The Territory of the Nations

Christiana:
It's weird that I'm still freaked out by gang members whenever they come into the shop even though I make things for them almost all the time. Their hard faces, the guns they have, not to mention the freaky tattoos...it's not...pleasant. I just hope Jan doesn't come by today. Janifer is my best friend, but she can be distracting. And if Krin comes by I would die from embarrassment. My face would be red and I'd be slightly out of breath....plus I wouldn't be able to bear if he saw my first attempt at the piece I just finished: A glass boat surfing on a crystal wave. It is one of my better pieces. The thought snaps me back to the present. The croc that is standing impatiently before me. A gang member who is puffed up with self importance just because the leader decided that they could do an errand. I turned my attention back to the droning croc, who was using a complacent tone for a "simple" crafter.
"The leader has had quite a few pieces destroyed. We need new artwork and fast. What do you have?"
I smirked. "Only the best," I said grinning, "How is this?" I showed him my ship and he gasped loudly.
"Such craftsmanship!" He exclaimed, all affectionate superiority gone from his tone. "How much?"
"100 pieces," I said, knowing the value was less. The gang member obviously did not and so he paid me. I smiled. What was I complaining about? I love gang members, the stupid ones at least!

((This is Katherinana's post but she can't go on RPG))

Well, that was the most fun I have ever had. Sure, it involved a lot of violence, and a few lovely new scars, but that was still a lot of fun.
This morning, some time before dawn (2? 3? I don't know. No watch.), I rode my horse into the pronghorn territory with Vyjallen, Sina, and Vyjaxmen walking behind me, hands tied. As soon as I'm in, somebody tries to stop me.
"Halt!" A pronghorn runs in front of me and holds up his hands. "Did you even look at the sign?" He points to a piece of wood nailed to a tree near the tree line. I snort.
"I need to talk to your leader. Get out of the way." He stares at me.
"You want to see the leader? You can't. he is busy with the races. Who are you, anyway?" I sigh, and nod to Sina. I mean, M-32. She slips her hands out of the loose knot, and quietly walks over to the pronghorn. He looks at her, and she calmly punches him in the face. He shakes his head in confusion, and while he is distracted, Sina (M-32) pulls out her knife.
"You will let us pass. You will go away right now, you will not come back and you will not tell anyone what happened." Her voice takes on a sharper tone. "If you do, you better pray to Rhuit that you don't get anything worse than a missing eye." His eyes went very wide, and he turned tail and ran, clutching his nose. Sina picked up the rope and slid her hands back into it. She looks at me.
"Being around you is something like a crash course in Intimidation 101. Shall we go?" I scowl at her, and we get to the City in about an hour.
Its still a bit before dawn, which is good, because the Pronghorns are holding the competition for Chosen today. That makes me smile. I mean, what better time to hold it than the reappearance of a well known villain? Or, should I say, vixen?
As we get in, many people are running around, preparing for the races. The closer to the dictatorial palace we get, however, the more I see sedan chairs and beetles. Vyjaxmen lowers his head as much as possible. When we finally get there, I dismount, and walk up to the doors. A well dressed pronghorn blocks my way.
"And where do you think you are going?" I stare at him like he is beneath my even dignifying that with a response.
"Out of the way. I am here on official business." He shrugs, and mutters under his breath.
"Figures I get all the weird ones." He takes me to the main office, where a receptionist looks at me boredly.
"I suppose you want to see the Leader, correct?" I give him the death stare, but it has little to no effect. "State your business."
"Three escaped slaves, apparently of high ranking officers, who tried to steal my horse." He stifles a yawn, and yells down the hallway.
"Hey Swiveleyes! Take this lady to the Leader! Shes got an escaped slave case!" A dizzy looking pronghorn (lazy eye) comes down the hallway. He looks me up and down, then behind me to the beetles. Please, Aena, don't let them be recognized. Luck must be shining on me today, because he doesn't. He walks down a different hallway, to a pair of large, wooden doors. He opens them, and motions me in. He closes the door behind us. Siting at the desk is the Leader, a middle aged pronghorn, making preparations for the races standing behind the desk is a face I know entirely too well. Sina stifles a curse, Vyjallens eyes go very big, and Vyjaxmen doesn't do anything. I mean, its not like he would know our Traitor, would he? Cardon sees Sina and Vyjallen, and then then looks at me in the same way that a five year old does when they figure out that 1 + 2 = 3. He mutters something, (probably "why me"), and walks awkwardly over to me.
"What in hell are you doing here, Arri? I hadn't thought that giving you that note would make you do this." Supressing all urges to slice him with an arrow, preferably poisoned, I simply smile blankly.
"Who is Arri? I am Nara. I came to report that that I found these vagrants trying to steal my horses, and I want to know what you are planning on doing about it." This is directed at the leader, and I gesture at the three beetles. Sina, Vyjallen, and Vyjaxmen look at each other. They slip their hands out of the ropes, but make sure to hold onto them. The leader begins to stand up.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot deal with this right now. I really must leave." Vyjaxmen bars the doors, they drop the ropes, and Sina and I pull out our weapons. Two knives and a bow appear as if by magic. Sina laughs softly.
"Leave? You will never leave here alive." I look at Sina.
"Ready to join the band of outlaws?" She grins. I back away, and she does what assasins do.
I'm not going to describe this in any great detail. Honest? Blood kinda makes me sick. I will just tell you that though the leader was in no way helpless, he wasn't precisely in the best shape. Sina is a good fighter. I suspect that she was largely self taught, but the battle was pretty much decided from a few minutes in. Vyjallen closed her eyes, and I simply looked at her form, and how she worked with her weapons. Cardon, or rather Bluefleet just kind stared at us. The fight was over pretty quickly. Much quicker than it felt. The leaders last words were "At least I died by the hand of those I have harmed." Kinda melodramatic, but hey. There were a lot of papers on his desk, so I felt the need to write a little note.

People! Listen well! This death is by the hands of the infamous Gwaeda Many-Tail, Clove Redwood, Klavier and Sina Lilazni. That these have returned marks the downfall of the Pronghorn Nation! Spare your family and friends! Release your slaves! And let this mark the beginning of the end!

This note was impaled on an arrow an shot into a wall. Sina, Vyjallen, and Vyjaxmen escaped through another way out, but Bluefleet got a special goodbye. I turned to him, punched him in the nose, and laughed.
"You traitorous asshole. I hope you break your arm." I then ran for my life. All I can say is, thank Aena, Vix, and all other gods that look on this place. None of us got caught, and we didn't have to kill anyone, except for the obvious. We hit the forest and nobody tried to stop us. When we got to the trees,

((Placevalue, look at what I posted on starlight academy and on welcome to the black. I need you input in welcome to the black. And please don't run away yet.))
Aca:
What I am doing is treachery. I will probably be killed if they find out. Not that it's top-secret information, but because fraternizing with the enemy is bad. I walk into the Shimmerscale's cell. She looks up at me.
"You're free. But you can never come back lest you be executed." I say, my eyes shining with tears. Shimmerscale jumps up from her seat and hugs me. We cling to each other. Then I say, "You need to know," I say, "Blackwing is with the pronghorns. At first he was a slave, but I now know, he's being tortured. A pronghorn emissary came and mentioned it in passing. You have to go soon!"
Shimmercale looks at me in surprise. "Why?"
"They want secrets about us. They want to enslave crocs and so they're searching for our weak spots. They want domination. We HAVE to stop them. Which is why," I take a deep breath, "I want to come with you."
Shimmerscale's mouth drops open. "WHAT?" she exclaims, "No way, you have no experience!"
"I small for a croc. I'm a fast runner. I have an extensive knowledge of the secret language, and I've got a good reason to be in pronghorn territory. After all, we're allies."
Her mouth opens and closes like a fish. Finally she says, "Fine," in a snappish tone. I knew I'd won.
"You're free tomorrow. I'll pack some small clothes for you. I'd say a child's size...10?" I tease. Shimmerscale sticks out her tongue, and I leave.

(hello, world! i'm sort of not grounded right now, so i can finish my post later, though not right now.. but somebody, ANYBODY, respond. I'M SERIOUS. Also, I'm making our characters on this weird online thing. Attention: I am making them as I see them, and with the limited designs i can get. Don't judge.))

[img]file:///Users/Student/Desktop/Lord-of-the-Rings-Doll-Divine.jpeg[/img]

more characters, still can't think of how to end post. (sigh....)

[img][img]file:///Users/Student/Desktop/Lord-of-the-Rings-Doll-Divine.jpeg[/img][/img]

oops, sorry. dumb school computers. Also, i would love to continue the post, but the only thing i can think of is somebody losing their lunch.

[img]file:///Users/Student/Desktop/Lord-of-the-Rings-Doll-Divine.jpeg[/img]

Heh heh. Um, I don't know what was up with that, but these are Starheart, Shimmerscale, Christiana, and Moonbreeze (right to left) Anyway, Placevalue, you get to post from you point of view, since i was controlling your character, and I can't (don't feel like?) concentrating on it long enough to come up with a suitable ending to a post that is entirely too long anyway. So, your turn.

Moonbreeze:
Moonbreeze leapt into the air, spinning a few times and landing gracefully. She bowed and the crowd of pronghorns cheered loudly. She took her hair out of the bun she had it in, sighing. Idiots. They're just sitting back with their slaves The herring walked towards her own nation and was stopped by a pronghorn. Startled, she smiled and spoke quietly.
"Yes, Smoothfur?"
"That was beautiful dancing" he complimented.
"Thank you, but I must be going back to the herring nation."
"I'd like you to stay and dance more." He said as he grabbed her arms with much force.
Moonbreeze kicked his ankles powerfully and Smoothfur released one of her arms after about 6 powerful kicks. Moonbreeze reached into her boot with great speed and wrapped her small, webbed fingers around her dagger in a gentle but tight grip. The herring aimed the dagger at the pronghorn's face, missing, but making a long scar across his cheek, some fur flying off. She ran quickly past the border of the pronghorn nation, entering her own. She ran her webbed fingers through her blonde hair, smirking, but quickly hiding it and replacing it with a shy smile.

((I can't see the images :())

((What? STILL?! I'll email them to you.))

The band of outlaws, as Vyjallen was now thinking of themselves as, regrouped in the trees. They had met with little resistance, but they knew that as soon as some higher-up sounded the alarm, pronghorns would be flooding in from all over looking for a chance to impress the council. After all, they were short of a leader. Not knowing where would be the safest place to hide- "they could have slave tunnels all over," Sina said, shocking Vyjallen at how much she had changed in the last week. "It's best not to be on the move when they find us." Agitated and jumpy, the band spread out. Vyjallen began sharpening her knife on a rock while Arrianonna practiced with her bow. After the third arrow fell far from the mark, a fat clump of trees, she sighed. "I can't do this," she said,"I'm too nervous. This is the worse part of battle, waiting for it." Vyjallen nodded silently and began sharpening her knife again.
But no pronghorn squad came. They kept to their promise to stay where they were until nightfall. Under the cover of darkness, they were safer traveling. They spoke in whispers as they crossed stream after stream in the dark woods. "Where are we going?" Vyjaxmen asked. "The peacock nation," Arri responded immidiatly. "They are the only ones who haven't been brought down by the pronghorns."
They reached the desert's borders. As they stepped out of the trees, Vyjallen felt Vyjaxmen cringe next to her. "I don't like going out in the open like this," he said shakily. Vyjallen agreed.
"It's going to be risky, but I don't think and pronghorns would be here. Their hooves can't get a grip on the hard dirt." Arri's confident voice came from the front of the line. "Hold on," Sina said, stopping. "Listen." Vyjallen strained her ears, and sure enough she could hear faint strains of voices. "We need to get cover," Arri commanded. "And see what we're dealing with. "Um, Arri?" Vyjallen spoke. "What cover? It's a blasted desert!" "Well yeah," she said looking sheepish. "Nevermind. Let's just approach directly." Vyjallen did not agree with that plan one bit, but she didn't want to be stuck alone in the desert either so she followed, reluctantly. When they got closer, she realized it was a band of Hybrids, mostly Herrings, Rhino Beetles and crocs, but with some pronghorns and peacocks too. Arri went up to them. "Who are you?" she asked. Vyjallen cringed. She sounded so demanding! But they didn't seem ruffled. One responded, "Fugitives."

((Who are the fugitives))

((yeah, who are they? I'll post once I know who they are.))

((Sorry for abusing my mod powers but I didn't want to make a whole new post for a bit of OOC. Anyway, the fugitives are a band of Hibrydes who escaped the pronghorn nation and are traveling together to get to Zhucran.))

((Seriously? And, um, thats not particularly helpful. I meant are any of our characters in that group?))

((Oh, no none are. It's just that I wanted to add another storyline. If it's too much we can take it away.))

((This is so weird. Also, you use "cringe" a lot))

((Hey, I used it twice! Thats not a lot! And you should POST))

((Maybe later...))

((Maybe NOW. Also you should post too Gwenlover. ))

((I posted. Your turn, or even better, somebody elses.))

Zoozoo-um:
The tunnels were dark, the peacock's armor made her steps louder than she would like them to be. Brightnight was much quieter, especially since he had been trained to be just that. Quickfeet had knowledge of the tunnels, at least enough to keep them from being stuck in there like a labyrinth. Zoozoo-um had her sword in hand, it dragged across the floor, making a screeching sound. Her fingers were digging into the hilt without her noticing.
"Where are we going, Quickfeet? I put my trust in you, do not disappoint me."
"There are many areas of these tunnels. This is one, but I believe the area you are looking for is where the slaves are held."
"Of course." Zoozoo-um replied in a serious tone.
The grand commander was greeted by the future slaves with cries for help. She turned to see a young crocodile boy. He could've been younger than 14. His condition was terrible, he clearly hadn't been fed enough and as a result, his bones were visible beneath his scales. Zoozoo-um quietly lowered her gaze to meet his. She had no food that a croc could eat, how could she have been so idiotic?
"What is your name?" The peacock asked of the boy.
"H-73"
"No, your real name."
"Tezecan."
Zoozoo-um turned her gaze to Brightnight, surely he knew of something to do. The herring nodded curtly and bragged "Lucky for you, I learned how to pick these locks."
He began to work on the lock-picking. The grand commander searched every cell, meeting countless desperate gazes. Yet she had noticed a few, more serious groups of hybrids. These weren't as sad as they were angry, they were a large variety of hybrids. She had heard of these before, the rebels that tried and failed to stop their enslavement. Zoozoo-um looked over at Brightnight as he worked away at the lock.

((Before anyone has cardiac arrest, yes, i'm posting as Sina. SHUT UP ALREADY. Also, the sisters (you'll know which ones once you read the post) are actually possible. They are like Ligers, Tions, or mules. There is a very small (1/1000) chance that the child of a inter-species match will not be stillborn. They are infertile, and Xuè wǔ has an extra finger on one hand, but they are BOTH ALIVE. I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH PLACEVALUE EARLIER. Thank you.))

Sina: Arri walked back over to us. "It looks like they have little to no weaponry, and it is entirely likely that a group this big will attract... More attention then they want. Anyone up for escorting? We need to get in that general area, too." Vyjallen nodded.
"I don't see anything wrong with it, and getting them safely there will probably make up for the fact we just killed the leader of the pronghorns." Vyjaxmen just shrugged vaguely.
"Why not?" I mutter. Vyjallen is kinda right. The whole thing still makes me want to puke my guts out, a reflex I just barely squished earlier. The walk takes about an hour, not including two skewered cicadas, one permanently disfigured desert owl (Arri's personal philosophy being stun first, ask questions later), and a dehydrated peacock. When we finally get to Zhucran, the group goes to the official refugee processing center, and we go into a darker, more dangerous part of its twin city, Elcroz. Arri leads us into the "Ivory Crocodile", said crocodile presently behind the bar washing glasses.
"Hey! Arri! Haven't seen you in ages! Dude, you got friends. When did this happen?" Arri laughed.
"Shut up, Dylan. I'd like a glass of water, two lemonades-" That would be Vyjallen attempting to get something she will regret later "and yes, one of them is for the fourteen year old, so do not give her what she just tried to order, and he can order for himself." As she walks away, she casually yells over her shoulder "And if you put ANYTHING in those three drinks that I didn't order, then you can say goodbye to your depth perception."
Dylan just laughed. "Now, since when would I do that?"
Arri smirked. "Since you worked here. Just cuz i've been gone for a few years doesn't mean i've lost my touch. Or aim." We found a table near the back, and sat down.
"What in the name of all things not currently trying to kill us are we doing here?!" I hiss.
"We are waiting for trouble to find us. In this part of town, its probably one of my friends." she smiles. "Case in point." Vyjallen and I turn around, and a large, swaggering tiger walks over to our corner of an otherwise empty bar.
"Hello, ladies. Buy you a- holy shit, Arri, why didn't you say anything?" The shock on his face was (quite frankly) hilarious. "Nobody told me that you were back in town! How long will you be here? And why didn't I hear the screams?"
I mutter "We were in the fricking desert. Unless you are a stalker too...."
He looked at me. "Attitude, kid. Especially around people with good hearing."
I turned a bright shade of pink. "Er."
Arri took this as a chance to take over. "These are Sina and Vyjallen. Vyjaxmen seems to be getting drunk over there, but I can introduce you later. So, where's the rest of the gang? Don't tell me they skipped out. Not the sisters, at least. Finding work is difficult if you are an abomination..."
The tiger smiled, showing altogether TOO MANY TEETH. "Nah, they're around here somewhere. Eddie and Pia both stuck around, as did Larry, but Thera ditched a few years ago. Still going by Gwaeda?" Arri smirked. "You honestly think i would give up the name? OF COURSE I DO. Also, we are on the run from pronghorn officials."
He laughed. "Just like the old days. I heard you went civilian. That true?"
She shrugged. "Vaguely. Of course, I didn't actually kill him. I just issued the sentence." He looks confused, so Arri continues. "I taught her-" Points at me "-to fight. I don't regret any of it. Except, possibly, not killing the ass earlier. He issued a kill order on my family. all of them think it was my fault, and now I'm basically in exile."
He winces. "Ouch. That's gotta suck."
I glare at him. I saw the dead. "No fucking duh, idiot. Which is why we are here. We killed the leader, and now we are going to kill their clan." And free all the slaves, I added silently. "Incidentally, who are the sisters, or Eddie, or Pia, or, basically anyone she listed?"
"Well, speak of the devil," He says, turning around. "Devils, really." Two females come towards us. One is a tiger, one is a panda, and they both look... odd. As they pull up chairs, I figure out why: the panda just so happens to be hot pink, and the tiger is mint green. Yeah, you heard me. Fricking mint green. The panda looks fairly normal, with brown eyes and (less normal) pink hair. The tiger, on the other hand, is clearly insane. The way she is fidgeting with a knife, or a look in her eyes, this is someone who really scares me. And when you are living with Arri, that is fricking saying something. And everything but her hair is varying shades of green. Except her eyes. They are a clear blue, the way summer days are supposed to look. On anyone else, they would be gorgeous, but on her there is something wrong. Such as, for example, the fact that she noticed my staring.
"And who's the weird one?" I turn pink again, though next to the panda, its not saying much. Vyjallen is just quiet, taking in the scene with wide eyes. The conversation turns to other things, but I start to fall asleep. My last coherent thought is: Arrianonna Nadorn, not threatening anyone. What. The. Fuck.

((Vyjaxmen gettin turned up!!! WOOO!!!! *cough* anyways...))
Vyjallen: Arri was obviously comfortable with the tigers and panda, but Sina and I weren't. We stuck close together as Arri wandered around with her abomination friends, not really having an obvious plan. Our hangout spot was an old alleyway that looked dangerous, but no one had ever even walked past since we claimed it as or own, and I trusted Sina's fighting skills if trouble ever did arise.
It was a hot day, and Sina and I were hanging out in our usual spot when we heard a crash and a bang, then moaning. Sina jumped to her feet. "Vyjallen, shhh, we need to find out who that is. There could be trouble, so grab your knife." I scooped up the steel dagger that Sina had bought for me in some little shady shop on the outskirts of town. Sina crept around the corner of the alley. "What is it?" I whispered. "A herring...?!" Sina responded. "He's trapped under a dumpster, it's safe." I walked around to the place where Sina's voice was coming from. The dumpster lay on it's side, and I could see the scaly head of a herring trapped under it. Looking closer, I could see a number branded into his back, the mark of the pronghorn's slaves. "What happened?" I asked tentitavly, bending down to look the herring in the eye. "Escaped the slave tunnels," he whispered. "They're after me..." "Wait, who? Who's after you?" I cried, but he had slumped, obviously unconcious. "We'd better take him to the inn," Sina said, pushing the dumpster. "Vyjallen, help me lift this." We lifted the dumpster, and I gently pulled the herring's limp body from under it. He offered no resistance, and I noticed that half his scales were shaved off, leaving raw human skin underneath. We supported him between us and walked back to the inn, which Arri had gotten us a room in due to her seemingly abundant connections here (not going to ask, knowing Arri there's a long story involving at least one illegal activity) and lay the herring on the bed. "Sina, what do herring eat?" I whispered to her. "I don't know," she answered back. "I'll ask Vyjaxmen, he should know," I pondered. "Why? How would he know?" Sina asked. "Er, you seee, he had some, uh, shall I say connections with herring women while he was in the Dynastinae. Disgusting, I know." I looked over to see that the herring was awake and watching us. "Ack How much of that did you hear! Please don't hate me! I- um I have no connection whatsoever to Vyjaxmen!" The herring laughed, dry and scratchy. "It's ok," he half whispered. "I know how beetle society works. I'm guessing he is your relative, no? I don't hate you. We can't be blamed for what our family does. That injustice is exactly why I'm here, miss." I blinked. "What do you mean?" Sina asked. "My family were real protestors against the pronghorns," he said. "The pronghorns mistreated herrings even before they enslaved them. Anyways, they killed a pronghorn and I was punished. They put me in a prison cell..." he trailed off. "Go on," Sina urged. "I was there for weeks before the Wolves found me." "The Wolves?" I asked blankly. "Not even wolf hybrids. Just a band of Crocs in wolf skins. I guess they believe that herring scales have magical properties. I'm sure it's untrue, but that didn't stop them from raiding an entire slave tunnel. There are slave tunnels under this city too. I came to warn people! Zhucran won't be safe if Elcroz is compromised." He closed his eyes. "Warn people, miss, until I recover."

Arri:
"What the fuck is right! Hell, I thought those guys were dead! If anything is compromised, we are all screwed, the pronghorns will take over, and we'll spend the rest of our lives with numbers on our backs!" I slammed down a piece of paper onto the table. "Or worse, dead." Everyone looks at the sheet.
If these people are seen, report them to the pronghorn nation immediately for free papers.
"In the current political situation, everyone and their mother will be trying to turn us in. Free papers are worth more than basically anything right now. Which means that we need to get the word out about the wolves with out revealing our position. Dylan will help us, and hes got connections, but we need to get the hell out of here. Suggestions?"

((Sorry for the short post, but given that nobody else is either, i guess i don't really need to apologize. And I actually need suggestions for where to go next. I had an idea to go to one of the lion prides, or possibly just hide out in the forest for a bit, but other options would be good to. And can somebody please tell me what happened to goddessiris? She hasn't posted for over a month. Also, free papers are papers you can show a pronghorn slaver and they have to release you.))

((Sorry, I just didn't know what to say. Plus I have midterms coming up. I did post a few days ago but it didn't save. I'll re-post next week after my tests.))

((I just want to join the partay. Whoops tagged the wrong character))
Ah-quaz:
I am on my way to Zhucran, Zoozoo-um said that it should be protected and I want to check on it. I turn to Ah-de.
"So how do we get there?"
"Flying over that way or walking over that way"
I stare disapprovingly at him. We begin walking, and he is surprisingly quiet. It was almost as if he knew that something was going on. The journey was long and boring. Arriving at Zhucran, I notice a small restaurant. It has a bright sign displaying the name of the restaurant "The Ebony Python".
"We can eat later, Ah-quaz. I have somewhere I want to go at least for a little while"
I turn my head to the side in confusion, but decide to comply.
"It's called Elcroz, it's quite a charming place. I just want to check it out. There seems to be some suspicious activity around there."
"Zoozoo-um told me not to go there. It's known for being dangerous, this city is basically a ghetto."
"It'll be fine. Don't worry, I've been there before. I'm trained for combat."
I narrowed my eyes. I trust him, but this could lead to our deaths. Ah-de only smirked. He had survived things much more dangerous than this. Imagine the experiences I can get from this for my council training.
"Fine. But, if anything happens, it's your fault."
"Of course." He smiles at me, confirming that he will take responsibility.
He leads me to a secret tunnel-like place. As we enter Elcroz, I notice some shady people. Some look hungry or dehydrated and some look fine, but seem to be involved in suspicious activity. I tuck my hair behind my ear and grab Ah-de's hand.
"Do you want something to eat or drink? This may seem pretty ghetto, but we can go to the Ivory Crocodile."
That sounds awfully familiar.
"Okay." I reply quietly, trying not to attract attention, but I am already getting a few looks and sometimes whistles.
We arrive at a small place with a simple sign showing its name. Ah-de opens the door. He goes to order some drinks for us, does he not know our age? I could drink some, just once. I'm 14, I can handle a little drink, right? I look around to see the company in this place. There are some strange people. They seem to notice me and Ah-de. I bet we look so out of place here, what are these rich, spoiled peacocks doing here? They must be thinking that. I cringe.

(just in case you didn't see it in OOC, every character needs a theme song. Because. Arriannona's is Raise Your Glass by P!nk. Go find yours.)

Arriannona:
Oh. Wonderful. Peacocks. The rich, stuck up kind.
"Minty, sit. just because they have valuables does not mean you can go attack them. Even here. Xue, make sure she doesn't do something i'll regret later." They both shrug. I am not sure what they are doing here, but I am naturally suspicious, and i suspect it has something to do with the pronghorns. And I intend to find out. I walk over to their table, where a fourteenish year old female in clothing that would be more in keeping with a ballroom than a slightly disreputable bar in the middle of a very disreputable city is sitting, and pull up a chair. She turns to see where her boyfriend is with a worried look on her face. He is currently laughing at something with Dylan, who seems to be washing a glass, so he won't be coming back for a few minutes. She turns back to me and attempts to look haughty. I think. Whatever it is doesn't work, because all it does is make me think about dressing up in your parents clothing. I mutter something under my breath.
"So, who are you?" She still has that look on her face. I smile.
"Oh, for pete's sake, i'm not going to kill you. Give the act a rest." Her features visibly soften, though she is still clearly on guard. "I'm Arri, and I was just curious as to why you were in Elcroz. I mean, peacocks are more for Zhucran. Less illegal activity." She smiles.
"Yes, well... Ah-de wanted to come do something here, and believe me, I would rather be there. I'm Ah-quaz. What are you doing here?" I laugh.
"Oh, the usual, running around, rescuing herrings with messages that make the entire area unsafe, planning to destroy the pronghorns forever, hiding in seedy bars because of a price on my head..." I grin. "And talking to strange peacocks who would probably be lying dead in an alley somewhere if they hadn't ended up here. Incidentally, got any newspapers?" She wordlessly hands over a paper, seemingly chewing on the run on sentence which basically sums up the past two weeks. I open to the front page, and (lo and behold) I'm there.
Gwaeda Many-tail seems to have returned to the local scene, this time with new allies. After the murder of the pronghorn Leader, a quick search of his office found a slip of paper that had been crudely nailed to the wall by an arrow, saying that she was back and that the pronghorns should watch their backs, and their slaves. It seems to the Times that she will most likely be planning a large scale attack on the nation in the not too distant future. Other face that are new and returning are Clove, Klavier, and Sina Lilazni, the three rhinoceros beetles that somehow escaped the huge slave operations currently gathering speed, and taking herrings now, as well as beetles. Many have gone into hiding, but express hope that this figure has reappeared. Among those interviewed, one young owl seems to be particularly happy. She says that Gwaeda has always seemed like a myth, almost like a Robin Hood, and hopes that Gwaeda will rescue all of the slaves, as both her father and sister were captured recently. From the Racon Times, we wish you luck.
I fairly danced. "I wish I could stay longer, but I really must go talk to somebody. Also, I believe I may need this paper. Would you like this in return?" I pull off a silver ear cuff that is in the shape of a feather. "I think this would look good on you." She nods, slightly dazedly, and I lean over to her. "If you would mind not reporting me, that would be appreciated. Gwaeda needs to stay free for her war." Her mouth drops open, and I grin. I pull my hood over my head, and run out the door. I get to Vyjallen and Sina's alley, and wave the paper around in the air.
"We're in the newspaper! WOO HOO!" Sina grabs it out of my hands and stares at it. Then she waves it in Vyjallens face. "And," I add, "I know where we are going now! I'll leave some stuff with Dylan about the Wolves, and hopefully we'll run into them, and some people need to come with us, but we'll be taking out the Pronghorns. And the Mai Pride will be all too happy to help. Those damn antelopes have been getting on their nerves for ages. But I'm in the newspaper! I'm like Robin Hood! Hooray!!!"

((hi. The robin hood thing was (if you have ever seen it, i'm sure you guessed it) The disney animated version has a fox playing Robin hood. So, about the newspaper thing, its basically somebody goes and gets a lot of info and uses an old fashioned printing press to make it into a paper, and then distributes it wherever. The peacocks have a specific one, but most of the world gets the Racon Times, run by Alex Scuzby. And yeah, Arri is jumping up and down because she is in the newspaper. The Mai Pride was the biggest lion pride on the plains, before the Pronghorns came in. They are very territorial, and lost most of their number in one big fight with the Pronghorns a few decades ago, which is how they (pronghorns) got to their size before the cicada and beetle and Dynastinae shit happened. very few of the Prides get along with the Pronghorns, and the Herrings and Peacocks aren't happy either. Apparently the crocs are allied. Their loss. And Stripedneck really needs to be leadered. but i don't know how that would work. So. OOC FOREVER!!!))

ARRRGGHH!!!! I JUST LOST A GOOD HOUR"S WORK!!! I'M PISSED OFF A GATWAY SO MUCH RIGHT NOW. AND I'M NEAR TEARS WITH FRUSTRATION

((Okay so theme songs...
Zoozoo-um: Fly-Nicki Minaj ft. Rihanna
Ah-quaz: I'm not sure about this one, but: Wide Awake-Katy Perry
Moonbreeze: Dark Horse- Katy Perry
Oh by the way Goddessiris, you should type your post on a word document or something and then copy and paste it onto roleplaygateway when you're done.))

Zoozoo-um:
"We need to leave now" Quickfeet warns. "There is screaming and a lot of stomping. Something bad is happening down there and some pronghorns may be coming her for their slaves."
He may be right. Brightnight is able to open a few locks after a long while. The rest may not be able to escape easily. I hastily open my bag and pull a heavy hammer out. The handle is cold to the touch and its weight is not cumbersome anymore. With all my strength I swing the hammer towards the bars. They bend ever so slightly. Not caring about the noise it may make, I continue until hybrids are able to squeeze through the spaces made by the hammer. Only a few are able to escape however. With little time to continue I distribute hammers to the masses, pulling out a few smaller ones that would be better for combat. A huge weight has been lifted, but my armor still is heavy enough.
"Come on" I call out to Brightnight, Quickfeet, and any other hybrids willing to follow.
A quite large group follows including Tezecan, thanking Zoozoo-um with endless "Thank you"s. Once the group finally left the tunnels he inquired "Do you know Beetlestealer? I mean he is a hero and he rescues hybrids too so I thought maybe..."
I smile at this.
"I'm Beetlestealer." I respond.
He opens his eyes in disbelief.
"I was rescued by Beetlestealer? I'm not even a beetle!"
I notice many pronghorns scattered throughout the nation. They look about as scared as most of the slaves are. I step on a newspaper, it is called Racon Times. I've never heard of it before. I read the Peacock Press and just assumed that every other nation has their own newspaper. The front page reads: ((read Erin's post. I don't want to copy and paste the same thing))
Gwaeda Many-tail? I see. She seems to be pursuing the same justice as I, but in a manner that caused the pronghorn nation to become disorganized and weak, I don't doubt that they will eventually regroup and become the powerful and feared nation that they were. She is accompanied by three rhinoceros beetles, they are definitely trained in combat and they were rescued from slavery. That's nice, and quite useful. She seems like a valuable ally. I will find her, it may not be too easy but I have an idea. As I walk, a few feathers drop behind me and a few pronghorns nearly attack each other for the feathers on the ground. A young, female pronghorn eyes the group untrustingly. She seems to recognize Quickfeet, but doesn't say anything.
"Ma'am, have you seen a fox hybrid by here?" I ask politely, there aren't very many fox hybrids at all.
She looks at the group again and curls her lip. "Would you leave to your little plateau, Peafowl? And take your croc child too. It's a lot safer there, isn't it?"
I sneer at her and unsheathe the sword at my side. The hilt sparkles a golden color, barely visible blood stains from previous uses. The blade is a pure, silver and beautiful designs decorate the length of the sword. The tip is pointed in the pronghorn's direction, threatening to pierce her skin.
The pronghorn's eyes widen and she makes a growling sound, attempting to look dangerous. I raise an eyebrow and keep the sword up.
"There was one, she went off to some place around Zhucran with her slaves or something." The pronghorn admitted as she cringed, waiting for a sword to hurt her.
"Thank you very much" I lower my sword and turn in the direction of Zhucran.
She went to Zhucran? I suppose it would be a good place to go since the escaped slaves that are following me could stay there. If Many-tail is really trying to fight for good, she should be okay with the founder of the city she is in right now. I fight for a similar cause, we can work toge-
I am cut off by an arrow hitting my armor, followed by a few more. The people following me may be in danger, I take Tezecan's hand, leading the child to the peacock territory border. Nobody was seriously hurt, only a herring was shot in the leg, but he will be fine, the arrow is already out and he isn't bleeding too much. It seems that whoever was shooting is very inexperienced.
After leaving the herring with some peacock doctors, the rest of the group leaves for Zhucran.
***Time skip lalala***
Zhucran is a beautiful city now. I hadn't expected it to grow so much from a little town where slaves could live.
"I will buy all of you food and you can live in this city." I offer to the group.
"Wait live here? I can't!" Tezecan pulls my arm.
"You can be adopted by a croc family here. They are very good people."
"Well... Can I just go with you? To save the world?"
I chuckle.
"All right, you have potential to be a great fighter with training. I can't force anyone to live in Zhucran."
I enter the nearest restaurant and order whatever the group wants. They decide to order some of the more expensive things, but I don't mind and the restaurant owner definitely doesn't mind. Finally, all of the members of the group go their separate ways to settle in Zhucran, except for Tezecan who is filled with excitement.
"Where are we going, Beetlestealer?"
"I am Zoozoo-um. If Many-tail was here, I would know, so there's only one other answer. Elcroz..." Zhucran is a dead end, the only way out or in is through the peacock nation.
"What's that?"
"A bad place in Zhucran. It is not safe."
The croc pulls my sword out from its sheath.
"See, I can learn to defend myself!" He says while attempting swing it in the air, dropping it. I pick the sword up from the ground.
"You can learn. First you need to regain your strength and rest." I take the sword in my hands and swing it as if there was an enemy in front of me. "That is how you properly swing a sword."
"Woah! I can't wait to learn to fight! Let's go to Elcroz!"
I hold his hand and lead him to where Elcroz is, very few people know how to get there, so I am interested in Gwaeda Many-tail. Elcroz is filled with suspicious looking people, but it hasn't caused any major problems yet. I begin to search every building that she may be in. Nobody attempts to disturb me, they definitely recognize me. I searched just about every building, but I didn't expect her to be in a small bar.
I had clearly found Gwaeda Many-tail in The Ivory Crocodile. A fox hybrid is there in this bar and I recognize her. I bought some weapons from her, this is Arriannona. The next this I notice is a wall of reviews for this bar. One says I ate the soup, that's not a very descriptive review, but before I can see who wrote that, I notice pure, white feathers that stick out quite a lot. Ah-quaz.
I glare at her and sit down next to her. Tezecan is confused at sits next to me. She widens her eyes at me and I frown.
"So what are you doing here?"

((Erin, I just realized that my reading skills are terrible -_- I now realize that Arriannona is not in the shady bar anymore, but my post is already done so sorry...))

((Its fine. She needs to go back there to collect Xue and Minty anyway, and drop some stuff off with Dylan, so there is a time skip, right? She is about to leave when you get in there, and because usually peacocks don't come into Elcroz ever, she hangs around to find out what it is this time. Also, thanks for finding songs. Now that I think about it, those really are the perfect songs for your characters. And yeah, I'm posting as Sina again. Continue to shut up.))

Sina: I walk into the Ivory Crocodile with Vyjallen (Vyjaxmen is packing up) and there is a mildly strange sight. Let me draw a picture for you, because you would be confused too. To the left of me is a table with two peacocks, both female, one albino and the other the commander of the peacock army, and one crocodile (probably about ten, and slightly confused). To the right is the bar, with Arri talking to Minty (the tiger) and a peacock male looking worriedly over at the commander and the albino (probably his girlfriend) Xue is sitting in the back, talking animatedly to a python with tattoos all over basically every inch of non scaly skin and a rabbit with what looks like a wooden fork and spoon sticking out of a very sloppy bun. Dylan is grinning at us (never EVER a good sign) and Arri has just noticed us and (by extension) the peacocks. She stands up, walks over to the peacocks, and says something quietly. The commander motions for her to go outside, and Arri pulls her hood over her head and looks at us and jerks her thumb outside. We follow her outside.
The commander looks at Arri. "Gwaeda Many-tail?"
Arri looks back at her with a deadpan. "Beetlestealer?"
Vyjallen raises her hand. "Clove."
I shrug. "Sina Lilazni. Vyjaxmen is Klavier, but he's packing his stuff." Under my breath, I add "Or getting drunk."
The commander speaks again. "So, what is you plan for-" She would have finished that sentence, but Arri clapped a hand over her mouth.
She gets very close to the commander's face. "I don't know how things work in Zhucran, but here the streets are not a safe place to discuss this. I am not interested in getting killed by pronghorns for something I technically haven't done yet." The commander looks questioningly at Arri, and Arri continues. "I didn't kill the Leader. She did." She points at me, then removes her hand from the commanders mouth. "Where we are going now is the Mai territory outside of the pronghorn plains. I don't know if you would be interested, but more power and trained soldiers would be helpful."
The commander slowly nods. "I believe we can come to an arrangement."
Arri smiles. "We leave in two hours."
Vyjallen leaves to collect her brother, the commander goes to find the two peacocks, Arri goes back into the bar to inform Minty and Xue what the plan is, and they go get everyone else who is involved. That leaves me with the crocodile boy sitting on the steps outside.
"Whats your name?" I ask him.
"I'm Tezecan. Did you really kill the leader?" I nod carefully, not sure where this conversation is going. "Awesome! I heard some of the pronghorns who came down to collect slaves for sale talking about it! How did you do it?"
I shrug. "Carefully."
He looks at me sarcastically. "No, silly! I mean what did you use?" I pull out the knives Arri gave me. One is silver with a gold hilt, and the other is steel with a copper hilt. Both have vine scrollwork on them, the copper one has a crescent moon carved into the hilt, and the gold one has a skull. He gasps. "Those are awesome. Can I try?"
I laugh. "Absolutely not. You can try with these ones." I grab my wooden practice knives from my bag and hand them to him. He squeals.
"These are so cool! How do you use them?" After a short lesson in knife throwing, how to fight ambidextrously, how to find chinks in armor and use them to your advantage, the correct way to use one knife as a shield while fighting with the other knife, and the very important difference between slash and stab, I take my knife and poke my palm just enough that blood starts to well up. Then I look at his face. He does not seem to be allergic to blood, which is important. At this point, Arri comes back and announces that we are ready to leave.
Tezecan tries to give the practice knives back but I shake my head. "Keep them. Until I get a chance to make you some real ones, you are going to need those to practice." He screams and hugs me around the waist. I smile. I always wondered what having a little brother was like.

Oh, and this is what Minty looks like (Araminta)


and Xue

By the way, I take requests, so if you want your character drawn, give me the appearance details. but not guys or rhino beetles, because i can't draw those.