Ashes to Ashes: The Decaying Nation

Uh.. if you need a recap I'll let you see it but we haven't hardly posted in this yet so yeah.

Diz looked up wearily up at the man struggling to get up. "Depends on whose asking." She didn't trust people, especially her own kind. Cautiously she readied her knife and moved her cloak just enough so he could see the old king's seal on the front of it. Soon she will know if he is friend or foe.

Cassius felt a new presence near by and approached it quickly. Could it be, another cursed being? Lightly he observed her/it, he wasn't quite sure.

"Just a simple man, that's who's asking." Iren was surprised to see a familiar crest on the apparel of the woman, whom he could now identify as someone from his own race. "Y'know, you could get into a lot of trouble if someone caught you like that back in the homeland." He looked at her with a mischievous, wicked smile. "Lucky for you however, we're not in the homeland." He dropped the smile. "Besides, I'm not one to cheer for the almighty and great King Colubra." He let out a sigh. "And in the distance, I actually mistook you for a Halysian, oh well. It would be rude to just discriminate, so I'll ask again, can I just be on my way, or do you need any help?" Iren couldn't believe how stupid he was to mistake this woman for a Halysian, and he didn't even want to think about how much time he had wasted tailing her.

Diz hesitated a bit before nodding slightly. "It seems.. I'm a very formatable hunter. I haven't caught anything in days." She stood up slowly and looks around. "Our people have helped ruin these lands.. I am hoping to find something better farther into this place.." She knew her only hope for her country lies in finding a leader, a king, to lead the rebellion and the Halysian's to overthrow king Colubra..

"Something better?" Iren looked at her slightly puzzled. What could you possibly find out here? Other than a few survivors at least... "Well, I can't exactly help you out with searching, at least not without knowing what exactly you're looking for. But, the least I can do is this." He threw a pouch to the young woman. "It's some rations to keep you from keeling over, don't worry, it's safe." He relaxed a bit now that he could see that this woman might not be of harm. "Will you need a bodyguard or escort, or will you be fine from hereon in?" Regardless of the answer, Iren was going to venture on into the inner regions of Halysis, but he was curious on talking with someone else who felt culpable of the current state of Halysis who wasn't with the his guild.

Diz took the rations and bit into a small piece of bread. "I wouldn't mind the company, but are you willing to venture into the unknown regions of this country?" If the king was alive, he wouldn't be close to civilization, he would be somewhere far away; hopefully recovering from his battles. She takes another small bite. "It'd be handy to have another with me anyway. People keep mistaking me for a Halysian and attacking me." She released her knife feeling much more at ease than earlier.

Orphelia listened in on their conversation. She was little more than an insubstantial mist, hovering by a nearby tree. Their words stirred nostalgic feelings deep within her. A war? Soilders marching? Screams? Fire? No... She couldn't remember. The feeling, and half remembered scenes, faded back into nothing. Movement caught her attention. It was the other presence she had sensed earlier, coming closer. She felt no fear towards the other creature, only curiosity. She drifted towards it, extending a tendril of mist, as though it were a hand, toward it. As she came into contact with the other, a sense of understanding flooded through her. It...no...he was the same as her.

Cassius looked at the mist, a slight smile peaking through the stitches. She is the same, but.. it obvious she didn't retain her memory. He touched her hand and points at the two beings that are talking. There is a way to communicate with other beings like him but he couldn't quite remember. How do I use the mind thingy again

He chuckled a bit at the woman's statement. "Well, I sure did mistake you, be glad I didn't attack you." He looked at her up and down, wondering to himself if she'll be an issue to protect. "Oh, and don't worry about me, after all, I have my own business here." With any luck, maybe I can find any surviving Halysians... "So....first off, where exactly are we going to? And second, may I at least know your name?" He dropped the small sack he had been carrying and revised his inventory, he had a pouch or two of rations left along with one canteen of water. "Hm...Might not be enough, especially for two people, I'll probably have to go and scavenge soon..." He muttered to himself.

Diz noticed him looking over and sighed. "If you think its going to be difficult to protect me you're wrong. I've made it this far on my own haven't I?" She pulled out a map and unfolded it for him to see. "I am going here." She points to what looks like a forest in the northern part of halysis. "Many of the soldiers refuse to go because they think its haunted. It sounds like a good place to go to find... " pauses a moment as she decides to keep her motives to herself. "A place of refuge from this corrupted world." She wasn't sure if she could trust him with her plan yet. They seem to have similar goals but with the advenians crawling everywhere she couldn't be sure. "My name is Diz by the way... who are you?"

"A pleasure to meet you Diz, the name's Nier." Iren replied, without a hint that he was lying. Although he had offered his services to the woman he still kept in mind that he knew nothing about her, and thus, there was no reason for him to tell her any truth about himself. "Well, it seems like we've got a bit of a journey ahead of us. So long as you're not bringing me to my death, I'll be fine with the trip. After all, it'll take a bit more than a few ghost tales to scare me off."

Diz eyed him and smiled putting the map away. "They are more than just stories, but I assure you I would die before you." She sighs softly and slings her bow over her shoulder. "Nier.. we should get moving.. maybe I can tell you more about my dream." She looks into the ruins of the village. "One day the war will be over.. when it does, will we ever be able recover?" She covered her footprints and started walking. "Ready to go?"

Iren nodded. He caught up with her and started to walk by her side. "Hm...That's a tough question to answer, though. If our homeland can reconcile with the surviving Halysians, we might be able to recover. However, we'll never be able to fully recover to the time before the bloodshed. The scars of war have sunk in far to greatly for us to recover from it quickly. It'll probably take some time for everyone to recover IF the war ends." Iren was skeptical on the war ending, despite his own wishes for it to end. "But, this is just the opinion of one skeptical man, so don't take my opinion to heart." After walking for a bit, his curiosity of this woman bit at him. "So, what exactly did you do before coming here?"

A shiver of surprise went through Orphelia as the other's words echoed through her head. I...I heard that! She thought, drifting closer to the other. W-what... Who are you?

Diz kept her eyes scanning around them as she walked. "I was a hunter, I sold the animals and parts to them to local shops around my home. Well, when my family would let me out of the house. After my father died I ended up on my own.." She paused a moment and shot an arrow into a bush. "Soon after is when the war heated up in that area and..." She walks over and retrieves her arrow from the eye of a small rabbit she caught. "... it was attacked." She frowns lightly at how small the rabbit is. "Naturally I decided to escape and get away from the fighting, but it seemed to follow me." She tethers the rabbit to her bag and starts walking again. "What about you?"

Cassius turned to his physical form in front of the new being. "I am.... Cassius. And you are?"

Orphelia returned to her own phisical form. She was standing with her hand touching Cassius' shoulder. My name... My name is....Ophelia. Orphelia... The name felt strange in her mind. Once again it stirred those vague, distant memories. She tried to grasp onto the images but, just like last time, they eluded her and quickly faded away.

Iren looked at her with a slightly confused look on his face. "What about me? Well, I was a mere traveling showsman. I'd go from town to town and amaze children and adults alike as I showed how some of the wildlife nearby could be tamed. Of course with the war going on, being a nomad was a bit dangerous, and then the fighter went to the area I was in and I ran out quick." He shrugged as he finished telling his tale filled with facts and fibs. In a way, he felt bad and sympathized with Diz, as he knew how it felt to be left alone in the world. He looked at the rabbit that was hanging from her bag. "Nice shot, seems you weren't lying when you said you were a hunter." Suddenly, he remembered the amount of rations that were left. "Although, I'm not sure by how much a small rabbit could extend our remaining provisions..."

Diz sighs lightly looking at the rabbit. "I'm catching everything I can find... Maybe if we find a river I can fish.." She sniffed the air and lightly touched the ground. "The soil is still damp, it either has rained recently or there is some source of water near by.'' She couldn't help but feel he wasn't telling her everything, but was it really her business what he does as long as he isn't against her.

Cassius watched her aura move and flicker. "That's good that you can remember your name.. Do you remember your life at all? He couldn't help but feel bad for her. He retained all of his memories while she seemed to struggle just to remember her name.

Reaching into the sack slung over his back, Iren took out a canteen and sipped a bit of the water in it. "Well, that'd be our cue to investigate if there truly is a source of water, wouldn't you agree?" He closed the canteen and shook it a bit as he spoke. As far as Iren could tell, there was about a quarter of water left in the canteen, which obviously wasn't enough to get both of them by in the journey. "After all, it'd be terrible if we ran out of water in mid-journey only to realize there's no source of drinkable water nearby." Just as Iren was about to put the canteen back in the sack, he stopped and looked at Diz. As much as he didn't like to diminish his own supply of water, Iren thought that putting it away now would probably make him the victim of this woman's ire, something that he didn't want to deal with. Hesitantly, he offered the canteen to Diz. "Here, it'd be rude of me to just drink it all myself."

Diz looked at the canteen and smiled softly at him. "Don't worry about me, I have my own." Pulls out her own that is only half empty. "I appreciate the gesture though." She looked into the woods and moved quietly through the bushes. "Should be this way."

Orphelia tilted her head to the side, trying hard to concentrate. No, it was just too hard. She shook her head. Nothing. I can't remember anything. A part of her envied Cassius his memories, but mostly she felt full of a deep feeling of apathy. Everything just felt so empty and pointless that she just couldn't bring herself to care about much else. Still her curiosity remained unabated. W-what are you? What am I?

Iren nodded to Diz. "Alright then, if you ever need more though don't hesitate to ask." He put the canteen back into the sack and swiftly followed Diz into the forest. "Here's hoping to a lake." He said, "Or maybe something we could eat." Iren tried to wave the thought of fruits or possible meat out of his head as they appeared in his mind.

Diz walked faster as a slight rushing sound could be heard. Could she really suddenly be this fortunate? She forgot to watch her step and nearly fell straight into the stream. It was only maybe 3 feet wide but the water looked fresh and clean. There may even be some animals around to hunt. "What luck...."

Cassius thought a moment and mustered a smile behind his stitched mouth. [/I] we are Casselta's... we are neither living nor dead.. I think. [/I]