Elemental RPG

[dinoman666]

Randy smirked, rubbing his shoulder. "Well, that's what I'm here for!"

[Hopeflower]

"And I'm grateful," Stryker put in. "Ivy needs as much help as she can get." She rested a hand on her student's shoulder and gave a gentle, affectionate squeeze. "But right now, you'd best get home before your mother starts to worry. I promised to have you home before the sun began to set, remember?" Ivy nodded, with a little reluctance, and smiled at the two men. "It was great meeting both of you," the blonde teen said.

[dinoman666]

Randy gave an over-dramatic bow and smiled. "Why the pleasure is all mine!" Nabonidus, who had watched the whole scene in silence, dipped his head slightly. "It has been a pleasure to meet you."

[Hopeflower]

Ivy walked to the door, laid her hand on the smooth wood, and paused. She looked back with a smile. "See you tomorrow." Then she pushed open the door and was on her way home. She found herself picking up speed until she was practically flying over the dusty path that would take her home. Wait until her mother heard about everything she'd seen and learned today! But as she approached her home, an uneasy feeling began to twist her insides. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but something told her to slow down and be cautious. She almost literally skidded to a halt, sending up small plumes of dust. Instead of heading for the door, she crouched down, headed for the nearest window and peered in.

There was a man in her house, with his back to the window, and the woman he was talking to was Ivy's mother. She looked tense and angry, and almost scared. Faintly, their voices came to the blonde teen. She quieted her breathing as much as she could and strained her ears. The man's voice, deep and calm, slightly muffled, reached her. It was clear she'd missed some of the conversation.

"...had a deal, Sarah. You were to give the girl to me to train, not Stryker." Ivy's mother said something too low for Ivy to catch. The man laugthed harshly. "Stryker is skilled, yes. But her power is nothing compared to mine. Your daughter will learn but a fraction of what she could learn."

Sarah's raised voice said, "Your practices are evil. I don't want Ivy training under you. Your magic is tainted by the innocents you slaughtered!" Ivy's blood ran cold, but she made herself stay put and listen. She needed to hear this conversation; and she needed to be ready to help her mother if she had to.

The man laughed again. "My dear, I have only become what Fire Elementals were meant to be!" He stopped laughing suddenly, and when he spoke again he spoke so quietly Ivy had to lean closer to the window to hear what he said. "But if you refuse to hand her over, Sarah, then I will simply have to use other means to get what I want."

He moved suddenly; Sarah raised her voice in a scream that was cut off with a terrible gasping, gurgling sound. Ivy, gripped by terror, turned and ran as her only home suddenly turned into a raging inferno. And behind her, a black-clad figure stepped out of the burning house, wiping blood from his hands. His red eyes stared after her, and a smirk curved his lips. "Run while you can, Ivy," he murmured. "Wherever you go, I will find you." His words seemed to hang in the air even after he'd turned and vanished into the woods.

[dinoman666]

As Ivy left, Randy suddenly remembered something. "Hey, uh, Stryker? Where are we going to sleep, exactly?" he asked.

[Hopeflower]

"The floor," Stryker deadpanned, smirking after a moment. "Nah. I'll show you." She started for a hall across from the kitchen, adjacent to the room they were currently in. The hall led to two rooms; Stryker's room and a spare bedroom across from it

[dinoman666]

"So, which one is yours?" Randy asked. Nabonidus extended a shadowy tendril threateningly, and Randy raised his hands. "It was an innocent question, I swear!" Nabonidus narrowed his eyes and hissed, "I certainly hope so. I'd rather not get fired because you can't keep your head out of the gutter." Randy scowled. "I'll have you know I am quite chivalrous." "Right..."

[Hopeflower]

Stryker chuckled and brushed her fingertips over the doorframe to the left of them. "This one is mine." She gestured to the spare room. "That's the spare room I have for the nights Ivy gets her mother to let her stay the night. There's only one bed I'm afraid, but there's an extra mattress and blankets in the closet."

[dinoman666]

"Eh, Nabonidus sleeps standing up anyway," Randy said, shrugging. Nabonidus nodded. "It's true." Randy walked into the room, looking around curiously...

[Hopeflower]

Stryker leaned against the doorframe, taking in the room with the eye of one accustomed to it. The walls were painted a soft golden color, with orange and red tribal designs painted on by hand. Ivy had painted them when Stryker had first agreed to let her spend the night, claiming the walls alone were "too dull". The bed was big enough to accomodate an adult, and had black sheets and a dark crimson down comforter, with a few pillows resting against the headboard.

Ivy was halfway back to Stryker's home when she froze, realizing she couldn't go back; Stryker would get angry and want to fight the man, and she'd get hurt, or worse.... Ivy swallowed. Where else could she go? She couldn't go home, it was burning to nothing by now. She didn't have many friends in the village because her father had been human; her mother had made her swear not to tell anyone, not even Stryker. But the other kids had always called her a freak, so they must know she was different...Ivy made up her mind and started running again. Her best bet was the one friend she did have - Rachael.

[dinoman666]

Randy looked up and down the walls, impressed. "Fancy," he remarked, before sitting down on the bed. SUddenly, he flopped onto his back with a happy sigh. "You're the best boss I've ever had, by the way," he added. Nabonidus merely drifted into the room, silent as a ghost, and quietly looked around...

[Hopeflower]

"Glad you like it. I'll pass the compliment on to Ivy," Stryker said, smiling. "She's the one who painted the designs." Taking a step into the room, she ran her fingers over one, feeling the bumps where the paint had been thicker in some spots. "Am I really?" she added, looking at the obviously relaxed man and cocking her head slightly.

[dinoman666]

"Hell yes you are!" Randy exclaimed, stretching his arms. "You're paying me to train a teenager how to do something I'm skilled in, and I'm getting an awesome bed to boot! What is this, memory foam? Anyway, you're one of the few people I've met who hasn't treated Nabonidus and myself as hobos." "Technically, Randy, we ARE--" "Don't you start with that again..."

[Hopeflower]

The raven-haired woman chuckled. "Well...I've never been quite the average person," she said. "That might have had something to do with it."

[dinoman666]

"It's the gold eyes," Randy replied jokingly. "Dead giveaway."

[Hopeflower]

Stryker outright laughed at that; not loudly, but a geniunely amused, if startled, laugh. "'Demon's eyes', they call them in the Water Elemental village I visit every now and then. No one there has ever seen eyes like mine; but my mother's side of the family all had variations of the color."

[dinoman666]

"Well, you know how Water Elementals are," Randy said, sitting up. "'Ooh, look at me! I can douse your lame old fire! Dur hur hur!' I, personally, think Demon eyes would be red or something. Gold eyes are more like... angels, I guess? Or would that be silver?"

[Hopeflower]

"I'm not sure," Stryker said, tilting her head slightly. It was a thoughtful motion.

[dinoman666]

"Heh, hell if I know," Randy replied, smirking at Stryker. "All I know is that you aren't a Demon."

[Hopeflower]

Stryker smiled back. "Just wait until my eyes turn all red," she said. "The more I play with fire, the likelier it is that they will."

"Rachael!" Ivy called, knocking on the door harder than she meant to. "Open the door, please!" She was almost hysterical, her breath comng in short hiccuping gasps. Her cheeks were wet - when had she started crying? The door swung inward on its own, and revealed another scene of carnage. Ivy put her hand to her mouth and stumbled backwards, eyes very wide. "No - please, no!" she choked out. Rachael was staring at her with wide, lifeless eyes, mouth open in an 'o' of shock, her face and neck badly burned and her throat slit so deeply her head was almost severed from her body. Ivy turned and ran. her lungs were screaming for air....she needed to rest...her steps became faltering and she stumbled and fell, landing in a hard skid that left her entire left side throbbing. She just laid there, staring straight ahead without seeing anything. She'd lost her mother, and Rachael...was Stryker next? Would Randy and Nabonidus be targeted too? Lying in the dust, gasping for breath, Ivy wondered where she could go from here. Darkness was rising behind her eyes in a soft black tide....she sighed and lost consciousness.