Illusion Vale: A Spirit's Cry

[ultimate_nerdslut]

She was excited to hear that there were other avians... but why? She wasn't one of them. She wanted to see these other Avians though. But it was clear that they were headed away from the mountains. "Do you think I'll ever get to meet any?" She asked as they walked. She had long since tired of the magic spellcasting which wasn't working.

She was glad that they were heading for a campground... they would have clothes right? that she could have/borrow/liberate...

"Faelin... Thanks for coming for me... and leading me to safety." She said letting that hand pet the other. "I would have tought that I was dreaming and probably gotten really hurt," she laughed at the thought.

"So... Thank you," she said as she began to see the area in which they were headed. She covered herself with her wings as they got closer and closer. She was ready for almost anything, drunken men, lewd women, and barking mutts... but she was surprised at what she got...

 

[Wolfsister]

Largos and Len

All Len could do was sit a squawk. She fluffed her feathers and screeched in alarm, flapping frantically around his head. She kept praying to the Spirit that he would not die. Despite only having met him a few hours earlier, she had grown a bond with her charge. After what he had gone through this night, she wasn't sure if she was the right guide for the job, but she sure was going to try damn hard!

She heard his scream of agony and tears flew from her eyes as she realised just how helpless she was against his pain. She could do nothing to help him, and she soon realised that he would not be moving any time soon. The pain had locked up his joints and made it impossible for him to get inside in time. Not for the first time, Len wished she had legs and arms, if only for a moment, she would at least be able to carry him to safety.

But it was not meant to be and she despaired, her Raven's heart breaking as she accepted the fact that her new charge was going to die.

Suddenly his screaming stopped and she looked up from her internal struggle. She cocked her head to the side, looking both at the rays of sunlight beaming down onto his body and at Largos's bewildered expression.

"What has happened to me? I thought that the sun was meant to destroy a vampire. Am I a vampire or something totally different?"

She shook her head, trying to clear her vision and hoping that she was not dreaming. She chirped and flew to land near him on the ground, hopping from one foot to the other. She cocked her head in a bird like way and blinked at him.

Puzzled, she found that there was something... different about him. She chirped quietly, trying to understand the sense of loss she was feeling. Then she clicked, that was it!

He was different because he was no longer vampiric. She hopped excitedly from foot to foot as he moved wearily into Haven and sat down. She flew inside quickly and landed on the table in front of him. "Largos, you aren't a vampire anymore," she shook her head, "I don't understand it, but somehow, maybe because you're an elf, the curse did not take you fully!"

She made little birdy jumps and chirped cheerfully, pecking at his pale hand.

She had no way of knowing that this was just his day form. During the night, he would turn back into the vampire once again. She blocked out the possibility in her mind and stubbornly believed that her charge had beaten an immortal, unbreakable, curse.

 

[Wolfsister]

Becca/Kail/Tenesa

Kail spun quietly, humming cheerfully to himself, as they moved around the shop, choosing and discussing supplies for the journey ahead. Wisps themselves had not need for food like substances. They gained their nurishment directly from the sun in the sky.

He thought idly about the journey ahead and wondered just what he could
teach the new dryad about her race. He didn't have first hand knowledge and had only seen dryads in passing through the forest. He knew that though they were friendly, they were also withdrawn and shy. They preferred tending to the forests and being left alone.

“Thanks, Tenesa. It looks like we have everything we need. I appreciate it. What do you think, Kail? You want to stay the night?"

Kail's light blinked rapidly in surprise as he was pulled from his thoughts by Becca's question. He shone brighter, more cheerful and a wash of excitement ran over those near him. "Oh yes, that would be wonderful, then we can start our journey together in the morning," he hummed as he zipped around the small space in front of them and Tenesa laughed.

"We have plans to make tonight and Tenesa, my sister, could you get some pouches of gold from the family vault?"

Tenesa bobbed in affirmation and zipped off, her cheerful rosy glow receding up the stairs in the back.

Kail bobbed in the air, floating in front of Becca, "How are you feeling now?" he knew that she had been slightly depressed to find herself in this new world, and he hoped that his and Tenesa's efforts to make her feel normal had worked.

 

[Wolfsister]

Michael and Sila

Sila giggled and twirled around in the air to face the other way and let Michael get dressed. She bopped her head from side to side, humming a funky tune to herself while she waited.

When Michael was ready to meet the day ahead, she twirled around again and then began to flutter around his head, settling on his shoulders again, her little feet tapping against either side of his chest.

Looking down, she giggled, "So where do you want to go now?"

Once again, she'd forgotten just how little Michael really did know about this place. Luckily, Durbin was soon to come to the rescue and offered to take Michael on a quick tour of Guarden Hall.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

"So, Rolyn, how much do you and/or the queen know about me?"

Rolyn was quietly surprised that the new elf had caught up so quickly. He was also quietly impressed. But Eeth would never hear that from Rolyn's lips. He considered the question and considered just what to tell Eeth, if he should reveal all now, or just let the elf figure it out for himself. He wondered if he should prepare Eeth for Neferin... it may benefit him.

Then again, the less Eeth knew, the safer he would be. And Rolyn had no intention of letting the Guardian come to harm.

"We know of your mission to save the Vale. That much has been common knowledge amonst the elven kind and we have been told to watch and wait for your arrival," he grinned as he easily loped along the ground, covering quite a bit of distance in such a short time. He wanted to get to Neferin before nightfall and at the rate they were going, they would. "I must admit that we had not expected a elf, but," he shrugged, the running pace not winding him at all, "It makes things alot easier, I suppose,"

He heard the distant yeowling of a cat boy being left behind and grinned to himself. He knew that one of the elves in his party was keeping an eye on poor Van and that he would reach Neferin safely, so he didn't much worry for the Neko.

"The Queen has requested your presence at her feast tonight, in honor of you of course," he paused, checking that the rest of the party were keeping up, "I know not what she knows of you," he dipped his head and hint of disgust entered his tone, "I'm not privy to her thoughts anymore."

Then he hastened their pace for a short period of time, running, jumping, climbing their way through the dark forest.

A city of light jumped out of the forest suddenly and they skidded to a halt. Rolyn smiled in quiet satisfaction as he appraised Eeth's reaction to the elven capital at night.

A city amongst the trees greeted their view and floating lights dominated, illuminating the walkways high up in the forest. There were many Elven folk, around, strolling along the high walkways, or on the ground. There was festive music, but instruments nor players were to be found. It was like the forest was singing to them.

The general chatter died down as curious onlookers paused to eye the new party, but soon returned to their conversations and kept walking.

Rolyn sighed and took a deep, gratifying breath. "Welcome to Neferin, Eeth,"

 

[Wolfsister]

Than and Varic

“Varic, my apologies, seems I was just going on and on and didn’t allow you to get a word in edgewise. Ya know I should probably know what kind of animals I should expect to see here as well. I would sure hate to get surprised by a ‘one eyed, one horn, blind purple people eater"

Varic grinned, "Well, I don't think so, but I haven't traveled everywhere so I'm sure we could probably find one," he took a few different coloured balls from his deep pockets and began to lazily juggle them, "But I do know of purple people," he chuckled, more to himself than to anyone else.

"As you might have guessed, some of your 'mythical' creatures like unicorns and the such exist here. Though not plentiful, you can find some very rare and magical animals. There are also the more mundane kind, cats and dogs I do know," he frowned, "It really depends on your definition of an animal, I suppose. I've heard of wolves that could speak, raven people, cat people and the like so... " he shrugged, for once not knowing how to answer a question. Then he grinned up at Than and patted him on the highest point he could reach, "You can pretty much guarantee that you'll get confused easily around here, even I get surprised sometimes and I was born here!"

He laughed, offering Than another swig of the water skin, seeing as he had been talking for a long time and said quite a lot too.

"Okay, its your turn again. Shoot,"

 

[blaster8]

Eeth comes to Neferin

Eeth kept pace with Rolyn with ease, not being winded at all, the whole distance. Eeth was surprised to hear that his "mission," as it were, was common knowledge among the elves. He was even more surprised to hear that the queen elf was having a feast in his honor, and he was to attend. While he had been a respected member of the Navajo community, he never had any feasts in his honor; the most he had ever gotten were small gifts from those he had helped.

Then they came to Neferin. Eeth skidded to a halt, and gazed in wonder at the city of lights at night. He had seen the Lord of the Rings movies and saw how Lothlorien was portrayed, but this place took the cake. It was ten times better than Lothlorien, and he was actually there, not watching some movie, so that made it even better. He managed to keep his jaw from dropping, but he couldn't keep his eyes from becoming as wide as dinner plates.

"I'm speechless. There are no words in any language that I know that can do this place justice," said Eeth in awe.

 

[Wolfsister]

Dinnie and Goreab

Goreab chattered to himself in an inaudible way, even if Dinnie could hear it, it would just be nonsensical randomness and often just garbled sounds. It seemed that Goreab really didn't like silence, and the silence around them was deafening.

"Goreab is very trustworthy, I promise," he tried to smile in a reassuring way, but only managed to give a broken, toothy and evil grin. "Goreab can take you to Goreab's campsite. He has more cloths there," he chattered once more as he began scampering in a random direction. He stopped, sniffed the air, cackled slightly and promptly turned on his heel. "Goreab's campsite over here!"

He began mumbling nonsense to himself again as he crouched even lower to better increase his body heat. And have some semblance of decency. The desert night air was cold, but would probably not worry a vampire like Dinnie.

He crept off into the darkness, surprisingly fast. But he was easy to follow as his rambling mumbles and occasional loud cackles never ceased to flow from his gap toothed mouth.

 

[Wolfsister]

Fay and Faelin

Faelin resisted the urge to sit and yip with pleasure as Fay petted her, but it was hard. She growled in annoyance at herself, she was better than this two legger. But being thanked felt... good. She sighed, shaking her snout to better order her thoughts. But they contined to collide and only served to confuse her cynical mind even further.

Faelin suddenly realised that should Fay let slip that she was a Guardian, she would not survive the night. At first Faelin didn't care, but a sudden overwhelming need to see Fay safe overrode her first reaction and she stopped, sitting on her haunches.

Her voice was low as she eyed the encampment a few meters away,"Fay, there is one thing you must do. You must not tell anyone that you are a Guardian. They are not like in these parts, especially in Abark and you would not live to see another day,"

She then trotted forwards, her tongue lolling out, her gait casual, "Just play along," she growled low under her breath as a brightly clothed man came their way.

When he raised his hand in warm greeting, it was revealed that there were spikes all along his arms. His skin was made up of tiny platelets of hardened shell and his nose was almost non-existant. His mouth was a mere stretch pasty skin with a line cut across it, but he smiled non the less and appeared friendly. Faelin was once again reminded of a walking, talking armidillo when he spoke, "Ah greetings Faelin, I'm surprised to see you here amongst so many others," he looked up and down Fay, obviously pleased with what he found, "And with company I see. Who is this dashing woman at your side?"

Faelin growled low under her breath, "Touch her and you die, Korin. She's an Avian I found wondering near the Felleth woods. She's lost her memory and I'm taking her to Sheala to get it back," her hackles raised in dislike and she stepped protectively in front of Fay.

Another woman, similarly armored, walked up to join them. She gave a sidewards glance at Korin and folded down onto her knees, facing Faelin, "Good to see again, Sister Wolf," she said softly and bowed her head towards Fay, "And you as well, newcomer," she got up and gestured around them, "You are welcome to stay an rest, you must be weary from travel,"

Alelia did her best to ignore Korin and he did the same, sneering towards Fay, his eyes glinting. Then with a last lustful glance her way, he turned and left, heading towards a small group of women.

Alelia shook her head and extended her hands towards Fay, "I am Alelia. Please do not be bothered by my brother, just do not let him touch you and you will not be harmed or taken advantage of in any way," she shrugged, "He is my brother, so I tolerate his lewd advances towards others,"

She led them both to a colourful tent, "You may sleep here tonight. All supplies within this tent are yours to use and keep if you desire and I will find some clothing for you," she smiled, her alien features strange, but welcoming and gentle, "Dinner is served at the fires a few hours from now, please, rest,"

Then she turned, reached down to pet Faelin, who tolerated it with a rolling of her yellow eyes, and disappeared amongst the many tents dotted around the campsite.

It could be called more of a village than a campsite. A village of caravans and tents. There was a large ring of fires in the middle and many people either walked or sat on logs, chatting and paying little heed of the newcomers. Men that had the look of soldiers were also dotted amongst the camp goers and a sense of peace and safety encompassed the area.

Faelin stood, licking her paw, "I need to go hunt for food for myself," she looked over at the fires, "I prefer fresh kill," she said, a hint of disgust entering her voice, "Though you may not see me, I will be near," she started off and then turned her head to add, "Don't let Korin anywhere near you,"

She sighed to herself, disappearing into the darkness and leaving Fay by herself. She may not have wanted her as a charge, but now that she had the Avian, she admitted that she didnt want to let her go.

 

[Dracona]

Janelle's swansong

‘It’s all gone, Janelle, do you understand what I’m saying? Gone, you’re broke. You’re going to have to sell the house, the cars, the motorcycle and probably most of your jewelry and it still will barely be enough for you to break even.”

The male voice was beginning to annoy Janelle. Somewhere in the fogginess of her mind she knew that what was being said was important, but the rest of her mind didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. She picked up her glass and tossed back the last of whatever was in it then blinked at it blearily. She couldn’t even remember what she had been drinking. Whatever it had been it wasn’t strong enough. She could still feel. She stood up and the room seemed to tilt a little, but it wasn’t enough. She needed to be numb.

“Janelle, listen to me!” A strong hand belonging to the annoying voice grabbed her arm and turned her around a bit too quickly. Her stomach rolled. “I can get you through this but you’ve got to do what I say. Just sign the damn papers and I’ll take care of everything.”

Papers…what papers? Janelle tried to focus on the face of the man towering over her and sighed as she vaguely remembered. Power of attorney papers, that’s what he was talking about. That’s what he’d been talking about for the last month, or was it longer? Didn’t matter, nothing mattered. She blinked drunkenly at Marcus, her self appointed manager and sometimes lover. He wanted her to sign the PoA so he could make arrangements and sell things and try to help her out of the financial hole she had fallen into. More likely he wanted to salvage what he could for himself and leave her high and dry. Janelle made a cynical noise in the back of her throat. The rats were abandoning ship. Didn’t matter.

Deciding that alcohol just wasn’t going to cut it tonight, Janelle shook off Marcus’s hand and wandered down the long hall toward her bedroom. She stopped at a large frame hanging on the wall and reached out to touch it with trembling fingers. This was her first. The first gold record representing how well her first album had done. She had others for subsequent releases, but this one was the most special. Her voice had still been pure back then, her music true. Now all she had were painful memories, a lot of debt, and a hankering for mind altering substances. Her music was gone, her voice now nothing more than a grating croak. Didn’t matter.

Marcus had followed her and watched her as she stripped out of her stale clothes and fell across the bed. His eyes narrowed calculatingly and his hand toyed with something in his jacket pocket. He took the papers he had been trying to get Janelle to sign and sat beside her on the bed.

“It’s okay, baby, I know what you need.” He said in a soothing voice. Janelle turned her face slowly toward him, her unfocused eyes wandering somewhere behind him. He took the syringe from his pocket and waved it in front of her face to catch her attention. Her gaze finally caught and held, following the movement of his hand. He could see her need and he smiled. He should have thought of this sooner. “Don’t I always know what my baby needs? You just sign the papers and I’ll make it all go away.”

Janelle whimpered and reached for the syringe but Marcus held it out of her reach. Instead he took a pen from his pocket and put it in her hand. It took a few more minutes but finally Janelle managed to do what he wanted and signed her name to the papers that would give him control of all her assets. It didn’t matter that the date was off or that it hadn’t been witnessed by anyone else. He had friends that he could count on to make it all look completely legit. No one would ever know that she hadn’t signed the papers weeks ago.

“Marcus?” Janelle’s rough voice made him wince and he felt a moment of pity for the young woman. She had been so fresh, so full of raw talent and potential. He had been sure she would last longer than this, but he’d made mistakes before. Some people just couldn’t handle the darker side of the business. But Marcus was nothing if not a savvy businessman. He knew when to cut his losses and get out. He popped the plastic cover off the needle and leaned over Janelle to kiss her forehead.

“Here you go, baby….just what the doctor ordered….gonna take all your worries away.” With practiced ease Marcus found a vein in Janelle’s arm and slid the needle into the skin and when he was done he pulled it out and wiped it off. Couldn’t have any fingerprints giving him away. He put the syringe in Janelle’s other hand and closed her fingers around it. He gave her one last look as he left the room and shook his head.

Janelle was floating, flying, drifting….didn’t matter….all that mattered was the pain was going away. She was going away….somewhere….didn’t matter, nothing mattered.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Rolyn

"I'm speechless. There are no words in any language that I know that can do this place justice,"

Rolyn laughed and grinned, patting Eeth on the back, "That's good to hear. There are not many travelers to these parts these days and your reaction reassures me that Neferin has still got it,"

Just then a mew sounded behind them and Rolyn turned to see Van swishing his tail, perched on a nearby log. "Ahh, glad you could make it," he grinned and rubbed his hands together, "It's just about dinner time,"

Van did a squeal-like panicked mew and jumped up, hiding on the other side of Eeth. This time though, he did not cling and claw him. Thank the Spirit.

There was a commotion and the music stopped dead in its tracks. An elven woman with a group of elven men came towards them and Rolyn and his party quickly dropped to one knee, their heads bowed, completely silent. Strangely, Van did the same, though a quiet mew sounded from his lips and his shoulders shook slightly with fear.

The Elven woman that came towards them was obviously somebody of import. The crown of wilted Laurels signified that this could be the queen. But she looked nothing like one.

Her hair was dark, long and had a slight sway to it. The crown of dead flowers appearing not to fit in with the rest of her appearance. There was a slight glint of madness in her slightly reddened eyes, the deep pit of her pupil flashed with something un-nameable, but it was soon gone and Eeth would be left wondering if it had been there in the first place. Where her companion's clothing was long and flowing, her's, while long, had a shredded appearance below the waist. Her finger tips ended in long talon like nails and there was an air of mystery about her. Of hushed reverence.

There was also a hesitancy in the air.

Her voice, when she spoke, was calm and peaceful. A tone soft and welcoming, "You are here at last! Welcome to my great city, Neferin," she gestured, not even noticing the the others around her, or the sudden deafening silence of the city, "The great city of the elves! You are welcome to it," she smiled and laughed suddenly, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the land. Then she became serious once more, "You are the one to save this world?" she looked him up and down, "You must come and partake of the feast, you look too skinny to be a hero, we need to fatten you up!" she laughed again, chilling because it was the tinkling laughter of a goddess, but it did not have place in her sentence.

She turned and the others rose to follow her. She moved regally enough, her foot falls silent, her stride more of a glide than actual steps. Her long hair flowed behind her in an invisible breeze and a ripple of elves bowing ran with her as she took Eeth further up into the trees.

Once to the very top, a platform with a vine shrouded throne greeted their view. A table was set with more food than could be eaten in one night, both familiar and strange to the new elf, but when the queen went to sit at one end, the others bowed and left.

"Lots of food for just Van and Eeth and Queen," Van murmured softly, his shoulders still shaking slightly.

 

[blaster8]

The Elven Queen and the Feast for Eeth

The music stopped and the city that was once vibrant and full of life was now utterly silent. Coming towards Eeth was a group of elves led by a woman. While her face was fair and her hair long, she seemed to Eeth to match the description of a witch, what with the look of madness in her blood-shot eyes, her gown that was shredded below the waist, and her long talon like nails.

Everyone around Eeth dropped to a knee in reverence to the queen. But Eeth simply bowed at the waist. He may have been an elf, but he didn't serve the queen. He would respect her, but he didn't have to obey her. When he rose he looked her right in the eye and smiled. He continued to smile as the queen spoke. He still didn't know who she was, but only that she was the queen, even as she turned to lead the way higher into the city. He wondered at her inexplicable laughter, and thought that something had snapped in her a long time ago.

Then they came to the table set high with food for the feast. Eeth marveled at it, and when he and Van were left alone with the queen, he wondered just how they were to eat all that food. When Van spoke to him, Eeth quietly replied "You better eat your fair share, Van." Aware that there was some sort of procedure for feasts when hosted by royalty, he remained standing until the queen sat first or indicated that he and Van should be seated.

 

[ultimate_nerdslut]

Fay listened to the wolf speak of the Guardians not being well liked and she decided immediately that she would listen without question. This cynical wolf was her only friend and while she was not sure of this world she was in she wasn't one to question much. She was a free spirit and understood that if she was someplace it was for a reason and while she didn't know too much about what she was needed for now... Fay was willing to stay and see where it was going. She was glad she had covered herself up a while ago because she was soon face to face with a brightly clothed.... something or other...

She managed a smile, it didn't look genuine but her teeth were present for the party...

"Hello," she said but kept her hands, along with her wings, wrapped tightly around her frame. She didn't know what that being was but she was getting some serious bad vibes from him. Back in her other life she remembered having these vibes but they were never strong and more often than not she pushed them to the back of her mind. Fay normally thought she was being paranoid about such people but now she was here with her wolf friend and this... well creature was a good word for him and...

She was freaking out.

Fay managed to keep up that fake smile however as it was obvious what he wanted to do to her, a violent shudder ran down her spine threatening to shake all of her feathers from her very pretty wings.

And then there was this new woman, she was the same crazy thing but she didn't seem nearly as scary as the male... they looked alike but it was apparent that this woman was not going to do strange things to her body...

"Thank you," she said her gaze softening on this female. "Your kindness is appreciated greatly," she said with a real smile to this woman that Faelin didn't seem to mind. And then there was that look from the man, it was easy to tell that they didn't get along and that he was going to try something.

Immediately a mental note was made of how important it would be to know how to fly away.

And then he was leaving and Fay found herself near at ease again. "I do not remember much but my name is Fay," she said with a smile as she stood outside the tent. "Thank you again," she said bowing to the woman slightly before she was leaving. "She seemed nice," she said to Faeling but had to smile at how the wolf seemed only to tolerate others. She wondered if Faelin rolled her eyes like that when she petted her.

"I'll be here," she said as the wolf left. She turned to enter the tent and soon found a variable haven compared to what she had experienced thus far in the Vale. Her wings loosened as she took up a sheet and wrapped it around her body to hide herself from any prying eyes. She was surprised at the supplies at her disposal. There was a nice light khaki green, it was clear that it was old but in good condition, canvas bag. She looked it over and found numerous patches where it had become too worn and had been fixed. There was a patch that caught her eye however....

It was a red cross patch and she smiled as the colors reminded her of that old tv show... M.A.S.H. This was surely of her world. She stared at it for a long time as if trying to figure out what this meant exactly. She ended up frowning and tracing it before deciding that this was what she was going to take with her.

She smiled when she saw that the woman from before was back. And she had something lacy and pretty in her hand. "Thank you, Alelia," she said as she accepted the dress. "It's lovely..." Silently Fay was trying to figure out how she was going to do any serious traveling in such a thing. But it was better than nothing so she tucked her wings back to step into the black dress with the black lace trim. It was easy to say that the dress was beautiful. It was short in the front, falling about to mid thigh, and long in the back. But the most important thing was the fact that it was very low in the back so that he wings were undisturbed.

"It's perfect," she said smiling and chuckling as she imagine herself carrying that canvas bag with this dress on. Well, it was something else that was for sure...

 

[Angelus]

Largos and Len

Largos moved his hands in front of him and wanted to laugh out loud but nothing would come to him. He felt as normal as he had the first time he had come to this place but he thought that it was impossible. There was no way that he could be bitten by a vampire only to become an elf when the sun came up. That was not how it worked, unless it was something to do with this place. Was it part of being a vampire that they turned mortal as soon as the sun came up or was it something specific about him.

He stood slowly and looked towards where Len was hopping around madly. He slowly moved around the table, his eyes never leaving Len's form as he did. He could feel his body slowly gaining strength again, feeling as if it belonged to him once more.

"Is it possible that the bite did not infect me. Is it possible that I haven't become a vampire at all, that the sun burnt it away before I could become one? Could the Spirit have spared it from happening to me or is it because I am one of the Guardians. Did she put a spell on us to stop anything from hurting us?"

He looked down at Len for a moment longer and told himself that they had to get out of here, that they had to leave this forest before whatever had attacked him came back. He knew that he had to get out of this tavern before Raster woke because he had been lucky in their last fight. He wanted to pick Len up off the floor, to take her out to the stables but he knew she would not like that, that she would rather go out there her own way.

His hand went down to his sword and he looked into Len's eyes.

"Should we go Len. I don't know if I can fight Raster or the vampire that attacked me in the condition that I am in. All I want is the safety of Vale City, however long it takes."

 

[EHawkins]

Becca and Kail

Kail seemed excited about the prospect of staying with his sister, and Becca smiled slightly at that. At least they’d have a safe, familiar place to stay for the night until they headed out in the morning. The idea of sleeping in a bed was oddly comforting to Becca. Perhaps it was because it was the most familiar thing she’d come across so far.

"We have plans to make tonight and Tenesa, my sister, could you get some pouches of gold from the family vault?"

Becca said nothing about the gold, but she raised an eyebrow slightly.

“What kind of plans were you thinking of?” She asked. “Travel plans, or what?”

Becca made herself comfortable, let herself relax a bit for the first time since she’d been dropped into this world. She looked up at the blue light floating in front of her, and realized, for the first time that she was lucky to have some sort of companion in this strange world.

"How are you feeling now?" Kail asked.

His concern for her was touching, and Becca smiled slightly.

“It’s still strange to me—this place, my body…” she said “but I think as long as you stick with me, I think I can cope—I can try any way.”

 

[rengadeirishman]

"Sounds good to me Durbin" Michael said "Shall we leave now?"

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

She floated closer, reaching out a whispy arm to caress Danae's forehead, "What is your name? You may ask me any question and I will try to answer as best I can," she smiled again, a motherly expression on her face, "I am here to be your guide in this world,"

Danae, who had gone through seven painful surgeries, months upon months of physical therapy, and countless small rejections and never showed any weakness...brust into tears. And once started she couldn't stop. All the fear, terror and hopeless from not just this new event but from the frist moment she'd realized she was going to probably die as she flew from the back of the motorcycle came out in her wails.

Finally she'd slowed down into sniffles and looked around for somthing to wipe the snot off her face. There wasn't anything, just her hair which seemed to have grown long and turned silvery. So, she used her hair. She could wash it in the lake later. She took several hiccuppy breaths and then looked at the form next to her.

"Ok," She sniffled. "What?"

 

[thanatos64]

Than and Varic

Than reached down for the water, taking a pull, he then shook the canteen to ensure he didn’t hand it back to Varic empty.

Purple people, wolves that talk, raven people, as well as cat people, Than thought, making mental notes so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard to much, and end up gawking at these, beings, offending them. Glancing down at Veric he watched the elf juggle the balls effortlessly

“Never could do that myself, not three anyhow, I can do two, if I concentrate.” Than grinned and let out a chuckle.

He felt himself warming up to the elf.

“Alrighty then, let’s get to the science. Supposing you do know a little about magic, that is how science started, it is no more then, formulas and math equations really, though it can and does get a bit confusing. Medicines for example, I’m sure that there must be herbs and such here that have curing power. Well, the same as my world, but, science also added different elements, to allow for more potent remedies, and treatments. We had machines that could look into a body and see different images. Some to see bone formation some brain waves, we had machines to detect abnormal growth, and things of that sort.” Than looked at Veric to see how the inquisitive elf was handling this info he was feeding him. Than continued “We had cars, buses and airplanes, that were used for transportation, these were self powered, people now longer relied on horses and oxen to get around, and ships sailed the seas under their own power as well, no longer needing air in their sail to move.” not sure if Than had noticed a confused look on Varic's face or not he felt it best to elaborate anyway, “those things I mentioned, cars and such think of a cart with no horse. Airplanes, giant metal birds in the sky. Science also gave advanced warfare; there were guns and bombs, instead of swords and arrows. Not much honor in combat these days. Sometimes I think I was born too late in life. Anyway the weaponry we had allowed for distance fighting, one army could wipe out another without even looking at each other, now don’t get me wrong, a good sniper is great in a pinch, not bragging, but I knew a couple of the best.” looking over and down at Varic ,Than let out a chuckle “speaking of weapons, I’ve been thinking and like you said, I don’t think I will be needing a sword, maybe a war hammer, but not a sword, could you imagine? Me with a broadsword, I would look like the great Paul Bunyan, swinging away his mighty axe cutting down everything in my path.” Than let out a mighty laugh as he was picturing himself as Paul Bunyan, “wouldn’t that be a sight for sore eyes?”

 

[Wolfsister]

Janelle and Hiran

Hiran sat with his arms folded in front of his chest. He wore a grumpy expression, his mouth turned down into a sour curve. He frowned, completely silent as he watched the still waters of Tears of the Spirit. Why did it have to have such a long name? Why couldn't it have been called The Lake or something? Even now people shorten its name to 'Tears' and there's no end to the confusion from that.

His frown deepened and his mouth turned down even more. And why did he have to sit here and wait for some mysterious being that he didn't even know the name of? Or what it was for that matter... he grumbled to himself and crossed his legs, huffing slightly.

Then something strange began to happen, even for Illusion Vale. And Hiran had seen a few odd things here and there. Hell, he was one of those odd things.

The Water Elemental stood to his full height of six feet and frowned even more when the water in front of him began to swirl and boil. A whirlpool appeared and the wind picked up speed, a howling sound surrounding him, making him cover his ears in irritation.

His watery form shifted colours from deep dark green to light blue as he watched the roiling water. A figure emerged, eyes closed. He saw a brief glimpse of scales and flowing hair before the figure descended back into the now calm water.

He watched and waited for the being to break the surface. He waited for a full ten minutes.

"Just great," he muttered darkly to himself and slid smoothly into the water. Shifting through the clear blue liquid, he quickly found the being he had seen a few moments earlier.

A merperson, female from what he could see, floated in the water. Wrapped up in pale blue, he saw the shimmering scales as he scooped her up into his arms and took her to the surface.

Laying her out on a white sandy beach, he sat and watched her closely. He nodded in satisfaction as he realised that she was still breathing. Her form rendering her almost immune to drowning.

Then he frowned as he pushed back her hair and saw her distinct face. A sense of longing overwhelmed him and he shook his head to clear it.

"Just great... a Siren," he sighed.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eeth/Van/Ilandria

The elven queen gave them both an odd look before dramatically sweeping her hair back over her shoulders and smoothing down the front of her dress. Then a completely harrassed look crossed her face as she sat down. Then suddenly she whirled around and snapped at a completely empty spot behind her chair, "I told you not to be here! This feast is for the important only!"

Shaking her hair and sniffing with disapproval, she turned around and gave Eeth a slow smile, "Please sit, my dear. There is no need to stand on ceremony," she gestured to the seat on the other end of the table, a full ten feet away from her. She said nothing to Van, in fact her eyes seemed to just pass directly over him, sliding away from his neko presence.

Van whimpered and took a seat to the left of Eeth, not making any noise and nibbling on a piece of cheese filled bread. His tail twitched and his shoulders never ceased their constant shivering.

She watched as Eeth sat down and that slow smile never left her lips, her eyes never leaving his form. Her hand glided out and little bits of food floated forwards to her reaching fingers, she chewed slowly and deliberately, a deep smile covering her features. Her eyes though held no mirth, in fact it was doubtful that they held anything at all.

Suddenly she spoke, her white teeth flashing in the dancing lantern light, "You may call me Ilandria," she waved her hand airly around idly, "No need to keep calling me your majesty," she laughed her sweet tinkling laughter.

Her voice was sweet when she suddenly asked if Eeth had ever killed anyone. Van promptly choked on his fish tail and covered it up by cowaring underneath the oaken table. A furry hand reached up and snatched a red sausage from the top and then disappeared again, Van's whimpering quiet enough for only Eeth to hear.

There was an odd hunger on Ilandria's face as she licked the juice from the roasted deer still on her lips and awaited Eeth's answer. Then she asked another, her voice sweet and soft, "Tell me Guardian, do you think you could kill me?"

A strange light entered Ilandria's eyes as she waited for his reply, her red full lips curved secret delight.

 

[blaster8]

Eeth and the Elven Queen

Eeth nearly choked when the queen asked him if he ever killed anyone. He had been slightly confused when she said to call her Ilandria instead of 'your majesty,' mainly because he hadn't spoken since he first laid eyes on her. He was even more baffled when she had whirled around and snapped at an empty spot behind her. By the time she asked if he thought he could kill her, he absolutely believed that she was insane. The insane are difficult to deal with, Eeth thought to himself. You never know what might set them off. Better handle this carefully.

He completely ignored Van's whimpering under the table, as he replied "No, my lady, I have never killed any one. And I don't know if I could kill you, even if I wanted to, which I don't. Tell me, what prompted such a question?"

He was going to try to handle this situation as carefully as possible, because he didn't know anything about this woman. This situation could prove very dangerous.

 

[Wolfsister]

Fay/Faelin/Alelia

The pads of her feet pounded the dry earth at night with excitement as her heart pounded with the joy of the hunt. Her howl, thrown at the night sky, froze the garrot in place with an inbred fear for the chilling sound. It turned and ran into the night soon after but it was too late by then. Faelin came bounding up behind it, building up speed and lowering her shoulders. She turned her head to the side and threw her right shoulder at the small armored beast flipping it over. She snapped her jaw quickly, holding the garrot in place with her own sheer weight as she tore at its only vulnerable spot, the soft underbelly.

Her muzzle thick with the scent of blood and flesh hanging from her lips, she settled down, satisfied that the garrot was dead and began to eat her evening meal.

***************​

Alelia smiled as she saw Fay in her new clothing. It really suited the avian and she was secretly pleased that the new woman was wearing one of her own creations. She only sewed in secret and was always pleasantly surprised to see that people would admire her work, even though they didn't know it was hers.

Alelia walked up to Fay and offered her her hands again in friendship, she felt a certain hesitancy from the avian and she could not help but want to make the other woman feel more at home. Gesturing toward the central fires, she asked in a pleasant tone, "Would you like to join the others for the evening meal, or do you want me to bring it to your tent?"

She felt that Fay was a first time traveler and was pleased that Faelin was with her. That wolf, although cynical on the facts of life, was a worthy companion. Loyal to a fault and extremely knowledgeable, she was someone that Alelia trusted completely.

***************​

Korin watched Fay with dark, lustful eyes. She was wearing a black dress that only served to cover what he already knew was there. It only made him want her more.

"Hell," he muttered and spat the blade of grass he'd been chewing onto the ground. Leaning against one of the wagons across from Fay, he sneered, "You'll be mine soon little birdy, I promise you that," then he turned and walked away.

 

[Wolfsister]

Largos /Len/Talon

"Is it possible that the bite did not infect me. Is it possible that I haven't become a vampire at all, that the sun burnt it away before I could become one? Could the Spirit have spared it from happening to me or is it because I am one of the Guardians. Did she put a spell on us to stop anything from hurting us?"

Len cocked her head to the side, considering. She gave him a tiny peck on his hand and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't know. It could be a possibility, but we will have to wait until we get to Vale City and ask her," she was once again stabbed by the realization of just how inadequate she was for her current job.

"Should we go Len. I don't know if I can fight Raster or the vampire that attacked me in the condition that I am in. All I want is the safety of Vale City, however long it takes."

Len nodded quickly and flew up onto her shoulder. A part of her wishing to be held by him, if only to quieten her own discomfort. "We will travel faster once we get out into the open, but for now we need to preserve the horses and get out of these woods," she no longer trusted the Dark Woods as much as she had before, which was to say not much, so now she trusted it even less now.

She fluffed her feathers and perched onto the horse's head between its ears as Largos mounted and steered the horse in the direction of Vale City, towards the west.

It would take them another one and a half days to reach the edge of the wood. It was not going to be easy, she knew, but at the least she could do was try to be there for her charge. She would just have to get over her inadequacy problems and take charge again. She was of no use to him this way. Still... she hadn't exactly taken very good care of him since they had met. She just prayed that the Spirit would know what to do because for once, Len had no idea. And it scared her.

***************​

He slept the day away, like he always did. He had no other form, he wished none other. A Vampire he was, and he liked it that way. His pale pink lips twisted with pleasure in the darkness of his nest as a delicious dream entered his head. An elf traveling with a raven... His fangs extended as his nostrils flared with the scent of spilled blood.

How delightful.

 

[Wolfsister]

Becca/Kail/Tenesa

Kail bobbed in affirmation to Becca's question about plans. "There are always plans to be made," he informed her cheerfully, brightening considerably, "I like making plans. It makes things so much easier, when you plan," he began humming again as he led Becca up the stairs.

There was a cosy living room there, two bedrooms and several odd looking doors. Kail bade her sit and zipped along the room, a map soon floating behind him.

"Do not worry Becca, I will always be with you," he reminded her as he placed the map before Becca. It was a map of Illusion Vale, complete with river systems, forests and major lakes. A few paper weights floated by to settle themselves on the corners and Tenesa came to join them, a few small bags trailing behind her. It seemed that to compensate for their floating forms, the wisps had developed a form of telekinesis. It was quite useful.

"Hmmm," hummed Kail as he zipped over the map, casting erratic shadows over the paper, "What to do, where to go," he mused. He knew that he would have to make for Vale City, but there were so many trails, and he had to be mindful of his charge's newness to the Vale. "Perhaps the Spirit's Road?"

Tenesa chuckled and left him to his planning, she knew her brother. A plate of steaming bread and roast meat floated in front of Becca and Tenesa pulsated, trying not to interrupt Kail's musing. Whispering she bobbed closer to Becca, "Don't worry dear, he'll have everything sorted out. Just relax for now, the journey ahead will be hard,"

 

[Wolfsister]

Michael/Sila/Durbin

Durbin looped his thumb through his belt and nodded, stroking his dark beard. "End where shell I take ye frst?" He took out his pipe, ignited it and soon had the room filled with curling smoke. He puffed away, a frown on his face, then he brightened and gave a big booming laugh.

"I'll take ye to me smith!" he was happy to show off and he knew that Shela had wanted to see Sila for a very long time. His wife would be happy to finally see the forgetful fairy.

He led them both along the familiar route to his smithy, proud that he had lucked onto the stranger. He felt a great sense of future achievement from the werewolf. Plus, he was a Dwarf!

His smithy was much like the ones they had passed to get there, in so that it was pretty typical. A large forge set in the middle, various weapons and equipment laid out everywhere and the familiar hot metal smell, but he was still proud of it. Shela came out, bidding them welcome and giving the fairy a warm hug, which was promptly returned.

"So, what doo ye think?" Durbin turned to Michael, "Tis not much, but tis be mine," he puffed contentedly on his pipe, awaiting Michael's appraisal.