Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Fire and Ice (1x1 Closed)

The country side was quiet, as one should be. There was no one around to disturb the purity of nature, and it was quite the serene scene one would enjoy.

At least, until a huge explosion shook the surrounding area. A large cloud of smoke would rise into the area, from a ring of trees that held a secluded little area not far from the dirt path that ran through the fields.

"No, not like that!" shouted a male, who stood rather tall and had dark hair. He waved the smoke from in front of him as much as he could, and would give a heavy sigh. He would eventually begin dusting the dust from his violet jacket and shake his head.

"I'm sorry!" his female companion would say, giving him several bows of apology. "I just don't understand it!" She stood up straight, pushing her black hair from her face, looking at him with her violet eyes. She would have seemed fairly normal, except for the black cat-like ears and tail, and the slits she had for pupils, which also resembled a cat's. She clenched her fists in front of her, and looked to him with a renewed determination.

"One more time, I think I can get it right."

"I'm afraid to see you try again. Each time it gets progressively bigger. Are you sure you are cut out for magic, Riiko?" the male would say, rubbing his head.

"I have to be! Please don't give up on me, Eros!" she said, running to him and clinging on his shirt. He would look at her with his golden eyes, and then give another heavy sigh. "Can't we take a break? Maybe we are working you too hard. Let's stop for a bit, and then we will try again later."";

Two figures walked the dirt path that was in the fields, the sound of bickering echoed through country side. A man with short spiky black and white hair walked with his hands behind his head, an annoyed expression on his face as the female companion behind him continued to talk.

"Arka, we're lost. Is it really necessary to keep wandering instead of just asking for directions?" Her voice rang out through the field. She narrowed her blue eyes at him when he didn't answer and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. She sighed heavily, "Arka, don't ignore me!" she shouted out.

Arka rolled his red eyes, and groaned "Rae, if you would be quiet for five minutes I could figure out where we are." he said, continuing to walk down the dirt path.

Rae frowned, crossing her arms across her chest. "Ridiculous." she mumbled, shaking her head slightly.

Both of them stopped in their tracks when there was an explosion, both their eyes looking towards a ring of trees where smoke was rising. Arka rose a brow as he looked across the field, has the war reached the country side too? he thought. He shook his head slightly, shrugging off the thought, that explosion did not seem like an act of war.

Rae stood beside him, tilting her head slightly as she too looked across the field towards the ring of trees. She glanced at Arka and then back towards the trees, "Should we check it out?" she asked.

Arka pushed his mouth to the side, and then gave a slight nod. "Might as well." He said, leaving the path and walking across the field towards the trees. Rae was right behind him, her constant nagging had stopped and Arka thanked the gods for the change of events.

"Noo~!" Riiko would call out, pulling on Eros shirt as he laid next to a tree. "Please... If You don't, I'll keep practicing by myself..."

Eros, who had his eyes close, would open one just slightly and look up to her. "Don't you dare. You'll destroy this whole place if you do," he said. He would shake his head. "I don't understand. Magic isn't a hard concept. And your race is really good with it."

Riiko would frown. "Well, so sorry we can't all be masters at magic like you," she would say, and turn quickly, stomping off. Eros would smirk as she did, and close his eyes again.

Riiko would leave the opposite side of the trees, and walk out a ways, to sit in the tall grass, nearly completely hidden.

Arka walked casually over to the ring of trees, his hands still folded behind his head. Rae had pulled out her sword and was walking cautiously behind him.

Arka glanced at her and rolled his eyes, "Put your sword away, if you have that thing out you are insinuating we want to fight.." he said to her, stifling back a yawn.

Rae narrowed her eyes at him, "Whatever caused that explosion could be a foe, you should always be prepared." she said, refusing to put away her sword.

Arka sighed and walked into the trees, he glanced around as he walked, his red eyes looking for anyone that could have caused the explosion. Rae was still right behind him, holding her sword out in front of her. She stopped when Arka held up his hand and pointed to a guy who was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed.

Eros had heard the footsteps, but thought it Riiko at first, returning from her little fit. "Are you ready to apologize for that outburst?" he would ask, keeping his eyes closed. After a moment, though, he would hear the second set of footsteps, and he opened one eye, looking at the two newcomers. "Oh, you are definitely not a neko-hume," he said, quickly pushing himself up. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small blue sphere in his hand.

"I'm assuming our little incidental explosion caught your attention?" He was on the ready, just in case these people were going to be hostile.

Arka watched him as he pulled out the sphere and tilted his head slightly, "Was just making sure no one was hurt." he said, glancing around the area. He took a glance at Rae, she still had her sword out and had her eyes narrowed.

"Sorry to disturb you, we were passing by on our way to the next city" Rae spoke up, once there was no sign of this being a trap or hostile. She nudged Arka in the arm, turning to leave she noticed Arka wasn't moving at all.

He was curiously looking around, "So how did you cause this explosion? I'm curious." Arka smiled, looking at the guy.

"I didn't," Eros said, in a 'matter-of-fact'ly tone. He shook his head before giving it a toss in the direction Riiko had left in. "For more trouble than it is worth, I'm trying to teach someone the basics of magic... but somehow, doing the simplest spell turns into the biggest mistake."

He looked to the two, a little curious. There was nothing in this area to really be travelling for, other than to just be away from people, or as a mid point in a greater destination.

"What's in the next town for you two?" he asked, raising a brow in curiosity. That curiosity would dwindle just a bit, as there was a rustling behind the trees, and Riiko emerged to rejoin him. Her tail was swishing behind her in frustration.

"So, I've been thinking," she started, not even noticing the newcomers. "I think that you and I need--" She stopped, and looked to the male and female whom she hadn't met. She looked at them for a long silent moment, before finally saying, "Oh, hello..." Her voice was apparent that she wasn't sure what was going on.

Arka tilted his head when the neko came into view, he grinned charmingly. She was cute, he had to admit. He cleared his throat and walked over to her, taking her hand and lifting it to his lips. "Why hello there" he said smoothly, giving a flirty grin.

Rae rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she put her face in her palm. "You are such a lecher." she growled out, hitting him in the head with the hilt of her sword.

He winced, grabbing his head, "What the hell!?" he demanded, glaring at her.

"I apologize for my companion, he has no decency." Rae said, her eyebrow twitching some. "We're actually just passing through the next town, we're on our way to the capital." she said, keeping their business there under wraps.

Riiko was a little caught off guard. She grew flustered at the greeting, and stuttered to say something, that didn't come out the least coherent. She would blink when the female struck him in the back of the head, and then apologize to her.

She would quickly recover, and then offer a smile. "Ah, it is no problem. So, you are on your way to the capital? Eros, didn't you say you needed to head there to talk to someone?"

Eros would raise his eyes to look at the group, and then glare daggers at Riiko. Idiot cat...

"No... I don't recall saying --"

"Oh, don't be like that!" Riiko said, slapping him on the back and giving a laugh. "Wouldn't it be fun to travel together? I'm Riiko, by the way," she said, extending her hand to the other female. She was completely oblivious to the fact that she had just invited herself to join them on their journey... but of course, that was Riiko. "And this is Eros," she added, pointing to the male. He would just nod, still irritated at his companion.

Rae rose a brow taking the girls hand and shaking it awkwardly. She was a bit confused as to why the girl was sharing information with them, usually it was wise to never tell a stranger on the road where you were going, or even who you were. She didn't sense anything unfriendly about them though, so she gave them a small smile, "Rae, and this lecher right here is Arka." she said, gesturing to Arka.

Arka smirked slightly at Riiko, "Hey~" he said smoothly. "It would be fun to travel together, what a wonderful idea." he grinned charmingly.

Rae rolled her eyes slightly, he would never give up, but at least he had stopped making advances on her. She glanced at the one name Eros, "Sorry about this, you may join us if you like, but it's up to you." she smiled, she could see the annoyed look in his face.

Eros would just shake his head, not really knowing what to think. Riiko had already given their destination, so, they would more than likely run across the pair again, if they didn't travel together now. And there was always safety in numbers. His golden eyes would look at Riiko, who had become flustered again when Arka spoke.

He would stand up straight, and look at Rae. "Okay, I don't really see any harm in it. Just, traveling with two complete strangers... It all sounds safe." He would sigh, and then pick up his things. "At least it will keep Riiko from practicing her magic for a while." If that thought, he could feel a bit more at ease. At least he wasn't at risk of being blown up.

Rae smiled slightly, "I was thinking the same thing, but it would seem our companions do not know or care about the dangers." she shook her head, glancing at Arka. She sighed as well, sheathing her sword as she waited for Arka to be done being a lecher so they could continue on their way.

Arka smiled at Riiko, "So Riiko is it? That's a cute name~" he grinned, "I'm Arka, and that stick in the mud is Rae. She acts all tough and cold, but she's really a softy." he smiled.

Rae rolled her eyes again, "Shut up Arka."

Arka grinned and turned back to Riiko, glancing at her ears. "You don't see very many cute girls with adorable little ears like that everyday."

Riiko looked at him and blushed, quickly covering her face and making her way toward the road. "We should hurry! If we are going to make it to the next town before dark! I don't really like to travel at nights when there might be bandits around." Her tail swished behind her as she ran. She turned to stop and look at them, waiting for them to follow.

"Riiko doesn't understand advances like that," Eros said, with a smirk to Arka. "She comes from a secluded tribe, so she isn't exactly sure how to react to that." He started walking toward the neko, and as he did, he spoke to Rae.

"So, I suppose that means you and him aren't an item?"

Rae scoffed, "Never in a million years." she said, crossing her arms and following behind them.

Arka only smiled, watching the neko's tail as they started walking. A secluded tribe eh? He could have so much fun with this. He wondered how red he could get Riiko's face and grinned, that would be fun.

Rae glanced behind her to make sure Arka was following, she looked to where he was looking and rolled her eyes again. "Bandits are the least of your worries at night in this area, or so I've heard." she said, bringing up what the neko had said.

Arka clicked his tongue, "Pfft, you have nothing to worry about with me around. I thought we already discussed this?"

Rae scrunched up her face some, "and we'd all be dead if it was female because you'd be too busy swooning."

Arka chuckled, "Nonsense, I would take one for the team, so you could escape." he grinned more, he could tell when she was rolling her eyes because she would tilt her head slightly.

Eros chuckled just a bit at Arka's comment. He liked his attitude; laid back and a ladies' man... well, most ladies he supposed. He looked back to Rae. "Well, I'm sure we'll be fine in this group," he said, stepping onto the road, and deciding to take the lead.

"Riiko, you made sure to grab your notes, right?" he asked, but didn't look back at her. Riiko nodded her head, and pulled out some papers to confirm. When he didn't reply after that, she gave a sigh, putting the papers back.

"So, what do you guys do?" she would ask, looking to Rae and Arka... but mostly Rae.

Arka saw Rae start to open her mouth and jumped in front of her grinning at Riiko, "A perfect question kitten~" He came up beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I happen to be a mercenary, do you know what that is?" he asked, glancing down at her. "I'll tell you anyways, A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of compensation, also known as moolah~" he drawled out the last part. "and also we basically are neutral, we don't take a side, we just take the money."

Rae sighed, slapping her palm in her face. "Not all mercenary's are neutral Arka."

Arka scoffed at her, "See there is the misconception people get..those are not mercenaries..they are soldiers, or knights..whatever.. if they are picking a side, they 'miss stick in the mud' are indeed not mercenaries."

Rae groaned more, "Oh god, here we go again. Arka if I give you gold will you please...just stop talking." she threw her hands up and looked up to the sky as if actually asking god why.

She did understand, but let him speak. And she couldn't help but laugh at Rae's reaction. "Me and Eros are mages... He is trying to teach me how to use magic better." Eros had explained that, just subtly before, but this elaborated a bit. "He's also looking for something, but he won't tell me what that is." She glanced at him as he looked back at her.

"And it is for that reason exactly! You just go around telling everyone everything." He would hasten his steps just out of aggravation. He wasn't usually in a bad mood, but, after nearly being blown to pieces, it was hard not to be.

Arka glanced at Eros and chuckled a bit, and then glanced back at Riiko. "Mages eh? That explains that explosion. You will have to show me some magic tricks~" he grinned at Riiko. "Rae here is a soldier, she picked a side, and we are currently heading to the capital so she can find her family."

Rae scowled slightly, "Arka! Despite the fact that you are telling my life story to complete strangers, no offense.." she said, glancing at Eros and Riiko. " If I wish to share information, I will tell them myself!" she hissed.

Arka smiled, "Well I figured it was only fair that we share since they did." he said, glancing back at her.

Rae frowned, "There is no 'we', we are not together or anything, we're not even friends!" she said coldly, glancing to the side.

Arka shook his head and turned his attention back to Riiko, "Don't mind her, like I said she is a stick in the mud."

"Ah... I don't think she is," Riiko said with a smile, as she looked to Rae. Eros couldn't help but laugh, loving how completely oblivious the neko was to anything Arka was actually trying to say.

"Well, at least this walk won't prove to be boring," he said, rubbing the side of his head. He was slowly starting to get into a better mood... Slowly. He looked at the small sphere that he was still holding in his hand from the first part of the encounter, before placing it back into his pocket.

"So, if I may ask, Rae. Who are you trying to find from your family?" He wasn't trying to be nosy, but rather, trying to keep the conversation going.

Rae went to open her mouth to reply, but again Arka interrupted her.

"Her father." Arka said, smiling back at Rae.

Rae's eye twitched slightly, "Yes, my father." she said, with an annoyed tone. She glanced up ahead at Eros, "We were separated when the war first broke out, I'm trying to find him because I know he can find my mother, and sister." she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Arka smiled, "See I told you she is a softy." he chuckled as he dodged Rae's scabbard that swung for his head.