Welcome to Gaia! ::

((-sighs- Hopefully my computer gets fixed soon. I’m missing out on opportunities only being able to post on the weekend.))

Doina had been the last to give Blade her answer. She had thought long and hard of whether she wanted to stay with the other woman and the rest. She considered many things, first was her own personality and nature. It wasn’t in her nature to fight and even though she had fought with the other against the Fire and Water Spawn, she found in comparison to the other’s offensive attacks hers was one of the weakest. Her talent lied in healing and possibly defending. And with Laquemil accompanying them now her healing powers wouldn’t be of too much use. But then she thought of the alternative, if she didn’t stay with them where would she go? She could probably search for the Sisterhood of Itare but she knew that by now they were probably all the way on the other side of the country. Or at least the distance between Doina and them would feel like it. And Doina knew that she wouldn’t be able to survive on her own. It was one of her many weaknesses.

So at the last minute she quietly told Blade that she would continue to accompany them. And another week had past where Blade was able to move on her own and they had left Silver’s village. Right now they were all parked in a cave and Doina looked in the flame that sat in the middle of it, warming the space. The atmosphere in the group had grown even more tense. Leon, who had seemed amiable and approachable before, was distant now. He really only held conversations with Blade and Laquemil, sometimes. Sometimes Doina would think to approach him and try to ease, his anger, or atleast come to understand why he was so distant these days.

‘But its really not my place and I really can’t talk about being distance. I’ve become the same way.’

She was still polite to the other when they spoke to her, and she found herself becoming more endearing to Falconer’s odd comments. They still threw her off sometimes, but before when she found them annoying she found herself smiling a little. Right now Blade was talking and pulling out a few maps. Doina stayed at her place. Sitting on a large rock. She could glance over her shoulder and look at Blade’s maps but she couldn’t make out any details.

She kept her eyes on the flames but her ears were listening carefully to everything said. She shuddered at the mention of Isolde. She did not want to go there and fight the Ice Spawn. Doina might actually leave when it came time to fight that battle. She listened to the rest of what Blade said and pretty much the choice was clear to her. They either go after the Fire or Earth spawn, both had their dangers and benefits. Leon put his own two cents in and then walked out of the cave and into the snow. Then Falconer spoke but Doina’s mood was too down to be amused by his ‘rants’ at this moment. With the way the conversation was going it seemed as if they were going to go after the Earth spawn. They started a plan to fighting the spawn when Laquemil expressed his disagreement to the plan. Doina actually turned her head from the flame and looked at the White Mage.

He and Blade were getting into a heated argument and Laquemil was letting some interesting things about Blade’s life slip out. Then Laquemil backed off and left with a goodbye in human before walking off. Doina drew her green cloak around her more tightly and drew her knees up. She felt tired but at the same time restless. Part of it was due to being awakened by Seraphris’ screaming and the rest was due to her own internal problems.

“Then I guess the best possible spawn to go after would be the Wind Spawn right now….” was what she said quietly.

Really, she was no help right now. She should have kept her mouth shut.

“Because of the Earth spawn’s nature and the fact that Blade can’t track it we’ll probably end up running across it sooner by coincidence. Looking for the Fire Spawn is a bad idea in this kind of weather…”

And there was no way in hell she was going to chase after the Ice Spawn in Isolde.

Well then it was settled, they would search for the Wind Spawn. Doina was about to get off her rock and settle down when Blade walked over to her. She looked at the hand on her shoulder and put on a smile. It was stressed though, everyone could probably tell she was trying her hardest to keep it up. She really didn’t want to go and have a walk. Even if it wasn’t snowing hard it was still cold.

She was pretty much dragged outside, with some small verbal resistance. She followed after Blade after awhile, some of the snowflakes getting stuck in her hair. As they got further away from the cave she felt more and more dread. Finally they stopped and Blade leaned against a tree. Doina tightened the cloak around her, she wanted to pull her hood up and cover her face with it.

And then she started to speak she found herself lowering her eyes and bowing her head. She couldn’t look at Blade in the face, she was too embarrassed.

““

She sighed and looked up at Blade. She didn’t want to admit it but she was a little afraid of the other woman. But it wasn’t because of the nature of her shadow powers, she was afraid of how recklessly she used the and the damage on her body they caused.

““

She looked back down at the snow and kicked some off her boots.

““

She paused and sighed placing her hands over her face. She tried to find the words to explain how she felt. She was a little like Laquemil, she didn’t fully agree with Blade’s methods of action. While his was towards fighting against the Spawn, Doina’s was towards how Blade took care of her body. The other woman had almost no self preservation!

Blade listened to what Doina said, no particular expression set on the woman’s face. She let Doina do her little rant thing, merely opting to shifting her stance in order to try and remove some pressure off from one of her many massive blisters. When Doina finished Blade blinked, head tilted off to a side and silent for the first few seconds. So, Doina was angry with her because she didn’t take better care of herself. It surprised Blade- normally when people didn’t like it when she did that they tried to talk her into not doing it or just did something like sigh and leave it alone.

“explain this…>” Normally Blade would’ve gotten up and maybe start pacing, but her feet wouldn’t allow that. She took some time to sort out the right words in her head, deciding it’d be better before trying to spit them out at random. “” Blade said all of this nonchalantly, as she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to say it. Was she even putting it right? “not want to lose them. I’m hunting spawn to protect my own family and I do it for all of the other people that need the protection. And for teammates, because someone is always someone else’s brother, mother, cousin, or just a good friend. I don’t know… it’s just, when I think about my own worth and compare it to everyone else’s… if I did die, would it really matter? I mean, I know that my father would be sad, but if I could do it to save or trying to stop a lot of other people from dying… isn’t it worth it to use everything I have to stop the spawn, even if it means killing myself?>”

Blade craned her head back, puckering her lips and frowning as she tried to sort out what she just said. She’d tried to plan out what she was going to say but had failed completely. “” Blade’s eyes slowly rolled down to look back at Doina, silent for a couple of a seconds before she slowly smiled. “” She’d already told herself this so many times, but no matter what, the idea of death always frightened her. She tried not to think about it and normally when she did it didn’t bother her. But at times like these… she was scared and she hated it, but no matter what she did she just couldn’t shake it off. “” Blade pushed herself off from the tree trunk and walked a few steps until she was in front of Doina. The smile on her face seemed to change- it was… warmer. “” Blade leaned over and kissed Doina’s forehead, something that just about every member of her village had done to her before she’d taken off. “” She patted Doina’s shoulder before take a step back, folding her arms in an attempt to conserve some warmth. “”

Seraphis nodded at his love's concern. It was a big risk to him as well, but he was willing to take the chance if only to get rid of one more spawn. But then Blade offered to help with the process. Seraphis had considered the option, but wasn't certain if Blade had been practicing the incant he had taught her. Now he knew she had been and he allowed a small glimmer of pride to show in his features. He had never had a student before and, though it was just a minor lesson, he was glad to see that Blade had taken his teachings to heart. Then, in what seemed like an instant to Seraphis, the meeting had reached its conclusion. Had he dosed off for a moment? He wasn't sure. He shifted his gaze to Silver. He saw that look in her eyes again. The look she had given him ever since his night terrors began again. He could see all the fear and the frustration it caused her and, in his sleep deprived state, it was more than he could bear. Suddenly he turned to her and embraced her, burying his face in the crook of her neck and began to weep silently. He was creating a scene, but he wasn't aware of it. His nightmares, his personal issues, and the distance he had been placing between himself and Silver had all been building and bubbling inside of him and, at this moment, his will was far too weak to hold it all back. He poured out everything he had been holding back in those tears. He desperately needed her comfort. He wanted to share himself with her, but was too terrified of how she might react. Either way, he could tell he was already losing her. When he finally regained control of himself, he brought his lips up to her ear.

"" he whispered softly in elven, "" Slowly he stood and stalked off to a more secluded portion of the cave, using his staff to help support himself. He was a bit weaker than he had thought. How much had he been eating lately? He couldn't even remember the last time he ate... He just hadn't thought about it. He turned around and fixed his gaze upon Silver, his emerald green eyes beckoning to her. Pleading with her to follow. He needed her love and support. But, more than anything else, he needed her to understand...

Blade chuckled warmly and Doina and patted the top of her head, ruffling her violet locks a little. "" She winked and then withdrew her hand, trudging back to the cave and whistling. She stopped and turned around as if a candle light had gone off in her head. ""

After some sleep and more snow, the group eventually made it off of the mountain. It was still chilly but definitely no where as cold as it had been before. They had finally reached their destination- a little town. Blade had whooped and hollered when she'd spotted it and danced about like a giddy virgin receiving their first kiss.

"Jacks up."

"Psh... you played that two player like my dead mother would."

"I bet your mum whipped your a**, too!"

Blade snorted at two men, watching with minor interest as one of the men shuffled the deck. The cards were out now and she was looking at hers, her face and posture carefully blank. After switching a few of her own cards and some careful rearranging, she looked up to see the expressions of the other men at the table. Emotionless as well. Well, they were good poker players, but she was better. "Raise." Blade stated while pushing some of the money she had into the center of the table.

"I fold."

"Fold."

"Call."

Two hours later and some tough poker, Blade grinned and stood up from the game with a pile of cash sitting in front of her. "Well, it was nice playing with you pretty boys, but I've gotta lot of money to spend." The five others that she'd been playing with nearly jumped out of their skin, as the entire time that they'd been playing they'd assumed that Blade was a man. "Bye bye, cuties." She wiggled her fingers and dropped the money into her wallet and walked off. First she hit a healer to get some stuff for her blisters, next a tailor, and then spent the rest of her time hunting for things that she'd need on her trip. There was actually a store in the town that was made specifically for spawn hunters, but Blade knew that there may be another spot that had even better deals. At the end of the day she was tired but mostly hungry, so she wasted no time in heading over to the inn that they were staying at that was joined with a tavern. She put everything into her room and then returning downstairs, sitting down at an open bar stool and ordering some beer. Finally, after some drinking, food, fun games and singing, Blade was sleeping soundly in what she considered to be a ridiculously comfortable bed. In the morning Blade repeated practically the same thing, winning yet another round at poker and then spent the rest of the day in her room fixing and organizing her gear. Along with that she cast a heat spell on her one piece, something that was harder than it seemed as she wanted to get herself warm while wearing something so thin but not set the damned thing on fire. She succeeded, had more beer and actually ended up buying some liquor for the trip, then hit the bed once again with a warm belly and just a generally satisfied woman.

The morning came, a little too soon for her liking, but well enough. Blade had picked up little bits of information and was reasonably certain that the wind spawn was heading towards Ovreek. Blade was fiddling with the new strings she'd just bought for her harp, as she'd taken them out of her shadow a few days ago and had been heartbroken to find that some of the strings had snapped. But, with new strings and having warmed up her voice and nice and cuddly in her enchanted clothes, Blade felt better than ever. "Ooh, we're on the road again!" Blade sang loudly, twirling around and then going up next to Leon. "Hey there handsome! Did you try out that store off near that flower shop on the east side? I have to say that their wine was pretty damn fine."

{{By the way, Sre, Laquemil would've only called Blade Blade 'cept for that single time he called her Eve. ;o He doesn't like to call her Feritae in front of other people.}}

Leon was tired by the time he had gotten back to the cave, and he was covered in snow. He laid down in the cave entrance and fell asleep.

The next day, Leon was relieved that the group had found a small town. It had been a while since he had been even close to a town, with the exception of Silver's home, the name of which was slipping his mind. That aside, he was still nervous. The last twenty towns he had been in had all kicked him out.

When he entered the town, he looked around. It was a small and quaint town, but it was nice. Something like what he would like to move into if he was still alive after Tidal fell. Things were looking good. Most of the time, the authorities would already be all over him. '[I guess that being a part of a group helps]' he thought to himself. He relaxed a bit and followed most of the group to towards the middle of town. He was turned around a bit for a second, and then suddenly, everyone was going their separate ways.

Within seconds of him being abandoned, the local policing system was on him like flies on poo.Leon was too confused to even try to fight back, and before he knew it, he was thrown out, face first in the mud. Again. Standing up and brushing of his fur, Leon sighed in contempt. "I guess the rumors of my kind have preceded me." he said to himself.

Deciding to loom around the town in order to wait for the group, Leon found a some what comfortable glade nearby, where he had started to meditate and really try to hone in on his nature magicks.

The two days didn't even seem to go by, Leon had trained so hard, applying anything and everything he knew. He had barely taken a break to take a nap. Once the sun rose, Leon moved to the exit of the town, waiting for the group.

As Blade approached, all his questions arose again. He wanted to ask them now, but figured it was best saved for a private conversation. Leon sighed. "Well, I can't really say that I had. Once you guys left, I was kicked out. But no matter. I got some work-" he was cut short by Falconer shoving hard liquor and some money into his hands. "Um... thanks?" Leon said to the kid, utterly confused at the child. He sighed and shrugged before looking at the bottles. Reading all the labels, the expression on his face brightened ten fold. "Falconer! I swear that if I didn't thing tat you would die, I'd give you the biggest hug possible! These are all the ingredients I need plus some!" he said, overjoyed. He then knelt down by the side of the road, opened his jug, and started to pour seemingly exact measurements of the liquors into the jug, mumbling in Ibixian the whole time.

Once done, the murmuring stopped and the bottle was capped. There was still some left in the bottles and That just made Leon smile more. "Well, Blade, if you're ready, at our next rest stop, I think we have enough here for our drinking contest." he said joyfully.

((Oops, sorry... My bad. um... yeah... anyway... wow, I just realized that this is the first post of mine that is as long as Blade's. eek )

{{There's a reason for why Laquemil does so. I would advise to not act stupid to the guild captain. It's unwise. (: Don't do it again.}}

Blade cocked her head and laughed as Falconer presented some liquor to Leon. "Nicely done, kiddo." She stated before heavily thumping his back and nodding. She walked and then held a hand out above her shadow, tightening her fingers and then pulled out a map. She unrolled it and then looked to where the sun was before taking a few seconds to inspect her map. '' With this in mind she adjusted her direction a little and continued onward, re-rolling her map and putting it back in her shadow.

"Hmm? Well, let's save that for tonight." She answered, stretching her arms up and then folding her hands behind her head. It felt damn good to be wearing her one-piece again. It was stretchy and comfortable, and due to the spells she'd casted on it it was also warm. "But we'll just see who's the better alcoholic!" She threw her head back and let out hearty laughter, stopping and turning to look over at Doina. She grinned cheekily before her eyes lit up and she turned to her shadow. "Oh! I almost forgot, shame on me...." She bent down and reached into her shadow, pulling out a large, heavy book. Despite its weight, though, she pulled and held it out with ease. Even if it weighed a lot she trained daily with swords that were a hell of a lot heavier than this thing. "Here, it's the book that Laquemil gave to me to give to you. He told me that you should read the book from the beginning and not to skip any parts." She winked at Doina before passing the book, humming to herself. Once Doina grabbed it she took off, pulling out her harp and beginning to play a song.

As soon as the sun started to get close to the horizon Blade called for them to find a camping spot. It didn't take too long, as they were still surrounded by a lot of tall grass. Once the grass was flattened down for camping she created a magical fire that burned without wood. With that finished she found another spot near the campsite for her and Leon to have their little drinking game. She yelled and waved for him to come over before jumping down, landing on her butt with a loud "oof!" She pulled out a jug of liquor, sniffing it before setting it down. She pulled off her boots and her cloak, laying them out beside her. She stretched her toes before craning her head back to look up at the sky. The stars certainly did look quite handsome, that was for certain. "Le-oooon! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"