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A gentle fog rolled slowly through the dark trees, twisting and writhing as if alive, slender fingers of whispy moisture lingering on all it touched. The night was damp, but clear, and the moon was but a large gem of white ivory held on a blanket of ebon satin, rays of it's light shining through the thick trees. No animal called this night, nor did a wind stir; all was deadly still.

Through the fog slipped a lone figure. Adorned in an obsidian cloak, he did not, for the moment, allow the hood to cover his dark skinned face. Tendrils of ashen hair rolled down his shoulders, flowing as the air from his movement caused it to waver. Crimson eyes glowed brightly through the night, holding no emotion that could be seen, as the lurid orbs floated over the terrain before him. The appearence of the drow gave off the false impression that he was quite young, though, one could tell just from his posture that he was not, that he had seen his fair share of battles.

His step was light, his booted feet making not a sound as he moved forward, and not even a gentle clink of his jeweled scimitars could be heard as his body shifted, for they both were covered intelligently with a spell that would mute their sound.

Slowly, the sauntering Drow came to a hault. His sharp chin tiltled upward, as his blood coloured eyes rose to the sky above him. To him, these lands were quite unfamiliar, and he did not trust all that was around him. Once a Drow that could command great power, he was now reduced to a common being, something that fueled his rage within.

He left the Underdark years upon years ago, and now was left almost powerless to the mortal world. Humans, elves, orcs, he loathed them all, for in his mind he was still a superior being, and would always be so.

Upon such a thought, a dark scowl came to his thin lips, his ivorn teeth baring, and his fist clenched into a tight ball. He snorted his displeasure, before a jerk of his head brought his blazing vision back to the land afore him, a soft piece of hair falling over his shadowed face.

One swift movement brought his cloak tighter around him, before he slowly rose his ebon hands to his hood, bringing it up over his head to hide his wicked features.

He turned his hidden face to the rear, his cruel eyes dancing over the forest darkness behind him, and it was not long until he saw what he was looking for.

Through the darkness, that no human eyes could possibly penatrate, moved a beast as black as the night around him. It's lean body rippled with it's slow movement, his tail lashing behind him, and it's ebon fur seemed to absorb the moonlight that touched upon it, giving it a demonic aura. Eyes quite similar to the drow shown through the night, burning with a fiery light, flickering as though they were made completely from flames. The panther was not a small being in any sense, for it's girth would rival that of an average pony. Clearly, it was an unnatural being.

The huge beast immediatly sensed Aerian's gaze, and stopped it's movements, sitting upon his grand hunches, tail slowly curling around his forepaws. It let out a gentle rumble, a sound that could only be heard through elven ears, and Aerian smiled, a chilling thing. The panther seemed to return the smile, though no visable change in the beast could be seen.

"Tlu ussta solen vel'drav Usstan shlu'ta'naut kyorl. Tlu ussta killian vel'drav Usstan shlu'ta'naut malar. Udos ph' uss. Barra.. Ussta uyl'udith abbil," Aerian spoke gently, a wicked glint in his voice, a glint that would send a chill down the spine of any functioning being. It was merely a whisper, but the grand beast heard, for a flicker of his sharp ear told as much. It slowly bowed it's massive head to the drow, before rising itself from his sitting position and stepping backward into the night.

Then he was gone, leaving only a twirl of the mist in his wake.

A mishap in a single teleportation spell had brought Aerian and the grand beast to this land, but, oddly, he was not disappointed in himself. The forest was dark and glumly, and at night orcs and other dark beasts roamed with a vengence, proving easy kill for him. If anything, he was pleasently delighted to have happened upon this land, for it seemed to him that the blood of the past was everywhere around him.

How he loved it.

Aerian blinked slowly, his fiery eyes dancing with an odd sense of amusent before he once again turned his face to the night before him. He glanced briefly at the night sky, then at the emerald tree tops. With a gentle tug at his cloak, pulling the silky material around him, he stepped forward into the unknown night, his glinting eyes slowly dancing over the shadowed forest.

Orion crouched low over the small fire. It was blue and provided very little illumination, but it was hotter then a fire it's size looked. The light dimly reflected in his ice blue eyes which were really not gazing blankly into the depth's of the fire, but beyond it. Orion was reviewing his life quietly and quickly in his mind. Orion shifted minutely, causing a slight rustle of padded platemail and leather sheath. He rose and looked around. He could see well in the dark and hear things most people couldn't, but beyond the clearing he might as well have been in a black bag. He looked down at an ant that was busily scuttling away from Orion's last dining table. Orion squashed the insect with a bitter twist of his foot. All that work, had been for nothing. All his life to be sent away and exiled. He closed his eyes and bit his toungue, hard enough to bring blood, and barely kept himself from raging out and doing something dumb. He opened his eyes and looked around again, cursing everything. In that moment, he wanted to kill it all.

Through the fog Aerian sauntered, cloak pulled tightly around his lithe body, and it was not long before a blue speck became apparent through the dark night. Crimson orbs instantly narrowed, as Aerian knew it to be a fire of some sort. He paused his movements for only a moment, before he pressed forward again, his booted feet silent.

As he grew closer, the heat from the stranger's body framed him in the darkness, and Aerian's heat sensing eyes saw that he was alone. The stranger looked agitated greatly, but Aerian cared not for the reason. His slick orbs danced slowly around, looking away from the stranger, and he saw nothing else, but it beast or mortal.

He stopped his slow saunter forward, just along the edge of darkness that the being could not see through. A smirk pulled up upon the drow's thin lips, as he continued to study the being before him. Slowly, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowing at the fellow traveler, but Aerian said nothing.

Alexia stopped to hear something off in the distance. Her white hair and ice blue eyes tried desperately to seek out whatever it was. She had reached a creek where she leaned over, cupped the water, and drank. Her pale skin and white dress gave a shimmer to the fog. 'Not to far off.' She whispered to her horse. At least it was a sound of people.

She was a wandering assassian. Her black cape hung on her bare shoulders. She was hot in the fog. Her V-cut dress low to her bellybutton made her cool faster. Her dress was floor length with slits to her hips on both sides. Her horse, Recko was tired from the nights run. Orcs had attacked her after she killed their leader. Alexia smiled at her work as she tapped her two swords. Both were attached to a leather seath. They were twin butterfly blades. They were created with silver and mithril blue as her goddes was Mother Earth. The elf looked around, still not seeing anything in the fog so she listened.

The closer she herd noises, the faster she moved, her horse trotting behind her. At an abrubt hault she found two warriors fighting. Her blue eyes flashed in the fog as her ears perked. She was met by a nuzzle up her back. "Recko...shh." She whispered softly, still trying to watch what was going on.

Orion had a sixth sense almost evryone ignored. He sensed an entity behind him, but not it's intent. His sense was not that attuned. Nonetheless he was not taken kindly to people. Orion turned and threw a small spear head at where he estimated his observer to be.

"Don't start with me pal, Its been a bad week and I'm not in the mood to fry you."

Alexia sighed, her voice soft and low, "First of all, I'm a woman; show some respect. Second of all, do you think I care how your week is?" She stepped out, revealing herself. Her frame was small, but her spirit was large. "I'm looking for someone." She looked everyone up and down, clapped her hands and rubbed them. It was getting chilly all of a sudden. "Besides, you don't look like the person I'm after."

The air around Alexia's hands became rather toasty all of a sudden.

"It's not polite to sneak up on exiled emporers. Especially one with a sword. Be more careful, these are bad parts to be caught alone in."

Orion settled down, his back to the fire. He appeared to go to sleep when really he just closed his eyses. He oppened them again right away.

"Speaking of polite, would you like some chow and a warm fire to sit near?"

Alexia sighed with a slight frown. “So these woods are horrible…” She chuckled softly, settling herself down. “Oh, who will be my hero of these dangerous woods?” Sarcastically speaking she continued, “I would much like some of this chow, in which you speak of. I use cold rations.”

Orion reached over to a carcass of a deer and pulled a leg off. He handed it to Alexia. The meat suddenly seemed to be cooked. Orion chuckled at the sarcasm.

"Don't look at me. I'm just passing through. You can tag along if you want but I'd recomend against it."

Orion threw another chunk of wood into the fire which suddenly grew far larger then it should of. He sat back and seemed to fade into the shadows as the fire cast little light.

Alexia looked in disgust at the deer and sighed. “I don’t kill animals and eat them. I’ve noticed you have some sort of warm energy.” Holding her hands out for the warmth of the fire, she could only imagine her day’s work. “So tell me… why are you here where the wrong people live?”

Orion shrugged and threw the haunch with surprising force into the woods where a low snarl erupted as some animal declared it's snack.

"Interesting question, but then again one I would've asked. Why am I here where the 'wrong people' live? Two reasons. I AM the wrong people, and I've been exiled. So I'm drifting."

Orion looked up at the constellation he had been named for (OOC: If orion doesn't exist in the skies of forgotten realms then whoops) And shook his head with bitter anger. His voice was bursting with restrained fury.

"How about you? What brings you to this hole?"

Alexia clenched her jaw and looked the other way. Relaxing, she folded her hands in her lap and bit her lower lip. “If I could tell you I would have to kill you.” Her grin told of sarcasm but there was something much more in her ice blue eyes. She looked down, feeling her stomach gurgle. She knew she wanted to eat something warm and cooked, but also knew she couldn’t eat animals. Taking out some hard bread, she sucked on a piece for a bit, tasting the bitterness and dried honey down her throat.

She inhaled, feeling something pinch her ribs. Her vision started to blur, but constantly blinked trying to keep herself conscious. She inhaled again, feeling a harder pinch. Her hand quickly moved to her left rib feeling a small crack in her bones. “Damn.” She cursed under her breath. She knew it had to do with an earlier duel.

Orion put two and two together and guessed busted rib.

"You should tape that before it works into your lung."

He threw a small black leather corvette to Alexia. It contained wrappings and numbing salves for broken bones and the like. He rose to his feet and pointed at the fire. It suddenly grew larger and hotter, spreading more light. He had a funny feeling about this area.

Alexia frowned and tried to put a straight face. Clenching her jaw tightly her ice blue eyes flared. It was already hard enough to breath but she just ignored it and tossed the box back to Orion. “I’m fine.” She managed to say through her teeth. It was her pride and stubbornness that would be her downfall.

She sat up with a painless expression on her face as she tried desperately to push out her pain. “There.” She inhaled slower. “I didn’t need it.”

Orion shook his head and picked up a small pebble. He lobbed it gently at Alexia's side. It wouldn't hurt a normal rib, but a broken one...

"I dont like liars. Your ribs need to be fixed. If you have to grind your teeth to talk then youve got problems."

Orion again, tossed the box over. He then rose and walked to the edge of the woods, leaving his back to the girl in case she needed a moment of privacy. Evil yes, jerk no.

“Well isn’t this embarrassing. The last thing I need is someone to tell me what to do!” She thought. The rock was excruciating on her side but she tried not to show any emotions. Inhaling after a moment of staring off at the box she finally managed to put a bandage with her own herbs on it. She caught sight of her earlier duelist: Markosh. Half demon and Half centaur. She grinned through her teeth after setting the box down.

Feeling a little better she sat up and settled herself in. “I’m done.” She said, gazing off into the fire. She hated being wrong and would do anything to prove them wrong. Even if it meant death.

Orion rolled his eyes. He was used to commanding people.

"They're your lungs lady, but I dont like people dying on my watch."

That of course was a big lie, he had killed more people then he had saved for sure. But he was bored and conversation was interesting.

Crossing her legs she tapped her foot into the ground. “You would kill just as much as I would.” She wanted to argue all night just to prove herself worthy. After all she was an assassin. Flicking her hair to the side, she reached for some of her cold rations from Recko. It hurt to move but she bared the pain and reached out anyways. “Never lie, you’re terrible at it.”

A small grin came across the fire as she tried biting on the hard bread. “So what did you do?” She said with a brow being raised.

"I tried to take over the world. Of course, nobody agreed with that. So it was seen as a genocide and crimes against humanity. History is writen by the winner, the war is determined by the loser."

Orion suddenly pulled out his sword and threw it at an innocent tree. It punched in up to the hilt and protruded from the other side.

"I could have owned it all, unity under my command. To advance the people furthur, we must be one. But then those confounded shadow masters came. Why did they not see the truth?"

Orion turned back to the impaled tree and it burst into a large blue flame. It acctually shattered with the sudden pulse of heat Orion pushed into it. It was all he could do to not enter a rage and attack the assasin. He retrievd the sword, sheathed it and glared at Katra.

"What you never seen an exile before?"

Alexia cocked her head to the side. She was an assassin and she was perfect at her attempts and exists. “So then why don’t you?” Her menacing grin came across the pale cheek. “Why don’t you rule what you might call the world? You obviously can’t do it with the good people and being what you are- so ask the wrong people. The exiled people?” She brushed her hair to the side and uncrossed her legs, wanting to stand up but quickly found out how sharp her rib cage felt on her lung.

“Not my best move.” She thought as she sat bitterly on the log. She could taste the bile forming in her mouth as she swallowed hard to keep it down. She didn’t mind the rage men had. She invited it. Alexia knew it was the only answer to any mans success. “You’re weak.” She mumbled. “You’re weak in your emotions. Apparently your physically strong but not emotionally.”

Orion thought briefly on what was said.

"Use the exiles, best idea I've heard lately."

He was thinking about this when her other words struck him.

"Weak? Emotions? I AM A BERSERKER! EMOTIONS ARE MY TOOLS, TO BE MANIPULATED AS IF THEY WERE ANTS! YOU DARE CALL AN EMPORER WEAK!?"

He turned rapidly, the air in the clearing seemed to be incredibly hot now, and rising fast.

“Typical male.” She thought. Even if it became stuffy, she just raised her brow high and clicked her tongue. “When you learn to control your temper, I’ll tell you why I said that.” Her eyes flickered to a natural blue to a unique violet. She wasn’t going to be scared off that easily being in the cursed forest. Alexia knew the only way to motivate everyday was an anger. After all, anger and war were better than peace and love. Right? She glanced back and forth. “It was getting chilly in here.” She was becoming a smart mouth now, but she would be patient enough to wait for the male mind to calm down.

The pommel of Orion's sword flashed green briefly then subsided. Orion himself took a deep breath and forced his anger down. Suddenly Orion was glaring at Alexia and the air was rapidly growing to unbearable levels of heat.

"Your lucky I wasn't angry already. But let me warn you, I'm not one with whom to play. People get killed around me, for small things. Just a warning."

The air suddenly chilled and Orion's eyes stopped flickering. He unclenched his fists and relaxed, blowing a jet of warm air downwards.

Alexia cocked her head. “And Rouges are supposed to take advice? First of all those shadow monsters as I’d like to call them, are nothing but cowards underneath. You should have done better at negotiating. Here’s a blunt advice, you are weak in your emotions and driven on the anger that runs through you. Yet, you let people walk all over you. You didn’t have to tell me, a princess always knows.” She grinned and waited for a response but decided to speak anyways, “Another thing, watch your temper, I do not get cold all the time.” Her ice blue eyes glittered through the fire place, letting her words be wiser than she knew.

"Anger is all that keeps humans alive. And if you expect me to respect you more because your royalty, think again."

Orion sat down with a light clank and pulled another leg off of the deer corpse.

"So if your so smart, what should I do?"

His eyes flickered, this time with sarcasm.

“Arrogant fool.” Was the only thing she could say as her cold eyes stared sarcastically to Orion. “I have a suggestion. Take back what you lost and gain it.” Taking a small dagger she threw it as if it was a reflex. A small noise of UMP was herd as a dead body started to disintegrate. “They always watch.” She shrugged her shoulders and thought for a moment after propping up her feet on a log and biting her lower lip. It would be one of those nights of restless sleep. “Is there anything I don’t know that you might want to think over before you go up and show a temper to people?” She swayed her hand in the air as the fire seemed to dim a little more. She was a water element.

Orion shook his head. He had found his opposite here of all places. He reclined on the ground as she began to fall asleep and sighed.

"Arrogant yes, fool maybe. But you share a good number of the same traits."

With that he fell into a light dreamless doze.

Dozing off was one of the best things ever. Her mind was settling down catching up on a days work. It had been days before she slept, but tried to do an hour worth of meditation to heal her mind and sometimes her body. Usually she would drink a black liquid from a bottle and that would be her healing potion but today she quickly found out why she couldn’t drink that anymore : Centaurs.

Orion relived the worst moment of his life. The deth of his daughter. He recalled the scream over and over again, then he recalled the sound of his wife's scream. The last thing he saw was the assasin's head explode with the force of heat Orion pulled into it. He recalled he had spent the next day ina berserker rage, destroying anyone who had crossed his path and burning just about everything flammable. He had turned southern Cenland into a firestorm. He let it burn into his neighbor's lands to flush them out despite the massive ecological damage. He suddenly awoke and blinked in confusion.

The sun was settling into the morning’s life. Alexia was gone from the campfire except for her horse that had not moved since last night. Off in the distance Alexia was humming a tune as the water caressed her body dearly. A small water wall surrounded her as she bathed dearly. Scents of lavender and herbs carried through the edge of the fall and forest floor. She had a feeling someone was up as she quickly finished bathing and walked calmly on the water towards the forest floor. She whistled as little pixies fluttered down towards her. Without another sound they dressed her and fixed her hair and grabbed her cape. She smiled and thanked them, returning to the camp.

Orion yawned and stood up. After a brief stretch he looked at Alexia.

"Hope you had a good bath."

He regularily incinerated the dirt and grime that grew on his skin. Although he had a slightly burnt odor around him, he was usually moving by too fast to be scented by passer by. He occasionally put on aftershave, but usually he didnt.

(OOC: good story so far...mind if i join?)

Deliria wandered aimlessly through the woods, lost and confused. Last night she had been with her family, but when she woke this morning, they had left. Miserable, her bright blue eyes continually spewed silent tears, that she wiped away.

"No sense crying over it now, you have to focus..."

Sliently she crept around the trees, carefully picking her dress off the ground. It red trim was already looking dingy and a small amount of sweat formed in the v shaped neckline. She carried her black cape, feeling that is was too hot for her to wear at a time like this. She was hungry, alone, and scared. She desperately wanted to hunch down and cry, but she knew at this point, it would get her no where. Lost in her own thoughts, she heard voices and tried to ignore them. Suddenly she tripped and fell to the ground. As she looked up, she saw a figure of a man a few yards away. 'Of course, leave it to me to fall in front of potential murders' she thought to herself, all the while belittling her already low self esteem.

" I don't want to die." she said in a low whisper and she laid herself flat against the ground.

(OOC: It isnt our thread but the guy left so sure.)

Orion drew a very large sword when the woman stumbled into the clearing. When he saw her pathetic demeanor, he re-sheathed it.

"Well get up then. I'm not going to use your guts for garters to...."

He had almost said today, which was usually what he would have done, but there were two women and Orion knew that hell had no terror like a woman pissed. He walked over and extended a hand to her, retracting the claws on his gloves.

Slowly raising herself from the ground, she stared silently at the hand. Her hand shook as she reached to grab it. As she rose from the ground, she contemplated her less than graceful entrance and couldnt stop staring at the man who had just helped her up. She had never been so scared at any one point in her life.

"Do you really use human entrails for your clothing, or are you just trying to intimidate me?" she replied, desperately trying to sound bold, but failing horribly.

She looked around the clearing and finally her nerves settled enough so that she could actually speak to the man in front of her.

"Where am I and who are you and how can I get out of this place without getting killed?"
she asked. She dusted herself off and tried to smooth her long blonde hair.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself first. My name is Deliria. Thats all you'll ever need to know about me."

Alexia raised a brow has her eyes blues flickered to a stone purple. “You will speak or die.” She looked at her fingers and held them out, staring lovingly. “I don’t care if you live; only him.” She shrugged her shoulders and moved towards the fire as she thrust her hand out; water spewing on it. As the steam hissed in the air she moved her hand down and whistled for Recko.

"Why do you care what happens to him?" Deliria inquired, her agitation more evident towards the woman with every word she spoke. She gazed at the unlikely duo with a hint of envy. 'Even if they're not friends, at least they have each other's back' she thought to herself. Deliria seated herself at the base of a very large tree and curled herself up. She wasn't used to depending on strangers for help, she'd always had friends nearby. The only kindness she had witnessed in the past 12 hours was the stranger's hand as he offered to help her up. She'd never felt so alone.

Standing herself up once again, Deliria smiled sarcatically at the odd woman. " It's nice to make your acquaintance."

Orion looked questioningly at Alexia.

"I'm flattered but I hardly know you er.... Alexia."

He turned to the girl.

"No I dont humans as clothing."

He clicked a ciggarette out and lit it on fire with a blink of his eyes. After a deep breath he blew smoke out in a long stream.

"So now what?"

"You can start by telling me who you are..."

Fascinated by the odd way the cigarette was lit, she carefully added

"and what you are."

Her curiousity was sparked by these 2 obviously interesting individuals. She picked up a small rock and threw it at the now extinguished fire. She missed by 2 feet.

"All I want is to figure out where my family went. I'm just scared they might be slaughtered somewhere. I need you, or anyone's, help if you can, and from the way you reacted when I fell in so non-chalantly, maybe you can teach me to fight...I know I'll need the skills if I want to stay alive..."

"I am one bad person to be associated with. I'm only human though, so you know what motivates me. Money, greed, etcetera. As for your family, If you don't know where the are, theyre like as not dead."

Orion went about packing his gear up, what little there was, and tucked the case with his old training sword deeper into his pack. He didn't like lending equipment. Suddenly there was a loud snarl from the tree line.

"Oh great."

Alexia sighed as she bit her lower lip. “I am an Elf. I am Alexia. That is all you need to know about me. I do not care to kill and I do not care about your family. I will help under one condition: All is fair in love and war.” She smiled as she packed up her horse. “As for the King, I must say, that helped last night. She didn’t want to; as for the noise she could hear Orion swear causally. Rolling her eyes she inhaled and started taking out daggers; tossing a large heavy one to the girl. “You might need this. If you can fight, do it. If you can’t; you’re in my way and I will kill you.” Alexia was in a spiteful mood this morning; the last thing she wanted was to save a helpless life.

Orion drew a large sword out of his arm sheath and backed up slowly as a massive black thing advanced out of the tree line.

"Oh thats just not fair."

The massive panther let out a coughing roar and spat at Orion, who returned the favor.

"Ok, uh... I'll distract it, you two go in from the sides. Alexia, take the right, you take the left."

He gestured and a wave of fire erupted to the rear of the cat, distracting it while Orion moved in. He swung the Black Reaver with a crushing speed and snarled at the cat as he did.

It took a couple of seconds for Deliria to realize what exactly was going on. She swung to the left of the cat, weilding the dagger.

"So much for friendly chit chat."

Andernaline pulsed through her veins as she stayed low to the ground, searching for exactly the right place to attack the beast. Anger and determination flashed in her eyes. It was now or never, she had to defend herself. She held out her hand in front of her, and a large gust of wind slammed into the cat with hurricane force.

[Edited by Deliria on Saturday, April 23, 2005 9:35 AM]

Alexia yawned and sat back. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” Seeing the large force come close to the cat, Alexia threw large water forces to block the wind. “Don’t kill it!” She said in a hissing tone as the wind was knocked back. “You never kill something like that; just remove it.” Alexia flickered another water force from under the cat as it seemed to hiss and spit. Clicking her tongue, it disappeared back to the mountains. With glowing blue eyes, raging she didn’t say a word but a scowl on her face was everything they were going to get.

" I wouldn't have killed the thing, just knocked it over!" Deliria fumed at Alexia. "I'm not strong enough to kill that thing and don't have the heart to try and murder it...yet." Her eyes flashed with contempt and disgust at Alexia.

She shook her head and sat down, realizing that arguing right now was not a good idea. She absent mindedly tossed rocks towards the edge of where the fire had been.

"Alexia, have you ever gotten along with anyone?" she whispered. It dawned on her that she had just spoken those words out loud, she prayed that they weren't audible to anyone but herself.

Alexia turned on her heel. “For you information; who would want to befriend anybody after you watched your family get slaughtered while you were bound and gagged. So now, I hunt to kill.” In furry she stormed off to find her own place think of her absent mind of rebel. She hated all humans for what they did and trying to fix a deadened soul would never prevail. Sighing, she climbed up a tree and sat against the large trunk of the tree.

" FAMILY?! YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT FAMILY?! MINE IS MISSING! AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED TO YOURS!!!!" Deliria screamed as Alexia stormed away. 'How dare she act like a her problem is the only existing problem in the entire world!' she fumed. Frustrated, Deliria turned and stomped off to flop herself below a tree. She crossed her arms, thinking about how completely selfish Alexia was acting, and how she hadn't been much of a saint since she stumbled here herself. Deliria got lost in her own thoughts, trying to find a clue in her own mind where her family was. After a few minutes of turning through memories with no prevail, she decided to yell for Alexia so she could try to reason with her and, if her pride didn't get in the way, apologize to her.

Alexia sat there on the waters edge. She loved the water and its purpose. It was her opposite of her personality in so many ways, yet sometimes it felt as though she contradicted herself. She wanted to free and wild like the water; go wherever she wanted to go, but it wasn’t about her. She was meant to be a Rouge and be pushed around but her bloodlust occurred. She didn’t care for peoples soul; only that little boy. She sighed, she was not selfish. She was arrogant. She was not meaningless, she was powerful.

Splashing water to the side, it seemed to come back to her as she grinned. She knew that girl would come back; they always did.

Deliria stopped in mid stride, seeing Alexia by herself. She decided that instead she would let Alexia warm up to her. She was not going to apologize for everything she did that someone else viewed as wrong. When did she become so dependent? She turned around and headed the opposite direction to sit under the tree she'd become so fond of in the last couple hours. Lost in her thoughts, she made a pact with herself that she would show everyone how independent she could be from that moment on. Her mind began to drift until one thought hit her...what would she have to do next to get out of here?

“You have options you know.” Alexia called out; knowing the same thoughts running through the girls mind. “You can’t find answers to everything; and even if you think what you truly don’t know; think harder.” This was the same thing she was taught from her master. Riddles upon riddles, but the good thing lied about them was when you really needed them and you automatically had the answer. She grinned looking back down to her water, lapping it sheepishly.

She didn’t hear much from Orion but figured he didn’t want to be caught in any female’s fights. Especially since he had to work on finding an army strong enough to retain what he wants. .She doubted seriously he could have the first few demons lair, with or without force. She pondered. She was a hunted assassin to many Kings and queens; she grinned having her idea in full. “Orion…” She called sweetly as her tone went to a sopranos.

Deliria heard what she'd said, and ignored her. She had options, but she wasn't ready to leave this 'trio' she had accidentally stumbled into. They weren't very good friends at the moment, but they were the only ones she had right then...and in her current state of mind, the only competition around. She heard the high soprano voice of Alexia calling for Orion and she smirked. Alexia had some brilliant idea, and she needed Orion's help...and Deliria was gonna tag along. There was no way she would miss this for the world.

Orionemerged from the trees.

"You two done yet? Or am I going to have to subdue you girls?"

He had always been mystified at how women could get into the hugest fights without killing each other.

OOC: I hope you don't think I'm rude in real life! I'm just playing my character who seems too much of a B*tch. Sorry if it sounded as my emotions were talking.

IC:
“I could careless about a depressed pity ‘why-me?’ girl. As for a plan has occurred to mind about this ‘army’ you wish to seek. I am a hunted assassin over thousands of lairs. We can start by finding some of the common ones before reaching the more ‘in-depth’ demons or you can take me as some prisoner to the high courts in the Dragons Lair and have your army there.” She folded her arms. Even if she was prisoner she knew the Lair much more well than the masters of time; she was older than time.

OOC: No, I completely understand...it's all a game.

IC: Her head snapped to where Orion appeared, and she glared at him for his comment, but the glare gave way to a laugh when she realized what he'd said. She knew there was no way he'd be able to subdue both girls at the same time, but it was a pretty humorous thought. She turned her head towards Alexia.

"Pity me girl? At least I when I get angry I dont walk away. What's wrong? Can't you handle the heat?" she inquired, challenging Alexia to react. "If you're going anywhere, I'm coming too. This is my choice and I dont care what happens to me or what you think." If she wasn't careful, her pride was going to get the best of her and arrogance would slowly take over. God help them all if that happened. She tried to sound like she would be an important person, but she knew that they would be able to handle it on their own. She simply needed a purpose, and no one would stop her. She was bored and maybe a trip with these two was just what she was hoping for...another opportunity to explore a very foreign world.

[Edited by Deliria on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 6:33 PM]

Orion threw a fire ball into the air.

"CALM down, both of you."

He turned to alexia.

"You say we can rebuild an army and take back an empire? With theives and assasins. I like the idea of that."

He turned to the other girl.

"You up to taking over the world?"

OOC: Sorry to play this little part!

IC:
“Pity me girl? At least I when I get angry I don’t walk away. What's wrong? Can't you handle the heat?"

“Let me tell you something about high heat: it’s called steam against water.” Clenching her fist and releasing it, a force of heated mist ran from under the girls bottom, pushing her in the air. Alexia snapped her finger once Orion threw the ball of flame in the air. She snapped her finger watching the girl give a slight ‘uph’ to the floor.

She burned with the need to prove herself but it was Orion’s temper that flared where the water subdued. She sighed taking a small grin. “I’ll kill you one day and when I do I will spit on you.” She thought demonically. For now she wanted to see bloodshed but she wanted to save her energy. The Dragon’s Lair was much more useful when you were healthy. “You realize we could take down the Lair but unfortunately we have ourselves a little baby girl.”

Alexia gave an impression of a baby suckling on a thumb before returning her gaze towards Orion. Digging through her many pouches, she handed a brownish parchment. In red letters it said: “Demons for Prize.” “It’s a list of all the demons that are hunted. Bounty hunters gave this one to me; they didn’t think twice before I killed them.” She smiled, pushing her hair back. “It’s about a 40-day walk to the Lair; a 10 day flight with a wing span of 60 yards; and a 20-day walk by running horses. Sure enough we are going to have to stop for this little sissy.”

She smirked at Orion. "I think I can handle a little world domination."

Deliria rubbed her bottom after Alexia's most recent deed of cruelty. The fury and frustration built up inside her. Ever since she showed up, Alexia had been treating her like a child. Now she was tired of it.

(OOC: sorry!!!)

"I think you need a little air too cool off your steam..."

With a flick of her wrist, Deliria hit Alexia with a cool blast of air, just strong enough to send her flying backwards about 5 feet. The small gust hit Alexia dead on. Alexia landed with a thud, and bounced a little bit as she landed, satisfying Deliria's small need for revenge. "I'd like to see you try to kill me." She smiled wickedly at Alexia and then turned her full attention to Orion.

"What do I have to do to make this plan work?"

She grinned a little, rubbing her bottom. “I can do a lot more than a silly flick of the wrist!” She mumbled as a threat. She hated when little girls got in her way. Her hand started to feel a stinging sensation as she took it back and shook it quickly. Alexia tried not to throw too much energy away as she stepped into the water, she felt whole again as her attire seemed to change.

From her normal white gown, it had changed to two silk black flaps held together with a black leather thong, ties on both sides. It was low, revealing her hips as her sword started to grow to the lengths of her legs. Next, the water moved up towards her bodice as it looked almost like a string bikini top; black. Blue jewels lined from the upper navel to the lower breast in three different sizes.

The water had reached her hair, forming a tight bun and a blue jeweled crown on her forehead. After the water subsided, she flicked her wrist as a black glove had revealed itself to her middle finger. A small water ball came from her hands as she threw it in the air to the point were a white light busted into a lightning bolt, spreading across until a red flash hit.

“Dragon’s Lair is North West.” She said as the ball disappeared into water droplets. “Orion, in case you are wondering; lightning can’t affect me; I wield it.” She stepped out of the water, seemingly floating or walking on it as if it were a sheer thing of ice. She inhaled; knowing this day there would be war upon her. Black always meant war. She grinned as her pointed ears twitched.

Orion looked up briefly at the lightning.

"Lightning doesnt bother me anyways, besides, I prefer fire."

He looked northwest and nodded.

"Now if you two can contain yourselves We should leave. Magic is frowned upon in this place."

He returned to the clearing and retrieved his gear.

"Ready?"

Alexia snapped her finger. Everything was ready as her horse, Recko appeared next to her. His appearance had changed with large hawk-like wings. “I’m ready if Miss. Priss is.”

" I dont think you should worry about me too much. Let's go..." She smiled.

She whistled loudly and a large cat appeared. It was roughly the size of a very large horse, but was black with red stripes. She climbed aboard and smiled.

"Orion you can either ride with Recko unless you have some sort of flying. We still have at least a week of walking on feet before we reach the Lair. Once we get there keep up your own guard. I have no fret of killing. Also, beware that you can not use any type of magic; not even your sword. The walls are; how you say...against all of it. Actually it's quite nice."

Deliria sighed. 'How the heck am I going to defend myself if I can't use my magic?' she pondered alone. SHe knew that she had to learn to dfend herself in hand to hand combat and keep up with Orion and Alexia. This was not going to be an easy trip for her, but shw vowed she would learn and when they reached their destination, she would fight as well as Alexia could.

Orion smiled, he wasnt really a heavy magic user, just a human zippo lighter.

"The swords just a sword, I'm the magic."

Orion jumped up about a foot and was surrounded by fire. He floated up and bobbed slightly before turning towards the direction they were going.

"At rest stops, I'll teach you two all I know about fighting. Nothing better to do anyways."

She would have grinned at his comment but she knew how to fight and when to fight. She had lost her life and regained it several times thanks to misfortunate souls. She played evil but it was the loneliness she strived on to keep her wits and ego going.

“Oh daring solider the caves I have only ventured in more than your age!” Sarcastically speaking. She had to fight to walk through the Dragon’s Lair as it repelled against any and all magic. Pure wizards weren’t allowed to go in. Thanks to half-lings roaming around they were easily a meal for dragons since they had no sense of direction.

Lightly kicking Recko, he knew where she wanted to go, taking her high into the air, barely flapping his wings as he maintained a quick speed as well as a normal horses grunt. Deep inside she wanted to lash out and become a child but she didn’t know these two strangers and didn’t trust that pity of a girl. Alexia had known to keep her guards with a ‘depressionist,’ since she had been carelessly fooled. Orion on the other hand had something obvious and yet his arrogance bonded in little ways with her.

Smiling, as though in a daze, she watched Alexia fly upwards. She looked at Orion.

"Thanks for the offer, I'll take you up on that."

She whistled at her large cat who took 3 strides and jumped. She held on with her life as she flew into the air. She could see Alexia riding her horse above her sa they steadily ascended. She watched in awe as they rode over the forest. Realizing Alexia and Orion were further ahead, she tapped the cat's shoulder and hind quarters. It snarled with determination and began to speed up.

Orion whizzed along beside Alexia for a while but sensed she was going to be a broody silent type for most of the time. He rolled over onto his back, crossed his legs in a liesurley just-having-a-drink fashion and rolled down to where the cat was. He flew along the ground, burning a streak in the foliage behind him as he drifted beside the cat riding girl.

"So whats your story?"

She smirked.

"It's long and boring really, so I'll give you the shortened version. I grew up as an only child in my family. Naturally everyone spoiled me and took care of me, the way any parents would. When I was old enough to learn about the world, my parents taught me about our family history. My family hates magic, and even though they have powers, they never use them because they believe that using your powers will get you killed in the end. "

She looked at him to try to judge his reactions, and continued.

"The day before I inconveniently stumbled into your camp, I had used my magic and my aunt saw me. I begged her not to tell that I had been usingfThey acted strangely around me the entire day and when night fell and I was asleep, they all disappeared. So now I have to find them, adn prove to them that my powers won't kill me and I'll be fine...I just don't know how to convince them that its not wrong to accept a gift you've been given."

Finishing her story, she looked at him again

"So what's your deal?"

She wanted to laugh at the girls ‘sad’ story. Magic was not evil and her parents were lunatics if they thought that. Magic is just a void used to shield and protect. “So her parent’s weren’t going to die, nor kidnapped.” She thought. A small mountain appeared from off in the distance growing larger very slowly. “We only have about a weeks journey left on foot!” She called back, looking down a Recko who seemed invincible. She stroked his main as he neighed back in approval and distraction.

Deliria yelled to Alexia, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"So now you know my family is psychotic. The bottom line is I'm in this to prve to them that I wont die..."

She watched as the trees whizzed by and fell silent. She drifted into a daydream, remebering the last time she had seen her parents and how they had acted around her. She smiled sadly, knowing when and if she found them again, it would be the most dramatic meeting she'd ever encounter.

Orion shouted with far more command in his voice then a giant could have possesed.

"THERE IS NO TIME FOR YOUR QUARRELS YOU TWO! Don't make me separate you."

He rolled his eyse, did a barrel roll in mid air and drifted up to see the mountain. Peachy. He rolled back down to Deliria's side.

"I was an emporer, until another nation got the best of me. Even my largest army couldn't hold them off. They used shadows to do some fairly bloody things. We're off to try and rebuild that empire."

He wizzed back up to above the horizon and observed the mountain's advent. He flew in silence for a while before accelerating and landing about a half mile infront of the other two. He knelt on the ground and began examining some ruins of old buildings. Shadowland. He jumped into the air holding a stone with an emblem on it.

"Hope you guys brought lanterns."

OOC: There shouldn’t be any quarrels. My character never spoke. She thought it. LOL.

“Why need the careless night?” She shouted back, descending towards the forest where a patch was near a brook. She yawned and pulled her cloak towards her breast to keep the warmth. Recko flapped his large wings and landed on a large, thick branch full of large leaves the size of the horse. “Neuron Jungle!” The horse folded his wings and then disappeared nuzzling closer to her ear.

Deliria came to a halt beneath Alexia. Looking up at her, she smiled.

"Ya know, one day you just might need my help...and I know I'll need yours...so why dont we put a biases aside and just work together?"

She glanced down at her feet, and with a hint of sarcasm muttered, "After all, how could I be as absolutely wonderful as you? Being a mere mortal and all...why...I dont know if I could have the strength to pee by myself if you never forgave me Alexia!"

Speaking in a louder tone as she continued, and exceedingly dramatically, she was overcome with sarcasm and spite and dropped to her knees.

"Say you'll forgive me for breathing Alexia! I just don't know how I could handle living without you as my guardian! HAve mercy on my poor mortal soul!!!!"

She giggled and then quickly became solemn. "I don't know what got into me...I'm truly sorry. Let's resolve our issues temporarily, and settle our differences later, once we handle what we'll be thrown here. Deal?"

Orion was busy building a massive bonfire, throwing huge chunks of wood into a pile from the edge of the trees, flinching at moving shadows. A deer suddenly broke cover and was suddenly incinerated by a blue ball of fire. Soon a pile of wood about as tall as Orion was sitting in the clearing. Orion lit it the second the light decreased enough to rob the day of light. The light was weak at first, but suddenly it turned bright red as nature took its course and the wood began to burn on its own. Orion stood and looked around, standing basically right in the fire. He glowered at shadows and continued dragging wood into the center of the clearing as much as he could, surrounded by an aura of fire each time.

"Stay in the light, if they find us, they'll kill us."

Alexia’s temper started to flare. “You uneducated, wise-cracking, dumbfounded girl! Do you not see you are death’s path? You can beg in your sarcastic era but know this, there is no deal- there never will be one until time comes. I am not immortal. I owe a favor towards that exiled king, who are you to say our biases are to be withheld. Never.” She stepped over and walked silently towards Orion. Her mood seemed to lighten up a little as she moved closer to him feeling the heat course through his body. She grinned looking at the shadows.

“They have been following us for quite some time. It’s only a matter of time before they break the night. You should try talking to some of your ‘foes’ since they will become your friends.” Alexia sat down looking at the shadows and embraced it. She knew what creatures lurked around. “I do warn you; don’t follow the illusions of the forest floor. What’s more intriguing is that there is neither forest floor nor a bottom. You are in the Endless Forest.”

Deliria smirked to herself and turned to walk over to the others. She stood in the warmth of the fire and smiled, enjoying the flames heat. She listened as Alexia spoke and new that she was right about her sarcasm. She dropped her head, staring at "the ground" that wasn't there...

"Alexia, you're right. I won't make anymore comments and I apologize for my foolishness, I'll try harder next time." she said, with more intensity and seriousness than she'd ever been in her whole life. "You're right, I can't play around with my life, I have a point to prove to you, him, my family...everyone."
"Orion, I swear to you I will be serious throughout this, unless the circumstances differ at some point, and I will NOT argue with Alexia over senseless things from here on out."

She turned away from the duo, and walked away to the opposite side of the fire from them. She sat and stared coldly in their direction, focusing in on a small white glow 6 feet above Orion's head. Her expressions never changed.

" Turn around, both of you...what is that?"

Orion, highstrung and paranoid, whipped around and floated off the ground simultaneously. His sword appeared in his hand.

"I will never embrace those freaks Alexia, and now they will kill us a..... "

He had seen the glowing white light and stopped in mid sentence.

"What is that? Either of you two?"

Orion distrusted unknown magic but this almost seemed like a firefly, although a large one. He didn't think it was a firefly though, it wasnt quite moving. Then he saw Deliria's expression. It was far from wonder, curiosity or fear. It was neutral, completely illuminated by the blaze in the center. Orion pretended not to notice, and pulled out a spear head. With a sudden savage movement, he hurled the spear head straight at the ball. It flew perfectly right at the center.

Alexia cocked her head to the side and took a moment to realize the glow. She chuckled and put her hand on the base of Orion’s hilt. “They are not freaks. You are a freak if you consider so little of things and creatures. That is simply a pixie. They live here too. A large one yes, but a pixie.” Alexia took off her cloak, revealing her curves and toned body. “Wait here and I will show you.” She smiled, pushed her hair back and then left the barrier Orion had left for her, entering the shadowy darkness.

Orion blinked. He had never even heard of these things.

"The Shadow Masters are all freaks. They will slaughter us as soon as see us."

He turned in time to see Alexia leave the light. Orion closed his eyes expecting a brutal splashing sound. Shadows loved gore and created it left right and center when ever they could. Orion felt he had waited a long time, though it had been a few seconds.

Deliria stared at the light.

"That's not a pixie...I don't trust it."

She walked around and stood by Orion, holding her breath for Alexia. With out realizing it, she formed a small fist and a blue orb, matching the white glow, appeared at her side.
She drew her hand up in a position to hurl the ball, should anything go wrong, and waited. Adenaline began to pump through her veins, anticipating any potential dangers.
It seemed like she'd been waiting for hours for Alexia's return, when in reality, it'd been 30 seconds. Absent-mindedly, she gripped Orion's wrist, hard.

Alexia’s blue sword danced through the shadows monster’s throat. She knew well enough it wasn’t a pixie but something of a light source. Yet, jumping from thick branch to even thicker branch made it easier except for when the creatures came packing on to six-seven monsters. She chopped away at their throats giving their balance off and then kicking them off onto a lower branch or towards the endless pit. She frowned when the jumped up towards a couple of branches. Sweat dripped down her body carelessly but it was just another advanced trick. When she reached the light she found it strange, taking it in one hand.

The coolness gave goosebumps all around as she moved it towards her hand. It then gave a sizzling feeling in her hands as her fingertips grew into small flames, causing the light to turn into her fiery flame. The shadows seemed to come out, not as shadows but as day creatures. They were also rogues as Alexia pivoted holding two blades in one had and the ball of now yellow light in the other. “Got it!” She echoed out as she smiled towards the creatures and jumped down towards the campsite.

Claws groped her but she fought back until the shadow figures seemed to come in packs. This light wasn’t something of the light it was something to command the figures. She grinned. “This thing could come in a wonderful outcome.” She grinned, flicked her blades and the shadows seemed to disappear near her. She laughed letting it casually dance across the thick trees.

Orion felt a light tug on his arm but didn't pay attention to it. He saw Alexia free falling towards them with what looked like a huge shadow army after her. His free hand came up, sending a wave of fire straight up at the swarm. It flattened into a pizza shape, spreading outwards to catch everything. Alexia fell through it unharmed, as if the fire held no heat for her. Suddenly the wave broke apart, turning into thousands of orbs which began to whiz towards the shadows with murdurous intent. Orion suddenly realized Deliria was holding his wrist and blinked in surprise. It had been a while since any woman had even talked to him let alone touch him. The lapse in concentration cost him the mobility of the spell and the shadows whizzed by the fireballs like they weren't even there.(OOC: I'm refering to them as shadows because I cant spell rogue without immense concentration.) Suddenly the fireballs whizzed back towards him, igniting the first of the shadows as they caught up.

"Burn you abominations."

The Black Reaver drifted out of it's sheath, landing in the hand that had cast the wave, which was still burning shadows with apparent glee. The massive sword suddenly ignited with blue fire and Orion's long black hair began to dance. There was a warm gust around him now, and becoming warmer. The pommel of the sword suddenly began to glow a deep emerald as Orion pushed himself into a rage. His eyes were litterally sparking now and his hair was beggining to whip around behind him like a snake. He moved with an amazing speed, slipping out of Deliria's grip and rocketing upwards by ricochetting off trees. His movements were a blur as he met the first shadow, who fell in half as Orion passed.

Alexia saw his movement and how the shadows removed their attention on her. She held the light and threw it towards the fire, watching it turn blue. She looked over towards the large blades Orion wielded and she moved swiftly towards him, taking her shoulder and slamming his chest towards the light. “Stay away for now!” A slight sting came from her bare shoulders but it was nothing, she wasn’t trying to kill the shadows, only their spirit.

Orion snapped out of the rage, suddenly plummeting back towards the ground. He sheathed his sword and cocooned himself in fire to prevent the shadows from contacting him. His eye twitched as he fell and he was seriously considering causing a major blast that would burn about ten square miles of forest. Suddenly he was on the ground. He had landed on his back and his head had hit something hard, knocking him out.

After a moment of returning towards the light she realized she had the power to knock out Orion. She wanted to grin but she didn’t know how hard she rushed after him to get him back towards the light. Sliding her blades towards the fire, she hastily tore off his armor and shirt to get to where his bare skin was. Pushing her hair aside she put her ear to his chest and herd his heart beating. She then took her hand and put it through his shirt and moved it down towards his ribs to make sure nothing broke.

Once everything seemed alright she moved towards his head and checked the back of his neck to see if there was any bleeding. His breathing had been lowered as she opened one eye lid to see his eye moved forward and then back to sleep again. She rolled over him and took her two fingers on her left hand and put them on his right temple. On her she did the opposite by taking her two fingers on her right hand to her left temple. Slowly a blue light came towards her fingers on his temple and then ignited a small vibration of comfort as water hydrated his body once more. When she thought she was done, she sat up next to a bark, yawned, smiled and slept.

Orion snapped awake a few minits later. He shook his head and blinked a few times. He wasn't sure what had knocked him out. The girl hitting him, or him hitting the ground. Maybe both. He sat up and immediately realized he was without armor. There was a hasty rustle as he put on his shirt and then the platemail torso piece. That done he sighed and looked around. He snorted and rose to his feet, making sure all his posseisions, including a shattered gold scepter, were still in his posession.

“Yes everything is still there. Nothing is taken from you.” Her words were expressionless as her eyes remained shut trying to rejuvenate a little more. She had been worn out from running and then knocking someone down to using her magic for hydrating purposes. “If you honestly think I want your garb please remind me to kill you.” There was a hint of sarcasm that marked her last remark.

"I have a tendency to be paranoid about my possesions. Its a clan thing, you wouldn't understand."

Orion looked up half expecting to see an army waiting for him, but none was there.

"What was that about?"

"Let's just say I owed you a favor and I paid it off." She slightly shifted to her side, opened her eyes and snapped her finger softly. The blue flame in the fire had moved towards her fingers. "This is what controls those shadow creatures. Now, it's yours since you wanted an army. They come when they are called for and when they are not called on they still are being duplicated. Just remember this: they hunt to kill. Something I'm sure you are use to in a 'clan.'" She smiled slightly standing up and feeling the dizziness overwhelm her.

Orion blinked in surprise. The shadows at his control? He was a shadow master? It was absurd.

"Thank you."

The word sounded odd coming from Orion's mouth, as it didnt usually. He saw Alexia sway on her feet. He blinked slightly, he was still slightly stunned from his unconciousness and was slightly confused.

Before regaining her strength she gave a half grin. "You should get some rest and I would be careful about your temper. The shadows are wielded towards your emotions and if you are exiled then I suggest you retain your anger."

Orion nodded. He wandered towards a tree. and leaned against it. Shortly after, he fell into a doze. It was dreamless and yet restfull. Shotly later he fell into deep sleep and began to snore quietly.

A small smile spread across her face to hear him snore. To make sure everything was in place she moved towards the darkness once more after picking up her swords from the fire. It was cool against the heat of the flames as she sheathed it carefully. The darkness was inviting as she smiled to see a large, average shadow towards a branch. The shadow creatures had left for the night since thier power had now been taken.

"I told you didn't I?" She calmly said. The figure moved towards her.
"You did." His voice was deep and mysterious.

Watching from the farside of the fire, Deliria was completely forgotten. She watched and toyed with the small glowing ball she had formed earlier, debating whether to use it or not. She watched as Orion became commander of the shadow army, and smiled.

She listened for Orion's snoring as he drifted off and then movement caught her eye. She creeped up towards Alexia and heard her speak to the anonymous individual. She threw the small glowing ball at the unknown figure, but saw it explode very close to its mark.

"Who are you?" She asked menacingly.

Alexia turned on her heel as the man’s body was heavily armored and cloaked. Being in the darkness, you had to be on guard at all times. Alexia clapped her hands, put them to her mouth and grinned. “You are such a fool messing with information that doesn’t apply. This is my brother. Now, if you will excuse us, we have some business to attend to.” Alexia’s glare was revealing her rage as she wanted to take her long bow and notch a few arrows to repent her anger. “Leave fool. Go back to camp and sleep.”

Deliria glared back. "Does your brother have a name?"

She was tired, no doubt about that, but wasn't ready to call it a night just yet. Fury raged in her, she didnt like shady behavior and had no tolerance for it.

"As far as I'm concerned, you can either leave, include me, or face on fight that no one will ever want to experience," she fiercely added, speaking to the brother

Her fury shown through her eyes as she turned to Alexia. "Don't test me...I'm not stupid, and so help me God, if you are betraying Orion, I'll kill you myself. That first ball missed on purpose, next time I'll hit you dead on..." she challeged, "I think Orion needs to know what's going on more than I do, so why did you wait until he was asleep? Is there something you're not telling us Alexia? If so, I think I should wake him up."

She conjured a small energy ball in her fist. She threw it at Orion, smacking him in the face. The ball bounced back and disappeared in the palm as she screamed "ORION!!!!"

Alexia shook her head. “My brother’s name is Orion. He deals with fire himself. Wake Orion and let him come. I would rather tell him than a girl with no knowledge but the suckling of her mother’s breast.” Folding her arms tightly her brother moved towards the shadows once more not in fright but because he knew his sisters temper. They each possessed a character trait and sometimes he thought it would suit her personality to carry the gift of fire than the serenity of water.

Orion sprang up, drawing his sword and looking around almost comically.

"What? Who? Ow."

Orion rubbed his forhead. Not only was the energy ball going to leave a bruise, but he had a ripping headache. He shook his head an looked up.

"Are you two at each others throats again? You two are how old?"

He sheathed the blade and blinked as he saw what appeared to be someone moving back into the shadows. Then he saw the two women about ready to attack each other. He sighed resignedly. This had been an interesting day but it didn't seem to be over yet.

"Whatd I miss?"

It seemed almost too possible to just kill the girl who complained about everything. She sighed and looked at the Orion near the fire. “You are what makes the prophet real. Not my brother, Orion.” She folded her arms in anger, scowling at the girl. “This…baby seems to forget I am a rouge, assassin, and a magic user. I have nothing else to say but that. You are going to wield the powers of all and lose one.” She shifted on her leg which seemed to fall asleep for a brief moment.

Orion pulled a small golden shard out of his pocket. He tossed it in the air and closed his eyes. There was an explosive flash and even though his eyes were closed, Orion still was slightly disoriented. He opened his eyes and blinked, hoping the stunning spell would have affected the two girls.

"You two are going to have to learn to get along or go along. Either way I will not have civil war of any sort in any sort of army. Be it you two or an entire nation. Is that understood?"

Orion ws getting sick of this bickering and this had been the last straw.

"There has been some weird crap happening and I don't need you two adding to my confusion. Alexia, stop threatening Deliria. Deliria, stop antagonizing Alexia. Try to, y'know, not talk to each other."

He shook his head and prepared to intervene as the spell wore off.

"Now what about this prophet thing?"

The flash left her slightly dizzy, and made her wobble a little. What Orion said was right. She knew no army, organization or group could work with incessant bickering between the members. She had to get along with this fiend of a female, she had no other choice.

Her dizziness left, and she immediately remebered what was going on. SHe smirked as she stared at Alexia.

"Now that everyone's here and present, let's continue this conversation." Her voice sounded innocent, edge with sarcasm.

Orion looked over to Alexia.

"It seems i was awoken for a reason. Are we under attack again?"

He glanced around warily, lest he be caught off guard.

In a fit of rage she felt his stinging sensation and took it upon her to smile. “You are awaken from a frightened baby who seems so dependant on you! That fear is going to kill us all. I was simply talking to my brother when her large ears listened to my conversation.” She looked over at the impeccable girl. “You however should be ashamed for many rogues would cut your ears, tongue, rape you and then kill you.”

"it may be dangerous to listen, but as far as I'm concerned, we're a team. And all ideas and thoughts should be shared with each other. And even though you think I'm dependent on him, I'm not. He is simply the only person out of the two of you who has shown me even the slightest bit of kindness, and that does not go unpaid. I am NOT afraid of you or anything out there. My fear will not get us killed, your dispicable actions and attitude is what will kill us! I refuse to die because of your bad attitude, so from now on, I refuse to bother with you Alexia, not only is it petty, but its a waste of time and effort on my part." She placed her hands on her hips. She felt better now that she had gotten that off her chest. She turned to Orion and frowned frustratedly. "I'm sorry for waking you because she was acting suspiciously. My childish actions won't disturb you again."

She stalked off to the opposite side of the camp fire, and called to her cat, her only true best friend in the world. She flopped next to the tiger-esque beast and stroked his head as the large cat curled around her. She felt at ease, but was still frustrated. Why did everyone always doubt her abilities? She was only a teenager, but she was still wise beyond her years in many ways. There was something about Alexia she didnt like, or trust. But Orion, he was different. Though he'd played referee many times between Alexia and herself, she trusted him and she wasn't sure why. She watched the others from her spot near the fire and began to think. She heard a noise behind her, like someone else was around and she tensed, disturbing the overprotective cat, who growled at the noise. Something definetly wasn't right here.

Orion sighed and sat back down. With a degree of resignation in his voice he grumbled,

"Well, its good to see you two getting along so well."

He pulled out a small green dagger and began whitteling a piece of green wood, which instantly petrified under the abrasions of the blade. The piece of wood cracked under what little pressure Orion put on it and he tossed it over his shoulder. Suddenly it whirled back out of the woods and hit him in the back of the head.

"This is going to take some getting used to."

He rose and looked up at the setting moon. Suddenly he heard another growl and looked over at the large cat. When a feline was spooked, it was a sign of worry.

"So, uh, wheres the next lair?"

She managed a small grin as the wood smacked Orion in the back of the head. Her cat curled into a tighter ball around her, completely enclosing her body with his. She drifted off to sleep every few minutes, but because she wasn't feeling safe and trusted only her cat and Orion with some aspects, she woke at the slightest noise around her. She was afraid if she fell into a deep sleep, they'd leave her there. She may not be happy, but she didnt want to be left alone here. All of a sudden, she bolted wide awake and shot up into a standing position.

"This place gives me the creeps...can we leave now?"

She immediatley chastised herself, because she knew she sounded scared, but she was scared. She hated this place, and knew enemies would be able to smell her fear...she had to conquer it, or Alexia would pick up on it and she'd never hear the end of it...

[Edited by Deliria on Tuesday, May 17, 2005 7:47 PM]

Orion jumped as Deliria shot up. At least she shared his worries.

"Suns just about up. Woouldn't hurt to leave early."

The woods behind Orion were rustling. Any minute, Orion expected some shadow or similar monster to explode out of the trees, snatch him in a multi rowed jaw of bristling teeth, and dissapear like a childs clown in a cube. It would have been comical had it not been so morbid. He heard something click behind him and nearly jumped across the clearing and into the other tree line.

"Aright, get your gear. This place is freaking me out too."

He pulled the fire from the smouldering pit to around his body and floated off the ground slightly.

"And I don't want to hear it Alexia. Srcasm doesn't change the fact. You have weird taste in friends."

A small grin came across her face. She knew how scared the both were but growing up with this she felt at home. Sickening but safe. “You mean the tree village. Those are the villagers. I sent my brother to fetch them.” Alexia had not slept since the anticipation was honorable. She kept watch from the shadows. In the back of her mind she wondered why she wanted to keep the pair safe. She sighed at the loneliness but depicted weakness; beating herself up emotionally.

Descending down the trees she landed with a thump of her feet and smiled. “I see you two are wholesome to sleep!” She smiled. “If you don’t ease up they will smell your fear.” She was in one of those moods that was given rarely; something to do with the air she guessed. A small man came walking out. His shoulders were broad with scars all over it and carrying a sword twice his size. He eyed the strangers and then noticed Alexia. He said something clicking his tongue and Alexia responded. “Dragon hunters.” She plainly said and followed.

Orion eyed the hunter nervously.

"I guess it can't hurt."

He plucked his day pack off the ground and turned to Deliria.

"Let's go."

He waited for her, mainly so she wouldn't be left alone, but parlt because he disliked the current setting.

She never moved faster in her entire life. She woke the cat and grabbed her gear. She smiled nervously and shuffled over to where he stood.

"Whenever you're ready..." urgency edged in her voice, she looked like a frightened baby deer with wide eyes.

She looked around the area, trying to assure herself there was nothing to be nervous about, but it was next to impossible at this point. Her nerves were so haywire, she couldn't evn control her own emotions.

"I'm not trying to rush you," she said as the cat appeared next to her,"but let's go...NOW..."