got choked up when I watched it several more times, knowing what was coming. But Brotherhood didn't get me emotional at all, because by then I was used to Hughes dying.

Yeah, some of the voice changes had me disappointed at first, especially Mustang's (Toru Okawa is Mustang for me), but they quickly grow accustomed to their roles, and do a very good job. Are you going to check out the English dubs? For anime dubs, they're pretty sweet wink They take a while in the first anime to get into the swing of things - Mustang, for example, sounds really blah until Episode 25 - but they've got it where it counts. Naturally it's something of a shock to go directly from Japanese to English, especially because, as amazing of an actor as he is, Vic Mignogna's voice does not sound like a fifteen-year-old boy xd But once you get used to them, it's very worthwhile to hear them, especially in the big emotional scenes, where they just shine.

And I know exactly what you mean about mimicking the names wink I pride myself in being able to rattle off "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi" almost faster than Romi Paku. But onto the actual rp! xd

...Okay, sorry for the lame OOC-only post, but I think I must have misread your post, and I don't want to write out this whole scene only to find out I made some stupid mistake razz So how is Cal following Rogan? Just running? Somehow when I read it, I thought he turned into pyreflies himself and went shooting off after him stare ))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Watching episode 35 now (it's actually open and paused) and still going strong.

Favorite character... phew. That's actually a toughie. To be fair, I'll name them from FMA and from FMAB. From FMA, it would be a toss-up between a LOT of characters. Lust, Wrath, Greed, Scar, Martel, and Shou (not an I-would-get-along-with-this-guy kind of like, but a wow-he-makes-a-good-foil-and-is-creepy-as-hell-to-boot kind of like) are all high on my list from the original FMA. If I had to choose, I'd say... Greed or Lust, because they both had quite epic final scenes, and on top of that, they both presented as fairly sympathetic characters, once you actually learn a little bit about them.

So far, the female characters are presenting very strongly in FMAB for some reason. Maria Ross is at the forefront in my mind, even though most of her cool scenes didn't really have much to do with *her* actions as a character, but rather tha actions of those around her. I'm really digging Lieutenant Hawkeye, too - she's crafted quite a stage presence this time around. I like Mustang, but he just hasn't seemed to do anything in particular to really wow me, in either series. Something about him doesn't have much of a stage presence - Hawkeye draws attention to herself just from being onscreen, but I don't really get that from Mustang. If I had to pick a favorite character right now, though this may change, I would have to say Ling Yao has probably evoked the widest range of emotions from me out of any character in the show., not to mention the fact that I just *like* him, a lot. heart He, like Hawkeye, has a great stage presence.

(I didn't really consider Ed or Al for my favorites, because I don't think it's really fair to name the main character as your favorite unless they completely, totally blow every other character out of the water - after all, it's (hopefully) a given that the main characters will be the most sympathetic. Not always, but you know what I mean.)

(Oh yeah, and Envy is a pimp in FMAB. :p)

I haven't read the manga, so Brotherhood is my first crack at the "true" storyline of FMA. I liked the ending of FMA, but it seemed a bit contrived, and almost convoluted enough to compete with other convoluted, nonsensical anime endings like Ergo Proxy.

I didn't realize just how much FMA and FMAB were going to deviate from each other until I started FMAB and Wrath's identity was revealed. That was the definitive no-turning-back moment where I was like, "But-but-but, nuh-uh, FMA said..." Now I'm pretty sure FMAB's ending is going to be stellar. :p

...*didn't notice a change in Mustang's VA* >_>

IN RELATION TO THE RP THAT WE'RE TOTALLY HERE TO DO...

I'm glad you waited, because Calaman didn't do anything cool, lol. He just pulled out his sword, and (probably accidentally) made a dramatic magical shockwave, mostly for effect. :p He's currently sprinting off after Rogan.

EDIT: Re episode 39: The earring thing was very cool. I mean, the leaving-a-memento-with-a-loved-one-as-a-symbolic-gesture-of-binding has been done before, but it's almost always a pendant or locket, sometimes a ring. I don't think I've ever seen it done with earrings before, and that was pretty interesting. 3nodding ))  

[Griselda Banks]

((Tucker was pretty good in the first series, but I got really annoyed by his whispery voice DX And yeah, Greed and Lust were pretty awesome with their deaths. Scar is also awesome (though I think he's even more awesome in Brotherhood razz ) I love the Maria Ross stuff in Brotherhood, where you think Mustang killed her, then find out he was just trying to rescue her. And I agree; Hawkeye is pretty amazing. She's probably the strongest female character I've ever encountered - and that's not in the usual definition of "strong female character," which most of the time means "feisty and irascible." Hawkeye is neither, yet you can just feel this strength coming from her. I thought Mustang's actions with the whole Ross thing and when he killed Lust were pretty awesome, but to each his own. I think I mainly like the way he interacts with other people.

(Yeah, I understand what you mean. And in this case, I can say with no reserve that the Elric brothers have done that for me.)

(Just wait till Envy's last episode twisted )

Yeah, it strays pretty far. Very epic and awesome. Oh man, I looooooooved the last several episodes to death. (Don't feel bad about not noticing a change in Mustang's voice; only someone who obsessively watched the first series four times and let it play in the background while doing other things would have noticed or even cared. The new guy's voice is slightly higher, and in the first few episodes I thought he sounded to light and breathy, but he latched onto the character pretty fast.)

I agree about the earrings! That was cool.

Okay, so now that we've got that straightened out, I shall go on to my post!))

"Hey, wait!" Eddora called after her guardians, but none of them stopped. With a growl of frustration, she started off after them, calling over her shoulder at Venez, "You stay with him!"

"B-b-but!" Venez called after her, but Ed was already out of earshot. With an irritated sigh, she put a hand on Jalisat's shoulder to prevent him following the others.

By sprinting as fast as her legs would take her, Ed managed to catch up to the others, and together they chased after the speeding wisps of color that had once been Rogan. Yet as they ran, the pyreflies soared farther and farther up into the sky, until they were lost under the tangled boughs of Macalania. Ed ran several more paces after they had vanished completely, then staggered to a halt, gasping for breath. It was no use. They'd never find him now.

Choking out a curse, Ed kicked a tree and bent over, clutching a stitch in her side. First Calaman, now this. Would any leg of her pilgrimage be normal?

((Don't worry; Rogan will be back. All will be explained in due time....))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Finished FMAB: It was epic. I think the last scene between Ed and Winry at the train platform got more choking up out of me than Nina and Tucker in the original series. :p

Now I'm just torn up about what to watch next. I'm thinking Kara no Kyoukai. I am also slowly alternating through Magic Knight Rayearth, xxxHolic, Tsubasa, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and I will probably start Cardcaptor Sakura pretty soon here.))

Calaman stared after Rogan for a few seconds, tight-lipped. Aer was bent double beside him, wheezing between the folds of his robe, but the boy didn't even seem to be winded.

All of a sudden, Calaman turned, his expression pensive. "Did you see anything like that in Djose? But I can't believe Rogan would be in the same situation as me. If this condition were that common, I'd have heard about it before." He looked back up.

"You," Aer panted as he straightened back up, "are no longer allowed to go anywhere without supervision. The last thing we need is one Guardian turning into glittering lights, and another one running off into the woods."

"I didn't exactly run off without company, mage," Calaman retorted, still looking up.

"Yes, and you dragged your summoner along too," Aer snapped. "You don't think maybe she could use a little bit of R, R and Guardians not being idiots?"

Calaman looked back down at Aer. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Back on the Thunder Plains. I can see you've reconciled with Lady Ed, at least from your side, but - "

"All right, new rule number two," Aer said firmly. "No mind-reading without the other person's knowledge."

"It's hardly without your knowledge if I'm telling you what - "

"Or without permission," Aer added. "It doesn't promote team coherency and trust, and besides, it's creepy."

Calaman rolled his eyes. "Fine. Regardless, you are still mad at me."

"Yes, well, anger is a fickle emotion, so if we're both patient I'm sure it'll pass. In other news, do you have any idea why Rogan would have suddenly..." he checked whatever trite thing he'd been about to say, and substituted, "disappeared?"

Calaman shrugged. "Just because I'm a freak of nature - "

" - not exactly nature," Aer muttered.

" - doesn't mean I'm an expert on anomalies involving people disappearing. You, on the other hand, seem to have a bit of experience with people mysteriously disappearing, so maybe you'd care to - " His hand snapped up to catch a rock just before it would have hit him in the temple. "That," he said as the rock went up in silent, eldritch flame, "is not necessary."

"I said no mind-reading," Aer said quietly. "If and when I want you to know about my wife, I'll tell you. Until then, I keep quiet about it for my own reasons."

Calaman shrugged. "Fair enough. We're all on edge; I shouldn't be provoking you. But we won't learn anything standing around. Rogan seemed to have seen something when we got close to the Temple, and the results looked, to me, a lot like pyreflies, which are hardly unrelated to the Temples. I don't think it's a coincidence. We might learn something from proceeding into the Cloister." He looked to Ed. "And - my apologies - we seem to have left a white mage and a child alone in a less-than-perfectly-safe location. That, in particular, would probably be a good thing to remedy quickly."

~

((Por favor, delay the Summoner team from returning to Venez and Jalisat until the conclusion of this scene. smile ))

Almost as a mirror of Venez' own gesture, all of a sudden she felt a hand on the opposite shoulder from where Jalisat stood.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So incautious, they are." The voice was unmistakable, even from someone with whom they had only briefly spoken earlier: Kasetsu.  

[Griselda Banks]

((8D I know! Brotherhood's ending is awesome! Heheh, really? I loved that scene. One of the sweetest romance scenes I've ever encountered, I think. Definitely the best proposal scene in an anime - I was about to say 'ever,' but then I remembered the emotionally-charged proposal scene in Pride and Prejudice, which was pulled off to perfection by Colin Firth in the BBC version. Ed's proposal was cool in a different way razz

You? Watching Cardcaptor Sakura? rofl You will never cease to amaze me.... Though I've been watching way more shoujo than I ever imagined I could stand. I'm currently watching an old, obscure show called Kaitou Saint Tail, which is pretty formulaic and girly, but I'm making myself get through it for a friend. Have you ever seen Kodocha? I never expected to like a shoujo anime that much, but it was so hilarious I couldn't help it! xd

And roger, I'll keep them away.))

Eddora had no breath to spare to cut into the boys' argument, so she simply gasped for breath, leaning against a tree and watching them bicker. Finally she pushed away as their anger seemed to wind down. Drawing a hand across her sweaty brow, she nodded at Calaman. "Yeah, we need to get back to Venez and the kid." She growled deep in her throat, pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes, and started back the way they had come. She tried to stomp quickly and irritably, but her legs were so tired after this last sprint that she could only plod forward slowly.

"This is so annoying!" she burst out. "What on earth is he playing at, the stupid...." After grumbling to herself for a moment or two, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at her guardians as something occurred to her. "He turned into pyreflies...." she murmured. "They did look a lot like pyreflies, didn't they, and if they were...does that mean he's Unsent?" She frowned uncomfortably and shrugged her shoulders to get rid of the chills that began to run down her spine.

~

Venez gasped and froze, her fingers digging into Jalisat's shoulder as she stared straight ahead of her, too frightened to look over her shoulder. Her heart hammered in her chest. She was a white mage. Skilled in nothing but healing spells. She'd never managed to master Holy, so unless Kasetsu happened to be one of those fiends that white magic hurt.... And Shell would only help to a certain extent, even if he allowed them the time to cast it....

A whimper escaped her throat. They were utterly defenseless.

((Oh, and I keep on forgetting, but I love your sig xd I totally agree!))  

[Ikken Isshu]

((It seems I forgot Jalisat's personality for a second there. confused Ah well, I can remedy that now.

By sig, you mean the politically correct gender blurb? I copied that straight out of a government manual; they preface almost all of them with it. I'm trying to get myself out of the habit of cluttering up everything I write with "he or she" and "him or her" and "one" and so on, because while it's often considered politically incorrect, it is still technically correct to just say "he" when talking about an individual of unknown (or indeterminate, such as in a hypothetical situation) gender. In other words, a sentence like "Any author worth his salt won't worry about being politically correct" might be offensive since it seems to imply all authors are male, but it doesn't imply all authors are male, and it's grammatically and semantically correct.

...Anyway, if you like beautiful art, try Kara no Kyoukai. It's quite bloody, and the storyline is hard to follow at first, but the art is absolutely gorgeous. I have watched five out of seven episodes, and the art style suffers a bit in episode five, but I'm hoping it will recover for the last two episodes. (Eps one through four are fifty minutes long each, and ep five is about two hours long, full movie length. Somehow I think that might have contributed to the suffering art quality, I'm just not sure how.) Also, the fight scenes, particularly in the first four eps, are pure eye candy, even if they are terribly gruesome.

Quick synopsis, if interested: It's a sort of avant-garde supernatural detective story that follows Ryougi Shiki, a girl who, as a result of an accident, acquired the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, unnatural eyes that allow her to see the seams by which anything, even a god, can be killed. (If you watched Shingetsutan Tsukihime, it's very similar, if not identical, to the power possessed by the male protagonist of that show/VN.) Eps 1, 3, and 5 follow Shiki as she hunts down supernatural culprits of bizarre murders, while eps 2 and 4 follow Shiki's own acquisition of the Eyes, as well as the development of her unique personality and psychology (once you watch it, you will understand why I can't simply say "character development"). As you can probably tell from the way I listed the eps, the show is extremely nonlinear; the eps don't seem to take place in chronological order, and some eps are even disjointed and disordered within themselves. (Ep 5 in particular is a mindscrew to end all mindscrews, just so you know.)))

"Don't be afraid of me, please," Kasetsu said mildly. "I said that I was a caretaker, didn't I? Besides, I am quite harmless, I assure you. I have friends, of course, but that is another matter entirely."

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Jalisat dove forward, rolled around, and came up with his sling already swinging. He made only two quick revolutions, and then released the stone. It seemed to be flying straight for Venez' head, but it arced and shot off of Kasetsu's forehead with a crack that could surely be heard from the temple.

The man howled and released Venez, stumbling backward with his hands to his head. Jalisat didn't waste a moment; like a miniaturized copy of Calaman, he seemed to have been born for moments like this. Another stone was already whirling over his head, and before Kasetsu had regained his bearing, the stone cracked into his right shin with vicious force. The man hissed, now - a multifaceted sound that couldn't have come from a human. Then Kasetsu's hand shot out, and a tongue of water seemed to erupt straight out of the dirt, encasing Jalisat in a bubble. The boy let loose another stone, but it splashed harmlessly into the water and dropped out the opposite side. He jumped forward, but the water was like impenetrable glass to his hands.

"He'll sleep with the Fayth today," Kasetsu said, seeming to calm down despite the rivulet of blood trickling down between his eyes. Without another word, he stepped forward, put his hand against the sphere of water, and they both seemed to collapse like ordinary water. Jalisat was nowhere to be seen.

Venez was suddenly, horribly alone.

((Yet another mysterious vanishing... <_< No plans for Aer and Cal, so I'll leave it at that.))  

[Griselda Banks]

((Well, personally, I feel that people who are overly concerned about political correctness are wusses razz In fact...you should hear it from the man himself; this is an AMV my friend made using some sound clips of a very good comedian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ55B1OeS40
Because watching L commenting on political correctness ought to be enough to brighten anyone's day biggrin I've never liked "revising for sexist language", because I actually find the very idea of having to change certain words just because women are whiny about it more offensive than the offending words themselves. Okay, some words aren't like this ('flight attendant' makes more sense than 'stewardess' anyway, for example), but the whole idea of 'him or her' looks more offensive to me, because it separates the two as though to say men and woman are so completely different they can never be grouped together; it's like they're completely different species. Buuuut I'm rambling, and I'm probably one of like five female members of society nowadays who doesn't jump on the feminism bandwagon. Case in point: I just finished reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin, which is apparently some groundbreaking piece of literature for the feminist movement, and I hated every word. Guh. I feel like I wasted several hours of my life, but it's for school, so what can you do? confused

I've heard people talking about Kara no Kyoukai, so I've stuck it on my list now...for after I watch all these shoujo shows I never thought I'd touch xd ))

Eddora was walking along the path, still deep in her musings about Rogan and his mysterious, abrupt disappearance, when a sound brought her up short: A loud scream echoing through the frigid, still air. By the time the echoes started to fade away, Ed was running again. Her stupid legs wouldn't pump fast enough; it seemed like she was crawling even though she pushed herself as hard as she could go. The cold air stung her lungs and her limbs begged her to slow down, but she kept going.

After what felt like a long time, but was probably only a minute or two - they hadn't been able to run that far - the bend in the path where Rogan had suddenly flown away came into sight. Ed staggered up to the only person there: Venez, kneeling in the snow and staring at nothing with shock. "Ven..." Ed panted, her breath stabbing icy knives between her ribs. "Where...kid...what...?"

With her hands over her mouth and muffling her words, Venez told them what had happened in a quavering voice. Ed felt fury coursing through her veins again, but instead of empowering her this time, she felt as though it was sapping all the energy from her body. It was as though they were slowly being picked off. Would Aer disappear into thin air next?

"'With the fayth', huh?" she choked out, her voice tight with anger and exhaustion. "Not on my watch, bozo. C'mon, guys; if we hurry we might be able to-" She pushed away from Venez, took two steps through the snow, and collapsed in a drift.

No...stupid body...come on, work.... With an immense effort, she lifted a hand, pressed it against the snow, and tried to push herself up again. But her body was betraying her after this long, hard day. Her arm trembled with effort, then slumped back down again, and no matter how she silently screamed at it to move, she couldn't seem to lift a finger.  

[Ikken Isshu]

((I lol'd at the L video.

I'm excited and sad at the same time, because I'm almost done with Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I still have a handful of OVAs and movies and side stories - almost enough to equal half the length of the main series, which is 110 episodes in total - but they are all prequels and side stories, so chronologically, the end of the main series is indeed the end. I'm so sad. sad ))

"Ed!" Calaman shouted with such force that Aer almost instinctively called up an Aero spell in defense. The boy lunged down to Ed's side, and Aer resisted the urge to do the same - two guardians fussing over her wouldn't help her get better any faster, and they'd already been caught unawares too many times in this damned forest. He turned his eyes outward, watching the woods, watching the path up ahead.

"Lady Ed," Calaman insisted, rolling her cautiously onto her back. Almost without warning, his short, unkempt hair was in her face; his ear was barely an inch from her lips, face turned away from her eyes; he was checking to see that she was still breathing. After a few seconds, he sat up. "Say something, Lady. Just let me know that you can talk."

As he spoke, he fumbled in his pockets as if looking for something, then stopped. Frowning, he looked at his bare hand. Then he shook his head and plunged back into his pockets, finally coming up with a small vial of potion. It wasn't much, but then, she didn't appear to be injured - not seriously injured, anyway - so hopefully it would help. He waited for her response, first, peering at her face to discern what he could.  

[Griselda Banks]

((Y'know, I don't think I've ever seen a 100+-episode anime before. The longest I've ever seen were like 60-70 episodes. I'm assuming, though, that Legend of Galactic Heroes's length comes more from a complex plot than from filler? My brother watched that semi-recently, but he said it was a bit too long for him xd ))

Venez, who still looked close to tears, put her hand on Calaman's to stop him from giving the Potion to Eddora. "I don't think that'll be necessary."

Ed's eyelids fluttered, and her lips parted as though she was about to say something, but all that came out was a breathy little grunt, and her eyes closed again.

"She's exhausted," Venez said, before anyone could panic and think she was dead. "We've had a long day, and she...well, her very nature is to wear herself out." She frowned down at the dark circles under Ed's eyes, then sniffed in disgust and stood up again.

Darkness was falling quickly now, the snow luminous in the gathering dusk. "Um...we should probably make a shelter and just spend the night here," she said, looking around for a likely spot. "She won't be making any rescue attempts tonight."  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Kind of a lame, short post, but I don't have much to do. <_<

Well, LoGH isn't a series of rip-roaring giant robot fights, but in its own context, it has a very in-depth and complex plot. In my memory, I don't believe there was so much as a single episode of filler in LoGH; it's a very heavily plot-focused show, and every episode advances the plot in some way. (Hence, no, there are no beach episodes, or review episodes. razz ) I think what scares a lot of people away from LoGH isn't how long it is, but rather how old it is. It's a very dated show, and people who don't have a history of liking old shows probably won't like LoGH. If you can get around the old-fashioned stiff animation, though, the plot is great and the characters are fantastic.

Also, I just saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and OMFG IT WAS AMAZING. This is, like, my new favorite movie now. I went and saw it alone two days ago, and I liked it so much that I grabbed a friend and went and saw it again last night. If I had someone else to watch it with, I'd probably try to go again tonight. I can't wait for it to come out on DVD/BD. heart ))

Calaman almost argued that they needed to hurry up and track down Jalisat - and then he realized that that was exactly what Ed would say, and that he would argue with her if she did. He shut his mouth and nodded.

"We don't have much to use for a tarp or a tent, but - "

"That won't be a problem," Aer said, shaking his head. "Just lend me some of your power and I'll make us something for the night."

Calaman frowned, but nodded. Aer was looking around, presumably for a good site; he picked a patch of bare, soft earth off the side of the path, went to stand in the middle of it, and gestured impatiently at Cal. The boy followed.

"Stand next to me and just - I don't know, just don't fight it, I suppose." So saying, the mage put his hands together and all at once Calaman felt something in his brain - it reminded him unpleasantly of his conversations with Pheos. Because of the distraction from within, he didn't notice what Aer was actually doing with his power until the mage was finished, and Calaman looked outward instead of inward, and saw that they were now standing inside a little dirt dwelling, more than large enough for the four of them to sleep in with room to spare. There wouldn't exactly be a lot of privacy from each other, but it was a shelter.

"Hard-packed," Aer pointed out. "It'll even hold out heavy rain, at least for a few days. We should get Eddora inside. I'd say someone whould go kill something to eat, but given our luck lately, I don't think going off alone for any reason is a good idea."

"Agreed," Cal said, stepping out of the dwelling and nodding in Venez' direction. "It's solid," he called to her as he approached to help move Ed. "He says it'll even keep rain off us for tonight, but I don't know if I trust his skills that far."

Aer scoffed from behind Cal, but knelt down to help carry Ed all the same.  

[Griselda Banks]

Aer and Calaman carried Eddora into the hut, while Venez got in the way and fussed over the angle of Ed's neck. Eventually, though, they were settled into the shelter with the few dried provisions and light blankets they'd brought with them. Venez had Aer melt some snow and trickled some into Ed's mouth, and after that silence fell on the hut. It was quite dark in there, as the light dwindled outside, but the thick walls kept their combined body heat in nicely. They may not have collapsed spectacularly in the snow, but it had been a long, hard day for Venez and Aer, at least, and soon the sound of deep breathing filled every corner.

----------

Ed woke slowly, too warm and comfortable to move at first. She snuggled down further under the blankets and almost drifted off again, when the events of yesterday slowly began to return to her. Calaman...Rogan...Jalisat! She surged upwards, ready to leap to her feet and start the chase she'd wanted to begin yesterday, but her muscles whined in protest. She let out a soft groan as she gingerly rolled her shoulders; every inch of her body seemed to ache.

Only then did she look at their surroundings, illuminated by the early morning sunlight on fresh snow outside. She inspected the dirt walls curiously, wondering where they were, then cast her gaze across her three sleeping companions, just to make sure no one had vanished in the night. She noticed that Venez seemed to have rolled over in her sleep till one flung-out arm rested on the edge of Aer's blanket.

Scowling, Ed leaned over and poked Venez hard in the ribs - she looked a little too comfy. "Okay, guys, rise and shine!" she said loudly as Venez jerked awake. "We've got some fiend butt to kick - or whatever that guy is."  

[Ikken Isshu]

((Apologies for the intro to this post; couldn't resist a little throwback to my fondness for yaoi. ninja

ON A MORE IRRELEVANT NOTE, I'm a good bit of the way through FFXII on my brand-new-used PS2. I'm driving while distracted, though, so I am only mostly following the storyline. I just kicked Cid's arse so badly he ran away crying, and I am now on my way to yet another impossible-to-pronounce place in pursuit of him, apparently in search of another piece of nethicite; wherever I'm going, it's south of the Feywood. I'm really digging this game, though I'm getting a heavy vibe of "not especially fun, just addictive" from it, especially the License Board. (Sphere Grid, anyone? Anyone?) The voice acting is interesting (and different; especially all the varied British accents, which is pretty refreshing for a FF game) and the animation is at least par for the course; the writing has yet to impress me, though, and I am NOT digging all these eight-syllable back-of-the-throat place names that sound like they came out of a German version of Lord of the Rings. All in all, though, it's a good way to pass the time, which I suppose is what video games are all about.

Now that I finally got around to being profoundly disappointed by Cowboy Bebop (I'd seen most of it here and there, but finally watched it from beginning to end, and wow, was that ending anticlimactic), I think Durarara is next on my list. That or Dennou Coil, but I think it'll be Durarara.))

He'd been dreaming of light; he couldn't remember the last time he'd dreamt of anything but storms and ships and sin and Sin. Instead of the bitter cold of the sea, there was only a warm light and a cool breeze on his face. There was a woman in his arms - Feng! - but it wasn't his wife, it was a woman with larger eyes and more color in her cheeks. She wore only a white tunic and trousers, like an apprentice mage or a young man, but her long, chocolate-colored hair was full and gleamed with the light that shone from nowhere.

She turned her face up to smile at him, and the expression was blinding.

The light resolved itself into Eddora's voice, somehow. "Rise and shine," he heard from some faraway place, and felt a warm body moving under - no, in the crook of his arm. He smiled despite himself and opened his eyes, expecting to see Ed's face -

- or maybe Venez, he thought with a bit of confused, guilty pleasure -

And found himself staring into Calaman's surprised eyes.

He had only a second to realize what was happening before Calaman's fist drove his nose about half an inch backward from where it belonged; he yelped and rolled away clutching at it. (To his merit, the dirt wall didn't budge when he slammed his back against it, but he couldn't spare the attention just then to be proud of it.)

"Didn't know you felt that way about me, Aer," Calaman muttered, shaking the soreness out of his hand.

"Go drowd id the Boodflow," Aer managed, sitting up, still holding his nose. He stuck his neck out to let the blood drip into the dirt. He managed a dirty look at Calaman, but the boy was already standing up and facing Ed.

"Do you think you're ready to travel?" he asked doubtfully. "Aer said this shelter should hold for a few days, and your health is paramount, Lady - even above that of your guardians, should the two ever come into conflict."

"If you thik that lide of reasodig will codvidce her of adythig, you haved't beed payig buch attettion to her on this pilgribage," Aer said. His head was tilted back to staunch the bleeding, but the swelling wasn't likely to go down soon. "Ed, bake sure you're ready. Wattig to help the boy ad beig able to help hib are two differet thigs. If you ask be, sdatchig Jalisat bight just have beed a ploy to bake you push yourself idto exhaustiod ad bake you less capable id battle."

((Also, sorry for the lack of warning in my absence; I was on duty for those two weeks. As a heads-up, I will be in NC from 12 October to 28 October and then on duty at Camp Atterbury from 29 October till about 7 November or thereabouts. I should have internet while in NC, but I know I won't have internet in Atterbury - just a heads-up.))