Shattered Innocence (IC) [M]

[Lisky]

Garis was going to reply to Eilan when everyone else seemed to take the situation in stride... given that he found both girls rather attractive certainly didn't help... but he had a feeling things would work out.

He first address Chiyo and her apparent concern about his liking of the dragon girl, 'you know, for one so concerned with your friend's well being, you clearly don't seem to warn her much about her current target of affection.  The whole, known for skills of seduction and the like... quite honestly though, i was merely trying to be nice, and win you over... as is...'  His thought's trailed off as his own emotions oozed with a combination of amusement and general happiness.

As Kit was asking about letting her join, Garis nodded and said, "i really don't see any problem with you traveling with us."  He glanced around, noting that the others seemed visibly less hostile towards the dragon. The wolf incubus then smiled warmly at Kit.

When Ked and Kassin moved in, in what seemed to be a more friendly nature, Garis headed off to see how everyone else was doing...  Craning his head back in, more to reassure Kit than anyone else, he said, "i'll be back in a moment."   He walked out the front door into the cool snow... he visibly relaxed as his shoulders drooped slightly, and he let out a mental sigh of relief.  He noted Ty, ever vigilant, yet always aloof.

Garis himself just sprawled out into a snowbank, adjusted his fur color to match the snow, then closed his eyes and went to collect his thoughts behind the protection of as strong a mind shield as he could put up.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance basked in the tenseless air while it lasted. She was sure it was only a matter of time before something else happened. Motion caught her eye as she seen Garis head outside. She decided to follow him so she skipped outside and ploped herself onto the snow beside him. Luckily she saw him right before he changed color, otherwise the job might have been slightly more difficult.

"Hey, do you think you can teach me how to do that before we start moving?" Her head wings perked up and her tail twitched at the end slightly. She layed on her stomach, parallel to him, and held herself up on her elbows so she could look at him lazily.

[Lisky]

As the young succubus follow him outside, Garis had hoped he could just fade out of existence for a moment, and bask in the emptiness that the outside allowed him to feel.  Instead she'd been just close enough to catch him before he'd become one with the snow.  For those who hadn't seen where he was, the silver and black wolf seemed to materialize from the snow bank.  He propped himself up on an elbow to also maintain a relaxed pose.  He smiled and shook his head thoughtfully,  then replied, "i'm sorry young one.  It would takes several hours of intensive training just to get the basics of changing your appearance taken care of, that's not even maintaining a change for extended periods of time.  To truly appear as someone else, as i can, takes months of intensive training to maintain every subtle detail that is required to sell the truth, that you are in fact someone else... "

"As for the color changing trick you just witnessed, i could spend a few moments showing you how to change your colors, but really, it will be extremely temporary, because it takes a certain focus and mindset, which you have yet to learn, and then further built upon, before you can even come close to mastering the technique."

He eased to his feet as he gestured for Chance to do so as well.  He then said, "now, as for changing your color... think of something with which you can very vividly picture, such as a flower, or the snow we stand in.  Hold that picture in your mind, wrap yourself in that picture, believe you are part of that picture... now... focus deeper, imagine yourself as part of that object with which you're imaging... closing your eyes often helps, especially early on.  Now, once you think of yourself as part of the object, focus on it's color, while slowly removing the other properties, and replacing them with your own... when all you have left is that vivid color, but it is part of your own body, then open your eyes."

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance stood and listened intently to his instructions. As he was explaining she did as he adviced. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out. She envisioned a flower, a nice pretty flower with bright yellow petals. I am a flower.... I am a flower.... She believed herself to be part of the petals and focused on their bright color. Her brow furrowed some from the effort she was putting into it.

Slowly, her hair started to change to a bright shade of yellow, then her face and neck followed suit. Hard to tell underneith the cloak but Garis could probably see her arms, tail, and legs turn green. Aparrently she was still focusing on the whole flower instead of just one part. Of course with her mind the way it was she wondered how much better a blue flower, a red flower, or even a purple or orange flower would look like. The color of her hair and face started to dance in a meld of psychedelic colors for a moment before she opened her eyes and her fur went back to its normal color.

"Bah, I can't seem to focus on one thing.. I'll work on that, but thanks for the lesson!" She jumped up and gave him a grateful hug. "Oh, did anything happen?" She wasn't aware of feeling much different during her first run on trying to focus.. or really she was focusing so hard on the colors that she couldn't feel her fur change.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib had followed Chance about, content to leave the others to their own mechanisms.. It might have been for the best, because he walked out in time to miss Kedered's thought of Chance as his 'girlfriend'.

Outside, his pragmatic, logical mindset found itself once again pitched into a battle with a strange urge to throttle Garis, merely on Chance's affection. He shook off the strange desires, he watched Chance try out her new training with mixed bemusement. After the interesting spectacle was over, he promptly sent her a mental image of the entire thing.

"And here I thought you were going to go for hot pink." He said, smirking.

[Noone]

Eilan took the journal from Kedered. To his request, he responded. "As you wish." With that, he turned away from the rest of them. I need a place to focus..., he thought, as he went to a secluded place outside, and sat up against the walls of the hovel. After that, he opened the journal, and began reading through it, scanning for useful information. Looks like there's 700 or so pages in here, this might take a while... I hope it's worth it.

Kassin looked mellowed by Ketet's reply. His wings drooped downwards. "Well..." He started, "I guess you came to the wrong place at the wrong time,..." He sighed. "I wouldn't say that hostility towards creatures is characteristic of all beings, and I certainly hope any hostility you have been shown doesn't make you think that..." He paused again, looking towards the sky. "I sometimes wonder how often their fears are justifiable..." A glance at the bloody entrance stopped him, then he looked back at Ketet, eyes glazed, as if somehow distracted.

A voice played inside his head, it wasn't his own, it was more a memory, him listening to someone else, someone he trusted. Creatures make for more of a convenient scapegoat than anything else. Take a look at some of the problems this province itself faces, crime, poverty, starvation, disease, and that's only a few. All of these things have had creatures blamed as being the cause, yet many are entirely unreasonable. It's true that creatures do sometimes go on murderous rampages, but beings also can do the same, the only difference being creatures attract more attention. There's not plausible justification for blaming creatures on poverty, that also goes with starvation as well. Disease is a similar case, in fact, this is mostly caused by a lack of sanitation and medical care. Ultimately, I believe that creatures are more of a scapegoat which allows beings to distract themselves from a more pressing problem that causes all of these and more: A lack of strong social order.

He stopped, focused again on Ketet. "Well... I can't guarantee travels through this locale will be pleasant... though I suppose it might grant some insight into the lives of beings that live here, if that's what you're looking for."
"But... part of me thinks that you might be better off not knowing..."

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered forced another smile at the dragon and said "Another time perhaps. It seems we will be traveling together for a while, so there is no hurry. but another duty calls."

Kedered was vaguely surprised that Eilan let Kassin out of his sight. Nothing he did was going to hurt Kassin, but he was pretty sure the fox would disapprove of information pumps. As for the other fox........... He also did not seem to be in the building. Kedered kept his face smooth, but was thinking furiously. The two of them were even more protective of Kassin than he was.


Still, an opportunity like this would probably not come for some while, and to be honest, he was not looking forward to frightening Kassin for a nighttime interrogation, and peering into his dreams had been..... odd.

Two strides took him to where he needed to be. Tapping the angel on the shoulder, he started with what he thought was a safe topic. "Kassin, I am bringing back memories of how we met, and something occurred to me. We were all badly injured by the inn's destruction, on the point of death, with only Raffiele standing a chance of survival without you. But you, you were unharmed. How did that happen?"

[Zuki]

Chiyo smiled as Kassin vouched for trusting them. She liked that...no one had ever trusted her before. "I am a lover, not a fighter, you don't have to worry about me causing trouble. And I know how to keep silent as well...your...bounty is of no concern to me nor would I be after it. I'm good at keeping secrets." She said with a grin.

She turned her attention to Garis then and she grinned. Why warn her? I am sure if she does as much traveling as she says she does she already knows how tricky you cubi men can be She said with a mental grin, she merely teasing him a bit. Besides, if you are willing to speak on both of our behaves to allow us to stay, well that makes you ok in my book.

She looked to Ked then and smiled softly, her hand going to her neck. A demon attacked the house...the old woman that used to live here was killed, Ketet and I however were saved by the angel. She explained to him, remembering how close to death she had been and not enjoying it. I feel as if I owe him something in return...though I admit alot of my reasons for wanting to stay are selfish. It is not safe to travel alone, even for someone like me. I enjoy being around others...it has been some time since I've traveled in a group.

Chiyo watched as everyone seemed to split into little groups about the house. Chance, Garis, and Zanfib outside, Ketet, Ked, and Kassin speaking to one another a little ways off from her too. She suddenly felt slightly awkward at being the loner so she looked around until she found someone else who seemed to be by themselves. Raffiele.

She smiled faintly as she approached him. "An odder group I have never seen..." She remarked. She looked around, her eyes settling on Kit for a little longer then she probably should have, though it wasn't actually Kit she looked at, but the sparkly gems that she wore. She shook her head though and smiled slightly, she looking to the demon. "Mind if I call you Raff?" She asked, wanted to get to know everyone better...it just seemed everyone else was rather busy doing there own things at the moment. She also figured it would be best if she stayed away from Kit during idle times. She would end up doing something she would regret if she didn't.

[Lisky]

As the colors dazzled before him, Garis smirked. His facial expression grew even more snarky in light of the mild agitation Zanfib was producing.  He sent the psychic a tendril of thought 'clearly you can't read emotions too well then... if you didn't notice my interest is far more focused on Kit, and to a lesser degree Chiyo than your precious Chance... If she is going to survive in this world, she is going to need to learn how to use her abilities to their potential, rather than fumble along and hope for the best...  If she goes to me as her teacher, i'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but at least accept that it is a good thing that she wishes to learn... many Cubi her age reject their ancestry outright, and try to avoid learning anything about the Cubi.  Especially those who are adventurers.'

Chance squeezed him, which he tensed for a fraction of a second, before returning the gesture and replying, "young one, you have much to learn, but it was a very good first try.  If you wish to try more, feel free to ask for lessons during a quiet time... or at night.  While the others need sleep, you will soon find that you do not... and in fact, it makes us much more productive when we need to be."

With his moment of instruction and wisdom over, the wolf headed back inside with a much more lively appearance then the way he left.  He found the dragoness and slipped in quietly to hear what the others were talking about, he moved in quietly, getting next to her as unobtrusively as possible and flashed her a friendly smile when he caught her attention.

[Sprocketsdance]

When Zanfib replayed the sight of her attempt at changing the color of her fur in her head she went stiff. Her cheeks turned a slight reddish hue, somewhat embarrassed from the show. But then at his little jab she just stuck out her tongue. "Just you wait..." She wasn't exactly sure what she was threatening.. but she would think of something.

Chance smiled to Garis, she hoped her hugs might become more comfortable for him latter on. Not only him but everyone else. She fluttered her headwings at his bit of praise and replied "Thanks again, I'll do my best to practice!" and then he was off. With him gone she poked Zanfib in the side.

"With you being the mighty psion and all, do you detect any signs of life coming our way? I have to admit I'm a bit worried at the steady feel of everything.. plus I'm sure my little show didn't help.." She knew what powers she had in the realm of detecting people (and their emotions) at a distance was still challenged.

[murmer]

"Well... I can't guarantee travels through this locale will be pleasant... though I suppose it might grant some insight into the lives of beings that live here, if that's what you're looking for."
"But... part of me thinks that you might be better off not knowing..."

Kit's tail flicked at what Kassin had to share. It was true she suffered more at the hands of beings than at creatures, but only because they knew more the bad than the good of creatures like her. If she were in their position, physically defenseless and weak like the prey she hunted in the wilderness, she'd probably hate those stronger than her too.
"I have... been around for a little while now, and I intend to stay longer here in Atharra. I have still not yet fully grasped the world of Beings, and I feel that in order to understand them more, I have to live among them longer. I... thank you for helping Chiyo and I. Otherwise I couldn't have given the old lady a decent burial, or met nice creatures and beings in your group," Ketet added solemnly. She managed a small grateful smile, which turned a lot more shy and sweet when Garis came around again. Oh my, I can get used to that nice scent of his... AH what am I thinking?!

"Are we going to move on now? If you are hunted, then maybe it is best we lose ourselves in the wild for a bit. I can make a natural shelter for us to rest in once night falls to escape detection."

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib's tail bristled. He'd let that little part slip, hadn't he? Damned emotion radar. Perhaps it was denial, or perhaps his own pride, but he quickly formulated a defensive response to Garis' observation..

I know Chance's clan well enough to know they do not wantonly commit murder or steal souls or even generally cause trouble, but I do not know that of your clan, Garis, hence my cautious and suspicious ways. As far as I know, you are only training her to get her to drop her guard. You cubi have been well known for your own infighting, and I do not intend to allow Chance to become tangled up in it.

Soon though, Chance managed to catch him off-guard again with another one of her silly pokes. He jumped a little, shook off his internal battles, and then grinned at her. "Ahh, typical. Just as soon as the all mighty power of magic fails, everyone comes running for the humble psion, don't they?" He said, and then poked his tongue out at her. "Just pulling your tail, Chance. I can easily become a look-out tower for the rest of us, and I can maintain it indefinitely, but you will have to watch my back, because I do so by weakening my short-range capabilities." He said, smiling at her before he slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and concentrated.

He stretched his telepathic abilities a great ways out, roughly half his total range, and swept them about like a net in every direction, forming a great sphere sensitive to the thoughts of all creatures and beings alike. Even the instinctual and simple thoughts of insentient animals popped up in his radar as but tiny blimps, where as a true sentient would be far louder. In doing so, however, his more acute short-range abilities deadened considerably, leaving him unable to scry another's thoughts at mere will alone, or precisely pin-point someone near him.

"There.." He said, opening his eyes. "That should do it. I will be able to sense anything with a thought in its head from a good ways out, perhaps even judge their intent well before they are upon us. Will get a bit fuzzier if they get very close, however."

[Noone]

Kassin made a quick response to Ketet, he simply smiled. "You're welcome..., though... I have to admit, I would feel uneasy if you were injured for my sake..."
"Though I don't think we will be moving until Eilan finds something... or nothing in that journal." He noticed Kedered trying to get his attention. "Please excuse me miss..." he said, turning his attention to Kedered. Recalling that night brought him no joy, but he felt obligated to respond.

"I wasn't entirely uninjured, though, now that I think about it, I wasn't harmed as badly as you were." He paused to try and collect his memories, and after a short deep breath, continued.

"My recollection of the events at that place are sadly incomplete." He frowned. "It was dark out, and I recall going to sleep, at the time, it seemed most of the place was still awake. I had thought nothing of it. When I awoke, I was outside in the snow, I had some bruises, but nothing life-threatening. However, I could keenly feel a lot of pain beneath the rubble of the inn. I decided that my minor injuries could wait, and rushed towards the wreckage. I pulled out and healed who I could, while I could still feel them. I managed to get you, Garis, Tyrian, and Raffiele out, but the others inside, I didn't get to them. It was still in the middle of night when I awoke, though I cannot say exactly when it was. You were still out cold, and I couldn't help that. After that, I tended to myself, and waited."
"And then you awoke." He paused himself.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Kedered nodded, suspicious, if Kassin wasn't as meek as a mother's milk, that he was hiding something. How could anyone be so sanguine? But of course, he had seen full measure of the little angel's naiveté, and had marveled how someone so obviously empathic could go through life without developing emotional callouses that even the coarsest 'Cubi grew. Still, the thoughts were far away from his line of inquiry, and he diverted the bulk of his attention there.
"But, almost certainly you were the target of any attack on the inn. If anything, you should have been at the center of it, not at the periphery. You went to sleep inside, right? How would you manage to get outside while still remaining asleep? "


"I don't know what makes you think I was the primary target of that attack, but I'm afraid I cannot say how I got outside. I could speculate a few reasons, but I have nothing concrete."

After all this, yet do you not believe? You are the core to everything child, why can you not open your eyes? His tongue ran almost ahead of his thoughts, and he was netting out a web of suspicion almost before it had fully formed in his mind.
"I have one myself. Your brother, or cousin, or whichever one Raffiele mentioned tailing us. Normally I wouldn't believe it, but let us be honest, our group is large, and hardly circumspect. Things have been far too quiet for someone that the Thularians, Claws, and any random adventurers are looking for. I think this mysterious relative is quietly dogging our steps, removing obstacles. Sound like anyone you know?"

He had no doubt, that that part at least of Raffiele's story had some validity to it, and if the Angel had been watching them recently, why not further back. Indeed, it was almost absurd to suggest that Kassin could survive long in Ithralia without someone to watch his back, obvious about it or otherwise.

Kassin looked surprised at the thought that his family could have been responsible for what had happened at the Willow. "I..." He paused, then continued. "If you must know, I don't have any cousins, and..." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I'm not really sure I would trust anything that he says, his feelings... they're hostile, I worry about him." His normal voice resumed. "Besides, as I understood, adventurers only started hunting for us after what had happened at the Willow, the Thularians hate every creature, and I'm no different in their eyes, just another target. And the Claws, they pride themselves upon making others miserable."
"But that aside, I doubt that any of my immediate family would have been there, or have manipulated events so. They're.... they're cold... they wouldn't care for my well-being." He paused, and let out a sigh. "I have a rather strained relationship with them... I'd prefer not to speak of it. Suffice to say, I doubt that they've been active, I doubt they even care."

Kedered blinked at Kassin's rambling speech. He reminded himself, with exaggerated patience to settle the tiny twinge of irritation growing in his chest, that Kassin did not take in the sort of family power mongering that was bred into his bones. Even if his family despised him on principle, there was something odd about this Angel child, and they would at the very least want to keep his movements under observation.

"I would not be so certain, young Angel. Think, for a moment. Remember Nicha? She was waiting for you in that village before the Willow blew up. She knew that there was something special about those you healed, what? A day after it happened? And she probably had been informed before that as well. Yes, Thularians hate creatures, but they have been going out of their way to pressure Ithralians here to hunt for you specifically, and us almost certainly by association. I am convinced they are looking for you, and that you are somehow different. The only things I can think of offhand that would mark you so are your dreams, which do seem to contain some insight, and your healing ability. You never did speak all that much about that either, reticent child, I do not have much of a knack myself, but your cures seem to be almost miraculous and instantaneous, far better than any I have ever seen. Angels might be good healers, but your talent is exceptional almost to the point of being suspect. I mislike that term she used "touched". I think your healing marks one somehow, is different from the usual run of Light Magic. When was the first time you healed someone consciously? How did it happen? What were the circumstances? And when was the first time you had a dream that you thought might be clairvoyant, or predict the future? This can be very important.


Kassin shuddered, memories filled his head. "I'd... rather not remember that place,... it was horrible..." "Maybe Nicha was just talking about things she doesn't know about, but... I suppose..." He shook his head, but he decided to answer Kedered's further inquiries.

"I'm not sure if there's anything exceptional about my healing abilities. I'm afraid I don't know a good baseline for comparison, I don't know how good my family is at healing, nor have I met many other angels. Regardless, my powers are innate, I really can't explain them, they just happen. I suppose I have had some practice in molding, controlling them, but for the most part, they just... are. I wouldn't even know it if there were something odd about my powers, yet I've never considered there might be something wrong with them." He paused, and looked at his right hand. A bluish white glow surrounded his hand, but in a moment, it collapsed. "I'm not sure what Nicha meant by 'touched', maybe she meant something, maybe she was simply babbling. I'm not aware of any side effects my healing would cause... I certainly wouldn't wish anything harmful on those I have helped." He paused for a moment, to answer when was the first time he had used his healing powers. He cycled back through what seemed to be an extensive list. Happened soon after I ran away... "The first time I recall, I think it was around four years ago, I was traveling along... some road, I don't remember where. I know that was when I first met Kyirri, he was with his parents, incredibly ill. They were going to go see a doctor, if I recall, none of them looked happy about it." Since medical care in this country is so lousy... might as well not exist, I can't imagine any healer caring more about wealth than about the health of their patients... His trail of thought stopped there. "I rushed over and cured him of illness. Again, it just seemed,.. natural."
"As for my dreams... the first one I've had was the one at..." He paused to recall the place's name. "At that inn, the town at which we found Nicha... the name escapes me at the moment."

"But I must ask, why do you think the Thularians are pressuring people in Ithralia to hunt for us in particular? I must admit though, my knowledge of the political structure in this regard, or lack thereof, is lacking." He stopped, and thought Maybe Eilan would know more...

ahh, so that is why the little rodent being was so helpful, even obsequious, when the rest of the country would see us spit up the middle. Interesting to know, although hardly useful. But how can he be so blind?
"Kassin, can you not see how that is already far beyond the ordinary? Most Angels develop their powers in their mid to late twenties. And even then they're weak, fledgling things at best. I do not know what Kyirri had, but if it was bad enough that a doctor probably could not help. Well, I admit the general ineptitude of Ithralian medicine, but still, to heal someone dying? At fourteen. How can you possibly think that is just normal magical healing? I would not rely on just the assumption of ignorance or stupidity on part of our enemies, not when you display some very odd, and very powerful talents."


Kassin looked surprised. "I do not know what is the norm for an Angel's natural powers... I did not think that my abilities were, in that way... odd."
"Still... even if I am an exceptionally talented healer, for my age, I can't see why that would make the Claws want to capture me, or why the Thularians would take exceptional measures to kill me over any other creature. I'm sure there are others in the world with more power and skill than I."

This time, the flare of irritation was more than minor, although Kedered smothered it after a second. Idiot child! He is not old enough to be let off of his mother's apron strings. I should. No, he was not the angel's father, and it would not be beneficial to anyone would he try to assume that mantle. Fixing his features into serenity, he murmured to Kassin. "I would not be so certain."

He then deliberately turned his heel and strode out. He needed to speak to Eilan.

[Tipod]

"My close family calls me Raff. You call me Raffiele." The hyena didn't even bother to look at Chiyo. Odd group. Yeah, it gets even weirder when a dragon's mixed in. "We're also a very dangerous group. Haven't you seen all our pretty faces on a wanted poster?" Being such a bastard, Raf wasn't about to just flat-out tell her that being around them was pretty foolhardy. "Or do you want a mugshot of your own, maybe get your head cut off by some vigilante?" He turned to face her, red eyes narrowed contemptuously.

[Lisky]

Garis' facial expression didn't flinch when the thought was thrown about the room for those capable of reading them.  He did inch a little closer though.  When she asked her question, and the others seemed to busy themselves with their own agendas throughout the small hut, Garis himself gave a mental shrug, and figured he'd go and do the same.  Again, speaking in a soft, soothing tenor, he replied, "Doesn't seem like we're quite ready to leave yet, i'd say find somewhere to make yourself comfortable, because that journal Eilan is flipping though seemed rather large..."

He paused, looking around the room for somewhere to sit down. Spotting a thick, fur rug, Garis pointed it out and started moving towards it, hoping the Dragoness would follow, He smiled back and said, "if there's anything you'd like to know about me, Ketet, i'd love to get to know you a little better while the others seem occupied." As he finished, he gave the girl a pleasant grin, and motioned for her to come sit by him on the rug.

Garis folded his wings behind him, which revealed that he was wearing just a pair of pants, and the heavy leather belt that held the broad dagger across his back. 

[Zuki]

She grinned slightly as he spoke to Raffiele. "My what a charming personality you have!" She said dryly before she leaned in, she looking him up and down for a moment. She smiled though and put her paws up under her chin and batted her eye lashes. "I do believe my face would look pretty good on a poster." She said easily, she flicking her tail back and forth. "I'm an incubus. This face on a poster will not phase me." She remarked, hinting that perhaps she was already hiding her true identity. "Besides, from what I've come to understand, you guys aren't the bad guys." She paused though smirked. "Well, the group anyway. You, I'm not to sure about." She remarked. She liked him. She looked towards Kassin though. "He doesn't seem very dangerous. Neither do any of the cubi. I think I'd rather take my chances traveling with you then traveling alone where some adventures will kill me with out thinking twice." She traveled with out her wings and head wings, but still, people could recognize her if they tried hard enough. She turned to face him more, her hands on her hips as she mimicked the face he made as she narrowed her eyes. Were all demons this way or just this one? At least he wasn't trying to kill her.

[murmer]

Kit hesitated for only a small fraction before happily complying to Garis' invitation. Having a male that responded to her attraction dulled the trauma that had happened earlier. She pushed most of her sorrow from her mind. There will be a time to mourn later, when she's calmed down enough to sort through her thoughts.

Ketet closed the distance between Garis and her quite quickly, though she seemed to do it with as little effort as possible. It wasn't as much gliding as just moving as conservatively as possible. She was a bit nervous, though. Clearly, she knew Garis to be of Cubi origin. Why would a fur so nice and handsome like he be pleasant to his adversary? Is this another plo--

Then Garis folded his wings and Kit's train of thought derailed and rode down a mental waterfall. There was the tiniest but isn't he cold?! that was barely detectable under the sudden increase of emotional attraction. The wolf/dragon sat down tentatively, clearly trying to hide a rising flush.

"You said you were of a Clan. Does that mean you are Cubi, like Chiyo is?"

[Noone]

Eilan raised an eyebrow as he saw Kedered coming over. He kept his eyes on the journal he held, and flipped a page as he came. He continued reading it as he spoke. "No... I haven't found where either of them can be found yet. The journal did comfirm my initial suspicions, the family did have three children, Gavin, Yara, and Avair, who were ten, nine, and eight years old respectively." He paused, cycling through what he had learned from the journal, while weeding out useless information. "It also made a mention that Mrs. Darrins had to custom make Avair's shirts, though I haven't found a specified reason." He stopped again.
"It might take me a few more hours to read the rest of this." Eilan stated as he turned another page. "Unless it's an emergency, which, from your stance, I don't believe it is, I'd prefer to get back to my task." He soon relocated somewhere else secluded and continued reading.

Kassin looked at Kedered as he saw him leave, he could certainly sense his irritation. He sighed as he looked to the ground. He softly contemplated his position. I know he's trying to help, but I can't believe that I'm something special like that, and not know about it either... He looked over at the others near him, silently wondering why they didn't pick up from where he had left off. He chose to be quiet, and silently contemplate over what had been said. It's hard to believe the world would be so badly designed as to make everyone hate someone innocent, but... maybe there is something more, and I just don't want to be... He continued to stare at the ground.

What had seemed like hours had passed, the place was still like ice, solid, unmoving, unforgiving. The cold wind continued to blow, snow continued to fall, but not in a gentle stream, but had a strange harsh quality as though it were hailstones that fell instead of snow. Amidst the silence, Eilan eventually finished reading through Darrins's journal. He paced to the front of the abandoned hut, and motioned towards the others, interrupting any conversations they might have been having. "Everyone inside, I've found our next lead."

He paused as he went in, and waited for the others to come in as well. Once he saw everyone there, he started off. "I didn't find where Mr. Darrins's brother lives, but I did find some interesting notes. First thing, he dyed his hair blue, I'm not sure why, but a blue haired wolf should be easy to spot should we find him."
"The next thing, it said that he often spent his nights at a bar called the 'Festering Oubliette', and I know how to get there. If we head there, we might be able to find him inside. Failing that, he's one of the regulars, so we should be able to find someone who knows where he lives."
"However, there are some issues, it comes straight off of a major road, it's very close to a town, and there aren't any other structures or other sources of thick vegetation to hide ourselves. It means that we'd have a very difficult time hiding ourselves there, plus there are likely going to be a lot of people coming through around the place, and if any of them spots us, it wouldn't take them very long to raise an alarm and we'd have to vacate." Eilan stopped himself.

"We're going to need some kind of a plan..." He paused momentarily.

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance skipped over to the hut when Eilan bekoned for everyone to gather. She shook the snow off that seemed to have piled up on her at the doorway before going all the way inside. Of course at the site of the shirtless Garis her eyes widened some and she had to stifle a few giggles before she looked to Eilan, however hard it was to concentrate at that moment. She listened as intently as she could.

"I think we should split up, as Kedered said before.." She blurted out, eager to help come up with a plan. "How about having two groups of three and one with four, all with a strong mind listener at the head of each group? That way we can stay in touch fairly easy without having to be right next to eachother. Granted.. that doesn't exactly help with the faces... but scarves might help. Add an air of mystery and danger so hopefully people won't get too pokey in our business? And not everyone would have to wear a scarf either.."

No matter what it was going to be a tricky task, and the tip of her tail ticked with the presentation of the challenge.

[Lisky]

Garis innocently stretched his arms, wings, and let his headwings pop out and do a little stretch as well.  Durring the stretch he brushed his hand across Kit's shoulder, and tensed a little, saying a soft, "sorry."

He lightly scratched his chest, then adjusted into a comfortable lean towards the dragon/wolf, leaving his hand a small fraction of an inch from her own.  He smiled while tilting his head, giving her a playful look.  "Why yes, i am an incubus... i do hope that doesn't trouble you..." He replied in a soft voice.

It had suddenly dawned on him that he may be just as smitten, as if a lovestruck puppy, with her, as she seemed to be, with him... he found the whole situation amusing, to say the least, as he gave himself a mental grin.

[Azlan]

Tyrian never sleeps, unless he needs to heal for some reason, but for whatever reason, he embraced the frigid chill of the snow.  Had anyone bothered to check, he would have been ice cold, and quite literally passable for a corpse brought about by exposure. 

This was not the case, and the missive from Eilan to assemble brought him instantly out of his torpor with the soft crunching of ice under his foot pads to signal an approach.  He made it a point to shake ice all over the inside of the hut as he did not wish to be wet if it melted, having others wet was not something he cared about.  The exception was Kassin and Eilan, whom were magically avoided by the spray of ice crystals.

He approached and stood by the side of the boy angel, and since he appeared gloomy, the fox hugged the tiger.  No longer cold, his normal core warmth had returned.  Though he did not read minds, he felt compelled to say, "just be yourself Kassin... all blue and orange... both primary colors you know... of you."

"A plan, yes, I have thoughts on that.  However, I wish to hear the others and their input first."

[murmer]

"Oh! Not at all... It's just that... well... when I used to travel outside Atharra, there was some trouble between the general dragon and 'Cubi races... And, well..." Kit's blush went deeper, dusting further the pale fur on her cheeks. She glanced at him, slightly nervously. The light touch again almost made the dragon jump out of her skin.

Garis couldn't but hear the worry in her tone, and the embarrassment at almost leaping out in shock to his lightest touch. With a gentle smile, he replied.
"The Ahnasazi Clan is not a clan you would hear of in the Cubi-dragon war. We are a rather open and accepting clan."

"Well, I guess that's very good then," Kit stammered out some more. It was clear she was getting a bit nervous, and the two sat there in an awkward moment of silence.

"Ah uhm," Kit started again, "I'm sorry if what I asked was offensive. It's just that... well, this is really only the first time I've been in the company of so many 'Cubi and I got a little worried because my particular species tend to avoid such widescale hate and conflict and--"

Kit didn't seem to run out of breath as she hurriedly tried to clumsily correct herself in front of Garis. There was the faint 'smell' of magic that surrounded Kit's throat that derived itself from some form of air magic. She seemed to be unconsciously using it in her rapidfire talk. After what seemed like a long while of her explaining the Tari family's quirks and unique outlook on life, Kit realized she was blabbering on too much and decided to shut up, looking embarrassed.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

Festering Oubliette? What kind of a name for an inn is that? Can you only get in through the roof or something?

This call to council interrupted Kedered's plan of getting Eilan away for a little interview, but if nothing else, 'Cubi could be patient. Or at least they should be. Haste is for fleshlings.  He considered Chance's plan, and noted Tyrian's guarded outlaying. Probably going to claim that whatever is decided was his original idea all along.

Kedered fought down a shrug. As long as the boy Angel remained safe........

"Chance's plan has some merit, although I would split up along different lines than three relatively equal groupings. Right now we have two interim objectives, finding out more at this 'Festering Oubilette" and to keep Kassin safe. The former group will need to interact socially, so anyone who has their face on a bounty notice is flat out. That puts Kassin and Raffiele in their own group. Creatures who cannot disguise their appearance will also likely be added to the bounty notice, given that our enemies seem to have some sort of arcane method of divining our presence. I do not need to remind anyone how quickly those bounty notices appeared after the alleged incidents, far more rapidly than it would take to have someone go over to the disaster sites and then run back to report. That means that Chance and Ketet also should be with Kassin and Raffiele. I do not believe that any of the four of them are capable of telepathic or arcane communication over long distances, so that would probably require either Zanfib or Tyrian in the group to coordinate. That group should probably go to ground somewhere reasonably safe, perhaps in the wilderness. The rest of us would go to this inn, use whichever one of Tyrian and Zanfib that did not go to keep in contact with the other group, and find out what we can. Once we have the information, we regroup to plan our next move".

If anything Kedered stood even straighter at the end of his speech, face and mind carefully blank, as he extended his senses out to try to pick up what other people thought of his plan,

[Lisky]

Garis grinned as Kit started talking about her family, and the various quirks.  While not particularly pertinent, nor interesting to the incubus, he nodded thoughtfully and followed along as she seemed to be venting some of her embarrassment through talking.  When she stopped rather abruptly he quirked an eyebrow and replied, "My, what an interesting family you have... and really, it was quite fascinating to hear about things from what many cubi consider 'the enemy's' point of view... It doesn't take my innate natural abilities to tell your tense... you should calm down, there's nothing to worry about."

Garis flashed another smile as he laid a hand on Kit's upper arm and gave her the softest of squeezes.  He leaned in a little closer and softly said, "You need not worry about offending me... I am an open book, anything you wish to know, i will gladly tell."  The wolf-cubi paused... His smile grew broader, and a faint bit of embarrassment could be felt by the other cubi in the room, he said in almost a whisper, "there is nothing i would wish to hide from you... and i think you should know... i think i like you... a lot."

With the admission, he gave a her a crooked smile.  He then gave the dragon-girl another playful look and eased back into the lean he'd assumed earlier.  His own heart rate was racing, as he realized he might have said too much...

[Noone]

As Eilan solicited suggestions, he gazed across the room, some were silent, others active, others active in ways he did not appreciate. He turned an angry glare towards Garis and Ketet, upset that they didn't appear to be taking what beset the rest of them seriously. "Hey, pay attention you two! This is an important matter, I expect you to treat it as such." With a grumble, he turned his head away, then with another glance towards Garis, he let out "And put your shirt back on!"

Kassin nodded mutely at Tyrian, he closed his eyes and nodded, then returned to his contemplations. He still appeared uneasy.

Eilan thought over what had been said a bit more. After a period of silence, he began. "I don't think scarves alone will work, the first thing people look for when spotting a creature are their wings, and I know Kassin can't hide his. Plus, those bright yellow wings are specifically noted in his bounty notice, and those can be spotted at a distance, unless the weather gets worse. Next there's the facial traits, bright colors, again, that's going to mark Kassin clearly, blue isn't a normal color for a being."

"I think that splitting into three groups would make it too hard to coordinate,..." He paused, as he started mapping out the geography of the area in his head. He turned to Kedered. "The biggest issue with splitting up however, is that the locale in which we will be going to is, for the most part, wide open plains. There's a town nearby, but we wouldn't have a safe place to go there. Unless the storms outside get worse, standing out in the open means we would be easy to spot, and I don't think there is thick vegetation in the area, not for at least two miles. Another consideration is that the location is not obscure like this place, there's going to be heavy traffic."

"Plus, we can't seperate too far, or we'll never find each other again. We don't have a safe place to stay either, this location is likely to be swimming in Claws soon, maybe a few hours or a few days." He stopped there, contemplating more movements along wide spans of terrain, calculating distances, how far one could see out in the snow. "Speaking of mental communication, how far can you do it? Farther than one could see?" He stopped to think about this method of coordination, contemplating how it could be used to their advantage. I just have to keep in mind that non-telepaths wouldn't be able to hear thoughts...

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib had been watching Chance again, when he turned his head slightly and quirked an eyebrow at the young dragoness and the incubus doddering along. He smirked slightly, and decided a little prank was in order. He adjusted his telepathic powers carefully, and sent a simultaneous message to the both of them, assuring that both Garis' open, and hence sensitive, mind and Kit's closed, and hence insensitive mind caught the message loudly, and clearly.

Get a room you two!!

"If communication is an issue.." Zanfib said, breaking his usual silence to the rest of the party, ".. then I can perhaps alleviate that problem. I can, if needed, set up a telepathic network between the entire party, or perhaps just select groups, so that they would be able to communicate between each other over a distance." He said, tiredly checking over his claws as he spoke, "This would, however, come close to taxing my abilities to their limit, considering the fact I am already playing watchtower." He said, finally looking up at the group. "What would you prefer I do?"

[Sprocketsdance]

Chance desperately thought hard.. there had to be some solution to this. She liked Ked's revamp of the grouping, but didn't know about how to hide the group she would be in. Then came Zan's idea and she looked to him, trying hard to not roll her eyes at his seemingly uncaring demeanor. She wanted to prod him in the side so bad...

"How far of a distance are you talking about? Perhaps we could stay wherever the cover ends, those who can change their appearance can go into town, and Kit can make a nice ice hut for us to wait in. I don't like the idea of splitting up over a large distance.. but I'm not sure what other choices we have."

We have to keep Kassin safe...

[murmer]

Kit jerked away from Garis' touch at the sound of Zanfib's voice in her mind, and Eilan's rebuke. She clutched her head with a yelp, wondering where the hell that thought came from. Looking around bewildered, Ketet remembered Eilan said something about planning a trip into dangerous areas.

She also remembered 'Cubi were telepathic, or at least thought-readers, and her blush deepened as she struggled to turn her mind towards the important situation at hand.

"It won't be a hut as more of shelter shaped like a snow drift. It will keep us from prying eyes, but not prying magic."

[Azlan]

Oh, Kedered's idea is very interest... oh bother...[snap]  Mental obfuscation and white noise returned to the area of Tyrian's consciousness.

He patted Kassin on the head and turned his attention to the matter at hand, if he had been asked to lead an army he'd have better ideas, but he was never in the sneaky special creature forces.

"All in all, I only really had a few ludicrous ideas involving turning you all into small, precious gems and posing as a jeweler... or changing everyone into air and skulking about invisibly."  The fox sighed, "I cannot change shape, though I can hide my wings magically... and submit to a dye job if necessary.  I can also provide tokens that can be used for magical communications, as well as networking it.  Like Zanfib, I can act as a sentinel, observing all in a sphere out to a distance dependent on how much I wish to tax myself."

The fox's eyes shifted their focus to some point to the side as he frowned, "a telepathic network, I wonder what type of protocol that uses... TCP/IP?  Telepathic Control Protocol... Intelligence Protocol..."

He shook himself out of his pondering and focused on the task at hand again, "our current size is a liability, that is indeed an agreeable fact.  With a fledgling cubi and an inexperienced dragoness, we are at an added disadvantage.  Those not on bounty notices should be able to wander relatively unmolested with the exception of being creatures known to rampage.  Not saying any of you do that sort of thing, though it was fun in my younger days, but beings are prejudiced.  As for snow drifts, I can turn people into air... it's much better for hiding and less cold.  Safe as long as you don't try to fly or wander too far away."