Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yay for modern medicine and the will to live! Happy to hear you're doing better, Sapphirianna!
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Maddie's eyes snapped open at the same moment Niteshade lurched out of his nightmare. She heard him get out of bed and run the water. Her ears were ringing with the words that had been whispered in them while she was sleeping. All she could remember was the word destiny.

Then, from somewhere outside, she felt power ripple through her. It felt like her whole body was rolling on broken glass. She sat up quickly, her heart in her throat. Nightshade cursed and went to the window.

“There's just someone young or real small outside Maddie", he said over his shoulder. Going to the door he continued, "I'm gonna take a closer look, back me up if you see anything suspicious."

Maddie scrambled out of bed and glanced around for some kind of weapon. All she could find was a phone book. She regretted not bringing in her mag-light from her bike. Still, her aim could be pretty good when it needed to be. She hefted the phone book, ready to chuck it if she needed to.

Niteshade bent down and picked up something. Maddie saw the ears of a cat peak over his shoulder. Did rescue cats just sniff her out? Did she have a “All Strays Welcome” sign following her around? She crept closer to Niteshade and looked out into the night. There was still someone non-cattish out there, and they might need help. Or a phone book to the head. Whichever.

Maddie and Niteshade watched the child as they stood in the doorway of their hotel room in their pajamas. The child recognized the cat and ran towards them, but slowed when he caught sight of Maddie's menacingly held phone book. She lowered it as she appraised the boy. He looked underfed, uncared for, and vaguely familiar. She had a strange sense of de ja vu as she looked into his dark brown eyes. From some sealed off corner of her heart, maternal instinct started to gather. She'd known, intellectually, about the starving, abandoned children on the streets all over the united states, and all over the world. She'd seen those commercials for the World Children fund, sponsor a child for 25 cents a day and all. But seeing the ravaged face in front of her suddenly made her heart ache.

Besides, this boy loved cats and was loved by them. Already the feline in Niteshade's arms was squirming in an effort to get to the boy.

"He's just a kid," Maddie whispered. "But I'm pretty sure that surge of power came from him. It's not safe for him or for us if we leave him out here. And he doesn't look too good. Is there anything we can do for him?"

Okay... alittle confusion here. Is the cat Immortal or immoral? nice difference in the meanings.
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Niteshade watched the boy approach, he didn't seem threatening but then looks could be deceiving. He did seem generally concerned about the cat. As Maddie asked about helping him Niteshade couldn't help but looking at the boy's face... it was familiar. He was trying to place it in his mind with the jumble of recent events. As he had his mental minions roll through the mental library trying to find this specific file he held the car out towards Ura saying, "is this your cat?"

The cat wanted free and so Niteshade let it go before it scratched him. As the cat ran to Ura, he finally figured out where he saw him before so he added, "your the artist from the casino who lost his papers, aren't you? Please come inside out of the weather, we'll order some food."

Atleast if Ura was in the room with them, then they could watch him to make sure he wasn't with Ishmael and his crew. Also, if he was and tried to get them it would be easier inside than out to handle things... Niteshade thought so anyways.

It took a moment for Maddie to put together the boy's broken English. She set down the phone book and motioned for Nightshade to clear the door. The boy very hesitantly came into the hotel room and Maddie closed the door behind him. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You are freezing cold!" she exclaimed. She guided him to the bed and made him sit on the bed and wrapped a spare blanket around him. The cat finally managed to wiggle out of Niteshade's arms and ran over to the boy. It curled up in his lap and started to purr loudly. She looked at the boy, so small and scared, and her heart went out to him.

Then she went to the phone and cracked the phone book. "Pizza or Chinese?" She asked absently before checking the clock. 5:11 am. "Or maybe I should see who's open this late." After a quick scan of the restaurants she picked Flamingo Pizza. "Ok, these guys are open for another 30 minutes or so. What does everyone want? They have Pizza, sandwiches, pasta, soup..." She looked at Niteshade's tired and dream-ravaged face, and the boy's scared but hopeful eyes. "Never mind. Comfort food it is." She picked up the phone and dialed. "Yes, I'd like to order a three-cheese calizone--the 14 inch--and a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, the grilled parmisan chicken sub, and a philly-cheesesteak sandwich...Oh, and add three orders of rice pudding...How much? Fine. And could you put a rush on it? Thanks." she hung up and glanced over at Niteshade. "I figure we can just pick at whatever." She stood for a moment, unsure of what to do next. "Maybe we should call that other girl. You know, the one from the casino. Get everyone here."

Maddie smiled at the way Niteshade was with the boy. He'd made a very good father, she thought suddenly. She picked up the phone again and found the little slip of paper with the strange woman's phone number on it. With surprisingly little remorse for the early hour, she dialed the number. It rang several times before the woman finally picked up with a husky, "Hello?"

"Hey, um, this is that red-haired lady from the roulette table. You told me to call you, so, um, here I am." Maddie wanted to groan at how dumb she sounded. "Anyway, my friend and I are going to be leaving soon, so if you want to talk about this...thing we're all involved in, you could come by our hotel room at the Knight's Inn, near the Airport." Maddie wasn't sure how much to say over the phone. Ishmael could be listening in, or he could be in China for all she knew.

Maddie hung up the phone and went to sit down on the other side of the boy. He didn't seem to be very talkative. Maybe his English wasn't that good, or maybe there was a deeper reason he couldn't speak very well. Under her breath, she muttered, "The room is filled with warmth, safety, peace, and camaraderie. Fear has no place here."

The room brightened a bit, and everyone relaxed slightly. The cat lifted it's head to look at Maddie with its uncanny golden gaze, then went back to purring and washing an ear as if nothing happened.

Sapphira skidded to a halt when she arrived at the Inn. She tied up her bicycle with the others and walked inside. She was, unknowingly, tapping her fingers on the counter as she waited for the innkeeper. A short phrase ran through her head: The innkeeper will tell me where they are... Finally, a man dressed slightly casually came around the corner, but his face was dirty. She waited as he approached. He stood behind the counter and put down the papers he was carrying before speaking.

"Can I help you, young miss?"

"I'm looking for two people who are staying the night here, a woman and a man, do you know what room they are in?" Luckily, the place had only three rooms taken, so it was an easier thourough check. The man smiled.

"Here you go." He handed her a slip of paper with a room number on it. Sapphira nodded her thanks and went to the hallway. Glancing up at each number that she passed, she finally found the one she was looking for. With a slight hesitancy, she knocked, a quiet tapping.