Louie Orihara's Story

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The book hit the floor with a loud thud, and along with it came a loud clap of thunder. Distaste and exhaustion was written all over Yvette's face as she stared at all the books she'd thrown at the floor. Each one she'd marked and read over at least three times before she let it hit the ground. None of them were useful. There were too many possibilities. Hundreds of books, thousands of pages, millions of options. How long had she been awake trying to narrow it down? They could've boosted their powers with almost anything. She was getting nowhere, and yet, she still looked for an answer.

Yvette popped yet another strawberry into her mouth. The others, regrettably, are smart. They would not challenge the four who agreed with Yvette without some kind of--- some kind of advantage. An edge. That much was obvious. But the question remained, what was in their favor? What gave them the upper hand? This, Yvette could not figure out. Out of all the books she read, she found at least one hundred possibilities. And what were the odds of her finding the right enhancement? Not high, that's for sure. But Yvette couldn't rest until she found it; until she knew what gave them such confidence.

When she reached for another strawberry, to her discontent, she soon found she'd eaten every last strawberry in the box. Yvette heaved a sigh when she saw an empty mug sitting right next to the anything but full plastic box that used to be overflowing with red, delicious strawberries. So not only had Yvette run out of her precious strawberries, but she'd run out of the one thing that had been keeping her awake--- coffee. She'd always had a caffeine addiction... It kept her going through nights like these.

As Yvette hopped off of her bed and took a few seconds to stretch, her thoughts wandered to a different subject. Namely, how quiet it was in the room. In fact, this silence happened to be getting on her nerves. It was too silent. Her room was too vacant. Yvette, quite uncomfortable, snatched the mug off of her nightstand and made her way out of the room, tugging on the hem of her sleeve, slowly tearing apart the fabric. Speaking of attire, Yvette was wearing what she usually wore to sleep; a pair of loosely fitting gray sweatpants that she found most comfortable, and a purple knit sweater. Though, one sleeve is shorter than the other, due to Yvette's unintentional dismantle of the sweater-- it was just a nervous habit Yvette had; fiddling with the hem of her sweater until it began to rip itself apart.

"What time is it?" Yvette suddenly murmured. Surely, it can't be that late, she thought. "It has to be somewhere... somewhere around eleven at night, right? Maybe even midnight."

The more she talked to herself, the more she eased her panic. She could never stand silence, or being alone. And on that note, she thought, where is everyone? Well, they're in their rooms, of course. At least, the four she still called allies were. The other three disciples... she didn't have a clue. After they split up, so far, there hasn't been much news. In fact, they'd only split up about a week ago... after the fight, things had been pretty silent between the two groups. Though the tension is always there, even when they aren't present.

But, speaking of the other disciples... they were talking about them last night. Everyone seemed to agree that there was no way the others would challenge them without some kind of edge. So, Yvette volunteered to try and narrow down the options. But of course, that wasn't working out so well. It's not like she had any hints to lay the tracks with. There were thousands of possibilities...

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to give up. She wasn't going to stop until she read every book about enhancements as she could possibly find. As Yvette made her way to the kitchen, she scowled at the new environment. Due to what some would call security issues, the five of them switched living quarters. If the other three were willing to fight this out... It wouldn't exactly be a good thing if they knew where the five lived.

Having entered the kitchen and started up the coffee machine, Yvette opened the door to the refrigerator-- only to find there were no strawberries left. She stared at the fridge for a while, her thoughts not on food but the other disciples...

She still couldn't believe they had left them... After an array of hurtful words and nasty burns, Yvette was actually left quite sorrowful... And regarding the disciples, they were a subject she just couldn't get out of her mind. Slightly dismayed and distracted due to her lack of strawberries, she began to connect the two subjects. Just as the strawberries were, after what seemed like barely an hour of debating, the others were simply... gone.

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[COMMENCE POSTING! Also, quick side note here, with this post my main goal was to set the scene for everyone else. ((The time is supposed to be six in the morning. Our friend Yvette here pulled an all-nighter. Also, winter is supposed to be around the corner, so the cold weather is approaching... Just something to keep in mind. And as you might have caught, there is indeed a thunderstorm outside, supposedly caused by Yvette.)) Anyway, I think I set the scene pretty well for the Originals... my theory was that they didn't know about what gave the Ashes their power boost, but they highly suspected some kind of edge.

And I'm not exactly in the position to set the scene for the Ashes, regrettable as that may be... Uhh... well, they probably found themselves somewhere else to stay as well. Their plans, I cannot be sure of, whether they want to take defense or offense is really just up to the Ashes. As for the Originals, I'd say the same thing-- offense or defense, your character can probably suggest something. I was really just giving us something to start on. Also, if you were wondering, Alice is sleeping. That's why I didn't post for her... yet.]

"Dad, I can't sleep with all this noise." Jurdy came rolling out of his be and into the his fathers Potions Room/Store. It's the one place he is found most in.

Their home is a little different from others here. It's located right smack dab in the middle of everyone. Their home is pretty much the borderline from the Ashes and the Originals. The Potions Store is open to everyone who wants to buy. He only has one major rule. If anyone fights on his property, he will drop them forever from his life and banish them from his land.

"Would you like a sleep potion?" Louie turned around with two different colored potions in his hands with a slight smirk like smile.

"How many times do I have to tell you! No! Get those things away from me!" Jurdy started to back away.

"Aw come on! It will only take a second!" His smirk became a big grin as he started to step closer.

"Dad I mean it! This isn't funny! Ugh, Fine, I'll sleep in your room." Jurdy started to run away and slammed the bedroom door shut.

Louie chuckled to himself as he put the Potions down on the counter. "Don't forget your studies. I'll quiz you later!"

Silence came from the next room, causing Louie to laugh a bit. Jurdy never went to school, he was home schooled; by his father. It was the only way he knew how to keep him safe from everything that was happening.

It was a long night, even with the storm that came by, it still hadn't stopped and it was already 6am. Still, it didn't stop the smell of winter that lingered in the air. Soon it would be time to pull out the heaters and turn on the fireplace. If his potions where to get frozen over it, would be bad for everyone.

Doc! Help! We were just playing and...and...I don't know what happened! A boy came in carrying another boy on his back. Panting and sweating, he tried to come inside the doors.

The smell of blood flushed over the room in an instant, Louie could tell right away where it came from. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Just tell me what happened?" Louie went straight to the boy after picking up a potion. He took the boy off the other and carried him into the room next door of the shop.

This room was where he did his 'magic'. He placed the boy down on the operating table and then quickly washed his hands and slipped on some medical gloves. After that he started to cut off a leg of the boy's pants. The bone was piercing out of the skin. it was broken perfectly in half.

"We were playing and all of a sudden this wild animal came shooting out after us. It took Richy down and.."

"Wild animal?" He looked at the boy laying on the table. It didn't look like it came from an animal. Most likely a human. There were finger prints on his neck as if the boy was being choked right after his leg broke.

"I think so, I couldn't tell. It was too dark."

Louie poured the potion over the boys leg and in an instant the boy let out a howling scream of pain. "I'll have to push the bone back in place. Excuse me, you'll have to leave." And next thing they knew, he slowly started to push the bone back in, the boys cries became out even louder and he kept passing out after ever scream. Quickly, Louie jammed the bone back in place until he heard the bones grinding together. Sliding his chair over he sat down and started to cut open the leg skin and began drilling in bone bolts right into kid. "This should help keep the bone in place. He'll probably have to keep it there for about half a year. It was a pretty messy break..." He paused after mumbling to himself, the potion was kicking in and the boy was knocked out. He got up quickly to grab some gauze and clothes to soak up the blood.

"He's losing too much blood, you should have hooked him up to a blood pack before doing this." He looked up at the boy, his skin was a bit paled. Spinning in his chair he slid over to the fridge and grabbed a blood bag. Getting up he hung it from a metal pole and shoved a needled into the boys arm after disinfecting the spot. "There, he should be fine in about 5 minutes.

Looking at the wound and sighed. "Time to close him up before the potion wears off." That's just what he did, the whole time he mumbled to himself as he worked. He answered himself and slid around the room many times. It was enough to make one dizzy, but not Louie, he was use to it.

After he was done it was about 6:40 am. The boy was asleep on the table and his friend was waiting in the shop. "Your friend is fine, he's just resting. You can stop worrying now." He walked up the kid, placing his hand on the boy's head to calm the boy. "Go home and let his parents know. I'll have to keep him for the day to see how he is doing."

The boy thanked him and left. It wasn't even 8am and it was already a busy morning. "You'll need coffee and you'll need to start working on 'that' potion." He yawned and did just that.

Getting up early in the morning was always a drag for Sei, but it was something he had to do in order to keep up with everyone else. He was more of a night person, just like his Spirits, he is strongest and night and more willing for the day ahead. Today was different, today he was headed over to visit Sei and most likely buy a few potions off of him. His potions was the best ever, it worked faster than medication and it tasted better too.

Sei and Louie had a Brother to Brother relationship, it was also the kind of relationship that Sei looked up to Louie, not only for what the mad did, but the man was smart, quick and very skilled. He has yet to see Louie fail in anything he does. It was truly amazing and everyone accepted him for it. Some where deep in Sei's heart he wondered why no one else could be more like this man.

The one thing that sucked about this morning was the weather. Sei's expression dropped even more and he had become sluggish. "Great.." He sighed itching the side of his head. Letting his hair fall out all over the place, though it was never messy even after bed. His reflection shined on the window as he stared out watching the lightening go off along with a loud 'Kaa boom'. He wore no shirt, that revealed all his tattoos and had baggy black pants on. He would have slept naked if it wasn't for the cold winter that was about to come. This also was a drag for him, sleeping with clothes on always felt uncomfortable to him.

I need caffeine. He thought to himself as he started to smell coffee being brewed up. Smells good. Forgetting to put a shirt on by getting distracted from the coffee smell. He headed down stairs and straight into the kitchen, pausing in the door way.

"You're up early." Henri murmured her words and started to blush as she spoke to Yvette. Those two never did really talk and when they did, it always made everyone around them feel just as awkward as they felt talking to one and another.

"Good morning Ladies." Sei's voice was gentle as he smiled tiredly at them. Leaning his body against the fame of the door with his arm up and his hand dangling into his hair that feel over his long neck and shoulders, hiding part of his tattoo. "Mind if I have a cup of that Yvette?" He nodded to the coffee that she was making. The smell was refreshing to him.

Yvette was Sei's partner from the very beginning when it came down the the battle field. They worked well together. Even during the time Keith had to work with them, he still needed her there. As much as he disliked depending on people, he sort of grew up with her so it was different an acceptation in a way.

Henri she was also something he could use for his kind of powers, but never has he tried. Though, she was a sweet girl, he had made a mistake in using someone bounded to the Earth. Keith was a Nature guy, to Sei it was sort of the same thing. And no matter how strong the two were, never was he going to make the mistake again. Besides, for him, the powers with the anything of the Earth, couldn't stretch the way he liked. It was too weak for him, he was use to more power. The Earth was too gentle and so was it's Nature.

He walked up to Henri and placed his hand on her head."You ladies are up awfully early. Couldn't sleep with the storm?" Though, from the looks of it.. His eyes slowly moved from Henri's face, directly to Yvette's eyes as if he was reading her like an open book. Yvette never slept. He smiled briefly, he wasn't about to press that on with her. Telling a women she looks like she needs sleep, is a death sentence.

The door bell started to ring, this put Sei on a bit of the defensive side. He dropped his hand from Henri's head and stepped back, moving his way to the door, staring out the peep hole. No one was there, who ever it was left it seemed. Probably just some kids playing ding dong ditch. He shook his head and headed back to the kitchen. "Kids"

Sei looked over as Henri spoke about the storm and Yvette's flick of the wrist. Just like that, the weather brightened up and the sun started to shine through the window's curtains. And Alice had finally showed herself. He chuckled softly under his breath and walked out of the kitchen. Running his hand through his long hair, he went back to his room and changed his clothes. A white long sleeved shirt, that had a turtle neck. Along with a pare of fitting black pants to go along with it.

Rubbing his neck, he could feel his body take a tole on him due to yesterdays work. He spent all day trying to work with a new spirit and he did it alone. He's been working on ways to use Yvette less during battle, but they've been together for so long, it was found difficult.

"Tch" Liking his tongue in frustration. He hit his hand lightly on his door frame just before leaving his room and heading back down stairs. Stopping himself he walked to the living room and leaned against the window, his body holding the curtain back as he stared outside, watching water drops shine here and there.

There was a problem he had run into and it wasn't like anything before. He was use to dealing with new spirits, but this one wanted more than just to mark him like the others had. He wanted apart of his soul's rarest of energies. All spirits take energy that the body gives off, but this one wanted to have a part that no one else can get to so easily. The power of the soul's Heart Span. It was a tough bargain. His heart will be marked of course, but the strain it'll take on his him, it could lead him into the darkness. If he turned out to not be strong enough, he could be lost.

He leaned his head back against the curtains, keeping his head tilted to the side, to still look outside. It was almost time for him to head out and see Louie. He smiled slightly and grabbed his coat that was left hanging on the stair rail. And made his way back to the kitchen door. He lifted his free hand and smiled. "I am about to go see dear Louie. Anyone care to join?"

He wondered if Louie ever finished 'that' potion he had asked him to make earlier yesterday morning. He didn't want anyone to know about it, so he had ask Louie in secret to create it for himself. And just like that Louie was more and excited enough to make it with no questions asked. If there was questions, Sei was sure he didn't know how to answer them well enough for Louie or anyone else to understand.

The only thing that made him worry was if the potion was alright to ask of him to make without a good reason. There was no trade, no bargain, it was just a simple... 'I'll do it'. Maybe he'll buy the man some sweets or ingredients for other potions. Stopping by the market with Louie should pay off if he bought whatever the man needed. It was the least he could do. The man's potions are not cheap, but rather spendy.

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Alice's suspicions about the mortals were enough to keep her on alert, though Henrietta's warning made her all the more tense. With her luck lately, the humans would surely be out for the disciples... Hurrah, she thought. As if her week wasn't bad enough. And if the mortals were to challenge her and Sei, it wasn't like Ace would set them all on fire. Not only would it be glaring obvious, perhaps the equivalent to a gigantic sign that spelled, "HEY! I'M OVER HERE!", but Alice didn't want to kill them. If she happened to run into the mortals, she'd have to use tactics and strength to win.

Speaking of the others, what were they up to? Surely they weren't just sitting back, enjoying the weather. Alice heaved a sigh. How could someone possibly enjoy winter, anyway? It was wet, and cold! Sure, the cold didn't affect her, but taking thermal energy required more effort, not to mention there was much less of it. And she didn't dare think about snow... She shuddered. Maybe she should think about something else.

...How long had Sei been--- her thoughts were interrupted by the last thing she wanted to hear. Gunshots. Gunshots meant mortals. They'd been spotted; but Ace was a little less than surprised.

"Put me down," She murmured. It came out as more of an order than a request, though how it was taken, Alice couldn't care less. And to her content, she soon found herself on the ground. Thankfully, they'd been walking for a while,so the sun's rays helped to dry the ground, though not completely. They were on pavement now. The ground was somewhat damp, but as long as Ace avoided puddles, she'd be fine.

Alice first found herself seeking cover, above all things, and found herself ducking behind a vacant hot dog stand... What am I up against, she thought to herself. Peeking over the top, she found, to her surprise and immediate distaste, she'd spotted four gunmen and five melees. If they were to be shot, it would mean the opposite of good to say the least. They'd have to take the gunmen down first... She could always---

A sudden daze came over Alice as she was struck on the head by a mortal. The impact, normally, would've been enough to KO a human, but being a disciple had its perks. Though shocked for a second or two, Alice quickly recovered and switched into battle mode. Her leg, now on fire, swept the mortal off of his feet, quite literally. As the mortal let out a loud screech and began to fall to the ground, clutching his burnt legs, Ace took it upon herself to grab him by the collar of his shirt, and slam him into the hot dog cart. The moment the cart fell, gunshots rang out and once again, Alice found herself ducking for cover.

A searing pain in her left shoulder told her she was a second too late. But Alice hadn't the time to focus on a measly gunshot wound; she could ask Louie about it later... Pursing her lips, she scanned her brain for some kind of plan. Within seconds, it hit her. Ace quickly turned to the mortal who'd hit her in the head, as she pushed him away from the hot dog cart. The human, seeing the opportunity to regain his footing, he barrel rolled away, to Ace's content.

Seizing the moment, she made a swift sweeping movement with her hand. She winced; her wounded shoulder was not pleased with the motion. Within seconds, the grease from the hot dog cart was set alight. A monstrously large fire began to roar. Any mortal with his sanity still intact wouldn't dare come near Alice. Even her fellow disciples would be wary of her; she was literally bathing in her element and water would only help the flames, so it wasn't like the disciple of water could do anything to stop it.

The fire was big enough to be seen from miles away, so part of Ace knew she was revealing her location to her fellow disciples, but she wasn't that worried. Surely it would attract everyone, which meant it would end up as a three versus five. Alice was confident in her friends. They had the advantage, for sure, and if their execution was good it would be an easy win.

[Note from Ruth: POSTPOSTPOSTPOSTPOSTPOSTPOST! EVERYONE JOIN THE PARTY!!!! *BURN BABY BURN* IT'S FLAMINGGGGGG DOWN HERE]