06-04-2007, 05:20 PM
?All night we hunt and not even a TRACE of an enemy!? Jeice grumbled as he kicked a rock, shattering the stone into pebbles nonchalantly.
?Well, we are the only one of two to get a kill yesterday, so we are at least doing something right.? Yamu sighed, dropping onto a log as he crossed the names Karl had intoned off of his map. He dug into his bag and pulled out each of them a loaf of the bread they had scavenged off of SAM-13. ?Might as well finish this stuff off, it?s already going stale.?
Jeice gnawed a chunk off the crusty loaf but refused to sit, choosing instead to pace through the forest. The pair ate in silence until Yamu broke out the liquor that had followed them since Day Two. It was still dark out, and well before noon, but the veiny human was going to get this toast in while he still had somebody to celebrate with. ?To Day Four, Jeice.? Yamu swallowed a mouthful and then passed the bottle.
?To the Top Twenty!? Jeice grinned taking his own swallow. He made the traditional whiskey face as he passed the bottle back to Yamu, ?Shit, that stuff is strong.?
?Ever think you would make it this far, Red??
?Sticking with Red, huh?? The gloved fighter asked, finally taking a seat across from Yamu.
?I like it, don?t be surprised if it changes though. So, c?mon tell me, Ever think you would get this far??
Jeice leaned back on his pack, musing, ?When I first came?no. I honestly just wanted to see where I would measure up against the biggest and the badest of the galaxy. Then?? he pointed a finger like a gun at Yamu, ??I met you. I saw how you handled Minosha, and I knew I had hitched my cart to the right horse. Not that you haven?t made me second guess myself once or twice, but hey?I?m still here right??
?We?re both still here.? Yamu remembered the foolish choices that had eliminated him prematurely the previous year. ?I?m gonna go meditate for a bit, doesn?t look like we?ll see much action this early either. Mind taking a rest??
?No sweat, Yamu. I?ll be here when you get back.? The red skinned fighter leaned back in apparent relaxation, but his hand never left the trigger guard of his firearm.
The Arlian Guardian only walked enough paces to be out of sight, but well within earshot. If anything happened to either of them, the other could be there in a flash. He took a lotus position on a bed of soft pine needles and began regulating his breathing, setting Kari gently across his lap.
Without opening his eyes, Yamu opened the jar of Ki Sand and focused his energy on floating the cloud of enchanted dust out in front of him. He did not watch what he created, sculpture of this kind had to come from the soul, not the eyes. The veiny titan let his Ki craft the sand into what it needed to be.
When he heard an unmistakable rattle he opened his eyes, the sand had formed into a snake that now slithered back and forth but never moved. It hung in the air like an ornament, blowing in a breeze that did not exist.
Yamu could have picked the snake out of anywhere; it was a chameleon serpent, his Spirit Guide. One?s Guide was merely an expression of one?s own self conscious, the indefinable glimmer that was in touch with the multiple realms around you outside of reality. The Ki Sand had given the ebony eyed Earthling a chance to embody this facet of himself outside of a dream state. With it being craft from his own Ki his spirit could infuse into every grain.
?Brother, I?ve come to you for guidance.? The serpent?s eyes did not leave the bat on Yamu?s thighs ignoring the man altogether. ?How do I justify killing my friends? I can hope others will take care of them for me, but chances are in this game that I will have to-?
?I see you have chosen a Totem.? It interrupted as if Yamu had never been speaking.
Yamu?s eyebrows cocked in confusion. ?Yes. Atonement.? He replied, his eyes charred coals.
?Ahh?? The sound was odd considering the hiss that enveloped it, ?A powerful medicine Atonement, but one that can not last forever. Tell me, Snakeskin, do you aim for instant gratification instead of the permanent good??
?I came to ask you questions??
?You asked me for guidance not to ask me questions.?
?Yes?but??
The serpent almost seemed to smile through scaled lips, ?That is what I am giving.?
?How does that effect my question?? The Arlian Guardian blurted, already annoyed with the experiment. He lept up so he was upright on his knees, Kari almost rolling off onto the ground.
?You ask questions but dislike the answers. You avoid the inevitable paradox. You came to Dante as a way of washing the blood of Arlia off your hands, by giving them something back?something they might never have gotten without you. Will you wash away those old stains of innocents with the new blood of your former comrades??
Yamu fell back to sitting on his heels, the sand already breaking apart and swirling into his jar. He sighed?the serpent was right. There would always be blood on his hands?the choices he had made in life had already determined that. The Arlian Guardian had just never thought he would be left choosing which blood.
?Well, we are the only one of two to get a kill yesterday, so we are at least doing something right.? Yamu sighed, dropping onto a log as he crossed the names Karl had intoned off of his map. He dug into his bag and pulled out each of them a loaf of the bread they had scavenged off of SAM-13. ?Might as well finish this stuff off, it?s already going stale.?
Jeice gnawed a chunk off the crusty loaf but refused to sit, choosing instead to pace through the forest. The pair ate in silence until Yamu broke out the liquor that had followed them since Day Two. It was still dark out, and well before noon, but the veiny human was going to get this toast in while he still had somebody to celebrate with. ?To Day Four, Jeice.? Yamu swallowed a mouthful and then passed the bottle.
?To the Top Twenty!? Jeice grinned taking his own swallow. He made the traditional whiskey face as he passed the bottle back to Yamu, ?Shit, that stuff is strong.?
?Ever think you would make it this far, Red??
?Sticking with Red, huh?? The gloved fighter asked, finally taking a seat across from Yamu.
?I like it, don?t be surprised if it changes though. So, c?mon tell me, Ever think you would get this far??
Jeice leaned back on his pack, musing, ?When I first came?no. I honestly just wanted to see where I would measure up against the biggest and the badest of the galaxy. Then?? he pointed a finger like a gun at Yamu, ??I met you. I saw how you handled Minosha, and I knew I had hitched my cart to the right horse. Not that you haven?t made me second guess myself once or twice, but hey?I?m still here right??
?We?re both still here.? Yamu remembered the foolish choices that had eliminated him prematurely the previous year. ?I?m gonna go meditate for a bit, doesn?t look like we?ll see much action this early either. Mind taking a rest??
?No sweat, Yamu. I?ll be here when you get back.? The red skinned fighter leaned back in apparent relaxation, but his hand never left the trigger guard of his firearm.
The Arlian Guardian only walked enough paces to be out of sight, but well within earshot. If anything happened to either of them, the other could be there in a flash. He took a lotus position on a bed of soft pine needles and began regulating his breathing, setting Kari gently across his lap.
Without opening his eyes, Yamu opened the jar of Ki Sand and focused his energy on floating the cloud of enchanted dust out in front of him. He did not watch what he created, sculpture of this kind had to come from the soul, not the eyes. The veiny titan let his Ki craft the sand into what it needed to be.
When he heard an unmistakable rattle he opened his eyes, the sand had formed into a snake that now slithered back and forth but never moved. It hung in the air like an ornament, blowing in a breeze that did not exist.
Yamu could have picked the snake out of anywhere; it was a chameleon serpent, his Spirit Guide. One?s Guide was merely an expression of one?s own self conscious, the indefinable glimmer that was in touch with the multiple realms around you outside of reality. The Ki Sand had given the ebony eyed Earthling a chance to embody this facet of himself outside of a dream state. With it being craft from his own Ki his spirit could infuse into every grain.
?Brother, I?ve come to you for guidance.? The serpent?s eyes did not leave the bat on Yamu?s thighs ignoring the man altogether. ?How do I justify killing my friends? I can hope others will take care of them for me, but chances are in this game that I will have to-?
?I see you have chosen a Totem.? It interrupted as if Yamu had never been speaking.
Yamu?s eyebrows cocked in confusion. ?Yes. Atonement.? He replied, his eyes charred coals.
?Ahh?? The sound was odd considering the hiss that enveloped it, ?A powerful medicine Atonement, but one that can not last forever. Tell me, Snakeskin, do you aim for instant gratification instead of the permanent good??
?I came to ask you questions??
?You asked me for guidance not to ask me questions.?
?Yes?but??
The serpent almost seemed to smile through scaled lips, ?That is what I am giving.?
?How does that effect my question?? The Arlian Guardian blurted, already annoyed with the experiment. He lept up so he was upright on his knees, Kari almost rolling off onto the ground.
?You ask questions but dislike the answers. You avoid the inevitable paradox. You came to Dante as a way of washing the blood of Arlia off your hands, by giving them something back?something they might never have gotten without you. Will you wash away those old stains of innocents with the new blood of your former comrades??
Yamu fell back to sitting on his heels, the sand already breaking apart and swirling into his jar. He sighed?the serpent was right. There would always be blood on his hands?the choices he had made in life had already determined that. The Arlian Guardian had just never thought he would be left choosing which blood.
![[Image: Yamusig3copy.jpg]](http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e227/Wyled/Yamusig3copy.jpg)
Dante's Abyss 2007 Runner-Up