[IC] Journey [SporkoBug & LaQue]

[LaQue]

“Hmm, Fae realm…” Haki had never heard of such a place. It needed some looking into especially if it could help Change gain more control over his magic. Suddenly he heard footsteps making him panic but Chance acted before he could. Once the bull was gone they continue walking which reminded him that being able to see the future doesn’t mean he could react in time.

"Chance you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want too,” Haki said then quickly returned to his normal form. He spun Chance around and stood between him and a man clad in armor.

“Who are you?” he asked with a hand on his sword.

“I was sent form the reserve unit,” Haki bluffed.

After a moment of silence, he let go of his sword and relax his stance, “Oh I see. I thought you would be arriving tomorrow. I guess they didn’t exaggerate when they said you were skilled. Next time make sure to check in first——wait who is that with you?”

“Don’t touch him,” Haki growled when the man reached to grab change. In a quick motion, Haki pummeled the man and slammed him into the wall. After a word of warning, the wall of the cave began to move and grab onto the man. Within seconds, he completely disappeared into the rock leaving only a small crack.

“Chance are you okay?” he asked almost in a panic. h

---

Adrian continued to fly while keeping a close eye on Nessa. Her combat capabilities were impressive, not to mention her beautiful appearance. That didn’t change the fact that she was still a complete mystery and thus needed caution. Though he found it strange that he enjoyed her company while not knowing anything about her. In the past, he had been stabbed in the back too many times to know to cautious around strangers. and yet he had a feeling that she could be trusted.

After taking a deep deep breath, he signed, “it’s up ahead. Expect a fight.”

Once in view, he began to descend towards the cave. Strangely there were no guards or any movement at all. At a glance, it was like any other cave which made it a perfect hiding spot. “I will land. you go ahead. I’ll join you.” He signed than descended to a nearby clearing. Once on the ground, he quickly dismounted then headed towards the cave.

[SporkoBug]

Chance's ears were drooped before Haki suddenly turned to talk to the armoured man. He flinched as Haki moved to attack the man, he watched him quietly before he tilted his head. He jumped when Haki spoke to him.
"I'm fine!" He blurted out, his face deep red as he looked over Haki's proper form. "You're big again!" He said with a bit of a grin.

"A...As I was saying." He cleared his throat as he went back to what he was talking. "The Fae don't exactly have royalty so to speak. We have a court, a council it's called." He started to walk again, slowly with his ears forward and perked.
"The name is Spoke before to the kids, Iella." He looked back to Haki, a look of grief and shame in his eyes and sadness in his voice, "She was my.. Fiance; we had planned to wed before... The incident happened and I became as you see today. I was in line to be a leader, I was known by Chance as a Nickname."

---

Nessa nodded at Adrians' signing, as he lowered himself down, Nessa moved into a dive.
She fanned her wings in as she started to plummet down towards the ground, she looked up to Adrian as she neared the ground before she suddenly fanned her wings out as she suddenly floated backwards as she neared landing.

She hopped around when she touched the ground before she looked to Ra as he suddenly leapt after she dove down. He landed onto her shoulder with a bit of a bounce and gave a small chirp as he rubbed his face onto her cheek.

[LaQue]

“Y-Your Fiance?" Haki asked. His ears began to droop and his tail stopped wagging. So chance belonged to someone else? And this person was also female which proved one of his many fears. He had hope that he was more than a friend to chance but now he was sure that was not the case. Chance was royalty and he was nothing more than an adventure. Why did he think he even stood a chance?

“I——” Haki could find the words so he quietly followed chance. He could sense that they were getting close to the center of the compound but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on that. He had too many things on his mind so he couldn’t react when they were suddenly surrounded. Over a dozen men came out of nowhere, sword in hand, and ready for a fight. He then realized that the disappearance of the guard before must’ve caused some suspicions.

“Don’t try any funny business and follow us,” one of the guards said. There were too many enemies to take on without getting injured and he rather avoided fighting since it was still against his ideals.

Haki placed a hand on Chance’s shoulder and used his power to talk to him telepathically, “Chance we shouldn’t make a scene and let them take us. We’ll probably get more information from them than if we fought.”

---

Adrian was quick on his feet and made it to the cave in a short amount of time. Once again it was quiet with no guards in sight. Only a small wagon stood by the entrance. After confirming that the coast was clear, he headed inside to find several prison cells carved into the wall. They were all empty which was strange. Shouldn’t they be filled with Fae if the poachers were kidnapping them? He didn’t like this. Something was off like they were being led into a trap. he looked around for a bit longer before returning to Nessa.

"Something is off, I don't think we should go in without proper intel," Adrian said.

[SporkoBug]

"Well, she wa-" Chance stopped as he looked at the men around them, his ears flattened backwards, but when Haki spoke to him telepathically he just nodded. "Of course." He spoke before he looked back to Haki, "I trust you."

He relaxed himself, he watched the men quietly. "If we come quietly, will you keep the children unharmed?" He asked, it wasn't his spot to ask about the children, but of course he couldn't leave his own kind like this. He felt his eyes flex in colour as he watched the men in front of him, his wings twitched slowly as he focused.
As long as they said the kids were safe, he wouldn't cause a problem until he needed to.

He glanced to Haki for a moment, he felt his emotion twist.
"What's wrong?" He asked telepathically, "Did I say something wrong? I'll... Explain more things if you'd like, the story doesn't stop there..."

---

Nessa watched Adrian head inside and moved to run her hands through Ra's fur before Adrian returned, "Intel?" She asked before she moved Ra off her shoulder and held him out to Adrian with a small, almost childish grin, "Like a secret sneakbeast?"
Ra looked to Adrian with a flat look on his face, he rolled his eyes at Nessa's words before he wriggled from her grip and jumped to the ground with a shudder over his body. He stretched and quickly moved to twist into his proper form and flexed his muscles with a yawn.

Nessa looked back to Adrian with a small smile, "We think it's a trap yes?" She asked with a small frown.

[LaQue]

“Don’t worry about it. You’ll be joining them soon enough. You’re nothing more than sacrifices anyway,” the man leading the group said. He was tall, muscular, and menacing. Though he was nothing compared to Haki, he still towered over Chance and all of the other guards. There was also something strange about complexion. It was much paler than normal though it might just be because of the lighting in the cave.

“I—“ before Haki could answer, he was forced to let go of Chance.

“Crater keep an eye on him,” the leader said to a figure behind them. When he looked back, Haki could see the bull Beastmen standing there. He forcibly grabbed Haki’s arm and held them tightly behind his back. Then with a painful twist to his arm, he began walking. This wasn’t the ideal situation but it was better than fighting all of them at once. He only hoped that Chance wouldn’t put himself in danger.

---

Adrian couldn’t help but smile at Nessa’s childish behavior. It helped break up the tension that was around them. “Yes. It has to be. Why make a prison when with one in it. It makes so sense,” Adrian signed.

He was about it continue when he heard a small tussle of leaves. He scanned the area to see someone crouching in a nearby bush. Quickly, he walked up to it and reached in to pull out a small child. She was a Fae with long blond hair and dressed in shorts and a cloak. She couldn’t be any older than 10 so why was she alone in the forest. Could it be that they were kidnapping children?

“P-put me down! Or or else!” The child screamed and failed around. He wasn’t that good with children so he put her on the ground and looked to Nessa for help.

[SporkoBug]

Chance's eyes widened at the mention of sacrifices, anger flooded through his body but he held onto himself to stop himself from attacking the leading person.
"If you think you're going to sacrifice me without a struggle you're all wasting your breath." He uttered under his breath before he watched Haki get pulled away.

"Don't you dare fucking harm him. Or by the Spirits, you will be sorry." He hissed louder, his ears drooping back and he bared his fangs.

---

Nessa tensed as Adrian pulled someone from the bushes, before she slowly relaxed as she realized it was a child.
"Hey there little one." She spoke softly, moving to kneel down in front of the Fae Child. She moved her left hand to brush a bit of the childs hair out of her face.

"We don't mean to harm you, we promise." She uttered quietly, moving to sit cross legged in front of the girl and tapped the grass to offer a seat to her. "Where are your parents?"

[LaQue]

“Oh don’t hurt him?” the leader said then walked up to Haki. He pulled out a knife from his sheath and held it to Haki’s neck. It’s cold steel sent shivers down his spine and caused him to struggle. Sensing the movement, Crater twisted his arm harder causing him to grunt. “Well if you don’t want me to turn your friend into a nice rug than I suggest you behave. that goes for you too mutt.”

The leader grinned than walked away while laughing to himself. He instructed everyone to keep moving. Then after a short walk, they stopped at a large metal door. It had several magical circled carved into it causing the metal itself to radiant magical power. From what he could tell, it was some form of barrier that was meant to protect or keep in something powerful. Then after a knock from the leader, the door opened to a large open room lit using hundreds of candles. In the middle of the room was a magic circle drawn from blood and inside its perimeter's were all of the Fae children.

“Keep an eye on those two. I will go speak to the master,” the leader said. Then before he walked away, he waved his hand signaling Crater to let go oh Haki which he does. He wanted to run over to chance but several guards stood in his way.

———————————

“T-They” the child immediately began crying and collapse onto Nessa’s arm, “they took them! Those bad guys. And and they’re going to be killed. PLEASE please…you have to help them!”

Adrian tensed up at the words kill and looked into the cave. “Nessa I’m going in. No use in waiting. Join me when you can.” With that Adrian rushed into the cave. As quietly as he could, he looked around the cave until he found a group of guards escorting several children. He followed them until they reached a door where where he pounced on them. He immediately took slit the throat of one guard and stab the other. Before long they were all dead. He turned to the children and realize he isn’t going to be able to tell them to run. Hoping they knew how to read he showed them a price of paper saying “leave. It’s dangerous”

Luckily the children understood and ran leaving him alone with the large metal door. He had no way of getting in and didn’t have anything powerful enough to breakthrough. Damn, he thought.

[SporkoBug]

Chance yet out a snarl as the leader put a blade towards Haki, he felt the anger flood through his body before they were moved to the large room behind the door.
Chance's eyes narrowed as he saw the children, and he felt his magic twist and coil inside him as the anger started to grow stronger and stronger. He held himself back, Fae couldn't blindly act on emotions- It could be dangerous... Chance knew this, he had seen it first hand before.

He glanced back towards Haki through the guards. He felt his hands tremble before he turned to face the taller men with closed eyes. His ears drooped back as he breathed in and out to try and vent his anger.
"Oh what's wrong tiny child?" One of the guards started before they moved quickly to grab their throat. They felt the growth of a sudden vine in their throat; which made it harder and harder for them to breathe as the vine grew thicker and longer.
"I. am. not. a. child." He hissed loudly, the shadows around him flickered before he opened his eyes- his pupils a deep, dark blood red. "I am Terriphas Alendar. Son of the stars, fighter for Fae freedom."
A couple more of the guards moved to grip various parts of their digestive systems; it turned out to be a bad thing for them t have eaten any form of seed or plant matter in the last few hours. "I have been around before you all were alive." He stepped towards the guards as the first collapsed due to lack of oxygen. "And I will be around once you cease to exist."

He turned back towards the Fae children and motioned his hand towards them, "Who ever is trying to harm these younglings. I will take them down with the fury of the Elder Spirits." He bared his fangs as they glistened in the light around the room. He seemed to stand slightly taller, for a moment he hadn't paid attention to Haki at this moment, he was focused on the guards writhing in pain in front of him.

---

Nessa moved to kiss the young fae on the head.
"We will. I promise." She whispered quietly, moving to gently rub the cheek of the girl before she moved and handed her Ra. "He will protect you. We will be back okay?" She gave her another kiss on the forehead before she headed in after Adrian.
She watched the children all run off as she passed the dead guards on the ground, before she stopped at the large metal door in front of them.

"Stand back." She ordered Adrian as she stepped in front of him.
She moved her hands to wrap around a small pendant as she thought of the memories it held and anger flooded her mind again. Her scales and hair started to prickle and streak with red once more.
She pulled her left hand away as she lifted it up towards the door as a small spark of white energy appeared in her palm. Nessa kept her eyes closed as tears started to streak down her face as she bubbled with more and more energy.

[LaQue]

Haki smiled when the guard called Chance a child. He has always found that spark of anger in Chance to be adorable. His passion and personality were what made him fell for Chance in the first place. So when sensed an immense amount of anger coming from Chance, he became concerned. It was growing bigger and eventually, it exploded. A strange aura suddenly enveloped the entire room that sent shivers down his spine. He didn’t want to believe that this was coming from Chance but the evidence was right before him. People were wittering in pain all around them and trhe source was Chance. It scared him to see Chance like this. Was it because of that strange magic he has developed? Or was this his vampiric powers? He didn’t have time to think about and rushed over to Chance.

“Chance stop, please! you cannot do this in front of the children. Imagine what they would think. I know you are mad but please come back to me,” Haki begged then pulled chance into his arms. This wasn’t the Chance he knew. He didn’t have this destructive anger or this malevolent power.

“What is all of this commotion?” a voice echoed throughout the room. Haki looked up to see a very familiar face. It was the man from his youth. The one who saved his life as well as Adrian. Without him, he would’ve never seen the light of day. Then why was it that the man he saw in his vision is the same as his savor. It didn’t make any sense. How could a human being bring destruction to the world?

“I see. it has been a very long time Terriphas Alendar,” the man said while staring straight at Chance.

---

Adrian did was he was told and stepped away. He was mesmerized at the magic coming off of Nessa. Even without his powers, he could still sense the immense destructive power that was building up in her palm. The only concern he has was the barrier on the door. Would Nessa be able to harness enough power to break through it? Only time would tell, for now, he had another problem to deal with. The sound of several armed guards echoed though the hall behind them.

He quickly acted by hiding several runes around the area. They would create enough force to push back several men. He hoped by putting them close together they would create a directional wall of force that could knock out the attacker. Once he was done he stood behind Nessa and waited. please wait for me Haki I’m coming

[SporkoBug]

As soon as Haki touched him, Chance's powers just... shut off. The men squirming slowly stopped as the plants and vines suddenly disappeared from them. Chance's eyes refocused and slowly flexed back to their original colouring before he looked to Haki with his ears pricked up.
"H...Haki I'm... I'm sorry I didn't mean to." He started quickly, almost rambling, "I tried to keep my emotions in check, this is why I try to not show emotion, this is why I've seemed so..."

He froze up as he heard a voice, he stood and spun around with narrowing eyes towards the male. "You." He hissed angrily, baring his fangs.
"Still trying to pretend that nothing ever happened to you?" He grinned as he bent down slightly, "And god forbid, Iella?"
Chances anger started to bubble over again before he moved to take a strike at the man, who stepped aside easily, pulling out a small cane and slammed it into Chances side, sending him to the wall with ease.

Chance let out a squeak as he slammed into the wall with a loud CRASH.

---

Nessa focused more on the energy in her palm as she felt Adrian step back. She closed her eyes and breathed in, pooling all of her energy into her palm and focused.
She felt herself grow weak from the strain on her magic, but she didn't let it get to her as she stepped back slightly and shot the large ball of energy straight into the door and the barrier. As soon as she lowered her arm, she dropped to her knees with her head drooped.

The red colouration from her slowly disappeared, but her blue colouration was a lot palier than what it was before.
She was tried, but she was determined. She moved to stand up slowly, stumbling backwards a little before she held herself up.

[LaQue]

The world froze as the man slammed Chance into the wall. Anger began to boil and slowly took over his body. Though it was not just his own, it overwhelmed him none the less. All of his senses began to fade. His vision turned a pale red. He felt nothing but a burning desire kill. A feeling he had not felt for a very long time. “YOU FUCKING BASTARD,” Haki roared.

The entire room began to rumble as thousands of wines sprouted from the stone. It grabbed and crushed everything in the area except for Chance and the children. He had thought the man would've died in the attack but he still felt his presence from within the wince. It made his blood boil even more but the sight of Chance injured brought him back. his emotion returned and changed into that of worry and regret. "Chance!" he moved the vines and ran over to chance. He began to use the remaining of his powers to heal Chance though it was slow as he used most of it spawning the vines.

“Please be okay I cannot lose you…”

---

Once the dust finally faded from the hallway, the large door was gone revealing a large open room. Though he couldn’t see much of the interior, due to the dust but felt a familiar presence. It was Haki! he was about to head inside when he noticed Nessa struggling. knowing that Haki can take care of himself, he went and gave Nessa a helping hand. She was exhausted from that massive attack. “Are you okay?” He signed, a little worried. This was the first time he had seen Nessa this vulnerable. It made him afraid that he couldn’t protect her in his current state.

Suddenly he heard yelling from down the hall as over a dozen men charged towards them. He smirked as they unknowingly walked into a trap. In an instant, all of the runes exploded sending the dozens of men back down the gall. As he predicted, it was a cascade of explosions that manage to knock most of them out but not all. In the far back, he could see several men readying their bow. Before he could react, all of them fired, sending a large barrage of arrows in their direction. Most of them missed or hit the feeling, but a few came flying at him. He couldn’t let Nessa get hurt, so push her to the side then moved to escape.

Though it was too late as pain surges through his body. Two arrows had managed to hit his back. But the pain only lasted an instant as he felt anger began to boil. It blocked out all his pain and filled him with the desire to kill. it overwhelms him until he was no longer in control. He pulled out his sword then charged at his attacker. He reached within second and began a massacre. They didn’t have time to react before facing his blade. It ended as quickly as it started. Adrian made short work of the enemy and once it was done he regained his senses. Now he stood in a pool of blood not understanding what just happened.

[SporkoBug]

As the vines moved to attack the man in front of Haki, he let out a small dark chuckle before disappearing.
Chance hit the floor quickly, before Haki scooped him up to heal him. His breathing was shaky, but was slowly steadying. He coughed slightly and scrunched his eyes together in pain.

"Gods be damned, He's still fucking alive. Haki, I'm sorry." He uttered in Fae-language before he paused to himself, slowly opening his eyes. "Haki?" He asked almost out loud, blinking slightly. I said... Haki and not Iella? He thought to himself before he looked up to the wolf man with a soft blush over his face.

He jolted up suddenly, almost pushing himself of Haki. "The children! Are they okay?" He asked as he looked towards the Vines, his eyes widening. "Please tell me they're okay! Where did these vines come from?" He moved to try and tug at them almost anxiously.

---

Nessa went to speak towards Adrian before the explosions echoed, she looked over to him before the arrows flew through the air and a couple hit Adrian. She moved to try and help him before her body gave up on her and she slammed down into the ground. She yelped as she watched him as he stepped forward, before she watched him suddenly rush forward and attack the attackers.

Her eyes dazed in and out slowly, trying to focus on reality before she felt her eyelids slowly close on herself. Her kind didn't need sleep often, but using so much power without any source of sun or star light, she was vulnerable and sore.
She tried to reach out to Ra outside, but her magic fizzled out as her eyes slowly closed properly.
Her breathing was soft and steady, but she was unmoving.

Ra's ears pricked up suddenly, his link to Nessa had been severed and he looked to the Fae girl. He motioned for her to stay there before he sprinted inside, leaping over the rocks, rubble, and soon the bodies that were on the floor.
He bounced over Adrian before he skidded over Nessa's body, moving to gently press his nose against her forehead and gave a small sigh. He stepped forward and settled on her back gently, shifting back into his smaller form to fit properly in the nook of her wings.

[LaQue]

Haki smiled seeing that Chance was already back to his normal self. It gave him some reassurance that he didn’t lose someone else. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to a vine. He placed a hand on the plant and instructed them to move. Eventually, a path was created to where the children were. They were all scared and huddled together inside the magic circle. Luckily they were all safe except for a few bruises. Then suddenly, the magic circle activated. Haki felt the malice radiating thought he air as power accurate inside the room. In an instant, all of the children exploded into a pool of blood that swirl and danced inside the boundary of the circle.

“I’m so sorry Chance,” Haki said. He grabbed picked up Chance than began running. Though the maze of vines and out into the tunnel. He found Adrian standing in a pool of blood and Nessa on the floor. Most of her magic had been drained. And all of Adrian’s magic was gone. “We need to leave,” Haki yelled as a large red crystal exploded out of the room and began attacking. It formed Chain like spears that hunted anything that moved.

The sound of Haki’s voice snapped Adrian out of his daze. He began to move but still felt the two arrows in his back. It was excruciating but he picked up Nessa and followed Haki down the tunnel. As they ran, the red crystal followed them trying to catch up and absorb them. This made Adrian feel even more useless than he already was. If he had his magic then he could protect them and bring them to safety. If only he wasn’t a burden.

Eventually, they reached the exit and before the crystal could follow, the cave collapsed. Hundreds of boulders began falling filling the area in smoke. It shattered the crystal causing it to return to its previous state. The blood of the children. “I’m so sorry…” Haki said meekly. He fell onto the ground and held Chance tightly in his arms. “I failed you…”

Adrian stumbled a moment before falling. The pain had become unbearable causing him to blackout. That last thing he saw was a shadow watching them before disappearing.

[SporkoBug]

Chance just watched, almost in shock at what happened. He allowed himself to just be.. carried by Haki.
The emotion just flooded from his body and he was left rather, emotionless. He glanced to Adrian and Nessa as they got up and ran alongside them. He stayed silent the entire time, almost completely unmoving- even when Haki dropped to the ground.

Haki spoke about failing him, how did he fail him? He had no reason to even help him.
He failed them. He failed the spirits, and he had a feeling they would punish him for this.
After moments of silence as he stared at the blood on the ground, he moved out of Haki's arms and walked towards the now rubble of the cave they had once entered.
"You don't need to be sorry. You tried the best you could do." He stated almost emotionlessly, moving his hand into his pocket before he pulled out a small, crystal blue coin and flicked it into the rubble.

"You had no mission to fail apart from keeping me safe." He continued slowly, watching the dust slowly twist to a shade of blue. He stepped back slightly as the air seemed to thicken around him. The blood of the children started to bubble slightly before a large Stag-Beast appeared over the rubble.
It looked down to Chance with judging eyes.
"Child." It spoke before looking up to the others, tilting its head towards Haki. "You have... banded with a Druid... Interesting."
"Is that... against our arrangement?" Chance asked, hesitantly glancing back towards Haki before the Stag didn't answer. It turned its head towards the blood pool and its horns glistened, small blue spirit butterflies suddenly fly upwards onto his horns. "I will take the little ones back to the Grey Forest where they can be with their parents. I will come back to see you when you're alone." It said before they suddenly vanished.

Ra followed after Adrian as he carried Nessa, he watched the man quietly as he focused his attention to his master. Once they were out of the rubble, he immediately twisted back to his larger form and stood over Nessa as Adrian fell to the ground.
Nessa breathing slowly stabilized as she was brought out to the fresh air, even though the light levels was slowly dropping, the stars gave her their energy.
Ra stepped away from her quietly as he saw the Stag, staring at it quietly before his fur ruffled up. He watched the butterflies and looked to the blood, watching it slowly disappear as the stag took away the butterflies.

_{"Iella, I'm sorry. I broke our promise. I broke the contract... I've broken... everything}" Chance uttered to himself as he dropped to his knees.

[LaQue]

Haki sat there for a moment longer after Chance got up. He promised that he would save the kids and he failed them. Even with all this power he still cannot protect people around him. He’s still a burden after all of these years. It would always be Adrian that bailed him out of trouble and protect him. He would do his best to do the same but never to the same extent. He can only heal or provide support instead of actually protecting him from danger. Why was he even given this power? It would’ve been better if someone else had it.

He then realized that Adrian had injured himself. He quickly stopped his sulking and ran over. He carefully laid Nessa onto the ground to get a better look at Adrian’s wounds. He placed hand near the wounds and began to channel power. The arrowes had lodged themself between Adrian’s ribs but didn’t damage any organs. Slowly he numbed the area wound the wounds before pulling them out. He then immediately healed them to the point where it stopped bleeding. For now, it was enough to stabilize his condition. He didn’t have enough power to do much more.

While focusing on Adrian he hadn’t noticed the large stag beast until he looked up. After all he had seen, it didn’t surprise him more so made him curious about what it was and said. Contract? Bonded? He didn’t understand what it said but realized that It had brought the souls of the children to the other side. It was a gatekeeper which explained it’s strange aura. Though that didn’t explain what connections it had with Chance. He wasn’t going to question it. He needed to get everyone back to safety.

Standing up, he put his hand to his mouth and made a loud whistle. Moments later, Diana and Atari appeared from the sky. They landed next to him trapped him into a circle as they carefully incepted his new form. After getting their approval, they looked to the others. “…Chance it’s time to go. We need to get Nessa and Adrian to somewhere safe. We can come back tomorrow and give the children a proper burial,” Haki said. He then carefully picked up Adrian and Nessa and secure them onto the Griffins. He then waited for Chance before talking off.

[SporkoBug]

"There's no need of a burial." Chance mentioned after the whistle, he flinched at the noise but didn't show any dissatisfaction on his face. He just seemed... Empty.
He kept his eyes away from the crumbled ruins as he watched the Griffins land and trail around Haki for a second. He hesitated before he hopped up onto one of the Griffins without another word.

He kept himself towards the neck of the beast and kept himself lowered; he didn't speak the entire flight. He kept to himself the entire time, his mind working away at things in worry.
Why did the Ice Stag come visit him? Why didn't any of the other spirits come? The kids wouldn't be following the Stag, no one followed the Stag, not at least willingly. The Stag was the bringer of the spirits of the Fae, the kids likely followed the butterfly or the Moth, depending if they were Dusk or Dawn Fae.

Not too long in the flight, Nessa started to stir and slowly lifted herself up in a small daze. "Adrian..." She mumbled slightly, "Is he... Is Adrian okay? Are... you two okay...?" She groaned before she moved to rub her head slowly.

[LaQue]

“Adrian is fine. He’s asleep and so should you. You used up a lot of your energy, so don’t worry and rest. We are heading back to the city,” He told Nessa. He then returned his attention to the city which is rapidly approaching. As they got closer, he could see a barrier of sort surroundings the entire city. He guessed that it was the magic that protected the city and kept out anyone who didn’t offer something to the gate guardian. He did it in the past so he hoped it would be fine just to fly right over the walls but he was wrong. The griffins and everyone else passed it perfectly fine, but when it was his turn, he was met with a hard wall. It flung him off the Diana and sent him plummeting to the ground. The griffin was about to double back and get him but he instructed them not to. He only hoped Chance and the others would get to the inn and be safe.

Haki looked to the ground that was rapidly approaching. Closing his eyes and channeling his powers, his body began to change into that of a large bird. It wasn’t what he had in mind but it allowed him to land without being injured. Once safely on the ground, he headed for the gate to offer his offering.

In the meantime, the griffin landed in a secluded part of the city to drop everyone off. During that time, Adrian slowly began to regain consciousness. It looked around to see that they were no longer in the forest. He was about to panic but realize that they were safe. “Where are we?” he thought then realized his magic had returned. He was able to use the ring again.

“I see you are alive,” Haki’s voice echoed through his head. For the first time in years, he began crying. He couldn’t contort his breathing and caused his lungs to ache. Though hearing the voice of his friend made the pain bearable. “Hold tight I will be there in a bit,” Haki said. Adrian didn’t respond only nodded, forgetting that Haki wasn’t there.

“Are you okay?” he signed at Nessa seeing that she was awake. He would’ve used the ring but the enchantment has worn off.

[SporkoBug]

Nessa only nodded at Haki's words before she lowered her head back into the Griffins fur-like feathers. She closed her eyes as she tried to focus on trying to sleep until they moved to land she slowly slipped off, Ra moving quickly to help her stand up as he looked to the beasts as they had lost a party member.
Nessa's ears perked as she looked towards Adrian and smiled to him as she read his sign, "I'm okay, Tired. But okay." She said with a nod, before she stepped towards him slowly before she moved her hand to gently brush it against his cheek. "Are you okay?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Chance watched Haki fall and held back the urge to dive after him, but his emotions got the better of him and he just turned back to face the Griffins neck as he muttered himself in Fae language. If he was on the ground he would have physically attacked himself but he had people around him.
As the Griffins stopped he hopped off quietly, he took a glance towards the two magic users before he looked at the ground and gave a bit of a sigh.
"Come on, let's get back to the Inn." He mumbled as he started to walk along slowly, "You guys have been through a lot." He said as he downplayed everything he had been through.

The Faepire didn't want to think about himself at the moment, his mind was still on the Ice Stag. He knew he would be receiving another visit from him, and he worried about what would be the outcome of such visit.
The Stag never comes with good news, for anything good- When he almost died, the Stag was there to remind him of what he was suppose to do- When he Fae children died, The Stag came to take the souls and once again, remind Chance of his background.
He didn't realize the tears that slowly trickled down his face as he flicked up his hood to hide his features, worried that he could get kidnapped again.

[LaQue]

Haki walked towards the gate only to be apprehended by several of the guards. They questioned who he was thinking that he was working with the poachers. He reassured them that the was part of the guild and tried to show them his badge only to find it missing. He left it on the griffins. Sighing he wanted no trouble and was allowed to leave. Once outside of seeing distance, he transformed back into a small wolf to sneak back in. It didn’t take as long as he would’ve thought with his short less. In a few minutes, he was standing right outside the barrier next to several guards who didn’t even notice him.

Slowly, he held up a small flower that began to glow and disperse into the air. After his offering was accepted, he ran inside to find Chance. He could sense the griffins in a nearby alley and headed towards it. As he got deeper into the city, it became increasingly harder to bob and weave through the sea of people. His tiny form didn’t help because people didn’t notice him make a path. After a long struggle, he accidentally ran into someone and stumbled back. Looking up, he saw that it was Chance and he was crying.

“Chance are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? I was sure that I healed everything…” Haki said telepathically to Chance. His voice became incredibly soft as he whispered “Is there anything I can do to help?"

---

Adrian unknowingly leaned into Nessa’s soft hand. He had been a long time since someone, other than Haki, cared for him. It was strange but in a good way. Adrian, somewhat hesitantly, grabbed Nessa’s hand that was resting on his cheek and gave it a soft squeeze. “A little sore but I will be fine.” Adrian signed with his other hand.

He then forcibly made himself step away from Nessa. The feelings he had for Nessa was a dangerous one. He feared what it might bring and the memories associated with it. This was not the first time he felt something for another. A long time ago, he met a woman. She had long flowing hair, a bright smile, and a tender personality. He couldn’t ask anything more from a lover, accept for forgiveness because he was the reason she died. One day after returning from a quest, she found her home ransacked and her lifeless body pinned to the wall by over a dozen swords. Drawn in her blood, was the emblem of an organization that he brought down.

“We should follow Chance. He might get himself in more trouble,” Adrian signed while keeping his eyes low. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Nessa. He didn’t want to put her in any more danger than he already had.

[SporkoBug]

Chance flinched as something bumped into him, he looked down towards the small Wolf pup out of confusion before he realized who it was.
"Haki!" He whispered before he moved him to his chest slowly and moved along towards the Inn. "I'm fine. I promise." He said with a feigned smile.

He moved along the crowds quietly, he kept Haki close to his heart. "I'm not physically hurt." He spoke as he carried Haki, "I'm just glad you're okay. You don't have to do anything, I just want you to be okay."
He got to the inn and moved towards the rooms quietly, "I was wanting to have some alone time, but you can stay if you'd like to be with me..." He started, he was going to contact the Stag again.

Having Haki there would be... interesting. Chance wondered why the Stag mentioned Haki before; the Fae and the Druids had some sort of... pact, from what he had remembered. But it had been so long without any other Fae interraction.

---

Nessa smiled when Adrian said he was okay, she was relieved- to say the least. She blinked as he stepped back, and gently dropped her hand to her side before her smile wavered slightly.
Did she do something wrong? Was touching his cheek slightly something against the guild rules? Did... He not care for her?

Nessa's mind raced; memories flooded around her mind as she remembered the last person she was close to.
Before she became an... outcast to say the least, she had a husband. She was so close to having a family, she fell for the one she had been the bodyguard for over all of these years.
She quivered at the memory of his death flooded through her head as well. Adrian had no idea that she had gone through something similar to what she had gone through, but in a different sort of light.

Nessa blinked quickly and looked towards the ground when the memory of her husbands body flickered into her view; his body lying on the ground with a bulletwound through his head and his blue blood trickling over the floor. She remembered the shouting and yelling, the accusing that she was the one who did it, and the fear when she ran away.

She noticed Adrian start to sign to her, she blinked slightly as she zoned into real life before she nodded once.
"RIght." SHe started, "Of course." She said, her tone suddenly sadder.