posted on wrong board. sorry.

Just a quick clarification,When you say we may take a companion,Is that one companion/set of companions per person or just as a group we can have a set or a single one?

[spoiler=Heading for the Crossroads and Adventure]

~ Sitting in the saloon the night before leaving for the Crossroads Atrueheart, Webby and Squirrely sit discussing their trip.  Atrueheart, exhausted from her farewell performance earlier, leans heavily against Squirrely's shoulder and yawns.  "I know where this crossroads is but what is this Borderlands?" she asked him, arching an eyebrow.  Squirrely pulls out two tickets and hands them to Atrueheart and Webby.  "Here's your tickets for the morning flight out on Nexus Shuttle Ship Zander.  It'll drop ye off near enough that ye can walk to the crossroads." Rubbing his whiskers and smiling he begins to explain about the Borderlands.  "It be kinda rough going there and a lot of home folk and space travelers.  Yer gonna be wanting a gun on yer person somewhere sweetie... ya never know when some of the rough sorts are gonna misbehave!"  Webby gasps but then straightens her shoulders.  "I'm not a Fallen Angel for nothing.  We can handle it!" She exclaims.  With a snort of laughter Squirrely continues to tell them about the types of people they might come in contact with.  Atrueheart perks up when he starts explaining about the Companions.  "Right up yer alley True my sweet! You could have a lot of fun posing as one of dem ladies!" Squirrely chuckled, leering suggestively at Atrueheart.  "Ooooh yes!  But now I'll have to rethink all my packing.  Silkies and pretties need to be packed before morning.  I have just the things for that role!" Atrueheart exclaims while hugging Squirrely excitedly.  Atrueheart jumped up, dragging Squirrely by the paw toward her rooms.  "We better get an early night if we're travelling in the morning Webby."  she calls back at Webby and then ducks into her rooms still pulling Squirrely behind her.  Webby goes back to the kitchen and orders a huge picnic lunch for The Fallen Angels, muttering to herself.  "I'm sure the Angels will be hungry when we meet up at the crossroads.  Somebody has to be practical."

The next morning Squirrely, looking a little worse for wear after an extended goodbye from Atrueheart the night before, took Webby and True over to the Spaceport to catch their shuttle.  "Now Sweetie you be sure and keep yerself safe while yer gone.  Ye be coming back to me right lass?" Atrueheart giggled as Squirrely snatched her up in a warm embrace.  "You know I plan to misbehave hon.  Otherwise it wouldn't be any fun!"  Chuckling, Squirrely lowered her to the ground with a firm slap to her backside that made her jump.  "Ye wouldn't be you if you didn't!  Just remember who's waiting for you at home love." Then sweeping Atrueheart in tight for a goodbye kiss Squirrely whispers in her ear something that makes her blush deeply.  "Ummmm.. yes I think that is doable." Atrueheart chokes out. Squirrely laughs heartily at the discomfitted Atrue

Chandie TecheOutfit Not Found

DoriOutfit Not Found

ElneOutfit Not Found

(( Having to post a little early also due to family visiting, thanks for being so helpful, you are the best! ))

[spoiler=The Fellowship reunited] Jean considered the message. Her wavy hair fell to a little above her shoulders, and bright brown eyes viewed the world unjaded by past experiences. Borderland sounded interesting, and she'd heard rumors about the Unseelie Court.

"Looks like it's time for another adventure, Sihr," she murmured. The tiny creature sitting on her shoulder was less enthused, but there was no help for it. They were Protectors, and the call had come. She quickly penned a few copies of a letter, and went to find a courier to deliver the notes. Old companions, though she didn't expect all of them to show, as well as a new pair that she'd heard word of, who might be interested. She instructed anyone interested to

meet at Squirrely's as soon as possible, but definitely before the 21st of May, and they'd go to the Crossroads from there.

Quercus pressed a hand to her temple as her head throbbed. Her plants were shrieking with fear at what was happening. She wasn't a mage but most of the natural world seemed to be going crazy over something. Star Eye the song bird sat grim and silent on her shoulder, vibrating with rage. She didn't like this and was furious that anything like this had been allowed to happen. Loyal Tipper whimpered from Quercus' arms. She had no idea what was happening and right now every instinct was yelling at her to find a nice deep hole and hide. Quercus had been forced to carry her thanks to her terror. "I don't need telling that this is going to be bad." Quercus muttered grimly. Since the last time she'd been with the Fellowship she'd wandered, continuing her personal quest and discovering new lands. But then this awful feeling had come and it was getting worse. Knowing trouble when she felt it, she had gathered her supplies and headed towards the source of the trouble. Tipper and Star had refused to leave her even though neither wanted to go into trouble. She shifted Tipper's weight and felt her bow and quiver bump against her back. Really she'd rather have it in her hands but Tipper was too frightened. Gratefully, she pushed the familiar tavern door open as she finally reached her goal. "I really hope the others are here. We need to get this solved and stop whatever it is that's coming." She shivered and glanced around, seeking the faces she knew so well.

As Wolf and Venom were conversing by the fire of Squirrely's as they met there weeks earlier, she instantly knew something was coming as she felt the fur on the back of her neck stiffen. She was right, as moments later that, well, she didn't know exactly what to consider that creature, messenger anyway, come in and give frightening information.

Without missing a beat, something jumped up and landed on her from behind. Startled, Wolf turned around, ready to attack and protect Venom, when she looked down and her defense instantly turned to joy.

"Sierra!!! Oh Sierra! I've missed you! How did you know I was here?!?" Wolf bent down, scooped the little bunny up in her paws and snuggled her.

"Oh, Wolf, I could sense things changing in the energies of the earth. Somehow I got a message that you were here and I just had to come! It's a good thing I did, too. You look like you're being called out again and could possibly use a friend." Sierra snuggled and nuzzled into Wolf's neck when White Flame decided to come out of hiding and padded over to Wolf. Sierra caught wind of a strange scent and stiffened when she saw the fox.

"Wolf, what is this? Why is there a fox with you? She'll eat me!"

"Trust me, sweetie," Wolf giggled lightly, "she won't eat you. She's my adopted daughter. She's quite safe. She's been taught not to eat or attack anything that talks. Just like I don't. Sierra, meet White Flame, also known more commonly as Flame." Wolf then put her friend down so that the two of them could meet. "Say hello, Flame."

Sierra sat as still as a rock, eyes huge as Wolf's baby came up to her to sniff. Without any kind of warning, Flame gave her a little kiss. "Hullo, Siehwwa," Flame managed to say. Wolf beamed down at her proudly,

"She's just started to learn how to talk, and she's a little shy about it. She must've found something special about you to actually say something."

Sierra relaxed and was back to her old self again, "Awww. Dear little heart." She looked up at Wolf, "I'm sorry I was so cool towards her. I guess I acted the same way around you for the first time, though, hunh?"

Wolf thought back to their very first meeting and chuckled, "Yes, you did. Not to worry. Flame's not hurt about it."

Something suddenly dawned on Wolf, "Speaking of Flame, Venom, I should've introduced you, but it was kind of hard to when the moment she came into Squirrely's she ran right into a dark room and refused to come out," she laughed

heartily. "Venom, this is my adopted daughter, White Flame, more commonly known as Flame. She was a gift from Quercus' baby, Tipper. Flame, this is a good and dear friend of mine, Venom." Wolf saw Flame sit down at her paws and look worriedly up at her Mommy. She looked down at her baby lovingly, "It's alright, love. He's very safe and very kind. Go and say hello." Her mother gently pushed Flame forward with her paw towards Venom.

Venom watched as Wolf became tense, his hand instinctively drifting toward the hilt of the shiny black sword he wore strapped to his side. When it turned out to be Sierra he relaxed considerably, chuckling softly to himself he sat back. Across the room he thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar hairstyle bobbing among the crowd, but his attention was grabbed instead by the small fox kit staring up at him with big nervous eyes. Wolf introduced her as Flame and Venom smiled softly. Slowly he leaned forward and offered a hand for the little one to sniff. “Hello, Flame. You can call me Ven.” Sure he held the title warrior, was covered in countless battle scars, and wouldn’t think twice about taking a life if he had to. But underneath it all he had a very mellow, easy-going personality. Not to mention he secretly enjoyed spending time with kids. Their free spirits seemed to somehow lift the melancholy housed inside of his own.

Giving her baby an encouraging kiss on the top of her head as Flame still looked nervously up at her Mommy, she bravely stepped forward to sniff Venom's hand, and...before Ven knew what was happening, he found himself on his back and a fox kit on his chest covering his face with countless kisses!

Wolf just couldn't contain herself, she just laughed and laughed seeing her baby go from completely nervous to kissing to playfully grabbing Ven's collar and play-tugging at it with her tail wagging and eyes shining, letting little yips of happiness out every so often; jumping on and off of Ven in complete elation.

"Well, Ven...I guess she's taken to you, and quite instantly!" She said still chuckling, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Ven!" Flame yipped, over and over again, unfortunately as she beat her tiny front paws playfully on Ven's chest. Her Mama couldn't do anything more but look upon the scene with a bit of a groan and a bemused expression on her face, eyes twinkling.

Squirrely's looked as welcoming as ever. Letting out a sigh, Quercus tried to calm down as she walked through the door and looked around. A familiar pair of faces sat by the fire, chatting about the world. Quercus smiled gratefully as she walked up to them. "Wolf! Venom! Glad to see you both." The words were heartfelt. Right now she needed someone she could trust as the chaos of outside communicated itself to her plants. She knelt by Wolf so Tipper could see Flame. Tipper remembered and found enough strength to leap down to greet Flame.

Jean strolled in the door, and immediately spotted some of her friends. "Hey guys! How is everyone? Ready for our trip? It's a bit of a voyage to the crossroads, and you should make sure you have everything you might need while we're away. Who knows when we'll be back, after all." She grinned at the small group. A tiny gray head peeked around her neck, and Sihr's mental voice said, <Hello again, friends.> Then she vanished back into Jean's hair, still too shy to show herself for long.

Feigning injury Venom allowed himself to be toppled over by Flame. After having his face thoroughly washed he carefully scooped up the small kit and set her back on the floor. She hardly weighed an ounce. “I’ll consider that ice broken.” While wiping the saliva from his face he noticed Quercus had joined them and smiled. “Greetings, friends.” He added the latter when he realized Jean had also managed to find them, Sihr hiding in her hair per usual. “The messenger found you too then? Sounds like a big involved job to me. I wonder if they will have contracts to sign.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Smiling at how gently Venom treated her baby, Wolf sensed that there were others nearby that she knew. Looking around she happened to see Quercus, Star and Tipper along with Jean and Sihr. She lit up when she saw them.

"Quercus! Tipper! Star! Jean! It's so good to see you all again!" Wolf felt that there was something else nearby and knew that Sihr was in her normal hiding spot. "Hello, Sihr," Wolf said to the head of hair. Wolf went up to first Jean, then Quercus and gave both a hug. She smiled at how Tipper and Flame were interacting with each other and after, how Flame came up and gives Quercus a little nuzzle.

"Well it seems to me that Flame has a bit of a memory for you, Quercus," Wolf said fondly. After that, Wolf's expression turned grim. "As wonderful as it is to see you all again, I wish the circumstances were better. I don't like what I'm sensing. My heart is not still and my fur is electric. I don't like this feeling at all. I'm ready, but I don't know for what." Pausing a moment Wolf added, "Did you see that Sierra came along for the journey? She surprised me and said that she just had to be here! I was so happy to see her!"

Quercus nodded and winced as her head hurt at the action. "Whatever is happening needs to be stopped. Things aren't right." Gently she placed a hand to her head. The pounding was lessening and had been since she entered the Saloon. While she knew the sense of worry wouldn't go away, at least the pain she'd been feeling was at last starting to recede. She smiled. "It's good to see everyone again. Outland sounds like the place where you'll need friends to watch your back." She turned to Jean. "Do we know what's going on? Why is the Unseelie court appearing?" She glanced around the Saloon as more adventurers entered. "What do these new companions look like?"

Spring pushed open the door to Squirrely's. It was late and the light felt both glaring and comforting at the same time. It had been a long journey. Longer than it should have been, because it seemed like everything that could go wrong had gone wrong along the way. No matter, she was here. A bit wet and tired, but here.

The summons had come by a curry yesterday, mid morning. Spring had been out in the orchard, tending the trees and checking up with her beehives. For the past few days, there'd been a strange tingling in the air. The animals that she shared her land with had been nervous and even the trees seemed to be twitching nervously in the breeze. Something was up and she knew it. Her bag was already packed. She was just waiting for the call. And now she was here.

She peered around the room, looking for a familiar face. She knew Quercus, but had yet to meet the rest of her group. Had any of them arrived yet, she wondered.

Jean was keeping an eye on the door, and when the brown-haired woman with the bow and quiver stepped into the room, she smiled. "I believe we have one of those newcomers here now," she said aloud, heading over to the woman. "Spring, is it? I'm Jean, and these are most of the other members of the Fellowship. It's lovely to meet you."

Quercus hugged Wolf back and gave Flame a scratch. "She's growing so fast. She'll be a real beauty when she's grown." She smiled at Wolf. "Thank you for all your help with her. I know she'll grown healthy and strong with you." Star Eye sang a few bars and landed on Jean's shoulder in greeting as Tipper moved from one member of the Fellowship to another, saying hello. Quercus glanced at the next group of strangers coming in and spotted a familiar face, one she hadn't seen in an age. Grinning from ear to ear she hurried over to the newcomer. "Spring! Spring, it is you! Oh that we had met before, I could have joined you on the trail." She reached out to clasp her fellow ranger's hand. Spring was a friend of long standing and one Quercus knew she could depend on. Star twittered excitedly and landed on Spring's shoulder to sing her hello while Tipper dashed up for a fuss. "Where is Selawick? Did you bring him?"

"Quercus!" Spring was overjoyed to see her old friend again. "It has been far too long, my friend! If I had been a few hours sooner, I might have tried to catch you. It's been a long time Since we've wandered the forest together and I have no doubt that you could teach me a lot more now than ever. Maybe even about finding a little love?" Spring teased. At Tipper's clamoring, Selawick appeared with a squeak and hurried from his hiding spot in the quiver and took a flying jump down to Tipper. Spring laughed. "He wouldn't think of staying. Though he was in no hurry to help out with the packs."

Quercus went slightly red and coughed. "Er, that, well- It is something not easily taught," she managed. Her smile returned as she gave Spring a gentle tap on the shoulder. "Besides, you are more than able to find that on your own. You need no advice from me." Tipper sat happily with her tongue hanging out, gazing up at the mouse sitting between her ears. "I can well believe Selawick wasn't interested in packing." She knelt by Tipper and held out a finger to Selawick. "It is good to see you."

Spring greeted the rest of the Fellowship and all their companions. It would take a little while to get to know everyone, but she was already glad to be here.

“Greetings, Spring.” Venom reached out a callused hand tipped in very pointy claws for her to shake. “I’m Ven, I’ll be doing the heavy lifting.” Altering his stance his sword clanked softly against his hip. Twin emeralds that hung tied to the hilt caught the light of the fireside and sparkled softly. He didn’t have a companion to introduce per say, his sword was his companion and it wasn’t exactly the most friendly thing. Besides, it was not like anyone else could hear it speak. Instead he would leave it sheathed until a great need for him to employ it arose. Quietly Venom hoped it would be sooner than later. Sitting around for too long always made him anxious, and eventually the sword would begin to seek out trouble for the sake of being drawn.

Wolf gave Spring a friendly nudge of welcome with her nose, it was great to have a friend of Quercus' in the group. "It's lovely to meet you! I'm sure you've met my baby daughter, White Flame, more commonly known as Flame, and my friend Sierra? Sierra came along with us on our last journey together and was a wonderful help, and Flame is a baby of Tipper's who she so lovingly gave to me." Wolf looked at the little mouse going for a ride on Tipper's head and smiled, "Nice to meet you, too, Selawick," as she reached over and gave him the tiniest of kisses.

Wolf was walking with a style that she was hiding something from the others.  She noticed that they were looking at her strangely but in a way that they were hoping she wouldn't detect.  She could, naturally, so there wasn't any point in keeping it a secret from them any longer as they had just left Squirrely's and the secrecy was killing her.

"I have something...that I've been m

My irrational ire led to me having problems regaining control of myself. I let my bloodlust take over and even when our task with the Squirrel was over, I couldn’t manage to regain my composure of myself. I took more assassin jobs, but my bloodlust wouldn’t be sated. My magic was erratic as well. So after helping with the murder mystery in Nutsy I approached Die in a macabre plan. I decided to train him in wielding a scythe, seriously a necromancer needs to wield a scythe—I had been making the scythe for months before showing him it. And so we trained and became friends—something I had tried to avoid, given my deep hatred of males. He promised to stop me, kill me if needed—if my powers took over who I was and I lost myself to the darkness of my drow race. Then he really did have to keep his promise. He stabbed me with the scythe I made and poured dark magic into. It nearly killed me. When I woke, I realised I had fallen in love with the man. The man I swore to torture if he failed my friends in anyway. But he was also the man that Reaper was developing feelings for. Paddy turned into a werewolf and attacked me—Die rescued me and let me sleep in his bed. When Reaper found me asleep in Die’s bed—even though it was purely innocent, she felt betrayed. I can’t say I blame her, even that aside, I had shut both Reaper and Paddy out of what was going on. Trained Die behind their backs—distanced myself from them. I truly didn’t plan on surviving the wound. But I did. Die had already made potions for the inevitable event.

Why was my magic taking over? I don’t know. Perhaps because I was albino and the myth of me being tainted with pure elfish blood was true? It wasn’t like I had anyone to ask being an exiled princess. Whatever the reason, runes were decided to be the way to save me. No one had asked me if I wanted them, and I didn’t feel I had a choice. I thought the runes where going to enslave me and I lost myself in despair. Die painted the runes on me and then an incantation burned them into my skin—they sunk into my magic and tethered it to keep from getting to dangerous levels and from losing myself in the process. Paddy found a black leopard cub and gifted him to me as a pet. I named him Jhun—drow for runes. Runes now mean friendship to me. I also moved into the house I built for us all to live in—a wing for each person. I plan on unveiling it to them soon.

-Sigh- Reaper left today—she needs time to heal from everything that’s happened. I’m worried that I’ve lost her as a friend. I never ever meant to hurt her. She was the first person to ever give a damn about me. But I cannot change what has happened. She magically began aging Jhun for me before she left—I cannot keep a cat for 2 years un-weaned, hopefully Reaper will return soon to stop the aging process. I’m afraid that she won’t stay when she returns. I have no idea how to repair our friendship, if we even can.

Whilst everyone else has been gone, Die had to rescue me from the clutches of my sister. She was bent on killing me and securing her claim on the crown. Die amassed an army of the undead to rescue me. My sister tortured me to the brink of death twice before Die was able to get me. But when he did, he healed me enough for us to escape—and me to kill my sister—making me the rightful Queen. Oh joy. I smelted the crown down and made myself hip daggers. My injuries healed and then Die offered to cure the scars given to me by my brothers over the first 50 years of my life.

My back is scar free, minus one nasty cursed scar from my mother. I can move better now in my back-with no pain in my skin. But even better no more shame with the scars. Now that my magic is under control thanks to the runes I’m no longer afraid to use it. Die admitted how he felt about me. I wake up excited to greet the day, just to see him—he keeps healing me in ways I never thought possible.

A magical summons to save the world? Of course I would go. How could I not? I admit, I’m nervous seeing Reaper again. I hope we can find a way to move on. I miss her. [/quote]

la la la we didn't need 3 posts -Jedi mind wipe- nothing to see here, move along

Taters (Captain - Bard)

Jettison grew up overseas in an area dominated by humans, where fantastical stories had been told of races unlike any seen before. Half animal half humans, vampire esque types, magical beings who looked just as he did but equipped power. Of course most adults just thought of them as tall tales, as they had never left the comfort of Engalont, where all spoke with accents very much like those in inspector spacetime.

Jetty lived in a specific part called Susixe (Pronounced: Sue-six). Giving him a different style of speaking. Cocnie Engalont, a more thick sort of tone. Harder to understand than the norm, but charming and fitting to his personality.

As a child he was a handfull, curious and unstoppable. His parents always found something to be upset with him about, especially his being very unlike the social norms expected of a male. He was just too flamboyant. Because of this his father kept him from having any toys or clothes that could be even the least bit feminine. No stuffed animals, no action figures, no hats or specific coloured clothing. His mother on the other hand didnt really want to deal with him. Planned or not, she wanted no part in being motherly. So he was kept with a nanny who gave him even less attention.

At a young age he found himself enamored with sharp objects. Kitchen knives, scissors, barber blades. At first he just liked to look at them, then touch and feel the cold steel. At a point when he was 6 or 7 he let it touch his skin, then there was no stopping it. A desire for the feel of it cutting in to his flesh. His parents had no idea until they found knives missing from the kitchen, never to be returned, and noticed more bandages than usual. (He was prone to injuries from clumsiness, poor little unbalanced boy) Finally they knew he was doing more than they could ever imagine, and no matter how many times he told them it wasnt for any sort of self harm in its usual sense, they didnt believe him. The pleasure from it was unlike anything he had felt.

When he wouldnt stop even with their force and watchful eyes, they could no longer handle it and they abandoned him in a mental hospital. It stung to be thrown out, giving a painful meaning to his already unusual name. Especially after his only family member he cared for, his Grandad, had died. The man taught him to speak like a sailor and had a old veterans charm about him Jetty couldnt help but adore. He was the only person to make him feel cared for, important, and ok in whatever skin he was comfortable in.

In a way that made his transition to this new routine, locked up and treated horribly, as if it were just the next step in his life. He would survive it, and show those no good people who left him to rot that he was better than that.

Years later as a young adult, he was released. Battered and medicated, but he made it out just as he said he would. He had nothing, but made himself a home, sleeping at random party houses and starting street performances. He taught himself to play any instrument that had a key, and began sword throwing and swallowing. It was just natural for him to show off in front of a crowd, especially when he could do so with his most favorite and prized objects, knives.

One day a man saw him on the street corner doing his usual routine, and was amazed. This 17 year old kid was grabbing everyones attention, no training, nothing but will power and a desire to do what he loved. In that moment Jettison was asked to join a circus. They traveled the worlds, he got to see everything from the stories he was told in his youth. It was perfect, amazing, all he could ever dream of.

In his time with the cirque, he made friends, became a lead of the show, and finally decided his family was this pile of weirdos he adored. Who needs blood relation anyway, its overrated.

Of course the thing that he expected the least came out of it also. He found a companion. A weird little raven he named Potch. For weeks it followed the circus from town to town, squaking at Jetty and sitting atop his little tailer. When the stupid thing wouldnt leave, Jett decided why not just let it join him. Sure it spoke broken english and tried to poke his eyes out to wake him in the morning, but he just adored the damn thing.

After many years of being a carnie, working the freak show and having the time of his life he decided he had made enough money to move in to a flat. Take a break from the constant moving around, never having a place to call home. Potch of course was fine with having his own spot in the house also. Forever following his master.

Everything he collected and kept in a tiny little circus trailer was in a house under his name. Though he did do shows here and there, buskering on street corners when he desired, he set down with a job at odd little witch shop. The only thing he had as a must for a job was being allowed to bring his bird with him. Of course a odd little old women who owned the joint and talked to animals (even if they werent the types to talk back) thought it was magnificent. So there he was set. Keeper at this place, air thick with incense, walls covered with odds and ends, feathers, diamonds, almost like the inside of howls bedroom in one of Jettisons favorite movies. But he was content.

At a point, a old friend of his from the circus days asked for his help. Leading him in to a murder mystery. One of his dreams had been to take part in something like the silly law shows he watched, and this was his chance. There was no way he would pass it up. Sure it was a challenge, and he thought it would probably be a one time deal. But when he was asked for help once again, to hop back in his group of wayward squirrels, he couldnt turn it down.

So getting to it, he grabbed potch, gathered his things, and began the journey to their meeting point.

~

As he looked at his map he furrowed a brow, lip turned upwards in confusion. "Th' girly said ta go ta th' crossroads...Int' this it?"

Potch, who was atop Jetts messy pile of hair, fluffed his wings up and dug his claws in to the mans scalp. "DUMMY, STUPID, TV WRONG!!!"

Shaking his head around to get his friend to cut it out, he loudly said Who you callin' dumb! Ya' cant even say words right! An what ya' mean tv wrong. Speak like ya dont 'ave brain problems or Ill never understand ya!"

The raven seemed annoyed now, more than usual. His beak opened and he stuck out his tongue with a rather long screeching sound. If anything Jett needed to learn some proper english. He spoke like he had his tongue stuck between his teeth. "REAL, NOT SOUP!"

Jetty opened his mouth like he was going to speak, then stopped himself as he went 'ohhhhhhh' while turning the map over to its other side. Sure there was more than one crossroads in this area, but reading the wrong side of the map wouldnt really do him or his team any good. His first thought was the crossroads set from his favorite show. After all, everyone knew of that crossroad. It was the crossroads of all crossroads. The painted demon trap, the trees made of cheap foam, even a bumber of a prop car. Anyone would think of that first!

So, knowing he had marked just where to go meant he looked at the side of his map that he put down notes and circled important places. Especially those related to film sets and places he loved. Once he had it turned over to the correct side, the buisness one as it were, he saw where he really needed to be. It was circled in the same colour as the tv crossroads, leading to why he was likely so sure this was the place.

Potch hopped in a circle and laughed, as much as a bird could really.

Swatting at the creature he huffed and started walking in the direction of his actual meeting place. "At least it aint' too far..."

Rox (Co Captain - Ranger)

Once upon a time the land of Fenra could be described as beautiful with lovely nature scenes, amazing sounds made by animals unique to the land and there were thriving trades among the residents of the different towns.

But then the shadows came and they erased all of the colors from Fenra, scared away the animals and destroyed the nature. They left it a place no one was feeling safe in any longer. The residents left their houses and searched for a safer and happier place or they went into hiding. Only the shadows and thieves show themselves in the land.

Despite all of that, there’s still one town, the city of Thenle, that up till today remains unharmed. In this city Ilaera was born and raised. As a little elf girl, she saw the things that happened to the surrounding towns and she knew that the fate of the some of the residents still remained unsure. At this point in her life, she swore that she would become a hunter one day.

When Ilaera grew up, she started training herself at times she believed no one was watching her. She started practicing with a dagger first, but soon after found out that a bow and arrows suited her more. When she looked around in Thenle, she saw that everyone was still very afraid of the shadows, since the residents didn’t know how they could defeat them if they were to enter Thenle.

Ilaera then decided to leave Thenle with her bow and arrows to go on an adventure, hoping that she would find a way of defeating the shadows once and for all.

On her travels she met with a hawk, a rather silly bird, that flew against a tree and broke a wing in doing so. Ilaera took care of it, but when the hawk was able to fly again, it didn’t want to leave her. Eventually Ilaera caught herself in naming the hawk Phaeri, she got used to it being around her all the time and grew fond of it.

When she was traveling through the different lands, she got an invitation to join in at the adventures of the wayward squirrel inn. Before she made it to the inn, she met with a couple of people from all kinds of places in the world. Since all of them seemed to be going to the inn, they decided to travel together. At the inn they experienced the most amazing adventures together. Ilaera soon realized that people were trying to protect her, because of her small height. She was mad about that, since she knew how to take care of herself and also because she was insecure about her height herself already. At the end of that adventure, she realized that being small gave her benefits too and she could use it to her advantage.

After saying goodbye at the inn, Ilaera started traveling again. Eventually she entered Ihati, where she met with Atia. Atia was a small elf, elderly of age. She owned a bed and breakfast and provided Ilaera with a nice room in exchange for her help. For some reason it always seemed like Atia was everywhere at the same time, knowing what to do and what to get people before they even ordered things. After a while Ilaera found out that Atia had been a hunter herself long ago. She asked Atia for guidance. Atia taught her how to really hear, not by people’s words, but by their thoughts. Since Ilaera didn’t feel comfortable with hearing people’s thoughts all the time, she only uses it at times she believes it’s needed.

Ilaera then received word about the inn again, knowing she had even more skills this time around, she decided to go back. After the second visit at the inn, which resulted in yet another adventure, she said goodbye once again and knew that she had learned something very important. She had learned to never let Phaeri out of her sight again, because she could count on Phaeri for anything. Besides that, she had seen the benefits of truly working together. She had learned to open her heart and to trust other people.

She decided to travel back to Ihati to meet up with Atia again, but before she could do so, she received word about a murder that had taken place. Ilaera was sure they could use her help in solving this mystery, so she started traveling there. After arriving she met with a number of people that eventually became her friends while trying to solve the murder together. After that, Ilaera thought about traveling back to Thenle, to see how things were going there, but she received word of the inn again. Knowing how much fun she had and how much she had learned there, she decided to travel to the meeting point.

Over time Ilaera wants to go back to Thenle, to try and fulfil that once made oath.

KarenP (Alchemist)

Venus is a 29 year old Alchemist and has been trained as one since she was about 7 years old from her dear Grandmother.

She has a soft spot for eight legged creatures, spiders, and always is seen with one. She tames and trains them to help her out on her journey's. Venus is the youngest of 5 and is the only girl. Her brothers made sure she knew how to fight if a situation were to call for it, however Venus would rather use words to get through a problem, and not get physical unless necessary.

Venus always carries a magical fanny pack that has been passed down through the family. It carries books, medicines, pens, pencils, and paper. A little bit of everything. And of course food for her arachnid companion, Bruce.

Venus can come across as quiet and reserved, but don't let that fool you. She can be loud and obnoxious when she needs to be. She is no push over, just might come across that way.

[spoiler=Sassysubsis (Warrior)]

"My name is Sashi. I am one of the Saherimos cult of Subetan Sisters. Some of you will have heard of us. Some of you will not. Deep within the Sacred Lands there is a religious order known as the Subetan Sisters. I was abandoned on their steps at nine days old. The Subetan Sisters are, as the name suggests, an all female religious sect." I paused, hoping that someone would say that they know all about the Sisters without more detail. Everyone's eyes were blank and I frowned before continuing.

"The Subetan Sisters believe that no man can rule the world without a woman by his side. There are many such sects around Subeta. The Saherimos branch moreover believe that we should fight hand in hand with the men in the world. We are trained from a young age to believe that we are stronger than men. The Saherimos Subetan Sisters believe that not only can a man not rule without a woman but in fact that the opposite is true of women: that women can rule without a man.

I was trained from a very young age in 57 forms of hand to hand combat, as well as 6 forms of combat with weapons and I am an adept at distance fighting too; arrows, spears, throwing knives and the like." I paused again, noticing that while there was some awe in the faces of those around me, there was no fear. This bodes well for the journey ahead.

"My preferred weapon, we all have one after all, is this sword. It is the legendary Evil Sword of Doom, once owned by one of the most feared pirates ever to set sail from the Omen Islands, known only as "Captain Red Eye". It is said he was a crew man of Captain Fishbreath Jacques but I cannot confirm or deny those rumours. Not much a man can admit to once his throat is slit. I commandeered his ship about three months after my 18th birthday. I've since been heading anywhere the wind takes me. It's been a lot of years and several ships since then. And even a few different crews. My only constant was Lorne." I gestured wordlessly at my fox companion. "He has been with me a long time. I could forget everything in my life except how Lorne got here. Since being away from the Subetan Sisters, I have only lost one fight. It was against Reischen, the Ji-Meneb who passes himself off as a great warrior trainer. I took his eye but he almost took my life. The fight was long and arduous, boring to any onlooker I'm sure, but in the midst of it, where it mattered, it was the best fight I'd ever been in." I purse my l

[quote=Kushiel]The bard had just finished playing his flute for a couple, even though later, on the morrow the two lovers would have a rough awakening. Blinded by the sweet tue, they had simply followed the song and done what one does with a lover - only that it was a bad idea to do so in the bed of a woman who was married. Smiling to himself Aodh left the small village and continued his wandering. The mists didn't bother him at first, born with mixed blood, he was used to magic and darker magic at that. However, his companion, a tainted, dark wood sprite called Slíocach as it had sly tendencies suddenly stayed close to him instead of scouting the way ahead as it usually did. "Don't be such a pussy Slío, you're not one of those fragile Seelie sprites!" He really liked his companon, but such rare display of uneasiness on Slíocachs part irrated the bard. The sprite didn't move but stayed next to Aodhs shoulder. "Urgh fine! Stay with me. But I assure you there is nothing to worry about. Nothing!"

The nothing proved to be a small faerie, which was met by immediate disdain by both Aodh and Slíocach. This creature smelled like light. After the messenger had finished his speech, the bard couldn't help but laugh. "So... you are telling me, that the high and mighty Seelie need help? From me?" He chuckled. Oh how splendid. They needed help from an Unseelie, halfblood or no.

For all his mocking, Aodh had no interest in the Unseelie Court gaining power. If they were to conquer this world, he would have a hard time and he knew it. Most of the Unseelie Sidhe didn't like those with mixed blood and the bard had no wish to experience the expert cruelty of his kin first hand. So he decided to follow this weird creature to the nearest tavern. Maybe there were some more clues as to what to do there.

As far as taverns went, this one was decent. They had mead and ale and plenty of customers. An unusual number of customers Aodh decided. Wasn't this supposed to be just a tavern at a crossroads? So there was only one explanation: The Seelie really DID HAVE a problem. Why else would a tiny tavern suddenly house that many people. Beng that meaning however meant, that the days traveling alone wee over - for now. "Well well. Let's find us some... entertainment, right Slío?" The sprite whirled once around the bards head. Traveling companions would be some fun indeed. A Dragon Girl, someone who looked like she was straight from the woods ... Aodh let his eyes continue the wandering, passing over men and dwarves, barely containing his dislike for the latter until his gaze settled on a pale young man. Not very remarkable but for his horns sprouting on each side of his head. The bard felt a tingling sense of kinship. Another one of mixed heritage it seemed. So he made his way through all the people, until he had reached the stranger. Slíocac

Turf the Mage and Frink the sprite(EurusFaeriewillow), Fern the Ranger and Tito the owl (Hannah66665), Ravensong the Bard and Kabe the winged cat (Zelly), Max the Vagabond and Tinker the owl (GuardianAngels), Armina the Warrior and Odin the baby dragon (MsBehavin)

Reserve Team

Evangelista the Alchemist and Oddjob the fox (Sage), Eurus the Mage and Giggfizz the fuzzball (EurusFaeriewillow)

[quote] Eurus, the Magnificent Mage… I mean Turf, the Apprentice? (written by EurusFaeriewillow with ideas by Sage)

Eurus sat in his magical study, nearly a year after his last great adventure with his band of friends. They were known as the Foggiest Notions, for none of them had a clue about one another in the beginning. It was a fitting name then, but now after two years of adventure, some of the members had become long standing friends. Some had departed, never to return, or had gone down a different path from adventuring. Others had arrived to fill in the gaps.

Eurus was studying a new book of spells he had just picked up from the local book shop. He was well known there, always coming and picking up new books to read. He came weekly, sometimes days in a row. After leaving his life of being a hermit behind, he had forgotten how great it was to be amongst people. He would often frequent the local tavern, reading his books among the babble of the locals. But today he was in his study for some peace and quiet. Once a hermit, not always a hermit, but a little peace and quiet was nice now and then.

He had just been in town a couple days prior, on a midnight stroll through town during the alignment of the twin crescent moons. He had been the one to receive the message from the faerie, about the Unseelie court rising again and the mysterious “blackfog”. To this he had never heard of, he had set out to find information about it but alas was coming up empty handed. The faerie’s message left him feeling worried but he set that emotion aside and contacted his friends, the Foggiest Notions.

All of them would be coming this year to adventure to the Borderlands, save Evangelista. She had contacted Eurus about an ordeal she was in the middle of. Her lab had been ransacked, the robbers had taken many of her research data and she was hell bent on getting it back. He felt obligated to help her with the situation, as she and he had become good friends after their adventure together the prior year. But he was unsure how he could be in two places at the same time, most spells for this ended in not very pleasant ways. He didn’t want to deny his group the great powers of “Eurus the magnificent mage”. This was what the title he had come to be known by, which of course he was responsible for spreading among the people of the town.

Just then there was a knock on his door, Eurus looked at Gigfizz who was napping in the corner of the room on a pile of books and said, “Oh, who could that be? Nobody even knows where I live…” He got up from his studies and answered the door. There standing before him was a short and stout satyr wearing desert attire, adorned in bright purples. An impish sprite was flying around him and he had a huge grin on his pudgy little face.

“Are you Eurus, the magnificent mage,” asked the satyr boy. He had an eagerness about him that Eurus was sure due to him having to pee.

“Who wants to know,” asked Eurus.

“My name is Turphineus Truffbottom III, you can call me Turf. I was told by the forest animals that this was your home, hidden behind the waterfall in Faeriewillow woods. I am a mage, aspiring to be as great as you!”

Eurus raised one eyebrow at hearing this, he liked the recognition and the boy seemed to be telling the truth, “Come in my boy, sit and talk with me. Mind Gigfizz though, he’s not too keen on strange creatures.” Upon entering the home, Gigfizz took to barking at Turf. Turf’s companion, Frink, flew right into Gigfizz’s face and barked right back at him, sending him back into the study to hide behind a pile of books. Eurus smirked and guided them into the sitting room.

They entered Eurus’ sitting room, where Eurus made and served dragonberry tea. Turf drank the tea with gusto, smacking his lips in satisfaction. Frink landed in Turf’s tea cup and lapped up the remaining drops, hiccupping loudly. Turf then explained that he was looking for someone to take him in and teach him the ways of magic. At first Eurus was not that keen on letting a stranger into his life but remembered what it was like when he first joined the Foggiest Notions… he also realized this boy was his answer to being in two places at the same time.

“Eureka!” shouted Eurus, staring into the boys eyes with a look of pride, “Sorry, I just thought of a solution to a problem I had… show me some magic boy.”

Turf grinned and said some words that Eurus was not quite sure of, a fire instantly appeared floating in the air. It was a perfect sphere of fire, something Eurus was impressed by as this sort of precise magic took years of practice. Suddenly the fire exploded, sending embers flying in all directions, quick to act, Eurus extinguished them all with one swift movement of his hand, “Sorry Eurus, sir… I am still learning… please let me try again.”

Eurus nodded and Turf took to making the same spell again, this time you could see the concentration and determination in his face, the face of a young pudgy boy suddenly becoming very adult and distinguished. The fire appeared a second time, this time it stayed inside the sphere. His companion, Frink, flew around the ball of flames and shifted form into a fire sprite. Then as fast as the fireball appeared, it vanished leaving only the fire sprite in the air. Frink stayed like this for some time before fizzling out and returning to his normal impish faerie look.

“Impressive, your companion seems to be in tune with you as well… I’ll tell you what, I will become your teacher and you my apprentice, if you can survive a trip with my adventuring group, the Foggiest Notions. I am needed elsewhere, with my alchemist friend Evangelista. She has some personal matters that I intend to help her with and we won’t be able to join our friends.”

“I would do anything to become your apprentice,” Turf shouted, “Thank you Eurus, thank you!”

“I’m going to give you this,” Eurus said as he rummaged through a box of charms and trinkets, “It’s a two way radio arm cuff thingy, it’s enchanted and it’s purple, so it will even match your attire,” Eurus grinned and then rolled his eyes a bit at saying this, remembering his time as Nancy.

“So I can contact you anytime?”

“Yes… and no. I will be busy helping Evangelista so I may not always be able to answer. In emergencies though, use the words “cactus berries” and I will answer immediately. Those are your favorite, are they not?”

Turf looked shocked at this knowledge, “How did you know…”

Totally ignoring Turf’s question, Eurus continued, “Here’s where you need to meet, at the Crossroads of Subeta. This map will help you find my friends. And when you reach them, give them this,” He wrote a letter, quickly and to the point, explaining that he and Evangelista wouldn’t be coming along this year.

“Yes sir, Eurus sir!”

“There’s no time to delay, you should get a move on,” Eurus walked Turf to the door, “Farewell and good luck… you’ll need it,”

Turf turned to look at Eurus, to thank him for the opportunity, to maybe hug him… but all he got was a door shut in his face, “Well that was a whirlwind visit… Eurus is sure eccentric, I hope I can live up to his expectations,” he said to his faerie companion while rummaging his pocket for a cactus berry, which he ate in one bite, “Off we go!”

Turf the satyr, a young mage with the song of the earth in his heart, looked at his map and stepped off on his journey to meet these Foggiest Notions, of which he had not a clue about.

Armina, the Great Warrior Departs (Written by MsBehavin and EurusFaeriewillow)

Armina embraced her mother tightly, kissed her round warm cheek and whispered softly into her ear, “Please do not count the days dear mother, for this journey may occupy many sunrises. I vow to return to you as swiftly as possible.”

Armina stepped off the porch of their meager cottage and called to her mighty companion, Ogarath, the protector. Apparently lurking nearby, the mighty red dragon appeared as if from nowhere, causing Armina to chuckle a bit, how could this massive creature be so well hidden that she had not noticed his presence?

Orgarath landed ever so slightly next to the warrior, causing the ground beneath her feet to shake just a little and immediately lowered his giant head for a quick pat. As Armina pet her dear friend lovingly she noticed a sadness in his eyes; the dragon will not accompany her on this adventure as the beast must remain aback to protect Armina's mother, Ari and the village. In his stead the mighty protector loaned to the warrior, Odin, a much smaller version of himself, a son born to him and his mate just the summer before.  

As the warrior bent to scoop up the dragon baby, to Orgarath she spoke, “I know it saddens you to remain behind dear friend, and sorrow has covered us plenty as of late, but you and I both know the need for you here is far greater than any other place. Rest assured however, if an occasion should arise, I will summon you oh mighty protector.” She stuffed Odin gently in her satchel along with her gear, as it would be a long trek to meet her friends, and she did not wish to tire him before their arrival. She added, “I know these spoken words are not necessary, as I am certain in your heart you know, I will protect your offspring to the death if I must as you will surely do the same here.”

Armina bowed her head slightly, trying to hide the water which gathered at the corners of her eyes, swallowed hard and headed toward the path. Many things had changed for the great warrior since last she left her friends to return home. Her father, had suffered a massive heart attack while chopping wood and did not recover. After his passing they buried him on the hill just outside the village under a mighty oak that overlooked a beautiful valley laden with fragrant wild flowers. Although she missed him horribly there was his name sake, the warrior smiled. For no one was happier than Armina at the hatching of Orgarath's children. Three small wonders, two females and just one male, Odin, named for her father.

She continued down the path towards the Crossroads where her friends, the Foggiest Notions, would be awaiting her arrival. It was only just days ago that she got a message by owl from Eurus, the group’s resident mage. He informed her of the message from the faerie, to rally the Protectors and meet at the Crossroads. There they would board the Flying Frenchman and head to the Borderlands to confront something known as the “darkfog” and the Unseelie Court. Before leaving her village though, she stopped by the hill where her father was buried and took out the battleaxe he had given her, she kissed it and said, “I know you’re with me father, you always will be.” Composing herself, Armina began her journey.

Ravensong and Fern, Songs and Arrows to the Fray (written by Zelly and Hannah66665)

Bullseye!

Fern couldn't help but smirk as her arrow made its mark. When Ravensong had relayed the news from Eurus that The Protectors were once more needed to defend the realms Fern had dedicated what time she had before their journey to honing her skills. While not one for violence Fern knew that combat was not always easily avoided and deep within the North Wood she had constructed a makeshift archery range to practice on.

"What do you think Tito?" Fern asked, noting that the little owl had perched itself upon the target to investigate her work.

With a soft 'hoot' the tiny owlet eagerly flapped it's wings as a sign of approval before taking flight, gliding over to Fern effortlessly and taking his place on her shoulder.

"Your flying has improved so much my little one!" Fern smiled, reaching to lightly scratch under Tito's chin and he snuggled up against her, chirping happily in response to her praise and he began nibbling one of her pointed ears.

"Your shooting has gotten better." Ravensong commented as she walked up to Fern, laughing softly when a startled Tito nearly fell from Fern's shoulder and attempted to fly off only to be quickly brought down by a leap from Kabe who now had the little owl pinned down with a large white paw as he proceeded to bathe him with his rough tongue.

"We should be heading out soon, Eurus hoped we'd all be at the Crossroads within the next few days and we don't want to keep them waiting too long."

In truth Ravensong already had her belongings packed ready for her departure before they'd received the message from their friend as she'd found herself uncomfortable in any one place for too long, and Eurus's message had given her the perfect reason to leave home once more.

"Are you two ready for another grand adventure?" she asked of Fern and Tito who Kabe had grown bored with, deciding instead that his whiskers needed a thorough cleaning.

It was Fern's turn to laugh as a now deeply perturbed Tito chirped a number of angry obscenities to the large feline and gave a haughty ruffle of his feathers as Fern knelt to retrieve him.

"I think so, yes... in truth I'm a bit nervous." Fern answered honestly, "I feel that I held our comrades back in the past and I hope I can be of more use this time around."

Placing Tito on her shoulder Fern went to tug her arrow free of the target, checking that her quiver was secure before coming back to join her sister.

"I have nothing else to bring, we're ready when you are." Fern told her with a smile, having never been one to keep many material possessions.

"Then let’s get on the road while the light's still good." Ravensong smiled in return, patting Tito and placing a hand on her younger sister's shoulder for a moment, before adjusting her pack and calling for Kabe to keep up as they turned for the road.

The Foggies Reunited… Mostly (written by EurusFaeriewillow, Hannah66665, Zelly, and MsBehavin with ideas from GuardianAngels)

Turf had been traveling by foot, or I should say hoof, for about a day. For him, this was the longest he had traveled. His whole life he had lived within the deserts of Subeta, never leaving the oasis that was hidden within. It was a paradise to most, the oasis known as Thrang’ La’ La’, but to him he knew there was so much more to experience in a lifetime.

He was finally arriving at the Crossroads to meet his mysterious adventuring group known as the Foggiest Notions. A lot was clouded in mystery to him, Eurus had rushed him off so fast that he wasn’t able to ask any questions. But fortunately he had heard tales of the great Protectors from adventures past and had an image in his head of what they all looked like. He had wanted to contact Eurus using the magical arm cuff thingy, but he also didn’t want to disturb him if unnecessary, so he opted not to.

A tavern was erected at the Crossroads, for those that were weary of traveling, so he decided this was where the rest of the group would be waiting for him. He walked inside and scanned the room for who he thought might be them. Stopping at the bar he asked the bartender if the Foggiest Notions were among the patrons. The bartender lazily pointed him in the direction of a table in the corner. There sat a group of adventurers who were talking and catching up with one another.

Turf slowly made his way to the table clutching the note that Eurus had given him, “Excuse me, I don

[spoiler=Dace The Vagabond And Buttercup]

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A VAGABOND?

Dace is a barge captain on Earth. She doesn't know where she was born or who her family is. However, she knows she is weirdly different from humans and "little creatures." She was taken in by a family of river otters who found her floating downstream in an ice chest as a baby. They adopted her as one of their own and were surprised to find she could

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() Valera Cloudsong - Privateer () Lilith Tyrathem - Aeronaut () Krios Gemini - Technomancer () Myrrine - Alchemist () Elia Dorian - Ranger () Aldora Chantel - Bard () Kir Royale - Companion () Matthew Kelvin - Vagabond

[Spoiler=Chapter 1: ALDORA AND ELIA, THE BEGINNING] It was the first warm day after a long period of storms and rain, so long that Elia enjoyed being blinded by the afternoon sun. She blinked and felt that spring was finally on its way after the dark season seemed to have taken over the Seelie forests for too long. She was used to living outside, used to all the rough moments a life in nature involves, yet she always longs the first shafts of sunlight after the long, cold darkness of winter.

It must be late April now, according to all the migrating birds that have returned over the past weeks from their winter homes at the warmer Seelie lands down south, where they could avoid the bitter cold.

Some trees and flowers were just beginning to bloom and bud and Elia took a deep breath of fresh forest air. She was fond of the smell of damp soil and dewy grass. It was so pure and uncontaminated by humankind's loud and obtrusive stink they call perfumes and colognes. Elia wrinkled her nose just thinking about the noisy life she left behind long ago. She never regretted once turning her back on the Seelie society; it was bad enough that she had to grow up in that chaos for 18 years. Elia leaned back against her tree trunk again, subconsciously wiping her face with her sleeve as if to wipe that part of her past away.

She closed her eyes and started to listen to the chirping birds and buzzing insects, when she heard an unfamiliar sound. It came from the little creek five hundred feet away. She heard the plashing and splashing of something big and clumsy in the water. What could that be? Elia perked up her pointy ranger ears. It was definitely smaller than a bear, but bigger than an otter. And it also seemed to flap?

The unusual sound aroused Elia’s curiosity, so she rose from her sunny afternoon rest and drew her bow quietly. She stood still and listened again, noticing another sound now, like a voice, but talking in a tongue Elia had never heard before. ‘Very peculiar!’ she thought, being that she could usually determine every creature in her forests.

Slowly she snuck closer without making a sound except for her medium-long, auburn hair swishing in the afternoon breeze. She tackled her way quietly around a clearing and halted behind some young elder bushes. The little creek came into view, and she could make out a strange girl with an even stranger animal. Elia had never lain her eyes on either such a person or such a beast. What brought them here? What business did they have in her forest?

Elia took a closer look from her lookout. The girl seemed to be her age, but that’s about as much as they shared in appearance. The strange girl had elven ears, but she didn’t appear to be an elf like Elia.

On the contrary, her ears were hairy and she appeared to have a huge tail and brown, furry legs like a big wolf. Yet her face, chest and arms appeared human. The other creature, the one causing the splashing and flapping noises, was a match for the girl in its oddness. She was right, it was about the size of a koala, but it didn’t look like one at all. It was of the color of cream with teal bits as bright as the ocean. Elia wondered if that would be good for any kind of camouflage, or if the creature might be poisonous and these were warning colors.

Yet the girl didn’t seem to be scared; they seemed to share some special kind of connection. The beast had scales, big wings, two horns and a tail. The flapping sound was caused by its teal wings fluttering up and down and the splashing noises appeared to be produced from his attempts to catch fish. The girl was laughing and aimed her own bow at a big carp Elia could see clearly from her hideout. Elia slowly lowered her own bow without letting go of her grip on it. She knew she herself would be able to catch the fish easily, but she was tense and curious to see if the girl knew how to hunt in water as well. She did. Triumphantly, the girl took her arrow out of the water and threw the wiggling fish to her winged companion, laughing. The animal slurped happily at the fish and began to sink its sharp teeth into it.

Elia weighed the decision whether to move back, or to show herself. She couldn’t sense any danger from these two, and she would always be able to outrun them if it would come to a conflict. And she was quite curious about that unusual couple. Damn, she would spend forever wondering what she had just witnessed if she didn't take the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity.

Elia stepped out of her hiding place with a lowered bow and started to speak up calmly: “Greetings! I am Elia Dorian, protector of this forest and its inhabitants, and I wondered what business would lead you two to come here. Are you friends or foes of this forest?”

Elia tried to appear confident. Now that she thought about it, it had been a couple of years since she had talked to another person. And never to such a strange one as this. The unfamiliar girl gave Elia a smile, and also her companion seemed to look rather curious than malicious.

“Hello Elia Dorian! My name is Aldora Chantel and I am not here to harm your forest or its inhabitants, I only use it as my muse and peaceful escape from the Seelie court. I am a bard, you see, a poet, a storyteller, and I need to free my head once in a while to be able to use it again properly,” the girl named Aldora answered in a high voice, almost singsong, while pointing to some wooden instrument with strings.

“This is my viola, would you like to listen to a song your forest just inspired me to write?”

Without waiting for an answer she dropped her bow, which was a lot smaller than Elia’s – and bought rather than carved, she could see now that she was closer – and picked up the wooden instrument and a weird stick lying next to it instead. She cleared her throat, and even that sounded as clear as glass, before she began to sing her song:

“All the birdies in the skies And all the buzzing flies Are waiting for the nature’s rise In which the secret lies

The secret of ten thousand years Will one day cause a great stir It’s present in our nightly fears And it’s really coming near

For too long us humans led Only cared for being fed Ignored nature warns like mad And soon they all be dead

Mother Nature will take a stroll On us humans take a toll Everything out of control Expose her one true soul”

The last words of the blonde’s strange song were carried away with the wind as Elia finally spoke:

“That’s…. peculiar. Not the kind of song you would usually sing at court, being that your head still rests on your shoulders?”

Elia raised an eyebrow, when Aldora started to laugh, as high and clear as her singing voice.

“No, certainly not. This was a song for my personal pleasure, not for entertainment. I didn’t expect anyone else to be so deep in the forest. My friend Telley here and I are enjoying our holidays and decided to make our way to visit his family. He hasn’t seen any other dragons since we left Folk Forest.”

‘Dragons!’ The thought hit Elia. ‘Of course it's a dragon. No wonder why I’ve never seen any other creature like him!’ She couldn’t hide the curiosity when she asked Aldora excitedly:

“Telley the dragon? He is a real dragon? And you are going to visit more of them?”

“Yeah, sure. There aren’t any dragons anywhere near and he gets lonely during all those months of me performing at the Seelie courts and Mage’s manors. It is time for us to visit back home, and I guess he should really get to see some of those dragon girls as well, he is 25 now and hasn’t been with one since his early childhood.”

“And you can communicate with each other? And he listens?” Elia asked in amazement. All her concerns were forgotten. She watched as Aldora let out a strange whistle causing the dragon to look up from where he was paddling around in the cold water. Now they both started to make clicking noises interrupted by words in a language Elia had only heard once before, about half an hour ago when she first noticed the weird forest intruders.

“Yeah, he listens, yet he does have a mind of his own. Most of the time we are on the same turn though, and I know how to calm him when he is nervous. One wouldn’t believe it, but he is sometimes quite a scaredy cat, for a dragon.” Aldora replied happily.

“I’ve never seen a dragon before; I didn’t even know they looked like that, when I caught a glance of you two. I've only ever heard rumors about dragons.”

“Oh, they all look different! There are no two dragons that look alike. If you want to join us, I can tell you more about them and then you get to see them eventually. No worries, they are better than their reputation. And it would put my mind at ease to have a ranger with me as well. I am quite good a hunting myself, but it’s been a while since I walked the woods alone, and Telley here is of no big help if something was about to happen.”

Elia thought about it for a moment. She would be keen to see dragons. She has heard so many stories about their power, yet this little winged koala doesn’t seem to fit in any of those.

‘Well, I’ve got nothing to lose, and I can always just return if I feel like it!’ she thought, and so she agreed on Aldora’s offer.

“Yes, why not, I would love to see more forests, and I would definitely love to see more dragons. Let’s just try and keep away from other people as much as possible, okay?” Aldora nodded and started to hum a calming melody. Telley crawled out of the creek and shook the cold water off his scales – causing the girls to get drenched – before rolling up like a puppy at the small bank of the creek.

This caused Aldora to laugh, while Elia remarked, less amused: “This is not the right place to rest at night. I will take you both to my little shelter for tonight as dusk is drawing close. I will need to pack some things as well, before we can depart in the morning.”

She made some hooting noises and a big eagle owl appeared from the treetops. “Easy, Hemlock, don’t be scared. You better get used to that flying koala named Telley, since we all have a big journey waiting ahead of us.”

And so Elia led the little group to her tiny hut, where she prepared for departure, while Aldora and Telley fell asleep instantly on a bamboo mat after their long day in the woods.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Chapter 2: Krios and Myra, Meeting up] Glittering snow swirled down upon the soft earthy path leading from the deep wood back to the Elven estate where Myra has studied alchemy for the last nine years. The snowflakes danced in the evening breeze, gently caressing Myra's rosy cheeks, then settled down in her silvery flowing hair and the similar-colored mane of her unicorn companion Shimmershadow, like little lights of ice in the fast-approaching winter darkness. The friends had been out there all day, looking for late mistletoe and blackthorn.

Both plants grew far away from their home, but were direly needed; dried, mistletoe is very effective in curing tumors of all kinds and blackthorn is known for its formidable impact on inflammations as seen commonly during the cold winter months.

Supplies had dwindled and so Myra and Shimmershadow were happy that they found some plants, even as few as there were.

Tired of the long day, yet excited from their success, they walked side by side at a smart pace, looking forward to a warm fire and hot drinks, their frosty breath forming little clouds in the air.

By approaching the tree house where Miriel, Myra´s elven teacher lived, they heard a foreign, pleading voice, speaking with an unknown accent, in loud conversation with Miriel, who sounded very skeptical. Reaching the threshold, they saw a visitor sitting beside Miriel on a wooden bench in her small library. The room was dimly lit by some beeswax candles and smelled of the herbal mix of sage, tangerines and tonka beans Miriel used for relaxing mind and body.

The candlelight cast long shadows on the wooden floor and danced on the few intricately carved book shelves and wooden chests furnishing the room yet although the warm lights created a cozy setting, the atmosphere felt frosty.

The caller was a male half-elf, with pale skin and red hair, in clothing which was rather odd for this part of the elven woods: he wore a pleated white shirt over blue dandy trousers and golden, ornamented boots, topped off with a red captain´s coat. He held a purplish staff from which flickering lights emerged now and then.

The half-elf talked animatedly and without interruption, displaying a broad and hard accent combined with incredible arrogance.

But the strangest thing of all were two black-winged and maliciously spitting creatures, one with blazing red and one with intense purple eyes, which were sitting on the half-elf's shoulders.

Hearing the screeching sound of the door, Miriel looked up uncomfortably.

"Myra! Let me introduce you to Krios! We´re just discussing his stay with us!"

"Oh! You didn´t tell us we were expecting a guest, Miriel, yet friends are always welcome!" Myra said, emphasizing the word ´friend.'

"It was unforeseen, Myra. Krios decided on the spot to visit us after his last..... magic experiments..... took a very wrong turn. He wishes to take efforts to balance his magic more effectively........." Miriel coughed.

Krios thought the old Elf sounded rather taunting, perhaps even rude.

"I am Krios Gemini, a mighty mage, and I want to become a legendary wizard!" he shouted at Myra, who was staring at him and his darling demons, wide-eyed and with a smug and hostile look on her face. His companions hissed approvingly.

Krios swallowed hard and took a good look at the girl. Tall and slender, with cornflower blue eyes and a pale-rosy complexion, she shook the wet snow from her long, silvery locks. She wore a pale blue long dress of Elven silk, tailored and with silver adornments, a pendant of the moon goddess and a matching moon tattoo on her left upper arm. Her hair was crowned with a silver circlet woven with intricate patterns of the moon and stars and matching hanging beads. She was holding an enchanted staff bearing a silvery blue glow that illuminated the shadows.

A little white unicorn filly with a silver mane, reaching in height up to her hips, was standing protectively in front of her and observed the situation alertly and with big blue eyes.

"So that's what you want, huh?" Myra said dryly, in an amused voice.

"And you try to study the ways of the moon and the stars? Clearly a waste of time and effort, as uneducated in astronomy as you are!" Krios shot back with blazing eyes.

"And you are the most educated person in the field of astronomy, yes?!" Myra demanded, chin held high.

The two squabblers glared at one another.

Exhaustion and sadness overwhelmed Krios and a single tear rolled down his left cheek.

"I am. I am the master of the skies, the Lord of Constellations, like my parents called me. My parents........ Nobody knows the stars like I do. However, these days I look up into the skies and pray for help, begging the sparkling lights of eternity to cure me of myself, delete my past with all my failures, all the mistakes I made, the lives I have taken, the sorrow I have caused, all the wrong magic turns that caused this unbearable regret I carry upon my shoulders. I am a mighty mage with no control over my power! I am hurting so much, the pain is getting worse and worse and I can´t seem to find solace.

That´s why I came. My elven book taught me a lot, and I also learned from some minor wizards, yet the best would be to learn from my own kin. That is my legacy! Elves themselves

[spoiler=Chapter 7: The Tavern] It didn’t take long for the group to reach said tavern. It looked quite shabby from the outside, and an old, weathered sign read ‘Darkheart Tavern’. It looked rather dodgy than inspiring confidence, but they didn’t have any another option. When they entered through the heavy, wooden door, a little bell started to give of a shrill ring, that got lost in the sound of obnoxious jazz-music that crackled from a steam-powered juke box. The only light source was pointed at a large, round table, which was surrounded by several men wearing hooded capes,

@ GreenRowan and # nightowls

How our Nightowls assembled...

[Quote= Vixen Duffle (Witch)]

Feeling a bit out of her element Vixen stood on the deck and stared at the other people coming aboard. She greeted them and smiled shyly. She hoped she could remember everyones name...she was really bad at that. She also worried they would think her odd with her skulls and her gray skin but no one seemed the slightest bit concerned.

It was odd but she could already see this group fitting together nicely...like an odd A-team. Well, okay the A-team was already odd so I guess they would be the O-A-team? Or the Odd-team? Or would it be the odder team? Oh there goes your mind again Vixen she giggled to herself.

She had met Cali years ago when she has stumbled across her disheveled body on the forest floor and thinking she was dead had proceeded to pull out her taxidermy tools. She had pulled out her rump poker, the long thin rod she used to make sure animals were deceased, and poked Cali who had squealed and jumped up quickly. Vixen was glad she had packed extra underwear at that point. They have been friends ever since. She was happy that Cali had agreed to come on this adventure with her.

Honestly she wasn't very good at being aboard anything, ship or plane, they both freaked her out. Although she really liked the look of this ship. It was different in a good way. She had loved it when Mal had shown them around the ship earlier and had asked a lot of questions. Mal was a very competent captain and a good friend. Vixen was glad Mal had called her to come and help out her old friends. She was always up for an adventure!
She dug in her pocket for her dramamine and popped it into her mouth. Her stomach might not be ready for this adventure but she was! Now to help Cali find Mr.Whiskers... [/quote]

[Quote= Cali (Dannica)]

"Hey-o, Mr. Whiskers, isn't this great!" I beamed at my grumpy ginger companion as we strolled aboard the ship. "Told you listening to that squirrel would pay off." He gave me a disapproving stare and promptly abandoned me to explore. I shrugged and turned back to my other companion, Vixen. "He'll be back later." Vixen and I'd met up earlier in the day when I'd told her about my tip off from the squirrel about major happenings going on over at the Wayward Squirrel. From the number of people popping out of the wood work headed that way it sure seemed to be true.

"Thanks for helping me out back there, Vixen. Good thing you knew the Captain, otherwise I doubt they'd let me on," I said, wrinkling my nose and gesturing at my grubby clothes. People place waaaay too much importance on clean clothes to my way of thinking. "I wonder if I could have snuck on in one of those crates over there?" Now intensely curious about what kind of cargo this ship was hauling, I bounded away to investigate; Vixen wouldn't mind.

Turns out this ship is all about hauling pots and pans and fabric and a bunch of other boring nonsense. No gold, and no food for me to get into which was super disappointing. I tried reporting to the kitchen and telling them I'd been hired on as help but the cook wouldn't buy it and chased me out. Still, there's got to be something interesting to get into on this ship if only I can find it...but first I needed to find where Mr.Whiskers had run off to.[/quote]

[Quote= Aria (Ambition)]

I was with my Stealth Nomad crew when the rumors started echoing through the misty air. The Unseelie court was starting something; a war was brewing.

Unsettled though I was, I knew I had waited my entire life for the opportunity to be something different, something bigger than my Stealth life allowed. I wouldn't say I needed redemption but I felt like I had not lived up to my potential. I could feel the untapped power inside me, as it surged when I thought of running towards the battle and away from my monotonous existence.

I had kept my feelings a secret from my crew, only my companion Dax knew what my plan was. I had to get to Bordertown at any cost. I debarked the sky ship of my closet Stealth friend for, what I hoped to be, the last time for a long while. As I walked around the shipyard I started searching for a weak spot among the night guard of each ship. I was so engrossed in my surveillance that I didn’t notice a group of people who were milling about aimlessly by a small air ship.

Dax pestered me with his excited mind-chatter until I finally opened my mind up to his telepathic ramblings. ‘I just wandered over towards that group,’ he said while gesturing to the group of people near the small ship. ‘I heard that they are headed straight for Bordertown and the war,’ Dax paused as he stared intently at the group. ‘They need a bodyguard – YOU COULD DO IT RAVIN,’ Dax mind-shouted at me!

Wincing, I shoved him and muttered angrily, “I told you not to yell!” I rubbed my temples in an effort to clear out the echoing of Dax’s voice in my mind.

Looking towards the group I noticed that they were a quite random assemblage of people. One of them in particular looked a bit timid amidst the warriors and riffraff at the docks. The timid woman was beautiful and dressed in a most unreasonable and elegant manner. ‘She must be the one who wants the body guard,’ I mind-spoke to Dax.

After watching the crew a moment longer I decided it was worth the risk and stood and walked towards the gangplank of their air ship. “Excuse me,” I called out to the group. “I’d like to know if you have room on your ship for me and my companion Dax.” They made no move so I continued on with confidence. “I heard you are looking for a bodyguard. If my information is correct then look no further, I’m your girl.” A heavy silence settled among the group as they exchanged looks and finally began whispering amongst themselves.

“My name is Aria Quinn but my most people call me Ravin,” I offered out my hand to the woman who seemed to be in charge, hoping this would be a friendly gesture.[/quote]

[Quote= Toussaint L'Underpass, AKA The Prof (Belladonnareed)]

"Bonswa, Cheres. I am at your service, Toussaint L'Underpass. But often for those not born speaking the Creole, that name breaks the teeth-you can name me Prof, as you please. Of where have I come? Non. non, honored lady...my colleagues insist upon-how do you call? Ah! a certain reticence. Of course, I commit to you the same...discretion. eh?"

"Biensu, the Crossroads is where my people go when there is complication. It is the homfour of Papa Legba, ever'thin' begin and end at de crossroads. If cete fee asked me to go elsewhere, me, I stay where I was, and doin as I was.
I am most recently of a place more charmant than here, but my endeavors were disrupted by a fee...

"Eh, mam'ze? Not a payment or fine, non, non...ah, how is your word? Nevermind, I think I do not know your word...a tiny shiny person, but much disarrayed. Non, the person was not tiny, the shiny was tiny...oxidized? eh, non-tarnished? damaged, si. My people do not generally truck wit' such, savvy? Even the best of their kind have a...troubling sense of humor...but, neither will we cross such as those. So, I am here, with my Little Queen, to be of service of you, or of the fee-that was not so clarity. Et my Little Queen? In time, in time as the Ti Bon Ange and fates, you shall meet her most petite majesty."

"Here I bring my small things to help as I perhaps might."

"Ah, I can see that to know if of use I be, you must ask of use what I do...The very good chemistry makes I. From cooking to cologne, from adhesives to explosives that also makes by me."

"Yes, yes, I t'ink it foolish indeed to run into a hurricane-who would make such action? But I not fool enough to defy the tiny shiny peoples, non, non."

"So beautifully present me to my quarters, for work is to do before the palm tress bend down. But what do you know of this infernal fog? It seems not Ire, non, not ire one piece."[/quote]

[Quote= Brynna (Shae)]

I had accepted a job as bodyguard/guide for the beautiful songstress Angelica Faye. Money in my pocket, travel and see some sights, maybe get to crack a few heads along the way...my kind of gig. Getting to her next concert was my goal right now and it was proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated since we needed just the right kind of ship to get us there.

So here I was in the shipyard scouting out a ride for us and hoping to maybe find someone else willing to hire on as a little more muscle since rumors were flying that even the remote cities(like where we were heading) were feeling the effects of the swirling maelstrom out by the Border.

Just as I was ready to give up finding a ride, luck smiled on me. There she was...clean, shiny, not too big and not too small, just what I was hoping to find. A sign out in front said simply "Taking passengers. Inquire within". I grinned and began to whistle as I strolled towards the gangplank. Before I could take the first step up though, a raggedy girl(? hard to tell through the dirt)and a woman who was beautiful in a dark way came almost running down it from the deck of the ship chasing a cat of all things.

The dirty one was saying something about somebody named Mr.Whiskers and the pretty one was listening intently, nodding her head and looking quite serious. Neither of them seemed to even see me until they were almost running me over. I quickly stepped to the side to let them pass and wondered if maybe luck wasn't on my side after all.

A striking woman who looked like she meant business poked her head over the ships rail. I waved and shouted up to her, "Is the Captain of the ship still taking on passengers?"
She smiled and replied, "I sure am."
She walked down to the bottom of the gangplank and we quickly discussed passage for myself and Angelica. I was just bringing up the subject of if she knew anyone else looking for some basic bodyguard work when three very odd things happened. First a fairy appeared as if out of thin air and informed us both of the troubles happening to the Wayward Squirrel,then a tough but pretty girl seemed to appear almost as magically asking for work as a bodyguard or guide and finally an elegant man approached speaking in a patois and inquiring if the captain needed help doing anything from cooking to whipping up explosives in return for passage on the ship!

The Captain and I looked at each other, both shrugged and she moved to speak to the elegant man while I approached the young woman. I accepted the stuck out hand she was offering and gave it a firm shake and said, "You're hired. Now I have to go lie to my boss to get her on this ship and we have to go help some old friends...you still want the job?" She nodded. "Ok then. I'll be back ASAP. Don't let the ship leave without me!" I ran to gather Angelica and our gear and as I looked over my shoulder I saw the raggedy girl, the pretty woman, the elegant man and the Captain all heading up the gangplank while Aria stood looking very determined at the bottom of it watching me run.

It was strange, but I felt like this was supposed to happen. Like it was fate or something. Now I just had to hustle Angelica onto the ship and hope she didn't kill me when she figured out that the ship wasn't heading towards Dueseltun for her show.[/quote]

[Quote= Angelica Faye (BlueIllusions)]

I tapped my foot impatiently as Brynna set about with the arrangements of our travel. My arm was getting quite sore from holding up the parasol that was tasked with protecting my perfect skin so that it stayed that way.

"What is taking so long?"

It was a beautiful day for travelling and I usually love to enjoy the sights but we have a deadline here! Oh well... if we end up being late, I'll make it fashionably so. I'm sure they will forgive me... But I do so need the money for some new clothes. My wardrobe is looking rather sad these days without any new additions to perk it up. It had been a dry couple of weeks but not after today!

After what felt like forever, Brynna finally came back from the shipyard to tell me we were ready to depart for Dueseltun and that she had hired some extra help.

"Finally! I thought you were trying to buy the darn ship! Let's hurry up, my legs are getting sore from all this standing around and I don't want to keep holding this parasol if I can help it."

Grateful to be moving somewhere, I acknowledged the captain and got on the ship with Brynna, making sure not to dirty the dress I was wearing - it's one of my favourites after all. I glanced around, noting that our ride wasn't too much to look at. But at least it was well-kept.

Odd... there are some strange travelling companions on this ride. One in particular looked like she was the walking dead with that complexion of hers! The captain of the ship herself had unusually colourful hair - how did she get it like that? I wonder where they are all heading...? I suddenly had the strangest feeling that I was going to find out later, but brushed it off without another thought.[/quote]

[Quote= Mal (Iridescent)]

-Auto-Pilot Engaged-

The voice was a close replica of a human woman.

Mal sat back and kicked her legs up onto the space ship’s console and folded her hands in her lap. She was going to go smoke in a few but first she wanted to sit for a bit. She’d been on her feet all day showing the new folks what was what on her ship. Mostly she was telling them what not to touch or do or where not to be. They were an inquisitive bunch that was certain.

Mal grew up on a small, fairly normal planet, out in the country. She learned about the outdoors and had a fascination with ships and began to boat when she was still a little girl. She was always bugging her parents to get out on the water and it wasn’t long before she had her own paddle boat and then a sail boat when she got older. She loved boating with a passion but she always envied the birds their freedom to fly in the skies. When she was a teenager she begged her parents for flying lessons and that’s where it all started. She took to it like she was born flying, she was a natural.

She was in her twenties now and had come so far and seen so much already. She had flown the skies all over her planet before long and then she began looking for the next big thing. And she found it- Space. Galactic travel was common but mostly for supplies and cargo on her planet. Not much exciting happened on her world so little to no commercial travel was typical. Tourists didn’t come and citizens didn’t leave the planet to visit others; people were content on the agricultural world that was still mostly green and serene. Mal was restless. She took a job with a freight company and used her time to learn everything she could about it. Once she gained enough knowledge she told the captain of one of the ships that he should hire her. Mal was not one to mince words.

The captain liked her ballsiness so he took her on. She started at the bottom and worked her way up. She was strong and resilient and took everything they threw at her. Her first time in space was hard, brutal work but she survived. Whenever she didn’t think she could take another day of hauling freight or working machinery she’d find a porthole and look outside. The stars always gave her determination. The next step up was working the freight onto the mainland of a new planet. Sometimes they’d get leave to go have fun for a couple days while they loaded up. She met lots of people and learned a lot as well. It was on one of those stops that she met a captain looking for a co-pilot. Mal offered her services, if he would teach her. It was a gamble but she had plane experience and knew a freighter inside and out. The captain said no and found someone else but he did take her on and have the co-pilot teach her.

She was a quick study and before she knew it she was flying in space. It was the most wonderful thing she could imagine. The years were passing by and she switched companies a few times. Not all companies were good and she had her fair share of assholes in the mix. Most of the time they were honest folks but there were also lowlifes and smugglers. Mal actually didn’t min

Outfit Not Found

[spoiler=Amdir the Mystery Misfit(reluctant)]Sighing, Amdir leaned against the wall gazing out the open window at a few groups of people laughing and chatting below. Lifting the short missive in her hand and scanning the page again the vagabond grinned slightly at the exuberance that practically leapt from the page. Leaf was coming and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Amdir moved back to the bed and the open satchel that sat atop it, half packed and waiting. Flopping down next to the bag, Amdir laid back looking up at the ceiling.

After months and months of careful wording and misdirection on her part, Amdir had tried to avoid explaining certain things to her friends. Now however it appeared she would have to face things head-on. Sure, going out on another adventure with the Misfits, her best friends, sounded great. Who in their right mind would turn that down? What was the point of being a self-proclaimed adventurer if you stayed in all day? Still…there was that…issue…

Growling in frustration Amdir sat up abruptly and grabbed the satchel, turning it so she could close the clasp. She would do what she could, when she could, and that was all she could do. Spotting the black rose on the top of her clothes as she sealed the bag Amdir shook off that voice at the back of her mind whispering that this was a bad idea. Instead she headed resolutely out the door. According to the note, Leaf would be arriving this morning to drag Amdir along, if need be, to the crossroads where the Floating Frenchman was to meet them, ready to carry away those who answered the call for help. Well, Amdir would answer, though what help she would be able to give … that was to be seen.

Leaf guided Aran along the street, smiling at a few people he passed, but focused on his task. He turned his stallion down a side street, neatly lined by trees and nicely trimmed hedges, and soon arrived at a house that had become familiar to him over the last several months. He grinned at the figure emerging from the door. "Amdir!" the elf called.

Closing the door behind her, Amdir looked out onto the road and laughed. Leave it to an elf to time that so perfectly. "How long have you been here? I haven't made it to the livery yet to pick up a horse,” she greeted her friend. Making her way to where Aran stood, Amdir rubbed his nose before producing a sugar lump and offering it. "Hey there, fella. I know someone who will be thrilled to see you." And as if the words held some magic to draw her to them, Mew floated down and wrapped herself around the top of Aran's head, purring and snuggling into his mane.

"We just arrived," Leaf said, as he dismounted, and then added with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "You're right on time as well...unlike some others that we know and could name." He smiled as Aran gently lipped the sugar from Amdir's palm and then crunched it. The horse twitched an ear, seeming to listen not only to the vagabond's voice but something else. With a soft welcoming whinny, Aran accepted the arrival of Mew, nodding his head and making little nickerings of pleasure at being reunited with his friend.

Leaf looked at Amdir and said, "Shall we head to the livery then? We need to get on the road if we're to make it in time to meet the others at the crossroads. Though I want to be filled in with all the details of what has been happening with you on the way."

Falling into step with Leaf, Amdir shook her head but had to laugh thinking of their ever late friend. "In this case though, if I am not mistaken late means missing our ride so by all means let’s pick up a horse. I will of course bow to your expertise in the selection." Waving to a few towns-folk who were wishing her well as they passed, the vagabond fell quiet as she gathered her thoughts. Now came the hard part. As they came to a turn that led to the end of town and the livery, Amdir cleared her throat. "I feel I should start with one slight warning, Leaf. I may disappear from time to time on our journey, and ... well, if you would be sure to bring along my things I will, well ... turn up or rather catch up with you .... um, later." Eye fixed on the stable ahead, Amdir waited for Leaf's reaction.

"Disappear?" Leaf quirked an eyebrow. "Have you been dabbling in alchemy and magic, Amdir? Have you learned an invisibility spell? Or are you merely saying that you will have to leave the misfits from time to time? I think that would be rather hard since we will be in unfamiliar places. Of course I will bring your things, but...where will you be?"

Where will I be? Now there was a good question, the vagabond thought to herself before answering. "That is a little hard to explain." Pulling up her satchel and releasing the clasp Amdir reached into the bag and withdrew a black rose. "Remember this?"

Leaf's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the rose. "Of course," he said, "but I had no idea you kept it. What does the rose have to do with anything?" He paused in the road beside Amdir, wondering what exactly was going on with his friend and determined to get a full answer, even if it meant they had to ride hard to arrive in time to board the Floating Frenchman. He distinctly remembered leaving the rose behind on their last adventure.

With a slight smile Amdir recalled how she had ‘rescued’ the rose before they returned to the Wayward Squirrel. She had been formulating a plan to prank Leaf by sending him the rose as a gift for his birthday. If she hadn't figured out how important it was to keep the flower close, Leaf may have been in for an even more impressive gift. "Something happened to me last year, Leaf. Something that makes this," Amdir lifted the dark rose slightly before securing it back in her bag, "and myself, however temporarily, linked. I ... I am somehow bound to the rose and that is actually the good part of my tale. When I leave, I have no warning. I just AM somewhere else.  I ... awake, for lack of a better word, in a small one room cabin. I don't recognize any of the terrain. I am never there for more than a few hours, so I have not been able to explore to a point where I might know where I am."

The elf listened with a thoughtful frown. "And this has been occurring for months and you've kept it hidden?" he said a bit reproachfully. "How do you know it is the rose?"

Feeling bad for having kept this so long to herself, Amdir sighed and began to pace. "At first I didn't know what was happening. I thought I was hallucinating or dreaming. Hell, I even went to a magic user and

The Midnight Dancers

Nightshade the Warrior

Outfit Not Found

[spoiler=A celebration of life] Amaryllis, her baby dragon, and her mentor followed the group of funeral attendees to the inn, hoping to find comfort and share their grief with others who held the same sentiments. Along the way, she noted the presence of some squirrels that ran about. She had made eye contact with three of them (and yes, she had kept tally) - all of which looked at her for a moment before they scurried off to who-knew-where. Before she came to realize it, they had arrived at the inn. Thank goodness it wasn't an arduous trek, she thought to herself. From the looks of it, the funeral attendees had scattered after arriving, forming small clusters all over the inn.

It is cozy, to say the least; warmly lit, with jovial voices that bar any hint of silence from coming about. Even with the entrance of the group of mourners, the liveliness of the place seems to win over their moods.

Phineas promptly orders one bourbon, one scotch and one diluted milk in a saucer. Katja doesn't drink, is the problem. Once he sees to her needs, he glances about, hands one of the glasses to Lara, and makes a toast. "To the Professor. May he not be haunted by the shades of all those who failed his class," he quips, raising his glass before quaffing it.

Lara smiles at the toast. What a weird guy, she thinks, but hey, a free drink is a free drink. She downs the bourbon in salute to their fallen mentor.

Having just been handed a glass of lovely white wine, Kaiidth joins in the toast.

Ayla starts violently at this, and then yelps in pain as she has stabbed her finger on one of Ace’s spines. Staring indignantly at Phineas, she begins to wonder whether joining the group was a good idea after all.

Arennius introduced Amaryllis to his old acquaintances - long-time professors at Weald University - who sat at one of the tables, and she made conversation for a while before excusing herself.

It had been a long time since Amaryllis met anyone new on her own accord, and she was looking to do just that. Her eyes searched the crowd and landed on an eccentric bard, the only familiar face she could make out from the ones she had barely met hours ago, who was exchanging a few words with an unremarkable young woman. Moments later, two others approached. Determined to end the night with new friends, Amaryllis made way toward the group and introduced herself.

They were students of Professor Sanguis,

Sorry about double posting... posted before it was finished. Bad team captain. No CAKE EVER NOW!!! So in typical Legends fashion...there is more! :)

Witchy --- Gryffindor --- Tea_Roll --- lovecraft --- fresh --- TerrenaAnimula

[spoiler=Tiny Character Blurbs]
[spoiler=Fresh]
The Bard.  He is an avid cake lover, but is often denied by his team mates.  During the down time between Squirrel missions, he likes to stalk follow Channing Tatum to different talk shows and possible locations to simply catch site of him.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Lovecraft]
The Warrior.  Wouldn't know it to look at her, but she spends most of her time surrounded by cats and crocheting.  When not on an adventure with her team, she tries to relax at home with her million pets while trying not to kill her annoying neighbor that thinks that blaring his music appeals to some people.  He may be her next person to find a cliff and be pushed off of it.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=TerrenaAnimula]  The Ranger .  She loves taking photographs and is often found out in the woods snapping photos.  A nature lover at heart.  You can also find her at many different types of Faires with a figment of her imagination, Rosaria.  [/spoiler]
[spoiler=Witchy] The Mage.  Being away from Silver Legends, she spends her time smoking Rainbow and drinking wine (so in truth not much different).  Trying to stay cool as the summer begins to strike with a portable AC unit.  Currently she is trying to save up money to buy a new full AC unit, however shopping is her weakness and CWs keep appearing in her closet.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Tea_Roll] The Alchemist.  Away from her Silver Legends friends, she sneaks away to Ninja school to practice her rolls and stealth moves.  This last time she brought her fellow Legends, Flamingo along with her to teach her some bravery.  Things didn't go so well and Flamingo is now in recovery.  [/spoiler]
[spoiler=Gryffindor] The Vagabond.  New to Silver Legends.  She enjoys time to herself and being away from people.  Dealing with them only when she has too.  Being rather quiet and to herself, she is in for a new experience. [/spoiler][/spoiler]

[spoiler=INTRO TO THE MISSION]
"Why are we walking around the streets at midnight?" TerrenaAnimula asks of the group. "And why did you say I needed to bring my gear?"

"Witchy mumbled something about needing to be out and finding something," Lovecraft responds.

"Or get murdered," Tea_Roll adds in helpfully. "That's why you needed your stuff."

Fresh just looks at her and simply adds, "Witchy wanted to meet up with her Rainbow dealer and this is the only time of night they were willing to meet. End of story."

"I'm almost out guys!" Witchy reminds them all. "And we know what happens to me when that happens. Plus, I had a feeling about tonight."

"That can't be good," Lovecraft replies. The others nod their heads in agreement.

At that moment they see a shadowy figure in the next alley down. Cloaked in the darkness, they are unable to make out any distinguishing details.

"Is that your dealer?" Fresh asks over to Witchy.

"Nah," she says, "They aren't all covered in hair like that werewolf over there."

"How can you see that far?" Terrena asks.

Before Witchy can answer, "Werewolf!!!" Tea_Roll yells loudly and runs towards the figure and grabs hold. "CAN WE KEEP HER!" she shouts back. "You are a her, right? Either way I am keeping you."

The figure is trying hard to get away from Tea's grasp as the others finally catch up, except for Witchy who has mysteriously disappeared. TerrenaAnimula grabs one of Tea's arms and Lovecraft the other trying to help the poor stranger get free.

"Let GO!" Lovecraft yells at Tea who at that moment does let go and both TerrenaAnimula and Lovecraft stumble backwards. Lovecraft glares at her.

"You said to let go," Tea says nonchalantly.

"Sorry about this," Fresh says to the new comer. I hope Tea_Roll hasn't permanently traumatized you."

"Tea," TerrenaAnimula says softly, "You can't grab random people. Its rude."

"And you can't KEEP anything," Fresh continues. "We still aren't sure WHAT happened to Flamingo after we allowed you to go off with her."

"Flamingo is FINE!" Tea_Roll responds. "She is recovering nicely in a nice rafter somewhere with lots of candy and drink."

Finally, seeing a break in their conversation, the new comer takes her chance, "I'm fine. And think I will be getting back to doing something other then this."

Ignoring the obvious excuse to try to escape the group, "I'm Fresh," he does a small wave. "The one that grabbed you is Tea_Roll, the ones that tried to pull her off is Lovecraft and TerrenaAnimula. And Witchy..." Fresh pauses now noticing the disappearance of Witchy. "Well she is around here somewhere."

"I'm Gryffindor," she smiles rather nervously.

Suddenly, another figure appears before them, disheveled and a bit out of sorts. It quickly reads them a note about the Seelie court and impending doom. That they are needed for help, yet again. Please hurry.

"Well it was nice meeting you all, I guess," Gryffindor slowly tries to hide back down the alley again before they notice.

"Hey wait!" Lovecraft looks at her. "You wouldn't happen to be a Vagabond of sorts would you? Just saying based on your attire."

"I suppose that is one way to say it," Gryffindor replies still trying to back away.

"Oh we NEED a vagabond," TerrenaAnimula adds in. "Someone," she looks over at Tea_Roll, "managed to cause our last one to need a mental break."

"YES!" Tea_Roll shouts and grabs for Gryffindor again, "I do get to keep her!"

"No Tea," Fresh says, "She has a choice to say no."

"I do?" Gryffindor asks hopefully seeing a chance to escape for real.

Witchy walks back up taking a nice big puff of rainbow and blows it out. "Did I miss anything?"

"Well," TerrenaAnimula turns back to look at Gryffindor, "What do you think? Want to come with us?"

Witchy turns back around, and throws her arm around Gryffindor's shoulder before she has a chance to say no and get away from the group..."Well come on everyone, that little fellow, girl, thing, over there is obviously in need, and I know that *I* need a drink! I've got cotton mouth bad."

With that announcement, and every one rolling there eyes at Witchy, they head on down the street to the nearest pub. Half dragging Gryffindor along with them.

Tea_Roll petting her arm, as she walked on the other side of Gryffindor, who's eyes are looking a little wild, and is desperately trying to extract herself from Witchy and Tea_Roll.

"Don't worry Gryffy" says Witchy, refusing to let go (who knew she had such strength? Where was all that strength when they actually NEEDED it in an adventure?) "Tea loves saving Griffin's. She has a baby one some where around here, don't ya, Tea?"

"Oh yes, I rescued it from a terrible landslide. I just happen to be rolling down this cliff... well... we'll save that story for another time," and she gives Lovecraft an evil glare. "Meanwhile, we can keep THIS Gryffy!"

Fresh frowns at Tea, "TEA NO! She has her own things to do! Maybe?"

Everyone looks at Gryffindor. But Witchy continues to drag her inside the pub, announcing as she does...."Beer for EVERYONE!"

Fresh immediately objects to that. "NO NO! Just drinks at this table here, and please, feed this little guy would you? It's (her? he?) has come along way."

Poor Gryffindor, still in Witchy and Tea's clutches as they get to the nearest empty table with chairs. With Lovecraft pulling on Tea trying to make her let Gryffindor go, TerrenaAnimula tugging on Lovecraft, and Fresh trying to get them all to stop pulling on each other, they all looked like a conga line, stumbling over chairs and tables, till Witchy FINALLY lets Gryffindor go. At the same time Tea_Roll lets go.

Some how, Witchy, Gryffindor and Tea all end up sitting in chairs while Lovecraft, TerrenaAnimula and Fresh end up sprawled on the floor.

"HOW DID SHE DO THAT!?" yells Lovecraft. Wondering how it was, that the two troublemakers got seats perfectly and the rest where haphazardly on the floor.

Poor Gryffindor tried to get up from the table to leave but a tray of brew and munchies are slammed on the table in front of her, both Witchy and Tea said "SIT!" to her at the same time.

Grinning at Gryffindor Witchy whispers to her, "It's okay. You have a place to stay now. You'll come along with us, and everything will be fine."

Gryffindor was slightly amused but it wasn't like she would show it to this rag tag bunch. Instead she scowled and shrugged. At least like this she would get a free drink and meal out of the situation. "I want the strongest drink you got." She ordered from the bar person, looking toward the group. "I might be a werewolf, but I'm no ones pet." She said a bit more harshly than she had meant to. "I'll come with you, if the price is right."

"YES!" Tea_Roll shouts out. "I AM GETTING MY OWN WEREWOLF!"

They all just shake their heads at her. "After we eat and drink," Fresh announces the note we got said we have to meet at a Crossroads place."

"Can we summon Crowley there?" Lovecraft asks as the others suddenly and smiles.

"I don't think that show is going to be part of this mission," Fresh replies.

"Wouldn't mind me some Sam and Dean pork chops tho," Witchy growls.  

"Okay so lets eat and get going then," TerrenaAnimula adds.

Not sure what she is getting herself into Gryffindor smiles and nods. Thinking if she goes along far enough eventually she can escape them if things get to tough or the pay isn't enough.

"So," Gryffindor speaks up between a few bites of food, "You mentioned your prior vagabond, Flamingo.  Should I be worried?"

"Of course not," Tea_Roll says chewing while talking, "They all are just over reacting to what happened when she and I went off together during our down time."

"Over reacting?" Lovecraft looks up.  "She had JUST grown her feathers back after the whole whale fat and duct tape incident of Wayward Squirrel One. "

"They did grow back nicely the first time," TerrenaAnimula states.  "I'm sure they will again this time."

Gryffindor gulps, "She lost her feathers?"

Fresh noticing where the conversation is heading, "Yes well, I am sure she is use to it by now.    Second time and all.  Just she would rather not be in public without them."  

"Don't worry dear," Witchy adds with a puff of smoke, "You don't have feathers to lose. "  She pauses then adds quickly, "Your hair is fire retardent right?"  

"WHAT?!" Gryffindor raises her voice for the first time.  "I am sure you are all lovely, but I think I hear someone calling me...somewhere else...far from you." She starts to get out of her chair to run from them.  

Again together, Tea_Roll and Witchy say, "SIT!" to poor Gryffindor who really doesn't know what she has gotten into.  And the more she is with them she is realizing there is no escape.  

Lovecraft looks over and just says, "You should have run before Tea_Roll grabbed you.  I keep thinking back to that moment when it happened to me."  Lovecraft returns to eating her meal.

TerrenaAnimula just smiles and adds, "It will be fine," and pats Gryffindor on the hand.  "We seem a little out of sorts, but we are all harmless.   

Gryffindor decides that she will wait for a moment when they aren't paying attention and slip away.  It HAS to happen at some point. Or they NEED to sleep.  She returns to eating her meal because she has a feeling she will need all she can get now.  

The waitress comes up to make sure everything is okay, "All good at this table?  Need anything else or the check?"

"OOHH! CAKE!" Fresh says up to her.  

"NO!" TerrenaAnimula, Tea_Roll and Lovecraft say together.

"We don't have time for cake," Lovecraft clears her throat, "Check please."

Looking over at Witchy and noticing that nothing was touched on her plate, but there are several glasses of empty wine in front of her, Gryffindor hesitantly asks, "You weren't hungry?" 

Witchy smiles and taking another puff of rainbow, "Dear, wine and good rainbow are all I need in life to keep me going. "  She stops and thinks, then adds in, "And sometimes a good porkchop covered in barbeque sauce, but that is for another time and place." 

With the check paid, they all stand up from the table and head towards the door.  Tea_Roll and Witchy both looping their arms through Gryffindor keeping her sandwiched in between them.  

"This will be fun," Lovecraft whispers to Fresh.  

"She never knew what latched onto her," TerrenaAnimula adds in.  

"Come on," Fresh says to the two of them.  "It just appears worse then it is.  She will get to know and love us."

"I'm still waiting for the love you all part," Lovecraft grins and Terrena hits her in the arm.  Fresh just holds back a laugh.  

"Lets go before they start trying to force matching tattoos onto Gryffindor," Fresh says and pushes Terrena and Lovecraft out in front of him.  

Fully fed, stocked up on Rainbow and ready for adventure, Silver Legends joined by their newest member head out to the Crossroads to meet with the Floating Frenchman.   There lies adventure, chaos and mayhem before them yet again.[/spoiler]