A u r A • H e a r t Z : Introductory Arc ~ [ Lit. O / A ]

Epic battle is Epic!

Hale v Crimson FTW!	40.6%	[ 13 ]
Leonoka v Twins FTW!	18.8%	[ 6 ]
JuCien v Xanas FTW!	28.1%	[ 9 ]
Captains v AlaJi FTW!	3.1%	[ 1 ]
Recruits v AnLance FTW!	6.2%	[ 2 ]
Ocean Team v Juriza FTW!	3.1%	[ 1 ]
Total Votes:			[ 32 ]

[Q-Mo]

"Life huh? I'll live it how I want to."

|| ♣ Jack Sanguine - The Mercenary - Symphonia, Farzai ♣ ||

[ OOC: Most epic battle ever. ]

"The power of Martel will bring you to Justice!"

Jack rolled his eyes as he and the burdened executioner reached the outskirts of the town with the mob of angry townsfolk, police and Crusaders on their tail; the mercenary had continuously spun around to delay the oncoming pursuers with exploding shots that he was sure not to actually kill anyone with. If anyone found out about this, he was in big enough trouble without also being charged with "Inter-world Murder" and other assault crimes. And despite his efforts to delay the mob, they were catching up nevertheless as a result of the executioner's rather pathetic speed and so Jack spun around to delay them again.

The mob had fallen behind but what he had heard catching up wasn't the trampling of people's feet but the furious pounding of horses as a group of mounted Crusaders closed in, led by that flashy blond idiot who called himself "The Hero Of Symphonia". "Oh gimme a break." Forming his Nexus again around his hands and focusing his aura so that not just one but both hands sparked and ignited with flames focused at the tips of his fingers, Jack was so concentrated on the task that failed to notice that the "Great Hero" was as he charged forth on your typical noble white steed in typical heroic style.

"Behold! The power of Angels! The blessing of Martel! The sword of Justice itself! The blade of heroes!" Jack looked up and what he saw made his jaw go ajar slightly in a disbelieving expression. His eye twitched at the ridiculousness of it all. Blake was forming a Nexus. While it was true that anyone could form a Nexus and Jack understood the basic idea behind it, it just seemed... so stupid that someone like that could have a Nexus? Besides, just WHAT kind of emotion could he be using to channel that kind of power? Jack was pretty sure you couldn't form a Nexus out of stupidity... maybe it was vanity.

The golden glow enshrined the rider, circling him and coating his blade causing it to extend and become ridiculously huge, to the point where Blake's arm seemed to quiver from the sheer effort of holding it up. Then came the wings, formed from pure golden light, they appeared in a overly-flashy manner that was admittedly quite impressive and before Jack could get a good look at them finished with an explosion of light that probably blinded all the poor Crusaders riding next to Blake and covered the town with golden radiance.

"ARGH! ... You cannot be serious."

Jack had managed to cover his eyes partially with his arms but still was dazzled for a few moments before his vision began to restore itself although still painfully bright. Blake was incredibly close now, although his fellow riders and their horses seemed to have found their ways into walls, the ground and otherwise veered off-course and crashed. There's no way he can be that powerful but... how the hell did he generate something that looks like that if he isn't!? Blake raised the oversized blade above his head with both hands as he charged to Jack atop his apparently unaffected steed, it glowed with a fiery golden light, Blake's wings shone with energy; Jack stood rooted to the spot in shock, anger and fear at the idiot who apparently possessed great power.

Blake leaped into the air, his wings keeping him suspended above the town while bathing it in beautiful light. An exclamation rose from the members of the mob who hadn't been blinded by the explosion earlier, Blake shuffled around a bit (with great effort apparently) until he was shadowed by the sun and then gazed down and pointed his blade at Jack with the authority of fate itself. "Today. Today Justice will be served to you. To you and that demon whose foul taint will be cleansed from this land, whose foul influence will be dispelled from the people! Whose foul taint will be destroyed by the hand of I! Blake Kafe, Great Hero of S-."

"Oh for..." Jack disappeared in a flash of red smoke, Blake blinked but then realized that there was a flapping noise above him, looking up he was shocked to see the mercenary above him in the air but quickly regained his composure charging his blade up with a huge glow of golden light and preparing to bring it upon the red head. "Awesomely Powerful Heroic Swing!" The blade descended with the power of the heavens thundering down, leaving a trail that was blazing golden Justice itself and... missed.

Jack had disappeared again. And then reappeared, inside the arc of Blake's swing and pulling his arm back for a punch. "SHUT-THE-HELL-UP-PUNCH !!" The fist connected with the momentum of gravity carrying Jack down through the air, the weight of Jack's body and his inherit hate of people like Blake. Then. The red energy blazing around the fist exploded in a explosion that was although not nearly as big or impressive as Blake's was a lot more substantial than flashy lights. It did the job, Blake was punched across the sky and sent flying out of sight with a scream.

--

Crunch.

Apples. It was funny, no matter where you went, you'd find apples. It was kind of like how no matter where he or any other member of the Sanguine family went, trouble just seemed to track them down and find them. In this case, trouble was "demon" girl he had rescued and was now laying in the shade of the Firehawk. Somewhere in the distance, the executioner tied to a tree and given a spoon to free himself with called out for help.

He turned around and blinked, she was standing up not and looking at him strangely. That look... it was definitely Neera alright. She seemed to panic however as he met her eyes and tumbled backwards and tried to retreat from him comically. She then proceeded to look at him and he looked right back at her. This seemed to last quite a while.

"Don't tell me you're so hungry you can't even talk." Jack said, breaking the silence, she said nothing. Just stared back beseeching and gazing at the fruit he held hungrily. He sighed, just like the Neera he remembered, "I guess it can't be helped. Those guys treated you worse than my old man did, and that's pretty bad." Jack calmly descended from his perch atop the worldship and opened the pilot's hatch falling inside and out of sight for a second.

Inside, Jack rummaged through the compartments where he stored his essentials like cigarettes, alcohol and sometimes food for something edible and a preferably non-alcoholic drink. While seemingly calm, the red head's mind was buzzing with as many questions as Neera's was, what was she doing here? How was she still alive? Why did she seem... different? "[********. Do I really drink nothing but alcohol? Seriously... why isn't there... s**t. No water." Jack made a mental note, which would probably be ignored and forgotten, to change his diet to something a bit more healthier. He didn't have very long to live due to his family's legacy but he hoped to at least live that short length out.

The red head emerged from the ship with a small scavenger's feast of half eaten pizza boxes, two apples and a half-melted little sealed cup of ice cream which was on the tip of expiring. To drink there was an assortment of brandies and alcohols, with the least alcoholic of which being offered to Neera. "Eat up. Thanks to you, I don't think I'm going to get paid for awhile." Jack sat himself next to Neera with a grin, "Really? I save your life and you can't even say thank you Neera? Come on now. We both know we weren't raised THAT badly. Although it was pretty close."

"Even if that means ending up wasted in a gutter. You get out of my way."

[Leonoka]

The mysteries of a past unkown
---The lament destruction within
------The narrow path
---------The lost prophecy of a future bathed in light
The Purpose…

|| [†] Leonoka Serakai | The Wandering Prince | The center of Ak’Raj [†] ||

A subtle breeze caught grains of sand, whisking them here and there over the shifting ground. It sculpted grand dunes and sharp ridges that would catch the sunlight on one side and then shade the other. This… “sea” of sand constantly moved, heeding no one and no thing, swallowing whole ruined cities and hours later regurgitating them. The sun peeked over the edge of the world, bestowing its brilliant morning rays upon the glittering sand.

Already, the sands were sizzling with the warmth of the morning. Off in the distance, a black…thing… seemed to jut out from the horizon. It seemed just a blur – a mirage – filtered by the heated fumes that rose up off the sands. Time began to pass and the black spec turned into more of a distinguishable figure, still marred by the waves of heat that resided on the edge of sight.

The sun hung fiercely at the top of the sky, now encompassing all within its beating rays. No longer were shadows allowed to suffer, as the light reflected off the sands to eradicate every dark space on this stifling sea. The black, wavy black figure could now be established as a person – a tall one. It stood upright, and walked at a steady even pace, never faltering and unwavering. Though, something was off. It seemed as though there was a dark area surrounding the person. Once more the time elapsed slowly, and exhaustingly. The figure grew larger as did the shadow surrounding it, now distinguishable as a man. A queer one at that. His head was a radiant white, in fine long locks. His grab was not of the average desert traveler. It consisted of a long black overcoat of sorts, and black slacks and shoes. The Shadow about the man seemed to emanate from him, covering him in a sort of artificial shade.

---------------

”Leonoka? You are sure you want this?”

“……..Yes… I think that I owe my sibling this much…”

“…Very well… Is the Council ready for the vote?”

“The Council is ready, Governor.”

“All in favor?”

“Aye.”
---“Aye.”
“Aye.”
---------”Aye.”
---”Aye.”
------”Aye.”
“…Nay…”

“...Councilor Valecor? Please present your argument…”

----------------

The man stopped, suddenly, looking straight ahead. His eyes were queer, both in physical appearance and how they stared. It was a distant look, as if the eyes were replaying a scene that was deep within his mind – playing it just before him. The senses and feelings returning, flooding back to him through the memory.

-----------------

A smooth face streaming with tears. Its lips moving but the words are in audible. Though how could he forget those words… The wind rustled her hair. He turned from her and walked away out onto the docks. She came after him running in his footsteps. She struck him on the back. He stopped. She continued, drumming on him.

“Someday you’ll understand…” He said, and continued to walk on. She stopped and stood their limp. Her hair down about her face. She muttered something once – twice. Then finally screamed it at him, and ran off. He hesitated in his step momentarily and then continued.

------------------

The familiar sight of the endless sands returned to the man. He then looked down. He adjusted himself to the sun, and looked to the left, he looked to the right, and then down again.

------------------

”Varreka is a very capable young girl, she does not need a caretaker…… Besides, are we really willing to unleash Muramasa on the world again?”

“…”

“Councilor Valecor has something of a point…”

“Yes, he does… But I have already considered this. We all know how destructive one can be left alone to their own devices and rules. We must take the risk that Leonoka, is well enough to handle Muramasa – for the sake of Varreka,”

“…”

“Is the vote final?”

“.........Yes, the vote is final, Governor.”

--------------

The man crouched down, peering into the sand. He lent a hand to it, placing it softly over the burning grains. He scooped some out, and then proceeded to dust the area. A smooth metal fragment was revealed and then covered again shortly thereafter. He touched the metal piece, and then a sense of confirmation washed over him.

--------------

“Leonoka! ……. Leonoka, are you positive you want to follow through with this?”

“Yes… I believe I am… Alleth”

“Good… You will find resistance in all places… but do not be discouraged… Even you sister may not be the person you once knew… If this is the case, do not give up on her. Fight for her Leonoka, you must fight for her. Whether she wants it or not…”

“...Alleth?”

“Yes?”

“...What did you mean when you spoke of Grims that were left to their own devices and rules…?”

“…………I believe you have already experience this…”

“Yes, but you hid something behind your words…”

“……Hahahah. It seems that I am no longer able to keep my meanings my own… You have certainly grown Leonoka. However, I think it is better that such dark things are left to less weary days…”

“… I think I understand…………… Alleth?"

"Hmm?"

"What will I find up there?”

“A wonderous expanse… Full of life. It’s abundant glow will overflow onto you. Enrapturing you in its chill, but brilliant grasp. You will encounter new friends and new enemies. Things will still seek your destruction for being what might be considered an abomination to some. Though, you will also have powerful allies… If you stay true…. Stay true Leonoka, for all the good that is still on Alar, stay true…”

“I will...”

“..."

"Where will you begin?”

“Verra…”

“A wise choice………………If every other option fails, however, go to the center of Ak’Raj…”

“….”

“…”
“Goodbye, Alleth…”

“Fare you well, Leonoka… Son…”

-----------------

Leonoka, stood up erect, standing on the piece of metal. He let the wind freely take control of his hair, wildly playing with, whipping it into a flurry of platinum strands. He released the shadow from him and closed his eyes, letting the sun shine down on his face. He heard the whir of the wind, and the rasp of the sands. His stoic face, upturned at the sky, seemed to soften. It was as if he were saying farewell to it, the sands, the wind – everything…

Suddenly, three pairs of wings erupted from his back. The air quivered a bit and then stood absolutely still. Even the waves of heat that are normally seen at the edge of sight on hot days dared no to move. The wind ceased, and the sands quit their moaning. This was only held for but a moment. Then there was a sudden spike in energy levels. The air shook violently, and the ground tremorred uncontrollably. His hair and loose clothing were sent into a frenzy of a caliber not seen yet. A shockwave was set loose, emanating from Leonoka. The sands were, thus, blown away, creating an enormous auditorium of sorts. It ran deep, and wide, uncovering the very floor, the solid ground of the desert. Fire was set the walls of sand, instantly turning them to glass. The blast had also uncovered something else, the object of Leonoka’s tribulation.

A large metal frame stood bare at the center of its glass amphitheatre, as if it were a showcased jewel. Its structure was perfect, the wearing of time and endless sands seemed like they had no effect on the artifact. It was round, perfectly so. Two large poles stood to either side of the ring, guarding it. A set of stairs led up to the center of the ring, at the base of the stairs was a podium that had a floating orb situated over it.

Leonoka’s wings disappeared in a bout of white fire and shadow. He then stepped off the top of the ring, free falling to the bottom. Just before he made contact with the bedrock of Ak’Raj, Leonoka seemed to hit a cushion of air, decelerating him enough for him to make a soft, light landing.

He looked around at this awesome sight. The golden glow from the glass encircling this rare marvel, the best living example of ancient magics. For anyone else this would’ve been a sight to strike one speechless for the rest of their mortal life. But Leonoka merely glanced form side to side, his countenance never changing. It had hardened once again, and was loath to release the stoic mask. He walked up to the podium, reverently, slowly inclining his hand to it. The moment it made contact, the point where his finger had barely even touched the orb, his entire hand was sucked into it grasping it. It was sudden and painful, sending a jolting shock up along his arm. However, what followed next made this feel insignificant. The orb came to life, the marbling of the stone orb shifted and swirled. Faster and faster it went. Try with all his might, Leonoka could not pry his hand free of the orb. Then the orb began to forcibly extract the magical essence it required, since it was not freely being given it. The pain of this process, even to a Grim, can leave one lame and incapacitated, even cause death. Leonoka, struggled to stay conscious, when finally it released him, allowing him to tumble backwards.

What happened next, stole Leonoka’s attention away from his arm. The ring made a cracking sound that split the sky. Suspended in the center of the ring, a black tear formed. It began to grow gradually. The more it grew the more the earth began to shake. It reached about half the diameter of the ring, and then snapped open the rest of the way, releasing a wave of energy.

The wave, passed over Leonoka, rustling his clothing and hair. Awe apparent in his eyes, he fumbled to get up. He had seen these gates before, and had seen them open, but never had he witnessed the opening of an interplanetary portal. It was much larger then any of the others, and its opening procedure much more violent and dangerous.

Star-struck, he ascended the steps, cradling his arm, which yet throbbed with the pain of its experience. Leonoka, then, unhesitantly, passed through the cold, black void. It swallowed him whole, rippling outward, as if it were a pond that had been unsettled by a stone. And then was still. A moment passed. Two. And the blackness of the void disappeared, and the orb at the podium returned to normal. It was now merely a ring, some steps, and a podium… Lifeless.

…to be found.
…to be revealed.---------
…to be followed.------
…to be harnessed.---
…to be known.

[PyroXTech]

I'm tired of running away.
It's finally time to stand and fight.

The Rogue
Shino Ishida - Farzai, Symphonia
"I'm sorry to interupt, but I must inform you that I still don't care."

Clad in his usual black robe Shino stood among the crowd watching the lynchings, though the rogue did not seem as amused as all the other mindless idiots around him, arms crossed across his chest with a look of disinterest plastered across his face. He cared not about the crimes that these people had commited nor the fact that they were killed, but the fact that they had to turn it into a form of entertainment made him sick to his stomach. The thought of saving a few of the more innocent-looking criminals had come across his mind, not to save their worthless lives but rather end this trivial event before he put a bullet in his own head. In the end he just clapped his hands as the crowd around him burst out cheering, the entire event seemed to go by quicker that way.

Eventually all of the criminals had been killed, save the white-haired demon girl that he had seen tormented several times since his arrival in Farzai. She already seemed dead as she was forced into the noose, tired, hopeless and most likely severly beaten. Shino brought up the thought of resucuing this demon girl just like he had done several times before, yet the thoughts of being shot at, imprisoned and most likely hung on that same stage did little to turn him away. Damn, I know I'm going to regret this. Reaching underneath his robe he unsheathed one his Hellfire pistols, taking a half-second to aim and... Somebody else had already saved her!

A red-haired man he had never seen before stood over the demon girl, protecting her as he knocked an oncoming crusader through the floor with a sigle, explosive punch. He couldn't help but smile as the man persuaded the very executioner to carry the girl as the three of them escaped, Shino sheathing the pistol as he broke from the crowd and followed after them. This had to have been the most interesting thing he had seen since his arrival on this drab planet "Well, saves me the trouble."

Observing the entire scene from some distance away, the rogue watched as the man fired a blast of explosive energy, knocking away the Crusaders in the blast radius. Several of the men attempted to get back up despite the pain, though unaware to them Shino had already altered their armor with several much heavier metals, pinning them to the ground in their weakened state. "We wouldn't want to interpt them now would we? Just sit down for a while and enjoy the show for once." Returning his attention to the red haired man, Shino noticed a rather flashy looking fellow had appeared on a white stallion, distracting his own men while Jack and the others escaped.

Shino took several steps towards the direction Jack had run off towards, but the sudden appearance of a rather sharp blade on his neck brought him to a halt, tossing his hands up unenthusiastically. "Halt criminal! I've never seen you around here before and suddenly you just appear with this red haired man. You have something to do with aiding of the escape of the demon don't you?" Drooping his head Shino let out a sigh, he wasn't in the mood to kill the man or even fight back, then he'd just end up having to leave this planet too. "I'm going to jail aren't I?" With that question Shino was marched off towards the Farzai prison, hardly able to notice Blake flying through the sky above.

-----Later that day-----

Having been stripped of his normal clothes, weapons and rings before being stuffed in a cell, Shino wasn't exactally in the best of moods. Resting his back against the back wall of his holding cell, hands stuffed into his pockets, he looked up as a rather decorated Crusader approached the holding cell. He met the Crusader's stare, but grew bored rather quickly. "If you have something to tell me I'd do it rather quick, think it's about time that I took a nap."

The Crusader was obviously aggrivated by the comment, gripping the bars to Shino's cell as he responded, never lifting his eyes from the rogue. "You arrogant fool, do you have any idea what kind of trouble you are in? Despite our warnings you have yet to give us any information on that red headed friend of yours and unless you start talking, you're going to hang." He pause for a moment, quite possibly smiling underneath his helmet. "That's right you're going to be killed by the very noose that was supposed to kill that vile demon. I'll give you some time to think about that." Waiting a moment to see Shino's reaction, which was to say none, the Crusader left the room in a huff.

-----Five minutes later-----

Properly redressed and armed with all of his belongings, Shino whistled arrogantly to himself, spinning his handcuffs around his index finger as he strolled towards the outskirts of Farzai. Hmph... Like hell if I'll just sit there and die. I wonder what else there is to do on this drab little planet.

So move out of my way,
before I have to cut you down.

[.Halcyonia.]

fall into [a light sleep],

........ it encompasses my very being

................ I never carry out my [ p r o m i s e s ] .

........................ so long ago, I threw away my brightness

................................ and like the light from the morning sun, it can never return.

........................................ it lies beside this cold h e a r t, frozen

................................................ so completely mindless that it persists {.forever.} xxx

- - » [location.] Unknown, Symphonia.

. Ν . Σ . Σ . R . Λ .
† . a . c a s t a w a y . [ h e a r t ] . †

{{ Um, so... just so it's clear, the thing with Neera is that she can feel emotions, but she can't understand them. Yikes. P: }}

---


From her place on the ground, Neera's crimson eyes met Jack's green ones, and stayed there. They held each other's gaze for a little while, in a strange few moments of silence.

"Don't tell me you're so hungry you can't even talk." said Jack, breaking the silence at last. He sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. Those guys treated you worse than my old man did, and that's pretty bad."

Neera tilted her head to the side, watching the young man with an interested expression as he disappeared into the front of the ship. Slowly, she sat up on her knees. Just now... Why did he speak... as if he knew me...?

"Those guys treated you worse than my old man did, and that's pretty bad."

She replayed those words over in her head, trying to decipher them.

His father...? Did he have her confused with someone else? She'd never met him, let alone his father. Neera turned her head to the side and stretched her neck to the right a bit, trying to get a glimpse of the inside of the ship, and what the red-head was doing rummaging around in it. She could hear things being moved around inside.

Neera could see now that he wasn't really very old at all, probably only a few years older than herself. For some reason, this made her feel more... well, she wasn't sure. The feeling she felt at night, when she was safe from people. He also had a familiar way of speaking to her that no one had ever used with her before. She liked the tone of his voice, she decided. It was... hmm. It made her feel less... alarmed? Frightened? It wasn't really clear to Neera, but she liked it.

She was still a little frightened and confused by her situation, but so far the boy had been rather friendly, and for a reason she couldn't explain, Neera almost felt like... she was comfortable around him. She didn't even know this herself, since she didn't understand emotions, but that was what it was. It was like she wanted to trust him. And... what he said...

Neera lifted her head from her contemplations as she heard Jack say something to himself from the inside of the ship. She had better hearing than most people, but she couldn't catch all of what the boy murmured to himself. Something about alcohol...?

The boy emerged from the ship once again, carrying several boxes in his hands and a small pile of food on top. This was soon followed by an array of bottles of different shapes and sizes. When he placed the boxes and food down next beside her, Neera's face lit up, her eyes seeming to regain life simply at the smell of food.

Thank the goddess... There were tears in her eyes. She was saved!

"Eat up. Thanks to you, I don't think I'm going to get paid for awhile."

Neera watched as the red-headed boy came and sat down next to her. She felt a tinge of guilt at his statement, but he was... grinning. Was it a joke, then? She really couldn't understand those. Unsure of herself, the corner of Neera's mouth twitched slightly, as if she was trying to return his smile but had forgotten how to. If it was a joke, she wanted to laugh at it. She wanted to smile back at this person who had been kind to her. That's what people did in those situations, right? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that this was someone who didn't shy away from her - who actually sat next to her. Who treated her like... a person.

Who was this boy and what had she done to deserve such kind treatment? She hoped he wouldn't run away once he realized who she was...

Neera picked up an apple and inspected it, holding it up to the light and letting the sun glint off its shiny red skin. It was perfect. She inhaled the scent slowly, then couldn't resist any longer. Moving it to her mouth quickly, she took a big bite out of the apple. At first, she almost choked - her mouth was so dry that any food felt like sand and left an odd sensation on her tongue that hadn't been used in so long. Her mouth felt sore just moving again, like a machine that's gotten rusty from sitting in the garage unused.

Coughing a bit, Neera choked down the apple, and finally managed to swallow it. She took another bite, then another, and soon enough her mouth seemed to remember how to chew food again. It was a glorious sensation. With every bite, Neera's stomach seemed to feel even hungrier, and the girl only wished she could eat faster. She took another quick bite and wiped away some juice from her chin with the back of her hand.

"Really? I save your life and you can't even say thank you Neera? Come on now. We both know we weren't raised THAT badly. Although it was pretty close."

Neera stopped mid-bite, nearly dropping the apple from her hand. She caught it before it hit the ground, though - food was far too precious to waste at this point. Slowly, Neera turned to face the boy next to her, a look of surprise written across her wide-eyed face. My name... how does he know my name? She took another bite of apple, slowly, and continued to stare at him for a few seconds longer. Then she realized she was staring and looked away suddenly.

Yep, she was really quite awkward in social situations. Neera nibbled more on the apple, thinking over what he said. "We both know we weren't raised THAT badly..." Raised... Raised? He spoke as if they were raised together. "...treated you worse than my old man did..."

Finishing the apple, Neera cautiously lifted one edge of a pizza box, poking it gingerly and crouching down to peer inside before lifting the top off fully, as if to make sure there was nothing inside that might jump out at her. Once she was certain that it was food, she lifted the top off completely and stared inside. What was this thing...? Taking a slice cautiously, she put it to her mouth and tasted it. Whatever it was, it was delicious, and it was food. Neera worked at the pizza hungrily, and steadily the slice in her hand disappeared.

Neera thought back to what the boy had just said, and suddenly she began to feel a little guilty, because... what he'd said was true. She couldn't say thank you. She would never be able to say thank you, because she had no voice. But oh, how she wished to speak those words. Neera looked back at the boy with eyes that were somehow sad. They were the eyes of a girl who would never be able to say what she wanted to, someone who had to keep everything locked inside of herself.

But she wouldn't let that get in her way. Swallowing her food, Neera wiped her mouth cautiously and glanced back at the boy, looking almost nervous. That strange smile twitched at the corner of her mouth again, and she formed the words with her lips:

Thank you.

Her eyes smiled, even though her mouth had largely forgotten how to, and she held his gaze for just a moment. Then her face suddenly changed to one of discomfort and alarm, and the girl put a hand to her stomach. She flung the remainder of the piece of pizza back towards the box and scrambled off towards the bushes on hands and knees. Moments later, she'd barely made it behind the nearest bush when the sounds of retching echoed in the clearing.

Neera leaned over on her hands and knees, panting and waiting for her body to finish rejecting the food she'd put into it. Finally, it was done. Neera scrunched up her nose and frowned, looking ruefully away from the smelly spot in the bushes. The saddest thing to her was that it was such a waste of food.

Crawling back on her hands and knees as she was still too weak to stand, Neera returned to her spot beside the red-haired boy, glancing at him apologetically like a dog that knew it had done something wrong. Luckily, none of it had gotten on her clothes. She picked up another apple, deciding that, for now, her body wouldn't be able to handle things like that cheesy thing in the box. She'd stick to just apples for now. And... try to eat more slowly.

But the regurgitation left a bad taste in her mouth, so Neera decided to get something to drink first. She reached for what she thought might be water. Picking up the nearest bottle, she raised it to her lips and thirstily tried to chug it.

Ale went everywhere. Upon contact with her throat, Neera's eyes widened, and she spit everything out in a fountain spray of alcoholic beverage. Coughing harshly until the terrible drink was cleared from her throat, Neera pushed the bottle back into the dirt roughly, as if determined not to have anything to do with it.

After she'd recovered, Neera still found herself thirsty. Cautiously this time, she reached for a different bottle and took a tiny sip. This turned out to be tequila, and, being at least ten times more alcoholic than the last, burned her throat viciously as it went down. The drink brought tears to her eyes, and the poor girl squeezed them shut and stuck out her tongue, letting out an exhalation of breath. To Neera, it felt like she was breathing fire. She hadn't drank a drop of alcohol since she'd been on Symphonia, so her tolerance was close to nothing.

Putting that bottle back as well, Neera gave the whole lot of them a glare and took a bite of her apple, refusing to drink any more. They hadn't even helped quench her thirst, either - just made her thirstier, it seemed. She glanced over at the boy beside her with her brows furrowed in a shocked expression that said, You actually drink this stuff?!

Neera took another bite of the apple and suddenly realized how rude she was being. First, she was taking all of this boy's food, and he'd said he wouldn't get paid for awhile, all because of her. Neera swallowed. Picking up an apple, she placed it next to him, offering it, and the corner of her mouth twitched a little. She had another thought, and pulled the remaining pizza boxes over next to him. He could have those, too - she wasn't touching any more of that. And the bottled stuff as well, but she didn't have the energy to move all of those bottles.

Neera then picked up the little sealed cup of ice cream and held it up in front of her cautiously, reading the label. Ice cream... She blinked. What was that? She didn't know, but she liked the cool feel of it in her hands, the way the water beaded on the side. Water... Forgetting her manners, Neera suddenly licked the side of the little cup, soaking up the condensation. Mid-lick the second time, she seemed to remember that she was in the company of someone. She didn't want to appear like a rude slob to the person who had just saved her...

Controlling herself, Neera wiped off the side of the little cup where she'd licked it and inspected the cup again. She pressed it to her cheek, apparently delighted by the cool feeling of it, and her mouth twitched into a smile - this time both sides twitched, but just briefly. After looking at the top of the cup again and figuring out how to open it, she pried it open with her fingers and looked inside. There was a creamy mess of melted vanilla ice cream. Neera furrowed her brows at first, then licked a tiny taste off the top of the lid, squeezing one eye closed in preparation for something either vomit-inducing or throat-burning.

Surprisingly, it was neither. Instead, Neera was greeted by a wonderous sensation of deliciously sweet, soft, smooth, melty, creamy, cold... pure deliciousness. Face lighting up, she tipped a little into her mouth and savored it, letting the taste cool her tongue. For a moment, she even closed her eyes in enjoyment. It was beyond heavenly, like nothing she'd ever tasted before.

She could eat the "vanilla ice cream" and apples for the rest of her life, as far as she was concerned.

Suddenly, Neera turned towards Jack and held out the rest of the little cup towards him, trying to get him to take it. You have to try this!! She wanted him to experience the tastiness also. Neera's mouth twitched a little again, and this time she almost smiled, for just a split second.

Placing the cup down on the ground in front of the red-head, Neera decided that it was time they cleared a few things up. Even though her stomach still felt hungry, it also simultaneously felt full. After all that time not eating, she was sure that it had shrunk. If she tried to eat anything more, she might throw up again, and she really didn't want to. So for now, she'd just stick with small amounts.

Shuffling through the folds of her skirt for a moment, Neera pulled out a small, light diary and a pencil. She sighed in relief that they were still there. She couldn't do anything without them.

Picking up the pencil, she opened the diary to a blank page and began scribbling a few things down.

Thank you for everything.

Who are you?
Why did you save me?

She paused in her writing, and slowly raised her head to look at the boy next to her. Neera stared for a moment, lowering her head a bit and looking up into his eyes as if inspecting them. For some reason... why did she feel like... as if...

Silently, Neera cursed her inability to understand emotions. If only she knew what this was, this feeling... It was sort of like the feeling she got when she looked at apples again. Maybe it was what they called happiness, but she wasn't sure, because she didn't really understand what that was. No, it couldn't be that... wasn't quite the same feeling, anyway. This one was... different. Something she hadn't felt during her time on Symphonia.

She scribbled something out on the piece of paper, then pushed the open journal towards him.

How do you know my name?

† † †
n u m b l y, I gather the remnants of my emotions ........................................ and, [searching for redemption], I...

fall into [a light sleep] ........................................ on a { l o n e l y } night

I'm beginning to learn the designs of { s o r r o w } .

the hiding away of your [warm presence] ........................................ makes me { f e a r } the overflowing darkness.

so long ago, I threw away my brightness

and like the light from the morning sun, it can never return.
† † †

[Damien Nocturne]

||The Wandering Tradesman||
Bridge of the Worldship Preposterous

( "You take a look at Yato, and then take a look at any other neighboring planet, and it’ll make you want to tear out your hair. Especially if you live there [on Yato]! Why the hell do they get their happy-time magic technology when all we get are genocidal golems and sandy relics?" )

Worldships were useful bits of engineering, minus the worms and random destabilizations and tenuous cohesion within the fabric of reality, since they (usually) got you from place to place in (roughly) one piece and tended to look reasonably cool while doing it. They’re just way too slow for anyone wanting to hop between worlds with a reckless sort of abandon, even given the fact that the Lifestream is (hypothetically) just a corridor of mass-free space – which would (theoretically) allow for unlimited acceleration. Silly engineers, never taking advantage of that.

Not that he had a massive (30-ton, 15 times) FTL drive squirreled away somewhere, since the notion was patently absurd.

Mm, recycled air – like tasting a familiar thing over and over, not quite your favorite little treat but certainly not the worst, recycled air grew on you. Even this old-made-new oxygen felt so, fresh, so vivacious in comparison to the musty air of that forgotten library. It was stale, but not stagnant, free of struggle or death or blood – hm. Perhaps if he could trap some of this air (in bottles? Jars? Not cans, they wouldn’t really be acceptable to the majority) he could sell it back home – they’d need a catchy name, like fresheners or something, and then they’d sell like hotcakes.

No, no, best to avoid opening that can of worms. The supply wouldn’t be enough to cover the demand, and when you couldn’t keep up with Demand it tended to gobble you up and spit out the pieces. The little, ground-up pieces.

…Well, at the very least, that frenetic sense of danger was (mostly) gone. Nothing here would kill a peddler for sport. Probably.

Certainly not that dark-haired man.


His step was feather-light upon the floor, cloak as infuriatingly still as it (always) was before he left – a sliver of molten gold split the air for a mute instant and vanished. Alahalm was smiling so terribly loud, lips stretch tight across his face and eyes crinkled lines beneath his brow.

Step across the metal, quietly now. No sound.
Step again, softer, longer – close. Your feet are another tool; muffle your arrival.
Third step, last step, swiftest of all – quietest of all. End it.

He slapped a broad, dark hand on the man’s shoulder – bah, harsh cloth and stitched things, waste of a damn fine material to turn it into that; unmarketable – eyes twinkling merrily in the artificial lighting (fluorescent? More or less) overhead. He was chuckling now, as he felt the spasm rock beneath his fingers.

“What! What is someone doing-“

The dark-haired man had whirled, eyes wide with shock (and some anger, ooh.) He looked ready give an unlucky man a very stern talking-to, perhaps several of them – and then, cognition. And everything…
slumped.

“Oh.” Oh, he says! Alahalm would have been deeply offended if he weren’t already so amused. “Why are you here, peddler? Come to swindle me of money for useless baubles once again?”

The Wandering Tradesman let his grin grow wider, teeth gleaming unnaturally in the light. He’d always had a very dramatic face, hadn’t he?

“Oh, but dear King! Dear Cowardly, Craven King, I seek only to grant you the benefit of my much needed wares, available at my excellent prices!” And then his mouth twisted, grin distorting into a displeased sort of grimace that was impossible to describe – the, sheer smug arrogance it conveyed…!

“And I do peddle trinkets, my liege, not baubles. Such trifles are for apprentice tradesman, at best. ”

He waved his hand and dismissed the topic, cloak still heavily quiet. It was infuriating, that lack of sound. A cloak such as that shouldn’t be so quiet–

Alahalm guided the (still slumped, eyes half-lidded with a sort of feeble acceptance) former Monarch along with him as he strutted away, taking in the sights with an unpleasant relish. It felt almost despicable, really – that jolly brown gaze of his.

“Alas, but I have been rude! Where shall your mighty Worldship take us this time, oh comrade of mine? I trust to excitement, and adventure, or at the very least a decent profit.”

Matt III attempted opening his mouth to reply, but thought better of it – best not to attract its attention, maybe it would forget about him and move on. It can’t see you if you aren’t talking to it…!

[Makihyu Hiashin]

».......I may be a fool about to walk off a cliff,
.......but I am the fool with a sack,
.......and in this sack I have the things
.......with which I'll make my destiny

» [By Your Powers Combined] I am Captain Preposterous «
♦ Mattheis Hiashin III ♦
H.K.M.S. Preposterous - Bridge, Life-Stream
(♫)

.......A sort of... awkward, frown-smile formed on the Captain's scarred face (Not King! Prince, maybe, but I never was King, and I don't intend to ever be! he thought to himself - though he knew well that it was the same thought that crossed his mind every time the cloaked peddler decided to sneak up on him), accompanied by a raised eyebrow. Mattheis knew Alahalm well - or, at least, had encountered him enough to be familiar with him - and knew that there would be no getting rid of that wandering-salesman-with-the-silver-tongue until he either bought something or the man left on his own. But this - this was the first time the nuisance of a salesman had appeared to him and called him that title in front of his crew and passengers, and Captain Hiashin did not want any of it.

.......The Captain sighed, getting up from his chair and gulping down the last of his tea while all of the crew members in the bridge (even the usually stoic, focused Altya) silently stared at him and his strange, unfamiliar companion. Mattheis knew that they would have eventually learned about the salesman from Yato anyway, and knew that they would, later, probably, question him about his involvement with the man.

.......Truth be told, though; Mattheis did not want to have anything to do with him, either.

.......He was led away from the Captain's chair, but before the peddler could lead him out of the Bridge, Mattheis worked up the willpower to stop. Alahalm may have been ridiculously persuasive, but he was not about to lead the ship's captain out of the Bridge - where he really was supposed to be, anyway. Where they had stopped, they were standing in a mostly vacant corner of the Bridge - though most of the crew members were still staring at them. Perhaps it'd have been better to completely ignore the salesman, but since they were already here, well, there really was no turning back - Alahalm would just continue to pester him, anyway.

.......Him and that annoyingly enthusiastic expression of his that made the Royal cringe, and that twinkle in the man's eyes that only served to completely destroy the Captain's good humor.

.......Mattheis spoke, with his head lowered slightly and his voice even lower. "Sometimes, I still don't get how you manage to find me, Alahalm - even out here on the Life-Stream. You Yato men and your unfamiliar magics - couldn't you bother another man, or at least another passenger with money? I was just in a really good mood." he growled, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. While he'd never been to that world, the Captain sincerely hoped that Alahalm was just a bad example of the usual Yato denizen and that not everybody else on that world was as annoying as this man was.

......."Alas, but I have been rude! Where shall your mighty Worldship take us this time, oh comrade of mine? I trust to excitement, and adventure, or at the very least a decent profit."

.......Tch, the Captain thought, tempted to bite his thumb at the peddler and even more tempted to say, You're rude all the time, Alahalm.

......."To answer your question: Just Vectiras. Then we're stopping by all the rest of the worlds that are on the way to Krux to pick up potential Keepers and drop them off at Vectus Academy." he said, with a dull expression. "Don't expect too much adventure this time, 'comrade', as far as I know this isn't going to be any sort of combat mission. Though, profit...?" The Captain snorted.

......."I won't guarantee any of that this time, either," came the statement, in hopes of possibly discouraging the man - or, even better, getting him to leave the ship. "Most of the would-be Keepers here got on this ship for free - by invitation from other Keepers or recruiters. Until we get to Krux, I would assume that many of them won't even have a single bronze piece in their pockets..." Mattheis paused, looking the salesman straight in the eye. His own eyes, which now gave a piercing, icy stare, narrowed. He then added,

......."Oh, and unless you have any really new and special trinkets this time, I don't have any gold immediately on hand to give you, either. And you know I have no reason to be writing out any I-owe-you's."

With these things I have chosen.......
to build a ship, my wings to fly.......
to fly off this cliff, to fly above the world.......
and to fly my own path to freedom........«

[_Passive-x-Entropy_]

Greed Is For Amateurs.
Disorder.
Chaos.
Anarchy.

Now That's FUN!

ABASHED THE DEVIL STOOD AND FELT HOW AWFUL GOODNESS IS
-----------------------------------------------------------
♥ R ä z i e L ♥
H.K.M.S. Preposterous [Bridge, Life-Stream]
-----------------------------------------------------------
ALL IN THE BACK THEY SCRAPE APART THE FLESH ON YOUR MIND

.......A strange appearance on the bridge does not go unnoticed. Even if the person who would be most interested in this happening was currently distracted by a rather shiny green lifestream. But at the first word 'King', her interest was piqued, and she turned her head. At the word 'trinkets', she turned completely. And at the simple glint of metal in the man's hair and his general mysterious air, along with his appearance out of...well, nowhere...

.......The angel spread her wings, beating them once, driving herself nearly into the ceiling. Folding them again, she plunged, landing in front of the mysterious visitor, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. Slinging her arms around the figure, she gazed up at him, her expression pleading. "Trinkets? Shinies?!" A wide grin graced her partially cybernetic features as the rather tall woman looked up at the slightly taller man - though, with that slouch, they were about the same height, maybe an inch or two shorter on her end. "I has monies!" Practically bouncing with glee, she stepped back and opened her bag, exposing a rather generous amount of cash.

.......Räziel seemed like a rather childish, rude individual when you first met her. In fact, that's all most people would ever see, now that she was no longer on Zaros. She had little time to learn manners before she was taken to the slaughter grounds, and was thrust into battle at a fairly early age, stunting her mental growth. So outside of the ring, she was the individual that stood before Alahalm. Generally, rather snuggly and cheerful. But the potential Keepers would see her other side, the first Nith that they saw. They would see how she earned that gleaming pile of cash that she now exposed to the Wandering Tradesman.

.......The bloody battles, the sickening crack of bone as she bashed the hilt of her sword into a fresh skull or threw an unsuspecting body against the walls of the Slaughter grounds... There was blood on her hands, and lots of it. But there was also gold in her bag...and lots of it. Several times as much as there were bodies on her count. The bag was incredibly heavy... But she had nothing else to carry. Just one spare uniform under it all....But that was it. Just the money, the spare uniform, and the sword strapped around her waist were her posessions. And she'd gladly exchange some of the gold that weighed her down for lighter, shiny things.

-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm Not Finished...

[Taska Neko]

[тнє мσѕт σвℓινισυѕ]---》「 σƒ αℓℓ 」

[K]aito [A]zure

[海翔 アズレ]

Keeper Team 9-AC - Worldship The Lady, Lifestream

Lost in the darkness,
Silence surrounds you.
Once there was morning,
Now endless night.

Kaito was luckily that his mind was currently preoccupied with staring at Mav's cupcake, else he probably would have been scared of the look Hale gave to everyone of his crew. Well...maybe scared wasn't the right word, sure the small blue angel boy would have found Hale to be intimidating...but he probably would have found it to be more creepy then anything else. Kaito's sense of looking at things was a bit twisted after all, and since he had already seen Hale as a good natured guy it would be hard for him to shake that image of the man with a few shadows and a change of the tone of his voice. Kaito was used to it due to having Sukai with him all the time anyway, it really wasn't much different to him.

The moment Hale snatched the muffin from Mav's hands Kaito's eyes glued themselves on a new target. He watched greedily as the cupcake was then broken into pieces and given to each member of Team 9-AC. He was quite pleased when the Captain gave him an especially large piece to eat. The moment Kaito had that sweet snack in his hands his little face lit up with so much joy, it was actually slightly cute to see him so excited over something so small as a small piece of muffin. Looking at Hale then to Mav he grinned largely, "Thank you!" Kaito gleed before popping the detectible morsel into his tiny mouth enjoying the sweet taste that filled it as he ate.

Kaito didn't know what is was about that muffin, but he knew one thing for sure. He absolutely LOVED it. Kaito couldn't help but want more, yet since he did already have a piece he refrained from asking for more...he could always do it later anyway. Surely that loud man on top of the ship would tell him how he could get some, he'd have to ask him about it later.

Licking the last of the sticky sweetness off his lips Kaito could finally begin to pay attention to what was going on around him once more, after all the muffin that had been keeping his attention was now finally gone from sight. It was now that Kaito noticed that their team had grown quite a bit in numbers since he had initially lost his attention. Kaito looked the newest arrivals over, paying special attention surprisingly not to the cold creepy looking male called Lucien, but especially to the girl (or boy, Kaito really didn't care which) named...no one? Kaito found that name to be odd, but hey who was he to judge right? If he asked maybe this no one would would even play with him. That would have to come later though, for at this moment it was time for them to all enter the Worldship.

Kaito was one of the first to race inside, though he was so fascinated by everything he came across that he was actually the last to finally take a seat. It was as he snapped on his buckle that he noticed yet another new face which hadn't been with them until just a few moments ago. Kaito gave a grin and waved happily to the newcomer before the sudden lift-off caught him by surprise making him grip the hand rests on his chair as he was jolted back from the force of the Worldship leaving Krux's atmosphere. Having settled herself firmly on Kaito's shoulder Sukai lightly cooed o her angel companion preening him to calm him down until the Worldship finally smoothed out.

Kaito gulped as he unbuckled his belt, now that they were safely in the life stream the ship was now riding smoothly. That didn't stop Kaito from wobbling a bit as he got to his feet however, still new to the whole flying in space deal and all. He was so busy trying to keep himself from tumbling that he barely even heard what Hale said next. He did catch a few things however. One was the comment about giving everyone comfy swiveling chairs. Kaito's mind buzzed with the fun possibilities of having one and gleed quiet loudly...it seemed he was the only one excited by that notion...

The other part he caught was their next destination. Symphonia...Kaito wondered what it would be like. He hoped it would prove to be more fun then Krux, maybe they would even have some nice skies for him to fly through too, Krux was really cloudy when it came to flying, and he hadn't been allowed to go out much when he was back there. Hopefully now that he was an official Keeper he would be able to do a lot more fun things.

Now, seeing at the Captain had nothing more to say and Kaito was finally feeling a bit more stable on his feet, the blue angel made his way over to the orange haired being who called herself 'no one". Shifting his weight slightly back and forth Kaito looked up at the other as he shifted Sukai from her perch on his shoulder to cradling her in his arms like a cute plushie. "Uh-um..." Kaito began muttering softly as if he wanted to ask her something but didn't know if he should or not. "No one...will you play with us?" Kaito blurted tilting his head slightly in a questioning manner, letting his wings flutter gently behind him.

If I could reach you,
I'd guide you and teach you
To walk from the darkness
Back into the light.

[Q-Mo]

"Life huh? I'll live it how I want to."

|| ♣ Jack Sanguine - The Mercenary - Symphonia, The Forest ♣ ||

[ OOC: Hey Shino, Jack and Shino are probably going to bump heads in the future. So when they fight, how about Shino turns it into a running battle for himself and beats Jack trapping him/rendering him unable to move or something and then gets knocked out from behind by Neera? xD

But then the Church Of Martel arrives again and Blake's stupidity wakes them up and they team up to deliver an awesome a**-whooping to like. An entire legion of Crusaders xD. Gosh I kind of hate this post. Jack isn't meant to be this emotional x.x

Anyway. For Shino's next post Pyro, you can post being attacked. Jack will have taken a spot in the trees where as soon as Shino gets in range, he'll basically try to blow him to smithereens from a distance with explosive shots. ]

Jack sat by on the grass, watching Neera carefully as she half-timidly half-ravenously devoured food he had placed by her with tears in her eyes. The mercenary felt a flare of anger at her captors... she looked horrible, her skin was pallid and like a layer of paper over her already thin and bony frame. Then again, with the diet that Jack lived by, she wasn't getting off much better although after some careful testing the demon girl seemed to be content with what he had to offer in terms of rations.

She was quite locked into the whole eating business until she somewhat suddenly glanced up to him after wiping her mouth free of some sticky apple juice. And on her lips twitched the beginnings of the smile that Jack would forgo the company of hundreds and thousands of fine ladies just to see. Maybe his dad had been right, he was a softie, whatever; it was worth it. As "impenetrably" professional as the Sanguine family was known to be in conducting their live, every armor had a weakness and Jack's was Neera, one of his few friends in this empty Collective.

Thank you. The words were never said, which was strange to Jack but at least she was talking to him... somewhat now. Was she mad at him for leaving her behind on that world? Jack opened his mouth, ready to deliver a full apology, the words lying on the tip of his tongue.

Then she ran off into the bushes and... well Jack didn't really want to think about it, naturally, he shut his mouth closed and the valve to access Jack's emotional side was sealed off once again. But the red-head after seeing the speed at which she was eating his food coupled with the general age and condition of most of his food wasn't really surprised by her sudden illness.

"You might wanna drink that sl-." Neera coughed up mouthfuls of ale, Jack grimaced slightly at the waste of good... well somewhat drinkable alcohol. "-owly." Then she went for the tequila, the demon girl had never been one who could hold her drink well from when Jack knew her and she had no chance in her starved and thin state. "Hey tha-." She looked like someone was ramming a flaming iron down her throat. "-t costs a fortune per sip..." Jack pondered the wisdom of taking ALL his edibles and drinkables out from the ship for this little picnic. Having a sudden "attack" of conscience, the demon girl shuffled several edibles in Jack's direction, he raised an eyebrow in a mock show of thanks: "Oh. Generous. Thanks."

Finally she went for the ice-cream, it was a surprise that she didn't go for it earlier. Jack knew firsthand that ice-cream was one of Neera's favorite foods no matter how cheaply made, bought or near expired it was. His Pops used to basically control her using it. She carefully approached the treat instead of attacking it ravenously like she usually did, giving herself a brain freeze in the process, and after a few moments of "pure heaven" for her, she spun to Jack and thrust the cup to him. He blinked in confusion.

"Ah. Well." His stomach rumbled, using his aura so excessively today had taken it's toll on the mercenary and despite not showing it as much as Neera, he was pretty empty in the stomach department. "I won't say no." he grabbed the cup and spooned the rest into his mouth, savoring the melted cream that was strangely filling for him... for a few moments of course, he then looked to the pizza boxes and unable to stop himself, thoroughly pilfered them while Neera fiddled with something.

Finishing off his second box of half-eaten pizza, the mercenary swiped up the bottle of tequila that Neera had tried earlier and took a few generous gulps savoring the icy fire as it ran down his throat and into his chest causing him to shake slightly from head to toe before letting out a contented sigh. "Ahhhh~ Nothing like the stuff." Jack seemed to think for a moment, "But I think it's something you have to be born with, it probably tastes horrible but you can't really just shrug off one hundred generations of hard drinking that easily." The mercenary looked up to see Neera... writing?

"Huh. What's..." The open journal was pushed to him, he read through the questions written in it, seemingly directed to him... what was up with her? Why wasn't she speaking to him? She couldn't be that mad right? Thank you for everything... He grinned slightly, and then read on, what he read next wiped the grin straight off his face. Who are you? ... What do... Who are you? How...Who am I? The red head looked up, his eyes furrowed in concentration and frustration, he looked Neera up and down again as if to check something. It's her... Why did you save me? Because... Because... because... because.

Was it because he felt guilty? That some part of had been conflicted and tearing him apart since the day he escaped that slaughter that he thought no one else had, the day he had inherited the legacy of the Sanguine family. ... Because. No. It wasn't guilt that drove him to save Neera. It was something else. Jack shook his head and looked at the last written line which confirmed the suspicions he already had about this Neera. How do you know my name? She didn't know him. When he had left her behind... had she really died? Even in a sense? It seemed like she recalled nothing, his comments about Pops rang up nothing... nothing at all.

He almost cried out of joy. She was alive. And she didn't remember how she and his father had been left behind by the fleeing boy. The fleeing boy who had seen the crumpled bodies of the closest things he had to family sprawled into dust. The boy who had ran to the worldship and left without even checking if they were really dead. Part of him had secretly hoped they were still alive, while the other wished they had died so they wouldn't hate him... but now... this. This was the most he could ask for, a second chance?

"Because..." He smiled cheerfully and ruffled Neera's head affectionately, he shook his head, "I don't. I guessed, it seemed to suit you. I'm Jack and I came here in this big ship... Nice to meet you." Jack said, in the same manner that he had a long time ago on another world where his father had brought Neera back from the local village and told him that he finally had a friend that could travel with him. Jack had nearly burst out crying, his father called him a weakling but he didn't care, just like he didn't care now. Humans are sociable beings, without company, they go mad with loneliness. Jack wasn't any different.

-- Later --

Packing everything up after showing Neera around where things were put on the Firehawk, Jack turned his head curiously as a small 'beep' alerted him to a incoming message, it was from his contractor... He turned to Neera with an encouraging smile. "Stay outside for a second, I've got to talk to someone." He climbed into the pilot's seat and after glancing back to ensure Neera wasn't in hearing distance or seeing range, switched on the message screen. It was Mr. Enigmatic, and surprise surprise, you couldn't see a thing when it came to his surroundings.

"Mr. Sanguine."

-- A few minutes later --

Jack stepped out of the ship, a business-like look on his face which softened slightly as he turned to Neera. "Wait here for me. I'll be back soon." The mercenary then walked off without another word in a chillingly professional manner, he knew exactly where he was going and this time, even if his Pops showed up on the gallows; he wouldn't be distracted from his job.

This time it wasn't just his livelihood at stake. This mission was for Neera now as well.

"Even if that means ending up wasted in a gutter. You get out of my way."

[.Halcyonia.]

♥ don't think twice before you listen to your heart,
follow the trace for a new start.
what you need and everything you'll feel
is just a question of the deal.
in the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove
the experience of survival is the key
to the gravity of love. ♥

★ Ⓨ Ⓐ Ⓝ Ⓜ Ⓔ Ⓘ ★
✿ do you have any fruit juice ? ! ✿
{{{ ♪♫♬ }}}

[ Island of Aedif, Vectiras ]

{{ Yeah, um. This is only half of it. x ux;;
Still working on her post style, so this is like... temporary/placeholder, yes.
Listen to the music. And please enjoy. <3 }}

...

The sweet, calm murmur of the ocean. Ever since she was small, it had been like a lullaby to Yanmei, and she would never forget the sound. Tonight, it was just the same as it had always been - rhythmic, constant. The ocean swelled, rising and falling, waves creeping up on the shore before falling back in sighs. It was the sound, thought Mei, that Vectiras made when it was breathing. It made that sound because it was alive.

It was a beautiful, warm summer night on the small island of Aedif, an island part of a long chain that hovered in the midst of Vectiras' vast ocean. Aedif, like most of the other islands on Vectiras, was considered a resort destination by travelers all over the Lifestream. Tonight, however, Mei was the quiet side of the island, far away from the bustling tourist beaches and busy hotels. Here, the beauty of the night sky was not ruined by the glare of street lights or obscured by tall buildings.

Vectiras' moons shone brightly in the sky like twin holes punched out of a dark screen. Down below, stars reflected in the ocean, making it glitter. On the sand, three figures walked along the beach - or rather, two walked and one skipped behind on the footprints left in the sand.

"Woooow..." gasped Yanmei, landing in a footprint and stopping. "Isn't the Lifestream beautiful tonight, Buki?" The small white tufted-eared marmoset on her shoulder made a soft chittering sound in reply.

The blue-green glow of the Lifestream stretched across the sky, clear and strong. It looked like a giant, soft cloud.

"Oh, don't you just love coming here on full-moon nights, Al? It's so lovely..." said Yanmei's mother, walking hand-in-hand with her husband. Yanmei watched their backs as they moved slowly across the beach, their silhouettes wobbling closer together as they attempted to walk more closely and ended up bumping into each other rather clumsily. They got it after a moment, though, and soon their tails were entwined behind their backs.

"Bleh," said Yanmei, sticking out her tongue at her parents as they grew smaller in her vision. "Let's let them be, Buki, they're just doing mushy stuff now."

Looking for something interesting to entertain herself, Mei wandered closer towards the water's edge, letting the waves roll over her toes. She squished the sand by curling her feet and smiled as the wind played through her hair, which was pulled back into two loose buns.

"Oooh, let's look for seashells!" said Yanmei enthusiastically, seeing something shiny in the water. She wandered over to the spot of knee-deep water and plunged her hands into the cold ocean. A few seconds later, she pulled a beautiful, perfectly white seashell out of the mucky wet sand. Mei rinsed it off in the waves and held it up in the moonlight. "Lookit that, Bu-Bu," whispered Mei with a gasp. "It's perfect..."

Stuffing it into her pocket, Mei searched the water for more shells, peering through the waves as she tried to see the white specks on the seafloor indicating seashells stuck in the sand. She grabbed a few more, but they were only shards. On her fourth search, something sparkled over the surface of the water, and she ran to her left, thinking it was the glint of a seashell. When she got there and looked, though, there was nothing in the sand. Mei stood where she was and placed her hands on her hips. Well that was odd...

Something else glinted in the water, and this time Mei was sure there was no shell there. Wha-? Another sparkle, and another. She looked up.

The sky was alight with shooting stars. Every few seconds, another would streak across the sky. Mei pointed up at them, a huge smile on her face. "A meteor shower!!" The starlight shimmered in her eyes as she watched the falling, burning chunks of rock disintegrate in the atmosphere. To her, though, they were all more beautiful than that. They were falling stars. And falling stars meant...

"Wishes!!" shouted Mei suddenly. "Oh, Buki, we've got to be the luckiest people ever! Think of how many wishes we have just standing here! Hurry, think of something good!" Buki chittered in reply. "Grapes? You can have all the grapes you want at home, Buki, don't be silly..." The marmoset chittered indignantly and clambered to Mei's other shoulder.

Mei squinted her eyes, watching the falling meteors, and thought hard. A wish... A wish... What should I wish for?

Just as the largest, brightest falling star she'd ever seen shot across the sky, the idea hit her. She had it.

"Buki, I've got it!" Yanmei shut her eyes tightly for a moment. Beneath her breath, she murmured something, then quickly opened her eyes again and looked back up at the sky. Amazingly, the huge shooting star was still burning across the darkness, making an arc towards the ocean before finally dimming. "Wowww, what a big falling star. I wonder how soon my wish will come true?"

There was a loud splash.

Yanmei froze, and there was only one thought in her head: A real fallen star!

Without even thinking further about that, Yanmei pulled a chittering Buki-Ya off her back and placed him on the beach, then plunged back into the water, transforming herself into a mermaid as she went.

Swimming quickly, Mei soon reached the place where she'd heard the splash, and found the water was still warm. When she got there, though, it wasn't a star she found...

It was a boy.

His head was bobbing just above the surface, but only moments after she arrived, Mei watched it sink below. With a gasp, she flipped her tail and jumped into the water after him. A few seconds later, the girl emerged back on the surface, toting the boy in her arms and struggling to stay above water. He felt really warm in her arms, and she wondered if it was because he'd just fallen through the sky.

When she reached the shore, Mei placed the boy gently on the sand. Buki-Ya chattered irritably, shying away from this new intruder before wandering closer to inspect him.

Yanmei had changed back into her normal form by now, and she knelt down in the sand beside the boy, shaking his shoulder. She was exhausted from carrying him all the way back (she'd pulled him onto her stomach and swam on her back to keep his mouth above water), but adrenaline and excitement egged her on.

"Hello? Hello?" The boy made no response. Buki chirped suspiciously and climbed on Yanmei's shoulder. "Can you hear me...?" Nothing. "Are you- oh!" Mei gasped. His arm... moving slowly, she gently pushed up his left sleeve. His arm was... deformed. It looked almost like... she didn't want to think it, but - it looked like a monster's arm. It was warped and rough, dark purple and black in color. At the end of the arm was a thin, clawed black hand, the fingers unnaturally spindly and long. Mei held it gently in her own small hands and looked back up at the boy's face, soft and innocent in the moonlight. What had happened to him?

...
"M...mama!!" Mei was sprinting across the sand as fast as her little legs could carry her. When she reached her parents, the little fox demon was panting lightly and Buki-Ya was chittering agitatedly, his tiny claws clinging tightly to the fabric of her shirt as he attempted to reposition himself on her shoulder. "M-mama, Papa, I found a boy! I think he fell out of the sky! Quick, hurry!" she sputtered, turning on her heel and sprinting away from them. Glancing at each other, Mr. and Mrs. Pradvina ran after their daughter.

...
"Is he... dead?"

Yanmei peered out from behind her mother, her eyes wide with fright and wonder. Buki-Ya had clambered from her shoulder onto her mother's - he didn't want to get caught stuck on her shoulder when she went sprinting around the beach again.

Allusten Pradvina was crouched in the sand next to the "boy" who was actually taller than him. "No, Mei, he's not dead... he's just unconscious," said the fox demon. There was an audible sigh of relief from both Yanmei and her mother. Allusten let the white-haired boy's eyelid drop back into place from where he'd been pulling it back to look at his pupil. "He still has a pulse, and he's breathing, so..."

There was a moment of silence.

"Papa..."

"Yes, Yanmei."

"... can we keep him?!"

"Yanmei!" scolded Lifen, looking down at her daughter with disapproval in her eyes but an amused smile on her lips.

"Pleeease?! Oh please please please please pleeeease?! I found him!!" pleaded Yanmei emphatically, her green eyes shining with determination.

"Yanmei-" started her father.

"I rescued him from the water! Didn't I, Buki?" said Yanmei defiantly. The marmoset chittered in agreement from Lifen's shoulder, not really wishing to get into the argument.

Lifen looked at Buki-Ya and sighed. "Well..." she and her husband exchanged looks, and they seemed to know what the other was thinking without even saying a word. "He needs to be taken to a hospital. You can visit him there."

"But why can't he live with us? I'll feed him every day-"

"Yanmei," said Allusten sternly.

"But-"

"No buts. Come on, he might be seriously hurt. He needs proper medical care. Besides, the circus is no place for an injured, unconscious person. There's no room for him in the house, anyway." Mei's ears drooped a little at her father's decision. "Who knows how he got here, too," added Allusten wondrously as he scanned the horizon. Not a boat in sight.

"I told you, he fell out of the sky!" protested Yanmei. Why wouldn't they believe her?!

Her parents both raised their eyebrows at her. "Oh, Mei-Mei, you're much too silly," said Lifen, smiling and pulling her daughter close.

"But he did..." frowned Yanmei, looking disheartened. "I think he was the star I wished on..." she muttered quietly.

"You probably just imagined he did, honey. Come on, let's get him to a hospital."

The boy was more than a half-foot taller than Yanmei's father, and also heavier, so there was no way they would be able to carry him. Instead, Allusten stayed with him while Yanmei and her mother (along with Buki-Ya) went into town to get help. They returned less than ten minutes later with a taxi, and the mysterious boy from the sky was delivered to the emergency room.

...

As it turns out, he was just fine, as Allusten had said. Not hurt at all, really, other than being in some sort of coma. Mei was still heartbroken at the news.

It was the day after they'd brought him in. At Yanmei's nagging, her parents had come with her to the hospital at the first sign of light. Visitation hours didn't technically start for four more hours, but if anyone could get away with things like that on Vectiras, it was Yanmei.

"When will he wake up?" she asked the doctor, looking up at him from beside the boy's hospital bed. His white hair blended in with the white pillow. And the white sheets, and the white floors, and the white curtains on the windows. Thank goodness the walls were painted light blue.

"I don't know, Mei, I'm sorry. There's just no way to tell." Yanmei sighed and frowned, looking back at the boy's still, peaceful face. "But all his signs are good, and his pulse and breathing are normal. We'll just have to wait and see."

Mei blew air through her nose and slumped on her stool, ears drooped low. Buki-Ya squeaked softly from her shoulder.

"Come on Mei, we've got to get back in time to rehearse," reminded Lifen gently, squeezing her daughter's shoulder. "He'll be fine, you'll see," she said, smiling down at Mei.

The fox demon child looked up at her mother with worried green eyes. "But how do you know?"

Lifen tilted her head to the side a little. "Fox's intuition." She tapped Yanmei's nose lovingly. "We'll wait in the hall for you, okay? Just a few minutes, now." Mei smiled briefly at her mother and nodded.

The door to the room shut as her parents waited on the other side. Left alone in the room with him, Mei looked down at the boy before her. On the other side of the bed, his right arm was left upturned, and an IV was taped in place on the inside of his elbow. Mei winced slightly at the needle stuck in his vein. "Does it hurt...?" she whispered. But of course, there was no reply.

Beneath the sheets, his twisted left arm made a small, sharp lump. The nurse had left his good hand out on top of the sheets, but hidden the deformed one beneath the covers, like it was something to be afraid of. The doctors hadn't known what to think of it, couldn't even understand it's structure. It was just some strange deformity that was better left covered up, they figured. Yanmei sighed at this. Reaching under the covers, she carefully took his rough hand and held it in both of hers. The feeling of it scared her at first, but then she thought of who this boy was, and all was well. It didn't matter if his arm was like that - she loved every part of him just for being there. Just for existing.

While he slept, he looked so perfectly peaceful, and little Mei couldn't help staring at his face. "I promise I'll visit you every day, okay...?" His chest rose and fell quietly as he breathed, and for a few moments, Mei just watched it move, imagining his lungs filling with precious air before releasing it back again. It reminded her of something.

It was like the rise and fall of the ocean...

...

True to her word, Yanmei did visit every day (with Buki too, of course). Even between her busy schedule of daily practices and occasional performances, she came every morning or afternoon to see how he was, spending as much time as she could in his room and often visiting three or four times a day. She was literally there in his room at every moment she had off from practice. Sometimes she was there for hours on end, which was an unparalleled achievement for someone with normally such a small attention span.

Yanmei passed the time with various activities. She laid on the floor and drew pictures, taping them to the walls when she was done. Other times, she quietly sang songs to the sleeping boy, read stories to him, or played games with Buki. Sometimes she brought stuffed animals - she had at least one for each of her animal friends at the circus - and pretended that they were all on a grand adventure together: the sleeping boy, the circus animals, and herself. They went all across Vectiras, and even adventured to other worlds, making performances, going on adventures, saving people. And the circus came too, of course. At the end of the day though, they always came home to Vectiras, back to the nice little wooden house that Yanmei grew up in, back to the palm trees and the sunshine. Back to the ocean.

And when the stories were over, Yanmei found herself back on Vectiras indeed - back in the same little white hospital room, with the same white bed, and the same white-haired boy.

"Some day, we'll go on great adventures," said Yanmei. She often whispered things to him. She told him the story of her life. She told him her hopes and dreams, and everything about the circus, and her parents, and Vectiras and it's people, and how very much she loved all of them. So, so very much. The ocean, too.

"But you know... sometimes..." she lowered her voice and glanced around. Buki-Ya was in the far corner, stretched out beneath the window in a pool of sunlight. Asleep. Mei looked back to the sleeping boy. "Sometimes I get a little... well, lonely. Buki-Ya is my only friend, you know. There aren't many kids to play with here, really. All of the others in the circus are adults. I'm the only young one.

"And the kids that come here... they never stay for long. They're always just visiting. Whenever I meet a friend to play with at the beach, they always leave." Mei's ears drooped a little. Then, she looked up at the comatose boy in the bed, and a smile returned to her face as her fox tail waved behind her. "But you won't leave me, right?" She got right up to the edge of his bed, placing her chin on top of her hands where they gripped the mattress.

"I believe you'll wake up. I know you will..." The little girl stared at the boy lovingly, a dreamy smile on her lips, undoubtedly still imagining all the fun games they would play together. "Fox's intuition."

...

Often, the sleeping boy had nightmares. The nurses told Mei this, and she also saw it for herself sometimes when she was visiting. He would toss and turn, muttering incoherent sentences that no one understood the meaning of.

Whenever she saw this happening, Mei became very frightened. Her ears pinned back against her head, and she tried to shake the boy's shoulder to wake him up. She didn't want him to have bad dreams. Sometimes, she tried singing to him to calm him down, but it was hard because her throat felt so choked up. Watching him like that was a difficult thing.

"Please stop. It's okay, I promise..." said Mei beseechingly, holding tightly onto the boy's shoulder. Buki-Ya chirped quietly from beside her, alarmed.

"N-no... I..." He continued to thrash from side to side, trying to escape from a demon Yanmei couldn't see. Beneath the covers, his spindly black hand gripped the mattress, tearing it gently.

"Shh, it's going to be okay, I promise. I'm right here..." Mei put her arms around his neck as he thrashed. "I'm right here..." She listened to him say things that didn't make sense, sometimes things she didn't want to hear. But she always held on to him. Even when the tears came to her eyes and spilled over.

At that time, there was no one else to cry for him but Yanmei.

...

It had been five days since the strange white-haired boy had splashed into the ocean, and Yanmei was once again in his hospital room visiting.

Today was her day off, and, of course, she'd decided to spend it here. Her parents had begun to wonder if it was healthy for her to be spending so much time in the hospital room with just Buki ("And the sleeping boy, too!" protested Mei), but Yanmei insisted that it was necessary. Usually, she obeyed her parents without too much protest, but this was the most important thing she'd ever done (in her opinion, anyway), and she just couldn't give up on him.

Reluctantly, her parents let her go. They believed she'd give him up in a few days anyway, if he kept sleeping.

They didn't realize yet that Yanmei's heart was firmly anchored in staying by the boy's side until he woke up - no matter how long it took.

"Today's my day off!" said Yanmei triumphantly, slipping into the sleeping boy's room and closing the door behind her. "Isn't it exciting?" Scooting the stool up closer to his bed, she sat down, taking her usual position. "Usually, I go to the beach, but... this is more important," she smiled. "I brought you something special today!" Still grinning, Yanmei reached into her pocket. "See?" Buki-Ya peered over from her shoulder.

She held her hand flat, facing upwards, right above his chest. In her open palm sat a pure white spiral seashell, perfectly formed. It looked rather fragile, but its outside was hard and spiny.

"I found this the night I found you... so... it's yours now, okay?" said Yanmei gently, placing it in his good hand and folding his fingers over it. "I thought of waiting till you woke up, but... hehe, actually I'm afraid of losing it," she giggled.

A light breeze blew in from the window, and Yanmei passed the hours talking to the sleeping boy and telling him stories. When she got tired of that, she played with Buki-Ya on the floor for a bit, and did some coloring. By now, all of the walls in the room were covered with her drawings. Most of them were pictures of her and the sleeping boy doing things together - walking on the beach, eating ice cream cones (Yanmei did love food), playing with the circus animals, or going on grand adventures across the Lifestream. Her drawings were by no means masterpieces, but they were cute and childish in their crayon-drawn simplicity.

When the boy began tossing in his sleep again, Mei was instantly at his side, speaking soothing words to him and wiping the sweat away from his forehead with a cool towel.

As the evening wore on, Yanmei began to grow sleepy, and she pulled the stool back to the side of the sleeping boy's bed and sat down next to him, humming a song. When she finished, she took is hand through the covers. (She'd kept getting scratched by the claws on the black arm, so she now only held it through the covers.) Sometimes she held his good hand, too, but only because she didn't want one hand to get all the holding and not the other.

"No one believes that you fell out of the sky," said Yanmei, stroking the boy's hair away from his forehead. She placed her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees, and leaned forward a little on her stool. "But I know why you're here." Yanmei smiled, and Buki-Ya chirped from her shoulder. It was like a secret that Yanmei imagined only she, Buki-Ya, and the sleeping boy knew about. Their own secret.

"You know, the night I found you... there was a meteor shower." The boy made no reply, just continued his steady breathing. Mei leaned in closer, resting her chin on the side of his bed. "Do you know what I wished for?" asked Mei in a whisper.

"I wished for a brother."


A few hours later, the nurse came into the room to check on Yanmei, as it was getting dark. At the white-haired boy's bed, the girl was sound asleep. Her head was resting on the boy's chest, her small arms clasped tightly around his neck. The nurse quietly woke her, and after rubbing her eyes groggily for awhile and giving the sleeping boy a goodnight kiss on the forehead, Mei and Buki-Ya set off for home.

...
The path was dark, but her house was nearby, and it wouldn't take Mei longer than twenty minutes to walk home, even on her short legs. She took her time, enjoying the cool night air and the chance to stretch her legs. Overhead, the stars shone brightly as they had five nights ago when she'd made her wish. The good thing about having two moons, was that there was usually enough light in the sky at night to see by.

Mei's small feet padded along the road quietly. Every once and awhile, Buki chirped softly, but otherwise, the night was relatively silent. To break the silence, Mei began humming to herself, an old lullaby that her mother had taught her. It was one she'd sometimes sung to the sleeping boy, too.

"Hushaby... don't you cry..." her small voice echoed out across the street, the only sound of life besides a lonely wind. It was awfully quiet tonight, she thought.

Something rustled on the road behind her, but Mei assumed it was only the wind.

"Go to sleep, my little baby..."

The rustling again. Mei glanced over her shoulder, but there was no one there. Vectiras was such a safe place that she knew it couldn't be anything bad. Turning back around, she continued her song.

"When you wake, you will have..."

Above her, a cloud moved over the moon slowly, obscuring the light and throwing the town into semidarkness. From where he slept cradled in her arms, Buki-Ya awoke and began chittering nervously. Mei patted his head comfortingly and glanced up at the sky.

"All the pretty little horse-!" Mei suddenly gasped, a sharp intake of breath cutting off her song.

She'd sworn she saw a shadow move on the road ahead. Yanmei froze in place, eyes wide. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight. She was absolutely quiet for several seconds, not budging an inch or even breathing. Finally, she let out her breath and looked around in all directions. There was no one...

The shadow reappeared suddenly, and Mei squealed in fright -

Until she realized that it was only her shadow that she was screaming at. A car pulled to a stop right next to her, and she saw that in the headlights, her shadow had been elongated. Mei took a deep breath and sighed.

The driver of the car next to her rolled down the window, and she realized it was one of the nurses from the hospital driving home. "Are you sure I can't give you a ride home, Yanmei? I know you said you liked walking, but it's such a dark night..."

Yanmei blinked at the woman and glanced up to see that clouds had obscured one of the moons and were gradually overtaking the sky. It had been so bright before, though...

"Um, actually, that would be very nice, thank you!" There was a click as the kind-faced nurse unlocked the car doors, and Yanmei walked aroud the front of the car and opened the one on the front right side.

"Oh, but..." A thought suddenly occurred to her, and the girl paused. "Can Buki come, too?" asked Yanmei, pausing at the open door. Most people weren't used to carrying monkeys in their cars, as far as she understood. "He promises to behave," added Mei, and Buki chirped from her shoulder.

The nurse laughed and said it was fine. Mei smiled in return. Before stepping into the vehicle, she glanced once more into the darkness.

...
Yanmei lay in bed, curled up among a nest of blankets and stuffed animals. She felt tired, but she couldn't fall asleep; the thought of the shadow she'd seen kept bothering her. The second time was just her own, but the first time... she'd been sure she'd seen something. And she didn't know why, but she had that nervous feeling in her gut that she got the night before a big show. Something big was going to happen. She didn't know what, or why... but she knew that feeling.

Maybe it was what intuition felt like.

It took Mei a long time to fall asleep that night.

׺°”˜`”°º× ׺°”˜`”°º×
there will be sunshine again after the r a i n . . .
☀ ☂ ☁

♥ look around, can you hear their voice
find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice.
that's the chance to live your life and discover
what it is, what's the gravity of love ♥

[Makihyu Hiashin]

».......The wind is my road
.......And my heart chooses the path

» I Am Forever Free «
― Team 9-AC Aerial Operations Specialist ―
☼ λlthalia §aloshin ☼
The Lady - Cabin, Life-Stream
(♫)

.......Althalia smirked; oh yes, she did like the idea of swiveling chairs - a lot. Oh, and Captain Hale, too - he seemed like the fun type, unlike many of her instructors on Krux. Perhaps he would be one of those more "lenient" Captains that her instructors told her graduating class about. She got awfully twitchy when she wasn't riding her board or moving anywhere very fast, and the spinning would at least distract her (and simulate fast, dizzying movement, too). Skyriding was like a drug to her, and she was addicted for life - not like she had much choice, really; Skyriding was her only real weapon against the Nith.

.......Anyway. The young Keeper unbuckled her seat belt and pressed her face against the cabin window to get a good look at the Life-Stream. It had been a long time since she'd seen the Life-Stream up-close - the last time she'd seen it like this was on her trip to Krux from her homeworld. It was even more beautiful than the blue Vylli streams which could be seen flowing down the streets of the Hylravine Capital City at night, flowing all the way down to the Fountain Pillars in the Old City Centre...

.......In the midst of her awe, for the first time in a while, she wondered how her family was doing back home. Of course they'd be safe - Parliament was still slow, but it was speeding up, supposedly, and there were people like the Militia to protect the citizenship. Plus, the first generation of fully-fledged Hylravine Keepers were being pumped out of Krux - including herself.

.......But... it had been weeks since she'd sent her last letter to her brothers and mother at home, and obviously even longer since she'd even seen them - hell, she hadn't even seen them since she left for Vectus Academy! How old were the Saloshin brothers now? Advanced Academy age now, for sure - twenty-seven and twenty-four, and living their lives like every normal Hylravine should. Thalhar, inspired by Althalia's move to become a Keeper, was training to be a Skyriding Magelancer in Ravierin. Ruhalis, the younger of the two brothers, joined the Militia two years back and Althalia hadn't heard from him since, though she knew that he was now working on one of the Militia's ships. And, of course, her mother was still at home, perhaps in her rocking chair, embroidering another masterpiece of a tapestry... or waiting for another letter from her daughter.

.......In the back of her mind, Althalia considered paying a visit to Hylravi, whenever she got the time. She closed her eyes. Maybe I'll spend a week or two at home. I'll take Mother to go see the Harvest Festival in Ravierin, or maybe Thalhar, Ruhalis, and I can go riding out on our home turf again...

......."No one...will you play with us?"

.......Althalia turned her head to look at the little blue angel-boy clutching the bird. The young Keeper knew that the Keeper-prodigy Kaito was referring to the orange-haired mechanic who hadn't even bothered to introduce herself properly to the Captain, but as soon as she looked at him and heard his plea, all reason, vulgarities, and previous thoughts simply flew out the window. Normally Althalia was jealous of "prodigal" students like Kaito, but what she was looking at now was too adorable to think anything bad of.

......."OHMEHFFGUH!" she squealed, the acronym coming out in a jumbled garble as she said it. "By the Immortals, you are the cutest thing I have ever seen in the most ever ever of ever ever ever! If course I'll play with you!"

.......The Skyrider strode over and bent down so that she was face-to-face with the little angel-boy. "Can you fly? I promise when we land in Symphonia we'll go flying together! You're even cuter than the little baby Hylravine Servant hatchlings in Spring!" Althalia said, lightly pinching Kaito's cheek and completely forgetting about where exactly she was. "What do you want to play right now? Do you want to play hide-and-seek?"

.......Indeed, her common sense had gone completely out the window - but then again, most of it had been sitting on the edge of that window and ready to jump out, anyway.

So who are you to tell me.......
Where I will go?.......«

[Leonoka]

|| [†]Telosia Lightwing | Junior Captain: Team 9-AC |The Lady, Lifestream [†] ||

Once she was given the destination, and was debriefed on the mission, she stood up and hung herself over the piloting controls. Once more she had returned to her business like demeanor. Her fingers were set to work on the panels, as were those of the rest of the navigation crew. They communicated over the comlinks spouting off codes and information in a very legalistic manner. Telosia pressed a final button and then stood erect looking over the rest of the crew. Letting her mind wander for a moment, all she had to wait for

“Madame Junior Captain, we’re ready to begin the sequence,” said one of the navigators. Telosia’s mind returned to the task at hand, and pressed a button on her blue screen, the button went green and Telosia adjusted the comlink on her ear.

“Attention all crew members. We are now on course to Symphonia. We will experience a mild turbulence as the ship gains speed. That is all,” she chimed as she ended her manner of fact message. She punched the button again, and it returned to its original blue hue. She then typed in the command and entered it. The Ship immediately set to work. It trembled slightly for a moment, and then was set at peace, sailing the Lifestream gallantly on its way to Symphonia.

Telosia took her comlink off and threw into her seat, as she walked around and towards the bridge exit. On her way though, she caught notice of a bustling young lady expressing fervently her adoration of the adorable Kaito. Telosia, almost overlooked the situation, but then took a double take, halting in mid stride and pulling herself back. She hadn’t gotten the greatest of looks at Kaito on Krux. But now it was wondrously apparent just how true this keeper’s ravings of the young boy were.

Without regard for protocols, or any sense of personal space tackle-glomped onto Kaito from behind. She wrapped her arms around the boy, and squeezed him tightly, with her supple bosom pressing into his shoulder blades. The womanly anatomy now inescapable for the innocent young Kaito, though, Telosia was equally innocent in this matter, she just couldn’t help herself.

“Oh My God! How in the world did I not notice you before!” the Junior Captain exclaimed. Telosia released the boy, spun him around and stopped him by latched onto his head, “You’re even cuter from the front! Whooooooa~!” She then wrapped her arms around his head and brought it right into her ample chest. Whereupon she proceeded to sway back and forth, suffocating snuggling the poor blue haired boy. “You are my cutiepie, and I shall call you cutiepie, and you shall be my cuteipie!” she said in a babyish manner, still cradling the young keeper against her bosom.

She then stopped a moment, and looked up to see a new Keeper that she hadn’t quite noticed. She stood up immediately, hand out and ready to be shaken, releasing Kaito for just a moment. But when she realized that she had just dropped the young boy, she instantly was on her knees cradling the child’s head in her hands, affectionately checking for bruises and observing him with a sincerely worried face. She did not find anything, but just to make sure she laid him down, and proceeded to conduct a healing spell – for good measure…

Once done, which was only moments, her head popped up towards the new keeper, her hand outstretched again.

“Hello there, I’m Telosia Lightwing, your Junior Captain,” she said with an enthusiastic, warm smile.

[Q-Mo]

"I'm a destroyer, not a savior."

|| ♣ Jace Vistus - The Destroyer Savior - ??? ♣ ||

[ OOC: Er. Yeah. Don't pay much attention to this post xD. Fading Away. ]

A beach on the far reaches of the Collective, a beach in the core of the Lifestream... an island in the ever-flowing river of life, it was the end of their journey and the beginning of a new one.

A beach on a night of stars, the water and the sky seemed to meld together in the horizon, nothing but a blanket of darkness with candlelight of stars to light it, in the sky and in the ocean; faint traceries of green life energy pulsed and ebbed gently. A lone figure stood upon the beach gazing towards the ocean, illuminated by the stars below and above, he gazed into the ocean... or was he gazing into the sky? His reflection was tinged with the soft glow of green aura, occasionally pulsing across it and distorting it.

"It's beautiful."

The figure continued to stare into the distance, the blond boy's reflection in the endless expanse smiled sadly; a smile of farewell. The last remnants of blond seemed to fade from his hair leaving nothing but white, tinted slightly green by the luminous glow around them. Descending from the sky in gentle spirals of green energy, several figures joined the boy by the gently lapping shore, their reflections gazed back at them side by side; all of them had a look of sad resolution on their faces but also one of happiness, happiness in that finally. Finally they had done their job and now. Now they could rest.

"... And it is something I'll protect. No matter what... Life." The rest of the figures nodded in agreement to the now white haired boy, a few of them walked forward resolutely into the endless expanse before them that now seemed to fill even the sky, an ocean in the sky and on all sides. There were gentle ripples in the water as they entered, and as if in reaction to their entrance, small glowing wisps of green energy began to rise from the water and among them were wisps of the auras of the people in the water... they were fading away.

Everyone else had begun to walk into the ocean and their auras joined with everyone else's in a indescribably breathtaking view of life energy that bathed the small beach in a many hued light that came in the form of wisps and orbs of energy now drifting all around... This was the light of sentient beings... This was their beacon to everyone that it wasn't over yet. The lifestream was about to be reborn. The lights eventually found their way into the ocean infusing it with a radiance that was the color of life itself, it was hope, happiness, anger, sadness, everything that defined a living being. Some lights lingered before they went to join the masses, they wanted to take one last look at everything they loved... everything they hated... the everything they were going to sacrifice themselves for.

Now he stood alone and he turned and smiled comfortingly, "Well. It's my turn. I can't keep everyone waiting." The figure turned and took a step forward, one foot and leg entered the life stream and began to fade away into green and gray particles of aura that drifted gently through the air, carried on a invisible breeze. A tear joined the ocean and disintegrated into a beautiful orb of light.

"I guess I haven't got long anyway. I told myself, I'd pay the price no matter what... to protect everything I loved... And it truly is beautiful..." The figure gestured to the ocean of wondrous lights, the last of the lingering lights finally faded into the body of life energy. "But... This is everything I love isn't it? And... I... I don't want to lose it... I'm scared. I'm terrified... I want to keep on living." The figure took another step, and another until he was half submerged in the prismatic expanse, his white hair seemed to take on a rainbow hue as the bath of lights suffused his features and danced in his eyes as he looked to the sky.

"... And that's why I have to do this. Because everyone else needs to keep on living... because... because life... life is beautiful... life is... worth dying for and without it... everything would mean nothing." A look of determined resolution entered the youth's eyes as he raised his hands to the sky and then with a look of finality closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The expanse stirred as if it sensed something wrong.

"Everyone... Keep on living... if not for you... for me."

No! He ran across the beach as fast as his tired legs could carry him, time seemed to stand still and the beach seemed to stretch on for infinity as within the ocean, a tide stirred and a wave began to form in the distance. He couldn't! He was scared... so scared... he didn't want to die either but... but he didn't want to live life without him, he couldn't... No! He didn't want to be alone again... without reason or meaning, just waiting to die... life was beautiful... but it could also be horrible without those you loved.

He reached the water but too late... the water was almost upon him, the boy fell backwards into the wave with a look of peace on his face, hands outstretched... if only he could reach... the hand of a monster who'd found meaning reached forward but the wave was already upon him... washing him away... lost in the endless ocean of life without direction... without reason... without meaning.

"Please... live. For the two of us now."

This tide. This ebb. It was like breathing. It was the breathing of life itself, the heartbeat of the universe. And now he was lost, carried wherever it took him... alive but not really living. Why should he? There was no reason to... Was there?

"But I want to be a destroyer that saves."

[.Halcyonia.]

♥
Under the grey and square sky
Is filled with all kinds of desires today
But I don't lose sight of the light among them
And can walk, looking forward
Because you always show me
That there remains a purity even in a corner of this city
♥

★ Ⓨ Ⓐ Ⓝ Ⓜ Ⓔ Ⓘ ★
✿ do you have any fruit juice ? ! ✿
{{{ ♪♫♬ }}}

[ Island of Aedif, Vectiras ]

...

Yanmei awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of urgent whispers and distant shouting. In the darkness, the girl sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes until they became adjusted. Crawling out of bed, she moved slowly to the window and lifted the shades. The sight that greeted her eyes made her gasp.

Her town was on fire. Tall, sinister stacks of smoke lifted into the sky, growing taller and blending into the darkness. Clouds obscured the stars and Vectiras' twin moons, making the sky a dark blanket beneath which the huge fires glowed brightly.

In the light of the fires, Yanmei could see people running. She could hear them yelling, screaming, trying to put out fires, trying to get away. But there were other things there, too - shadows. They chased after the people and seemed to be the ones destroying everything. Everything she loved.

From the kitchen, Lifen and her husband whispered in urgent voices. "But how could that be possible? Why would the Nith come here?" asked Lifen, fear in her eyes.

Mr. Pradvina shook his head. "There's no saying... they're unpredictable creatures. But..."

"What's going on?" asked Yanmei, bursting into the kitchen and running to her parents. Buki-Ya followed close behind her, scampering up her leg and clinging tightly to her shoulder with his small claws while crying out in alarm calls.

"Mei-"

"The town is burning," said Mei suddenly, her eyes wide. She ran to her mother's arms. "Mama, I'm... afraid." She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone else.

"Shh, it's alright," said Lifen, patting her daughter's hair. "Come on, we've got to go. Right now." Lifen grabbed her daughter's hand and held it tightly.

"Go? Go where?" asked Yanmei, looking up at her parents. "What were those shadows, Papa? Why are they attacking the town?"

"I... I don't know, Mei. But-"

There was a loud knocking on the door, and everyone jumped. The front door swung open, and their good friend and assistant manager of the circus stood at the door. "Thank goodness you're alright," said the young man. He was a human with dark brown hair and deep, soothing eyes. Right now, his eyes were anything but calm, however.

"Oh, Todd, it's only you..." said Lifen, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Al, we have to get everyone to the shelter." There was a large, sturdy hurricane shelter built into the side of the mountain, big enough to hold all of Aedif's citizens should a major hurricane or other natural disaster occur. It had a strong drainage system built in to protect against flooding, and it was the best place to be in a case such as this. Her parents nodded, and Yanmei's mother pulled her by the hand to the doorway.

Mei gasped. "What about the animals?"

Mr. Pradvina swallowed and furrowed his brows a bit. "We'll save them, don't worry." He turned to his wife. "Lifen, take her to the shelter. You should be safe there. I'm going to go with Todd and make sure everyone is evacuated. Whatever happens, stay together. Okay?"

Mei didn't reply. She had slipped away to the window and was staring off into the darkness.

"Yanmei?"

The girl refused to move, her eyes becoming wide with the realization of something. A whispered word fell from her mouth. "Brother..."

"Yanmei, what are you-"

"He's... He's still sleeping! I have to go back for him!" she cried, slipping past Todd and out the front door.

"Yanmei, no!" screamed Lifen. She tried to run after her daughter, but before she could reach her, Mei had transformed herself into dog. With the speed of four legs, she sprinted away from her parents and into the burning village.

It was like running through a nightmare. Everywhere Yanmei turned, more of the tall black shadows swerved. The strange thing was, they didn't really seem to be after people specifically - it was more like they simply cut down whoever stood in their way while trashing buildings. As if they were searching for something...

Some of the citizens had evacuated the town already, but there was still chaos and screaming all around as people were left trapped inside buildings. Others desperately searched for their families or neighbors. The air was thick with cries, screams, and the sound of crackling fires. Nobody paid much attention to the dog with the monkey on its back, thankfully, and Mei dodged and swerved around the bubbling crowds of people and monsters, carrying herself quickly to the center of the town.

Miraculously, the hospital had not been set afire yet. But when Mei reached it, she found it surrounded by the black things. Her heart pounded within her chest, and out of reaction, a growl rose in her throat.

Mei increased her speed, but before she could reach the hospital, there was... a light. It was white. Bright and blinding, it burst out from the window of the sleeping boy's room, engulfing the black creatures that swarmed outside and were trying to crawl in through the window. Mei returned to her normal form and skidded to a stop, putting her hands in front of her eyes. When the light disippated, she looked up and saw a shadowy form...

It was him. He seemed to glow in the darkness, surrounded in a white light, his bad arm now shining brightly. Mei's face lit up. I knew it... you are a star!

Something moved behind Mei, and she turned to see a large shadow towering over her, its hand coming down at her quickly. Before the shadow could smack her aside, though, a white form jumped in front of Mei, and she watched as the boy's glowing arm was plunged into the stomach of the dark beast, and its dark outline flaked away into ash. More creatures leapt towards the boy in attack, but he fended them off easily with a single sweep of his arm, leaving curves of light in its wake.

Yanmei and Buki-Ya stayed where they were behind him, watching in wonder at his abilities. The whole town seemed to just... stop. Gradually, people stopped crying and screaming; the dark creatures swarmed towards the boy, attacking him repeatedly, but he always came out on top. From a safe distance, the citizens of Aedif watched in awe.

Before long, there was no trace left of the dark beings that had attacked the town. In the middle of the square stood the boy who no longer slept, panting slightly as the white light around him dimmed. Cautiously, Yanmei rose to her feet and walked forward. When she reached the boy's side, she stopped and looked up at him, a few tiny tears sparkling in her eyes.

"I knew you'd wake up," she said, feeling breathless. The fires crackled and burned around them, tossing their two shadows across the ground. A smile quivered at the corner of Yanmei's lips.

Suddenly she buried her face in the front of his shirt, wrapping her arms tight around his back in a hug. On the ground next to them, their shadows made a single line, and for the first time, the boy spoke - he spoke words that took Mei's breath away, because they were the very same words she'd spoken to him while he tossed in his nightmares:

"It's going to be okay, I promise. I'm right here..."

Aedif was saved.

...
The town was halfway burned away, but it still stood. A few homes and businesses had been completely burnt down, and several more had suffered partial damage. Luckily, no one had been killed, though a few had been injured from debris, fires, or sometimes the black monsters.

Soon after the creatures had been destroyed, the citizens of Aedif had gradually come back to the town, including the very worried Mr. and Mrs. Pradvina. Fire hoses were brought out, and whatever was still burning was quickly extinguished. Mei's parents explained to her about the black creatures called Nith. They were supposed to have been gone from Vectiras forever, and why they came back now was anyone's guess.

Mr. and Mrs. Pradvina had both been angry with her for running off, but their anger never lasted long, and they couldn't help feeling a bit of pride at Mei's bravery - and the bravery of the white-haired boy. In fact, all of Aedif now revered him as a hero. The townspeople who had been near the square that night and watched him fight off the Nith claimed that he had to be a Cryasili, and a powerful one at that. Aedif soon discovered that his name was Jace.

In the early hours of the morning, before the sun rose, Mei explained to Jace everything that had happened - how she'd seen the meteor shower from the beach that night and pulled him from the water, how she and her parents brought him to the hospital - and how she visited him each and every day, waiting for him to wake up. She took him to the beach and showed him the spot on the shore where she'd watched the shooting stars shimmer in the water.

Yanmei almost told him about how shooting stars were things that you wished on. She wanted to tell him her secret, the secret that she'd told him while he was sleeping, the secret of her wish. She almost did, that night. But somehow, she was afraid that if she said it outloud, the world might somehow take Jace away from her. She didn't know why, but she was afraid of him disappearing just as quickly as he'd come. It was like that urban legend that if you spoke your wish out loud, it wouldn't come true. And the last thing she wanted now was to lose Jace.

The sun rose a few hours later over a weary but grateful town, and Yanmei took Jace back to the hospital. She showed him the room where he'd been in bed for so long, and the stool where she'd sat next to him singing songs and telling him stories. They walked around and took her pictures down from the blue walls, making them bare again as they laughed over the scenes she'd drawn. When they were done, Mei shoved the pictures into Jace's hands and told him they were his to keep, forever. Just like the seashell.

Together, they got breakfast (a local restaurant owner insisted upon letting them eat there for free), and between the two of them, cleared an entire table of food. Jace ate even more than Yanmei did, and the poor restaurant owner, looking a little nervous as he served them their third and fourth servings, had to admit that he wasn't expecting such big appetites from two kids.

"Sorry for eating all of your food, Bill," said Mei apologetically, smiling as she put a piece of pineapple in her mouth. Buki reached down from her shoulder and snatched a grape from her plate, pushing the whole thing into his small mouth at once before tilting his head back to catch the juice.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mei," said Bill, forgetting his worries when he saw her sweet smile. "For the savior of Aedif and the best little performer on Vectiras, it's more than worth it." He winked at her and went to get more.

Mei grinned at Jace from across the table. She felt like she was just meant for this - being around him. Her bright green eyes smiled at his mismatched pair of bluegray and red ones. She liked the colors of his eyes, even. Jace wasn't just the hero of Aedif, he was the person she looked up to most, it seemed. "Hey, try this one!" said Mei, handing Jace a little box of fruit juice from across the table. "These are my favorite," she said, and her smile was like the sun.

After their early breakfast, Mei took Jace to another one of her favorite spots. It was a little house that sat right on the beach, hidden away from the village in an obscure cluster of palm trees. No one lived there, but the front porch of the cottage had a swinging bench on it. It was such a calm and peaceful place, and sometimes Mei would come here after a long day and watch the sunset.

From above them, a small glass windchime tinkled in the wind as Yanmei and Jace sat side-by-side on the swinging wooden bench, listening to the sighing of the ocean on the beach and the creaking of the chains that held up the bench. Buki-Ya grew dizzy and jumped off of Mei's shoulder, climbing across the bench and jumping to the porch railing with a squeak.

Mei swung her feet below her and began to hum, feeling warm and content inside. Yes, everything will be okay now...

"Hey, Mei... What are you humming?" asked Jace, turning to her.

"Hm? Oh, it's a song," said Yanmei. She smiled, realizing something. "Actually... it's one that I used to sing when you were sleeping." Jace looked at her curiously, and she pulled her feet up onto the bench and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Do you want to know the words?" Jace nodded, and Mei began to sing.

"If the wild bird could speak
He'd tell of places you have been
He's been in my dreams
And he knows all the ways of the wind

Polly, come home again
Spread your wings to the wind
I felt much of the pain
As it begins

Dreams cover much time
Still they leave blind
The will to begin
I searched for you there
And now look for you from within..."

The breeze blew the salty ocean air towards them where they sat, and Mei had barely finished her song when whe found herself dozing off. After all, she hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night, and after all that excitement, she was exhausted.

"Hey, Jace?"

"Hm?" The boy turned to her with a smile. "Yes, Mei?"

"Promise me something, okay? Promise me you'll come see one of my shows some day? Soon?" Jace nodded, and Mei smiled, putting forth her pinky. "Pinky promise!"

"Pinky...?" Jace blinked, confused.

"You lock pinkies, like this." She picked up Jace's good hand and crossed his pinky with hers. "This means it's a real promise, and no matter what, you gotta keep it. Kay?"

Jace smiled. "Kay," he nodded. Satisfied, Mei leaned back and watched the water.

The soft twinkle of the windchime blended with the sound of waves on the beach, and Mei thought it sounded like the song. She began to nod off, staring at the ocean and thinking of how much fun it would be to swim in it with Jace, jumping and laughing in the waves, getting tan beneath the sun.

Yanmei slept, and in her dreams, she lived everything that she wanted to do.

Mei wanted to take Jace everywhere and show him everything on the island, it's hidden places and it's most beautiful landscapes. She wanted him to see him her favorite spots, wanted to introduce him to all of the locals. She wanted to go to the beach with him, and take him to meet the circus animals and the other members of her troupe. Together, they would watch sunsets and sunrises. Together, she knew that Aedif would truly became a paradise for her.

...
Hours later, the little fox demon awoke on her room, curled up on top of her bed. She stirred softly, and Buki-Ya chirped from his pillow on her dresser. "Hm... Buki?" Mei glanced around. Why am I in my bed... at home? What...? The last thing she remembered was swinging on the bench with Jace. I must have fallen asleep, then... Mei sighed, feeling slightly dismayed.

Rubbing her eyes, Yanmei walked to the front of the house. "Mama...? Papa?" There was no one in the house besides her and Buki-Ya. Shutting the front door behind her, Mei went in search of them in the town. Hopefully she'd find Jace, too, and they could go play together some more.

When she reached the town, there was a large group of people in uniforms standing in the town square. One of them was arguing with a Vectiran local. A crowd of people was gathered around the place, and no one looked happy. From the way the uniformed man and the Vectiran were arguing, Yanmei guessed that something bad had happened.

Searching the crowd for Jace or her parents, Mei finally spotted her mom among the crowd of spectators. Her father, she quickly realized, had joined in the argument with the uniformed man.

"Mama, what's going on?" said Mei worriedly, walking to her mother and tugging on her sleeve.

"Oh, Mei, you're awake."

"Where's Jace?" asked Mei, searching the crowd again.

Lifen looked down at her daughter, her heart breaking a little. "Mei..."

"He didn't go to the beach already, did he? I told him to wait for me!" pouted Mei until she noticed the grave look on her mother's face. "Mama...? What's wrong?" She glanced back into the square. "What are they arguing about?"

"Mei, something's happened. Jace..."

The voice of the uniformed man rang out in the square, cutting off Lifen. "Fine, have it your way. If you are unwilling to cooperate, we'll find the boy by force." The man who was leading the group of uniformed men and women turned around and faced his group. "Search every building, every house, every rock. I want him found."

"House? You can't just burst into our houses-"

"Sir, to be honest, you have no idea how serious the situation is. That Shadowsili is a threat to the entire Lifestream."

"Shadowsili? How can you prove that? Jace saved our island from a band of attacking Nith!"

"He also has the energy signature of a Shadowsili, his arm is distorted like one, and his powers..."

"Jace wouldn't hurt anyone!" All eyes turned on the fearless little girl who had stepped into the square, ears pinned back and green eyes glaring.

The tall blond man in the Keeper uniform almost seemed amused for a moment. He raised his eyebrows at her condescendingly. "Oh? And what would you know, little girl?"

"I... I know... I know that he's a good person! Because I can feel it when I'm around him..." she said, trying to keep her voice strong. She had to be strong. For Jace.

"Don't let a Shadowsili fool you, little girl. He's just a monster-"

"You don't even know him!" cried Mei angrily, rage welling up inside of her. How could they judge him so easily? Mei's mother pulled her back into the crowd, and the uniformed man turned back to his crew, signaling them to begin their search with a wave of his arm. As he passed by Mei, Buki stuck his tongue out at him.

The Keepers pushed past the locals in the town square and began spreading out in different directions. The residents of Aedif, fearing that their homes might actually be broken into (the Keepers couldn't actually do that, of course), retreated to their houses. When Mei and her parents finally got back to theirs, Mei was given an explanation.

After Mei had fallen asleep, Jace had decided not to wake her up, and instead carried her all the way back to her house, where he Yanmei's parents were home for lunch. After leaving Yanmei in her bed, Jace had joined them for lunch (which was why the kitchen was half-empty now) before they had all set out for the town together to do more repairs.

On the far side of Aedif was a small worldship dock. In the middle of the day, a large, sleek worldship touched down there, and less than an hour later, a boat arrived on Aedif carrying many men and women in similar uniforms. They were Keepers, and they quickly sought out Jace, recognizing him by his strong aura. They had heard from the townspeople about how Jace had saved the town, and when they first met Jace, they were kind to him. Everything was going well - until they saw his arm. The atmosphere changed almost immediately. They tried to keep up their friendly facade, but the townspeople didn't buy it.

Jace didn't seem to suspect anything at all, but the locals were suspicious, and Mei's father was sent to follow the Keepers as they retreated to their ship to "discuss things amongst themselves." The information he overheard was shocking. The Keepers were apparently planning to capture Jace and take him with him, convinced he was a threat.

Allusten rushed back to the village as quickly as possible and warned the others. It was decided that Jace should go into hiding. A small group of locals would help Jace escape while the rest of the citizens tried to delay the Keepers by occupying them at the town square.

And so, Jace disappeared into the forest while Yanmei slept, oblivious to it all.

When her parents finished, Mei sat at the table, frozen in disbelief. She shook her head slowly. "No... no..." Her throat hurt, and she felt breathless.

"Mei, I'm so sorry. I thought of coming to get you, but... it only would've been harder, then."

"NO!!! No, he can't go! This isn't fair!" shouted Mei, tears springing to her eyes. "He can't! I waited for him to wake up so that we... we could..."

"Mei-"

"Jace!" Knocking over the chair as she stood up, Yanmei flung herself towards the door and pulled it open.

Lifen grabbed her daughter's wrist desperately, delaying her for just a moment. "Wait! Mei, think about it. If you find Jace, so do they. At least this way he's safe!"

Mei stared at her mother for a moment with a torn expression before turning and pulling away. She ran down the street as quickly as her feet could move. Clouds had moved in around Aedif, shrouding the island in white. White, like his hair. White, like the hospital room where she spent so many hours. White, like the light that engulfed him as he fought off the Nith...

Yanmei wanted nothing more than to scream out his name. She wanted to call for him until her throat was sore, until she found him again. Around her, in a world blurred by tears, she saw the Keepers in their uniforms search behind buildings and knock on doors. Mei wanted to call for Jace, but she knew her mother was right. It wouldn't help him at all, and she couldn't let him be taken away by those people...

For the rest of the day, Mei wandered the island. She walked through the town first, visiting all the places where she and Jace had been just that morning. She stopped at the hospital room and looked at his empty bed, staring at the blank walls and the curtains ruffling in the wind. She stopped at the restaurant where she and Jace had eaten, but it was empty and closed, full only with ghosts now.

At the beach, she found the place where they'd stood together, and imagined how he'd looked there just a few days ago after she'd pulled him from the water. Mei traveled to the wooden swinging bench at the little cottage on the shore, where the windchime twinkled in a hollow sound and the bench creaked rustily.

It began to rain lightly, and Mei stayed where she was on the porch, watching it fall.

As dusk came over Aedif, the Keepers called off their search. They'd looked the whole day, but hadn't been able to locate the enigmatic Shadowsili. He could have been anywhere by now, they figured, even on the other islands. No sense searching in the darkness, anyway - they would come up with a new plan tomorrow.

From the place where she had pulled an unconscious boy out of the ocean, Mei watched the sunset with bitterness. He was supposed to be watching it with her. He should have been here. And he wasn't.

Soon, the sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and the world grew dark. The cloudy sky revealed only patches of stars. The moons were bright, but to the little girl sitting on the beach far below them, they seemed dull comparisons to what they'd been before. And they were nothing compared to the light that Jace had.

Suddenly she stood up, grabbing a fistful of sand in her hand before flinging it out as far as she could. It splashed into the water some distance away with a small plunk, swallowed up by the waves.

"You weren't supposed to leave me!" Shouted Mei to the water, feeling angry and betrayed. She'd had so many plans. She'd thought that Jace would be different. This time, her wish had been granted. Hadn't it?

"You weren't supposed to leave..." Mei's voice faltered, and her sand-covered hand hung down at her side. "...like the others..." The crickets chirped around her, and she made one last call out towards the emotionless water as it stretched on forever in the distance, her voice echoing out into the dark.

"Jaaaace!"

The only reply was the steady sound of the waves.

...
For the next few days, the townspeople of Aedif attempted to rebuild what they had lost. Many things were still broken or half-burnt from the Nith attack, and morale on the island was at its lowest point. First the Nith attack, and then Jace... The Keepers had given up their search and left, as far as the Vectirans knew, but Jace was still nowhere to be found. Which was a good thing, of course. At least he was well-hidden and safe, they hoped.

Mei was nearly inconsolable at first; not even Buki-Ya and his antics were able to cheer her up. But after seeing how hard everyone was trying to help her, Mei gave in and began smiling again. She wasn't one to stay sad for long anyway, and in order to help those around her, she put on a brave face and did her best to face the situation with courage.

In her heart, she still missed Jace dearly though, and every night she went outside to look at the stars before going to bed, searching for falling ones so that she could make a wish to see him again.

Mei spent many hours in the circus's animal building, especially Zhingha, the show's large white tiger. Most parents probably wouldn't feel comfortable letting their children play with large carnivorous cats that weighed twice as much as their daughter did, but Zhingha was different. Mei had grown up with her all her life, and she was the sweetest, most loving (motherly, almost) tiger they knew. Not to mention Mei practiced with her every day, as she did with most of the animals - they had a natural connection.

Needing something to distract her from thinking of Jace all the time, Mei put more effort into practices. She made herself useful in the rebuilding of the town, too. With her small stature, there wasn't a whole lot she could do in the way of actually building houses, but she made lemonade and lunches for the workers a lot of the time, and followed her parents around as they worked side-by-side with the other residents.

Since everyone needed cheering up, Mei's parents decided that it was time for another performance. Not only would it help raise spirits, but it would help raise badly-needed money to pay for repairs in the town. (Thank goodness for rich tourists.) Everyone agreed it was a good idea, and the event was set to be held in a few days.

...
It was the night of the circus event, and everyone under the big top was bustling about, getting the last preparations ready. Mei was in her usual performance outfit, jingle bells shined to perfection. She stood behind the tent's back entrance, bouncing on her toes. The worries of the past few days had been hard on her, but there was nothing like the excitement and adrenaline of a performance to clear everything out of her mind.

Soon, everything was in place. The spectators entered the tent, the entrance was closed, and the drumroll began. The band played a happy tune as Mei's father, the ringmaster, welcomed all the guests to the performance.

Mei stared out at the crowd of people with a faint smile on her face. It was just like it had always been. She'd always been happy this way, right? But...

"Hey, Jace?"

"Hm? Yes, Mei?"

"Promise me something, okay? Promise me you'll come see one of my shows some day? Soon? Pinky promise!"

She could still hear his voice, and see his smile. To Mei, Jace would always be the brother she never had, the friend who would always be beside her no matter what. (No offense to Buki-Ya, who was a great friend to her - but he just wasn't human.) Even if her wish didn't come true in the end, Mei decided, she couldn't expect to be so selfish and get everything she wanted in life just by wishing on some falling stars.

Jace was gone now, but at least he was safe, and Mei didn't regret getting to meet him. She didn't regret spending so much time by his bedside while he slept. She didn't regret anything. She would hold those memories in her heart forever, and nothing could take them from her.

Yanmei smiled out at the crowd, a fresh confidence blossoming within her. She would do this, she would live her life as it was and be happy with the choices she made. She would make the best of what she was given. She would make people smile, because everyone was counting on her. She would do it... for his sake. For Jace. His memory deserved that much.

After the opening parade in which Mei and many other performers danced, the circus began. There were clowns, tight-rope walkers, trapeze artists, and tricks with animals. There was a magician, and women who performed ballet moves from the backs of cantering horses. Zhingha the tiger leapt through fire, elephants managed to balance on large red balls, and monkeys played keep-away with a comical-looking clown. It was a grand time, and the spectators rarely stopped making some sort of noise between their clapping, "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing. Mei herself had a tight-rope act and a swinging trapeze act, both which went well. Her favorite part of the night, though - it always was - was the act she did with the animals. It was the act in which she got to use her Cryasili powers and activate her Nexus.

"And now, introducing - allow me to boast here - my very own daughter and Vectiras' most beloved performer, Yanmei!"

Mei stepped into the center of the ring and waved jovially as the spotlight swiveled onto her. The crowd erupted in clapping. Her first act as part of this comical scene was one in which she formed a giant hammer out of her aura, and attempted to hammer a giant "nail" into the ground. The whole thing looked ridiculous mostly because the hammer was twice the size she was. Whenever she tried to bash the nail into the ground, it would quickly pop back out again, and the clown standing next to her would shake his head and wave his finger at her as if yelling while the band played lighthearted music in the background. Yanmei hit the nail with the hammer once again, and this time it stayed in. The fox girl put her hands on her hips, looking smug for about three seconds until the nail popped up again. This time, the clown threw his hand up in the air, and Mei, looking exasperated, raised the hammer, changing its density and material mid-stroke before she brought it crashing down on top of the clown's rainbow-colored wig. It didn't hurt him at all, of course - rather, the giant hammer bounced off his head in a silly manner, as if it were made of air. The clown sat up, rubbed his head, and gesticulated wildly at Mei as she stalked off the stage.

There were a few seconds of music, and Mei reappeared on the stage. At the other end of the stage, a mare entered with her colt and trotted around the ring. Mei watched them for a few moments, then put her hand up in the air with her index finger pointing upwards, to indicate she had an idea. Pulling one of the jingle bells from her belt, she threw it on the ground in front of her, and there was a loud "poof" with an explosion of sparkles and confetti. When the air cleared, a little filly was standing where Mei had been, and it galloped off to join the other two horses with a whinny of glee. When she turned, however, the crowd could see that the filly didn't have a regular horse's tail, but a fox tail instead. Filly-Mei ran up to greet the other horses, but the mare snorted at her and nudged her rump as if to say "I can tell what you're up to," then trotted offstage with her head held high. Mei hung her head for a moment, seemingly disheartened, and with a "poof" turned back into her usual self.

Just then, Zhingha the white tiger strode gracefully on stage. Across the way, Mei grinned, underwent another sparkly transformation, and this time came out as a little white tiger cub. She was really adorable, except... she still had a fox tail. Mei apparently realized it this time though, and promptly turned around and swatted at her tail with one paw. Instantly, it changed into a normal tiger's tail. The crowd cheered. This was actually the activaion of Mei's Nexus. Driven by excitement and the joy of performance, Mei was able to use her Nexus during shows to change fully into different creatures - without the usual fox tail that accompanied her transformations.

With newfound confidence, the little cub trotted over the Zhingha and growled playfully, leaping at her shoulder and tugging at her ear. Zhingha growled and nudged Mei away, then looked at her suspiciously before licking her square in the face. When this happened, Mei stiffened. Her tail stuck straight up in the air, and suddenly puffed up again, back into a fox tail. Seeing it, Zhingha pushed the little cub away with her nose, sending Mei tumbling over on her rump. When she stopped rolling, Mei looked upside-down between her legs and realized that her tail was once again a fox's - and proceeded to do a comical little dance of disappointment, stamping her feet - well, paws. Zhingha strolled off the stage casually, and Mei reverted to her usual body.

It was then that an actual fox trotted onto the stage, and Mei, supposedly seeing her chance, poofed into a little fox and walked up to the creature. It sniffed her for a moment and seemed satisfied, and the two ran around the center of the stage happily to the approving claps of the audience.

Reverting, Mei returned to center-stage and took a bow in each direction as spotlights swirled around her. Mei was still smiling into the crowd when she suddenly paused, her eye catching sight of something. For a brief moment, her heart skipped a beat.

... Jace?

She thought she had seen his face in the crowd, but the lights were shining in her eyes, and by the time her mind caught up with what she saw and Mei tried to look back, she's lost the spot where she'd seen him. Mei sighed inwardly. Probably just imagining things, Yanmei... It couldn't have been him, anyway.

For the next act, Yanmei and her pal Buki-Ya did a silly performance in which Mei transformed into a marmoset. The two then did a series of acrobatic tricks and leaps from cables stretched across the ring, each apparently trying to outdo the other. Buki would do a trick, and Mei would try to do it better. Then Buki did something even more daring, etc., until the both of them ended up in a heap at the center of the ring.

Finally, it was Mei's closing act. A long, wide ribbon of cloth unraveled downwards from the ceiling. With Buki on her shoulder, Mei wrapped her legs around the ribbon and began climbing skillfully, doing a series of intricate twists and bends as she progressed up the ribbon. Whenever she bent over backwards or twirled around, Buki repositioned himself, clambering all over Mei to find the best place to hang onto. As she progressed up the ribbon, a long line of animals were led into the ring, along with most of the performers. It was the closing parade, and the band was playing loudly.

Perhaps that's why no one inside heard the screams.

Mei was halfway up the rope when something caught her eye and she stopped, hanging upside down. The band music died away, and the parade slowed. The screams from outside were finally heard, as well as the sound of crashing. Within the tent, a ripple went through the audience. Then people inside the tent were screaming, too, and the animals started panicking. Then everyone started panicking.

The Nith were back.

Guests flooded towards the doors, animals ran in all directions, and Mei clung helplessly to the ribbon as it began to shake. People were pushing the poles of the tent in their rush to escape outside, and the whole tent itself was shaking. It would collapse soon if something wasn't done, feared Mei.

That's when she saw it - not only were there Nith among the crowds and in the stands - overrunning the entire tent, actually - but there was one above her, too, crawling on the ceiling as it came closer to the ribbon. Buki-Ya cried alarms in her ear, but Mei could hardly hear him above the cacophony. She was entranced by the black creature above her, that actually seemed to be smiling at her maliciously as it crawled to the ribbon.

"Don't... you... da-aaahhh!" The ribbon snapped, and Mei was falling, plunging towards the far, far, ground. Seconds before she (and Buki-Ya, who clung to her shoulder in paralyzed fear) hit the ground, a pair of gleaming gray wings burst out of her back in a spray of feathers, and Mei flapped them rapidly, slowing herself down just enough to tumble to the floor in a slightly-less-rough landing. When she looked back up, she was angry.

"You stupid Nith." The Nith jumped, and as it came plunging through the air towards her, Mei stretched her hand back behind her as her wings propelled her upwards. "You ruined... THE SHOW!!!" When the creature was only feet away from her, Mei swung her arm up through the air as hard as she could. As she did, a very large, hard hammer appeared in her hand, meeting the Nith face-on. There was a loud "FWAP" as hammer and Nith met, and the Nith was sent flying backwards through the air. The little girl was stronger than she looked.

Mei stopped flapping her wings and dropped herself gently to the ground, landing with a thud on the wrecked stage. People were still pushing and fighting to escape from the tent, and in the swarm of people overrunning the entire place, Mei tried desperately to find her parents, running down from the stage and towards the back of the tent. "Mama? Papa?!" she called out. She couldn't see them anywhere, and all the exits were blocked full of people.

There was a scream, and Mei looked to her right. A little girl from the crowd was being attacked by a large and deadly-looking Nith. "Hey you! Pick on someone your own size, FATTY!" yelled Mei without thinking. Picking up the nearest blunt object - which happened to be a wrench left on the ground (probably from the tent set-up, but who knows how these things get there) - she flung it at the Nith's head, whereupon it made a loud clink at contact. Turning away from it's initial prey, the Nith narrowed its eyes at her and leapt. Mei tried to dodge and run away, but the Nith was too quick.

"Ah-OW!!" Mei found herself face-down on the grass, and something heavy was on her back. The girl screamed as the pain of claws raked across her shoulder. Buki-Ya screeched in alarm and flung himself at the attacking Nith's face, only to be swatted away like a fly. With tears stinging her eyes from the scratch, Mei transformed herself into a young wolf and wriggled out from beneath the Nith, turning around with a growl and dodging a slash from its claws. She leapt for its shoulder and clamped down as hard as she could with her sharp teeth, but the thing wriggled violently and managed to shake her off, sending Mei flying across the grass and into a metal pole. Pain exploded at her back, and Mei instantly reverted to her usual form, her mind too distracted with the pain to focus enough on her Nexus.

"How dare you... come back now... you cowards," gasped Mei, pushing herself to her feet. The Nith approached slowly, closing in on its prey. And now, Jace isn't here to save us... Mei swallowed hard. Jace... Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that, Yanmei told herself, shaking her head. She had to fight.

And she would. She would fight the Nith with all she had. No matter what, she would protect the village. Just like Jace had. Just like Jace...

׺°”˜`”°º× ׺°”˜`”°º×
there will be sunshine again after the r a i n . . .
☀ ☂ ☁

♥
Breathing calmly, I looked at you
Who had fallen asleep, so exhausted
The sweet, unprotected profile
That no one in the world but me knows
♥

[Q-Mo]

"I'm a destroyer, not a savior."

|| ♣ Jace Vistus - The Destroyer Savior - Vectiras, The Island Of Aedif ♣ ||

[ OOC: GASP! The first real villain of the new series! ]

"Hey, Jace?"

The boy looked back to the town from the hill he was ascending, it felt like a string still connected him... his heart and soul to that small town where he had woken up. The small town that Mei was in, the girl that had found him washed up on the shore and had taken care of him when no else thought he'd wake up. The small town that now he was being forced to flee for his sake, their sake and especially Mei's sake.

"Promise me something, okay? Promise me you'll come see one of my shows some day? Soon?"

The white haired boy stayed, even though he knew he had to leave soon or risk being caught, rooted to the spot by the memories of his second day of consciousness... he had woken up to live again, to protect everyone in Aedif because her voice... no, not just her. They had all called out to him to save them, to protect the fragile fire of life before the storm of darkness that threatened to snuff it out.

"Pinky promise!"

Jace held out his deformed arm, it's claw-like fingers twitching slightly to try and imitate the action but unable to, right now... right now he hated it. Because of it... because of who he was, he couldn't be where he wanted to be... because of it... because of it... he was going to break his promise to Mei... and the Keepers... they...

They think I'm a monster... Jace's arm trembled slightly recalling the horrid day... everything had been ruined, there wasn't going to be any adventure with Mei now... nothing. But... He raised his arm slightly so as to inspect it, he sighed. But. He had known from the start, with a sadness in his heart that tore at him each time Mei smiled at him, that he never was going to... something told the newly awakened boy that he didn't belong here... that somehow... somehow he would never belong. His arm was proof enough of that. So maybe... Maybe this was for the better. Maybe. Maybe it was better that this happen than he break her heart by leaving later.


"You lock pinkies, like this."

Feeling like he was tearing himself in two, Jace managed to turn away from the sight of the village, the bright lights, everything that indicated that Mei might be putting on a - No. Blinking out a dampness in his eyes, the trembling boy forced himself to begin taking steps to descend the hill and soon, leave the village out of sight. Behind him. "I'm... sorry." He turned one last time, to take one last look at the town and then descended the hill, his heart heavy and his spirits low... it reminded him of something... like...

Boom.

Jace whipped around fearing the worst, "... No...", they had come back. The Nith... He blinked as he felt a strange sensation in his arm, it reached out seemingly on it's own accord towards the town which was quickly becoming blanketed in darkness, dark streaks raced across the sky... this time. This time there were a lot more and they... they were calling out to him. They were attacking because of him. Mei was going to get hurt because of him. He shook his head, no. Wait a second. No, she wasn't.

"This means it's a real promise, and no matter what, you gotta keep it. Kay?"

"... Kay." Jace managed to regain control of his arm, hooking it's pinky claw into a promise and raising it to the sky as if it was to bear witness to his promise. The sky of the island paradise was quickly covered in darkness, this wasn't a mere raid, no small storm or simple rain... this was an invasion, a siege, a storm of darkness. But oh the irony, from their greatest weapon was birthed the island world's protector, he would destroy whatever stood in his way to protect everything else... to protect Mei! Because...

Because this... me... it's all she has.

Once again. There was reason. Against the ever-darkening landscape stood out a blaze of white fire that rushed across it with the stubborn determination that living beings are famed for possessing.

--

[ PART TWO COMING SOON !! Because I need to sleep and I'm too lazy to save xD. ]

"But I want to be a destroyer that saves."