Come Inside!

[Anonymous]

Ekrina led them all to the outskirts of town, away from the castle.  Soon they arrived at a small cottage, as quaint as could be, with a little flower garden to the side of the door and a thatched roof.  "Isn't it nice?  I had a nice man build it for me.  It's ever so warm, even in the winter.  He did such a great job so I stop by to thank him every now and again."  She stopped in front of the door, fiddled with the handle, and pushed her way inside.

There were very few rooms, but quite a few round windows.  Once everyone entered, they could see that there was a kitchen with a small table nearby at the back.  This is where Ekrina headed.  To get there, she had to pass a comfortable looking sofa that was in front of a fireplace that wasn't currently going.  "Go ahead and have a seat.  I'll get to work on the food..."  She trailed off in sudden thought and turned around abruptly, "You can put her," she pointed to the elf in Li's arms, "on my bed, in there," and she pointed to a doorway to their left.  "Shuu can rest on the couch, if that's okay."

If Li were to go into Ekrina's bedroom, he would see a small bed in one corner, and a desk in the other, cluttered with papers.  Most looked blank.  There was another doorway within that looked like it led to a bathroom.

Ekrina stood in the kitchen area with her light absorbing eyes pointed to the ceiling in thought.  With a finger at the corner of her mouth, she pondered aloud, "Now what to serve..."

[Anonymous]

"Perhaps you should consider what everyone here would rather eat, before pondering such things." A deep voice comes from the entrance to the kitchen. There stood Hydrous' massive white werewolf self with his arms crosed over his chest. He wasn't invited either, but he's devoted to follow Shadow Walker for some reason. He followed the whole group from the Inn to Ekrina's cottage. Considering his overly eight foot size, he had to crouch through the doorway to get in. He peers at the girl with his aqua green eyes and a warm smile on his face.
"Like for one, I'm a carnivore, which should be pretty obvious. I'm sure Shadow Walker is canivorous as well, but I'm not quite sure of the others. Perhaps it would be best to ask if any of them are vegetarians." He explains thoughtfully.
"On a side note, I'm not hungry, so there's no need to serve me." He finishes before turning out of the kitchen to accompany Shadow Walker. Come to think of it, does a clone ever get hungry?

[Anonymous]

Li gazed about the cozy home she had and pondered for a moment.  Wait, how old was she?  Is this her house?  He took in the atmosphere of the small place after being let inside.  Hearing her words, he openly plopped himself right in the center of the sofa with the Elf girl still in hand and sighed relaxingly.  His attention shot back to Ekrina as she let him know where to put the Elf and sighed again, having just got comfortable.  He playful-exhaustedly rose to his feet with her and trudged off to the bedroom.  He found the bed and laid her down softly as she curled to the side and mmmed in her sleepy state.  Turning around he stretched his back and glanced about the little room and took a nosy curiosity in her desk.  He then meandered over to the papers to see if there was anything of interest to him.  

Scarlet closed the door behind everyone and took the offer and sat on the end of the sofa and leaned into the arm tiredly.  She sighed, leaned back and closed her eyes.  Her hands rested in her lap as she tried to keep her arms to herself.  Her fingers trembled lightly and she did her best to relax as something seemed to upset her mentally.  

Suddenly a loud voice is heard behind Hydrous as a crumpled piece of blank paper bounces off the back of his head.  "Fooouuuurrr!!!  Not five!  That is very rude to invite yourself to someone's house and just barge right in!" he reprimanded, shaking his finger with his other hand on his hip.  He closed his eyes and crossed his arms.  "If ya act like an ogre, yer gunna get treated like one..." he muttered aloud for everyone to hear.  

Scarlet opened her eyes slowly and saw Li throwing around general politeness commentary.  Wait...what?  What was that wolf doing here?  Couldn't he just go bother someone else?  And how dare he intrude like that.  She sighed heavily and closed her eyes again, trembling more as tried not to get irritated.  She was already having problems with this right now and she was getting somewhat visibly uncomfortable.

[Anonymous]

"Would everyone just shut up??" Shadow snarled from the doorway, looking tired, annoyed, and overall just fed up with the situation. She was too damn stressed out to deal with all the bickering.
Her livid green eyes portrayed all of this for the others to see. And, as unstable as she was, she still managed to come off as threatening.

Poor Shadow had just barely made it to the cottage without falling over. She could have used some help, but was too disgruntled and aloof to ask for it. Not that it was offered either. Still, she could at least be proud of the fact she had walked (more like stumbled) here on her own.
But now, she wanted to rest. To sleep, even.

Moving unsteadily, Shadow trudged warily to the sofa, not even bothering to glance at Hydrous or Li. She didn't want to deal with either of them right now. She didn't want to deal with anyone really.
Finally making it, Shadow simply toppled over the free arm and curled up on the cushions. It was comfortable, and she could sleep here. Of course, she didn't really feel secure enough to sleep, but perhaps she would manage to doze a bit.
Well, at least she was sitting by Scarlet, one of the few beings here she didn't find annoying. Of course, she didn't feel secure around her either, but at least she didn't have the urge to bite the woman.
Only Lynx really seemed to sooth her at this point, a fact that she didn't understand.

Whatever, she didn't want to think right then. Eyes closed, Shadow heaved a sigh and tried to relax, as all of her new muscles were tense enough to hurt.

[Anonymous]

Scarlet jumped a little at Shuu's sudden burst of complaint, watching as she flopped on the other side of the sofa.  "You can go and lay with your young friend in there if you're uncomfortable out here." She offered in a soft voice, showing signs of slight distress that she forced hidden.  "No one will mind." She mumbled on, her eyes shifting to the floor as she closed them again.  She couldn't seem to keep her hands from quavering and she hid them by crossing her arms.

[Anonymous]

The little girl seemed to shrink in upon herself, "I... I'm not sure what to make.  I thought it was pretty obvious I was leaving a hint for people to offer suggestions.  Um, I'm sure if there are any vegetarians, I could just make them a bean salad or something."  The wolf scared her.  He may have been smiling, but it showed off some of his teeth.

The wolf's entrance obviously bothered her guests.  While Li's reaction was amusing, it served to stir up conflict.  She could, even now, see Scarlet getting fidgety.  Shuu's outburst just made Ekrina's uncomfort build.  No one seemed to be getting along, even with her hospitality.  Maybe this wasn't such a good idea?

"It's okay if Shuu stays on the couch.  My bed isn't very big, and two people might make it a bit crowded.  Li, you and Scarlet can have a seat at the table if you like.  And since Mr. Wolf brought it up, I guess I should ask what you would prefer to eat."

[Anonymous]

Hydrous' smile has yet to fade, even when the little man threw that paper wad at him. he simply turned to the man, without removing his smile.
"I have my reasons for being here." The werewolf replies, letting his gaze travel about the room. He caught sight of Scarlet, soon figuring out her irratation. It's obvious it was him. He continues with what he was saying.
"If everyone has a problem with my presence, I could just remain outside. I prefer the rain anyway." Hydrous explains, heading towards the door. It's not raining though. What is the beast thinking?

[Anonymous]

She was never going to get to sleep with all this racket...Every noise just made her all the more tense. With a sigh of resignation, she sat up akwardly and glared out into the room.
"Would everyone just calm down already?" She muttered, looking utterly haggled and way out of her element. She severly wished Blade was here right now, for she wouldn't mind cuddling up with him and trying to sort things out. Of course, she would not mention openly to anybody that she could use some comforting. She was too tough and closed for that.

Not that she shouldn't want some comfort...
Her body had been changed drastically in just a few moments, everything she knew having been taken away. She couldn't walk, and felt like a fool, though she hid her embarassment with anger and frustration. Not to mention it seemed nobody was getting along well, and the tension was really beginning to get to her.
So, yes, alittle peace and quiet would be nice, as well as some reassurance. And for wolves, reassurance came as touch. Shadow had never been touchy, but then again, she was confident enough not to need physical contact very often.
She'd only allowed that privaledge to Blade, as he was her younger half-brother. Family. And the only of her family that wasn't trying to kill her.
Hellish Hades.

Yeah...reassurance would be nice...

[Anonymous]

Li watched Hydrous head for the door and head outside.  "Rain??" he asked curiously.  "What does liking rain have to do with his presents??"  He remarked with enough force to plow someone over with stupidity.  That was enough to make anyone's brain hurt.  

Scarlet then up and left without a word and exited where Hydrous did, closing the door harshly as she left.  She brushed past Hydrous, clutching her head.  She wandered to the corner of the house and went down the side.  After leaving Hydrous's view, she braced against the wall with her other hand as she stumbled about to the next corner.  She turned again and wandered into the back area of Ekrina's house and collapsed, leaning back against the wall.  Her hands fell limp at her sides and she stared at the sky blankly, watching the light dim as the sun set.  It was getting dark.  She then sighed and closed her eyes.  She just needed to get away from everyone right now.  She couldn't cope with it.  Her fingers twitched and she took a deep breath, her legs sliding down and she relaxed...or tried to.  

Li blinked curiously as Scarlet suddenly left too.  He dropped his arms and sighed.  "Sorry..." he whispered after she had left.  He knew she couldn't hear him, but he was still sorry.  He knew what she was dealing with, but he knew far too little of just how severe it actually was.  He trudged off sadly and went back into the room with the Elf girl.  He plopped down on the bed next to her and lay with his arms behind his head.  He sighed again and stared at the ceiling, feeling bad about Scarlet.  But what could he do?

[Anonymous]

If anyone were to look into Ekrina's eyes, they may have noticed her getting a little misty.  She blinked it away abruptly and put on a harder face.  "Excuse me," she fairly shouted in a perturbed voice, "but I really would like to not be ignored.  If you can all just stop being so uncivil toward each other, maybe we can have a nice meal together.  But far be it from me to impose being polite to the host by answering the simple question of 'what would you prefer to eat?'"  Everyone was just a little too on edge, and if it wouldn't make everyone apologetic, at least it was a little humorous to see such a slight individual addressing such a large group in hostility without using any offensive words.  Really, it was all her fault for inviting them in the first place, but she wasn't willing to admit it was she who had made her life a bit more difficult this time.

[Anonymous]

Hydrous seemed like he was stargazing when Scarlet rushed out of the cottage and brushed passed him. He didn't bother trailing his view towards her. She had her reasons for her doings, he had his. His aqua green eyes remained focused on the sky above. He watches as some dark clouds begin to roll in from out of nowhere. Oh yes, it was going to rain and Hydrous knew it would.

[Anonymous]

Oh, wonderful...Scarlet just stormed out, and Hydrous left. Great, the two people she actually liked to some degree were now both gone. She felt the hairs along her neck stand on edge, and she hunched up, teeth clenched.
Damn was she loosing it...
She was going to have a break down, she could feel it coming...

Which was bad news for everyone in the house.

Her gaze flickered to Ekrina. "You may want to go hide in the kitchen now." A tremor ran down her spine. "Now!"

It had to be centuries since her last break down. Too many emotions wreaked havoc with beast demons like herself. They just couldn't handle it.
And one break down could take down a village if the afflicted demon was strong enough...

Shadow threw her head back and out came a most inhuman sound. It was a mix between something akin to a banshee scream and the howl of a wolf, and it was deafening. The canines within her agape mouth were pointed, and her eyes bled out green. And then, in one flash, the room was coated in an inch of ice. After that, it simple got worse. Wind whipped through the room from the screaming femme, full of snow and ice as it poured out of her open mouth. Everything was coated in ice, frozen solid, within the room. The couch on which she sat was little more than a block of ice so covered was it.
And it just kept coming, the pitch of Shadow's scream growing and the power surging even more. Her long black hair whipped about her, the green trickling from the edges of her eyes freezing where it ran.
Gashes began to appear in the walls and ceiling as shards of ice formed and were twisted about the room in a vortex of straight power.

It wasn't within Shadow's abilities to stop. It never was for a beast demon. Breaks were completely beyond their power to control. They came, and you had to weather it, whether you wanted to or not.

[Anonymous]

Hearing Ekrina's plea, he sat up.  She was right, everyone was being rather rude, even him.  His tummy growled and he got up with a sigh.  Just as he got in the doorway, he witnessed Shuu warning Ekrina to get back in the kitchen.  Something was wrong; he could feel it.  Within the sudden instant, he scooped up the small girl and hurriedly and brought her back into the kitchen as Shuu spiked.  There it went, that something wrong he sensed.  The kitchen was getting colder as the ice and sleet was unleashed upon the living room.  He set Ekrina down and knelt before her, placing his hands on her shoulders.  "I must apologize for mine and everyone's rudeness.  You are a very nice hostess and we have abused your kindness." He confessed.  "And I apologize for what is happening out there right now. " Then his tummy growled again.  "Heh.  And about your question earlier, I don't mind.  But I do prefer steak, that is, if you have any.  I don't wish to inconvenience you." He smiled.  The living room was still being thrashed by a blizzard in the background though and there wasn’t much he could do about it.  

Scarlet frowned upon hearing Shuu's screams of pain, but she would do nothing.  It wasn’t her right to.  She felt bad, but it was something Shuu had to overcome herself.  Her trembling hands cupped her ears as she closed her eyes tight, drowning out the agonizing shrieks from her mind.  It was kind of what she felt like in her head.  Arguing with another mentally and wanting to unleash your raw emotion from sheer frustration was how she felt sometimes, but held it back, forcing it deep inside where it would just grow and grow until it was too big to control.  Tears rolled down her face.  Please stop...please...

Innocent cross-eyed eyes opened as Shadow's voice soared through the small house.  The small Elf girl rolled over and sat up, rubbing her eyes.  She felt the cold and looked toward the doorway lined in ice and shards with howling winds in the next room.  Shadow?  She stumbled to her feet, hanging on to the towel wrapped around her, and made her way to the door, peeking into the distorted room.  Her eyes saddened as she saw Shadow freeing her strain and felt the need to comfort her.  She clumsily made her way into the room, defending herself with only her scarred arms from the flailing projectiles whisking about the room.  She was being hit pretty hard, but kept her way up to Shadow.  With a small gasp, her weary body collapsed to her knees and she crawled the rest of the way.  When close enough she sat on the slippery floor and gently brought her hands up to Shadow's cheeks.  "Shhh..." she coaxed softly, rubbing her thumbs on Shadow's cheeks, her tired eyes gazing crossed through Shadow's face.

[Anonymous]

If she had managed to blink away the tears before, this next development shattered that ability.  She tried to acknowlege Li's apology, but all she could do was stare past his waist at Shuu's spectacle.  With wide, shimmering, water engorged eyes, she squeaked out in utter dismay, "My living room..."  As she finished the trailing phrase, her bottom lip started quivering, and, right in front of the person who'd been the nicest to her so far, started bawling like crazy.  She hadn't meant to yell, and for all she knew, it was her fault Shuu had been upset.  Now her poor little house had to pay for her undue outburst before.

[Anonymous]

When Hydrous heard Shadow's inhuman cry, his gaze from the sky broke immediately. That seriously cannot be good. The massive werewolf turns about and heads inside the cottage to investigate the happenings. As soon as he sets foot inside the place, a chunk of ice flies into the side of his head. It doesn't stop him though. He looks about the room, twisted in ice and snow. Not her full potential, but pretty damn close. Not moments after Hydrous notices the room's condition and all of the ice and snow drop to the ground in a heap of warm water. Now to conseal the problem.
"Oh no!" Hydrous notes, seeing Lynx by Shadow. In his eyes, the foolish girl is going to get herself killed. No time to lose. The Hydro Bringer dashes towards the two and immediately places his enormous hand on Shadow Walker's head. At that point, he does the one thing that he can do to help. He freezes her brain. Considering her newfound immunity to cold, it won't cause any damage whatsoever, but it will stop her movements for a while. That's all that can be done about the current issues.

[Anonymous]

Shadow knew who was touching her, knew that it was poor injured Lynx that was trying to sooth her. But no amount of soothing would help right now. And unfortunately, poor Lynx was in a very bad spot. A potentially deadly spot.
Not that Shadow wanted to hurt Lynx in any way. No, that was not the problem. The problem was Shadow couldn't control the break, even if she wanted desperately to do so.
She couldn't stop...

Within a split second, Shadow felt Hydrous enter the room, and then the ice and snow fell to a wet heap on the floor. And that was alot of water too. She was still screaming however, the green from her eyes running down her face in torents.
And then, everything went black.
Brain frozen, Shadow's eyes rolled back, and she toppled onto her side, mouth still slightly agape. No, it wouldn't hurt her, or even kill her, like it should have. She'd be ok.
But at the moment, it wasn't as though she could think or move, or do anything for that matter, with her brain reduced to a block of ice.

Her eyes were still coated in the bright green of her irises, the color having streaked down her pale cheeks. It was an odd thing to see, but hadn't seemed to cause her any pain.
Though at the moment she was looking a bit stiff and dead...

[Anonymous]

Seeing poor Ekrina break into tears, Li spazed a little.  Aww man, why's she have to be crying?  Li had a difficult time dealing with girls when they were crying.  He eeked and looked around, then back at her.  Crap, he was the only one available to her right at this moment.  "It's okay...it's okay...it's okay..." he spoke quickly.  He didn't know what he should do.  "Shhh...shhh...shh..." he tried to calm her, immediately standing and pressing her against him as he hugged her.  He rubbed her back as he shushed her, or, at least, tried to.  Even now, he felt awkward around her.  Girls were definitely not his specialty.  

Still slow moving and sore, Lynx frowned, looking up at Hydrous with her cross-eyedness.  It wasn't a mad frown, just a frown of disappointment at everything.  She wanted to help Shadow, but he pushed her out of the way to do it himself.  Now she felt even more useless.  Her attention moved back to Shadow and she sighed.  She didn't say anything though.  She just kept quiet and sat there in the water by Shadow's side.  

It...it stopped...  Scarlet's eyes opened slowly and she sighed in some relief.  She wiped her tears on her shoulders and exhaled deeply, her body quavering.  Why her...just why her...  She leaned forward and crawled to her feet slowly, wobbling slightly as she leaned against the wall for support.  She then stumbled off for now, looking fore somewhere more alone to be.  She wandered down the street a bit, the sky now dark after the sun set.  She trudged along, making her way toward the trees.  The landscape became more natural as she wandered into the clearing just before the forest.  She stopped and looked around before continuing slowly on her way.  She was tired and hurt, both mentally and physically.  What else could happen?  She sighed again and dropped to her knees when she began walking.  Why was her body failing?...  She hurt so bad right now, but she could do nothing to soothe the pain...

[Anonymous]

Ekrina looked around Li when the screaming stopped, still crying.  First she noticed how the big wolf had handled the situation, and dread shot through her.  Had he killed her?  The next thing she noticed was the new state of her living room.  In halting phrases broken by deep sobbing breaths, she said, "My living... room... is ruined.  I... I... didn't want... a pool."  She stopped speaking when her vision clouded up again and a new torrent of tears streamed down her face and into Li's shirt.

She couldn't imagine what all that water damage would do.  The cracks in the walls from the ice breaking couldn't be much less damaging, either.

[Anonymous]

Well, it worked and the havoc has stopped, that's all that matters. Hydrous looks down to see Lynx's disappointment.She knew nothing of what was going on. Hell, neither did Hydrous, but he immediately took action to stop it. This was something that not even Lynx's soothing touch would help. The elf girl's action over the whole thing could have gotten her killed and Hydrous knew it. The massive werewolf looks about to assess the damage done. Well, there's only one thing he can do to help clean up, but it's probably the most affective. He holds out his hand and all of the water, coating the floor begins to rise and form into a sphere just above Hydrous' palm. Anything in the house that was damaged by water is now completely dry. He even managed to thaw out Shadow's cerebrum. When she wakes up from the incident is beyond him. Finally, he clenches his hand into a fist and the sphere of water instanly evaporates. At that point, it begins to rain outside. The Hydro Bringer's prediction was true.

[Anonymous]

Li sighed in despair.  She was so sad.  And her living room was trashed.  That really sucked.  Stupid Hak...Hydrous giving her those stupid powers that she couldn’t control.   He thought quickly to come up with something at least.  Then it hit him.  "Don’t worry, don’t worry...I-I'll fix it.  I can fix your living room, no problem."  He smiled, looking down at her, hoping she would stop crying and perk up a little.  

Hearing someone's cries, Lynx's ears fell back as if she was the one to blame.  She turned her attention toward the doorway it came from and sighed despairingly.  She climbed the side of the couch to stand and waited for her balance.  The water was gone and it was easier to walk.  She glanced down at herself and blinked.  Oh my...she was still only wearing a towel.  She wobbled to the wall and followed it to the opening, as it kept her from falling.  She peeked around the corner and saw two she had not met.  "E-excuse me..." she interrupted timidly in a soft tone.  "I-I will help fix it too..." she offered, feeling she was the one to blame like she always did.