The World of Minshir

A cool breeze blew through the trees. A rather tall figure stood amongst the foliage, with his hands in his pockets, calmly admiring the weather. It was unusually peaceful, especially for an area such as this. The boy sighed, turning around and stepping out from the shade.

He was skinny; around 150 pounds and standing at nearly 6'1". He had black hair, messy and shoulder-length, with a teal streak on the left side of his face. His eyes were the same light teal in his hair, and they seemed to glow. His skin was pale, and his face carried a melancholy expression. He wore grey jeans and black shoes, with a striped teal and white jacket over a black shirt. A teal-wrapped sword handle stuck out over one shoulder. A sigh escaped his lips as he walked, stopping at the sound of a young female's voice.

"Naeova!" she called out, approaching the youth. She was short, about 4'11" and 100 pounds, with fiery red hair and large, emerald-green eyes. She was dressed in jeans and a blue shirt, with a long, black overcoat. No visible weapons were showing, but there was a black chain wrapped her right arm, though it wasn't visible beneath her coat. The boy turned around.

"Elduna," he replied, waiting for her to catch up. She hopped up to him with a large smile on her face, which seemed to be permanently plastered on her face. Naeova couldn't help but smirk a little at her. He reached over and ruffled her hair.

Elduna stuck her tongue out at him, but wrapped her arms around his torso despite herself. Naeova returned the embrace one-armed. She seemed to be oddly affectionate lately. He shrugged the thoughts off and began walking. "We need to return to the party. I don't know how many Fiends are lurking here," he said quietly, shaking one of his hands. A black bracelet circled his wrist. A similar one was on Elduna's wrist.

She sighed. "Yeah, okay. Whatever," she said, slightly irritated. "I wanted to spend a little more time away from everyone else," she added, looking up at Naeova with wide eyes. The boy sighed once more. "It's not safe," he insisted, grabbing her arm and dragging her with him.

She was rather stubborn. Naeova was fairly sure she'd literally stay in place and wait until he came back. "We don't have any time to waste. I don't want anyone being ambushed. Someone being injured isn't going to help us any."
Elduna groaned. "Whatever."

Clouds drifted lazily out of her honey brown eyes, birds flying in lovely circles above, the sun filtering through the trees. Clue lay on her back in the morning-dew laden grass, gazing dreamily up into the azure expanse of sky. Her weapon had been unequipped and thrown sloppily over a nearby tree branch, as if nothing could possibly reach her where she was. On the ground. In the open. Belly up gazing at the sky.

She'd never been the most serious in her party.

Clue's small hands found their way to the bird-shaped ocarina vessel flute around her neck, and she jostled it lovingly with her fingers. The instrument gave a small tinkle of a reply, covered in mystic grays and blues and whites. When she played it it chirped out sweet if eerie music, but she was at least in-the-moment enough not to play it now.
Clue had been chosen for this trip (perhaps a wrong choice) almost solely for her strong intuition. She was a naive, innocent girl. Playful, witty, and perhaps too care-free. The idea that a monster could come out of nowhere and kill her for no reason seemed fantastical, the danger far off.

"Whisper to me willow tree-"
Clue sang a small verse of a song that'd popped into her head and then flipped over onto her stomach. She was around 5' 7'', taller than most girls her age, but seemed shorter if only because of her baby face. Her hair was, known to everyone, pretty much untameable, settling into it's own spunky upwards style, which she tried to at least keep short so that it didn't flop all over the place. With a bit of blue dye on the most stubborn of parts, it actually worked quite well for her. That is, when people weren't saying it feels like puppy fur and messing it up with their insistent ruffling. Her skin was dark, but not too dark; a tad lighter than milk chocolate and a tad darker than caramel.
Her build would be considered slim, considering such a high metabolism, but she wasn't bony. Her body followed the rough figure of an hourglass, softly curving, softly slimming, except for the area under her breasts, where her ribs were still a tad visible when she moved. She had long legs, hardly covered by a pair of worn shorts. Said shorts, however, were in turn covered by an over-sized and off-shoulder striped sweater; pajamas, legitimately.

The girl tugged on her sweater now, whistling and watching a caterpillar crawl along a branch.

The cool air glided smoothly past Frey's skin as he walked through the quiet forest. He wasn't particularly fond of days like this; clear sky, cool air, but most of all, silent. It was something he wasn't used to and he disliked that. He was fairly built, at least for his age. He stood at exactly six feet and weighed around 180 pounds. He had moderately tanned skin with short, messy, black hair and amber eyes that glimmered gold within any light. Hanging tightly on his back by his left shoulder was a war hammer. Its handle was the length of his arm and the hammer head itself was slightly larger than his own head. The whole weapon weighed a total of 18 pounds. It had been specially made for him by his father before he passed away, so it carried ample sentimental value.

What a waste of time, he thought, being slightly annoyed and exhausted. He had been searching around for resources for the past hour, with no results. He was hopeful that he going to at least get to fight something, but to his disappointment he didn't. He was a decent fighter, In his younger years he was prone to getting into fights with other kids, or more so, kids getting into fights with him. Because of his build everyone wanted to "test their strength" against him. So he got plenty of practice from his challengers. Deciding that he was getting nowhere with the search, he began making his way back to the meeting area of the group. After a few minutes of walking, he saw the crack in the forest where they were meant to regroup. He squinted and noticed two figures walking in from the opposite direction.

As he neared the opening he saw that the two figures were his group mates, Naeova and Elduna. "I'm guessing that you guys didn't have much luck either?" he said, noting that they weren't carrying anything new on them from what he could see. He was just glad to have so company again; though he wasn't much for talking, having anyone around was satisfying enough for him. He sat on the ground, legs lying flat and straight out, as he waited for a response and for everyone else to return.

(I can have two characters, right?)

Obby sat in the clearing where the group was meant to gather, fiddling with two strange and exotic metal things in his hands. The boy's shoulder-length and considerably wavy hair fell across his concentrated face, halfway blocking his view of his instruments with a wall of strawberry blonde. The was a spark of something blue and he screwed up his eyes, disappointed in something the others didn't and probably couldn't understand. His cheeks were dotted with freckles, eyes a bright, troubled blue.
At the sound of crunching on leaves he started, grunting and looking up in surprise. He was tiny compared to the other guys; 5' 10', underweight, and almost no muscle except for in his chest and a bit in his legs. Normally he could fend for himself pretty well, but if a monster caught him off guard, without his equipment-

Obby sighed, wiping his hand against his forehead and grinning sheepishly up at Frey.
"Hey. You scared me".
He shrugged, standing up as gathering the buzzing, shining, and periodically hissing mess of scrap technology by his feet, dumping it all in the blue and toxic, electric green satchel he carried. Out of it he dug what looked like a pair of thin, metallic gloves. They were black mostly but toxic green traced over the pattern of a skeletal hand, the bones redone into what looked like circuit boards. Obby put them on, flexing his fingers, which tingled with the buzz of energy pulsing through them.
He may not be as strong as well...even Clue was stronger than him. But he was smart. And he used it to his advantage. Ever since he was a toddler he'd been playing with bits and pieces, creating things with them that often left other bewildered. The complexity and general usefulness of his "toys" had grown up with him.
He flexed his fingers again, careful not to touch anything with them, and looked around the clearing. He frowned, looked again, and his frown deepened.
Dammit!

He'd been...he'd been assigned to watch...for Pete's Sake, she was going to get herself...

"Have you seen Clue?"

~~~~~~

Clue slipped through the trees like an otter slips through a river, stopping here and then to look at something exotic and then waltzing off again. She hadn't had time to explore forests much back in the city, and she planned to enjoy every inch of it now.
So many trees. And there were even more animals and things than that! She made sure to stay under the leaves though, glancing every now and then at the sky. The only clouds in it were thins and wispy, but she couldn't shake the feeling it was going to rain.
Or...river. She just felt like she better prepare to get wet.

Not that she minded of course.
Clue looked over her shoulder, generally unsure of which way the group was. Ah, well. She could catch up with them later or something. Everyone there was so serious...

Naeova didn't even turn to regard Frey. "No," he replied calmly, while Elduna whirled around, with a wide smile on her face. "Frey!" she called out happily, jumping towards him a hug that could shatter a lesser being's bones.

She squeezed him happily while the ever-serious Naeova stared on ahead. He heard another member of the part approaching. Obby appeared, asking Frey if he'd seen Clue. Elduna snickered, letting go of Frey. "Nobody has a clue where Clue is," she giggled.

Naeova sighed. "She's over here," he said in his quite tone. He shot forward, moving at an incredible speed. He jumped into the tree and started flying through the branches, disappearing from sight after a few seconds. His ability to detect minute things from long distances, as well as his combat prowess was his reason to form the party. He was a shield at heart; even though he was naught but eighteen, he'd been his town's guardian for a few years.

The blade that was on his back was a gift from the townspeople before he left to form the party; it was a long, obsidian katana, black with ribbons of teal and purple winding around it, as if it were chains holding the glass together.

He landed a few feet away from Clue, who was still hopping through the canopy. He smirked at her innocence. A few thoughts of doubt crossed his mind. She was so innocent and childlike; bringing her along to her death may not have been the best idea. He still felt guilty about it sometimes, though if he could help it, he'd make sure she ran before they fought with Valdenvira.

"You'll get lost if you keep pretending to be a squirrel," he said, leaping through a tree to land above her, a slight smile on his face. He dropped down next to her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "Let us return to the rest of the party."


---------------------------------------------------------------


Elduna sighed, watching Naeova disappear through the trees. "He's incredible. Sometimes I don't think he's human," she remarked, referring to his speed and skill at tracking. If anyone would be able to find a needle in a haystack, it would be Naeova. And he'd do it blindfolded during a tornado. "So Obby," she said, sidling over to him. "What'cha got there?" she asked, poking him in the side.

A round autumn leaf fell softly through the air, fringed and feathered with flecks of gold and auburn red. It twisted, looped, edged, and then came to rest softly on Clue's head. The girl giggled to herself, smiling and looking upwards. She could see it on top of her; just sitting there, as if it'd come to play. With a small hand she grasped it, pulling it gingerly out of her hair and holding it to her chest, looking on as Naeova flew through the trees above her. See? She knew she'd be catching up with them later. Only if she felt she'd be lost would she panic.

The teal accented boy stood out amongst the red of the trees he so smoothly leapt through. Clue averted her eyes shiftily as he landed a few feet away, feeling multiple twinges in her gut. People were so scary...at least he was smiling. Should she smile back? Her smile was so awkward...

"You'll get lost if you keep pretending to be a squirrel,"

Naeova's voice startled her out of her reverie, and she looked up, grinning goofily. He put a hand on her shoulder, making her squirm a bit at the unusual sensation of touch, and suggested that they go back.
Clue swallowed and looked away, wordlessly slithering down the tree trunk, one hand slowly letting herself down and the other protectively holding the pretty leaf against her chest. The leaf-littered forest floor crackled at her touch, leaves crunching underneath the light skin of her feet. Clue looked down, as if wondering where her shoes had gotten off to and then smiled back up at Naeova, laughing.

"I don't get lost".

Her voice was soft spoken and cute, the way a playful puppy or a ferret might speak if animals could talk. Should her appearance not give hint to the softie underneath, then her voice certainly did.

"Well, I mean not unless I feel like I'm gonna".
Blushing slightly and with an awkward shuffle of her feet she held her new beloved leaf up to him, then pressing it against her chest again and squirming in delight.

"I lost my shoes but...I'll follow you back".
~~~~~~~~~

Obby smiled modestly down at Elduna and slightly inched away from her touch, holding out a buzzing, whirring, jumbled contraption in his stead. Girls had always been sort of a foreign thing to him...Elduna was no exception. At least she was nice. And not too....confusing.
Machines and sparking hunks of metal were more his thing. Sometimes, he felt he could relate to them. That and...he could talk about them for hours.
Obby adjusted the toxic green goggles that sat on his head, shifting the contraption in his hands from palm to palm, occasionally looking at Elduna but eyes mostly on his work.

"It started out as a sort of long-lasting electric heating pad for when it gets cold later in the fall. But, I figured...I could increase the amount of energy and turn it into an everlasting flame instead, once the wires are agitated..."

Aware that he was probably boring her the guy shrugged, pushing some hair out of his face and biting his lip.

"Kinda like insta-campfire".
He laughed, joking. "Just add water!"

Blue eyes scanned the trees, watching for Naeova with the return of Clue. There wasn't a day he didn't worry about her...she'd gotten them into so much trouble as a child...

Naeova didn't laugh; it was a miracle for him to even twitch his lips upwards in his approximation of a smile. His eyes took on a gentler appearance in place of his usual piercing gaze. He gracefully landed on the forest floor next to Clue, gazing down at her feet. "We'll get you new ones in the next town," he replied.

"However, it would not be good do make a habit of losing your shoes. Should we have to cross the desert, you'll want to have them," he explained. "Regardless, let us return."

He took her by the wrist and started walking through the trees, Clue behind him. "These are dangerous times, and this a dangerous place. Stay with the group. I don't wish to return you home in a coffin," he warned, his soft voice seemingly piercing every other noise. It was a strange thing; his voice, though quiet, seemed to take dominance over everybody else's when he spoke, and his eyes only served to make him more intimidating. He wasn't an unkind person, though; quite the opposite. He was just stern.

"Oh, I don't know if travelling a long time today is a good idea..."

Clue smiled wanly, even if she was as nervous as heck. People made her nervous as fuck. Whatever glue that humans as social beings had; whatever the substance that held them together...whatever it was, she'd been given a rather short supply. The girl scurried after Naeova, having to keep on her toes with her eyes straight in front of her to keep from being dragged. Every now and then her gaze would flick up to him shyly, as if to try and discern some sort of emotion on his face, and then they'd look ashamedly at the ground again. Her other hand was still pressed against her chest, hands curled around her precious leaf.
Once or twice she considered reminding him that she was seventeen, or that he was kind of hurting her wrist. But she didn't want to annoy....
More than once she considered telling him he was a tad protective, in a good way, but she considered also that by telling him in a good way he might assume otherwise and get mad at her, and then she'd feel awful.
After a while she just squeaked, still jogging lightly behind him, her sweater pulled against the contours of her waist by a little scrunchy bunch of cloth behind her held by a rubber band; you know, so that the cloth wouldn't snag on anything.

"Did you bring a bathing suit? Or when you swim do you just take your shirt off?"

Clue tilted her head, bouncing slightly as they neared the camp.

Naeova finally let go of her wrist as they began to near the camp. "What a peculiar question." He didn't say anything for a little bit. "To answer your question, I do neither. Should I have the need to swim, I will do so fully clothed. Water does not bother me."

He stopped, sticking his hands in his pockets and spun around, so he was facing his companion. "Is there a reason you are wondering, Clue?" he asked politely, regarding her with his penetrating gaze. He figured that there wasn't much of a reason behind her asking; she was quite random at times. He absentmindedly noticed she was still holding on to the leaf. It drew a quick smirk to his lips.

"Do you wish to take time off to swim? I would not object, however we cannot spare much time. Fiends are only becoming more common with each passing second. Do bear that in mind," he added, continuing to stare at the girl with his melancholy expression for a few brief moments before turning around. "Let us return now," he said, drawing one hand out of a pocket to beckon before returning it. They just needed to pass a few more trees, and the group would be in sight.

Clue rubbed her wrist gingerly against the base of her hips, trying, with decent success, to rub the circulation back into her veins. Naeova walked awfully quick. It was a mystery how he could take in all the forest and such as he did so, but she was sure he managed, somehow. Clutching the leaf to her chest, the girl arched an eyebrow, laughing at his suggestion, though it was pretty tempting.

"Oh, no. It's just going to rain terribly hard".

The sun above shone bright, not a cloud in the sky. She looked up into the sunshine and nodded, as if in approval, and then smiled back at Naeova. He didn’t laugh much, did he? She hadn’t heard him laugh thus far. Like she said, everybody here was so serious…back home everybody was serious too, but not to such an extreme. She could at least slip out of the house there and run around without people coming to retrieve her at a moment’s notice. Except for Obby, of course. But in general he was just a bit of a worrywart.
Nodding at Naeova, Clue gave a small smile, leaf to her chest, and jogged past the last couple of trees.

He sure knows how to make an exit, Frey thought. Hehad always been somewhat envious of Naeova’s speed and perception. For as long as he could remember he had always been the somewhat slow, bulking type and he hated that. Even though he was strong and resilient, it just wasn’t the style his mind worked in. Still being slightly winded from Elduna’s power hug; it being stronger than most of his challengers attacks, he leaned against a nearby tree waiting silently for Naeova to retrieve Clue.

Across the clearing Obby and Elduna were conversing about something that was inaudible to Frey, they appeared to be enjoying themselves though. He wasn’t much for talking, like many things in his life he just wasn’t used to it. All the fighting made him unapproachable by many of his peers, he frightened them. Regardless of the fact he still enjoyed the company. He hated being alone but even more so, what came with it, the silence.

Naeova was seemed to be taking his time. Being extremely bored, Frey wasn’t interested in joining the conversation with Obby and Elduna so he decided to count birds as they fly past the sky to entertain himself. One… Two… Three… He counted a total of thirteen birds as they flew over the treetops. The rustling sound of leaves suddenly came from the opening in forest that led to the clearing. He turned his head slightly to the side, facing the opening. “Finally,” he thought, as he made his way over to the entrance.

Naeova watched Clue run off through the trees. Rain... he thought. Rain wasn't particularly a bad thing. He didn't mind getting wet; in fact, it made absolutely no difference to him. Rather, he'd prefer to be wet. His own abilities were water-centered, though few people knew about them. He didn't need them often, and when he did, his foes didn't live to tell the tale.

He followed Clue's footsteps after a while, parting through the leaves next to Frey. He looked at the group, Clue waltzing in, Elduna running across the clearing to nearly tackle the other girl in a hug. Naeova watched the group for a while, then turned his gaze on Frey for a moment. A twinge of guilt ran through his gut. Naeova assembled the party himself; but the only true fighters were himself and the boy standing next to him.

"I feel like I'm leading them to their death," he remarked quietly, his melancholy expression seeming to have an even deeper sadness beneath the surface. He kept his gaze on Frey. "I am prepared to die. I know they aren't. But what about you, Frey?"

Clue squealed as she was tackled by Elduna, snuggling her cheek against the other girl, since she couldn't really hug. The leaf she'd found was clamped to her chest, and she seemed to be taking all precautions to guarding it.
After a bit she squirmed out of her grasp, looking over her leaf for damages and then, satisfied with what she saw, grinning goofily and hugging her leaf to her chest again.
"Eldy, I-"

She barely had time to speak at all before Obby had scooched over, cobalt eyes narrow with worry.
"Where'd you go?!"

Clue shrunk back slightly, gazing ashamedly at the ground, but smiling despite herself.
"I wanted to watch the leaves fall...."
Her own leaf was still held lovingly against her chest, vessel flute resting just above it. Obby frowned, looking her up and down before resting his eyes once more on her own, trying to seem as intimidating as possible. It failed. The boy ran a hand through his hair, sighing in exasperation.
"You lost your shoes, didn't you?"

"I think my shoes lost me" she said, rather matter-of-factually. Obby rose an eyebrow, shaking his head.
"Yeah, okay, just....don't go off like that again".

Clue smiled cutely, not saying that she wasn't but looking as if she didn't intend to all the same. In the back of her head she remembered the thing that'd come out of nowhere and grabbed her shoes, sniffing them, sniffing the air, and then disappearing back into the trees. It hadn't had any shoes. And it'd smelt quite awful.
Hopefully he enjoyed them. She didn't mind giving them up.

Frey’s gaze met with Naeova’s for an instant, his expression was stone but his eyes told a different tale, they were filled with sorrow and regret. Naeova approached and whispered a question that made Frey cringe for a brief moment. He knew from the start what he was getting into, but not once had he ever considered the others safety. It wasn’t that he didn’t care from them, he had just overlooked it. Deep down inside he had hoped that they would survive the ordeal, his mind was clouded with deception, but he knew that was far from the truth.

“Of course,” he replied under his breath. “We all knew what this was going to be when we decided to take on this mission. I know that we may be the only two that are prepared to die. Either way, if I’m going to die, it’s going to be protecting one of them.” The words came without thought; they came flowing truthfully from his lips. He broke his attention from Naeova and directed it across the clearing. Elduna and Clue were hugging each other and Clue was about to speak before she was interrupted by Obby, questioning where she was.

The sight gave Frey a distorted feeling in his chest. No matter what, he had to defend them. If anyone were to die with him around, he would break. He turned again to Naeova with stern, but calm eyes. “Naeova,” he stated silently, looking over his shoulder to the overs for a moment. “We have to protect them, even if it means losing our lives.”

Naeova's hands curled into fists. "Sometimes, I don't think they truly realize it," he whispered. "Maybe Obby, maybe Elduna. But Clue...She's too innocent to know what she's getting in to." He shook his head, closing his eyes, allowing another sigh to escape his lips.

He watched Frey from the corner of his eyes. He was feeling the same way. "When we are about to face Valdenvira, we will go alone. Leave them at night, and face him so they will not have to die. We can't allow them to be killed." He stepped forward, glancing back at Frey once more. "Promise me that," he said as he strode towards the others.

He pulled Elduna off of Clue. She stuck her tongue out at him again, crossing her arms and pouting. "Naeova, you meanie," she complained. This elicited a smile from the man, who let go of her. She didn't make a move to strangle anyone else in her hugs, but she hopped over to Obby. She grinned at him widely. "Don't be so hard on your sister~"

Obby glanced at Naeova and Frey briefly, inwardly wishing that he had his sound amplifiers on. Knowledge was sacred to him, and when he didn't know something it pricked at his gut. Especially when he didn't know where Clue was; if something ever happened to her, he'd never forgive himself. Seemed like the most useful things were always in his bag when he needed them. Excluding his gloves, of course; those he usually kept on in case of a fight. That and the intricate wire contraption lacing his legs like bright green and black boots.
Giving Clue, who seemed to be marveling her leaf, one last look, the boy now turned his troubled blue eyes to Elduna.

"Ha!" he laughed, fiddling with some wires and offering a sheepish grin.

“We aren't siblings. I've just known her for…forever”.

Clue nodded and smiled proudly at Elduna, though her eyes were meek. Obby was a childhood friend. And she loved the guy like a brother; he'd known her even before she'd become so shy.
"He used to ask me to walk him to the bathroom at night so that the monsters under his bed wouldn't get him".

Obby blushed a deep scarlet, his gloves sparking. "Clue!...agh..."
He turned to look at her with mock-anger, only to find her gone. She'd wandered over by Frey, now frowning and poking the boy, sad puppy eyes bright and honey brown on her face.

"You look sad".

They had the same feeling, a sense of responsibility. The space around the both of them was dense, so powerful it felt like they were on another world. Naeova came to Frey with a plan; to battle Valdenvira by themselves to spare the others of a horrible fate. Before going to join the others Naeova ask Frey to promise him that they were going to protect them. He nodded in silent acceptance as Naeova pulled Elduna away from Clue. He watched the group enjoying their energy, knowing that it may be the last chance he could do so.

Obby and Clue were sharing something about their friendship to Elduna, most of it was unreadable to Frey but he didn't care. They seemed to be content and carefree with themselves, that was enough reason for him not to get involved. Were any of them even prepared for this? He wondered. His sight moved to each of his group-mates. First on Naeova, which he knew for sure was ready. Next to Elduna, she may not have seemed like it from her appearance but she was a strong individual, even still, Naeova would never want her dead. Then Obby, he was smaller in stature compared to Naeova and Frey but he was intelligent. His eyes finally rested on Clue, out of the entire group it seemed to be an invisible consensus that everyone would protect her, she was just too innocent.

The edges of Frey's mouth slid downwards into a slight frown as the thought of any of them being killed appeared in his mind. While he was lost in his thoughts, Clue had made her way over to him. She was frowning slightly also, somewhat sympathetically, as if she was seeing his feelings. She began to poke him and he broke away from his contemplations to look at the girl in front of him. Looking back up to him, her eyes gave off a ingenuous sadness. "You look sad," she stated. A churning began in his lower torso, "No, I'm fine. I'm just... A little tired, that's all," he replied, giving off a mock chuckle while rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, lets get back to the others. We have lots to do." The lies burned him on the inside but even more so, Clue's obliviousness to the situation. He felt a great wave of sadness imagining her innocent smile disappear forever. With that he rubbed the top of her head gently, gesturing her over to the others as he made his way to them.

Clue smiled warmly and nearly seemed to purr, eyes closed in delight as she pushed her head against Frey's hand. She didn't quite like being patted like a puppy, but when she was she could see why puppies loved it so much. It felt so good!
When he'd drawn back she trotted after him lightly, stopping every now and then to wiggle her bare toes in the grass, enjoying the feeling of the cool dew. Her mood seemed to have instantly spiked, even if there was a small hint of sadness in the back of her eyes. Frey had said he was fine, but she got the feeling that he was troubled by something, and when she felt something she was usually right.
A sudden, small, rustling thud caught her attention. Clue looked down. Her leaf was on the ground.
Hadn't she had it pressed firmly to her...?
The girl tilted her head, eyes wide with the utmost curiosity. Shrugging it off, she bent down to pick up her precious leaf.

Her hand went straight through it.

Clue yanked her hand back, scared, and pressed her palm against her chest. Oh, good. She was still there. What was going on?
The girl humphed and bent over, reaching for her leaf again, tilting her head in confusion as her fingers touched the gold-fringed edges and gripped them. Maybe she was just hungry.
Her stomach growled in protest, as if on queue; a cute little rumbling noise. That was it then. She needed to get some food to her head....

Clue pressed her leaf against her chest, eyes shimmering with curiosity and delight.

"Clue, come on!"

She looked up, sticking her tongue out at Obby, who was waving her over impatiently.

Naeova took the lead, walking slightly ahead of everyone else with his hands in his pockets. Elduna was busy trying to elicit a conversation from Obby and Clue. Only Naeova and Frey didn't seem interested in conversation. He stopped suddenly, one hand coming out of his pocket to rest on the hilt of his sword. "Frey, take them and run," he said calmly, leaping backwards and drawing the blade in one fluid motion.

A large fiend crashed through the trees not even a second later, a massive blade swinging towards the middle of the group. Naeova's blade blocked it, causing a shower of sparks to rise. Naeova touched the ground, leaping up and slicing a quick 'x' towards the Fiend. Now that it'd stopped moving for a second, he could get a better look at it. It was large, five or six times as long as Naeova was tall, with glowing red eyes and bristling hairs that were razor sharp, based on the long gouges cut through the trees. It was somewhat feline in appearance; like an oversized panther. It's front legs had four knife-like blades on each side, adding to the ferocity of it.

His blade screeched as it trailed across the creature's face. It counterattacked quickly, spinning and swiping it's claws towards the boy. Naeova narrowly dodged the attack by doing a backflip, but even so, his coat was torn across the back. He popped his neck and lunged at it again, slashing and stabbing underneath it's arms and at it's chest, trying to find a weak spot. He scored a cut underneath it's bicep. However, it crashed into Naeova with it's paw, sending him flying. He smacked against a tree and sunk to the ground, a pained expression on his face. A small amount of blood seeped through his shirt.

It lunged again, putting it's entire body into a swing with the bladed appendages. Naeova rose the blade to block, jumping back with the Fiend. His blade snapped, half it going in one direction while Naeova went in the other. He smirked, flicking his wrist. The blade shattered, spinning in a circular motion around the creature's injured arm. Naeova touched down, pulling on the handle of his shattered sword, tearing through the soft flesh of it's arm. It screamed, a horrendous mixture of a human and a jaguar. Blood gushed from it's arm, and slaver ran from it's fangs as it lunged forward again.

Naeova lazily flicked his wrist twice more, and the blades tore through it's arm once more, then lashed across it's open mouth. A gurgling scream escaped it's maw, followed by a torrent of gore and part of it's tongue. It was still screaming when Naeova lunged forward with the blade, sending it across the beast's flesh from any direction he could get it to go, then jerked it back towards himself. Now that he wasn't moving the blade, it's details came into view. Between each chip of the blade, a small chain connected it to another piece, effectively forming a bladed whip that was deadly efficient.

The creature panted heavily, blood still pouring from it's mouth and arm, and several lacerations across it's back when Naeova flicked his wrist once more, forming a noose around it's neck. He leaped up, into the trees, then pulled the handle as hard as he could. A high-pitched shriek filled the air, followed by more blood, and an explosion of light from the Fiend, it's body dissolving into small motes in every color of the rainbow, floating up and dissipating. He quickly scanned the area, looking for more enemies. Generally, they'd gang up...

A roar sounded across the trees, causing Naeova to intake a sharp breath. He dashed off, to regroup with Frey. He wasn't quite sure what was making the noise, but whatever it was, it was big, and it was angry. They were most likely a direct target...

The group began their advance to the monster known as Valdenvira. Naeova led the way, with everyone not too far behind him; Frey being in the very back. As they walked Elduna, along with Obby and Clue were the only ones having a conversation. Frey had too much going through his mind to participate in the conversation; he assumed the same went for Naeova. Suddenly he stopped right in his tracks, moving his hand from his pocket to the handle of his blade in one quick motion. The group stopped along with him. Naeova stood there, after a second he calmly instructed Frey to take the group and run. He jumped back, drawing his blade in the same movement. "What're yo-" Frey started but before he could finish, a giant catlike monster sprung from the trees, its bladed claws aimed for the middle of the group. Before the attack could make contact, Naeova moved in and blocked the beast with his blade. As sparks flew from the friction, he counterattacked the monster, stunning it for a brief moment.

Amidst the battle, Frey took this opportunity to take the group to a safe position. "Let's go!" he shouted. He let the rest of the group dash ahead of him so he could make sure none were left behind. They ran into the dense brush of the forest. As they were losing sight of Naeova and the fiend, Frey glanced back, seeing the beast again. It was much larger than Naeova with blade-like fur and claws. Frey clenched his teeth in anger, setting his attention forward. They ran as fast as they could, reaching a clearing after a minute of running, which to them felt like an eternity. They all took a moment to regain their energy, Frey stood still, letting the adrenaline dissipate from his body. He let out a deep sigh, calming himself. Breathing always calmed him, it was like he let everything that bothered him leave his body. But instantly, the image of Naeova battling the fiend came to his mind.

Frey slammed his fist into a nearby tree out of frustration. He knew that Naeova was skilled enough to handle the monster on his own, but the thought of abandoning a friend angered him. Another sigh escaped him, he let the thoughts fade along with his breath. He realized then, this is the reason he wanted to protect everyone, this feeling of useless. He looked to the others; they had regained most of their stamina as he was deep within his emotions. Ignoring his thoughts and emotions, he addressed the group. "Alright, while Naeova is buying us time we all have to prepare ourselves for any more attacks," he stated. They all then began to ready themselves for an upcoming assault. Frey unstrapped his war hammer from his shoulder, test swinging the weapon to familiarize himself with how to control it. As they were preparing, a powerful roar rushed through the forest. They all took position, Frey let out one last deep breath. He was ready to defend them with his life.

In an instant everything exploded, bits of chaos blasting through the air and above it all an undulating mass of sound and violence. Obby didn’t need to be told twice to run. The act of leaving Naeova behind made his stomach churn, but he knew the guy could handle himself; and besides, Obby refused to leave the bigger group weaker to an attack for the selfish sake of friendship. He’d done that too many times before. The ground around him glowed briefly green wherever he stepped, electricity from his boots sinking into the soil. The energy rode his adrenaline, turning everything but his most pressing thoughts to a blur. He dodged a tree trunk, pulling his gloves tighter on his hands in case the one monster had just been a pawn to draw them away from each other, which was very well likely. He checked for Elduna, and saw a flash of red, then checking on Frey, but only briefly. Frey could handle himself. Who he was worried about was Clue. Blue eyes, now fierce and nearly foreboding on an otherwise scrawny build scanned the forest for the girl as they reached the clearing. There was Frey taking the hammer off of his back, and-…oh. Okay. Phew. Clue was there, running- wait. What?!

“CLUE!! What the hell?!”

The girl turned around briefly and then sped off towards the sounds of bedlam. Obby jumped a length just out of the realm of human possibility and managed to more or less crash into her, wrapping a hand around her waist and easily lifting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Thank god she was light and thank god for technology. Pretty soon though he had both arms wrapped around her, succeeding gradually in air-dragging her back to the group. She was strong for such a small girl, godammit...what was she doing?!

“Nayo!! “

Clue squealed the pet name she’d given the kid and squirmed harder, managing with each passing second to, being quite so slim, slip more and more out of Obby’s grasp. Obby let out an angry, exasperated sigh, trying unsuccessfully to tell her he’d be fine. Even if she could’ve gone to help, there wasn’t much she could do without a fighter’s weapon. Not much she could do with only a blowdart gun and a bunch of marble bombs. Smoke pellets..ow…were not going to…ow!!..help…agh!!

“Would you quit kneeing me?!”

Obby went to squeeze her still, only to find his arms squeezing nothing. The hell-?! He could understand gradually slipping out, but he’d just been holding her! It was as if his arms had gone through the girl. Obby whipped around, managing just in time to grab Clue’s sweater, only then to realize she wasn’t running. She looked more…confused, staring at her hands and then down her sweater, as if to make sure she was still there. At least she didn’t look like she was going to run…oh, Clue…

Elduna stopped near Obby and Clue, a razor-wire whip appearing out of her sleeve. She also had black gloves with small steel spikes on the knuckle. She flicked her whip nervously. Every shadow seemed hostile now, every leaf a possible enemy. She looked absolutely terrified. A roar sounded in the distance, and she squeaked, inching closer to Clue and grabbing her hand. Obby was close by, and she was glad for that. She wouldn't stand a chance alone against even a small monster.

A bloodied Naeova appeared through the foliage, next to the small group of kids he swore to protect. A shadow slithered across the ground, pulling itself out of the second dimension and into the third; rings of gold worked their way around the shadow's body, forming a strange entity. It grew massive claws, and it laughed, a harsh noise, like a demon's laughter played in reverse. A noise nobody should have to hear, something that inspired terror in human hearts. Elduna let out another squeak, growing paler, and squeezing Clue's hand even more, her green eyes wide with fear.

Naeova's blade had reformed by this time, rings of red obsidian resealed the blade, replacing the black that had been broken earlier. His expression looked irritated, as if these monsters were flies that were annoying him rather than massive, bloodthirsty beasts that wished to end the party of humans.

The boy brought the blade across his palm, drawing a deep red line over his hand. A few drops of blood splashed across the ground. Naeova's lips twitched, and air escaped his mouth, scarce a whisper. A few more blobs of blood touched down, followed by the sound of rumbling thunder, and a few drops of rain, that quickly escalated. The wind picked up. The shade that was approaching the group stopped, raising it's hands as if to defend itself.

In the blink of an eye, Naeova had already crossed the distance between it and the group, and cut it down. He watched it dissolve into ashes, and smirked at the other moving shadows that were forming along the edges of the trees. They all seemed scared, as if the rain was an army, each droplet the death of another monster. He heard their clicking and unnatural language, saw their fear, smelled it. He dashed around, cutting several more down, and as they dissolved, the larger creatures that were stalking them seemed scared of the boy as well. A bolt of lighting arced across the sky, illuminating the forlorn figure of Naeova Dest for a split second; his expression more sinister than anything. He disappeared, reappearing next to monsters, slicing them down with blinding speed and unrelenting brutality, blood was splashing just as much as rain.

It was all over in a few seconds, Naeova appearing next to everyone, torn and ragged, soaked in blood, as much his as the monster's. He sheathed his blade, and looked over the group for a moment, before leaning against a tree and sinking to the ground. He was pretty torn up, it didn't take a doctor to tell you that.

"I see why many journeys end here," he remarked quietly, looking up at Elduna and Clue with a melancholy expression that poorly hid his exhaustion. "Just...give me a moment, please. I need to catch my breath and we can keep moving again..." A few rain drops splashed against his face, following the line of ink on his face; the implied tears looking real. "Do not worry about me," he said, trying to reassure his friends. "I rule the rain."