☾ . V a r a m a ð u r . V e r u l e i k a . ☽

[ImNoHero]

"Oh?"

He chimed quizzically. His face over taken by one of the most joyous yet surprised faces one had ever seen, his second mouth slightly twitching on his lower jaw as it curved more into it's own grin. If this woman hadn't noticed the few crocodile type teeth poking out from his lower jaw, it was obvious now this strange creature carried two mouths. For what purpose was unknown. After a brief moment of silence, he continued in his puzzled manner.

"But I don't see anyone else?"

His face quickly filled with childish pout and anger as his maw on his lower jaw vibrated with a light growl, akin to a baby raccoon. His frowning human like mouth opening as he spoke with some moderate level of disgust.

"That's not fair! They can't begin hiding before the seeker starts counting!"

He huffed and puffed in extreme prejudice! His arms crossing over his chest and his bottom lip poked out. He would be sorry to hear that he friend had yet to join them.

[Flightless Butterfly]

ImNoHero

Tanith stretched her arms above her head, letting the spines along her back unfold, reshuffle, then tuck up against her back tightly. Her swirling bottomless eyes took in her surroundings, measuring the reality against the unreality. Her skin crawled with the ebb, and flow of the possibilities of this place. What could be against what was, only neither one, and both existed at the same time.

It was the kind of place that tickled her vocal cords into the beginning of a happy song. She'd had too few of those in her lifetime. She'd spent far too long fighting, wars, and beings that meant nothing to her in the long run. She felt a pang of regret at being separated from her creations, her blood kin.

The boy she'd found here reminded her of her son. It was impossible to tell his race, or his age. The power that bled off of him was loosely connected to a thread of influence that spiked out of his back, leading to some unknown place away from this location. He was connected to something, and someone bigger than he was. Whether or not he knew it. She would have to unravel that web in time, figure out how he was tied to this place.

She held up her arm for him to see, letting Poe slip out from under her skin. The white snake slithered up her arm to drape itself around her neck twice. He was longer than he appeared on her body, his being was coiled around her innermost self, protecting the light from the darkness that she harvested, and used to shield herself when she felt threatened.

"Poe is always with me child. He is a part of me, and now he is apart from me. You can hold him if you like."

Her voice was soft as silk. The sound curled up in your ear, and warmed you up from the inside out. It was musical, and soothing. It was the tone she'd used to ease her son's transition into the desert tribe. She knew she would have to leave him, even if it make her heart's light dim with pain.

[ImNoHero]

"Interesting."

The boy mentioned at her remarks. His clawed hand reaching out palm up as he fuly extended his arm. He would allow the snake allow him to hold it, as opposed to just snatching him up. That would be rude. All the while, his lips carried a soft smirk. He was a joyous creature. Though as all things did, he had a dark side. But the trigger for such a thing was so minute, one almost never saw it. And up to this point, those that had seen in other than Loki, were all dead. The Tanith might never see it, though the more they became friends, and the longer she stayed around, the higher the chances that that could change. The real question is though, how do you kill something that does not live? With his makers disposed of, Vanka was unchained, much like Revenge of Pinocchio. The movie where the little girl that was the puppets friend cut his strings, allowing him to do as he pleased. If the snake slithered upon him, he would welcome it, and he wouldn't hesitate to pet it, not going against the the lay of the scales. That didn't feel good to either of them.

"I hope I'll be able to find him when we start the game.....And since you two are my guest, I will be the seeker first. I will count to 100 and you two will hide."

He paused as he used his normal hand to point at a tree near them.

"That tree is base. I will count there, and when I come looking, if you can manage to make it to the tree without me finding you first, you are safe. Whomever I catch first will be the next seeker....I must warn you though, I am pretty good at hiding. So lets hope I don't find you so easily."

It was true, he knew this place almost like the back of his hand. Finding people was a chore, but hiding. He would not go to base because his hiding would be that good. He would merely wait to be found. Otherwise he would always win unless the seeker cheated and baby sat the safe point.

[count_zantara]

"...Tanith...

The name drifted along the ether, filled with lust and amusement.

And it called to her, from across time and space, the Voice of one she once knew as friend.

As he began to form within the Dreaming, the old Cleric sighed softly, his face hidden behind a breathing unit of some sort. Wearing his black and red leathers, he stopped to straighten his gloves as a golden serpent headed staff appeared beside him. As his long white hair fell into place, the one known as Zantara took the staff in hand and began to walk forward, speaking.

"I know your here Tanith... and you always have been. You shouldn't hide from me. I wish to speak to you again... come to me."

[Flightless Butterfly]

She blinked her eyes in the fog of the dreaming place in which she existed. The concept of time was lost in the indistinct background. There was a heaviness in the atmosphere, something tugging on the edge of her consciousness with insistence.

Tanith.

Yes, she was The Tanith. She was being summoned. Her nostrils flared with the audacity of being summoned to someone's side, but it had garnered her attention. Her will was soon to follow her attention, which lead to her appearance next to the Count.

"I exist. I have nothing to hide." she says softly, the spaded tip of her tail wagging jerkily behind her.

[count_zantara]

Flightless Butterfly

"Oh, believe me dear...we all exsist because we have something to hide."

He said laughing, the blooddrop tattoo on his cheek expressing his new allegiance to his new Goddess. Looking her body up and down, the Cleric smiled as he reached up removing the breathing device allowing it to fall to his throat.

"Your as lovely as ever, my Dear Tanith. It has been far too long hasn't it?"

[Flightless Butterfly]

count_zantara

"For a holy man, you are inordinately interested in my physical appearance. Cleric, Count, Seducer. What name do you use now, silver tongued one?"

She spoke, like she swam. Directly to the heart of the matter, with strong precise strokes. The inner lid of her eye slid over them while she watched the man in front of her adjust his artificial apparatus. Was he having problems breathing now? Had someone managed to damage him?

That was disturbing. When last they walked with one another, it had been through the temple district of a city. He had them arranged to feed him, he took their faith as sustenance.

"It has been very long. You appear when I awake, your timing is impeccable."

[Shaizard]

An evil DNA virus...

Nerves tightened the woman's grasp about a piece of gold as she put the last finishing touches upon a pentagram with herself in its very center. Careful, as to not blur the lines, she would sit upon the cold floor and look about her. Blank walls met her deep oceanic blue eyes as she swallowed the last bit of hesitation and found her resolved once more. This had all be planned, the renting of the rundown mill, far off the beaten path as to not be discovered, observed, and disrupted. Charms and wards established all about the perimeter, even underground as well as above. Even her attire had been chosen for this day, fitted black jeans and a simple black long sleeved shirt and finished off with pinstriped Converse and large silver hoops through her ears. With her long light blue hair pulled up into a ponytail and her sleeves rolled up for ease of work, it was time to begin.

Slipping the gold drachma into her right pocket, she pricked her finger and coated the edge of a simple black locket. As more blood welled to the surface of her skin, she held her hand up to watch the blood doom upon the underside of her finger. Then with a flick of her wrist, she splattered a few drops of blood outside the pentagram. Securing the locket about her neck, the woman would secure a bandaid about her finger and then, reach for the small vial of churning blood by her knee. Uncapping it, she switched it to her left hand so that her right could move on to the lighter and light the silver candle a foot away from her. As the flame burned, she whispered the latin to the demon curse she had bought from Dorian, tapped a ley line, and then extinguished the candle using the blood of a 'demon.' Blood that came from her sister, the black witch and demon-kin by...a curse. Enzymes now found in her sister's blood triggered the demon curse and the woman would jerk forward suddenly as the curse took hold and the ground suddenly vanished from beneath her.

Falling.
Free falling.
Plummeting.

A fall without collision as vertigo robbed her perception. A long second ticked upon a nonexistent clock, chiming for her bones to shift themselves as she found herself dazed but on her two feet. Head hanging forward, bangs falling before her usually stoic blue eyes before she pushed them back and lifted her gaze. All that met her eyes was a dim lit fog, coalescing about her fingertips and dissipating along her form. A few more seconds passed by before she moved again, this time reaching back into her pocket to remove the golden drachma. The gold coin gleamed radiantly, filled with 'life' and a 'will' of its own as it hummed beneath her fingers.

Danica Laurent had had the dream.

She had seen the golden Eagle held by a Centurion in the company of the 9th legion. Had witnessed its standard broken upon rocks as britains laid to waste the legion except those that deserted when the blood stained the landscape. Yet there had been one roman found, cradling the head of the fallen captain. A helmet knocked aside, a raised blade ready to strike, a blade that was soon swayed as from beneath the helmet came long black tresses and then a bitter female's voice whispering words Danica had not been able to make out.

Yet the dream ended with a golden eagle hurling towards her, waking her from her dream and finding the golden drachma clutched in her right hand.

[count_zantara]

Flightless Butterfly

"What can I say... I'm more interested in the saving of women in distress than saving their souls. You forgot Leecher, Betrayer, the Laughing Madman, and so so so on."

He said with a laugh as he created a highbacked oak chair out of the ether, complete with deep black cushions. Sitting down, he placed his staff across his knee's as he looked her over with an appraising eye.

"As always, Tanith... call me Zantara. And yes, before you ask, I have been injured....somewhat recently. I went up against a Black Dragon Goddess. Suffice to say, her Acid did a number on my lungs among other things."

Waving that off as something that would hold for some other time, he smiled softly.

"You know me, Tanith... I try to keep my eyes on those who interest me. My timing is perfect, because I was waiting for you to make yourself known. You've been gone for far too long. We've missed you.

[Flightless Butterfly]

count_zantara

She crossed the distance that separated them, running a finger down the armrest of the chair that he'd conjured during their conversation. She leaned over the arm, letting her nostrils flare to take in his scent. Not sick, but more of a serpent tang than he'd ever had before.

"I think you've done more than simply fight with this dragon. If it's female, then you will find a way silver tongue to make even the most violent of confrontations into something amicable."

She laughed, her forked tongue flickering out between her teeth to trace the edges of her full red lips. The sound dropped through the air, notes like raindrops on a spring day. Refreshing, and invigorating. She sat on the edge of the arm rest, letting her tail curl around the chair, the spade tip resting on the opposite side of the chair.

"I know you Zantara. While you are recovering your vigor, maybe you would be interested in helping me with something.

[count_zantara]

Flightless Butterfly

Watching her with a gleam of amusement in those violet orbs of his, Zantara reached up and ran his hand down her cheek, patting it softly as he stared into her eyes.

"Not this time, my dear. There are surprisingly enough a few things in this world that I can't get into the bedroom. Trust me, it really made me feel low for quite some time. But I survived it none the less in my own fashion. "

Chuckling lightly at it, he ran his fingers down her shoulder as her body wrapped around his chair. He's always enjoyed running his hands along her scales. They reminded him so much of his own.

"Asking for my help? Well, it is always offered my dear, but you haven't taken me up in my offer for many years. But in anycase, how may I possibly be of service?"

[Flightless Butterfly]

count_zantara

"I am far removed from the resources that I used to command. I must rebuild, so that I can claim that which I want most. Ascension."

His coloring was soothing, there were those that were visible to the human eye, then the whole other spectrum that he was bathed generously in. Hues of purple, and all the likeness of her kind that she'd been able to find in this world, or several others. She had come across a lot of breeds of being, but to truly follow the path of the serpent required a level of cunning that was largely bereft in the general populace.

"I have missed these talks Zantara. Five steps ahead of whatever game it is that is being played, as you figure out the who and what the pieces on the playing board are."

She shivered once, reveling in the warmth of his touch. Surprisingly gentle given the violence in his past.

"I am no longer content to be a bystander, watching this life pass me by in flashes of dreams that may or may not be real enough for me to experience in a physically manifested manner. You know me. One of only a handful of people who do, or have bothered to. I want to play this game, for all it's worth."

[count_zantara]

Flightless Butterfly

"Ascension?"

He said questioningly as he leaned back in his chair, enjoying just having her near as he pondered exactly what she asked of him. Running his fingers down her side and along her hip almost absentmindedly, Zantara looked away for a moment, his eyes glazing over.

"Your returning to the Great Game? Alright, I can help you out easily enough."

Leaning up as he turned to Tanith, he surprisingly enough gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, his hand moving from her hip up to press against her other cheek. Staying there for a moment, he breathed in her scent and finding what he needed, he sat back down in the chair, pulling away ever so slowly.

"I find that I am working currently for a new Goddess, known as the Mistress of Taverns. You know how these lands of Gaia are... it's like everywhere you step there is a bar, pub, tavern and so on popping up here and there. It was only a matter of time until one lived long enough to reach demi-godhood. If you have no issues with it, I will bring your case to her. I am unfortuantly not as strong as I once was. I gave up my own godhood to my spawn, for a....personal reason. Then I ascended into the higher realms where I'd hoped to be left alone for a time. As I'm only recently back, it'll take time for me to return to what I once was. But until then..... until then, I think we can help each other. If your interested, that is."

[Flightless Butterfly]

count_zantara

She leaned over him to tap the side of his head with a claw. She shook her head sadly, watching him leap into the fray before he had any idea of what it was that she was asking of him.

She'd made that mistake with Athan Cole, promising herself after the epic fallout with him crossed several different locales, that she would make damned sure that anyone knew what they were getting themselves into before she allowed them to jump in.

"I require your cunning. Your strength is something your maleness tells you is something I need. I assure you, I am strong enough for any feats of strength that might be required."

She returned the affectionate gesture, laying a soft kiss on his temple.

"I need to find my kin. There are manifestations of myself in Gaia, and I need seven of them to assemble to ascend. You may entreat with your goddess, if you think it will help my cause. But you do know me. It's that knowledge I need to find these incarnations of different aspects of my being."

[count_zantara]

Flightless Butterfly

"Wait... you mean that you just need me for a very amusing scavenger hunt? I've always enjoyed one of those... and we won't even need any of her for that. Actually, I think we just might leave her out of it as much as possible."

Feeling her kiss on his forehead spread out, he smiled slightly. The Goddess had pissed him off royally not too long ago and he could see a way to use this to get back at the female demi-god just a bit, just for a touch of spite.

"Alright, that should be easily done enough. You have yourself a body outside of the realm of Dreaming, my dear? I think I have enough energy to make you a new one if it's needed. And do you have any mental images of what they look like? I have the idea that they are hidden in some fashion."

Tapping his head, he let his mind reach out to Tanith, brushing along her mind as if asking to be let in.