Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sapphira blinked. Shady man with an English accent? Her eyebrows were knit together in a momentary frown.

She smiled. "I'd trade all of my money to live in a community like that. My most treasured memories are of my father. But he went to war when I was three and he died in combat. My mother, when she used to be motherly, told me that some dude cornered him and killed him." She shuddered. "But my dad used to sing me to sleep, even if he didn't have the best singing voice." she chuckled. "He would let me play under his desk while he worked, and he used to draw me picture books. He was a talented man." Sapphira blinked away her tears. "Which brings me to his book he left to me. There are pictures of people I've met, poems that don't really make sense. Stories, songs, about a group of four running away from some evil. I don't get it. It's like he knew. And nobody but me can see his work." She scratched her head in puzzlement.

Ura drank the Miso soup and sighed. He was happy. The soup was good, it warmed him up and made him feel nice, what was better then that? He looked up at Maddie and blinked. She seemed to be in a good, mood, so he would tell her his dream later. He sighed again and snuggled back, tired now. Then he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Satisfied that he had slain everything in game Vincent shut the system off. Crossing his legs he assumed a meditative stance. Slowly regaining the energy he had lost from storytelling, still fully aware of his surroundings.

((Would someone please post. I really can't do anything right now, I'm on a plane meditating, someone please do something!))

(Sorry, everyone, I'm just getting tired of dragging Niteshade around. He's usually a good source of dialogue and plot points, but SOMEONE has been missing of late. ninja )

"Anyway," Maddie briskly brought herself out of her nostalgia and started collecting used dishes and utensils. "Lets get moving our flight to Ireland will be boarding soon, and I think I need to get a magazine before we get stuck in another airplane for 8 hours. You can only read the in-flight catalog so many times," she chuckled.

So the small group packed away their garbage and walked over to the gate indicated on their tickets. While they waited for the boarding call, they perused a small, overpriced gift shop, and Maddie made several impulse purchases, including a cute plushy kitty for Ura to cuddle with while Neko-kun was stowed away in the plane's hold. Finally the announcement came, and they boarded the flight to Dublin.

_________________________________

Ishmael woke form his nap with uncharacteristically sinister and virtuous ideas circling in his mind. His contract with the captain would be up in exactly 3 days--which was probably why he was under so much pressure to collect these new storytellers. It would have been a quarter millennium since he had foolishly come under the captain's wing--and then, by the laws that governed such contracts, he would be free with any assets he still possessed. The moment before his contract was up, he could drain every drop of power from Vincent and then use it against the Captain when his retaliation--which was inevitable--struck. Perhaps he could also take the blue-eyed vixen for himself at the same time. Strangely, it was easier to think of enduring the Captain's torment if she was his reward.

It would be easier to instantly sap Vincent of energy at the crucial moment if they had already shared energies. As loathe as he was to lend the novice any of his power, sometimes pawns were sacrificed to win the match.

Ishmael got up from his bed and went to find his protege meditating.

"Wake up," he commanded gruffly. "Before we land, you need to know a few more things about who I am and what I do--and what you can do."

Vincent awoke from his meditation his powers fully restored and his senses at their peak. The young man turned to Ishmael with haste and sat before him, still unsure of the monsters intentions he made sure to move a quantity of his nanites to his muscles should he have to dodge or fight back.

"Don't look so defensive," Ishmael chided the young man. "Considering the unpredictable circumstances of our destination, I want you to practice some skills. First, since you were so interested in it before, we'll start with absorbing power."

Ishmael sat down cross legged in front of Vincent.

"First, find a space inside yourself, below the pit of your stomach. It will feel small, but you can still hold power there in case of emergencies. Now, I'm going to let a sliver of my power hover in front of you. Try to tuck it into that space," he instructed.