(TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

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The Rogue Saint
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(TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#1 Post by The Rogue Saint »

I had been thinking up a TwoKinds story like this for a while now. It might be a bit unorthodox in some respects, but I think it would be interesting.

If you enjoyed reading, let me know, and I'll get around to writing more.


Chapter 1:


Opening his eyes to the break of day, Silas found himself laying down in the grass. He dared not move. His body still suffering the effects of what had transpired to his most recent knowledge. The last thing he recalled was trying to stop the Gate from activating. He and his team had managed to sabotage it during the initiation phase, but everything after that was just...blank. The obvious conclusion he could come to was that he passed through the gate while it collapsed, and if that was the case, was this the other side? While Silas lay there, a human figure approached him staying just in the corner of his vision. Silas could not make out much about the figure, only a small red glow around the neck area. A pendant maybe?...

"You are not from around here, are you?" the person asked. It was female, that much Silas could tell, but who was she? The woman giggled to herself. "Something tells me you are full of surprises. I'll be watching you." And with that she left.

-Watching me, huh?- Silas thought to himself as his body was still recovering, -Woman, the least you could have done was help me.-

Silas attempted to get himself upright. He slowly moved his hands into a stable position and hoisted himself up. So far, so good. He brought in his knees for support and sat up, only the inside of his head was still calibrating itself to determine which way was up. Now he felt sick. His head felt like it was spinning faster than the world he was on. He just had to hold himself up until it subsided.

After a while, Silas was able to check himself over. Being able to move left arm and still see out of his right eye confirmed he had suffered no serious damage. The knife he strapped to his leg and tucked under his pant leg was still there. He stood up and surveyed the area. He found the glove that went over his left hand and proceeded to put it on, but that woman was gone without a trace. He sighed in slight disappointment. If she had stayed to talk, he might have been able to figure out where he was. Silas approached a nearby tree and started to climb. Maybe he would be able to get some sense of direction from the view. He didn’t have the clearest of sights, but he could make out a mountain chain a ways up ahead. After climbing down, he adjusted his black overcoat, faced the direction the mountains were located, and started walking. He saw no use in sitting around and waiting for something to happen.

As Silas drew nearer to the mountains, his eyes fell upon a strange sight. A dozen or so yards away, he saw an orange-ish red figure next to a tree. Upon further examination, he became even more vexed at the sight of a....vixen. He was never one for cosplay, but this just might be the best one he saw. Seeing the feet, which resembled the paw of an animal, Silas became even more intrigued. She looked no older than nine.

“Uhm.....e-excuse me?.....” he asked not wanting to give who ever she was a boisterous wake up call. No response. Silas put his right hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle shake. “Hey, wake up...” he said hoping to rouse her from her sleep. She stirred slightly before opening her eyes. No sooner had the girl’s eyes looked at Silas, they opened wide with a clear expression of alarm.

Judging from the girl’s reaction, Silas knew he was the obvious cause of her reaction. He removed his hand and did his best to not appear of any threat to her. He stepped back and sat down in front of her.

“Hey there. I’m sorry if I startled you.” He greeted, trying to ease his company. It looked human enough, but the thought of it being able to understand him had slipped his mind. “I am a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I’m a bit lost at the moment. I’m.....not from around here as you might have guessed.” This much was also apparent. The style of his clothing as opposed to hers was different.

The little fox-girl’s expression changed from alarm to that of curiosity. “Y-you won’t take me back?”

It speaking English was a relief, but now Silas became curious. “Back? Back where?”

She didn’t answer. Silas brought a hand under his chin and narrowed his eyes at the girl. “The fact that you don’t want to go back to where ever it is you came from tells me you hated it there, you are going through a rebellious phase, or it could be both. Am I right so far?”

She nodded.

“Ok, so if you are leaving that place, then the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that you have somewhere to go back to, but why go to that place you hated at all?”

Her ears had drooped down. Silas picked up on the facial cue. It was one of distress. “I was taken away from my home a long time ago...all I can remember is my older brother had taken me outside the village, and show me the forest. There were slavers who wanted to catch us, so we ran. I wasn’t fast enough, and they caught me. I was taken back and made a slave. I don't know what happened to my brother...”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Silas said sympathizing with her, “I know what it feels like to lose someone. Where I am from, the very act of slavery is detestable and against the law."

“Really?” the girl asked in surprise about this, “Where are you from?”

Silas paused a moment to contemplate a suitable answer. This was not earth...and he had never met anyone like her. How could he tell her that he wasn’t from this world?

“I come from a land so far away, you might not think it exists.” Silas stood up and brushed off his overcoat. That was about as close to the truth as he could get without confusing the little girl. “Well...maybe we can help each other. I can help you get back to...your home, right?”

Again, she nodded. Total shot in the dark with that guess.

“That being said,” Silas said holding his right hand out to her, “and as I said before, I am not from these lands, so maybe I can figure out where I am when we get there...unless you prefer to go alone, I’d hate to be a bother.”

She shook her head, “N-no, I-I would like that...thank you.” She stared at the hand briefly before cautiously reaching out for it. It was clear to Silas that she was hesitant to make this decision. Then again, he would have acted the same way. She finally took the hand and stood up.

Silas smiled and nodded in agreement to her choice. “Ok, where were you headed?” it was about now that Silas remembered he had not introduced himself as the little girl pointed to her left. Silas looked up at the position of the sun. It was still rising. –Ok...rises in the East...face North, WE. Face south, EW. So...South, Southwest?-

Now that he had gotten his directions down, he figure it was better late than never to figure out her name. He certainly didn’t feel like calling her ‘kid’ the entire journey, but if she didn’t want to say her name, he just had to deal with it. “By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Silas. Do you have one?”

The little girl looked up at him, a bit more confident knowing that he was on her side, “Valli.”

“Well, Valli,” Silas began as he held out a hand to usher her in the direction she had previously indicated, “shall we?” With a faint smile and nod of confirmation, Valli continued her journey, this time, with unexpected company.
Don't try to figure me out, because you never will.

Case in point:
By the time you finish reading this, you will realize it had nothing important to say. 8)

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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#2 Post by The Rogue Saint »

Thus due to my boredom, another chapter was made! Feel free to let me know what you think of it. I'm always open to comments/suggestions.

Chapter 2:

Silas and Valli had continued their trek in relative silence, one that was welcome but at the same time, annoying. Silas had decided to speak up. He had plenty of question for Valli, most of which, she probably couldn’t answer, so he kept them as simple as he could.

“Hey, Valli?”

Her ears perked up upon hearing Silas speak and she looked towards him. “Yes, Silas?”

“I am a bit curious....what exactly are you?”

“I’m a Keidran....why?”

Silas shrugged and put his hands in his pants pockets. “Well, like I said, I am not from around here. Believe it or not, you are the first Keidran I have seen.”

Valli was surprised by this. She remembered Silas said he was not from around here, and if that was true, she wondered why he had not seen any other Keidran at all. “Really? Why?”

“Well, where I came from...people like you, Keidran, don’t exist.”

“Why?” Curiosity was getting the better of Valli with each answer that Silas was giving her. He was from a place where there were no Keidran? It was almost unimaginable to her.

Silas chuckled as he imagined that this would go on for some time. The tables had turned on him, but he wasn’t one to lose easily. “I don’t really know that for sure...I guess it’s just how my world has always been.” It was only now he realized that he mentioned his world. “My turn,” he quickly began hoping to avoid a history lesson, “Are there different types of Keidran?”

Valli nodded and thought for a moment before she specified the answer. “In human town I was in, there were others. I remember seeing some fox keidran like me. There were also a few canines, and I think I saw a tiger as well.”

“Interesting...” Silas muttered as he put a hand under his chin. This race of Keidran shared more characteristics of humanity than he first thought. They could comprehend speech, they were capable of rational thought, and they even had different...kinds? He figured it would be the best way to categorize them.

As they continued their walk together, Valli had begun to look over Silas. A black overcoat that bore a strange symbol embroidered on the backside. It looked familiar, but she was more focused on what he was wearing. A crimson colored shirt with an interesting design on it, dark grey pants that had bag-like pockets on each leg and shoes to match, and a glove on his left hand... “Where is the right one?” She quickly shut her mouth after she realized she thought out loud.

Silas looked over at Valli and stopped. “I can show you why I only wear the one glove, but you won’t like what you find.” He held out his left hand to Valli. If she wanted to take it off, now was her chance. Her curiosity had overwhelmed her train of thought. Even though she was given a warning, she wanted to know why. She slowly pulled the glove off and expected to see a bloodied limb, but instead, she saw something glistening. She took the glove completely off and was bewildered at what she saw.

“What did you do to your arm? It’s made of silver!” Valli began to closely inspect the metallic ligament. It was much more sophisticated than she thought. It wasn’t silver though. It was a special alloy comprised of several astrometalliums. To make the arm even more elaborate, it was alive in some respects, and it grew along with Silas.

Silas gave a reluctant sigh and took off his overcoat. His shirt was short sleeved, and he rolled it back past the shoulder. He firmly grasped the metal arm with his right hand, began to pull, and separated the arm from its port. He closed his right eye for a few second only reopen it to display an unnerving red glow. “Digna factis recipimus,” he said as he held the fake arm towards Valli, who was near horrified that Silas removed the limb, “It means, we receive the due reward of our deeds, and this is the reward for my deeds.”

Silas expected Valli to say something in regards to his arm, but she had fallen forward and passed out. Silas dropped his arm and caught Valli before she hit the ground. He gently set her down, and reconnected his arm. He did not think that the shock would settle in this fast on her. He laughed to himself and closed his right eye again, restoring it to mimic his left eye. He picked up Valli and carried her on his back. No use sitting around and waiting for her to wake up. They still had a lot of ground to cover.

------------

The sun had now begun to set and with daylight fleeting, Silas had to consider a place to stop. The vast expanse of trees in the forest did provide some ideal spots to rest, Silas just had to make due with what he had it his disposal. It began to cool the further the sun went down. Silas carefully sat Valli down and propped her against a rather large tree. The roots protruding from the trunk to the ground seemed to provide a decent spot to sit down in. Silas took off his coat and extended it over Valli, who had fallen onto his right shoulder. Silas rested his head against the tree and did the best he could to get as comfortable as one could get while sleeping against a tree.
Don't try to figure me out, because you never will.

Case in point:
By the time you finish reading this, you will realize it had nothing important to say. 8)

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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#3 Post by The Rogue Saint »

[Edit: Ironing out the errors. I realize that my phone uses auto-correct an annoying amount of times.]
And thus, the adventure continues! Here is the next chapter, and enjoy! :grin:

Also, should you happen to spot typos or grammatical errors, please let me know, I don't like them either! :P

Chapter 3:


Through the canopy of the forest, the rays from the dawning sun had begun to pierce through. With a deep yawn, Silas was the first to rise to greet this new day. Valli was still fast asleep beside him. Carefully getting up as to not wake her, Silas needed to find something to eat...for the both of them. But what did Keidran eat? Judging by their physical appearance, she was human, but she was a fox...was she a carnivore? Or an omnivore, like himself? Foxes ate meat, but does that mean she could eat raw meat? Screw it all! Meat was on the menu today...if he could find any at all. His left arm had his watch on it. After taking it off, he strapped it onto Valli's wrist and left to find something the both of them could eat.

Silas had wandered around the woods looking for anything that might be edible. The only problem was that he was on a different world...so his knowledge of foraging was more or less useless. He sighed at the thought and tried to focus on the task at hand. After several minutes of scavenging the forest area, Silas had spotted a rabbit a few yards off, but it was not yet aware of his presence. It was not much, but it was better than nothing. He slowly moved behind a nearby tree to his right and took out his hunting knife. Slowly taking a peek back to the rabbit, it was coming in his direction to investigate. Silas' left arm began to emit a light that steadily grew in intensity. He only had one shot at this. Here went nothing...

---------------

Valli stirred from her slumber. The last thing she could recall was watching in abject terror as Silas tore his arm off. If there was blood, she didn't see any, but something that unnatural would make just about anyone who was not used to that sight a bit queasy, if not faint. After she had a good stretch, she noticed that Silas was nowhere to be seen...and what in the world was on her wrist? A band of some sort? And if that was true, what was connected to it? It displayed several sets of numbers....7:48 21...22...23...24...the smaller numbers were always changing. Next to the numbers were two letters: AM? What could that mean? Above at was another similar series of letters and numbers. TH 22 - 4? She took her focus off the watch and directed it to the overcoat. It felt unusually smooth and she could smell a strong yet pleasant scent; a cologne maybe? She stood up, fit her arms through the sleeves and pulled the slack until her hands showed. It didn't feel too warm while wearing it, but it was actually cooling her off.

"I think that might be a few sizes too big..."

Valli jumped. She didn't expect Silas to suddenly appear like that. Silas laughed, "Sorry about that. Also," he said holding up the rabbit he had skinned and gutted, "it isn't much, but it is something."
Silas was looking to get a fire going all the while Valli eyed the meat in front of her longingly. Her hand unconsciously reached out for the rabbit meat as she had lost all focus except for that of food. Silas had looked up just I time to see Valli holding the meat in her hand and a ravenous expression on her face. She was almost drooling on it. "Uh...Valli?" Silas called, but was unsuccessful in snapping her back to her senses. He managed to find some twigs for kindling and was about make a fire when he looked back at Valli, who was munching on a leg of the rabbit in her mouth. She looked towards Silas and they two paused for a moment in awkward silence. Valli's ears dropped as she realized what she had just done. It was too late to apologize. She braced herself for a harsh scolding, but instead, the unexpected sound of laughter reached her ears.

"I'm sorry! Oh sweet mercy!" Silas said while trying to contain his laughter. It was the most amusing thing he had seen in his whole life. Valli meanwhile was still trying to grasp what was so funny about her eating what was supposed to be shared between them. With a sense of guilt weighing her down, handed the rabbit back to Silas. He took out his knife, cut the other leg off, and handed the rabbit back to her. He could make due with a few snacks here and there. "Here, you can have it."

"B-but what about you?" She asked as she managed to take her eyes off her food.

Silas held up the rabbit leg he cut off and held it in his Mech-arm. It started to glow with an orange red color and Valli began to feel a wave of heat pass her by. Was the heat coming from his arm? No....only his hand. "Meh, I'll be fine. What about you? Raw meat isn't safe to eat."

"I-I'll be alright. I can eat it."

"You're sure?"

Valli nodded and took another bite. Silas briefly watched as she ate. Something about it made him feel unsettled. Picking as much meat as she could that was still on the bones, Valli felt re-energized after that meal. She noticed that Silas was sitting down and just now starting to eat the leg he held in his hand. It was cooked? Given the time she spent cleaning the meat off her meal, it would have been more than enough, but how could his hand do that? Wouldn't it burn him as well?

Alternatively, Silas hoped for the best and expected the worst. Eating raw meat was dangerous, but she was a Keidran, not a human. Given the slight animalistic qualities to her appearance, maybe she was able to eat raw meat just like a regular fox would. He didn't know a thing about Keidran anatomy, but he would find out soon enough.

As Silas tossed the bones from the rabbit leg aside, he stood up and stretch. He then proceeded to crack his knuckles, that made a soft popping sound, his back, which sounded more like something was cracking, and his neck, that sounded like a brach had snapped. Valli had never heard anything like that before.

"Silas? Are you ok?" She asked slightly concerned about the loud snap she heard his neck make.

"Never better! It feels a lot better than it sounds, trust me. Here, may I see your hand?"

Valli held out her hand to Silas. "Ok, now I just need you to relax your hand..." he said taking Valli's hand using his right hand, and with his left, he bent Valli's fingers down and gently applied pressure. Several of her knuckles popped, and she quickly withdrew her hand as she though something was broken. Silas laughed again, "It's fine, nothing is wrong with your hand. I just loosened them up. It feels weird when it happens, but you get used to it."

Valli moved her fingers. It almost felt like he had popped them out of place. Silas was right, it did feel weird.

Silas took a deep breath, "Well," he began, "as much as I think that overcoat suits you, I think it would be better if I wore it."

Valli just now remembered that she still had it on. She had completely forgotten about it. Even though she had fur, the coat was so comfortable. She felt embarrassed as she took off the coat and handed it back to Silas. After Silas had put the overcoat back on, something had fallen out of one of its pockets. He couldn't be live it. Of all the things, he nearly forgot about his MiPod! What would he do without this nifty little gadget? He put the MiPod back in his pocket and put the glove over his left hand again.

"Ready to continue Valli?"

"Yeah." She replied a little more confident than when they had first met. Silas remembered that Valli still wore his watch, but he would let her wear it for now...just in case.

--------------

"So, Silas?" Valli asked as they were keeping a steady pace on their trek, "how did you get here?"

"Well, I guess I passed through a Gate as it collapsed. It usually has a set marker, but because my team and I had stopped it, we messed up where the marker was, and then, next thing I know, here I am."

"A Gate?" she repeated as she mentally formed the image of a simple gate that was joined to a wooden fence.

Silas nodded. "Yeah, but this Gate not like your ordinary garden gate. The Gate I passed through had the ability to warp space and time. It could take people back to the past or even the into future, but the people who were using the Gate, they did not know the true consequences of the actions they planned to take. For example, when you were taken away, that happened a long time ago, right?" She nodded while intently listening to Silas' example. "You know what happened, but what if someone rescued you? If your past was changed, then your present would be changed as well; you and I, here and now, would not have met. Do you understand?"

Valli did her best to comprehend the scenario. She wished it could happen, but here she was. "A little...but how does something small like that make such a big change?"

Silas snickered at her likely response. "That's just how it works. Those people wanted to make a change like that, but it was not a good one. That is why my team and I stopped them."

"What about your team?" Valli asked, curious of the fate that befell them, "What happened to them?"

Silas looked ahead and sighed as they walked. "I don't know..."

"Well..." Valli paused as she tried to think of a way to cheer him up, "I am sure they, and your family, will be happy to see you again when you return."

Silas stopped walking and lowered his head. " That day will never come," he sternly replied.

Valli stopped alongside Silas. She said something wrong again, didn't she? But wouldn't he be happy to see his family again. "Why not?" Again she found the thoughts in her head being spoken aloud.

"Because they're dead." This was a subject Silas preferred to avoid, but he couldn't dodge it forever.

Valli froze when he uttered the word dead. Silas was alone? Why did she bring this subject up? How could she have been so careless? Valli thought about what it felt like to experience losing her family. The day she was taken away scared her and it brought her to tears. She stifled the urge as best as she could, but the pain of such an ordeal was indescribable. She buried her face into her hands as she began to sob. "I-I'm so s-sorry!" was all she could manage to say through the tears.

- D--- it, why do I feel like the bad guy now? - Silas thought as he knelt down and hugged Valli. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't mean to sound so critical. My family had been dead for years. You didn't know, so please stop crying.....otherwise I might join you."

It was no use. A tear had rolled down his cheek and off of his chin. He couldn't remember the last time he did cry, or at least felt enough convicted remorse to do so. He missed his family. The pain of his loss was part of the reason why he did not want to talk about his past, but he couldn't bring himself to forget the love that was given to him. It was odd, yet, after they had settled down, Silas felt relieved, like a weight had been taken from him. "Valli, please don't tell anyone you saw me cry, ok?"

She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Alright..." Silas said standing back on his feet, "ready to go?"

Again, Valli nodded. "I'm sorry Silas."

"Valli, really, it's alright...that was long time ago. I miss them as well, and sometimes I wish I still had them, but I had to realize that if I kept looking back, I would not have been able to move forward, regardless of the mistakes I made," he said extending his Mech-arm and pulling back the sleeve to reveal the metal plating on it. "I've had my stumbles and falls, but I would not be here helping you without them. I think that you are the lucky one because you still have a family to back to."

Silas didn't know if her family was still around, and he didn't want to bring up anything discouraging to her. Only time would tell if her family was still out there. As Silas pondered what he would do once he returned Valli, he was stopped by Valli, whose ears were upright, twitching to and fro as if she was listening for something. Silas slowly knelt down beside her, "Valli, what's wrong?" he quietly whispered.

Valli drew closer to Silas. "I think something else is out there, and it's getting closer." She whispered back.

- Or someone... - Silas thought as he pulled out his hunting knife. He wasn't taking any chances with whatever was out there...
Don't try to figure me out, because you never will.

Case in point:
By the time you finish reading this, you will realize it had nothing important to say. 8)

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BadFoMo
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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#4 Post by BadFoMo »

I don't recall seeing any typos in the first two chapters (of course I also wasn't really looking for them) but I did see a few grammar errors in this one. Keep in mind that I'm merely an amateur writer.
Spoiler!
Foxes ate meat, but what if that was a stereotypical response?

The only problem was, he was from another world, and he was now on a different world... Not a typo, but it doesn't seem right. Perhaps try "The only problem was he was now in a different world…".

After several minutes of scavenging the forest area, Silas had spotted a rabbit a few yards off, but it was aware of his presence. Talk about an insane amount of luck! I'm not sure if this is right or not either; especially with the tone of the second sentence. Perhaps it should be "and it wasn't aware of his presence".

Slowly taking a peek back to the deer, it was coming in his direction to investigate. Consistency error. I take it Silas was hunting a deer in the original draft and that was accidentally not changed.

After she having had a good stretch, she noticed that Silas was nowhere to be seen...and what in the world was on her wrist?

It was really cool and she could smell a strong yet please scent; from it; a cologne maybe?

She looked towards Silas and they two paused for? a moment in awkward silence.

Valli's ears dropped and realized what she had just done. The wording doesn't seem correct. Perhaps change the first "and" to "as she".

Silas briefly her watched as she ate. I suggest moving "her" to after "watched".

Picking as much meat as she could that was still on the bones, Valli felt re-energized after that mean meal.

Alternatively, Silas hoped for the best and expected the worst. The placement of this sentence does not seem to fit; also from the start of the paragraph to before the sentence, we seem to be viewing the world from Valli's point of view, and then from that point forward, Silas' point. I suggest removing that sentence and splitting the paragraph into two separate paragraphs at that point.

Valli had? never heard anything thing like that before?.

"Ok, now I just need you to relax your hand..." he said taking Valli's hand using his right hand, and with his left, he bent Valli's fingers down and gently applied pressure.

Silas was right, it did feel weird.

He couldn't be live believe it.

"So, Silas?" Valli asked as they were keeping a? steady pace on their trek, "how did you get here?"

"Well, I guess I passed through a Gate as it collapsed. It usually has a set marker, but because my team and I had stopped it, we messed up where the marker was, and then, next thing I know, here I am." Nothing to correct here, but Valli doesn't seem to be phased or confused about what Silas is talking about. My suggestion is to maybe expand upon it.

Silas looked ahead as they walked and sighed. "I don't know..." I suggest moving "and sighed" to after "ahead".

"Why not?" Again she found the thoughts in her head spill out her mouth. This sentence doesn't seem to be worded right either, and I think I have two possible alternatives. "Again, she found the thoughts in her head spilling out of her mouth" or "Again, the thoughts in her head spilled out of her mouth".

"Because their they're dead."

She cursed to? herself for being so careless.

Silas thought as he is? knelt down as and hugged Valli.

He missed his family, but it was good to remember them. This one doesn't seem worded right either. Perhaps add in "and tried not to think about his loss" between "family" and the ",".

"Valli, really, it's alright...that was long time ago. I miss them as well, but I couldn't have moved forward if I kept looking back. I had to keep pushing forward regardless," he said extending his left arm and pulling the sleeve back to reveal Mech-arm, "of what happened. Granted, I made some mistakes, but....whenever I look at you, it just makes me think of how lucky you are to still have a family." I think the part where Silas reveals his Mech-arm could be omitted or placed at the end of "of what happened" with a little rewriting. Also, the last sentence doesn't seem to fit. I suggest a rewrite of that part.

Silas slowly knelt down to her? and whispered, "Valli, what's wrong?" He quietly asked.?
If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was done on purpose just so someone would comment. That or you're using voice-recognition software (like I do) and/or you just lost access to your proofreading software. If it's the former, I think the reason why people don't comment is because they don't have any creative criticism to offer and are just watching.


Anyway, is Silas from an already established reality, or is it something you created?
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Why yes, in addition to the usual ships, I support Zen X Kathrin and Alaric X Laura.

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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#5 Post by Warrl »

A few comments sent by private message.

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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#6 Post by The Rogue Saint »

BadFoMo wrote:Anyway, is Silas from an already established reality, or is it something you created?
I was planning on revealing more about him through the story. Mainly by interacting with other characters in the story or through moments when he reminisces. He is from earth in the year of 2,374 and because of an unforeseen incident, he ended up in the TwoKinds universe.
BadFoMo wrote:If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was done on purpose just so someone would comment. That or you're using voice-recognition software (like I do) and/or you just lost access to your proofreading software. If it's the former, I think the reason why people don't comment is because they don't have any creative criticism to offer and are just watching.
This is a story I had of for a while now, I just thought it would nice to share with the rest of the community. I do not use the voice-recognition software that much, or at all for that matter. Most of the time it is the unnecessary auto-correcting that my phone will insert. Sometimes I do not catch this. I do try to spot any typos myself by re-reading the chapters, but as previously stated, I don't catch all of them.

I am new to writing stories like this, so please try to bear with me.
Don't try to figure me out, because you never will.

Case in point:
By the time you finish reading this, you will realize it had nothing important to say. 8)

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The Rogue Saint
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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#7 Post by The Rogue Saint »

Chapter 4:

Silas took Valli’s arm and sought cover behind a nearby tree. As they listened, Silas could not hear what had alerted Valli. If what she said was true, and if something was coming closer, wouldn’t he have heard something? Aside from the periodic, yet pleasant songs of nearby birds in the canopy, there was nothing unusual to be heard.

“Valli,” Silas whispered to err on the side of caution, “are you certain you heard something?” He had his knife ready in his right hand and had prepared himself to confront whatever might be headed their way.

Valli nodded and peeked around the tree to hone in on the source of the disturbance. It was still drawing near, but it was then she heard something else...a voice perhaps? It was still too soft to make out any distinct words, but it was definitely someone that was following them. Silas looked around the right side of the tree enough for his right eye to be of some use and promptly closed the left eye to negate unwanted distractions. The façade of the eye waned and revealed the intricate works of bio-circuitry that was implanted within. The eye began to focus on two figures in the distance. From what Valli had told him, they looked to be Wolf Keidran.

The one in the back appeared to be the taller of the two. He had an average build, but the sight of the battle axe he carried suggested he was stronger than he let on. Wearing dark brown pants to compliment the dark grey color of his fur, the only other thing he wore was over his left shoulder and it appeared to be some kind of plated armor. The one in front looked rather enthusiastic. He carried a staff that seemed to match his height, was dressed khaki pants along with a leather vest and also wore a pastel blue scarf.

As Silas drew back behind the tree, and his right eye reverted back to a normal eye in appearance. He put the knife back into its sheath on his leg. Maybe this was a lucky break for him. It wouldn’t hurt to ask for directions.

“Valli,” he whispered to her as he peered once more around the tree, “there are two wolf Keidran approaching. Should we go out and meet them?”

Valli gave Silas a brief look of blatant disbelief. “Can you speak Keidran?” she quietly asked as she faced towards Silas.

No sooner had Valli finished that question, Silas muttered some profane word to himself under his breath. Why didn’t he think of that sooner? Of course, it had to be the only thing he didn’t take into consideration. He was now in another world and had met one of the locals; it would make all the more sense that they had their own language. Meeting Valli and having her speak English from the beginning was nice, but he just assumed that since she spoke English, all other Keidran did as well. No matter how he thought through this situation, a confrontation was unavoidable. He looked back at Valli and shrugged. “Now or never,” he said as he walked out from behind the tree. Something told Silas that this was not going to end well, and he was more than ready to fight if that is what it came to.

-------------------------------------

“[I am certain that we are getting closer. That scent has become stronger. Whatever this scent belongs to, I am eager to find out!]” The anticipation of the young wolf who was leading grew with each passing moment. This was a scent he was not familiar with and it was unlike anything he had smelled before; strong, yet alluring.

“[While I do agree that this new scent is growing stronger, I am not sure who, or even what it belongs to. We have been on this trail for some time and have yet to identify the source.]” The wolf following was curious to some degree, but he was not nearly as anxious as his companion. “[Must I remind you to be on your guard again? There is no telling what we might run into and I would hate to report that something happened to our newest recruit.]”

“[Calm down! It’s not like we’re going to run into a human,]” the young wolf facetiously replied as he turned around with a grin on his face. It quickly gave way to curiosity when he saw his partner’s expression. It was not the usual ‘unamused’ look that he anticipated, rather it fully alert of something. Looking in the general direction of his partner, the young wolf wished he kept his mouth shut. It was a human, walking in their direction with a little fox cautiously following behind him.

Silas stopped when the two wolves had become aware of their presence. “Valli, I know this is the worst time to ask, but you can speak Keidran, right?” He could only guess as to whether or not she could speak Keidran, but considering Valli was a Keidran herself, she had to know the language, right? Or, maybe there was a dialect of Keidran that differed from each kind

“Y-Yeah, I can.”

The fact that Valli stuttered during her reply wasn’t assuring Silas that much. Turning himself to face Valli, Silas partially showed the embroidery on the backside of his overcoat. “Do you think you could translate for me?”

As Silas turned back to face his company, the wolf carrying the axe had charged preemptively towards him while shouting the word 'Templar'. Upon hearing a word in English, Silas turned around only to see the wolf with the axe charging towards him. The speed at which the wolf closed in caught Silas by surprise, leaving him little time to react. Silas pushed Valli away with his right hand and raised his left arm to brace for impact. The axe made a direct hit on the arm with such momentum, it forced Silas to stagger back. As he managed to get his footing, the wolf had already closed the distance and attempted another swing. Silas caught the blade of the axe with his left hand. The wolf paused as he questioned how the human could have caught the axe without flinching. Silas took advantage of this opening and tackled the wolf to the ground.

As the two struggled in the grass, the young wolf carrying the staff realized that he had zoned out from actually seeing a human. Coming back to his senses hurried towards Valli.

“[Little one, we need to go],” he said taking Valli’s arm and leading her away from the fight.

“[W-wait...],” she said attempting to get the young wolf’s attention but to no avail. Valli stopped, “[Wait],” she spoke up as she managed to pull her arm free, “[I can’t leave him.]”

The young wolf stared back at Valli with a clear expression of vexation. He looked back at his partner, who was still wrestling with Silas, “[That human is with the Templar! How can you even think to stay by his side?]”

Valli looked back and once again saw the embroidered symbol on the back of Silas’ coat as he struggled with the wolf. She did wonder why it seemed familiar when she first saw it, and now that she saw it again, it did have the Templar sigil on it....
Don't try to figure me out, because you never will.

Case in point:
By the time you finish reading this, you will realize it had nothing important to say. 8)

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The Rogue Saint
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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#8 Post by The Rogue Saint »

Chapter 5:

Silas’ implanted eye began to glow red as he had forced the wolf into a Crucifix hold and began to choke his opponent. He smiled as the wolf struggled against the hold he was in, desperate to break out or make enough of an opening to get even the slightest breath of air. Making one last frantic attempt, but to no avail, the movement of the wolf began to weaken until he succumbed to the lack of air. Silas maintained the hold until he had patiently counted to ten. He released the wolf, and the red glow in his eye began to shine brighter as he stood back up and faced the other wolf next to Valli.

As Silas drew near, the wolf had quickly fished through a small pouch at his side. Silas halted his advance. He smiled in the anticipation of his opponents attack. The wolf shouted some sort of incantation as fire began to protrude from the end of his staff. Pointing the staff at Silas, the fire was released.

It effortlessly sailed through the air as Silas turned around and covered himself as best he could with his coat. He had expected the fire to spread around him, but the force of an explosion had thrown him forward. Now he was wanting a fight! Recovering from his knockdown, Silas took the knife out from under his pant leg and charged toward the wolf. Valli used the opportunity and distanced herself from the fight. The wolf uttered another incantation, only this time, there were arcs of lightning coming from the end of the staff. Silas, out of pure reflex, reached his left arm in front of him as the wolf shot a bolt of lightning at him. The arm had absorbed the bolt and his arm released a bright light in response to the abrupt intake of excessive energy. The sight of light coming from the humans arm had momentarily distracted the wolf; A fatal mistake as he had no time to ready another attack. Silas had spun around, knocking the staff out of the way with the knife in his right hand and fully extended his left arm. His arm stopped mere inches next to the face of the wolf and from his hand, a charge of energy was fired with a powerful blast.

The wolf fell to his knees after the shock wave from the blast had disoriented him. His sensitive hearing had been overwhelmed and a ringing filled his ears. Valli had nearly jumped in response to the blast as well. She was not expecting something that loud. Silas knelt down with an unsettling red light in his eye, and a smile still on his face. Without looking away from the wolf, Silas pointed to a tree that was behind the wolf. To his horror, the wolf saw the human had done; the side of a tree had been torn to splinters. He looked back towards the human only to see the hand that made the blast was now wide open and held in front of his face. The wolf starred into the darkness that was behind that torn hole in the glove. This was the end for him, and the realization of that fact had paralyzed him with fear. But what happened next was not what he thought would happen....

Lowering his hand, Silas saw the Keidran was preparing from what would have been his death. Under normal circumstances, he would have made its last moments painless, but seeing as how killing the wolf would accomplish nothing, and that Valli was watching him, letting him live would be a better course of action.

Well now,” he said in a somewhat gravelly voice, “you should consider yourself lucky.” It was only now he realized that the wolf probably had no idea what he said. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, the red glow in his eye began to diminish, and he looked around for a moment trying to see where he left the other strangled wolf. During the heat of the fight, he had forgotten about that momentarily. Silas walked towards the unconscious wolf and knelt down beside him. He pressed two fingers against the neck of the wolf to check for a pulse, which he thankfully still had. There was a certain amount of time that was allowed while choking someone. Too little, and the target would recover faster, too long, they would die. Given the training Silas undertook in prior years, this was one of the more advanced things he learned to do.

With some effort, Silas hauled the unconscious wolf across his shoulders and carried the axe with him back to where the other wolf stood. Valli was too fixed on the body Silas was carrying to notice he called her name.

“Valli?” Silas asked again, shifting his position to break her focused stare.

Valli shook her head quickly as she snapped back to her senses, “Y-Yes, Silas?”

“You spaced out for a second, are you ok?”

“Yes,” she nodded, and once again, she began to think out loud, “but...is he...dead?” This is what she wished she could stop doing. It had gotten her into plenty of trouble when she was a slave.

“Nah, he’s just taking a nap.” Silas would never grow old of that joke. He turned to look at the other wolf, who was dumbfounded at this whole scenario, then back at Valli. “Do you think you can let our acquaintance over there know that I don’t mean any harm? What just happened was out of self-defense. Nothing more.”

“I’ll try...” She walked over to the wolf as Silas stayed put and waited for the results of their exchange.

The wolf stared at his hand. The realization that his life nearly ended made them tremble. Valli stood in front of the wolf who was too fixated on his hand to notice she was standing there. She cautiously took the wolf’s hand, making him snap out of his shocked state. She didn’t know what to say to give the wolf reassurance. Just a glimpse into his eyes showed a fear unlike any he experienced before.

“[Who is that human?]” he asked while trying to disperse the newfound sense of dread that permeated his body.

“[His name is Silas. He said that does not want to fight.]”

“[Then...why did he attack? Why did he kill my mentor?]”

Valli turned and looked towards Silas, who was inspecting the axe he held, before she faced the wolf again. “[He is not dead. Silas said he is just asleep...and you two attacked first. Silas only defended himself.]”

“[And what about the symbol on the back of his coat? Can you not see that he is with the Templar, the enemy of our kind?]”

Upon hearing the word Templar again, Silas shifted his attention to the conversation that Valli was having with the wolf. The first thought he had when hearing Templar was the division of the G.U.N. he was stationed in: Tactical Expert Mission PLAnneR. He sighed and walked up alongside Valli. “I heard the word Templar again. I assume this is a cause of unease for him?”

The wolf almost took a step back as Silas approached. Valli too was still somewhat weary, but he didn’t seem like a bad guy to her...not that much anyway. “He is saying that the symbol on your coat means that you are with the Templar. Is that true?”

Silas remained quiet as his eyes shifted away from Valli. He contemplated his reply carefully. It was only his guess that these Templar were not thought of as casual acquaintances. That, and another thing that randomly came to mind just might make for a convincing story.

“I was with the Templar, but let’s just say that we had different stances on certain issues. They were rather reluctant to accept my decision to leave, but a few of them thought I had betrayed their group. I was nearly assassinated and, as a result, my left arm had suffered something irreversible. Months later after I got out, someone had delivered the coat embroidered with the mark of a Rogue along with a friendly note calling me a Traitor.” The story was not true, but it wasn’t entirely false either. He just hoped it sounded convincing enough in spite of his lack of knowledge to the actual situation between the Keidran and Templar, which he assumed to be volatile at the worst. “I’m not with them anymore.”

Valli relayed the story to the wolf and his gaze shifted to Silas’ left arm. He recalled the light that shown from the humans arm after he got hit by the lightning bolt. The glove had a hole torn through its palm, but he couldn’t get a good enough view into it.

Silas had set the axe down and carefully balanced the wolf on his back as he removed the glove from his hand. There was no use wearing the glove anymore at this point. The sterling plating of the hand shimmered in the sunlight. “I apologize about earlier. I can get carried away when a fight starts. My name is Silas, and this is Valli.”

Valli translated but the wolf paid no attention to her. His eyes were fixed on the hand of metal. Silas smirked as he waved his hand to snap the wolf out of his trance. He then pointed to Valli and she introduced herself along with Silas. The wolf exchanged brief glances between the odd duo, the metal hand, and his inanimate mentor. He stood there pondering the best course of action. He didn’t trust the human let alone a Templar, as much as the next of his kin, but...the best course of action as of now would be returning to his village.

“[Valli, right,]” he asked as he warily made his way towards the back of the group. She nodded in response, “[tell the human that I will be taking you both back to my village, but I cannot guarantee his safety. The Grey Furs will have the final say with what to do with him.]”

------------------------------------------

A voice crackled though the stabilizing channel. -Frontline, report! What the hell is happening?-

There was a brief moment before a voice replied through the hiss of static. -Rogue 8, reporting. Operation successful. The Gate was closed and the precious cargo is secure.-

-Good work.- A short silence followed. The Rogue given command over the operation was not the one to answer. The news would have to be given sooner or later, -What are the losses?-

-Rogues 13, 2, 10 and 18 have been confirmed KIA. Rogues 19, 24, and 9 were caught in the distortion when the Gate collapsed.-

Another pause followed. This news was unfortunate to say the least. Nearly half of the group that was sent in was gone....but just maybe, the other three had some chance of still being alive on the 'other side' of the gate. -Retrieve whatever data from the gate you can, even if it is corrupted, and bring our soldiers home.-

-Copy.-
Don't try to figure me out, because you never will.

Case in point:
By the time you finish reading this, you will realize it had nothing important to say. 8)

backonninja
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Re: (TwoKinds) Not broken, just bent.

#9 Post by backonninja »

Interesting story... I would love to see more. It isn't quite unique, but it is very different.

Why does my mind always go blank when I try to write?!

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