RPG: The Six Wizards

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki hesitated. She wanted so much to prove to Inu that she would be right here with him, to the very end of her life. Wasn't it enough that they all gave up everything to be here? She looked around at the others. They were all committed to him, she was sure, but they were also criminally minded, and as such could not be trully trusted. What could she and Inu offer to make them commit by blood oath? What could they say that would make them wish to do the bidding of the group mentality instead of just their own ambitions. Ouki wondered. She thought back to when she had first met Inu, and how she was so young and so impressionable. She closed her eyes.

*******************************************************
She was on holidays with her family at a lake, and her parents and sisters didn't notice that she had gotten caught in a current near the river mouth. She was dragged off for miles, Her little body scrapping and breaking along the rocks. She fought for her life, the water was cold and it burned her throat and lungs. She was dying, but the water relentlessly dragged her down stream. Her vision was all water, and then it became darker, like she was sinking into a deeper abis. That's when she felt the pull. She was yanked back into life and thrown onto the grassy bank. She coughed and coughed and threw up, then rolled over weakly and let the hot sun warm her face. She squeezed her eyelids once, twice and then fluttered them open and saw that the sun was no longer shining; someone was blocking it. Weak as she was she tried to back away.
"I'm not going to hurt you." the voice was almost kind. "It's not your turn to die. Today." Ouki squinted her eyes, trying to focus. It was a boy, about the same age as her. He was soaking wet, the water dripped off his shoulder length black hair. He knelt down beside her.
"What was it like?" he asked, staring into her eyes. Ouki tried to move. Her whole body ached.
"I... I can't move." she croaked. Inu kept staring at her.
"Tell me, what was it like, to almost die like that?" Inu acted like he hadn't even heard her. Ouki felt her heart crushing.
"Please..." she squeaked, tears starting to form in her eyes, burning them. "I can't move, my whole body... I think my legs are broken." Ouki lifted her hands to reach out to the boy, and saw that her hands were cut up and seeping blood. The boy took one of her hands. Ouki froze. He held her hand between his hands.
"So fragile." he muttered. He looked her over, assessing the damage. Then he looked at her face again. Ouki rolled her head so she didn't have to look at him.
"Look at me." he commanded. Ouki closed her eyes, like a child who believes when she closes her eyes, the monsters can't get her. She was wrong. She felt herself being pulled up to a sitting positon. She cried out in pain. "Open. your. eyes. Ouki." the boy said pointedly. Ouki's eyes shot open.
"How do you know my name?" she whispered.
"You come here every summer. I know you." Ouki's blood ran cold when he said 'I know you and not, I know who you are. How could this boy know her?
"You are not like your sisters. You are strong, independent, smart, and you're bored. You've also got a secret." the boy whispered the last.
Ouki paused, her mouth was so parched. The boy held her in his arms. "What secret?" She breathed. She felt so dizzy. She was loosing so much blood.
"You like to watch things die." the boy's eyes widened and he smiled. Ouki's eyes widened too.
"How..." she tried to say. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she nearly passed out. She felt her cheeks being slapped. She refocused.
"come on! Pay attention!" The boy kept patting at her cheeks until she brought up one hand and grabbed his wrist. Pure adrenaline. He laughed.
"Now there's a fiesty girl!" he said. She held his wrist firm still. "I've seen you, Ouki. You do it. You go out into the forest, you find creatures and you start it. You feed them poison, you cut them, you break them, and you watch them die. You listen to them scream. I listen to them too." Ouki continued to listen to the boy.
"who are you?" she asked.
"My name is Chi Inu." he bowed his head politely. then he set about talking once more. "Was it quiet?"
"What?"
"The water. Nearly dying. Was it quiet?"
"It was.... it was sort of peaceful.... it hurt so much, but then, it just started getting dark." Ouki tried to drag the memory out.
"All that pain. And you didn't make a sound. You were like a rag doll, being tossed around. You didn't look alive. Imagine! Suffering all that pain. And you never made a sound." Inu stood up and looked around. "Come on." he said, and he scooped her up like she was lighter than air.
Ouki fell asleep as Inu carried her up the ridge. She woke up in a hospital bed, both legs in casts and an iv drip in her hand.Unfortunately, even a magical hospital still had to set your bones back in place, even if they did manage to heal faster than muggle medicine knew how. Her mother stirred beside her.
"Oh Ouki! My sweet! Oh God! Baby don't move. You've been through so much. Are you alright?" her mother threw herself across Ouki's chest, hugging her. Ouki set her hands on her mothers back, hesitantly.
"Where's Chi?" she asked.
"Who?" her mother said, pulling away and grabbing some tissue.
"The boy who saved me?"
"Oh, well they.. well they just brought you back to the campground, and then we rushed you to the hospital and I..."
"I want to see him. What did he tell you?" Ouki tried to sit up a bit more, but was still so weak.
"I don't know who you mean, sweetie. There was no boy, only a man and a woman in a truck. Maybe this boy was their son. But he didn't come back with you." her mother eyed her with concern.
"So... no one said anything?"
"Other than that they found you on the side of the river half dead? I think that was enough, don't you??" her mother was becoming hysterical.
"It's okay mom. It's ok." Ouki let her head fall back. She pondered what Chi had said, about the silence.

Ouki's dreams for every night after that day in the river were of the silent pain she had suffered. At first it sent her screaming into consciousness, and then it changed her. She began to study it, to test it, and to master it. The dreams helped her focus on inflicting that pain on everything else. It wasnt' until she had drowned her older sisters cat that her family really knew what she was. She was home for Christmas when she found the cat had eaten her fighting fish. So... she killed him slowly. Using her magic to fill his nose, his mouth, and ears with water until he convulsed and spasmed and slipped away. Her sister walked in as she was doing it. She never recovered from what she saw. Her mother screamed and screamed and cried and cried. "How could you be such a monster?!!!" she wailed.
"I've always been a monster!" Ouki screamed back. That day she left home. That day, she set out to find Chi Inu. She knew he would accept her. She found him, and he encouraged her skill. She started taking human lives. There was no turning back. Not that there was a place where mom and dad's little princess was real - ever.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

Yuta noticed Ouki had closed her eyes. She must be thinking the same thoughts, going through the same reverie. Yuta returned to hers...

******

"What sort of pact?" Yuta asked suspiciously.
"Oh, just saying that we won't abandon each other, that we'll always be together. You don't want us to get split, do ya, Yutie baby?"
"Of course I don't, but I just don't know..."
"Can't ya do this for me, baby?" her friend grabbed her shoulders. "I go to all this length to make ya happy, can't ya do this one little thing for me?"
"It just seems so... final."
"It's not, Yutie, it's not, it really doesn't mean anything." he placated her, leaning close to her face and looking into her eyes. "Ya know we'd still do these things for each other even without the pact. This just makes it official, ya know?"
"Well... Okay, I guess so." Yuta bit her lip.
"I knew ya'd do this for me, baby, I can count on ya, ya know? We're the same, you an' me. Both grew up rough. But we gotta stick together, Yutie, we can't let anything keep us apart, ya know? So we gotta have this pact."
"Oh."
"Ya know I'd only ever do what's best, ya know that, right, Yutie baby? I've got both of our best interests at heart, and trust me, baby, this is for the best."
"The best?"
"The best."

[Ms. Elsewhere]

The whole room was so quiet. Inu pulled up a chair and sat down next to Neko. He placed his hand on her head affectionately. He stroked her hair. Ouki stood above him, watching him. Ouki's heart skipped a beat. He really was in love with Neko, she realised. It took nearly loosing her for him to realise it. This was the only weakness Ouki had ever seen in Inu, ever. She put one hand on Inu's shoulder. she carefully chose her next words. She was sure Inu's intentions were always selfish ones.

"How will it be then? By blood?" Ouki asked.
"......yes, by blood. It is the most perminent way." Inu said, still looking at Neko.
"And will we be branded?"
"There will be a mark, yes. We will all be connected after this."
"How do you know how to do this?" Ouki asked cautiously.
"I have my ways." Inu said. Ouki knodded. she paused for a long moment.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

Yuta only vaguely heard Inu and Ouki's conversation. She was still caught up in the memories....

*****

"How will we do it?" Yuta asked quietly.
"Blood. It is the most perminent. But first..." he looked up at Yuta. "We need something first. Something special to do it with."
"What's that?"
"A certain knife. A ceremonial dagger, if you will."
"But wouldn't just using our wands be easier?"
Her friend's face clouded.
"No." He set his shoulders, as if coming to an important decision; which he was. "We need that dagger."
"If you say so... Where do we get it?"
"A bunch o' muggles've got it. We'll take it from them easily, they don't know its true value..."
"When will we do it?"
"Now's as good a time as any. The sooner, the better."
"How will we know if it worked?" Yuta asked
"A mark."
"A mark?" Yuta's brow furrowed; she didn't know how she liked that.
"Yes, a very special symbol that only you and I will have. You'd like that, wouldn't ya, Yutie baby? A unique little symbol that only you an' I'll have?"
"I suppose so..."
"Sure ya do. It'll be like our very own code."
"And no one else will have it?"
"Not a soul."

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Inu knew what had to be done. He had underestimated these people before, the dark ones with their rituals and black books. He would not be surprised again. He looked over at Yuta now, and saw that she was deep in thought.

[salemboy]

Damien had heard enough. "Inu! I'm not going to be marked, because your girlfriend got hurt!" Even as he said that, he knew he made a mistake. Inu's eyes suddenly flicked towards Damien, glinting dangerously.

"What was that, Nomare?" He said, the ice in his voice seeming to be able to penetrate the very deepest corner of space.

Still, Damien was not going to be branded to fit the whims of an emotionally challenged psychopath. Damien might be Sadistic, but not stupid. Taking this mark would make him in servitude of Inu forever. That's not something Damien wanted, most definitely not. He took a deep breathe, and said calmly, "I refuse to be branded."

[Ms. Elsewhere]

A sickening growl escaped Inu's lips. "You insulent child." his voice was like death. To anyone else, it would send them white with fear, but Damien seemed to stand his ground. He started walking toward Damien, his hands fists at his sided. "If you want to leave, that can be arranged. Permanently."

[salemboy]

"So, I'm the child!" Damien scoffed, fingering a poison in his potions jacket, and keeping his other hand on his wand. It was so nice to get this off of his chest, but it would have been safer to simply slit his own throat. "You're the one who absolutely has to get their way. You are even more child-like than Buta, who never stops eating. If anything doesn't go your way, you flare up, and get all angry, like a spoiled freaking brat!"

[Remember, they remain allies, so we need a way to work this out. Also, what are the other characters thinking about Damien's refusal?]

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Ouki stepped forward and put one hand on Inu's shoulder, leaning in to his ear. "Calm down." she hissed, so quietly only Inu could hear. Inu could have torn a hole in Ouki to get to Damien if he wanted to, but he paused there, breathing heavily. The potion that allowed him to possess the animal instincts of the werewolf without the full moon was still strong enough in his veins to act with his anger. For the first time ever, he struggled for control to NOT kill. He glared at Damien, and Damien glared back. This was a boy who had left his home to be free of control, not to be in another situation where he was told what to do. However, if this boy could not be trained to follow orders, they could all be jepordised. He was a liabilty. With every fibre of his being, Inu wanted to kill Damien Nomare. But not yet. After this, Damien would have to suffer first. Inu calculated in his mind what he would do, and stored it there for another time. A smile spread across his face. Time to make an example of him, just the same.
Inu moved so fast that the only sound was Ouki's small screech of surprise. Glass smashed and light flashed around the room. Seconds had passed, and Damiens vial of poison was eating away at the floor, he was disarmed, and Inu had him pinned to the floor, face down, with his wand to Damien's temple.
"I am faster than you, and stronger." he hissed. Inu could feel the others gathering around him. He could not guess if they meant to help Damien or not, so he did not bother looking. Unless they set out to kill him, any curse would easily wear off, thanks to his condition. Damien struggled under him. "I should kill you now for your defiance!" he shouted.
"No!!! Inu stop! Please!" Ouki sobbed. Inu looked behind him, and Ouki stood next to them; she had her wand on Inu.
"What's this? " he moved his eyes from the tip of her wand to her face and back again. "Are you going to kill me, Ouki?"
"I... I....." Ouki hesitated. Big mistake. Inu reached out and grabbed her hand, twisting it so that she was forced to drop her wand. By doing so he made his own mistake; he loosened his grip on Damien.

[salemboy]

"[Censored by me again, hee hee] you, Inu!" Damien roared as he landed a giant hook to Inu's jaw. He could see a few teeth flying out with a bit of blood. A rare occurence. "That's for punching Ouki earlier tonight, you [Damien really has a potty-mouth]!" Then he got up, grabbed Inu by the scruff of the neck, and threw him into the wall. The wall, being Japanese, broke under Inu's weight as he flew through it. "That was for twisting her wrist the way you just did!"

I guess there's something that Damien learned living in a Muggle community: how to fight. It had been a long time since he had been in a fist-fight, but it was as if it were yesterday.

Then, out of nowhere, he saw Inu lunging at him, a knife in his right hand. Big mitake to lunge. Damien thought Inu knew better. Damien ducked under Inu and grabbed the monster by the head, swinging him down onto the tatami mat, which also broke, and sent Inu down into a basement around three feet deep. "And that was because you've had it a long time coming!"

He saw as Inu got back up quickly, so Damien reached into his potions jacket, and pulled out a potion. He had been hoping the day wouldn't come where he'd need it, but right now, he did. Undoing the stopper, he chugged the entire thing in one gulp. Even as he did so, he felt his muscles grow, his bones toughen, his senses heighten. He could smell everything around him, and his eyesight was impeccable. Of course, the only noticeable change on the outside was his muscles bulged slightly.

"Inu," he said angrily, "Now, we're on equal footing." Then he stood there, ready, as Inu lunged from the hole.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Inu practically flew from the basement trap door and collided with Damien, his fury so animalistic it was a full blown brawl. He tore at Damien’s clothing, He punched and clawed and rolled. He felt the powerful reciprocating movements of Damien hammering into his own body, and for the first time, he felt weakened by it. He tantrumed and struggled, kicking punching and growling and snarling. They were destroying the place. Suddenly something caught Inu’s eye, and he backed away from Damien, snarling as he did.
“Back off!” he growled. He stood in front of the table where Neko still slumbered. Ouki stood to the left of Inu. She was like stone, her eyes fixed on Damien, horrified.

[salemboy]

Damien breathed heavily. "I refuse to be marked, and nothing that you say or do will change that." He wiped the blood from his mouth. "And so help me, Inu. If you ever lay a single finger on Ouki again, I will kill you." The way he said kill, it was a menacing tone that even made Damien's blood run cold. He didn't show it though, as he could not show any weakness for Inu to capitalize on.

Not taking his eyes off of Inu, he said, "Ouki... I apologize. When this gets sorted out, I promise to make it up to you." Strange. When was he so protective of her? He didn't know why, but he now had some deep affection for her. Maybe it was because they kissed. He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he wanted to make it up to her.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Inu turned to look at Ouki, who was still staring at Damien. Inu looked back at Damien, a look of amusement on his face. He actually laughed.
"Women! Ha!" he said, and he walked forward, patting Damien on the shoulder. Damien stood his ground strong, but his breathing never slowed. Inu looked into Damien's face. "If you don't want to be bound, that's fine. But be careful, Damien. You might think you can handle everything on your own, but one day you'll find, that won't be the case." Damien shrugged Inu's hand off his shoulder. Inu put his hands up and backed away in mock concern.
"Ooo...! No more fighting! How about, we sleep on it? I haven't heard what everyone else thinks? I am wary of these games." Inu rubbed his eyes. "Whether or not this is a democracy or a dictatorship, MY decision is that if anyone wants to form a pact with me, I will be ready to do it when the time is right - for everyone."

[salemboy]

Damien watched as Inu left into his room. He didn't care what the others had to say, he just looked painfully at Ouki. That look on her face. He'd never seen her make it before. Damien closed his eyes, took a deep breathe, and reopened them, and then began walking towards Ouki. Then he was standing directly in front of her. "Ouki, I'm sorry," he stated, trying to make his sincerity clear.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Inu sighed as he layed down on his bed. He felt his wounds healing already, and knew that Damien's never would completely heal. He stared at the ceiling. Damien had only been with them for 3 months, after all. Why should he be committed enough to be bound. There would be a better time, an it would be soon, Inu was sure of that.
He thought over the events of the day, trying to drift off to sleep. Then he sat straight up in bed.
"Wait a minute." he said, and threw his legs over the edge of the bed, standing up. He paced the room, thinking. Something did not calculate right. Someone had betrayed them. They were always so careful, how did they know one of theirs was unaccounted for? Each of them had always kept tabs on the others, but when Neko went off the radar, it was too much of a coincidence that she was caught. And also, who did nothing when the ministry nearly had him in that pub? Who always had something to say that was defiant and self serving?
Damien.
No respect. No committment. An easy candidate for a spy.
Spy.
Damien a spy? Inu was irrational. He sighed and layed down again. He knew he wanted to blame someone for what had happened, for the mistakes, for the blood, for what was happening to his nerve.
So he blamed Damien. For everything.