Brink of Delusion; Crystal's Shine ((Full))

[Denyala]

Miya felt the back of her neck burn red with embarrassment. She’d managed to draw quite a bit of attention, which was the exact opposite of what she had intended. Lucky for her, breaking a glass wasn’t grounds for much suspension. Not that anyone knew what she looked like anyway…

A very strange man settled down a few stools away from her and she couldn’t help but smirking. Well, she wasn’t the oddest one in the bar by any means. The male, from the looks of it, was completely covered head to toe. So many layers of clothes had to be hot didn’t it? The cloaked person took off the goggles and mask and Miya confirmed it was indeed male. With so much clothing one could never be completely sure…

Looking at the ceiling Miya found herself smirking. It had happened before so why was she surprised? The crystal bearers were being drawn together. Even she felt it, deep in her bones…

“…Giovanni Dragoni…”

Miya’s thoughts stopped cold at the name and she couldn’t help a look over her shoulder. A human named Dragoni? It couldn’t be… what were the chances? A million to one? She fought every fiber of her being not to turn and stare at the boy. She gripped the edge of the bar to steady herself. Glancing over at the cloaked man, she paused to close her eyes. Yes… she could feel it, like before. She was sure he was a crystal bearer. From her distaste in the feeling she narrowed it down quickly – Ice. Opening her eyes she couldn’t help a small look of displeasure. She hated ice.

Satisfied by what she had learned, Miya puffed out a small bit of air from between her lips. It would be tricky, keeping her feelings in check, but she would manage. She had to look at the task at hand now – joining the group without giving out too much information. They would need her experience, her knowledge, and of course, her crystal.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Miya told the bartender, gesturing to the cloaked man, “He looks like he’s drinking something strong.” She gave him a tight smile and accepted a drink, offering up her glass in a small cheers gesture.  

[Vizzion]

Orin Beleren

Orin's attention which was focused at the conversation that the table was having, was diverted slightly by the woman who was sitting a few stools away from him. Hmm...I wonder what that woman is pondering about? It seems like she is focusing intensely on something. Could she know that I am bearing a crystal? Orin thought as he continued to observe the Zarennkian woman without actually looking at her as he drank from his glass.

Orin gave a small and silent chuckle as he heard her comment on the stiffness of his drink. As he put his glass down, he noticed that the woman was raising her glass to him as a small cheers gesture. "Cheers.." Orin said in his usual deep and calm tone as he too drank the last bits of his drink in his glass and ordered another one.

I definitely feel the pull of what I assume are the other crystals here, one in particular seems to be coming from her...but I cannot really be too sure.. Orin thought as he received a refilled glass from the bartender and gave the woman a glance.

 

[MadameDPomp]

The energy this room was emitting was entirely ridiculous. How many more bearers would come forth? There had to be at least...a lot.
Jolyre gazed around. A strange woman at the bar sitting with an equally out-of-place man. The Dragoni killers. The cyborg...the people from Tylem.
Her stare moved to Rigo and Gio. Rigo, the great protector of Giovanni Dragoni. Giovanni Dragoni, a pathetic human unless possessed by entities. Her stare narrowed.
I've put this off for far too long
Pushing herself violently from the wall,she approached the Dragoni brothers. Her fingers wrapped around a fistful of cloth on the front of Gio's shirt.
"We are going to talk..." she whispered lethally,"Now." looking at gio, then at Rigo. She shoved Gio from her. Stalking away from them, she parted through the crowds and threw a door open. Checking to see if the room was empty, she walked in and positioned herself leaning against the window. If they didn't come, she would simply have to assume they were both guilty and commence her revenge  

[Draconia Crystalis]

Gio's eyes hardened. It was now that he had to do what he needed to. He wasn't a Crystal Bearer. He would only be a burden on such a journey, and if he were alive Rigo went off without him, he didn't know what he'd do with himself. He had no life to go back to. He had nothing, so who better to face this woman's wrath than him. He would make it so that Rigo didn't have to endure this in traveling with her.

He caught himself from falling back when she shoved him, and followed right behind her. He didn't know if Rigo was following behind him as well, but he thought it likely he was. When she led him into a different room, he immediately grabbed her arm by the underside of her gauntlet, where there were no blades. Spinning her around, he held her bladed weapon to his own throat, inclining his head back to give a clear access. "Listen...." he said. He paused for a moment as he mustered up his nerve to do what he believed he had to do. "I'm the one that killed your father. Just kill me and put this anger in you behind you. I have nothing to live for anyway."

He locked eyes with her, his gaze more intense than it had ever been. He was a worm, most of the time, but when he put his mind to something with the intention of putting others before his own life, he could not be dissuaded. He could never muster up anything for his own sake, not since that day two years ago, but he was someone else entirely when he put others first in his mind.  

[Scythe de Zaran]

Jolyre clearly had no sense of patience or ...a sense of the situation. With injured around, was it really appropriate to become so hissy and demanding? No.

The fair haired Angeal had grabbed Rigo's brother by the scruff of his shirt, hissed her strong urge to "talk" and then shoved Gio away from her only to talk off into some room by bashing the door open to the side. Since the area wasn't exactly the quietest of places, maybe people wouldn't notice. However, Jolyre had been pretty abrupt. Not very ladylike in Rigo's opinion.

Rigo, of course, followed after Gio, not planning on letting his younger brother, human or not, out of his sight. Rigo's face betrayed a clear sign of distress when Gio declared he was the one who had killed Jolyre's father. Nothing to live for? Did Gio not recognize that brotherly bond they have? "Wait, both of you!!!" Gio, why must you be so rash now? I know you have that righteous heart within you, but...this woman is not... Rigo's brother sure was stubborn when it came to it. The Nero Angeal sighed as he quickly tried to prevent any harm from coming to any of them. "Gio, you do have something to live for. Lady Jolyre, let us first talk as you suggested. "  

[Draconia Crystalis]

Gio sighed, not letting go of Jolyre's arm. "I do this precicely because of our bond, brother. I feel I must do this...... or maybe it's just that I'm running from the truth." He closed his eyes, thinking back on the day that their family died. "You probably want me dead too, Rigo, because the way I see it, your story never added up right."

He couldn't remember anything that happened after the initial attack by the assassin, but what he remembered afterwards was a room full of blood and bodies. It made no sense. "Maybe I just don't want to hear any of this 'talk'. Maybe I'm running from the truth. Maybe I'm not doing this for what I want myself to believe are selfless reasons."

"Maybe I still want to believe I am who I think I am, and not what everything points to," he continued, "Rigo, why did everyone we knew die? How come I woke up with blood all over me? What happened to me?"

Before Rigo could answer, he continued, intending for the last questions to be rhetorical, "That's what I'm running from. I don't want to know.... I want to just die believing I am who I am, and not as some monster."  

[MadameDPomp]

Gio had followed her; she knew he'd be the first. But when he came into the room, he grabbed her arm, a foolish move in itself, and held her gauntlet to his throat.
It was...inviting.
"I'm the one that killed your father. Just kill me..."
A note of confusion sounded in her brain. Jolyre had been sure that Rigo had killed Alexei; Gio didn't look as if he could kill an ant.
But if he wanted to die, then she wouldn't stand between him and his wishes.
Jolyre, eyes cold, wanted so bad to swing her arm, to slit his throat. Why wasn't she?
Because Rigo came in for one thing. She saw the pain that registered on his face when Gio claimed he had nothing.
The boy knew nothing. Nothing to live for? Jolyre knew about nothing...she lived to fight for the ideals of the Glorion Crystalis now...nothing else. A soldier with an empty core.
She listened to the boy monologue about the nothingness of his life, about the insanity that had happened 2 years ago.
She became aware that Gio was still grasping her arm. She ripped it away.
"I don't believe that you could even kill a child, let alone my father." she snapped.
"I want the truth. Anything less and I'll bleed you dry." Jolyre looked at Rigo. "Rigo" his name felt like fire on her tongue "...you know more about what happened. It would appear that this ragdoll and I both need the complete tale..." she finished.
She didn't know why she was being so icily reasonable. every nerve in her body said to attack, but her mind halted her.  

[Scythe de Zaran]

((Post is done. Sorry about that before.))

Rigo frowned. "You're wrong." It was true that something in Gio had caused massive destruction two years ago, and Rigo had been rather upset and angered, but mostly confused. Whatever it was though was the Gio Rigo saw before him. This would not do. He could not lose his brother this way. "I never wanted you dead."

He stepped closer to Jolyre and Gio. "Gio, I .... you are my younger brother, and nothing will change that. That is exactly why we'll face the story together---" Before he could say more, Jolyre cut in. At least, Gio did not have a blade close to him now. The ceremony was running well when someone attacked me...

But the dark haired brother didn't want it to be this way. It was going to be painful. He really hadn't wanted to tell Gio until the boy was ready. However, it seemed Gio already had his suspicions. How could he explain it without hurting him? For a moment, Rigo was silent before he finally said softly but firmly, "I understand." The Nero Angeal sighed and glanced at the door to the room, making sure it was closed before beginning. There was a way. Whatever that entity that had possessed Gio was seemed to be a hint. Gio hadn't remembered anything from when the entity had been in control, which meant.... That was going to be his hypothesis. That was disconcerting. Was his brother just a spirit medium for any random entity to come and take over? Rigo would have blanched, but he was in the company of others and kept his composure.

And so, Rigo slowly began. It wasn't easy. "I also do not know what exactly happened. That night, there was a ceremony and celebration to bestow the Crystal of Darkness upon its bearer, which happened to be myself. An Angeal suddenly came out of the shadows and attacked me. An assassin, who seemed set on killing me. However, much of what happened after was a blur. Of course, it was a mess. No one had expected an attack during the ceremony. There was no reason to... so we thought. But it happened. Gio, you stopped the assassin, but .. I do not think it was truly you. You did not even seem to be yourself. Your hair color was black like mine and you.... your eyes.... red. I almost didn't even recognize you... Now, I wonder if some other entity had possessed you... It was completely unlike you, and ... " Rigo looked at Jolyre, meeting her eyes for a moment. There was no way she didn't see what he was referring to: that entity from before with the blue eyes. "... he was much like a berserk beast. Before I knew it, everyone had been killed, and I couldn't do anything for them. I myself would have died if the Crystal hadn't activated at that moment..." Rigo looked down and then at his brother. "It wasn't you." The atmosphere felt highly awkward, an now that what Rigo knew was out there, he wasn't sure how Jolyre would react or even more so, Gio.  

[Denyala]

Miya took a swig of her drink, watching the wall of bottles in front of her, but listening to the conversation behind her. The Angeal spoke out angrily and stormed off. She was threatening the Dragoni brothers? She set her glass down with a loud thump and glanced over her shoulder. The three left the table and disappeared into a back room. Forgetting herself, she sneered, turning her otherwise pretty face into an ugly mask of disdain. Shifting in the stool, she turned to face the table. She was frozen with indecision; she wanted to follow them, but it wasn’t her place… well, as far as they knew.

Her mind might not have known what to do, but her body had a few ideas of its own. Moving with the grace only a seasoned warrior could bring, she found herself at the table with the remaining members. Her eyes were glued to the door.

“What did that Angeal want with those two?” she asked without looking at the table. Her fingers idly fiddled with the handle of her whip. It was a nervous habit that she’d never quite been able to break… Forcing her eyes away from the door, she glanced down at the people at the table. She was clearly on edge.  

[Jest_A_Clown]

Suri held his silence when they had all introduced themselves, though he was a little curious upon hearing Jolyre's full title. He'd never seen a knight of Glorion Crystalis in real life, he'd never thought they'd be as cold as ice. "Or maybe it's just this one, she's got a real frosty demeanor when it comes to those Dragonis...either frosty or burning like the sun itself." he thought with a shudder. That shudder was accentuated when the knight in question made some aggressive movements and words with the boy named Gio and then stormed off to a back room with the two brothers in tow. The door shut and Suri briefly began entertaining thoughts of just what was going on before blocking it out of his mind. "Nope. Ain't none of my business. The woman scares me enough, I don't want to find out what she's actually angry with those two about!" he thought as he tore his eyes from the door and fixed them elsewhere on the room. A flash of armor and movement made the Zarrenki woman where his eyes landed. Oddly enough, she had crossed over to his table and addressed all three of them without so much as a mite of hesitation about the Lady Knight's business. Suri stoically observed this woman once more, and smiled. She definately had the experienced air about her, but she was definately Zarrenki to the core. She was nervously caressing the handle of that whip she was wearing, a sure-fire sign that she was on edge. It wasn't exactly uncommon though, Zarrenki people always seemed to be expecting an army to leap around every corner or a monster to be hiding behind every door, but this woman was showing a certain amount of...'concern' that tickled Suri's curiosity.

"Far be it from me to know the Lady Jolyre's business with those two...but she's been glaring murder at those two ever since I met up with em, and I wasn't going to lose my head by asking her why." he replied casually with a suspicious glance towards the door, but his attention was all on this whip-woman. He had that same exact feeling he had gotten with Harrier, his curiosity was practically driving him up the wall, but what more proof did he need? That pulling feeling meant she had a Crystal, and Zarrenki was commonly tokened 'the land of fire', so it should be safe to assume her element was as such.

Speaking in undertones directly to the enigmatic woman, he asked; "So, would the Bearer of the Fire crystal care to illuminate us with her name? And perhaps her fervent curiosity with the dealings of a few Angeals who happen to bear the Crystals of Light and Darkness?" He kept his golden eyes fixed on her and a slight smile to his face with his hands clasped in front of him. If, for some reason he was wrong in his assumption...well he'd just made a royal a** of himself with being presumptuous. But if he was indeed correct, he'd be dying to hear her reply all the same...  

[Denyala]

The cyborg answered her with a smooth confidence only a man of metal could produce. "Far be it from me to know the Lady Jolyre's business with those two...but she's been glaring murder at those two ever since I met up with em, and I wasn't going to lose my head by asking her why." A woman with as short a fuse as she had, interesting. She looked like someone who could defend herself, but she was far from worried. Warriors from Zarrenki were beyond things such as doubt or fear; it was simply trained and bred out of them.

“I see,” Miya responded, her worries not lessened in the slightest. The Nero Angeal looked more than capable of protecting the boy… not that it helped. The hand fiddling with the whip handle silently cracked its knuckles. If she burst in that room, how would she explain herself, let alone her desire to protect the boy…

"So, would the Bearer of the Fire crystal care to illuminate us with her name? And perhaps her fervent curiosity with the dealings of a few Angeals who happen to bear the Crystals of Light and Darkness?"

Miya studied the man silently, her lips curling up in an amused smile. Pulling out a chair, she threw her leg over the seat and rested her arms on the back. She waited a few seconds before answering.

“I guess I could play dumb, but I never really cared to create the illusion of ignorance; ignorance is a weakness,” she paused in her words to glance at the door. Looking back at the man, she studied his face, memorizing any details she could. Being perceptive was something that was highly valued and she had become quite good at it. She didn’t mean to be rude, but it was second nature now. “Some call me Miya,” she said enigmatically, not offering a last name, title, or any other such things. Smirking, she leaned over closer to the man in a co-conspiring manner. “Fire bearer eh? What gave me away? It was the whip wasn’t it?”

Returning to her personal space she looked to the door before answering.

“I have a lot invested in that boy,” she looked almost, sad… Longing… The tender look faded as fast as it had come and returned to its normal, stern appearance. “And you all should too,” she told the table, gesturing to the whole group. “Crystal bearers have to stick together, we have a lot of work ahead of us.”  

[Black Claided Cat]

Enter- Harrier A'Cal

Harrier had long since deposited the access supplies and was now seated at the table with Alane and Suri; all of them looking after Jolyre, Rigo and Gio. He was tired and it was starting to wane in the day, the sandstorm didn't help either. The only thing he wanted right now was some warm cider and his siblings to mess with.

“What did that Angeal want with those two?” A woman said, having confidently strode over to their table and sat down.

"Far be it from me to know the Lady Jolyre's business with those two... but she's been glaring murder at those two ever since I met up with em, and I wasn't going to lose my head by asking her why," Suri replied. Harrier looked at the exchange. His chin was on his laced fingers with his elbows resting on the table, eyes glancing back and forth. He agreed with Suri's comment and nodded his head. He, too, was curious, but left out of it. He was in fact intimidated by Jolyre. And when he heard the last part of Suri's reply, including the woman's own, his eyebrows raised in surprise; the last thing he expected was another Crystal guardian to be here.

Alane, easily eager to greet, had already stuck out her hand, “A pleasure to meet you, Miya. I am called Alane. Is it correct to inquire that I am the only normal human that is sitting at the table?”

Harrier almost jumped at Alane's quick piecing of the puzzle. 'Crystal bearers have to stick together, we have a lot of work ahead of us.'
Miya was talking about all of them. From the corner of his eye he saw Suri shift in his seat, having been found out. And Harrier wasn't serious about that crystal comment earlier. So, now five Crystal Guardians were in the same building. And by Miya's last comment it was apparent that they would stick together.

Slightly self conscious, Harrier felt his chest were the small crystal was hanging on a necklace. He could feel the pulse of life that was emitting from it, and he now knew that it was because of the other bearers in the area. He took a look around him. In one day, he met the most important people of his life; and Harrier could tell that they would stay the most important people.

Exit- Harrier A'Cal  

[Draconia Crystalis]

((Hey, I'm making an OOC thread. Check it out and see the little idea I had for some fun for all of us to have and share more about our characters. Here is the link. I'll also put up a link on the front page of the RP.))  

[Vizzion]

Orin Beleren

Orin watched from the corner of his eye the events that were unfolding at the table of the Crystal Bearers. From the Angeal's sudden outburst of anger at the two brothers, to the Lady who's name he had now heard as Miya sit down and tell everyone they must stick together since they shared a common fate in the bearing of their crystals.

Bearer of the Fire Crystal eh? Hmm the nemesis to my own Crystal and yet I felt no hostilities from her. Heh, it seems I am the only one who hasn't been exposed yet Orin thought with a chuckle as he kept on drinking from his own glass and kept observing as he made quick glances and listened carefully at their conversations. Although it bothers me though, how can we possibly stick together if we cannot even get that Angeal and those two brothers to talk in a civil manner with each other? Orin thought as he looked at the table with thoughts going through his head. Should he reveal himself or does he even want to work with this group that seems to have members unwilling to work with each other. I'll see what happens to the business with the Angeal before I fully decide Orin thought as he finished yet another glass. This was starting to become a very expensive observation session.