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Dark clouds rolled across the sky, as a gust of wind picked up, blowing against the land. The trees waved their limbs about, having no control over how the winds would play. A storm was brewing, and it was coming fast across the vast water to Ocean Island. There was something eerie about it, the storm itself having a terrible feeling aura around it.

The deep spreading ocean water crashed it's waves against the coast of the island, the white furious foam washing across the ground. This was no day to be out at sea, or outdoors as it was. The weather made it dangerous, for human and creature alike. Outside though was a lone figure, covered with a black cloak that whipped around in the wind. His face was covered by the hood, heavily draped over his face, his mysteriousness looming over everything around him. He had the same eerie aura as the wildly behaving storm, the plants facing away from him, like they were making a path for him, or rather...didn't want to be any where near him.

Casually strolling at a pace reserved for monsters in the movies, following so slow, it made them scarier, the mysterious cloaked figure would then step up a pond. Despite the dreary storm, the pond continued to shimmer brightly from the bottom, like it was full of life. A lovely figure rose from the water, pastel, shimmering colors shining through the darkness of the storm. She looked down at the dark figure, her gaze both furious and reserved.

"What do you think you're doing here?!" She asked.

It took many minutes of silence before the dark figure replied, his voice cold like the northern winds that blew down upon the island.

"I'm here to challenge your followers...Harvest Goddess...it seems people have forgotten you, so lets see how they strive if you can no longer help them." The man replied, a hand shot out through his cloak as he grabbed hold of the Harvest Goddess' arm, his grip almost impossible to escape. The Harvest Goddess shrieked in pain as she slowly began turning into stone. As the last of her was trapped, she began to sink to the bottom of the pond, the water began to murk over, the bottom no longer to be seen. The man stared down at the endless looking water and then slowly dissolved into the ground, the storm slowly wandering away from the island, as if the man's presence had a hand in it's doing...the remnants of the destruction left behind.

~Sometimes I look up into the clouds and think

Ivan had come to the large pond whistling a bit, hat tipped low over his head. He'd his father's fishing rod with him, glad that it could fold up to fit into his rucksack. It took him a moment to re-assemble it, as he walked to the dock of the pond. That was when a sight came into his vision. A row of statuettes.... He blinked twice, wondering if he was seeing things. Should he go tell Dee? Or should he ignore it and do what he came here for. Yeah, fishing sounded like the better option. Dee most probably knew about this already.

As Ivan threw his hook into the water, he had to wait patiently for fish to bite. He felt a chill up his spine, the statues seeming to be staring at him. He hoped terribly that he wasn't a target of the evil spirit... The tug at his fishing pole alerted him that a fish had taken the bait, and he was quick to bring it out of the water. He set it down behind him, though he had to hold it down before it stopped flopping. For a moment he felt bad for the fish, but then again, it wasn't going to live much longer anyway.

This routine continued until Ivan had caught about six fish, and he felt tired. He took a moment to rest, nibbling at some bread from his rucksack. He wondered then how he was supposed to bring all the fish back. His rucksack couldn't carry all of them, and they were pretty big if he was going to carry all of them. He'd figure that out later. He wanted to get in at least four more fish before the sun set. He didn't want to stay here at dark...

~Sometimes I look up into the clouds and think

Ivan watched her as she began to fish, listening intently. As she laid out the story, it began to make more sense to him. Much more sense. This "Shadow" obviously wasn't a fellow to mess with, though it appeared that there was someone who could defeat him in town, who was a priest.

When asked a question, Ivan frowned a bit, looking down at the water and recasting his line. "I'd say yes... but I lived there a good few years ago. Been roaming the roads for months, years." He sighed, reeling in a fish that had just bitten, throwing it into the basket while speaking, "You see, my father owned his own farm down in Southtown, but my mother couldn't adjust to the country life. She lived seperately in the city, and I with my father. We would visit all the time, and my mother would be so pleased to see us...." He paused, looking over at Dee, "I don't know when it happened, but my parents soon got into an argument, and it made my father go out of control... He stopped working as hard at the farm, and soon enough, he lost it. My childhood was sold away for money for spirits..." He looked down, feeling horrible now that he really thought about it. "My father moved to the city with my mother eventually, and I left. I couldn't live with them, the way they fought so much... And so I'm here." Quietly, he resumed fishing, not uttering a word more.

~Sometimes I look up into the clouds and think

Ivan nodded as she spoke, surprised that she knew so much about his hometown. "Capcom. My father's farm was off to the edge of the town, provided some of the fresher produce for the town. Since most of the people there were indeed fighters, they liked the healthier produce. But you're right, I'm not a fighter. I was really just with the animals the whole day. I never really went into the town except for school, and even there I was pretty much ignored. I didn't mind really, better than getting into fights." He then dis-assembled his fishing pole, putting it into his rucksack and taking the full basket of fish in his arms. "I honestly don't care much for the actual town. It was the farm that was my home." He walked over to the statues of sprites, shaking his head with a little frown. "May they be saved soon." he said quietly, before turning back to Dee, "So, where would you like me to keep these?"

(( Sorry my post is delayed >< ))

~Sometimes I look up into the clouds and think...

Ivan took the order, setting down his basket and sitting next to it, listening to the little history lesson on Southtown. He knew most of it, save for the fact that Dee had visited the town in 2006. That was, what, a year before he left?

"Well, It's obvious that the way SNK governed was rather... unfair I should say. Only the strong people could govern. And sometimes, brains are more important than brawn." He shrugged, counting out the fish in his basket while he waited for Dee to finish up fishing. "Well, if your husband was from Southtown... why are you both here? Shouldn't you two be settled down back there?" He looked at her curiously. He'd only left because he'd no purpose left, because he was basically unfitting of the town.