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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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 Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:26 pm
She nodded, "Well from what I've heard Malik didn't grow up like you or I did. I was told that his family was forced together because of the curse on their house. That's not the way I grew up and you had your parents but you didn't live with both at the same time and you left home quickly too." She was quiet again and then she happened to glance off and see one of the sickly trees that were the norm in the Underdark. "Okay. I'll help you with Drow and you teach me how to climb trees. Sounds like a trade."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:45 pm
"Deal." Standing up on Nerian's back she placed her hands and knees on the trunk of the tree, no branches were down particularly low, and took to climbing the thing as easily as a drow killed a human. Reaching the lowest supportive branch she crouched on it a moment before hanging by her knees from it, hands dangling down to Zahara. "Grab hold." And she took to telling a story as well. "Right, as Malik's told me, Cymarron was owned by his father and he killed him. When they all fled from Cymarron, they had to stay together to live. Didn't matter, Cymarron killed his family, torn him apart too. Here's the real clencher...Cymarron was my friend."
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:51 pm
She watched as Piper stood up and literally scampered into the tree. Zahara's eyes widened and she shook her head, "I don't know..." But she couldn't go back, after all if this was the way you climbed trees then she'd do it. So Zahara nudged Serino up a little closer and took a deep breath, "Okay Serino, now remember I'm new at this and I'm sorry if I hurt you." She looked up at Piper and realized she'd have to jump to catch the other elf's hands. Serious trust time. She took another deep breath and used her boots to steady herself on the Zephyr's back. She stood up on her toes and then pushed off. For a moment it didn't look like she was going to catch ahold of Piper's hands but she reached and grabbed and then seh was hanging there suspended in midair. All Zahara's instincts were screaming that it could be a trick, she'd gotten her up here just to drop her but the drow firmly shoved that aside. She could do this and she would be fine. She just had to trust Piper and strangely enough she did.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 12:56 pm
Piper laughed lightly, looking upside down still at the other elf that she held firmly by the wrists. She looked positively torn in a way...and she knew why. Drow instincts. "I would never drop you." And sayign that she pulled up, bending her arms using her own upperbody strength in accordance with Zahara's own to pull the drow up into reaching distance of the branch, only letting her go when she knew Zahara had both hands clamped to the branch and was crouched firmly on it. Piper was still dangling upside down by her knees at this point. "You okay thus far?"
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:03 pm
Zahara was hanging on for dear life. She wasn't afraid of heights but that whole trust thing had been really hard for her. She glanced down at Piper still hanging and nodded, "Yeah...I think so. For a minute there I didn't think I was going to make it but I'm okay..." She carefully manuevered her boots so that she was seated on the branch dangling her legs down by Piper's body. She swung her legs lightly but held on with her hands until she felt more secure. "You knew the one who massacred Malik's family? Didn't that cause trouble between you? I mean if I met the friend of the one who massacred my family, and thinking like Malik here...I'd probably tear them to pieces out of rage." Because let's face it, Zahara's family wasn't sacred to her. She rarely even missed them anymore. They'd never given her anything that she didn't have here. They treated her horribly, well seh had that from Malik. Insults flew, violence reigned over all.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:09 pm
"No, he wanted to use me to get back at Cymarron. Break me down, kill my spirit, turn me into nothing more than a slave and most likely a bed toy. Just to make Cymarron suffer. But...my loyalty, surprising to me even, seems to go to Malik more than Cymarron and his own friends. They tried to tell me what Malik was I didn't believe them, and I wasn't afraid of Malik. That's why he couldn't do those things to me, and that's why he left Cymarron alone as Cymarron left him alone. Both on my request and honor to them both." Okay, took much blood rushing to head now. Curling up she graped the branch in her hands between her knees and dropped off the branch to dangle from her hands. Though after a few seconds...she got a sort of far away look, went quiet, and her breath caught a moment. They involuntarily flashed in her minds eye....dangling from a treebranch by her arms...only one more soul with her...Malik nowhere around, her out by herself...
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:15 pm
Zahara was watching off into the distance, "Hmm, is that why you got so worried when I came up with my idea about putting on a collar. Because you knew that what attracted Malik to you he could find in me as well?" She didn't look at Piper as seh said it because she couldn't at the moment but she said softly, "I know you were jealous of me, afraid I'd usurp your position. But that was never my plan Piper...never. Piper? You have to believe me.." She looked down and blinked, Piper looked...odd. "Piper...?" she asked slowly. "What's going on?" She could see Piper's hands begin to uncurl, she was going to let go! Zahara looked around but nobody else was in sight. She'd have to get her herself. She scooted over a bit and tossed one leg over the branch and locked her ankles then reached down and grabbed Piper's wrists just as all of her fingers were uncurling and she was going to let go, pulling her up. "Piper...snap out of it! What's the matter?" she asked, fear making her voice crack. "PIPER!" shaking her, snapping her fingers in front of her face, anything to get that terrified look out of her eyes and get her back in reality.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:21 pm
She hummed to herself as she worked, taking undamaged cells from Zahara and Malik, splicing out the DNA she needed or wanted, putting in other genes that she had on her person, such as the ones used to give the little familiar wings. The process was rather quick, and soon she had a full strand of DNA, implanted it into a cell of Zahara's that had been emptied of genetic information. Next came growth stimili, as well as stem cell additives, acquired mostly from aquatic or reptilian animals. After a few hours, she was looking at a unique cell ready to develop. A small dish was set in front of her, filled with a strange liquid that glowed red, in which the cell was placed. Placing her hands over this, Laudi began the difficult incantations she had developed for this prupose, and soon the single cell became four, then a cluster, growing ever larger and faster.
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:27 pm
She had heard Zahara before her voice started to sound far away and muttered, those memories clouding out the world around her. She hadn't felt her hands slipping but she felt Zahara grab her and yank her up. Piper jumped back into reality as startled as a deer. For a moment she panted even though she wasn't short of shaking her head. "Oh um...uh...thanks..." Oh wow, she really didn't want to explain that...so she did what she usually did, picked up on conversation that she'd last heard as she leaned back on the tree trunk, recovering her wits. "Um, yes...I was worried...and jealous. I've never been with anyone else...and the thought of being without him frightens me. What with all the talk of how opposites attract and how enemies can become close...I felt threatened. Malik's been mine for so long...it was stupid of me to think that way...I'm the one wearing the ring after all. And we don't call mine a collar really, just a gift." A smile to the drow. "I believe you Zahara...besides, you wouldn't get him without a fight." Piper laughed lightly to follow that up.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:34 pm
Zahara shifted position so she was back with her legs dangling and she watched Piper closely. Terror had welled up inside when she realized that Piper was about to fall and she was still freaked out inside even though her outward appearance was calm. Piper was hiding something and Zahara was determined to find out what it was. She nodded, "I thought as much. But you have nothing to worry about from me, being wiht Malik is the furthest thing from both of our minds, believe me. It would never work between us we'd kill each other in a day." She carefully moved one hand up to run through her hair in agitation. "Now do you want to explain what the hell happened Piper? One minute I'm just talking to you and the next you're lost in some kind of memory and trying to let go of the tree! you scared the hell out of me..I thought for sure you were going to fall and..." her hands were still shaking.
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:23 pm
"You're probably right...with the way you two fight. Even though I annoyed Malik in the beginning, we didn't fight like you two do. We've had few major fights but they all end up the same. I apologize for my wrong doings on teh subject and he apologizes for snapping at me and blowing up." A small smile as she explained it. Yes, her and Malik could certinally get into it, but they always made up. Though she looked reluctant when Zahara started questioning. "I wasn't trying to let go..." and tugged at her collar a little then sighed and pushed down her shirt some to expose just under her collarbone at her shoulder. Though elves didn't scar to much unless serious injury, they were still marked for a while. She bared a faint red mark of still healing flesh. "See this? That was the anchor point for a drow device that was used to...torture me." A brief pause as she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as she rested her chin on her knees. "Me and Malik fought and I left...knowing better that I shouldn't of gone to face who was troubling me. For my defiance, I paid the price. I was hung from a tree by my wrists and broken down. I still...I'm still shaken from it time to time...this is the first time I've been in a tree since. Sorry if I upset you." She had that far away look again as she had talked about but left as she stood up on the branch and reached for a higher one. "Well come on, climbing trees doesn't mean just the bottom branches."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:33 pm
She nodded and then was quiet for a moment. "Really...well then." It was true that she adn Malik would most likely kill each other but as the story was slowly pulled out of her she began to get very upset. Taking her wrist she scanned it and her eyes narrowed, "Son of a b***h, I hope he's the one that Malik was talking about using his hides for necromancy and poisons." She let her wrist go and sighed, "No one should have to live through that Piper, and you're brave for surviving." She glanced at the tree, "If it were me I would probably ignore trees altogether. Never go in them again."
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:40 pm
She nodded. "Mhm, Kaden...thus why he deserves no honors at all, for he has none himself." But she smiled lightly at Zahara. "To tell the truth...I almost didn't. I almost gave up. Malik wouldn't let me though...no one would. In time all the marks will go away, and the pain won't be so fresh in my mind. We're elves though, we have all the time in the world." Then she laughed lighly. "I can't stay away from trees...I haven't been able to climb one for so long and there are trees here, I can't pass them up. They're in my blood." Piper pulled herself up to the next branch, kneeling on it without and balance issues and reached a hand down to help Zahara pull herself up.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:47 pm
"Indeed, what Malik has used against him is perfect for the crime. Something tells me Kaden will most likely never find peace." She shook her head, hearing Piper's story about Kaden and taking the knowledge she already had of Malik punishing Kaden, she could see the depth of his love for her. It made her think for a moment and then she realized that Piper was moving. She glanced up in time to see Piper hoist herself onto the next branch and reach down. "We're going higher? Is that...wise?" But she grabbed on and helped Piper hoist her up.
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Picking Up Stars Vice Captain
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Fractured Moonlight Captain
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:53 pm
"What hurt the most is that he used to be sweet, Kaden was my best friend. Now I hope he's put through a thousand tortures over and over. Kaden got his though and soon he'll be nothing but a distant memory." She pulled Zahara up, steadying her on the branch a moment before she went about grabbing at branches and testing them out for weight bearing. "Of course we are, the view from a tree top is spectacular...something that shouldn't be missed! And it's only not wise if you fall down. But I won't let you. And I can't because Malik would fuss at me for it." Finding a good branch she pulled up and again offered Zahara her hand.
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