[Yomegami]

((Posting order: 1. Me, 2. SweetDisaster, 3. jaden_wolf, 4. Kyrstalolive, 5. Polaris.))

Zexa

The wind rustled through the branches above, causing the fur on the sulkuhna's back to rise up in fear.

Zexa looked over her shoulder, hoping the rest of her group was somewhere nearby. Why did she even want to come to this place, anyway?

It was true about what it was said about the Roraldi Forests being beautiful and fantasy-like, but something about this place really made her uncomfortable. Maybe she felt that way just because it was night-time and the full moon was high.

She tried to shake off those feelings, but they just kept coming back to her. Something fateful was going to happen tonight. She could feel it in her heart and soul.

[SweetDisaster]

"Isn't it gorgeous?" asked the Candle Shinzo. She bounded after Zexa, her flames bright as she gazed around her with approval. It was the forest you invisioned; bright green foliage against brown bark and the mysterious sky. How could anything go wrong? Spark closed her eyes happily, soaking in the happy feeling.

 Her lithe form was barely visible as she darted forth. "Zexa," she called, giggling childishly. The bad thing about being a Candle Shinzo in the forest was, obviously, that she had to be careful about what she burned. It was hard controlling her flames and having fun. Fiercely, she stilled another outflare and glanced around in obvious enjoyment.

 "Where are the others?" she asked out loud, as was her habit. The first sign of insanity; she really ought to stop. But habits were habits. Spark watched in fascination as a caterpillar inched up a tree. Could anything be better than a day in the woods?

{1}

[Jaden Wolf]

Sunrise


Sunrise ran through the forest, stopping occasionally to look around. What was she looking for? The others of course. Farther behind her, she heard movement and some giggles. She turned her head and saw a flash of blackish-purple and firey pelts. She nodded approvingly. Then she stepped out into the path as the kuhna and shinzo came towards her. "Took me quite a while to find you." she said. She looked around. "The others are not here yet?" She flicked her head thoughtfully then started to walk alongside the kuhna. She found that her stride was longer than the smaller creature and so she did not have to put in much effort to keep up. Respectfully though, she lagged a bit so the kuhna would not feel so slow.

[Krystalolive]

"Hey guys!" Tobi pounced through the trees, the happy little fuball bouncing around with energy. He stopped and counted everyone. "One more missing." He then turned to Zexa, smiling. "Hello, I'm Tobi. I believe that you are Zexa right?" He had a smile on his face. The one that never left.

[Polaris]

Vein slunk through the trees... He was susposed to meet a couple others here, he wasn't sure who though. Polaris had said something about a sulkuhna- named Zexy? No that didn't sound right. His thoughts were distracted by flash of gold in the trees, he took off after it.

Well, took off as fast as a rather large dragon can go while mauvering around tree trunks and constantly thwacking his wing bones on branches while trying to follow a rather slighter and more agile form. "Hullo?" he called, hoping that someone would answer him. Oh! His head swivled in the direction of a distinctly kuhna voice. Managing to get up to the group, he looked around in dismay to find he was the last to arrive. Great. Vein hated being an inconvenience to others.

Looming out of the trees, Vein finally got fusterated and wacked a couple of brances out of his way hard enough that they snapped and fell to the ground. There, now he could move his head around better. "Hello..." the big hollowheart looked down to his smaller companions, "You may call me Vein." His speech was puctuated with sharp clacks and small hisses, as dragon beaks were not made for human-speech.

[Yomegami]

Insane-sounding giggling made Zexa whirl right around. Thankfully, it was only a Candle Shinzo - a member of the group, she believed.

More weird sounds of snapping sticks, and a treasure serraptor appeared. Another member down.

The next one to arrive was a Cake kuhna, who asked if she was Zexa.

"Yes, that is corr-" she began, only to get cut off by a bunch of thwacking sounds and more snapping sticks. The maker of these noises was a Imperial Hollowheart, the sheer size of which scared her out of her wits.

Thankfully, it didn't seem to want to harm her or anyone else. It merely gave them a greeting and his name.

"Well, it looks like everyone's here now. In case you don't already know that, I am Zexa," she said. But she stopped there. Those ominous feelings were coming back.

Everyone else seemed happy enough (well, maybe except the Hollowheart, but who could blame him?), except for her. And it wasn't because she was a Sulkuhna, either.

"I think it best we stick together while we explore this forest. It's night-time, and having never been here before, I certainly don't know what we'll run into." she added.

"In the meantime, why don't we tell each other our names, so we know who's who? Although several of us already gave us their names...."

[SweetDisaster]

Stifling a giggle at the sight of the others, Spark glanced around appreciatively. It was a nice group. Most looked quite friendly...she couldn't say it for all, but most nonetheless. She nodded politely at them, and glanced at Zexa when the Sulkuhna spoke. Then she nodded. "I'm Spark; I got the name because I--oh, never mind." She bit off her words. These pets probably weren't interested in a novel of her name. "I'm just...Spark," she muttered, almost defensively.

{2}

[Jaden Wolf]

Sunrise inclined her head. "I am Sunrise." she said, and looked around at the group. Spark reminded her of Flame, and the cake reminded her somewhat of Flay. She looked up at the large hollowheart but didn't even flinch. She could hardly remember the last time she was afraid of anything, though she knew it was before she had met Jaden. She had no idea what to think of Zexa though.
Then the serraptor looked around at the forest warily. She could feel something ominous, but could not tell what. So far, the Shadows had revealed nothing to her...so whatever she felt was unnoticed...for now.

[Krystalolive]

Tobi looked at the Hollowheart, then smiled and thought of Draco. He nodded to Zexa, Spark and Sunrise as they gave their names. He stepped forward, smiling. "HI! I'm Tobi, though some people just call me annoying..." He laughed, and looked liked he wishd he didn't say that. He looked around. "I live around here, so it's just like a night-time walk for me. I promise there is nothing to be scared of if your in a group. If you come out alone, well, I hope no one will." He had his normal goofy smile on his face after he was done talking. He was kinda smart, well, if people would let him talk for a while.

[Polaris]

Vein surveyed the others with cool eyes. His heart marking pulsed a few beats quicker as he thought about the seeming concidence that they had all met in the forest, at night, on walks or looking for something. It seems only he had been looking for the group. Was it fate that had drawn them here? Or something more devious? Either way... Vein had a feeling that he would become rather attached to everyone here- figurativly of course. "Good afternoon Sunrise, Tobi, Zexa, and Spark. As I have said before... you may call me Vein. It is a pleasure to meet you all." He inclined his head to each in turn as he said their names, as all gentlemen do.

Shuffling his wings absentmindedly, the hollowheart further contempalated these four. They all seemed outgoing and friendly, lots of energy between them. He blinked in a trusting way, as hoped that the other's wouldn't sterotype him just because he was quiet and rather feirce looking.

[Yomegami]

Zexa sat in silence as everyone introduced themselves. It seemed that everyone here - including the Hollowheart - was friendly enough.

Although most of them seemed oblvious to the fact that something was going to happen, the serraptor - Sunrise - was glancing around warily. Zexa had no means of reading her mind, but she guessed the same ominous feelings she was having was also being felt by Sunrise.

Zexa decided to keep her feelings to herself. Everyone else was being mostly cheerful, so she might as well.

"This probably isn't the best time to be out, but, if Tobi is to be trusted, we have very little to worry about. Let's go!" she said.

With that, she got up, and walked deeper into the forest. Hopefully, the rest of the group would follow.

[SweetDisaster]

Spark wondered briefly at Zexa's words. Little to worry about? Did she expect them TO worry? Because, if so, Spark hadn't even considered worrying. And who was Tobi again? Oh, right: the Cake Kuhna. Spark winced at her notoriously short memory, and then picked her way after Zexa.

Struggling to subdue her flames, which at times sprang up with a wild excited flare, Spark lingered over small things: A leaf dripping in dew; a bright closed flower bathed in moonlight. Was there nothing that a walk at night couldn't escape?

Except that feeling. Spark hadn't noticed it before, but there was a...waiting kind of feeling; the kind of feeling you got when there was a tense anticipation. Or was that just her?

{3}

[Jaden Wolf]

Sunrise nodded to Zexa and then followed her and Spark. She kept a small distance away from the Shinzo however, just in case another one of those firey flares burst out again. Still the Shadows revealed nothing, despite the nagging feeling that she realized both Zexa and Spark felt as well. She tilted her head slightly as the Shadows whispered to her in their personal language. She knew the others would probably mistake it for the whispering of the wind, since most people do. "Why worry so? We see nothing. Nothing hides around you and them. Calm yourself my lady" they whispered to her. They did not speak in words but more like thought-feelings, so Sunrise picked up their distaste of the others. She gave a sharp glare to a nearby shadow, which accidently recoiled slightly.

[Krystalolive]

Tobi followed Zexa, running up to her side. "How far in are we going? I've been far, but it gets bad after awhile." He looked around the forest, still smiling that goofy smile. He listened. The wind was loud today, weird. He thought about Zexa words. 'Worry? What is there to worry about in this forest? Sure there's all the rumors, but I've never seen any evil pets out here.' He looked up, barely seeing the stars through the trees. 'Everythings safe here.'

[Polaris]

Vein too, looked up. The canopy curled over their heads in a closed-off, protected way. Some might consider it constricting. It felt more... somehow it felt as though the world were cut off from the group. That they just a small party, running through a timeless tunnel of trees and shadows... Was that a movement in the forest?

Vein peered at the tree curiously. He had thought that... no. Someone had brushed a branch, and it had disturbed the flow of moonlight. He probably did it himself. Shaking off the feeling, he brought up the rear of the neat little line everone made darting through the shadows. Four lithe forms twisting though the night... followed by a great hulking brute.

Of course, Vein himself didn't notice, but he was actually smaller than alot of other hollowhearts. He wrote if off as the fact that he was younger than all of his hollowheart companions. He found himself comparing himself not to the hollowhearts, but to the smaller residents... like the kuhnas and such. They made him feel large and clumbsy, but someone he felt more of a kinship towards them then he did to his great scaled friends. Maybe it was because they had an aura of happiness, of wholeness. Shard... the others, they were all missing something. Vein thought that he had what they were missing, but wasn't sure what it was.

His white scales catching the moonlight, Vein stopped for a moment. The whole wacking-head-with-branches-and-twigs-thing wasn't working for him. " I'm going to glide above you, is that okay?" he asked the small group. Sometimes it made prey-like pets nervous to have a big scaly reptile's shadow cast over them, but Vein was really so done with the whole 'leaveing a huge wake of snapped branches' behind him.