Keeping a low profile. Yeah, let's see how long that lasts. (Needs active RPers)

Michaela sat down in between Taxtm and Roskoe. She didn't really like sitting so far forward, but she would endure the assembly. Roskoe's leaning on her seat was a bit comforting though. As shy as she was, she didn't really like feeling alone. She sat, not saying anything, and wondering what this assembly would hold exactly. Yes, there was a possibility of recruitment; but what else would be said or done? Her thoughts were interrupted by a murmured "hello." She looked up to see a girl standing in front of her. She smiled slightly.
Hey. she replied softly.

shadow watched as some new girl talked to the girl beside the kid he was watching. he would get over there by the time the assembly ended and pull the wanted boy aside. but now it was starting the lights began to dim and a boy beside the blond girl,why did she seem so familiar?, beside the kid, what was his name again....taxtm?...... was getting a spit ball ready but was caught by a teacher and dragged out by the ear past shadow. and as the seat was opened a teacher was pushing the other girl into it before taking her own seat. shadow felt his limbs falling into their places as he got ready for what he knew would come.....

OOC: Okay... I know these long posts are getting annoying, but please bear with me for one more. After that point, I’ll be able to do smaller posts, and the RP will actually be able to get underway properly. Consider this still the beginning though, like an introduction to the story ahead, or like the first chapter. Anyway, this’ll be pretty much the last time I’ll be posting like this. After this post, the RP will go on depending on how EVERYONE posts. I won’t be driving it like I have been doing anymore. Sorry again for the long posts, as well as how I’ve been “driving” the story so far. Hopefully, everyone can kinda understand why. This RP is intended to last, so please bear with it just one more time. Get comfortable, and grab a snack, because this sucker’s a doozy. Here we go.

IC:



Taxtm was panting like he'd been in the hot sun for hours. God, why did it feel like it was getting hotter in here? Taxtm knew that the body heat from everyone in the room would add up and make it hot, but this... this was ridiculous! He looked around, and noticed that a lot of other shifted humals seemed to be feeling it too. So... it's not just me then. He thought to himself. What the heck was going on?

The lights began to dim, making it a little more bearable. A spotlight fell on the main stage and the podium, and seconds later, a large man in a solder's uniform walked out on stage. He... looked very familiar to Taxtm. The large solder made his way to the podium, and signaled for someone to lower a large projector screen. The lights by now were dimmed completely, but there was just enough light so that everyone could still see a little bit of everything around them. Many of the students began applauding the solder, but a majority of the crowd sat in silence, either because they didn't care, or because they knew that, if they boo'd him, they'd be dragged down like the two students moments earlier.

"Students of Ayashi Academy," He began. "For years, our recruiters have been coming here to get you young minds to come to the aid of your country, and your Queen. This year, we shall do the same, but at the same time, we have something special planned as well."

"Your duty to the throne is this: serve your country and Queen; fight against those who would dare defy her and disrupt our very way of life." At that, he seemed to start searching through the crowd for a moment. his eyes passed over the front row, and for a split second, his eyes met Taxtm's. He continued scanning the crowd, but in that split instant that their eyes had met, Taxtm had suddenly remembered exactly where he'd seen the man before, and he had a difficult time supressing the growl in his throat. But, he had to. He REALLY couldn't afford to draw this guy's attention.

This guard... was the one who had gotten away that day, way back. He and his partner had barged in, and threatened Taxtm and his family, and then... the other guard had pulled out a gun, and Taxtm had been by the sink full of water... and... he'd had to use his ability to defend his family. But, this guy had gotten away, and reported the incident to the higher ups, and Taxtm had ended up with a bounty on his head for it. He'd had to leave his family because of this guard to protect them, and now, the bastard was here trying to recruit students to do the same things to other families! It made Taxtm feel sick just thinking about it. He kept quiet though, and listened as the man continued.

"By becoming part of the national armed forces, you will all be in charge of a variety of duties. One, which I would like to put extra emphasis on right now, is the capturing of wanted criminals." That REALLY caught Taxtm's attention. He watched as the man on stage began flipping through slides on the projector screen that showed various local wanted posters. He held his breath, trying his best to think of a way out of the auditorium before his could be shown. But... it never appeared in the list. He was extremely relieved, and thought for a second that he could relax. But then, the man on stage got an evil smirk on his face, and began to speak again.



"The next criminal, I would like everyone to pay special attention to. In my years of service, I have encountered hundreds of criminals, young and old. But, this one stands out in my memory." He began pacing on the stage. "A while back, my EX-partner and I, gained intelligence of a humal who a local farmer of the area had said possessed abilities that were a potential threat to society. We decided to investigate, and my partner and I found out just how dangerous they were."

Taxtm clenched his jaw, and had to use every bit of self restraint he could to keep from snarling at the guard. But, he couldn't hold it in entirely, and, for a split second, he'd let out a low growl, before quickly suppressing it. But, the guard took notice, and looked to the source, and right at Taxtm. His eyes narrowed, and his smile widened. He stopped pacing, and stood facing the center of the room, but his eyes stayed on the black and tan wolf in the front row.

"Upon investigation of the suspect's home, we found him holed up in the kitchen. We tried to apprehend him for questioning, but he resisted. And then..." His smile faded, replaced with a look of disgust and hatred. "He drew a weapon out of a nearby sink, and murdered my partner!" His voice rose to a yell at the end, and it echoed throughout the auditorium, followed by dead silence. The solder regained his composure, and continued. "The thing about this weapon, was that it was a large icicle that he'd created then and there out of nothing but the water in the sink. And as soon as he'd done away with my partner, he came after me, and I barely escaped with my life. By the time reinforcements had arrived, he'd escaped, and his family was taken in for questioning. Even though they were released later by the city's order's there is still no doubt in my mind that they aided in his escape. We went back the next day to question them again under the Queen's official orders, and discovered that they had abandoned their home, and gone on the run from the law."

That news at least made Taxtm feel a little better. At least they got away in time. he thought.

"The trail on this criminal went cold for a long time after that. We'd gotten one or two reports from various "voluntary" sources that they'd seen a wolf running from the house soon after the time of the incident, and another wolf running after it. With this information, we deduced that the criminal is a wolf humal, and we had those who'd seen him give us a description of the wolf they'd seen." He pushed a button to go to the next slide, and a picture of what looked like a black and white dog appeared on the screen. It looked like it had been drawn by a five-year-old, and a few snickers could be heard around the auditorium. "SILENCE!!!!" The man yelled out. The room was dead quiet immediately. He grabbed his collar, and readjusted it, before speaking again.

"Now, a moment ago, I said we had a little special something planned today. After a long time of searching, one of our senior officials, who was on vacation during recent weeks up until now, happened to come across this criminal the other day.”

Taxtm froze. He hadn’t met anyone in the past few weeks… except… His blood ran cold, despite the heat in the room. He began to shake.



“Upon meeting the criminal, she managed to conceal her true identity from him, and gained his trust. Then, she managed to alert us of his appearance. And, after some careful manipulation, we’ve managed to lead him here today. Now, I’d like her to come forward and take a bow!”

The guard on stage was watching in pure delight at the obvious pain and shock that showed on Taxtm’s face. His smile only made Taxtm’s despair worse. This had all been planned. It was a trap set up by the Queen’s solders, and he’d fallen right into it. Pieces of the puzzle began falling into place. The reason she had been so kind to him and why she’d been able to get him in this place: to gain his trust, and because of her high status within the Queen’s forces. The reason this guy was here rather than a normal recruiter, and why the assembly had been pushed up: to personally capture Taxtm himself after not having done so before, and to give him less time to escape or make any move whatsoever. And the reason it was so hot in this room: to evaporate any moisture in the air that Taxtm could use to fight back with.

The guard raised his arm towards left-stage, and the spotlight fell on the old woman. She had a look of satisfaction on her face that made Taxtm sick to his stomach with nausea. She walked out to the center, and took her spot next to the guard, staring out at the crowd.

Many of the students in the crowd, the same who had been cheering for the guard earlier, began applauding the woman. But, unlike before, a number of students who had been quiet before, began yelling out in protest, and actually booing the two on stage. Taxtm didn’t hear any of it though, because his mind was numb with despair. But then, his despair began to turn into rage. Rage at the guard, at the Queen, at the people in the crowd who were applauding them, and most of all, at the old woman who had played him like a freaking instrument. He began to think of what his next move would be.

He saw the dimmed room lighten slightly, and he turned around to see a number of guards entering into the auditorium now. He had to think quick. He looked back towards the stage, but his eyes caught sight of something red on the wall right next to the stage. It was the perfect out to all this: The fire alarm!

“And now,” The guard on stage spoke, “to finish up this assembly, I’d like to reveal the face of the criminal among us, and I ask for everyone’s assistance in his capture.” Taxtm jumped down out of his seat, and ran towards the fire alarm.



The guard saw this, and, unaware of what Taxtm was really running for, taunted him. “What’s the matter, Sermax? Leaving so soon?” He laughed as he pressed a button for the projector, changing the image on the screen. It showed a wanted poster with both the cruddy drawing from earlier, and a picture of Taxtm, surrounded by his family. All of them were smiling in the family portrait, but everyone else’s faces had been scratched out, and Taxtm’s had been circled in red. It was yet another insult added to injury for the humal seeing it out of the corner of his eye. The image only showed for a second though, because at that moment, Taxtm had reached the fire alarm, and, grabbing the handle in his jaw, set it off. The alarm sounded, and water from the sprinklers in the ceiling rained down on everything in the auditorium, shorting out the projector, and all electrical equipment except the lights.

“NO!” The guard on stage yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the sudden chaos that engulfed the room. Within moments, the solders at the back of the auditorium were rushing forward, but they were being blockaded by many of the students opposed to the Queen and the guards, who fought back against them. As for the students whose allegiances lied in the Queen, they began to attack those who dared to interfere with the guards. The auditorium became a battleground, as students fought against other students, and the guards fought their way towards the front. During the madness, screams could be heard as various innocent students were beaten or trampled, either by the guards trying to get through, or by their fellow students who were at war with each other. Among these screams, Taxtm, who still stood by the fire alarm, could hear yells from various places in the crowd. “For OPAZ!” Some yelled. Others, “For the Queen!” Taxtm ignored them all, and looked up on stage, seeing the guard jump off, and disappear into the crowd. The old woman, on the other hand, stepped backward towards the far-side of the stage where she had come from, fear written all over her face as her eyes met Taxtm’s while he snarled at her from across the room. His focus was entirely on her, even with the surrounding madness.

OOC: Hopefully, this'll be a chance for everyone to let loose and show what their chars are made of. Let's get this started!

shadow watched as the non verbal abuse of taxtm went on and finally the boy pulling the fire alarm. shadow smiled "resourceful" he slid through the crowd smiling as he heard the call "FOR OPAZ"
there ahead the guard was slipping away, and shadow was on him his sword shifted into dagger form so as not to slice anything but it's target, the guard went ridged at the feel of the blade under his adam's apple
"oh no i am really quiet disappointed, me of all people left out of that slide or does the queen still want it all hush hush about the fact 'we' even exist"
he spun the guard around to look at him "y...you...." but before he could say anymore the blade slid across the man's throat and he wiped it on his coat. he hated the wasteful kill of some one loyal to their cause but it couldnt be helped as the man sagged shadow made a move to find the boy...

Roskoe watched, his eye lids heavy. He sighed every now and then. Then the man up front talked about one of the students, Tax shot up at that moment. Roskoe shot up as well, at the excitement. He barked and motioned Tax to follow, Tax ran for the fire alarm. "Taxtm!! Follow me!" Roskoe started running for the exit. He bolted out of the doors and towards the dorms. "Taxtm! Hurry! Can't you shift? Wolves can run faster than humans, or humals! You can shift to run faster!" Roskoe turned his head back and yelled. Was Taxtm following? Roskoe had to look...

Michaela politely nodded as the girl in front of her replied. She didn't pay much more attention to her, for the lights dimmed and the assembly began. The more it went on, the more the unease grew in her. She wasn't sure whether it was the heart or still the fact that she could get recruited. Either way, she didn't want to be where she was.

She noticed both Taxtm and the girl beside her growing uneasy as well. Were they as uncomfortable as she? She realized she hadn't really been listening and turned her attention to the man speaking to see what she was missing.

The man was talking about a criminal he had encountered a while ago. She shivered slightly at how he told the story. She was sure the whole story wasn't being told. She also was rather upset that humals were always questioned so quickly. She wondered how she had been so lucky to avoid "questioning" so far. Sweat slid down her cheeks, from both the heart and nervousness.

She looked up as Taxtm got up and headed for the wall. "What's the matter, Sermax? Leaving so soon?" She looked up, disgusted at the way the man spoke to Taxtm. Then Taxtm's face appeared on the projector. Taxtm was the criminal the man had been talking about? They had trapped him here? She shook her head, not quite sure how to react. She didn't have much time to think before the fire alarm was set off and the whole school broke out in a riot.

Michaela stood up and looked around. Roskoe had disappeared now and everyone was shouting and fighting. The small elf girl backed away from the fighting crowd, unsure what to do. Should she go after Taxtm and Roskoe? Or stay and fight? Making up her mind, she closed her eyes and tried to block out everything. She was soon able to figure out where the talking dog and humal were. She opened her eyes and wasted no time in shifting into a shimmery white winged wolf.

She launched herself into the air, soaring over the crowd. She was headed for the door, but was cut off by an angry bunch of bird humals and shifters. "You're a friend of Taxtm's!" a large eagle exclaimed. "I bet the guard would love to get their hands on you just as much as on him!" Michaela snarled and snapped at the eagle. The bird humal recoiled and she soared to a different door than the one Roskoe had disappeared through.

Michaela landed and ran outside. Locating Roskoe, she quickly glanced over her shoulder to be sure she wasn't followed. Once she was positive she wasn't, she ran toward the dorm, finding Roskoe on the way. Unfortunately, she hadn't checked long enough. A puma was suddenly running beside her, proclaiming his loyalty to the queen. She turned toward him, growling fiercely. If there was anything that could get this shy elf out of her shell, it was a fight. She hadn't known that until today.

"You think you can beat me? Ha!" I don't think I know. Instantly, she was on the large cat's back, biting him wherever she could get a hold of his flesh. Roskoe! Help Tax get out of here! she exclaimed before biting into the cat's flesh once again. The puma roared in pain and threw her off. Her wings kept her from being flung to the ground and she simply soared above the puma, taunting him. Here kitty. The cat leaped into the air, swatting at her. Perfect.

She dove down straight toward his throat. She grabbed hold of it between her jaws and clamped down on it. He fought only for a couple moments and then fell limp. She panted as she looked over her accomplishment. She looked up to make sure no one else was coming. A couple smaller animals had followed, but they were all scattering after seeing her take down the puma single-handedly.

students that had seen what shadow had done now moved from his way as he made his way out blood spatted on his face and hair giving him an evil blood thirsty look. when he reached those who had not seen what he had done at first got in his way but with in seconds scrambled away as he did two things, firstly his dagger grew 5 feet longer and secondly he began to pull in all shadow's in the dim lit room. as the ground became black with liquid shadows that separated both the loyalists of the queen and his own OPAZ followers. the black liquid slowed them down as it grew higher and higher. the single place no shadows resided was where his own should have been.....

he made his way outside of the assembly room and the shadows spread out searching for those who had both spoken or sat with taxtm, and of course taxtm himself.....

shadow closed his eyes and images flickered beneath his lids as he saw a map of the school in his mind. and glowing points representing those he searched for and through his mind he guided his shadows to attach to theirs.
his eyes flickered open as he found himself seeing through less than ten shadow's.
he lifted an image of himself out of it and spoke the same words and sent an image into the liquid fire of shadows he summoned within the hands of his mirror images.

"all of you trust me or not but please meet me here" he showed the image of where he had left his pack "i am sending this image to more than one of you and if i was an enemy it would be to your advantage to kill me if i turned out to be one now please if you hurry i can get us out of here" he bowed his head slightly as he once again drew within himself again leaving their shadows to be.
"well it was cheesy but who am i for speeches?" he shrugged and made his way to the set destination.....

That old woman... was going to pay for this! Taxtm knew that was a certainty. But, she'd escaped behind the stage, and more than likely, she was gone. But... Taxtm would find her, and he'd confront her. He took advantage of the chaos to shift and put on his pants. He didn't have time to dress completely at the moment. He heard Roskoe yell for him to follow behind him up the aisle towards the exit. Looking at the spot where the lady had disappeared, he spoke outloud. "I'll find and deal with you later." He said, before following behind the dog.

A few rows from the exit, a guard and a few students allied with him came from the rows of seats, cutting Taxtm off from Roskoe. He stopped, and clenched his teeth. "I really don't have time for you bastards!" He shouted, raising his arm in front of him. He concentrated on the water around him, pulling it together into a liquid mass. He hadn't done this in a while, and he had to really think about what he was doing to make it work right. Gather it together... slow the particles into a solid... and shape it! As he thought this, the water mass hardened into a block of ice, and then it compressed itself and formed two objects: a long knife, which he drew into his left hand, the blade facing outward, and a one-handed sword, which he drew into his right. The ice against his wet hands hurt, and he knew he needed to do this quickely since he wasnt wearing his gloves for insulation. He thrusted his sword at the guard, stabbing him in the arm. The guard screamed in pain, and fell to the ground. Taxtm pulled the sword out, and glared at the students. They backed away, stunned, and he ran past them to follow Roskoe again. Since he was done with the ice weapons, he quickly got rid of them as he ran out of the auditorium. The ice warmed to a hotter temperature, and Taxtm held the warm liquid around his hands to warm them as well.

He saw Roskoe ahead of him, heading towards the dorms. "Taxtm! Hurry! Can't you shift? Wolves can run faster than humans, or humals! You can shift to run faster!" The dog shouted as he looked back at Taxtm. Still thinking of how the old woman had betrayed him, he questioned whether he should follow Roskoe. He stood there for a moment, releasing the water and letting it splash to the ground. How do I know this isn't just another part of their plan? Everything else has been, so why not this guy too? If I shift now, I may not be able to defend myself as well. But... if I stay like this... I'll just be slowed down.

Just then, what looked like a white wolf with wings landed near Roskoe. She stood for a second, before a large puma attacked her, yelling that he was acting in the name of the queen. She pounced onto it, and yelled to the dog. "Roskoe! Help Tax get out of here! Her voice... Michaela? Taxtm was astonished at how she had gone from the quiet, shy girl he'd met a while ago, to the wolf in front of him. Michaela was thrown off of the puma, but she used her wings to stay airborn, and hovered above where her attacker was, and when he jumped at her, she dove down, and clamped her jaw around it's throat. Within moments, it was dead.

That settled it for Taxtm. If she was on the same side as Roskoe, and she was fighting against any force of the queen, much less killing one of her devotees, then there was slim to no chance that this was part of the plot that had been set. But... why had the plot been set in the first place? Taxtm was wanted, sure, but the bounty on his head was small, especially in comparison to other criminals. Why had they all gone through so much trouble to capture him like they had? It hardly made any sense. While he wondered about it, he began to shift to his wolf form again to follow Roskoe faster. But, he'd forgotten to get rid of his clothes, and his pants now hung off of his now wolf body. He kicked them off, and grabbed the soaked jeans in his jaw, before starting towards Roskoe.

Suddenly, Taxtm felt an odd feeling. Like... someone was there, watching him, but at the same time, not there. It caught him off guard, and he actually jumped back in surprise, dropping his pants, when a figure rose out of a shadow in front of him. He looked over to Michaela and Roskoe, and saw that the same figure stood in front of them as well. But... something seemed odd about this figure. He didn't know how to describe it besides... It didn't look solid. It looked like it wasn't really there; like it was an illusion or something. It was just something about it that gave it that kinda look. Taxtm reached out a paw to test it, and watched as it went through the figure. Well... that's odd enough. Taxtm thought nervously as his suspicion was confirmed. Then, the figure spoke.

"All of you: trust me or not, please meet me here." The figure showed an image of a location Taxtm didn't recognize. "I am sending this image to more than one of you. And if I was an enemy it would be to your advantage to kill me if I turned out to be one. Now please, if you hurry I can get us out of here."

The figure bowed, and disappeared into the shadows on the ground. Taxtm didn't know what to think. "Wh-what the hell was that thing? He thought out loud. The noise increasing from the direction they'd come from broke his train of though. From the sound of things, it was getting bad back there. But... why? Taxtm had gotten out of there. If the guards were really after him, they should have stormed out to pursue the three of them. This just didn't add up. Unless... maybe he wasn't their only target. But then, why had they singled him out? What was all this really for? Taxtm's head was spinning now. What the hell was going on?

Pen stood up quietly as the assembly went on. Edging her way to the exit, she saw that there was someone blocking it and sat back down, her eyes looking for a way out. Something seemed wrong.

Suddenly the room burst into confusion. Pen, darting sideways to dodge various things, had no choice but to shift. her huge winged wolf form knocked several people over, and she rose up on her hind legs and beat her wings to keep a guard at bay. Turning, she swiftly darted through the crowd to dodge everything and try and find a fast way out.

OOC: what is going on?!

(if you dont know whats going on try and read this rp isnt that fast going and it is long but a good read, and majestic can you please realize we only have guns. NOTHING ELSE so no helicopters and think this is a small group of soldiers not an army the had no way of knowing how this would turn out. SO please edit your post or we will have to delete it.)

Michaela hadn't noticed the shadow following her, but she did notice the figure forming in front of her. She took a step back, surprised and wondering if this was an enemy getting ready to attack her. Looking around, she noticed a similar figure had formed in front of her friends. She looked back as the thing began to talk.

I don't know what it was. But I think it's worth a shot. Shall we go? She started walking toward the location she had seen and then stopped, glancing over her shoulder at Roskoe, Taxtm, and Radiah. Were they going to come? She decided to stay where she was and wait for the others' responses before continuing on. She didn't want to leave them behind and also didn't want to go alone. Just in case this really was an enemy waiting to attack them.

OOC: MW, Tax's outside the auditorium with Roskoe and Michaela. Are you sure you read the other posts up to that point?

OOC:(Light:Coa is unable to read long posts atm, so ANYONE CAN POST!!! *twitches*)

shadow sat rummaging through his bag waiting.
his back hurt with the tree sticking into his back.
he had to have them somewhere, but the question was did he have enough?
his hands touched the silver and he tugged, producing 3 necklaces.
he placed them beside his left leg and rummages some more.
he looked up after finding more, and waited wondering if anyone would come.

Michaela began walking away, when she turned back towards them. "I don't know what it was. But I think it's worth a shot. Shall we go?" Taxtm shook his head, getting rid of the thoughts that swarmed his mind. "Uh, yeah, sure." he replied, picking up his clothes again in his jaw and starting forward. Then, he heard gun-shots from behind. Startled yet again, he dropped his clothes from his mouth. The sound echoed across the campus, and sounded like they had come from the auditorium. So, they brought guns too... this is really getting bad. Whatever their real goal is, we need to get out of here fast. he thought. "Alright! No time to stand around. Let's get going! Lead the way!" He said, before grabbing his clothes again and beginning to run to follow the others.

Roskoe motioned Miceala and Taxtm to come. "Follow me, we can go to him." He said and ran off towards the dude that had told them to meet up with him. Roskoe ran to him, leading his friends.

shadow smiled as the three approached and in seconds was on his feet.
he gave them a slight bow pulling off his toque to show his ears.
"ah my fellows and the lady" he winked.
"you'll be wondering who i am....." he said standing tall once again.
"you can all call me shadow." she gave a grin" anyone know of me?" grinning he looked at each of them.

Um, yeah, sure. Michaela nodded at Taxtm's response and then looked back ahead to make sure she didn't run into anyone, friend or foe. She jumped at the sound of gunshots and spun around. Everyone seemed to be okay, but this was going from bad to worth. Alright! No time to stand around. Let's get going! Lead the way!

Follow me, we can go to him. She looked toward Roskoe. She trusted him, and so followed him.

I wonder why this guy wants to meet us... He came into view a couple moments later, leaning against a tree. She slowed down, ending up behind Taxtm. Even in winged wolf form, she didn't really feel that comfortable around new people. And the adrenaline had worn off.

Ah my fellows and the lady. You'll be wondering who I am.... You can all call me Shadow. Anyone know of me? She moved closer to Taxtm.

It's nice to meet you Shadow.. she said quietly. She forced a small smile in response to his grin.