[IC] Moon Radics // Book 1 - Shepherds from the Stars

[Tancuras]

With the group's concentrated efforts, they seemed to be prevailing over the demon horse. Gaius had blinded it, and the young Samurai came to the front lines to abate its assault. A strange energy engulfed the horse, dimming its flames, and the girl with the bat and a blue power ranger combined their efforts to knock it to the ground. Hope glimmered in the Sundancer's heart.

But the flames, though dimmed, left their mark on the baseball girl. Sputtering blood, she fell unconscious, and Theo hissed a curse. But the beast did not stay down long enough, not nearly. It threw itself back to its feet, shaking away the shadow around its face and erupting in a geyser of flame, free from the magic that had inhibited it. Then it turned to a distant hill, readying to charge.

"It's running away!?" Theo yelled out. He turned his head to the hill, and that's when he saw it. Something that wasn't there before. A small shine, the tiny reflection on the lens of a scope. It was the ally who had stunned it earlier.

Before Theo had time to think, the fire streaked across the plains once again, straight up the hill with unbelievable speed. In a fraction of a second it was gone. And then there was a burst of blue, another lightning bolt, and a crack echoing across the sky. The demon fell, flames extinguished, but before it was a small shadow, thrown over the hill's crest.

Theo ran. He ran to the hill as hard as he could, as if trying to outrun the fear he had for the life of their companion, the one who had been trying to protect them. His sword held in both hands trailing behind him, he was running faster than he knew how, than he ever had before.

Why? He thought. Why the HELL did you single him out, you bastard!? Still faster he went, wind tearing past his ears. Even the hill presented no challenge, his legs carrying him confidently upward, towards the heavens. One foot after another, a blur of speed, and he reached the top, the demon only a dozen feet away. He leapt.

Theo soared through the air in his newfound momentum, blade held ready to thrust into the fallen beast, and something shone off his armor, a grand glow of orange and pink and blue in the distance. The sun was rising.

The Sundancer plunged, screaming. Ray, his curved sword, parted the demon's flesh tip-first, falling half way into its body. The demon screeched as Theo landed atop it, kicking off and ripping his blade out in one motion.

The Sundancer took stance between the sniper and the demon horse, blade ready. In the rising sun, his robes and armor seemed more gold than white, and he himself almost seemed to glow at a distance. Even his dark hair and eyes seemed lighter as he challenged the beast with his stare. But the monster wasn't finished.

"Hey," Theo said to the sniper without taking his gaze from the horse. The man still seemed to be conscious. "Think you can drop it one more time? We'll keep it off your back." He knew what they could do, now, together. The demon would not rise again.

[sMoKe]

The streaks of lightning that crossed the plains reminded Saerena of shooting stars. The battle raged on, the group seemingly revitalized after the first shot connected. The others rushed at every chance, until Saerena was sure the beast would fall under the wake of physical and magical attacks. Unfortunately, she was wrong. Each time the horse went down, and each time it got back up. Still its health was immeasurable, as if the battle might last forever. Unexpectedly the horse turned away, as if retreating, only to charge at the lone figure on a distant hill. Within a second it seemed to have gapped 100 meters. And then there was the impact. A last second shot to slow the beast was likely all that saved the figure from death, instead flinging it downhill with tremendous force. Saerena saw that it was alive, but barely. At that, she sprinted to the opposite side of the hill where she had last seen the figure before it was lost over the crest. As she approached she saw Theo plunge his sword downward into the horse's flank. Is that it? she thought as she continued sprinting to the downed figure's side. Again, it was not enough. The beast rose, as enraged as ever, glaring daggers at Theo. She noted that he seemed different now, stronger, more confident, as he stared just as intensely back into the horse's eyes. She reached the side of the man that had been injured, and again dropped her goggles over her eyes. His HP had dropped dangerously low, his figure burned and bloodied. He would not survive another attack. Though Theo called for him to stun the beast again, Saerena doubted if he could lift his gun, let alone hold it steady enough for an accurate shot. She knelt in front of him, reading the built in HUD-rangefinder in her goggles. "Lock. 75 meters." she said cooly. "If you can still pull a trigger, rest the barrel on my shoulder to steady it. Clear shot, 75 meters." she added to the man behind her, still visibly disoriented. At that, she fired at the horse's eye, carefully accounting for drop and Coriolis, putting as much power as she possibly could behind it. Electricity arced off the gun and into the ground as she shot, propelling the bullet directly into its target. The beast's head whipped sideways on impact, almost taking it off its feet by sheer force, leaving an opening for a stunning shot and a blindspot for Theo. Hopefully this will end it, she thought as she fired, that shot may be my last for a while.

[Jeep Wrangler]

He saw the male come towards him, dressed in white gowns. He was one of the side people he saw when passing to the hill to practise his shots. He could barely focus on his face, as his vision felt as if it were fading. His face was bloody, cut and spattered with the blood of the moon. Marcus' breath felt heavy. He could barely hear what they were saying. They? A Female had arrived, seemingly shouting to him. But he couldn't hear her, as he couldn't make out any words. Nothing was going to plan. His ears were ringing constantly and his sight was dying, quickly. He couldn't let him die now. Not now? Not ever...But seriously...the first boss had eliminated him from life, and there was no other way out apart from death...He was about to suffer from it. The lungs he bared felt cold and emotionless. His heartbeat could be heard only to himself. He looked past the blurry woman yelling at him as she shot at the beast. He could see it, the big fucking blur in the distance. It wasn't much of a distance, as he could feel the heat shimmer across his crumpled body. If this was how he was going to go out, he might as well do it with some use. He was tired of feeling useless. Marcus was always useless on Earth...it's why he was in that spot where Menaphis found him, waiting for his time to end. He hadn't accomplished shit on Earth, and now he could at least send the others something to be thankful for, even if he didn't know them. It was so early into the trip and he was dying though...that said a lot about him...he was a failure. And now, he was clinging onto life like a string overhanging an abyss.

He raised his head, unable to climb to his feet. He crawled past her. Very slowly. He felt the eyes explode with heat. He knew she'd be looking down in confusion, but he had no clue what she wanted him to do. All he did was hear the whispers of Menaphis in his mind.

"Elemental Shot is ready at 3 Round Capacity...You've been down here for 10 minutes, giving you time to recharge..." He thought to himself. With one weak arm, he placed the Rifle onto the ground. He groaned in pain as he spat out a few speckles of blood. It was time...he whispered in a long slur, his hat tilting sideways.

"Element...shot..." Once again, it charged up beginning to shake as he only held it with one hand. It took the usual time, and once again, the sky was cracked as the shot fired. The force sent him backwards a bit, making his hat fall straight off of his head. His small and young face was revealed, which was hidden the previous minutes. His cheeks and forehead remained scarred and bruised as his head fell down into a slump. His vision went black and he couldn't move.......was he dead?

[Cuccoruler]

After waiting for one of the others to help Rosa Lance finally decided to just bandage her up. After a bit of bandaging to stop any intense bleeding Lance headed outside, his spear in his hand.

"Tell me I can throw a spear well." Lance said to his orb as he ran after the others, leaving Rosa in the cave passed out. The orb glowed as it spoke to him.

"Yes you can." The orb answered.

"Right then, hope I can be accurate." Lance said to his orb as he ran after the horse. Once close enough he threw his spear at the horse. It flew through the air with great speed, and then flew right past the horse.

"I never said you would be accurate." The Orb added to which Lance just face palmed.

[Tancuras]

Theo launched himself laterally, dashing through the plains. He was fast, but the demon horse was still faster, unbelievably so. It regarded the Sundancer patiently, measuring its next charge. Then it reared, about to throw itself forward.

"Flash!" Theo yelled. His first ability. He felt the warmth of the sun as his breastplate stole it for a fraction of a second. He threw his arms to the side as blinding light erupted forward. The horse toppled backwards, its fire burning away the grass around it. It flailed for a moment before putting its feet under itself and charging blindly into the dawn.

Theo watched the ball of fire rolling across the plains, then looked to the sniper. He was beginning to come to. The demon had been blinded, but it would wear off very quickly.

"Now!" Theo shouted desperately. "It has to be now!"

He watched the sniper crawl forward, life slowly fading from his eyes. Then in the distance the horse shook its head, finding the group again with the clarity returned to its sight. It charged.

I have to keep it still, Theo thought. He clenched his teeth and steeled his nerves. The ball of flame approached, and the Sundancer threw everything he had directly at it.

Theo's sword slammed into the beast's chest and for an instant he had entered an inferno. His entire body felt like ice, the pain so intense he felt his skin melting away. But through everything he could feel his feet firmly planted in the dirt, and the horse stopped dead in its tracks before another bullet of lightning slammed into the horse's flank.

The fire blew away like ash in the wind and the horse fell again. Theo roared, spinning forward in a maelstrom of steel. Slash after slash the demon's skin parted, carving crests of blood in the smoldering earth. The horse lashed out with its horns but the swordsman flew away with unnatural agility and came back just as quickly, turning his whole body in a vicious arc that cleaved the horse's head in two. And then it was finished. The monster fell quietly to the earth, an anticlimactic end to the grueling battle.

Theo could not believe it was over. He held his blade ready to mitigate another explosive resurgence, waiting for the demon to regenerate and attack once more. But it simply melted away into ash.

"Theo," the golden orb said from somewhere nearby. "Tend to your allies. You all need to rest."

Theo reluctantly nodded, sheathing his sword. He turned to see the sniper lifeless on the ground. Oh, please, no, he thought. Is he dead?

"No, his HP hasn't hit 0 yet," the orb said. "He's unconscious, but stable. Though I would imagine in a lot of pain."

Theo ran over, falling to his knees by the sniper. "Wait," he said, remembering his inventory. "I have something in my bag." The orb floated over and Theo accessed his status. A small icon appeared in his Inventory screen, and he pressed it with his finger. A phial appeared in his hand then, brought into the physical world by some manner of energy. Theo flipped the unconscious man onto his back and uncorked the phial. He pulled the man's mouth open and poured its contents in.

I hope this works. Come on, you bastard, swallow it. There we go. He waited there, hoping for the best.

Others were gathering around, now. The gunslinger, the witch and the samurai, the baseball girl and the blue power ranger, and the dragon and the man on its back.

"That was insane, huh?" Theo said. "Is everyone okay?" He flinched, then, acutely aware of his own pain.

[Cello]

Veronica Winchester, Kieran Croft, Hatori Kokonoe

The sun shone brilliantly as it rose over the horizon, casting a warm light that eclipsed the fading embers of the demon horse. The battle had been intense, and had gravely tested everyone involved. Yet as the group stood together by the Sundancer, they savored the taste of their victory.

Kieran sheathed his wooden sword, smirking arrogantly as he pumped his fist into the air enthusiastically.
“Hell yeah! We’re awesome!” His energetic and devil may care expression was met with a slap across the arm by a pale Veronica. “Ow! What’s up with you?” His arm stung with a large red mark left by the Witch. He turned to face her and saw that she was still shaken up by the whole ordeal.
“How can you be so childish about all of this? Do you not realise what could have happened to us!?” Her voice cracked as if she was holding back tears, and Kieran was speechless. He felt bad for arguing with her when they first arrived. What he thought to be a bossy, annoying and demanding person was actually just a frightened little girl.

“Is everyone okay?” Theo’s voice cut through the chilling silence between Kieran and Veronica. The witch held her hands to her head and responded to the Sundancer in shouts.
“No, I am not okay! This situation is preposterous! I refuse to partake in this ‘hero’ charade any longer!” At her yelling, Veronica’s orb appeared before her.
“I thought you knew what you were getting into, girl.”
“I didn’t expect this! I don’t want to run around fighting absurd monsters!” Veronica fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands. “I want to go home. I don’t want to stay here.” Kieran stood there a bit, staring to the side. He wasn’t very good in these emotional situations and was at a loss for words. A moment ago he’d been completely psyched about taking down their first tough enemy, and the idea of getting stronger because of it was quite appealing.

Meanwhile, Hatori and Jura were playing in the grass together after their successful battle. The dragon rolled over with Hatori on top of him, toppling the young boy to the ground with a loud thud.
“Oof! That hurt, man!” Hatori stood up, staring Jura in the face with a stern expression. The dragon stared back, its piercing eyes unable to frighten its master. After a few moments passed, Jura blew a puff of smoke into Hatori’s face; resulting in a fit of coughing. Jura growled in enjoyment, but soon found himself snarling as the girl with the baseball bat and a guy dressed like a power ranger stood close by.

Hatori turned to face the pair, but before he could greet them his dragon released a threatening roar in their direction. The creature still thought Rosa was an enemy. Hatori stood in front of him, arms spread wide open.
“No. Bad Jura! We don’t growl at friends!” Reluctantly, the large beast settled down; nestling itself in the grass for a quick rest. Hatori turned back towards Rosa and Lance, a large grin on his face.
“Sorry ‘bout Jura, he’s a little protective!” Hatori put his arms behind his head and walked up to Lance, who seemed to be attending to Rosa. “You guys feeling okay?”

@Tancuras
@Cuccoruler

[Jeep Wrangler]

Deep in his thoughts. It was his sanctuary. He could recap any moment in his lifetime and no one he hated could be there. Anyone could be ejected and erased from existence inside his dreams. Quiet, as it was. It was soothing to see the birds flutter by as he found his feet on the rocky edge. The drop below was sheer, enough to kill someone. If the person somehow survived the drop, the roll down with knives of natural rock would crave a thirst for taking their life. It was soothing. A quiet sound that everyone would love, mixed with the winds. It was strange, thinking that such a peaceful place would be his last on Earth, at least not how it ended up as. Ben Nevis was such a beautiful place to be, especially with the cool Scottish fog rolling in around the bottom of the mountain. At least a metre high, it would never reach him at his level. It was soothing. Not too far from him would be Fort William, another spot he used to go to when finding himself a home. His life was at rock bottom and here he found himself looking at a stunning scenery of death and nature. If a memory of family...his brother or Lucy to appear...they would fade away. This was his final destination. He would spend eternity here, watching the world grow and shrink. Humanity would excel and fall under his own watchful eye. Was this the thought of Jupiter or Zeus, watching down from Olympus or the sky? Seeing society become a big mess, or a successful item in which made him proud to be one of the developed Apes. But it wasn't like that...Time would never be in his favour. He'd been waiting too long anyway. 21 Years, was a long time to live for him. But 2 of those years in the situations that arose from the ash of tragedy and misfortune, this would be the last. A nice whispering sound of the wind kept him occupied, making sure he didn't go for it right away. He wanted to keep the moment cherished before either she arrived, or he left...He looked to his watch in his mind, recapping the time check. 17:37...Lucy still wasn't here...she had 3 minutes before she missed her chance. Missing a chance to change the course of his life forever...He gave her plenty of time to come speak and calm his nerves. She knew rightly that it was indeed her fault. However, if she didn't accept it...then he was as good as nothing to her. A thought within his thought swept through the mind within his muse. The world around him began to grow light, as if opening eyes to a torch sparking down into your face. 'If death is a part of Nature...why not just accelerate the process?'

Something slit through his vision. Light rays? Hang on? If he could see these...then...what? A blurred voice began to form in his ears, becoming louder and louder, clearer and clearer. He started to regain his senses, feeling taste in his mouth and touch on his body. There was noise around him, and commotion. Soon it came clear...he wasn't dead? Was he still clinging onto dear life like there was nobody's tomorrow? So many questions about to be answered. He waited, patiently. It was exciting, in a way, seeing light. He could only remember darkness between now and his battle, besides the visions of Ben Nevis. He began to cough, a sense of life. Coughing and spluttering, a hand slipped behind the back of his head; a second found its way behind his spine. They began to lift him upwards into a sitting position. He could feel it. It was uncomfortable. He could feel himself coughing on and on. Wrenching over and over, he felt his eyes snap open in one large instant. His vision came back quicker than he had anticipated. Usually, sound comes at a slow rate...but this was different? He felt like he'd been treated by a God as his pain slowly began to crumble away. His sight was blurry. Although, as quick as his pain had vanished, his sight began to regain conciousness. This was it...Marcus was back. He looked around, seeing a few things. Baring sights down upon him were the two. The white-cloaked man, shimmering with light and hope. To the other side of Marcus, the some Law-Enforcement Sheriff looking girl, armed to the teeth with high-spec goggles and her trusty handguns. Both their charisma stood out clearly to the near-dead survivor. Marcus said nothing, nor made any facial expression at this moment, as he began to scrutinise around for any other signs of death. To his surprise, everyone looked fine and cheery, bar that one girl having a panic attack. Everyone seemed...happy...Death didn't seem to matter to them all. The fact that Marcus had literally died right in front of their eyes didn't phase them. It wasn't a surprise...it was just like being on Earth again.

"U-uhhh..." He finally spoke, giving a blank expression. He felt ashamed to have come this close to the start and already died. What did this make him? He clearly wasn't cut out for this role nor job. He wanted out, but he couldn't. If he were to go back... "W-what? I...I...shit..." He brought his knees slowly up to himself. He looked down at his arms to see scars and blood patches slowly fade away with ease. His cape lay on the ground, separate from his attire. He heard mumbles in the close-distance from the other Lunar Soldiers. Nothing word-wise was made out, obviously. He needed to think for himself. He needed Menaphis to explain what had jus-

'Menaphis?' He mused. 'Menaphis where are yo-' A noise of chatter was clearly heard not too far from his awoken corpse. He could see them both. Orb to Orb...Menaphis and the Golden Orb.

"Seems a bit useless, doesn't he?" The god-like Orb examined his body from a short-afar. Menaphis wasn't late to retort to his comment.

"Not every hero is deemed to be successful straight away. You know what I say...No one makes the First Jump...You should know that for such an 'Intelligent' Guardian..."

"Maybe if you hadn't selected your own one, going against the Marshall...you'd be with a better warrior...one good enough to survive here." The Golden Orb's voice was more formal than his own Orb.

"I'm sorry...you gonna tell the other Guardians too? Get a whole gang up going on?"

"I'm sorry...You gonna crawl into some muddy crater to find another random subject?" There was a deep silence between the two. Only Marcus seemed to be listening to the pair. "And why did you give yourself a name? Mena...Menaphas...Menaphis? Like...What?" Menaphis slowly fluttered away from the Golden energy. He seemed to sigh deeply.

"You gotta play your moves correctly, Marcus. You've got no Regenerative health, at least for large amounts like that, until level 3, my friend." He said aloud.

"You are trying to tell everyone how vulnerable I am?" Marcus implied, standing to his feet. He nodded to Theo for a minute, as he intended on departing from them all. Crowds made him uneasy. It reminded him of the streets at night, under a cold and damp porch roofing. "Cheers..." He flung his cape over his shoulders, clipping it to his back with ease. He shook his legs a few times, making him feel more comfortable with his body healing. It was quite satisfactory the work that had been given to him. Menaphis was soon by his side, looking back at the group. He was about to question Marcus of why he was departing, but it was really his Subject's decision. As he grabbed his Stetson, he placed it onto his head whilst pacing off. However, something stopped Marcus. A thought. He scattered through opinions to find the right one...He turned slightly, looking at the pair staring at him. He sighed deeply. Marcus needed them more than anything, despite them clearly not needing him. He slowly found his feet dragging himself along the Lunar flooring towards them as he hung his head low. He spoke lowly to them, in a not-so-cheerful voice like everyone was. "G-got...got anymore room?" He looked away in slight embarrassment. He didn't like it...not one bit.

[Cuccoruler]

Rosa was half awake at this point. She had just gotten up thanks to slightly accelerated healing. She had taken ALOT of damage, she was meant to take damage of course. However the issues was she never knew when she took too much damage. When she looked over at the dragon she came a realization that she had attacked it. She didn't have much control in her berserker mode, however it was something that she really enjoyed. "Oh, right you. Listen I'm really sorry about attacking you and your dragon. I seem to not have much control when I'm in Berserker mode." Rosa said scratching the back of her head. Her baseball bat now hanging on her back in what seemed to be a sheath of some kind.
@Leslie Hall

Lance in the meantime just stood next to Rosa for a bit, atleast untill he saw the one who called himself come towards him. Lance smiled and undid his helmet before walking towards him. "Nice to see your out of your funk!" Lance said with a smile while waving at him. "I would be glad to have you! Of course Rosa would be happier to punch you in the face for leaving, but that's just her." Lance said smiling at Marcus. Rosa turned her head at hearing this. "I heard that!" Rosa yelled to the two.
@LetMeDoStuff

[Tancuras]

As Theo knelt in the grass, awaiting any sign of life from the sniper, his attention was drawn to a loud discussion between Kieran and Veronica nearby. The engagement ended when the witch fell to her knees, and Theo could barely make out her wishes to be back at home between her sobs.

Theo winced, his heart in two places. One half was angry at her incessant whining, wanting to scream you came here on your own, now stop crying about it! But the other half held him back, a sense of sympathy and the sting of guilt at his harsh judgement. He thought about his own home, and he froze with a sudden realization.

Orb girl, he said through his mind. This is the part where you tell me time at home is frozen, right? He paled at the alternative. But he received no answer. Over his shoulder he noticed his orb speaking with the sniper's. The man in his arms had regained consciousness and sat up at some point, though in his panicked thoughts he did not remember when.

Though he only got bits and pieces of the conversation between orbs, Theo thought he understood the gist of it when his partner returned.

Is the man who saved our lives not good enough for you? Theo's thoughts became angry again. Do you lack the slightest bit of sympathy?

Is he not? The golden light replied nonchalantly. It is not my decision to make. She seemed distant, and Theo found himself unwilling to continue.

He realized he was exhausted. His HP was still sitting below a quarter of its capacity. His head was throbbing, his skin stung, and his limbs were heavy. He willed his legs to stand, but even that was a challenge. Yet beyond it all he could still feel the warmth of the rising sun, and that made any pain seem unimportant.

Still, he supposed he needed sleep. "Hey, orb girl," he said with a yawn. "Since we're on the moon...how long is the day?"

"Good question," she said. "It's about half of what it is on your planet. It takes twelve hours to revolve completely, and right now you have about eight hours of light and four hours of dark. Though you won't need to sleep as often with your new...abilities."

Theo cocked his head. He thought she was about to say something else, but he supposed it didn't matter. "Alright," he said, turning to his comrades. "If everyone heard that, I think if we get some sleep now we can rest until the next morning. Then we have to figure something out."

He reached into his Inventory and drew out a small object. It was a tent, greatly miniaturized, triangular in shape with two flaps for doors and it fit in the palm of his hand. Theo did not know how anyone was going to fit inside of it, but he had an idea. He stepped away from the group and found a fairly flat space, placing the tent down in its center. As he stepped away, the tent shifted in a strange way. It seemed to move the light around it, and Theo found it very hard to look at, as if his eyes wouldn't focus. And suddenly it was a full-sized shelter, tall enough for him to stand in without stooping and wide enough for several people. He did the same thing with the second Tent in his inventory, setting it up next to the first, and averting his eyes so he did not hurt them trying to watch.

Theo stuck his head inside the closest one and his eyes widened. What he expected was a simple canvas covering, but what he saw was a cloth penthouse, with four cots covered in blankets and pillows, divider walls for privacy, and a chest near each bed overflowing with freshly-cooked food and water.

He staggered back out of the tent, a stupid smile across his face. He turned to the group. "Well," he said. "I found these things in my bag. They are pretty cool. There should be enough space, four people to a tent..." Theo scanned the group, counting in his head. "Five dudes and three gals. We can try to split by gender if you want, but one lucky guy is going to be in the girl's tent." Theo threw his hands up, turning on his heel and marching back into the tent. "Do what you want, I'm going into this one. Hope you're all hungry!"

[Cello]

Hatori Kokonoe and Jura

@Tancuras | @Cuccoruler

Hatori listened to Rosa's awkward apology with a stupid grin, basically laughing it off. To him, she didn't really need to apologise.
"Hey, we all get caught up in the moment! I'll just try to not be in the way next time!" Jura let out a low grumble at the naive words of his rider. Hatori was basically taking the blame for the incident, which didn't sit right with the dragon. He snarled to show his displeasure, which was met by a frown from the young man. "Stop being a baby and get over it! Geez..." He turned back to Rosa with a smile.
"My name's Hatori by the way. I don't know if you remember me introducing myself." Hatori blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He tried to sound confident, but the fact that he seemed to be one of the youngest surrounded by adults was starting to affect his nerves.

His thoughts were interrupted by the Sundancer exiting his portable tent. Theo gaped at them. They seemed to be quite spacious. Then his thoughts drifted to Jura and he was suddenly less excited. Jura nudged Hatori forward towards Theo, as if letting him know that he would be fine spending the night alone. Hatori stared at Theo's feet, a little shy. It was an odd feeling, considering how confident he'd been whilst riding Jura.
As a Dragon Rider, you and Jura's souls are connected. You'll have to learn to cope with the horrible feeling of grief whenever you aren't riding him. Upon hearing that advice, Hatori understood what he needed to do. Smiling up at Theo, he respectfully nodded his head.
"Those tents are cool, but I don't think Jura will fit. I don't want to leave him all alone outside." Jura lifted his head from the grass at the words of his rider, surprised that he was willing to spend the night with him.

Veronica Winchester and Kieran Croft

@LetMeDoStuff | @Tancuras | @sMoKe

Veronica was beyond tears. She sat still in the grass, staring up at the sunrise with a distant look on her face. The words of her guiding spirit occupying her thoughts.
I know it must be hard, but unfortunately you can't go home. We need you here. It was hard for Veronica to imagine ever being needed. Back in the real world, she was a cloistered little home schooled girl with no friends. She attended lessons, practiced piano and never made much contact with others. Even as an adult, she found herself to be quite awkward and blunt around others. She demanded attention constantly, and anyone who became friends with her was quick to realise how much effort she was to be around. Someone like her was never needed nor wanted; yet here she was. When she thought of it like that, suddenly returning home seemed like the worse option. Yet even despite that, she couldn't help but fear for her life.

"Hey, uh, Veronica." Her thoughts were interrupted by Kieran, who knelt down beside her. His face was red with embarrassment. "Look I'm not too good with talking about my feelings and stuff. But you should know that no one here blames you for being scared. We're all pretty scared I imagine; we're just too stupid to admit it." Veronica stared at Kieran in silence for a few moments. Suddenly she felt guilty for being so awful towards him when they had met. With a confident smile, she stood up from the grass. Her eyes were red from crying, but she held a confidence in her that was surprising to Kieran.
"I'm grateful for your words of compassion. Even if you are a meat head." She joked, smiling down at Kieran. The Samurai grinned, picking himself up from the ground and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Was that a joke just now? And here I thought you were incapable of humor." Veronica and Kieran laughed, and the young man was happy to see that he had managed to cheer her up. If things continued to go this smoothly between the two, they may even become friends.

Staring over to Marcus, Veronica took note of the snipers desire to join the group. She nodded with a smile, deciding that this was the right way to go about things. Stepping forward, she stood besides Marcus and also faced the Sundancer and the Gunslinger.
"I know I'm weak, but I want to help however I can. Please allow me to keep travelling with you." Veronica stared at Marcus after her request, noticing that he seemed to be a bit reluctant about the whole situation. "I'm scared. Not just of the creatures, but of being with such a big group. But I can't keep living in isolation. If I do that, I won't grow stronger or braver. I refuse to be the only one who doesn't move forward from here." Even despite her panic attack, it was clear that Veronica was a person with a lot of pride. She couldn't just sit back and cry while others were determined to make a difference. In a way, Kieran quite admired that quality about her. She was driven, even more so than him. It made him want to improve as well, and become someone that the team could depend on. Their rock who would shoulder the brunt of anything that came their way.

With that thought in mind, Kieran also took his place beside Veronica.
"Geez, now everyone's gonna think I'm copying these two. But I guess I'm also here to help as well." Kieran cracked his knuckles together, grinning with excitement. "I'll be here to protect you guys when things get sticky. I make quite a good punching bag, if you didn't deduce that from our horse friend."

[sMoKe]

The crackshot's wish to travel with a group took Saerena by surprise. His previous lone wolf attitude had almost surely indicated that a companionship was unlikely. Saerena overheard the his orb mention his inability to quickly recover, followed by Marcus's reluctant change in tactics. Though she was unsure who had heard, she figured as much herself. Snipers are bred for long range encounters. A direct charge left them vulnerable. Honestly, Saerena doubted she would've faired much better. "G-got...got anymore room?" Marcus' stuttered as he looked away, obviously unhappy. Upon his request came others from the witch and the samurai, suddenly making the possibility of a strong team very real.

However, Saerena herself was still unsure of splitting into groups. Wouldn't one main force be stronger? But if I had to, she thought, there would be none better than these. The team would be well-balanced and have fewer flaws. Is this right? she asked herself, not quite yet accustomed to receiving an answer. It would be most wise. came the response, seemingly from the air. "So be it." she said aloud.

Saerena sighed as she looked at their faces, beaming after a solid victory (apart from Marcus), though perhaps Theo was just excited to be living in a tent / condo combo. She wondered what she would've been doing now, had all this not happened. The thought erased her uncertainty. "I'm game. What do you think, Theo?" she asked as she smiled at him, "want to team up?

[Jeep Wrangler]

Marcus watched as the tent popped out of literal air. He says air, when really it isn't. Which moved his mind onto a small subject as he watched the reincarnation of the imaged tent, creating that nostalgic waterproof memory. What exactly am I breathing? He thought, hoping that Menaphis would be so kindly to reassure, or intimidate, his thoughts. That brought him to another subject...Memories...the Tent. It reminded him ever-so dearly of that one day, that one rainy September, where Lucy, Dan and himself went camping together. It was a lovely experience. The tent that the Sundancer had just flipped out of the realm of imagery looked so much like the specific one he and Lucy both shared. Small, yet large at the same time. This version that the white-cloaked man had created was clearly much larger, maybe two or three times the size he used. He remembered that day, that night, that wonderful night...It was strange to see that all those fishing activities, those sleeping, those hiking and food cooking had just become a faded memory on another planet. On another planet...home...though...it never really bothered him too much when he knew that someday he'd have to find out the consequences of him leaving so early. So early before his mind would drag itself into a never-ending darkness of lifelessness for all eternity. He saw the Smaller female, dressed so strangely compared to himself. All flamboyant, all ponytails. She looked like she'd come straight out of a fashion show, and had won for the most notable dressing there could be. He was only looking through the corner of his eye, but it was enough to know that the dress would be one difficult attire for battle. He saw her accompany find a place beside them as they began to wish they could join. Marcus' hands were beginning to shake slightly. More people meant more danger, more anxiety...more sadness. He had didn't like having to watch over as a ranged Marksmen, as the Infiltrator. He didn't want people to put their lives in the defence he provided. It scared him, a lot. He shuddered.

"B-Because More is...Merrier..." He muttered quietly to himself. Marcus turned away with little motion. He looked back at the Sundancer who stared at him. "I...I'm going to...p-pass on the t-tent...I...I'm sorry...It's...It's really kind of you...b-but...I...I like to sleep somewhere t-that I am used to...and...the Outdoors makes everything so memorable..." He shuddered, once more. There was clearly something odd about him as a person, as Menaphis began to flutter beside him.

"You know...when they all tell each other of their backstories tonight, you are going to have some interesting eyes when you tell yours, right?"

"That's what I'm hoping doesn't happen." He quietly folded his legs as he sat down, staring blankly over the horizon as he re-entered his thought bubble of mystery.