Stoking the Fire

(I know this takes place a bit before the RP your currently in)
Mark wakes up and packs his bags, puts on his gloves, and heads outside to continue exploring this new town he discovered. He walks down the road and sees a sign that says Central Park He thinks and gets out a piece of chalk to scribble on something. He goes to a tree and draws Kilroy on it. He carves on top of the drawing Kilroy was here.

(Now he is in the same time of the RP your in)
"Heh" Mark Chuckles he walks over to a bench and sits down. He checks his wallet, a wad of cash equaling to 4,742 dollars he puts it back into his pocket. He had 5,000 dollars when he started his journey he mostly spent it on Motels and 7 elevens. He just sat there and relaxed for a bit.

((Oml another person!!  Yay~))

Yukiko nodded enthusiastically and began to make her way to the front door of the crimson hedgehogs home. She was beginning to get excited strangely for the night to come. Looking up at the night sky was a relaxing thing to her, so doing something until then made her feel giddy about actually doing something other than working. 

"Let's hope this goes off without a hitch. We got each others backs anyways so we are pretty durable, what with fire and ice after all, hehehe."

She opened the door and stepped out onto the floor landing and waited for Can to finish up anything he needed to do. The air out in the hallway was a little stuffy, similar to her own apartment complexes. Possibly because of the lack of windows, which made it feel warmer but in an almost suffocating way.

He checks his watch to see that its 13:24 (Military time for 1:24 PM) and gets up and walks up to a tree. He checks his pouch for his stack of Throwing Knifes he brought about 7 in the stack, to practice his accuracy with weapons. He gets out a knife and throws one at the tree it lands in the tree, he makes a smiley face out of throwing knifes. "Heh" Mark chuckles.

He grabs the Throwing Knifes and puts them back to see dents in the tree shaped like a smiley face ."Perfecto" Mark says satisfied "I hope someone sees this." He walks away to lay on the bench with a hoodie over his head.

((okay, Mark! I understand, but remember that there's a turn order in most RPs on this site, including this one! Right now, the turn order should be:

Red
Foreva
Mark

So, please try to stick to it!))

Caen tried his best to give a friendly smile at Yukiko, who was clearly more excited than the crimson hedgehog. Had she really been that lonely in this city? With a barely noticeable shake of the head, Caen removed that intrusive thought out of his mind. It would only add to the amount of troubles swirling around up there, after all.

Clicking his fingers, he quickly walked back to his room, grabbing his long coat and putting it on. Sure, it looked a little odd on top of the jacket, but there was a reason for it. One that he was less than willing to disclose right about now. Caen grabbed his keys off of the counter, throwing them up into the air before catching them "alright, let's go," he said out loud, not really looking at Yukiko as he spoke.

He stepped out into the hallway, closing the door. As he did so, he took one last peek at the picture frames within. As the door closed with a faint 'click', he sighed. Turning back to Yukiko, he spoke again "lead the way."

As the two walked down to leave, a thought occurred to Yuki, and the thought just wouldn't go away so she decided it best to voice it. 
"Did you say goodbye?"

It was probably a strange thing to ask, and she hoped he understood what she meant. Caen may not have noticed but she did see him give a quick glance over his photographs as he closed the door. She was similar in the way of always normally making it a point to speak to her parents as she left, always letting them know she would be back soon. 

At least to her, if she didn't do it she felt strange for the rest of the day. 
They reached the front doors once again and Yukiko took large strides to keep up with the red hedgehog.

((well. I guess Mark no longer wants to reply in this topic. Well, feel free to come back whenever, Mark!))

Instead of the elevator, Caen decided to take the stairs downwards. Yukiko appeared to be taking larger strides to catch up with him, he started to slow down. In response to her rather odd question, he glanced at her, before speaking "was it that obvious?" He asked, blushing slightly as he kept his eyes locked downwards. Soon, he reached the front doors, and opened them once again, holding them open for the snow leopard

(Nah still in here)

((you took three days to reply, so your turn was skipped. It's now Foreva's turn.))

Yukiko shyly nodded as she calmly walked out the door and back into the now warmer evening. She was glad they had eaten earlier as her energy was still pretty high, and she hoped it was the same for her companion. She began to walk in the direction of the central park, taking steady strides to make sure she was walking as fast as Caens usual brisk walk. 

"When you do the same thing yourself, you kind of notice that sort of thing. The slight hesitation on the photograph may not be noticed by a lot of people, but at least they know how much you care." Yukiko almost whispered, meaning the action her firey friend had directed towards the photo of his parents, bless their souls. 

The violet cat girl subconsciously began playing with the scarf attached to her top as she gave a soft look towards the red hedgehog.

Yukiko nodded as she walked outside. The hedgehog soon followed, and began to walk at his usual quick pace across the sidewalk. While Yukiko had a good amount of energy, Caen felt more like he was... Overflowing. He needed some kind of release. The chance to just stand there and scream at the top of his lungs, or simply just cry his eyes out, would have been a godsend to him. His mind was running too quickly for his usual attitude towards life, and that was saying something .

Caen smiled at Yukiko's response towards a habit that the hedgehog always thought of as odd. "Yeah, I guess..." He said, before falling silent again. As he walked, he kept looking over at Yukiko, watching her facial expressions. He sighed "I'm angry, Yukiko. At all of it," he said, his face unchanging "this whole mess just angers me to no end. I blamed myself for their deaths for years, even after my uncle was arrested, and then I find out that my father may or may not be alive? I stand there and worry about his reaction if this all turned out to be true, but..." He hesitated for a moment "I don't know how I'd react. Do you know what I mean?"

Mark gets out of his laying position on the bench and gets out his Butterfly Knife. He thinks to himself while doing tricks with his knife Wonder how far i am from home, and what is going on there. "Hmm" he accidentally cuts himself with the knife "Fuuu...." It was a tiny cut like a Paper Cut.

'Finally... ' was all that she thought as Caen began to talk about his anger. 'He's not ignoring it and bottling it up for later.'

"I was wondering when you were going to say something like that. It's obviously a very hard thing to think of. Believing all this time that you had no family - no parents - to count on when you needed them most, then suddenly... A letter tells you that one of them may well be there, waiting for you to meet them."

Yuki pressed a hand to her chin in thought as they came around a corner and the gate to the park was dead ahead the evening light was ever so slowly fading away and the many street light decorating the well kept area were springing to life to begin their nightly duties. A few others we're still in the grassy area, some older kids were loitering around the swings, and a lone mother was feeding a baby on a bench from where they entered and could see. 


"I know I've said this before... B-but..." She sighed and ran a gloved hand through her loose hair. "Don't you think it may just be too convenient? Almost like someone is playing to a weakness? "

Again, Yuki felt that she may have overstepped some boundaries, but she also wanted to try and keep Caen somewhat level headed and fully underatanding of the possibility that this may not turn out in a good way for him. It was pretty repetitive, asking these questions and all the assurance, but she just wanted to be sure.

So Yukiko could tell what was on Caen's mind. It was strange, finding out just how much of an open book the hedgehog was to her. It was nice, though, to meet someone who understood the situation that he was in.

The sky was slowly darkening as the sun begin to sink below the horizon. One by one, the streetlights began to flicker on, throwing out a small amount of light as the duo reached the park. Some people were still there, mostly the type of people who you would expect to be in the street at the time, no families or children in sight. That should at least make the walk somewhat relaxing, Caen thought.

As they walked, Yukiko made a pretty valid point, that Caen had actually thought about before. He sighed "of course I've thought of that. Hell, it seems more likely than not. You see, I've fallen for similar things in the past, so I've learnt to be skeptical. Still... As I said before, I cant ignore it..."

A nod was all she could offer. She had no words to console the hedgehog any more than she had done so already unless she ended up repeating herself. She made her way over to an empty swing and sat down to push herself off from the ground. It may be classed as childish, but the air passing through her long hair felt good and refreshing. 

Before she knew it a calm smile of content graced her face as she closed her orange-amber eyes as she swung her feet back and forth to gain some height.

They both fell silent as the duo kept walking through the park. They had reached a swing set, where Yukiko stopped and sat on one of them, beginning to swing with a relaxed, contented expression. Caen himself stopped, leaning back onto the metal frame, and placing one foot onto it. He sighed, closing his eyes as he did so. It was strange to the hedgehog. Just standing there, quietly.

Yukiko continued to gain height on the metal chained seat. Naturally it wasn't the most comfortable to sit on mainly because it was a child's set, but she was thin enough to sit on it without it hurting too much. As she continued to swing up and down, her hair danced around behind her like it had a mind of it's own. 

The sky was now a deep navy, indicating the time to be close. She predicted it to be somewhere between 8 and 10pm. The time of year as well made the day last a little longer, but that always depended on the weather. 

"Come, sit and relax for a little bit." Yukiko chirped to the red Mobian who continued to just stand awkwardly. "Let your mind wander as you float into the sky... "

Okay maybe she said that a little for herself as well, but it never did anyone any harm to let their mind wander off, even for ten minutes. Thinking back to simpler times. Happier times where a family was altogether. 

"It won't be long now, but clearing your head from any baggage will do you wonders, Caen. Keep you focused on what you're going to be doing."

The evening sun was now replaced with a purple blanket engulfing the world around the duo, with a few stars lighting up the sky here and there. The moon hung high in the sky, ominously.A small breeze kicked up, causing Caen's spines to flow behind him. When Yukiko spoke, Caen barely moved at all, just breathing deeply and slowly as he stood there, his eyes shut. He put the back of his head against the frame gently "It's okay. I'm fine like this," he spoke, sounding more... Relaxed, in a way. One thing was true, Yukiko was correct. A clear mind right now would be the best thing for both of them.

They sat there for a while. How long, they couldn't be entirely sure, but before she knew it, Yukiko looked up to see the bright almost full moon hanging above them like a guardian. She always liked to sit and look out at the sky on a quiet night. She never could count all of the stars though, she would either fall asleep or someone would interrupt her or something would just get in the way. 

She never carried a watch on her so she couldn't be sure of the current time, but she guessed with how dark it was that they really should get going quite soon. While the park wasn't too far from where her hedgehog aquaintance needed to be, it would be best to not have the letters recipient to be kept waiting. 

"You think it's time to go, Caen?" Yukiko asked after what felt like forever. Her voice almost didn't come out and she more whispered it with a little squeak happening right toward the end of her question, making an embarrassed blush appear on her face. "Woah, s-sorry about that...my voice ran away home, hehe."

Time seemed to go ever so quickly as the pair just did their own thing, in complete and utter silence. After what seemed like a couple of minutes, Caen finally opened his eyes, and looked over at Yukiko, who was now looking at the sky. After a long while, the hedgehog realised that he was staring into space, and shook his head.

Yukiko asked the question that was running through the hedgehog's mind right now: Was it time? He reached into his coat pocket, taking out a smartphone and pressing a button on the side, illuminating the screen. Eleven. Yes, it was time. He was so zoned out at this point that Yukiko's embarrassing voice malfunction was completely missed.

He stepped forward, straightening up. Using one hand, he straighten the quills that had stuck up on top of his head, before brushing off a little dirt on the coat. "Y-yes, I think it's time," he finally replied, in an almost somber tone.

Noting the slight waver in the males voice, but understanding the determined look in his eyes, Yukiko stood once again, dusting off the non existent dirt from herself and fixing her jeans. Her tail swayed lazily as she slowly lifted her legs up and down to get the blood flowing around them again. Had they really been sitting for that long just...doing nothing? It baffled her a little.

At this point, she looked around while Caen regained himself, or what he would probably call it; prepping for what was to come. A young teenage couple were sitting underneath a tree stargazing, which brought a soft look upon the felines tangerine eyes. She hadn't ever known what it was like to even have a crush of sorts, never mind love someone, but she bet it was an amazing feeling, knowing someone you cared so deeply about having your back and always being there. 

She glanced sideways at the firey hedgehog and pouted. Maybe Caen would find someone to finally help him feel at peace one day? The poor guy had been through too much. Besides, wasnt that what other girls liked? A 'hero'? She shook her head with a soft giggle. Some girls out there were just so naive.

The hedgehog looked around himself, patting himself all over, ensuring he had every necessary thing. Swords? Check. Keys? Check. Sweets? Well... Kinda check. He had only snuck a small amount in his coat pocket earlier. Still, it should have been enough. He was as ready as he would ever be, which, to be honest, was a whole let less than he would usually be.

While Yukiko was thinking of love and the naïveté of young starstruck women, Caen's thoughts were much... Darker. Yes, they were easier to deal with, now that he had relaxed for god-knows-how-long, but they overtook his mind. In essence, he was overthinking every possibility, as well as coming up with basic strategies to deal with each. He didn't bother sharing any of them, as he knew that next to none of them would be useful.

Soon enough, he turned away, back in the direction that the two had entered by "let's go then, Yukiko," he said, in a tone similar to how he had spoken earlier.

The purple cat girl nodded silently once again, knowing no words were needed to ask how the male rodent was feeling. It was kind of written all over his face after all, and she knew while she was trying to keep her thoughts out of the way in regards to what may happen, she knew Caen was not doing the same. She had a feeling that it brought him a strange sense of comfort in a way though, otherwise he would have turned tail a long time ago and given up on this endeavor.

"Is it far in, you think?" The thought had accidentally come out loud, slightly startling herself as she winced at her voice breaking the silence around them as they left the security of the park area. She just wondered if something bad did happen if she would have far to go to potentially get help if it was needed in reality. "Sorry, I'm just thinking out loud. Don't answer it if you'd rather talk about something else to take your mind off of things while we walk."

The silence resumed for a bit as Yukiko grabbed on to her large tail and did the strangest thing: she wrapped it around her waist.

The wind picked up a little more as the duo fell silent. The quiet noise of air flowing past them was all the noise that accompanied them as they walked. Soon enough, Yukiko broke this near-silence, asking how far they were supposed to walk in. Caen thought for a second, remembering back to the letter "well, the letter said to meet in the clearing and that gives me the impression that it's close to the middle. I mean, either way, it makes sense. If my father wanted to stay off-the-radar, he'd want to be somewhere isolated, and... Well, if it was someone else... It's beneficial for them, as well..."

After speaking, he simply fell silent again, shoving his hands into his coat pockets. As he walked, he mostly looked at the ground ahead of him. He kinda felt bad, as he was being a lot less talkative towards Yukiko at this point.

((FY? You still there?))

Sorry, had other stuff happening so was only able to update one thing at a time.))

Amber-orange eyes scanned the area as the forest before them loomed ominously. The sky was obviously black by now, and there were not any street nights to help guide them, so it was very dark. However, with being a predatory animal with instinctive hunting skills, regardless of not ever using them, ((who are you thinking she's feral, how dare you)) Yukiko could see rather well. If anyone was to look at her from an angle they would see her eyes glint almost like lasers in the dark from any slivers of light at all reflecting off of them. 

She turned her head to face her hedgebig friend to see if he was alright with keeping in the dark, or if he was going to summon a flame to aid him in the deep of the surrounding foliage. If he wished for a stealth mission, then his fire abilities would be a bit useless, but if he didn't really care and only wanted to delve further in, then she couldn't exactly stop him from igniting a firey ball of heat and light. 

They got to where the trees began to thin out slightly, indicating that this clearing the letter detailed of may be just ahead. Yukiko looked, once again to Caen and slowed to a stop to see what his plan of action would be. She could easily hide up in a tree to scope out the meeting, and if anything were to happen, she could fire an ice needle to stop the enemy for a minute or so to help out without being seen. After that?  Well she would only be able to act if Caen wished it so.