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Rusty/Ani

Pad, pad, pad, Thunk... pad, pad, pad, thunk... pad, pad, pad, thunk....
Rusty was pacing up and down the porch of the jivvin center. He wasn't sure what he should be doing, or how to do whatever that was, so he was pacing... nervously. Calvin popped her head out the door and frowned at her older brother. "Why am I here again?"

"You're here in case she brings Harmony with her." He sighed. Bringing Calvin along was going to be a bad idea, he could already tell. "I invited her here, and then I realized that I didn't say why and, and and, well... if she thinks it was so you and Harmony could play then you've got to be here so I don't look stupid."

Calvin rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Why don't you just tell her that you like her and quit being a moron?" Then she turned back into the house and padded off to the den. Rusty hear her mutter something about 'stupid brothers' as she left but didn't pay her any mind.

Instead he hopped up on the porch swing, but then wondered if the swing could even support his metal structure and he quickly scrambled out. with yet another sigh, he resumed his back and forth pacing.

She had been curious when the invitation to meet Rusty at the center arrived, turning over various reasons for it in her head as she took the short cut through the forest. Maeve had been anything but helpful and Beryl... Why she hadn't thought to broach the subject with the Vhaid was above and beyond her. It certainly would've been a better idea than asking Maeve. How someone could be that obnoxious...

She huffed softly, shaking her head as she paused when the Center came into view. In the end it boiled down to there being no reason whatsoever why a friend couldn't ask to see a friend. A friend... Odd, thinking along those lines, really. Had she ever had a friend before?

No... The thought of having one filled her with warmth as she set off again, her movements slow and silent as she approached the Center, heading around to the porch with the door that she knew would be easier to open.

Rusty saw her coming as she started up the path and quickly stuck his head in the door. "Calvin she's alone! Stay away!"

"Yeah like I'd...." then the words muffeld for a second.... "Watching you make out with Mony's sister." and then she said something else which he couldn't make out. "Stupid brothers." ....

Rusty shook his head and turned back to Ani. He couldn't help but grin as she approached. "Hi. I didn't know if you'd come or not, I just thought... you know... maybe get out of the house... do something new... that kind of thing." don't ramble. Don't ramble. his brain kept shouting at him.

"I don't have much else to do." She chuckled softly, warmed by his grin in a way that found a smile curving her own muzzle. "It is nice to get out... Every now and then, at least. Good to get out and see friends, isn't it? At least, that's what I've heard."

She hopped up onto the porch, tail swishing as she sat down before curling around her paws. Her head tilted as she watched Rusty for a moment. "You weren't waiting long, were you?"

Rusty nodded. Good to even have friends. And his brother didn't count towards that total. He nodded again when she asked him the question, and then blurted out an answer.

"Yes." and quickly amended it. "But it's my own fault. I showed up extra early. I wanted to be here so that you wouldn't have to wait on me." He laughed. "And Calvin's here, inside somewhere and she usually takes so long to get moving that I thought I'd be late if we didn't start early... and I didn't want to make you wait." but then he'd already said that.

"Oh, Calvin's here?" Her brow lofted slightly as she shifted in an attempt to peer past him, wondering where she was that she was being so quiet. "... She's not getting into anything, is she? Harmony's been a bit destructive lately. I'm not sure what's gotten into her, but..." She shook her head slowly.

"Next time I'll know to come a bit earlier myself." She smiled, back on topic.

He nodded again and followed her gaze towards the house. "I think she's fine. She's been less destrucitve and more.... weird." He shrugged. "maybe it's that teenager phase we all go through."

She has said next time. And she said she'd be here early... he rejoiced breifly in that knowledge until it occured to him that he'd have to come even earlier next time just to make sure she wasn't the one waiting on him. And then he realized that he was silently brooding while she was right here and he was wasting precious time. "I really hadn't planned on anything... just... really because I wasn't sure about what kind of things you liked to do. I mean, apparently you read." they had met in the library after all. "But that's not really a social pasttime." He laughed.... not completely awkwardly.

She blinked as she thought about that, ears drooping slightly as her mind drifted off. "I..." Her brow furrowed as she glanced up. "I'm not certain that anything I do is really all that social. I've only recently started spending more time amongst others and less time, well... Less time by myself." She chuckled softly, seeming slightly awkward herself.

"I've explored the forest on a couple of occasions, if that counts?" This whole 'friend' thing was a learning experience indeed. Maybe once she got home she'd ask Beryl what proper activities for friends were...

"Oh." He turned away for a second in thought and then came back to the present with a slight smile. "I was kind of hoping that you'd be better at friendship than I am." Now he full out grinned. "I'm mostly a loner as well... if I didn't have a brother, then I wouldn't be able to claim anyone as a friend really. Even Calvin.... I mean, she loves me and she'd do anything for me, but she's called me stupid at least five times in the last hour."

"I think... I think that's what siblings are for." She laughed, shaking her head slowly. "At least, that's how the Dragon's children seem to react when they're around each other. Beryl is far too proper to call anyone stupid and Maeve..." Well, she probably would call someone stupid, but Beryl would disapprove and that, of course, would open up an entirely different can of worms.

"I don't think I've ever been able to call anyone a friend before. There's family and then there's more family... But you're my first friend. I've... I've heard that Daewl's are odd when it comes to friendships."

he laughed. "what's my excuse then? Maybe it's all the metal. Messing with my brain. I've got nickel poisoning or something strange like that." He grinned. "I'm just anti social I guess, but I'll admit that you're my first friend as well." ...

He stood up, turned and surveyd their surroundings. "We could go for a walk... or go and raid the kitchen... we could go to the library and discuess books, but then we stand a chance of running into Calvin.... or we could even take a leaf out of Calvin's book, or um, tree? and play like little kids... like pirates or something." He looked at her with a slightly worried expression. "I'm probably not likely to be good at that, since I can't even remember what kind of things Calvin plays."

"Hm..." She pondered as she stood up, stretching out with an almost feline grace before glancing over at her companion. "Perhaps we can combine a few of those options? Raid the kitchen in hopes of finding fare to take with us into the woods where we'll walk until we figure out if we're pirates, mysterious beings, or simply two adventurers exploring the previously uncharted waters of friendship?"

He grinned at her. "That, my friend, is possibly the best answer you could have possibly given." He stood and pushed open the door for her and waited so that she could walk through first. There was a little bit of 'gentleman' in him. "There might be something edible in the kitchen..."

"Well, if you'd like to start in the kitchen I'll see if I can head upstairs and find something to stash food in? Something that will be easy for either of us to carry." She nodded, smiling as she slid inside. "Then I'll meet you back in the kitchen and we can begin our attempt at trying out this whole 'raiding' thing that I've heard so much about."

Rusty nodded and pad/thunked into the kitchen to search . Upon opening a cubboard that usually had random snacks in it he realizes that he had hit the jackpot. There were several bags of cookies and chips and such. Now his only dilema was wondering what Ani liked to eat at all. Why did he never stop and think to ask these kinds of questions when these kinds of questions could be asked.

With a mild and completely unheartful sigh, he dragged a bag of regular chocolate cookies onto the counter, added to it with a bag of prepopped popcorn and a couple of peices of fruit from the bowl. He wondered breifly about sandwhiches and then decided on making two wraps since that would be easier to grab than a sandwhich. There was a tuna type saland in the fridge and some wraps so he bundeled that all up too. Last to the pile were four juice boxes from the fridge.

He made a mental note to make sure that he person who owned all this food was replayed.

Rusty/Ani (continued)

She nosed around upstairs for a bit, trying not to make too much of a commotion as she rummaged through things, eventually producing a basket that look small enough for either she or Rusty to carry while being the right size to house snacks. Smiling, quite pleased with herself, she picked up the basket between her teeth before trotting back down the stairs to the kitchen. A picnic seemed so sweet... So normal... So very much like something that friends should do together.

Rusty grinned at her re-arrival, and nosed what he'd found over to the edge of the counter. Thumbs would be good here but that was something he didn't really think about much, seeing as to how he was the oldest jivvin in his family and not entirely too social.

"that's a good one." He noted that it was big enough for the snacks and probably big enough for one of them to stick their heads or tails through the handle for carrying. "Did we decide where we were walking to?" He wondered if Calvin was still nearby and if she was watching, and then he realized that he didn't really care all that much... however. "If we go into the woods then we'll be farther away from the building."

"I don't mind wandering into the woods. I... Spent a lot of time in them when I was younger." She nodded slowly. "Blue and Red are in the woods... Aaralyn and Kuro; an Afya and a Daewl, like me. Blue is soft and friendly. Nice. Family, I think. He lived with the dragon for a while..." She let her mind wander a bit, musing softly for a moment before shaking it off.

"Either way, I don't mind the woods... Do you?"

He shook his head. "Not even a little bit. Actually the only thing that really frightens me is large bodies of water." He wondered why he was telling her this, but there really didn't seem to be a reason not to. "I've got a lot more metal in me than what can be seen, and I don't swim well at all. In fact, I can barely fly... though I fly better than Luke does with his flimsy little wings. I've got about a minute and a half in me, flightwise." He grabbed the handle of the basket with his tail. "I've yet to come across anything that could hurt me too much, besides scrapes and tumbles... and water." Now it was his turn to phase out a little before coming back to the present with a grin. "Shall we? "

"Let's." She smiled brightly, honestly. It wasn't often that she did such a thing and she thought, perhaps, that she might be able to get used to it... As long as there were times for seriousness as well there could certainly be space for some lighthearted notions, right?

"I used to be afraid of heights when I was younger, up until the first time I jumped down from the book case and realized that I was still alive." A story for a story. "I suppose... I'm not afraid of as many things as I should be. I'm comfortable in the forest and the dark is comforting." No, that wasn't completely right. There was something that still frightened her.

"Mirrors in the dark. You can see things in them. Bad things." Her nose wrinkled as she took a moment to dwell on the thought before shaking it off, lightly bumping her shoulder against Rusty's. "I think I know the perfect picnic spot."

Mirrors in the dark... That was odd. But she had quickly changed the subject so he followed. "Oh yeah? The perfect spot huh?" He smiled to himself as he tried to imagine what the perfect spot might be... "a quiet rock near the river? A clearing in the woods where the trees cover the grove? A cave in mountain that one might suspect was used by a band of villainous robbers?" He paused a second in thought. "I might read too much... or I've lived with Calvin too long, who knows."

Calvin

hanging from the rafters by one arm, fingers white and strained against her buxom weight, Calvin stared dizzyingly down into the dungeon below. This whole situation had really gotten out of hand since she'd tried to run from the room that had been slowly filling with some perculiar purple gas. She wished she'd paid more attention to Rusty's half hearted science lessons, but the larger green jivvin was just so boring!

She sighed to herself and adjusted her grip with a grunt. This wouldn't have been quite so bad if there wasn't an angry troll below her swinging a large mace ball on a chain around his head. He was particularly large for a troll and the booger covered b*****d was grinning ear to ear. Calvin wasn't sure how to get out of this situation at first.... but finally....

She rolled her eyes and hopped up further on the platform, letting her 'assets' press up against the rafter suggestively. Then in an almost false scared rasp she called out to the troll. "Wait! There must be something you would let me to do for you to save my life!"

To Calvin's surprise (and slight horror) the troll wiped his crusty green hand under his nose and grinned up at her. "Haoows abowt a keeeeesss?" Calvin shuddered inwardly at the sight of his pointy yellow teeth and smiled down at him.

"Sir.... if it will save my life I'll do more than 'keeesss' you."

"Oh for god's sake Calvin, get off the bookshelf and quit saying things like that." Lily stormed into the room and tossed a clean towel up at her jivvin daughter. "Rusty's going on and on about this Ani, and Luke's talking of moving out, last thing I need to hear is my CHILD jivvin daughter talking about kissing men for favors." She dropped the laundry basket on the bed and toppled two heavy blankets.

"Oh mom. First of all, it wasn't a favor for a man, it was a last ditch plea to a troll by Regina Rupee to save her life as he swung the death mace at her, and secondly I'm not a child, I'm a teenager." She slid backwards off the bookshelf, leaving claw gauges in the wood, and landed awkwardly on the desk with a thud. "And I like to think that Regina's life... my life even... is worth more than one slimey troll kiss."

"Calvin. Men ARE trolls and teens ARE children." She sighed. "Make your bed with clean sheets and clean blankets, and then come eat lunch. I've got a meeting here in the den in an hour and you're dissapearing off to the jivvin center to give me some peace." She shook her head. "I don't want the clients to meet Regina Rupee so early on in the month."

Rusty/Ani

"Calvin... Has to be Calvin." She laughed, the sound strange coming from her, but warm and light as well; genuine. "There is a clearing, though, if the forest hasn't moved it... The sun usually finds its way nicely into it in warm patches and there's a stream close enough that you can hear it. It does sound a bit like a story, doesn't it?"

He grinned, silently pleased that her 'perfect' spot was so much like a story. "Doesn't bother me. I basically live with my nose in a book."

"I learned more from observation than I did from books when I was little..." Although with how much time she'd spent in the library perched on shelves books were soon to follow once she'd learned how to read. She would always thank Blue for that. "You miss a lot of things with your nose buried in bindings, though... That's what I've been told, at least."

He tilted his head sightly from side to side as he considered what she'd said. "You know, that's right. I'm sure I've missed a lot in my life, and in Luke's life and certainly in Calvin's life." Of course it was ridiculously easy to be out of the loop with Calvin. "But I can't say that I'd ever go back and change it if I could." He'd loved all his books and stories... they were almost like friends when he hadn't had any.

"I know I've missed a lot of things too, but... I'm trying to make up for it." In a way she was, at least. She was trying to pay more attention to what was going on with Beryl and Maeve now and she'd taken an active role in keeping an eye out for Harmoniae. "I should take you with me when I go to visit Blue sometime. He enjoys company and I don't think he gets much of it. He lives with a Daewl." She stated simply as if that explained everything there was to know about being antisocial.

"There's a lot of them to meet, really... Beryl and Maeve are my older... Sisters, I guess, would be the best way to put it. Beryl is very polite; very proper. She's a vhaid. Maeve is... Maeve is Maeve, a Sargtlin. You've met Harmoniae. Aaralyn, I call him Blue, is an Afya... And that's just my Jivvin family. The Dragon is strange, but nice, and then there's her children. I like the older ones more than the younger ones." She sighed, shaking her head before realizing that she'd gone off on a little tangent of her own.

"Picnic spot? Oh, it's... I think we're almost there. If the forest hasn't moved it."

"Yeah...." He glanced around suspiciously at the woodlands as if the mere mention of them moving would prompt them to do so. "That whole moving trees thing is something that I never have been able to understand... Or wrap my head around really." He had and would always be a center jivvin, raised in an appartment complex with a playground out front and a corner shop just outside. "Heck! woodlands that don't move sometimes get me lost." He laughed.

"That's because we're so used to things moving that it's just natural... Well, kind of... Maybe. It seems natural to me, at least." She chuckled softly, shaking her head slowly. "I learned what I know about the woods from Red and Blue... And maybe a little from following Beryl and Maeve around. Beryl always tried to make sure that they stuck to the paths though. Me?" She gave him an almost devious look as she leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. "I like to wander off the path from time to time."

And with that she bounded off of the 'path' they'd been following, darting between two tall trees before scrambling under a log... The silly little 'side trip' seemed to lead them both exactly where she'd wanted them to be. "There. Our picnic space."

Rusty shivered pleasureably at her closness as she whispered to him... He turned his head quickly and stare at her for a split second before she darted off playfully. And he would have bound after her, but he wasn't a very good bounder... more like a 'thumper' or a 'clunker'. He sighed again for the millionth time that night and jogged after her as quickly as his weight would allow. When she scambled under the log, he leaned down as if to follow her, but quickly realized that he was not going to be quite as agile as she, and he probably wouldn't make it under the log gracefully (if at all). So instead, he backed out from the hole and scrambled over the massive dead tree, claws catching horribly at what was left of the bark. As she emerged from the other side of the log, he landed beside her with a thump and an 'oof'. Turning to look over the area, he grinned. "This is beautiful. The light... and the trees... it's perfect." He almost laughed. Lily hadn't known what to do with him or his brother while they had been growing up, so they'd mostly just stayed in the house... maybe the free wanderer's way of life was the way to go? If it helped discover storybook places like this. "This was a brilliant idea. Aside from other reasons, most of which will be obvious now, I should hang around you more often." He grinned at her.

She turned to flash him a smile as she heard the 'thump' behind her, slowly making her way just a little bit closer to Rusty so that she could touch her nose to his for a brief moment before pulling back once more. Somewhere not far from where they were a stream was running. Up above them the sun was shining and around them the forest was living. It was such a beautiful day.

"Maybe we should hang out with each other more often. I've heard that childhood is a horrible thing to waste... If we're both experiencing ours now it might be best to make the most of it, don't you think?" Her brow lofted slightly as she cocked her head to look at him.

Rusty lingered close to her as she talked... he was delighting in her touch and the general presence of her smile... "I'm glad I'm not a child anymore." He nodded his head slowly staying very close to her... "Children don't feel the way I feel about you." And then he leaned in and nuzzled slightly against her neck.

Kamin/Ayla/Dodona/Demeter/Cade

Ayla reached forward and spiked the bar rag down on the wooden surface, barely missing Kamin's hand as he tried to pour his own glass from the wrong side of the bar. Kamin just grinned at he and flopped back onto his chair. As his pants hit the stool, his left foot slipped off the footbar, sending him off balance. He barely caught the end of the bar and managed to right himself with a slight frown for the stumble.

Ayla stepped forward and leaned on the bar. Quite loudly she reprimanded him, "Kamin, sweetheart, I'm the only one to touch the pumps or the tabs, and judgeing by your lack of current balance you've hit your limit. Why don't you just grab the nearest beauty and head on off to her house, leave me be." she grinned at him and warmed a little as he grinned back, apparently grateful for the coverstory for his cripple body.

"Ayla, I'm never too drunk for more." He held out his empty mug, which she refilled. "Besides, I'm waiting for the fun to start. There's some patrollers coming in here and I'm waiting to see what happens."

"Fluff going to make an appearance?" She seemed genuinely hopeful for a second and then shrugged her shoulders as Kamin shook his head.

"It's alright." He took a drag from his ale. "There will be other pretty patrol meat."

It was something of a tradition for patrols to retire to one of the village's many taverns for the evening following their return, at least in the case of those without partners and children anxiously waiting at home. Tonight, however, was a rare occurrence,and one that would undoubtedly mark even more celebration. Typically, the patrols were staggered, with groups alternating their routes and times of departure to ensure that no area of the forest was left unattended for any great length of time. But occasionally, once in a blue moon, a night rolled around where patrols of different distances and different departures all returned at the same time. Tonight was such a night.

Four groups had returned, and four groups had gone out in their place. Captains had made their reports, only to be swept off by their respective groups for the bars the moment they had left the company of the Sargtlin and Uuthli. Groups met, split, some went home to their families, while others, joking and laughing, made their ways to their taverns of choice.

It was a large group that entered the Salty Slug and Spoon that night, led by a laughing, mutton-chopped sargtlin who already seemed to be slightly intoxicated. He paused at the door, holding it for the rest of his party to enter and interrupting ongoing conversations with half-witty one-liners. The door closed, and the sargtlin wormed his way through the new crowd to a raised table near the bar, where he joined a dark, scrappy Uuthli girl who utterly beamed at his arrival and her polar opposite--and a tall, goldern-haired Uuthli woman who seemed less than pleased by her drinking partners for the evening.

The sargtlin, one Cadenor, took a long moment to survey the room, then seemed to notice the pair at the bar proper and lifted a hand in a broad wave to capture their attention. "Kamin, join us! Best start pumpin' out the drinks, Ayla."

Kamin flashed all his teeth at Ayla before spinning almost comically on his stool and hopping up to hobble over to the table. "Ah, good company and winged beauties to boot! This is going to be a night to remember I think." He grinned at his friends, not really threatening in his admiration... Kamin hit on everybody, that was all there was to it. "It seems strange to me that you're all here at the same time!" The redhead laughed as he pointed around the table. "All that's missing is my stuck up handsome prince of a brother, and his pale partner in crime, the lovely Margo." then he leaned over towards the smaller woman and smiled at her. He liked her hair and the fact that she was cute and 'scrappy'. "Not that I can't get my fill of 'lovely' from the dark and myserious Demeter... by the way, how are you tonight, darling?"

Ayla rolled her eyes at the group and thudded a mug of ale on the table for each of them. She also left a pitcher of water and several short glasses, knowing what kinds of things patrolers coudl get up to. "Wonderful. Just what the Slug needs really, a bunch of rowdy, muddy, patrol types fresh off the run. Hello Cade." She gave the man a smile just for him. "Anyone need anything special just holler." Truth be told, Ayla liked it when the patrollers came around like this. They made a bar 'official' with their presence, since they did have a choice in where they stayed. And really, most of the other patrons tended to look up to the higher ranking officers. "Just... don't holler too loud you got it? Or I'll kick poor Kamin here out into the mud where he'll have to wander aimlessly and beg for a bedding over the night."

Kamin hit on everyone, everyone knew that. Though his words provoked only a roll of her eyes from the golden beauty, the darkling flashed a toothy grin in response. "Ah, Kamin, your flattery sounds so much nicer when it's the first male voice I've heard in a week. Tonight, why, I couldn't be better. Back home, safe and sound, with not a sight of Ssan anywhere." As she spoke, she nodded to Ayla, accepting one of the mugs and lifting it in a toast with her final words, a toast the Cade immediately seconded.

The taller Uuthli, Dodona, raised her glass only marginally. "But is that really a good thing? We have had a warm autumn, the Ssan should be growing fat right now, not hiding away. And there has still been no sign of that man who attacked Satou's brother. We had a fruitless summer, a fruitless autumn, and I doubt that winter shall improve our luck."

Cade, meanwhile, had cleared half of his mug before responding to Ayla with a winning smile. "An excellent brew as always, Ayla m'dear. That's why we come here, of course. The Slug an' Spoon is the only taven with beer suitable for drinkin'. Go anywhere else, and they use it to bathe us filthy patrolers the moment we walk in." He took another long sip, smacking appreciatively, then gestured towards Kamin with his drink. "What, you haven't promised him yours for the night? Does that mean I can have it?"

Kamin shruged. "Maybe the Ssan got him." He didn't have to say exactly who he meant... after all, not only had Bay basically been mentioned, he'd been on everyone's minds since the attack had been reported. Nothing like a 'demon' who eats sprites and tries to kill and posess jivvins to keep everyone one their toes. "We should only be so lucky." He shook his head and frowned, knowing full well that it wasn't very pracitcal a suggestion. He might not be good at patrolling or walking or even standing still, but he could still try and think like a Sargtlin. Kamin sighed, and then leaned towards Demeter again. "It's alright though... I feel safer just knowing that you and your sour faced tall friend over there are doing all to keep me and the ones I love safe." He gave the barest smile for Ayla and the comment about her bed, knowing that the plump Afya woman could certainly handle her own comebacks.

Ayla leaned in and ruffled Kamin's hair. "No, I get more enjoyment out of betting on who Kamin will end up spending the night with than I do taking the poor man to my bed night after night." She leaned over Kamin suddenly, letting her ample chest press onto and into his head as she addressed Cade. "And you should know, Cade, that should you prefer the floral sheets on my bed to the stripy ones on yours that you trump any other man here in this bar tonight and there's a well worn spot in my matress for your muscular frame." Then she leaned back and released Kamin's head from her 'hold', leaving the man's curly red hair mussed and sticking out at odd angles. Kamin just grinned almost stupidly at Demeter and shrugged, making no effort to smooth his locks.

Dodona frowned, and Demeter hid a grin for Kamin's words, disguising it instead with a rather surprised look. "Why Kamin, a woman you aren't familiar with? Surely you've met Dodona, she's--"

"An Uuthli Captain, and can speak for herself," Dodona interrupted curtly. Demeter, apparently used to such behavior, seemed unabashed. The Sargtlin rank had about twenty captains to its name at any given time, with two or three remaining almost permanently in the Village to oversee training while the others rotated among the patrols. The Uuthli rank, however, typically had far fewer, and at present had but five captains. To be a captain of the Uuthli rank was to be on par with Aleda herself. ...Well, almost. "We have considered the possibility that the Ssan have eaten him, or that the Valz'hin who was undoubtedly possessing him overused the body and killed them both. But we have no proof of either result, nor any sign of him, and so we cannot relax our search just yet."

"Ahh, Ayla, I'm touched." He held his mug to his heart, beaming at the woman, then drained the last of his beer and held the mug towards her, giving her a rather pitiful look as a request for a refill. "'Course, with all this lovely beer about, I might collapse on your floral sheets before we can make any use of them. Careful, I hog the blankets."

Ayla deftly pulled the yet untouched mug from Kamin's fingers and passed it to Cade. "I remember." She winked at him and turned to go get more Ale before tending to the older jivvin man sitting at the bar.

Kamin frowned at Ayla, then frowned at the mug that used to be his briefly before draining the last of the liquid from his original mug that he'd brought over with him from the bar. It made him feel a little self conscious at the fact that Dodona was a captain, since Aleda unsettled him so... but he wasn't about to let that ruin his evening. He took in all she said about the Valz and noted to himself that it was the same things Margo and Fluff had been repeating the whole time. He was begining to become a little sick of this 'demon' as Gus had called him. "I'll just be glad when we find him, it, that... whatever." He shook his head. "having a few friends in the patrols and such it seems to be all that's discussed. Makes a fellow wish he could actually be a part of the patrolls instead of hearing about them over and over again." He was almost pouty. "And I don't know EVERY woman in the village." He pursed his lips and shook his head at her. "I'm not that good yet."

"There's not much else too talk about," Dodona admitted sullenly. "The past year's been a slow one otherwise. Those with sense are on edge, and those without, well." She gestured rather hopelessly towards Cade, who, deciding he was being discussed, chose that moment to reenter the conversation.

"Speaking of which," as an indicator that he had totally been paying attention, "How's progress towards entering, Kamin?" He set his mug on the table, and gave a nod towards Kamin's legs and the braces thereon. "Any improvement?" He wasn't trying to be cruel, but seemed genuinely hopeful.

Kamin rolled his eyes comicly. "Yeah. Absolutely. You must have been talking to Fluff. I've made loads of improvement in the last several hundred years... just none in the last ten." He shrugged. He'd been cripple since a week after he got his crystal, so it was something that he'd had time to get used to. "Fluff's been kind, and he's tried to teach me the boastaff on and off, but one swing from an opponent and I'm off balance. I end up spending more time pushing off the floor with the staff than fending off blows, let alone actually getting points in for myself." He shrugged again. "I've been told that I'm heroic though." He winked at Demeter. "And I've also been told that I'm delusional. "Then he winked at Dodona. "in either case, there's something in me that won't let me quit wishing."

As he turned to see if Ayla was goingto bring him another ale, he had to duck slightly to miss the tray of mugs making it's way to the table. He grinned up at Ayla and took a mug off the tray before she could unload it, making room for empty mugs.

"Well good on you!" Cade insisted, raising his mug approvingly for Kamin's words. "Few hundred years more might change that, eh? Certainly something worth workin' and waitin' for, I'd say."

"You know," Demeter interjected from over her own half-full mug. "If time is what you need, it might be worth trying to get a meeting with the Daewl..." The statement won her rather startled expressions from both Dodona and Cade, and Demeter hurriedly went on, explaining herself. "Well, nothing's certain with the Daewl, of course, but the only thing that rumors seem to agree on is that she can do about anything, right? She had a hand in those Doors, and they go through time... Maybe she still knows how it's done, and could turn your body back to a time before it was, well, broken?"

Kamin just stared at her in shock. Why had that never occured to him before? Because he was scared pantsless by the Daewl... and because... because.... um.... "Hrm." He frowned at her and drank swiftly from his ale. "I'll have to think about that." Was having a fully working body something that was gainable from meeting with the Daewl? "Of course it could be like the old fairy tales." He was valliantly trying to change the subject without obivously changing the subject. "You know, the ones where the hero, or heroine, gets something they've always dreamed of since before they can remember, and then they have to give up something in return later down the line... like their voice, or their first born child... that kind of thing." He drained the last of his drink. "I mean... what are legs really worth? Are legs worth my voice?" Kamin's eyebrows shot up quizzically. "and in that case, what would you be willing to trade for legs if you didn't have them?"

"Wouldn't surprise me in the least," Cade snorted in agreement and quaffed his beer, but both Dodona and Demeter seemed to be actually considering the question. "Bet that witch has eaten a half dozen first-borns over her life, at least," Cade went on in a low mutter, which only won him a half-hearted glare from Dodona, who seemed to be trying very hard to be stern when she would have much rather been laughing.

"...At least a dozen Daewls alone," she finally muttered, and Cade promptly choked on his beer in something that was lost between a cough and a laugh.

"I think I'd give up my voice for legs," Demeter decided, dragging the conversation back on the path Kamin had set. "But not my hearing, and not my sight. I can manage without speech now if I've still got the rest."

Kamin shrugged and held his hands upward on the tabletop as if that helped strain his point... "Well giving up your voice wouldn't be that bad, but what good would balance be to me if I couldn't see where I was going? There's no way they'd let me patrol with no eyes... probably not without my hearing as well. I'd be as useless a patroller as I am now. But my voice? Hell." He laughed suddenly. "I'm not even that great a singer! I'm off key half of the time anyway."

"Besides, I wouldn't have as much time to bar hop and be with all the people I enjoy spending time with if I had to patrol as much as you lot." That was a lie... "You barely get to hang out together as it is..."

"Nah, that just depends on where you are in the patrols." Cade shook his head, setting down his mug while he explained. "Though, I'm sure you've heard this from the Prince. I'm not around much, but I do the long range patrolling--and that's a choice. And Dodona here is busy, but Uuthli captains are always buzzing around, eh?" He raised a brow at Dodona, grinning. "Like gnats, you are."

She seemed about ready to respond when Demeter, grinning, cut in. "I only do short range, or run messages, so I'm around pretty often. I imagine if you were miraculously healed overnight, they'd at least start you off short range. It's usually where newbies get their starts."

He snort/laughed. Newbie. Someone who'd been in the village since before it was established and he'd be a newbie when it all came together... if it all came together. "I can almost hear Fluff now, 'everyone has to start somewhere, Kamin, you're no better.'" he laughed again. "I can see that this is something I'll have to look into, and I've no doubt that I'd be a short patrol... I doubt I'd be able to go far at all at first." And he knew exactly who he'd ask too... he'd go and bother Jed... Soyala was really still too scary.

"Hey, Cade! Leave some beer for the rest of us! How am I supposed to get someone to take me home with them if there's no beer left for them to get drunk on?"

Cade scoffed, indicating his table-mates with his mug. "Dodona's had two sips and she's cracking jokes. Get her to finish her mug and she'll take you home, just watch."

In response, Dodona pushed her mug away, only to snatch it back when Cade made a grab for it to supplement his own. He made a face, then gestured with a thumb to Demeter. "S'alright, her limit's two. Oi, Ayla, another round!"

Ayla was right there with yet another round for the patrol table. She was nothing if not a good barmaid. Seeing that all the other tables were refreshed and there was only one jivvin at the bar who seemed to keep forgetting that he even had a beer in front of him, Ayla grabbed an extra chair from another table and flopped down into it at Cade's table. She smiled coyly at Kamin and took his beer. "You don't need this, sweetheart." and took a swig from it. "So what did you mudrunners find out there tonight?"

"Ho, Miss Ayla, you've seated yourself too soon." A slight, easy smile from Gunnwale and the nautical jivviness pulled out a chair at the table, nodding to the others only to leave the seat empty for her companion while she made her way to the bar. "Might I have your assistance with mug or two of ale, lass?" Ayla was older than Gunn, yes, but that was of no concern to the vhaid. She also knew

Said companion tossed the group a wide, chip-toothed grin as she took the offered seat, the expression disappearing quickly as she made appropriate greetings to a superior officer, Dodona, before settling in and glancing at the others. "It seems," Margo's low voice was easily confined to their immediate table, as she was not one to spread her news about the village, "That I've arrived just on time to hear your findings out on patrol. I must confess I would have been here sooner, had I not been with my Captain."

Everyone knew the youthful jivviness never left Fluff's side until he assured her he had no further need of her. If it wasn't for their professionalism, one might think her romantically inclined toward the captain.

Kamin just rolled his eyes and grabbed a small handful of the bar filler in the bowl. He came up with several nuts and some cornpuffy thing which he frowned at before popping it in his mouth. With a grin full of corn puff and pine nuts, Kamin shook his head at Margo teasingly. "Fluff always does get the pretty ones. Which I don't know why, cause I'm all cute and he's all stuffy." He waved his hand at Margo to try and stem any remarks she might have about his being 'cute', and then grabbed at his mug.

Ayla turned with a smile and did not roll her eyes. She was above that, and besides, she actually liked Gunn. Anyone who could put away a pint and still remember all the words to the best songs was good in her book. Besides, jivvins that didn't live in the center of the village were more likely to rent a room if they happened to find someone they were willing to spend the night with... and gunn did not happen to live in the center of the village.

Gunn's lowered voice was slightly conspiratorial as she leaned toward Ayla, from her half of the bar. "I do believe I will be requiring a room, if you have one available." They both knew that Gunn generally stayed at the Gamehouse, but they also both knew that the blonde the vhaid had arrived with and the redhead who would rent that room did not mesh well.

Her stormy gaze made its way across the crowded tavern to where Margo sat, her brows raised in amusement at Kamin's half-hearted overtures. "Disciplined doesn't necessarily mean 'stuffy'." Shifting in her seat, her blue eyes met the redhead's briefly before dropping to the bowl of snacks. Pursing her lips, she declined to make a selection. "And 'cute' doesn't necessarily mean 'attractive', either."

Luke/Aubri

It was a nice, crisp winter day at the Jivvin Centre, and Aubri revelled in it. The air wasn't cold enough to freeze her nose off from the speed she was going at, so she flipped through the air happily before folding her wings in and belly flopped into a snow bank. The top layer of snow gave quickly under her weight, but there must have been a cold snap earlier in the month, since the deeper snow wasn't as merciful to her antics as she would've liked.

"Oh, ouch!" The llar winced, before scrambling and flapping out of her Jivvin-sized hole. "Good thing Papa's not here; he'd be laughing his tail off!" Shaking off the remaining snow attached to her fur and feathers, Aubri looked around the landscape. Since diving into the snow seemed to be out, she better figure out something else to do. Maybe a fort?

Luke had been watching Aubri from the distance, enjoying the purely graceful.... ok well not entirely graceful flight, as he watched her land hard in the snow. When he didn't see her emerge from her 'crash zone' right away, he started to trot over to where she'd dissapeared. Before he'd gotten more than ten steps in, she scrambled out though and he smiled. It would be good to fly...

He thought that he recognized the jivvin, even from this distance, and so already on his way over, he decided to say hi, and if he hadn't met her before, then he'd introduce himself.

Aubri had still been looking for a good place to building a fort when she finally noticed the bright pink Jivvin heading towards her. Perking up at the fact that she now had a possible fort-helper, the Uuthli squinted and started trotting through the deep snow to meet up with the other Jivvin half-way, with the occasional snag when the snow wouldn't bear one of her paws and she had to scramble out of the whole that she'd made. Still, the distance let her properly make out the faerie wings the other Jivvins, and really, there was only one Jivvin she'd met before with that coloured fur and those kinds of wings---

"Luke!" She yipped happily, before hurrying her pace. "Luke! How are you?! How's your brother?"

Luke grinned from one pink ear to the other as he recognized Aubri bounding through the snow... "Aubri!" He was genuinely glad that it had been her. Aubri was one of the most cheerful jivivns he knew and it always brightened his day to have spoken to her. "I'm fine! And Rusty's just as grumpy as ever." He laughed as he continued his trek across the snow, since not one of his steps allowed him to remain on the top layer of the snow. He put it down to his inner metals, since both he and Rusty were heavier than most jivvins... his fairy wngs did something to make him appear light and airy, but he most certianly wasn't.

He grinned as he came within a distance where he didn't have to holler anymore. "You're looking well. I haven't seen you in a long time. I've missed your smile." Then he flicked his tail at the Aubri sized landing hole. "Nice dive."

"Aw, that's sweet, Luke. Thanks! And it's good that you an' Rusty are the same as ever." She grinned cheerfully from her higher location in the snow before stomping until she was at the same height as her friend. Flicking her ears when he mentioned her hole, slightly embarrassed from the landing, she sheepishly shrugged. "It certainly could've gone better, that's for sure! I guess that's what I get for not checking what's under the powdery stuff. Probably earned a few bruises for trophies, too."

She quickly changed moods, though, in the light that now Luke was here, then she could certainly build an awesome fort in the snow. Especially since he seemed to plow through the snow like a truck. She wished she could do that! "Hey, Luke, do you want to help me build a fort somewhere? We could dig it deep and then make some bank walls so no one can tell it's there!"

Luke couldn't help but grin at her as she stomped down the snow, and then looked around them as if he was surveying the area... it was really no question as to whether he wanted to build a fort or not, and honestly he couldn't think of anyone better to help keep the secret of a fort with.

"Where shall we build it? Point me in the right direction and I'll help move some snow." He put on an expression that he assumed was 'gruff' and then snooted the top layer of snow around him, snorting at it as he did so. Then suddenly he jerked hi head up and laughed, snorting in a less gruff way... "I got snow up my nose." he laughed.

Aubri giggles at Luke's manly expression quickly turned to laughter at his new expression. "That must hurt! I'd grab you a Kleenex if I had any. Or hands."

Still giggling slightly, Aubri looked around as well, peering at the scenery. "Hmmmmm. How about over there?" Goofily posing like a pointer hound, she nodded towards a bank facing the cleared path to the Centre, but still decently far into the field. "If we build on the opposite side, no one would be able to see it because of the bank, and as long as we don't walk straight to the path, it'd be hard to find. Plus then we could throw snowballs at people!"

He nodded. "If we had hands that is." And then he shook the last of the snow out of his nose and started to plod through the white stuff towards the location. "And who knows... maybe someday we'll go human like some of the others." As he reached the spot she'd pointed at he began to root around in the snow, making a divot big enough for both of them to stand in... within minutes it would be a good sized hole. "That's one thing good about being part of a metal family." He laughed.... "I can push snow aound like a little bulldozer."

"Hrm." He glanced at her. "I wonder what it would be like to be a human jivvin like the others."

". . . We can be humans? Really?" Aubri quickly followed Luke's trail, nose scrunching as she thought about the possibility of thumbs. It was a novel image. She'd probably challenge the first person-with-thumbs she saw to a thumb-war, and she snorted at the idea. "I've never met another Jivvin that's human. Or at least I can't remember them if I did." The Uuthli quickly started helping her friend push snow out of their soon-to-be fort, although he was certainly faster at it than her. "I still think it's pretty neat that you're all metal-heavy. I mean, you and Rusty could probably beat every Jivvin at the centre in a tug-rope contest paws down!"

She continued shovelling snow out of the area as she pondered what Luke'd just said. "Well. . . We'd certainly have a new view on the situation, that's for sure." Aubri snickered at her own bad pun, and flicked Luke playfully with her tail.

Luke responded to the tease by turnin on her with a tailfull of snow, pelting her with the powdery stuff playfully. When he felt like he had retaliated enugh he turned the conversation back to human jivvins and metal bodies. "I've seen several human jivvins actually, and even talked to a few, though I'm not entirely sure how they've achieved such a state." He shrugged. "I like to think it's possible even... it might be nice to be able to make my own sandwhich for a change." Then he shook his head and resumed pushing snow around. "And having a metal body has it's bad points too... like I sink when I swim. Heck, I can't swim at all, if I even get into water a small amount my limbs stop working mosly. And you can fly... I'm too heavy for these flimsy little wings to fly me around." He sighed.

"I looks like fun, when you do it though." his mood changed back to the happy Luke that he normally was and he grinned at her.

Bay/jaspin/Spawn

The village was slow this particular night... He only came across two patrols on his way in. The first one turned off down a path before he could see them, and the second went right by him like all the woodland patrols had over the months. He dropped down from the tree he had been hiding in, and regulated his heart and breathing again, making him feel more alive and less treelike. With an almost manic chuckle he made a beeline for the house where he knew the Vhaid kept offices. He passed a few family houses, catching the eye of a small brown haired sargtlin girl in a yard, and seeing a pair of goats... the memories he'd taken from Gus suplied the word goat for him and he wondered what it would taste like briefly before continuing his long legged stride. Bay was tall for a jivvin, and so he covered ground quickly... nobody recognized his face or body, because his face and body were hollowed out... he was way too thin for his frame, and his clothes were plain and dirty. His normally light blonde hair was dark brown with grease and dirt, and his normally graceful stride was long and purposeful.

As he came close to the house he was seeking, he realized that there were three Sargtlins around the building... they weren't particularly attentive, they just seemed to have congregated there almost.

Bay slowed his breathing and bent down into a tree's shadow to watch the footpaths of the men. He'd only watched for about 5 minutes when one of the men dissapeared around the back of the house, and the other two stood close enough that Bay made his move. He stepped from his shadow, and took 4 long strides to where the men were standing. To their credit, they took fighting stances, and one even got Bay in the shoulder with a belt knife, but he was too quick. One hand on the right hand of the knife weilder, and the other grappling the smaller Sargtlin's face was all he needed. The two men went limp in his grasp as their hearts exploded in their chests, and Bay let them fall to the forest floor with an evil grin. The forest witch had been right... this was right. He leaned over and dragged the two men up to the side of the building and waited for the third to reappear. As the final man stepped around the corner, Bay stepped up and grabbed him by the throat. The man's arms went limp and gurgled slightly as Bay took away his ability to speak or scream. Then without even a hint of hesitation, Bay watched the expression on the man's face as he heated his blood to a flash boil... the last of the three jivvins died slowly, and as he passed, Bay caught a trace of a bond cutting the man off from the rest of the village and wondered if he'd just killed haf of a mated pair. He grinned and dropped the last onto his personal kill pile.

After such exertion, Bay was tired. It wasn't until he'd picked up the smallest of the three patrollers under the arms and sunked his teeth into the thick neck muscle of the dead man that Bay even remembered his own shoulder wound. With a mouthful of Sargtlin, the other man's blood dripping down his own face, he looked at his shoulder. It was a pretty deep stab, but he was loathe to take his hands of his first good meal in centuries.

It was sitting there on two dead Sargtlins, with another partially eatten jivvin in his lap that he realized he might be able to see through the window... taking one last bite to fill the void in his stomach, he stepped up to the window of the building. He would have to move fast... He might not have all that much time left.

Scion could by no means teleport, but he certainly knew how to play a crowd. The moment he was hidden from Bay's sight, he fell to four legs and took off through the trees, racing atop the snow as fast as his feet could carry him. He knew that he could outrun Baylohved; the afya was weak, and the steak would distract him. The Village itself was some distance away, and he knew Bay would not make his attack until long after nightfall. If he could reach the meeting place by dusk, all would go as they had planned.

The last rays of the sun were just fading as he reached the frozen brook. He was several miles from the Village yet, but he would venture no closer. Here, the Villagers could come to him. And had, judging by the dark silhouette waiting near a tree. The shadow rose to greet him, lifting a hand in greeting as Scion returned to two legs. "Cutting it a bit close there. You've done it, then?"

The white Daewl idly straightened his shirt, stalling for a moment before responding. The long run had winded him; he would prefer if the dark Jivvin did not know. "He will attack tonight. There are two Valz'hin, as one. Jaspin and Meros. The possessed is Baylovhed." At the shadow's exclamation of surprise, Scion raised a brow. "You will know, then, that he can kill with a touch and heal himself just as easily. You will see to it that that information is passed on."

The shadow replied with a nod, and sunk to four legs himself, giving a quick shake to settle his thick fur. Here was a form he rarely used, and not one he preferred. "I will. I should be off if we want to be ready." He turned to go, and managed several loping paces before the white Daewl's call halted him.

"Jatin," Scion shouted, a small frown playing on his lips. "If he dies, you will be but the first to follow."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," the Olplyn called back with a laugh, and charged off into the deepening night.


The night was cold, and the Village was still, with most hiding away from the bitter chill of the winter night. Bay's passage was easy, as was the murder of the three guards, though, in a small cabin towards the edge of town, a cry of sheer agony went up with the third death, the sound mostly muffled by the snow. The window Bay had chosen opened up to a small but impressive library, dark save for a single candle on a table at the far end of the room. The candle's light illuminated a figure bent over a large tome; he appeared to have fallen asleep reading. Certainly not a threat.

The Vhaid's office and bedroom, the sane part of Baylohved might remember, was on the second floor.

Bay slid through the window, as it slid open easily, the wind billowing in the simple curatins as he passed. He walked up right behind the man sleeping at the desk and laid a hand on his shoulder. He knew that he had alread killed three, and his stomach was full... there was no need to kill this one just yet. Better to watch the man suffer mentally when he realized that his incompetance as a watchman was what allowed the Vhaid to be killed. That's why, instead of doing anything drastic, Bay pushed the man into a ridiculously deep sleep, there was little that would wake the man tonight, save being knocked forcibly from the chair he slumbered in. Bay smiled to himself and started up the stairs to the second floor.

He let his fingers trail idly along the wall just above the hand railing, each step measured as he strode slowly up the walkway. He could see the landing, and the light through the doorway to the left. He grinned and reached the landing silently.

Looking into the lighted room through the crack in the door, he saw the overly handsome Vhaid sitting at the desk, working dilligently. Seemingly unaware that he was being watched... Bay took a moment to square his shoulders, and get a breath, then he laid his hand on the doorknob and strode powerfully into the room.

"I've got good news for you. Your troubles are over." Bay must have looked quite bad for a jivvin, dirty and thin as he was, blood and tissue caked on his face hands and shirtfront, and his own blood pouring down his left shoulder from the stab wound... but he felt better than ever, full of good meat, and powerful...

And so with a speed unusual for his lank, he lunged at the Vhaid, his sole intent to get his hands on the man.

Jack's head toppled forward against the tome with a dull thud, and he slept on, snoring lightly for the awkward position. His research partner, however, did not. He had stolen to the kitchen to fix a pot of tea for the pair, and neared the library just in time to note a shadow traveling up the nearby stairwell. In silence, he slipped into the room, carefully resting the tray bearing teapot and mugs near the sleeping Jack before escaping to follow up the stairs.

The Vhaid was tired, but sleep had not come easily of late. He had made an attempt, of course; curled up in bed, counted knots in the wood pattern of the ceiling. But he was restless, and so, still pajama-clad, he had returned to his study. He made some effort to work, grew bored with it, and finally settled down to an ancient philosophical tome, feet propped on his desk. It was incredibly dry reading, and very repetitive--the perfect book to put him to sleep. Working diligently indeed.

The opening door initially went unnoticed. He saw it move, of course, but assumed it would be Jack, or perhaps his housekeeper checking in on him, fussing as ever about his late hours and burning candles to nubs. The voice was about the last thing he expected, and his surprise must have shown as he looked up from the philosophy book. This skeletal, bloodcaked Jivvin looked like something out of a nightmare, and yet so familiar; Kyros was so fixated on placing the face that it was almost too late by the time he moved. Baylohved lunged, and Kyros fell from his chair with perhaps the least amount of grace he had ever shown in his life. Only the desk between them saved him.

And then, quite unexpectedly, his attacker collapsed, splaying limply over the desktop. His hands hung within a few inches of Kyros's feet, and the Vhaid felt a strong impulse to kick them away--but refrained, heart hammering in his chest as he crouched beside his chair. A trick?

"Kyros?" Footsteps, then, more concerned, "My Vhaid, are you here?"

The voice was different--not his attacker. Deep breaths. "Yes...Yes, I'm here." The Vhaid took a moment to compose himself, then slowly rose to his feet, stepping back from the desk before lifting his eyes towards the door. He had recognized the voice, of course, but was still somewhat surprised to find the pale blue Jivvin was his rescuer. So much for Sargtlin guards. "Did you kill him?"

Klu'chud shook his head, gesturing for Kyros to join him in the hallway. "No, but he will sleep for some time. Come, you should not be here if he does wake before we decide what to do with him." With a small nod, the Vhaid skirted his desk to join the Daewl near the door, but Klu'chud ushered him on ahead. "Jack is still downstairs. Have him and your guards see you to the Sargtlin's. I will stay here to ensure that your attacker does not sneak away while you are gone," he offered, with a small half-bow. Kyros was not altogether thrilled by the option, but could see little alternative, and accepted it with a nod of his own before hurrying from the room.

Klu'chud closed the door behind them both, standing guard in the hallway. His yellow eyes followed the Vhaid down the stairs, and he held his stance until he heard the front door close behind Kyros and a very groggy Jack. The pair gone, Spawn slipped back into the room, clicking the door shut behind him before turning to critically examine Baylohved. It took only a few pinched nerves to knock the Jivvin out; it only took straightening them to wake him up again.

Bay came awake again quickly, though he was foggy and his body was covered with a 'pins and needles sensation'. Within a few seconds he was awake enough to remember what had been happening, and he stared at the empty chair behind the desk. With a roar and a groggy growl, he turned on Spawn and narrowed a purely evil expression at the younger jivvin. Then Bay tried to reach out and grab the other jivvin, but something told him not to at the last second....

"You... you stopped me." He looked at the younger jivvin's eyes and actually growled. "You're a witch jivvin... you have those eyes." Bay turned away from Spawn then threw his arms up in the air, exasperation showing through his current animal tendancies. "WHY!?! Why would a witch turn me against a witch, only to have yet another witch stop me at my moment of triumph!" He was practically yelling, and the pain in his left shoulder became almost crippling. The tall jivvin reached up, ripped the shirt open wider and planted his hand on the stab wound... but the pins and needles running up and down his hand was enough to keep him from being able to feel his own skin, and nothing happened when he tried to heal himself.

He leapt to his feet awkwardly and pulled a bloody hand from his shoulder. "Where is he? He's mine! I'm going to kill the village!" He couldn't think straight... his mind was spinning.

"Do shut up," Klu'chud replied contemptuously. He moved past Baylohved with absolutely no fear; it didn't even seem to occur to him that this afya could be a danger. He waited until he was comfortably seated in the Vhaid's chair to further address the maddened afya, and even then considered Bay for a long moment before speaking. "Yes, I think that I shall have to speak with you individually."

The sensation that greeted Bay next was not painful, but quite the opposite. Warmth flooded his limbs and lights cascaded behind his eyes. To the physical body, it was a soothing sensation, healing and cleansing; to the Valz'hin inhabiting him, it was utterly repugnant. The strange, dual-minded Valz'hin was drawn from Baylohved like pus from a wound to take its own, more typical form at the afya's side. The moment it was solid, the moment it was dangerous again...all four ankles would snap, very shortly thereafter followed by all four knees.

Baylohved's head snapped back on his scrawny neck, and he closed his eyes as Jaspin flowed out of him... It was much kinder than the last time the two had separated. This time there was no pain, and there was no feeling of loss... in fact, as Jaspin left, he left completely, and a part of Bay that he'd been dealing with for hundred's of years was no longer a problem... he no longer felt angry... or sad... he no longer felt responsible for anything he'd been mentally berating himself for ever since he'd killed Naya all those years ago. When Jaspin was gone finally, Bay took a deep breath and smiled. It was a pain that he'd become so used to in his life, that he hadn't realized just how much it hurt until it was gone. Bay laughed... deep and crackly... quite weak by himself. He looked down at his hands, no longer burned, whole and flesh coloured. He smiled weakly up at Spawn, and then passed out.... probably from all the blood lost though the shoulder wound. He was going to get all the sleep he'd been missing...

Jaspin, however was not as happy as Bay. "Yyyouu." He hissed at Spawn, and tried to lunge at him, but his feet were stuck to the floor... literally. When he tried to move towards Spawn his ankles became wispy tendrils of smoke, and the more he struggled, the farther up his legs the problem traveled. As he watched his knees become nothing more than shadows, he began to feel the pain associated with a 'broken' leg... only he had four of them.

He growled again and tried to run back to Bay, but there was no movement at all in his feet, planted firmly against the wooden floorboards. He turned to Spawn with narrowed eyes. "I hate White jivvins." and then glanced back at Bay. "That includes you."

Baylohved collapsed; that was for the better. With the Valz'hin sufficiently restrained, Klu'chud took a moment to focus on the afya's shoulder wound. He didn't want Baylohved to bleed out right after he had saved his life. The wound clotted nicely, and, once sufficiently sure that Baylovhed was out of danger, Klu'chud turned his attention back to Jaspin.

"I am not white," he pointed out, with only mild irritation. Was this wretch even worth his time? "I believe that I have made it clear that you have no hope of fighting me. I trust that you will see the logic in a compromise." He paused, making a long, curious examination of Jaspin from his seat before speaking again. "I will find you a new body to possess, and in turn you will assist me as needed. I will see to it that you are safe, and you will not jeopardize your position by attacking those around you. Or I can kill you now."

Jaspin felt weak without a substantial body to hold him together... he was tired of thinking, tired of trying. This witch jivvin was offering him protection and a solid body.

"You have white witch eyes." He regarded Spawn for a second, the glanced over the peacefully sleeping Bay, and lastly looked over his 'snapped' ankles and knees. It was several moments before he realized that in all the time he had been regarding his current situation he'd only been pretending to think, and hadn't actually had a thought relevant to the situation.

So he looked up at Spawn, expressionless. "Deal, little jivvin witch. Find me a body and give me your protection."

"A wise decision," he mused aloud, and the deal was sealed. "It may be a few days before I can locate a suitable target. How small can you become?"

Jaspin didn't answer... instead he just let all his energy wisp away so that he was see through. In all honesty it was a relief to not have to try and hold solid form... then he let himself shrink in presence. He didn't get physically smaller, but he would be hard to notice, hard to hear, and nearly as impossible to see as a shadow in the sunlight... He sighed, half n relief for the amount of energy required to keep a solid form, and half sadly for his current situation.

The half shadow/spectre that he'd become flicked it's eyes up to Spawn. "My feet are still stuck to the floor."

He watched, utterly fascinated, as Jaspin faded away. It was not as small as he would have liked, and would be more difficult to control, certainly. But it would have to do. He doubted that the Valz'hin would disobey him, at any rate. It seemed to have a fixated fear of these 'witch Jivvins'. "I will repair you legs momentarily. We do not have much time. When I open the door, I want you to move to the downstairs library and wait for me there. I may be some time in coming, but do not, under any circumstance, leave that room. I should not have to explain that, should anyone else see you, I will have to kill you."

Without waiting for a response, Klu'chud rose to his feet and moved past Jaspin to the door. He opened it with a soft click, and took a moment to assure himself that Jack and the Vhaid had not returned before turning his attention to the Valz'hin. Jaspin's wispy legs soon resettled, and before long he could lift his feet once more.

Jaspin heaved a breathy sigh and fairly flew out the door, down the stairs and into the library that had been designated. He glanced around looking for a good place to hide himself. There were several options, but in the end he chose to wedge himself into a shadow created by the underside of a high bookshelf. Being wispy and shadowlike he fit right in.

He wondered what his new body would be like... certainly not as fun as the one he'd just been forced to leave. That was a good body, with a good power.

One thing Jaspin did notice, was that he was no longer hungry... not for the moment anyway. He closed his eyes, feeling safe in the shadow of the shelf, and allowed his mind to drift.

Satisfied that the Valz'hin would obey, Klu'chud turned his attention back to Baylohved. He set about making the sleeping man more comfortable on the floor, and was in the process of further healing Bay's shoulder when Kyros, Raechel, and several Sargtlins found him.

In one night, he had saved the Vhaid, Baylohved, and the rest of the Village from a terrible menace. Furthermore, he had done what Soyala could not: cleanly separated a Jivvin and a possessing Valz'hin. Certainly, a Village hero.

How had they doubted him for so long?