((RP between Aabicus and myself!))

It's a godawful small affair...

As the strains of the song drifted through the beach front bar, Tony Stracci sat at the countertop, nursing a Seabreeze. The drink wouldn't be enough to knock him on his ass, but if he had a few more...

He wasn't planning on having a few more.

But the film is a saddening bore,
for she's lived it ten times or more...

Looking out to the crashing waves on the ocean, the white sandy beach stretched endlessly before him in either direction, looking like a never-ending ribbon as it twisted its way along the coast. Somewhere in the parking lot, one of his vintage cars was parked, drawing a small crowd that snapped photos of it and stood next to it for selfies and Instagram posts and whatever. This brought a slight smirk to the ferret's features as he watched the eager onlookers.

Tapping his claws against his sweating glass, he took another swig, then pulled out his phone.

It's on America's tortured brow
Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow...

Tapping his claws over the screen, he began texting Emilena Echo. He asked her to meet him here, having a few things to discuss in the aftermath of their saving the world, defeating Kalis, and becoming heroes. His flat cap was pulled a bit lower over his forehead, his vest, shirt, pants and shoes completing the look.

It's about to be writ again
as I ask her to focus on...
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know...
He's in the bestselling show!

As Tony listened to the strains of the song, he closed his eyes, enjoying the ocean breeze that came in from the relatively open air bar, the building lacking walls, and really only having a roof and floor. Sometimes... life was worth it...

OK everyone, tomorrow I'm getting LASIK done on my eyes to get rid of my glasses. As per any surgery I receive, I'm somewhat nervous about it, but I think it'll be fine. I'll be out of commission reading wise for a day or two, so just bear with me while I convalesce, and I'll be back to posting once I'm good to go!

Oddly enough, the blue 1948 Delahaye 175 didn't seem out of place as it whizzed down the highway of one of Corona's busier circuits. Its rakish lines and exotic look seemed to match quite well with the surrounding digital cars that surrounded it and elegant skyscrapers that rose like monoliths around the vehicles.

The only thing that was off about it was the fact it was gliding on tires and not hovering over the ground. Its engine produced a throaty hum that was louder than the modern cars, but it made the ferret sitting behind the wheel relish the drive all the more. There was nothing like a drive on a beautiful day with the top down in a vintage car to make you truly appreciate life. The wind whipped the ferret's fur, blowing it back a bit as Tony Stracci cranked up the speed. He was still mostly obeying the speed laws, but going slightly faster than the limit. While the Delahaye may not have had the horsepower of some of his father's more powerful cars, it certainly looked exotic enough that it was turning more than a few heads as it drove on its way.

Tapping his paw on the steering wheel a tad, Tony thought about what he could do today. There were basically two choices. Well three, really, but he was already mostly doing the third. That third option was drive around aimlessly. But it was one of the other two that most appealed to him. He wanted to swing by Axel's place to see how the rat was getting on. It had been a bit since he'd last stopped in, mostly due to family business coming first, but he had a free day, and he wanted to use it. He was in the area, so he took the exit, and started heading in the proper direction.

---

On a high-speed train currently making its way to Corona, Vergil Speicher was sitting back in a comfortable chair studying some articles and tapping a pen on his chin thoughtfully. The white gecko had a look of deep concentration on his face. Articles on Rex Sardolemuel and Kalis were spread out all around him. The seating was vis-a-vis, but only the seat next to him was currently occupied by all his papers. The war, the two generals, their going rogue... it was all documented rather well. He was trying to find mention of himself in there, or some clue, but unfortunately, common soldiers were rarely named.

He'd found out some more, at least. Rex had been the brother of Mace Sardolemuel, the founder and current CEO of the Zaloga Corporation, one of the four main weapons' manufacturers in Corona. While Mace had the business brains, Rex was the military talent. He'd enlisted young, and had quickly proven himself as a military genius, if a bit unconventional. Then there was Kalis, Rex's gargoyle gecko second-in-command. But what was missing was the personal story. Why had these two decided to suddenly go rogue and attempt to conquer the planet? They were outcasts before, sure, but why take so extreme a measure?

Vergil sighed, and closed his eyes, settling back into his seat. He needed to talk with survivors... people who had known these two. If he could just learn more... he might be able to find out who he was as well, and if he'd indeed served them during their war of conquest. He would get to the bottom of this story if he could. Flashes from his past kept coming back to him, but nothing too solid. One memory was standing out however. It was of Rex and Kalis investigating some ancient ruins somewhere, and he was positive he was with them then. But what was it? What did it mean?

Dirt had entered a period of water prosperity since the downfall of their previous mayor, and wanted for very little. Crime was down as well, thanks to the times of plenty and the efforts of the town's sheriff: Rango. Speaking of said sheriff, the chameleon was currently out walking the town's main street, six-shooter at his side and decked out in one of his less fancier uniforms. Leather vest, white shirt, faded gray denim pants, black boots, and dusty white ten-gallon hat completed his look. Striding towards the town's saloon, he gave off the usual "Good morning!" and "Howdy!" to the town's denizens before pushing the Gas Can Saloon's doors open and moving towards the bar.

"Morning, sheriff!" croaked Buford, the toad bartender who was currently polishing a glass.

"Mornin', Buford!" Rango replied enthusiastically.

"What can I do for ya?" the toad asked, removing his cigar from his mouth to tap it into an ashtray.

"Bottle o' cactus juice!" Rango order, and Buford twisted off the cork of one and slid it down for the sheriff to catch.

Rango did so, then grimaced as the spines pierced his hand. Wiping the grimace off his face, he more carefully picked it up and poured a shot, still not having gotten used to how those things were served here. Downing the first shot, he swallowed hard. Just another day in Dirt... but this day would turn out to be quite abnormal for several reasons...

---

Blinking his bleary eyes, the western fence lizard came awake on his belly, hand reaching out a bit into the dried earth that stretched out far ahead of him. Groaning, he tried to push himself up, but fell back down into the dirt, his mouth parched and his mind barely functioning. Trying once more, his self-preservation instinct kicked in, and he hauled himself up, blinking again to try and clear his eyes as he could see a town in the distance. Wait... a town? Out here?

Pushing himself to got one last mile, the lizard started off for Dirt, pleased he was within distance of salvation, and willing his aching legs to just keep going... keep going... keep going... he wasn't going to die out here.

So I plan on starting a Rango RP pretty soon, and thought I'd get the discussion thread up for it. This will be called the "Legend of the Sierra Negra", and will be set after Rango's become established as sheriff of Dirt. OCs are most certainly welcome, but I make one request: if you wish to play as Rango, you MUST be active in this RP, or you'll lose the character to a more active player.

The only canon character I'll initially be playing as will be Bad Bill, though I may take more later on depending on number of interested players. I'll also be introducing an OC of mine.

Plot: Rango is settling into his new role as sheriff of Dirt, but when a mysterious stranger arrives in town one day bearing an odd tale about the Sierra Negra mountain range, his arrival seems to portend darker things. Tales abound of a great treasure beneath the mountains, but also of a terrible creature named Malachus who guards it. Known as a great evil in the desert, no one has ever lived to see Malachus for very long, and hence, his real nature, and even possible existence, can't even be confirmed, but he's rumored to be so fierce, he's on par with even Rattlesnake Jake. The newcomer has gaps missing in his memory, and is convinced Malachus has something to do with it, but when one of Malachus's sinister agents attacks Dirt later on, the story suddenly becomes personal, and Rango decides to find out if the legend of the Sierra Negra really is true.

So yeah! This'll feature a big plot, gun-slinging, the mythos of the wild west, and plenty of action. Who's interested?

Vincent Rubio stormed out of the South California Council chambers in a huff. That had been most pointless! The Council was still in deliberation over the outbreak that had occurred on the east coast in New York City last week. It was all over the news, but what wasn't being reported on the mammals' news agencies was that the virus was targeting only humans. The Council had received intelligence that dinosaurs were completely unaffected by what was now being ruled a serious threat by the United States' Government.

Vincent's suspicions were immediately aroused, and he'd called upon the Council to consider the possibility that the Progressives were involved. But the Council's response was that the Progressives had been broken with the death of Raal, and posed no further threat with their leader gone. While Vincent had to admit that Raal seemed to exercise an almost hypnotic control over his followers thanks to his freakishly strong scent glands, the velociraptor wasn't entirely convinced they weren't involved. The councilors would "pass the information on" to the Grand Council, but for now, would only continue observing the situation.

The whole thing disgusted him, and reminded Vincent of why he hated being on the South California Council in the first place. They were just a bunch of talk, as usual, and no action. If only Vincent lived on the east coast... he'd be taking this case without anyone even asking him. But as it stood...

Pounding the pavement with his human guise's shoes, the velociraptor decided to maybe head to the store Heather Corrigan worked at, as he was in the neighborhood.

Making for the store now, Vincent suddenly paused in mid-step as his nostrils picked up a particular scent... not just any scent... a scent he thought he'd never smell again. It was herbs... a mixture of them all combined. Oregano, basil, cilantro... blended together, it was familiar to him... so familiar... it was a scent he'd never forget as long as he lived.

Whirling his head, he glanced around in a desperate fashion, trying to pinpoint its source, but that was useless in this crowd. It was nothing but humans and dinos in human guises on this street, and they all blended together and it was impossible to track down that sweet, sweet source. It was her... but where? Was it her? Was he just imaging it? He could no longer smell it, the scent having faded very quickly, and Vincent sighed, angry at himself for having deluded himself that he'd smelled her scent.

Figuring he was wasting his time using his eyes alone, and unable to detect the herbal concoction anymore, the PI turned on his heel and continued for the store. He really needed to stop thinking about her. She was dead... and nothing could bring her back.

Entering the store's front door now, the velociraptor PI looked around. Even if Heather couldn't pick up Vincent's Cuban cigar scent, she'd know his guise by now.

So Amazon is offering the entire series (for those who don't have it) on DVD for only 41 bucks until September 14th. For those who are looking for a rather great deal on all the films, you might want to check this out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ref=pe_19...ASIN=B00EDQCIGG

So very soon I'm going to be starting a series of emails to a group in order to further the study of the Napoleonic/French Revolution era focusing primarily on Napoleon and the times he lived in. As I've been studying his life and times day by day now for the past five years (starting in 1791 and working my way up to 1796), I feel I'd like to step things up and start compiling my research into PDFs for a possible book someday. I don't know if I'll actually publish it, but I'd like to create a central source for all this information. Not only that, but I'd also like to give in depth looks into some more obscure and largely ignored (at least in English sources) events such as the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, a battle that has been polluted and misrepresented so many times by careless research and lack of interest by English historians.

I'll be drawing on a plethora of sources for my research, including but not limited to: Theodore Dodge's six volume set "Warfare in the Age of Napoleon", Martin Boycott-Brown's "The Road to Rivoli" (for his first campaign), William James's six volume "Naval History of Great Britain", Mark Adkin's "The Trafalgar Companion", Will and Ariel Durant's "The Age of Napoleon", Frank McLynn's "Napoleon", Andrea Stuart's "The Rose of Martinique", Hourtouille's series (primarily for uniforms), and some Spanish primary sources (such as the Madrid Gazette and personal accounts) when dealing with the Spanish side of things (given this side is largely ignored in English accounts).

So starting next week, I'll be taking an in depth look at the year 1796, and while much of the emphasis will be on Napoleon's Italian Campaign, I also want to delve into his marriage with Josephine, the kind of person he was, the concurrent campaigns on the Rhine, and politics of the day. Next year I'll be going into 1797, and the year after that 1798, etc. I'll be sending articles I'm writing out in emails to interested parties, including friends and family. If you'd like to be part of this ongoing project, I'd be happy to include you in my list of recipients. If you'd like to be part of this, feel free to PM me your email, and also state whether your want it to be carbon copied or blind carbon copied whenever I send out these articles.

So here it is at long last! I DO at least have the prologue completed, and while I'm currently working on hammering out the kinks in chapter 1, this IS officially the start of my follow up to The Past That Yawns Behind and what I plan to eventually become a three part series. This is a rather dark opening, and the story's title will also somewhat convey what we can be expecting as well. So hope everyone enjoys, and I just may have the first chapter up tonight as well if I can get to it.

Prologue: A Cold Serving

The words running through Rinkus's mind at this point in time were "freezing", "chill", "numbing." Never before had he experienced cold like this. His feet crunched in the frozen turf, snow blanketing the countryside as far as his eyes could see. Shivering, he rubbed his hands together, his breath shooting out like wreaths of smoke. "C-c-can't we turn back?" he asked, teeth chattering.

"You afraid of a little cold?" the question came mockingly from a domehead standing ahead of him. He carried a sharp looking chunk of rock at his side, which made for a convenient weapon out here in the wilderness.

"Well... yes." Rinkus said, nodding.

"Ha! Then maybe you should've thought of that before trying to steal from us, eh?" The domehead asked sarcastically.

"I dunno Royce... we've never gone this far before, and there doesn't seem too much chance of finding ANY food." this came from a nodosaurus who was lumbering beside Rinkus. The oldest in the group, he bent his head low to sniff the ground.

"Food's always around, Tyr! You just have to look in the right spot." Royce narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. "Besides... this little thief ate our stock, remember?" he waved the dagger like rock in Rinkus's direction. That part was true at least. Rinkus had been starving, and had pilfered from the first herd he'd come across... but unfortunately they had caught him, and here he was.

"I know but... surely you've been hearing the rumors... right Royce?" Tyr asked cryptically. "They say there's a new band of sharpteeth out here... and they don't stop for nothin'. They aren't like other sharpteeth. They work together. They're almost like... a unit, you know?"

Royce snorted. "Oh come on! Rumors are rumors! You believe everything your grandma tells you you're gonna start prematurely aging! Buck up!"

Rinkus shivered again. Sharpteeth? Out here? He looked around him cautiously. How did he wind up in this mess? All he'd wanted was some food... but when this particular herd had caught him in the act of feeding off the most luscious greens he could find for miles (which had unfortunately belonged to them), they'd made him an offer. Go out on their foraging party, or take a permanent dirt nap. Rinkus, valuing his hide, had agreed, and the only reason he hadn't taken to the sky now was because Royce had been thoughtful enough to give him a demonstration of his throwing skills... namely how he could throw sharp pointy rocks at rapidly moving objects. It had convinced the flyer that he was stuck, at least for now. But sharpteeth?

"I don't like sharpteeth." Rinkus spoke up.

"Yeah? Well I've killed more than I can count. They aren't so bad... you just have to know how to handle 'em. You thinkin' of... backing out, are you?" Royce asked in a threatening tone, fixing Rinkus with one of his eyes as he flexed his fingers.

Rinkus could only gulp and shake his head. "Good." Royce said with a nod. "Because you think of taking even so much as one step in the opposite direction, I'll gut you and leave you to freeze or bleed out! No one turns their back on our herd!" the domehead shouted angrily. Rinkus only nodded. "No one gets away with stealing, either!"

"Yes! Yes! Of course!" the pink flyer said in a squeaky voice, raising his hands reassuringly in front of himself.

"Just stay with him, Tyr. He so much as flexes his wings, knock him on the head!" Royce ordered the nodosaurus, who smiled.

Walking further on, they came to the edge of a wood, which stretched far beyond either side of them. It had been visible for some time in the distance, and they'd slowly trudged toward it through the thick snow. "Never been in here before. What do you think, Tyr?" Royce asked his companion.

"Hmm... maybe. If there IS anything it'd be underground. We should be looking for a cave or something of the sort. Don't know for certain until we find it. Trees at least will have needles on 'em. They aren't the most delectable thing, but they're better than nothing."

Royce nodded, and motioned for them to follow. Rinkus took big steps, trying to tiptoe, as something out here was giving him the creeps. The woods were dark, and blocked out the Bright Circle, which was hiding more often than not behind thick clouds. The very trees themselves harbored dark shadows, and seemed to close in on them from all sides.

A sudden movement ahead caught Royce's eye. "Someone there?" He called out, holding his rock at the ready. "Watch Rinkus, Tyr!" Royce commanded, and strode boldly forward. "I ask again... someone there?" the domehead challenged.

"I don't like this, I don't like this..." Rinkus mumbled to himself over and over again. He wasn't just shivering from the cold now. Something was... off about this place.

As Royce crested a small hill, his feet pushing snow out in front of him, his vision came to rest upon a fast biter, chewing and gnawing on something in the snow. Royce grinned, and began stealthily approaching it from behind. Didn't see many out here... but Royce was ready all the same.

The fast biter seemed to sense his approach, and turned around, its head whipping about as it roared... but too late! Royce was swift, and buried his "dagger" deep into the fast biter's neck, causing it yelp out in pain as it stumbled backward. "And again!" Royce yelled, pulling back and thrusting forth, stabbing the sharptooth in the gut now. "Down you go!" he crowed, standing over his fallen foe triumphantly.

It turned out this wasn't the only one however. Another suddenly jumped out of the darkness, shrieking. Royce squared his body opposite his opponent as the first fast biter flopped on the ground, dying. "Oh... you brought a friend did you? Come on!" he snarled, and began hopping from one foot to the other as the fast biter charged forward. By this time, Tyr and Rinkus had crested the slope as well, the two watching the combat from afar. "Heheh, oh you don't mess with Royce, boy. He's killed more sharpteeth than I have toes!" Tyr exclaimed.

Second before the sharptooth bit for Royce's neck, the domehead nimbly stepped aside and kicked the the fast biter in the flank, sending it tumbling to the ground in a heap. Rinkus briefly glanced in Tyr's direction, but to his dismay, he could see that Tyr was only half watching the fight, and was still keeping an eye on him. But wait! What was that? Turning his head rapidly from right to left, the pink flyer almost thought he saw... but yes! He did! Shadows... shadows that seemed to blend and meld right into the snow... they were moving amongst the trees, silent and black. Rinkus squinted, trying to get a better view, but it was hopeless from this angle. He could see nothing substantial.

Royce seemed unaware of them as he delivered a powerful headbutt into the fast biter, the hapless sharptooth colliding with a tree as it was thrown back. It roared out in defiance, only to have Royce land right on top of it, his weapon stabbing deep into its side as he did so. Screaming with rage, the fast biter tried to claw back, but Royce simply walked on top of the sharptooth's body, hopped off the other side, and delivered another headbutt to it, directly onto the fast biter's cranium. The sharptooth sighed, and went limp.

"Ha! Pathetic! Not even scratched!" he shouted over to Tyr and Rinkus. "That's how you dispose of a sharptooth! And you were worried!" Rinkus's eyes suddenly widened as Tyr cried out a warning to his confident comrade. Another fast biter emerged from the shadows, but this one was different from the previous two. Its scales were solid black, like coal, and seemed to reflect the white in the snow as it strode forward. It was larger than the average fast biter, and red streaks marked its body, as if it had been ripped at numerous times with claws... though these marks were indeed scales. It snarled at Royce, who turned around, briefly caught off guard.

"Huh... another one?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "Very well... you're about to meet Royce the Ripper!" he yelled, squaring off once again opposite his latest challenge. The fast biter made no sound in reply, and instead charged, making a beeline for the domehead. Royce let out a yell, and spun at the last minute, using his tried and true dodge method, but this fast biter turned with him, its teeth flashing as it snapped away, Royce just barely avoiding the blow. Royce brought his weapon in for the attack... only to meet solid claws head on as the raptor managed to parry the blow.

Panting, Royce lunged again and again, his nimble body easily able to keep up with the sharptooth, but every time his blows were turned aside. While the sharptooth remained agile on his feet, Royce seemed to be tiring slightly. "You think you're impressive?" Royce snapped. "I've killed many of your kind! You're just another stupid sharptooth! Come on!" he twisted and turned, jabbing right, left, up, down, and side to side, but his attacks were met each time by the fast biter's claws, which never once faltered, and indeed, the black scaled brute almost resembled a boxer as he bobbed and weaved in time to his attacker's movements. Royce went for a headbutt here and there, but each time he connected with naught but air.

Backing off a little to rest, Royce was breathing heavy now, and though he had not yet been injured, he had not landed a single blow on his opponent. Spitting into the snow, the domehead wiped his mouth. "All right you overgrown sack of teeth. You think you're bad? You ain't seen nothing yet!" Royce crouched, and then sprang forward, running through the snow, which was kicked up like geysers in the ground as he charged. Faking the fast biter out, he dove for the ground, sliding on his back and knocking into the sharptooth from underneath him. This caused the fast biter to fly forward into the air, planting its face roughly into the snowbanks as it was knocked onto its belly.

Royce rose up, panting as he brought his rock up above his head. "SAY GOODNIGHT!" With a great cry, he brought his "dagger" down upon the sharptooth, but his blow was halted in midair as the fast biter had twisted around and grasped Royce's weapon with his right foot. The movement had been so fast that Rinkus had barely perceived it, and the pink flyer could only gasp, his eyes widening at the spectacle.

 Snarling, the black fast biter suddenly flexed his claws, and to Royce's horror, his "dagger" shattered into thousands of shards, the bits pelting his face and cutting his skin as he grunted and gasped in shock. "Impossible!" he said, backing away and dropping the fragment of his now useless weapon. A fast biter couldn't be that strong!

In a flash, the dark fast biter was upon him, grabbing him in a vice, and trapping him before he could so much as flinch. While Royce's whole body ached from his exertions, the sharptooth seemed to not even be breathing heavy. His rancid breath filtered over the domehead's face, and as Tyr and Rinkus watched, the fast biter brought Royce extremely close. "Embrace death" it whispered in his ear, and Royce's eyes widened.

"You can speak... GAAAGGGH!" before he could finish his sentence, an immense pain exploded in his chest, and he knew he'd been stabbed. Looking down as his body started convulsing, Royce could see blood spilling out of his chest, where the "talon" of the fast biter had impaled him.

"Oh blast! We gotta get out of here!" Tyr said, turning and almost tripping in the snow... but it was no good! Black scaled fast biters similar to the one that had killed Royce were all around them now, having appeared from seemingly nowhere. "Not possible!" Tyr said, his voice showing evident strain. "No one can sneak up on us like that!" Out of all the times he'd been out here, never once had he been taken by surprise. But here it was; they were all around him with snarling, flashing teeth and claws. Tyr crouched down, his tail at the ready as he growled, though fear was apparent in his eyes.

Rinkus whirled around, his heart racing as he realized he was trapped. But with Royce gone... he glanced hurriedly in the domehead's direction. Royce was on the ground now, motionless as his blood started staining the snow crimson around his prone form. Tyr was in his fighting stance, and Rinkus seized his chance. Spreading his wings the flyer took to the air, heart pounding as he beat his wings as fast he could. Must not look back! Just go!

"RINKUS!" Tyr roared out, only to have the most horrid screams Rinkus had ever heard in his entire life split the sky as Tyr was jumped from three sides at once. He hadn't stood a chance, and now it was too late. Rinkus flapped as fast as his wings could move, panic seizing him now as he attempted to put as much distance from himself and this cursed forest as could. The screams sounded in his ears, and chilled him to his core far more effectively than the air was capable of doing. The fast biters were shrieking victoriously, and turning their eyes to watch as the flyer soared off across the frozen wastes...

I won't be around until tomorrow, cause I'm sailing on an overnight trip across the Chesapeake Bay to St. Michael's.