Lord Guerrier de Chateau

[Gwydion Nefarine]

Kadaj and Willow walked through the forest outside of the Imperial City. They kept off the path to avoid any spies Vincent might have. I don't like this, thought Kadaj. Not one bit. It's too quiet, like the calm before the storm. I don't like Cloud and Tifa being gone without someone else. While Cloud can take care of himself, Tifa isn't completely well yet. If they were attacked, they wouldn't stand a chance.

[anasa]

Sienna peeked at the travelers from her hiding place, counting the number of people. There were four of them and they all seemed pretty strong. Perhaps she should find someone else to rob.

[Willow]

The hair on the back of her neck stood on edge, and she jerked her head to the trees; A thief herself, it was easy for her to detect others. After a beat, she took half a step towards Kadaj and lean in to whisper in his ear, something inaudible to the others.

"A thief in the trees," she breathed. Maybe he already knew about it, maybe not. Either way, she figured she'd tell him. Then, without a word to the others, she fell back into her place just a few steps to Kadaj's right, silent and brooding. She glanced at Tifa, wishing the girl would shut it. The more noise they made the more likely they would be detected.

[Gwydion Nefarine]

((sorry guys, after this post, I'm going to kinda leave off for a minute and modify a few posts so I can go back to Kakrikya's shop. Anasa reminded me of an important detail I forgot. I'll start off in Carrying Out a Threat, Cloud and Tifa can go to the shop and Willow and Kadaj can start off toward the Imperial City. If someone has a problem with this, let me know))

Kadaj nodded. He had noticed. Then, he vanished. He watched Sienna from behind. Finally, he spoke. "Who are you and what are you doing here? And don't try to lie to me." After Renaldo, he wasn't very hungry, even if that had been a few hours ago. But, if a meal became available..... and convenient......

((on second thought, do yall mind if I transfer Cloud and Tifa and their conversation to Kakrikya's shop and leave Kadaj in here? that way, it doesn't seem like nothing happens until Cloud and Tifa show up again and we wouldn't have to stop rping here. again, if anyone has any disagreements, let me know. I'll probably go ahead and change everything though. If yall disagree, I'll change it again.))

[Willow]

ooc- I'm great with that.

[anasa]

Quickly, Sienna scaled up a nearby trees and began to retreat, springing from one branch to another.

[Willow]

ooc- I can't really do anything, so Kadaj can go ahead.

[Gwydion Nefarine]

Kadaj appeared in front of her with a sly grin on his face. "Answer my questions...... now." He made sure the thief noticed his grown fangs and his red eyes.

* * *(kinda nearby)* * *

Cloud thought about that for a long time. He couldn't tell her about the reason he was pursuing his sword so relentlessly. That was something he could probably never do. "Tifa, I do trust you.... all of you. I just....... guess I never got used to having somebody to trust." It was a feeble reply, Cloud knew, but what else could he say? Tifa finally gave up on questioning Cloud.

[Willowness]

Willow jumped as Kadaj blared past her, not disturbing even a leaf as he sprang up to level with the stranger. She let out a sigh, realizing she'd been holding her breath, and walked cautiously to the base of the tree they lurked in, looking up to see them.

[anasa]

Sienna sighed.

"Fine. What is it?" She said, crossing her arms with an annoyed look on her face.

[Gwydion Nefarine]

Kadaj growled, "Tell me why you were following us." He could hear Cloud and Tifa having an argument nearby, out of human hearing. That brings back memories, he thought, thinking about one whom he had argued with a few hundred years ago. There's no use in arguing with them, Cloud. They'll always win.

All of a sudden, he heard several footsteps, a group approaching Cloud and Tifa, who were now silent. Kadaj shouted, "Willow, watch her. I'll be back." He sped off towards Cloud and Tifa as he heard a shrill scream.

* * * * *

Cloud heard a twig snap. He stopped and motioned for Tifa to do the same. He saw silhouettes of people in the forest surrounding them. "Tifa, put your back to that tree!" She did. Cloud challenged, "Who are you? What do you want with us?" In response, ten arrows were launched at Tifa.

Cloud stepped in front of her. A chorus of "thud"s and "thwack"s could be heard as the arrows buried themselves in Cloud's flesh. None had hit his head. Tifa could only gape in horror as Cloud struggled to rush the nearest archer.

From out of nowhere, Kadaj emerged and joined in the assault with Cloud. Cloud struck one a death blow and, realizing he could go on no longer, threw his sword at the archer a few feet in front of him. It struck him through the stomach and he collapsed. Kadaj killed seven of the rest with ease, but one remained. This archer had started running. Kadaj thought quickly, I hate to do this, but if he goes back and tells Vincent that they have killed Cloud, whether they have or not, Vincent might stop trying to kill his friends. Finally, he decided he would let the archer escape.

Kadaj walked over to Cloud, where Tifa was attempting to extract an arrow. He could tell that Cloud wold not live. His wounds were beyond magic. Cloud managed to whisper to Tifa, "No, Tifa, leave them. I'm lost." Tears shone in Tifa's eyes. "Cloud, we're going to get you to the healer's. You'll be okay." Cloud shook his head. "Tifa, I told you, I'm lost."

After a short pause, in which he coughed up some blood, he continued, "I'm sorry, Tifa. You were right about me. All of you should have had my full trust. After all, I had yours. I'm sorry that I cannot make it up to you. Good-.....bye." Then, Cloud went limp and he was still. Tears now streamed from Tifa's eyes. Through her tears though, she saw something. There was a large rock nearby. It was perfectly split in two.

Tifa cried even harder. Kadaj knelt beside her and placed an arm around her. She immediately started talking. "Why did this have to happen? Why did Cloud have to die?" Kadaj spoke plainly, the only emotion he showed being pity -- for Tifa, "Tifa, I've lived a long time. Throughout my time, I've seen many people that were close to me die. Some of them died for me, as Cloud did for you. It bothered me for a long time. Eventually, however, I came to realize something. All of us are going to die when it is our time. Even I will die when the world has grown too weary. Death is a natural part of life."

This didn't seem to help Tifa much. She replied, "You mean you don't think about the people in your life -- the people that cared for you, that died for you? You don't think they are worthy of remembrance? You think that they should be forgotten like they never were?" Kadaj told her, "On the contrary, Tifa, we should remember them. We should remember their sacrifice, their bravery, everything they did for us. We should not grieve, but remember with pride that they were strong people who would do anything to protect those that they cared about." He stood and started to walk away to give Tifa some time to be alone and getting back to Sienna. Tifa called after him, "Why did he do it? Why did he give his life for me?" Kadaj turned. "If you do not know that Tifa, Cloud died for nothing." With that, he left.

[Hans Messer]

((ahhh,why you kill cloud mon?is it part of some plot or you just got tired of him?))

[Gwydion Nefarine]

((part of some plot...... kinda....... sorta....... maybe))

[Aeric Ecrai]

((In reality, people actually do die...so...))

[Gwydion Nefarine]

((whatdaya mean? I know thats true, but I mean, what's your point?))