For Better or Worse? [Josh/Closed]

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

After all the mayhem and disaster that had occurred back in Cocoon, Ebony had decided to just lay low for some time in Delatorr. After losing the orphans that she had once called family to an insane man, and realizing that Cocoon didn't need her anymore, she left for someplace else that could call home temporarily. And that place...was Delatorr. The home of the man she had come to love, and his family. The Raines family.

From living in a room, to a castle had been a rather big jump for Ebony. Bigger than she could handle, in fact. She couldn't count the number of times she had already gotten lost. Hell, she didn't want know how many times she had gotten lost. That would only lower her self-esteem more, and she did not need that. Not at all. Instead, she opted to try and keep herself in places where she knew where she was and how to get back to certain areas. Exploring could be done later. When, she didn't have to worry about becoming enraged every five seconds...

She still had yet to even introduce herself to the King. Sure, she had met him when she had brought Josh back from getting sick, but she only saw him for five miuntes and then he left. But, he was King, and he was sure to be busy. Especially with a civil war to fight in your own home. That was the worst.

At the moment, Ebony was standing on one of the many balconies overlooking the city. The lights were a comforting sight to see, espeically from the height of where she stood at that moment. She had never seen anything like this back in Cocoon.

Words: 391
Muse: Alright
Notes: Hope that's good enough to get you started yourself.

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Things were a little better in Delatorr, sure there was still fighting going on but in his own personal life…Josh was okay with things. Back on Cocoon things had been downright terrible and Ebony moved in with him for the time being…that was a total plus. At the end of a shift, he could come home and see her instead of have to take a week off every now and then and travel to a completely different world. It was quite the convenience. Of course knowing if you would even make it back home was scary enough…Josh hoped things would quiet down with this war…Ebony didn’t need to go through another tragedy.

Walking into the castle Josh yawned as he stretched his arms a bit, his gunblade stuck in the pouch on his back as he walked through the main hall almost dead on his feet. Thank goodness another soldier revived him of his post for the evening otherwise Josh might’ve fallen asleep right then and there. He wandered into the kitchen and stuck his head into the refrigerator looking for something to eat before he went to change out of his muddy uniform. He grabbed an apple out of the fridge and called it good as he wandered off into the halls again, towards his own room and the room Ebony was staying in just a few doors down. He passed one of the balconies that overviewed the whole area, the town in the distance as well, at nighttime it was really beautiful…if you were into sightseeing and those type of things.

As he looked into the balcony area, Josh spotted Ebony, and after taking a bite from his apple he walked out and stood next to her, looking down at the lights of the town closest to this castle. Crushing his apple then swallowing he looked over at her. “So…did you have an enjoyable day?” He asked to start up random conversation. He hoped she didn’t ask about his day today, just to say it was utterly horrible…another fight, another search, another ‘guard your territory’ routine and that was it. It was the same thing all day every day. It was starting to get boring, could this war hurry up and finish already or at least advance somehow?

As Josh’s eyes moved from Ebony out to the city he sighed. The cool air felt nice when you weren’t trying to shoot someone in the face who was against you. In fact, had he not been a soldier…life would be pretty grand for him. But that’s how it was. His older brother had died in the army, his father had been in the army, and even many fathers before that had been in the army….it was a tradition. Repa was so lucky she was a girl! Speaking of which…she wasn’t home, off in Gaia once again to help her friend Cloud, which Josh didn’t mind, he knew she would be safe with some of the people around and this would give him a chance to have some bonding time with Ebony…instead of having to deal with a pesky little sister popping in at anytime.


Words: 609
Muse: Pretty great for Josh!
Notes: Got me started pretty well actually!

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

Ebony could hear the footsteps coming from the hall. She ahd expected it to be a servant of sorts, since that was who it had been mostly, but she was surprised when Josh stepped up next to her. It was nice to see him more often now, rather than waiting who knows how long for him to come to Cocoon, and then having her worry about whether or not he was still alive. Even though she did that now.

“So…did you have an enjoyable day?”

Enjoyable? Enjoyable didn't even come close. She had tried to get the layout of the palace once again, with horrible results. She didn't get lost once, but twice, and that was what drew her over the edge. She figured from now on she would just find a map and carry that around with her from now. She had plenty of pockets to hold it in anyway.

"Not...really. I got lost...again." She laid her head down on her arms, as she rocked on her heels, letting the cool breeze blow her short brown hair back from her face. She closed her green eyes and just let out an exasperated sigh. "Seriously, I don't know how you can traverse all those corridors, hallways, and rooms. I can understand most theories, ways of magic, and plenty of other things just fine, but when it comes to the layout of this damn palace, I just blank out. And I hate it! With a passion!"

Ebony raised her head, and turned around, leaning her back against the thick, marble railing, and placed her hands behind her head. The only places she could really reach without getting horribly lost was her room, the library, and the kitchen. That was all she had gotten down for the moment, and she wasn't very happy with herself.

"How did your day go? Let me guess, boring and horrible, as they usually are, correct?"

Words: 426
Muse: Pretty good, if I do say so myself
Notes: I know I'm gonna like this thread already! =3

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Josh stood there leaning forward against the balcony as he crushed down on his apple every so often. The air really did feel nice, though he knew he should probably be inside, getting a shower and changing out of these clothes, then getting some sleep before the next day came, but Josh decided a few moments with Ebony wouldn’t hurt…ever since they got back from Cocoon a few days ago the army had been running him around the clock a lot. There wasn’t much time for sleep, food or anything like that. Most of the time Josh was either talking battle grounds with his father and the Army generals, or he was stuck standing guard at the base watching for any signs of suspicious activity…then there was also the legit battlefield…fighting for your life wasn’t as fun as it used to be.

Ebony getting lost around here was expected for awhile. Josh still had the tendency to get lost here himself, but he made little notes to himself about the different halls and rooms. It was easy to get from point A to point B without getting lost on a good day. He chuckled a bit at Ebony as she explained her day and wondered how he managed to get around the place. Seeing her get bothered by a simple layout was almost amusing. He hid back his amusement after his chuckling died down to a few twitches of the corners of his mouth as he continued to grin and looked over at her. “You’ll get the hang of it someday…I promise.” He said with a comforting tone.

“It’s a huge place I’ll give you that…maybe we should invest in a GPS system around here…” he said grinning widely again tossing his half eaten apple in the air, catching it, then tossing it again over and over as he stood there. “I have complete faith in you…if you can teach me to do magic then I’m sure you’ll figure you way around here…” Josh grinned down at Ebony as he caught his apple one last time and took another bite out of it, his stomach was roaring for more food since this was all he had in the past 24 hours since his orange from yesterday…it was starting to tear him apart, these unhealthy working conditions.

Oh so she asked about his day. Josh sighed a little as he leaned forward on the balcony but having his head turned to face Ebony as a tiny smile remained on his face. It wasn’t exactly a lovely subject, but hey it was something to talk about right? “It was okay….boring and horrible sounds about right…though there was one spark of interest…I overheard some of the High ranked Generals talking with my dad today…talking about me…I have a feeling it’s a good thing” He said happily with a grin before eating the rest of his apple and tossing the core into a nearby trash can. “All and all, a boring day…workouts, lookouts…nothing new.” He said with a shrug. “Though I guess I can count my blessings that I didn’t die today eh?” that was a joke, but it was true…any day that went by that Josh didn’t die…he sure counted his blessings for that.


Words: 650
Muse: *Josh muse starts to grow incredibly and explodes*
Notes: Same here! <3

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

“You’ll get the hang of it someday…I promise.”

Hearing the comforting tone in his voice, Ebony understood that he was trying to be caring, but she couldn't help but snap back anyway.

"Yeah, sure...If I don't go completely insane in the process."

Turning back around, with her front facing the town now, she leaned down on her forearms and looked off to the side, away from Josh. Ever since the "incident" she couldn't help but return back to her old self...where she snapped easily, and ignored what she wished...And it seemed her smile had disappeared once again as well. All the light that once been shown, seemed to have been blown away with blood and horror. But, Ebony couldn't bring back those memories. She had to expel them from her mind...somehow.

“It’s a huge place I’ll give you that…maybe we should invest in a GPS system around here…I have complete faith in you…if you can teach me to do magic then I’m sure you’ll figure you way around here…”

A GPS system would be nice. Maybe then Ebony would know where she was going. Every hallway she walked down looked exactly the same to her, with few differences. She was more of a landmark person, herself. Sure, she could understand multiple theories, all in the ways of science, magic, mathematics, etc., but place her in a forest with no certain path or road signs, and she was screwed. Which, most likely made sense as to why she was getting lost. She needed something to understand. She couldn't be the one to understand just with her mind to help guide her. If that made any sense, whatsoever...And of course, teaching magic was completely different than figuring out the complete layout of a who-knows-how-big palace.

"It was okay….boring and horrible sounds about right…though there was one spark of interest…I overheard some of the High ranked Generals talking with my dad today…talking about me…I have a feeling it’s a good thing."

Talking about him? Either they were commenting on his fighting, or about a promotion, or maybe even both. Ebony didn't know if that was good or not, though. Sure, it meant happiness...but, it could also mean more work was in store for the soldier...

“All and all, a boring day…workouts, lookouts…nothing new. Though I guess I can count my blessings that I didn’t die today eh?”

Oh, Ebony knew the feeling of counting your blessings for each passing day all to well. She had felt that her entire life. Living off the streets, then with the Academy wishing for her to be gone, and then with Escort job she had taken...Ebony had never lost the feeling of given each day a blessing. Hell, just being able to place food on the table was enough of a blessing for her when it was difficult to come by. Of course, now living in a palace she sure didn't need to worry about that now...

But, she couldn't help but notice that Josh was starting to look slightly pale, and he seemed to be more tired as of late. It was a known fact that he was overcome with work two-thirds of the time...Even though she had sort of reverted back to her old self, that didn't mean she didn't care for and worry about the guy...

"Josh...just don't overexert yourself...okay?"

Words: 704
Muse: Good
Notes: Nothing

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Alongside with being worked to death, Josh was having a hard time cheering Ebony up. Though he didn’t blame her for being in this mood at all, she had just lost the only family she really had…those orphans…they meant a lot to her, but he did hope that one day she’d learn to move past all that, and maybe come back to the more cheery Ebony he grew to love…of course now she seemed like if he did make the wrong step that she would finally get to throw him over that cliff…he made sure to be a good boy. “You’ll be fine…I’m quite positive” he said trying to aim the mood in a brighter direction as he stood at the balcony, still leaning against it a bit as his eyes switched from looking at Ebony to the city in the distance.

The silence was almost nerve wrecking for Josh. He wasn’t much of a quiet guy when it came to conversations…but on the battlefield he could remain quiet for hours. He had to come off as that ‘cold heartless’ type of guy when fighting, you had to let your emotions disappear at times like those…but this, was a little uncomfortable for him. He was wondering what Ebony was thinking about right now…it couldn’t be bad, or maybe she was so silent because he was doing all the talking? That might be it, and he took it as that and finally shut his mouth, letting the silence not make him so…nervous or anything.

Finally she had broken the silence! Josh had let out a breath he didn’t realize that he was holding the whole time it was quiet. As she spoke Josh chuckled a bit before rubbing the back of his head some and looking off to the side. “I know…I think I’ll be okay if I can get a good night’s sleep these next few nights…” He said with a grin before looking back at Ebony. She was the one he wanted to be with…he wanted her to be happy more than anything in the world…so he would have to do his best to be around for her and be able to keep up in the army…things were going to get tough for him, but he assumed he could manage…assumed being the key word. He turned back towards the doorway of the balcony leading inside. “You hungry or anything? Want to watch a movie or something fun?” Though he probably should be hitting the pillows he thought he needed some bonding time with Ebony…maybe to cheer her up. He didn’t want her being lonely all the time around this giant castle.


Words: 530
Muse: Good
Notes: None

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

“You’ll be fine…I’m quite positive.”

...Sometimes she wondered about that. Whether she would be alright or just onctinue on with her life, dreading everything and anyone. It seemed that no matter what she did, there was something or someone to just suck up away her happiness and turn her back into an empty void, a shell of her supposed former self. Sometimes, she wondered if there was some outside force just trying to suck away her happiness, set on making her life a living hell. A goal, even.

The silence didn't bother her. To her, it was quite comforting. It gave her time to think, and at the moment, that was all she needed. Just to be able to stand there in slience, not having to worry about being targeted, or killed. And with Josh next to her, she didn't ahve to worry about him leaving her, whether it be physical, emotional, or even both. These few moments of silence gave Ebony solace, almost as if they were her sanctuary, her true home...

“I know…I think I’ll be okay if I can get a good night’s sleep these next few nights…”

Ebony didn't really think that just sleep was what the guy needed. She had noticed that he hadn't been able to eat anything before that apple of his. Sure, fruit was good for you, but with the way he was overworked to the point where he could barely eat anything, or get barely enough sleep, it got her worried. And she didn't like it. One bit.

“You hungry or anything? Want to watch a movie or something fun?”

Wa she hungry? For once, no. She was full, happy, and content with the feast the cooks in the palace had happliy made her. They were glad they could at least cook for somebody, even if it was a stoic young woman who had nothing better to do than brood, and read the thickest books you could find.

Wait...did he just say...watch a movie? Okay, it was official. This man had to be somewhat insane. The poor guy had to be about ready to fall over from exhaustion, and he was offering to stay up with her. Yeah...he was crazy.

"...No. To both. You need your sleep. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Worry about your health and your body. The books and tomes in the library are enough company for me."

And with that, she stood straight up, and turned on her heel, walking out into the hallway and down to her room. She opened the door, but before going in, she stopped and looked back in the direction of the balcony. Worry and concern were evident in her eyes and face, before she put on her mask once more and entered her now-messy bedroom. Josh would need the sleep more than he would need the thought of comforting her.

Words: 602
Muse: It went from "...what to write?" to typing non-stop typing all in the process of a couple paragraphs. Go me!
Notes: ...I think I just poured every ounce of angstyness I had in me into this post...Yeah, probably...^^;;

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Josh had a few doubts about Ebony being okay. What she saw back on Cocoon might’ve psychologically or emotionally damaged her…he didn’t know what else to do, and it’s not like he was going to make her see a psychologist, though it wouldn’t be a bad idea after that traumatizing event, but something needed to happen. He needed to see some sort of spark in her that would bring her back out of that shell of hers. He didn’t know what he personally could do…maybe try to act like he had before? It was like déjà vu! Working on cracking Ebony’s shell was tough last time…imagine all the work this time would bring!

As the silence continued to fill the air, Josh just let it be and tried to think of it all as a good thing. Silence was golden right? He just figured it that way and leave well enough alone. At least Ebony wasn’t the type to get all emotional, sit in her room and cry for days and what not. That was a life saver for Josh. If Ebony was the type to get all clingy and emotional…Josh just might’ve exploded by now…so of course, now with this all in mind he started thanking for the silence. Silence was better than girls crying…he knew that as well as any other guy in the universe.

As Josh started to get more tired, he had to keep thinking of ways to motivate himself to stay awake. Bonding time with Ebony worked…but she now had rejected both of his ideas…food and a movie. Well it would’ve been fun had Josh not been dead tired on his feet, so he just sighed heavily and shrugged as Ebony walked off, and he walked to his own room, almost half dragging himself as he entered and went to take a shower and change for bed. After all that was taken care of, josh collapsed on his bed and it didn’t even take him 5 minutes before he was out like a light…and slept like a rock. Every muscle in his body sore from each day’s work which was seeming to double right before his eyes…but for now, he could escape that stress and drift off in some sort of dream…and he did…happily with a small smile on his face as he slept.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning came quicker than ever as Josh’s alarm went off. When you were in the army you were up EARLY, no matter how tired you were. Josh groaned a bit and rolled over, slamming his hand on the alarm and sitting up. 6:00 a.m. this was way too early for Josh, his lack of sleep and food was starting to get to him, but he never wanted to show any sign of weakness. So sucking it up like a soldier would, he got up from his bed and changed into a new uniform for today. It was very nice and clean and tightly fitted. He got his hair all combed and neat and got the rest of him ready for the day. He walked over to his bed and sat down while he put his boots on and he yawned heavily….he was not focused today really…which was a bad thing for a soldier, especially one of his rank. This was going to get bad quickly.

Walking out into the kitchen Josh sat down in a chair at one of the tables, he closed his eyes as he rested his head against his hand, and his elbow rested against the table. He was waiting on one of the cooks to finish making breakfast…one was always up this early to give him at least something before he left…and today, he wanted FOOD. Lots of food. So as he waited he sort of let his mind drift, wondering what the day would bring, probably nothing…just keeping a lookout or something…and with that dreadful thought he sighed almost wishing he could go back to sleep and take the day off…but no. There was no time for that…what a silly thing for a soldier think of.


Words: 775
Muse: Good actually!
Notes: Im proud of my post! *fistpump*

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

With the sun peeking through the sheer white curtains, it quickly lit up Ebony’s room. A ray of the sun quickly broke through and shone onto Ebony’s face. She cringed and pulled the covers over her face, before sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She wasn’t one for sleeping in herself, unless she was completely exhausted. And this wasn’t one of those days…

She quickly took her own shower, and got dressed. She put on her boots, and put everything into her pockets, and grabbed a certain book on the nightstand, putting the string attached to the book around her neck. She grabbed other books off her desk and floor, and headed out of her room, closing the door shut behind her. She headed down to the library, passing some servants who nodded at her as she went. Once she got to the big grand doors, that held the biggest collection of books Ebony had ever seen in her life right behind its door. She entered, and waved to the keeper of the books, who she had become friends with quickly, since he had some of the same interests as her. She placed the books she had in her arms down onto his desk, and he could only shake his head. She had to be the quickest reader he had seen yet.

Heading towards the shelves and shelves of books, Ebony honestly didn’t know where to start. She never knew where to start. And that’s what always made her smirk when she came to the library. She liked a little reading challenge. That’s what happens when you become a researcher. You read everything and anything there is in sight. But, for once, a thought came to her mind. She headed back through the library, and into the History section. She walked down the rows, placing her hands on the spines and reading the titles as she went. Finally, she found the section she needed. She grabbed a few and started a pile as she went, making them float behind he as she continued to walk. Finally, she got all that she needed and sat down at one of the tables scattered around the place, setting the books around her as well. And so she started, reading the history and architecture of this palace that she sat in now…

Hours came and went, and finally, Ebony figured she could stop where she was, and continue on later. She had learned more about this palace and the way it worked, hopefully giving herself a more understanding of how the hallways worked. She placed a few of the books back, before grabbing the others and heading out, into an uproar by a few doctors and nurses that were running by. She quickly grabbed a nurse by her sleeve, and pulled her out.

“What’s going on here? What happened?”

The nurse had to catch her breath before answering.

“The Prince has been wounded in battle. No one knows how bad it is. That’s why everyone’s in a panic.”

The nurse ran off, as Ebony just stood there in shock. It took her a few seconds before she was actually able to get her legs moving. She quickly ran back to her room, and placed the books down next to her door inside the room. She then turned quickly on her heel and ran to the infirmary. She quickly remembered the look of the doors and what was around it from her last visit to it. She found it rather quickly, but saw that there was someone standing outside, silently telling her that nobody was allowed to enter. And, Ebony didn’t know if that was good news…or bad.

Words: 723
Muse: Same as the last. Went from nothing to awesome.
Notes: I wonder if you can guess what that "certain book" is? >=3

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

After breakfast Josh felt a little more awake, hell the guy even gulped down two cups of coffee before strapping his gunblade to his back and taking off from the palace for another boring stressful day being a soldier. With a sigh ever now and then Josh just walked his way to the base for today, he got in through the many security procedures and was finally inside before being briefed on today’s agenda. Apparently the rebels had been trying to make an advance, and they wanted to send someone out to see how far they had been advancing…with troops behind them just in case, and Josh, being bored and tired, offered to do the simple job…see where the rebels were then return back, knowing they hadn’t advanced that far. It was a simple job…and then they hoped to it.

Josh was riding the in back of a military vehicle, it had a turret on top and a few more soldiers were with him. While he rode he kept silent and his eyes closed, others were looking out so he could rest a bit. As he felt the car jerk to a stop he heard a familiar sound, gunfire. He opened his eyes and jumped up out of the back of the car turning to face the ongoing gunfire. He saw a few troops had already been out here earlier and gotten themselves in a bit of a rumble with the rebels…Josh gritted his teeth as he watched a few men get shot at, some even hit, and that was enough to fuel his anger. He had enough of his buddies die, he was so done with it. He charged into the battle field, turning every so often to dodge past some rebels and even avoid gunfire as he locked his eyes on their leader for this battle. You could tell because this dude was hiding behind the rest of his army, looking over them all smugly, and Josh just weaved his way through soldiers to get to him. This would be a good day for the Delatorr army if Josh could take him out.

As he made his way closer, Josh leaped out and shot fires at the leader with an angry expression on his face before jumping forward to knock the man down. As the man was down a few other rebels came over to help and Josh just smirked a smile before shooting them down with the gun part of his gunblade. He turned back to the leader of these rebels and lifted him up by the collar as he sat on the ground. Putting Josh’s face in the leader’s he growled “You’re ruining my world.” He called before kneeing the guy in the gut to keep him down. As things started to wind down Josh had the leader all cuffed up and ready to be a war prisoner for questioning, as he looked back at his army he smiled at a general who was watching what he was doing…almost mentally taking notes for Josh’s success. Out in the background though, Josh saw an approaching rebel. He didn’t bother unleashing his gunblade again, he just ran for the general and pushed him out of the way before a couple more shots were fired…and Josh went down like a rock.

~~~~~~~~~

At the palace, Doctors and nurses were rushing around frantically. Josh was taken in and laid in one of the hospital beds, he had been shot 4 times in the chest which was really serious. He kept saying how it didn’t hurt and that he would be fine…but surgery was called for…they had to do some prep work so they just stuck a tube into one of Josh’s veins loaded with morphine. As the morphine started to stop the burning of pain in his chest, Josh calmed a bit…less worried, he was just glad to have saved the general…probably earned him some good brownie points with his father and the other troops.

As the doctors were prepping, they wouldn’t allow any visitors…but once again, Richard Raines was first to hit the scene…even he wasn’t allowed in! He just walked up towards the doctor’s offices and started to pace…his eyes caught sight of Ebony…their new house guest…perhaps she knew something? It didn’t matter, he was going to get in, he was king! They had to listen to him…but first he walked over to Ebony. “You want to see him?” He asked quietly not really waiting for an answer before demanding that the doctors let them both in to see Josh…and with the power of the king hanging over their heads…they gave in. opening the doors to Josh’s room they said to make it brief before he went into surgery…they had 10 minutes before he had to go.


Words: 892
Muse: Great!
Notes: EPICNESS!

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

Ebony had raced down the hallways of the palace as fast as she could. Most people she encountered had to jump out of the way, or even have her push them out of her path, lest they be trampled down to the floor. This was no time for courtesy. This was urgent. And she didn’t care if people screamed and cursed at her. She wasn’t about to lose someone else to something she wasn’t able to stop.

Most would have been surprised at the speed of the young mage. Stereotypical people would ascertain mages with high magical power, but low speed. Well, not Ebony. Growing up as an orphan, you had to be fast and flexible. And that was exactly what Ebony was. Most of the fights she had encountered involved her having to use such speed, and everyone was surprised. As she liked to say, she had the power of a true mage, and the speed of a skilled thief. And nothing was going to get in her way. She had even jumped over a railing, to get to the floor beneath, she was going so fast. Nothing was going to stop her at this crucial moment. Nothing.

She skidded to a stop as she came up to the infirmary, and saw the King standing there, pacing. She couldn’t blame him. First, his son had acquired the native plague that had been running around when she first saw him. Now that same child had been shot. Ebony didn’t know how badly, but she had heard some of the basics as the doctors and nurses had been running past earlier. And what she had heard didn’t sound good. At all.

“You want to see him?”

Of course, she wanted to see him! She didn’t lose him the first time, and she sure as hell wasn’t losing him this time. Even if she had to pull the man covering the door down to the floor, and push the doctors out of the way just to see him. But, all she said was, “Of course.”

She stood behind the King, as he ordered to be let in, and with his power and authority they were let in. No surprise there. Ebony rushed past the King and throwing her arms around Josh’s neck, hugged him tightly. She had seen the blood that was on his shirt from the gunshot wounds, and the pipe that was attached to him, sending morphine into his body. But, she tried to expel all that from her mind.

“You idiot! I told you not to overexert yourself, and look what happens to you! “

She pulled back, and placed her hands on his shoulders as she just stood there, looking at him. She did her best not to touch his chest, or even look at it. She just kept her eyes focused on his face. She sighed, and just closed her eyes, before embracing him once more.

“You scared me. And I don’t like to be scared. I’ve already lost enough. I don’t need to lose you too.”

She pulled back once more, but this time, she fully pulled back, giving the King ample room to talk to his son. She let out another sigh before she leaned against the wall next to Josh’s bed, and slid down, so that she sat on the floor. She covered the side of her face with her hand, and just tried to expel all of the horrid thoughts that were entering her head. Of what had happened, of what could have happened, and of the end result of both of those. And none of the thoughts were pretty. She just tried to think of formulas, and spells, and equations. Anything to get her mind off of the images that just kept pouring into her head, the likewise she didn’t want to see ever in her life.

Words: 775
Muse: Best it has ever been yet!
Notes: <3

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Josh was laying down in his medical bed, trying to overpower the sleepiness of the morphine and other liquids that were entering his body making his drowsy, but it was hard to stay awake, so he closed his eyes and just listened to the sounds of beeping from the hospitals many machines in the room. Everything was pretty silent until he heard the shuffling of feet, two sets of feet, and even though he was drowsy and wanting to sleep, Josh’s eyes flickered open a bit only to be attacked by a tight hug. That sent up a red flag as the morphine hadn’t completely helped his wounds right now, sure they hurt but when the voice started yelling at him about being an idiot, he couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Easily though, he laughed slowly, his chest raising up and down as slow as possible to keep from hurting even more.

Once Ebony pulled back from that tight hug, Josh smiled a little, feeling a bit proud of himself, though he was sure he shouldn’t speak seeing as he was getting drowsy. He simply smiled and nodded at Ebony. “I…couldn’t help myself.” He said sighing a bit and closing his eyes some. “I had to…save the general, some…stupid rebel came up from behind…but I got’em!” He said with a grin on his face as he kept his eyes closed before Ebony hugged him again. He put his free arm- the one not being stabbed into with tubes and needles- around Ebony as he breathed in deep, and exhaled that way too. He was going to be fine…at least he thought so. “Don’t worry Ebony…I’m too stubborn to die.” He said with a light chuckle before dropping his arm to his side on the bed once more as he opened his eyes again, trying to fight off the power of the medicine.

As the king stood in the room, just watching the two, he kept quiet. He wasn’t going to say much, just wanted to see his son and see how he was. “I’m very proud of you Josh…” he said in his deep voice before patting Josh on the shoulder lightly with a smile before glancing over at Ebony. “I’ll leave you two alone now…I need to talk to the doctors anyway.” And with that Richard Raines exited the room leaving Ebony and Josh alone. Josh just looked over at Ebony and smiled a bit. “I’ll be okay…don’t worry the doctors here…they know what they are doing.” He said trying to sit himself up a bit before wincing and laying back down. “Just think of it this way…your boyfriend is a hero….” He said with a light chuckle as he laid there and placed on hand on his chest…he felt the wounds and realized how bad this really was…bullets that close to the heart was never good. He sighed a bit once more and closed his eyes. “I’ll be up and ready to go before you know it!”

Words: 614
Muse: Good actually
Notes: tiny text! i like it better...thanks to zack!

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

“I…couldn’t help myself. I had to…save the general, some…stupid rebel came up from behind…but I got’em!”

Even in his weakened state, he still had some energy in him. Man, he must be really fighting that morphine...Ebony could only stare at him like he had two heads.

"Don’t worry Ebony…I’m too stubborn to die.”

He was right...He was too stubborn to die...Even when he had contracted that disease and was fighting one of PSICOM's little crazy inventions...or when his "old" friend almost tried to kill the two of them...it was definite that the man was too stubborn to die. And she couldn't help, but grin at it.

“I’m very proud of you Josh…I’ll leave you two alone now…I need to talk to the doctors anyway.”

Ebony lowered her hand from her face, and watched as the King left the room. Lately, more people had been leaving to give them a moment...and she really didn't know if that was good or bad. So, she just stood up, and grabbed a nearby chair, setting it next to Josh's bed, with the back against the wall, much like how she was sitting earlier, and sat down.

“I’ll be okay…don’t worry the doctors here…they know what they are doing.”

Well, he had gotten this far. She was sure the doctors knew exactly what they were doing...already seeing what they could do when she first came to Delatorr...but, with the way he was laughing earlier, and his deep breaths...she couldn't help but be worried.

“Just think of it this way…your boyfriend is a hero….”

Oh yes, that would be the first way she would look at it. She would totally disregard the fact that even though he did save a General's life, he could have at least used his gunblade to try and block some of the bullets shot. Hero was definitely the first thing that came to mind...

“I’ll be up and ready to go before you know it!”

Now that she was sure of. If he could bounce back from some of the blows he had gotten, she was sure he could bounce back from this. Though, it might take a little longer than some of the others. She looked at Josh, and then downwards, bringing up her legs to hug them to her chest. Even though she knew he was the one hurting right now, it hurt her to see him like this. And she couldn't bare to continue looking. But, she would stay nonetheless. The time until surgery was almost up anyway, and the doctors would be coming in any moment to escort her out of the hospital wing.

So, she stood up, and turned towards Josh, placing her hands on his shoulders, and placed a kiss on his forehead, before looking back at him, with a small smile on her face, transferring her feelings through actions. She stood there for one more moment, before turning and running out of the infirmary, taking a firm seat on the ground next to the door, determined to stay there until it was all over.

Words: 651
Muse: Tired
Notes: Actions can speak louder than words. (It didn't turn out as crappy as I thought)

[Joshua Raines]

Super Soldier
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Josh felt his eyelids start to sink a bit, he was getting tired, he couldn’t fight off the Morphine or anything else anymore. He stared in silence as they both were quiet, though a small smile was crossing his face as he blinked slowly, getting really sleepy in the process. He felt proud today, he had saved a leader’s life…and that ought to score him some brownie points with practically everyone in town, maybe he would be upgraded to a General as well…that was a dream of his. To become the star General of the army, it was his dream ever since he joined the army, and even before that when he knew his fate would be to help protect the land he loved. It was a nice thought, but he wouldn’t cling to that theory of him getting upgraded…he knew life came with many disappointments and he didn’t want to work that one up just to have it come crashing back down…for now he should just focus on getting better.

Anytime Josh had said anything these past few moments, his words were slurred. The medicine was taking great effect right about now and it was just about time for surgery. They would have to go in and remove all the bullets so the lead and shrapnel didn’t puncture his heart. It was a lot more serious than the doctors led on for people to believe, but Josh knew he would be okay, they knew what they were doing and he had complete faith in the doctors here in the palace, they were the best of the best. He opened his eyes and blinked, still trying to fight off the sleep his eyes shifted over to Ebony as she sat in a chair next to him. He knew she must not like this image of him…he’d had to have the roles reversed, and he wished that she didn’t have to see him like this, it probably hurt her a lot especially after losing the orphans…seeing the one you loved in critical condition…it sure didn’t help.

Josh just sighed and kept quiet before Ebony came over placing her hands on his shoulders and kissing his forehead. That meant it was time for surgery right? He never liked hospitals but it had to happen, for his own life’s sake. He smiled as she left the room and waited for someone to come and retrieve him for surgery. He closed his eyes for a moment and rested in silence before he heard the doors open and the sound of heals tapping against the floor. He opened his eyes and blinked before his eyes set on a nurse. His eyes went a bit cross eyed as he recognized the girl and started dreading this whole thing completely. It was the same one who came to take care of him the last time. The one who was madly in love with him. He just closed his eyes quickly and pretended to be asleep or something, though he was sure he wasn’t far away from being knocked out anyway.

As a few moments of silence passed, Josh was listening to the girl humming a bit as she got all the things needed for Josh to be moved ready. She stopped for a moment, staring at the prince, Josh could feel her stare burning into his skin as she giggled a bit. “He’s so cute!” She chimed to herself. “I wonder if he’s ever going to dump that magic girl…she’s too weird for him! After this surgery, I’ve been assigned to take care of him…maybe he will fall for me! And then we’ll get married!” She giggled before other doctors came in and Josh was moved out of the room for surgery…The Nurse followed closely behind, as she exited the room she looked down at Ebony in disgust with a scowl before following in to help with surgery. Josh was completely zonked out.

Words: 747
Muse: Great!
Notes: hehehehehehe she gonna get so annoying!

[Ebony Blackwell]

Black Researcher

Those orphans gave me the name Ebony. The citizens of Cocoon gave me the name Blackwell. Now you'll see why.

Ebony closed her eyes, trying to get her mind off of the thoughts that were still plaguing her mind with horrid images of the worst possible scenario. The marble was cool and even slightly comforting, and with her comfortable position, even if she was sitting on hard marble, she would probably be able to fall asleep if she wanted to. And the surgery would probably take a good few hours anyway, so what was the problem with taking a little nap? It was going to get her mind off of things.

She had just closed her eyes, and was trying to sleep, with her head cocked to the side, slightly laying on her arm, when she heard...something. It sounded like clicks...one right after the other...until it dawned on her that was it was shoes. It was a probably a servant, since it usual was, but she opened her eyes anyway, and what she saw made her cringe. It was the same exact nurse from when she first came to Delatorr, and that was a moment she did not like to remember. Memories instantly flooded into her mind, that she just as quickly tried to dispel. She hated that nurse. And she meant it.

She glared back as the nurse sneered down at her before entering the hospital, and closing the door. Ebony couldn't help but stand up, and get curious. So, she turned into “thief mode.” She raised her feet slightly, raising high enough so that the own heels on her boots wouldn't make any noise on the echo-like marble floor. She stepped on the top palms of her feet, along with her toes, and padded slightly to the door, moving the doorknob ever so slightly, and silently opening the door just enough so that she could hear. For a few seconds, all she could hear was slight humming, and the moving of the instrument, until she heard what she really didn't want to hear.

“He’s so cute! I wonder if he’s ever going to dump that magic girl…she’s too weird for him! After this surgery, I’ve been assigned to take care of him…maybe he will fall for me! And then we’ll get married!”

Okay...this girl was not only completely dense...but also completely insane. Did she not see how Josh reacted back when he contracted that disease? Did she not understand why Ebony was even living there? This nurse was going to give Ebony a headache...lots of them. Now that she knew that the girl was going to be watching Josh she would have to be on guard almost every waking moment. And not for jealousy. Oh no...this was mostly from annoyance, and the fact the fact that she would have to save Josh probably every five seconds.

And magic girl? Really? She couldn't come up with something better. If she was able to, she would have barged in there right now and shown her what kind of magic she could really do. But, she restrained herself, and merely quickly took her original seat back on the floor, after closing the door back to it's original position. She would have to make her own plan as well, though more elaborate than the nurse's. That little piece of info was just sad.

As the nurse exited with the doctors, she glared back at her, with the same disgust, before her eyes were focused back on the bed that was being rolled out. The poor guy didn't know what was going to be happening. Oh well, she could try to fill him in later, after he was awake...

With the way it was looking, Ebony would ahve her own war to fight. Though it would be much more different than your usual war, and most likely much more planning would be involved. And hatred for the opposing side. Much, much more hatred. All she could say was this...it was going to be a hell of a lot more interesting than Josh's civil war.

Words: 785
Muse: Awesome!
Notes: This is going to be SO much fun!! XD