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Akari was vastly impressed with the lizard's powers to summon a semi-sentient being made of earth to do his bidding. "Those are some nice skills!" Akari commented, trying to be heard over the clamor of the soldiers shouting anything from obscenities to tactical orders to bring down the clay golem, paired with rampant banging of firearms.

Upon hearing the lizard's urging to move on, Akari nodded and motioned his arm forwards. "Let's go!" he exclaimed.

With that, he led the other two on a mad dash down main street, staying out of the line of fire and staying away from the golem's rampage. The anthros, which made up a majority of the Asper militia stationed around Main Street, were surprisingly proficient with firearms. Akari figured that it was likely out of necessity, since they'd more than likely be facing enemies similarly armed. However, keeping up with an unwritten anthro tradition, they still kept swords and similar hand-to-hand weapons at their sides. Unbeknown to the small group dashing through Main Street, such a contingency of enemies was what the militia was preparing for in the first place.

When Akari and the others got to the end of Main Street, amid the chaos, and at the end of all barricades that were set up, he kept running, but turned his head back to the lizard anthro as he did so. "Call the thing off!" he exclaimed, "He's served his purpose! We need to head to the left! Rusty's place is the fourth house you'll see on your right!"

Sissmuth grunted at Akari's command. He fought hard to keep himself controlled and calm, but it was difficult when he was really clouded with anger, frustration, and irritation. But he couldn't afford to let that rule him into making any more rash decisions. He turned back towards the distant commotion. "Sleep now," he said.

At once, the gargling sounds of clay and shifting of dirt subsided as the clay golem ceased its attack. Holding two squirming anthros in its tentacles, it dropped them carelessly to the ground and crawled back into the hole it sprang from. As if it were tucking itself into bed, once it had squirmed into the ground, it took a handful of dirt and spread it neatly over himself, covering the hole and disappearing from view. The earth stopped growling then.

Sissmuth felt the toll of energy from summoning a golem. He felt exhausted. Ready to sleep. But he couldn't. Shaking his head vigorously to the side, he grunted again as he brushed past Akari, towards the indicated house.

Akari wasted no time in sprinting for Rusty's house once the golem was called off. He said a quick "nice job," as he passed the lizard anthro, and then came to a halt in front of Rusty's house. He turned back to the other two, who were still coming up behind him. "C'mon, hurry!" he called to them, "get outta there before the militia starts following us!"

As soon as he had said that, Akari turned to the door of Rusty's house and pounded the door with his fist. "Joallel!" he called through the door, very hurriedly, "Open up! It's Akari!"

Akari, after pounding on the door for a solid minute, stopped to catch his breath from both running, and knowing the fact that he could get his rear end handed to him if the militiamen had known that he and the lizard anthro had basically initiated an attack on them. Of course, as what happens a lot for Akari, a better, less violent way to deal with the situation, came to his mind. Conveniently thought of right after the fact. He just hoped right now that Joallel would get to the door soon, so if they did come looking for them, then they'd be nowhere to be found.

"Hey," Akari said to the lizard anthro, still somewhat panting from the sprinting, "first off, thanks for the save back there. It was... incredible, ya know?" Akari stopped to breathe again, "Oh yeah," he continued, "I, uh, ... never got your name... or yours..." he panted, motioning to the raccoon at the last part.

(Thought I'd just bump this, since I've edited my last post)

(If Rusty could come on to play Joallel's part too, that'd be great. I gather Rusty [the character] will be coming to soon as well.)

Sissmuth hesitated for a moment, recoiling his neck back in a look of confusion at whether or not he should tell them. Some ninja quest this turned out to be... you lend someone a hand and you end up being their crutch. He looked behind them to see if anyone was coming, double-check by feeling the vibrations through the ground. But he found he couldn't read as well. His mind was a scattered mess that only a good rest would help to organize.

What was he looking for again? Oh, yes... his name.

"Sissmuth," he replied in his gruff tone. And before anyone had anymore time to ask anything else, he motioned towards the door. "We best get inside before we run into any more obstacles."

(Yeah, that's true. He's been telling me that he's been busy lately with school and marching band stuff, but I'm sure he'll get to posting here soon. And yes, he should be coming to any time now. Until then, I'll wait until Rusty starts posting again to post again.)

Rusty stirred in the arms of whoever had a hold of him. He couldn't tell who it was through the disorientation and the slight stinging pain. He felt the numbness start leaving his limbs but he still couldn't really move them. He half opened his eye to see a dark figure beyond the face and shoulders of the one who was carrying him. They were at a dark door step, and as Rusty strained to see the insignia on the door that tells who lives here and door flung open and the light from inside the house flooded his eyes, blinding him in his sensitive state.


"What in the world, Akari! You don't have to blow down my door before I can open it to get my attention." It was Jollanel. He scolded Akari a bit until he noticed that there where to others with him at which point he straitened up. "Welcome to my humble home, stranger," he said politely turning to greet the guests.

He studied the raccoon first, and then the lizard and his eyes gleamed with the familiar reptilian figure that he had come to know during his younger years. Then he noticed Rusty hung over the shoulders of the lizard.
"I see," He glimpsed up and down the road and then went inside. "Quickly come inside and set Rusty on the sofa. Akari, get the door behind you when you enter."


---Update---
December 19, 2008: I have truly returned! No more school for the rest of the year and now I'll be able to continue with the RP. The same can be said for Sirus though I'm not too sure on where he stands as far as being able to post. because there has been such a large gap of in activity (which I'm really sorry for) I urge everyone of you to reread most of the RP to get familiar with it again.

Akari hung his head at the scolding. "Yes, sir," he replied to the request to get the door after everyone, to which he immediately held the door open for everyone.

To Sissmuth, he nodded to him. "Thanks again for carrying Rusty, Sissmuth," he said, nodding, trying to look as thankful as he felt.

(Sorry for the short post... not too much I can do right now. But I'm glad you're back, Rusty!)

(w00t!! Welcome back, Rusty and Sirus!!)

"Hmm," grunted Sissmuth in alleviation. He had to admit, with the events of this strange night leaving him in a rare bad mood, it was nice to finally get a little gratitude for a change. Hobbling past the door, he lay the semi-conscious fox on the first article of furniture he could find. Having that weight off his shoulder was a great relief as well.

He thought to immediately bid the group farewell and leave when Akari shut the door. Then he decided that it was probably for the better; he would quit this crew by morning, if anything else.

Shuffling back, Sissmuth stood in silence as he adjusted his cloak to cover his body and looked around. Jollanel sure wasn't exaggerating when he called this home "humble." It wasn't at all exquisite, but appeared only just pleasant enough to live in -- Sissmuth liked it.

Surreptitiously, he rubbed at his arms. Being a reptile also meant being cold-blooded. He was cold, but too awe-stuck to move; hungry, but too tired to eat; and tired, but too enthralled to sleep. It added up into a very mix-matched feeling he couldn't make any sense of. Finally, Sismuth decided to stop thinking and watch what would happen next.

(Hi guys I apologize for the HUGE delay. As I'm sure you've heard, Rusty and I have been insanely occupied with school stuff. I have this intense college prep advanced english class where the teacher delights in tormenting his students, enough said he heh. Well, I hope you guys are having a nice holiday season so far. I for one am infinitely glad for it... yay for time to breathe. Anyway, on with my post. Thanks for your patience.)

Cyrus had avoided speaking for the past fifteen minutes, unsure how to react to the very strange circumstances that surrounded him. Deciding to follow suit rather than ask questions, he stayed close behind Sissmuth and the stranger as they all darted across the hills towards Jollanel's house. While he was occupied watching the horizon to ensure no one noticed their presence, Cyrus had found his mind analyzing the wolf that called himself Akari. Cyrus had no understanding of his personality or history, or virtually anything, except that he was friends with this limp Rusty guy and meant to assist him at all possible costs. Despite the lack of prior acquaintance with him, Cyrus sensed a notably trustworthy character in Akari. He only hoped his instincts weren't mislead, as after a good deal of running they all arrived at the house. He now stood on the carpet of yet another stranger.

Glancing around Jollanel's cozy dwelling he found that it wasn't as simple as it appeared. This house was humble by choice, and the air was marked with significance, thick with memories and contemplation, as if shadows of the master's wisdom lurked around every piece of worn furniture. Jollanel's every movement had a studied quality to it, his speech was confident and his presence was defined by years of training, a sort of knowledgeable grace stemming from his age.


Escaping his reflection, Cyrus jumped back into awareness. Rusty was now on the couch, moaning quietly and beginning to show signs of life for the first time in what seemed like hours. Cyrus noticed Akari's present relief as some of the tension melted from his face. Whomever this Jollanel was, he was certainly respected by Rusty's friend and put him at ease, like a protective figure. As the anxiety of the group began to fade into the firelight, Cyrus noticed that Akari's state now allowed him to focus on civility: he had outstreched his hand towards him.

Cyrus was glad to make proper acquaintance. "I'm Cyrus, nice to meet you Akari." he said with a light handshake. "I'm glad your friend is alright, sorry for the confusion back in the alleyway-I do come across as a mugger every now and then." He smiled as he pointed to the mask around his eyes.

Akari nodded at Cyrus' explanation, grasping Cyrus' hand and shaking it. "Likewise," he replied, "and thank you; he is a very good friend of mine, and I feel similarly." At the mention of the alleyway, and being thought of as a mugger, he laughed a bit and replied, "Yeah, I'm sure that happens a lot!"

After Joallel had taken Rusty in, he took a few minutes to observe the house. It was just like the last time he was here: it had a rather old smell to it, many ancient magic artifacts, a few weapons used by his ancestors, and a few ancient scriptures. But the modern stuff in the house also had a clear presence, but it just wasn't as noticeable as the ancient objects present.

Akari sat down on one of the chairs in the room, silently hoping for the best for Rusty.

With Rusty on the couch, Jollanel began working some basic medical treatment. Out of practice he would check all of the important points of the body even for the smallest injuries. As he finished he conduced that all Rusty needed was a bit more time to wake completely.

He got up to formally meet with the two guests. "Thank you for bringing Rusty to me," He said addressing both the raccoon and the lizard. Then he turned slightly to the lizard, and with a tongue that had been dormant for ages said, ["And some extended thanks to you, my scaly friend..."] He didn't continue for he feared clipping more words from the practice he had lost over the years in that language would make a fool out of him.

But then he went back to addressing both of the guests again. "So, how may I address the both of you?"

Sissmuth's head perked up at the sound of the familiar words being spoken to him. For a split second, the corners of his mouth upturned in a toothy smile and he bowed his head in reverence. "Ssicksho," he said, his smile failing to disappear. "My name is Sissmuth. And it is I who should be grateful for your hospitality."

If Sissmuth had learned one thing back in his primitive village, it was to always respect wisdom before strength. Seeing Jollanel reminded him of his own Elder, and somewhere down inside, it sparked a small but guilty feeling of homesickness.

The topazes in his wristbands flickered, and he quickly withdrew his hands underneath his cloak. Suddenly, Sissmuth wasn't so sure that he was quite ready to leave first thing in the morning.

(Just felt that I should give this a little nudge to the front. ^^)

(Goodness, it's been a while. As before, sorry to keep you waiting. I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE to post much more often now, as my schedule has finally stabilized. It took a loooong time, but it's there now. Thanks again for your infinite patience.)

Jollanel was bent over Rusty once again. Cyrus detected great concern for the fox's safety from this old master, quite like a grandfather would harbor for his grandchildren. He was obviously revered in the eyes of everyone in the room, including Sissmuth's, despite the novelty of his particular admiration, which appeared to spark at the revealing of Jollanel's fluency in lizard tongue. At least this is what Cyrus could tell, though he got the feeling that Sissmuth's sudden respect ran for something deeper than strictly their shared knowledge in articulate hissing.

Now that the moment had stabilized for what felt like the first time all night, Cyrus's subconscious took advantage of it to suddenly remember something. "I'm supposed to be in Desdon right now." he thought aloud. Suddenly embarrassed, he looked around. No one heard him... Good, he didn't appear to be unconcerned with the present situation.

He approached Jollanel with his hands in his robe pockets. "I'm glad he's alright." he said with a nod downward at Rusty. "Sissmuth and I ran into him unconscious in an alley, we had no idea what to do. Do you need my help in any way?" Perhaps Desdon will have to wait until tomorrow. he thought.