Welcome to Gaia! ::

He chuckled. "Disowned? I wonder why," he added softly. He shook his head. He didn't want to pretend nothing was going on anymore. What was the point? She already knew. What was the worst that could happen, he lose his job? Psh. Might as well roll out the curses and cross out the last-name-only rule.

Dymetri thought hard about Danni's words, though. Her brother was part elf, and that would mean that they'd have a lot in common. He and Lin didn't have much in common at all. How were they able to even get along so well?

A flash of the upset Lin in the beginning of the year made him smirk.

He looked at Danni with weary eyes. His voice contrasted hers in several aspects. It was soft, loving, confused and vunerable while hers was angry, intolerant, and somehow stressed. "I don't know... For once in my life, I really have no ******** clue. Lin is able to make many people happy, but all that matters to me is if she is happy. And honestly, I doubt she hates you. She can't hate anyone, she can question their morals and attitudes though." He raised a brow at her.

"Come." He patted the area of the bed next to him. "Obviously, I don't believe that Lin is with your brother right now. But lets say that she is. Would your brother... touch her? Try and compliment her? Do anything that might make her... like him?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"No, of course he wouldn't. He is probably a gentleman." He put his face in his hands. He was beginning to believe her with every moment he thought about it.

"Don't ever fall in love with someone whose species was specifically designed to dislike your own. Hell, don't even like anyone. It just causes trouble. Don't help anyone or it'll screw you over. I am able to kill you right now because of this horrid mood you've put me in, and I wouldn't have even had the chance if you had let the pictures be found. But I will not. I-I just.. I'm just blabbing right now."

He didn't know the feeling in his chest, the squeezing of his lungs when he pictured Lin laughing her sweet, innocent laugh for someone other than him.

Ambrose nodded, attempting to smile back at her, but finding it quite hard. He was positive that soft blushing smile she'd put on while thinking hadn't been aimed towards him. The mystery man, he decided, and fought back the urge to sigh.

Instead he managed that smile-barely-and nodded. "You're right, of course you're right. So I make a declaration of my intentions? I just don't want to make it sound like I have this life planned out and she just happens to fit perfectly into the wife slot of the scenario. How do I let her know that there wouldn't be a scenario if there wasn't her?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.

Ambrose nodded slowly, pondering her words. "You're right...Thank you, Lin. What would I do without you?" He asked, sending her a carefree grin that hurt his heart.

Dymetri frowned at Danni's response. He wasn't expecting that in the slightest. He wanted to ask why, ask what was wrong. However, another part of him kept saying that he didn't really care. Being around Lin so much gave him a sense of compassion that he'd lost through the years of being immortal.

His frown deepened when she left.

Dymetri sighed and put a hand on his head. He took long, deep breaths and stood up. Taking one more glance at his flowers to Lin, he placed a small spell around them. Only a person who had deep loving feelings for Dymetri was able to touch them. He made it so that if the heart had any other romantic feeling for another, there would be a barrier protecting the flowers from them.

That was the easiest way to know if when Lin came back, she still loved him. He turned to face the window and evaporated into mist, escaping out the window. He enjoyed the breeze that flowed right through him. He felt amazing in this form, and drifted to his room in the Night Building. He slid in through the crack in the outside window and materialized when he settled on the bed.

That's when he found the note.

Dymetri plucked it from where it was and read it, the carefree feeling he had in the air gone when he realized Danni really was speaking the truth. He closed his eyes harshly and his jaw set.

He released the paper, and it floated in the air in front of him. His eyes concentrated on the godforsaken piece of paper as it engulfed into blue flames.
The ashes collected on his bed in front of him, and he blew them away as if nothing.

He was upset.
He was stressed.
He was actually sweating.

He tore off his white vest and unbuttoned his black shirt when he heard banging on his door. He grunted and walked to the door, wiping the sweat from his eyes. That was sweat, right?

He opened the door roughly, and with a scowl on his face. The door made a loud reverberating bang against the wall and he exhaled when he saw who was on the other side of the door.

His face softened although his body was still tense. "..Lin?"

He stumbled back before placing his hand against the back of her head. He couldn't believe this. She was there the entire time? Then what happened with the note? Danni?

Dymetri was confused but her soft lips were forcing him into a state of pure happiness. His arms dropped down to behind her thighs, picking her up so her legs were wrapped around him.

When she was secure, he closed the door softly behind him and held her. He soaked in their connection for what seemed like hours until the sane part of his mind demanded answers.

He regretfully pulled back slightly, his lips touching the soft invisible hairs on her own. He was breathing heavily and staring into her eyes.

"You wrote to me," he whispered, sitting on his bed. "But you're here."

He kissed the corner of her lips, pushed back her hair. "You're here," he repeated. He softly kissed her jawline and worked his way down to her neck. He massaged her skin with his lips and tongue, being careful to not touch with teeth in the off-chance that they held venom from his anger.

His hands were cupping her face now, his face in front of hers. His eyes looked down to her lips and back up to her eyes. She was beautiful. How could he ever had been upset? She smelled as she always did, and it was freaking great.

"I don't know why Danni would lie to me like that, tell me you're with her brother when you're right here." He applied the smallest bit of pressure to her cheeks to make her lips squish. He pecked her fishy face and grinned with his eyes.

Ambrose nodded, though he heard the words sound false as they passed through her lips. With a sigh, he watched her leave, and then decided he may as well turn in himself. With that thought in mind, he made his way to the rooms he'd been given, resolved to get a good night's sleep if it killed him.

Meanwhile, Danni has strengthened her own resolve. Ending it was definitely the answer, she decided. But she couldn't do that without leaving a note. So she'd write a note, send it to everyone she thought may care. Cook, Night, Ambrose...Her parents, she supposed, Ialo. She'd decided how she would do it, too, the ending it thing. It was simple, really, and foolproof. And the sooner she did it, the better it would be. She'd write the letter now, make a spell that would deliver them the moment before she died. That way, no one could stop her. With Night preocupied with Cook, and no one else caring about her whereabouts, it would be only too easy.

So she climbed a tree, something she did often when she wanted to be alone, up into the highest branches that swayed slightly under her weight. Drawing out a pad, she looked at it with blank eyes, tryign to decide how you said good bye to people who'd probably be better off without you. Finally, she could decide on only two words. Scrawled in the center of the paper, in a handwriting that was oviously hers, she'd written simply, 'I'm sorry'. And then her initials, 'IDR'. It could mean anything, to anyone, which was the point.
To Cook: I'm sorry I couldn't be a good daughter. To Night: I'm sorry I went behind your back. To Ialo: I'm sorry I couldn't be strong enough. To Ambrose: I'm sorry I couldn't be your Izzy. To her father: I'm sorry I couldn't be good enough. 'I'm sorry' could mean so many things...

She cast her spell on the parchment, then slid down from the tree. She passed by so many students who knew her, feared her, but she didn't even see them as they swerved away from her automatically. She was resolved now, sure of her decision. It would be the best choice for everyone, she thought, and took the first step into the trees. The fairies of the bush hid at her approach, while the crows cawed in greeting.

It would be a long walk, but worth it. As she walked, the trees got thicker and thicker, blocking out the sun. She entered a world of pure magic, jsut waiting to be unleashed, that left her with a sense of calm. With every step she took, she made a transformation into the innocent who hid underneath the cold facade. The blue dye in her hair seemed to melt away, leaving the auburn curls in its place. The stiffness in her shoulders disappeared as well, and for the first time in months she felt she could breathe easier.

It took half an hour for her to reach her destination. It was a cliff, a tall one at that. When one reached the very top of it and looked down, you could see the sharp rocks below, pointed and deadly. The rocks were at the edge of a small lake, which slimmed down to a fast moving stream. All she had to do, she thought, was step off. It was that easy. With a relieved sigh, she slid her pack off her back, knowing Zepporo lay inside, waiting for his next order to come out. "Good bye, old friend..." She murmured, and at last peace came to her heart.

Cook had known something was wrong when he'd seen Danni slipping into the forest. So he'd followed her, had frowned when she hadn't seemed to notice at all. He'd froze when she'd climbed a steep cliff, and he'd glimpsed from his hidden position the sharp rocks at the bottom. Another spell ritual, he guessed, wondering why he'd worried. But one misstep would have her...Wait, why was she walking forward?

Without thinking, he called out her name, saw her turn her head and froze at the look of utter peace on her face. He only managed one step, and he saw her smile in...relief, it seemed, as she stepped off the cliff. He didn't realize he'd started running until he'd reached the edge, and saw her falling head first towards the rocks. "Danni! DANNI!!!" He called, but never saw her hit the rocks, for at that moment a note appeared in his hand, clearly in her handwriting. It said only 'I'm sorry'. At that same moment, letters appeared in the hands of Ambrose, Sly, Night, and Ialo as well, all saying the same thing.

It was as Cook stared at the words that he heard the slam, then the thump, and his nose picked up the smell of blood. "No...No! Danni!" He stared at the sight below him. There was her body, neatly skewered on the rocks, one seeming to go right through the back of her head. Her eyes were shut as blood rushed form her body, carrying on the water. As he watched in horrified disbelief, the water lapped at her, lifting her body off the rocks and carrying her with the current.

Without thinking, he began a mad dash down the incline, leaping into the lake, unaware that he was screaming her name. No, no, no, no, no. The words raced through his head like a broken recording. The water wasn't deep here, so he waded through, managign to grab an arm that was still warm. He stared in horror, checked futilely for a pulse, threw back his head and roared when he felt none.

The school, he thought, he had to get her back to the school. They'd help her there, they had to be able to help her. Hadn't Ophi done it before? How was Cook to know that the Ancients had already beat Ophi to Danni's spirit, had whisked it away from the world between worlds, so revival would not be possible this time around.

He hefted her carefully, so carefully, into his arms, came out of the water. He spotted her bag, remembered Zep. "Zep! Come!" He called, terror in his voice. Immediately the rug forced itself out of her bag, came over to Cook, who set Danni carefully on the carpet before climbing carefully onto it. "School! Now!" He cried, cradeling Danni's head in his lap even as it gushed torrents of blood.

In moments they were in the air, and five minutes later they touched down in front of the school. Not knowing what else to do, and desperate beyong words, Cook threw back his head and shouted as loud as he could. "Help! Somebody help her! Please! Help her!" Students passing by gathered around in horror at what they saw, disbelief evident on their faces. Still, they stayed back, fear evident in their eyes even though Danni was unmoving.

As her head fell sideways, it revealed the huge hole in the back of her head, and several people staggered back, horrified. Somebody get Ophi! Ialo! Someone!" Cook begged, his body curled protectively over his 'daughter', even as he clutched her note in one big dark hand.

It seemed he was the only one who refused to believe that there was no helping Danni Rinaldi. Not now.

((I gots me a plan, no worries.))

((Aww, and half of me wanted Dymetri to get a note. "Sorry for being mean to you all the time." Now he'll always remember her as a conniving little b***h. (: ))