A Small Glade

[Asila]

((Hey, Nevod is a very cool name! Gotta love the theme! ;D))

Evening glares at Rojo. "That's right, you had better be. It doesn't happen all that often and usually doesn't last long." The tail end of that last comment was a lie. She was just the type of girl that proved remarkably loyal to those she was fond of, even more so now that she had lost her family. It was a reverse psychology thing that would work out well for this pair. She could NEVER let herself fail another as she had failed them. If she felt something deserved to be saved, she would gaurd it no matter what the cost to her. She could not fail again.

But she lied to them because she didn't want them to think she cared. There was no need for it, such things were only weaknesses that could be turned against you. She didn't understand exactly why she felt this way, but the sentiment was concrete and not about to lift any time soon.

She shook her head, a gesture meant to both dismiss these thoughts and to express her 'annoyance' for Rojo's lack of gratitude when Devon said something to this effect. Well, he didn't phrase it quite that, but, well, that was pretty much where her thoughts led her.

She met Rojo's gaze. "You ingrate." That words were tinged with what sounded suspiciously like fondness. "You really should appreciate us more, you know. Now, tell us what happened!" This last she said rather excitedly, partly because she could wait to hear what had to be a fascinating story and partly because she was still nervous of another attack.

[Rojo]

Rojo shook his head at the both of them, they seemed so worried! He had survived much more than this before, but they didn't know that...Besides, they both had known him less than a day, and they were fussing over him like a crying babe! He scowled at the air infront of him, then looked up at Evening
"Smile; it may never happen, and if it does you're too bloody late." He had heard a wise and unpredictable man say this many times before, but he wasn't sure what the man had ever meant by it...
"I just got into a scrap with two worgs..." he muttered, then his eyes brightened "I got some mushrooms though!" he held up the jar enthusiastically.

Shadow blinked again, then continued writing, his finger scribbling across the air:
Why are you here?

[Seven]

Devon cocked his head to the side, furrowing his brow slightly. It was a perplexed, questioning look, a worried, yet 'you're so nuts!' look. Devon sighs, "I've only just met you Rojo, and yet I can tell you're going to be the death of me someday," he says with a soft, teasing chuckle. "Do you even know what those mushrooms do? Or did you just pick them up because they looked interesting? It's not that I'm not interested in biology as well, but couldn't you have had such an exploration in the morning, when things aren't nearly as dangerous? Or do you just have a fondness of getting yourself into danger and ending up in places you know nothing about? Honestly Rojo, you're going to get yourself killed one of these days..." he ended without knowing the irony of that statement. He goes back to looking down at Rojo's wound, finally fixing up the bandage.

"Why am I here? Why are you here? Why is anyone anywhere at any given time? Does it matter why I am here? I know for a fact that my sad little latern boy would love to travel and adventure, just as your lantern does, and I suppose that quality must have eased itself off onto me as well, is all. And you?" he gives him a sly look with eyebrows raised, expecting him to answer his own question as well.

[Asila]

Evening shook her head. "You were attacked by two worgs? Jeez, what did you do to them?" The tone wasn't accusatory, just puzzled. She didn't seem to understand that the wolf-creatures were very dangerous, viscous predators, but then again, how would she? She was a very powerful empath when it came to her animal friends, able to both read them with such accuracy that she could understand the nuances of their thoughts even without reaching into their minds, and even capable of projecting certain emotions like serenity onto even the wildest beast. She had never had a problem with any non-humanoid creature in her life! Well, with the exception of Devon's tigers, and that had surprised her.

She stares at him...then at the mushrooms he was holding up. "Ick, I hate those things!" She exclaimed. "They taste awful, you know. I wouldn't eat them, if I were you."

She may have continued along this line if she hadn't suddenly noticed the patient tigers, still sitting in their ring and looking amused. She bounded over to them, oblivious to the humans for the time being. "Oh, you poor things!" She crooned softly to the magnificent felines, "All of you did such a good job and I didn't even congratulate you! You didn't have to continue to sit here after I left, you know." She gazed at them thoughtfully, noting that the cats didn't seem to mind their formation in the least. The did, after all, get to watch a most amusing display take place amongst the humans.

[Rojo]

Rojo stared at Evening incredulously
"What did I do to them?! They're worgs! We are talking about the same thing, yes? Big gre-" he corrected himself "black things, look like wolves, don't like fire?"
He shook his head; for someone who had lived in the forest, she sure didn't know much about it's inhabitants...
When Evening mentioned the mushrooms, he looked edgy, and suddenly wished he hadn't shown them the interesting fungi he had discovered.
"They're not...poisonous, are they?" he asked, looking fervent
If they were, he would have to explain why he was immune to poison; probably some cock-and-bull story that he was part tree or something...no, if they were poisonous, he'd have to either come up with something cleverer or come clean. The latter didn't look very promising.

Shadow blinked at the other Darkling, the silvery words slowly being blown away into wisps of silver smoke. What the Darkling had said wasn't very helpful...
He held up his finger again and wrote in a rather messy version of the common language:
Yes, but why come to me?

[Seven]

Devon's eyes widen, "Why? Did you consume one?" His quiet unnerved feeling is quickly going to become panic at this rate. He didn't know Rojo was immune to poisone by default, and could only bite his lip with worry at the sound of this. He snatches the jar away from him, as if confiscating them from him.

Meanwhile, the cats seem to grin at Evening; they had been very much amused by the display and had been happy to partake in the shananigans of the night. They rise as she walks over, giving a soft purring growl as they rub their heads on her, a sort of 'apolgy accepted'. They liked the Tallamous girl, which Jenri or Devon could have pointed out to be odd, as they didn't like many people. Well, Devon does notice, watching curiously for a second, before remembering his task at hand.

"So sorry to interupt, but could you tell us, are these mushrooms poisonous?" he says approaching the ensemble of white furry tigers and the girl.

Nevod continues to smile tauntingly. "You never answered my question--how rude!" he points out. "Why did I come to you? That's very arrogant, for you to think I was purposely hunting you down; I could be here for a plethora of other reasons, none of which pertain to you. But I suppose, to answer your question candidly, I was curious. Our lanterns have kindred spirits, despite being from different backgrounds, homes, worlds, universes....It didn't take them long to 'hit it off,' wouldn't you say? So do you suppose, since we are the shadows of these laterns, that this would make us predispositioned to be allies and friends, or just the opposite?"

[Asila]

Evening hardly caught the questions of the humans, since she was busy brushing her fingers through the thick fur of the tigers, playfully ruffling they're ears, and even draping herself over one in a random hug. She really did love big cats. The lions that her family owned had been her best friends.

Still, she did take her attention away from the tigers long enough to answer them. They had asked enough questions that her mind had to play them back to her before she could begin to answer. She decided to start with the most urgent question.

"The mushrooms didn't hurt me any," She begins, shrugging. "I just dislike them. Of course, just because I can tolerate them doesn't mean that you can." She was obviously referring to the differences between their races, though for once she wasn't quite so blunt about pointing this out. "You may have a rough night ahead of you." This she says vaguely, since she hadn't the slightest idea how a human would react. But of course she would never say as much, since she didn't want them to think she was anything but an age-wizened member of her race. No doubt she had already failed in that aspect, but such trivial thing as a failing facade wouldn't stop her from trying.

"As for the worgs, I've never had a problem with them!" She said a tad defensively, not likeing Rojo's incredulous tone. Then again, it seemed that large predatory creatures that usually didn't like anyone else were fond of her. She was the exception, not the rule, but she, like most people, tended to filter the world through her own perceptions and experiences. And since her experiences with such things would be drastically different from that of a human, her expectations were slightly skewed. "And yes, we are talking about the same creatures! They are large black wolf-like animals and are magnificent creatures!"

Maybe she just liked them because her favorite form was a black, albeit average, wolf. Or maybe she really thought they were magnificent, since this is the girl who thought bats were cute. Either way, the humans must be very puzzled by her now.

[Rojo]

Rojo watched Evening curiously as she lolled around and on the tigers. He wasn't an animal person. Although he did have a strange liking for cats. They were prehaps the only animal he liked, well, liked without liking them for the way they fought. The reason for his liking of felines was because they reminded him of himself; Lithe, athletic, prefering the night time. He smiled pleasantly. When Evening said he's have a bad night, he almost sighed a heavy sigh of relief. He had had to pull off such things before; a barbarian had poisoned him, and they had buried him at a crossroads with a wooden stake through his chest. Poor Rojo had had to deal with a wooden stake stabbing into his chest. Obviously this had only hurt, as mere wood didn't kill one, well, when bleeding to death doesn't end your existance it doesn't.

Rojo looked thoroughly confused now. He had heard of Orcs using Worgs as a form of mount. Even sometimes he had heard of rich nobles keeping them as pets and guard dogs, but never had he heard someone speak about them with such...liking. He shook his head. Maybe she was some kind of druid...

Shadow was about to write in the air again, then he shrugged.

[Seven]

This was certainly getting frustrating for poor Devon. Could she possibly be any vaguer? This could be Rojo's life at stake--and she hardly seemed to care!

Well, not that it would be expected she'd care. Devon had already forgotten that they she wasn't really their friend, like he had been imagining. She was only accompanying them till she repaid her debt. There was no reason for her to start getting friendly with them, and Devon knew it was best to keep that in mind. A shame too, as he had grown fond of both her and Rojo.

Still, he crossed his arms, dishing out the rare frown, "You are entirely impossible sometimes, Miss Evening, you do realize that, don't you? Couldn't you give me a straighter answer? " Devon didn't realize that she didn't know whether or not these things were poisonous, and only meant to sound aged and wise, though she hadn't the years beneath her belt.

And of course, it didn't help that Rojo wasn't telling Devon that he was actually in no harm at all, that he couldn't be harmed in this way, even if he so wished it! It seemed everyone but Devon was keeping secrets, and the young and naive nobleman was falling for it; innocent boy, not quite used to such trickery, though he really should have known better. Had Jenri been awake, he might have pulled the noble aside, pointing out a few flaws with his new friends. Jenri, for all his scornful looks, had learned the ways of the world--why, his scornful looks had derived from gaining such knowledge. But Jenri was asleep, leaving Devon alone with the two, caught int the tapestry of white lies.

Nevod looks over at Shadow. "So then, shall we go check on our Lanterns?"

[Asila]

((Uh, I didn't plan on this being so long, but I was trying to get Foresan caught up to where we are in the thread. Which wasn't easy since he's been watching all this time. ))

Evening looked back at Devon when he spoke, noticing as she did so that both humans were watching her and frowning in return when she noticed Devon's expression. She was surprised to see him wearing such a displeased expression. He'd seemed perfectly amiable throughout the trip, even when he had confronted her about her trickery early on.

Then she realized that the mushroom incident must worry him quite a bit. She was blowing it off because it hadn't harmed her at all when she'd eaten one, and so she doubted it was poisonous, but Devon wouldn't know this...

She was about to cave to Devon's questions and explain that she actually knew very little about the mushroom when she sensed another presence in the forest. It felt...ominous, tinged with outrage, but vaguely familiar.

"Uh, Devon, could this wait?" She murmured, turning away from him to stare into the trees. For a moment she couldn't see anything...but, just as she considered turning away, a large figure loomed independent of the deep charcoal shades that pooled beneath the trees and she held her breath, tensing.

****

The figure that stepped out of the shadows and strode toward them now was Foresan, one of the last surviving members of Evening's family, though she, of course, did not know that anyone had survived. In fact, Foresan had been suffering a similar perception regarding the girl and had been quite delighted to discover otherwise, though his delight was soon overshadowed by his disgust. She had always been such a trusting child, and these humans were clearly taking advantage of her altruistic moral code! This was intolerable, and he had planned to step in to remedy the situation as soon as the humans were down for the night.

He had seen some of what had occurred between them after the battle that had first drawn him to the scene. He had arrived in time to see Evening step into the carriage, clearly injured and wearing a disgruntled expression. It seemed to him that she hadn't wanted to travel with the human pair, a perfectly logical reaction. Tallamous and Humales didn't mix well. He had wondered what exchange had take place between the three and why Evening had made the decision to travel with them in the first place. He could only assume that they had somehow coerced her cooperation, and that thought had filled him with fury.

He had considered attacking then, but knew that there was more to these humans than meets the eye. After all, they had just won a battle against something that had a significant magical aura. And while they were weak now, he was reluctant to storm the carriage for an even more important reason. They had Evening, and should he threaten them they may use her as their sheild. He wouldn't condone further injury on her part.

And so he had trailed them, winding through the trees with his smaller, and therefor more nimble, wagon. This was something that he could pull off easily since he could manipulate the earth into a trail as smooth as the road he shadowed. When they had stopped for the night, so had he. And he had seen all that had taken place, from the temporary dissappearance of the black-haired human, to Evening's sudden appearance when she had stepped out of the carriage an hour after the first two humans had fallen asleep. He had heard what was spoken between the blond noble and Evening, grinning at the girl's spirited 'threat' and nearly abandoning his watch when he heard the young man's reply. He then snarled despite himself when the darker human, having returned, pushed Evening onto the disrespectful young male. He had narrowed his eyes and waited stolidly for patience, needing that mindset so that he would not do anything that may place the girl in unneccesary danger when he moved to retrieve her.

As he took a moment to soothe his anger, he listened to the words spoken, most of them being of little importance to him. However, before he moved to stand, Evening seemed to notice him. At that point he stood and paced over to them, making no effort to disguise his appearance. Let them see a very powerful individual with a stag's features. They already had one Tallamous on their hands. The appearance of a second shouldn't shock them all that much.

He stopped just before he reached Evening and the tigers, his fierce gaze landing immediately on the two human males. "The pair of you lack respect," He said darkly. "You are speaking to a race far more powerful than your own. What right do you have to speak to one of us in such a manner?" He stares piercingly at Devon, his words referring to both the answer he had demanded of Evening and the innappropriately flirtatious words that he had spoken with earlier. As he waited for their answer, he let the earth rumble in sympathy with his anger so that they may know just what they are dealing with.

[Rojo]

Rojo shook his head slightly at Evening's dismissal of the question at hand. It seemed it didn't matter to her if his death was in question. Well, why should she? He had threatened to shoot her, and she didn't really like them. Once again his thoughts returned to the fact of him having no friends here. No reputation, he was just another face in the crowd, another guy on the street. When the other Tallamous stepped into the road where they had stopped, Rojo stood up quickly, ignoring the small jolt of pain in his leg. He listened carefully to the newcomer's words.
"Superiority isn't a word in my vocabulary, my dear friend. And you tell us to have respect, when you yourself have none in spying on us. Therefor, good sir, I name you, a hypocrite." He told this strange person with antlers. Was he some sort of strange druid? Or maybe he was one of the races Devon had spoke of. Suddenly something very strange came to his ears: the ground was growling. It shouldn't do that...unless this man had something to do with it. He raised an eyebrow at Evening, suggesting she had something to do with this, and he gave a likewise look to Devon, before flicking his gaze back to the strange Tallamous.

Shadow looked at Nevod. He paused for a moment, looking at the grass, then he shrugged and began running up the side of the great hill and leaped into the forest, speeding his way back to where he knew his other half to be. He didn't know whether Nevod was following him, and he wasn't sure if he cared, but he was sure that Rojo would have most likely gotten himself into some sort of situation by now, and he was running back to discover what it was...

[Seven]

Were they ever going to be allotted part of the night to rest? Devon would have never known that setting out for what was supposed to be a very minor trip would have such extrodinary events. Maybe he should have listened to his parents, when they pleaded he take the long route around the forest to reach Nurom.

But no, Devon was stubborn in his beliefs---"There's no danger in Mrue Forest!" he rememberd himself arguing. In a strange way, he still didn't regret it, despite the dangers and baggage both of his new companions had brought with him. It at least made this little trip interesting, no? Heck, it made his life interesting, as nothing that ever happened to him in Maderal could compare--thoughh is logic told him that they'd soon be dead, before they got near Nurom.

Curiouser, and curiouser. So perhaps old legends had been true when they said Mrue Forest was haunted with dark magic and inhabited by fiendish Tallamous? Evening had claimed otherwise, though she might have just been purposely lying to them. After all, stories said Tallamous never liked humans, and she had been the first one that he had met. Or at least, the first real one that he had met. Devon's logic was quickly becoming confused at this late hour, being torn by his own disbelief in superstitious stories, and what seemed like a constant barage of support to these claims. He didn't know if he had just been "lucky" in finding all these strange people, or if everyone who passed through Mrue had such encounters, and were just less fortunate. No, no! He'd traversed Mrue before--he had no such problems then! Ah right, tall frightening stag-Tallamous at hand. Perhaps he should leave these thoughts behind for now, and act appropriately.

~**~

The young nobleman looked up at what was for him an anomalous creature. He seemed to have the features of a stag, and control of the earth. The whole thing put him at unease; this man seemed to only be dawdling with his words but clearly meant to attack them. And most everyone was injured, Rojo possible poisoned. And the cats--hey, where were the cats? He briefly glances around, noting that the carriage seemed to be shaking and had white furry paws behind it. 'Cowardly things,' Devon smiled briefly, wishing he could taunt them later for being so quick to hide, though he didn't blame them; in fact, it was clearly better this way, so that they wouldn't be injured.

The words this latest trespasser spoke confused Devon. Disrespectful towards his race? Why, they had only just met! So how could he have been disrespectful towards him! Evening! Evening is a Tallamous---surely he meant they were being disrespectful to her. This only posed more queries though: Did Evening know this man, or why else would he be here to defend her? What was their relationship? How had they disrespected her? Yes, Devon had no recall from when he was half-awake. He's quite the heavy sleeper. Leave it to Devon to sleep-flirt. And the other thing this man found disrespectful, well, Devon hadn't even considered it. Yes, he was worried about Rojo and his injuries, but he hadn't entirely meant it. He only wanted for her to give him a straightfoward answer. Other than that, he felt he tried his best to be as respecful as possible.

Regardless, this man seemed powerful, and if Evening and him had known each other, she might abruptly decide she wants revenge from today's trickery. He had no idea, and being human, old proverbs and stories still rang in his head: the trickery of Tallamous. Why, it would make perfect sense! Evening meant to trick them, then told them she was alone once she was injured (after that strange battle) so to lure them off guard, and now, in the middle of the night, her friends come to attack them! How blindly trusting they had been!

For a moment, a cold surge of anger ran through him, though he quickly released it. 'Don't assume,' he thought to himself. For all he knew, this could just be one very large misunderstanding. But pulling out a sword would innitate another fight. Words could still possibly make peace, and that's what Devon meant to do.

At least until Rojo made his fiery retort. Devon couldn't help but facepalm. "Rojo, maybe you shouldn't be so hasty with your words," he tried to say in a good manner, though relaxing was difficult with so much tension in the air. He turned to face the newcomer, smiling softly. "Sir, I'm going to be perfectly candid right now. I'm not really sure what's going on, why you have said the things you have had, or even your anger with us, which leads me to believe this must be some sort of misunderstanding. Before we commence with a needless skirmish, perhaps you would like to explain to us your point of view?"

~**~

And yes, Nevod follows Shadow through the forest. He stops short of the clearing that they had taken camp in, holding Shadow back. "Wait. Let us see what our Lanterns do. A battle has not begun yet, so it would be foolish to accidentally start one with our actions."

[Asila]

Ant? She couldn't beleive it! But...it couldn't be him. Everyone had died... Evening stared at her beloved 'uncle', her eyes wide with disbeleif. Of course, it was true that she hadn't actually seen everyone die, but she had seen enough. It had been a losing battle. This was impossible...

Yet it was him! It was really him! From the very fine fur that shaded his skin a tawny brown, to the white markings that distinguished his features, to the icy blue gaze that she knew so well. This was Foresan! This was Ant! She would have smiled, would have laughed, would have called out to him...but he wasn't looking at her. He was glaring at Rojo and Devon, and he seemed very angry.

She sobered immediately, putting aside the joy she felt at his appearance and all the questions she wanted to ask. Such as whether or not her parents had survived as well. But now was not the time, and even though the possibility that her mother and father could still be alive filled her with a blazing hope that was almost agonizing in it's intensity, she held back. For as she observed her uncle, she began to fear for her friends.* Ant could be really scary when he was angry. And if she was frightened, what of Rojo and Devon? She found herself looking at her uncle as the other's would. She noted the very large set of antlers with sharp points and knew that the poor humans would not feel the innocent fascination that had inspired a much younger girl to call him 'The Antler Man", or Ant for short. She saw that his gaze now was chilled and fierce, his countenance thundrous. And he was so tall, towering well over six feet with broad shoulders and a frame that was enforced with thick bands of muscle.

She looked at her human companions, looked back at Ant, and found that she couldn't speak. She was so afraid for them, more so since she had never seen her uncle act like this before. She didn't understand why he was behaving so violently toward the two humans. Until she heard him speak. When he spoke of disrespect, she immediately remembered the words that Devon had spoken in his sleep and blushed at the recollection before she abruptly paled in horror. He had seen that? That wasn't good. Ant was very rascist. This was going very badly.

When Rojo made a predictably confrontational reply, she winced. Couldn't he feel the way the ground was shaking? Why would he confront such an angry and clearly powerful Tallamous? Curse it all, she didn't want them to fight! Should they do so, someone that she cared about would inevitably get hurt. Devon's words, however, gave her hope. Ant was usually so calm...surely he would listen to logic. She twisted the silver bangles about her wrist and paid close attention to her uncle as she waited for what she hoped would be a reasonable answer.

Forsan turned the full force of his angry gaze onto the dark-haired human when he spoke. "I have been watching you because you have amongst your lowly group one who is precious to me. I would have been a fool to ambush you while she was within your clutches." His voice was very tense and seemed to thunder with outrage in the silent forest. The rumbling grew in intensity. They had only seconds before the angry Tallamous chose his attack.

A time span that the blond noble filled with an appeal to logic and a diplomatic solution to this confrontation. Unfortunately, Foresan beleived the word of a human to be worthless and dismissed the young man's words even as he spoke them. He only narrowed his eyes and gave a terse reply. "I have lived far to long to fall prey to such brittle ploys of ignorance." He said coldly, rapidly thrusting his fists into the air just as great columns of stone erupted from the ground to either side of the human males. Within that same second he let his own fists plunge downward and the columns of stone, having taken on an identical shape, crashed down upon the two humans.

Yet the powerful attack would not strike Rojo and Devon, for Evening had sprinted to stand before them the moment she had realized just what it was that Ant had meant to do. As the colossal stone fists plummeted toward them, she summoned to their aid a flurry of shadows that closed over their heads in a tumultous black dome. However, her defensive attack was not strong enough to shatter the great fists upon impact. For while it was night and she had regained a significant degree of power with nightfall, she was nonetheless weakened by the events that had taken place during the daylight hours. And she was not well trained. So not only was she weakened, but she lacked the ability to focus her energy efficiently and so had thrown everything that she had into what was a very unstable sheild.

The stone fists continued to bear down on them, forcing a dent into the semi-solid sheild. It would be clear to the two humans that it was about to collapse. Evening simply had nothing left to give. The sheild flickered ominously as the power she had used to fuel it rapidly dwindled...

((*Ha ha, Evening's thoughts slipped! ;D
...and she's going to pass out. Have fun with this! I was going to finish the scenario on my own, but thought it would be more fun to have the two of you participate. ))

[Rojo]

((*Stares, then looks at Asila* I know Rojo is prehaps one of the greatest beings to ever live-and die-but he's not Jesus! *Sniffs indignantly* I gotta think something up quick...or depend on Seven and Devon...))

Rojo stood firm, not any signs of fear showing. He wasn't afraid of the strange antler-man who was almost a foot taller than himself. He'd fought dragons, legions of undead, he'd fought a beast from another dimension in a dining hall, and he wasn't going to be intimidated by some strange person with antlers.
"Clutches, have we now? I wasn't aware humans had clutches. And when you speak of someone dear, I assume you mean the young lady in our company? Well, I assure you, she shackled herself to us after a short scrap with some badits." He used bandits as an excuse, not really wanting to say "creatures from a world beyond existance."
To confirm Evening's wonderings, he could feel the rumblings. He did, and they made him tremble inside. When the collums of earth rose up, he swivelled around, to see if they were surrounded. Then, he watched in horror as they shifted into the shapes of fists and came smashing down...
The world suddenly seemed to think "Oh, bother, I can't be arsed to keep this colour buisness up," and the clearing went grey. The fists kept coming, slower, and slower, and Rojo's life, and various moments of his death flashed before his eyes...
He was eight, and his sister's newest "victim" as he liked to call them, was sitting on the floor in a corner, holding hands. Rojo watched from a window above them. He made faces, even thought no one was looking. Then they looked up and he fled...
Rojo looked at the two crowds ammassing around the tree. He and another boy were sitting in the tree, and two crowds of kids were coming around it. Almost all the children were hefting everyday items that could be tranformed into weapons, such as half-bricks, boards of wood, rocks, doorhandles, even one person Rojo could spot had a broken bottle. He and the other boy watched as the two opposing teams began meleeing...
He blinked. Two faces looked down at him, one was dark and white hair swayed around it, and the other was blinding white, save for two black orbs, being the person's eyes, and the long black hair on the girl's face. When he opened his eyes, they smiled...
Rojo looked at a small girl, holding a small stuffed toy, clutching it as if it were her soul. He frowned, then turned away again, continuing down the street, and then he heard footfalls behind him. He looked around, the girl was following him...
Now he was on a battlefield, corpses strewn around him, the firm feel of a sword in his hand. It was warm, and his arms and hands were sweaty, he saw more enemies come towards him, and he hefted the sword up, ready to strike again, every breath feeling like the air itself was burning...
Now he was in a cold chamber. His eyes hurt, and a sort of numbness was around the area of his chest. He got up groggily and noticed a table with some items on it. Rojo staggered over to it, looking at the objects. A bloody knife, a book, and a human heart. His pupils retracted, and his hand came to his chest. He looked down. His armour stripped away, a large cavity in his chest, revealing a ribcage, and a few bloodied tubes, but where a heart should be...nothing, an empty space. He tried to breath, but he couldn't. He felt...nothing. He fell, his head banging on the table as he fell...
Now he was in a cold tent. He remembered this one, it had only been a few months ago. He sat up in his bedroll and closed his eyes. He found himself on a beach, but where many representations of himself should of been, there was a blank beach. The trees had been burnt down, and a figure walked, no, floated towards him. He looked at it. It looked back, and he screamed...
Rojo looked around. A congregation of wizards were chanting, and a pool of liquid was in an enormous dish in the floor. Torches flickered on the walls. He looked as a nervous looking wizard with a small badger by his side smiled weakly from behind the circle. As he looked back, the pool was glowing faintly. Rojo hesitated, then jumped headfirst into the pool...

He saw the fists coming down, and suddenly a large dome blocked them. He heard the fists thump the shield with a loud dull noise. He froze for a moment, still terrified by the giant stone hands only feet from his face and his memories. Then the sight of the shield beginning to disappear as soon as it had appeared brought him back to the wonderful world of movement. He knew this was it. No chance. Only death. He was going to die. No...not die, he'd already done that.He was going to end.

Shadow stopped as Nevod spoke. He watched the events unfold. He watched his hot-headed Lantern mouth off at the Tallamous. He winced when he heard Rojo's retorts and words. Then, when he saw the columns and fists, he stood up. He may have been more tactical than his real-world other, but this was something he could not stand.
The Darkling felt anger and hatred. His whole body became a surge of darkness, he became blurred. Every part of what was visible of him flickered and buzzed. He would be visible to everyone now, and he shot forward like a bullet. As the shield died, he jumped into the fists, enveloping them, so they became giant masses of black. He surged through the magic controlling them, into the mind of their summoner. If he couldn't destroy them, at least he could stop them long engnough for Rojo and Devon to get away, even if it cost him his life...

((Oh dear....I made a big post...I AM SO SORRY FOR PUTTING IN HIS MEMORIES! They're not relevant to the plot, so I didn't need to put them in...I'm really sorry, I just get carried away...*Repeated apologising*))

[Seven]

Damnit! The man had refused even so much as to give them a chance to defend themselves. Devon was hastily trying to stand his own ground and prepare some sort of shielf, when Evening suddenly also jumped into the mix. A part of him was relieved to know that the girl hadn't meant to trick them, and wasn't involved in forming this attack against Rojo and himself. Quite the opposite really; she was throwing herself into danger's way to help protect them. It was really very flattering, though he had no time to smile and thank her considering they masses of stone columns still threatened to crush them all.

He noticed Rojo seemed to blank out in terror. Devon was about to run over to help Evening with her shield when he saw the stone columns become a shadowy black. "Shadow?" his magical intuition told him it was so. Rather than trying to force another shield up, now was the chance they needed to move out of the way of where the stone columns might suddenly fall. He grabbed unto Evening and Rojo. "Come on, Shadow bought us some time--let's move out of the way so it's not in vain!"

Nevod watches for a moment, raising a shadowy eyebrow. The darkling was going to get himself killed! He slinked over, invisible to everyone, and tried to pull Shadow aside. "The lanterns are fine, don't get yourself killed!" Nevod tried to beckon him back into the safety of the darkness, before the angry Tallamous had the opportunity to attack this 'strange monster.' "You are more useful to your lantern alive than dead!['i]"