It Stares Back At Me [Open]

Rowan awoke without a sound.

He felt as if he was choking, but a shuttering cough was just out of reach for him. His ears picked up the sound of crickets and the crashing of waves. He felt cool water washing over him and tugging at his body. There was a damp surface beneath him, crumbling and seemingly sucking him in. His chest ached, his body was screaming. He opened his eyes briefly to see moonlight cascading down onto a small beach.

Then, he retched.

It was a gasping cough, but it brought up seawater and sand. It did little to alleviate the pain he felt, but at least he could breath. He raised his arm, wiping the water from his eyes as he pushed himself to his knees. In his left hand he felt a familiar weight. A smile came upon his lips as it came into view. Even in the worst of storms, his favorite memento never left his side.

With a soft grunt, he planted the spear into the ground and used it's weight to support himself. As they do, though, the sands shifted with the waves and Rowan collapsed yet again.

Now, slightly annoyed. Rowan pushed himself up and stumbled forwards, simply wanting to flee from the freezing waves. A second collapse, but a victory nonetheless. Dry land, or at least as dry at it was going to get for him.

He was finally allowed to take in his surroundings, and he was not disappointed. The new land that awaited him seemed just that. New. Of course he'd seen beaches and trees...but these weren't his. A world of new experiences was at his fingertips.

To think, a single storm had almost taken that all away.

He shifted, turning and sitting as he watched the moonlight reflect off the very sea that had just attempted to take his life. There was no sign of his ship, or any of his things. His sailing clothes, which he supposed were now just his normal clothes, had holes torn into them. There was nothing in his pockets and the only possession he had left was his favorite Memento.

Well, this was fine then. He'd started from nothing before, he could do it again. The worst was over anyways, at least for the day.

Probably.

In the distance, Rowan would notice something. A couple of trees seemingly moved on their own, as the sound of bushes rattling and sticks being stepped on was heard in that same direction. What was coming? Was it an animal? Perhaps a corrupted beast? Not exactly. As the foliage moved aside, Rowan would notice that the mysterious presence seemed to at least have a humanoid form.

The person that came out of the flora seemed to be of an average height, with a strikingly pale skin and raven black hair. Covering part of her body was a navy blue cloak that didn't mesh well with the green around her, and one arm pushing away the foliage allowed Rowan to notice, if he paid close attention, that the person appeared to wear armor underneath.

Oh, and... it appeared the person was a woman? It may be hard to tell from there.

Nevertheless, once that person was into view, her face seemed to turn to her, giving Rowan a moment to notice that something white seemed to cover part of her face. It looked an awful lot like bandages... "Hey, you." She suddenly said, as she began walking her way towards him. The fact that she sported a pout and a steely look became more clear as she got closer, until she was a meter or so away from him.

"..." And then, she started watching. Looking as if she was analyzing the man in question. His clothes were torn and his appearance didn't look that good. Of course, she didn't bat an eye at his situation, mainly because she had no idea what he was even doing there. "... What happened to you?" She asked, not a single hint of concern in her voice, her lonely eye squinting at the Enkidu. How's that for a reception?

Rowan's eyes drifted towards the treeline as his ears picked up a disturbance. He watched in silence, his hand gripping Memento just a mite tighter as the noisy creature pulled aside the foliage. To his shock, it seemed to be a human female.

He did not yet relax though, the glint of armor and seeming lack of surprise did little to put Rowan's mind at ease.

His head titled slightly as he saw bandages across one of her eyes. He saw no red among them, so if there was an injury, it wouldn't have taken place recently. He made no real attempt to stop he as she grew closer. If she were to strike, he was confident that he was fast enough to parry the blow.

If she was some kind of bandit, the biggest advantage he had here would be her thinking of him as an easy target.

She then spoke, a flat voice seemingly devoid of emotion. Rowan couldn't help but ponder just what caused this kind of cadence to emerge. He was certainly hoping that his welcoming to this new land would be a bit more...celebratory, but he would take what he could.

The question itself was a simple one. One that could've been answered with a bit of observation and thought. Rowan wouldn't judge though, despite him having a more interesting question in his own mind.

"The sea stole my ship." He blinked and looked back towards the waves. Not a single bit of it was left..."Tried to take my life as well." He sighed, beginning to push himself to his feet. His body screamed at him to stop, but it was a necessary pain for now. He was beginning to grow uncomfortable with this woman standing over him.

...

Well it seemed she would be standing over him even when he was standing.

He resisted the urge to sigh and instead did his own analysis of her. His eyes focused mainly on her armor and bandage, wordlessly asking questions as to their origins. There was one question his eyes could not ask. He shifted slightly, trying to place his own words.

"It's a little late for a stroll no?"

A little ways from Rowan and Kassandra, a lithe and spritely young woman was picking up seashells. Her attire was not that of someone who looked like that of a beach goer and, if anything, was out of place there. From her armored top to the hand guards, and down to the ironclad boots, she appeared to be one of those fighting guild folk. In fact, the illegal guild emblem was stamped pressed on her chest plate and what looked like two monstrous heavy folded metal mechanisms hung from each side of her waist.

"Was Leo lying? I don't see any flower-shaped seashells around here!" the girl complained.

In her frustration, the two slender brown hair ears above her seemed to fold forward in frustration, matching the tense and scrunched up expression of her face as she kicked at the sand. Seeing nothing but pebbles, clams, and broken amber from tossed out mead bottles, she straightened up and tossed her hair back, letting the long and thick straight brown locks blow against the wind.

It wasn't until she got up the she noticed someone--someones in the distance. One of them looked like a typical job hunter--the cape said it all, really. The other though had been clamoring on the ground before straightening up. He looked soaked and pretty much in tatters.

Saki's instinct to sniff out trouble kicked in as she worried a corrupted beast might have attacked. Leo HAD been joking about shark corrupted beasts, but what it it was true??

In a light jog, Saki started heading over to them, her heavy boots making defined prints in the sand as she did.

"Heeey!" she called out. "Is everything okay over here?"

So the man was indeed a castaway, proving her hunch right. As he tried to get up from the ground, Kassandra looked around to see that, indeed, there was no ship on sight. Was the sea this turbulent here? Perhaps, but at least the man was alive, for what it's worth. She did not note that her presence wasn't doing the man any favors, nor that he was inspecting her to see what her deal was, but she did take the chance to observe that this man was an Enkidu, judging by the fox-like tail and ears he had.

Eventually, the man spoke up, commenting the oddity of her presence at the current time, which was replied to him with a shrug. "Yeah, it would be." She simply said, leaving it implied that she was definitely not wandering about looking for a moonburn. "What about you, Enkidu? What are you doing here?" She suddenly shot back, pointing out that his presence was just as alien as hers.

And speaking of alien appearances, they appeared to not be alone, as a voice rung in the distance, seemingly calling out for them. "Huh?" She let out, turning to see that someone was coming for them, clad in rather bulky looking armor. Her instincts kicked in almost immediately, and it made Kassandra place one hand on her hip, only to then brandish an arming sword from her scabbard, seemingly getting ready for the newcomer. She had no idea who she was, but she wasn't going to take any chances if it turns out this walking hunk of metal a threat. "Stay back." She ordered the Enkidu, as she shot Saki a nasty glare.

Despite how late it was Cassima decided to walk near the beach and enjoy the weather tonight. It wasn't as blustery as yesterday back in class so it felt good to take in the fresh air.

Cassima stopped and briefly looked around, smiling in the process. "It's such a lovely night. But I best return to my bed chambers soon enough."She thought as she took a few steps to the side...

And quickly saw three people gathered nearby. Curious, she walked towards them, as one of them appears to be holding a knife, implying that a fight might ensure if it's not dealt with. Cassima stood nearby, hoping to not get the trios attention.

"That man who is with them looks like he just came from the sea. Unless he was lost at sea and those two saved them?" Cassima looked at the three...Before she slipped and fell onto the sand.

"DAMN IT!" She screamed before noticing the trio and gulped.

She quickly stood up and wiped the sand from her dress, before bowing down to the trio. She did not realise that she had dropped her small dagger. "It is lovely to meet you all this evening." She introduced herself to the three as she looked back at them, biting her lower lip.

She hoped there opinions of her are not bad after her sudden and disastrous introduction.

Rowan's lips turned into a deep frown as all three of his questions were promptly ignored. It seemed that this woman was both unobservant and opaque. He wasn't a fan of either of those traits. At her question, his look shifted to one of exasperation. The answer to that question had already been answered.

Without a word, he gestured to the waves and left it at that.

He felt that the atmosphere was getting more and more tense, but this woman's attitude didn't quite lend itself to friendly conversation. This assertion was only strengthened when another Enkidu trotted over. While her attire was just as worrying, she at least was showing some kind of concern over the situation.

Rowan's face scrunched up. She could very well be a bandit as well, but nothing was proven yet. What worried him was just how fast the woman was to draw her blade. Bloodshed was imminent if this went on.

"I'd like it if no blood were spilled tonight." He spoke up, his spear still planted in the ground firmly. It would take but a moment to ready it. Hopefully, this would discourage any kind of conflict. If anything were to happen though, he wouldn't hesitate.

It seemed that this was a popular spot, though, as a cry rang out.

His eyes briefly flit over to the newcomer. They took in her appearance and garb, along with the knife she had dropped at her feet. He was a little less worried about her than the other two. Something like that could be more for protection than anything else.

Oddly enough, it seems as though she did not read the situation properly. The tense atmosphere was seemingly lost on her. Even so, he did not want to ignore such a polite greeting. "The same goes to you, miss. I'd advise stepping back for now, though."

Kassandra suddenly threatening Saki made the hare girl get into a fighting stance with her two hands raised fists.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she said. "Put that thing away! I'm not here to hurt anyone!"

Her amber eyes then focused on Kassandra. Her getup was...suspicious to say the least, and seeing the helpless guy on the floor made her wonder if perhaps the eye-patch lady was trying to take advantage of a situation. She smirked.

"That is, of course, if you're not trying to do anything tricky to that poor wash-up over there," she said, a hint of seriousness in her voice. "What exactly is going on here?"

Rowan was quick in attempting to pacify the situation, but they were all disrupted by yet another newcomer who had taken a fall and had dropped her dagger. The girl seemed harmless enough and she knew about many people who just went around carrying daggers for defenses. If anything, Saki was confused and wanted a clear take.

"Look, can we do with the dropping of weapons? I just want to know what's going on here," she said, getting mildly irritated.

And his answer was, just pointing at the sea? What... kind of answer was that, she thought to herself. Was he playing games with her? She didn't like that one bit, but right now she was more focused on the bulky figure approaching them. Or she would... if it wasn't for how another girl appeared close by, apparently dusting herself off and saluting everyone. "What the hell...?" She muttered to herself, briefly turning to her, before looking back at Saki.

The girl mentioned how she didn't want to hurt anyone, and instead suspected out loud that Kassandra was the thread here, which made her brow furrow even more. Despite her mouth being shut, her upper lip quivered very slightly, like a canine getting angry, as she was about to communicate her displeasure at the accusation in the most educated manner, if it weren't for Rowan trying to calm everyone down. Despite his poor state, he still tried to remain firm with the help of his spear, and Kassandra couldn't help but silently commend that.

Still glaring at Saki, she slowly sheathed her sword, her eye still not moving from her. "I found this Enkidu in bad state just a moment ago." She said, before turning to Rowan, still not looking amused. "Let me repeat myself: Why are you here? Did you suffer an accident?"

Uh oh multiple questions, and Cassima did not like to answer such questions when situations like this were tense, so she should answer them all. Starting with Rowen, who told her to continue to keep her distance. "That I will do, as I do not know you three, I had just saw you three by the hill behind me."Cassima slightly moved her eyes to the corner of her sockets to indicate what she meant.

She then turned her sights to Saki. "I will only drop my weapon if you three do it first." She requested and then finally focused on Kassandra, who didn't even ask Cassima a question. Neither did Saki, but she wished to have a say in this matter regarding Saki.

Who Cassima looked back at. "He certain looks beaten up."