All her attackers could see of the half-elven girl through the woods was her long light brown hair ripping through the trees. 'I probably shouldn't have practiced magic in the middle of town for the children. Or stolen from them as I did so for that matter' Aradia thought as she ran faster, her adrenaline pumping as she ran faster taking every twist and turn she could find to elude the townspeople who chased her. 'Dangit! And now I'm even too weak to defend myself against these fat guys chasing me! What a disgrace!' she was thinking when all of a sudden she entered into a huge clearing surrounded by trees, a river, and mountains. 'Well, I guess it's time to head towards the mountains,' she thought and started running toward the safe haven of cliffs and hills.
It was perhaps not a holiday to those of this world, but to the merchant from Icarean, it was a time for feasting and merriment. Normally, these feasts wouldn't take place in a different dimension, in a forest, but one had to make do with what one had.
Inside the woods, a small woman with pointed ears, dark skin, hair,and eyes was serenely feasting on a roasted boar, accompanied by an abnormally large raven and a wagon drawn by threecreatures which were definitely not horses. They had the appearance of scaled, green hounds and apparently were carnivorous, for the woman carelessly tossed them a piece of meat.
Kaliska had been peaceable eating, all thoughts of business far from her mind, when the impudent girl stumbled into the clearing. She hissed angrily, eyes like smoldering coals, and rising quickly, asked coldly, "Give me a good reason why I should not kill you right now." It was all bluff, of course, but Kaliska made sure that her expressionless face gave nothing away.
Aradia was shocked when she the old elf threatened her. Se didn't look like she could do much, but looks were deceiving. "Please, ma'am, I wish you no intrusion," she said acting if everything was ok even thogh you could hear the townspeople who were not far behind as they ran through the woods. "I am a simple half-elf and I need safe passage through the mountains. I ask your permission to use your cart and a cloak to cover myself. Money is no problem. I just got...err...paid," she said as she drew a leather poch that clinked with the weight of gold. "Now I ask you again, ma'am, may I have your cart?"
The icare's eyes narrowed slightly. "You would get me into trouble?" She was bargaining, now, rubbing the pommel of her sword. There was nothing Kaliska cared about more than money. Her eyes sweeped over the half-elven girl speculatively. "My wagon is drawn by beasts from another dimension. They are carnivorous, and it is costly to feed them, and I had intended to stop in Reajh, for I have business there..." she let the word hang. "But I am not greedy nor cruel, and I will not deprive you of too much..."
The icare continued, offering a sum, "Give me half of all you have and I will take you to Zantaric."
'Half of what I have?' she thought with a worried look on her face, 'but this has to buy me food, for, well, ever! I could always steal it back though.' "Deal!" she declared. She then emptied the bag of half it's contents, placed them in her savior's hands and ran towards the cart. "If you don't mind though, I believe I'll ride in the back so I will not be seen. Most people are not fond of my kind," she said and started to climb into the back of the cart where she would be concealed.
The icare bit and then examined the gold. Yes, it was genuine. She stowed it in one of her pouches" She summoned the raven from his feast with a flick of her hand. "There is a change of plan." We will take this girl to Zantaric. Go to the back of the wagon and guard her and my items." The raven cawed almost angrily, but flew into the wagon.
While drawing back the curtain, Kaliska said, almost kindly, "If you are hungry, there is some dried meat and crackers in that chest."
She took her place at the front of the wagon, "Nith quire!" the icare commanded her mounts, flicking her whip over them. They went obediently. "Your pursuers will no doubt catch up soon, so we must make good speed." she called.
[/i]
"Pursuers? What pursuers? Who would ever want to catch little old me?" she said with a slight grin. "Thank you again for your protection and the ride. Now may I ask, how long until we reach our destination?" she asked as she sniffed the dried meat and crackers before deciding they were safe enough to eat. 'Maybe if I eat a little I can regain some strength,' she thought remembering the last time she used too much magic. Then her father was there to take care of her once she passed out, but that wasn't the case this time. And it would never be the case again.
Kaliska decided to let the lie stand. "Oh, with delays, we might be up to a couple of months." she said cheerfully, answering the girl's question. "But don't worry, my wagon is quite luxurious and we have enough fare to last us until the next village." While she could technically side-step through the dimensions and to her destination, Kaliska preferred this style of travel, and anyways, side-stepping always drained her. Besides, if she got the girl feeling indebted, then perhaps she might pay some extra. And a helping hand was definitely useful. "Don't worry," she reassured the girl, more because of the money than because she cared for the girl, "You'll like Zantaric. Lots of people to try and slit your throat...but no one will mind if you slit theirs." she concluded, then adding, "My illegal goods trade is quite prosperous there."
She asked, "What is your name, girl? I can't exactly go on calling you girl if we will travel together." She cracked the whip again, with an apprenhensive glance back, Nesketare! Neske! Mun!" she ordered the beasts.
"Hmm, a couple of months? Well, I guess it can't be helped," she said taking another bite of dried meat, "Oh, and my name's Aradia Kellsone. What's your name? I don't like being formal and calling you ma'am, but you wouldn't want me calling you old hag either, now would you?" she said as she got cockier and cockier with each passing minute that they where further from her village. "And I think you're right, Zantaric sounds like a wonderful place. What kind of illegal goods do sell anyways? They might be of some use to me." Just as she was saying it she started sweeping the cart over with quick glances of her eyes hoping for some clue as to what the woman sold. 'Too bad this raven is back here, otherwise I could take a good look.'
Just then Aradia sat up quickly. "Hurry please ma'am, I do believe someone is following us," she said as she saw the blur of her pursuers, some of them on horses.
Kaliska laughed, "I am Kaliska of Icarean." She wasn't very offended by the girl's comment, although she was definitely not old. She saw no point in not telling Aradia. "Drugs, stolen goods, poison, and amulets to protect you from scrying-which reminds me, Anare will give you one."
Inside the wagon, the raven flew from his perch to on top of a small chest.
"We will be all right. The hounds can fight, and so can I. You do have a weapon, I hope?" she inquired. "If you want to replace yours, I have an old dirk lying somewhere. 'Nare will give it to you."
The raven cawed rebelliously.
"Oh, I have a weapon, I just can't use it very well," Aradia said as she lifted up her light wegiht sword, "But I guess now is as is as good a time as any to learn how," she added with a smirk.
All of a sudden the townspeople had caught up. Aradia then stood up on the cart, even though it was still moving, and yelled, "Good people of the town! I wish you no harm but I will fight if I have to! Those silly magic tricks were simply to show your children the other side of the magic you think is evil! Please! I am leaving the village, just go back and pretend nothing happened and no one will get hurt!" "I'm sorry, but we can't do that, you took something that didn't belong to you halfling! Return the money!" the supposed leader yelled out to her, stopping his horse and the others with it. "I'm sorry sir, but if you want that money, you'll have to fight me for it!" she yelled back and then jumped down from the cart, rolled once, and got ready for the stampede of people comeing to fight her. 'I guess this is it, now, or never.'
She nodded, "Aradia, will you give me some time to free the beasts?" Kaliska halted the beasts, and keeping her horsewhip ready, she freed Ciqala, Etu, and Istu, her three mounts. The hounds dove eagerly into the fight. "Nare," she called, holding her arm up to receive her raven, who promptly came. "Watch over the three. It would be hard to make speed with them injured." The raven flew off, presumably to fulfill his duty.
Kaliska smiled ferally, revealing the fangs of a predator. A fight, how fun. Drawing her sword, she swung at a young townsperson, pretty much disembowling him. Well, she thought cheerfully, lopping off another's head, she wouldn't have to feed the three for a couple of days.
Ciqala was leader of the pack, and the brothers followed her willingly. They worked as a team. Etu and Ciqala herded their prey towards Istu, who waited to kill the villagers. Often, they destroyed their prey even before they reached Istu. Their presence not only helped with the combat, but inspired fear into the hearts of the villagers. After all, who wouldn't be afraid of a giant hound?
The town's guards advanced slowly towards the criminal, carrying long spears with a farther reach than simple swords. Their leader, the captain, commanded them to spread out, and they surrounded Aradia in a circle, before charging.
(OOC: Could you RP someone to fight Kaliska?)
'Dangit!' Aradia thought as she had her sword ready. The first of them, a weak newcomer, charged at her with surpising strength, trying to spear her in the side, but he wasn't quick enough, Aradia swiftly cut the spear through with surprising ease, leaving her palm to go to up to the man's nosing, resulting in a qick but painful death. She disarmed and killed the others with just as much ease. 'How can this be! I've never used this sword in my life! And how does it cut through so easily?' she wondered as she easily killed more of the villagers, the same people she grew up with.
As Aradia fought his army of angry village people, the captain left to deal with what he thought was a much bigger problem. The driver and her hounds. 'They seem to be taking care of these people quite well,' he thought as he ran to fight the woman.
(ooc: we can share the captain, that way you don't have to wait for me to make him fight with your character (sry, i'm bad w. names))
In the middle of lopping someone's head off, Kaliska saw the captain bounding towards her. She scowled and raced out to meet him. Their combat began with a clash of sword. The icare knew that he was stronger than her, and she knew that he knew it too. Scowling, she ducked his next attack, and tried to retaliate with a swift cut to his groin. She missed, and he drew first blood by slashing at her arm.
Seeing some villagers with fire(were they going to set torch to her precious wagon), she managed to shout and parry the captain's blow at the same time. "Ciqala! Lal more!"
The hounds, with a bloodcurdling howl, rushed forward to meet those who wished to torch the wagon.
(OOC: It's better to keep them anonymous)
'I still don't know how I can fight them so easily, but I guess it's just a godsend,' she thought as she twirled around and jumped back, just in time to escape a lethal blow. "Watch it!" she yelled as she slashed her sword through the man's chest, right through him. She looked down breathing hard, happy for a small relief. When she looked up there where fallen bodies were all around her. Aradia then noticed that Kaliska was fighting the leader of these people. 'Hang on, Kaliska, I'm coming,' she thought as she ran through the sea of dead to get to Kaliska.
As she got close enough she took a deadly swing at the leader, but he swiftly blocked it and Kaliska's blows. 'Dangit! This one acctually has some experience! Unlike me!' she thought as she gave another blow, he blocked it as well. They went on like that blocking, blowing, and parrying. 'At least it's two against one, maybe we can wear him down.'
(ooc: sry, didn't mean to make him real, we'd alreading mentioned a caption, so... now he's fighting!)
Seeing Aradia's coming, Kaliska quickly distracted the captain with a series of quick moves. After a while, sweat was starting to trickle down her brow. She screamed some instructions in Icarean at the hovering raven. Then, she rejoined the combat.
The Icare tried a couple of disarming moves, but only succeeded in getting her left arm broken. Wincing with pain, Kaliska fought on. By now, she was covered with sweat, and her ripostes were becoming more and more sluggish. "Anare!" she shouted for the raven.
Anare dove onto the captain's head, claws extended like a falcon's. It inflicted very little damage, but it provided the opening the Icare needed. As his upper body was too well defended, she drove the pommel of her sword into his groin. Hard. It was hardly a killing blow, but it would provide an opening for Aradia. Kaliska could only hope that she followed up on the advantage.
Aradia saw her chance, one hand was holding his groin and the other went up to get the raven away. "Die!" she shouted and shoved her sword through his back, right where his heart should be. And with that, he fell to the ground.
"Well, that's finally over! Too bad so many had to die, but hey, I warned them!" Aradia said with a smile. She then noticed Kaliska's broken arm. "Hey? Are you okay? Here, let me help you back to the cart," Aradia said, wishing she had enough strength to use her healing magic.
Kaliska smiled with grim pleasure. Being among so many dead did not bother her; she was Icarean, after all. "I'm all right." she said, panting a bit at the exertion. "A salve and a bandage is all I need." She smiled affectionately at the raven who landed upon her shoulders. "Nare has probably saved both of our lives." Entering her wagon, she opened a chest, took out a small green jar, and smeared the salve over her arm, before bandaging it." Coming out again, she watched for a while the feasting hounds. "Do you mind if we delay our traveling for a while? The hounds are eating, and they deserve a good, uninterrupted meal. No one will attack us, and if they do, we can defend ourselves. You are a very able swordswoman." she said with a small smile. If anything, surviving this experience had made her much more tolerant of Aradia. "Although," she said, "Your technique could use improving. I'll tell you what, we can practice sparring in the mornings." Bending down, she petted one of the hounds.
"Hmm, fine, I need a rest anyways. Otherwise I'll NEVER be able to use my magic. And sparring sounds fun to. Would you believe me if I told if that's the first time I've used it?" Aradia added with a happy smile and started to watch as the hounds ate. 'Me? A swordswoman? Heh! Probably the first, and last, time I'll EVER hear that!' she thought as she laughed inwardly. "Ahh!" she yawned, "I'd better get a bit of sleep. Wake me thirty minutes before sparring please! That'll be plenty of time for me...to....get.....ready." And as soon as she said the last word she was asleep.
Kaliska shook her head disbelievingly. "She's a natural. I should have known." The raven cawed in reply, no doubt remembering a much younger and feistier Kaliska who had been the absolute devil with the bow. "I still am." Kaliska replied, divining exactly what he had been thinking. They had, after all, had a long association.
She shook her head, and in a brisker tone, commented, "You'd think she would have some sense to sleep in the wagon. I suppose I'll have to get her there."
Kaliska side-stepped and half of her body disappeared. She stepped out again, but the ripin the air remained. It showed the inside of her wagon; peaceful and calm. The woman managed to push Aradia into the rip, and smiling smugly, pinched together the rip with her good hand.
Then, Kaliska fell to the task of looting the corpses. Much of what they had was worthless, but one of them had on what appeared to be a fur coat. She took that, the coins, and some of the weapons that were in better condition.
Of the dogs, Istu returned first, panting excitedly. They'd probably brought back something big. A deer, perhaps?
After she finished, she reharnessed the hounds, and once again began driving. They were still too close to that village for her comfort.
----
It was not even dawn yet, but Kaliska woke. It was better to get an early start on things. She woke the dogs and sent them off to hunt. Hopefully, they would bring her back a couple of rabbits.
After Aradia had fallen asleep, Kaliska had driven for around three hours until exhaustion took its toll. Soon, they would be out of Connlaoth.
Of the dogs, Istu returned first, panting excitedly. They'd probably brought back something big. A deer, perhaps?
"Ah! A new day!" Aradia said even though it was barely dawn. "Yesterday was definately good for me! Now I won't always have to rely on magic though I AM feeling good enough to use some now," she thought out loud with a mischevious glint in her eyes. "Neh, better not, I'll save that for later. Hey! Kaliska! You ready to spar?" she asked, ready and rearing for anything. 'Kaliska probably already stole anything those villagers had with them, oh well, I'll just get this thing filled back up at the next town!' she thought and headed towards Kaliska
ooc: gotta go to bed, I'll be back on tommorow though
What the pack had brought back was two rabbits. After praising the pack, Kaliska straightened and called back, "No, I'll make the stew first. There's a river to your left."
She went in search of suppies and found some. Returning back to their camp, she built a fire using one of those spell-talismans, and chopped up the herbs. Getting a pot from inside the wagon, she began to cook the stew.
Kaliska returned to her wagon, took two wooden swords, and, as she jumped outside, called "Ready to spar?"
'Ahh! A bath! That feels much better," Aradia said as she got out of the river. "Okay! I'm ready to spar!" she called out to Kaliska as she ran over there. "Uh...wooden swords? They look llike little toys. Well, what do I know, I've never sparred in my life! Besides, you're the expert," Aradia said with a smile as she grabbed one of Kaliska's wooden swords. 'This should be fun!'
There were two basic responses to Aradia's enthusiasm. One was catching it like the flu, and one was feeling like retching because of it. Kaliska was feeling like doing the second. She wasn't used to so much energy; after all, things were plain and simple. If you were handing over an item, just hand it over. If you were selling someone's life, just kill them. "Try not to hit me on the head; a concussion would definitely slow our journey down." She frowned, remembering that her left and leading arm was injured. "Which hand of yours is dominant?"
"Ok, so no concussions, is that all? Oh! And I'm right handed, though I can use my left hand pretty well. You look a little sick, is something wrong? We don't have to spar if you're not feeling well," Aradia mumbled, obviously dissapointed. 'Dangit, learning how to weild a sword would have defiantly helped me on this journey when I was too tired to use magic,' she thought with a sigh.
Aradia's enthusiasm had been great at the beginning, but Kaliska was already tiring of it. Sure, she was young and brimming with energy, but in icare-terms, Kaliska herself probably wasn't much older. She consider her options. Aradia had massacred a town(single-handedly, of course, and forced poor, defenceless Kaliska to drive her to Zantaric), so the constables would be quite interested in her. The kind of interest that led to a cozy life in the dungeons with rats. She could bribe the constables for the money. Or she could keep the girl and use her to help market those wonderful fake anti-thieving charms...
With such thoughts running through her head, Kaliska was in no mood to be charitable. And anyways, sparring would hardly improve her temper. Besides, they really should get started with their journey. "Not today, maybe. Let's try to get out of Connlaoth first. We're hardly welcome guests here." she smiled ferally, trying to remind the half-elven that others had magic too in case the earthling had any plans of taking over her wagon.
"Fine. I guess you're right. Let's go," Aradia said as she got back into Kaliska's cart. 'Hmm, I really probably shouldn't trust her. Too bad I don't have a choice. That village can easily send more people, even if it was the women. This sucks! First I'm chased out of the village and now I have to hitch a ride with someone that I don't even trust! Too bad I can't just get over there by magic! Maybe tomorrow when I have more energy,' Aradia thought with an annoyed sigh. She didn't like having to trust others to help her out. It never worked out well, for either of them.
Kaliska was also having second thoughts, but she too had no choice. Well, she did have a choice, but the money beckoned... She glanced sourly at the newly arrived raven, obviously in a terrible temper. "If she wants to starve, she can. I, for one, will wait until the stew is done."
Half an hour later, having quietly ranted everything about that mongrel she could, Kaliska sampled some of the stew, made a face, and reharnessed the dog. Walking by the now moving wagon, she told Anare quietly, "Obviously that snip of a girl's never ridden a wagon before." The merchant smirked. "You just watch, she'll be begging to come out in a short while." Wagons were bumpy rides, and Kaliska's was no exception.
"Ow!" Aradia said silently as the wagon rode over a bump, "Damnit that hurts!" Aradia added with an annoyed groan. 'Who knew wagons could be so painful! But I can't go up there with Kaliska, that lady's starting to freak me out. Not to mention, it's safer back here if anyone stops us. Wait, if they stop us, she might sell me out and tell someone I'm back here! That's it, at the next stop, I'm gonna have to get some new clothes, and then sit up there with Kaliska, whether I can trust her or not. I'm still way to out of it to do such a powerful spell like transporting myself somewhere,' Aradia thought making her desision to travel with Kaliska final, for now.
Kaliska smirked. Another couple hours of riding and the girl's bottom would feel like stone. She could only hope that the girl wouldn't try and take something of hers..."Get in the wagon." she commanded the raven.
He ruffled his feathers and cawed pleadingly, but flew from her shoulder into the wagon, watching the girl with a beady eye.
Right before the raven had came Aradia was busy quietly rummaging through different bags. "Ohh! Awesome sword!" she said quietly to herself as she picked up a simple but beautiful sword. "Oh, hi. What are you doing here?" Aradia asked the raven as it came in and she set down the sword back where she found it. 'Dangit! And it was such a pretty sword,' she thought sullenly. "Well? Go back to your master. I paid her enough. She should leave me in peace. And if you tell her that, my next meal will be roast raven," Aradia said to the raven as she gave it a cold stare and went back to looking around Kaliska's bags.
Anare refused to go. He cawed warningly as the girl started rummaging in one of the other bags. That one was dangerous. It contained various magical artifacts that had been ordered. He flew out of the wagon to alert his mistress.
Kaliska went into the wagon, seeing the awaited sight of a girl rummaging through her things . "And what do you think you are doing?" She asked, her voice hard as flint and her eyes like two pieces of smoldering charcoal.
"Oh! Hi Kaliska! I was just looking around. I was thinking you might have something that would help me on my journey," Aradia said innocently even though she obviuosly wasn't just looking. "Hey, if you're back here, who's driving?" Aradia asked trying to divert attention from herself even though the wagon was obviously slowing down from where the beasts were about to stop. "So, we gonna get going?" Aradia asked, still trying to get Kaliska to leave.
Kaliska was starting to want to kill the girl. Fists clenched, she vowed to herself that that bitch would suffer terribly. In fact, she thought, I'll drop her in the desert. See if she can still be happy-go-lucky then. "Oh, Aradia." she said sweetly, smiling, "I have just found an easier way to travel. I'd forgotten that I'd had a 'port amulet with me." She picked up a small, plain wooden trinket. "With this," she said, holding it up, "I can take you to the desert city of Zantaric right away." She frowned a bit. "Although, it doesn't work very well close to cities, so you might have to walk a bit east." The bitch probably wouldn't know it, but "a bit" in this case actually meant around fifty miles...
"Really? Why thank you. It's a shame you didn't remember that earlier. Countless lives might've been spared. Well I guess I should get going then shouldn't I?" Aradia said with a look of curious unease. 'Should I trust her? She looks just a BIT upset at finding me rummaging. She has a right, I guess. What if she puts me in an ocean and I down!? Ughh, I hate teleporting. Always have, always will,' Aradia thought remembering when she messed up on a transportation spell and ended up almost on a bed of knives.
"Yeah, well." she shrugged. "They were riding for a fall. In some cases," she added with a spark of mischief, "Literally."
Holding up the "charm", which was in reality just a carved trinket and nothing more, Kaliska muttered some nonsense under her breath and stepped sideways, opening herself a rift into another place. She wondered why she wasn't going to deposit that girl in some other dimension with starving carnivores. "In you go," the trader said with a smug smile, "Rift opened. Now go in quickly. Maintaining an open rift is hard."
"You sure you won't come? It could be very interesting," Aradia said, hoping Kaliska would say no. She wanted to go alone but thought she should be polite. "Well, if you're not going, in I go!" she said and started towards the rift which seemed to open into a black abyss. Aradia had so many butterflies she was thinking twice. 'Maybe I should just jump out of the cart and run. After trying to steal from her, Kaliska will probably turn me into the police if I stay though,' Aradia thoght as she walked tentavely close towards the rift.
Kaliska stifled a smirk. "Yes, I'm sure; it'll be hard to get the wagon into the rift." A lie, and a blatant one, if she had told it to an icare. But Aradia was not an icare, and she would have no knowledge of the whole deal. No knowledge that the reason it opened into darkness was because it was ten feet above the desert sand at night. It never paid to annoy a trickstress. "Don't worry, the reason you can't see anything is because of the nature of the rift."
"You really shouldn't trust a woman that lies all her life." The voice was soft and came from above the other two. It was easily female, yet something about it was dark.....and dangrous. But if one looked up all you could see is what would appear as the shadows from the trees.
"Yeah, seeing as she is about to drop you off to die in a desert....just thought we would warn you, y'know?" this voice came from right below the other one at the base of the tree. It was the opposite of the other voice. It was male and had a slight teasing/joking voice.
There was a step and a man in his late 20s came into the light. His brown hair fell into his brown eyes and a small smile graced his lips.
"Then again if you still want to go....then go ahead."
There was movement from above and a dark shadow detached itself from the rest and dropped down besides the man. It turned to be a young woman of similar age to the boy.
In fact they were twins....although the only thing that gave that away was thier eyes and other small similar traits.
The girl wore all black, even her hair was that color. Ther ewas a small tatteo below her eye....just one striaght line. Something about the girl spoke darkness....and any got a feeling that they should stay away from her....
And just like people got the need to stay away from the girl, people were attracted to the boy....for he seemed peaceful and kind. Both had fallen silent for the moment awaiting reactions from the two others.
(((Godrules272 said I could join.....I just hope you dont mind Roc *puppy eyes*
and just so you know Lukas is the male and Adr is the female....Lukas' words will always be in white>_^)))
(OOC: Course I don't, though I will pretend to be allergic to dogs... Although Kaliska definitely will. She hates being thwarted...)
She stiffened at the voice. It understood her too well, it seemed. There was danger here, and her raven concurred with a nervous sound. At least he wasn't flying away. Kaliska hid her dismay quite well, considering the circumstances. But then, she had been trained in her dimension. Her hand crept towards her sword. Now why did she sense a nasty confrontation? "Sweet Lady," she said, "Perhaps you should not jump so quickly to conclusions. And besides, I rarely lie." She was, of course, lying.
The voices seemed to come from...up. But there was nothing there, or so it seemed.
"Well, the dropping part is correct," she admitted, "But as you know nothing about the types of magic that I employ, you can hardly assume that I did it on purpose. And anyways, the distance to the ground isn't too far. Only around five feet. A hedgehog could jump it." She added dismissively. It was true; a drop would be too quick a death for Aradia. No, she had intended the drop to irritate Aradia and hopefully break a bone of hers.
Kaliska willed herself to be emotionless, to be stone. She stared at them steadily, "Greetings and may your days be fine." Naturally, she wished exactly the opposite for they had ruined her sweet revenge.
Adri tilted her head slightly and for a moment she looked almost innocent....almost.
Dont get carried away sister
Dont worry I wont....much
She then smirked and all innocene she might have had was gone, "What's wrong ruin your fun. I'm sorry next time I'll just walk by without saying anything."
She looked over at her brother, "Then you'll have to deal with him.....which for you would be better off." her voice had taken on a tone somewhere between overly sweet and totally rude.
Lukas smiled slightly and shook his head at his sister's words, "Heya now Adri, dont start anything please." His eyes then turned back to the woman, "Please dont draw your sword....I would prefer not having to fight you. As for the magic part....well we know all about magic...no matter where it is from. I also know that you have very good control over your rift abilities. You knew excatly where you were dropping her off. Not very kind I might add." his voice had turned playful, he couldn't help it.
Adri rolled her eyes and her hand fell to her side. A pointless movement unless you really knew the dark haired girl and knew that she carried a sword upon her back underneath her cloak. Just as Lukas carried one at his side.
"You really should stop lying.....I hate lairs.....they make me impatient."
"Uh...well...seeing as two out of three of you weirdos scare me, I'll just listen to the one who doesn't. You! Young man! Would you happen to know by chance exactly what this woman is planning and give me proof?" Aradia asked in an authoritive voice which she inherited from her late father, an elf. 'Who are these weirdos? The boy seems really nice, not to mention cute, but the girl seems almost evil...Well, I'm better off with those two than Kaliska any day...' Aradia thought with a shudder as she backed away from the rift. "There does seem to be something funny about this rift Kaliska, I've teleported before, but nothing like this ever happened!" she yelled at Kaliska.
"Since Your Royal Highnesses seem to know everything, I won't bother explaining." she said nastily, facade almost dropping. She didn't really care if she antagonized them or anything; one small step, and she could be anywhere she wanted, this dimension or that. At the girl's scream, she wrinkled her nose. "No need to shout." She forced a smile and pinched the rift together. Damn. Her revenge was completely and utterly ruined. At least there would be other opportunities.
Now that her revenge was ruined, Kaliska saw no point in lying. Kaliska shrugged, "Perhaps, but who said I was nice? All I do is try to make a living...rarely a bit more." And yes, that also was a lie. "So what if a couple of innocent people die in the process?" She looked towards Aradia. "And that thief over there is hardly innocent."
Adri glared at the woman moving closer to her brother.
Looks like you have a new friend Luk
You dont sound to thrilled.
Have you ever heard me thrilled?
At the other woman's words he shrugged, "I never said you were....just didn't want some poor person getting caught upin something she would regret."
Adri glanced over at the woman then at the girl, "No one is innocene but compared to you she is....even I wouldnt do something like that."
"Now now! Who ever said I was a theif? Or innocent for that matter? I am what I am. At least I don't pretend to be what I am not," Aradia said defensively but still in a sweetly innocent undertone. "Anyways, I think I should be off. It seems to me that it would be safer if I walked the rest of the way to Zantaric," Aradia said as she jumped down off the wagon and started to walk towards the east.
Lukas smiled slightly, "Well we are heading off East too....care for some company?"
Adri pulled away from Lukas staring at the woman a moment before letting a small smirk cross her lips, "So sorry we destroyed your plans for revenage....I hope you have a better day after this." So Adri was lying for once....get over it,
"Maybe one day we will meet again.....dont hold your breathe though-" She turned to walk away after her brother but then pasued again,
"-Accutally please hold your breathe."
Kaliska said sarcastically, "And I suppose that you are the Guardian Angel, protector of innocence wherever you find it from those such as myself." She took her hand off the sword and stroked her raven.
She smiled coldly, "I am sure you hope to meet me again. So you can skewer me with a pigsticker. Question is," she laughed, "Can you find me?"
Her smile faded as they headed off, and she opened a rift to Ketra. "One day, I will ground their bones into dust. But not yet. There are other matters for me to attend to." Even the death of her enemies was not as important as the chance of making more money.
"Hmm, company?" Aradia said with a funny look on her face, "Well, I wasn't planning on it, but yeah, I guess so." 'Well, Maybe travelling with these people will work out better than travelling with Kaliska. Too bad I never got any sword lessons from it,' she thought hopefully. "See you later Kaliska, maybe. But hopefully not!" she said with a fake smile, "Well, we better be leaving. Are you coming or not you two?" Aradia said and started to walk away. If they followed, they followed. If not, it's not like Aradia cared.
Lukas smiled slightly as the girl walked away and followed. Adri fell in step with hm keeping close to him and she pulled her cloak up to cover her face.
Lukas watched the girl for a moment before decidingto break the silence. He kept a watchful eye on his sister though,
"So we weren't properly introduced. I'm lukas and this is my twin sister Adri."
Adri brokeout of her half-dazed mind set at her name she looked around for a moment much like some one confused then nodded slightly in greetings. Her eyes then wandered off again and she lost track of the conversation.
Lukas' brow furrowed in worry at his sister's act.
You ok?
Hmmm? Oh yeah I'm fine...dont worry....just a little tired.
Aradia turned around and started to walk backwards so she could still talk. "My name's Aradia. I guess I should say it's nice to meet you Lukas and Adri, seeing as you kept me from being thrown into a desert at night and possibly dying," Aradia said, still walking backwards. "So...who are you guys anyways? I know you're names, but not who you are. So please, tell me about yourselves."
Adri's head snapped up at the girl's question she pulled away from the group walking ahead of them Her shape seemed to blur a bit and darkness covered her body making her once again a shadow amongst the light.
Lukas watched his sister then sighed, "It is great to meet you Aradia. Please dont mind my sister, she isn't feeling well. As for helping you think nothing of it...we just dont like it when people use magic in such a way."
He grinned slightly as she questione dhtem, "Well we are just wanderers, I guess it's clear that we have magic though huh?" Lukas rubbed the back of his neck as he watched his sister. She shouldn't be using her magic like that, they both knew it made her weaker.
"Just wanderers? Uh huh. Sure. Look, if you don't want to tell me who you are or what you are, that's fine. Everyone has their secrets. Could you at least tell me why Adri looks so dazed?" Aradia asked Lukas, hoping his carefree attitude would divulge something of interest. 'Though I really shouldn't pry, otherwise they might start asking me questions! It's not like I really want to answer their questions either,' she thought as she faced forward so she would be walking side by side with Lukas. "So, where are you guys headed anyways?"
He laughed slightly.
Lukas paused for a moment his body becoming tense. Finally he spoke, "She's sick." he said simply.
"We are just wandering around. We have no real home so we just go where we want. Adri mostly likes staying out in the forests....being around others makes her ill."
Finally Lukas sighed, "As`to what we are...well I'm not quite sure you would understand...but if you want to know I guess I could tell you a bit about ourselves...but you must also tel a bit about yourself...it's only fair."
"Fair? Life's not fair. But I guess it's unavoidable," Aradia started, "Well, as you can easily see, I'm a half-elf, my father being the elf. I ran from a little village in Connlaoeth after using magic to...uhh...TEACH the children there that magic isn't all bad. Then I got chased out, tried to get a ride with Kaliska, and was forced to defend myself when the villagers caught up with us on horses. Well, that's about it. Now it's your turn," Aradia said to Lucas. It wasn't the whole story, simply the most rescent part. No, her story started when she was born for the most part.
Lukas smiled slightly then nodded, "Fair enough. Me and my sister are as you can clearly tell...toal opposites. We are truth be told twins. What makes us different is that we are keepers. I am Keeper of Light and she is Keeper of Darkness." he paused for moment.
"Dont ever let her hear you say darkness is evil...that is one way to quickly piss her off."
He grinned slightly, "Anyways, we were thrown from our village for being 'bad luck'. Which of course was a lie....So we grew up together and leanred to live in the wild. I came here hoping to find help for Adri."
His eyes went back to her dark form worry clear on his face again.
"Cause you see my sister is sick but not in the way you would think. Because she can control darkness and maniuplate it it means that a part of her always remains dark. Everytime Adri uses her powers it makes her weaker and less able to resit becoming fully dark and then turning evil. So i simple terms her own magic is effectively killing her."
"Hmm, keepers huh? If her magic is killing her, why doen't she just stop using it?" Aradia asked Lucas, interested in their pasts. It kept them away from hers. "Oh, and I'd never call darkness evil. Darkness in itself is not evil, it's how you use it. Like dark magic! Now, you said something about finding someone to help her. Who could co that? It sounds to me like the only one can help her is herself by stop using magic," Aradia said, giving Lucas her opinion whether he liked it or not. 'He seemed so calm and carefree at first. But every time he mentions his sister's "illness" a dark cloud passes over his face it seems. I'm glad I don't have to worry about someone else anymore, it's too much stress,' Aradia thought as more flashbacks of her past came to her.
Lukas sighed, "You ask a lot of questions for a theif." he muttered but the grin was still on his lips showing her was just joking.
"As for her just stopping she can't. Keepers can't just stop using their magic....it builds up too much." He paused a moment thinking.
"You're an elf....so you definately have magic. Have you ever not used your magic for a long period of time....and then just fe;lt like you have to you it? That is how it is with us...It's a parodox./......she can't stop using her magic but her magic is the cause of her illness....or I should say the darkness of her magic."[/color
]
He shrugged, "As to who can help her....I'm not quite sure. I was hoping to find some one good at binding dark magic and see if they could twist it around a bit so it seperates the darkness from her body. It isn't a permant fix but it would give her enough time to build up her strength and be able to fight against it more."
Adri had stopped and turned to stare at them. Lukas lifted up his head and made eye contact with her. After a moment a small smile light up his face and you could even see a glimmer of one on his, "Plus if Adri stopped using her magic....I would become unblanced....after all I'm light." When they caught up with Adri she fell in step besides her brother. She had let her magic fall away again but her hood was still up.
"I'm glad you too lovely people are having fun but the sun does set adventually." she said quietly..
Jealous?
No.
"Hmm. okay. I think I understand. Well, anyways, I hope you find who you're looking for, even though you don't know who it is. I just want to get as far away from Connlaoeth as possible, get as much riches as I can, and stay alive," Aradia said as she shrugged her shoulders. 'And become a full elf, but that's not possible,' she added silently to herself, 'Wait, did he call me an elf? Either he can't tell the difference between a half-elf and an elf, or he's trying to make me feel better about like the others who pity us,' she was thinking as she said, "It is getting late, but I'd rather get a little farther before we try and find a place to sleep for the night. Besides, there won't be any safe places to hide it looks like until we get farther ahead and I'm too tired from the day's happenings to use magic to hide us."
Lukas smiled slightly, "Riches eh? Try to make yourself feel better because you can't get what you truely want?"
He then paused and bowed slightly to her, "Sorry that sounded rude. I just know that you think I called you an elf because of two reason when in truth I did it for another. While I dont pity you I am not naive...I know you are a half-elf....but for me they are all the same. A person with Elf blood is lucky and should thank the blessing, although being only half-elf makes your life harder."
Adri watched them both for a moment before sturgging, "You get what you can in life."
Lukas smiled slightly, So did you really know she was thinking about that?
Lukas I didn't spend most of my life silent to make a mistake on a simple reading.
I suppose
Lukas then shrugged as Aradia talked about shelter. "We can make shelter." he said after a while of walking. He turned to Adri.
"Should we subtract then add? Or should subracting be enough?"
Adr finally smile....a true smile. "Both should work. One to ward away any unwanted travels....one to ward away anyone searching for us."
Lukas nodded slightly. "So where should we set up?"
"Whatever. And what the hell are you guys talking about, subtracting and adding!?" Aradia said with an exasperated sigh. 'How do they seem to know what I'm thinking! That's just creepy! I have to focus. Put a wall around my thoughts. They're the only safe haven I have left,' Aradia thought as she put up a barrier around her thoughts and her memorie making it alsmost impossible for anyone to read them. "So, how are you guys going to make this shelter of yours?" Aradia asked with curiousity.
So you did tell her about that?
No of course not....I left that for you.
(next words not apporipite)
Adri sighed then stopped she closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again, "There is a group of small trees up ahead. Lets keep going until then." She then moved forward.
Lukas grinned watching his sister, "She's amazing isn't she? Are you sure it wasn't something else?" the last question was directed at the dark form of her sister.
"Yes it was the trees....I'm not stupid."
Lukas winced and continued walking in silence until they came upon the very trees that Adri had mentioned.
"Well done Adriana."
Adri looked over at Lukas as he said her full name, "That's a first in a while."
Lukas grinned slightly. "Ok come on."
The walked into the middle of the glade and faced each other. Adri brought her hands in front of her and together just as Lukas did.
Subract the light so the unwary don't cross our path
Add the darkness so that those wishing us harm can find us not.
"light"
"dark"
each word was whisphered and as Light was said the light in the glade seemed to dim until it was almost totally dark. Then a small light appeared in the middle of the glade.
As Dark was whisphered the darkness increased quickly until one could not see in front of themself....then it was gone and one could see normally. The light in the midddle of the glade was a simple fire.
Adri sighed and went into a corner of the glade to sit down. Lukas came over to Aradia and grinned. "There no one should bother us for the night. No one can see the fire wither or smell it.
"Well then. That was weird. But hey, whatever works," Aradia said with a shrug of her shoulders as she sat by the fire. "Oh yeah, she's amazing all right," she added with a playful shake of her head. "Well, I guess we should be getting some sleep. Otherwise I might be grouchier than usual in the morning," Aradia said as she started to lay down on her back and watch the fire as she tried to drift to sleep.
lukas smiled at her as she drifted asleep. He then slipped off his own pack and took out three blankets. Standing up he walked over to where his sister was sleeping. The blanket was laid over top of her.
"Get some sleep, yourself."
Lukas paused looking back at his sister, "I will no worries."
"Hmm? Lier."
Lukas smiled and walked over to where Aradia was laying down. "Here, it might get cold." he laid the blanket over her body.
He then went and laid halfway between the two girls. He of course didn't fall asleep instantly instead just sat there watching the stars.
Aradia sighed contendly as she felt the blanket drop over her. She then continued to watch the fire hoping the crackling would soothe her to sleep even though she knew it was probably not going to happen. 'I've been threw so much in the past week. I think the only way I could fall asleep now is if I was knocked out. And I really don't hope that happens,' Aradia thought thinking she'd never get to sleep. But she was wrong, just a few seconds later that's exactly what she was, asleep and dead to the world, curled up next to two perfect strangers.
Lukas stood up when the sun started peeking over the horizon. Everyone was still asleep it seemed. Aradia curled up next to the fire and Adri out leaning against one of the trees.
Adri was a light sleeper like her brother but Lukas was sure that this would be one of the times he would have to wake her. That was happening more often now...
Lukas turned his mind to other thoughts....like breakfast! He went to his pack and broke open some sealed packages. Inside were meats and breads. He pulled out pans and set them on the fire with the meat and bread to warm them up. Soon the smell of bacon filled the air.
Lukas then jumped up into a tree and climbed to a nest he had noticed last night. He quietly took three eggs careful not to touch the others. He wishphered a quick prayer of thanks then came back down. Soon the eggs were also cooking. He sat besides the fire, relaxing.
"Mmm. What smells good?" Aradia yawned as she woke up groggily to the smell of eggs and bacon. "Yum, real food. My last few meals were dry biscuits and dry salty meat. Not very filling or very good for that matter," she said steadily waking up thanks to the smell of food and the sun in her eyes. 'Wow, I can't believe this is actually happening. All I wanted was to get away from Connlaoeth and now I'm traveling with two people I don't even know who happened to rescue me from some weirdo I hitched a ride with who wanted to kill me because I was a little to peppy. Damn life's strange,' Aradia thought as she started to inch closer to the fire, Lukas, and of course, the food. "So how did you sleep, Lukas?"
Lukas smiled as Aradia woke up and moved closer. He handed her a plate piled with food.
"Morning and glade to see you in a happy mood. There'll be seconds so if you want more you can."
He grinned slightly then stood up with another plate. He walked over to his sister and carefully woke her up.
Adri woke up and gave her brother a small smile. She took the plate with a nod of thanks.
Lukas then came back to sit by Aradia. "I got a little sleep. I dont need much to make it through a day." he picked up his own plate and started to eat. Adri silently came over to sit besides her brother. Her cloak, for once, off thrown aside sometime during the night. Dark hair was pulled out of her eyes by a hair tie and a small smile even graced her lips.
If there was one time to get one the good side of Adri....it was now.
"Thanks. Well, at least you got some sleep. How bout you Adri, you sleep well?" Aradia said as she shoveled food in her face, obviously starved. She was used to eating a lot in the morning and then not eating nothing the rest of the day. "Wow. I'm pretty tired this morning," she said with a sigh as she shoveled in more food. "Anyways, do guys have any clue where we go from here?" she asked as she set her plate down and looked up at the morning sky. 'I've got a pretty good feeling that this is a once in a lifetime chance, seeing someone like Adri smile,' Aradia thought with a smile as she continued to stare contendly up at the sun. She could stay that way forever if it wasn't so close to Connlaoeth. 'Maybe when all of this is over, I can stop theiveing and live a calm and normal life....Naw! That'll never happen!' she thought as she stifled a giggle.
Adri looked over at her with a small smirk, "I slept fine. Lukas I'm gonna go check directions. Be back." she stood up leaving her half-finished plate behind as she went over and swung up into a tree.
Lukas sighed. "Dont mind her....she's good until the sun's up...after that she gets bitter again. She'll get use to you sooner or later....but you might want to hope for the sooner." he grinned at her as he picked up Adri's plate and cleaned it off.
"She never finsihes her meals....do you want more?"