The Clockwork Mansion

Does anyone remember The RP that was started by Ryudo Lee, Way back in the day?

Is anyone interested in starting a new RP along those lines?  I think my RP skills have improved quiet a bit since then, and I'd like to let my old character, Winger, stretch his wings a bit.  Is anyone else interested?

I would be Interested but i don't remember The RP so could you give a little background on it?

I have no idea what that RP was, but I suppose I would like to join in the fun.

Well basically a bunch of anthos were in a tavern when a meteor crashed to the ground.  when  they went to investigate the crash it was reveled that what had fallen was a golden artifact that was part of an angel (a leg if I remember correctly).  If all the other peaces of the angel were not recovered before they fell into the wrong hands then it would spell certain doom for the world.

Ryudos' characters where
Rhyudo Lee: a White tiger that could transform into a dragon

Ryudo's brother: (I can't remember his name) A mage, that though an accident of magic switched the color of this stripes and fur.

Koji: Ryudo's son. a young cub that had a dragons eye for is right eye.

My characters (I will resist the urge to play multiple parts this time around.)

Winger: a Dragon Slaying black smith from a raise of bird-people. He is completely non magical, and often times you'd find him at odds with Ryudo and pretty much any other Dragon character.  He was angry and tortured, that's why I liked playing him so much! 
(I'll let you know more of his story later if this RP gets under way.)

Quill: another Bird person that is the complete opposite of Winger.  A fun loving, flirtatious Archer that r that I really only introdused to further along wingers story, and of course to get a little friendlier with the other players.

there was a  HUGE cast of characters that each had there own story and quirks, but I can't really  do them all credit.

The only way this RP could really work well if if there was at least two or three other players that remembered the story. 

I feel that it's also important to warn you that I was the worst player in the RP, so I'd be looking for one of the old players to act as a modorator for the RP.

Or you could find someone (me, say) who has a copy of the nice forums, and ask for the specific thread to be posted somewhere....

That would be just awesome!  Care to join?  Care to modorate??

Might I join as well?

I would be more then happy to participate!  It has been a long time and this 'ol RP was fun, especially Koji, Griffon and Sasha :P

Yes... if only the players of those two parts weren't M.I.A. We'd have ourselves a great RP.  I think we may have to start a new story line, or find a way to get missing players out of the way so we could continue where the last RP left off.

I already have my character all planned out. But before I finalize it, what are the limitations on what powers, inventory, and the like characters can and cannot have.

Limitations on power? Well basically, no Ubber powerfull characters. No one hit kills.

Inventory: what the heck? (Some times I just pulled Items from out f no where.)

All the rules where posted in the original RP, and If Llearch can provide them, they will be what we go by pretty much. If not, I guess I can let you if something's not cool.

*Topher enters the room with a rather big smile on his face.  As he finds Cheese Foxlee, he approaches him with much respect.  As he comes withing arm length of Cheese, he bows and looks up.  He studies Cheese's rather contempt expression, examining every inch of his face.  After 10 seconds had passed he jumps onto Cheese giving him a great bear hug*
Topher Chee at your service.

A skunk woman strolls down a nearby street. She knows that she should be happy, free from the evil sorceress’s mental grasp, but she cannot. She had killed so many people when under the sorceress’s spell.

“I hate you, Slevrani. Even though you are dead, you still bring me nothing but me pain,” she thinks.

*OOC: My character profile.

Sylva Xynthea (Sil-va Sin-THAY-uh)
Species: Skunk being
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Gender: Female
Class: Necromancer
Age: 21
Appearance: Long, white, shiny hair. Pale pink, long-sleeved shirt. Blue jeans.
Inventory: Purse with a $21.97
Abilities: Being one of the few good necromancers, she has a great knowledge of healing spells and the like.

I was hoping that Llearch, would hook us up with the links to the original RP before we got started, but if we are going to start let's do it right.

Rules:

1. Before you begin will Everyone please post you're character stats along with a Description of what they look like.

2.  No need to worry about power levels and D&D Damage scales. (I hate that stuff.)

3.  Be as detailed as possible When you post, because we will be going by a 24 posting period.  Which means that you post ONCE every 24 hours, to give everyone a chance to post.  Be sure to get everything out in one big burst.

4.  Be courteous, when you post. while I don't have a problem with cursing, some younger players might, so try to stay away form those infamous four letter words.

5.  NO Spamming and no L33t speak PLEASE! (it's just annoying)

6.  Action can be posted in Asterisks like so  *He jumped*

7.  Thoughts/ Dreams are marked Like so

8.  Out of character can be posted in these things -->[ ]

that should do it for now.

[Topher, In this RP I will be playing the character Winger, not Cheese.]

Winger:
Species: Avian
Gender: Male
Class: Blacksmith
Age:  30ish?
Appearance: Tall, slender, bird bird like creature with blue feathers and red feathers.

Picture http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/6839238/?qo=453&q=by%3Acheesefoxlee&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps

Inventory: Coin bag 300, Lots of Thowing knives, a finely crafted sword with a unique pattern.
Abilities: winger has the  ability of flight.  He extremely agile, and accurate with throwing knives.  He used no magic and sometimes has trouble trusting those that do, especially Dragons.

The story begins back at the the Inn that had been the sight of the first appearance of th the Angel artifact 2 years ago. Winger had returned, just to take in the smell of place where he had made so many new friends, and he had learned to trust again. He was just passing though, but he couldn't help but wonder if he would see any familiar faces.

*Wingers stepped up to the bar and laid his bag of coins on the counter, and took a seat. He looked down the  the long counter and remember the first night he had been there. He remembered Being served his drink, by the Inn keeper, Ryudo Lee, Who would take him on his greatest adventure.

[More to come tomarrow.]

Rei
Species: Panther
Gender: Female
Class: Wandering Nomad
Age:  24
Appearance: Tall, slender, Looks like she hasn't slept or eaten for days

Picture: Don't have one

Inventory: Two daggers, and a well crafted short sword. Her Clothes are very raged and torn up.
Abilities: She is extremely agile and flexible.  She uses no magic and but she can blink in and out of reality and move while doing so(this has gotten her in and out of trouble many a time).  She is trusting to anyone that will help her out.

[Hope this is good enough]

Rei is already sitting at the bar but since she doesn't have any money, so she just asks for water. Looking up then back down at the newcomer that just entered. As soon as he puts down his bag of coins she hears it and starts to eye the bag hungrily.

Name: Topher Chee.
Species: Mountain lion/Kangaroo rat.
Race: Elemental (Fire).
Sex: Male.
Age: 15
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 150
Fur Color: Creamy, light brown.
Head fur and Tail: Messy brown hair, black stripe.
Eye Color: Dark brown.
Martial status: Single...?
Occupation: Student / Apprentice bounty hunter
Personality: Clumsy, humorous, open.
Likes: Rain and reading, hanging out with friends, adventures, applesauce.
Dislikes: Crowded areas (claustrophobic).

The race I belong to is called Elemental. Here's info done in Demonology format since everyone is used to that around here.

General traits:
•   Magical powers related to element
•   Transformation form
•   Various markings based on bloodline
•   Average life span: 75 - 100 years.

Inventory:
•   20 pounds of Thallium, (used as multiple weapons.  He can shape it any which way h likes.  Most commonly uses a staff)
•   10 gold coins
•   Hammock (folded into a sack to carry other objects he finds interesting on his travels)
•   Compass
•   Maps of local regions
•   12 Doggy treats

General: The elemental race is made up of four, or perhaps more, different races that all share similar properties, though differ in their individual powers. Elementals are creatures that associate with an element of nature, the primary four being fire, earth, water and air. In normal form, they appear to be average beings, but some of the more eccentric elementals will blur the line between their normal and "tapped" form. Tapped is the term used for an elemental that is in his or her transformed state. The elemental becomes wholly like the element he or she is associated with, so a fire elemental will be made of pure fire or an air elemental will be a wispy tornado. Most elementals retain their normal body structure when transformed, but they may also change it to suit their needs. 

Each elemental shares a deep connection with the element of their bloodline and at the same time are negated by their opposite element. More experienced or aged elementals can pull from the surrounding environment to add to their own power while in transformed, and the greatest are able to take advantage of the pinnacle of their element.

Elemental societies are sparse, but where they do exist, they are always found near the element that makes up the community; for example a village of water elementals would live near a seaport or large lake. It is very rare for opposing types of elementals to live together due to indifference in the past, but some have managed to keep a peaceful bond going. It is because of this fact that some new elementals are emerging, causing both controversy and praise from the elemental community as a whole. For most, living among beings fits just fine, as most people rarely see elementals in their tapped form, and elementals hardly need to ever transform while living peacefully.

History: Elementals have been around since the creation of nature, though it has only been relatively recent that elementals would walk among normal people. For the longest time, elementals were a xenophobic collective and only kept relations with other types of elementals, though these were mostly hostile. It is thought that elementals were originally created to keep watch over the balance of nature, each tribe assigned to a different element. Regardless of their origin, elementals have always had differing opinions on what is balanced and what is not. The crux of "balance" has been the reason behind many a conflict between elemental tribes throughout the years.

About a hundred years ago these tensions boiled over into the greatest clash between the four primary elemental tribes and many were killed because of it. In the end the damage was so much so that the newer generations began to move away from the deeply rooted cultural ties to their tribe either due to disgust in the pride of it all, or simply because their village elders had been killed and could not pass on the lore of the tribe.

Strengths: In normal form, an elemental is able to command a simple array of spells associated with their element, the choice to either develop these into dark or light is entirely up to the preference of the elemental. While in tapped form, the elemental is able to manipulate their brand of element almost completely. For example, an inexperienced or young elemental of earth would be able to lift up rocks and rubble from the surrounding area and hurl them at a target, while the most experienced of earth elemental would be able to raise pillars of earth from the ground to destroy buildings. Tapped elementals may also draw power from their element of birth to restore health or missing limbs.

Weaknesses: In normal form, an elemental is as powerful as your average being. While this varies on how savvy the elemental is with training and such, they do not have any inherent defense against the mundane or magical. Admitably an elementals tapped form allows them a variety of power; it can almost spell their downfall if they were ever to encounter their opposing element. For example, a fire elemental in tapped form would take massive physical and mental damage from being dunked into a river, and would eventually revert to their normal form in a comatose state, or worse. Minor interaction with opposing elements poses no danger, but it makes the elemental very irritable. Again, the example of a fire elemental walking in the rain would render his head a migraine.


Just in case you guys didnt know about this whole elemental deal

I'd like to get in on some of this fun.

[Name: Cogidubnus / Cog (COG-i-Duhb-nuhss)
   Appearance: Very nice gentleman's suit, somewhat loose and a bit too long in the back, all in black, lined in silver: the cufflinks and buttons are made of silver as well, and he wears a silver chain around his neck. Wears a hat and glasses, through which longish silver hair pushes through, also both black, and silver-rimmed.
   Species: Human...to all appearances.
   Alignment: Neutral Good
   Gender: Male
   Class: Weapon Master (Swordsman)
   Age: 240
   Inventory: Glasses, hat, a variety of various charms, and his sword, a black-hilted Katana in a black sheath, with silvered ornamentation.
   Abilities: As he has studied the martial arts for longer than most of his sensei lived, he has incredible speed and precision with the sword. As well, through his mastery of his body, he is able to directly use the energy flowing through him and manifest it in various ways.]

       Cog sits down next Rei and motions to the barkeep. "Whiskey, if you have it." He sits back, and looks at Rei from the corner of his eye. He notices her eyeing a bag of coins, and smiles to himself.
      "You need a drink, madam?" He offers her a silver coin from his pocket.

Sylva continues walking down the street. She sees the bar and thinks, “I wonder if anybody in there knows anything about this area… this dimension.”

[Had to offer SOME sort of justification for her type of currency.]

She walks into the bar, showing her ID if necessary. She looks around a bit. “Funny how much this dimension looks like my own. I’ve been in this one for but an hour and already I feel a bit at home.”

Winger called to the bar keep and ordered glass of whiskey for himself. While he had the bartender's attention, the asked about his old friend, and was disappointed to find out that Ryudo had sold the in and that neither him, his brother, or his young son Koji had been seen or heard in nearly a year.  An uneasy feeling settled on Winger as he sipped his drink, but there was nothing that could be done for it.  He had come to sell his metal works and had done so.   He would leave for home tomarrow, and he couldn't wait to see his daughter.

"Thanks for the drink." He  said, laying 3 gold coins on the table for of bartender; and with a small groan, he got to his feet and went to see another clerk to see about making arrangements to stay in one of the rooms for the night.

She wasn't paying any attention to the gentleman that had seated next to her because at that moment when Winger stood up, she blinking out, then back in grabbing the bag of coins and whispering "Thank you", then out again and she was gone. A faint commotion could be heard from the street as she started to run away.

Topher enters the bar and sits at the nearest stool.  He looks around and nods a little at Winger, he then raises his hand to the bar and asks for a pint of milk.

"Or, perhaps, you do not need a drink?" Cog says to himself, laughing. "I suppose gold is brighter than silver, in this day anyway." He flips the silver coin around on his fingers, and places it back into his pocket, and takes a drink of his whiskey. He leans forward, and out of the corner of his eye, he catches the glint of metal. He looks over at the stranger with wings, and eyes the sword he's carrying.
  "Strange..." He whispers, and adjusts his fedora. He would have to keep an eye on that one.

Winger turned to see that his bag had gone missing and he rushed for the door and remarked, "I see that security at this place hasn't improved with the new ownership." remembering the chain of events that lead to join in the expedition two years earlier.  winger burst thought the door of the tavern, ad took to the skies; flapping his arms as hard as he could, and keeping a keen eye out for the thief.
He thought he spotted re for a secon but then  she vannished.  winger blinked hardly beleiving what he had witnessed. 

As he flapped on in search of his loot his gold he began to gorw hopless How could he catch something  that could vanish into thin air in the blink of an eye?  then he spooted her again a bit ferther down the road.  Now, wasting no time winger, desended up on her and flung a couple of knives in an attempt to impead her progress.  He set himself down infront of and drew his sword. "Don't go vanishing on me, witch." he spat. "I don't take kindly to people taking my hard earned gold.  That money is is ment to help me and my people back home.  Not to line your greedy pockets, and you'll had it over if you have a shread of sence in your head."

As he looked her over noticed her raged clothes; he sheathed his sword and  sighed "I'm sorry for my harsh words, but if all you were looking for was a hand out you could have asked." He took a small step forward and spoke softly. "What's your name?"

Sylva walks around the bar a bit. Though she does feel a bit at home, she also feels a bit out of place. She doesn’t know what this dimension was like. She has to know; and she knows what she will have to do next.

“Come on, Sylva. You can do this. Be brave. What’s the worst that could happen? Just go up and talk to someone. That’s all you need to do. You have nothing to lose.”

She walks up behind Cogidubnus. She thinks aloud, “Come on Sylva, you can do this. All you need to do is talk to him. That’s all.” She then looks quite embarassed when she realizes that she just spoke every word of that out loud.

At first she looks scared at the fact that he had found her then she bow down to him in the middle of public. "Sir, i am sorry,... Please don't kill me. Rei is my name."

Uh. I'm presuming you were after these:

http://llearch.net/misc/nice/ultimatebb.cgi_t=000343.html
http://llearch.net/misc/nice/ultimatebb.cgi_t=000350.html

Yes?

((I've participated in this...of course my creativity in character is slightly different now...  :rolleyes Nonetheless, I'm in...I hope this'll be good enough.))

Name: Aisha deCabre
Species: Black jaguar (panther)
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Trade: Bounty hunter/adventurer
Appearance: Basically the same as in the previous RP...
Accessories: A black belt around her waist that serves as the holding spot for her arsenal; the blade protected from magic by a dragonskin sheath, her trademark boomerang, and the whip which has since been enchanted with ice magic, and a bracer that holds light magic that can dispel dark energy and hold most demons at bay...plus the emerald tail ring that can detect a demon's presence.
Skills: No magic to speak of, but she is good with enchanted weaponry, especially with light-magic aligned items.  She is very fast and good with close combat, but better with ranged combat, and takes advantage of every opportunity.

---

The doors to the inn opened once again into the slightly dusty air of the rest of the town, something that hadn't also changed since her absence.  The figure in the doorway took its time coming in, her face hidden by a hood over her head connected to the red cape trailing down her back.  A clue to the creature's species was shown when her tail whipped forth, producing an emerald ring gleaming in the light.  It was slightly curled at the tip and black as the darkness of night.

After a few minutes, the figure stepped in further, the cape fluttering behind to show that she wore slightly loose and comfortable attire of dark night blue and a belt on her waist that carried within something gleaming and mettallic, a silvery blade with a certain shape to it.

"This would be the place," she called behind her in a feminine voice that also held behind each word a sense of fearlessness and skill, the type where one could just tell she has been through much in her life with the voice alone.  Her hands came up to remove the hood from her head, knowing that the tavern would be quite safe.  The face was that of a young female panther, crimson eyes facing forward towards the bar as she approached. 

Her head shook to straighten the strands of black hair framing her face, while the rest of her hair wrapped in a braid was held steady beneath the cape.  She smirked, several memories of a past epic adventure coming back to her.  "It hasn't changed much at all."

Name: Gareeku Manoko
Age: 23
Species: Wolf
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 200lbs
Build: Athletic
Appearence: His fur is all white, save for the tips of his ears and tail which are black. Gareeku also possesses deep blue eyes, accompanied by a visible x-shaped scar between them, along with hair that spike out backwards, save for the bangs of hair which cascade down his forehead, stopping just past his eyes. The clothes he wears consist of a blue sleeveless gi top with pants, accompanied by a brown hooded cloak, a pair of securely fastened sandals and a black martial arts belt tied round his waist.
Accessories: At his side is a sheathed Katana. The katana holds within it it's own source of magic, making it a deadly weapon, especially against those with a weakness for light magic.
Skills: Gareeku is very much skilled with most weaponry as well as hand to hand combat. His knowledge and skill with light magic is his main power, though he can also use other magic such as fire and ice. Gareeku can also weild a power known as soul energy. While very powerful, it is also draining, as it is drawn from the user's very being.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

"This would be the place..."

After Aisha had spoken these words, another masculine-looking figure appeared at the doorway, his face covered in shadow from the hood covering his head. His clothes and cloak billowed softly in the wind from outside. Under the hood, a pair of deep blue eyes could be seen, scanning the room as the figure stayed silent, before finally speaking.

"Cosy." The stranger commented, before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. Removing the hood from his head, the figure revealed himself to be a young-looking white-furred wolf. Hearing the panther's comment, the wolf turned to her, sporting a smirk of his own.
"Heh, gotta love trips down memory lane, eh?" He said somewhat teasingly, before dusting his clothes off slightly.

The stranger had been standing back, smoking under the cover of a roof to the side of the street. However, when the crowd was upset and the ragtag girl came running by, soon followed by the swooping avian, his attention turned towards them. He sensed something else too, drawing closer. Then, there was a flash of steel, and he immediately walked forth, making his way through the crowd.

   "Is something wrong here?" a voice said from behind Winger. It was deep but melodious and carried a slight but peculiar, sharp accent, like a combination of British and German to those who could recognize it. Its owner then made himself present.
   He appeared to be some sort of bat, but contrary to what one would think was rather large, at some six feet tall. He actually looked sort of lanky, with his broad shoulders and long arms, but at the same time he seemed muscled and hard enough to weigh a good bit, somwhere on the lower end over two hundred pounds. He wore almost all-black clothes, with just a few details of silver and green, consisting of some sort of vest with a short-sleeved shirt under it, and black wrappings covering all of his arms. His pants were made of the same smooth but tough fabric as his vest, and ended over a pair of big, rough-soled yet even and nicely blackened boot-like shoes. Over his left arm he held a long, fur-lined black coat and a big black bag, and on his back was a big crozius of some kind, tall as a man and made wholly from black metal and in a finely crafted celtic kind of style. Most odd of all, perhaps, was his white collar and cross-and-scales-type of black pendant hanging from his necklace, marking him as some manner of priest, and the fact that his eyes were wrapped tight with a black scarf or handkerchief. He must have been blind, for his head tilted slightly off when he spoke, and placed a large, iron hand on Rei's shoulder.
   "If any inequities have been committed..." he said, a friendly smile on his hard-edged face that was sadly made wicked by his sharp muzzle and fangs.



Name: Sebastian "Stygian" König
Species: Bat (well, apparrently so)
Age: Who knows? He looks in his late twenties.
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0"
Weight: >200lbs. Hard to tell...
Appearance: Well, I just did it, but... Stygian could be described as what happens when you crossbreed a bat with a blonde, shiny bishounen, and then some heavy-duty construction machinery. He's athletically built, and somewhat handsome, with well-shaped features and neatly cropped blonde hair that unites with his backfur in a kind of mane. But he has a bit long arms, and while he looks slimmed down, as if one had practically stripped nearly all fat from his body, he is not slim at all. Rather, he looks made up from hard, sinewy muscle. He's got really big hands and feet, quite big fangs, and a short, pointy tail.
Accessories: Not much, except his clothes, a bag with other clothes, a bit of money and assorted trinkets, his watch, and a pair of rather nasty-looking high-caliber pistols that he has hidden inside his coat.
Skills: It has yet to reveal itself just exactly what skills and abilities he possesses. What is known though, is that he is a master swordsman and a ferocious close-quarter combatant, possessed of tremendous strength and speed, and also skilled in infiltration and assassination. He has no knowledge of magic or magical power whatsoever, yet somehow he has managed time and again to stand up to magical opponents as if their advantage meant nothing to him. And those observant have often noticed that there appears to be much more to him than meets the eye, even taking his other strange traits into account...

Cog smiles as he drinks, and turns around. He looks at her, and pauses for a moment, then motions to a seat beside himself.

"Better introductions have been made, but I'm not one to complain." Cog laughs. "Sit down and have a drink: I gather, that there is something you wish to speak about." Cog takes another drink of his whiskey, and whispers under his breath
"Like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies, And all that's best of dark and bright, meet in her aspect and her eyes...", He grins to himself.

[Thanks so much to Llearch For providing the information in the links.  I encouage all new comers to read up a little bit.  You might enjoy it, and I shoud give you a couple good Ideas on What may come later in the game.]

Winger sniffed the air and look back to see the "man bat" that had just arrived.  "There's no trouble here, so long as the young miss returns what she took from me.  You can go back you your tobacco." He chuckles and then addresses the lady.

"Miss Rei was it?  I only want what's mine by right, and I'm not going to kill ya.  The fact is, I  doubt that I, or any other man for that matter could." He laughed a bit again.  "You have quiet a talent for mischief. I can see that well enough. Return that bag and I'll give you a tenth of it's content for your trouble."  winger Reached out his arm to take  the bag.  "You have to admit, 27 gold coins is more than generous, especially When I should have you thrown in prison; Not that I believe that to be possible either, of course."

[Hurray Aisha has joined! Welcome back!]

“Do they have any grape soda? I’m quite fond of that.” Sylva sits down next to Cogidubnus. “As for what I wanted to talk about, well… I’m kinda new to this dimension. I don’t know what things are like here. They seem to be the same, but I don’t know for sure.” Sylva looks a bit sad. “I wouldn’t have had to leave if it weren’t for Slevrani. She possessed me and made me kill my friends and family. She turned me into a monster in the eyes of the people. That’s why I had to move to this dimension.” She pauses for a moment. “Sorry. I’m getting off the subject, aren’t I? My name is Sylva Xynthea, by the way.”

She looks up at winger "Thank you sir." Now looking at the voice from before to help her, she freaked. She blinked right behind winger. "What the hell are you... oh my... I am so sorry..." She looks up to Sebastian that was kind of pealding him not to hurt her. She slowly gave back the bag of coins not knowing whats going to happen next because she has never been caught.

As Topher strums the bar top, he observes the ferals around him.  He hears a glass clomp and he turns to find his pint of milk.  He leaves a gold coin at the table and leaves to sit at a nearby round table.  As he begins to finish the pint he realizes he never fed his heeler, Blue.  He gulps down the remaining drops of milk and dashes out the door.  He looks up at the sky, nods, and engulfs himself into a flame.  He speeds throught the air toward the forest and notices a minor quarrel beneath him.

((Haha, well, I can't be expected to resist an old RP for too long, now can I? ;) ))

While approaching the bar, Aisha playfully punched Gareeku's shoulder with a laugh.  "Most of the time, you do.  This place carries one of my better ones."

The panther looked around at the assortment of patrons; still as much in business as ever, with some new faces strewn out everywhere merely enjoying their drinks and what have them.  It was the kind of place that anything, creature or being, would have felt was safe to spend the night in...that is if something didn't happen.  To any of those who looked back curiously to see who had come in, she gave a friendly nod and took a seat at the bar.

As she looked around for a barkeep, a thoughtful look came to her eyes.  Huh, I guess Ryudo hasn't returned.  Wonder who keeps this place up and running now?

The bat's look became a bit sour, even incredulous, as he backed a bit, but then his mouth parted and his fangs glistened in a warm smile. He chuckled a bit.
   "Hehe... It's allright miss. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had that question, really." He let go of her shoulder and stepped back, making a fluid and measured bow. "Sebastian König, priest in her Blind Lady's service, and at yours. And since there seems to be no real problem here, why don't I escort you to a calmer place so you and the good sir can talk this over?" he said, nodding his head toward the avian with a friendly expression and offering Rei a large wrapped arm. His ears twitched only slightly, as he seemed to notice something.
   Hmmm? Someone was quoting Goldsmith? Was there someone from that world here...?

Cog motions to the large number of wine bottles that dot the bar's shelves. "I'm sure that they carry many, many grape-flavored drinks here. As for grape soda, well, one never knows. The barkeep does seem to be well-stocked: this Whiskey isn't half-bad," He says, taking another sip from his glass. The light reflects off his shades.
"Your story is unfortunate. "When lovely woman stoops to folly, And finds to late that men betray, What charm can soothe her melancholy, what art can her guilt wash away?"," Cog says, shaking his head. "It sounds like you had quite an ordeal," Cog says, smiling sadly.
"As far as this dimension, well, it seems to be like most others. Up is up, down is down, and the sky is high.  I'm new in town, so I couldn't say what to expect around here..." Cog points to some of the newcomers to the Inn, "But, if they are any indication of the type of patron local to here, than certainly we are in for exiting times. My name is Cogidubnus, by the way."

Observing Aisha's reaction to his teasing, Gareeku laughed softly as he walked to the bar with her. Ordering an ale for himself and whatever drink Aisha wanted, the wolf gave the bartender he had caught the attention of, and ordered from, a couple of gold coins for a pouch that was attached to his waist, before sipping his drink and observing the others who were in the room. The tavern reminded him of the one near his hometown of Harkhun; creatures and beings could be seen socialising with each other, enjoying a drink together as the tensions in the outside world had seemingly been forgotten; something which Gareeku could not help but smile softly at.

"So, who's this Ryudo character I keep hearing so much about?" the wolf asked as he turned to Aisha, a look of curiosity on his face as he spoke.

Winger, nodded and headed backward the bar, glad to have his gold back.  "If only things had gone so easily two years ago."  He laughed to himself.  "Rei, I'll get you your gold once We are back inside, perhaps you would be so kind as to tell us why you want it so ba..." His thought was interrupted upon entering the  door way of the bar.  "Well, I'll be a yellow belly tree toad!"  He said with an expression of shock on his face. "Aisha? Is that you?"

“I swore off alcohol years ago. Anyway, I wonder if there are any magic shops around here,” Sylva says.

[This one may be small, but the next one should be quite large.]

*digs around and finds original character post*


(http://members.cox.net/foxmage/Carran.jpg) (http://members.cox.net/foxmage/carran2.jpg)

Character Name: Carra'Rosgon Su'Arraen Ernil(short name: Carran).

Character Age: Appears to be around 16 to 18, actual age is unknown.

Species: Grey Fox, appears to be Kinain (descended from the fair folk).
Sex: Male.

Description: Appears to be a simple fox (but no fox is simple ^_^) He has gray body fur except his face and front side, which are white. His face is accented by gray fur that also runs as a stripe from his forehead, down his muzzle and ending at his little black nose. His ears, paws and small marks on his muzzle are black. He has eyes of nearly electric blue and dusky blond head fur/hair. His attire is a mixture of arcane mystic and stylish fighting attire, a cross between Chinese kung-fu outfit and rune embroidered wizard's robes in blue and black with silver embroidered runes and symbols. He carries a fine silvery long sword known as Isenrail.

Classification Type: Warrior Mage.

Special Powers: Possesses spells of Elemental Magic, Dark Magic (not evil magic!) and minor spells from Light Magic (healing mostly). The sword Isenrail is magical and ancient, but itself does not possess any amazing attack powers other than its ability to channel a spell of its user to enhance its own strike (at a detriment to duration and area of effect).

Items of note: Silver Long Sword "Isenrail", Arcane outfit, Bracers, Flute, Rowan Staff with Sapphire orb.

Special notes: Vulnerable to Necromantic magical effects (life draining, Inflict wounds), mostly unaffected by Spirit magics (Soul captures, Spirit healing) and abhors armor (with the exception of bracers and light chain shirts *that's stretching it though*).


EDIT (03/02/07): Companion character added: Alia Beshley (canine, gypsy-mage)


(http://members.cox.net/foxmage/line_rngtls.gif)


After many long months of travelling through jungle, desert, forest, tundra and plains the fox mage had finally made it back to civilized and somewhat more familiar lands. 

"This would have been easier if I had not gotten lost back there in the desert.  That rabbit looking for Al-ba-kirk-ee did not help either, his directions were bad."

The gray fox spied a bar just up the road and headed towards it, a spot of tea would be nice.  He nearly bumped into the fellow taking up the doorway.

"I say, mind if I pass and enter here sir?"

Looks around Winger to see all the new people at the bar. Upon Seeing one of her own kind at the bar, she blinks right  next to her and starts to talk to her in their tongue. >"It is nice to one of your own kind out here. So how have you've been, sister?"<

Stygian stepped in through the doors along with Winger and Rei, moving behind them. He stopped halfway in through the doors though, turning his attention to two of the figures at the bar, more specifically the panthress and the wolf, though it would be very hard to tell for anyone else that he did.
   That was... did he know...? No. Not this way, or this time. Yet he knew. Damn things for being so complicated. Ah, well... He walked up to the bar, deciding he'd play the part he had chosen for now. If it turned out that things were different from how he perceived them he would adapt. And he'd have to talk to them anyhow. But now was not the time.
   Smiling again, Stygian sat down beside the panthress.
   "Hmmm...? A meeting of friends? Well... I who thought this was a rather gloomy day up until now... Barkeep! A good shot of single malt, please," he said, and turned his eyeless gaze to Aisha. "Good day miss." He nodded to the wolf too. "And a good day to you too sir. I take it you frequent this establishment?"

Sparing a smile to Gareeku as she recieved an ale of her own, she became thoughtful while taking a sip.  It had been a while since the whole angel fiasco, but she could remember much about the events and their party leader.  She swallowed.  "Ryudo and his family used to own this bar, I think...I believe I told you of the quest we all went on.  Afterward, nobody's seen them since, but he's the one who found the first angel part..."

Suddenly, she was interrupted by a familiar voice and turned back her head to glance at the door.  Her eyes widening in surprise, she stood and took a polite bow of greeting.  "By the gods, it's good to see you again, Winger.  Why don't you come in, you're blocking the doorway.  Tell me what you've been doing all this time," she laughed and pointed to the avian while sitting down.  "My old friend here might tell you about Ryudo better than I can."

With a smile she relaxed and sipped more of her drink, swallowing and nodding her greetings back at the other panthress that had greeted her.  <"I have been well, and yourself?"> Finally, she also greeted the individual who had sat with she and Gareeku.  At his inquiry, she spared a knowing smirk. "I've only had the pleasure of frequenting here once..."

Listening to Aisha explain, Gareeku took a few sips of his ale.
"Ah yes, I remember." The wolf commented, nodding in acknowedgement slightly before taking another sip of his ale.

Turning to see who had called out Aisha's name, Gareeku blinked and watched as Aisha and the stranger greeted each other. Getting up, the wolf walked over and, with a friendly smile, shook the stranger's hand and bowing politely.
"My name is Gareeku Manoko. It's a pleasure to meet you." Gareeku said warmly, before returning to the bar and taking his seat.

Listening to Aisha and the other panthress speak to each other, the wolf smiled slightly.
Hmm, I didn't realise Panthers had their own language. Gareeku thought to himself, taking another sip of his ale before turning to the stranger who had greeted him and Aisha.
"I've never been here before in my life." Gareeku replied with a slight smirk, "Though I've stories about it."

"Stories?" Stygian said, going along. "I haven't really had the time to get up to date with things here... but where are my manners?!" The bat stood up and walked over, reaching a large, long-fingered and clawed paw out at the wolf. "Sebastian König. That's Ke-eu-nich. Minister of the Blind Lady. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Then, his head turned to the panthress again. His smile was warm, and almost familiar. "Y está bien verle también, señorita."*
   There, he thought. If there is anything to talk about, that should put some questions for later into their heads.

[*And it is good to see you too, miss.]

Winger laughed as he settled into his chair.  " Stories! Yes I suppose I could tell you  quite a tale, but I've no doubt that Aisha filled you in on most of the details."

"Ryudo was a good man, and a wise and powerful Dragon to boot." Winger smiled as he glanced up at Aisha.  "Oh, the first time I saw him shapeshift was a big surprise."  I was so angry and confused.  I could have killed him!" Winger said slamming his fist  on the counter top. "Or rather, he could have killed me, Depending on who you ask.  I thought he stole my bag of gold! Which reminds me..." He said turning to Rei. 

"Here is what I owe you. I'm bird of my word." He said handing over twenty-seven gold coins.  "Oh what the heck! here's another three, that will make it a round 30 gold pieces. spend it wisely and don't let me catch you piking anyone else pockets while were here!"

Winger order a tall glass of ale, and took a big sip.  "Now where was?   Oh yes, Ryudo! He taught me a great deal about dragons, As did my little friend, the rabbit.  those to where probably the best and worst thing that ever happened to me."

[Before I foreget.  What are peoples thought on a posting order?  Should we have one?]

((OOC: on one hand, it would make things more orderly. On the other hand, people could suddenly disappear or be a long time, leaving everybody waiting and getting peeved (i know i can be like that sometimes, i'm impatient. XP). I don't think we should have one, but that's just my opinion.))

Shaking Stygian's hand, Gareeku smiled warmly.
"My name is Gareeku Manoko. It's a pleasure to meet you." the wolf replied, before turning back to the avian. Listening to his explanation, Gareeku nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"Heh, sounds like quite an interesting guy." Gareeku replied with a smile, "I've heard bits about him from Aisha on our travels, but I think someday I'd like to meet him if given the chance."

[Posting order is only a good idea for a small RP, which this is not. And do you mind if I post an hour early?]

[EDIT: Never mind. I had but only to look at Gareeku’s times to see what a silly question that is.]

  As the group that seemed to have made their peace began to seperate among the city and toward the bar, Topher dashes into the forest.  Wizzing through trees and colliding with a few twigs here and there and as he came to a rather thick tree, he made a vertical spree avoiding the branches that came in his way.  As he came closer and closer to the branch he usually lay he returned to his normal state and bellowed, "BLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEE!!!!!"

[Before I break what could potentially be a rule, mind if I role-play another character for one post (a magic shop owner). After the said post, he will probably never come into play again.]

[Or is that up to the GM to do?]

Quote from: Aisha deCabre on December 17, 2006, 09:59:13 AM
With a smile she relaxed and sipped more of her drink, swallowing and nodding her greetings back at the other panthress that had greeted her.  <"I have been well, and yourself?"> Finally, she also greeted the individual who had sat with she and Gareeku.  At his inquiry, she spared a knowing smirk. "I've only had the pleasure of frequenting here once..."

Rei looks up at Aisha <"Well as you can see i have fallen on ruff times."> She motions to her ragged clothes that she looks to winger when she hears her name. Takes the gold. "Thank you very much. I have never seen such kindness from a stranger." She looks even more homely and humbled then before at the sight of the coins in the lap.

[My apologies for the lateness of this post, but such is life, yes? I'll try and be more on time, tomorrow]

"Magic shop?" Cog murmurs, keeping his face carefully expressionless. "I have no great love for wizards, I will confess. Magic is a subject for which I have great respect: there are far too many pretentious fools slinging fireballs when they should be back in the Apprentice's classroom..." Cog casts a careful glance at  Sylva. "I will be gracious, and assume that you are not a fool. There are magic shops about, like any large town."

Cog shrugs his shoulders, and removes a few items from the inside of his coat. "I might even have a few trinkets I would be willing to part with, if you're interested." He sets them down on the table, and takes a drink of his whiskey.

[finally the appropriate post]

Something about the fellow in front of him seemed familiar as he entered the common room of the tavern itself.  Being mostly a stranger here, it would be quite a while before he would be able to find out if anything of interest was in the area.  He did not know how adventurers were received here, so best to act the part of the traveller.

He was about to ask a question when someone spoke about wizards, now would not be a good time too auspicious was the timing.  Carran took up a corner table with his back to the wall where he could observe the entrance and everyone in the tavern presently.

“Cool. Say, um…” she seems to hesitate for a moment, “Would you happen to have any good items for a good necromancer for $21.97 or less? Preferably a Staff of Healing or something like that? And I do mean good items for a good necromancer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been offered items such as the Staff of Unholy Energy.”

[Necromancers are a subclass of cleric. As a result, they have very similar sets of usable magic items, though there are a few items only usable by necromancers, such as the staff of Control Undead (which I just created off the top of my head). Anyway, not adding a magic shop owner into this lowered the post length quite a bit.]

[Not a normal post: If you want to play multiple characters, that is fine by me.  I just said that I personally would try to refrain from it.  It can be fun, but it can also get you jumbled if you're not careful.  And thanks everyone fore your thoughts on the posting order.  Don't be too worried if you have to post an hour or so early or later than normal, because the 24 hour rule is more of a guide line.  Let's make that more of a once a day rule.  If you've noticed my posts can range anywhere from 6PM to 10PM]

((The once-a-day thing is fine with me I think...heh, there are those of us who worry about posting TOO much.   :mowtongue  ))

Aisha had quirked an eyebrow at the minister who called himself Sebastian, amused a little at how proficiently he seemed to know the tongue of her region.  Still, she nodded politely and answered, "Y usted, tambien (And you also).  Always a pleasure to see friends old and new in this place."

With that out of the way, she took another sip of her ale, settling in comfortably as she listened to Winger's tale about Ryudo.  There was a smirk in her face as she listened to him tell it almost akin to a traveling bard.  I bet the story of Ryudo and the angel is quite a knowledgeable one around here...but then, nobody counts on being famous...

"You haven't seemed to change a bit, Winger," the panthress commented.  "Any word from how your friends are doing as well?"  She couldn't help but remember Quill with a laugh.

[Posting too much?]
[Sylver: You know, that thing you do in the Character Lounge.]
[*Laughs* Oh, right. That. Anyway, I am very good at handling multiple characters at once (I have four in CL). Multiple characters does have its perks, but I agree that it can be a bit complex for the untrained.]

The bat smiled at the panthress' reply. He took the glass he'd received shortly after his order, and downed it quickly, then ordering another one which he enjoyed more slowly. Memories and images passed through his mind, bright against the darkness despite their gloominess and often also their pain, bittersweet to him. Then, after he'd finished his second drink and almost his third, he hefted his bag and his cross again, and stood up, turning to leave.
   "Well. I shall be going now, but I hope to catch up with you all soon. Just to see that things turned out allright. So here's to reunions," he said, and emptied the last of the wiskey in his glass. Then he turned around and walked out, slightly hunched under his packing, singing lowly in a soft hum to himself.

   We will meet again,
   don't know where,
   don't know when...
   But I know...

[Leaving on a two week hiatus. Expect to see more of Sebastian.]

   About 6 seconds after Topher had called for Blue, his Heeler, Blue popped into sight from a branch above, wagging his tail madly as his dear friend Topher began searching his pouch, in hope of finding a couple of snackers for the Heeler.
   After 10 minutes had passed, a rustle could be heard and the Heeler began to whine.  Topher nodded and the dog-like creature hopped off the branch onto anouth and dived after what seemed to be another mow.
   Topher decided to head back to the bar in search of job offers so he could make some more money to support him and his partner in crime, Blue.

"Necromancer. You don't see too many of those around." Cog said, leaning forward. "The Magic of Life and Death is a great corrupter, or so I've heard," He said. His shades slid forward on the bridge of his nose, and he eyed Sylva with one vibrant, yellow eye. "I'll again take your word that you are 'good', in both senses of the word." He fished around in his coat again, and pulled out a single twisted peice of silver.

"I'm not a traveling mercantelean - I carry only what I need myself. It so happens there are a few charms I've procured that I no longer need. Not a one for $20.00 though." He smirked, shaking his head. "And certainly nothing that costs $20.00 is a good investment either. Go cheap where you can, but not with your spells..." He shrugged.
"I have no staves, so if it's a staff you want, you'll have to make it yourself, if you can. All I could offer you that heals is this-" He said, proffering the twisted ornament, "It's called the Bloodless Sorrow. You can heal with it, in a fashion: it comes at the price of taking the wound yourself - with a catch. It transfers the wound to you, but in a completed state. You'll get a scar instead of a cut, savvy?"
  He lays it down on the table. "Since you don't have the money for anything like this...keep it." He says, sliding it down to Sylva. "The damn things always been more trouble than it's worth. But you're buying the next round of whiskey."

Winger Grinned reading  Aisha's eyes.  "Oh Quill? He's  Doing just fine. Still living life to it's fullest, Still looking for a special some one.  You should it! he's always willing to make  fool of himself, for a pretty face."  Winger chuckled as he took another sip. "I tried to get him to come with me to help sell my wares, but alas he had to decline.  Duty to the village and all that."

Winger leaned back and finish his drink, then he ordered a glass of water [he still can't hold his liquor too well].  "As for Whisper, I haven't herd from that Young sprite since I left this place last.  I can't really hold out hope to see her, of course. I suppose she blows here ever the Wind takes her, being an elemental and all." What about you Aisha? What blows you back this way after two long years?" winger asked folding his feathery fingers on top of the counter.

[I promise we'll get in to some real action soon!]

“Thank you. I should go look for a job soon so I can maybe buy a home or something.”

“Who knows? Maybe starting a life in this universe will be easier than I thought. The people are so friendly here.”

“Maybe I should go and meet some of the other people in here,” Sylva says. She then stands up and walks over to Aisha and Winger. “Um, hi. Sorry if I’m interrupting something. My name is Sylva; Sylva Xynthea. I’m kinda new to this dimension. What are your names?” Her tone is a bit shy, but not nearly as shy as the tone she greeted Cogidubnus with.

[Must… resist… urge to add another character too early in the story.]
[Sylver: He’s going through multi-character withdrawl.]

Rei is behind Winger looking around a little scared looking because she never liked big crowds but didn't want to leave his side because one she owned him and two he is the only one to show her a little compassion that she was aware of.

[You know what? I think one character is an okay concept, but it’s not for me. I will be introducing another character. I will not tell you who or when. I will even use the pronoun “it” when referring to the said character (until it comes into play) to avoid spoiling its gender.]
[Sylver: Score one for RP instinct.]

Aisha smiled and set her drink aside for the moment, quite interested in hearing his response.  It was good to hear that they were doing well enough, and she just shook her head knowingly about Quill, and nodded understandably about Whisper.

Then, at his inquiry, she merely shrugged and rolled her eyes up in thought, wondering where to start.  "Oh, you know me...after this whole thing I've just been doing the usual...a few demon battles here, a bit of freelancing there, almost getting my tail chewed off by a stupid Were..." she snickered at the unintentional rhyme she had made.  "I just felt like coming back to this place because...well, I had some time to kill.  I thought I'd relive some memories...and bring an adventurer friend with me to show him where the story of the fallen angel started," she laid a hand on Gareeku's shoulder to regard him.

"Plus," she added with a smirk as she reached for her ale again, noticing a slight gleam on her tail ring, "there never seems to be a dull moment here.  So, you run this place now, I take it...."

Her ear swerved at the sudden interruption, but she turned to the other person with a friendly smile and a polite bow of her head.  "Sylva...well, greetin's...just call me Aisha."  She tilted her head with slight curiosity.  "New to this dimension, you say?"

Quote from: Joat on December 18, 2006, 11:10:04 PM
“Thank you. I should go look for a job soon so I can maybe buy a home or something.”

“Who knows? Maybe starting a life in this universe will be easier than I thought. The people are so friendly here.”

“Maybe I should go and meet some of the other people in here,” Sylva says. She then stands up and walks over to Aisha and Winger. “Um, hi. Sorry if I’m interrupting something. My name is Sylva; Sylva Xynthea. I’m kinda new to this dimension. What are your names?” Her tone is a bit shy, but not nearly as shy as the tone she greeted Cogidubnus with.

[Must… resist… urge to add another character too early in the story.]
[Sylver: He’s going through multi-character withdrawl.]

[Aisha, you may wish to take this into account.]

((Whoop, sorry...I sometimes scan-read and didn't think you were addressing Aisha in particular with one of them... (points up to previous post) Fixed.   :mowtongue ))

Winger had to Laugh at Aisha's question. "Me Run this place?" He chuckled. "Nah, I'm just passin'  though. the new owners seem nice enough though"

Winger then leaned over to Rei, and looked her deep in the eye. "You look a bit tense. Have a drink, on me of course;  You can have my room for the night, then we'll see what we can do with ya tomorrow."

Winger smiled, as he turned to Great Sylva with a hearty hand shake. "Nice to meet you, Sylva. Please pull up a seat, cause the next round's on me."  Winger leaned back a bit  With his hand still extended.  "What do you mean, 'new to this dimension..."

Winger didn't get to finish his question, cause at that very moment a loud "BOOM" sounded from the outside.  what could it be?

[Here is where the fun begins, the next to poster gets to deside what the BOOM is,  mostly cause I  haven't though of anything and we need to get this party rolling.  So who's up to the challenge?!  I can't wait to see what happens next!]

[Give me a moment. I think I’m up to the challenge.]

   Topher walks into the bar with a professional look on his face.  At first he had planned on announcing the fact that he is for hire for most duties if the pay is reasonable, but the bar seemed to have gotten a bit noisier from just 30 minutes ago.
   Instead he decides to go from table to table offering his service(s).  After returing to the bar top with no luck he orders yet another pint of milk and sulks in a corner.

Sylva hears the noise and immediately rushes toward the door to see what is the matter. When she is about two feet away from the door, she stops in her tracks and gazes in horror at what she sees.

She sees a young and beautiful woman in front of the bar, about six feet tall. She wears a black wizard robe. Her eyes are red and her hair is black. She is obviously making no attempt to hide her evil nature, which is apparent by her facial expression. The building behind her (and across the street from the bar) has a huge hole in the wall and is about to collapse.

Sylva takes two slow steps backward away from the door as she stutters, “S-S-Slevrani!?”

“Dear girl… Did you really think a pool of acid is enough to kill me? You should know better. Now, be a good mind-slave and kill for me, okay?” Slevrani says.

“No! No! I am not your slave anymore! I will not do as you say!” Sylva says. She flees deeper into the bar.

[You wanted fun? Well, here you have it. Cheese Foxlee, if this does not suit the type of plot you had in mind, I will edit this out and let somebody else choose what the loud boom was.]

As Slevrani enters, Rei blinks all over the place to start to confuse Slevrani. Rei strikes at her with her daggers but still trying to keep out of reach

As the tall witch-like woman entered the room, Topher felt this could not be good.  Seeing as the woman had meant on possibly harming Sylva, he took out the ball of thallium he had in his pouch and immediately shaped it into a staff with his glowing hands as he ran toward the witch.  As he approached the confrontation he took a step in front of Sylva and turned to look at her,  "Names Chee, Topher Chee."

Aisha had chuckled at Winger, nodding at his answer to her question.  She reached for her ale and took another drink, with a light sigh.  Things seemed to be going peacefully enough...

But she dropped her drink on the table in surprise at the loud boom, spilling it all over the place.  Her tail ring was suddenly glowing like a beacon.

"Damn," she muttered as she spun around on the stool, her right hand diving to her weapons belt.  Drawing her bladed boomerang, the panther stood up straight and eyed the stranger, whom Sylva seemed to know.  "What's this, then, that disturbs the peace?"

[Rei is THROWING her daggers, correct?]

[No she is blinking near then away and striking her up close]

Rei scores a direct hit to Slevrani’s left arm on her first strike. If the daggar has magical properties, Slevrani will recieve full damage. If the daggar has no magical properties, Rei will recieve the damage. Either way, a staff appears in Slevrani’s right hand, seemingly from nowhere.

“My name is Slevrani,” she says to Aisha.

Meanwhile, a muffled voice within Sylva’s purse yells, “Let me out of here! Let me fight her!”

The voice sounds familiar to Sylva. She quickly unzips her purse zipper.

[Remember that second character I told you about?]

Standing to the side of the street outside, the bat-priest had made no notion of having become even the slightest worried of what had just happened. He had simply looked up at the black-clad woman, dropped his bag and walked up to her, placing an iron hand on her shoulder. His face bore a very serious frown as he spoke.
   "Let's just be very calm here now, and all shall turn out well enough. I promise" he said, and his words carried with them both a calm that was to be expected of any accomplished adventurer under the circumstances, and also a lower, more dangerous tone. "I do not want to have to injure anyone, so stand down peacefully".

[This will be fun, if the woman is indeed an evil magician.]

Gareeku had just finished his ale when the woman with evil intent appeared. Ducking with Aisha, the wolf looked back up as he observed the newcomer. No doubt she possessed an evil heart; he could feel the darkness radiating off of her. Watching the others attack, Gareeku snarled angrily.
"Idiots! They attack one whose powers are unknown to them." He snarled, holding a paw on Aisha's shoulder to try and calm her a little. While on the outside he seemed angry, on the inside the wolf was trying to think of a possible plan of action.

Standing up, Gareeku walked towards the witch, coming to a stop a couple of metres away from her, his blade drawn as he looked into her eyes with a calm yet stern look. In his hands, the katana's blade was glowing a soft blue colour, whisps of magic seeping off of the metal as it hovered by Gareeku's side.

"What is your business here? This is a tavern full of powerful creatures and adventurers. I suggest you leave this place as once." The wolf said sternly, his voice a calm yet strong tone, clear and precise in his meanings. Waiting for the woman's response, Gareeku stood perfectly still. However, should she choose to go on the offensive, he would be ready.

    As Gareeku began to question the witch, Topher's fists began to glow and he clutched his staff more firmly.  His teeth began to grit as he looked from the witch to the people that were at his side.  He was unsure whether why the witch had been there and if it had been Sylva herself who was the evil figure, he too began to question the witch.
    "Yes, why are you here.  We might not have any business coming between you two; but I think it's safe to say we don't want anyone to get hurt."

At the mention of a tavern full of powerful creatures and adventurers, Carran thought it best to stand and add to that presence.  What ever this intruder was, it had definite power and operated in cliche... always a bad sign.

Walking with his rowan staff, the fox spoke directly to Slevrani as he approached, "you must be powerful indeed to exercise your power so boldly against a person in this tavern.  As the wolf has said, it is known for being a gathering place of adventurers and powerful creatures of good."

He paused to strike the ground with his staff which resounded sharply like a metal spike being driven into stone and gestures towards Sylva, "as long as she stays here, she is under the protection of all at this place..."

Carran's eyes glowed and the sapphire orb atop his staff burned with blue fire, "... and many of these fine souls are likely stronger then I and we all appear to be arrayed against you."

[yay!  I live for melodrama]

Rei gets struck back at her own hit. (because the dagger isn't magical) She blinks behind the bar. She starts to cower behind the bar waiting for it to be over.

[Should I wait or post now? On one hand, it has only been eight hours; on the other hand, many people have already responded.]

((I think you might be able to...you don't have to wait the full 24 hours, just go a "day" based on your best judgment...me for example, I post at scattered times, but it's always one post between each sleep cycle.  :3 ))

[I suppose I can post twice in the same day once in a while.]

Sylva begins to chant a spell.

“He he he! Gimme your best shot, all of you! It’ll be wonderful to see your pain,” Slevrani thinks. She then turns pitch black; her clothing, skin color, everything. She looks like more of a shadow, really.

A rat jumps out of Sylva’s purse. He is about three inches long and has bluish silver fur. He says to Slevrani, “Stop in the name of the law! I am Officer Pan Swift of the Adther Police Department and… aw, screw it. I’m just wasting time talking to you. You obviously aren’t gonna surrender.”

“You got it in one, ‘Officer Pan’.” Slevrani uses the term mockingly. “Say, weren’t you and Leon the leaders of the mission to destroy Sylva?”

That stung Pan… a lot. “I know that. I just… never stopped to consider that there might be something else behind her sudden change. I made a mistake. But then, so have you! You, Slevrani, have made the mistake of getting me angry!”

Sylva’s finishes chanting the spell (Cure Heavy Wounds). Rei is healed; not fully, but very much. Slevrani suddenly seems to be in great pain.

Taking advantage of her moment of pain, Pan jumps into the air. “BULLET!” Suddenly, in midair, Pan flies toward Slevrani at tremendous speed as a living projectile. He hits Slevrani in the stomach. Slevrani smiles, unharmed, as Pan drops to the ground in great pain. It seems that he recieved the damage from his own attack. Slevrani, on the other hand, no longer seems to be in pain.

[Pan’s profile.

Pan Swift
Species: Rat
Alignment: Neutral Good
Gender: Male
Class: Rogue
Occupation: Police officer
Age: 14
Appearance: 3 inches long. Bluish silver fur.
Inventory: Nothing
Abilities: Able to switch between quadropedal and bipedal. He is also surprisingly sturdy.]

[I'm late! I'm late fore a very important date! No time to say hello, good bye! I'm lat!e I'm late! I'm late!]

Winger ducked down by Rei to see if she was alright, and seeing that she was injured by what seemed to be her own attack he decided that a direct assalt would not be the best course of action.  " Damn! and just as I was starting to relax a bit too.

As winger got to his feet, he withdrew three knives and fired then at the dark witch, not trying to hit her directly, but rather trying to pin her down.  "Come on, your not so tough!" Winger hinger shouted as he continued to fire knife after knife at Slevrani, hoping that one of the other magical creatures might take the opportunity to land a crippling blow.

"How dare you Attack this place! I'll have your head!"

Aisha relaxed just slightly as she watched Gareeku and a few others try to talk to the dark entity that had just burst in, hopefully without instigating any fighting.  She stayed back and simply observed, noting what kinds of things would affect the creature and what wouldn't.

But when it didn't look like she was about to give up, Aisha's eyes narrowed and her boomerang raised over her head.  "Now can I hurt it?" the pantheress asked incredulously, walking down to help join and protect those in the bar without weapons or skills, casting a quick glance to Rei as she cowered behind the bar.  "Try to keep low, kid, things will get a little...crazy in here."

She had to smirk as Winger came up with his own declaration.  Like old times...

"If you want a fight, how about taking it outside?" Aisha growled as she stepped forth.

Quote from: Joat on December 21, 2006, 12:21:55 AM
[I suppose I can post twice in the same day once in a while.]

Sylva begins to chant a spell.

“He he he! Gimme your best shot, all of you! It’ll be wonderful to see your pain,” Slevrani thinks. She then turns pitch black; her clothing, skin color, everything. She looks like more of a shadow, really.

A rat jumps out of Sylva’s purse. He is about three inches long and has bluish silver fur. He says to Slevrani, “Stop in the name of the law! I am Officer Pan Swift of the Adther Police Department and… aw, screw it. I’m just wasting time talking to you. You obviously aren’t gonna surrender.”

“You got it in one, ‘Officer Pan’.” Slevrani uses the term mockingly. “Say, weren’t you and Leon the leaders of the mission to destroy Sylva?”

That stung Pan… a lot. “I know that. I just… never stopped to consider that there might be something else behind her sudden change. I made a mistake. But then, so have you! You, Slevrani, have made the mistake of getting me angry!”

Sylva’s finishes chanting the spell (Cure Heavy Wounds). Rei is healed; not fully, but very much. Slevrani suddenly seems to be in great pain.

Taking advantage of her moment of pain, Pan jumps into the air. “BULLET!” Suddenly, in midair, Pan flies toward Slevrani at tremendous speed as a living projectile. He hits Slevrani in the stomach. Slevrani smiles, unharmed, as Pan drops to the ground in great pain. It seems that he recieved the damage from his own attack. Slevrani, on the other hand, no longer seems to be in pain.

[Pan’s profile.

Pan Swift
Species: Rat
Alignment: Neutral Good
Gender: Male
Class: Rogue
Occupation: Police officer
Age: 14
Appearance: 3 inches long. Bluish silver fur.
Inventory: Nothing
Abilities: Able to switch between quadropedal and bipedal. He is also surprisingly sturdy.]

[Unless IC Aisha is a mind reader, you may wish to change that last post.]

((Well for cryin' out loud, I don't think it's a good idea to put thoughts in quotes! XD  Fixed... ))

[I changed my mode of OOC commentary already. What more do ya want?]
[Sylver: You are a creature of habit, Joat; all the bad ones.]
[Too true.]

The bat looked almost shocked at being ignored, despite him being the one standing closest to the witch. When she turned into that shadowy form of hers, his large left hand went to his back and grabbed the crozius there, while his right clenched her shoulder with a force that would be clearly felt by any creature.
   "This is the privilige of warning" he said, and the crozius was a black blur in his hand. It spun down, and then stopped as if the huge metal thing had no momentum at all, or more probably from the sound, as if all that momentum was nothing to him, and placed itself at her throat. That's when you noticed. Although its head was shaped as it was, it was not a crozius. It was a huge black sword, broad and two-edged and as tall as a man. "There is no magic you can affect me with, and I hardly believe that you could best me in true combat. This is the privilige of knowledge." His hand now went to her throat, a heavy, iron-hard grip clenching it. "The third privilige is oblivion. Will you choose it, spawn of shadow?"
   Inside his right sleeve, he readied the real threat to her. Her magic was null to him, but he would probably not be able to hurt her when she was like this. So, as always he was keeping another option available.

Sylva chants a quick spell (Cure Light Wounds) and Pan is healed. Slevrani once again seems to be in pain, though not in as much pain as after the last healing spell was cast.

“Hold on a second. Hitting her hurts us, but healing ourselves hurts her!” Sylva says, “Guys, cast every heal spell you got!” She begins to chant another spell.

Slevrani, at that moment, knows how bad the situation is looking for her. I can’t cast a spell as a shadow and now they know the only way to hurt me. What’s worse, they have me cornered. But I cannot surrender. The god of darkness would be displeased. Wait a second… that’s it! she thinks.

She suddenly yells to the sky, “Malvado, God of darkness, hear me! Show these mortals your wrath!”

Nothing happens.

“Aw, crud…” Slevrani says.

[Sylver: And the anticlimax of the year award goes to…]
[Yeah, I know; but we can’t have Malvado coming in here, partially because gods would be a bit strong and partially because that particular god spends most of his time drunk.]

Sylva finishes chanting the spell (Cure Critical Wounds). Rei is now healed completely. Slevrani, on the other hand, is now writhing on the floor in agony.

"Hmmm, Malvado, a god of darkness.  Nothing of consequence here, dark powers do not aid the weak."  Carran paused  and regarded Slevrani, with a wry smile and a slightly sarcastic tone he regarded her agony, "young lady you appear to be in pain, here let me ease that."

The fox mage held his staff up and it flared with bright warm radiance casting away the darkness and bathing the tavern goers in its warm radiance, "Luminari I call upon thy renewing radiance, Light of Aman cast away the darkness and pain!  Lux lucis ignis!"

His staff glowed with bright white light, warm and soothing to those not cast from the radiant shores of the Summerlands.  At the peak of brightness he brought the mithril shod end of his staff to the ground with a sound similar to earlier, the light flashed to solar intensity, though it did not hurt the eyes nor harm creatures of good, "Healing Light!"   

"Just light the quest for the Angel, I do miss Ieyou and Myishi."

[Pity. I was planning on her surviving this battle, but it turns out she’s gonna be destroyed. Ah, well; such is the way of RPing. I (or somebody else) will just have to think of something else.]
[‘not cast from the radiant shores of the Summerlands’… Whatever that means, does it include Sylva and Pan?]

[sorry I'm late]

   Topher looks at the squirming body as it twitched here and there.  Topher looked at her face and caught a glimpse of her flaring eye.  He looked back at what he had turned from and realized she was staring at him dead in the eye.  He stumbled backward unable to resist her force upon him.  Topher felt as if he would never live again, and just at the moment he fell back and hit his head against the tavern floor.
    Topher blacked out and dreamed of the day he was abandoned. "It's for your own good," the silhouette of his mother explained, "you'll thank me when you are older."  And she left him at that, abandoned with his twin brother, Pidge, of what had seemed to be the doorstep of a Dojo. He and his brother began to sob as they watched their mother flee.  Why is she leaving us, why would she---
    At this point in time he felt a jolting pain in the back of his neck.  He sat up right and looked distinctly around the room.  What happened?  Where did everyone go?

[If this is to controlling of what happens I can change it.  Let me know.  And now I hope everyone else can understand]

Quote from: Joat on December 21, 2006, 10:53:15 PM
['not cast from the radiant shores of the Summerlands'... Whatever that means, does it include Sylva and Pan?]

[It's just a colloquiel way of saying those of darkness or evil.]

Quote from: topher chee on December 21, 2006, 10:56:09 PM
[sorry I'm late]

   Topher looks at the squirming body as it twitched here in there.  Her yells frightened him and he dared to look at her in the eyes.  As soon as he did so, a bright flash seemed to take hold of the room and Topher collapsed to the floor.
   Evidently she had taken something from within Topher and left him moaning on the tavern floor as she grew stronger.  The others watched as she rose to her feet and she let out a terrifying laugh.

[You’re going to want to tell me in PM what she just did, ‘cause I have no idea.]

[I'll just emphasize the last reply so everyone understands.]

[There, its updated]

[I still hardly understand. It may just be me. It’s late and I have aspergers syndrome (and I thought I was doing well at working around that), which are apparently a powerful combination. Anyway, if this involves magic on her part, it won’t work.]

Quote from: Joat on December 21, 2006, 06:35:41 PM
Slevrani, at that moment, knows how bad the situation is looking for her. I can’t cast a spell as a shadow and now they know the only way to hurt me. What’s worse, they have me cornered. But I cannot surrender. The god of darkness would be displeased. Wait a second… that’s it! she thinks.

[no he's just startled by her, she does not recover because of his "energy" i took that part out]

Quote from: topher chee on December 21, 2006, 10:56:09 PM
    At this point in time he felt a jolting pain in the back of his neck.  He sat up right and looked distinctly around the room.  What happened?  Where did everyone go?

((Just one more question regarding your post, sorry... ^^;  But, does this mean that YOUR character was transported someplace, or everyone else's, or is it just something in your head? ))

[I was actually gonna let you guys decide.  Whether the quarrel has come and gone, or it could just be part of a dream, or he could be transported]

With one final scream, Slevrani crumbles to dust.

“I… can hardly believe it. We actually defeated her,” Sylva says in awe.

“Ding dong, the witch is dead,” Pan says, “Anyway, what’s with that guy?”

“I have no idea what happened. Maybe it was one of Slevrani’s tricks. That’s probably it.”

[It isn’t.]

[dun dun DUN!  the suspense is rising :mowdizzy]

((Oookay...well, I guess from what I see that everyone is still in the tavern...Specifity in your posts is your friend, remember now. :3 ))

Aisha's stance relaxed, and her boomerang lowered to her side as she watched Sebastian's sudden reappearance with an incredulous look.  It seems he was the first to directly challenge the shadowy creature.  What's more, the warriors ready and waiting in the room didn't have to do much.  With the idea of everyone using as much healing and light spells as they can, the panther shielded her eyes as the effect was blinding...that and it came from her own inability to use magic herself.

When everything cleared, the panther blinked and looked again, seeing that things were calm.  She replaced her weapon and raised an eyebrow.  "Okay then...what on Furrae was that, and how did it get here?"

Suddenly, something caught the edge of Aisha's eye.  It was her tail ring...the enchanted item, designed for pinpointing any kind of dark magic nearby, was still brightly lit and humming in a low tone.

As the others cast their spells, Gareeku calmly seathed his glowing sword, observing the others destroy the stranger.
"Pity...all talk and no show..." the wolf muttered. Hearing Aisha's comment, Gareeku frowned.
"I'm not sure myself, but I fully intend to find out." Gareeku replied, before turning to Pan, a look of calm yet sterness about him.
"You...who was that?" He asked, his deep blue eyes fixed on the officer as he folded his arms. He was in no mood to play about. "I want to know. Now."

Rei looks up again and upon seeing that she had died. She starts to hug Joat for healing her. "Thank you, Thank you, Thank you"

[Sylva Xynthea. That is the character’s name.]

“You helped, too. Without you, it would’ve taken me longer to figure out how to defeat her,” Sylva says to Rei. I think I might actually be cut out for adventuring. At least I know I won’t let it go to my head.

“Slevrani was an evil sorceress who wanted to take over the world. She took over Sylva’s mind to have her attack the town, starting with her friends and family. Luckily, Slevrani didn’t get far with that plan before I managed to knock her into a pool of acid. I personally think she was crazy. She kept babbling on about how she would rule the world with some ‘Maonis Jewel’ thing her god told her about,” Pan says to Gareeku.

Sylva’s expression quickly goes from happiness to alarm. “What did you just say?”

“That she was an evil, powerful, insane…”

“No, I mean at the end.”

“That she kept talking about her grand scheme to rule the world with a ‘Maonis Jewel’ or whatever.”

“And if her Malvado told her of it, that means it must really exist.”

“So? What is it?”

[he doesnt know he's been taken to a different area with a replica of the tavern]
Topher sits up and wonders where everyone is.  He walks to the side of the bar and looks outside the window, he saw the streets of the town, or so he thought.  He walked up to the bar and peered over.  As he did so he saw something from the corner of his eye scurry by.  Intrigued, he walked towards what he had seen.  He heard the scooting of paws and a distinct murmur and a "Shh".  Topher began to be concerned with his well being and his hands began to glow.  He walked towards the area in which he heard the whispers and footsteps and became enraged when he saw someone aiming a tranquilizing dart at him.  In a burst of fury he sprung flames from his fingertips at the figure.  The predator now lay on the floor with a door open behind him. He saw many others iside the now open room and they began to rush towards him.  He sprang backwards and bolted for the door.  It was locked.  Insted he turned to his tapped form, and attempted o penetrate the glass.  This was no ordinary glass, infact, he wasnt sure if it was glass at all.

With the witch dead Winger relaxed but began to feel uneasy.  "What the heck was that about?" he asked  to no one in particular. He went back to the bar, finished his drink, and went out side.

It had been two years since the angel ad fallen, When Ryudo led the group thought the Wood's and the desert and count less other hostile environments to track down the pieces of the angel.  Winger dreaded the Idea that he may have to once again, go on a quest to save the world.He knew he was getting ahead of himself.  What had just happened was nothing more than a little bar fight, and no reason to think that he might have to go on a another crusade.

As winger watched the stars the dark thoughts at the back of his mind faded away. He laughed at the idea of having to journey again for the angel.  "Imagine that, Running around all over the place, just like old times." Winger mused to himself.  Little did he know that soon he would have to do it all over again, because as he watched the night sky he saw a bright flame shoot across the sky followed by a yet another big BOOM.  He rushed in side and shouted " The sky has fallen!" We must investigate!"

[Sorry for the delay, but I'm kind of on vacation. posts may be few and far beween for the next couple of weeks.]

When the shadowy woman was wiped out by the spell, the bat-priest had made a grunt and stepped back, shielding himself with his sword. For a second, the light cast over him seemed to discomfort him, and his shadow grew larger, more looming and... threatening, somehow. The effect only lasted for a moment though, and the next, the woman was crumbling to ash before him, and he himself was standing with his sword once again back behind him and rubbing his right hand.
   "That, sir", he said to Carran, "seemed much an act of malice! But I will not be the one to judge. It is not my place anymore, and what is done is done." He still shot a bit of a sour look against the mage though. But then his face eased, and he turned around a bit, seemingly taking the place in to see if all was still again. When he was satisfied, he made a short nod, and then walked off to the side into the shadows, straightening his garb. Then, when he was out of sight in the alley round the side of the inn, he held up his hand.
   It looked a bit like a whisper of smoke, or some little dark wisp, where it danced in his hand, yet it was not. No smoke could have taken on those particular shades of blackness, or snaked in that way which seemed so beautiful to him, little hints of a humanoid shape and a face caught in fear forming in it, barely visible as it moved.
   A voice came to the piece of shadow, all that was left of the woman he now knew was called Slevrani. But it was no voice as one imagines a voice, or one anyone would be comfortable hearing. It was deep and snaking, growling, hissing. It sounded as one might imagine corrosion might sound, like acid burning and the peeling of flesh.
   Do you wish to live?

Aisha raised an eyebrow, listening to Pan's explanation.  What do these creatures hope to gain with such power?  The panther had always wondered that.  Her head shook almost pityingly as she started to sit down again.

It was at that moment that she heard the loud explosion from far away outside.  The ground seemed to shake beneath everyone's feet, the flash out the window blinding to many observers.  The panther found it a familiar feeling...the impact caused a crunching sound in the earth that you could feel a little more than hear...the earth elementals and any other living thing in its way emitted vibes and cries of death and pain.  What made it strange was that this was no meteor.

Aisha toppled off her feet, caught unaware by it.  As she grasped the edge of the bar to keep from falling on the floor, she then saw Winger rushing back in with his declaration.

"Deja-vu..." the panther said, her eyes wide, thinking suddenly of the whole angel incident.  "...You don't suppose...?"

Listening to the explanation of who the sorceress was, Gareeku nodded his head in acknowledgment as he took in the information.
"I see..." the wolf commented, "...I have run into quite a few of those types before..."

It was then that the distant explosion was felt. The shockwave of the impact was so much that the wolf nearly fell over, holding onto a nearby table to support himself before standing back up on his feet.
"What the hell?!" Gareeku growled, before seeing Winger enter and make his declaration. Raising an eyebrow at his words, Gareeku dusted himself off slightly.
"I very much doubt that." the wolf replied in a calm voice. "But I would like to know exactly what you mean. From the explosion, I take something has fallen to the ground from the heavens."
Gareeku had heard the story of the previous "crusade" Aisha and Winger had been through, and also knew that it had started off with a situation similar to this.
"Well now...correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this would feel quit familiar, no?" the wolf said, looking at Winger and Aisha as he spoke.

"That does not bode well, one would hope it is not a situation similar to the previous... the Quest for the Angel."  The fox scratched his chin, "I wonder how far that landed?"

Carran stepped outside the tavern and gazed in the direction of the impact, "I would venture a guess of several miles."

Pan looks at where Carran is looking. “Hold on. I’ll go check it out and come right back to tell you what it is. You guys wait here. TELEPORT!”

“But Pan, I…” Sylva begins.

Without waiting for a response (or listening to the ones he gets), Pan disappears in a puff of smoke.

“So hasty. I hope nothing happens to him,” Sylva thinks aloud.



Pan appears next to Topher in a puff of smoke. “Darn it! Looks like I didn’t even leave the room,” Pan says. He then looks around and sees that there is nobody in there, save Topher, himself, and the other entities, one with a tranquilizer gun.

Pan looks at the one with the tranquilizer gun and says, “I am Pan Swift of the Adther Police Department. I order you not to tranquilize him or harm him in any way!” He points at Topher.



Meanwhile, Slevrani responds (in whatever way she can), “I smell a catch.”

Rei thinking that this Pan thing was being rude. Rei blinks but instead of blinking in the room or outside she traces Pan and blinks right next to it as soon as he gets there. Then turns on a dime to pan. "That was rude of you to leave her like that in the middle of a sentence." Then turns to looks at her surroundings and finding that she wasn't alone with Pan in the room she jumps a little. "Hello, what is your name?"

Winger pulled Aisha and Carran aside quickly as he could get his to them. He Looked for Rei also, but not finding her he was just glad that he had remebered to put his gold away before someone else could get their hands on it.  "Obiously," he breathed. " this is too strance to be a coincidence.  We need to investigate what exaxtly fell out of the sky. I only prey that it wasn't the angel of something worse." Winger paused and looked around to see if he could spot Rei at all. "I'm going, and I was hoping I might have your company.  It shouldn't take that long to find where the thing crashed."

Aisha had stared out of the window in thought, listening to Carran's comments and those of everyone else.  Slight murmurs of worry were spreading out across the tavern and coming in with the air from the outside, all heads turning to where the thing had fallen from the heavens, and where now there was a trail of dust covering a high radius.

When Winger called them forth, the panther complied.  This was starting to pique her curiosity...if another angel had fallen, what was the reason?  It was like the past was starting to repeat itself again.  The heroes of the old quest were even starting on it.

The panther nodded, a smile of acceptance on her face.  "Of course you have my help, old friend.  If this turns out like the last time, it'll be a fun venture."

As Winger and Aisha talked, a hand suddenly rested on the panther's shoulder.
"I hope you're not planning on going anywhere without me." Gareeku said, smiling warmly at Aisha before turning to Winger, bowing slightly. "Gareeku Manoko at your service."

Cog brushed a bit of the sawdust from his trousers and stood up.
"I've seen a lot of intimidating people in my time, and seen a lot of strange users of dark magic. I haven't seen one stupider than that." He says, leaving a silver coin on the table. "She walks into a tavern, proceeds to declare her malevolent intentions, and waits calmly while spellcasters and rogues tear her to pieces. Surely, I have not met a more polite foe. If only all dark wizards were as courteous." He turned to leave, and his eyes drifted towards Sebastian, who was still standing near the spot the mage had died. His eyes seemed to be focused on the air.
"Is he okay?" Cog says,

The bat seemed to hear Cognidubnus' words immediately, for his ear twitched and he turned, walking up to them and smiling.
   "Fear not, good man. I am merely pondering what this could mean to us all, if indeed another angel has fallen", he said, clasping his hands behind his back and tilting his head to the side while 'looking' at them with a curious expression. "You were not aware that I knew about these events?", he continued with a sly smile. "It's really more simple than you might think; after what took place last time something like this happened I was assigned the duty of watchman over the situation by the Holy Matre who had been in communion with Justice. The whole of the conlectio is quite concerned about the situation." His tone was brisk and clear. "I've had my eyes on many of you for quite some time." Somehow, Cog seemed to sense his attention went to Aisha, Gareeku and the avian.

   The voice speaking to Slevrani stopped, and for a moment she could feel irritation and fury unshielded through whatever link it had made with her. It was a horrible feeling, as if she were a mouse trapped under a huge paw that pressed harder on her for a moment. She could not help but shiver. Or rather, at the loss of a physical form, feel something that was in a way more profound than that. Then she fell into darkness, and she felt movement, somehow.
   It was not the voice of a god, the voice of what had taken her, she realized. She didn't know why she made that conclusion, but probably she was so used to dealing with these kinds of entities and powers that it came naturally. No, the unmasked voice of a god, no matter its nature, was a power that would have made any creature either quake with fear, cry with joy or topple with confusion; a blaze and a whisper all in the same. This voice was cold and unfeeling, and only made her feel empty and alone.
   It was not the voice of a demon; they were chaotic and forceful, mostly either violent, seductive or plainly repulsive. Like bones crushing underfoot, or ones that seemed to come at you through a haze of alcohol and other intoxicants, or hacking coughs and rasping slithers. This voice was not violent, for it did not have to be. It did not try to sweep her aside, but clawed at and around her carefully, as if sensing and testing her.
   It was not the voice of an angel; they were vibrant and clear, resounding and powerful, and gentle at the same time. This one was not nearly so pleasant, quite the opposite in fact. It held emotion and thought, but it was devoid of life. It did not call to her and reverberate in her mind; it creeped through her and chilled her to the bone.
   What was it?

   "Of course. But not an unbearable one, We think. Not even to someone as accustomed to power as you. Should you choose to accept, you will renounce all other allegiances, cut all other bonds and unswear all faiths. You will answer only to us, until We release you from servitude. In return, we will imbue you with power; a power that We do not think you will be all that unfamiliar to. And, of course, we will restore you to full health and find you a new vessel."

   The bat-priest walked up to Aisha and Gareeku.
   "In our mutual interests, may I ask that I be permitted to lend you my assistance?", he said, and made a small bow.

   "Your perception will be changed to suit your new form, as will your name, so you can better serve us. And you will serve without hesitation, though your mind will still be your own. Rest assured that your memory and personality will be unaltered. Them, we need."
   The voice made a short pause.
   "What is your answer?"

Upon feeling Gareeku's hand on her shoulder, she turned to him with a grin; the panther should've seen that one coming.  The opportunity for adventure wasn't lost on her friend, nor herself.  "I wouldn't dream of it, amigo," she answered and turned her head back to Winger to hear his reply.

Then, her ear swiveled to catch Sebastian's voice, and she turned around to eye him with interest at his words.  Something about him was indeed strange.  She couldn't put her finger on it...it was even disturbing, the fact that he had been watching the activities of some of the quest's adventurers after it had all been over.

Regardless, the panther just tried to shrug it off, sending the bat a welcoming smirk.  "Well, if this is anything like last time, and you know as much as you say you do, then we may need all the help we can get," she pointed out, her eyes wandering back over the old and new members of the party, led now by Winger it seemed.  "Definitely like old times..."

"Shall we go then?" Winger chuckled as he ask, and motioned to the door. Winger Shuttered a bit as he stepped into the door way; half with exicetment, and half with terror.  He liked the Idea of another adventure, but he was also looking forward to returning home.  As he stepped out into the night for the fourth or fith time that night he sniffed the air clicked his beak acouple of times  and steped out stepped forward, following an almost familiar pillar of smoke growing out of the west.

"I think it would be best to go.  Things falling from the heavens is rather disturbing and quite auspicious that it should happen when so many of us gather in one place."  Carran stated as he nodded, "prophecy and soothsaying may just be an art of stringing unrelated coincidences together cleverly, but one cannot discount that some things are best investigated."

The fox mage bowed to those assembled, "I apologize for dropping in on conversations without invitation, but adventure must be taken when presented... rarely is it ever scheduled.  I am known as Carra'Rosgon Su'Arraen-Ernil, or simply Carran"

[That is "car-in", like you drive a car and go in the house.  Just trying to curtail those that call him "karen".]

    Topher struggled to free himself from his predators grasp.  The figures that held him down had gas masks on and were dressed in a rather creepy apparel.  He attempted to kick one of the figures in the chest in hoping to free his arm, but he could not free either of his legs so he turned to the only thing he could have.  Flames began to take over each of his limbs and his eyes began to glow.  He gritted his teeth.  Suddenly his entire body was blazing with a fierce flame. The figures let Topher go and he dashed for the one of the walls.  He pressed hisopen hand against the wall and used all of his might to get through.  Slowly but surely he began to melt his way out. With a hole melted big enough for him to stick his arm through, he shot flames outward and up toward the sky, in hope of drawing someones attention.  A moment later, one of the figures found a way to pull him back.(They must've put on some really heat-resistant gloves)  As Topher was pulled back he peered out the hole he left, it soon began to close over.  In the distance he saw smoke rising through the skies.  Had he caused a fire?

(You know Topher that Pen and me are in the room right?)
Rei seeing the seen in front of her, she gasps. Topher looks to be in trouble by these... things, is the best way she could explain it to herself. "Hey you guys stop that right now... Let him go!"

"Glad to have you with us again, Carran," Aisha nodded with a polite bow back and turned where Winger was.  Stepping out of the doorway, Aisha's neck craned up to the sky where the pillar of smoke was quite visible even in the evening sky.  "Hum, I hope we don't hope to travel all night," she muttered and kept a hand on the handle of her boomerang, just more comfortable traveling when it's getting dark to keep a weapon handy.

Looking about at everyone who was coming, the panther smirked.  The party looked small so far, at least those who voiced actively that they were coming, but everyone in their own right was talented in adventuring it seemed.  They could get the job done.

From the corner of her eye, Aisha also spotted something else shooting into the sky.  It was very brief flare, but bright.  "What was that?" she said and turned around, wondering if it was just her imagination.

"It would appear", the bat priest introduced as Sebastian said, and made a slight pause, "that magic is in the work. Fire, from the look of it. And it has a... certain flavour to it. I can trace it, if you like."

   The voice resumed, and sounded agitated.
  "Time is running low, Slevrani. Serve us or die. The choice is yours."

"As opposed to wizards, Clerics are people whom I do highly respect." Cog says, tipping his hat to Sebastian. "They usually have a sense of gravity and...responsibility, that Wizards do so often lack." He says as he walks outside the tavern. He grabs his sword from where it was leaning on the wall, and looks up at the rising smoke in the distance.
"I do hope all of you don't mind, but I've been very bored with sitting around drinking, and I'd like to see what's flown out of the sky this time. Don't get me wrong, that's some nice whiskey...but a little excitement might do me good." He says grinning, still staring at the smoke.

   Noticing that Pan and Rei were in the room, Topher rushed to their side and began to ease a bit now that he had companions.  He threw his arms into the air and yelled.  A large flame emersed from his fingertips and a blaze swallowed the figures.
   As the figures fell to the floor Topher and the others rushed to the wall.  Topher began to melt his way through the wall this time with both hands.  Two holes begann to form and he began to grow tired.  His flames began to die and he could no longer use his ability.  He shot the last flames he could into the sky hoping more would come to help.

Rei still keeping an eye on the other figures in the room. Started to edge back to where Topher was then in a moments time she tries to grab him and run but he was too hot for her to grab and burned herself on him. "Oww, That hurt..."She looks at him. "Why did it do that?"

  Topher turns to Rei, don't worry about me, get yourselves ouut here.  Returns to his normal state.  Topher then throws a pouch to Rei.  "Get an aloe vera strip from my pouch.  Apply it gently and get out of here it isn't safe.  Try and contact the others.  I'll be ok for a little while longer." 
  He then returns to his tapped form and begins to melt his way through the wall again.  A whole widens big enough for Rei and her friend Pan to leave.  "I wish I could go with you but the wall will close on me as soon as I get a chance.  I'll keep it open for you for as long as I can.  Go now before more come!"

[Sorry for not posting again]

Winger walk on, being sure not to get ahead of the others. "The Impact sight is not far from heres it shouldn't take more than a few minutes."  Hopefully what ever crashed there hasn't  been discovered yet.  As he stepped thoughhen noticed the fire shooting into the sky.  "Did anyone else see that?"

When Cogidubnus makes his comment, Sylva thinks, I wonder if he thinks of me as one of the exceptions to that rule.

“That first part, I can definitely do. I am loyal to nobody. As for slavery, that’s my shtick. I hate you for adding servitude to your conditions and I will no doubt hate you more when I figure out what you have planned, but… it seems I have little choice in the matter. Fine, servitude it is,” Slevrani says.



“Listen, Topher. If I were to leave you here, I would (1) be haunted by my conscience and (2) probably get fired for it. The motto of the police department is ‘to protect and serve’. Also, you are aware that I can teleport you out with me, right?” Pan says to Topher.



“Pan hasn’t come back yet. I sure hope he’s okay,” Sylva thinks aloud. She then sees the fire in the sky and says, “Which one are we going to investigate first? On one hand, this ‘angel’ is very important, from what I gather. On the other hand, I don’t think that was a normal fire and shooting flames or something similar when one is in trouble is common practice where I come from.”

The fox mage smiled, "It is most delightful to see you again Aisha and you as well Winger.  It is also good to meet a capable wolf such as yourself Gareeku.  I had hoped to find Ryudo again, but that must wait, we have some happenings that should be investigated."

Carran turned to regard the sky outside, "Hmmm, fire in the sky... I know there is song about that from some other world, but I can not seem to remember it.  I have a feeling that examining the fire may be a slightly more immediate concern."

The fox walked forward and outside, following his sense to lead him to the outburst of fire.

At Cognidubnus' remark, Sebastian gave him a short smile and a small bow of thanks.
   "Maybe that is true. Maybe", he said, and then his face turned serious. "But what kind of responsible man would I be if I left my own behind? I am sorry, but I will have to catch up with you in a short while. I have someone I need to alert." He started walking quickly in another direction.
   "Worry not. This will not take long", he said, and waved at them all. "I will be back before you can say your prayers." Whatever that was supposed to mean, they didn't know.

   "Good", the voice continued with a musing tone. "Hatred is something We are used to, so don't overexert yourself. And We think you might actually like what is to come..."
   Slevrani was suddenly overwhelmed by something of the oddest and most powerful sensation she had ever felt. Shadows seeped into her, crawled into and merged with her, forcing her shadowy remnant of a form to grow. She felt herself changing, something that was made even more dramatic by her incorporeal state. It was pain and pleasure at the same time, disgusting and wonderful all in the same. She lost consciousness, and slipped into darkness...

   A minute or so later, in a bar down the street not much more than a block from where the bat-priest had left the group, Clarissa was finishing her round. There hadn't been much customers in that day, and most of her working hours had been spent in the kitchen rather than up in front of the desk. The lupine woman had just changed out of her working clothes and gone to the bathroom. Janice, the feline barmaid who shared Clarissa's shift, was still working, washing off and looking herself over in the big full-wall mirror over the sinks outside the toilet booths.
   "I'll be out of here in a half. You're going right to your place, right?", she asked while straightening her blouse.
   "Yeah", Clarissa replied. "Come by and we can pick up Mary after the park, okay?"
   "Got it", the feline replied and then walked out with rapping heels.
   Clarissa finished her business and got out of her booth, turning a tap with the tip of her fingers and washing her hands. After hours, she and her friends worked a bit at the theatre, often doing stand-ins or side-roles. But she was really hoping to make a more serious career of acting later, if she could only afford it.
   All of a sudden, the water in the tap stopped running. Clarissa looked at it, puzzled. She twisted the knobs, but no water would come out. That's when she got the feeling of being watched, as if she were not alone in the bathroom. She looked up in the mirror, but couldn't see anything. Everything was silent and still.
   Then, one of the booth doors made a tiny squeak. She turned against it.
   Something shot into her from behind. She made a short scream as she contorted, and was then thrown up against a wall. She would have kept screaming, except all the air seemed to have been pressed out of her lungs. And there was something else. Something moving...
   She was thrown again, pressed up by something invisible against the ceiling. She twitched and shook, and the world began to darken...

Grinning at Aisha's reply, then Gareeku turned his head upon hearing Sebastian's words.
"Fine by me." the wolf replied with a smile. However, he wasn't sure what it was, but there was something strange about the stranger.

Turning to Carran, Gareeku smiled.
"And it is an honour to meet a skilled Mage such as yourself." the wolf replied, bowing politely as he spoke.

Following the others, Gareeku looked into the sky, observing the rising pillar of smoke billowing from the woods in the distance as he walked with his allies. Hearing Aisha's words and glancing at her, Gareeku smirked slightly.
"Typical feline; always on edge." Gareeku joked, a grin on his face as he spoke. However, he too had a hand resting on his weapon, as he also knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Aisha's eyes were tuned to the sky where she thought the flare was...how could only she have noticed it?  Such light should have stood out in darkness...

Her ears swiveled back to catch what conversations had been started with the traveling party, with a roll of her eyes at Gareeku upon his statement.  She turned around and listened to a few others' responses, a little less frustrated at the fact that she wasn't the only one.  "See, I'm not crazy," she chuckled with a half-humor and glanced back to the sky between that spot and where the smoke was still rising, only looking with slight curiosity at the fact that Sebastian had paused and left for a moment.

"Does anyone else think that the angel...or whatever it is...can wait for a second?  Maybe a few others of our party is missing..." she said, unsheathing her weapon.  The panther's priorities were always easy when it came to trouble: near, then far.

"I hope that it will not take too long to gather out party." Cog says, sliding his sword into his belt. "I think that whatever this is, if it is indeed harmful, will not likely wait for the any defenses to gather." His eyes turn over to Aisha, and he adjusts his shades. "IS anyone missing? I didn't notice someone being spirited away, but I do miss such things on occasion."

He grabs a single charm from the inside of his jacket, and loops the chain around his neck. The air around him curdles for a moment, seemingly twisting, and then fades back to normal.

Winger ignored everyones conversation and pressed on.  "If it's really so important to you, go investigate those flames.  I'm moving forward."  Winger paused for a moment. then turned around and laughed a bit.  "If any of you who are going to investigate see Rei, tell her that I said thanks for not taking my bag when the witch appeared." then with a Little shutter, the bird fluffed his feathers, and continued walking.  He didn't want to leave anyone behind, but he knew that here werealready evil forces at work, and what ever had fallen in the woods, may have something to do with the event of two years earlier.  Fast action had to be taken.

“I regret saying this, but since both of these tasks seem to be vital, splitting up may be our only choice. It’s risky, but we can’t be in two places at once,” Sylva says.

Listening to what the others said, Gareeku nodded his head in agreement upon hearing what Sylva had to say.
"I agree. There are strange things going on around here, and I don't think any of these "events" should be left unchecked." the wolf stated calmly. "I know it doesn't sound like the best plan of action, but we need to split up into two groups."

Aisha nodded, straightening up a little bit and bringing her gaze back to the group, first answering Cog's quick inquiry, her tail flickering with thought.  "Well, I'm not sure myself how many there originally were...many of the tavern's people fled upon the arrival of that witch.  But there was one who seemed to disappear straight from sight..."

She shrugged.  "Maybe that's the one who had sent that flare.  At any rate," she turned to the group, "We can't let Winger go investigate that meteor thing alone either."

Thoughtfully, she glanced towards the avian.  Though both situations were now of equal importance to the adventurers, splitting up was indeed the best way.  She nodded before making her decision.  "I'll go with Winger.  We've seen the fallen angel before and would probably better handle the situation if it is indeed the same.  But it's your choice, the rest of you.  We can meet up later."  She smirked and pointed up.  "Just follow the big smoke trail."

Stygian really liked all of this. It had taken much less effort than they had expected to lead things on, and now that the fallen had descended again they might really get to see it this time. To boot, the adventurers, which admittedly they were though that term was plainly a loose one, were talking about splitting up. Watching them from the darkness of a nearby rooftop, they had to make an effort not to growl with delight. And even then a low purr escaped their lips. They checked themselves quickly though. They weren't sure of the capabilities of these people, but at least one of them they knew was very good at detecting them despite their capabilities. In fact, she was the only one who had managed to in quite some time.
   Their attention fixated on the panthress who had just spoken. They remembered her clearly now, just as they did the wolf, who plainly was just as intriguing to them. And they had recovered something that concerned her as well. They mused a little, wondering at the circumstances of things and thinking ahead a bit. But they quickly returned to the present, as they felt their new 'companion' growing impatient, in addition to her frustration. They were a bit impatient too, actually. This business didn't seem like it could lead much anywhere. But they had to play along, so they slithered off the roof and down the alley beneath it.

   "May I advise then that we send those that are best for combat purpouses to aid our friend in need?" the bat-priest queried as he walked out from an alley around the corner. "I came as fast as I could. Has the situation changed?" He tilted his head to the side a bit, looking them over. Then he seemed to realize he had forgotten something. There was someone with him, striding along just behind him. He turned to her.
   "Sorry, I forgot. This is my secretary, miss Fors," he said.
   She turned out to be a wolf of about the same age as him, perhaps a bit younger. She was tall, though some inches short of him, and had fair fur and hair almost as blond as his own, with just some few small black patterns and black eartips. Athletically built, she was shapely and beautiful, though in an unpolished way. Her hair was neatly cropped at shoulderlength, and a forelock fell over her well-formed face, with prominent cheekbones, a straight muzzle and green-grey eyes with a hint of amber in them. She wore an outfit that held semblance to his in many ways, with a blouse, vest and hood, and a sort of parted skirt over a pair of short pants. She smiled confidently, and bore herself with a sort of practiced determination as she walked up to them and made a small curtsy, but her cheeks were slightly red, though whether she was shy or flustered you couldn't tell.
   "A pleasure," she said simply in a smooth alto.

Carran came running back from around the corner, he had thought everyone had made up their mind to move, "We really should go to investigate these occurrences."

Carran calmly held his long sword in his right hand and his staff in the left.  He noticed the bat priest and smiled, it was so nice to have a priest along.  They were wonderful companions and excellent orators in spiritual methods and the furre condition.  Carran sincerely hoped this was an open minded theurgist and not a religious extremist.

The fox waited patiently for the others to decide where to go, he would follow.

Listening to what Aisha said, Gareeku nodded.
"Ok then. One half of the group will investigate where the flare came from, and the others can go with Aisha and Winger to invesitage the crash site. We'll meet up again at the crash later." the wolf said, before beginning to walk off towards where the flare had come from.

Without hesitation, the bat-priest sided up beside Gareeku, and his secretary just behind them. He handed her his coat, while swinging that cross-shaped sword with a sharp-edged wooshing sound by his side.
   "No wasting time. I like that," he said, sounding pleased. "Let us go then. But haste not too much, for that may as well lead to unthoughtful action." His voice was melodious and seemed almost reciting, but there was too much thought put into it to be a mere recitation.

Winger pressed on, knowing that he would soon be followed by a small group of adventurers.  He was hoping that they would hurry up and decide who was going where, because so much time had already been waisted.  " We're going to be late." Winger gritted his beak and doubled his pace.  Walking seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth, but something was telling him that it wasn't safe for him to take to the sky.

After Aisha took a second to count the group, making small guesses on who was coming with them and who was splitting up, she bowed politely back to the wolf that Sebastian had brought with him.  Then, sparing a good-luck salute to the others, started trotting after Winger, though a little less than aware that her tail ring's gleam had an almost abrupt rhythm to it.

"Eager as always to not waste time," Aisha commented with a laugh while following in Winger's path and also skirting a little in the shadows, as she was often prone to do at night, just to make sure that nothing had the easy task of sneaking up on them, in leu of Winger's apparently deciding not to fly.

I wonder if I'll jinx everyone if I hope that this adventure will go a little more smoothly than the last one.

Cog grins a moment, stares at the ground, then calmly starts walking towards where the flare was seen.
"Perhaps we shall meet again, then. May it be soon." He says. He hoped that whoever it was who sent the flame wasn't just throwing a fireworks show for giggles. Splitting up was very dangerous - tactically unsound, and inadvisable for any but the most unavoidable of circumstances. He silently patted the charm hanging around his neck.

“Alright, guys,” Pan says as he jumps on Topher’s head (and usually, having a rat in one’s hair is a bad thing), “Next stop: anywhere but here!”

He then says to Rei, “Just so you don’t have to use up any energy, take Topher’s hand and I’ll bring you back with us.”

The wolf girl seemed to make a short prayer as she felt for something inside Sebastian's coat. Then, she touched the cross-and-scales pendant around her neck, and strode up beside Cognidubnus.
   "Forgive me if I have doubts, but are you really the sort of man who should help with this?" she asked Cog shyly, looking as the bat-priest seemed to make a friendly joke and slap the wolf beside him on the back. "Tell me if I'm wrong, but you... don't seem much like the man one would prefer to kill what might be a magical beast."

    Topher took Rei's hand and clenched his eyes.  He didn't think much of a rat on top of his head seeing as how he slept in the forest with many animals sleeping nearby in order to keep warm.  He peered through the corner of his eye and noticed a guard reaching for his arm.  At that moment they had already vanished to the outside of the building and the group of three sighed with relief.
    Topher exhaulted a little to soon.  He turned to look at the magical building at which he had come from and gaurds came pouring out of the side of it.  Topher pulled the other two aside behind a hill of snow and prepared a "game-plan".

Winger's pace slow, as he became aware of something that he had missed before.  A buzzing that seemed to be coming from every leaf in the woods.  "Something is terribly wrong." he said to himself sa he pause to look up into the trees.

The buzzing grew louder and louder, but there was still no visual sign of the on coming threat.  Then they came like a hot gust of wind spawned from the darkest pits of hell;  hundreds of wasp like stinging insects, each about the size of a small dog.  Colored an deep crimson, with short wings, that seem barely able to sustain flight.  The air grew thick, and breathing became next to impossible.  Winger choked as he called to the others  warning them to stay back for there own safety.  He was certain that his journey would be coming to a fast end.

Rei looks at Topher then looks down the hands. "Well i have a game plan" and with that she blinks to the others in a flash. But what Topher sees is different. While blinking a different world comes into view for him, one that is fill with plains as far as the eye can see with many different animals a few of which come over to see if Topher would pet them. Rei on the other and only pats them on the head and keep moving. As soon as Topher touches Rei hand again they appear in reality like only a second has passed.

Rei looks around and upon seeing Winger being attacked, she hurries to help him out. She tackles him to get him away from the huge insects and blinks again. Winger doesn't see what Topher saw before he sees a place of darkness filled with blacked trees and crows all over the place.  Rei, trying to get out of the place, Touches Winger's hand and they are back, aways further then the rest of the group, again only a seconds time. "Well lets get out of here before we get killed!" Trying to pull Winger along.

Aisha heard the buzzing of the insects a little before Winger did, but that wouldn't stop them from coming down like a huge hive.  Eyes widening in surprise at the spectacle, the panther ignored the avian's warnings and drew her boomerang, arcing it through the air so that it sliced through the giant mass of creatures like a lawn mower through grass.

"What are they, guardians or something?  Or have we just disturbed their hive?  At any rate, we should start running!" Aisha said inbetween tossing her weapon and dodging the stingers.  She couldn't remember ever seeing such creatures before.

Then she turned around, waiting to hear Winger's reply, only to notice that he was being pulled off by whom she recognized as Rei.

"Oh, for..." Aisha started cursing, rushing after them while pulling the hood over her head and using the weapon as a shield for what remained of them.

Cog smiles at Mrs. Fors. "I wonder...do you doubt my will, or my prowess, madam?" He moves a hand towards the hilt of his blade, and rests it there. "You need not doubt my skill. Although..." He giggles. "You might be more perceptive than you know, Mrs. Fors. Although, if any here have the right to kill a magical beast...ah, but that would be telling, no?" He grins, removes his hand from the hilt, and turns around as though to keep walking. As he walks, he stops, pauses for a moment, stomps one foot, and keeps walking. The dust from his foot hangs in the air, for a moments, than another, and for about 10 moments too long, before slowly settling to the ground. A faint muttering can be heard Cog he walks farther.
"...Nighttime's bane, with midnight teeth and moonlight mane...know you my name?..."

Smiling at the priest's friendly joke, Gareeku looked cautious and alert, his ears swivelling as he heard a buzzing noise growing louder. Whirling round, the wolf's eyes widened as he saw a swarm of bugs the size of dogs making their way through the first. In the distance, he could make out a few familiar shapes.
Aisha!! Gareeku thought in alarm, before dashing off to help, his blade in one hand while the other was burning brightly with a white flame. Normally, Gareeku would have agreed that this was a rather rash action to take. But then again, people he cared for in danger, and so his natural reactions had won over yet again.

At the noise, the bat-priest swiveled round with an inquisitive look to his face. Then, he spun the enormos crozius around and sped up beside Gareeku, closing on the monstrums with a loping stride.
   "Tergum vos nequam creatura!" he roared, and then screamed to miss Fors; "Lusia! Nitrite fragmentaries, left pocket!"
   The wolf lady nodded, and calmly reached inside his coat. What she pulled out had to be the largest pair of handguns you had ever seen, like the bastard children of a longslide Hardballer and a Desert Eagle, on stereoids and crack. They had to be close to a foot long, and weigh quite a few pounds. Smoothly and masterfully crafted in dark silver and black metal, they still seemed brutally functionalistic in design. On the side of each were a single engravement of spiked crosses in silver, and small inscriptions in latin.
   Lusia reached into his left pocket, pulled out a pair of magazines marked with a red symbol, and expertly loaded the guns with a swift, swiping motion. She trimmed them steadily on the insects.
   "Believe me, I do not doubt your skills," she said to Cognidubnus. "The unseen is often very real, sometimes more than the obvious. But sometimes you need a certain level of... directness."
   The sound of the guns firing was not a sharp bang as one might expect, but a fierce roar. The ventilated breeches spewed flames, and the bullets screamed as they tore reddish trails through the air. When they impacted with the bugs, they exploded in cones of shrapnel and fire, tearing through the unholy insects like acid through thin cloth.

Pan teleports atop Sylva’s right shoulder. “So, what’s the plan? Or do we have one?”

Sylva whispers something to Pan.

“It sounds risky. I think it’s a bad idea to use that spell, but at this point, I’d say we haven’t much to lose. Just don’t shoot the gun.”

“What will you do?”

“I can’t exactly be the defender, being so small and, though I hate to admit it, fragile. I think I’ll have to go in for the full-on offensive, instead. I should be quick enough not to get hit.”

With that, Pan jumps off Sylva’s shoulder and charges at the bugs.

Having chosen to follow Aisha and Winger, Carran was surprised to be descended upon by a swarm of very large wasps. 

He was slow to react, but upon seeing Winger's predicament and Rei attempting to drag him off, he snapped out of his momentary hesitation.  "A swarm of insects... how prophetic." 

The fox disappeared from where he stood and appeared before Winger and Rei, in the exact space where a wasp was dashing to strike.  For a brief moment Carran and the wasp occupied the same point of reference in space and time.  A brief, bright flash resulted and the wasp was hurled away, bouncing and tumbling across the ground until it came to a twitching stop. 

The wasp attempted to stand, but staggered and reared up mandibles wide.  A terrible hiss of agony escaped from it as the thing putrefied, evaporating into a sinister black mist.  None of the others that have been slain expired in this fashion.

Carran was knocked a step back and shivered visibly, "ick, that's what it feels like to be an insect."

Raising his sword in front of him and holding his staff up and behind him, Carran growled like his feral vulpine cousins as his sword glowed red.  A field of energy appeared before him and a number of diving wasps impacted with it, causing them to exploded into fiery bits.  A stray shrapnel bit here and there also bounced off the shield.

Turning towards Rein and Winger, he smiled and with a genuine sense of urgency spoke quickly, "get him clear, hurry so the others can unleash the fury of their strikes in full."

The horrid buzzing noise was starting to become annoying, and when they came closer it was torturous.  Aisha, careful to stay either a few steps ahead or behind the others, swung her weapons wildly at the creatures...wings, limbs, and heads were severed.  Vile and sticky entrails were splattered.

I didn't think the first battle would be glorious...but this is just plain stupid, the panther couldn't help but think as she kept up with Winger, Rei, and Carran.

She smiled with relief then upon seeing Gareeku and Sebastian charging in to help, although she had to duck her head when the guns fired and a few of the oversized wasps virtually exploded near her head.

"Where did they COME from?" Aisha growled as she turned around to nail another one in the back with her dragon blade, only to have its brother (or sister) jab its stinger halfway into her arm.  With a feral snarl she pulled the thing out, stinger and all, hopefully before any venom could be pumped into her system...if there was any venom.  "That's going to itch..." she muttered and sliced that one in two.

Better to use a little extra power than to have someone die due to inaction, Sylva thinks. She casts “Remove Poison” on Aisha, just in case.

Meanwhile, Pan leaps into the air and yells, “BULLET!” He thus lauches himself quickly into one of the bugs, destroying it. Then, while still in midair, he continues to attack the bugs in the same fashion. Lather, rinse repeat.

Winger weezed a bit, and too hold of Rei's arm.  "Thanks for the save, kitten. You can let go now."  he coughed and got too his feet. and release a volley of knives, before withdawling his sword.  "We can not afford to stop!  Keep running, head for the for the crash site!" He bellowed as he raises his fancy blade over his head, and started hacking randomly at any bug the came within his reach.  "Keep moving!Don't stop till you can see the smoke,and what ever you do stay out of the skies!!!  Don't let them get too, close or the heat from there bodies will take you down."  Winger spat and ran a head hoping that his plan would work and that the others could keep pace.

[Common sense tells me that now is as good a time as any to post]

Pan stops after his first attack. He falls to the ground on his feet. Luckily, the bullet attack didn’t leave him in contact with the bug for long.

“Somebody cast a heat resistance spell on me. Trust me, it’ll protect everyone,” Sylva says. She then casts the Kamikaze spell on the rest of the group, making them glow yellow.

[The Kamikaze spell is a dangerous spell. It transfers all damage that the target(s) would normally take to the caster as long as the spell is active. The spell takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of both the targets and the caster. Thus, if either the target that is attacked or the caster is resistant to the attack, the caster and target take no damage. And no, I did not make up this spell on the fly. This is a spell I created a long time ago.]

For some reason, the kamikaze spell simply couldn't lay itself on neither Sebastian nor miss Fors. It slipped and writhed around them as if something was tearing at it, and then dissipated. Neither of them seemed to mind though. Lusia, as she turned out to be named, just kept firing, the bullets smashing into the flies with dead-eye accuracy and burning them with terrible efficiency.
   Sebastian on the other hand took a few. When he entered the cloud of the cursed insects, he whirled around like a twister, sweeping his spinning blade out and slicing through the bugs brutally and efficiently, not caring that he was practically throwing himself at their stingers. Despite his speed, or perhaps because of it, he was sporting gashes within a matter of seconds. But then the air seemed to clear around him, as his strikes swatted away whatever flies dared enter the area where he moved.
   "He's right," he shouted. "Keep moving! I'll clear a path as best I can." True to his word, he launched into the thickest of the things, his sword slowing as insects clung to it and him.

As Winger goes back, Rei mews in disappointment. She was hopping that they could run but away from the now swam of bugs not towards them.  She starts to think "Why do i all way get myself in these situations." With that she starts to blink at the swarms, but since there are knifes in the air already she starts to grab them, blink and throw them again so she doesn't have to touch any of them.  She starts using trees and the ground to keep herself in the air. She is very quick at what she does and makes sure that the knifes keep going forward in the right direction.  The one time that scares her is the 2 gun bullets that are wizing by her. One almost hits her but she was able to blink before it hit.

Still continuing to slice through the melee of insects, Aisha took a second to nod a thanks to Sylva for her Remove Poison spell...though it didn't stop her arm from bleeding.  But the panther could take a puncture wound; and so didn't even seem to notice the darkening spot on her sleeve as she kept going.

As soon as Winger made the command for the others to make a beeline for the impact sight, Aisha complied without thought, ears pinned against her skull to drown out the shouting, buzzing, and sounds of weapon fire, only pausing in step to quirk an eyebrow on suddenly glowing yellow.

Carran charged forward, utilizing his shield as a ram.  Any insects that came into contact with it were incinerated, but the sheer volume was slowing him down and wasps were working their way around the shield.  Soon he was reduced to wielding sword and staff against the pests as he ran.

The kamikaze spell reached out to and instantly withdrew from Carran, it could not gain a hold upon him and slipped off, returning from whence it came.  For the time being, Carran did not appear that he needed it.

With deadly precision, Gareeku weaved his sword in a fluid and deadly dance of the blade, cleaving through insect after insect as the white flame in his other hand incinerated any insects which came near. As the wolf continued to carry out his lethal assualt on the attacking swarming, he suddenly found himself to be glowing.

"Hmmm...interesting..." he muttered to himself. Hearing Winger, Gareeku ran with the others towards the site. Looking back behind him, the wolf could see the forest; nearly black as the swarm chased after them. With a somewhat dark smirk on his face, the wolf then sheathed his sword, before suddenly stopping in his tracks and whirling round, facing the swarm now fast approaching.

"This should buy the others a little time..." Gareeku muttered to himself, the smirk still on his face as he raised his arms in an x-shape across his chest. Bright white flame then suddenly bursted into life in his open hands as he gathered the magical energy from within him.
"RAISING..." the wolf bellowed, bringing his open hands above his head as a wind seemed to pick up around him, causing his cloak to billow ferociously behind him. Suddenly, the wolf then brought his hands back on either side, slamming them into the ground with considerable force.

"...STOOOOORRRRMMM!!"

As soon as his hands touched the earth beneath him, a loud roar could be heard as a huge cyclone of bright white energy flew up around him. It was a truely impressive sight to behold. The sheer force of the spell could be felt, and yet no plant life around Gareeku appeared to be harmed. The insects, however, was a different story. Wave after wave of the giant bugs ploughed into the wall of magic, each one being instantly vapourised as they emitted loud shrieks.

It was then, however, that Gareeku suddenly got up and ran after the others, the cyclone of magic lingering for a couple of seconds afterwards before disappearing. By now he was panting from using so much magic as he ran to catch up with the others. He couldn't help but grin to himself, however. Sure, it may have been a little overkill, but it was a stylish overkill.

The bat-priest laughed from the front of the group, giving Gareeku an appreciative look.
   "So... that one's on you then, wolf," he shouted, while casually whirling away at what few bugs were left and dared aim for them, one neatly cleaved bug falling to the ground with each stroke of that huge blade. "I'll make sure we pay you back next."
   Lusia sided up next to Gareeku, having been the one furthest back from the fight, and set those huge guns into a pair of hip-mounted holsters, then made a short nod toward the other wolf. She seemed to have her own way of showing thanks. And that nod clearly meant that she was ready to pull him along if he couldn't keep up, and covering the others while she did it.

Sylva and Pan run to the others. Sylva is barely able to keep up, but Pan has no problem in that area.

Sylva looks at the bugs to decide whether or not to cast a spell.

   Topher enters his tapped form and easily takes down many wasps at a time.  It couldn.yt get any better for him.  They were actually supplying him energy to beat their butts.  Engulfing wasp by wasp Topher calls out to the others.  "Go now while you can, I'll take care of 'em!"  At that point the talking flame returns to burning the wasps to crisp.  Just as Topher was about to swat another wasp, the buzzing died out.  This was the end of their territory.  Topher returned to his normal being form and rejoices with the others.

Pan, when Topher said that, decided to hide nearby instead of running. That way, he could take the necessary actions to help Topher if the need arose. He would also be able to easily escape if descovered. Luckily, he now sees that such an action was unnecessary. “TELEPORT!” Pan yells. He appears next to Sylva in a puff of smoke.

Rei blinks a few more times then blinks right on top of Gareeku and landing on him. She has a few cuts but the things that really stands out is the three stingers that are stuck in her. Two in the back and one in the stomach. Rei holds up to Winger the daggers he threw. "These... are yours... I brought... them back... too... you..." Falls unconscious still on top of Gareeku and the daggers that were held out fall to the ground.

[Either Rei somehow dispelled the spell Sylva cast, or the stingers pop out of her skin, leaving wounds in Sylva’s body, instead.*]

Quote from: Joat on January 07, 2007, 01:05:13 AM
“Somebody cast a heat resistance spell on me. Trust me, it’ll protect everyone,” Sylva says. She then casts the Kamikaze spell on the rest of the group, making them glow yellow.

[The Kamikaze spell is a dangerous spell. It transfers all damage that the target(s) would normally take to the caster as long as the spell is active. The spell takes into account the strengths and weaknesses of both the targets and the caster. Thus, if either the target that is attacked or the caster is resistant to the attack, the caster and target take no damage. And no, I did not make up this spell on the fly. This is a spell I created a long time ago.]

[OOC EDIT: Dear previous me, stop using the old OOC style.]

Cog's shoes make a crunching sound as he walks over the detritus of the insects. "I heard the commotion, and I decided that perhaps it would best to stay and help. You all seemed to have it well in hand, however." He walks over towards the rest of the group, trying to be careful not to step on the scattered bodies of insects. "I assume, then, no one else is going to find the straggler? Perhaps, we should not split up at that."
He nods to Mrs. Fors. "A very impressive display, madam. I must confess, it does not get more direct that that." He smiles. "Of course, There is a time for every activity under the sky. Both discretion and directness have appropriate times."

"Thank you kindly," the wolf lady said in response to Cognidubnus' words, and examined him for a second. "Now, would you help me with this?" She turned her attention to the feline girl just landed on Gareeku, starting to carefully examine her wounds and moving her a bit. "I don't have so much experience that I would want to take care of these wounds without magic. You," she said to Gareeku, "can you please stop? I think that we need to lay her down if we want her healed."

As he ran, Gareeku surprised to rind Rei landing in his arms from out of thin air. Catching her and stopping, Gareeku quickly laid her down on the ground and examining her wounds.
"Damn..." he muttered, before comforting the feline. "Ssssshhh...it'll be ok..."

When she had fallen unconscious, Gareeku looked at Stygian's assistant with a disapproving look.
"I do have a name, you know. It's Gareeku" he replied, an annoyed tone in his voice as he spoke and not realising that she hadn't caught his name yet.

Winger had made his way into a clearing, before he notice that the buzzing in his ears had died down, and when he found that he was alone he let out a little sigh and stopped to catch his breath and get his bearing.  His plan was obviously no longer needed, but the avian couldn't help but feel a little foolish for getting so far ahead of the others. He thought to himself how cowardly he must have looked to the others as he ran out of sight.  Now he was alone an he had a choice to make. "should I press on, or go back?"  he asked himself, and he was surprised to get an answer from a low grumbling voice.

"Go back..." it said.

Winger gripped his sword hard in his feather digits. "Who's there?"  he called out in a nervous but stern tone. "Show yourself!"

"Go back..."  The voice came again, much louder than before. 

Winger shook a bit and ruffled up his feathers. he heard something new. It was kind of kind of creaking sound the you hear from a rusty door hinge, followed by a soft thud like someone stepping hard onto the soft ground. Winger couldn't place where the sound was coming from.  "Come out and make yourself known" Winger shouted again!" His voice becoming louder and more angry. 

The rusty foot steps became louder and faster, then there was a loud shriek, "GO BACK!"

Winger felt a sharp pain in his back and then found himself lying with his beak in the dirt.  when he rolled over he could hardly believe his eyes.  Before him stood the golden figure that he and his companions worked so hard to recover and put back together.  It growled and flexed it's wing a bit. It was taller than winger, but not by much. It was made out of gold, but it seemed to be different from what he remembered somehow. Instead of being the pure and radiant genderless embodiment of power it once was. it had become dull and tarnished,  it was cracked and beaten. From the cracks there seem to radiate a dark energy.

Something was terribly wrong.

Winger got to his feet and took a step forward to get a better look; the angel withdrew. Winger took a step back and the angel advanced. The pair of them repeated this step a few more times before winger spoke out in protest.  "I don't have time to be dancing with some broken golden toy all night. Why have you returned?"

"Go back?" The angel spoke and too another step forward, this time winger did not withdraw.

"The hell with that." winger spat and rubbed his back where he had been hit before. "I asked you a question, you rust bucket! What do you want!?"

"The core" The angel replied, in his grumbly tone.  "Go back and get it! GIVE IT TOO ME!"  It screeched, before it reached out it arm and tried to grabbed a hand full of blue feathers out of wingers arm. 

Winger recoiled a bit. from the shock of the pull;  he let out a loud "Caw" and then raised his sword and slashed at the Angrily taking the fist of that had plucked his feathers before.  With out thinking he grabbed the hand And dashed back in the direction of the party.  he flapped his arms, and thankfully he was still able to fly, the angle hading removed any important feathers, but it was chasing him now and what was worse was it could also fly!  So winger sped back to the others clutching fist which still had his feathers in it's tight grip..

"Mmm-hm". Cog says, walking over toward Gareeku and looking Rei over. "Unlucky for her. I don't think she had the most sturdy constitution to begin with. The ultimate bee stings are not going to help: Most likely that's an unfriendly venom in there, and very probably she'll just bleed out if we just rip out the stingers." He stares at her for a moment, and reaches into a side pocket. "The necromancer bought my best healing charm, but I think I might have something else that would work." He shuffles around in his pocket for a bit, and brings out a bronzed coin, two sided, and etched with a very intricate tree on one side, and a storm on the other. "At this rate, I'm going to lose all my trinkets before I even see a fight." He holds up the coin. "This coin inundates with light magic. It might heal her." He reaches over towards one of the knives that she dropped on her way to Gareeku. "But it needs blood to work." He cuts his left index finger, hissing a bit when it bites, and smears the blood over the coin. It glows for a moment. He places it in one of her pockets. "It will heal her slowly, if at all. With luck, she should be fine in about 30 minutes or so." He nods at Sylva. "The necromancer could probably speed this process up, if she would be so kind."

Lusia looked with an almost annoyed face at Gareeku as he spoke.
   "I k..." she began to say, but then stopped. Her face became ashamed instead, and she blushed. "Sorry... I didn't catch it earlier. I'm Lusia," she said, looking into the other wolf's eyes. She seemed to want to apologize for having spoken so directly, but held her tongue.
   Then, she watched the human getting to work with interest. As he placed the coin inside the feline girl's pocket, the wolfess nodded.
   "I still think that we should get the stingers out," she said, and then took the coat Sebastian had given her. "I have both bandages and strings here, so we can wrap her up and stop her from bleeding through the wounds..."

   Then, seemingly from nowhere, Sebastian appeared behind them. His face was worried. You could almost feel an intent gaze from him, despite the wrappings across his eyes.
   "I am aware that the girl is in need of attendance, but I still think that we should get moving. There is something dark to this place, and I can feel tension. And one of our party members just went out of sight as well." He turned to Gareeku. "Perhaps you can stay with her and catch your breath whi..."
   The bat priest stopped, and both his and Lusia's head simultaneously turned in one direction.
   "We know that one, don't we...?" Sebastian said, almost hesitantly. Lusia just looked, fear and suspicion on her face. She gripped her little cross-and-scales pendant hanging from the chain on her neck. "Yes, we know it all too well..." Sebastian said. His face was twisted with distaste.

Aisha smirked, watching Gareeku dispose of many more of the insects in a most convenient way.  She had to admit, he quite loved showing off.

After watching, she turned to run alongside the others of the party until, finally, it was quiet again.  Finally, no more were following her and the buzzing was dying down...she could stop to catch her breath.  The pain in her upper arm from where one of them had stung her was now more prominent, and she noticed the stains of blood on her sleeve.  There was a low growl as she held her arm and looked about the path, hoping to catch up with Winger.

However, he must have ran ahead, for he was nowhere in sight.  Sighing, and not wanting to get lost, the pantheress turned around and ran back to where she last saw the rest of the party, glimpsing a shadow soaring above her head.

"Winger?" she muttered loudly and glanced up, just as he passed over...and noticed that something was in pursuit of him.  Aisha could only keep running in that direction, the dense woods obscuring her view...otherwise she'd have used her boomerang.

Noticing the wolfess' reaction, Gareeku smiled apologetically.
"Forgive me, I did not mean to snap. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lusia." the wolf replied, bowing his head slightly in a polite gesture. It was then, however, that his head suddenly perked up. He could feel it; the darkness lurking further within the forest. With a slight grimace, Gareeku rose to his feet.
"I'm very sorry everyone, but I must investigate." the wolf said apologetically to the group, bowing slightly before taking off into the forest.

As he neared the source of the dark energy, Gareeku could feel something begin to stir within him. Trying to surpress the feeling, he continued to make his way to where ever the dark energy was. his eyes narrowing, the wolf sped up slightly. Winger had also disappeard, as had Aisha, and his worse fears was that they were with this dark energy...

Sylva casts Cure Critical Wounds on Rei and begins to chant another spell. This leaves her too busy to respond to what is going on around her.

“Sylva, the next time you decide to put yourself at such great risk, change your mind. In a major battle, the last thing we need is to lose our healer.” Pan says.

He sees Winger pass overhead. “I’ll be right back. TELEPORT!” he says. He then disappears in a puff of smoke.

Pan appears atop Winger’s head. “What is going on?”

Stygian was getting stressed. It did not like being stressed. Suddenly, things were happening all around, and it was caught somewhere it didn't want to be. That had to be seen to immediately. It didn't trust its new pet enough that it wanted to send her off alone for this encounter, no matter how much control it had over her. And it hadn't expected the Angel to turn up so soon either. There really was only one thing to do here. It was good, at least, that it didn't have to leave anything else behind to do what it wanted.

   Sebastian started running along with Gareeku, and looked to the wolfess as he shouldered that huge crozius.
   "Come on!" he shouted to her, and Lusia got on her feet in a hurry, coming up beside them.

    Topher thought to himself.  He hadn't ever made Winger out to be a coward...why now?  This wasn't like him to leave the rest behind.  Or had something gone wrong?  Had he too been teleported to an unknown place?  Whatever it was, he and the others had to investigate.
    With that Topher hopped from to a branch and continued his way about 20 feet up the nearby trees.  He looked outward towards the end of the forest.  He saw a faint flash of blue followed by a murky gold.  Was that Winger?
    He called down to the other's and pointed to a spot some yards in front of where he saw the flash.  "OVER THERE!"

Carran who had been attempting to dash after Winger, was surprised to find him sailing overhead.  A loose feather drifted down and landed on his nose, odd, he shouldn't be loosing healthy feathers at this time of the year.

A golden, flying shape chased in Winger's wake, in its hand were some very familiar blue feathers.  The shape resembled something very familiar to the fox, but he could was not exactly able to place it. 

It attacked Winger!  That is not acceptable.  I'll just bring it down for a little chat.  scare the wits out of it with my faerie might!  Wait, that sounds lame... nevermind.

Using a very odd springtail incantation from his repertoire of faerie arts, Carran leaped into the air and summoned a great concentration of dark force into his right hand and utilized a rather trademarked cubi's vaunted maneuver, the sucker-punch.

Carran and the figure both sailed down to the ground, but only the fox landed gracefully.  Carran stood there seething with fae rage and power, all mostly a clever illusion of intimidation, "whoever attacks my friends and companions must deal with the Prince of the Fae, now identify yourself mortal."

To the fox's horror, a golden figure arose from the small pit in the street and regarded the fae and his overly-dramatic display coolly.

Carran's ears drooped, "wait, wait I did not know!  I'm not in the habit of attacking angels..."  His voice trailed off as he noticed the presence of the being was neither radiant nor imposing, the golden angel was dull and tarnished, it almost seemed a creature that could be pitied.

It took a step forward.

"Now wait one moment!  I'm armed with a sword and staff here, you don't seem to have any weapons... it wouldn't be fair..."

The golden angel took a quick step forward and punched Carran straight in the jaw.

The fox rubbed his chin and swore, "kah, I guess you don't need a blooming weapon."

It took another step forward and Carran put his weapons up, "now wait, wait one moment here, we don't want to commit to a serious fight here.  Sure we can fight with our full strength, laying waste to whole continents and civilizations... but think of all those people and you are still unarmed and all..."

The angel took another step forward.

Winger Was moving as fast as he could to make his escape from the angel, he already knew he was no match for it alone.  It was all he could do to cut off the damn thing hand and escape with most of his feathers still intacted.  he was surprised that he was able to do that, considering that the angel had the power to bring an end to all life on contry. 

Why was the angel doing this? Winger thought. Which was hard to do with a rat perched on his head. 

Winger grabbed the rat and gave it a quick squeeze.  "Listen you-" he started to yell , but then looking into the rodent's eyes he remembered Whisper,  his friend, who had a habit of popping in and out at random to try to cheer up.  "That thing that is coming me is very dangerous"  Winger spoke a bit more softly but still in stern tone. "Someone has to stop it. or else everyone here is in a lot of trouble."

Winger looked behind him and noticed he he was no longer being chased.

"Oh,  where the hell did he go?!"  Winger complained as he looked all around for any sign of the angel, before he spotted it assaulting Carran.  Winger settled on the ground and slipped the severed fist into his bag along with his remaining gold and then thinking quickly as he could dashed at  then angel and tackled it knocking it onto it's front.  "I owed you one, you rusty bucket!"  then he glanced over at Carran, it's not exactly like old times, but close enough!"

“It’s inorganic, right? If I teleport into it, will I be able to mess with its internal mechanisms? Maybe shut it down?” Pan asks.

EDIT: Sylva, meanwhile, completes her precautionary Remove Poison spell. She looks to see how well the Cure spell worked.

"I wouldn't reccommend it." a voice suddenly said from behind. Stepping forward, Gareeku looked on at the angel, a grim look on his face as he spoke. "That thing is seeping dark energy. If you were to go inside it, I wouldn't like to think what would happen."

Stepping forward and walking towards the angel, Gareeku began to persperate, a slight grimace on his face as the feeling inside of him grew stronger as he approached.
"Hey! Angel! Over here, you stupid walking pile of rust!" he called out to the angel to get its attention, hoping that the angel would be distracted so some other course of action could be carried out by Carran, be it an attack or an effort to restrain the angel.

Sebastian stepped up beside Gareeku with a stomp of his boot and swung his crozius down with a sharp woosh.
   "What he said, you bucket of corrosion! By the jurisdiction of the Church and Conclave of Justice, you are to stand down! All of you!" he shouted with a fierce scowl. "Failure to cooperate will be met with force!" Lusia slid up beside him, smacking another pair of magazines into those handguns and training them on the Angel.

Panting a little from the running she had to do in order to keep her eyes on Winger's form, she stopped with a bit of disorientation as the thing that was chasing him suddenly fell from the sky and landed in a darker point of the woods, somewhere off the path.  It was gleaming and metallic...and it was quite familiar.  It...can't be...

Following the path, Aisha burst through the foliage to find the others of the party face-to-face with the entity, having entered just as Sebastian was commanding the others to stand down.  Her boomerang raised, the panther came up beside Winger and watched her friend with some concern before facing the angel with the rest of them, surprised.  "Que es esto? (What is this?)  Is that the thing that fell?"

Carran sheathed his sword and moved Winger farther away from the Angel, "best to be farther off their lad before the Gunslinger reject begins firing those mechanical contraptions again.  Especially with what you seem to have picked up."

Carran, with Winger, took up a position near Gareeku and Sebastian.  He de-fae'd himself and stood by calmly, "so now what?  Something is obviously wrong here, this is not the same as before, this Angel seems lacking or corrupted somehow."

Hearing Carran speak beside him, Gareeku nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah. It appears to be some form or dark energy I think, at least that's what seems to be seeping out of him." the wolf replied. He was started to sweat more, and subconsciously was holding his chest with a hand. The feeling side was continuing to build as he prayed he could keep it contained within.
I won't let it out. Not now! he thought, the slight grimace appearing once more on his face. "Damn it..."

 Cog catches up with the group, his shoes making slow, regular thumps on the ground. He pauses for a moment as he surveys the Angel. He removes his hat, dusting it off before throwing it to the wind, and places his shades inside his jacket. His yellow eyes run up and down the creature.
"This is what fell from the sky?" He looks at the stump at the end of it's arm. "Doesn't seem to be all that durable." He cracks his neck, takes a deep breath, and drops his posture into a lower stance. He sighs as he feels the familiar rush of adrenaline and power start to flow into his limbs.  He walks slowly towards the Angel, stopping a little behind Stygian. He risks a question toward the obviously agitated cleric. "Are you going to kill it, or shall we wait for it to respond to the hostility?" He says, resting his hand over the hilt of his blade.

"It is fallen. That means it's a force of darkness, and either to be contained or destroyed," Sebastian answered him clearly. "But we don't force or use violence against anyone unless they violate our peace." His stance was heavier than Cogidubnus', and not just because of the size of his blade or that he already had it out.
   Lusia though, had turned her attention to Gareeku, her eyes widening at him as he clenched his chest and his speech turned grunting. The bat then noticed too, and his eyebrows rose.

   Oh bloody Hell... Stygian thought. It knew this sensation. That dark buildup that started to turn the bright and glowing sensation of the wolf into crimson and raging fire at the edges. It had felt it before, and wasn't at all pleased. There was much darkness here, yes... But was the fallen Angel really exuding so much of it? No. The wolf was sensitive, that was all. Events had probably made him more so. If only he could accept the darkness... it muttered to itself, and then started to think on its next move.

Rei heals very well but something is wrong. As Rei gets closer to the "Fallen angel," she starts to go transparent. Almost like she was to blink but in slow motion.

Winger growled, a bit turning to Carran "Lad?" then he turned his attention to Stygian. "You listen here, Don't go lecturing me about this thing. There are people here who know more about it than you can ever hope to dream about!"

The angel creaked as it got to it's feet and also turned it's attention to Stygian.  It took a step forward, and grumbled. "Return the Core." It said raising it's arms which began yo morph and taking on the shape of the bat's prized weapons. "Return the Core."

"Or maybe you'd like to tell me what the devil he's going on about." Winger snickered.

The bat's eyes narrowed, and he hilted his crozius with both of his hands, while taking a step forward. But it was Lusia who answered Winger's question.
   "An angel's or demon's appearance is only so much. They are aetherial, so the soul, the will..." she said a bit hesitantly. "I... I am no expert when it comes to these things, but I think the heart of its being is missing. That's the Core it's talking about. But why would it turn dark...?" Her green eyes stayed transfixed on the darkened thing for a while. Then she turned to the other wolf beside her and asked him with concern; "Are you allright?"

Aisha lowered her weapon to her side, staring with narrowed eyes at the fallen entity standing under the gaze of the group's epicenter.  With the dark energy it emitted, her tail ring was glowing a steady green light, the light enchantment pulsating in little sparks of what looked like electricity.  Not only the sensor, but the fibers of her own mind were up in arms, waiting to either run or dispose of whatever caused it.

But upon swinging her tail around, as it stopped twitching a little more towards Gareeku there came another pulse, lower but growing.  The panther glanced over at him in question, and her eyes widened when she saw how much trouble her companion seemed to have keeping his composure.

As if sensing something ominous about it, and through a fit of concern, Aisha bared her fangs in an impatient snarl.  The observations the others made were helpful indeed, but it was still moving.  "Well...what do we do with this thing now that we have it surrounded?"

Cog tilted his head at Aisha's query. "The cleric says to wait until it tries to kill us." He says, obviously distasteful of the idea. "Treaties, or some such."
As he is looks back at Aisha, he notices both her and Mrs. Fors are looking towards Gareeku. Who seems to be in quite a bit of distress.
"Is he going to be alright?" Cog says, taking a step backwards from the Angel.

"No. No treaties," Sebastian said lowly. "I wouldn't be so conceited as to believe myself capable of destroying it so easily in the first place. And if it is indeed an angel, the best choice would be to put it to peace through ritual, not combat. That is what I am saying. There is a solution to every problem." He still raised his blade though, readying it in a striking stance with the blade almost horizontal by his head, its tip pointing at the Angel. "But if circumstances do not allow..." He seemed to shoot a glare to Gareeku.
   Lusia still held her black guns steadily, pointed at the Angel, but her eyes were turned all to Gareeku now. Her face was a mixture of worry, confusion, fear, and something else. You thought it could be irritation, even anger, but that seemed a bit out of place.
   "Father Paladin, can we please end this quickly or move? I think that our friend here is..." she said. You almost heard the unspoken ending. She was worried, but also wary.

   Damnit, We're being rushed! There is a reason for why We usually plan much farther ahead than this... Stygian thought. It did not like stress, not at all.

Sylva walks over to Rei and says softly, “You’re starting to disappear.”

Pan hears this and looks at Rei. Then he thinks aloud, “Great, as if we don’t have enough on our hands as it is.”

I’m running low on magical energy. If this turns into a fight, I’m gonna probably need to go with plan B, Sylva thinks.

Carran gave a sideways glance and a small snicker to Winger, "would you prefer lass then?"

The fox patted Gareeku on the shoulder, "you are a strong one indeed, but proximity is not helping you any."

With the Angel's attention elsewhere, Carran stepped between shadows and appeared next to the Angel.   The fox was already primed for his recent favorite technique, the sucker-punch.  As his fist connected with the creature's face, his discharge of dark force sent the Angel hurling 50ft away. 

"I didn't sign any treaties."  Carran grunted as he shook his hand, "can we decide what needs to be done now?"

"I..n-need to get...a-away..." He managed to say, albeit half to himself, backing away from the creature as much as he could. Why was this feeling...this darkness...why was it bulding up within now? Had the dark energy the angel was emitting triggered it? The energy seemed somewhat unstable within the angel, so it seemed likely. However, the main thing on the wolf's mind at that moment was trying to contain the darkness within.

The wolf could not help but feeling a large sense of relief when Carran hit the angel, sending it hurtling away. However, the sense of panic quickly returned as the darkness refused to sleep. It wanted to be unleashed, to be free.
"E-everybody needs to...g-get a-away..." the wolf said as he desparately tried to contain the boiling darkness within...

"I say we chop it up and then smelt the peices into gold coins" Winger half joked.  "Look what he did to my arm." Winger said raising his wing so that everyone could see the bald patch that the angel hadl given winger.

Then angel raised it's newly formed weapons, and fired a volly  into the air.  It was obvious that it was not ammused. Then it turned it gun on winger Who drew his sword. 

"What ever we do  we need to do it fast!"

Sebastian looked about to say something at Winger's comment, but his face froze before he could say a word. He turned his head against Gareeku, and then to Lusia. She in turned looked at him with an intense gaze, as still as he was. Then the angel opened fire, and Winger shouted. There was a brief pause for a second.
   The next moment, everything happened very, very fast. Sebastian made a lightning-fast swipe with the broadside of his crozius-sword to Gareeku's midsection, somehow moving even faster than he had before, and sent the wolf hurtling much the same way Carran had done to the angel. There must have been tons of inertia in that blow, but he barely moved. Then, he made a similar blunt swipe, but of much less force, at Winger to knock him out of the angel's gun's way. He spun the long blade of his crozius, and metallic tinks were heard.
   Simultaneously to Sebastian, Lusia had swung around and in short order replaced the clip of one of her guns, and aimed it at the angel. The blasts from the gun this time were almost white and made ghostly howls as the bullets swooped against the creature's chest. She didn't keep her aim at it though, but simply emptied a few rounds, and then darted after Gareeku as he was knocked into the darkness, Sebastian following close behind her with his sword raised for an impaling strike.

Aisha had only time to glance at Winger, agreeing with his comment as she took one weapon in both hands, boomerang on the right and dragonblade on the left, taking up a defensive position against the fallen angel creature as it fired into the air; announcing its own assault.  She had caught Gareeku's words and sent him a reassuring, albeit nervous look when Carran punched the thing.  "Nobody's running."

At least I hope this thing can be disposed of before we all have a reason to run...

And then everything happened in a blur.  The panther barely saw the blow that Sebastian landed on Gareeku to throw him aside, and with Winger moved out of the way in a similar fashion, Aisha leaped away from the angel's line of fire.  Her feet were working to keep behind the thing as much as possible.  That was a good thing too, for she couldn't land a blow in of her own until Lusia stopped her own volley, the loud mettalic impacts ringing in her ears.  Certainly that would have put a few good dents in its already-cracked armor...

She had found one large dent in its back, where she could even see the dark energy seeping out like a ghastly fog.  Taking advantage of the time the angel needed for recovery, the blade dug straight into it, sparks flying from the friction it took.  Aisha's teeth clenched and her tail ring's glow was starting to go off even it's own limits.

Upon watching the bat and Lusia rush after Gareeku, she struggled to pull the sword back out again.  What are they intending...?

Before the wolf knew what was happening, he suddenly felt a powerful force slam into him, sending him flying off into the darkness of the forest. However, it would be that blow which would be the catalyst for what was to happen next.

For a few moments, there seemed to be nothing stirring from within the forest. Then was then, however, that an almost unearthly roar rang out through the forest. At the same time, a large red light could be seen from within the depths of the forest. The darkness that could be felt was incredible.

When Lusia and Sebastian arrived, they would find the wolf now standing. However, he would look somewhat different. Instead of blue, his eyes were now yellow, with the whites now red and the pupils slit-like instead of the normal circle form. What was most noticably different in his appearence, however, was the set of wings and headwings, totally comprised of dark energy and somewhat transparent looking.

With his eyes staring at them, Gareeku was emitted a low, feral-like growl.
"You have darknesssss within you..." the wolf hissed menacingly, taking a step towards Lusia and Sebastian. He could feel the darkness radiating off of the two of them, and he wanted it for his own, such was the nature of the darkness within him.

The more you restrain the power, the more it tries to resist. Do not try to suppress it, try to control how it is released, Sylva thinks. She whispers in Pan’s ear.

The shadows around the priest and his secretary started swirling, moving and slithering as if alive. Their dark-clad shapes strode against Gareeku with a deadly grace, before stopping some thirty paces or so before him. Both their faces were smooth, yet dark. They stood still, almost like statues, black clothing billowing a bit around them.
   "Indeed. You know so much. But We know the darkness in you too. And far better than you know us..." Lusia said in a stone-cold voice much different from the normal, glad and serene one she had displayed before.
   The bat priest started to close on Gareeku, blade lowered to a more defensive stance.
   "Sorry to do this, friend. I actually like that evil of yours a bit... But I will not let you intervene," he said, and then made a leap for the wolf, blade whirring like a tornado. Behind him, Lusia slammed yet another kind of cartridge into her gun, and raised it at Gareeku, but didn't shoot.

   Please, let us pull this off without losing too much... Stygian thought.

   There was something that had happened. The feeling of darkness up ahead of Aisha had become almost tangible, and now her tail ring was not just glowing, but vibrating against her tail, its light a bright beacon of emerald amid the shadows of the forest as she ran. There was so much darkness and evil there that it should have been a marvel that no one was mauled or screaming in pain by now. Whatever was causing it...

Cogidubnus grinned and climbed back up from the ground. He had dropped to the ground to avoid Stygians sweeping attack, and now it finally seemed that action was happening. He ran towards Gareeku, but stopped before he reached him - shadows had replaced Mrs. Fors and the priest. Whatever was going on, it seemed like Gareeku was being attacked by those two...he liked Mrs. Fors, and had thought well of the priest, but transforming into shades...
"They brother Death cried, woulds't thou me?" Cog said, stepping into Hanmei, and passing his hands in front of himself. He took a deep breath, and his eyes glowed with an inner light for a moment: they dialated, and then came back. "Thy sweet child sleep, filmy eyed, murmed, would'st thou me?" He said, his face changing. His face and body changed, a groutesque display of transformative magics, nasueatingly fast. His clothes, seemingly too large at first, fit his new body well. A grey wolf stood where Cogidubnus once was, seemingly a complete change, except for the yellow eyes. "No, not thee. Death will come when thou art dead - sleep will come when thou art fled - " He said, taking yet another breath. "Shades. Come hither....let life no longer separate what death joins together!" He said, concentrating, and then, screaming. He motioned with his fist at the shadows, and a wave of force flowed from his body and flew towards them both.

Hissing and snarling, the newly-transformed Gareeku leapt back as Stygian made his move, before dark-colouring flames flickered into life in his hands. Slamming them into the ground, the wolf sent a wave of soul energy at Stygian, the ground ripping up at the energy roared forwards at his foe. Noticing the presence of Cogidubnus out of the corner of his eyes, Gareeku hissed again, but decided to ignore him for now, concerntrating on the main threat. As he released the energy, the wings on his back morphed into tentacles, the newly-formed limbs speeding towards the woman and intending to knock the guns out of her hands and well as hopefully deal some damage.

Carran quickly assessed the situation.  Several dangerous confrontations were occurring and dark powers were rising.  The darkness from the priest had been revealed, an power he had choosen to ignore and hope it had reasonably good intentions.  Gareeku was possessed by the darkness within himself nad threatened to rage uncontrollably.  Cogidubnus was now a grey wolf and he challenged the Stygian shade.  The most powerful spells Carran wielded were of Black magic, drawing from sources similar to what raged behind him and as such would likely not be much use there.

He turned to Aisha, "Aisha, you need to help save Gareeku, the others do not all appear to be concerned with his well-being.  They are merely flexing power for its own sake, perhaps if you can bring him back from the edge."

He turned to the Angel, but continued to speak to Aisha, "I will take care of the Angel, I did not want to have to fight it, but I am the only one who can right now.  Everyone else is too absorbed in power struggles to be of any use and you are one of the few people I believe he will listen to.  Winger and I can handle this."

The staff the fox held disappeared and he calmly held his sword, "please go, this won't be pretty."

The Angel fired a few rounds from its copied weapon.  With quick movements of his sword, he deftly blocked the shells.  "come now, that kind of weapon is worthless against me.  Let's do this in classic fashion, I promise to go easy."

Not particularly amused or intimidated, the being molded the weapon into a large sword and helfted it on its shoulder.  In an uncharacteristically witty move it grinned and gestured to the new sword with its free hand, an action that you would expect to be followed by a snide remark like... "Is this more to your liking?"  Alas it did not speak.

"Winger, that fist you have in your bag... yes I know you have it... I can smell it, its not normal.  It will work like the Angel does and it is not connected to it, so the dark power should not have a hold on it.  Concentrate on it and shape it into something useful."   

Finally prying her sword from the back of the angel, Aisha shielded her eyes with one hand against the dark energy still rushing from the thing in the stead of blood.  She backed away, holding the blade horizontally like a shield in case the thing would start to attack her as well.

When Carran spoke, her eyes darted from him, to the angel, to the dark part of the forest where Gareeku had fled, and back again.  She wanted to rush to his location, for even just on a guess...she thought that once the priest saw what he was...

There was a hint of hesitation before the panther nodded.  The humming energy was growing much stronger from her ring...and what's more, she wasn't going to let anyone hurt one of her friends.  "Please, be careful.  I'm not coming back to corpses," she said with finality to Winger and Carran before leaping away.

The darkness was coming closer, enveloping all of her senses one by one, slowly and creeping.  There was a shudder threatening to crawl down her spine.  The night was illuminated by a shining emerald circle of light crossing into a path where any sensible person feared to tread...let alone an angel.  But she didn't have far to go before coming across Sebastian, Lusia, and most likely Cogi, all facing the beast that moments ago was Gareeku. 

As feared, his inner self was unleashed...and looking at the powers that the priest and those around him wielded, blood was going to be spilled...his own, or theirs...or both.  Her feet moved, claws kicking up soil.  "Snap out of it!"  Oh, gods, I must be crazy...

She placed herself in a neutral position among them, sword held up between them.  Her eyes darted to the others and to Gareeku, appearing unafraid.  "He must be left to come to."

She didn't know if what Carran said was true...that she might be the one to help...but it was worth trying.  One thing that she hoped would not happen was having to hurt her allies...

The shadows failed to heed Cognidubnus' beckoning, unperturbed by the magical force. It was not that it did not reach them, but the things seemed to tear at it and rip it asunder as soon as it got close. Lusia's head turned to the man, and watched him become a werewolf, her eyes gleaming of green in the moonlight.
   Then, Gareeku made his move on the "priest". The bat made a fiendish snarl as he put up the broad side of his sword, and leaped to the side. The shockwave still burned him though, and he was pushed back with a growl. But he didn't stop.
   As Gareeku's tentacles stretched for the woman, she brought up her other gun and snapped out a few bullets at them, holy fire from a mixture of a thermite charge and saint's blood in a 12.7mm rifle bullet burning them. Meanwhile she danced away with mercurial spead, against Cognidubnus. And Gareeku's tentacles were soon stopped, as Sebastian brought his sword to bear on them from the side.
   Lusia, on the other hand, once out of range of the tentacles, turned to Cogidubnus at only three steps away and looked up at him with glowing green eyes.
   "Flight is not our game. Nay, for We - the dark, the evil - are all and everywhere. Life does not bind us, for We are not alive. Death does not balk us, for We are already dead. We do not sleep, nor breathe, nor cry. And magic, that oft not deserved power..." she said, and raised her left gun to aim at his forehead. "...is nothing to us."

   Then, Aisha stepped in, and Lusia's green eyes turned to her. Sebastian continued to slash at Gareeku, countering the white-hot bolts of fiery energy with chilling lashes and bursts of darkness, his very own shadow seeming to have come alive to take form and aid him.
   "We must help him. That darkness craves more. We have stopped him before, and We can now," Lusia said. Her voice had turned odd, dual in some way. As if she was speaking, but also some other creature from down her throat. Aisha didn't know from where, or when, but that voice seemed strangely familiar.

Hissing and snarling as Lusia and Sebastian defended against his attacks, the transformed Gareeku was about to launch another attack when Aisha suddenly appeared, stepping in between him and his foes. What would be more suprising, however, was his actions. For a few moments, no longer was he the hissing and snarling beast, but now he seemed calm, though still in his transformed state. The surprising actions were to continue too, as when Sebastian attacked, the wolf quickly grabbed Aisha and, holding her to him, turned his back to the others as he used his body as a shield to protect her.

Yelping slightly as a sword slice from Sebastian managed to nick his back, the transformed Gareeku turned his head before, still holding Aisha in his arms, diving out of the away to safety. Dropping the panther, the wolf looked up at the two and resumed his snarling and hissing. About to make an attack, Gareeku then turned his head. He could sense something in the distance; the dark energy being emitted by the angel. With a slight roar, he then broke into a run, eager to get near to the angel and the dark energy within it.

Winger got to his feet and rubbed his head trying to shake off a make sense of what was going on.  There was so much confusion. Winger had only felt this kind of darkness once in his life and he was not willing to go back to it.  He reached into the bag and pulled out the fist.  and tried to thing of a way to stop everything.

It's all so dark here and  noisy here. He thought to himself. There must be a something we can do to fight the dark. Some kind some kind of we- that's it!

Winger pulled the fist, which still had a few blue and red feathers in it's grasp, and drew his fancy sword, scabbard and all, and brought them together.  there  was a bright flash  and winger Head in his hands a new broader  blade.  It was feather lite with a blue handle and a gold blade. The most perfect knife Winger had ever seen. "Did I do that?" he asked himself studying the object closely.

“Getting closer to the angel? That can’t be good!” Sylva says.

“I have a different plan, Sylva,” Pan says. He is beginning to grow quite irritable from all this darkness going around. Pan yells “TELEPORT!” just as he lunges toward Gareeku.

Rei's body with all of the dark magic going on is growing even more translucent but it seems not to go to the other side of where she is laying down at but it looks like to be a different realm with a light side and dark side of things and she is boarding both just in the middle of nowhere.

The bat made a fierce roar as he brought his sword down on Gareeku, but he seemed to hesitate a bit when he witnessed the wolf's behaviour. But then, when the wolf made for the direction of the angel he screamed, and sped after him, making a huge leap, his sword lunging for Gareeku's throat.
   Lusia swerved around.
   "No!" she screamed, and leapt after the pair of them. She blasted wildly at them both with her other gun, spewing sickly poison green trails as the bullets howled and smacked into the pair. But it was much too late; the bat's sword was closing fast with the cubi wolf's neck...

 [OOC: Apologies concerning the rather touch-and-go nature of my posts - it is, alas, a reflection of my life at this moment.]

Cogidubnus had miscalculated.

Something indeed was off about the wolf - and, although Aisha's actions would seem to support something being wrong with Stygian and Mrs. Fors, it was obvious that something was different about them both, not just the priest and his secretary. He didn't remember Gareeku only being able to snarl ferally...or have tentacles for that matter. The situation was, perhaps, not quite as clear as he had thought.
Unfortunately, it looked like Gareeku was about to lose his head, and he was too far away to take conventional action. Cog did the only thing that came to mind. He may not be able to touch Stygian with lycanthropic energies, but he didn't think that Gareeku was also immune. He again took a deep breath, and motioned his fist towards Gar, slamming him with the wave of force, and hopefully knocking him away from Stygian. Putting his hand on hilt, he ran towards them both.

((OOC: Talking to Stygian via MSN, I think I've got permission for this. If I don't, however, please tell me so I can change it))

As he ran, the transformed wolf, suddenly felt a powerful force slam into him, knocking him to the side and to the floor. Looking up, he snarled as Sebastian had barely missed his intended strike to his neck. Hissing menacingly, Gareeku rose to his feet as he wings morphed into tenctacles once more, grabbing Sebastian by the arms with them and hurling him away towards a nearby tree, followed by hurling the Priest's sword at its owner.

The wolf was about to set off running again when Pan suddenly appeared in front of him, lunging while preparing to teleport. Snarling, Gareeku slammed a fist into the ground, causing a pillar of soul energy to erupt out of the ground and act as a shield. Once he had done so, he set of running again, not knowing whether Pan and Cogidubnus were still pursuing him or not.

The bat flew like a ragdoll through the air, still roaring as he headed headfirst against a large ash tree. He tried to turn in the air, but failed, and slammed into the trunk with his back at about head height, and a disgusting crunching sound could be heard as his spine was crushed. No sooner had his feet dropped to the ground though than his sword came flying like a spear through the air, and embedded itself in his chest, piercing his heart and lodging itself into the tree, holding him there.
   Sebastian let out a howling, burning roar, a sound that no living creature could have, and gripped the blade of the black crozius, his hands bleeding black as he tried feverishly to pull it out. There was more than blood in that which leaked from him. It seethed and hissed as it spilled, and the shadows around him began to snake and dissolve into the darkness behind. He continued clawing frantically, even as his skin burned green and cracked, even as his flesh began to smoke and turn to ash. With a last, echoing cry, he shook, letting out his arms as he turned to cinders, and spread with the wind.
   When the crozius impaled the bat, Lusia let out a shriek and a roar at the same time, and brought her hands to her face. She screamed and shook violently as she slowly lifted from the ground, leaking shadow in much the same manner as the bat. But she didn't burn up. Once the bat was gone, she went limp and fell to the ground in a pile.
   All that was left was the crozius, still solidly driven into the trunk of the ash.

Cogidubnus stopped, and stared dumbfounded at the tree. Though he had once been trying to at least disable Stygian and Mrs. Fors when it looked like they had gone nuts, and attacked Gareeku for no apparent reason, he certainly hadn't expected the gruesome death he had just witnessed. He stood still, forgetting for a moment Gareeku's madness, and the impending danger of the Angel. He suddenly reached his hat, and flinched when he grabbed air. He murmured something under his breath.
"Shall the depths return him to the vital air? ...death feeds on his mute voice, and laughs at our despair..."

Winger suddenly remembered that he was in a battle and that lives were at stake.  So with ought thinking he charges the angle  and slashed at it cleaving it's  right arm at shoulder. the severed limb  then fell to the ground and returned to it's original state.

((Just a short one. Someone should really help rei))

Pausing only to wonder what Lusia was talking about, Aisha was nonetheless determined to hold the others at bay.  The situation was only going to become worse if they kept attacking him.  What is WITH them?  Gareeku isn't the enemy!  It's the angel that caused this!  She kept her sword raised and level while trying to get inbetween Sebastian and the transformed Gareeku.

Suddenly, the panther was caught by surprise upon being grabbed by him, so much so that she had dropped her sword.  She'd have reached into her belt for another weapon, but Aisha was held back by the fact that she still didn't want him hurt...and was slightly frightened at the aspect that she would risk getting hurt herself.

But instead of being left with wounds, she was left almost dumbfounded when he took the blows of Sebastian's blade while just holding her away.  He...saved me...?  That feeling held when he charged past toward where the angel still was.

The confusion didn't last long.  With a determined growl, Aisha grabbed her sword and followed in Gareeku's path, only pausing to notice that the priest had disappeared, his sword left in the trunk of a tree.  Shaking her head briefly, she reached into her belt to take out a bracer enchanted with light.  If this darkness was going to keep corrupting and influencing whomever was sensitive to it, she was going to have to use it sooner or later...

Even though he was knocked back, Pan’s teleportation spell has been declared. Thus, he disappears in a puff of smoke, though not to his original destination. Instead, he teleports to one of Aisha’s pockets (or her shoulder, if she has no pockets). “Come into contact with Gareeku. I’ll do the rest.” He hides in the pocket.

As if to answer the werewolf's words, a quick, ashen wind strew up some leaves before Cognidubnus and blew his hat over the ground in front of him. But there was more than ash and chill to that wind; a few shadows seemed to move unnaturally at their edges, seeping into it before dissipating. Even to the werewolf's heightened senses and intuition, the evil was weak and waning. But it was still there.

   Something drifted to Aisha's ears with the wind, and her ears alone. It was like a whisper, a hissing voice just at the edge of hearing, that wanted to be heard badly enough that it managed to pierce the sounds of battle, rustle of trees and the blow of the wind.
   You cannot save him by sealing him in. He will always have a shadow, but he must accept that it follows him...

Still running, Gareeku darted in and out between the trees, using some as makeshift's platforms to leap from in order to pick up a little speed. He could sense the darkness just ahead; it was overwhelming to his senses.

Less than a minute later, the transformed wolf arrived where Carran and the angel were facing off. Spotting the angel, the wolf growled and snarled, sensing the dark energy seeping from it, though he could also sense the dark magic that Carran weilded.

Carran and the Angel traded blows, but it was Winger that scored a significant hit, cleaving off an arm.

Carran smiled and placed his left hand to his forehead, it took all he had to resist using the dark magic, something about the Angel's current state pulled at the darkness around him and urged it to itself.

His hand glowed and as Winger withdew and the Angel recoiled from the attack, the fox put his left foot forward and reached out with is left hand. His index and middle fingers pointed directly at the face of the Angel, "Light come forth, shatter the darkness!"

A brilliant beam of white light cut through the darkness like a blade and seared the evil that possessed the Angel.  In agony it recoiled. 

Seizing the opportunity, Carran stepped in and slashed with his sword across its chest.  In one fluid motion as he travelled along the path of his strike, he seized the blade the creature wielded and pulled it free.  The darkness it contained broke the fox's concentration, he spun on his heels and thrust the other weapon forward.

"Lanza Blade!"  A huge blast of dark magic engulfed the Angel.  As if he had shattered his mom's cookie jar, Carran skittered away from the Angel as the darkness flowing from it increased, spilling forth.  He was surprised to find a transfromed Gareeku beside him, "what... who?"



Edit: [OOC: yes, I know it is cliche to yell one's attacks... sue me. :P]

Aisha rushed through the dark forest, trying again to find the path that they were on.  Her eyes were narrowed, squinting to see better in the shadows while trying to keep her head clear.  The waves of dark energy were so much stronger...adding in the angel's, Gareeku's, and the others around...she wondered if her tail ring would break upon taking in so much.

When Pan appeared on her shoulder, she was surprised, but didn't halt in her running.  She spared a quick glance to the little creature, remembering about his teleporting ability.  "Why?  Where are you planning to take him?"  In a way, the idea was good...to get him away from this darkness, carnage, rage...but how much would it really help?

Then came the wind, the faint whispers that registered with the edge of her hearing and seemed to do more in the fleeting thoughts of her head...as if she conjured the thoughts, in a voice so different from her own...but she dismissed them, reassuring herself just as she was reassuring the other voice.  I know I can't make it disappear.  But he will be more hurt the more it lingers, even so.

Finally, following the growing path of the angel's clouded malice, she found the others...Carran, Winger, and Rei, who curiously was starting to flicker out of existence.  Rushing up, she gently tried to move the other young panther away from all of this.  Then, facing the angel with her sword raised, she noticed the look of surprise on Carran's face at Gareeku's transformed state and attempted to just get between them.

"I would get away from him!" she shouted, her eyes darting to Gareeku and the angel, and back again, her sword whizzing through the air and arcing toward the already-stunned fallen's head...

Pan’s irritability is apparent once more. He jumps out of the pocket and yells, “TELEPORT BULLET!”

He flies at Gareeku quickly, much more quickly than before. I never combined spells before, but if it’ll stop this madness, I’ll try anything once.

Snarling, Gareeku was about to take a step forward when he heard Pan's yelling. Spinning round, Gareeku then grunted slightly as Pan hit his intended target, before the two of them disappeared in the teleport.

As suddenly as the wolf had appeared next to him, it disappeared, leaving the fox to doubt his own eyes.  Aisha's words before that were nearly missed, but it served to bring him back from a stunned state as someone else had seen a feral beast of a wolf too.

Darkness rolled from the fallen Angel in a seething miasma that spread in all directions, the blade of Fallen that he had taken drew a portion of that fog and Carran found himself bathed in darkness.

He felt dizzy and a quite a bit woozy, like someone had punched him in the stomach a dozen or so times, the vile stuff was toxic to life, especially "radiant" creatures like Fae.  His mind drifted to sunlit shores and verdant green forests. 

Aisha's blade resounded against the head of the Fallen and that brought him back from his daydream.  Tightening his grip on the borrowed sword, he sheathed Isenrail and gripped the other in both hands.  Using the opening the decisive blow dealt by Aisha offered, the warrior-wizard exploded into action with a sprint right at the raging and reeling Fallen Angel.  As he ran, Carran chanted a spell:

Power of wind have I over thee.
Power of wrath have I over thee.
Power of fire have I over thee.
Power of thunder have I over thee.
Power of lightning have I over thee.
Power of storm have I over thee.
Power of moon have I over thee.
Power of sun have I over thee.
Power of stars have I over thee.
Power of the heaven's and the worlds have I over thee.

With as much strength as he could master, he drove the blade into its chest.  Summoning all the light he could muster and taking on the "faerie rage" form (Mab in 293) to channel it, he yelled. "Eson! Eson! Emaris!"

The resulting blast of light could likely be seen from space, but more likely just for a few miles around.  The force cast the Fallen down upon the ground and tossed the fox a dozen feet away.

Dizzy from the exertion and the darkness, he decided it would be best to remain where he was until his head cleared, "using... the Fae... side is... getting much... easier."

Gareeku appears in the desert in a puff of smoke. Pan, meanwhile, appears somewhere else.

“Somebody get me off this crazy thiiiing!” Pan yells as he is spun around very quickly. He teleported onto a carnival ride. He is unable to keep his grip and is eventually flung off the ride. “TELEPORT!” he yells.

He teleports next to Gareeku in a puff of smoke. “Can you stop the desert from spinning, please? I’d like to get off.”

Finding himself in what looked like a desert, the transformed wolf looked around confused. It then came to Gareeku that he could no longer sense any dark energy around aside from his own. Roaring out with pure rage, the tranformed wolf pounding the sandy ground with anger, releasing waves of soul energy as he did so.

The darkness at the edge that still hung over the woods had moved, and when facing the Fae's incandescent magic, it made for a powerful contrast. Shadows that should have been driven away were accentuated by the bright light, snaking and rippling at the edges of it. When exposed to the light, for a moment some of the slithering darkness seemed to coalesce in between Rei and Aisha, forming the outline of a tall man-creature, standing and watching calmly, its green-glowing eyes radiating chill as they took in the scene. It only lasted for the shortest of moments though, before the light vanished and the forest was again plunged into evening darkness.

   Where had the wolf gone to? The Stygian was most displeased with this turn of events. Right now, any place was worse than here. The angel's darkness had been beaten down, if not eradicated, which was just as well; it had been out of control in the first place, and probably would never have come under it. But if the wolf was gone, and if he could not sense any darkness for his feral side to feed on, that meant that he was going to turn to hunting for souls directly, which meant he would be lost to them if he did not return immediately. And Stygian lacked the capability to go after him and bring him to senses. There was only one who could do that right now, it seemed. And she too would hardly have been able to find him, it thought.

   When darkness and quiet enveloped the woods again the stillness seemed almost palpable. But not ten seconds had passed before Aisha could hear that whisper again, something that drifted out of the darkness like a chill wind, making her fur stand and sending shivers down her spine.
   We have no time to lose. The wolf. We must find the wolf at once!

Looking around, the transformed Gareeku suddenly found that Pan had appeared next to him; the one who had prevented him from getting to the darkness the angel possessed. Snarling angrily, Gareeku began to advance towards him, when he suddenly spotted something in the distance; a band of travellers. Smiling evilly and licking his lips, the transformed wolf suddenly flapped the wings on his back and took of in a fast flight, eager to feast upon the travellers' souls...

Aisha growled with frustration as she charged the angel, her blade having missed where she intended to slice it...that is if it had a neck to speak of.  But not more than a second passed before she stopped in her tracks and Carran unleashed his powers.  In the dazzling light, she was thrown back a few feet and landed on her back, arm shielding her eyes lest she'd have probably gone blind.

Then, it died down.  The pantheress started back up on shaky legs, walking back to where the others were...the angel was on the ground, and immobile it looked like.  She could feel the whisps of darkness starting to disentegrate, though there was still enough to cause her tail ring to shine in the night like a beacon.

She plunged her sword tip into the ground and leaned on the pommel, catching up with the slight exhaustion that plagued her system, also probably a little sick from being around these dark vapors for long.  "So, what do we do with..."  But when she looked around, she found that Gareeku was no longer able to be seen...and neither was Pan.  Aisha slapped her forehead, realizing what this meant.  I'd rather have kept him HERE where there was this darkness and no other souls to go after...

This was coupled by that whispering voice again...familiar and seething through her mind and causing her to involuntarily shudder.  But it spoke her very thoughts and she couldn't ignore them.  Aisha gripped the sword's handle and yanked it out of the ground again.  "Gareeku.  We have to find him.  Now!" she yelled with impatience and a small choke in her throat.

Gods have mercy on the innocent souls that find him...or mercy on Gareeku if those souls belong to adventurers...

[This might be my last post for the weekend - such is life, yes?]


Startled out of his reverie by Carran's explosion, Cog picked up his hat and dusted it off. The ashes on it smelled of the Priest, he noticed, and the werewolf gave a sour grin. "Like she said, beyond death." He muttered, placing it back on his head. The angel appeared to be down - Gareeku, however, was nowhere to be found. Cog began walking towards Aisha, eager to find out what could be done to find the maddened wolf, and muttered to himself. "Dead? Somehow, I don't think he ever left..."

Winger growled a little under his breath.  Things were getting to be a bit to loud for his taste.  He grasped his new sword tight and lunged at the angel; determined to take it down once and for all. He chopped at it. It seemed a bit stupid to him to attack mindlessly and just run in with his weapon held high and his head low, but it had been working so far.

Edit: Topher has no more pokemon to battle. Topher blacked out. Topher lost  100 coins.

[I cannot and will not RP for someone else.]

The urgent tone of Aisha's voice roused him from the gray haze he had slipped into.  Slowly Carran struggled to a sitting position, with half-lidded eyes he watched Winger hack at the Fallen.  The being's head turned and they locked eyes, the last remaining piece of the coherent darkness darted out.  With that last act, the Fallen became inert. 

The dark bit sought refuge in its vanquisher and streaked towards him, at the last second the fox caught it.

"I do not think so."  Carran stated, his head swam and he threatened to pitch over.  The fox steadied himself and gazed at the small black flame, "I cannot create life, only the universe itself can do that.  I do have the ability to  extend, enhance by the application of energies, healing and rebuilding of the form.  However, you are not a thing that should be given living form.  Instead I shall craft you into something I can use, that way there is at least some random loot from this encounter!"

A brief amount of magic later, Carran has a new shorter bladed sword that reasonably matches his Isenrail.  "I shall call this Tyrfing, after the sword forged by Dain."

After this little sidetrack, the fox carefully stood, a sharp pain in his head reminded him of his recent exertion, "I feel like I just dran ten gallons of brandy in one sitting."  His head did indeed throb and he felt quite sick, never the less, he approached Aisha.

"Indeed we must find him, but the Fallen... we should not leave the pieces of this type of thing lying around."

Pan is still a bit disoriented from the ride. He looks at Gareeku.

Who’s he charging at?

Just a band of travelers.

Oh…

WHAT!? I need reinforcements and fast!

[Internal diologues are fun!]

“TELEPORT!” Pan yells. Nothing happens. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Combining the two spells must have made me run out of magic. Okay, Pan. You can do this. Just remember where to hit and he’ll be out like a light in no time.

He then rushes after Gareeku. With his speed, he is probably going to catch up somewhat quickly unless Gareeku has enhanced speed.



“I have a pretty good idea of what Pan was planning. He should be back by now. Something must have gone wrong when he combined the two spells,” Sylva says, “It looks like I’ll have to do something risky. Something I’d never try under normal circumstances.”

She begins to chant a spell. She glows with an dark aura.

Stygian watched Sylva chanting, wondering what the fool girl would try and do next. It was getting much more impatient than it had been for a long time, impatient enough to actually begin considering dragging off the panthress and helping her get to Gareeku somehow, no matter what that would cost or the effort of it.
   Stygian shot a quick look to the remnants of the fallen angel. The shattered creature was devoid of power as it lay, but the pieces of it themselves were no doubt just waiting to take it in. But it wasn't stable as he had hoped it would be. For that, it seemed that it needed its heart. And it would be damned if it let some slow, singleminded bloody adventurers get in the way of completing it, no matter whether if they were the ones meant to piece the thing together or not.
   Absentmindedly, Stygian made a small thought to itself and slipped back its shadowy form, retreating into its disguise. It would wait for now, if grudgingly. But if they would not move...

Winger breathed heavily.  The angel was finally down for good, now he and carran could turn there attention to helping the others.  He stepped over to his partner and leaned on his shoulder.

"Your right, we can't just leave the rustbucket lying here in a heap." He shook his head, and chuckle a bit, at a passing thought.  "You wouldn't happen to know a shrinking spell or something would you?"  He asked in jest.  "Or maybe you and I should take  little breather while our freinds fight amongst themselves."

Aisha's gaze was mostly cast to the air, into an empty space of her own design.  She heard the words of the others as they started to recover from the battle with the angel, and the panther only looked down upon its metallic, scarred surface with more curiosity.  Slowly, hesitatingly, her sword was resheathed, the boiling blood in her system cooled a little by Carran's words and Winger's humor to the situation.

"I guess...we do have this to deal with in front of us first," Aisha said, gesturing to the fallen creature, though she refused to banish Gareeku's plight ouf her mind.  The group was starting to split before anyone even thought to really get started, everyone with their agendas and opinions on what to do.  Aisha was on one of those crossroads...the angel was at first the main priority, but she never factored in that Gareeku would...

Her head swerved to glance at Sylva with a sort of impatient glow in her eyes.  "PLEASE tell me it can bring Pan and Gareeku back, whatever you're doing.  Or else I'm leaving on my own once we take care of the angel," she said with finality.  "If anyone plans to stop me, forget about it and either come with me, or stay."

Sylva finishes the spell. “Dang it. He’s out of range. Anybody got Telepathy or a Location spell or something so we can find out where they are?”

As he flew, the transformed wolf looked down, spotting Pan in pursuit. Ignoring him for the time being, Gareeku flew on with great speed, quickly closing in on the group of travellers, throwing sand up as he landed back on the group. Noticing his arrival, the group looked at him not with fear, but with curiosity.

"Well hello there! And what brings you out to these sand-filled parts?" a member of the group, a brown-furred jackal, asked. It seemed that they did not know what fate was about to descend upon them.

Saying nothing, Gareeku hissed as his wings formed into tentacles, grabbing each traveller by the throat and lifting them up off the ground, licking his lips once more at the thought of consuming their souls...

Pan jumps up and grabs onto the fur on the back of Gareeku’s neck and proceeds to hit a few specific points on the back of the said neck. If this attempt is successful, Gareeku will fall to the ground unconscious.

The girl's magic that had congregated had formed into a coherent, if an unpolished shape. However even with a verbal component and meditation to aid her focus, her magic simply was not up to the task, and the spell had dissipated without effect, the dark trails of it just holding on the place while evaporating. Stygian only just held back a sigh. These people... He would have to be blatant, sadly.
   Now, the panthress he knew could calm the wolf. If only he knew why...
   
   Gathering his power, Stygian used all somatic and ritual support he could to focus, and used his mind to bend the darkness...

   Another fleeting whisper came through the air to Aisha, like a chill wind under her cloak.
   You. Potential. There is a pathway to your companion. To the shadows. Go! Her head almost wanted to turn of its own against where the voice seemed to want to lead her, so strong was the sense of direction it passed to her. It wanted her to run into the depth of the forest, against where the bat priest had fallen, where the light of the moon could not find her.

   Not far from where the black crozius sat lodged securely in the large grey ash tree, the shadows of the woods seemed to deepen as they had before. At the heart of them, darkness condensed, twisting into a gateway to another place. Dry and sandy winds suddenly swept into the forest, from a place far, far away.

Looking up at his prey with a satisfied smirk, the transformed wolf was about to strip them of their souls when he felt something on the back of his neck, hitting at different points. Snarling with rage, Gareeku reached back, grabbing hold of Pan before flinging him away. Now rid of the interference, the transformed wolf turned back to his captured prey. If someone didn't try and snap him out of this monstrous transformation, then the wolf would very shortly be dining...

Aisha sighed quietly, calming her nerves further before she would snap at anyone else.  Things were going nowhere, and arguing would only complicate matters.  She decided that at one point, she would go off on her own, if that's what it took to get her friend back.  At most, she felt a little responsible for him, even if he had come back with her on his free will.

She had started to go towards where the angel lay, and was also about to voice an apology to Sylva, when the whispering came back...this time with just as much impatience as she perhaps had.  Her ears swiveled instinctively, but there was nobody else there to see.  She mouthed "what...?" but didn't speak out loud.  Her head turned to the dark area of the woods, as if something had taken her head and pulled it that way.  A path...to Gareeku...?

Aisha was about to call someone's attention to this event, but she thought better of it and held her tongue.  One, she knew not whether anyone else could hear the whisperings...and two, the panther couldn't risk anyone else.  With a look around, making sure nobody noticed as she slipped away, Aisha turned and ran towards the woods.

With a bit of poking around, Aisha found the spot...right where the priest had fallen.  She pondered the significance of the spot, before shaking her head, taking a deep breath, and entering the vortex.  She raised an arm over her eyes to block out the sand blowing in her general direction.  Her paws stepped from the near-damp and fertile soil of the forest and sunk into the cool dunes of a desert, which was still drenched barely in night and therefore not too hot yet.

It seems that what led her here knew what they were doing.  Before long, Aisha came upon Gareeku, still transformed...and holding his captured prey before him, still alive and fearful...hopefully.  Without a second thought, she rushed towards the wolf.  "NO!  Stop!"

Don't let this happen...don't...

Carran did not notice Aisha sneaking off and was concentrating on disassembling the pieces of the Angel.  Meticulous care was given to how each piece was separated, then wrapped in fine silk and carefully placed in his pack.  The fact that whole legs and even the torso fit in his little haversack with ease seemed a tad bit odd, but not too surprising as this fox was a mage.

"We have a few companions that are out of commission that we need to collect before we proceed.  A... where did Aisha go... damn it.  She must have gone after Gareeku, I do not blame her, that is something she needs to do alone.  For that, the rest of us are a liability."  Carran sighed and hoped for the best in Aisha's encounter.

The fox's eyes darted about for a second and he shook his head in pity and a little masked disgust, "Lingering darkness, I wish it would go away, its intervention is no longer needed.  Such minor nuisances only detract from the journey, as it has no real purpose or aid to add to the whole."

Rei's body even though most of  the dark energy is gone from the angel she is still in the state from before. But the state she is in now is showing more black and darkness then before, and the person seen before that was on the line in the middle of the two sides is gone.

Rei's form starts to show up like she was blinking again but i looks uncontrolled. At first she starts around her body then it starts to expand outward. But as soon as she moves past where Pen and Gareeku teleported her form stops from appear there and starts to appear where they teleported. She starts to blink in this area as well and before anyone could do anything else, she blinks a touches Pen, Aisha and Gareeku almost simultaneously and brings them all to the world that is being seen through her transparent body. Gareeku finds himself on the blacked side and Pen and Aisha find them selfs on the other.

Out of the concealing shadows of a stony crevice, Aisha stepped into that distant desert. The moon and stars stood high over the place, and gave such a good light that the wolf cubi who was usually her companion immediately came into sight. He had found some travelers, it seemed...

   Stygian had placed a hold effect on the portal he had made, not a simple task when it dealt with such a gateway. The darkness of it clung to the forest like glue, and with good fortune it would hold for as long as it had to or until it was unraveled. With luck this would all turn out well, even if there was no planning to it at all...
   Himself, Stygian made every effort to conceal his own presence, returning to be nothing but a simple shadow and a force in mind.

Winger sighed. a nd looked around, trying to take note of who was missing and who had pssed out.  Right away  he noticed Topher passed out on the ground, and tryed to get him back to his feet. 

"I suggest we head back to the inn, so that we can get our bearings and deside what to do next." Winger said with a grunt as he lifted the cub over his shoulder.  " I'm guessing that we'll have to go after this heart thing."

 Cogidubnus sighed as the desert wind whipped his hat back off his head, and he brushed some loose hairs out of his eyes as he watched Aisha and Gareeku. He had been following her for awhile now. He had lost her for a moment, but again, his senses were sharper than they should be. Though she had made certain no one had seen her leave, her scent had still led him through those strange shadows. He grinned: His eyes weren't the only things sharper than they should be.
  "To calm the beast..." Cog said as he viewed Gareeku. He remembered his own days of blind bloodlust - those were not days he preferred to recall. It took powerful magics to calm such a lust for blood...or, something more mundane. He grounded himself as best he could in the sand, and readied himself to let loose another blast of force. If Aisha could not calm the beast, the time for discretion would be past.

   Topher slowly opened his eyes when he realized he must've been captured yet again.  In an instance, his body became one which was covered in flames.
   At this point he fell to the floor, noticing it was only Winger who was assisting him.
   "Sorry about that ^^;."

Aisha halted her running for a moment, trying to catch her breath in the bone-dry air of the desert.  Even in the darkness of night, the place was proving to be inhospitable to the unprepared.  The panther however didn't lose her focus.  Gareeku was still holding the frightened travelers within mere inches of their deaths, and it seemed that her voice alone wasn't going to reach him.

I'm crazy, I'm crazy, I'm crazy... Aisha's mind chanted as she rushed forward again.  Not wanting to appear hostile to Gareeku's transformed state, she kept her weapons sheathed.  Let's just hope that I can really get him out myself...

She came upon the wolf just as the desert almost seemed to disappear from her field of view, reaching to grasp his wrist.  "Gareeku!  Come back!"

The transformed wolf was about to consume the travellers' soul when his ears perked up upon hearing a familiar voice. Looking around with a surprised expression on his face, Gareeku watched as Aisha rushed towards him, forgrtting about his prey and dropping the terrified travellers to the floor, who then took off rather quickly. As Aisha reached out to grab his wrist, the transformed wolf then reached out and grabbed hers with an almost docile look on his face, allowing himself to be dragged back by the panthress.

Carran nodded sagely to Winger's suggestion, "Indeed, the heart is a large part of this situation.  Perhaps more clues would be gleaned from the point where this Angel fell to.  We should check out the impact spot.  It is the best lead right now."

"We cannot afford to wait, we must begin this journey now.  We can rely on Aisha to be able to bring Gareeku back, I am confident on this.  She is the only one here that can have that effect.  If she cannot, then a wild, soul-eating wolf is the least of our worries.  There are much bigger forces at work here.   I would like to face this with the others, but if necessary, the two of us will be sufficient.  Come, we have not a moment to lose!"

Hefting the backpack with the Angel's parts, the fox began heading for the distant spot where smoke still rose into the sky.

  Topher looked down at a few shards of the gold they must've left behind.  He took them in the palm of his hand and began to melt it into a ball.  He called to Winger, "Hey fluff butt, catch."  He said playfully.  As he spoke the ball of gold shimmered in the faint light available and disappeared into his wing.

Winger looked at the ball in his hand and then to  sword that was crafted from the angels fist. "Lets get going." he called to the topher.

As he walk his thoughts were centered on the angel. Why had it returned, and how did it get in to such bad shape.  He walk on tossing the ball into the air and catching it in his wing as he thought.

“Ow. Great. First Slevrani, now Gareeku. Well, anyone else up for making a total mockery of the talents of Officer Swift today?” Pan thinks aloud.

   Topher nodded at Winger's request and started walking beside the rest of the group.  "Why exactly do these angels come?  And why exactly are we the only ones trying to stop them?"

The wolf woman began stirring, heavily sitting up where she had dropped to the ground earlier. She put a hand to her head and whined a bit, supporting herself with her other one to keep from wobbling. Then she opened her eyes fully and saw the darkness that lay around her, and looked as if she wished she had stayed down.

   Can they please hurry up? That portal is only holding so long as I keep it open, and it's a pretty draining kind of magic... Stygian thought to himself.

Aisha's heart rate shot up the instant that Gareeku grabbed her wrist, though there was relief when the travelers were released and had fled for their lives.  She was looking into his eyes, no longer their usual peaceful blue shade.  Even though he was staring back with an almost calm demeanor, the eyes still looked menacing...

But when she realized that he wasn't attacking, she relaxed her tensed-up muscles.  Okay...this is a good thing...nice and calm...  Aisha took a deep breath, her focus returning and surprise etching into the spaces made by fear.  I can't believe it.  I CAN bring him back...I hope.

She smiled lightly back at the transformed Gareeku, wondering if the real him was watching in the back of his mind somewhere.  "Okay...come on...let's go back," Aisha said, her voice level and soothing as she started walking back with him towards the portal.  Now to just try getting him to snap right back to his usual self so that nobody attempts to kill him...

On the way, her sensitive ears swiveled, her concentration bent on finding anyone hiding in the desert.  Psh...like anyone would have followed me.  But then, as soon as the portal was in sight, she could hear someone nearby.  Whether or not they were making an effort to be undetected, she couldn't be sure.

Okay...maybe someone DID follow me.  "If I hear a weapon, I will answer in kind," she just said aloud to the air.

It was strange; even though he was still in his transformation, the wolf was no longer a raging beast; he was now a somewhat docile creature, letting Aisha lead him back to the portal. As they walked, Gareeku stayed silent, no longer emitting any growls or hisses as the two of them walked back to the portal.

Alright... Come on! Hurry up! Gah... I can't stand waiting for these people, and if the wolf gets too aroused by my magic... Stygian thought to himself. Still, it seems that despite their capability... Well, these ones seem more intriguing than the others. That werewolf too... He had better hurry up, or he's going to get stuck here.

   The wolf woman decided that she was definitely not going to stay here anymore. Or rather, she did, but obviously not in so composed thoughts. She wobbled to her feet and as well as she could started making her way away from the darkness as fast as she could, tears streaming down her cheeks. Coincidentally, she was headed straight for where Carran, Winger and the others were. But she couldn't get away from the dark fast enough, it seemed, because she kept looking over her shoulder at it, expecting it to jump at her any second...

Exiting the dark forest, Carran crested a small grassy hill, atop which was an old flagstone road.

The staff that the fox had been seen with earlier had reappeared as he walked, it did not seem that he needed help walking, but yet he used it.  The solid taps of metal upon stone held a solid beat as he strode down the flagstone path that headed roughly in the direction of where he had observed the Angel coming from. 

Turning a bend, he stumbled upon the remains of a small wagon; the driver was laid out in the seat from where he drove the beasts of burden.  His chest was caved in and he was quite dead.  The wagon's occupant was a few steps behind from what remained of the carriage portion; some non-sharp object had been shoved through her midsection.

Carran stopped for a second and shook his head; the passenger had been a mage of some sort herself and judging by the broken staff at her feet, had challenged the Fallen and paid by having her own staff forcefully shoved through her abdomen.

"There is something to be said for the lack of wisdom in mages."  Carran commented as he turned to continue up the path. 

The valley beyond held the sight he was seeking, a large black crater, still smoking with small fires burning the remaining vegetation.  The remains of a small farm could be seen around the impact zone, but judging by the condition of the carriage driver and mage, the occupants were likely very dead.

 

 Cogidubnus stretched as he exited the portal. The forest around him was largely as he left it, the black sword still stuck in the tree, the crater still smoking, the Angel, still dead. Although he could no longer make it's form out. Realizing he had forgotten something, he turned around. He was about to go back through the portal when his hat was once again blown to him by a stray breeze, a coat of ash and sand on it this time. He narrowed one eye, suspicious of his fortune, and picked it up again. He sniffed it, the hat smelling of the shadows he had left, and of the desert. He dusted it off and placed it back on his head.
He supposed that Aisha and Gareeku would make their way back to the forest soon. In the meantime, he would try and catch up with the others that had gone ahead. He began to jog towards where the smoke still rose from the sky, expecting to find the others already there.

The smoke was finally starting to clear.

Winger walk with his head down, looking for anything that might be a clue to what had happened to the angel.  Why it had retuerned was a mystery, but the most improtan thing now was it's heart. "When the angel leaft the last time it left intacted."  Winger said still searching.  "Something may have happened to it when it got here. Maybe it was attached."

Winger walked on for a bit then stoped and bent over to pick something up.  " It was some kind of sering, the liquid inside had aready been drained.

[this one is a nod to Tophers little friends]

Hearing no reply to her outburst, Aisha shrugged and continued forward to where the portal was being held open, and consequently, the forces holding it open appeared to be dwindling.

With Gareeku in tow, the pantheress stepped up towards the edge and made to step over it, when a thought occured to her.  Her gaze was cast back to Gareeku, still under the influence of his feral form, but still looking placid.  What if there's still lingering bits of darkness...?  I might not be able to hold him back...

Gently taking his wrist with her hand, Aisha snapped her bracer around it for the time being...the light magic in it might not snap him out of it, but most likely it will keep him from sensing whatever lingered.  She could only guess at what would get his true self to come back without hurting him.  "Let's keep going," her voice soothed, just in case he happened to notice the extra accessory.

Then, they stepped through the portal, away from the dry sand and back onto moist forest soil...back beneath the encompassing shadows of the trees' sheltering boughs, just as the thing was closing.  Aisha stared forth towards their original destination, pausing to find the scent and paths the others made towards the trail of smoke still lingering in the air.  She happened to be right behind Cogidubnus as she exited.  Hmph.  Maybe that was HIM I sensed back there.

When the wolf woman looked around, she could see figures just coming out from the darkness behind her, which was just receding. They seemed to be a pair of wolves and a feline of some kind... but she didn't know any of them. Shakily, she got behind a tree and supported herself against it. Her whole body felt like it was made from jelly, so the tree was a thankful support. Cautiously, she turned her head around to look at them. They had emerged from the darkness... but it was receding. Her look was frightened and suspicious, but she stood still, waiting out of hesitation.

   Stygian made another spell in his mind, this one a sort of ward, and then spoke again in that whispering voice, now not just to Aisha but to Cognidubnus and Gareeku too.
   The others have gone to find the heart of the chaos. You should go too, he said, and sent them another strong sense of direction. Likely, they will be hurt if this goes on. It is wiser to observe first and strike later.

Not noticing Aisha slip the light bracer onto his wrist, the transformed wolf continued to follow the panthress, walking with her through the portal and back into the dark forest. It was then that, before the wolf had a chance to pay attention to the sense of darkness around them, he suddenly fell to his hands and knees, groaning slightly as the wings on his head and back slowly dissolved into nothingness.

"Nnnuuughh...what...what happened?" Gareeku asked groggily, looking somewhat half asleep as he looked up, his eyes now back to their normal blue colour.

Cogidubnus's stopped dead and turned around when the voice began to speak to him. His ear twiched, and though he saw Aisha and Gareeku, he knew that the voice belonged to neither of them.
"I knew the bastard was too stubborn to die." He said, his mouth quirked in a strange smile. Perhaps now he knew what exactly the feeling of darkness was around him: and perhaps, what the shadows were that congregated around Stygian's lost sword. He shook his head and nodded towards Gareeku.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, sir. You've been somewhat out of sorts recently." He said, gesturing to Aisha. "She seems to have managed to bring you back. It's good to see you in control of yourself."
He nodded to Aisha. "Congratulations seems to be in order. Well done with waking him up. You'll forgive me if I did not wish to disturb either of you in the desert, but frenzied creatures can be somewhat temperamental." His ear twitched again, and he motioned to the directions that Stygian had 'shown' him in his mind. "It would seem the others have continued on to the source of this darkness. It might be wise to join them.", he said, turning around and continuing along the path again.
As he passed a tree along the path, a strange sensation ran up the back of his neck. He hesitated, and shrugged, continuing on.

The whispering voice was once again lingering in Aisha's mind...The directions she recieved could be followed easily enough once they matched with the path that their other companions had taken.  Aisha started to walk across, bypassing the path altogether and taking the shorter straight run through the forest.  But she didn't get to far--about when they were but  a few feet behind Cogi--when she stopped and watched with widened eyes as Gareeku had started to come to again.

Oh, thank the heavens... Aisha sighed, her free hand resting on her chest for a second before reaching down to help the wolf up, still holding on to his wrist.  She cast him a relieved smile, but quirked her ear to hear Cogi's statement before following up with her own.  "Yeah...you sorta fell unconscious while fighting the angel..." she said with a short, slightly amazed laugh.  "But I'm just glad you're back."

Once he was composed again, Aisha caught up with their other companion as they found the path.  On the way, the pantheress had sensed someone's presence hiding nearby.  A quick glance upon passing a tree soon identified that someone to be the wolf woman that had been with Sebastian.

"You might as well join us," the panther said in passing with a quick polite smile, while waiting for her to catch up with them.  They soon were coming up to where Winger was with the others...and suddenly smelling an acrid burning in the air that no doubt belonged to the crater that they were sure to come upon.

Hearing what Aisha and Cogi said, particularly the werewolf's referencing of him losing control and mentioning frenzied creatures, Gareeku's ears dropped as the wolf realised what had happened.
"Damn it..." he cursed softly, angry with himself for losing control, before a look of great worry appeared on his face. "Oh god...did I..."

Deciding to try and not think about it, Gareeku followed Aisha, albeit a bit clumsily due to him still being very groggy after coming out of the transformation. Noticing the wolf woman, Gareeku recognised her as the assistant to Sebastian. However, this time she seemed different, almost like she was a completely different person.

Deciding not to ask, Gareeku gave her a warm smile as he passed her.
"Aisha's right. There could be danger out here. You'd be very welcome to join us." the wolf said, making it clear that none of them were any threat to her as he stretched out a hand in the hope she would follow.

The woman looked fearfully at Aisha, but the fact that she was in the middle of a dark forest and scared out of her wits seemed to win out over the suspiciousness toward a stranger, and she joined up behind them, walking two steps behind them, which seemed far enough to keep an eye but close enough that she should feel safe. The dark of the woods wasn't exactly shifting, yet they could all sense as if something were watching them from the shadows, though from where and how there was no telling.
   "Who... are you people...?" she said after a while, sounding frightened. "What happened to me?"

Winger didn't know what to make of the needle he had found; so he took it and contued his search for clues.  He stopped when he saw Aisha retuning, with Gareeku, and the wolf woman.  He had been paying too much attention to his own fight to realize what happend to Gareeku, or to remeber the wolf woman. He gave them all a little wave and walked on.

Winger started cleaning his feathers as he walked

Before too long he came upon some foot prints.  Five or six different set's each belonging to a different kind of creature.  what he found odd about it was that the print seemed to be headed toward the crash site rather than away from it. "Strange" He said with his wing tip still in his beak.

Even though the angel is gone Rei still seems to be in a state of transparence that is very odd. The oddest of it is that she is transparent but she kind of shows a different world through her. The world comprises three things. One side of it is light, Beautiful sight to see one of things growing in good nature. On the other side of it being dark, mostly dead things that look alive right now, like skeletons, moving about in this side. Lastly, it almost looks like an inland in the middle of both. Mostly showing signs of both sides no more light then dark. In the middle if you look carefully, there is a figure inside this world and what looks like the dark side of this is almost preparing for something.

(hopefully this doesn't intrude on anything... hopefully.)

Thankfully, the path through the woods wasn't too long.  By the time the smoke trail disappeared, they had finally come upon Winger and the others as they stood around looking at the massive crater.

"Definitely deja-vu," Aisha muttered.  The area was huge, the trees for quite a few feet around having been blown apart by the shockwave of the impact.  Splinters lined the ground...and the panther, her feet usually bare, watched for such things as she started strolling the perimeter.  There was a great round bowl in the earth so neatly made that one could count the different layers of soil straight down through the solid bedrock.

With a sigh, she the panther started to join the rest of the others as they moved along, but paused to glance at the wolf woman when she timidly asked her question.  Aisha's look was inquiring, but not intimidating.  "You don't remember us...?"

I wonder if she hit her head before... Aisha thought with a light flick of one of her ears.  "What's the last thing you do remember?"

The wolf woman looked into Aisha's eyes for a second, green meeting red head on. Then she turned her head away and blushed.
   "I... I was just going out of the bathroom to leave work, and then... I heard something. I remember I got really scared... And then something came at me from behind..." her eyes seemed to glisten a bit, and her expression looked as if she was just remembering while she was talking. "I... I..." Her eyes went wide, and then she shook her head. "Then I woke up just now, over there," she finally said, and looked at Aisha again, then Gareeku, Cognidubnus, then Aisha once more.

Catching up to the others with Aisha, Gareeku's eyes widened as the scene before him came into view. It was truely an awesome sight. The crater was truely massive.
Whoa...that must have been one hell of an impact... the wolf thought to himself, remembering the shockwave that he and the others felt earlier in the inn.

Listening to what the wolf woman said, Gareeku raised his eyebrow slightly.
"You don't remember anything at all?" he asked. It was then, however, that the wolf remembered the wolf woman aiding Sebastian, turning to Aisha. "Hmmm...you don't think..." he began, before shaking his head slightly. What was he saying? Sebastian was a man of the church!
"Where is Sebastian?" the wolf questioned, noticing that he had not seen him for some time.

Cog narrows one eye and looks at the wolf woman.
"You honestly remember nothing? I wonder...the name Fors means nothing to you? Sebastian?" He said, looking around slowly. He turned back to the wolf woman."Do you remember your name, madam? He said, searching for some light of recognition in her eyes. He scowled.  "In any case, you're having a very bad day. You're in the middle of the woods, near where something very dark fell out of the sky. We're here to kill it." He said, turning to Gareeku.
"Sebastian's...kind of dead." He said, motioning to where the Crozius was still stuck in the tree. "Although I'm not convinced he's completely dead. Doesn't...feel like he's dead." Cog said, waving his hand in the air. "Maybe she'll regain her memory. Maybe not. Perhaps the Cleric neglected to tell us certain things about his 'secretary'." He said, walking on, following Winger.

The woman just stared at Cognidubnus with a confused and fearful look. She apparrently didn't get anything that was going on.
   "Fors? Sebastian? I knew a Sebastian in junior high..." she said. "My name is Clarissa Greene. I don't know anything about any secretary. I work in a bar back in town. We are near town, aren't we?" Once again her look was fearful.

Pan is back with the others now.

“I learned to control my darkness, but I’m not sure that Gareeku, not being a necromancer, can do it in the same way I can, even if I try to teach him,” Sylva thinks, “I think I know how to get a lead on how to help him, but it’s too risky. I can’t do it, at least not without an exit strategy.”

A metaphoric light bulb appears above her head. “Pan, where are you?”

“Right here,” Pan says from behind Sylva.

She turns around and whispers in his ear.

“That’s the craziest plan I’ve ever heard. Let’s get to it,” Pan says.

Aisha listened to Clarissa's explanation with a rising curiosity as they kept walking around the perimeter of the site looking for clues.  She remembered nothing of Sebastian, and right after his disappearance...it was as if she was controlled.  But how could that possibly be?  Not for the first time, something had struck the panther as strange about the priest.

Shaking her head to get rid of the entangling questions, Aisha only nodded at the wolf woman.  "Yeah...we're within reasonable traveling distance of a town.  Don't know if it's your town, but it's as good a one as any."  After Aisha smiled apologetically, her dark ruby eyes were cast back across the forest's darkness, and one hand was resting comfortably on one hip.

"At any rate, we all may be heading right back to the inn pretty soon.  If there's another quest starting, we'll need time to gather supplies and rest...and all of that other good-and-wise jazz."  The panther then sighed and made a polite bow.  "Forgive me, Clarissa, we should've introduced ourselves.  I'm Aisha, that's Gareeku, and Winger," she points to various respective people she knew well, and any others could re-introduce themselves.

“I’m Pan, this is Sylva, and I’m sorry, but the two of us are leaving. Be back soon. TELEPORT!” Pan says. The two of them disappear in a puff of smoke.

Another Dimension

The two of them arrive in a large, empty, white room. On one of the walls is a large mirror and a door. The other walls are blank.

“Where are we?” Sylva asks.

“We’re in the APD training room,” Pan says.

“How is this a training room?”

“It’s a holographic training room, more specifically. We train in virtual what-if situations to prepare ourselves for the real deal.”

“That sounds very advanced, but how will it help with my plan?”

“This room is large and empty, so you have plenty of room to loose your power. This room is never used on thursdays and today happens to be, you guessed it, a thursday. This way, nobody will stumble in and get hurt.”

“Nice thinking.”

Pan clings onto the back of Sylva’s neck. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I need to know what was going on in Gareeku’s mind if I hope to help him. Besides, nothing could go wrong.” She isn’t even fooling herself with that last sentence, but she nonetheless continues her plan.

She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She begins to glow with a black aura. “RELEASE!”

Carran exited the remains of the hovel looking a tad bit pale, only to be shocked to find nearly the entire group standing around the crater like a bunch of tourists.

"How did all of you get over here so fast?  I can long-stride because I am half-fae and I have this staff, we are however the only ones besides elves that can do this without the aid of magic.  Extraordinary.  Well anyways, do not go in the house, it is fairly gruesome.  Whatever killed the family here, is different then the Fallen we battled."

He sat down upon a large stone, produced a small bag of candied fruits and munched away on his lunch.  "What attacked the farmer, his wife and their children was brutal and sadistic.  The carriage you might have seen on the way here from the road is the Fallen's work, heavy-handed and brutal.  Regardless of, we really should bury the dead, lest the rise up and join the unliving."

    Oddly enough Topher found himself sitting on a tree stump examining a queer foot print. This can't be right, he thought, this can't be right at all.  "Hey guys, come check thi-----Guys?"
    Beginning to be fretful of what could be lurking the shadows of the forest Topher stood up and took a deep breath.  He thought of what to do and it hit him, he must go higher and investigate.
    With this Topher hopped to the nearest branch, excited to be jumping again.  Limb by limb he climbed the rather thick tree til he reached a considerable hight.  In the distance he saw a large crater, this can't be good.

Winger dropped the needle in the sand.  he was really starting to feel the effects of being up all night.  "Ok" he said in a cranky tone. "Lets get this over with. Are there any tools around?"  Winger glanced at the east and he could see the sun was already out in its full glory. He longed to be at home in bed, but he knew that he might not have that luxury for a long time to come.

Cog nodded at Carran and grinned to himself. "With flutes of fear they filled the ear, while their grisly masque they lead: and long they sang, and loud they sang, for they sang to wake the dead", he said, sitting down. "Zombies are not something I'd like wandering around behind me." He looked around, taking a roll of the party. A few people were missing: the necromancer and the pixie were gone, and so was Topher. At least, he didn't see him. He leaned back. "Of course, a shovel might be nice, unless someone has an earthmove spell handy. I don't think I'd be up to...making enough holes in the ground to bury all these people." Sensing that danger had perhaps passed for the moment, he reached inside his jacket and grabbed his shades. A quick flick and they were back on his head. He looked at the bodies and then over at the hovel. "Well, an earthmove or fireball spell, anyway." He stood, and dusted off his pants. He bowed in Clarissa's direction.
"Apologies if I was somewhat brusque with you a moment ago, Mrs. Greene. Something....does not bode well." He said, turning once again towards the hovel and the bodies.

There seemed to drift a sort of laughter in the air, so silent it could barely be heard, yet still so clear... And then came that voice again.
   But deathless time and deathless mind, have strength mortals have yet to find: and the shadows so returned in kind, as the darkness never fled...
   Clarissa looked at Cognidubnus, her green eyes glinting a bit in the rising sunlight. The shadows at the edge of the forest were fought back, but within they still clinged under the treecrowns.
   "It's miss," she said, more calmly than she looked.

Burying dead... Aisha sighed quietly as she heard Carran's suggestion, her head shaking slightly before turning to the edge of the crater and noticing briefly that the rest of the party had started to join them.  Everyone was together again, she thought, and it was hoped that it would stay that way.  Pan was exempt from that thought...with his ability he could have been anywhere.

"Let's definitely get this over with," she said in agreement with Winger, noticing the sun starting to rise, and the shadows lengthening towards the west.  "Shame on me for thinking that I could get some sleep around here..." she muttered with a snicker and started looking around for some sturdy branches.  If shovels weren't brought, then certainly some could be made...

Nodding his head slightly as Aisha introduced him, Gareeku then listened to what Carran said of the victims of the attacks, a grim expression appearing on the wolf's face as he did so.
"Innocent lives lost...I can only imagine what they went through..." Gareeku muttered softly, looking down at the scene of carnage as he spoke.

It was then, however, that he heard Cogidubnus speak of Sebastian's death, his eyes growing wider as he heard the were speak of the priest's death. Feeling weak, a look of slight despair manifested itself on the wolf's face as a feeling of nausea also began to make itself known. Not only had he killed, he had murdered a holy man.

Cogidubnus's ear twitched again, and he scowled at the forest. "Did anyone else hear that?", he said, not really expecting an answer. He stared at the forest for a long moment, and jumped. He turned again towards Clarissa. "My apologies, Ms. Greene. No offense meant, just a little tired." He said, leaning against a handy tree. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and smiled to himself again. "They glided past, they glided fast, like traveler's through the mist...they mocked the moon in rigadoon, of delicate turn and twist... and with formal pace and loathsome grace, the phantoms kept thier tryst." He said, laughing, and land went to go look for a spade.

The wind whispered again, hissing in a half musing, half mourning tone to them all.
   But lovers without heart to seek can love only like beasts... to never die their love turned eye to ever greater feasts... and the solemn larua of shadow pact became murder in the least...
   The rhyme wasn't perfect, but it came quickly in response. Clarissa's eyes turned from the rising sun to the shadows of the forest, watching them with frightened fascination.

Another Dimension

“Ha! I am finally free! Now to exercise this freedom. I will kill everyone, starting with you, Pan!” Sylva exclaims.

Before Pan can act, she grabs him and flings him to the ground with all her might. “Ow…” Pan says.

Before he can get back up, a familiar voice yells, “WATER JET!” Suddenly, the mirror shatters by the force of a powerful water jet stream heading straight toward Sylva. In the room on the other side of the now shattered mirror is Leon Minnis, Pan’s human partner.

The water hits Sylva head-on, sending her soaring through the air and into a wall. She is knocked unconscious by the impact.

“Sylva!” Pan says as he gets back on his feet.

“Thank goodness you’re here. I’m glad to see you’re safe from that Sylva monster,” Leon says.

“She isn’t a monster.”

“Come again?”

Pan then proceeds to explain what happened earlier. Leon is quiet until the end of the explanation.

“Alright. You send Sylva back to the alternate dimension for now and clear up the problems there. I’d join you, but I’ll be too busy clearing Sylva’s name,” Leon says.

“Right!” Pan says. He jumps on Sylva’s shoulder and yells, “TELEPORT!”

This Dimension

Pan and an unconscious Sylva appear next to Aisha. He then goes into Sylva’s purse. “It should be somewhere around here,” he thinks aloud.

Carran listened to Cog with a lopsided grin across his muzzle, not entirely sure if he should be amused or worried at this display of jest at such a serious time.  He shrugged, it was good at least, the group was managing well, the loss of the priest at such an early stage was a bad sign.

Sighing, he turned and observed the farmer's hovel.  Within a few moments he spied what he sought, "Ah Ha!  A shed, this will indeed have a shovel or two!" 

He approached the shed, but as he did, something did not feel right with it.  Carefully he approached, becoming very quiet as he neared it.  Taking a deep breath, he lundged and took hold of the handle.  With a swift action, he threw open the door and out tumbled a child, nearly pale as snow.  The young lad was maybe 12 or 13, with his hands he weakly grasped at a savage wound.  The child was weak, possibly near death.

The fox kneeled down and assessed the young one, the child's hands barely contained his own insides from spilling forth.  He drifted in and out of consciousness and nothing he mumbled was intelligable.  One thing, an unknown object imbedded in the wound caught his eye and carefully he extracted it.  When he held it to the light, he muttered an oath in a strange tongue.

"Raug'gor, rhachon le!"

Watching Carran wander off towards the decimated farm, Gareeku decided to follow after the fox, curious as to what Carran was looking for.
When the wolf finally arrived at the shed, he found the fox cradling a young child who was severly wounded.
Poor child... the wolf to himself with a somewhat sad expression on his face, before noticing the object that Carran had extracted from the child's wound.
"We can look at that later. Right now this child needs help." the wolf stated, kneeling down beside the injured young one and observing the wound.
Damn it...looks bad...I hope we've got some capable healers here... the wolf thought to himself worriedly.

 As he was also looking for a spade, Cog followed Carran as he walked towards the shed. He jumped when boy fell out, and grimaced at his wounds. Such viciousness would have been rare but a day ago. Poor fellow didn't look good at all.
He nodded at Gareeku's remark and shook his head sadly. "I...left my last healing charm with the young lady injured by the wasps." He said, staring glumly at the boy. "If the Necromancer would be so kind, she has my other." He said, looking for her. He saw the strange pixie, but no sign of Sylva. He turned back to the boy. "As of right now, the only thing I could offer are two coins for his eyes." He said, adding an extra plot to the tally of graves in his head.

Rei's world that she is experiencing internally has gone down. She is starting to return to her normal self. She awoke with a start. "Whoooo. what had happened? where is the angel... thing and where is the big bugs?

    Topher hopped from the top branch and dropped down towards the floor of the forest.  On the way down he lightly grasped branches as he nearly hit them, attempting o slow his fall of course, that way when he landed, he would not break his legs.  As he hit the floor he bent his knees just enough to release the absorption of shock in his body.
    He started in the direction of which he saw the crater and jumped into the air.  With this Topher's legs were ingulfed in flames and he dashed onward.  A trail of fire would follow him as he flew through the woods, soon dying out with the after breath of air waking his speed.

Winger walked up to the hovel and picked up a spade.  "We don't have any time to waste.  I'm afraid we don't have time to dig individual graves."  Winger said as he watched young boy with carran.  He knew what is was like to lose a family in the blink of an eye. 

Silently he cursed the Angel and She dragon that had taken his wife so long agoas he stepped up to them to adress Carran directly.  "When we gather all the boddies we are going to need the boy to Tell us who they all are so that we can at least  give them a proper headstone. After that we can see about taking him somewhere safe."  Winger stopped to examine the boy's injuries.  I trust someone here can take care of these." Winger spat.  "Where did that damn preist run off to?"

[the sites spell checker is being stupid, so I'm sorry if I misspelled anything.]

As Aisha looked around, she disdainfully tossed the branches that she had gathered aside, suddenly hearing that a shed was found which would certainly have shovels and other things within.  She followed Gareeku and Winger's paths, leading to where Carran was.  She would have liked to get the burying over with as soon as possible.

But, coming upon the scene, Aisha saw that wasn't too likely to happen.  Carran and Gareeku had started tending to a wounded child, with the fae holding something in his hand.

"Oh, good gods," the panther sighed and knelt down beside the child as well.  "Well, I'm no healer, but I'll help."  She unlatched her cape and took it away from her neck, offering it as a gentle but firm wrapping so as to hinder the blood from flowing.  She smirked.  "Use this.  Don't worry, it gets covered in blood all the time," she said with a bit of dark humor, then gestured to Gareeku's wrist, where the light bracer still was.  "Let's put that on him.  The magic won't close the wounds but it will keep the pain away, if he can feel any, and help to protect him from getting much weaker.  It's the best we can do until we get back into town, I think, if we're relatively quick with this whole thing."

While helping the others and grabbing a shovel of her own to aid in the burial, Aisha overheard Winger's inquiry about the priest.  She glanced at the avian sidelong.  "He was impaled by his sword.  Play the odds on where he is," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.  Though something tells me he's not entirely gone from the world...

There were a few heavy bootsteps from behind, and then Clarissa slowly stepped in. She looked at the boy with big eyes, and a bit insecurely walked up behind Aisha, fumbling with something in the pocket of the 'priest's' coat that she had been wearing all the time.
   "I... I think I can help. I found this..." she said, and produced a little cylindrical, metal-topped vial containing an almost glowing crimson liquid. "It's angel's blood, it says. That's supposed to heal wounds, I think..." She proffered the little labeled vial to Aisha.

Carran looked down at the poor child and swore again, he put is hand out and concentrated, but nothing happened.  "I depleted my light mana stores fighting that Fallen Angel, my white magic is tied to it so I cannot heal him... though a wound like that I... do not think I could repair."

Of all those assembled, Clarissa had perhaps what was needed, if something was not done to aid the child, he would likely die soon. 

"Angel's blood!  Whatever your name is lass, you surely have what we will need if no one here has any white magic to aid him.  Yes, an Angel's blood will heal, especially wounds inflicted by demons.  There is not enough in this vial to restore him completely, but it will be sufficient to bring him back from the edge of death I am sure.  Quickly, have him drink it, the bindings are only restricting the blood flow so much."

Despite the urgency, Carran did not touch the vial and attempt this action himself. 

Aisha had finished wrapping the child's wound in her cloak, the crimson fabric becoming even darker with the stain.  The panther glanced up at the wolfess as she spoke.  Blinking with interest, Aisha took the vial and looked at it closely.  "Angel's blood...now that's convenient," she smiled, after listening to Carran's urgency and his confirmation that the liquid was indeed what the label said it was.  "You indeed have our thanks, Clarissa.  And so does the priest I would guess..."

Carefully, the panther opened the vial and placed a hand under the child's head to lift it up so that the liquid would go down his throat easily.  With her other hand she tilted the container to his mouth, pausing every so often to let him swallow.  "The niño is lucky we found him," she muttered.  "With this, the bracer and the cape, and everyone's help, he'll live.  Then we can find the thing that caused all of this..."

Once it was all gone, she handed the vial back, gently laid his head back down, and looked up.  "Someone needs to carry him back to town when we get ourselves moving..."

Rei looks up to Aisha. "I could do it quite fast when he start to move again so i will do it." Rei looks down at him again. She thinks "poor thing."

Cog smiles as he looks at the boy, glad that it looks like he might make it. "Looks like I save a few cents today." He says, taking off his hat and glasses, placing one on the ground and one in his jacket. He then removes his jacket and hooks it on the shed door, and grabs a spade. He makes his way to a clear spot and tests the soil. The shovel goes in with a wet sound, the loam soft. He leaves it standing in the ground, cracks his knuckles, and begins digging.

The voice traveled to Cognidubnus' ears on the chill morning breeze, half mocking and half serious in its tone.
   Waste your time, your back, your strength, it all makes difference for naught and none. I'd rather see you leave this mess, to see this business quickly done. And be it so, if that may mean, some duties you must shun...

   Clarissa looked at the boy, and then blushed a bit at Aisha's comment. She didn't seem comfortable inside somehow though, because she rather quickly stepped outside, and sat down on a rock to the side of where Cognidubnus was digging, watching as he did.
   "We are near town, aren't we? What happened?" she asked, her head resting on her arms that lay folded over her knees, the large black coat drawn up around her.

Cog's ear twitches again, and he stops digging for a moment, staring into the forest. He grins, and leans on the shovel for a moment. He thinks, trying to remember the appropriate verse, and laughs.
"Under the wide and starry sky, dig the grave and let me lie: Glad did I live, and gladly die, and laid me down with a will. This be the verse ye grave for me: here he lies where he longed to be. Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the hunter home from the hill." He says, beginning to dig again. "Beat that, O priest!" He says, and starts to anwser Clarissa.
"Apologies, Ms. Greene. I think I might be going insane." He stops digging again and turns to face her. "We are a good walk from town, but not too far. I am fairly certain that it is your town." He says, scowling. "We met you yesterday, about noon with the preist, Sebastian. He said you were his secretary, and you seemed to be so, by your own admission and manner. You both seemed to know each other very well." He turned, and began to dig again. "After you woke up in the clearing, you seemed to have lost all memory of the Priest, what the Priest called you, and what we thought you name was. Turns out, your name is Clarissa Greene, not Luisa Fors, and you most certainly do not work as a Secretary." He turned and looked at Luisa. "Make of that what you will."
"I'd be careful with that coat as well. There might be all manner of things in it, and not all as beneficial as Angel's blood."

The voice seemed to hum contently for a moment, before retorting.
   For, if I should despair, I should grow mad, and in my madness might speak ill of thee: Now this ill-wresting world is grown so bad, mad slanderers by mad ears believed be... But insanity is relative, and from the mad, the wicked loons, we may yet learn truths, if sincerely you asketh me...

   The voice was stronger than before when it answered, yet only Cognidubnus seemed to hear it. Clarissa merely seemed to process what she had just heard, and looked a bit at the coat she was wearing. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she spoke again, looking him directly in the eyes with a sad and frightened gaze.
   "That wasn't me. I... think I remember some things. But I don't want to..." she said. "It hurts. I am thankful that you saved me, but right now I just want to go home and forget this..." Her look was almost pleading.

Sylva wakes up. “What happened?”

“Your plan worked a bit too well. On the bright side, Leon now know you’re innocent,” Pan says.

“I’m glad to hear Leon no longer hates me, but I’m afraid the plan didn’t work. I can’t remember what happened. Looks like this was a failure. Anyway, what’s going on now?”

“Look around yourself. I think it explains itself.”

Sylva looks around. “No matter how many times I see it, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this sort of thing.”

Observing what had gone on, Gareeku looked on as Aisha gave the angel's blood to the young child, who by now was growing quite weak from the blood loss.
I Hope this works... the wolf thought to himself worriedly as the boy swallowed the liquid. A little while passed, before Gareeku noticed, with widened eyes, that the boy's wound was slowly beginning to heal. Looking on, the wolf watched as the damaged flesh repaired itself, joining up into its previous state until it looked like the child had never been injured in the first place.

Getting to his feet, Gareeku gently picked the feline boy, holding him in an arm and allowing the child's head to rest on his shoulder. The child was now unconscious due to the loss of blood. However, the wolf also knew that, in time, he would come to as his body replenished the blood that was lost.
"We should head back to the inn. It is getting late, and many of us need their rest, myself included. As for the child, I will take him back to the village and inquire about any relatives of his who may be in the local area." Gareeku said to the others, before turning to walk. It seemed that the boy had lost all of his family, and so the wolf felt that it was his responsibility to take care of the child until someone else who was better suited came along.

Aisha had given Rei a slight smile as she made the first offer of taking the child back...it was always nice to be in the company of those quickly willing to help in these desperate situations.  She wiped the last drops of angel's blood from the child's lip with the cape he was warmly wrapped in before allowing him to be carried.

The panther watched as Gareeku did so, nodding in agreement with him.  "Here, here...we'll meet you there soon."

Aisha took the shovel that she grabbed before and began to join the others in digging...at least the burials looked to be almost done, with those who had started.  "Good to have been in a dense forest, away from town, else there would have been many more bodies than there are now..." she sighed.

When Gareeku walked out of the house, Clarissa looked up, and immediately got to her feet and started walking close beside him, looking at the boy.
   "Did it work? Is he allright?" she asked, though from her face and voice one could tell she was asking more out of reflex than anything else. "We're going back to town, aren't we?" she continued, looking up at the wolf with a half frightened, half admiring gaze. "What are you going to do?"

   Finally... I was beginning to think We'd never see a bed this evening... When they get back I can see if they want to talk. And I think I'll grab a snack too...

As he walked from the farm, Gareeku noticed Clarissa walking beside. Hearing her questions, the wolf nodded.
"Yes, it worked. I think he should be fine. Physically, anyway..." Gareeku replied, concern for how the attack would affect him. "We are indeed going back to town. Once we get there, I'm taking both you and the boy to a doctor. I want to make sure that both of you are alright. Once I'm done with that, i'll probably go to the inn. Feel free to join me, but i understand perfectly if you do not wish to."

Noticing her somewhat frightened look, Gareeku rested a hand on Clarissa's shoulder, smiling reassuredly.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you. The group I am with are all good people." he said comfortingly.

Cog, was about to answer Clarissa when he noticed she was gone. Somewhat confused, he decided to start speaking to the voices in his head while he dug...
"I felt a funeral in my brain, and mourners to and fro: kept treading -treading- till it seemed, that sense was breaking thro... and when they were all seated, A Service, like a Drum- Kept beating – beating- 'til I thought, my mind was going numb." He smirked, and wondered if the shadow had a response to that...

Clarissa blushed when Gareeku was being so familiar with her. She turned her eyes away from his rather quickly. Still Cognidubnus' words and the whole situation seemed to unnerve her, but one could see the calming effect the other wolf had on her.
   "Yeah... I'd appreciate that," she said after a while. "Thank you very much."

   A doctor? Hm. How is one to evade that mess from happening? Stygian thought. This would require a bit more attention and care. If the doctor was magically skilled enough, then there was no hiding anymore. And at the moment, at least the wolf and the panthress would probably respond... adversely to him. Although the other one seemed to be coming along just fine. Sadly he would have to end that game a bit abruptly. And this would not be a response, but a clue then, seeing as how the werewolf had 'won' in a way.

   The whispers called again.
   Mad in heart, yet not in eye, kept close to sanity - and lies: an evil does so dare to lie, when hid 'neath mask and shadow's guise. It takes command, unseen it robs, and guides along a devious road: and yet it seeks - it craves! - to fly, bring wisdom, clarity, with its ode.
   So see our venom eyes!

“I wonder what I should do now. I don’t think I can help Gareeku with a custom spell. At least not without months of research and work and/or hundreds or even thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment,” Sylva says.

“Holy… is that what it takes for you to create new spells and stuff? Us Celian wizards just have spells come to us. We don’t even need spellbooks,” Pan says.

“Well, Pan. Do you think they need a helping hand with the digging? I can’t just lay around.”

Winger walked over to Cog had been digging and dug his spade into the ground.  He didn't feel much like talking any more, and he didn't want to fuss over the child like so many of the others were doing.  He dug in a couple of inches then he started to get annoyed.

"If any of you old hens could lend a hand we'd surely appreciate it." Winger hollered. "This grave isn't going to dig it's self, you know.  Or, maybe we can just leave the bodies to rot in the crater over yonder."

Winger bit his tonge a bit.  It's never a good thing to joke about the dead, especially in the presence of their survivors.

[Stupid evil sight spell checker!]

[lol Winger bit his thong]

    As Topher sped through the night sky, he approached the crater.  Ironically, he found his friends there to.  He landed roughly and fell a few feet from what seemed to be a grave.  Sure enough as he spat the earth from his mouth, he realized it was Winger.
    Winger stood there with a stern look on his face, a shovel in one hand.  He seemed angry at something, so Topher turned to Cog.   "Whats going on here?"

"What's going on?" Cog said, trying to keep sweat from falling in his eyes. "I'll tell you what's going on." He said as he lifted another pile of dirt. "We have three people digging. That's less than it should be - namely, by one Topher." He looked up from his digging and narrowed one eye. "I am certain that we would all appreciate it if more people lent a hand." He motioned over to the shed where the shovels were.
He turned his attention back to the voices in his head. He was about to respond with another rhyme, but stopped short. Something was different about this one...the shadow's tone had changed. No longer mocking, rather...
"You seek to bring wisdom, priest? I see...you are not mad in appearance, but in heart...evil lies. Lie, or lay? I wonder..." Cog said, pondering his verse. "Evil lies, and guides falsely. It yet seeks to bring clarity through deception...and your venom eyes?" He said, pausing for a moment. "I'd see your eyes, priest, if you still had them." He looked around and realized that perhaps now was not the best time to be talking to himself. Cog went back to digging, and stayed silent.

The whispers were becoming more distant, fainter.
   I am not a priest, not a cleric, not a scholar. I am not truly a guide either. For unlike Phlegyas, I am not just the ferryman, but the river too. And my eyes are not closed to the world; its is the world that cannot see them. If you wish to see me, then you must not be blinded by this world. Darken yourself, shadow your path and your heart; then you will see me walking beside.
   The voice fell silent, and there was a feeling of finality to it this time, as if a tension or sound suddenly died down.

Seeing Clarissa's reaction and hearing her voice, Gareeku smiled warmly at her.
"No problem at all." he replied, the warm smile still on his face as he spoke.

A while later, the two of them had arrived at the outskirts of the town.
"Now then...I'm not too familiar with this town. Do you know where the doctor lives? As I said earlier, I want to get you and the child checked over." the wolf asked.

    Topher nodded and walked hurriedly to the shed, hoping not to dissapoint anyone.  He grabbed he nearest shovel and headed to where everyone was at.  He looked down at the crusty dirt and jabbed the end of the shovel into it.  He began digging hastily, to show he was being serious about this.  He turned to look at his sweat driven companions and asked, "Exactly how many have died from this?"

Stygian watched and considered. There were still ways to clear up and take care of this mess. If they just didn't cause any fuss, and made sure to settle down, all would still turn out well. That went for him too. For them. He was a bit curious to some other things still, most of which he could not exactly put a finger on what they were.

   The darkness seemed to follow in Aisha's and Gareeku's wake as they made their way back to the town. It never got close or cramped under the green canopy above, the shadows always keeping just at the edge of sight. But the panthress' tail ring kept glowing a nearly steady, if faint green. As they closed with the settling, it seemed to diminish, fading away under the sun or just sinking deeper to hide somwhere else until night came again.
   "It's this way. We have a couple of clinics, so I go to another one on the other side of town, but this one's closer," Clarissa said, and walked alongside them. She seemed a lot more comfortable now that the sun was up, but still only led them, not leaving their side.
   "You people... You're adventurers, aren't you? Any particular reason you're here?" she asked after a while, still a bit shyly, when they were about halfway to the clinic. "If there's trouble, not many people here will be very glad. Lee runs a good bar, and we're used to adventurers coming through, but people tend to blame them if there is too much trouble around."

Sylva begins to help in digging, surprised at how many shovels there are. However, not being very strong, her digging rate is fairly poor.

As there was ample help digging the graves, and in an effort to spare himself that level of manual labor, he sought out a means to convey the bodies.

Carefully he approached the ruined barn, grasping the handle, he quietly hoped to himself that he would not discover another survivor.  Their journey was already burdened with one, more would be too much of a delay and drain on resources.  He threw open the door and was immediately assaulted by a foul wind, a brief tortured howl escaped with it, something only one attuned to such things could hear.

Within the barn was the ashen remains of a large creature bat winged creature, the form quickly sublimated, leaving nothing but an outline.  The rear of the barn, facing away from the group was destroyed, though this would not be easily discernible from anywhere but the rear.  Where likely the heart may have been was embedded into the floor a quarter of a fine angelic blade, cross guard and handle.  The remnants of the sword blade were scattered near the outline, laying near a large wicked bladed sword of dark metal.  The fox picked up the bastard sized sword and growled, "baelor, foul daemonic creatures."

Wield me fox and I will give you great power.

Carran stared at the blade for a second,  "lle tela?  Antolle ulua sulrim.  Dula, uuma  ma' ten' rashwe, ta tuluva a' lle."

With that he cast it back into the barn and pulled out a cart.  He turned to face the barn with his staff out, "koron en'naur!"

A ball of roaring fire leap from the staff and smacked into the barn, blasting it to a thousand pieces and incinerating all within.  Buried under the rubble and ash, the daemonic sword and shattered angelic blade would remain.

Traveling the short distance to where the carriage had been attacked, Carran hoisted the driver into the back.  The fox regarded the driver for a second, "stay dead, I don't need anymore survivors."  The carriage driver was kind enough to oblige.  He set fire to the remains of the carriage and the dead pack animals before turning to the mage's body.  Carefully he took the sundered pieces of her staff and placed it in the cart, he regarded her body carefully, "now you be as good as your man here is... was and stay dead please."

He hoisted the body into the back and placed her next to the driver, a slight groan... possibly of pain might have escaped her.  He shrugged it off quickly, "no, no... no more survivors... I did not hear anything, that is my imagination.  Either that or she has joined the undead.  My imagination, must be... that evil sword must still be on my mind."

Carran dragged the cart over towards the house and gravesite.

Aisha had been spending quite a few minutes, after Gareeku had gone with the injured child, to help everyone else with cleaning up.  She had already dug one hole of her own for one of the dead.  She couldn't engrave a headstone...but once she took care of one body she stood over the site and closed her eyes shortly.  "Descanse en paz (rest in peace)," she muttered and brushed the dirt from her clothes.  "I really hate when I have to say that."

The morning sun had finally started peeking over the east, bathing everything in a soft orange light.  The panther leaned on the shovel and watched it for a moment, for now at least, the forlorn night was past and everything was starting to wind down.  Her concentration was broken only when Topher inquired about the number of dead.  Aisha dropped her shovel and shrugged.  "There couldn't have been that many.  A family or two."  Then, facing the head of the group, the panther pointed back towards the town.  "I'll see you all back at the inn."

Staying to help would be the right thing to do, she thought while hopping down from the slight hill made by the crater and walking back into the still-dark shadows of the forest.  But I've had enough of seeing innocents face their fates too early.

It wasn't too much longer before she caught up with Gareeku, finding his outline as well as that of Clarissa's in the strange snaking shadows that made slow and changing patterns with the ever-rising sun.  She called to them and waved, not wanting to catch them by surprise, with a wounded child in their hold.  "How is he?" she inquired and looked at him, still holding up.

Upon hearing Clarissa's inquiry, Aisha smirked.  "Yeah, we're adventurers...but you needn't worry, as we weren't originally looking for trouble.  I've been to town once before when something similar occured," she gestured back to the forest, and the crater.  "But, it seems rest and reminiscence comes too far and inbetween now," she laughed.

Clarissa smiled at Aisha, but didn't answer her. She just walked along, close to the other wolf, and led them on until they came up to an inviting building with white-painted walls and black corners. She stepped in through the front door into the hall and then the waiting room, sitting down with them. They were almost alone, a nurse or assistant of some kind following an older male ferret to the door. She asked their business when he left, and then went back and out of sight around a corner.
   Then, after perhaps two or three minutes, a stern-faced yet friendly-looking man, a golden retriever or closely bred mongrel canine, stepped in and took a look at them.
   "Ah, you were here for an examination?" he asked. "No, wait..." He looked at the boy. "This one was hurt, wasn't he? Follow me, please..." he said, and then walked back down a corridor, opening a door for them.

Winger grumbled a bit as he dug. "Too many vistors, not enough work..." He put his spade in the gound and breathed. "this is going to take all day!"

He really was starting to consider just leaving the bodies in the crater.

    As Topher was digging he heard a bit of commotion to his left.  Topher looked up to find Carran approaching the group with a cart beside him.  He turned to see where he had come from and saw a raging fire swallowing what seemed to have been a barn.  An idea just popped into his head.  "Why don't we just cremate the bodies?"  Noticing how curt he must have sounded, Topher looked helplessly at the other's.

Cogidubnus thought about the priest's statement. It largely lined up with the suspicions he had started having about him, ever since Clarissa had woken up...after the shades that had taken her and Sebastian's place...and this, now. "There are indeed many paths to tread, yes. Through shadows, to the edge of night..." He said, finally perhaps understanding a little about Sebastian. "But, boatman and river, behold - only until the stars are all alight. Mist and shadow, cloud and shade, all that shall fade, all shall fade..." He said, to nothing, for he did indeed feel that whatever it was had stopped listening. He turned his attention to more mundane matters.
Staring at the sun overhead, and at the bodies littering the yard he realized Winger was right...this might take all day. He looked at Toper and looked down to the ground. "One option, I suppose." He had suggested something similar earlier, after all. "Where did that mage go, anyway?" He said. Looking, he found him hauling a cart of yet more dead. Cog caught himself before he cursed. "Looks like yet more bodies, gentlemen."

Rei stood there looking at everyone... she was a little absentminded at the time. Snaping back into real life. "So do you want me to take him back into town now, later, or someother time?"

Once inside the receiving room, the doctor wasted no time. He asked them to take off the boy's shirt, inspected the half-healed skin underneath the bandages, skin that hid a wound that was much smaller than it had been from the start but still seemed so grievous that it was a miracle it had healed up the way it had. The doctor, whose name was Gregory it was revealed, seemed familiar enough with such magical cases and just pulled on the skin a bit, pushed the boy's stomach to check for internal damage, and then made sure that he seemed otherwise regular.
   "His heart rate's still up. You're a bit scared, aren't you...?" he said, waiting for an answer.
   "Mikey," the boy said, shyly and fearfully. The doctor smiled.
   "Well, Mikey, I think you'll be just fine, if only you avoid stretching that wound too much for a couple of weeks. You seem perfectly fine otherwise too, which is always good to know." He sat down a bit, looking at the cat. "You go out and tell miss Allen that you can have some of these," he said, and pushed a paper slip into the boy's hand, "and then see if she can find you something good to eat." He ushered the boy out through the door to the waiting nurse, and then turned to the other three.
   "He really will be fine. He seems a strong boy," he said to them. "How about you then?" His eyes wandered between the panthress and the two wolves, but finally settled on Clarissa as she clearly seemed the most overwrought of them. "Step up and take off your shirt, please," he said, and went to look through a drawer. Clarissa blushed a bit, but did as she was told.
   The doctor, Gregory, checked her over quite thoroughly, but didn't seem to find much more than enough to mutter in that way that doctors always seem to do when making a checkup.
   "Heart's a bit slow... but it sounds strong..." he said. He looked into her eyes, and then used a candle to test her pupil dilation.
   "I... exercise..." Clarissa said, following the light with her gaze.
   "Aaa-haaa... tell me, have you taken some sort of medication or other drug the latest few hours?"
   "No. I don't take medication," she said, a bit quicker. She squinted a bit.
   "Well, I guess..." Gregory responded, then turned around and went through another drawer. "I'd take a bloodsample, but I don't think that will be neccessary, since you seem well enough. I'm just going to test one more thing..." He brought out a little glass pipette or tube with a little marble inside, and brought it to Clarissa's skin. "I'll just - gah!" He jumped when the little thing whirred and then exploded into a load of tiny glass shards. Clarissa cried out, and held her hand where her arm had started bleeding.
   "Sorry! Miss! Hold still!" Gregory exclaimed, getting some cotton wool and alcohol to tend the wound.
   "Ouch! What was that for?!" Clarissa whined, but let her arm be tended. Dr. Gregory muttered.
   "You've had some powerful dark magic or curse dealt to you, miss. I can't help you, other than give some ward or prescription. I suggest you see a Healer about this, or a minister." He patched the wound, and looked at Gareeku and Aisha.

   When they left the clinic, they had Mikey with them, who now had a great deal more sweet juice and cookies in his system than before, and practically clung to Aisha's tail. Clarissa looked a bit glum and afraid again.

Nodding his head at the doctor's words, Gareeku followed him to his room. Looking on as he examined the boy, who's named turned out to be "Mikey", the wolf gave him a reassuring smile as the boy walked past him with the note.

It was then, however, that a look of concern appeared on the wolf's face as the doctor explained to her about the powerful dark magic or curse that was dealt to her.
"It appears that our friend Sebastian wasn't all he seemed, if that is even his real name..." the wolf muttered.

Hearing the doctor's words, Gareeku nodded his head in acknowledgment and smiled.
"Thank you very much, Doctor. We appreciate all your help." the wolf said to the doctor with a grateful smile, before saying his goodbyes and leaving with the others.

As they walked, Gareeku noticed the boy holding on to Aisha's tail, a sad expression on his face as he observed him.
Poor kid...he's lost all his family... the wolf thought to himself sadly. It was then, however, that Gareeku noticed the mixture of sadness and slight fear on Clarissa's face.
"We will get you seen to. I will make sure of that." the wolf said to her, a gentle reassuring smile on his face. "Aisha and myself will be heading back to the inn, along with the boy. You are very welcome to join us if you wish."

Following the others into the room, Aisha kept her eyes on the child, who had seemed to recover well since they first found him.  She was slightly surprised when he managed to even say his own name...but then again, the magic went a long way when it came to healing.

But when Clarissa was diagnosed, the panther watched with concern, her tail ring having flashed a little at the same exact moment that the doctor's instrument shattered.  Hearing Gareeku mutter about Sebastian, she thought hard...he was the only "priest" they knew, but he was shadow or voice right now if anything...the best Healer she knew was her mentor and guardian, Rynkura...but last Aisha had heard of her she was quite a few miles away on a trek of her own.  Who knew if they'd even run into her?

The panther thought all of this through as they left the doctor's office and were headed back towards the inn.  Aisha was carrying her blood-drenched cape, which she figured she could have washed somewhere later, and she had her bracer back as well.  Along the way, she smiled while Mikey hung onto her tail.  "Haha, you're feeling better, huh?  Careful, that doesn't come off."  Poor kid...I wonder what we're going to do with him.

"Yeah, you can join us," the panther smiled to Clarissa in agreement with Gareeku.  "That is unless you have had something better to do.  More than likely though, a skilled Healer in this town is a long way in coming."

Clarissa looked at them both with a spark of happiness, and also content it seemed, at their invitation. She smiled a bit at them both.
   "I'd love to," she said. "I'm not going to work today, and I'm feeling like sitting down or having a nap after this anyway..." She smiled a bit more, and then joined them as they began to walk back.

"Good to hear." The wolf said with a warm smile upon hearing that Clarissa had accepted their invitation to the inn.
I wonder when the others will get back...I hope the burials are going ok... Gareeku thought to himself with some concern as they walked. A few minutes later, the inn came into view.

Opening the front door, holding it open and allowing the others to step inside, the wolf looked around and found that it was very quiet in the humble building.
"Would anybody like anything to drink?" Gareeku asked the others, removed a pouch containing money from the inside of his top.

Aisha stretched as she walked in behind the others, allowing Mikey to walk in before her as well.  The day seemed to be starting off very quietly for the inn...any patrons who had been there the previous night probably had gone home a long time ago.

"I wouldn't mind a drink, thank you," the panther replied with a smile.  "Just don't keep reminding me that I owe you money for the last one too," she said jokingly and went up to take a seat at the bar, leaning her arms on it and her head down on the folded limbs while keeping the kid in the corner of her vision.

"I... I think I'll just have a glass of milk. Could I get a sandwich with that?" Clarissa answered. "I'm feeling sort of empty." She walked up to the counter past a table strangely full of books and miscellaneous papers and trinkets, behind which one could see a reddish figure skritching on some drawing and chewing on a frugal lunch. The boy, Mikey, walked behind her and up, and peered over a large telescope at whoever it was curiously, but warily.

   Stygian caught a scent. There really wasn't much energy around in the air, but there was a tension. And a chill, also, he realized. However well hidden, the "taste" and "scent" of something like that could never escape his attention. And this one he knew. It was old in his memory, one he hadn't felt for some time and had almost forgotten, but he could still remember it clearly now that it was present.
   Instinctively, he checked himself and made an effort to hide himself. Even she should not have been able to detect him at all now, unless she would suddenly go casting some powerful spell. The only other sign he might let off would be the light, and the bar was a bit dark anyhow.

Walking up to the bar, Gareeku odered ales for him and Aisha, and glasses of milk for Clarissa and Mikey in case he wanted one. He also ordered sandwiches for all of them too. He wasn't sure about the others, but it had been quite a while since he had eaten.

"I'll hold you to that ale sometime." Gareeku replied to the panthress next to him with a playful grin, before paying the bartender the money. Out of the corner of his eye, the wolf could see Mikey looking at another table. It seemed the boy's curiosity was getting the better of him. However, the wolf was still concerned about the young feline's state of mind, and how the attack and deaths would affect him.

Mel looked up from her papers and saw a dark colored feline at the bar. Just whom she had been waiting for.

Aisha heard a slight sound and saw a female red squirrel standing beside her. Medium height, about thirtyish, hair that looked as if fingers were constantly run through it, but friendly and smiling. She wore a university professor's robe over a neat but mismatched outfit. "Miss deCabre?" the squirrel questioned. "My name is Melissa Madison, Professor Melissa Madison. I'd like to speak to you about the angel."

She smiled and seemed to warm up to her topic, her black eyes sparkling. "It's for my paper, "A Theory of the Coordination of Trajectory of Expelled Heavenly Bodies with Centers of Population and Conjunction of Constellations." It's really..." Then she let out a screech and dove for the table she had just left. She barely managed to catch the slowly teetering telescope before it hit the floor. Books and papers fluttered over her and to the floor. Mikey was standing in the middle of the chaos looking frightened.

Winger looked up from his work.  "Where the hell did every body go now?!"  He spun around and saw that many of the party members had left.  "To hell with this! Let the bodies rot where they lay. " He said spiking his shovel into the ground.  "We must be, by far the least organized group in the history of adventuring..."

Hearing Winger's words, Cogidubnus nodded darkly. "It would appear that gravedigger was an unpopular occupation among the group. No respect for the dead, anymore." He called after Winger. "They won't rot! Undead, remember?" His voice faded as he realized his words likely feel of deaf ears.
  He didn't believe much of them himself. He bit back yet another curse and threw his shovel to the group. "Da-....in the absence of the rest of out members, it would appear it is time for all good members to come to the aid of the party. Namely, to the aid myself, Carran, and Topher there. Very well then." He cracked his knuckles and inhaled deeply. He stood there for a long moment, rigid, and exhaled slowly. He allowed his fists to drop, and the air vibrated around him. His eyes once more took on that strange gleam. "We need a hole...I'll give you a damn hole." He said, one foot sweeping behind him, leaving a trail in the dirt. He did not scream, but merely thrust his hand downwards, angled towards the dirt in front of him. A loud crack was heard, and he almost stumbled forwards. He gasped, kept his footing, and raised his arm like he was hoisting a fish. The ground broke, and exploded outwards, small pellets of dirt and mud raining into the sky. This time, Cog did stumble foward, barely catching himself from falling in the newmade crater. He did not straighten for a long moment, letting the fall of dirt dust him and his companions brown before he managed to lurch back to his feet, albeit weakly. He hobbled back towards the shed where his jacket and hat lay. "Gentlemen, there is your hole." He gathered his belongings, leaning against the shed for some time, before stiffly walking back towards the path, towards town and the Inn. "And today, I can do no more for the dead."

Carran looked to Winger and sighed, "the child needed tending to, so the popular kids... the self-appointed stars of this tale took off to take him to the doctor... all of them... for one child... leaving the unimportant supporting cast of players behind to do the grunt work.  They will not be making my Wintersday card list."

The fox looked to the remaining bodies and the hole dug by his fellow laborers with a dejected expression.  Seeing how most had left, he considered some options.  He considered using elemental magic to excavate a mass grave, but his spells in this area were not especially good for this.

Seeing that everyone was to the point where a fire or just leaving them to rot was a choice, the fox smiled, with the others gone he decided to take the easy way out of this situation.

Drawing a bit of the darkness from the unseelie aspect of his nature, he raised his hands in the air and chanted words in a black dark speech, "Gû kîbum kelkum-ishi, burzum-ishi. Akha - gûm-ishi ashi gurum."

A cold wind begins to blow and the fox waves his hand in a sweeping arc, encompassing where all the dead lay and in a quiet, harsh voice the fox simply said, "dig your own graves."

From where they were slain, the bodies rose upon their own power and each took up a spade.  Methodically each dug into the ground until a suitable hole was made, when completed each one laid respectfully down in their final resting place.  The darkness dissipated and the fox looked as if he had just tasted something foul.

From the cart, the only remaining unburied "dead" person groaned and feebly sat up from the cart, "I... I'm not quite dead... yet..." 

Carran swiveled, staff out, ready to face a revived daemon if necessary, "I asked you to be kind enough to be dead like your driver, sorceress.  Could you perhaps just pass on?  We really do not need anymore survivors."

Carran looked around to see if the others had noticed the female mage having revived somewhat.

Her injury did not appear to be as bad as the child's but she had been subjected to a few hours of environmental exposure.

Rei blinks back to where everyone should be but no one is here expect Winger and the others that stayed behind. "Well, i just... got... damn... where did everyone go?" She looks toward winger for her answer.

Jumped at the sound of the earth giving way below him, and then he marveled at the dead getting up to dig they're own graves.  The bird was startled to say the least. "You couldn't have done that any sooner?" He asked with a liittle chuckle Carran and Gog.  He was glad that the hard physical laber was over.  "Better late than never I suppose.  Thanks Boy-os, though you see to have missed one of the bodies" Winger said refering to the mage in the cart.

Tired from all the running, fighting, and all together pointles digging.  Winger collapsed in the dirt. "Don't ask me where everybody went, Rei.  People in our little band seem to come and go with the wind." He said shading  his face with one wing. "Wake me up when we're ready to get going again."

   Topher exhaled as Cog worked his magic.  "Well now that that's taken care of...It seems we are the only a few of us left."
   Topher looked at the others.  They all seemed exhausted.  Where was the rest of the group?  That wasn't to smart of them, they could have gotten in some danger and we wouldn't have any form of communication except for that Pan guy.
    Topher shrugged and looked out towards the forest.  "Whatya say we all make camp in the outer edge of the forest and continue in the morning.  We've all had a rough day, I think it's safe to say we take a rest."

Cog paused from his walk and rested for a moment, hands on his hips. Topher was right, and he really was exhausted. He stood shakily and called back to him. "It can't be much past noon, sir. There's time yet for a soft bed and cool drink."

As he stood, he decided that it would be safer to wait for the others to come with him to the inn. He could have been knocked over by a strong breeze. A slightly disturbed badger could likely eat his ankles out from under him before he could retaliate. He lurched towards the others. He was going to find a place to sit when he saw Carran talking to one of the bodies. He thought it odd until the body responded to him. He sighed and sat on a stump. He hoped that she could walk.

"I... I'm sorry!" Mikey exclaimed. "I just looked at the papers! I didn't touch it!" He looked almost ready to cry, big green eyes tearing a bit. Clarissa looked a bit at him and walked over, putting her hand on his shoulder and trying to calm him.
   "Shhh... It's okay... no one said you were..." She rubbed her temple a bit, and then turned with a bit of a weary look to Aisha and Gareeku.

“Hey Carran, quit taking over my job,” Sylva chuckles. She is, in truth, quite happy that the labor has ended. She probably couldn’t have cast such a spell with her low magical reserves, at any rate. “Well, at least I can do this part of my job.” She begins to chant a spell.

“Bed sounds good. I’m still aching from being thrown to the ground,” Pan says.

Sylva finishes casting Cure Moderate Wounds on the unknown mage woman and says to Pan, “Thrown to the ground? When?”

While waiting for her drink, and deciding she was indeed hungry enough for a sandwich, Aisha glanced over curiously when she heard someone approaching.  The panther didn't give more than a sidelong glance at the squirrel, until she happened to say her name.  Then she turned her head fully with a surprised look.

A stranger who knows my name?  Heh, I guess the effort to not be famous can be a little hard to keep up with.

"Yes, that's me..." Aisha replied with a tilt of her head, only giving a slight smile when she heard what the angel question was for.  "Ah, of course, I might be able to tell you a few things...what do you need to know?"

But at that moment, the squirrel had ducked away to catch her falling telescope, and when the panther saw the cause of it, she only gave a light chuckle with a smile back to Clarissa and Mikey.  "Don't worry about it, niño, there was no harm done."  Then she looked questioningly back to Melissa, wondering just how much information she needed.

Winger sat up with a groan.  "I forgot about the inn." He said  getting to his and feeling his bones creek.  "All right lets get back, I guess.  There aren't enough clues here to lead us to another location anyway.  Atleast now we can take our time about it." 

Rei looked to winger. "I can get us their no problem and fast too... if you want"

Turns to look at Pan, "Very true..."  He then looks at the others to see what they think.

Mel stood and placed the telescope safely in a corner. The twitching of her expressive fluffy tail told that she was aggitated but she managed to chuckle and say "Interested in the stars, young man? Help me pick up my papers and I'll let you look through the telescope later."

Once the mess was relocated from the floor back to the tabletop Mel returned her attention to Aisha. "Thank you, Miss deCabre, for your help. I'm trying to prove a theory that celestial objects are landing in a pattern, or are at the very least aimed." She produced a small shiny stone that she placed on the bar and with a faint glow an illusionary map appeared floating above it. Almost a little world it had cities and forests and rivers all laid out in miniature. At various spots multicolored flags had been placed. "I understand that you were a member of a group that hunted down quite a few of these celestial objects and I was hoping that you could pinpoint their landing spots for me." Mel touched the map and a new flag appeared outside of town. "This is where your first piece was found, just outside this town. It's interesting that so many objects land within a short distance of a population center without ever landing in one."

Aisha tilted her head with slight interest when Mel brought out her illusory map, listening to her explanation.  They fall in a pattern...?  Huh.

She nodded and held her head on her palm, narrowing her eyes at the map while trying to concentrate on various places.  "I still think it's coincidence that the angel landed in roughly the same place as before.  Why another one fell, I'm not even sure either.  My job along with everyone else was not to know, but to recover and protect."

Quickly, she went through her last adventure several times over in her mind like trying to piece together an old map that had a couple of years to be torn away.  Which path led where...there was a desert, a village in the trees...so many battles...

Finally, she pointed to the distinct spots where they were found.  "Here, here, here, and here...although, when we found most of the body parts, others had found them first.  Where we found them might not be where they landed.  But I figure that's close."

The panther yawned suddenly and started when everyone's food and drink arrived.  "That's all I can tell, ma'am, I'm sorry.  We're all a bit tired."

Cogidubnus sighed and buried his face in his palms. "It does not take 5 people to decide to return to the inn, gentlemen." He said, lurching to his feet. "If one of us can teleport us all, that makes everything much easier. If not, please, the rest of us should start walking."
He eyed the newly found mage. "Unless, of course, we have a survivor who cannot indeed walk." He walked toward the cart, trying to avoid stepping on the newly-dug graves, for fear of disturbing the undead below. "If she can't, we could use the cart." He said calmly, stopping behind Carran, examining his fingernails. He did not indeed relish the thought of either pulling or waiting for a cart all the way back to town. "I don't suppose you have a scroll of windwalking hidden upon your person somewhere?"

Clarissa looked at Aisha's and Melissa's business, apparrently completely confounded by it all. She shook her head and got to eating, while Mikey ran over and clung to Aisha's tail once again. Seeing Aisha's yawn, she muttered something and looked a bit glum and fearful again.
   "Perhaps we should get some rest. And I need to get home later. I'll just eat, and then be on my way," she said, and then looked a bit shyly at Gareeku. "I... think I would like someone to take me home though. It's obviously not safe..."

Pan jumps on Sylva's head. "Everyone, join hands. We must all be in contact with each-other if we are all to be teleported."

"This is convenient, but you still haven't answered my..." Sylva begins.

"If you must know, you threw me to the ground while you weren't in control of yourself."

Sylva looks very guilty. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"It wasn't your fault. Like I said, you weren't in control of yourself. Anyway, I'm not dead yet, so don't worry about it."

As he ordered the food and drink, Gareeku turned his head to see what was going on. Seeing that Aisha and Clarissa were comforting the frightened boy, the wolf smiled at the young feline, before bringing the food and drink over to a table near where the squirrel had sat.

Hearing Clarissa's request, the wolf smiled and nodded.
"Of course. Just let me know when you want to go." he replied.

The wolfess sat down, and started eating in silence. The bar was dark and mostly empty save for themselves. There seemed to be a sort of gloom hanging over it, a darkness that was unusual, even considering the closed windows and sparse lighting.
   Clarissa finished her meal, and stood up.
   "Excuse me..." she said, and headed for the backroom.
   There was a tug on Aisha's tail. Looking down, she could see Mikey.
   "I'm sorry. I really am," he said. At first, one might have taken it for another excuse for the telescope. But there was something to his tone. It was calmer, and much more steady than before. More than it should have been.

While still watching Mel's map with a bit of interest, Aisha finally paused to start eating her sandwich, with a smile of thanks to Gareeku for getting the food.  It would pass for as good a breakfast as any.  Her sleepiness was forgotten as her stomach was filled.  Though with the dark shadows lingering in the room over the bar still, feeling almost like clinging remnants of the night past, the exhaustion couldn't be completely forgotten.

The black jaguaress finally finished and gulped lightly at her ale, listening to everyone's conversation and often turning around to smirk at Mikey as he clung to her tail again.  Every moment or so she playfully twitched the tip of it, where her softly glowing ring was.  She attributed the effect to the sleepy haze in her eyes.

But when there was a slight tug, she glanced back to the child curiously, her head tilted as she turned around to face him.  "Sorry, for what?  You were already forgiven for the telescope incident...so there's no need to worry..." she had started, until she paused to reconsider the tone in his voice.  It sounded a little more...well, she couldn't pinpoint it.  One was tempted to say "mature", the way it sounded deliberate and calm in a child's voice.

Aisha blinked and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.  "...Are you okay?"

Mikey grinned up at her with the sort of sinister smile that no innocent child could ever have made. His eyes, locked with hers, were slowly changing, going black from within, green irises glowing and coming to a point around an almost invisible pupil. His shadow... was much larger than it should have been, and thicker. It was so dark that it looked almost painted to the floor, and it writhed...
   "Like you'll never get rid of your shadow..." he sang a bit, with a steady, beautiful voice.
   Then, the little feline's shadow started crawling in, flowing and swirling up around him. His skin seemed to grayen and swirl too, like dust or ash, and he changed as his shadow flowed into him, the only fixed points on him being his eyes. He grew taller and broader until he looked down on Aisha from above, changing his whole shape and appearance as fast as any Cubi could have done, until the darkness took on a decided texture and crawled back, fading into a colour, and someone completely different stood before the panthress.
   She recognized Sebastian from before. The bat's blonde fur and general features were unmistakeable. But he seemed to have changed somehow. The "priest's" face had been stern but familiar, solid and dependable. His face now, though generally similar, seemed... not younger, but somehow different. Just as hard, but more well-shaped and less edgy, with taller cheekbones and a less blunt nose. As did the rest of his slender and long-limbed but muscular frame. His hair was a bit longer, and less straight, waving a bit in the neck. His entire appearance seemed to have grown more predatory, more... sly and sinister, but handsome. Two other differences were apparrent. This Sebastian did not hide his eyes, venomously green and black, behind a scarf. And this one had a much longer, almost lizardlike tail covered in blonde fur swaying lazily behind him.
   "...you'll never get rid of me," he finished the verse in a much deeper yet just as perfectly melodious voice, and chuckled. "Hi Schätze. It's nice to see you again," he said, his eyes still locked with Aisha's. Then, they darted to the side, and fixed on the squirrel.
   "That's a very convincing disguise, Mel. Nice to see you too."

Carran leaned heavily on his staff, the prospect of another survivor was a cause to rejoice, but a sense of dread instead accompanied  his thoughts. 

The sorceress, some type of canine, gingerly stepped down from the cart and put her own two feet upon the ground.  Her free hand braced against the cart while the other one clutched at her wound.  Her legs were exceptionally shaky and she nearly pitched over thrice, but she remained standing.  The spell from Sylva had helped greatly.

Defiantly she remarked, "I'll manage... the name is Alia... Beshley..."

Carefully Alia retrieved the two halves of her staff and tore a strip of cloth from her robe to bind her injury. 

Meanwhile Carran turned to Cog and spread his hands, palms up, "sorry, fresh out of windwalking scrolls."

Alia was intriqued by the declaration from Pan, "teleportation would be nice, I don't think I'll make it too far walking."  To illustrate this point she swayed and collapsed on Carran and then Cogidubnus before choosing to lean on Cog for support while she held hands and waited for the magic to commense.

Carran too decided that this might be best, but first he turned to face the remains of the hovel.  He pointed the business end of his staff and spoke a quick, simple word, "Fire."

The hovel became a roaring blaze, searing away the gruesome scene of carnage that remained within. 

Taking up the offered hands, the fox added a bit of chanting to the teleportation incantation.

“What are you doing?” Pan asks Carran.

Carran opened his eyes and turned his head slightly towards Pan, "What am I doing?  I am adding resonance, nothing more little one.  Now please, let us be teleporting away."

Carran continued his chanting.

    Topher had his eyes clenched as he waited for Pan to teleport them.  He heard a faint chanting that seemingly grew louder and louder.  He opened one eye and saw that it was Carran who was chanting away.  At first Topher chuckled a bit.  He bit his lip and closed his eye again,, waiting for the teleportation process to be complete.

“No idea what ‘resonance’ is, but TELEPORT!” Pan says. After a moment, they teleport to the inn.

Aisha had been watching the child quizzically for a moment when he answered, and the grin he gave had made her very uncomfortable.  Her tail ring had started to glow with increasing intensity as the shadows lifted around him.  But when his eyes changed, that was what made her practically jump back until she was literally sitting on the bar.  She had on her normally calm face a look of such genuine shock that she could hardly believe it herself, becoming more disturbed as the figure grew straight and made from his flesh.

When Sebastian finally reappeared, her right hand was covering her mouth, crimson eyes having become huge discs in her sockets.  It was seen that her fangs were tightly clenched when she did finally remove her hand.  "...You!  But...you were..." she stammered, and then gulped and blurted, "You were killed!  And the child...Where did...?"

With a pause, she took a deep breath and slowly lowered herself back to one of the stools, just as there seemed to be a shimmering in the air that could only denote a teleportation spell.  But she paid no heed to it yet...her eyes narrowed.  She had seen shapeshifters in her career...but nothing came as close as that did to leaving her utterly disturbed.

"...What are you?"

The squirrel made a face at the bat. "Well, it was a good disquise. Thanks a lot."  Then she looked at the shimmer in the center of the room. "Incoming teleport," she warned.

"Thanks, I noticed," were Stygian's only words before he shapeshifted again. This time, he assumed the shape of... no. It couldn't be!
   "More guests barging in on us? No tienen ningunas maneras?"* the white tigress dressed in a gray, formal robe now standing before Aisha said in a clear, low but strong tone. "Are these friends of yours, chica?" She moved over to the side of Mel's table, and sat down on a chair, neatly smoothing her outfit and then staring at the party with a look that brooked no nonsense.

   It was only after he had assumed this new shape that he recalled that Stygian realized the stupidity of it. Aisha might be overcome by her curiosity, or her wish to hurt him badly now, enough to delay revealing him... But it had still been a bad call to mimic Rynkura, of all people. Still, there was no choice but to play his part for now.

*(Spanish): Have they no manners?

Carran took a single step forward, brushing off some unseen dust, particles of magic and interdimensional space only noticeable to those who could or bothered to look.

"Princes, masters and Archmages do not require manners, when one can destroy an entire continent at a whim, others beg them deference.  We do generally practice them because it avoids mishaps, mistakes and generally uncomfortable situations."  The fox eyed Pan with a disapproving glare.

The fox could not miss that he appeared to have stepped into a tense situation, nothing had happened, but something was entirely wrong.

Aila quickly took a seat as her strength was limited and she had been standing far too long as it is.

Cog instantly slumped into a chair and hissed as his tired bones settled. He was about to order a whiskey and slump into unconscious state when he noticed that people seemed to be staring. Using every measure of his wits, he deduced the best way to use his newfound attention, and met the eye of the barkeep.
"By God, I need a drink!" He said, taking his hat off and putting it on the table. The barkeep nodded and began mixing something or other together. He watched it eagerly as it made it's way from the barkeeps hands to the waitresses, and finally to his own. He nodded thankfully, held the brown liquid up to the light, and took a long, slow gulp. He set what remained on the table, and greeted the missing memebers of the party. "Aisha, Gar, good to see you again..." He looked in vain for Mrs. Greene and shrugged. "Good to see you all again. If you do excuse me, I'm going to pass out." He managed to narrow one eye at the two. "Gravedigging is somewhat tiring."
He swallowed the rest of his drink and leant back, putting his hat back on and pushing his shades close to his eyes, eager for some rest.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you have the right to, príncipe," the tigress said, very clearly. Then she looked at Cognidubnus with a not particularly interested expression, but a much more friendly one than the one she had given Carran. There was some sort of calm and determinate dignity to her presence that simply demanded order.
   "I could do well with something to drink myself. Tea, please," she said to the barkeep. "Sugar, no milk. Now..." She turned against Aisha and Gareeku in particular. "I've heard a lot about this Angel business, and I thought that it was done with the first time this happened. Gods know that you did anyhow, chica, when you came back home with singed fur and tail whipping..." She made just the tiniest smile at Aisha, as tender as it was humorous. Then, when she received her tea, she sat back and sipped a bit, holding the saucer steadily with one hand and the cup with the other, and hummed a bit.
   "Are you going to chase after this one too, Aisha? Cree usted que puede repararlo aún otra vez?"*

   Now, Stygian felt like laughing. He was practially pulling flowers out his ass, so to speak. However, from the expressions of the feline before him and her wolf companion, he wasn't doing a half bad job at it. Still, he could be pulling a botanical garden and she could just defoliage it with a few words. He had to shake them up in some way.
   The boy is safe. So is the wolf. Work with me on this, he sent to them, the whisper reaching Gareeku's and Aisha's ears only.

*(Spanish): Do you think you can fix it another time?

Nodding to Clarissa before she heading to the bathroom, Gareeku turned his head just in time to see the boy changing. His eyes widening, the wolf watched as the boy morphed into none other than Sebastian, although his time he seemed different...more sinister...

"What the hell...?!" he muttered, nearly dropping the drink his hand, before slamming it down on the table and getting up to confront the creature before them, his hand beginning to slide the katana at his side out of its sheath.
"I'd answer her question if I were you...what have you done with the boy?! If you so much as harmed him even a little I'll kill you." the wolf snarled.

It was then, however, that Sebastian morphed into another form; this time changing to someone Aisha obviously recognised, due to the expression on her face. Noticing the others re-enter the inn through teleportation, the wolf nodded to Cogi in greeting, before his eyes locked back onto Sebastian in his new form.

Hearing his voice in his head, the wolf growled.
And why the hell should we...I thought you were a priest, but it seems appearences can be deceiving. Be warned...I'm watching you... Gareeku replied mentally, not caring whether Sebastian was able to hear it or not. All trust Gareeku had held for Sebastian was gone. He had just witness him take possession of a boy's body, and then proceed to imitate someone Aisha obviously knew and cared for. It was safe to say that whatever Sebastian was, he wasn't in Gareeku's good books.

Aisha's composure was regained when the others started reappearing in the inn...she even waved hello back to everyone and cast them a "welcome back" smile...but inside of her mind an inner fire raged.

It was easy to see that she was more than shocked at his newest transformation, straight from child, to priest, to a tigress...one that looked like none other than her mentor.  The voice, the demeanor, even the language, he had gotten it practically all down, except for the tiniest details that would have told Aisha that it wasn't really her...even if she didn't see the transformation for herself.

For a small while, watching the shapeshifted tiger's mannerisms against the group, she was seething with frustration and anger...she even had to pull the cowl over her eyes just so that nobody caught sight of her expression and would question about it.  Gods is he lucky that the REAL Rynkura isn't here to see this.

And he had become more of a mystery than before, as Mel seemed to know him too...both were interested in the whole angel fiasco.  She had at least half a mind to reveal him.

But, she decided not to.  So there were things to be kept hidden.  Fine.  She'd play along.  In this current situation there was really nothing else that she could do otherwise.  At least the panther relaxed a few hairs when she had caught the whisper that the boy was safe.

"Oh, you should know me better than that, señora," she said that word with a slight sarcastic laugh.  "I can't resist a good adventure."

But after Aisha said that, she directed a shadowed glare at him/her from beneath the cowl, accentuated by the fiery and blood-ridden color of her eyes, narrowing them dangerously.  Fine...but I'm watching.  Don't you dare think that you can keep getting away with that after a while.  The slightest bit of trouble, and your cover will cease.

   Topher walked over to the bar top and knocked.  The bartender turned and Topher asked for a pint of milk.  The bartender nodded and quickly slid the pint over to Topher's hand.
    As Topher gulped the pint down he turned to look at the others.  Everything seemed the usual, besides the fact the group that just teleported back all seemed exhausted.  At first, Topher thought he would go and talk with Cog, but he noticed he was taking a nap.  He turned back to face the bar and exhaled slightly.
     What now, he thought. 

Because... the voice continued, now clearer and with a calmer, deeper, yet much more threatening undertone, if you expose me you will be putting severe pressure on me. Normally I am a very reasonable person, but I cannot be held accountable for... actions undertaken so as to defend my own persona in this forced situation. I will not be, seeing as how no one here knows of me or my nature. That was as blunt as he wanted to put it right now. He had not appreciated the wolf's threat, but he knew Gareeku, and he was not sure whether he would have frightened him even if he tried. And there is more that would be in your interest, if you have patience, he added just to take the edge off the threat once it had sunk in.
   Stygian darted an eye quickly to the rest of the group, seeing if they had noticed the miniscule movement of Aisha's and Gareeku's shadows. Apparrently, they had not, so all was still well. But even if they couldn't see it, there was no way of telling if they couldn't trace it. And Aisha's tailring had been glowing a bit through the whole conversation...
   He made a decision. He could either leave and start all over again, which would be the wise and patient man's choice, or he could stay and hopefully catch them while off guard. It was risky, but then again with circumstances as they were he had a pretty good chance, and even if they would try and attack him...

   The tigress chuckled lowly, and took another sip from her tea, getting to her feet.
   "Yes, I should... But it seems you always manage to surprise me in some way, dear, so I just try and take everything in step and stride." She walked up almost beside them, glancing over the party of adventurers. "These people, are they the ones you traveled with before? They seem... irritable," she said and made a smile, the tiniest quirk of her lips. "I'd stay and socialize, but I am leaving soon and I'd very much like a word with you, chica. En privado. The wolf can come too, if he likes."

“Irritable?” Sylva asks, “Am I really irritable?”

Cog barely managed to hide a smirk as he stared at Sebastian behind the shaded lenses. He really had almost fallen asleep, but something had tickled his nose before he had drowsed away: and that smell had make him almost jerk out of his chair. Had they been outside, or had there been a slight draft, the smell of gravedust on his clothes and alchohol in his cup might have masked the scent sufficiently, but as it was, they were inside, and very close. He remembered the smell from his hat the Priest's fell wind had returned to him. Blood, smoke and ink, mixed together. Altogether urbane and toxic, and coming from the woman in grey. He stayed where he was, and didn't make a sound. The longer the Priest thought him asleep, the better.
He would make sure of this one, before he let him out of his sight again.

[OOC: edited, wrong descriptor: grey robe, not silk]

Winger slumped down in his chair and ordered a quart of ale. He nodded to Aisha and the othere. "Glad to see that the place hasn't burned down yet." Winger joked as he took a sip of his drink.  He was tired, but at the same time axious to keep working.  "Does anyone have an idea where we can go to get our hands on a fallen angel's heart."

Aisha's stare hadn't wavered from the imitation-Rynkura...not until a yawn erupting from her mouth reminded the panther that she was still tired.  She took another sip of ale, narrowed eyes still hidden beneath the cowl, though she met Gareeku's eyes for a second and caught the same look that she had...irritated, angry...and perhaps tired as well.  The very NERVE...

Swallowing, she finally nodded in reply to him/her, a small smirk on her face.  "Of course...always more than willing to speak to mi mayor respetable (my respectable elder)," she answered with more life in her tone, with only a slight hint of a sneer.  Then, her gaze was cast back to Gareeku to see what his answer was.

Meanwhile, she had heard Winger's question from the edge of her hearing.  "I'm sure we'll have a better idea after some rest, amigo," she answered simply.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you have the right to."  Carran said with a chuckle as he stepped past the tiger, panther and wolf.  He stopped a quite quickly patted 'Rynkura' on her shoulder, "that is so quaint, you are such a cute thing for saying it."

Carran stepped quickly away in case the tigress was a violent type.  He approached the bar and the barkeep with a few coins of silver in his hand, "the mention of tea is wonderful.  A kettle of the peppermint variety would be good."

The barkeep, a rather stern fellow had just finished serving Topher and he looked rather troubled.  Looking to the left and right , he shrugged in resignation, this fox would have to do.  He motioned Carran over and leaned over the bar top, Carran leaned in as well, a bit courious as to what would trouble the hearty barkeep.  He whispered something in Carran's ear and the fox perked up at the hearing.

"Indeed, you don't say!  Fascinating, thank you."  Carran said in a lighthearted manner.

The barkeep, looking a little worried at the light tone, gestured and reached for something under the bar, but Carran's firm hand and brief shake of the head stayed whatever action the ursine had planned.  For that brief moment, the fox's eyes were very serious, but his pleasant manner returned as he scooped up the kettle and mugs.

Again he brushed past the rather serious looking trio on his way back to the table.  He put a mug down in front of Alia and where he sat, pouring out the sweet tea, Carran spoke directly to the canid, "Alia, we have a bit to discuss about you."

The poor, tired and hurt female sighed, "after the tea and a rest... I will speak with you."

Carran nodded, "fair enough."   

Mel heard Winger's question about finding fallen angels and smiled at him. "That sir, is just what I am trying to calculate. By the description I was given you must be Mr. Winger of the original angel hunting party." She held out her hand to him, "I'm Melissa Madison and I'm working on a thesis that the celestial objects are falling in a pattern."

She moved the small piece of picture jasper that anchored the map closer to him. "As you can see Miss deCabre has been so kind as to add the locations that you found the objects to my research. Is there anything you can add?"

Winger Looked at Mel a bit confuse.  He wasn't used to people using such technical terms around him.  He glanced at the map, and said. "That looks right to me. I don't think I can help you much with that map, but I think I have something you might be interested in."  Winger lifted his bag of coins onto the table, and pulled out the ball of gold. that Topher had maid from the bits of scrap he had found at there battle with the dark angel and handed it over to the young woman.  "This is a small piece of the angel we found in the woods Yesterday."  Maybe it can help you with your studies.

Observing the others and Sebastian, Gareeku gave a nod of greeting to Cogi before turning back to "Rynkura".
Oh I'd love to hear it... Gareeku replied mentally with a sarcastic tone. Fine. I'll play along...for now...

Hearing the disguised Sebastian's invitation for a chat, the wolf smirked darkly.
"Why that would be wonderful, madam." he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm before following Aisha and "Rynkura". He was making no effort to be polite whatsoever. It seemed that Sebastian's actions had put him in rather a bad mood.

The tigress shot the barkeep an expressionless look for a second, and then smiled at Aisha and Gareeku. Without waiting she then ushered them upstairs. Or rather, she placed a hand around Aisha's shoulders and led her to the stairs, while inquiring a bit about what they had done up until then. After that she simply led on up the stairs and toward the rooms in such a way that there really was no dragging one's feet.
   They arrived at a door at the end of a corridor, and "Rynkura" stopped. She didn't take out a key, only placed a robed hand on the doorhandle for a second or two, and then there was a slight clack of the door unlocking. She opened the door and admitted them in. When she entered, she checked the window shortly, then stepped up and pulled the draperies over it, and turned to the wolf and panthress. Her form started shifting, and her shadow flowed up...
   "You have my gratitude for staying so calm," Stygian said to them both, as he returned to his original form, and shot the wolf a very meaningful glance. "I only hope you'll maintain it."

Following Aisha and "Rynkura" upstairs, Gareeku watched as the disguised Sebastian unlocked the door, before pulling the draperies over the window and shifting back into his original form.

"Well first I'd like some questions answered." the wolf replied flatly, folding his arms as he kept his eyes locked on Stygian. "Firstly; Where is the boy? Secondly; What are you planning? Thirdly; Aisha obviously knows who you changed in to. Why the hell did you resort to such bad taste?"

Pausing for a second, a smirk appeared on the wolf's face.
"Forgive me for my suspicions, but in my experience, a creatures who appears to have mastery of the shadows normally means trouble." Gareeku commented. "And trouble is something I am hoping you are not thinking of creating."

    Topher asked the bartender for a pint of water and sat at the nearest stool.  The waitress walked over and placed the pint of water beside Topher's hand.  She gave him a smile and started to walk away until Topher asked, "So, do you know of anything unusual going on.  Adventures perhaps?"  All she did was shrug and point at Winger.  Unsure of what to do, Chee walked over to were Winger was and sat at an open chair.  "Got an update on anything?  Any more fallen angels?"

Aisha grimaced a little while being led upstairs, still not having been used to the idea of someone imitating her guardian (although he did copy the personality well enough).  But she played along, more eager than not to avoid any kind of complications with the others of her party.  Hopefully, there wouldn't be any questions or concerns.  She kept answering "Rynkura's" inquiries until everyone was out of earshot.

Aisha watched Sebastian as he closed the draperies over the windows, her hand hovering over the side of her belt out of caution while drawing the cowl away from her head.  the pantheress let Gareeku ask his questions, and she nodded in full agreement.  "Indeed, I too would like to know."  Her eyes were set in a frustrated glare.  "Although I guess I could understand using my mentor's shape in a rush to conceal yourself."

Yes, no trouble...I will love hearing this.

"Yeah, I apologize for that. It was at hand, and I got kind of stressed. These people are much too random..." Stygian said, running a clawed hand through his blond hair. He sat down in a chair, laying his oddly long tail to the side next to his right leg. He took a breath and then looked up at them both with those horrid green eyes, bunching his fingers a bit.
   "Trouble I'm not out to cause. Interference... People seem to mix the both of those up all the time," he said and made a very short smile. "The real reason for this is that I'm worried about that fairy down there getting jumpy, and pulling the rest of the poor lot with him. I don't like useless violence, and I don't like people like him. Quaint...!" He seemed somewhat upset at that statement. Then, his face turned and he grinned at Aisha. "Am I right to believe that Rynkura would have agreed with me on that one?"

Thinking about what Sebastian had said, Aisha rolled her eyes.  "I would agree with you on the others, yes...at least those I know of.  Very eager, very hard-headed, some...but good to have on one's side in a fight."

At the comment about Rynkura, the panther had to return a light smirk, though she still had a bit of unease remaining in her demeanor.  "Yes, she probably would have.  Then again, nobody like her is used to being talked up to like that...whether Being or Creature," she ended with a laugh.  "I apologize for the slight rudeness myself.  Rynkura is like a mother to me.  I owe her my life."

Aisha's hand withdrew from her belt, deciding with hesitance to trust Sebastian's word that he wasn't there to cause trouble.  "But, back on the questions," the panther said and glanced at Gareeku, having returned back to the business at hand.

Leon teleports into the bar, next to Sylva. “I see I’m in the right place,” he says to Pan.

“So, what did you come here for? Knowing our luck, probably some fiendishly different one-in-a-million-chance problem that we have to solve,” Pan says from atop Sylva’s head.

“No. I just came here to say that the word is spreading like a wildfire. Adther being a smallish town, I give it a day before the entire town knows.”

“That’s great. I might actually be able to go back and get my magic supplies so I can do some real good,” Sylva says.

“Uh, yeah… about that. Um, your house kinda got burned down by an angry mob shortly after you left,” Leon says.

“At least I have my savings account, though.”

“When you became possessed, the government voided the account and used the money in it to help rebuild Feather Park.”

“Wow, Sylva. It looks like you’re pretty much financially screwed,” Pan says.

Sylva sighs. “Yeah, looks like it. But at least my money went to a good cause.”

Stygian nodded, as if this was all precisely what he had expected. In truth, it wasn't. Not one of them had touched on that "what are you" again, which only made the whole situation better. That was a question that could be left to answer some other time.
   "The boy is still with the doctor. I 'convinced' him to take care of him until later, so there won't be any trouble there. The second question is a bit harder to answer, but let's say that it's probably in my interest to see the angel pieced together again as well. The third question is the simplest to answer," Stygian said and turned his eyes against Gareeku. "She is your girlfriend's mentor, and teacher, who took her in after her parents... died. I am quite surprised you haven't told him, Schätzchen*." The bat's eyes turned against Aisha. There was a knowing grin on his face. "You two seemed to be on such good terms, last I saw you. But then, you didn't want to kill me then. At least not most of the time." That last statement was directed at the wolf.
   Stygian chuckled a bit. Now there was leading them on. Hopefully, they'd leave the room much better inclined towards him. That just left the question of how to leave and come back later. Or perhaps, he wouldn't have to leave at all...

*(German): Sweetie

Listening to Stygian speak, Gareeku was not convinced.
"How is that so if you took his body to manifest yourself?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow as he spoke.

It was then, however, that Stygian referred to Aisha as Gareeku's girlfriend. Hearing this, the wolf's cheeks went bright red, looking away somewhat before turning back to Stygian.
"Aisha isn't my girlfriend." he replied, his cheeks still bright red. "And I don't know what the hell you're going on about, either."

With her arms crossed, Aisha listened intently as Sebastian went back to answering the questions.  He seemed to answer them honestly enough, and was relieved to hear that the child was alright...although the second answer had a slight concern with it.  The last time the angel fell, most of the people who were keen on seeing it back together were also keen on using its power...but she shook that off easily.  It was far too early in the journey to be making accusations, even through thought.

At the "girlfriend" remark, Aisha blinked and folded her ears back, thankful that her dark fur would have hidden the blush forming on her cheeks.  She quickly glanced at Gareeku, and then to the side.  "...I would have said something about Rynkura.  Eventually."  With a quick growl, she added, "Nice to know that information about my past is safe in my own mind," with a heavily sarcastic tone.

"At any rate," she waved her hands in the air, mostly to dismiss the awkward feeling.  "We should probably head back down to check on everybody, and then find all of us places to rest here."  Aisha crossed her arms again, wondering just how this trip was going to turn out.  Somehow, she deduced it'd be more interesting than the last one.

Stygian looked up at the wolf with the least sinister expression that they had seen from him as of yet. Then he smiled again, and made a short laugh.
   "What? Does that mean that the court is open then?" he said, and grinned at the both of them. He jumped that topic quickly though. "I didn't possess the boy, which might have cost me my secrecy. That werewolf down there... I'm not sure, but I think he detected me somehow. He didn't show it, but I could hear his heart speed up a bit, and he smelled and felt of wariness. And then there was the bartender, of course," he said, and shifted his position in the chair a bit. "I'm not incapable of manifesting myself without a host. It just makes it harder, that's all."
   Then, the bat turned to Aisha. He gave her an inquisitive look, and spoke seriously.
   "If you're implying that I would have intruded somehow... I'm not an incubus. I believe that you agreed... No, wait," he said, and frowned. He put a hand to his brow, and closed his eyes a bit. "Not that. You didn't confide in me... You haven't seen me before. Why do I keep forgetting that?" He rubbed his temple a bit, and muttered.
   Then Aisha spoke, and he looked up at them both, placing his head in his palm.
   "And just what do you expect me to do? I will not leave this be, but I won't go down there again. That says itself, really."

Giving Stygian a somewhat nervous and embarassed stare, Gareku cleared his throat.
"Yes...well..." he began, regaining his composure. "As long as the boy is safe, then that is fine."
Though the wolf didn't like to admit it, he was starting to relax around Stygian, though a part of him was still suspicious.

"Well I'm sure something can be arranged." the wolf muttered in reply, appearing to be in thought of what to do. "Prehaps if you were to assume the form of someone else we know...which reminds me; where did Clarissa go?"

Mel looked at the little ball in her hand then back to Winger. "Why thank you Mr. Winger. I'll be sure that the University properly marks this as a donation from you and mentions your kindness in the quarterly newsletter." She pulls something out of the long sleeve of her university robe that looks like a decorative silver magnifying glass only with no glass in it and begins looking the ball over.

[OOC: If this crosses privacy lines, I can change. Merely doing what I said I would do]

Cogidubnus listened very quietly in the upstairs hallway. He was very surprised, and quite alarmed to hear that the Sebastian could detect things such as his heartbeat, but he managed to keep himself quiet anyway. It was no great feat, as he was...not quite himself, at the moment.
Werewolves in a completely feral form were usually indistinguishable from regular wolves, although that came at a price. For most, it was the complete loss of sanity. Cog, on the other hand, had possessed many years to perfect his transformations: He fought the wolf away in his mind as he listened.
Padded feet made no noise, and it had been a simple matter to excuse himself and stash his belongings in the latrine while he transformed. The stairs were right across from the bathrooms, and two seconds later, and he had quite silently made his way to the upstairs hall. He had settled into a shadow, and listened to the Priest talk to the other two. He somewhat regretted having to resort to eavesdropping, but he would be damned if he lost track of that one again.

"Clarissa is in the bathroom right now. She's feeling woozy, and a bit scared and uncomfortable, which is only to expect. She's also feeling a bit uncertain. Oh, and she's also got a bit of a crush on you, wolf," Stygian said smartly and waited for Gareeku's face. Then he laughed, and tapped his temple. "I escaped through her. The other one which you killed was Slevrani. Of course, I'll give her up as well, so she can go back to normal." He grinned, and leaned back a bit more, looking at the ceiling. He waited a second before going on, and eyeing Aisha and Gareeku very intently this time.
   "Now, I can't go back to her, evidently, so I suppose I shall have to find some other cover for now. I would trail you all, if it weren't for the fact that I want to be able to hear and feel what is going on as well, so that just leaves the option of finding a new identity," he said. Then, he seemed to get an idea, and leaned forward with a gentle smile on his face. "Or perhaps one of you could... cover for me? I am qu..."
   Stygian stopped suddenly. There was something that had shifted slightly in the surroundings. He tensed for a second, and sharpened his senses, using the silence. Quietly he heard Aisha's and Gareeku's respective heartbeats. He took in their heat, their activity and energy, the tingling warmth of their life as it emanated from them and coursed through the air. He stretched his mind, using the shadows to "feel" his surroundings as well. And there it was, a third heartbeat overlapping, more heat from just behind the wall, another nervous system working with speed and intensity.
   Silently, Stygian got to his feet. Then, his own shadow seemed to flow up and merge with him, swirling around him as his skin grayened into ash and cracked, more shadow emerging from within. He became blackness, and then melded with the shadows of the room. And from there, he moved...

   There was a slight whiffing sound that would have been inaudible to most creatures, but was still clear to Cognidubnus, and it came from right behind him. Then, very quickly, there was a trace of that scent, like blood, ash and burned ink again. A fraction of a second later, he heard a low, slithering voice, cruel and dual-edged, from right behind him.
   "Well... Enjoying the conversation, are we?"

   Stygian couldn't really believe himself. First, fumbling as much as he had done, then rushing down in the bar, and now just facing an eavesdropper instead of using him... He was getting sloppy. Still, it didn't matter. Fortunately the rat had turned out to be the more reasonable other member of the party, which meant that in a way he had still made a correct decision.

Cogidubnus quirked his head at the slight sound behind him, and whirled when Sebastian spoke, unable to suppress a growl from his throat. The long pause in the room had made him worry...but of course, teleportation he had not expected. He bared his fangs at the bat-priest, but did not lunge. He spoke his words in his mind.
I know you can hear me, O river and boatman! You, sir, have much to... Cog trailed off as he finished that thought. In reality, Stygian was simply being reclusive, although the means by which he did that were perhaps a little less than savory. Possession and body-snatching was not usually a good sign, but he had not actually done anything worth violence.
I suppose, you do not have much to answer for. Cog said, relaxing and sitting down. He somehow managed to look austere, caught red-handed though he was. There is the question of why you are trying to hide, sir, although the two in there do not seem to care. Forgive me if I do not re-transform." Cog said, looking up at Stygian from the floor. Modesty forbids me from changing shape. Cog's yellow eyes stared into Sebastian's green. I do not know what you are, sir, and normally I would not care. But you seem to have a affinity for dark that is disturbing...and so far, your methods have had very little concern for those around you. Abducting people to use as cannon fodder falls fairly low in my book. Cog reviewed that last statement in his mind. Although, I do thank you for returning my hat.

Stygian looked nothing like he had before. Or at least, so it would seem. He had re-formed to something close to his "normal" shape, but there was still the slight change in appearance, the eyes, the tail, and the swirling shadows around him that behind him looked oddly much like a pair of dark, torn wings...
   The demonic-looking Stygian slowly began assuming a more normal shape, his darkness drawing in and away. He looked at the werewolf before him curiously, and cocked his head to the side. The man seemed to want to say something to him. There was intent and meaning mixed into his scent and feeling. Then, he understood.
   "I can't read your mind that easily, if that's what you're wondering. You're clearly trying to tell me something, but..." he said, his voice now having returned to normal. His shadow still flowed and moved eerily, part of it stretching and ripping up from the floor and against the werewolf some. A single "thread" of it moved out, and touched the other creature's shadow, flowing into it. Cognidubnus suddenly felt as if something cold and crawling was moving up his back, inside it, like insects or worms finding their way through his spine. The feeling only lasted a short second though, which was fortunate.
   "You want to thank me for returning your hat?!" Stygian said, as his shadow pulled back.

Cogidubnus's mouth hung open for a moment, giving the impression that perhaps he was a little warm. He was not: he simply lacked the ability to communicate his particular state of mind: namely, shock. He thought for a moment. Stygian wasn't able to hear his thoughts really, so that left him with few options, none of which he particularly liked.
He looked around for any sort of cover: the Tavern not being an particularly high-class establishment, the furnishings in the hall were sparse, being one table and a lightpole. He glumly turned around so that his back was to Stygian, and transformed back, becoming once again as he had been, an anthro wolf. Of course, lychanthropes do not transform clothing. He was completely naked.
"...forgive me if I make this short. This could be awkward if someone were to walk down the hall." Cog said, fidgeting somewhat. "What I meant to say is...well..." Cog realized that he was having difficulty being angry. "Verbatim sir, I said that though you do not have very much to answer for, there were some questions as to what you are, good sir. I normally would not care, however: your nature has a disturbing affinity for the dark. Which would normally be your choice, of course. Excepting, you seem to care very little about those around you. Possessing others for use as cannon fodder, say." Cog turned his head, so that he could see the priest. " And yes. I wished to thank you for returning my hat."
Cog instantly transformed back into the wolf, hoping that no one had seen him, and turned to face Sebastian again.

Rei blinks in. "Sorry about me being gone for a while. I had something to do. So what is going on?" Looking a little bit more torn up but still in her happy state of mind.

Stygian seemed appreciative at Cognidubnus' response. He shifted his position and scratched his chin with a smile, eyeing the werewolf curiously and listening. He almost made a small laugh. When the man shifted back to his fully lupine form, the creature got down on his haunches and looked the wolf in the face close up.
   "I honestly don't have a clue as to what I am," he said lowly. "I am a shadow, and a shadow I have been for a long time. What I do, I do to further a cause, and I take regard to what would probably be the best course of action. My own discomfort or that of others mostly isn't a great concern there. As for Slevrani..." he said, and grinned, placing a hand on the wolf's neck and scratching it just a bit. "I think she earned it."
   The bat then got to his feet and turned, opening the door into the room where Gareeku and Aisha were, and looking in.
   "Nothing to worry about. Just the dog," he said, and then turned back against Cognidubnus, closing the door and looking down on him. His long and muscular tail swished a bit, and the smile on his face was somewhat malicious now.
   "Now... Off the personal issues and to the imminent ones. What are you going to do now, puppy?" he said.

Almost patiently watching the precession up the stairs, the ursine bartender waited until they were well gone before he leaped from behind the bar.

He watched Cogidubnus creep up the stairs and nodded, "good fellow!  Let us know if they start back this way!" 

The bartender reached behind the bar and hefted a large battle axe.  Gesturing to one of the serving lasses, he pointed out the rear entrance, "to the house with you and fetch master Hauru, he is wizardly of sorts and best be here if we are to deal with this evil creature."

The cook from the back, a heavy set puma wielding a great sword, burst in from the kitchen, "aye, what's this all about?  Is there a fight brewing?"

Carran waved a lazy hand towards the rear door and it slammed shut in front of the young lass, "now, now... I do not think Hauru would need to be bothered with this.  After all he is busy trying to locate his brother Ryudo and Nephew Koji... I wonder what ever did happen to that Griffon and Sasha?   Darn irresponsible fairy, I sent him to watch Koji..."

Carran turned his attention back to the bartender and cook, "let this play out for what it is, Gareeku appears to be the type that can handle himself and Aisha seems capable... we can always swoop in if it is deemed necessary and save the day or make a mess of things.  It is best to wait for the opportune moment."     

Cogidubnus mulled over what Sebastian had told him. He had not been referring to Silverani...had he? Perhaps the situation was more complicated than he had thought. Was Greene in actuality someone else, yet again? That thought disturbed him greatly. Wheels within wheels within wheels...yet there was something that he could be sure of. He cared less if Stygian chose to call himself a shadow, as long as he was so merely in name. And, in point of fact, true shadows seldom spoke and seldom listened.
Cogidubnus took a single step back and involuntarily bared a long, white fang. He was somewhat nervous: he did not wish to fight the creature...he was fairly certain. At least, he had done nothing to warrant it. Yet he seemed to think that he wanted to fight. This was bad:  powerful though Cog was, he already knew that in the current situation, any attempt to fight Sebastian would be laughable. A wolf versus the personification of dark energies? Perhaps with his store of light-based charms and sword in hand, but certainly not as a wolf, in a narrow hallway. The battle would be short, to say the least, and probably humorous to any onlooker.
Cog got control of himself and managed to make himself stop snarling. Wolf's instincts were hard to fight, especially in such situations as he was in. Lacking the ability to express himself verbally, he merely inclined his head at Sebastian, turning and sulking down the stairs, back towards his gear.

Mel looked up from her examination of the gold ball at the sound of doors slamming and saw everyone running around with swords and axes. "Are we under martial law now?" she asked mildly with a shake of her head. "Over a shapeshifter playing a bit of a trick on Miss deCabre?" She clucked her tongue and put both the ball and the strange device away in her sleeve. "Rather an excitable type for a barkeep, aren't you? Next I suppose I shall be burned at the stake for my little map illusion if magic is such a crime here." The squirrel shook her head again as she rescued a few of her papers that had blown off the table from all the rushing about.

Stygian merely stood looking after the werewolf as he began trodding off, still and silent. That grin, another one of his masks admittedly, had come off his face, and now there was simply an expressionless calmness to his face. His eyes were focused though, attentive and analytical as they gazed upon the four-legged shapeshifter. He seemed to be waiting for something...
   Then, before Cognidubnus had taken more than a few steps, he started feeling... off. Not weak, really, but rather as if his legs simply had a hard time keeping him up. His knees began feeling wobbly and gelatineous, and he almost felt like tilting over the way one does when somewhat drunk, though he didn't feel drowzy.
   "Sorry, but the ones down there are already coming. I'm not about to let you aid them, but nor will I fight you. You seem a very reasonable man, and it would be bad to squander this opportunity, and you." Stygian was still watching him, just standing there.
   Now, Cognidubnus could barely keep straight. His whole body felt as if it were dozing off.

Winger finished his drink quick and stood up. "A fight?!"

Cog turned and faced Sebastian. He had some idea of what was happening...and knew that this was not good.
He was already in wolf form, normally the state in which Lychanthropes went mad. If the fool knocked him out psychically, but left the wolf awake, he would likely go mad and start trying to kill everything, until he passed out. As his vision dimmed, he tried in vain to focus and transform at least into his anthro form, but it was to late. He could barely even keep his eyes open. Transforming was out of the question.
He had not even the energy to snarl at the shade.

Stygian made a very faint, and not at all evil smile, somehow. He casually slipped out a small matte silvery cylinder like the one that Clarissa had found, the one with Angel's blood in it, out of his sleeve. It looked almost like a pencil as he spun it between his fingers.
   "An alchemized synthetic neuroreagent. An incapacitor, if you will. Harmless, really, unless you use a huge amount, but very effective. It seeps in through the skin and goes straight in through the blood and into the central nervous system. It works best if you put it close to a large, central nerve. On the neck, for example," he said, and held up his large, clawed hand, the left one that he had scratched the wolf with. He began slowly walking against the wolf.
   "Already you should find it nearly impossible to use magic, and how it relaxes the muscles. It's a matter of seconds before you'll start to feel drowzy and fall unconscious. Don't worry though; it's fast-working, but it goes away quickly too."
   Stygian stepped up to the wolf, and then kneeled down, slipping the cylinder up his sleeve again and placing his right hand on the wolf's back and gently but firmly pushing him down. Cogidubnus' knees gave way, and he could do nothing but lay down, his head wobbling just a bit as the tired drowziness came over him and it got harder and harder to keep his eyes open.
   "There's nothing to worry about. Sleep..." The "bat's" voice was low and gentle. Finally, the wolf's head settled a bit on the side between his forepaws, and his eyes closed.
   Stygian watched him for a second. Then, he turned, and assumed his shadowy form from before.

   There was a knock on the door from outside the room, and then Gareeku and Aisha heard Stygian's voice.
   "Hey! I think the wolf here needs help! And the others downstairs are getting jumpy."
   With a soft click, the door opened. Outside in the hallway there was a table, a stand-lamp, and then a large wolf laying asleep on the floor, and nothing else.

Aisha had scoffed slightly at Stygian, shaking her head while he spoke.  The panther wondered if the right thing was being done here, keeping this shapeshifter a secret from the group.  If he had plans for the angel, no doubt it was the party's right to know.  Then again though...it would only cause a bit more discord.

"Cover for you...?" she started to say when he asked the question, but was interrupted when Sebastian excused himself.  Her head shook.  "How in the heck are we gonna do that?" she muttered, glancing back at Gareeku.  "At least I don't think he'll try Rynkura again."

Her gaze only looked back up for a second when Sebastian looked back in, and she spotted the wolf beyond the door.  There looked something familiar about the creature...but she shrugged and let the business be, though she was suspicious when it took a few minutes just to take care of a dog.

"Well, now what...?" Aisha started, only to jump slightly as the door opened again.  She blinked.  "They are...?  Crap...we'd better get back down and check on everyone," the panther suggested to Gareeku and quickly pushed on past, looking down over the banister at the tavern below...

Staying quiet, Gareeku watched as Stygian excused himself. Hearing what Aisha said, the wolf nodded his head in agreement.
"Personally I have no idea as of yet." he replied, scratching his muzzle slightly. "And he had better not, either. That was disrespectful and downright rude, to say the very least."

Looking at the wolf, Gareeku raised his eyebrow.
"How in the hell..." he began, before following Aisha and looking over the banister to take a took at the tavern below.

The bartender hefted the axe over his shoulder and looked gruffly at Mel, "now see here, its not like that... its... well..."  The bear trailed off in flustered mutterings as he stowed his axe behind the bar. 

"Bloody hell, I was hoping for a fight..." the chef complained as he headed back into the kitchen.

Carran and the sorceress sipped their tea.  He chuckled a bit at the bartender who had decided that now would be a good time to polish the bar counter. 

He regarded Alia and ventured a question, "you are a sorceress, what magic do you practice?"

"Mostly alchemy and artificing."  She offered matter-of-factly. 

"Indeed, alchemy, how does that work?"  Carran inquired intrigued.

"Well you see..."  Alia went about a basic explanation of alchemy with one small oddity.  Utilizing colored wax sticks, she sketched the entire explanation in a very cartoonish fashion, the drawings though done fast were not too much better then a young girl's doodles.  she finished with a simple, "understand?"

Carran laughed a little nervously, "uh, nice... drawings..."

(This is as good a place to come in as any...)

Somewhere down the road, a single ray of light came down from the sky.  It seemed quite insignificant, and anyone who saw it would easily mistake it for a firefly.  The light came down and stopped a little ways above the ground.  The light grew larger and brighter, and soon the entire area around it was bathed in a bright white light that could be seen for miles.  There was a loud sound like an explosion that shook the trees and sent birds flying.  The sound stopped and the light died down.  On the ground below where the light was, Ryudo and Koji stood, seemingly in the middle of a conversation.  Both were dressed much like pirates.  They were both in slightly ragged sea-faring clothes and both wore backpacks.  They were armed with what appeared to be a pistol attached to a saber.
"...and we wouldn't be in this mess if you wouldn't have blown up..." Ryudo started, but Koji interrupted him.
"Um daddy, what just happened?" Koji asked.
Ryudo looked around.
"Huh?  We're... not with the crew anymore.  Where did everybody go?" Ryudo said. "Rei!  Eddy!  Yoshi!  Anybody out there?"
Koji started sniffling.
"We're lost!" Koji cried out.
"We're not lost, we just don't know where we are right now.  I think we got teleported again." Ryudo said as he looked around.  "Look, there's a town over there, let's go over there and see where we ended up."
Ryudo picked up Koji and headed towards the town.  Ryudo had a nagging feeling of de ja vu, as if he had been in this place before.  Everything seemed so... familiar.

Winger got to his feet, not sure what the fuss was all about and prepared to draw weapon when he felt the ground shift beneath him. "Whoa!" he said quickly returning to his seat. "I must be more tired than I thought. It feels like the the floor is shaking."

Winger shook his head.  "what ever it is; it can wait. One quest is enough." He said before ordering a second drink, and preparing himself to settle into a drunken stupor.

Watching Winger, Gareeku frowned worringly. The avain seemed somewhat down. The wolf was about to go downstairs and join him when he suddenly remembered something. Looking back behind him, he say the unconscious feral wolf. It was then that Gareeku realised he had seen Cogi for a little while.

Not being able to see him downstairs, Gareeku looked back at the wolf again.
"Could it be..?" he muttered in thought.

    Topher was about to sip the pint of water he had in his hand when most of it splashed into his face.  "Earthquake?"  he asked to the bartender.   "Do much of those happen here?"
     The bartender shrugged and slumped away.  With nobody left to talk to in the poorly lit bar, Topher walked over to where a group of beings were.  "Did you guys feel that?"

Staring over the banister, Aisha relaxed a little after noticing that the bar had gone quiet again.  The bartender in particular seemed a little tense, as was Carran.  But nobody was getting up to go searching.  Not just yet.  That just left all of the usual problems...how to start the quest...and most baffling, what to do about Sebastian.  As far as the panther was concerned, that was still up in the air.

Hearing Gareeku muttering, the pantheress turned to him questioningly, and then followed his gaze to where the canid was lying unconscious still.  Oh yes, we have to do something about him, too... Her eyes narrowed.  Still looks familiar.  Wasn't Cogi...?

And that's when there was another slight tremor beneath her paws, and a bright flash had appeared from one of the windows, surpassing even the light of the sun.  Aisha wanted to groan.  "That can't be another one...?"  But she stopped herself in mid-sentence.  A fallen angel had sounded more like a meteorite, with an explosion.  This was a little less noisy, and moreover bright.

The panther sighed, almost drooping tiredly on the banister.  One thing at a time.  She glanced towards Gareeku and the wolf, questioning in her eyes, before taking one step towards the stairs.  "I think I'll go see what's going on."

Rei looked around finding that no one is doing anything. She looked out the door as if something had caught her eye. "... I will be back again." She blinks to the edge of town.  Looking around to see if her feeling was right.

Mel had put her map away and was back to writing and eating when the tremor hit. She immediately perked up, another celestial object would be most interesting, despite the fact that another hit in the same location on the same day would mess up her calculations. She looked around and no one else seemed to find the tremor of interest. The squirrel began riffling through her books to look up if this was an earthquake zone when she noticed Miss deCabre on the stairs. She was as much of an angel expert as anyone here so Mel would see if the feline thought it was another angel.

Ryudo put Koji up on his shoulders, carrying the boy piggy-back as he walked down the road.  He looked around as he walked, and couldn't shake the feeling of de ja vu.  Perhaps Koji had some insight on this?  He decided to ask.
"Koji, is it just me, or does this place seem very familiar?" Ryudo asked.
Koji was looking around too.  He couldn't put his finger on it, but everything felt familiar to him too.
"Um... I dunno..." Koji replied.
But then Koji did a doubletake.  He recognized these trees!
"Daddy!  We're home!" Koji said excitedly.
"Home?  Are you sure?" Ryudo asked.
That would explain why everything seemed so familiar.
"Yeah, looka!" Koji said, pointing towards the town "I can see the inn from here!"
Ryudo peered at the silhouette of the town, and sure enough, the outline of the town appeared to be their home.
"Well whaddya know?  We are home.  C'mon, let's get to the inn, and see if we can't scare up some food.  I know you must be starving." Ryudo said.
Koji nodded furiously.  He was hungry.  He was always hungry.  Ryudo picked up the pace as he headed straight to his inn.

    Topher looked up as he heard a jingle at the doorway.  Aisha was heading outside to see what  was going on.  Topher decided it be best he go along for the company, seeing as the place was dead.  "Aisha wait up!"

After a little pause, Aisha quickly padded downstairs, giving a momentary nod of greeting to everyone and checking on the overall mood.  Things seemed to calm down, bar any remaining tension that had sparked from before.  Winger looked like he was falling asleep, and the panther felt like it too.

Shrugging, she walked towards the door, pausing patiently for Topher to follow after she heard him call.  She wasn't going far at all, only really looking outside.  The flash was brief, and there was no trail of smoke...it wasn't another fallen.  It reminded her more of a teleportation flash than anything.

Curiously, Aisha started to pull open the door, only to catch sight of someone heading towards the inn.  The look of the two individuals approaching, after the last adventure, she could never forget.  Her jaw dropped.  "Ryudo?!"

Winger had to admit to himself that he was now completely lost.  He had no clue where to go from here; and  the groups trip to the crash site did little more than make the group hungry, thirsty, and tired. He slumped over onto the counter and tucked his head under his wings in an attempt to shut out the world.  Winger had to lift his head though, when he heard Ashia call out.  He stood up, stretched and walked over to the door to make sure his ears weren't playing tricks on him. Sure enough, There was the the Tiger carrying his half-breed looking son on his back up to the inn.

"So the bastard finally showed up... Maybe now we can get some Real answers."  Winger chuckled.  He couldn't hide the fact that he  was glad to the Dragon.

   Topher was running up just behind Aisha when he saw a winged silhouette approaching the doorstep.  His first instinct was to enter his tapped state and blast the hell out of whoever it was.  But at second glance the stranger seemed quite kind with a rugged look.
   Topher lowered his fists and approached the stranger, "Hello, name's Chee, Topher Chee."

Carran looked up from his tea, someone had mentioned the name Ryudo.  Leaving Alia to stare at her drawings, he moved towards the door to see if he had heard that correctly.

The white tiger beyond the threshold was indeed Ryudo, looking quite the pirate, with him was his son Koji.

"So what did he do with Sasha I wonder," Carran mumbled as he returned to his table.  He waved and smiled at Ryudo, but said nothing, there was no need after all.

The bartender was truly surprised, having been hired on afterwards, he had never met the owner of the inn.

“Roodo? Who’s Roodo?” Leon asks.

“I think they said ‘Ryudo’,” Sylva says.

“Yeah, they did. Let’s go meet the guy. He sounds important,” Pan says.

The three of them walk over to Ryudo and Koji.

“Hello, Roodo,” Leon says.

“Ryudo,” Pan corrects.

“Ryudo. I’m Leon. This is Pan, my partner, and Sylver, a recent friend of ours,” Leon continues.

“Hi,” Sylva says.

In the quiet of the tavern, Gareeku sighed. It seemed his tiredness had finally caught up with him.
"I'm gonna fall asleep on my feet if I'm not careful..." the wolf muttered to himself with a slight smirk on his face. He wanted to go see what the flash in the distance had been like the others had, but he couldn't leave what he assumed to be Cogi on his own.

From deep within some dreamless sleep, Cog felt the insistent stirrings of conciousness tug at his mind. He opened his eyes and winced at the glare from the low light. He felt as though he'd just drank another one of those 10,000 year old Irish Scotches. He tried to raise his head, and immediately cursed - of course, being in lupine form, it came out as more of a whimper. He fell to the floor again and tried to sort out what had just happened.
The priest had tricked him, obviously. He had trusted him, and the priest had bitten him, although perhaps not hard. Still, a breach of his trust. Cog felt the anger bubbling again, and if it would not cause extreme pain, he would have been looking for him already. A verse bubbled to Cog's mind:
Of cerberus and blackest midnight born, In Stygian cave forlorn, 'Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks, and sight unholy, Find out some uncouth cell, Where brooding darkness spreads his jealous wings, and the night raven sings...
Cog limped to his feet, and trying to avoid the gazes of the others, slinked back into the washroom. He returned a few minutes later, his hat and glasses hiding any sign that he had been drugged, and sat heavily into a chair. He could no longer smell the smell of ink and smoke, although he was looking for it.

"Of linked sweetness long drawn out, With wanton heed, and giddy cunning, The melting voice through mazes running, Untwisting all the chains that tie..."
   Cogidubnus heard that cruel voice again, though from where he could not tell. It spoke as soon as he had sat down, its crawling, slithering tone sending shivers up his spine.
   "Had to think a while, before I remembered my Milton. Though jealosy does not fetter me, you should know. It is you who are chained now. I am sorry for violating your trust, but the opportunity was a given. And looking for me will do no good. I do not intend to fall out with this group again, so I will always be behind you."

Rei blinks back to the tavern. "Wasn't what i wanted... What is everyone looking at?" She then turns to see Ryudo coming to the tavern and people running up to him. "ohhh... this must be Ryudo that winger kept talking about." She keeps with the group. She was always better at talking with new people with friends around.

Ryudo carried Koji into the bar, amidst all the greetings from familiar faces and the new (albeit overly-friendly) ones.  They greeted each one in turn.
"Aisha!  It's good to see you again, and Winger, and um what was his name again?" Ryudo said.
"Carran." Koji whispered into Ryudo's ear.
"Carran!  Great to see you guys again.  And it looks like we've got new people here too.  Well that's great, I'm glad to see new people around here.  I'm Ryudo, and this is my son Koji."
Ryudo said as he put Koji on a stool in front of the bar.  They certainly must have been getting odd looks, since they appeared to have just come off of a pirate ship.
"Hey, feed Koji for me will you?" Ryudo said to the tender.
The tender, knowing that he had finally met his boss, complied.  Koji was soon feasting, as Ryudo returned his attention to the group.
"I know I've been away for awhile, and man do I have a story to tell you guys.  But before I get to that, why don't you guys tell me what you've been up to?  It's been awhile, and we need to get caught up." Ryudo said.

With a polite bow, Aisha moved out of the way to allow Ryudo and Koji to enter.  She had to smirk a little at the outfits they had on, as she moved to stand on the side near the others, leaning on the wall beneath the banister.  Oh, I just bet he has a story to tell us, she thought with a humorous roll of her eyes.

That was when she spotted Cogi coming down to sit among the others, and she regarded him with curiosity.  There he is.  But then I wonder if...  She briefly glanced back up across the banister, where Gareeku was, with a questioning look.

At Ryudo's inquiry, she glanced back with a slight smirk.  "Oh, you didn't miss much..."  She interrupted herself with a long yawn.  "...Sorry.  Most of us were up late last night.  It seems another crater has been made up in the woods.  Care to guess what it was caused by?"  She stole a quick glance at Winger and Carran, everyone who had been on the previous adventure.  "Another fallen angel."

“Well, I got chased out of my own dimension, which is why I’m here. Pan, one of the officers that was after me, snuck in this dimension through my purse…” Sylva begins.

“Hey, I get around,” Pan brags.

“…and, once he realized that my body was taken over when I murdered all those people and that it wasn’t truly me, he changed his mind about me. Slevrani, the one who possessed me to do all that evil stuff, found me in this dimension, which is when Pan and the others helped me out in defeating her. Leon wasn’t there at the time, though,” Sylva continues. “Does anyone want to take over or should I continue?”

"Aisha speaks true, another Angel has fallen.  I have all of the significant pieces, but this one has lost its heart... the core.  It was filled with darkness when we found it and its presence drew other creatures that dwell in those same shadows.  I am not sure what caused it to fall, but this event does not bode well."

Carran placed a pair of oval spectacles on the bridge of his muzzle and make a quick examination of Ryudo, checking for a pattern match of his aura.  He did the same with Koji and shivered a slight bit after looking at him.

Cogidubnus cursed when he heard the voice, and then sat back. What, so now you can hear me? He thought, somewhat nonplussed. If I be fettered with chains sir, all the better: I can use them to choke you, He thought, somewhat gritting his teeth, and if these pleasures melancholy give, 'tis with her I choose to live. For surely, does not the Nightingale speak of the Sovran Shrine of Melancholy, in the very temple of delight? He took a deep breath and leaned his head against his hand, a little tired from his nap, and tried to remember the verse. Ay, in the very temple of delight, Veil'd melancholy has her sovran shrine, Through seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue, Can burst joy's grape against his palate fine; Despite his anger, he grinned and finished the stanza, albeit somewhat paraphrased: Your soul shall taste the sadness of her might, And be among her cloudy trophies hung.
   Despite his anger, Cog sat back and thought for a moment. The shade's words did ring true, although his actions were... distasteful, to be kind. But what worried him more was that last phrase: was he about to become yet another puppet of the Shadow? He grimaced and fumbled around in his jacket, tying his silver charm about him again – once more, the air around him crawled for a moment, and then faded. Behind me, shade? You hide for no good reason – surely, you do not think they would tolerate a necromancer, but not a shadow?
   Pausing for a moment from his internal arguments, Cog was startled to see yet another person in the Tavern. He was in quite colorful dress, and everybody seemed to know him quite well...he stood up stiffly and offered his hand to the stranger. "Cogidubnus Mithlome, good sir. You are?"
   

"Hmph. Wouldst they not tolerate anyone, for so long as their cause was fulfilled to end? I tell you; my goal and theirs are not thesame. They are alike, but at the very heart they differ. And though I consider none the more noble, i would yet rather see mine own fulfilled. Not to mention that the fox seems like the one to throw fire at the shadows just because he thinks that he is right, and the wolf I remember to be a bit too eager to fight darkness as well."
   The shadow made a cruel laugh as it spoke, just after the last word, and then continued on Cogidubnus' trail.
   "She dwells with Beauty - Beauty that must die... And die she shall indeed, my friend! And so shall I, with her. That is my goal with all this. And there is no purpouse to charms and magic trinkets, my friend. They cannot stop me, and there is no need."
   Then, the shadows seemed to turn their attention to the newcomers as well. Cognidubnus did not know how he got that feeling, it just came to him. They played in the light when the white tigers came in, studying them. And yet, there was the impression that it was not actually the shadows of the room that moved.
   "They are the owners of this inn. Ryudo Lee and his son. They have been gone from here for quite a while, and I have had much trouble finding out anything about them."

Rei is in the middle of everything but staying quite as everyone else explains everything to Ryudo and his son.

Winger stepped aside for a moment. He knew that things would start to move much faster now that Ryudo had appeared, and he still had a couple loose ends he had to tie up before committing himself to a long term journey. he found Rei,standing alone.

"There you are." He whispered.  "I was beginning to think you'd disappeared again." Winger held his bag of gold in his hand and gripped it tight. "Tell me something...  Just how far can you move yourself when vanish?  If I can give you the location of my home can you take me there?"

Ryudo let out an audible sigh as he sat down at a nearby table.  Another angel has fallen.  That's just perfect.
"Another angel.  That just makes my day.  Alright then, during our previous encounter, I was able to get some information out of Yuki.  I don't know how helpful it will be." He says as he starts to reminisce.

<Flashback>
Everyone was taking a rest, except for Ryudo.  He had decided to walk around for a bit.  A walk in the night air would do him some good.  At least it would have, had a familiar, but sinister voice had not sounded off behind him.
"Tell Me something Ryudo, what good do you think you're doing?" The voice asked.
Ryudo didn't have to turn around to know that Yuki had made an appearance.
"Since the fact that we're dealing with the angel's parts has garnered Your attention, I would suspect that we're doing a lot of good." Ryudo said as he turned around to face Her. "And whatever is done that irritates You must be a good thing to do."
"You're a fool.  Don't you realize what you're getting yourself into?" She asked.
Ryudo shrugged.
"Whatever it is, it must be pissing You off, so it's gotta be worth it." He replied.
"You're just going to try and destroy it anyway.  I know how you are.  It's caused some damage and so you immediately think that it's My doing." She said.
"Isn't it?"  He asked.
"Why would I send an angel to do a job that a pit fiend would be better suited to?  No, this angel is something different, something that can be very worthwhile to you."  She retorted.
"Hah, and why should I believe You?"  He asked with a sharp laugh.
"Oh come on, you know Me Ryudo, would I ever steer you wrong?"  She asked, trying to sound innocent.
"You're the Queen Of All Lies."  He pointed out.
"Details."  She said, shrugging it off. "But even so, it's My job to point you in the right direction."
"It's Your job to point us in the right direction that benefits You." He shot back.
"Again, details." She said. "Look, don't destroy it.  That won't benefit anyone, not you, not Me, not God..."
"And why should I believe You?" He asked.
"Because, it would be a lot more fun if you were to, say, control it's core.  It could be a very valuable tool.  Think of it, unlimited power.  You could stop time, you could bring the dead back to life, you could even locate your precious Masurei." She said.
"You're trying to tempt me." He said, with an undertone of anger.
"It's My job." She replied.
"What happens if I do destroy it then?" He asked.
"The world comes to an end." She replied nonchalantly.
"Why should I believe You?" He asked.
"What makes you think you shouldn't?" She replied. "Don't destroy it Ryudo.  There are better ways to handle this situation.  There are powers greater than Me involved in this, and you don't want to destroy it.  That will be bad for all of us, and I'll stake My position on that.  Take control of it, use it to your own ends, that's your best bet." She said.
Ryudo was going to reply, but Yuki disappeared in a puff of red smoke.

</Flashback>

Ryudo sat up and then leaned on the table.
"I don't know if She was lying or not about the world coming to an end if we destroy the angel, but I don't want to take the chance.  She seemed really intent on us taking control of the angel itself and using it as a tool." Ryudo said.  "Considering all of that, I wonder if there's a third choice?  Something She didn't want me to know about?"
Ryudo looked around for any insight the others might have.

Rei looks to Winger who just adressed her. "Um, I can go as far as i want but usually it is only a few feet away. The only way i could get you home if you showed me a map of were we are now and where your home is."

"The world to an end? Now, as interesting a prospect as that sounds to have ready and at one's willing..." The shadow sounded almost musing to Cogidubnus as it spoke. "Dangerous. But you would be surprised at your options, Ryudo..." the monster continued, and then made a chuckle that very nearly turned into a grim cackle. Then, it seemed to turn against the werewolf again, though he did not know how.
   "Another opponent added to the play then. Friends are sometimes boring, but enemies - never..."
   Cogidubnus could almost feel it, how the dark creature began plotting. It was... unnerving, to say the least.

   Topher looks behind him at the large clock on the bar wall.  7:45 P.M.  He hasn't fed blue in over 3 days.  "Hey guys, I need to go take care of some stuff and I'll be back."
    Topher's words blurred as he sped to the doorstep, the tapped into a rather bright flame and whistled through the air.  He was approaching the first trees when he heard a snap to his left.  He looked and found that hs arch enemies were staring at him dead in the eye.
    "Mows..."Topher said under his breath.  He whisped a ball of fire in his right palm and threw it at the branch above the Mows.  Score!  The branches were enough to hold the Mows in place while he fed Blue.
    With a loud whistle the Heeler was in sight in a flash.  Lapping his tongue madly at Topher's face, the dog-like creature seemed to be glad to see his friend again.  Obvious signs of hunger roared in Blue's stomach as Topher reached for his pouch.  "Sorry bud, I had a mishap over at the bar.  Not that you would care." Topher chuckled.  He tossed a few treats to Blue and promised he'd be back by nightfall.  With a light pat on the head, Topher left the Heeler to his food and headed toward the Bar.  On the way he realized he left the mows trapped.  Hurriedly Topher flung the branch from the Mows and dashed toward the town, leaving nothing but faint flames in the air.

Ryudo had taken notice of the time too.  And it had become apparant that neither he nor Koji had had the opportunity to bathe in quite some time.  There was also the slight nagging feeling that a check of the house was in order.  There shouldn't be any worry though.  The house was magically protected against burglary, and even then, all of the family valuables were stored in the vault.  Ryudo stood up from the table.
"Look guys, I'm going to take Koji home.  We've been away from home for quite some time and, well, it's time we get a change of clothes." Ryudo said as he picked at his shirt.
Koji spun around and held out his hands to be picked up.  Ryudo walked over and hefted Koji up onto his shoulder.
"We'll be back tomorrow morning.  We can talk more on this whole angel business then." Ryudo said, and then headed out the front door.
As they got away from the inn and headed into the forest where Lee Manor stood, Ryudo's mind whirled with all of the possible outcomes of this.  Could destroying the angel spell doom for the world?  And why is it so important to Yuki that someone control the angel?  There must be something else that can be done that won't destroy the world and at the same time, screw with Yuki's plan... whatever it is.

Cog sat back down and adjusted his shades. Ryudo Lee and his son. Makes sense, I suppose. I had thought they were away on a journey somewhere... Cog thought, growing somewhat accustomed to speaking to his shadow. This worried him somewhat, but things had not exactly been normal around here for some time. Hearing the shade's words concerning the Angel's core, he frowned and leaned back. Much as I may 'trust' you sir, I would wonder what plans you might have for such an artifact...a sword is only as good or evil as it's wielder, as they say... Cog said, trying to avoid looking behind him. Somehow, you don't strike me as the kind that would destroy the world. Such weapons are best used as threats, the cannon never fired...of course, that's not to say I don't think you'd abuse the power. Just in ways that would leave you a planet to rule. Cog stood again and walked over to the bar. He was nervous as hell with a vicious shadow inhabiting his own shadow, and needed something to take the edge off.
"Whiskey, if you would." He said, nodding to the bartender and placing a silver coin on the counter.

Winger looked around the room quickly.  The only map he had seen on his whole trip was with the studious girl he had met earlier. He wondered if she might be able to help. He scanned the crowd and when he spotted Mel he walked over to her and motioned for Rei to follow.

"Pardon me"  He said trying to sound as polite and high brow as possible. "But, I was wondering if you might be able to help me." Laughed to himself and continued in his normal tone.  My Friend and I need to borrow that fancy map of yours.  Do you mind, young lady?"

Mel took the last sip of her tea and smiled at Winger and Rei. "The map? Not a problem at all sir." She pulled the square of picture jasper from her sleeve and activated the illusion. As soon as she had done so she began packing all her books and papers into a large backpack. When she was done she carefully slid the large telescope into a second case and hoisted both onto her back.

"Why don't you keep that toy. I have another one and I think you and your party are going to be needing a map." Without waiting for a reply the squirrel turned and left the inn.

Ryudo and Koji made it home without incident and got themselves cleaned up and into fresh clothes.  Ryudo went ahead and put the new weapons they had gotten into the family vault.  Perhaps they would come in handy later.  For now, he retrieved Koji's sword so that the boy would have something to defend himself with, just in case.

Aisha bade farewell to Ryudo and Koji as they left, though her mind was still filled with thoughts and possibilities from the previous conversation.  Oh yeah, Yuki...I remember her too.  She might be the first one to think about as behind this.  But who knows.  The pantheress yawned, remembering just how tired she was too.  Tomorrow would be a better day for dealing with such things, it was decided.

With that, Aisha looked over the group, making note of who was here and who wasn't.  Sebastian wasn't, and he was still something of a mystery...and she figured Gareeku was around somewhere.  Her gaze was cast curiously to Cogidubnus, who during this time seemed a bit preoccupied.  And then her attention was to Winger for a moment as he asked Mel about the map.  Wise idea.  We might just need one.  Although I wonder if we really need to follow the path that we took before.

...Maybe it's just time to go to sleep... Aisha figured to herself and started towards the stairs, rubbing one of her eyes with the heel of her hand.

“I think I should go now. I’ll be back later. Don’t know when, but hopefully soon. TELEPORT!” Leon says. He disappears in a puff of smoke.

“That was a short visit,” Sylva says.

“He’s a busy guy. But then, we kinda have the angel thing to figure out,” Pan responds.

Having seen that Cogidubnus appeared to be alright, Gareeku headed back downstairs, ordering himself another ale before Ryudo and his son walked in.
So this is the famous Ryudo...his son, too... the wolf thought to himself as he looked at the two of them ,giving them a nod of his head in greeting.

Turning back and drinking some of the ale he had ordered, Gareeku turned back to the others, only to find Ryudo and his son had left, as had the squirrel. Slightly disappointed he had not had a chance to say farewell, the wolf turned back to his ale and finished it. Noticing the time, the wolf realised he has not had any sleep the previous night, and upon this realisation a wave of tiredness came over him.

Glancing to the side, Gareeku saw Aisha head towards the stairs, obviously tired as well. Thinking back to what Sebastian had same to him upstairs earlier, the wolf could not help but blush to himself as thought of the girlfriend remark. Glancing at Aisha again, the wolf seemed to hesitate, before deciding to follow, saying goodnight to the others beforehand.

Winger looked over them map and showed it to Rei, pointing an island in the shape of a star fish with an extra arm. It was large enough to be shown on the map, but not large enough to have any specific data on it.  " there it is." He said with a note of pride in his voice.  "It would take at least a month to get there on a boat, and that's if the wind was always at our backs."

Rei looks at the map and starts to study it carefully then she looks up at the celling in thought. She takes another look at the map after a few moments then looks to Winger. "Alright I think we can get you there. I just have to warn you now that because of the fallen angel we might have a few problems."

As the others still talked downstairs, Aisha kept an ear to their conversation as she headed up towards the rooms.  Already plotting our travels...nice to see that they are still good at being prepared, she smirked.  I wonder just how far off it will take us this time.

There was a wide yawn emitted from between her jaws, her eyes wandering the doors to find the room that was chosen.  She could hear Gareeku following her up the stairs, and a smile came to her face.  I know HE will enjoy this adventure too.  Glad I could have brought him along.  The conversation with Sebastian had suddenly crossed her mind, as well as the "girlfriend" remark, which made her face grow slightly warm again.  The memory also burned in her head of how he acted around her in his feral form...protective, rather than dangerous.  It was so strange...how was it that she could have gotten him out of it alone?

Finally, she chose a door and pushed it open, turning around to the wolf with a smile.  "Well, Gareeku, I hope you don't find this place too crazy already.  Knowing my friends, the quest is only going to get crazier," she smirked, rolling her eyes.

The shadow scoffed at Cogidubnus' words.
   "I am not out to rule anything or anyone but myself. People can be used, but they can never truly be ruled unless you do a certain one thing to them. A thing that I have given up on long since. Nor do I want to change the world. I am merely out to set one thing correct. And for that, I need that core."
   The shadow then seemed to settle, in a way, relaxing, if a shadow could actually do that. People were calming down, and they were preparing to make the next leg on this trip. That was a good thing.
   Clarissa came out of the bathroom, and stood off to one side of the group. Then, after seemingly having decided that this was nothing that she was part of, she flicked her ears and looked up. She turned, and went to the bar, sitting down on a stool beside Cogidubnus.
   "I'll have thesame," she said, and settled. She started humming as she drank a bit, slowly sipping the amber licquour. And then, she turned her eyes against Cog a bit.
   "You know, if you're so uncomfortable, why don't you just leave? I wouldn't hold it against you. I mean, what do you have to gather here anyway?" she asked, speaking in a quite low conversational tone.

Cog eyes widened beneath his glasses, and he swigged half of his glass down to calm himself. He looked at her and narrowed one eye beneath his shades. Surely she doesn't... Cog shuddered for a moment, took a deep breath, and calming himself, grinned genially at her and tipped his hat.
"Good lady, whatever gives you the impression that I am uncomfortable? I haven't had this much excitement in some time, certainly, but nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." He said, taking another sip of his drink. "I'm as calm as calm can be." He said, trying to concentrate on the flavor of the whiskey in his mouth. "As far as what I have to gather, well...there are many different paths, and many walk them. Let us say I'm trying to cross paths with one of them. Besides. I may not have anything to gain here, but neither do I have anything to gain elsewhere." He said, making a large, sweeping gesture. "The road is long, but there is time yet to walk it." He said, turning towards the door and leaning against the bar. "I enjoy the company here, and that's good enough for me." He looked at Clarissa. "I was under the impression you wanted to get back to your house, however. Do you plan on staying here?" He said, placing his empty glass behind him.

The wolfess smiled gently at Cogidubnus' reply and even chuckled a bit. She sipped her drink, and then looked at him over the glass with lurid eyes, then set it down on the counter very gently and precisely.
   "No, I have no plans on staying at all," she said, and for a moment there was a gleam in her eyes. "I don't think I'll even remember this when I go back home, which is fortunate. You never know what frightened people can think." She smiled at that too, her look odd in some way.
   Then, she glanced over at the bartender just a second, at the other end of the bar, and then back at Cog with a much less sinister expression. She put a hand on his shoulder.
   "Listen, I want you to know that I am in no way threatening you here. This isn't a hostage situation. I just want to find that heart. There's nothing that should get in the way here, right?"
   Her eyes fixed Cog's, their lusterous emerald taking all of him in, as if she was somehow trying to discern everything about him with that one look. He felt like he was stripped down, measured, weighed and questioned until she knew every detail she wanted to know about him. And yet, there was concern in her eyes too.

Seeing that Aisha had noticed him, Gareeku smiled at her, laughing softly as her comment.
"Oh I don't think there's any danger of that. Not from my experiences anyway. I look forward to the quest." the wolf replied with a smile.

Looking around, Gareeku then glanced back at the pantheress and chuckled sheepishly slightly.
"Well...I, um...I'd better leave you to it..." he said, the sheepishness evidence in his voice, made even more apparent as he nervously scratched the back of his head, before beginning to turn to leave.

Having pretty much expected that response from him about the quest, Aisha laughed slightly.  "Good.  Add this adventure to the list of stories to tell," she smirked while leaning against the door.

Noticing his mannerisms, Aisha's head tilted a little bit.  As far as she had known the wolf, it wasn't much like him to look so unnerved and sheepish.  Her eyes had some concern in them, the reason for his behavior not so apparent to her as of yet.

As Gareeku started to turn away, she reached out and gently grasped his wrist.  "Hey, I didn't say 'good night' yet..." she chuckled softly and blinked up at him, with a shy smile of her own crossing her face.  "Are you okay, amigo?"

Winger laughed and put his wing on Rei's shoulder.  "I'm not worried. Let's go."

Rei Noded and with that they were off. When they blink Winger sees a large world before him. Were they were was right in the middle of a battle raging on. What looks like dark powers fighting powers of the light. One side lead by a fallen angel and the other lend by an different angel. Just as it had come it felt the sight of winger and they were at his home. A little outside of town but not a long distance. Rei blinked her eyes. "This is where you live?" She starts to look around.

Turning to leave, Gareeku then looked down at his wrist, finding Aisha's hand wrapped gently around it. Looking back at her, into her eyes...those crimson eyes...like a warm fire...beautiful...

Snapping himself out of it, the wolf heard Aisha's question and smiled softly at her.
"I'm fine..." he replied warmly, looking upon her shy smile with a warm one of his own. "Aisha...what Stygian said earlier...I..."

Cog froze and sat quite still. After a moment passed, a low chuckle passed from his lips. He asked the bartender for another, and stared into Clarissa's emerald eyes. "And all that's best of dark and bright, meet in her aspect and her eyes...the sheen of seas, reflected light, and 'neath the surface darkling lies..."
"You're him, aren't you?" he said, somewhat sadly. As he waited for his drink, he stared at her, and his expression changed from one of sadness to one of sour anger. "No. There should be nothing that will get in your way, shadow." He turned back to the bar and quickly drank his fresh drink down. Two was usually his limit, and he could already feel the whiskey affecting him.
"When I spoke earlier, shade, I accused you of using others as cannon fodder. I wasn't speaking of Silverani." He said, staying quite still. He looked at Sebastian's green eyes. "So, yes, get your damn heart. I won't stand in the way." He contemplated standing, but realized that the shadow was still 'attached' to him. "I care far more about what you do to obtain it. Savvy?" He twisted the charm on his neck about his finger. "For example, if she dies like your last puppet, it might be hard to overlook."

Clarissa started back a bit, and actually looked surprised. She gazed at him, a sort of still wondering in her eyes now.
   "I always keep my word, once I've actually given it. She will come to no harm," she said, quite honestly. He noticed her accent had changed, turned to a familiar and melodiously toned british-german. Her eyes didn't veer from his the least. "But I'm a bit surprised at that being your greatest concern. I say..." The grip on Cog's arm clenched a bit, and she smiled. "You do care. That's to your credit. Just don't let it cloud your judgement, 'kay puppy?"
   As quickly as she had sat down, the wolfess downed her drink and got up. Then she stood, looked around a bit confusedly, and then went past the adventurers. Her speech was back to regular again when she said farewell.
   "Listen, thanks for everything. I'm gonna head off now. I think I have to lay down and think a while after this..."
   Then, she smiled and waved at them, and headed up the stairs.
   She found Gareeku and Aisha standing, looking somewhat awkward, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before she walked up to them.
   "Hey... Just wanted to say goodbye."

Before anything more could be said, Gareeku turned to see Clarissa standing next to them.
Damn it... the wolf thought to himself as the moment was interrupted. Turning to her, Gareeku smiled.
"You take care of yourself, ok?" He said as put a hand on your shoulder.

There was a glimmer in the wolfess' eyes, and she grinned up at Gareeku.
   "She won't remember a thing. Wish it could be that convenient for me..." she said, her tone changed just a bit. Then she turned her eyes to the feline, and smiled more gently.
   "Take care, okay? I'll be watching. And you two don't mind what I said earlier, if that's what's smelling. I've been... unsettled lately, so I'm a bit confused sometimes." Then, of all things, she hugged Aisha tight before she could protest, and then Gareeku in turn, even going so far as to kiss him on the cheek. She then turned quickly with a wag of her tail, waved at them, and then hurried down the stairs and out of the inn.
   On her way back home, she walked as if through a daze, and then arrived at her own place somewhat tired and heavy-headed. She went in, laid down on the sofa, and slept it all off, leaving the strange and illogical memories to her dreams.

As Aisha watched Gareeku turn back to face her, she tried to read his expression, for he still looked a little unnerved, or at least, out of his concentration.  She looked back into his eyes, the gentle azure orbs in his handsome features, and was somewhat transfixed herself.  But at his reply to her question, she blinked and mentally shook herself back into realty, her face going warm.  "Stygian...what about...oh, that..." she began to stammer, which was quite unusual for her.  "What about it...?"

But her voice seemed to go off into incoherent silence as Clarissa suddenly appeared, surprising the pantheress somewhat.  She let go of Gareeku's arm, feeling just slightly awkward, and smiled back at the wolfess in reply to her words.  "Oh, you're leaving?  Well, you be careful, it's been quite a day..."

Aisha was slightly taken by surprise however as her tone seemed to change, and her ears flattened just slightly.  But despite what was said, Aisha returned the hug.  "Yeah...you too," she said in a neutral reply before watching her leave.  With a thoughtful hum, she turned back to Gareeku, laying a hand on his shoulder.  "...I guess we should just get some sleep..." she said, the shy smile appearing on her face again.

Noticing Clarissa's voice chance, Gareeku raised an eyebrow as he listened to what she said.
Stygian...I should have known... the wolf thought to himself, saying nothing more and waving goodbye to the wolfess.

Turning back to Aisha, Gareeku smiled at her in the same shy manner as she had to him.
"Yeah, you're right..." he replied softly. It was then that the wolf leant forward and kissed her cheek, before hesitating to pull his head somewhat for a few moments.

As she heard his reply, Aisha kept the smile on her face, watching the wolf as he smiled back.  So caught up in his company for that moment, she didn't even notice him coming closer until the last second...by then, she was taken by surprise by his kiss, the blush spreading on her face as she stood as if transfixed...but rather than saying anything, allowing it.

While Gareeku hesitated to pull away, she was hesitant to let him go.  Unconsciously, her hand came up to brush his cheek as she turned her head to look into his eyes again, her lips brushing against his...

Suddenly, she seemed to snap out of it and pulled back slowly.  "Um...well...I gotta...you know...the thing with the...bed...and...sleep, that's it..." she stammered before regaining her composure, still having not removed her hand from his cheek.

She let it slide away and turned towards her room.  "Have a good night, Gar," Aisha whispered, giving him another gentle smile, watching him before slowly closing the door.  Aisha leaned her back on it, slightly bewildered as she held the side of her face where the wolf kissed her.  I never thought...this would happen...  Sighing and closing her eyes with a light grin, Aisha stepped towards the bed and placed her accessories next to it, before collapsing on it and falling asleep...only after a few unsuccessful attempts at doing so.

As Aisha gazed into his eyes he gazed into her, mesmerized by the crimson orbs that accompanied the rest of her soft face as he hand gently rose up to cover hers on his cheek, brushing his lips with hers...

As Aisha snapped out of it and spoke, so did the wolf, smiling slightly as he came back to his senses.
"Yeah...I know...um...better go and get..." the wolf stammered, smiling shyly and blushing as he pointed a thumb in the direction of another room, her hand still on his cheek as he was unable to turn his gaze away from her.

As Aisha slid her hand away from his cheek and slowly retreated into her room, Gareeku smiled softly once more at her.
"Goodnight Aisha..." he replied in a soft whisper as she closed the door. Blinking and look around, the wolf turned to the room opposite. Gently grabbing the doorhandle and turning it, Gareeku stared into space for a moment, a soft smile appearing on his face before snapping back to reality and opening the door.

Walking inside the small and cosy room, Gareeku closed the door, only for the clicking sound the door made once shut to snap him back to reality properly.
Why did I...how...? he thought to himself with slight wonder as he removed his clothes and sword, setting them down on the bedside table before getting into bed.

Laying his head on the pillow and pulling the duvet over him, the wolf sighed somewhat happily, his eyes closing as he tried to get to sleep. For a while he wouldn't be successful, however, as images of Aisha's smiling face flashed through his mind for a while. Finally drifting off into sleep, a soft smile made itself apparent on the wolf's face as he fell into slumber.

Cog watched Clarissa exit the tavern, and smiled glumly as the door closed. I shot him dead because, Because he was my foe, Just so: my foe of course he was; That's clear enough; although... Cog stood and brushed off his jacket. He had nothing more to do here, and everyone seemed to be getting ready to bed down. Or asleep already.
Cog put a few coins down on the table and informed the bartender that he would be bedding down for the evening. He was informed of the location of his room, and Cog nodded to the man. If you're planning on doing anything more here tonight, you should do it soon. Your 'host' is retiring. Cog thought. He walked up the stairs and to him room, hanging his hat on the rack and removing his glasses, and collapsing on the bed. He didn't bother to undress. Morning would be coming soon anyway.

    Seeing as everyone was leaving the bar, Topher decided to pass out by the bar top.  He gulped down the last bit of his milk and slammed his head face-first onto the bar and began snoring loudly.

The next morning, the soft light of the sun's rays seeped through the window of Gareeku's room, revealing the sleeping wolf as he laid peacefully on the bed. Feeling the sun's warm rays touch his face, the wolf slowly but surely came to, opening his eyes slowly as he yawned slightly. Laying there for a minute or so, the wolf then sat up in bed as he stretched, rubbing his eyes before getting up and looking out the window to the street below.
"Another day, another journey..." he muttered to himself with a soft smile.

Slipping on his blue trousers (pants), the wolf remembered seeing a shower room down the hallway from the rooms and so, grabbing a towel that was put in the room for guests and putting over his bare shoulders, made his way to the room's front door and opened it.

"You know, if you want to be rid of me, then all you have to do is help me nestle into the group. That wouldn't be too much of a bother, I believe," the shadow spoke as Cogidubnus ascended the stairs. It actually seemed to walk beside him now, oddly enough, his own shadow much darker and thicker than it should have been as it cast on the wall. It had the wrong shape as well, and as it walked it seemed to shrug and turn its head, something he did not.
   "In either case I'm not going to disturb your sleep by staying, since I'm sure you wouldn't like that. I'll be back in the morning." There was a shifting as Cog settled into the chair, and then the darkness seemed to detatch from him somehow, sliding out underneath the door.

The next morning, Aisha had awoken peacefully, quite a while before Gareeku had...perhaps earlier than anyone else had, for that matter.  The sun's light was warm, and it slowly rose higher into the sky and looked down upon the inn with what seemed to be an attitude of hope.  The panther had hoped it was, too, upon getting up and staring out of the window at the forest beyond, where not a day or two ago there had been a trail of smoke.  I love waking up before a journey.  Too exciting to sleep in.

She left her things in the room upon looking out of her door into the quiet hallway, deciding to leave her still blood-drenched cape to be cleaned.  Aisha then cast her gaze thoughtfully to the empty space before her.  I guess while I'm early I should go down and order breakfast.  Maybe pay Gareeku back for that drink as promised, she smiled, and then looked around the corridor and to the guest showers.  But first, to get cleaned up.  Reeking of dirt and blood isn't exactly a good way to start, chica.  Grabbing a towel from the room, she made her way across to it, pausing to listen if anyone else was in there before finding it empty.

With her clothes nearby on the shelf, she hadn't spent more than a few minutes in there however, before she thought that her hearing had caught someone coming.  It was hard to tell through the sound of rushing water...Aisha just shrugged it off until she heard the door open.

Deciding that his clothes needed a clean, Gareeku removed them and set them on his bed, hoping that they would be cleaned. Opening his room door, Gareeku looked ahead and noticed the closed door of Aisha's room.
I should talk to her about last night...although what I'm going to say is another matter entirely... he thought to himself with a thoughtful expression on his face, before closing his room door and heading down the hallway, the towel wrapped around his waist. I'd better have a shower first, though...

Entering the bathroom, Gareeku removed his towel and set it on the rack by the side, too much in thought to notice that there was was another towel there. Looking back up as he stepped into the shower, the wolf was about to get quite the surprise...

Silently, someone snuck up the stairs and through the corridor, over to Cogidubnus' room. Very, very wary of the werewolf's heightened senses, they slowly opened and walked in through the door and placed a bag on the floor. They took out some things, all the while eyeing him through the corner of their eyes. Then, they tripped out, and headed to the other end of the hallway, very relieved that the man had not appeared to have noticed.
   This is just another foolish concession, twit! You'll be lucky to pull this off... they thought, as they muttered, and covered themselves. Well, at least I have someone in the light now...
   Gently, they reached with a somewhat dirt-stained hand toward the handle to open the door to the shower room...

With one ear turned towards the door as she thought it opened, Aisha reached over with one hand to turn off the water, about to reach out for her towel with the other, when a shadow appeared on the other side of the curtains and parted them before she could say or do anything.

The sight before her made her freeze, wide-eyed, for a moment or two before she jumped back and grabbed the towel, throwing it hastily over herself.  "Gareeku!?" she exclaimed in a high-pitched sort of tone that her voice never really had, her claws outstretched and digging into the surface of the wall.  "What're you...?"

Looking at him, the dark fur on her face was darkened more by the blush that spread across it, even strong enough to make the inside of her ears turn red.  Realizing that she was staring, Aisha turned her head away.  He probably just didn't know I was in here...he wouldn't...she thought, her jaw clenched nervously as she just closed her eyes and started to go past him, the towel wrapped tightly around herself and reaching for the door.  Two awkward moments in one adventure...

It wasn't until he had pulled the shower curtains back that he had seen the shower was occupied. Staring wide-eyed for a moment, the wolf gulped audibly.
"A...Aisha?!" he stammered, before taking a step back and, due to the slippery surface of the wet bathroom floor, slipped over and landed on his back. Quickly clambering back up onto his feet, Gareeku immediately covered himself with his towel. "A...Aisha!! I didn't mean...!"

Despite his stammering attempt at an explanation, however, Gareeku could only look on as Aisha briskly walked past him and out of the bathroom, sighing as he mentally kicked himself.
Way to go Gareeku, you frickin' idiot... he thought to himself with self anger.

Winger looked around a bit. He was confused by the vision he had just seen.

"Umm.... Yes, this is home."  winger said clearing his throat and taking in a deep breath. "You have a remarkable gift." He said marveling at the fact that for once he had gotten home early from one of his trips to the main land.

The walked into the center of the village. where there were there were avians of many different colors and sized going about there business.  Winger knew everyone of them by name, but he did have time to stop and chat.  As he lead Rei down the the rode, he was glad to see that nothing had changed since he left.

They came to a building that was just about the size of the inn, and winger knocked on the door. This will only take a few minutes. I swear."  Winger said to Rei When a young female bird with feathers that were a light shade of pink answered the door.

"Brother, Your early!" she exclamimed.  "Emily! come quick your father has returned" she called behind the door. , but before she had stopped shouting a second, Young female zoomed into the door and leapped into  Wingers arms holding him tight.

"DADDY!" She shrieked.  They hugged, and winger realized just how much he had missed home.

Winger tunned to Rei and made the formal introductions. "Rei, this his my daughter Emily, and my Sister-in-law, Morgan."

Morgan, nodded her head, and invited everyone in for tea, She whispered to Winger that he smelled like a hog as he passed though the doorway.

The door flew up, striking their hand, and then someone stormed out. The unknown figure yelped and toppled back, falling on their rear end with a hard smack into the floor.
   Ack...!
   Then, they looked up, and saw the panthress.

   When she ran out of the bathroom, Aisha immediately bumped into someone. She caught a glimpse of white fur before that someone practically hopped and fell back, and then hit the floor.
   "Oooww..." the person whined a bit, and steadied itself with a palm to the floor. "What's going on...?!"

Her eyes still closed, Aisha had heard Gareeku's stammering...but, it was too much an unstable situation to just stay.  But she didn't go far after opening the door before it seemed to hit a barrier.  She heard someone yelp, with the sound of a body hitting hardwood, before opening her eyes and looking down at another figure...in her rushed state she couldn't stay to tell who it was.

Psh, don't they have 'occupied' signs for guests to put on the doors...? She thought somewhat grumpily, starting to walk off while saying idly, "I'm really sorry, excuse me...there's someone else in there," she warned as a second thought before hurrying down the hall, entering her room and closing the door.

She put a hand to her forehead, her face still warm.  I hope Gareeku doesn't think I'm mad at him.  Mrf... she opened her eyes with a sigh and threw the towel aside, pulling her clothes and belt back on before looking over to the door, her still-slightly-red ears pinned against her skull.  ...Maybe I'll just go and order that breakfast and those drinks as I was intending...

The figure turned around at the storming, wet panthress, looking after her with big eyes.
   What the devil was that all about...? they thought as they rose to their feet, and turned again.
   They opened the door to the shower room, and stepped in, shaking their head and muttering.

Sighing sadly, Gareeku turned back to the railing.
"Great...I bet she'd mad at me now...damn it Gareeku! Why couldn't you pay attentio-" he began, before turning around at the sound of the door being opened again.
"Can I help you?" he asked the stranger visible in the doorway.

Sunlight fell across Cog's face, and the persistent falling of the rays on his eyelids caused him to awake. He still had a slight drowse about him, and his clothes were wrinkled, but he stretched and woke up quickly. He reached for his sword leaning against the bed when he stopped and looked around. Someone had been in here and gone, leaving little but a scent in the air. Or, that and a bag, he thought, and he slid the sword back in his belt and approached it, somewhat tenuously. Is this your work, sha- He thought, before remembering that Sebastian had left him last night. He shrugged and stared at the bag, wondering if he should open it. It could be rigged to explode. He thought, continuing to keep his distance. Not willing to just leave it there, however, he grabbed the leather strap on it and slung it over his shoulder. Perhaps the shade will know what is in it. He thought, before grabbing his hat and glasses and leaving his room, dodging Gareeku and...somebody in the hall, and moving back to the Tavern. He felt refreshed and ready to go. Perhaps today they would make some progress.
   

"Hjalp!" the figure exclaimed, and backed up. It looked back at the wolf with big eyes of some indefinite color, somwhere in between green, gray and blue, much more surprised than afraid. It was obviously feline, with near-white blond fur with black ringlet markings. It covered itself with a somewhat large red towel, and it... was hard to describe really. A bit shorter than himself, with that tall-cheekboned face, covered slightly by shoulderlength white-blond hair, that muzzle and that somewhat muscular yet indefinite body, he really couldn't tell what it was. It just seemed impossible to apply a gender to the cat.
   "I... I'm sorry!" it exclaimed in a voice that revealed just as little as its appearance, and then darted out into the hallway, tail almost getting stuck in the door behind it.
   It smacked right into the back of Cogidubnus.

Cog was waiting for the shadow to make contact with him again, when something slammed into his back. Already in a heightened state of alertness, instinct and training kicked in. He instantly grabbed for his sword, and spinning alternatively on the balls and heels of his feet, turned and nearly struck at the stranger behind him. His sword quivered mere centimeters from a very terrified, very nonthreatening  face. Cog blanched and resheathed the sword quickly, and bowed to the obviously frightened person.
   "My deepest apologies..." Cog said, suddenly realizing he couldn't tell it's gender. "...my friend," He offered a handshake, "You startled me, and I have been on edge for some time. Cogidubnus Mithlome." He shifted the strap on his shoulder, and readjusted the weight of the bag he carried.

Watching the stranger's nervous mannerisms, Gareeku smiled.
"Hey, it's ok! There's no need to be-" he began, but before he could say anything more, the stranger had disappeared again.
Hmm. Odd. he thought to himself, but sighing once more as he put his towel on the rack and got into the shower.

Around 15 minutes later, the wolf emerged from the bathroom, his wet fur sticking to his athletically built body and the towel wrapped around him as he walked back down the hallway to his room. Stopping at his door, Gareeku glanced at the door opposite with a glum expression.
I hope she's ok... Gareeku thought to himself as he walked back into his room.

Drying himself off properly and slipping on his outfit, Gareeku then left his room again as he fastened his katana back onto the side of his waist.
I should apologise to her... the wolf thought to himself as he glanced at the door opposite again, before heading downstairs to get some breakfast. ...I'd better leave her alone for now though...

The stranger seemed a bit taken aback, because he, or she, eyed Cog over and seemed to hesitate for a moment, just standing there. Then, the cat's eyes fixed on the bag, and its look, if still somewhat off, became firm and a bit sour.
   "What are you doing with my bag...?" it said, and stepped back some, its eyes glimmering slightly as it lowered its face some and looked at him threateningly. It pulled the towel tighter around it, and flicked its tail irritatedly.

Cog quirked an eyebrow at the...person and wondered what it was talking about. He followed it's gaze to the brown bag he was carrying.
"This is yours? I found it in my room this morning..." He said, and somewhat understanding, quickly leaned close to the cat and took a deep smell. The scent was the same as the one on the bag. "You were the one in my room earlier." He said, understanding. He lifted the bag off his shoulder and offered it to the stranger, grinning. "Few can say that they've not only snuck up on me once, but twice. You are to be congratulated." He held the bag out for a moment, and his grin disappeared as darker thought occurred to him. He asked a question as he held the bag out. "Tell me, did Manoko seem alright?" He said.

The figure opened its mouth, and then closed it. Its face shifted into a grin, and it chuckled a bit.
   "Hehe... I guess. As clueless as ever. Not like some..." it murred, and then its hand flew out with clearly unnatural speed, snatching the bag away in the blink of an eye and turning to the side. "Well, I told myself that it would be a bit pointless. But you're not going to snitch me on this one, puppy. I won't let you," it said with a bit of pretended arrogance, leaning its head back and smiling a bit while regarding Cogidubnus from under half-closed eyelids.
   "Don't know whether you have some charm or something to tell in either case. But let me make one thing clear," it continued, its demeanour suddenly turning very serious just then. "If you ever pull a sword on me like that again, there will be a proportionate warning." It glared at him a bit, slowly stepping back to walk into the room he had come out of.

Gotcha, Cog thought as the feline walked away. He had suspected that the Shade had placed the bag in his room, and the feline's subsequent speech to him had all but spelled it out...but something else had clenched it. He tapped it on the shoulder before he walked to far and whispered in his ear. "How did you know Gareeku's last name... good sir?" he said, before turning and walking back to the main floor. He called out behind him. "I shall endeavor to keep my blade from your throat in the future. As we have discussed, however, that is largely up to you..." he said, descending the stairs.

Something... changed. There was a sound, like water moving through sand, and then... Cogidubnus saw blackness almost pool up beneath him, binding into his shadow, and then flowing up at his legs, snapping around and trapping his feet.
   "I have done nothing right now to warrant that response. I knew what your suspicion was, and I placed a bit of trust in you..." the voice behind him said, hissing a bit as it closed. "So even though this may be meaningless, I will still not have that insult!" It seethed with anger as it darkened. And even though it moved, there were no steps coming from behind the wolf.

Walking up to the bar, Gareeku was about to order his breakfast, along with a drink, when he heard somebody descending the stairs. Looking up to the side, the wolf smiled at Cogidubnus and nodded his head in greeting.

It was then, however, that he heard another voice. It was very faint, but he could definitely hear it.
"Is everything ok?" the wolf asked as he walked over to the bottom of the stairs, a look of concern on his face as he spoke. Looking down at Cogi's feet, Gareeku could see some form of darkness wrapping around Cogi's feet. ...Stygian...

"Whatever is going on, I suggest you stop it. This is no place to be making enemies. A humble inn such as this does not need aggressiveness." Gareeku stated flatly, a look of upmost seriousness on the wolf's face as he spoke.

As the sun peeked through the blinds of the bar, Topher awaked to a drenched face in drool.  Bleh, I always do that, he thought.  The young elemental wiped the left side of his face and swung his hand at the floor, hoping to throw most of the drool off.  With a quick wipe of his bracer and a smile at the waitress, Topher stood up at once and slightly stretched.  Maybe there's something out there for me to do today, he hoped.  Soon he'd have to find some form of a job to bring in some more money.

Shit, Cog thought, looking at Gareeku. "Well, now you've done it." he said to the shadows beneath him. "All that sneaking around. For what now?" He said, and took a deep breath.
   Perhaps he had been a bit sharp with the shade, although certainly not enough to warrant attacking him. "Calm yourself, sir. I apologize if my words were sharp, but I have not, nor have had, any intention of harming you. You would remember you drugged me, and I have done nothing about it?" Cog said, reasoning with the shade. "You are attacking me because of my tone?" he said, staring at the shadow at his feet. "If so, then truly the others would be justified in attacking you." He tried to bow the the shadows, but found that doing so would be rather difficult, as the shadows had his legs. He settled for merely talking. "I do apologize if I have said something uncouth. I usually pride myself on my tact. But good sir, truly, I meant no offense to you."
   Cog waited for the shadows response. He was glad for Gareeku's presence, but it was little comfort to him that his companions would revenge him in the case of his death.

Rei closely followed Winger to winger's home. Since she was on edge because of all of the avians here the shriek of Emil and the zooming toward them, Had made her blink to the nearest tree. After they hugged, she came back down. "Sorry about that never was good at meeting new people... and places." She was still trembling a little as Winger introduce them to her. "It is very nice to meet you both." After the introductions, she followed them into their home quietly.

The shadows didn't recede at first. Rather, Cog could see and feel slightly barbed tendrils reaching up, and there was something dangerously sharp and most unshadowlikely hard at his neck, pressing at a point that he as a swordsmaster knew all too well.
   "Perfectly right. I can't sneak out. But I can still get away easily," the beast behind him said, "make not the mistake to doubt that!" It snarled a bit. "I have also been known to do the worst things for honor's sake. And when I perceive a threat, I don't hesitate, unlike some others..." Its tone was as sharp as the blade at his neck. "I am not your hostage, remember that!" it said, with a final tone. If it was going to strike, then that was it.
   But, with an almost metallic swishing, the shadows pulled back, quick as the eye. Cog barely had time to turn before the door closed softly behind him, and there was no one in view there anymore.

Aisha had her back to her room door for a small while, wrenched in thought with herself.  She could hear footsteps from outside of it...but she kept herself there, waiting for the sounds to disappear before thinking of stepping out.  She couldn't stop thinking of Gareeku, still thinking that the most likely course was that he thought she was angry with him, when she wasn't...it had to be just an honest mistake.

That and she had been rude to another guest, running into them upon her swift exit.  She sighed.  Feeling sorry and awkward isn't the way to start a morning.  Especially when there's a journey to look forward to.  None of our comrades want to see alot of sulking.  Her eyes wandered across to the sunlit window.  He's my friend...I brought him here, and we're going on this adventure together.  I might as well try to talk to him, Aisha finally decided, thinking with hope that it won't ultimately turn worse.

She turned around, opened the door fully, and stepped out into the hallway, suddenly perking her ears at some strange noises.  There was Cogi's voice, Gareeku's following with a more serious tone, and something that almost sounded like it was seething...Aisha couldn't tell if it was a voice or something else.  Her tail ring started to glow, which was the event that set off her suspicion.  Pretty much thankful for something to happen that made her forget her own troubles even for just a moment, she unsheathed her boomerang and started towards the stairs, stopping at the top of it when she saw the figures below.  She could only spot the shadows around Cogi for a split second...but already the huntress had a pretty good guess.

"What's going on?" she called from the stairs as she came down, slowly replacing her weapon, her tail swishing to show the now faintly-glowing emerald accessory.  "I thought I sensed something."

  Cog shook his head at Sebastian's antics and rubbed a hand over his neck. The cool feeling there wasn't blood: the cold had all come from the blade that he had held to his neck. Fool. I had already made it clear that I was on his side... He thought. He heard Aisha's voice and turned. He smiled at her inquiry and continued down the stairs.
  "No, it was nothing." He said. He patted Gareeku's shoulder on the way down to the common room. "I'm sure that's the last we will see of that thing." He said, finally descending the staircase and entering the bar. He took a seat at a table and waved at the barkeep, ordering some breakfast of coffee and toast before leaning back in his chair.

Watching Stygian retreat away, Gareeku breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The last thing this inn needs is for a fight to break out...or worse... the wolf thought to himself as he straightened himself out.

Suddenly he heard a familiar voice. His head looking upwards, his heart skipped a beat as he saw Aisha standing at the top of the stairs. Upon laying eyes upon her, Gareeku swiftly looked away, a mix of nervousness and guilt clearly evident on his face, glancing at Cogi with a slight smile.

Ok Gareeku...just play it cool...just tell her you're sorry for walking in on her like that...oh god, I bet she's still angry... the wolf thought to himself with a nervous gulp, before discreetly taking a deep breath. Ok...here goes...

"Listen Aisha...about what happened earlier..." the wolf said as he tried to explain himself. "My mind was somewhere else when I went into the bathroom, but it was quickly brought back to reality I can tell you...wait! that's not what I meant! Look, I'm really sorry..."

Sylva feels a light object bouncing beside her on the bed. She opens her eyes to see Pan jumping on the bed.

"Why are you doing that?" Sylva asks.

"Because I needed to wake you up and because I love jumping on the bed. Need I say more?" Pan says, "Leon never let me do that since the mayonnaise incident."

"Mayonnaise incident?"

"Never mind, forget I mentioned it. Let's just go see what the others are up to," Pan says.

With that, the two of them go out into the hallway and easily locate cogidubnus.

"Good morning," Sylva says to Cog.

"I'm sorry, but I am starving. I need to go see what there is to eat," Pan says. He then runs off in search of food.

*OOC: To clarify, he is looking for food to ask for, not to steal.*

   As Topher walked around in hope of finding an individual who'd like to start a converstation, Topher realized he was in a particular dilemma.   There was nobody oleft to talk to.  He shrugged and decided to go with the old-fashioned sign.  He took a scrap piece of paper that he found on the floor and folded it in half, "Taco/HotDog-Style."  He then asked for a marker and wrote on each half, "Will work for food and money." He placed the folded paper on the small round table in front of him and snoozed off.

Hearing Cogi's response, Aisha nodded with a quick smile spared, relieved that the day was going to start out peacefully.  But upon catching Gareeku's eye, her head turned away as his did.  Almost peacefully.  The panther did notice however that he didn't start walking away, so she started down the stairs towards the wolf, about to say something, when he looked to start speaking himself.

For a while she stood there about as awkward as he was, her gaze turned partially away.  But after hearing his nervous stammering for a second, Aisha slowly looked back, her face lightening up.  Definitely nice to not be alone.  "Gareeku," she finally said, interrupting his words by putting her fingers up against his lips, her voice in an understanding tone.  "Shut up."

A slight smile appeared on her face.  "It's okay.  It was a mistake.  I was never angry at you, and I just wanted to let you know that.  In fact," she added, removing her hand.  "I'm partially at fault for not saying anything when I heard the door open.  My head wasn't all there either."  Her face had started to darken again, but not as much.  "Trust me, amigo, if I were angry you'd have a few more lines on your face right now."

The panther's somewhat shy smile then turned into a more comforting one, looking up at her friend.  "So, don't worry about it, and let's just go have breakfast, okay?  I still owe you a drink," she smirked.

Before he could say anything more, Gareeku found that Aisha's fingers were covering his lips. Hearing her words, the wolf immediately stopped, blinking slightly as the pantheress spoke, before a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"Heh, I guess you've got a point." Gareeku replied with a slight chuckle, following his friend to the bar. "Sure thing."
It was then, however, that the wolf realised that he could not keep thinking about her. Damn it...what's going on...?

"Breakfast! I could do with some of that too!" a voice murred from behind them all. "Though I'd have to pass up on the drink. Not in the morning."
   A white-blond snow leopard tapped down from the lowest step, dressed in a loose gray and black jacket, shirt and some loose matching pants. He, or she, since it was hard to tell, had her or his somewhat long blond hair put up with a dark green bandana, a ring through a fuzzy right ear, some black wrappings under that shirt and low but rough martial artist's shoes. He or she also carried a black bag, and a very long and long-hilted black-sheathed katana over a shoulder, the butt of the sheath very nearly touching the floor even when leaning at an angle. The feline shot a glance to Topher laying splayed over his table and Cog turned from them all, and then smiled up at Gareeku and Aisha with a sweet expression.
   "Hey!" the person said to them. "You the ones that made the ruckus over the woods last night?"

Morgan poured tea, but Winger refused to sit.  "Sister.  I've come back early because something has happend on the mane land that needs my attention."  Winger said sipping his tea fast.

"Off to save the world again?" Morgan replied coolly. "What is it this time?"  another blood thursty dragon, or one of those angel thingies that you're always ranting about." she laughed.  Emily who was still in wingers arm put her hand to her ears, she knew what was coming next.

Wingers tone got very serious. "as a matter of fact,YES!  An Angel has fallen to earth, Me and my friend, Re,i are going with a group of adventures to see if we can put things right! Winger shouted without realizing it, and Emily whimpered a little.  "I've come to ask if you would mind taking care of your niece a little while longer."

Morgan Sighed "Yes Winger, I will gladly watch her."  Morgan remained cool nd collecte. "but winger you can't keep running off like this.  As it is you are gone 10 weeks a year. Your daughter is growing so fast.  I'm afraid if you keep up this life you are going to miss her growing up."

Winger held Emily tight. before putting her on the floor and asking her to go play with her cousins.  "Morgan you don't have to worry about that.  this is the last time I'm leaving. You know that."

"I'm not worried about you leaving." She laughed "I'm worried about you not coming back.  Emily already lost her mother. If she looses you too, there will be nothing left for her."

"Thanks for reminding me."  Winger said Rolling his eyes. "I'll be back soon. you can count on me." he sighed and dropped the bag of gold he was carring on the table.  "these are my earnings for the year. you know what to do with them right?"

Morgan looked at the bag. "yes yes I know."

"Good. I need to get a few thing from storage." winger said turning to Rei.  "Can I trust you to stay here, Little thief?"

[EDIT: How tired was I when I wrote this last night!]

Aisha nodded with satisfaction at Gareeku's answer, smiling as she turned towards the bar.  Though her demeanor was as calm as usual, inside of her mind she still couldn't stop thinking about the wolf...not only what had happened that morning, but the night before going to sleep.  I care for him, but...it can't be that I'm...could it?  Bah...I'm doing too much thinking...

For the moment, she cleared her mind and looked about the others in the room.  As it was morning, the bar was only filling up slowly.  Already others were up as early, eager to eat breakfast or get moving...or both.  She called over the barkeep and ordered the drinks and food.  But no sooner had she set the coins on the table then someone had chimed in from behind.

Aisha turned, eyeing the stranger with curiosity, though polite.  "Ruckus?  Heh, if we were, it was for a good cause," she smirked, glancing to Gareeku and around the group, before settling on him--or her?--again.  "Didn't bother you, did it?" she inquired, though there was a curious pause.  She almost felt like new faces were turning up lately that took an interest in everything.

Seeing the newcomer, Gareeku smiled and nodded his head in greeting. Like Aisha, the wolf couldn't tell whether the stranger was male or female. Listening to Aisha, Gareeku smirked, though inside his head, the wolf was still deep in thought.
What was I doing last night...? Aisha's my friend, prehaps my best friend...I'm not...Am I...? the wolf thought to himself worriedly, though his facial expression remained calm as he looked around the tavern at the others who had gathered downstairs.

Rei takes the tea a little calmer. "Thank you." Watches Winger talk back and fourth between Morgan. When her name came up. "Yes i will still right here... to tell you that truth... no offense... your home scares me... like anyother place.

"Nah, tha's no worry," it replied to them. "Was a bit busy anyhow, moppin' up some big bugs that came from out of the woods, and then some hounds or somethin'. I just wish tha' I'd have been there myself, to be honest. What were you doing anyway? I mean, didja get a look at it? Tha' thing that came outta the sky?" He or she, whatever it was, had just a bit of an accent that sounded... Welsh? "Blood, I should'a headed after ya, but as I said I was busy. Wha' say we grab somethin' to eat and talk?"
   The feline moved around them with a smile and seemed to want to lead them over to the tables, walking with a smooth yet lively step.
   "Oh, righ'. Tha' was stupid of me," it said, and stopped, turning and proffering them a long-fingered, strong hand. "Name's Robyn. Robyn Leigh'Alen"

Cog waved hello to Sylva and grinned as his plate of buttered toast and mug of coffee made its way to him. He tipped the barmaid and set to work, draining down half of his mug before even coming up for air. He would refuse to admit it, of course, but he'd had a minor addiction to the stuff for most of his life...about 275 years or so. He'd become somewhat a connoisseur, and he was surprised by this establishment's brew. He suspected they put salt in the grinds, which added a very nice flavor. He sipped the rest contentedly while he munched on his toast.
He smiled to himself at Gareeku and Aisha and suppressed a chuckle. Both of them had their minds written all over their faces. He wished them the best. He made careful not to look directly at the other with them, however, but listened carefully to what 'it' said. Robyn... he thought, chuckling. Well, there went one way of figuring out it's gender, he thought. Clever. He found himself quite bemused this morning as he sipped his coffee.

Oh how he wanted to sleep in!  The sun was an unwelcome sight to Ryudo.  He pulled the blanket over his head and buried his face in his pillow.  It had been far too long since he had slept in his own bed, having had to make do with the hard, cramped bunks of a ship for the longest time.  Being back in his own bed was a breath of fresh air.  It was so warm and comfortable...

But Koji had other plans.  The boy was up with the sun, and had played quietly in his room until he decided that it was time for daddy to wake up and make breakfast.  He quietly snuck down the stairs and silently opened the door to daddy's room.

Ryudo was blissfully unaware of his son's presence, as he was happily in the grips of a pleasant dream.  But that dream would soon be interrupted.
"BANZAI!" Koji shouted as he leapt towards the bed.
He had thrown himself forward, arms out in front, and landed square on daddy's back.  Ryudo's wings shot upward, throwing the blanket up and over Koji, which amused the boy to no ends.  With a groan Ryudo sat up, making Koji tumble onto the mattress, further entangling himself in the blanket, further amusing the lad.  Ryudo let out a yawn as he grabbed his clothes.  It would be nice to be wearing his own clothes instead of the pirate-issued rags he was in earlier.
"Come on Koji, get outta my blanket." Ryudo said as he dressed himself.
Koji pretended to stuck in the middle of the tangled blanket.
"Help help!  It's eating me!" Koji cried out in feigned fear.
Once dressed in his usual outfit which consisted of a black vest over light armor, and blue pants under thick boots, he fished his son out of his blanket.
"Yay!  I've been saved!" Koji laughed.
"C'mon, we'll get breakfast over at the inn, and see what we can do about this whole angel business." Ryudo said as he hefted the boy up onto his shoulders.
It was like they had never left...

It wasn't long before the door to the inn opened, and through which strolled Ryudo, with Koji in tow.  He put the boy on a stool and looked to the bartender.
"Hey, let's get my boy here some breakfast... and some coffee for me.  Black."  Ryudo said.
He turned around and surveyed the bar, checking out all the new faces.

Winger laugh a bit at Rei's reply. "All the more reason for us to get out of here as fast as we can."  Winger Said stepping out the door.

he return a few minutes later caring a large mental chest.  Inside was a metal breastplate, the same one he had worn on his last adventure with Ryudo and his group, and some extra weapons, which included some knives small explosives.  He took these and gave half to Rei.

As He strapped on his armor,  he noticed that it fit a bit more snuggly than he remembered.  "I hate getting old." He said to himself reaching into the chest again and pulling out a small bundle.

Morgan Eyes widened when she saw it. "I don't see what you need to take those for." She said to Winger Who was unwrapping the package.  Inside there was a red an gold vest made in the style that the avian females wore and a pare of black pant.

"These belonged to my." Said in a low voice. "Rei  I want  you to have them."  As he spoke 2 large Silver Rings fell out of the bundle.  winger picked them up and looked at hem for a moment  before placing them back in the chest.  "we can't have you running around looking like a beggar, can we."

Rei look at winger astonished. "I can't take those.. those are really too..." She paused trying to find a good word, but couldn't. "Beautiful for me to wear... i like the clothes i have on now." But she does takes the daggers winger gives her but because she isn't use to having more then two daggers and a sword she has she is carrying them in her arms right at the moment.

Aisha listened to the stranger talk with a curious expression, though neutral.  That was her way with most strangers usually...being the type to have been traveling alone for a long while, she was naturally cautious.  But she observed the newcomer's demeanor, and decided that their story checked out.  That is if we've had enough illusions, the panther thought to herself, remembering Sebastian.

"We got a good look at it, yeah.  You didn't miss much...the most that we have done up by the crater is bury those dead where it fell."  Her look was somewhat forlorn, but perked slightly at the invitation to talk.  There was a brief glance spared at Gareeku, wondering about his opinion, before she heard someone else come in.  She smiled, upon seeing who it was.

Aisha spared a wave of greeting at Ryudo and Koji before she shrugged.  "Robyn," the panthress repeated the name with a polite bow, shaking the stranger's hand after a brief pause.  "Nice to meet you.  I'm Aisha."

The felid smiled and took Aisha's hand in a grip that was a lot stronger than his or her frame would suggest, and made a small nod of its own.
   "Nice to meet ya, Aisha," Robyn said, and then sprang a bit on his or her feet when turning to Gareeku. "You then, big guy? You tha' bodyguard or tha' manservant? I'd guess tha' former, 'f ya ask me." A grin played across Robyn's features as it looked up at the wolf. "Not to say ya can't be both." The cat snickered.

Listening to the feline speak, Gareeku was somewhat intrigued by his/her accent. However, upon the stranger, calling himself/herself "Robyn", refer to him as Aisha's manservant, the wolf looked slightly for a moment with the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks, before turning back to the stranger.
"Heh, Aisha isn't the type to need a bodyguard." Gareeku replied with a smirk, before bowing in greeting. "My name is Gareeku. A pleasure to meet you."

Quirking an eyebrow at the statement that the felid made as Gareeku introduced himself, she released a laugh in agreement with his reply.  "Hah, I should say that I'm not."  Her hand came up to rest on the wolf's shoulder.  "Gareeku's a fellow adventurer, and...a very good friend."

Aisha gave him a brief smile before turning to the bar, noticing that the breakfast and drinks she ordered were arriving, and redirected them over to a nearby table where they were headed originally.  "You said you'd like to talk with us?" she said to Robyn while grabbing a chair to sit in.

The felid sat down, and then snapped a finger and called for the bartender to serve some pancakes, if they were available.
   "With blueberry jam, if you have, please?" the leopard chimed, and then turned toward them, setting down the sword and bag next to the chair. He or she folded its fingers, and then set its head on its hands, supporting it on its elbows.
   "So, 'f ya didn' get so much to fight, then wha' was it tha' killed... I mean, did ya even get to defend those people you buried?" Robyn asked quite seriously. "I mean, 's not like I think you'd have left them to their fate, but..."
   The leopard seemed to be trailing off, and blinked a bit when a platter of pancakes with cream and blueberries, and a glass of milk, were placed before it. Smiling, it began eating.
   "I mean, I was..." it said, then made a slightly exasperated sound. "I was hearin' all these things 'bout an 'angel' or somethin' since last time, 'n I was wonderin'... what's going on right now?" It looked at them with eyes that shifted in grey, blue and green.

Morgan looked relieved that Rei turned down the clothes, but  Winger just smiles, and puts the clothes back in the chest.  "That's  fine,  I think we are ready to go  then"

"I think you could use a bath before you go Winger." Morgan Snickered.

"Hey! That's not stink you smell, It's adventures musk." Winger joked.  "Tell Emily that I said good bye, And I'll be back soon."

Morgan nodded still smiling. "Just you make sure you come back alive."

Winger cleared his throat. "Let's go, Rei" He said giving Morgan a hard look. "Unless there is any thing else you want to do before we leave."

Rei looked to winger. "First i think you should say goodbye to Emily yourself and secondly... could i get a bag for these dagger they are getting a little heavy." She blushes because she just as a total stranger for something and also told someone she barely new to do something. "I'm... sorry i didn't mean it like that" she is still blushing.

The bartender nodded to Ryudo as he gestured to the serving girl.  Within a few moments, the lass reappeared with a large plate of pancakes of all manner with wonderful fruit compote and a hearty plate of breakfast meats.  These she placed in front of Koji.  Producing a mug from the shelf, she placed it in front of Ryudo.  The serving lady filled it full of coffee.

Carran wandered in from the outside and sat at the table near the door, "that was the second longest night in recorded history."

 Cog turned and regarded Azlan sagely. "The longest night in recorded history being the Winter Solstice of 580, of course. It's also famous for being the night on which Yord the Strange was burned at the stake for the crime of calculating angles. The legend goes that his blackened spirit, freed from his body, made the night more powerful than the sun, for just little while." Cog smiled and drained the rest of his coffee. "Of course, the currently residing theory is that it was merely an apex of some cycle of solstices, and that his death was mere coincidence. It makes a nice story, however."
Cog turned and spoke to the leopard. "I believe we got off on the wrong foot in the hall, miss: an apology about your bag is in order, but I do believe that I can shed some light on your question. Yesterday, we met a scholar here who believes that all of these angels falling out of the sky are linked. As we have already investigated one crash site, it might be prudent to investigate others, to see if this 'core' that some have been speaking of can be found. It is, apparently, of some value to certain individuals, and dangerous to many to boot. I'm not sure, but surely someone remembered to ask here where those sites were..." he said, pausing for a moment. "In any case, we are now looking for the core of this angel."

The leopard looked a bit dumbfounded for a moment, tilted its head to the side, and looked at Cogidubnus. His or her perfectly shaped face frowned for a bit, and looked wondering.
   "Core? Ya mean its heart?" it said, and then blinked a bit. Then, its face settled a bit. "Ah, 'n don't worry 'bout the bag. You couln't ha' known."
   The snow leopard went back to eating pancakes and muttering a bit. Then, it looked up at them, thumped its chest softly, and hummed.
   "Powerful, ya say? If there are lotsa angels about, then..." it said, and trailed off a bit. "Wait... you're goin' after this thing?" Its face suddenly looked full of interest at this question.

As Aisha listened to the leopard, she started eating her own breakfast, a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs with cinnamon toast.  The panther grimaced a little at its question about the people that they had buried.  She swallowed briefly and held up a finger to speak.  "Look, honestly, the thing fell in a deep part of the woods.  We didn't think anyone was out there, and it came as a surprise.  Agradecido por (thankfully), I think there was only a little farm there.  But the only survivor was a wounded child...I suspect he's still at the doctor," she added with a thoughtful tone.

She was about to talk about the fallen angel, when Cogi started up.  She listened and nodded agreeingly, looking back at Robyn.  "That's...basically it, yes.  There were a few casualties, fighting the fallen one, but it will be worth it once over with," she finished with the excited grin of an adventurer going to quest.  "And of course we're going after it."

A parts of the story had been left out for the sake of leaving out worry and conflict with the stranger, such as one about the shapeshifting priest...and as Aisha suspected was much to Gareeku's relief, nothing was said about the darkness triggering the wolf's feral form.  The adventure was going to be as smooth as possible if she had anything to help for it.

After ordering his breakfast, which consisted of bacon, scrambled eggs and toast with a glass of orange juice, Gareeku sat down with Aisha and Robyn, staying silent and eating his breakfast as he listened to the others talk.

As Aisha talked of the battle in the woods, the wolf's mind thought to back to finding out what he had done in his incubus form. Looking away somewhat, a look of uncomfort became apparant on his face.

The leopard hummed a bit more, and it scratched its chin. Then, it downed the last bit of milk and licked its well-shaped lips.
   "Allright. Where do ya sign up for this then?"

Aisha enjoyed her breakfast slowly, listening to the felid speak its mind.  She quirked an eyebrow slightly and chuckled.  "Sign up?  You want to come?"  There was a thoughtful smirk.  "Well, good.  If this adventure is anything like the last, more help in the party would be welcome, methink."  She looked over briefly to where Ryudo and Carran were sitting, a reminiscent look on her face once again.  Like old times.  Save for the new additions.

As she finished off what was left on her plate, the panther glanced over to Gareeku only to notice the lightly troubled look on his face.  She tilted her head, concerned, giving him a look as if to ask what was wrong.

Ryudo was halfway listening to the conversations behind him.  So, the core is still missing and more angels have appeared.  The situation was becoming clearer with each passing moment.  He quietly drank his coffee.  He didn't have any idea where the pieces could have landed.  He wondered if anyone had a map that they could pinpoint the landing sites on.  He turned around to ask, it was worth a shot.
"Hey, anyone got a map?  Maybe we can pinpoint the landing sites of the other angels on it, so that we'll have some sense of direction at the very least." Ryudo said.

Noticing Aisha's look after he had finished his breakfast, Gareeku forced a slight smile.
"I'll be fine." he said, before turning his head towards Ryudo upon hearing him speak. Looking around, the wolf spotted something on the table next to him. Getting up onto his feet, Gareeku walked over to the table an unfolded the paper on it.
"I take it this is what you're looking for." he commented as he observed the unfolded map.

Carran blinked a few times at Cog's sudden information spout.  He nodded sagely, a fair sign of the confused, and simply replied, "yes... exactly."

As Gareeku produced the map, Carran stood and joined him with Ryudo.  "Having a place to start would be a good thing and perhaps someone or thing with a motive for this would be handy."

Ryudo moved over to the table and stood over the map.  He pointed to where the first crater is.
"The first one landed here.  Have we heard any reports of other sightings?  That would help even more." Ryudo said.

Koji was just finishing up the food that was put in front of him.  Once done he turned around to check out all the new people.  Wow, there sure are a lot of them!

Winger sent Morgan to fetch a pack for Rei to put here belongings in and called Emily in to the room and gave her a big hug. "Em, I have to go away for a while.  Do you remember the story about the angel I told you."

"Yeah..." Emily nodded With while started to well up in her eyes.

"The angel has come again, and it's up to us to put it back together."

"Daddy, i don't want you to go!"  The child cried.

"I know, but I have too; so you have to be strong."  Winger said whipping a tear from his daughters eye.  "I'll be back soon." 

With that, winger stood and adressed Rei.  "Now, are we ready to go?"

[self-serving side trip over! Back to the story!]

(Self-servering? Haha that trip just brought our char. together a little more!)

Rei just got the pack from Morgan. "Thank you so much" Putting the daggers in the pack along with other things from her belt. Rei then get on her knees for Emily then hugs her too. Then whispers in her ear. "I will bring him back save and sound for you... that's a promise!!" Then hugs her again. Stands up to Winger. "Yep ready to go!"

--EDITED OUT--

After gently smiling in reply to Gareeku, knowing that hopefully he would be okay, she watched as he carried a map over to where Ryudo and Carran were.  Hm.  It must have been left here.  Glad nobody stole it.  After finishing her breakfast, she curiously got up from her seat for a moment and looked over it with them before pointing out a few places that had been marked...on paper they looked a little less noticeable than before.

"The map was made by the scholar who came here, asking about angels falling in patterns.  I think she had some sightings listed already..." Aisha hummed and pointed to a few places, different points.  "I told her where we found the parts of the one angel before.  But the core could be anywhere."

Aisha stood up after a moment, stratching the side of her face in idle thought.  Standing and concentrating was never something I liked to do.  I can't wait to get moving.

Ok... then. let's disappear.

Rei nods to Winger and grabs his hand. They blink. This time in the realm he seeing what he saw before but this time he gets to talk about it this time. Rei is right at the moment walk around make sure that she doesn't get trapped in one of the many battles around this place.

The snow leopard sniffed and scratched its nose, assaying the map quickly with shifting eyes.
   "Well... tha's as clean a clue 's I've ever seen," it said with a bit of an amused tone. "When do we set off? I've only got some money to cash in here, 'n I can be on the road in less than an hour."

Winger watched the battles unfolding before him. "Is this where the angel came from?"

Rei looks back then the image disappear before there eyes and now the tavern is in view before us. She looks back to Winger. "I guess we will talk later." She now looks around the room seeing a lot more people around then gets closer to winger.

[I must not have been thinking when I last posted. Edited out the mistake.]

Winger looked around a bit, and he could see that not much had changed in ther hour or so that he and Rei had been gone.

"Do we have a plan yet?  Any plan at all? anybody?"

Ryudo pointed at a spot on the map, the next nearest landing of an angel.  It was only one town over.  It wouldn't be too much of a hike, and they'd have a town to fall back on if people needed supplies.
"Let's start here, at this town.  It's not too far off.  Any objections to that?" He asked.
Koji started spinning around on his stool.  He was about ready to get moving too.

     Waking from his longest sleep ever, Topher walked droozily over to where a group seemed to have formed.  He wiped the drool from the side of his face and began to fall.  Catching himself on Winger's should he laughed a bit and shook it off.  "Where are we, bro?" he laughed.

After looking at the map for a moment, Aisha quirked an ear at Ryudo's statement while he pointed at a town.  She smirked.  Perfect.

"No objections from me at all," the panthress said.  "Everyone should probably have time to gather some food and water right now perhaps though.  No sense in being lazy if we run into something between this town and that one."  With that opinion, she turned back around, pausing to wave at everyone else who had recently either come in the front doors or from one of the rooms at the inn.  It was very reminiscent, adventurers awakening to the sight of a quest ahead...old faces, and as was reminded when she saw a pretty much eager Robyn, new ones.

There was a quick smile spared at Gareeku then.  Aisha had made a few good friends and acquaintances during the angel fiasco, but none she had known half so well as the wolf...though, maybe she was still just thinking about what happened just before...

With a smirk, she playfully punched his shoulder.  "Time to ass-kicking again, yeah?"

Winger, glared at Topher, and gently slid his the cats hand off his shoulder.  "I'm not your 'bro.' "

Even though he hadn't slept he felt re-energized form his short trip home ,and he couldn't wait to get out on the road.  "Here's hoping we don't run into any un-dead griffon's, or giant man eating worms along the way; And god save us frome floppy eared wind sprites!"

Rei looked a little more tried then Winger did. She is looking around the room to find that all of the people that were helping before have come again and this time with two new people. Then she looks up to Winger again when he starts to say un-dead griffons and so on ans shakes a little bit then sits down on the nearest chair.

    Topher laughed lazily and collapsed to his rear on the floor.  "Geesh I need to wake up..."
    Topher called for the waitress and asked for a cold glass of water.  Within seconds he was pouring the cool water onto his scalp which soon drizzled down his back and he sprang up into the air.  "Woooooweee!"  he yelped.  He returned to where the group was and waited for what was to come.

Ryudo rubbed his chin.  Aisha's suggestion made a lot of sense.  It would be better to head out with provisions.
"Alright then, let's get stocked up on food and water and let's head out." He said.
The bartender groaned inwardly as he heard that, because HE would be the one getting the food and water.  Time to break out the canteens...

---------------------

Down below, in the lowest pit of Hell, Yuki sat in her icy throne watching a vision of the happenings in the bar.
"Pah, this again.  I don't know why I waste My time with these people." She said.
A few imps were running around, keeping things moving.  There were a few weaker devils gathered around Her feet... little brownnosers, always trying to gain favor.
"I guess I should start making things interesting.  You three." She said.
The devils at Her feet stood up, ready to take any order from Her.
"Go topside and give our adventurers a run for their money." She commanded.
They ran off, all of them eager to show up the others in hopes of gaining Yuki's favor.  A shadow loomed behind Yuki, and a deep voice sounded off.
"They won't even make a dent in that group." The shadow said. "Send me, I can make sure that they'll never..."
But Yuki interrupted him.
"You are My ace in the hole.  I'll send you out to them eventually, just be patient." She said calmly.
"Yes, Lady Satan." He said with a subservient tone. "I can't wait for that day."
But there was something else there that was intruiging her.  Something more than just what was going on with Ryudo and Koji.  She couldn't put Her finger on it, but if She could grasp it, perhaps She could use it to Her advantage.

Winger chuckled a bit. "Now that's a plan!  Shy didn't I think of that?"

   Topher looked up energized to hear of an adventure.  "May I?......" He asked politely.

Koji had wandered over to the table and peeked up over it to see the map.  Ryudo turned as topher spoke.
"Sure, just get your gear, and some food and water.  I know we got some canteens in the back somwhere." Ryudo said.
He looked over to the bar, but the bartender had already gone to fetch the canteens.

Winger grabbed a canteen and threw it over his shoulder.  I'm ready. the road will provide the rest.

   Topher nodded at Ryudo's respons and left immediately to get his things.  He threw everything he had with him in his sash and looked to where the bartender was. "Mind if I take one of those off your hands?"  he asked politely.
    The bartender nodded and Topher bowed to thank him.  He went toward the door and pulled a whistle from under neath his shirt.  He blew it as hard as he could and a faint whistle could be eard.  Within seconds Blue, his dear friend from the forest landed swiftly a Topher's feet.  Topher knelt down on one knee and patted the fdog-like creatures head.  The heeler lapped Topher's cheek as Topher infromed him that he'd be going away for a while.  Blue barked at once and whined for a bnelly rub.  Unable to resist the cuteness Topher tickled the heeler and laughed.  "I'll see you soon, pal."

Sylva asks the bartender politely for one of the canteens and gets one.

Pan jumps onto her shoulder and whispers in her ear, “I can always teleport to the Adther PD cafeteria for food for the two of us, Sylva. I’d teleport us to our destination, but I’ve learned not to try teleporting to places I’ve never been to before. I’d land us all in a volcano or something.”

“Okay, but why did you have to whisper that?”

“Getting food for the two of us is already a stretch of the regulations. If anybody overhears this plan, they might want me to get food for THEM, too.”

“Good point.”

Ryudo packed some food and canteens away into a backpack for himself and Koji.  He looked around at the others around him as they did the same.
"Okay then, we're just about ready I think.  So, who's coming with us and who's staying behind?" He asks.

Rei raises her hand timidly. "I will go if Winger goes, sir." She also goes over to the bar and picks up some food and water.

Yo better believe we're gong Rei.

Aisha watched as her suggestion was honored, casting an appreciative glance to the bartender as he brought out the canteens.  The energy was building in the tavern, and the adventurers were finally more than ready to start heading out...at the tiger's inquiry, the urge to get going became stronger...and the panthress did volunteer for this adventure ever since the angel fell.  She felt obligated to help her old friends.

The panthress approached the bar, grabbing her own canteen of water and some food to take along.  "Count me in.  Like old times," she remarked to Ryudo, casting a glance to Winger as well, before going back to the table.

“You know you’re not leavin’ us behind!” Pan says.

Carran drew his sword and held it out before him, presenting the hilt to Ryudo, "My sword, magic and fine fae wines are with you on this, like last time.  I hope you don't mind if I take that sorceress that was rescued with us?" 

The fox was as prepared as he needed to be.  After re-sheathing his sword, he looked towards Koji, kneeling down he looked the child in the eyes, "what happened to the winged fairy cat that was with you back when the first quest was underway?"

   Topher rushed over to the door where the others were at.  With all of his belongings of importance he stepped out of the bar to stay out of the way.  Hopefully something beneficial will come out of this adventure.

Ryudo nodded to Carran, though his presentation was a bit more formal than necessary, but it was welcome all the same.
"Glad to have you aboard Carran." Ryudo said.
Things were beginning to look up.

Koji looked up at Carran when he asked about the winged something-or-other.  Oh!  The gryffon!
"I dunno where he went.  He wasn't with us when we went through the portal thingy." Koji said.
Oh right, and Harmony appeared to be absent too.  He wondered if he could find his harpy friend again...

Winger looked out the door. he couldn't wait to get on the road.

Rei looked around the room as they all start to speak up to join. She felt a little better that more were coming and relaxed a little bit.

“Look at us, all psyched up for the next big adventure. If we keep being so excited, it’s gonna start raining or something,” Pan says.

     Topher rushed to his feet and spun 'round the door.  "I'm going," he said.  "Where to?"

"Alright then, lets get the map packed away... everyone got their supplies?  Good.  Let's get a move on." Ryudo said.
He picked up Koji, who was endlessly amused at the prospect of being carried the whole way, and headed out the front door.

Winger followed out the door and with a few flaps took to the sky.  the sun was shining and a new adventure was just beyond the horizon.

Rei also followed Winger but looked up as he went to the sky and she couldn't follow. She now stuck close to Ryudo because Winger seemed to trust him a lot.

Sylva follows Ryudo.

“Onward, faithful steed!” Pan says to Sylva from atop her shoulder.

“On the way back, maybe you can carry me on your shoulder,” Sylva jokes.

    Topher followed quickly behind the rest of the group.  He chuckled as the two goofed off with each other.  The other three in the group seemed to be serious however.  Were he, Pan, and Sylva clueless about a dangerous factor in this mission?  Once again Topher sped up to Ryudo and asked exactly where they were going.

Carran drifted out the door after the others.  At the end of the street, a canine female leaned against s night beacon (lamp post).  When she saw the others finally starting the journey, she stood and fell in line next to Carran, "I thought you all would stay in there forever... and here I rushed out of the healers expecting to have to catch up."

Carran shrugged, "the journey begins when it begins, no point in rushing these things."

"That young child is in good shape, recovering nicely."  Alia stated offhandedly. 

Carran nodded, "that is good.  Those touched by such pain, loss and evil and survive are strong souls indeed."
 

Ryudo pulled out the map and showed it to topher.  He pointed at the town they were heading to.
"This is where we're heading.  It shouldn't be too hard, there's a main road that leads right to it." Ryudo said.
Koji was happily sitting up on daddy's shoulders.  Why walk when you can piggy-back?

  Topher nodded.  "What are we going there for, reunion of somekind?  Visit an "old friend," he laughed.

"Well, we need to check out the crash site that's near there.  Perhaps we can get an idea of where the angel that landed there went, or get a glimpse of what we're up against." He says.

"Rightyo!" Topher exclaimed.  "Hopefully I can get more metals out of this.  I could use some more for my experiments and inventions..."
    In hopes of bringing the general mood of the small group Topher put on a smile and began to whistle, "Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes, are calling....."

“Are we there yet?” Pan jokes.

    As the group was walking, Topher sighed a bit at the long walk ahead of him.  He thought about blazing his way through into the town, which would save time, but it was a reckless plan.  He looked up at the weather and clouds began to form.  He smiled cheerfully.  He enjoyed this weather.  He looked to the others' emotionless expression.  They look like zombies, he thought.  He returned his view back to the sky.
    He admired the beauty and fluffiness of the clouds.  Soon more arrived, only they were dark, thunder clouds.  He suggested to the others that they should make camp since the weather might not permit their traveling, and the day was already coming to an end anyways.  He looked in the direction he was pointing, smoke was rising from the town. Is it a fire? he thought.  Or could it be more trouble...

Carran gazed off in the direction of the smoke, "Is that the fire I set at the crash site at the farm?"

The fox mage was not entirely sure if it was or the sign of a new danger.

    Topher scratched his head at the thought.  "To be quite honest Carran, I'm not sure.  I guess we'll find out."  As he finsished speaking with Carran, Topher asked, "So we gonna make camp or what?"

Meanwhile, at the crash site near the farm, the three lesser demons that Yuki had sent forth were surveying the damage.
"Damnit, someone got here before us." One said.
One of the others sniffed around.
"It wasn't done by any of our kind." He said.
"Then who did it?" The first one asked.
"Let's ask them!" The third asked, pointing at the approaching group.
"Fool!  We need to hide!  Those must be the ones we were sent after!" The first one shouted as he grabbed his two 'associates'.
Surely showing the initiative in leadership would gain him favor with the mistress... yes.

Rei looking up from Ryudo Lee's side to see the smoke. "Do we need to check that out? That looks a little bit scary."

Ryudo double checked the map.
"Well, it's not too far out of the way.  I think we should take a look and see if anyone needs any help." He said.

Carran eyed Ryudo, "no old chap, no one at that farm needs any help... unless you have a means to resurrect the dead.  The only survivor from the farmstead was a badly injured child who is being cared for in the town."

The fox's ears and nose twitched and he scanned the area with his eyes, I do not like this feeling.

   Topher looked around at his surroundings.  The area they were currently in seemed quite peaceful.  However further down the path, the town seemed to be in the clutches of destruction.  Chee looked to Carran and Ryudo.  Carran seemed suspicious, and Ryudo looked as if nothing seemed to be going on.  Rei looked casual.  Unsure of what might become of this event, Topher took out his ball of thallium and molded it into two sais.  He tucked them into his belt and continued walking with the others.

Ryudo shrugged.  Carran seemed pretty sure of himself.
"Alright, onward then." Ryudo said.
But as they walked on, Koji seemed intently looking at the smoke.

--------

The demons at the burnt out place watched as the group continued on their way.
"They're not heading this way." One said.
"Then we should go further up the road, catch 'em by surprise." Another said.
"Hey, let's dig a hole in the ground!" The third said.
"What will that accomplish?" The first said.
"I dunno, I like digging holes." The third replied.
There was a brief silence.
"Let's just go." The first said.

Rei let out a small sigh of relief but she continues on with Ryudo, also still looking at the smoke.

"You know, technically Sylva does have the means to..." Pan begins to respond.

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea, Pan," Sylva says.

"Conservation of mana and all that?"

"Yes. Besides, sometimes the dead do not wish to be disturbed. It's best to just let them rest."

"Those people are crazy, then. I'd rather have life than death any day," Pan says.

THIS PLACE IS DEAD!

I agree!