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    1. Sundered Echo 12 yrs ago
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Character Sheet:

Name: Khel Zhar

Species: Krogan

Age: 693

Gender: Male

Appearance: In many ways Zhar looks like a completely unremarkable everyday Krogan. He has no distinguishing marks, his eyes are a normal Krogan yellow, his skin is the tan color of a middle aged Krogan and his plates are a fairly common dull brown. However, unlike most Krogan, Zhar puts effort into maintaining the symmetry of his head plates and generally ensuring he doesn't look too rugged. He favors a black custom-made business suit of light and highly expensive material with a number of micro shield generators inconspicuously hidden beneath the fabric. He is well spoken and has a deep but smooth voice, somewhat uncharacteristic of a Krogan. The Reaper war has left him with scars he had managed to avoid before then. He has several gouges across his head plates and scar tissue on the left side of his neck and elsewhere on his body.

Weapons/Equipment:
Evolution of the Viper Sniper Rifle (Phasic Rounds/Tungsten Rounds)
Evolution of the Carnifex Heavy Pistol (Cryo Rounds)
Evolution of the Locust SMG (Cryo Rounds)
Shielded business suit
Krogan Heavy armor (on the rare occasion when he puts himself into a combat situation on purpose)
Omni Tool
Asari Frigate (custom refit)

Skills and Abilities:
Excellent business sense.
Energy Drain
Shield Boost
Recon Mine
Tactical Scan
Sticky Grenade

Background:
Khel Zhar’s history is a long and storied one. He was born on Tuchanka to clan Khel, and was raised there as a true Krogan, although rumour has it that he was never very good at being ‘true Krogan.’ Precise details of his escape from the blasted rock that is the Krogan homeworld are surprisingly hard to come by, and will not be detailed here, suffice it to say that he ended up on the Citadel at the age of seventy-two with no idea what to do with himself. He worked for thirty years as a mere janitor, unwilling to take jobs involving violence as his compatriots did, but unable to find anyone on the station willing to look past his lumbering exterior at the keen mind within.

Eventually, Zhar managed to find one of these people - a Volus named Colu Sen. Under the Volus’ tutelage, he learned of Galactic finance and economics, and while initially not as fast to learn and adapt as his Volus partner and teacher, his persistent nature quickly saw the two of them founding and operating a small Galactic Finance company. The pair continued to run this small business for sixty years, until Colu Sen, in his old age, inadvertently thrust the pair into the world of corporate espionage and the buying and selling of Information. Colu died shortly after that, though it is not public knowledge as to whether he was killed or not.

Zhar remained on the citadel maintaining the business the pair had set up for roughly one hundred years, keeping the original company alive while branching out into founding other small companies, often only to let them die once they’d recouped their costs. This period of time broadened and deepened Zhar’s understanding of the business world considerably, to the point where he has an almost innate feel for the fluctuations that normally make it so unpredictable. While no psychic, Zhar’s personal worth has skyrocketed due to well placed and well timed investments. Unfortunately, some of his investments eventually drew the attention of the wrong people, and after narrowly surviving a brazen attack on his Citadel apartment, Zhar liquidated all of his citadel holdings and moved to Illium. He planned to let his reputation on the Citadel fade for a few hundred years while his detractors died of old age.

Once on Illium, he founded the first iteration of his business in Nos Parnello, and while initially highly successful, its fortunes followed those of the city into ruin. Ever the entrepreneur, Zhar not only survived but flourished in the adversity, relocating to Nos Astra and riding the sudden wave of popularity the city received to make his company one of the foremost in its area on Illium. Altogether, his stay on Illium has lasted approximately two hundred years.

When the Reapers finally arrived, it came as a surprise to Zhar, but not for the reasons most found it surprising. He had certainly believed there was more to the Geth attack on the Citadel than met the eye, but he never anticipated the scale of the Reaper invasion. When his contacts in the Batarian Hegemony went dark, he immediately saw to preparing his own defenses, as well as coordinating Illium’s preparations.

When the Reapers finally reached the Crescent Nebula, Zhar, and Illium, were ready. Though technically an Asari colony, and under protection by the Asari fleet, Illium has always been a haven for the rich and scrupulous - people that, for all their normal inability to get along, have one thing in common - a burning sense of self preservation. When the entire upper class of Illium put its considerable financial might towards that goal, they were able to assemble a formidable resistance to the Reapers.

With this corporate might, Zhar and a number of other Illium businessmen and women were able to survive the Reaper invasion, holding out long enough for Shepard to finally defeat the Reapers.

Following the Reaper war, Zhar decided to reevaluate his business. With such significant damage done to his Illium holdings, once the heart of his current business, he chose to start anew. Rather than rebuild Illium, he chose to create a mobile center for business. Initially he started small, making his office out of a tiny room on an old light freighter that had been one of his backup escape methods. He scrounged together a small merchant fleet and immediately began using it to assist in relief efforts throughout Council space, though with a particular focus on Asari colonies and Thessia.

Rather than greedily extort colonial governments in need of aid, he instead charged only enough to keep the business running at a very small profit. Though some of his rivals and fellows questioned his sanity for such a seemingly selfless act, the more intelligent among them realized it was not selfless, simply the long game being played at its finest.

His goals at that point were to aid in the restoration of a galactic economy and ensure the Asari could retain a significant role in galactic politics in order to continue carrying out their role as diplomats and negotiators. All to ensure there would continue to be an ideal peacetime environment for him to continue his goal from before the Reaper war - living a comfortable life far from Krogan ideals.

In more recent decades, Zhar has turned to somewhat more profitable endeavors. Though he maintains the colony relief and supply business, he has gone back into Information brokering, which has allowed him to restore much of his personal wealth and keep his debt to the Shadow Broker satisfied.

He is currently involved in personally overseeing his company's efforts in the Pylos Nebula, observing primarily from his personal command ship, the refitted Asari frigate Prosperous Heart, from which he also simultaneously manages his intelligence network.
Roan's eyes widened when Angie's body changed. He heard the bones crackle, felt the muscles stretch and tasted the fear in her changes as his paw took a step back. His ears pulled back as his lips revealed several long, white teeth. He let out a warning growl when his eyes watched the changes happen. Roan couldn't help that his fur bristled at the sudden reaction causing his instinct to rise to the surface. Further his body pushed away, his eyes studying her curiously. His instinct struggled. Something deep inside, it argued it was normal and slowly his ears, lips and tail all resided from their alert posture. His nose inhaled the rich female scent causing his inner animal to rear.

Still...a sound drew his attention causing Roan's head to jerk to his right. His vision settled on a familiar image, a woman, which held familiarity in his mind. Though, like a hazy dream, he couldn't understand why. His head twisted from her to Angie, then back as in debate on the one he would approach. Part of him longed to further satisfy his interest in the one that drew him while the other wanted that desperate need for the known, a matter that soothed his inner beast and man.

At this point in the day, very little would surprise Alessia. So many strange things had happened in such a short time that it was now simply logical to expect them to keep happening. So when Angie’s body suddenly started shifting and altering in a decidedly inhuman manner, she did not scream in terror and shock. She barely broke her stride, wheeling about to face the girl. Lydia stepped part way between them, the hand on her sword's hilt gripping slightly tighter.

Around them the Kalesian troops halted, the closest turning and baring their weapons on both the changed girl and the larger beast now visible behind the group, but before they could move further, Alessia spoke in a commanding voice. “Stop. Stand down and keep the civilians away.”

She too had noticed the wolf-man from before, and if what she suspected was right, he would be in chains very shortly. If only he had come to her when there wasn’t a platoon of Kalesian armsmen with her! Still, she was confident he wouldn’t attack unless threatened, and she needed to help Angie through this no doubt traumatic experience. Whatever it was. “Angie.” She said carefully. “Can you still hear me?”

The words entered Angie’s head, but for several moments, they were given no attention. There were simply too many impressions flooding her mind. Impressions she had never felt before. Or at least not noticed. Her eyes took in the sight of he-who-smells-blood where he stood. Her nose, which she deep down knew was still inferior to that of a wolf, took in his scent. Even crouched down as he was, he towered over her.

With some inexplicable instinct, possibly the same one she shared with the canines, she let her mind reach out to his. The feeling was… odd… It was as if it was fighting itself. On one hand, there was the familiar mind of a canine. Timeless and familiar, but in deep turmoil, out of control. On the other hand, there was the human mind, carefully controlled but unfamiliar. She didn’t know what mind to reach for. The wolfmind was familiar, but she was afraid of being consumed by the chaos currently ruling it. On the other hand, the human mind was one she simply couldn’t understand. It was alien to her.

Though both minds were there, she could feel how the chaos of the uncontrolled canine mind currently dominated him. There were thoughts of what she thought was the human mind present too, but she couldn’t understand them. For the sake of familiarity, she let her mind turn to his canine mind. Unlike herself, she could sense how he was sated, how his stomach was full. That made her hunger once more blaze through to the front. She needed to eat. She had to. Her stomach growled loudly.

It was only then that Alessia’s shouts managed to break through. She tried to answer that she was, only to realize after several fruitless tries that she’d been reaching towards Alessia’s mind, which of course was inaccessible. Not sure what would come out if she opened her mouth, she turned sideways so that Alessia could see, then nodded firmly. When she did, she saw to her shock how she appeared to have grown a tail, and that it was wagging.

Then she felt the overwhelming force of he-who-smells-blood and found herself crouching up, making herself look smaller. Though she knew herself to be mostly in control over herself, she knew without a doubt that she was no leader, no alpha. The same certainty told her that he was one.

She tried to prevent her tail from moving, but all that seemed to do was make it move more. Finally, after realizing she had no idea how to control it, she muttered “Yes, Alessia”. What in the name of the gods had happened to her? Why had she suddenly changed like this?

Roan’s animal mind snapped into alert mode. His body tilted back and his spine straightened slightly, bring him to a higher height. Black lips curled back revealing several white teeth while his fur bristled and his head jerked around, seeing the several armored men being held at bay. His ear flicked when it heard Alessia’s name as his eyes settled on her image. Something stirred, hazy and faint, to the surface causing a soft whine to escape only to twist into a fearful growl. Alessia… The wolf snarled and snapped his teeth, lowering himself to all fours. It was a mix of aggression and instinct that his paws seemed to edge backward from the dark haired woman.

The odd growled name shocked Angie. Especially when the name was echoed from the mind of he-who-smells-blood. He knew Alessia! Without knowing it, she’d let that shocked thought flow through the link to him. In the distance, she felt how other canines were confused by the human name, for they clearly had a different name for her.

With a bit of struggling to gather and focus her thoughts again, she sent questing thought to he-who-smells-blood. “You know Alessia? Who are you?” Carefully making sure the thought was sent in the way a lesser wolf speaks to an alpha.

Roan… He growled deeper, his focus fully on Alessia, while barely acknowledging Angie to his left. The wolf felt his tail rise and shoulder hunch, his eyes widened to show his anger. He didn’t want her near him, every inch of him showed his dislike at being near her. He struggled between flight or fight, the sides inside his mind warring in a battle to tear each other to pieces.

Angie could sense the almost unbridled anger in this ‘Roan’. It was painful. Almost wrong. It did not seem to be focused upon Alessia, which relieved her. She couldn’t understand what the focus of the rage was, but found herself making herself even smaller in the face of it. “Your anger! Your rage! It hurts!” she sent through the link. “Relax, great Alpha... No one here wishes you harm!” Angie didn’t know if it would help, but she had to try. Her eyes still locked on the great wolf, she spoke to Alessia, “He seems to know you, calls himself “Roan”. His rage is overwhelming. Not sure what it is caused by, but unless it stops soon, I don’t think I can resist it myself. Try talking to him!”

“Roan?” Alessia said with a slightly questioning, but calm tone. She took a slow step towards him, raising her hands and opening them just as slowly. Behind her, men in burnished helms looked nervously between each other. “Roan its me. Alessia.” She said in a similar tone, replacing questioning with familiarity. “You remember me?” She half stated, half questioned. Another step, a quick glance to tell Lydia not to interfere. The teeth scared her, the anger that Angie mentioned scared her. But that wasn’t Roan. The Roan she knew wouldn’t harm her, and she still remembered earlier, when he had leapt at her and merely licked her face when he could easily have gone for her throat. She knew better than to show her feelings. This was really no different than a negotiation with a foreign dignitary. Or so she told herself to keep calm.

Roan’s body froze in place. His retreat stopped as his ears pinned back, his lips pulled over his teeth when his ears caught her voice. Inside his chest his heart raced far faster than before and his voice made a small whimper, his eyes softened slightly. The human started to struggle more inside his head and trying to gain the upper hand, the wolf uncertain what to do. Despite his fear, the wolf didn’t want to attack Alessia.

Instinctively his body lowered until his elbows were level with the ground, his body shaking rapidly as the part that seemed half dead seemed to come alive. The human edged his way to the control and the only warning that he had won was a sudden crack! His body shuddered abruptly, his muzzle gave a sharp yelp before his snout shortened and limbs started to twist unnaturally right before Alessia’s and Angie’s eyes. Bones could easily be heard to snapping, tendons clicking and painful howls vibrating out of his throat. His body jerked to his side as the fire racing through his nerves caused him to shut his eyes, a failing attempt to block out the pain. Slowly the features distinguishing Roan began to pop up. His fur paled into white and became smooth again, his scars becoming visible again.

After the sounds died, instead of a black wolf it was a man that laid in his place. His proud and strong figure was curled up into a ball with cold sweat dripping from his change, mind numb to the torment etched in his memory now.

With each pop and snap as he-who-smells-blood turned into a man, Angie cringed, remembering just how much it had hurt during her own transformation. She knew also that hers had not been anywhere as radical as his. She did wonder for a bit whether she too would change, but when nothing happened, she sighed in relief. Such pain was not something she would ever enjoy.

When he stopped transforming, he simply lay there unmoving except for his steady breathing. Considering his lack of clothing, she looked at a nearby soldier. “Loan him your cloak, would you?”

Alessia inwardly cringed at the sight of the change. She may have been inured to strange for the day, but grotesque was an entirely different matter. She looked away part way through the process, but it was still horrible to hear the cracks of reshaping bones.

Once it was all over, she was presented with the unmistakable sight of Roan, lying curled in the street. One of the guards behind her took off his cloak and started towards him, but Alessia put out an arm to stop him. “No. This man is a wanted criminal in Kalesia.” She said coldly, her voice devoid of emotion. “You two-” She pointed at two of the larger guards. “Pick him up, we must take him to the embassy at once. Send a runner ahead and tell the Embassy jailor to prepare his strongest shackles.”

It saddened her to have to be the one giving the order now. She hoped that he was still too far gone from the transformation to remember what she was doing now. When the guards brought him into the center of the Kalesian formation, she stood facing him and spoke, slowly and clearly, doing her best to hide her reluctance - something not as easy as it usually was, even for one so adept at concealing emotion. “Roan Adonis, you are under arrest for the crime of Treason against the Empire.”

Roan gritted his teeth as he felt himself hauled up roughly, his tongue almost bitten in the rise to standing. The change in posture was difficult to accept within his mind and his feet threatened to give out with each step into the center. Cradled between the two large men, his ears faintly registered the speaker as the words filled his hazy head. Only a few he understood when his heart sank into his stomach, his mind numbed at the charges being pressed against him. The thing he had been trying to prevent had finally came back to haunt him at last.

His head had been hanging completely, facing the ground before he edged it upright. Slowly he felt his vision clear and blue eyes settle on a face from his past: Alessia. He wanted to deny he never did anything but his throat constricted, sealing shut and silencing him. All he could do was stare, feeling pain and confusion inside his heart and head while a runner was sent ahead. After the words were said his head fell down as if in shame, barely able to walk on his own.

It wasn’t much later that they arrived at the embassy. Angie didn’t know what to make of it all. People were scurrying about everywhere. Far more than seemed plausible, even with the capture of some traitor. She didn’t know what to make of it, but this “Roan Adonis” had not seemed like a traitor to her. None of his thoughts, mostly muted now, had given her any hint of such. But even so, she did not speak up. She simply did not have enough information. Not knowing what else to do, she stuck close to Alessia, the woman she felt she knew best.

Suddenly, a clearly travel-stained man rode in through the gateway behind them. He leapt off his mount, then ran straight for Angie and Alessia. “Milenka Rezalla-Rhidian! Milenka Rezalla-Rhidian!” He seemed almost panicked, as if something really big was going on, almost falling over in the process of slowing down. “The Delvers are done! The signs have been seen! The call has been sounded! It is time!” After speaking, or rather, shouting, the man fell over, hyperventilating, utterly spent.

Angie just looked puzzled at him, trying to understand what in the world the man meant by his words. She couldn’t figure it out, so she turned to look at Alessia, to see if she could explain it. “Time for what, Alessia?” she asked, curiously.

“Time for something important to Kalesia.” Alessia said, speaking as though Angie were a child asking about something they were not old enough to understand. This news was too early. Far too early. She had barely had time to meet the king, much less bring him around to the Kalesian way of thinking. It was as if fate was conspiring to make this day the most eventful and difficult in her entire life.

She had preparations of her own to make. She had to tour the city, as much of it as possible, and get to know it inside and out. That knowledge would allow her to more accurately control her abilities… Abilities that would be called on to aid the Empire very soon. Beyond that, she wanted to turn the king at least a little more towards the Kalesian viewpoint, and that would be no easy task. The other staff of the embassy would see to informing and preparing any others that needed it.

“I will have to be away making preparations for this upcoming event. For now at least, I will not be able to help you settle in. I am sorry.” With that, she turned and headed for her room. Even though it was early, the events of the day had tired her immensely, and the traditional dress she was wearing was far too hot. She had to lay down and get into something lighter.

Being talked to as if she were a young child did not please Angie. She was about to serve Alessia with a glowering glare, but the older woman had already rushed off, so the glare got wasted on the messenger, a man she’d not even met before, let alone knew well enough to truly be angry with. Before she could even begin to think about who to take her unusually strong anger and frustration out on, her stomach growled loudly, signaling how ravenous she was. She could also feel how tired she was, but had till now managed to put it all off.

She stood still for a few moments, then finally spotted someone not quite rushing about the way almost everyone else was. She grabbed that man’s arm, her claws accidentally pressing deep into his skin. “Where’s the Kitchen?”

“Th-That way!” he answered quickly, agony visible on his face. Only then did she notice that her claws were close to drawing blood. “Thanks!” she answered, quickly letting go of his arm, “Sorry about the arm!” she shouted, even as she jogged towards where he’d pointed. He in turn only stood there, cradling his arm, muttering something about ‘blasted untrained evokers’, though of course Angie did not hear those words, as she was already entering the building.

After turning a couple of corners, she could smell the kitchens and needed no further directions. The salivating slightly at the delicious smells pouring out from it. The cooks appeared utterly unfazed by the chaos outside. Having worked in a bakery, which was almost as busy as a general kitchen, Angie could easily see how nothing was unusual about the hustle to them.

She hadn’t been in the kitchen for more than a few moments before one of the men-at-arms sitting on a large wooden table by one of the smaller hearths gestured her over. She didn’t know them, but her stomach growled loudly, and they did have a large roast beside them. Initial wariness had no chance against ravenous hunger and curiosity, so she walked over.

One of them cut her a large slice of the roast, then threw it on a wooden platter, placing it before her. “Eat up, girl! We heard how you saved our compatriots from a nasty fight!” Angie didn’t need to be asked twice, and tore into the meat, using her claws and teeth more than the any utensils.

By the time her stomach stopped growling for more, she’d finished a good quarter of a roast normally meant to feed ten grown men. If anything, that only made the men-at-arms respect her even more, though she felt a bit ashamed at eating so much. Moments later, the burgeoning exhaustion made itself known to her once more, and her face literally dropped into the empty platter, where she began to snore loudly.

She did not know it, being virtually comatose, but the men-at-arms gently carried her up to a guest chamber and tucked her into the bed there before returning to their duties.
Excellent.
Weathering Innocence


Characters: Olivia & Aluvia

Location: Master Melody’s Academy, Loom Time: Just Before Midday


Contributors:
@Sundered Echo and @Fallenreaper


Olivia's head darted to the side table where her things began to pile. Granted she appreciated the thought, even if it was temporary, as she waited patiently. Her head shifted idly to the clock positioned in the far wall in front of her while second ticked away slowly. Likely by now Ris' class was almost over, the girl slightly sighed. After their conversation at the headmaster's office followed by the embarrassment with Rex, Olivia and Ris had gotten her school uniform as oppose to walking around in her current state. The bad part it had taken a lot of time to find something which fitted her well among the vast size selection. By the time the woman had a moment to look, the free time between her and Olivia was gone. Not wanting to keep her sister from her class, Olivia suggested she take her belongings to the room and they could meet up later at the lunchroom. It would've given her a chance to explore her way through the school, learning her way before joining on any classes, without getting Aeris in trouble. There little likelihood she was going to leave the school unattended... if at all in the next few hours.

In truth her brother had been inching his way into her mind, a fact which had started to wear on her. Talking to Aeris help push that guilt away but it was only a temporary fix. Now she began to wonder why he hadn't shown. Anxiety started shortly when the mental images of Hank were replaced by Emmet's wide eyes, shocked expression and sudden he crumbled to the ground causing her to shiver slightly.

Her thoughts were distracted when the woman pushed four uniforms at her. Olivia quickly rushed to keep the blouses, skirts, socks and other garments from falling onto the floor as the woman muttered something about paying attention. The girl just sighed, seriously missing Ris right now. It was odd wandering a new school alone after everything that happened and her mind needed someone to distract her. Too bad she felt so lost and alone. She noted she was being waved off, giving a shrug and nod then twisted about to the door and into the hall. Most the classes were currently in progress as the hallways were empty, eerily quiet. Olivia’s feet had to stop every few moments, her shirt or another item slipped from her thin arms, and forced to crouch down to snatch it up again. Sadly the more she tried to snatch up her clothes, the more she ended up dropped.

Several meters behind the young girl stood an angel with partially furled wings, wings that seemed to glimmer almost as though they were on fire. Already arrayed in the academies uniform, Aluvia stood and watched, making no move to help or hinder. She knew neither if she should simply leave, or why she should help. This place was foreign to her. Everyone and everything in it was foreign. Not merely in the way of people not yet met, but in terms of this being something she had never experienced in any way. She had no memory of being around other people that didn’t either pretend she didn’t exist or outright want to kill her. This was alien to her.

Her wings burned with pain. The flight here had been hard, for her wings were not the great expansive sheets of white she remembered them being. They burned with the pain of extended use, and with the pain of memory. Red clawed at the edges of her vision. Despite it she stood still and unbowed. It was not so unusual to see her vision blur under the weight of memory.

“You’re not doing very well.” She stated coldly, if for no other reason than to try and begin a dialogue. She did not really understand that what she said would likely be construed as rude or cruel. She did not understand anything about social conventions.

Olivia felt one of her skirts slip from her grasp and fall at her own feet, the fabric crumbled and stepped on causing her nearly fall forward. She managed to slam her knee into the hard hallway floor as she lost the rest of her uniforms. Her head jerked backwards, spying the speaker, a pretty angel with white wings that seemed to be outlined with gold and flickering red, making her frown slightly. Darius’ fatherly lessons about being polite flooded her head causing her sigh softly and like an obedient child didn’t raise to anger. Instead the girl tried to pick up what she could, speaking in a cheerful and unbothered tone. “Well, could you help me, please? Else I’m going to lose the only clothes I have currently.”

“Help… you?” Aluvia said slightly surprised. She had never been asked to help anyone with anything before. She stepped towards Olivia, keeping her wings as far unfurled as the corridor would allow, not the most comfortable way of moving with wings but the least painful for her right now. Her movement was stiff, for though she was unbowed by the pain, it did make grace impossible.

The few others that had spoken to her before had seemed to consider names important, so she decided to try asking that first. “What... is your name?”

Olivia had been busy trying to pick up what she could as her eyes missed the confused look on the angel’s face, forced to refold her skirt on the ground one handed and balance her two remaining shirt and one skirt. This was a pain for her to say the least. Her head lifted up causing her expression to narrow with concern at the woman’s tone, finally noting the way her wings were held outright and awkward way she moved, far more stiffly than other angels. Realizing she was staring, Olivia quickly averted her eyes back to the ground when the question finally reach her. “Olivia… Olivia Matthews. Umm, are you alright? You don’t look so well.”

Aluvia stared for a moment, then bent to help gather the sprawled clothes, her wings shifting backwards to keep her balanced. She did not fold them though, not realising she should. “I don’t?” She said with genuine surprise. Not so much that her pain showed, she did knew she could not hide it all, but more that someone cared enough to ask. Why would they? “I am Aluvia. I am Cerria.” She said then, completing what she understood to be the ritual name exchange. It was only after she had spoken that she remembered the confusion the others had seemed to suffer at the way she presented her names. It wouldn’t really surprise her if it confused this new person too. It was confusing even to Aluvia.

When Olivia finished folding, sloppily, the shirt uniform she flopped it hastily overtop the mess she had manage to keep from the floor. Her eyes shifted to see the angel just grab up the shoes, socks, and remaining shirt in one scoop. Normally, Olivia wasn’t this clumsy but after kidnapping and her mind continually drifting to Ez, it was harder to focus. She had practically had to stop herself from rushing to the nearest pay phone, dialing his emergency and shift uncomfortably in place with a prayer he would answer. The girl swallowed her anxiety when she heard the student question her comment.

Her face narrowed in thought about her next words, only to catch the dual name being spoken. Olivia blinked a few times and looked curiously at Aluvia/Cerria. A few moments passed when her head tilted, her eyebrow raised and mouth pulled upward, wrinkling her nose a bit at the introduction. “Uh? Do you have two first names, or is Cerria another name you go by? Is it a last? Which do you prefer I call you?”

She almost had another question pop out when it dawned on how many she had spoken already, all without giving the angel a chance to answer even one. Olivia flinched inwardly and had a sheepish expression fill her face when she apologized, “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

Taking a soft breath, Olivia started again as she pulled her arms forward with clothes piled on top. If ironing the uniform never tended to be a pain, she would’ve bundled them under her arm otherwise but better to save herself some work in the end. She gestured for Aluvia/Cerria to place the garments on top, “Could you put them on top please? Also which name do you prefer I call you or would you mind if I called you AC for short? You can call me Liv for short if you want. Most of my old classmates did before....”

Olivia let the thought trail off before the emotion threatened to overwhelm. Last thing she wanted was to be crying in front of someone else, especially someone could she be friends with since Aluvia/Cerria seemed to be as much out of place here as she was. At least she looked it.

Aluvia placed the crumpled clothing where indicated. Just like before, this person had also asked about her name. “I don’t know.” She said slightly exasperated. Then she took a breath and tried to explain, both to herself and Olivia. “I remember both names. I was Cerria… Before I was killed. Now I am Aluvia, but I only remember being Cerria.” She paused then and sighed. She wished this would become clear to her. “Call me whatever you like.” She added in a neutral tone. she closed her eyes then and fought to stave off memories. With memory came pain, and the memory of her death brought many kinds of pain.

Olivia’s face soften, her eyes looked at Cerria/Aluvia and tried to imagine the pain of what she spoke. She was surprised to find how difficult it was to relate and any hurt that surface only seemed to feel hollow, unreal. This made her realize relating wasn’t possible. Then something about the angel’s words clicked as Olivia stared, her skin pale and confusion spilled over her face, “ Killed?!? That doesn’t make sense, you can’t be here and dead. I don’t know much about angels but I do know if they are killed, they don’t hop back and shout boo… do they?”

“It is confusing for me as well. I remember distinctly being impaled, I remember Luciens sword and the blood… The terrible blood…” She shuddered, reliving it once again. “And yet here I stand. In a different body, with the same memories.” She fought back a tear of pain. “It hurts to remember that day.”

“That’s strange, impossible I think.” Olivia’s eyes tightened before she realized the pain she caused. She felt terrible, her mouth opened to apologize immediately, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was curious and didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ve never met an angel before especially with wings like yours. Most the ones I’ve seen were grey or almost white. Could what you told me is what made them like that…”

The last sentence was spoken softer and more to herself, Olivia after all did not want to cause the woman anymore grief because of her wandering mind. She stared a little longer at the delicate yet fiery looking appendages. Then brushed it away when she returned to a better subject, “Are you new at the school?”

Aluvia was glad of the change of subject back to more recent memories. There was less pain there. “I arrived in the night.” She stated, not choosing to elaborate on the journey itself. “They told me they could help me to remember.” She said, not daring to hope it would be true. She desperately wanted a purpose to call her own. Then she glanced back at her wings, still burning as they always did. “They used to be white. But when I remembered they changed. They hurt so much.” Her voice was sad as she spoke. To her her wings were not pretty, they were not useful either. She couldn’t fly with them - not properly. They were just painful. Like so much else.

“I wonder what happened to do that?” Olivia asked more to her self then Aluvia/Cerria, feeling upset to know the woman was in pain. Not really caring if her clothes were wrinkled anymore, she tucked them under her arm and would be dealing with the fact she would need to iron them later. She let her head tick with ideas on how to answer but felt anything she said was pointless, mainly as she couldn’t take the pain away. “Aluvia..err, Cerria… oh crap,” she started, then finally gave up and referred to her nickname, “AC, have you tried to tell anyone? The school nurse or teaches to see if they could help with the pain?”

She looked at the woman with empathy, hoping the idea of her suggestions had merely not been considered.

“No… It always hurts. I’m used to the pain.” A short moment passed, then she spoke again, eagerly. “Do you really think they could take it away?” She was used to it, but the prospect of remembering without feeling like her every molecule was on fire was quite enticing. She was feeling a little more comfortable with the idea of talking to people now instead of killing them. The others had seemed like they were sizing her up for a fight… This one seemed to care more for the sake of caring. She didn’t understand why someone would do that, but it was still good. “Why are you here?” She asked bluntly, curiosity surfacing again but about something other than herself for a change.

“We can try at least,” Olivia sounded hopeful. In truth it couldn’t hurt any and if wasn’t possible, she at might at least make a friend. At being asked why she was here, her mind flickered with Ashley’s image as well as the man’s chest, the man who ordered her kidnapping. She shuddered some before answering honestly. Everyone would likely know sooner or later anyway, though from what the principal said this was only a temporary situation until they were sure her kidnapping wasn’t a one time thing.

Shifting a bit uncomfortably, she replied, “Someone ended up coming to my school and tried to take me. In the event, I was stupid enough to cry out for help and…”

Mr. Findley’s image flashed before her eyes causing her hand to rise up, stifling a sickly sensation at the back of her throat. She held it there for a bit until she was sure she wasn’t going to vomit then gave a weak smirk. “It didn’t end well. I was grateful Noel came along and helped me. Else I would’ve still be in that woman’s hands and who knows where. Then Aeris, and her brother Mairyell, came to retrieve me and that’s how I ended up here.”

Deciding it was best to move and talk, she gestured for AC to follow her.

“Oh.” Was all Aluvia said. She didn’t really know what to think about that. Yet another thing she had no memories to clarify. One thing did stick out to her though. “They told me that this place was for learning… You make it sound like you are just here to be protected though. Is that something else this place does?” She was slightly skeptical as she asked.

“I guess, I don’t really understand myself. I only talked with the headmaster a bit ago and my stay here is only for a few days, at least until other arrangements are made.” Olivia stated as she began to lead the way to Aeris’ room, “At least since I don’t have any magic. Though one thing bothers me… My brother didn’t pick me up, instead someone else was sent,” And killed said the small, guilty voice in the back of her mind, her head shaking a bit to clear it away, “and now I’m scared something might’ve happened to him. He’s never late. Bad part, I can’t go and find him. I don’t even know where the pay phones are to call him. It’s rather frustrating over all.”

She sighed slightly, looking a little depressed though she didn’t expect any sympathy as she had the feeling the woman wouldn’t have the slightest idea how.

“Oh.” She said again, though this time different emotions were sparked. She remembered the man who killed her. Lucien had been his name. He was like a brother to her. She didn’t remember what it was, but she knew she hadn’t been there for him when he needed her most. She knew she had done what she thought was best at the time. “I’m sure he was just doing what he thought was best at the time.” She said slightly shakily, unsure of herself and whether she should talk about that or not. For once, remembering that day didn’t bring back nearly as much pain.

Olivia shook her head, though she knew her brother best and that AC’s words rang true. Her brother always did what he thought best for her, even if she disagreed with it. A fact she sometimes hated him for. Keeping her mind partly on their direction, she continued, “He’s never failed to be there for me though. Never. I’m scared something might’’ve happened to him and I’m just stuck here while he needs me most.”

She was struggling not to cry feeling the guilt wash over her heart and threaten to drown her, worsening her situation. “Worse part, I’m so angry which I know I haven’t any right. He’s my brother and I know he does what he can, but he’s suppose to be there for me. To help me when I need him…”

Her palm came up to wipe away the dampness starting on her cheeks as they drew close to Aeris’ and her room. While in her attempt to hide her tears a tie slipped from her notice and floated on to the ground causing her stop abruptly to pick it up. Feeling bitter and ashamed, Olivia looked at AC with a questioning look, “I’m being childish, aren’t I?”

“I’m sure he wants to be here with you right now.” Aluvia said, not sure if she was defending this person's brother or her own remembered actions. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say after that. “I’m sure he’ll come back to you as soon as he can.” She repeated.

“It’s hard to see anything stop Ez. He’s never done this before without prior notice. I can’t help feel like I’m letting him down by ignoring my gut instinct that something’s wrong,” Olivia admitted, her eyes noting they had arrived at her room. Realizing for the first time she was seriously under dressed, she turned on heel and made a request, “Can you wait out here for me? I’m going to change and I’ll be right back out, okay?”

“Alright.” Was all she said. She was eager to get to someone who could help her remember, but she also wanted to stay near this person that cared. It was strange to have someone care about her, and she wanted to make the most of it while it lasted.

“Thank you and I appreciate it. I hope we can be good friends,” Olivia smiled warmly, her body vanishing behind the door.

~~~~~~~~

Several minutes she emerged, ensuring Lisara didn’t follow her outside, she closed the door tightly behind her. Still smiling she gestured for her new friend to follow as she decided to seek out a payphone. It was time she tried to call her brother and see what had happened, even if her stomach twisted into knots because of it.

“Come on.” With two simple words, the pair were off.
Brief catch up post now, more tomorrow when Fallen is around to collab.
The battle raged around Adonai. It seemed that their foe was quite the competent summoner. Whatever spirit he had bound to him had given him the ability to, well, have copies of himself. Which needless to say made killing (or evading) him rather more difficult than Adonai would have liked.

The first thing to do, though, was get rid of the common mass produced grenade that Helen had almost set off by accident. He was quite familiar with the model, and given its likely blast radius he decided it would be best to salvage it rather than throw it somewhere to explode and possibly hurt innocent people. A few quick taps from a quickly procured tool and the explosive powder that fueled the grenade was streaming out of the soon to be inert sphere. Adonai collected it up in one of several empty pouches, it would still be useful later.

Once he had finished, he joined the others teaching the Ice-spirit its lesson. The mixture from before would still be in the air, but that apparently wasn’t enough to discourage it from attacking his wife. His steam revolver was free of its holster in a blink and leveled at the things center of mass. Six quick trigger pulls, accompanied by the signature whump-hiss of high pressure steam being released, and Adonai’s gun clicked empty. His sword also came free of its sheath, gripped in his other hand, he held it high, ready to parry any further attacks on his wife that the persistent beast might make.

So consumed with rage and the desire to safeguard his wife was he, that it was not until part way through his reloading that he noticed one of the Walkins clones had managed to take the girl by the hair and begin dragging her away. By then Eli had leapt after the Walkins’, flashing steel in hand. Though Adonai wished to see these children kept safe from Walkins, he would not risk Helen for them, and he wouldn’t let her run blindly after them either. In his cold and calculating anger, he chose to leave the girls fate to Eli.
My apologies on taking so long. Sometimes the muse just will not co-operate. I will do my best to have it up as soon as possible to not hold anyone up. Might be a collab with Fallen.
A day or so after the Demon attack on the College
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before Aramir could protest that she didn't have the slightest clue on how to make bolts for the giant crossbow, a convienent excuse to avoid being left alone with Auriel, everyone had already left. The words died before they even left her lips and she sighed, turning towards the bolts that they had salvaged and looked them over. It looked to be fairlystraight forward. A long, straight stick, with a sharp metal head on it. The Snow Elf hoped Annabeth wasn't expecting metal points for all of the bolts, or that the bolts were of reasonable craftsmanship. Otherwise the human girl was going to be sorely disappointed by their efforts. She ran a hand through her hair once, before looking over her shoulder at Auriel. "Well, come on. Lets start searching for long enough sticks or branches. Unless you know of a quick and easy way to make ballista bolts?" She doubted it, but one could still hope. "Well they're just giant arrows right?" Auriel thought aloud. "Won't be too hard, every good wood elf girl can replace her arrows in a pinch." Auriel cast a quick glance around, partially to look at the kinds of trees in the area... and partially to see if anyone else was within earshot. "Not that I'm a good wood elf girl" She said, winking at Aramir. She looked around again, this time more seriously, for a suitably straight branch. It wouldn't matter if it was high up, she was an excellent climber, and her wood elven weapons were designed to allow easy wood cutting and shaping if necessary. It would be easy enough for her to cut a straight branch, whittle a point and then use her magic to harden it with heat. She had no idea about fletching though. There were a few plants with suitable leaves and easy to catch birds with suitable feathers back in Ghannos... But given that archery wasn't exactly one of her favourite passtimes, she had not had a chance to explore local alternatives. "Aramir... I'm going to climb some trees and get some straight branches. Can you figure out a way to fletch the bolts quickly?" She was fairly confident in the little elf, Aramir was a skilled archer and hunter used to a far more desolate hunting ground. Fortunately there was a suitable branch a little ways up in the nearest tree, and she lightly bounded over towards it. Looking back at Aramir for a moment, she cheekily said "Enjoy the view!" Before gracefully leaping up into the branches, twisting and turning through them with practiced ease. "I suppose that's one way to look at them." Aramir said uncertainly, before rolling her eyes at Auriel's words, a small smirk on her lips. She paused almost immediately afterwards, considering what she just did. It meant that she was getting used to Auriel's little quips and peculiarities. Which was a good thing. Or maybe it wasn't considering that whenever she got used to Auriel(with the help of alcohol) she ended up in...awkward situaions with the wood elf. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.. The thought was in her head before she realized and she colored slightly, conflicting emotions swirling around inside of her. Thankfully, Auriel gave her something to focus on. She shook her head to clear it, before nodding. "I can make fletches quickly." Aramir blinked in surprise at the wood elf's gracefulness as she quickly ascended the tree. Auriel had always hinted at that, in the way she moved (in more ways than just walking, running and fighting), but Aramir had always assumed that the wood elf had never learned the skill, prefering instead to do what Aramir constantly saw her doing. Flirt with anything that looked vaguely male. She blushed a bright red and opened her mouth to retort, but Auriel was already gone, out of ear shot. Aramir grumbled something unkind in her native language under her breath. Then she set about gathering what materials she could find. In this forest, compared to the Frozen plains, there was a veritable gold mine of things she could use to make fletching. More than enough to allow for any mistakes she could make. In no time at all she had a pile of materials and was occasionally adding to it, waiting for Auriel to arrive with the shafts. Auriel leapt through the branches, reveling in the freedom of movement it gave her. She couldn't actually fly, but it certainly felt like it when she was mid leap, half way between two trees. Every now and then she would stop, whenever she found a branch straight and sturdy enough, take her axe, and hack at its base a few times, in just the right way to make a clean cut. The branches would fall to the ground, where she would remember their location. After the sixth branch was cut, she descended to the ground, slightly sad to do so, to begin collecting the branches. She remembered exactly where each one had fallen - and quickly made her way to them, gathering the long branches in her arms. Finding her way in a forest was second nature to her, a skill she learned as soon as she could walk. It did not take her long to arrive back to Aramir's spot, branches in arm. "The longest, straightest lengths in the forest!" She proudly announced, inwardly snickering at her word choice. Dumping them on the ground, she immediately began stripping off all the small protrusions with her knife, to make straight, true shafts. Aramir smirked as Auriel returned, proudly displaying her branches. "See? You can use your infatuation with shafts to be useful." She snickered, before pausing. "Oh gods...I've been spending too much time with you." She shook her head, running a hand over her face and through her hair. She grinned at Auriel, despite her words, as she sat down and began fletching their bolts. The Snow Elf was more relaxed than she had ever been before, in the comfortable and familiar environment of the wilderness with a variety of sounds all around, and the easy act of fletching. Granted, it was on a much larger scale. "You know, aside from the fact that we're hunting a giant bird that could easily rip us all to shreds, this is really nice. It could be a bit less warm..." Indeed, in the warm spring air a light sheen of sweat could be seen on the Snow Elf's skin, despite more than a year in the southern lands. "Its just right." Auriel said, sticking her tongue out at her smaller compatriot. "And you can never spend too much time with me..." She said, slightly straighter faced than she was expecting. She liked having people around true, but she liked having Aramir around just a little more. She couldn't entirely explain that. "And for the record, my infatuation with shafts has always been useful." She said with all her usual lack of seriousness. "So, what do we do now? Shout for the rest of them?" She said slightly doubtfully. "If there wasn't a giant bird looking for us, I'd have a few ideas for making this idyllic picnic even better...." Aramir snorted. "Just right is the temperature of our room. Cool, not blood boilingly hot like your lands that must be on fire all the time or as comfortably freezing as the temperatures of the Frozen Plains." She gave an exaggerated sigh. "I don't know why I couldn't have gotten a roommate who was as cold blooded as me." She blinked at the usually playful Auriel's more serious comment, a strange feeling squirming in her gut. Her mouth opened slightly but her mind remained blank. Say something, anything! "N-no, I-I can't...." She stammered out, remaining enough in control to not blush. Except for that... She mentally groaned. She gratefully seized upon the change in conversation. "Oh yes, if you count tiring out the local male population in a five mile radius 'useful'. I wonder how many accidents you've caused?" She teased, a slight smile on her lips. That disappeared at Auriel's suggestion. "Lets not shout. Just in case the Roc is listening, and wants to eat a couple of elves for dinner. They said they'd be back, so lets wait for them to return." Her hands were moving largely on auto pilot with the fletching, as the skill was practically second nature to her. Her eyebrow raised in genuine curiosity she asked, "And what ideas might those be?" "Oh you know... This and that..." Auriel finished whittling the point on another branch before willing it to heat up. She shut her eyes while focusing her magic, to reach just the right temperature to harden the wooden tip. "Hopefully this will be good enough to hurt the Roc..." She said before casting it down and walking around behind Aramir. She kneeled behind the smaller elf, and putting an arm around her to pull her close, brought her lips near Aramir's ear, whispering "Since we aren't shouting..." and then softening her voice even more to whisper further. Aramir's other eyebrow rose in disbelief at Auriel's vague answer. Something was up, she could feel it. Whatever it was would have to wait, as the Forest Elf hardened the tip of a branch. "Hopefully, we won't have to try to hurt the Roc at all. I don't relish the idea of trying to take on the Roc with nothing more than a ballista and a hope that the first shot kills it or wounds it enough that it can't come and get whomever is firing the ballista." She turned her head to follow Auriel as she walked behind her. "Where are you-" She began, only to abruptly shut her mouth as she felt the red haired Elf's breath in her ear. Aramir shivered, a strange nervousness making her heart beat faster. When she caught the rest of what Auriel whispered Aramir went from blue to bright red. "I-,you-,we-" She sputtered, unable to make a coherent response. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She continued sputtering, trying to make a complete sentence. A grin spread across Auriel's face at the smaller elfs reaction, and no sooner had Aramir begun sputtering random words than Auriel fell backwards laughing, still clutching Aramir with her arm. Somehow, during the fall, Aramir twisted to land on top of her such that they were face to face. "You're so much fun." She said to the elf in between laughing. It still astounded her how red Aramir could get when she got really embarassed. Fortunately enough, Aramir was already as red as she could get, so Auriel likely couldn't tell that she was even more flustered by their current position. She was now certain that her heart was going to explode if it went much faster, and that Auriel could feel it. Still, she didn't make any motion to get up or move. She managed to retain some form of dignity, mock glaring at Auriel. "I'm so glad you enjoy robbing the ability of speech from me, and proving that Snow Elves have the wonderful ability to change from blue to red. Just let me know if I can be of service again!" She said with acidic sarcasm. "I know you enjoy it!" Auriel said indignantly, quickly kissing Aramir before she could respond. "So what now miss 'cant spend enough time with me?'" Auriel said, the mission far from her mind now. Aramir opened her mouth for a retort, only to be silenced with a kiss. She stared at Auriel for a moment, conflicting emotions and instincts clashing inside of her. She was pleased to notice that Auriel did hear and remember her stuttered statement, but that was pushed into the back of her mind. "Well..." She said softly, leaning down and brushing her lips against Auriel's own. Just then, instincts won out over emotions. The feeling that this was wrong, wrong, WRONG, flooded through her body. Female and Female couplings could not produce children. Without children the tribe would die out. Every tribe member had to do their part. Emotions meant nothing. She leapt off of Auriel and stumbled backwards, falling down and looking at the Forest Elf with wide eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, her hand half stretched towards Auriel, but froze. In fact, everything seemed frozen, unnaturally quiet. "You don't really know much about Snow Elves, do you?" A new voice spoke to Auriel, idly musing from behind her. When she looked it would be a man, whose face and build were similar to Althalus's. Only his eyes were a bright green, and his hair a dark brown. Auriel didn't quite know what had gotten into Aramir when she leapt away, with speed that would have been warranted had Auriel suddenly caught fire. Of course, the moment she heard a strange voice, she did much the same thing, leaping off the forest floor to her feet with extreme speed. Her axe and dagger found their way into her hands on the way up, and the glimmering steel was held between her and this mysterious stranger as soon as she was standing. "Who the hell are you!" She demanded. He looked a little like Althalus, but that didn't mean anything. She suspected him a brigand, out to take advantage of a few defenseless, or so he thought, young girls. The man spread his hands out to show he had no weapons. "I'm a friend. I want to help you." Auriel would feel a presence, far more powerful than Satori, brush her defences to the side. Fortunately, the mage didn't seem interested in more than her surface thoughts. "Yes, I do look like my brother, unfortunately. And no, I don't want to take advantage of the two of you. As I said, I want to help." The presence withdrew, a point having been made. He continued as if Auriel had given him permission. "You see, Snow Elves live in a very...harsh land. Almost as lethal as the Scorched Lands. Unfortunately, while they have adapted to it, they haven't adapted to the degree the Esyire's have. Life is still a struggle for the tribes that make up the majority of their race. As such, they've essentially hardwired themselves for survival, over the centuries. It's where her," Here the mage nodded towards Aramir, "bond with you comes from. It's also the reason why she just leapt off of you like you were on fire." "Snow Elves are hardwired for survival. And for the tribe to survive, that means there must be children. So, most notions of romance are thrown out the window. Certainly any notion of not breeding has been so instilled into them as vile that they physically revolt against it. And that's just what your little romance would do, if she went through with it. Now, granted, you are wearing down her barriers, bit by bit. The alcohol helps immensely, as you've seen. But there is no way you'll be sleeping with her sober in the next few years. No way without my help." He held up a ring, a small silver thing, for Auriel's inspection. "It does nothing more than lower her barriers. Make her more accepting of the notion of sleeping with you. Just give her the ring, say something emotional and believable, and she'll wear it. And this," He nodded towards Aramir's wide eyed, clearly conflicted, frozen face, "will never happen again." "And I'm supposed to trust you? Some random man, no matter how skilled a psycho you may be. You've got to be kidding me." Auriel glared at this man who would take her for a fool, taking a moment to think. "I think you should get the hell away from us mister Althalus' brother. I'm not taking your easy way out trinket. Go, on, look through my memory, I know you can. You'll see how much I love the hard way. I'll do this myself, and if it fails, I'll move on. Not like I cant satisfy my desires with any random man." Auriel was surprised somewhat with her own coherance, usually she was about as articulate as embarassed Aramir when it came to moral dilemas. She gave a quick twirl of her axe, though remained stationary, not exxactly confidant in the idea of driving this man off with violence. The man laughed. "You're not supposed to trust me. I would be disappointed if you did. I'm simply offering you a way to make things easier on yourself and her. Have you even considered what this is doing to her mental state? Imagine wanting something that your entire being revolted against. Imagine wanting it badly enough you'd risk whatever consequences came with it. Instinct would war with emotions. You'd be torn apart, slowly, if you kept pushing faster than you could take it and your barriers could be worn down." He placed the ring on the ground. "Have Satori look at it. She'll tell you two things. It'll only affect Snow Elves, and it'll lower inhibitions. If you decide to abandon it here, perhaps consider something when I leave. What does she want? Why is she reacting like this? Just a few thoughts." And then he was gone. Almost as soon as he left, things seemed to start back up. Aramir spoke in a shaky voice, "Auriel I'm sorry I just can't-" She paused, noticing Auriel's state. "Er, I hope I didn't offend you that badly." She gave a weak chuckle, clearly still shaken. "No its fine." Auriel said with the slightest hint of ice in her voice. This turn of events had severely dampened her mood. "I probably shouldn't have tried to seduce you in the middle of a forest while on a mission anyway." She said flatly, walking over to where the band of silver had dropped in the leaves. She looked down at it and spoke again. "You heard the man. What do you think? You can have it if you want... I guess." She sighed. It seemed like he was up to something with it, but Auriel certainly wouldn't stop Aramir from doing as she wished. "I wouldn't trust it though." Aramir opened her mouth, then closed it, hiding the hurt at Auriel's abrupt change of tone. Good job Aramir. Way to ruin whatever you had with her. She thought bitterly, picking herself up off the ground. She avoided looking at Auriel, twisting her braid around in her hands as she headed back towards the shafts. They still needed to be fletched, after all. She paused at Auriel's next statements. Slowly she turned around and looked at Auriel, confusion written across her face. "Auriel what, by all the Gods, are you talking about? What man? What do you mean by 'it'? All that happened was we were kissing and I...freaked out and leapt back. Then you had your axe and dagger in your hands, and now we're here." "You mean you didn't..." Auriel suddenly looked just as confused as Aramir. ""Um... so was that man my imagination?" She bent down and picked up the ring from amongst the leaves, stairing at it intently. "Well this is definitely real." She said. "Well a man snuck up on us and-" She stopped suddenly, mid sentence. If Aramir hadn't seen it at all... maybe it was best she didn't know? Auriel would need to think about that. She pocketed the ring for later. "And I'll... tell you about it later. When we get back." With that she put her weapons away and returned to the task at hand.
Don't worry. Adonai keeps the indiscriminate stuff to a minimum, because then his wife gets stuck with patching people up and he gets even less time with her. xD
I'll respond after you, unless the next ice storm knocks out my internet again, which is a distinct possibility.
EliteCommander
An Ice Storm? The inquisitors spirit is affecting the real world to win its battle! We're doomed!
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