The darkness ripples;

[Nocturus]

A shuddering of shadows, a swoon of black, a shiver among the night.

The darkness ripples; and then begins to tear apart.

It starts as a small pinpoint of light in the midst of the darkness. A smell like sulfur and copper slithers forth from it and stabs at the senses, drawing attentions to it. Whispering voices seem to come from the other side of the pinpoint; speaking all in a rush, hundreds upon hundreds, in more languages than one would ever think possible and yet not a single tongue known by man. Beneath the voices screaming can be heard, and the crying of those in pain; but perhaps far more dreadful is the laughter. It rises up and echoes forth over everything, not many voices, but enough to send a chill down one's spine.

The point of light widens, a small crack seeming to form along the ground. Clawed fingers rip upwards from the darkness and begin to pull at it as though tearing through heavy cloth. The scent grows stronger, the sounds begin to settle to a deafening roar rather than the mind-numbing blur of before as the laws of time, space, and distance set in. Those further sounds begin to drift away and those nearby are of grunting and snarling, beasts tearing at someone or something, and the slick wet sounds of blood running down skin.

The light begins to get brighter; the crack splits as another hand jams it's way upwards and tears at the opening, forcing it wider, The opening gasps in distress, breathing up hot air and more of the scent of rotted meat and fresh blood. The hands press apart and the crack widens just enough for a head and shoulders to pull through. A boyish face, red eyes and a slightly irritated smirk. A wild mane of thick, but short gray hair. Below the left eye lies an upside down cross, an old burn or cut from times long past. The hands are bandaged from the first knuckle down to the elbow, the torso just beginning to crest the opening is clothed in a black t-shirt with an unbuttoned white silk-shirt over it. Around the man's neck as he emerges is what appears to be a bright crimson tie.

Grunting and kicking at something unseen beneath he pulls himself up more, getting loose of the other place up to his waist. Blood is pooled along his side and his shirt is torn and matted against him. "Get off!" He grunts, kicking downward again and with a final mighty shove freeing himself of the hole, which snaps shut like a pair of cruel jaws just as his feet pass through. His legs are covered in baggy black pants which hold their fair share of small cuts and smoldering ashes as well. His feet are coated with heavy black boots, one of which appears partially melted.

For a moment he lies on his back, panting and letting his adrenaline fade. His hair; which had been gray moments ago had darkened into a thick and lustrous black sheen. His red eyes were more vivid as his breathing steadied.

After a short time had passed he managed to rise to a sitting position and grinned. "So this is the E.A.B., huh?" He presses off the ground, forcing himself to his feet and cupping his hands over his mouth. "Hey there; I'm Noc~!" He yells loud enough so that any in earshot would hear him clearly. His voice has a gentle tone to it, and yet an unnatural echo carries after it.

[Enigma]

Wassup? I'm lazy so I won't post all that much. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the EAB.

Have fun, and don't eat the chicken. I'm sure Ninmast did something too it. He was doing something when I had my back turned. It's a trap..

[Ninmast]

A pink-haired girl sat in a lawn chair before the spectacle as if it were some sort of show she had come to see. The hair went down to her middle back and matched the eyes that took the scene in. A sixteen-year-old face stared out at the screaming blotch of light as it sipped on a plastic water bottle. Despite the theme her hair and eyes seemed to imply, she didn't hold herself like some sort of silly little girl. Instead, her posture was relaxed, her build was toned and she was dressed in an unassuming white tee, a simple pair of blue jeans and unadorned sneakers.

At first, she seemed eager to find out what would come of the blotch, but as this drew on, she grew more and more bored, her posture slouching, her plush but unpainted lips turning down into a frown ... By the time the boy's head emerged, a ball of energy was before her as she tossed it idly from one palm to the other, and when he finally extricated himself from the gate, she took his greeting with a pointed glare.

"Y'know, most would've just used the front door," she informed him idly with a hint of annoyance. "Would've been faster, too." The girl looked the figure up and down and back up again, then touched her chin as she thought for a moment. "Have I seen you somewhere before? Somewhere where you maybe went by a different name? N.T.D., maybe?"

[Nocturus]

"I thank you, sir, for your quick greeting." The demon said with a bow and a slight wince as the wound in his side began to bleed more profusely. When the pain had passed he heard another voice, turning towards it and smiling softly. "True, but the front door wasn't exactly an option at the time. I was in a bit of a jam and needed a quick escape." Crimson eyes dart about, a sudden uneasiness settling over him for a few moments. His shoulders rise and fall in a quick shrug and he brushes his hair back from his face, knocking back loose strands and opening his eyes a bit wider. "As for who I am..." His minuscule grin stretched up at one corner of his mouth into a broad smirk and he nodded. "I'm quite pleased you remember me, Ninmast. It's been a while." Again he bowed at the waist, head dipping low. "How ya' been?"

[Ninmast]

"Heh, it was the tie that gave it away," the author in the form of one of its major characters answered, standing as the chair disappeared. "You're the only guy I know of that has a tendency for dealing with darkness while wearing a tie. It's good to see you again, and good to see you've finally come by the EAB! We're always looking for your kind of talent."

[Nocturus]

Nocturus nodded, reaching one bandage wrapped hand to his tie to loosen and adjust it. "Aah yes, well you can't blame me for having fashion sense, now can you?" He chuckled lightly, the noise echoing outwards and settling itself deep within the hearts and eardrums of all around. "It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Ninmast. As for this place... It's not home, but it could prove fun for a time. I've yet to decide whether or not I'll actually be staying."

[TrueBlue©]

"You know," began a child's voice behind the newcomer, "On EAB 1.0, we had a rule about RPing outside the RP forums. Because it's gay."

She was clad in all black—a black button-down, tight black pants, dusty black boots, a black cape, black gloves, black mask that only hid the skin around her eyes—and she was glowering at Star. "This is YOUR fault, fucking High-Powered social butterfly." What foul language from such a young mouth! "I hope you realize that."

[Ninmast]

But the pink-haired figure leveled a defensive finger at the newcomer. "What? Me? He started it!"

[Nocturus]

"Gay?" The raven-haired young man said with a quizzical expression. His smile tweaked up a bit at the edges and he uttered another low and echoing chuckle. "I may have a flair for the dramatic, my dear; but I assure you the male of the species holds no appeal to me. As for Roleplaying outside of a Roleplay area..." He pauses, scratching at his chin as he allows the words to form themselves properly in his mind before speaking. "Why limit one's creativity to a single place, especially when the lie is so much more comfortable than the truth?"

He darts an eye from the new arrival and back to Star, rolling his eyes lightly. "Now now ladies, I believe that's quite enough arguing. It wouldn't do to frighten away any others willing to answer my greeting." Glancing down at his side the man begins to pick at the blood-matted shirt with clawed fingers, peeling it free of his skin carefully so as not to snag on the already scabbing wound. He hopes his quick words have ended the conversation before any blame was truly set square upon his shoulders.

[Teh Donut]

[glow=beige,6,600]"Roleplay outside of roleplay forums was not and is not disallowed. Multiple-character replies were, and still are. The former was simply discouraged due to its penchant for leading to the latter."[/glow]

The glittering, glowing words materialized into a circle that wound their way around the trio as they were spoken by a certain fairly deep and wearily soft-spoken disembodied voice. The echoes quickly faded from around them; as they did, the glowing ribbon of words dipped to the ground and spooled into the form of a relatively normal-looking young man in faded jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He "readjusted" his shaggy brown hair by running a hand through it, then shaking his head violently enough to cause one to wonder how he had not contrived some manner of brain damage in all his years. Setting his thin-rimmed glasses back upon his nose, he held out a hand to the newcomer.

"Good to meet you, Nocturus. I'm the one and only Donut, no relation, resident pastryman and master of the unfinished project. I don't normally bother with the theatrics...Don't normally care for more than a couple quippy lines. Far be it from me to disrupt the prevailing theme, though."

[Nocturus]

Nocturus stopped picking at the shirt and wiped the blood off on his pants, extending his hand to the newcomer and shaking vigorously. His grip was tight, but slack at the ends of his fingers so as not to accidentally pierce the man with his long nails. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Donut. And I'm sorry if you've had to make any unnecessary effort outside of your comfort zone to stick with the theme; I merely find it easier to introduce myself in this manner." Releasing Donut's hand he presses on his side again, wincing at it for a moment before deciding to leave the matted shirt alone for a while. "After all, this persona is so much better at talking to people than myself. I find that in character it's far simpler to interact with others and I appear less standoffish."

"Pastryman... a noble profession; the only jobs or titles I hold are those bestowed upon me in the lower realms. The simpletons there refer to me as the Scar Lord, but my friends call me Noc'." He bites on his lower lip for a moment, pondering over a question even as his stomach rumbles. "I'm a big fan of chocolate, any pastries you could recommend?" As he speaks the word he begins to salivate a bit, wiping his mouth with his shirt-sleeve. To say he was a fan of chocolate would be an understatement.

[zandyne]

A familiar and oft ill-welcomed fountain of barbed shadows sprouted up around the general vecinty of the jarring event. A rather short man with musculature uncharacteristic of magicians stepped out of it, the glimpse of excitement on his face quickly died at seeing the newcomer.

The moment his smirk had immediately flattened, so did the 'physical' shadows that retreated into shade of a tree that had definitely not been there earlier. He shook his head grimly, breathing out his disappointment just loud enough so that the demon could probably hear, "I cashed in a favor from the Witch for this?"

Ivan rechecked himself somewhat and managed a louder but still dispassionate gesture of welcome, uncaring of how aggressively he was butting into previous conversations, "Pardon the lack of enthusiasm kid, but bleedin' out ain't exactly good form."

He glanced over his shoulder to regard a pair of freakish floating eyes, whatever he drew from the action, his smugness returned in full force, "Oh well, can't say I'm ungrateful for fresh blood," he flashed a quick salute, "Hope you live long enough to humor a sparring match of wits or brawn. I look forward to getting to know you better."

With that, he was gone in a spiral of jagged black and the mysterious tree disappeared with him as well in a puddle of ink.

[Nocturus]

Nocturus knew someone new was arriving before they appeared. He knew before the barbed shadows writhed to life and released their passenger. He knew from the very moment the tree arrived, silently and without warning or any real impact upon it's surroundings. The shadows beneath it were... off. They didn't dance and flicker in Nocturus' presence as all the others did. By the time the man had appeared the demon found himself a tad annoyed. "Bleeding out?" He scoffed, looking once more to his side and noting that the blood there had soaked a good section of his shirt, but even so this was no more than he could handle. It was a graze, a common risk when crossing through rifts where he wasn't invited(or, truth be told, allowed.)

The man vanished before Noc could properly defend his case about the insignificance of such a paltry wound, the tree vanishing with him and the entirety vanishing in a puddle of inky black. "That was... odd." He muttered, shaking his head. Even so, a few words the man had said managed to break through his somewhat thick skull and one corner of his lips turned up in a smug smirk. "A sparring match, huh?" He rolled his neck and shoulders, practically tasting his own blood on his tongue already as he battled a worthy opponent, feeling the muscles in his arms and legs tense at the thought. "That could be fun."

[Toriji]

"Haha. We have someone who doesn't shy away from a fight I see." To the rear of the assembled group stood a ruggedly handsome man dressed in all black wrappings. "I can definitely appreciate such a healthy battle thirst." He pushed forward of the group to shake the man's hand. "Please call me Toriji. I am also one of demonic persuasion. I personally wouldn't mind sparring with you as well."

[EJP]

.......................

Welcome to the EAB, enjoy and have fun.

[glow=red,2,300]DON'T DRINK ALL THE HOOCH!
OR YOU WILL GET THE BOOT!
AND IT WON'T BE A HOOT!
BECAUSE IT WILL BE GOING UP YOUR CABOOSE![/glow]

p.s. feel free to mess with teh Donut's pastries of DOOM and Bowel discomfort.