I'm Innocent, I swear! [Open]

[Nikolai Breyback]

Be the Legend That the World Wants You to Be    tags: @everything and @everyone   Indignation --- Auvic  Profile --- Nikolai Breyback words: 722 ❥ DREDGING THROUGH THE  noise and chaos, Nikolai was dragged by an unrelenting force. Powerful, irrational feelings, summoned forth by surrounding anarchy. Each cry, each moan or scream, they fanned the flames inside him. A tensing of his fist, a foreboding guilt. Each cell of his body seemed to sing out at once, beckoning him forward. People were scared. People were panicked. It wasn't his fault. He had no responsibility driving him. He knew all this, yet despite it all he moved. He had to help. Whether it be to calm the crowds, or console the victims, there was something he could do. No matter how minor, no matter how insignificant, something could be done. At least, that's what the mind wanted. The body was on a different page however. Will alone was not enough to overcome his nature. The moving crowds, the roar of people, of anger, he couldn't take it. Fear was sometimes a motivator, but now it was a wall. Standing tall in his path, every angle seemed impenetrable. This was the third time now that he simply watched on the sidelines. As ever intention he had flared up to go, but was quashed by the inability to move. His legs were frozen, yet burned with desire. He was a victim to his own cowardice, and it killed him. A motion forward was a twitch, a call to someone was a whisper. He was surrounded and lost in the sea of people before him. He hadn't been in the city long, having arrived on his travels briefly before the outbreak. But now, with the raging populace, he was not only stuck within the city by both reality and choice, but forced to watch people suffer. 'There's no point in helping, and you know it. There's no gain for us, and too much risk entering the crowds. Just return to your room.' Nikolai sighed. Leaning back against the inn wall, he relaxed somewhat. Despite the harshness of his words, Kowan's presence relaxed him. It made him feel less solitary in the massive hive he stood in. They communicated telepathically, as always in public to avoid attention. Watching the public square before him as the rioters swarmed through. They would pass through, as he had learned, leaving the remains to rot. 'Maybe, but that's not right. We can help people, those who no one else will. Besides, maybe they might show a little good will with what they have left, share it with us perhaps?' He shot back a response, trying to gain his partners support. Nothing. He remained closed on the matte,r having already said his piece. Nikolai stared at the sky now, feeling even more helpless. The area cleared, the rioters continuing their trek across the town. The noise dimmed, but didn't fade, crying infants and mournful victims begging for help. He swallowed. It was too much for him. He moved, preparing to hide away in his room once more, before stopping. He couldn't keep doing this. Nothing would change if people didn't at least try and help. Mustering up all the courage in his body, he tried to move out, and for once found his body follow him. The crowds were gone, the people he feared had disappeared. Somehow, it was enough. So he rolled with it, steeling himself and flying towards the first broken window. The home was in shambles, the crying of an infant inside. He needed to make sure they were alright. Walking openly and publicly through the shattered glass, he saw nothing. But within a few steps he was shocked. A yell, a jump, and a few seconds. The man stood before him, weapon raised and at the ready. "Get away! I won't be taken advantage of anymore you damned looter!" That was when he realized it. No one knew his intentions. He had just walked into a man's house, like every other member of the roaming mess. To him, Nikolai was no different from the rest. Nikolai stepped back, hitting the window sill and tripping through. He stammered, trying to regain his senses, but nothing seemed to work. Fear and confusion gripped him, unable to handle the sudden change. It was quite the display, a frantic man and a cowering boy, seemingly preparing for combat in the middle of the street. ♚ Made by SYLVIA of SA and GS ♚

[Merc]

Running her fingers through her hair, Riley let her hand drop, dragging her palm wearily across her cheek as a frown graced her lips. The city was as noisy as she had come to expect in all of the chaos, but it never became any easier to drown out the plethora of sounds. Chaos reigned supreme in Onibas, and try as she might the mage just wasn't able to stop even a fraction of it, much less bring it to a grinding halt.

For all the strength she had, she was too powerless to give the city any lasting relief. Between the disease, the looting, the rioting, the fighting...

Riley heaved a burden sigh as she stalked along the edge of a building, green eyes dancing to take in the streets below as a commotion drew her attention. The barn owl on her shoulder let out a displeased hoot as the noise of a nearby struggle roused him. His chest feathers fluffed out as he shifted on her shoulder, large eyes narrowed as though he were either glaring or half asleep, perhaps a mix of both.

Looking down, she spied a young man that had stumbled out of a window and an older one that had followed him, carrying himself in a manner that suggested an act of violence was to follow.

The noise in the background became distant as she leaped to the ground below - the owl lurching off of her shoulder and flapping in circles as he waited for her to land. Free falling until she neared the ground, she used her control over gravity to soften her descent so extremely that her feet didn't even make a sound as she touched the ground. The beating of Atlas' wings were the only sound they made upon approach, but even that was quickly silenced as he resumed his perch on her shoulder.

She was powerless to help the city as a whole, but that didn't mean that she couldn't at least try to help as many individuals as possible.

"Hey, what's going on here?" She asked, her voice authoritative. Whether they acknowledged her with an answer or just ran away from her, she didn't really care, as long as it didn't have to come to blows.

[Deion Ryder]

He still didn't have a full grasp of the strife that plagued the south. He hadn't been outside of all that remains of Onibas, but he could only imagine just what it would look like. Everything was decaying at such a rapid rate that any form of relief aid and reconstruction would last for quite some time. But that was far from his sole focus. So far he gathered that the disease infected indiscriminately and no one seemed immune once they came into contact with it. Fascinating. This virus is on a completely different level than what I had anticipated. I didn't think it could've leveled an entire city into such disarray, he thought as he walked the streets. Unlike those from the south, he stuck out as Deion had traveled there to observe the virus. It raised a great deal of questions as to where it came from and what exactly it could do. He sought to sate his curiosity towards the nature of the virus, which for now was what kept him in the south.

Though it wasn't ideal, he had spent some time making inquiries with the locals that remained in Onibas that did not spout vulgarities and demand that he leave. He didn't like those ones who shouted and yelled pointlessly, he typically shrugged them off and walked away. But he could hardly leave the ones who answered his questions alone. Though he had genuine intentions they often found him intrusive and persist with his question that many turned him away. Regardless, he gathered a great deal of information from those who've been dealing with it since the outbreak began. From what I've been told, there appears to be symptoms that manifest in physical exhaustion and fatigue. Black spots will begin to cluster on the body, then the infected begin to experience issues sleeping along with pain throughout the body. Lastly, the black spots seem to gather and make some sort of shape on the body, a terrible and persistent cough shows itself., he pondered, going over what he had been told. Deion couldn't say that these symptoms could begin to account for the fact that an entire city has been destroyed by just the mere presence of the virus.

But that's not much to go on, regular symptoms. I heard rumors it affects mages in a much different manner but I have seen no mages infected yet. What a shame, I could certainly imagine meeting one in person and making inquiries, he thought as he found himself coming to a stop. "Oh...?", he muttered as he looked on, wondering why a crowd of people had begun to gather around. As he pushed his way through, he smiled when he seen what was there. It's a man, looks like he's ready to attack whoever that is. Perhaps we should put an end to this, he thought as he heard a voice speak out. He recognized her, and his smile widened. What luck is this, that woman looks like the wizard saint Aether mentioned. I suppose I don't need to get involved, but I'll make my presence known if someone decides to do something stupid, he decided as he stepped towards the boy on the ground.

He looked down at the boy, then back to the man. "I believe you should put your weapon away, and explain whats going on like the nice lady has asked. I'm not too fond of sitting back and watching someone get hurt.", he stepped between the man and the boy, staring down the man until he would back off. He had little interest to bring it to any form of bloodshed or combat, but he knew that some of the people were far too agitated due to the conditions from his own experiences. I know exactly what I can do, he thought as he glared at the man. "Do you know how the virus moves from one victim to another? The blood. I advise that bloodshed is not what any of us desire, after all we don't want to let the virus keep transmitting from person to person.", he said, staring down as his palm and smiling. Hopefully he'll be smart and back off, I'd hate to contract a virus because I was cut and started bleeding, he thought, waiting to see just what the man intended to do.

[Nikolai Breyback]

Be the Legend That the World Wants You to Be tags: Merc Deion Ryder Indignation --- Auvic Profile --- Nikolai Breyback words: 443 ❥FEAR HAD TAKEN  control of senses. Chaotic, frantic, desperate in their need to understand and comprehend the situation. A bundle of active nerves, struggling to decide upon a single action. His thoughts were screaming against each other, each trying to reach a solution that no other agreed with. The youth backed up, seemingly shrinking the more people appeared. A crowd had formed now, mixed expressions of confusion and anger. Surrounding the pair entirely, leaving no point for escape. No chance of salvation for him it seemed. He just wanted to help. Was this the reward for his intentions? He couldn't handle it. Too many people. All judging him, the mess laying on the ground before them. His fists clenched, threatening to dig into his fists as he failed to get to his feat. His body was unresponsive now, frozen like a dear in headlights. The man seemed unphased, a combination of anger and desire for vengeance unable to quenched. The man raised his sword higher now, towering over the shrunken boy. "I won't be trampled over anymore! These people, these monsters, they live to attack us and raid us! I'm not going to let them do it anymore, no matter the consequence!" The people stirred, the makeshift audience seemingly agreeing. Nods and whispers, small cries of encouragement. Everyone there resented the raiders, and to them all he simply another one. He tried to voice objection, to explain it all as a desire to help, yet nothing would come. A hollow voice rang, nothing but stutters and cries. He was terrified, trembling. No one cared though. He was a villain to them, fearing retribution for his acts. The crowd grew more restless, the man inching towards him. He was a scapegoat now. No one cared for his story, or his motive. To them he was a representation of the struggle. He was an enemy, something they could relieve their struggles on. He saw no sympathy or pity, only hatred. Only two seemed to care, who seemed to be curious. He starred at them, hoping they could be his salvation. "I- No, I swear I- I'm sorry- I just wanted- I was trying- help, I was trying to- I'm sorry, I swear!" His mind was in shambles, the pressure placed upon him driving him mad. He needed help, yet there was none. Kowan remained silent, content to let him sweat in the trap of his own design. A lesson he intended to give. The sword was at it's peak now, the crowd now screaming for justice. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to fight. ♚ Made by SYLVIA of SA and GS ♚

[Merc]

A person could be smart. A person could sit back and look at things rationally, ask questions, make decisions based on what they discovered and decide on an appropriate response to the situation presented before them.

People, on the other hand, were stupid. The more of them gathered together the more frantic they became, the more they fed off of one another and the faster things went downhill.

Currently she was witnessing a little of the first, in Deion, and a whole lot of the latter in the crowd that had surrounded Nikolai. They had basically disregarded her call and even the young man that had literally stepped into the ring of people to try to disarm the situation - a noble gesture, if a bit foolish because of the disease that was currently ravishing Onibas.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that a few words weren't going to be able to get through to the lot of them, but that was alright. She didn't need words, she had something much better.

The sea of civilians began to fall to their knees as she stalked through them, simultaneously using her magic to ground them and move some aside to form a path that didn't require her to get too close to anyone as a precaution.

Luckily, Riley was a skilled mage, so she was able to juggle spell casts with relative ease, particularly in regard to low level spells - such as increasing the pull of gravity on one person and ignoring the person next to them. The trick was simple, and the people around her, aside Deion and Nikolai, would likely find themselves on their knees as she finally came to join them in the circle.

"Would someone care to tell me what's going on here?"

[Deion Ryder]

It seemed the crowd and the man only grew more agitated. A shame really, Deion was quite prepared to walk away without causing a fuss so long as the crowd and the man could leave the boy alone. He truly was until they ultimately decided that they wanted to blindly aim their rage at someone who simply wanted to help them. It really would be a shame that he'd have to hurt them. Or so he really thought, but surely time would tell what the call truly was. That's when he noticed that the crowd began to go to their knees. He turned to see the wizard saint herself approach them and he smiled.

"Interesting trick, do the people always bow to you?", he asked, making a rather mocking inquiry about her magic. He was very curious about the extent of it, and felt he wasn't seeing the full extent. "No matter, I believe the more pressing matter at hand is to, as you've said, find out whats going on here.", he said as he offered a hand to Nikolai to help him up. "Come up, get up off the ground its not gonna get any better down there.", he said with a smile. "If you could, explain exactly how this came to be.", he added, waiting to see if the boy would take his hand.

I wonder just what happened here, but who knows other than the man and this boy. The man is clearly upset, perhaps angry. But can we really blame just one person? The boy says he was trying to help, I feel sorry for him, he thought.