Now You're Useful? (Clyde)

[Aello]

Fall 13, 511 AV The morning dew, which clung to the few undying green blades of grass, which were strewn across the forest floor, seeped through the suede skin of Aello's boots. It clung to the fabric, the thin socks the girl wore so that the insides would not scratch her skin. It caused her toes to curl into her flesh, to tremble slightly as she bunched and unbunched them, trying to build up a slight sense of heat as she moved along. Stepping high, simply to keep the noise level down as she stalked her prey. As she leapt over fallen trees and stumps, and did her best to avoid crunching the fallen leaves beneath her. As the young spiritist glided along, she held her bow in her left hand. The three middle fingers of her right hand hugged an arrow which had already been strung onto the serving. She had the bow pointed downwards, to the space just in front of her step, and the string itself, hiked back but an inch at most. There has to be something here, Aello thought, surely it is far too early for everything to have gone into hibernation. Golden-colored sunlight trickled down through the trees, illuminating Aello's face, and her hair. Giving each an eerie glow, a slight sense of warmth. Something she had begun to lose hours beforehand, with the occasional gust of wind that swept through the forest. Her fingers trembled from time to time, as they held the string, which cut long red lines across her pale skin. Which caused her fingers to grow somewhat sore, even with the slight pressure she had been exerting. The girl's eyes darted back and forth along the length of the forest floor, in search of life, as she practically held her breath in anticipation. Waiting for something, anything to show itself to her. For she had seen little other than the occasional songbird earlier in the day. OOCHopefully this works...

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde had been out for a early morning walk... Well more a early morning spy... He had recently gained an interest in a woman named Aello... And chancing upon her decided to follow along behind... Which by follow along meant sneak and try to follow, as he was not very sneaky, and he had trouble keeping up with her, especially once she left the city, and was going through wooded areas and such... And as for the by chance part... Well to be honest that was not so true... His going along and seeing her had not been by chance... But if noticed, which he surely would be, he would say that he had seen her by chance and decided to follow along behind to see were she was going... It was true enough to not be an outright lie, so not to obvious... Best to pepper a statement with a bit of truth, even if not revealing the whole truth... And a half-truth was not technically a lie, just holding back some of the information... As Clyde followed along, he tried to hold his robes close, both for the added warmth and to keep it from getting caught on passing branches and things... Though he was not that hard to notice, since his boots seemed to find every possible dry leaf to crush loudly... If Aello was not so absorbed by her task of hunting, she probably would have noticed him long ago... Or perhaps she had noticed, and was simply ignoring Clyde, allowing him to trail along behind... Clyde trailed along behind, clutching his staff in one hand, and using it to help keep him up and from falling. Though he could hardly feel it through his leather gloves which he wore. Though when you figured in his staff, robes, and his pack on his back holding his slingshot and things, it all added up to making his trip a bit more difficult... He had already fallen flat on his face twice, and gotten stuck in some brambles, which took a full minute to extricate himself from... Though as Clyde moved a bit closer, getting once more within sight of Aello, and seeing her bow in her hands, arrow at the ready, he wondered if it was wise to follow someone with a drawn bow, who would probably shoot at the first sign of movement... He thought this unfortunately just as he stepped on a particularly dry twig, the sound of its snapping ringing out through the surrounding woods... Oops...

[Aello]

At the sound of the twig snapping beneath Clyde's step, Aello turned. Slowly. Her eyes growing wide as her body tensed. As she practically held her breath, so as not to make a sound, and scare away her prey. She raised the bow a little higher, aiming her arrow at a nearby tree, a space no more than two or three feet above the ground. She pulled the string back as she called her magic to her, willing it to show her the outline of her prey. Whatever had disturbed the forest, so that she may shoot her arrow into its side. A fiery red mist appeared to her left side. It billowed upwards towards the sky, crackling angrily, as though it was displeased at having been disturbed. Or perhaps, noticed by the young spiritist. It outlined the form of a taller man in his entirety, sparkling around the edges, serving only to more greatly distinguish that which she already knew was there. This one has come for you, Aello's mind whispered, as the smell of a roaring fire filled her nostrils. The smoke, causing them to flare. As the sound of a whistling wind reached her ears. As the feel of it cascaded across her skin. Cool. Light. There one moment and gone the next. He plans on studying you it seems... Aello tensed. He knows magic too... can control the elements. Fire and air. The girl's muscles rippled angrily beneath her flesh at the discovery. Her pupils dilated. Sweat hung from her eyelids, causing them to grow heavy. She forced the colors away. The magic away, and pushed her bow over to the target she had seen just moments before. "Show yourself," Aello growled. "I know you're there... fail to obey within the next ten seconds, and I will shoot this arrow through your heart." The girl's eyes flashed menacingly. It didn't seem as though she were joking.

[Clyde Sullins]

As he snapped the twig on the ground, Clyde was not surprised when Aello's form turned ready to shoot at him. Well he had not expected to be hidden forever, and he had heard of her sensing ability when it came to auras. He had expected really for himself to be seen. And his miraculous inability at sneaking... Well it just added to it. If Clyde had known what she saw in him, it would not have surprised him all that much. He preferred using fire reimancy, and by now its use would be deeply ingrained in his aura. He did also have some skill in using air reimancy, but used it much more rarely, so it would have much less of an impression. No when time was short, he instinctively used his first element of fire, which he controlled the easiest. Besides that most of his magical skills were still in there infancy, and would have almost no sign on his aura. If any others, his skill in glyphing might be seen, but that one did not leave as obvious a trace in its wake. Though who knew what odd traces it might leave, odd symbols and such swirling in there perception. No reimancy was much more active, and far easier to see. When she called out, Clyde was quick to respond, as he did not really want to be shot today. He might try and burn the arrow as it neared him, but that might also fail. Better to so this peaceably, and announce his intentions. Besides he tried to fight the impulse to use magic when it was not needed, knowing he had an odd compulsion to use magic... But he was learning to cope, and fight that need. Coming forward, with his hands out for her to see, empty but for his staff, he announced his presence. "It is just me, Clyde Sullins. We met recently in a bar, and before that in these woods. I did not mean to disturb you, I simply saw you in the city, and decided to see where you were headed. I was interested in what you were doing...." "Though I fear I have followed you for a bit to far, and I have gotten a bit turned about... I am not sure exactly which way is back to town..." Clyde let out a breath, keeping his voice steady, and his eyes on Aello. Technically everything he said was true, even if he left a bit out... Hopefully that would be enough for her to see the truth in his words... Though from the way he spoke, it might come out as ambiguous, or that he was hiding a bit more than he was saying. It was never certain how an aurist would take what was said. Though surely it would not be seen as a lie. Though from how things had gone on their previous encounters, he was not really sure how Aello would react to seeing him again...

[Aello]

Aello lowered her bow, and allowed the bowstring to lose some of its tension, by easing her fingers forward. How does he keep finding me? Aello wondered, as her eyes grazed over Clyde's form. He seemed better than the last time they had met. Slightly better groomed... And his magic was back. Well that wasn't there before, Aello thought. Well it was, but he just didn't know it. Didn't think it could be. I wonder what has changed... "Hi Clyde," Aello said simply. "I did remember you..." the girl's voice trailed off as her magic registered a hint of deception. A bit of truth. A small lie. "And have to say, it's a bit odd for someone to admit to their following another... especially when said person could always ask what the one being followed intended on doing for the rest of the day, and then, invite themselves along. Since that seems to be the routine between you and me. You either invite yourself along on a trip, are invited, or invite trouble... or maybe, that's mainly me." Aello shrugged as she willed her magic to go away. Into the recesses of her mind. "But now that you're here, you may as well come along. But only if you promise to keep it down. You're going to scare away every bloody animal in the forest if you don't." Aello paused. "Think you can manage? Or should I shoot you in the foot, let you wail, and walk back to the city trailing blood and limping? At least that way, if I walk in the opposite direction, you'll scare all the animals towards where I lay in wait." OOCSorry this post is immensely choppy.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde let out a breath he had not even realized he had been holding when he saw the bow lower... Well at least it appeared she did not plan to shoot him, or so he hoped... As for his magic, it was indeed back. He could feel his djed calling to him, wanting to be used... The desire to cast it, knowing it would ease the weight that was slowly building up deep in his skull... He was pretty sure that was not normal, but he did not know when it had occurred. He was just happy that he was intelligent enough to know there was something wrong and different. Otherwise he would not be able to hide the issue as well... Clyde did wonder on what she said... Clyde seemed to have a run of bad luck, especially when magic was involved. Most not his own fault... If nothing else he was much more wary of other magic users than he used to be, not as trusting. After all, what if they were crazy! Of course the irony of that thought was lost on Clyde, since Clyde himself had some mental issues caused by magic. And at the same time, he was judging other magic users, fearing they might be crazy. But it made sense to himself, even if it would not to anyone else if it was explained to them, and he probably could not explain why his own issues were okay, but others were not. Clyde nodded, breaking from his train of thought to listen to the last bit of what she said. "Of course, I will do my best to stay quiet and keep up. Though in all honesty, which you might already have noticed, I am not very good at being stealthy. But I will do my best..." Clyde more or less ignored the last part of the statement, the bloody threat barely eve registering, and not really instilling any fear at all. Perhaps Aello was just not good at making threats? Or perhaps the more likely reason, he was being distorted both by the city and his magic, so that he was a very different person than the one that first entered it. Because the man who first arrived at Ravok would have been deeply troubled by the threat of maiming being directed at him. But not this Clyde. He simply walked forward, coming closer to Aello, stumbling over a root and only keeping from falling once more on his face by using his sturdy staff for support. Apparently Clyde was not exactly the ideal woodsman, along with not being good at stealth. It seemed he was just overflowing with inabilities today.

[Aello]

Aello rolled her eyes. "Do try to keep up... and not trip on anything," Aello whispered. "Because if you think, even for an instant, that I will come back and pick you up off the ground, you are sadly mistaken," Aello added, her voice a low growl as her grip tightened around the bow. "So you'd better hope that you get yourself back onto your feet before the wolves come to tear you limb from limb, or worse." With that, Aello began to move forward. Slowly. Picking her feet high off the ground before planting them down again. Trying her best to place them in an area in the forest not covered in curling brown leaves, or the remnants of a tree branch. Hopefully he gets the bright idea that he should be mirroring these movements, as awkward as they appear, they help to keep the noise we produce to a minimum, Aello thought, as she crept past another line of trees, and walked slowly through a small grouping of leafy green bushes. When she had made it to the other side of the bushes, Aello stopped dead in her tracks. A long, shrill scream had cut through the silence. Scattering each bird in the nearby trees into the sky. Causing Aello's heart to skip a few beats as her eyes grew wide. She recognized that sound, from a long, long time ago. For she had fought their kind before. She knew that the scream was inhuman, belonging instead to a monster. A monster she knew as not being particularly dangerous on their own. But they rarely came alone. They always came in packs, like a group of wolves, hunting for whatever prey could be found. Tearing their limbs apart from the sheer pleasure it brought them more than anything else. Aello turned to Clyde, and mouthed the words, "be quiet," silently praying to Dira that the fool was smart enough to know how to read another's lips. Afterwards, she turned her head back around, and called to her magic. Willing it to her, to light the forest up. But even as the trees about her began to glow, she saw nothing. Nothing other than she and Clyde, who moved. Where are they? Aello wondered, as her eyes darted back and forth, and she inched the bow string back some more, as she raised her weapon into a shooting position. Where did those bloody beasts get to? Aello could feel her heart beating faster and faster, for each moment she failed to locate them. As much as she wanted to run, she knew not where to run to in order to avoid them. For, for all she knew, she could always be headed right towards them. So perhaps, it was best to stay put until her magic caught them in its web. Caused them to glow along with the line of trees, the rocks, as she forced her magic to keep leaping from one place to another, scouting the area out for her. As she waited, Aello could hear another shriek ripping through the air. Bouncing off each of the trees. It sounded closer than the first time. "Damnit, where are you?" Aello whispered. OOCUm... I figured after another round or two, we could add everything in, in waves of three perhaps, so we could keep fighting without getting our butts kicked completely.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde followed along, trying to keep up with Aello's paces, while also focusing on the ground to make sure he did not slip or trip on something. Now that he was out here, there was no going back, and he was more or less along for the ride. He did try to follow along behind her, and as she did avoid stepping on dry leaves and twigs, but was not as successful as her... Though he did step on a lot less things and was less noisy than he had been earlier. Stealth wise, for Clyde, he was being practically invisible compared to how he normally moved. Though considering how obvious he usually was, that was still not saying much if compared to other people. Finally she came to a stop, though Clyde was so focused on his feet that he almost did not notice and stopped short of crashing into her by an inch or two. Taking a few steps back, he looked around, wondering why she had stopped so suddenly. He had heard the scream, but did not know what it was. But he picked up on the sudden change on Aello's mood, a quick glimpse of her aura showing she was perturbed, by the madly swirling colors in it. She knew something he did not, and he was pretty sure it was not good... Anything that made her nervous... Clyde could not imagine what would do that.... She did not need to tell Clyde, as he knew something was wrong... Clyde tensed, not moving, but slowly exuding res from his body as a gas, forming a sheet over his skin, and letting wisps rise to make a ball in front of him, more res coming out of his mouth each time he exhaled... He did not want to be caught off guard, and having his res ready to be used would make things easier... Clyde could hear his heart beating in his ears, and was so tensed and ready for action he did not even hear Aello's whisper... Wherever she attacked, Clyde would launch one behind, ready to throw off a chunk of the ball of res he had formed before him at whatever came at them...

[Aello]

Aello's eyes kept darting back and forth. Her magic leaping from one portion of the forest to the next, constantly searching, but finding nothing. Yet, she could hear them, off in the distance, shrieking their heads off, for reasons Aello couldn't so much as begin to imagine. Such a thing could only mean that they really, weren't all that far off, that unless they moved in a straight line, far off to the left or right side of her current position, they would soon collide. Or perhaps, the forest carried sound further than Aello would like to think it did. Anytime you would want to show yourselves would be lovely, Aello thought, as her thumb danced across the wooden frame. As its flesh dug into the curve. As her nail grazed the contours. The tiny space between certain sections. The impurities, and imperfections of the wood. Aello could feel her heart beating faster and faster with each passing minute, until her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Where are they? Aello's mind screamed as her head began to ache. As she forced herself to keep searching. They can't hide forever. We can't hide forever. Eventually, two ends must collide... Being unable to stand the suspense any longer, Aello began to move once more. She headed north. Silently praying to her goddess the entire time that they were not met with what she knew was coming. Another shriek filled the air, causing Aello to veer left in an attempt to avoid a meet. The sounds seemed closer now. To surround her. As though there was no way out. As though, no matter where Aello moved, she would be forced to fight. Flickers of red and green appeared on her vision, towards the east, causing her to head west. Frantic. Picking up the pace as though that could help her avoid her own fate. As though if she ran fast enough, she could do just that: run away. But there was no where left to run.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde continued to control the res, his skin now covered in a layer, and small bits still moving up to meet the larger ball of res before him. Making small moves with his free hand, he kept the res in place, guiding it to stay and slowly accumulate mores res... At this point he was pretty good at controlling res when it was close to his body, so it took very little of his attention to move the energy, and form it as he wished... But perhaps that was not for the best, for since so much of his concentration was free for other things, he was free to think of what was to come... A drip of sweat dripping down his neck, he looked around, trying to see what was coming... His entire body was tensed, ready for action, and screaming for something to occur... His mind was going in circles, trying to think what could be coming, his tension and energy in his limbs building as they wanted to move, the waiting making it worse than if the most horrible thing were to appear right that moment... The not knowing... He could not handle it... He ached to run away, to scream, to yell, to send flaming res to burn down everything around him, everything that might endanger him... But he fought this impulse, keeping himself from doing so by sheer force of will... One thing was for sure, Clyde was not good at waiting... He was a man of action, constantly moving... Not of this.... So concentrated was he on what was going to happen, that Clyde was caught off guard as Aello began to move... Clyde leaped and before he registered his res had moved a bit, and as he stopped it, several small sparks of fire popped off of the ball of res, as he halted the beginnings of a transmutation... Clyde quickly stomped one out, and as he moved to follow Aello he stopped out another which had landed on some dry leaves and caught them aflame... Luckily it had only been a few sparks, and he had held back any more... Making another slight move of his hand, he started to follow Aello, guiding the ball of res he had collected to stay hovering before and above him... He would be ready to attack as soon anything came close, and beware any foolish animal that decided to get close, as they stood a good chance of being roasted by his magic.