The Exit Option, Open Topic

[Kinjozu]

Confusion traced the namekian boy's face as he woke in the night once more. He surged upward after leaning on the tree, and looked lost. The night sky was filled will stars throughout the plain, and the moon was glowing like never before. Looking into the boy's eyes reflected the light of the moon and the highlighted stream of gleaming water that happened to be trickling downstream, seeming endless.

The boy checked his surroundings and stood up, feeling thirsty. He picked up his holster and strapped it against his chest, swinging the attached spear to his back. The white suit of his also seemed shadowless in the brightly lit sky. However, noticing his antenna drooping, the green boy knew the water was needed. He kneeled down toward the stream and reached in, hands cupped. Upon taking the water up to his mouth, he noticed a reflection of himself. Nothing seemed strange about it until he almost looked away. A flash seemed to strike the boys mind, and he witnessed a beast looking figure with green skin. He couldn't tell who it was, but it frightened him, making him drop the water he was holding.

This sudden, strange effect caused the boy to simply dunk his canteen into the water and fill it. He took a swig from this container, and then wiped his wet hands over his face to cool his body down. After his face dried up, he opened his eyes once again and looked up toward the outer space. The vast, depth is what compelled the boy to explore even more. He only looked to the sky in attempt to escape the reason for being denied access into his village. The prophecy of his transformation...

As the youngster stood up after kneeling for so long, he stretched. It ade his muscles expand, stretching it's mass, and once released, the muscles loosened, taking normal form. This whole process let the boy's inner energy flow better, and also felt good. Deciding it'd be best to travel during the night, the little namekian closed his canteen and let it hang from his brown sash. He finally picked his feet up, letting one stride after another into the vast, opened prairie. The stream seemed like the smartest route, due to need for hydration.

[Tycho]

Even after going back to his old life and working the job he was expected to for several years Tyler just couldn't get the urge to be alone, with only blowing grass and open sky surrounding him, out of his head. After trying to take short vacations to isolated places Tyler found that he simply couldn't live like the rest of the world, he had to be in a simpler place where he wouldn't be bothered by the mad rush of the world around him. So, his mind made up, he left Loria another good-bye note and once again called in a favor from an employee who owed him to get himself lost once more. The west seemed the wrong way for him to head this time so he stayed closer to home than intended and had himself dropped into the Parries on a warm night lit by a bright full moon.

Far away from the tamed fields where much of the world's grain is grown he can feel the thrill of being alone again after so much time spent with others in the city. Taking in a deep breath the adventurer can almost feel the expanse filling him with energy. Like waking from a dream the memory of the city seems to fade as a warm feeling fills him and the ways of his old master flow back to him. In this state he doesn't even realize he has started to walk across the endless flatness towards a small stream that flows as clear as crystal.

While his feet carry him along Tyler only half notices the tall grass passing him by and the long howl of a coyote baying at the moon some distance away, instead he notices the energy as it plays through his body. Stopping he allows the feeling to overwhelm him and soon his aura flares out in a sharp burst of white that flattens the grass for many yards around him. The sudden burst snaps him back to his senses and he quickly scans the area for signs of anybody who might have seen his display; failing to notice the namekian boy as he does so.

[Kinjozu]

(ooc: You have to remember that raging auras aren't too visible until a higher power level)

bic:

While continuing his stroll through the night, the young boy had a strange feeling about why it was so silent. The silence was suddenly broken by a piercing howl in the middle of the night. The cause was probably a wolf, but it was hard to tell from the distance. This sound caused the green boy to look up into the sky and gaze at the moon. Once again, his pupils happened to widen and cause a sharp pain in his head. The pain was similar to that of a sudden headache. He grasped his head from the sides, and began messaging his temples to relieve the pain. It was then that he noticed something even more interesting...

In the distance, across the stream, the young one could see a bright flash. It seemed as if a wind followed it, blowing some of the tall grass away for a moment. The boy's eyes lit up again, and it was almost as if he were attracted to the energy released. He decided to step down closer to the stream, and think of a way to cross. It seemed as if the only way to do so would be to jump. This was going to be a long shot for him, as the stream seemed at least 50 yards in width. Then he had an idea.

The namekian pulled his staff from the holster on his back and held it out straight. He realized that it was perfectly crafted in a rounded design, and that there was no bend or curve to it. He then took a few paces back from the stream, and focused his attention on the distance he had to cross and the rock at the beginning of his crossing path. He kept looking back and forth between the rock and his destination, weighing out his chances of actually making it across. After a moment of silence, the namekian closed his eyes and dashed forward.

With the pole straight out, and his body in a position for lifting itself, the boy pivoted his pole downward, right onto the top of the stone and launched himself into the sky. The epic sight from the moon could witness the small, agile boy take off into the sky in a sleak motion. Everything was going well until the wind picked up strongly and blew the boy off track. Luckily, he was close to the shore, but he completely fell into the water, causing a splash larger then most would think is small frame would cause. The disruption in the water caused a nearby flock of geese to fly away, and a few fish to scatter. It was apparent that his position was revealed. He simply made his way up to the land again and started patting as much of the water out of his clothing as possible.

[Tycho]

(True enough, but given that it was a still night I figured it could get things started.)

Tense and on edge Tyler stays still and like a predator he whips his head around looking for the source of each sound to see what caused it. In his powered up state he finds it easy to focus, and every blade of grass stands out from the next to his eyes, yet at the same time this detail does not distract him from his goal. As he dismisses sound after sound and sight after sight as a threat he hears the sound of feet moving through grass at a run and locks eyes on it in time to see a small boy, loose clothes streaming about him vault up and nearly over the stream that runs only a hundred yards or so from where he stands.

Knowing that nothing normal could have made such a leap the human warrior starts off at a swift jog toward the source of the distrubance. As his feet pound into the ground he can't help but enjoy the freedom to let loose without worrying what people will think and what awkward questions they might ask. As he slows down from his fast pace he can just make out a small figure standing at the edge of the stream, trying to squeeze the water from his baggy clothing. So taken back by the size of the boy he almost doesn't notice that it has skin nearly the same as they creature that killed his teacher years ago.

Tensing up he's ready to spring, but forces himself to calm down and call out, "Are you okay?"

[Kinjozu]

As the boy squeezed the dense clothing, he noticed something that caused him to respond quickly. The namekian's left antenna twitched, causing the boy to spin to his side and take up his staff, getting into a battle ready stance. The footsteps were heard subconsciously, and made the boy react in a sort of defensive manner. Keeping complete focus in the direction, he heard a voice call out, asking a question.

The green skinned boy cocked his head a little bit and squinted his eyes. The bodily figure was hard to see through the night, and surroundings, but he knew the other was taking a precautious approach as well. The young one simply stood up straight, still wet, and slammed his staff straight upward at his right side. He nodded in the other's direction.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing seems to be broken or anything, I just got a bit wet," Said the fragile, high-pitched 8 year old's voice. He didn't know what else to do other then attempt to respond in a friendly attitude, as taught by his elders. Still attempting to dry himself, to no avail, he asked a question with a response of politeness. "What's your name? And what are you doing out here this late? All a little too confusing... But anyways, I'm Kinjozu!"

The boy now placed the staff on the back strap, and steadily paced toward the figure to get a better view of their appearance.

[Tycho]

"That's good, I saw you come down and I was worried that you either hurt yourself or wanted to hurt me?" Replies Tyler calmly to the small green skinned boy with the small voice, "Anyway, I'm Tyler, and I came out here to enjoy being away from the city for a while. What are you doing out here?"

The man relaxes a bit now that he knows the small green skinned child isn't hostile. As he relaxes Tyler can feel his aura fading down and the rush of power leaving him. This is when he realizes just how tired he is after the flight out and the fight earlier that night.

"You're not going to get that water out of your clothes just by squeezing it with your hands. So why don't I make a fire and get some sleep and you wake me up when you're dry," Says Tyler, with a bit of a yawn at the end.

[Kinjozu]

The boy realized the yawn let out by the man. It made him knowledgable on the fact that the man must have been tired. His offer wasn't too bad though, and the boy thought that taking on his offer might actually be worthwhile. Kinjozu nodded to the man and pulled out his staff once more. He slammed it down infront of himself and began to knock away some of the debris, creating a slightly indented earth, perfect for a fire next to the stream of water.

The boy sat down a bit of a distance from the pit and attempted to make himself comfortable. I finally reached out with his pole and pulled a log toward himself. He'd use this log for a type of seating, giving him elevation from the ground. While waiting for the fire to be built, he thought it was okay to finally respond.

"Well, Mr. Tyler, I was kicked out of my village. I am not allowed to return because my Guru told me I would be a threat to everyone there. He is able to tell what's going to happen before it even does. But he did tell me one thing... I just can't quite remember it though." Kinjozu thought letting all the information out all at once might be overriding Tyler's reactions, but he wasn't quite finished.

"Well, that's why I'm here. I've sort of just wandered out here," Kinjozu said as he looked up at the night sky again. He placed his staff onto the ground, right infront of his feet. "Now, I'm not too sure what I'll be doing. I guess just traveling and observing the planet as much as possible." Kinjozu kept staring at the stars, thinking much to himself.

[Tycho]

Tyler watches as the boy pounds a hole into the clay around the stream and flips a log into it standing on its end. Then skillfully he perches atop it and starts to tell his story. Nodding along too tired to really care the human gathers a handful of grass together and some small twigs to start himself a fire. Building a small tepee shaped nest of grass and sticks up on top of a few small logs he finally has the fire ready to light. He could use a match to do the ob, but he'd rather get some practice in with ki so he makes a small burning point of ki and puts it into the grass. The grass ignites very quickly and soon a small but hot fire is burning away and warming the two people sitting around it.

The fire's warmth only makes Tyler more tired and he goes to his backpack and unhooks the comfortable sleeping bag from it before rolling it out length wise across from the fire, not feet first like some people. Once that is done he finds the small mouth piece on the bag and blows it up inflating a small mattress of air and a nice pillow for him to enjoy. Climbing in he zips up the zipper and enjoys the fleeing of relaxing looking up at the clear night sky and breathing in the pleasant smoke of the small fire.

As he closes his eyes and lets out a big yawn the tired man says, "Just shake me when you're all dry, then we can wander somewhere else together."

[Kinjozu]

Kinjozu sat on the log still, now bringing his legs up to where they crossed one another and lifted from the ground. He started to nod in and out of a doze at first, as he sat and meditated, but something wouldn't allow him to sleep. He witnessed the human use some sort of energy from his own body to create the fire. This amazed the young boy. He knew of only few people in his village that were capable of doing such a thing, and not many showed their power as it wasn't needed.

Realizing Tyler seemed tired, he allowed the man to get rest in his little 'insta-den' that Kinjozu watched him build quite quickly. The namekian simply sat near the fire and felt a warm, cozy and inspiring aura from it. With a pile of leaves and sticked, and even a couple of smaller logs next to him, he would toss one in now and again as fuel for the fire. Being content was his feeling inside, as the young boy may have met a new friend.

As the night seemed to slowly fade, the sun was just barely beginning to break the night sky, but the moon still had the upperhand in the battle of light and dark. He watched the slow movement of the moon, as he didn't ever want to see it fade away. He enjoyed glimpsing at it's planetary surface, as the solar body would do nothing but cause a blinding effect. But still, in the back of the boy's mind, he would not stop thinking about the energy released. Meditation would allow him to feel some sort of strange energy around him, as his eyes were closed, but he never learned quite how to control it.

It would seem Kinjozu was doing the polite thing and allowing the man to rest. His clothes were dried out for a little less than an hour now, but having time to think about his surroundings never bothered him one bit. The boy was sort of excited to meet some one along his travels, and he thought of how this might lead to something bigger.

With the excitement rushing through him, Kinjozu lifted himself on the log, and performed a hand stand. In this position, the boy slowly pushed himself up and down, keeping his balance. He made it through a few reps of moving down and up, and a sudden wind, again, caused the log to fall sideways, and the boy to crash into the pit of fire.

"Gyaah! Owowowowowowow!!!" Kinjozu cried as his bottom was burning. He rushed around in panic and pain, not realizing the water near him for a moment. However, when he got a glimpse of it, the boy jumped into the water once more, completely soaking himself to release the pain, stop the burning, and cause a waste to the purpose of the fire in the first place. The sun was starting to brighten the sky now, so he knew another fire would be pointless. Instead, the boy happened to cool of at the waters edge, skipping stones across to the other side which he came from.

[Tycho]

Tyler falls asleep quickly upon crawling into his warm sleeping bag and his dreams take him to a very odd place. He's back at his house again in his own bed laying awake staring at the ceiling, his wife's breathing is steady beside him. Instead of being annoyed at the reminder of what he's leaving behind Tyler leans over and gives her a kiss. Unlike in real life, this kiss wakes his wife and she starts to speak to him, yet the words make no sound and he can hear nothing but from the look on her face and the tears on her check he knows that she's very sad. The dream tells him that Loria has woken back at the house and has found the note and that her sadness has managed to reach him through the bond they share.

As he starts to weep in his dream the scene changes and he's standing atop a mountain above the clouds, wind swirling around him. The cold bites at his skin and he very much wants to leave the place as quickly as he can. Looking down at his feet he finds that he is frozen in place, unable to move and the frost is creeping up his legs threatening to encase him in ice. Calm he allows his energy to flow and the ice melts away from his feet and he's able to move. Moving now he leaps out and away from the mountain diving through the clouds.

Breaking through the foggy layer he moves from one dream to the next and as he stops falling he ends up falling through into a deep pool of water. Clawing back up through the cold water he can see the thin light from the surface yet as he claws moving up and up he knows that he isn't getting closer to the top and his lungs are burning as he uses up his air. He wants to fly, he knows that he has done it before, before he started going to board meetings again and before he was forced to stop his training so he wouldn't be seen as a freak in a ruthless business world where all his strength couldn't help him one bit. Focusing his ki to his feet he can felt the water break away from him and he bursts out into the cool air and takes a deep breath. The breath changes the scene once more and he sees a hazy image that he can quiet describe before he wakes to the sound of a loud yelp.

Opening his eyes he looks at the young boy leaping into the water. The scattered wood and the toppled log tells the story all too well and he sighs and crawls out from his sleeping bag. Crawling out he uncaps the seals holding the air in his bag.

As the bag deflates Tyler says, with a slight chuckle, "So much for drying you off."