Finding my way...

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor probably shouldn't have done that, but was he supposed to do to stop the two fighting Guardians? Just asking them to stop wouldn't work, so he did the only thing he could think of; he threw himself between the two. It had definitely stopped them, but created a bigger problem for himself. Axel came running at him, and Connor was almost sure he was about to die, even with Athena clinging to him as she was. At least he'd go down with someone liking him, he thought. Just as Axel brought out his scythe and was about to kill Connor, Raphael held him back. It wasn't over then, though. Axel aimed a hard kick at his jaw, causing pain to cloud his eyes. It wasn't broken, but it was pretty close. Had Connor been human at the time, it probably would have been broken. As Axel picked him up by his shirt--again?--Connor's eyes went slightly wide when he realize his hand, well paw, was decaying. Relief flooded him when the Guardian of Death finally left go and left, sending Connor to the ground.

He phased back to normal and brought his hand up to his jaw, holding it. "Damn, that hurts." Connor said, rubbing his jaw slightly. It was throbbing, and he knew he'd have to have someone check it out later. "Athena, you weren't hurt, come on." Connor told the girl before gently grabbing onto her wrist and pulling the both of them up. Once he was sure Athena wouldn't topple over, Connor looked at the Guardian.

"Definitely wasn't my best decision, but I couldn't see anything else working." Connor told him, with a smirk. "And, ah, thanks for not letting him kill me." He added quickly, bringing his hand away from his jaw. It felt as though it was going to fall off, and it still hurt pretty badly. Connor's eyes narrowed when he realized this was all because of Giotto. Damn him. He thought, a bit angrily.

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

Athena felt like she was clawing for light, for life. Darkness, it was so powerful she wanted to slip into the peace, the quiet. How could darkness cause such fear, yet such peace a the same time. She had to stay conscious she had to. It was so strange, this vulnerability. Usually Athena was the ruler of the skies, fearing nothing but the guardians themselves. Down on earth things were more complex, being human only added to it. No wonder humans died so quickly, they had so much to worry about their bodies had to just short circuit and fail.

"Athena gather yourself, pull yourself together. You are a dragon, something strong, fierce, and daring. You are not a simpering human you have become. You are a disgrace." Even thought these words were harsh, Athena needed that right now. She needed something to shock her back into remembering way things should be. The effects were slow and the darkness crawled away. Then she felt a hand about her wrist and a pull upward. Darkness surged away now. Sight returned and she saw before her Raphael, talking about being sorry for what happened. Letting her gaze drift toward the person she smiled. Connor.

Athena couldn't look at Raphael, she was so ashamed. "Thank you Raphael. Sorry to disrupt your schedule. I don't think we will be able to forget this lesson Raphael...Don't you worry about that." Her eyes drifted toward Giotto. What was he feeling, did he get hurt in any way. Seeing that he looked fine Athena smiled slightly. So it hadn't gone too badly, she wasn't hurt, just shaken, and Giotto wasn't. Connor he was- She let her gaze travel up to his face. There was a mark on his jaw that was starting to appear. "Connor are you alright?" Standing on her tip toes she peered upward with wide amber eyes. "Axel did that...didn't he." She turned to Raphael with eyes filled with confusion. " Why does Axel do this?"

[{Kaiji}]

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

Giotto blushed. This was very embarrassing for him. He was glad he had put his hood back up. They more than likely couldn't see his face. "Yeah, I do... I'm sorry. It's my fault you and Axel fought..." He said with a sigh. Connor said something about his jaw hurting. Giotto almost laughed. Of course it hurt, Axel just kicked him in the face. He was lucky it wasn't broken. Giotto's eyes focused on him for a moment. His eyes narrowed and his expression had turned a bit angry. He could tell that Connor was more than likely blaming him, as he had before.

He sighed again. His eyes went to Athena. She had seemed to pass out. He was going to go see if she was alright, but she had come back to consciousness. "Well, my friends. I believe I will be taking my leave now." He said, clapping his hands together, "Goodbye." Giotto turned around and pulled his hood forward to make sure it would stay on. He ran up a tree trunk, jumped off, and caught a branch. He climbed up onto it and began running off through the treetops.

[Miss Fifi]

*~Raphael~*

[/color]

Try to leave a light on when I'm gone

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Raphael turned and watched as Giotto flitted away. He was about to go after him, since he hadn't quite gotten out all he wished to say, but he figured they would have plenty of time for lectures as long as he was a Watchman. With a sigh and a tired smile Raphael turned to Connor and narrowed his eyes as he bent down slightly to examine his jaw. He brought his fingers to his lips, his brow furrowing in thought. With a few "hmm"s and "ahh"s he shrugged his shoulders and placed two fingers under Connor's chin. Within the moment Raphael's fingers began to glow, encasing the wounded area and then fading away the next second.

"Well, that won't make the bruise you're surely going to get any less ugly, but at least it should stop the pain," Raphael said lightly with a smile. "And you're welcome."

Raphael barely heard the dragon's soft voice when the question of all ages escaped her lips.

Why does Axel do this?

He exhaled and ran a hand through his windblown hair, an anxious and exhausted look coming over his features. What a question.

Absentmindedly Raphael's eyes traveled around the forest, taking in the damage he and his "colleague" had caused. Thankfully he didn't have to explain himself to anyone anymore; during his mentor years, this would have gotten him a hard, long, angry lecture. Plus probably a swift kick in the hindquarters from Ivan. That was one Guardian he knew he would never truly miss.

With a frown Raphael shook his head and slumped down into a half-sit, half-kneeling position with his arm resting casually on his knee. God, how good it felt to sit down. He had forgotten that.
"Axel is a... complex case," he started, searching for the right words. His fingertips tapped against the grassy floor, making a little flower rooted a few feet away from him perk up.

"He's one of the most aggressive, stubborn, thick-headed people I've ever met, but..." His glassy eyes drifted to Athena. "He's also one of the strongest."

Raphael chuckled and glanced down for a moment, a blade of grass twirling around between his fingers. "Gods, if I went through half the things that he did... I'd probably be huddled in a corner somewhere, talking to walls, afraid to ever see the sun again."

With a grimace he looked back up at the fierce-looking Watchman, still keeping a close eye on Athena. "Listen, I know he's as nuts as a bag full of almonds, but he has his excuses. There's a reason I don't push him as much as I probably should to perform his duties better. You see what happens when you try to grab the bull by the horns..."

[x isabella.]

connor

Connor angrily watched at Giotto left, prancing across the tree branches like some dainty acrobat. Of course the man would leave, without really talking anything out! He only hoped he would never have to see him again. The chances of not, however, weren't very high--they were both watchmen, they ought to run into each other again sometime. Connor turned away from where Giotto had left, focusing his attention on Athena and the Guardian, Raphael.

Athena seemed to have mostly recovered. She'd given him a bit of a scare, truthfully. Sure, they'd just met, but Connor already though of her as a friend. When she'd nearly passed out, a tiny bit of him started to panic--just a little bit, and he wouldn't admit that. He narrowed his eyes slightly at Athena's question to him--well, of course Axel had given him his injury. No one else had gotten close enough to him to do that.

He started to take a step back when Raphael reached out for him, but thought better of it. The man touched his chin, causing Connor to wince. Then he felt a slight tingling through the pain--and then it was gone. Both the pain and the tingling. He stared up at Raphael in confusion and surprise. Connor didn't know why the Guardian had done that, but then again, he didn't care all that much. Raphael could do whatever he wanted to, and Connor couldn't say anything about it, really.

Why does Axel do this?

Connor almost snorted at the question, but refrained. He didn't want to show Athena he thought it was a stupid question. He'd always been the polite gentleman...well, usually. Right now was no exception. He listened with hard eyes as Raphael tried to come up with an answer. It was obvious to Connor that Raphael didn't know exactly how to explain the other Guardian. Good thing he isn't like me, Connor thought, regarding his species. The increased rage and overall anger...Connor mentally shuddered at the thought of an Axel like that.

He looked back at Raphael, who'd just mentioned grabbing a bull by the horns. Of course that was about what had just happened, right? Connor grinned nervously and shrugged. It hadn't been the best decision, but there wasn't anything else he could've thought of. Connor glanced at Athena through the corner of his eye, wondering what her reaction to Raphael's little explanation would be.


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my god, i hate this post but, hey, it's a post for y'all. sorry xD
and um. the paragraph where raphael healed him was thrown in there after realizing i forgot it; so it's a bit outta place xD

[»Míríel«]

.: Athena :.

Athena blushed slightly and dropped her gaze right after she had spoken the question. Was she prying to much into Axel's business? The guardians had been through so much, and still were, perhaps she shouldn't have asked. The guardians were the guardians, and questioning them could be keeping them from precious duties. Suddenly her hands felt awkward, hanging by her side, so she clasped them behind her, and rocked back and forth on her feet slightly.

To her surprise Raphael answered her, though he seemed to be having trouble coming up with an explanation. Raphael was a good guardian, he didn't mind answering questions, she should have known he would be kind to her. As she listened her gaze lifted to Raphael, revealing her face. Her large amber eyes were puzzled and her brow was furrowed slightly. It sounded like Axel was allowed to do so much without having any consequences, yet Raphael did have a point about Axel's job. Many accounts had been told of how Axel became guardian, but that was one thing she wasn't going to ask about, ever.

Athena's answer was a quite nod. She would need to process this on her own somewhere. Slowly a smile came to her face and she remarked shyly, "He may be a nutcase, but as long as he is a guardian, I will try my best to help him, and you out. I'm just glad you are here to balance out his rampages." Then lowering her face slightly she finished "Thank you Raphael.".

Taking a step back she looked at the both of them with respectful glow lighting up her face, "If you two don't mind, I think I am going to head out. Today has given me..." Her eyes rested on Connor before going to Raphael, "a lot to think about." Truth be told, she didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay by Connor and Raphael due to the security they gave her. A headache was starting to creep up on her, from all the excitement, and she figured she would meander off. Hopefully this would divert her mind on the beauty around her instead of the pain in her head and the weariness of her body. It was strange, this human form, walking took so much out of one's strength. 'I hope we meet next time under better circumstances."

Giving Connor a last glance and smile she turned, her arms still clasped behind her she walked off. Red hair swayed behind as her head was bowed, looking intently on the ground below, trying to to trip on some root or stone. A slightly rumble in her stomach made her raise an eyebrow. Perhaps she could catch some little animal in the forest before she left. The memory of Connor's deer came to her mind. Casting a glance over her shoulder she found, to her despair, that Raphael and Connor were already out of sight. Just as a sigh deflated her little form, her foot caught on a nearby root, sending her tumbling down once more. Slowly picking herself up she muttered darkly, "Stupid forest." The tree by her rustled in the wind angrily and so with eyes wide, and stomach forgotten, Athena picked herself up and made her way out as quickly as possible, blushing the whole way.

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Yours was fine! Not as bad as mine lol!