Welcome to Gaia! ::

This is the final chapter to the rather lengthy Somebody's Eden meta plot. Lurkers and guardians alike are welcome to join in.

[location]: Reyna's house: Reyna lives just outside of Bass'ken lake in a swamp. The house is almost entirely secluded, and terribly hard to find unless you already know the way in. She's careful to keep any and all entrances to her property well hidden. There are tall wrought iron gates around the premises which separates it from the marshy area that surrounds the house. Once past the gates the land is firm and lush. The house itself appears small when viewed from the outside, but there are an assortment of rooms within. The decor is simplistic. Everything seems to have a sort of 'modern' feel to it, but at the same time there are softer elements woven in (pillows/blankets everywhere). Everything is balanced in a particular sort of way, and Reyna gets very upset when any of her things are moved around. Most of the rooms remained locked to keep prying eyes out. Not even Mystic has been able to explore the entire house, though he has a room of his own. The rooms that are used most frequently include the living room, kitchen, Reyna's art studio, and bedrooms. There is also a small herb garden just outside the kitchen.

[timeframe]: This RP occurs immediately following the SHATTERED meta RP, and after any portal hopping your character does to help find shards of Athan's emerald.

[purpose]: Return all the shards to Reyna to help restore Athan's emerald.

[additional info]: If your character has been to Reyna's house before, it should be assumed your character knows how to get there on their own whether it be on foot, driving, or magic. If not, you'll need to RP with Mystic to get him to open a portal for you.

Amon breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Reyna's house finally came into sight. To walk all the way here, when he'd just returned from a mad chase through otherworldly ice and snow, had not necessarily be one of his best decisions. Plus, those swamps were creepy, you never quite knew what kind of hungry creatures lurked out there.

But when Mystic had offered a portal that would drop him off right at her doorstep, every part of him had gone rigid, physically and mentally. It had been less of a panic attack, and more of a massive NOPE. There'd been more portal hopping in one day today than he'd done in the whole of the past three years, his lessons in the morning, the battle, heading into the unknown of another world, a dragon, a magical shard and being chased by some nightmarish darkness creature. That was as much as he could cope with in one day without suffering a meltdown. His coping clearly was all used up for now.

So he'd walked.

And gone through almost half a pack of cigarettes.

Next to him the dragon purred—it did sound an aweful lot like growling, but it seemed friendly, so he'd figured it was actually a purr—and head-bumped him very much like a cat would. With the difference a cat's head-bump didn't knock you off your feet and almost off the safety of the path into the treacherous grounds of the swamp.

He met the creature's demand for attention and affectionately petted its massive head. He was a little surprised to find it had apparently decided to stick with him for now. But better him than running amok in Dürem or something, he figured. He quietly marvelled at its beauty, wondering what kind of dragon it was. Some of its scales looked like little gems. Perhaps Athan had a book or two about dragons in that daunting library of his.

Athan.

His smile was gone in an instant. Instead his lips pressed into a thin line as he touched lightly upon the small bump in his pants' pocket to make sure the precious shard was still there. He sincerely hoped the old man was alright, as much as he could be. Someone ought to inform 'Nesh about what had happened, he realized.

He finished off his cigarette and carelessly flicked the stump into the marshes before he went and knocked. One magical shard, one dragon and one exhausted firestarter incoming. Seriously, all he wanted now was something to eat and a shower.

The dragon endured the assault with grace, though her excited tail swishing when she fiercely rubbed her head against Reyna almost swept Amon off his feet.

"Hoth, I think," Amon said dryly, careful to keep a safe distance from that tail. "Or someplace just as equally freaking cold at least." He grinned widely, more than a little amused to see Reyna behave so unusually … girly. It was a much needed boost for his spirits after the terrifying turn this day had taken. He knocked another cigarette from its case but didn't light it yet, merely toyed with it to give his fingers something to do.

"The shard was in its— her hoard." He paused to quizzically look over his new dragon buddy. A girl, seriously? Go figure. "We threw fire at each other, and then we both had to run like Hell from some nightmarish … darkness-creature-thing that tried to possess her. I'm just glad she decided to stick with me instead of wreaking havoc in Dürem or something." The dragon gave an offended sounded woof, not for the first time causing Amon to wonder just how much the creature actually understood. Maybe she was telepathic or something.

"And yes, we are hungry." The last he'd had had been some very early breakfast. Which seemed like it had been ages ago now. "We could also use a shower and a coffee." A change of clothes too, if he had left one the last time he'd been around. "And then—" He peered past Reyna into the hallway of her house.

"How's Athan?" he asked. "And is anyone else back yet?" He had been among the first—if not the first—to go after those shards, it made sense he would be the first to make it back as well. But it didn't make him feel any less concerned for those who'd been crazy enough venture straight into some unknown trap just like him. Maybe someone had run into more trouble than they could handle and needed help. He knew he had been lucky.

Amon put his cigarette back without lighting it. Food, shower, coffee, and then he'd be ready to go again and tackle another of those portals, he decided for himself.

"That's a relief." At least things hadn't gotten any worse in his absence. He had enough trouble to wrap his head around the turn this day had taken as it was.

He shuddered with pleasure when her lips brushed against the skin of his cheek. Between the two of them both being fire elementals he had a pretty distinct idea of what he'd like to do to warm up, but … right now really wasn't the best of times. He sighed wistfully. A scalding hot shower would have to suffice.

"Thank you," he simply said. He rummaged through his pocket for the shard, a bit reluctant to touch it again. But nothing happened this time around. "What do I do with that?" he asked, before he remembered: "And, oh. Do you know how to contact 'Nesh? He probably ought to know what happened."

"Sorry," Amon apologized after he'd almost laughed out loud. "Probably should have warned you. But I had no idea it was going to do that again. Maybe get a pair of pliers from your jewelry tools?" Perhaps he could borrow one for himself—he sure as hell wasn't keen on touching another of those shards either.

He was still quietly laughing to himself as he motioned for the dragon to follow him towards the kitchen—but a moment later his cheerful expression faltered when his soul-bond with his Shadow snapped from barely-there to right-around-the-corner all of a sudden. Ugh. Just what he needed. "One Nephrite incoming," he raised his voice to warn Reyna before he practically fled the hallway. "I am not going to deal with her." Nephrite was a frickin' shadow, she could let herself in.

In the human-proportioned interior of Reyna's house the dragon—he was totally going to call her Dany, Amon decided—appeared larger than she actually was. But despite her size she moved with an almost spooky grace and agility, not ever knocking one thing over. If she did, he suspected, given her general cat-like demeanor it was probably going to be intentional.

"There you go." He freed a large chunk of frozen meat from its plastic wrapping and presented it to the dragon. Between the two of them getting it thawed wasn't really going to be a problem. The dragon seemed to agree, already there was the telltale amber glow visible on her scaled chest as the beast inhaled.

"Uhm. No." Amon said hurriedly. "No barbecuing inside the house. Out." He pointed to the back door, which earned him a dragonic stink-eye, but she obediently snatched up her chunk of meat and headed outside when he held the door for her. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the door frame, content for the moment to watch the large beast settle with its dinner. The flame she used to thaw it was surprisingly small and gentle, as if to rub in it had been completely unnecessary and uncalled for to send her outside. Amon sighed, secretly wishing he had this level of control.

He lingered for a little longer before he headed back inside, leaving the door open a bit so the dragon could get back inside, before he made a beeline for the master bathroom. He heard someone—Becca?!—shout his name, but he ignored it, quickly closing the door and turning the key in its lock.

That shower had worked wonders. As usual, Amon had brought the heat all the way up to scalding hot. Despite his element, water never bothered him, only the cold.

He took quick stock of himself before he stepped back into his clothes. Considering the battle and that mad dash down a steep snowy mountainside he had remained remarkably unscathed. A few minor bruises, cuts and abrasions, but nothing serious.

Just when he was about to put his shirt back on, he caught glimpse of the runes that had been carved into his back as a youth in his reflection in the mirror. He paused. Usually he was content to ignore them, to simply deny their existence—it was better for his peace of mind. Now he took a good long look, but they did not resemble anything he'd learned from Athan's books today. Eventually he shrugged and finished getting dressed.

His hair had returned to its original curly state, all the effort he'd put into straightening out his locks this morning gone as soon as the got into contact with moisture. There was no way of getting this fixed over here, so Amon resigned to his fate and twisted it back up into a messy bun to at least have it out of the way.

Now if only he could fix himself something to eat and a coffee (and perhaps have another cigarette) before he had to handle Nephrite, he might even be able put up with her antics in a civil not-threatening-to-burn-the-house-down manner.

He paused in front of the door to the guest room, thinking. He probably ought to cook up a meal for more people than just himself. Mystic was likely going to send more people their merry way to Reyna's house as they showed up, as the shop clearly was no longer the save haven it had used to be, and there was no means of knowing how long they'd stick around. And Athan was going to wake up eventually too, at least he hoped that would be case. Because, if not …

Amon stiffened when Reyna wrapped her arms around him, but relaxed almost immediately once he realized whom these arms belonged to. Still, it was a little unnerving just how quietly she could move, even though she was not a Shadow.

"Much better," he confirmed, disappointed when she drew away from him way too soon. He gave Neph a resentful stare. Great. Leave it to her to get in the way of even that small moment of comfort. He knew it was unjustified to blame her for her ill timing, but still. At least—judging by Becca's irritated expression—he wasn't the only one thoroughly annoyed by the fiend's presence. He wondered what had happened between the two of them.

He shoved that thought aside for now when he heard Athan shout out, and promptly followed Reyna into the guest room, pausing only for a moment to motion for Becca and Neph to stay back. A bit perplexed and deeply concerned he watched the scene which played out before him.

"I—" He paused. To see his friend like this was something he had a really hard time wrapping his head around. "I don't think he recognizes you," he finally stated as calmly as he possibly could.

'Seriously?!' Nephrite and her unwilling companion-slash-babysitter Becca exchanged a quick glance. Becca with an expression of dismay and growing terror as she realized things weren't likely going to get fixed anytime soon.

Nephrite's expression, on the other hand, wasn't without a certain amount of glee. Especially considering how her last encounter with Athan had gone down. If his memory was borked, it meant she was pretty much free to do as she pleased for as long as lasted. If only there wasn't that red haired creeper that obviously needed to be dealt with. She shuddered.

She took a quick dive into the guest room to take a look. Yup, Athan did indeed look one hot mess, which meant Reyna and Amon were busy for now. Time for her to explore the house.

"Pardon the intrusion," Becca said, keeping her tone polite even though what she wanted to do most right now was to punch a hole into the nearest wall. "Is there a phone I could use?" She was, after all, not only Bree's bodyguard, but also her assistant. Arrangements needed to be made for her absence. And then … Get weapon, head back to those portals, get shards, fix Bree's loverboy, get Bree back, smash skull of Bree's abductor, day saved.

"Haha, nope, not a chance." Amon shook his head. "That literally was my first lesson today apart from the teaser I got when we warded my house." Was it really the same day still? It felt unreal. "I know how some of it looks written out, but I don't think that's going to be of help." He paused to think while he watched Becca leave for the phone. Right, she had to handle Bree's appointments, and she was probably going to rally a small army on top of it.

He returned his gaze to Athan. His teacher looked completely freaked out, which was disconcerting to say the least. If they could not even communicate, this was bad. "Perhaps one of the fiends could help out?" he suggested. "They're all telepaths after all. And connected to him anyway." His jaw set when he realized the only fiend around right now was Nephrite of all things.