The Kraken

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

Kasai merely nodded as Avani thanked her again, realizing that it was more of a minor recognition than an actually expression of gratitude. Kasai sighed and rummaged through the pack she found. There were several food items, which meant this must have been one of the other team's bags. She found a few bandages and gauze, as well as two more canteens of water and a map of the forest they were in before entering the portal. Kasai took some of the gauze and tended to her foot, covering up the worst parts in more of an effort to keep the wounds clean more than anything. She contemplated removing her other boot, but decided to leave it on. One banged up foot was enough, she didn't need the other one getting torn up by underbrush and thorns too. Kasai looked up when Avani groaned, but soon ignored it, knowing the cool water must be quite a relief on her wounds. She turned her attention back to the supplies and realized they were now without a radio. Even if they could get back to the spirit portal and back to the physical world, they would have a ways to go before they could find help if they needed it. She grumbled and closed her eyes to try and cease the stress that was building, her mind wandering again to her last image of Kieron. He was dragged off by the spirits, not killed. Or at least, not that she had seen. Kasai made a silent commitment then to look for her friend before attempting to leave the spirit world. The mission no longer mattered. What mattered was finding her lifelong friend. She opened her eyes when she heard Avani whispering, and her brow furrowed as her expression grew to disgust when the hateful comment left Avani's lips. Kasai watched as she stood and walked out of the shelter, not bothering to pay her any more attention. Her focus was instead aimed at not tearing his girl's, who she just saved, head off. Kasai sat there brooding, but with each passing moment the comment gnawed at her. Finally, she stood up and went after Avani. Kasai found her several yards away, and as she approached her she noticed that she had to build herself a rock to keep herself from falling over. This time, instead of checking to make sure she wasn't going to pass out again, Kasai walked up behind her and grabbed her good arm. She pulled her backwards and spun her around so that she could look her in the eye when she spoke, no more over the shoulder comments. "You know what? Blame me. Blame me for it all if you want." Kasai stared into Avani's eyes with a fiery essence in her own. "But don't be so naive to think that I'm the enemy here. I could've let you bleed out, or I could've let you suffer the same fate as your friend did. But I didn't." She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed out before looking back at Avani, "I saved you."

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

Kate's eyes grew wide as she realized that just as soon as she had gotten off the ground, she was headed straight back for it with a force from Claire. She struggled and twitched in an effort to avoid the inevitable, but she soon realized she was on the losing end when Claire pinned her down and displayed a devilish grin in anticipation of the attack to come. "No, no, no, no, nonono!" Kate squirmed but was unable to escape the assault on her nervous system as Claire relentlessly tickled her until her abs ached with laughter. She bellowed out and twinged back and forth, her arms wrestling with Claire's as she attempted to cease the tickling. Several more minutes passed before the action was halted, and Kate had just noticed Claire's hands under the hem of her shirt as she removed them. She blushed for a moment, but swallowed and ignored the different sensation that sent goosebumps across her belly as Claire's fingertips left her bare abdomen. Kate grumbled and attempted to roll over, but she was stuck. She kicked her feet a few times and then raised an eyebrow at Claire before quickly throwing her hands at her sides to return the favor, tickling until she fell off of her. Kate sat up and straightened her shirt and hair, then stood up and looked at her friend. "Well, I'm not one to miss my cue, now am I?" She smirked and then motioned towards the main tent, "I'll see ya at the show then. Good luck." She walked with her friend down the hill but then parted ways with her, heading back towards the throwing range where she found Eli staring at a pile of different weapons. Kate walked up, curious as to why he was staring at the instruments instead of moving their things to the big top. "Something wrong, Elijah?" Eli turned his head and smiled as Kate approached, shaking his head. "No, no. We've done this dozens of times by now." His smile flat lined for a moment and he sighed, "This is just such a big show. I've got a strange feeling about tonight... I only hope everything goes as planned." Kate had a concerned expression on her face as she approached her partner. "Eli, do you trust me?" To which, he responded with a nod of the head and a weak smile. "Very well then, everything will be just fine. Don't you worry." She smiled at him and helped him gather their things and head to their station behind the scenes at the main tent. Elijah and Kate both waited backstage for their turn act to come up in the lineup of the show. Kate had changed into a flashier top, one with glittery jewels on it meant to catch the intense light of the ring. Elijah was wearing only trousers with suspenders, his abdomen bare as part of the "proof" that their displays were real. When it was time for their act, they both took a deep breath. Kate looked at Eli and smiled, "Remember, it's all going to be fine. Just like in practice." The announcer called their names, and they both emerged from the curtains and walked to their set up. A table sat with cleavers, arrows, and darts. Kate's knives were strapped in their holster around her. They began their act with the cleavers, each throwing several at targets. Kate even turned around and threw one backwards, where it still hit her target dead center. They progressed through with darts and arrows, where Elijah stood in front of a board as Kate shot flaming arrows at him. To wrap up their act, Kate helped Eli strap into the spin board, where he was left suspended on the circular board. Kate gave it a tug, and he was sent spiraling around like a top. The tension of the crowd could literally be cut by a knife as they all held their breath. Kate pulled three knives from her side, taking in a deep breath as she lined up the first one. Eli was spinning in front of her at a rapid pace, and she let the first knife fly. It hit the board in between his ankles, and the crowd cheered at the feat. Kate blinked hard and lined up her second throw, letting the knife leave her fingertips and soar towards her partner. A thud could be heard and the knife was embedded next to Eli's head, two inches from his ear. More cheers resulted, and Kate swallowed the lump in her throat away as she held up the last knife. She twirled it between her fingers, breathed in, and then closed her eyes as she sent her arm forward, the knife gliding off of her fingers and flying towards the board... When she failed to hear a resulting thud, she opened her eyes frantically to the sound of Elijah gurgling. She looked on in horror to see that the knife had pierced his neck. But how? She was so sure of its path... Blood splattered across the board and and crowd gasped in unison before breaking out into chaos. Kate ran towards Elijah, unstrapping him from the spin board, blood covering her hands. As his feet hit the ground, he looked at her, eyes wide and put a hand on his neck. He garnered an expression of utter confusion as he removed his hand to reveal there was no longer blood or a puncture wound through his carotid. Kate's eyes grew wide, but the crowd erupted in jeer as the incredible feat was displayed as an illusion. The spotlight dimmed on the two of them still gaping at each other in confusion.

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

"I'm afraid if I miss my target I may very well be out of a job, so let us hope that is not the case." Kate laughed and pecked at her food, going on with the conversation. "And I am a pretty princess, thank you for noticing." She grinned and then looked out over the camp. The Big Top was not set up yet, but the workers could be seen setting the support beams and assembling the large tent in preparation for the night to come. Kate set her plate to the side, but continued talking to Claire, even though responses were few and far between. She had a bad habit of rambling on about many random things that had no particular relevance, but she was glad to have a friend that was willing to listen to her endless talking and not beg her to shut up. "So I heard the horse trainers had to go out and catch the equine after someone left the stable gate open. Crazy things are happening around here, let me tell ya. People need to be more careful..." She kept talking, about anything that came to mind. It was several minutes later before she realized she had not heard from Claire in many moments. "Oi, are you still hanging in there? I know I've said a mouth full, but-" Kate saw that her friend was lying on her back with her eyes closed. The sun was beaming down, warming their skin and marking a clear and beautiful day, which was something of a pleasant surprise. Kate watched Claire for a few minutes. How at ease she was and how confident she was with herself and her big cats, it impressed Kate. She wished that she could have that same confidence, but she was happy as she were with her life. She allowed herself to reminisce about all those years ago, before either of the girls were here with the circus. They were miserable, left alone in an orphanage with little hope of being adopted. Sure, the caretakers there were kind and caring of them, but for Kate at least, she craved more even at that young age. That's how they ended up here, in one of the best and most renowned circus shows in the entire world. She smiled to herself as she thought about it, realizing she never would have had the guts to leave or to join a circus had it not been for Claire. Looking down at the camp, she began to notice people stirring again, as the sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon. Kate gave Claire a shake and grinned. "Wakey, wakey. I hope you enjoyed your cat nap, but we have a show to perform in just a few short hours."

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

As Kasai sat next to Avani in the small shelter that had been built around them, she could not help but let her mind wander. As the woman next to her tossed and turned in her sporadic sleep, Kasai watched her. Part of her wanted to comfort her, but for what reason, she didn't know. Avani had been nothing but a thorn in her foot since the mission began, and yet Kasai found her oddly intriguing. Instead, she let her be as she were, twitching and grumbling as she drifted in and out of a lucid state. Kasai looked down at her foot, which she just remembered was injured. Funny how the brain can forget physical pain in the presence of emotional agony. Her foot was gnarled and torn from where the goo monster had stolen her boot right from her leg. She cringed as she picked pieces of dirt and debris from it in an effort to clean it up a bit. The rest of the time, her mind traveled. The scene of Barron being swallowed by a sea of black replayed in her mind, preventing her from resting at all. When she wasn't thinking about that, she thought about how Kieron had sacrificed himself to make sure she was safe. If only she could have reached out and pulled him into the rock tent with them... Hot tears ran down her face, and she sniffled. She wiped her face with what was left of her mangled sleeve and rested her head and arms on her knees. After about an hour, she had allowed herself to close her eyes and rest. She dreamed of memories from days long past. A movie of her life with her friends played out in her mind, beginning when she was a young teenager training at the pro-bending gym where she met Kieron. From there, they grew very close and ended up forming their own team together, fighting side by side for many years, until Kasai decided to join the police. That was where Barron entered her life, he was one year her senior, and was going through the officer training program with her. They became friends only after they had been competitors, each fighting to be the best in their class and earn the top spot. But this drew them together instead of apart, and they were soon comrades at the PD, where they worked together and made sure they were on the same assignments. Kasai's short rest was disrupted when Avani yelled out, causing her to jerk her head up from where it rested on her knees and look around frantically. When she realized it was only words from an unconscious woman, she let out a sigh of relief. Rubbing her eyes, she stared at the rock wall that lay before her. The calmness was almost ironic. After a few hours, Avani returned to consciousness. She stirred for a moment and then thanked Kasai with a brief utterance of the word. Kasai nodded once and looked at her arm, "You're welcome." She began to think again of Barron, how he was a waterbender and waterbenders could heal people with their bending. If only he were here... tears welled up in her eyes again, but she clinched her jaw and refused to let them fall. As a wall came down from their shelter, she looked out to see it was significantly later in the afternoon. Well, what would be afternoon, if time worked the same as it did in the physical world. Kasai stood and walked towards it, turning her head over her shoulder. "I'll be right back." She walked out of the tent and up the small hill to where the battleground was. Whatever that monster was, it was now gone. Only streaks of black remained as a ghost of what had been there only hours before. Kasai scanned the area, and thanked the spirits when she saw a pack lying on the ground. She grabbed it and returned to the rock shelter, sitting down beside Avani again. "Here, you need this. In more ways than one." She handed her a canteen full of water that she had retrieved from the bag and gave a half smile. "Might help your arm out a little, as well as dehydration." She motioned towards her singed arm and then continued looking through the pack, checking what supplies they would have to survive on for now.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

I'll have a post up in both threads this evening, I drowned in my homework last night and today I have the most classes of the week, but I'll get around to it.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

Oooh she's definitely gonna get punched then xD but I hadn't thought of that, good idea though EDIT: I'll go ahead and edit that in at the end of mine, goes well with the "don't hit me" bit. If you want me to change it back just let me know.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

"You have definitely lost too much blood." Kasai's face was flushed, not expecting the caress that Avani had provided before they rose again. She shook her head and pushed the lump in her throat away, focusing next on how to make it out of this horrid situation. She kept one arm on Avani as she noticed that the young woman was not too steady on her feet at all. In fact, she was afraid she might drop dead right there. "Whoa now, crazy pants, take it easy." Kasai's eyes hastily scanned the area to make sure there were no more spears of black headed their way at the moment. She looked around, trying to locate her friends in the mess of black. Kieron was slowly stepping back, taking one step back after each sheet of rock he would send flying at the tentacles. She spotted Barron further into the liquid, he had turned the water from his pouch into sharp ice appendages on his arms, slicing through the waves of tar. She turned her attention when she heard Ryuu shout out, and soon she saw a bright flash of light from where he had been. It was unlike anything she'd seen before, a mighty combustion that he used as his last attack on the monster. Kieron had retreated to stand at Kasai's side, but Barron was nowhere to be seen. After the last light faded from the burning glow, he could be spotted with his head down and shoulders heaving heavily. "Barron! Are you crazy? We need to get out of here!" Kieron shouted, and took a step forward to retrieve his friend. But as soon as his foot hit the ground, the monster began to come to life again, a mixture this time of bubbling tar and winged creatures that had emerged from the bulbous center. Kieron stopped and gaped, then looked back to Barron. "Get them out of here, Kieron!" Barron shouted over his shoulder. He drew in a deep breath and then wasted no time in sprinting forwards towards the center of the tar monster. He stopped a few feet away and concentrated his bending with all of the strength he had left in him, using his waterbending to move the goo monster as if he were blood bending it. The bulging center quaked as he restricted it and controlled it with his entire being. Flying spirits still escaped the top of the sac, but the tar recessed into a large blob, shaking as it fought against Barron. He grit his teeth and screamed as he held it back. The whole thing appeared to be working until Barron's arms and legs began to quiver under the strain. Slowly, slivers of black tar slipped out from the blob, until all at once, the entire entity came cascading towards Barron, swallowing him up without a trace. Kasai let out a scream, falling to her knees as she watched her friend and colleague disappear into a sea of black. Kieron blinked away hot tears, but remained on his feet. He quickly glanced around, watching the small air bender being taken away as winged spirits began to swarm the sky. "Kas, get up. We have to get out of here." He pulled her up, but she was stumbling forwards. Kieron's eyes searched for Avani, and he caught a glimpse of her as she disappeared over the hill. He grunted as he picked Kasai up and ran over and down the ledge, with flying spirits swooping at them every few seconds. When he was close enough, he tossed Kasai towards Avani and used his last remaining seconds to build a thick wall of stone all around the two girls, forming a protective tent from the flying creatures. Just as he placed the last wall up, he held his hand out towards Kasai and waved to her, his face holding back the fear that he felt as a spirit swooped down and grabbed him, dragging him off into the distance. Kasai cried out again. Everyone she knew and cared about was now dead or as good as it. The sound of wings batting against the rock wall could be heard from within the dark tent, and Kasai realized Avani was lying next to her on the ground, her arm was still bleeding heavily. "Shit," she crawled over and rolled Avani on her back, looking at her arm. "Don't you dare quit on me now kid, we have unfinished business." She looked around, hoping one of them had been holding onto their packs, but there was no such luck. She searched her coat and trouser pockets, finding only a hand full of gauze from a blister earlier in the day. "This'll have to do then..." She unraveled the crumpled fabric and carefully wrapped it around Avani's arm, making just enough for one layer around her forearm. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to stop the bleeding, but everything that she had witnessed was too much for her to keep bottled up inside this time. She kept pressure on Avani's arm, knowing that it must be hurting quite a bit. "Please, don't punch me..." she said, her voice cracking. The sounds of spirits hitting their shelter was soon drowned out by Avani's suffering as Kasai heated flame in her hand and applied it to Avani's arm, where the bandages did not cover the most severe wounds. She was careful to only apply the small torch-like flame to the gashes in her flesh, cauterizing the wound and stopping the profuse bleeding, but it was difficult with the amount of pain Avani must be enduring. Cautiously, she finished and breathed out in relief that the worst part was over.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

Awesome, I enjoyed it xD I'll try to get one up tonight but it'll most likely be tomorrow. I'm going to get my weeks worth of homework all done tonight... hopefully hahaha

The Circus At The End Of The World (Engel X The Kraken)

Sounds good to me, could get interesting to say the least, haha.

Sacred World (Engel x The Kraken)

Yeah looking back I didn't word that portion properly, haha. I imagined it as a hole, but a little bigger than the size of her hand since the goo acted like superglue. Ah well, small potatoes. And that could work, as they try to escape the bulb in the middle spits out flying spirits and they come after them, sweeping them away. Maybe Ryuu could deal that sufficient damage and then that is the monster's response to it.