Roleplay--

Akan's response to her was very confusing. He called his sword a she? She guessed some people named their swords, but always thought that was kind of stupid. It would be like her giving her staff a name. She thought about it for a moment, for before deciding that her staff was called Bill, chuckling to herself slightly.

Still he seemed very certain the sword would be there, she admired the optimism, but given his description of it, it was clearly valuable and would likely be taken at the first instance someone came across it. She didn't say this outloud, as not to disappoint him before they had a chance to look, but hoped he would be right. It was clearly very important to him.

They walked in silencce a while longer until they got within sight of the dropzone. She dropped down to her stomach, motioning for him to follow, and crawled to the tree line to scout the area out. Now that the debris had had time to settle, their view was no longer blocked by dust and smoke as it had been yesterday. Bodies were sprawled throught the rubble; mangled and ruined by the fall, or what came after.

From what she could tell, there was no signs of life. She waited a few minutes in silence, scanning for any sign of movement, but it appeared they were alone. It would be risky going out into the open, but they had come all this way, and she didn't think Akan would stop now.

'Okay,' she said to him in a hushed tone. 'We'll go down together and look for your sword, at the first sign of trouble though, we need to run. Sound good to you?' As she finished speaking she thought she heard something, no louder than a whisper. She whipped her head around in alarm, alert to the possibility of danger. She listened intently for a while but the area was silent. Perhaps she was just on edge she thought, turning back to Akan.

Ceri followed him down the slope and into the rubble. He seemed alert to everything, probably using his hightened senses to listen to things she wasn't even aware of. It reassured her knowing whatever she had heard before was just her imagination. She didn't need hightened senses though, to tell the bodies had already began to decay. The smell of rot and death was strong.

For a brief moment she thought the bodies desrved to be buried, some kind of last respect. Unfortunatly, they didn't have the time or the man power to bury that many, even in a mass grave. The thought of them, baking day after day in the sun, was enough to get her to refocus on why they were there. The more supplies they could get now, the less likely they would have to come back later.

She had been scavenging the ruins for only a few minutes when she noticed Akan motioning for her to come over to him, his eyes alight with wonder. She began to make her way to him but was then signaled not to bother. His expression had changed to one of confusion and maybe even disappointment. She thought better than to ask him about it now, deciding to bring it up later if she remembered.

It seemed that for the most part, anything of value had been taken by their attackers. She had scavenged a few knives and short blades, but nothing of significance. Ceri had come across a flag from the Grey city, and thinking it could be used as a bandage or blanket, picked it up. Hidden underneath was a curved blade in a black and red sheath, intricatly decorated. She chuckled to herself picking up the light blade carefully.

She whistled to get Akan's attention waving the sword above her head. She was unsure if he could tell what she was holding as the had wandered farther apart than she had intended, so she drew the sword in a very exaggerated motion to help him understand. The blade was black steel, with runes in an unfamiliar language running along the blade. She took only a moment to admire the weapon, before going and waving the sword and sheath over her head again.

Far from what she expected, Akan looked pissed. He charged toward her, shouting until he suddenly stopped a few steps from her. She was about to ask what the fuck was going on when she heard a whispery voice speak. Was it speaking? Or had she just imagined it? She looked around but they were alone. Akan had seemed to have calmed himself, if only slightly.

Before she could process all of this, he asked her to put the sword away. She looked down at the blade, puzzled. Had she upset him by taking the sword out? Ceri opened her mouth to speak but was cut of again by the disembodied voice, this time sending chills down her spine. What the fuck? This time though, Akan responded, and asked if she could also here the voice. She looked at him, the down to the sword, then back to him. Were they... talking to the sword?

There was a laugh and then the voice was back again, this time speaking about her in a way that made her sure her previous assumption was correct, before mocking Akan. The corners of her lips curled up as she tried to stop from laughing. Either the comment or her response, set something off in him, and he tried to snatch the sword away from her. She didn't try to react to it but as his hand was about to touch the blade, fire burst from the sword out at him. He reeled back as his hands were scorched, however Ceri had felt nothing, not even a slight rise in tempreture.

The whole situation was insane to her, but she didnt know what to do. Akan was looking at her like she was a nasty bug he had stepped in, ruining his new shoes, (not hard to imagine) and she was holding a talking sword. After falling miles from the sky and surviving with a few cuts and bruises. She would think it was a dream if not for all the pain she had went through the past few days.

While she had been thinking this through Akan and the sword had been having their own conversation. Akan did not seem happy that the sword was choosing her over him for the moment, which she found quiet funny. It wasn't as if she was going to keep the sword. If he had just asked politely she would have handed it back already. Now though, she was enjoying watching him get upset over his talking sword.

The sword addressed her then, asking her name. She was caught off gaurd and forgot herself for a moment. However, before she could reply, the swo- Aldin, said it for her, while producing a warm feeling inside her chest, as if they were some how connecting? As she whispered the words, the blade flashed and more runes appeared on the blade. What was that about? Before she could ask, Aldin thanked her for finding her, before teasing Akan for missing her. Predictibly, Akan denied this.

Laughing she replied 'and here I thought Akan wasn't capable of feeling. It is quiet cute though, now that you mention it.' She shot Akan a shit eating grin.

Ceri laughed at Akan's flustered response. The fae couldn't tell they were just joking with him which made it more funny to her. Aldin addressed her now, commenting she would have liked to have found her before Akan. What did that mean? And wasn't it a bit harsh to say with Akan right there.

His head had snapped to attention, staring in disbelief. After all he had done to rescue Aldin, for her to say that? He responded that Aldin could have me if she wanted, though his heart wasn't in the words. He seemed hurt. The situation was about to become awkward until Aldin, reassured him of his value. She thought it was over until the sword continued, saying that Ceri had 'great things' coming her way, and making Akan promise to protect her.

It was Ceri's turn to be uncomfortable. She didn't need or want a protector. She looked at Akan who was studying her with his golden eyes. What was he thinking? Surely he wouldn't go along with this. He was too prideful. Much to her suprise she was wrong. He held out his hand for the sword, admitting that she didn't need the help but he would do it anyway, to which Aldin praised him. Or atleast as close as she thought Aldin could come to praising him.

She passed the sheath and sword back to Akan, then turned away from him. She wanted space to think, but they were far from camp so turning away was the best she could do for now. 'Well we did what we came to do, lets try to make it back before it gets too dark and we get lost.' She didn't want to think about having to spend a night alone in the woods with Akan and Aldin.

As Akan was responding to her, a howl pierced her ears. She turned back, looking past Akan in the direction the howl had come from. He was also looking for the source of the sound, though apparently even his eyes couldn't find it. She was about to ask him about it when a loe growl rumbled just a few feet away.

Akan moved closer to her, holding one of his knives at the ready. She took a tighter grip on her staff as well, ready to respond if they were attacked. The fae told her to make a run for it and that he would follow but she hesitated. Would running really be the best choice? Perhaps they should stand their ground and scare them off. Another growl, this time from the other side. She looked all around her, but in the dim evening light, all she could see were the wolves shadows, dancing between the wrecked buildings around them.

Aldin chimed in, letting them know they would die if they didn't run. With Akan looking at her, she nodded to him, then turned and sprinted to where they had emerged from the trees, hoping that Akan was still behind her. She did her best to navigate the ruins quickly, jumping over bodies and stone as fast as she could. Within thirty seconds, with her heart pounding in her chest, she made it to the tree line running through it without stopping for another 300 meters or so.

When she finally came to a stop she put her hands on her knees and took a moment to catch her breath. When she finally looked up, she realised that she was alone. Had they got Akan? If they did, why wouldn't he call for help? Should she go back? These thoughts were racing through her head until she heard rustling from the way she had come. 'Akan?' she called out, unsure of if it was him. She edged closer, reaching an arm out to pull some of the branches out of the way when she was lunged.

In that moment all she could see were snarling teeth and furious red eyes, her arm being caught in the animal's jaw.