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"It's an icon, a symbol, something to give strength. Surely a man such as yourself understands the power of belief...the faith that drives?" A rock was kicked and it echoed through the edges of the forest. But there was no retaliating orcs, no left over undead, the place was barren even of that sort of magic life.

Speaking of magic...to anyone attuned there would be...puddles of the stuff. Raw magic oozed around the edges of the forest like a predeator. It could cause a slight disorientation in any skills that the people in the party posessed. Little surges along the magical leylines that crossed up here.

It was because of the desolation that the magic could thrive, the more people in an area, it seemed to drain away so fast, but up here there was a freedom to it...though even as such, there was a lot more then necessary. Like it was being pushed out from a certain area and into the lands below the mountain.

"People in large numbers need a hope, need something to rely on besides the wayward hero. People need such things as the story behind the shield to tuck their little ones away safe in the knowledge that they'll wake up the next day, people who aren't strong enough to battle evil on large scales. I envy human minds for the ability to drug itself so." There was a silence as he allowed this to sink in.

"In order for the people to get behind the spears and shields, they need their own icon to believe in, something powerful but not alive, else they'll fall short, just like so many human endeavours. Personally, I feel the Leviathan name did a lot when the town was smaller, but over the years it's grown up.

Not as significantly as Durem, mind you, but along the way Leviathan turned into a normal everyday family name, myth and lore is lost, even though the man himself is as powerful as he ever was. Not to mention members of his family." Henry grinned at Juuni over his shoulder.

"So we're off to get a shield, called Doomgiver, no less. It has no little magic to it, though that's not generally important when it comes to these things."

Laughter rang in through the dip, causeing a few scraggly birds to lose their perch in surprise.

"Spoken like a true meta, my friend. No wars? Do you suppose that the orcs in the forest were there for fun? What do you believe a few hundred would do to some one in a tiny farmstead? Few terrorist acts?"

Henry went silent for a moment. "Then what I'd respond to that is...that is only because the terrorists are waiting for oppurtune moments. This world has changed since the Leviathan went under, Mr. Tomorrow. Just because you've lived long enough to see the other side of the coin...no matter how much you remember of all your life or don't, doesn't mean that a simple human will see your point of view. And unless you make it so with force, it's certainly not up to you to tell people how to think. There was a rueful chuckle with none of the mirth that was held in his earlier laughter.

"My son thought a lot like you at one point, I wonder if he still does?" And then he went secretive again, silently walking out onto a ridge.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Mithrals." Bleak cold wind raced up to meet them, the halfway point had been reached.

*blinku blinku*

Juuni wondered quietly why they had suddenly stopped and peered around Mere's legs, releasing his coat and tottering forwards before pausing, cocking her head to the side and sneezing as the cold wind pinched at her nostrils.

She blinked and rubbed her nose before a small shiver of cold ran up her spine. The cold was quickly forgotten as the neko's eyes widened at the sight of a bush full of what looked like blackberries which she hurried over to and poked at caustiously before looking up at John.

"Juunish can eat these?"

Juuni may have been young but she wasn't stupid, she had learnt from many of her mistakes. For now the neko seemed more interested in being able to eat something to get rid of the empty feeling in her stomach and the stale thirst in her mouth. If one looked closey, you'd probably see her shake slightly from the cold, though she did not seem to notice.

John looked down at the tiny girl and smiled warmly, removing his sunglasses and kneeling down beside the girl. "I dunno, short stuff. Lets find out."

Placing his hand on Juuni's chest to stop her from moving forward when he reached out, he picked one of the berries from the bush and held it in his hand, inspecting it critically. He felt the cold the little girl was feeling, and cursed mentally - should have figured to bring warmer clothing.

He looked from the girl to the berry for a second - before popping it into his mouth with a wink.

Then chewed.

Then spat it out vehenomously, his face dark with grimace and distaste. "Ergh, tno erip!" He growled to himself, wiping his lips and spitting again to get rid of the nausiating taste.

Turning to the girl, he reached into his webbing behind his coat at the small of his back to a pocket, unzipping it and pulling out a chocolate bar. It was the type the army used - chock full of energy, filling, and no digestion troubles. He held it out for her with a smile. "I think this will taste better then those nasty berries."

The warmth of John's hand flooded through the tiny neko's chest and she welcomed it gratefully. She looked a little disappointed as John spat out the berry, they were obviously no good but her eyes lit up again at the sight of the chocolat bar which she accepted with a happy smile before pausing.

"Ish chu gots any water Oniisama...?" she asked quietly.

The small neko, who would have normally been defiant at being picked up when she was trying to prove how brave she was, snuggled welcomingly into John's chest, letting the warm rush over her as she followed his instructions and was soon slurping happily on the water, the chocolate bar still clutched protectively in her other hand.

Once her thirst was quenched, Juuni carefully screwed the cap back on and held it up to John, "Thankee Oniisama!"

Interestingly enough, Henry hadn't read Tomorrows thoughts, he just knew the usually story of any human turned meta, drastic effects took a toll on the brain, and sometimes if you live a long time you ended up forgetting things that happen before your change. More often then not it was a conscious decision on the part of the meta, other times.....other times it was best just to store the memories away to keep certain ones from going mental.

"We're about halfway, we can rest here for a while, if you like, I have a few things to hand out to all of you anyway."

Henry watched the whole exchange with a tilted head, seeminly interested by the whole thing. He'd always been facinated by family relationships, his was so disorganized and strange, then again what was normal? He had loved the children he'd created just as much as this man loved his wife and the tiny Juuni...still did in many ways, but it was an abstract love, and one probably not approved of by most humans.

The candybar moved into his vision and he blinked in surprise. Then he smiled softly and reached forward, gently moving and closing Amber's fingers over the food. Holding her hands for just a moment before releasing them.

"I'm alright, Amber, you keep it for you." He looked around for a moment and then saw a nice few places to sit, an odd formation in a half circle of stones. Wandering over to one he sat calmly and slid the backpack off with a thud.

Digging around he suddenly looked up he beckoned to the anthro girl.

"Amber could you come here for a moment? Juuni and Mr. Tomorrow as well, if they're done."