Time for war. Semi-lit. Accepting

[iva wolf]

[Bumping! By the way, I was made a mini-mod, since Dead will be away for a while =3 Sorry that I will be double-posting. I made my third character on page 3 ^^ ]
[Also, no one thought of naming the castles, so I unanimously name the Older Brother's main castle Corde Puro, meaning 'pure heart' in Latin =3 ]

|| Azarel ||

With the sun shining happily in the bright blue sky, the town by Corde Puro was already awake. The hustling and bustling of the townspeople only increased as time swept the porch. Smiles and morning greetings, the day was starting off nicely. The hands of the clock high on the tower of the central square pointing optimistically upwards, as always, there was so much light in the streets at this hour, one could wonder if night had ever payed this small corner of the world a visit. Opening their stalls one by one, the owners started getting the market back to its daily self. Old ladies and housewives were already on the spot, murmuring about how the shop-keepers were late, sharing a rumor or two in between all their complaints and worries. Frolicking along in the crowd of busy people was a young boy, dressed in an ordinary fashion. His hair was tied with a black lace and held low, not allowing his ponytail to stick out. Curiosity sparkling in those two eyes, which differed in colour, the child hurried over to the spot where he wished to go. There, under one of the bridges sang a bard. A tall man with long black hair he was, his voice loud, yet gentle as he recited verse after verse of wonderful lyric in a melody quite pleasant to hear. Azarel, who had been born with the power of 'sound' had heard the echoing of this person's tale and had found means of escape in order to come see him in the flesh, for he could not identify him. A traveler the boy presumed he was. The man's attire was fine, yet had a few holes here and there, revealing he did not belong to any household or that he had at least been treated poorly. This set the incarnation of Humility in a sense of unrest, but he did not wish to break the atmosphere that was created by the song. Thus he stood in the little crowd that had gathered and swore to himself to set this person in a better environment.
As the long-haired boy listened with delight, he caught a figure with the corner of his eyes. Turning his head, he could only see the back of a girl running wildly through the street, a black cat tailing after her. This oddity was nothing new to him, but was enough to divert his attention completely. This was his sister, Ivy. Yet why was she running? Was there danger around? The child did not know, but had often been told by his mother how his elder sister often disobeyed the rules and walked about without permission. Although he himself was outside, he had asked a few servants and they had allowed him to exit. Neither he, nor they had noticed the usage of his power in its vocal form. Deciding that he had to follow her, Azarel bolted in the direction the girl was heading, forgetting about the wonderful song. Running as quickly a 10-year-old could, the boy called after her:
"Sister! Sister Ivy! Wait up! "

[~:Stitch:~]

~Greed~

Greed saddled his horse finally, mounting it shortly after. The horse and it's master slowly trotted outside the stable. Greed coldly stared his brother's 'creation' down. "Could you possibly make that even more unrealistic." Greed sneered at his twin. "I don't want anyone to be too suspicious, idiot." With a sharp turn of his head, he kicked lightly at Midnight's side. She neighed and trotted past Yumi. "Come on both of you." Greed ordered. He was starting to regret asking his brother. Envy was his twin however, forming a strange bond between the two. That was why Greed was nicer to hos twin than his other siblings. He actually kinda cared for Envy. He would never let it show however. Just to maintain a higher, more professional and Prince, no, King like composure. His purple eyes scanned the dead forest. "Pitiful and horrible. Father should take care of our land rather than treat it like trash. It's like the moment we were born, we took all of his kinghood out of him. His greed, his pride, envy, everything. It's disgusting." Greed started to rant. "If I was king, this place would be spotless. Countless servants tending to the gardens. Cleaning the rooms. Keeping the castle nice. Not only is it our home, it's a symbol of our resistance. Our strength. What father is doing is showing weakness. I mean, when was the last time we actually tried to take action against our uncle's kingdom? I don't even know! All we do is suck our thumbs in hopelessness and being outcast, feeding the demon who made us souls.Again, disgusting." When Greed was finished, he relaxed his all-so-mighty position to one of layed back. Only because he could see their uncle's kingdom in the far distance. Travelers could be near, no need to raise and suspicion or alarm.

(I hate school dX. Sorry it took so long....)

[iva wolf]

[No problem, Dead =3 Everybody has those moments when school just eats away all your time. ]

|| Samir ||

Samir released some air through his nostrils as a light soundless laugh at his brother's comment.
"Worry not, no one will notice." he told him.
Setting off alongside his sibling, as ordered, the party began their journey. Out of the so called 'castle grounds' and into the forest, Greed began one of his many rants, with which his twin could not help but agree with. Indeed, the stated viewpoint was accurate. Dead trees with hollow trunks, a barren land of dust, the soil dry and cracked, it was as if every piece of light was stripped away from their domain. Only the sky remained clear and blue, the sun shining down, as if to pity how unfortunate this side of the world was. Yet even this small kindness was blocked by the occasional haze of small demonic creatures, which floated about and feasted on anything they could get their hands on. Of course, in order to allow the few other residents to live and raise livestock, as well as plants, those swarms had to be kept at bay, at least from some areas. Riding along the path in the dead forest, the sound of falling trees and breaking branches could be heard in the distance. This was the result of being dry for so long. The level of decay was too high for some of them to even stand, so they broke and fell to the ground, becoming nothing more than shards of lifelessness. The picture portrayed here could only bring grim feelings. It was nothing like what Samir had seen when he was young.

Once, when he was 10 years old, his father had decided to take the family on a trip to the far away mountains. It was to be a journey which would show the children their land, since they had not gone far from the castle before. Excited, the blue-eyed boy had eagerly awaited this trip. However, his power, which at the time he could not control, made him invisible on the day of departure. When he went back to his room to get something, no one noticed that they had left him behind when leaving. Forgotten by his family, Samir had spent a week on his own in the castle. Not even the servants could see him, thus they left no food for him. Understanding that there was no point in staying around, the lad escaped and made his way, unknowingly, towards the border. There, after a long track on foot, he reached a forest, situated right on the line between the two kingdoms. The land around it had growing fresh grass and the trees were lush green, with tick huge trunks. It was an ancient wood, perhaps dating back to times before the kingdom his grandfather had ruled had ever been founded. Many days passed as the boy explored this mysterious wonder. He grew fond of it, remembering the paths, the sounds different birds made and the respectful distance that had to be kept between him and the animals. It was a pleasurable experience, in fact, Samir wouldn't have minded if no one had ever come for him. Life in the forest made him at ease, there was no one he could envy, the sounds were like a spell that cured all your worries. A beautiful place it was and remains, there, on the border. Perhaps a few weeks went by before somebody actually remembered that he wasn't around and that someone was most likely Shay. They always found each other first when playing hide and seek, since they were twins and being such connected them in a strange way. Thus it was no surprise to Envy when Greed found him.

"What you say is consent indeed. In our current situation, we are likely to lose people, despite having serfdom. Knowing that our people are the ones who feed us and give their souls in order to feed the demon, it's likely that the system will collapse unless something is done. Of course, we can simply pillage the neighboring country, but that is too lowly of a living, at least for you and Pride." Samir gave a giggle at the end. It had to noted how similar Greed and Pride were, when concerning their high standards. "Again, what you said is true, Your Grace. A fine king you will be. However, I've heard that taking the throne is much easier than sitting on it. It is a grave responsibility one needs to take under consideration. Nothing will happen just by the snap of your fingers, you know." The entire time, the young man kept a smile and a friendly tone, as he didn't want to wake his brother's inner demon again. "If being king was as easy as pealing an orange, you would have been the king of the world by now."

[~:Stitch:~]

~Greed~
Greed smiled faintly. "Indeed. And in no time, it shall be fine." Greed patted the mane of Midnight as if mainly speaking to her. A soft breeze came through as they neared their uncle's land. What was it like? Living in such a beautiful place? he wanted to know. He wanted to understand. Most of all, he wanted the land. Where there is no demons waddling around. Where the trees and plants were plentyful. Greed casted a sidglance at his brother. His brother had been here had he not? During Envy's time alone, Greed suspected Envy to come to uncle's place. What else would his lonely brother do? Greed had noticed Envy's absence since the start but thought his brother was just playing their regular game of hiding seek. In fact, Greed would set out on his own to find his brother. When he told their father of envy's anscence, his father hadn't even noticed! His very own child! Yes Envy was like a ghost but still. That had started Greed's bad view on his father. Midnight suddenly froze, rearing up as something spooked her. Greed had to hold on tightly to prevent falling off. She bubkled a few times but slowly backed away. A frown formed on Greed's lips. Peering over Midnight's head, he saw it was a hobgoblin who trudged slowly towards Midnight. A little drool formed on it's mouth. It froze the moment it saw the horse's rider. "M-m-m-master Gre-e-eed!" It stuttered in panic. Greed gave it a furious glare, his normal purple eyes flashing a angry red. He dropped from Midnight's saddle and almost stomped towards the demon. "I'm sorry master Greed!" It bellowed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The pathetic thing actually began to cry. "There is no acceptance to apolagies t would teach them to NEVER do anything to himself and more importantly, his possesions. Turning around quickly, the red had died from his eyes. All that was left was it's usual prurple. His hand strocked Midnight's main. "shh. Shhh." He soothed the paniced horse. In no time, she calmed. As if nothing happened, Greed hopped on Midnight's back. "Come on then. " He said. Greed reached into his right pocket for something. An orange. He tossed it to Envy. It was no use to him anymore, for he was already full. To Greed the orange was more of a small 'gift' as you could say. A 'thanks for coming along'. He COULD be generous at times, even though he hated it more than a thousand burning suns. (Yep, definatly hating school. Makes me stay up past midnight...hehe..midnight XD)

[lynettetan1]

Eureyla stood, walking over to her master. She said nothing to Lust's words, staying quiet. She cast a side glance to her master, but just like she had expected, Sloth had not moved even an inch. She gave a soft sigh, going to stand next to her master, who was currently in comatose like state. But really, what had the girl to fear? Nothing. Sloth was the most powerful, like it or not, and there weren't very many instances of that changing. The moment a power touched her, it was rendered ineffective. The sweet song of Lust, upon reaching Sloth's ears, became just that. Merely a song. Wrath's ability to explode anything, the moment it touched her, it was still ineffective. Unless, of course, she exploded the air next to Sloth or used something that was not her power. And then when a normal person got to her, there was the problem of her superstrength. Sometimes, Eureyla wondered if there was anyone who could match up to her master. But then she remembered.

She remembered the virtues, remembered diligence. She wondered if diligence would actually be able to stir up Sloth's feelings, if he or she was actually on par, like the rumours said. It was hard to believe. And yet, she knew little.

Eureyla leaned against the wall, merely waiting for Lust to get ready so she could awaken her unconscious master.

[iva wolf]

[ I see, now I understand what time it was when you wrote her name the first time ]

[I get the impression he killed the goblin. He did, didn't he?]

|| Samir ||

The blue-eyed boy could only forgive his sibling for having such divine confidence in himself. He understood this probably came from the strength he had, due to his power, and those leadership skills, most notable of which was his voice, loud, clear, one which could not be denied to. In his childhood,there was such a time when he had envied his brother for being the 'head' of things, the one who was always giving the orders. However, times changed, and now Samir did not even wish to be a tenth of what his twin was, personality and rank wise. Experiencing freedom, first at that forest and later on, when his power came under control, made him wish to be a stray cat than a lion.
Suddenly, the lad's sharp gaze caught something near the path. At first, he could not clearly make out what it was, but as they approached and it came closer to the road, it became apparent that it was a hobgoblin. The sin did not pay it any more mind, for he knew such creatures would not dare attack them, yet the sudden halt of Midnight and her disobedience made him freeze in place. The way the horse had stood on two feet, for a split second, gave him the idea that his brother would fall. Samir was prepared to cushion his fall by making the ground below him soft like a pillow, but his worries were in vain. Greed had had enough riding experience to know what to do in a situation like this. Taking control swiftly, he made the animal obey. What happened next was not that much to Envy's pleasure, since seeing a hobgoblin cut in half was not a sight delightful to observe. Still, it wasn't like his gut hurt or anything, he was old enough to have seen worse scenes in front of his sky eyes.
Right before they set off again, Shay tossed an orange to Samir while he wasn't paying attention. He did grab it quickly, but felt as startled as the horse a few moments ago. Looking with a shocked expression for a second, under that hood of his, the young man suddenly wanted to laugh so hard that he might have actually lost the little concentration he still had, after which the 'horse' would have disappeared. This was one of those occasions when he actually felt joy. And why wouldn't he? His brother, the almighty Greed, was giving him one of his possessions. Despite the fruit seeming useless and insignificant, it was proof that there was still some warmth in that stone-king-to-be.
'Even if you try to hide, if I'm around, there will still be a crack of light.' Samir thought.
Greed had since long ago been trying to become a suitable king. His wish to reach a level higher than their father was admirable. However, as a king should, he had to loose the natural warmth he had in order to be possessed, dignified and profound. The neutral hard character of a leader. If one wished to have a strong kingdom, as the ruler, they had to be the spitting image of power. A sloppy king meant a sloppy kingdom, and one with an iron fist meant security, a good structure,wealth. But to have an 'iron fist' meant to coat oneself with 'iron', the 'unbreakable metal', which would not allow weaknesses such as 'emotions'. So, it was no surprise to Samir that his brother was growing colder and colder as time flew past them, thus he tried sticking around him rather than do what he did before, watch from the side or run off to some other place. Although his attempts to joke around didn't appear to have any effect, the young man was certain that with every cheer he made, at least a little light could enter through the remaining cracks in his brother's 'iron armor'.
"My, it has been a long time." Samir began as they got near the border, pealing the orange in his hands "How long has it been since we have seen a field of lush green? I do not doubt that our uncle's land would be blooming. It's spring, after all. After getting your books and doing or job, wana go and have some fun around the towns? There's bound to be a spring festival in one of them. All those games and songs, it'll be a chance you wouldn't get everyday."

[~Soul of the Abyss~]

(( I'm sorry fot the late post. School has been very busy for me lately. ))

Ivy tried little to blend into the bustling crowd as she strolled cobblestoned streets of the town. She kept her feet at a steady pace, her heals lightly tapped the ground, as if they were dancing. A long, black tail brushed one of Ivy's legs as she moved along. Her eyes flashed down to meet contact with Tackle, who was calmly prancing by her side.
It had been about an hour since she had successfully nabbed the apple from the tired, elderly vender and was just about to sink her teeth into another juicy bite. The crisp burst of natural sweetness filled Ivy's mouth and she could feel it's juice trickle down her throat ate she dove down for another bite.
Crossing onto anther alleyway, Ivy heard an outcry of a familiar voice echoing from behind. She spun around in an instant and laid her eyes on a small boy with dark hair.
"Azarel," Ivy gasped, "What are you doing here? I thought you were suppose to be at the castle?" Ivy wasn't surprised that she had run into her brother. It wasn't his first time running off on his own, after all.
A bright smile ran across Ivy's face as she gave herself a light chuckle. Did Azarel come to bring her back to the castle? She had thought he had been informed on her current exile for snatching one of the maids' aprons the other day. Ivy could still remember her ridiculous face as she rampaged through the cupboards like a psychopath. The memory caused Ivy to exhale in another round of laughter.
At the ring of Ivy's voice, Tackled flashed to Azarel's side. His nose covered every inch of his legs below his knees before the cat opened up to the young boy. Although Tackle knew Azarel well from years of living in the castle, he was always cautious around those who approached his master so suddenly. Tackle was never one to let his guard down.

(( It's quite late so a small post is all I can produce right now. (@_@) ))

[iva wolf]

[ Well, Azarel's eyes are a different colour each and neither is blue, just to say Oh, and don't use that font for 'Ivy' with every post. I used to do it, but a mod told me it was spam and shouldn't be done =3 ]

|| Azarel ||

Huffing and puffing, the little boy finally held to a stop when he saw his sister turning towards him once she had finally heard his calls. They were in a narrow street, the ground covered with plates and stones of different shape and kind. Sunlight barely came in, due to being blocked by the two or three story high houses around them. For a moment, the child was looking at the ground, exhausted after running after his older sibling. Finally, after his heart calmed down, this colourful gaze looked up at her.
"I heard this pretty song from the castle. It was one I'd never heard of and the voice was new, too. So I went out to see who it was. It turned out to be a traveling bard. He was really amazing. His voice was like honey, but not so much as to give off a bitter-sweet taste. I think that if there was a flute playing in the background or a tambura, the arrangement would have been great." Azarel told her in his honest childish way. He was 10 years old, but unlike most little kids, he didn't lie, at least to his family. With sparkling curious eyes, he tilted his head slightly and gave off a puzzled look "Why is it that sister is here? Did you come to see if the city was fairing well?" Ivy was diligence, after all. It was her job to see to that people were doing their jobs well and that all was well-managed and going.

[~:Stitch:~]

~Greed~
 
Greed frowned at the thought of their Uncle having a better kingdom than he. "Yes. It's spring...." A slight breeze picked up as they crossed the border. Such a nice breeze, with the soft smell of flowers, the chirping of many birds, the soft roar of nearby a waterfall. Greed longed for this. This uniquness that they will never experience as long as their Father was King. Yes, when Greed took over he would rebuilt what was long forgotten. That was in the way future however. Right now Greed had to do whatever his pitiful father needed. A pain but it would help him get his father's trust alot. Greed sighed and decided to drop the topic for now. He opened his mouth to protest against Envy's suggestion but froze and thought about it for a moment. It WOULD be nice to go to the festival. Get his mind of the crazy life of the kingdom. Also, the festivals were always filled with the most facinating things and delicious food. Yes...when he rulled there will be LOTS of festivals. All filled with amazing food and amazing things.... They passed by a pair of travlers. "Hi!" A young boy waved with a smile at Greed. Greed smiled fakely back and gave a little wave to the boy. The boy giggled, running up to his mother. Greed's face fell back to it's seriousness. He hated showing any sorts of emotion that goes against power and strength. But he still had to fake his happy traveler act. It was hard. How did Envy do it? Envy had a happy-go-lucky kinda self but Greed knew better than that. He knew that the Envy he saw now was a cover up self. Who knew what the real Envy was. "Because we are in the kingdom, no one knows who we are. So for now on you call me by my human name, ok Samir?" Greed, now Shay to everyone he spoke to, added in. "And your paying for everything I want to get. Books, food, iteams, everything. No 'buts' or protest, ok?" Greed gave Envy a true, real, playful smile then made Midnight go faster towards the travler stables. Yes, he was just thinking on how silly emotions were not needed in a king but like he said before, wasn't happening anytime soon as far as he knew. Besides, Envy was his brother, twin, someone he actually like. There was no wrong showing a playful Greed to his brother, even if it came so little.

[iva wolf]

[But of course the twin's paying for everything That was an excellent troll, if we can call it that XD ]

|| Samir ||

Samir was delighted when his brother suddenly decided not to protest against his suggestion. Although he seemed to have wanted to at first, now his sibling had gone into his own world once more to think things over. It was a pleasant sight for the blue-eyed, for it mean that his aspiration was not hopeless.
As he eagerly awaited a reply, his happy expression became a mixture of slight surprise and curiosity when unknown figures approached from ahead. They were heading in the opposite direction to the party, but considering that they seemed unarmed and that they were already on the other side of the border, the youngster decided there was no need for alarm. Spotting a smaller member in the nearing group, he understood and took down his hood. It was often that wearing it gave children a fright and he didn't wish such a thing, not when Greed was unpleasant enough as it was. When they passed by, the little boy gave a cheerful greeting to them, to which Samir responded with a jolly "Hello", while his twin simply waved and smiled, a still unmastered art for him. The kid ran back to his mother, not appearing to be frightened, but the woman did seem uncomfortable, indeed. She tried her best not to look displeased or insecure as she walked along with her husband and son, but the sin saw right through her. Having the already pealed orange in his hand, the young man split it in two and tossed it to the boy while winking. This was a silent "Excuse him." and the couple looked as if they understood.
Parting their separate ways, he followed behind his brother, since he had to pull up a bit before, in order to toss half of the piece of fruit. The whole time during the encounter, he had to concentrate enough to give his 'black horse' more distinct features so it would at least resemble a living creature. The moment they split, he let it become a shadow-like being once more. Truly, it would have been better if he had walked, but there was an appearance that had to be kept. Already in the land of their uncle, the trio passed by yellow fields planted with colza. The flowers were in full bloom and, as the wind glided atop them, they danced in synch together, gracefully swaying left and right, forwards and backwards. A marvelous view it was. The road stretched on in front of them, far between the different-coloured plains and in the distance could be seen the first town, as well as the first inns, which could often be found by the path a short distance from the villages.
Since there were still no people in sight, Samir had dropped the foolishly smiling face and replaced it with a more neutral one. He was gazing at the distance, wondering when he would be able to pay the old forest a visit. It was true that he did not miss a chance to spend a day or two there, but now was not the same as before and he scarcely found any time in between the jobs he was given and the self-appointed ones. Retrieving his attention the moment his brother spoke, the boy could not help but smile once more. Today was getting better and better, yet stranger and stranger, since his identical sibling rarely willingly agreed on calling each other by their human names.
"I'll make sure not to make a mistake, Shay onii-sama~" Samir said, this time actually adding a laugh-like tone to it.
He never seemed to mind being called by his human name, in fact, he actually preferred it. 'Envy' always gave off a bad impression, although it did sound cool, however, the meaning of that name was not to his liking as much as the meaning behind 'Samir'.
As he was about to comment about how his brother used to protest against being called 'Shay' during their childhood, causing tantrums and breaking objects one too many times and one too many expensive ones, the little 'addition' of his twin was like arrows through the lad's chest. It was as if he was struck by lightning and indeed he appeared like that, frozen in place with a smile that became stoned and created a strange expression, with the way his mimic muscles were twitching. He had to pay....He was a king's son, after all, so he did have a lot of money on him, but this was Greed we were talking about here. His name was enough to make it clear Samir was going to sleep on the rooftop again, if they were going to stay for longer than a day, which was also as obvious as the difference between day and night, since Shay was going to get sleepy after running around buying, trying and eating.
'Sometimes I wonder if the cause I'm working for is just.' the blue-eyed youngster thought.
Seeing him run off like that with such a sincere smile, Samir only sighted and sent his 'horse' into gallop. Within seconds, he reached his sibling, gave him an underestimating grin and spoke:
"Race you to the other side of the town?"


[In order for the sins and virtues to meet, they'll have to pass a few towns or at least a little more into the kingdom, since Azarel and Ivy are in the town near the main castle, so it can be called a capital? Ivy will somehow have to transport herself and Azarel using her power or something to the next town, further away from the main castle and Shay and Samir will have to get closer. ]