Graceling

[Cara]

"Be calm!" Elliot cried, as he launched himself at Shona. In an instant, Isaac and Peter were up. Peter grabbed Elliot. Elliot gave a yelp as he felt a flash of heat and then pain. He was forced down, a blade to his throat. Isaac grabbed Kasta. She was what the Master really wanted. But if the Master could get everyone, it would be even better...

(why would Shona say that? sorta confused... XD)

[Akira]

Elliot, Lorn, Kasta, everyone vanished. Mech stared at his hands, and found he could see them. Just. Peter and Isaac were staring around, bewildered. They couldn't see them? He stared at his hands once again and it clicked. Shona had an interesting Grace.

Shona hid, and moved away from Elliot. She struggled. The different illusions all at the same time were too much. Some of them were slipping. Peter and Isaac. That was the main one she had to focus on. She had seen the red mark of the Master. The fake Kasta was fading, translucent, opaque, translucent, transparent. With a quick tug on the presence, she pulled it back. Elliot, Mech, Lorn, and Kasta were all backing away. She was trying as best she could to let them see, just not Peter and Isaac. Her illusions were fading. No! Her hands were almost completely visible. Shona's head swam, darkness enclosing on the fringes of her vision. Isaac could see them! She saw a small flash of fire, and then it was gone. Hide Kasta was her only thought. She was the one the Master wanted most. Kasta was once again invisible, but Shona wasn't. Her eyes closed.

Elliot didn't know if he could hurt Peter or Isaac. Even if they were only part of the Master, they were still friends. But he had to be ready. The wolf's teeth were long and sharp, and already he could feel it's wildness taking hold.

(well, it was pointless, but because she was trying to hide the people. o_0)

[Cara]

Kasta threw a dagger, having perfect aim, it hit home. She leapt back onto her horse. Everything was so confusing. There was only one goal. To survive. Damn! She saw to her dismay, that her arrows had fallen out. She jumped off and grabbed as many as she could. She had to at least stall these Gracelings! She shot with perfect aim. It was part of her Grace, of course...

Lorn looked around for Kasta. She had vanished! But he had just seen her next to him. He drew his sword, as the Gracelings fell upon the small group.

[Akira]

Mech drew out his sword again. A Graceling with gray and red eyes swept past him, patting his shoulders. He slashed with his sword, but the Graceling wasn't there. It was Shona. She was staring at the gash in her chest. But Shona wasn't there! But the soft cry he heard, the crumpling of her body, she was there. He dropped to his knees and placed a hand on her, sending strength and speed through Shona. He healed her.

Mila collapsed. The healer had cut her! She used her threads. Now all he would see was his dear Shona, hurt.

[Cara]

Kasta looked around with concentration. She knew that the Gracelings who were attacking must have at least one Graced with illusion of the sort. There had been a girl there in the village on the wall. But Shona could preform such illusions, right? It was so hard to separate the truth! While one could see themselves attacking an enemy, it might be a friend. She tucked her sword away, and jumped off her horse. She didn't want to harm a friend, yet she wasn't going to go down without a fight either.
She smiled, as someone jumped on her. Whirling with incredible speed, she moved with fluid motion, jabbing the person hard. They fell to the ground with a grunt, temporarily paralyzed. She smiled. She could defend herself without killing; her Grace wasn't so bad...

[Akira]

Shona grimaced. Now all she dared do was hide Kasta, Lorn, Mech and Elliot. She couldn't spare enough though to hide herself. She picked up a dagger, strewn on the ground, and threw it at a Graceling. It hit, and Shona turned away, searching for other weapons. An arrow. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Bah. Shona saw Mech and ran towards him. He was leaning over a girl.... it was her! Shona cleared his head. Mech looked startled, then looked up. He glared at Shona, and came at her with his weapon drawn.

[Cara]

"Lorn!" Kasta cried, as she circled around. Three people lay at her feet. She saw Shona and... Shona? on the far side of the clearing with Mech. Well in hell, there couldn't be two Shonas... Kasta ran, knocking people as she went. She'd learned a thing or two about illusion Graces. Usually it was just visiual, but the more complex Graces could even make you hear things that weren't there, not just fooling your eyes but your entire mind. Usually if the Graceling was unconcious, the illusions would all end. Usually.

Mila snarled in her mind, as she manipulated the threads with her mind. She laughed to herself as she saw Mech turn towards the real Shona. Mech thought that was an illusion. Healed, Mila scrambled back. She saw Lorn fighting with someone in the trees. She smiled, as she tugged on his thread, watching as Lorn gasped, and stopped.
"Kasta?" he asked, eyes wide and confused. She watched as the Graceling quickly knocked Lorn unconscious, glancing at Mila who nodded.
Kasta's group was outnumbered. Lorn was down, Mech and Shona was busy. Elliot was still fighting... Elliot. Mila located Elliot, and grabbed his tread with her mind. With a snap, she dragged out his deepest fears from the depths of his mind and made them a reality. She watched with an amused smile, as whatever he was experiencing made him shake and fall to the ground with a cry. "NO!"
Suddenly she felt someone crash into her. Falling back, she saw Kasta over her, eyes blazed with fire.
Mila laughed, as she grabbed Kasta's thread.
Kasta froze for a moment, as she found herself not in the forest battling for her life, but in the Court. She was standing besides her cousin, before the King of Rada. She was reliving the day when she was three and killed her cousin during a formal dance. It was that day, which lives in infany in Rada, that she became the king's killer...
Shaking with fury, she closed her eyes. This is not real. It already happened... She opened her eyes, but it was all still there. The Graceling was usually always present in the vision as one of the other people... She leapt forward and grabbed the king then, who gave a shout of surprise and a demand. With fluid movements, she easily paralyzed him, hitting all the body's pressure points perfectly. The vision melted away leaving Mila in Kasta's arms...

[Akira]

Shona hid, and most of her illusions snapped. She couldn’t concentrate enough to hold them. Elliot was only halfway invisible, and everyone else popped into sight. It had been all she could think of. Mech turned, confused, wondering where his opponent had gone. Mila’s illusions had all faded to dust -Shona had seen Kasta debilitate her- and the Gracelings around them were far superior in numbers. She wandered away from the fight. Focusing, the trees around them began to spark. Shona grew a fire, keeping it sequestered on one tree. Soon, she would let it spread. For now, it would stay there. Now she had an illusion pre-prepared, and fed her other illusions off of it. Even if it was slow, Mech, Lorn, Elliot, and Kasta were all invisible. Shona released her fire illusion, let it wander where it wanted. Flames grew, taller and taller. She was trying to scare off the other Gracelings. In one last effort, she gave her friends sight. They might notice the fire, but they would know it for what it really was.

[Cara]

Kasta dropped Mila to the ground. "Let's move!" Kasta cried, not entirely sure what she was seeing. Lorn ran up to her and grabbed her hand as they ran to her horse which was saddled behind a stand of trees. She turned to see Lorn, dragging Mila along.
"What the hell?" she cried.
"We need to bring her with us..." Lorn said, as they kept running.
Kasta blinked, trying to focus. Damn, she hated illusions. It messed with everything. She grabbed her horse and climbed on, snatching the reigns. Lorn handed Mila to her, as he climbed on behind her.
"It's too much weight..." Kasta said.
"We don't need to get very far. Just away..." Lorn said, as he spurred their horse off. Kasta glared ahead, as they fled into the predawn light. She hated running; it was against her very nature! And to leave people behind? In the chaos, she hadn't seen if anyone had been successful in following them either.

[Galadas]

Elliot stared at the fire, he trembled back, placing his claws into the ground. He was more afraid of fire than of being caught by Peter and Isaac. He knew them, he had trained with their powers, he needed to find a way to get them back. Peter, Isaac, Dedelean. He wished there had been found a way, not yet, not now. He growled at the fire before sneaking off. Where had everyone gone to?

Isaac pressed his ability into the fire, hoping to control it, but it didn't work. "The fire is fake! Peter," he said, "it's that girl!"
Peter shook his head. "They're gone, we lost Mila, we need to regroup."
"I don't think that the Master would want us to."
"We're with less, it's logical. Following them would be pointless."

[Cara]

Kasta and Lorn didn't stop until they were far enough away for Kasta to deem 'safe', or at least safe enough. Dismounting, she took a calming breath. She doubted that they would follow. Patience, was always the best of the predator. That was always what her uncle had told her. If this Master had any sense, which Kasta didn't doubt, he would wait, and try to cut them off before they passed into the seventh kingdom, Druet, as he now knew through Peter and Isaac where they were headed. She sighed. And they had plenty of time to do so too.
Lorn came over, handing her a sack of water. She took a long swig, before moving over to Mila. She wouldn't be coming around for another minute. Taking thick rope from the saddle, Kasta expertly bound her feet and hands. They needed to have a little chat.
"I didn't see anyone get away," Lorn said, worry creasing his brow.
"I'm sure some got away. Those flames were enough to give them plenty of time. We just have to wait and hope they can catch up to us."
"And you aren't afraid that those Gracelings might find us before hand?"
Kasta laughed. "I don't think so. They didn't follow. Not yet..."

Mila opened her eyes. It was early in the day, the sky still light with morning colors. She looked down at her wrist and ankles and swore. She felt sore. The Master had not been joking about Kasta's Grace. Unlike many others, she didn't come from any of the kingdoms that surrounded Rada and knew of the infamous Kasta Sarce.
She looked around and saw Kasta talking over with Lorn by the horse. She smirked, as she saw a dagger sitting next to the saddle. She moved slowly, as she inched her way over. Once her hands were free, Kasta and Lorn would be at her mercy, like puppets to their master!
Mila gave out a cry, as something heavy slammed down on her back, crushing her face into the ground. She saw Kasta and Lorn look over in surprise.
Kasta smiled. "Elliot!" she said. "You made it!"
"Yea, just caught your scent and followed it," Elliot responded.
Kasta walked over, looking down at Mila, who was weighted down by Elliot's foot on her back.
"Hey, asshole, get your fucking foot off my back," Mila snarled, as she tried to pushed herself off the ground. Elliot glared down at her and pressed down harder. Mila fell forward with a huff.
She glared up at him, and then in a quick show of natural un-Graced skill, she pushed herself up, making Elliot off balance, as she flipped over and delivered a quick kick into his stomach.
Kasta was there in an instant, and caught her neck. With ease, she flung Mila back to the ground, still holding to Mila's throat. She could hear all the breathe escape from Mila's lings in a woosh, leaving Mila gasping.
"Don't you ever try another trick like that again," Kasta snarled. "Trust me, I am Graced to do things you wouldn't believe..." she said with a cruel smile.
"My Master will find me. He knows where every one of his children are," Mila spat, spitting blood too.
"Can he track you if you're dead?" Kasta asked. "Do you think he can came and save you before I say, break your legs?"
Mila blanched, but kept her bravado up. "I will never betray my Master."
"Oh, I was hoping you would say that."

[Akira]

She abandoned the flames as soon as she heard someone say they were fake. One of the horses that Kasta had...'purchased' was waiting. Shona climbed on, then let the flames die out, funneling that illusion into hiding her and the horse. She had to find Kasta, Elliot. How? IF she just wandered, there wold be no guarantee that she could find them. They would have gone in the direction of Druet. But there would be no knowing if she was nearby, and she couldn't search for tracks on a horse, and even if she was an inch to the ground, she had never been very good at it. She would just have to try going towards Druet. Shona might run into them. Slim chance, but might was better than not.

[Cara]

Mila found herself once again tied up to a tree. Kasta walked over, her Graceling eyes piercing.
"You know, I only need your tongue to work. The rest of you is... disposable." She smiled, and it sent shivers through her.
"Is that the attitude you had towards your poor mother?... or your cousin?" Mila snarled. Kasta flinched. She knew that Mila had seen briefly into her memories, so that she would relive them. Mila grinned. "Or how your uncle--" Kasta slapped her hard across the face. Mila looked up to see Kasta's face blank, but her eyes furious.
"Enough," she said. It was soft, but there was an undertone of danger. Mila didn't reply. She rubbed her cheek, knowing that had Kasta really wanted to hurt her, she would be screaming in the dirt. "You will answer all my questions to their full extent. To be clear, every time I feel you are lying to me, I will break one of your bones..." she said without emotion. "Bottom to top. Starting with your toes..." she paused. "Do you understand me?" Mila nodded. "Say it."
There was a moment of silence before Mila swallowed and said, "I understand."
"Good. Now, why don't you start with how many Gracelings are under the Master's control and what they are Graced in..."

[Galadas]

Elliot sat down against a tree, looking over at Mila and Kasta, he couldn't take seeing her, little Master's puppet. It was too much for him now, he lost more friends than he thought he had. Also, he lost his goal, he was a killer, who was he now, traveling with the niece of the king of Rada, and her weapon master. The weapon master he was set out to kill, the start of all this mess. He should've never gotten Peter and Isaac involved in it, it was a dumb move. Who was there left for him to build trust on, the old woman back in Rada, long way to go. He was away from home, he wasn't alone, but that was how he felt.
He closed his eyes, he didn't feel sad, he felt angry. His animal senses smelled Mila's blood, heard her evil tongue, and begged for him to take fate in his own hands. "Where's Shona?" he asked Lorn, who was standing next to him.
"She'll probably catch up with us sooner or later."
"And we're still heading for Druet?"
"Yes."
Elliot nodded. "Why aren't we going then, instead of losing time on getting information out of that girl? I can travel with her on my back, and then we can leave to head to Druet?" He wondered if Lorn thought of it as useless like he did, he didn't support the idea of staying in one place to long. Hadn't done them much good in the past.

[Cara]

Lorn shrugged. "I guess Kasta thinks she can get some useful information from Mila. She seemed to be the leader of that group. We don't know much about the Master."
Elliot nodded. "And how will Kasta get the information from her anyway?"
"She has her ways..."
"You mean tourture. I know who Kasta Sarce is. Who doesn't?" Elliot said. "And once we're done with her? What then?"
Lorn looked over at Elliot. "In times past, we killed them."