Demon Phoenix Enough Said (Job/Chili/Kite/Itori)

Job Link

"No! The file you are asking for is restricted and redacted to all hell. I would be risking my career to get it for you." Ex-Commander Sid said slightly raising his voice to get his point across before continuing, "I may have owed your uncle a favor but what entitlement do I have to you?"  
Chili nodded in understanding, Sid had a point, however, that did not change how this document may help him connect the final piece of an old puzzle.
"I see your point, Sid, name your price and I will deliver unless you are one of those people who doesn't have a price." Chili said calmly trying to persuade Sid. The older, slightly balding, greyed haired man squinted his eyes at Chili in thought.
"Hmm, perhaps you could do something. You see I have a collection of rare trophies from mythical beasts that my comrades and I had slain over our years. A tooth of a giant, a dragon scale, the crystalized lighting of a Thunderbird, and many others. However, I do not have any ashes from a slain Phenoix. I am far too old to go hunting for such a creature. Perhaps if you could bring me some, I could get you the file." Sid said as he stroked his whiskers, a glint of victory in them.
Shrugging, Chili stood up as he spoke in his still relaxed tone, "Cool, I can do that. Give me two to four days and I'll be back with ashes of a Phenoix." Turning Chili walked out of the man's modest yet colorful living room and proceeded to exit Sid's home. Once outside his face went from indifferent to brooding as he used his left hand to rub his eye's with his thumb and index finger. Letting out a frustrated sigh as he walked down the steps of the small house, located somewhere in Oaktown.
"Where am I most likely to find a Firebird in four days? I might have jumped the gun when he actually gave me his price." Chili thought to himself as he regained his neutral deminer. "Well, nothing I can do about it now but to find a Phoenix in the next few days."
As he turned left and began to walk down the sidewalk, ignoring the rising sun to the east, a shadowy figure who had been waiting in an alleyway began casting a spell. When he felt a sudden burst of magical energy. Chili went to respond, however before he could really even move, the ground disappeared out from beneath him. All he caught was a glimpse of an orange ring as he fell through it and then he was somewhere else. Staring up at the now dark vertigo sky as he free fell, Chili was thrown as he saw another planet come into view, slowly appearing from under the horizon. That was until he hit the ground with a very solid impact. Sitting up somewhat limply from the divet he made in the soil, Chili slowly stood himself up from there. Looking around him, he thought about his situation. "Well, I know something is off about this place. More than the fact that is was another planet. Though this could all be fake, that what the most likely also fake doctor says. Doesn't matter know, I need to find a way back and there is a way here then there may also be one back."
Deciding that he would rather explore and not remain still, Chili set off in the direction of the appearing planet. "This would all be really cool if I hadn't been busy when I got transferred here." He thought to himself. Taking in the weird environment around him. Odd colored mountains, trees, and plants littered his distant view. However, Chili found himself in a desert with a few mountains off to his right that seemed the stretch good ways in that direction. Scratching the back of his head he marched further across the dark plain of existence he seemed to be on. "Hopefully this place has a different sense of time than Fiore, maybe a couple days here is only a day there. Though that is only a wishful thought" Chili commented to himself when all of sudden Zin spoke up in a cheery voice. "Damn man, every time I check in to see how you are doing, you are always in some kinda stupid conundrum, one after the next! It's just pathetic is what it is, *chuckle* anyways what's the plan here, buddy?"
"Either find or figure a way out of here. Also, pathetic? I find my knack for finding trouble helpful as an adventurer." Chili responded back charismatically even if a bit sarcastically.
"Well you are in an unknown place, and that is all you can do. Since I take figuring a way out involves talking to anyone or anything that you may come across if it can, in fact, speak that is? Or trying to find some type of warp gat? Ohh what about a rocket ship? I like the sound of a rocket ship!" Zin decided to inquire back still cheery as hell.
"Yep pretty much. Unless there is nothing and this is a deserted planet." Chili said back lazily, brushing off the voice's almost childish display of excitement at how they may get off this planet. As he continued to walk though CHili knew one thing was for certain, this was already going to be a long day.

HP: 195/200
Mana: 150/150
Post Word Count: 913

Returning from her training in the forest Itori looked up at the sky, studying the patterns of the clouds and searching for any abnormalities. In her hand she held her sheathed sword, her grip relaxed but not so careless that she couldn't quickly firm her grip and draw her weapon if need be. Behind her three snowy vulpine tails slowly moved in a seemingly irregular pattern, from side to side independent of one another while staying low to the ground. While her breathing was a little heavier than average it wasn't so bad as to be laboured, and her outfit was also largely unmarred. Her training had not been one of heavy exercise to the point of exhaustion but one of precision, but even that could wear you out even if it didn't tax your body quite as much.

While she wasn't expecting any real omens habit still made her look for them while returning back to the guild, leaving behind the area where she had been trying to refine her abilities, trying to make up for her lack of destructive power with precision and control as sharp as a blade. The skies, however, didn't seem inclined to tell her what the future would hold, with the sun shining brightly as one would expect in a spring afternoon and with clouds that spoke of rain but failing to darken the future. After one last scan of the heavens the Kitsune relaxed and went onwards, quickening her step as she moved between the trees, a net of shadows and sunlight washing across her as the canopy of leafs above her shifted with the slight wind. Her steps were light enough to barely make a sound, and while she wasn't a master of stealth she was skillful enough to leave little trace, more out of habit than a genuine fear of being followed.

When she exited the forest she used her free hand to shield her eyes for a moment, the sunlight a lot more intense without the trees to act as protectors and providers of shade. Once her eyes had accustomed she looked up once more, as a mere glance, before her carmine eyes narrowed. As fate would have it now that the trees were no longer blocking her sight at a lower angle she saw something she couldn't have spotted before, which meant she was only supposed to spot it now. The largest building in the middle of the sprawling city of Ace of Spades was quickly being covered in shadow by a stray cloud, the dark contrast sliding further and further, starting at one end and crawling its way up to the peak before completely covering the building. While a stray cloud casting a lone shadow wasn't necessarily an omen in itself it was too abrupt, and too specific: Itori watched as the shadow moved onwards together with its creator, quickly becoming invisible on the flat landscape beyond Ace of Spades.

She wasn't one to propagade the idea that all shadows and darkness were signs of evil and decay it couldn't be denied that often one had to be wary when those forces were involved. And even then in this scenario the best she could read into the omen was that there would be a sudden event, a sudden change, even if it wouldn't linger. Even if shadows weren't inherently evil a sudden change in itself was ominous enough. Change could be growth, it could be decay, it could be the introduction of a new element which rearranged the weave of the world. An unexpected discovery of an artefact that could cure fatal illnesses was a change, but so was war breaking out in a land which had enjoyed peace.

A sudden and brief change, one with sharp contrast and which would expose them to something unexpected, something which specifically targeted them. Not the best of omens. Whether it would actually have something to do with shadows or that was just the medium fate had used to carry the message was unclear: Itori might look for omens, but she didn't have a strong talent for fortune telling.

Reaching one of the gates leading into the city Itori passed the guards with a nod and a polite smile, her mind elsewhere as she tried to think of what the future could have in store for them. Maybe she was looking for omens were there were none? But even if there were more clouds many of them drifted more slowly, were further up and didn't cast as strong a shadow. This one had stood out. Shaking her head she was about to turn a corner and head into another street when one of her ears twitched and she picked up on a sound from nearby: the sound of a bird, and not a city bird either.

Frowning she came to a halt, looking around before heading in the direction of the sound, an alley which she had just passed. Again the sound, so faint that the only reason she caught it was that her ears were her main form of sensory input. Her eyes may be functional, but her ears were a lot sharper. Her hold on her sword firmed, her free hand resting on the hilt to quickly draw it if needed. There was a soul ahead of her, obscured by some kind of barrier...

She had no way to predict the ground suddenly disappearing underneath her, and as such it was the best she could do not to end up tumbling when she dropped through, the ground quickly returning to its former state once the vulpine woman had disappeared from sight.

---

The fall wasn't very long, long enough for Itori to at least gather her wits and make sure that when she landed she did so on both feet in a crouch, her hand still on the hilt of her sword and holding the sheath to quickly draw as she wearily looked around, her ears now pointing backwards as her red eyes were narrow. She had been moved somewhere, and this wasn't underground. There was a sky, even if that sky was dark. The ground wasn't manmade, it was sand even if it was without colour, a sea of dark grey. In the distance mountains, as dark if not darker, and what life she could find was also darkened. And up in the sky ahead, a large round figure, as if a different planet.

She had no idea where this was, but she had the strong suspicion this wasn't Earthland. While the sand, the trees and the mountains could simply be an exotic environment the sky wasn't dark as if night, it was dark as if this place didn't know light the way Earthland did. And then there was the spherical object in the sky, so far away yet so large... Moving onward Itori began to head in that direction, a white and red figure in a world of grey shapes and pale light. Maybe she should have stayed at the place where she had arrived, or maybe she should not be heading in the most obvious direction, but waiting could easily result in nothing and even if she wanted to avoid playing along to someone else's whims picking a random direction could get her the result of being lost forever. At least the largest object in the sky was a decent landmark.

It was only after several minutes of walking that Itori began to see someone in the distance, heading in the same direction as she. She didn't know this person, but even from this distance she thought she'd at least seen them before, even if she couldn't exactly recall how. Maybe she wasn't the only one who'd been pulled here suddenly? Better to approach and find out.

WC: 1300

Chili stopped walking as Zin pipped up in his head "Hey, bud you are sensing that right?"
Focusing for a second, he felt a tiny, barely noticeable amount of magic. Slowly spinning around in a circle, scanning all the surrounding areas, until his eyes fell upon a figure approaching from the direction he had been coming from.
"Huh, well they couldn't have been following us since we got here. Why be out in the open and careless if you were hiding from the start." Chili started to think to himself as his train of thought was interrupted by Zin, "What if is another mage who got zerped here like us? It could also be an illusion as well or a trap, this world, and its tricks are unknown to you."
Managing to remain indifferent despite his urge to quirk an eyebrow at Zin's use of the word zerped. Chili commented back smoothly, "It is most likely a person, however, on the off chance it isn't you can brag about being right later."
"Deal! I'm gonna go hang around somewhere in your head, see you after all this goes south." Zin happily replied back, before going quietly into a corner of Chili's mind.
As Chili kept his gaze upon the approaching figure, he tilted his head to the left in thought as a bright blue light started emanating from farther behind the figure.
"What the hell, I've been wandering for at least ten minutes and nothing, now all of sudden another person shows up, followed by a weird ass illuminating light?" Chili lazily commented to himself as he started to scratch the back of his tilted head with one of his free hands. "Maybe, Zin was right. Though a light and a person don't really seem to be a trap, unless the person is fake and the light is some weird ass angler fish-like monster."
As the image of what a monster could possibly look like popped into his mind, Chili almost chuckled, He highly doubted that both the light and the mystery mage were bad signs.

Standing back up straight, Chili tried to show some enthusiasm as he pounded his right fist into his open left palm as he spoke up, "Alright, time to meet this stranger and then find a way home." Despite his attempt to sound enthused, his tone remained neutral, while his motion was animated. Leading to a weird result. Pushing the inching feeling that he wanted to examine the fact that ever since he had started letting Zin numb his mind from time to time due to the asylum visits he had been having trouble mustering feeling. Ignoring that and going to take a step forward, Chili found that he could not move his feet. Looking down his eyes narrowed into a harsh glower, his feet were bound together by a large slick scally tail. Slowly the sand started to shift, lifting up slightly before parting to the side. Revealing The large medium sized trunk like midsection of a dark purple sand serpent. soon all of the snake was above the sand that it had been used to hide beneath. The monster was wider than most humans and definitely had to be at least eight meters in length. It quickly went to wrap the rest of its lower half, and it already had Chili's feet so there wasn't much to do. Though before the rest of his body except for his shoulders and up was restained by the creature, Chili managed to use the hand signs to enter Hellfire mode. Now fully wrapped like a delicious treat for the serpent, Chili kept a face of indifference on as his flame turned from a regular color to a crimson moon color. The creature brought the other half of itself over and position its spear-like head above Chili's head. He got a good like at it now, as it hovered over him. It was definitely a dark purple, though its underbelly was more of a dark grey. The eyes piercing, neon yellowish green, with slitted pupils. Staring straight into them, Chili, slowly began to inhale as the snake reared its head back, opened its maw wide, and came at him. Chili waited right until the snake's mouth was about to engulf his head when he used Demon's Breathe, aiming directly for the mouth of the creature. The massive flame at that close of a range and square in the mouth was a blow to the creature, stunning it as it gave off a horrified squeal as its face and innards started to melt, despite the scales that protected the monster. Soon, the flames started to burst from holes that began to appear along the serpent's neck and the lower jaw began to loosely hang from its melting tendons. No longer really attached to the body by anything the snake's head fell to the ground with a sick cracking thud, and the rest of it followed in a heap along with it. Chili now having stopped hit attack, felt the lower half of the body that was attached to him convulse and squeeze him tighter before finally slacking. He was still pretty unresponsive to what had just transpired, normally he would have been on edge, especially with a snake, however, all he had felt was calm.

Shaking his head as if that would help clear it, he was about to get his thoughts back on track, when a low hissing sound started up from behind him. His muscles moved before his mind registered fully that there was another snake! This one going for the poison and paralyze shtick as it came after his with a gleam of the smooth fangs it possessed as weapons.
Chili was already rolling to the side as its strike missed and the serpent ate sand. Standing up and spinning around on the balls of his feet, Chili didn't really think and just dove for the snake's head.
As he got to the head, Chili quickly wrestled it into a hold and used his full strength to lift as much of the snake as he could and slam it hard into the sandy ground. Giving him the few extra seconds he needed to pry the mouth open and grab ahold of a fang with one hand while the other held the snake's head firmly against the sand. Starting to put as much pressure on the tooth as he could, Chili found that the fang was surprisingly difficult to break off. Hearing a whooshing sound, Chili didn't have time to wonder what it was, from his peripheral vision he was the creature trying to use its tail like an ax. Ducking down and dodging the first attack, Chili decided it was best to use two hands to get the fang and if the snake managed to snag him he was gonna have to think quickly. Now with both his hands on the fang and his right knee holding the head in place, Chili gave one final yank and broke the tooth roughly off. In the nick of time to as the tail came crashing into his side and sent him flying two meters to the side, while he recovered mid-air, landing on his feet, Chili barely had time to think about his next move, the snake was recovered and coming at him with lightning speed. It was a split-second reaction, however, luckily for Chili the snake couldn't dodge once it was striking and he managed to catch it by the top part of its open maw. As the stink of its breath drifted into his face, Chili had one nonchalant thought "Smells like rabbit stew," before he thrusted the fang he held in his right hand brutally into the underneath of the monster's jaw and then began to pull the knife farther down. He only managed to get one foot down the snake's body before it managed to hit him with its tail again. The attack was weaker, only pushing Chili back a meter. His entire right sleeve and arm were drenched in blood as well as the pant leg on his right side. There was definitely some on his blazer and a little in his hair having held the snake above him as he had carved. Though his black clothes made it hard to see, however, the dark red blood-soaked sand that clung to his shoes, face, and clothes was another story.
The snake was sluggish, maybe from blood loss, however, that did not matter as Chili went back in to finish it off. It had barely recovered as Chili sent a powerful kick into the left side of its head and forced it back into the ground. Kneeling down next to it with haste, he clutched the head with his left hand and held it steady. Spinning the knife in his other hand and catching it so that it was now upside down. With a good amount of might, Chili took aim for the eye and nailed the fang into it. Driving it about half of the length of the sharp tooth into the eye, Chili had to adjust his strength as the creature began to scream and struggle back to get away. Not wanting to take more time to end this than needed without the use of more magic, Chili let go of the fang, raised his arm into the air and balled his hand into a fist before crashing it back down into the fang. The serpent gave out a dying scream as the rest of the fang was drove the rest of the way into its skull. Chili held the creature still with both hands as it convulsed a few times before falling still. Now done with that, Chili stood up and took a few steps back, and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. That could have been bothersome, however, it wasn't something that he wanted to waste his mana on. Turning back around, Chili saw that the person he had been watching gain on him was now almost to him. The fight with the snakes had given them time to catch up. Not seeing any point in moving now, Chili sat down in the sand and waited. Giving a few uncaring attempts at getting the crusty sand out of hair by running a hand roughly through it, Chili, rested his arm back down against his legs and remained still as a stone. Staying aware of his surroundings just in case there were more snakes. He really hoped that he was right and that the mage that was about to approach him was not going to be trouble.

HP: 185/200
MP: 430/450
Spells Used:
- Demon's Breath|Cool Down|1 post left
Post Word Count: 1,758
Total Word Count: 2,671

A person behind, and a person in front. Itori's ear twitched when the blue flame aura appeared behind her, the Kitsune recognizing the soul and the magic as belonging to her guildmaster. She halted for a moment, considering joining him and inquiring whether he knew anything about this place. Was he here on purpose? Was he the one who had her enter this world in the first place? It seemed unlikely, but not impossible: ever since Sabertooth had managed to defeat the elders the guild became different from what it used to be, and she could think of a couple of reasons why the guild master would use a method like this. On the other hand, she would have expected him to use some kind of signal that she could recognize, and the omen she had seen didn't seem to fit. If it had been from Kite the shadow would have come from the Ace of Spades instead of falling on the city.

Her decision was made for her when she saw that the person ahead of her was beset upon by two large snakes, the reptilian predators barely visible with their purple and grey scales in this dark place. Itori heard the attack more than she saw it, but it was enough for her to start moving again, now running as she tried to get to the stranger before it was too late. She'd find out who it was and whether they were a friend or not after there was no longer the threat of being eaten by giant snakes. Now that danger was present she didn't bother hiding her sword any longer, drawing it from her sheath and gripping the hilt with both hands as she prepared to strike. Even if she ran it would take a while for her to reach the assailed, so she had to pray that they'd be able to hold out for long enough.

Seeing the blast of fire that struck the first serpent she felt relieved, but then her attention was pulled away as she herself was surrounded by something else. In a dark land illuminated only by a faint pale light, accentuating the shadows rather than banishing them, the white kitsune found herself surrounded by several ghosts, their presence weak and with their identity mostly eroded away. They weren't the first people to come here, although it looked like most of the people who arrived in this land had a hard time leaving it. And as much as Itori wished to ignore this revelation to focus on the serpents she had certain responsibilities: what little identity the spirits had left showed that they wished to be gone from this place, and Itori had to grant that request before they lost the strength needed to appear before her.

On her next step she swung her tails, using the large white limbs to help spin her and redirect her momentum to dash towards the nearest spirit, one which had managed to actually form itself a face, even if the only sounds it could make were nearly incoherent mumbles about how it wished to leave. Without changing her expression Itori delivered a diagonal strike with her white sword, the blade slicing straight through the apparition even as the kitsune already prepared her next move, her entire body for a split second becoming a ghostly white before she shot towards the second ghost, this time striking with a horizontal slash. Spinning with the slash she then took one step and thrust her sword forward into the next ghost. A follow up by rotating on one foot, slashing downward with her sword as if to shake off non-existent blood before rushing towards the last two spirits, who were close enough to one another that she could get both of them with a single stroke of her sword, after which she jumped back to where she began, her sword at her side.

It had only taken a couple of seconds for Itori to strike all the ghosts with her white blade Shitenka, the sword with the ability to strike the ethereal and banish them to the afterlife. Whatever power had bound the ghosts here wasn't so strong as to prevent their departure once forcibly cut, and the six apparitions all faded away as they departed for whatever fate had in store for them, whether it be an afterlife or reincarnation. Itori couldn't say which one it would be for them, but it was very likely that either way it was better than being stuck in this desolate land. She just hoped that it wouldn't be much harder for herself and the other two to depart as well, as this place didn't suit her.

While she had worked to free the spirits and help them pass on the stranger had managed to take down both serpents, leaving Itori somewhat impressed. While the blast of flame had already shown that they weren't a pushover they hadn't exactly started out in a favourable position, so to come out on top was an achievement worthy of praise. Still, better to not delay any longer than necessary, so Itori resumed running, closing the distance even as the man (she was close enough to identify his gender now) sat down while facing her. If he had spotted her and made no motion other than to wait he most likely was not a hostile, and he might still benefit from the services of a healer.

Once close enough Itori slowed down, gradually turning her run into a walk as she studied the man. Young but not a child, healthy if bloodied by the fight, looking remarkably calm given the circumstances (although so was she, so maybe not that remarkable). And... she tilted her head as both ears twitched. There was something strange about the worldsong surrounding the man. Jittory? Discord? It wasn't the sound of demons and other twisted entities, so she didn't immediately take a hostile stance, but somehow... She wasn't sure what to make of it, her expression becoming puzzled for a moment before she caught herself and changed it back into her usual polite smile, even if it was tinged with worry.

"Are you all right? I see that you have managed to vanquish these creatures on your own, but given the circumstances you should not hesitate to notify me of any injuries. I am capable as a healer, and while I do not know where we are we had better remain in as healthy a state as we can manage."

Most of the blood on the man was from the snakes without a doubt, but he could still have wounds underneath the mess left behind by the reptiles. Glancing behind she noted that the blue flame aura was still there, then sheathed her sword for the moment and bowed towards Chili.

"I am Shirokawa Itori from the guild Sabertooth of Earthland. The light behind me belongs to my superior, although we arrived independently of one another and I have yet to ascertain why we were summoned here."

WC: 1177
Total: 2477

Analyzing the female kitsune while she introduced her self, Chili took note of her sword, it was obviously a very unique looking blade. Not to mention the ability it had to cut through ghosts. It gave Chili an idea actually, one that he would have to ponder later because Zin decided to pop up at that exact time, "Well damn, kid, looks like you were right! Though I'm kinda disappointed that it wasn't a trap, and turned out to be a very elegant kitsune instead."
Chili shrugged, as he responded in a similar tone that he had been using since his mental augmentations started, "You always want it to be a trap."
Before Zin could say something further, Chili heard the kitsune, Itori, mention that she was from the Sabertooth guild and that the strange light off in the distance was their guild master. His face went from indifferent to one of brooding thought as he slowly stood up, His mind moving faster than him as he reviewed their situation."Hmm, so we are all from the same guild. Not to mention someone actually cast the spell that sent me here, and assuming that happened to them as well, then we most likely are facing a group, though why they wanted to send us here is unknown. That and whom it is we are dealing with exactly."
"It's the djinn who worship the sand!" Zin shouted, wanting nothing more than to add his own messed up theories to the mix.
Letting his face return to its stoic state, Chili responded to the voice as he watched the light, which was now confirmed as his guild master, began to get closer and closer. "Djinn that worship sand? You mean like a god of the desert? Huh, going up against a god, eh more likely that it's some tribe of mages than djinn."
Zin scoffed at Chili, before falling silent as a loud screech echoed across the land. Chili's head tweaked to the side, that sounded familiar. Closing his eyes as he sat back down again, he focused on trying to pinpoint the memory that held the sound, his previous little chat with Zin, forgotten as fast as it had begun. It was lost amongst all the other bird-like monster screeches that he had heard over the years. Letting out a sigh, Chili reopened his eyes to see a male who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with blueish midlength spikey hair approach them. The man, Kite, was his name, at least Chili was pretty sure it was, gave his greetings to Itori before turning to look at him. Kite greeted him and said he was glad to see he was unharmed. Chili gave a lazy shrug as he said "Thanks", not that he was cocky but he was stuck in neutral. Standing up once more, Chili listened as Kite asked if Itori or he had any idea as to what was going on. Chili only had speculations, most involving a group of people. That was something solid so piping up Chili spoke in an aloof tone. "I was teleported here by a spell cast by someone hiding in an alley. If you two were sent here the same way then it may be safe to assume that there is a group of unknown mages at work here. As to what the goal of their plan may be, I don't really have an idea that seems solid yet."
Before Chili could continue saying what else he had in mind, another loud shriek went off, and this one was much closer. A loud whooshing sound was heard soon after, and that is when all the hairs on the back of Chili's neck stood up. He needed to move away from the snakes and fast.

Another loud whoosh, followed by another, all getting faster as the sound drew near. Chili managed to take all of three quick steps forward, then an ear ringing shriek echoed out from directly behind him. Opting to not get hit in the back, Chili turned around in time to his suspicions confirmed, it was a behemoth of a bird, feathers dark in color, and it was diving down to snatch the remains of the snake carcasses he had left. As its large talons wrapped around both of the bodies and started to haul them up and away, Chili had the misfortune of getting hit in the waist and swept off his feet. He was unintentionally reacted to getting hit in the stomach by grappling with the body to try and negate some of the force. It failed and instead he was lifted away along with the dead body. As he heard to the whoosh of the wings as they flapped faster and harder, allowing the bird to rise into the air fast, Chili very cautiously started to clamber his way up from where he was dangling on the limp snake body, up to the creature's clawed feet. The creature seemed to take notice, that something small in size was clinging to its feet. Before Chili could really come up with a plan the damn bird began to spin in a spiral like a form, hoping to throw Chili off. Gripping on as to not plummet a good thirty meters, Chili prepared for a ride similar to when he was stuck on that godforsaken piece of driftwood. After a few upsides down twirls, Chili was happy he had a strong stomach because any normal person would have lost their lunch. The twirling continued for a few more seconds, and Chili wasn't sure what Itori or Kite was up to, hell he couldn't even tell which way was up and which way was down. When the barrel rolls stopped, Chili thought he was gonna get a second to collect his thoughts, however, that idea was blown out the window as the bird monster proceeded to ignite its whole body with what appeared to be blackish flames. Chili's Hellfire mode saved him from being singed alive, though he was unable to withstand the heat and was forced to let go. Freefall back down to the ground he was quick in his actions and did his best to tuck and roll. He succeeded, however, the speed at which he was falling ended up driving him into the sand as he tried to recover.  
Standing up from his crouched posture, with a good amount of crusty sand now stuck to the blood that had still yet to dry, making him look like a sand person, Chili was in a state of disbelief. Shaking some grains from his hair, Chili had a thought, "That was a Phoenix hmm that is good news for me, however the fact that I was looking for a Firebird and I just so happen to be teleported to a world that has one? Something is up here." Pausing for a second, Chili looked around until he spotted Kite's flame. The behemoth had not carried him far, it seemed to have just flown above the immediate area while trying to shake him off.
"I'm gonna see what they think our next move should be." He continued thinking to himself as he turned back to where he saw the Phoenix heading toward some mountains off near the edge of the desert. Turning back to where Itori and Kite were, Chili began walking towards them, stumbling a bit at first, still dizzy from his little ride.

HP: 180/200
MP: 430/450
Spells Used:
- Demon's Breath|Cool Down Completed
Post Word Count: 1,238
Total Word Count: 3,909

In the time that it took for the man to reply Itori studied him just as he was studying her, although she took care to not look rude as she patiently waited for him to reply. Her ears twitched as she could hear something from inside the man... some kind of internal conflict. However the jittery nature of his being was making it a tad difficult to discern anything, as everything coming from him was distorted. The best she could make out was that he was mulling over her appearance and what she said, but the details alluded her, especially since in a strange land like this she couldn't afford to give the man her full attention. There had already been two giant snakes appearing out of nowhere to assault the man before her, there was no guarantee that there couldn't be more.

The loud screech caught her attention, the kitsune looking around warily as she couldn't locate the source of the sound. While she had a good guess which direction it came from it was too far away for her to pinpoint or identify the source, although it was clear as day that it was some kind of bird, and a very big one... and its screech carried a sense of power, something that no normal bird could hope to do. If she had to guess she'd say that the bird would probably be stronger than the snakes the man before her had been forced to deal with, which was worrying... while he'd gotten out all right the serpents hadn't looked like small fry.

However they couldn't do anything about it if it wasn't anywhere close by, so Itori returned her focus to Chili and Kite, inclining her head in response to Chili's quick greetings before turning around and giving Kite a bow, showing him proper respect as her guild master.

"Many thanks for your concern and kind words master. I am indeed all right, although somewhat unsettled from suddenly being relocated to this strange land. I do not know where we are or why we are here, but I was brought here by a strange presence I sensed in an alley, which upon my investigating opened the ground beneath me before I could react. I agree with Chili's assessment that we have all been brought here by the same entity or group, even if their motives elude me."

Trapping Kite might in itself have value, but Itori and Chili didn't seem to be of great importance, unless the strange sensation she got from Chili was what motivated them to deposit him in this world. It could be that Kite and Chili were placed here because they were considered problematic, but Itori didn't have the arrogance to proclaim herself too powerful and competent to be left to her own devices. It could have been a coincidence or an accident, but she doubted that whoever was responsible for this had transported them at random, or even one of them.

Before she could ask Kite whether he had any ideas another screech occupied her attention, and this time she could pinpoint the location as being from right behind Chili, where something dark and ominous was quickly approaching through the air, with large wings beating the air powerfully enough that she could feel the resulting gusts even from her position. The approaching threat got close enough to be recognized as a bird, although much bigger than any bird Itori had seen before, emanating energy and power even as it grabbed the snakes and tried to take off with them. Not wanting to be attacked herself Itori had dropped herself, one hand on the ground to support herself so she could stay low without having to lay down. Which meant that by the time she realized that Chili was getting dragged along he was already out of her reach, the kitsune's head turning to watch the man as he was carried along by the humongous bird, her vermilion eyes showing worry as she watched his tumultuous flight. The large predator was clearly trying its best to shake its quarry off, and it wouldn't take long before Chili couldn't hold on...

Seeing the man drop Itori hastened over, watching him land and managed to break his fall as best he could before getting up, visibly dizzy although doing a lot better than she'd been dreading. As he tried to walk the kitsune didn't waste any time in supporting him, wrapping a tail around his waist for additional support and an arm around his shoulders.

"Do not walk just yet, let your mind recover and reorient itself. It is a stroke of fortune that you remain unharmed, but you should not push yourself."

Even as she talked Itori looked back over her shoulder towards where the bird with the flames had disappeared from sight, the gears in her head turning even as she gave Chili another worried look.

"While normally I would prefer to stay away from such a dangerous creature I am fearing the possibility that it is our best option for finding out where we are and why we are here, and perhaps how to get back as well. Unless either of you has developed a better theory I would suggest we follow the dark bird of flame, as soon as you have regained your stability."

WC: 893
Total: 3370

Chili didn't put up any argument about being fine, both Kite and Itori advised he sit until the stars stopped. As he sat down in the sand and listened to Kite explain his plan, of how he was going to lure the bird back. While Itori and he stay here and try to set up more bait. He was fine with that course of action, Chili's whole center of gravity had been thrown off, by the air show that the bird had decided to take him on.
While Kite sprinted off after the aviary monster, Chili started to think of how they could get more snakes to show themselves. His thoughts were interrupted sadly by the familiar snarky voice of Zin.
"Damn! Chili, you didn't tell me you had dreams of being a rodeo star! Here I thought you were just a pretty face. Well, at least you got one talent, ya know considering you are not the best mage."
Chili shrugged half-heartedly not really concerned with Zin's point of view as to what his life goals should be.

Pausing for a second Chili realized a weird numbness had started to spread from his toes and was slowly working its way up his feet and legs. Chili knew it was the all too familiar sickness starting to take a hold of him. As blood started to slowly leak from his nose and eyes, he fell backward and his world started to spin. The sky a chaotic swirl of dark purple and grey. The last thing he caught before he lost consciousness was him making a horrid hacking noise, as a good amount of blood came spew from between his lips, having originated in his lungs and suffocating him. He was unable to process whether or not he had rolled over so as to not drown in his crimson liquid, though one thought did enter his mind.
"Now of all times, it happens!"

He awoke up to a loud buzzing sound, followed by the feeling of a mass amount of voltage running into his head and then down throughout the rest of his body. Eyes flying wide open as he looked down, Chili found that he was currently strapped to a chair by his hands and feet. A muzzle which was making sure that his mouth stayed clamped around the bit in his mouth was safely in place, to keep him from biting his tongue off. His muscles started to spasm and convulse from the intense electro theory that he was currently undergoing. Chili lost track of time at some point the buzzing noise of the machine is the only noise to remain audible to him as the rest of the world faded out. Blood seemed to start to trickle from his nose at some point and that is when one of the assistant nurses decided it was time to switch off the machine. Head falling forward as he felt the stream of electricity stop and now with his mind no longer being literally fried, he could make out the smell of his own burnt hair and scalp. Blurrily the bright light came back into view, as the feeling of drool leaking from his mouth reached his senses. His hearing was still buzzing and his body felt like it had been numbed, but the feeling was steadily coming back. Suddenly what appeared to be someone's thumb held his eyelid open and with than a light was shined into, Chili's eye. After a few seconds, the light disappeared and Chili heard muffled voices through the buzzing sound. For a second he could have sworn that the blurry figures of humans changed into that of horrific tentacled creatures and then right back to human as if nothing happened. Chili's mind raced as his memory sturred and images of similar creatures from texts he had read in the other world, invaded his mind. Still foggy, Chili couldn't reason why however a rushed sense of urgency came coursing through him.
"Something is wrong, the doctors are fakes." Chili questioned himself, an odd sense of panic trying to consume him, though he remained calm. Steeling himself, Chili waited until one of the doctors started to undo his restraints and in that instant, Chili in his delirious state lashed out and managed to claw the eye of one of them. Immediately after that, the two now more clear guards dove forward and each one snatched Chili by a shoulder, holding him tightly to the chair.
"Quickly sedate the psychotic bastard!" Someone yelled.
A different doctor approached, this one older, maybe? Chili couldn't really tell. The man used his left hand to tilt his head sideways and used his other to insert the needle into his neck. As the man started to talk his face changed into a hideous swirl of tendrils and teeth, "Hush, now mister Thompson, all will be fine."
As he began to fade from the world, everything in the background seemed to flash away, and then he was floating. He was still in his straight jacket, but now he was suspended in water, coral, and flora beneath his feet. His gaze slowly rose and Chili felt a terrified yell freeze in his throat. Before he was two giant, gleaming yellowish-green eyes. The shadow of the massive figure was that of a behemoth with giant wings and a tail. Its face too shadowed to make out any more details than the haunting eyes. An echoing boom filled his head, thousands of voices speaking at once, or was it a single one, Chili couldn't tell. Before long blood began streaming from his ears.
Some were wailing to be saved, others repeating like a mantra that they wanted to be made whole. His whole body began to ache as if the weight of the sea was crashing down upon him. Then there was silence and he woke up.

Blood crusted sand stuck to his lips, as he gazed across the bland landscape of a desert, where was he again? Soon the noise caught his attention, it sounded like fighting, but he was not fully conscious enough to tell. There was heat, blazing around him as if he had stepped inside a forge.
Sitting up, fast, with a slight tilt, Chili's memory started to come back to him. "That's right, I'm in Fiore, well a weird dimension within the same reality that is."  It wasn't until now that he truly felt how tired he was.  Shaking it off though, he stood up. Chili could definitely feel the toll that his episode had taken on him, however, his healing factor would at least make it bearable. For now, he was back and he could fight.

HP: 160/200
MP: 430/450
Side Effect:
- Reality Sickness| 10% of total health subtracted
Spells Used:
- Demon's Breath|Cool Down|Done
Post Word Count: 1,100
Total Word Count:5,009

Itori was aware that there were plenty of people who appreciated if they weren't addressed with honorifics, but she always found it uncomfortable to show disrespect to those who were of a higher position than her own. Kite was a friendly person and definitely not a tyrant, but as the leader of the guild she was part of she felt obliged to call him Master.

However the current situation wasn't the right time to discuss that, as Kite quickly left to hunt down the dark crimson phoenix. Itori was left behind with Chili to perhaps prepare some bait, but right now the three-tailed kitsune felt like it was more important to make sure that her ally and fellow guild member would be all right. While she couldn't find any big wounds on him he'd still taken a nasty fall, which could cause complications if he pushed himself too far.

"I can think of no method to quickly attract more of those large serpents, so for now let us use this opportunity to rest and prepare instead." She spoke to Chili as she kept one hand on the hilt of her sheathed blade, her ears and eyes turned towards where Kite had ran off to and where she could still see the glimmer of the phoenix's unusual feathers.

Her attention was quickly pulled away, however, when suddenly Chili convulsed and fell over again, blood leaking from his nose and eyes even before he began to cough it up. Kneeling down next to Chili her vermillion eyes studied him with shock and worry, unable to figure out what he was suffering from... he didn't seem to have any torn blood vessels in his face from the fall before...

And then she heard it. A horrible, awful sound, something far worse than what you could achieve with mere nails across a blackboard. A grinding, screeching, crackling noise, as if the parts of a large machine had gotten stuck and were slowly but inevitably grinding themselves into unrepairable destruction. Her ears went flat against her head as she let out a surprised whine filled with pain, focusing on the source of the horrible sound: Chili. The strange sensation she'd felt from him before had suddenly amplified. To her sharp and sensitive ears it felt like reality was tearing itself apart, or... rejecting something.

Not being familiar with such a situation she couldn't do much more than try to endure it as she helped Chili roll onto his side so his blood coughing wouldn't block his throat. She also placed both hands on the man, a ghostly glow enveloping her hands as she tried to figure out what she could do for him. At first she couldn't find anything, as while he was bleeding from his facial features there didn't seem to be any big damage, and when she tried to repair the veins they just got torn open again. Whatever was happening would keep making this happen until it was over... she wasn't strong enough to make it stop.

What was happening? The worldsong around and in the man had gone from jittery and distorted to completely frantic. His soul also seemed to be suffering from something... Itori had lived a long life and encountered many things, but here she was momentarily at a complete loss as she had to formulate a new theory on the spot, all the while trying her best to heal Chili. He wasn't a demon or something else the living world would reject for being unnatural or vile, but the horrible sound, the frantic and distorted sensation, it still gave the impression that something didn't belong here. Was he cursed or something?

Nothing she could do with what she could sense. The only thing she could do was pour a lot more of her magic down her arms and out of her hands to surround the man, humming softly to bolster her powers as she tried to firmly anchor the boy's soul inside of his body. She wasn't sure if it'd do anything or if it was harmless for someone like him, but it was the best she could think of on the spot. If she was lucky it'd help whatever was happening stop for the moment, and she could ask for details later on.

Her attempts at anchoring Chili's soul got interrupted when Kite made another flashy entrance and crashed the bird into the ground a bit away. Itori's expression was frustrated and torn for a moment before she stood up and walked towards the bird, her fingers pressing against the hilt of her sword. She'd rather heal Chili but she couldn't afford to let a clear threat like this get near. So instead of healing she began to run until she'd gotten close to the dark blood phoenix (which was already getting up very quickly).

Not hesitating Itori poured energy into her legs and dashed forward at blurring speed, a white and red figure as she flowed between the phoenix's legs and slashed at both of them, leaving the large magical bird to cry its frustration and pain as it began to collapse back onto the ground, trying to stand on claws of which the legs weren't firm enough to support his entire body right now. Itori herself moved further forward to avoid the flapping wings as the phoenix tried to stabilize itself with the wings, but then turned around and prepared herself for another attack.

WC: 909
Total: 4279