Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rosalind slowly nodded to the chimera's assertion about the alchemists and the fortress. "It's entirely true. We're both famished. We've been starved over the last couple of days... a part of the Alchemist's experiments." She looked at Ciara, taking in the horses weak frame and slowly led her to shallower water Aalmost at the edge, the pair stopped, the Ciara slowly layed down in the water.

Rosalind didn't betray any emotion on her face, but she was truly deeply worried for the kelpie. Ciara snorted, reading Rosalind's thoughts. Don't worry about me. Ciara told the girl I'm hundreds of years older then you, and believe me, I've lived through worst. Right now I mainly need rest. in a little while, food. Ciara closed her eyes, making her plans final.

Rosalind turned towards the two Chimera's as something sort of dawned on her. "So wait.. You're like us? But where are you from?" she asked, truly curious. Their fortress had been in Dublin, but neiter Ciara nor Rosalind knew where the Kelpie's magic had taken them. "and rather... Wehre are we now?"

(((Dublin's ancient... umm.. if I remember correctly, it was started by the vikings in about 900 AD. And only recently has it turned into the metropolis it is. It would have been about decent size in the medieval ages..and I believe in control of the english, if that's important... plus Dublin castle seemd like a good place for a fortress ^.^))

Rosalind looked at Ciara before responding. "It's all part of the Kelpies original magic." she started. "Kelpies are ancient things... demons some have called them." The girl paused as she thought of how to compose her words. "They ruled the water, kidnapped and ate children, and had powers beyond mortal comprehension... that was one of the few powers Ciara still possessed after she was bonded to me. She has the ability to travel through any form of water, as long as she can place her two front hooves in water, she can travel. And anyone riding or really even touching, the kelpie is dragged through too. It's all a part of the Kelpies Fay magic."

Rosalind shuddered and stood nervously. "Originally, it was a skill that was used to trap and kill a kelpies victom... They would tranpost from a shallow pond to a deep lake, and their rider would drown and become horse chow. Ciara and I experimented with it when we were younger, before the alchemists realized that it could be used for escape, and seperated us from water. I seemed like our best bet for escape, but the feeling is terrible."

She paused, still alittle uncomfortable. The smaller quiterchimera still scared her a little bit, andshe was unsure of what else to say.

Rosalind coln't help but smile at the way yhe two Chimera's picked at eachother. They were a bit like a brlther and sister, it seemed. Taking the ones advice she slogged out of the pond, then looked at herself in disgust. "I need new clothes... "She muttered to herself. As soon as she was on dry land she took a moment to try to ring the water out of her clothes, and then did the same with her hair.

She looked up, judging the time by the sun. She would have to say noon to late afternoon, but then again, she had no idea where north was, so she could have it entirely backwards. Sighing, she plopped down near the other bonded and fell back wards so she was looking up.

Closing her eyes, she sat there for a moment, taking deep breaths and letting her self be warmed by the sun. After a few momwnts, she pulled herself up into a sitting position, her legs tucked to her side, and her torso proped by her left hand.

"I've never seen a Chimera." she commented, giving the pair a closer look. The girl had claws and wings... a result of the bonding, Rosalind figured. She had seen it happen to others, but her bonding to Ciara had left her looking the same.

"So, you know mine and Ciara's name, but what are we to call you?" she asked, cocking her head a little to the side in inquiry.

Isaac sighed as he watched Hikicter fly laps around their little cell. The pair was incredibly bored, mostly because they were allowed little contact outside their cell, and unlike the other cells, they were completely walled in rather than using bars. Even his bedding was different, he had thin cotton blankets to use for padding and of course as a blanket. He could not be given hay bedding because it basically would simply provide him with kindling. This was also the reason for the walls, this way he could not be given hay by his neighbors or just use it through the bars. Hikicter was really the one being blocked at that point, though if they really wanted fire they could get it.

"Hikicter, why don't you teach me something?" The boy pleaded, sitting upon the stack of blankets. Hikicter's perch stood in the corner near by jiggled a little as the phoenix landed on it. His wings were not clipped due to his size, and the fact that no alchemist dared approach him with a blade. Isaac had simply complied, he could be killed in human form, Hikicter would not die until a very particular set of conditions occurred. The Alchemists didn't know this set of conditions either, when interviewing the phoenix he didn't tell them everything.

"Fine, but that means you better listen good. Remember, I only want to touch on any subject once. If I focus too much, I'll forget something else." Hikicter explained. "Okay, we'll keep it simple. Teach me something new about fire."

"I've already taught you about fire."

"Well, teach me more. What you said before can't be it." Isaac explained. "We've been over potential heat, the affects on the non-resistant body, and the color scale. Is that really it? We haven't talked about it in a while. the boy continued to plead.

"Very well. This is something that you humans have yet to discover to my knowledge. But when a large amount of heat, like hot air, meets a large amount of cold, what is seen on either side is different. If you look from the cold into the hot, a person on the other side may appear to be floating. And vise-versa, looking from the hot to the cold, a person may appear to be lower than the ground. This can be used in several ways, which I expect you to tell me later. I wouldn't want everything I say to disappear into the yawning chasm between your ears." Hikicter lectured, chuckling at the end. The bird shook a little, which made it very tempting for Isaac to kick his perch. But he opted against it.

Isaac nodded, his hand wandering to his chin. Subconsciously he started to scratch the stone floor with his talons. His thoughts touched on quite a few things, like how little he and Hikicter used telepathy. They both liked to respect eachother's privacy. In fact, that was part of the reason he had been paired with Hikicter. Hikicter had been kept in confinement in this hell hole for almost ten years before Isaac was kidnapped. The whole time they had been interviewing the phoenix for every bit of information he would tell them, and he has seen it all. While he refused to touch some subjects for them, he did assist them in several discoveries. He told them that when you had as much time as he had, you start to notice patterns and trends. Like how the humans were researching a way to really keep him in confinement. He laughed at them as he explained everything he knew about their own efforts, but he had failed to realize how quickly they worked. He underestimated them, though they still only had so much control. So they could keep him, but they had to compromise somewhat so that he didn't just burn the whole place down. After being bonded, and his power to summon his own fire eliminated, they started to restrict him even further.

Isaac let his thoughts wander back to what his actual task was. He was interrupted momentarily by some yelling and a lot of crashing outside his walls. Hikicter took to the air and hovered close to the door, trying to hear better. There was no little window or anything like that. Since they still had to use torches to light their way, the guards and Alchemists could only interact with Isaac and Hikicter during the day when they didn't need it.

(Yay! Non-fail intro!)

||Kyground, are you going to orchestrate your escape, or would you like us to bust you out? :3||

The moment Rosalind spoke to Ciara, Faraday's face fell flat, no trace of merriment left. Axis gave her a knowing look and turned to Rosalind.

"ah, the words of wisdom," Axis said sagely, eyes fixated on Rosalind.

"You're crazy," Faraday said bluntly, narrowing her eyes at the Kelpies. "Why would you go back? It's just a death trap waiting to happen. If those alchemists find you and capture you, you're dead."

Axis glanced askance at Faraday.

"despite the fact that we are bonded, faraday represents stupidity to the extreme," said Axis. Faraday snarled at him. He continued, unfazed. "rosalind is right: the only way to be truly free is to stop them completely. otherwise, we will be on the run forever, and that is not freedom." He was, of course, speaking from experience. He was an ancient creature, reduced to this pitiful tiny state, his former glorious state gone from him forever. He had known what true freedom was for several millenia before being captured and bonded to Faraday, and he sometimes resented his bond with Faraday.

Sensing his thoughts, Faraday turned from Axis, hurt.

"No matter what you say," she said, quiet rage smoldering beneath her calm exterior, "we are not going back. I didn't escape just to turn around and go back."

Axis sighed with frustration. He regarded Faraday angrily and with a little pity. Then he turned back to Rosalind. "i, however, would be glad to accompany you on your quest to, ah, 'take down the alchemists'," he said.

(( Here Kyground - I can get you out of there (maybe). I'm sure we can cause enough ruckus to get the others to come and help. smile ))

--- Earlier ---

It was a strange sight to see, a live human comfortably huddled in a minotaur's lap. But it was nothing atypical compared to any other room in the facility.

Of course, the human was not quite human, as he had a tail, but these things are easily overlooked.

That tail gently swished, as the minotaur busied himself preening Coren's messy light brown hair, gently sniffing it every now and then.

You still smell tasty. Are you still sure you need this ear? Thelios mind-spoke to Coren, only half teasing. He traced around Coren's left ear.

Yes. Yes, I do, Coren replied, in-turn using mind-speaking, a convenience that he was glad they had. How comforting that they could talk without raising the alchemist's suspicions, at least when they weren't drugged. Fortunately, they had been left alone for nearly a week, for whatever reason. Coren didn't care - it gave him some time to think of a plan.

He batted Thelios' hand away and snuggled closer to the minotaur, 'protecting' his ear, but keeping his good eye out. Thelios had told him of the outside world before, many times throughout the years, and Coren had always dismissed it as something unreal, and later, unattainable. But as the experiments on them decreased, Coren had more time to think and talk with Thelios. And they came to the conclusion that the time was now.

--- Now (ish) ---

Did we lose them?

No! Keep running!

I don't understand why we can't just kill and eat them-

Ugh! No! And there're too many! Keep moving!

The two of them, now both minotaurs, hurried down the hallway. Coren was disoriented; his mental map of the facility was not as clear as he hoped it would be. It didn't help they were jumped by alchemists and their guards, but apparently they were unprepared for such an uprising. Thelios easily dispatched of the majority of their attackers, with Coren taking care of the rest. But that wouldn't last forever.

Coren smashed through a set of doors at the end of the hallway... only to be greeted with more dank stone hallway. Growling in frustration, he waved Thelios through and shut the remains of the doors. At least this hallway was empty of alchemists.

Thelios had already started down the only path of the hallway, filled with cracked doors of 'rooms' that were now empty. They jogged down it, took the corner at the end of the hallway, jogged down that one, and came to a dead end hallway.

Coren was slightly stunned. The plan was ... well, not going to plan. Already his mind was running through all the horrible things the alchemists would do once he and Thelios were caught. He hadn't attempted to escape before, but he had heard - and seen - what the alchemists would do.

Most likely sensing Coren's rising panic, Thelios did what he did best - action. In the dead-end hallways there was a door that looked different from the others. Hence, it would likely not be holding any other experiments. Therefore, it could be an exit of some sort. With that reasoning, it seemed like the logical thing would be to smash it down.

Down the door went, and instead of being an exit to freedom, the two minotaur instead looked in on a young man (with wings) and a medium sized red bird.

It's another experiment room! Coren thought.

Then why was the door different? Thelios replied. They both examined the room, Thelios narrowing his eyes at the phoenix in slow recognition of its species, while Coren examined the room.

Is that a... a blanket!?

(( lol lame ending. All the 'speech' in this is mind speak, since I'm too lazy for colors. I plan on busting out via the wall, but if you have other suggestions go right ahead. I figure you need some reaction time to your door being broken. ))

(Sweet! Though I don't think I've read the third... I can never find it. Oh, and thank you Panpear, though you may not like me now. twisted )

Isaac and Hikicter were both remaining silent. Isaac was all depressed and Hikicter was feeling awkward. There was no avoiding it with a situation like that. But, Hikicter had little shame after all. "Listen, I'll-" Hikicter started, but was interrupted by a crash when two minotaur entered the room. Isaac only looked up to see what was happening, Hikicter immediately flew into action, he could tell that the minotaur(s?) were on their way out. But the problem was that they were a level underground. Isaac and Hikicter's little window was angled and high up in the room.

"Isaac, use today's lesson on the ceiling. You two outside, now. Hikicter ordered as he flew outside the room, siphoning a little of the flame that Isaac created as he turned into his animal form. He waited a few seconds for the Minotaur(s) to exit, wanting to hurry with Hikicter's plan. Hikicter was bouncing around outside the room, no longer flying, but on his feet none the less. He could hear all sorts of voices down the hallways. He didn't understand how you could possibly lose one of the largest species on the the planet, but they managed to do it somehow.

Isaac on the other hand let out a screech as he increased the temperature of his flames. He wasn't hurting, wasn't angry, but he was having a little trouble summoning the energy. But there was no way in any hell that he wouldn't manage this somehow. He started to turn a little blue, his flames reaching higher temperatures. The stone above him was cherry red, it was amazing that there was no air bubbles or pockets yet. And then, as Hikicter started yelling something outside. He was launching fire blasts at guards. They didn't stand a chance, though there was a very loud bell starting to chime somewhere in the facility, maybe multiple.

It was then that Isaac's efforts were finally rewards with a large explosion. A shower of stone passed through the phoenix boy, who was concentrating on reducing the heat he was giving off at this point. This is when nearly everyone in the lower fortress was greeting with a cold cascade of water. Within the stone were rivulets, fed from the lake nearby. This had been the Alchemist's baby project that was such a pain in the a** for them. It was the system to stop Hikicter and his bonded in their tracks. They knew they needed it, and nearly half their workforce had focused on the research part of it for nearly a year. When a simple mechanism was started, some sections of the stone ceiling would fall, adding to the potential damage, and let the water flow.

Isaac yelled as the water started to hit him. Quickly he let himself transform back into a 'human'. He remained still on his hands and knees, he was exhausted. Outside Hikicter no longer had any fire, and he was soaked, so he wouldn't be flying very well. He was already damn lucky he wasn't crushed. "Let's go! Will one of you please grab the boy?" Hikicter pleaded as he bounced inside as quickly as he could, a handful of guards rounding the corner at the end of the hall. Hikicter hopped onto Isaac's back, avoiding his wings. Working his way to his shoulder, keeping his talons out of his bonded friend, he used telepathy to praise him, not receiving anything other than heavy breathing in return. The room above was actually part of the guard's barracks, but the night watch had their own quarters, so this barrack was empty.