[Millie rides! And rides. She endured that four hour train trip, and now she's been riding almost all night... in the desert... wind and sand and BLAH it sucks. Fortunately, the sun's rising and it looks really durned pretty, if she decides to care.] [Session Start!] (Darn Tootin' Yay!) * Millie does decide to care. Pretty sunrise. But it's probably just because she wants to throw the GMs off their guard. [The sunrise thinks it's pretty, too. Another bright side (other than the obvious) is Millie just entered the nice, grassy part that isn't desert. Now it's just windy. Less sand.] * Millie keeps her hat on her head. She still looks decent despite the ride through the desert, but she's not going to pull a John and look perfect. Because she's not gimpy like that. Is the village in sight yet? [Since we want to fastforward this a little, Millie keeps riding for another couple hours and then, yes, the village is in sight. At least, it looks like it might be the village.] ( It's really two guys and a giant sombraro. ) ( "I heard there was a village here." "There is, but keep it under the hat." ) * Millie rides up to the village then and peeks around for anyone useful. She dismounts as she approaches and leads Pepper through. "Com'on girl." [Also, the sky's a bit overcast. Looks like it might rain.] (Then how could she see the sunrise? @_@) (It was a few hours ago!) (Oh! Gotcha) (Unless you want to talk to yourself for two hours. We can do that. Millie soliloquy.) (Grumble grumble stupid tumbleweed, grumble grumble, stupid sand, grumble grumble stupid Sakura.) (A tumbleweed follows you. <.<) [As Millie approaches, she notices something's... wrong. Last time she was here, it was pretty busy in the morning. This time, almost nothing.] * Millie blinks and peeks around, calling out. "Hello? Anyone there? Runnin' Cloud?" [From within the village, Millie hears an answering call! Kind of. It's really freaking loud, though. "WOOOAH! THERE IS SOMEONE HERE! A VERY MIGHTY SOMEONE!"] * Millie looks around, blinking and points to herself. "Who, me?" * Kirby is now known as SomeGuy * SomeGuy walks out from behind a tipi. He's very tall and muscular. His black hair is long and unkempt, and while he doesn't have a mustache or beard, his face is many days unshaven. He sports a very convident grin and sharp, brown Shomuran eyes. His clothes consist of a grey gi with a gold embroidery. He carries a rather large blade over his shoulder, with a sake jug (not bottle, jug) dangling from the end. * Millie glances at the guy from underneath her lashes from narrowed eyes and keeps a steady gaze on them. "Well now. You don't look Injun ta me..." WOAAAH! I AM NOT INJUN! MY NAME IS HANOMARU, MIGHTY SAMURAI WARRIOR! * Samurai is now known as Hanomaru (. . .) ...are ya deaf, stupid, or jus' both? I'm reckonin' on both since ya KEEP YELLIN' AT ME! I jus' SAID ya weren't injun. NO! I TRAVEL THE WORLD, MEETING MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE, AND FOLLOWING THE WAY OF THE SWORD TO THE TRUE PATH OF PERFECTION! ENLIGHTENMENT! (I thought he was LEDEGENDAY SAMURAI >.>) ( It's hard to type with the caplocks on ;_; ) ...yer kiddin' me. Raight? PLEASE tell me yer kiddin' me. * Hanomaru has a voice that REALLY carries, in case you haven't noticed. * Millie 's very much noticed thank you very much. >.> * Hanomaru laughs. Or guffaws, or bellows, whichever you prefer. "OF COURSE NOT! THE SECRET TO THE ART OF THE SWORD IS VOLUME! ENLIGHTENMENT!" * Millie unslings her rifle and gives him a queer look. "No. The secret to enlightenment is not gettin' yerself killed by bein' obnoxious. Especially to tha woman with the big rifle." GUAAAH! IS THAT A CHALLENNNNNNNNGE?! No. It's a fact. I don't have time for someone like you. What happened ta all the other people? (... You're doing this off of the SB Anime guy, aren't you?) (This is Samurai Shodown char.) [Right about now, said people start poking their heads outside of the shelters. And then their eyes widen at the mess, and most decide to go back into hiding.] (They go *thru* the doors, right? :P) WAAAAAAH! WITH MY MIGHTY BLADE AND UNSURPASSED SKILL, I PROTECTED THIS PEACEFUL TINY VILLAGE FROM A DANGEROUS BANDIT ATTACK LAST NIGHT! ROBBERY IS NOT ON THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT!! * Millie looks about at that. "I see. They got scared away by yer odor. Could ya please stink up another village, plug-monkey? Uh... * Millie looks about at the mess outside too. "Yeeeaaaah. It looks really protected." SILLY WOMAN, THAT IS THE SMELL OF ENLIGHTENMENT!!! It's the smell of a drunkard is what it is. ENLIGHTENMENT! An'... * Millie holds her nose. "At least 7 layers of dust too." OF COURSE YOU WOULD THINK OF THAT. A WOMAN'S PLACE IS IN THE HOME, NOT ON THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT! GOAAAAAAH! [Since Millie looked, yes, the village is a mess. Looks almost like it was ransacked, and- ooh, he's gonna get it.] * Millie waves her hand back and forth. "Look, I..." She looks like she was going to say something but is fuming. Puffing her cheeks out and glaring FIERY death at Hanomaru. "Wh-WHAT in sam's hill's freakin' pistule kingdom didja SAY?" I SAID: "OF COURSE YOU WOULD THINK OF THAT. A WOMAN'S PLACE IS IN THE HOME, NOT ON THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT! GOAAAAAAH!" YOU NEED BETTER HEARING TO REACH THE PATH OF ENLIGHTENMENT! Yeah...it ain't the Goaaah that bothers me. * Millie narrows her eyes and, more to the point, her rifle at Hanomaru, aiming for the head. "An' you need better sense ta reach the path of walkin' outta here, boozer!" [Right about now, an Injun child pokes his head out of the tent, eeps, and ducks back in.] ARE YOU CHALLENGING THE MIGHTY HANOMARU?! WOAAAAAH! (How! are you today?) I ain't challengin' nobody. I'm takin' out the stupidest maggotty piece of flagon flesh that Millie Reinhart's ever laid eyes on." * Millie presses her cheek to the stock and gives Hanomaru a cold stare. "Now. Are ya gettin' outta here or ain'tcha?" GOAAAAH! THEN THIS PERSON OF WHOM YOU SPEAK HAS NOT SEEN VERY MANY THINGS, FOR IN MY TRAVELS I HAVE MET AN INCREDIBLY STUPID MAGGOTTY PIECE OF FLAGON FLESH! ALTHOUGH WHO WOULD LEAVE A FLAGON OF ROTTING FLESH FOR SOME MAGGOTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST ESCAPES ME! EITHER WAY, I CAN GUARENTEE THE FLESH WAS NOT INTELLIGENT! * Millie opens one eye. Then the other. She's lost a lot of the coldness from her gaze. Mostly because she's in shock that someone can actually BE that stupid. IT ALSO WAS NOT MIGHTY, OR ENLIGHTENED! (My current theory is that Hohamaru's hair is infact a parisite that's been eating his brain...that's why it gets bigger in each game and he gets stupider.) Look, I don't have time for this. Do ya know where Runnin' Cloud is or don'tcha? WAAAH! ALAS, AS I WAS PROTECTING SOME YOUNG CHILDREN, I FAILED TO SAVE OTHERS ELSEWHERE! SHE WAS TAKEN, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER POOR PEOPLE! IF ONLY THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT WAS SHORTER, I MIGHT HAVE SAVED THEM ALL! BUT IT IS A NEVERENDING PATH! * Millie blinks and lowers her rifle. "Waaait a cotton pickin' minute. Taken?" TAKEN! GWAAAAAH! Taken where? * Hanomaru gestures northward. "GWAAAAAHHH! LAST I'D SEEN, THE BRIGANDS FLED IN THAT DIRECTION! THEY WERE NOT FINISHED LOOTING THE VILLIAGE, BUT THEY FLED BECAUSE THEY FEARED MY MIGHTYNESS!" (...) * Millie sighs and rubs her bangs out of her face, reslinging her rifle. "Great. Jus'. Frickin'. Great." * Millie walks forward, well more likely STORMS forward towards Hanomaru, looking straight at him. * Hanomaru looks right back down at Millie, smiling MIGHTILY! * Millie doesn't smile back at Hanomaru. She looks too irritated to do that. What she DOES do is link her elbow with his as she passes and tries to drag him after her. Come on. [Body roll +3!] * Hanomaru doesn't resist, but he's much too MIGHTY! to drag. Or something. * Millie gets stopped and mmphs, trying to tug him again. When she figures out it's no use, she throws his arm aside. Or rather slips her arm away and tosses it with a huff. "Look. We gotta go after 'em. An', while I don't wanna do this..." She sighs and looks at the ground. "Yer the best backup I got." GWAAAH! OF COURSE YOU DESIRE MY HELP! MY SWORDSMANSHIP IS MIGHTY! ENLIGHTENMENT! But...if we go..couldja jus'....err, keep the talkin' down to a minimum, 'kay? Name's Millie. Millie Reinhart. That over there's my horse Pepper. Ya got a horse yerself? * Hanomaru shakes his head. "GWOOOOOO! ENLIGHTENMENT DOES NOT LIE IN THE PATH OF SILENCE! IT LIES IN THE PATH OF VOLUME. VOLUME! *VOLUME!* GWOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAH!" That last one is loud enough for the whole town to be heard. In fact, some buzzards a few miles outside of the village take flight and hurry away. * Millie puts her hand over her ears and grimaces. She hasn't had much sleep and this ain't makin' it better, no sir. No horse then? Fine. Well. * Millie looks over at her horse appraisingly. Can she tell whether Pepper could survive carrying them both? GWAAAA! ONE MUST WALK THE PATH OF ENLIGHTENMENT ON FOOT! [Pepper could do it for a while, but she might well get tired after a few hours.] Yeah, but on foot is slow an' I ain't got much time. How far away is that spot they're bein' held at? THAT I DO NOT KNOW! I KNOW ONLY THAT THEY LEFT, HEADING NORTHWARD! [Now that fighting isn't imminent and it seems that they might actually be trying to *help* the village, the Injuns start poking their heads out. They murmur amongst each other.] [If Millie's paying attention, yes, there are definitely fewer than there were before.] * Millie rubs her head again and sighs, whistling Pepper over. "Fine, fine.." She looks around at the villagers. "Why did the bandits come through here?" [One of them shakes his head. "I don't know. They just..." Another interrupts. A woman. "They were too organized, and one took my boy! Have you seen him?"] * Millie sighs and puts her hands on her hips. "No ma'am. But I'm gonna go look for him. Millie Reinhart can assure ya of that." * Millie looks up sternly and mounts Pepper as she gets near. "Ready, ugh," rolls her eyes inbetween statements and groans slightly. "Hanomaru?" [She nods with just a faint amount of relief. Looks like she's been crying recently. Another man eyes this and comments, "You know, that horse isn't going to hold the both of you for long."] GUWWAAAAAH! THE LEGENDARY SAMURAI HANOMARU IS ALWAYS READY FOR ANYTHING! * Millie REALLY winces at that. * Millie looks at the man. "I know. That's why this lug's walkin'" She thumbs at Hanomaru THE MIGHTY HANOMARU HAS WALKED A THOUSAND MILES! [He does, too. As does the rest of the village. And then he continues, "I don't know if you'll be able to... uh..." He winces again.] Able to what? [The cook (do you remember him? Big guy, dark skin) comes walking out from behind his makeshift lean-to. "I think what he's saying is if it means bringin' them back, we'll help in any way we can." He looks Hanomaru up and down. "Even if it means letting you borrow the biggest damn horse we can find."] [There's some assent among the villagers.] * Millie smiles at that. "Well that's mighty obliged of you. Ya'll take care of Pepper, raight?" ["Oh, hell no. Not even that horse is gonna carry the both of you for two long. Just him, maybe." He points at Hanomaru.] ...oh. * Millie looks at Hanomaru and speaks plainly. "Can ya ride?" GUWAAAAH! I CAN RIDE HORSES LIKE NO OTHER!! (Sorry, phone ^^;) ( TURN UP THE VOLUME ON YOUR PHONE TO REACH ENLIGHTENMENT!!! ) (Sorry. Back) (Did you turn up the volume?) * Millie looks at Hanomaru and gives him a not-so-cheerful grin. "Gooooood. Then ya jus' might be able ta keep up." She nods her head to the villagers. "Alright. We sure appreciate it. I can't speak for him, but I'm sure gonna do what I can." She tips her hat and pulls the reigns a little. [The cook shrugs and waves for Millie to follow him. Meanwhile, a couple kids decide to try to figure out how many of them can stand on each other's shoulders to reach Hanomaru's height. This will end in disaster.] * Hanomaru follows. "WOOOOAAAAH! I WILL ALSO DO ALL THAT I CAN, AND ALL THAT I CAN IS A LOT!" * Millie follows the cook on her horse. "Come on, lummox." YOUR HORSE BEARS NO RESEMBLANCE TO A LUMMOX! [He smacks his ear. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Ow. Anyway, what I was gonna say is he's not a bad guy. Really strange, but not bad." He looks at Hanomaru. "It's the enlightenment thing. We Westerners just don't get it."] * Millie groans and rubs her head. This is gonna be a LONG day. She then glances at Hanomaru, then back at the cook, whispering low off her horse. "I don't think there's anythin' TO get. I think he's jus' a drunken idiot. Did he REALLY save the village?" (To the cook obviously) [He nods twice, slowly. "There were a lot of them," he says, in a similar, quiet voice. "But trust me. He's *good*. If saving people's on his crazy path, I ain't complaining."] * Millie looks at Hanomaru and pouts. "Yeah. I jus' wish I didn't hafta TRAVEL with him..." An'...surprisin'ly, he's better company than half the people I'm already travelin' with... [He chuckles as he leads you guys out of the village. Now you're quite a bit aways, in the plains, and you can see a few horses grazing there. He looks them over, then points one out: a large, black stallion with brown marks. "Hawk's the one I've got in mind. A little cranky, but strong and fast."] Cranky huh? WOOOJAAAAA! A MIGHTY HORSE FOR A MIGHTY MACHO MAN! A FINE STEED FOR A FINE STEADFAST SWORDSMAN! ["Yeah. Cranky."] * Millie can't help but grin a little at that. "Well, we'll see if "mister no one can outride me" can handle it..." [The cook goes to get the horse, taking a few moments on the way to calm it down. "Here ya go. Make sure you bring him back in one piece. With the rest of the village."] I'll, err, try. He looks like the type who might break a horse. I hope it's not true. But the villagers. We'll get the villagers back. [He smiles, but it's a pretty grim one. "I hope so." He looks up to Hanomaru. "You. Take good care of this horse, all right?"] GWAAAAAH! THAT I WILL! THIS HORSE LOOKS LIKE A HORSE OF VOLUME! [He eyes Hanomaru. "It's a horse of somethin' all right."] * Millie rubs her eardrums. "Hano. Sweetie. Tone." * Hanomaru bellows even louder. "YOU ARE RIGHT!!! I MUST INCREASE MY VOLUME! ENLIGHTENMENT!!!" [The guy covers his ears. "Good luck!"] * Millie groans. "No, no. Yer volume was right before. Keep it at that. Please." GWOOOAAAAH! NO, YOU WERE CORRECT! MORE VOLUME IS BETTER! MORE! MORE!! ENLIGHTENMENT!!! * Millie gives the cook a "god help me" look and then turns around on her horse. "Mount up and shut up, Hano-baby." [He returns it. Full sympathy today, Millie. Full sympathy.] * Hanomaru mounts up and starts heading north immediately. "ONWARD!! TOWARDS ENLIGHTENMENT!!" * Millie blinks. "Hey wait!" She snaps Pepper's reins. "Stupid git." [ONWARD! TO SAVE THE VILLAGE! SESSION END!] [ENLIGHTENMENT!!!!!!]