Illusion Vale: A Spirit's Cry

[Wolfsister]

Danae and Sishota

Sishota watched as Danae approached the tent with obvious apprehension. Shaking her head and trusting that the selkie would figure it out by the time she got the rest of the camp down and packed, she turned to her own work.

At one time Danae got herself caught under the collapsing tent and Sishota looked up, slightly alarmed.

"I got it, dont' worry!"

She relaxed slightly and sighed, amused by the antics of the land ridden selkie. "You're doing fine, darling," she yelled over at the struggling woman. A little moral support never did anyone harm.

When Danae was finished and after Sishota poked all the extended bits into the pack, she stepped back and nodded, the campsite being bare and the fire cold. Neatly stacked bags were piled roughly on the east side of the cold camp. "Nicely done Danae, that was a great effort," she smiled.

Taking a few packs, she began moving into the trees, towards the picketed horses. "Now, you can bring that one over there here and meet the horses," she called out and approached the animals.

 

[Wolfsister]

Dinnie and Goreab

"Oh fuck me sideways, So this is not a dream?."

Though Goreab had no idea what the first part of this sentence meant, he nodded enthusiastically anyway. Any time that Dinnie didn't yell at him was a very good time. Then Goreab shook his head quite aggressively, "No, not a dream. If it were, I wouldn't be here... I would be with my lovely -" he blushed and giggled, chattering in his native tongue, or perhaps it was utter nonsense, who knew?

"Finally we go to this spirit, I will pack my loin cloth, why did you not wake me earlier? In the day light this place might even be nice."

Goreab blinked and turned his head sideways, scratching at his little pot belly in confusion. Dinnie had never gone to sleep. Or had he? Wolfie was nice... Goreab shook his head, clearing his thoughts. And that was it. He was now absolutely vacant.

All of a sudden, Dinnie's eyes blazed, "Why am I naked?"

Goreab blinked... thought of an answer and then promptly forgot it as Dinnie pointed an accusing finger at him and commanded him to take him to a place with proper clothes. By proper clothes, Goreab assumed that Dinnie meant clothes that other people like Dinnie usually wore. Not having time to answer that command, he squealed as Dinnie scooped him up and sat him on his shoulders.

Goreab didn't know if he liked this new position or not, but either way, he wasn't about to move and incur Dinnie's wrath. His lower lip quivered in apprehension as he pointed a shaking finger to the east, "That way," he said in a quiet little voice that wavered with fear.

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

Taking a few packs, she began moving into the trees, towards the picketed horses. "Now, you can bring that one over there here and meet the horses," she called out and approached the animals.

Whatever the airwoman left behind, Danaë gathered up and trotted after her. The biggest animal she'd ever been close to in recent was a friends Great Dane who had stared at her all evening with passivity of a Spinex, but the coiled muscles let her know that if she'd made a wrong move that could change in a heartbeat.

The horses were also passively huge...but she didn't trust them much to stay that way and slowed considerably as she came closer to them. A rich pungent odor wafted from near by. One of them had pooped...a lot. She wrinkled her nose and slowed even more.

 

[Wolfsister]

Fay and Faelin

"She hand sewed all of this?"

Faelin barely had time to nod her head slightly before Fay was chatting once again...

"Faelin... You do know that... This is an item from my world don't you?"

Faelin stayed quiet but when Fay mentioned out loud whether or not the person who brought it over was still alive, she became even quieter still. She had yet to tell Fay about the previous attempts by the Spirit to bring Guardians back into the Vale.
The Avian didn't seem to notice the wolf's strange silence, however and proceeded to pat her on the head. She sighed to herself and wondered just what the future held in store for her young charge. Despite herself, she was really beginning to warm up to the bumbling guardian, and she would hate to see anything bad happen to her new friend.

"Comeon then... Let's take a look around this city then..."

Faelin nodded and started down the incline, slowing down for the now walking avian to keep up with her. In a low voice, she explained a few cautionary rules, "So you remember that you don't have any memory other than yesterdays and we're on our way to the Spirit to recover them. If anybody comes up and notes that its odd I'm with you, just answer by shrugging and saying 'that's Faelin for you',"

She sighed, "Try not to speak too much, let me do most of the talking. If you have an urge, try to avoid saying in reference to your world. Feel free to gawk, but don't over do it. And... try not to be frightened of what you see,"

She stopped at what seemed to be the main gate to the city. There was a long line of people ahead of them and the guards seemed to be taking their time letting them through. In fact, the guards seemed to be on an eternal lunck break. Faelin sighed and sat on her haunches, "And don't mind the wait. The governor here is slightly.... paranoid,"

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

Rolyn watched quietly as Eeth warmed up to the long bow. He nodded in silent satisfaction as the young elf got better with each shot. He was compensating for the limitation of both the arrow and the bow as well as the moving targets.

He uncrossed his arms and nodded to Eeth, "Now, Ariet will throw seven more rocks, each faster than the other," he also quietly signaled Ariet to throw three rocks at the same time, on third throw. He didn't tell Eeth of this new development as he wanted to test Eeth's ability to react to new and unexpected situations.

He had to admit that Eeth knew how to handle a bow. Soon, he would find out if Eeth could handle a blade, or even a quarterstaff. But for now, the bow training would continue. They had at least another few days. Soon, he would talk to the younger elf and reveal his part in the plan to restore their race's dignity.

He sighed and sat down, watching as Eeth prepared for the next task. Absently, he began stroking the fur between Van's ears. Soft purring ensued and for the moment Van was content to let the evil elf touch him. Just as long as his mouth went no-where near the catperson.

 

[Wolfsister]

Danae and Sishota

Sishota watched as Danae approached with a bit more than caution. She smiled and patted a nearby animal, "Don't worry, they won't hurt you. Just come here and we'll introduce you to them, okay?"

She tried to reassure her, but inevitably it would be the Selkie's decision to trust the animals, all she could do was calm both the horses and her charge down enough to meet each other. She suddenly realised just how unprepared Danae was for this quest. She blinked... at least she had her. If Sishota weren't around... she realised just how much of an asset she would be in his journey.

She smiled gently, "Come, meet your future companions. They are very useful animals and they can be extremely friendly,"

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Eeth prepared for the next task, getting an arrow ready to shoot before hand, and made sure the other arrows were close by, ready at a moment's notice.

The first stone was thrown and Eeth tracked and nailed it dead center without much problem. Before the arrow hit the first stone, Eeth was already reloading and tracking the second stone. This one he hit on the back end, causing it to spin away. Then came the third row. Instead of finding one stone to track, Eeth found three. He adjusted quickly, tracking and hitting the first of the three, then reloading and repeating the process faster than he had ever done before. He hit each of the three stones before they hit the ground, but he didn't hit them dead center.

After that unexpected event, Eeth readjusted to hit the remaining stones, each in the center. He then turned back to Rolyn and waited for the next task.

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

She smiled gently, "Come, meet your future companions. They are very useful animals and they can be extremely friendly,"

"I believe you, I really do..." Danaë said earnestly. "But there's two parts of my brain going here...the part that says that I believe you and the part that said "my what big teeth you have!"'.

Still, Danaë hadn't made it through her life by being a coward, so slowly she made her way to the huge beast with the kindest face and stood there. It didn't even seem to notice her other than an ear twitch and a soft snort blown from nostrils the size her palm covered in what almost appeared to be velvet.

 

[EHawkins]

Becca/Kail/Tenesa

Tenesa floated over to Becca, settling just above the table in front of the Dryad and began to speak softly, "A very long time a ago, there were others like you, Guardians, who came to this world. The Spirit, as today, was greatly weakened and had reached across to the heavens, asking for help. Instead, Guardians came," she sighed, "They were not like you though. They were malicious spirits, the Vale somehow turning even the pure hearted into evil beings. That is why it is vital for others to understand that you are not a Guardian. They still remember that time when their children were not safe during the day and even more so at night,"

"We're not sure why this happened, or even if it will happen this time, but there are differences. This time the Spirit is not alone, she has someone special to keep her hope, and this time all Guardians have been given guides. We do not know how, where or who these others are, but we are responsible for you, Becca. Kail's duty to you is twofold, he guides you in things you need to understand in this world, and he tries to keep you on the right path,"

Tenesa sighed again, "It is ultimately your choice Becca, and I suspect the former Guardians became what they did because there was simply too much power and too much pressure bestowed on them," there was a soft smile in her voice when she went on, "But we know you are kind of heart and pure of soul, Becca," she spun and her smile grew, her rosy light bestowing her faith in Becca, "We believe in you,"

Kail blinked again and he bobbed up and down, also casting a loving feeling towards Becca, it was as if they were two parents staring proudly at their beautiful daughter.

Tenesa blinked as well, "Ah yes, the Night Stalkers. They also came from the rift between worlds. Though we suspect that they were not from your own, rather from another. There are many descriptions of Night Stalkers, but one thing is clear. They are monsters," a shiver ran through both the wisps, dimming their lights considerably, "No amount of magic, no being, no special abilities or anything can stop these things," she paused, "Except for a Guardian,"

Kail began to speak this time, choosing to butt in, "We're not sure how, Bec, but Guardians have the ability to destroy Night Stalkers. A Dryad could try, but they would not succeed. You, however, could do the same as the other, and kill the beast," he seemed to emulate a shrug, "We don't know how it works, just that it does,"

Tenesa interjected, "But Night Stalkers are just as deadly to a Guardian as to a normal Valian," she sighed again, "However, some Guardians did not want to stop the beasts. So they let them roam wild and kill all those they could. Just to bring chaos and give them more power,"

Kail floated over, "We had thought that the Night Stalkers had all gone when the Guardians did, the Spirit had managed to banish them to another realm along with the help of a few Guardians that did not turn evil. But it seems that they are back,"

Tenesa glowed a deathly dark red as she muttered, "Maybe because there is another rift..."



For a long time, Becca was silent. Her fingers drummed on the table and the leaves in her hair occasionally gave a nervous twitch.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys ...

“If it’s true what you say,” She started quietly. “If it’s true that Guardians are the only ones that can destroy Night Stalkers …”

Becca got up, heedless of the blanket that slipped off of her. She walked over to the upstairs window where Kail had been soaking up the sun and opened it. Warm air washed over her as well as the sounds of the city. Many kinds of people passed below her; many sounds of life were suddenly in her ears.

She turned back to Kail and Tenesa. The sounds still came through the window, reminding her of her duty to preserve life, the duty that she had nearly given up before, and suddenly she felt ashamed of that. No matter what she had felt before, no matter how burned out, she had nearly walked away from those who had depended on her. She couldn’t do that again. Not here.

“Back home, people’s lives were in my hands.” Becca said softly. “If there really is a Night Stalker here in Vakare, I can’t just hide in this shop and I can’t walk away. If I do nothing, then I’m just as responsible for people getting hurt or killed as the Night Stalker--I won’t put up with it. If there’s another rift, then we have to find it and shut it.”

She walked past the two wisps and walked down the stairs. Thankfully nobody was down there, and her new dryad’s instincts guided her to a variety of dried nuts and seeds. Becca took a handful of them and they started to glow; she had to get herself ready to go out.

Becca spread them in a circle around her and the dormant seeds started to pulse and germinate. Strong tendrils of green shot out slithered around her waist while others started to weave a dress on the shell that they had created.

“If I were a monster,” she mused to herself as the seeds started to weave a top for her now. “I’d prey on the weak in the outer circle … No one would suspect anything—not at first, anyway.”

Becca looked up the stairs at Kail and Tenesa. Her … clothing was finished-a dress, slit up the sides for easy movement and something that resembled a halter top that stopped just below her breasts. The seeds hung off the hem of her skirt and the bottom of her top like decorative beads …

I must be insane to do this …

“I want to go back to the outer circle—to the slums at dusk.” she said quietly. “It’s a good excuse to go down and treat some of the sick and maybe someone’s seen or heard something about this. If I’m wrong, no harm, no foul …”

Kail would kill me if I told him I wanted to use myself as bait. If there’s a Night Stalker and he knows Guardians, then maybe he’ll see me and come out … It’s risky, but I don’t have any other good ideas right now and I don’t want to get involved with the Captain again unless I have to…

“I need your help, Kail, but we’ll have to be careful. Who knows if that Captain has guys around, keeping an eye on us. It might blow our cover, but … this is more important than concealing my identity. If people really hate Guardians, then I have to give them a reason not to—actions speak louder than words …”

For the first time, Becca felt the weight of the task that had been given to her when she first woke in this world. She was unsurprised, and even a bit comforted that it felt similar to when she had first become a paramedic so long ago.

This time, I’m not going to back down … she thought as she started making preparations to go to the poorer, outer circle. This time, I’m going to be there for the ones that need me.

 

[Angelus]

He watched with wide eyes as several blades apppeared out of thin air before Talon. He could see the wicked gleam on each blade as they hung in the air and knew that they were meant for his death, he did not need the words of the older vampire to know that they were meant to kill him. He knew that he should move but found that he couldn't; he felt as though he were stuck in concrete. He looked at Talon who had an evil smile on his face and knew that it would be hard for him to survive this, even with the speed that he had in this body of his.

He wanted to hear the blades coming towards him but couldn't hear a thing even as they got closer. He started to move when they were close enough but knew that he wasn't fast enough as he felt the pain of the different blades hitting his shoulder and leg. He fell to the ground with a scream of pain that was ripped from his throat as soon as it uttered it and looked up slowly. He saw that the smile on Talon's face had broadened and slowly got to his feet, his hands going to the blades that were in his shoulder and leg.

He found to his shock that they were now gone, as if they had never existed although he felt the blood flowing freely from the wounds. He hoped that they would heal soon enough as they were hampering his movements and his sword felt far too heavy in his hand. He slowly began to move, to raise his sword and winced as the fresh pain shot into his shoulder. He looked at Talon with a grimace.

"You can do anything that you want to me but you will not win this. I will not turn into what you want me to."

He lifted his sword and moved towards Talon, determined to stop this vampire here and now. Reaching behind his back he looked at the vampire and pulled out several throwing knives, throwing them in such a fluid movement he was surprised by it. He watched as the knives seemed to disappear as soon as they left his hand but flew towards the vampire who seemed to be oblivious to the blades.

He knew that wasn't the only thing that he could do to this thing before him though and moved with a silent shout at Talon, his sword which seemed to gleam with its own inner light held tightly in his hand. He knew that he only had one chance to do this as he rolled to his rolled to the ground to the vampire's left and cut with his sword.

 

[Dracona]

“Why keep such a talent a secret? That’s the coolest trick I’ve ever seen. But then I suppose in a dream like this all kinds of things can happen….after all…I had a fish tail just a little while ago. And I have my voice back. I used to be a singer, a pretty good one too. Not anymore though, my voice is shot….along with my life”

Hiran shook his head as she took the ice rose, more to clear his ever lustful thoughts rather in any negative comment to what Janelle was saying. "People sometimes keep the simplest of secrets, but when revealed, they are often more powerful," he shrugged, not explaining his difficult past further.

“Maybe I will just stick around here with you. Do you think I can do any cool tricks? Something a little more impressive than sprouting scales and fins? It’s my dream after all.”

The woman was getting on his nerves. This was anything BUT a dream. He clenched his teeth and for some reason, though he wanted nothing more than to shout some sense into the silly girl, he felt a need to be more gentle to her. The need to protect her from her own delusions.

"Janelle," he said softly, his voice low and still gruff, but gentler, "This is no dream. I want you to fully realise just how significant that fact is. If you continue to believe this is all just fantasy, then you are going down the wrong path," he looked down at her and saw something different, something other than the beautiful creature standing before him. He saw the innocence, the confusion and the pain in her eyes. He realised that somewhere deep in her mind, she probably knew this was reality, but couldn't accept it. Not yet, at least.

“H-Hiran?? Why is it doing that?? Did you make it do that??”

Hiran watched the water sink into her palm and smiled. A rarely genuine smile, gentle and comforting. "Janelle, you don't realise just what you are, do you?" he said gently.

He stopped walking, ceasing her forward movement as well and held both her hands in his own, "Janelle, in this world, you could not survive in your own form. So you were changed," his voice was soft, gruff and concerned, "You became a different being, one that you would most likely would have been if you had of been born here,"

He gently wiped away an errant tear sliding down her face, "Janelle, you are a Siren. A creature of both the land and the water. You have abilities that you need to discover and one of them is that you can sing again,"

He sighed and then frowned down at her, "So stop being so weak and face up to the truth. You have your voice back, now use it!"

He didn't bother to explain the water trick just yet, but if Janelle was the intelligent being he was confident she was, then she would figure it out. All he was here to do was to prod her in the right direction. Well... sometimes he realised that he would have to shove her in the right direction. And now was one of those times, besides, he'd been 'nice' for far too long now.

"Sing, Janelle," it wasn't phrased as a request though, it was more of a command. He gritted his teeth and hoped to the dear Spirit that he would be strong enough to resist her when she unlocked her melodous vocal chords.

Janelle stared at Hiran for a moment as she felt the last of the moisture from the melted rose soak into her skin. A big part of her wanted so much to believe what he was saying, to believe that somehow, with all the stupid and crazy things she had done to try and escape from her own hellish reality she had found herself in this new one. She had always secretly thought that there had to be something more, somewhere better than the world she knew. What if she was there? And if she was in some new and wondrous plane of existence why had she been brought here, as if that really mattered. If this was real then what possible reason could she have to want to pretend it wasn’t, she liked this place much better.

She tilted her head a bit as she considered Hiran’s command. He wanted to hear her sing? Well who was she to turn down a request? Taking a breath Janelle opened her mouth and let the words and melody flow from somewhere deep inside her.

“Come to me…my lover be…forget the life you once knew
Come to me…stay forever in my embrace…beneath the stars to lie entwined
Come to me…from my arms never stray…”

As the song came from her lips Janelle felt her body tremble with a familiar power. This was what it felt like to be on stage, to have the crowd screaming her name and practically worshipping at her feet….but it was different as well. This was much stronger. The song came from her, verse and chorus, words she didn’t know that she knew but that seemed so natural to her. What was it Hiran had said? She was a Siren? Some long forgotten piece of high school literature lessons surfaced and she understood. The water, the tail, her voice…she was some magical, mythical creature…her voice was where this power was coming from.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she focused her song completely on Hiran. Just what could she do with this new voice of hers? How did it effect those around her?

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

Rolyn silently nodded with approval once more. It had only been a short time, a short few hours since they had starting training. To tell the truth, Rolyn felt as if he were just running a refresher course on the bow, Eeth was a quick learner. He improved, and that was the most important thing.

After a little more practice, they ate a cold meal of bread; crusty on the outside, soft and spongy on the inside, some cheeses and a chewy jerky type of meat. He apologised for the simple fare but noted with amusement as Van tackled the food and produced a more flavoursome stew from the hard meat via his little magical pack.

That cat sure could cook. And, he sure as hell could eat too!

After their brief meal, two wooden lathes were handed to Rolyn upon his signal. Ariet would have made an assisstant proud, Rolyn was just happy to call him a friend. The Spirit only knew how hard it would have been had the knowledgable elf been on the other side of this ridiculus civil rift.

"Now," Rolyn hefted the sword shaped wooden implements and threw one to Eeth, trusting that the younger elf would catch it, "Now we train for closer combat,"
He took up a simple fighting stance and grinned, Van mewling quietly behind him. "Eeth be careful, Van not like blades in Rolyn's hands. Peoples get cut too much," he mewed. It was his twisted way of telling Eeth that Rolyn was good. Very good.

"The wooden lathes will do for now, lets see what you can do, shall we?" For now he would just test Eeth, see what he knew and what he didn't know. Once he was confident that he knew the elf's limits, then the real training would begin.
"Just do what feels right," he murmured and then lunged forward, spinning to a wide arc and bringing the broad side of the tightly bundled sticks swinging high towards Eeths left.

If this was as interesting as the bow training, then it would indeed be fun.

 

[Wolfsister]

Danae and Sishota

Sishota smiled and patted the 'friendly' looking horse on the head. "This one is called Diamond. The other," a black mare, "is called Shadow,"

She leaned in close to the Selkie, "They like smooth voices and hearing their names," she smiled gently in encouragement and while Danae was getting aquainted with Diamond, she began to saddle and pack Shadow. She believed that this would indeed be a very nice trip.

 

[Wolfsister]

Becca/Kail/Tenesa

Kail's light blinked, turned dark, dimmed and then went bright in about ten seconds flat. He sighed and spun around, casting a sort of 'disco' light around the cosy room as Becca bustled around and got ready for her intended trip down to the poor sector. He stopped spinning the looked towards Tenesa, in his mind she gave him a little mental shrug. "Some help you are," he muttered softly to her.

"Well, if you really want to go and use yourself as bait, then I suppose I have no choice but to guide you in the right direction," he sighed, but he was resigned to the fact that the Dryad was also not going to take 'no' for an answer. In fact, she seemed really determined and for the first time, Kail could appreciate just why her soul had answered the call. She was meant to help people and he felt an inner swell of pride at realising that fact.

Tenesa followed Becca along and bobbed slowly infront of the newly dressed Dryad, "Keep doing that Becca, keep focusing and you will find yourself more powerful than you think you could ever be," she smiled at the young woman and pulsed a soft, comforting light towards her, "You look after Kail, all right?" she asked, concern thickening her voice somewhat.

Kail zipped out of the shop and guided Becca along the busy streets. Using his extra senses that Becca may not have, he realised quickly that they were being followed. After seeking out the mind of the one following, discreetly, he realised that it was one of the captian's men that had visited them earlier this morning. He decided not to worry overly much, Becca's cover story being in full effect, the medical supplies poking out of her packs adding to the illusion.

"Just remember not to speak out in the open," he murmured to her and continued to lead her back to the outer circle. Once there, he winded through the streets, on full alert for their safety but believing them alright for the moment, after all they were being followed by a member of the city guard.

Kail took her to one of the orphanages set up in the poor quarter by the City, he spun and cast a gentle soothing wash over the dirty and shy children, "I thought this may be an appropriate first stop," he said quietly, disapproval at the children's poor state clear in his deep voice.

 

[Mantra]

James 'Jay' Riven

"...and don't forget to put your track clothes away!" the woman's voice called up after him.

"Yeah, yeah.." Jay said, although it was at a whisper. Jay had done just what he had always done, eaten dinner at the table and gone upstairs. Dad was working late at the office again and his step mother's attention had been centered towards the two toddlers flicking peas at one another at the other end of the table. He'd picked up the table while his mother had dragged off David and Brian, his step- brothers to the bath, making sure to get -most- of the peas off the floor and went upstairs.

Listening briefly at the door, he heard the tell-tale squeals and splashes down stairs and then moved over to the window. Opening it, Jay fished out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, withdrew one and lit it. He looked out over the darkening sky and just...thought.
He didn't hate his family, I mean, Jenny was OK, sort of, and his brothers were brats, but it wasn't that bad. Angelo, one of his friends from school, -his- dad was a drunk asshole who liked to hit people. Sure Dad seemed to prefer to be at work rather than home, but he had bought him those new track cleats... Jay just wished....that ...well, just that his life mattered. He felt invisible, unimportant and ignored.

OK, life sucked. Fine.

He crushed out his cigarette and sprayed some lysol in the room to help cover up the smell. The rest of the evening went just as expected... Shower, homework, Pearl Jam on the sterio before bed, (conveniently forgetting his gym clothes downstairs) and fell asleep in his room..........

****************************************************************

Something made his ear twitch. reflexivly shaking his head to get rid of it. He felt a breeze and sighed heavilly, absently remembering he'd left the window open. Jay rolled over to get it and groaned. Damn he felt sluggish, heavy. Maybe he'd have to switch to menthols or something to help him wake up. He heaved himself up on all fours and stood, taking a step towards the bathroom. His ear twitched again and he reached up with one hand to scratch it...

...and fell face-first into the dirt.

What the Hell???

Jay snapped awake and stood, but he didn't stand right. he didn't even feel right. He couldn't see his hands, or his arms, couldn't hold them up in front of his face and there was this, big black...thing, on his face!
He finally looked down and saw...legs...sort of and hooves! He had fucking hooves!

Jay turned around and felt a huge weight drag against his back and follow him around. He kept turning, trying to see what was following him. He saw a huge sleek and black body with a long black tail swishing agitatedly behind it. Still he turned, trying to see who the tail belonged to and with rising horror, he realized that this black body seemed to be attached to his own back. He reversed direction, spinning even faster, trying in desperation to catch sight of some phantom trickster who had maimed his body. Finally too dizzy to continue, he staggered forward looking for someone, anyone to blame, to make him wake up....something...

Twenty minutes later found him face first in the dirt again, his eyes fixed tightly shut whickering quietly to no one.

*... This can't be happening... Christ, this isn't real. .. I swear I'll never smoke again, this can't be real...*

 

[Wolfsister]

Largos/Talon

Talon laughed as two of the Shadow Blades hit the elven vampire. One in the left shoulder and one his the left leg. He was more than a little irked that that most of his blades were dodged though, but fairly impressed, not that he would admit it.

He had little time to gloat though as Largos moved with a speed far faster than Talon had expected. He rose from the ground and reached behind him, a flick of his wrist the only warning that Talon had. Blinking, he said a quick, low word that reverbrated through the Shadows and waved his hand quickly in front of him. A Shadow Sheild formed directly in front of the older vampire in a semi-circle. A second later, he heard twin 'thunks' on the sheild from the other side and blinked; daggers.

He had little time to congratulate himself on avoiding a potentially dangerous situation when his Shadow Sheild dissapated, Largos directly behind it, rolling to the side and bringing up his luminious crystal sword in an upwards swing.

Talon slashed his hand to his left, downwards and growled two more words, a Dark Blade appearing along his arm, flicking out and catching the crystal sword, stopping its arcing ascent. He grinned and pushed Largos's blade backwards, whispering the same two words again, another Dark Blade appearing along his right arm.

With the same speed that Largos had shown, Talon stepped forwards and simultaneously slashed towards the left with his right hand Blade and upwards towards the right with his left hand Blade. Essentially, the first blade was designed to cut Largos' head from his body and the second would slash him from right hip to left shoulder.

"Be careful boy, you play a dangerous game. One that I always win!" Talon growled.

 

[ultimate_nerdslut]

"So you remember that you don't have any memory other than yesterdays and we're on our way to the Spirit to recover them. If anybody comes up and notes that its odd I'm with you, just answer by shrugging and saying 'that's Faelin for you'."

She laughed outright at that comment. "Is that how you really are?" She asked looking down at the very pretty she-wolf. Her hand immediately fell to that ear again caressing the furry appendage. She knew that while the wolf never showed how much she liked it that she must have enjoyed it deep down because she had not bitten Fay for doing it. "Don't worry I remember... I'm a dumb little chicken who can't remember a thing... I just know my name... and that's Faelin for you..." She laughed.

Fay found herself incredibly funny at the moment but she was starting to get that Faelin was very very serious about this so she wasn't going to keep pushing it if her wolf guide wasn't having fun.

"Try not to speak too much, let me do most of the talking. If you have an urge, try to avoid saying in reference to your world. Feel free to gawk, but don't over do it. And... try not to be frightened of what you see."

"Frightened?" She honestly hadn't thought that anything would frighten her. She knew that that man back at the camp had frightened her but it was easy to see why... obviously he was a dangerous fellow but even Lee, who was kind of scary looking with those teeth, had not inspired a great deal of fear from her. He just gave her a good vibe she supposed to herself.

"Faelin... Why would I be frightened?" She asked thinking that it might be best to ask so she would at least know. They walked right into a huge line of people waiting to get into the city. It seemed like they were in line to get into one of those really cool clubs back in her time.

"And don't mind the wait. The governor here is slightly.... paranoid."

Well... Wasn't that interesting?

Fay squatted down, never quite sitting. "Why is he paranoid?" She watched a man, near the front get pulled from the line and was forced down onto the ground by two guards. "What's going on up there I wonder?"

 

[Wolfsister]

Janelle and Hiran

“Come to me…my lover be…forget the life you once knew
Come to me…stay forever in my embrace…beneath the stars to lie entwined
Come to me…from my arms never stray…”

Hiran clenched his jaw and his fists curled and uncurled slowly as he attempted to block out the Siren's song. It was hard, very hard and he himself was beginning to get that way as well. This was a bad, no, stupid, idea and he was only beginning to realise just how powerful this Siren was and would become.

He blinked and through gritted teeth told Janelle to stop. However, it was already far too late and the full effect of her voice was overcoming him. His eyes grew wide, his mouth slack and his entire body trembled with barely checked passion. His breathing became fast and shallow and his blood pounded in his head.

"Jan.. jan...elle," he gasped out and took a struggling step towards her, having been already close, now they were practically touching. "Jan... jan..." he wanted her to stop, but he desparately wanted her to touch him. Wanted her to tell him just how he could please the goddess before him. He never wanted her to stop that beatiful, that mesmerising, song.

Wait. Yes, yes he did. His jaw clenched even tighter and he forced words through his teeth, fisting his hands at his sides, "F... F... Fish!" he finally growled and turned on his heel, his eyes flashing with anger, his entire body tensed and coiled. The eternal shifting of his watery figure had deepened and smoothed out, a dark roiling, foreboding colour now appearing.

He took a measured step away from her, turning his back. Then another, then another. Then finally he was able to briskly walk away, behind some nearby trees. As soon as he was out of sight, he ran. Once out of earshot, he wasn't sure if she had stopped singing, or if he had escaped her voice, he let out an explosive breath.

"You stupid fool!" he growled and proceeded to punch the bark of a nearby tree. He panted and leaned over, squeezing his eyes shut. He remembered vividly how he had wanted to do anything, anything, to please her, just as long as she kept up that swansong.

For once in his life, he dearly wished that he was female. Then he gritted his teeth again and shook his head. No, even a female would have been blinded by that power. Would have been sucked under like he very nearly had been.

He thought that he could have possibly hurt Janelle by calling her 'fish' and walking away as he had done, but he shook that thought aside. How could he guide her and save the Vale if he was under her thumb. A nagging worry for Janelle's feelings gnawed at him, but he resolutely pushed them down, telling himself that her song was still in his system and making him feel that way.

There was no way to trust a Siren. And Hiran was sure that he couldn't trust Janelle either.

 

[Wolfsister]

Jay and Coudron

The Spirit Forest, located just west of South Haven, was a tranquil and beautiful place. The trees were ancient and the animals lived in harmony with the world around them. The only thing that ruined Coudron's view of the massive forest, was that it was so damnably easy to set on fire!

Plodding through the forest, the 6'5" rock giant, shrugged his massive shoulders and attempted to squeeze in between two massive oaks and instead only singed the bark off of them. He sighed and rolled his eyes, why did he have to be pulled here?

A flash suddenly attracted his attentiond and he blinked, shielding his eyes a little and looking in the general direction of the shining brilliance. The fire elemental could normally withstand such light, but there was something completely different about this one. At once he realised that this was what he had been sent for, that this was what he was looking for.

He ambled along, trying to avoid the various animal and plant species around him, and tried to get closer to the light. After a few seconds however it vanished. Coudron shrugged and continued on his present course, coming to a wide open space in the middle of the forest.

He blinked. There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing. The slightly long grass swayed in the breeze that filtered through the trees and birds were singing. All there was was a huge black horse in the middle of the clearing. He sighed, perhaps this wasn't what he was looking for after all? This had to be the fourth false alarm in as many days and he was starting to get sick of it.

Suddenly the horse got up. And fell flat on its face.

Coudron frowned, horses didn't do that. At least not fully grown ones and this horse certainly didn't look like a newly born foal. He watched it curiously as it suddenly began spinning, as if trying to catch its tail. It spun faster and faster and for a while, it had Coudron believing that it would catch up with its apparently wayward appendage.

He blinked again as it fell flat on its nose once again. This was odd. Very odd. In fact, it was odd enough to be what he was looking for. He took a hesitant step forwards, his brow wrinkling into a concerned frown as he heard the horse whimpering into the mud. Then he took another step and then finally got up the courage to ask the horse (what was he thinking?) if it was what he was looking for. But first....

He hunkered down near the fallen animal and whispered in a gentle, gravelly voice, "Hey there lil fella, need help?"

 

[Wolfsister]

Fay and Faelin

"Faelin... Why would I be frightened?"

Faelin completely ignored this question, shrugging in a very wolven way. That is, she lifted both her shoulders in an imitation of two leggers. "I imagine many thing will be new here for you, I was just talking out loud," to her credit, she had to admit that the big chicken was quite calm and collected. She had yet to 'freak out' about her situation. This might not be such a painful task to oversee afterall.

"Why is he paranoid? What's going on up there I wonder?"

Faelin shook her head, "Best not to notice it," she resolutely turned her eyes away from the struggling man and the guards. Probably some sort of assassin. Or an innocent man, either of the two. It really wasn't her business and she was charged with keeping Fay safe. This was the way to do it.

"Hopefully we'll have no reason to meet the Governer. He is responsible for managing Abark, but being the city it is," she shrugged again, "There is always someone wanting his power. He's just naturally paranoid, comes with the job, I suppose," she murmured as they very slowly moved up the line. "Doesn't help that his life's almost been taken by assassins dozens of times now,"

They moved up even further, but it seemed that they were still no where near the gate. All of a sudden another person was pulled from the line and taken roughly to the ground. This time it was a woman, an old woman. Faelin closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them again, one of the line patrol guards was staring at her. Or rather, was staring at Fay.

Faelin's hackles began to rise and she started a low growl, a warning to keep away. It probably wasn't the correct thing to do, but she found that since being around Fay, she had given into her impromptu urges more and more. And right now, she wanted to rip the man's throat out.

Of course it would be easier if he weren't made of bark.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

The Sword Training Begins

As the arrow training continued, Eeth got better and better. He had long surpassed what he was capable of doing as a human, but he was still didn’t have Rolyn’s proficiency. After a few more hours, they stopped to have a frugal meal that Van somehow was able to make a good stew out of.

After the meal, a pair of wooden swords were brought out, and one was tossed to Eeth. He of course caught it, after juggling it a bit. Eeth had an idea of what to do, and brought the sword into a mid-level guard. Then Rolyn swung, a swing high to Eeth’s left. Eeth ducked the strike, but did not strike himself. He was going to be on the defensive for a few blows, in order to get a feeling for Rolyn’s style. Once he felt ready, then he would make his move.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

Rolyn didn't even pause and used his own momentum to propel him a single step forwards and reversed the angle of the 'blade'. Following through after Eeth ducked, he kept the wooden lathes swinging through the air a for a mere millisecond and then reversed, cutting downwards. If this struck, it would give Eeth a rather nasty bump on the head. If it were a real blade, the force of the older elf's strike would cleave his head in two. He also, at the same time, kept his arm tucked in at the elbow and his body slightly side-on to better protect his body.

After the years of fighting that Rolyn had seen, he had learned to adapt to almost every opponent he fought. As soon as Eeth refused to counterstrike, he knew that he was being tested. He grinned to himself and wondered just how good the younger elf thought himself to be.

Of course he wouldn't underestimate the elf, but still. After years of combat, real and training, Rolyn had developed a uniquely random style of fighting. It adjusted to the situation around him. But one thing was certain, Rolyn never wasted a moment's movement.

Catch him in full glory and it would be like watching him dance. A dance with death.

 

[DarkPhantomLynx]

Kat's Entrance

Kat’s hands are shaking as she shows the officer her badge she moves slowly through the secured doors. Her knees still a bit shaky after the incident. She had been doing one of her evaluations of a patient in the prison. She had worked here now for 5 years and had never experienced a moments worth of uneasiness till today. This man had been just outright evil you cold feel it in waves off him. She had thought it merely her imagination at first but the longer the session went the more uncomfortable she was, she had only looked a minute from him when suddenly he had her by her throat pressing her to the wall and telling the guard if he moved he would kill her. The whole stand off had not lasted very long but she still felt as if it had lasted for hours. As she emerged from the building she stopped in the blinding sunlight and frowned. The Corporal walked up to her asking if she was all right and if she was sure she didn’t want one of the officers dropping her back at her office or the hospital to be checked. She frowns and waves him off and walks slowly to her car. As she slides inside she opens her phone to call her office letting them know she wouldn’t be in for a few days. Closing her eyes a moment she nearly panics feeling as if she is being sucked away, her scream is cut off and her phone falls to the seat of her car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She raises her head back up almost afraid of seeing the patient in the rear view mirror and then realizes she is lying in sand, wet sand to be exact. Groaning she closes her eyes again. “Oh god I’ve been abducted by some damn fool now.” Her voice was soft and husky she opened as she felt water lapping at her bare feet. Sitting up she looks down at her legs. “Why am I naked and where am I?” She looks again noticing a small pain coming from her head and bottom, moving a bit a tail flickers around her, Eyes flashing she jumps up feeling the tail slap her thighs, reaching around tugging on it she squeals as she feels the pain. “Oh my god what am I?” Reaching her hand to run it through her hair a slight throbbing in her head she feels the horns in her head. Her fingers probe and touch them. “What in the world is going on? What kind of dream is this?” Her eyes glance around the darkness she realizes she can see much better. She glances down and notices she is completely naked. Squealing she crouches down behind a boulder. “Ok the body being changed is bad enough but why am I naked?”

 

[Mantra]

The sudden voice startled Jay into action, bolting upright, he whirled around and saw...a GIANT MONSTER!
Being a true veteran of a thousand late night horror movies, Jay knew enough to get away and try to find a safe place to think, a place to buy some time and figure out what he had to do to get home. Wheeling about, Jay made a break for the trees and freedom, but at that point, the whole forest conspired against him. Evil magics caused the ground under his feet to ripple out. he stumbled and one particularly vile root snared a hoof. Then the tree itself swung wide and smashed itself into Jay's head. He went down in a heap, stars dancing around his head.

As his head span, he roared out one last defiant challenge to the monster as it closed in, preparing to end his life.......

*************************** (Reality) ********************************************

The Spirit Forest was a quiet place, even with a half-mad horse whickering in a muddy hole.

"Hey there lil fella, need help?"

Few would have ever thought it possible, but a fully grown horse suddenly sprang some three feet into the air at dead rest. Turning wildly about, the horse saw Coudron as he stood there. The horse's eyes were wide and he reared up, whinnying loudly before bolting in the other direction of very wobbly legs, almost running sideways as the horse looked back over it's shoulder. Said legs almost immediatly fumbled in a series of roots jutting up from the weathered ground and the unsteady gait of the fleeing horse began to falter even more. Off-balance, the horse attempted to correct his stumbling gait and as his head turned to the fore, collided head-on with a large elm tree that hadn't moved save for the wind in it's branches, in any number of decades.
With a crash, the horse went down in a tangle of wobbly legs and hair, whickering in pain as it lay. One thought radiated out from the horse, clearly audible even no voice was carried in the wind.

*It's gonna eat me....*

 

[Wolfsister]

Kat/Ganalina/Rylia

Ganalina whistled happily as she watched the little fish dart back and forth under the surface of the rockpool. She smiled happily and was content to be watching the colourful animals frolick beneath the water. She looked up over the Bottomless Sea and sighed, the wind shifting through her wild hair gently. Now this was a perfect place to be.

She wasn't sure what had drawn her to this place, but the Spirit had told her that she would know where and when her 'charge' would arrive in the Vale. She had meditated for four days straight, communing with nature and finally that 'moment' had arrived. A sort of awareness of her Guardian spirit.

Her visions had drawn her here, to the coast. It was effectively the middle of nowhere with only minor fishing villages dotted occassionally in between Vale City and Vakare.

She blinked as she felt the awareness suddenly become stronger. She stood, over looking the sea and wondered just what her new friend would be like. She knew that it would not be long now. She stared over the water, her tiny hands curling in anticipation of her Guardian's arrival.

She didn't hear the Drider come silently behind her.

Rylia smiled maliciously as she edged up behind the Elf. The crashing waves and the cry of sea birds effectively masking the sound of her approach. Her eight legs danced delicately on the slippery rocks and she silently drew her blade.

With a quick and efficient motion, Rylia reached up behind the accursed wood elf and slid the sharp blade across the female's throat. Her smile stayed in place, but she made not a word as the elf dropped limply at her feet, the blood tinging the rockpool's water red. Rylia tilted her head to the side and watched with evil fascination as the blood spread across the water, billowing and receding with the tiny tide. It mesmerised her.

A flash, a roll of thunder and an unearthly scream ripped her attention away from the deathly spectacle. She blinked, looked out over the same ocean Ganalina had been and tilted her head again, a look of puzzlement crossing her features. Unlike the 'official' guide to a guardian, Rylia had no link or connection to the newly arrived Guardian and she could only guess at its arrival and location.

Scanning the beach beside her, she tilted her head to the other side, her thin lips stretching into a smile as she spotted an elongated form washed up some meters down the shoreline. Without understanding how, she knew that this was what she had been waiting for. All that time tailing that moony elf had payed off. At least she had been able to kill her with her own hands. The woman had been maddening!

Skittering down the slippery surface, she made her way along the beach, making sure to equalise her weight on the wet sand. She didn't want to sink. She had to admit that getting used to this body of hers had taken less time than she had previously thought.

Washing away an errant strand of memory with impatience, she percieved the washed up form of what looked to be a demoness. She had horns and a tail and was characteristically naked. Her smile grew wider and decidedly more wicked.

She watched in silence as the demoness rose, squealed, ran around some and then hid behind a nearby rock. All the while talking to herself. Rylia's grin became painful. Oh yes, this was indeed the one.

Her voice was low, throaty and laced with a gentle kind of menace as she spoke, "Ah, it is good to see you. You've finally come to save us,"

It was hard to keep the sarcasm from her voice.