Not so alone[Alric Wilmot]

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones barely registered Alric's words... He was simply looking for his next foe... He did not even consider to count them... He just did not feel like his battle was over... He still tasted meat on the air... Instead, Alrics words just drew his attention to the mans existence... Bones head suddenly shifted, in a odd snakelike fashion, his eyes focusing on the mans face... "Battle... Won..." The words came to him, as if from far off... Bones body grew taught, exhaling a loud hiss, tasting the air upon himself... He lifted up his blade, glaring into his eyes, a glare that meant death to most... But now that he had stopped fighting, his mind also slowed down... Words could be heard in his head... And he recalled... He was not supposed to kill this man... But why? He could almost taste his flesh, as it went down his throat... He shook his head... Once... Twice... Trying to regain his composure, his reason, which he had lost in the heat of the battle... Then he shifted his head once more, noticing the movement of the goat man, he had sent flying... Could see his warm body, as it lived... Instead of turning his blade on Alric, he fought, and with all of his willpower shifted his killer intent over to the last beast... He moved over to it, and with a thrust, pushed the tip of the blade right into the beasts open throat, pushed until a great gout of blood spurted, and the blade snapped bone, and exited out the back of the neck... Bones yanked out the blade, and stood over it... As blood gurgled in its mouth, and the life left it... Bones made one more slash across the neck of the dying thing, and decapitated it clean through, sending another spurt of blood... Finally his need to kill was sated, his reason slowly returning... As it did, he started the change, going back to his human form... By the time he had returned to his form without any trace of snake, he was thinking more or less clearly... He wiped his blade clean on a bit of the goat-mans fur that was without gore or blood, and then slid it back into its sheath... Then he turned back to Alric, a twinge of pain from the claw mark on his chest... His body was blood spattered, his face still dripped blood... And he locked eyes with him, though this time with a far different look in them... "Did you sssay sssomessing Alric?"

[Alric Wilmot]

Alric tried to remain calm, but this was disturbing. Even to Alric, who had seen such carnage up close. Bones' absolute bloodlust just wasn't human. He had ignored Alric's words, and had shot over as quickly as an arrow to end the final attacker's life. Beside and behind Alric, Lurin began to stir. Alric quickly hit him on the head again. It wouldn't do to even look like you were dying around Bones. Not while he was in this serpent form. Alric did not know if the strange magic Bones was using caused the bloodlust, or if that was a natural part of Bones. Either way, it was disconcerting. However it seemed like the nightmare was ended. As the goat-man stopped its quivering, Bones began to shift. It was slow, and odd to look at. There was no grace to it, just an odd jerking and thrashing as bones and ligaments began to realign. His skin was no longer a pale flesh tone. It was a dark red, glistening with the gore of his enemies. All at once Alric appreciated that he had not made this man his enemy. He wiped his blade clean on the small patch of white fur the slain creature still possessed. It seemed odd, and terrifying in a way, that Bones cared to clean his sword, but not his skin. For a brief moment, Alric wondered if Bones was naked. But from the distance, and the amount of red, Alric could not tell. That was probably for the best. Alric decided he really did not want to know anyway. "Did you sssay sssomessing Alric?" Alric almost jumped at the sudden voice. So stark it was against the sounds from a moment before. Alric shook his head. He had mastered his emotions! They had not mastered him! With a tremendous effort he squashed his fear, and put on his familair face of joviality. "Yes, but it is unimportant now, my good friend. I must thank you for your intervention I doubt I could have fought off the creatures. And I don't think I would have the patience to hide and wait them out. Indeed, it is very lucky that I came to you! Just as I seemed doomed, I'm plucked from death's maw! Ionu truly is a trickster. Though I do wish she'd keep me out of her pranks. At times they can be in very poor taste." Alric walked over to Lurin, who was still out cold. He lifted him up into his arms longways, and slung him slightly over his shoulder. He weighed about the same as Alric, and as long as Alric did not lose his balance, he thought he should be able to reach the city without dropping him. "This little bugger gave me quite a bit of trouble. I'm glad I finally caught him. I was beginning to wonder if was even catchable. Although, before I take the trek back into the city, could you please tell me what odd sort of magic you used here today? It was very... effective. But also quite...disturbing. I must admit that I am intrigued at least."

[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones slowed his breathing, trying to finish calming himself... He focused on calming thoughts... The trickle of water in a stream... The feel of grass on his scales... The feeling of contentment with a full belly... He did wonder for a moment, if Alric realized how close he had come to killing him, and how thankful he should be that the last goat-man had still been alive... Bones was not sure if he would have been able to restrain himself if not for that last bit of carnage... Possibly, that beast had just saved his life... From Bones... Surely the death thread Bones had made to Alric was running through his mind, issued for if Alric were to use his magic on Bones without permission... This event would show starkly that it was not an idle threat, and Bones was more than capable of following through... In general Bones did not like magic... He had met a few people who had been sent over the edge by it... But what he especially did not like, was magic being used on him... Which was a bit ironic, since he was so often confused as a magician, due to his natural shape-shifting... Bones gave Alric time to talk, waiting until he paused, and seemed done talking, giving himself time to think over his answers... His mind was still a bit fuzzy, and so it was best to take a few extra seconds to think them out before speaking... "Luck? You believe in luck? Luck meansss an accident... Accidentsss don't happen in Alvadasss... Sse city just makesss it appear ssat way, when it influencesss eventsss... No, ssisss happened on purpose, ssough for what reassson, I cannot fathom... Everyssing ssat happensss here isss for a reassson... No matter how random it may ssseem..." This of course was Bones odd belief of the city... That it was alive... He had seen so many things over his long time here... So many "chance occurrences", or "luck", as some called it, that he believed the city was alive, and sentient, and controlled and influenced events within itself... The people living in it were just pieces, in some game, which they were to small to be aware of... Perhaps that was one reason he seemed to do so well in the city... Since he had long since stopped fighting these events, and went along with them, letting the city direct his path... Unlike many, who either fought against its flow, or believed they were the ones in control... As Alric asked him of his magic, a smile came onto his face... The same unnerving smile, which was not quite that of a humans... He ignored part of what he said, first speaking of something else... "Well... Asss you can sssee, I am a bit of a messss... If you want, I can carry him, if you could grab my clothesss and ssstuff in exchange... I would rasser not pick ssem up and get ssem all ssstained... At leassst until I can find a place to wasssh off sse gore..." Of course if he did accept, Bones could quite easily lift the man, rubbing a bit of the blood and gore off on the captive in the process, as he hefted him up one handed, and propped him on a shoulder. Though before he moved, he would turn to Alric, and say one last bit... "Magic? What magic? Ssat wasss jussst natural talent. I have been doing ssat, sssince before I could walk on two legsss." Bones would smirk as he said this, due to the literalness to his statement, which would likely be lost on Alric... He really had been doing that since before he could walk on two legs... He had been able to change into dhani form, long before he had been able to change into a human... Though he also smirked, since he doubted Alric would take it the way he meant it, since it was an odd human saying which had something to do with babies...

[Alric Wilmot]

Alric nodded patiently through his frightening acquaintance's speech on luck. There was truth in his words. And Alric appreciated it. It almost made Alric look over the fact that he had blood smeared all over his body. His words were decidedly different from when Alric met him so long ago. Back then he did not believe, or was at least skeptical, of Alric's claim. He wondered if Bones remembered that Alric too thought Alvadas alive. It mattered little at the moment. Bones gave off a chilling smile as he heard Alric's query on his magical discipline. Alric thought that he might have said something funny, but he could not think of anything. Bones began to speak, seemingly ignoring Alric's question. "Well... Asss you can sssee, I am a bit of a messss... If you want, I can carry him, if you could grab my clothesss and ssstuff in exchange... I would rasser not pick ssem up and get ssem all ssstained... At leassst until I can find a place to wasssh off sse gore..." Alric looked over his shoulder at the unconscious Kyle Lurin. He wasn't too heavy, granted. But Alric really wasn't that strong. He could carry him to the city, he did not doubt it. But he would be huffing and puffing when he got there. And if Lurin woke at that time, Alric would be too tired to run after him again. After all this, Alric never wanted to chase after the man again. So, with a quick nod, Alric dumped Lurin unceremoniously onto the grassy floor. He walked over to where Bone's clothes and possessions lay and gathered them up into his arms. Bones hefted Kyle with one arm, and slung him over his shoulder, much like Alric had done. Though, Bones looked far more comfortable with the arrangement than Alric had. Alric began to walk to the Gaping Maw, when Bones finally decided to answer his earlier question. "Magic? What magic? Ssat wasss jussst natural talent. I have been doing ssat, sssince before I could walk on two legsss." Alric paused then, as Bones passed him. Alric continued some time after, but his thoughts were distracting him form the walk. Did Bones mean to imply that it was not actually magic? Or did he mean to imply that he was so successful a sorcerer that he had been able to perform great feats such as this as a child? Or, and Alric nearly fell over when he thought of the implications, was Bones saying that, somehow, that was the form he was born in? Alric kept quite as they walked. For some reason, he decided that he would need to research this on his own.

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Alric Wilmot XP Award: Hypnotism- 1 Rhetoric- 2 Lore: Tracking Down Kyle Lurin Temporarily Foiled by a Goat Man Capturing Lurin What is Bones? Notes: Name:Bones XP Award: Unarmed- 1 Rhetoric- 1 Gladius- 1 Lore: Alone Coming to the Rescue Notes: Next time, don't hold the gladius with your tail Bones, and try to be more detailed to get more points. Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM