[IC] Refuge of the Forgotten

[LadyTale]

Ephraim flat-out growled. "Do you have any consideration for other people's belongings? This doesn't belong to the Refuge, you know. This is mine." He brought the now-useless bow to the table, removing the string as quickly as possible. "And unlike you two, Riley, Johnny, I have no flashy powers. I'm a warrior, plain and simple. You want a power battle? Go talk to Nycteris. You want a mental battle? Find one of Loki's kids. You want a duel of honor? Challenge me." With one last annoyed look, he turned his back to the other people, focusing on replacing the string of his bow. Unlike the weapons the kids had been using, his was a masterfully crafted recurve bow with a 100 lb. draw weight. Only a few could use it, not that Ephraim would ever let anyone else handle it. It was his, and his alone.

[Corsair]

"I may not agree with Ephraim's methods, but these kids do need to learn how to handle weapons. We've got kids here whose powers are limited to being able to breathe underwater and talk to birds." She grabbed her duffel and set it on a table, reaching inside to pull out a box of rounds to slide into her stripper clips. "And if you want to make a point, make it with words. We've all got enough problems without trying to kill each other." Tempting as it sounded at times, she thought to herself. "Hell's bells, we have the kings of three Pantheons coming to slaughter us. If you want to argue, maybe argue about ways to make it less likely we all die."

[TheHangedMan]

Unnoticed by everyone, Rayon's attention was fully on the group as they argued. His eyes were transfixed on their weaponry, their abilities, and he began wondering if any of them could teach him. They all looked so cool! He wondered if he looked as cool while he was flying, or maybe when he shot out his laser beams. In any case . . .

"Hey, hey guys can you teach me how to use a bow! or a gun! or that ice thing!" he suddenly shouted excitedly. "Those weapons looks awesome! I wonder if I can get my own?"

While he was shouting and waving his arms expectantly in between Ephraim and Victoria, he'd forgotten one thing: currently, he was invisible. Among all his divine abilities, invisibility was the one power that kept acting up. Unless he was using another power, he would suddenly and randomly turn invisible, sometimes it even happened while he slept, resulting in people jumping on him sometimes. Invisibility was both the blessing and curse of Medjed, the most obscure of the Egyptian gods; unlike Rayon, however, Medjed knew how to use that obscurity to his advantage. Rayon couldn't do much but whine about it.

Of course, in his excitement, he had no idea he was invisible right now, so the most anyone could tell he was there was a disembodied voice right in front of Victoria.

[hagroden]

Riley
Shaking his head slowly, he snapped his fingers and the cold air dropped like a weight, a layer of ice forming on the ground then quickly dissipating. The lack of trust in the camper's abilities hurt him, on a personal level. Had his trainer held the same view that these two had, his only skill would be wielding a knife and having cold skin. He would have died several times over had it not been for his extensive practice and exercise of his magic. What they failed to understand is that magic was like a muscle, and the more you used it the stronger it became. He wasn't born with the ability to freeze lakes and drop the temperature up to a mile away, he had worked for it, hard.
"If we follow either of you, we will be lead into nothing but weakness and defeat. There is a reason our ancestors were worshiped, and it wasn't because they used weapons of men."

Hearing the disembodied voice he automatically moved into his fight stance, a spike of ice forming in each hand, preparing to strike at whatever needed. With a flick of his wrist, a cloud of sub-zero air burst out from around him, creating a dense fog that revealed the shape of Rayon's invisible body.
"State your intentions or face execution!"
He demanded in an authoritative, but collected tone.

[Blaze96]

"You're right, Thor used no hammer, Susanoo didn't have a sword, and no war god ever touched a weapon of man. Truly it is purely for their use of magic that all gods were worshiped. No god was ever worshiped for martial or tactical prowess." He responded with a slight grin to Riley. Chuckling afterwards at the argument that had been indirectly put forth. After he laughed he fired off a quick burst from the G36, the rounds grouping slightly off of center as he then used that to readjust his sights.

[Corsair]

"Would you stop trying to be intimidating, kid? You look like you're going to run home crying and post on tumblr about how we were all mean to you. Put the damn ice away, you melodramatic skidmark, it's Invisible Kid."

[Vishtaspa]

A weapon "of yew or boxwood", a draw weight significantly greater than that of the modern longbow. Monstrously huge, its length of seventy inches surpassing even his own height. Had he been any other child of the current age, he knew, whose stamina and strength were not equally as terrifying, then he would never have been able to draw back the hemp string. It was truly remarkable, knowing that the medieval archers had deformed their very skeletons in order to hone their mastery of the bow. Humbling too, for one who lived in modern times.

Rhodri drew back the string of his Welsh longbow as far as he could, the ease of which he did so almost ridiculous. The strength afforded to him by his mother Rhiannon was a blessing in situations like these, for the struggles that had plagued his ancestors would never afflict him. Had they possessed his divine strength, then there would have likely been far more dead Frenchmen at Agincourt.

Hold still.

Aim.

Fire.

The arrow flew, quietly whistling through the air before it slammed into the target. Not a bullseye, but it wasn't that bad of a shot. For someone whose archery history had really consisted of whatever opportunities had been provided to him on camps, at least.

He placed the bow back on the ground and stretched out his arms. The Briton wasn't really welcoming the need for daily practice. He understood perfectly why they needed to do so, but it would be a chore. Still, no point in grumbling over spilt milk.

"Wonder what they're talking about?" mused Rhodri quietly to himself, allowing his eyes to lazily wander over to the group of firearm users on the other end of the range.

[TheHangedMan]

Rayon yelped in surprise as the temperature suddenly dropped around him, and Riley gripped threatening spikes of ice while facing him. Not understanding why he was reacting that way, Rayon panicked and his invisibility instinctively dropped, only for it to be replaced with another ability, one most suited for fleeing: Flight.

The boy shot up near eight meters into the air, flailing his limbs like a headless chicken as he did so. "Don't hurt me don't hurt don't hurt me!" he squawked, literally hanging in the air while curling into a defensive ball. "I was just curious, that's all!"

[Adamina]

This bow did not feel right to Alva. It was a simple bow, clearly not made by any competent craftsman. She missed her own bow from back home, but she had not exactly had the opportunity to take much with her. Soon, one of these days, she would have to make her own. She had scouted out some trees in the surrounding forest. Their wood would do well for the purpose.
Although this bow was not ideal, it was alright - Alva still managed to center most of her shots. She drew back the string once more. Steady breath, steady hand. Aim. Breathe. Release.

The arrow cut through the air, landing a few inches left of center. Arrows were beginning to become clustered. She repeated what to her was almost ritualistic - draw, breathe, aim, breathe, release. With a soft thunk the arrow planted itself into the target. Although she knew around her there was arguing and dissent, Alva remained focused. She could intervene, but she was too far into this almost meditative state to break out of her concentration.

Draw, breathe, aim, breathe, release.
Thunk.

[hagroden]

@TheHangedMan
Riley
He chuckled softly, shaking his head as he lowered his position and the ice and fog dissipated. He liked this boy, he was respectful, and pure of heart, which isn't something that could be said about most members of the camp. It was clear that this boy would one day surpass him in power, and he wanted to be there the day that he did. He respected people of power, they had better charisma, and attitude than people who relied on human weapons. He believed most weapon users to be jealous of the power magic users could wield, they could never be disarmed or have their weapons damaged.

A gust of wind surrounded him and he flew up slowly, directly next to the scared young man, and offered cool hand to shake.
"I did not mean to frighten or threaten you friend, you merely startled me."
He said with a soft smile, his hair flipping around in the wind.

[Mictlan93]

"Geez, never realized just how wound up some of these kids are." Adrian thought, looking on as Riley approached the young Rayon in the air. "Well with Ephraim, everyone's favorite stick in the mud, it's a given. But it seems just about everyone takes themselves so seriously." He had joined Victoria at the table, and leaned against it as he thought more on the situation. "Well, it is wartime, after all. Never know who or what might attack us at any given moment." He let out a little sigh. "Geez, what a way to live." With that, he addressed Victoria.

"Soooo, back to 'Operation: Let's Buy ALLLLL the Weapons'. How much of that do you plan on following through with? How big are we planning on getting? Carpet bombing? Tactical nuke? One'a those satellite heat beam thingies you see in the video games?" He asked. He would do these sort of things with Victoria; ask an absurd question just to see how serious she'd take it.

[TheHangedMan]

Rayon paused, then nodded. Floating steadily, the boy had a grin on his face. "It's no problem! Sorry for startlin' you! My powers just kinda go off by themselves, you know? Especially invisibility; sometimes my roommates accidentally sleep on me because I go invisible outta nowhere, so they usually pat the beds they're gonna sleep on before the go down," Rayon spoke quickly, hardly taking any breaths. It was his excitable nature that made it so. One moment he was talking, the next, he was shaking Riley's hand. "It's also pretty cool to have someone else who can fly! Not many people can - Uh-Uuuh, okay waitaminute."

Crossing his hands in 'T' for timeout, Rayon slowly floated down. Landing on his feet, he seemed to wobble for a second before regaining balance. "Was feeling a bit dizzy there. Means I'm tired, so I can't stay up for too long or I fall. Anyway, I'm Rayon Ducat! What's yer name?"

[hagroden]

Riley

He smiled gently, before gripping his hand hard and shooting up into the air, after about 3 seconds he slowed to a stop, a layer of solid ice forming mid-air, he set the boy down on it, making sure to focus a bit on keeping the ice chunk adrift, lake a thin glaciar in an ocean of water. Forming another deep blue disk of Ice, he sat down,watching the sun and keeping them afloat. Turning to the young man, he opened his mouth to speak.

"In 15 seconds your ice chunk will thaw, causing you to fall nearly half a mile onto the awaiting ground. You will have to exert yourself to survive, and will not recieve any assistance from me, or anybody else with flight."

He stated calmly, acting as if he hadn't essential just put the kid in a situation that could kill him. Riley was very fond of the "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger" motto, and practiced it any chance he was given. Of course, he didn't intend to actually let the poor kid die, they were stationed of the river which would keep him from dieing, but would likely break a few bones. He knew the only way to advance your powers was to be forced into pushing past your own limits.

[Yorutenchi]

A pale girl holds the bow in her hands timidly before pulling back the string while loosely holding the arrow between her slender fingers. With a rigid back and perfect posture her yellow eyes narrow in concentration. The target which is only a mere 50 feet away slowly becomes the only thing she can see. Becoming painfully aware of her breath she holds it in for just a moment to still her body and her mind. With a slow exhale she lets loose the arrow.

The arrow flies about 45 feet before hitting the ground no where near the target and she hangs her head in frustration.

"DAMNIT!" she hisses under her breath. A small black crow flutters down and lands on her shoulder and looks into her eyes with its head cocked to the side.

"Yeah I saw! You don't have to rub it in!" She says a little too loud to the bird. No one else can understand the crow that follows her. Her outburst causes the crows to fly away to a safe distance on a nearby branch. She bites her lower lip and makes a face somewhere between disappointment and anger. I am not suited for this kind of combat. I am a commander not a fighter.

She pauses when she hears the fighting of the other members. She notes that many have good points. Though she thinks to herself that it is perhaps the difference of skill and powers that combined make a powerful force rather than any single path being the correct path. She does take this chance however to toss aside her bow and pick up her staff. She feels far more comfortable with it that she does any combat weapon.

It was at this time that an ice user struts in with a puffed chest and starts saying rude things to the others. Suddenly he takes a less than confident member up half a mile in the sky on a piece of ice. She doesn't understand all of what he said but she prepared herself to intervene if it was necessary. This might be an important and necessary lesson for the boy but there is a point that is too far.

[Corsair]

Victoria turned her head to look at Adrian. "I dunno. A tac nuke would be nice, but it's awfully hard to get one. I could call my Mom, see if her contacts in Mossad can get us one, but I don't expect a lot of luck. Motherland's pretty tightfisted, y'know." Did I just make a racist joke on accident? She blew past it. "But we could probably go to some third-world hellhole and steal some old Soviet tech from them. I wonder if Ares has ever dealt with a T-62 or a MiG."

She saw the Ice Asshole raise the other kid into the air and before he had even finished the movement had her Colt in hand, putting a shot into the ground at his feet. "Hey, Ice Fucker, put the kid down or the next shot goes into your lap."

[Blaze96]

"Are you entirely insane or only mostly so?" He said to himself watching what Riley was doing to the clearly in no way ready for this Rayon. Doing his best to conceal the fact that shooting him for putting someone in mortal danger wasn't the worst option.

"The best way to teach a person to swim isn't by throwing them into a river. If they fail they die and it is the fault of the one who put them in that situation to begin with. Not the one who was forced into it."

[Mictlan93]

"I'm just surprised to could even attempt to gain the connections needed to get us a nuke..." Adrian replied to Promethean child, in some disbelief. It was usual for her to make casual boasts such as that from time to time, but something as serious as obtaining such heavy artillery threw Adrian through a bit of a loop. Soon after that, seemed most began turning their attention towards Riley, who took it upon himself to begin an extreme impromptu training session with the much younger, much more inexperienced, Rayon.

"Yeah dude, bring 'im down." Adrian joined in with the yelling and calling. "That's a bit much, even for you." Adrian almost felt like he was negotiating in some sort of hostage situation. Even then he didn't feel like his yells would reach the two, considering just how high up they were.

[Corsair]

"That made more sense in my head." She thought to herself as she unslung her Mosin-Nagant and took aim. "Alright, I've got the asshole sighted. Anyone got a way to catch the other kid if Ice Prick drops him after I shoot him?"

[TheHangedMan]

Rayon froze - no pun intended - momentarily as he realized he was back in the air, with only fifteens seconds before he quickly fell ou of it. Rayons prieviously friendly smile of greeting was frozen in place out of sheer fear. He looked at the river below and back to Riley, alternatively

"Uh, eh, ye're joking right?" With a futile look, Rayon hoped that Riley would say yes at the last second. No such answer came.

"Oh he-"

His curse was cut off as the ice beneath him melted and he plummetted out of the sky. His fatigue and panic critically affected his decision making abilities, so rather than flying up, he kept falling.

On instinct, a powerful surge entered his body, invigorating his strength and durability. Of course, Rayon was now running on fumes, so it was unkown how long the augmentation would last.

[Vishtaspa]

Falling child? Rhodri moved, dashing from his corner of the firing range towards where the commotion had been occurring. He had been aimlessly watching the group bicker, but he wasn't going to stand by while the kid fell that distance. With a mighty push of his feet against the ground, he jumped, divine strength sending him up into the air, where he caught Rayon.

The redhead landed with a thump, knees bending to absorb the shock of the impact, his body rattling against the force. Super strength and endurance or not, dropping from such a height was a pain.

"You alright mate?" asked the Welshman, looking down at the boy in his arms. "Not gonna crash on us, are ya?"