Dark Stained Woods (Plot/Open)

[Deleted]

(Note: Kuja is currently in beserk mode due to various events and is trapped in his trance form. His aggression level is very high).

Since the time the dark seed within Kuja had bloomed and unleashed the dark being called the Puppet Master, Kuja had been struggled with all his might to break the thick black strings that held him securely within his own self. He wanted out. Wanted his body back and to stop the mindless destruction that was being created thanks to the creature that currently commanded his body. As he glared across the black expanse at that spider like creature plucking this string or that to get him to move where it wanted him to go, Kuja could feel his hate growing more and more for the Heartless and the one who had cursed him with this fate.

He wanted nothing more than to get at the twin devils that tormented him so; however, no matter how much he wished this, the genome could not budge from the bonds that sealed his magic and drained his energy. Weakened greatly by these special strings, the genome was left to hang limply most of the time in the web that he was caught in as all his will power was drained. That will power…it became weaker and weaker with each failed attempt to resist the darkness that controlled and taunted him.

Occasionally, his captor would look over at him and give him a cold mocking smirk before going back to using his body to carry out its evil deeds. Already, the creature had destroyed the town of Radiant Garden, fought some sort of wing woman that Kuja wasn’t sure was defeated or not, and had managed to take out tons of civilians that at first appeared to be Heartless to the genome. In a nutshell, the creature had performed a massacre in one world and now sought to do something similar in the new place it was traveling towards….all the while using Kuja’s body as a cover.

Gritting his teeth in the darkness that held him, Kuja continued to fight against his prison…even if the fight was in the end futile. He would break free no matter what the price.

**

Back in reality, a Corridor of Darkness opened up into the quiet and peaceful woods that resided in the kingdom where the fair Snow White was Queen. As Snow White and Prince Charming lived happily ever after at the castle, the short men known as Dwarves continued their work in their jewel mines pausing only every now and then to visit the woman they had helped save from the Evil Queen’s twisted plans. The world had been at peace until that Corridor had opened under the black skies illuminated by the full moon’s gentle blush.

The trees that had been whispering their secrets to the world and swayed in the wind become still and quiet. The owls that hooted in the trees, flapped from their perches to escape the strange and crushing aura that floated out of that Corridor that twisted and shifted in its spot. Even the wind that had been gently gracing the earth evacuated the area leaving behind an eerie sort of silence that bowed down to the being that was on the other side of that portal and welcomed the malice it dripped with with open arms.

From the portal, a pale bare foot slid out followed by the leg and then the rest of the strange and pale body that was a mix of white skin and red feathers. As the strange creature made its exit, dark eyes blind to the truth looked around the area seeing nothing, but more filth and evidence of the Heartless in the quiet forest. Crinkling his nose up in disgusted, the controlled genome hardly noticed the Corridor close behind him as he flicked his tail in agitation as he continued to observe the revolting area.

The cold wind which should’ve carried on it the sweet scent of trees and floors smelt bitter and agitating to Kuja and only made his already foul mode deepen as glared with disdain at everything around him.

This forest of eyes and twisted grins and everything black and twisted beyond it shall burn just like that other hive of Heartless did, the possessed genome thought to himself as he began to move further into the dark forest. His strange footfalls crunched on the ground of dry leaves as his tail carelessly whipped at long plants that dared to touch him.

As he walked, a protruding twig bit into his arm causing a cut to appear on the genome’s arm. A small trickle of black stained blood made its way down the genome’s pale arm just as the wound was healing itself up. While the trail was thin and hardly noticed by the genome, there was enough blood to cause a single drop to run down Kuja’s hand and drip off of his black colored claws that gleamed like knives in the moonlight that pierced through the canopy above. As the drop made contact with the ground, the leaves shuttered and whispered almost in fear as strange veins of darkness began to sink and spread into and along the ground.

As the veins began to spread, the Heartless begin to appear in the forest and spread out to seek Hearts, but the possessed genome was blind to the real threat as he moved deeper into the forest that was slowly being taken over by a thick fog, darkness, and malice. Kuja pressed on, his eyes and mind searching for the right place to unleash his magic onto this world and in turn, level yet another foul nesting ground for the Heartless to the ground.

[Deleted]

龍Dragon Shaman 巫
Are you challenging me!?

---

Many feral beasts roamed this woods, but deep inside nestled just pockets of civilization, if one called the destructive tendencies of a few miners a prosperous endeavor that aided the woods or wild inhabitants in any way, civilized. When the beating of picks did not rock the gentle silence, the raucous singing that came from their drinking and after work games certainly did. But there were many parts of these woods completely void of the touch of civilized man. Here the wild woods swallowed the living and never did return them. A soul could be lost for centuries among the ancient groves, a heart spirited away by any number of spirits. Many say witches live in these woods, or breath-stealing fae. A mystical land singing with a discordant melody. Was this place good? Or was it evil? A land that was truly wild … was both.

It was not a land this creature was familiar with though, but its nature was something he took to with ease. High off the ground a large man sat perched in a sturdy tree that was likely older than the existence of his family. His back was pressed to the main trunk while his rump rest upon the extending branch. He was lounged with arms settled onto a bare stomach, tight from the strain of an active lifestyle. His clothing was foreign, just as wild as he. A collar of fur, perhaps feathers, ran from the base of the wrap of cloth he wore on his torso, down around the back of his neck. His loose pants were perfect for a creature who crawled and climbed along all manner of environments. Rugged boots protected soft feet from the dangers of stone and gave a decent grip when scaling vertical trees such as these! Right leg was lazily propped up as his left leg was stretched out.

This place was tooth rotting sweet, but as was nature. Balance was always an irritation to those who thrived in chaos. Blinking his eyes open, revealing amber orbs beneath tanned lids, the beast slowly pushed into a sitting position, allowing his legs to hang from the branch of the tree. Something tantalizing came to his senses. The beast pushed forward and suddenly lunged off the branch, disturbing a number of leaves, rattling them from their home. The beast landed across the way on another tree, gripping it tightly with his glove covered hand. His bare, right hand reached out to shield his eyes from the disturbances above so he could have better view his environment. Something was here. It was not long until the beast spotted a figure in the distance. They looked like some sort of overcooked chicken.

A dark power bubbled in his body, but this creature did not make for good prey. There was not a spot of light in their heart. But the Titan would notice something rather strange about the wandering mage. The curious dragon lowered his body so he could more easily crawl along the branches in a motion as feral as his surrounding landscape. With a calculated shift of his weight the barbaric, red, beast spun about until he hung upside down on one of the branches in the tree: the soles of his feet perfectly flat while his hands gripped. He looked akin to a spider or monkey, or some odd combination of the two, as he appeared to be crouching, only upside down. Such a feat took a great deal of strength and skill. As a creature of the mountains his grip was strong, confident.

Eyes watched with interest: the amber orbs darting between the dense treelines to see if the chicken was alone. No one was ever truly alone. Eyes always watched, even if they were the proverbial fly on the wall. When Heartless began to appear from the darkness and spread the beast was sure the chicken would be eaten, but as he sat, waiting he would come to learn that this was not the case, and it was an ever so curious state of affairs. The chicken, though he burned bright and carried a very strong scent, the Heartless ignored him!

“Hoo? What’s this?” the curious feral questioned as he released his grip so that he fell, before reaching out and gripping the branch, the action leaving him now hanging by the branch by his left arm.

Looking around the beast would see as the corruption began to spread. He had come here seeing the corruption because where there was corruption there were those that slayed the shadows, but no sort seemed to be around right now…. He release his grip on the branch and allowed himself to fall. The brute was big but that did not stop him from muscling his way through the canopies. He would land on a branch below, lowering into a crouch to build momentum for his following jump. When he landed he allowed the branch to absorb a great deal of the shock before he pushed his strong legs down, thus thrusting his body up! And again! Bit by bit he would jump down until he hit the forest floor below. The shadow dragon settled his arms on his hips and smirked. Now that he was closer he could smell it. The man was corrupt, their nature tainted by an unknown influence. Was this perhaps the power of the Heartless? He still had much to observe when it came to the shadows he fed, but for now he was left a victim to his sullied whims.

He would lower his body and slink into the foliage to stalk his prey…. The beast debated on revealing himself, but it was better to wait until the moment was right. The dragon crawled along the ground, his heart racing from the act of hunting. Allowing his eyes to dart about he would locate his next perch. It was directly above him and within eyeshot of the chicken. The Titanic hunter jumped from his place in the bushes below and allowed himself to land upon the branch just above his head. The beast crouched on his perch and let his right hand rest on the trunk while his right braced him. He wanted to learn more about this strange chicken. He breathed in before blowing out a whistle, hopefully garnering the attention of the lumbering mage.

"For one to travel the darkness with ease.... he wonders, is this a place he belongs?" It was a legitimate question, but what was the reason behind it?

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~! | NOTES: A chicken or a phoenix?

[Deleted]

Hate. Unrestrained hate.

That is what flowed out of possessed genome who walked about the fog enshrouded woods with eyes rimmed with the red of the darkness within. The Heartless came to the scent of the stronger Darkness and began to spread out amongst the thick trees to consume any unfortunate souls that may be lost amongst all the twist and turns of the dark woods.

However, the genome who walked here did not seem to notice the creatures he sought to destroy as instead his eyes flickered to tall structures that shifted and twisted into monsters that leered at him within the fog. Flicking his tail in an agitated manner, Kuja would glare at the laughing structures he passed and on a few occasions, he would sling out a low level spell here or there to topple the structures, getting a small bit of satisfaction from the crackle and pop of fire as it consumed this structure or that structure that the genome chose at random to destroy; however, as fun as the destruction of structures were, the genome eventually became tired of the game and ceased his fire upon the pillars he passed. Structures did not scream or bleed. They did not bend and break. They did not fear. No. Structures were emotionless guardians to the horde that Kuja sought to destroy and burn. The quiet guardians could only contain his bloodlust for so long before the effect wore off and the genome longed for something more satisfying.

He wanted…no needed…to feel the shadows he hunted fear him, hear them scream, smell their blood as they died. Only when surrounded by their corpses could the genome proudly say that his job was well done and with satisfaction filling him leave to find the next hive to destroy. However, it would appear that need to quench the bloodlust that burned deep within would not be met in this fog enshroud landscape of twisted pillars….and this is what made the genome mad.

With quietly footfalls, the genome’s bare feet barely impacted the strange ground beneath him as his tail wrapped about and tugged out any of the wispy shadows that dared to brush against him. He could smell what he sought all around him, but thanks to the twisted nature of the current area he was in the hate filled genome could not reach what he wanted to destroy as he continued to wander about lost and consumed with the Darkness within.

The body walked, occasionally turning to go down this path or that one as it lifted pale arms to tear down shadows that occasionally drifted into its path of sight. Without care, the possessed genome tore his way through the twisted landscape only pausing when he had managed to find a clearing where a strange mound stood with many gaping holes. A black river flowed under what he assumed was a bridge of some sort.

With casual steps, the genome had stepped from the tree line and wandered over to the strange mound, not caring if he was caught or not by the shadows. He wanted to be seen. Wanted the creatures to come to him so he could destroy them, but instead of gaining such pleasure, the genome found himself highly disappointed as he approached the mound undisturbed and was even allowed to examine those nooks and crannies of said mound without anything to disturb him.

Baring his teeth in silent agitation, the genome whacked a strange light with his tail not caring when it hit the ground and burst into flames near the mound that had proven worthless in the end. In his mind, the place deserved to be burned down both for wasting his time and for being created as a home for the beasts he sought to destroy.

Wandering from the mound that was beginning to catch on fire, the genome moved towards a cave that was near the mound that was created by rough materials that sought to sink into the genome’s tough feet. Unphased by pain, the genome paused at the entrance of the cave and examined the insides taking note how it went further into darkness without end. The cave was plain and just as useless as the mound. There were no hints of the Heartless here and so with a growl, the genome turned his back on the cave and made his way back to the woods not even bothering to look back at the mound that was now fully lit with golden flames.

With the scent of smoke linger upon him, Kuja pushed his way back into the maze of structures searching once more for a different exit that he prayed would lead him to something more entertaining than empty mounds and caves.

The genome wandered, wandered, and wandered some more through the woods listening to the strange sounds around him as occasionally he would let lose a small spell to cease the movement of any small shadow that dared to scurry across his path. The small screams they released were too insignificant to crush the burn of destruction that welled with in the mage and sought release.

So on and on the mage went unsatisfied as his senses picked up the subtle changes in the woods that seemed to go around in circles for miles without end. He took note of the sounds and could smell the presence of something powerful within the woods. Something that watched him and followed him about.

Blue eyes drifted towards the tall twisted pillars when the occasional rain of small black leaf-like objects fell from their oddly shaped tops. Or the eyes would snap to rustles coming from the strange black patches that trailed along the dark path the genome was on. He could feel something hunting him. Feel its energy flowing from its hiding spot to mingle with the fog and darkness.

The sensations made the genome tense and ready to strike at any moment, so when he heard the snapping and rustling of something large coming from one of those strange patches nearby, the genome paused in his walking and turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse of something red shooting from the patch and landing upon one of the outstretched arms of the twisted structures that surrounded the him. Keeping an eye on the creature, the genome remained still as he heard the whistle, his eyes only narrowing as the sound reached his ears.

Shortly after the whistle, the strange red shadow was speaking to Kuja in a strange fashion that was slightly confusing to the genome and only acted as another thing to work his nerves. Still the beast spoke in the common tongue separating yet another from the typical shadows he had encountered. Regardless of this difference, the genome’s red feathers rose slightly on edge as magical energy snapped and crackled around him, a clear sign that it would not take much to start a battle with the white haired man that watched the other with cold blue eyes trimmed in red.

The genome’s tail mainly remained in a lowered position, mostly straight until one reached the end where the appendage curved upward and swept the air in an agitated fashion. The genome wanted to lash out at the creature on the structure, but he held back for the moment as he decided to study it first and in turn determine from there if the red creature was worth the trouble of erasing. Besides…had it not asked him a question?

It would be quite rude not to answer it before the creature was crushed under the genome’s wrath at perhaps a later point, so slightly curious and playing off of false manners, the possessed genome opened his lips and spoke to the creature he had decided to spare for the moment.

“The darkness is everywhere, churning up shadows that should not exist. I came here to hunt and correct the problem at hand. I know my place and reason for being here, but I wonder if you know your own place here, little moth,” the genome responded in a quiet whisper. His last words a light growl as eyes burning with hate watched the other that had caught his fancy. What did this red shadow want with him?
_________________________________________________________________

TAGS: Oh! I can play tag with Titan? Yay! Tag! You’re it! ^^
NOTES: Are you here to play games or have questions answered, little moth?

[Deleted]

龍Dragon Shaman 巫
Are you challenging me!?

---

One never knew what hid in the deep woods, the dense wall of trees shielding its innerworkings from prying eyes and inexperienced adventurers. Though the woods gave off an illusion of peace and quiet it was about the last place one would search for it. Isolation was not the nature of the woods, however deep one may travel. Everywhere one turned there was a life being lived or ended. Down one path a rabbit crawling about could disturb the bushes, but so could a wolf hunting its prey under the shadow of a tree. Above squirrels galloped along the branches above, but so could lynx looking for an opportune moment to pounce. Entering the woods to shield the self from the view of others was often the reason one ventured so deep. But what had one to hide that they needed to find wild pockets of forest to isolate themselves.

But in these woods were filled with eyes and track the unseen, easily followed, paths. Trails twisted through the woods marking every safe road as a deathtrap. Rivers cut paths to waterfalls preventing others from crossing onto the horizon they sought to reach. All the while rocks tumbled through open woods and offered their sun bleached faces to the daylight and haunted those seeking refuge at night.

Choking vines of moss hung, waiting to ensnare every passing figure and fool. Roots reached out, tugging on ankles as they pass. The amount of eyes that crept behind bushes and stone in the woods was innumerable. The tall trees had interlocked, almost woven branches, that locked the canopy above. It was unsteady, uneven, the way it all stitched together. It was a trap. There was no way out of the darkness. No matter what direction one turned it was one barrier after another, one darkness leading to the next. How this wandering chicken managed sink so far into the Wood's hold without falling mad with the creeping sensations weighing on his shoulders was nothing short of amazing.

Each step the hunted made, the hunter made. Following with a precise accuracy and knowledge if the self. When a body moved it did so under the force of one’s own steps, so the lighter footfalls of the prey may easily be overshadowed by the heavier steps. He did not want to alert the prey beast until he was upon him. When he finally faced the prey he was met with clear aggression, agitation. Whoever this was they were far beyond tainted. They were corrupt. The way Darkness floated through him, rather than above him, was curious. The beast had never once laid eyes upon a creature corrupted. There seemed nothing palatable about the chicken. His feathers seemed to be twisted and falling out, his body touched by a strange scent and the corruption. That was what most bothered him. He could not see through it. The dragon saw through scent so when it was muddled, or otherwise hidden. The male rubbed at his nose, looking down to the bright, red chicken.

His question was answered with a most interesting, and unsuspecting response. A moth? Him? Hoo… He understood. “Oh? Someone like you is not built to hunt.” The dragon jumped up, reaching his arm above his head.

Pulling himself up, his strong arms countering his weight through a few, well timed swings. The ‘moth’ sat crouched on the branch, allowing his arms to rest on his thoughts and hands dangle in his lap. The lazy stance was indicative of a primate, his motions certainly not doing well to dispel that. His eyes had a honey color, his aura the glow of fire. There have been stories before of Fireeating moths. Large, destructive creatures that can torch entire cities, leveling them to the ground. If one knew, they could easily compare the dragon to the Fireeating moths. None ever saw the cloud of death that arrived as dangerous. It was not until it was too late.

“His place is above others, he knows what others do not, because he stands high above.” As physically indicated by his place in the tree and his confident manner of speech. “You, what are you? Are you a chicken or a phoenix?” He would ask. “If one knew his place, they could answer that with ease.” This is what the dragon demanded.

But was either answer correct?

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~!| NOTES: You, you are not who you think you are.

[Deleted]

The forest. It thumped and whispered with life as birds, rabbits, foxes, wolves, and large cats moved about the area seeking prey or seeking shelter from those that sought to eat them. Darkness hung all over the place along with the thick fog that had rolled in with the possessed genome's arrival. The woods that were usually calm and haunting shook slightly in the chill that had settled upon the natural maze and hazard causing exposed roots to pull back into the ground for warmth and for tangled vines to slither and hiss like snakes as they moved on the cold wind's breath.

The woodlands that surrounded the fair maiden who protected this domain she called home were an unwelcoming host to the foolish and the lost. It was possessive, deadly, and heartless in its tricks it played upon the those who slipped into its grasp and could not wiggle free. On a normal night these dark woods would've been hellish for hours until day light finally cast a dim light upon the darkness within, but now with pure darkness sinking into its ever pore not even the rising sun could chase the shadows that lurked about in the fog and cold.

The only light available were the embers of trees still smoldering and the house that was quickly being put out by seven small beings who had come back to find their home ablaze. Thinking the fire was the trick of ghosts or some witch, the seven beings worked hurriedly to save their home never realizing that true the culprit was further within the woods speaking with another just as dark as itself.

The strange being of red feathers and snow white skinned radiated with agitation and hate towards a world it saw unfitting to let stand, but instead of destroying it like it had originally planned, this twisted hive of darkness had just found itself saved as a different sort of shadow caught the destructive being's interest.

Keeping his back turned to the other and only watching the strange red shadow from the corner of his eyes, Kuja kept up his icy study of the large shadow that spoke in a strange fashion. He took note of the creature's position, but did not think the being was being a coward even if it did reek of the foul taste that he had learned to associate with shadows he wanted to destroy.

The creature's presence was bitter, but it was the confidence and power flowed off the other that kept the genome from reckless lashing out at this shadow so easily. This shadow was complex and hard to figure out. It questioned him on things that would've gotten a weaker being slaughtered, but for this one Kuja waited and instead played along.

He answered the question and tolerated the strange behavior of the other. The strange rub of the face, the way it looked down upon him with those strange eyes that made it hard to understand what he was looking at. Made it hard to determine the best way to deal with such a pest and not get too badly burned or worn down in the process.

The creature was an interesting little moth that only continued to draw his curiosity and frustration with its words and actions as he continued to glare up at it as it sat upon the structure. When Kuja spoke, the creature let off the aura of being amused by such words and in turn the genome turned a bit more towards the creature as it spoke telling him he was not designed to hunt.

To this, the genome smirked coldly at the other as his eyes remained blank of any warmth as his lips parted once more.

"Heh. You catch on quick, little moth," he said as he turned to face the other fully as it moved. The shadow reached up revealing its abnormal height and powerful body. Showing off its power in physical form as it pulled itself to an even higher perch, but it did nothing to phase Kuja as his eyes followed that strange shadow that radiated with the flame like aura that made it even more intriguing and deadly than before.

Still letting curiosity rule him, the genome flicked his tail lightly as he heard the other speak to him answering his earlier statement. As the words drifted down, the genome's head tilted back as he let out a bark of a laugh before his face was settling into a shark like grin.

"I've heard words like that before coming from fools so high up in the clouds that when they fall they, their wings burn in the fire and when they crash into the ground, the impact makes the earth crack. There is nothing on this plain of existence with that sort of knowledge and those that think such silly things believe they are gods and should," the genome raised his hands to chest level as they curled into light fists. The index and middle fingers of each hand curled slightly and bent as he spoke his next words. " "be above others.'" The genome physically symbolized the quotes with his finger movements, his nails glistening crimson in the strange light of the fog. Shaking his head, the genome let his hands fall to his side as he heard the other's question and gave a light snort as he turned away from the other with an elegant and dramatic twirl that caused his hair and feathers to ruffle in the wind.


"Why bother to ask such trivial questions if you already know what others do not?" the genome shot back with quiet sarcasm. He paused and turned his head towards the other tilting it slightly causing some of his red locks to fall over his shoulders and face leaving only pale lips to be seen by the other.

"If one knew his place. Then one would know what to ask and what not to ask of the thing they already know." His words were quiet once more as his smirk remained. "What do you want with me, little moth? Are you playing games to save this filth from the inevitable? Or is there another reason for trying to entertain me?"

The words were barely a whisper, but they carried well enough to the one on the high perch as the wind blew through the area with a mournful and low moan.
___________________________________

Tag: Tag! You're it!
Note: Then tell me, little moth, who do you think I am?

[Deleted]

龍Dragon Shaman 巫
Are you challenging me!?

---

Once a world was clouded by the dense fogs of Darkness it was difficult to be rid of them. It was like the forbidden opening of Pandora's box. It was aptly named so because one being was curious enough to open, lying to spill the darkest contents of humanity, save a sliver of hope that evaded escape thanks to quick thinking. But it was the very nature of the forbidden and of darkness. It was an alluring mistress who was hard to escape once wound tight in her seductive grasp. But even within the darkness, this dense fog, there stood some trace of light pulsing along its edges, trapped within the insidious devices held by the shadows.

The dragon himself was a product of this darkness, but not in the manner those felt true of all that reside in the bosom of such a mistress. His eyes were stunned to the light that pervaded his territory and sought to set it aflame, for he knew something Pandora did not: letting loose hope makes it stronger. The stronger the light grew then so would the shadows. This Genome was not tainted in the sense most were by darkness. The chicken had quite an intriguing aura, but it would burn more brightly were he to be rid of this strange smelling corruption. Regardless he could see that this shell was but a puppet and did not see the strings he hung from.

Such a digestible thought this beast had! His tongue crawled over his lips, body snaking along the branch of the tree like a gibbon. Sitting himself crouch the beast swung down so he hung by the strength of his right arm. His strong neck muscles tightened as the joints in his arm locked to provide him with a strong and steady trip that put out the least amount of energy. The chicken was highly defensive, he felt. Its body rumbled with a magical air, but it was corrupt and unfit for consumption. Yes... he had always wondered if corruption could be cleansed. He lightly shifted his body so he swung. Pushing his legs out: the soles of his boots would crunch against the decaying shell of protection on the tree's trunk.

"He wonders," the beast allowed a rumbling noise to bubble in his throat as he visualized the thought before he twisted them into clear words. "If having the capacity to eat the flames of his enemies would reduce the probability of falling victim to such fool's wiles?" The flaming moth spread his wings. However small they seemed the long digits of bone were covered by a skin of shadow.

Flapping them once he would slowly glide to the ground, the massive beast but a leaf upon the wind's grace. When his landed the Titan's arms would hang at his sides. Such a moth was not lured by flames, for they already spoiled his body with great power and none of the responsibility demanded of the light. The moth had wings, meaning it stood frightfully confident in his own boasts. There was something about this beast. He was no human and by his own words he felt above them. Such arrogance was clearly backed up with something. Be it a great force or upon the back of his confidence; to dare and tango with a dragon assured the chicken may soon learn what a phoenix was.

A grin drew itself over the beast's features. "He asks the questions drawn onto the faces of other." He pointed to Kuja's face. "Every crease and wrinkle are like the cracks in a bone: they tell a story that one cannot on their own." The brute was no meat head.

Even given his size and wild ferocity there appeared to be a lingering intelligence nurtured by the teachings of his world and learned upon his wings in travel. His molten-gold eyes drew down before making their way back upon the Trance corrupted Terran. The dark had swallowed the woodlands. This silenced the birds and very winds that had been churning above, venturing wildly after a storm that refused to come.

Silence cut between the two, the beast hushed between the thoughts: measured beats counted by his swaying form. His free arm hung down, balancing the rest of his form as he precariously hung from the branch, which did not appear very sturdy with a fellow of his size slung from it.

"One's question should be: what can he see in you." He swung forward before he threw himself upon the branch above.

Standing the beast raised his head to take in the shifting and still lingering taste of ash in the air. The fire had not been started by him, so did that mean...? Hooo, this chicken had greater gall than he had originally anticipated. This was good. It meant that he could possibly provide himself with a suitable game to play. The beast crouched and looked down to Kuja, his arms rest in his lap. The question was formed and held tight to his lips.

A deep rumbled escaped the throat of the fiery moth. "This path is not one's own." As was often the case with corruption. The beast did not know how, who, or why, but the human shaped dragon could tell this was unnatural. "Does he not ever question why?" But that was the nature of all intelligent life: to question it.

The query was certainly good to stir a conflict in the Chicken, at least until he could find purchase to sink his fangs into the flesh of his ethereal existence: his heart.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~!| NOTES: You may bark like a dog, but you're still just a rat.

[Deleted]

The wind blew cold and sorrowful as genome and dragon held an odd conversation in the midst of a wood twisted with darkness and sickening fog. The world around them shifted uncomfortably as the world was gripped by the unnatural taint that was brought along with the possessed genome that had already brought upon this semi-chaotic space in an otherwise peaceful world destruction it did not deserve.

The trees, animals, and other objects that had been struck by the disgusted genome’s wrath were now smoldering remains of their former selves as they released the scents of ash, smoke, and death into the cold air that only spread the scent further when the winds picked up and blew across the area to mourn the loss. To a more sensitive being with a beating Heart that could feel, the smells and the feeling of the forest would be enough to depress and sicken the one standing in the midst of such tragedy; however, to the genome that watched the flaming shadow upon its perch, he did not feel any remorse for his actions and the sickening scents were more pleasing than distressing to the one had brought them into being. The scents made him feel as if he was succeeding in his goal to rid the world of all shadows. A goal that would’ve been quickly completed had not this odd shadow of red and fire distracted him with its strange aura, speech, and actions.

So instead of pursuing his goal, Kuja had paused to talk with the shadow, but the more the conversation drew on, the more the genome became impatient to move on. The natural reek of this world was sinking into him making him sicker and sicker as the thing within pulled on the strings urging him to move on and ignore the shadow…or at least destroy it; however, the small shard of the genome that was still himself resisted such commands and thus began a small internal struggle within leaving the body in no one’s control in particular as it instead moved and reacted off the mixed commands like a well trained pet.

The attitude of the genome was moody and dangerous, but this did not seem to bother the creature on its high perched that watched and seemed to understand the genome and his situation better than he could possible imagine…and this hidden knowledge made the creature believe it was above him. Or so that is what Kuja thought as he observed the confidence, arrogance and boldness of the creature he spoke to from behind his red locks.

While this strange shadow did indeed amuse him at the same time the high and mighty attitude annoyed him. The genome hated to be the lower rung to anyone and so when people treated him as if he was just some stepping stone to be stood upon, the genome’s agitation would flare and words and actions that probably should not occur would come into being thus setting an unsettling stage of gunpowder waiting to explode into chaos should the torch above the death trap fall into a pile and ignite it all.

Yes, the playing field was indeed shaky between the pair, but for now the genome did not attack as he continued to watch as the creature observed him and then seeming to come up with some form of thought, it made some action with its face that the genome could not see clearly before it was moving through the trees like a snake. With the smirk fading a bit, the genome watched the other move so it hung from the tree by one arm observing him like a curious monkey would.

In response, the genome would frown as his eyes narrowed coldly at the creature as it began to swing. The action felt more like an attack than a playful maneuver to the tightly wound genome and so in response, the genome turned around slowly to face the creature fully as his body automatically fell into a defensive stance and his tail swished in deadly slowness as his crimson stained eyes locked upon that flaming shadow.

Kuja did not flinch as he heard the sounds of the strange structure the shadow swung upon crunching as the creature’s feet made contact with the body of the structure that dug deeply into the ground. When the creature spoke, Kuja tensed even more as his slight crouch lowered even more.

“What do you mean that little moth?” the genome hissed as his blood began to boil. Possessed or not, Kuja did not hear the words as a casual question, but rather a threat and insult in a way. On one hand, the shadow could be questioning his abilities and in turn calling him a victim of someone else’s plans….calling him a puppet…a pawn. On the other, the creature could’ve been plotting to do something to him and in turn had asked the question not so much to get an answer, but rather to express a thought that it might act upon.

Both options whether they were wrong or not ruffled the genome feathers in many ways as they distinctly reminded him of his creator Garland. Often times, the old Terran would ask such rhetorical question only to turn around and test said words with an action of some sort. Actions that almost always got a response from the subject. These tests had been performed long ago upon himself and many other genomes to gather data; however, up until this point the genome had buried those memories deep within himself not caring to revisit his “younger days” or trying to remember anything that Garland had done before he had decided to break free of the strings and go on his own.

Having the memories pulled up so easily by this lowly creature made the broken genome go on the defense as he tried his best to figure out just what sort of game this creature was playing and why it was daring to test him. Did it not realize it was highly lucky he had not eliminated it the moment he saw it?

Why push his kindness and why a start a game that some of part of the possessed genome could not resist? What was the point? The catch? What did this creature want?

The questions and contradictions within only fueled the genome’s agitation even more as some of his feathers stood on end as the body found itself caught between the command to obey the darkness and attack and the softer command to be still and patient. The two commands made it hard to do anything except glare at the creature that seemingly taunted and tried him as the two within fought for dominance.

When the flaming shadow revealed it had wings a few moments later and decided to use said wings to glide to the ground, the genome instinctively flared up with magic, the energy cackling and flowing around his body as a warning and threat of things to come should the moth get any closer to the already wound up man. He could’ve slung the magic out if he had wished to, but perhaps it was the odd creature’s shifting shape or maybe its immense power that caused the genome to not attack as soon as the creature landed.

The power, arrogance, and confidence this creature displayed... Shadow or not, it was pulling at something uncomfortably familiar in the genome’s mind. The actions were mimicking something that the genome respected and adored for its power and might, but what that thing was Kuja could not name as the Darkness within made it hard to focus on much more than the present as the internal struggle continued on.

The creature towered over him, but the genome refused to back down even if he wasn’t in full control of himself. He was not afraid of anything…especially not this thing of fire and shadows. He would not cowered and run away. He would stand and fight even if the odds were against him.

Regardless of the chaotic feelings within, the genome stayed in his lowered position as the magic continued to flow awaiting a command as blue orbs drifted meet the other’s strangely colored eyes that glowed with the deep heat of melted rock.

He watched as the shadowy face split into a monstrous grin as the other spoke in that strange voice of its. It was telling him that his face and features had different forms and in turn told a story that he himself could not tell. From this story, the creature found its questions to ask; however, the explanation only made the glare grow deeper as the genome’s pale lips became a thin of displeasure as he kept a close watch the shadow.

“I don’t know what you believe you see little moth, but I can assure you that whatever you think you know about me is a lie. My secrets remain my own unworthy to be shared with the likes of you,” Kuja growled at the other as he gave the other a defiant look, showing his rebellious side despite the conflict within.

The genome was in pain….in terrible, terrible pain. Inwardly, he was being torn apart by the Darkness that sought to consume his Heart, while his mind was being torn apart by the words of this shadow that could somehow dig up the past and make him feel just as weak and as vulnerable as he did when face-to-face with the beast at the Iifa Tree.

He hated every moment of it as he watched the creature move to hang from the branch once more before pausing to observe the world. Then it's eyes returned to him as the creature looked down upon him as if he was nothing. In response to such a look, a tremble of agitated energy went through the genome’s body as his tail became still and he glared daggers at the large shadow that was once more balanced on the perch that should’ve broken under his weight.

The tainted and tense filled silence between the pair lingered on for a while before the creature was breaking it with his voice once more. He was taunting him again, asking what it was he could see in Kuja that he could not see in himself as the large creature slung itself onto its weak looking perch above once more.

Once back on it, the creature stood on the perch that moaned lightly under its weight, but did not break. The creature was quiet for a while as it seemed to observe the world once more before crouching down on its perch and focusing on the agitated genome. What came out of the other’s mouth was the stone that finally broke the dam that was holding back the genome’s aggression; however, the break did not happen instantly. No, it happened in stages.

First the genome’s body relaxed and the magic he had summoned earlier died off as the creature told him the path was not his own. Then the head was bowing as red locks shifted forward with gravity to curtain the face that looked at the ground as his shoulders slumped slightly. There was a long silence as the genome seemed to heavily consider what was said, but then…the shoulders began to tremble lightly as a light, yet exhausted chuckle escaped the genome.

“Not my own…path? No, no…I…I choose my own way in life…and so do not question the path,” the genome said in softer tones that suggested that maybe whatever was happening inwardly had come to halted and the original self had taken over. Indeed as the genome lifted his head and glanced up at the strange shadow with an exhausted, yet sad smile that suggested he was admitting there was truth in what the creature said. Yet while he was indeed admitting to the ironic and troublesome play, he did not know how to counter it in any fashion. The blue orbs that watched the shadow sleepily did not hold the trace of red that had tainted them earlier and they almost seemed to be asking without words if the creature could help. It was a desperate look. One that came from a being who had been broken and lost in sea of Darkness that was now drowning him. He sought out a way of the sea, but the man could not find the pillar…the rope…the hope that could save him, so he reached out on final time to what he could only pray was safety and not another mirage that he’d fall through. It was a risky plea considering Kuja had no idea what he was dealing with, but for a genome that had run out of options in this world, attempting to cling even to false hope was better the hell he was in. He wanted it to end, but the creature within was far from letting him go.

And so a few seconds after the genome had given the creature the odd look, the the smile crumpled as coldness crossed the pretty features of the genome, and the red tint once more flickered into his eyes.

“You have entertained me well enough, little moth; however,” the genome said in a toneless voice as he raised his hand towards the creature on the branch and then pointed one finger at it. “Your time for entertaining me is up!”

With that growl, the genome's hand would open so that his palm was facing the thing on the branch and then without much effort, the genome would easily summon his magic back into his body and let it surge to form orbs of energy that he would then shoot in rapid session at the creature. His free hand would join the action in an attempt to pummel the talking beast with as many orbs as he could as the possessed genome released strike energy upon the creature that was now considered a foe.
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Strike Energy: 2 posts until it can be reused.

Tag: Tag! You’re it!!

Notes: I am far worse off than a dog or rat, dragon….far, far worse. So tell me , what do you plan to do now that you have seen the truth of my predicament? Will you ignore me? Crush me?...Or save me?

[Deleted]

龍Dragon Shaman 巫
Are you challenging me!?

---

The dragon was an entity of the Darkness. His nature was aligned with that of Heartless, but his hunger stood more on the ranks of what many believed only the Light capable of. Many perceived that Darkness was evil and it consumed the light, but the two elements were opposing forces, one did not feed the other. Light pushed away the Dark, Dark pushed away the Light. He fed on the darkness expelled from others and commit himself to their purification. As a hunter he had to take the time to assess the situation before he sought the prey. This one was corrupt, no good for consumption. But the dark was in there this man and he would draw it out. Maybe not today, but someday.It would pleasure him to consume the chicken of his power b ut whatever corrupted him was beyond his capacity to handle. He was not sure if this power was natural or if it was the corruption, but egging on the man was the only way to find out. It did not take long to anger the chicken

A heart was weak. When it met with Darkness it did so because it had lost the innocence that once shielded it from the impurities of the world. Selfishness fostered Darkness and hatred grew corruption strong. A child was without risk to the Darkness, but when the world of adults began to corrupt their haven it was then a child was said to become an adult and their power over light was fractured by the unyielding force of a grownup’s misconceptions on what it meant to help another. To help without risking the self, to help by letting an enemy be punished. To help, but never getting involved. This is what many believed becoming an adult meant. To take care of oneself, to be responsible for only you. A child never forgets the good another has done to them. They never think twice about helping another. To them, compared to those they love, if they cannot help them with all that they are, than why were they allowed to have that person in their life?

The Genome responded violently. It was not something the dragon expected, but neither was it something unexpected. This corruption was volatile and created a formless torrent over the wizard. The world reacted to this cure that lay upon the mage, and tugged on the Darkness natural to the dragon. He had to stir more though, to make him ask the question that needed to be asked. He wanted to taste what was under his skin. The beast blinke as a touch of magic suddenly filled the air. The beast watched as the creature shifted and reacted in anger to his words. The Genome reacted violently and the large male jumped from the sudden sense of fear he felt. He was not sure how powerful the spell was going to be, but he did know when he hit the tree. He suddenly found himself thrown forward by the force of the tree being hit. The explosion cause sharpnel to erupt from the wood: splinters flying everywhere. the dragon landed and slid to face the eruption: throwing his arm up to cover his face. Several spears of wood chips stabbed into his arm, which he easily took out by swiping his arm across the air.

“It seems the chicken is a phoenix…” He grinned. “But he is still caged.” The beast ran his fingers through his hair and took a fighting stand, sleeve torn a bit from the penetrating branches.

The beast had to lure out that rage, that corruption and make it unstable. The darkness that followed him would take form if he continued this way…. Pulling his body down, arms held up and over his head like a boxer, he grinned.

“Can you still fly?” Darkness began to crawl over his fist and down over her arm. With a roar the beast whipped around and punched his fist into the tree, forcing it to come down.

The Void Punch consumed the tree and sent it roaring toward Kuja. The beast had an idea that would help ensure the phoenix never forgot him, but he would not dare tempt to phoenix to want to kill him. He wanted to force him to question himself and stir conflict.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~! | NOTES: *Void Punch Used; But can you imagine the horrible creature to cage such a beautiful bird?

[Deleted]

An unstable mess…that is what Kuja was. While on the outside, the Puppetmaster used his body to attack the strange shadow that had woken the genome within with his questions, on the inside Kuja was trying to pull himself from the deep darkness that the Puppetmaster had cast him in when he had reached for that one shard of Light within the crushing sea.

Kuja struggled, but the pulls of the dark ocean were strong and constantly pulled him down with hands that were unseen and strong. The hands wrapped around his body and tried to force hope out of him with their crushing weight. The Darkness wanted him to submit so that the Puppetmaster could have full control once again; however, the stubborn genome refused to go down. He kept trying to swim in the Darkness even if he was sinking fast. He wanted to go towards that Light. Towards freedom, but the possessive Puppetmaster wouldn’t allow. The creature’s grip tighten painfully around Kuja as it continued to pull him down. It was suffocating…and yet Kuja still struggled against all odds.

As this eternal struggle continued on, the Puppetmaster had managed to gain control over the body and keep it for the time being. While the creature glared angrily at the red shadow with the genome’s pretty face, the thoughts and actions were not performed by anything human. Keeping its true form hidden behind the genome, the agitated Heartless had lashed out at the flaming shadow that had dared to disturb the prisoner it had worked so hard to keep sleep. The foul beast had given the little wretch hope and now thanks to said hope, it would be a while before the Puppetmaster can gain the order it had established earlier. Furious at extra work that needed to be done, the Heartless within sought to crush the shadow and so using the magic the genome possessed, the creature had unleashed an attack upon the creature that infuriated it so.

In response to the attack, the red shadow tried to jump away, but the magic held by the genome was nothing to scoff at. With ease the magic tore down the tree and had enough force to throw the shadow forward and towards the ground. Following the direction the creature went, the genome’s body would turn to face the shadow that slid across the ground as black pieces of the structure the magic had shattered rained all around it.

With cold dark filled eyes, the Puppetmaster watched how the shadow reacted to the flying debris. He saw it get hit, but then with a swipe of its arm, it was taking out the sharp pieces that had embedded themselves in its arm.

The creature made a comment that only caused the genome’s fists to ball up so tightly that blood was drawn from the palms as he shook in anger and something else that was caused from within. Crimson rimmed eyes would narrow dangerously at the creature as it took its fighting position and lowered itself to the ground. As the creature asked its question, the Puppetmaster tasted the Darkness radiating off of the creature before the creature was roaring and swinging about to unleash an attack of its own.

The attack was fast and aimed at the structure nearby that was quickly consumed by said Darkness before it was rushing towards the genome with amazing speed and force. The move was almost too fast to dodge, so even though the body did indeed crouch and launch itself skyward, the protruding arms of the black structure were still able to slap and cut the genome as the bulk of the structure rushed by underneath. As the flying structure crashed into other structures around it sending up a cloud of a debris and black shards behind the now floating genome, the body would lower slightly as it remained air born with its eyes locked on the red shadow below it.

Cold fury was flowing off the creature in waves that mingled with the Darkness that began to shift and sway off of the genome's body as the battle within escalated to a new level of viciousness. The cursed shadow's words were giving the genome within hope and in turn the Puppetmaster’s grip upon his prisoner was beginning to loosen.

Not good…the creature thought to itself as it raised one hand towards the sky with his palm open. Dark energy began to form slightly above that stretched palm becoming a small black sphere of energy that began to grow in size.

“Even the brightest of flames are consumed by the Darkness. I don’t know what your game is little moth, but I guarantee you have chosen the wrong master to mess with. I keep what is mine and do not share,” the genome spoke, but the voice that came out was not his own. This voice that spoke was deep and full of malicious power. It was a voice suited more suited for a Dark Ruler than a genome lost in the world. The shift in voice and the sudden coldness in attitude as Darkness flickered around the genome’s body in visible waves suggested that for the moment the red shadow was dealing with the monster rather than the exhausted man that had spoken to him earlier.

With the words out in the open, the sphere that had grown triple its original size was swung forward and down in an attempt to crush the red shadow under the might of Demi. The Puppetmaster wanted to destroy the red shadow and all that was around it. He much rather see this place and creature wiped from existence then let this world and beast be known as the place and thing that broke him. He would not lose the puppet to a mere shadow! That would be unacceptable to his master…and failing its master was the last thing the Puppetmaster would allow itself to do.
_________________________________________________________________________

Tag: Tag! You’re it!!

Notes: The beast that guards the phoenix is hideous and selfish indeed, but if you can crack the cage just a bit more even a monster won’t be able to hide behind the beauty of such a bird freed.

Cooldowns:

Demi: 2 posts
Strike Energy: 1 post until it can be reused.

[Deleted]

龍Dragon Shaman 巫
Are you challenging me!?

---

Darkness and Light danced together in a melodious ballet the brilliantly combined the aspects of both life and death in tandem. The play was a tragic opera that was unable to be seen in its true from save by its actors who lived each and every day by its pain. Their roles had long since transformed into the face of their new realities. The dragon who walked like a human and the freed man a slave to the ambitions of a master were the actors and the woods their stage. The corruption that flowed from the wizard, cursed by the hand of an insatiable hunger of the darkness of another’s heart, and decorated the stage. Corruption that had filled the Genome expelled into the dark woods and shaped a new world from the old. There was always a natural darkness to these woods, which had been once cursed by the selfishness of a witch queen. Though she was gone: a curse still lingered. Fear and hatred never fully faded once a world was touched by it. Fear that hatred would return would always linger. With the presence of the cursed body it sparked that deep-seeded response from darkness, which still permeated the vestiges of the light of the woods, into reawakening. All that was touched by his corruption came to life, but as a malformed and twisted reawakening straight out of a nightmare. The former sleeping world had been disrupted once again from its dream of peace.

The debris from the Genome's earlier attack littered the ground. The man, who had pushes to stand after the first round attacks stood with great pride. Even as his injury caused his arm to bleed, the minor pain would not be what he let get in his way today. Though it was only the monster's attempt at stirring conflict to test the extent of the would-be-phoenix's powers under the influence of the corruption, it could lead to far much more trouble than he intended it to. His gaze was sharp and his body energized by the natural darkness that spilled from the woods, which fought to compensate that which Kuja drew out with his unharmonious presence. A world would always seek a balance, but when the darkness became too much it would begin to lose the light it so desperately clung to. This provoked much weaker Heartless to advance beside larger ones that would find the Heart of the World at easier access. Though drawing out the Darkness lured a few Heartless it was not a strong enough lure to herald the grander Emblem Heartless the beast sought. The Darkness was also a dual-edged sword. Where it stood Light was never far behind. Light had the power to tempt the greater Heartless the dragon sought. His arm still crackled with arcs of darkness as his Void attack sought to cling to his human flesh and consume it.

His attack had sent the phoenix to retreat, but what returned was certainly not the caged fire bird he had spoken to. The confusion and despair was suddenly replaced with hunger and rage at the wavering control it held over the wizard. The Dark Shaman chuckled and drew his right hand over his face as the last remnant of the dark energy faded away. Here, in such darkness his body was fed with an infinite well of energy. Here he was as at home as a Heartless, but unlike them his belly did not hunger for the Light. Perhaps with the wizard losing his control over the corruption hr would be more inclined to make mistakes in a blind, narcissistic rage. There was only one way to find out... But suddenly the corrupted wizard spoke. It proved the narcissism drawn out by the curse, but in its anger it cast a spell that had the capacity to crush time and space. It took mere seconds for the sphere of energy to increase in size before it reached its critical mass. The beast could only brace for the forceful impact as his own body weight was used against him and the twisted, condensed black energy imploded with the force of a blackhole. A snarling growl tore through his throat as he was forced closer and closer to the ground by the crushing G-Force, but this would not yet be enough to deter him. A grin drew itself on his features as his fingers dug against the ground he was being forced against. Tougher and tighter did he draw his digits before curling them into the earth. His shoulders flexed as his other muscles began to lock and prepare for the amount of force his next action would bring.

The roots that created an underground highway for the trees, shrubs and flora provided the beast with a unique, improvised tactic for the dragon who had to deal with an aerial opponent. Wrapping his finger over a buried root the Titanic beast heaved and ho'd. As soon as the Demi Spell dispersed he would strip the root from the earth, subsequently cracking its hardened shell of bark up to the tree's base. But the action did not end there. He curled the root in his hands as if pulling rope and further cracked the bark along the natural growth of the tree. Before long he lashed the root creating a whip action that vibrated along the tree and forced the bark to splinter and break apart as he peeled off the length. Raising his head he would inhale deeply before pouting his lips and releasing a stream of fire against the chipped off wood that flew threw the air. The fire raced up and down the length of the tree, including the strip of root the Titan had claimed. With this in hand he would crack the flaming length of root up through the charred and flaming bits of bark that flew through the air to strike the airborne wizard.

He wanted a challenge? The dragon would provide it in spades.

After his attempt to burn and anger the corruption further the beast released his improvised weapon and took off running into the tight, twisting woods.

Would the wizard give chase after the little, red moth?

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~! | NOTES:*Dragon Bloodline Fire Used. In a game of cat and mouse, the mouse always bites back.

[Deleted]

“Are you done fighting yet?”

A cool voice would ask the genome that had unexpectedly become still and quiet within the darkness that infected his body. There was no answer from the genome that remained limped and suspended in the dark web. Was the genome perhaps sleep once again? Good. That would make its job so much easier. Without the original owner fighting back, the Puppetmaster would have full access of the powerful mage’s body and powers. And with full access he would crush the shadow that had dared to cause chaos by daring to introduce Light to its deep darkness.

Confident that the eternal battle within had been won, the Puppetmaster’s powers amplified greatly shortly after the Demi spell had been unleashed. As blue eyes shifted to red ones rimmed with gold, the possessed genome smirked cruelly as he watched the shadow be crushed under the might of the gravity alternating spell. The creature was crushed, but was proving to be more resilient than the Heartless had anticipated. Sure, the other looked human, but the strength and endurance that this fire moth displayed was indeed above the norm for a human who would’ve been defeated by now.

Rage and darkness still flowed in visible waves off the possessed genome forming an odd shadowy shape around his form as the true nature of the Puppetmaster began leaking out the body that could barely contain it. Even with semi-transparent tentacles lashing the air behind the genome, the more powerful Heartless stayed within his container as it watched the little moth suffer and endure the earlier blow. A confident smirk was plastered across the selfish creature’s face as it floated a few feet away from the flame like shadow that now seemed to be doing something to the ground.

Not thinking that this shadow could actually match the might of his puppet, the arrogant Pupppetmaster allowed the shadow to make its counter as it watched the creature dig into the black earth and pull the wires of the odd structures all around from the black surface. As the creature did this, the Puppetmaster’s eyes would drift to the nearby structures that had begun to crack and send shards of debris in the air. On instinct, the Puppetmaster would turn the mage’s floating body towards the left as one arm came up to take the blows of the debris that bit into the pale arms and peppered the exposed skin and feathers of the rest of the genome’s side.

The pain and damage was minor, so the cocky Heartless simply let what happened, happen as it watched from behind the slightly raised arm as the flaming shadow used its flames to set both the debris in the air and the structure that had been cracking on fire.

Even as hot wood peppered the body staining loose and floating cloth black as the possessed genome floated back slightly from the heat, the Puppetmaster did not take the shadow’s makeshift weapon seriously. Yes. It saw that the creature had made a flaming whip of some sort from the wires it had yanked from the earth and yes, the master did indeed see the weapon slung towards him.

However, instead of trying to dodge, the overconfident Puppetmaster curled the body it was using into a ball as it turned away from the flaming whip and allowed it to whack into the genome’s body. The Heartless didn’t think of the consequences of such an action. Didn’t understand just how much it had underestimated both the shadow it fought and the genome it sought to hold dominion over.

As the flaming whip smacked into genome’s back sending an unimaginable sort of pain through the system as the unnatural dragon fire bit deeply into feathers and skin alike, the body did drop to the ground landing upon its knees and bowing forward as pain caused it to shake for a moment as it tried to recover.

What is this creature that it hurts so much? The Puppetmaster thought as it heard the sounds of feet running. Glancing up, it would take note that the shadow was fleeing. Seeing this made the earlier curiosity and concern about what the shadow was fade as a shaky smirk crossed the lips of possessed genome.

Despite pain and the burning sensation upon the back, the creature tried to force the body back onto its feet; however, the body refused to budge.

“What is this?” The Puppetmaster growled lightly out loud as it tried once more to move the body that had somehow become like a heavy sack of stones that refused to budge no matter which way it was pushed.

"Out…" the command the Puppetmaster heard from within was soft at first making the creature wonder if he had even heard the whisper at all.

“What?” the creature growled lightly out loud.

“I said get out!”

This time the command from the genome that was within the Darkness was loud and clear as unexpected pain came from within. The puppet…it was attacking back?! But how and why? How was it not still strapped down by dark chains? How was it resisting? Pushing against its will?

The thoughts swirled in the Puppetmaster’s mind as he tried to push back against the genome’s resistance; however, as it pushed back the creature found itself being held back by a force that was matching its own! In desperation, the creature retreated back into the body and did its best to subdue the genome, but this time around the man would not go down. With an impressive display of stubbornness and will power, the genome pushed against the Puppetmaster until with a mighty yell, genome and Heartless were forced apart!

**

Falling back against the ground trembling from pain and the sheer amount of energy that was used to part himself from the creature within, Kuja remained still for a second as his spinning mind did its best to reorient itself in reality. He couldn’t see well and for the most part he did not understand where it was he was or what was going on. All he knew was that inwardly it felt as if everything that made him...well him was ripped to pieces and then thrown back together in a sloppy fashion, leaving him confused and at a lost on what to do. Outwardly, he could feel the high energy levels that signalled he was somehow in Trance Mode lowering. He could feel his body becoming more and more drained as it reverted back to its normal state; however, despite the drain the genome remained alert as the pain of what felt like dragon’s fire still crawled along his skin and back where the whip had struck him.

He wasn’t sure how on Gaia he ended up near a dragon, but what he did know was that he was still in danger.

The rattling breath and shuffling of something nearby were signs enough of that. With eyes that could only see shadows and odd forms, the genome sat up slightly from his downed position upon the ground just in time to see what appeared to be a giant spider? Flying octopus? A Malboro?

Kuja wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing, all he knew was that said thing was coming directly at him and looking to do him harm from the way the front tentacles were bent…and that was all he needed to know to act.

Pushing back pain, Kuja quickly summoned a ball of energy that he quickly shoved in the direction that he hoped was the thing’s face. Not sitting around to watch the end results of the spell, Kuja listened as that thing let out a roar of some sort that rattled the ground and surrounding areas as he pushed to his feet and stumbled as quickly as he could away from the danger. He wasn’t sure where he was going and his energy level was so low that he could not concentrate on summoning a portal to escape, so he stumbled on through the twisted landscape, hoping he could at least loose that creature that sought to harm. Under normal circumstances, Kuja would’ve crushed the thing where it stood, but these were not normal circumstances. His body was damaged inwardly and outwardly, he was partially blind, and had somehow been forced to use so much energy that he could barely think straight as it was.

He didn’t understand how it all happened, but figured it had something to do with whatever happened back at the Iifa Tree on that day he had met the bloated fly. That fly…it had done something to him that was royally screwing him over at the moment; however, even miserable Kuja vowed that if he ever got back on his feet, he would return to the Iifa Tree and undo what the creature had done to his world and then do some hunting of his own of the Heartless that had started this hell in the first place. All he needed was time to recover.

With that thought in mind, the genome continued to move until he was swallowed up in the cool, dark, silence of wherever he was. Slowing his pace, the genome leaned heavily against what felt like a tree. Rough bark bit slightly into his hands and exposed lower chest and stomach, but the genome did not mind as he paused to catch his breath and recompose himself once more.

It didn’t seem the creature had followed him, but even so he need to prepare for anything. But before that could happen he needed to do something about this fog in his mind and catch his breath. He could not counter and fight back against whatever that thing was if he remained in this state of disorientation....

**

Meanwhile back in the area where the trees had been ruined and a flame whip had been created, an angry beast shifted in its spot as its front legs moved to rub at its eyes that had been forced shut when its prey had decided to use a simple ball of energy in a clever way. Growling and blinking away the last bit of light that had blinded it, golden eyes would scan the dark forest around it for its puppet.

With a dissatisfied growl, the Puppetmaster would take note that his prey had managed to get away despite the broken and blinded condition it was in. While it was annoying that it would indeed have to hunt its prey down to reclaim it that task would not be challenging since the one it sought was crippled in a way that it would not be leaving this world without the Puppetmaster’s help. After all as a Heartless, it still held onto a shard of the genome’s Heart. A shard that would cause problems for the other if not reunited with the owner soon.

The Puppetmaster supposed it could give the genome just a brief taste of freedom while it dealt personally with the very source of this little set back: that wretched flaming moth. Growling even more eight powerful legs would slam into the ground one by one creating dark holes that lower ranking Heartless rose from as the large spider like Heartless began to march its way through the forest and hunt for the moth that had run.

Due to size and speed it wouldn’t be long before the moth would hear the stomping of many legs and the hiss and chatter of Heartless as he moved. If the moth were to turn, it would see an odd spider stampeding towards it. Most of the creature was indeed that of a large spider, the Heartless Emblem glowing fiercely on its underbelly like a black widow’s red marking as it moved; however, its head was that of a twisted mask done Picasso style with one eye sitting high and to the left while the other was low and to the right at an angle from the first eye. The nose was a twisted mess and the skin green. The face created a twisted half face that sat above the dripping fangs of its mouth as it tore through the woods determined to catch and end the little moth who had given it much work to do.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tag: Tag! You’re it!!

Notes: Ah the phoenix is free, but now little moth, flee, flee, flee!!! For you see the cat in the game was not a cat at all, but a demon hiding and biding its time to feed.

Cooldowns:

Used 1 Energy Sphere as a flash grenade to temporarily blind the Puppetmaster – 1 post
Demi: 1 post
Strike Energy: Ready to use.

[Deleted]

陰 Dragon ☯ Shaman 陽
Can you see through the mist!?

---

The beast charged through the woods at his top speed. His legs carried him across the rough terrain and over the shifting obstacles. There was no saying the beast could not run given his size. Living in the mountains has proved useful more than once when traversing the unfamiliar terrains that met him along his journey. He sought a means to bring an end to this Heartless scourge, but not for the benefit of a people that all but abandoned him. He sought to restore his brother from his current state, but to do that he had to find the Heartless that took his brother’s heart. He knew not that the hearts taken by Heartless were lost in the stream of existence between the worlds, creating from it yet another dark beast in an infinite cycle of want and loss. These hearts did not belong to them so they were unable to satisfy their primal need to be whole.

The woods were often considered a sacred place not the be tread upon save by the holiest of creatures, but the pair of monsters tore through the woods with abandon, becoming reapers of nature. Their callous disregard for its silent inhabitants would fling the world out of balance, forcing it to waste resources repairing the damage done by the pair, unless it comes to be irreparable. The dragon firmly believed that without the introduction of conflict the natural world would become stagnant. With this would stand to come its eventual demise. The chaos forced the world to wake, live and it would respond to the encroaching forces, becoming stronger as it learned.

The wizard, or whatever riddled his body with corruption, failed to understand that even with chaos one was required to eventually cease. There was nothing in this world that lasted forever. To consume the world's balance would ensure its downfall. Itlf it was too peaceful the light fought. If it was too corrupt the dark battled. The caged phoenix had erupted from its gilded prison only to look onto the world with hate; a hate born of the lies whispered into its ear and the betrayed trust that remained upon the cage's floor: charred feathers that could not take the punishment.

The beast would hear the slurring rage uttered by the Heartless the used the crippled phoenix as a host. A parasite that twisted the world and killed its host soon after. Corruption was inedible for a being that fed from the dark. It was a manufactured hatred that was not of the self, thus impure. By basing it from its host the dragon could, but for a moment, taste the true form belonging to the felled bird. He too could not fly. Jagged fingers devoid of the membrane many dragons requires to fly, but that did not make him helpless. He was no bird. He was no han. He was a dragon. He was the embodiment of nature. He was its peace and torrential destruction. Arching his back the brute would kick off the ground for the nearest tree.

The brute hugged tight against the broad trunk, his fingertips digging into the hardened shell. Shifting his hips he would allow his boot's toes to bury themselves into a viable groove. His amber eyes scanned around the dark woods, ears catching the faint rattle of the horrors leaking from the shadows all around. The Heartless on the hunt. Looking up he would catch sight of his next target. After adjusting his body weight the brute launched himself off the trunk, body twisting like a cat's as he sprung for the neighboring branch. Now dangling from the high limb he would tighten his arm's muscles and pull himself up.

He pushed up from his crouched position and raised himself to a standing one. A grin soon painted his features with a chilling expression. Holding out his hand he would allow darkness to swarm the limb, filling the air with a beacon for the Heartless and parasite to follow.

"Though he does not yet stand strong enough to face the true enemy, he now knows your scent, your face..." The beast pulled his arms in before violently throwing them outward.

Using his normal fist he would assault the tree's canopy, tearing from it a multitude of branches weak enough to snap from the cascading force of his punch. From his back spread his wings, which mimicked the leafless branches. The long, bony digits were soon swallowed by the darkness that had surrounded his body. The membraneless digits soon were coated with a skin of darkness that tightly wrapped over the bony flesh. Using the falling debris to hide his descent: the dragon would draw back his shadow covered fist, readying to strike. His wings allowed him to glide a short distance, but once he met his limit the extra appendages would lose force and vanish, leaving the heavy male plummeting toward the soils. But his target was not the arachnid Heartless, but instead he targets the tree just across the way. Eyes focuses and he took aim of the center, focusing all his power.

His Void Punch made contact with the tree's trunk and a grin emerged on the warrior's powerfully fierce expression. "In a world of Darkness, the flames of the Ancestor's rage burn, grrrawrl!" The strangled, beast-like noise escaped from his chest as he sunk a bit against the tree.

The male kicked the flat of his boot against the tree before he flipped backwards, mid air. The center of the trunk cracked, trails slowly growing across the tree as it filled with Darkness. For a moment it would appear as if an agonizing expression was drawn on the trees face before the 'eyes' and 'mouth' would bleed with darkness and explode out. Bit of trunk shrapnel flew in all directions and the, now structurally unsound colossus came tumbling down. The Titan would land on the ground in a crouch and pull his arms over his head to protect himself from the utter disaster of his conflict.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~!| NOTES:*Used Dragon Bloodling Flight; Void Punch; Sometimes knowing your limits is the way to go.

[Deleted]

The moth fled and the spider chased, its mind set on destroying the thing that had managed to give the puppet it held the strength and nerve to kick the Puppetmaster out of his body. The puppet had fled, but that did not matter to the large Heartless that held onto the precious shard of the genome’s Heart like the greedy creature it was. No matter where that genome fled, the Puppetmaster would be able to find him, the taste and scent of that particular Heart distinct from the rest that flooded the Dark Woods that now trembled under the presences of the Heartless.

There was no escaping for the genome and there would be no escaping from the moth either. If the spider ever caught its prey, it would rip it to pieces one limb at a time. Make it suffer before feeding upon the Heart within. The feeding would be fun and with the lower rankers to help perhaps prolong the suffering of that black Heart it sought, the Heart would be even tastier to eat. All the Puppetmaster had to do was catch the moth who was proving to be quite quick despite having only two legs. Still, the vengeful Puppetmaster did not give up as it shoved trees out of its way and sent a out a wave of weak Heartless to slow down the moth’s progress.

They chased and chased. Got closer and closer. And then when it seemed as if the Shadow in the lead would be able to tackle that moth, the moth leaped into the air and took the trees again.

Clambering and fussing as they climbed over each other in an attempt to go up the tree, the low ranking Heartless indeed tried to get to the moth high above, but the moth was clever and instead moved from one tree to another pulling itself higher and out of reach just as the previous tree it had been resting on collapsed under the weight of the greedy Heartless.

As the tree smooshed some of the lower rankers, the angry Puppetmaster slid to a halt amongst the large structures as it tilted its ugly face upward to try and find the flaming moth high above. Odd golden eyes locked on the moth just as the other began to speak.

Hissing at the words the Puppertmaster’s strange mouth opened.

“You think that will save you, little moth?” it asked as it bared its fangs in response to the grin the other gave it. The creature was not afraid as it smelled darkness welling up from the moth. No the creature was livid.

Digging one leg and then another into the structure that the moth was on, the Puppetmaster had planned to climb up the tree and bring both it and the little moth down with its weight and might; however, just as the creature attempted to lift its heavy body upward, the little moth reacted by swinging its arms forward and causing a rain of various pieces of the structure to rain down upon the Puppetmaster.

In order not be blinded, the creature automatically lowered itself to the ground as it bowed its head and let the rain of material pepper it. Some of the pieces stung, but none were enough to harm the powerful Heartless that simply shook the mess off as the lower ranks under it shuffled to get out of the way of large branches that would harm them.

While the creature was looking away it did not see the moth grow wings, but the creature did hear the moth move. So as the rain of debris stopped, the Puppetmaster would tilt its head upward as it stretched its legs and tried to knock down the moth that glided over head. Whether those sharp legs made contact or not with the moth was beyond the creature’s knowledge as it swirled around just in time to see the little moth make contact with another structure. There was a loud crashing sound as its dark covered fist hit that tree, but outside of this and some strange words spoken and inhuman sound escaped the moth nothing seemed to happen.

Not really phased by the sounds or the words, the Puppetmaster chuckled darkly at the moth.

“Flames may burn, but unless they are honed in upon something to destroy they are useless,” the creature said before it let out a strange clicking sound that sent that the lower ranking Heartless rushing forward and towards the moth who had done a flip and was making its way towards the ground. Following behind the flood of Heartless, the Puppetmaster moved towards its prey bent on destroying it once and for all; however, the confidence from the spider quickly faded as the structure that the moth had hit began to seep with darkness before it began to crack and then moan and then with a sigh it came toppling downward upon all.

“What?!!” the Puppetmaster gasped as it tried to quickly slow its heavy body down. A task that proved very difficult to do, especially when the ground below it was so giving. Sliding across the ground, the spider dug its legs into the soft ground slowing itself down slightly, but not enough to avoid being in the direct path of the path of the falling structure. Doing its best to scramble backwards, the creature tried to avoid the full impact and while it did succeed to some degree, the heavy structure still managed to catch two of its outstretched legs as it finished its descent and crushed over half of the lower ranking Heartless under its solid belly.

Letting out a low growl of pain, the Puppetmaster pulled back and tried to get its legs unstuck without breaking them, but as it did this the unexpected happened. As the Puppetmaster pulled back, a flash of bright light from its right caused the creature to look over in that direction just in time to see a ball of white energy sail through the air and crash directly into its legs.

With much snapping and spewing of darkness, the Puppetmaster screeched loudly as the two legs that were caught were burnt and broken by the energy ball that had been fired. In pain, the creature wobbled back unsteadily as the lower ranking Heartless wavered unsure of what to do as the higher ranker moved about the forest in pain until finally finding a balance point, the creature eyes locked on the spot where the energy had come from.

There leaning stand before one of the trees was its puppet.

Feeling new fury fill it at the thought of its servant attacking him the spider let out a screeching howl as it rushed forward with every intent of forcing its way back into the puppet; however, as it neared, the puppet moved from its spot rather quickly sliding behind the tree and leaving in its place something sharp that jutted from the tree. Narrow eyes widened in shock as the body tried to stop itself, but too unbalanced the creature kept moving forward propelled by its own momentum until with another screech it ran itself right into the thing on the tree. Rearing back in pain, the spider yanked the sharp object off the structure as it took a few wobbly steps back its legs moving to try and knock what appeared to be an odd staff of some sort out of its body, but it was not having much success.

**

Kuja had stayed in the cool silence of the forest, catching his breath and trying to regain energy and his sight as he listened to odd sounds float in the air around him. His head tilted slightly this way or that as he had to use his sense of hearing and smell more so than any other to figure out what was going on. He could tell by the scents he was in a wood or forest, but whether it was night time or simply shady, the genome could not tell as his eye sight remained heavily blurred as chilling air pressed against his overheated skin. The wind was a minor relief to the aches and pains that assaulted him from all angles. He could hear animals and insects all around, but there was something else mixed within those sounds that made the genome uneasy.

He couldn’t tell what it was, but Kuja knew that whatever was making the sound did not belong to this world much like himself. These things that did not belong...they whispered from the shadows and made him feel like something being hunted. With eyes that could barely see, the genome looked around the area, but could not make out the forms of the Heartless that hid so well in the shadows.

Staying where he was for only a while longer, Kuja eventually pushed himself back to his feet with every intent of finding a way to leave this place he was in. He knew he couldn't flee from the world at the moment, but if he could just hide for a while from that thing then --

Don't run. Fight! Put that beast in its grave, a voice from within was scolding him for even thinking to flee. It was the part of him that always fought back even when he was losing. The part of him that no matter what never gave into weakness and always did what it could to survive....even if it tore him apart to do some of things that had to be done.

He couldn't run. The thing would follow. The genome understood the facts well, but at the same time, could he really fight back? He was a mess as it was and logic dictated that he should just flee, but....

Kuja's head snapped up from its bowed thinking position as the sounds of battle reached his ears. He had no doubt that something was fighting whatever had come out of him...and if that was the case could he really let another fall to the same fate as himself? Could he turn a blind eye to it? Walk away?

No. This is my problem, I should deal with it. Messed up or not, I cannot run and leave someone else to clean up my messes...the genome thought to himself as a calm came over his tired body.

That's right. He wasn't afraid. He could do anything if he just put his mind to it. This situation was no different. He could win....he just had to try.

With his mind made up, Kuja gathered what energy he could before stumbling towards the sound of the chaos somewhere deeper in the forest. As he traveled, he felt the air twist and turn. Felt it become colder and nauseating. It was that same sickness he felt at the Ifia Tree...the sickness that came with too much of the Heartless' darkness...

Gritting his teeth, Kuja pushed on using trees to keep balance and guide his path over the uneven terrian underfoot. The more he traveled the louder things became and the more his logic screamed at him to run, but he pushed the logic away and focused instead on getting rid of the pest up ahead. He kept moving only coming to a rest behind a tree when the sounds of battle had reached a deafening state.

Peeking around the tree, his eyes would only show him shadows and blurs, but these shadows and blurs were enough to help him understand the situation. That thing that had come out of him was now after something that dashed about in the limbs above. While Kuja wasn't sure if the thing above was dangerous or not, he understood that whatever it was had the beast distracted meaning it gave him time to do something.

So pulling himself back behind the tree, the genome pressed his back against the tree as he summoned his weapon to his hand. The ornate staff felt heavy in his hands, but by some miracle the genome was able to keep up his strength and hold the staff firmly in hand. Listening to the battle going on, Kuja waited until he heard loud sounds of a tree beginning to fall to act. Mustering up his energy, he moved around the tree he was behind and then lifting the staff wedge the weapon as deeply as he could into the tree's trunk as he lifted it up and over his head. Even weakened the genome's strength was enough to sink the weapon deeply into the tree making it an unnatural branch.

With that task done, Kuja moved so that his body hide the weapon as he did his best to focus on what he was to do next just as the tree finished its descent sending tons of noise and debris into the air. Unphased by the earthquake or the raining debris, the genome only raised his arms to protect his face from the small pieces that flew his way. As he did this, he squinted his eyes in the darkness as he peeked through the crack in his arms, his eyes picking the moving shadows from one another until he finally found the spider thing he was seeking.

As he kept his eyes on it, he watched as it appeared to get stuck and began trying to pull itself from under what Kuja could only assume was the fallen tree from earlier; however, whatever held the creature down did not really concern the genome as the rain ended and he lowered his arms until they settled before him.

Using what magic he could get his tired body to channel, the genome managed to form an energy sphere in his hand and then with an aim guided more by movement and sound rather than actual sight, Kuja launched the ball in the direction of the struggling beast and was rewarded with the satisifying sounds of something breaking off that beast as it let out a wail of pain.

Smirking slightly, Kuja relished in the sounds of misery that the creature was making; however, the celebration was short lived as the creature turned its attention to him and charged. With the smirk never fading, Kuja gathered energy into his body once more as he waited for the right moment to make his move.

Waiting until the creature was too close to stop itself, Kuja pushed himself from his spot and moved behind the tree again. As he did this, he heard the creature scream in pain as it impaled itself upon the embedded spear.

Ha! It worked! Kuja thought as a bit of relief flooded him for a momnt before it was replaced with a pain that took his breath away and made him feel dizzy. Falling forward, Kuja managed to catch himself on the tree with one hand as his other hand reached up and grasped his chest armor right over the spot his Heart was.

What now? was all the genome could think as he took the moment the wounded creature was distracted to try and regain himself again.
________________________________________________________________________

Tag: Tag! You’re it!!

Notes: And going beyond those limits to help another is either stupid or brave….

Cooldowns:
Used 1 Energy Sphere to break the two caught legs of the Puppetmaster – 1 post.
Used 1 Energy Sphere as a flash grenade to temporarily blind the Puppetmaster – Ready to reuse
Demi: Ready to reuse.

[Deleted]

陰 Dragon ☯ Shaman 陽

Can you see through the mist !?

---

A hunter had to understand his prey. He could not simply chase and kill upon his whim without understanding where what he hunted lived, how they lived and how they thought. Outsmarting each other was what predator . He had to know that all he did brought a reaction toward his actions. Even though a hunter knew what he did, that did not mean he knew what he prey felt. But, the young dragon was well versed in what it meant to be prey. Fai was often pinned beneath the brutality of his elder twin. He was smaller than his twin so a target of his predation. There was none he knew who was crueler, but there was no other he knew that spoke the pure truth beneath his brother's deceitful actions. Cai would claim that he was making Fai stronger, that he did so, so Fai may survive. Pain was incomparable to the nothingness of death. These pure truths forbade the gentle care a brother could provide. No matter how brutal their exchanges became, Cai always apologised for what he had done and Fai, who was blinded by the abusive nature of his kin, being much more receptive of his love than brutality.

To be preyed upon one needn't be covered in feathers or fur. Nor was crawling upon your belly was a requirement of submission. Even the mightiest of predator, such as man, risked being slain by the very beasts they hunted. Fai knew the risk of enticing a hunter in their prime. What beast of power could resist such a challenge? Whatever possessed the Phoenix was a dangerous power introduced to the hunt by man themselves. And though Fai did not hold that knowledge, knowledge of the origin of the heartless: he did know that wherever the hearts of man wander, these beasts too crept. Both creatures were clearly powerful, but hunters too had a level of predictability. Heartless appeared to possibly be either Parasite or Hunter, but no matter where they stood in the hierarchy there was always a beast capable of killing a beast greater than themselves.

As he produced a productive amount of chaos equal to the brutal hunter's rage and hunger, he would show his strength and cleverness as prey. Prey knew how to hide and hunter knew to be patient. Fai had experience in both these worlds. With the way the spider Heartless was acting he was no hunter. He was a scavenger of weakness and creature who feed off the power of others, but this left the Phoenix a piece to contend with. Where the Heartless was a Parasite that made the Phoenix the hunter. The brute pushed to stand, landing after he created destruction across the field. The arachnid was in a troubled state: pinned by the fallen structure. The dragon watched as his dark puppet came to pay back the beast for his assault on his spirit. It seemed -- he was correct in his assumption, but the dragon knew that if the Parasite was drawn to the hunter that made him the prey: a weak and elusive figure that tempted the mighty hunter. A grin curled over his features as he raised his left forearm into the air. There his body would begin to glow a deep red as Darkness began to swallow his form. The Void Punch had sent the Heartless and his minions into a world of hurt, but it was only just beginning.

“I am the ravager of Darkness, the feeder of Plight.” His body was slowly covered in a strange, red-plated armor that glimmered with his magical energy. “I will consume your power and be reborn as the hunter.” He raised both his arms, his entire body now covered in this strange armor.

The shining armor was devoid of weakness and increased his power. The Red Titan was awakened again. A magical energy seemed to pour from the plates as the Heartless became confused and spastic at the birth of this creature’s strength and other draconic attributes. But Heartless were Heartless and those that remained lunged for the armored dragon. Perhaps this had been the Heartless he was searching for? The one that had taken his brother’s Heart? The only way to find out was to defeat it, but could he defeat it? With the spider pinned down by a bigger spider, the dragon reveled in the role of scavenger. The Phoenix did not look well after his plight with the Parasite, but perhaps he could take over? He may not win, but it was opportunity to learn of his weaknesses and overcome them. He stamped his foot down and faced the charging Heartless. The mask of his armor peeled back and a stream of fire erupted toward the heartless and would likely destroy the weaker ones and hopefully striking the immobile Spider Heartless. Snapping the space in his armor closed the Moth pointed to the injured and weakened spider. If he went after the Phoenix he lost his chances at answers come the time.

“Come spider, are you strong enough to handle him?!” The Moth’s helm seemed to grow horns that curled back, making its visage even more terrifying. He would tempt the spider toward him, but with his armor he was a physical force to be reckoned with.

---

Dragon Bloodline Transformation: 2 Post Duration; N/A Cooldown Using his Dragon Bloodline, Fai can take a hybrid form with full dragon armor and horns for up to a 2 post Duration. This form boosts his physical strength up twice its original level, but disallows him from using his Shadow Magic. His speed is reduced by half, but his Dragon Breath is increased twice its length and considered a magic ability. This ability can only be used once per thread.

Dragon Bloodline Fire: 2 Cooldown Using his Dragon Bloodline, Fai can breathe out a cone of fire to obliterate his enemies. The cone of fire has a limited range of 3ft and can only be blown straight forward. This attack does medium damage. During the attack he is unable to move.

Dragon Bloodline Intimidation: 2 Post Duration; 3 Cooldown Using his Dragon Bloodline, Fai can grow his horns and dragon scales along his face to intimidate an enemy into fighting him. This ability works like Provoke and draws the attention of any targeted enemy or ally.

---

龍 Fai 'Titan' Jiao-long 巫
46 | Male | Dragon
profile

TAGS: Next~!| NOTES: Playing the game is the only way to find out the winner!