PrankFox

Wings of Fire: Clouded Visions

Frostbite's whole body was tense, as was everyone else's, as they waited to see who the SandWing would pick to die. At least one of the chosen wouldn't be coming back, or if they did they likely wouldn't survive very long after. He shrunk back slightly as he heard the SandWing speak before looking to see which poor soul had caught her attention. The SandWing looking hybrid that had been staring at him earlier. A pity really. She had been able to avoid their gaze for a long time.

There was no way that she would survive a fight with most of the hybrids here. They were bigger than she was and many of them were desperate to survive. They would slash clean through a terrified opponent's throat without much of a thought. He could hear the chains rattling even from across the pit. Pathetic.

He watched absently as she was dragged away by the guards and kept his eyes averted from the dark scaled SandWing. They tended to pick those who showed some bit of fight to them, or in the SandWing's case looked like easy prey. When he heard the SandWing speak again his body went rigid, but he then looked up to meet the black eyes and narrowed his own with a growl. He didn't want to kill anyone else, but he also didn't want to die. That was the option for them, fight or die. Either your opponent would kill you, or if neither would fight then the SandWings would make an example.

The chains pulled uncomfortably as the guards dragged him to his feet and over to where the others stood. His eyes flicked emotionlessly to the smaller hybrid next to him. She sounded like a collection of swords with how hard her chains were rattling as the shivers of fear racked her body. He stood as tall as he could next to the SandWings. He wouldn't let them know how broken they'd made him. It wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

He watched as the light from the hole they were kept in faded and the light from the Pit at the head of the tunnel illuminated the space instead. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how he would get out of this. He didn't want to kill the little hybrid, but he wasn't sold on his plan to get them out of here either. Where they were kept was too well guarded and they were chained up, the Pit itself was far too well watched to attempt to escape, and even at his best he couldn't take on the number of guards that flanked them on all sides. He would have to improvise then.

Once they made it to the head of the tunnel they could hear the pounding of claws and the cheers and hollers that came from the crowd. "Don't try anything funny," one of the guards snarled at them as he went around and started unlocking the various chains and shackles that would prevent them from putting on a good show. Frostbite resisted a sigh of relief as the weight fell of, but he did stretch out his jaw and wings slightly; sending a glare towards the little SandWing. Better to put on a show.

Once the guards had freed them and started to move out of the way so they could be pushed into the pit he leaned his head down towards his 'opponent', "Fight back, give them a good show and you might live. I won't kill you, and I have a plan to maybe get some of us out so don't kill me. His eyes flickered to the guards to make sure they couldn't overhear. "It's your only shot," he told her as the guards started to shove them forward into the Pit.

Clans of the Coast

At Frostpaw's sidelong glance Lionpaw cocked his head curiously at her. He had no idea what it was that she was thinking, but his amber eyes widened as she responded to him and then gave her best try at a joke. He laughed brightly at the attempt as Reedpaw's whiskers quivered with amusement. "I'm not fat, I'm just fluffy and there's nothing I can do about that." He was bigger than all of the other apprentices, including his own brother, which did make it a little bit crowded, but it wasn't his fault. He just grew fast.

"Well maybe you should check on some of that fluff. It feels a little bit solid," Reedpaw poked him in the side with a paw, her voice teasing. Her own silver and white coat was sleek and well-groomed; showing off the muscles that had already been built in the couple moons she had been training.

Lionpaw rolled his eyes at the two she-cats as his attention turned back to Frostpaw and her suggestion on going to see Embersky. His brow furrowed slightly, but Frostpaw usually had good ideas so he just gave her a nod. "Alright. If anyone is going to know anything it'll probably be him." Or Dawnstar and Barricudashade but the likelihood of being able to talk to the leader or the deputy was much slimmer than their medicine cat.

They all padded towards the back corner of the camp, nearby the leader's den and the tumble of rocks that were used to make announcements. The medicine den was built partially into the driftwood wall, stacked and woven together with seaweed that draped down across the entrance; providing anyone inside with privacy and shade. Lionpaw shared a look with Reedpaw before sticking his head into the den and peering around. The beds that were set up in the front of the den were mercifully empty since they hadn't been in any fights lately and the weather had been kind to them so far. He could see the small opening in the back that led into the area where he was sure that Embersky and Albatrosspaw slept along with the herb store.

He went to pull his head out and tell the other two that it didn't seem like either medicine cats were in when he saw the dark ginger head of Embersky peer through the gap with a few herbs in his jaws. His green eyes widened slightly at the three apprentices he could see and he set the herbs down on the ground before quickly padding over. "Hello you three. Is something wrong?"

"Um, not physically but I think Frostpaw had a question?" He said slowly; looking to the silver tabby curiously.

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

Sora just followed absentmindedly after the other members of the team. Asher kept sending him concerned looks, but he would give the Quilava a faint smile anytime their eyes met. If they were being given a mission then they had bigger things to worry about than his dislike of his sister. It wasn't like any of them knew anyway. He hadn't told anyone about his family life, other than his father had passed away and that most of his family was scattered across various cities in the region. He hadn't seen any of them in years. It hurt too much to remember what they used to have and where they were after Ember Cave.

Once they stepped into the room he settled himself off to one side as Asher, Sellie, and Ozzy introduced themselves to the Fishertown Adventuring Guild. He let his eyes wander around the meeting room; looking out the window at the mountains before drifting to the plants and maps that covered the space. Anything to keep his eyes off of Lumi. When he heard the hum from her he involuntarily looked in her direction and fought the urge to flinch at the vacancy in her eyes as her gaze met his. He hadn't expected fondness, he didn't have any of that himself, but at least something beyond the nothingness. He looked away.

"With this many of us in the group it has to be something big!" The fluffy white tails swished across the floor behind Sellie as she grinned back at Rieka's excitement.

Her partner shrugged his broad shoulders, but his golden eyes were also bright with possibility. "We never really know what Cash has in mind until he tells us. Could be something far away or it might be something close by." His short tail wagged rapidly with the boundless energy of an electric type.

Before his thoughts could wander too far the door swung open again and the large form of Cash stepped through. He kicked the door shut with a rear paw and stood proudly at the front of the room by the head of the table. "I appreciate everyone's enthusiasm, but I want to go ahead and stress the possible danger that you all might be facing with these missions." That seemed to sober at least the members of Sunspear's guild. "I want you all to get accustomed to working together as a team before I send you to investigate a location that has loomed over us for far too many years," the Pyroar took a slow breath, "Ember Cave."

At the mention of Ember Cave every muscle in Sora's body went rigid, and he was thankful that only Asher, and maybe Lumi, seemed to be paying him any mind. That was it. Sora could feel himself getting sick but he swallowed it down and looked at Cash, "Even one of the best teams that we have couldn't make it through there. What makes you think we can?" Maybe he could convince Cash that it was too much of a risk because by Arceus he did not want to do into that cave ever again.

Cash's ears flicked absently as he looked towards Sora, "As you said, that was years ago, and we don't have any new information on the cave. There are concerns that the Sage Stones are part of the problem with these feral Pokémon that have been cropping up in recent years in greater numbers." He huffed out a sigh, "We're not sending you in there unprepared though. A repeat of last time is the last thing that we want. Instead I'm sending you all on a series of missions beforehand that will prepare you and see how you all work as a team." His blue eyes swept across the group, lingering mostly on the Fishertown guild who he was more unfamiliar with.

"You head out first thing tomorrow morning for Blackwood Forest. We have gotten a report that a number of Pokémon from the surrounding cities have gone missing within the woods and you will either find them or find what reason they're going missing." He walked to the table to point out the forest on the region map. It looked to be about a day and a half journey from Sunspear. "You'll have as much time as you need, and be careful." He turned his massive head to Lumi's team, "You all will have accommodations within the guild hall unless there is somewhere else you wish to stay. Any questions?"

Wings of Fire: Clouded Visions

How, of everywhere on the continent, Frostbite ended up trapped in a sandy, blisteringly hot courtyard he couldn't really remember. A few missteps here and there and now he was slumped on the ground glaring at the SandWings that strutted around them; piercing blue eyes hoping to maybe kill them with a look. The heat seared against his dark scales, not made any better by his IceWing heritage that made him that much more susceptible to the sun. The chains that bound him to the ground didn't help either. The weight pulled and tore at the spines that ran down his back. He bit back a growl as one of the SandWings kicked him "accidentally" across the face as she walked by; sending him a smug smirk as she did so.

He had learned his lesson though. Fight back, growl, show any sign that there was any will left within and they would beat it out. He had the gashes and scars to know that much. He was the product of a forbidden union between his father, a NightWing scientist to his understanding, and his mother, the next in line for the IceWing throne, and that made him an abomination. An affront to everything that was pure, good for nothing other than sport.

The sport that currently sent the cheers rising in the arena that was echoing around them. Where Queen Caracal had her fun watching hybrids tear each other apart for her entertainment. He watched the weaker ones get taken away. They would be the starters. The ones that were chased around the arena by the lucky SandWings who won the draw to be killed like little more than animals.

The stronger ones were pitted against each other, bet upon to see who would come out on top. He had only been dragged out once so far to fight, luckily pitted against a scrawnier SkyWing hybrid that he'd hit in the face with his freezing breath. The SkyWing hadn't lived long after that. Frostbite tried not to think about the fear in the hybrid's eyes or the screams as his skin had shriveled and died while he was still alive. He told himself that it was so he could live to see another day, but it didn't stop his stomach from turning at the memory.

He couldn't let anyone know how much he was impacted by the half dead dragons he saw slung back into the courtyard. Instead he kept his face in a permanent scowl and narrowed his eyes at any of the other hybrids who looked his way. There was another SkyWing hybrid, the large wings told him that much, who had the fin of a SandWing and a mix of red and brown scales. Another looked mostly SeaWing, but the daintier head and swirling colors on their scales told him RainWing was somewhere in there. His eyes shifted to a small looking SandWing as she stared at him, and narrowed with slightly bared teeth.

As one of the guards called out to them he noted the change in the scales. RainWing too then. He didn't make eye contact with the SandWing, as much as he postured he didn't want to go to fight. The thought of having to kill another hybrid scared him more than he would ever admit. He also didn't want to die. The plan he'd been working on to get himself, and maybe some of the others if they could keep up, out of the pit was almost there. He just needed a bit more time.

Clans of the Coast

Lionpaw shared a look with Reedpaw who stood next to him. He wasn't exactly sure why Frostpaw had wanted them to tag along while she went to talk to her mentor, but he wasn't going to decline. They weren't old enough to have their warrior assessments yet, but maybe the pressure of three pairs of eyes would get something out of the somewhat elusive warrior? Or maybe the silvery apprentice was planning on asking her about what had happened at the Gathering? He had no idea. It wasn't really worth the effort to question it anyway.

The black she-cats whiskers twitched at the ever blunt nature of her apprentice, but she gave a nod. "I spoke to her about it this morning actually. We would have done it sooner but Dawnstar was busy setting up the alliance with FireClan." The tip of her tail tapped lightly on the sandy ground, "Your assessment will be tomorrow at sunrise," her eyes flicked to the other two apprentices, "I'll let you know what it is tomorrow before we start."

A grin crossed Lionpaw's face as he looked towards Frostpaw. He knew how long she'd been waiting for her assessment and even if he was itching to be a warrior himself he was still happy for the silver tabby. He looked back to Nightwater with a curious expression in his amber eyes. "So is anything really going to change with this whole alliance thing?" He had only heard what his clanmates who had attended the Gathering had said which was, admittedly, not much.

"Not to my knowledge. We're keeping out territory and all that, but we can share prey and herbs with FireClan freely now as well as cross their borders without trouble." Nightwater shrugged, "It's a change to be sure and some of the other clans believe it's a violation of the Warrior Code, but I don't see a problem with it."

"Isn't the code from StarClan though? Does that mean we're not listening to them anymore?" Reedpaw's quieter voice piped up from where she stood next to Lionpaw. She was always quieter when she spoke to the warriors than anyone else.

Nightwater's green eyes widened slightly at the apprentice, "I don't think that's the case," she responded hastily, "But that might be a better question for Embersky," she paused, "Or better to just not mention it at all." She pushed herself to her paws. "I'm sure Dawnstar has thought this through," though her voice sounded somewhat unsure. Her eyes shifted to Frostpaw, "I'll see you bright and early for your assessment," she told the she-cat before padding off to join Otterfang by the fresh kill pile.

"Well that was reassuring," Lionpaw muttered as he watched the older warrior walk away.

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

This couldn't be happening. Of all of the guilds that Cash had decided for them to team up with it would be the one that Sora's sister had ended up in. He locked eyes with Lumi only for a moment; noting the fact that her fur looked long and unkempt, before looking away. He squeezed his eyes shut as the memories that he'd forced down just that morning came pushing back up. The excitement they had felt sneaking out, the rush of the river in the gorge, the sound of Cane screaming in agony, and Storm's snapping spine.

"Hey," Asher bumped his shoulder and whispered quietly, "You alright?"

His eyes snapped back open as he looked to the blueish fur of his friend and gave a shaky nod, "Yeah. Just got overwhelmed for a second with all the noise." It happened pretty often so he knew Asher was used to him zoning out and giving an answer like that. He returned his attention to the front of the room to where he saw the Poochyena pipe up about the members of their guild.

"Is there really just four of them?"

"Why would Cash have us team up with a guild so small?"

"I didn't even know Fishertown had an adventuring guild."

The questions and comments swirled around the hall as they all tried to guess what it was that Cash could've been thinking when it came to this. Sora knew that their boss was always a bit...unconventional when it came to his plans. All he really wanted to do now though was go home and stuff his head under his nest.

A wave of Cash's long tail was all it took to quiet everyone down. "I know you all have many questions and concerns, so I will try to address them as much as I can." He gave a respectful nod to Rieka, "We welcome the Fishertown Adventuring Guild and look forward to a successful partnership." He looked out to the rest of the crowd, "Now as to why I have picked Fishertown to work with rather than our usual partners in Twilight City and Redtide is because I want to see some smaller guilds given a chance to make a name for themselves." At the discontented mutters that struck up after that comment Cash swept his tail across the room again. "The world grows more dangerous and we need as much help as we can get these days." The large lionesque Pokémon settled himself down on his haunches, "Now, as for who I have decided will be working with Fishertown on this assignment."

A tight hush fell over the room as everyone held their breath. Though Sora held his for an entirely different reason. The last thing he wanted was to get paired with this group. "Sellie and Ozzy," Cash's voice rang out and two excited cheers sprang up from closer to the front as a stark white Vulpix and large Yamper leapt to their feet in excitement.

Ok. That's good. They were a solid team and would do well with what Sora could already tell was a pretty chaotic dynamic between the team members of Fishertown. Not a surprise given his sister was included. He watched Cash's icy blue eyes sweep the crowd again and tried to make himself as small as he could behind the Chansey in front of him.

"And Asher and Sora." The dreaded words that he had hoped would not come from Cash's mouth. Asher's flames flared to life with surprise and elation as he sent Sora a bright grin. "All of you go to one of the meeting rooms and get acquainted. I will meet you there to discuss your assignment once everything else is in order."

Sora pushed himself up onto somewhat unsteady paws as the blood rushed to his ears. Maybe he could talk to Cash and tell him that he wasn't feeling up to it, or that he had a trip that he forgot he needed to take. No, that wouldn't work. He sighed as he followed along behind Asher and met up with Sellie and Ozzy who looked as pleased as a Caterpie with a sitrus berry. Now they just had to wait for the others to join them. Joy.

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Mentions:
Kenzan had hoped that maybe the following school day would be somewhat normal, and that was mostly the case. The usual attention was paid to their teacher, which was not all that much, and lunch rolled around without much fanfare. He glanced up from his phone with general indifference as Nagi made her presence known at the door and called out for Hakuro. Welp, he's dead. So much for the singular person in 3-A that he actually felt any inclination to speak with. He fought off the urge to roll his eyes at their Class Rep as she tried to assert some kind of dominance and went back to his game as Hakuro left the room.

He was somewhat surprised that he hadn't heard anything else about the whole issue going on with 2-B, but he wasn't invested enough to actually talk to anyone about it. Sure, their teacher was a bitch, but who hadn't had a shitty teacher at some point during school. She was probably just overreacting and trying to make herself out as more powerful than she really was. Not his problem though.

Thankfully it wasn't raining after class today and Kenzan was able to make quick work down and out of the school. He caught sight of some of the second years he'd been hauled to the station with talking animatedly about something. Probably the dead body if he had to guess. He stuck his headphones in and walked past them to make his usual way to the bookstore. He felt his phone buzz and didn't fight the urge to roll his eyes as the usual text from his mother popped up.

When are you getting home? I need you to go to the store and get me some stuff.

By "some stuff" she almost assuredly meant alcohol of some variety. Where she continued to find the money for it he had no idea. He once again reminded her of the fact that he, legally, could not purchase what she wanted. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket before the onslaught of responses showed up as he opened the door to Kudo's. He sent a wave to the man himself who was working the counter today before slipping back amongst the shelves to hole up with his books and computer. Whether or not he actually did any work remained to be seen.

The Yurazen Prince - A Tale of Redwall

Sorry about the delay! Things got unexpectedly busy, my girlfriend moved into a new apartment and I was helping her out, but I'm home now

The Yurazen Prince - A Tale of Redwall

The landing of the raptor had Zaris pulling his sling back further, but his arm froze when the bird spoke. The demand it made had him looking around for the Abbot. he couldn't see the old mole anywhere, but he also couldn't imagine that he would let this bird sit on the wall and make outlandish asks of the Abbey folk. He wasn't as ingrained into the society at the Abbey, having only been there for a short time, but even he knew about the famed sword. Why on earth would a raptor want that? Could he even use it?

And who was this prince that he kept blabbing on about? He thumped his rudder on the ground and narrowed his eyes up at the creature. They didn't need some foreign interloper coming into Mossflower Woods and trying to claim it for themselves. Everyone did, mostly, just fine the way things were. He wouldn't even let himself entertain the thought that things could've gone differently with the vermin had some army been present in the woods. For all he knew they would try to take the tribes and the Abbey for themselves and he wasn't about to allow that.

It would be best to wait on the Abbot though. He kept his sling out, but made sure not to have it up in case the bird decided to take it as a decline and attack anyway. He could see that a number of the older beasts around had grabbed the dibbuns to rush them inside which made him relax a small amount. "Can't have one normal festival can we," he muttered as Ellis' voice suddenly sounded above all the others. Surely, the cellar hog knew that the raptor was there. Judging by the mutters that now crossed the crowd they were also questioning the strange behavior.

He caught sight of Rigby standing amongst the crowd and made his way over to the mouse. If Ellis thought he could distract the bird enough who was he to stop him, unless it decided to attack, then he would have something to say about it. He caught the question that Rigby asked, unsurprised that it was curiosity that seemed at the forefront of his most common companion's mind. "Some beast from across the sea according to the collection of pomp and feathers up there. Tryin' to come in and set himself up as a lord."

「 Persona: Reflections 」

Mentions: Asmumi @Ambra, Akira @DJAtomika, Masashi @Zombehs, Hoshiko @Fabricant451, Chen @Lord Orgasmo

The walk to Chen's house was mercifully uneventful, except for the lamenting and continual apologies of the first year who had touched the body while the officers had been standing right there. Honestly, why she'd thought it was a good idea was beyond him, but at least Asumi seemed to be taking care of the issue. The only reason Kenzan even continued to tag along was because he didn't have anything better to do, and it seemed like Asumi would've just dragged him by the shirt again if he'd declined. He was grateful for the meal, and made sure to tell Chen's father so in the singular sentence he spoke during the duration of dinner. He preferred to just listen, besides it wasn't his story to recount other than the fact he had shown up.

Once dinner was over he was able to, as politely as possible, extract himself from the group. He already felt uncomfortable even being there with a group of his juniors who he didn't even know, and continuing to hang around felt like more of an imposition than dinner did. "I appreciate the offer to stick around, but my mom will be wondering where I am," he told them briskly. A final thanks and he was able to escape out the door and back into the fading light of the evening with a relieved sigh. At this point it was too late to go to the bookstore, they'd be closing soon, so he hefted his backpack onto his shoulder and began the slow walk back home.

His house wasn't that far and before too long he was putting the keys in the lock and slowly pushing it open. He could hear the grainy sounds of the small television on in the living room as he walked silently down the hall; avoiding a creaky floorboard that had yet to be fixed. A quick look into the room told him his mother was passed out in the chair. Judging by the limply hanging hand loosely wrapped around a bottle she'd been that way for a while now. He held back a scoff, Got her fix some other way then.

Once he got back into his room he let out a full breath and tossed his bag on the ground before sitting down at his desk to slave away at the homework he'd been given for the evening. Headphones in he focused on the mindless work in front of him and let his mind wander to the weird events that were going on in the normally quiet town. First the Prime Minister shooting himself on live TV and now this body found in the alley. He really hoped this wouldn't become some kind of trend for his final year in the city. Last thing he needed was to get roped up into something else that was well beyond him.