Tantalum was amused. Aquila was trying his hardest at trying to tell her something she already knew. It was not that she didn't understand his eagle talk. She wished to reveal as little knowledge about her as possible, while seeming to be way to open. So, she affected a confused look. After half a minute more of ducking and complex wing movements in midair, she gave a bob of her head and a hoot of acknowledgement, and spiralled down towards the pool. Suddenly, she had a naughty flash of inspiration, and acted on it.
She dove down as soon as she came within diving distance of the pool of water, and transformed.
She hit the cool, refreshing pool naked and human. THe shock of the cold water jolted her mind, and stimulated her body. She took a couple of deep strokes downward before getting ready to surface.

Aquila began following her down toward the water descending quickly to keep up with her. He was more then a little surprised when she transformed mid dive and hit into the water. He Pulled up suddenly flapping his wings hard and skimmed the water with his talons a bit before regaining a little altitude. Watching her dive underwater and begin to surface. "Bloody womans crazy" He thought to himself. Then having his own little idea of inspiration he thought "Wonder how she'd react to that.". Aquila flew up a little higher and then retook his human shape, his previous inhibitions temporarily gone, to Drop expertly into the water; Positioned to go down as deep as he could above Tantalum. When he got close he made a quick hand gesture and Created an Air Sphere around the two of them using his control over the spell to Suspend them in the middle of the pool.

Woah now! Ah well, at least I know what he can use, she mused as air rushed in around her, and she felt her own weight dragging her down onto the bottom of the bubble of air. Regaining her composure, she crossed her legs and looked up at Aquila concentrating on the sphere.
"You've got some spell there, meester," she affected a slow drawl, a grin slowly scrawling itself across her face. She stood and, ignoring both their nakedness, reached out to press a hand on the strange, bubble-like air spell. It stretched a bit, then resisted her hand. She pulled back, and the wall bounced back to its normal, spherical shape.
"This'll do wonders when I'm using earth water," she muttered, half to herself. She wondered briefly if she could con Aquila into helping her on her next raid into a house.

Aquila looks at her sitting down on the bottom of the Air Sphere. "Its not only practical, But its increadibly durrable. Its repelled every attack I've ever seen thrown at it. And it has real interesting effects when its lit on fire." He sits down next to her and closes his eyes focusing on the bubble making it rise slowly to the surface and then sit floating on the top of the water. "This isn't even a small portion of the controll I hold over the air though. I could wipe out most of the forest if I wanted. Of course I'd probably have to sleep after wards. He laughed a little, enjoying the peacful setting they were in as the Air sphere floated near the edge of the pool.

"Heh, yes," she agreed agreeably. Aquila was an intriguing figure. He blushed before when she showed her nakedness, but this time, he did not blink. Mayhaps he found that Tantalum herself did not bother with clothing because it held nothing to her but to mingle with other humans. Still, she was curious. Aquila was a successful experiment, yet in his experiment, he had not acquired the natural overtaking of instinct of his animal side, Tantalum decided to know more about him soon.

As the Air Sphere reached the shore he placed his hand against it. "Its gonna pop now." He said mater of factly And surly it did. Aquila Jumped up onto a particularly large rock and stretched out on it Allowing the sun to wash over his body. He closed his eyes and froze, suddenly realising he was naked. "Why the hell didn't I care a moment ago..." He thought to himself, "Last time something like this happened I had just gotten done with those bandits...I changed back...huh..." His Thoughts trailed off as he suddenly became very aware of the fact there was an attractive naked woman in the same vicinity as him. " How do I get myself into these situations."

Tantalum noticed Aquila suddenly stiffening. Hah! seems like his conscience caught up to him. I'm going to enjoy this, She sauntered slowly up to him. The warm sun and the warmer stone he was lying on would probably be doing what she was expecting it to do. He won't be able to get up without... complications. She's seen the types before. Such a gentleman, she shook her head condescendingly.
"Aquila, there is no way to say this, but you're making an ass of yourself with your self consciousness," she smirked.

Aquila Took a deep breath and then let it out. He sat up with his eyes still closed and did his best to cover himself. "I am perfectly aware of my...problums." He stops for a moment. "I just don't spend much time around women, Especially not, like this." He glanced at her again. "Most women can't even meet my gaze. and the few that can just want to pluck me like a pigeon." He stops and thinks about what he just said. "no uh...pun intended. I mean in the monetary fashion. They assume son of a powerful mage, must be rich. Sadly Its not true at all." He strokes the feathers on his wrists momentarily. He suddenly Felt like being very honest, maybe it was the seclusion, or the fact that this woman seemed like she might be able to understand the hardships of his life as a were-beast.

"When my father changed me and my brother. I couldn't take it and I left. I was gone for nearly a month before I came back to confront him. He had pushed me all my life to be his Damn heir. I did my best to Follow in his footsteps. But I just didn't want to live a secluded life. I wanted to help people with my power. I wanted to have a wife and a family. Then he put this damn animal in me. Sure I'm stronger, more agile, I can see farther and jump higher. I can even change shape and Fly on wings of my own. But at what cost? My humanity, no thank you."

"What worries me the most though" He continues, "Is that the more I shift into my other forms, and the more I kill and eat the warm flesh of other creatures. The more lost I become in the primal urges. It scares me quite frankly. It feels like one day I'll turn into an Eagle, fly away, and never change back. Like I'll be lost inside my own primal mind." He suddenly Tears out four of his feathers and Tosses them into the air. gives another hand gesture and shouts in Yujirran "Razor Wind" and the feathers shoot off across the pool and splinter deep into a tree at the far end. "Damn things," he whispers. "Always there to remind me of what I've become..." He trails off with his head down, seeming more ashamed now of his own childish rantings then of his nakedness.


OOC: don't get scared by the ammount of sudden posts. You could not read them and totally get away with it. Unless of course your involved. Which only one of you really is. In which case you should read it. But for the rest of you you don't have to bother. Unless you want an interesting story.

OOC: yesh, for all those not concerned with Tantalum and Aquila, this is just character development for both of us. That, and it'll probably stop soon, cuz I'm going to sleep after this post.

Tantalum tilted her head inquisitively. There was something altogether not human about her pose; as if she was ready to act upon instinct rather than human judgement. Then she sighed and sat down next to him, unaware of how her jiggling body parts affected Aquila. Her hands supported her upper body, and she raised her head to the sun and closed her eyes. Drinking in the warmth, she was silent for a moment after Aquila's outburst. Then, very slowly, she opened her near-iris-less eyes and gazed hauntingly at the other were-raptor.
"It will never happen, Aquila," she chose her words carefully, "although you may feel more in tune with your eagle side every time you become him, the rift between human and animal is too great a gap. Humans and other such sapien beings are unique. They, unlike animals, follow their own sense of judgement, rather than pure instinct. That is what sets humans apart from our feral partners. Even in our animal forms we still retain a piece of our humanity. It is never shed. It cannot be shed. When you become your wilder self, your human half becomes less aware. The more you change, the more you feel in touch with your wilder side. That does not mean you will lose yourself. Your human side will always seek to dominate, to control. It will eventually surface, even if you don't want it to," Tantalum grinned slyly, "so, of course, you may feel you will lose yourself, but you will always bring yourself back from the edge. Kind of like a paradox, no?"
Then, Tantalum rolled onto her chest, giving a naughty kick of her leg and showing too much firm flesh. She flashed her backside to him before sighing, and adding;
"You are not human anymore, no. You are not eagle. You are more than that, and even though my origin was perhaps bleaker than yours, though no less arduous, I am proud of what I have become. Do not live under the shaded wing depressed Aquila," at this, Tantalum lifted a hand and placed it on Aquila's chin and drew his eyes to hers, serious, "you should be proud that you are different. These feathers," at this, she placed a hand on his wrist, "though they remind you of what you've become, they should also remind you that you've been chosen to be special. A unique, new breed of creature that may soon outrun its racist fore-runners and become one of the most powerful races on earth. Course," she flicked a wet lock of hair from her face, grinning, "I could be wrong, and I could be just bullshitting. I tend to do that."

Vex was somewhat surprised that Karvan had reacted so much about his weapons and decided that it probably had to be a love for them. He walked behind Karvan down the road, looking at the shops they were passing and ingnoring some of the stares they were getting.

After eating, Juras returned to the barracks to wait for the others. He'd seen the fish shop the two were-beasts ate at, but didn't go in, because he wasn't ready to be seen as part of the group just yet. They'd have to "grow up" in a hurry tomorrow, if they'd be working together. After watching the dark elf follow the two werebirds on their hunt, he figured there would be a fight. That meant hardly anyone was getting along. Ninth Special Ops? Forgetting how stupid the idea was in the first place, if these people didn't get along better, out of respect if nothing else, it'd be more like the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelth Units, if not more. Didn't they realize that they might be the last hope for the entire country?

As charles see's vex going down the road he got his attention. " Hiya how have you been? The other dragon skin didnt like me too much i can tell, although you may be differnt from him of course. Would you like me too imbune you items with great unique powers that no one has ever seen before? Or would you like too keep them as is, just like the other dragonskin? Of couse i will show you my arts of work before you decide, come too my place and see my work."
As charles points the the blacksmite and walks toward it, come too my shope and be amazed.

OOC: i have new weapons and armors. ill make a inv. of them later.

Deciding that once he gets other weapons off his mind so he can eat all he wants later he followed Charles into the blacksmith, grunting to Karvan that he wasnt following him.

He walks into the blacksmiths and puts his flail and spiked shield on a counter and points to them, "Crap", a word he picked up from the dwarves that ment not very good or bad, he hoped the word wasnt used just by dwarves and he was making a fool of himself.

Aiera shook her head. "No, I'm not bored." She took a bite of her fish, then smiled. "By the sound of it I think you were lucky, to have your father and your brother there for you. My only real family was my father, my mother left when I was born. She wasn't exactly thrilled about me being a werecat." She took another bite thoughtfully, then continued. "My father was killed by a half-vampire when I was 9, I've lived on my own since then." she paused, thinking. "As for Lunaaq, I've lived here all my life. I've actually spent more time as a cat than as an elf. Though I suppose that is a little silly." She smiled, then took another bite of fish.

OOC: ph34r my mary-sue ish ness!

Hale finished swallowing his fish then contemplated what she said to him. Just because my father was there, it wasn't always a good thing. And as for my brother... uh oh. "Its not that silly, but as for my brother I'd say its about time we headed back and put his replaced his money bag before he notices it was gone in the first place." Hale stands up and offers his hand to the lady.

Charles looks at the flail and the spiked shield, "Indeed they are crap, come back before the raid and i will have your weapons/shield fixed and uniquely imbuned. Might you have a ruby on you? not a payment, but too imbune your flail."

Charles looks at the spiked shield and threw it out back, "ill just make you a whole new one."

I singled one of my boys too fetch matierals so i can make the shield, and i put the flail on the counter mumbled a few words. "Come back tonight, ill have them ready."

Aquila looks at Tantalum lying next to him. Going over what she just said in his mind. "but I don't want to be different" He thought to himself. "maybe your right" he said to her. Aquila layed back and stretched out next to Tanta nuzzling his head up against her arm. He was tired. Between the shape changing, the spells, a full stomach, the warm sun and the emotional ride. He was exhausted. "You smell nice..." He murmered as he closed his eyes. Surrendering to the Darkness of his mind.

Karvan shrugged, feeling as though he could manage on his own without another Dragonkin. He hadn't had too much contact with his own kind, and from the few he had met gathered that he and the rest of his race all tended to have their own agendas. He was rather interested to meet who it was he would be working with, but if they didn't want to meet him, that was fine. He walked down the road a ways, until he came to a butcher shop. He eyed the meat, drool filling up his mouth. His stomach took over, and he pointed to a large steak and slammed down five gold pieces. The elf who worked there jumped suddenly, turning around. The elf looked at the gold pieces, then pointed to the steak again. "That's eight gold pieces." He said, holding up eight fingers. The dragonkin grumbled, reaching into his pocket to pull out three more gold pieces, leaving him with about twenty, and grabbed the meat. He lit a small fire on his sword, tossing the meat up into the air and impaling it with the blade. A few seconds later, He flipped it up again, catching it on the flat of his blade. He did this several times for about a minute, and then he finally caught it as he threw it into the air. He heard several people clapping and turned to see that they were clapping at him. He bit into the meat, still unsure why these people were watching him eat. A few of them tossed down some silver and copper pieces at his feet. He smiled, picking them up. They thought he was a street performer when he simply cooked his meal! He bit into the meat again and walked further into town, the small crowd he had attracted dispersing. How interesting... I manage to do something basic like warm up a cold piece of meat, and they all act like I'm a sword swallower. I guess things are really different here compared to Yujiro.

General Tahoe glanced at the small wooden clock in his office. It six in the afternoon. The sun was growing lower in the sky, much like his attitude to this whole mission. He sighed, sipping his tea and watching the sky. There came a knock at his door. "Come in." He said, not turning to see who it was. A slightly deep voice rang out in the office.

"General, I hope you've been well." The general gasped, nearly choking on his tea. He turned around, meeting the gaze of the person who had entered his office. He was an elf, with long, light brown hair and green eyes. He wore a uniform indetical to Tahoe's except it was a dark blue, and he had several extra patches on the right shoulder. The general saluted, holding his tea cup in his left hand. "At ease, I came here to talk, not give orders. Has the Ninth S.O. arrived yet?" The general nodded.

"Yes, sir, I just spoke with them. They should be back in two hours to begin their first mission." The man who had entered Tahoe's office put a pair of gloved fingers to his chin. "So, they all arrived today?"

"Those that didn't already live here sir."

"Excellent. How do you think they shaped up?"

The general gulped a bit. "I'm not quite sure what to make of them sir. They've never met each other before, and they're all very different. Some are a bit too different."

The man in blue laughed, and the general flinched a bit. "Sir, may I ask why you're laughing?" The man in blue turned away from the general, folding his hands behind his back.

"General, do you know the sucess rate of this mission?"

"I was told it was very low sir."

"May I ask who would be the best choice for you to send on this mission?"

"The troops most fit to accomplish the task?"

The man in blue nodded. "Yes, that's absolutely correct. Although they may seem strange to you, I would like you to know that I have looked over their records personally, and I feel that their capabilities are far beyond that of any mere soldier. As a matter of fact, any one of them could easily dispatch an entire militia of our soldiers. Would that not qualify as different?"

General Tahoe nodded. "I suppose it would sir. I never thought about it that way before, sir."

The man in blue nodded. "Please try and think things over a bit more next time before you jump to conclusions, general. Remember that there is no room for error in repelling these invaders, and it may just take a group of extraordinary people to stop them. That is all." He said, walking out of the general's office. The general gritted his teeth, and tightened his grip on his teacup.

"So, that's what you call them, eh? 'Extraordinary people'? Well, I call them freaks. Potato, potahto. And as they say, it takes one to know one, High General Malfice." He slammed his teacup into the table, spilling its contents. He walked into the next room, completely composed. He approached one of the younger officers. "I would like another cup of tea, please." He said, handing the cup to the young man.

Tantalum pursed her lips. It was not wise to fall asleep in front of a well-known gusnatin thief, even if he was without clothing or current possessions. It is said that gusnatin thieves can steal your skin without you being aware of it.
This man. He has lived in a safe haven, without the need to hide your possessions, without fearing of stolen property displayed for ridiculous prices on the street markets. He is too innocent, she thought sadly. Even so, she will take into account of the pressure of being heir to a powerful family of magicians. He is forced into the imprisonment of responsibility, whereas she can fly free of her constraints at any time (unless, of course, she is caught stealing)
She silently lifted herself up, and slipped away from Aquila. She decided it was a time for a refreshing swim, both in water and in earth.
With a quiet splash, she sliced into the water like a knife. The cool water surged around her limbs, and she gave a few strokes to push her further into the deeper end. Then, she paddled around, enjoying the warm sunlight beating down on her and the coolness of the water.
When she deemed it time to get out again, she swam towards the shore… and went INTO it. The earth rippled around her like water as she touched it. She did not dive, rather, just floated on top. The earth swirled around her like liquid sand, caressing her body, as if welcoming her back to itself.

Aquila woke up, a little dissoriented. He felt the air getting cold, and realised where he was. He looked around for Tantalum and didn't see her. He'd had an interesting Dream. He was walking through a feild towards his tower and then suddenly a Golden Eagle Emerged from his bedroom window and gave a hunting cry. It flew towards him and He began to run. He could hear it flying towards him and feel its eyes on his back. He looked back to see that it was diving on him. He awoke just before it got its talons into his flesh.

Looking at the setting sun he realised what time it was. He stood up and streached out fealing much better. "Tanta" He called, "Its time to get back." He streached out a little more. "Ok well, I'm gonna go ahead and go, if your even still here..." He Changes into his Eagle form and prepares to take off."To bad she's not here, Would have been nice to see that body again. Sense I'll probably not get another chance." He gave a little bird laugh. and took one last look around.


OOC: I made a new board here it is

OOC: finishing off this thread

The owl silently watched from her perch deep in the forest, her haunting gaze following the fading silouhette of Aquila as he made his way back.
Then, she spread silent wings of brown and white, and climbed into the air. She followed silently, a ghost in the air.