<sub>So, today was the day.

There was a sort of calm about the lamb, who sat now at the bank of the blue expanse that was the pond, above the place where her underwater burrow was. A limb draped over the edge, creating ripples.

Funny thing, ripples, how small they started, but oh how they grew!
First one, then two, then seven, twenty, forever overlapping.
She thought that maybe, everyone was a ripple. They started out small, alone, and then they grew, reaching out to other ripples in the surface of life's pond, helping others grow.

And the more you rippled and helped others grow, the more you grew.

Yes, that's what she thought.

The clouds reflected in the water danced away. Not unlike her, soft and slow moving.

She wasn't very strong, the little lamb. in fact, she was very weak. Very easily broken.
She would trip and skin her knees and cry for hours, baa, baa, forever it seemed.
Alone in the woods, she would curl into herself and cry into her lavender scented wool.

But those things were her. It was all her. She was not strong, not for herself.
The water rippled as she slid down into it. Returning with a strange skull. almost equine more than cervine in looks, and bigger than herself.

She settled it upon the ground. Staring at it.

She never was strong, not for herself, no.

But for her friends...

Her lips quivered as her canines elongated with a painful sounding crack limbs shuddering as they lengthened, skin splitting and falling away, wool left upon the ground.

Exposed muscle and tendon and bone was soon covered by a pelt of startling crimson, once mirror shard eyes a startling ruby, encased by lashes not unlike a spider's legs.

She was not She anymore. She was him. He who was strong. But not for himself.

His head dipped, slipping the skull atop his head, a perfect fit.

He set off towards the statues then, thick ropes of muscle sliding under fur.

The lavender lamb.
The crimson stag.
Two halves of the same being.

He, who was not strong for himself.
But for his friends.
He would run to any fight.</sub>

_{"yes, let's"}

he offered a smile behind the mask, tail flicking.

in reality he didn't like hope very much. In fact, he hated it. the crystal meth of emotions. It hooks you fast and kills you hard. It's bad news. The worst. It's sharp sticks and cherry bombs. When hope shows up, it's only a matter of time until someone gets hurt.

He didn't vocalize this opinion. but rather, tucked it away at the back of his mind. His pessimism wouldn't do any good today.

Instead he merely touched his nose to her forehead for a moment, a sign of trust and reassurance.

He smiled, standing close, but never touching.

((Go right ahead! It'll be interesting how they both participate ))

Nekumbra bowed to her friend. "No, they're not here yet...I know their scent and it's nowhere close yet.", she replied.

This was a good sign to her. She knew that Iugulare, Anirapio, or the Rock Hounds were not close by. The infection had a pungent smell that she knew well. When they were close, she'd be the first to alert her friends.

Her nervousness subsided a little here. She had two strong deer by her side, but what if Iugulare brought her rock hounds...she shuddered at the thought...

And she knew Iugulare would bring the rock hounds...

(Awesome, thank you! 8D)

That same morning the old, grey stag named Ishibaba had spotted Liam trotting along, and he smiled to himself at the sight of the young buck. He had grown up so quickly in body, and yet he was still as fancy-free as a fawn. Although, Liam's insecurities did concern him... When Liam suddenly began to gallop in almost a distressed manner, Ishibaba felt uncertainty seize him. He then noticed Nekumbra atop of the hill, and remembered his pledge to her. Did Liam mean to harm her?

Ishibaba galloped after Liam, readying himself to shoo him away in case if there was a misunderstanding...but he was talking to Nekumbra, and looking around wildly as if he were afraid someone or something was to attack at any moment. It was then he remembered: Nekumbra was indeed in danger, but not from other deer. "Liam?" Ishibaba said in bewilderment, out of breath from his sudden sprint. The young buck regarded him with nervous eyes that were nevertheless lit up with anticipation. Could it be that Liam intended to fight for her...?

Turning to the spider-doe, Ishibaba bowed deeply and announced in his deep voice, "I will fight for you, Nekumbra. I have no desire to see you hurt, and wish to free you from your dark servitude."

(From now on, both responses will be put in the same post. :> )

She looked terrified, Nathaniel mused, but what of? She seemed nervous as to her very location, near the hill atop which lay the shrine dedicated to the deities who controlled the forest, whom Nathaniel had yet to meet. He doubted that he would, it was a long standing agreement between him and most deities, that he would not interfere in their business, and they would interfere in his, yet, it seemed to be programmed into the form that he was, that he felt safer near there. So why was this one so afraid of being around here.

She seemed spidery with her eight legs, and perhaps that was indicitive of some darker behaviors, but then if she was so evil, she probably would not fear the deities, and that would also mean she would probably not come here. It was a curious scenario, the stag thought. He approached slowly, so as not to cause a panic in her, as perhaps it was simply that she was simply a nervous person. Though another theory occured to him. She had come near to the hill where deer felt safest. That meant that she was probably afraid of something, someone.

Was she being chased? He had seen it periodically, with the wolves, and then with those mysterious creatures of bone. He still had that crystal that he had taken from it, he was studying it. What he had learned so far was that it housed the consciousness of the creature that he had fought, what he was curious as to was that it did not seem to come from a creature that looked like the boney hound that he had fought. Sure, it had been a hound, but from what he had gathered was that it had had flesh.

He was mentally digressing, he returned his thoughts back to the matters at the here and now.
"You seem afraid," He said, his voice lacking fear, and containing a little empathy. "Is there something hunting you?"

Apologies if I got any of the details wrong...wait is the only one role play involving all characters?

apparently i was just reading it wrong. Nevermind.

((You got everything perfect ))

Nekumbra bowed to the newcomer. "Yes...today is the day I will be hunted by my former friends. They wish for me to continue a certain lifestyle, but I have refused, and since then I have been living in fear from them. They gave me three days to return to my old ways, and I didn't do as they commanded, so they threatened to kill me. Today is that day...", the doe spoke, her voice still wavering, but she was happy to have the company here.

((waiting for a few more who would like to join in, and then we'll get the fight started))

He shifted his weight.
At what point would those around him be unable to fight?
What was he? hardly there, unkillable. Devoured completely in his last fight.
He looked from the sockets of his mask, mumbling things under his breath, was he speaking to it?

It seemed so.

Whatever he said was hardly a whisper. He seemed sad though.
Then again, he always did, didn't he?

He turned back to the others with a smile, ready as ever.

I'd love to take part...but sadly realized that none of my characters can (Queze wouldn't protect Nekumbra, Teradeer doesn't fight, and Caravaggio would be useless) ffff damn. I will however track this so I can read the badassness that will ensue. c:

He smirked underneath his golden mask, not that she was crying but that she seemed genuinely happy to accept his help. What she didn't know was that it was a little bit of a selfish act, fighting here, fighting now to protect something, something that didn't even matter that much in the grand scheme of things to him, was like retribution for his act. He knew that it wouldn't take away the guilt or pain, or the voices, but it was something.

He hadn't fought before, he would not run from this fight.
"I will need to know what we're up against," Nathaniel said. "And the name of the doe I'm fighting alongside." He smirked.

He wondered about whether he should change form to fight. This deer body had it's uses, and was nicer for being inside the forest, but he knew little about deer combat, and had not done well the last time that he had fought a rock hound. He knew little about combat other than with his own magics and a sword. That was why he thought about it, and decided that for the fight, he would fight in his own body.
"I need to change forms to fight them," Nathaniel said. "I shall do that now so as to be ready."

The change was relatively quick for a full body transformation, slowly hair vanished as his bone structure began to alter itself, quite a painful expereince, but with time he had learned to block that out, so it was not too hard to change his shape. His human muscles appeared, surrounding the bones, and blood, as his skin reformed and recoloured itself. His form complete, he summoned some clothing to protect his modesty. Not that he had much, but still amongst others who were not of like mind.

His sword lay inside his tower, it would take too long to retrieve it. So he would fight with his own bare hands alongside his magics.
"Any obvious weakness, other than the infection and bright light? I remember that from fighting one of those invisible rock hounds?" He asked.

Nathaniel thought on this for a little while. It seemed that chaos could wield itself well against these foes. Directly or indirectly, Nathaniel's magic could be used in a variety of offensive manners, how much power he could use on them at once was another matter. Nathaniel had actually never tested how much power could be wiedled on someone at once. He knew that there were limits to what he could do. He couldn't for instance simply erase someone as his kind had been tempted to do to others in the past.

Attemping something like that usually resulted in a chaotic tear in the universe's primary balance, which resulted in all sorts of odd occurences and unexpected results, usually something catastrophic, black holes, random supernovae, things that spelled doom. He could however cause unusual gravity fluctuations on the flier, restrict it's movements if it was close. Other things could be done, but he figured he would have to fight physically as well. He pulled a branch off a nearby tree and turned it to metal. It was something.

"Right. I think that I'm ready...whenever you are." He said nervously. He was't immune to damage, much as he made out that he was. He could suffer all of the same injuries as normal poeple, and in battle he would not have the ability to simply cause other things to prevent injury, or this infection. Last time getting rid of it had required a system flush. He needed to avoid doing that for as long as possible, due to the fact it would totally incapacitate him.

[[I feel like his fighting technique is going to be hit n run, hit n run...lol]

((Jumping in now. Sorry I'm late '^^))

The spider doe's scent had a somewhat burnt smell to it, showing a mixture of fear and determination. Erza knew it Anirapio was coming and followed until she came into sight.

"Nekumbra." He bowed his head as a greeting. Her questioning look opened a mental wound. He choked slightly. "Z's gone."

He turned and gave a start at the other deer that were gathered. His little sister had met them around. Of course he hadn't listened properly when she told him about them and Erza cursed himself silently for his ignorance. He bowed his head to them as he had done to Nekumbra.

"Hello. I'm Erza."

Matthieu's movements were swift, ethereal almost, in his movements.
His head, skull guarded, collided with the hound's starting a vicious game of shoving.
Muscles twitched in his neck, snarling, a feral sound, low and rumbling, from his mask, as if the earth itself were protesting the bone creature's approach.

He glanced from the corner of his eyes, at Nekumbra, smiling, as if to assure her that he had it under control, before returning to his little 'game'

At the sight of the rock hound lunging at Nekumbra, a strange feeling overcame Liam. Before he could pinpoint it, however, he was already charging to meet the attack as something of a roar escaped his throat. The blunt curve of his horns collided with the hound's ribcage, knocking it away from Nekumbra and to the ground with a startled yelp. Liam wasted no time in rushing over to the fallen hound and reared up on his hind legs, and with wild eyes he flung his upper body downward, his hooves connecting hard with the hound's skull. A sickening crack could be heard seemingly through the entire Forest, and the hound twitched feebly.

Standing over his first kill in his whole life, Liam shook and panted, adrenaline coursing through his body. He was so strung up that he hardly noticed the other deer fighting off the rest of the charge. It was then it hit him... He had indeed taken a life. His excitement and awe turned to terror and remorse in an instant, and he felt as if he were about to panic and flee. But then...

"Liam!"

Snapping out of his trance, Liam was able to see another rock hound lunging straight for his throat, and he closed his eyes and tensed his body for the inevitable impact. A shriek was heard, followed by a thud, and he opened his eyes to see Ishibaba shaking his bloodied antlers at the beast. "Ishibaba..." Liam began in wonder, and then cried out when the fallen beast sprang up and latched onto the elder's neck. Ishibaba bleated in pain, bucking wildly and in a panic, but the hound seemed to only hold on tighter. Instinct taking over, Liam charged again, his horns knocking the rock hound hard beneath its jaws, forcing its grip to come loose. Snorting furiously, Liam shook his antlers at the enraged hound, rearing and bleating loudly. The rock hound crouched and glared up at the young buck, its lips twisted into a sharp-toothed grin...

(Whoops, sorry about that Quad! -shot- Man, us deer are kicking some arse! =P)

The red rock hound that snarled at Liam lunged, making the young buck flinch out of instinct, and the back hooves of the elder stag entered his vision and connected with the beast's neck. It snapped instantly, twisting the hound's head at a sharp angle, and it crumpled to the ground with its legs twitching. Liam looked at Ishibaba with wide eyes, his blood boiling at the sight of the gash in his grey neck. The elder looked back at him and nodded, and as he reared up Liam did the same. They both stomped onto the red hound's skull at once, splitting it down the center and forcing the ruby crystals out of their sockets. Panting, Liam picked up the crystals one at a time in his teeth and offered them to the gods, and then turned back to his mentor.

"Ishibaba, your neck..." he began, but was cut off with an irritated shake of the elder's antlers. "Do not fret over me...fret for the others!" Ishibaba replied with a grunt as he knocked away a hound that was creeping up on Un.

(Just FYI, I probably won't be able to post at all tomorrow as I will be busy all day. But, I will definitely catch up as soon as I can! c: )

[[Nathaniel killed the blue one]]

With the last of the rock hounds defeated, Nekumbra surveyed her friends. She immediately ran to Liam's side, helping the young stag as best as she could. She used her silk to wrap Liam's front leg, hoping the binding would help keep the wound from opening any deeper.

She would do her best for Erza, Ishibaba, Nathaniel, and Mattieu's wounds as well. Letting out a sigh, she was glad that they had come to a resting point.

But this was far from over.

She kept her nose in the air sniffing for more infection. The thick stench of the infected skeletons sprawled around the hill masked the scent of any new rock hounds or Iugulare.

The stoat's plan went perfectly.

((All rock hounds have been defeated from this set, but we'll have more really soon. Take this time to let your characters rest and heal. The rock hound event blog has been updated with victories))

{{Matthieu here, sorry I've been gone, real busy as of late ene}}

He had been glad, greatly so, for the help.
He looked down shattered ground where hoof and claw had struck at the grass.
It was a sad sight, really, the god's hill in such disarray, but some things needed to happen.
He was sure the gods would not mind.

Turning to the others he listened carefully, silent as the dead.

((Not a problem at all! We just killed some rock hounds. Anyone's allowed to join in ))

Nekumbra happily bowed to Woden, "Hello, sweetie! As you can tell...", she looked around here, "...we had a few rock hounds but they've been defeated. I'm expecting more soon, though, but glad to see you're here to help!"

She gave an affectionate nuzzle to Woden here, happy to see another friendly face after the chaos that just happened.

I wrote a little mini scene here to go along with this RP. It can be read here:
http://endlessforest.org/community/woden039s-transformation

Nathaniel looked at the leg bite, didn't seem that bad, fortunately none of the infection had got on it, that meant a system purge wouldn't be required, which was good. He had neither the time nor the extra strength for a full system purge. To do so would leave him vulnerable to the ones that came after. He accelerated the healing on his leg.

He looked to Nekumbra.
"How many will come with the Anirpio and Iugulare?" He asked, echoing another's question.

"How far away is she, I can lay some magical traps to slow some of them down, maybe if I'm lucky even take a couple down," Nathaniel said, he was honestly worried about the number that would be coming. He could take down many, but he might have to get more violent with his powers, and that posed risks to his allies and to himself. They weren't designed to take chaotic ripples like he could make and so he could just as easily kill them using his powers. So, traps. Traps were good.

Nathaniel shrugged. He was unsure if there was anything that he would need assisstance in anything.
"When you fight, fight randomly. Vary it up, keep your moves unpredictable," He said. "That chaotic energy fuels my powers. There's already a lot in the air, but if there's a concentrated spot near here, that makes me even stronger." It was the only thing that he could think of.

He reached out with his magics, chaotic dimension rifts seemed the most logical traps, they were akin to a turning razor wheel, ripping apart anything that fell into one. He opened a few nearby, and marked them with a little flower of varyinng colours.
"Avoid those," He said. "Those are the traps. figured i would mark them in such a way that you would recognise them."

Erza grunted. The stench from the infection was stinging his nostrils.
"I guess we just have to wait then..."


Then examined the tiny flowers. They gave off a very subtle burning odour and a tiny whine. Fight randomly - he could do that.