MUG

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

In the castle back at Sol, Inadi was still somewhat showing signs of doubt. The entire time the dragoons and the others were talking about the plan he was out staring at the damage the kingdom had gone through due to the attacks while they were gone from a nearby window. All the fire and broken rock that lay strewn across the very same land that they had seen filled with such splendor and wonder was now just a victim of misunderstanding and circumstance. And in a small sense it was their fault....they failed to do what needed to be done in time.

Inadi looked at his spear that he regained after the witches left and began gripping it tighter in his hand. Looking up his right arm that was clutching the weapon he began noticing some strength returning to it. Jasper's work had clearly done a lot to improve his condition. And now he felt like he could at least wield the thing again without half of his arm shooting pain throughout his body. Then again the likely hood of him actually getting a good shot on these witches was unlikely should they run into them again. What was it? Their heads over a fire was a sign of victory? Inadi gripped his neck with his free hand, hoping he never had to part ways with the thing mounted on his shoulders.

As the final decisions were made about the dragon Inadi felt somewhat confident in the plan. Lesley was clearly the best choice for baiting the dragon back to them. He was the only one in the group that the little thing wasn't absolutely scared of or hated their guts. Though Inadi had to roll his eyes at the last part, as he was the only one who actually made the dragon mad in the first place. It was his fault they couldn't get the dragon to laugh and it was his fault Sol looked this way now.....a thought that made the spear in his hands suddenly seem a lot heavier in his arms.

As everyone left Tobias' room, Inadi stared at Lesley working his magic on some poor guard to try and carry him at least some way towards the mountain again. He rolled his eyes and continued walking. A few hours ago Inadi may have opened his mouth and made a snarky comment but at this point he did not have the energy to be that person today. He went back to using his spear somewhat as a walking stick, using the pointed end to get gripping where he needed it.

Eventually the trip was beginning to show signs of exhaustion on everyone. For the most part Inadi kept close to Ace and Jasper and he himself didn't show much signs of being tired. The sweat on his brow had been collecting for a while, but he never seemed to wipe it off. Not even a grunt at times as he reached the more difficult sections of the mountain side and while to some it may be that he was just toughing it out, inside he was pissed beyond belief. The entire trek he would shoot glances at Hakuren who was more than a few steps away from him but he would constantly check to see where he was both on the cliff side and in regards to his appearance. If he wasn't going to show weakness, neither was Inadi. Haku's words still stung him deep in his mind, but there was no way he was going to let the man call him a coward AND weak on top of it.

However, constantly putting that strain on himself he was beginning to run out of strength in his legs. Back in the real world he was never much of a hiker and the consequences of that kind of non-athletic lifestyle were beginning to show up. His legs began feeling strained and it forced Inadi to put more power into his arms as he tried to almost pull himself up the mountain using his spear. Eventually his right arm began acting up again and he winced a bit as he stared at his right arm, looking at the skin and burn marks that covered it. With the sleeve to his jacket gone the burns and cuts were there for everyone to see, and yet Inadi showed no signs of want to have it wrapped or covered. While it was nowhere near the condition it was in the cave, the muscles were clearly still a problem and the strain was beginning to show as certain cuts seemed to be reopening and his burns began stinging as the sweat ran over them.

To his side he looked and saw Jasper next to him also looking at his arm. Perhaps she had seen him showing signs of pain. He quickly shook his arm as if to show that it was fine. “Thanks Jasper. I appr-” Inadi would have finished his sentence had it not been for Lesley suddenly began pushing his way between him and Jasper. The man began frantically running his hands over Inadi and eventually over some of the cuts and burns on his arm. A quick hiss left Inadi's throat as he dropped his spear at the sudden shock of pain. Watching the spear land in a crevice nearby he quickly shot his left hand out to Lesley's wrist that was connected to the hand that caused the suddenly pain. His grip was firm, but not hard enough to harm the flamboyant member of the troupe.

Inadi slowly lifted the hand away from his body and let the wrist go quickly. Giving Lesley a quick pat on the should he carefully walked to where the spear was and picked it back up. “I appreciate your concern as well Lesley. Truly I do,” Inadi said as he began climbing further up the mountain side with his make shift crutch. “But for now it just needs to left alone. Fretting over it won't make it go away and it certainly won't get us to that dragon.” He told him with a look on his face that showed confidence and an understanding of Lesley and Jasper's concern, all the while it was being used to hide a grimace of pain that hid behind his framed up eyes.

As he made his way back to his spot he heard Jasper whisper to him her distaste of Hakuren as well. Inadi gave a glance back at the man again and let out a sigh. Turning to Jasper he never gave her eye contact as he stared down at the ground near where his spear head had been set for his next step. “Jasper, as much as I don't like him right now I can't hate him. And it isn't bullying if he's proving a point,” He told her as he turned to head further up the mountain, following the rest of the group. “...its just stating the facts.”

The last sentence seemed almost to be groaned out of his mouth, as if it was painful to say each word in succession. He had already admitted to himself back in the cave. He was a coward. He didn't want to risk anything in his life and stick with what he knew would work. He was a shut in. A person afraid of his own society and fellow man. But Inadi continued to climb the mountain, now at a more rigorous pace. He may have been a coward then, but there was no chance he was going to give Hakuren an opportunity to call him out on it a second time during this journey.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Hey, we insinuating that my man Inadi isn't a man? Cause he is.....although it is difficult to prove at this point but he is...............I stand by my statement. XD

The War of Panitil

That it does. I know food takes a lot of my attention most of the time. It's the perfect escape. XD

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

And I'm done. As for the title of the next chapter I must say I am concerned. Inadi has almost died twice in this chapter alone. I'm running out of lives here captain! And I only have 15 coins! THERE'S NO WAY I CAN GET THAT 1-UP IN TIME! XD

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

After his long and drawn out speech, Inadi watched as Jasper healed his arm and she seemed so innocent and almost empathizing with how he felt. She placed a hand flat on his back and continued working on his arm even though it was clear the scene made her feel uncomfortable. He wanted to speak up to her and thank her for the assistance. Even though she was a healer, she didn't need to drop everything and tend to his wound. As she smiled to him and wished him well, he wanted to do something to show her his appreciation. Anything really, but he found himself for whatever reason frozen in place and trying to gather his thoughts back.

Looking down at his arm he saw that the wounds were decently taken care of. Inadi didn't want her to go too far with it as it would have likely caused her to loose energy an maybe even her consciousness in the end. The whole magic thing was still new to everyone and no one was really sure what their limits were quite yet save for a few in the group. He was impressed regardless of her work and wanted to show a smile on his face, but his agitation still gripped him more than any other emotion.

Suddenly the man known as Hakuren, the one who seemed to be taking his mantle as intellectual superior to Inadi was speaking up again. Inadi began having a very severe sore spot for this ice king before him. Constantly mocking him for his mistakes and doing so in such a low voice was getting on the spectacled man's last nerve. Now suddenly he was approaching him and seemed to be questioning his very way of living.

Hakuren said said “Knowing everything and being able to be prepare for anything. Where’s the fun in that? To dwell in constant safety. In a never-changing state. That is a very forlorn way of living. A life of nothing ever being new and unknown is monotone and grey. It’s secluded and stoops you lower than a sheltered little snail. 

A forlorn way of living? To be safe and sound in your own skin and place of living? There was no way Inadi's idea of life was anything like this man described. He enjoyed the way he lived. Nothing bad ever happened. Nothing could hurt him. Nothing new ever came his way with his choice of living....yet when he thought that sentence to himself he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret and a sudden wave of sorrow crushed his chest similar to the feeling he had against the mushroom monster.

Hakuren said said In fact, not knowing anything about something is the best. It gives you two options. To learn or to ignore. Chose the first and you’re progressing. Chose the latter and you could be considered an idiot or a genius. Whichever comes first. No matter which one you pick, you’re making a decision, so you’re actually progressing nonetheless. 

No. No, this was the idea of a mad man. Why would you go so far as to look for things that could hurt you or defeat you? The best things in life come when you can conquer them no matter what. Inadi was able to do that constantly back in the real world. He would always be able to find the exact thing he needed at the right time. He was always eating his favorite meals everyday. More importantly he was surviving on his own without any help from anyone around him. He didn't need anyone else to help him......but if he ever did.....could he go to someone?

Inadi began thinking about how lonely he would get at times back home. He didn't go out at all and even when he did it was to places that he knew. And he didn't talk to people there. He seemed to keep to himself mostly if memory served. Sure he would start up small conversations, but they never really went anywhere. And even if they did there was no guarantee those people he talked to were good people. Why waste energy on somebody who isn't going to be worthy of your time?......or maybe they were and Inadi just didn't give them enough time to figure that out.

Hakuren said said The more you learn, the more unknown things sprout up. Complaining that you don’t know anything and wanting information to be served to you on a silver plate, so you can examine and sort it, is the same as saying you no longer wish to learn. In other words,” he halted only a few steps away from Inadi, bent down a bit and said, eversmiling. ”you’re a coward.” Then he lifted his torso back up and continued “Heh, and don’t get me wrong. Being a coward’s actually pretty handy. Not feeling fear is a mark of an idiot. But being afraid to get out of your comfort zone and tackle the problem is a very pathetic type of cowardice.” 

…..A coward.....the very fact that this man said it so plainly and directly brought tears to his eyes similar to that of what Jasper had happen to her. He hid his face from the man as he walked away and prayed that he could hold back the choking feeling in his throat. Was everything he said true? Was Inadi just a coward? He had always thought himself just a very careful person, but never a coward. Thinking back on all the times he had back home where he would stay in rather than go out he began realizing how sheltered he had made himself. He was a recluse. A stranger in his own world......a coward through and through.

Just as Inadi reached for his face to melt into his own hands, he suddenly felt his ground start lifting off the ground. Looking down and quickly trying to regain some kind of balance he saw that he had been placed on top of a pillar. More aptly put, a pillar had been placed beneath him. It was a little high off the ground, more so than Inadi would have liked it to be. It was already cold and now he was shaking for more than one reason as he knew if he fell this time there would be no quick heal from Jasper to fix his injuries.

Turning to Haku, he heard him speak to the dragon. Now he was being asked to cluck like a chicken for that stupid beast. Inadi wanted to stand up and shout at the man across from him, as a sign of anger and spite against him. Yet the only thing Inadi had in his mind now as he looked at the ice mage was hatred. Not at Haku, but at himself. He wanted Haku to be wrong. Inadi didn't want anything that the ice mage said to be true. But every time he searched himself to try and find a way to prove him wrong, it just showed that he would lose the argument every time.

Inadi was defeated. He was embarrassed and now he was being humiliated in front of all those who joined him on this quest. And all he could do was admit that he was what Haku said. A coward.....a chicken in disguise.

“.....Clu-ARGH!”

Just as Inadi was about to submit his defeat it seemed that one of the guides had grabbed him from off the pillar and had now hidden them from some unseen force. Quickly collecting his breath as the tackle he just suffered was a bit unexpected, he turned and saw that he was surrounded by Ace, Leila, Riley and Jasper. In other situations Inadi would have been pleased to be surrounded by most of the girls in group, but instead felt a sudden rush of worry as he heard the two witches behind them.

And then suddenly there was the pop over where the others seemed to be hiding. Closing his eyes tightly, he worried for their safety now above all things. Opening his eyes slowly he saw that he was next to Ace and Jasper, the first of which had squeezed her way in between him and Jasper. He looked over to the two and tried to give a supporting look, as if to say that everything would be alright. It was clear that Jasper needed it much more than Ace did, but it was clear everyone was nervous at the whole scene before them. He looked around and saw that his spear was not next to him and began mouthing curses to himself. It was back where the ice pillar was....out where the witches were currently walking around. He gave Riley a nervous look and began explaining the situation about his spear with his hands, all the while sweat began forming on his brow in the still cold cave. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he was not going to be able to use his magic with all the water in the cave. Everyone was in danger, and Inadi was once again proving useless. A quiet sigh escaped his throat as he leaned his head back as it grew heavy with worry.

The Midnight Train to Nowhere

Before you get your post up there Fox I'll get mine up. Should be an interesting one since Inadi has to react to Haku. Will he be a whiny bitch that he is, or will we see character development? Find out on the next episode of Midnight Train to Nowhere: Character Development

............Wow that's a bit of a spoiler huh? Haha!

*note: the above was a joke in relation to this revelation I received while rewatching the original Dragon Ball Z series. This is an ACTUAL title card.

The War of Panitil

And my post is up! So far it seems the desert trend is picking up quite nicely. XD

The War of Panitil

Dina watched as the soldiers continued their little sport of 'crowd control' in front of him and the stand owner. It was actually somewhat depressing to know that this was the kind of behavior that wasn't just expected of the Yid soldiers, but almost promoted. Behind their dark and foreboding armor were men who enjoyed dishing out punishment and torture on a daily basis. Even on these men you could catch a smirk on their face as the pushed a grown man down to his knees and grabbed women by the hair, only to throw them face first into the dirt to supposedly keep the peace. He wanted to strike them down himself, but knew that it was best to avoid the conflict for the moment until he knew he had support from others in the city.

Not able to see the culprit of the next act, Dina saw a stone suddenly fly out of the air and hit a soldier square in the back of the head. It was an impressive shot and it clearly rubbed the soldiers the wrong way. They began furiously questioning people in the surrounding area to try and find out who exactly was responsible for the heinous crime. Dina could only laugh as he took another bite of his crushed sweet bread and began noticing a man jumping through the broken window of the inn past the commotion. He hadn't seen him in the crowd prior to the stone being thrown, and noticed that he was heading towards the pastry stand it seemed. As he bought the small sweet roll he seemed to be craving, he also began watching the soldiers sort through the crowd. It seemed the little stand was becoming quite a popular place. Perhaps this was where he start the resistance push.

While being lost in his thoughts of the task at hand, he was jarred as the stand owner seemed to perk up from being downright stoic to being quite friendly with the next customer. Dina looked and saw a young woman beginning to chat with the man on a first name basis. Zal was the name the merchant said, though he wasn't sure if that was just her name or an abbreviated version of it. As the girl got her treat the owner began packing things up at his shop. Dina watched as small treats began leaving the stand and set down behind it and he almost felt a pang of regret. He would have liked to try a lot more but didn't have the disposable income to splurge on deserts. He began remembering the smell of the strawberry tarts in particular and let out a sigh.

'Surely you have better things to do than dream of cooked wheat Dina? Such as starting up a rallying call or something similar to it?'

Dina let go of his fantasy and let out a quick gasp. It was his pact beast. A great fire dragon Junesha. Albeit she was only an adolescent but still, in comparison to him she was much more grand than he. Letting out a sigh as he shook off the initial shock from the sudden deep voice in his mind. He had just formed the pack with the dragon maybe two or three days ago. The idea that he was no longer ever alone with anyone made him very uncomfortable and on edge at times. The dragon however was polite enough to not simply go about and speak constantly, she at least respected his privacy enough for that.

Taking the last bite of his treat he brushed his hands off on his pants and began looking across the area in the town square. 'I would love to Junesha, but the fact of the matter remains that now is not the best time to start any revolution. The guards are up in arms and seem to be flexing their collective muscle as we speak.'

The dragon scoffed in his mind and seemed to be growing more agitated based on the sound of her voice. 'Then why not speak in whispers then. That thick armor of theirs makes it difficult to hear. Perhaps the girl and man standing next to you would do fine as soldiers of warfare and espionage.' Junesha joked as her deep and ragged laugh echoed in Dina's mind. It practically scraped on his skull, showing his discomfort by gripping his head.

After the laugh he shook his mind clear. It seemed Junesha was done with her little speech. She could see and hear everything he could now that their souls were bound and whatever people were nearby it seemed would fit her idea of an army. Dina feared the next person she would suggest was the owner of the stand who had just finished placing the last bit of product away.

Dina wanted to cast away the dragon's idea, but every building must first start with a single stone. Perhaps one of these two would be able to assist in some form or fashion. Perhaps the man was skilled in some combat. Maybe the woman was more than just a pretty face, though it was hard to tell past her hood that remained down. And he needed some kind of knowledge of the city that only the locals could provide. It was his best chance to start at least somewhere.

He remained standing with his face towards the near mob that was in front of them. Now with the cavalry coming in to fix the problem it seemed it was finally going to start slowing down now that the fear factor was coming into question. “Do riots like this happen often do you think? Or was this just a one-time drunken fool parade that spilled into the square?” He asked aloud, not really pointing it towards either of the two, but wondering who between them would answer first. More importantly, how the two would react to him speaking up.

The War of Panitil

Good post guys! I'll wait for either Heliosa or Drache to post before I do one myself.

The War of Panitil

Well until we get more people I don't think we need to stay dedicated to an order quite yet. Again, once we get more people to join we'll go one by one, but for now just post when you feel comfortable everyone. Just so we get this thing rolling.