Odiad Chronicles [ IC / Started / Currently Not Accepting ]

[Cherz]

"They are not real. They are just formed from my magic. There int is pink, since it is my favorite color." She told Cael. When they found the city, it seemed like the whole city was an angry mob, bareing torches and pitchforks. When her butterflys found the monster, she had them flutter around the beast. They showed the creatures around appearance. Black fur, clothing, injured arm. "Wait, what is it wearing?" she silently thought. "Cael, isnt that what Yuu was wearing?" She asked Cael in a supprised tone. "Alexander, wait! That just might be Yuu!" Rose shouted at Alexander. Rose then compared the similaritys. compared there similaritys. "That beast has the same fur color as Yuus hair, they were wearing the same thing, and earlier, Yuu went missing!" She looked to Cael. "What should we do?" She asked Cael. She was thinking to herself,"But, what if I am wrong?"

[.:Blu:.]

Cael turned his head towards Rose after she had noticed the same thing as Cael. "You think this might actually be Yuu? But- But why is he a giant panther?" Cael asked, confused and not knowing what to do about the situation either. Another member of the mob attempted to attack the monster with a crude sword which resulted in the attacker being pushed back into the crowd of people. "(Now what? If I attack and it turns out to be Yuu... But if it's not Yuu...)" Just as Cael was about to admit that he has ran out of options, the monster suddenly let out a powerful roar, sending a shock wave bursting outward and knocking Cael, Alexander, and Rose plus the mob of townspeople onto the ground. "Oof!" Cael grunted as he landed onto his butt with his eyes closed. Cael then quickly opened his eyes and saw as the monster began to shrunk. "What the- You guys, look!" Cael shout out to Alexander and Rose. As the monster decreased in bulk, its dark fur began to recede back into its body and its panther-esque features were replaced by human features. The last thing that developed, or more appropriately, redeveloped, was a long, black braid.

Surprisingly, the monster actually is Yuu. But why and how does he have such a monstrous form? As the transformation back to a human being was completed, Yuu fell forward onto the ground, unconscious. Everybody else got back up onto their feet with a bewildered expression on each of their faces after having just witnessed the apparent monster transforming into a human. However, the mob's confusion wouldn't last as one of the townspeople spoke. "S-So the monster's a were-creature...! We must burn him before he can transform back into the hideous beast and kill more of our livestock!" the man exclaimed as he pointed his torch towards the unconscious Yuu. "Wait, no! He's a friend of mine, you can't hurt him!" Cael stated as he ran over to Yuu's defense. "Are you mad?! Did you see what he was?! If we don't get rid of him, then sooner or later the prey will become innocent humans!" the same man stated. "Just listen to me will ya?! At least give him a chance to explain things. Besides, it's not even him you're looking for. There's still something out there, and maybe that thing is the one who caused this curse to befall him. If my friends and I kill that monster, everything will be fine!" Cael explained.

Hearing Cael's logic, the townspeople began arguing amongst themselves about what to do. After a moment, a loud "QUIET" could be heard. It came from none other than the mayor of the town who was part of the mob. "Alright, I will let your friend live and when he awakens, I expect to have a proper explanation of things. However, since he may turn at any moment, I cannot allow you or your comrades to stay in town. All of you must leave to the outskirts." the mayor stated. "But there's a ton of monsters out there! You can't expect us just to spend the night without proper equipment!" Cael argued. "It doesn't matter! You're 'friend' is an abomination and you either choose to have him burn here or take your chances in the wild. So what will it be?" the mayor asked. "... Fine... We'll go... And if we have an explanation and a solution to your problem, I promise I'll come back and tell you." Cael said. "Very noble of you young man, but your sake, just leave..." the mayor replied before walking off; soon being followed by the rest of the mob except for the farmer who first spotted the group.

The farmer walked over to Cael, Alexander, and Rose. "I'm sorry to cause you even more trouble..." Cael said. "No, don't apologize. I had no idea your friend... Well, please, stay in my home." the farmer offered. "What? No, we can't. Yuu could transform back into that monster any second. We can't endanger your's or the other townspeople's lives." Cael quickly replied. "You can't protect yourself properly in the wilds, especially not during a night this dark. I trust you'll be able to keep your friend under control." the farmer explained. Thinking about it, Cael knew the best possible choice was to keep Yuu in town. "Thank you..." Cael said to the farmer to which the farmer responded with a single nod.

[Morning]

Within the farmer's house, Yuu was sleeping on a makeshift, straw bed while the others slept around him. Cael was pressed against the wall, sleeping soundly with drool hanging from his mouth and snoring. Yuu then began to wake up, his eyes gradually opening until they were fully opened. "Ugh... My arm..." Yuu uttered painfully as he grabbed hold of his injured arm which was now bandaged. "Huh...? It's bandaged...?" Yuu said as he saw his arm. Yuu then quickly look around and noticed he was not in the wilds anymore and that his teammates were all here. "W-Why am I- Huh?" Yuu's train of thought was interrupted as Cael awoken with a yawn while stretching his arms and legs. "Man, that was a good sleep... Huh? Yuu! You're awake!" Cael exclaimed, probably waking up the others.

-Meanwhile-

On Nycht's side of things, this morning he was greeted by some of Prince Sinegard's personal soldiers at the inn he was staying at for the night. They had explained to Nycht that Prince Sinegard requested his appearance at Dosca Castle's throne room. Now at the castle, Nycht kneeled respectfully, awaiting for Prince Sinegard's orders. Of course, Nycht was prepared if anything were to happen. Suddenly, a large bag of jewells were tossed at Nycht's side. "That is a third of your pay... You'll get the other two-thirds once the tasks I required of you are completed." Sinegard explained. "Besides that, I've also arranged for you a ship to commodore; one that can traverse sand, sea, and sky. You will also be in command of twenty Paradisus soldiers, three of which are quite skilled in the art of weaponry and magic. Of course, not to delay your own movement, they will be following you from a reasonable distance." Sinegard explained. It was quite the smart and well-played move by the Prince. The twenty soldiers were there to make sure the job gets done or else it would be Nycht's head that will be the next "present". Nycht knew this all too well, but of course he wouldn't say so in front of the ruthless Prince.

[Hotaru987]

-Previous night -

Elzira couldn't sit still for much long, and had taken to pacing around the room, which didn't do anything but make her worry even more. Just what was going on? Were they safe? Or where they hurt? It had been quiet for a few moments, and that was even more nerve racking that hearing all of the roaring and fighting from earlier. Finally she heard footsteps and voices. Quickly she flew to the door, pulling it open so that the farmer and the others could enter. "What happened?!" She quickly asked seeing Yuu being carried back and in terrible condition. After the situation was explained to her she looked at Yuu in worry. The only thing she was worried about is if he was alright. Elzira did her best to help, healing the others if they were in need of it, but Cael suggested that they get some rest. Also wanting to stay in the room with Yuu, Elzira situated herself in a corner. Despite i being her first time not sleeping in a bed, she feel asleep right away.

-Next Day -

She woke up to Cael yelling. Taking a few moments to wake up she smiled jumping to her feet, "Yuu, you're awake! You had us all worried. How are you feeling?"

[Cherz]

Rose was hardly sleeping. SHe had gotten acustomed to staying awake. Through the night, she would drift off, only to wake up 20 minutes later. She was too worried Yuu would transform again. She looked over at the crew. [i]"Well, I guess that ill have to do as watch." [/i]She thought. She couldent help giggleing at Cael. [i]"Boys." [/i]She thought to herself, letting a small giggle out. As the morning drew out, she noticed Yuu wake up. He seemed confused. Then, Cael woke up. He let out his thoughts, then he noticed Yuu. Everybody was bound to wake up after Cael spoke. She then went over to Yuu. "Well, we found you in the City, attacking the livestock. Your arm was injured, and after you changed back, we bandaged you and brought you here. Were you aware of your lycanthropy?" Rose informed and answered yuu.

[Astolfo]

[color=#000066][b]Nycht kneeled respectfully, waiting for further orders, and when the bag, containing 1/3 of his payment was tossed on the ground beside him, he calmly picked it up, and stashed the bag inside his 'unique' method of storing things. As he continued listening, and heard that 20 soldiers, 3 of which were adept at magic, would [i]accompany[/i] him, of course, for [i]companionship[/i], he resolved to get rid of the soldiers at the soonest reasonable point, because firstly, he didn't like anyone watching him, second, he knew what the Prince was thinking when he did this, and finally, somehow, he had an eerie feeling that this mission was not going to go well, somehow.[/b][/color]

[color=#000066][b]Walking on board the Paradisus ship, he couldn't help but admire some of the ways the Paradisians had upgraded their ships, but in turn, he noticed some faults with it as well. He stored away this knowledge among a vast collection in his mind, for later use. Having traveled basically everywhere around the world, he gathered information on transportation methods, and their strong points, and at some point, he was admiring the idea of making his own sleek work of art, that would be exclusive to him, and unrivaled around the world. Nycht would be sure to keep it hidden, so people can't gain intelligence from his own vehicle as well, though. Turning his thoughts back to his current situation, he walked to the command panel of the ship, and with a brief farewell to Dosca-in-Paradisus-control, he lifted off.[/b][/color]

[color=#000066][b]--- A few minutes later, at full height in sky ---[/b][/color]

[color=#000066][b]Nycht called to one of the magic adepts that had come with him, and told him to relay a message to the Prince that before setting off towards a route the main group would probably take towards the Tree of Aska, he was going to take a quick surveillance flight around the city, making sure they still weren't in it, using his Sky Sight, aiming towards the ground, to help. With that said, starting from the lower portion of the city-state, he started a decently quick, but still slow enough to be accurate sweep of the city...

--- (Around 5 minutes later after the sweep finished) ---

"We haven't found anything yet, so we'll set off towards the most likely route the escapadists probably took, or will take towards their main destination: The Legendary Tree of Aska. FULL SPEED AHEAD!" With that, Nycht coaxed the giant machine to ease up, and gear up, speeding fast, towards the mythical icon. When Dosca disappeared from view, and having previously gauged the full strength of the adepts, which was decent, but still not far enough to reach back towards any part under Paradisus control, as the control centers and their soldiers had distinct patch-like parts in the massive city of Dosca. Looking around secretly, he saw that 10 soldiers were completely in the back, facing out, where they couldn't really see Nycht from that angle and distance, and the remaining 2 non-adept soldiers were on either side of him. The adepts, on his request, were scattered, 2 in the engine room, fueling it with magic to boost it, which was helpful, but not needed, and the other standing on a high stand above their heads, watching for obstacles, but what that particular adept wouldn't know is, Nycht could probably see farther, armed with his Sky Sight. He knew all the adepts would be semi-consciously tuned in on the others, and taking a special item out of his pocket, he thought of the particular ability the adepts had, and the item resonated silently, playing a very well-fitting loop, so they couldn't notice anything without seeing it directly - and besides, if they were on board, they'd see what was happening fast enough.

Nycht then rammed his fingers into the nearby 2 soldiers' necks, instantly knocking them unconscious. He then threw the bodies off the plane, in a way so the remaining soldiers wouldn't catch a sight of. Nycht then called out if the other 5 soldiers wanted to join him in the dining room that seemed to be packed with the ship, explaining the 'missing' 2 soldiers had gone down their previously. Explaining that he had the ship set on a straight course to afford half an hour or so to eat, he walked down the stairs, that were almost directly behind the command panel, shut with a trap door, to avoid accidental injuries. Unfortunately, for the soldiers, the only meal they got, in the empty room, was a flurry of knife-hands and strikes, again, rendering 5 more soldiers cold. He then opened a small portion in his bag, sealed off from the rest, and shoved the soldiers in there. It was impossible to escape, unless Nycht wanted them too, and the way the bag was designed, accidents could not occur. Walking back up, tapping a somewhat dirty cloth on his mouth to show a pretense of eating, he threw the cloth in his bag as well, with the soldiers. Walking up towards the adept high-up from behind, he drove a magic-negating knife into the adept, so any death-caused alarm calls wouldn't be raised, and simultaneously covered the missing presence to the other adepts. He left the adept slumped over, and shoved him in with the other soldiers. Lastly, walking in a boring, but roundabout way towards the last 2 adepts, he slid the well oiled claws down from his shoulder onto his wrist, and quickly made short work of the last two soldiers dusting his hands. He disliked killing, but with his job and all, he killed when he had to, and it couldn't be avoided in this situation, where the adepts could move remarkably fast, and cause all sorts of trouble. As the life drained out, he shoved the adepts into the boiler itself, using the magic and life remaining from the bodies to fuel it a little more. "[i]Not like they deserved any better.[/i]" Nycht thought sarcastically.

With no soldiers now, he ascended back up, and set the controls slightly, adjusting them every few minutes or so, to fit the traveling they were doing so far. Breathing in the fresh air, Nycht relaxed a little bit - too much was impossible in his job field - and tried to think back to when he could be this relaxed, and snorted, but somewhat sadly, because the last time was during his childhood, before the invasion came. Sitting back, he closed his eyes, still aware of everything around him, and fell into an alert-trance like sleep. He felt something wet on his face, and tried to detect it if it was rain, but no more came, and when it fell to his mouth, and he tasted it, it was strangely...

salty.[/b][/color]

[.:Blu:.]

Everyone had gathered around Yuu; not surprisingly, they were highly concerned about him considering what he had appeared as last night. "I- I'm fine... But my arm... What happened?" Yuu asked as he could not recall the events that had occurred the previous night. Rose explained to Yuu what had occurred. At first he found what she was saying to be rather cryptic but once Rose imposed the "lycanthropy" question onto him, Yuu's eyes widened. "W-What are you guys talking about?" Yuu asked as if he was confused by the question, or more correctly, as if he had something to hide from them. "Y-Yuu... We-" Alexander wanted to outright say it but he didn't want to cause any more distress to Yuu. Yuu slowly stood up while grabbing his injured arm due to the still lingering feeling of pain. Yuu then made his way towards the door. "W-We gotta get out there and look for the monster right? So let's go..." Yuu told everyone.

"Yuu, we... We know what you're hiding..." Cael stated to which stopped Yuu from walking out of the door. Yuu turned his head around and looked at the others. "What are you people talking about?" Yuu asked, still feigning innocence. "T-That form of your's... We saw it..." Alexander stated. "You looked like a giant black panther." Cael finally said, much to Yuu's dismay. His secret was finally revealed. "What are they going to do now," he wondered. Are they going to kill him? Are they going to turn him in to the villagers? Are they going to just leave? Will he once again be... alone...? By now, one would think that Yuu has adapted to live in solitude. After all, adaptation was something that an animal would be good at. But had Yuu fallen to the point where he would consider himself a beast? He wanted to believe so, but for some reason it hurts too much to think that way.

"So what, are you gonna kill me now...? Because I'm some sort of abomination right...?" Yuu asked before turning his entire body around to face them. "Well go ahead! You barely know me so killing me won't do any of you harm! GO AHEAD AND PLUNGE A WEAPON THROUGH MY CHEST!!!" Yuu fiercely roared.

"Yuu, that's not we want-" Cael was quickly cut off by Yuu.

"Then what is it that you people want?! You want to put me in a cage and treat me like some sideshow freak???" Yuu asked, his temper getting dangerously higher.

-Meanwhile-

Baschan, chained up in his cell with no where to go, could only contemplate his conversation with Nycht, or more appropriately Silven, which Baschan knew from his childhood. The reveal had definitely shook Baschan to his very core. He thought his best friend had died but it turns out Silven is very much alive. Worst of all, his best friend believes that he abandoned him on purpose. "Silv... Please forgive me..." Baschan said quietly to himself. Even though it wasn't his fault by any means, Baschan could only blame himself for what happened to his friend.

[Cherz]

Rise heard the lies in his voice. [i]"He knows." [/i]​She thought to herself. Hearing his tone, it was obvious to her that he was hiding something. She was too familiar with lies. Her own father... never told her were he went, or he would lied about it. Only when he returned did she ever find out where he was. She sighed. Cael and Alexander continued to interrogate Yuu, until he finally blurted it out for the world to hear. She could feel it His temper was shooting up.

"Yuu, calm down. If we had wanted you dead or caged, we would have done it when you were unconscious. We only want answers." She created about 10 butterfly's and sent them in the air, hiding in support pillars. "We want to help you, so please hear us out." She said, hiding her fear that he may change.

[Hotaru987]

Elzira had yet to be brought up to date with what had happened the night before so she was the most confused of them all when Rose asked Yuu if he was aware of his lycanthropy '[i]What is she talking about? Lycanthropy....' [/i]Yuu seemed to be just as confused as Elzira was. Alex then spoke up about to say something but his shyness prevented him from saying much more. When Yuu tried to stand, Elzira made to stop him as he moved to the door, hurriedly saying that they needed to find the monster who was behind it all. It was then she noticed the strange way his voice tensed and quivered. She looked at every who all looked either saddened or pained in some way. Like there was suddenly a bad taste in their mouths. Slowly everything started to come together and she turned to Yuu in surprise. [i]'He was the monster from last night!....Lycanthropy...Did he change into some sort of wolf?' [/i]

Alex told Yuu that they saw, but Yuu continued to deny everything. Obviously he didn't want them to know, but Cael decided to give the final blow, [i]"You looked like some kind of panther." [/i]Elzira could see Yuu freeze, as he realized that he couldn't hide it anymore. She wondered what was going on in his mind, but since she couldn't see his face all she had to go off of was the way he tensed. Finally Yuu spoke, asking if they were going to kill him. He was a monster. Elzira frowned not liking where he was going with this. Turning around to face us he shouted feircly,

"Well go ahead! You bearly know me so killing me won't do you any harm! WLL GO AHEAD AND PLUNGE A SPEAR THROUGH MY CHEST!!"

Though he was angry Elzria could see the truth behind it. She could practically feel his sadness, his anger and his loneliness through his words. She wondered how many time he had to go through this. People finding out and trying to kill him. People he knew, that he trust turning on him. Yuu was just afraid.

Cael tried to reason with Yuu that what he said isn't what they meant, but Yuu was too far gone, yelling that they wanted to lock him up like a freak. Rose tried to calm him down as well, but it didn't appear to be getting through to him. Finally Elzira had enough. She took a deep breath, "SHUT UP!!" She probably surprised everyone, none of them expecting her to raise her voice. "Who cares if you have lycanthropy powers? What's all this about killing you and locking you up!? What kind of people to you think we are!" She yelled staring directly at Yuu matching his anger, with that of her own, "We're your friends, not your enemies!" Calming down just slightly she finished, "When I look at you the only thing I see is a person who risked his life and freedom for someone he didn't even know. You could have left us but you didn't, you stayed and helped. Someone who would do that is not a monster....Look I wasn't there with them, so I didn't see everything that had happened, but even if you change I promise that to me you will always be Yuu!"

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

Alexander's head was spinning. Yuu was screaming at them to kill him, Cael was trying to calm him down, and Alexander couldn't say a thing. Finally, Elzira screamed "SHUT UP!" and gave a lengthy speech on how ridiculous Yuu was being. At first, Alexander was taken aback by the princess' outburst, but he found himself nodding. [i]She's just like a princess...[/i]

When all was quiet again, Alexander began to speak. "Listen, Yuu...I-I don't have a problem with it...I-I mean, everyone has something about them that they don't want others to know...I-It's okay to be scared...I bet a lot of p-people might have wanted to hurt you, b-but I sure don't..." Alexander paused. "I bet it'd make you feel better if I told you something about me, r-right?" Alexander swallowed apprehensively and felt his face flush. "T-To be honest, I...I think that, umm..." Alexander trailed off, realising ironically that, if he said what he was about to say, it could jeapordize his friendship with Cael. "Umm, I'll tell it to you in private later, Yuu..."

[.:Blu:.]

Yuu's eyes widened when Elzira began yelling at him about his misguided thoughts. She told him that it doesn't matter what he becomes and that to her, she will always be Yuu - a kind and caring individual who risks his own safety to help those he doesn't even know. Once Elzira had finished her scolding, Yuu stood there speechless; his eyes were still wide as he couldn't fathom what had just happened. Because of his condition, he was always shunned and treated like an abomination. No one had ever yelled at him like Elzira had just now. Alexander began speaking up as well, explaining to Yuu that everyone had something to hide and that he did as well. Before Alexander could revealed his secret, he stopped himself and explained that he would tell it to Yuu in private later. Rose earlier had also promised Yuu that she only wanted to help him. Yuu couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why are they treating him with such kindness? No one ever thought Yuu deserve kindness before now, so why is this group so different? Yuu didn't understand it and he wanted to believe they were lying, but he couldn't. He wanted to hold onto this feeling of being cared for whether it is true or not. Was it selfish of him to do so...?

Suddenly, tears began to run down Yuu's face. For a moment, Yuu was unaware of his tears but then he took his forearm and wiped his tears away. "You see Yuu? We care about you and we would never think of doing anything to harm you. You saved us from certain death. Why would ever want to repay you back with the very thing you saved us from? You're our friend." Cael stated. "(F-Friend...? Can I really... be your friend...?)" Yuu thought as he held back his tears with all his might. Yuu then put his head down. "I... I'm sorry... I never meant to shout at you guys... It's just that whenever someone finds out about my curse, they immediately become fearful... I don't understand... Why aren't you guys fearful of me...?" Yuu asked. "Because you're not a scary person." Cael simply replied with a smile. Yuu's eyes widened as he looked up at everyone. They all had a smile a smile on their face - genuine ones. They are his friends and he is not so alone anymore. "Thank you..." Yuu uttered.

[Later]

When things finally calmed down, the group had gathered to ask Yuu about his "curse". "So why exactly do you have that form? Is it lycanthropy?" Cael asked. "No, it's similar but not exactly like it. Instead of a wolf, I transformed into a giant black panther as you saw from last night... It's a curse... But I don't know how or when this curse was placed upon me. Honestly, I don't remember my past at all..." Yuu explained much to everybody's surprise. "What do you mean? Do you have amnesia?" Cael asked. "I guess you can call it that. It's the reason why I'm traveling all over Odiad. I want to hopefully recover my lost memories and maybe find a way to get rid of this curse." Yuu explained. "Well guess what? We'll help ya!" Cael exclaimed as he stood up from his chair; a smile that radiated confidence framed his face. "Y-You will?" Yuu asked. "Of course! We'll help you and the Princess! And then we'll come back to help Baschan! As long as I breath, I promise to not give up!" Cael exclaimed.

[Hotaru987]

Elzira smiled warmly at Yuu once he calmed down, allowing himself to be taken in by everyone's friendship. Once Yuu was able to stop shedding his tears, and was feeling better everyone gathered around him to find out more about his strange abilities. Elzira could't deny she too was very curious, just like the rest of them. She probably showed it on her face more than the rest as well. Yuu explained that it wasn't exactly lycanthropy as he didn't change into a wolf, but more of a giant black panther. He reffered to it as a curse, though not knowing when it was placed on him. Soon after he confessed he didn't remember much of anything about his past, which was the reason for him traveling. In hopes of coming across something. Elzira looked at her hands, not being able to fathom not remembering anything about yourself. Though she had a lot of bad times, there were more good memories than bad. If she couldn't remember her father, or Baschan and all the people who helped her up until now...

She shook her head to get rid of such thoughts. A strange emptiness filling her just from thinking about it. If that's how it felt by imagining it, she couldn't imagine how Yuu must be feeling. Cael suddenly declared helping Yuu, which surprised him. Elzira, however, wasn't surprised as she was going to suggest the same thing. Cael said that along with helping her, he could assist in getting Yuu his memories back, and finally returning to rescue Baschan. Hearing that last part almost brought tears to Elzira's eyes but she willed them away. Like Yuu most likely felt, Elzira too wanted to believe in Cael's promise. She wanted to believe in all of her friends that they would help her and each other to reach our goals. Though she didn't want to break up the inspirational atmosphere she needed to know one last thing about Yuu, "If I may ask, does this always happen? You transforming randomly, I mean? Do you know what could trigger the change?"

[Cherz]

Rose was quite through out the whole thing. She really felt for Yuu. To always be shunned, to not know your past, what was it like? Rose didn't want to know what it was like. How could she? Even if her recent times were horrible, its better to fell pain than nothing at all. She just felt useless She didn't know what to say, how to comfort Yuu, or what to do.

After things got quite, and she finished a tiny meal, the group gathered to find out as much as possible about Yuu. He explained the situation, and after getting as much as they could from him, Cael agreed to help. Rose smiled. She was glad Cael was in the mood to help. Elzira asked about the triggers of his transformation. "Well, it probably isn't by a full moon, is it?" she asked, thinking back to how he got to Dosca. That would have taken a few nights, and I don't think a panther can steer a ship well." She also remembered back to their time sailing with Yuu." She tried to recall some books she read about amnesia while listening to the conversation at hand.

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

Alexander nodded in affirmation at Cael's offer to help Yuu. "Y-Yeah, I'll help too!" Alexander placed a gentle hand on Yuu's shoulder and he smiled at him, blushing a little. "I-I mean, you saved not just my life, but Cael's and Elzira's, too...It's the least I could do for you..."

Finally, Alexander turned away and looked at his comrades. "S-So, umm, we still have one problem...What's gonna happen with that monster the townspeople have been dealing with before? We still haven't seen it, so it's possible it's still out there...I mean, I feel like it's our duty to protect these villagers...We already made a promise." His gaze drifted to Elzira when he mentioned "a promise." His expression darkened slightly.

[i]I've made a lot of promises to a lot of people, haven't I...? I already let my father down...I can't do that to anyone else...[/i]

[.:Blu:.]

Hearing and seeing Cael's determination as well as Alexander's affirmation to help him along with the Princess and Baschan, a slight smile of relief formed on Yuu's face. The overwhelming sense of solitude that Yuu has been carrying for all these years seems to have been eased somewhat. It's as if Yuu has been carrying something that has been weighing him down alone for the longest time but now Yuu can picture his newly-made friends helping him to lift that object up and ease his pain. Though Yuu still feels this lingering emptiness that stems from having no memories of his former life, he now has friends that will help him reach his goal. And in turn, Yuu will lend them his strength, his curse. "Thank you..." Yuu said quietly. As long as they were still on the topic of Yuu's curse, Elzira inquired him about his transformation into his beast form and whether he knows what can trigger the change. Rose quickly dismissed the notion that the transformation could be due to a full moon. After all, there was the presence of a full moon during their ship voyage to escape Sinegard and his soldiers. Needless to say, Rose was correct in her observation.

"Truthfully, I have complete control of this curse..." Yuu stated as he looked down at his left palm. "You do? Then why did you seem out of control last night? It looked as if you weren't acting on your own free will." Cael mentioned. "That's the thing I don't understand. I have no idea what happened last night. I thought I had passed out but seeing as how you guys discovered my curse, I must've changed. But I don't remember how or when. DAMN IT!" Yuu suddenly had an angry outburst and slammed the sides of his fists into the wooden table, creating a long crack throughout. "C-Calm down Yuu, it's okay." Cael said, surprised at Yuu's outburst. Yuu quickly realized what he had done and stood up. "I-I'm sorry. I have difficulty controlling my anger." Yuu explained. "It's fine. It may be a side effect of your curse. After all, you seemed really angry last night." Cael replied. "Maybe... Oh, there's one thing important that I do remember! Before waking up this morning, the last thing I remember was searching for the monster that's been terrorizing this village. Then, I distinctly remember feeling sleeping before I fell unconscious. Maybe it was then that I transformed." Yuu explained.

Yuu then suddenly punched a crater into the thick stone wall, once again, out of anger. "Damn it, but that doesn't really explain anything!" Yuu exclaimed. Everyone was quite shock witnessing Yuu's incredible strength. The thickness and durability of that stonewall must be quite impressive but Yuu was able to cave a part of it in with seemingly no problem. "Uhh, how about we change the subject huh?" Cael suggested with a comical, giant sweat drop on his head. It was at this time that Alexander brought forth the still lingering problem of the monster that has been invading the town and taking the townspeople's livestock. He mentioned that they had made a promise to help the town with their problem to which Cael nodded in agreement. "Right we still need to take care of that. Maybe once we take care of the monster, the town will be willing to hear us out about Yuu's condition." Cael stated. "I see, so they know too...? ARRGH, WHY THE HELL CAN'T I RECALL WHAT HAPPENED TO ME-" Yuu was about to punch something again but Cael quickly grabbed a hold of Yuu's arm with both of his hands to stop him. "What are you doing?" Yuu asked, confused about what Cael was trying to prevent.

"Oh nothing, hehehe..." Cael responded nervously before letting go of Yuu's arm. Suddenly, something came to Cael's mind. "H-Hey, this may just be a shot in the dark, but what if Yuu's sudden transformation has something to do with the monster we're trying to find? I mean we can't rule something like that out. There's a chance that if we find the monster, we'll also find the answer to Yuu's uncontrolled change." Cael explained. "Huh, that actually makes sense. Why not? We'll be killing two birds with one stone." Yuu replied, noting that it was a good suggestion. "HEY! WE KNOW YOU'RE HIDING THAT BEAST IN THERE! COME OUT!" a sudden shout from a masculine voice emanated from outside the shed. Cael and the others looked at the door, understanding fully what was happening: the townspeople knew that they hadn't left the town. "Great, what now?" Yuu asked. "We'll just have to try and explain things to them now." Cael replied before stepping towards the door and opening it. As soon as he did, a large crowd of townspeople went wild and attempted to barge towards the shed. However, the town leader quickly stopped them as he preferred a verbal approach first.

"I thought I told you and your friends to get that beast out of my town!" the leader exclaimed. "Arrgh, who the hell are you calling a beast???" Yuu fiercely roared in retaliation. Knowing Yuu's temperament, he might lash out violently if he becomes too frustrated.

[Cherz]

Rose nodded. She could tell By Yuu's expression that his cold, dark days of solitude were over. She smiled, and had a warm feeling. He then told the group that he could control his transformation. Rose was shocked, and teetering on disbelief. [i]If he could control his transformation, why did he seem out of control. [/i]Her silent question must have been on Cael's mind, since he asked. Yuu told them he had just passed out, then when he woke up, he was in the situation. Yuu demonstrated his strength, scaring her. She was confused, but at least Cael had an idea of how to help.

"Yes, that might be the right way. Maybe the actual monster has a link to Yuu and his curse." She agreed with Cael. "All we have to do is find it. I can send a Butterfly sweep, and the group that found it could guid us.." She offered. Then, she heard it. The towns people. "Oh no." She said. She looked to Cael, who understood the situation. The townspeople. "Damn it, why now?" she cursed. She looked twords the group. "I don't think they are going to listen to reason. They want him dead, since they think he is the problem." She said, with an unfortunate tone. She sent a small group of pink butterfly's. They returned red. "They are angry, and unless Yuu dies, or leaves, I don't think they will calm down." She said, a look of dismay crossing her face.

[Hotaru987]

Surprising her, Yuu explained that he was able to control his transformations. He also didn't even remember transforming last night. He was understandably frustrated, seen when he slammed his hands on the table, cracking it fro the strength. Elzira's eyes widened at Yuu's strength. Cael stuttered for him to calm down, and after seeing what he did he apologized saying that he had troubles controlling his anger. Cael suggested that it could be a side effect from his transformation. It was then Yuu remembered something from the night before. That he was searching for the monster when he suddenly felt sleepy and collapsed. Once again angry at his lack of answer he punched the stone wall creating a hole in the wall. "U-um, Yuu maybe you should try taking calming breaths." Elzira attempted to calm him down, while looking at him in shock. In hopes that Yuu wouldn't punch anything else, Cael motioned for a change of subject which Alexander too the chance to mention that they still hadn't had any clues as to the monster that the townspeople where being terrorized by.

Before any of them knew it the town's people were outside yelling for them to hand over the beast that we were hiding. Hearing what was going on Elzira was inclined to agree with Roze. "It looks like we won't be able to get that Ship Tower we were promised. What do we do now?"

[Ｄｈａｒｃ]

Alexander flinched as Yuu's fist hit the wall. "Yuu..." he said, a touch of concern in his voice. After Cael talked Yuu out of his fury, Alexander smiled, nodding in agreement.

Suddenly, there was much shouting, and Alexander jumped. The next thing he knew, the older man from earlier had barged in, a seething mob behind him. He was fiercely arguing with Yuu, who wasn't being the most agreeable person either.

He heard Rose's comment on the townspeople not listening to reason and Elzira's statement, and he became nervous. [i] Oh no...C'mon, Alexander, think...THIIINK...![/i]

Suddenly, a realization struck Alexander. He began to hum the melody of Anima, trying to calm everyone down. He started quietly, but he began to hum louder and louder, until he drowned out the sound of the argument in his own ears. After a couple minutes, he stopped. Then, he blushed and muttered, "Much better..."