Posts by greatbear

Lilian nodded to the other and then left for her own home, a temporary shelter hidden amongst the trees in the forest nearby. It wasn't too far for her to walk from her current location, which was lucky because the grumpig was starting to feel quite drowsy... it had been a while since she'd last had uninterrupted rest, and she had been so busy as of late that even meditation hadn't been an option.

When she finally entered the sparse little hut, Lilian only stopped for long enough to gather some supplies for the oncoming journey before settling down to sleep for the next few hours. In her pack now resided not only her basic emergency gear (rope, an alternative light source, etc.), but also a restocked medical supply. She made sure to take as many berries and potions as she could; with such a dangerous task ahead, it was more than likely that she, if not someone else, would need them at some point soon.

---

Meanwhile, Sai had finally finished helping out at the tavern, but in the process had made an unexpected discovery... on a whim, the explorer had enquired to the bartender as to whether or not they had seen any umbreons around recently, only to get the reply that there had been one in the bar earlier that evening! Thrilled at the possible lead, Sai left the establishment and began to head back to the Guild. It was too late now to look around for Jolty's lost brother, unfortunately, so he decided to get some sleep for a few hours before consulting his fellow explorer about his find in the morning.

I know the feeling, gotta prep to go back to school soon too. My last year though, so I'm super happy about that!!

Also, it's cool to hear that we have similar ideas for villains and stuff! Great minds obviously think alike, haha ;) I'll introduce Charlie when the heroes take a closer look at the lab, then, or whenever Goliath appears.

As the others in the group relaxed their positions Ursa followed suit, drawing herself up again out of her lower defensive stance to assess those standing around her once more. She turned first to the stranger opposite them as they spoke, then to the newcomer as he introduced himself as well. Faceless and Hellfire? The latter she could match to the rumours of a vigilante carrying a similar description, both reported of online and in the press, but the former was a complete unknown to her. Coretta had never even heard of anyone who matched the Faceless' description, which meant that they were either very good at covering their tracks, or they were new to the City's collection of costumed folk... or she had simply missed them in her admittedly vague monitoring of the news. She was a busy vigilante, after all! From what Faceless had said just moments ago, they certainly didn't sound very new to the profession, at any rate.

Hellfire, on the other hand, was not quite as big a mystery. She had never managed to put a face- or perhaps more aptly, a mask- to the name until that night, but she had at least heard of the vigilante in passing. Whether or not he could be trusted was another matter entirely, and something that he himself was probably thinking about the rest of them too. He certainly appeared to be more wary of the other three's presence when compared to the calm, clinical response of the Faceless, but Ursa couldn't really blame him for being cautious considering that she had also reacted similarly when the man had first arrived.

A small smile spread across her face as she listened to his little speech about 'bad guys' and 'justice'. "It'll be one h*ll of a fight, if you're planning on taking on- how many was it?- thirty two 'bad guys' all by yourself," the armoured vigilante replied, a humorous edge to her otherwise robotic tone, "I for one would be glad to work as a team during my investigation of the labs, as Faceless here suggested. I'm assuming that we are all here because we want something to do with what's going on in there?"
With four vigilantes gathered together with a presumably common goal, it looked like her previously far-fetched imagining of a heroic team-up was now fast becoming a possible reality.

Thank you! ^.^
I was wondering if she could have the same kind of role thaf Rock has in the movie? i.e following the squad around and trying to make sure they don't get into too much trouble haha

As Ravenstar emerged and finished issuing instructions to the clan, Ambershade got to her feet and padded over to where her leader stood. She stopped and bowed her head respectfully, before asking, "Is there anything I can do in regards to this Crow situation? I overheard what had happened from one of the members of your patrol."

The hunting patrol could always wait, the lieutenant decided, and besides, most of the cats involved in the patrol were now thoroughly distracted by the arrival of the new cat. Alternatively, it might make the camp a little less crowded if she were to take out a hunt... either way, she'd have to wait and see if her leader required anything before making a move.

----

Smallpaw sat at the edge of camp, looking a bit put out. It seemed that the arrival of this 'Crow' had well and truly interrupted his training. The young tom wished that he was a kit again so he could attend their lessons in the afternoon; he'd always loved the water, after all. This in mind, he watched as the swimmers assembled themselves a look of admiration spreading across his face.

----

Galeheart watched the proceedings from the entrance of his den. His tail flicked back and forth as he lay on the stones, his eyes narrowed. A new cat in camp? He wasn't sure if this would be a good or a bad thing to happen. It had been many moons since any newcomers had arrived...

----

Slaterunner sat away from the crowds, looking on with a somewhat wary expression on her face. She wasn't too big a fan of large groups of cats, and was itching to get out of camp and away from the ruckus. At Ravenstar's words it looked like she'd have the opportunity to do so, however, and she got up to go as the clan cats began to go about their usual business once more.

As the first rays of morning light began to filter through the trees above, Lilian was already making her way down the narrow forest path towards pokemon square and the dojo. The grumpig had been ready to go as soon as she awoke, her mind sharp and her pack ready. As she reached the crest of a hill, she looked out over the view bellow, shielding her eyes from the early morning sun with one arm while she did so. From where she stood, the psychic could clearly make out the dojo in the distance, and if she looked very closely she could just about make out the forms of several pokemon standing in front of it.

Carrying on her way, she soon reached her destination and found the pokemon to be her mercenary allies, already gathered there in the morning light. There was a stranger in their midst, presumably the healer that Lucia had mentioned previously, and Lilian walked up to the group just in time to hear the aurorus' introduction. "Good morning, all!" she greeted the pokemon there graciously before turning to the newcomer, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sylena. I'm sure you'll be very welcome in our upcoming... quest."

----

Sai, meanwhile, was still dozing away in his room at the guild. It wasn't until a short while later, when the morning light filtered through the window and shone onto his sleeping place, that the sableye actually woke up. The ghost-dark pokemon rubbed its gemstone eyes wearily, the sun seeming harsh to his sensitive eyes. He much preferred to work underground where he did not run the risk of being blinded, but a little light wasn't going to stop him from doing his duty... this in mind, he stretched himself out and got to his feet before leaving his room to try and find Jolty.

OOC: Yup, if that's okay with you ^.^ Though she hasn't actually seen Crow in the camp yet, which is why she hasn't yet associated the name with the old she-cat she knew from the rogue group years ago. I don't think she'd be overly hostile towards them or anything, just very wary.

Ambershade nodded and turned to gather up a patrol. When she looked around in the immediate vicinity, however, she found most of the cats to already be preoccupied. Padding away from the medicine den, she walked out into the main camp to try and find some other paws to help. As she did so she gestured for Slaterunner to join her, as per Ravenstar's request. Perhaps she could send the soldier out on the hunt while she remained in camp to make sure none of her clan-mates got into trouble in the fuss caused by this newcomer...

Slaterunner paused as she spotted the lieutenant beckon for her to join them. The soldier had been about to leave camp to get some peace and quiet, but if she was needed elsewhere then it couldn't be helped. Flicking her tail behind her, the she-cat padded across to where the older feline stood and listened as they issued their orders. Go out on a hunt? That, she could do, and she quickly left Ambershade to get started. She really needed some breathing room after such a busy day.

OOC: I'm not sure if sending out a lone cat is something they would usually do? But I went back through the posts and all the active cats already seem to be busy. If I've missed a cat, just give me a shout haha

[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width: 300px]yes of course that's fine, i was planning on messing around with the personality a bit anyway which is why some of the traits don't really match too well either, haha. i'll have to change it in the morning though, i'm afraid, because i am a poor brit who needs some sleep now x
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[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width: 380px]completed! hopefully they are more in character now that i'm a bit less tired, haha. if there's anything else you want me to change, just give me a shout ^.^
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Coretta looked up to where Guard Tom was standing, and had just opened her mouth to answer his question when she was interrupted by the arrival of their fellow guards. Someone nearby shouted something in a strange language and the corridor was suddenly flooded with light. For a moment all the guardswoman could see was stars, before her eyes readjusted to the abrupt change in light level and she blinked the haziness away. Now was not the time for weakness. They may be able to see again, but that meant their enemies could too; the playing field was level, and she would have to be extremely careful if she wished to come out victorious, with everyone still intact.

As someone rushed past her to look after the fallen wizard she took a long step backwards, deflecting another arrow sent in their direction as she did so. She still had orders to carry out, after all, so the Ursa turned away from where the hand-maiden was tending to the wizard and quickly made her way over to where the Princes were engaging several of the assassins in combat. One such rogue was attempting to flank Prince Leoric while the royal was distracted, so Coretta quickly stepped out in front of them and raised her shield to block their axe swing. This one was more bulky than his fellow men, she realised, gritting her teeth as she pushed his weapon away; she wouldn't be able to simply overpower him as she had the majority of the others that she had faced that day.

Indeed, as the fight raged on it quickly became a contest of strength, the two of them weaving back and forth as they traded heavy blow after heavy blow. Something had to give, and after a hasty block from Coretta, the man managed to push her up and away from him with a retaliatory blow of his own. The woman slammed uncontrollably into the brick wall behind her, head ringing as her helm connected with the solid stone surface. The rogue chuckled and advanced, keen to remove this nuisance while she was down, so that he could move on to the princes and finish his mission. For a short while, Coretta's vision was filled only with dancing white dots... then, the assassin's laughter reached her ears, and all she saw was red. Letting out an angry growl she pushed herself up from the ground, ignoring the biting pain in her side originating from where her opponent's axe had connected cleanly. She could attend to her wounds later. For now, she had just to survive the fight so she could go on to do so, and that meant ending it quickly.

While the rogue was still raising his axe to strike the finishing blow on his would-be victim, Coretta's arm darted up and she landed one of her own. The man let out a gasp, his eyes dropping to meet her own angry gaze, before he let out a wheezing breath and they went dim. As he slumped down on top of her, the weary guardswoman pushed them away, before using the wall she had originally fallen against to push herself into a standing position. She took a moment to ready herself, her thoughts already focused on her priorities. Where were the Princes? When the fight had begun she hadn't noticed any immediate threats to their lives, other than the ones they were already facing and the one that she had just dealt with, but a lot could change in a couple of minutes...

----

Galen stood blinking in the street for a couple of short moments, before his mind caught up with things and he leaped after the woman. To be perfectly honest, he hadn't been expecting her to agree so easily, and had prepared several arguments in his head to try and persuade her to help him. Now, it seemed, all that had been completely unnecessary, though he wasn't about to complain, of course. "Thank you, honestly!" he exclaimed, walking alongside his temporary guide as she made to walk down the alley, "I truly appreciate your kindness. I had thought that I would be wandering these streets for quite some time!"

The hunter let out an embarrassed laugh, running a hand through his long hair as he did so. Despite his previous doubts, he was glad that he had swallowed his pride and asked the thief for help. From the looks of things he had already been heading in the opposite direction to his destination, so she was certainly proving herself to be useful to him. As he walked forwards, however, his gaze wandered to the desolate sights around him, and a cold wind sent sudden shivers tingling down his spine.

Some traitorous part of him still whispered that the thief was only doing this to trick him somehow, to take advantage of his lack of knowledge and lead him into a trap... but once again, he quashed these thoughts with logic and reason. She had no reason to try anything untoward. He had nothing of value, therefore she had nothing to take. Paranoia is a strong impulse, unfortunately, so he took a moment to steel his emotions before turning back to the woman. When he did so, however, the sight that met the hunter's eyes helped to get rid of any last traces of doubt that remained in his mind. In the pale light of the alley, the thief did not appear as she had done before; or rather, she still had that same hallowed look about her, but now Galen could see clearly past that. The thief looked to be, well, just like a normal person. She didn't seem to be as angry as she been before, and while she was definitely still suspicious of him, the woman appeared to simply have an air of resignation about her. This was no evil being, meaning him ill fortune and stealing out of spite. This was just another poor dweller of the lower city, just trying their best to survive. Just like him.

As all these thoughts raced through his mind, Galen realised that he was missing one vital bit of information. It had never occurred to him to ask before, caught up in the chase and then his suspicions as he had been, but he had never caught the woman's name. After his newfound perspective of her, and the kindness she was offering him now, he found himself wishing that he had. "Say," he began, still keeping his gaze on his temporary companion, "Since we're going to be walking together for a short while, how about I introduce myself? I don't think I made the best first impression earlier, after all..." Here, the hunter paused to laugh, abashedly thinking back to their original encounter where his temper had almost gotten the better of him. "My name is Galen. Pleasure to meet you!"

OOC: I had a lot of spare time on my hands this afternoon, so I got a bit carried away with this post... sorry, haha. Plus I had actually kinda forgotten that Galen was a character I played in this thread, so I'd already written out a normal sized post for coretta then had to add him in, whoops

Lilian listed as the lucario listed the groupings, nodding contentedly as they did so. Mobility may not have been her and her new companion's strong point, but hopefully they could make up for that thanks to their sheer attacking strength. She looked forwards to working alongside them, at any rate, and sent Hax and Echo a quick grin to convey her feelings. Before she could greet anyone in her group, however, discussion was quickly brought back to the mission ahead. "That would probably be for the best," the grumpig nodded, listening to Jericho's words. "It'll help us to quickly cover ground, while still having enough mercenaries around to properly defend ourselves."

Solaan frowned as the golem ran off into the distance, carrying its new master with it as it went. Soon, the only trace of it being there at all was the cloud of dust kicked up by the construct, and even that was quickly fading. One part of the sorceress wished that she had such a means of travel, while the other half only felt supremely irritated with Tobius' abandonment. "Fantastic, now if there are any more bandits waiting ahead, they'll easily be able to pick our lead off while he's alone!" she grumbled, narrowing her eyes as she began to follow behind Arkhir and Miki once more. "Or if there is anyone else nearby, they'll soon be alerted to the presence of travellers within the forest with that thing running around..."

Avoiding a huff of frustration- it wouldn't do to to lecture the man on stealth, only to send up smoke signals from their location herself- the dragonborn settled for simply rolling her eyes, easily keeping pace with her companions. She didn't particularly like idiots, and in her eyes this man was quickly proving to be one. By the looks of things, she wasn't the only one with that opinion; beside her the half-elf let out an annoyed groan at their companion's disappearing act, mirroring Solaan's feelings nicely.

Still, it wouldn't do to do dwell on her frustration given that how many other things they had to worry about. At least the newcomer didn't seem to be one such worry, the sorceress supposed, though she hadn't really gotten the chance to get to know them all that well. When the elf had spoken earlier they'd come off as being slightly condescending, but then again Solaan herself had probably seemed rather paranoid, so fair was fair. Neither thing made for the best of first impressions, so she decided to wait until she had gotten to see more of their newest companion before forming any permanent opinions.

OOC: Aah, thank you! That means a lot to me. Your writing is great, too ^.^
And as a side note, I might be inactive over the next few days, since I'm going back to school tomorrow too. Final year, though, so I should have lots of home study aaayy

IC: As Galen met the woman's eyes, he caught the flash of steely pride in her gaze, a challenge to contradict her harsh words. But behind the dignity and cold facade, he also caught an impression of something else... for a moment he thought that he could see a kind of sadness in her, the kind that comes when you are resigned to believe that something was unattainable, that life was unchangeable. It seemed to match her stony words, and the young man felt his heart sink. He reached out to stop her, to say something in response to her bleak statements, but she was already away and ahead of his grasp.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he cried, struggling to keep up with the woman as she wove through the alleyways and cluttered streets. Already he was lost again, at least until the welcome smell of food and animals reached his nose. They had already reached the market place, it seemed, so the young man came to an abrupt halt shortly behind his guide. "Wait," he panted again, running out in front so that he could face the woman, "What you said earlier... you know that isn't true, right? If everyone judged each other forever and wholly on the first time they met, then nobody would ever get along! And honestly, we both may have made a bad first impression, but that doesn't mean that we're bad people! We, I, uh..." He trailed off for a moment, struggling to put his thoughts into words. This going to be harder than he had anticipated, Galen realised, before deciding to try a different approach. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that I can't judge the type of person that you are based on your actions in one, extreme, situation. I wouldn't presume you to be that shallow a person, and I apologise if I gave you that impression. Truly."

As he finished speaking, he tried to put as much sincerity as he could into his words. He didn't know why, but he wanted to prove this woman wrong, prove that she wasn't the type of person she seemed to think she was, and that he wasn't either. While their initial meeting had been one of conflict and anger, his parents had always taught him that second chances were important, and in this woman's second chance she had shown him a kindness she could have easily refused. Now, he wanted to return that favour more than anything.

The moments Coretta took to locate the Prince were too long. Too long for her to stand any chance of blocking the dagger sent soundly into his shoulder, and too long for her to come to his aid as the first assassin breached his guard. A cold gaze settled on the remaining four. The Prince may have felled one of their number, but now that he had fallen alongside his attacker Coretta realised that the fight would have to be finished quickly and cleanly. Luckily, there were two other members of the royal guard already standing to defend the Prince, and from the looks of things another had just arrived at the scene. Atlas, she noted dully. A fine warrior; they would surely be able to help them end this battle.

The Ursa's grip tightened on the hilt of her bastard sword, and she put her shield away once more so that she could hold the weapon with both hands. As she did this, she started forwards at a jog towards the closest of the four assassins. A sharp pain spiked up her side, but by this point the guard barely noticed it. All she wished was for the fight to be over. All she wished was for her enemies to be defeated. All she wished wished for was the chance to do her duty, but it seemed that she had failed in even that... the Prince was badly injured, perhaps even dead. She had no way of knowing, as she was, and as she rushed towards one of the four rogues the thought did not comfort her at all.

Instead, it transformed into a steely determination, fuelling her weary muscles and providing her with the willpower for one last bout. She might be able to do this, after all. She might still be able to help save the Prince yet. It might not be too late.

As her target turned to face her, his advancement halting at the sound of heavy footfall, she let out an angry cry and leaped forwards. Swinging her sword around, Coretta allowed the momentum of her run to transfer into one great, sweeping attack, putting the last of her waning strength into the blow. The assassin did not stand much of a chance as the deadly blade connected with his torso. What little armour he wore under his servant's garb was not designed to withstand this kind of frontal attack, and it provided just the briefest feeling of resistance before the blade bested it. The man fell to the ground, dagger clattering down beside him, and Coretta came to a stop. Breathing heavily, the woman drew her eyes up to observe the other combatants, hoping that her allies would deal with their opponents swiftly.

----

Galen mentally stumbled for a moment over the abrupt change in topic, but as the woman finally introduced herself a happy smile spread across his face. It was obvious that she didn't want to carry on with their previous conversation, and the young man grudgingly decided to let it slide. He wanted to prove a point, true, but he had already made a fool of himself enough that day, and felt that he probably would do so again should he continue. They would have time to talk again later if necessary.

Moving on, he continued his cheerful expression as she met his eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Pheare," he replied, the name running nicely off of his tongue. It suited her, he thought, unusual as it was. "The name is welcomed by me, too. 'Hey you!' and 'you there!' seem to have been repeated all too much today!" He chuckled, then turned his head towards the market place. While the open space was bustling with people, their little alley leading into it was deserted save for themselves. The hunter was glad for the chance to be able to talk without the encroaching squabble of the crowd surrounding them; you could never usually hold a conversation in such places, at least not without running the risk shouting your throat hoarse.

Spotting a familiar face at one of the stalls- the trader who he usually sold his game to- a sudden thought entered his mind. "Hey, I have an idea!" the young man exclaimed, turning back to Pheare, "How about I help you sell that rabbit off? Since you're already here, that is. The gold it's worth should cover a few meals more than the rabbit alone would." He would already have to sell the pheasant on while he was in the market, so Galen figured that he might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Solaan carefully studied the sights around her as their party finally arrived in the cheery little town. In her travels she had visited such places before, which was why she had decided to forgo visiting Greenhill the last time her journeying had brought her to these parts. Truth be told, her sights had been set on what, at the time, had seemed to be a more interesting destination in the nearby Starspire mountains, rather than another halfling settlement. While the little folk were interesting to hold a conversation with, she had never liked the way that she stuck out like a sore thumb in places where they could be found in large numbers. Looking around now, however, the dragonborn found herself wishing that she had decided to give the place a visit during her journey past.

She nodded at Coreon's words, the halfling obviously very proud of his hometown. With good reason, the sorceress noted, as Greenhill seemed like it would be a rather nice place to live, if you were the type of person who liked to settle down. As her companion's dramatic gesture caught her eye, she smiled humorously before turning her sights away from the shorter man and back to her surroundings. "It is a fine place to originate from indeed," she complimented, watching as the townsfolk below them continued about their business. "We shall do out best to defend it, should Tobius' visions come to pass." Her pleasant tone faded to a decidedly more serious one as she finished speaking. The thought that this pleasant picture may be ruined in mere hours was not a nice one.

The dragonborn nodded as Nyx's words reached her ears, but decided to stay in the main town for the time being. She might join them on the higher ground later, perhaps, but for now she was still getting used to the lay of the land in the centre of the town. With her type of magic, it did well to know your surroundings ahead of battle.

Ursa listened intently to the Faceless' commentary. They made some good points, but quickly solved one of their worries before any suggestions could be made. The cable produced by the other helmeted hero sailed silently over the police officer's heads; Coretta doubted any of them would think to look up during their 'stake out' of the building. Even with her fellow vigilante's offer to carry one of them across, though, that still left two of their number to make it into the labs by other means.

The armoured woman did actually have a grappling hook of her own, though she had been forced to put it together rather hastily after her previous one had met its untimely demise. Following an unfortunate incident involving several cars, a poorly timed grapple, and several other bad life choices, she had been forced to scrap the device and build another from what was left. The newer model did not have the same capabilities as the old one had, to her annoyance, and as she looked across to the other roof and did a some quick calculations, she realised that while it could probably just about get her across, carrying someone alongside would be extremely unwise. Given the smaller maximum load of the new wire and the angle at which it would have to be fired, the hook itself probably wouldn't be able to hold the weight of two people once embedded in the smokestack.

Turning her mind away from her calculations and musings, Ursa looked back across at the rest of the group. "If two of you go across using the cable, me and the other remaining person can reach the labs via a different route. It shouldn't be too difficult to pass around the officers and enter around the far side of the building." From what the vigilante had observed earlier as she had driven in, there should be another access point to the lab in the area she had mentioned. Whether is was simply a fire exit or a delivery entrance, she hadn't seen, but it was good a place as any to get inside. She expected that there would be numerous hostiles patrolling the building, given the nature of the meeting that was going on, but that would be the case no matter how they entered. "We should also organise a meeting point, so that we can find each other again once we're all in."