* Guardians of The Sacred Orb

[Tiger Tales]

Tiger looks up, noticing Mia is missing. "Hang on, where is Mia?" She says quietly as she shifts into a grey hawk and lifts off only to notice a large creature closing in. "Oh no, no no no." She alters her body swiftly into a stormwing (harpy like creature, but with metal feathers). "Leave them alone! You are a terrible little child if you hit a person when they are out. No honor in air pirates huh?" She says as she swipes at the creatures eyes.  

[Dartmoor]

Katan flapped his bat like wings to gain a little more altitude as they passed over the joint valley of two of the mountains. "Well I don be know'n yer name, buttercup. And I wouldn be worry'n too much bout yer precious sword. If yer friends be not retrieving it, Fukumi shall. So ye'll be see'n it again. Arr..." The girl's kicking wasn't two problematic for his grip on her. Still, to ensure that she wasn't falling anytime soon, Katan's long coat belt wrapped itself about her waist.

"So what do you plan to do with me? I'm curious." The girl inquired of Katan.

A moment of silence as he thought. "Dat be a good question. It's been a while since I've delt with anything more dan da common merchant. Dis never woulda happen if ye was passing thru Ruby and contributing to der rebuilding. Nay, yer books be saying ye only lust for de money."

Passing through the range to the fourth mountain, Katan landed in front of a hut at a small village. The door opened to reveal and elderly woman. "I thought I heard you coming Katan." A smile and an embrace greeted Mia immediately. "Extra company! I'll put another plate at the table. Oh this is so wonderful. Rarely we have any outsiders come to these remote parts." She rushed back inside and grabbed a beautiful plate from the cupboard to set at the rickety wooden table.

Katan had completely let go of Mia and gently led her into the house. "Appearently make ye a welcome guest. Just behave proper and you'll be in Ruby on de morrow. Until den, enjoy de wealth I share wit dese people. None be pirates, I swear."

The woman came over and gently patted Katan's chest while looking at Mia. "He's a good man, he is. The men spend so much time tending to the flocks that we haven't the time for any pleasentries. Splinters used to riddle our food until his generosity came along. Did you know that he tended to the burial of the dead in Ruby? He's also the only reason why they've been able to build as much as they have." Walking over to the fireplace, she turned a roasting pig a few times. "Ah.. Looks like supper is ready. Have a seat."

=====

The beast recoiled as the harpy came swiping at it's eyes. A small giggle escaped the girl's mouth. "Yay! Dey wanna play!" Just by sheer size, the harpy was ever so small. Claws came flying through the air as the creature tried to swat the little flyer. "Catch da fly. Catch it! I wanna new friend."

Responding to the girl's command, the black beast cupped it's hands to the best it could. Thunderous claps echoed each time it tried to capture the harpy. It was much like a child's first try to catch a lightning bug. Clumsy, ineffective, and the bug always managing to escape. Still, until it recieved new orders, it would continue the task, ignoring the other two that were still in it's eye sight.

Walking up and becoming visable again, the ninja stood by the girl. "So are the others a potential threat? We never did have a chance to see their abilities with the one acting brashly." She had in her hands, Mia's sword. When Katan had frozen it in the air, it was the only thing not taken through the ice portal.

With one eye aglow, the summoner girl looked at her companion. "I have'n seen the tiger yet, but I dis bird turned into a little person with wings! And one be sleeping on his face. He silly." Turning her head forward again, a sigh came. "Play time's not over yet, is it Fuku-chan?"

A shapeshifter is with them? This is getting better by the minute, the woman thought to herself. "No, play time isn't over yet. Just keep telling me anything new you see. We need to know all that we can." And how long we have to fight to make them all tired.  

[Tiger Tales]

Narrowly dodging another attempt at grabbing her, she does a happy little flip in the air, sending reflected light onto the creature before her. "Yes, I wanna play. If you want to play with me, I gotta know your name. Call me Ty, what do I call you?" She says as she send some water down to spray Nakhti into awakefulness. Wake up and don't attack darn it! She thinks as she now tries not to cut the creature. "Do you have many friends?"  

[NakhtiChaos]

Nakhti spluttered as he woke up exhausted. No rest for the weary.... i got to use that potion then. Nakhti reached inside his jacket reaching inside his hidden bag of holding and pulled out one of three small silver green vials. Here goes nothing. Slamming down the contents of the vial Nakhti reached back into his coat and put the vial back into the bag. In seconds Nakhti's fatigue vanished and he began to scope his surroundings noting instantly the giant was still there. the kid brought that thing into the town? ARE THEY INSANE! Nakhti bit his lip as he thought. Ok you lost Mia..... big pirate a** hat took here. Ninja woman may be around but the child knows where your at and is attacking and inside of a town with that monstrosity. Nakhti stood up and thought. Thats when he heared the little shuffle behind him. Turning around on one of the thunderous booms Nakhti saw two little orphans looking around the corner at him the shadow caster and Tiger like they were there to take there lives. From the sockwaves of sound coming off the booms of the giants hands all the tileing on the roofs were getting knocked loose. Right above the children three tiles dropped. With speed that was faster than before Nakhti jumped off of the alley wall and caught the three tiles before they hit the orphans.

"Hey Tiger draw that thing out of town! At this rate its gonna break these buildings with noise alone!"

Nakhti squat down by the kids.

"If your not hurt run. This is no place to play right now."  

[CainZeros]

Marcus glared in the direction the winged man, who called himself Katan, had flown. "b*****d's lucky I haven't had time to work on that teleport spell," Marcus growled, "Or his a**'d be burnt to a crisp before he knew what hit him." However, he knew wishing was useless. Until they found a way to get to her they were powerless to help Mia, he was powerless to help Mia.  

[zepherion]

Mia walked to the table. The food smelled really good. Mia stared at Katan. She couldn't believe that someone like him actually did something like that.

"By the way, we weren't there at Ruby for money alone. That wasn't what we were there for. We didn't even know that Ruby had been rebuilt a little. We would've contributed." Mia stared down at her plate. "Besides, our quarrel probably doesn't even lie inside the village." Mia murmured.  

[Dartmoor]

Through the eyes of the demon, the girl saw the children that were spared from being hit by shingles. "Oppsies... Looks like it's time do go." She didn't mean to put any of the villagers in harm's way, and the orphans should have known better. But they were curious as just as much as she was about the group.

"What's going on? You know I can't see the same thing you are from here."

"Natsu and Kagumi came out and almost got hit! Not by dem, but by a house!"

Smiling, the woman placed her hand on the girl's head. "Well then, why don't you put your playmate away and have the other come by now. And you can tell me everything you saw about them."

Without a command, the demon beast stopped all actions, according to the will of the girl. "Play times over. Away! Away! Come out another day!" At that very instant, the dark ebony surface began to glow with a rich indigo aura. The skin began to crack apart, flaking away into dust of nether energy. Slowly at first, before quickening, the demon crumbled out of existence, leaving no trace of where it stood. Nothing was damaged in the process.

A caw rang in the air as a fiery bird came out of the mountain range. The ninja picked up the summoner and lept for the sky. With a grace achieved through practice, they landed upon the pheonix's back. "Bye, bye, harpy girl. It was fun!" The two flew out of sight as they followed after the other pirate.

=====

Katan took a seat on the only stool by the table. Having wings did make things problematic when it came to trying to just relax. "I never said dat ye was going to Ruby for money. Ye be passing thru it, ead'n for a port to sell ye wares. Toe I must'a admit, I be suprised how small ye caravan be."

The elderly lady turn to the pirate and offered harsh critique, "You know better than to use your pirate talk in here, mister. While in your elder's home, you should show respect and use language proper." Looking over at Mia, her tone completely changed to something a lot more soft. "I'm sorry you had to see that dear. Everyone in the village knows he talks pirate to earn respect from those he..." She didn't know how to nicely end the sentence, considering they were recieving goods from his robberies.

Speaking up again, Katan indeed knew how to speak like everyone else. "Yeah, yeah. I'll speak like this for your sake. Won't even try using the fact that I brought a hostage..." he paused for a moment, "our guest here on a bit of business. You humans are indeed a funny lot."

"Anyways. As I was saying..."

The door flung open. "We're here! Sowwy for being late, but Katan promised me I could play a little." Now the other two pirates were here as well, and a lot less threatening in how they were carrying themselves.

The ninja walked over to Mia. "I retrieved this for you." She showed her her sword. "Can I trust you to keep it sheathed while here? You may need it if any of the nomadic savages pay a visit." Holding Mia's sword by the hilt, she would hand it once promised that it wouldn't be used on them.  

[NakhtiChaos]

Nakhti watched them fly off in the direction of the mountains.

"Like hell I'm going to let you get awa-"

Just thin a little child foot came out and kicked Nakhti.

"No yer not mister! You not gonna hurt the good people!"

Nakhti looked at the smaller orphan as if he was brain washed.

"Then you tell me why good people are stealing gold from travelers and taking people?"

The older orphan a girl spoke sharply to Nakhti.

"You lie! They would never attack an innocent group of people!"

Nakhti snorted at them being seventeen himself he could tell thier emotions were true by smelling them on the air.

"Yeah well belive what you want. I'm going to get my friend back."

Nakhti began to walk when two sets of hands grabbed his legs and tried to stop him. The children spoke in unison.

"No your not you leve them alone they would never hurt anyone."

Nakhti was disturbed by thier faith in this pirate but he did not care. He would rot in the deepest darkest parts of hades before he left a friend in the hands of the enemy.  

[Tiger Tales]

Tiger screams in flying hunters anger. No! I didn't get a scent! I can't find her like this! She thinks desperately. She looks down at Nakhti, tears running her cheeks. She rebsorbs them and lands by them, grabbing Nakhti's arm. She winces, remembering the terrifyingly sharp feathers that were now cutting into her friend's arm. Ty changes into her normal shape and, with a twitch of her ear, covers the wound with ice to stop the expected bleeding. "You may be older and stronger than me. You know me well enough that I will fight you if you hurt any children." She bends down to the children's height. "Hey, you two gots' names?"  

[NakhtiChaos]

Nakhti covered his form in frost completely adgitated. Freesing the ground twenty feet away Nakhti sank through the ground and the kid's hands and emerged on the patch of frozen ground. Nakhti's day had not been a good one. Getting back a tramatic memory. Getting a wound in his sleep no matter how nessicary it was. Being woken up on a runaway horse/friend. Getting attacked by pirates. A friend being kidnapped by pirate. Now getting cut by one of his other friends and two annoying brats tailing him. Nakhti just wanted to hit something Hard. Nakhti knew of one way to trace Mia it just meant that it they would know he was coming and he did not care. I was not able to save my village. It will be a cold day in hell before I am not able to save my friend. Nakhti replied in a dead tone.

"I got a way to get to Mia they will know we are coming though but we will get her."

The little orphans on the other hand looked at thier frosted hands as they sat up. In no time the frost vanished recalled by Nakhti. Looking at tiger the little boy hid behind the girl as Tigre's form changed. Quietly the girl spoke.

"I'm Kagumi and this is my little brother Natsu."

The little boy spoke in a wavery voice.

"The lady s-scares me............"  

[Tiger Tales]

She looks up at Nakhti, her eyes begging him to calm down. "Thats great Nakhti!" She looks back to the children. Tiger falls onto her rear and sits, staring at the boy. "I... scare you? I'm sorry... But it is nice to meet you two anyways. Kagumi, keep Natsu safe, and both of you stay brave. 'Kay? Be careful with sharp things, like stormwing feathers, they don't dull and last forever." She asks them as she stands up, grabbing two cloths and stormwing feathers out of her bag. "Nakhti? We can't talk here." She says, trying to hide her hurt as she wraps the feathers and a few jeweld out of her bag in the cloth. "Where should we go?" Tiger asks as she places it on the ground between her and the children.  

[NakhtiChaos]

Nakhti's back was to them he did not even see Tiger's eyes. Instead he walked on and pulled out one of the two remaining silver/green potions and tossed it back to Tiger.

"Don't drink that yet we may need it when we catch up."

Nakhti continued to head to the edge of town. At the mention of catching up Natsu bolted from behind his sister and grbbed Nakhti by the tail and pulled hard. Kagumi joined her brother too running from Tiger and grabbing Nakhti's tail but in addition to pulling his tail she bit him and Nakhti froze. I will not kill the kids. I WILL not kill the kids. THEY MAY BE PISSING ME OFF BUT I'M NOT GONNA KILL EM! Nakhti began to walk again ears visibly twitching in irritation.

"We will talk on the edge of town Tiger. I know I said I'd give him a head start but I refuse to let him escape."  

[Tiger Tales]

Tiger barely catches it and meekly follows him, barely smirking at their annyance. "Okay, I think they either like you, or think they could stop you. If they knew about us, huh." She says quietly as she glances back at the jewels and feathers. If they knew what that all was worth! They could buy a house if they sold that to the right people. She thinks as she puts her head down and slips into the shape of a doberman. She sniffs in the childrens direction, memorizing their scent, but stays a longer distance away.  

[NakhtiChaos]

Nakhti kept moving but frosted his tail and it seemed to travel through the kids as he wrapped it around his waist and tucked it in.

"Shoo kids don't bother me."

Nakhti moved closer to the edge of town in the directions of the pirates escape. Natsu was not deterred neither was Kagumi as they began to viciously kick him and pulled on him to stop him. Natsu began to yell at Nakhti.

"You leave the good guys alone you mean man! Only a mean man would fight the good guys!"

Nakhti's ears were rapidly twitching now a sure sign he was about to blow up.  

[Tiger Tales]

Tiger leaps on Nakhti while changing into her humane shape and wrapping her arms around him. She cools down the air around them to help soothe him. "It's a point of veiw Nakhti, they don't understand our situation, as we don't get theirs." She turns most of her bones to that of a birds, except her legs which she keeps firm to keep from snapping as a birds would. "Natsu, this man is very bad tempered... I will stop him from hurting them the best I can, okay? I promise."