Techno-Magical Warfare (NimhxKurayami)

[Kurayami Tenshi]

In the near distant future, the world is ravaged by war. Humans, fueled by their obnoxious desire to be on top, have begun a full fledged war against beings of a magical background. They've been advancing their technology over the previous years in order to have a fighting chance against the "Nonhumans", as they've so ignorantly labeled the enemy.

Magical creatures and humanoids have banded together to defeat the threat of technology, but their internal conflicts still live on. Though they work together for a common goal, they each have their territories and factions, keeping their rivalries alive. The humans also have split into factions, but only because of their savage bloodlust, causing them to sometimes kill each other at random. War ravages the land, affecting all beings and their families and their homes. Young ones are being thrust into the horrid terrain of the battlefield, being trained, quite literally, from birth. This war sees no nearing end...

"Alright Grandmother!" Liliana shouted, "I'll be back in a little bit okay!" She ran out the empty doorway of her half ruined house. Taking a step outside, she let her eyes wander around her home. Estria in recent years has seen a lot of destruction it would seem. However, it still managed to maintain the lush, green landscape, surrounding the cluttered buildings and ruined homes with a little bit of beauty. To Liliana, this served as a ray of hope shining during a time of desperation. She stole a deep breath from the town's relatively fresh air, also a tad tainted by the wartime, but that couldn't be helped. Small wings protruded from her back, beginning to spread out as she took to the skies. Her mother was part fairy, which explained the wings.

She soared around for quite sometime before finally deciding to stop and take a rest, she had approached the Badlands by now. The Badlands were mainly a quiet space, with hardly any activity taking place. The girl would often take long flights to this place just to sit and think, much like she was doing now. She took the time to think of regular things, as opposed to learning how to harness her many powers, a daily process that had started to grow tiring for her, though it was for the benefit of her people, so Liliana really couldn't do much but come to peace with it. Today seemed quieter somehow, which was unthinkable. This region already had so little taking place that it was a bit hard to imagine that it could get quieter, but it didn't stop that feeling from approaching her.

 

[Nimh]

Zachari didn't wander around much, not for pleasure at least. He preferred business, and right now, it was business, a simple order, it wasn't even to kill, it was to detain. Something he protested at first, but after some persuasion he reluctantly accepted. It was slim pickings during the war time, most people would just go kill someone themselves , and usually no one would blink twice. People died all the time, entire lands had been deserted. Zach knew that, he inhabited a deserted land, at least an acre or two, all to himself, he didn't mind. A few people would come by, but no one found the land pleasing.

"Target: Alpha Charlie Echo. 5'4", 118lbs, brown hair, brown eyes. 80 degrees south.." Zach said as he analyzed his surroundings, "50 degrees west." Zach didn't like the orders much, he didn't like the lingo either. It bothered him, made him feel uncomfortable, but the serious look never left his face. Now wasn't the time for complaints, nor was it the time to express his discontentment, he had to do his job, and then get his reward. Zach didn't always require money for his services, this time it was guns and ammunition, he preferred swords, but gun had an undeniable advantage in the age of magic and mass destruction.

Zach moved swiftly, hoping to catch his target sooner rather than later. Though in Zach's rush he almost tripped over a female that had apparently been resting. Right before running into her he side stepped, almost tripping himself. "Sh-" He started, before cutting himself off. Though he captured his balance and turned around. His right hand went to the back of his head as he rubbed it gently, he needed to pay more attention. Zach was turn between apologizing and just continuing on in his search. He almost turned and ran but stopped himself. His target would still be there in a few minutes he reassured himself.

"Sorry. About that.." Zach started as he offered his hand to help her up, as if he had actually knocked her down. He acted the tough guy for his part, but almost running into a common person didn't require a tough guy attitude he concluded.. Unless someone was paying attention..."I wasn't paying proper attention." Zach continued as he glanced over his shoulder, it wasn't often that someone normal would be out here, just lying about. A spy? An interceptor? Maybe he really did need to just continue on with his job.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

Fluttering her wings in complete boredom, Liliana sat and reminisced to herself, thinking back at how the Badlands used to be almost as lush as Estria still manages to be. A mass diversity of animals prospered in beauteous peace across the now deserted and ruined terrain. She remembered walks she used to take with her parents when she was so very young. Sighing, she opened her eyes to the harsh reality that was created of the Badlands. She sat silently, wondering if a change would ever meet this land. If the once undisturbed beauty and freedom will return here. While it was nice to hope, she knew she couldn't stay too long. Eventually her grandmother would come looking for her to do training. It was unfair of her to be forced to train for a war she didn't care for, but that couldn't be helped, the demand for troops is rising as more are either killed, captured, or guarding territories that won in battle. Frustrating from her thoughts, she sighed again and threw herself back, shutting her eyes and falling asleep.

About an hour or so later, she'd awoken, dazed. Sleep wasn't necessarily on the agenda for Liliana, but the landscape was so dreary that it simply couldn't be helped. It wasn't as if it were the first time the hybrid girl had fallen asleep there, sometimes that was the point of the long flight here. Standing up, she let out her wings and prepared to fly home, however, she was knocked to the ground by something. To be precise, someone. Face down in the ground, she heard a male's voice call to her, offering help.

"Ah... it's alright..." she groaned, taking a hand to her back, turning to face the source of the voice. "I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it."

 

[Nimh]

Zach agreed, "I didn't." as she turned to look at him. He hesitated, unsure it was smart to be seen out here, but it was too late, he needed to sell it. "My name's Ri. What's yours?" He glanced over his shoulder again to the right, only to notice someone walking by. When he looked they stopped and looked at him. Zach didn't know what to do they weren't very far away. "I'm uh. here training with a friend." Zach nodded as he whispered a quick, "Hold on." Zach took off in a sprint, a few moments after the target did. It was a quick chase as his target wasn't as conditioned as he was.

Zach gave a small laugh before gagging the man and tying him up. About the female.. he wasn't sure, she'd basically witnessed it all, and code would be to kill her, but if he could play it right, he wouldn't have to. Zach half lugged, half dragged his target back. "Haha. Looks like I've won this round!" He exclaimed as he slowly lowered the man to the ground, keeping a tight grip so he couldn't escape if he tried. Zach looked to the ground a moment.. "Oh.. I'm sure this looks bad.. I'm sorry.." He said, conspicuously kicking the man in the back trying to get him to stop squirming. "They try to make it so real." He said, as he exaggerated the gesture of an eye roll. "We always try to stay on our toes, so we test each other, my friend's crazy. Either way, I've said too much, what was your name again?" Zach would have kicked himself if he could have gotten away with it, what was he trying to pull? The female before him wasn't blind and stupid.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

((It posted twice my friend))
Staring at the male for a moment, she fluttered her small wings, trying to search for a way to respond. Already, she knew that the whole training scenario was just a ruse, and she should likely feel concern for the man that he just attacked and restrained. Though she gazed, thinking to speak on this, Liliana knew when it was okay and when it wasn't to get involved, and clearly it was none of her business. So she nodded, both as an okay and in a fashion to where he knows that she wasn't fooled, she didn't want to make herself look like an idiot through all of this. Sure, sometimes, when it came to common sense, she was a bit of an airhead, but she wasn't that way all the time.

"Liliana." She answered his question, stretching out a hand toward him. "My name is Liliana. Hybrid between a fairy and a mage." She decided to add that, since this was more of a formal greeting than anything, despite how odd it was. "It's probably not my business to ask... but what brings you to the Badlands?" She penned him curiously, running a hand through her wavy blonde locks.

 

[Nimh]

Noticing her wings flutter, caught his attention. Zach gave a nervous laugh, taking her hand and shaking it. "Hybrid between a fairy and a mage, you say? that sounds.. like it would be a nice mixture." Zach replaced his hand on the target after the greeting. He smiled as she ran a hand through her golden hair. "Well, I'm just here on business is all. I sort of live out here too. What about you? What brings a lovely lady such as yourself to these fine-lands?" Zach voice became sarcastic at fine-lands, because they weren't that great to him. Nothing really special, nothing really worth anything.

Zach thought about releasing his target for a moment, abandoning it all now so that nothing could be linked back to him. But he started to hear explosive sounds off in the distance, shrugging at the common occurrence he continued on. It would be easy to link him to the target, because he was seen with the target as his prisoner.. But then again maybe no one cared about this man and no one would notice his disappearance, blame the war, as always. Why was this job a capture not a kill? He'd have to interrogate his target later before turning him in to find out.

Zach could tell from her body language and her tone that she hadn't believed him about his story anyway. It made him nervous, but unlike most people she hadn't attacked him or even ran off scared. Simple continued on with the conversation, Zach couldn't help but to be interested in why. Young, maybe she was open minded, more naive? surely not naive if she hadn't fallen for his.. well he had to admit quite horrible ruse.. no one would believe it. He concluded.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

Keeping a slight glace on the restrained man, she continued conversation. "I travel here at times... to take in the scenery, though I know it isn't much to look at." Her eyes danced across the scenery, she'd unfortunately have to begin training eventually. Having that fact in mind, Liliana stalled as much as possible. Sensing his sarcasm, she couldn't help but agree with it, though she didn't verbally. Retracting her wings, she looked to him. "If you're off to some place, I don't mean to slow you down. I could go with you even... walk and talk."

Her blunt offer was more for herself than it was for the sake of keeping the conversation alive. Beginning to walk away, she motioned him with her hand. "Lead the way.." she spoke, before stopping midstep and waiting for Ri to walk as well. Part of her didn't necessarily trust what she was doing. However, she seemed confident enough that he wasn't going to harm her. And if he did, then she would do her best to fight him off, though he was likely stronger than she was.

 

[Nimh]

Zach was surprised that she offered to walk with him. The only place left for him to go was either somewhere secluded to interrogate the target or back to the buyer. He shrugged, going to nowhere in particular wouldn't be such a bad idea. Zach picked up his target, lugging the man over his shoulder, and led the way, thinking about how he could just take her to one of the many, many abandoned houses. From there he could either set up the interrogation, or just pretend it was his house. Or maybe he could use her to help him with the interrogation. Teach her a few things. She'd already seen him capture the guy what more harm could be done?

Zach contemplated just telling her about the target, and how it was capture not kill. How he never really go those kinds of jobs. He contemplated telling her what he did, and why. He pondered just telling her his full name. He distracted himself by remembering the conversation they were having he started the conversation back up, "Well, thanks for that. But why do you travel here? If you know it isn't much?" He inquired as his target he was carrying struggled. Grunts could be heard through the gag.

Though during their walk Zach questioned himself as to why a girl would follow him to a place, after seeing him capture someone. Obviously she had seen passed his lie, but something wasn't right about her. Was it a plan? Maybe she wanted him to think she wasn't a threat, but how could he, seeing as he was the one to trip over her? Unless she knew about the job, which seemed highly unlikely. But if she did she would have been able to plant herself there and hope he ran into her? No, that didn't seem right, maybe it was all chance but seeing that he wasn't a good guy, she decided she would attack from behind as they were walking somewhere. She never planned on going to the destination at all. Zach nodded believing he had figured it out. Though that didn't tell him what he should do. Was it to wait but leave his guard up, or was it to try to get the information out of her now? He'd wait. He decided.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

Liliana could hear the struggles from the man, but shrugged it off. She wondered where they were headed, even though she somewhat inserted herself in his travels. "Oh.." she looked down, thinking for a moment before answering his question. "Sometimes... I just escape from my home... and sit. Thinking about how the land used to be." She brought a hand to her hair once again, brushing through it smoothly.

A suspicious feeling crept against Liliana slowly, she began to contemplate her decision on walking with him. What if he was dangerous? What if he tried to attack her? She fought back the anxiety, obviously if he hadn't attacked her when they were alone in the Badlands, then chances are he wouldn't attack her now. Besides, he seemed preoccupied with his captive.

"So where are you headed," she asked, pushing along the conversation as a deafening silence developed between the two. She fluttered her wings anxiously, hoping that she was in no danger.

 

[Nimh]

Zach found it odd that she mentioned her home, maybe she had a bad family, he thought while she spoke, it would explain why she wanted to come here. Zach could tell she was getting nervous, maybe about her decision to follow him. Then he was asked where he was headed. "Just an abandoned place." Zach paused for a moment, not sure if he should continue, but did anyway, "Have to interrogate this guy." Zach glanced over at her, "You can help if you want." Zach guessed it probably wasn't a good idea to be informing his target what he was going to do and that an untrained civilian might be helping, but Zach figured he could mange to keep everything under control when the time came.

Zach could see the form of the building coming into view as he continued walking. He knew it wouldn't take long, but it seemed like an even shorter walk then anticipated. "And well.. here we are." Zach remained anxious, glancing at the girl occasionally to make sure she wasn't planning on stabbing him the back if he gave her the opportunity, this was going to be stressful. Trying to keep a target detained, and watch out for his life. It seemed his mission was only getting more complicated. Upon reaching the abandoned building Zach opened the unlocked door. The rooms were dark so he reached into his side pocket with his free hands and offered Liliana some matches. "There are some oil lamps along the walls, see if you can find them and light them, will you?" Zach paused, "That is, if you're going to come in." He added as he stepped into the darkness. Dust rose from the floor with each step he took.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

Interrogate? Perhaps he was a criminal of sorts. Liliana tried to rationalize his situation despite that it was none of her business. Her sense of danger flared more at this point, as the three reached an abandoned looking warehouse. Going along with the situation, she nodded at his offer to help him interrogate. The door opened and dust quickly occupied the air around them. With a brutal sounding cough, Liliana quickly wandered in search of the oil lamps Ri had mentioned. Her thin eyebrows giving a slight twitch as dust blew across her face.

Sifting through a pile of ashes in a corner, she'd finally come across a small oil lamp. Gazing into it, her eyes shimmered a deep red, as the inside of the lamp was set ablaze. Having lit the lamp, she walked back over to Ri and his captive. "I'll keep looking for more.." she spoke quietly. She made sure her body language made it clear that she was no fool, and wouldn't hesitate to defend herself if her life were put in jeopardy. As she searched, she questioned why she suddenly was helping someone she had just met and was suspicious of. Shrugging it off, she continued to look for an oil lamp.

 

[Nimh]

As his offer of matches was declined her replaced them into his pocket. That's right, she said she was a mage, fire must have been in her arsenal of powers, it made him wonder what else she could do. And her body language started to say that she would be ready to fight. It made Zach uneasy. He shook his head finding a chair from along the wall after the first lamp slightly illuminated the room. It was still dark, but he made his way to the chair and placed it in the center of the room. Carefully Zach took his bound prisoner and further bound him to the chair. It was no simple task as the man tried to free himself and struggled constantly. Leaving the gag in Alpha Charlie Echo's mouth, Zach checked around for anything that his target may get a hold of to use as a weapon. Once he made sure the room was secure he relaxed a bit. Keeping an eye on Liliana.

Once she was done he would take her into the back room, so the target couldn't hear. He'd tell her all the details of the man he had captured, or at least the ones that would be important in the interrogation.. that is if she even wanted to help. A civilian doing an interrogation, Zach almost laughed despite how insecure he was about the whole situation. "When you're done you can step into the back room and I'll tell you anything you need to know about him." Zach gestured to the bound target, "And you can help if you want. If not, then you may just want to stay back there. I don't know how bad things will get out here."

Zach wasn't sure how he was going to handle the situation, an interrogation was not apart of the job, and if the buyer found out the man had been interrogated there was a chance Zach wouldn't even get paid. He shook his head. Everything was just going completely wrong today. How could he be so unprofessional that he let it all happen? Then he remembered he wasn't solid like everyone else. Any other mercenary would have just killed her and moved on. He shook his head, he could only act like a tough guy, he knew he wasn't one all the way through, and he hoped that it wouldn't seriously screw him over one day. Truthfully Zach had to admit he hadn't done many interrogations himself, he killed the targets, not detained them, most definitely didn't question them as they were tied to a chair.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

She found and lit a few more oil lamps. While working, she gazed every now and again toward Ri and the other man, watching as he restrained the captive in a nearby chair. Liliana simply nodded to him, taking a step outside soon after taking a few more lamps. She stood waiting, fluttering her wings both from boredom and anxiety. What exactly was he up to that needed this seemingly random man?

Her eyes motioned into the direction of the Badlands, she could escape, and save herself from any upcoming danger. Awaiting his arrival still, she contemplated what was making her help him. Liliana knew nothing about him, yet she was assisting him in interrogating whoever the hell was being strapped to that chair. Even she couldn't understand her actions at times. Letting out a huge sigh, she stood silently.

 

[Nimh]

Zach soon followed Liliana, what was he going to tell her? Surely nothing too sensitive, but what would be considered sensitive in this case? He contemplated it before setting his eyes on the mage. Zach started to speak, but before he could say anything he realized he didn't know what he was going to say. Rubbing his face a little he tried again, "The guy in there is uh. well, my target. So. I.." Zach was hesitant, she didn't know his full name at least, that was some sort of consolation for him. But the more he thought about it the less everything made sense. What was he so scared of? This was a time of war, people were too busy skipping their drafts, and police were too busy putting down riots and becoming soldiers to care if he was picking a few men off the street here and there. The world had more important things than to interfere with his mercenary life.

It happened in a moment, he could see the light before he heard it. He could see it streaking across the sky before he saw the light. Almost everything happened in an instant. Zach didn't know what he was doing, his body had taken over. Zach lunged towards the girl, he was a vampire, that couldn't turn into a bat, instead he could manipulate and disappear into shadows, he was going to use that to his advantage, and hope that it worked for the both of them, aiming himself towards the closest blackness. Zach felt his body dematerialize before he actually knew what was happening. He felt as though all of the bones in his body were being crushed, he felt the agonizing pain of an explosion but he remained completely conscious. Somewhere around he could still tell Liliana was there, he questioned if she felt the same kind of pain or if it was solely him from the manipulation. After the agonizing pain episode he felt something on his back, and trying to open his eyes things still seemed black for a long while. 'Am I still in the shadow?' He questioned, momentarily believing her would be forever stuck there. But as the sky turned from black to red he could tell he wasn't in a shadow.

'There was an aura around that bomb...' There was something different about it. It wasn't a typical explosion. "Magical bomb.." He whispered as he began to cough. He had only read about them before, but he knew what he was feeling was no normal occurrence. Even disappearing into a shadow before a normal bomb wouldn't do that to him he concluded. Zach tried to force himself into a sitting up position but he couldn't. More coughs came from his strained body. Slowly Zach turned his head, looking at his hand as he attempted to move his fingers. They opposed but complied soon enough. His actions were followed by another coughing fit. Zach could see his body lurching from the cough, but hardly felt it. Setting his head back down Zach closed his eyes. He didn't understand what was going on. Zach could feel the fangs in his mouth from his vampire side. His head spun, his mind seemed to wander. When Zach opened his eyes, the sky was still tinted a dark red, and there was a translucent figure looking down at him. Or what he believed was a transparent figure. "Liliana?" He asked half-mindedly. The figure only laughed before disappearing completely.

Upon blinking a few more times Zach noticed everything was different. Nothing seemed to look like it had before. Even the shape of trees were different, bending in funny directions, and could be seen in the peripheral of his vision. A confused look cross Zach's face as he coughed more. His lungs hurt, his throat hurt, he could begin to feel his body throbbing and the pain traveled through him with each fit. Zach could see the image of his target above him, as if floating. Complete with flesh and all, he was laughing, but he slowly became translucent like the first figure and disappeared, only to reappear, and walk off in a random direction. "Is this what magical bombs do..?" He asked as he gave a struggled laugh. He was in a horrible nightmare, that was all, pain shot through his body as he struggled to chuckle again, he would wake up from it soon.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

Nothing. As far as Liliana's glistening eyes could see. She was in a trance, an unconscious trance. Her mind raced when the bomb went off, the last frantic action she had taken was an attempt to fly away, however, her efforts were in vain. An odd feeling had swarmed her, filling her with a weightless feeling as she slowly opened her eyes, fading back into the road of consciousness that was life. Her quivering body was numb, to the point where any attempt at movement did nothing. The mage girl lay there motionless. Gazing over to where she thought she had been standing earlier, she saw that the warehouse that once stood there was completely eradicated, leaving a thin trail of ashes in its wake. Forcing her mouth to form words, Liliana called out for the strange male she had met just hours ago. "R...ri..?"

Liliana spent a few minutes calling for him, not entirely confident that her voice was reaching him, as it wasn't too loud at the moment. Trying her best to move, she eventually managed to roll over, getting up to her knees. She was wobbling a bit trying to keep her balance this way alone. Seeing if her wings were alright, she tried fluttering them slightly, earning her only an intensely painful burning feeling that rushed deeply through her wings, making her cringe something awful. Making the struggle to stand, she finally succeeded in getting upright, and managed to start walking. Though her steps were small and weak, she pushed to find if Ri was alive, which is what she honestly was hoping for.

"R..Ri..?" She called out again, her curious and frantic eyes rushing through the air, trying to find the male. She didn't bother finding his captive, he was in the warehouse when it was destroyed, so he had surely perished.

 

[Nimh]

After lying on the ground for what seemed like forever Zach heard a familiar, faint voice. The words were unfamiliar to him, it sounded like ri.. ri. He was only reminded of the last couple letters in his name before realizing it was the girl.. Liliana that he had just met. She was alive, at least. He told himself he should probably give her his name before forcing himself to sit upright. The movements came slow, and using his arms for support he slowly lifted himself as he tried to grasp the concept of standing again. Zach thought about running off, leaving the girl here, getting back to his target, to his buyer. Zach almost moved, ran, ran away from the sound, but get couldn't get himself to do it. His head her, his body ached, he wondered if Liliana felt the same.

After the mental debate Zach shook his head, "Liliana?" He called out, he couldn't get the exasperated feeling from his tone. It was hard to tell the direction of which the voice spoke, but Zach did the best her could as he looked for the familiar fairy figure. None of this made any sense to him. The world looked as though it had changed, something about it was different, maybe it was from the concussion Zach concluded he had, but he knew things weren't the same.

A few moments of looking around and Zach saw the outline of the fairy's body. It caused Zach to stop. He looked down, examining himself. To his surprise he found no burns, no lesions, nothing of any sort of major damage that he had expected. His body ached and so did his mind, but he couldn't tell why.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

It felt like it had been hours, everything seemed distorted and skewed around Liliana as she made her way to find Zach, or Ri, as she still only knew him by. Her coarse voice floated swiftly into the breeze as she continued to look. A harsh blur obscured her already fading vision, making her unable to notice that she was in face getting closer to where the male was. What the hell happened? The fairy questioned the entire situation as she stumbled along. Feeling her knees lock, Liliana began to tremble awfully, hitting the ground with a silent thump! A voice rang out to her, drawing nearer to where she laid. Immediately, the girl could tell that it had been Ri. Part of her found relief in the fact that he hadn't died in whatever horrible mess that was, unlike the man he'd captured.

A harsh and pained groan escaped her, signifying that she couldn't escape where she was. With very little energy, Liliana managed to pull her hear up slightly, fighting to brush the hair away from her face. Taking a bit of a look at her condition, she noticed some burns across her arms and down her legs. Bits and pieces of her clothing were torn from the blast, her wings were scuffed and bruised somehow. Raising an eyebrow at her injuries, she questioned that as well. Ri surely would have sustained worse injuries than her, since he was, at the time, closer to the blast zone, and seemed to be blasted a distance away from their previous location. With no alternative reaching her mind, the mage looked up, desperately calling out for him again.

"R...Ri..." she breathed exhausted, feeling a numb sensation wash over her. Forcing movement into her arms, she managed to crawl a few more feet toward where she thought his voice was coming from. However, that energy quickly drained, as Liliana soon ended up as she was moments ago. Immobile on the ruined surface, she could only hope that help would come for her... and come quickly.

 

[Nimh]

It seemed like it happened too soon, he started to make out a figure, one he believed was Liliana and then that figure was on the ground. He wanted to move forward, to help her, to see if she was alright. His legs refused to get the energy needed. He did however get himself to continue moving forward. It was a slow pace. Urging himself was a slow process as his limbs started to move they way they were being willed to move. He began to job, hoping it was in fact the girl he tried to save. How they had ended up so separate he couldn't understand, but he hoped she was alive.

Upon reaching the figure his beliefs were solidified, "Liliana." He whispered as he looked her over. She had taken far more damage than he had in the blast. He braced himself, checking to make sure he had the energy to carry himself plus the weight of an additional person. Once he was fairly certain of himself, he carefully hoisted Liliana up. "It's okay." He said as he shook his head. It was hard to think he was a trained killer. He shook his head slightly before forcing himself to take a step. He was exhausted and now he was carrying a girl he hardly knew. Today just was not his day.

Zach walked in the direction he hoped would have someone or something of some use. There had to be a doctor somewhere he, right? He walked for quiet some time before finding someone who looked alive and wasn't just transparent.

"Hello?" he asked. His voice rough and the words seemed to be choked out. "Is there someone who can help her?" He asked quizzically. He was relieved to see a nod and a finger point towards a little village that seemed to be in ruins.

Zach wondered how anyone could live there, but everything in this world seemed to be different. He whispered a polite thanks before slowly and painstakingly making his way into the town. He was ushered to an abandoned looking building, but it had life once he stepped inside. Little decorations were drawn on the walls, quite artistic. It intrigued him as he lay the girl down on a slab. Zach didn't let his guard down for one moment, the exhaustion gnawed at him, but he forced himself to stay alert. He wasn't the kind of person to non-nonchalantly walk into a town and not be suspicious of everyone. Protect the girl and leave. That was what his mind began to focus on, in case something were to happen. He leaned against the wall as he watched the doctor draw near.

 

[Kurayami Tenshi]

Liliana's consciousness tethered in and out in a sickening cycle for what felt like hours. Eventually she had heard a familiar yet strange voice begin to approach her. Her vision had faded something fierce, rendering her unable to see who the voice belonged to, but she had a feeling. Weakly, she motioned her lips to form words, but even a whisper couldn't escape her weakened body. Immediately, she began to feel lighter. Midst her daze, she noticed that she was being lifted from where she'd been laid out.

Traveling to an unknown destination, the fairy had finally managed to lift her head up just enough to see who it was who carried her. To her much satisfying relief, it had been the male she was hoping for. "A..are you okay..?" she whispered weakly, knowing that he had to have been hindered somehow from this disaster. Fading out before even getting to hear his response, she laid her head on his shoulder as he continued to take her somewhere to get healed. Her wings would twitch every now and again in response to the rugged terrain that Ri was running upon. Today definitely wasn't going as she had expected it to.

Liliana came to once again, appearing to have been laid out on a bed. Trying to look around, she noticed that her body was still numb, leaving her temporarily immobile. Agitated with her inability to move, she violently shifted her eyes throughout the room. As the fairy's gaze reached the far side of the room she was in, she noticed Ri talking to what appeared to be a doctor of sorts. Shaking, Liliana just barely managed to reach her hand up, trying to get his attention. "Ri..." her lips moved, but the sound wouldn't escape.

"These don't look like traditional war casualty injuries..." the doctor had spoken to the male. "I'm not sure how long she will be immobile.." He gave Ri a quick check with his eyes. Though the injuries he had weren't to the extent of Liliana's, they were still concerning. "I'd suggest you be careful as well..." he advised sternly. "Your slight injuries cannot be overlooked. You two just.. stay here for now. Your bodies need the rest." He began to leave the cave-like room, stopping at the entrance to look back to the two. "I'll set you two up with a place to stay for at least tonight. It's getting late. You can pick up with whatever endeavors you were on tomorrow..." The door shut silently behind him.

 

[Nimh]

Zach wasn't sure how to feel about everything but he took in everything that was said. The doctor seemed nice enough through his offer of a place, and Zach could feel the rest was imperative. Though he had been trained for situations like this, had he not? It made him think back to the days he spent in training, group training, the first step in his career. He always wondered why he would need to know how to work in a group if he was a mercenary but looking at the females condition, maybe it was good to know. They had taught him how to deal with a downed partner in an enemy area. Though he didn't know where he was, he knew his training was going to come in handy.

Zach began to access the situation, Liliana was immobile, he was somewhere he didn't know, and he was exhausted. He technically would have shelter, food could be found later, but soon. First thing is first, conserve whatever energy there was left, he knew that. He guessed he shouldn't have wasted so much energy getting to the town, but he hadn't known how server Liliana's injuries were. He sighed. Looking down at her, he felt a bit sorry for her. Being immobile, that would drive him insane. Second thing, he needed to keep a constant eye on his partner. He wouldn't go into a different room. Zach shook his head, he felt as though he was over-thinking the whole thing. 'What does it matter?' He asked himself. He could play it out as a civilian.

But they were alone, no one else was in the room. Finally almost giving in Zach slid down the wall and sat on the floor against it. "Well, at the least, we are alive?" He asked Liliana, guessing she could probably hear him, even though a response wasn't expected, it was more of a rhetorical question. "We'll rest. Then get out of here, whatever this place is." He shook his head, he felt like he was saying those things to calm himself more than her. Maybe now would be a good time to play the tough guy role. Wasn't that his job? He gave a slight chuckle, before coughing. Coughing hurt his diaphragm, and he was reminded of how he woke. Was that how Liliana felt right now? He sighed closing his eyes for a moment, only to open them, scared that he would miss something important. How was he going to sleep in such a high alert state?