[center][h3]Uncovering Shadows[/h3][/center]
[u][color=pink]Lyn,[/color] Hysteria (Djarkel)[/u]
[hr]


[color=pink] “Uh,”[/color] Lyn said as she bit her lip. Her head nodded in understanding and for a moment, she became quiet in thought. She had never siblings, despite how often her parents ‘spent’ quality time together, causing her to gain a spark of envy in her heart upon learning that Keri had grown up with siblings. She inhaled, gradually realizing that naturally the grass was greener on the other side of things when someone didn’t have something.

Leith had already headed up to converse with the baron about the time she got her answer. She continued to watch the others finish up with the Barron and didn’t move, seeing the vampire still hesitating. Much like herself, it seemed Keri had alternative motives for coming and seemed to regret her decision now. The younger naga hybrid sighed. She hadn’t intended to bring up terrible memories or cause conflict as she thought about what sort of wisdom someone like herself could deliver to someone much older. In her mind, there was nothing she could say that would matter to Keri. However, it wasn’t worthless to try. 

[color=pink] “That’s the funny thing about the past. It never really is left behind, but I wouldn’t know about that. I’m only a year old compared to Colette’s and your age,”[/color] Lyn inhaled then continued,[color=pink] “However, I do know one thing: you can’t stay the same forever. Time and experience changes you, even when you’re not paying attention or wanting to. Please keep that in mind, Keri. Even if I’m just a child.”[/color] 

For the rest of the Djarkel gala, she mingle with each of the barons as she shared Iscariot’s information with her friends. Not surprisingly, she was relieved that Ssarak hadn’t approached her about the vampire. She was already distracted in keeping Keri from feeling agitated through luckily no more psychomancy appeared to be interested in the group. While talking with one of the patrons who had approached Keri and distracting him from engaging her, Lyn’s mind caught Ssarak’s voice enter her head. 

[color=f7941d][i]”Come, we should get moving.”[/i][/color] 

She nodded, discreetly, and then excused both Keri and herself from the curious company. They both walked toward the Eysire who was talking with a blue dressed maid about their horses. Not seeing the need to get involved, she smiled politely and waited just a few feet from Ssarak. Through she wore flat shoes, they had been built more for elegance than function making her soles hurt. She leaned again Keri and began to slip off her slipper to rub the ach away since their task was done. 

[h3][center][color=#BD3EC2]N[/color][color=#B344C2]o[/color][color=#AA4BC2]x[/color] [color=#9759C3]A[/color][color=#8E60C4]l[/color][color=#8467C4]i[/color][color=#7B6EC5]g[/color][color=#7275C5]n[/color][color=#687CC6]m[/color][color=#5F83C6]e[/color][color=#5589C7]n[/color][color=#5F83C6]t[/color] [color=#7275C5]C[/color][color=#7B6EC5]e[/color][color=#8467C4]r[/color][color=#8E60C4]e[/color][color=#9759C3]m[/color][color=#A052C3]o[/color][color=#AA4BC2]n[/color][color=#B344C2]y[/color][/center][/h3]
[sub][@Rtron],[@Lucius Cypher], [@May], & [@Luna][/sub]


“Will you get off that? Just because you didn’t literally [i]meet[/i] every single student on those flipping wagons, it didn’t mean I wasn’t on it,” Darell snapped back as one by one, the students entered into the room. The scene that greeted them was unnerving for any mortal, the nitemare going after the youngest first and tossed her body. Not at all unlike the real world, Darell thought bitterly, where biggest targets were often children. 

Not sure what to do, Darell considering his options when Annabeth placed her crossbow on the ground and stepped into a defensive posture with her blade extended,[color=plum] "En garde, vile monster!”[/color] 

He had been about shush her when his ears caught Athalus’ comment. 

[color=00aeef]"Nitemare. Nasty little bastards. Teleportation, prehensile tails with knives on the end of them, and all the power of a warhorse behind those horns. We have an idiot who ran into here blind, a boy with a rapier, Annabeth, Colette, and you. Grab my knives and stay back. Annabeth has the training to not be gutted by this thing, and Colette should be fast enough not to be. Hopefully Daren or whatever his name was knows something other than 'run blindly in' and rapier boy over there didn't just get lucky. Do try not to hit our friends with my knives. They're very expensive and would go straight into vital organs. I'll go see what I can do, seeing as I'm about as solid as  a wall of fog."[/color] Athalus’ voice spoke, giving details on the beast which discreetly impressed Darell. However, he still turned his eyes over his shoulder and flickered a frown at the man’s miss mention of his name.

“It’s Darell and if you had actually been listening when we first met, you would know I am a seeker too. I can do about as much as you can in this and just as vulnerable,” He turned to Helena and corrected her incorrect thoughts over the fact that just because they were incorporeal, didn't mean they weren't in danger here, “While [i]you[/i] can’t touch us, that [u]thing[/u] can and will kill us. That’s why Noxomancers need to work in groups. The guardians, that’s you, protecting the seekers which is us. We lead you down the least dangerous paths.” 

He turned to face the threat, grumbling under his breath, “Is what I say that pointless to everyone?” 

The nitemare finally noticed them as its attention narrowed on Annabeth. It pawed the ground and lowered its head much in the same fashion it did earlier, then bolted forward. With each pounding hoof against the stone as it echoed around them and gradually began to sink into the floor. It was plane shifting to Tiien. It vanished in moments and for a while, Annabeth’s psychomancy sensed it wasn’t within the Nox. However that didn’t mean it wouldn’t return and quickly.     

Weeping from the older girl echoed throughout the room while she wrapped her arms about her legs and pressed her back against the wall, hoping to protect herself. She was too shocked to move or think in her current situation. Her figure was trembling and head bent down, weeping over her best friend’s death, “She’s gone… oh Sarah… oh gods… why? WHY?!” 

Cautiously, the [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/70/f7/bf/70f7bf59df3c7c228c950a1ef34bc46d.jpg] man[/url] held his sword in a ready position as he made his way toward her. He gently lowered himself and tried to nudge her upright with a tug at her upper arm. She jerked away, screaming at him, “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! GET AWAY FROM ME.” 

The man flinched and stepped back as she rose to her feet, her bleary eyes filled with sorrow, rage and pain mingling into pure hatred. She balled her fist with her voice still raised high in volume, “SHE TOLD YOU NOT TO GO THIS WAY. THAT SHE GOT A BAD FEELING FROM IT, BUT YOU JUST IGNORED HER. NOW...she’s dead! She’s gone…” 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t.” 

“Just get the Inferno away from me. Just… go,” the woman sobbed, her figure crumpled again as she just cried there. 

Uncertain about what to do, he sighed then began to walk away. His blade sheathed, thinking the danger was gone, he strolled toward the arriving group, “Hello, I’m Drake. I’m glad you arrived to help and chased that beast away. Who are you?”    

[h3][center]Diplomacy at Yarosmere[/center][/h3]
[u][color=lightcoral]Mar,[/color] Sansar (Yarsomere): Underground Cave~Unknown Location[/u]

Mar had settled outside of the cave system for a time. Her legs stretched out and knee propped up to support her arm, her eyes stared into the horizon as the sun dipped down. The red light spilled across the landscape unlike the eternal twilight back at the college. Athalus would’ve scolded her for what she was doing as she bottled her emotions in a familiar way, something she hadn’t done for a long time. Surprisingly enough, it came with habit and easier than she expected. A fact that worried her. She let the scene slip into the latter hours before she was nudged by one of the Cobras into going back in. 

Most the time, she had been daydreaming of just walking out into the desert of Yarosmere in order to see if what they said was true. That all the naga were quickly disappearing and dying in the distance. Her eyes were too dry for anymore tears when she was led back into the central chamber where the two leaders were waiting. 

When Mak explained the plan, Mar was concerned. 

[color=F4a460]”I don't have any questions, but.. No way am I going through that portal again. Please. Just, no,”[/color] E’nasha protested, like because of her extreme reaction and saying it without looking at the bigger picture. 

Mar turned to her then calmly spoke, hoping she would understand,[color=lightcoral] “If they literally walk up to the palace, E’nasha, and drop us off, they put themselves at risk. I don’t know how much you saw, but I was watching. Those Cobras that were set up to help us, likely died or captured because they risked their lives by being there.”[/color] 

She placed a gentle hand on the younger woman, much in the same fashion she had seen Athalus do to her,[color=lightcoral] “I don’t like the travel myself, but I’m not comfortable asking them to risk more in order for me not to feel sick for a brief time. Would you?”[/color] 

Not waiting for an answer, Mar then turned to the others. 

[color=lightcoral] “Speaking of being uncomfortable, I’m also not too pleased with the fact of being beating up since it will lead to the healer’s cross examining all of us,”[/color] Mar moved into the light, letting it illuminate over her features as she continued and leaned in for the two leaders to get a very good look at features that otherwise wouldn’t have been seen from far away,[color=lightcoral] “I share a lot of key traits with Naga, if either of you haven’t noticed. Purely because I [i]am[/i] one, but through an incident I don’t have a tail and instead legs. I highly doubt the healers will just ignore the heat pits near my eyes, the fact my pupils slit, my snake like fangs and tongue or my scaly skin.”[/color] 

Mar’s eyes flickered from Mak to Sahra, before she got to her point,[color=lightcoral] “What happens if their genocidal hatred begins to consider me worth quietly killing? The main reason one of our allies pushed me toward the portal was because she feared I was at great risk to be discovered. I highly doubt a brief examination by trained eyes, looking for injury, will be helping her intentions. Before you ask, my magic isn’t quite strong enough to completely change all my features and retain them for any longer than a few minutes at best.”[/color]