Red Meadow.

[johalt]

(I'm back y'all. :) let the psychosis begin!)

The desert. The moon in the sky above full and brilliant, turning the vast landscape into a glistening sea of silica waves. The calm scene does not last long. Two figures appear, both shadows of some fowl nightmare, the one looking like a human with the head of a jackal, the other some twisted form of eagle and scorpion. The Jackal was armed with two hand scythes, the Scorpion-Eagle a spear and sword, and the two were tearing up the night air and sand in great combat. It lasted only a few minutes, but it seemed like eternity to the warriors. In the end, the Scorpio was victorious, dealing the final thrust to the Jackal. When it was over, the Scorpio returned to its human form, revealing itself to be a slightly younger version of John, who now claim his prized: the hand scythes of the Jackal.

"That looked like Sibuna. It's been a while since you defeated him." A voice carrying over the dunes, female, coming from a new figure, June, now standing behind the younger John.

"About 40 years I think." stated the victorious warrior, still standing over his claim, not even looking at June as he spoke. "He was a threat, dangerous, I had to track him two whole years into the desert before I finally found him." his voice then became softer, worldwearey, almost like regret. "It seems that what little sleep I do get i's filled with old battles, those whose lives I've taken. All just dreams now."

"Yet there i's one enemy you have who does not reside in here."

"Yes... Possibly my greatest victory... And greatest mistake..."

"And he may very well be your biggest threat yet, and will likely come after you and those near you."

John suddenly spun around to face her, anger in his voice: "Anyone who threatens me or my family will soon have a place in my dreams!"

"Be careful Daka, this will likely be your greatest challenge yet: the world will have need of you again soon; you must decide whether or not you'll be ready to handle the price." the female then began to slowly fade away.

"Wait!" he shouted. "How i's it you are here? I left you around Jewl's neck?"

The female smiled. "Who said I was the one wrapped around anyone's neck?" with that she faded away completely.

John stared after her a while. "Just great, more figments of my imagination." He then sniffed the air. Grilled chicken? he thought, confused; Then it dawned on him. "Oh Shit."
~~~~~~~~~
Now very much awake, John bolted up in the blazed and struggled to find the door, found it, and flung himself out of the inferno, gasping for air. "That was a close one."

He immediately shed his carapace, rather than reabsorb it, so that he could take stock of the damage done. He smiled at the results. "Looks like I got out just in time; looks like just the outer layer of my skin got a little cooked, that should heal up with a 'light' meal." he laughed at the irony of that statement; for him a 'light' meal was a two hour gorge. He through his shed skin into the inferno; without him to supply it with fresh cells, it quickly went up in flames. It would be black ash in a couple of seconds, white ash in about an hour, and nothing but gas by the end of the day.

He looked around, and found his clothes nearby. He quickly put them on, then headed to the cafeteria. After eating his fill, he would check in to see how Jewl was doing, then probably take a bus or something back to the school.

OOC: 50 internets to whoever can correctly guess which game I've ripped off this time. LOl