Magician Lucilien Darks Shop

The Magician Lucillien Dark's Shop of Magic, Sorcery, and Spellcraft

Locations in Latent, Strata, and Durem!

The words above cover a large hand painted sign hanging over a small unassuming shop in the center of Latent's marketing district. In the shop windows are dozens on dozens of small trinkets and charms of varying size and shape and color. The scent of fresh herbs, fresh paint, and sometimes fresh wood or pastries seeps through the small wooden door and out into the street.

Upon entering the shop most magical creatures would feel a sort of buzz, either do to some sort of enchantment on the shop itself or the amount of magic filling it. Directly across from the entrance is a wooden counter, behind which is a door leading into a workshop. At either side of the door leading to the main counter are glass displays, in which are literally hundreds of items, above each waist level display are racks with weapons, staffs, rods, and several other items either covered in odd runes, or paints, or simply spilling a magical aura.

Staff

The shoppe itself is owned by the Magician Lucillien Dark, a man who very rarely makes an appearance, instead leaving his apprentice, a young man by the name of Maximos to handle his affairs.

Maintenance - Walter Worthington III.

Errands - D

Delivery Boy - Damion Hedley

Looking for employment? Apply within!

Products

The Magician Lucillien Dark will take on any commission provided he has the necessary materials, and/or is willing to take on the commission. Likewise any trinket on display in the shop is available for sale, though not necessarily for any amount of gold. A simple conversation with the Magician himself, or Mr. Maximos will lead most customers to finding exactly what they need, and its price.

Reagents

The Magician works only with quality ingredients, harvested from the Gaia itself. No manufactured or imitation ingredients allowed. Each of these reagants have been collected by Mr. Maximos himself, from more or less willing donors, each listed below.

Heart of Luck - Dont ask. Trust it is as lucky as can be considering the fate of its owner.

Specialty Items

At times the Magician has let flow his creative impulses and using rarer items lying around the shop created enchanted gear of his own design. Some of these items are very powerful others are not, almost all are for sale, but all cost more than simple gold. In chalk written on a small blackboard sign are the following projects:

Sing Song Sword - Work In Progress

Sonic Grenade - Work In Progress

Graceful Flight Potion - Work In Progress

Curative Omega - Work In Progress

Feathered Cloak - Work In Progress

Lucky Sliver - [i]Work in Progress[/]

Security

Strangely enough such an odd shop does not attract much in the way of thieves. All who attempt to enter the shop however will find that they will need to knock each time they visit. The door is always locked, even during business hours. Any other risks involved in attempting to force entry into a place full of enchantment, is left to the imagination.

[s]OOC NOTE

Every scene in the Magician Lucillien Dark's Shop is immune to time skips. Everything happens in one fluid arc, unless of course some sort of literal in character time altering magic is being used. Otherwise, anyone entering a busy shop will indeed find a busy shop.[/s] - Temporarily Suspended For Questing

Ember smiled slightly as she examined a small piece of parchment and wandered the streets of Latent. She had spent the afternoon there, searching for various ingredients and items that were located on her list that she had. Many people found it strange for a small girl to be wandering the streets, especially one as odd as she was. But it wasn’t how old she looked which really got their attention, but rather on how ghost like she resembled. From head to two, her entire body and clothing was practically grey other than her flesh which was a delicate pale color; a rather unusual sight for a ten year old child like herself.

Behind her, a raven followed closely before quietly landing on her shoulder as she came to a stop. The young girl smiled and looked over to him rather happily.

“I think we’re almost done shopping for today. I even managed to find that Wormwood!” She beamed rather proudly before folding up the piece of parchment and tossing it into her silver colored pouch. The raven only squawked in reply as though the two of them were having a conversation. Giving him a quick pet on the top of his head, she continued down the street.

Finally, she came to a stop only to notice a strange man with gray hair standing in front of what appeared to be another shop. Unfortunately, he seemed rather lost as he stood in front of the store and was blocking the sidewalk. Calmly, she attempted to walk in front of him and behind him. However, there really wasn’t any luck. This man was definitely waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too big in comparison to her, and this didn’t sit well with her at all. Narrowing her eyes, she placed her hands on her hips and scowled.

“Excuse me sir, you seem to be blocking the way.” Although she was frustrated, she did manage to use a rather polite tone of voice. However, her body language really didn’t seem to match her appearance. She probably came up to his hips or at least his stomach, which caused her to look up.

“Are you lost or something?” She dropped her arms down and her temper seemed to have faded, after all if he was lost as he seemed to be displaying than perchance she could help him. She did know Latent fairly well after all.

Dark Conspiracy Wrote:

“Excuse me sir, you seem to be blocking the way.” Although she was frustrated, she did manage to use a rather polite tone of voice. However, her body language really didn’t seem to match her appearance. She probably came up to his hips or at least his stomach, which caused her to look up.

“Are you lost or something?” She dropped her arms down and her temper seemed to have faded, after all if he was lost as he seemed to be displaying than perchance she could help him. She did know Latent fairly well after all.

Ryugi knocked and then turned to look in the direction of the small voice behind him. He then looked down to face the short girl and blinked.

I'm sorry. But the door seems to be locked, otherwise I would have entered by now. And I'm not lost at all, I don't think...

Ryugi turned back to the door however as he heard footsteps slowly walking towards the entrance of the establishment, and heard a semi-familiar voice coming from behind it.

Maximos Wrote:

Oh! Dis ones in Latent! Do I still need the key?

Deeper inside a calm, aged voice said something in audible through the wood, and soon the keys jangled into a silence. A latch was twitched, and the door began to creep open. Who uses a key inside the front door anyway?

Apparently a little boy did. A boy about 3ft tall, and roughly seven or eight years old. His tousled black hair poked out from under his a black hooded cloak, and he very gingerly said.

Welcome to the Mager....magikici...mash....

A pause, a few silent mouth movements and then. Behind the boy was immediately visible a small flight of stairs, placing the floor of the shop at eye level, blocking all view of the shop proper save for some of the high shelves and counter tops, all filled with trinkets. Immediately the scent of fresh cut wood, and tea filled the air.

Welcome to Mr. Max's Magic place for sorc....for magic!

He took a very well practiced bow, someone upstairs chuckled softly and then the boy said.

Can I halp you?

And smiled innocently, ear to ear, completely accidentally revealing a fang filled mouth.

Ryugi returned the smile, grinning. It had been a long time since he'd seen this little fellow, and alas, he seemed not to have grown an inch since then.

That was a very nice welcome, D. I'm sure Maximos would be very proud of your manners. In fact, I've come to see him and congratulate him on the opening of the shop.

Ryugi paused for a moment. Come to think of it, he hoped Max would be around for that matter. That man was always here and there and everywhere but where you might expect him to be. Ryugi then turned back to the grinning D.

May I come in?

Maximos Wrote:

Big brudder isnt here right now. He's getting sup...super...suprise!

An older, softer voice from above the flight of stairs spoke up. If Ryugi stepped forward just a few steps, he would see its source. An older man with whitish gray hair tied back into a small pony tail. The man wore a monocle, a black vest and pants, and a black apron and with his gloved white hands was currently sweeping behind the counter. Walter's soft, calm voice gently said.

Supplies. The Master is currently out gathering supplies.

His gray eyes fell softly on Ryugi as the butler bowed, and then spoke again in his few-octaves-above-a-whisper, tone.

You are more than welcome to stay and wait for his return Mr. Kazamaru.

Thank you, Walter. You're too kind.

Ryugi walked into the shop with a grin, passing a young D who seemed more eager to pass him by to talk to the young girl behind him. As he passed D, Ryugi took a moment to admire the shop. The shelves were perfectly placed and filled with several trinkets. It seemed that Max had been busy gathering items for the shop's customers for quite some time.

Ryugi walked up to the counter where Walter was sweeping before perking up and digging into his pockets.

Oh! As long as I have you here, Walter. I have something for you. Max mentioned that you might enjoy these.

Ryugi would hold out his hand and ofter it to Walter. When the elderly butler would accept, several small, black seeds would fall into his hand. They were almost like black sand grains in size, but were too shiny and light on weight to be made of rock.

They're seeds for Angaran Creep Vines. I gathered some from Max's and my visit to Angara and have been waiting to give them to you. He'd mentioned that you might enjoy a plant that you can actually talk to. They make excellent pets, as well as guardians for your home when they grow large enough.

Ryugi chuckled and dug back into his pocket, looking for a certain piece of paper he'd written with instructions on care for the plant-animals. Once he'd found it, he also moved to hand it to Walter.

They need plenty of water and rich soil. However, once they get old enough, they can move themselves to better areas if the one they have isn't good enough. They're also quite intelligent, and while they can't speak any common language, they understand perfectly well, and can respond with growls, chattering, or different body motions.

Walter would also find a few small recipes for various foods containing Dragonfruit. As he looked it over, Ryugi would explain.

They also bare fruit at certain times of the year which is called Dragonfruit. Its easily my favorite snack, and seeing as you like to cook, I'd imagine that you'd likely find some creative uses for them along with your Arian Cuisine.

Thank you, Walter. You're too kind.

Walter very respectfully bowed his head, placing a hand over his breast pocket so as to keep the chain of his monocle from falling out. It was a butlers job to serve, to be ready and available but not obvious. As such, as the stately butler rose from his bow he returned to his broom, sweeping small wooden scraps and paint chips into a dust pan before depositing it in a nearby receptacle, he was about to turn and slip both instruments into the back room when something expected occurred.

Oh! As long as I have you here, Walter. I have something for you. Max mentioned that you might enjoy these.

He hadnt expected that. While none of Master Maximos' friends ever chose to outright ignore him, none had ever brought him a gift. Rules and manners dominated the moment. The broom and pan were leaned gently against the counter, and after a small tug at his apron to assure he was presentable he reached a white gloved hand, towards Ryugi's offering hand.

For me?

Like pepper from a shaker, small black specks fell softly into Walter's waiting palm, and once they had all fallen, a gloved thumb rolled them gently against the white fabric. There was a mote of recognition on the Butlers face, but it was intertwined simultaneously with curiosity. They were seeds, that much he knew, but from what?

They're seeds for Angaran Creep Vines. I gathered some from Max's and my visit to Angara and have been waiting to give them to you. He'd mentioned that you might enjoy a plant that you can actually talk to. They make excellent pets, as well as guardians for your home when they grow large enough.

Mr. Kazamaru! You shouldnt have.

The butler said, sincerely although automatically. Surprised passed over his features for a moment before settling into a pleasant smile. He had heard of living, mobile plants before, even owned a few, but never a plant that could be a pet! There was a sort of spark in his eyes as the possibilities of such a thing whirled behind his gray eyes, but first and foremost were the niceties of the moment. Walter's open palm balled into a loose fist so as not to lose any seeds, and he very formally bowed.

You have my utmost and sincere thanks.

This might have been the time when an individual then offered something in return or said something like, "If there is anything I can do for you...." But this was Walter, a butler, a man servant, that assumption was already made. The very moment Ryugi became a guest his every wish was Walter's command.

One gift, even one seed was more than Ryugi had seen from anyone other than the Master in longer than he could remember. One can only imagine the surprise on his face when he rose from his bow to the site of Ryugi handing him another. Of course, it would have been rude to leave the other man simply hanging as he overcame his surprise, and so Walters opposite hand reached out and accepted the note. He moved to read it, only to have Ryugi summarize it for him.

They need plenty of water and rich soil. However, once they get old enough, they can move themselves to better areas if the one they have isn't good enough. They're also quite intelligent, and while they can't speak any common language, they understand perfectly well, and can respond with growls, chattering, or different body motions.

I...dont know what to say. I, thank you.

He scanned over the instructions and carefully flipped the sheet gliding over the recipes. Judging by the ingredients alone and the way they complimented each other, Walter imagined this Dragonfruit must have been sweet, perhaps even a sort of dessert. Secretly, Walter liked dessert the best, it was the most highly anticipated part of the meal. The Master would be thrilled,

They also bare fruit at certain times of the year which is called Dragonfruit. Its easily my favorite snack, and seeing as you like to cook, I'd imagine that you'd likely find some creative uses for them along with your Arian Cuisine.

At this, a smirk stretched the butlers aged pale lips.

And I trust Mr. Kazamaru, you will do me the honor of having you present to sample said cuisine when I do?

-

“Hi!”

She was friendly! D did everything in his power to keep from giggling. He was taught it was improper in very formal occasions. But he failed miserably, giggling something akin to a shy school boy.

“What’s your name?”

I'm--

A fanged maw split and small dark haired boy was about to answer when a loud caw split the air. His coal black eyes immediately snapped upwards, his eyes widening in shock. That had to be the second largest bird he'd ever seen!

--Birdie!

At which point D began to hop up and down attempting to grab the large raven.

C'mere! C'mere!

The bird cawed rather loudly as the young boy tried to reach the bird. Flapping its large black wings it flapped towards him in a very angry manner in attempts to threaten the bird. Ember only looked more upset at the bird as he cawed loudly at the boy.

“Stop it Shadow! Don’t be mean!” At that moment the bird fell quiet and didn’t even make a sound as it flew down to the side walk behind her, but rather he cocked his head at her. He peeped once more at her and she scowled even more so than the worst look she had ever received from her own mother. Walking quietly over, Ember picked the bird up and then walked back over to the boy with a skip in her step.

“Now Apologize!” But rather than apologizing the bird merely turned his head away, how rude! Shoving the bird towards the other boy she held her arms straight out and looked held it towards the new friend she had made.

“Give him a pet. Shadow doesn’t normally like people until he gets a pet. Or some snackies, those work too. ” Ember quietly began to pet the top of the birds head with her fingers as she continued to hold it for the other boy in front of her.

Shadow could only look rather uncomfortable as the boy ackwardly petted his black feathers. He didn’t seem to complain, especially since Ember practically had a viper grip on his sides. Grinning, after he had received his pets, she continued to hold him tightly as the boy seemed to be digging for something in his pocket. Perhaps he had a cracker in there or something, but no. Instead he pulled out the most peculiar item ever. Both Ember and Shadow seemed to stare at the strange things that he pulled out of his pockets. She had never seen so many bright colors on objects before. Instantly, the raven seemed to take interest and grab one in his beak it seemed that he had grabbed interest in the small ball that was wrapped in a clear packaging. However, Ember still looked rather curiously at it.

”What is it? Is it a newt’s eye?” At that moment she snatched the object from the bird’s mouth and placed him on the ground so she could examine it closer. For a moment the only thing the two of them heard was squawking as it demanded to have its treat back. Carefully, she began to pass it in between her hands and squishing it in-between her fingers as though to check the density. As she did her clearly scientific investigations, Shadow made himself comfortable on her Mary Jane shoe that she was wearing.

”It’s too hard to be newt’s eye...” Slowly, she continued to play with the packaging and feel the air squeeze between her fingers. It was a strange sensation, and she honestly had no real way to explain it. Whatever it was, she was finding great amusement with the object she was looking at, despite the fact that she had no clue what exactly it was. But her face showed nothing more than amusement as she continued to decipher the code.

“Maybe...it’s a pretty gem from a giant!” She moved her arms so they would be shooting straight up in the air as though to demonstrate what a giant would resemble. Then she made a large growl sound as she tried to do her best impression of the ugliest creature that she could produce. However, that only resulted in her making a funny face. Giggling, she put her arms down and looked at the boy in front of her. She then quickly fixed her appearance and gave him a quick curtsy by grabbing the corners of her gray dress which showed a few of the darker grey patches that had been sewn onto it.

”Thank you very much, young sir. Me and Shadow are very happy for your Giant Jewel. Right, Shadow?” As if there was an instant response, the bird chirped from on the ground as she handed it back to him. Quietly he began to peck at the object as he attempted to get through the wrapping. But despite his efforts it really didn’t seem to be working, no matter what he tried to do.

POP!

"AH!" Ember jumped half a foot as she didn’t expect the sound!

Well, at least Shadow got his treasure.

D watched fascinated. He had never seen someone so intrigued by candy before! But there was something wrong, what he had handed her was most definitely not a newts eye. Or a giants eye. Or even a gem. Or anything of that nature. Now, he was happy she enjoyed the gift, but she was enjoying it all wrong! She was missing the best.

As Ember toyed with the wrapping, D reached into his pocket and pulled out another loli-pop which he then opened and slipped into his fanged maw. Oddly enough, he didnt immediately crunch it into nothingness, but instead left a white loli-pop stick peeking out of his smirking mouth as he began to undo the wrapper on the first loli-pop he had offered Ember.

About now the gumball had been passed to Shadow. And D was grinning from ear to ear, his mouth and lips stained strawberry red by strawberry flavoring.

Yer welcome. But your doing it wrong.

He said. And then the wrapper popped, Ember jumped. D stepped forward, letting the shop door close behind him, and thrust the lolipop forward....She did say "Ah" after all.

Like this!

It wasnt the nicest thing to do, but he meant to poke the lolipop into her open mouth. Lil'D had never claimed to be a gentleman, and he figured that had he seen it big brother would not have approved but...He was confident that the delicious awesomeness that was candy would smooth everything over.

--

Enter, a particular young teenager who just so happened to be walking down the street. Samantha would find the shop door closed, but not all the way. And she would find two little children playing in front of the door. Or at least it seemed like they were playing. One child wore a dark hooded cloak a few sizes too big for him, with its hood down, and a pair of shorts, a dress shirt, and a small child sized vest. He looked perfectly ordinary as he shoved a lolipop at the mouth of the girl across from him, except that he was grinning.

And his grin was in fact two rows of razor sharp pinkish-red stained fangs. The small girl, adorned in a gray dress seemed startled, but not directly by the lolipop being thrust at her. And at her feet was a large raven who appeared to have just popped a gumball wrapper with his beak.

The door, closed by gravity and as opposed to a lock was actually partially open. Samantha's soft wraps were enough to cause it to slowly creak open and inch or two. Being of a magical nature, Samantha might even notice that while the door was enchanted with a translocation spell, it was not currently active. But, with a small seam in its opening she would be able to hear two muffled voices. Both of them were male, one was young and the other somewhat elderly albeit exceedingly proper.

Where fate led the young Ms. Night, was now in her hands.

Ember’s mouth was still open at the sound of the noise as she quickly felt something foreign enter her mouth by the pressure of the boy. Her eyes grew widely as she quickly went cross-eyed to examine the stick. This was something new and strangely odd; she had never had something so tasty in her life. It was very sweet...and tasted of something she had never had before. Her face only light up with amazement and joy as she had the stick poking out of her mouth. She knew that her mother wouldn’t allow her to have anything like this of the sort.

What was even stranger was the fact that she wasn’t entirely sure how to speak with the thing in her mouth. She was always taught that it was incredibly rude to speak with your mouthful. She flailed her arms slightly as she attempted to speak to the other boys. As she did so a slight orange color seemed to begin to stain the edge of her own pale colored lips. However, it wasn’t like she really wanted to remove the magnificent joy out of her mouth...

Shadow seemed to be enjoy his small treat as he constantly pecked on the outside of the shell to enjoy each of the small pieces that he managed to break off with his beak. Once the other woman made an appearance, instantly it seemed that its defensive mode returned and he began to caw and bounce on the ground in a threatening manner. It really didn’t seem it liked anyone else except for Ember and anyone else who managed to feed it a treat.

Without a word, she slowly reached down and picked the small bird off the ground to hold onto him. Slowly petting the back of his head, she smiled at D showing her newly stained lips at him. She may have not really been able to show her gratitude, but her expressions clearly showed everything to the other boy. She was definitely going have to visit more often if there was going to be a chance to have snackies like this.

But if that was the case, she knew she was going to have get this boy’s name. For it was terribly rude that she didn’t know it already. Especially if he was giving her such wonderful presents like this! Shuffling the stick to the side of her mouth, she attempted to juggle both speech and the stick in her mouth. At first she made a slurp like noise, but quickly she managed something. Hey, it was even ruder to not know his name than was to speak with food in her mouth.

“My name is Ember...” With that she afford a quick curtsy towards him as she stumbled to find the appropriate corner of her dress. She wasn’t as graceful as a young lady should be, but she was still doing fairly well considering. However, her smile quickly frowned as she felt the hard pieces broke slightly in her mouth due to her speaking to the young boy.

...She broke it.

What a tragedy!

-Click

Clack-

"Dear me, there's an awful lot of children running about without parental guidance."

Following the clicking sound of heels on hard ground was a voice, that of an adult clearly, but a woman and with a fairly affectionate tone no less. Said woman cast a set of surprisingly kind and warm slate colored eyes upon the gathering of young ones out front of the shop. She had arrived in just the right moment of time to witness a boy child - swathed in a far too big cloak - startle a young girl by way of lollipop.

Another yet was not far from her feet in fact, brown ringlets bouncing as she reached and stretched a small hand in order to knock lightly on the partially cracked door.

She had paused in stride just a few feet from the young ones, not wanting to invade their personal space but was still very curious to see what they were all up to. Children were a wonderful thing, she adored them - for many a reason but of course the two driving forces were her connection to Rasilyn, and her son.

Now, this woman had a valid reason for being at the shop, intent to pick up a few items here and there that would aid her in crafting some new charms as well as browsing the merchandise, but she was in no hurry to enter and rather preferred to watch the young ones in their games for a bit. If they didn't mind at least. Knowledge of the shop's existence had reached her through a fairly convoluted vine of connections but regardless she was here, and was very eager to see what it offered her.

Now Walter was never one to leer. That was rude. He watched the door shut and immediately understood that D, by nature, was completely capable of handling himself. Walter, had shining to do. A small bottle of glass cleaner was brought up from behind the counter, and a small dust rag was pulled from one of the lower folds of Walter's apron, and he began to clean the counters.

Within moments Ryugi was writing, and moments after that as the dragons eyes returned to Walter...every glass surface was spotless and glimmering in all of the shop, and the butler accepted the offered note. Aged eye scanned quickly over it, and very softly, but very gratefully he said.

This is perfect Mr. Kazamaru, the Master will be quite pleased, I do believe we have exactly the thing to complete the recipe.

The note was slipped gently in the page containing the recipe and the book was softly shut. Now simply leaving Ryugi waiting would also be quite rude, and so Walter's soft gray eyes met the dragons and he kindly asked....

Would you care for some tea? Coffee? A pastry?

And then there was a knock at the door, and the door creaked open revealing a sliver of light. At which point there was another knock at the door. Walter bowed formally and said...

Please excuse me a moment.

---

D was loving this. He had never seen someones eyes light up so very much at the taste of candy...save for his own. Everyone was in wonderful spirits. So good was his disposition the D didnt even notice the first rather hesitant woman walk up and softly wrap on the door. Instead, recognizing the crack coming from Embers mouth he pulled another loli from his pocket, and said.

I have more. Alot more.

Then grinned ear to ear, revealing every one of the sharp fanged teeth that lined his mouth.

My names D! You wanna--

And then another woman approached. This one a little louder her heels announcing her before her fist hitting the door. D, at the sound, snapped back to reality. He had one job to do here at the shop today, and by Nocturne he was going to do it!

Hey!

He said and whirled around in the puddle of fabric that was his huge cloak, he looked up at the woman sporting brown ringlets and loud heels. And in doing so noticed Samantha, the quieter of the two and immediately said.

Hey! Your bof doin' it wong!

And with that he rushed past both women, pushing open the door to the shop and entering it, quickly closing it behind him.

---

Master D?

Said Walter curiously, only half way to the teapot.

Is everything alright?

Sssssshhhh!

Said D, making a sort of waving motion to the older butler, literally waving the elderly man off as he flipped his huge hood over his black haired head. Walter smirked, and returned to the tea. D returned to the door. He seemed to be repeating something to himself.

---

Moments later, the door opened again for Ember, Samantha, and the brown haired woman! There stood a small figure covered in a black cloak trying to speak in a deep voice and failing miserably.

Welcome to the Majikan Lucilan Darks Shop of Magic and...and...

A pause. The small person looked down, but found nothing, and then up, but his hood covered his face, and so very dramatically he whipped his cloak and said.

....Stuff!

The overflowing fountain of material settled, and the boy was quiet as if to let the moment sink in and then said to all three.

...What ken I do for you?

---

Many miles away in Durem, a little girl in a hoodie with a note and brown hair knocked on a door. In Latent, despite the door being open a soft knock could be heard coming from it. A knob above the lock flickered green.

For the moment, no one seemed to be answering.

Well, the woman had never actually approached the door, in fact she had stopped in front of the gathered children, the boy and the girl discussing the purpose of a lollipop, nor was she the one sporting brown ringlets, but that's okay, as it seemed her presence had been acknowledged.

The cloaked boy turned around after realizing he was drawing a little crowd. She loved watching the two young ones, but felt a little guilt over disturbing them, even if accidentally.

Quote:** Wrote:

"Hey!"

"Oh?"

She was taken by slight surprise and blinked once or twice, turning her eyes downward to get a glimpse of the young boy with a row of rather sharp teeth. He was certainly interesting, and seemed playfully mischievous as opposed to threatening so the woman offered him a grin in return.

Quote:** Wrote:

"Hey! Your bof doin' it wong!"

"Ahh-" And again she was left confused by the strange accusations of a child.

-Woosh-

And there he went, scattering off in very sudden moment, disappearing behind the formerly cracked door of the shop.

"I see." Children would be children as she had once been told, a comment in regards to Rasilyn once before, and it applied even here. The woman was left scratching her head, amused, but puzzled.

Or she was until at least - the door opened again after a few good moments of silence.

Quote:** Wrote:

"Welcome to the Majikan Lucilan Darks Shop of Magic and...and..."

"....Stuff!"

"...What ken I do for you?"

How cute!

The woman was pleasantly surprised by the door opening again so very suddenly, the young boy draped in the cloak that was clearly several sizes too large - for dramatic effect of course - and proposed a formal (formal enough) greeting to all those who still waited outside the shop.

Despite his stumbling halfway through the speech and silly, child-like mispronunciation of words - it was an excellent performance. SO - as any good guest and patron would, she smiled, and gave a little clap, small and light just to get the point across.

Well, even though she had been invited to step in first, they had not yet been invited inside by the young master of the premises. Child or not, it wasn't polite to just walk in uninvited. The older of the two females spoke up again.

She took on the usual, friendly tone as she usually did hen dealing with children, but he seemed the type that would prefer to be taken somewhat seriously, after all he had just given them a very nice welcoming performance. His work wouldn't go unappreciated.

"What a very gracious welcome that was." She paused too look over his head, and catch a glimpse of the inside before focusing again on the boy. This time, she knelt down, making some attempt to bring herself a little more down to his level, though she wasn't terribly tall. "Well, I was hoping to come in and look around, and maybe see if you have some good stuff so I might be able to make myself some new charms."

For emphasis and example, she gave her staff a light shake, making the trinkets and spelled charms that decorated the top of it jingle just a little as they clinked together.

Dark and mysterious, you know, like hide and go seek except you hide who you are.

Big Brother's words resounded in D's very busy head. This was, easily, the very most people he had ever had addressing and or interacting with him at one time. Granted, one individual had not yet technically interacted with him, but if she was going to come in she certainly would be.

D, was intent on being mysterious as possible. In the few seconds after his introduction he even went so far as to whip his huge cloak around properly so that it fell over his shoulders and hid view of most of his body...and the ground surrounding that. Normally at the very least the bottom half of his face would be visible, but due to sizing issues, the hood fell over his whole face like a sort of clumsy accidental mask.

"What a very gracious welcome that was."

D bowed his head and amount, the exact amount being impossible to determine from beneath a waterfall of black fabric. But one could certainly here his seven (though attempting 20) year old voice say.

Thank you.

At which point he raised his head and smirked at Ember...completely unawares his face was yet still obscured by cloth. Dark and mysterious, oh yes, he had this down to an art form.

Directly behind the small boy was the shop proper, glass counters could be seen filled with countless trinkets. Items, weapons, armor, hung on walls, and from racks. Leaning against the counter opposite the door was a young man in white formal attire with gray hair. The shop smelled distinctly of newness, and tea, and coffee and something pastry-like.

"Well, I was hoping to come in and look around, and maybe see if you have some good stuff so I might be able to make myself some new charms."

I haf Charms!

D was on this. Fabric was moving as his arms searched around beneath his cloak and through his clothes. And then with a flourish his pale hands burst from the seam in the huge garment and presented the woman before him with a ball on a stick. It was a small ball the circumference of a quarter, and the stick was made of paper.

S'got gum inside and no holes, s'magic!

It was candy, a round lolipop in a white rapper which said in large letters...BlowPop. And was produced by a company with a familiar name.

For emphasis and example, she gave her staff a light shake, making the trinkets and spelled charms that decorated the top of it jingle just a little as they clinked together. D moved to touch his Blowpop to the staff so that magic could work....

...And a man stepped into view behind him with nary a single sound to announce him. He had a way of just appearing. It was simply who he was. The man was far older than the boy beneath him, sporting a monocle in one eye, silver-white hair tied backwards in a small ponytail and appeared to be roughly in his late fourties. He wore a black apron, over a black vest, and white dress shirt, which matched his black dress pants, and shined black shoes. A white gloved hand slipped from behind his back and landed flat on D's head, pulling back the long hood. And then the man spoke.

Very good Master D.

He said, he said in a smooth proper voice just a few octaves above a whisper.

The Master would be proud. Why dont you go along and show the young miss there your Charm.

D looked up at the man expectantly, and even tried to move his blowpop closer to the older woman's staff. But Walter simply shook his head and looked over at Ember and smiled softly. And D was off, in a bound he leaped between and past both older women and in front of Ember brandishing his lolipop like a magic wand.

Hey! You wanna see something cool?!

He had behaved well, but like all children D just wanted to play. And what was play if not the work of children? The adults (or teenager and adult) however had other business to attend to, business that the stately butler knew that no six year old would be able to attend to. Walter turned his warm smile to both ladies and said.

Thank you for your patience ladies, if you would please step inside I would be happy to assist you in any way possible.

He took a formal bow, and motioned for both women to enter. After they did Walter would silently shut the door behind them and say.

The Magician and the Master are currently both away on business, but feel free to browse. I can help with any questions or commissions you may have.

Ember did not say a word.

She only continued to stand quietly and peering between the much taller people. And the small hooded individual was grinning rather wickedly at her which only made her giggle as he continue to tend to the other guests. With all the adults around, it was nice to know that there was someone close to her age even though he was rather silly.

At that moment he pulled what appeared to be a rather special charm and waved it to the guests. Ember quickly began to clap quietly from behind. She was very much impressed by this mysterious item. It looked very much like the other treats he had been showing her, but this one was much different. He clapping was quickly interrupted as a tall man seemed to immerge from behind and pulled on the hood.

Maximos Wrote:

Very good Master D.

He said, he said in a smooth proper voice just a few octaves above a whisper.

The Master would be proud. Why dont you go along and show the young miss there your Charm.

And then the older man presented her a smile which only caused her to hide within the crowd more so. As Ember moved a small trail of smoke seemed to form lightly around everyone’s feet. However, it was only enough to assume that someone dropped a cigarette into the sewer grate or something. Now being out of sight of most of the adults, she relaxed her grip on Shadow slightly. She was not used to so many people, especially when she was the shortest one out of all of them. Even when she normally did the shopping, it was never THIS busy in the shops. It must have been a relatively new shop to be THIS busy.

Maximos Wrote:

Hey! You wanna see something cool?!

However, D was presented with the back of Ember’s long grey hair that was being held by a medium sized black ribbon. Ember giggled as she heard the voice. He was a very silly boy, and she quickly turned on the heel on her own dress shoe and looked at him with a Cheshire-like smile. Nodding her head quickly she began to look intently towards the black shrouded boy in search of what he intended to show her.

Her attention was fixed on him.

And nothing else.

.A Day In The Life Of A Magician.

Latent 9:42am.

Today was a day like any other day, in a life full of days unlike any other. Maximos sat at the counter with his arms folded across in front of him pretending to read, or rather pretending that it was possible for him to focus on reading, as two customers made their second lap around his glass showcase. A man, and a woman. The woman seemed genuinely curious, and yet the man seemed content to poke fun at everything he saw. He had heard them jeer at the names and descriptions written under each item. He heard the word "joke", he heard the words "rip off", and yet it did not seem to lessen his smile. He turned a page in his book for show, and then having not read the initial page simply turned it back. About halfway through the motion he was interrupted.

"Hey, guy, whats this?" Maximos knew he wasnt wearing a name tag, and yet he was rather sure his name was not guy. And yet still, he looked up to find the young man gesturing to a large unlabeled red gem inside the glass case.

"This, is a truth gem", Maximos said as he stood up, walked over, and removed the tear drop sized jewel and held it up. "Tell a lie while holding it and it will glow and make a low indication sound."

"No way! Thats just stupid." Said the man, Maximos simply grinned.

"I'm wearing all white." He responded, while smacking dust free from his black dress pants and adjusting the collar of his black dress shirt. Wong! Went the gem, and it ignited like a hand held stoplight. The man scoffed and chuckled as mockingly as he seemed able.

"Its some kind of trick." At which point he gestured behind the black clad shop-keeper to a large two handed great hammer resting on a weapon rack attached to the wall. It looked like something a giant might wield. "Whats this?"

"This, is Moljinir." Said Maximos with a tinge of pride, turning to gesture at the enormous weapon, running a hand along its shaft and letting white sparks dance along his finger tips. "Its been crafted from the bones of Thor's very arm, and a broken pillar from a temple to Odin. It wielder will be granted limited access to certain lightning based elemental abilities and an audience with the gods of Valhalla."

"That..."The man blinked, then blinked again, and then exploded in what had to be the rudest chorus of laughter Maximos had ever heard. "That's absolutely ridiculous! I know this world is crazy, but those sorts of things dont actually exist."

The laughter died awkwardly leaving the man rubbing the back of his head and looking at his date as if trying to prove via laughter that he was too cool to be in a room with Thor's arm. And in spite of this yet the man in black's grin only widened as he held up the ruby red and completely inert truth gem. No glow. No sound. Maximos leaned forward and offered the red gem to the man. "Here, try for yourself."

The man eyed the gem as if it had suddenly grown fangs, his date smirked to herself. Feeling his masculinity challenged he eagerly grabbed it and rolled it between his hands. It did not bite. "You know, you have some pretty bobbles Mr. Maximos, but I'm afraid I dont believe in all this hocus po"---Wong!

The gem turned red, the man's face turned a shade to match. Maximos smirked. The woman slid a few gold coins across the counter and said, "We'll take two."

--

Strata 4:45pm.

"Do you want another popsicle?" The man said, discarding an vacant wooden stick and reaching into the cooler beside him.

"No sir, I still got alot. 'Sides, my auntie will get mad if she knew I ate before dinner." The boy took another eager bite out of the frozen cherry cylinder and winced. His tiny hands looked like they belonged on a battle weary soldier what with the streams of red pouring between each stubby finger.

"Auntie?" The man asked curiously, cocking his head slightly to the side. "Didnt you say your parents were from Durem?"

"Yes." The boy said with a grin taking another excited bite, trying his very best to eat the entire icy treat before it vanished in the desert heat. His bite unbalanced the cherry ice making it slid all the way down the stick and to his fingers. The boy did not react, the smile on his face vanished as the full weight of what he had just been asked hit him. The man frowned. "They died in the war...I live with Auntie Ishta and Uncle Bouti now."

The small olive skinned child didnt even seem to notice when the lump of red ice slipped off the stick and into the sand, but the moment he did his frown stretched even farther. He took a breath, and then another quicker breath and tried his best to blink away something from his eyes. Before he could finish another fresh popsicle found its way into his hands. And the man beside him, the one with the wierd eyes, was smiling at him as bright as the sun. "And here, you get free popsicles."

"But Auntie--"

"Well then you had better not tell her, huh? It'll be our secret."

"Our...secret?"

"Sayshin says your a crazy witch and you make these icy snacks out of souls." The man's eyes snapped open wide, his smile twisted his blue lips.

"Mmmm, blueberry soul..."

The boy blinked not sure whether to laugh or run, and then feeling the first cold drops of purple run down the back of his hand decided to bite into the popsicle and let the purple smear across his face along with red. After a few more frozen head aches and bouts of wincing he spoke up.

"Mr. Mahiackmos..."

"Maximos, just Maximos." Said the man with a blue grin.

"What about your family? Why are you always out here alone?" And the grin vanished. Family? Why was it that one simple word could bring so much happiness to some and take so much happiness from others. What was family really? Or rather what was it that a child could understand? Was it blood? Maximos had no blood relatives remaining. Was it love?

"I'm not! My mother and father have passed away, obviously. Walter is busy cleaning the manor." Max started from the outside and worked in, he respected Walter above anything else, that was not truly family. The boy listened intently.

"D...is off playing somewhere I'm sure." D was a part of himself, not family. Maximos' eyes scanned the sand, as if hoping a stray breeze might reveal the answer hidden beneath.

"Sun is...well he's Sun. You'll understand when your older." Max was older, and he wished he understood right now.

"Lucind, is on a business trip across the sea." He loved her. Or rather he was in love with her. Was that family? He imagined not. They didnt have as much time for each other as they used to, but it...was he really always out here alone. "[color=olive]What about the pretty elf lady?"

"Teira..." There was a weight in Maximos' heart, the weight pulled the edges of his smile down into something else entirely. The sentence sputtered and failed and with a fresh breath he tried it again. "Teira is..."

But it wasnt just Teira. It was everyone. Maximos surrounded himself with people, he seemed to be more popular than he ever imagined being and yet why was it that when he turned around it looked like no one was there? Why was it that a man that believed himself to be mostly unknown seemed to be known or recognized wherever he went as something so different than what he was? Maybe he had scared them away? They had found better friends and family? More entertainment elsewhere? No...For a moment he wondered if maybe he had alienated them all. Maybe the world had not turned its back on him, but him on the world. And that he found to be a scarier prospect. And then, it dawned on him that the truth was a far more unsettling and far harder to swallow. He was blue, the ground was blue, everything was turning blue. Perhaps that was why, with his head hung low, instead of swallowing them, the words simply fell out. "I...dont know."

Wait...the ground was blue? Oh. At which point an icy cold frozen snack poked him square in the nose. "Dont be said Mr. Maksheemos, here have the rest of mine!"

"I..." He didnt know. He might never know. But it didnt matter so long as they, as someone, was smiling. Thats all he would ever ask for. And in turn, he couldnt help but smile, one of his large hands surrounded the boys smaller hand and delicately pushed it back. "No thank you, souls are a very important part of a young boys diet, eat up."

--

Durem 7:55pm..

"Freeze! I want your things not your life, but if you make a move I'll cap you one!" The gun was shaking so fast it was practically vibrating. The man behind the counter very casually shrugged and lift his hands into the air.

"Take whatever you like." He said, as if his shop had just become a charity donation. With a wicked grin the robber turned the nearest glass case and punched it. His fist resounded off the glass with a crack, and yet the crack had not come from the case. "OW! GOD DAMNIT OW!" He shouted, and then drew his gun and fired.

There was a loud Bang! followed by a dull Bong, and the bullet ricocheted off into a wall, the glass stood completely unharmed albeit vibrating from the force of impact. "What the hell is that thing made of?!"

"This case has been treated with Ancalagon's Tear, making it as hard as finest steel."

"Acara-what?"

"This." Maximos produced a tear shaped gem from behind the counter, despite being glass it looked priceless. The robber looked ready to leap for the Tear and bolt, but seemed disarmed when Maximos offered a sheet of glass with an obvious crack in it and simply said. "Here, try it. Simply touch it to the glass and it will become nigh unbreakable."

Hesitantly and then quickly the thief snatched up the glass teardrop and slid it over to the glass.

"Wait wait wait!" The man leaped back and quickly aimed his gun at the shop keep. "You cant do it like that, you have to strike a proper pose first! Like this..." Maximos proceeded to demonstrate a proper pose, the man matched it.

"Alright, now do it." And he did.

When Maximos left the shop that evening a large glass statue of a man stood in the window with a label hung from its neck with string that read - Ancalagon's Fool - 2000 gold

Quote:** Wrote:

Ancalagon's Tear - The final reward for Maximos and Ryugi Kazamaru's quest across Angara in search of the great glass dragon Ancalagon. This simple looking crystal is called Ancalagon's Tear. This crystals is imbued with magical properties. Simply touch the tear to any glass surface to transform its properties. The glass will no longer be fragile, but as strong as the finest steel. Only Maximos or Ryugi are able to use this power. If anyone unworthy attempts to use their magic, the crystal will turn red and release back upon the individual, turning them into solid glass.

--

Durem 9:32pm.

She had evaded him for over an hour. In all of his life the Shadow had never hunted someone so absolutely slippery. Where he thought he had trapped her in the club, she escaped out the back. When he was convinced he had led her into a dark alley, she slipped into an even darker alley. If he didnt know better he might even have assumed she was leading him, but he did know better. And even if she did not, she would learn.

Now, at long last, she was trapped. She had zig-zagged her way straight into a dead end and she knew it. Desperation was clear on her ragged features. Her dark hair was matted to her forehead like rat tails and her breathing was ragged and uneven, she clawed at the wall as if she could scratch it down. It held.

Maximos descended like the night. Lengths and ropes of shadow stretched from the corners of the alleyway forming step after step of an invisible staircase that lead him from the rooftops, straight to his cornered prey.

"You've done very well Madam, but this chase is at an end." She spun around, pressing her back flat against the bricks, her bulging eyes found his and then darted around the dead end looking for some sort of escape only to time and time again find his.

Maximos' first footfalls onto the concrete were absolutely silent. Where shadows did not fall the moonlight reflected in brilliant silver casting only the slightest details on what was about to be a grizzly scene. Where shadows did fall spindly arms reached out, and tendrils whirled and slithered ever closer the lady in question. A grin split Maximos' face, reflecting off his teeth like the blade of a knife when...

"RAPE!" She screamed at the very top of her lungs.

"I beg your pardon?"

"RAPE! I've seen this before! I know what those tentacles do, you, you, you freak!" She cried out. Maximos blinked, and then blinked again.

"Excuse me?"

"[color=steelblue]Your going to violate me! Your going to put those squishy dark bits in all sorts of uncomfortable places to get your sick pleasures while I scream and cry and moan!" Maximos had stopped walking. If his blinks were infact footsteps he would have been up to her and probably halfway home. But they were not, they were blinks.

"Actually, I was going to use them to keep you from squirming while I eat a small piece of your soul." Max finally said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

"You...werent going to rape me?" She replied, disbelief framing her words.

"No. Not at all."

"Well the hell why not?!"

--

Durem 11:30pm.

Mrs. Debra Foresteen was putting on her make up today. She sat in front of the fancy mirror today, the one in the room in the back with all the lights surrounding it. Tonight was a special night.

In youth Debra had been an actress, a performer, a dancer, and she had been one of the best. Her exploits covered the walls of this room and this room only. There was everything from fifty year old ticket stubs, to movie posts, to photographs of her beside some of the greatest. Fred. Bobby. Frank. She'd danced with them all, she let her voice ring out with some of the most famous idols to ever appear on the silver screen. But that was a long time ago. Tonight, Debra seemed to be having trouble keeping her dystrophy in check. She used to be able to paint her face in between sets, but now she couldnt seem to make her arm stay still long enough to make her lipstick into two straight lines, as opposed to a line and a wobbly sort of red smear. The powder just didnt make the wrinkles fade anymore, her face reminded her a bit more like a fluffy lump of dough than of the woman in all these pictures. But that was her, she kept telling herself.

Debra's glasses had become thicker over the years, but over the last year particularly her diabetes had caused her to form a cataract and she was mostly blind while still sporting lenses so thick they could pass not only for a bottle cap but likely for a bullet-proof shield. And yet she told herself, no one was perfect, and Jack would love her still. When it looked like her make up was done, Debra turned the swivel chair sideways and tried to straight her shoulders and puff out her chest. Show style. It drove the fellas wild. They would hoot and holler, and generally set the room ablaze. But tonight the only thing blazing was her spine, after it popped three distinct times. The old woman lurched forward onto the table, her fading eyes settled on an ancient ticket stub stuffed into the corner of the mirror. It said Forever and Goodnight, January 16th, 1910.

"Oh..." Debra groaned straightening out her back and slipping the ticket stub from its home to hold it longingly in her hand. "That old biddy promised we would dance a hundred years..."

And then she slipped the stub back into the mirror beside a small card with the picture of a smiling man on it that read. Jack Foresteen R.I.P. - January 17th, 1910 - "Dancing with the angels now." Debra worked herself to a stand and softly ran wrinkled fingers over Jack's picture. "A hundred years is a long time to dance alone..."And yet there was hope in her voice, a sort of quiet expectation. She had been waiting years for this. So very many years.

Tonight was a chilly night, the sort of night that only youngsters venture out in, but Debra braved it all the same. With her arms wrapped tightly across her chest Debra made it all the way to the park down the street before she had to stop. She was still four blocks from the old theatre. She told herself she just needed a moment to rest her old legs. But inside Debra knew the truth. She'd never make it.

She sat up straight, she held her head high, and she told herself there was no giving up. She was Debra Foresteen. THE Debra Foresteen. But the wind dug through her bones, and soon she found herself leaning over in a ball for warmth. People passed but no one seemed to notice her. They're eyes passed over her like she was nothing more than a bum on the bench. Jack would never want her. A young man caught her eyes, but only snickered to his friend about how the slit in her dress revealed the tear in her stocking where it had snagged on the benches jagged wood. Another young lady looked at her, then snickered and told whoever was on the other end of her cell phone that she had just seen an old lady spilling out of a dress. A man politely asked his date if she recognized that the old woman on the bench only had make up on one eye. Jack, would never want a mess in a dress like her. He wasnt coming.

The sobs came before the tears, and even though she tried to hold them back she could only deny the truth so long. She was worthless, and Jack deserved better. "If Jack were still alive..." She whispered to no one, and then checked her watch. 11:59, and she was no where near the theatre. It was all for nothing.

"Mrs. Foresteen?" The voice called, it was soft and kind, and as her ancient eyes turned she saw it belonged to a pale handsome young man. He wore the old fashions, but they were crisp and new, and his face was caught oddly in the street lamp so that it was shrouded in darkness.

"Jack?" She said squinting and hopeful.

"No." The man stepped forward and bowed, his hair combed neatly albeit somewhat spiked, and blue like the midnight sky. In a way that made her blush with nostalgia. But then reality struck.

"I thought Jack was coming..." Her face pulled into a frown that was echoed several times in her wrinkles until it was the epitome of tragedy.

"Jack is waiting for you, Debra."

"He is? Where?"

"At the dance, come along now." The man extended a bone white hand.

"Oh! There will be a dance?" She said with a wry smirk, slipping her elderly hand into his own.

"Yes, yes there will." He answered, lifting her gently to her feet. She felt lighter now, happier.

"Just for tonight? Me and Jack have alot of dancing to make up." He smiled.

"Tonight, and forever. For as long as you like."

"Forever..." She whispered to herself looking down at the ticket stub in her hand. "Forever and Goodnight..."

And Debra Foresteen let the little stub go and it very fancifully danced in the breeze before coming to land in the lap of an intensely old and very still lady that looked very much like her only messier. The old thing wasnt even breathing. She whipped around with pristine grace back to the man who's hand she held, pulling herself closer to his arm, pushing her curves against him teasingly. Show style. Everyone knew she only had eyes for Jack. "Will you be there? I should very much like to dance with you."

He smirked. And off they walked.

Busy busy busy. In a business like this you didnt need alot of customers to be busy. In truth you just need a few people, even one person to want the laws of reality pushed far enough and hard enough to warrant countless hours of preparation and reagent gathering.

When the average person hears of a man making spells they imagine a wizard high on the mountain before a pot, chanting, flipping through books and tossing things into a mix while waving a stick. Ahem, wand.

This idea was fundamentally and functionally flawed. In order to craft a spell one most create an anomaly in the system, a blip in the natural order, these blips do not like to exist and frequently try to undo themselves. Using the proper ingredients, words, and anything that carries the right sort of belief and meaning behind it. This takes alot of preparation but it is a fast paced work. No proper spellcrafter has time to check a book, or search through shelves. These sort of things are memorized. Add this, subtract this, guide this. The pot is bubbling the spell is breaking, add salt. The metal is hot, keep it steady anyway if the mix tilts it will harden. Tilting is not calm, bubbles are not relaxed the spa charm will never work.

One spell moves into another and then into another and eventually minutes and hours pass by in a rush. Countless time is spent without nary a complex thought simply instinct. The spellcrafter continues on instinct, running on automatic.

" Hello?" The voice said. Maximos flipped the pot over as quickly as he could, slipping a sheet of paper silently under it. Hello. His mouth automatically lipped the words but silence...silence was key. You cannot relax without silence, a silent mind and soul and...a click, the mixture went completely still. Max smiled.

"Anyone here?" He heard the voice, he knew the words to reply with before ever letting out familiar it sounded sink in. "Yes, I'll be right there!"

Another set of instincts pulled him from his self induced auto-pilot. Etiquette dictated that a host not smell of spell and be unkempt. Maximos spun on his heels and began drying his hands.

Guests should not be kept waiting. Max made for the door behind the counter dividing the workplace from the show case.

Customers need to know who they are dealing with lest they become enraged at the definite lack of Magician. Max took a deep breath. "I'm sorry but the Magician is not in right now, I'm his apprentice and I..."

Maximos' nose wrinkled. That smell. That voice. That was a Damion. Max smiled. "Oh, hello Mr. Hedley, what can I do for you?"

"It's just Damion, Boss."

"Ah, what a pleasant surprise!"

Instinct and training melted warmly away into pleasant human interaction and the friendliness inherent in Maximos there in. Damion was an employee, yes, but more over he was a friend. Maximos never seemed to mind his long periods of vanishing, and never questioned where he went, how long he was gone, or when he would be going again. Periodically he would offer the elemental a call...but seeing as how the phone forwarded him straight to Voice Mail, Maximos knew rather securely that the device clutched in Damion's hand so desperately was actually quite dead.

"They're called detector gem's." Maximos said and gestured toward the case Damion had been caught red handed looking in. Multicolored and multifaceted gems stared out like priceless insect eyes. "Truth, fortune, love, death...so forth and so on. You hold one up and it pulses when you are near its particular target or when a course of action you have decided on will place you near its target. Truth be told I have no idea if they work. But they look rather nice dont they?"

There was something off about Damion. Something missing, and yet so much gained. Since Maximos last formally saw him the delivery boy was sporting new attire, new markings, and a whole new aura about him. And yet, he seemed emptier than previously. Either Damion had found a lot and simply not found what he was looking for, or in the search he found new depth in himself and was now lacking or unable to find the content to fill that new depth. It was evident in his posture, his tone, one didnt need magic. But, Maximos idly rubbed his right eye. "But you didnt come here for that. What can I do for you?"

"I was actually wondering if there were any deliveries that needed to be made?"

"Deliveries, hmm..." Maximos folded his arms across his chest and tapped his chin his eyes wandering up and to the right as if the answer was written somewhere on the ceiling. Its not that their werent deliveries, its that their were so many deliveries that he needed a moment of deliberation to decide which would be best, and perhaps which could fit Damion's current need.

" I'd like to stretch my legs abit after Heaven or Hell."

"Aha! Yes, yes there is." And then it came to him, his index finger raised in the universal sign for one moment please. Maximos vanished into the back. Sitting atop his work table was the very spell he was working on when Damion entered, it was housed in a earthen red jar and smelled...well it smelled like whatever scent would make the person smelling it feel most comfortable, and relaxed. Silence had already been added, but by leaving it alone on the table Maximos had added the final ingredient, stillness. He flipped the jar, affixed a lid, stuffed it in a box, filled the box with those tiny plushy peanuts one puts in packages and which could keep the Shadow entertained for hours....and then grabbed a small green sheet of paper and stepped back outside after slipping it in his vest's breast pocket.

Damion would see Maximos emerge with a black gift box with royal plum stripes. Maximos would promptly slid the box atop the counter, to his delivery boy. Just touching the box would make one feel rather intensely at ease. It felt like a mid day nap. None of the tiredness and all of the relaxation. "This goes to the Latent Botanical Day Spa, its on the other side of town. They've been having trouble keeping their customers relaxed what with the new train route moving in nearby. Along with some sound proofing this should help."

Mr. Hedley had never really been one to agonize over the details of a package. But Max loved to explain none the less. He was, very simply, a man who loved his job. And out of the hearts abundance, the mouth speaks. "And this..."

After offering Damion the box, Maximos slipped a hand into the afore mentioned breast pocket and pulled out the green sheet of paper. "...is for you. Enjoy it. Consider that an order from your Boss."

The green sheet bore the spa logo and a stylized picture of someone laying back at the beach relaxing. And then below it offered the wielder one free day at the spa proper. Mud bathing, massage, and whatever else spa's do. The Magician waited for Damion to respond. Maximos was smirking, but his orders still very adamantly stood.

Maximos was warm and familiar with everyone he met! Why, he was even as friendly as could be with the police officers that kindly asked him to stop doing strange things like swinging his sword in public, or walking the streets covered in blood while lacking injuries. Thats just the kind of man he was.

And right now the sort of man he was, was precisely what he saw on Damion's face. Maximos used to be the kind of man who walked around Gaia with barely a clue. The odds and ends of the modern world were written in another language he did not, and did not care to speak. Max practically lived under a rock, although as rocks go Damion certainly had him beat. Yet still, the blank acceptance and yet vacant expression on the earth elemental's face brought a smirk to Maximos' own.

" Day spa? What's that?"

"Well isnt it obvious? Its --"

Damion rotated the box over once, or rather he started too before Maximos' hands reached out over the table. One pale and one bandaged, and grabbed the sides of the box, the Shadow looked like the man who caught the priceless falling vase with Grandma's ashes in it.

"--Keep it upright. There's liquid inside and it might spill. If something like this found its way into the water system Latent would be one huge nap for weeks. I dare say this place is boring enough already." Max withdrew his hands, letting Damion continue.

" Um....o-ok....what does one do at a spa Maximos?" The Shadow smirked.

"One spas, of course. Havent you ever spa'd before?" The Shadow was absolutely convincing. Of course Damion hadnt, that wasnt even really a word. But Damion didnt need to know that. Max chuckled at the idea of momentarily being on the other side of the didnt-know-any-better tables. But then he reached a hand out warmly over the counter and patted Damion's shoulder. "Just ask the ladies there and they'll show you. I promise. I should have another project ready for you when your done."

"Um....not that I'm aware of? Does one conciously spa?"

This had officially become too rich. It took every bit of Maximos' unfamed and yet still rather substantial willpower to keep the Shadow from cracking a hint of a smile, or breathing what might have been the start of a laugh. Instead, Maximos' lips tightened into a straight line. His eyes slanted, his brow wrinkled and the Shadow shook his head side to side very silently stating a very poignant disapproval with the question. Spaing. Serious business.

And then just as quickly as the dark expression came, it vanished and Maximos continued as previously planned. And Damion's eyes reflected that now only too trademark questioning nature the earth elemental seemed to carry through all of his dealings with this strange and modern world. Max could only imagine what he was wondering, and that alone was amusing in only the best way. Ahh, nostalgia.

" Wait...." Max's head tilted to one side quizzically. "Which end of the town do I go to?" This seemed important, it made Damion stop at the door, looking back at Maximos. The Magician nodded once, grinned, and then raised a hand and opened his mouth to speak but before the words came out... " You know what? It'll be more fun to look for it, see ya in abit Maximos."

Max closed his mouth and nodded, but before Damion stepped fully through the doorway he called out. "Damion! One moment please! Do you..."

There was something on Maximos face, on his eyes, on his mind. It showed in how he was taking a breath to pose a next question, how his face looked so much like that of someone about to ask a question and then...it was gone. Max shook his head and said. "Go ahead, enjoy yourself, I shall ask you upon your return."

And then made a little waving motion toward the door. "Go."

Max knew what he did. Maximos knew exactly what he did.

Damion's staccato words, his steps, even the late but genuinely attempted smile showed success. Hook. Line. And sinker. Max was not an egotistical man. He was not controlling or "bossy". He kept Damion on his payroll even when he barely saw the man, and while he performed most deliveries himself with the the elemental did...whatever he did, in a swamp.

Max did not venture to the swamp. Swamps gave him uncomfortable memories. Regardless, the point was that he did not like the idea of manipulating friends or anyone for that matter unless they themselves were guilty of the crime. But this was a special case.

Damion advanced, and Maximos' waving hand dropped. He let the elemental continue. He let him approach and his face showed nothing save for a bright smile and then, politely, once Damion was done Maximos replied.

"No." And shook his head softly from side to side. "It can wait. Business before..."

He paused, his eyes rolled up and around. The second issue was not something he would call pleasure persay. It was more...."...other business. It can wait."

Maximos took a step back from the counter and toward the workshop door. "That package is more pressing. Go ahead, enjoy yourself. My question will still be here when or should, you return." And then he stabbed an almost accusational but clearly jesting finger forward. Max's other hand reached behind him to the knob of the workshop door. "And dont you slack on your spaing."

"Enjoy yourself." Were his parting words. And the Shadow vanished behind the door. Damion was an employee, he could see himself out. And with any luck he would be back. Business was business that was true, and it should not be mixed with personal affairs. Nor should it take precedence over them. He could wait. And if Damion's curiosity was high enough, high as he hoped than the elemental would be back. And they would have all the time in the world to talk. It was a bit mean, stringing him along like that but...

...he had to have some way of making sure his delivery boy did not vanish into the mucky waters of Gaia and miss out on delivering his most important package yet!

The look on Damion's face could only be described as crestfallen, the smile fading into a sad downturn, eyes almost darkening in the slow falling of good humors. He really wanted to know, a whine beginning to build in his throat before he cut it short. No sense being a child about it in the end, Maximos had said he'd tell him later, after this spa business.

" Fine...but I expect to find out..."

He made sure to keep his voice low as he turned back to the door, growling softly with frustration. He may have accepted he'd not be told now, but that didn't mean he had to be a perfect adult about it. The door was once again swung open, his feet carrying him out into the bright daylight to brood. Better to get this job overwith fast then.

" Wait..."

It dawned on the elemental as the door swung closed behind him, the clicking sound of the door sliding into place reminding him that hadn't asked where the Spa itself was. This was less frustrating, but still a pressing concern. Transfering the jar to his other hand, he shaded his eyes from the sun, starting his walk. Other side of the Town, shouldn't be too hard. Latent wasn't a huge place.

Even as he walked though, Damion found himself thinking on Maximos's mysterious mission, and the equally mysterious Spa business. So many mysterys in one day, he was beginning to feel abit like Sherlock Holmes.

He had done that before. Several times. In fact, he was one of the very few persons that was able to do so at all. Vanish from her radar. Hide his presence, his souls' signature completely, and, on top of it all, any sound his body or clothes could make. Therefore, when he popped up with that "Ahem" on his lips, the Siren's head shot around, her face carrying all the anger and frustration the accident was giving her, accompanied by the alarm caused by Maximos' sudden appearance.

"No no, please. Dont stop on my account."

She stared at him. And stared. Strands of her hair peeked in all directions. The chicken eye marbles went on doing their business, warring against each other, while from somewhere, Piri's unhappy cries could still be heard. The irritation on Lu's face grew, the vein at her temple really seemed to swell and throb dangerously. She lowered her head, closing her eyes and clenching the fist that was holding the bunch of charms, until she slammed her other hand on the ground and hissed:

"Griegu!!!"

Actually, it sounded more like "Grrriehhhgu", the "r" viciously rolling in her throat, and this single word swept over the floor, even crawled up the showcases a little, causing some of the items in there, including the glass itself to vibrate. But aside from this - everything went silent. Frozen in the moment, the chicken charms lazily rocked back and forth, if they were moving at all, their lids extremely heavy all of a sudden.

She sighed. Like a mad huntress, she was squatted on all four.

"Congratulations. Your surprise order has arrived", she said dryly and looked back up at hm. "Hey. Don't you laugh!" Lucind wanted it to sound as if she meant it, but she felt a grin crawling up her chest, and turned her head around as if to estimate the situation behind her. But there was no way helping it: She began to chuckle, then to giggle, knowing how absurd and comical all this must look.

Still grinning in a defeated manner, Lu carefully crawled to the the right side of the counter, where she fiddled with something, before her tousled head appeared above the edge, together with a hand that had its fingers wrapped around a certain frog-lemure, which looked completely dizzy and done fore.

With all seriousness she could bring up, she said:

"Piri. Maximos.

Maximos. Piri"

And added: "Var give Tagis won't ask me to babysit her again." But you didn't have to have Siren ears to realize she wasn't really that unnerved by the tiny pet. Lucind placed Piri on the counter, and walked around, to see how many charms had happened to roll behind it.

"I'm sorry for the mess, but..." She grinned at the Shadow apologetically. "I really need your help. They won't stay like this for long, thanks to the glass covering them."

Once the two of the had captured and tamed all one hundred pairs of chicken eye charms, Lucind would once more show a grin: "May they serve you well..." Even Piri had almost turned back to normal, and was now crawling over the counter, each move still unsure and done with wobbly limbs. She was trying to focus on Max, but failed horribly at doing so, her huge eyes blinking at him, while she moved her head back and forth.

"Actually", there was a slight change of tone in her voice, "I also came to place an order. Or rather, I first wanted to hear your opinion on my idea, if it is possible at all to realize." And without further ado, the Siren came forth with: "I thought about an adjustment to Isebell's munition - by placing my voice inside. If this can be done, it would...well, I probably don't have to explain to you what would happen if somebody or something was hit."

Lucind's voice, coming from her mouth and affecting persons or creatures from the outside, was enough to destroy the eardrum, depending on force and proximity. But placing her voice into a cartridge, which would then pierce into flesh or any other material not too withstanding, and bursting with an eruption of her voice... That could cause quite a mess.

"Even more so, it would be great if I could eventually charge that new munition on my own. - Think you can do that?"

It was remarked once by someone who knew of Damion only in passing that he showed up at the most opportune times, and by another similar individual that he was the bearer of bad news. Both of these were correct and wrong at the same time, in as far as Damion didn't believe them at all. He merely arrived at the moments of greatest excitement or when the s**t hit the fan. He generally took these things in stride, passing off most events as being the simple nature of the Gaian mainland.

There were things, however, still capable of shocking him to silence in an instant with the sheer absurdity or curious aspects of the item in question. So it was now surprise, to him at least, that upon his return to this particular shop, that he would once again be struck dumb by the sights before him. It was not the scene itself, Maximos painting seemed suitably magical in nature to fulfill his 'most magical man on gaia' nature, but the two new parts to this. Namely, Lucind and Piri.

It was several long moments of standing in the doorway to the shop, the noise of entry long dead, before he could remember that staring was perhaps rude. But manners hadn't been part of his childhood curriculum and it was still nearly impossible to tear his eyes from Lucind. He had never seen such large ears on person before, or quite so distinctly shaped. He wondered as to their function, beyond hearing of course.

" Hey Maximos."

The words left his lips unconsciously, an instinct reaction to the presence of his friend, but spoken like a man distracted. His anti-freeze green eyes began to flicker from Songstress to Sugar-frog. If a mental overload was possible for him, it was failing miserably at the moment, neurons sparking as his mind shot through the possible evolutionary paths of the smaller amphibian creature, it's possible food choices, predators, environment. And with that he wondered if he could touch it, what the seemingly rubbery skin may feel like, what kind of fur it had on its' ears, did it have extrasensory organs.

So wrapped up in his mental war, Damion forgot to move from the doorway, the wind shutting the door behind him luckily enough. He did still look rather silly, standing there with his mouth slightly open and a stupid expression on his face. At Least his clothes were appropriate, a green sleeveless tunic with matching tan pants. A belt held his knives in place, but he was still very much a counterpoint to the always well dressed Maximos and even to Lucinds stylish(relatively speaking) manner of dress.

It seemed that some part of his mind won out in the end, his eyes flickering away finally and a smile quirking the corners of his lips and forcing the 4 scar welts on his left cheek to wrinkle up oddly. It seemed like a very angry cat had gotten the better of the Hydra.

" And Hello Miss."

He didn't have to know her name, infact wasn't sure if she was someone special or a customer, which in turn would make her someone special Damion guessed. The elemental made a note to learn her name before leaving.

" And hello Lunch...I mean...uh...hello tiny creature."

Social Faux Paux weren't unknown to Damion, and at times his mouth got ahead of him. He didn't intend to eat the creature, but gods help him his stomach got ahead of his brain at times.

"If even the moment's mood, the tune of the soul can be captured that simply..."

First and foremost in good customer care is knowing when a product displeases the customer. First and foremost in being a gentleman is knowing when a lady is upset, so that you may make it better. And really, first and foremost in any of Maximos' dealings with Lucind was her happiness. And so when all three senses rose the hairs in the back of neck via the very tone of her voice he knew immediately that Lucind's apprehension stemmed from something far deeper than just doubt.

Her voice was her most precious skill. Spoken words, beautiful songs, powerful tones and pitches. All of this was a testament not only to her personal skill but to her race, and her training. And as singing was an art, like any art it is unique to every single artist. Lucind's song was hers and hers alone and to believe it could be copied and sold as easily as a cookie was likely near insulting.

Maximos knew this. Maximos understood this, and yet he still smiled.

"Maybe I'm too conservative." She said, and without missing a beat the Shadow rolled right in to finish her sentence for her. "Not at all my dear. Not conservative. Perhaps too physical or material, or even too spiritual."

He paused his painting to look past the bullet and meet her eyes with a wide ear to ear grin. "You just need to think conceptually. This..." He lift the brush from the bullet and waved it a bit to signify it as his focus. "...is magic. And while magic is used as a blanket term for most things supernatural, predominately magic is the transference of a “concept” into reality."

And he resumed painting. "By way of magic an ephemeral idea is brought into the plane material. The bullet can never be your song, or have the full meaning and glory of your voice itself. But it can borrow and duplicate the “concept” of your song, the idea of its effects. Mimicry, is what us shadows do best after all."

And to make matters better it appeared Lucind had brought a few bullets of her own! That was good. Her bullets at first glance appeared fundamentally the same as his, and this left all sorts of room for further experimentation once he was finished her and once...

"..."

Or as Maximos phrased it upon seeing the same sight as the Siren.

"..."

...once that bullet was cleaned, sanitized and perhaps even replaced with another bullet entirely. Max was not afraid of any germs, but something about the frog-lemure made him all sorts of weary of the idea of catching whatever it was that made that creature act the way it did. It could not be natural.

As Lucind tended to Piri, the piece of paper, now lying on the counter, caught Maximos attention. It was covered with doodles, the one you create while making phone calls or musing over things. And even though it was crumbled up, Max was able to make out a word, adorned and surrounded by different random patterns none of which seemed recognizable: Moam.

Immediately his indelible smile became a hard frown. The Shadow was thankful for Piri's distraction so that Lucind would not see the facial expression in its brief seconds of life before Maximos' better training replaced his smile. His hand absently moved to his chest just below the collar where a certain key hung. She was involved in all of this too? Maximos stake in these affairs was the people he loved, if they died during the fight what point was there in fighting? But then again...if the Forgotten swallowed this world, what was to stop it from swallowing another? And if Gaia a world full of heroes did not stand a chance, what chance did a helpless and weak world like Aria stand? No. He didnt like it. But he wouldnt hinder Lucind in whatever her involvement with Moam was.

Idly, he checked his pocketwatch. Lucind's soul was as it always had been. Her numbers were accurate, and her aura was still lightly darker than the average person from her involvement with death and things beyond and outside of life. Assured, he snapped the watch closed and slipped it away.

He tuned back in, just in time to hear..."Are you stupid or something?"

And the Shadow did all in his power to resist saying. Yes. And instead watched with an impressed smirk as Lucind swapped her finger out for some fruit. It was a very smooth move, he hadnt even seen the fruit before then. She had clearly been watching him too much.

"Unbelievable." She looked at Max, who looked back at her with a wide grin. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should have Kara and her soon to be husband take care of Piri. Bit of training for the first child."

Maximos laughed a soft laugh and said. "No, not at all, you would miss the poor little thing and you know it." And then the bullet was done and offered to her. With tag line. She opened her mouth, his eyes widened. She drew in a breath and he did all he could not to laugh a villainous laugh. Instead of singing she leaned in and caught him by surprise.

"Tell me, love, did you really work last night?" Busted. Shadow Island had no televisions, but the shop did. Infact, thinking about it he was sure it was on in the workshop right about now. Like a kid caught with his hand in the jar his guilt showed all over his face.

"Or did you get lost on the movie channel again?" She chuckled. Max began to plead his case. "They move about the screen of their own accord as if by magic! The actors never tire and the play never variates in the slightest degree! How can I not be enthralled!"

And then the shop door opened, leaving Maximos beside Lucind with his arms wide as if he was trying to describe how to hug the world and his explanation still half hanging from his lips when the demon possessed earth elemental delivery boy spoke his greeting. Miss? That was odd, Maximos was absolutely sure Damion and Lucind had met before. At least once. "Damion I'm sure you've met Lucind before, havent you?"

Of course, Lucind was in the shop at regular intervals when not on business and Damion had his swamp and...swamp business. Whatever that was. It was not so far fetched that they missed each other, frequently even. Either way, Maximos made a general waving gesture to brush the whole issue away and said, "Regardless, Damion Hedley, this is Lucind Varhetel. Lucind, this is Damion, my deliver boy and more recently swamp owner extraordinare!"

There, introductions were handled. Or re-handled. No harm in knowing someones name twice was there? Now to the business at hand, which....what was he up to again?

Maximos's way to address her concern indeed made her calm down. She knew he knew what he was talking about. In a way, a commission like this would be the point where both of their worlds would meet and fuse.

However, his explanation about why he was so fascinated with movies didn't work for her at all. Oh no, she wanted to say, I already explained you several times how television and recording work, so I won't take this excuse! Now that she focused her hearing on other regions of the building, she could have sworn to hear the device running even now.

When the door opened and Lucind turned around to greet Damion, she was surprised he didn't seem to remember her. Sure, aside from that training fight in the stadium, they had only met once or twice more. And obviously, being told to already know this woman was embarrassing for the man. Therefore Lu decided to let it slide without further ado and ask Maximos later if something was the matter with Damion - or if his memory really didn't work that well when it came to saving details.

"Hello Damion. How is it going?" She offered a handshake and a broad smile, making two steps towards him. "And what does it mean, you're guarding a swamp? Is it located here in this region?" The Siren had heard of and seen humans and creatures that lived somewhere deep in such areas who barely ever, if it all, left their retreat. Plus, she knew of rangers, of course. But where was Damion to be placed?

Not only Lucind was interested to hear more about the man's task.

Piri had finished the dried date - yes, she could really do something else than drooling -, and was now intently staring at Damion. Fortunately, she couldn't understand what he said...and even if she could, it wouldn't have stopped her from doing what she did then. Lucind, however, raised a brow at his comment: "She's not meant to be part of any experiments. I'd get in trouble if---Pi--"

One. Two. Three. A chain of jumps from Lucind to a cabinet to Damion – Piri came to land flat on his chest, after a short flight to bridge the remaining space. As soon as she had arrived, she began crawling upwards, folding the gliding skin between arms and legs.

"Don't you. Dare." Lucind's voice lowered once more. "I'm sorry, Damion. She's harmless, but not that...well, she's a frog-monkey, what do you expect..." She knew what the animal wanted: Piri had sniffed and seen those insects the man carried with him. There were tasty spiders. And those pink thingies. They looked delicious too. In fact, the amphibo-lemure reached out slowly, when words spoken in Seireneia made her freeze in place just like before.

Lucind looked seriously unnerved now. Piri even turned around her tiny head, her bulging eyes saying: "But...but it's food!" Another command or warning came, almost as a snarl, from Lucind's lips. And Piri snarled back. For a second, it looked as though the Siren would either growl or hiss in return, completely forgetting about the two men. Instead she moved on to simply catch the animal. But this time, Piri was faster: The naked flying monkey of a size of a woman's hand jumped upwards, aiming to cling the lower part of Damion's face...

Well that all went about as well as could be expect--oh dear Nocturne were those spiders in Damion's hair?

Oh no. They werent just spiders, they were little tiny white baby spiders. They looked exactly like the sort of spiders that filled Maximos tent that morning so very, very long ago the night after he proved himself before Nocturne. The little white creeping crawling menaces that covered the inside of his small lodgings, himself, and everything he owned in a sheet of undulating white legs and thread. Needless to say, despite the fact that was some thirty years ago it made Maximos shiver and grimace.

It took absolutely every bit of his character not to comment on how everyone had decided to bring little pests into his shop today, or to begin formulating exactly what sort of shadowy predator beast he could conjure to live in the business to prevent exactly this. Instead, he focused his attention on the comment Damion made.

"And I don't own the swamp Maximos, I just guard it." Something about the way Damion said it rang deep. The Shadow had hardly ever heard his delivery boy speak with such motivation before. Damion's usual non-chalance was no where present in that small sentence. And as Maximos was interested in the things that interested his friends, he commented in reply. "But Mr. Hedley, as far as I know you are the only sentient being in that swamp possessing free will. Everything else serves you, or what is inside you. And what is inside you, via the magics binding it, serves you as well. You control it, you wield it. Thusly, you own it. Such is the way of man Mr. Hedley to arrive on and own all that his hands can grasp. Is it not? Who can dare challenge you for claim?”

And yet, that was not what he was working on several seconds ago at all! Between the drooling naked monkeys and creepy crawly spiders Maximos completely lost his train of thought. And though he did not voice it, Damion must have seen the expression on his face because he immediately offered a poignant and wonderful suggestion.

"Maybe dissecting the....whatever that is?" Maximos' eyebrow cocked. "She's not meant to be part of any experiments. I'd get in trouble if---Pi--"

One. Two. Three. A chain of jumps from Lucind to a cabinet, at Damion. A flash of black. Piri came to land flat...in the palm of Maximos' right hand. This was not an affectionate sort of grab. This was Maximos hand gripping the creature just beneath the shoulders with its legs dangling out the bottom of his hand. Lucind had infact stated a protest to Damion's comment. But Maximos seemed not to notice as his head rolled slowly to the side and the corners of his mouth curled and retreated to reveal a glimmer of white. "Yes, I suppose I could..."

His free hand rose up to poke the frog lemure right between its massive eyes. "I would have to start here obviously." With a flick of his wrist the paintbrush in his hand stiffened, it was remarkable how a little shadow crafting to thick black wetted bristles could turn a brush into a scalpel. "...those eyes are too huge to serve any natural purpose, they're clearly masking whatever it is that has replaced most of, if not all of, this creature's brain."

And the scalpel moved closer...and closer. Max got like this sometimes, Lucind knew it. It was a moment where he was so intensely involved in something that he forgot about everything else. He could do this at the most inconvenient of times and be absolutely shut off to the world. Piri was likely going to try and put up a fight but...that was really the wrong hand to be picking fights with. It seemed absolutely hopeless until...

"Or does it involve the bullets?"

"Oh right! The bullets!"

And with that, the Shadow dropped Piri with a unceremonious plop back onto the counter and in the same motion scooped up the inscribed bullet. The ink had hardened now and seemed less painted and more engraved in the metal. "Yes, yes, the bullets. How horrible of me to forget!"

At which point he lifted the projectile to Lucind, oblivious of any wrong he could have committed and said. "Lucind my love, if you would?"

.Day of the Quest.

Light poured in from the small unassuming shop windows and brought the entire store to life. Golden sun reflected off of the glass counters and their contents, the polished and cleaned floors, the brushes and files and jars just beneath the shelves which also sheened and shimmered with products polished and new and too large for the counter itself.

A man paced the sales floor between the U shaped curve of the showcase with a clip board in his hands and the rear tip of a pen tapping against his pale lips.

"Packs?" He said, and an older man in a white dress shirt, black vest sporting white hair slicked back and tied into a small pony tail made a wide gesture at a pile of empty backpacks gathered near the shop door. With an aged and yet gentle voice the other man replied. "Check."

And he drew a little check and began moving down the list.

"Tickets?"

"Check."

"First Aid?"

"Check."

"Extra bandages?"

"Check."

"Towels?"

"Check."

"Handi-wipes?"

"Check."

"Rope?"

"Check."

"Beans?"

The older man cocked and eye, light reflecting off his monocle and turning into something of a milky gold disk. "...Beans sir?"

"Yes, its right here below pens, look." And Maximos helpfully turned the checklist toward Walter his stately butler. Sure enough beans, was denoted below pens and duct tape, which was above black swirly can-spray, and paper clips. "...Paper clips sir?"

"Indeed! What if we are given important documents and need a place or method to store them without losing what vital information their contents hold." Walter looked patiently at the list and then back and Maximos, but stood silent.

"It could be terrible." Walter again looked at the checklist again, and laid his long white gloved finger beside the tab on the list which read, petroleum jelly.

"I...I dont know, it sounds very useful and mysterious in nature." Walter smiled and gently slipped the clipboard from Maximos' hand and set it on the counter. "I think we're prepared sir."

"But - " Maximos immediately found a cup of tea slipped into his hands. "Thank you Walter."

"Are you nervous sir?" The Butler said in the calmest of tones.

"Not nervous persay, I just...havent done this sort of thing in quite some time and have no desire to be the reason several people die." Maximos sipped the dark liquid, steam curling up around his face. "Then again, I suppose they're all already dying. Who's to fault me for making them a bit early? There is no real fun in risking your life, if you cant actually die."

Maximos laughed a hearty macabre laugh and then stepped behind the counter and into a small stool beside the cash register, setting the tea on the glass. He made a waving gesture to the door. "Alright Walter, I'm ready, lets open up."

And the butler did exactly that, and then slipped into the back of the shop to prepare for today's customers. Maximos eyed his knee high coat, now customized with a fluffy white furred hood and mouth flap, and which was joined on the rack by a long black scarf. He looked to the clock. 11:32am.

Almost time. Now, the wait.

The door of the shop opened shortly after Walter Worthington retired to the back room and the first of Maximos' 'guests' arrived... how this was possible considering the fact that the door was kept locked at all times and the magical nature of the shop itself was entirely up to the imagination but the fact remained that it had been done.

So without a moment's hesitation about what wards might have been triggered by doing so, a young lady rushed through the door as if it were the gates of an amusement park and ran (nearly stumbling) into the center of the room with her arms spread wide... but her expectations were not met. Her hands lowered slightly and her face soured from a blissful smile to something of a pout as the young woman's head turned this way and that searching for something in the shop that she could not find; and then she saw it, and that look of radiance upon her was refreshed anew as the woman rushed around the end of the shop's counter and practically leaped onto the back of Maximos Lucilien Dark with her arms wrapping around his neck and her body hanging off of the tall man's back like a cape that he wore. The toes of her shoes barely touched the ground like that and the hem of her long dress wavered back and forth as she dangled from the shop's owner.

And she wore an expression upon her face like she had just captured the most rare animal one could ever have imagined.

The other visitor made much less of a ruckus, instead entering as quietly as a ghost and leaving the door slightly ajar behind him as he did; making his way to a stool sitting in one of the back corners of the shop, slipping a pack off from his shoulder to the floor beside it, and having a seat.

"This should be fun," mused the demon as he tilted his head back against the wall and pulled down the brim of his hat to shade his eyes from the sun coming through the store windows, "we haven't been on a field trip in a while."

Mow!

The young woman looked for a moment as if she would jump right out of her skin, wide orange eyes looked down at the cat, wondering if she was about to have her pants ripped to shreds...

Real cats had a very bad habit of being able to see through her magics to her true nature, it was one of the reasons why she liked pretending to be one of them. All cats liked a good joke, and a raven that could pretend to be a cat was a grand joke as far as they were concerned or at least the ones she had met had thought so...

When she noticed the parchment at the forepaws of the little black cat, she assumed that he was as natural in that shape as she was in her present one. "Hello Itoko Neko-san, have you come to join the adventure too?" she was still wary, a little worried she would insult him... cats were touchy beasts at the best of times.

HonoRaven Wrote:

Mow!

"Hello Itoko Neko-san, have you come to join the adventure too?" she was still wary, a little worried she would insult him... cats were touchy beasts at the best of times.

The cat, once realising that he was being talked to turned his head to meet the young woman's gaze and tilted his head to the side and just stared at her, his red eyes shining with an uncertain light. This wasn't a regular stare by any means, it was instead the unique stare that only a feline can give that simply states...

Why are you talking to a cat? Who really talks to cats and expects an answer?

He did answer however, giving her a simple and direct, yet enigmatic reply...

Mow?

Junkaisou Monogatari: Gaiden

The Tale of the Traveling Monk: Side Story

"Ah, what a fine day!"

It had been almost a week since Tenkai had found the flyer for Maximos' quest in Durem. He was quite pleased to see a familiar name requesting the assistance of adventurers. Tenkai himself was not so much adventurous as he was traveling prone. However, traveling could be an adventure in and of itself, and who knew what would lie ahead in the frozen north? Whatever it was...it'd be very, very cold.

Thankfully, Tenkai's panda was coming along.

There the monk sat, astride the giant bear as it plodded down the road towards Maximos' shop, with a supply cargo strapped to the furry beast's back. The rings of his shakujo and beads of his rosary necklace resounded quietly with each step as they drew closer to their destination. In truth, the start of the journey was as mysterious to him as the rest, for he had never set foot inside Maximos' magic shop before. He knew Maximos was a rather mysterious sort of man, so who knew what strange things he collected over the years.

Or how many years he had spent collecting...

Before he could even get to the entrance, he saw a peculiar sight before him. It was Miss Raven and Damion Hedley, two faces he had met before in the past...albeit Raven being the more familiar. He had figured Raven would be accompanying them, but he had no idea Damion was also a friend of Maximos. He didn't know very much about him, other than that he was with Teira and Omikron the day Tenkai met them in the stadium last year.

Much to Tenkai's surprise, there was a cat.

He liked cats.

Oh, how delightful!

"Is Mr. Dark present?" he said, calling out to the people in front of the Durem entrance.

LATENT

12:00.17 PM

---

The day was going quite nicely thus far in Latent. The sun was shining, and hardly a cloud graced the sky above. The hustle and bustle of the marketplace at this time a day was quite common. Housewives had gone out for shopping, and the non-morning folks were just wandering out into the world to catch a pick-me-up at their favorite coffee shop. Sellers flaunted wares, warriors of all kinds talked about the best fights that had happened at the stadium recently, and children played with toys in groups.

But that gentle calm was shattered as a voice sounded out, charging in and growing closer to the magical district.

Damn damn damn daaaaamn!!

A man dressed in a white coat and silvery spiked hair was charging through the merchant section, a rather large pack on his back bouncing along as his black armored boots continued to strike the ground faster and faster. In his hand he gripped a familiar flier, one that someone had posted up all over the city, and in towns far and wide as well it would seem.

Oh why oh why did I have to eat that extra helping?! I mean, it was sooooo good, and Vargus doesn't always make dragonfruit tarts, but dammitall! Ryugi Kazamaru you should know better than to think with your stomach by now...

The man drew strange looks as be bolted through town, people diving out of the way. Children laughing and pointing as he passed at top speed. Ryugi hoped that Tilly didn't write that part down in her log as he continued to make his way towards the shop of his shadowy friend. And as he rounded a corner, there it was!!

But then...

...it happened.

THE DREADED FRUIT CART

As Ryugi rounded the corner, the arch enemy of any high speed chase or arrival to a destination came into view as well. And with the true grace of any hero in a fruity situation, Ryugi crashed head on into the cart, sending him careening through the air even as assorted fruity produce rained down around him. As he landed, a stray few coins, coincidentally enough to pay for the destroyed cart AND produce, fell in front of the shocked cart owner, even as Ryugi's heavy boot landed straight on the one thing all comedies worry about. A banana.

Ryugi's slippery journey ended with a THUD against the door of the Magician Lucillien Dark's Shop, before he fell backwards in a heap, the banana peel landing unceremoniously on the top of his head, and plopping down onto his face.

Ryugi Kazamaru had arrived.

Speeding along a bit behind Ryugi was little Ms. Tilly, scribbling furiously at the air with her quill. Tendrils of light formed shorthand notes before fading away as she walked through them.

'And he decided to eat all that extra food.'

It said, to the extremely trained eye.

She was wearing her usual flowy garb with bits of armor fastened to her hips, forearms, and shoulders. Her opal hair was up in a neat, high pony tail, shimmering golden scarf about her neck. However, instead of her normal little knapsack, she had a larger backpack. It was full of little things she wanted to bring along for the trip, including an extra nice white coat for her to keep warm.

Glancing up, as Ryugi crashed into the cart, the breathless little muse trotted to a halt and shook her head. All that yummy fruit all over the ground. Penning in another few notes, Tilly picked up a few morsels. Two apples, and a peach. The peach at least was for her.

"I hope we aren't late Mr. Kazamaru.."

Putting the food away, Tilly walked over to Ryugi and meekly tried to help him up before opening the door. Averting her eyes as the people inside the establishment were made known, Tilly nodded her head gently.

"Pardon us.. We ran into some trouble."

Calmly tiptoeing up, Tilly tried her best to bat the banana peel off of her companion's head.

Strata:

The sudden celebrity didn't seem to mind being swarmed by children. He smiled kindly at the children. Didn't understand a word they were saying, mind you, but being a parent himself he didn't seem to mind the youngsters treating him like a spectacle. Mainly because he was one.

At least until D showed up.

"'Ello! Are you here to see big brother?"

Stephen continued smiling, though nothing could match that boys toothy grin. "Mornin' D! I figured I'd see you around whe- "

"So is he. Big brother sent from me to go get him from the port. He dresses funny...."

Stephen was struck speechless as someone even MORE out of place than either himself or the youngster. Were he not dumbstruck, he would have remarked on how the three of them were probably going to be all over the town gossip for the next millennium or so.

"I haf nefer been to dees land. I deed nyot knyow de sun could be so ferocious."

"He talks funny too. But 'nough of that big brother is waiting!"

"Hey, he doesn't talk that fu-"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"...Forgot how much of a handful you were, kiddo." Said the man with a laugh, putting hand to his forehead as the youngster proceeded to wail on the shop door. "You know, I don't think your big brother appreciates it when y-"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"You just have to keep doing this or he never comes! Oh! He's Dorul. And I'm--"

Stephen didn't even try at this point. He could have mentioned how he had met the kid before and how his brother probably heard him the first twenty times, but really, convincing a kid his age of this stuff was like pulling teeth. He merely nodded and smiled politely at Dorul and waited for -

"D!"

Well, so much for completing a thought around this crew.

"What did I tell you about-"

"-Hewo big brudda!"

Stephen smirked and covered his face as Max had trouble dealing with the child's behavior. Usually this kind of schmoozing was reserved for the female variety of kids (like, say, Karin) but D was rockin' it with the best of 'em.

"Hello gentlemen!"

Stephen gave a pleasant bow to the gentleman of gentlemen out of respect.

"By Nocturne, Mr. Lasanti?! I havent seen you in ages, what brings you? Please come in, come in?"

Gripped gently, the lad took the hint and came in at his friend's quiet request. He patted the man on the back gently as if to return the welcome, and stepped into the shop.

"Far too long, my friend. It's good to see you again."

And what a step it was. He didn't know quite what to expect, but this overcame every expectation. Stephen would have been surprised to find out that the shop didn't have everything, cause he was pretty sure Max had it covered.

"Nice place you have here," he said, looking about in wonder. "A suitable shop for a guy like you." Yeah. He could get used to this place REAL quick.

"Well then, everyone welcome to the Shop! What can I do for everyone? I assume some of you are here for the Quest?"

Attention commanded by the voice, Stephen looked at Maximos and everyone else in the room. It was... a fair number. He must have posted a lot of fliers to get this many.

Heh. Typical Max. Doesn't half a** anything.

((Response complete. Awaiting post order confirmation.))

The young lady responded to Maximos' joyous welcome with an equally spirited round of rubbing her cheek against the side of the Arian's head affectionately like an animal would do to a scratching post. Her hands grasped at the shoulders of his jacket to hold her up, but at the very least thanks to her body and the nature of the magic contained within she was not that heavy of a weight hanging on his back like that.

"I see our first guests have arrived! The tea is over there, please help yourself."

It was no slight or insult that Maximos merely offered tea but did not serve it, because for the shadow these two were not guests but friends; and it is not necessary for a man to pour a cup of tea for his brother every time they cross paths. Without a word about it the man who had made his way to the back of the shop slipped down off of the stool and headed around the back of the counter to where the tea was set and poured not one, but three cups before placing them on the shop counter.

"What do you take?" he asked, never having bothered to memorize the shadow's preference in tea as well as he had memorized the pale man's fighting style. Though even as he waited to hear the answer he took several spoonfuls of sugar and mixed them into one of the cups, and a long drought of cream was poured into the other.

"They're early. They can wait a few moments. Maybe you could help me with this Raz, I want to make sure I've everything we need."

It was hard to imagine that Maximos had overlooked anything in his preparation; the shadow was obsessive about things like this and it showed in the way that he was pacing back and forth even as he spoke as if he expected the world to end if something wasn't there. It was just one of the many eccentricities that made this man the unique person that he was.

"Let's have a look then--"

-|-

"Raven! Mr. Hedley! And Mr. Matsumoto! And Kuro! A pleasure to see you all, I am so very glad you could come! And some of you appear to have brought supplies! Excellent!"

In addition to the dark-colored garb that Maximos was wearing when he opened the door to the shop he was also wearing another item that was wrapped around his neck like some type of shawl; and that item stared back at them over the tall man's left shoulder even as he was greeting them with blonde bangs and a pair of green eyes that studied each of the new visitors without a word-- all before at last letting her arms slip free from around his neck and sliding down a few inches off of the Arian's back so that her feet could rest upon the floor again.

With one last stooped peek at them through the crook of Maximos' arm the woman behind him turned quickly with the sound of her dress ruffling and rushed back into the shop like a mischievous child meeting strangers.

"I suppose proper introductions will have to wait. If everyone could please come inside, we have a few more guests waiting to be let in."

-|-

Once inside of the shop they would see that they were not the first to arrive even though they were promptly on time. In addition to the tall, dark, and oddball that had met them at the door there was another man inside already that was standing behind the counter in the back of the shop with a line of steaming teacups spread out upon the glass counter-top in front of him.

Six in total. One for the shopkeep, one for the man behind the counter, one for the lady that had been riding the shop's owner, one for Ms. Raven, one for Mr. Hedley, and one for Mr. Matsumoto as well. The man reached back and took another cup from the table behind the counter, set it beside the others, and poured another for the panda as well to make it seven.

The man standing at the back was not nearly as tall as their host and had a dark-skinned complexion very much like the type of tan that Maximos did not have. On his head he wore an earth-toned newsboy cap pulled low to cast a shadow on his face and in a display of pure unprofessionalism as a server the long-sleeved cotton overshirt he wore was unbuttoned in every conceivable way; and the black leather fingerless gloves he wore showed off the metallic plates fastened to the backs of them as his hand movements momentarily caught the sunlight that was streaming in the windows of the shop.

"Welcome," said the man behind the counter as he set the tea pot back upon the serving tray and moved the small containers of sugar, cream, and jam to the front before waving a hand across the spread in a grandiose gesture, "to the Magician Lucillien Dark's shop of horrors. Abandon all hope those who enter here."

That would have been the cue for a megalomaniacal fit of villainous laughter if there was any reason for it.

"Oh, and have some tea while it's still hot."

The young woman that had been hanging off of Maximos was there to greet them as well... at least, she was there to greet them after rushing to the counter to take a few sips of tea and then replace the teacup carefully upon the saucer before turning back with an expression of excitement and bowing politely to the group as they arrived, her hands held folded in front of her thighs as she did so. She seemed to be around twenty years of age, about a head shorter than Maximos, and quite energetic. Her hair was golden with a faded purple hue of out-lived dye at the ends and she wore a dress that dangled only an inch or two from the floor, and as she raised her head from the momentary bow and smiled warmly at each and every one of the guests; not unfolding her hands but rather raising them up to her chest... all while bouncing on her toes while she watched them file in one after the other.

She seemed particularly enthusiastic when an enormous stuffed animal somehow managed to squeeze through the shop's door behind the group, casting a rather lengthy shadow through the room when it blocked out the sun coming through one of the windows almost completely.

"Hmm?" the man behind the counter noticed something else, and turned back for a moment with not another teacup but instead the saucer from beneath it and, rather than pouring another cup of tea he instead poured a measure of cream from the accompanying container into the saucer and slid it into the same line that the other cups of tea were placed into.

Eight total, so far. And more were knocking.

-|-

One for Mr. Lasanti, one for Mr. Dorul, one with extra sugars for young D, one for Mr. Kazamaru, and one for Ms. Tilly. Thirteen total, and yet there was still another knock at the door.

For each guest, whether they asked for it or not, the man behind the counter poured another cup of tea and placed it in line with the others. There were no names because none of the guests had introduced themselves yet and had merely been called out to by their host upon arrival, but each was poured for a specific person and they were arranged in the order that they had stepped into the shop.

The man behind the counter knew the faces of several of these guests but had only met one save the shadow, and likely only a handful among this number knew of him at all. The young lady was another story though, not a single one among them other than the two men who had been in the shop when they entered and Walter Worthington in the back room had ever seen her before even though she knew many of the people who were gathered here.

...but introductions would come soon enough. This was a social gathering after all, and someone would eventually break the ice.

"Well then, everyone welcome to the Shop! What can I do for everyone? I assume some of you are here for the Quest?"

Sunstrike and Dante had left the stadium almost an hour prior, the two of them apparently taking the scenic route back to latent, to avoid the dead forest. Had Dante known that Maximos was planning an expedition at the very moment they were about arrive Dante may have rescheduled his meeting with Sun. But Dante was not omniscient and perhaps it was better to catch the man before he left than arrive after he had already departed.

Sun and Dante on the other hand had spent the majority of the time together in silence, it wasn't that they didn't have anything to talk about. Several years of separation had apparently generated volumes of tales to tell on both sides, but Dante didn't seem to be sharing much. Dante had of course heard some of Suns' antics by proxy, he had apparently made quite a name for himself adventuring with the vagrant Vahn, but any specifics about his adventures were vague at best.

Dante on the other hand had been effectively dead to the world since he had left his newly restored shop and begun to wander. His store had been a lack luster success, profitable but altogether rather boring. Though there was no doubting it was convenient to have a secure location and a permanent forge, it didn't mean he needed to spend all that much time there.

To be fair Dante hadn't spent much time anywhere specifically, he had used a false name when asked and had spent the majority of his time drifting from small town to small town. It was in these small towns that he heard of Suns' exploits, more than just sun of course but Maximos, Silver Vahn and others as well. He had also heard of Eden and the Shades but the stories the villagers told him made them seem more like a fairy tale than a serious threat.

But then that was how the usual tales of adventurers turned out, distorted and dumbed down till they were mere shadows of the reality they were supposed to represent.

Sun and Dante took a Right onto main street and headed around the large circle that made its way all the way around the center of Latent on their way towards the shop. Though Dante had never visited this shop, his own forge was probably not more than a ten minute walk from there.

Though by the time Maximos was working at the shop Dante was off in the Mithral Mountains 'researching', though what he was researching at the time was information now lost to even Dante. Though before that he had traveled through Barthavos meeting many an interesting smith including a rather eccentric votive arrowhead maker and bowyer who had done his best to nail Dante's hat to a fence post.

A good man, but not exactly the most welcoming of strangers...

Dante was hoping that Maximos would be more happy to see him than the bowyer was, but considering that they drifted in and out of communication regularly Dante could never be sure, and his paranoia alone kept him from assuming every meeting would go as well as they had in the past. He probably should expect such however, as Maximos seemed quite willing to be entirely blunt when things were not cheery between them.

The pair had finally reached the shop , Dante turning to Sun and then turned to read the large sign that ran over the top of the doorway. It wasn't quite what Dante was expecting but it was certainly quaint and functional and that seemed to fit his friend well enough. What didn't seem to fit was the abundance of fruit and broken cart laying besides the door, that was certainly not his friends usual style.

Dante stepped ahead of Sun and surveyed the door itself, picking up a stray banana peel off the door frame before leaning in to inspect the door itself. The silver coin that now filled his left eye socket, obfuscated behind the dark sunglasses rotated slightly as he looked at or more accurately into the door.

"Hmm, well that certainly is different..."

Leaning back a bit he looked at the door frame itself and reached for the door handle turning it slightly but to no avail a rhythmic 'click click' emanating from the handle. Dante didn't feel like forcing it since though he knew it was enchanted he had absolutely no idea how. For all he knew it was designed to fireball an intruder in the face if they didn't say a magical work, so he gently let go of the handle and examined the door again.

Dante was flustered, this had been a decided non start for the smith... Dante examined the door and its magic again, the lines of power the latent concentrations of force and energy all woven into the outwardly mundane door and lock. Dante considered his options, C4 may always be the answer but the question wasn't entirely clear...

Dante would have probably spent an hour or so scrutinizing his options if he hadn't remembered the chance of a fireball to the face if he tried anything drastic. That left essentially one practical option;

Knock, knock, pause, knock, knock, pause Knock.

Shave and hair cut, the door knock of champions. Dante probably really should have let Sun take the lead on this part.

Before too long, Tilly latched onto Ryugi's coat tail. There were a lot of people here, and it was making her rather uncomfortable. Pulling up her scarf over her mouth for security, the little muse took a deep breathe and stayed close to her companion. Tilly's opal eyes flitted about all the people in the room, avoiding eye contact even more so.

It was then the little optical orbs landed on the tea. Staring a bit, she furrowed her eyebrows in worry. So many people. She didn't want to get bumped or stepped on. With a hum of uncertainty, Tilly looked up to Ryugi and pointed towards the tea silently, sort of telling him where she was going. And off she went. Weaving around a few people, she reached the tea, then went for four sugars as she helped herself.

Then quietly, she turned on her heel and attempted to make it back to Ryugi without spilling.

"I hope it's sweet enough.."

Wow, so many people. Damion watched the door open and shut from his position in the corner, noting the change in light levels with each swing. It might as well have been a saloon doorway at that point with as often as it opened, but finally it closed and there was instead a series of knocks in a beat Damion didn't recognize that followed a more steady beat. More people?

" S'more like a war party now, but that's what we can assume Maximos."

What with all those gathered so far being warriors of some form or another, he wasn't all that far off honestly. And they still didn't know what exactly they were doing either. Who was that guy behind the counter with the tea anyways? He'd never seen him before, but just looking at him made the hairs on the back of Damion's neck stand on end. Atleast he had some friends already here, it made him alittle more comfortable.

It seemed more prudent for him to keep his mouth shut after answering Max, looking around the room one more time before settling in to listen. His skills didn't lay in the forum but in the field after all. To add to the animal menagerie they seemed to be making, the guardians charges began their descent, tiny white spider bodies crawling out of Damion's dark hair, seemingly growing out of the unseen parts of his vest, all just to crawl along his body, content to stay there for the moment.

He did, however, keep an eye on the black cat of their group. He wasn't about to let the beastie eat any of them.

"You must be here for the quest! Come in, have some tea, we're discussing what information there is to discuss with that large warmly dressed fellow there before we head off."

Of course he was here for the quest. That was the only reason for someone like him to be here, though the possibility of acquiring new items was always an incentive for a man who could run into anything. Walking past the host and likely client, he entered into the shop, only to be assaulted by the heavy air of magic, people, and food. This place was busy. Too busy, and the words of the host had confirmed it. These people weren't here for a grand opening. They were here for the same reason he was. The feeling itself was...annoying. To have such a large company was going to make this mission harder. Because the more people there were, the slower this was going to go. Though numbers had its advantage, it decreased the subtly of their future actions. And this was one elf who enjoyed more shadowy approaches to his jobs.

Because he was an elf, he could sense the magic brewing from this shop as if it was heavy steam stuffing up his ethereal nostrils. Yet, he still felt comfortable within such an environment, a testament to his past life before he was a wandering mercenary. That was a past left in the books. Nevertheless, it seemed he was going to have to comply, though he was mostly still contemplating in his mind whether he wanted to go through with this or not. This job wasn't looking very interesting now that he was here. The competition was large. Though he had confidence in himself, he didn't know whether it was worth placing energy into trying to best everyone here. He lived as a loner, so if he had to, he was going to do what was necessary to help himself before he would try to help any implied ally of his.

Corth walked in, but he remained against the wall, leaning against it near the door and folding his arms like the anti-social person he was. His blue eyes carried itself between each person before his eyelids closed, deciding just to listen with his ears until this briefing was over. If any of them thought he was here to socialize, they were wrong. It was all strictly business and only business for this dark-skinned elven merc.

Rave set down her empty tea cup back on the counter as the room got more and more crowded, it was only to be expected when you added a panda

She had to work really hard to not laugh at poor Ryugi, that was why white was a a bad idea at even the best of times.

There were an awful lot of people in the enclosed space, and she was starting to feel a little trapped... That feeling intensified by about a million times as she noted the next arrival.

Night...oh ear Nocturne, what was she getting into? Heart heart made an annoying lurch, telling her she wasn't as over him as she had told herself she was. Oh well, perhaps she could manage to wheedle some of the info she had wanted to know out of him... but that would involve keeping him from dodging her at the first opportunity .

This would take planning!

From his perch above the others, the cat had no idea what do to. It had been such a long time since he had been around so many people at once, and to tell the truth, it made him a bit nervous. It seemed that the other adventurers ran the full spectrum from swamp-man, to panda rider, to the odd elf that had just walked in the door. He wasn't yet sure which ones would come to like him, or which ones wouldn't even tolerate his presence, for far too many will judge a book by its cover.

The fact that the man pouring the tea made a special saucer of cream for him showed two things already, hospitality, and thoughtfulness. Since he took both his tea and coffee cream only, this was perfect.

Giving up the vulture position, he leapt down from object to object until he contacted the floor. From there he passed between the others, with a slight prayer he wouldn't be stepped on, over to the cream saucer. With a hop, he placed himself right next to it, but then he realized that the saucer was far too big, how was he supposed to drink out of that?

As he waved his paw over the saucer, it dissapeared. From here he took a gentlemanly seat on the edge of the table, crossing his left leg over the right one, and and waved his left paw over his right one. As he did so, a miniature saucer and teacup appeared in his hands and he began to sip at the cream which had been so graciously provided for him. If the man who had poured the tea was looking at him, he would notice a smile and nod thanking him for the consideration, for many would simply overlook the presence of a cat.

His cream finished, he placed the cup and saucer beside him and waved his paw over it again, turning it back to just the saucer of normal size. Then, while still maintaining his sitting posture, he looked at the man who was supposedly from the North, he held out a single paw and bowed his head ever so slightly in a manner that would say, "State your case" or "Go ahead, what do you have to say." He didn't wish to be the first one to try and ask a question, for taking the forward role had not been his forte' in some years. Looking around at the odd gathering of rather unique adventurers, he thought to himself...

I wonder what kind of questions I can expect them all to ask, for any information this man can provide would be of utmost benefit, for one should not wander unarmed into the dark.

Maximos Wrote:

The shop door opened with a click, and there stood Maximos, teacup in hand and practiced smile across his face. "Hello there! 'Here for the ad--"

At the click of the door opening, Night looked up, his hand that had been searching stopped halfway out of his jacket at the sight of the figure that greeted him. Somewhat lost for words himself, not that he was ever a man of many. He knew he'd see Maximos here, the flyer had said as much, making him somewhat more prepared, in so much as at least being aware of the encounter, but, it really didn't help much for the actual event. A somewhat similar occurance to the one Maxi had, happened to Night as well. Images from the past came crashing into the present. Half wondering himself if this was actually real or not.

Maximos Wrote:

And the cup fell and shattered instantly on the concrete adding another stain to the already pre-existing thousands. It was at that moment, that the man on the other side of the door stopped being just the face of another adventurer and became recognizable. It was like the past crashed head first into the future and in a moment Maximos was caught between everything he was and everything had become.

Maximos was made of shadow back then, not flesh. He did not need to eat or breath, and now was all he breath. He opened his mouth to say something and then shut it, and then opened it again and left it hanging agape. Maximos’ looked at Night as if he expected the page to turn, or the television to turn off, or the recording to end. As if he were the very face of the impossible, and yet Maximos had stared into the impossible with these two eyes and it was not like this. Maximos' eyes, mismatched as they were. Black for his left eye, and white for his right. Black and white. And as definite as the concept his eyes stood for, was the memory of this man. Nighthunter. That eve, so long ago in the LevKit. Broken glass speckling a fist. Maximos did not use the term brother frivolously. Be it a brother in arms, a brother in blood, it did not matter. There was a soft knock on the door, but for the moment it did not matter either.

Then the crashing of the tea cup shattering against the ground snapped him out of his reverie. He looked down to the remains of the cup and the dark liquid spreading out on the ground, then back up to the face of the man he hadn't seen in what felt like a hundred years. At the look on Maxi's face, the old, ever present, half smirk formed on Nights own, finding no small amusement in being able to shake his old friends usually ever present steady composure.

"You look as if you've seen a ghost, brother."

Which was an interesting choice of words considering one of the last times he'd have been seen he was, well, dead, after taking a couple bullets on a mission. One of which, the one he had coughed up while recovering, yes, recovering from death, while in the Levkit infirmary, still hung around his neck. Not to mention Maximos has probably seen a fair share of such things.

Maximos Wrote:

What mattered was how Maximos’ mouth closed. How his hand reached across the distance to Nighthunter and with a clap on the shoulder said more than his lips or vocabulary could ever express. What could he say? What could he do? Shock slipped to a thousand discarded plans, and in the end Maximos tossed out the past and continued with the present. There would be time for catching up soon. And then, in a warm tone absolutely befitting of a friend seeing another dear friend who had all but vanished from existence for literal years he spoke. “Come in, Brother Nighthunter, come in. Have some tea, listen in. I have something for you, something I've meant to give you for quite some time.”

None of that mattered now though. A thousand words, a thousand thoughts, a thousand phrases. All of it said and done in the simple act of Maxi's hand reaching to clasp his shoulder. And all the years since they'd seen each other melted away to this moment in time. This was what mattered. Here and now.

The hand that had fallen to his side came up to clasp over the one on his shoulder firmly. With a warm smile and a nod, he released the hand and accepted the invitation to enter, stepping past and into the store.

"Thank you, Maxi."

Honoraven Wrote:

Night...oh dear Nocturne, what was she getting into? Heart heart made an annoying lurch, telling her she wasn't as over him as she had told herself she was. Oh well, perhaps she could manage to wheedle some of the info she had wanted to know out of him... but that would involve keeping him from dodging her at the first opportunity.

This would take planning!

Once inside he stepped clear of the door and looked around, noticing that a fair few people seemed to have answered the call of the flyer. Though he stopped when he saw someone he hadn't really expected to see here. He collected his cup from the counter, nodding in thanks to the person behind it, giving him a few moments to decide something. He quirked an eyebrow at the cat, and the small teapot filling so many cups, and refilling. But, if this was the strangest thing he'd see today, well, that'd be surprising. Then, not knowing what he was in for, Night's feet carried him over to beside Rave, the half smirk back as he simply said to her in greeting, like this had been planned all along.

"Yo."

There would be some catching up to do later indeed.

The Desert City of Strata

"What is this?!"

An oddly accented and booming voice echoed out into the streets before an armor clad man stumbled out of an entrance to a pub. He didn't look or sound too happy in the least.

"You call this vodka? It is piss water!"

The man lifted a bottle of what he called piss water, labeled across with a general brand of vodka sold in many of the pubs across gaia. The man was displeased by the taste, in his mind relating it to a sort of motor oil, or something else along that kind of horrific taste. He'd soon be addressed by a heavy set man in a bartenders outfit, who also happened to be the pubs owner.

"Get outta here y'washed up merc! Get a real job!"

Obviously there was some bad happenings around here, something that wasn't to be discussed at a time like this. The armored being replied with a simple grunt,

"Bah..."

before going on his way in a half-drunken stumble down the sandy streets of the marketplace in Strata.

This was the introduction of a fairly new face, Mikhail Zokholov, A Russian Black Knight and traveling mercenary for hire. He was once a part of the streets of Durem, serving the populace in peace keeping duties before getting wild with his drinking habits. Now a days he's only known as a general nuisance and town drunk in the city of Durem, which forced him to search for work elsewhere. He had arrived in Strata in search of work and equipment, as he had run low on supplies and his wagon and horses had... well... fallen apart on him just before his arrival.

He had come across an old man not too long before who required an escort to a fabled Oasis in the mountains, just past Lament. The man had a dream; a dream where he could come to the fabled Oasis and pass away in peace. Well... he got the second part of it at least, and had payed the knight prior to the escorting service. After a proper burial, Mikhail thought it wise to use what was left over from the trek to make it to the nearest town. Little did he know that "Saint Agrippina was more so an infected wasteland than an outpost, and so he had to make do with what was left over and head straight for Strata.

So now here he was, with no cart, no food and enough money to last him through the next day. He needed to find some work...

Passing by the local police station, Mikhail's eye caught something of interest - a board giving out information on wanted criminals and, of course, job opportunities. A hunt here, a wanted felon there, all of them the same and at the pay rate of virtually nothing. However, one flyer stood out from the rest, asking for any and all adventurers capable and willing to come to... that was odd.

"The Magee-shun... Lush... Lu- whatever. His shop? Good times!" Mikhail yelled out, taking his great maul from his back and slamming its pole end down into the ground in his right hand. "I will be do going there now!" Mikhail was known for his personal drunken spiels, and even more so for his drunken strength. He had a mission now, and the first step was to get over to Lucilliens Magic Shop. Direction were given as well, so it wouldn't be long before the knight arrived.

Five minutes later...

Mikhail had arrived at the front door of the Magic Shop. It wasn't anymore fancy than the tailors and grocery shops around it, but it gave off a sort of invigorating energy, as if it was pulsing with many magics that the world held. In a way, it was a sobering feeling for the Black Knight.

And so after looking through the dusty and sand blasted window to find nothing but a half-assed reflection, he felt it polite to knock on the door with his black iron fist.

Clang

Clang

Clang...

K'noknok!

"Anyone home?" A voice pitched as it's owner stood infront of the Stratan establishment. Tall guy, just over six and a half, he looked... well... emaciated. It was fairly obvious looking at him that he hadn't eaten in some time. Thick bags rested under his eyes from a lack of sleep. He didn't smell half as bad as he looked, and that was a good thing. "I'm here for the work?"

There wasn't much one could say about him. He looked kinda shabby at the moment, which was odd for anyone who might recognize him. For starters, the massive crawling ink running up his right arm was certainly different, a dark red sprawling pattern, as well as a beaded band around his upper arm and wrist. "I saw something about a job, and figured I might try out?"

K'nock. K'nock. K'nock.

The steampunk warrior was walking the streets of Latent, familiarizing herself with the area when she was slapped in the face with a flyer. The print of the paper was blurred from being so close to the face. She pulled the paper away and stared at the words typed for any and all adventurers. One part of the written text pulled her eyes intriguingly along to read carefully over the text.

All travel expenses, as well as housing will be paid for, but supplies and food remain your responsibility. For your trouble, I will provide monetary compensation as well along with the experience, and joys of adventuring itself and a fair share of any treasures we find split evenly amongst however many adventurers such as yourself choose to come along.

She was indeed in need of work. A little bit of cash wouldn’t hurt. Being an orphan such as herself she worked for every penny that she earned. She believed she valued her money more this way, so she didn’t dwell on the fact that she wasn’t well off.

The paper stated that all interested should arrive at precisely noon. The clock on her steampowered gauntlet read a quarter past noon. “Oh dear,” she mumbled and wondered if she would even be considered. She remembered one of the nuns at the orphanage who wouldn’t let her enter class whenever she was late. She still didn’t know where this shop was located. The letter was unexpected, but the decision to join this quest was even more unexpected. It mentioned the north. It was a good thing she was wearing a wool lined brown leather jacket, long laced up boots, polar goggles nestled on top of her head, and lady breeches.

Running along the narrow street she went in hunt of this shop.

---

By calculation of her gauntlet clock it was half past noon. She watched a man approach the shop from across the street. Liliana wasn’t that great with finding things or places without a hitch. The shop read the name that was described on the letter, but she thought for sure that she was way too late. It never hurts to try, she thought to herself.

As she was about to cross the street and enter this unfamiliar shop she saw a couple of other men step up to the shop doors. They knocked briefly. A well dignified man answered the shop door. He looked friendly and invited the two in. Either these were customers or fellow adventurers like herself. It definitely wouldn’t hurt to try. She stepped off of the curb and crossed the street quickly. Tugging down the earbuds of her iPod, she stuffed them deep into her satchel. She swallowed hard. For some reason she was nervous. It was likely due to meeting new people. Her left hand came up to the door, using the tip of her middle knuckle to tap gently against the shop door.

Tappity, tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

Her knuckle drummed softly against the door.

((I hope this is appropriate.))

Dante Decker Wrote:

Dante would have probably spent an hour or so scrutinizing his options if he hadn't remembered the chance of a fireball to the face if he tried anything drastic. That left essentially one practical option;

Knock, knock, pause, knock, knock, pause Knock.

Shave and hair cut, the door knock of champions. Dante probably really should have let Sun take the lead on this part.

It wasn't too obvious, but the closer they got to the shop, the more Sunstrike felt anxious. He wasn't entirely sure what they'd be walking into, and when they got to the front door at the Latent location, his eyes were practically flat. It was daytime, the place would be busy. He much preferred to slide into the shop after everyone had gone home, but Dante had requested, and he saw no reason not to keep Max up to date on what was going on.

Sun had to smile, however, when the other man knocked on the door.

"It'll be a bit manic inside, hang on." And with that, Sun pulled out a keyring that was, well, not massive, but certainly impressive. It had been tucked under his shirt in a special little rig that kept it close and not so noisy, but also could be snapped off for easy use. He needed the blue Latent key, which fit in and with a magically non-magical click, the door would begin to open for them.

"I don't know what it will be like inside, but expect to be tripping over all...sorts...."

Oh. Things were pretty quiet actually. A group had made themselves quite comfortable.

"Ah..."

((Well, everyone its been a fun ride so far but...

Naw, I'm kidding, we're still totally going. I didnt expect that my vacation would exact as much time as it did, then I got unexpectedly very very busy. But I thank you all for your patience, I'm back, now lets continue...))

• The Shop|

And this was how an adventure truly began.

Just when it seemed Gaia had lost all room and motivation to do anything but wait for its end, a few simple flyers filled a room with adventurers motivated by nothing but a promise. This was easily the most people to ever grace the Shop at one time, Maximos even went so far as to remove his glasses, slip a dark purple handkerchief from his pocket and shine the lenses to be absolutely sure they didnt lie.

And they didnt! The room was still just as full! The very sight of it made Maximos grin in such a that it seemed to belie the rather grim tone of Dorul, the Stormcaster beside him. The larger man even gave Maximos a puzzled expression before the first question called his attention away and to Joshua behind the counter.

"What happened to your village, Dorul?" He asked, and the warmly dressed man seemed to grow even more somber. His lips tightened into flat line. A hand moved to his carrot red beard and began stroking it. This was not the face of a man without answers, but rather the puzzled face of a man attempting to phrase a difficult question in a second language he knew poorly.

Maximos, attempting to a gracious host, noted Dorul's difficulty raised a hand, stepped forward and said.

Clang

Clang

Clang...

"Pardon me." And immediately moved for the door behind him, inserting a key and twisting the lock just as the green gem above began to glow.

-|-

• Strata|

There was a click, a clack, a squeak from the doorknob and then a gust of cool air as the shop door swung steadily open, and there in its entrance stood a knight. Maximos' eyes opened very wide and for a moment he found himself speechless.

Before the Black Knight stood Maximos Lucillien Dark, a pale man with stark navy blue hair clad in black dress slacks, a black vest, a dark dress shirt, sporting a knee-length black coat, and looking all the world as if he was suddenly out of place in his own shop. Maximos met the night with kind and yet utterly surprised mismatched eyes. His left eye black, his right eye a sort of smokey-gray white color, both eyes equally shocked to imagine that anyone still wore the old fashions! He hadnt seen such armor since his childhood, the nostalgia made him smile bright from ear to ear. He broke his stunned silence with a very warm, "Hello!".

Followed closely by, "Welcome! You must be here for the quest!"

He gestured behind himself to where Dorul was addressing those in assembly and said. "We're discussing the details of the quest with Dorul here, come in, make yourself comfortable, have some tea and feel free to join in!"

-|-

-Latent|

Tappity, tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

Maximos had barely the time to usher the knight inside during some point in Dorul's speech, before the door was at it again. Mikhail would just have to find his place in the conversation, and Maximos would simply have to catch up later. Another! And so fast! He had never expected this sort of popularity. With so many present even though the first guests arrived early there was still a chance they might be late for their appointment at the docks. So as to know if he should check ahead, Maximos drew out his pocketwatch, slipped a key into the door and gently slid it open.

He tried to avoid this sort of thing, but with the watch open displaying all that it displayed...things visible to everyone and things not, it just slipped out. Phrased less like a statement, and more like a question seeking confirmation.

"Liliana?" No, he had never met this woman before and gave no evidence as how he knew her name save for a slightly embarrassed look on his face as he shut his pocketwatch and quickly slipped it into his pocket with all the grace of a child hiding the wet sheets. He coughed into his fist, slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said. "My apologies, good afternoon Madam, here for the quest? Come on in, have some tea, we've just started discussing the finer details of it."

-|-

• Strata|

"Mr. Damrius!" Maximos said with a brilliant and cheery tone as he tossed open the shop door the sandy doorstep of the Strata shopfront. Maximos knew that soul anywhere. After all he had a literal hand in crafting it the way it was and an artist never forgets his own work.

"Its such a pleasure to see you! Its been too long! You dont write, you dont visit!" A very transparently fake smile crossed his pale lips before breaking into a bright smile. "Is it business or pleasure that brings you to my door? No. Nevermind, we'll figure that out later. We're having a meeting about a quest I've invited some people too, why dont you come in, have some tea and listen in?"

-|-

-Durem|

K'noknok!

So busy! The Shadow took a moment for himself. He popped one of D's candies from his pocket into his mouth, discarding the crunchy wrapper and moved for the shop door. He slipped a key in the lock, and found himself thinking about knights and adventures, and the past, and his own past both as something that vexed adventures, and later as one himself. He remembered being a knight, but most of all as the sweet cherry candy stained his lips and teeth he remembered the darker times when the Destroyer roamed free.

K'nock. K'nock. K'nock.

And then he opened the door. Grinning from ear to ear with candy red stained teeth and lips and sporting exactly the face he sported some years ago when. Well, Terran knew, even if Maximos could never remember the details. His time as the Destroyer on Gaia was mostly a haze of memories, like a drunken night that always lucidly eludes the mind. "Hello!"

He paused, tilting his head to the side and very warmly, and very cordially said. "Do I know you? Nevermind, we'll sort all that out later, the meetings already started. Please, do come in."

-|-

• The Shop|

((The speech continues as Maximos answers the door, anyone entering feel free to place yourselves or your questions wherever you would like during Dorul's speech. Anyone in the shop, feel just as free to note, comment or react to any of the above.))

As Maximos turned and opened the door to the sand covered city of Strata, Dorul seemed to find his voice.

"Is nyot von ting." He said grimly, looking first at Joshua and then across the room before return to the tea-serving daemon. "Is mayny tings, is kaos."

He lift one hand and made a fist as if grabbing some invisible rope in the air. "Peeples, traysures, ve love..."

The fist opened revealing nothing. "Haf gone vay. Children hear voices. Peeples see creatures moov at night. Ve vake and houses are in..." Dorul's lips pressed firmly shut again, his eyes scanned the ceiling as if the answer was written above in code. "...how you say?"

"Become ødelagt. Brokened. Wif no sounds, no evidence. Jus ruin. Sumtymes people gone. Sumtymes houses are empty." Dorul looked down at his empty hand, shook his head and then looked back to the crowd assembled. "Ve dont nyot understand zhese majicks."

More people entered from behind the large man, but he seemed unaffected by their presence unless they addressed him, instead he was momentarily focused on the subject at hand. That being the next question.

"And what is this Frostfire Soul? Is it a creature?" The question came from a man that struck Dorul as in almost every way his opponent as he was his twin. Something about the earth elemental struck a chord with the Stormcaster, and yet in every way Dorul was cold and bundled, Damion was warm and exposed. After a short pause and a tilt of the head, Dorul spoke up.

"It is...sumting dat takes, that haunts, that ruyens, but does nyot smell, does nyot crunch the snow wif trak. It is spirit, but it is harumingful. Ve do not know vhat is being capable of such." His eyes passed over everyone in attendance, then back to Joshua, and back to Damion, and back to Maximos before simply openly asking. "Do you?"

--|--

((I didnt forget you guys either! Jay, I'm going to go ahead and go with the edits we discussed. Sunny, Jay and I discussed edits, or rather, one big edit and you'll get it once you read below.))

Lucind's voice was angelic. It had a power over Maximos...well, it had a power over everyone but for Maximos it was especially potent. He had no sort of psychic shielding save for a wall of madness which could do nothing to hold Lucind back, and laid down with his trust in her, Maximos was an easy target.

If Damion was effected so, even by a song not meant to deeply effect both men in attendance, chances are Maximos would be hit that much harder.

"Zzzzzzz..." And he was.

Thankfully, he maintained the where with all to stay standing, but found himself standing up. Leaning against the counter, with his eyes shut, his head rolled back and a snore escaping him. His hand however still held the bullet, and the bullet had infact changed.

Where as a moment ago it was a bullet shell with black paint on it, the paint at some point during the song had begun to burn a bright lavender. Now that the song was finished the bullet was decorated in the very same markings as previous, only they distinctly appeared to be engraved in its surface as opposed to painted. The spell was a complete success, and in response Maximos said.

"Zzzzz...." Well you understand. Sleep is an important thing. However, some things were more important than sleep...

Knock, knock, pause, knock, knock, pause Knock.

"W-wha?" Like customer service! The sound of a few wraps on the door perked the Shadow up immediately, the bullet slipped clumsily through his fingers and landed on the glass counter with a few tinks, and a single soft echoing note of the song Lucind previously sung.

"Oh. Oh how rude of me! I'm so very sorry, I must need more tea." Said the Shadow to Damion and Lucind with an apologetic bow. His index fingers and thumb rubbing his eyes as he rose. Sleeping in the company of guests. Unforgivable! But his apology was punctuated by an, "Excuse me a moment."

And the Shadow promptly crossed the shop headed for the door. He stopped however, at the telltale series of clicks that was a key entering the lock. Only one person had a key and that was.

"Hullo Sunstrike." Maximos said with a bright grin as the door opened, intentionally trying to mimic that funny accent the red head carried, but all before the deity or the weaponsmith were visible. "Welcome home, your received some fan mail while you were away, and some appearance requests directly addressed to the Magician proper. And, ah, a guest! Hello the--"

This was about the time where if Maximos was holding something he would have dropped it. This was the part in the movie where the villain is revealed to be the heroes father. This was where one of those things you think about but never actually imagine will happen, happen, and then everything you expected changes.

Maximos' first instinct was to call the man's name and offer a handshake and a warm greeting. The hat was right, even the glasses. But there was something off, something different be it in his soul or manner that made even the Shadow question himself. First off, the spiritual image of the man was only half as clear as it should have been. The eyes are the window to the soul, if they are not proper the image is lessened accordingly. But then, it had been so long. Did he always look like that? And yet, there were magics at work here, undefined and yet powerful. Perhaps Lucind would know, her view into the world was far keener.

In the end, a greeting was required. Warmth and kindness was deserved. "It so good to see you, its been too long."

Maximos said, his mismatched eyes falling on the other man's. If this was not what it seemed, he and Sun were going to have a talk about resurrection and exactly how far the rules could be stretched before it was too far. In the meantime, he reached out a bandaged and leather gloved hand and said. "That is you, isnt it Dante?"

And then he turned back, gesturing with his other hand toward Damion and Lucind. "Dante, Sun, I'm sure you've both met Lucind. Have you met Mr. Damion Hedley, my delivery boy? Mind the spiders and the scent, he lives in a swamp."

Liliana Mythos Judge Wrote:

Being a modest person she was typically shy upon first greetings with people, it was worse when it was a group of people. But, amid these people there was a woman singing. The strangest thing was Liliana started to relax by margins. It gave her a peaceful feeling.

The voice that Liliana heard as she began to mingle with the other occupants of the shop was none other than that of Ms. Lucind Varhetel and yet... the woman was not present in this gathering. (Despite what the thread description might say about simultaneous posting) the song that Liliana heard was coming from another gathering, and from another time.

Now, for any other shop this might be strange but for a place such as this it was not out of place. The shelves were stacked wall-to-wall with various magical trinket and knick-knacks of more types than a person would be able to count on ten hands, and it was not unlikely that the Siren's song had been accidentally bottled inside of a jar on one of those shelves and was bumped as the cat walked along them or when the panda slouched to a heavy seat.

The soothing music she heard was not a product of Liliana's imagination because, after all... this was magic.

Liliana Mythos Judge Wrote:

No longer was she worried about the many people in the room. She walked to the counter where some china had been filled with tea and picked one up.

“Hello,” she said to everyone in the room. “I’m Liliana.” She took a sip of tea. “Wonderful tea,” she spoke warmly. She loved tea. It was one item she picked up from different parts of the world. The different flavors from different cultures were such a wonderful surprise to her as well as her palate.

Of course she loved tea... of course she loved this tea. Everyone here was a guest of Maximos Lucilien Dark after all, and a man with such a refined palate for the drink would never dare to have the cheap or commonplace types served to his companions. Granted, the man behind the counter who had poured the cup for her when she stepped inside couldn't have brewed a pot of tea more palatable than salt water but that was why the tea that was being served to them all right now was made by none other than Walter Worthington, a grand-master of the art.

With Liliana's cup poured as well that made sixteen poured and lined up upon the counter-top. Another for the black knight Mikhail was placed beside it as well, as was one for the late Mr. Maxwell. Eighteen cups for eighteen would-be adventurers... would there be more to come?

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

Ryugi took a sip of his tea as he mustered a nod of his head in greeting to the Reaper, and moved to lean against one of the bookshelves.

Likewise, the man behind the counter nodded his head in response to the draconian swordsman's half-hearted greeting but did not interrupt further. There were more than enough people here to socialize with or shun, as the situation called for, and each person was capable of making their own decisions about which one best served them.

While Maximos and Dorul were speaking introductions and pleasantries between the guests could wait, as it seemed that they did. For those here who were up for the task there would be a long enough journey ahead of them to make sure that everyone knew who the others were.

Tenkai Matsumoto Wrote:

Meanwhile, Kuroshiro had been pounced upon by Joshua's female companion...as usually expected. Kuroshiro was a rather huggable sort of animal, and reacted to it the same way a giant teddy bear would.

And she would treat Kuroshiro as if he were a giant teddy bear for that time as well-- burying her face into the bear's shoulder and rubbing her cheeks back and forth on the white fluffy fur... for a good ten seconds or so, and then she was up again as if the whole thing had never happened save for a few stray white threads clinging to her dark colored dress. With an adoring smile the girl stretched her arm up and patted the bear upon the head, kissed it on the nose, and rushed off to the edge of one of the shelves to stare at the others who had begun to gather together.

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

He also recognized the form of the woman currently glomping Kuroshiro, but the last time he'd seen her, she hadn't seemed so...physical.

His eyes must have been playing tricks on him to think that he would have recognized her like it was some commonplace thing - considering that he should have never before seen this woman in his life. Ruling out the possibility that the body may have resembled someone that he knew or even been someone that he had known while it still belonged to that person, the Angaran must have recognized the magic inside of her and thought a resemblance to the dream-like shadow he had once seen where there really was none.

It did not change the fact though that he knew her, just as she knew him and the thing that he carried. Perhaps that was why she peeked out from around the edges of shelves and from behind the backs of others... foolishly hoping for some sort of surprise attack or a covering-his-eyes-from-behind guess who. She was even creeping closer to do just that when the door of the shop opened again and more guests arrived; shattering any semblance of attention span that she might have devoted to that action and causing her to instead just poke both him and Raganarok in the side with one finger before grabbing her skirts with both hands and running back the long way around the shelf that he was leaning against to cross to the other side of the shop and watch the new guests come in.

There were so many swordsmen here already, and more just kept coming. It was enough to make a girl blush to see so many sword-lovers in one room, considering that her own modest destiny had tied her to them for so long.

-- but Dorul's short pause to find his voice would not last forever. Though the people within the shop rustled and stirred in anticipation of what answers the northman would give they were all waiting for him to speak.

"Is nyot von ting. Is mayny tings, is kaos. Peeples, traysures, ve love... haf gone vay. Children hear voices. Peeples see creatures moov at night. Ve vake and houses are in... how you say?"

"Become ødelagt. Brokened. Wif no sounds, no evidence. Jus ruin. Sumtymes people gone. Sumtymes houses are empty. Ve dont nyot understand zhese majicks."

"And what is this Frostfire Soul? Is it a creature?"

"It is...sumting dat takes, that haunts, that ruyens, but does nyot smell, does nyot crunch the snow wif trak. It is spirit, but it is harumingful. Ve do not know vhat is being capable of such. Do you?"

He did, in fact. The man behind the counter knew of many things that were capable of such feats - things that could spirit away a family without a trace in the middle of the night, leaving no hint of its passing and making not a sound as the people of the village disappeared one by one. It was not something that he himself was unable to do and that much was proof that it need not be a spirit that was causing Dorul's village so much grief... but he did believe the northman when he said that they were haunted by something. Whether it was the Frostfire Soul or something else that was causing such strife was impossible for them to know without knowing what the Frostfire Soul itself was.

Would there be more curious adventurers among them with questions waiting on the tips of their tongues for Dorul to give pause for them to ask? Perhaps.

Dorul had told them already what trouble had befallen his village and what he suspected was the cause... and he had also told them that he did not know what the Frostfire Soul was more than a guess that it was the cause of their suffering. But that still left the question of why...

"If you can't tell us what you've seen with your own eyes, then tell us the stories." Joshua leaned forward onto the shop's counter on his elbows, resting behind the line of teacups that had been laid out for the guests - some taken, some still waiting with steam rising from their rims.

"You know nothing of what has befallen your village except the name," and names themselves are a form of magic to some people, a culture in tune with them does not speak lightly of spirits; accusing one of vandalism is just as likely to call down its wrath if it is not the cause. Likewise, to give a name to something that dwells on the edge of vision is like inviting it to stay. "Your village has known about the Frostfire Soul for a long time, haven't they? What stories do they tell?"

Well there he had it, but really that didn't leave him with a lot of information at all. In fact, he was even more confused than he had been!

" You said there was no evidence of what did it...what makes you think it's this Frostfire Soul? It could be something else."

Damion didn't know anything about this Frostfire Soul thing, but it sounded to him like it was more the superstitions of a beleaguered peoples than anything. But without a scene to investigate, he was at a loss of possibilities. His imagination and knowledge wasn't nearly as great as Mr. Blacks was and only extended into the realm of what he knew to be possible.

" Or could it be that you just couldn't find evidence?"

Damion had to be careful here, he was treading into sensitive subjects. He didn't want to call the man inept, but there was always the chance that maybe they had missed something in their frenzy. He didn't know of any predator that could leave no tracks behind, or that cleaned up after itself so that people may as well have disappeared. He took a moment to glance around, confused as to why most of the others were so quite. The new folks could be forgiven, they were new and hadn't heard everything, but everyone else had.

The elemental shifted around again, putting his back against a section of clear wall to Doruls left side, wanting to keep the man in his sights while not presenting a target on his back. He wanted to get going, to see the scenes for himself before making judgement. He didn't have much experience in cold climates, this would be rather interesting indeed.

As Damion settled in, his spiders spread out, scuttling quietly up the wall behind him to roam along the ceiling, tiny spies. They hung in packs from the ceiling like macabre lights, clumped into balls so that their many eyes could peer in all directions as once. The bravest of them hung above Dorul, looking down at him for their master.

---

sometime before

Well that was something you didn't see every day. The hydra had been so sure Maximos didn't sleep at all, that some odd magicks flowed through his veins like coffee and kept him running all hours of the day. But to see him fall asleep like that on his feet was abit of a shocker. But his awakening was even better, the sudden jump and the click of the bullet as it hit the table. He turned alittle to look at the door, the cause of Maximos's awakening, with curiousity. He didn't know someone else had a key, although it occured to him that there was one other who should have had a key.

The door swung open on near silent hinges, revealing the red haired God to the 3 inside but still keeping the Smith hidden. Damion remembered Sunstrike from the Reen incident and some of the old Heaven or Hell videos, though he wasn't sure either of them had ever had a conversation of any kind. He offered a wave to the other man, lifting his hand for amoment before letting it fall as his attention was stolen by Maximos's reaction to Dante's appearance.

He remembered the smith from before, but why was Maximos so suprised? Had something happened? Had Dante gone on a long trip and not told his friends? Needless to say the elemental was rather lost.

" Hello Mr. Strike and Mr. Decker."

No sense being rude though, especially after Maximos had gone so far as to introduce him and his charges. The spiders swayed on their strings as he gave a short bow, skittering up their gossamer threads to his hair to hide, white dots amongst the black.

Maximos Wrote:

There was a click, a clack, a squeak from the doorknob and then a gust of cool air as the shop door swung steadily open, and there in its entrance stood a knight. Maximos' eyes opened very wide and for a moment he found himself speechless.

Before the Black Knight stood Maximos Lucillien Dark, a pale man with stark navy blue hair clad in black dress slacks, a black vest, a dark dress shirt, sporting a knee-length black coat, and looking all the world as if he was suddenly out of place in his own shop. Maximos met the night with kind and yet utterly surprised mismatched eyes. His left eye black, his right eye a sort of smokey-gray white color, both eyes equally shocked to imagine that anyone still wore the old fashions! He hadnt seen such armor since his childhood, the nostalgia made him smile bright from ear to ear. He broke his stunned silence with a very warm, "Hello!".

Followed closely by, "Welcome! You must be here for the quest!"

He gestured behind himself to where Dorul was addressing those in assembly and said. "We're discussing the details of the quest with Dorul here, come in, make yourself comfortable, have some tea and feel free to join in!"

"Battle Plan... -hic-"

Replied the Black Knight. It seemed he was a little late to the party, unintended of course. To the surprise of Mikhail, the man who answered the door looked nothing like what he was expecting. A Dark Magicians shop normally held men of incredible power, both in build and in mind. What was presented in front of him was little to no indication of such a thing being a reality - at least to the Russian's small and short-sighted mind for now. There wasn't much else to do except smile under his helmet and stumble over to the assembly area, where the rest of those coming along seemed to have already been place.

"Thank you my friend, for -hic- letting me in." A pat on Maximos' shoulder was a good indication that the Knight had no threat to bear upon anyone in his drunken nature. If things went well, they'd all soon learn that this was probably the best attitude the Knight could be in at any given point in the day. A sober fit was a nightmare for newcomers and enemies alike, after all.

Mikhail stepped over towards this area of assembly and took a seat, hearing something about tea and whatchamahuuzats. his eyes wandered around at the various enchanted stones and magic-forged weapons strewn across the stores interior - it was obvious this "Lucillien" was hard at work nearly all the time; just like dad and his weapons.

There was a wooden chair around the rear area of the grouping, a perfect place for Mikhail to sit, wait and listen in on what was going on around him. It didn't matter much, as he would be here for for muscle and offense rather than strategy: everyone needed a local muscle man to help move tons upon tons of materials anyway.

Oh yes, and no tea... tea was evil to him in his drunken state.

"Hullo Max."

Sun's expression went from friendly greeting and amusement, to surprise, to a slight embarassment that turned the tips of his ears pink. He had been away for a little bit, but it had been a down period while event season was on at the stadium. That'll teach me for taking a vacation...

"Mail? Really? And that many...I'll have to-"

He'd stepped further into the room to let his guest by, and saw that Max's expression became something not too dissimilar to his own earlier. If he'd actually known the way that his friends brain train was headed, Sun might have been a little worried, but since the other two were obviously making their own greetings, the red-headed man focused more on the warm press of a female body that needed a big hug in reply. Her greeting did nothing to alieviate the redness, but he wouldn't turn down a hug.

"And hullo Lucind, it's good to see you here."

He tilted his head in curiosity at the "delivery" boy and squinted at him for a few moments in contemplation, then nodded a hello back to Damion. Interesting guest.

"I'd better go see to those letters, I'll be back in a little bit, once Dante's filled in the details."

Damrius grinned as he saw Max's fake smile. It had been a while, and he honestly couldn't tell whether the Reaper was happy to see him or not. How was he supposed to know where to write, or visit? Dame was a traveler, and he'd had little interest in shopping for magical items. He'd never placed Maximos as one to own a shop for such items!

"It's good to see you, my friend. And my apologies. I've been rather busy," He whispered, not wanting to interrupt the man speaking in the rather thick accent.

Damrius stepped inside the shop, and then moved his way around Maximos and in behind a couple of people. He recognized Stephen, and Ryugi... But no one else, sadly. Large group, with a lot of people. This could be interesting.

He was about to speak up and ask if there had been any strange people near the villiage, but another man behind the counter spoke up. It seems that the foreigner hadn't, or that there'd been no reports. Either that, or he was just extremely late.

Sitting quietly and pondering what was being said, something just didn't sit right in the cat's mind, as if there was something just a little... off as far as their guest's information. For the first time since his entrance, the cat broke the silence with his voice. He did not sound like a cat when he spoke, for his voice carried no latent meow. Instead he sounded clever and charming with charisma behind his words, as if he had been speaking his entire life in potent social situations.

"These answers are not truly answers at all, but confusing and mysterious information that brings forth more confusing and mysterious questions of quite a mysterious nature."

He then popped one claw and quickly sliced his teacup in two. Oddly enough, the tea stayed within both halves of the glass respectively. At this, he smiled.

"Just half a cup. Now where was I? Ah, yes. I find it rather odd that you don't have more information on the subject, and being rather vague isn't helping the situation as far as I can see. For with information such as this that leaves an overabundance of loopholes and vacancies that can be filled by more than a few excuses of any manner one wishes to insert, I am left feeling... suspicious."

The cat sincerely hoped that he wasn't being too wordy, but it had been such a long time since he last felt the need to talk, all of those words seemed to jump out.

"It appears to me as my personal opinion, that there's something you're not telling us. If I can say so without sounding too far out of place, as dissapearances and homes being torn apart can happen anywhere, why do you assume it's this frostfire soul? It could merely be bandits that moved into your area and are terrorizing you. But the fact that you insist that this... entity is envolved... well you know where I'm going with this."

The cat gingerly looked around the room, looking for changes in anyone's expression, for sadly he could have just made an enemy or two in being accusitory towards their guest, but he quitely hoped that someone else would share his view. He quickly returned his gaze to the stormcaller, looking for some sign that his words had caused some effect.

"Well... have you told us everything?"

The cat, who had been quite interested in the stormcaster's story, as such magic with the spirits he didn't get to see often, let out a deep long sigh, the cat slowly waved his paw in front of the mutilated teacup and it once again became as it was before his slicing of it, forming in his hand as his paw passed like smoke forming into reality. He then sat the saucer (which was all he had really been given) back on the table and pushed it off to the side.

"You cut me to the quick sir. There's no need to get all flustered Mr. Maximos, like you insinuated, just an illusion... just a 'parlor trick' if you will. I most certainly would never destroy anything in such a manner when a host has most graciously proveded me with such a splendid beverage. My reasons for weaving such illusions are mere humor, for if I can't laugh at myself, I cannot take the world seriously. In all honesty I wouldn't expect any of these adventurers to be impressed by such a tiny insignificant feat, so I do it for myself. However should you wish for me to stop such things while in your establishment, I shall be more than happy to do so. One only need politely ask."

The cat smiled a big toothy grin borderlining on obnoxious. As he began to speak however, the grin slowly faded.

"Oh, and as far as my being suspicious. I have been forced into this feline position for some time now, and I, thankfully, have come to enjoy being a cat. Anything else... is my business. However I do have to thank you for shattering a guest's secrets in front of others. Quite the icebreaker. Of all the 'characters' present, I believe I am the least danger, and the least significant. So all in all, worry not."

His mood, unchanged thusfar, now took on an air of apology. Not sulking in any manner, more already wishing that he hadn't said some of the things he did, for he could get carried away some times. And he really wished he hadn't stood out so much, this is something he was growing rather aggravated with himself for doing.

He then slowly gestured a paw towards the stormcaster with a polite smille on his face and bowed his head ever so slightly.

"Forgive me for drawing attention away from you Mr. Dorul. Please continue?"

Ryugi was quiet, which in all honesty was something a little on the strange side for him. He'd seen stranger things than talking cats in his day. His weapon was a fine example of that. But Ryugi's silence was due simply to the tales that had been told. An imperceptible shiver had run down his spine. He knew of that place of which Dorul, or the spirit talking within Dorul, had spoken. It had been a very very long time since he'd wandered the frozen wastes of Guldor in search of his sword, but he remembered that dark tower like it was yesterday. Even then it had pulled at some inner fear with simply its shape. But to now know partially what had gone on within its walls was information by which he was quite unsettled.

He remembered meeting a strange doctor of man and metal once when he was afflicted with a very strange ailment indeed. For all intents and purposes he'd been rendered human, and Ragnarok had been lost to him. And in that small amount of time, he'd managed to run into this strange doctor, and his lab assistant named Mary. At the time he seemed estranged, yes, but to do something so dark as to kidnap a child from its family and experiment on it? He would not have guessed it simply from his first meeting. But that was all in the past.

Right now, Ryugi's mind was flipping through its vast cache of knowledge to try and find something, anything that he might have encountered in his travels that might help the adventurers in their quest. Oddly enough, Ryugi came up empty-handed. For all he knew about the world and its creatures and places, he was left without a single solitary thought or memory that seemed to help in this situation. In that vein, it could be said that they were going in without fully understanding their enemy, and that meant the unskilled would likely be putting themselves in danger. And even still, they skilled may not have experience in this matter as well, which meant that all parties involved would be facing something new that none of them had ever faced before.

After thinking all of this over, he finally raised his head, cleared his throat, and spoke.

It seems, then, that we will be heading into this mystery mostly unversed in the ways of the phantasm plaguing your village, Mr. Dorul. Your particular problem will no doubt require all of us to show some form of caution when dealing with it.

Since you and the spirits know little about the creature itself, is there anything concrete you can give us to work from? Perhaps a sound it makes when it is around? A smell, a feeling or sensation? Or, are the disappearances the only evidence the phantasm leaves in its wake that it has been through your village?

If the creature itself could not be identified, any evidence of its presence would certainly help in tracking it down. Even ghosts left a sign behind if one knew how to look correctly.

If he were to ask for the reason she had had to give him such kind of quizzical look, all she would have to answer was the fact that it seemed a little funny to the Siren the way he, Maximos, phrased the reference between the other two men and her, when, in fact, Lucind had known Dante and Suntrike longer than him, the Shadow.

That was all. And putting this aside quickly, she occupied herself with reading voices and mental residues, without bluntly taking a peek at anybody's mind. The smith, upon a second look, was altered here and there. She took in Max's remarks, especially those associations of him that quivered between the lines. But in this world, people around her changed all the time. And, if for whatever reason, she was to hear Dante's story of his recent past, then she would be glad to listen. But asking for it she would not. Besides, it was mainly Maximos' overall attitude toward the blacksmith that made her perk up a little.

Without deciphering his thoughts verbatim, she, too, had a sense for the rarity - or uncommon flavor, you might say - of this unexpected coming together.

"Now, my curiosity is absolutely bubbling. What are these details Sun mentioned and how do we best go about getting them filled in? And where are my manners, would you like some tea? Coffee perhaps?"

Once Maximos' question was answered, Lu turned towards the smith. "If whatever information you brought is not for a third party to hear, then please, Dante, don't hesitate to say so." She wanted to save him the discomfort of asking her to leave the room. No matter what relationships existed between the persons present, there simply were things, be they business related or not, that were not meant to be spread around.

In the meanwhile, Piri, the naked frog-lemure, was slowly waking up when the effect of Lucind's song finally washed off. But it was only her long tail with its haired tip and one leg that protruded from under the Siren's locks when the tiny animal curled up in a new position.

Liliana’s green eyes drifted around the room looking at the trinkets within the shop. She could tell there was a lot of history inside this place. The song she thought she’d heard was gone as quickly as it came. She tried to find the source, but it was futile. She couldn’t find the culprit of the beautiful voice.

She continued to sip the cup of tea. Her eyes now moving from the trinkets on the shelves to the people that were inside, obviously they were here for the quest. She wondered how the impeccably dressed man would be able to handle all these people. Then her eyes landed on the man that was serving tea. It could be that this man was going to help Maximos designate all these people into groups. He looked as though he was helping out in some manner. Though, now that she watched him, she thought he might be here as a fellow adventurer.

The problem with these many adventurers was that Lili couldn’t quite figure out everything that was being said. Everyone was talking to each other. She had just entered and didn’t feel right putting in her own comments just yet. She was a simple person. She just wanted someone to explain what the quest was about and what was needed done. She liked things to be put laid out in a straight to the point detail.

Her fingers wrapped around the warm cup of tea, inhaling the wonderful aroma spilling over the cup. The tea was soothing in smell and taste. It was pleasant. As pleasant as it was she fixed her eyes on Maximos and the man, Dorul, next to him. They were looking at a talisman, which Maximos was taking great care to explain to everyone. She listened intently, understanding this to be important. She watched with great interest as Dorul bowed his head. Her back straightened up as she thought the man was about to suddenly fall over. His behavior was completely different than what it was moments before. He was interacting with the dead, she took it. When he lifted his head and his eyes glowed, but they weren’t eyes. There was no pupil there. It was odd.

Maximos Wrote:

"I believe we may begin the questioning proper now." Said Maximos taking a step aside yet again.

She didn’t understand what had happened, and she definitely didn’t know what to ask. She had only just arrived. Something told her she had missed a good portion of the conversation, but she would listen intently in hopes to get caught up. Dorul was talking. From what he was saying she understood part of the reason they were all brought here – to help these people – but there was always something else involved. She found with most quests it meant the person holding it wanted to whatever they were going after. It usually involved getting more power. Her green eyes moved quickly over Maximos. He seemed like a nice fellow, but she knew how deceiving one could look and play. Then Dorul got to the point of opening his palm to show what was similar to a burn mark, but wasn’t she raised one perfectly arched eyebrow.

A question came from a talking cat, which left Lili completely puzzled. She wasn’t sure how a cat was speaking, but she assumed it was the magical sorts. She was surprised when Maximos answered with such angry words in a pleasant tone. She had to bring her tea to her lips to hide the mirth on her face because she most certainly didn’t want to appear as rude. The two apologized, which was nice, so things were back to normal or as normal as it could get.

The man that had served the tea – she wasn’t sure his name – spoke up, meeting her eyes, along with others. His tone was serious as he broke down what Dorul had just spoken. She took another sip of tea. If someone had told her that this quest wasn’t going to be dangerous she would have called Shenanigans. She fully understood what she was getting herself into.

themightyjello Wrote:

"Just one..."--

"When do we leave?"

Now she knew this man with no name was indeed a fellow adventurer. He was talking her language. She was about to voice the same question. Her head pivoted towards Maximos and awaited an answer. For someone so quiet she definitely showed a great interest in what was being said.

Quote:** Wrote:

"Coffee perhaps?"

Dante merely shook his head at the inquiry. Dante and stimulants didn't mix, the last time he drank coffee he ended up blowing a hole in the wall of his workshop. Not to mention the time he decided to 'redecorate' a section of stands at the old stadium. Yeah it was perhaps better steered clear of caffeine for the moment. Their curiosity as to the meeting wasn't exactly unwarranted, it had been quite a long time since he had sought any of them out. Lucind's question however caught Dante by surprise, though he hadn't exactly specifically sought her out, it would save him a lot of time in the long run to simply inform her here and now.

"No, no, There is no need for secrecy on this matter...

...At least, at this moment."

It would probably be best to start from the beginning.

"Why I'm here is somewhat hard to explain, but put simply I'm here to find those of upright moral standing seeking to make the world a better place..."

Dante stood there for a second his face hard and apparently serious but it was cracking slowly even Dante couldn't keep a straight face with that line. And that crack lead to an all out loss of control and Dante leaned his head back and laughed heartily at the comment. Dante's laugh was barely under control by the time he started speaking his speech interrupted by aftershocks of small laughs and guffahs.

"Hehe, no, I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself... phew hehe let me try that again.."

Dante took Several deep breaths and cleared his throat a sense of seriousness returning to his expression on a hint of a smirk hanging on the edges of his lips.

"Plainly put I'm seeking adventurer's willing to face a mechanization that could potentially destabilize my former homeland and place what remains of my slighted family back into power..."

Dante's face weren't completely serious for a moment as he internally reflected on what would happen

"...And if they regain their former power, that's bad bad news for me. My sister Sarah is enough of a pain in the a** for me, god forbid the rest of the family is able to use the political and financial resources they once wielded to track me down."

Tenkai didn't look it, but he was actually surprised to see the cat talk. He had a feeling it was more intelligent than it seemed, but actually speaking? He didn't outright expect it as he tried to avoid looking too far into things, but it seemed Tenkai's usual habit of deep consideration was quite necessary when it came to friends of Maximos.

Oddly enough, the panda didn't look surprised. He'd already been startled by the cat previously, and now the large bear just seemed pretty easy-going. That, or he wasn't really thinking at all.

Probably the latter.

Of course, there were more surprises in store for the monk at this rate.

Before he could even speak, Dorul began channeling the spirits through use of the trinket in his hands. Although Maximos was explaining it all to the group, Tenkai could tell what was going on by the spiritual pressure in the atmosphere. Spiritualism was not a strange concept to the monk, and his sensitivity made Dorul's manner of communication all the more clear. He could feel the spirits' presence as the Stormcaster communed.

Each word that Dorul spoke resounded with a spiritual wavelength, something that was just as palpable to the monk as the transposition of the spirit's voice over Dorul's. Tenkai took this opportunity to listen with both his ears and his soul.

I guess there's no denying it now, he thought. It's definitely some sort of spirit, or at least some anomaly that's similar to a spirit. Traversing the spirit and material world, yet being of both and neither worlds? That's quite a riddle...

Tenkai listened closely to the story the spirit told through Dorul. The more he spoke, the more the situation felt even clearer. An abducted prince? A mad doctor? Could these disappearances be related to that? No...it couldn't be that simple. The doctor was dead, as the spirits said themselves.

Dead...could it be the spirit of the doctor wreaking havoc?

No...that couldn't have been it. The spirits would have recognized it. Then there was the mention of that abomination that was burned...could its death have wrought the spirit they speak of? It was still far too big a stretch, but if this abomination was as much an affront to the spirit as it was to the flesh, it could be likely.

From what he gathered now, it seemed as if Dorul's people were or were of some relation to the Norse. Although there were no male valkyries, that didn't matter at all. It could have been an angel or some other celestial, as they usually had similar appearances. The important part was how the spirits interpreted it. This gave Tenkai a bit more insight into Dorul's culture.

As Dorul showed them the evidence from the Frostfire Soul's handiwork, Tenkai almost felt ashamed for even wondering why this phenomenon got its name. It seemed that this "spirit" both burnt and froze in its wake. It was unlike anything Tenkai had ever seen before, and if he rubbed his chin any harder he'd start taking off his own skin at this rate. He was aware of the strange things that magic was capable of, but he had never seen burnt ice before. Even mages he had encountered that could channel both frost and fire magic simultaneously couldn't leave behind something like the ice crystals Dorul held. The closest Tenkai could compare it to was frostbite.

And yet, Tenkai's question was not without merit, as Maximos showed him. Indeed, names were powerful tools. Martial artists named their techniques all the time, giving them some sort of concrete existence within their mind like any other tool. It was like how people name things "fork" or "pen". For a person like Tenkai, whose repertoire of skills involved much naming, this was an understandable concept. In a way, he still felt a bit naive for being unable to see that the 'Frostfire Soul' was Maximos' name for it, as the name Dorul's people gave it would no doubt be in a different language.

Still, it was a smart move. It was safer to leave it with a name for the adventurers, where it wouldn't give it much power, than have Dorul name it and give it strength. Tenkai could expect nothing less along the lines of magical strategy when it came to Maximos.

When another adventurer asked how the mad doctor could be related to the situation at hand, Dorul was suddenly cut off from his spiritual link. Apparently the Stormcaster had information from the spirits that he couldn't share. Just what had stopped him from speaking the words? Was Dorul cutting himself off? Or did his Chief have more pervasive forms of authority? Curiouser and curiouser.

themightyjello Wrote:

It seems, then, that we will be heading into this mystery mostly unversed in the ways of the phantasm plaguing your village, Mr. Dorul. Your particular problem will no doubt require all of us to show some form of caution when dealing with it.

"Caution indeed," added Tenkai with a smile. "That was quite a story, Mr. Dorul. Though I cannot help but wonder..."

"This doctor," he continued, "'A man of flesh and of steel'...I have seen people like that before. Half man and half machine. I wonder..."

Both Dorul and the spirit he channeled spoke of this phenomena as something they couldn't understand. Something that belonged to neither the spiritual or natural world, and yet belonged to both of them. The spirit had mentioned an 'affront to flesh and spirit' that Dorul's people considered an abomination. Just where did Tenkai hear words like this before?

"...could this 'Frostfire Soul' be the result of some sort of--"

That was when Tenkai realized his panda was chewing on his robe.

"GAH!"

He bapped the bear on the head, which did rather little in deterring him. It seemed Tenkai would have to wrestle his garment from the panda's teeth manually.

"Bad panda, Kuroshiro!"

By the time he was able to get the bear to stop chewing, it seemed as if people were pretty much set. Although some probably still had questions, adventurers were adventurers as always. They weren't going to learn any more about the situation by sitting around, and the spirit of adventure was all about going headlong into danger. He'd just have to make sure no one lost their heads while doing so.

As for his unfinished thought, he would keep it to himself for now. In his head, he continued to ponder the thought in case things ended up being just as he suspected.

In the meantime...

"It is quite interesting to see a cat with such intelligence, Mr. Levay," said the monk to the cat, who recalled Maximos speaking the cat's name. He only found it proper to refer to the cat by said name. "It's good to travel with such wise companions."

For a moment, Tenkai appeared to be engaging the cat in intelligent conversation. He was, for the most part, which looked a bit unnatural for a human. Usually humans would feel a little more out of place around talking animals. But perhaps for someone who spoke to an animal that didn't talk back at him, it was a different case.

That was when he made the cuteface.

"Good kitty," he said, as he promptly scratched the cat behind the ears.

Ah well...at least it was intelligent conversation for a second, wasn't it?

"Why I'm here is somewhat hard to explain, but put simply I'm here to find those of upright moral standing seeking to make the world a better place..."

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Lucind lowered her head to make sure that, if a grin dared twitching in the corner of her mouth, nobody saw it. She wanted to see the others' reactions. Also, it was nice to see Dante had kept his humor, no matter what had happened over the course of all those years since they had met briefly in the stands of the old stadium or the old Feimurgan.

Lucind wondered if there was anything she knew about the smith's family. Hadn't she heard about his sister at some point? But there was no trace left in her normal memory that told her she was a person one maybe didn't want to get involved with. And the whole homeland question made the Siren wonder just like Maximos. Now it appeared a little ridiculous to her that she didn't even know where Dante was from.

"What kind of mechanization are we talking about? This is not just politics, is it? - Oh and..." She smiled. "I'm in."

As he was sure that their host finished speaking, Vykos made sure to tack a mental note.

Boat... two thirty. Be early this time.

He then took the time to look at the other adventurers gathered in the room, since a few more had joined them after he had stopped paying attention to the rest of the room. There were a few who had been so quiet, he wondered if they were still here. They appeared to be unique indeed, and from all walks of life. As he scanned over a few of them, he almost shook with anticipation, just waiting to see their abilites and power. It had been a long time since a gathering like this had happened.

A group like this will leave endless possibilities for learning

As the panda monk began to speak to him, he gazed in surprise that someone had actually taken him seriously, for when one chooses the form of a talking cat, well, most of them aren't all that rare... at least the ones he'd met. Sure they were pleasent enough, but not very special. Such thoughts quickly jarred his mind as to the reason for picking this shape in the first place, and he had to hide a grin.

"Thank you sir, and it is indeed wise to do so. I can't wait to see what abilities you bring to the table as well."

Then came the scratching. As soon as the hand touched him, he felt the man's power, his lifeblood, the flow of energy powering such an individual... and he was powerful. He felt the weakness creep over him, feeling just how taxing the few spells he had cast in here had actually been, then he heard the whisper in the back of his mind...

feed, you need it, you've wasted too much...

In half panic, he quickly covered his left eye with a paw, dowsing the bright sickly green light that would have begun to shine... and them came the scratching. This scratching would be his saving grace, and his attempt to brush off being touched. He reacted vocally in a mocking tone.

Oh... purr... pur... yes... do that...

A smile crept across his face, and the need to keep his paw over his eye subsided. Now he turned his head to face the monk.

You're kidding right?

Before he could continue the conversation any further, another voice perked his furry ears. Turning to face this new voice, he saw it to be the man who had been behind the counter.

themightyjello Wrote:

"I have to say though, some of your recruits look very... fun. I can hardly wait to see what they're hiding up their sleeves."

I only hope I can prove useful in the company of beings of great power such as yourselves. I must say, I am a bit new to the business.

And with that, the cat hopped off the counter and gracefully glided towards the door, making sure to nod gratefully to Maximos for the use of his establishment.

Now... it was time to eat.

"Caution indeed," added Tenkai with a smile. "That was quite a story, Mr. Dorul. Though I cannot help but wonder..."

Dorul's eyes were immediately upon the monk. And then, even as he listened to the man speak his eyes grew ever wider. Simply put, hands down, Tenkai was the strangest dressed man he had ever seen. A knight had walked in earlier in full armor, but Dorul had seen knights. The woman in the corner had clothing made of odd fabric, but it was clothing befitting those of the city. The men and women who ran the boat he arrived on dressed in similar fashions but, this man...his attire spoke of an entirely different culture! Was it a robe? A dress? Cloth and steel armor? He did not understand but it fascinated him. Yet, there would be time for curiosity later, for the moment he listened.

"This doctor," he continued, "'A man of flesh and of steel'...I have seen people like that before. Half man and half machine. I wonder...could this 'Frostfire Soul' be the result of some sort of--"

And then a bear was eating the man's clothing. There were bears up north but they were far larger and white, and you certainly did not bap them on the head. You certainly ran when you saw one, and fast. Dorul was lost in translation, and just lost in general. He fell silent.

Maximos, however, could not stop laughing. Kuro was certainly a good bear. And funny. And Tenkai's response to Mr. Levay was nothing short of hilarious. Not because it was foolish, but because everyone in the room was thinking it. Tenkai was just the first to do it.

"A ship? I never knew you were the type Max." The demon spoke up jokingly, baring a fanged grin and a leisurely shrug. "No portal this time? No flying sidewalk tiles or shortcut through the forth level of the abyss?"

Max returned a wide grin, a matching shrug and then said. "No sir, portals are expensive, and the Latent Police would be absolutely livid if that many tiles vanished. Beside, have you seen the traffic through the fourth level of the abyss at this time of day?" The Shadow shook his head in the extreme negative and made a whistling sound. "No sir, we're doing it like the mundanes today."

And for some reason, as Maximos finished that sentence he looked directly at Raven. Not near her or beside her, but right at her eyes in an unmistakable and yet unspoken, Dont even think about it. The truth was simple, Maximos hated teleportations. Small jumps made his queasy, and longer ones simply ruined his day. There was not a soul on Gaia that would have convinced him to step through a portal across the ocean but...no one needed to know that.

“I’m in,” Exactly that! Seeing who was ready to go! The first response came from Ms. Liliana. Maximos turned, gave her a bow of the head and said. "Excellent!"

And with that, the Shadow peeled off the counter and moved for the door. He slipped on his knee length black jacket, and began working his backpack.

"I have to say though, some of your recruits look very... fun. I can hardly wait to see what they're hiding up their sleeves." Maximos' only answer was to turn his mismatched eyes back on Joshua and stretch his grin into a wide toothy smile. Joshua had read the room as readily as Maximos might have. There were a very many different kinds of power here today, and of very many different sorts. Some magical. Some mental. Some physical. Part of the adventure was seeing all the pieces fit together. And of course, seeing who would step forward and who would not.

“I didn’t know we could bring pets,” Maximos chuckled. Tenkai had most certainly brought a pet, and to anyone who did not look closely enough or have the sights to see Mr. Levay close enough he appeared to be a pet. "You can bring anything you like my dear, as long as you can care for it. For instance, I see Kuro here has opened his diet to include cloth as well as bamboo. And Mr. Matsumoto certainly has lots of cloth. So he should be well fed."

It was a joke, Maximos smirked at Tenkai. And then at Vykos, taking in the the feline's words as he slipped his backpack over his shoulders. He was right about one thing, he did appear new to this. Maximos had certain senses, and an eye meant to see things that were...unseen. Even if he did not know their full ability he knew when something was abnormal. He gave no words to what he saw, and hinted nothing to anyone else present but...if Vykos was worried about hiding his secret while in the presence of two soul and magic eating creatures, a demon, and Nocturne only knew what else was present...well...he was in for something of a surprise. But that was part of the adventure too, wasnt it?

And then, it was time to continue on. Maximos moved for the shop door, slipping a key into the lock and turning it so that the gem atop the door frame shone bright blue at which point he swung the door open onto the sunny Latent streets. The sun was bright, people were bustling about the business district, sun dried fruit stained the immediate streets and all and all it was a normal day in Latent. Maximos stepped out, held open the door and said, "Well then, if there are no objections, shall we?"

He waited until everyone had departed the shop before shutting and locking the door. "Straight this way, we make a left at Mulberry, and then a right Main Street and follow it straight down to the docks."

And then, if there were no objections, the group would be moving. Maximos followed closely behind letting what introductions, conversations and interactions that may happen, happen. Dorul was close to the front, already sweating and eager to get back on a boat and to colder lands.

It was after the turn at Mulberry that Maximos stepped forward a bit, and beside Liliana. "Madam." He said, softly and politely, his mismatched black and white eyes meeting hers as he smiled a wide smile, and spoke with a sincere voice laced with honest curiosity. "I just wanted to be sure, after that last question. Is there something or someone you wanted to bring with you? I can hold the boat while you fetch them."

For the large notherner, the left turn brought more people and more shops and a larger wave of discomfort than he had previously expected. He slowed his steps, and decided that the best way to deal with being a complete stranger in a strange land was to interact with someone that seemed just a strange. In this case, it was the man in the odd clothes with the small bear with him. Dorul approached slowly, and bowed his head toward Tenkai.

"Strange sir." He said, having not caught the samurai-monk's name. "You wur to say sumting, inside, before little bear ate your...metal...armor dress. Kan I ask what?"

HonoRaven Wrote:

But for now Raven absently pulled at the brim of her hat with one hand, tugging it lower as she stepped back up beside Night, slipping her arm around his as if she was planning on making him escort her to a fancy dinner instead of a ship.

Night was chuckling at the panda chewing on the mans robe, and the man bapping the panda. He couldn't help but picture how it'd look if it was with a rolled up newspaper, and that just made him laugh more, and Maxis comment about the pandas diet didn't help, when he suddenly found himself being volunteered as an escort. With a shrug and reshouldering of the pack on his back, he held his arm out slightly for her, resigned to his fate, not that he minded her company, just he knew what was coming, and led Raven out the door of the shop, walking towards the docks.

HonoRaven Wrote:

"You and I still need to chat dear... I have been putting off some important questions for a few years now, and this boat ride will give us plenty of time to go over all of them!" She had a Cheshire cat smile on, flashing fangs without a care for who noticed them this time... perhaps this little boat ride would be less arduous than she had anticipated.

That.

He did his best to hide a cringe at her words while searching his pockets for his smokes. Once he found them, he removed one from the pack and lit it before looking over at his companion on his arm.

"Ah, ha... ha. Yeah, I thought you might have some questions, which deserve answers. And, well, I guess we'll have plenty of time to talk as this boat is likely to take a bit to get north."

Unlike the others, Night didn't mind boats at all. He'd been on quite a few, ranging from aircraft carriers to junks about to fall apart at the seams, in all kinds of weather. It had been a while though, so a boat trip to the frozen north would be very interesting. He always found the sea air, especially the cold, northern air, quite invigorating. His opinion was closer to his brothers, a slow boat over a portal any day. Now those things could make his stomach do cartwheels. He supressed a shudder just at the thought of taking one as he took a deep pull of the cigarette.

"Certainly a good day to take a boat trip to a frozen tundra and into almost certain mortal danger though, wouldn't you say?"

This he said loud enough to be heard by the group while looking down at Rave out of the corner of his eye, a half smile on his face, before he cast a glance around them and back at Maxi talking to one of the female members of their group.

For the most part, Tenkai appeared completely oblivious to Vykos' ability to sense his energies through touch. He probably would have found it strange that people would be so excited to see what abilities he had to contribute to the group, being the type to not think very much of himself. In truth, he was more preoccupied with scratching the cat behind the ears to really think that deeply into it.

As far as Vykos was concerned, his senses weren't fooling him. The harmless-looking monk was definitely hiding some sort of power akin to the same strange ambiance one would get from staring at statues in a Buddhist temple. Although it wasn't surprising for some monks to have strong spiritual power, not many people knew that about them. But spiritual power wasn't the only thing he was hiding. His power has been touched by something ominous, almost like a tiger that had been uneasily tamed. It was as if this feeling was an individual essence aside from Tenkai's own, but somehow connected to it.

Whatever it meant, the group would find out soon enough. For now, Tenkai didn't seem like any more than a rather amiable monk, scratching a cat behind the ears. He didn't even look like he could detect Vykos' sarcasm.

All kitties love scratches. :3

You're kidding right?

"Oh, no, not at all. I meant it. You're a good kitty."

For someone of Tenkai's intelligence and power, he appeared rather simple. Could Vykos have been mistaken?

But now the monk turned his attention back to the group, and he couldn't help but chuckle. It was a rather friendly gathering, and they seemed to be quite pleased by Kuroshiro's antics. Although the giant bear could be a bit to handle at times, he wasn't useless as a traveling companion.

Especially in cold weather.

"Don't worry," said the smiling monk, "Kuroshiro and I will be fine for the journey."

Even though he didn't look like it, Tenkai was aware that some of the adventurers were just as interested in finding more about eachother as he was. Joshua had already expressed his interest, referring to them as "fun". If this sort of thing was his idea of fun, then Tenkai could only imagine what sort of things he hid.

Maximos was even more mysterious in that regard. It was something about his mannerisms, but nothing that put Tenkai off in the slightest. He was a wonderful host, enough for Tenkai to be comfortable with him in spite of being aware that he was hiding something. It was relieving for him to actually want to be surprised, for once, rather than the foreboding feeling of something that could be threat to him. Although he was "Dark", as the name implied, the mystery behind him made him feel more interested than apprehensive.

He could only hope he was right about that.

Of course, his host wasn't the only fascinating one. There were many faces, both new and old, that were accompanying them on the journey. He remembered those such as Raven and Ryugi, but Liliana, the Russian knight, Vykos and the others were fresh faces to him. He wondered what sort of stories they would have to share.

This only served to make Tenkai even more happy to be traveling on a boat. If they were to travel by means of teleportation like the others were discussing, there would be no time to talk about anything. Where was the fun in that?

Soon the time of departure would be upon them, and Maximos was already opening the door for the group to exit. Tenkai would not keep him waiting, heading for the door with his panda following in tow. He stopped for a moment, a bit confused at the change of atmosphere. Were they not in Durem just a few moments ago? How did they get in Latent all of a sudden?

No...no, it wasn't right to think too much into it. Maximos worked in mysterious ways.

Once they were on their way and turned the street corner, he was approached by Mr. Dorul.

"Strange sir." He said, having not caught the samurai-monk's name. "You wur to say sumting, inside, before little bear ate your...metal...armor dress. Kan I ask what?"

"Hm?"

Tenkai turned to face Dorul as he continued to walk. He looked as if he couldn't remember what the northerner was referring to. Once it dawned on him, Dorul would be able to see it in his face like a lightbulb turning on.

"Oh, yes. Don't worry about that. I can't seem to remember it right now...it must have been the distraction. I'm sure it'll come back to me once we're at sea."

Whether or not it was a good lie, Tenkai felt he had to do it for now. In truth, he did remember what he was going to say, but he wasn't sure if it was a concept he could explain to Dorul. Whether or not Dorul knew what he would mean, Tenkai didn't want to start jumping to conclusions until they finally got down to the investigation. Once they were on the boat, he'd at least have had time to work out his thoughts enough to discuss it at length with the stormcaster.

I hate to keep my thoughts to myself for now, but I don't know how to explain it. Being of both worlds and neither at the same time...could the Frostfire Soul be the result of some sort of scientific abomination?

Maximos Wrote:

And then, it was time to continue on. Maximos moved for the shop door, slipping a key into the lock and turning it so that the gem atop the door frame shone bright blue at which point he swung the door open onto the sunny Latent streets. The sun was bright, people were bustling about the business district, sun dried fruit stained the immediate streets and all and all it was a normal day in Latent. Maximos stepped out, held open the door and said, "Well then, if there are no objections, shall we?"

So then, they would soon be on their way. Ryugi pushed himself up from where he had been leaning against one of the many bookshelves that lined the store, and brushed himself off. He grinned softly as the little muse made her opinions of boats and traveling on the sea known. He turned and patted her gently on the head, as he often did to try and quiet her feelings of worry, and spoke as reassuringly as he could.

Don't worry Tilly. If anything happens you'll have a whole gaggle of adventurers as well as myself to help you out. Plus, I'm sure if you get sick Miss Raven over there should be able to take care of it. I daresay I think she can cure a rainy day sometimes.

Ryugi chuckled and moved to exit the shop, making sure the little muse followed him closely.

Maximos Wrote:

He waited until everyone had departed the shop before shutting and locking the door. "Straight this way, we make a left at Mulberry, and then a right Main Street and follow it straight down to the docks."

And then, if there were no objections, the group would be moving. Maximos followed closely behind letting what introductions, conversations and interactions that may happen, happen. Dorul was close to the front, already sweating and eager to get back on a boat and to colder lands.

As the group made their way to the docks, Ryugi stayed close to the rear of the group, watching the interactions take place. He stayed closest to Maximos and Dorul, and made sure Tilly didn't get left behind in the crowd. It was good to be going on a real adventure again, and his age old excitement at the prospect of new lands and new experiences made him almost giddy.

The first thing to wake up is your Animal instincts. When darkness overtakes the mind and all conciousness leaves, survival instincts start up first and the world becomes a riot of sound and colors and light. Scenery flickers like an old horror movie just before the nosey kids get torn to shreds by the killer. Noise rushes in and crashes like a tidal wave on totally unprepared ears as the area's of the brain that control those things turn on like a computer on standby. For some, the activation of such things brings about spasms in the muscles as neurons that had shut down began to fire off again. It is an interesting spectacle if the person in question is usually meek, mild, or even cowardly as they twitch and spasm until at long last higher brain functions kick in.

For Damion, it was hell on earth and he reacted accordingly. Any lights were overbright, stinging his bloodshot eyes badly enough that adrenaline began to freight train its way through his body. Fingers clawed and erupted from the water to grab hold of the tub rim that contained him until muscle memory told him that his shoulders didn't exist and those same limbs dropped back into the water. His teeth nashed futiley in the air before he sank into the strange green liquid fully, tucking himself up as best he could to hide beneath the quieting surface.

He lurked there like an alligator, as if cradled in the womb all over again. His shoulders burned like fire where new muscles protested against the sudden motions that Damion had tried to put them through, like overworked muscles they would need to be loosened up first. The Hydra kept his eyes closed as if waiting for an attack to come, ready for the descending strike, before with halting motions he emerged from the water. First his eyes, opening and dilating as they adjusted to the light around him, then the rest of his head to the neck, reveling in the feeling of water cooling on his neck, until at long last he was leaned back against the edge of the pool with his upper body mostly exposed.

His brain took in the world around him in bits and pieces, processing everything as he sat in silent deliberation.

Was this the afterlife?

Had he been killed at all?

Where was he and where had Maximos gone?

His nose took in only the scent of the strange liquid that surrounded him, drawing his eyes back to it as he sat relatively motionless.

And what was this stuff?

A long, thin, dark red tongue poked from between his lips to run across the space between nose and mouth, tasting the odd fluid as his eyes circled the room again. His hands, not content to sit idle like the rest of his body, began to lift free of the water at the elbows until they once again rested on the tub edges with no help from his tortured bones and muscles. As higher brain functions began to batter their way up from his subconcious, certain things became apparent to the elemental. One, he was whole again, the shattered bones of his shoulders and ribs once again complete if abit sore and the muscles that had been woven over them replaced. Second, he was HUNGRY.

This was all the reason he needed to finally get up, pulling tired legs underneath his body, lurching upward with a hiss as water poured off of him, dripping from his fingers and nose, clinging to his long hair and plastering it to his shoulders and back. Damion stood still to let it run off in its own time despite his gnawing hunger.

For a moment, he was all senses again, standing there in the life giving tea warmed by his body and the ambient heat of the candles. The lights flickering around the walls cast shadows that capered and danced like merry ghosts or malevolent demons, beckoning his eyes to view and calling him to dance. He watched the tiny wisps of smoke rise towards a twilight ceiling with a detached interest that was quickly lost as his eyes closed and he breathed in deep, imagining the smells of this room as a gentle green fog that slowly filled him. It was relaxing, so very relaxing, and the Hydra allowed himself to be lost in the ambience of this place. So unlike hibernation, he wanted to fall asleep forever in this dim world.

And then something low caught his ears and tugged at them like an eager child at its mothers dress. He caught the gentle strands of a stringed instrument, the sound of horsehair being pulled across strings of silver as fingers danced on wood made perfect for such an act. His eyes opened, gleaming white and green to be matched by the sharp white crescent of his teeth while his lips split to show them. Carefully so as not to lose the sounds that so called to his savage soul Damion stepped free of the tub and onto the floor without so much as a patter of the neon green liquid. No, indeed this he cradled in his hands like a supplicant before an altar, the gentle glow the seemed to come from within peeking from between his fingers.

Slowly, haltingly, he followed the sound to the door and passed through the portal and into the hallway. Now smell, smell to rival that of the tea, smell to awaken the hunger in his stomach that now roared with the force of an awakened dragon. His peace was lost and reflected in the way his eyebrows drew down into an angry glare before with a sharp hiss Damion forced his mind away, forced the pain away. No, this place was not made for that kind of hunger. He walked with halting steps forward until after 2 falls of his feet he was moving with a forced grace.

His neon eyes took in the world around him with the vague wonder of a newborn child, each statue catching his attention until the next could snatch it away. The attention to detail was lost even if the meaning and the life of the things captured therein was not. Finally, it seemed to him, he reached the window and could see out into the pitch black sky bereft of the sun he had expected to be there. The smile had returned to his face and he appeared as the cat who caught the canary. Satisfied. With one sharp motion he turned back and walked down the hall of wonderful images again, not pausing as he had but acknowledging them again as the lovely things they were.

Down the stairs he walked with haste as his stomach pulled him on towards the smell of food and his heart pulled him towards the sound of life. Damion did love life, despite his desire to end it on so many occasions, and the sound of the music swelling gently atleast promised him some semblance of such in this place that seemed so empty. His feet touched the ground only lightly before he moved on, still cupping the ball of tea in both hands when his feet touched the last step and he walked on into whatever awaited him.

Damions smile faded slowly, the muscles in his face reluctant or unused to the activity, and his face took on an unusually serious expression. His eyes roamed the rows of books and statues, the general unclean nature, and something in him called out to that kind of life, the things one could see and experience while walking the world. He recognized none of the symbols but knew that the people who carved them had done so with love and care, the image burned into the hearts and minds of a peoples and not just mass produced to be sold. Or perhaps they were made for just that purpose and thus reflected a peoples removed from their own heritage so much that it was only a source of income for them anymore.

He scanned the book titles, head turned slightly sideways as he struggled to read them. Damion was far from uneducated but many languages were far outside of his grasp even now. He knew none of the stories or fables that popped out at him, eyes tracing the words before moving on like grasshoppers from leaf to leaf. His eyes hit the food and locked on though, the greatest targeting system in the world kicking into place as he stared open mouth.

"Good evening Damion!"

But then someone was talking to him, at him, waiting a response, a verbal reply, and a certain conditioning kicked into play.

" And to you Maximos."

There, formalities settled. But wait aminute. This was a friend, a companion, perhaps the greatest oppenent he'd ever gone against in his admittedly short life! There had to be more than that!

" Did you sleep well?"

" Sleep? I've never slept like that before."

And there was the save, the catcher. He responded without thinking and let his mind wander back to the fight, the component peices of such almost like watching a television. Damion compared the Maximos that stood infront of him with the one he'd fought, the two of them as titans in the sky raining blood and savage joy down on the world below them. The image did not match up. It had something to do with their lack of wounds perhaps, the physical scars that signified conflict of the flesh missing from the picture.

" You just missed Walter."

" Oh, that's unfortunate."

His words came out like the lines of a play and the Hydra frowned outwardly, his face crinkling up in a look of displeasure. Until food was brought up, until that sat before him was fully open to his desires and pleasure. The ball of tea was consumed whole before he moved on like a ravaging horde before a defenseless town. His hands found the most solid piece of steak he could find, the least fat atleast, and yanked it towards his already open mouth. Chunks were ripped away with the harsh tearing noise of flesh ripping and teeth clicked against teeth as they cut through the meat as if it wasn't there.

Damion hunched over the table somewhat as he ate and kept his eyes focused on the food infront of him as if it would have the gall to jump up and run away from him if he took its eyes off of it. As Maximos reappeared with the cup the elemental would spare it a glance before looking up at the shadow with vague confusion, steak held firmly to mouth.

As he ate, Damion strained to listen to his host over the sound of his own chewing and the tearing noise of meat whenever he went to pull another chunk free. His mouth was coated with the juices and his fingers dripped with the brownish, somewhat greasy liquid, but luckily enough he stood over a plate. Maximos was right, Damion wasn't much in the way of conversation at the moment as his base need of hunger was satisfied, the sometimes primitive mind of the Beast far to intent on ending the gnawing feeling deep in his gut.

But nothing lasts forever. Soon he was forced to take up hands again and for amoment his mouth was free enough to form questions as his fingers sought out another thing to eat. But Maximos was already answering and asking the question that had indeed been weighing on his mind. The answer, however, was not one he had anticipated or one he had liked.

" My scars?"

Gone. He didn't need to feel with his hands, the tightness around his eyes was gone where the fine webwork of scars like shattered glass had kept it tight. Damion only had to assume the rest were missing, his roadmap, the literal story of his admittedly short life. Claw marks where he'd been to slow, puckered stab wounds from the steel of man, and the more recent bruises of his fight with Max. Each one was imbedded in his memory, if not the memory of the fight itself. Just by running his hands over those marks he could have brought on the feelings he had during those fights.

" Evolution.."

He was not resorted to monosyllabic dialogue, it was just that he had found something else tasty to eat and had chosen to focus on that. But he didn't have long before Maximos was asking a question he could answer with abit of thinking and inner reflection. Damion chewed and stared at Maximos, watching as the layer of civilized life seemed to peel away and a small bit of what he'd fought peeked through. The very notion excited him, pulse rising slowly until he was forced finally to answer.

" I feel...good. Alive, more alive than I've ever been....like I've been charged with some kind of purpose I just have to figure out."

He spoke with energy, with force, an animal with its' prey pinned down and ready for the kill. It almost seemed like he would leap across the table for amoment before he tore free another chunk of meat with his teeth and hands. Their eyes broke for that one brief moment before he could make contact again, chewing slowly on one side of his mouth to allow for communication.

" But....I'm pretty sure I'm just here to fight, and fight, and fight, until my flesh gives out and I'm down to just spirit, fighting on forever."

He chuckled around the chunk of flesh in his mouth, swallowing abit.

" I like that prospect."

He chewed and he listened.

And chewed....and listened.

It wasn't that it wasn't sinking in, it was doing that quite well, it was that this had to be the first time Damion honestly sat down and thought on it. Sure, his body was no longer entirely human after being warped by the god he half-heartedly served and the magic that had coursed through his veins since he had lost his eyes. He would even admit to a change of mindset, a cruel streak a mile wide that allowed him to commit acts formerly considered unspeakable. But to call himself a monster, well that had conotations all it's own.

Did he feel trancendant? Yes indeed he did, as if his life was filled with purpose now. A fresh new road and a miriad of opportunities opened up infront of him just waiting for him to take those first hesitant steps on the road. And to his honest suprise, Damion found himself eager to walk that road. He wanted people to fear, to see him and aspire to more, to aspire to shake the seats of the gods at their very foundation regardless of what they did. He wanted to inspire painters and bards, writers and sculptors to create works of art that put the past to shame.

His mind began to run away with him, his heart and soul dancing amongst the flickering images his mind produced before it suddenly slammed to a halt.

"....what's next?"

What WAS next? He had all these aspirations, these desires and dreams, but where would his road lead him? Where was the first stop on his new path? Damion's face twisted into a look of annoyance, lips set in a frown that threatened to settle permanently before vanishing as suddenly as the mood had overtaken him.

" Next? Well.....I never thought about that."

Not true, he had a faint notion of his eventual goal but didn't want to voice it without a full fleshing out.

" I want to become stronger, as always. I want to go further, to press the limits of this body more than I have before. I want to shake the gods from their seats and crush their throats with my hands."

Slowly he became more animated, the peice of meat clutched in both hands virtually raining blood onto the plate below as his white knuckled grip squeezed it dry.

" Of course!"

Damion looked shocked by the very question. He would be honest and opened if asked, but he took great pleasure in the use of his hands if his style wasn't indication enough.

" Maximos, you're an artist yourself aren't you? Would you be able to play your music without your hands? Would any painter be able to apply the delicate strokes needed to create a beautiful painting if they lacked the fingers on those hands?"

He spoke fast, words sometimes overlapping as he became more excited, a smile ready on his lips between each sentence.

" These hands...these two hands..."

Thwap

" These hands of mine create beauty in the savage actions I impose on them. No one else may see it, but I know, oh gods do I know. Each drop of blood is another brush stroke, the screams of pain a chorus of angels....."

The piece of meat lay on the plate below those killers hands, clawed as they were towards the sky and dripping blood and sauce in equal measure as their owner spoke with all the belief of a zealot preacher.

" But.....these hands are just a peice of the instrument I can be. I know that."

And now that energy ebbed slightly, pulling back into the tighter core of his being as Damion smiled in satisfaction. He believed every word he said, but knew also that his own passion fueled those hands of his and that that passion sometimes ran away with him. Like it was now.

" I don't think I worded that the way I wanted to....but you get it, right? I feel like I can do anything at all with these hands, this body of mine. Even cast down the Gods."

The hydra finally seemed to finish talking, picking his food back up and looking up at Maximos finally. His cheeks were red with embarrasment and he shifted alittle uncomfortably as if he had told some great secret he had been trying so hard to keep. Damion was a man unused to social interactions on such a deep scale and that was about as much as he could ever have really been said to delve into his being.

And it still sounded wrong in his ears. It wasn't his hands that concerned him but his whole being. Damion felt that, by himself, he could aspire and achieve more than most men had ever dreamed simply on the grounds that he FELT that he could. By pushing and clawing and biting his way up he felt he could infact tear the gods from their thrones for all to see, but he couldn't just put it like that. It just wasn't enough.

He felt of a flush of appreciation that Maximos understood what he was trying to get across, sometimes it was hard putting words to the things he saw in his head. Just as Maximos reclined before a lazy king, so too did Damion see him as such surrounded by his court of food and the random wonders and relics of the world at large. He perked up again when Max started talking again but this time it seemed alittle different.

" What kind of 'brush'?"

Damion went through the effort of using air quotes going so far as to set his food down for the moment before scooping it right back up. His first thought was of a giant brush, white bristles stained with red instead of black, and then moved on to other possibilities that got his heart racing at their mere prospect. Swords, axes, knives and other weapons he couldn't readily identify raced through his mind to be followed by literal tools like hammers or saws. But all the while he stared across the table at Maximos and chewed on the hunk of meat he held in both hands like a homeless man with his sign.

A sudden thought occured midchew, a flash of sudden panic that startled the elemental and immediately set him into a frantic search of the immediate area. He had brought his tools with him, those most cherished of tools that he could possess, and he didn't have them on. The comfort of their weight was missing entirely. Where were his Fangs?

The meat feel back to the plate as he began lifting plates and bits of food up, peeking under them while looking up at Maximos from time to time to show he was still listening if abit distracted.

By? For? There was a difference? Damion felt a wave of confusion threaten to douse his enthusiasm, or atleast sidetrack it for afew brief moments as he puzzled over the words and Maximos continued talking. He found he was beginning to like that odd, too wide smile that always seemed to presage some great and momentous event or atleast promise a great deal of excitement that his life would otherwise be missing. His mouth had only parted slightly before Maximos moved on and left the elemental only to shut his mouth and resume chewing as his friend talked.

He set his food down for amoment, the sharp knife of his hunger momentarily abated as the food that was already settling in his belly dulled it. Maximos was seemingly in full flow, preparing to list ingredients and real tools that would be needed in preparation for this new thing that Damion was still entirely in the dark about. Supplies would need to be gathered, his normal garb gathered from where he had left it and his Fangs cleaned and readied for the coming hunt. His growing excitement was cut short as Maximos cut short, a laugh and a question which should have been readily apparent.

" When have I not been interested Maximos? You could send me to the depths of hades and I would bring you back whatever it was you needed, just for the excuse to go to Hades. What is it that you need?"

Serious face on, it was Business time now. After all, he was a delivery boy, this was just a simple reversal of how things usually worked. Lists of meager supplies began to run through his head, quick energy foods and water, some rope perhaps? It all depended on where Maximos sent him.

Damion's mind linked together paths of possibility and the roads that had led him to this day and this meeting. No hint of nostalgia accompanied these memories although a rueful smile did cross his lips as images unbidden flickered through his mind. Stone Dragon scales...a simple find if everything was where he'd left it but aquiring them would be far more difficult as the scales were more attached to that particular type of dragon than any other. A Rock Serpent would be much more difficult, the wily creatures hiding abilities unparalleled in the deserts despite his own affinity for earth and hunting skills. That would take some time.

It was a shocker to hear that Elementals had hearts though, and for a brief moment he though Maximos had meant his own heart. Trying to picture it in his head was difficult, the only image coming to mind being some odd pipe and tube studded vaguely human heart shaped object. That may be it, but he'd never had occasion to fight an elemental and take its heart. And then to find out they bled? What madness was this?!

" Where...where would I find an elemental Maximos?"

Did they occur naturally? Did they have their own little villages or something? Damion didn't honestly know despite having a certain kinship to the creatures. Perhaps there was a book somewhere he could get and look through, or someone who knew where to look for them.

" But, yes, I think, no...I know I can do this. But...what exactly are you going to make?"

He still didn't know and the very fact bothered him somewhat, like a nagging itch in the back of the throat or the pulse behind an eyeball. Subtley annoying and persistent.

((Continuing from Latent...))

This wasnt the first time, Raven had tried to play off her status. But bird or beauty, try as she might...Maximos laughed. "Oh Raven, your always going to be a Lady to me."

He pressed his back against the doorway allowing the Lady Raven enough room to pass and enter first, and then as soon as she did so turned to shut, and lock the door, and added. "And I'm always going to let you in first."

The shop was cozy and warm, and smelled of wood and tea, and books and of course for those that had the sense, magic. It was the feeling one gets when standing in an old library, and yet combined with the childish wonder of first entering a toy store. There were items of various shapes, and sizes and functions everywhere. They hung from the ceiling on strings and rope, they laid on shelves or hung on racks against the walls. Some were hidden away in the glass case that formed an inverse U in the center of the room, doubling as a counter and distance maker between customer and host.

"And now to your question." Maximos said, and after slipping by Raven, it was directly behind that counter that Maximos went. Boxes were moved, jars slid across wood, liquid sloshed and random gadgets and trinkets were slid away. Maximos laid a jar full of black liquid on the counter, then a rolled up sheet of cloth with the heads of several paintbrushes visible inside its scroll-like length.

Lastly, Maximos laid a sword on the table as well as a dagger, and said, "This my dear, is a dancing weapon."

He waved an arm over what looked to be a pretty standard two handed sword, as if it were a precious jewel. "It looks rather plain at first and then..."

"Sabras." Maximos said, and held his hand up over the weapon. The sword wobbled for a moment and then, hilt first, it rose and swayed in the air. It was as if some invisible man had just lift it from its resting place and moved it back and forth across the open air as if testing its weight. Maximos was smiling bright and wide as he picked up the dagger and poked it at the sword. The weapon immediately responded, twirling in place and parrying the dagger. Maximos poked at the weapon a few more times, and each time it parried, riposted, and otherwise danced in mid air wielding itself without master. Maximos set the dagger down, and said, "See? One speaks a command word, and it dances on its own. It can be set to defend or offend or simply perform katas in the air to show off."

He chuckled, and tapped the swords hit with his finger. The weapon became suddenly still and then slowly laid itself back down on the counter. "It took a small eternity to find a way for the Lunaic array to activate the weapon without infecting the owner, but I found one. And then, I took the sword out back and practiced with it a bit to record the basic attack and defense motions. You see, each motion has a..."

"...I - I'm..." Max stopped mid sentence, his hands before him in a fighting stance as he...as animated as ever, was about to begin describing how and why the sword worked in its every detail and lose himself in a tangent. But he didnt. He stopped, suddenly, as if something had derailed his entire train of thought and stared for just a moment lost in the resulting train wreck. He set his hands down and began opening up the scroll of brushes. After a short pause he said, "I'm - I'm sorry, I'm boring you. Would you like some thing Raven? Tea? Coffee? A seat? I'm sure Walter has some pastries in the kitchen."

Whatever funk or down Maximos' mind had slipped into, it soon slipped out of. Raven strumming her hand over the weapon, the look of child-like awe on her face, the way she forsook the tea entirely and simply jumped down the path of potential and curiosity. Maximos was just caught up in her wave, he cracked a smile, laughed a tad. And as Raven, finished her sentence/question Maximos simply picked up where she left and rolled right into the next.

"Exactly like one of your fans! Infact..." Maximos dipped back behind the counter and then came up holding two fans in either hand. They seemed gentle at first, but as light danced along the steel and revealed the inlaid array of navy blue ink against a silvery frame, and as Maximos set them down so that the points at the end of each of their folded up spines were visible, all thoughts of the fans being innocuous was gone. "...exactly like these!"

Maximos said, setting both fans down on the glass counter and sliding them toward Raven. "These are my most recent commission. I tried my very best to blend form and function, but construction of a weapon is not my specialty. I found these at a decent price but..."

Maximos smirked a little. This wasnt what he wanted to ask her, but while she was here. And while they were spending quality time..."...they lack life. How would you like to, perhaps, take them for a spin? Perhaps teach them a few moves?"

Now, that made the shadow laugh. He chuckled to himself, shook his head side to side and as the last few rolls of laughter faded he said, "Your being unfair. From what I've seen, you in motion is nothing short of mesmerizing."

Maximos put one hand flat on the counter, and then leapt clean over it so that he could stand beside Raven properly. He picked up both fan blades, one in either hand and then, in the same manner as a knight offering a prize won from some war to a queen he bowed, offering up both blades to Raven and said. "If you would, it would be an exquisite honor."

Both blades were light, even by fan blade standards, made it seemed more for the show than the cut. And when opened the space between each spine, the fan itself, was made of a dark blue material, drawn across intricately with white, more lunaic meshed into its design. "Just say a command word when your ready. It only seems natural that you should be the one to select one."

She seemed happy! But how far did it that go? If it went as far as Maximos' smile then there might well be a problem. Either way, as he handed off the blades Maximos cemented in his mind that he would let her dance, and then, only after he would speak. It only seemed right.

Mesmerizing.

There simply was no other word for it. No, in truth there was now word for it at all. No description to aptly fit Raven in motion. Maximos was like a man staring at a sunset for the first time and dumbly to place it into terms a blind man could understand. Even in the end, his single word choice was not a description, but a mental state of being.

She was fluid, hypnotic, and deadly. What Raven called sloppy, Maximos called expression. Eventually any master breaks from the rules, outlines, and rigidity imposed by a teacher and flows with what seems most natural and best. In such a way, the fighting and killing arts earned their place as an art. And in this, Raven's artwork was magnificent.

Maximos stared silent, like a man suddenly struck with a mute tongue. His arms folded across his chest, and then a single hand rose to cup his chin and cover his mouth so as to keep it from hanging in an unbecoming fashion. They were simple moves, and yet they flowed and glided in such a way that as Raven's routine came to a close, Maximos wanted very much to begin clapping.

"Magnificent!" He exclaimed, stepping forward his hands coming together.

"Beautiful!" And in that he found the contrast that had haunted his mind and heart since they had left the bar and Tomorrow. Maximos paused, he slowed his step and then shook his head. She was beautiful. There was beauty and artistry in her form and finesse before he ever met her. There was something in her that Tomorrow had cared for, that others had cared for they had to have and then...

...And then...

It only took seconds and the smile had fallen from Maximos weight. The mesmerization and the tide of elation that came with it had fallen back on him and washed all expression from his face, even his trademark smile. Maximos suddenly found he could not meet Raven's eyes. The chaotic orange swirls were too heavy for him and his glance fell to the floor, to her feet. He spoke and his tone was soft, lacking the mirthful exuberance of an average Maximos.

"I, have to confess Raven, I did not bring you here to watch me work. I...just could not bring myself to ask it there and then in the public view." Maximos rubbed his hands together and took a step back from the woman. His right hand rose and covered his right eye. "I have to ask you something..."

White light poured from the fingers covering his right eye, wisping and waving and thenv flickering out entirely. Maximos lowered his right hand revealing a dark right eye and giving Maximos two dark eyes of the same color. "...I wont look. I wont make you be...I'll trust you. Just answer me, and I'll believe."

Maximos took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, hesitation breaths. "I saw that you showed Tomorrow your marks. I saw his reaction. I saw yours."

Maximos' voice was barely above a whisper. "I...I know that night I tried to warn you, about him, about what you would become but...I could have stopped it. I could have said no. The Shadowfather would have come after me, but it wouldnt have been the first time. I just thought it would...I mean I thought you would...I - I just believe you wanted...I wanted..."

He stopped, his hands intertwined and balled tight in front of him. "Your beautiful Raven, flawless, as you have always been. You didnt need..."

He shook his head again, shaking out mis-worded statements, trying to get the right wording out without making it sound wrong. Tripping his tongue over a thousand worries about miscommunication until, much like so much junk falling from a closet the whole sentence spilled out at once. "Do you regret me making you a monster? Was it...a mistake?"

Maximos didnt wait for a response before immediately taking a step back, his back against the glass counter beside his paintbrushes. He looked at her, and back to her feet and in a low and so very deeply saddened tone he said, "I...can talk it all back Raven...if you want."

"No... you will do no such thing!"

Maximos eyes opened about as wide as they could, making them look a bit like dots of pale grey and black swirling in stretched open bowls of milk. For a moment he looked started, her tone, her posture, the she showed no fear and yet knew full well who Maximos was.

"You seem to think that my problems spring from my connection to Him, and you!" Her eyes narrowed and she planted her hands on her hips, keeping a good grip on those new fans.

"I just..." Maximos began, but a women with her hands on her hips in the middle of speaking is never something to be crossed. Not even by a Reaper. Max fell silent.

He listened.

Her passion, her emotion, and the very sight of her with her marks fresh against her skin, and her eyes every bit as mesmerizing as her movements from just moments ago. Max was still. Entranced even. She was not simply saying the words, her heart carried the meaning to intently that he would have had to have been blind to miss it.

"I love Him.. more than I love you as a matter of fact! Long distance relationships are hard, and a bit more so due to the fact that I know He doesn't really feel the same way about me that I do about him." She blushed slightly and a hint of a smile returned to her lips.

The Shadow's lips parted in something of a shy smirk. Love, emotions, she was revealing a somewhat embarassing truth and yet he understood. The notion, the feeling, the same love...he'd felt it before. He moved to step forward, arms out to his side. That was, until Raven's hand waved at him, fan still tightly clasped in her more than capable hands. Maximos arms moved from his sides, in a motion befitting the start of a hug, to being even with his shoulders as if in surrender.

"And don't you dare try to leave me behind when you return home, because I am going with you no matter what!" There was a pause, only long enough for Max meet her eyes across the space between them, and for his smirk to stretch to a small smile. He bowed his head, lowered his arms, and finally bent his knee until he was properly genuflect before the priestess. He spoke, softly, and formally, and yet it was impossible to hide the growing smile on his lips.

"As you wish, my priestess. So long as you wish it." His head rose, all navy blue and black and white. "I know, Tomorrow was more than just a friend. I know, his reaction must have hurt you even though I did not hear it I..."

He looked down at this hands, interlocked and resting atop his bent and risen knee. "It is my duty, and my wish to protect you. Even from such harm. I see what your time with the Shadowfather has done for you. You..."

He shook his head side to side and lifted it again, still smiling up into her eyes. "..I cannot express what benefits no longer being alone in this darkness has, had for me. Much less, having you, here. Words fail me. This Gaian tongue cannot express. I cannot imagine where this life would have gone if not for you. And yet...if it would make you happy, I would give it all away. Such is my duty. Thats..."

Max shoved off his knee standing, slowly and steadily. "...just the kind of man I am. Forgive me my insolence. Now..."

His arms rose to either side of himself again. "...how about a hug?"

"Brothers and...sisters..." Maximos said, his long arms closing in around Raven and squeezing her tight. She said the words, and yet he was rather sure he shouldnt be and never had looked at his brother or sister in that sort of way. It made something of mischievious smirk form on his face. He decided it best for the moment if he hid the smirk behind words and so replied, "I'm not sure who Kaz is, or what grief he has with Tomorrow, but I promise not to make anything worse between he and I, if it can be helped."

Of course, the Shadow couldnt help but notice that Raven was still holding the fans. He chuckled softly and in answer to her question, leaned back behind the counter and slid a notepad over peeking a look at the desk calendar beneath it. Then, with a bright smile, he turned back. "Well, their for a very special client. I had to work most of the details myself, as they werent exactly forthcoming with what they would or might like."

He placed a hand on either of her shoulders and slid his hands down as if aiming to take them away, and yet his palms remained open and relaxed. "Its was challenging, but I think I succeeded."

If Raven would let him, Max would scoop up both her hands and raise them up in front of her, one of her wrists softly in each open palm, each hand and hopefully fan dangling before her eyes. "They're for you! Merry Chrismas!"

And at that, Max would lean in aimint to plant a kiss on the woman's cheek.

Have you ever had a dream... that you were certain was not a dream, and yet...

She stood there on the street side, watching the people pass by with tired eyes... it was habit more than anything else, what is that person doing, where is that person going, would that one taste good?

She caught herself again, shaking her head a bit and pulling the big sweater tighter around her shoulders, her one hand tucking under her arm across her chest while the other pulled her collar closed again in a vain attempt to keep the cold away... her mind kept trying to go blank, to drift away from everything that was bothering her and just let her instincts take over... but that was running away, and she was trying very hard not to do that anymore.

With a sigh she stopped huddling in her sweater and knocked on the door, hoping he was here, or that Walter could tell her where to find him... she really needed to talk to Maximos!

Raven fought the urge to pull the sweater tighter around herself again as the invitation sounded from within the shop, the momentary feeling of urgency melting away on a wave of exhaustion... the relief of hearing that voice again almost made her forget why she was there.

She pushed the door open, stepping into the shop and watching the strange man behind the counter that her mind was trying to tell her was her friend.

He looked like Maxi...

He sounded like Maxi...

as she slowly approached the counter she could tell that he even smelled like Maxi...

but he was all wrong... to excuse the expression, the man behind the counter appeared to be a dim shadow of himself!

Maximos looked tired. Not sleepy, just tired, deep bone tired.

She knew that look, had seen it in the mirror the last few days while she was trying to avoid her own dim gaze as she brushed her hair into some semblance of order...

He handed the second customer their order, they paid and thanked him but he said nothing. As they scurried out the customer blushed in Raven's direction then darted out the door. Maximos' mismatched eyes fell on her. There was something heavy, but hollow in his gaze. And with a hollow tone to match he said, "What can I do for you, Lady Raven?"

She just couldn't help it... too tired, too on edge, too much a girl... blame it on whatever excuse you wanted but the tears that suddenly sprung into her dim orange eyes were totally against her will as she took those last few steps, moving around the counter without invitation so she could wrap her arms around that tall dashing shadow that should have been Maximos. "What happened?"

The lights were on, but no one was home... it was like talking to one of those computer telephone directories, it spoke, and to a certain level it understood what you were telling it, but it had no emotion to it, no life... no soul...

The tears spilled down her cheeks as she clung to the body that was so familiar, the body that should have held the person she trusted the most... but there was no Max in there, or if he was in there, he had buried himself so deep that there was no sign of him. "Maxi, please come back.. please tell me what happened to make you hurt like this!"

Rae knew it was a hurt of some kind... there are really only three kinds of people who seem 'empty'... sociopaths, those strange people who have no chemical connection to make them experience emotions... victims of violent crimes and tragic accidents, the people who are hurt so very badly that they take what is left of their personality and they hide it behind so many mental walls that they are hardly even people anymore.. and the truly brain dead...she had seen enough victims of violence throughout her lifetime to know right away that the man she was now clinging to was broken, something had happened to hurt his soul so bad that it was hiding, and if you let a soul hide too long, sometimes it never came back...

It was that last thought that made the tears impossible to stop, the thought that she would lose another loved one forever to something so much worse than death...

Maximos' reaction was stagnant at best. Her words were like fists banging against a steel wall, never breaking through but serving with each resounding boom to show exactly how thick the steel was and hollow its possessor.

And yet, it seemed something of the man within remained. Either by way of emotion, but more likely, by way of some sort of practiced ethical training, Maximos took a step back. His hands came up, aiming to reach under her arms and lift her properly to her feet instead of leaning against him.

"Please let me go." He said softly, there was no rudeness, anger, or brute force in his gesture, just a simple movement. Perhaps, a part of him simply knew that it was wrong. That her care and concern were misplaced or would be fleeting in the light of truth.

She let go of him, wobbling and obviously unsteady as he stepped away from her and the tears streaming down her cheeks that she just couldn't manage to stop in the face of so much worry on top of seeing him in this state...

Then, just in time to punctuate the point the truth came out. Horrible, terrible, atrocious words that held so much weight, and yet fell from his lips with all the meaning with which Raven might have heard him tell his previous customer the price of his commission.

"I killed John." He said.

"I killed John."

Then, he would turn, gathering up a few sheets of paper with orders and formulas written across it from the counter.

"I killed John."

"I killed John."

"I killed John."

He tapped the stack against the counter to organize the stack and then neatly set it down and began organizing paintbrushes and pots to make the shop look as meticulously organized and soulless as its owner.

"I killed John."

Maximos turned away from Raven.

"I killed John."

And with those horrible words ringing in her ears the world crumbled....blank eyes looked at the tall man as he told the tale of what had happened to hurt him so badly, but it fell on deaf ears as Raven looked right through him.

He had promised... he had sworn! Noct-damn the man... Why was it that men were always leaving, always ripping her world apart and then leaving her to try and put the pieces back together again?

Part of her couldn't help but to wonder if Nocturn could help her turn off the part of her that fell... the part that looked into another pair of eyes and thought that there was home, there was the part of her that was missing, that in those eyes pain and loneliness would never find her again... the problem was that they always left, the men those eyes belonged to always left her, only this time the man had the audacity to think that actually dying would save him from her wrath...

He paused, for the first time Maximos seemed to react to his own words. He looked down at his hand for a moment with dead eyes, as if expecting to still see the blood. And then, he shrugged. The gesture looked entirely wrong on him. False, a lie. "It was my duty."

Finally, he turned to look at her. He never bothered to explain why or how it was his duty. He offered no apology. He gave up no emotion. No comfort. He was just blank. Unfeeling eyes met hers, those orange swirls so ripe with emotion and he said...nothing.

He just looked at her, and he waited.

"Well then... that explains why he never came home." Her voice was just as flat and empty as his was as dull orange eyes looked into those mismatched orbs of his... She had been so worried... so worried that she had messed up again and he had decided he didn't want anything to do with her.. Like Sun.. Like Night...Like Kaz and Dante, Reinhart and every other man she had loved as a brother, or more, who had just walked out of her life one day and never looked back...

And if he was paying enough attention Maximos might even see the moment when the emotional ground under Raven's feet broke, and spilled her into a place where even the comfort a certain pair of purple eyes always gave her could not reach her...although the flash of fire in her eyes was very visible as she drew in her next shaking breath, her lips thinning into a snarl as sparks of amber, ebony, and white lightning danced off the ends of her hair... She had put shock and despair aside for the moment, and would let anger fuel her for as long as she could manage it...until it burned up the last of her strength Raven would let the wonderful lying warmth of rage keep her going! "I'm going to kill him!"

She whirled away from him and stomped away from the counter, part of her not wanting all those interesting things on his shelves within reaching, and therefore throwing, distance as she looked at the Shadow Father's Paladin. "I'm going to figure out how to resurrect the bloody big barbarian so I can gut him myself! Thinks he can get out of marrying me by being dead, does he? He thinks he can just ask his best friend to kill him so that he doesn't have to settle down and be a responsible adult? He Frelling well thinks I will just let him leave me? Not this bloody time!! No sir, by Nocturne I will find a way to resurrect Johnathan bloody Tomorrow so I can scream at him until I am quite hoarse, and if you want Maximos, you can add your two cents at that time as well... because you are going to bloody well help me!"

Hell Hath no Furry like a Woman Scorned....

Raven looked at the pearl, and back at the man who had given it to her as she tired to hold on to that anger as confusion set her back a step... why in the world would Nocturne give Maximos a pearl to give to her, was Nocturne mad at her now too? And what was she supposed to do with it anyhow?

"Um, thanks...? I don't usually wear jewelry besides the bracelet you gave me though." She had to shake her head as she looked from Max to the bit of sand and oyster spit and wonder what the story behind it really was.

She had what she came for, the transaction was complete. With those same eyes, unflinching and frozen he looked at the pearl, then back at her. He looked right into this chaotic and wild eyes, cold. Cold as the eyes any of his victims had ever seen. Colder than any frozen night. And then he very calmly said, "You should go now."

And turned around to begin work on any number of projects his customers had requested, trusting Raven would show herself out now that their business had concluded.

"No...." She would wait until hell froze over if she had to, but she was not leaving him here this way... he could run from her if he felt like it, she would just have to track him down and annoy him into either letting her back into his life or getting rid of her in a more permanent manner.

Raven had let far too many people she loved walk away, let them have their space, let them try to figure things out on their own... not this time though! Maximos had been there for her when she had no one else, it was time to return the favor.

Raven did not interrupt, she did not even move much more than to cross her arms over her chest again in more of a waiting posture than the huddling she had been doing before as she quietly watched the robot go about its business.

She did open her hand and look at the pearl as Maximos revealed it's secret ingredient, frowning at the gem as if she could glare at the missing man through the pearl. "Thank you for the information..." She still didn't have a clue what to do with the damn thing, was it like a genie in a bottle, and you just rubbed it and instructions on how to recreate a body to go with the encased soul would pop right out? She was still too angry to really think it over anyhow... besides the dead could wait.

At which point he would dust off his hands, wipe them on a towel and robotically say. "Was there something else you required?"

Raven nodded as she slipped the pearl into a the baggy pocket of the sweater and took a step closer so that she could lean slightly against the counter. "I need to apologize... I came to you in my own selfish need today... But now I see that it is not about what I need Maximos, it is about what you need!"

There were two things that Hono'o Raven was good at, the first was getting into trouble... the second, the second was so much harder... but it was what her heart and soul truly longed to do. "Nothing else matters right now but you Maxi, and I don't care how long it takes... I will help you get back to your old self." ... to heal...she slowly held one hand open over the counter to him, a plea deep in her eyes please don't push me away

"And that is exactly why I owe you an apology at the very least... I wish that I could give you more than just words, but at the same time I have to hope that words can find a way to help, because it was your words that gave me hope ... It is always your words that give me hope." Her smile had faltered slightly... her hand slowly lowering to rest on the counter top between them as her eyes betrayed her again and filled with tears... but she didn't give up, she had managed to mess this all up horribly, and now she had to at least try to help.

He had gone along with John to help the sick man, he had been forced to face the demons of her past and John's, and then he had been forced to kill a friend... it all had the ring of an epic drama to it, and it was quite obvious that Maximos would have been happier without all but the first part of the journey.

Raven made no excuses for her behavior, she did not ask his forgiveness, but she could not walk away now for fear that he would never let her try to help him if she did... and he was too damn important to her, for her to let that happen while she watched!

"I am sorry Maximos... If you honestly wish me to go then I will, but only so long as I know that my leaving will help you heal yourself, because the injury that Johnathan and I have done to you is not one that I think will be easy to heal alone."

She took a long breath and let it out again as she reached into her pocket with her free hand, standing on her tiptoes so she could lean as far over the counter as was possible.

"To start with... I think you should take care of this for us." Very seriously she held the pearl between her thumb and forefinger before gently placing it on the blank parchment.

"I know in your hands he will be safe, and perhaps it will help you remember why empty is not as good an emotional state as you would expect." She was giving him the key to her heart... in the hopes that he would open his own again.

"Do you get it Maximos...? no, I don't think you do..." There had been that flicker of anger before she shut down again...She pointed at the pearl looking at him, trying to look into him.. this was no favor, no task for the valiant knight to preform for the wicked princess... This was all about him, all about Maximos finding his reason to get up every morning, his reason to smile, to laugh, to cry, to scream and rage against the world if need be.

"He doesn't get to come back into our lives until you want him back! If you ever want him back..." Her voice caught at that thought, her heart skipping a beat as is squeezed tight with pain, but she was learning patients.. even if it was a very hard lesson. "... but you need some attachment to focus on, something to give you a reason to feel again, and I don't care what you chose to feel, so long as you feel! Hate him for breaking your heart... hate me for being an needy selfish b***h, hate until time runs down and the world stops turning if you need to..."

She didn't want him to hate her, or John, or anyone... she wanted to see his smile again, but the first step today would be to find out what he couldn't help but to feel... and Hate was always a good place to start when you are feeling betrayed but don't want to admit it. "Or... you could chose to use the pearl to reflect on the past...to remember the good times as well as the bad, to know that not all things we think are lost, will never return.. after all, you came back..."

"No tricks.. and defiantly not a joke, you gave it to me willingly and I...." She faltered for a moment, looking for words when all she had were a jumble of emotions. "I.. I am not giving up my happiness, I am ensuring it!"

Oh Gods... Nocturne please help me say this right...please help me put this feeling into words that make sense!

"Without you, the you I have come to know and love over the past years, the dark and mysterious, but caring and adventurous Maximos... the you that is missing, despite the fact that I am currently speaking to Maximos... without that Maximos there is no future, no potential for happiness." She shook her head unable to keep the tears from streaming down her cheeks again.

"I am ensuring my own selfish happiness, by looking for a chance... even if it is still a long ways away... just a chance, to see you happy again!" Nothing made Raven more happy, than knowing that she had done something to make someone she loved happy...

It was a crack, a little fissure... not even enough for a mouse to wiggle through... but it was enough for a shadow, more than enough for a shadow that had locked himself away!

Raven jumped as he slapped his own hand, as if some part of her had expected him to slap her instead for forcing him to feel again, she deserved much worse than a slap for having hurt him so badly.

It made perfect sense... she wouldn't have said it if it hadn't, but she was a bird, and technically she did have the brain of a bird so it wasn't that much of a surprise that she could have said something that didn't make sense.

But the crack widened, you could almost hear bits of loose mortar falling from the top of those high, high citadel walls that he had hidden himself behind, and then the flood gates on his eyes opened and the tears started to fall.

She reached for him as he staggered back, blinded by her own tears as she stumbled back around the counter towards the fallen man, kneeling next to him so that she could tentatively wrap her arms around Maximos's shoulders, desperately needing a hug or to hug someone now.

She would lean her head against his if he would let her, to let out the choked whisper of the last coherent thought she could manage... "Life may go on around me, but my life would be so very empty without you Maximos!"

She could hardly see him through her own tears, trying her hardest to keep from sobbing at his words...

He was tired.. tired of them... tired of everyone who blindly thought of hms as their shadowy hero. He worked so hard to keep everyone happy and how did they repay him? By asking him to help them again... poor payment, despite the intention of showing Maximos how much they all believed in him.

"Every... every one get's tired Maxi... and he did ask too much, he asked for something that should never be even thought of..." her tiny hands clutched at his as she lowered her head in shame. It should never be thought of.. never... she should have found some other way to fix Johnathan bloody Tomorrow instead of letting him get his big a** killed and break Maxi's heart in the process!

"I... I'm sorry Maxi.. I'm so sorry, but I don't know what else to tell you... I don't want you to have to do anything else that hurts you like this, but I don't think how you were a few minutes ago is a good way to protect yourself from more pain." She said as she shook her head a bit trying to see through her own tears that just refused to stop.

He didn't have to kill to survive...she had helped to prove that he was not a monster... nor was he a hero from a story book that never lost sight of his own happiness in his valiant fight to save the people that depended on him! They all had just put too much on him, and obviously hadn't managed to do enough for him in return to take the weight off his shoulders. "I don't want to loose you Maximos."

Rae shook her head again, managing to hold the tears back.. at least for the moment. "Be yourself...and remember to ask for help when the weight gets to be too much?"

She wasn't sure, she didn't have a clue since she was half lost all the time herself! "I do love you... after all, a girl needs a role model!"

You never can tell if someone has managed to get stronger than they were the last time you had to lend them a hand, unless you give them a chance... but it was always hard to trust in someone when you were already hurting.

Her hands were trembling slightly in his as she blinked at him, confused for a moment again. "Be myself, or lean on others?" "Because I am getting better at the first, and I still haven't really learned to manage the former for longer than it takes me to get myself into trouble."

She did manage a shaky little laugh although the tears were threatening to spill out again at the thought that he couldn't trust them to carry him when he needed them.

"I'm here for you Max, I will do my very best not to let you... or myself.. down! Because you have yet to let me down..." blood shot eyes met his, her hands still trembling slightly in his grip.. but she could feel his heart beating again under her hands... he was alive, and willing to try living again, and that was what really mattered!

Like night and day... But then, the place he had been had not been a healthy place and a survivor like Maximos would not linger there overlong now that he had been reminded that he was not alone and need not linger in that cold place...

And then he returned the rock that held the soul of John to her, and explained what she needed to do now... For a moment her eyes widened and looked a tad brighter at the thought of body shopping for her future husband, that was the sort of thing that any woman would be amused over!

She tried not to look very worried over the thought that she was on a time limit, after all... She had offered to wait forever to have John returned. So it was that she bit at her lip a bit with a wan smile and tried for a little joke while she thought out the next move "Really? How much do you think I could get for him? I've had my eye on a sweet SUV... But can't justify the cost.."

A quarter of a Million... well she could buy a couple of SUV's with that kind of cash, but that had never really been an option. If she couldn't live with herself knowing how badly she had hurt Maxi then she defiantly could not live with selling the soul of Johnathan Tomorrow

Rae took Maxi's hand, letting him help her back to her feet, listening intently to his explanation of the danger's of waiting too long to put John back in a body. It sounded a lot like the dangers of oxygen deprivation to the brain to her, only with much more time to spare in getting the blood flow restarted...And she had a fairly good idea on where to start looking for a body to put John into, so it shouldn't take her too long.

Tired orange eyes looked up at mismatched Black and White, once more checking to be sure that Maximos was really on the mend. "You should go spend some time with Lucind, or perhaps Ryugi and his family dear... some place where you can be reminded how much you are cared about, buy someone who hasn't just popped in to beg for your assistance..."

He was like a brother to her, or at least she had thought of him that way for the last few years now, and she really did not want to leave his side at the moment.

He was, as Raven figured, a survivor, and he survived today it seemed via the force of a single overriding memory that made him delicately say to the woman, "Okay? Everything is going to be okay Lady Raven."

And then he smiled.

And with that smile she leaned in against the tall man to steal a hug, trying to give reassuring comfort while taking a bit from the simple act of wrapping her arms around her friend.

She held him in the hug for a long few minutes, giving and receiving comfort from that contact.

With a sigh she would slowly take one step away from him, her eyes rarely moving from his face as he spoke... Make a body? That was even more interesting a thought than shopping for a body.

"I'll be back as soon as I can.. oh!" She reached her free hand to the back of her neck, wincing for a moment as she pulled something free and held out a small black feather to the tall man. "Call me if you need to talk, this is a bit more reliable than a cellular telephone..." It was water proof, very resistant from breakage from falling, and the only limitation was that it was only a feather if it happened to fall into an area that was totally free of magic.

"Its a secret!" She replied with a very obvious smile... okay, it also hurt as much as pulling out a clump of hair, so she tried not to do it too often

She moved with him towards the door, her hand wrapped tight around the pearl now. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I love you Maxi!" Raven called as she opened the door, hopefully back to Latent, and stepped back onto the street.