missrelena

Name: Yen Xi Li Age: 21 Gender: Girl! Role: Messenger to the Turtle Appearance: Picture below - the girl silly. She is petite, only 5'1" tall, but cruvy in all the right places. She has long, straight, blue-black hair and unusual blue eyes. She is lythe and slim and moves very quickly. She usually wears the elaboratly layered formal attire while in court, but simplifies things while traveling in her capacity as an Impirial Messenger. Weapon: Bamboo staff Power: politics, politics, politics. Personality: It is very unusual for the Emperor to entrust a mission such as this to a woman, but Xi Li is used to being an exception to the rule where that is concerned. She is the only child of the general of the Impirial Forces. Her mother died giving birth to her, and since her father had no use for a girl she was raised as if she were male. She is strong minded and strong willed -- not afraid to voice her opinion when it is asked for. She does not condone falsehoods of any kind, not even the polite white lies that most seem to find imperative when dealing with the royal court. The Emperor finds her honestly refreshing. She is not, however, unaware of womanly arts. She would have been eaten alive in court if she had been. She will walk softly and speak only when spoken to when the need for such manners is great. She can cook, clean and embroider decently, but that is not where her heart truly lay. She rides like the wind, fights like lion, and defies anyone who treats her differently because she's a girl. She's loyal and dependable and loves a challenge. Character Snippit: "General Yen, bring your daughter before me." the emperor commanded. "Yes, your imperial magesty." the general responded. "She is here." Stepping aside, he revealed his daughter, small in stature with her eyes cast demurly downward. She bowed deeply and remained bent over as her emperor looked over her. "Child, I know you chafe at such restraints. Rise and look upon me." The emperor smirked at the muttering that flowed and rippled like a river through his court at the permission he had just granted a mere woman. It did them good to be shocked every so often. "You honor me." Xi Li whispered and raised her eyes obediently. "I will honor you more. I have a mission for you, whom I trust." he continued. "Our great realm is in need of saviors. Your father's men are truely great warriors. But they are just men, and with such foes as have been barking at our gates, we have need of something more than mortal men. Those whom we seek have been scattered and must be found. I have already dispatched others. You are the last. Return home and pack the things you will need for a long and fast journey. A letter and your instructions will find you there. You shall be my legs and mouth. Do not fail me in your search." Xi Li bowed deeply again. "I am greatly honored by your trust. I will not let such honor fall to failure." Sedately she walked backwards across the chamber, never turning her back on the emperor. Once she was out of the room, however, she wheeled around and sprinted for the palace's front door, a huge smile spread wide across her face. She was going on her first true adventure! She didn't care where it took her, as long as she could be herself -- completely free for the first time in her life.

Rayne was shaken by the aligator zombie. Was everything trying to eat them? Actually she really didn't want to know the answer to that question. She just followed Vahn and the others, attempting to stay out of their way. She had striven her whole life to be independant -- not to be the useless damsel in distress. But if uselessness was any indication of damsel-ness, she certainly felt like she fit the bill at this moment. They slowly and carefully made their was across the zoo to another entrance that did not include crossing dangerous waters, and causiously exited back onto the city streets. They all looked at each other, then around at the city in general. "Okay, I'll bite." Rayne said, softly breaking the silence. "Where do we go from here? Are we going to try and find a way out of this place? What's the plan?"

"Good Evening, Milord Dante." Geni replied, a bit taken aback by his question. [I]What am I? What does he mean?[/I] she wondered. She curtsied to him to cover her confusion. "I believe that I am first on your dance card." He covered. "Would you join me for this waltz?" "Of course." she smiled. She held out her hand, but as the lord grasped it, the blue auras flashed brightly and surrounded them for a moment, then dimmed back to what it was before. Geni's eyes went wide, but no one in the crowd around them seemed to notice. [COLOR=SeaGreen]:What did you do?:[/COLOR] She unconsciously said into his mind. "Let's get onto the dance floor, then we can talk." he said, then stopped suddenly and stared intensely at her. Shaking his head he escorted her onto the dance floor, and they began swirling through the steps of the waltz.

Name: Millenear Delaney Age: 23 Gender: Girl! Blood Type: A+ Physical Appearance: pics below. . . long blonde hair and sky blue eyes. 5'6" tall, 125 lbs. She wears a white onesie-type suit trimmed in gold. She also has a bolero style jacket with golden crosses on the sleeves. Her cloak is black - warmer and doesn't show all the dirt. She can wear nylons and high heeled shoes, but she preferrs cotton socks and sneakers. Special Ability: Holy Exorcist Weapon: She can use her holy staff as a quarterstaff if needed. Personality: She's bright and sunny, but tends to get serious when stressed. She does her best to bring light into the world by driving evil away. When it comes to her calling, she's very sure of herself -- she never questions her devotion to the light. She does, however, realize that darkness and evil are not synonimous. (sp?) Some [I]do[/I] serve the greater good from the shadows, like the man in the long gray coat. Biography: Millenear was orphaned at a young age when her parents were killed in an accident. She was shipped from boarding school to boarding school by the state till she turned 18 and graduated from mandatory education. After obtaining her decently sized inheritance upon reaching her majority, she journeyed to Rome. She has always been sensitive to spirits, both gentle and evil, demons and souls who are just looking for guidence. Because of this, she felt drawn to receive training in her abilities. She worked for many years as an apprentice in a secret sect of the church -- one who's only responsibility was to guide lost souls and exorcise those who would torment the living. She learned quickly and excelled with each trial. After three grueling years, she "earned her wings" and went solo. Now she goes from place to place, bringing light to those she can and banishing those she cannot. Character Snippet: Millenear began praying for all she was worth. She had exorcized countless spirits of all types, but this was by far the toughest assignment she had ever received. The little girl couldn?t have been more than six years old, but she was tearing the room apart as if she had the strength of a twenty year old bodybuilding man. Even Millenear?s calming spells had had no effect. At first, the girl?s parents and doctors had assumed she was just very ill. But then, she had awakened like a monster possessed and began a rampage inside her hospital room. Fortunately, she had been in an ICU room, so there were no outside windows she could have escaped through. Millenear had been at the hospital, visiting a fellow exorcist. It had become very dangerous to be of their calling of late. She had heard the screams and crashes from down the hall and had come to investigate. The little patient was showing the same symptoms as the other recent victims that the cleric had worked her prayers over, but to a much stronger extent. To save those around her, however, Millenear knew she had to try. Now she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was in over her head. Her powers as a healer and exorcist were just not quite strong enough to save this poor soul. They weren?t even enough to save her own soul. The girl was now stalking her, a feral gleam in her eyes. They weren?t even human any more. Millenear was exhausted, and her prayers showed no effect at all. Closing her eyes and the girl leapt for the killing blow, she gave one final prayer for the safety of those around her and for God to keep her soul safe. Then the miracle came. A man in a long coat flung the locked heavy door open and hit the girl with some type of light. It enveloped the child and seemed to squeeze out a cloud of darkness. The girl dropped, mid-leap, in a heap at Millenear?s feet. Then she squeaked the first words the cleric had heard her utter, ?Mommy?? The man nodded, satisfied, then turned and began to walk away. ?Wait!? Millenear called after him. ?Who are you? How did you do that? Please wait!? She chased him around a corner, but he was nowhere to be seen. That was a month ago. Millenear has been searching for the man in the long gray coat ever since.

It is April in the year of our Lord, 1888. The spring social season is just opening, and as it always does, it opens with Almack?s Gala. Everyone who is anyone prays for an invitation to this ball, even if they have absolutely no interest in socializing. To be seen here is to tell the world that you are above the masses and someone of consequence. No one who receives a coveted invitation would dare not attend ? that would be the height of social faux pas. The miscreants would be shunned by London?s Ton for the entire season, death?s door not withstanding. The eight girls lucky enough to debut at this function are considered the cream of the young and marriageable crop, at least that?s what their mothers think. The gala had just begun and the room was already hot and stuffy. Almack?s ballroom was bursting at the seams with the social elite. Lady Genieve was doing her best to keep her jitters from showing. Her mother?s godmother was one of the eight Matrons of Almack?s, and had chosen Geni to sponsor as a debutante this season. Her mother was thrilled, but Geni was a bit dubious about the honor. She felt like a side of beef placed on the market block after being squeezed into a tiny corset. Her strawberry blonde hair had been pinned up within and inch of it?s life. Her pale blue gown was bustled and trimmed, and very difficult to feel comfortable in. She could hear the crowd murmuring as they waited for the ?debs? to be introduced by their sponsoring matrons so that the music and dancing could begin. She had to concentrate to keep all the thoughts that were crowding into her mind, like their voices were crowding into ears, out. She had always been able to hear the thoughts of others, but somehow she had also known how to shield them out in order to keep herself sane and keep others? privacy secure. Finally, after listening to seven other patrons announce the names of seven other girls and the polite applause of the gathered crowd, the withered and dominating old lady who was doing her the greatest of ?favors? stepped up to Geni, took her hand and led her to the front of the landing at the top of the grand staircase. ?I am pleased to honor and present the Countess Genieve . . .? the old woman?s voice faded out as Geni saw a flash in her mind. She saw herself standing before another crowd, but this time everyone was dressed in grey coveralls. She was being chosen for a mission to save something. But ? save what? Where was she? ?And welcome her to Almack?s.? The line that had been drilled into her consciousness by her mother cut into her vision and brought her back to the present. Geni smiled graciously and curtsied to the room in general. As she raised her blue eyes to look around the gathering she noticed a peculiar phenomenon. A few people in the crowd seemed to be wrapped in a blue glow. Geni inhaled a sharp breath. Blue! Blue means something important, but I don?t remember what! she thought. As she descended the stairs she desperately tried to keep the blue auras in view, but the crowd shifted and she lost sight of them. Unfortunately, as a deb, she was not allowed to mingle during her first event, so she couldn?t even search for the auras. She had a dance card filled with names of all the unmarried men invited to the gala. The bachelors were ?obligated? to do their ?Almack?s Duty? and dance with each debutante at least once. Geni didn?t even get to choose what order she danced with them. Everything was numbered and assigned on her dance card. All she could do was hope and pray that the few she had seen shining blue in her mind would approach her before the evening ended. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OOC: Okay guys, we're all at the party. Introduce yourselves and let's get going! :D

The pounding from the other side of the stone barricade became louder and faster, as if several monsters were teaming up to pummel the rocks. With his divided efforts, Hiro looked about ready to drop from the strain. "Hey Hiro, why don't you let Vice use [I]his[/I] earth magic to work on a back door while you just concentrate on holding the front door closed." Jura suggested. There was a reason why she was in charge. "Hiro, would it be possible to use your magic to turn the rocks in the center of the wall to compact sand while leaving the outer layers stone? It would be like three walls, one of rock, then one of sand, then one of rock again. Could you do that?" Shea'ann asked. "I suppose so," Hiro repiled through clenched teeth, "but why?" "Humor me and do it. Leave the rocks closest to us and the ones closest to the minotaurs alone, but turn the center layer to compacted sand." The cleric understood the strain he was under. If her idea worked, it would save them energy and time. "But . . ." Hiro started to protest. "Just do it. I think I know what she's got in mind." Cain told him. Shurgging, Hiro closed his eyes and concentrated even harder on the mass of stone before him. He felt the shift, and then the cave suddenly got extremely quiet. "So, what just happened?" Ky asked. "The sand in the barricade absorbs all the force of each hit. Those minotaurs could pound on that wall all day now, and not get any closer to us." Shea'ann explained. "It's like padding under your armor. It takes the brunt of the hit instead of your ribs." Cain continued. "So this will buy our earth-movers some magical effort that they can now use on the alternate way out of here." "So untill they get smart enough to start digging, we can do some digging of our own. Get moving!" Jura commanded. Then she turned to Shea'ann. "Where'd you learn the sand trick?" "Oh, a cleric I met in the Snowflake Mountains named Cadderly told me about it once. He said that was the best way to build a wall if you didn't ever want it knocked down." "You mean you've never done it before and seen it work?" the elf demanded. "Well, no, but when the High Priest of the god of learning and knowledge tells you something, you can usually take it as fact." she admitted. "Well, warn me next time you're going off a theory that you've never seen work before, okay? Now, I think some of us a bleeding." "Okay, I'm on it." and Shea'ann began looking for those who needed her help.

Kana grabbed Hana and began whispering in her ear. "Don't pick a fight with him right now. He's ready for it. Wait a bit, then get revenge when he's flat-footed." "Such as?" the quarter-demon asked. "Um -- you could wait till he's in an an akward position or at the bottom of a 'sit' crater or sleeping and flash that picture thingy at him. That way you can 'preserve memories' that he wouldn't want." the wolf girl suggested. "Ooooh, blackmail photos! I like the way you think." Hana crooned with delight, then began plotting her revenge for InuYasha's surliness. "Black-what?" Kana was confused by her future phrase -- again. "You'll see when I get thirteen by twenty blow-ups. [I]Then[/I] maybe he'll give me and my camera a little respect." Hana continued to make her plot more and more devious in her mind. "I take your word for it, but if we don't hurry up, the rest of the group is going to leave us behind." Kana took Hana by the hand and steared her in the right direction, then loped to a jog to catch up with everyone else.

[I]I've never fought minotaurs before![/I] Shea'ann's mind raced, trying to remember if they had any weaknesses. [I]Where could this many have come from?[/I] She soon exhausted her arrows, and drew her thin blade. The whisper-thin steel may have been increadibly sharp, but it didn't look like it would do much to their hulking opponents. But instead of jumping into the frey, she took a small vial from her belt pouch. She glanced quickly around to make sure that no enemies were immediately planning to attack her. Being the cleric, other party members tended to shuffle her toward the back, away from the direct line of fire. . . [I]FIRE! That's it! I'm an idiot![/I] First, empty her hands -- "Ky!" she shouted. "Cure comming at you!" She hurled the small bottle of Cure Moderate Wounds at him, and he caught it without so much as a glance. [I] Rogues are so amazing.[/I] Then, she thrust her blade into the ground. Gripping her holy symbol in her hands she shouted to the group at large, "Move back inside the mouth of the cave!" With that, she began her prayers, gathering up all her magical energy and strength that she had left. She couldn't even spare a hope that everyone had heard her and had done what she had required. Upon the completion of the specific prayer, she called the Flame Strike forth from the clear sky. A curtain of fire poured down on anything outside the cave, incinerating the weakest of the minotaurs and at least wounding and singeing the rest. Shea'ann held the spell as long as she could, but let it drop before she ran out of energy. There would be healings needed later if they survived this chaos. She swayed on her feet a bit, but remained standing. Jura raised an eyebrow at her. "Handy." she smirked. "Yeah, but I didn't kill them all." Shea'ann pulled her sword out of the earth. "And I can't do it again today. I'm just glad it worked at all." "Any help is good help, Love." Ky said. "Oops, here they come again."

Rayne stared at the lion mawling Vahn and did the only thing she could think of. "Everyone shut your eyes!" She shouted, turned her flash to max and set it off in the lion's face. If the thing responded to noise, she had distracted it. If it responded to movement, she had distracted it. If it responded to light, it just got a faceful and she had distracted it. She just wanted it off of Vahn. The cat shook it's head, as if to give it's captive a final shake before moving on to it's next target. He dropped Vahn and started toward Rayne, slowly stalking. "Uh, how about someone who knows what their doing step in now." she whispered, then began silently praying and backing away.

[I]How could I have read that wrong?[/I] Shea'ann thought to herself. [I]Detect Magic is a baby spell. But, Ky wouldn't lie about something that important.[/I] She shook her head, then decided to try the spell again, to see if she sensed the same unholy presence. She stopped walking and her horse seemed to appreciate the halt. Summoning her power slowly, to make absolutley sure she got each step of the spell right, she cast another Detect Magic. [I]Well, I can't see that unholy spot anymore. [/I] she mused. This time everything radiated magic, from Shea'ann's horse's mane to Jura's saddlebags to the rocks they walked on. It all had the signature glow of magic. "Well this can't be good." she sighed. "Um, Jura?" she called out. "Yeah?" the elf answered. Shea'ann got her horse walking again and approached the party captian. "Maybe I'm not as important as you hoped. Either the vision I had this morning has thrown my magic out of focus for the day, or we're up against a [I]really [/I] powerful magic user." She went on to explain the results of her second spell. "I don't even know if I trust myself to do any healing, for today at least. Not until I know if my magic is reliable again." She appeared a bit crestfallen as she admitted her worry. "I'm sorry. It seems you've been saddled with a useless cleric." She looked down and began twisting the rubied ring on her finger. "I'm sorry." Jura nodded. "I'll see what Cain can make of this. Don't give up on yourself yet." The elf gave a half-smile to the cleric, then picked up her pace so she could converse with Cain who walked just ahead of them. "I just hope Vice gets back soon from that wild goose chase I sent him on." Shea'ann sighed. She looked over her shoulder at Ky. "I'm sorry about the snype hunt, dearest. I really did think I saw magic out there, but apperantly it's just my magic on the blink. Now I see magic everywhere." "No worries." he replied. "Outings like that keep me on my toes." She drooped a bit as she stumbled along up the rocky slope. "You're too kind to me." "Not, yet -- but I'm working at it." He smiled, and Shea'ann could help but give a small smile back to him.

"Okay, this is awkward." Kana said to no one in general. She turned to the two bickering girls. "Not to break up what looks like a one-sided reunion of some kind, but we're kind-of in the middle of something. This guy," she pointed at Sasuke, "just had a very improtant sword stolen by a very large demon. He would really like it back, and the rest of us would very much perfer it if he had it rather than the creepy bug demon." The two new girls blinked up at the wolf demon almosty comically. Kana wasn't usually this harsh with new people, but they [I]were[/I] in a hurry. "What I'm getting at is, please just tell us who you are and what your mysterious relationship to the monk is so we can either slap him or not and then get on to the getting-Sasuke's-sword-back part of this journey." "Kana, that wasn't nice." Kagome chided. "Yeah, but it got the point across." InuYasha added. "So what's your story so we can get on with what Kana said?" Kagome rolled her eyes and waited for the girls' answers.

Shea'ann reached out with a detect magic spell. It was just too quiet. No birds, no animals, not even the sound of the wind blowing. Nothing. She searched the horizon, both up the mountain and behind them, looking for anything with the tell-tale glow. Behind them there was a small glint, but it was growing larger as she watched. "Jura," she called. "There's something magic coming at us from behind. I'm pretty sure it's unholy, but that's all I can tell." "Damn it to the ninth level of Hell." Jura cursed. "I had hoped we'd get a bigger head start that this. Okay Ky, Vice, time to earn your keeps." she called out to the rogues. "Get back there and scout out what you can see. The going here is starting to get really slow, so don't take your time. Find out what's following us, then get back here and report. We'll find someplace farther up that's defendable and wait for your return, but we won't wait all day. Get going!" she barked. Vice nodded, then turned to speak to Hue for a moment, then wheeled his horse around and headed back and off to the right. Ky also nodded at Jura, then turned to Shea'ann. "You keep your head down and stick close to everyone." he warned her, grey eyes serious. "You know you're a target, don't make it easy for them while I'm gone." "Be safe." she told him, wishing he didn't have to go. "Hey, this is what I do, remember? I'm the sneaky guy with the tight leather and all the knives." he flashed her a grin, then wheeled his own horse around and headed back and to the left. "I love you." She whispered as she watched him ride off. "Everyone else, keep heading up, but stay on the lookout for someplace that will grant us a margin of protection while we wait for the scouts." Jura instructed the rest of the party. The way was rocky and steep, and they had to walk the horses to keep them from injury. They were making headway, it was just slow. Too slow.

[I]I'm not even sure where the zoo is. I don't think I've been there yet.[/I] Rayne thought to herself. Even if she had been there as recently as last week, with all that had happened recently, she probably wouldn't remember it. "Not to sound the dolt, but is the zoo far from here?" she asked the group in general. "These streets are not a place I wanna linger on." Jack spared her a glance then muttered. "Just keep close and keep quiet." [I]Easy enough for him to say. I'm the useless one here.[/I] Everyone was armed, but Rayne noticed that everyone else looked quite comfortable with their weapons. Even the highschooler could throw a knife better than any carnie at a circus. What could Rayne do? Take a picture of the zombie before they killed her? What a great memento that would make. She gave herself a mental shake. They needed to get the antidote to Vahn and the girl, Akina?, before the virus made them zombies. Then they had to find a way to make it out of this place alive. She just prayed that she wouldn't be too much of a hinderance. OOC: given up on writing the lilt for the most part. You all know what she sounds like.

Several hours later Shea'ann nudged Ky. "Better cover your eyes unless you want the sun streaming into them." she warned. "What?" he muttered, muzzy-headed. "I'm a cleric of Lathander, the Dawn Lord. We do all our ritual prayers at dawn. If at all possible, we're to stand in the light of the rising sun as we pray. Sorry, love, I'm an early riser." "S'all right." Ky rubbed an eye. He watched as she pulled the curtain of the east-facing window back. He winced at the light that streamed in, but didn't complain. She stood there with the sunlight rippling over her bare skin. She brought her hands together before her chest and began her prayers. He had almost drifted off again when Shea'ann bonelessly slumped to the floor with a hard thump. "Shea'ann? You okay?" he got out of bed, slipped his pants on and crossed the room to her. As he touched her shoulder she began to tremble violently. She looked up at him, blank-eyed. Then a terrified scream ripped from her throat. "Shea'ann?" he shook her shoulders. "Shea'ann wake up!" Sense returned to her eyes with a snap. She looked up a Ky with a shocked expression then started to shake all over. "Jura." she cried. "We have to talk to Jura. And Daergar and the others. They have to know." she stood up and started toward the door. Shaken, Ky started after her, grabbing his shirt off the floor and throwing it on her as he went. As she opened the door he asked, "Know what? What happened?" "That's what I'd like to know." Jura said. She was standing across the hall from their door, not looking terribly pleased at being awakened at the crack of dawn. "Warning. A vision warning. We need to tell everyone." Having delivered her basic message to Jura, she turned to Ky and stepped into his arms till the lady in charge could roust everyone out of their beds. It didn't take long. The scream had woken half the inn. "So what is this all about?" Vice grumbled. "Daergar, you know someone named Miliana. And Jura, you have a brother." Shea'ann said it as a statement, not a question. Daergar looked noticably upset. "How did . . ." he began. "They're in danger." she cut him off. "Chimera knows about us. For some reason he finds us a bigger threat than most others. He's been delving, and is after someone or something that is a weakness in each of us." She looked at the two she had named. "Please, please find a way to contact them and get them to leave where ever they are. You have to do it today. Chimera's assasins are set to hunt tonight." "Now wait." Jura said, attempting to be the voice of reason. "How do you know all this?" "I was doing my prayers this morning when the Dawn Lord sent me a warning. He showed me what would happen to each of them if we did nothing. Please believe me." Shea'ann's voice held a hint of desperation. "So why doesn't this god of yours do something about it?" Vice growled. "He can't." she shuddered. "Everything must stay in balance with the gods. If Lathander gets involved on our side, that gives an opening for the evil gods to help Chimera." "What about everyone else?" Cain asked. "Hiro, I'm sorry. I just don't know enough about you. All I got for you is a sense of danger at home." He just nodded at this information. "Please, I'd like to have my room back now." Shea'ann looked at each of them, hoping what she'd seen would never happen. "Uh - Cain, can I talk to you before you go?" He shrugged, and stood waiting while everyone else filed out, minds full of possible answers to the problem of contacting those in danger. "What do you need?" he asked. "Stay close to Jura. Don't ever let her out of your sight. You see, SHE is your weakness, and Chimera has her marked to die tonight. Chimera doesn't want us to simply fail and die, he wants us to suffer first." Cain's eyes hardened. He nodded to the cleric and Ky, then left the room. Ky took her in his arms again and held her close. "So," he said lightly "Does that happen often?" She shook her head. "First time. Never had a vision before." "Lots of firsts for you lately." She chuckled, which was the rogue's aim in teasing her. "Yes, I'm experiencing all sorts of newness." Ky sobered. "Is my clan in danger?" He had to ask, even though he knew the vision had scared her. "No." She shook her head. "They have escaped Chimera's notice for now." "Then who have they targeted for me?" She dropped her eyes and mumbled something. He could tell she didn't want to tell him. "Shea'ann, who is it?" His voice was urgent. "I am."

"Ky -- Light above, Ky." Shea'ann started to tremble. "It's - I don't deserve this. It's beautiful." The rubies ginted in the candlelight. Again, she started to cry for joy. She'd never really known happiness before this, and now she was overflowing with it. "But I - I don't have anything to give to you. I don't have any family or traditions. I'm so sorry I can't give anything to you." She hugged the hand that bore the ring tightly to her chest. "Don't cry." he whispered and lightly brushed her tears away with his fingertips. "I didn't want to make you cry." "But I'm so happy that I can't hold it all in." "Then I'll just have to kiss you to make it all better." Shea'ann started at the joke, then smiled through her tears. "Yes, I'd like that very much."

"I never thought I'd ever make anyone happy." she whispered in his ear. "And I never thought anyone would ever love me. But I'm so glad you do." Shea'ann sensed that anything more would break the enchantment of the moment, so she changed the mood in order not to ruin it. "So, did you 'get to know your beautiful companion more'?" she gently teased, tapping a finger lightly to his nose, the same way she had when she first spoke to him and healed his hang-over all those long days ago. "Not enough, but definately more." To Shea'ann's deep surprise, Ky blushed. The cleric managed not to giggle, and instead she sunggled closer to him and pillowed her head on his chest. "You know, there's bound to be more comfortable places around here than this floor." Ky began. He wanted to invite her to spend the night with him, but he didn't want to push his luck. "MMmm-hmm." she agreed. "And [I]I[/I] just happen to have a large [I]private[/I] room, because I'm paying for it instead of Jura." Ky could feel the heat of Shea'ann's blush rising though the skin on his chest. "Would you care to share it with me?" she whispered. "Are you sure? I mean, yeah, I'd love to, but I don't want to rush you or anything." "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure. But before we do anything, I'd like to stay right where we are for just a few moments more. I've never felt perfect happiness before, and I'd like to savor the feeling for a few minutes more. I don't know how many more moments like this the world will grant us, so I don't want to let this one go just yet." she curled tighter agianst him and just reveled in the sensation of being held by the man she loved.

OOC: just kidding this is Natchan. Missrelena forgot to log off.

Shea'ann blushed. "Ky . . . " She could see he was torn about something, having an argument with himself in his head. But she didn't doubt that he meant what he said. She could tell it had cost him too much to say for it to be a flippant bit of flattery. "Ky --" Shea'ann nearly choked on her emothions. She tried again. "Ky . . . I think I'm in love with you, too. I love you and I'm a little scared." His expression bacame one of shock. "I've scared you?" "No. Never." Shea'ann's voice was adamant. "No, what scares me is that I've never felt this way before. I'm not sure what to do. What scares me is what's going on in the world right now, with Chimera and the slavers and all the hurt and pain and death. What scares me is that now, when I've finally found happiness, that something will happen to you and take that all away." Slowly tears began to slide down her dusky cheeks to land on her lap. Ky knocked his chair over as he stood up and rounded the table to her. He started to take her hand in his, but she threw herself against his chest and just let the tears come. He held her and let her cry, whispering soft words of comfort every now and again. "I'm sorry." she stammered as the stream finally ebbed. "I've gotten your shirt all wet." "Don't apologize." he said chivalrously. "Lady, you said you love me. You could throw me in the coldest lake and I wouldn't mind." She smiled softly. "Now you're just being silly." "I'll show you silly." Ky placed his hand under her chin and tilted her face up. Then he kissed her, gently at first . . . but it didn't stay gentle for long.

[COLOR=SeaGreen] The Ripper Program It all started in the year of our Lord, 2236. The technology over Historical Remote Viewing (or HRV) had been perfected and the failsafes made foolproof. Viewing techs could choose any point and place in history and watch what truly happened without worry of being seen or the capability of altering the past ? at least that was what was we believed. Then it all started going wrong. Then the Ripper Program was found. Buried deep in the HRV systems, a loophole glitch had been created, and through that hole some unknown programming genius had created a way to destroy the world as we knew it. We couldn?t destroy the Ripper Program, it had too many protections that would have taken over all the computerized systems in the galaxy had we tried to disable or isolate it. We could, however, read what the Program was intended to do. Seven critical targets had been chosen from the nobility of Victorian England to die. They would either die to prevent something they, themselves would do, or something some future descendant would do that would be crucial in forming civilization as we currently knew it. We couldn?t tell which. We couldn?t even find out who, exactly the targets were. The Ripper Program would use the Viewing Technology to hunt down and kill the targets, all in ways and forms that would be explainable in that era?s limited experience. We couldn?t let it happen, so a handful of Psy-techs were chosen to exploit the Ripper loophole and go back in time to stop the murders and preserve our way of life. We all knew the trip was one way. Once in the past, there would be no return. So we said our good-byes and stepped though the vortex into a life that the HRV?s best techs could create for us without upsetting the delicate past we were so desperately trying to preserve . . . but there was another glitch.[/COLOR] * * * * * * [COLOR=Navy]The Psy-techs that went back into Victorian England suffered a major setback. The only thing they could take into the past with them was their abilities and their knowledge. Unfortunately, something went wrong, and each appeared remembering only bits and pieces of their mission. None could recall whom the others were who came into the past with them. Fortunately, a failsafe was subliminally planted in their minds. When they first encounter someone who is from their mission, a blue aura appears around them. When they find an intended target, their aura is red. The problem is, not everyone recalls what the blue and red mean. The other information that everyone remembers is no matter what, the Ripper Program must kill seven people. If an intended target is discovered and saved from attack, the Program will run wild till an innocent member of the general London population is destroyed. Thus the moral dilemma. They also all know that whoever set the program up must be taken alive. There is a deadman?s switch built into the Ripper Program. Should the programmer die, an unknown catastrophe of total destruction will befall Victoria?s Empire. The Psy-techs all came back in time, trusting in total faith that the authorities of the future would be careful in their apprehension of the dark perpetrator. All of their lives would depend on the master-mind surviving in the future till the Ripper Program played itself out.[/COLOR] [COLOR=Red]The Psy-techs each have ONE of the following abilites: Telepath: If you have never previously spoken mind-to-mind to a person, they must be within line of sight. Otherwise, you have about a hundred meter radius in which you can use your ability to speak to another mind. Teleport: You can shift yourself and up to three other people touching you within a hundred meter radius. It is impossible for you to reappear inside a wall or table or whatever, so ?jumping? blind is not an issue. Telekinetic: You can move and manipulate inanimate objects weighing up to your own equivalent weight. The more intricate movements needed (like cocking the hammer, then pulling the trigger of a gun) the harder it is to do. Since you need to see what you?re doing, you can only move objects within your own line of sight. Also, since each target, whomever they may be, are a part of the Social Ton (money and/or rank nobility), the HRV programmers have created social equivalent ranks and backgrounds for each Psy-tech that has traveled back through time. Everyone you come in contact with remembers you and has definitive memories of you from their pasts that coincide with what you remember your new pasts to be. As a matter of fact, because of the travel glitch, the Victorian past usually seems more real to the techs than the true past of the future (Who would believe that easily? A past in the future?) [/COLOR] Your sign-up should look something like this: Future Name: Victorian Name: Gender: Age: Social Rank: (This would be the rank you hold in Victorian England) Psy-Tech ability: Appearance: (A pic would be great, but a description is just fine.) Personality: Victorian Bio: Future Bio: For Example (this is my character) Future Name: Jenni DeSul Victorian Name: Lady Geniveve Monroe Gender: Female Age: 17 Social Rank: Countess & Debutant (this is my first social season in London) Psy-Tech ability: Telepath Appearance: See below. Strawberry blond hair and big green eyes. 5'6" tall. Personality: Bubbly and friendly, but she's not one to sit back and let someone push her around (unless it's her Victorian Parents). She's smart, sometimes too smart for her own good. She loves looking pretty, but HATES corsets. Sometimes she acts older than her 17 years of age. Victorian Bio: Her father is the Earl of Salsibury, and although his title and lands are intaled away to her younger brother, she still stands to inherit her mother's title of Countess and all her lands. This makes her prime marriage material. Her partents are bringing her to London for her first Season in society. They are hoping to catch a noble husband for her that is worthy of her status. She's not so sure about that idea, but at least it get her to the capital. She vaguely remembers another life where she did things with machines that just couldn't be possible. She knows she has the ability to hear other's thoughts and speak to them mind-to-mind if they are open enough to recieve her. She also remembers that she was trained how to keep other minds out if she wanted and that it is unethical to probe other's consiousnesses without permission unless it's a life-or-death situation. She does not, however, remember when or where she obtained this training. She hasn't spoken of it to anyone. She knows that she needs to get to London, and that seven people need to be protected from murderers. She knows that others are also trying to save these people and that they will have a blue aura around them. That's all she knows. Future Bio: Jenni enjoyed working as a Psy-Tech for the HRV. She's been a telepath as long as she can remember. She has no family nearby, her parents are part of a colony on an M-class planet loacted near what Earthings know as tha North Star. She is an only child. She is also 24 years old in her past life in the future. She was honored to be chosen to help attempt to circumvent the Ripper Program. The only person she left behind (she thinks) was an on-again/off-again boyfriend who was also a Psy-tech.

"Did you hear that?" Rayne asked the officer. "There was a voice coming from downstairs." "So?" he asked beligerantly. "So?! That means someone is alive down there. That means we're not the only breathing beings in town." He sighed, then motioned her to follow him. He had to check it out anyway. Never leave an enemy behind you if at all possible. Especially an enemy you know nothing about. They carefully stepped over the body he had just blasted into immovability and made their way to the stairwell as quietly as possible. Rayne kept near his back, looking over her shoulder almost constantly. She knew she was practically useless in a fight, but she could at least warn the officer if anything was coming at them from behind. When they were halfway down to the next level, they met two [I]living[/I] people. A guy and a teenage girl. The guy, she recognized. "Hello, Vahn." she lilted softly. She'd seen him here a few times. He was usually visiting -- someone. Rayne never knew who, she never asked. She'd said hello to him each time, and occasionally he would strike up a short conversation with her as he waited. "Irish?" he asked. "Well, Rayne." she corrected. "Just the officers call me Irish. This is officer -- ah --" and then she realized that she still couldn't remember the guy who had just blasted a zombie away from her's name. "Jack is fine." he growled. "Now let's get somewhere not here. Move it!"

"Ky, this is [I]much[/I] more than I expected. When you promise dinner, you don't stint on anything." Shea'ann was amazed. From the time the rogue tapped on her door to see if she was still on for their date, she'd been practiacally speachless. She'd never eaten in a private room before, and the flowers on the table were almost too much. The food was far above average fare and the wine was light and crisp. She couldn't imagine what this cost him, a fair handful of gold at least, and the idea that it was spent on her was flabbergasting. Before this, Shea'ann was lucky to have party members barely tolerate her presence because of the healing magic she could do. And if she had been able to decipher a way to heal without touching the adventurer in question, that would have been even better. Even the loving priests at the temple of Lathander had kept her at arm's length, never touching, and never seeking out her company. She'd never had [I]anyone[/I] desire her presence before (if they weren't bleeding to death.) It was -- it was wonderful.

"Oh, Cain, thanks for the message. It was definately reassuring to know that there was a search party, of sorts, keeping tabs on us." Shea'ann told the paladin. "Oh, how rude of me. I'm Shea'ann, cleric and cave crawler. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself before all the layers of hell broke loose back there. I don't know if you've met Ky or Hue either, but we [I]did [/I] appreciate you looking out for us." Self-consionsly she looked down at herself. Her once red and rose colored vestments were now closer to dusty black and grey. She turned to Hue. "I don't know how you feel, but I feel like I brought half the dirt of the underdark up with me and it's all over my body. Before dinner, I'd like to wash a good portion of it off. If you'd like, I'll have a bath drawn for you in the bath house, too. Oh!" she raised her voice to make sure everyone in the party heard. "That goes for anyone else! Just give me a count of guys and girls and I'll have them ready for you when you want them. I just can't stand myself a moment longer." When everyone who wanted one spoke up, Shea'ann signaled the innkeep to let him know that she wished to speak with him. She took a step toward the propriator, then turned back to Ky. "I'll be holding you to that promised meal, if the offer is still good." she said, suddenly shy with everyone back together again. She flushed red, then fled to the innkeeper, so flustered that she forgot to wait for Ky's answer.

"Why did I ever think this was a good idea?" Shea'ann muttered to herself. The torches everyone had with them were waterlogged from the rain, so poor Ky was left stumbling in the dark. Being human without dark vision is a drawback in the underdark. Shea'ann had considered using a light spell to brighten their path till she realized that a flagrant use of magic down here would attract a whole mess of baddies that they REALLY didn't want to attract. After about half-an-hour, the cleric took pity enough on the rogue to get past her uncertainties and took his hand as a guide. Hue still seemed to know which general direction they should be heading in, so they let her lead. Shea'ann was glad that someone had a decent sense of direction, she didn't. Good sence of time, yes, sence of direction, no. She knew the placement of the sun at all times, as all clerics of Lathander did. So, she knew that they day was wearing on, they're been underground for several hours, and she was damp, cold, and in a place that did not take kindly to strangers if they got caught. "Ahh-choo!" she sniffled. Indignant with the idea of catching a cold, Shea'ann stopped in her tracks. Ky ran into the back of her, but didn't say anything. It took a few paces before Hue realized she was moving on alone. "What's the matter?" the tiefling asked. "I don't know about Tieflings, but I [I]do[/I] know that humans and half-elves are not immune to pneumonia. We're cold and wet, and if we don't take the time to stop and change, we're going to slow down even more when I get sick. I'm sorry to be brusque, and I don't mean to offend you but it's the truth." "So do a heal spell." Hue replied, startled at Shea'ann's slightly irritated tone. "I would, if I wanted us to then run for our lives after that. We're in the Underdark." Shea'ann whispered intently. "The world under the Dalelands is riddled with drow, duregar and mind-flayer communities. Atracting their attention is not high on my list of things to do." "Oh." Hue wasn't sure what else to say. "It's okay." Ky said in a calming voice. "We'll get out of our wet things, go under the mountain as quietly and as unnoticed as possible, and meet back up with Jura and the others. Besides," he gave Shea'ann a jaunty wink knowing she could see it in the dark, "I still owe you a meal." Hue sighed. She just wanted to get back to the rest of the party as quickly as possible. "Well, if you're going to change out of your wet clothes, you'd better do it. I just hope your packs didn't get soaked through." "That makes two of us." Shea'ann replied. "Three of us." Ky chimed in as he tried to rifle through his pack blind. Just as Shea'ann had stripped off her tunic and shirt, she heard Hue give an urgent whisper. "Someone's coming. Several someones." "Don't move. Don't breathe if you can manage." Shea'ann whispered back. She used her natural dark elf ability to create a globe of darkness around them. That, at least didn't give off any magical aura, and would shield them from darkvision. Now she was definatly glad Hue had the amazing sense of hearing that she did. She reached out for her packs with one hand, while reaching for Ky with the other. Her hand met his and together they meticulously inched themselves off the main pathway. Now Shea'ann knew how Ky had felt stumbing in the darkness without being able to see at all. She didn't like it, that was for sure. They didn't have to wait long. Many voices and sets of shuffling feet went by. They could hear the jangle of chains, and once, a voice was raise to a shout and a whip cracked. Shea'ann had flinched at the noise, but made no sound. They waited for what seemed to be an eternity, but was actually no more than half-an-hour, after the voices had passed before she dropped the true darkness around them and everything went to the half-glow she was used to seeing. "Hue?" she queried. "Here. Nearly blue from holding my breath, but still alive. What was all that?" "Mind-flayer slavers." Ky said cooly. "They're selling Chimera's captives, what few he takes alive. The whip was from the overseer. He was shouting at the slaves to hurry up." Shea'ann's eyes went wide with amazement. "How do you know all that?" "I speak undercommon." Ky shrugged. "In my line of work, you never know what might come in handy." "See." Shea'ann said. "Having a rogue around who knows his business is much preferred to someone who clanks and thinks he has to risk all our necks for his over active sense of honor. Thanks, Ky. I know Jura will want this information. And we just might be alive long enough to tell her about it." Impishly, she gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. He seemed a bit startled, but definately not upset. "Would you two please finish getting dressed so we [I]can[/I] get back to Jura sometime soon." Hue turned her back to them and waited for them to hurry up.

"Dinner would have been nice." Shea'ann sighed whistfully. "Well, I [I]do[/I] have a shelter spell, which would keep off the wet, cold, and wind, but we would have to get really cozy. It's usually intended for only one, maybe two, people -- wingless people. Sorry, Hue, but butterfly wings aren't normally taken into consideration." she apologized. "I'm used to it." Hue repled. "So what, exactly, does this spell do? I've never heard of that type of shelter." "Well, it forms a protective bubble around the chosen person, like a shield-spell, only this one will keep out the elements, where an ordinary shield-spell won't. It will keep you relatively warm and comforable for eight hours, but if you move outside the shelter, it will pop and that's the end of the spell. You can even darken it to shadow if you need to hide, or make it completely clear if you need to see what's going on around you -- just say 'dark' or 'dawn' for the effect you want. I've only gotten the spell from Lathander recently, so I'm still new to it, and it takes a [I]lot[/I] of my power to cast." "So what are you getting at? Can you cast it on us or not?" Ky asked. "Yeah, I can, but only twice -- once on myself, and once on one other person. My magic will be renewed when I pray at dawn, but till then, two people will have to get close. If we tie the horses up in that copse of trees and hobble thier legs, they shouldn't be able to bolt, either. Sorry I can't do more." A fat drop of rain splashed on Shea'ann's nose, making her blink. "It takes a bit of time to cast, so quick, deside who gets the other spell cast on them and who is doubling up with whom."

As they rode, Shea'ann tried to keep an overt eye on Hue. She still was unsteady on her seat, although her riding skills had greatly improved over the miles. The tiefling seemed troubled about things other than the horse beneath her and the roughs at the stable. The cleric did not want to pry, however, so she let the subject be till Hue was ready to talk -- if she ever was. As for Ky . . . "You know what you said earlier, about people not doing nice things for rogues? Well, I'm a cleric of Lathander, and doing nice things is part of who I am. Besides, my life has been saved over and over by rogues who knew their business and endangered more times than I care to count by 'honorable' knights who didn't know a trap if it bit them -- which it usually did." She looked into his eyes candidly, then blushed deep enough for it to show over her dark complexion. "And, uh, I think a sneaky guy in tight leather and knives a damn sight sexier than a muscle-bound bruiser in a metal suit." At that point, Hue's horse shied at a distant dog bark, and gave Shea'ann a convienent means of escape from Ky's raised eyebrows and startled expression as she rode forward to help the tiefling calm the flightly beast. After they had gotten it settled, Hue resumed her position at point, since she knew were they were going more than any other reason, and that left Shea'ann to drop back and ride next to the rogue again. She sat in silence, hoping he didn't hate her now. She had been more forward with him than anyone else in her life, and she didn't know how he would react. She just wanted him to say something, even if it was to push her away.