Krahe Moon Inn ::[[ Late summer, evening ]]::

[Desert Behr]

Losing oneself can mean quite a number of things. In the case of Steel, Salen and Ariakas, it wasn't so much emotional as it was a physical event. Each of them lost a tremendous amount of power. Each held the soul of an artificial dragon that eventually melded and bonded to them. Upon taking that way, it was like losing half of what they were. They had to gain something new to fill the gap.
Steel watched Uya shift about and eventually get more comfortable. Seems like she's not going anywhere so that's nice. Company after so long away is probably something he needed. Grasping his glass, he took another drink before responding to her question.
"Steel Shaxxas Hext. Formerly known as Erebus Arsenios: Dragon of Holy Fire. I raised your father from an infant to a teenager and taught him Anima Control."
Steel only recently remembered that portion of his past. He was there when Salen was born, he was there when a lot of his friends were born. He's seen them in life and in death. Though he only looks to be in mid to late twenties, assuming anyone can actually see that through the unusual appearance. He was much older than most of his now deceased friends.

[Kleine Krahe]

Silver's teeth bared and he growled, and his ferocity only increased as Aristar continued to explain. He slowly stood on the bed, his hackles raised as it took everything in him to not transform into an adult tiger and rip Aristar's face off.
"You incompetent fool! That accident should have never happened in the first place, and you should not let anything you can't control come with you into a situation where it can get out of control!" Silver snarled taking one step closer to Aristar.
"And you're an inconsiderate a** for letting Eirian anywhere near Jade. She's not herself anymore and making her see her own mother as an undead creature, instead of leaving her memories of when Jade was alive and herself, is cruel."
He took another step, his jaws opening as if he were getting ready to bite.
"Jade dying the way she did may be my fault. But the way she is, what she did, and what happened is all on you. Maybe next time you'll think before you meddle in what should be left alone. The dead should stay dead."
Silver hissed and his claws unsheathed, puncturing the sheets beneath him.

"Erebus." Uya said, repeating his old name. Well, that did sound somewhat familiar.
"Dragon of Holy Fire..." Her hands reached out, lightly grasping the backs of Steel's hands. Her piercing blue-violet gaze was focused on his skin color, her mind again wandering back to her dream. Perhaps what she thought of mist was something more like smoke. Inside, Uya was somewhat giddy about having a chance to analyze the connections between a dream and reality. There were still many things that were unclear, but she looked forward to the chance of making as much sense of it as she could. All the while her conscious mind was racing, her subconscious put away a question about what Anima Control was. She could ask him later.
Her hands probably looked small and delicate compared to his, and despite all the work she did, her pale hands remained soft and smooth. She looking up again into Steel's eyes, somewhat of a curious fire in her eyes.
"What colors are these?"

[Desert Behr]

The Dragon of Holy Fire was once a feared super weapon. The name was romanticized and somewhat untrue of his capabilities. From a fundamental stand point, his elemental control used the elements of Light and Fire. Though it was more along the lines of super heated plasma. That side of him has left and since then his abilities have become more unique, focused. What he lost in raw power, he's gained in versatility.
Steel watched Uya curiously, she certainly wasn't shy. He wondered what went on within her curious mind and her curious question didn't quite make sense to him. He thought for a moment, wondering how best to answer the question.
"Gold and Black."
Clearly not the answer she's looking for.
"I have one-hundred percent control over the flow of energy in my Anima..my soul. The colors you see are the physical manifestation of my soul laid bare."
Hopefully that answers her question. It might even answer the subconscious question she had. Salen has recently accomplished that same thing that Steel has. His body has undergone similar changes, though it's dramatically different than what Steel looks like.

[Kleine Krahe]

Uya's eyes noticeably narrowed it what was obviously a look of mild irritation and impatience. How could she rephrase her question in a way he could understand. Her features softened into a thoughtful expression as she looked down at his hands again.
"What do these colors mean? Why is your soul black and gold?" She decided to rephrase the question in two different ways, hoping for a more exact answer.
But asking someone why their soul was a certain color was like asking someone why they existed. It wasn't usually a question someone could answer so easily. Yet, seeing the man's appearance match his colors made her believe she had happened upon an opportunity to understand at least somewhat better.

[Desert Behr]

Not the answer she was looking for? Steel thought given her facial adjustments. Or rather, it just added another question to the top. He glanced down into his glass of scotch, reviewing the question in his head. Why did his soul end up in these colors? Color is the visual perspective from the spectrum of light. The color you see is dependent on several physical attributes. The wavelength interval, texture of the surface, what's being reflected and pigmentation. The color of his soul should theoretically follow the same pattern.
"Why indeed....."
He's never really thought about why. He understands the what and how, not the why. Might as well try to talk out the possibility in a physical sense.
"Gold. Variant of yellow. Associated with happiness, pleasure, Life. Sun, Jealousy and betrayal.
Black: The absence of light, or the complete absorption of it. Associated with death, evil and mourning. The end, the void.
Gold: Life
Black: Death."
Steel might be on to something here. He smirked a little as he lifted the glass of scotch to his lips and polished off his drink. As he finished it, he set the glass down as he slowly stood up. Turning away from Uya for just a moment, he looked towards the ground, held out his hand and snapped his fingers. A spark could be seen from between his fingertips, energy coursed through his body, a light golden glow encompassed his arm. Before too long a living being was summoned. created rather.
Standing before them was a what appeared to be a lion the size of a mid sized dog. It shared the same colors as it's master, standing tall, proud and majestic. A glorious golden mane tipped with black. Steel reached forward and ran his fingers through the lions soft fur. Snapping his fingers once more and the lion vanished into thin air, leaving no trace, as if it was never there.
"I suppose the colors represent what my soul is capable of. Those representations might be exaggerated, but I don't believe in coincidence."

[Jade_NightWarrior]

"Stop, stop, stop!" Eirian exclaimed as she covered her face with her hands.
Aristar didn't have a chance to retort when Eirian's firm voice said "I asked to be near her against his better judgement. He didn't want me to, father, but I insisted. I missed her. I wanted to know her more. And when she is lycid, she is very loving. She didn't want me to learn to fight but I asked Aristar because I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be strong like you and mom. She told me many times she didn't want me to become like her when she was young. But I didn't listen. I don't want her to stay dead! It may be selfish of me, but I don't want to!" Her voice trembled and she looked away, her shoulders were shaking a little.

Aristar said "I can't let you near her anymore, Eirian. Not after this. No matter how much it hurts you. I shouldn't have let you come with me on these errands either. I know you just wanted to spend as much time as possible with her but like your father said, it was incompetent of me. I won't make the same mistake again...I hope you can forgive me..." and with that he stood up and left.

Eirian turned around and called out 'Wait! Aristar!' But he Ignored her. She felt the tears coming again but she jeld them back. She was supposed to be strong.
She looked at Silver and said 'Im sorry for worrying you, father...I just...I...' and was at a loss for words. She looked down at her hands in shame. She was blaming herself for what had happened.

[Kleine Krahe]

Uya listened as Steel ticked off potential meanings of certain colors, but she wasn't finding out anything new. She had searched through books upon books of what colors signified, but even they were too vague. Azreal's gold color was different than Steel's gold color. But why? She could understand why colors were unique to each person, because each person is different somehow...But she was still struggling with what it all meant.
As she watched the little lion reappear and disappear, she raised her hands to her temples and closed her eyes for a moment. There was a dull ache behind her eyes as though despite her not focusing on the colors she saw, the strong presence of them was giving her a small headache.
"What about smoke, or vapor?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes and then blinked a few times before taking a bit to refocus on the man in front of her.
This would probably sound completely random, because she had not to him she had a dream about his colors. She could explain that after he answered, if need be.

Silver sat and sheathed his claws, glaring at Aristar as he left. When he was gone, Silver sighed and jumped off of the bed, transforming into his standing human form. He looked out a window as he somberly spoke.
"I don't expect you to understand now, but maybe you will later. Nothing comes without a cost, including bringing people back from the dead. I grew up watching my mother waste away because of her attachment to someone dead, because of a bond they made before everything went wrong. After Salen died and she found some peace with someone else, I watched her heart and family torn when he came back. And now I have to watch my surviving children be tormented by the fact that their dead mother is alive, but is now something else. The dead walking among us does not accomplish anything. It doesn't bring back who they were before they died. Even if Jakkino could come back, my mother would not find happiness with him, just as when Salen came back Sayori could not return to him. Even if my firstborn came back, my wife would not return and we would not be one big happy. It doesn't work that way because the world of the living and the world of the dead are not meant intertwine." It was a harsh reality. Things would never be the same. It wasn't possible.
Silver ran a hand back through his hair and sighed again, bringing his red-orange gaze to Eirian.
"There must be some sort of balance to everything, and when you take from death, death will take from you. Are you prepared to lose your life? Jumana and Argene? Arianna? What if you had to see Jade die, again?" His voice was somber and pained instead of scolding. He didn't want to yell, he wanted her to think.
"I won't tell you what to do, I just want you to think about whether or not something is justified; if it worth the risk you are taking." He couldn't stay. He quietly turned and left, gently closing the door behind him.

[Desert Behr]

Truth be told, Steel doesn't know everything about the extent of his new traits. He reached the final stage, the final lock has opened and he has access to everything his soul contains. On that note, the colors Uya sees may have zero correlation to his abilities. The colors may not represent anything at all. What she sees is beyond the obvious physical realm and any interpretation of colors is simply theoretical.
Steel sat back down and grasped his glass, full of partially melted ice cubes. Uya seemed dissatisfied with his possible explanation. His lips slanted a bit as he thought about her next question. Smoke and vapor doesn't ring any bells for him or really play any part with him that he's aware of. Why would she ask about that anyway? Not to mention smoke and vapor are quite different from each other.
"Vapor; typically water vapor. An Element I have no control over. Smoke; Typically from burning objects. I worked with temperatures that would leave no trace. I guess I should ask you...what do you see?"
It didn't seem like he'd be able to answer her questions with anything physical, at least not from this standpoint. He'll need her to share a bit more.

[Kleine Krahe]

That's right, vapor was water, which meant it would sink instead of rise like smoke did. So it was vapor coming from the black stones. Uya looked up at Steel and debated for a moment. She could try to tell him what she saw, or if he was able to peek into her mind, she could just show him. Uya knew she had that capability, but he needed to also be able to forge that temporary connection. The question was, did she trust him enough to let him see?
He was a friend of her father's, but that's all she really knew. She didn't know who he was or what he has done. Her gaze intensified on Steel as she held out her hands to him.
"It was a dream. Can I show you?" She wasn't sure if she still trusted him, but so for she had no reason not to. Up to this point, he seemed to be very upfront and honest. Worst-case scenario if he could share this connecter was that he would invade her mind and read anything and everything. But since she doubted he was really looking for any sort of answers from her, this seemed unlikely.

[Jade_NightWarrior]

Eirian buried her face in her arms, as she sobbed quietly, grieving for the mother she had lost. In spite of her heart's desires, she knew deep down that Jade was not the same and that part of that Jade she knew was dead. She understood perfectly what Silver was telling her, but that didn't make it easier for her to accept. But he was right. A great price would have to be paid for Jade's and Irina's resurrection. She knew her mother had paid a great price for exchanging her soul to be Aristar's servant and coming to life again. She if Jade would suffer if Aristar allowed her to rest. And she couldn't imagine Irina not existing either. In spite of how she came to be, she was a rather lively young woman and her eyes shone with happiness whenever she learned something new. How could anyone take that away from her? She ended up with a headache and decided she needed to rest more. So she curled up on the bed and slept.

Jade watched her injured and tired daughter from a mirror. She wailed in anguish as she fell to her knees, reaching towards the mirror but not being able to touch it. Aristar had allowed her to see Eirian, but would not allow her to go to her. And to keep her from disobeying, he had chained her to a wall in a dungeon with a reinforcement spell. Jade had regained her lucidity and also remembered some of the things she had done. She couldn't believe she had attacked Eirian. She only remembered anger and fear when she saw Sam. She felt threatened, just like when she was running from the company's assassins sent to retrieve her or kill her. She thought he was there for her. No wonder Aristar had decided to conceal the young werewolf's identity. But then again, it may have been better to have told her about him. She wondered why had Sam come to the Inn. She couldn't remember she had told him briefly about it when they were comrades when they worked for the company.
Jade struggled against the chains, even though she knew it was futile to do so, wanting to go to her daughter and console her.
"Stop it. You can't be with her. At least not yet..." Aristar said
Jade's knees gave in and she crumbled to the floor, crying softly. Aristar knelt and gathered her in his arms, to comfort her. He knew it would be kinder for her and probably the best for everyone, if she was dead and her soul be allowed to rest. But he had grown fond of her and her children. They made him feel more alive, plus Jade's complicated soul intrigued him. It was lonely to be a necromancer sometimes, and even boring. He couldn't let go. Not yet, anyway.

[Etched In Stone]

The gaijin opened the doors to the mansion five stories high in the mountains. An odd warrior hard to determine whether the afro American male with the ninjato against his back in the tight vintage red leather zipper jacket and rampage black jogger pants was shinobi of some sort or just plain imitator of the Eastern world. Either way the high faded red headed male in the fashion Nike high top black boots would stand out as he entered the unknown building he wouldn't fit in. As he entered the double doors the first images that came to his hazel earthy sight was the bar lined against the wall to his left and the fireplace over to his right. Comfortable chairs and glass tables scattered about the room. At the back was anothee set of doors. Tied around his neck a navy colored metal headband etched through the symbol of Kiri, a large scratch down the center piece. Hands in pockets clipped by his thumbs heading towards the bar the Blader seated himself in one of the closer chairs as quietly as possible and without the hastle of having to be silennt. Naturally this man had stealthy mannerisms. He disnt try to enter in silence. Yet he was so use to relying on his quietness to deceive others. Just not today. If somebody came to his company the 5'11 male would order a glass of cold water and Cheeseburger. That's what he would been eating had the man from the other bar not whipped his gun out and got them both kicked from the place.

And so he would wait.

[Desert Behr]

It seems unlikely that his abilities have anything to do with what Uya is seeing. His element leans towards lightning, electricity. It may have something to do with his past, who he is, what he's done and what he will do. Steel can't say for sure what lies ahead for him, his heart burns for vengeance. A once noble promise was broken and he couldn't fulfill his best friend's wishes. Steel desires peace, but a wall has been thrown up that he has to knock down. No amount of power or skill can bring such a simple prospect. Some people just don't get to have peace.
"Of course."
If trust is what she needs, then trust is what she'l get. This is Salen's daughter, no? Should she trust him? Well, he's harmless to her. If anything, given the right situation, he'd likely attempt to protect her. Does that make him a hypocrite? He's ended far more lives than he's saved, does he even deserve her trust?
Steel left his mind wide open, and reached his hands out to hers, gently grasping on, intertwining his fingers with hers. He flinched upon doing so, ever so lightly. How long has it been since he had contact with another person? It's hard to say. If she wanted to mine his mind for information, she was more than capable of doing so. The door is wide open, but he was no desire to search into hers.

[Kleine Krahe]

Etched In Stone

A familiar little purple dragon flew through the sky of the inn, wings spread wide to catch the harsh winter winds. Despite her size in the form, she held her own easily and effortlessly rode the currents to the inn. She slowly descended to land elegantly in front of the doors, transforming just before touching the ground. Soft grey leather boots touched down and Sayori stood before the doors. She took a moment to make sure she had no scuffs or dirt on her black leggings or her grey short dress, the light fabric draping against her soft curves. Her fingers brushed through her dark violet hair and she smoothed her bangs to frame her face.
Done with her preening, she wrapped her delicate fingers around the door handle and entered.
Looking about, she was surprised she didn't see Arianna or the little ones. Uya seemed preoccupied with a guest while another seemed to be patiently waiting. Nervously, she waited to see if anyone was perhaps hiding in the kitchen that could help the guest. After a few moments she realized no one was coming, so she put on a friendly smile and walked behind the bar to talk to him.
"Hello, sir. Have you been helped?"

Uya lightly clasped Steel's hands, closing her eyes to block out the present so she could focus on her dream. Dreams were fickle. Many people did not remember their dreams, some didn't realize that they dreamed at all. Instead of trying to remember everything, she focused on what was important. With this in mind she shared with Steel some short flashed of her dream. The first was the image of the stones, turning black like charcoal then releasing a creeping gold-colored vapor that covered the desk and spilled over the edges. The second was what she remembered before she woke up:turning around in her dream to speak to Salen and Oyu only to find they were no longer there and that they only thing she could see was a wall of black and gold vapor.
Other than communicating these images, Uya made no attempt to intrude in Steel's mind. Any question she could have about him she had little doubt she could simply ask and get an honest answer. Once she was done showing him, she only loosened her grip and opened her eyes to show she was finished.

[Desert Behr]

Dreams. Some say they have meaning, others believe it's just the subconscious mind racing during body paralysis. Some people report that they dream about things that happen in the future. Steel doesn't know what he believes on the subject, he hasn't slept for over sixty years, he slept for the first time in decades a little over a day ago. It was unusual to say the least, he never needed sleep, with what he was before. Now though, his body gets tired again. Dreams were an irrelevant topic to him for as long as he's known.old vapor
Steel watched Uya, letting the images flow into his mind. It felt like he was experiencing it through her eyes. He couldn't honestly say what he was made any real sense to him. In a way it looked like he took Oyu and Salen away from her. The gold vapor and the wall in their stead seems to imply that. In a sense, he did take them away, though Salen and Oyu left on their own decision with Steel. Not dwelling too deeply on it, when he noticed her grip loosen and her eye opening, he gently let go of her hands. Folding his arms on the counter, looking into her eyes, he wasn't sure what to say to her. He came up with something eventually.
"Perhaps you're a seer?"

[Jade_NightWarrior]

After a few days, Eirian was back on her feet and the cast came off. Her bones set in perfectly, and had no remaining scars. She still had some nightmares which caused her night frights and Arianna had to console the whimpering teenager in the middle of the night. Sam was still recovering, not as lucky as Eirian, his healing not working as fast as hers, though in all fairness, his injuries had been worse. However, he was still able to walk around and didn't need to be fussed over too much. He would check his wounds himself and only ask for help in changing the dressings around his torso. He did have a slight fever for a night, an infection due to his injuries, but his body fought it off quickly. Eirian sat with him that night, taking care of him, feeling very guilty about it.

Aristar had taken Silver's words to heart and had started looking into releasing Jade's soul. He had a feeling she would come back to life on her own anyway. The dead didn't always stayed dead, but he couldn't refute the fact the death knew exactly when one was meant to expire, and how long should one stay dead. But one's soul is eternal, and could eventually be reborn into another body. Jade did have unfinished sadhana and she had a debt to fulfill as well. He was almost positive she would reincarnate.
He sighed and went to see her again. She was in better control of herself and he had taken the chains off her. However, the cell's spell was still active and it kept her trapped in there. She still had her shackles, that symbolized her status as his slave, so he could control her if she became unruly again.
"Aristar, please let me see my children..." she pleaded
"I can't do that. We don't know if you could attack them...it's just not safe, Jade" he admonished her gently as if she was a confused child
Jade knelt down at his feet and begged him, with her face on the ground. Aristar sighed again and knelt down, gathering in her in his arms to comfort her. Jade whispered "Forgive me..." and i a flash, bit into his neck. Aristar gasped in surprise, the pain was excruciating,while she sucked on his blood. Aristar felt his body go numb and paralyzed, and she let go off him. She retched, his blood was poison to her, but she didn't care. She knew he would kill her after this and that's what she wanted anyway. She didn't deserve to live. But first, she just wanted to be free to see her children one last time. The spell read the blood of Aristar in her body and didn't stop her from
leaving.

She arrived to the inn through a portal. She was in the outside of the Inn. The twins were playing by the pond, Irina was laying on a blanket, sunbathing with her eyes closed. Sam was also laying down on a blanket, resting and dozing off. Eirian was doing some yoga with Arianna close by. Everyone seemed relaxed.
Eirian felt someone watching them for afar, and was the first to notice her.
"Mom" she said as she stood up, her voice a little nervous.
Arianna called out to the twins and told them to stay with Sam and Irina. Sam and Irina sitting up on their blankets, grabbing onto a child each, to make sure to bring them in quickly to safety if anything happened.
"Eirian...I am sorry..." Jade said as she put her hands up, and walked slowly towards her
Eirian moved closer to Arianna, and looked at her with a bit of fear. She noticed some blood on her clothes and said "What did you do?" and instantly thought of Aristar "Where is Aristar?"
"He's...indisposed..." she said "But he'll come in a little while, I am sure....I just wanted to see you and the babies...I miss you all..."
"Aunt Jade. Stay back. You are not being yourself..." Arianna said putting herself in front of Eirian "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here at this time..."
"Mother?" Jumana whispered as she saw the specter like Jade moving closer to Eirian. That's not how she remembered her. Argene was a little frightened of the changes he noticed on Jade but knew it was their mother. It was her energy signature, no doubt about it.
Jade noticed Jumana and Argene looking at her, with doubt and a little fear. It broke her heart to see them look at her like that. She felt her stomach hurt and she doubled over, retching blood, her body hurting. She wanted the pain to stop, the anger to fade. She started to grow confused again. The twins slipped away from Sam and Irina, and ran to her. She hugged them, inhaled their scents, trembling as she held them. She felt cold.
"Mother, are you ok?" Jumana said, her voice full of concern, Argene simply hugged her tight, he had a feeling this was the last time they would see her,
"I am now, baby girl. I love you and your brother very much, don't you ever forget that. But you have to get back to the others...you two be good, Ok?" she said softly, the twins didn't want to let go off her, they had so many questions. But could sense they needed to obey her. Irina and Sam took them inside, where it was safer for them.
As soon as they were inside, Jade shakily stood up and said "I came to say goodbye, and ask you to forgive me Eirian. I would have never hurt you of my own accord. Please, believe me..."
Jade felt another wave of nausea and pain, and turned around gasping, feeling Aristar regaining control of his body through her bond with him. The pain was unbearable, his blood was killing her. She screamed as she felt a blinding pain in her heart and suddenly, she lost control of herself again. Memories of her blood lust came to her. She looked at Arianna and Eirian with red empty eyes.
Eirian knew that look very well. It was the same look she herself had when the blood lust was too hard to deal with.
"Mother...don't let it control you..." Eirian said from behind Arianna
"Eirian, go inside..." Arianna warned her
"No! She needs help! " Eirian said firmly
Jade was going to lunge at them when Aristar opened up a portal and came behind her, producing some chains from his hands that linked themselves onto Jade's shackles. Jade couldn't move and writhed in pain, she was dying.
"Eirian, go inside..."Aristar said
"NO! I won't leave her like this! She needs help Aristar!" Eirian said reaching out for her, but Arianna was restraining her.
"She needs to rest, Eirian. One day you'll know everything about your mother's life. She has dealt with a lot. Her soul needs to rest..." He said to her, keeping Jade subdued.
"Please...don't take her away from me...us...please..."Eirian pleaded
"You know it's the right thing to do. Besides, she attacked me. When she swore servitude, she accepted a blood oath that if she ever attacked her master, the punishment would be death. I cannot undo what she accepted...." Aristar said
Eirian knew he was telling the truth, and Silver had been right, she was not ready to see her mother die. But she had to be strong to accept this. It was the way of things. Jade was not meant to be live as such.
"Then take her pain...it's not fair for her to go like this..." Eirian said almost crying
Aristar broke the shackle around Jade's neck, breaking the seal that kept her alive. Jade relaxed immediately. She regained her lucidity again, but her body rejecting her soul.
Eirian and Arianna knelt by her, holding her hand. Jade smiled at them weakly and whispered "I am sorry. I never wished to cause you pain..."
"Mom..." Eirian whispered, her voice trembling
"It's all right, Eirian. Everything will be fine..." Jade said as her life was slipping away
She looked at Aristar and tried to say something to him, but couldn't. Aristar nodded at her, a silent agreement in between them. Jade shuddered and closed her eyes, finally resting.

"I will bury her and take care of the rest. Do not tell the twins what happened. At least not yet...." Aristar said
"Shut up! I don't want to talk to you right now, nor see you for a long time!" She spat as she wiped her tears off, and went inside. Arianna followed after her.
Aristar gathered Jade's lifeless body in his arms and held her, on the fresh grass of the gardens and whispered to her "You better find your way back...your children need you..."