Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 24, 2014 18:28:23 GMT -6
Kyle watched as the battle raged on below, Locke yelling up his thanks for the shot. The battle seemed to be quite even, though the pirates seemed to lack anything even close to what he was wielding. The power of it was apparent, the ability to shoot clean through two people was quite substantial, though it had taken the notice of the pirates.
The sailor next to Kyle kept firing arrows, barely taking the time to aim, but he kept hitting his mark, death raining down from above; But with that in addition to the bold, the bandits took fire in reply. They weren't smart enough to lob the arrows into the basket, so they shot the arrows directly at them and Kyle ducked into the basket avoiding all of the arrows. The sailor however wasn't so lucky and was hit in the shoulder, causing him to lose his balance and tumble over the side, barely making it into the water. He bobbed there for a bit, pulling out the arrow and hanging onto one of the fallen boarding planks to keep himself afloat.
Poking back up after the volley, Kyle took the knobs in his hands and began to crank at them. The force it took to crank it was extreme, at this rate it the battle would be over before he got it ready again. As long as Locke was okay it should be fine though. That and the ship still had enough crew members too. . . . yeah,maybe he should hurry up. The muscles in his arms flexed and glistened as he stressed them even more to try to get the thing cranked up faster.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 24, 2014 19:08:58 GMT -6
Locke watched as more pirates swarmed forward. They were almost a flowing tide. How on earth would they stem the tide? They would almost have to either kill them all, or sink their ship. But how?
While he thought, Locke kept fighting, his limbs spinning in kicks and punches and throws. Pirates were knocked aside and unbalanced as the manakete swirled like a sandstorm toward a ladder leading belowdecks. He'd need to get through and find a way to... Damn!
Locke slammed into the wooden planks of the ship, hearing a laugh as he scrambled to his feet. Wait, he wasn't on the deck anymore... Where was he?
A burly pirate leered at him through some iron bars, his smile missing teeth as he laughed.
"Welcome to our brig, fool. You'll be a good galley slave!"
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 25, 2014 15:28:00 GMT -6
Kyle slowly strained, drawing the thick cord across the tempered wood until the cord was drawn all the way back behind the hitching point with an audible click. The whole process of winding it back was incredibly sapping leaving his arms feeling like sacks of wet sand.
Kyle took the bow like thing in hands once more and took aim at the battle. It was nearly impossible to find just a group of pirates alone where there wasn't a chance to hit an allied sailor, that wasn't something he wanted to carry with him for the rest of his life; The chance of harming an ally was out.
He looked around for Locke,but only caught a glimpse of him before he fell down a hole in the deck and had a metal grate closed on him, crap. At least it provided an open shot to take. Kyle aimed down the bolt, after he loaded it of course, and aimed directly at the torso of the pirate that trapped Locke, but the shot ran low and struck him in the pelvis and the man went down. It was time to start the long process of winding it up again, hopefully Locke would be okay.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 26, 2014 12:03:50 GMT -6
Iron bars above. Iron bars to the sides. Wood floor. Locke shook his head. This was a fiendish trap, but it was designed for humans, not angry manaketes. With a roar, Locke grabbed two bars and ripped them off of the cage, dismantling it and looking around. No pirates under here; they clearly didn't expect anyone to escape. Fine, then. He'd finish the job.
Moving to the starboard side of the bandit ship, the side away from the boarding planks, Locke walked to the stern and then proceeded to begin punching the ship, his arms coated in Labradorite scales. Each blow smashed through the hull, and the dragon quickly made his way from stern to bow, leaving a line of holes in his wake.
As water began flooding in, Locke jumped, grabbed the grate he had fallen through, and then built his weight up, becoming heavy enough to rip it down, leaving a hole. The manakete then hoisted himself up through the space, releasing his power and resuming his human appearance, before finally making it back onto the deck of the pirate vessel.
"Captain! You must tell your men to retreat immediately!"
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 26, 2014 23:48:53 GMT -6
I-it was done, he couldn't do it anymore, his arms were basically non existent, he could shoot no more. He looked down at the battle but it was too even to say, he couldn't even tell which were the sailors anymore. Why must he be this weak? He can never get done what needs to be done. Heck, the sailor that was up there with him was crawling up a rope back onto the ship now, even after he had taken an arrow to the shoulder, although the arrow was gone now. It seemed that everyone could just do everything better than he could. One day he'll surpass them all, one day. He'd do anything to achieve that.
Kyle had completely lost track of Locke when he fell into the ship, and he was starting to get worried. Were there more pirates down there? Is he dead? What else could happen? Kyle slumped down into the nest like thing, it was pretty cozy, and just sat there. Locke was the only person he met that he didn't not like that was still alive, as far as he knew. Ingrid was killed by that stupid blue guy, he would get revenge for that one. Oichi just disappeared, but there is no reason he would have killed her too. . . unless he was a crazy person. Why didn't he just put him out when he was stuck under the spider? Was it the Sacaen his father said was in him? More importantly, why was him mind wandering in the middle of this battle, what kind of fighter was he to get distracted so easily?
Kyle was snapped out of his self loathing and thoughts by the sound of metal bars breaking. Slowly standing up, it was harder without arms, he got up and saw Locke out of the ship telling everyone to get back on the ship. What was he going on about?
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 27, 2014 16:56:00 GMT -6
With a roar of anger, Locke grabbed a rushing pirate's axe with his left hand, ripping it out of the raider's grip, and then proceeded to slam the handle into the man's eyeball, sending him reeling.
"RETREAT! RETREAT!"
The captain nodded to his men, and all who could moved in a hasty retreat onto their own ship, the pirates following in hot pursuit. As the brigands crowded forward on the boarding planks, clashing with the stouthearted sailors, the evil vessel gave a lurch and rolled slightly, sending the boarding planks into the sea, along with pirates and a few sailors. Although Locke didn't like it, sacrifices had to be made... Unless the sailors could save their brethren.
The remaining pirates' expressions turned to shock and despair as their ship began tilting even farther, slowly turning until it lay on its side, gradually sinking beneath the waves.
"Right, then. That's that. Now let's get our men out of the water and get out of here. Kyle? Kyle, are you all right?"
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 27, 2014 19:37:37 GMT -6
Was. . . it over? People were yelling to retreat now, were the sailors losing? It all became clear when the pirate ship began listing, slowly pulling away from the ship; sinking and turning upon its side sending any people into the sea. It was a shame, it was a nice ship and if the pirates were routed they could have claimed any treasure on board, heck they could have even sold the ship and split it with the sailors, ships were quite expensive; or, well, they should be. They looked expensive.
The sailors were lowering ropes down to the water to get the fallen out, though there were still a couple of pirates in the water trying to kill sailors, it was to no avail. The pirates lost. That is all that weakness gets you, death. It was a miracle that he wasn't dead yet.
Kyle slumped back down into the nest, nothing more probably needed to be done, but if it did it's not like he could hear it from up there. Guess it was a good time as any to take a nap; it's not as if he could make it down without falling to his death.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 27, 2014 21:46:41 GMT -6
Looking around, Locke saw no sign of his companion.
"My friend! Where is my friend?!"
Locke began to worry. Had Kyle been cast adrift? Killed? What had happened to him? Locke's heart began to beat more quickly as he scanned the ship. No sign of Kyle. Turning to the edge, Locke analyzed the water. No Kyle. Where had he been last...? In that nestlike structure.
Running over and grabbing the ropes, Locke scrambled upwards with surprising vigor, finally grabbing the nest and hoisting himself in. There! Kyle looked like he was unconscious or asleep or out of it. Gently feeling the boy's neck, Locke determined that he was indeed alive; his pulse was quick but steady. Grabbing the boy with one hand, the manakete began descending the ropes, holding tightly both to his cargo and his lifeline. It wouldn't be good to drop him or fall.
Arriving at the deck level after what felt like years, Locke gently set Kyle down, propping him against some barrels before collapsing to the planks, his eyes closed as he tried to regain his breath. He'd refrained from using any power from his stone, and the tough descent had taken its toll on him. He wasn't superhuman, after all, and he was loath to have Kyle or any of the sailors identify him as a dragon. Who knows how they'd take it.
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 28, 2014 15:15:48 GMT -6
It was peaceful up in the sky despite all that was going down below on the decks. Kyle gently began to doze off and had finally gotten to the land of slumber when suddenly he was jerked away from his sleep. HE woke up and all he saw was sky, and there was pressure on his abs. He was being carried down the rope thing be Locke? What. The. Heck. What kind of person just picks up a sleeping person and carries him down a dangerous rope obstacle? It was dangerous for them both, if not more for Kyle. The probability of being dropped and falling to his death was quite great, and he didn't like that.
Somehow they had safely made it to the deck and Locke set him down against some barrels, apparently not seeing Kyle's crossed arms and confused look on his face. Locke then proceeded to collapse on the planks, obviously very tired from the needless people carrying. Kyle walked over to him and said only one word with a confused look on his face. "Why?"
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 28, 2014 16:18:12 GMT -6
Pushing himself into a sitting position, Locke looked at Kyle as his vision blurred and the images swam. Breathing heavily but steadily, Locke looked at Kyle, only catching one word he had said.
"Why? Why what?"
Now both had a confused expression, Locke as he attempted to figure out exactly what Kyle had asked. Suddenly it hit him -- he was referring to the sinking of the pirate vessel. Locke began explaining, still recovering from the descent.
"Well... *wheeze* they were pirates, Kyle. Vicious brutes. Scum. And when I *cough* fell belowdecks, I saw that there were plenty of rams and *cough* other equipment to attack other peaceful craft. So I used their own armaments against them and put a *wheeze* hole in their ship. Although capturing the pirate's craft would have been ideal, I didn't want to lose more sailors in the *cough* process. So I sank it."
Finishing his explanation without stumbling too much, Locke took a brief breather and finally caught his breath.
"Would you have done it differently?"
Hopefully that cleared up his question. The dragon hoped his explanation was sufficient; little did he know that he'd addressed a totally unrelated issue.
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 28, 2014 17:51:04 GMT -6
What? Locke had managed to sink the ship? It was surprising the pirates had stuff to sink ships on board if they were supposed to make money off of robbing the ships they attacked; it seems that some pirates didn't know how to do their jobs correctly, it was sad.
Locked then asked what he would have done differently, what was he going on about? Sinking the ship seemed like the way to save the most lives, although the sailor's live were no concern of his, they still somewhat mattered. So overall in the process of saving lives and time sinking was the best option, but that wasn't for his why.
"Why did you carry me down?" Kyle asked, still confused. That was the real question, it wasn't like he was hurt. He just couldn't use his arms well enough. Heck, he didn't even ask for it. It was pretty confusing. Why would he do that?
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 29, 2014 9:08:05 GMT -6
"Why did I... Oh."
Well, this was unexpected. Usually dragons were appreciative or grateful for an act of kindness. Maybe it was different for humans? Kyle just seemed confused and bewildered.
"Well, Kyle, you are my first h-friend. Back in the desert, I only had my tribe, and now I have met an outsider who was friendly to me, helped me, traveled with me, and looked out for me. You are my friend, and back in the desert, friends always looked out for one another. I thought you might be hurt or something, so I tried to find you to help you. I...I'm sorry if I was out of place."
Now Locke was confused. He thought he'd been doing the right thing, helping his friend out of a dangerous situation. What had he done wrong?
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 29, 2014 23:04:41 GMT -6
Hm, Locke seemed to be showing a lot of care for him, why? He'd never been treated this nice before, why should he be treated nice? It's not like he deserved it. And Locke also has a weird accent, he'd never heard friend pronounced like that, or very much at all. It didn't seem to be a common word. But with all these apologies he didn't know what to say. Kindness wasn't something he'd often received, or gave. It was awkward at best.
"Um. . ah. . I. .. Hm. But I'm fine?" Well it wasn't necessarily true, it didn't need to be mention that he would have been stuck up there for a while. No one needed to know that. Kyle extend an arm to help Locke up, although it probably wouldn't be too much help. "What had enough power to sink the ship?" He was genuily interested in this, and it was a convenient change of topic. Whatever it was that could sink the ship might be useful knowledge wise later if Locke could even just describe it.
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Locke
Manakete
"I am the Guardian of the Sanctuary."
Posts: 152
Profession: Disguised Dragon
Affiliation: Arcadia
Guild: None
Affinity: Anima
Dragon Element: Earth
Profile: Locke
OoC Alias: Ryu
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Post by Locke on Jul 30, 2014 11:38:30 GMT -6
"Well, I'm glad that you're fine. Sometimes I worry for you, Kyle. You always seem so sad. Being sad is okay, but being joyful is better. There is always plenty to celebrate. The earth, the sky, the wind... This world is a living celebration, an incarnation of hope and peace. Yes, bad things may happen that obscure the beauty and disrupt the balance... But in the end, everything will resolve. That is the way."
Locke was waiting. He'd been waiting over seven hundred years, and he'd wait as long as he needed. One day, there would be understanding, and peace. One day.
"Power? It was not a question of power so much as a question of creativity. They had iron bars, siege hooks, shovels, and tools of war. I'm not sure where they were going with them, but I used them to destroy their ship. I simply used the tools to wedge in between the boards, then used the rods to lengthen my lever and get mechanical advantage. Then we pry, and, 'pop,' out comes a chunk of wood, and in comes the sea."
Locke smiled. His explanation would be a good diversion. It was good that the boy didn't know he was a dragon. It was very good.
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Kyle
Nomad
Why must people ruin my jobs?
Posts: 148
Profession: Hired bow.
Affiliation: None
Guild: Yes
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: E
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Post by Kyle on Jul 30, 2014 22:05:16 GMT -6
Sad? Was that how he seemed? who wouldn't be sad when they held as little power as he did. in all of the fighting he'd done so far those were the first men he was able to defeat, well, kill, and it was all because of a high powered device that he was only able to use two times. TWO. How bad is that? Really bad, that's how bad it was. As bad as bad could get. Just Bad. "How can you be joyful with the way the worl. . . Never mind." He'd almost forgotten that Locke had't gotten out much, so he didn't know the state of things. Too much going on. It was hard to see joy in much of it, if any at all.
As Locke explained how he took out the ship Kyle cocked an eyebrow with a surprised expression. Was it possible to do that? It seems that the boards would be too close to just pry up. If so, ships weren't safe at all. Great. Being inadequate in the middle of the ocean on a floating piece of driftwood. Whatever higher power there was, if any, take him now."I didn't know ships were so.. . fragile."
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