"I don't know," Katri hissed quietly. "Jedia I may be, but I can only sense that there is someone near." She glanced down at Tari for a moment. "Tacit's right, Lady Tari. Stay down."

She fully drew her weapons now and stood protectively over Tari, ready for anything.

Gashon then came out of hiding. "I apologise if I startled you, Miss Hrent. I was under orders from your father to keep an eye on you." He said to her

Alkonium.. this person was a chick :) an NPC for the moment ))

Tari fell to the ground with a small 'oof'. She clutched the sword hilt even tighter, trying to rise, but found she was pinned to the ground. She had seen enough of Katri's techniques to know that one of them had used a Jedia power to force her to the ground. Her money was on Tacit.
Why that little...

((I don't know what you're doing, XbX, so you need to post again.))

((Alright))

After he heard the whisper, he looked around and counted down to 0 from 5 in his head before spinning around, swinging his blade as it locked blades with a woman in black robes with a white face mask on. She and Ty held their blades together for a few moments before she backed off due to the force Ty had hit her blades with.

He twirled the large sword around his body walking towards her before finally spinning once and leaping into the air, spinning into a back flip and landing about three feet from her in a crouch, his sword slamming into the ground roughly, sending out a shockwave through the ground, covered in electricity towards her. He stood up, flinging the sword out of the ground and running towards her, holding it behind him.

"Who the hell are you?!" He yelled, spinning and throwing his sword out in a swipe at her chest, watching her duck and backflip backwards. Ty caught his balance and used his momentum to catch her off guard. He managed to roll along the ground and kick out her feet, knocking her on her back.

Ty brought up the large blade and embedded it into the ground a few inches away from her left ear, making her stay still. "Now.. how many of you are here.." 'Just me..' She replied. He gripped the hilt again and ripped the blade out of the ground, heaving it over his right shoulder. "Why were you trying to kill us?" He said, watching her stand up slowly.

Now that his attention was on the fight progressing, Tari was able to break free of Tacit's hold on her, and she stood. Her fear was, for the moment, replaced by indignant anger. She folded her arms over her chest, her sword point-down in the dirt, eyeing the Jedia.
I am so going to personally... she eyed the beam-sword-thing in his hand, find someone to kick his butt.

Tacit sensed a rush of anger from Tari, but ignored it for the moment. He reached out a hand, and the newcomer's sword flew into it. He stabbed it into the ground, and approached her and Ty. Keeping his beam sword at the ready, he towered over her, trying to be as intimidating as possible.
"Who are you, and why the hell are you here?" he asked, pinning her to the ground as he had Tari, though with much less concern for her safety. "And try not to lie to me," he added, brandishing his weapon. "From what I've seen, this thing hurts like h-"
He stopped, his head cocked to the side. "Katri, I believe Mr. Gashon is on his way here. I don't know whethere you sensed him or not. Get him up here, please. Tell him we may have someone for him to bring back to the Embassy."

Katri nodded wordlessly and slipped away in the direction she sensed Gashon. A few moments later, she found him, trying to sneak up on their little group.

"No more sneaking, Gashon," she told him. "Come with me... we may have someone for you to take back to the Embassy."

(The chick's sword or his?) Ty heaved his sword in the air and sheathed it. A small flash of electricity could be seen flowing then vanishing into the air. He turned back towards Tari. "Good you have two of us, right?" He said, leaning on her shoulder, his bangs falling over his eyes.

"Of course." she said, ducking from under his arm. "Though I still don't see why this...woman attacked us? Of course, I don't see why a certain Jedia had to pin me to the ground either, but..."

"So you didn't do anything... reckless," he said dismissively. "You still haven't answered my question," he said sharply to the woman lying at his feet. "Who are you, ad why the hell did you attack us?"
He moved his sword closer to her, adding incentive for her to answer.

((XbX, she can't be an NPC - you're the one who introduced her. We have no idea what you're doing here.))

"I'm sure." Tari murmured. As if I could.

((Sorry, I use the term 'npc' loosely. I meant not having a profile and a 'real' character, so to speak.))

"Wasn't trying to steal.. I was...I.." Her eyes darted about, then landed on Tacit. "I meant to steal.. h..his.." She seemed to be intimidated by Tacit's angry-looking eyes. "
T...trying to steal Ty's.." With that, she managed to stand with great difficulty. She looked at Tacit, then to Ty. "We'll meet again.." She said, turning and breaking free of Tacit's hold, sprinting away and disappearing into the small patch of woods to the right.

"Well.. that was.. strange.." Ty said, wiping a tad bit of sweat off of his eyebrows. "She's right over there if you want to kill 'er, Tacit. If not, let's continue," he said, fishing around in his pocket a little and pulling out a compass. He glanced over the item then stuck it back in his pocket. "Well.. it seems we *should* head west.." He said in a somewhat whiny voice.

Tari watched Tacit warily as he looked after the woman. "Tacit...please. Leave her, and let's move on."

Tacit gave one last glance in the direction the stranger had run, then shut down his weapon with a sharp hiss.
"Let's get going. Katri's bringing your soldier friend. We could use the added protection, I guess..." he added, though not sounding at all sincere. "As soon as they get back, let's get moving."

Ty glanced off in the distance and nodded. "We're dead then.. that soldier's a drunk fool.. there's no way he can help us. We were attacked once. If we stay in the same place, there's no telling who will attack us next. We need to keep moving.."

Tacit clipped his weapon to his belt. "Relax, Ty," he said. "He may be a drunk, but he's no fool - I've heard of him before. Trust me, his presence would only be beneficial."
He leaned over ot speak more quietly to him. "Besides... him coming along might make Tari a little more... relaxed."

Tari closed her eyes, an eyebrow cocked indignantly, her arms folded across her chest. "Relaxed, eh? How so?" she asked Tacit.

"Having a familiar presence around will help you... chill out," he said carefully.

"At least I'll have someone other than a stubborn Geohound like you around." she muttered, and though she noticed the guarded tone in his response, she felt that it would be a waste of time to go after him for it. "Whatever. Where are they? It shouldn't be taking them this long to get back, and the sun is starting to fry my hair. I'd like to get moving, if you don't mind."

"Hopefully the old goat will hurry up.. her magesty is having a bad hair day.." He said, rolling his eyes and looking around a little. "I need some new clothes at the next village.. maybe some armor," he said, feeling around in his pocket. "Or not.."

"If it's needed, I'm sure we can find some way to pay for it." Tari said, her tone making it obvious that she had enough to pay for whatever he wanted. With an annoyed 'ugh!', she reached back and removed the band that kept her hair up in a bun, allowing the long braid to fall down her back. She gave a sharp flick of her head, and the braid came sailing around to lay over the front of her shoulder. "The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get this pointless journey over with." She was really beginning to miss the Embassy's air conditioning.

((OOC: Hey Doc, didn't Alkonium drop out?))

((Yes, he did. I'll be taking his character until I find a replacement.))

Gashon approached in front on Katri, his blaster out. He appracoed Tari. "Are you alright, ma'am?" he asked, eyeing Ty and Tacit darkly.

"Yes, I'm fine." she said, fingering her hair and casting a dark look at Tacit. "Little thanks to them. Our attacker got away." she murmured.

"What can I say? I'm a lover, not a fighter," he said, smirking and beginning to walk towards the mountains. "Going to dawdle there or going to come with?"

"We could use your help, Gashon." Tari said, trying to persuade him. It was far from her best, but... "I'd rather have more than just one person who's trained and actually knows what they're doing. Katri may not be able to handle all the trouble we might find...and I'd feel a lot safer with you around."
It'd also be nice to have someone who actually does what I tell them to, too, but he doesn't have to know that.

He knew she only wanted him along to have someone to boss around.... but he didn't particularly care, either.
"Tari... I have orders..."
She continued to look at him helplessly.
"Tari, please, don't... Alright, alright, I'll come."

"Yay!" she said, giving him a hardly-a-half-a-hug.

Tacit rolled his eyes yet again. He looked at Gashon. "To keep her... let's call it happy... I want you to stay as close to her as possible. I don't want to act as anything more than a guide."
Gashon nodded, blushing slightly. Then he realised who had issued the order. "I don't take orders from you, Geohound!"
"You do if you want to live through the night out here," retorted Tacit evenly.
Gashon stepped forward warningly. "Is that a threat?"
Tacit smiled slightly. "Not at all. Merely a statement of fact - if you want to avoid being killed by al'hayat, geshtal, or even from a yelt bite, you'll listen to me. If not..." he saluted mockingly.

"Boys." Tari said, stepping between them. "Let's focus, shall we? You two can battle each other for commande later, but right now, I'd like to actually make some progress before the sun goes down in three hours."
This is going to be a very long trip.

"C'MON SLACKERS!" He yelled from the distance, the silhouette of his figure was barely seen in the distance, but it was highly recognizeable.

Tari shook her head. What am I doing? Let them kill eachother, what do I care?
She pushed her way between them, flipping her hair back over her shoulder, before starting off at a jog to catch up to Ty.
"I honestly think Tacit is going to drive me out of my mind by the time this trip is over." she said, once they were walking side-by-side at a comfortable pace.

"I agree.. he probably will," he said, folding his arms behind his head as he walked. "Between me and you, you can count on me. I've had.. a bit of training myself." He looked at the ground for a moment, then glanced at her before looking back straight. "I mean.. you don't have too.. hopefully it will never come to it, but if it does, well.."

He nodded to himself. "Yeah.."

The Herpetlec mountain range grew ever closer as the suns set in the west. Tacit turned to face them, stopping. "We'll camp here tonight," he said.
"If I'm not mistaken, there's a small stream a few minutes North," said Gashon. "I have a few water skins with me. We should fill as many of them as we can."
"Agreed," said Tacit, nodding. "We'll need some firewood, too. You shouldn't go alone, though." he added, as he made to leave. He turned to Ty. "You go with him," he said sharply.
As Gashon and Ty went to get water and wood, Tacit turned to Tari and Katri. "Get your sword out, princess," he said. He ignited his beam sword. "We'll start with basic techniques. Blocking would be a good place to start."

"I had thought you'd forgotten." Tari said, disappointed. She drew her sword lazily. "Now what?"
"Try to stop my blade with yours." was the Jedia's simple instruction. A moment later, he shot forward, with little warning.
Seeing the green beam of light flying her way, Tari yelped and dove to the ground, Tacit's blow flying right where her head had been.
"You actually tried to hit me, didn't you?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"It's set to low power," he said defensively. "You would only have felt a mild tingle. Stand up," he added, helping her up. "Let's try again. Don't be afraid - I'm not actually trying to hit you. YOu have to learn to trust me, or this will be a very short trip."

"As if saying it makes it all that much easier." she murmured. This time, she looked as if she actually wanted to learn. Her right foot stepped back, and her knees bent, her sword held upright at chest-level. She hadn't a clue what she was doing...but the stance felt right, somehow.
"Alright, do your worst, Jedia."

He scrutinized her posture. "Keep your elbow up," he said. Without another word, he came at her again, his blade humming deeply. She managed to block him, but he flicked the sword up and out of her hands, then brought his weapon down and pointed it at her throat. After a few seconds, he deactivated it, and drew her sword into his hand.
"You can't let your concentration slip," he said, passing her the longsword hilt first. "Keep your mind focused, your thought unclouded. Keep a firm grip on the blade."
"I'm trying!" she said sharply.
"There is no 'try'," he said calmly. "Allow your mind to go blank. Reach out with your feelings. Allow instinct to guide your blade."
She fell into her battle stance again. He placed a hand on her arm and lifted her elbow. "Always keep it up," he said. He walked a few feet away, then turned.
He attacked again, this time bringing his blade up in a slash. She blocked it, then brought her blade around to block another. She managed to meet two more attacks before he disarmed her again, the beam of his blade at her throat once again.
"Much better," he said, dropping his weapon. He turned away from her, attaching his weapon to his belt again. "You have potential," he said.

Tari stuck her sword point-first into the dirt, massaging her palms with her thumbs, grimacing slightly. "Potential, huh? I don't see how I could fight when I can't even hang on to the dumb thing." after a moment, she pulled the blade back out of the ground, and resheathed it, moving to sit down in the grass.

He walked over to her, and stood beside her. "It will come in time. All things considered, you can handle it fairly well. You're not as hopeless as I assumed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." she said, though she was smiling now. Tari reached for her pack, and began to rummage through it, pulling out a cantine. "Is there any food around here besides those nutrition pack things?"

He crouched down beside her. "Sorry, no..." he looked around. "But if you want, I can go find something. Dula meat is pretty good, as long as you don't eat the liver. Or the spleen." He stood again. "And the lungs are pretty dangerous, too... not to mention the heart..."
She gave him a startled look. "Don't worry," he said. "The rest of it's alright."

"If you say so..." Tari said. Reaching back into her pack, she pulled out the cloak and pulled it around her shoulders. Where was that firewood?
"I think I'll stay here with Katri. I wouldn't want to ruin your 'hunting vibes' or whatever it is you men use to kill things."

He smiled slightly, and stalked off into the forest.

After ten minutes of hunting the large herbivore, he finally had it cornered. He kept his beam sword ready, a hunting dagger in his other hand. He snuck up quitely behind it.
He heard movement behind him. He sensed a malevolet presence nearby. Throwing the hunt, he ignited his weapon, and brought it around in a wide arch. His blade cut through nothing but air. He heard rapid movement in the trees, and the presence disappeared suddenly.

When he returned to camp, he found that Ty and Gashon had returned, and had a small fire going. He dropped a load of berries and other edible plants on the ground next to Tari. "Sorry, all I could get. Gashon? A word?"
Gashon gave him a curious look, but stood and follwed Tacit out of earshot of the others.
"What is this about, Jedia?" he asked.
"While I was hunting, I sensed... a presence. Something... something dark. Sinister."
"Ok... why are you telling me?"
"Just thought you might like to know," said Tacit sarcastically. "Why do you think? If there's something out here, I want to be able to depend on you to help watch out for Tari, in case I can't be there. And I just don't trust Ty."
Gashon nodded. "Alright. I'll keep an eye out."
"Good. Oh, and one more thing."
"What?"
"Don't bring back any of that red bark next time. That's where spinnle wasps make their nests."

Tari looked at the berries a moment, before reaching for one, and studying it. When she noticed Ty looking strangely at her, she said, "What? Knowing how Tacit and I are such great friends, these are probably poison or something." After a moment, though, she shrugged and popped the berry into her mouth.
When Gashon and Tacit returned to the firelight, she said, "I hope you two had fun." and picked another berry from the pile.

"We had a blast," said Tacit. "It's alright," he added. "They're not poisonous. Though if you find any green ones, don't eat them - they won't be ripe, yet. And they taste like.. well, just don't eat the green ones."

Tari dropped the green berry that was half-way to her mouth. "Now he tells me." she grumbled. As she picked up another one from the pile, this time making sure that it was a nice, ripe red, she asked, "So, what now?"

((I edited my old posts and deleted a few so I could meet up and rp with you guys))

Jack spent most of the day hiking up to moutains. He decided to take a short cut through the forrest. He'd been walking through the forrest for almost two hours without stopping, he had his sword out to cut down the wines, leaves, thorns and bushes that got in his way.

He heard two voices and he crouched down. He put his sword away and pulled out his machiene gun. Jack listened to the voices, there was a man and a women. Jack didn't want to take any chance so he slipped into the trench behind him and lyed down on his back, he quickly put ammo in his machiene gun and then placed his finger over the trigger. He wasn't going to make the first move. He didn't really they were at all hostile but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"Now, we get some sleep," said Tacit. "Actually... I won't be sleeping. I'll stay up and keep watch."
"No," said Gashon. "I'm not going into that forest with an exhausted guide. I'll keep watch."
"I can go days without sleep," said Tacit firmly. "I'll be alright."
"It's not you I'm worried about..." he muttered. He sighed. "Alright..."
"Good. Tari: sleep closest to the fire. That way, anything... or anyone... that wants to kill you will have to go through us."