Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib listened to Kassin for a bit, before turning his gaze to Chance. "I don't suppose you're adept at conjuring temporary shelters through magic yet?" He asked. "I was thinking maybe that would give us a respite from these gloomy conditions."

[Sprocketsdance]

"Oh.. the all-powerful psion can't do that? What a shame." She said, mockingly, but then shook her head; being serious now. "I'm afraid not, you know I only excelled at fire magic.. but I guess I could hold a flaming ball to heat up this place.. without wood there shouldn't be smoke right? So our hideout will still remain relatively safe.

Chance moved to the center of the room and sat down, in no time she held a good sized ball in her hands of flame, slowly ebbing the cold from the room.  Geez, why didn't I think of this sooner? Bah.

[murmer]

Kit's body stiffened in Chance's embrace. She was unused to sudden outbursts of emotion, but that was easily explained when Zanfib retorted to the succubus' physical actions. It didn't stop until the other female released Kit. Only then did the wolf relax.

To the problem of shelter, Kit looked around. The hut reeked of death and blood. The wolf didn't want to go in there, but then again, she didn't seem the least affected by the weather at all. Still, concern wrote itself across Kit's face when she realized that Kassin was shivering and looking far more down-trodden than he had been when she'd first awoken.

"I'm still a bit weak, but I remember sleeping under the snow before when I didn't have a place to go. It's not the best, but it's actually quite warm with the addition of body heat, and the cold outside keeps the shelter's shape. Maybe a shelter made out of ice?"

Kit was careful when she bent down. She was still slightly unsteady on her feet, though she had the strength to carry and bury the old lady. The digging and burying cost the wolf some of her remaining strength, but Kit wanted to show them what she was capable of. These furs... she felt she could trust them.

The snow rippled and heaved itself up like a small wave - the beginnings of what looked like a wall. Kit stood up and patted it. It looked and sounded quite sturdy.
"I can do this a little bit at a time, I think. We can move away from this place and build a small hut to rest in."

[Zuki]

Perhaps it was her history of crime and running, but Chiyo could only think of one thing. Getting out of the area.  "I'm not sure staying here would be the BEST idea...the old woman is dead and the villagers don't like new comers as it is...not to mention we have no proof that a demon killed her." Of course that was HER fault, but death didn't always have to bring more death. It was unfortunate that others didn't believe in that idea. "What are you all doing here anyway? I mean, were you looking for shelter here as well?" She asked curiously then, maybe they were just passing through. If that was the case she would be happily to  travel out of the area with them. Safety in numbers, after all.

[Tipod]

Rafa kept to himself after the demoness' fleeing and appeared to be muttering some small mantra. As the others gave their introductions, he glanced over his shoulder and gave a dismissive wave. "Raffiele Thom'sen. Clan of the speakers of truth, progressives, et cetera." More people. I'm getting really tired of these hanger-ons bogging us down. Did the Great Father ever have to put up with this? At least Chiyo seemed to have the right idea. "I agree with the vagrant, let's get out of here before some vigilantes or mob show up."

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib snorted lightly and smirked at Chance's comment. "I will have you know, succubus, that we psions are far better at handling the powers that be then you silly mages. However, you magic users have became quite adept at shaping the energy into something else entirely, seeing how you can't handle it in its raw form." He said as his tail swished arrogantly through the air..

However, at Chiyo and Rafa's suggestions, he glanced over at them and said, "And just exactly where do you suggest we go?"

[Sprocketsdance]

Still holding onto the flaming ball Chance simply rolled her eyes at her ego-inflated friend.

"We still have to wait for the rest of our group to get back, though I do like Kit's plan of moving into a more.. fresh shelter. Whatever we do we should stay close." She couldn't help but shake her head at Raf. Grumpy butt.. it'd show him right to get a proper hug... "And if an angry mob comes we can just send Zanfib after them." She said with a smirk towards Zan.

She then looked to Chiyo. "Say.. mind if I call you Chi? Anyways.. Yeah we were basically searching for shelter, we didn't expect anyone to be in here." She didn't know what else to say to say on the subject. Afterall it wasn't her place to be giving out details.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Casting out a thought to the other 'Cubi, Kedered kept his face still. As irritating as those adventurers were, Eilan is right. An incidental skirmish will not get us anything, besides the possibility of raising an alarm. Switching to his voice, he went back to his conversation with Eilan, walking back towards the last known position of the others.

"I did not have time to read the journal thoroughly," glancing at the reasonably thick volume, "but it is possible that something is mentioned in it. I will read it when we have a bit of leisure. Even if it is not, it should not be too difficult to ask around at a few neighboring farmsteads and ask where a seemingly normal family resides. I doubt anyone is taking any serious effort to hide this child or the unnamed brother, and in the worst case scenario, we can spread a little silver around to loosen some tongues. I doubt that it would take much to buy an address from these people."

[Noone]

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Eilan nodded. "I suppose so... if we do that, it would likely be wiser to check in a town rather than at someone's home, strangers tend not to be a welcome sight. Lets just hope there's something that can be put to use in there." He looked towards the horizon. "Lets head back, I'm sure the others are waiting for us." He looked up at the sun, trying to gauge the time. We should get back well before nightfall...

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Kassin felt a bit uncomfortable staying, still, Chance's words swayed him. "We can't travel too far without the others knowing, or we might lose them. I suppose..." He stopped. "As much as I'd like to, we cannot leave, though..." he turned to Ketet and Chiyo. "You two could." He stood up, and stretched his wings out. His expression however, was still quite dismal. He remained silent for the time being. Hours passed by...

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Kassin's ears raised as he heard a bustle in the snow, the weather had calmed down somewhat. It was however, still cold, and snow continued to pile on the ground. In the distance, he could see three shapes. The others returning however, still brought him little joy. His alertness faltered moments afterwards, as he stared at the snowy ground, as if he hadn't the courage to face anyone in the eye.

The journey back was uneventful, trudging through the snow wasn't too terrible of a venture, only a mild irritation. Eilan kept alert throughout, as if half expecting to be jumped by a band of brigands or demons throughout. Still, he kept focused and found his way back to Kassin. He stopped by the hut he saw earlier, only to see everyone outside... and with company he had not seen before no less.

He immediately got a lot more alert. He scanned the place, what looked to be an icy shelter they were creating, and the hut. Eying the hut, he noticed what looked to be small bloodstains near the doorway, he turned his attention back to Kassin and the others, checking them for injuries, but notably checking Kassin thoroughly. Eilan could tell he was in a dismal mood, but the bloodstains, as well as the two creatures he hadn't met before made him curious. He approached the group, and softly asked, "What happened here?" He raised his left eyebrow.

[Azlan]

Emerging from his meditative state in the snow, which notably did not melt under him though he did emanate normal body heat, he greeted the returning others with only a nod.  The elementalist fox faced the warrior fox and his speech was even, nonchalant, "random acts of 'recreational' murder by some demoness.  She still runs free, as even our dour Raffiele did not dispatch her.  These two were victims of the rampage, and a third... did not survive." 

[Lisky]

During the walk to meet back with other, Garis took a few moments to shift himself and clothing back to his normal appearance.  He was smugly satisfied with the fact that he'd gotten away with playing the role of a member of the opposite sex without raising suspicions.

As the wolf reached the little hut, he let the others take care of security while he went to go and meet the new people and check on Kassin.  When Elian took care of the later, he approached the cubi girl first.  He approached the female with his broad smile, and he said, "ah, always good to see a brother or sister, Garis, Ahnasazi clan." he approached with an outstretched hand.

[Zuki]

"Others?" She asked quietly, there was more to this group? That was strange, just how many were there? She frowned faintly when she was told she could go...she not sure if she should stay or go. She lingered a little while though, she wanting to see just what was going on. Curiosity sometimes did kill the cat and all. She glanced at Chance as she asked that though, she smiling. "Oh yeah, sure. My friends use to call me that all the time. Go for it." She said easily. She looked to Raffiele and grinned. "Nice to meet you, too." She said happily. She DID enjoy meeting new people!

She was standing about waiting when the others returned. She was surprised though when the one cubi walked up to her so boldly. She raised her eyebrow slightly at his introduction but smiled easily. "Chiyo..." She said as she took his hand. "of the clan Alura clan. It is a pleasure." She said with a smile.

[murmer]

Ketet's fur rose in static alarm when Eilan approached cautiously. Smoothing down only after the others' peaceful reaction to this new group, Ketet tried to back away a little bit. She wasn't used to so many creatures like this, and her mind was still on the horrifying incident just this afternoon.

She still hadn't thought much about what Kassin had said. Whether or not she wanted to leave was uncertain to her. She found comfort in large numbers, but now if she wished to enter settlements or attempt to find lodgings, it will be harder due to the large number of creatures in the group.

To be mentioned of as a victim put Ketet off a little bit. She flinched and laid her ears back at the fox angel, but she didn't say anything, only watching the way he handled the chilly winter day with ease in mild curiosity. She knew angels were gifted with incredible healing and light magic. Is this one of the side-effects? An immunity towards hostile environments?

In the presence of so many more furs, Ketet suddenly felt horribly self-conscious. She took a quick look at herself and her garb. It had survived the attack, but was still spattered in her own blood. With a discreet look towards the others, trying to make sure they wouldn't notice, Ketet tried to get as much of the mess off as possible with a bit of water magic.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance smiled at Chi's reply, she was really going to like this girl. When the others returned she extinguished her fire ball of warmth and stood, smiling even more and glad they returned safely. Although seeing Eilan made her feel a little self-concious, given how she acted the last time she saw him, and her expression changed.  Her headwings and ears drooped slightly as she spoke to him.

"Uh.. Eilan.. I'm sorry about what I said earlier. The emotions just built up too much." She scratched the back of her head, uncomfortable. "It won't happen again.. Oh, and did you guys find anything important?"

She didn't want to dwell too much on the past, but she figured an appology was in order for her to give.

[Noone]

Eilan looked quite upset at the news, he gave a glance over at Chiyo and Ketet again. "She got away? Gnnnrgh..." He grumbled, as he looked at the snow, and started doing some calculations in his head. His fingers moved as he counted with them, gauging how far a demon could have gotten in a certain time frame. He was briefly interrupted by Chance, he paused his calculations, noting that she grew her headwings in the time that she was away. Good thing she didn't come with us, those would have given her away immediately... "Never mind that..." he responded, as he swiftly returned to his thoughts. After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

"Even if that demoness didn't exclusively want to hurt us...  she is still an information leak, she can tell those that do. We need to move from this location, and soon." He stopped again, ready to relay what had been found in the farmhouse.
Kassin seemed relieved to hear that Eilan wanted to move out, the place wasn't helping Kassin's emotional stability. He got closer to Eilan, and asked "Where do we go next?" Eilan responded with a short "I'll get to that." Kassin nodded, as Eilan continued.

"We found out that the family there had a third child, whose body was not at the murder site. We also found a journal, which mentioned that Mr. Darrins had a brother, and that his children found some odd paper shortly before the murder. We did not however, find out where they could be located. We did keep the journal with us... so maybe where they can be found is in there." As an afterthought, he also added "We may have time to read through it thoroughly before anyone else shows up here... speaking of which..."

Eilan's attention drifted away from that topic, and onto the two other 'victims' as it were. He began to examine both of them, Garis had already motioned towards Chiyo, so he decided to look at Ketet more closely. He suddenly became alarmed when he saw her tail, a look of perplexed surprise on his face.

Kassin noticed his distress. "Is something wrong?" He asked, Eilan said nothing.

[murmer]

Oh no!

Ketet was more alarmed than Eilan when he started at the spikes on her tail. The tell-tale signs of her true form couldn't be hidden completely at her juvenile stage. Sheknew she wasn't a very good liar, particularly in front of other creatures. Raising her hands out and shaking them in a harmless fashion, she spoke.

"I - I'm not going to do anything bad! It's just easier travelling like this because of the increasing hostility in the area," Ketet spoke truth into every fibre of her being.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered hung back when the rest of the group entered the building, sniffing the air. Something seemed off from their approach, but Kedered couldn't discern what it was. Striding into the building, a bit behind the others, he noticed quickly that they had picked up two new arrivals, another incubus, and judging from the spikes on the tail, a dragon. Kedered's eyes narrowed. Dragons did not customarily visit Atharra, and he wondered what this one was doing here.

His mind whirred, and decided to glide over to Eilan. Not whispering exactly, but speaking softly, he said "We are now ten, with the new arrivals. We need to work out some sort of system for traveling.  We will attract attention, even just coming to a city together. We might want to spread out into several subgroups, not out of sight or earshot, but enough that we do not appear to be traveling together at a glance. I will of course, read the book tonight, or sooner, if the hubbub dies down."

As he spoke, he cast a tendril of thought to Chance, Congratulations upon reaching your maturity. The headwings are indicative of responsibility, but I do not doubt that you will handle it. It was far simpler to think a lie than to say one. If I should forget and call you a child, pray correct me. It would be unseemly to insult you so.

He marched over to the pale blue wolf, letting his stance show a bit more aggression than it did when approaching Eilan. He used one of his own cleaning spells on her clothing, further scouring off the blood. He smiled, coldly. "If you wish, I can teach you the spell. It is simple enough. It is odd, however, to find someone who does not know such a simple bit of magic. A dragon should be able to do much better than this. What are you doing in Atharra?"

He did not turn his head, but he cast his thought out to the new incubus. Greetings unto you, Chiyo of the Alura. I am Kedered, of the Aldoraethar. How goes it with you, sister?

[Zuki]

The hostility towards Ketet was easy to pick up on by Chiyo and the fur on her tail stood up on end and it began to twitch with agitation. She didn't know Kit THAT well but after the display of how she felt towards the old woman she was sure that this dragon meant no harm. She smiled politely to Garis though and put herself between Kedered and Kit. She didn't like his tone or the way he mocked her with the promise of  teaching her spells in one breath and in the other mocked her for not knowing it in the first place. "Kit is my friend." She said cooly. Perhaps it was having a near death experience with her, who knew? Chi certainly didn't. She just know she didn't want anyone distrusting her.

My name is Chiyo of the Alura Clan. It is wonderful to meet so many brothers and sisters all at once... She glanced to Garis then Chance but then looked right back at him. But I would go MUCH better if you did not insult my friend here. She replied oh so sweetly back to him. She was not a fighter but she could throw a bluff as good as any.

[murmer]

Ketet visibly shrank back. It didn't require a 'Cubi to know that the wolf/dragon was visibly fearful of the sudden aggression and was trying to very carefully pick her next words. Kedered scared her, that much was certain, and the notch of trust she'd formed for the group loosened a bit. She radiated gratefulness when Chiyo - a 'Cubi she'd only spent half a day with - stood up for her. Still, with two people already openly wary of her, maybe staying in this group would be a bad idea?

Kit backed away from the intimidating incubus, a hunted look on her face as she stammered, "I-I'm sorry. I just travel around this province, and got in somebody's way... got somebody killed... I... I just like tuh-travelling. I'll leave now if you find my puh-presence alarming..."

[Lisky]

Garis glared at Ked and Eilan with a look of contempt, much like demons, Garis felt that dragons, especially young ones, should be given a chance before someone showed such open hostility.  His actions were further fueled by the fact that the new cubi girl was openly defending the dragon.  If a cubi were willing to defend one of them, then they were clearly not openly hostile towards cubi.

Garis gave Kit a friendly smile and gently put hand on her arm, barely touching her, he said in a calm, almost cheerful voice, "while i don't speak for the others, I, myself would be glad to travel with you at my side.  I would be saddened if the narrow minded views of some of those i travel with would drive you away."  Removing his hand from her arm, he tried his best to radiate soothing emotions to try and counteract the negativity between Ked and Chiyo.  Continuing to Kit, he said, "I am Garis, of clan Ahnasazi, and i am glad to have made your acquaintance."

he sent a tendril of thought towards Ked and, while his focus was now on the succubus and dragon, he kept his mind opened for ked's response.  'Do you really wish to pass up an opportunity like this, to bridge the animosity between our peoples, simply because you cannot see beyond the ways of the past.  Even if it were a dragon that was responsible for your clan's tri-wing's death, this is not that dragon.  Furthermore, if a succubus is willing to defend this dragon, who, i might add, has clearly barely reached adolescence.  Then surely you can at least maintain an air of neutrality.  Even a young dragon has inherent power, and although we are getting to be a rather large party, i might also point out that it would take a far larger party of beings to even attempt to challenge us now.'

[Tipod]

Like Ketet and Garis, Raffiele became rather annoyed by Kedered's body language towards the young dragon. "Look," he said as he took a few steps forward, both hands folded together in a semi-thoughtful gesture, "we got enough problems as is. Don't start acting like a thug to the new kid, alright?" And don't give me an excuse to scalp you. Start throwing down with her, and you're the one I'm targeting first.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered kept his mind smooth, unruffled, although it was now four that cast disapproving glances his way. Did none of them see the problem of endless addition to their company? They would already attract attention as it is, and adding two more, two more he could not be sure he could depend on, made the risk exponentially greater.

He smiled at the hyena, considered clapping him on the shoulders as if they were friends, but decided against it. With a tone oozing with honey, he stated. "Any time the Thom'sen is ready, I am as well, to duel. Or even something a little less formal. I have not forgotten your... absences."

As for you. his mind flared, a tone slight irritation, and a trace of amusement. You misguess my motives. Falstad Aldoraethar died over three thousand years ago, at the hands of the Troyagath. Do not go looking for them, our reprisal was complete. My distrust stems not out of her species. Look at her, with your 'cubi eyes. Yes, you too Chiyo. Can you not smell the fear radiating off of her? To Kedered, it was thick, musky, poor fare. But dragons have not lived in Atharra for time beyond memory, and I distrust the coincidence that she just "happened" to be here. I do not worry about her directly, but I do worry that she will attract more eyes than is safe, that she will not be able to keep her head down when it needs to be. Look at her bangles, her lights. And if she is afraid of me, what will she do if she sees Thularians firing crossbows at her, simply because she's a dragon? They will not challenge us on the field of battle, they will snipe and worry, unless enough of them congregate that they can snuff out our magic and let a hundred blades or bows do their work. Can you look me in the eye and tell me she is really worth the risk? I bear the child no malice, but we fly from danger into danger, and would be little served by a potential encumbrance, especially if it paints a target on her back.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib, forever aloof, had stayed off to one side merely watching the going ons, giving off neither a thought or an emotion to show any care for the interactions between the party. Despite all this, he was listening in on the mental communications going back and forth, and as Kedered issued forth his statement, he smirked slightly while quietly moving to Chance's side.

He leaned in close to the succubus, and whispered to her, "It would be interesting to introduce them to Fazshmere, would it not? I wonder if they would die of fright before the crazy dragon had a chance to explain himself."

[murmer]

Garis was like a ray of walking sunshine in the middle of the storm, and Kit almost melted when the Incubus barely touched her. The mild blush that spread across her pale muzzle was certainly a clear sign the wolf/dragon had become instantly smitten with the 'Cubi wolf. Her stammer came from a different source now, though she still eyed Kedered kind of warily.

"Ah, and I-I'm Ketet, from the Sky family Tari. We, um, used to travel here to Atharra until Thularia, uh, began to treat us with increased hostility. Your friends still don't really... like me, though I'd like to travel with you... but have I, um, offended them?" she managed to stammer shyly. The rampant fear Ketet had radiated dulled a bit with the sudden attraction.

[Lisky]

Garis almost choked on the laughter he managed to suppress, as Ked sent his message.  Although there was still a tinge of fear coming from the young dragon, it seemed a combination of lust and infatuation had become the main emotions the girl was radiating... Given the way she sheepishly introduced herself, Garis was fairly certain he'd become the target of the girl's affection.  

His friendly smile broadened a bit, and he replied to Kit, "I wouldn't worry too much about those 2, Eilan is overly-cautious about everything and everyone... which can be a good thing, but in your case, i have a feeling he's just being paranoid... As for the incubus who seems so overly negative, he's always been like this with new people.  He usually has the others best interests in mind, though he seems to prefer to be abrasive, rather than welcoming with new people.  I wouldn't pay too much heed to him..."

Garis paused for a moment, as his face shifted into a more serious, and less cheerful expression.  He continued, "though i feel i should warn you that Kassin has a considerable bounty placed on his head, and seems to be the focal point for not one, but at least 2 grand conspiracies... those of us who travel with him have had bounties placed on us as well...  But i can assure you that every accusation against myself and kassin are false, and, given the nature of my comrades, I'd say those are false as well."

His smile was back as barely brushed her arm again, "so Ketet, with everything in the open, would you still wish to join us on our journey?"

Sending a response to Ked, ' Clearly we have our disagreements about how this situation should be handled.  Even before these 2 joined, we were being sniped at.  With the addition of a dragon and another cubi, we clearly have a larger advantage, furthermore, Chiyo, as far as i can tell, is a fully mature succubus, and although Chance will need training, she too can pick up thoughts and emotions... Now, even if Ketet were merely a being, that is still extra firepower, and thus a further deterrent from attack.  I welcome the girl with open arms, and if she wishes to join, i don't think you should try and push away yet another member who could help us with our own cause.  I agree that we should not travel as a whole pack.  Though if the party were to break into smaller groups for the purposes of travel, just make sure you and her are not together if you're going to continue to flaunt your own silly arrogance.

While sending the thoughts, his eyes never left Kit's face, and he was astonished to find that he, himself, was attracted to yet another pretty girl... Garis tried to make a mental note to try and ignore pretty faces... it was a vain effort and the thought was forgotten almost as quickly as it had formed.

[Zuki]

She listened to Ked's speech and agreed with him about how Kit reacted, but she still shook her head. I can't really blame her though, she was very shaken by the old woman's death. I would have acted out of fear when two new people came and acted the way you and Eilan did. She couldn't say she blamed either of the two for acting that way either. Distrust with dragons has good reasons to it...but she knew Kit, well sort of, and she wasn't like others she had met.

She watched though as Garis and Kit interacted and she put her hand over her eyes as she rolled them, she shaking her head. "Oh dear..." She muttered quietly to herself, she shaking her head and walking away from the two. Be wary of the charms of incubus, her mother had always warned her. She watched as infatuation radiated from Kit and was amused to find that a little came from Garis as well.

I don't think any argument of Kit staying behind would hold up with him not matter what at this point. She sent to Ked with a silent chuckle, though she turned towards him more. I am sorry for the way I acted towards you. I must admit I get a little defensive when my friends are put on the spot like that. I understand your concerns and find them to be quite valid. She paused a moment, she trying to digest all the information she had gathered from both him and Garis. I don't know where you are heading or what you intend to do, but I would be grateful if I could tag along for a little while. It hasn't been easy finding safety in this area as a cubi and I would feel better traveling in a group. I don't know what the angel did to have a price on his head, but to me he seems innocent. After all, I doubt a murderer would rush in to save two lives he doesn't even know. She wasn't worried about getting a price on her head, that was nothing new for her. She kept that little thought safely guarded though. With so many that could read minds she would have to be more on guard then ever!

[Noone]

Kassin appeared surprised at the ruckus that Ketet was causing. He looked surprised when she heard that Ketet was a dragon, though a look of concern soon overtook it. She's a dragon? There aren't many of those around... I suppose she must be lonely. Kassin was more concerned however, with how tense those around him were getting. Something about this situation made him terrified.

While coming up with a way to rationalize the situation, Eilan listened over at what the others were doing. He gave a brief look over at Raffiele and Kedered, he softly grumbled. He then turned his attention towards Ketet, still surprised to have found a dragon in this locale, but then heard Garis speak of Kassin's bounty.
NO! His thoughts screamed, but before he could interrupt, he already let it out.
"Don't T...." He stopped himself, he let out a grumble. "Ggrgh...", he said, as he put his right hand into a facepalm, quite angry at what Garis let out. "Too late..." he let out, before he turned to face Garis.
"Excuse me..." He started, "But I really would take at least *simple* precautions before letting things like that out. Just because those two are innocent in this case, doesn't mean that they can be trusted. Besides, asking them to come with us is a very tall order, and I'd think their desire to come with us would be at least, a bit suspicious, especially considering what we've had to deal with. We've only known them for a few minutes at most, I can't see how you can trust them so thoroughly." He decided to stop there. That cubi can hear my thoughts, I'll have to be careful what I say... and think. "What if you told someone who would desire to cash in on us?" He took a deep breath, then turned to Ketet and Chiyo.

"Before you do anything rash, I'd like to know that you two can be trusted,..." At this Kassin came over and interrupted him.
"I trust them." He said.
This seemed to get Eilan to calm down, he looked at Kassin with a questioning stare. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"
"I can feel it in them, I have confidence they wouldn't betray us, if they wished to share our company." Kassin replied.
Eilan nodded, this got him to relax a little, he turned back to Ketet and Chiyo.
"Well, if you two do wish to accompany us, I'd like to know why, and what you've been doing here first. Also, I feel obligated to warn you it could be dangerous." He pointed at the blood stains near the house. "This? It's only the beginning, it's likely to get worse. You should think on that before you commit to your decision." With that, he turned away towards Kedered and Raffiele. I've got to break this up, or maybe...

He approached Kedered. "Speaking of which, could I have that journal? I wouldn't want our next lead's source to get damaged if you two come to blows." He held out his hand, as if to take it. And if he does decide to get aggressive, don't kill him, I'd like to interrogate him first. Some of his behavior has not made sense.

Kassin, noting Eilan dealing with Raffiele, decided to turn his attention towards Ketet. His wings relaxed, he seemed calm, at least momentarily. He asked her softly, "Is it true that you've been lonely?" his young eyes showing concern for her well being.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance smiled as she heard Ked's congratulations. She wouldn't dream of correcting him if he ever called her 'child' again - it almost seemed fitting with it coming from him. His presence reminded her that of a big brother, albeit a stern and somewhat grumpy big brother.

Suddenly everything became really tense concerning Kit.. and even Chi. She didn't exactly know what to do with so many people arguing, no doubt also communicating through the mind. She could almost pick up on the mental messages, but it was just a low mummer to her.

Then Zanfib came up, mentioning his old dragon master, and she grinned. "Heh, I suppose so.." She was somewhat aloof from all the happenings going on. She was relieved once Kassin said he trusted the new gals - she wasn't sure if she fully trusted them, but she did enjoy their presence.

With that she gave Zanfib a poke in his side when she noticed the air between Garis and Kit. "Ooooo, looks like more girls joining us might not be such a bad thing huh?"   She winked and stuck out her tongue at him. 

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered handed over the journal to Eilan, murmuring, "When you sleep, I would like to peruse the item. No sense wasting those nighttime hours."

He stood for a minute or two, head tilted at a thirty degree angle, eyes slightly out of focus, calculating hard. Ten was far too large of a group to pass by unnoticed. This new succubus seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, and the dragon child, she must be a child to act like she does, might or might not depending on nerves. That was something he'd have to watch for. Eilan, himself, Garis could all be trusted to split off from the party and either take point or rear guard.  He didn't trust the Demon's loyalty on his own, and had reservations about the judgment of the psion and his girlfriend. Perhaps needling him was in order. The other angel would probably not want to be separated from Kassin, and with his elemental power, it might not be such a great idea anyway.

Still, if these two new ones were going to travel with them, he might as well give them what aid he could. Relaxing his features into a bit of warmth, he returned to the part of the room with Chiyo and Ketet. He had never heard of a dragon without the ability to see a spell as it was being constructed, and a small, domestic focus might calm her down. Speaking in low tones, but not at a whisper he said, "Let me show you that trick." He spun out skeins of magical "thread" wove them around his own attire, wiping the dust and grime of the day's traveling from them. "Using pure water does get some stuff out, but it leaves too broad a stroke, keeps one from using the finer touches that magic allows. I can keep this construct before you as long as you care to study it, if you wish."


Formulating a suspicion as he talked, he cast out a tendril of thought to Chiyo. I did not hear of how you came to join us. By any chance, were you injured, and did Kassin, the tiger angel over there happen to heal you of your wounds?

[murmer]

"Bounty?" Ketet mused carefully. Looks like she'll be getting into more trouble than she'd expected. Then again... there's this dashing wolf here...

"I think I will be able enough to handle this as long as you all have done so. I apologise if I appear to be of such a burden so far, but I'll do my best to be effective, if you would allow me to follow you all," she added shyly, carefully watching Garis. Kassin approached her, and the wolf/dragon was slightly taken aback at the angel's words.

"Ah, um, I don't think I've been lonely, though my particular race tends to travel around in large families. I've just been more interested in seeing the world of beings and adventuring, though I have started missing the company of friendly furs after the hostilities."

To Kedered, the wolf/dragon was instantly on a bit more guard, though Ketet relaxed when he approached without aggression. She eyed the spell with interest. But while she mimicked the hand gestures all well and good, and the threads of magic looked effective, they rapidly degraded before she had the chance to complete the skein and set the magic into work. She gave a bit of an exasperated whine as she tried it again, only with the same result.

"I'm sorry. I've never been any good with spells other than air and water-based magic. I guess I'll have to do it the normal way..." Eeeugh, I hate transforming. It's always so hard getting back into the alternate form again.