Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kam returned with a servant in tow to clean up the dishes. As the servant worked, Kam smiled at both females, "You don't even have to tell me. I can see it in your faces," he said simply and moved over to gently caress Shadow's face and knelt beside her chair, "My Master gave me the name I have now when I gave him my Heart. For you, it will be a symbol of your new life. I'll come up with a few and you see which one you like," he offered then began to mnove around the room slowly as he considered names.

"Rrasha, Arrika, Sunilda, Aalissa, Tairin, Sagira, Kesi, Rehema, Akusaa," the names came slowly as he moved around the suite but he finally came to a slow stop at the table, his eyes on the wood as he considered the subject a little slower, "Makara... No... None of those fit... Rehema comes close, though..." he said to himself before a slow smile formed on his face as he raised his eyes to look at the young girl, "I know... Samirra," he finally said the perfect name, rolling the 'r' sound into an almost purring sound. The initial 's' sounded a bit like a hiss, but the rolling 'r' truly set the mane apart.

He looked to the girl to see what she thought of it. He thought it was perfect but it would all boil down to the girl's decision.

He already had everything ready for the adoption, so that wasn't an issue. He simply needed for the females to finish their decisions first.

Kam gave a bow of his head and grinned back at the girl, "Samirra you shall be from now on," he told her simply then snapped his fingers for the servant.

The servant brought in a metal tray engraved with very elaborate and exotic patterning. Luna would recognize the artwork though Samirra would only know of it through Gurzil. The artwork was pure Demonic and very ancient. It had been Gurzil that had taught Kam all he knew of their true histories, after all.

On the tray were two linen cloth strips and two daggers, one in gold and one in silver. Both daggers carried the same elaborate patterning as well as deep blood-rubies in the pommel of each handle. Gurzil had possessed a dagger like these for each race, all engraved with his personal/family patterning.

"As you can see, Luna, I had this prepared before he died. The gold is for you, the silver for Samirra. The slices must scar for the adoption to be permanent, as you know. Now then, Luna, take up the silver dagger, please. Samirra, take up the golden one. Hold it in your right hand. Samirra, you go first. Slice across Luna's left palm, then Luna, you do the same for Samirra. Once done, hold your left palms together and speak your words to accept each other. The words must come from your heart, though. If someone else gave you the words to speak, then you wouldn't really mean them," he explained to them both.

He was here as witness and medic. Once they were finished, he was to wrap their hands. There was no paperwork for this ceremony sine the true history of it dated back too far for it. But Luna would have a form to fill out to have filed back in Hell's Cradle and Kam would take care of that after this was finished.

One of the preparations he'd made the day Gurzil died was to set up the paperwork for adopting the girl. Since Luna and Gurzil had been married at the time of his death, little Samirra would be adopted into both bloodlines.

While he was sending off the paperwork, they could go play in Samirra's new suite of rooms, just down the hallway from Luna's chambers. While they were doing that, he might have the chance to get one of the servants to rum some more oil into his back...

Kam gave them both a nod and a pleased smile then wrapped Samirra's hand with one of the linen strips and did the same for Luna. That done, he slid the paperwork over for Luna to sign, "Just fill in her new name and sign those two sheets, if you would, Luna. I'll send that in to make it official while you two go and look over her new rooms. You'll both need to make sure that I got everything in there just right, after all," he said simply.

The ceremony was deceptively simple but carried a great deal of weight back home.

He collected both daggers and set them on the tray without washing them off. They would go into Gurzil's vault just as they were, complete with each female's blood still on the blades. That way, if anyone questioned the ceremony at all, they just had to produce the daggers as proof.

Once Luna finished with the paperwork, he collected it from her then motioned for the servant to lead them to Samirra's new rooms, giving both females a respectful and teasing bow as they passed him, knowing that it would make them laugh.

Once they were gone, he rolled the pages and sealed them with Gurzil's and Luna's official wax seals then sent them to just the right demon in Hell's Cradle. That demon would get the paperwork filed right away and ensure that no one else would find out about it until he was ready for the information to be made public. Once it was out, there would be no taking it back and young Samirra would be in constant danger. So it was better to hold it back for as long as possible.

Once it was sent off, he went to his rooms, calling for a servant on the way. He really needed his back oiled or the skin would start tearing. He was in for a time to get his skin where it could handle the scars but he felt that the constant reminder was needed. For himself, that is. He needed the reminder, no one else. He called it incentive to keep Luna and Samirra alive.



In the meantime, Sebastet and Dancer had been scouting around the place to find a way in. It took them both to get into the main fortress and even then they both had to work at it hard. Sebastet made Dancer take a break in an empty room just down the hall from Luna's chambers.

While he took the time to breathe, Sebastet assessed the best way to approach little Shadow. In the end, she decided to simply play a game of tag with her. She wouldn't do anything else, she decided, knowing that the girl had to make up her own mind.

So that's just what she did, sliding out of the room when Dancer had his eyes closed. She sneaked into the room where Luna and Shadow were, knowing that Luna saw her. She simply lifted a finger to her lips and gave a grinning wink as she started tip-toeing up behind Shadow, her mind filled with no other intention but to play a bit of tag with the girl.

Sebastet gave her a grin and a wink, "I see you've gotten better, Cub," she teased a bit then simply knelt where she was and tilted her head at Samirra, or Shadow, as she thought of her. She gave a soft sigh after a moment and looked down at her hands, "I heard about Bethany and wanted to see you. I'd made the roses and wanted to show them to her... I also made something for you that I wanted to give to you," she added, giving the girl the absolute truth.

She looked up at Luna and the image of Gurzil for a moment then gave a soft shrug, "I can see that you want to stay here... I'll help you with Morrigan about it, let her know that you're fine here... But can I show you the roses and give your gift?" she asked, offering something she hoped would be alright. In her mind was nothing but what she'd said and the desire to hug the girl.



Dancer barely had the chance to cry out a warning to Egan before he found himself caught. Then he sealed his part of the Bond to protect Egan and Wind. He knew what was going to happen to him and knew that he could survive it. He also worked quickly to hide his Mating Marks, knowing that it would be hard for anyone to get past his magic.

Kam turned when Claire came in and grinned at what she brought him, "Ahhh... Just what I was needing... How do you always know what I need, dear Claire?" he purred to her as he slowly moved around the bound Dancer, inspecting him carefully before coming to a stop in front of him to caress his cheek briefly, "You didn't do as you were told, Pet... You'll need to be punished for disobeying..." he purred to him, knowing that Luna would love to teach little Samirra how to play with him.

He looked at Claire and smiled, "Release him but keep a close eye on him.. I need my back oiled. The skin is pulling and he's perfect to take care of that. Then we can introduce him to Luna," he told her, knowing that touching his skin would be the perfect torture for Dancer.

Sebastet gave a soft sigh, "Sweetheart... I'm giving you access to my entire mind and all of my motives. You can tell that I've been around a very long time. I know that there are all kinds of shades of good and evil and all of them have a place in life. I know that and accept it. I'm no angel. I've done my fair share of bad things in the past. If you want to stay here and explore this side of your nature, I can accept that," she told her softly and finally dropped down to sit with her legs crossed and pulled out the small cloth bags that held the roses and the gift for the girl.

She simply slid them across the floor to rest between them, "Here they are. You can all tell if they're dangerous without touching any of it and you can tell that I'm not hiding anything," she added with a small shrug.



Dancer swallowed hard as he was released then looked at them both in turn before he slowly moved over and collected the oil. Kam moved over to straddle a chair and pulled his hair off to the side, exposing his back and the still-healing scars there.

Dancer pushed his hair back as he approached, swallowing hard again before he simply began to do as he was told. He felt the effects of touching Kam's skin like this and was very shortly panting for air then starting to shake as he was slowly consumed by both desire and Kam's former orders.

Kam just grinned up at Claire and gave her a wink, "He's responding much faster than last time... Would you care to play with him a bit?" he asked her softly, knowing that it wouldn't take much to rework Dancer's training. He also knew how much Claire loved to play....

Sebastet gave a small sad smile to Luna, "They're even more rare now. I'm the last of the Hylarr. And there will never be another from me. Al that's left of my people are hybrids diluted by time. None of them really know of my people or what we were," she said softly then looked at Shadow and gave another small smile that wasn't quite as sad.

"As I watched her grow, I knew the swords would be her weapon. It's in how she moves, how she walks. As she grows even more, she'll move even more fluidly and be just as deadly as I am. If she puts in the work with them now, that is," she added, knowing that Shadow would understand what she meant.

After another moment, she held her arms open, "Come here, Cub," she whispered softly. Shadow would know that the roses weren't for Bethany. They were for the rest of them to remember her by.

As the girl moved into her arms, she held her and closed her eyes, "Shhh... Everything will be fine now... You'll see," she whispered to her softly and rocked her gently. After a moment, though, something else happened...

Everything that Sebastet knew, all of her Hylarr knowledge, and all of her knowledge on psychic powers... All of it passed from Sebastet to Shadow in a bare heartbeat. There wasn't any time for anyone else to react. In that moment, Gurzil's image flickered then disappeared.

Of course, Sebastet had been fully expecting the movement from Shadow that left the fatal wound. She'd set everything up beforehand. She'd always intended for Shadow to have her knowledge. She'd just intended for Bethany to kill her instead of Shadow.

Her arms fell away from the girl as she slowly dropped onto her back, her breath hissing out slowly as her eyes slowly closed...


Kam gave her a smirk, "I'm planning on it, Claire. But the pet needs a lesson first..." he said to her in a deep purring tone. He was all set to get in the mood, thoroughly enjoying how far Dancer was falling... Then he felt it.

He got to his feet and simply headed out of the room and moved for Samirra's new rooms, throwing open the doors then giving a deep growl over what he saw, "Claire! Bring him!" he called out, fully intending on someone else taking his place under Luna's blade. And Dancer was the obvious suspect for bringing Sebastet here...

Kam kept his eyes on Samirra as he nodded to Luna, "Play with him, Luna, but keep him alive. He heals the same way I do, by the way. So you can have plenty of fun with him in return for this one," he told her simply as he put everything together in his mind.

Dancer let out a harsh gasp at the sight of Sebastet's bloody chest, knowing that she was dead. In that instant, he knew he wasn't likely to survive what was going to happen to him. Well, he'd physically survive it. But he knew that mentally was a different issue. He closed his eyes and sent out a very brief message to Egan and Wind, a simple, "I'm sorry," was all he knew he'd be able to get out, then he shut down the Bond as much as he could. He did his best to block the Mating Bond on his end, determined to protect them from what he was about to go through.

After a very brief moment he finally turned to look at Luna and gave her a small and tender smile as he reached out to gently caress her cheek, "Keep him alive and intact, Luna... I think our new little Princess deserves a gift for the pain of today," he whispered to her softly, knowing that she'd get the message.

Then he turned to Claire, "Take him to Luna's rooms then help me with Samirra, Claire, and then I'll make sure that you get you reward for your hard work so far," he told her in a deeper tone, knowing that she'd be able to help him calm the girl down enough to realize that she could still stay with them.

He turned back to the girl and moved over to kneel a few steps from her, deliberately keeping his movements non-threatening. Thankfully, he was basically a blank to psychics, so he'd be a relief to the girl. He guessed that to be one reason that Claire liked him so much.

"Samirra... Look at me, Sweetheart... Claire can help you with blocks if you want them. If not, that's alright too. You know full well that we aren't going to force you into anything. Look around this room. Feel what that heart is telling you," he told her softly and gestured to the Heart he'd given her. Admittedly, it was a replica of his real Heart, but it still acted exactly the same way, "You know that I cannot lie to you as long as you wear that. You do not have to leave here. Whatever she did to you, it can be blocked, or Claire can help you find Gurzil again," he continued then had t stop after saying that name.

He finally figured out that losing Gurzil had broken something inside of him. The scaring that Luna had given to him was only the visible sign of what was inside of him now, "Samirra... I'll tell you something now that I probably will never say again... A part of me wants to see him again and again and again... His death broke something inside of me.Someone like Claire would probably say that it's some kind of psychic injury or an injury to my aura or something like that,, I don't know. I really only know that you are the only real link I have to the demon I knew and loved. He and Luna weren't able to have children, for whatever reason made sense to them or Fate. But you... You were the last thing that he wanted: a daughter. Please, sweetheart, don't abandon us just yet," he said softly to her, knowing that she and Luna would both be able to feel the emotions he wouldn't outwardly show, the hearts he'd given them allowed them that much.

He knew that Claire and Luna would be able to handle Dancer and that he'd be hearing his screams soon enough, though he wasn't sure that it would be enough for what he'd brought here today.

Dancer wanted to look away from Sebastet's face but found that he couldn't. It was another death because of him. Already he could feel the burning from touching Kam's skin, the rampant desire moving through him uncontrollably and setting him on a course that even Egan wouldn't recognize. He could hear Kam's previous orders starting to echo through his mind again. He knew that whatever Luna was going to do to him would be a long reminder of the days in Hell's Cradle and the Arena, a reminder of the days and years of dealing with Lark and Deluge. But he knew that blocking the Bond was the only thing he could do. He only hoped that Egan and Wind would forgive him int he end...

Kam settled himself where she'd pushed him and considered carefully before speaking again, "Sometimes it does help to make someone else hurt when we feel hurt. It helps to release some of the emotions. Right now, Gurzil can't help you..." he started softly then considered very carefully as he looked at her for a moment.

"But maybe I can..." he added softly then swallowed hard as he took a big risk and opened his mind to her, allowing her to see that he was willing to risk anything to help her. Even more scarring... If it would help her release the emotions and the pain, he was more than willing to do it.

And he wouldn't be added to her mental tally since she wouldn't be killing him...


Behind him, no one noticed the body disappearing as the shadows took it away....


Dancer, however, knew that both women were going to underestimate him in this one. Kam had pushed his limits to such an extent that even he didn't know how much pain was too much for him... But he'd been into pain long before Kam. So the only real problem he was likely to have was the lack of pleasure from the pain.

As Luna chained him to a turnable rack, his breathing began to increase. Yes, he'd brought Sebastet here to get Shadow, but he hadn't been prepared for everything else. He raised his mismatched eyes to look at them both in turn, "The pain won't be the problem," he said softly, finding his body already reacting to the sight of the instruments laid out for Luna to use on him...