Cradle of Storms

[Mellie]

How odd, the water in this marsh is letting off sparks of electricity, and every time one of the sparks lights up the area here seems to be a large rumbling sound like thunder... that doesn't seem very safe. I wonder if there's something in there...

[Xanthe]

Xanthe had found about three places in all of Atton that the invaders had not inhabited, and the Cradle of Storms was one of them. Of course, she didn't call it the Cradle of Storms because that was the name that the invaders had given it, but that wasn't the point. It was not taken over by people because it was not a very friendly-looking area, much like the graveyard, and for that she was glad. She had spent many days in her childhood in the marsh here, always with adult supervision of course because it could be quite dangerous, so she didn't find this place (or any of place in Atton, to be quite honest) frightening in the least. She had fond memories of this place and unlike the fond memories from other places in Atton these hadn't been ruined by the presence of the people from the outside world.

When Xanthe approached the marshland, she removed her shoes so they wouldn't get muck in them, then put her shoes on a rock so they wouldn't get sucked down in the soft ground. She'd seen it happen before and had, in fact, lost a few good pairs of shoes that way. But not today; she had learned from her mistakes and unless the rock itself was absorbed by the ground, her shoes would be safe. She continued on, feeling the cold, muddy ground squishing between her toes and slowly becoming softer and softer until she reached the edge of the water, contemplating whether she wanted to wade in or not.

Of course, she wasn't going to go swimming in the water because it was murky, muddy, and she didn't want to get her clothes wet and dirty, but her dress only went halfway to her knees today and as such she could walk around in the water without fear of getting the fabric wet. She knew where the water got unexpectedly deep, so she could avoid those spots with relative ease and simply enjoy some time alone. She needed to think. After all, she needed to make battle plans, training regiments, hell she even had to try to think of backup places for her tribe to stay if they were found by the invaders.

She had been hoping from the beginning to keep her tribe safe, alive, and hidden for as long as possible so the other people could kill each other off before she had to get involved. That way they would have less people to fight and therefore have a higher chance of winning, or atleast have the possibility of doing enough damage that the remaining invaders, however esurient they may be, wouldn't want to fight, due to the fact that although they might win, so many of their people would die that it wouldn't be worth starting the fight in the first place.

But that was assuming, of course, that there weren't hundreds of millions of people just waiting to fill in the places of the fallen soldiers. Because if that were true, then there wasn't a hope in hell of her tribe surviving this. Two hundred and some vs. the rest of Setsuwa? Ha. That was like one mouse trying to survive a fight with a hundred thousand cats. Atleast, she reminded herself, there was an entire country from the outside that didn't want to kill her and her people. The peacekeepers. She hoped that there were more of them on the outside. They didn't seem to want to fight, but Xanthe wondered if she could convince them to fight with her and her tribe if it came to it. Atleast that way they would have a better chance of winning.

[Kiku]

Kikuriku returned to the area known to him as the Cradle of Storms. It was here that he had met a crazy man who talked to little pixies, and it was here where he battle a weird ball of lightning. Why had he returned here? To inspect the area once more. He had wanted to look around because there was something that had just stuck in his mind. Previous endeavors had kept him from returning (Tehodis and Xania), but now that he had free time, he decided to go. He was hoping that he would not find that crazy guy there, but if he did, he would probably have to fight him. Creepy guys are like creepy girls: Creepy.

As we walked closer to where he remembered he was from the other time, he noticed a figure in the distance just standing there. It seemed that the mysterious figure was in or near the water, which was pretty dangerous in itself. AS memory served him, the water here was sparking and electrically charged. Maybe the figure was a little kid, and this kid was about to get shocked and die because they were too close to the water and no one cared enough about them and they didn't have parents to tell them to stay away. Or maybe it was a monster who wanted Kiku dead. It was possible.

Alright Riku, Kiku thought to his evil partner My intuition is telling me to avoid this person, what do you think? Well, to be honest, it doesn't matter to me. You could just go up and kill whatever it is, that'd be pretty cool, don't you think? You know, sometimes, I don't know why I ask you stuff. Kiku made his way cautiously towards the mysterious figure by the sparky water.

As he got closer, he could tell that it was a female. She was wearing a dress that didn't even reach to her knees. Another thing Kiku noticed, besides her shortness, was that she had nice legs. He didn't want to creep on her, but he wanted to let his presence be known, so she didn't freak out and try and kill him like so many other girls before. He put his hands up in the air to signify his surrender. Not knowing what to say to this possibly pretty girl, he paused. "Hey there," he said, loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to scare her into the water and then have her drown. That would suck, especially if she was a pretty girl.

Moment of truth. She pretty? She ugly? What do you think? I'm still going with the you should just kill her now before she hates and rejects you anyway. We could gut her with the G4, or would could freeze her insides with the Frostbite. Or we could try.. Just remembered why I said I should stop asking you things.

[Xanthe]

Xanthe had been way too caught up in her own thoughts to notice Kiku's approach, but even if she hadn't been she likely wouldn't have heard him walking on the soft ground over the din of the thunder that was inescapable in this country. However, she heard him speak loud and clear and she turned around quickly, tensed and prepared for a fight. She noticed his hands were in the air and there were no weapons in sight, but she didn't completely relax. She wouldn't put it past the invaders to play a dirty trick like that.

But she didn't try to run away from him, although she also didn't move any closer to him than she was. From this distance she would have ample time to evade an attack should he make one, but she was also close enough to have a conversation with the man, provided she understood what he said enough that she could make a reply. "Who are you?" she questioned, her accent heavy, watching him warily.

[Kiku]

She seemed rather cautious, though that was not an unexpected outcome. Kiku had hoped that she wouldn’t be as easy as Xania to get with, and that she would at least be decent conversation or company. He had also hoped that this girl, who was rather attractive and non-crazy looking, would have sort of information as to what this place was, and maybe who that crazy guy was. It had been something that had been on Kiku’s mind ever since he had enough space in his mind to think. After talking to that little girl about the war, Kiku seemed to have more of a want to think than ever before. Usually, the only thing to think about was girls and their panties, but now he had a whole world in front of him. Kiku made a mental note to thank Roksana upon seeing her again… that is if she would even hear him out. She doesn’t think highly of him at all.

Keeping his arms in the air, and wary not to take a step forward, he responded to the girl’s question. She asked who he was in a weird voice or accent, something about it he just couldn’t place his finger on. It seemed as if she didn’t speak the same language, at least, not as well as Kiku might. “I’m Kikuriku Gouken,” he said, responding to her in a calm manner. He didn’t want to scare her into fleeing, or attacking. “Who are you? Are you okay? Is something wrong? Why are you out here?” At this moment, Kiku realized that he was raping her with questions, and he figured he’d ought to apologize. “I’m sorry, I’m just concerned why you are out here by yourself?”

Alright, I think we should kill her now. She’s obviously a helpless little girl who just wants a knife in her side. Come one Kiku, just listen to me for once. Let me take over for ten, fifteen minutes. Then, she’ll be dead, and you’ll have lots of gold from her dead, wet, naked body. Riku, buddy, seriously, do I have to get checked out by a doctor or something? You are scaring me.[/i]

[Xanthe]

The man responded to her question with what she assumed was a name, but then again she never could be sure. Kikuriku Gouken. What was with these people and their strange names? Then again, they probably thought her name was just as odd as she thought their names were, which was a thought that she found slightly amusing. She didn't have much time to think about anything before Kikuriku started speaking again, first asking the same question she had asked him, then going on to ask too many more questions for her to understand what he said. She tried to decipher his words, but she didn't know his language enough to translate it as quickly as he was speaking.

She was going to reply with the answer to the only part of it she had understood, but then the man spoke again, though she only understood what the word 'sorry' meant out of all of it. She stood there for a moment, looking confused. She eventually went with what she was planning on saying before the man had continued speaking, because she really couldn't think of a thing to say otherwise. "My name is Xanthe."

[Kiku]

At first, Kiku wasn't paying too much attention to the girl in front of him, which was rare. His mind was too disgusted by a few of the last comments that Riku had brought up. Are you into Necrophilia there, Riku? That's gross. I'm into vagina, just like you are. I'm just into all types of it. That's gross. So what if there was a man, with a vagina? If you're into all types, wouldn't you be after that? Well n.... wait... Suddenly, there was silence inside Kiku's head, which was very rare. It was at this time that Kiku chimed back into reality, and noticed the girl in front of him seeming to struggle to process something. He had forgotten what he had asked her, so he couldn't really repeat it.

Then she said that her name was Xanthe. Just Xanthe. There was no last name, no anything else. Just Xanthe. That was a weird name, and even Kiku, who was named Kikuriku Gouken, could barely fathom such a name growing up. If he was named something like Xanthe, it would be hell. He suddenly felt bad. "Well hello then, Xanthe. What are you doing here?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was accusing here. It wasn't like he owned the place, he didn't even really know who did. It wouldn't be favorable if she did own the place though. She would probably get upset and tell him to leave, which would most likely diminish any chance he had of getting into her pants. Not that that was Kiku's only goal at this point. After Xania, he'd been satisfied for a while. For the moment, his only interest in women now was Tehodis.

Although, Kiku thought, Xanthe has a certain something. She's not ugly, but she's adorable with the accent. It's like, that adorable sex machine who doesn't talk and just has sex and cooks you various foods from her country of origin. Awesome! And come to think of it... Xanthe... Xania? What's with all the X's? I need one more friend, so I can call my ladies triple X. Isn't that a sign of something else.... Riku? Hmm, yeah. Yeah. No, I wouldn't have sex with a man with a vagina. That's gay. Really? That's what you were thinking about this whole time? You said something else? Wow, okay.

Kiku waited patiently for Xanthe answer, and tried not to show the "deep" conversation he was having with Riku on his face. He didn't want her to think that he was crazy, after all. Not yet.

[Xanthe]

The boy greeted her with their standard 'hello', when asked something she actually knew. It had, after all, been what pretty much everyone had been asking her since they had discovered her tribe. However, she wasn't quite sure how to answer it. Usually she said something along the lines of her living here or being the Attonian leader or something, but she wasn't sure if this boy was alone or if there was an ambush waiting for a reason to attack. One could never be too careful. She watched him carefully for a few moments while she tried to think of a suitable reply, but in the end realized she didn't actually know enough of his language to say anything besides what she had been saying to everyone else. That was... unfortunate. However, if there was an ambush waiting to happen, she knew where the deep water was and she could dive under it to escape any arrows or magic thrown at her. Either that or she could lightning bolt her way out of there, but that was only as a last resort.

"I live here," she replied, but bit her lip afterward. That wasn't right. She didn't live here, she lived in Atton. He might think she meant the Cradle of Storms, but that was not the truth. In an attempt to fix it she spoke again. "Not here," she told him. "Here." She spread her arms as if to encompass the entire country, hoping he would understand. She tried to remember what the Outsiders had been calling her land. A.. Ata... Attic... Atton! "I live... Atton." She allowed him a moment to figure out what she had said. "What are you doing here? She hoped he could understand what she was saying; she still wasn't sure about how to pronounce some words and even when she knew how she was supposed to, it was hard for her to say it right.

[Kiku]

Foreigners are so hot. That was what went through Kiku's mind as he listened to the girl in front of him speak. It was obvious that she was struggling to speak his language, which made him believe that there was another language that she spoke. The first thing that Kiku thought of was how difficult it would be to go on a date with her She would be all "#@! $!@#$ #!&*^*"... Little would I know that that means pass the butter. Who is to even say she likes butter, Kiku? She's pretty lean, maybe she doesn't eat pure fat. Hey, Riku, it's my fantasy, how about getting out of it, okay? Go think about Mangina for a little while. For the second time in a long while, Riku was silent, and Kiku had time to think his own thoughts.

"You live... in Atton?" Kiku repeated. The continent that the whole world was basically fighting over... that Tabitha had fought for... this is a member of that tribe? This hot girl is a member of Atton! Kiku wasn't exactly sure what to say at first. She didn't look very strong, but there is no point in trying to attack her or anything of the sort. Not only was Kiku not really an active member of the war (although he did want to kill certain people in the war), there was no way of telling what this girl was capable of. Hmm, this girl probably has some secret power that only Attoni... Antonian... Atoonian.... People from Atton have.

She then asked, after a moments pause, what he was doing here. It seemed as if she was accusing him of something, like he wasn't supposed to be here, and he didn't know how to explain what he was doing here. Oh, yeah, I came here once before and there was this crazy man who talked to pixies, right? And, then there was bolt of lighting that tried to kill me, so I tried to kill it, and now I came back because I was curious about what secrets this area held, but now that I've seen you all I want to do is have hot lightning sex with you... yeah, like that would be the best thing to say. Fuck.

Kiku took a step towards her, holding his hands up in the air to show that he had no weapon and meant no harm. He then started speaking slowly, so that she would hopefully understand. "I came because I want to protect you from invaders." It was a lie, that wasn't the reason he came, but it was all the could think to say. "Kikuriku wants to protect Atton". He repeated that last part so that she would think that he meant the continent, and not her specifically. He didn't want to creep her out. Yet.

"This land is beautiful... and it's yours. It should stay that way. Again, Kiku was lying... sort of. He didn't participate actively in the war, but then again he didn't do anything to stop it. His motivation for this lie was Tehodis. Perhaps she would hear of Kiku, the one protecting Atton, and she would help... and they would be together. That was his thought process, at least.

For the record, I wasn't thinking about Mangina all this time, I just had nothing to say back to you. Headdesk. What? Nothing.

[Xanthe]

Xanthe continued to stand just where she was while she waited for the man... boy... male to pose a reply to her question. She listened to the distant rolls of thunder that were almost perpetual in her country and she watched as the area as lit briefly by flashes of lightning. Her feet were wet and she was beginning to be slightly cold because of it, but she was not going to risk setting off an ambush (which was still a legitimate possibility at this time) or frightening the male into attacking.

In the end, the male was the one who moved first and he took a step toward her. She immediately retaliated by taking a step back, but atleast he had his hands up to show that he didn't have a weapon with him. That didn't mean he couldn't produce a weapon from thin air or something of the sort. After all, that was what she could do so it wouldn't be completely ridiculous for someone else to do such a thing.

When he spoke it was slowly, for which she was glad but felt slightly annoyed and embarrassed that he needed to do that for her. She didn't understand most of it, but she had heard 'protect' often enough from the nation that didn't want to fight with her, and she knew the general idea of what it mean. So was this strange red-haired boy from that group? Why would he be way over here then? The others had never come to this place before, which she had liked. Now she didn't really know anywhere in her country she could go without running into outsiders. It was a depressing thought, really.

The boy spoke again, mentioning his name, then protect, and then Atton, then he went on to say something she really didn't understand but he didn't sound like he was saying anything besides the general 'I come in peace' bit. Yeah, that was what they all said. She tried to think of something to say to him in reply, but her knowledge of Common words and sentences was rather... thin. But then she thought of a question that she was interested in that didn't require her knowing any more Common than she already did, which was lovely. "What are you doing here." Really, all of the other peacekeepers kept mostly to their little camp. She'd never seen any of them out this far, and really what was there to protect over here anyway? Her people were nowhere nearby and there were hardly even any animals around here either.

[Kiku]

Kiku looked at Xanthe with a look of confusion. She wanted to know what he was doing at the Cradle of Storm, the big pool of lightning and other scary things that he had come to so long ago. It wasn't that he didn't want her to know, or that he was scared to inform her as to why he was basically trespassing on her land; he just didn't know how to tell her. Foreigners typically don't understand when Kiku talks, and saying it slower only makes Kiku look retarded; it won't make them understand any faster. Oh well, Kiku thought, Just gotta try and use important words, right?. There was no answer. Kiku was expecting to hear Riku, but there was nothing.

"Um, I..." Kiku started. He was hoping for some amount of input from Riku so he could get through this, because frankly, Kiku and big words didn't work too well. But still, Riku's voice could not be heard. "Jil.. gilligan... GILES!" He shouted. Since Riku was no help, Kiku just went with the first thing that came to mind. In retrospect, Kiku thought, That might not have been a good idea. What if I screamed out 'BOOBIES' or something? "Giles Trai, or something like that. Do you know him? I met him here. Him and... Pegasus? Perg.. PELAGIA! Her too! They were both here. They are bad people. Very bad. I came to make sure that they didn't come back. They were plotting an attack." Kiku made sure to emphasize certain words, so that Xanthe knew the importance of what he was saying. In reality, he couldn't recall if this was the actual truth, but it sounded so much better than any lie he could have cooked up, so it must have been.

"I came here, because there is something in there. Something they want. Can you tell me what it is?" He pointed towards the center of the marsh. He couldn't tell how he knew, but he just did; something was in there. IT may have been something valuable, or something rare, but it was definitely something worth hiding. Kiku wanted it, and he wanted it badly. He would wanted it so badly that he would lie to this pretty girl to get to it. After all, she wasn't Tehodis, and Tehodis was the one that he was truly after.

He slowly took one step forward, noting the fact that Xanthe was being wary and stepping away from him with each step forward that he took. He slowly walked towards the marsh, where all the lightning was sparking, with his hands still in the air. He didn't want to provoke her and make her attack, as he was trying to be a good guy in this instance. With each step, he could feel the air become more and more electrically charged; the static electricity made his hair slowly rise into the air. The lightning was beginning to spark more violently, and Kiku suddenly began to pray that there was actually something inside this hellhole.