Finding my way...

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor walked casually through the forest, using a dirt path winding through the trees. For a man his size, his steps were unusually light. A large brown bag hung over his shoulder; within it was what looked like a body. He wasn't going to lie, it was a body, but a deer he had killed earlier.

The large man whistled a soft tune as he walked. He was oddly happy, it seemed unnatural for one to be as happy as he seemed. Though his eyes were also closed, he could tell where the path was. It was here in the forest he felt at home; he knew the forest almost as well as the back of his hand.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around. He felt eyes on him, as though someone were following him. Carefully, the man turned around. Through the trees, he could just barely see glowing eyes. A wolf, a species similar to his own. The wolf must have smelled the meat within his bag. Connor took a step towards the wolf and growled menacingly. Nice as he may be, he wasn't about to let an animal take his food. The wolf let out a whimper of surprise and ran off.

Once again, Connor picked up the bag. He began to whistle again, walking in rhythm with the tune.

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

Athena found herself within the Lush forest. Even though she was an element of fire, she loved it here. The animals, the trees, everything was so beautiful and peaceful. There was a hint of something else in the forest, a foreboding, but Athena shook it off, maybe it was just the wind. Running her hand through her red hair she separated a strand and twirled it around her finger absently. She only did this when she was extremely embarrassed, or just thinking. Her amber eyes were half closed as she let her feet carry her where ever they wished.

Around a turn they took her, then another, and then just as she was coming about a tree a growl came to her ears. Athena let out a little gasp as her feet stumbled and caught on a root. Her slender form hit the ground with a tiny thud. This was not a graceul fall, but a face-first-into-the-ground sort of fall.
Picking her head up she let out a little sigh. "Blasted feet." It was then she noticed something strange about the ground. Wiping the soft dirt off her face she looked at it with a cocked head. The roots looked strangely like a....foot? Her eyes grew wide as her eyes traveled up the foot to the leg and then to the man's face.

She probably looked like a mess, with amber eyes wide open and face streaked with dirt. "Oh! I'm...." Her face turned a deep red as she scrambled to her feet and tried to tidy her cloths. "I'm really.." She looked up for a moment, he face tilting farther and farther back. This guy was a monster. "sorry...." Her eyes grew wider if that was possible. She was now self-conscious about her bare feet and she wriggled them as her face turned down to hide the redness it had become. "I'm sorry I'm just so....." She glanced back up at the man. "clumsy." It was then that her eyes fell on the sack he was holding, it had blood on it and looked like a body. A little gasp was heard as she covered her mouth, her face was now white.

[x isabella.]

connor

Unconsciously, Connor had closed his eyes. Suddenly, he heard a loud thump. His eyes snapped open. On the ground was a brown-haired woman. Connor's mouth opened slightly, surprised. He stared down at the woman, recovering for his surprise. His expression softened and he smiled at her while she picked herself.

He found it slightly funny how much she tried to apologize. She was barefoot, which actually surprised Connor. Someone like her--pretty, he figured, usually would wear shoes, wouldn't they? Connor chuckled at her apologies.

"It's fine. No harm done. Are you alright?" Connor told her. He noticed the dirt on her face and pulled out a clean white cloth from his pocket, offering it to her. "Here,"

Connor watched as she noticed his bag. He hadn't realized what he probably looked like. The bag was bloody, she probably thought it was a real body. His mouth opened, then closed, trying to find a way to explained it. Finally he shook his head and gave her a little smile.

"Don't worry," He said to her white face, "It's just a deer, I promise." Connor's voice was kind, not at all annoyed. He knew how his...body could intimidate or scare people, especially young people.

"My name is Connor Ulster, by the way. What are you doing out here, Miss?" Connor asked her sincerely.

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

"I'm fine." He blush deepened as she shot him a glance. Two feet were so troublesome. Athena didn't see how humans or any humanoid creature could bare to balance all the time. Perhaps it got better with time, but right now if Athena didn't concentrate on putting her feet in the right place she could fine herself eating dirt. That was one reason why she wasn't wearing shoes, they felt bulky, and heavy and didn't seem to help out with anything. Sure they protected your feet, a bit, but with her skin, stronger than most but not nearly as strong as in her dragon form, Athena found barefeet to work just fine.
A flash of white caught her eye and looking up she saw the man holding out a clean white cloth and telling her to take it. A smile appeared on her lips as she shyly reached out and took it from him gently. "Thanks!" Perhaps this man, though a giant, wasn't as bad as he looked. Her smile deepened as she thought how small he would look in her true form. Gently she wiped her face, until it was clean. She made sure of it by going over it three times. Then she looked at the now brown cloth, not knowing what to do with it. Should she give it back or was it to dirty now and it would be better if she kept it. Holding it out uncertainly she had a confused look on her face. "Here...sorry its not white anymore."

When she heard it was just a deer her surprised look disappeared and she looked at it with a hungry look. "Oh..." She smiled and looked back up at the man. "That is a relief! I thought it was a..." She shook her head. IT is a good thing this man wasn't a killer, she would be toast if he was.

"I'm Athena Marywood! It's nice to meet you Connor! I am..." Her face blanked. "I am... I'm not sure... I guess just enjoying the view." She smiled. "What are you doing out here, sir?" Her smile showed a slightly flash of playfulness.

[{Kaiji}]

[glow=red,2,300]Giotto[/glow]

A man was darting between trees. He was short and balding. He looked terrified, as if Hell itself was at his heels. And it was, in a way. The man kept his sprint going until he was exhausted and had to stop. A rustling noise came from above him and he bolted again. A faint "Damn." came from the branches of a tree. The man was gasping for breath, but continued to run.

The person after him was one of the best of his kind. An Assassin. One of the few remaining members of the Brotherhood. His white robes may have been distinguished from the trees' browns and greens, but that didn't mean he'd be seen too easily. Giotto's hood covered his face enough to be unrecognizable. The short, bald man was running and came upon a path. Giotto grinned and started jumping from branch to branch even faster. The man bolted between to people talking and just after he got past them, Giotto leapt out of the trees. His right arm drawn back a bit. He went for what would normally seem like a palm strike to the man's neck, but that's also why the Assassins' signature weapon was called the Hidden Blade. The blade shot out from the bracer on his right arm and into the man's neck.

Giotto let the man's body down gently and laid his head on the ground. The man's eyes remained open. Giotto took his hand and closed the man's eyes. "Requiescat in pace." He said. Reast in peace.

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor smiled kindly at the woman. He had always been the gentleman, which surprised most people. They were so judgmental these days. Anyone who was very fit or large, people immediately thought they were a criminal or something similar. Connor was the exact opposite; a watchman.

"That's great." He beamed at her response in a slightly childish way. Connor felt somewhat responsible for her fall. The man casually watched as the woman wiped her face clean and handed him back the cloth. A chuckle escaped from his mouth as he inspected the dirty object. "It's alright," He told her. "Your face must have been quite dirty." Connor joked lightly. He joked around often, and this wasn't a situation where he wouldn't.

Connor bowed to Athena. "Nice to meet you, Athena." He said, standing up straight again. "Oh, me? I was just, y'know, getting this--" Connor motioned to the back that was now on the ground. "And not murdering anyone. This is a beautiful forest, though." He added, smiling.

It was then that Connor picked up someone running through the forest. A second later, he heard another set of footsteps behind the man; the first was running from the other. Connor began looking around for the source of the sounds. Not a minute later, a man ran between him and Athena. He jumped back, surprised, and began to shout. However, before Connor could finish his sentence, the second man appeared. He sprang out of the trees and killed the man with a knife to the neck. Connor's mouth hung open and he began to stride over to him.

"Hey! You! What the hell? Why did you just murder an innocent man?" Connor shouted, just feet away from the man in a hood and cape. He glared daggers at the man and felt his anger rising. Quickly, he began to calm himself silently, not wanting to turn into a beast at the moment.

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

Athena looked down shame-faced as he mentioned that her face must have been pretty dirty. "Yes...it was." An image flashed before her of what she probably looked like. It created a smile to crawl on her face and when she looked up he voice had a ring of laughter to it. "That's good you weren't murdering anyone! Deer's are much tastier." She laughed. It didn't take long for her amber eyes to wander about the forest as he mentioned it. "It is...that it is."

The wounds of footfalls broke through her thoughts as she became interesting in the sight and barely had time to move back before someone crashed between the two. Usually she would have found herself upon the ground once more, her dress even more crumpled than it was now. This time though, she fell against the welcoming arms of a tree. Then as she recovered herself a man with a hood covering his features ran out and attacked the other man. without thinking she found herself behind Connor, gripping onto his shirt in fear. Blood was being eaten hungrily by the earth and Athena watched with wide eyes as the it become more and more obvious that the man was dead.

It was strange to see this sort of death, it was quick, but the aftermath, so messy. Athena was used to hunting where the victim was dead and cleaned up in one bite. This...this was gross. "Yeah..." Her voice was quiet as she poked her head slightly around Connor's back. She looked so tiny compared to his huge form. even though her eyes were wide with fright, there was a sort of steel there, something that was a testimony to her other character. Athena had decided that she would let Connor do most of the talking in this situation, she was afraid that if she attempted anything in this state, she would end up like that deer in his bag.

[{Kaiji}]

[glow=red,2,300]Giotto[/glow]

Giotto turned around quickly and looked at the man who had shouted at him. He smiled a bit, the only part of his face they would be able to see since his hood was up. "Innocent? I very much doubt this man was innocent. He was conspiring to kill one of the Guardians." Giotto said, his accent clear in his voice. He took a better look at the man. This guy was built very strongly. He looked like he could probably wrestle a bull and win. Then he looked at the girl behind him. He couldn't see her very well, since she was so small. But what he saw a moment before, he could tell she was very pretty. Normally, he would compliment her, but this situation wasn't the best for that. He did just kill someone in front of her. "Sorry you had to see that, signorina." He said, going back to his native language for a moment. A habit he couldn't help.

He thought for a moment whether or not to take off his hood. It would possibly make them trust him more. But it could also expose his identity. 'I'll keep it on.' He decided in his mind. He stood ready to fight if this man decided to take a swing or just attack in any way.

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor could not help but feel a little proud of the fact the woman trusted him enough to hide behind him. He wasn't sure if she was human or not, but she certainly acted it. She reminded him of a baby doe, always cautious and almost frightened. Her fingers clutched his shirt, but he barely noticed due to the extreme anger he felt towards this man.

"Don't worry," Connor murmured quietly to Athena, "If needed, I can, well, protect you." He didn't want to seem too cocky or as if the woman couldn't protect herself, but by the she was acting, either she couldn't or didn't want to.

Connor turned his glare on the man. "What gives you a right to kill him?" He asked the man, his voice filled with anger. He hated killing more than his anger. "Who are you?" His voice, unconsciously, ended up with a slight growl to it.

Once again, he tried to control his anger. Once it got out of hand, it was hard to get Connor back to normal. He didn't want to scare Athena more than she already was; turning to a Lycan and tearing the man to pieces certainly wouldn't help. Not to mention, he could end up hurting Athena as well.

I need to calm down, Connor thought to himself. He began to take deep breaths and let them out slowly, and also counted in his head. The Lycan began to calm inside him, but Connor knew just a little anger would provoke him again.

Connor stared at the hooded man, impatiently waiting for him to answer his questions. He could sense Athena behind him, and behind her his dropped bag. If Connor would have to attack this man, he'd have nothing to use but his bare hands and his elemental power. His knife had been lost earlier, when he'd kill the deer--he dropped the knife somewhere and hadn't bothered to look for it, for it had just been a regular knife. While the man before him probably had many weapons hidden within his clothing; he had just seen him with a knife coming from what looked like his hand. However, Connor was capable of taking on this man with his bare hands, even more so as a Lycan.

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

Athena, when hearing the man who now lay at their feet was trying to kill the remaining guardians, she loosened her grip on Connor's shirt. Then he addressed her and she poked her head out a bit farther ,then took a step away from Connor. "Don't worry about it!" She smiled and then turned her attention to the man. Creeping out she edged closer and peered at him. "So strange he would want to kill the guardians and turn this world into chaos." Then she peered closer. "I wonder what his causes were." She stretched back up and looked up to the assassin. "What is your business killing for the guardians? Few would do that now. " Her eyes sparkled slightly with this question.

Athena looked back at Connor with a friendly smile. "I do have to agree with my friend over there, what right do you have to do such and what is your name?" She turned back to the man, "For me I am Athena." The sudden change in Athena was slightly drastic. Her thought process what that if this man was a friend of the guardians, he had to be a friend to her as well. After all she was one of the watchmen who helped protect the guardians, by being their eyes and ears. She just wished she was in her other form to be of better service.

[{Kaiji}]

[glow=red,2,300]Giotto[/glow]

Giotto stared at the man. Was he serious? Why should he have to answer to him. Sure, he was big and all, but that made no difference to him. He was a master Assassin, he could get out of there at any time without either of them seeing or being able to catch him. He figured he could tell a bit about himself. "My position gives me the right to do such things, if necessary. I had given this man plenty of warning to stop." Giotto grinned, "As for who I am, I'm afraid you won't be finding that out. Not yet at least, my friend."

He turned to the girl. "Nice to meet you, Athena. But, as I said to your friend over there, the situation at hand prevents me from revealing my identity." He paused, "I will let you see my face. Other than slight anger problems, the both of you seem trustworthy enough." He grabbed the top of his hood and pulled it back to reveal his face. His long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, tied by a red piece of cloth. He smiled at them.

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor watched Athena through the corner of his eye. For some reason, he already felt strangely protective of her. While he wasn't rejecting of the feeling, it was definitely curious. He didn't speak while he listened to what she said to the killer. When the man said his reasoning for killing the man, he simply got angrier.

"That still does not give you a right to kill people, no matter who you are. No one needs to be killed." Connor told him. "And my position gives me the right to know your identity." He growled, not taking his eyes off the man. Connor didn't move from where he stood, for he was sure if he took a step forward he'd shift. He didn't want to do that now, he actually didn't want to do that often.

When he pulled back his hood, Connor laughed bitterly. "Oh, and that's supposed to make me feel better, huh? You "trust" me enough to take of you damn hood. You--You're--What's wrong with you?" Connor growled, glaring. At the moment, he completely forgot about Athena.

Connor began another method to calm himself down. He couldn't risk killing someone, or at least attempting. With what the man was doing, it would happen soon if Connor didn't do something. Quickly, he took a step back and shook his shoulder, but his gaze remained on the nameless man.

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

Athena's gaze shifted from man to man. She was surprised that Connor was getting so riled up, yet she could understand as well. Someone had just been killed. Athena couldn't say that she was mad at the man, if the victim was indeed plotting against the guardians, and had been giving the chance to change his plan then he was better as he was. Dead. Still the secrecy of the newcomer was curious. Why was his name so important and his identity? Surely he knew what rules of etiquette he was breaking in doing such.

This matter was getting out of hand, to much so. Athena's eyes seemed to turn slightly snake like as she stepped between them. IT wasn't that far from where she had been standing, by the carcass, but more in line with Connor's sight. "And I believe that my position is to keep peace in this realm, and if you two baboons don't step down and stop getting your britches in a knot perhaps I will succeed." Turning to Giotto she pointed at him, "I thank you for allowing us to see your face, but to keep your name is very rude. You must have reason's so I will not force or try and draw out your identity from you." Then she turned to Connor. "You need to calm down before this whole situation gets any worse." Her eyes flicked from man to man as fire started playing on the tips of her fingers. "WE have a dead man in our midst and we must figure out what is going to happen, I am sure we all know that we have a mess on our hands, and not just with spilled bodily fluids." She sighed and bowed her head, it felt so good, this anger, it made her feel herself again, not the wimpy small human form she was right now. Athena ached to be strong, to be the regal being she once was. Just how to achieve that?

Her eyes turned back to normal and she looked back up. "Now, how about we all start talking about why each other thinks they are of a higher position than the other. From all I can tell you" She pointed to the man, "Are a murderer and you." She pointed to Connor, "Like to be in control." She sighed again. "And I'm just trying to figure out what on earth is going on."

[{Kaiji}]

[glow=red,2,300]Giotto[/glow]

Giotto sighed. He should've just ran when he had killed the man. There wasn't a need to explain himself at all. "This man would have literally destroyed out world. I, personally, find that a valid excuse for what I did." He said. He ignored the talk about the other man's position giving him even higher authority. And when he started flipping out a bit for no reason. Taking down his hood usually mean he had intended to kill whoever saw his face. This man had caught a break, for that was not the situation.

"I suppose that my name won't do too much good to you anyway. Not many know of me, My name is Giotto Auditore. I am an Assassin." He said, sighing once he finished. If any of the other few remaining members of the Brotherhood found out about this he'd lose all respect. The when Athena scoleded them, he smiled slightly. She was definitely more feisty than he had first guessed. Probably even more than she was just then. "The position I was referring to is the position of a Watchman." Giotto said, complying with her request. He was a bit disappointed. 'I'm not just a murderer.... I'm an Assassin...' He thought.

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying anything else. He hated feeling angry, and so he hated this man for making him feel that way. That was a big thing, Connor hating someone--he was usually quite friendly to everyone and was never quick to judge. However, he could tell this murderer--assassin--was a ladies man, a player. Probably broken a lot of hearts, too. Connor thought bitterly.

He didn't feel any better knowing the man's name, or that he was a watchman. In his mind, Giotto was still a murderer. Connor never had to kill anyone, at least not often. I should stop thinking of him as a murderer, Connor thought, rolling his eyes.

"Well Giotto. I suppose it's only polite to tell you my name as well. I'm Connor Ulster, a Watchman as well." Connor told the man, though he didn't really want to talk him. Giotto probably didn't want to talk to Connor either, since he was being so bitter. He probably wanted to leave--or just to talk to Athena for a while. Connor didn't know, or care--well maybe he cared just a little bit about the second.

Connor looked over at Athena and frowned. She'd said that he liked to be in control. He didn't like hearing someone say that, but he supposed it could be true. To him, it had always been his anger, but could it be that he really liked being in control? Connor mentally shook his head, dismissing the thought. He didn't want to think about it too much, not now anyways. Connor turned towards Athena.

"I'm sorry about that, Athena. I don't usually act like that." Connor apologized, a slight frown on his face.