Shadowhawk

IC: My eyes glint, shifting from Yenroot to Staff Boy to Cannon Vet to Other Strange Person and back again. Interesting characters all of them, as characters who frequent remote and dangerous jungle temples tend to be. I itemize and categorize, pinning Cannon Vet as the priority item of immediate concern if things inexplicably head south. Other Strange Person pulls a close second. I don't recognize his species, making him a troubling unknown. I also flick a quick glance at Trava, just in case she's trying to tell me something. And apparently she isn't. Not that there'd be much to say anyhow... tense little standoffs like this happen all the time among people like us. Us, meaning presumably everybody present except (maybe?) Staff Boy. It's our type's way of getting acquainted, like. And me, I just give a restrained sort of smile and an amiable nod of the head. Real courteous. Like a courtly bow, only I don't have to take my eyes off'n anyone I don't know, ha ha. "Good evening, everyone. To answer your question, Toa-of-Iron-with-the-staff, count my vote as a definite one for peace if possible. To your question, O Skakdi-with-the-cannon-arm, well, there seem to be no real hostile intentions from any quarter. Merely... mutual precautions. You understand, of course." A sudden crackle of electric humor dances in my gaze, and my smile deepens ever-so-slightly.

OOC: Not at all, FallenAtlas! IC: I fade into these unfamiliar woodlands carefully and with precision, moving in dense shadow, avoiding the brighter areas where rifts in the leafy canopy spill dappled moonlight to the forest floor. Once free of the small clearing where I've left Trava, I swing outwards in a scything arc, angling westwards towards the open ground and the temple complex itself-- Trace unnatural movement at three o'clock, deep into right-hand peripheral-- Adrenaline pulse-- *SWISH SPLUSH SPLUSH SPLUSH* ! FREEZE AND ASSESS ! ! Initiate Condition Orange-- stand by for Condition Red ! ...I freeze, not abruptly (any sharp change in motion, however slight, draws attention), but coasting my muscles to a dead halt over the course of a brief half-second. I shift my eyes sideways, tracking the trigger point-- no, the figure. Not an animal, not wind-swept vegetation, but definitely a person, possibly a male Toa or Lesterin, advancing cautiously through the undergrowth about fifteen feet away on a course roughly parallel but opposite to mine. Focused on the clearing I've just vacated, he doesn't appear to have detected my presence specifically as of yet. If I was on my own, I'd circle and watch. Bide my time under cover of darkness, and just observe. Assess the situation. This guy moves like a hunter, lithe and quiet, and a lone hunter with unknown intentions is never someone to take lightly. As it is, though... I'm not alone. I've got a teammate. So blah blah blah I need to stop this dude and ask him a bunch of questions and maybe (hopefully!) break his spine into teensy-weensy pieces. I shift my weight ever-so-slightly, preparing for an instant spring in any direction, and let my voice float clear and steady, but real soft-like, in Hunter Dude's general direction. My right hand, concealed in shadow, rests lightly on the textured wooden grip of my survival knife. "Alright stay calm, stranger. And stop moving. We need to talk. Just a few things you need to tell me."

IC: I unbuckle my backpack and toss it (well, more like heave it... darn thing must weight sixty pounds at least) unceremoniously against a nearby tree. It makes a dull, heavy sound when it lands, and there's a variety of muffled metallic clangs and clinks. Not loud, but louder than it ought to be. I'll have to repack it when I get a chance, maybe shove the climber's spikes inside the roll of trip wire or something. I glance around the clearing, eyes glowing vivid blue in the darkness. Everything's almost eerily quiet, except for the whisper of the wind in the encircling forest. No movement, except the way the moonlight filters through the fast-scudding clouds. A cold scrawl of unease prickles at the base of my neck, and if there was any hesitation about the next course of action, it's gone now. One hundred percent. Nothing like an old soldier's nightmares to keep him deep in Condition Yellow. Nothing. "Trava? I'm gonna go scout the area a bit. Be back in fifteen, twenty minutes. You go right ahead and unpack if you've a mind to."

*whistles cheerfully* This looks like fun.

IC: Now, see, when you and a girl are traveling together and she's in front and she makes a point of turning to see where you are, that means-- or rather might mean-- Actually it probably doesn't mean anything except she just wants to keep track of her surroundings. But okay okay by now I'm sure you get it. I actually truly like Trava, which is more than I can say for anybody else I've met on this island. I think she's uncommonly attractive, physically and psychologically (based on what I know of her, which to be honest is little more than the basics). And just like any other red-blooded male would, I spend more of my time than I ought to thinking about her. End. Of. Subject. ... Night comes swiftly in the timberlands, and it's downright dark by the time we make up and through and over the broken rock ridges that form a natural barrier around the Kini-Nui basin. I'm actively alert now, my night vision fully adapted, searching for any trace indication of nearby sentient activity. A faint whiff of woodsmoke, fresh tracks on a game trail, things like that. I still can't exactly see the Kini-Nui temple complex itself due to the trees, but it can't be far. OOC: Hammerlock and Trava moving to Kini-Nui topic... feel free to make your next post in said topic, Geardirector. E: Geardirector has posted said post. For the convenience of the fan base (lolz) and my own picky self, I am permalinking the link.

OOC: Hammerlock and Trava continued from what I'm 99% certain was their last post... IC: Hey-heyyyy now look at that. I'm lovin' that smile, one hundred percent! Fact is, I'm so engrossed in the immediate happy memory of it that as soon as I start running after her I'm not looking where I'm going and I skid a little on a patch of mud and nearly trip on a protruding tree root and it I'm not paying attention I gotta STOP THIS NOW. I recover myself with ease, of course. But not quite without breaking stride, just a little. An awkward jolt to one side, a quick countering shift of my hips and shoulders. She doesn't notice... I hope. I splash mental cold water on my brain and try it again, and this time I settle down into a fast trail gait, steady and efficient and surefooted. And thus we travel, Trava and I, light of foot and silent of passage into the cool forest twilight. ... Great Spirit, that girl can leafsprint... ... *almost trips* *swift recovery* .

OOC: Hey y'all! I'm back again, of a sorts. Due to priorities and operations relating to a strange dimension called, of all things, 'Reality', my BZPower activity will be somewhat less, and limited as of now to Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and sometimes weekends. Maybe. Geardirector knows all the details, but don't ask him; ask me if for some odd reason you actually want to know. And now.... IC: Rhea Heartsflame didn't have much to say, aside from a few terse comments as necessity (and the inexplicable actions of Dorian Shaddix) dictated. By and large, she'd given up talking just about the same time the group left Po-Koro. She remained physically alert and aware as ever, but a glazed layer of fatigue and withdrawal had fallen into place behind her deep green eyes and it wasn't shifting. And maybe it couldn't. She wasn't sure. And dimly, the thought registering through a sort of nauseous haze, she realized she was just a bit too weak to do anything but note the possibility. She just wanted to shut down and let it all wash on by. Not feeling. Not thinking. Nothing at all. When she moved, it was with brittle precision. When one of Dorian's long-lost lovers showed up from somewhere, she wasn't even startled. She just nodded faintly in general compliance with the making and returning of introductions and murmured, "Name's Rhea. Pleased to meet you." There was nothing else to say, whether of this incident specifically, or of the wider horizon-to-horizon reality in general. She suspected no one cared, and she herself least of all... only she did care. Trouble was, she cared too much. The night came, its rich purple and orange burning a vivid flame across the empty desert sky and deepening swiftly into dark indigo and then into a star-silvered velvet blackness. Elysi's campfire burned, breaking down into peaceful coals, the red glow shifting with the warmth against the evening chill that always stalks a wasteland's midday heat. She situated her faithful old military surplus bedroll at the edge of darkness, placing her weapons and knapsack carefully within reach, and clambered wearily into its patched, well-worn embrace. Far, far away, the patient yap and howl of some desert scavenger sounded, and then again. Then all was silence, and the low indistinct voices of a few who lingered near the fire, or busied themselves with the last vestiges of a lukewarm supper. And gradually, the white-armored green-eyed firebrand bounty hunter who was far, far too young for the road she'd chosen, slipped into a fitful, troubled sleep. ... Her dreams were an ugly thing.

Games by Blade and Burnmad are both fine wi' me.

Name: [ Shadowhawk ] Gender: [ Male ] Element 1: [ Shadow ] Element 2: [ Ice ] Other: [ Eh... nothing in particular to add here. Y'all know my avatar character pretty well by now, I'll wager. ]

Hi everybody. I'm back. Still pretty busy with IRL things, though, so might not have much time for Mafia and the like. But anyhow, I'm around again.

Hi everybody! Just a quick notice; due to extensive IRL presence on my end, I won't be participating in any Mafia or other forum games for the next few months or so(?). So don't be reserving me any slots or anything. Not sure when I'll be active again, but anyhow, I've had a great time here with y'all, and treasure the memories I've collected. Thanks everyone, and fare-ye-well 'till next time.

Voting Dark Cloud. The unknown and silent is always suspicious, IMO.

Voting boat six.

OOC: Will be gone 'till next Monday; last (and first) IC post for a while. IC: Minor(?) things were happening with the temple quest. Rhea and her ever-present bodyguard were still involved, if not dramatically so (yet). ... The Toa of Plasma blinked occasionally as said minor(?) things happened. Instinctively and efficiently moistening her eyeballs. The desert sure was a dry place, even underground. Cool and dry and dark. A bit of dust, but not bad.

OOC: Quick heads-up; I'll be gone most of this week, so this'll probably be my last IC post 'til next Monday. IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / surface "Roger that!" I call back. "I honestly wouldn't mind getting at least within visual of the temple, but if you want to stop here, that's fine too." From what I've heard, the temple complex is located at the bottom of a shallow valley, with higher forest ground all about it. Occupying a good vantage point before full blackness comes would be a tactically sound maneuver, and if we were in an actively hostile zone I would insist on it. But at this point it's not an imperative, and Trava's the boss.

Happy b'day!

Voting Tiragath.

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / surface I expertly bite back a smirk. And when I say 'expertly', I mean that. I've had lots of practice. "No, I'm not sweet at all. I'm nasty."

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / surface I squint carefully at the timbered mountain pass, analyzing the situation, and commence to be very thoughtful. I rub my jaw. I frown slightly. I open mine mouth and utter profound wisdom. "O clever Trava, I perceive no obvious flaws in your plan. Let us hurry; the sooner I get to play mess cook, the better. I'm starving."

That argument is blatantly illogical! *puts fingers in ears, begins singing loudly*

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi / surface I fall back half a step into standard flanking position, letting Trava take point. I maintain vigilance, my mental state alert but relaxed. We move swiftly. The landscape shifts around us, but remains, as usual, devoid of threat.

KILL TYLER KILL KILL KILL

I dunno... I honestly don't think I've ever done any noobish things, let alone on BZPower. It's just not my style, y'know? (but seriously, um, I guess it'd have to be the time I had to ask someone how to embed a YouTube video in one of my RPG posts... 'twas rather embarrassing, considering how ridiculously easy it turned out to be)

Voting Daniel the Finlander for Serial Killer because 'Finland' is related to 'icicle' and I rather suspect Valendale is too obvious a choice. Voting Blade for Mafia because with the body's head cut off like that, it's got to be either Blade or Voxumo, and again, I rather suspect Voxumo is too obvious a choice. ... Somehow this seems like I'm being overly paranoid about 'obvious' choices. *puts on tin hat*

IC: [ Hammerlock ] - Onu-Wahi I nod briefly, accepting Trava's command of the situation with little comment. "Roger that. I'm ready when you are." OOC: Feel free to take charge of the timeskips, btw. You da navigator.